What It Means To Be An American Essay

Since this great country was first established many intuitive minds have tried to answer the question; "What is an American". This country is full of individuals of many backgrounds, and diversities and each person has a different opinion on this question. In my opinion, an American is someone who values freedom and equality and pursues the "American dream." Every American exercises these rights and these are great adjectives to describe our country. Each of the seven readings, and the one image I compiled help mold this broader definition into a more precise description of an American.

Although the present day American is a totally a different person, at the close of the Revolutionary War the same individual was a European immigrant impacted by the nature of the American continent. In St. Jean de Crevecoeur’s perspective, an American is a race that results from a mixture of Swedes, Dutch, French, Irish, Scotch, and Englishmen (48). This race consists of unique type of people who are not governed by laws as strict as they experienced in Europe. They are a breed of people who had no home and no country in Europe. This paper discusses what the American was thought to be, in view of St. Jean de Crevecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer.

What does it mean to be an American? Being an American means a multitude of different things. It depends on who the person is and what is the most important to them. It may be that they are free, or that they are proud, or simply because they appreciate the country’s history. This country has so many privileges that other countries do not have, and this sets it aside from them.

What it means to be an American is that we have our basic freedoms, we have the right to vote for our president, our senate, our house of representatives, and many more. We also have the right to a fair and speedy trial, while other countries if you break the law you get the death sentence. The United States of America is a great place and we should be respectful and proud of that. What is means to be an American can vary from person to person, but there will always be the core value that we have our freedoms and our liberties.

Harold Ickes was successful in presenting his speech by using great rhetorical devices appealing to his audience logically, emotionally, and ethics. As I read Harold Ickes’s speech the words summed up the emotion of the time so perfectly. The time was when Hitler and the Nazi army was headed for world domination. His intents were to influence American citizen to unite as a country.

America. The land of the free and the home of the brave. This sentence from the national anthem describes what it means to be an American perfectly. Americans are on a land of freedom that is fought for by bravery. They should show it in how they act every day.

Wealth. Freedom. Equality. The pursuit of happiness and opportunity. From John Winthrop’s “The City Upon A Hill” to Thomas Jefferson’s “The Declaration of Independence”, the term America has been universally defined by these ideals. As a citizen living within this country, I have grown up being taught that upholding these values defines being an American. While this was a generic and naive response to what it means to be American, I simply accepted this because it was what others told me. Looking back, I realize that I blindly accepted this definition because of a false and hopeful view of humanity in general. I did not see the world for what it is, rather, I saw it as filled with blissfully optimistic hope, I idealized the world, dreaming that America and, by extension, Americans were shining beacons of freedom, equality, and opportunity in the world, cultivating my previous

What does it mean to be an American? To be an American it means to be able to be yourself and not be afraid of being you. People shouldn’t be ashamed and afraid to do something in life and have to worry of others opinions. Being an American allows you to stand up for what you want and make our own decisions. It allows us to have freedom of speech, individual rights, and being able to live life to the fullest and most of all be proud.

What does it mean to be an American? For all of us, I am sure that list will vary from person to person, and, from culture to culture. The one thing I am sure we can all agree on, is our freedom. The framers of our country knew the importance of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, and so they came up with a set of principles/laws for each state to follow. Knowing exactly what they didn't want from the examples of England and King George III, in 1789 our framers came up with a 4,400 word document that would establish and define citizens’ and states’ rights in relation to the government. Unfortunately, being as though our Constitution is 225 years old, and was written by a bunch of white men, most of whom were slave owners our

What does it mean to be an American? Being an American citizen comes with a lot of responsibilities and perks, this is the main reason why people have been immigrating to the United States. The United States is a very special country because citizens have freedom unlike in other countries where you are told what to do and if you don't follow or you speak out you are punished, sometimes even in cruel ways such as execution. Also there is no slavery legally allowed and the United States law enforcement and Judicial system is not as corrupt as some other countries such as Brazil or Mexico.

When you think about what it means to be an American many things may cross your mind. You might think of your freedom to believe, say, and think anything you would like, or you may think of the many rights you have, or maybe our duties as Americans, you may even think of the idea of the “American Dream”. One thing that is for sure is that since the start of our nation to now, the idea of what it means to be an American has been sculpted into what it is today. Over the decades and eras there have been many different ideas of what it means to be an American, and that’s completely understandable because different times call for different ideas. When our nation was forming, the idea of what an American was was to be free.

What does it mean to be an American? This question has infinite answers which vary depending on who one asks. The answer is not as simple as: "It means to live in the United States of America." It goes much deeper for a great number of Americans. For a true and faithful American, it also brings to mind pride, optimism, opportunity and much more. It means having human rights protected and enjoying the freedom to voice one’s opinions, pursue one’s dreams and make a better life.

The United States is a nation full of millions of different types of people. However, each of those people has one major thing in common; they are all Americans. Many people wonder what it takes to be a true American, but the answer is something not so difficult to determine. Essentially, being an American means to show patriotism and pride of the country, to be very fortunate compared to other countries, and unfortunately, to show a lack of appreciation for all the great things America provides.

There is no one true answer to the question, “What does it mean to be an American?” If one would take the time to ask, like you did with this prompt, one would recieve a variation of responses that differ based on individual experiences, beliefs, ideas, and knowledge. When I am asked to respond to such question, my answer recognizes the characteristics that go a long with American family dynamics, educational opportunities, cultural diversity, and technology advnacements.

The qualities of an American are someone who is patriotic who is loyal and loves their land, and will fix anything in the government if the government is harming people, someone who is industrious, who cares and works for the land, and someone who is persistence, who fights strong for their country, does not give up, and holds on to their beliefs