What makes us American?

When it comes to discussing the American political system, we simply can’t forget the everyday American citizen on whom the system is so dependent. Not surprisingly, with such a unique breed of democracy, America has a breed of citizen that almost defies definition. This is mainly because today’s continuous influx of immigrants is constantly changing the image of the American constituency.

So the question is, as posed by Crevecoeur (author of Letters from an American Farmer) in the 1780s, “What then is the American, this new man?” (http://www.jstor.org/view/00028762/di951255/95p00023/0) Interestingly enough, the American was originally defined primarily in terms of “whiteness”-- men who were white, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant were considered to be citizens without a shadow of a doubt. When it comes to the modern day American, however, the term “white” is an outdated adjective. So, whereas in the past, the citizen was characterized by physical attributes – skin color, gender, such characterization today has moved into a more conceptual realm. What’s frustrating about this is that the characteristics that supposedly make a person American can’t really be measured: loyalty to the U.S., capacity to understand republican principles of government, willingness to get involved in civic activities…. Others, however, would argue that “American-ness” should be measured in economic terms: an ability to succeed in the capitalist system, the “can do” attitude that leads to successful acquirement of the American Dream, etc. This only goes to show that since different people have different perceptions of what makes an American an American, there is no one set of characteristics (just as those I listed above) that can be used to define the American. Is this simply because we as a people don’t have the same ethnic and racial roots, or is it the result of America’s “experimental” nature and upbringing? Also, any thoughts as to whether attempts to define the American are in vain?