Patrick J. Buchanan's Article: What Does It Mean To Be An American

Superior Essays
What makes an American, ‘American’? The answer to this question will vary greatly depending on the respondent’s beliefs and cultural background. As the United States continues to grow and evolve in areas such as race, ethnicity and culture, the image of America changes as well. In an article entitled ‘Nation or Notion’ by Patrick J. Buchanan, he argues that Americans need a common identity based upon ancestry and culture to survive as a country. On the other hand, an article entitled ‘What Does It Mean to Be an “American”?’ by Michael Walzer argues that America does not need a common identity. He argues that there is no singular national identity and that citizenship is the unifying force of society. Although both authors raise practical arguments, …show more content…
According to Buchanan, the American identity is based on history, common ancestry, and patriotism and it must be a common identity. To begin, he points out a recent shift from history and ‘blood’ to creed and ideology, which he strongly opposes. Before Americans adopted a creed, America was a nation and Americans were a people; they did not need creed to form an American identity. Therefore, the American people are made of language, faith, culture, history, birth blood, and soil rather than an ideology. These people then make up a nation, which according to Buchanan is organic and alive. For these people to truly be a nation they must believe that they are a nation and that they share a common ancestry and destiny. This formed nation then writes a constitution which serves as a birth certificate of the already existing nation in the hearts of these people. At the soul of this formed nation is patriotism. Patriotism is defined as a …show more content…
The US has been a blend of races, cultures, and ethnic groups evolving from successive waves of immigration since the very beginning. As far as immigrants coming to the US, Germans were the first in question as to their ability to become ‘real’ Americans. Next, questions were raised about the Chinese, Irish, Eastern European’s and most recently Hispanic-American and Muslim-Americans. This list alone provides a wide range of cultural beliefs and values all located in the US. Buchanan argues that patriotism, the love and loyalty for one’s own country, is at the heart of the nation, however; considering the mixture of immigrants located in the US, there is a mixture of love and possibly still loyalty to their original country. Additionally, the US, compared to nearly all other nations, has experienced unparalleled growth in its multicultural population. This growth directly relates to Walzer’s argument that non-natives will always create a sense of ‘manyness’. This manyness suggests that it is the blend of all these cultures and uniquely identified, hyphenated Americans, that makes up the ‘American’ identity. Of course, there are core beliefs and values specific to the US and Americans such as freedom of speech and other liberties granted by the Constitution that create an American identity, however; the hyphenated- Americans can share ‘American’ beliefs as well as some of their own cultural beliefs.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Real of the Ideal The meaning of an American identity is an ideal and a contradiction. In Creating America, Joyce Moser and Ann Watters suggest that, “In understanding American identities, we need to come to terms with unity and division, with separateness and common ground”. This quotation is full of contradictions such as “unity” to “division” and “separateness” to “common ground”. The contradiction gives a complete image of America.…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What defines an American? Is it what a person looks like? Is it where a person comes from? These are the questions that Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros try to answer in their writings. Okita's, "Response to Executive Order 9066," is about how some Japanese Americans reacted to the executive order that made it legal to put Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    (Reed 287). B. Paragraphs 6-7: Reed’s further argument through historical perspective --Reed defends his argument by acknowledging the fact that even the so-called idea of “western culture,” upheld by several groups, has come directly from the ancestry of the European people-Africans, Asians, and many more; As a result of this, America cannot be called an independent culture. Moreover, through the inclusion of Benjamin Franklin in his writing, Reed wants to convey to the readers that even the founding fathers of America were inspired by the government system of Native Americans, not just by the…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The term Rooseveltian Nation is a contradictory vision of America the merged Racial and Civic Nationalism together. The sources of primary evidence that Gerstle uses in proving his argument are American Liberal’s writings, speeches, and policies. The Liberals that he uses are the most influential of the others. Gerstle’s argument overall is how Civic and Racial nationalism influenced American Nationalism combined…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Immigrants have created America to be what it is today, and have forever been working together as one to protect and be patriotic before this country was even founded. Two articles, written by Anna Quindlen and John F. Kennedy both have views on immigrants becoming American citizens, and how everyone in this country is so different, but we’re held together by our patriotism and desire to be a true American. In “A Quilt of a Country,” the author, Anna Quindlen, writes all about how America is made up of many different cultures and races. She compares America to a quilt.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In conclusion, in Ralph Linton’s essay “One Hundred Per-Cent American”, he argues that ultimately a truly one-hundred percent American culture is something that is unattainable. In my opinion, this argument is a truthful one, and is even more resonant in 2014 as it was in 1937, because of the diversity of America’s origin, the syncretism that ultimately is American culture, and lastly the interconnectedness of the world, also known as…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To be an American is to be united, to be determined, and to be welcoming. To be an American is to be united. Every individual together makes up America. Being a part of that unity is to be an American. “I hear America singing the varied carols, I hear,” Walt Wittman said in his poem “I Hear America Singing” (line #).…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What does it mean to be an American? What ideas and experiences define being an American? These are questions that people living in the United States occasionally ask themselves. Some individuals simply choose to define being an American as simply living on United States soil, while alternatively certain Americans wish to limit being an American to a more legal definition – such as legally being a citizen in the country or the rights we are given. Others choose to find more personal definitions to answer the question of what it means to be an American.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What does it mean to be an American? Is it determined by your physical appearance, like the color of your skin. Or is it determined by the origin of your birth? Many authors, especially African-American writers such as Alex Haley and Langston Hughes, have used their works to discuss what it truly means to be an American during their lifetimes. When writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American History: Through the Eyes of the People and the Land The 21st century has arrived, and yet our fellow citizens continue to debate among the premises that we should take on a multicultural society. Though, there are those who believe multiculturalism seems to have muddled the U.S. into a moment of mistrust and agitation, it is important to remember that our country was built upon the stories of those whom we now call minorities. Accordingly, scholars, activists and historians have eagerly persuaded educators to include a more complete and precise history of American culture.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What does it mean to be an American? What does it mean to be an American? There are many definitions on what it means to be an American because there are many diversities in this country. Historian Philip Gleason once said, ”To be or to become an American, a person did not have to be any particular national, learning languages, religious, or ethnic background.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the United States of America, people, especially in the world of politics, are often asked to define who is exactly is an “American”. On the surface, the answer seems rather obvious; an American is a person who is a native or citizen of the United States of America (Oxford Dictionary). However, 239 years ago, the United States of America became it’s own independent country. Since the formation of the original 13 colonies, men, women, and their families have fled to the USA to escape the injustices happening in their home countries in hopes of a better life. The USA was a country founded by immigrants, built by immigrants, for immigrants.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Ideal American

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    From the year 1776 up until now, over 318 million people call themselves an American Citizen and follow their own path in life that they have set out for themselves. The ideal American, is part of a race that shows patriotism for their country, they have freedoms, rights and protection that allow them opportunities to work and get an education because, they have high visions and hope to become successful in this new world. As one drives down the side streets of an American city neighborhood, almost half the houses on the block are displaying the colors most associated with America and its people; Red white, and blue. In cities, Immigrants are then able to group up with their own and be in a familiar culture while still pursuing their dream.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American equals diversity When thinking of an American there is never one definition to define the whole idea, yet there is one thing that is synonymous with American and that is freedom. Freedom is also hard to define because of all the things that Americans have associated with freedom; but when looking at, what Americans do, large classifications of Americans, what Americans are not, and examples of Americans, what American means is more clear. Being an American in today’s society means being able to function in a diverse country. What Americans do is exercise their freedoms and while exercising their freedoms they gain more control of can and cannot do. Harvey and Jellison describe making a choice between two negative decisions, “When we face decisions…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A United America America is a unique country; it is defined by its people. Americans are able to, despite their differences, organize and affect change. Although each citizen is unique and has distinctive values, there are certain common ideals despite race or ethnicity that all Americans hold to be true. The American cultural identity is formed through the common ideals of opportunity, rebellion, and passion toward success and independence, more commonly known as the American dream. Since its’ beginning, America has been rebellious.…

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays