America’s Cultural Values
Many visitors from overseas come to the United States every year. Most
of them find American behaviors very different from what they see back home.
Many international visitors think Americans are strange, unfriendly, self-centered
and too busy. People in North America also appear to be more concerned about
their time and the things they own rather than being concerned about people.
How did Americans get this way? What ideas and values are important to Americans?
To discover the answer, we must go back in time and consider how and when the
United States began.
The 18th Century was an
important period of time in the Western world. Europeans were learning new information
from explorers about different peoples and cultures in other parts of the world.
Scientists were making exciting discoveries. Creative thinkers were developing
new inventions. Industry was just beginning. These events created a demand for
changes in things like personal freedom, economics, government and business.
The 1700’s was an exciting time to be alive!
European settlers lived in North America for over 150 years before the
colonists declared their independence from England in 1776. Some of the settlers
came to find riches and success. But most of them came because they wanted to
be free. Many wanted freedom to worship God. Some wanted to improve their lives.
Others came to build new communities for the good of each other. Clearly they
had certain ideas and beliefs in their minds. These ideas, and the opportunities
they found in North America, formed the beginning of the unique cultural values
that can be found in the US today.
The United States
is a big country with the 4th largest population in the world and the 4th largest
area of land. Immigrants from every country live in the US. Students from every
country study in America. Yet there are certain cultural values that are widely
accepted by the whole country. These values are those of the typical middleclass
American. Other values can be found in smaller parts of the population. They
come from groups of immigrants and ethnic minorities. However, middle-class
American values still represent the main value system that people in the States
follow. They are listed on the below, along with contrasting values
from other parts of the world.
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