What is an American?

For citizens of other nations, the creation and embracing of a national identity is fairly simple. Frenchmen speak French, appreciate fine wine and have a penchant for quoting “vive la France.” For those of German decent, a near-worship of autobahns and machines as well as beer, pretzels and bratwurst are traits that make one identify with being a German. For both these cultures, speaking the official language, French or German respectively, further add to one’s sense of identity and patriotism to one’s country. However in America, a melting pot of cultures, pinpointing precisely the characteristics that create the American identity can be more difficult and challenging a task. Indeed, the feeling of being an American varies from person to person—from the ancestors of the Founding Fathers to immigrants to refugees. Whether one is born in America and speaks fluent English or is an immigrant escaping religious persecution who never properly learns the language, both will feel American at a certain point in their lives begging the question of what exactly creates the American identity.
Hector St. Jean de Crevecoueur, in his essay ‘”What is an American” attempts to answer this question. He proposes that the binding thread that pulls all Americans, despite race, background, or religion together is the pursuit of the American Dream. Crevecoueur proposes that all peoples bring into America their own ideals, language, culture and nationality but all share the same expectation—it is this same hope and goal that blur the lines of race and language, history and culture to create something that all Americans can identify with. Crevecoueur offers the idea that whether born on American soil or immigrants from far away countries; people hold an idealized perception of America—of what she is and what she has to offer. This idealized hope (i.e. the American Dream) is internalized, driving the individual to pursue their hope and in turn, creating a place where ideas such as happiness, liberty and justice thrive. Subsequently those who come after view this fantastic utopia or equal opportunity, internalize their own American Dream, and pass it on to another generation. According to Crevecoueur, it is the embodying and cultivating of the hope and idea of the American Dream that forms the basis for the American identity.
Americans come from many backgrounds and cultures. Many have escaped religious persecution or seek political asylum. Many have immigrated from afar with the hope of having better opportunities and the chance to turn one’s dreams into a reality. Still others have a long history of American ancestors who have fought and perhaps died for the freedom and justices enjoyed in this nation and so feel obligated to love what has been fought for in the past. There exists a language barrier for many immigrants which sometimes is never truly overcome.

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