The American Character

The character of every nation is formed on certain values, and even if people can’t tell you exactly what values they live by there are different researches and opinions to show what are the beliefs the people live with. The character is inseparable from the nation’s history and geography, and American character is not the exception. Though it is often said that America is a nation with abundance of geography but shortage of history, both geographical and historical factors shaped the character of American nation.

Geographical factors:

Territory. The USA occupies a large territory that was subdued in less than four centuries, and even today the country is sparsely populated. The struggle to conquer the land still looms in the nation’s memory. Large territories contributed to the idea of privacy that is so important for many Americans.

Two large oceans that separate America from Asia and Europe isolated Americans from political threats of Asian and European countries. These natural buffers allowed Americans not to maintain large armies through the course of history. However, natural boundaries made the country difficult to reach until modern means of communication were developed and thus contributed to the feeling of insularity — many Americans viewed European affairs as something distant and not worth paying attention to. Even today many Americans are not interested in foreign affairs and lack knowledge of geography.

The wealth of environments allowed the nation become self-sufficient in agriculture and most basic minerals.

The reputation of America as geographic bounty brought to the country floods of immigrants all over the world.

A magnificent system of waterways hooked the territory together and made travel cheap for goods and people allowing a degree of mobility (both geographical and social) unknown in most parts of the world.

Historical factors:

Puritan immigration. Though Puritans were not the first people who came to the New World and later their colonies did not comprise the biggest portion of the land, they were among the most lasting settlers. Besides, their values were very important to survival on the new land: self-reliance, hard work, frugal living and the guidance of individual conscience. Puritans were also noted for considering earthly success a sign of God’s favour and believed that making money cannot prevent form entering the kingdom of heaven. Today the traces of the Puritan doctrine — ‘people get what they deserve’ remain a part of American mentality. It makes Americans respect businesspeople and put much emphasis on making and possessing money. Puritans’ work ethic (often called ‘the Protestant work ethic’) also remains a part of American life, showing how important the hard work is.

Immigration from different countries. America is a land of immigrants, and this fact shapes the values and attitudes in the society. During the centuries of immigration Americans developed a new kind of society, different from the Old World where they had arrived from. Consequently, life in the New World developed in the newcomers such traits as equality and value of the fair competition. The first colonists came to America from rather segregated societies, where class and status shaped individual’s rights and opportunities. Unlike the Old World, new land did not favour class division; instead, it favoured personal skills and abilities. ‘Any man’s son may become equal of other man’s son,’ wrote Fanny Trollope while visiting the USA in 1831, ‘and the consciousness of this is certainly a spur to exertion.’ Belief that any man can achieve his dream remains crucial for American society today. It is can be done with the fair competition, so competitiveness is emphasized everywhere — in the family, at school, and in the office. The value of competitiveness is also reflected in the economic system, which is based on the free enterprise. The competitive economy of the USA shows its positive sides to the consumer — due to the competition the prices are often getting lower while the quality of production rises.

The War for Independence. This historical event no doubt remains an important milestone that shaped American character and relations inside and outside the country. The Declaration of Independence, one of the most important American documents, stressed the idea of independence and equality, stating that ‘all men are created equal’. This idea of egalitarian society — a society of equals is clearly traced in America today. People believe that they have equal opportunities in life. The whole system traditionally contributes to the sense that everybody plays the same rules. Egalitarianism — the equality of people is also vividly seen in people’s behaviour. It’s quite natural to call your teacher by the first name and not to treat people of high position in a differential manner. People of the lower class are often treated as if they are very important and people of high position are treated as everybody’s equals.

Frontier. The frontier much contributed to the mentality of Americans, as people came to new places, where no doctors and nurses could be found and the means of communication were a big problem. The frontier experience played a significant role in the formation of American stressing such features as egalitarianism, privacy, freedom, inventiveness, and self-reliance. Inventiveness developed in the people who came to the places in wilderness, and without self-reliance living in the new place was impossible. As government could not provide much help, the frontier people had to take care of themselves — men protected the houses with guns and in times of danger people worked together. On the frontier people also lived far apart from each other (the true frontiersman is said to pick up stakes and move as soon as he could smell his neighbour’s chimney smoke). This life style certainly contributed to the ideas of privacy and freedom that remain crucial for Americans today.

Geographical Factors	American Values
Historical Factors
Arrival of Puritans
Immigration
War for Independence
Life on the Frontier

Task 4. Read the text and fill in the tables to speak about the factors that formed the Ukrainian character. Use the ‘Key Language of Effect/Result’ (task 2).