The first idea that comes to my mind when I think of American culture is uniqueness. Our culture is drastically different from so many others around the globe and those differences (some good and some bad) are what make our unique country what it is.
Culture is defined by The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third edition as “The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.” American cultural traits are vast because of the diversity of its population.
Key American cultural traits are outlined in the textbook Global Issues and Change by B. Johnson and J.S. Johnson they are listed as 1) Freedom, 2) Individualism, 3) Self-Reliance, 4) Achievement and 5) Pragmatism. All five of these characteristics have played an important role in the shaping of the American culture but the one that stands out the most is freedom. Without freedom none of the other characteristics would have developed. Freedom is what has made the entire American experience possible. The individualist idea developed as a result of the larger goal of freedom, they are offshoots of each other. Individualism requires a freedom of the individual, which was not possible under colonial rule where England took precedence over the individual. Furthermore self-reliance, achievement and pragmatism all were made possible by America’s freedom.
