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American Identity

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American Identity Paper Early America was the collaboration and efforts of many British settlers who left their homelands seeking out the New World in relief of an overpopulated England and opportunities of religious freedoms. The result was a society under British rule, in the beginning, which would become a model nation formed by its people for its people. A letter from Hector St. John de Cre’vecoeurs, a Pennsylvania farmer, accounts the differences of America and Europe in a letter written by the farmer to a friend in England. In his letter, he praised America in its success creating a beautiful nation from land that was once heavily wooded and unsettled. Cre’vecoeurs detailed the descriptions of American farmers, describing them as possessing nice clothing as he rode on horses or wagons with his wife. Their lifestyles were pleasant for a man who would have to be a knight in England for the same standards of living. Instead of peasants that toiled the English soils, American farmers cultivated his lands. These opportunities for farmers to be self-sufficient far outweighed the manufacturers in England in which thousands worked with little opportunity to be independent. Cre’vecoeurs also told of lands not yet populated. Unlike England there was room for growth and expansion in Early America. His letters also noted the absence of hostile castles and mansions; signs of upper class royalty. The absence of these castles and mansions also meant there were no kings or royal courts. In American there were not evident signs of elaborate lifestyles and luxury by the Aristocrats. America had the advantages of mild governments with citizens wanting to respect laws because they weren’t so demanding or dreadful. Cre’vecoeurs also noted a sense of social status for the common man whereas the rich and poor were not as separated as England. Farmers had a purpose in society just a lawyers. Instead of clay huts in which men and cattle shared quarters, America’s people lived in dry, comfortable well-built log cabins. America’s roads were also nicer than those of England and its rivers more explorable. America’s colleges were also the basis of education that would allow its people the opportunity to pursue careers of their choice. America had also established a government that didn’t require its people to die in the name of British Royalty. Its government established to support the ideas of the people defending the honor of royalty. Cre’vecoeurs letters to his English friend was an honest, accurate analysis of an impressive society that designed and shaped its own destiny. America was an example of what a nation can become with unity and a vision of its people. Cre’vecoeurs accounts would prove to be reputable as America would continue to advance socially and politically to become one of the greatest nations on earth. Its many freedoms and opportunities would make it a model nation and land of opportunity by immigrants from abroad.

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