AMS 100: Introduction To American Identity and
Culture |
|
II. American Identity
A. Place
1.
Geographic
Regions
The United States is part of the physical
geography of North America with 49 of its states. Hawaii is part of Oceania with
its unique volcanic formation. The physical characteristics of North America are
viewed in a number of ways, initially with topographic or relief maps.The
USGS (United States Geologic Survey) maps are the standard in science and
planning since they include topographic contour lines and British survey grids.
Another way to view physical regions is by bioregions or ecoregions which are
fundamentally grounded in plant communities (flora) that reflect geology,
climate and interrelated fauna.
These regions
range from 5-9 and can be subdivided in numerous ways.
Geographic/Eco Regions |
Sub Regions |
Principle Plant Communities |
I.
The Great North |
|
Tundra (no trees)/Sea Ice |
Taiga/ Boreal Forest |
|
II.
Great Lakes |
|
Birch/ Beech Forest |
III.
Appalachians |
|
Deciduous/ Hardwood Forest |
IV.
Southeast |
|
S. Pine/ Cypress Swamp |
V.
The Great Prairie |
|
Grasslands (Native Gamma and Buffalo Grass |
VI. The
Rockies |
|
Mountain Forest and Meadow |
VII. Deserts of
the West |
|
Juniper/Sagebrush Scrub; Creosote Scrub |
VIII. The Pacific
Coast |
Northwest Coast |
California |
|
Cedar/Redwood Temperate Rainforest |
Riparian Oak/Chaparral |
|
IX.
Islands of the Pacific/Hawaii |
|
Volcanic floor/tropics |
2. Resources
Within the physical regions are a what are referred to as
'naturals resources'. These include air, water, and land with their various
ecosystems based upon the plant communities listed above and the animals. Beyond
the 'natural resources' are humans and all that results from the occupation of
the land, which is generally referred to as 'cultural resources'.
America and specifically North America was occupied by Native
People and waves of non-Native People, mostly European. The wholesale
destruction of the natural resources began in the late 1500s and by the 1800s
reached the point where 90% of the original forests were burned or cut down. In
the United States emerged a number of programs to protect or conserve some of
the natural resources. The F.V. Hayden Expedition with photographer William
Henry Jackson led to the creation of Yellowstone National Park, our first.
Later, under President T. R. Roosevelt and the first chief of the U.S. Forest
Service (USFS), Gifford Pinchot additional parkland and forests were set aside. Pinchot
advocated a multi-use policy and felt the land should be used for hunting,
fishing, lumber and mining. The first head of the Sierra Club, John Muir was
idealistic and felt the land should preserved untouched. In the early 1900s
there were numerous conflicts over usage policies with Pinchot and Muir usually
in opposition and Roosevelt in the middle. The most dramatic conflict was over
the damning of a river in Yosemite National Park called
Hetch Hetchy. John Muir had been implemental in convincing T.R. Roosevelt in
establishing Yosemite National Park in 1906 but the need for water to protect
the city of San Francisco after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake led to a
showdown over the use of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. The result was the loss of the
valley, but National Parks were forever left alone while National Forests
remained multi-use. These policies and changes were part of the
American
Conservation Movement and at least it resulted in the National Park and
National Forest Systems. Today similar controversies about our lands and
resource use continue.
B. People
1. Indigenous People
The indigenous or Native American cultures included the Arctic
people known today as Inuit (Eskimo), Yupik and Aleut; and American Indians from
the Sub Arctic to the tip of South America.
The Arctic people came from Asia 7,000-9,000 years ago, while American Indians
came anywhere from 20,000- 40,000 years ago. This time depth gave plenty of time
for physical adaptation and intimate cultural tuning into the various geographic
regions of the Americas. in the northwestern regions of North America and
extreme southern reaches of South American people were foragers based upon the
ecosystems such as Far North, or Far West. From the Southwest to the Andes
Indian people employed various forms of farming top include maize, beans,
squash, potato, peanuts, tomato, sunflower, cacao, etc. this farming cultures
developed rich civilizations such as the Mimbres of the Southwest, the Maya of
Chiapas and Guatemala and the Inca of the Andes.
2. Nation of Immigrants
The Native American world was invaded by Europeans beginning
with Spanish and Columbus in 1492 and in North America at St. Augustine 1565.
In North America the English first successfully established a colonial
foothold at Jamestown in 1607 and the French finally established Quebec in 1608.
The colonial period of 1607-1788 saw a mild influx of immigrants into the area
that we call the United States today. The 13 colonies were English but they were
threatened by various European powers.
Immigrant Groups 1607-1788 |
Estimated numbers* |
Notes |
English |
300,000 |
|
Scot-Irish/Irish/Scot |
250,000 |
Scot-Irish=Ulster Scots |
German |
200,000 |
Palatinate/Wurttemberg |
African |
650,000 |
mostly slaves |
French Huguenots |
15,000 |
Can - US |
Dutch |
6,000 |
New York |
Swedes |
1,500 |
Delaware |
Portuguese |
500 |
NE Whaling |
|
|
|
The Napoleonic Wars slowed down immigration,
including the slave trade between 1790-1815. During the time of the 'Young
Republic' immigration continuously increased with 37 million coming in 1820 -
1930. Many came in Ellis Island (1892-1954). The first group 1820-1880 tended to
come from Northern and Central Europe; while the second group 1880-1930 tended
to come mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe.
Immigrant Groups 1820-1880 |
Estimated numbers |
Notes |
German |
14 million |
|
French |
2 million |
|
Belgium |
1 million |
|
Irish |
2.5 million |
1850 main potato blight |
Welsh |
100,000 |
|
Scandinavian |
2.15 million |
|
Chinese |
3 million |
1882 Chinese Exclusion |
|
|
|
Immigrant Groups 1880-1930 |
Estimated numbers |
Notes |
Austro-Hungary |
7 million |
|
Italy |
14 million |
|
Baltic States |
4 million |
|
Irish |
2 million |
|
Russia |
3.5 million |
some included 'Odessa German' |
Japanese |
110,000 |
|
Filipino |
120,000 |
Oriental Exclusion Act 1924 |
Indian (India) |
10,000 |
|
Middle East |
110,000 |
|
|
|
|
During the depression and the rise of Nazi Germany new
waves of immigrants came and continued into WWII.
Immigrant Groups 1930-1946 |
Estimated numbers |
Notes |
Polish |
4 million |
|
German |
2 million |
|
Italian |
2 million |
|
Mexican |
1.2 million |
Bracero Program 1942-1964 |
Finally, after World War II the Cold War and post
colonialism. This included the Korean War, Cuban Conflict and the Vietnam War.
After 1989, the breakup of the soviet Union and the Middle East generated other
immigrant groups to come to America.
Immigrant Groups 1947-1989 |
Estimated numbers |
Notes |
Eastern Europe |
1.2 million |
|
Korean |
800,000 |
Korean War |
Cuban |
200,000 |
|
Vietnamese |
218,000 |
Vietnam War + 50,000 illegal |
Other S.E. Asian |
160,000 |
|
Immigrant Groups 1989- |
Estimated numbers |
Notes |
Central America |
1.2 million |
El Salvador and Panama +2 m illegal |
Mexico |
3.5 million |
+8 m illegal |
Iran |
338,000 |
+1 m illegal |
Soviet States |
1.8 million |
Slovenia, Boznia;+ 2.5 illegally |
Somalia |
43,000 |
|
Haiti |
500,000 |
+1m illegal |
Oceania (Samoa, Guam, etc) |
30,000 |
|
Other Africa |
5.2 million |
+1.5 illegal |
Other Asia |
3.8 million |
+2.2 m illegal |
We truly are a 'Nation of Immigrants', but we have been
mixed in our acceptance of immigrant groups. As the whims of our economic
situation generated a need for workers or labor, our prejudices have created a
kind of two-faced stance as to how to integrate everyone and what is an
American.
* (All estimated numbers are approximations and are not the
growth population reflected in the US Census. The numbers usually mean persons born in that foreign country. )
3. Cultural Regions
When studying the US the Physical
Geographic Regions and topographic Maps lay the foundation to human habitation
which is the domain of anthropology, history and cultural geography. Initially
the Native Americans are the first to occupy the land and established themselves
in specific
culture areas( see above) from ~ 15, 000 BCE - CE 1500. When, after CE 1500, various immigrant
groups settled the Americas with the Spanish, French, English and Portuguese
dominating and renaming areas. After 1600 the English colonized the
Eastern Seaboard and established a 'frontier' line at the Appalachian Mountains.
Initially everything beyond the Appalachian mountains was called the 'West'. This 'frontier' began to rapidly move west and reached the Pacific Coast by
1890. Some historians argue that the frontier continued into the Pacific Rim
through the 1950s. The West later was defined as everything west of the
Mississippi and later west of the 98th Meridian. The various patterns of immigration established
culture and ethnic regions that continued to shift through time.
Current cultural regions of the United
States were standardized by the
U.S. Census Bureau and
include the following:
Regional divisions used by the
United States Census Bureau
- Region 1
Northeast
- Division 1 (New England)
- Division 2 (Middle Atlantic)
- Region 2 (Midwest)
- Division 3 (East North
Central)
- Division 4 (West North
Central)
- Region 3 (South)
- Division 5 (South Atlantic)
- Division 6 (East South
Central)
- Division 7 (West North
Central)
- Region 4 (West)
- Division 8 (Mountain)
- Division 9 (Pacific)
These regions have developed various
cultural traits such as food cuisines and icons that originate in each of these
areas, but have spread throughout the United States. In our handout on
Cultural
Regions of the United States we will go over some of the foods and icon that are
common knowledge connected to each of these areas.
C. Images
1. Nation/State
In the Americas there are numerous nation states that generate
images and identities for its citizens. Each country, like the U.S., Canada,
Costa Rica, Chile has a character based on the environment, people, history,
government and relationships to the rest of the world. Some scholars called this
a 'National Character', but today we might use the term 'Shared National
Identity', which the shared component of any people. This changes overtime and
various forces and events shape peoples images and identity at any given time.
In 1832 a Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the U.S. to see what kind
of nation we had become. In 1835 he published Democracy In America. He
noted that individuality was our most cherished value along with get rich quick,
work ethic, desire for fair play, no limits, informality and corrupt politics.
In 1893 Fredrick Jackson Turner, a Wisconsin historian conclude that the
American Frontier was our common and most influential experience. This was
called the 'Frontier Thesis', while flawed at many levels it nevertheless
revealed an important aspect of the American experience. At various times in our
history, usually traumatic, we attempt to reassess who we are and where are we
going. Most recently the Kennedy assassination, American Bicentennial 1976 and
9/11 have prompted Americans to reassess their identity and future.
One way to generate what might influence your own 'Shared
National Identity', is to evaluate shared images such as the flag, shrines or
landscape.
Image |
Attributes |
|
American Flag/ Stars and Stripes; Current 13 stripes, 50 stars
United States National Anthem:
"The Star-Spangled
Banner" (Official 1916/1931) |
|
Presidential Seal/Seal of the United States; Bald Eagle Shield |
|
Bald Eagle |
|
Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C. |
|
US Capital, Washington D.C. |
|
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. |
|
Statue of Liberty, New York City, NY |
|
National Parks: Yellowstone
Yosemite
Grand Canyon, etc. |
2. Local/Cultural
The images generated by a local cultural context vary with
state, county, town, neighborhood, ethnic group and family. The greater time one
has in a region and the integrity of the family will determine how strong images
might be. Other social institutions besides ones family can be influential, such
as a church, clubs, and local political or economic organizations. If you are
from California, San Diego County and Oceanside, you have certain images that
connect you to that context. Sometimes sports teams maybe important. Ones family
might be nuclear or extended and be a focus of a persons life, especially if
rooted in a particular town or region.
California |
California
state flag with the extinct California grizzly |
San Diego County |
San
Diego Harbor with the Star of India, skyline, etc |
Oceanside |
Oceanside
Pier and Beach |
Other |
San Luis Rey Mission
and Family
|
3. Individual
Each individual has a set of images that they accumulate as they
grow up including their self awareness (Image and voice) and personal world view.
A world view includes cognitive domains that include beliefs, values and
self imposed or documented norms of behavior.
Nature |
Nurture |
Genotype/Phenotype |
Enculturation/Socialization: Cognitive
Domains/Beliefs-Values-Norms; Behaviors-Group
Networks |
American Values: Individualism; Equality;
Rationality; Spirituality; Materialism |
Behavioral Guidelines: Golden/Silver Rule;
Bronze Rule; Iron Rule |
Next Notes : III
Copyright © S. J.
Crouthamel