The Influence of Others on American Culture
Easypeasy requested an answer concerning what other factors (besides the Bible) has influenced American (US) culture. As you know, the US is a nation of immigrants; therefore to determine factors that influenced the culture requires acknowledging the people who came here and the input from their culture. This is the beginning of what influenced American culture today.
Introduction
American culture is multi-cultural. Let’s pull the curtain back and take a glimpse of American culture and how it’s been influenced by others.
Since the 1600’s when Europeans and Africans arrived, Native Americans (Indians) were on the welcoming committee. They taught the new arrivals agriculture, influenced government structure (central government) and were a fore-runner of women rights.
Furthermore, after learning the English language, over time they incorporated approximately 2,000 of their own words, such as the words “mahogany” and “hickory.” They also set the tone for art, crafts, hunting, and survival skills.
In areas where there are reservations, American culture has been influenced by Indian names, clothing. fashion and food. Many Americans have Indian blood through inter-racial marriages. Indians have made a major impact on American culture.
Other Groups
English Americans England is the mother country of the US and the founders contributed the English language, English literature (Shakespeare), music (British rock invasion), education, and a host of other British contributions that have influenced American culture.
Black Americans - Despite the hardships, Blacks have also made a major impact on American culture through music (spiritual, gospel, jazz, soul, etc.), agriculture (first cultivation of rice in US), cattle raising, inventions eg. 400 uses of the peanut, traffic light, carbon filament for light bulbs, food, civil rights movement, sports, art, and pop culture. The list goes on with the influences of Black Americans to American culture.
German Americans - Germans are the largest ancestry group in the US and influenced American culture through the introduction of the kindergarten, the Christmas tree, physical/vocational education and gymnasiums in public school buildings. Food is another contribution such as hamburgers, hot dogs, sauerkraut, beer, farming techniques, rocket engineering, methodology and a host of other items that has influenced American culture.
Italian Americans Christopher Columbus (who was Italian) made 4 trips to the New World and is credited with “Discovering America.” Italians have influenced American culture through Italian food (Pasta, spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, etc.) art, music, entertainment, business (Bank of America), baseball contributions (Joseph Dimaggio, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, etc.) wine, exotic sports cars and many other influences.
Irish Americans - The Irish influenced American culture and an Irish Holiday (St. Patrick’s Day) is recognized. Irish symbolism such as: the color green, four leaf clovers, leprechauns, rainbow and pots of gold are integrated into American culture.
French Americans - The French are noted for fine wine, food, art, and romance. The State of Louisiana is heavily influenced by the French and is manifested by French names, customs, traditions and the well-known Mardi Gras celebrations. The State of Louisiana along with many other southern states was once owned by France.
Hispanic/Latino Americans - The influence on American culture by Hispanic/Latino Americans is very significant and is manifested in the use of Spanish which is the second most used language in the US, architecture, Mexican food (that influenced Tex-Mex food), music, politics, sports, and a host of other categories that influences American culture.
Asian Americans - The influence of Asians can be found mostly in food with Chinese and Japanese restaurants across America. Many Americans have developed a taste for sushi and Chinese buffets are very popular. The influx of products from Asian countries have transformed American culture and lowered prices on many items. Other Asian Americans have influenced American culture in regional areas. Another area of Asian influence is found in the martial arts which is a well-respected skill.
Eastern medical practice has influenced Western medical practices and American patients have other forms of medical treatment. There are many doctors and dentists of Asian descent and their influence on American culture is significant.
Middle Eastern Americans - There are many Americans that come from Middle Eastern countries. Their influence on American culture is more regional than national, although Eastern Religion is one area that has been growing in recent years. Medical doctors and dentists of Middle Eastern descent are abounding and not difficult to find. Many of the medical doctors/dentists Americans attend (around large cities) are not native American but Middle Eastern or Asian.
Many other non-native Americans have influenced American culture on a regional or local basis.
Entrepreneurial Americans - This “other” group of people has influenced not only American culture but world culture. Here is a small list:
Bill Gates- Microsoft software - Henry Ford- Automobiles - Ray Kroc - Founder of McDonalds Sam Walton Founder of Walmart Steve Jobs - Co-founder of Apple Computers Walt Disney Founder of Walt Disney Studios - Hobert J. Whitley who created the Hollywood District now known as “Hollywood” was a Canadian who became a naturalized American citizen.
Now I want to write on some basic things about American culture.
The United States is divided into many regional parts depending on the source, but for this article let’s call these areas:
West, South-west, Mid-west, South-east, North-east and New England.
In Laymen terms it would be: West coast, East coast, Up North and Down South.
American culture is not necessarily the same in all regions of the country. Even within the same state there can be major cultural differences. For example, the culture in Southern California is vastly different from the culture in Northern California.
The West coast culture is very different than the East coast. The culture “Down South” is vastly different than the culture “Up North,” “Out West” is vastly different that “Back East.” Even the climates are different, some have 4 seasons, others are rainy, and some are spring/summer like year round.
There is a 4-hour or more difference between the East coast and the West coast, (more in Hawaii and Alaska). These are significant factors that influence overall American culture. By the way, the State of Alaska was purchased from Russia and located right next door.
The biggest differences between the various micro-cultures can be found in language (dialects), food (cooking style), and economics.
Conclusion
With the advent of computers, the internet, and access to fast transportation, the country (and the world) has become a smaller place. Therefore, the influences in American culture are now the influences of the world.
As related to American culture, the ideal is to take the best qualities of all cultures, races, and ethnicities and produce an “ideal culture model.”
There are many divisions of people, such as nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, economics, politics, educational level and so on. However, there is one division of people that transcends all of these, and it is:
The division between Decent people and Non-decent people.
This holds true for all countries, the acts of non-decent people do not define decent people regardless of which nationality, race or ethnicity they are.
Thank you for your patience for those who wanted to read this type of information and thank Easypeasy for requesting it.
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