The American Identity

The American Identity

In 1607 the first British settlers arrived to the America’s to colonize the first settlement of Jamestown. Ever since this day the British colonists grew to form a distinct identity for themselves. This would later be known as the American identity. Many social, political, and economical changes were implemented before this separation came to be. Since the America’s were so significantly far away from the British Empire, it became an ideal location for the growth of an American identity. This seclusion provided the independence the colonists needed to castaway from British ideology.

There were many causes that resulted in the creation of the American identity; however the original one was the vast difference in location. The America’s were quite different than England. Not only did the colonists had to deal with a different landscape than the English did, but also had to deal with Native Americans. Native Americans were a people that the English have never dealt with. They were nomadic people that lived off the land, but felt no one should own it (Lecture, 01/29). The colonists came to the America’s to establish permanent settlements. Since the colonists and the Natives had different views on land ownership, religion, and a way of life, they eventually resulted in having many conflicts and wars through out the years. The experiences the colonists had with the Native Americans is something an Englishman living in Europe would never be able to understand. This is one of the aspects that united most of the colonists separate from the English. This alone however was not enough to create a distinct American identity. The British colonists were still very much English in the early days colonization of the America’s. It wasn’t until the 1730’s did the colonists truly form an American identity. During this period the Great Awakening was occurring all over the British American colonies. The Great Awakening was series of religious movements that...