American Identity Paper

There are many ways of defining American Identity. This can be found by doing research or merely by ones person opinion. In J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur’s 1782 letter, “What is an
American” he was determined to express his heartfelt views of the American Identity. This letter explains the prospective that new Americans had for America, their new home. Unlike life in England, they found pride and contentment in being a part of a country that was not ruled by great lords who they feel possessed and controlled everything, including their lives. America was seen as the land of the free and had so much to offer.

According to Crevecoeur, am American was a person that had the opportunity to have a new beginning, freedom, hope, and prosperity. They were given the opportunity to own land, start their own businesses, and work for themselves. He stated, “It is not composed, as in
Europe, of great lords who possess everything, and of a herd of people who nothing.”
(Crevecoeur, 1782, p.49). Unlike Europe the rich and the poor are not so distant from each other. In American a person has many opportunities to work hard and reap the fruits of their labor. This hard work and dedication they can afford to live a comfortable life. On the other hand a comfortable life was mainly enjoyed by royalty in England.

When the colonist established the British North American colonies they had no inclination that such a vast and