American Civilization

An Introduction

David Mauk, Alf Tomas Tønnessen, John Oakland

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000430936
• Edition: 8
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Social History
• Index: History

The eighth edition of the hugely successful American Civilization offers students the perfect background and introductory information on contemporary American life, examining the central dimensions of American society from geography and the environment to government and politics, religion, education, sports, media and the arts.

Fully and comprehensively updated throughout with regard to events, processes, attitudes and major figures in society, culture and politics in the United States, this new edition brings the book up to date through:

• coverage of recent events including the 2020 US election and 2021 presidential inauguration;
• revised chapters on geography, women and minorities, and the media that incorporate more information on such themes as environmental legislation, the LGBTQ+ community, social media and people, all key themes in the study of American culture and society;
• the introduction of "topical studies" that connect small case studies to apposite illustrations to highlight key subjects within the field; and
• the inclusion of more discussion questions that require analysis and the use of evidence to substantiate argumentation to enable students to develop their own essay responses to typical questions that they may be asked.

Supported by exercises and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, a substantial chronology that covers key events in the history of the United States and a fully integrated companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/mauk), the textbook remains an essential introduction to American civilization, culture and society for American Studies students.

Chapter 1
The American context

• Ethnic culture
• Religious culture
• Political-legal culture
• Economic culture
• Media culture
• Arts, sports and leisure cultures
• National identity
• Social and institutional change
• American attitudes to US society
• Exercises
• Further reading
• Websites

This chapter examines foreign and domestic attitudes to the US and places the country within historical contexts. It describes six cultures (social building blocks or structures defined by beliefs, ideas and behavior) that have created an American civilization over time and continue to influence debates about national identity, values and institutional change.

The term “American civilization” describes an advanced society which occupies a specific geographical space (the US) and has been settled historically by many different peoples. Its contributory cultures illustrate a distinctive, but complex, way of life. Although previously associated with notions of superiority and imperialism, “civilization” generally now has a neutral and inclusive meaning.

Central features have conditioned US history, such as:

• pre-Columbian (1492) migrations of peoples to the Americas from worldwide origins; colonial and military occupation by Europeans from the late fifteenth century; global mass immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; and the establishment of social values, religious faiths and institutional structures;
• the treatment of Native Americans and other minority ethnic groups such as African and Asian Americans as well as Muslims and Jews;
• the War of Independence from Britain (1775–83);
• the westward, southern and northern expansion of the new nation;
• principles of dignity and rights to freedom, justice and opportunity in the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1787) and the Bill of Rights (1791);
• ideologies of egalitarianism, individualism and utopianism;
• massive immigration from Europe, Latin America and Asia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries;
• industrial growth in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries;
• the Civil War to end slavery and southern-state secession from the Union (1861–65);
• the development of capitalism with its corporate management and business models;
• increasing government regulation and bureaucracies;
• US isolationist and interventionist attitudes toward other countries during two world wars (1914–18 and 1939–45), the 1945–89 Cold War and the early twenty-first century
• growth of the US as a dominant economic, military and cultural force since the late nineteenth century;
• the influence of contemporary globalization (worldwide interdependent economic, political and cultural forces) and nationalistic popularism (a resurgence of protectionist public attitudes) on both the US and other nations;
• the current international status of the US as it responds to external and internal pressures and considers a more self-interested identity; and
• the many lives lost and unprecedented economic damage wrought by the novel coronavirus pandemic and the nation’s flawed responses to it.

PLATE 1.1 British forces surrender to American and French armies, Yorktown, Virginia, 1781, in this painting by John Turnbull. The American general, Lincoln, riding a white horse, extends his hand toward the sword carried by the British general, O’Hara, who is on foot. The American War of Independence (1775–83) was effectively decided by this victory, resulting in the loss of 13 British colonies.

Source: FineArt/Alamy Stock Photo

These (and other) historical events have created six major cultures in the US, which may conflict with each other and operate on different levels of idealism, pragmatism and rhetoric. The first is a diverse (and often contentious) ethnic culture founded on Native American civilizations, European colonial settlement, African American slavery and later waves of immigration. The second is a multi-faith (pluralist) religious culture, which reflects the beliefs of early inhabitants, later immigrants and contemporary religious movements. The third is a political-legal culture based on individualism, constitutionalism and respect for the law. It tries to unite the people under ideal versions of “Americanism,” such as patriotism, egalitarianism and morality, which are meant to be reflected in political and legal institutions. In recent decades political polarization into adamantly opposed Republican and Democratic camps has inhibited the functioning of political-legal culture. The fourth is an economic and consumer culture of corporate and individual competition and production, which encourages profit and the consumption of goods and services based on principles of supply and demand. The fifth consists of media cultures (information, communication and entertainment), which became diverse and technologically complex with the rise of social media and alternative media universes in the twenty-first century. The sixth represents cultural expression in the arts, sports and leisure, which reflects the physical vitality and intellectual inventiveness of US life.

US society has been conditioned by these cultures. Their presence may be generally acknowledged; however, considerable numbers of people – such as political activists, youth, the disadvantaged and minorities – may be alienated from them. Conflicts about assumed national values and unity have occurred throughout US history. A large number of varied topics – including racism, climate change, polarization, gender roles, socioeconomic inequality, international alliances, military intervention, abortion, LGBTQ issues, immigration, national identity, ethnicity, social change and the roles of federal and state governments – are sources of contemporary debate.

PLATE 1.2 Slave quarters at George Washington’s estate, Mount Vernon, Virginia. Washington was the victorious army commander of the American independence campaign and the first president of the US. Like other large landowners, he owned black slaves to harvest and sustain his fields. As here, they lived in barrack-type buildings on the estate.

Source: Jordan Oakland

Nevertheless, since the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the major cultures have collectively created what is seen as a national identity in the US for the majority of its inhabitants. The difficulty lies in determining what this consists of in practice and how much cultural dissent from perceived norms exists.

People inside and outside the US have very varied and conflicting views about the country and its inhabitants. Some opinions are based on quantifiable facts. Others are formed by ideology, hatred, prejudice or envy. Many American self-images often stress the nation’s supposed “exceptionalism” (its alleged unique mission in the world, idealism, aspirations and sense of destiny). But there are also internal disagreements about the country’s values, institutions, policies and national identity and whether its vaunted ideals equate with American reality. US society is divided politically, religiously, socially, economically and ethnically, although efforts are made to reconcile differences and unify the people under common beliefs and structures.

PLATE 1.3 Let Us Have Peace, 1865 by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, depicting the Confederate Civil War general, Robert E. Lee, signing surrender documents before the Union general, Ulysses S. Grant, in the parlor of the McLean House (Appomattox Court House) on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the American Civil War.

Source: Bridgeman Images

Opinion polls report that, under the impetus of national and international events, Americans alternate between feelings of positivism and dissatisfaction about their country. Periods of doubt and conflict, such as during the War of Independence (1775–83), the Civil War (1861–65), the world wars (1914–18 and 1939–45), the Great Depression (1930s), the Cold War (1945–89), the civil rights campaigns (1950s–1960s), the Vietnam War (1960s–1975), the Iraq War (2003–9) with its chaotic aftermath, the Afghanistan conflict (2001–20), and struggles against terrorism and current left-and right-wing protests and disturbances, have often resulted in adaptation and renewal.

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, US public attitudes were very much conditioned by threat of infectious diseases. Nearly 4 in 5 Americans who responded to a PEW Research Center survey in April 2020 asserted that contagious illness was the most serious threat facing the nation. Respondents to the poll ranked the following in order of seriousness as major threats to world stability and US interests: the spread of infectious diseases (79 percent), terrorism (73 percent), the spread of nuclear weapons (73 percent), cyberattacks from other countries (72 percent), China’s power and influence (62 percent), global climate change (60 percent), Russia’s power and influence (56 percent), the condition of the global economy (55 percent) and global poverty (49 percent). Other threats Americans specified were global migration and long-standing conflicts between countries or ethnic groups.

Ethnic culture

US ethnic culture (see Chapters 2, 3 and 4) reflects the diverse origins of the population. After earlier Native American and Viking immigration, Christopher Columbus’s 1492 arrival in the Caribbean encouraged Spanish soldiers, missionaries, adventurers and traders to begin a European settlement of south-central North America, such as the founding of St. Augustine in 1565 on the Florida coast and Santa Fe (1609) and Albuquerque (1706) in New Mexico. Colonial settlement after 1607 was largely composed of British arrivals, who shared North America with Native American communities, the Spanish and the French. Until 1776, over half the population came from the British Isles and contributed to a white, mainly Anglo-American, Protestant culture. They promoted many of the new nation’s political, social, constitutional and religious institutions. Their political principles were based on democracy, independence of the people and skepticism about government. Their values were conditioned by a belief in individualism, a Protestant work ethic (working hard in this life to be rewarded here and in the next) and the rule of law (legal rules applicable to all persons and institutions). Other European settlers, such as Germans, Swedes and the Dutch, slowly contributed to this ethnic mix as a mainstream American identity gradually evolved.

After the colonial period and American independence from Britain (1776), northwestern Europe supplied over two-thirds of US immigration for most of the nineteenth century. There were also many Asian immigrants (particularly

PLATE 1.4 The twin towers of the World Trade Center, in New York City, were destroyed by plane attacks on September 11, 2001. They have been replaced by a Memorial Plaza, fountains, museums and the Freedom Tower sited on One World Trade Center. Similar memorials commemorate attacks on the Pentagon.

S...