America's Cultural Characteristics

Taken from Eric Sloane's How America Was along with the Declaration & Constitution and Observations of our History

1. Frugality.
Never waste anything – use it all up; recycle and reuse. Americans abhorred wastefulness and considered it as a reflection of bad character. We do what is necessary not necessarily ornamental or showy – more utilitarian. Along with this is an inherent contentedness with what you worked hard for (or what God had provided).

2. Hard Work.
Americans take pleasure in hard, productive work. Slow but steady does the job well. People often grow to love their work and consider their profession to be part of who they are.

3. Highly Value Home & Family.
Home ownership is highly valued. Homes used to be constructed to fit the needs of your family (for generations to come if you could), were built to last, and were built so as to take full advantage of nature and the weather.

4. Love of Nature.
Americans have always felt close to nature. Early in our history almost every citizen had been a farmer or raised an animal at some point in their life. Most citizens were farmers for the first century of our history. We have continued to love things that grow, have many pets and deeply desire the ability to go spend time in nature when we want to relax or vacation.

5. Trust in God.
The overwhelming majority of Americans have always believed in God, even if He was only seen to be a distant Creator. Despite the reality that not all citizens were completely sure about the existence of God, Americans are remarkably tolerant and show great respect for the spirituality of others even if they don't agree. Americans, in genera, are highly spiritual people while being fairly generous and non-sectarian.

6. Self-Governance.
Americans have always valued self-control. Being an even tempered person brought great praise. The opposite is also true, those who indulge in extremes are often seen as having character flaws. This is losing some ground recently as Americans really like to let go and have fun but it is still frowned upon to be hot-tempered and too impulsive.

7. Equality.
Since Americans believe in a Creator, it is not difficult for us to grasp that He made all equal by nature. No one is inherently superior than another. Class structures are frowned upon. Equality does not mean that Americans expect that everyone has the same abilities or should have the same rewards.

8. Liberty.
All citizens are free to pursue the dictates of their own consciences & desires with regards to religion, career choices, past times, marital status, education choices etc. However, liberty is understood by all to come from the individuals inherent rights given by their Creator and must be tempered by the need for self-governance of each individual lest they needlessly deprive others of their liberties/rights.



9. Curiosity & Willing to Take Risks.
America STARTED by taking risks, has expanded by taking risks and has been maintained by those who shrewdly took risks. We are a curious people who are not afraid of taking risks if the potential pay off is big enough.

10. Rule of Law.
No one is above the law – esp. lawmakers and those in authority. Americans firmly believe that a limited government tempered by a written constitution is the best form of government and can best deal with mankind's moral weaknesses. Generally Americans feel it is important to obey the law though as a people we highly resent overly oppressive, arbitrary, or nonsensical laws/rules. We fought a revolution with England for those reasons!

11. Participation in all Levels of Government.
Americans firmly believe in their right to participate and have their voices heard in every sphere of government. They highly resent lawmakers who refuse to listen to their constituents. Unelected bureaucrats making policy that oppresses our everyday lives is a nightmare scenario for most Americans.

12. Generosity/Help for the Less Fortunate.
Americans have always been some of the most generous people on the planet. We believe it is right and good to help the less fortunate and protect the weak and helpless. However, we reject the notion of helping those who could and should help themselves. A helping hand is good, enabling laziness and irresponsibility is seen as going way too far and is hurtful.

13. Pride.
Americans feel it is appropriate to be proud of one's accomplishments, in our country and our national heritage. We recognize our faults but refuse to be defined by them. Americans typically walk with head erect and look strangers in the eye as equals.

14. Truthful.
Truthfulness and honor go hand in hand. Americans despise a liar though we do sometimes justify our own white lies easily enough. That is sad but we certainly expect our public figures to be generally truthful and feel betrayed if they have been less than honest.

15. Free Markets.
Americans believe in free markets because they are the natural result of our understanding of liberty, hard work and risk taking. However, Americans quickly become irate if they feel capitalists have been too greedy or too callous about the needs of their workers. But most Americans feel that government intrusions into the free market only make matters worse in the end. They do not want their government becoming synonymous with the business world.

16. Tolerant of other Cultural Expressions.
American's enjoy learning about other cultures, esp. their holidays. However, it is an unspoken understanding that this multiculturalism has reasonable limits. Americans may celebrate their diverse backgrounds but take pride in their united status as Americans. We don't want to be hyphenated (i.e. Hispanic-Americans or Black-Americans, or Chinese-Americans, etc.) because that divides us. We are all just plain ole Americans. You came here and are proud of the old country. So are we! But we all must recognize that we are NOT in the old country anymore – this is the New World. Some of our old culture has to be set aside and give way for the new. We don't want to be Balkanized and divided up. United we stand.