8.31.11: Introduction pg. 311-333

After reading our assignment for this post, I began to wonder what it would be like if America's first printing press hadn't come about until much later. In today's world of instantaneous results and lightning-fast internet, residents of California can read first hand information about decisions being made by Congress in Washington D.C. just as quickly as residents of New York can. Therefore, it is hard for me to imagine how it would feel to not receive news of major events until weeks later as the colonists did before the circulation of newspapers and periodicals.

         The national unity that emerged during this period is largely due to the beginning of the printed word in the colonies. Through the use of newspapers and periodicals, political activists could share their opinions and promote their ideas. Without newspapers, the concept of America becoming independent of England would have never circulated or sparked a revolution; if the colonists hadn’t united under this concept, would America exist today? I’ve heard the saying that ‘There is power in the written word’ many times, but it really comes to life when you look at the colonists as an example. Who would have thought that a grouping of colonies, many secluded or spread apart from one another, would be brought together by something as simple as a printing press? Not the English. There truly is power in the written word. 

8.24.11: What Is An American?

   Our discussion in class today about defining an American was interesting because I had never really stopped and considered just what I thought an American was. I realized that the words that our class used to describe Americans might have actually been words that described what a “model” American might look like, or what we would like all people living in the United States to be like. For instance, one classmate offered that an American was ‘educated.’ Yes, the United States probably has more educated people than most, but many people residing in the United States do not even have a high school diploma; America actually has one of the highest dropout rates. However, most American citizens would probably agree that the “model” American would be an educated, independent thinker.

        

         Another thought that I had during our discussion yesterday was that many people’s definitions of an American are different based on their race, gender, or socioeconomic status. This thought was sparked by the African-American poet Langston Hughes’ poem, “Let America Be America Again,” which was written while segregation laws where still in place. In his poem, Hughes explains that even though America has been said to have been built on equality, he has never felt equal to his white American counterparts. Through this poem and the other poems that our class investigated, I came to the conclusion that it is very difficult to define ‘American.’ My view of what makes someone ‘American’ has definitely been challenged, and I feel that because our society is changing so much, the only thing that can really define an American is the fact that he or she is a citizen of the United States. Whether or not this person is a model citizen can be determined through the criteria we came up with in class, such as patriotic, determined, hard-working, and educated.