American National Identity

1123 Words5 Pages
Since the United States first became an independent nation, Americans have been trying to create an identity for themselves and the nation as a whole. As they progressed in forging this identity, it became evident that for a national identity to work, it would have to reflect the demographics and ideals of the current citizens. Americans in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries created the original American national identity through the origins of consumerism and business. However, that identity was redefined in the twentieth century into what it is seen as today through the emergence of the middle class, broader demographics, growth in consumerism and business, and revolutions in technology. Prior to the Civil War, people found themselves to be either rich or poor; more often poor. Unless someone was from an aristocratic family, it was usually impossible to move from the lower class into the upper class. After the Civil War, African Americans that were formerly slaves created a new class at the bottom of the lower class, which gave a new bit of prestige to whites outside of the upper class. Many of the whites who were in the upper portion of the lower class now had more people below them, and in turn, more people to make money from, especially through employment. In addition, because former slaves were taking service jobs for cheaper pay than whites, many white people pursued higher education so they could enter the fields of medicine, business, and other administrative occupations. Around 1900, people in the lower class saw that the new middle class “provided outlets never before available for their talents.” [1] Since the Civil War, the middle class has grown to consist of a great portion of Americans. The middle class has become the driving force of the American identity, mainly because of its great diversity. The lower middle class can consist of
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