Essay about I Am An American

“I am an American” This phrase is commonly used by many people, from many countries. However, the depth of that statement is rarely pondered upon by these people. The emotional, societal, and political meanings of being an American are not a sought after topic for the majority of people, however, once we take a better look at the American ideals, we can greatly understand people’s viewpoints on many topics, both of today’s world and the past. For example, the motto of the Great Seal, “E Pluribus Unum”, “Out of many, one.”. This ever so slightly contradicts the idea that America is a melting pot, instead, this unites us under the ideal that we are the sheath of thirteen arrows that is held in the Eagle’s left talon. This means that we each have our own identity, however, we are also unified under the ideal that is the “American Dream”. Now, in today’s world, the detail that is most greatly taken into consideration is equality and equal chances, however, just  200 years ago, close to 2.5 million enslaved people lived in the “land of equality”. This, thanks to the work of many people, was abolished in 1865 (157 years ago), however, “What was the journey to get to that ideology?”, is the question that many Americans don’t stop and contemplate. As the historian, Phillip Gleason has said  “To be or to become an American, an individual didn't have to be any particular nationality, learning language, religious, or ethnic background. All he had to do was to commit himself to the political ideology centered on the abstract ideals of liberty, equality, and republicanism. Nevertheless, the Universalist ideological persona of an American nationality meant that it was willingly open to become an American” (Source-Gleason 31). This statement from Gleason has shown how greatly the facades of the American ideals have both changed, and yet, in one way or another, have greatly stayed the same throughout the history of this country we call “The Land of Freedom”. A rather fitting example was actually, comparatively recent. The Civil War. The Civil War was truly a turning point for the majority of Americans, as many did not truly understand the privilege that was freedom until half of the country started to fight for it, and half against it. However, the Civil War also greatly divided the country, with half thinking that stopping the idea of slavery will disrupt their way of life, while the other half of the country believed that the ideology that slavery was built around was utterly horrendous. The Civil War was also quite the turning point for States’ Rights in America. In addition, it was adept in exploring how quickly the interpretations of the First Amendment can be twisted into a political gain for those looking to “bend” the rules. Due to the horrifying and absolutely dehumanizing events that took place, the literature that was written during that time period was very reflective of the political affairs throughout America. These pieces of literature are remembered for years to come, such as Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”, as well as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave by Frederick Douglass. Although from very different statures in life, both authors use the events that are happening on a daily basis as inspiration for their writing, which help inspire and educate millions about the horrors of slavery, and in turn, war. Both are articles of literature that help everyone, from any position, understand the seriousness of the Civil War, and how freedom is not a right that is to be taken for granted.  

Today’s America, for the most part, believes that the equal treatment of people is essential to the basic American ideal. A study, conducted by Grinnell College found that a majority of the respondents believe that there are a few set ideals that they truly identify with. When looking upon the statistics collected by Grinnell College, one can clearly see that the overwhelming answer to the question which has plagued the minds of historians for years, “What makes an American, an American?”, is equality. Equality scored a hefty 90%.  This is quickly followed by “taking responsibility for your actions'' (88%). Accompanying these ideas are acceptance of different racial backgrounds as well as acceptance of people with different religious beliefs, the former scoring an 81% and the latter a 78%. (Source-Grinnell) Today’s America truly focuses on civic solidarity, an idea in which any person, from any background and way of life, can rise up through the social hierarchy to eventually become both an “accepted” member of general American society, as well as a citizen themselves. Civic solidarity also provides a more comprehensive and in-depth definition of what an American is, creating a more inclusive and reformed model of other successful countries. For example, America’s start is the best evidence that one can look for when looking at better, more refined versions of different countries. America is the spawn of the original thirteen British colonies, then referred to as the “United Colonies”.Rather than conforming to the general monarchist norms of the 1700s, the first residents of the United States created one of the most affluential modern democracies in a global society. That democracy has held up to become the most powerful country in the world.  Now, for a country that values equality above all, the theory that a certain race is “above” another race seems quite off-brand, however, there is a reason that Americans have reached the understanding that people are created equally; the Civil War. With that said, there was also quite the moral quandary that took place during the time period of the Civil War.

The First Amendment is the amendment protecting the freedom of the press; the freedom to report whatever they saw fit. “ However, during the Civil War, many up-and-coming journalists’ pieces were squashed under the hand of those looking to silence the voice of their enemies. Many Northern newspaper reporters and editors were arrested for refusing to comply with Union laws or speaking out against drafting. (Source-mtsu) Now, the First Amendment was direct protection for the Northern press, however, the Lincoln administration was very focused on proving a point, in this case, the point being: Any word against the Union will be qualified as disloyalty and treason to the country. This, considering all things, was a clear example of censorship during the Civil War. One could also argue that this was one of Abraham Lincoln’s methods to further the reach of the Union’s political power. Thus, although this was against the law, it’s rather grey in morals. Although what the Lincoln administration was against our Bill of Rights, it was done for a cause which was very just and noble, as slavery was truly the most horrible stain on United States history. It can be painted neither black nor white, as to truly understand whether this action was wrong, you would have to delve very deep into the psychologies of people and in turn, the mindset of an entire country divided in half. However, this action did not go without retaliation. Although the retaliation was not successful, it did reveal the power of the military. However, we must keep in mind that Abraham Lincoln was very tolerant when it came to free speech. He almost always let his opposition write anything that they wanted about the decisions he made, he was quite the temperate president. . . with a very intemperate general. In Ex parte Vallandigham (1863), “. . .soldiers arrested, tried and found guilty Democratic Sen. Clement L. Vallandigham of Ohio for violating Army orders against public expressions of Confederate sympathies. ” (Source- Oyez) As you can see, the Ohio Senator was expressing how he was in sympathy with Confederate beliefs, and although this was within his rights, it was against basic humanity and horrible. Therefore, he was sent away. “. . . Lincoln banished Vallandigham to rebel territory. He returned and appealed the action in the Supreme Court.” (Source-Oyez). The Supreme Court decided, however, that the Court had no jurisdiction over appeals from military courts (Source- oyez).