America Essay Alexis De Tocqueville

America and the Identity of an American

America is a resource-rich nation with many citizens who are well-equipped with the necessary abilities and knowledge to manage and direct the use of the resources. A person who is a member of the United States of America, either by birth or through registration while residing in the nation of America, is referred to as an American. Americans are therefore expected to equally benefit from a variety of rights as residents of the nation. Despite the fact that various regions and the USA as a whole own a number of properties, the prospect of who is an American is incoherent with the quantity and the quality of resources available and the treatment subjected to the citizens of America.

The Inequality Within American Society

An American is believed to be entitled to good care and treatment from other people within the ranks of leadership and authority irrespective of the economic background attached to the individual in question. Nevertheless, they receive unequal treatment though they bear the same identity of being Americans. Whereas some of the Americans hold better positions than others in the society, they subject their colleagues into punitive acts and sexual acts with no intention of taking responsibility for their actions (Douglass 1845). The masters at the plantation fields brutally whip the slaves while they are at work. Moreover, they engage in sexual acts with the slaves and prevent the resultant children from identifying their parents with ease. Although the masters are fathers to some of the slaves’ children, they do not offer them special treatment despite their blood relationship. Therefore, as an American, an individual must have the trait of rising above hate and slavery.

Fredrick Douglass and the American Fight for Freedom

Fredrick Douglass becomes very happy upon attaining freedom after he escaped slavery. The blacks mainly face harsh conditions working as slaves despite their American nationality. According to Fredrick Douglass, an American is entitled to fight for his or her freedom and equitable social rights. Moreover, an American has an urge to be freed from slavery. Fredrick Douglass believed that Americans ought to fight slavery and unfair treatments directed towards some individuals in the society. In the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” an American is a person with the capacity to enjoy equal rights and well prevented from acts that infringe his or her moral rights and obligations. Fredrick Douglass engaged in an anti-slavery crusade with an aim to ensure the enslaved were free to make their own choices as well as changing to better living standards comparable to their masters.

America’s Multicultural Society and Political Movements

America’s expansive nature prompted De Tocqueville to research the geography and the people of the United States of America. Before his studies, De Tocqueville believed the people of America lived a life that attracted admiration from citizens of other countries. The white population in the American state enjoy equal rights whereas their black counterparts who are often referred to as the black people had to rely on the constitutional amendment to enable them to enjoy certain privileges and opportunities as the whites (Tocqueville 1835). The mishandling of the blacks by their white counterparts played a vital role in the formation of the republican and the democrat political movements.

The Changing Traditions of Americans

Alexis De Tocqueville realized that Americans loved equality as compared to individual liberty. Similarly, the vast number of immigrants and former slaves in the country has rendered the nation to have no traditions. As a result, an American has no traditions to observe. The opinion of the larger portion of the America’s population plays a significant role in determining the adaptable trend in the country. The need to freely associate with other people led to America’s fight for the end of slavery and unfair treatment of individuals since an American has a happy impulse of working together with another person to ensure he or she attains a set goal.

The Spirit of Working Together as Americans

The desire to work freely with no landlord to assert pressure on an individual underlines the character of an American. The Americans view working together as an act of voluntary measure that necessitates the provision of food and drinks for the work done. The voluntary perception of working together underlines the need for each other’s support in undertaking varied tasks facing different individuals. Although the majority of the Americans yearn for a better lifestyle, inequality still mars parts of the American country. There are no clear distinctions between my arguments, and the reality of the American idea as the majority of the Americans champion for equality in the day to day activities and treatment yet inequality prevails in various measures.

The Characteristics of an American

In conclusion, An American is an individual who is a dweller of the United States of America through the acquisition of the American citizenship. Moreover, an American is a person who is devoted to ensuring there is equality and fairness in issues related to the human population. As a result, the Americans are against slavery as well as other forms of oppression directed to the human population such as racism and representation. The Americans harbor a variety of attributes such as free association with other people, love for the opinion of the majority segment of the population, and the spirit of working together voluntarily.

Bibliography

Crèvecœur, J. Hector St. John de. 1782. Letters from an American Farmer. Aurora: Davies & Davis.

Douglass, Frederick. 1845. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.” Documanting the American South. June 13. Accessed August 11, 2017. http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass/menu.html.

Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1835. Democracy in America. London: Saunders and Otley.