American culture American culture, in a sense, is an extension of European culture, because American language, her demographic composition and her founding spirit all originated in Europe. On the other hand, American culture is different from European culture, because after European immigrants drove away the Indians on the North American continent, they created an amazing and splendid civilization in a barren wilderness.
History The United States is an immigrant country, and its ancestors came from all over the world. When people move to the United States, they not only move geographically, but also bring their country's comments and customs to their new homes. Because of miscellaneous, people's differences are very prominent; Because differences are common, people don't pay special attention to unity. Over time, Americans have formed a high degree of tolerance in cultural customs, and are tolerant and receptive to different cultures and different comments. At this point, the feasible customs in American society are broader than those in other countries in the world.
An important part of American historical development is her history of western development. At that time, American pioneers either walked or rode, from east to west and from south to north, and moved wherever there was an opportunity. Frequent migration and constant change of residence make people always in a "mobile" state, and it is easier to tolerate and accept the different phenomena they face temporarily. In addition, frequent migration can help people broaden their horizons, be well informed, sympathize with and understand different customs, and gradually form an open concept that pluralism is better than singleness.
George Washington (1732-1February 22, 799,1February 4), 1775 to 1783, commander-in-chief of the continental army, 1789 became the first in the United States. He won the unanimous support of all electoral colleges in two consecutive elections and served as president until 1797.
In his early years, Washington served as a colonial officer and supported the British Empire in the French-Indian War. Later, he led the Continental Army to win American independence in the American War of Independence. He rejected the proposal of some colleagues urging him to lead the military regime and returned to his manor on Mount Vernon, returning to civilian life.
1787 presided over the Constitutional Convention and formulated the present American Constitution. 1789, with the unanimous support of all electoral colleges, he became the first president of the United States. During his two terms in office, he established many policies and traditions that continue to this day. At the end of his two terms of office, he also voluntarily gave up his power and stopped serving, thus establishing the tradition that the term of office of the president in American history should not exceed two terms and safeguarding the development of the country. After that, he returned to civilian life again and retired at Mount Vernon.
Because he played the most important role in the American War of Independence and the founding of the country, Washington is often called the father of the United States. Scholars rank him and abraham lincoln as the greatest presidents in American history.
Literature American literature or American literature refers to literature produced in the United States (including literary works in the colonial period before the founding of the People's Republic of China). American literature written in English can be regarded as a part of English literature. The history of American literature is not long. It appeared almost at the same time as American liberal capitalism and was less bound by feudal aristocratic culture. The United States is vast and sparsely populated, and there are large areas of undeveloped land in the early days, which provides great possibilities for the realization of personal ideals. The American people are full of the spirit of democracy and freedom, and the ideas of individualism and personality liberation are relatively strong, which is prominently reflected in literature. The United States is a multi-ethnic country. Immigrants keep pouring in, each bringing its own culture, which determines the diversity and complexity of American literary style. The development of American literature is a process of constantly absorbing and integrating the characteristics of national literature. American national literature was formed in the revolutionary period. This struggle produced a large number of revolutionary poems and the first batch of important American essayists and poets. Political independence promotes cultural independence. After the war, the works of American writers emerged one after another, and gradually got rid of the monopoly of English literature. Young democracy and republic make people full of confidence and attract more people from the old world to the new world. Such social conditions make the literary creation of1the first half of the 9th century romantic. Writers draw lessons from the spirit of European romantic literature to describe American history, legends and real life, and the content of American nation is gradually enriched and enriched. From the 1920s to the eve of the Civil War, it was the heyday of the Romantic Movement, and writers of different styles flocked out, and their works had distinctive national characteristics from content to form. Critics call this period the "first prosperity" of American literature. By the middle of the century, the tone of romantic literature changed from optimism to doubt, and urgent social contradictions, such as slavery, made some writers adopt realistic creative methods. The birth of national literature The Independent Revolution is the background of the birth of American national literature. Long before the war broke out, the American colonial people had a sense of national independence under the influence of European enlightenment theory.
Franklin's secular aphorism (1706 ~ 1790) is clearer than Edwards's.
Franklin
The teaching of righteousness can attract the masses more. Franklin used a clear and humorous style to spread science and culture and inspire the spirit of self-reliance. His patriotic enthusiasm and remarks about self-study and entrepreneurship have had a far-reaching impact on the American people's outlook on life, career and morality. During the independent revolution, there was a sharp struggle between resistance and compromise, which forced writers to take simple and sharp forms such as political comments, speeches and essays to fight. Patrick Henry (1736 ~ 1799), an orator who once famously said "Give me liberty or give me death", encouraged Thomas Pine (1737 ~ 1809) to bravely kill the enemy like a war drum, but his writing was plain but to the point.
Poetry in that period was also very political, and a large number of revolutionary songs came from the people. Philip Freneau (1752 ~ 1832) was a famous revolutionary poet at that time, and his creation created an excellent tradition of American poetry.
Early Romantic Literature
/kloc-at the beginning of the 0/9th century, some works with the American as the background and the American as the protagonist began to appear and began to have the characteristics of the American nation. Owen (1783 ~ 1859) devoted himself to exploring the legends of early immigrants in North America, and his Notes on Experience (18 19 ~ 1820) started the tradition of American short stories. Cooper (1789 ~ 185 1) takes the demise of Indian tribes as the background in The Story of Leather Socks, showing how brave and upright immigrants opened up the road of American civilization. The natural scenery written by the poet Bryant (1794 ~ 1878) is completely American. He praised the local common waterfowl and wild flowers, and praised the harmony between people through them. The works of these writers are full of optimistic spirit of the times. Poe, with a strong color, has reached a new height in poetry, short stories and theoretical criticism, marking the diversification of national literature and the development of art.
Transcendentalism and Late Romanticism
After 1930s, New England, the American cultural center on the northeast coast, became the earliest industrial zone. President Jackson's democratic line has increased the democratic atmosphere in China. This has two ideological consequences: on the one hand,
Emerson
On the other hand, the emergence of transcendentalist groups has brought many doubts to some writers, and the tone of romantic literature has changed from optimism to doubt and denial. Transcendentalism is an ideological emancipation movement, which is first manifested in the reform of religion and philosophy, and then extended to the field of literary creation. Transcendentalists, led by Emerson (1803 ~ 1882), in order to abandon the idea of "God-centered" of Calvinism and absorb the ideological materials of Kant's transcendentalism and European romantic theorists, put forward that people know the truth intuitively, so they are God in a certain range. The starting point of this school is humanism, which emphasizes human value, opposes authority, advocates intuition, advocates personality liberation and breaks the shackles of theology and foreign dogma, which has a great influence on American writers.
In 1950s, with the emergence of various social problems caused by industrialization, writers keenly felt the disadvantages of democracy. Thoreau (18 17 ~ 1862) emphasized the "self-help" spirit of transcendentalism and advocated returning to nature and maintaining pure human nature, so it clashed with the bourgeois social order. In Hawthorne and Melville, this contradiction is expressed in an abstract and mysterious form. Hawthorne (1804 ~ 1864) was deeply influenced by Calvinism and wanted to get rid of it, so he turned to explore the human situation and destiny, such as The Scarlet Letter (1850). Melville (1819 ~1891), like Hawthorne, summed up the social contradictions he felt as abstract "evil", which was so powerful and incomprehensible that Moby Dick (/kloc-0
Abolition literature
19 years 1930 years later, northern progressives set off a growing movement to abolish black slaves. The situation of black people has aroused the sympathy of many writers, from Emerson, Longfellow to Whitman, who all wrote poems against slavery. The most influential work is Mrs Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), and Lincoln (1809 ~ 1865) called her "a little woman who started a war". The poet John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 ~ 1892) has the largest number of poems against slavery, reflecting the great struggle of the abolitionist movement in19th century. Although abolitionist literature was confined to moral condemnation, it promoted the struggle of abolitionism and was also the forerunner of realistic creation in the literary history19th century. The great democratic poet Whitman 19th century American democratic spirit was fully demonstrated in Whitman's Leaves of Grass (18 19 ~ 1892). With his rich, broad and all-encompassing verve, he reflected the optimism of the broad masses of working people during the democratic revolution. He praised labor, nature, material civilization and the ideal image of "individual"; His praise is permeated with extensive love for mankind. The poet despises slavery and all social phenomena that do not conform to the ideal of freedom and democracy with heroic and rough spirit. His unrestrained free verse style, like his ideological content, is also an innovation in the history of literature and has a wide influence.