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 Meet the People |
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Perhaps due to the proliferation of "American culture" around the world, a generalized picture of the American has emerged. Sometimes unflattering, often inaccurate, Americans are characterized as friendly but shallow, businesslike but unsophisticated, educated but uncultured, polite and helpful but rude, obsessed with making money but philanthropic, to name only a few.
Anyone who has had any degree of contact with Americans will recognize many of these traits. All are correct in that they describe some characteristics of some Americans, but few people can be said to be "typical." Americans, as other nationalities, vary greatly from individual to individual.
General characteristics
Americans do tend to be outgoing and unpretentious. As a rule, they do not "put on airs" and do not respond positively to those who do. They do not stand on ceremony and, upon meeting someone, are quick to shift to a first-name basis. They are usually sociable and often will go out of their way to assist a stranger. There is much less class-consciousness in the U.S. than in many other countries, although distinctions do exist. These for the most part are not based upon birth, but upon education, occupation, achievement, and income. Faith in what the future may bring and what the individual is capable of accomplishing is still very strong, most of all among the most recently arrived Americans.
Mobility
Americans are generally more mobile than people in most other countries. For much of their history, a frontier moving ever farther westward beckoned them to pack up and move on in search of a better life. Although many can be found today who have never traveled any great distance from where they were born, many more have moved perhaps several times from one part of the country to another because their work required it or simply because they wanted a change of scene.
Patriotism
Many Americans are overtly patriotic. They are proud of the size and power of their country. The flag is widely displayed, on private homes as well as public buildings. Most school children pledge allegiance to the flag at the start of each school day, and the national anthem is often played before sports events.
Although it is almost a national pastime to complain about the government and the state of public affairs, few can be found who would rather be living in any other country.
Ethnic make-up
Americans of European descent remain the majority with more than 193 million people, three-fourths of the total population, categorizing themselves as "non-Hispanic white," according to the Census Bureau. By national origin, those of German ancestry are the most numerous, followed by Irish, and Scots-English. African-Americans comprise 14 percent of the total population, constituting the largest minority group. Hispanics, however, at 11 percent are the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S.; and Asians represent 4 percent of the population. Many present-day Americans also are descendants of the original inhabitants of what is now the U.S. Almost 2 million can claim ancestry that is at least in part American Indian, or "Native American."
People of all ethnic backgrounds reside throughout the U.S., but a higher concentration of Hispanics can be found in the west and southwest while African-Americans are more likely to live in the east and southeast. Just as the vast majority of Americans live in metropolitan areas, so do most of the population of minority groups.
Religion
Many of the earliest European settlers in what is now the United States were religious dissidents seeking to escape restrictions imposed upon freedom of worship in their countries of origin. This history is reflected in the practice of religion in the U.S. today. There is virtually complete freedom of religion. The Constitution specifically bars the state - which is read as meaning all levels from the federal government down to town councils - from exerting its authority in religious affairs.
All of the major world religions and many smaller faiths are represented in the U.S. population. Muslims are among the fastest growing religious groups, and the numbers of Buddhists and Hindus are also increasing. Jews have long been the largest non-Christian group. Christians remain by far the most numerous of Americans affiliated with organized religion, distributed among more than 200 denominations. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest, approximately 24 percent of the population. Protestants as a group are the most numerous, more than 50 percent; incorporating major mainstream denominations, such as the Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, and Presbyterians with memberships in the millions, as well as very small congregations of a few hundreds or thousands.
Language
English is the language of common usage throughout the U.S. and its possessions with the major exception of Puerto Rico. English has never, however, been officially designated as the nation's official language, although there is a movement seeking to achieve that end. Almost half the states have enacted legislation recognizing English as the official language within their jurisdictions.
American English and the "King's English" of the U.K. are essentially the same with the exceptions of minor differences in word usage, spelling, and pronunciation. American in particular is distinguished by a preference for the flat "a" sound, but with, again, exceptions. The broad "English" pronunciation is the rule in Boston and much of surrounding New England.
Spanish is the second most widely used language, spoken as either a first or second language by some 18 million people, 7 percent of the U.S. population. Its use, however, is restricted to a relatively few areas of heavy immigration from Latin America, such as the New York City area (Puerto Ricans), the Miami area (Cubans), and Southern California (Mexicans and Central Americans).