The culture of the United States of America is primarily of
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
, and
European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of
Asian American,
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
,
Latin American
Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
, and
Native American peoples and their
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
s. The United States has its own distinct social and cultural characteristics, such as
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
,
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...
,
social habits,
cuisine, and
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
. The United States is
ethnically diverse
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
as a result of large-scale
European immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
throughout its history, its hundreds of
indigenous tribes and cultures, and through
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
followed by
emancipation
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranch ...
. America is an
anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...
country with a legal system derived from
English common law
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
Principal elements of English law
Although the common law has, historically, be ...
.
Origins, development, and spread
![Albert_Bierstadt_-_The_Rocky_Mountains,_Lander's_Peak](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Albert_Bierstadt_-_The_Rocky_Mountains%2C_Lander%27s_Peak.jpg)
The European roots of the United States originate with the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
settlers of
colonial North America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...
during
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and
Spanish rule. The varieties of English people, as opposed to the other peoples on the British Isles, were the overwhelming majority ethnic group in the 17th century (population of the colonies in 1700 was 250,000) and were 47.9% of percent of the total population of 3.9 million. They constituted 60% of the whites at the first census in 1790 (%: 3.5 Welsh, 8.5
Scotch Irish, 4.3 Scots, 4.7 Irish, 7.2 German, 2.7 Dutch, 1.7 French and 2 Swedish). The English ethnic group contributed to the major cultural and social mindset and attitudes that evolved into the American character. Of the total population in each colony, they numbered from 30% in Pennsylvania to 85% in Massachusetts. Large non-English immigrant populations from the 1720s to 1775, such as the Germans (100,000 or more), Scotch Irish (250,000), added enriched and modified the English cultural substrate. The religious outlook was some versions of Protestantism (1.6% of the population were English, German and Irish Catholics).
Jeffersonian democracy
Jeffersonian democracy, named after its advocate Thomas Jefferson, was one of two dominant political outlooks and movements in the United States from the 1790s to the 1820s. The Jeffersonians were deeply committed to American republicanism, whic ...
was a foundational American cultural innovation, which is still a core part of the country's identity.
["Mr. Jefferson and the giant moose: natural history in early America"]
Lee Alan Dugatkin. University of Chicago Press, 2009. , . University of Chicago Press, 2009. Chapter x. Thomas Jefferson's ''
Notes on the State of Virginia
''Notes on the State of Virginia'' (1785) is a book written by the American statesman, philosopher, and planter Thomas Jefferson. He completed the first version in 1781 and updated and enlarged the book in 1782 and 1783. It originated in Jeffers ...
'' was perhaps the first influential domestic cultural critique by an American and was written in reaction to the views of some influential Europeans that America's native flora and fauna (including humans) were
degenerate
Degeneracy, degenerate, or degeneration may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Degenerate (album), ''Degenerate'' (album), a 2010 album by the British band Trigger the Bloodshed
* Degenerate art, a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party i ...
.
![Betsy_Ross_sewing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Betsy_Ross_sewing.jpg)
Major cultural influences have been brought by historical immigration, especially from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in much of the country,
Ireland and Italy in the Northeast, Japan in Hawaii.
Latin American culture
Latin American culture is the formal or informal expression of the people of Latin America and includes both high culture (literature and high art) and popular culture (music, folk art, and dance), as well as religion and other customary practices. ...
is especially pronounced in former Spanish areas but has also been introduced by immigration, as have
Asian American culture
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
s (especially in the Northeast and West Coast regions).
Caribbean culture has been increasingly introduced by immigration and is pronounced in many urban areas. Since the abolition of slavery, the Caribbean has been the source of the earliest and largest Black immigrant group, a significant source of growth of the Black population in the U.S. and has made major cultural impacts in education, music, sports and entertainment.
Native culture remains strong in areas with large undisturbed or relocated populations, including traditional government and communal organization of property now legally managed by
Indian reservations
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
(large reservations are mostly in the West, especially
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
and
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
). The fate of native culture after contact with Europeans is quite varied. For example,
Taíno
The Taíno were a historic indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the pri ...
culture in U.S. Caribbean territories is nearly extinct and like most Native American languages, the
Taíno language
Taíno is an extinct Arawakan language that was spoken by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. At the time of Spanish contact, it was the most common language throughout the Caribbean. Classic Taíno (Taíno proper) was the native language of th ...
is no longer spoken. By contrast, the
Hawaiian language and
culture of the Native Hawaiians
The culture of the Native Hawaiians encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms practiced by the original residents of the Hawaiian islands, including their knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits. Humans ...
has survived in Hawaii and mixed with that of immigrants from the mainland U.S. (starting before the
1898 annexation) and to some degree Japanese immigrants. It occasionally influences mainstream American culture with notable exports like
surfing and
Hawaiian shirt
The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...
s. Most languages native to what is now U.S. territory have gone extinct, and the economic and mainstream cultural dominance of the English language threatens the surviving ones in most places. Some of the most common native languages include
Samoan,
Hawaiian,
Navajo,
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
,
Sioux, and a spectrum of
Inuit languages
The Inuit languages are a closely related group of indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and adjacent subarctic, reaching farthest south in Labrador. The related Yupik languages (spoken in weste ...
. (See
Indigenous languages of the Americas
Over a thousand indigenous languages are spoken by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. These languages cannot all be demonstrated to be related to each other and are classified into a hundred or so language families (including a large num ...
for a fuller listing, plus
Chamorro Chamorro may refer to:
* Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific
* Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas
* Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mar ...
, and
Carolinian in the Pacific territories.)
Ethnic Samoans are a majority in
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...
;
Chamorro Chamorro may refer to:
* Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific
* Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas
* Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mar ...
are still the largest ethnic group in
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
(though a minority), and along with
Refaluwasch
Carolinians are a Micronesian ethnic group who originated in Oceania, in the Caroline Islands, with a total population of over 8,500 people. They are also known as ''Remathau'' in the Yap's outer islands. The Carolinian word means "People ...
are smaller minorities in the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
.
![Welcome to the land of freedom](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Welcome_to_the_land_of_freedom.png)
American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, scientific and religious competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements. Despite certain consistent ideological principles (e.g.
individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
,
egalitarianism
Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...
, and faith in
freedom and
republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
), American culture has a variety of expressions due to its geographical scale and demographics.
The United States has traditionally been thought of as a
melting pot, with immigrants contributing to but eventually
assimilating with mainstream American culture. However, beginning in the 1960s and continuing on in the present day, the country trends towards cultural
pluralism,
and
partisanship. Throughout the country's history, certain
subcultures (whether based on ethnicity or other commonality, such as
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
s) have dominated certain neighborhoods, only partially melded with the broader culture. Due to the extent of American culture, there are many integrated but unique social
subcultures within the United States, some not tied to any particular geography. The cultural affiliations an individual in the United States may have commonly depended on
social class,
political orientation
A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different Politics, political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more Geometry, geometric Coordinate axis, axes that represent independent politica ...
and a multitude of demographic characteristics such as religious background, occupation, and ethnic group membership.
Regional variations
![Dean Franklin - 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Dean_Franklin_-_06.04.03_Mount_Rushmore_Monument_%28by-sa%29-3_new.jpg)
Semi-distinct cultural
regions of the United States
This is a list of some of the ways ''regions'' is defined in the United States. Many regions are defined in law or regulations by the federal government; others by shared culture and history, and others by economic factors.
Interstate regions C ...
include
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
, the
Mid-Atlantic, the
South, the
Midwest, the
Southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
, and the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
—an area that can be further subdivided into the
Pacific States
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
and the
Mountain States
The Mountain states (also known as the Mountain West or the Interior West) form one of the nine geographic divisions of the United States that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau. It is a subregion of the Western Un ...
.
The
west coast of the continental United States, consisting of California,
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state, is also sometimes referred to as the
Left Coast
Left Coast is a political expression that implies that the West Coast of the United States leans politically to the left or the expression can refer to states that lean politically left. The implication is that with the exception of Alaska, the ...
, indicating its
left-leaning political orientation and tendency towards
social liberalism
Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
.
The
South is sometimes informally called the "
Bible Belt
The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...
" due to
socially conservative
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, which is a significant part of the region's culture. Christian
church attendance
Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday); the Westminster Confession of Faith is held by the Reformed ...
across all denominations is generally higher there than the national average. This region is usually contrasted with the
mainline Protestantism and
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
of the
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
, the religiously diverse
Midwest and
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
, the
Mormon Corridor in
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
and southern
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
, and the
relatively secular West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
. The percentage of
non-religious
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...
people is the highest in the
northeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and New England state of
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
at 34%, compared to 6% in the Bible Belt state of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
.
Strong cultural differences have a long history in the U.S., with the southern slave society in the antebellum period serving as a prime example. Social and economic tensions between the Northern and Southern states were so severe that they eventually caused the South to declare itself an independent nation, the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
; thus initiating the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
Language
![Tree map of languages in the United States](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Tree_map_of_languages_in_the_United_States.png)
Although the United States has no
official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
at the federal level,
28 states have passed legislation making English the official language, and it is considered to be the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' national language. According to the
2000 U.S. Census
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
, more than 97% of Americans can speak English well, and for 81%, it is the only language spoken at home. The national dialect is known as
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...
, which itself consists of numerous regional dialects, but has some shared unifying features that distinguish it from other national varieties of English. There are four large
dialect regions in the United States—the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
, the
Midland, the
South, and the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
—and several dialects more focused within
metropolitan areas
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
such as those of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. A
standard dialect
A standard language (also standard variety, standard dialect, and standard) is a language variety that has undergone substantial codification of grammar and usage, although occasionally the term refers to the entirety of a language that includes ...
called "
General American
General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans. In the United States it is often perceived as lacking any distinctly regional, ethnic, or so ...
" (analogous in some respects to the
received pronunciation
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...
elsewhere in the
English-speaking world
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...
), lacking the distinctive noticeable features of any particular region, is believed by some to exist as well; it is sometimes regionally associated with the Midwest.
American Sign Language, used mainly by the deaf, is also native to the United States.
More than 300 languages nationwide, and up to 800 languages in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, besides English, have native speakers in the United States—some are spoken by
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
(about 150
living language
A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such as ...
s) and others imported by immigrants. English is not the first language of most immigrants in the US, though many do arrive knowing how to speak it, especially from countries where English is broadly used.
[Gambino, Christine P., Yesenia D. Acosta, and Elizabeth M. Grieco. 2018 August 3.]
English-Speaking Ability of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2012
" (revised). U.S. Census Bureau. This not only includes immigrants from countries such as
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, and the
UK, where English is the primary language, but also countries where English is an official language, such as
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
According to the 2000 census, there are nearly 30 million native speakers of
Spanish in the United States
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States. There are over 41 million people aged five or older who speak Spanish at home, and the United States has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world, ahead of Spai ...
. Spanish has official status in the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporate ...
, where it is the primary language spoken, and the state of
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
; various smaller Spanish enclaves exist around the country as well.
Bilingual speakers may use both English and Spanish reasonably well and may
code-switch
In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualism ...
according to their dialog partner or context, a phenomenon known as
Spanglish
Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...
.
Indigenous languages of the United States include the
Native-American languages (including
Navajo,
Yupik Yupik may refer to:
* Yupik peoples, a group of indigenous peoples of Alaska and the Russian Far East
* Yupik languages, a group of Eskimo-Aleut languages
Yupꞌik (with the apostrophe) may refer to:
* Yup'ik people
The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg ...
,
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, ...
, and
Apache), which are spoken on the country's numerous
Indian reservations and at cultural events such as
pow wows;
Hawaiian, which has official status in the state of Hawaii;
Chamorro Chamorro may refer to:
* Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific
* Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas
* Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mar ...
, which has official status in the commonwealths of
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
and the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
;
Carolinian, which has official status in the commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
; and
Samoan, which has official status in the commonwealth of
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...
.
Art
![US Capitol dome Jan 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/US_Capitol_dome_Jan_2006.jpg)
In the late-18th and early-19th centuries, American artists primarily painted landscapes and
portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
s in a realistic style or that which looked to Europe for answers on technique: for example,
John Singleton Copley was born in Boston, but most of his portraiture for which he is famous follow the trends of British painters like
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
and the transitional period between
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
and
Neoclassicism. The later 18th century was a time when the United States was just an infant as a nation and as far away from the phenomenon where artists would receive training as craftsmen by
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
and later seeking a fortune as a professional, ideally getting a patron: Many artists benefited from the patronage of
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
ists eager to procure mementos of their travels. There were no temples of Rome or grand nobility to be found in the Thirteen Colonies. Later developments of the 19th century brought America one of its earliest native homegrown movements, like the
Hudson River School
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area ...
and portrait artists with a uniquely American flavor like
Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...
.
A parallel development taking shape in rural America was the
American craft
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
movement, which began as a reaction to the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. As the nation grew wealthier, it had patrons able to buy the works of European painters and attract foreign talent willing to teach methods and techniques from Europe to willing students as well as artists themselves; photography became a very popular medium for both journalism and in time as a medium in its own right with America having plenty of open spaces of natural beauty and growing cities in the East teeming with new arrivals and new buildings. Museums in New York,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, and
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
began to have a booming business in acquisitions, competing for works as diverse as the then more recent work of the
Impressionists
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...
to pieces from
Ancient Egypt, all of which captured the public imaginations and further influenced fashion and architecture. Developments in modern art in Europe came to America from exhibitions in New York City such as the
Armory Show
The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...
in 1913. After World War II, New York emerged as a center of the art world. Painting in the United States today covers a vast range of styles. American painting includes works by
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...
,
John Singer Sargent,
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Ame ...
, and
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
, among many others.
Architecture
![EmpireStateNewYokCity](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/EmpireStateNewYokCity.jpg)
Architecture in the United States is regionally diverse and has been shaped by many external forces.
U.S. architecture can therefore be said to be eclectic. Traditionally American architecture has influences from
English architecture
The architecture of England is the architecture of modern England and in the historic Kingdom of England. It often includes buildings created under English influence or by English architects in other parts of the world, particularly in the Engli ...
to
Greco Roman architecture. The overriding theme of city American Architecture is
modernity, as manifest in the skyscrapers of the 20th century, with domestic and residential architecture greatly varying according to local tastes and climate,
rural American and
suburban architecture tends to be more traditional.
Theater and performing arts
![Palace theatre NYC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Palace_theatre_NYC.JPG)
Theater of the United States is based in the Western tradition. The United States originated
stand-up comedy and
modern improvisational theatre, which involves taking suggestions from the audience.
Minstrel show
The
minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century.
Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...
, though now widely recognized as racist and offensive, is also recognized as the first uniquely American theatrical art form. Minstrel shows were developed in the 19th century and they were typically performed by white actors wearing
blackface makeup for the purpose of imitating and caricaturing the speech and music of
African-Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
.
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...
was a famous composer for minstrel shows. Many of his songs such as "
Camptown Races
"Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races" (popularly known simply as "Camptown Races") is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864). () It was published in February 1850 by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore, Maryland, and Benteen published ...
", "
Oh Susanna
"Oh! Susanna" is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864), first published in 1848. It is among the most popular American songs ever written. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all ti ...
", and "
My Old Kentucky Home
"My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sla ...
" surpassed the popularity of minstrel shows to become popular American folk songs.
Tap dancing
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...
and
stand-up comedy also have origins in minstrel shows.
Drama
American theater did not take on a unique dramatic identity until the emergence of
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...
in the early twentieth century, now considered by many to be the father of American drama. O'Neill is a four-time winner of the
Pulitzer Prize for drama and the only American playwright to win the
Nobel Prize in Literature. After O'Neill, American drama came of age and flourished with the likes of
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
,
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
,
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...
,
William Inge
William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...
, and
Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdra ...
during the first half of the 20th century. After this fertile period, American theater broke new ground, artistically, with the
absurdist forms of
Edward Albee in the 1960s.
Social commentary
Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...
has also been a preoccupation of American theater, often addressing issues not discussed in the mainstream. Writers such as
Lorraine Hansbury,
August Wilson
August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
,
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...
and
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...
have all won
Pulitzer Prizes
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
for their polemical plays on American society.
Musical theater
The United States is also the home and largest exporter of modern
musical theater
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
, producing such musical talents as
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
,
Lerner and Loewe
Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loe ...
,
Cole Porter,
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
,
Leonard Bernstein,
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
and
Ira Gershwin,
Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander (born March 18, 1927) and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004). Known primarily for their stage musicals, which include ''C ...
, and
Stephen Sondheim.
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
is one of the largest theater communities in the world and is the epicenter of American commercial theater.
Music
American music styles and influences (such as
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
blues,
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
,
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
,
hip-hop) and music based on them can be heard all over the world. Music in the U.S. is diverse. It includes African-American influence in the 20th century. The first half of the 20th century is notable for jazz music, developed by African-Americans. According to music journalist
Robert Christgau, "pop music is more African than any other facet of American culture." There are also variations such as
film music
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
and
musicals.
The best-selling male solo musicians
in the United States are
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
,
Garth Brooks and
Billy Joel. The best-selling bands are the
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
,
Aerosmith,
Metallica, and
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
. Female music artists of the 20th-century such as
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...
and
Madonna became global celebrities.
Cinema
![Cinderella Castle October 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Cinderella_Castle_October_1.jpg)
The cinema of the United States, also known as
Hollywood, has exerted a large influence upon the
global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of American cinema is
classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of filmmaking which became characteristic of American cinema between the 1910s (rapidly after World War I) and the 1960s. It eventually b ...
, which developed from 1913 to 1969 and is still typical of most films made there to this day. While Frenchmen
Auguste and Louis Lumière
The Lumière brothers (, ; ), Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière (19 October 1862 – 10 April 1954) and Louis Jean Lumière (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1948), were French manufacturers of photography equipment, best known for their ''Ciném ...
are generally credited with the birth of modern cinema, American cinema soon came to be a dominant force in the emerging industry. The world's first
sync-sound musical film, ''
The Jazz Singer
''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...
'', was released in 1927, and was at the forefront of sound-film development in the following decades.
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
's ''
Citizen Kane'' (1941) is frequently cited in critics' polls as the
greatest film of all time.
Broadcasting
Television constitutes a significant part of the traditional
media of the United States
Mass media in the United States consist of several types of media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and web sites. The U.S. also has a strong music industry. New York City, Manhattan in particular, and to a lesser extent ...
. Household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, and the majority of households have more than one set. The peak ownership percentage of households with at least one television set occurred during the 1996–97 season, with 98.4% ownership. As a whole, the
television network
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...
s of the United States is the largest and most
syndicated in the world.
As of August 2013, approximately 114,200,000 American households own at least one television set.
In 2014, due to a recent surge in the number and popularity of critically acclaimed television series, many critics have said that American television is currently enjoying a golden age.
Philosophy
Early American philosophy was heavily shaped by the European
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
, which promoted ideals such as reason and individual liberty. Enlightenment ideals influenced the
American revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
and the Constitution of the United States. Major figures in the American Enlightenment included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine.
Pragmatism and transcendentalism are uniquely American philosophical traditions founded in the 19th century by William James and Ralph Waldo Emerson respectively. Objectivism is a philosophical system founded by Ayn Rand which influenced libertarianism. John Rawls presented the theory of "Justice as Fairness, justice as fairness" in ''A Theory of Justice'' (1971).
Willard Van Orman Quine, Saul Kripke, and David Lewis (philosopher), David Lewis helped advance logic and analytic philosophy in the 20th century. Thomas Kuhn revolutionized the philosophy of science with his book ''The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' (1962), one of the most cited academic works of all time, and he coined the term paradigm shift.
Artificial intelligence and the philosophy of mind have been heavily influenced by American philosophers such as Daniel Dennett, Noam Chomsky, Hilary Putnam, Jerry Fodor, and John Searle, who contributed to Cognitivism (psychology), cognitivism, the hard problem of consciousness, and the mind-body problem. The Libet experiment created by American neuroscientist Benjamin Libet raised philosophical debate regarding the neuroscience of free will. The Chinese room thought experiment presented by John Searle questions the nature of intelligence in machines, and it has been influential in cognitive science and the philosophy of artificial intelligence.
Science and technology
![Land on the Moon 7 21 1969-repair](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Land_on_the_Moon_7_21_1969-repair.jpg)
There is a regard for scientific advancement and technological innovation in American culture, resulting in the creation of many modern innovations. The great American inventors include Robert Fulton (the steamboat); Samuel Morse (the telegraph); Eli Whitney (the cotton gin, interchangeable parts); Cyrus McCormick (the reaper); and Thomas Edison (with more than a thousand inventions credited to his name). Most of the new technological innovations over the 20th and 21st centuries were either first invented in the United States, first widely adopted by Americans, or both. Examples include the lightbulb, the airplane, the transistor, the atomic bomb, nuclear power, the personal computer, the iPod, video games, e-commerce, online shopping, and the development of the Internet.
![Replica-of-first-transistor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Replica-of-first-transistor.jpg)
This propensity for application of scientific ideas continued throughout the 20th century with innovations that held strong international benefits. The twentieth century saw the arrival of the Space Age, the Information Age, and a renaissance in the health sciences. This culminated in cultural milestones such as the Apollo program, Apollo moon landings, the creation of the Personal Computer, and the sequencing effort called the Human Genome Project.
![Edison and phonograph edit2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Edison_and_phonograph_edit2.jpg)
Throughout its history, American culture has made significant gains through the open immigration of accomplished scientists. Accomplished scientists include Scottish-American scientist Alexander Graham Bell, who developed and patented the telephone and other devices; German scientist Charles Steinmetz, who developed new alternating-current electrical systems in 1889; Russian scientist Vladimir Zworykin, who invented the motion camera in 1919; Serb scientist Nikola Tesla who patented a brushless electrical induction motor based on rotating magnetic fields in 1888. With the rise of the Nazism, Nazi party in Germany, a large number of Jewish scientists fled Germany and immigrated to the country, including theoretical physicist Albert Einstein in 1933.
Education
![new york public library 1948](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/New_york_public_library_1948.jpg)
Education in the United States is and has historically been provided mainly by the government. Control and funding come from three levels: Federal government of the United States, federal, State government, state, and Local government, local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the elementary and high school levels (often known outside the United States as the primary and secondary levels).
Students have the option of having their education held in Public school (government funded), public schools, private schools, or Homeschooling in the United States, home school. In most public and private schools, education is divided into three levels: Primary education in the United States, elementary school, Middle school, junior high school (also often called middle school), and Secondary education in the United States, high school. In almost all schools at these levels, children are divided by age groups into Grade levels, grades. Post-secondary education, better known as "college" in the United States, is generally governed separately from the elementary and high school system.
In the year 2000, there were 76.6 million students enrolled in schools from kindergarten through graduate schools. Of these, 72 percent aged 12 to 17 were judged academically "on track" for their age (enrolled in school at or above grade level). Of those enrolled in compulsory education, 5.2 million (10.4 percent) were attending private schools. Among the country's adult population, over 85 percent have completed high school and 27 percent have received a bachelor's degree or higher.
Religion
![Mission-Concepcion](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Mission-Concepcion.jpg)
Among developed country, developed countries, the U.S. is one of the most religious in terms of its demographics. According to a 2002 study by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, the U.S. was the only developed nation in the survey where a majority of citizens reported that religion played a "very important" role in their lives, an opinion similar to that found in Latin America. Today, governments at the national, state, and local levels are Secularity, secular institutions, with what is often called the "Separation of church and state in the United States, separation of church and state". The most popular religion in the U.S. is Christianity, comprising the majority of the population (73.7% of adults in 2016).
Although participation in organized religion has been diminishing, the public life and popular culture of the United States incorporates many Christian ideals specifically about redemption, salvation, conscience, and morality. Examples are popular culture obsessions with confession and forgiveness, which extends from reality television to twelve-step meetings. Americans expect public figures to confess and have public penitence for any sins or moral wrongdoings they may have caused. According to ''Salon (website), Salon'', examples of inadequate public penitence may include the scandals and fallout regarding Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, Mel Gibson, Larry Craig, and Lance Armstrong.
![Brick Church East Orange jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Brick_Church_East_Orange_jeh.jpg)
Most of the Thirteen Colonies were generally not tolerant of dissident forms of worship. Civil and religious restrictions were most strictly applied by the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which saw various banishments applied to enforce conformity, including the branding iron, the whipping post, the bilboes and the Noose, hangman’s noose. The persecuting spirit was shared by Plymouth Colony and the colonies along the Connecticut river.
[Rogers, Horatio, 2009. ]
Mary Dyer of Rhode Island: The Quaker Martyr That Was Hanged on Boston
'' pp. 1–2. BiblioBazaar, LLC Mary Dyer was one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs, and her death on the Boston gallows marked the beginning of the end of Puritan theocracy and New England independence from English rule; in 1661 Massachusetts was forbidden from executing anyone for professing Quakerism.
Anti-Catholic sentiment appeared in New England with the first Pilgrim Fathers, Pilgrim and Puritan settlers. The Pilgrims of New England held radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. Christmas observance was outlawed in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in 1659. The ban by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by an English appointed governor, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became common in the Boston region.
The Province of Maryland, colony of Maryland, founded by the Catholic Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, Lord Baltimore in 1634, came closest to applying freedom of religion.
[Zimmerman, Mark]
Symbol of Enduring Freedom
, p. 19, Columbia Magazine, March 2010. Fifteen years later (1649), the Maryland Toleration Act, drafted by Lord Baltimore, provided: "No person or persons...shall from henceforth be any waies troubled, molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof." The Act allowed freedom of worship for all Trinitarianism, Trinitarian Christians in Maryland, but Capital punishment, sentenced to death anyone who denied the divinity of Jesus.
Modeling the provisions concerning religion within the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the framers of the United States Constitution rejected any religious test for office, and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment specifically denied the central government any power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. In the following decades, the animating spirit behind the constitution's Establishment Clause led to the disestablishment of the official religions within the member states. The framers were mainly influenced by secular, Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment ideals, but they also considered the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups who did not want to be under the power or influence of a state religion that did not represent them. Thomas Jefferson, author of the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence said: "The priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot."
Adherence to young Earth creationism and rejection of evolution is higher in the U.S. than in the rest of the Western world. A 2012 Gallup survey reported that 46 percent of Americans believed in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years.
Public holidays
![John F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/John_F._Kennedy%2C_turkey_pardon.jpg)
The United States observes holidays derived from events in History of the United States, American history, Christian traditions, and Founding Fathers of the United States, national patriarchs.
![Greenwich Village Halloween Parade (6451249051)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Greenwich_Village_Halloween_Parade_%286451249051%29.jpg)
Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving is the principal traditionally-American holiday, evolving from the English Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony), Pilgrim's custom of giving thanks for one's welfare. Thanksgiving is generally celebrated as a family reunion with a large afternoon feast. Independence Day (United States), Independence Day (or the Fourth of July) celebrates the anniversary of the country's United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, and is generally observed by parades throughout the day and the shooting of fireworks at night.
Christmas Day, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, is widely celebrated and a federal holiday, though a fair amount of its current cultural importance is due to secular reasons. British colonization of the Americas, European colonization has led to some other Christian holidays such as Easter and St. Patrick's Day to be observed, though with varying degrees of religious fidelity.
Halloween is thought to have evolved from the ancient Celtic/Gaelic festival of Samhain, which was introduced in the American colonies by Irish settlers. It has become a holiday that is celebrated by children and teens who traditionally dress up in costumes and go door to door trick-or-treating for candy. It also brings about an emphasis on eerie and frightening urban legends and movies. Mardi Gras, which evolved from the Catholic tradition of Carnival, is observed in the state of Louisiana.
Names
The United States has few Naming law, laws governing given names. Traditionally, the right to name your child or yourself as you choose has been upheld by court rulings and is rooted in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. This freedom, along with the cultural diversity within the United States has given rise to a wide variety of names and naming trends.
Creativity has also long been a part of American naming traditions and names have been used to express personality, cultural identity, and values.
Naming trends vary by race, geographic area, and socioeconomic status. African-Americans, for instance, have developed a very distinct naming culture.
Both religious names and those inspired by popular culture are common.
A few restrictions do exist, varying by state, mostly for the sake of practicality (e.g., limiting the number of characters due to limitations in record-keeping software).
Fashion and dress
![Reagan_with_horse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Reagan_with_horse.jpg)
Fashion in the United States is eclectic and predominantly informal. While the diverse cultural roots of Americans are reflected in their clothing, particularly those of recent immigrants, cowboy hats and cowboy boot, boots, and leather motorcycle jackets are emblematic of specifically-American styles.
Jeans, Blue jeans were popularized as work clothes in the 1850s by merchant Levi Strauss, a German-Jewish immigrant in San Francisco, and adopted by many American teenagers a century later. They are worn in every state by people of all ages and social classes. Along with mass-marketed informal wear in general, blue jeans are arguably one of US culture's primary contributions to global fashion.
Though the informal dress is more common, certain professionals, such as bankers and lawyers, traditionally dress formally for work, and some occasions, such as weddings, funerals, dances, and some parties, typically call for formal wear.
Some cities and regions have specialties in certain areas. For example, Miami for swimwear, Boston and the general
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
area for formal menswear, Los Angeles for casual attire and womenswear, and cities like Seattle and Portland for eco-conscious fashion. Chicago is known for its sportswear, and is the premier fashion destination in the middle American market. Dallas, Houston, Austin, Nashville, and Atlanta are big markets for the fast fashion and cosmetics industries, alongside having their own distinct fashion sense that mainly incorporates cowboy boots and workwear, greater usage of makeup, lighter colors and pastels, “college prep” style, sandals, bigger hairstyles, and thinner, airier fabrics due to the heat and humidity of the region.
Sports
![Kickin'_It](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Kickin%27_It.jpg)
In the 1800s, colleges were encouraged to focus on intramural sports, particularly track and field, track, field, and, in the late 1800s, American football. Physical education was incorporated into primary school curriculums in the 20th century.
![Typical baseball game](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Typical_baseball_game.JPG)
Baseball is the oldest of the major American team sports. Professional baseball dates from 1869 and had no close rivals in popularity until the 1960s. Though baseball is no longer the most popular sport, it is still referred to as "the national pastime." Also unlike the professional levels of the other popular spectator sports in the U.S., Major League Baseball teams play almost every day. The Major League Baseball Season (sports), regular season consists of each of the 30 teams playing 162 games from April to September. The season ends with the Major League Baseball postseason, postseason and World Series in October. Unlike most other major sports in the country, professional baseball draws most of its players from a Minor league baseball, "minor league" system, rather than from College sports in the United States, university athletics.
![2007 Texas Longhorns football team entry](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/2007_Texas_Longhorns_football_team_entry.jpg)
American football, known in the United States as simply "football," now attracts more television viewers than any other sport and is considered to be the most popular sport in the United States. The 32-team National Football League (NFL) is the most popular professional American football league.
The National Football League differs from the other three Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, major pro sports leagues in that each of its 32 teams plays one game a week over 18 weeks, for a total of 17 games with one Bye (sports), bye week for each team. The National Football League regular season, NFL season lasts from September to December, ending with the National Football League playoffs, playoffs and Super Bowl in January and February.
Its championship game, the Super Bowl, has often been the highest rated television show, and it has an audience of over 100 million viewers annually.
College football also attracts audiences of millions. Some communities, particularly in rural areas, place great emphasis on their local high school football team. American football games usually include cheerleaders and marching bands, which aim to raise school spirit and entertain the crowd at halftime.
Basketball is another major sport, represented professionally by the National Basketball Association. It was invented in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, by Canadian-born physical education teacher James Naismith. College basketball is also popular, due in large part to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, NCAA men's Division I basketball tournament in March, also known as "March Madness."
Ice hockey is the fourth leading professional team sport. Always a mainstay of Great Lakes and
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
-area culture, the sport gained tenuous footholds in regions like the American South since the early 1990s, as the National Hockey League pursued a policy of expansion.
![Three-wide multiple row back](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Three-wide_multiple_row_back.JPG)
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native Americans in the United States, American and First Nations in Canada, Canadian Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American origin and is the fastest growing sport in the United States. Lacrosse is most popular in the East Coast area. National Lacrosse League, NLL and Major League Lacrosse, MLL are the national box lacrosse, box and outdoor lacrosse leagues, respectively, and have increased their following in recent years. Also, many of the top Division I college lacrosse teams draw upwards of 7–10,000 for a game, especially in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
areas.
Soccer is very popular as a participation sport, particularly among youth, and the United States men's national soccer team, US national teams are competitive internationally. A twenty-six-team (with four more confirmed to be added within the next few years) professional league, Major League Soccer, plays from March to October, but its television audience and overall popularity lag behind other American professional sports.
Other popular sports are tennis, softball, rodeo, swimming (sport), swimming, water polo, fencing, shooting sports, hunting, volleyball, skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, Ultimate (sport), Ultimate, disc golf, cycle sport, cycling, mixed martial arts, MMA, roller derby, wrestling, Olympic weightlifting, weightlifting, and rugby football, rugby.
Relative to other parts of the world, the United States is unusually competitive in women's sports, a fact usually attributed to the Title IX antidiscrimination law, which requires most American colleges to give equal funding to men's and women's sports. Despite that, however, women's sports are not nearly as popular among spectators as men's sports.
The United States enjoys a great deal of success both in the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics, constantly finishing among the top medal winners.
Sports and community culture
![13399-Homecoming Tailgate and Game-1839 (10714677125)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/13399-Homecoming_Tailgate_and_Game-1839_%2810714677125%29.jpg)
Homecoming is an annual tradition of the United States. People, towns, high schools and colleges come together, usually in late September or early October, to welcome back former residents and alumni. It is built around a central event, such as a banquet, a parade, and most often, a game of American football, or, on occasion, basketball, wrestling or ice hockey. When celebrated by schools, the activities vary. However, they usually consist of a football game, played on the school's home football field, activities for students and alumni, a parade featuring the school's marching band and sports teams, and the coronation of a Homecoming Queen.
American high schools commonly field football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, golf, swimming, track and field, and cross-country teams as well.
Cuisine
![The First Thanksgiving cph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/The_First_Thanksgiving_cph.3g04961.jpg)
The cuisine of the United States is extremely diverse, owing to the vastness of the country, the relatively large population (1/3 of a billion people) and the number of native and immigrant influences. Mainstream American culinary arts are similar to those in other Western countries. Wheat and corn are the primary cereal grains. Traditional American cuisine uses ingredients such as turkey (bird), turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, corn (maize), squash (plant), squash, and maple syrup, as well as indigenous foods employed by American Indians and early European settlers, African slaves, and their descendants.
Iconic American dishes such as apple pie, doughnut, donuts, fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs derive from the recipes of various immigrants and domestic innovations. French fries, Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos, and pasta dishes freely adapted from Italian sources are consumed.
The types of food served at home vary greatly and depend upon the region of the country and the family's own cultural heritage. Recent immigrants tend to eat food similar to that of their country of origin, and Americanization, Americanized versions of these cultural foods, such as American Chinese cuisine or Italian-American cuisine often eventually appear. Vietnamese cuisine, Korean cuisine and Thai cuisine in authentic forms are often readily available in large cities. German cuisine has a profound impact on American cuisine, especially mid-western cuisine; potatoes, noodles, roasts, stews, cakes, and other pastries are the most iconic ingredients in both cuisines.
Dishes such as the hamburger, pot roast, baked ham, and hot dogs are examples of American dishes derived from German cuisine.
![Motherhood and apple pie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Motherhood_and_apple_pie.jpg)
Different regions of the United States have their own cuisine and styles of cooking. The states of Louisiana and Mississippi, for example, are known for their Cajun cuisine, Cajun and Louisiana Creole cuisine, Creole cooking. Cajun and Creole cooking are influenced by French, Acadian, and Haitian cooking, although the dishes themselves are original and unique. Examples include Crawfish etouffee, Crawfish Étouffée, Red beans and rice, seafood or chicken gumbo, jambalaya, and boudin. Italian, German, Hungarian, and Chinese influences, traditional Native American, Caribbean, Mexican, and Greek dishes have also diffused into the general American repertoire. It is not uncommon for a "middle-class" family from "Middle America (United States), middle America" to eat, for example, restaurant pizza, home-made pizza, enchiladas con carne, chicken paprikash, Beef Stroganoff, beef stroganoff, and bratwurst with sauerkraut for dinner throughout a single week.
Soul food, mostly the same as food eaten by white southerners, developed by southern African slaves, and their free descendants, is popular around the South and among many
African-Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
elsewhere. Syncretism, Syncretic cuisines such as Louisiana Creole, Cajun, Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine, Pennsylvania Dutch, and Tex-Mex cuisine, Tex-Mex are regionally important.
Americans generally prefer coffee to tea, and more than half the adult population drinks at least one cup a day. Marketing by U.S. industries is largely responsible for making orange juice and Dairy industry in the United States, milk (now often fat-reduced) ubiquitous breakfast beverages. During the 1980s and 1990s, the caloric intake of Americans rose by 24%;
and frequent dining at fast food outlets is associated with what health officials call the American obesity, American "obesity epidemic." Highly sweetened soft drinks are popular; sugared beverages account for 9% of the average American's daily caloric intake.
File:Thanksgiving Dinner Alc2.jpg, Traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce
File:Quail 07 bg 041506.jpg, A cream-based New England chowder, traditionally made with clams and potatoes
File:Fried Chicken (Unsplash).jpg, Fried chicken, a southern dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and deep fried
File:Jambalaya.jpg, Creole Jambalaya with shrimp, ham, tomato, and Andouille sausage
File:Flickr wordridden 3397801155--Chicken fried steak.jpg, Chicken Fried Steak (or Country Fried Steak)
File:California club pizza.jpg, California-style pizza, California club pizza with avocados and tomatoes
File:Hoagie Hero Sub Sandwich.jpg, A submarine sandwich, which includes a variety of Italian luncheon meats
File:Dennysbreakfast.jpg, American breakfast, American style breakfast with pancakes, maple syrup, breakfast sausage, sausage links, bacon strips, and fried eggs
File:Flint coney island.jpg, A hot dog sausage topped with beef chili, white onions and mustard
File:BBQ Pulled Pork.jpg, A barbecue Pulled pork, pulled-pork sandwich with a side of coleslaw
File:Apple cobbler.jpg, An apple cobbler dessert
The nuclear family and family structure
![Families US](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Families_US.svg)
Family arrangements in the United States reflect the nature of contemporary Society of the United States, American society. The nuclear family is an idealized version of what most people think when they think of family. The classic nuclear family is a man and a woman, united in marriage, with one or more biological children. Today, a person may grow up in a single-parent family, go on to marry and live in a childfree couple arrangement, then get divorced, live as a single for a couple of years, remarry, have children and live in a nuclear family arrangement.
Youth dependence
Exceptions to the custom of leaving home when one reaches legal adulthood at age eighteen can occur especially among Italian and Hispanic Americans, and in expensive urban real estate markets such as New York City, California, and Honolulu, where monthly rents commonly exceed $1,000 a month.
Marriage and divorce
![Marilyn Monroe and Jerry Giesler 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Marilyn_Monroe_and_Jerry_Giesler_3.jpg)
Marriage laws are established by individual states. The typical wedding involves a couple proclaiming their commitment to one another in front of their close relatives and friends, often presided over by a religious figure such as a minister, priest, or rabbi, depending upon the faith of the couple. In traditional Christian ceremonies, the bride's father will "give away" (handoff) the bride to the groom. Secular weddings are also common, often presided over by a judge, Justice of the Peace, or other municipal officials. Same-sex marriage is legal in all states.
Divorce is the province of state governments, so divorce law varies from state to state. Prior to the 1970s, divorcing spouses had to allege that the other spouse was guilty of a crime or sin like abandonment or adultery; when spouses simply could not get along, lawyers were forced to manufacture "uncontested" divorces. The no-fault divorce revolution began in 1969 in California; New York and South Dakota were the No-fault divorce#The adoption of no-fault divorce laws by the other states, last states to begin allowing no-fault divorce. No-fault divorce on the grounds of "irreconcilable differences" is now available in all states. However, many states have recently required separation periods prior to a formal divorce decree.
State law provides for child support where children are involved, and sometimes for alimony. "Married adults now divorce two-and-a-half times as often as adults did 20 years ago and four times as often as they did 50 years ago... between 40% and 60% of ''new'' marriages will eventually end in divorce. The probability within... the first five years is 20%, and the probability of its ending within the first 10 years is 33%... Perhaps 25% of children (ages 16 and under) live with a stepparent." The median length for a marriage in the U.S. today is 11 years with 90% of all divorces being settled out of court.
Housing
![831Richland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/831Richland.jpg)
Historically, Americans mainly lived in a rural environment, with a few important cities of moderate size.
American cities with housing prices near the national median have also been losing the Household income in the United States, middle income neighborhoods, those with median income between 80% and 120% of the metropolitan area's median household income. Here, the more affluent members of the middle-class, who are also often referred to as being professional or upper middle-class, have left in search of larger homes in more exclusive suburbs. This trend is largely attributed to the ''American middle-class#Middle-class squeeze, Middle-class squeeze'', which has caused a starker distinction between the American middle-class#statistical middle class, statistical middle class and the more privileged members of the American middle class, middle class.
In more expensive areas such as California, however, another trend has been taking place where an influx of more affluent middle-class households has displaced those in the actual middle of society and converted former American middle-class#statistical middle class, middle-middle-class neighborhoods into Upper middle-class#American upper middle-class, upper-middle-class neighborhoods.
Transport
Automobiles and commuting
![1965 Ford Mustang Fastback (15595256971)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/1965_Ford_Mustang_Fastback_%2815595256971%29.jpg)
The rise of suburbs and the need for workers to commute to cities brought about the popularity of automobiles. In 2001, 90% of Americans drove to work by car.
[Highlights of the 2001 National Household Travel Survey](_blank)
, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation, accessed May 21, 2006 Lower energy and land costs favor the production of relatively large, powerful cars. The culture in the 1950s and 1960s often catered to the automobile with motels and drive-in restaurants. Outside of the relatively few urban areas, it is considered a necessity for most Americans to own and drive cars. New York City is the only locality in the United States where more than half of all households do not own a car.
In the 1950s and 1960s subcultures began to arise around the modification and racing of American automobiles and converting them into hot rods. Later, in the late-1960s and early-1970s Detroit manufacturers began making muscle cars and pony cars to cater to the needs of wealthier Americans seeking hot rod style, performance and appeal.
Social class and work
![JMR-Memphis1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/JMR-Memphis1.jpg)
Though most Americans in the 21st century identify themselves as American middle class, middle class, American society and its culture are considerably fragmented.
Social class, generally described as a combination of Educational attainment in the United States, educational attainment, Income in the United States, income and occupational prestige, is one of the greatest cultural influences in America.
Nearly all cultural aspects of mundane interactions and consumer behavior in the U.S. are guided by a person's location within the country's Social structure of the United States, social structure.
Distinct lifestyles, consumption patterns and values are associated with different classes. Early sociologist-economist Thorstein Veblen, for example, said that those at the top of the societal hierarchy engage in conspicuous leisure and conspicuous consumption. American upper class, Upper class Americans commonly have elite Ivy League Educational attainment in the United States, educations and are traditionally members of exclusive clubs and fraternities with connections to high society (social class), high society, distinguished by their enormous incomes derived from their wealth in assets. The upper-class lifestyle and values often overlap with that of the Managerial Class, upper middle class, with main differences being higher attention to security and privacy in home life and high regard for philanthropy (i.e. the "Donor Class") and the arts. Due to their large wealth (inherited or accrued over a lifetime of investments) and lavish, leisurely lifestyles, the upper class are more prone to idleness. The upper middle-class, or the "working rich", commonly identify education and being cultured as prime values, similar to the upper class. Persons in this particular Social structure of the United States, social class tend to speak in a more direct manner that projects authority, knowledge and thus credibility. They often tend to engage in the consumption of so-called mass luxuries, such as designer label clothing. A strong preference for natural materials, organic foods, and a strong health consciousness tend to be prominent features of the upper middle-class. American middle-class individuals in general value expanding one's horizon, partially because they are more educated and can afford greater leisure and travel. Working-class individuals take great pride in doing what they consider to be "real work" and keep very close-knit kin networks that serve as a safeguard against frequent economic instability.
![Work UN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Work_UN.png)
Working-class Americans and many of those in the middle class may also face occupation alienation. In contrast to upper-middle-class professionals who are mostly hired to conceptualize, supervise, and share their thoughts, many Americans have little autonomy or creative latitude in the workplace.
As a result, white collar professionals tend to be significantly more satisfied with their work.
In 2006, Elizabeth Warren presented her article entitled "The Middle Class on the Precipice", stating that individuals in the center of the income strata, who may still identify as middle class, have faced increasing economic insecurity, supporting the idea of a working-class majority.
Political behavior is affected by class; more affluent individuals are more likely to vote, and education and income affect whether individuals tend to vote for the Democratic or Republican party. Income in the United States, Income also had a significant impact on health as those with higher Income in the United States, incomes had better access to health care facilities, higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality rate and increased health consciousness. This is particularly noticeable with black voters who are often socially conservative, yet overwhelmingly vote Democratic.
In the United States occupation is one of the prime factors of Social structure of the United States, social class and is closely linked to an individual's identity. The average workweek in the U.S. for those employed full-time was 42.9 hours long with 30% of the population working more than 40 hours a week.
The Average American worker earned $16.64 an hour in the first two quarters of 2006.
Overall Americans worked more than their counterparts in other developed post-industrial nations. While the average worker in Denmark enjoyed 30 days of vacation annually, the average American had 16 annual vacation days.
In 2000 the average American worked 1,978 hours per year, 500 hours more than the average German, yet 100 hours less than the average Czech Republic, Czech. Overall the U.S. labor force is one of the most productive in the world, largely due to its workers working more than those in any other post-industrial country (excluding South Korea).
Americans generally hold working and being productive in high regard; being busy and working extensively may also serve as the means to obtain esteem.
Race and ancestry
![Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.svg)
Race in the United States is based on physical characteristics, such as skin color, and has played an essential part in shaping American society even before the nation's conception.
Until the civil rights movement of the 1960s, racial minorities in the United States faced institutionalized discrimination and both social and economic marginalization.
Today the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of the Census recognizes four races, Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American, African American, Asian American, Asian and White American, White (European American). According to the U.S. government, Hispanic Americans do not constitute a race, but rather an ethnic group. During the 2000 U.S. Census, Whites made up 75.1% of the population; those who are Hispanic or Latino constituted the nation's prevalent minority with 12.5% of the population. African Americans made up 12.3% of the total population, 3.6% were Asian American and 0.7% were Native American.
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution—ratified on December 6, 1865—abolished slavery in the United States. The northern states had outlawed slavery in their territory in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth-century, though their industrial economies relied on raw materials produced by slaves. Following the Reconstruction period in the 1870s, racist legislation emerged in the Southern states named the Jim Crow laws that provided for legal segregation. Lynching was practiced throughout the U.S., including in the Northern states, until the 1930s, while continuing well into the civil rights movement in the South.
Chinese Americans were earlier marginalized as well during a significant proportion of U.S. history. Between 1882 and 1943 the United States instituted the Chinese Exclusion Act (United States), Chinese Exclusion Act barring all Chinese immigrants from entering the United States. During the Second World War, roughly 120,000 Japanese Americans, 62% of whom were U.S. citizens, were imprisoned in Japanese American internment, Japanese internment camps by the U.S. government following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, an American military base, by Japanese troops.
Due to exclusion from or marginalization by earlier mainstream society, there emerged a unique subculture among the racial minorities in the United States. During the 1920s, Harlem, New York became home to the Harlem Renaissance. Music styles such as
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
blues, hip hop music, rap,
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
, and numerous folk-songs such as Blue Tail Fly, Blue Tail Fly (Jimmy Crack Corn) originated within the realms of African-American culture and were later adopted by the mainstream.
Chinatowns can be found in many cities across the country and Asian cuisine has become a common staple in mainstream America. The Hispanic community has also had a dramatic impact on American culture. Today, Catholics are the largest religious denomination in the United States and outnumber Protestants in the Southwest and California.
Mariachi music and Mexican cuisine are commonly found throughout the Southwest, and some Latin dishes, such as burritos and tacos, are found practically everywhere in the nation.
Economic variance and substantive segregation, is commonplace in the United States. Asian Americans have Household income in the United States, median household income and Educational attainment in the United States, educational attainment exceeding that of other races. African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans have considerably lower Income in the United States, income and Educational attainment in the United States, education than do White Americans or Asian Americans.
In 2005, the Household income in the United States, median household income of Whites was 62.5% higher than that of African Americans, nearly one-quarter of whom live below the Poverty in the United States, poverty line.
46.9% of Crime in the United States, homicide victims in the United States are African-American.
After the attacks by Muslim terrorists on September 11, 2001, discrimination against Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. rose significantly. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) reported an increase in hate speech, cases of airline discrimination, hate crimes, police misconduct, and racial profiling.
Race relations
White Americans (non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic/Latino and white Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic/Latino) are the racial majority and have a 72% share of the U.S. population, according to the 2010 US Census.
Hispanic and Latino Americans comprise 15% of the population, making up the largest ethnic minority.
African American, Black Americans are the largest racial minority, comprising nearly 13% of the population.
The non-Hispanic Whites, White, non-Hispanic or Latino population comprises 63% of the nation's total.
![Brown_V](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Brown_V._Board_of_Education_Exhibit.jpg)
Throughout most of the country's history before and after its independence, the majority race in the United States has been Caucasian—aided by historic restrictions on citizenship and immigration—and the largest racial minority has been African-Americans, most of whom are descended from slaves. This relationship has historically been the most important one since the founding of the United States. Slavery existed in the United States at the time of the country's formation in the 1770s. The U.S. banned the importation of slaves in 1808, and the Slavery in the United States#Domestic slave trade and forced migration, domestic slave trade, which broke up many families, became a major economic activity which lasted until the 1860s. Before the American Civil War, List of presidents of the United States who owned slaves, eight serving presidents had owned slaves, and almost four million black people remained Slavery in the United States, enslaved in the South. Slavery was partially abolished by the Emancipation Proclamation issued by the president Abraham Lincoln in 1862 for slaves in the Southeastern United States during the Civil War. Slavery was rendered illegal by the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Jim Crow Laws prevented full use of African American citizenship until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed official or legal segregation in public places or limited access to minorities.
![Discovery-statue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Discovery-statue.JPG)
Relations between white Americans and other racial or ethnic groups have been a constant source of tension. According to Professor Leland T. Saito: "Throughout the history of the United States, race has been used by whites for legitimizing and creating difference and social, economic and political exclusion." The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U.S. citizenship to whites only. Relations between whites and Native Americans was a significant issue. A justification for the policy of conquest and subjugation of the Indigenous people emanated from the stereotyped perceptions of all Native Americans as "merciless Indian savages" (as described in the United States Declaration of Independence).
In 1882, in response to Chinese immigration due to the California Gold Rush, Gold Rush and the labor needed for the Transcontinental Railroad, the U.S. signed into law the Chinese Exclusion Act which banned immigration by Chinese people into the U.S. In the late 19th century, the growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S., fueled largely by Mexican immigration, generated debate over policies such as English as the official language and reform to immigration policies. The Immigration Act of 1924 established the National Origins Formula as the basis of U.S. immigration policy, largely to restrict immigration from Asia, Southern Europe, and Eastern Europe. According to the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State, the purpose of the 1924 Act was "to preserve the ideal of U.S. homogeneity".
In 1924, Indian-born Bhagat Singh Thind was twice denied citizenship as he was not deemed white. Marking a radical break from U.S. immigration policies of the past, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened entry to the U.S. to non-Germanic groups.
This Act significantly altered the demographic mix in the U.S. as a result, creating a modern, diverse America.
A huge majority of Americans of all races disapprove of racism. Nevertheless, some Americans continue to hold negative racial/ethnic Stereotypes of groups within the United States, stereotypes about various racial and ethnic groups. Professor Imani Perry, of Princeton University, has argued that contemporary racism in the United States "is frequently unintentional or unacknowledged on the part of the actor", believing that racism mostly stems unconsciously from below the level of cognition.
Death and funerals
![Pond in Mount Auburn Cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Pond_in_Mount_Auburn_Cemetery.jpg)
It is customary for Americans to hold a Wake (ceremony), wake in a funeral home within a couple of days of the death of a loved one. The body of the deceased may be embalmed and dressed in fine clothing if there will be an open-casket Viewing (funeral), viewing. Traditional Jewish and Muslim practices include a ritual bath and no embalming. Friends, relatives and acquaintances gather, often from distant parts of the country, to "pay their last respects" to the deceased. Flowers are brought to the coffin and sometimes eulogy, eulogies, elegy, elegies, personal anecdotes or group prayers are recited. Otherwise, the attendees sit, stand or kneel in quiet contemplation or prayer. Kissing the corpse on the forehead is typical among Italian Americans
and others. Condolences are also offered to the widow or widower and other close relatives.
![Tomb of the Unknowns crack](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Tomb_of_the_Unknowns_crack.jpg)
A funeral may be held immediately afterward or the next day. The funeral ceremony varies according to religion and culture. American Catholics typically hold a Catholic funeral, funeral mass in a church, which sometimes takes the form of a Requiem mass. Jewish Americans may hold a service in a synagogue or temple. Pallbearers carry the coffin of the deceased to the hearse, which then proceeds in a procession to the place of final repose, usually a cemetery. The unique Jazz funeral of New Orleans features joyous and raucous music and dancing during the procession.
Mount Auburn Cemetery (founded in 1831) is known as "America's first garden cemetery." American cemetery, cemeteries created since are distinctive for their rural cemetery, park-like setting. Rows of grave (burial), graves are covered by lawns and are interspersed with trees and flowers. Headstones, mausoleums, statuary or simple plaques typically mark off the individual graves. Cremation is another common practice in the United States, though it is frowned upon by various religions. The ashes of the deceased are usually placed in an urn, which may be kept in a private house, or they are interred. Sometimes the ashes are released into the atmosphere. The "sprinkling" or "scattering" of the ashes may be part of an informal ceremony, often taking place at a scenic natural feature (a cliff, lake or mountain) that was favored by the deceased.
Drugs and alcohol
![Just Say No](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Just_Say_No.jpg)
American attitudes towards drugs and alcoholic beverages have evolved considerably throughout the country's history. In the 19th century, alcohol was readily available and consumed, and no laws restricted the use of other drugs. Attitudes on drug addiction started to change, resulting in the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, Harrison Act, which eventually became proscriptive.
A movement to ban alcoholic beverages called the Temperance movement, emerged in the late 19th century. Several American Protestant religious groups and women's groups, such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union, supported the movement. In 1919, Prohibitionists succeeded in Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, amending the Constitution to prohibit the sale of alcohol. Although the Prohibition period did result in a 50% decrease in alcohol consumption, banning alcohol outright proved to be unworkable, as the previously legitimate distillery industry was replaced by criminal gangs that trafficked in alcohol. Prohibition Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, was repealed in 1933. States and localities retained the right to remain "dry", and to this day, dry county, a handful still do.
During the Vietnam War era, attitudes swung well away from prohibition. Commentators noted that an 18-year-old could be Conscription in the United States, drafted to war but could not buy a beer.
Since 1980, the trend has been toward greater restrictions on alcohol and drug use. The focus this time, however, has been to criminalize behaviors associated with alcohol, rather than attempt to prohibit consumption outright. New York was the first state to enact tough drunk-driving laws in 1980; since then all other states have followed suit. All states have also banned the purchase of alcoholic beverages by individuals under 21.
A "Just Say No to Drugs" movement replaced the more liberal ethos of the 1960s. This led to stricter drug laws and greater police latitude in drug cases. Drugs are, however, widely available, and 16% of Americans 12 and older used an illicit drug in 2012.
Since the 1990s, marijuana use has become increasingly tolerated in America, and a number of states allow the Medical cannabis in the United States, use of marijuana for medical purposes. In most states marijuana is still illegal without a medical prescription. Since the 2012 general election, voters in the District of Columbia and the states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada,
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
approved the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Marijuana is classified as illegal under federal law.
Volunteerism
![Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Frank_Sinatra_and_Ronald_Reagan.jpg)
Alexis de Tocqueville first noted, in 1835, the American attitude towards helping others in need. A 2011 Charities Aid Foundation study found that Americans were the first most willing to help a stranger and donate time and money in the world at 60%. Many low-level crimes are punished by assigning hours of "community service", a requirement that the offender perform volunteer work; some high schools also require community service to graduate. Since US citizens are required to attend jury duty, they can be jurors in legal proceedings.
Governmental role
The federal government of the United States is notorious for its perennial failure to develop a comprehensive and consistent federal public policy addressing cultural activities and the arts.
Responsibilities that are usually found in a Ministry of Culture, cultural minister's portfolio elsewhere are divided among the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the Federal Communications Commission, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce, the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior, the United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the United States Commission of Fine Arts, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Gallery of Art. However, many state and city governments have a department dedicated to cultural affairs.
Military culture
![USmilitary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/USmilitary.JPG)
From the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of national unity and identity was forged out of the victorious First Barbary War, Second Barbary War, and the War of 1812. Even so, the Founding Fathers of the United States, Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and not until the outbreak of World War II did a large standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the onset of the Cold War, created the modern U.S. military framework; the Act merged previously Cabinet-level United States Department of War, Department of War and the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy into the United States Department of Defense, National Military Establishment (renamed the Department of Defense in 1949), headed by the Secretary of Defense; and created the United States Department of the Air Force, Department of the Air Force and National Security Council.
The U.S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of the number of personnel. It draws its manpower from a large pool of paid Volunteer military, volunteers; although Conscription in the United States, conscription has been used in the past in various times of both war and peace, it has not been used since 1972. As of 2011, the United States spends about $550 billion annually to fund its military forces,
and appropriates approximately $160 billion to fund War on Terrorism, Overseas Contingency Operations. Put together, the United States constitutes roughly List of countries by military expenditures, 43 percent of the world's military expenditures. The U.S. armed forces as a whole possess large quantities of advanced and powerful equipment, along with widespread placement of forces around the world, giving them significant capabilities in both defense and power projection.
There is and has been a strong military culture among military veterans and currently serving military members.
Gun culture
In sharp contrast to most other nations, Gun law in the United States, firearms laws in the United States are permissive, and private gun ownership is common; almost half of American households contain at least one firearm. There are more privately owned firearms in the United States than in any other country, both ''per capita'' and in total. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution protects an individual right to possess modern firearms, subject to reasonable regulation, a view shared by the majority of Americans.
Civilians in the United States possess about 42% of the global inventory of privately owned firearms. Though rates of gun ownership vary significantly by region and by state; gun ownership is most common in Alaska, the Mountain States, and Southern United States, the South, and least prevalent in Hawaii, the Territories of the United States, island territories, California, and
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
. Across the board, gun ownership tends to be more common in rural than in urban areas.
Hunting, plinking and target shooting are popular pastimes, although ownership of firearms for purely utilitarian purposes such as personal protection is common as well. "Personal protection" was the most common reason given for gun ownership in a 2013 Gallup poll of gun owners, at 60%. Ownership of handguns, while not uncommon, is less common than ownership of long guns. Gun ownership is much more prevalent among men than among women, with men being approximately four times more likely than women to report owning guns.
Laws, punishment and incarceration
![FBIHoover](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/FBIHoover.jpg)
The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the List of countries by incarceration rate, highest per-capita incarceration rate. One out of every 5 people imprisoned across the world is incarcerated in the U.S. Zero tolerance policies in the U.S. has contributed to its mass incarceration, with people in positions of authority required to impose a pre-determined punishment regardless of individual culpability. This pre-determined punishment, whether mild or severe, is always meted out.
Laws in the U.S. limit how people can use public streets as pedestrians can be arrested for jaywalking—the action of walking across a street at a place where it is not allowed. Punishments for jaywalking range from a fine to imprisonment.
In the U.S. the legal drinking age is 21, the highest in the world, and anyone under 21 operating a vehicle with any type of blood alcohol count, ie. having one drink, will be punished regardless of whether or not they are physically impaired during driving.
See also
* 1950s American automobile culture
* American studies
* American exceptionalism
* American Dream
* Americanization
* Americana (culture), Americana
* Society of the United States
* American imperialism
* Culture of the Southern United States
*Midwestern United States, Culture of the Midwestern United States
*Western United States, Culture of Western United States
*Appalachian culture, Appalachian Culture
* Etiquette in North America
* Folklore of the United States
* Philanthropy in the United States
* Stereotypes of Americans
References
Further reading
* Coffin, Tristam P.; Cohen, Hennig, (editors), ''Folklore in America; tales, songs, superstitions, proverbs, riddles, games, folk drama and folk festivals'', Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1966. Selections from the ''Journal of American folklore''.
*
* Ellen Ruppel Shell, Shell, Ellen Ruppel, ''Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture'', New York: Penguin Press, 2009.
* Peter Swirski, Swirski, Peter. ''Ars Americana Ars Politica: Partisan Expression in Contemporary American Literature and Culture''. Montreal, London: McGill-Queen's University Press (2010)
*
External links
Customs & Culture in the U.S.American Culture EducationLife in the USA: The Complete Guide for Immigrants and Americans* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110627175126/http://www.commoncensus.org/ CommonCensus Map Project] – Identifying geographic spheres of influence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture Of The United States
American culture,
Society of the United States,
American studies
Arts in the United States
Entertainment in the United States