This article covers the
cultural history
Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...
of the United States since its founding in the late 18th century. The region has had
patterns of original settlement by different peoples, & later
settler colonial states & societal setups.
Various immigrant groups have been at play in the formation of the nation's culture. While
different ethnic groups may display their own insular cultural aspects, throughout time a broad American culture has developed that encompasses the entire country. Developments in the culture of the United States in modern history have often been followed by similar changes in the rest of the world (
American cultural imperialism).
This includes knowledge, customs, and arts of Americans; and events in the social, cultural, and political spheres.
Justice system
Prior to the early 19th century, people were infrequently jailed. Jails were considered too expensive and could not competently secure a criminal for a lengthy period. Those convicted were either flogged, placed in stocks for a time, or hanged. In 1829, an attempt was made to reform (induce repentance in) convicts by incarcerating them in a penitentiary. Strict silence was enforced. This model was widely copied and persisted for nearly a century. Authorities conceded failure when those incarcerated often went insane through lack of social contact.
See also
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Architecture of the United States
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Christianity in the United States
Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the United States. Estimates from 2021 suggest that of the entire US population (332 million) about 63% is Christian (210 million). The majority of Christian Americans are Protestant Christians (1 ...
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Counterculture of the 1960s
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Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes prepared in the United States. It has been significantly influenced by Europeans, indigenous Native Americans, Africans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures an ...
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History of education in the United States
The history of education in the United States covers the trends in educational formal and informal learning in America from the 17th century to the early 21st century.
Colonial era
New England
The first American schools in the thirteen origi ...
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History of women in the United States
The history of women in the United States encompasses the lived experiences and contributions of women throughout American history.
The earliest women living in what is now the United States were Native Americans. During the 19th century, wo ...
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United States religious history
*Entertainment:
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Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Am ...
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Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...
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Sports in the United States
Sports are an important part of culture in the United States. Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership audience. B ...
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Theater of the United States
Theater in the United States is part of the old European theatrical tradition and has been heavily influenced by the British theater. The central hub of the American theater scene is Manhattan, with its divisions of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and ...
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Video gaming in the United States
Video gaming in the United States is one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries in the country. According to a 2020 study released by the Entertainment Software Association, The yearly economic output of the American video game industry ...
*Fine arts:
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Dance of the United States
There is great variety in dance in the United States of America. It is the home of the hip hop dance, salsa, swing, tap dance and its derivative Rock and Roll, and modern square dance (associated with the United States of America due to its hist ...
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Literature of the United States
American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...
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Music history of the United States
Music history of the United States includes many styles of folk, popular and classical music. Some of the best-known genres of American music are rhythm and blues, jazz, rock and roll, rock, soul, hip hop, pop, and country. The history bega ...
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Music of the United States
The music of the United States reflects the country's multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. It is a mixture of music influenced by the music of Europe, Indigenous peoples, West Africa, Latin America, Middle East, North ...
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Poetry of the United States
American poetry refers to the poetry of the United States. It arose first as efforts by American colonists to add their voices to English poetry in the 17th century, well before the constitutional unification of the Thirteen Colonies (although ...
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Sculpture of the United States
The history of sculpture in the United States begins in the 1600s "with the modest efforts of craftsmen who adorned gravestones, Bible boxes, and various utilitarian objects with simple low-relief decorations." American sculpture in its many forms ...
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Visual arts of the United States
Visual art of the United States or American art is visual art made in the United States or by U.S. artists. Before colonization there were many flourishing traditions of Native American art, and where the Spanish colonized Spanish Colonial arc ...
Notes
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