What was an American? :: essays research papers

What Was an American?     During the eighteenth century, thousands of Western Europeans fled their hearthstones of Eng come to, Scotland, Germany, France, and the Netherlands to come to the new discovered America. For most, it was a long, stressful journey that seemed to have no end. They arrived to a country experiencing colonization, growth, slavery, oppression, and hope. Some came for better economic aspirations, some came to escape the inhuman living conditions of their previous homes, and some were shipped out of their homeland to be sell and treated as property. The American was a man of innovation, searching for in-person interests and a common unity, which were not accessible from his land of origin.     St. John Crevecoeur set forth the American as something new, his belief of an American, is a new man, who acts upon new principles he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions. Arriving to a new continent, where th ere was no ruling of kings and queens, the American were establishing new laws, a new mode of living, and a new social system." Americans are descendents of Europeans who completely shared the same vision for starting a new life, indeed a "strange mixture of blood," where individuals of wholly nations are melted into a new race of men. The American was the merchant who came from Germany, who had never witnessed the land he was relocating to, he could have possibly been divided from his children for the rest of his life totally because he wanted a better life for his family and the opportunity to action freedom. The journey across the Atlantic even given the most lucky winds took seven weeks. The ships were crowded with putrid smells, mouth-rot, scurvy, diarrhea, and shortage of food. These men endured such misery, they cried for home Oh If only I were back at home, even lying in my pig-sty When they finally arrived to Philadelphia, they had to pay for the unbearabl e voyage so they were forced to dwell on board until purchased by Englishmen, Dutchmen, and the High Germans, where they were separated from families, and wives and children, based on health. Kids the ages of ten to fifteen would have to bind themselves to contracts to work until the age of twenty-one. They believed all this sacrifice was for the better of the future and more promising than their prior moody lives.The American was a determined force, wanting to take over the land with brute force, with no regard to the Indians who had lived there years before.