Theme One: AMERICAN AND NATIONAL IDENTITY

Module 3 - Learning To Collaborate & Collaborating To Learn

This theme focuses on how and why definitions of American and national identity and values have developed among the diverse and changing population of North America as well as on related topics, such as citizenship, constitutionalism, foreign policy, assimilation, and American exceptionalism.

Perhaps the most important step here at this point is to DEFINE what is to be meant by the phrase “American Identity” or “National Identity.” It can mean a number of things, but College Board goes with the idea that there is one consensus understanding that has developed over time about what it means to be an American, i.e. who we are as a people and as a culture. That definition must, in some way, include the following:

• The British forcing the Americans into a position (via taxation policies without meaningful representation in Parliament) upon which they formed the ideology that fueled future revolutionaries. Thus, the right to rebel against authority is part of the shared American Identity.

• Independence from the rule of others is primary to the creation of the American Identity. Without a complete break and separation from Great Britain, the U.S. would not be possible. Thus, the character of American is misunderstood without a hearty respect for independence on many different levels.

• Individual rights, and by extension individual states’ rights, was fundamental to the formation of the national government and the American political character. Eventually the concept of equal rights, equal opportunity, and equal access for all citizens would be embraced by groups of minority citizens and women, thus becoming an important foundational principle of our national identity. The existence of slavery in America ran counter to this underlying belief, and can therefore be seen as a major identity crisis that needed to be solved before the nation could truly prosper.

• The desire and right to earn money, largely unencumbered by the government, has been a mainstay of the American culture since the earliest colonists sought wealth and financial freedom in the New World. This has continued to present day with any disruption to our capitalist system drawing the fire of a vocal and often politically-connected segment of the American population. Anytime that disturbance comes from abroad, and especially in the case of the 20th-century expansion of global communism, virulent attacks and sustained political efforts have come from government agents to negate any influence that they might have on the economic side of the American Identity.

• Epitomized by the expression “Manifest Destiny,” Americans have always been connected to a belief that their expansion into new lands was supported and validated by higher powers or white superiority - we had right and duty to expand our physical control and cultural influence. Thus, overrunning territories and pushing those who lived in those territories out of the way, or making them subservient to American citizens, could be justified to make unsavory events acceptable. This is a dark side of the national identity of the United States that has continued for over 400 years.

• Compromise between regions and political factions is rooted in democracy. Thus, the willingness and ability to compromise at the national level has always been a characteristic of our American Identity. At times, various groups within Congress found compromise difficult and political maneuvering was attempted to get one side a larger balance in Congress. This is part of the American political system rooted in representative democracy.

• The the Civil War and Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, bringing an end to slavery became part of the American story as abolitionism was an attempt to build on the storyline of individual rights / freedom / independence.

• Personal sacrifice and service is a characteristic that is exemplified in U.S. history any time that the government calls for volunteer troops to fight a common enemy. Examples include the American Revolution, the Civil War, and any of the conflicts of the 20th Century.

• Military and diplomatic intervention, connected historically to ideas of Manifest Destiny and an aversion to European imperialism in the Western Hemisphere, led to politically-supported government activities overseas. When these can be justified by the protection of human rights or the spreading democracy, for example, new understandings about America’s role in the world have been adding to the 20th century evolution of the national identity of the U.S.

• A belief in and effort to create a unified economy has been part of U.S. history since the colonial era. Thus, states working together in a cooperative rather than competitive way has become an important bedrock our national economic system. Following the Civil War, this can even be seen in the southern states as they created a new economic future without slavery and in efforts to re-establish a unified economy symbiotic to the northern industrial states.

Theme One Pre-Assessment: College Board M.C. Questions (PDF)

This pre-assessment can be completed with on PEN & PAPER FORMAT by downloading the PDF file above and printing the questions. However, if you are taking the exam digitally (as most of your are), you will be better served using the AP Classroom assignment link that you can find when you log into your AP Classroom account. Either way you choose to complete the questions, you should do so in a TIMED setting. In this practice, you have 42 questions to complete . . . Please spend 42 minutes completing them (remember that we are in speed training), then spend the next 3 minutes reviewing answers and getting it submitted properly and on-time.

The correct answers will be sent to you automatically if you did it digitally. If you do so by paper, let me know and I will send you the correct answers.

You have 48 hours to complete the task. A review of the more challenging questions can take place during our Saturday Assessment Review Session (SARS). Time to be determined. If you cannot attend, please submit a request to review certain questions (this must be done at least 24 hours in advance), and we will do so during the taped session.

Topical Tuesday (04-13-21): The Great Awakening

This lecture will introduce you to an alternative route toward identifying some of the founding ideologies of the American Identity. Think that revolutionary thoughts originated with the argument “No Taxation Without Representation” following the French & Indian War? Think again. In fact, you need to think back to the 1730s and beginnings of the movement known as the First Great Awakening.

Don’t forget to hop on calls with me, which take place weekly at:

• 3:00 pm CST / 4:00 pm EST on Tuesdays* - Topical Tuesdays

• 2:00 pm CST / 3:00 pm EST on Wednesdays* - Exam Success Secrets LIVE Session

• 3:00 pm CST / 4:00 EST on Thursdays* - Thematic Thursdays

*Times are subject to change

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The Drive for the Five Roadmap