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What is American?

The concept of "American" as a subject of study spans disciplines ranging from history and sociology to literature and cultural studies. It invites students to examine what defines American identity, society, and values — questions that resist simple answers. Courses in world studies, American history, and cultural analysis regularly ask students to interrogate the idea of America as both a geographic place and an evolving set of ideals. Works like J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur's 1782 letter posing the question "What Is an American?" and figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Amiri Baraka serve as anchors for exploring how American identity has been constructed, contested, and redefined across centuries.

Student papers on this topic take a wide range of approaches. Comparative essays examine American values alongside European or Asian counterparts, or place historical periods like the Progressive Era and the New Deal in direct contrast. Other papers use case studies to analyze specific social and political developments — the Abolition Movement, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the influence of Latin migration on American life. Cultural and media analysis appears as well, with papers exploring pop music in the 1980s, advertising's effect on dietary choices, and the evolution of the cell phone as a lens into American society.

A strong essay on an American studies topic works best when it anchors a broad theme in a specific argument. Effective evidence draws on policy documents, literary texts, historical events, or cultural artifacts rather than vague generalizations about national character. The most common pitfall is treating "America" as a monolith — successful essays acknowledge the diversity of voices, regions, and experiences that shape any aspect of American life.

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¶ … 20th century, political philosophers in the Western hemisphere had become firmly entrenched in the principles of the Enlightenment. With feudal oligarchies outmoded and with the burgeoning success with new republics…
Paper Doctorate
Rhetoric in Great Speeches
Rhetoric in Great Speeches Introduction – Cultural / Ideological Analysis Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) is credited by objective scholars and historians as having brought the United States out of the Great Depression, and as having guided the United States through the difficult and dangerous period during World War II. FDR was fiercely challenged by members of Congress when he was working to dig the country out of the Great Depression with his "New Deal." Members of Congress attacked FDR's programs as "socialism" – these attacks – using "socialism" as a hot-button word to stir up the population – were quite similar to what the current U.S. president, Barack Obama was accused of as he battled to win legislative approval of his signature healthcare reforms, the Affordable Healthcare Act. Along the way to achieving his goals to get the country on a financially even keel and to defeat Hitler and the Japanese, FDR's leadership was bolstered by his well-crafted speeches to the country. Thesis Many historians and scholars have posited that FDR's performance as president during the Great Depression and throughout most of World War II achieved levels of success beyond what any president ever faced before or after. One of the pivotal reasons he was so remarkably effective as president was that his speeches were extraordinarily well written and presented. FDR's speeches were designed to have great influence on the citizenry, and they certainly did. He used the power of his position as president – embracing ethos in the sense of asserting his absolute credibility – and he indeed achieved the credibility he demanded. In fact by originating the "fireside chat" – radio addresses that had a home-town tone but came from a lofty rhetorical authority – he presented truth, sincerity, and solution-based themes.
Thesis Doctorate
Russian Organized Crime in America
This paper discusses Russian Organized crime in the US. Within the decade ever since the breakdown related to the USSR, the entire world has turned out to be the mark of a brand new international crime menace from criminal groups and criminal pursuits which have poured out across the boundaries of Russia as well as other previous Soviet republics like Ukraine.
Paper Doctorate
Chicano Movement Was One of Numerous Movements
Chicano Movement was one of numerous movements for human rights and social justice that took place and reach great heights in American during the 1960s. The Chicano people were and are Mexican-Americans.
Essay Doctorate
Changes to military combat uniforms and tactical equipment design
This reference material addresses major concerns regarding the current military uniform. This document attempts to provide solutions to many of the shortcomings of the American combat uniform. In addition to these solutions, the document provides a comprehensive rationale as to the motivations behind such changes. The document then concludes with a brief discussion on costs and the implications these costs will have on the overall defense budget.
Paper Doctorate
Historical social movements in abolition and woman suffrage
Stewart and Truth both managed to instill intense feelings in their audiences primarily because of their courage and because they were well-acquainted with the fact that they needed to have people emotionally involved in their stories in order to be listened properly. These women provided audiences with unquestionable arguments and made it possible for people to understand that things were going to change in the future
Research Paper Doctorate
Formal analysis of a publicly traded company
¶ … Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has become a dominant retailer in the United States and has spread its operations into 14 foreign countries. The company has created success by offering low-priced goods and…
Research Paper Doctorate
International Marketing: Qatar Country Study
Qatar has been ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, but there have been some dramatic changes in the country's actual leadership in recent years. Today, Qatar has transformed itself from a poor British…
Research Paper Doctorate
Parkinson\'s Disease: A Patients Perspective
Being diagnosed with a progressive neurological disease is never easy for a patient or family member. Recently my father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. A proud man, it took a lot of strength and courage…
Research Paper Doctorate
Homeland defense strategies and policy
Agency Identification: In this paper, the three agencies selected for their involvement in Homeland Defense at the federal, state which is NY and local which is NYPD level are Federal Emergency Management Agency -- FEMA…