E-Book Overview
American culture is a rich and complex tapestry of colorful threads from at least five continents, and in recent decades increased immigration has meant that the pace of change is accelerating. It's time for us to get to know ourselves and really appreciate this rich, vast, and rapidly expanding culture. This book explores the contributions of Hispanic, Black, Native American, Oriental, Jewish and other cultures to a nation where many people still focus on the influences of Christian, capitalist, and ethnically European (particularly British) heritage.
Written for a general audience, Tapestry explores the myths of American culture and reveals surprising cultural roots including the fact that American democracy and representative government were inspired more by Native American ways than by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
E-Book Content
Tapestry The History and Consequences of America’s Complex Culture
Tapestry The History and Consequences of America’s Complex Culture by Jerry
Carrier
Algora Publishing New York
© 2014 by Algora Publishing. All Rights Reserved www.algora.com No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976) may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data — Carrier, Jerry, 1948Tapestry: the history and consequences of America’s complex culture / Jerry Carrier. pages cm Summary: “Ethnic minorities are about to become ‘the majority.’ We need to become more conscious of the complex minority cultural influences that have long been working in the background. The many threads create a richly interwoven social fabric that allows for varied views on economic relations as well as on religious belief”—Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-62894-048-0 (soft cover: alkaline paper)—ISBN 978-1-62894-049-7 (hard cover: alkaline paper)—ISBN 978-1-62894-050-3 (ebook) 1. United States—Ethnic relations. 2. United States—Civilization. 3. Cultural pluralism—History. 4. United States—Social conditions. I. Title. E184.A1C336 2014 973—dc23 2014025541
Printed in the United States
To the future of America and most specifically: Brandon, Madeline, Lucy, Ethan, Henry, and Kathleen.
Table of Contents Introduction to American Culture Chapter 1. American Ethnocentrism & the Myth of American Exceptionalism Chapter 2. Native Roots The Second Wounded Knee 1973
Chapter 3. Latinos, Hispanics, Chicanos, Tejanos, and Nuyoricans Texas California Puerto Rico Cuba An American Hero, Cesar Chavez
Chapter 4. African-American Culture Malcolm X Muhammad Ali Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Chapter 5. Asian-Americans Daniel Inouye, an American Hero Asian-American Religion Asian-American Contributions: Physics, Food and Health War and Pieces The Hmong
1 5 9 16 21 26 26 28 29 32 35 41 44 45 49 53 54 54 56 56
Tapestry: The History and Consequences of America’s Complex Culture
Chapter 6. The European-Americans The British Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson The Germans The American German Bund, Charles Lindbergh, and Father Coughlin Lucky Lindy, Not So Lucky and Not So Great? The American Fuhrer Irish-Americans Italian-Americans Italian-American Cuisine The French Polish-Americans Russian-Americans The Dutch in America The Scandinavians: Norwegians, Swedes, Danes and Finns Gus Hall Famous Scandinavians in America Minnesota, a Scandinavian Regional Sub-Culture Other European Americans
Chapter 7. Canadian-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Polynesians and Mixed Races Canadian-Americans Jewish-Americans Polynesians American Samoa Mixed Race Bla