American Culture

United States

Federal Union of 50 states (48 mainland + Alaska + Hawaii); 4th largest country (9.8 million km²)

Capital

Washington, D.C.

Population

About 346 million (2024)

Highest peak

Denali (6,194 m)

Great Lakes

Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario

Largest cities

New York, Los Angeles, Chicago

Largest states

California, Texas, Florida

Island territories

American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

Atlantic Plain

Coastal lowland from New England to Texas; early settlements; oil & gas in Gulf of Mexico

Piedmont

Fertile plateau; site of early industrial cities using waterpower

Appalachian Mountains

Stretch from Canada to Alabama; coal, iron, and stone resources

Central Lowlands

Great Lakes region; industrial core (Rust Belt); fertile farmland

Great Plains

Flat, dry grasslands; oil and fracking region; breadbasket of America

Cordillera & Rockies

Western mountain system; gold, silver, copper; earthquake zones; Grand Canyon region

Alaska

Cold tundra, oil

Hawaii

Tropical farming, tourism, statehood in 1959

Northeast

Densely populated, industrial, educational hub (New England + Mid

Rust Belt

Declined industrial region (Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh)

Sunbelt

Growing southern and western states; industry, technology, low taxes

South

Former Confederate states; agriculture → modern industry; culturally conservative

Midwest

“Heartland” of America; strong farming and manufacturing traditions

West

Symbol of frontier, freedom, innovation; tech and film industries (California)

Pacific Northwest

Green industry, forestry, tourism, high

1776

Declaration of Independence

1787

U.S. Constitution signed

1791

Bill of Rights ratified

1861–1865

American Civil War

1865

13th Amendment abolishes slavery

1865–1877

Reconstruction Era

1893

New Zealand grants women’s suffrage (first in world)

1896

Plessy v. Ferguson (separate but equal)

1913

17th Amendment: direct election of senators

1920

18th Amendment (Prohibition) and 19th Amendment (Women’s vote)

1933–34

21st Amendment repeals Prohibition

1944

French women gain the right to vote

1954

Brown v. Board of Education ends segregation

1964

Civil Rights Act

1965

Voting Rights Act

1973

Roe v. Wade legalizes limited abortion

1st Amendment

Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, petition

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms

3rd Amendment

No quartering of soldiers in private homes

4th Amendment

No unreasonable searches or seizures

5th Amendment

Due process; no self

6th Amendment

Right to speedy, public trial by jury

7th Amendment

Right to trial in civil cases

8th Amendment

No cruel or unusual punishment

9th Amendment

People keep rights not listed in the Constitution

10th Amendment

Powers not given to federal government go to the states or people

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude

14th Amendment (1868)

Citizenship for all born/naturalized; equal protection under law

15th Amendment (1870)

Right to vote cannot be denied because of race or color

18th Amendment (1920)

Banned manufacture and sale of alcohol

19th Amendment (1920)

Women’s right to vote

21st Amendment (1933–34)

Repealed Prohibition

1st immigration Wave (1680–1776)

Colonial; Scots, Irish, Germans; some convicts and Jews

2nd immigration Wave (1820–1890)

“Old Immigration”; British, Germans, Scandinavians

3rd immigration Wave (1890–1930)

“New Immigration”; Southern/Eastern Europeans, Asians

1921 Emergency Quota Act

Introduced national quotas

1924 Immigration Act

Asian Exclusion Act, National Origins Quotas

1952 McCarran–Walter Act

Regulated immigration, kept quotas

1965 Hart–Cellar Act

Ended quota system; new immigration boom

1990 Immigration Act

Updated immigration limits

2002 USA PATRIOT Act

Tightened border and security laws

2010 DREAM Act

Proposed path for young undocumented immigrants

2014 DACA

Deferred deportation for children brought illegally

The Uprooted (Oscar Handlin, 1951)

Emotional cost of immigration

The New Colossus (Emma Lazarus, 1883)

Statue of Liberty poem welcoming immigrants

Ain’t I a Woman? (Sojourner Truth, 1851)

Call for racial and gender equality

I Have a Dream (Martin Luther King Jr., 1963)

Speech on racial harmony and justice

WASP

White Anglo

Americanization

Assimilation of immigrants into American culture

Melting Pot

Cultural assimilation model

Salad Bowl

Multiculturalism model

Exceptionalism

Belief in America’s unique role in the world

Pluralism

Acceptance of multiple ethnic and cultural groups

Nativism

Anti

Individualism

Focus on personal freedom and success

Egalitarianism

Equality of opportunity

Populism

Support for the common people

Globalization

Growing interdependence among nations

Consensus

Broad national agreement

Alienation

Feeling of detachment from social systems

Federalism

Power divided between national and state governments

Republicanism

Elected representatives govern for common good

Frontier

Border of civilization and wilderness; symbol of opportunity

Rust Belt

Declining industrial area in Midwest/Northeast

Sunbelt

Growing industrial and population region in the South/West

First Wave of feminism

(19th–early 20th c.) – Suffrage movement, led by Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton - 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote.

Second Wave of feminism

(1960s–1980s) – Equal rights in workplace, education, and sexuality (Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique).

Third Wave of feminism

(1990s–present) – Focus on intersectionality (race, gender, sexuality).