USA's begyndelse og de amerikanske værdier

We all know that the USA is one of the greatest nations in the world with multiple cultures, attitudes and values, but how did the USA manage to become such a great nation? The bottom line is the heritage of the plentiful resources that created and shaped the USA and the American values. From the very beginning in the 1600s where it all started and the first colonist settled on the east coast. However, the USA consisted of relatively much land, which was unsettled. The result of this is that many people around the globe travelling to the USA to pursue the American dream, where everything is possible: a new start, a better life, equality of opportunity etc. As the one frontier after another got more crowded people started moving further west into other unsettled places. This was also known at the “frontier experience”. But how did this experience help to shape the American values?

The American values are based on how the Americans have had an inclination to see the frontier, which has had a tremendous impact on the American mind-set. Keeping in mind that the frontier has contributed to creating a competitive edge due to the massive inflow of migrant and their engagement in work. At the frontier, there was more individualism compared to the collectivism anywhere else in the USA due to the fact that few laws and few established institutions to limit the people who lived there. Thus the frontier became idealized because of the values of freedom without any forms for hierarchy, but this nostalgia slowly disappeared as urbanization gained momentum. Though the individualism still remains intact. Individualism and optimism lead to the willingness of innovation and experimentation, a so-called “can-do” spirit”. Although everybody hates to loose, but this optimism and the “can-do” spirit, Americans take pride in welcoming challenges and obstacles. Further on this individualism and optimism in the USA meant it was no longer about what family you came from or who your ancestors were but what you could do in the present caused by no one gave much attention to the family background since the frontier gave a new opportunity in life.