American? At a Time When Term Paper

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The author attributes the apparent lack of clarity about the issue to the fact that American's debates about nationality are a reflection of huge contradiction in the Western tradition. In this case, American scholars state that the United States is similar to the France because its nationality has been based on universal principles rather than parochial since independence. Therefore, for an individual to be an American, he/she had to commit to an ideology of equality, democracy, and liberty (Foner, p. 152).

The second aspect used by the author in support of his argument is slavery that helped in shaping American identity. Through slavery, the value of American citizenship was forced to partially rest on its denial of others. Since it made up the most impenetrable limit of American citizenship, slavery made all blacks invisible to the people who were imagining or crafting the American community. The third aspect that seemingly supports the author's argument about American identity is provisions of the original Constitution.

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The original American Constitution did not have any provisions that defined who are citizens of the United States as well as the privileges and immunities they are entitled to. As a result, the individual states were to define the limits of citizenship and the legal rights of its citizens.

I agree with the author's argument because the issue of American identity and nationality has been one of the long-standing debates in the American history that has not received a single answer or solution. Based on the facts presented by the author in his analysis of this issue, the American society has for long defined its identity and citizenship from civic and ethnic aspects. Consequently, inclusive and restrictive definitions of American identity have emerged from time to time and will continue to be a major cause of social struggle and political conflict.

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