The American National Character

Author : Christopher J. Gilbert
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2021-05-27
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780271089928

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Caricature and National Character by Christopher J. Gilbert Pdf

According to the popular maxim, a nation at war reveals its true character. In this incisive work, Chris Gilbert examines the long history of US war politics through the lens of political cartoons to provide new, unique insights into American cultural identity. Tracing the comic representation of American values from the First World War to the War on Terror, Gilbert explores the power of humor in caricature to expose both the folly in jingoistic virtues and the sometimes-strange fortune in nationalistic vices. He examines the artwork of four exemplary American cartoonists—James Montgomery Flagg, Dr. Seuss, Ollie Harrington, and Ann Telnaes—to craft a trenchant image of Americanism. These examinations animate the rhetorical, and indeed comic, force of icons like Uncle Sam, national symbols like the American Eagle, political stooges like President Donald J. Trump, and more, as well as the power of political cartoons to comment on issues of race, class, and gender on the home front. Throughout, Gilbert portrays a US culture rooted in and riven by ideas of manifest destiny, patriotism, and democracy for all, yet plagued by ugly forms of nationalism, misogyny, racism, and violence. Rich with examples of hilarious and masterfully drawn caricatures from a diverse range of creators, this unflinching look at the evolution of our conflicted national character illustrates how American cartoonists use farce, mockery, and wit to put national character in the comic looking glass.

Author : Michael Gellert
Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
Page : 386 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : History
ISBN : 9781574884715

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The Fate of America by Michael Gellert Pdf

"The Fate of America" examines the national character of the United States against the backdrop of its history, popular culture, and media. Michael Gellert suggests that the deterioration of America's "heroic ideal," the heart of its national character, is responsible for the country's deepening social ills and the erosion of its vital institutions. He calls for a spiritual and intellectual renaissance and a renewed sense of national purpose in order to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Author : Colin Woodard
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2016-03-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780698181717

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American Character by Colin Woodard Pdf

The author of American Nations examines the history of and solutions to the key American question: how best to reconcile individual liberty with the maintenance of a free society The struggle between individual rights and the good of the community as a whole has been the basis of nearly every major disagreement in our history, from the debates at the Constitutional Convention and in the run up to the Civil War to the fights surrounding the agendas of the Federalists, the Progressives, the New Dealers, the civil rights movement, and the Tea Party. In American Character, Colin Woodard traces these two key strands in American politics through the four centuries of the nation’s existence, from the first colonies through the Gilded Age, Great Depression and the present day, and he explores how different regions of the country have successfully or disastrously accommodated them. The independent streak found its most pernicious form in the antebellum South but was balanced in the Gilded Age by communitarian reform efforts; the New Deal was an example of a successful coalition between communitarian-minded Eastern elites and Southerners. Woodard argues that maintaining a liberal democracy, a society where mass human freedom is possible, requires finding a balance between protecting individual liberty and nurturing a free society. Going to either libertarian or collectivist extremes results in tyranny. But where does the “sweet spot” lie in the United States, a federation of disparate regional cultures that have always strongly disagreed on these issues? Woodard leads readers on a riveting and revealing journey through four centuries of struggle, experimentation, successes and failures to provide an answer. His historically informed and pragmatic suggestions on how to achieve this balance and break the nation’s political deadlock will be of interest to anyone who cares about the current American predicament—political, ideological, and sociological.

Author : Jill Long Thompson
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2020-09-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780253050441

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The Character of American Democracy by Jill Long Thompson Pdf

"We live in an age that demonstrates the powerful need for ethics in government. Democracy is a privilege that carries with it important responsibilities for the people and their representatives. As we look back on this era and determine the future of this nation, Dr. Long Thompson's book will be a resource for Americans who are seeking ways to secure our democracy and our future as a nation." Congressman John Lewis, Georgia's 5th District. Ethical leadership, steeped in integrity and fairness, matters. The future of our nation and our world depends upon the quality of America's character. In this uncompromising, absorbing look at our government and society today, Jill Long Thompson persuasively argues that we all have a meaningful role to play in shaping America's character and future. The citizenry, as well as their elected officials, are responsible for protecting fairness of participation and integrity in elections, as well as in the adoption and execution of laws. In this troubling time when the public is losing trust and confidence in our government, Jill Long Thompson shows us a bipartisan way forward.

Author : Finn Pollard
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2009-01-14
Category : History
ISBN : 9781135892661

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The Literary Quest for an American National Character by Finn Pollard Pdf

"What then is the American, this new man?" This question is explored here through the lives and writings of a sequence of imaginative authors each of whom confronted a crucial moment in the evolution of the new nation (from Crevecoeur and the Revolution, through Washington Irving and Jeffersonian Democracy, to James Fenimore Cooper and the Era of Good Feelings). At the centre of these confrontations was a division between those who claimed national perfection had been obtained, and those who, while desperately wanting to believe this, perceived all too clearly that that perfection had not yet come. Rediscovering this neglected literary debate, The Literary Quest for an American National Character illuminates afresh the traumatic birth and development of the new American nation.

Author : Alex Inkeles
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 405 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2017-07-12
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781351503730

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National Character by Alex Inkeles Pdf

Seen in modern perspective, the concept of national character poses fundamental problems for social science theory and research: To what extent do conditions of life in a particular society give rise to certain patterns in the personalities of its members? What are the consequences? Alex Inkeles surveys various definitions of national character, tracing developments through the twentieth century. His approach is to examine the regularity of specific personality patterns among individuals in a society. He argues that modal personality may be extremely important in determining which new cultural elements are accepted and which institutional forms persist in a society. Reviewing previous studies, Inkeles canvasses the attitudes and psychological states of different nations in an effort to discover a set of values in the United States. He concludes that, despite recent advances in the field, there is much to be done before we can have a clear picture of the degree of differentiation in the personality structure of modern nations. Until now, there were few formal definitions and discussions on national character and the limits of this field of study. This book will be of great interest to psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, and political theorists.

Author : Jack F. Kinton
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 38 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 1971
Category : National characteristics, American
ISBN : STANFORD:36105036043078

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The American National Character by Jack F. Kinton Pdf

Author : William Robert Taylor
Publisher : Oxford University Press on Demand
Page : 395 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780195082845

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Cavalier and Yankee by William Robert Taylor Pdf

William Taylor's Cavalier and Yankee was one of the most famous works of American history written in the 1960s. The book is an intellectual history of the South before the Civil War, the perception of it in the North, and the effect it had upon the nation in the years from 1800 to 1860. First published in 1961 and out of print for several years, Taylor's classic study remains essential to the study of the pre-Civil War South.

Author : Lung-Kee Sun
Publisher : M.E. Sharpe
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : History
ISBN : 076560826X

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The Chinese National Character by Lung-Kee Sun Pdf

This unique survey of the evolution of the modern Chinese national character incorporates a rich blend of history and theory as well as nation, gender, and film studies. It begins with the dawn of the concept of "nation" in China at the end of the Imperial period, and follows its development from early Republican China to the present People's Republic, drawing on themes of national identity, "Orientalness," racial evolution and purity, cultural and gender roles, regional animosities, historical impediments, and more. The book also takes up the changing American perceptions of Chinese personality development and gender, using materials from American popular culture.

Author : Michael Gellert
Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
Page : 580 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : History
ISBN : 9781612342214

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The Fate of America by Michael Gellert Pdf

The Fate of America examines the national character of the United States against the backdrop of its history, popular culture, and media. Michael Gellert suggests that the deterioration of AmericaOCOs OC heroic ideal, OCO the heart of its national character, is responsible for the countryOCOs deepening social ills and the erosion of its vital institutions. He calls for a spiritual and intellectual renaissance and a renewed sense of national purpose in order to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century."

Author : David Morris Potter
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 1966
Category : National characteristics, American
ISBN : UCAL:B5115762

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People of Plenty by David Morris Potter Pdf

Author : Colin Woodard
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2011-09-29
Category : History
ISBN : 9781101544457

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American Nations by Colin Woodard Pdf

An illuminating history of North America's eleven rival cultural regions that explodes the red state-blue state myth. North America was settled by people with distinct religious, political, and ethnographic characteristics, creating regional cultures that have been at odds with one another ever since. Subsequent immigrants didn't confront or assimilate into an “American” or “Canadian” culture, but rather into one of the eleven distinct regional ones that spread over the continent each staking out mutually exclusive territory. In American Nations, Colin Woodard leads us on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, and the rivalries and alliances between its component nations, which conform to neither state nor international boundaries. He illustrates and explains why “American” values vary sharply from one region to another. Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) reveals how intranational differences have played a pivotal role at every point in the continent's history, from the American Revolution and the Civil War to the tumultuous sixties and the "blue county/red county" maps of recent presidential elections. American Nations is a revolutionary and revelatory take on America's myriad identities and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and are molding our future.

Author : August William [From Old C. Reinhard
Publisher : Legare Street Press
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2023-07-18
Category : History
ISBN : 1021929956

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The German Character; Its Influence on the Formation of the American National Character by August William [From Old C. Reinhard Pdf

In this insightful study, August William Reinhard examines the ways in which German culture and values have shaped American society. Drawing on a wide range of historical and cultural sources, he argues that the German character has played a central role in the development of American identity, influencing everything from art and literature to politics and economics. An important work for anyone interested in the complex interplay of cultures in modern society. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Author : Peter Mandler
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2006-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 0300120524

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The English National Character by Peter Mandler Pdf

De geschiedenis van opvattingen over het nationale karakter van de Engelsen in de afgelopen twee eeuwen.

Author : Michael A. Ledeen
Publisher : Truman Talley Books
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2001-10-05
Category : History
ISBN : 9780312274511

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Tocqueville on American Character by Michael A. Ledeen Pdf

In 1831, Alexis De Tocqueville, a twenty-six-year-old French aristocrat, spent nine months travelling across the United States. From the East Coast to the frontier, from the Canadian border to New Orleans, Tocqueville observed the American people and the revolutionary country they'd created. His celebrated Democracy in America, the most quoted work on America ever written, presented the new Americans with a degree of understanding no one had accomplished before or has since. Astonished at the pace of daily life and stimulated by people at all levels of society, Tocqueville recognized that Americans were driven by a series of internal conflicts: simultaneously religious and materialistic; individualistic and yet deeply involved in community affairs; isolationist and interventionist; pragmatic and ideological. Noted author Michael Ledeen takes a fresh look at Tocqueville's insights into our national psyche and asks whether Americans' national character, which Tocqueville believed to be wholly admirable, has fallen into moral decay and religious indifference. Michael Ledeen's sparkling new exploration has some surprising answers and provides a lively new look at a time when character is at the center of our national debate.