“Legacy” is something handed down from an ancestor from the past. What has been handed down to us that makes us American? How would you define American style, American philosophy? Here's an American History slideshow to get you thinking.
Describe our “American legacy” as you see it. Choose three aspects of what it means to be American. Explain how you view these aspects functioning in America and reflect on how these American attributes are present in your own life. Thinking about using some famous quotes to set off your ideas. Please write a 15-20+ sentences response
20 Comments
Leonardo sotelo
8/22/2015 01:23:26 pm
Being an American means taking pride in yourself as well as the people around you. Some of the most successful people with revolutionary ideas come from America. Being an american means taking part of social society. America is one of the pinnacles of freedom. We are able to come from being worth the same as dirt, to leaving a legacy to society and future generations. Our free market economy is like none other, giving control of companies to our people rather then our own government. America it self produces 25 percent of the worlds energy. We are able to create ourselfs any way we choose leaving the legacy we choose. American society is some of the most productive working in history. Everything from art, theater, and media all come from America since we are able to create anything we want. Being an American creates a choice of opportunity for every person which expands internationally. America is a leading nation due to our vast legacy every American citizen has created. People come to our country in hopes to create a life for themselves and in turn we give them the opportunity for them to do so. America leads in a vast amount of subjects due to our choice of amazing opportunities. Our American legacy is our choice and is given to us from birth.
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Luis Perez
8/23/2015 12:29:04 pm
Being called an American is not determined by the color of ones skin, religion affiliation nor gender but taking pride in the country that though contains faults, that you still call it your home. With these faults we as Americans should try our best to preserve and make our country a better place for it is as said by john F. Kennedy " Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country". This country is not defined by its success but for the people who help it to succeed. No matter what affiliation anyone who help it to be great is an American. Though there are those who do not have this view we should not be violent with them for we should prove that we are better. That we don't simply solve or problems with violence that we are above such actions. As Americans we tend to accept others for their causes of coming here. Not all but most Americans do. However those that do invite with open arms to display our humbleness. Provided work for those wanting work or finance help. We even invite those who just wish to see what we have here in the United States. Come we say well show you what its like as an American! No matter what you are come, come and see what what makes us ,us.If you don't like it well thats your opinion.
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Leo Gaytan
8/15/2016 02:06:42 pm
To be American is taking pride in yourself and our nation and having honor for the men and women that sacrificed there life's for this nation. America is home to many different nationalities, but that's what makes us the greatest of them all. We spread our pride and culture wit one another. An American s someone who doesn't give up no matter there current position in life. An American is someone that wants the best for his family and also for all the people that call this country their home. Being an American is someone who doesn't tolerate social injustice. Being an American mean fighting for what they believe for and won't stop until they make or see a change. Spreading love and presenting our background cultures makes us who we are. Even though HATE still exist in our country there's much more of a bright side then a dark one. Being an American means caring for others regardless how they look like, where they from, or how they dress. That's who we are and we take pride of every bit of it.
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Samantha Diebolt
8/15/2016 07:22:42 pm
To be an American is to respect your country. I believe that there are so called, "Americans," who do not deserve that title because they do not treat our country with the respect it deserves. When I talk about respecting the country, that is not just the land itself, it means the people and fellow Americans who live here as well. Police officers, firemen, soldiers, they are all people who represent this country. All Americans represent the United States. We are so lucky to be American citizens. To be a citizen is to be born into America or to be tested into the States. This is not a right for a lot of people, they can wait a long time to become a legal citizen. So often, because they work for it, they respect this country more than the people who are born citizens. To be a citizen means to support your country overall, it doesn't mean you need to support every decision but it does mean you need to have some pride in your country.
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Drey Guanzon
8/16/2016 02:09:35 pm
The American story is one of the best stories in history. The story of how people from Great Britain fled their home land to create a new one on their own. A land that they get to decide what goes and what doesn't. A land where democracy was born, where the people vote on who they want to lead them and impeach them if they don't like how they are running the country. America is the land where people go to to be free from the countries they came from. The land that the rest of the world doesn't like because of how we run this over here and because this is the land of opportunity, where you can literally go from rags to riches and no one will want to push you down. The land where you won't be discriminated for your son color, race, or gender. The one word that is greatly associated with America is freedom. Mainly because you can do whatever you want, you can overthrow a president, you can fight the system so that it changes for the better, you can stand up for you rights and nobody is going to do anything about it.
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Joseph
8/23/2016 01:47:54 pm
Being an American means that you live in the best country. America has taken the extra steps to make us all free and they made sure we would have life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Being an American also means that your "free". It seams like every year were less and less free the government keeps taking our rights away. One of our rights that they are trying to take is our second amendment the right to bear arms. I personally don't think it is fair that the United States government is slowly turning back into the United Kingdom. What happened to checks and balances? How does the government not even as a whole government take our rights? For example I can own a high capacity magazine in most other states besides California and other states that I do not know of the top of my head. How do these states get past checks and balances? They can't take our rights. I see another revolution happening in the future probably within the next hundred years or so.
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Jerry Rodriguez
10/7/2017 07:20:16 pm
Being an American is to not have to fear being different. Well, this is almost true. Being a country that was built using people that were seen as less because they were different is a makes the first statement a bit hypocritical. However, this doesn't change the fact that America has been learning from its mistakes and has become a Country more accepting of difference than most others. Being an American means having freedoms that at times you might take for granted. In some other countries if you brought up a negative aspect of the country past or present you could easily wind up imprisoned or dead.Thirdly, being an american means having a relatively safe place to live. While violence isn't unheard of in this country it's definitely a place you don't have to be in constant fear of being robbed or murdered for the most part.
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Dani Bradberry
9/6/2018 08:13:45 pm
Being an American means to have pride in yourself and your country, along with being free. The things that have been handed down to us that make us American can be simple things such as the traditions passed down to us from our families. They also include things passed down such as our Constitution and rights. American style is all about being proud and free. American philosophy is very similar to that. It includes the right to be who we are and say what we want, without fearing the government. One part of being an American is our freedom. Freedom is an unalienable right given by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. America is one of the freest countries in regard to its citizens. Another part of being an American is our Independence. As citizens, we are able to make decisions for ourselves and be our own individual people. A third part of being an American is taking pride in being such. Most every citizen in this country is proud to live here and not afraid to show it. The American Legacy is one that will continue to change and improve as the generations go on. The country will forever live on with its free, independent citizens.
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Stephen Curling
8/15/2022 09:28:50 am
America, what makes someone American? You can say heritage or legacy but its something deeper more engraved then anyone would like to admit. What makes you American is no different than what makes someone a person. Desperation, liars, hope, men, women, land, and greed. George Washington didn't like slavery but saw it as a necessary evil, if kept it the newly built America would have a leg to stand on at the cost of its people, if not he feared the change would be too great and America would falter. That's desperation, when the whole world looked at him because no one knew what to do he made a call that in the eyes of many would make him a villain. Hero or not he did what he did and we are where we are because of it. Liars exist and will always exist but whether or not it was for the right reason is up to the person that makes that decision. Multiple times in history heroes have made a bluff when they didn't think their hand was good enough. Hope, when all is lost we still looked to that flag to see if it was still standing. In the face of danger we have always risen if our flag, our hope was still there. The men and women came here or brought here and integrated with us, without those people America isn't America. Land goes with greed as time passed the land became valuable because the world learned about oil, farming and other massive industry, hate them all you want but the Rockefellers built the economy and ran the world to the next age. America is built by the villains and heroes that caused change and the people that went along with it.
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Arianna Murray
8/19/2022 01:49:55 pm
Being American means living in a country where everyone is different, unique, and individual. Being American means having the freedom to be yourself and live your own life. Living in this country doesn't mean being a certain type of way or looking a certain type of way, it means being different and Living in America. You can be any race, religion, or ethnicity to be American. Living in America means being proud of your country and the sacrifices that were made so that we could be free. As Americans, we have struggled to find Unity from past choices and decisions but in reality, those decisions were made so that we could be given a choice. As Americans, we take pride in our country's sacrifices. Getting the choice to be who you are and having the freedom to speak, the freedom to believe in what you want, the freedom to choose what you want to do in your life, and the freedom to fight back when you don't agree with something. We all have different opinions on what it means to be American, some are good and some are bad. No matter what your opinion is on being American we can all agree that we have the freedom to choose what we believe. Being American means you get to try new things, choose where you want to go for college, what you want to be when you grow up, what your future looks like, and what you're going to do to make sure you achieve it. Being able to wake up every morning and knowing you get to decide what you do next is the greatest part of being American. Knowing you have friends and family who support you or co-workers and colleagues who are there for you. Even when things are hard and not every day is perfect, being a united country gets us through these tough times. That's what it means to be American.
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Diego Espinosa
8/20/2022 05:46:16 pm
Being an American is not determined by ones skin, religion, nor gender but to be able to take pride in yourself and in one's country. Being American means to be able to live as an individual or with liberty, and freedom. America allows for those to grow, such as starting from a value such as dirt, to a life changing legacy that can be passed down for generations. We are able to be who we wish without thinking,"What does America want me to do" but rather "What can I do for America". America is not America without us, everyone is a contributing member of society as we have and can all do something to help better the Country. Being allowed to protest, project our voices without using violence is a huge thing as well. Those who have fallen so low, can still rise so high if they are wanting to put the effort in. It is as Anthony Walton said "America's greatest strength, and its greatest weakness, is our belief in second chances, our belief that we can always start over, that things can be made better. Everything we see before our very eyes such as movie theaters, malls, restaurants, are not because we live in America, but because of the people who made it. In America, you can be yourself as you do not need to have an image for anyone, since this place is filled with all kinds of people. Every country still is corrupt in a way but that does not mean we people can not do anything about it. Everyone is also allowed to voice their opinions whether people like it or not as it is our freedom of speech. All in all, an American is in no way or shape defined by their race, skin, affiliations, or gender, but individuals who take pride in their country and are contributing members of society.
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Sophia Pham
8/21/2022 05:08:28 pm
Being an American is living in a place where everyone can be different for their race, religion, culture, and etc. Individuals can come from unique family backgrounds whether its rich or poor or mid-class. As Americans, we been passed down to many generations that sacrafices us to do the same. People to work hard for their families, friends and themselves so they can pass on later in their life. America has been a change of numerous of protests, fighting for our rights, our freedom, violence, pride and more. That is because of us, we made the decisions, the choice we decide throughout our life. Without the choice or the people, there wouldn't be such place like America to exist. And yes, everyone in America, or even people outside of the country has a choice to make. Even if the country isn't perfect as it seem to be, the flaw's will still shows in our history. The corruption is still here, poor people dying in the streets, plastic waste being thrown into the ocean, global warming and more and more so on. As people, we all have our own statements what being an American is. It really isn't the right or wrong way to think about what we believe in. There is still hope out there somewhere in your life as and American. It never too late to take that oppurtunity of your life time to change. Someday, people may be by your side to support you as an American from the inside or outside of the country.
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levi rangel leos
8/14/2023 09:25:46 am
An American is someone whose belief's are in freedom. Remembering and recognizing it's stains of the past. a pursuit of happiness in one's self and others close to them.
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Hailey Hubbard
8/14/2023 11:19:54 am
An American is anyone who understands who loves life enough to want the best that it has to offer. who also understands that achieving the best life requires risks. An American is someone is born in the United States or born to American parents.
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Marco Canseco
8/14/2023 07:48:40 pm
Being an American is a person who understands the term freedom. To be an American does not mean you have to be a specific race or religion. An American person understands that to have a good life you have to take action. A quote by President Harry S. Truman says "America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” You must also have respect for your country and the people who live there. Americans aren't always satisfied with what they have and always look for something better. An American can make an impact on society which leaves a legacy behind for people in the future and as well as the present. Social media has impacted Americans, when you're struggling others may share how they're dealing with something similar. Social media has made us more united with one another, it helps us with tough times.
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Tatiana Velasco
8/14/2023 08:22:18 pm
Being an American is living a place where you get to meet A LOT of different people weather it be, culture, race or religion, everyone is different and unique and they all come together to live in this one place called America, where people are accepted and where people take pride in where they live and yet also stay true to their own cultures, overall everyone just lives together and accepts each other for our uniqueness and differences
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Lauren Estrada
8/14/2023 08:42:00 pm
Being an American is a hidden privilege that not many are aware of but others live it up to the fullest. The freedom we get to live in is such a blessing and the choice to believe what you want and to choose to be who you want is what makes America so great. Though I believe that it's not just the country's respect and consideration of our rights, but the people who want to make this place safer and better for whoever may stumble in this land of intuity. So many people sadly take being American for granted and some even hate this country though I think we should see past some of the unagreeable politicians and to how America was founded and due to this we live in a phenomenal place. So many people fight to live here and even though our systems may be a bit broken at times it just goes to show that American is like no other because of the unlimited freedom we get to experience daily. I think being an American is just showing gratefulness towards our countries fairness and supporting those who contribute and genuinely care for the future success of the next generation however they might be. I love that as an American I get to have a choice in the opportunities I can take advantage of and that a lot of others value the morals the U.S. has.
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Evelyne Ramos
8/19/2023 04:14:51 pm
Being an American means having endless choices and freedom to believe in whatever you want like careers, politics, sexuality, and religion. America is the land of opportunities and possibilities. The Unites States is home to many racial and ethnic origins. American culture and law do not equate nationality with race or ethnicity. We have the freedom to do what we want, believe what we want, and say what we want without persecution.
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9/15/2023 10:49:49 pm
Being American means fighting for freedom and creating history. It's a privilege as well.
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9/19/2023 09:10:16 am
It's also where people can be free from anything. It's where people can be themselves. It's where people can be as religious as they want to. Being American mean that you'll have lots of freedom, and nobody can take it from you. Being American means a lot of things. People in history brought freedom upon the Americans. You can do anything you want in America and nobody can stop you. America is free to lots of people of race, religion, etc. Anyone can be American at anytime. Nobody can stop you from being American. People created history in America and you can too.
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