An Introduction to American Culture

傅晓微

Content:• 第 11 周 Early American History and Freedom1 Early American History 2 The American Revolution• 第 12/13 周 Individualism and the American Government 1 Government and Politics 2 A suspicion of Strong Government 3 Organization of the Government 4 The Ideal of the Free Individual and the idea of government• 第 14/15 周 Ethnic and Racial Diversity1 A Nation of Immigrants2 Ethnic and Racial Conflicts 3 Racial Problem and the Black freedom4 Cultural Pluralism and Ethnic harmony

• 第 16-17 周 Religion in America1 Background

2 Religion in America

3 Church and State

• 第 18-19 周， American Values1 dominant American Values

2The Protestantism and American traditional values

3 The Frontier heritage and the traditional values

4 Business and American values/ American Dream

5 American Values at the Crossroads

• “在中国现代化的路上，美国因素具有 全方位的影响。深入了解美国成立一代代为中华崛起而奋斗之士的无法回避的问题。”袁明。

• 如孙中山在研究了美国历史后，对林肯总统关于民有、民治、民享之政府（ of the people, by the people, for the people ）的政治主张十分推崇，将其与中国实际结合，提出了“民族、民权、民生”的三民主义。

• １８３１年法国政治家托克维尔访美后写成的《论美国的民主》（ Democracy in Ameirca ）现已成为美国大学政治系的必读书。也是了解美国文化的一本重要著作，也得到美国人的高度认同。《美国文化背景》反复提到该书。

• 原因一，该书总结了欧洲思想的美国实践。 18 、 19 世纪欧洲思想家们 想象的理想在欧洲没能实现，在美国实现了，这就是总统 联邦制和三权分立。

• 原因二，美国人对托克维尔书中表现的宗教使命感由衷认同。他考察美国，但真正关心的是法国和整个基督教世界的前途。他认为，“宣称在上帝面前一律平等的基督教，不会反对全体公民在法律面前一律平等。”他呼吁“对民主加以引导，如有可能，重新唤起对民主的宗教信仰。”

Lecture one Early American History and Freedom

• 美国史学家 H. S. 康马杰 :• “ 美国性格是继承和环境相互作用的产物 , 而两

者都是错综复杂的。以继承而论 , 美国人不仅继承了英国人的传统 , 而且继承了欧洲的传统 ; 不仅继承了十七世纪、十八世纪的传统 , 也继承了二千年的传统。美国是英国的产物 , 这一点谁都承认 ; 美国的文化和制度的渊源可以追溯到希腊、罗马和巴勒斯坦 , 这一点却被遗忘了 ; 美国人所保持的国家、教会和家庭的基本制度以及他们所珍惜的基本价值观念都表明这种悠久的来源和关联。”

Key words

• Liberty / Freedom (sometimes referred to as “the rights of the individual”) is the most precious and the most popular of the six basic traditional values of the United States.

• Freedom Rising, 美国宪法大厅的演讲

宪法中心， Freedom Rising

I Dynamic Meanings of Freedom • Freedom/ liberty / “the rights of the individual”

and other related values: individualism, Democracy, American Dream/ equality

• Freedom means : Freedom of religion, freedom of personal understanding of God, freedom of white Puritan’s , not other colored races, not other religious groups,

• Freedom means all men are born equal, equality of opportunity, (American dream) for white Christians , not other races, not even the white Christian women

• Freedom means Democracy, to guarantee the rights of each person’s freedom, limited government (religious perspective )

Freedom and White Supremacy三 K 党游行 , July 4 1924.

• At its peak in the 1920s, the Klan‘s anti-immigrant activities were as important as its program of white supremacy.白人至上主义

• “Jews dominate the economic life of the nation, while the Catholics are determined to dominate the political and religious life... the vast alien immigration is , at the root, an attack upon Protestant religion with its freedom of conscience, and is therefore a menace to American liberties.”Ku Klux Klan, the Fiery Cross ，血十字

• the "superiority of Christian civilization" and "the White superiority" 基督教文明优越感与白人至上主义，

• 华盛顿大屠杀纪念馆枪杀事件， 2009• 密谋枪杀奥巴马和黑人的组织， 2008• Lexington 超市自称是真正的美国人的妇女拒不向华裔美国人出示身份证件， 2008

• The expanding of freedom to

• blacks,• women, • other races,• homosexual persons, • prisoners, • undocumented immigrants

• 奥巴马２００９年就职演讲• “This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -

why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.” 这是我们所崇尚的自由与信念的真谛——这就是为什么今天，不同肤色，不同信仰的男女老少在此汇聚一堂；这就是为什么六十年前，一位父亲走入餐厅甚至无人理睬，而今天他的儿子可以站在这里，在你们面前许下最庄严的誓言。

向全世界输出美国式自由布什总统就职演说• Through much of the last century, America‘s faith in

freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea. Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations. Our democratic faith is more than the creed of our country, it is the inborn hope of our humanity, an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along.

在上个世纪的大部分时间里，美国自由民主的信念犹如汹涌大海中的岩石。现在它更像风中的种子，把自由带给每个民族。在我们的国家，民主不仅仅是一种信念，而是全人类的希望。民主，我们不会独占，而会竭力让大家分享。民主，我们将铭记于心并且不断传播。

• 第 11 周 Early American History and Freedom

• I Early American History • The text book 《美国文化背景 》 traces its

beginning to 25,000 ago, but calls the land A New Land.

• The American continents were peopled as a result of two long-continuing immigration movements, the first from Asia, and the second from Europe and Africa.

• 修辞策略

• The first movement began probably 25,000 years ago when Siberian tribes, in search of new hunting grounds or of refuge from pursuing enemies, crossed over the Bering Strait to Alaska.(only a hypothesis, Chinese, subjects of Shang Dynasty.)

• In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on one of the Bahama Islands and “discovered” the New World and mistakenly called the inhabitants Indians. He was inspired by Moco Polo’s book to find the rich China Empire.

• Native Americans, Indians• The social and economic conditions of Native

Americans are probably worse than those of any other minority groups.

• About 12,000 years ago, ancestors of the American Indians lived in the wooded eastern parts of what is now the United States and Canada, a region often referred to as the Eastern Woodlands.

• 纽约自然历史博物馆：• When the first European explorers arrived on the eastern

seaboard in the very late fifteenth century, Indian culture was flourishing over all of the Eastern Woodlands. In the succeeding 350 years, many of the tribes were annihilated by disease and warfare, others were driven west of the Mississippi River.

• Later, a few tribes were assigned to reservations in their aboriginal territories. Although the bulk of Eastern woodlands culture has vanished, the modern Indians still maintain some of their old customs and ceremonies which serve as remainders of an ancient and proud heritage.

Areas occupied by Indians in the 19th century

Indian house for meetings

Peace-making ceremony between two Indian tribes

Indian life in the late 19th century

A Naskapi hunter dragging a toboggan,拉雪橇的北部印第安人

• 方纳《新编美国史》第一章标题是“大灾难的受益者：英属美洲殖民地”。其中指出：欧洲人将贪婪、残暴、奴役连同疾病和死亡带到了美洲，使得近代早期的美洲史成为灾难史，恐怖史。美洲的征服与移民以 2000万人口的损失为代价，其中绝大多数是印第安人。

• 白人初到之际曾得到印第安人的帮助，但相互关系很快因土地争夺而恶化。美国建国后，这些印第安部落几遭 灭绝性屠杀。史家称之为“革命后的种族灭绝性国家政策”（ the virtually genocidal aspects of national policy following the revolution ） .

• Eric Foner, ed. The New American History, ( Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997) .

• 经过白人殖民者的多次大屠杀，残存的印第安人被驱赶进了不毛之地的“保留地”，由于恶劣的生存环境，又有大量人口死亡。

• ２０世纪８０年代以来，印第安人根据历史上美国政府签署但后来被白人单方面撕毁的协议、契约与白人打官司，要求退还耕地。经过多年的努力，因地安然获得了免税和自治等权力。

• １９８８年美国国会通过了《印第安人 赌博法案》准许各州印第安人部落开设以赌博为主业的夜总会。 Mohegan Sun

今天的印第安人， Mohegan sun 补偿

赌城宾馆

An Indian leader in Plymouth

Thanks Giving Day, National Day of Mourning

感恩节火鸡

photo 1 pilgrims are not the first in the New land. Why ?

• Why, move to a new strange world? • The English permanent settlements in North America

began in the 17th century when Western Europe was undergoing great changes. Why, then move to a new strange world?

• For one thing, the growth of capitalism produced two new classes- the bourgeois class and the working class. They wanted to have more power from the King, not to rely on the King. (the expansion of the Pope, the kings and the bourgeois class)

• The second major force, the Renaissance. The God-centered world was challenged by the great progress in natural and social science. People began to be more confident in themselves.

• The third influential force was the Religious Reformation, a movement starting from Germany.

Martin Luther, protested against the abuses and corruption in the church. He believed that sinful men could win salvation neither by good works nor through the church or the Pope, but only by faith in Jesus Christ and through a direct relationship to God.

Then the Calvinism, another reform movement by a Frenchman John Calvin, who had many followers in England.

These reforms reflected the rise of nationalism in Europe, represented the demand of the bourgeois class for free development.

Against the background, the 13 English colonies that would become the United states were planted in North America.

• The first English permanent settlement was founded in 1607 in Virginia.

• In 1619, two events took place in Virginia, which would influence the shaping of American culture a great deal.

• The first example of self-government of Americans.

The delegates elected from various communities in Virginia met as the House of Burgesses下议院 to discuss, along with the governor and his council members who were appointed, the enactment通过 of laws for the colony. ( 英国政体 )

• Second ,a Dutch ship brought in over 20 Negroes, to be held as servants for a term of years, thus starting the enslavement of Africans.

• The two events combined constituted a unique American phenomenon.

The English and other Europeans went to North America for seeking freedom. But these very white people deprived black Africans of their freedom. The founding fathers, G. Washington and Thomas Jefferson, an author of the Declaration of Independence, both were slave owners.

• In 1786, five years before he became president of the United states, George Washington ,52, was nearly toothless. So he hired a dentist to transplant nine teeth into his jaw-- having extracted them from the mouths of his slaves. That’s a far different image from the cherry-chopping George most people remember from their history books. The DNA evidence made available in 1998, almost certainly proved Thomas Jefferson had fathered at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings.

• According to Wiencek, author of an Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America, the southern states would not have signed the Constitution without protections for the “peculiar institution,” including a clause that counted a slave as three fifths of a man for purposes of congressional representation.

• Also the three-fifths formula handed Jefferson his narrow victory in the presidential election of 1800 by inflating the votes of the southern states in the Electoral College. Once in office, Jefferson extended slavery with the Louisiana Purchase 印第安纳购买案( 购买法国殖民地 )in 1803; the new land was carved into 13 states, including three slave states.

• Electoral College, 总统选举团，由各州选举人选出的538名选举人组成的选举团来选举总统

• The second enduring English settlement was established in Massachusetts Bay in 1621, by English puritans who separated themselves from the Church of England. (图片 mayflower puritan, who were the pilgrims)

• Puritan New England (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Rhode Island)

• Why moved to the new land: King Henry VIII cut off the political relationship with the Pope in Rome and set up the Church of England, but there was no reform in religious beliefs and practices. Some people thought it was too Catholic and wanted to “purify” the church.

• different beliefs from the Catholic Church. Catholics believed that god could be reached through his representative on the earth – the Pope. A person could confess his or her sin, do good works and give money to the church and buy back his or her soul.

• But Puritan salvation was different. They believed that human beings were destined by God before they were born. Some were God’s chosen people while others were predestined to be damned to hell. Nobody knew if he or she was God’s elect. But the success of one’s work or prosperity was the sign of God’s elect. Therefore everyone must work hard, spend little and invest for more business. Working hard and living a moral life were their ethics. ( 马克思 ·韦伯，《新教伦理与资本主义》 )

• Every Puritan must read the Bible in order to find God’s will and search for one’s individual contact with God.

• To be able to read the Bible and understand God’s will, education was essential for Puritans.

• Such Puritan beliefs were heretical to the Church of England, so they were cruelly persecuted.

• Some of them fought back and started the English revolution. Oliver Cromwell, one of the Puritans, became the revolutionary leader, overthrew the monarchy, had King Charles I beheaded and founded a republic.

Harvard Hall , 先有哈佛后有美国education was essential for Puritans

• Other Puritans thought that England was too corrupted and hopeless and decided to separate themselves from England.(photo 3,pilgrim religion )

• They fled to Holland where there was religious freedom. ( 文件夹： Fly to Leidon)

• But life there was hard and they were afraid of losing their Englishness. Some of them decided to move again, this time to the new land.

• In 1620,about 100 people took the ship Mayflower and left Holland for North America. They formed their own religious community and set up a civil government for the general good of the colony.

• They settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts. • A much larger Puritan colony was established

in the Boston area in 1630 and by 1635 more Puritan settlers were migrating to nearby Connecticut.

• ( 文件夹： mayflower)

Mayflower IIMore photos, see Mayflower

• As time went on, many of the new generations no longer adhered to the orthodox Puritanism. Today Puritans are no longer in existence. But their legacies are still felt in American society and culture.

• E.g. the Puritans hoped to build “a city upon hill(Zion ) ”.• Zion/ 锡安，圣经对耶路撒冷的一种称呼。犹太人代指故土”以色列” ,Zionism 锡安主义 /犹太复国主义。

• 在清教徒眼中， Zion 锡安，指上帝应许给他们的理想国， an ideal community 。清教徒自比《旧约》中在摩西带领下逃出埃及（ England ）精神奴役，奔向自由的理想之国（ Zion ）的以色列人。

• 五月花 的影响之一，契约关系• 美国人认为以契约来维系和调整人与人之间的关系是天经地义

的事。他们相信，圣经中说亚伯拉罕与上帝订立契约的事也是千真万确的。 1620 年，五月花号上所有的成年男子共同签约，表示“自愿结为一民众自治团体，为使其能 更好的发展，将不时依此而制定对这个殖民地全体人民都最合适、最方便的法律、法规、条令 、宪章和公职。我们都保证遵守和服从。”一百多年后，五月花号上的民主萌芽长成了大树， 1787 年美国宪法诞生 ， 以法律的形式确定了人民和国家的契约关系。

• 契约关系是美国民主的核心，显示了美国 人特有的处人和处事的方式。 1994 年 共和党人金里奇提出“美利坚契约” 强调国家和个人的关系就是契约关系，国家是为个人而存在的。

• 和中国的差别。家国关系，大家与小家，君臣关系，父子类比

• Since then, Americans have viewed their country as a great experiment, a worthy model for other nations. This sense of mission has been very strong in the mind of many Americans.

• ethnocentrism / patriotism• Evangelism in both religion and cultural

imperialism

Evangelism in both religion and cultural imperialism

• 美国人充当世界警察的宗教根源• 英、法、俄、日、汉、德等语言写成的自由钟 说

明：• For over 250 years, this Bell has been linked to

important events in American history. But increasingly it has become a symbol without national boundaries. The inscription on the Bell is in English, but its words touch lives all around the World.

• Once identified, the symbolic power of the Bell multiplied, first here in the United States and then around the world. After the American Civil War, the Liberty Bell - a reminder of a shared heritage and common values - traveled to cities and towns all across the country.

• Reformers dedicated to a variety of causes used the Bell's growing fame to gain support. Liberty, they argued, just as the words on the Bell suggested, must be for all- for workers, for women, and for the disenfranchised and powerless whoever they might be. In the 20th century, as political democracy spread around the globe, the Bell, with its recognizable shape and inclusive message, became a partner in the international quest for freedom.

Symbol of Liberty

• New England also established another American tradition—a strain of often intolerant moralism.

• The Puritans believed that governments should enforce God’s morality. They strictly punished drunks (Arlington, a dry town for 40 years) , adulterers ( 《红字》 ) ,violators of the Sabbath (Sunday closing law ) and other religious believers different from themselves (Bush, the nation under one God)

Lady faith, morality

• 对其他国家文化的无端指责，扮演世界警察与清教传统中 intolerant moralism 的关系。 清教徒为了自己的信仰自由来到美国，但不允许其他人有不同的信仰自由。

• Roger Williams, one of the Puritans who protested that the state should not interfere with religion, was driven out of Massachusetts. In 1635, he set up Rhode Island colony, which guaranteed religious freedom and the separation of church and state.

• The colony of Maryland was founded by the Catholics.

• An Englishman, Lord Baltimore, who converted to Roman Catholicism. He wished to introduce a feudal system similar to the manor system in Europe to his colony.

• Quaker Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn, an English Quaker贵格会教徒 .

• The term “Quakers” was coined by their enemies because the Quakers were so faithful to God that when they spoke of God, they trembled.

• The Quakers argued that religion was a person’s private business with God, therefore no government should interfere in his or her religious beliefs.

• William Penn carried out the policy of separation of state and church in his colony, and this had great impact on American culture.

宾州建城者 William Penn

II The American Revolution• By the early 1760s, the 13 English colonies in North

America had developed a similar American pattern in politics, economy and cultural life and enjoyed the same frontier environment.

• In 1756, England and France began to fight for larger colonies in the new land, the Seven Years’ War. However, the British victory led directly to a conflict with its American colonies. The British government charged more taxes and the British troops stationed in the colonies （ New York, Boston ） . The colonists refused to obey the British laws, so British soldiers were sent to Boston.

• On April 19, 1775, the first shot was fired when 700 British soldiers went to capture a colonial arms depot in Lexington of Concord near Boston.

• “For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh. “ 为了我们，他们战斗和牺牲在协和镇、葛底斯堡、诺曼底和科萨恩。 Obama

• Thus the American War of Independence began. • (Patriotic Day, April 19,firstshot 文件夹

First shot in Lexington, Boston

Concord

Arlington, the site of the bloodiest fighting

Arlington独立战争最血腥的战场，每年 4 月 19日，爱国日，再现历史更多图片， first shot 文件夹

• In May 1775, a second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and began to assume the functions of a national government.

• It founded a Continental Army and Navy under the command of George Washington.

• The War of Independence came to an end in 1781,and Britain had to recognize the independence of the United States.

• ( Cambridge Square 文件夹 )

华盛顿 就任总司令处，剑桥镇，更多图片， Cambridge square

Topics for discussion:

• 1谈谈独立宣言，美国宪法，清教徒精神在Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address 中的体现。

• 2奥巴马对自由的诠释和独立宣言中的自由的内涵是一样的吗？

• 3 Course paper, 从历届总统就职演说看自由概念在美国的演变，看美国独立宣言，宪法对美国文化的影响，美国宗教的影响