What does it mean to be an American? (United States Citizen)

Being an American Definitions as to the meaning of being an American in the United States have varied. There is no precise or accurate definition. Perhaps this is what makes being an American in the United States so interesting. Interesting because a little over 300 million people have their own definitions and millions more throughout U.S. History have had their own and yet not precise or accurate definition exists.

Your Task It is important that you create your definition as to what it means to be American. This definition will serve as a large part of your guiding light throughout life. Read what others, presently and throughout history, have said about being American. Choose one quote that most catches your attention, or fits your conception of American (Write down key words) Thereafter, you must think about and write down your own interpretation as to what it means to be an American.

Quotes “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political bands which have connected them with another…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable right, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”- Declaration of Independence “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, extablish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” – United States Constitution The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves. George Washington George Washington Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln

Quotes The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer... form the great body of the people of the United States, they are the bone and sinew of the country men who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws. Andrew Jackson We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal. Elizabeth Cady Stanton Andrew Jackson You don't have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being. Malcolm X Malcolm X The idea that men are created free and equal is both true and misleading: men are created different; they lose their social freedom and their individual autonomy in seeking to become like each other. David Riesman David Riesman America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live. Jane Addams Jane Addams

Quotes America will always side with those whom she can direct, give orders to and have those orders obeyed. Louis Farrakhan Americans are a can-do people, an enthusiastic people, a problem-solving people. And when given a direction and given a plan, they'll sign on. Henry Cisneros We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community - and this nation. Cesar Chavez To be an American to me means that I am free. That when I grow up I can pick the job I want, what shift to work. And to have a good education. It means that I can say "The Pledge of Allegiance" and that I can vote for the President, my county clerk, and the Mayor. But to me it means most of all to be free and to be proud that I live in the United States of America here in Wisconsin. Ashley M., 10, Wisconsin Louis Farrakhan Henry Cisneros Cesar Chavez

Quotes It means being special. Everyone is different and has a different personality. So you can be Italian, Mexican, or Irish, and still be an American. So be yourself. Rachel P., 10, Alabama One of the great strengths of the United States is... we have a very large Christian population - we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values. Barack Obama Barack Obama