浅析美国早期移民文化On Early American Immigration CulturesContents Abstract (I)Key Words (I)摘要 (Ⅱ)关键词 (Ⅱ)Introduction (1)I.Background Information of American Immi gration Cultures (2)A. A Brief Introduction of Early American Immigration (2)B. A Brief Introduction of Early American Immigration Cultures (2)II. The Spirits and Values of American Immigration Cultures (4)A. Emphasis on Freedom, Independence a nd Cooperation (4)1. Freedom, Independence and Individualism (4)2. Cooperation (5)B. Emphasis on Pioneering, Innovative and Adventurous Spirit (6)C. Emphasis on Equality and Competition (7)1. Equality (7)2. Competition (8)D. Emphasis on Pragmatism (9)E. Materialism and Money Supremacy (9)F. Tolerance (10)III. Religion in America (11)Conclusion (13)Acknowledgements (14)Bibliography (15)Abstract : The main contents of American culture are the pursuit of democracy and freedom, the advocating of pioneering and competition and the stress on practicalities especially on individual value. As we know, unlike most other countries in the world, America is primarily a nation of immigrants. The ancestors of Americans emigrated from many parts of the globe. The formation of American culture has close relation with these immigrants. These immigrants took their own culture to the rich North America. The mixed culture and the life of American form a unique American immigration culture. Early immigration culture laid a solid foundation for the formation and development of the main stream of American culture.Key Words：Immigrant, immigration culture, American culture摘要: 美国文化的主要内容强调的是追求民主自由，崇尚开拓竞争，讲究理性和实用，尤其强调的是个人的价值。

众所周知，美国是一个移民国家，他的祖先来自世界各地。

美国文化的形成就与这些移民有着密切的关系。

这些来自世界各地的移民带着自己的文化传统来到北美这片肥沃的土地。

各种文化的交融和北美的生活的叠加创造了美国独特的移民文化，而早期的移民文化为当今美国主流文化的形成奠定了坚实的基础。

关键词：移民, 移民文化, 美国文化IntroductionThe main contents of this paper will discuss the formation of early American immigration culture. The population of the United States includes a large variety of ethnic groups coming from many races, nationalities and religions. People around the world refer to the United States as a “melting pot”. In history, people from different countries in the world rushed to America. Immigrants brought with them their native cultural, political, and social patterns and attitudes, varied academic and religious backgrounds, as well as their ethnic arts, sports, holidays, festivals, and foods to the United States of America. They have greatly enriched American life. After these immigrants settled down in the northeast part of America, they found the environment there was very rough. But the wise immigrants continued to move to the west and found much richer land. Finally, they found a land of dream and a land of freedom and a land of democracy and a land of …… The mixed culture and the life in th e North America created a unique culture－American immigration culture. What’s the American immigration culture? How is it formed? The detailed Classification and process of the formation of American immigration culture will be listed in this paper.Ⅰ.Background Information of American Immigration CulturesA Brief Introduction of Early American ImmigrationThe “first Americans” were the American Indians; no one knows exactly how or when they got to the place which is now called the United States. Some scientists think that they crossed from Asia on the land bridge which connects Siberia and Alaska to the North America Continent. It probably happened about 30,000 or 40,000 years ago. Before the discovery of the New World, American Indians had already inhabited there for thousands of years. They lived on the land by hunting, gathering, fishing and farming.In the late 15th century, Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator, thought he could reach the Far East by sailing west. Supported by the Spanish queen, he led his men to sail across the vast ocean with three ships in 1492.on the morning of Oct.12, 1492, Christopher Columbus stopped ashore on an island in what has since become known as the Americas. The arrival of his ships in the Western Hemisphere was one of the pivotal events in the history. It opened up a new world for Europeans and initiated the spread of Western civilization to a new world.The period of exploration and discovery that began with Columbus in 1492 soon became an international race to plant colonies around the world. The major European states England, France, Spain, Portugal, and Holland vied with one another for nearly four centuries to gain economic advantages in the overseas territories.The 17th century witnessed the arrival of Germans, Bohemians, Irish, Poles, Scots, Jews, Dutch, French, Finns, Italians Swedes, Danes, Slaves, and othernationalities. Slave ships also brought blacks from the west coast of Africa to America.B. A Brief Introduction of Early American Immigration CulturesThese immigrants brought with them their native cultural, political, and social patterns and attitudes, varied academic and religious backgrounds, as well as their ethnic arts, sports, holidays, festivals, and foods, immigrants from all part of the world have greatly enriched American life. The United States is a "melting pot" in which the foreigners have sometimes remained culturally and linguistically what they were in their native lands even as they move toward becoming citizens of the United States, and it is still a country whose people share a common cultural outlook and set of values which are included in the American immigration culture.American culture were not a mere transportation from England or Europe .Large number of immigrants, not only from England, but also from Germany, Switzerland, France and many other countries, poured in. they all adopted the English language but their own culture did not disappear completely. These immigrants joined together and created American culture which was a blending of European cultures under new circumstances.As we know most of the early immigrants were not really happy about what they had experienced in their home countries. They wanted to try some new ideas and carry out reforms, although they could not be completely independent of the old traditions. Hard conditions forced them to give up part of what had been desirable and traditions in the Old World. They had to adapt themselves to the new environment andbecame less formal but more pragmatic. They grew less conservative and more outspoken. Large tracts of virgin soil promoted the development of competition and cultivated a stronger sense for liberty and variety. The formation of a new nation by people of different national origins forced social life to show more elasticity. Compromise and tolerance became a necessity. Religion thus gradually became a private affair. American liberty and democracy could not be understood properly without talking into consideration the colonial time and the different back ground of the early immigrants.Ⅱ. The Spirits and Values of American Immigration Culturesn the process of formation of a new nation, these early immigrants shared common outlooks of the spirits and values of American immigration cultures. Gradually, emphasis on freedom, independence and cooperation, pursuits for democracy, individualism, etc. became the spirits and important values in the American immigration cultures.A. Emphasis on Freedom, Independence and CooperationMost of the immigrants came to the America just look for freedom and independence because the religion persecution. After these early immigrants settled down in the northeast part of America, they found the environment there was very rough. It is difficult for one single man to live in this wild and hard environment, so cooperation is the only way to choose.1. Freedom, Independence and IndividualismThe early adventurers were for the most part intensely religious people, andthough religion was not the only source of inspiration for their enterprise, it was an important element in a set of motives in which one can see signs of consistency. Many wanted to escape from the oppressive religious and social atmosphere of the England which they left behind. Most of them were Protestants not ready to accept the structure of the early adventurers were for the most part intensely religious people, and though religion was not the only source of inspiration for their enterprise, it was an important element in a set of motives in which one can see signs of consistency. Most of them were Protestants not ready to accept the structure of doctrine and religious practice of the Church of England which had been involved from the religious Reformation. In England their beliefs caused them inconvenience and sometime danger. Freedom and independence were the pursuit of the early immigrants.The pursuit of freedom and independence was reflected not only in religion but also in economic and social field. When the early immigrant crossed to America, they brought with them a combination of English attitudes and a criticism of those attitudes, leading to a determination to build a new society which was free of the bad elements of the old, while preserving those which seemed to them good. On one hand, they wanted a strong government to keep peace and order, so as to ensure private ownership of property; On the other hand, they wanted the greatest possible freedom for Individualism thus became their principle and belief.Through the hardship of life in a wild, new land, the immigrants gained strength and firm belief in the rights and liberties of the individual man. They wanted to get ridof the European social power and aristocratic politics and to create an independent and free colony. Their dreams were finally realized with the issue of The Declaration of Independence and the victory of the war of Independence. In the Constitution adopted in 1789, the immigrants were in favor of the separation of religion and the government, limit the church’s right to interference in government affairs. The decision made by these early immigrants had a far-reaching impact on the formation of the early social identity. Because of the restriction of Church and government’s right and the abolition of the feudal aristocracy they built a free society. The establishment of the United States of America has closely linking with the concept of individual freedom. Individual freedom was one of the most basic and important values to the early American immigrants. Some foreign scholars and researchers often call it individualism. Liberal-Americans think that everyone may determine their fate, in accordance with their wishes and the ability which will never be affected by any outside forces including the government, church, the aristocratic class, or any other authority control, etc.2. CooperationAs a country created from the wilderness, the United States has many opportunities to develop in the early years of the exploration because of the abundant of natural resources. It is difficult for one single man to live in this wild and hard environment. The early immigrants knew clearly that cooperation is the only way for them to live in this bad condition. They did a lot of team work to explore the farm land and build the houses. Corporative spirit became one of the most important valuesof American immigration cultures.B. Pioneering, Innovative and Adventurous spiritOpportunity is a kind of magic strength that drew people to America. It not only attracted Europe nobles who dreamed of establishing great new estates out of the wilderness to come to America, but also carpenters bakers, tailors and other skilled cook men who could not find job in their home county. Most of all, it attracted the poor and the homeless from the farmlands and villages of Europe, it offered people a chance to live a better life than they could hope in the Old World.As everyone knows that the great success is behind the big risk. From the time of the first British immigrants setting foot on the North America continent to the time of the establishment of the Unite States of America, half century passed. The wild natured condition of North America continent stimulated the immigrants to work hard. Gradually, they formed a kind of character of bearing hardship and standing hard work. And the utilization of the rich resources and development of North America bred America’s pioneering spirit and the spirit of adventure.From the perspective of culture, in some extent, early America has been a culture vacuum. A great number of immigrants who were tired about traditional system of culture came to America with rebellious spirit dominated their mind. Most of them were rarely found in traditional conservative thinking, because the dangerous and wild environment forces them to give up part of what had been desirable and traditional in the Old World. Adventure is the way for them to change their way of life. Gradually this adventurous spirit of the American people has become the tradition. Theyregarded a journey of adventure as the opportunity for their development and life as a journey of adventure to explore the opportunities. This adventurous spirit has permeated the American people in all aspects of life. Americans stressed the spirit of innovation; they believe that the chance exists everywhere; Apart from legislation, the Americans think that most of the traditions are the barriers for the development. They are willing to challenge tradition and precedent. The United States is unlike China, India, the United Kingdom and some other countries in the world which boast long history and splendid civilization, therefore, American people would like to accept the new ideas as quickly as they can. American has the courage to challenge the tradition and the authority. They always think that "I am expert or authority” This is th e American character.C. Equality and CompetitionBecause America was never ruled over by King or Queen, no one has privilege in this New World. Only one’s ability could decide the wealth under the condition of equal opportunity. So equality and competition are the pursuits of early America immigrants.1. EqualityIt is well known that America was never ruled over by kings, queens and big feudal nobles. Land was plentiful and labor was scarce in colonial America, and every free man had an opportunity to achieve economic independence. Many immigrants from European continent took the thought of bourgeois freedom to America. They believed that only one’s ability could decide the wealth under the condition of equalopportunity. Generally, Americans do not envy the wealth of others but praise and appreciate wealthy man. American believes in the dictum: the extent of one’s wealth shows one’s ability.In the Early history of the United States, many immigrants came from Europe to settle down in the United States because they thought there would be more chance of success. In their original countries, their personal success mainly depended on social background, but in American society, there was no hereditary class of nobles; the success depends entirely on individual’s struggle.Most of the early immigrants’ hopes and dreams were realized in the New World. These tens of millions of migrants have successfully established a personal belief in equality. Every body was deeply attracted by this new phenomenon in the new country. The more they knew the depth of American society, the more they found that the individual equality is the basic faith of this country. People coming from different background keep it unswervingly.To understand the true meaning of America’s equalit y of opportunity is very important. Everyone has equal opportunity to succeed. Equality means equal opportunities for everyone to participate in this contest and finally win. That’s the "fair play" fair competition . It is the key to understand the fundamental values of equality of opportunity. In 1860, the 16th president of America, Abraham Lincoln explained the belief like this: we hope that even the most humble people can have a chance to become rich. Like other people. A person may initially be poor, but in a free society he can improve his situation. In the course of his life, he knows there isnothing that can not be changed.2. CompetitionTruly, equal opportunity is very important for one’s success. In order to get equal opportunity, one has to pay prices. One of the prices is the fierce competition. If we take life as a marathon race, we clearly know that every contestant has to compete with others, including the stronger and weaker and some talents .only when one went all out to run can he finally win. A person must compete with others, including those with their considerable talents of peer competition. Those who finally won in the competition were referred to as "heroes" and respected by people; while, those who were afraid of the competition and lost in the competition were looked upon as “losers", and despised by peopleIn the United States, the pressure of competition began from childhood and extended to retirement. Facing all kind of competitions is a part of their growth. Competitive pressures make the Americans more vital, but they also make people anxious and nervous all the time. When they retire, they can be freed from the pressure of competition. However, a new problem has emerged. They feel that they have become useless in a society and they feel lost. That is why the elderly people in the United States can not get the same respect as they get in other countries.D. PragmatismWhen the first group of settlers came to the North America, they found the natural environment there was so tough, and they were isolated from the European civilization. In order to adapt themselves to the new circumstances, they became lessformal but more pragmatic. The pragmatism became the philosophy of American. Because the United States has no long and splendid ancient culture, the creation of culture was in the development of North America continent. To develop this wealthy virgin, it is necessary for immigrants to break all the rules and subject to the solution of practical problems. In this historical background, the national philosophy of pragmatism was gradually formed in the United States .They expressed the belief that usefulness, effectiveness and benefit are the truth." Under the influence of the philosophy of pragmatism, Americans do not like the formal, abstract philosophy. In the eyes of the Americans, practicality is the truth, success is the truth.E. Materialism and Money supremacyAmerican culture is based on the material. American people believe that comfortable standard of living is their pursuit. They have a sense of superiority to those whose living condition is not better than them. When Americans talk about a person's value, they mainly refer to material values as the ordinary standard. One of the main reasons for early immigrants to flood into the United States is that they want to live a better life, which perhaps is the most fundamental reason. Of course, most of the immigrants did not become rich overnight, and a considerable part lived a dismal life. But generally speaking, compared with the past, the overwhelming majority of Americans have improved the quality of life. People are passionate, progressive in American society. They must work hard to pursue the material wealth. When early immigrants came to this virgin territory, they were surprised by the rich natural resources of North America. Only work hard is the only way for them to survive innew world. And only by working hard can they realize their dreams. To some extent material wealth is the rewards or returns of the hard work. Wealth is one of important way to prove one’s ability. In the late of the 18th century, the Constitution of the United States claimed that the number of material wealth reflects the ability of the individual differences. Many people are tried to seek career development at all costs. It almost became an American creed for an inferior person to change into a millionaire. And it was the dominant value in American society. Entrepreneurs were generally respected; the businessman became a popular hero. Everyone wanted to run enterprises to become rich.F. ToleranceThe United States is a country of immigrants. Its ancestors were from around the world. When People immigrated to the United States, they not only shifted in geographical position but also changed the old customs and cultures of their host countries to adapt themselves to a new environment. People have their differences obviously. Because of the difference, people will not pay special attention to uniformity. Day by day, Americans developed a high degree of cultural tolerance. They tolerate the different opinions, different attitudes, different customs and different cultures.Politically speaking, this tolerance is in the pursuit of freedom and in the protection of freedom. In religion, it is embodied in the harmonious coexistence of different faiths. In living areas, it is presented as different ethnic groups living together peacefully. In the United States, each person can choose different ideas,beliefs, lifestyles and traditions basically. To some extent, people can maintain their traditional customs. For example, Jews celebrate their religious festivals, Christians also celebrate their festivals. Another example is that the Chinese-Americans speak Chinese living and working in Chinatown. Vietnamese immigrants living in "Saigon" do business and various activities in their own ways.In addition to the diverse presentations of American tolerance, American tolerance is also related with frequent movement of Americans. As we know, the westward development is an important part of American history. At that time, the early pioneers either trekked or rode, from east to west, from south to north. Where there are opportunities, where they just moved. The Continuous and high frequency of relocation make people be always in a "flow" state. They have stronger ability to tolerate and accept the variety of temporary phenomenon. In addition, the movement can also help people expand their horizons, know more about different customs. Gradually, people began sympathize the different customs, understand the diversity of customs and finally accept the different customs.?Americans are tolerant; very few Americans would like to impose their will on other people. For instance, a husband may be a Republican, but he never forces his wife to change her political viewpoint to support of the Democratic Party's position. Similarly, the mother may be a Catholic but she never forces her son to convert his belief into Muslims. In the daily time, this spirit of tolerance is not uncommon.Ⅲ. Religion in AmericaMany people came to America to search for religious freedom.? Their hope wasto escape the religious persecution they were facing in their countries.? The one thing they did not want to do was to establish a church like the Church of England.? The colonists wanted a chance to worship freely and have an opportunity to choose which religion they wanted to take part in.? Upon arriving in America the Pilgrims being the first to arrive in 1620 , the journey began for the search of the "perfect" religion that could satisfy the needs of the peopleModern Americans are inclined to look back especially to the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed in the mayflower in 1620, for a symbol of the origin of their new country. Because of the troubles and religious persecution in England, a group of puritans from eastern England tried to go to Holland in 1607 in search of religious freedom. But their attempt to leave England was unsuccessful, they were arrested. Until 1620 they finally sailed to their promising land. After that, more and more people who wanted to get rid of religious persecution arrived in the shore of America. They brought with them their old beliefs and had the right to choose the new religious beliefs.Religion is a very important component of American immigration culture. Religion is national. Over 90 percent of Americans say they believe in God. America is a multi-religious country. A recent encyclopedia cites 12,000 religious groups in America, but the mainstream is the Protestant denominations. On the whole, it is a Christian country because Christianity is the dominant religion there.Overall, religion was an important aspect in the colonization of America.? It became a dominant part of the lives of the colonists and continued to grow over the years.? Events such as the Salem Witchcraft Trials of the 1690's and the GreatAwakening of the 1730's only increased the influence of religion in America.? America had become a refuge for those who wanted religious freedom and became a home to the many people that had the chance to improve their lives.ConclusionThe formation of American immigration culture is closely related with the development of the United States of America. American immigration culture made a great contribution to the development of the American history. Native America or immigrants from overseas held the same dream of changing their social class and desired to make their life time dream come true through their own efforts. In order to adapt themselves to the new environments, they became less formal but more pragmatic. They grew less conservative and more outspoken. Large tracts of virgin soil promoted the development of competition and cultivated a stronger sense for liberty and variety. The formation of a new nation by people of different national origins forced social life to show more elasticity. Compromise and tolerance became a necessity. Religion thus gradually became a private affair. When the immigrants came to the American continent, they brought with them their native traditions, customs and living patterns. The immigrants from all part of the world have greatly enriched American life. The United States is a "melting pot" in which the foreigners have sometimes remained culturally and linguistically what they were in their native lands even as they move toward becoming citizens of the United States, and it is still a country whose people share a common cultural outlook and set of values which are included in the American immigration cultures.AcknowledgementsFinally, I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to those who spend their precious time in reading this thesis. My idea for the thesis sprang from the enlightenment of Mrs. Huang Tianhong, my tutor, to whom I owed great gratitude and appreciation. She gave me invaluable instructions and encouragement.Moreover, I am deeply grateful to those teachers who gave me much help in the four years, such as Mr. Deng Xingyi, Mr. Zhang Chun, Mr. Zhou Ronghui, Mrs. LiaoHong, and Mr. Liu Youlong. 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