“There ought to be no New England men, no New Yorker, but all of us Americans…”
Founder’s Quote
“There ought to be no New England men, no New Yorker, &c., [sic] known on the Continent, but all of us Americans…” — Christopher Gadsen 1765
What does it mean to be American? Or maybe, what did it mean?
We have a pretty good idea what that meant at our founding as our incredibly literate founders read and wrote extensively to each other and to the people, detailing and working out how to create a new type of nation.
“The name of AMERICAN, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.” George Washington, Farewell Address 1796
What I see that stands out here for Washington is the distinction between “local discriminations” and a national identity. There is value in both, but they should be placed in a hierarchy of differentiated value.
At the heart of that concept is an idea about identity relegated to the individual while also identifying with a collective identity, paradoxically putting something about the individual first. It seems like something almost…
