U.S. Embassy & Consulates
in China

Americans come in all different colors and nationalities. Americans practice different religions, and live many different lifestyles. Important differences exist between geographical regions, between rural and urban areas, and between social classes. In addition, the presence of millions of immigrants who came to the United States from all corners of the world with their own culture and values adds even more variety and flavor to American life. Although Americans do not always agree with each other, they are united by a very special thing: the values and ideals that were originally described in the U.S. Constitution over 200 years ago.

Probably above everything else, Americans consider themselves individuals. There are strong family ties and strong loyalties to groups, but individuality and individual rights are most important. If this seems like a selfish attitude, it also leads Americans to an honest respect for other individuals and an insistence on human equality.

Related to this respect for individuality are American traits of independence and self- reliance. From an early age, children are taught to “stand on their own two feet,” an idiom meaning to be independent. Honesty and frankness are two more aspects of American individuality, and they are more important to Americans than personal honor or “saving face.”

Americans place a high value on achievement and this leads them to constantly compete against each other. You will find friendly, and not-so-friendly, competition everywhere. Americans can also be obsessed with records of achievement in sports, in business, or even in more mundane things. On the other hand, even if Americans are often competitive, they also have a good sense of teamwork and of cooperating with others to achieve a specific goal.

Americans are often accused of being materialistic and driven to succeed. How much money a person has, how much profit a business deal makes, or how many material goods an individual accumulates is often their definition of success. This goes back to American competitiveness. Many Americans, however, do not agree with this definition of success; they enjoy life’s simple pleasures and are neither overly ambitious nor aggressive. Many Americans are materially successful and still have time to appreciate the cultural, spiritual, and human aspects of life.

Online Reading

Civil Rights

Internet Links

• Civil Rights
  – A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers Project, Stanford University)
  – Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights
  – Civil Rights: A Chronology
  – The King Center (living memorial and institutional guardian of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King)
  – The King Papers Project (Stanford University)
  – National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
  – National Organization for Women
  – Native American Rights Fund
  – U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
  – We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement

• Crime & Justice
  – Crime Issues: Self Defense and Gun Control (National Center for Policy Analysis)
  – National Crime Prevention Council
  – National Criminal Justice Reference Service (U.S. Department of Justice)

• Diversity & Immigration
  – Asian American Studies Center (University of California, Los Angeles)
  – Asian-Nation (resource and overview of the historical, demographic, political, and cultural issues that make up today’s diverse Asian American community)
  – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
  – National Congress of American Indians
  – National Immigration Forum
  – National Urban League (devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream)
  – Our Shared History: African-American Heritage (National Park Service)
  – Pew Hispanic Center

• Family Life & Youth
  – Administration for Children and Families (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
  – Child and Family Web Guide (Tufts University)
  – Council on Contemporary Families
  – Harvard Family Research Project
  – Youth Law Center
• Population & Demographics
  – American FactFinder: Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data (U.S. Census Bureau)
  – Demographics of the U.S. Labor Force (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
  – State & County QuickFacts (U.S. Census Bureau)
  – The 2008 Statistical Abstract: Population (U.S. Census Bureau)
  – U.S. Population Clock (U.S. Census Bureau)
  – USA People QuickFacts (U.S. Census Bureau)

• Religion
  – American Jewish Congress
  – American Religion Data Archive (Association of Religion Data Archives)
  – Divining America: Religion in American History
  – Freedom from Religion Foundation
  – National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
  – The Pluralism Project (Harvard University)
• Social Welfare
  – Americans with Disabilities Act
  – Disability Rights Advocates
  – DisabilityInfo.gov (U.S. Department of Labor)
  – EPI Issue Guide: Social Security (Economic Policy Institute)
  – GovBenefits.gov
  – Government Benefits, Grants, and Financial Aid (USA.gov)
  – Project on Social Security Choice (Cato Institute)
  – Public Agenda Issue Guides: Social Security
  – Social Security History (Social Security Administration)
• Women
  – Center for American Women and Politics
  – League of Women Voters
  – The Learning Page: Women’s History (Library of Congress)
  – National Women’s History Project (NWHP)
  – National Women’s Law Center