The Importance Of Being An American

One of our greatest leaders, Abraham Lincoln, once argued, “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves” (Letter to H.L. Pierce, April 6, 1859). As Lincoln was fighting for freedom for all, he believed that it was morally wrong for one human to own another. He also thought that it was wrong to take away a chance of freedom from others. This relates to Thomas Paine's beliefs: He believed that if someone supports freedom, then they must to join the fight, and if they don’t then their children will have to suffer the consequences. On November 20, 1776, the American forces retreated from Fort Lee because the colonist were struggling to fight against the British. After the American forces retreated, Paine, a political activist and governor of Virginia, wrote a series of sixteen pamphlets called The American Crisis to lift the colonist's sagging spirits due to the devastating loss. In The Crisis No. 1, Paine implements language, a hopeful tone, and diction, to convey his purpose of persuading the men in the colonies to enlist in the war in an effort to retaliate against Great Britain, and assist the army to victory so the future generations don’t have to suffer.

Being an American means to represent the justice, natural rights, and freedom for an individual. Many citizens indulge in these terms and make their own personal lifestyles out of them. Throughout history Americans have constantly fought for their rights. Some battles lasting longer than others, for example, the fight with Great Britain lasted over 7 years. At that time, due to the length of the fight, many had begun to rebel and form organizations that went against Great Britain. Most of these groups all had a similar goal; helping the American colonies and the nation fight back against Britain. All those who were part of an organization felt that the relationship with Britain had been more harm than help. They had viewed it as more of a contract, since the colony’s voices and opinions were not heard, or at least not taken into consideration. As the American’s power drastically fell along with their moral, Thomas Paine, an English American activist and revolutionary, had delivered multiple speeches, together known as “Crisis No.1”, which gave the colonies the encouragement needed to continue their fight for rights.

Thomas Paine’s inspiring words got the colonists to realize that their rights were valuable and that they had to fight against Parliament for their rights which were taken. Freedom was said to be a gift from God, when given, people should not take it for granted. “Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated”(Paine). Freedom is the right to speak, act, or do as one pleases. Freedom is considered a gift from heaven, to everyone it's valuable and can not be replaced. When the colonists were given freedom to choose and act for themselves they took it for granted. When their rights were taken away from them, they started to realize that the

At this point, Paine was able to start stressing the importance of winning independence from England, and how America can survive on its own. Paine points out that Great Britain's protection was because of "interest and not attachment, and that Great Britain did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from their enemies on their account."(Common Sense pg. 23). Paine gets the Colonists to

In 1791, Thomas Paine shared his perspective on the country of America. Born in England, Paine was an intellectual and a supporter of American Independence. In Paine’s passage “Rights of Man” he examines the characterization of America in 1791. He begins his passage by stating that “if there was a country where concord would be least expected it would be America.” Paine explains his reasoning by saying it is because America is made up of people from different countries, languages, religions, and governments.

In the story, Crisis by Thomas Paine, the main conversation focuses on the war fought by our founders with Britain, they wanted to live in a world where we can all enjoy “[l]ife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”

I believe that what it means to be an American is to struggle,not be accepted for you are,and to feel and be treated as someone less then other people. To be an American is to struggle with being undocumented and not being able to have a an actual document stating you went to school and have and education. “The federal dream act, which would have provided a path for undocumented children and would penalize states that failed to provide in-state tuition for undocumented students, failed to make it through congress in 2011. (I’m American too’:Undocumented students wait for Obama)” This is a key factor as to why being an American isn’t always

Freedom and independence is conveyed throughout Thomas Paine’s, The Crisis Number 1, through the way Paine talks about the future of the world and the potential future of America. The main purpose of this work was to encourage people to join the fight for America. In this work Paine says, “[w]hat we obtain, too cheap, we esteem too lightly:--'Tis dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to set a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated”(Paine 1). Paine’s purpose behind writing this piece was that he wanted to inspire others to join the fight for America. Therefore, Paine is trying to illustrate an image for people so that they will appreciate America, in addition to the new freedom they will receive in America. Although things may not be valuable economically, they can be valuable in other ways and freedom is one of those things. America is a privilege, in addition to the freedom it has to

In the midst of revolution, influential authors Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson each speak volumes about the clear vision that is to become independent America. It is the work of these individuals that one may accredit the characterization of America as it stands in the present day. In a country built on “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” certain values have been deemed favorable by the founding fathers. American political culture has thus been molded into one representative of liberty, equality, democracy, individualism, and nationalism; each of which Paine, Franklin, and Jefferson advocate for in some capacity through their writings.

As the year 1776 began in the American colonies, tension with King George III’s England was at perhaps an all-time high.  Americans were frustrated with the actions of their rulers overseas.  Taxes and trade restrictions had been placed on them, and British and mercenary soldiers occupied their towns and cities.  There had even been fighting at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill.  As America grew, England’s hold on it tightened, and a few voices began speaking of independence.  The loudest and most convincing of these belonged to Thomas Paine, born in England and living in Philadelphia.  His pamphlet, Common Sense, expressed the argument for American independence in a way no one had before and had a great influence on the Declaration of

Thomas Paine, born British but later a proud American, was certainly one of the most revolutionary thinkers of his time. In his pamphlet, Rights of Man, he describes what it meant to live in America, and how it stood out from Western Europe. Paine illustrated the United States as being “of people from different nations...” who were ultimately are seamlessly united under one democratic government. He pointed out that only in America, could you find a government which didn’t oppress the impoverished nor grant her wealthier citizens with special privileges that separated them from the common folk. Lastly, Paine addressed the true purpose of any democratic government which is to serve the people it governs by bringing them just reform. Paine’s characterization of America still holds true today, evidenced by: the diverse ethnic makeup of America,the recent tax cut, which benefits middle-class Americans, and the crafting of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution following the Civil War.

In the writings of Thomas Paine the “Common Sense” and “America Crisis”, he goes into explaining the experiences of the American people under the oppression of the British. Remarkably, the Americans were not able to seemingly express how the felt. Thru his writings Paine felt responsible to unify the Americans which later led to the rise of the Revolutionary War. We can clearly see that sense of responsibility in his writings, “We have boasted the protection of Great Britain without considering that her motive was interest, not attachment; and she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from her enemies on her own account.” Is sad to see where we have come nowadays, most Americans have lost that spirit of unity and only

Friends, Colleges, fellow men and women alike, I stand in front of you today, appalled by the state of this world, this country, and I know, you are too. I stand before you today, not as a Democrat, Republican, or Independent. I do not stand as a liberal or a conservative. I stand as an American citizen. I have seen the path back, all the way back to the time when we fought not for our liberties, but for our neighbor’s liberties, and so that our children could live better lives than we did. In our country, today, we must fight to elect the lesser of two evil politicians so that one of them can expand the power of the Executive branch further than was originally intended by their own people.

Holidays are an important part of being an American. Our generation says it's the things you do to show you're an American. As an American we have many holidays they are celebrated around our country that nobody else has a reason to celebrate. An example is the holiday Independence Day (the Fourth of July). No one around the world celebrates the Fourth of July but the Americans. We celebrate this day because it shows when we first got our independence by adopting the Declaration of Independence. This broke the country out of the thirteen colonies. It also shows that we didn’t have to follow another's rules and became the United States of America.

United States citizenship ship is something many people from all over the world aspire to obtain. To be a US citizen, you have to have been born in The United States or have a parent that was a citizen of the United States at the time of your birth. If you do not meet one of those requirements, then you're not a US citizen, but you can become one. To gain US citizenship, you have to meet certain eligibility requirements, be a legal permanent resident of the United States, and go through the naturalization process. This process can take up to two years, depending on which state you live in. Once you are a United States citizen, you get certain rights, laws to follow, freedom, responsibilities, and more. By contrast citizens of many other nations are lacking in many rights. Even if you are a US citizen, then you still may not have equal rights as other people, which many Americans have fought for.