American Culture
American culture is rich, complex, and unique. It emerged from short rapid European invasion of vast landmasses, sparsely settled by diverse indigenous peoples. The African's arrival added yet another new layer of unique cultural complexity to the territories named the New World. These three cultures, European, Indian, and African were very different and yet a lot alike. Their ways of life were significantly diverse although they did share some similarities. It is a combination of these differences and similarities being brought together that have become part of the foundation for the cultivation of a new culture. These three groups when coming together brought with them their own unique practices of social structure. The African and Indian village structure was based on Kinship, "the relationship by blood or marriage to another or others", and was the fundamental component of their village structure, (Encarta). Important also was the fact that these two societies were matrilineal, "property and political status descended through the mother rather than the father" (Tindall 113). Europeans, as the Indians and Africans, also based their social structure on kinship, but this is were the similarities ended. European societ
Women were expected to rear the offspring, support, gather, and maintain the home front. This was the beginning of America's "Great Melting Pot", three different cultures brought together to form the cultural ways of American society today. European gender roles were repressive. Usually after the marriage of a European couple, a contract was signed and a dowry was paid, it was then the wife's duty to take care of the home. y was patrilineal, meaning, "descent is established by tracing descent exclusively through males from founding male ancestor" (Encarta). Many groups of Europeans ventured to the New World in order to have the freedom of practicing the many branches of religion that had stemmed off into different directions from their home land religion. Within these empires were the elders or chiefs who presided under the priests and nobility and over the local villages. African people like the Europeans also included animal husbandry as part of their food supply (Tindall 113). In addition, the family or kinship groups were usually the basis of government or political authority. Important to these kingdoms was the capacity to produce food, clothing and shelter, "Organized hierarchically priests and nobility lorded over farmers and craftsman" (Tindall 113). Political and social classes took on very different aspects among these three groups of peoples. Survival was dependent upon shelter but also on the food supply each of these cultures produced and/or brought with them. In all three cultures, it was the man who ultimately was ruler and chief of his family and household. Like the Africans, Indians were also a pantheistic culture. One common thread of all the different practices of the Europeans was the fact that they were all monotheistic.
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