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  WEB VP OUTPUT FOR FILE: Chapter 1

Recategorized words: None

Note: In the output text, punctuation (but not sentence capitalization) is eliminated; figures (1, 20,
etc) are replaced by the word number; contractions are replaced by constituent words; type-token
ration is calculated using constituents; and in the 1k sub-analysis content + function words may
sum to less than total (depending on user treatment of proper nouns, and program decision to
class numbers as 1k although not contained in 1k list).

   Families Types Tokens Percent

  First 500: ... ... (2387) (71.11%)
K1 Words (1 392 563 2819 83.97%
to 1000): Words in text (tokens): 3357
  Function: ... ... (1584) (47.18%) Different words (types): 833
  Content: ... ... (1234) (36.76%) Type-token ratio: 0.25
(Tokens per type: 4.03)
K2 Words Function-content ratio: 0.47
(1001 to 54 63 120 3.57%
2000): Onlist Tokens: 3156
AWL Words 82 107 217 6.46%
Onlist Types: 733
(academic): Onlist Type-Token: 0.23
Onlist Families: 528
MED Words ... 14 92 2.74% Onlist Family/token: 0.17
(technical): Onlist Family/type: 0.72
Off-List ? 88 109 3.25%
Words:
  528+? 833 3357 100%

Output text: The Context of Traditional American Values Racial

Ethnic Religious and Cultural Diversity number From the
beginning of the history of the United States there has been
diversity—Native Americans throughout the North American
continent Spanish settlers in the Southwest and in Florida French
missionaries and fur traders along the Mississippi River black
slaves brought from African countries Dutch settlers in New York
Germans in Pennsylvania and of course the British colonists
whose culture eventually provided the language and the
foundation for the political and economic systems that developed
in the United States number Most early Americans recognized this
diversity or pluralism as a fact of life The large variety of ethnic
cultural and religious groups meant that accepting diversity was
the only practical choice even if some people were not
enthusiastic about it or were even threatened by it However in time
many Americans came to see strength in their country diversity
Today there is widespread recognition of the value of cultural
pluralism particularly among young people number When we
examine the system of basic values that emerged in the late
numbers and began to define the American character we must
remember this context of cultural pluralism How could a nation of
such enormous diversity produce a recognizable national identity
number John Zogby an American pollster who surveys public
opinion says that what holds the United States together is that we
all share a common set of values that make us American We are
defined by the rights we have Our rights are our history why the
first European settlers came here and why millions more have
come here since number Historically the United States has been
viewed as the land of opportunity attracting immigrants from all
over the world The opportunities they believed they would find in
America and the experiences that most people actually had when
they arrived nurtured a unique set of values We will examine six
basic values that have become traditional American values Three
represent traditional reasons why immigrants have been drawn to
America the chance for individual freedom equality of opportunity
and material wealth In order to achieve these benefits however
there were prices to be paid self reliance competition and hard
work In time these prices themselves became part of the traditional
value system This system of values then consists of three pairs of
benefits and the price people paid to have these benefits individual
freedom and self reliance equality of opportunity and competition
material wealth and hard work number These three pairs of values
have determined the unique culture of the United States and its
people Another way of thinking about these basic values involves
rights and responsibilities Americans believe that people have the
right to individual freedom equality of opportunity and the promise
of material success but these all require substantial responsibility
self reliance a willingness to compete and hard work After
examining the historical origin of each of these pairs we will
discuss the current state of these values in the United States today
Individual Freedom and Self Reliance number The earliest settlers
came to the North American continent to establish colonies that
were free from the controls that existed in European societies They
wanted to escape the controls placed on many aspects of their
lives by kings and governments priests and churches noblemen
and aristocrats number To a great extent they succeeded In
number the British colonial settlers declared their independence
from England and established a new nation the United States of
America In so doing they defiednumber the king of England and
declared that the power to govern would lie in the hands of the
people They were now free from the power of the kings In number
when they wrote the Constitution for their new nation they
separated church and state so that there would never be a
government supported church This greatly limited the power of the
church Also in writing the Constitution they expressly forbade
titles of nobility to ensure that an aristocratic society would not
develop There would be no ruling class of noblemen in the new
nation number The historic decisions made by those first settlers
have had a profoundnumber effect on the shaping of the American
character By limiting the power of the government and the
churches and eliminating a formal aristocracy the early settlers
created a climate of freedom where the emphasis was on the
individual The United States came to be associated in their minds
with the concept of individual freedom This is probably the most
basic of all the American values Scholars and outside observers
often call this value individualism but many Americans use the
word freedom It is one of the most respected and popular words in
the United States today number By freedom Americans mean the
desire and the right of all individuals to control their own destiny
without outside interference from the government a ruling noble
class the church or any other organized authority The desire to be
free of controls was a basic value of the new nation in number and
it has continued to attract immigrants to this country number
There is however a cost for this benefit of individual freedom self
reliance Individuals must learn to rely on themselves or risk losing
freedom They must take responsibility for themselves Traditionally
this has meant achieving both financial and emotional
independence from their parents as early as possible usually by
age eighteen or twenty one Self reliance means that Americans
believe they should take care of themselves solve their own
problems and stand on their own two feet Tocqueville observed
the Americans belief in self reliance in the numbers They owe
nothing to any man they expect nothing from any man they acquire
the habit of always considering themselves as standing alone and
they are apt tonumber imagine that their whole destiny is in their
own hands number This strong belief in self reliance continues
today as a traditional American value It is perhaps one of the most
difficult aspects of the American character to understand but it is
profoundly important Most Americans believe that they must be
self reliant in order to keep their freedom If they rely too much on
the support of their families or the government or any organization
they may lose some of their freedom to do what they want Even if
they are not truly self reliant most Americans believe they must at
least appear to be so In order to be in the mainstream of American
life—to have power and or respect—individuals must be seen as
self reliant number For example if adult children return home to
live with their parents because of economic conditions or a failed
marriage most members of the family expect this to be a short
term arrangement until the children can find a job and be self
reliant Although receiving financial support from charity number
family or the government is possible it is usually expected to be
for a short time and it is generally not admired Eventually most
Americans would say people have a responsibility for taking care
of themselves Equality of Opportunity and Competition number
The second important reason why immigrants have traditionally
been drawn to the United States is the belief that everyone has a
chance to succeed here Generations of immigrants have come to
the United States with this expectation They have felt that because
individuals are free from excessive political religious and social
controls they have a better chance for personal success Of
particular importance is the lack of a hereditarynumber aristocracy
number Because titles of nobility were forbidden in the
Constitution no formal class system developed in the United
States In the early years of American history many immigrants
chose to leave older European societies because they believed
that they had a better chance to succeed in America In the old
country the country from which they came their place in life was
determined largely by the social class into which they were born
They knew that in America they would not have to live among
noble families who possessed great power and wealth inherited
and accumulated over hundreds of years number The hopes and
dreams of many of these early immigrants were fulfilled in their
new country The lower social class into which many were born did
not prevent them from trying to rise to a higher social position
Many found that they did indeed have a better chance to succeed
in the United States than in the old country Because millions of
these immigrants succeeded Americans came to believe in
equality of opportunity When Tocqueville visited the United States
in the numbers he was impressed by the great uniformity of
conditions of life in the new nation He wrote The more I advanced
in the study of American society the more I perceived that equality
of condition is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to
be derived number It is important to understand what most
Americans mean when they say they believe in equality of
opportunity They do not mean that everyone is—or should be—
equal However they do mean that each individual should have an
equal chance for success Americans see much of life as a race for
success For them equality means that everyone should have an
equal chance to enter the race and win In other words equality of
opportunity may be thought of as an ethical rule It helps ensure
that the race for success is a fair one and that a person does not
win just because he or she was born into a wealthy family or lose
because of race or religion This American concept of fair play is an
important aspect of the belief in equality of opportunity number
President Abraham Lincoln expressed this belief in the numbers
when he said We wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance
to get rich with everybody else When one starts poor as most do in
the race of life free society is such that he knows he can better his
condition he knows that there is no fixed condition of labor for his
whole life number However the price to be paid for this equality of
opportunity is competition If much of life is seen as a race then a
person must run the race in order to succeed a person has the
responsibility to compete with others even though we know not
everyone will be successful If every person has an equal chance to
succeed in the United States then many would say that it is every
person duty to try number The pressures of competition in the life
of an American begin in childhood and continue until retirement
from work Learning to compete successfully is part of growing up
in the United States and competition is encouraged by strong
programs of competitive sports provided by the public schools
and community groups Competitive sports are now popular with
both men and women number The pressure to compete causes
Americans to be energetic but it also places a constant emotional
strain on them When they retire they are at last free from the
pressures of competition But then a new problem arises Some
may feel useless and unwanted in a society that gives so much
prestigenumber to those who compete well This may be one
reason why older people in the United States sometimes do not
have as much honor and respect as they have in other less
competitive societies In fact generally speaking any group of
people who do not compete successfully—for whatever reason—
do not fit into the mainstream of American life as well as those
who do compete and succeed Material Wealth and Hard Work
number The third reason why immigrants have traditionally come
to the United States is to have a better life—that is to raise their
standard of living For the vast majority of the immigrants who
came here this was probably the most compelling reason for
leaving their homeland Because of its incredibly abundant natural
resources the United States appeared to be a land of plenty where
millions could come to seek their fortunes Of course most
immigrants did not get rich overnight and many of them suffered
terribly but the majority of them were eventually able to improve
upon their former standard of living Even if they were not able to
achieve the economic success they wanted they could be fairly
certain that their children would have the opportunity for a better
life The phrase going from rags to riches became a slogannumber
for the American Dream Because of the vast riches of the North
American continent the dream came true for many of the
immigrants They achieved material success and many became
very attached to material things Material wealth became a value to
the American people number Placing a high value on material
possessions is called materialism but this is a word that most
Americans find offensive To say that a person is materialistic is an
insult To an American this means that this person values material
possessions above all else Americans do not like to be called
materialistic because they feel that this unfairly accuses them of
loving only material things and of having no religious values In
fact most Americans do have other values and ideals Nevertheless
acquiring and maintaining a large number of material possessions
is still of great importance to most Americans Why is this so
number One reason is that material wealth has traditionally been a
widely accepted measure of social status in the United States
Because Americans rejected the European system of hereditary
aristocracy and titles of nobility they had to find a substitute for
judging social status The quality and quantity of an individual
material possessions became an accepted measure of success
and social status Moreover as we shall see in the religion chapter
the Puritan work ethic associated material success with godliness
number Americans have paid a price however for their material
wealth hard work The North American continent was rich in natural
resources when the first settlers arrived but all these resources
were undeveloped Only by hard work could these natural
resources be converted into material possessions allowing a more
comfortable standard of living Hard work has been both necessary
and rewarding for most Americans throughout their history
Because of this they came to see material possessions as the
natural reward for their hard work In some ways material
possessions were seen not only as tangiblenumber evidence of
people work but also of their abilities In the late numbers James
Madison the father of the American Constitution stated that the
difference in material possessions reflected a difference in
personal abilities number Most Americans still believe in the value
of hard work Most believe that people should hold jobs and not
live off welfare payments from the government There have been
many efforts to reform the welfare system so that people would not
become dependent on welfare and stop looking for jobs to support
themselves However a larger question is how much hard work will
really improve a person standard of living and level of material
wealth Is it still possible to work hard and get rich in America
number As the United States has shifted from an industry based
economy to one that is service or information based there has
been a decline in high paying jobs for factory workers It is now
much more difficult for the average worker to go from rags to
riches in the United States and many wonder what has happened
to the traditional American Dream As the United States competes
in a global economy many workers are losing their old jobs and
finding that they and their family members must now work longer
hours for less money and fewer benefits When the economy
weakens everyone suffers and there are greater numbers of the
working poor—those who work hard but have low paying jobs that
do not provide a decent standard of living and may not provide
health insurance and retirement benefits and many have to rely on
some outside assistance from the government or other sources
American Values and the State of the American Dream number In
recent years as the economy has declined many observers have
asked if the American Dream is really dead For the most part the
American Dream has not meant that the average American can
really go from rags to riches It has traditionally meant that by
working hard parents can enable their children to have a better life
when they grow up Every generation could be a little more
prosperous and successful than their parents While the distance
between the very rich number and the rest of the population has
dramatically increased over the last years the overwhelming
majority of Americans still believe in the ideal of the American
Dream—that is if they work hard they and their children can have a
better life The ideal of upward mobility still exists in America
However we must distinguish between idealism and reality in
understanding the relationship between what Americans believe
and how they live Some who find that they are working longer
hours for less money still hope that the American Dream will exist
again if not for them then for their children number American
values such as equality of opportunity and self reliance are ideals
that may not necessarily describe the reality of American life
Equality of opportunity for example is an ideal that is not always
put into practice In reality some people have a better chance for
success than others Those who are born into rich families have
more opportunities than those who are born into poorer families
Inheriting money does give a person a decided advantage Race
and gender may still be factors affecting success although there
are laws designed to promote equality of opportunity for all
individuals And of course new immigrants continue to face
challenges unique to their situation number The fact that American
ideals are only partly carried out in real life does not diminish their
importance Most Americans still believe in them and are strongly
affected by them in their everyday lives It is easier to understand
what Americans are thinking and feeling if we can understand what
these traditional American cultural values are and how they have
influenced almost every facetnumber of life in the United States
number It is important to remember two things about these values
First they are cultural values they are the cultural engine that
drives the United States and continues to power a nation where
people from all over the world come and become American
Secondly putting these six values together into a system creates
something new As Aristotle said the whole is greater than the sum
of its parts The relationship among these values—the rights and
the responsibilities—creates the fabric of the American society It is
this fabric that defines the American Dream—the belief that if
people take responsibility for their lives and work hard they will
have the individual freedom to pursue their personal goals and a
good opportunity to compete for success These values are so
tightly woven together that if any one of them is pulled out or even
disturbed the entire fabric is affected and may unravel number
Finally these six cultural values—individual freedom self reliance
equality of opportunity competition material wealth and hard work
—do not tell the whole story of the American character Rather they
form the basic structure or framework of the American culture
They enable a nation of enormous diversity to create a national
identity number In the next three chapters we will examine three
historical factors that reinforced and helped to shape these values
the religious heritage the frontier heritage and the heritage of
abundance The remaining chapters will explore how these values
appear in aspects of American culture business government ethnic
and racial diversity education leisure time and the family The final
chapter will discuss the challenges facing the United States and
their potential impact on the future of the country and its values

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americans american american american european america american
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emotional strain american overnight american american american
americans american americans americans americans americans
european americans american americans american americans reform
america american american american american american american
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