When the rest of the world is talking about American culture, the first things that tend to come to mind are food (usually huge servings), pop music, or Hollywood movies. And sure enough, they’re definitely all on the list. But if you really want to get a good grip on what makes the U.S. tick, then you need to go way, way deeper than that.
America is a huge, knotty country molded by centuries of immigration, strife, and contradiction. From the single founding principles to the manner in which its states operate as mini-countries, there’s just so much about it that makes complete sense to Americans and which everyone else finds perplexing.
Let’s take a closer examination of what contributes to the uniqueness of America, sometimes frustrating, always worth knowing.
1. The Breathtaking Size and Unpredictable Geography
The U.S. isn’t only large. It’s humongous more than 3 million square miles, with almost every type of climate found on the planet. You have icy tundra in Alaska, desert in the Southwest, tropical beaches in Hawaii and Florida, and pretty much everything else in between.
This geography means that other parts of the country can be like entirely different worlds. Mainers live entirely differently from Arizonans, and driving across America is like driving across five or six countries. That accounts for some of the way there are so many different lifestyles, politics, and even accents in one country.
2. A Country Built on Settlement, Conflict, and Layers of Identity
Prior to Europeans, the Indigenous peoples inhabited the entire continent for thousands of years and built societies with their own language, culture, and systems. And then the wave of European settlers Spanish, British, Dutch, French each grabbing territory.
Include enslaved Africans who were brought against their will to establish the South’s economy, and you had a mix of population that was diverse to begin with. And it wasn’t harmonious integration, either. Land was stripped away, communities were uprooted, and groups were set against one another in terms that continue to define the country’s social relations to this day.
3. The Founding Ideals vs. the Harsh Realities
It was 1776 when the Declaration of Independence introduced some truly lofty ideals: freedom, self-ruling, equal rights. Yet even as those sentences were penned, slavery existed legally and widely throughout the nation, particularly in the South.
This chasm between ideals and facts is one that continues to repeat throughout American history. The Constitution created a system of democracy and checks and balances—but women couldn’t vote, Indigenous people weren’t even counted, and Black Americans were in bondage.
That struggle continues to exist. Americans pride themselves on their founding principles, but they have never been applied equally. It’s one of the toughest aspects of the national narrative to justify.
4. The Urge to Expand At Any Cost
During the 1800s, Americans expanded westward based on the idea that it was their fate to cover up the continent. With the Louisiana Purchase, Texas annexation, the Oregon Territory, and the acquisition following the Mexican-American War, the U.S. expanded extremely quickly.
But this growth was at the horrific expense of Native American populations, many of which were forcibly relocated from their ancestral lands by such legislation as the Indian Removal Act. Thousands of people died in such forced relocations as the Trail of Tears.
This space of time opened up huge hulks of land to America, but it also created indelible wounds that Native communities are still experiencing to this day. “Manifest destiny” is a nice-sounding big and exhilarating-sounding word until you look at what it did to the people already there.
5. The Civil War and the Struggle That Never Really Ended
Slavery ultimately divided the nation in half. The Civil War, which was waged from 1861 to 1865, was one of the bloodiest wars in American history. The North prevailed and slavery was abolished legislatively.
Abolishing slavery did not abolish racism. Following a short period of Reconstruction, the South adopted segregation, and against Black Americans, violence persisted for centuries. The promise of equal rights was found to be merely that, a promise, and never became a reality.
Even now, racial inequality is one of the more entrenched problems in American life. To some, it’s difficult to fathom how a nation built on freedom was so slow and continues to struggle acknowledging that vision.
6. The Gilded Age Boom (and the Inequality That Came with It)
Following the Civil War, America burst forth as an industrial giant. Trains, oil, steel, and banking built vast fortunes largely for a select few. This was the Gilded Age, when robber barons like Rockefeller and Carnegie filled the headlines.
The difference in wealth was breathtaking. Immigrants swarmed into cities to labor in terrible conditions inside factories, but the most well-off Americans enjoyed lavishing life.
Rapid growth of the nation occurred, but the fruits were not fairly divided. This same conflict between progress and inequality remains a shape for many of the debates that occur in the United States, especially in relation to healthcare, education, and taxation.
7. From the World Wars to World Power
By the early 20th century, America was a world superpower. Its contribution to both World Wars, particularly the second one, had turned it into a complete superpower. The conclusion of WWII, wherein the U.S. had atom-bombed Japan, also signified the start of America as a world leader in world affairs.
The Cold War that resulted divided the world on the U.S.-Soviet fault line, fraught with tension and proxy wars for decades, and a frantic rush to the moon culminating in the moon landing.
To everyone but the Americans, this era created America’s persona: strong, rich, and stuck forever in foreign affairs, whether invited or uninvited.
8. The Sole Remaining Superpower
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, America became the sole superpower of the world. It ruled world economics, military blocs, technological change, and cultural forces more than any country.
This more privileged position has attracted praise as well as criticism. For some, the U.S. is a world leader; for others, it is a dominant force. Either situation, it’s impossible to overlook. Its defense spending, global reach of its media, and sway in overseas decision-making has made it the hub of global affairs good or bad.
9. A Strong Economy with Great Divides
The United States has the world’s largest economy. It is the global leader in finance, innovation, and productivity. Students, workers, and entrepreneurs flock from all over the globe.
Economic disparity runs rampant despite its wealth. Poor vs. rich inequality is one of the most extreme in developed countries. Housing prices, access to health care, and education are radically uneven by geography and income level.
Big booms such as the 1990s technology boom are bountiful. But recessions like the 2008 crisis are harsh and take a long time to recover from. The system is liquid, but unstable.
10. Deep Political Divides
Politics has never been more passionate in America, but over the past two decades, left vs. right has only become more polarized. Democrats and Republicans come to look as if they inhabit two different worlds, with utterly conflicting perspectives on fundamental questions.
The riot of January 6, 2021, at the Capitol sent shockwaves around the globe and showed us just how deep-seated the partisanship is. Matters such as immigration, gun control, global warming, and racial justice all tend to fall across party lines with very little room for the middle ground.
And yet, despite all of it, the system remains democratic albeit with plenty of concerns about long-term viability.
11. Innovation at Lightning Speed
If the United States excels at one thing more than anyone else, it’s innovation. The nation is blessed with Silicon Valley, trailblazing medical research, and a host of the globe’s most powerful tech firms. From smartphone technology to streaming to space flight, much of it began here.
But too much change has its downsides privacy concerns, displaced jobs, disinformation, and psychological disruption about online life. The speed of change is thrilling, but too much, even for Americans, in some ways.
12. Fifty States, Fifty Different Rulebooks
The government in America is not a single system it’s 51, including all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Each state has laws, courts of its own, and even its own tax regulations. Something legal in California might be banned in Alabama.
This decentralized format is an expression of profound confidence in local self-government, but it is confusing, particularly to outsiders. Healthcare, education, voting laws, and criminal codes are completely diverse from state to state. There’s solidarity but tension between federal and state power always.
13. Pop Culture That Goes Everywhere
American culture has a tendency to propagate rapidly. Movies, music, slang words, food trends find them in almost every nook and corner of the world. From Marvel movies to TikTok routines, what’s hot in the U.S. soon becomes hot in the rest of the world.
This cultural dominance has served to pass on American ideas and values, yet also spurred fear of cultural diminution or reduction of complexity of issues. Yet, global outreach cannot be exaggerated. Citizens might disagree with American politics, but they’ll still go see the new Hollywood movie.
14. Redefining Itself Continuously Through Immigration
America’s people are constantly on the move. People from every corner of the globe have influenced its cities, music, cuisine, and politics. From its founding to the latest wave of immigrants, the nation has never ceased to adopt new cultures.
This gradual shift keeps national identity fluid and in motionbut it also creates tension about what it means to be “American.” Immigration politics, cultural currents, and generation fault lines all feed into a constant conversation about who’s in and what the country is.
