archive

What it takes to be a real American

From Democracy, Jim Sleeper on our Puritan heritage: Ever since Mencken, the Puritans have had a terrible reputation — they deserve a better legacy, and it’s time we rediscovered it. Not our Independence Day: William Hogeland on how the Founding Fathers were more interested in limiting democracy than securing and expanding it. Kay Steiger on 21 great Americans who aren’t the Founding Fathers. Daniel Lazare on the cult of the constitution: A fixed constitution has no place in a modern democracy, so why is the founding document of the US still seen as sacred? Thomas L. Jeffers reviews The State of the American Mind, ed. Mark Bauerlein and Adam Bellow. Jordan G. Teicher: “What I learned about America at a Las Vegas monster truck show”. Christopher Ingraham on what it takes to be a real American, according to real Americans. Chris Osterndorf on how the American Dream isn’t dead — straight white men have just killed it for everyone else. Ted Widmer on what the man behind the “American Dream” really meant. How exactly is America exceptional? Karl Jacoby wonders. Eric Liu on what every American should know: Defining common cultural literacy for an increasingly diverse nation. Camila Rey and Sofi Sinozich on how America is divided on the secret to its success. Max Fisher on how America became the most powerful country on Earth, in 11 maps. What is to be the future of the American empire: the responsible beaver or the marauding bear? We love America, and you should, too.