On the Influence of Cultural Tradition on America

The influence of immigrant society on American politics and culture I. The development of American immigrant society In this young land of America, there are almost immigrants from all over the world, and immigrants have brought their own national and ethnic cultures to the United States. In the process of American social development, various heterogeneous cultures have been continuously exchanged and merged, casting a unique American national spirit and cultural characteristics. Throughout American history, there have been three major immigration waves. The first immigration climax (1680- 1880): Puritans who immigrated to North America regarded North America as a "land of hope" blessed by God, and portrayed the New World as a paradise on earth with fertile land and beautiful water sources, attracting a large number of European immigrants. They are mainly from Britain, but also from other western European and northern European countries. The main language of immigrants is English, mainly believing in Protestantism. In addition to Europeans, another major immigrant group in this period was African blacks. From 16 19, the first slaves were sold to North America. During the centuries-long Atlantic slave trade, * * * 10000 slaves were sold to the western hemisphere, of which 400,000 went to various colonies in the United States today. Second immigration climax (1900- 1920): After the end of the Civil War, the United States entered the stage of large-scale industrialization and urbanization, which required a lot of labor. The second wave of immigrants mainly came from southern Europe, central and eastern Europe, mainly from Italy, Hungary, Poland and Russia. Most of these immigrants come from rural areas, and their language is not English. Most of them are Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Jews, which is undoubtedly an impact on the United States where wasp culture is dominant. In the mid-1920s, due to the economic recession in the United States, the federal government restricted the number of immigrants. From 65438 to 0929, the government implemented the immigration quota system, which made the number of immigrants drop sharply. By the Great Depression of 1930s, the second wave of immigrants had basically ended. The third wave of immigrants (1965-): The United States passed the immigration naturalization law in191-0/984, and a series of refugee laws were also passed. The relaxation of immigration policy has brought about the third wave of immigration. Immigrants in this period came from a wider range of fields and more countries. According to statistics, 34% came from Asia, 34% from Latin America, 16% from Canada and other parts of the world, and the proportion of immigrants from Europe dropped to 16%. The United States is the largest immigrant country in the world that has developed in the past 200 years. Compared with other immigrant countries, American immigrants have the characteristics of large quantity, variety, diversity and continuity. American immigrants reach several hundred thousand every year, 2.5 million in 1960s and 4.5 million in 1970s, accounting for19% of the total population growth [3] (P39). Immigrants from different continents and countries constitute the main body of the American population, and the annual new immigrants are still changing the racial and ethnic composition of the American population. Until today, the United States is still a veritable immigrant country. II. The Influence of Immigrant Society on American Political Culture (I) The Origin of Individualism in Immigrant Society Individualism is a theme and feature of American political culture, which constitutes the basic feature and main content of American cultural model. It expresses American thought most eloquently, truly and directly. Its connotation and extension are really rooted in the United States, which is different from the Hebrew and Greek traditions and European thoughts in the18th century. Individualism plays an important role in American political culture. Individualism, as the mainstream social ideology in the United States, is essentially: "Individuals exist before society. The individual is the source and the society is derived. Society and the state are artificial institutions formed by individuals to protect their rights or interests. Society or country has no other purpose than personal purpose. During the British colonial period, all kinds of church vows and colonial vows were full of individualism. The self-evident "truth" put forward in the American Declaration of Independence begins with individualism: "All men are created equal, and the creator endows them with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, freedom and the right to pursue happiness"; The purpose of establishing a government is to "protect these rights". Individualism can take root and blossom in America, which has profound social and historical roots. Both the Puritans who first immigrated to the New World and the Americans who later explored the west took personal struggle as their spiritual pillar. The rapid development of American capitalist economy soon surpassed that of Western Europe, largely due to the political culture of individualism. Under the guidance of individualism, individual interests and rights are guaranteed, and individual intelligence and creativity are fully brought into play. The success of the United States in turn strengthens individualism, making it one of the main characteristics of American identity and the highest ideal of American society. (2) The origin of egalitarian immigrant society is different from the aristocratic and gentleman culture in Britain. Americans advocate equality more, and their pursuit and love for equality goes deep into the bones of Americans. Tocqueville wrote in "On Democracy in America": "Immigrants who settled on the coast of New England are extremely equal to each other. Even the seeds of your family system have never been introduced to this part of the United States. " He further analyzed the reasons for the existence of this universal equality: first, the inheritance system made equality take a decisive step. Tocqueville believes that the inheritance system has a great influence on the social situation of the country. In countries where the law of inheritance is based on the right of eldest son, real estate is always handed down from generation to generation. In this way, property and power are placed in the hands of one person, and nobles appear on the ground. And if the inheritance law stipulates that a person's property is inherited equally by his children, it will promote equality. "The first generation died and the land began to be divided. With the passage of time, the speed of segmentation is getting faster and faster. Today, just over 60 years later, the face of society has completely changed, and almost all the big landlord families have entered the ranks of the public. The sons of these wealthy citizens are now businessmen, lawyers or doctors. Most of them are unknown. The last traces of hereditary rank and hereditary privilege have disappeared, and inheritance law is playing its equal role everywhere. The second is the role of religion in ensuring equality. Tocqueville believes that "among the different factions of Christianity, Catholicism is the most advocating equality of identity." In the Catholic religious society, there are only two components, clergy and ordinary people. Only the clergy are higher than the believers, and all believers are equal although they live under the clergy. ""In terms of doctrine, Catholicism believes that people's qualifications are hierarchical. It requires wise men and fools, genius and mediocrity to abide by the details of the same principle. It makes the rich and the poor perform the same religious rituals, and makes the strong and the weak perform the same penance. It will never compromise on all bad things and treat everyone equally; It advocates that all social classes should be mixed together for mass, which is like bringing all social classes before God. Although Catholicism requires obedience, it does not allow inequality among believers. "The third is the role of education. Tocqueville observed that in the United States at that time, people received equal education, and primary education was acceptable to everyone, while higher education was rarely concerned. Therefore, in the United States, there is no learning hobby that is passed down from generation to generation with hereditary wealth and leisure. (3) The origin of liberal immigrant society Liberalism and individualism complement each other. In a sense, "liberalism is a political language that represents individualism". Western political scientists believe: "Liberalism is a belief that society can be safely built on the self-guiding power of personality. Only on this basis can a real society be established. ..... Its foundation is profound and extensive, and its scope is limitless. "Therefore, liberalism and individualism are twin sisters. The factors that determine individualism taking root in the United States also affect liberalism. The Puritans who first migrated to the New World of North America traveled across oceans and went through hardships to pursue personal freedom. Puritanism itself contains liberalism and advocates freedom, democracy and harmony. Thinkers in the American period fully accepted and carried forward European liberal thoughts and traditions. Later, the development of American capitalism created favorable conditions for the spread and development of liberalism. However, liberalism is more political than individualism. During the North American War of Independence, it was the ideology and slogan of the revolution. After the founding of the United States, it became the ideology of American official and mainstream society. The "self-evident truth" expounded in the Declaration of Independence is actually the theory of liberalism: all men are born equal and endowed with various rights by the creator; Therefore, the people have the right to choose the government. In other words, people are free first. In order to guarantee freedom, people need democracy, harmony, constitutionalism and the rule of law. It can be seen that freedom is the first value of Americans. Equality, democracy, harmony, constitutionalism and the rule of law are the proper meanings and basic principles of liberalism. Liberalism is the core of American political culture. American political scientist Robert Dahl said: "The United States is a country that attaches great importance to ideology. Just as individuals, they usually don't pay attention to their own ideology. Because everyone agrees with the same ideology, the degree of consistency is surprising. "In the United States, although there are quite profound contradictions between different races, whether they are whites with racial superiority, blacks who have suffered racial discrimination, or Chinese who stick to national traditional culture, they firmly advocate values such as freedom, democracy and individualism, that is, liberalism. In this respect, they have amazing consistency. In the eyes of mainstream Americans, liberalism has become an essential spirit for Americans. " Americans ... in order to prove their loyalty to their country, they must show respect for individualism, freedom and equal opportunity. As Americans, we should not only show our loyalty to this special land, but also show our unreserved acceptance of classical liberalism. Liberalism with individualism as the core plays a decisive role in the ideology of American society and occupies a leading position. Reference [1] Tocqueville. On American Democracy (I). Wang Shuizhen: Immigrants' Puritanism and American Democracy Wang Shuizhen: Immigrants' Puritanism and American Democracy 2008-09-28 16:46:53| Category: Wang Shuizhen | Label: | Font Subscription. Keywords: Puritanism, the role of American liberal democratic political theory. Puritanism includes individualism, rational principle and autonomy spirit, which provides spiritual Puritanism for American freedom and democracy. Puritanism originated from the Reformation in England in the early 6th century. The church after the Reformation in England is called the Anglican Church or the Anglican Church, which belongs to a branch of Protestantism. Although the Anglican Church is essentially opposed to Roman Catholicism, its reform in doctrine and ordinances is incomplete. Therefore, some radical Christians have declared their separation from the state religion, demanding to clean up the old Catholic system and complicated etiquette preserved in religion and advocate a simple life. They formed a new religious sect-Puritanism. The Puritans inherited the British liberal tradition and derived new individualism on this basis, which inevitably led to a large-scale social structure adjustment. Their religious views became "Puritanism". With the development of Puritanism, their reform demands are no longer limited to etiquette, but also require system reform and the abolition of the "hierarchy" that seriously infringes on vested interests and is persecuted by the British royal family and the Anglican Church. As a result, Puritanism activities went underground, and many Puritans chose to leave their homes to find their "land of hope". Many of them later came to North America, a place where they could keep their trust. In North America at that time, the main body of society was immigrants from the European continent, and many of them suffered religious persecution in their own countries. Therefore, the Puritans in the North American continent have no vested interests and historical burdens to care for and fight for. United under the banner of Puritanism, they worked hard to realize their ideals, constantly adapted to the objective reality, participated in and promoted social reform, and left fruitful achievements in the field of material production and spiritual production in North America, which had a very important impact on the development of North America later. As Tocqueville said in Democracy in America, "In America, religion may not be as powerful as it was in some periods or countries, but its influence is more lasting. It only relies on its own strength, but no one can deprive it of this power. " Puritanism can become the spiritual factor of American freedom and democracy, which not only benefits from the connotation of Puritanism itself, but also benefits from the practice of Puritans in North America. First, the foundation of the development of American democracy-the separation of church and state In the United States, Puritanism can become the guarantee of freedom and democracy and also benefits from the separation of church and state. Ordinary Americans and clergy agree with the separation of church and state without exception. The Puritans in New England disagreed on many issues, but they agreed on the separation of church and state. What they need is a government that can practice God's commandments and maintain purely religious responsibilities. However, they strongly opposed the participation of priests in the government, because in the eyes of Puritans, letting priests exercise any kind of political rights was a dangerous step towards the Roman Catholic Church. Today, this concept has deeply influenced the American people. In the United States, there are no clergy in public office, and they are not represented in the Senate and the House of Representatives. In many States, the law has closed the door to their careers, and public opinion in all States does not agree with them to enter politics. Americans treat their priests as they treat their elected representatives, asking them to serve them, not to rule them. Priests have realized that if they want to gain political rights, they must give up the influence of religion. The separation of church and state enables religion to stay away from the preference, hatred and passion brought by political power, build on the eternal desire that everyone yearns for and gain universality. The separation of church and state has been a feature of American society from the beginning, which laid a good foundation for the development of American politics. We say that America is lucky. But this does not mean that there is no shadow of religion in American political life. As we know, the U.S. government has a strong religious color when pursuing its own policies, especially its foreign policy. Only in the United States, Puritanism and separation of church and state complement each other and influence each other. Second, the realistic experience and model of American democratic politics-the local self-government Puritans had the community first and then the government in the American colonial process. They live in this vast and desolate land with common ideals and firm religious beliefs. This is a land where there is no one but the local aborigines, and it is also a land without any repressive power. Therefore, when the Puritans landed and settled in this land, no established government could rule them. They are based on the same ideals and beliefs. If we want to perform the duties that the government performs in other places, we must rely entirely on the consultation, awareness and personal initiative of Members. We can see that although immigrants who have settled in the North American continent have established their own society, they usually do not seek the source of power from the suzerain or the governor appointed by the suzerain, but set up their own autonomous institutions to exercise their power independently. They appoint their own administrative officials, conclude their own peace treaties and declare war, formulate their own public safety regulations and legislate for themselves. The doctrine of Puritanism has absolute democracy and color in many aspects. These Puritans were more familiar with the concept of rights and the principle of true freedom than other Europeans when they were in Britain, which made the germination of liberal system, that is, local autonomy, deeply penetrate into American habits and blossom and bear fruit in the United States. Tocqueville said during his visit to the United States: In New England, people exercise their rights according to the principle that villages and towns are masters of their own affairs, and all matters concerning the interests of all residents are discussed and decided at public meetings. Some basic principles, such as people's participation in public affairs, citizens' free voting to determine taxes, and stipulating the responsibilities of administrative officials, are the basis of modern constitution. Personal freedom, jury participation in trial, etc. It was decided without discussion. The main ideas of today's American political and cultural foundation formed by New England in American States gradually spread to other territories, and were finally used for reference and adopted by the whole colony. The idea of local autonomy has a great influence on American society, which embodies the basic principles of liberalism on national and social issues, that is, "small government, big society", in which the government can only play the role of "night watchman" At the same time, local autonomy improves citizens' political judgment and promotes the development of democratic politics. Because the political situation in the whole country is complicated, it is not easy for ordinary people to understand, while local things are generally understandable by local people. People can cultivate democratic literacy and political ability in the decision-making process of local affairs and enhance their interest in participating in political activities, thus promoting the development of democratic politics and improving the autonomy and independence of ordinary people. This idea of local autonomy provides valuable experience and realistic model for the construction of American democracy. Third, the spiritual factor of American democratic politics-liberalism in American society, "liberalism is just Protestantism without God". Weber believes that only Puritan ethics can breed typical individualism. Although traditional Christianity has transcendental value and is conducive to the formation of universalism and equality, individuals must communicate with God through church organizations, and their will and thoughts cannot have an independent position. Protestantism reform advocates "faith redemption", and individuals can communicate directly with God, which reduces the role of church organizations in personal redemption and enhances the status of individuals. At the same time, it also strengthens the spirit of personal self-discipline, because tangible people must be cautious when facing invisible gods. In this process, the individual will be independent and sacred, and individualism has a philosophical and religious basis. This individualism embodies the independence and sanctity of individual will and is the core of freedom.