FRtR > Essays > National Identity > Conclusion

The Role of Philosophy and Literature in building up the National Identity of the early 19th century United States


6/6 Conclusion


By Keijo Virtanen

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There would be several other aspects than the one - let us call it intellectual or cultural - that I have presented here which would help us understand the first decades of American mentality. One would be the relationship between high and popular culture, another one the North/South/West division of the United States, still another one the ethnic and racial factor, etc. But no matter which aspect we would take, I believe, that the search for national identity is the best common denominator explaining the mentality of the Americans during the first 60 or 80 years of their independence. Practically every American had to be interested in it or was - to say the least - influenced by its practices and interpretations.

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