American Culture

American Culture

Thesis Statement

Culture underlies human social behavior. What people do and do not do, what they like and dislike, what they believe and do not believe, and what they value and discount are all based, in large part, on culture.

Introduction

There are points in American history where certain groups cultures or individuals either directly affected the progression of the country or the progression of the country affected them. Examples of these are can be found at museums such as the Museum of American Financial History, The Fraunces Tavern Museum, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the National Museum of the American Indian.

Discussion

Religion played its biggest part in shaping the social structure. In New England, the Puritans created tight-knit communities with all the families living close together. This was so the community could “keep an eye” on all the families and correct them if they were doing something wrong or straying from the “path to god”. Also because the people lived so close together, public schooling was created (Bekman 2008 63).

People could get away with many immoral acts and be left untouched and uncorrected. Found in the heart of New York's financial district, the historic 18th century Fraunces Tavern, houses a fine museum that is dedicated to the study of early American history and culture. The tavern itself is a historic landmark and greatly aided the efforts of the new country in many different ways.

The tavern was a huge part of New York and American history and the exhibits reflect this they include The long room is a re-creation of an 18th century public dining room which was mentioned above as the site of Washington's Farewell address as well as other important meetings during the Revolution involving the sons of the revolution (Michaels & Goldberg 1999 248). Additionally along the areas of the dining area of the tavern are filled with historic documents federalist papers and letters written by Thomas Jefferson and John Addams.

The National Museum of the American Indian is an institution devoted to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the culture of the American Indian. One of its main exhibits is George Catlin and his Indian gallery which is a collection of paintings that represent an encounter between two different cultures (Choochom 2004 47-114). His Indian gallery painted on his travels in the plains is the sole record of some Indian tribes.

In 1852 after years of being discredited for crying out against governmental policies debt forced Catlin to sell his gallery. Although at the time his gallery was not a major success Catlin recorded for future generations a culture he feared would be destroyed. Although the culture was not destroyed it was significantly cut down, and now just as in 18th century not much was known about the Native Americans, (Edward 2000 248-311) but the Indian gallery is a huge archive of historical and cultural significance.

The Museum Of American Financial History was founded in 1988 by John E Herzog, and charted as an educational institution, the Museum ...