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This essential introduction to American studies examines the core foundational myths upon which the nation is based and which still determine discussions of US-American identities today. These myths include the myth of »discovery,« the Pocahontas myth, the myth of the Promised Land, the myth of the Founding Fathers, the melting pot myth, the myth of the West, and the myth of the self-made man.
The chapters provide extended analyses of each of these myths, using examples from popular culture, literature, memorial culture, school books, and every-day life. Including visual material as well as study questions, this book will be of interest to any student of American studies and will foster an understanding of the United States of America as an imagined community by analyzing the foundational role of myths in the process of nation building.
1
Contents 7
Acknowledgments 9
Introduction 11
Chapter I: Christopher Columbus and the Myth of 'Discovery' 43
Chapter II: Pocahontas and the Myth of Transatlantic Love 89
Chapter III: Pilgrims and Puritans and the Myth of the Promised Land 137
Chapter IV: American Independence and the Myth of the Founding Fathers 197
Chapter V: E Pluribus Unum? The Myth of the Melting Pot 257
Chapter VI: Agrarianism, Expansionism, and the Myth of the American West 311
Chapter VII: Expressive Individualism and the Myth of the Self-Made Man 367
By Way of Conclusion 421
Index 427