Americans

**Americans**, or **American fowk**, are the ceetizens o the Unitit States o Americae. The kintra is hame tae fowk o different naitional oreegins. As a result, Americans dae no equate thair nationality wi ethnicity, but wi citizenship. Aside frae the Native American population, nearly aw Americans or thair ancestors immigratit athin the past five centuries.

Despite its multi-ethnic composition, the cultur held in common bi maist Americans is referred tae as mainstream American cultur, a Wastren cultur mucklely derivit frae the tradeetions o Wastren European immigrants. It includes influences o African American cultur an aw. Wastward expansion integratit the Creoles an Cajuns o Louisiana an the Hispanos o the Soothwast an brocht close contact wi the cultur o Mexico. Lairge-scale immigration in the late nineteent an early twintiet centuries frae Soothren an Eastren Europe introducit a variety o elements. Immigration frae Asie, Africae, an Laitin Americae haes haed impact an aw. A cultural meltin pot, or pluralistic salad bowl, describes the wey in which generations o Americans hae celebratit an exchyngit distinctive cultural characteristics.

In addition tae the Unitit States, Americans an fowk o American strynd can be foond internaitionally. As mony as 4 million Americans are estimatit tae be livin abroad.

## Naitional personification
A naitional personification is an anthropomorphization o a naition or its fowk; it can appear in baith editorial cartoons an propaganda.

Uncle Sam is a naitional personification o the Unitit States an whiles mair specifically o the American govrenment, wi the first uisage o the term datin frae the War o 1812. He is depictit as a stern elderly white man wi white hair an a goatee beard, an dressed in clothin that recaws the design elements o banner o the Unitit States – for example, teepically a top hat wi reid an white stripes an white starns on a blue baund, an reid an white stripit trousers.

Columbie is a poetic name for the Americas an the feminine personification o the Unitit States o Americae, made famous bi African-American poet Phillis Wheatley durin the American Revolutionary War in 1776. It haes inspired the names o mony bodiess, places, objects, institutions, an companies in the Wastren Hemisphere an ayont.

## Leid

Inglis is the de facto naitional leid. Awtho thare is nae offeecial leid at the federal level, some laws—sic as U.S. naturalization requirements—staundartise Inglis. In 2007, aboot 226 million, or 80% o the population agit five years an aulder, spoke anerlie Inglis at hame. Spaingie, spoken bi 12% o the population at hame, is the seicont maist common leid an the maist widely taucht seicont leid. Some Americans advocate makkin Inglis the kintra's offeecial leid, as it is in at least twinty-aicht states. Baith Hawaiian an Inglis are offeecial leids in Hawaii bi state law.

While neither haes an offeecial leid, New Mexico haes laws providin for the uise o baith Inglis an Spaingie, as Louisiana daes for Inglis an French. Ither states, sic as Californie, mandate the publication o Spainyie versions o certaint govrenment documents includin court forms. Several insular territories grant offeecial recognition tae thair native leids, alang wi Inglis: Samoan an Chamorro are recognisit bi American Samoa an Guam, respectively; Carolinian an Chamorro are recognisit bi the Northren Mariana Islands; Spaingie is an offeecial leid o Puerto Rico.

## Releegion

Releegion in the Unitit States haes a heich adherence level, compared tae ither developit kintras, an diversity in beliefs. The First Amendment tae the kintra's Constitution prevents the Federal govrenment frae makkin ony "law respectin an establishment o releegion, or prohibitin the free exercise thareo." The U.S. Supreme Court haes interpretit this as preventin the govrenment frae haein ony authority in releegion. A majority o Americans report that releegion plays a "vera important" role in thair lives, a proportion unuisual amang developit naitions, awtho seemilar tae the ither naitions o the Americas. Mony faiths hae flourished in the Unitit States, includin baith later imports spannin the kintra's multicultural immigrant heritage, as well as those foondit athin the kintra; thir hae led the Unitit States tae acome the maist releegiously diverse kintra in the warld.

The majority o Americans (76%) identify thairsels as Christians, maistly athin Protestant an Catholic denominations, accoontin for 51% an 25% o the population respectively.  Nan-Christian releegions (includin Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, an Judaism), collectively mak up aboot 4% tae 5% o the adult population. Anither 15% o the adult population identifees as haein nae releegious belief or nae releegious affiliation. Accordin tae the American Religious Identification Survey, releegious belief varies considerably athort the kintra: 59% o Americans livin in Wastren states (the "Unchurched Belt") report a belief in God, yet in the Sooth (the "Bible Belt") the figur is as heich as 86%.

## Cultur

The development o the cultur o the Unitit States o Americae haes been markit bi a tension atween twa strang soorces o inspiration: European ideals, especially Breetish; an domestic oreeginality, sic as Jeffersonian democracy. Thomas Jefferson's *Notes on the State of Virginia* wis aiblins the first influential domestic cultural critique bi an American.

American cultur encompasses tradeetions, ideals, customs, beliefs, values, airts, fowklore an innovations developit baith domestically an importit via colonisation an immigration frae the Breetish Isles. Prevalent ideas an ideals which evolvit domestically sic as important naitional holidays, uniquely American sports, proud militar tradeetion, an innovations in the airts an entertainment gie a strang sense o naitional pride amang the population as a whole.

## See an aw
* American diaspora
* American Australies
* American Brazilians
* American Canadians
* American Mexicans
* American New Zealanders
* Americo-Liberie
* Emigration frae the Unitit States
* Hyphenatit American
* Immigration tae the Unitit States
* North Americans in Chile

## References