Maxwell Thomas Ross

Age: 18
3 Guy Lane, Cross Lanes, WV 25313
Nitro High School
Kanawha County
12th Grade
Ms. Chandler

What is an American? Well, this question seems to be popping up quite frequently,

especially at this point in time. With our new President-Elect being called a racist bigot and the
threat of mass deportation, we are at a critical point in this country and we are faced with the
unresolved question, What does it take to be an American?
First, I would like to talk about the origin of the word American. American is derived
from the word America, obviously, which was a term that originally denoted all of the new
world. Over time, the word has evolved to denote people of the United States of America. Some
people argue that the usage of the world should be widened to include anyone who lives on the
continent of North/South America. So, the people who live in Mexico and the people who live in
Canada, why are they not considered Americans? Now, I know that most peoples answers would
be, Obviously, it is because they live in Mexico. They live in Canada. What about Asians? If
you looked at someone from Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, you could characterize them
into a group called Asians. What about the people from Slovenia, Poland, Belorussia? They
would be characterized into a group called Europeans. They are called this because they live on
the continent of Asia or Europe. Well, people of Mexico and Canada live on the North American
continent. Why are they not Americans? A lot of people would proceed to tell me that you can
just tell when someone is Mexican, Chinese, or Russian because of the way they look. So we are
now classifying peoples identity with a country because of their looks?
Let us go back to the 1857 case of Dred Scott versus the United States. This case was
about Dred Scott, a black man, wanting the right of citizenship. For anyone who does not know,
he lost. The dissenting opinion on the case was that, No black, free or slave, could not and
should not be considered an American. Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis. Now it is very clear
that the worlds opinion, at least most of it, towards the African Americans has changed.

However, there are a ton, and I mean a ton, of races that reside in the United States and identify
themselves as an American. Shall we talk about Chinatown, Little Italy, Koreatown, or Little
Guyana? How could you say that those people, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens are less of an
American than an upper-class white Christian? The simple answer is that they are not. I do not
believe that you can classify an American by religious or cultural beliefs. Sundar Pichai is the
Chief Executive Officer of Google. He is an exceptionally successful American. But he is Indian.
He was born there, raised there, and went to college there. That does not change the fact that he
is a legal, naturalized citizen. Woodrow Wilson said in his Address to Naturalized Citizens at
Convention Hall, A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular national group in
America has not yet become an American. What did he expect? Did he expect someone to
completely assimilate into this culture? Did he expect them to completely cut themselves off
from previous religious, cultural, and personal connections? I whole-heartedly disagree. There,
of course, has to be some assimilation into culture, or else you would not survive. However,
there is a level of self-respect to ignore conformity and live freely. The first amendment was
written for a reason. It states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a
redress of grievances. The United States is, legally, not a Christian nation. The motto, In God we
trust, never appeared until 1864 when it was added to the two-cent coin. President Wilson, in
1915, had no right to use such words unto naturalized citizens.
Another major issue in this country at the moment is the refugee program and
immigrants. The United States does not consider these people Americans and neither do I. My
level of acceptance starts when legal citizenship is attained. As states earlier, an American is not

defined by religious or cultural beliefs. I do believe that America is the greatest country in the
world because we can allow so many people to enter our country for a chance at a better life. I
also believe that if you define yourself as an American, you should believe in what this country
believes in: freedom. We have established this true country of the Land of the Free. We are free.
Religiously free. Culturally free. Free.
We cannot put a legal definition on the word American because the diversity of America
does not allow us. How you define Americans is your decision.