The official definition of an American citizen is from the 14th Amendment of our Constitution, ratified July 9, 1868 and is written as follows:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside..."
So we already have the official definition of an American CITIZEN, now how do "We the People" respond to the question; "What is an American? (Official and UnOfficial)
To help jump start the responses I give the following excerpt from a local book I am reading called, "The A Club," (excerpt used by permission of the Publisher, www.WestviewPublishing.com)
Who are "We the People?" Who are "we" Americans? In other words, what is an American? What do we look like? What do we sound like? Who are the members of this country…this country that so many dream of joining…and very few actually walk away from? Are we an exclusive club like your local Country Club? How open are we? What must one do to become one? Can non-Americans "smell one" a mile away? If so, do they know us better than we do? Shouldn’t we get to know who we are in case that "mile away smeller" is not friendly?—Did America lose and that al-Fighta wanna-be Zacarias Mush-ooo-ie "win" as he stated when he was leaving the courtroom to become part of a much smaller "cell" as a consequence of his "FreeDumb"?—5/3/06.
Are we the overweight society or the "thin is in" crowd? The "me" generation, the "we" generation or the instant gratification fast food nation? Are we the richest, most giving country ever or the greatest debtor nation and the most oppressive in the history of having the free time to keep such stats?! Are we just a bunch of arrogant meanies, a dangerous nation, the greatest "show" on the planet or the biggest target of choice for the small minded? Are we the most productive per person in the world? Are we United or Anti-united? In God, do we still trust? Do we not trust in God or do we trust there is no God? Are We the People of the United States, in Order, out of order, in disorder, or dat order? Are we in a slowly boiling pot, a melting pot, a mixed salad?…Actually we're E Pluribus Unum—Latin for "From many, One!" Are we a nation of laws…the letter of, the spirit of, or both in harmony? Are we a nation of immigrants?...Well, actually an immigrant freely joins an already established country; The A Club was founded by mostly America-born British colonists, not immigrants. And early on, many people captured from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and elsewhere were integrated against their will, so they were not initially immigrants, though their future generations produced native-born Patriots like Crispus Attucks, one of the first Americans to die for freedom from tyranny—Boston "Massacre", 1770, may God rest his soul. In addition, some have come as refugees, fleeing places of life-threatening danger. Later some refugees, but not all, will become immigrants (freely joining and integrating into their new culture).
If you want to get technical, the Theory of Evolution has us all migrating out of the sea and the Creation story has us all out of Eden! (Not to mention where the alien theorists have us coming from!) As biologist African/Swede Svante Paabo said, "In a sense all the people of the world are Africans…" It's just that some of us moved away from home and found The A Club! We are a nation of the New World, formed by slaves, immigrants, and the native-born. More members have been born into The A Club than have entered across it's borders, by a wide margin. Today about 15% of us are immigrants—who can be inspired by US immigrant St. Frances Xavier Cabrini! However, we all have ancestors who came to America whether "today, tomorrow, or many, many moons ago." The A Club is merely young…the new kid on the superpower block…formed relatively quickly. America is in its teen years as a country, ~18 years old in "Country years" (that’s ~3 years old in reverse dog years). This explains why we are a little scatterbrained. The A Club is simply trying to become an adult!...
What do think an American is?
