The question of identity is a crucial question. Identity talks about who we are and what is the relationship between us and others. Blunt (2003:73) has defined identity as “ a sense of self that encompasses who people think they are and how other people regard them”. Then we can argue that there is a self-definition and imposed definition of others. This in turn means that identities are always social constructions rather simply matters for the individual. It also means that contestation over different versions of identity are power struggles. In fact how others perceive an individual or group affects the self-definition of that individual or group.
Huntington has argued that identity is an individual’s or group’s sense of self. Identity refers to the images of individuality and distinctiveness held and projected by actor and formed through relations with others. Identities are , overwhelmingly , constructed. Benedict Arnold has described nations as “ imagined communities”. Identities are imagined selves: they are what we think we are and what we want to be. An important issue that we have to remember is the fact that we have multiple identities. These multiple identities might stem from social, cultural, political, economic or national factors.
Stanley Hoffman has said that America’s identity is the unique product of a “ material feature” , its ethnic diversity produced by immigration, and an “ ideological feature” , its liberal democratic creed. In fact immigration and creed are key elements of American national identity. In order to know what really the American identity is , we have to go back to the roots of the foundation of America. America was found by the British settlers. These English settlers brought with themselves the English language, English religion, English culture and English institutions. In fact for two centuries prior to the American revolution, Americans considered themselves as English subjects. So at the inception of this nation, four elements i.e race (whites), ethnicity (English), religion ( Protestantism) and culture ( English culture) were the important factors defining the American Identity. These factors were crucial in the formation of American identity. But as Stanley Hoffman has argued , the American identity is inextricably tied to immigration . In fact immigration changed one of the components and that is the ethnicity. After the revolution and in the mid 19th century, Irish and German immigrants came to be accepted as Americans. We know that there were waves of Irish and German immigrants to American both prior and after the Revolution. But initially , they were not accepted as “American”. As identity is a fluid concept. The Irish and German immigrants who were not considered Americans , became Americans in the mid 18th century. Here we see that the element of ethnicity has changed and includes more people as Americans. Both before and after the two World Wars, there was a surge in the number of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe. Initially , the issue of ethnicity played a significant role in the exclusion of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. There was even a bill passed by the Congress( Immigration Act of 1924 or the National Origin Act). This act was intended to keep the ethnicity aspect of the American identity salient. But the massive immigration of eastern and southern Europeans and their assimilation into the American society has made ethnicity less of a component of American identity. After the Vietnam war and the immigration of many eastern Asians , this element( ethnicity) has become less and less important.
The issue of race has for a long time been an important signifier of who and American is. “ Being American” was for a long time considered to be white( and to some extend it still is). The blacks , according to the constitution of the US , are three-fifth of a person and Indians were referred to as “savages” by Jefferson. However, after the fairly significant achievements of the civil rights movements in the 1965, the issue of race has lost much of its significance (it can be argued , however, that still there is discrimination against blacks and other non- white minorities , but this discrimination is not as blatant as was previously in the US). So it can be inferred that the importance of race in defining an American diminishing .
The last two elements regarding the American identity are language and religion. Traditionally America has been a Protestant country with English as the national language of the country. It still is an English-speaking, Protestant country. But there are “disturbing” trends in America that is challenging the significance of these two elements. The factor that is challenging the significance of these two components is the massive immigration of Hispanics into the US. The immigration of the Hispanics and Latinos into the US is unprecedented in the History of the US. Latinos and Hispanics, who are Catholics and speak Spanish, are changing the social texture of the US. There have been some referenda in some states to decide whether to keep English the official language of the state. The result of these referenda has always been in favor of keeping English the official language but the mere fact that such referenda are happening is significant. Besides these, there has been a rapid increase in number of the people who speak Spanish and who cannot speak English properly. Apart from that, Catholicism, which was once a pariah in the US, is also increasing because of the mass Hispanic immigrants. Therefore one can say that the significance of the last two elements of the American identity is becoming less important. This is what is meant by saying that identity is a fluid concept.
Now this question can be raised “what is American identity”. As Stanley Hoffman has argued one of the key factors in defining who an American is, is the American Creed. What is American Creed? American Creed is best defined in the belief in liberal democracy. Probably the best enumeration of these values is the words in the constitution of the US as “ life , liberty and pursuit of happiness”( though for a long time life and liberty of the clacks was not even mentioned). It is argued that it is this creed that is the basis of the American identity. In fact some say that the American identity is Creedal identity based on the belief in some common values.