U.S. Culture
and have allowed sports heroes to gain prominence in the national
imagination and to become fixtures of the consumer culture. As well-known
faces and bodies, sports celebrities such as basketball player Michael
Jordan and baseball player Mark McGwire are hired to endorse products.
Although televised games remove the viewing public from direct contact
with events, they have neither diminished the fervor of team
identification nor dampened the enthusiasm for athletic participation.
Americans watch more sports on television than ever, and they personally
participate in more varied sporting activities and athletic clubs.
Millions of young girls and boys across the country play soccer, baseball,
tennis, and field hockey.
At the end of the 20th century, Americans were taking part in individual
sports of all kinds—jogging, bicycling, swimming, skiing, rock climbing,
playing tennis, as well as more unusual sports such as bungee jumping,
hang gliding, and wind surfing. As Americans enjoy more leisure time, and
as Hollywood and advertising emphasize trim, well-developed bodies, sports
have become a significant component of many people's lives. Many Americans
now invest significant amounts of money in sports equipment, clothing, and
gym memberships. As a result, more people are dressing in sporty styles of
clothing. Sports logos and athletic fashions have become common aspects of
people’s wardrobes, as people need to look as though they participate in
sports to be in style. Sports have even influenced the cars Americans
drive, as sport utility vehicles accommodate the rugged terrain, elaborate
equipment, and sporty lifestyles of their owners.
Probably the most significant long-term development in 20th-century sports
has been the increased participation of minorities and women. Throughout
the early 20th century, African Americans made outstanding contributions
to sports, despite being excluded from organized white teams. The
exclusion of black players from white baseball led to the creation of a
separate Negro National League in 1920. On the world stage, track-and-
field star Jessie Owens became a national hero when he won four gold
medals and set world and Olympic records at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.
The racial segregation that prevented African Americans from playing
baseball in the National League until 1947 has been replaced by the
enormous successes of African Americans in all fields of sport.
Before the 20th century women could not play in most organized sports.
Soon, however, they began to enter the sports arena. Helen Wills Moody, a
tennis champion during the 1920s, and Babe Didrikson Zaharias, one of the
20th century’s greatest women athletes, were examples of physical grace
and agility. In 1972 Title IX of the Education Amendments Act outlawed
discrimination based on gender in education, including school sports.
Schools then spent additional funding on women's athletics, which provided
an enormous boost to women’s sports of all kinds, especially basketball,
which became very popular. Women's college basketball, part of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), is a popular focus of
interest. By the end of the 20th century, this enthusiasm led to the
creation of a major professional women’s basketball league. Women have
become a large part of athletics, making their mark in a wide range of
sports.
Sports have become one of the most visible expressions of the vast
extension of democracy in 20th-century America. They have become more
inclusive, with many Americans both personally participating and enjoying
sports as spectators. Once readily available only to the well-to-do,
sports and recreation attract many people, aided by the mass media, the
schools and colleges, the federal and state highway and park systems, and
increased leisure time.
Celebrations and Holidays
Americans celebrate an enormous variety of festivals and holidays because
they come from around the globe and practice many religions. They also
celebrate holidays specific to the United States that commemorate
historical events or encourage a common national memory. Holidays in
America are often family or community events. Many Americans travel long
distances for family gatherings or take vacations during holidays. In
fact, by the end of the 20th century, many national holidays in the United
States had become three-day weekends, which many people used as mini
vacations. Except for the Fourth of July and Veterans Day, most
commemorative federal holidays, including Memorial Day, Labor Day,
Columbus Day, and Presidents’ Day, are celebrated on Mondays so that
Americans can enjoy a long weekend. Because many Americans tend to create
vacations out of these holiday weekends rather than celebrate a particular
event, some people believe the original significance of many of these
occasions has been eroded.
Because the United States is a secular society founded on the separation
of church and state, many of the most meaningful religiously based
festivals and rituals, such as Easter, Rosh Hashanah, and Ramadan, are not
enshrined as national events, with one major exception. Christmas, and the
holiday season surrounding it, is an enormous commercial enterprise, a
fixture of the American social calendar, and deeply embedded in the
popular imagination. Not until the 19th century did Christmas in the
United States begin to take on aspects of the modern holiday celebration,
such as exchanging gifts, cooking and eating traditional foods, and
putting up often-elaborate Christmas decorations. The holiday has grown in
popularity and significance ever since. Santa Claus; brightly decorated
Christmas trees; and plenty of wreathes, holly, and ribbons help define
the season for most children. Indeed, because some religious faiths do not
celebrate Christmas, the Christmas season has expanded in recent years to
become the “holiday season,” embracing Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of
Lights, and Kwanzaa, a celebration of African heritage. Thus, the
Christmas season has become the closest thing to a true national festival
in the United States.
The expansion of Christmas has even begun to encroach on the most
indigenous of American festivals, Thanksgiving. Celebrated on the last
Thursday in November, Thanksgiving has largely shed its original religious
meaning (as a feast of giving thanks to God) to become a celebration of
the bounty of food and the warmth of family life in America. American
children usually commemorate the holiday’s origins at school, where they
re-create the original event: Pilgrims sharing a harvest feast with Native
Americans. Both the historical and the religious origins of the event have
largely given way to a secular celebration centered on the traditional
Thanksgiving meal: turkey—an indigenous American bird—accompanied by foods
common in early New England settlements, such as pumpkins, squashes, and
cranberries. Since many Americans enjoy a four-day holiday at
Thanksgiving, the occasion encourages family reunions and travel. Some
Americans also contribute time and food to the needy and the homeless
during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Another holiday that has lost its older, religious meaning in the United
States is Halloween, the eve of All Saints’ Day. Halloween has become a
celebration of witches, ghosts, goblins, and candy that is especially
attractive to children. On this day and night, October 31, many homes are
decorated and lit by jack-o'-lanterns, pumpkins that have been hollowed
out and carved. Children dress up and go trick-or-treating, during which
they receive treats from neighbors. An array of orange-colored candies has
evolved from this event, and most trick-or-treat bags usually brim with
chocolate bars and other confections.
The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is the premier American national
celebration because it commemorates the day the United States proclaimed
its freedom from Britain with the Declaration of Independence. Very early
in its development, the holiday was an occasion for fanfare, parades, and
speeches celebrating American freedom and the uniqueness of American life.
Since at least the 19th century, Americans have commemorated their
independence with fireworks and patriotic music. Because the holiday marks
the founding of the republic in 1776, flying the flag of the United States
(sometimes with the original 13 stars) is common, as are festive
barbecues, picnics, fireworks, and summer outings.
Most other national holidays have become less significant over time and
receded in importance as ways in which Americans define themselves and
their history. For example, Columbus Day was formerly celebrated on
October 12, the day explorer Christopher Columbus first landed in the West
Indies, but it is now celebrated on the second Monday of October to allow
for a three-day weekend. The holiday originally served as a traditional
reminder of the "discovery" of America in 1492, but as Americans became
more sensitive to their multicultural population, celebrating the conquest
of Native Americans became more controversial.
Holidays honoring wars have also lost much of their original significance.
Memorial Day, first called Decoration Day and celebrated on May 30, was
established to honor those who died during the American Civil War (1861-
1865), then subsequently those who died in all American wars. Similarly,
Veterans Day was first named Armistice Day and marked the end of World War
I (1914-1918). During the 1950s the name of the holiday was changed in the
United States, and its significance expanded to honor armed forces
personnel who served in any American war.
The memory of America's first president, George Washington, was once
celebrated on his birthday, February 22nd. The date was changed to the
third Monday in February to create a three-day weekend, as well as to
incorporate the birthday of another president, Abraham Lincoln, who was
born on February 12th. The holiday is now popularly called Presidents’ Day
and is less likely to be remembered as honoring the first and 16th
American presidents than as a school and work holiday. Americans also
memorialize Martin Luther King, Jr., the great African American civil
rights leader who was assassinated in 1968. King’s birthday is celebrated
as a national holiday in mid-January. The celebration of King's birthday
has become a sign of greater inclusiveness in 20th-century American
society.
EDUCATION
Role of Education
The United States has one of the most extensive and diverse educational
systems in the world. Educational institutions exist at all learning
levels, from nursery schools for the very young to higher education for
older youths and adults of all ages. Education in the United States is
notable for the many goals it aspires to accomplish—promoting democracy,
assimilation, nationalism, equality of opportunity, and personal
development. Because Americans have historically insisted that their
schools work toward these sometimes conflicting goals, education has often
been the focus of social conflict.
While schools are expected to achieve many social objectives, education in
America is neither centrally administered nor supported directly by the
federal government, unlike education in other industrialized countries. In
the United States, each state is responsible for providing schooling,
which is funded through local taxes and governed by local school boards.
In addition to these government-funded public schools, the United States
has many schools that are privately financed and maintained. More than 10
percent of all elementary and secondary students in the United States
attend private schools. Religious groups, especially the Roman Catholic
Church, run many of these. Many of America's most renowned universities
and colleges are also privately endowed and run. As a result, although
American education is expected to provide equality of opportunity, it is
not easily directed toward these goals. This complex enterprise, once one
of the proudest achievements of American democracy because of its
diversity and inclusiveness, became the subject of intense debate and
criticism during the second half of the 20th century. People debated the
goals of schools as well as whether schools were educating students well
enough.
History of Education in America
Until the 1830s, most American children attended school irregularly, and
most schools were either run privately or by charities. This irregular
system was replaced in the Northeast and Midwest by publicly financed
elementary schools, known as common schools. Common schools provided
rudimentary instruction in literacy and trained students in citizenship.
This democratic ideal expanded after the Civil War to all parts of the
nation. By the 1880s and 1890s, schools began to expand attendance
requirements so that more children and older children attended school
regularly. These more rigorous requirements were intended to ensure that
all students, including those whose families had immigrated from
elsewhere, were integrated into society. In addition, the schools tried to
equip children with the more complex skills required in an industrialized
urban society.
Education became increasingly important during the 20th century, as
America’s sophisticated industrial society demanded a more literate and
skilled workforce. In addition, school degrees provided a sought-after
means to obtain better-paying and higher-status jobs. Schools were the one
American institution that could provide the literate skills and work
habits necessary for Americans of all backgrounds to compete in
industries. As a result, education expanded rapidly. In the first decades
of the 20th century, mandatory education laws required children to
complete grade school. By the end of the 20th century, many states
required children to attend school until they were at least 16. In 1960,
45 percent of high school graduates enrolled in college; by 1996 that
enrollment rate had risen to 65 percent. By the late 20th century, an
advanced education was necessary for success in the globally competitive
and technologically advanced modern economy. According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, workers with a bachelor’s degree in 1997 earned an average of
$40,000 annually, while those with a high school degree earned about
$23,000. Those who did not complete high school earned about $16,000.
In the United States, higher education is widely available and obtainable
through thousands of private, religious, and state-run institutions, which
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