The Features of American History

Abstract

From Europe have come the dynamic forces which make the history of the United States. Westward migration, beginning in prehistory in the heartlands of Asia, has filled the American continent and reached its great climax in the early years of this century. The immediate impetus for migration came from the great increase of European population in modern times. The philosophy of America derives from that European rationalistic and scientific revolution which has transformed the modes of thought in every aspect of human life. The economy of America is that produced by the European revolution in technology, industry and communications. The political system of America derives in part from English constitutionalism and in part from the European revolt against the ancien regime which has overthrown traditional authority, dissolved social hierarchies, and substituted utility for religion as the ultimate standard in human relations. In America, as in Europe, the city has triumphed over the countryside and produced an urbanized civilization with consequences still uncertain; in America, as in Europe, the power of central government has grown and mass democracy threatens to submerge both individualism and local autonomy.