Can American Culture be Copied?

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Anyone determined enough can copy the systematic functions of any governmental system, but the American "experience" was built off of a select group of people who wanted to break away from the mother country due to religious persecution. That religion being Protestant and Catholic, so it's no secret that the foundation for this country is based mostly off Christianity and its ideals. Even though church and state are separate, the government continuously throughout history incorporate religious ideals and practices. Christianity founded colonialism and colonialism founded America. Colonialism was always oppressive to other cultures and races of people. Early American explorers and colonists forced Christian religion onto indigenous people before stealing their land and resources and continuing to oppress. America has always been built on the interests of the straight, white, Christian man. American culture cannot be "exported" because American culture has no place in Eastern, islandic, Southern or Northern culture, just like these heavily practiced cultures have no place in America, bred out of patriotism, racism, and xenophobia. American culture benefits only a top few who have only their own self-interest in mind and the capitalistic part of the government backs this up, as well, as the rich are protected, and the poor suffer. Charles Beard is correct in his argument when he presents the idea that selfishness of an elite few influenced and motivated the founding of the country. Colonists wanted to be free from what they knew their entire lives but would not sustain its "freedom" to other people's outside of the colonial situation. Even today people from all over the United States face issues of all sorts (financial, employment, education, systemic racism, survivability, standards of living, etc.) to everyone except the straight, white, Christian men who run it.

To my own understanding and interpretation, the Anti-Federalists were more concerned for individual rights of citizens, as compared to the Federalists who valued economic, governmental, and national functions. Federalists favored the constitution and a strong central government, while the Anti-federalists favored a weak national government and strong state governments (Lowi 51). The Federalists believed that tyranny would come from the majority of citizens and create anarchy, but the Anti-federalists held the ideal tyranny would come from powerful, governmental figures (Lowi 53). This supports the idea stated before, that the Anti-federalists favors citizen rights more than Federalists. The Federalists focus on oppression and suppression of the citizens to maintain order, as the Anti-Federalists focus on limiting the federal government to protect citizen rights and protect those rights from oppression or discrimination. So, the Federalists are more conservative than the Anti-Federalists.

The first eight amendments cover policies of function and basic national standards, such as law, national rights, and branches of government; however, the ninth amendment grants personal rights to citizens and the tenth amendment grants power and rights to the states and the people (Lowi A21-A22). These views of individual protection and rights are heavily Anti-Federalist, and, therefore, these two amendments would be more supported by them. The Federalist agenda had more to do with establishing a working, national government that lie along with their beliefs, but were not concerned much with the individual citizens. American citizens today value the last two amendments, because they are citizens, not founders. Most Americans today will accept all ten amendments as a part of the Bill of Rights for both educational and patriotic reasoning. Citizens living in the free society (as compared to other governments) the founders built will include protection of individual rights into the standard of the country. What better section of the Constitution to uphold this standard than the Bill of Rights?

The Federalists Papers #10 and #51 are included in most undergraduate introductory textbooks for political science and history courses, first, because they're very important to understand while learning about modern American government. The Federalists Papers are the ideals and principles our modern party systems are based off today. They were the first formation of political parties since the founding of the American government, against the wishes of the first president. An effect of political parties is figuring out how to satisfy the needs of as many citizens as possible in order to get a higher approval rating, thus votes. The Federalists needed to determine a strategy to appease the party against them. The ideals presented in these documents that are so important to college and university studies, is that strategy to appease citizens and win the race against their opponent at that time. The Federalists presented the balanced branches of government that distributed power and included checks and balances to avoid corruption and tyranny, all while protecting the rights, freedoms and liberties of American citizens. These documents will always be heavily relevant to education and undergraduate studies, as our government today still operates in this same way (Lowi A30-A37).