"Why is the dominant culture of the United States that of white European protestants . . . "

Why is the dominant culture of the United States that of white European protestants instead of the Native Americans who where here for hundreds, if not thousands, of years before the pilgrims?  And if one group of people were able to become the dominant culture in a completely foreign land, why hasn’t the U.S. been a revolving door of dominant cultures, each taking over whatever came before them?  The main reason is explained in the fact that the first Europeans to travel here were a group.  This is the driving force behind the success of cultures who travel in large numbers to a new land, as opposed to individual people or single families.

The entire first half of this semester we have studied immigrants deal with coming to America and having to change their ways to survive.  Some have had some great success in this, while others have not.  This is a very different story, however, than that of when the dominant culture came to this country.  What makes the story different?  There are several characteristics that affect this.  One of these is the simple will to stay as a group.  When the Israelites went to Canaan, they decided that there would be no intermarriage.  This guarded them from the dilution of their culture.  Instead of marrying and procreating with the Canaanites, which would inevitably lead to a mixing of cultures, the Jews kept to themselves, preserving their blood lines and culture traits.  The pilgrims did this as well.  In Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford writes “But to go into a country they knew not but by hearsay…but these things did not dismay them, though they did sometimes trouble them; for their desires were set on the ways of God and to enjoy his ordinances.”  The pilgrims certainly had reservations about going to a new country, but they had a common bond, their faith in God.  This unwillingness to change their bonds kept them together throughout their journey.  Jews, in more recent times than Exodus, too show this trait.  While they still assimilate in many ways to the country they live in, they usually do not waver from their faith.  This allows them to keep a distinct difference from themselves and the dominant culture, and allows them to keep their own identity.

They are several main characteristics of the dominant culture.  Christian – Protestant, white, educated, and hard working are a few of them.  These came to be mainly through education.  Other than coming in large numbers, education is the most important way the dominant culture can come in and overtake another.  Even though they traveled as a group, the pilgrims did not outnumber the Native Americans when they arrived.  They did, however, have more education and technology.  They came over with a plan to succeed, and they followed through.  This is the same with the Jews in Exodus.  They were one of the most educated cultures of the day.  Their written records allowed them to move around and still keep their beliefs intact.  Their education allowed them to take full advantage of all the resources available to them in their new land.  In Bread Givers, the Jewish men still refuse to intermarry, however, this is about the only thing they do not assimilate too.  They still realize what it takes to be successful in America.  Even Reb Smolinksy, the man of Godly study, tried his hand multiple times at business adventures.  They Smolinsky family displays many aspects of assimilation, but their attachment to their faith allows them to keep their culture alive. 

For the most part, the dominant culture texts that we have studied have portrayed the dominant culture in a positive light, largely because they are written from the perspective of the dominant culture.  The Jews believe that God has delivered them from the evils of slavery they suffered under the Egyptians to a land of their own.  The Pilgrims think largely along the same lines.  Bread Givers varies slightly, but only because there are two dominant cultures.  In Bread Givers, the American dominant culture is admired by all, none more than Sara Smolinsky.  She spends the entire book trying to obtain assimilation into this culture.  Upon arriving at college, Sara says, “So these are the real Americans.”  Sara wanted to desperately be apart of this culture, and achieves it, but in the end, like all of her sisters, she can not bring herself to leave her old culture behind.  While Judaism is not the dominant culture in America, it shows the traits that the dominant culture needs to stay that way, mainly the refusal to settle for anything other than what they believe.  Both of the culture referred to in Bread Givers, as well as the cultures on the move in Exodus and Of Plymouth Plantation, are portrayed as positive in some way or another. 

Through many different aspects, the cultures that have moved have managed to stay together and dominate.  These reasons can be as simple as pure numbers, but more so have to do with their refusal to change and their superior education.  It is much easier to do this as a large group than as an individual or a small family.  Large groups have a larger support system, as well as the knowledge to adapt to a new land without becoming that land. [DG]