American Values

What Made America So Great That Everyone Wants To Move There?

What were the values of the people that first came to America that established it’s culture and made it such an amazing place to live, that everyone in 2024 is still benefiting from, even though it waning quickly? Putting it more succinctly, what made America such a great place? What is the secret recipe that, if possible, you could replicate somewhere else? What is our “National Identity”?

Version 1 – 2020

1. Everything that’s in the Constitution
   1. Freedom of Speech, Right to Bear Arms, etc.
2. Christian belief system, that ensured our laws are based on the Bible.
3. Belief that the greater the government the greater the tyranny and thus keep the government as small as possible.
4. Pride
5. Freedom
6. Individual Rights
7. Complete distrust of anyone in government or in power.
   1. That’s why the 2nd Amendment was enshrined in the Constitution and the Founding Fathers specifically told us to keep your guns so you can overthrow the government if they ever become tyrannical.
8. Hardy Adventurous People: People that were willing to leave the world they knew behind, get on a 6 month boat ride to the US that may result in them dying on the way, only to arrive in a world where no one is there to help them and in fact is hostile toward them, as seen by the Indians that kill them when given the chance.
9. The people that came later, from the 1800s onward, came here to assimilate and were bullied into assimilating (racism), that made them tougher and stronger that ever before. The weak left and went back to where they came from. Those that could tolerate the heat, assimilate and fit in, were welcomed.
10. Entrepreneurs flocked to this new land as they are often the most adventurous and fearless people there are.
11. Those that first came, came with a Puritan Work Ethic: be hardworking, be industrious, grind, toil, build something with your own two hands and NO ONE is coming to save you. You’re either going to make something of yourself or die trying.
12. The country attracted warriors too. They knew they wold get shot at and potentially killed by simply wandering into Indian territory, but were willing to take the risk anyway.
13. We came in and created what is currently the most powerful country in the world, on the back of these American Ideals:
    1. Puritan Values of hard work, self-reliance, industriousness, get it done attitude, don’ complain, work around the clock, reap what you sow, no one is going to help you, no one is going to give you anything, don’t tread on anyone and don’t take from anyone else, smallest government possible, and a set of documents that enshrined certain inalienable rights we all have the government can not take away from us. All of this together gave us the American Dream, in which anything is possible if you can envision it and then grind to make it happen.

Version 2 – 2025

America’s development involved a combination of factors that are difficult to replicate wholesale, though individual elements have been adopted elsewhere with varying success:

1. Institutional foundations that proved important include strong property rights, rule of law, and constitutional protections for individual freedoms. Countries like South Korea, Singapore, and others have built robust institutions, though often with different cultural and political frameworks.

   Where did these “institutional foundations” come from? The people or Magic American Dirt?
   The institutional foundations absolutely came from the people – specifically their intellectual heritage, experiences, and deliberate choices, not any properties of the land itself.

   English legal and political heritage:

   • Common law system developed over centuries in England, emphasizing precedent, individual rights, and limits on arbitrary power
   • Parliamentary traditions and concepts like representation, taxation with consent, and checks on executive power
   • Magna Carta legacy (1215) establishing that even kings were subject to law
   • Colonial experience with self-governance through colonial assemblies gave practical experience with representative government

   Enlightenment intellectual framework:

   • John Locke’s ideas on natural rights, consent of the governed, and separation of powers directly influenced the founders
   • Montesquieu’s writings on separation of powers became the blueprint for the Constitution’s structure
   • Scottish Enlightenment thinkers like Adam Smith influenced economic thinking
   • The founders were remarkably well-read in political philosophy and history

   Specific founder innovations:

   • Federalism – dividing power between state and federal levels was largely an American innovation
   • Written Constitution with explicit enumerated powers was novel
   • Bill of Rights codifying individual protections
   • Judicial review (though not explicit in Constitution, established by early Supreme Court)

   Learning from failure:

   • The Articles of Confederation failed first, teaching lessons about what didn’t work
   • Founders studied historical examples of failed republics (Rome, various Italian city-states) to avoid their mistakes

   Key point: These same intellectual traditions existed in Europe, but established monarchies, aristocracies, and entrenched interests made implementing these ideas nearly impossible there. America’s “blank slate” allowed putting Enlightenment theories into practice without overthrowing centuries of existing institutions.

   The “magic” was having educated, philosophically-minded founders with the rare opportunity to design institutions from scratch.

2. Geographic advantages are largely unreplicable – vast territory, abundant natural resources, ocean barriers providing security, and navigable rivers for internal trade. However, countries have maximized their own geographic assets effectively.
3. Cultural and social factors that contributed include entrepreneurial culture, willingness to take risks, social mobility ideals, and openness to immigration (historically). Some of these can be cultivated, while others emerge from complex historical circumstances.

   Where did these “Cultural and social factors” come from? The people or Magic American Dirt?
   
   The cultural and social factors largely came from the specific people who founded and populated America, combined with the unique circumstances they faced – definitely not “magical dirt.”

   _*]:min-w-0″>

   
   The founding population brought key cultural elements:

   • Protestant work ethic from various European religious traditions, particularly English Puritans and other Protestant groups who emphasized individual responsibility, hard work, and material success as signs of divine favor
   • English legal and political traditions including common law, representative government concepts, and individual rights – ideas that had been developing in England for centuries
   • Enlightenment philosophy that influenced the founders, drawing from thinkers like Locke, Montesquieu, and others who emphasized natural rights, separation of powers, and limited government

   The frontier environment shaped culture significantly:

   • Vast open land meant people could “start over” and weren’t locked into rigid social hierarchies
   • Survival often required self-reliance, innovation, and cooperation with diverse groups
   • Labor shortages made skills and productivity more valuable than social class
   • Geographic mobility was possible in ways that weren’t available in more settled, hierarchical societies

   Selective migration patterns mattered:

   • People willing to cross an ocean and start over were often more risk-tolerant and entrepreneurial by nature
   • Religious minorities and political dissidents brought strong motivations for protecting freedoms
   • Economic migrants were often seeking opportunity rather than just survival
   • There was no welfare in those days and thus only the hardiest survived (Survival of the Fittest)

   Key insight: Similar cultural values existed in origin countries but were often constrained by established institutions, social hierarchies, and limited opportunities. America’s “newness” allowed these values to flourish without as many traditional constraints.

   This explains why simply transplanting American institutions elsewhere often doesn’t work – the cultural foundation and historical circumstances that shaped them were quite specific.

    
    
    
4. Economic policies like relatively free markets, protection of private property, investment in infrastructure and education, and openness to trade have been adopted by many successful countries, though implementation varies widely.

   Where did these “Cultural and social factors” come from? The people or Magic American Dirt?
   
   

   The economic policies also came from the people – their intellectual influences, practical experiences, and deliberate policy choices, not the land itself.

   Intellectual foundations:

   • Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” (1776) – the founders were influenced by his ideas about free markets, division of labor, and limited government interference in commerce
   • Scottish Enlightenment economic thinking emphasized trade, commerce, and economic liberty
   • English commercial law traditions that protected contracts and property rights
   • Physiocratic ideas from France influenced some founders (like Jefferson) who believed in agricultural-based wealth

   Practical colonial experience:

   • Mercantilism’s failures – colonists experienced firsthand how British trade restrictions and monopolies stifled economic growth
   • Smuggling and black markets showed how free trade worked better than regulated trade
   • Labor shortages in colonies meant higher wages and more economic opportunity than in Europe
   • Land abundance meant traditional European feudal economic relationships couldn’t be maintained

   Founding-era policy decisions:

   • Alexander Hamilton’s financial system – national bank, assumption of state debts, manufacturing promotion
   • Patent system in Constitution to encourage innovation
   • Contract clause protecting private agreements
   • Commerce clause preventing states from restricting interstate trade

   Key structural choices:

   • No established church meant no economic privileges for religious institutions
   • No hereditary aristocracy meant wealth couldn’t be permanently locked in old families
   • Federal system created large internal markets without trade barriers

   The critical insight: Europe had the same economic ideas and thinkers, but entrenched guilds, aristocratic privileges, established churches, and fragmented political systems made implementing free market policies much harder. America’s founders could implement these ideas without dismantling centuries of established economic interests.

   The “magic” was having the political space to put economic theory into practice.

5. Timing advantages were crucial – America industrialized when global competition was limited, had two world wars fought primarily on other continents, and became the dominant global power when Europe was rebuilding. This timing can’t be replicated.
6. Successful adaptations of American elements can be seen in places like Singapore (rule of law, open markets), South Korea (education investment, economic development), and Canada/Australia (immigration, multiculturalism), though each developed their own distinct approaches.

The reality is that successful countries tend to adapt principles to their own contexts rather than copying any single model entirely. What works depends heavily on existing culture, institutions, geography, and historical circumstances.

Can America Be Replicated Elsewhere?

The challenge of replication: The specific combination that created America is extremely difficult to reproduce. You’d need educated founders steeped in Enlightenment philosophy, a “blank slate” territory without entrenched institutions, the right timing in global development, and favorable geography – all happening simultaneously.

Modern constraints:

• No more “empty” continents – every habitable place has existing populations, governments, and institutions
• Global system – new countries emerge within existing international frameworks, not as isolated experiments
• Different intellectual climate – we don’t have another Enlightenment moment with revolutionary new political ideas waiting to be implemented
• Established powers – existing countries wouldn’t allow a new nation to develop with the same freedom America had

But elements have been replicated: Countries like Singapore, South Korea, and others have successfully adopted pieces of the American model – rule of law, market economics, educational investment – and achieved remarkable prosperity, though in very different contexts.

The deeper question: Maybe the real issue isn’t recreating “another America” but whether the specific cultural traits that made America successful – entrepreneurship, risk-taking, institutional innovation – can emerge elsewhere under different circumstances.

Some argue these traits aren’t unique to the founders’ descendants but can develop in any population given the right incentives and opportunities. Others believe the specific cultural-intellectual heritage was irreplaceable.

Verdict: Probably not another America exactly, but potentially other successful models that capture some of the same essential elements in different forms.

What Are True American Values?

Why Are These Values Dying?

America is now dying because we the people have allowed these great values atrophy. We no longer teach “American Values” in school because we allowed the Marxist to take over the institutions. We also empowered our women, and empowered women don’t have babies and thus your society dies. Plus, women’s biological imperative is to be taken care of, with the littlest amount of work possible, thus they vote for socialism and communism (work is hard, I just want free stuff without having to get it from a man), a police state (I don’t want to defend myself and my own children, I want someone else to do that), and open borders (it’s not fair everyone can’t enjoy this place, plus all these masculine men coming across the border are kind of cute).

Immigration

If you’re going to pour into this country and assimilate like mad, and adopted the puritan mindset of “no one is coming to save me, I have to do this by myself, I am going to work very hard, I’m not going to expect anyone to give me anything, I want to contribute meaningfully to society, I want to build honorable things that make the country even better, I want the government to leave me alone, etc. And if you only let people with these values in and that have a high intellect, then 2024 immigration wouldn’t be as bad as it is.

People that don’t all share the same values in one area will eventually kill each other. That’s why multiculturalism is PURE CANCER for society.

If you let everyone in without any screening and give them free welfare and then teach them that America is a systemically racist place that hates them, then the expected outcome is pure hell.

Rome Comparisons

The comparison between Rome’s fall and modern immigration is complex, but there are important historical lessons about what happened when Rome could no longer effectively integrate newcomers.

What actually happened to Rome:

• Early success with integration: For centuries, Rome successfully absorbed conquered peoples by offering them a path to Roman citizenship and adopting their useful practices while maintaining Roman institutional framework
• Breakdown of integration mechanisms: By the 3rd-5th centuries, Rome struggled to Romanize newcomers effectively due to weakened institutions, economic decline, and political instability
• Barbarian foederati: Germanic tribes were increasingly settled as military allies who maintained their own leadership, laws, and culture rather than becoming Romans
• Parallel power structures: These groups eventually established their own kingdoms within or alongside Roman territory rather than being absorbed into Roman institutions

Key factors in Rome’s inability to maintain integration:

• Economic decline reduced Rome’s attractiveness and ability to offer opportunities
• Weakened military meant relying on foreign groups who kept their own identities
• Political instability undermined confidence in Roman institutions
• Scale and speed – too many newcomers arriving too quickly for existing mechanisms to handle
• Different relationship – many came as conquerors or military allies rather than seeking to become Roman

The critical difference: Early Roman immigrants generally wanted to become Roman and gain access to Roman citizenship and opportunities. Later “barbarian” groups often wanted Roman wealth and land but weren’t interested in becoming culturally Roman.

Modern relevance: The Roman example suggests that successful integration requires both functioning institutions capable of transmitting values AND newcomers who want to adopt those values. When either element breaks down, you get parallel societies rather than integration.

The outcome wasn’t inevitable – it resulted from specific institutional weaknesses and circumstances.

How Do You Ensure Integration vs Cultural Replacement?

Sources

• https://internationalman.com/articles/doug-casey-on-the-end-of-western-civilization/
• https://internationalman.com/articles/authors/doug-casey/