The United States is a very culturally diverse nation. The traditions and histories of many ethnic groups who’ve migrated to America have influenced its culture. In the East, a site of huge cultural significance is Washington D.C.
In the late 1780s, the city was established as part of a compromise between Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson, to move the capital from Philadelphia to the South in exchange for the South’s payment of war debts.
The city is home to many monuments and buildings detailing the country’s history and government. The Washington Monument commemorates the Father of the Nation, just as the Lincoln Memorial honors the president who ended slavery and kept the nation intact. American heroes who’ve changed the country are also remembered like the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Many famous museums, such as the Smithsonian, reside in the capital.
A unique product of American culture was its government. The ideas of the Enlightenment were synthesized into a new government structure that functions to this day. The three branches of the U.S. government have their headquarters in the capital. The Supreme Court represents the judicial branch, the senators and representatives in Congress meet in the Capitol building, and the president lives in the White House.
The architecture of these buildings is heavily influenced by Ancient Greek or Roman architecture, just as the Constitution was inspired by the ideals of democracy that the city of Athens famously practiced or the structure of the Roman republic.
Each state provides their own unique culture due to the diversity of its population. But the capital of the United States presents American culture through the lens of its history.
- Antonin Ducroux - USA (East Coast)
