This study focuses on the construction of American national identity which emerged during the Americanization campaign, roughly 1914-1924. Period texts are analyzed using techniques of pragmatic and rhetorical analysis within a discourse-historical framework (Wodak, 2001). Three representations of Americanism are described. Two of these representations presuppose consensus on particular views of American identity, whereas the third finds such views to be narrow-minded and incompatible with the goals of democracy. The arguments found in these competing discourses are present today in American public discourse.
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