The natural environment plays a critical role in the life of people as it shapes their culture, customs, and societies they form. This idea is also reflected in works by Jefferson and De Crèvecoeur, who discuss it from various perspectives. For instance, in Letters from an American Farmer, the second author cogitates about the physical environment and societies that might emerge regarding its unique features (De Crèvecoeur 87).
Exploring the conditions of a new American state, he tries to draw a parallel between them and citizens’ identity. Jefferson revolves around the same idea as both in Autobiography and Notes of the State of Virginia he assumes that natural resources of the land and its peculiarities are vital for the creation of a good society (Notes on the State of Virginia 45). This idea repeated by two authors seems interesting to me as it explains the differences between people living in various parts of the globe and the peculiarities of their customs and traditions. The area, nature, lands, and resources affect individuals, shape their mentalities and value systems, and precondition the appearance of a particular community that evolves and transforms into a unique society.
Analyzing the authors’ ideas from the historical context, their desire to cogitate about the origin of states or citizens’ identity is explained by the appearance of a new American state. Being a young country, it had to pass a long way to become a serious actor in international relations. However, it was critically important to generate the concept of people’s identity as all people living in the USA were newcomers and did not have a common culture. For this reason, Jefferson and De Crèvecoeur tried to explain how the land impacted people and helped to create a new value system fundamental for the formation of a nation.
Works Cited
Jefferson, Thomas. Autobiography. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.
—. Notes on the State of Virginia. Penguin Classics, 1998.
De Crèvecoeur, Jean. Letters from An American Farmer. Kessinger Publishing, 2010.