he United States is home to many cultures and a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values.[26][463] Aside from the Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Native Alaskan populations, American culture is a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of European immigrants with influences from many other sources, such as traditions brought by slaves from Africa.[26][465] More recent immigration from Asia and especially Latin America has added to a cultural mix that has been described as both a homogenizing melting pot, and a heterogeneous salad bowl in which immigrants and their descendants retain distinctive cultural characteristics.[26]
Core American culture was established by Protestant British colonists and shaped by the frontier settlement process, with the traits derived passed down to descendants and transmitted to immigrants through assimilation. Americans have traditionally been characterized by a strong work ethic, competitiveness, and individualism, as well as a unifying belief in an "American creed" emphasizing liberty, equality, private property, democracy, rule of law, and a preference for limited government.[466] Americans are extremely charitable by global standards. According to a 2006 British study, Americans gave 1.67% of GDP to charity, more than any other nation studied, more than twice the second place British figure of 0.73%, and around twelve times the French figure of 0.14%.[467][468]
The American Dream, or the perception that Americans enjoy high social mobility, plays a key role in attracting immigrants.[469] Whether this perception is realistic has been a topic of debate.[470][471][472][473][392][474] While mainstream culture holds that the United States is a classless society,[475] scholars identify significant differences between the country's social classes, affecting socialization, language, and values.[476] Americans' self-images, social viewpoints, and cultural expectations are associated with their occupations to an unusually close degree.[477] While Americans tend greatly to value socioeconomic achievement, being ordinary or average is generally seen as a positive attribute.[478]