- This subject will only be dealt with briefly, since the focus here is Latin America, and the US is mainly discussed in order to contrast it to Latin America. 1. The English colonists in America had a need to create a distinctive identity that would distinguish them from the English in Britain. 2. Religion posed a problem for them, so they established the American civil religion. 3. The question of who should be included within the nation was a difficult one, which was ultimately resolved by the exclusion of the Indians and inclusion (particularly following the Civil War) of the Blacks. 4. They lacked a shared national experience - The War of Independence provided this factor. 5. They required shared traditions and legacies - and so legends developed around the writing of the constitution and the Philadelphia convention, the birthdays of great American leader became national holidays, Christmas became an American holiday, the national flag and American Independence day were stressed, and traditional parades were held. 6. English was chosen as the national language. 7. The Americans sought a unifying spiritual idea, one that was derived from English thought but had a distinctly American style. The democratic-political structure of government and legal institutions played an important role in this, and individualism and liberalism were advanced as aspects of the unique American spirit. The puritanical notion of a chosen land - America - and of a chosen nation - the American people - as well of a spiritual mission - of America's role as the champion of civil rights throughout the world (from which followed its support for the establishment of the UN, the Korean and Vietnam war, and American involvement in Somalia and Bosnia) were all reinforced. These ideals, combined with Protestant influence and emphasis on reading and knowing the Bible, formed the basis for the development of Black spiritualistic music, and for basic support for: the State of Israel - as the tie between the American 'Chosen nation' founded in the spirit of the Bible, and the original Biblical Chosen nation, the Jewish people, and for the Jewish people's return to their 'promised land' (that paralleled America as a promised land). It is these ideas that lie behind Anglo-American support for Israel, and not material or political interests. This last issue is the source of the differences between American government policies towards Israel and Western European ones. Western Europeans did not need to form a new nationalism, since they already had one. The question of whether what is being spoken of is separate French, German, Italian, Dutch, and Belgian nationalities, each around 200 years old, or of a 2000-year old unified culture and tradition (as emerges from the economic and political unification of Western Europe) is not within the scope of this book, though in general in relates to the broader discussion of political nationalism vs. deep-rooted nationalism.