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The Unique Hebraic Elements In The Founding Years Of America

Posted on:2012-02-11Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:J DengFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155330335979102Subject:English Language and Literature
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Since 1950s, a new term"Judeo-Christian tradition"begins to appear in the American society. The American people use it mainly to distinguish its unique culture from European continent. However, the exact meaning of this term is rarely known by the Chinese people, some scholars even partially interpreted it as Christian culture, ignored its"Judeo", namely Hebraic elements, as well as its impact on the early American puritan culture and the status of the Jews in the America. The purpose of this thesis is to try to sort out the relationship between the Hebraic elements in early American Puritan culture and the unique American culture—"Judeo-Christian tradition".In the first part of the paper, the author discussed the reasons why the Hebraic elements are favored by the early puritan fathers, namely, the similarities and identification the puritan fathers found when they looked through the Hebrew Bible. Then through comparing the different attitudes toward the Jews in the history of America and European countries, and the favors of the founding presidents while designing the Great Seal of America, the author further proved the uniqueness of the Hebraic elements in the founding years of America. Next the author looked through many founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of United States and some state codes, and found out their Hebraic roots. Last, the author listed the Hebraic names of the places in the America, and the learning of Hebrew and Hebrew Bible in the higher education, proved the uniqueness of Hebraic elements in the early American society once again.Through the combination of the features of traditional Chinese culture and the current Chinese academic research, the author of this thesis traces the Hebraic elements'influence back to the founding years of the United States for the first time and hopes this research will have some inspiration to the study of the religious and cultural origin of US-Israeli relations.
Keywords/Search Tags:Hebraic element, Christianity, Judaism, Judeo-Christian tradition
PDF Full Text Request
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