Volunteerism can be regarded as a tool to create American identity and unite the heterogeneous people with different ethnicity, religion, race and gender into unified and uniformed people, but during passage of time this tool has become a part of American identity and culture. In fact volunteerism is an aspect of American identity, subsequently American culture.
Volunteerism has a long history in the US; actually it goes back to the Founding Fathers and their efforts to build a nation for its people, equally. Their efforts are considered as altruistic acts and a kind of sacrifice. It has continued since then, during the 19th century, the 20th century and the current century but during these centuries it has functioned differently. While most volunteers of the 18th and 19th centuries found their assignments through their church or another private sector, the 20th century is where mainstream volunteer organizations began to increase.
Volunteerism has promoted by the US government since 1930s and drag on to present time but during time its forms and aims have been different since1930s governmental volunteerism seek to bring relief to the society. But in 1990s governmental volunteerism seeked to build American identity in purest form to revive American tradition in a conservative sense. Although revived by the conservatives, American volunteerism has been continued by the democrats and then again by Bush the son as a neoconservative.
On the whole American volunteerism has been used to build the nation then its people identify with each other and share a common culture. After fulfillment of this phase American volunteerism tries to, or better to say it is used to promote the American culture around the world. Like JFK's plan, Peace Corps of 1960s which has covered 139 countries around the world. Today American volunteerism has two function, first, to help to reshape the American identity in the passage of time, second, to promote the American culture around the world.
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