Introduction
All American citizens, regardless of race, sex, country of origin, or political values, are
objectively members of the group “the American people.” Holding American citizenship is the
only fundamental qualification for being an American. What turns this objective membership
into a group identity is a feeling of attachment to the group, and a strong group identity
“fundamentally shape[s] how people look at politics” (Conover 1984: 764). Strongly identifying
with the American people, then, will likely have significant consequences for how people view
the political world and for their political behavior. The same can be said for Americans who do
not strongly identify with the American people. They are objectively Americans and will be
considered part of the group by those around them, even as they only weakly think of themselves
as part of the group, or even actively disdain being considered a member of the group. They will
have their views shaped by their lack of attachment to a group to which they belong.
This paper examines the impact of different levels of commitment to an American group
identity. Identity commitment is a continuum that ranges from rejection of the identity to
extremely strong commitment to that identity. Drawing heavily on work in social psychology,
especially the social identity approach and more recently the “Amsterdam school,” I argue that
the extent to which people are committed to their American group identity has profound
consequences for how they view fellow group members and how they view their nation.
Most research on national identity in political science has tended to focus on the national
history, culture, values, and norms, and their effects on people’s attitudes and behaviors. For
example, Jack Citrin’s work on American identity provides important insights into Americans’
Convention