Trying to Understand Americans I
Protestants, Jews, and Latinos: Three Legacies That Shaped a Nation
When we ask why the United States became one of the world’s most powerful and influential nations, we often point to factors like abundant natural resources, technological innovation, or massive immigration. All of that is true. But behind those explanations lies something deeper: the cultural and spiritual DNA of the communities that helped shape it.
Among them stand out three groups that, although they arrived in different eras and under very different circumstances, shared a common trait: they turned adversity into a driving force for progress. We are talking about the Protestants who first colonized the country, the Jewish immigrants who arrived in waves during the 19th and 20th centuries, and the Latinos, who today represent the largest and most vibrant minority.
The Protestants: Work Ethic as a Foundation
The first Protestant settlers—Puritans and Calvinists—came to North America in the 17th century, fleeing religious persecution. Their faith taught them that hard work, discipline, thrift, and punctuality were spiritual virtues.
Their main contributions were:
Agriculture and colonization: building farms, towns, and self-sufficient communities.
Institutions: founding universities, churches, and systems of local self-government.
National culture: planting the idea of the self-made man and the American Dream, where each individual controls their own destiny.
This “Protestant ethic” laid the foundation for a nation that values productivity, seriousness, and self-reliance as core virtues.
The Jews: Education and Resilience Turned into Excellence
Centuries later, millions of Jews arrived, fleeing pogroms, poverty, and antisemitism in Eastern Europe and Russia. Many came with nothing, but they carried with them a tradition of study, resilience, and strong community ties.
Their contributions are visible in key areas:
Science and medicine: a disproportionately high number of American Nobel laureates are Jewish.
Culture and entertainment: pioneers in Hollywood, music, and theater.
Finance and law: shaping banks, law firms, and major corporations.
Civil rights: actively involved in movements for social justice.
Though they make up only about 2% of the U.S. population, their influence multiplied through education and strong community networks.
The Latinos: Youthful Energy and a Living Culture
Today, Latinos number more than 60 million in the United States—the largest and youngest minority. Our history is also unique: we did not arrive all at once, but in diverse waves from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Some of us never “arrived” at all—our families were already here when the American Southwest belonged to Spain and later to Mexico.
Our contributions are equally visible:
Economy and labor: a backbone in agriculture, construction, services, cuisine, and transportation.
Culture and language: Spanish is the second-most spoken language, and Latino music, food, and traditions enrich American identity.
Sports and entertainment: from baseball to global music, Latinos set trends.
Demographics and the future: with a young population, we are shaping the workforce and the political landscape of the decades to come.
Our resilience and joy have allowed us to thrive, even when facing barriers such as language, discrimination, or limited opportunities at the start.
Three Legacies, One Shared Pattern
Looking closely, Protestants, Jews, and Latinos share the same pattern: small in number at first, often persecuted or marginalized, yet able to transform adversity into a collective engine of progress.
Protestants laid the foundation with their work ethic.
Jews contributed intellectual, cultural, and financial excellence.
Latinos bring youthful energy, relentless work, and a vibrant culture that is shaping the future.
Final Message to Us, the Latinos
The history of the United States shows that this country’s progress has always been tied to communities that knew how to turn adversity into strength. The Protestants built the foundations with their work ethic, the Jews added intellectual and cultural excellence, and Latinos are already writing our own chapter with effort, creativity, and youth.
This is not just about a promise for the future—it is already happening. We are part of the engine of this nation. You can see it in the fields we cultivate, in the homes and cities we build, in the restaurants and businesses we run, in the music that fills stadiums, in the athletes making history, and in politics, where our voice is growing stronger every day.
Our challenge now is not to begin—we already have. The real challenge is to keep growing together: to value education, support one another, stay disciplined without losing our joy, and turn our collective strength into positive influence for the next generations.
Because living with purpose, here and now, means recognizing that we are already protagonists of the American Dream—and with every step we take, we are transforming it into a Latino Drea