America's Diverse Cultures Author:Jane Adams "American culture" may be an oxymoron -- a term that contradicts itself. America -- that is, the United States -- is made up of an enormous diversity of peoples, more-or-less bound together by a common government and, for the most part, language. We are not a "nation" in the European sense of the word. We do not, as a people,... more » share a common historical tradition nor are many of our customs widely shared. We are, rather, composed of many nations, many people.« less