What does it mean to be an American?

Need at least a paragraph explanation.

Being an American according to The National Museum of American History's article by L. Jenkins means " that you can make your own decisions about where you want to live, where you would like to work, who you'd like to marry etc. It means being brave, being proud of this country, and being confident that we will succeed". In order words what he means is that you can be free to take determination to be whoever you want to be, and is not about being a character, just be.