ABSTRACT
No European nation had as great an impact on the future United States as England. English political and legal institutions indelibly shaped American civil society; English language, history, and culture provided the window through which many colonists viewed and understood the New World. Although two of the most notable characteristics of the United States have been the diversity of its people and environment, Anglo culture is stamped upon American society in just so many ways. English colonists viewed the land and its peoples through English eyes, and most hoped to re-create England in the New World.
