The Extrovert Ideal In America

For most of the last century, American culture has increasingly alienated the smaller portion of the population who are introverts. However, it was not until the twentieth century that the “extrovert ideal” took hold in the United States. In the early days of our country, America was largely made up of hard working and self-respecting farm people who valued honesty and integrity. However, America’s cultural ideals changed around the turn of the twentieth century as more Americans started to migrate into cities and companies became superpowers. Americans’ migration from rural areas to cities demanded a new kind of man, a man with a friendly smile, firm handshake, a few slick words, and an overall likable personality, which forever changed America’s cultural ideals from a culture that valued a person, to a culture that values that person’s personality.

Theodore Roosevelt

Several prominent Americans during this time frame helped to mark this shift in ideals and pave the way for others to find success as well. Theodore Roosevelt was a prime example of a person who, by ‘putting himself out there’, gained immense popularity and won a place in just about every American’s heart. As a boy, Roosevelt was the sickly son of a wealthy businessman. He suffered from debilitating asthma, which, if it were not for his own determination, would have meant an end to his career before it even started. Through intense training and a daily routine, Roosevelt was able to improve his health dramatically and eventually attend college at Harvard University. After college, Roosevelt, not afraid to speak his mind, ran for public office in the state of New York. He was not afraid to go against the accepted practices of other political figures, and refused to accept corruption in the political system. He became an overnight sensation among the citizens of the state. However, the obstacles for Roosevelt would not end there. He suffered the devastating loss of his wife, at which point he moved west to live in the Dakota territory for several years. Through hard work and determination, Roosevelt earned the respect of the other ranchers. After his return to the east, Roosevelt ran with William McKinley for vice-president; their ticket won easily. McKinley’s assassination provided Roosevelt with another opportunity for fame. Roosevelt quickly won the people’s attention when he disbanded monopolies such as JP Morgan’s Northern Securities and Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Roosevelt’s aggressive foreign policy and hunger to be involved in worldwide conflicts also won him the admiration of the people, who were in search of a figure to idolize, and help them move into the new era. Roosevelt’s display of personality and America's response set the shift of American ideals in motion, and paved the way for a new kind of man, the salesman, to rise.

Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie was born in the town of Maryville Missouri, about two and a half hours north of Kansas City. Son of two well-respected but poor farm parents, Dale was always shy and did not like to speak up in school. Shortly before he graduated from high school, a speaker from the Chautauqua movement, which brought interesting topics to small farm towns, came to town. Dale was captivated by his story, and became aware of the power of public speaking. Inspired by the speaker’s ability to captivate an audience, Dale practiced public speaking nightly during college. Initially he was pretty bad, but through hours of diligent practice Dale became the most sought after tutor for public speaking of any student on campus. Realizing his skill had the potential to change people’s lives for the better, Dale began giving public speaking courses at the YMCA in New York upon moving there after college. His sessions were an instant success; people could not get enough of the classes. With the constant stream of people also came many success stories as well. People who initially were too terrified to give a speech to co-workers suddenly were able to sell products to complete strangers. With a quick smile, smooth words, and a firm handshake, the salesman was born, and would forever shape the future of American culture.

Carnegie’s success story was not unique. Many people all across the country were also experiencing the radical transformation Carnegie had undergone. To understand why this movement began in the first place, we must first examine what ideals Americans held before this transformation. When immigrants moved to America in the 18th and 19th centuries, they brought their religious leaders with them as well. Many of these religions taught that idleness was evil; we should always be working and not stopping for personal enjoyment. Americans started to become disillusioned with these ideals, and with this came westward expansion, the creation of more holidays, and a more optimistic outlook. Instead of looking to their religious leaders for support, Americans began looking to those with status and power, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Dale Carnegie, for a model of how to live their lives. As large businesses began to rise, companies needed people to market their products. Who better than someone acting as Carnegie or Roosevelt would, with a big smile, firm handshake, and a few nice words to convince customers to buy their product? As more Americans moved from the farm to the cities to work office and sales jobs, interpersonal skills became even more important. A good smile, handshake, and kind words were, and still are, a sure ticket to success.

Quiet by Susan Cain

Even with the rise of the digital era, these qualities are as important as ever. “Pitch men” like Billy Mays scream advertisements with a smile and a wink at us on TV, and ad banners with smiling people with some ‘amazing’ new product flash on the side of web pages. We are encouraged to speak up and participate in class or risk not understanding the material, or missing out on a connection with our teachers. Our peers pressure us to join the latest form of social media so we can send pictures of funny faces back and forth over text messages. And more than ever, we as a society continue to idolize sports figures, actors, and comedians who serve as the ‘example’ we are supposed to live up to. In reality, the more connected world we live in has disconnected us from reality. Beginning with people like Carnegie and Roosevelt, we have forgotten the qualities that really matter in a person, and used a person’s personality as a way to judge their worth. The rise of the extrovert ideal in America occurred in response to the rise of big corporations, many Americans moving into cities, and the emergence of salesmen, and this change continues to disconnect us from reality and steer America in the wrong direction.

Works Cited

"Dale Carnegie." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 5 Dec. 2014

"Theodore Roosevelt." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Warrington, Kate. "The “Extrovert Ideal”." Where Are We Headed. Sites at Penn State, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.  

Ehrenreich, Barbara. Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. New York: Metropolitan, 2009. Print.

Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. New York: Crown, 2012. Print.

"Dale Carnegie." Photos/Illustrations. Library of Congress. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

"Theodore Roosevelt." Photos/Illustrations. Library of Congress. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

Quiet-cover. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web