• @merc
    link
    310 months ago

    Different states in the early 1800s might be like different European countries are today. But, today, states have a lot less power, and people generally think of themselves as American first.

    In addition, European countries speak different languages. That severely limits the common ground you share with neighbouring countries.

      • @merc
        link
        410 months ago

        Yeah, European countries have histories going back a thousand years or more. While there’s going to be some shared history in border regions (often they swapped back and forth between countries depending on who was strong and who was weak), there’s a lot of differences between them that are pretty deep seated.

        If those countries shared a common language the cultures would tend to blend over time. When they speak different languages that process is a lot slower.

        IMO the differences between major US cities are smaller than the differences between any given city and the rural areas surrounding that city.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      310 months ago

      Even then, different states in the early 1800s had more or less the same history/origins (colonists that arrived relatively recently)