What makes a people a people?

[L Verge]

First, let me congratulate Eva on a fantastic question that could easily be turned into a college-level semester's course! Here's the synopsis right here: - What is (are) the main unifying factor(s)? And why? Language? Religion? Traditions? Culture? History? Economic reasons? Other?
(Sure there exist smart and exact definitions of the terms in dictionaries, but I'm interested in what you, thus the citizens and people, think and feel.)

While it is said that Americans owed allegiance to their individual states - not the "United" States until after 1865, I personally believe that there was a feeling of nationality from 1607 on, since most of our colonists and later immigrants saw the New World as a source for improvement: personal improvement, economic improvement, later educational improvement, etc. In the back of their minds, they had to realize that "it would take a village" to achieve this. They had common goals, but they chose different ways to achieve those goals - largely based on economics, which was swayed by geography.

I feel that the question of westward expansion with slavery and the rise of rabid abolitionism started the slip/slide into dangerous sectionalism, but I don't know how it could have been avoided. In the end, would it have boiled down to two countries? The U.S. of A. and The C.S. of A with the political form of unity as the main divide - one based on states' rights and the other on a central government? How long would it have lasted?

The citizens who migrated from Europe had witnessed monarchies, revolts, conquering armies, and the like. Maybe there was an ingrain thread through all of them that sought a unified and prosperous country where democratic ideals were fostered, and this remained/s at the core of our country. The word "diversity" is over-used today, IMO, but if one reads American history books, diversity is exactly what created the colonies, separated them from Europe, caused a civil war, and joined us back together again (so we could fight more wars on foreign soils!). Diversity should embrace the whole, however, not be used as a dividing point. The latter is what bothers me in this modern world.

Does any of this make sense? I guess what I'm trying to say is that people came to America from many countries but with common core values that have held us together for centuries.