One thing almost everyone is agreed on,including Americans,is that they place a very high valuation upon success.success does not necessarily mean material rewards,but recognition of some sort---preferably measurable.
A good many things contributed to this accent on success.there was the puritan belief in the virtue of work,both for its own sake and because the rewards it brought were regarded as signs of God's love. There was the richness of opportunities in a land waiting to be settled.There was the lack of a settled society with fixed ranks and classes, so that a man was certain to rise through achievement.