There are stereotypes of various groups of people which live within the United States and contribute to its culture. Worldwide, a disproportionately high number of people know about these stereotypes, due to the transmission of American culture and values via the exportation of American-made films and television shows.

The United States has a population of nearly 340,000,000, and as a result of the presence of such a large population, there are different ethnic groups within the nation and each of them brings its own culture, beliefs and traditions with it. The United States formally recognizes five racial categories and it also lists them on the US census. Those five racial categories are White, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. However, within these five racial categories, there are additional subgroups and each of them has unique cultural characteristics which separate them from other subgroups. For instance, Indian Americans have a culture which is different from the culture of Korean Americans, despite the fact that Indian Americans and Korean Americans are both considered Asian Americans. Due to the presence of many different cultures and groups within the United States, stereotypes of those groups have been developed. A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Throughout the history of the United States, stereotypes have been prevalent and have had a major impact on the ethnic groups in the country.  

Ethnic groups

Native Americans and Alaskan Natives

There has long been admiration for Native Americans as people who fit the archetype of the noble savage within European thought, stemming from a cultural sympathy which is grounded within the post-Enlightenment theory of primitivism.Anthony Pagden, The Fall of the Natural Man: the American Indian and the origins of comparative ethnology. Cambridge Iberian and Latin American Studies.(Cambridge University Press, 1982)See Paul Hazard, The European Mind (Cleveland, Ohio: Meridian Books 1937, 1969): 13-14, and passim. These positive portrayals of Native Americans as being noble, peaceful people, who lived in harmony with nature and each other continue within modern culture, e.g. the film Dances with Wolves (1990).

Over time, as settlers spread west, Native Americans were seen as obstacles and the image of them became more negative. In popular media, Native Americans were portrayed as wild, primitive, uncivilized and dangerous people who continuously attacked white settlers, cowboys, and stagecoaches and ululated while they held one hand in front of their mouths. They invariably spoke in a deep voice and they also used stop words like "How" and "Ugh".

In drawings, their skin color was depicted as being deep red. In westerns and other media portrayals, they are usually called "Indians". Examples of this stereotypical image of Native Americans can be found in many American westerns which were produced before the early 1960s, and they are also found in cartoons such as Peter Pan. In other stereotypes, they smoked peace pipes, wore face paint, danced around totem poles (hostages were frequently tied to them), sent smoke signals, lived in tepees, wore feathered head-dresses, scalped their foes, and said 'um' instead of 'the' or 'a'.

As colonization continued in the United States, groups were separated into opposing categories such as "Christians" and "civilized" and "heathen" and "savage". Many Whites have viewed Native Americans as people who are devoid of self-control and unable to handle responsibility. Modern Native Americans as they live today are rarely portrayed in popular culture.

Native Americans were also portrayed as all-bring fierce warrior braves—often appearing in school sports teams' names until such team names fell into disfavor in the later 20th century. Many school team names have been revised to reflect current sensibilities, though professional teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Braves continue. Some controversial upper-level Native American team mascots such as Chief Noc-A-Homa and Chief Illiniwek have been discontinued; others like Chief Osceola and Renegade remain.

Native American gaming has been expanding since the 1970s, and was formalized in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. It has become a modern stereotype that a Native American must either own a casino or be in the family of one who does.

African Americans

Historical stereotypes Both before and during the first half of the 20th century, whites frequently depicted black people as dumb, evil, lazy, poor, cannibalistic, smelly, uncivilized, un-ChristianHurst, Charles E. Social Inequality: Forms, Causes, and Consequences. 6. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007 people. White Americans sometimes believed that black people were inferior to white people. These thoughts helped to justify black slavery and the institution of many laws that continually condoned inhumane treatment and perpetuated to keep black people in a lower socioeconomic position. This was especially true for how whites treated black females, often labeling them with lewd adjectives. This became known as the Jezebel stereotype, after the infamous Phoenician Queen Jezebel. The Jezebel stereotype was used during the slave era to describe a black woman who had sexual relations with a white man.

Black people were usually depicted as slaves or servants who worked in cane fields or carried large piles of cotton. They were frequently portrayed as devout Christians who went to church and sang gospel music. In many vaudeville shows, minstrel acts, cartoons, comics and animated cartoons of that period, they were depicted as sad, lazy, dimwitted characters with big lips who sang bluesy songs and were good dancers, but they got excited whenever they were confronted with dice games, chickens or watermelons (examples: all of the characters who were portrayed by Stepin Fetchit and black characters in cartoons like "Sunday Go to Meetin' Time" and "All This and Rabbit Stew").

A more joyful black image, yet still very stereotypical, was provided by eternally happy black characters like Uncle Tom, Uncle Remus and Louis Armstrong's equally joyous stage persona. Another popular stereotype from this era was the black who is scared of ghosts (and usually turns white out of fear). Children are often pickaninnies like Little Black Sambo and Golliwog. African-American Vernacular English speech was also often used in comedy, like for instance in the sitcom Amos 'n' Andy.

Another stereotype was that of the savage. African black people were usually depicted as primitive, childlike, cannibalistic persons who live in tribes, carry spears, believe in witchcraft and worship their wizard.

Modern stereotypes

Since the 1960s, the stereotypical image of black people has changed in some media. More positive depictions appeared where black people and African Americans are portrayed as great athletes and superb singers and dancers. In many films and television series since the 1970s, black people are depicted as good-natured, kind, honest and intelligent persons. Often they are the best friend of the white protagonist (examples: Miami Vice, Lethal Weapon, Magnum Force, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Incredibles).

Some critics believed this political correctness led to another stereotypical image where black people are often depicted too positively. Spike Lee popularized the term magical negro, deriding the archetype of the "super-duper magical negro" in 2001 while discussing films with students at Washington State University and at Yale University.

Criminals African Americans have been the subject of stereotyping and racism for centuries, stereotypes of African Americans have continued to be prevalent in wider society. One of the most common stereotypes is that of African Americans as violent criminals. This is a stereotype that has been documented by social psychologists for decades and continues to be relevant to our modern society. Proponents of this stereotype will cite statistics like the one released by the FBI that states in 2015, 51.1% of those arrested for homicide were African American, despite African American people only accounting for 13.4% of the total United States population. This has raised some rebuttals against the validity of the statement such as the fact that it doesn't take into account African Americans acquitted, of which 47% of exonerations since 2016 have been of African Americans. As a result of this stereotype African Americans are 5 times more likely to be stopped without just cause by the police than their white counterparts. Evidence of this stereotype can be seen in New York City's "Stop and Frisk" policy, which has since been deemed unconstitutional. However, during its legality between 2004 and 2012 over 4.4 million people were stopped, of those 4.4 million, 80% were black and Latino residents.

Drug addicts A similar stereotype of African Americans as drug addicts emerged after President Nixon launched the "war on drugs". The effort to fight this war on drugs was later emboldened by President Reagan.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "War on Drugs". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Sep. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/topic/war-on-drugs . Accessed 25 November 2022. This led to new laws being implemented, such as minimum sentences for different drug uses. One significant difference in mandatory sentences was between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. While only 5 grams of crack was enough for a 5 year sentence, 500 grams of powder cocaine was necessary for a 5 year sentence. This is despite the fact that crack and powder are nearly identical with no pharmaceutical difference. One big difference between the two drugs is that African Americans were more likely to use crack in their lifetime than white people, whereas racial minorities are at less risk of powder cocaine use. This led to more African Americans being sentenced and sent to prison, with nearly 81% of convicted crack users being Black. The war on drugs reinforced the stereotype of African Americans as drug users and crack addicts, when in reality, young white adults were found to be more likely to have used illicit drugs than black young adults.

Athletes While the stereotype of African Americans as criminals continues to persist in our society, there are other stereotypes of African Americans such as athletes and/or hip hop stars. Black athletes are often noted for having a "natural ability" and are stereotyped as being physical specimens. This myth has become more prevalent in the wake of statistics showing African Americans comprising 71.8% of the National Basketball Association and 57.5% of the National Football League, as of 2022. In an attempt to rationalize black excellence and success in these fields, stereotypes about black people being physically gifted arose. This stereotype has been used to undermine the success of Black athletes, attributing their success to an ability that they innately have and shifting the focus away from the hard work they put in. Additionally this stereotype implies that while Black athletes rely on their "natural ability," their white counterparts rely on intellect instead, an untrue belief stemming from this stereotype.

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Job stealers