Acknowledgements My study at the College of Foreign Languages will soon come to an end. My graduation thesis is accomplished under the guidance and help from my teachers and classmates. Therefore, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to all those who have offered me invaluable help during the two years of my undergraduate study here at Shanghai Institute of Technology.

First of all, I have my deepest appreciation to Professor ZhongLing, my supervisor, for her constant guidance and encouragement in the process of my writing, for her insight lectures, which inspires me to compose this thesis. As a responsible supervisor, she has given me constructive suggestions from the selection of an appropriate topic to the arrangement of the framework during the course of my working on this thesis. Due to her serious and earnest instructions, I had a clear thinking on the framework before I made a beginning of this thesis. Thanks a lot to Professor ZhongLing, she also taught me some knowledge about some basic methods of thesis writing.

Second, I would like to express my gratitude to other teachers of the School of Foreign Languages who have contributed their time to instructing me directly or indirectly during my study in the college.

I also own my sincere gratitude to my friends, my roommates and my fellow classmates, who gave me their helps and times in listening to my ideas and helping me find out some mistakes during the difficult course of this thesis.

Abstract
National spirit is a spiritual support for the survival and development of a nation. For a nation, it is impossible to stand proudly among the nations of the world without inspiring spirit. For a country, it will be not thriving and prosperous without spirit. American spirit is the most outstanding national spirit of the United States. It makes great promotional effects and far-reaching consequences.

American spirit is a symbol of ethos and American dream, which is driving force of Americans, even American society. American spirit is an invisible cultural pattern but it exists in fact. The American spirit can be seen as synonymous with American culture. At the same time it could represent the motivation of human nature in the society of the United States.

America is a country which can offer opportunities to everyone to be successful. Instead of depending on family and background, Americans can achieve success by their talents and efforts. Everyone enjoys equality as well as freedom.

Through the actual case analysis, this paper targets at Martin Luther King and Barack Obama, who are the two excellent African-American leaders of America. The purpose is to figure out the typical American spirits in them and reveal the influence of them on the way the United States developed.
Key Words: American spirit, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama
摘要
民族精神是一个民族赖以生存和发展的精神支撑。一个民族，没有振奋的精神, 就不可能自立于世界民族之林。一个国家，没有了这种精神，就不会繁荣昌盛。美国精神是美国最显著的民族精神。它对美国政治、经济、文化的发展具有重大的推动作用和深远影响。5248
美国精神代表了“美国人”的精神气质和向往美国的梦想，是美国人和美国社会的精神动力，这是一个真实的但却不是具体可见的文化形态。美国精神可以看作是美国文化形态的同义词，它代表了美国社会的真正的人性及社会进步的动力。
美国提供人人都能成功的机会；成功取决于自己的才能和努力，而不是家世和背景；人人都有拥有平等的权利；人人都有信仰的自由。
本论文通过案列分析法，试图以两位杰出的黑人领袖，马丁•路德•金和巴拉克•奥巴马为研究对象，探索挖掘他们身上典型的美国精神。分析这种精神对于美国发展的重大意义。 马丁•路德•金及巴拉克•奥巴马透视美国精神:http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_2208.html