What makes the American Scholar so "American"?

In "American Scholar," Emerson explicitly points out that the purpose of the essay is not only to explain a set of scholarly characteristics, but also to dissuade Americans from the worship and replication of European thought and to thus establish a unique American Culture. He states early in the essay that "our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close" (p. 244). His explicit assertions seem to posit that the scholarly characteristics he discusses relate only to those on the American continent, but he only subtly hints at why that is, at what differentiates the American Scholar from the European.

With regards to nature, what Emerson explains as the "first in importance of the influences upon the mind" of the scholar, there is little that can differentiate an American Scholar from those of other nations. At least no reason which Emerson explicitly points out.

With regards to the past, a scholar's second source of inspiration, Emerson explains that "genius always looks forward" (p. 247). This concept, that "each age.. must write its own books," has notable resonance with an American reader (p.246). He points out in this section that even though Americans have little to build off of from their own culture, this does not inhibit their ability to establish philosophies, assert new beliefs, or establish an original culture. He explains that European books should only inspire the writing of American books.

With regards to action, Emerson makes an outright condemnation of European culture that acts as a caveat to a specifically American audience. After expounding on the necessity of action as a bridge between thought and truth, he points out that "the Savoyards" (French, Italians, and Swiss) focus all their efforts in one vein of thought and have thus "whittled up the last of their pine trees" (p.250). He explains that American scholars must experience a series of different labors in order to develop a language "by which to illustrate and embody [their] perceptions" (p.250).

Emerson devotes the end of this essay, in the "duties" section, to explaining the relevance his aforementioned philosophies have to "[this] time and to this country" (p. 254). He highlights the concept of American individualism as the most paramount of the things that separate us from "the courtly muses of Europe" (p. 256). He explains that "the world is nothing, the man is all," a phrase that mirrors his ideas expressed in "Self-Reliance." To him, a scholar is a person who look within himself, within his one spontaneous and intrinsic nature, for inspiration and enlightenment. To him, America fosters that necessary individualism better than any other nation.