The American Shorthair is often described as America's native cat.  In fact, there are no native domestic cats in this part of the world.  Recent DNA studies actually point to the area know as the fertile crescent (around modern day Iraq) as the place of origin for all domestic cats.  What we can say however, is that the breed we know as the American Shorthair was developed in this country from cats mostly brought from England by early settlers.  Those settlers needed and valued cats for rodent control.  And humans, as they did with dogs, horses, pigs, etc. standardized their ideal.  Thus a description was developed for a working cat and cats were bred to that standard.  The American Shorthair prior to 1966 was called the Domestic Shorthair and was shown at the first cat shows in the United States.  The name was changed to give clearer separation from other breeds of shorthair cats.  Today's American Shorthairs are more likely to sleep in their owner's bed than a barn loft and more likely to get high quality food from a can or bag than to have to catch a mouse.  However, they still are bred for those qualities to make them a sound, sturdy and yes beautiful cat.  It is also critical to note the breed's importance to the cat fancy as a whole.  Black American Shorthairs bred to Burmese created the Bombay, American Shorthairs combined with Siamese and Abyssinians created the Ocicat.  Bred with the Persian, the Exotic Shorthair was created.  The American Shorthair is also still used as an allowed outcross to a number of breeds including the Scottish Fold