A Description of New England - Essay Example

NATIONALISM AND NATIONAL IDENTITY By Devangini Mahapatra Chauhan Nationalism is that phenomenon which stems from complete loyalty and love for one’s nation. Under the influence of nationalism, a citizen forms his personal sense of identity in context of the broad characterization of the nation. This consequently leads to mass identity along the same lines when like minded persons get together – a phenomenon better described as national identity. Reversibly, the identity of a nation is formed by the sentiments, attitudes and broad cultural assimilation under which its people function. The theories of nationalism and national identity are complementary to each other, and these inspire entire generations. Nationalism remains an important issue in the modern United States. In the contemporary United States, nationalists usually hold significant veneration of the flag of the United States and other national symbols, while other cultures tend to regard this mentality with hostility, giving rise to anti-Americanism. Although the United States is usually regarded as a nation-state, supporters of American exceptionalism may prefer to see it as a state bathed in the glory of its own unique light. The country clearly has a sense of national identity and history, Americans refer to an American people. Thus, patriotism is prominent in public life. Nationalism is the appropriate and recognized term for the associated ideology and political movements, within the present United States, and during its history. That does not necessarily correspond with current usage of the term in American politics, or with the views of self-described American nationalists. There are no two same theories about when the United States became a nation-state, and developed a sense of national identity. Some historians think that the United States was already a nation-state at independence, others that this occurred during the 19th century, either before or after the American Civil War. In essence, the new world discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, led to a new start for people’s lives in America for centuries to come. America today is still referred to as the land of dreams, but over three hundred years ago that phrase had much more meaning to the people. A few people would travel across the Atlantic in search of Asia to establish faster trade routes, later some would travel to the new world to find riches, and than even more would travel for freedom. The literature these people have left behind, gives us some idea of just what their dreams were and how they either succeeded or failed in their quests for a better life. The United States formed from a group of colonies under the authority of the British Crown, each established and governed independently of the others. For most of colonial Americas history, a colonist had a duty to the colony and to the Crown, but not to other colonies. This attitude changed noticeably when the colonies faced a common threat in the French and Indian War. The Albany Plan of Union, although unsuccessful, served as a reference for future discussions. Soon after, the colonies faced another common grievance over taxes enacted by the British Parliament. As the dispute escalated, colonists started to view the British administration as hostile, and sought cooperation with other colonies in response. This cooperation produced the Continental Congress and ultimately independence as a confederation. Ties between the states strengthened with the ratification of the United States Constitution. The early United States boasted of an agrarian economy, and the temptation of sparsely occupied land to the west proved irresistible. Through the Northwest Indian War and Louisiana Purchase the country vastly increased its territory. The War of 1812 showed that the country could defend its political interests against a major power, though the war did end up with neither side winning. The idea that the United States could hold its own further fuelled efforts towards expansion. Many politicians adopted the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, under which it was Gods will that the United States should span North America. American literature has demonstrated more than a casual sprinkling of nationalism and national identity theologies. If we are to look at the work of greats like John Winthorp’s “A Model of Christian Clarity”, J Hector St Jean de Crevecoeur’s “What is an American”, or even Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self Reliance”, we will find timeless definitions of the concepts of nationalism and national identity. It may be said that these people were authorities in the subjects as it was in their minds that the conception of nationalism and national identity took place. These then shaped where the Americans stand today as a nation. The question that this paper seeks to pose is whether or not these ideas still hold true when defining an American in today’s world, considering the last of these works saw completion way back in 1837. The answer lies in history and in the analysis of two pieces of work. The first one is John Smith’s “A description of New England”, while the second one is William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation”. To begin with, it may be noted that the American Civil War marked the greatest transition in American national identity. The states were so economically and politically integrated that Abraham Lincoln chose to go to war to keep them united. In defeating the secessionist movement, he established that the union was permanent. The ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments settled the basic question of national identity: Who was a citizen of the United States? Under the amendments, anyone born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction was a citizen, regardless of ethnicity or social status. However, the Indians were not to gain citizenship under these amendments. In 1919 all Indians who had served in the military were granted full citizenship but the rest of Native America was not included as citizens until 1924 when the Indian Citizenship Act was passed by Congress. The September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States led to a wave of nationalist expression. It is also possible that the nationalist surge created a political climate favorable for the George W. Bush administration in the lead up to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Like most wars, the conflicts themselves appear to have increased nationalist feeling, in various nations, not simply in the US. For example, nationalist anti-American sentiment among Canadians has been observed to have increased dramatically since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 2006 Liberal Canadian Press Room As casualties have increased, opposition to the continued occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq has persisted, and even caused the US House of Representatives to pass legislation to fasten U.S. evacuation of Iraq. Polls in early 2006 showed President Bush public approval ratings to be some of the lowest of any President on record, and this has been attributed by increasingly vocal anti-war proponents that there has been a steady increase in opposition to the war. Others counter that the war" is really now a post-war occupation and police action required for long-term stabilization and democratization of Iraq and Afghanistan. The claims made by these two sides resemble in some ways a pattern seen in the closing years of the U.S. 30-year involvement in nation-building in Vietnam War. In this context, John Smith’s “A Description of New England” is a story of America, accounted through a set of rose-colored glasses. His account is embellished and exaggerated to the point where it was no longer realistic. He made it sound like America was heaven on earth, which is far from the truth and far from reality. John Smith was trying to recruit people to come to America, so naturally his account is biased. And although he makes America sound like a beautiful, easy place to live in, no one with half a brain would believe everything that he’s saying. It does not take close scrutiny to see that both John Smith’s essay “A Description of New England,” and the excerpts from Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford, are both a collogue of elaborated ad dilated truths. Obviously, one cannot “kill in one day with his hook and line one, two, or three hundred cods…” as John Smith stated on page 21. Or overlook the exaggeration of William Bradford when he said about the Indians “the barbarians showed them no small kindness in refreshing them…” America was founded based on the belief in certain freedoms. People have journeyed to America for thousands of years to obtain these freedoms and live the American dream. The pilgrims traveled to the new world to escape religious persecution and to start a new life. They call themselves the cream of the crop, the land of the free and the home of the brave. Their Founding Fathers spent countless efforts to ensure that their beliefs in freedom and fortune lived as long as the country lived. Numerous wars have been fought to maintain our freedom. American soldiers have paved the road to our great nation’s success with their lives. Key characteristics of American people include: patriotism, belief in God, hard work, belief in equality, independence, and hope. Many beliefs have fused together to create the American myth. John Winthrop, John Smith, and Benjamin Franklin all demonstrate the American Myth’s composition in their writings. It has been more that two hundred and twenty five years since the nation was declared independent and almost four hundred years since the first English settlement was founded. Here in this century politicians, activists, the media and normal citizens cry out for a separation of church and state. Although the Americans may see this as the same cry that the first pilgrim that settled here had, it is different. But first one must understand that the people in America as Americans almost did not exist. Knowing that Columbus had discovered a New World, the Spanish did not fully take advantage of the land. Only through the early descriptive writings of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583, did interest first surface about the New Found Land. Upon his return to England, he published a small pamphlet that bean interest in the Americas. Contemporary American historians write about almost everything that has affected nearly everybody. They write about agriculture, housework, illness, leisure, banking systems, sever systems, etc. Their new history touches many Americans and invites each to make a personal interpretation of history. A wide variety of new historians has linked the past more strongly to the present. According to this new breed, the past is unknowable. History reflects the need of historians to make sense out of their own worlds. Opening the practice of history to groups previously excluded from the profession has demonstrated the validity of the recent views. Views of the past vary with generations and because of divergent experiences from the historians sex, ethnicity, class, and race. When we read history, we are reading a particular historian’s encounter with the world. The historian is devoted to the facts. He or she spends years of his or her life studying the archives. The historian believes that his or her story represents reality. Historians can be characterized by nationality, school of thought, or theoretical and methodological preference. References Cited: 1. Google Inc. URL: www.google.com (Accessed on: 11th November, 2006) 2. John Smith. “A description of New England”. G.P. Humphrey (1898) 3. William Bradford. “Of Plymouth Plantation”. The Vision Forum, Inc. (January 1, 1999) Read More