Colonialism and Reconstruction in the US - Essay Example

Early History US – Colonialism and Reconstruction Introduction It was actually the Columbus’s voyage into unexplored regions of the American continent that was an eye opener to European expansion and colonization. It had been said by the scientists that the American natives migrated from Asia through the route of the Aleutian Islands. The Native Americans had a political unit that was called clan, headed by a chief or a group of military leaders. The tribe possessed the land. However, the European trade conflict was a new dimension to the usual wars among the Native tribes of America. The Native Americans taught the Europeans skills of cultivation and agriculture. They trained the Europeans in domestication of animals (Klose and Jones, 8). The Europeans intruded into the domain and heathen culture of the early Americans and gradually established their grounds of colonialism. A counter emergence of Reconstruction and the building of a cohesive American Society followed it.                   The historical documents of the United States from the early period to the 1877 comprised of number of themes related to sphere of ‘Women and slaves, businessmen and politicians, southerners, northerners and mid-westerners talk about religion, war, liberty, business, culture, Native Americans and a lot of subjects critical to an understanding of American history prior to 1877’ (Smith, 1). With the dawn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries we found the venture of the Europeans into the domain of the American regions through the Atlantic Ocean. Some opined that the religious instinct was the pioneer in promoting the ‘Age of Discovery’ (Smith, 7). Catholicism was introduced by the sanity with an intention to civilize the native people of Latin America who were considered as heathens in the eyes of the Europe (Billington, 16). It was the age of the Renaissance that imbibed in it the spirit of discovery and explorations. The navigation and shipbuilding activities of the Portuguese were phenomenal in the geographical expansion followed by colonization. Europe’s first hand experience in technology was a prelude to its colonial policies. The greed for material benefits eluded the Europeans to conduct military campaigns and colonized the New World that which was ravaged by uncertainty. The abundant resources of fur and staple foods made the Europeans intrude into the regions of Latin America. However, multitudes of people were killed and suffered on account of warfare and disease. On the other hand, their situation was all the more worsened with the development of the plantations in the native America and the subsequent emergence of slave trade (Harris, 140) The most significant event was exploring the Caribbean and South America, which later formed the United States. The colonization of the Caribbean and South America also led to the venture into the North, which later came to be known as Canada (Smith, 7-9). During the period of colonization the socio-economic conditions of the Americans deteriorated. At last at the face of sheer trouble movements were carried to secure women’s better standard of living, to eradicate slavery to cater to the needs of the insane people and to prohibit the intake of intoxicated beverages (Klose and Jones, 166). They feared the ‘danger of being kidnapped and forced into slavery’ (Klose and Jones, 222). He Anti-slavery movement was into vogue before 1820. However, in Maryland slavery was abolished before 1805 due to the ‘inconsistency of holding slaves. The German immigrants from the Northwest joined against ant-slavery movements and demands. The abolitionists in Texas wanted to make the operating ground to fight against slavery. The Tallmadge Amendment was debated which aimed to legislate the practice of slavery in the territories of America. A few acts were also passed with the object that ‘the inhabitants of the territories should decide the status slavery themselves (Klose and Jones, 224). Lincoln was a socio-political figure who ’opposed o any agreement permitting the extension of the slavery in the territories’ (Klose and Jones). The social conditions of women were not strong and they were denied freedom. An incident reported that a group of Europeans listening to ‘voodoo lore’ blamed ‘some older women of casting spell over them’ (Klose and Jones, 49). Women along with the children were sold into slavery. As a result of this, the Pequot War of 1637 broke out to revenge on for the ill treatment the Pequot received (Klose and Jones, 62). Moreover, the African leaders like Frederic Douglass denied the request of the women to take part in the electorate (Klose and Jones, 270). The Civil War was followed by reconstruction. The Civil War was a revolution to stop he exploitation of the Southern planter. It was also a conflict between the planters and the industrialists of the North. Reconstruction brought about ‘reforms and the participation of the freedmen in the social, political and economic life of the nation’ (Linclove, 19). However, Murphy opined that the Reconstruction failed to obtain its immediate goals. It was rather a platform for the enactments of the civil rights in the future. On the other hand, the white Southerners vetoed the civil rules and regulations. Current was of the opinion that the Reconstruction ‘in the Wisconsin was a period of continued of continued enmity between Republicans and Democrats’ (Linclove, 545). The economic determinism of then time also stated that the white revisionist historians between the 1950 to 1960 could not propose for a complete racial equality their interpretation of the reconstruction was not no5t concrete as it failed to accommodate the realistic approach. They could not put an end to racial discrimination persistent in the American society (Linclove, 12). Perman believed that the idea of reconciliation was ‘unrealistic’. The southerners prior to 1868 never gave a room to promote any idea that would curb their interests. The main problem with reconstruction was that it was regulated by the moderates who made the reconstruction subject to multiple interpretations (Linclove, 26). He had also analyzed the internal problems of the Republican community that was the cause behind the failure of the Reconstruction Government. Kelley was of the view that ‘reconstruction was part of a continuum of nationalism in constitutional authority’ (Linclove, 21) and was characterized by federal policies. This ‘tradition of nationalism’ weakened the dual federalism.  Conclusion The Reconstruction period was from 1865 to 1877 and the Civil War were the driving forces to build an American Society. The Reconstruction policies were enforced when a Confederate state came into existence under the rule of the Union Army. The contribution of Abraham Lincoln was substantiating enough to uplift the position of the ex-slaves in the American society.    Works Cited Smith and Mark, Writing the American Past: US History to 1877, Wiley Blackwell, 2009 Klose, Nelson and Robert Jones, United history to 1877, Baron’s educational Series, 1994 Linclove, David, Reconstruction in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000 Harris, William. The Making of the American South: A Short History, 1500-1877, Wiley Blackwell, 2006 Billington, Ray, Allen, American History Before 1877 with Questions and Answers, Rowmann and Littlefield, 1975  Read More