The Era before the Civil War and the Civil War - Essay Example

Being American [The [The of the Being American The era before the Civil War and the Civil War Americans have the tendency to think that they are better than others. This affects the way they think and their other values. The terrorist attacks on America have also made Americans feel this superiority even more. They see how the U.S. has bounced back and this has brought the country closer together. The attacks have made Americans more nationalistic. With this great sense of nationalism comes the state of mind of being greater. Americans are so proud to be Americans that they look down on other nationalities. This American value of superiority has been seen throughout the course of American history. The first example of this is when the colonists moved the Native Americans off their own land. This caused a lot of fighting such as the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, where 3,000 U.S. soldiers fought and beat 2,000 Native Americans. Other Indians were forced to move from their land and live on reservations. Another terrible event with the Native Americans was the Trail of Tears in 1838. About 15,000 Cherokees were forced to leave their possessions and homes in Georgia and go to Oklahoma. About 4,000 of the Indians died on the trail. Another race that was discriminated by Americans was the Africans. Americans thought they were superior and they enslaved the Africans. They thought that Africans were racially inferior. Africans were taken from their homes, crammed on to ships, and then sold as slaves. They were treated bad and did not have rights. Finally after the Civil War, slavery was abolished. Even though there was still racism, this was viewed as a good change. Change is generally thought of as a good thing to Americans. Change is thought of as improvement, progress, and advancement in the American society. Nevertheless, in older and more traditional cultures, change is thought to be disparaging and troublesome. New technology is always being introduced and welcomed in the U.S. This could be because many inventors lived in America and introduced these new inventions. One of the first great inventors in America was Benjamin Franklin. In the mid 1700s, Franklin did many activities to help the technology in the U.S. get better, including experiments with lightning. Thomas Edison invented many things to fuel this characteristic of Americans, such as the incandescent light bulb. Between 1867 and 1931, Edison had patented over 1,000 inventions. Another great inventor was Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone in 1876. Before 1860, the U.S. Patent Office had only issued 36,000 patents, but from1860-1900, there was 676,000 patents granted. This Technology Boom shaped the American Ideology into thinking change is better.         Change has been a part of American Ideology for as long as America has been about. A radical change was when the U.S. declared war on Britain. Since the U.S. defeated the British, change was viewed as being good in this example. This caused many other changes to come about. One can see how Americans viewed change as improvement in the Pennsylvania Constitution. Pennsylvania adopted a radical Constitution compared to the ones in Britain. This changed constitution was viewed as new and improved.         In addition Americans view change as growth. America has had substantial growth since it was first established. Some of this land was purchased such as the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Gadsden Purchase of 1853, and the Alaskan Purchase of 1867. Other land was ceded such as the Oregon Territory in 1846, Florida in 1819, Mexican cession in 1848, and British territory cession in 1818. Other parts of the current U.S. boundaries were taken, such as the Texas Annexation of 1845 and the Hawaii Annexation of 1898. Many beliefs about change being good came about during the Industrial Revolution. Many good changes came about during this time. Life was made easier for some with new inventions, such as the steam engine. Also the country was changed in many other ways, most were viewed as good. All of these inventions caused the American value of materialism.         Americans are usually viewed as very materialistic. Other cultures view Americans as having what they don’t need. Americans view these things as natural benefits that they deserve from their hard work. They tend not to view themselves as materialistic, but they view their objects that they don’t need as rewards. The typical American is usually thought of as having a big house, big yard, and a few cars. Whether this is true or not, that is the image most people have. This reflection of Americans came about after WWII from the Servicemens Readjustment Act of 1944. This act caused millions of single-family homes to be built for the returning soldiers. WWII also had other effects that helped make Americans more acquisitive. During the war itself, American citizens had to limit what they had. However, by the end of the war they had a hunger for new products and the consumers fueled the postwar economy. The television is a perfect example of how Americans materialistic beliefs grew. Televisions were in 9 percent of homes in 1950 and almost 90 percent in 1960. Advertisements on the TV further prolonged the hunger Americans had for merchandise.         The Great Depression in 1929 is an ironic example of how Americans became materialistic. The Great Depression all started when the New York Stock Exchange crashed on October 24, 1929. It was a time when many people lost everything and the whole country was poor. This is an example of this American ideology because, as the saying goes, one doesn’t realize what one lost until it is gone. This was true for most people. After the depression, consumers went back to buying more than ever.         An earlier event that shaped the American value of materialism was Bacons Rebellion. This was when Nathaniel Bacon rallied a bunch of angry Virginian settlers for a rebellion in 1676. The settlers were upset because they thought that the governor gave the Native Americans too much land. They declared war on all Native Americans even the peaceful ones. This shows how the early settlers were even acquisitive. They had already kicked the Indians off their land and they still wanted more. There was a whole era named for the materialism in the U.S. It was called the Gilded Age and was during the late 1800s. Americans have very diverse values that are viewed differently by different cultures. These values have been thoroughly studied and people have tried to figure them out. Some of these values, such as change, are thought of as good in America, but in other cultures bad. Also materialism is thought of as dire, but to Americans it is a reward. The feeling of superiority is not unusual. All cultures think they are the best, and their county is the best. These views on American ideology are only as people view them themselves. It is impossible to view another culture objectively. A culture is everything from language to mindsets to traditions, and one would have to live with that culture for a long time in order to view it objectively. Without the Americans rebellious attitudes coupled with their strong democratic ideals there would have been no revolution. From the time the pilgrims first started coming to the new world, they believed in democratic governments. Every male saint in the Massachusetts Bay Company, for example, was given the power to elect the governor as well as the governors council. Though this does not seem like much power compared to the electoral powers nearly every American enjoys today, compared to Britain at the time, this was a giant step towards democracy. Over the years, these limited electoral powers of the first few pilgrims would steadily grow, allowing more and more people to vote. These powers, however, were all but made useless when Parliament started taxing the colonists. One such tax, brought about by the Stamp Act, left colonists feeling like they had no meaningful self-government. (1)Though they respected Parliament, they did not agree with virtual representation because they felt that this did not truly represent them as colonists. Although this discouraged the colonists, taking away so much of what they had already established, it did not stop them. These hard-headed Americans decided rather than sit back and pay the taxes, thus living under a government where they were not represented, they would stand up to the taxes. One of the few steps taken to stop this tax, as well as all the other taxes later on, was the Stamp Act Resolutions of 1765. Though the colonists were rebellious, and did not agree with the British, they were not irrational. Rather than just fighting the British, they first committed to trying to solve their problems peacefully. Eventually it could be seen that peaceful tactics against the British were not possible, but as conflict with the British became more intimate, so did the American identity. With America being such a small country, going against the most powerful nation in the world significantly weakened their chances for victory. The rebellious American people, however, held a quality that few British at the time showed, desire. American leveled the battlefields with the Americans overflowing desire for freedom, as well as strong leadership and propaganda. American leaders could focus all the desire for freedom the colonists showed. This demonstrates how the Sons of Liberty, one of the most powerful groups found in the colonies, took the rage of the some 2000 colonists and used them to cause many of those selling Stamp Acts to quit their duties. Both the leaders of the revolution as well as the desire of the people were needed to work cooperatively to lead a successful rebellion. Without the leaders controlling the masses of colonists the colonists would just be running around riotously and not accomplishing anything of real help to their cause. The extremely intelligent American leaders found ways to strike up the American pride in almost every situation. Perhaps their easiest cases were deaths of colonists by British hands, such as when an eleven-year-old boy was shot and killed by a customs informer. Samuel Adams, one of the most prominent revolutionary leaders, then organized a burial which maximized the horror of an innocent childs death, which brought the community together protest British policies. This was a situation perfect for the propaganda of the rebelling Americans because it provided them with an extremely young martyr in which to use against the British. This is exactly what the American leaders did and it easily brought out the desire and rage of the colonists which then led to bigger events. Just one week later, during a conflict with the British soldiers, the infamous Boston Massacre occurred. This was largely result of the rage the colonists had from the week prior. The Boston Massacre was another event perfect for the American leaders. Though both the Americans and British did a terrific job altering the story to get the most response from their respective communities, it was no doubt the Boston Gazette and Country Journal did the best. Though obviously not accurate, this story no doubt brought up much anger among the colonists. (2) The true story would have angered the colonists greatly but propaganda such as this which painted an exaggerated picture did a much more effective job bringing out all the desire of the rebelling Americans. Events such as these occurred up to and throughout the Revolution where American leaders focused the colonists desire for freedom to rebel against Britain. Though the rebellious nature of the colonists gives them a very powerful distinctiveness, there are still those who argue that this is not a true identity because of those Americans who were not rebellious. Accounts such as Gouveneur Morriss 1774 document, which warns against democratic revolution is used to argue this case. Believers of the stated argument say that the identity of Americans cannot possibly be rebelliousness because of those who still support Great Britain. True Americans, however, such as Thomas Paine, say that a man such as Gouveneur Morris is not a true American. This can be seen in Paines "Common Sense", where he proclaims, "Interested men, who are not to be trusted; weak men, who cannot see; prejudiced men, who will not see; and a certain set a moderate men, who think better of the European world than it deserves; and this last class, by an ill-judged deliberation, will be the cause of more calamities to this continent, than all the other three" (3). Those who feel America had no true identity could, however, turn to those American colonists who felt that paying the British taxes was a small price to pay for the many benefits given by the British empire. This is saying that there were those Americans who, though not true supporters of Britain, did not mind the taxes because of the benefits given by the British Empire, thus meaning that they were not rebellious. Thomas Paine, once again, supports an argument to this case in "Common Sense", as he wrote, "But if you have, and still can shake hands with the murderers, then you are unworthy of the name of husband, father, friend, or lover, and whatever may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward, and the spirit of a sycophant" (3). Once again Paine tells that even those who support Britain in the least do not deserve the American title, and goes further to say that they are cowards. Paines book becomes extremely popular in the colonies, and this suggests that most Americans agree with him. It was not just Thomas Paine who felt that those who gave the least bit of support to the British were not true Americans, but every true American who held that rebellious spirit which made up the identity of the real American people. The Revolutionary Generation The first step taken after the Revolutionary War was to outlaw the importation of slaves in 1808, though the practice of slavery still continued in most states. The next generation would see perhaps the greatest leap in human rights ever, through Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln claimed, in the Gettysburg Address, that our country was “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Through his words, he dedicated a generation of Americans to a more equal nation. When running for President of the United States of America, one of Thomas Jeffersons main campaign pledges was to enlighten and educate the public of the newly formed nation.  Part of Jeffersons idea of a simple society was that America should retreat from the Federalist goal of a strong, enlarging nation with great stature in the world. Frederick Douglass was not only the most important envoy of nineteenth-century blacks; he distinguished for what was most excellent in American principles. A supporter of ethics, self-help, economic growth and egalitarianism, he believed in ethnic pride, invariable protest against racial inequity, non-violent unreceptive confrontation, occupational education for blacks, identification of the separateness of the black "nation within a nation," and incorporation of blacks in American society. Douglass also raised his image as the champion of the twentieth-century world known civil rights movement and the personification of the American reorganization urge. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the many people that changed this country. He was a very influential man in his time. Even today, his legacy and beliefs to have equality spread through the millions of colored people in this country. He was a proud man. He was proud of his heritage, his color, his beliefs, and his dream of one day having the freedom to walk through the streets without being harassed, emotionally and physically. A proud man he was. To be able to live in a non-racist country, he was involved in much civil rights movement. He has persuaded many Americans to see what is going on in the country. He persuaded Americans to see the violence and unlawful treatment they, African-Americans, were experiencing. Martin Luther King Jr. remained strong, and eventually persuaded and influenced many people, blacks and whites that this process of rebuilding a better country was going to take time. Today, we are proud to have had someone like Mr. King to open our eyes and solve the problem that has been haunting this country since the early years of this country. Since the 9-11 tragedy, George W. Bush gave hope to America. His words, his actions, and his intelligence makes this man a very powerful man. Also, a man that is viewed as the most powerful man in the world today. We, not just as Americans, but also as a citizen of humankind, are proud to have this man as the leader of this country. His works to fight terrorism gave us hope and lightened are hearts. The arrests of many terrorists around the world complement the works of this man and also the country. Many countries look upon us as the "big brother" type. We help them, they help us. To be the first is very difficult. There is no one you can follow and there is no one to show you how to avoid mistakes of the past. The icon of the American Revolution, George Washington, was the first president in the land of dreams. Was he an exceptional, or a mediocre, president? Washingtons destiny made him to be first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen. He was celebrated in his lifetime and nearly canonized by subsequent generations. But in fact, he was a mediocre president that was a good man. George Washington may be evaluated as a President and public figure because of his major accomplishments and his character. Most presidents enjoy the benefits and glory when they performed the deeds that they are famous for. Although Washington accomplished many things, most of those were not accomplishments made during his reign as president. His greatest achievements came before his presidency during the American Revolution. "Washington was perhaps in that class of men whose best days were behind them by the time they assumed the presidency. It was Washingtons tax policies that precipitated the Whiskey Rebellion. It was Washingtons debt policy that benefited the urban "stock-jobbers" at the expense of the rural farmers. And it was Washington who gave the nation a National Bank that likely funneled illegal money to members of the Federalist Party." (4) He was a product of his character and that character limited him during his presidency. However, despite many mistakes, at the end of his presidency, Washington pioneered different ways of taking advice before making decisions. David Abshire says that, "Americans can never be adequately grateful that George Washington possessed the power and the will to intervene effectively in what may well have been the most dangerous hour the United States has ever known...Washingtons appetite for power was tested by his willingness to walk away from it.” (5) A blemish on Washingtons presidency is the fact that though he disapproved of slavery and ultimately freed all his slaves in his will, he and his wife, Martha, owned more than 300 slaves. “The spirit of General Washingtons restraint, at Newburgh and elsewhere, became the hallmark of American civil-military relations to this day. He demonstrated restraint and humility in marked contrast to his lack of restraint and humility during the French and Indian War. He would show maturity and the effect of the slowly gathering forces of character by this simple act of withdrawal after two terms. The more he showed such self-limitations, the more the American public idolized him." (5) Did George Washingtons mediocrity turn out to be the quality the American nation was proud of? A good man does not necessarily make a good president. His presidency is notable for fighting against a powerful and dangerous enemy. But even in fighting he was not a brilliant figure. He failed to be a good tactician and strategist. During battles he kept to his strategy of a peoples war. He was too focused on admired favor from his soldiers and countrymen, and relied too much on the counsel of his generals. "This strategy would come at some cost to his carefully groomed and preciously tended reputation. In the three years leading up to Valley Forge, Washington led the army to seven major battles. Five of those seven were sound defeats. As a result, he had many critics, including many in Congress, and some of his most vocal critics were his own generals."(5) Another notable blemish on his presidency is his position on slavery. Though he disapproved of slavery and ultimately freed all his slaves in his will, he and his wife, Martha owned more than 300 slaves. The powers of the presidency have changed and today we want to see the first leader of the country to be focused on peoples problems, quick to make decisions, a good judge of character, and to be smart enough to be an effective president. In these ways, George Washington proved to be mostly ineffective, and his presidency cannot be celebrated as much as his character. He took risks, but did not make prudent decisions. Washingtons intellect, Thomas Jefferson once admitted, was not "of the very first order." (5) Like many other men of his time, George Washington lacked a classical education. His knowledge related largely to practical subjects such as agriculture and surveying. George Washington was not a bad president, but the greatness that he is credited for is greatness that was mostly achieved before he became the "Father of our Country". At the time of the Civil War, the Union was a week federation of northern states, Old South states, new states between them and territories in the West. In the Old South white slave non-holders and plantation owners fully embraced freedom, while black slaves were denied this fundamental rights. Southern states were agrarian, depended on slave labor of African-American for agriculture work and thought that states had the right to choose their way of treating African-Americans. The northern states were mostly industrial, urban and almost completely populated by the whites. Northerners, along with Abraham Lincoln, did not want slavery to spread into the new states. In the Congress the northern political group called abolitionists was demanding the freeing of all slaves. The radical Southerners determined that the only way to assure and maintain their rights, was secession from the union. Many Southern states also publicly announced they would secede if Lincoln were elected President. During the middle of Civil War, the Union was being beaten right and left and could not afford to lose the loyalty of the Border States. In the end 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; it released all the slaves in the states that were still in rebellion. Thus, Lincoln preserved the unity of the Union and freed the slaves. Lincoln affirmed that no man was fine enough to govern another man without that mans assent. He opposed slavery on moral grounds and acknowledged, that "slavery was a contradiction to the basic law of God and that of freedom." (7) Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation left a profound impact on the education of African -American. Not only did Lincoln extend freedom to slaves, but also restructured their education. (6) Lincoln began financing societies to aid in Reconstruction, employment, training and education for freed men. At last in the end of 1864, in his annual message to Congress, Abraham Lincoln strongly urged passage of Thirteenth Amendment, to abolish slavery in the United States. It had passed and slavery was ended as a legal institution in the United States. The political views of Lincoln were changing during the Civil War. From the war for the countrys unity, it turned into the war for the unity and equal rights of all Americans. As a president, Abraham Lincoln made an invaluable input in the development of American nation. He did not just preserved the unity of the country, he set a cornerstone on which all the races in this country became equal and forever has gone the threat of falling the country apart from the loose federative state it was at that time. Not just African-American students in our school, but all students of any skin color in our country should celebrate Abraham Lincoln birthday as a memory of a man who created the basis of one the strongest and most powerful countries in the world. In the United States, then, allegiance to the nation grew out of loyalties and commitments to immediate, local, and familiar scenes, people, and institutions. American nationalism, such as it was in the early nineteenth century, comprised not so much a universally shared culture or way of life as it did a widely if not universally shared set of experiences and goals. The common heritage of the American Revolution and a general commitment to its meaning as expressed in the Constitution formed the core of American nationalism as well as a base for disputes over how best to fulfill the commitment. Originating in a very general ideological consensus, American nationalism included sectionalism as well as countless other "isms" of the early national period. Southern nationalism emerged when sizable numbers of Southerners began to perceive that their own set of shared interests were becoming increasingly incompatible with those of the rest of the Union and were, in fact, being threatened. This perception, which began to evolve at the height of the Nullification crisis in the early 1830s, was a response to economic, social, and political strains from the 1830s on that repeatedly seemed to reveal the Souths permanent minority position. It fostered a belief that Southerners were a "conscious minority" whose outlook and needs differed from those of other Americans. (8) Today, being American represents so much to those living in America. Pride, integrity, freedom, liberty, happiness, equality and patriotism are all terms that most Americans would use to classify themselves. Perhaps now, so many years after the successful American Revolution, rebelliousness is not one term that jumps into Americans heads as one describes oneself. Teenagers, possibly, will use this term while describing themselves, but beyond that it is not one commonly heard. This is, no doubt, because there is no need for this trait to be shown. There is no one for the U.S. to rebel against because we live in a relatively stable society. If this, however, was to ever change, the American people would be right there, showing their rebellious spirit. Endnotes 1. Berg, Elizabeth: Countries of the World: USA; Gareth Stevens Publishing: Milwaukee; 1999: 98 2. Stein, R. Conrad: The United States of America; Childrens Press: Chicago; 1994 3. Thomas Paine (Author): Common Sense: FQ Classics (June 7, 2007) 3-7 4. McMaken Ryan: Citizen Washington: http://www.lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken21.html 5. David Abshire: The Character of George Washington: http://www.thepresidency.org/pubs/dmaCharacterofGW.pdf. 6. Ambronita Douzart: The Changing Image of Abraham Lincoln: Among African Americans: http://www.lsus.edu/la/journals/ideology/contents/douzartarticle.htm 7. Quarles, Benajmin.(1962). Lincoln and the Negro. New York: Oxford University Press. 112 8. Paul C. Nagel, One Nation Indivisible: The Union in American Thought, 1776-1861 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1964) 56 Read More