Southeastern Nations during the US Hegemonic Period - Report Example

Southeastern Nations during the U.S Hegemonic period (1820-1870 The Multidimensional colonial relations Southeastern Nations during the U.S Hegemonic period (1820-1870): The Multidimensional colonial relations Introduction There are a number of major changes that have taken place in the United States over different periods. Some of these have had a great impact on the different citizens. One of these was during the hegemonic period in the United State between the time of 1820 and 1870; there was a great multidimensional colonial relation that existed among the Southeasterners. Thus, for this reason, there seemed to be much of the colonial effects on the Southeasterners than on the other areas in the United States. It led to the constitutional changes as well as the rise of the social classes and capitalism owing to the varied elements that took place. There was the presence of a variety of markets as well as the geopolitical climate that led to the development of significant impacts in this nation. This aspect will be herein discussed in the paper and an analysis provided to prove that although the colonial arguments provided attempt to explain the social structures among the southeastern nations there are other better arguments that can be used in finding the path towards the social change patterns among the South Easterners. The Geopolitical environment: 1. The South Eastern nations refer to the Chickasaw, Creek, Cherokee and the Choctaw nations that are comprised of the Natives. The US hegemony was the dramatic time that led to the drastic changes that were consistent with the interests and the values of the Natives. It had key effects on the Southeastern nations that include the ability by the nations to define themselves. On the other hand, the geopolitical environment refers to the cultural system that is able to gain relative autonomy from different societies through international relations and the diplomatic national policies (Champagne 2007: 131). With this, they are able to have an influence on the societal developments. This led to the engendering if the Southeasterners in terms of their constitutional government and their national constitutions in varied ways (Champagne 2007: 161). In particular, the differing external geopolitical environments engendered the U.S hegemony for the South Eastern nations by having a major connection with the revitalization movement that brought a lot of changes in the Delaware society (Champagne 2007: 224). It also affected the constitutional government and the national identities among the south eastern nations in the sense that the directions that the Southeastern nations were able to take were controlled and led according to their own interests and values. This can be illustrated through the formation of the modern secular culture, the normative order and nationalism (Champagne 2007: 256). In conclusion, the social change in the South eastern nations and the US hegemony though with the different political cultural, social and political relations, was still able to preserve the core aspects of the traditional values, cultures and the social organization (Champagne 2007: 252). Impacts of the markets on the South Eastern nations 2. The various markets such as the fur trade and the cotton market had a great impact on the southeastern nation. They led to the development of small entrepreneurs, which necessitated the need to engage in slave trade. As such, these markets help in the explanation of the class formation in the sense that there was the division between those who worked in the plantations and those who owned them. Moreover, they also bring about the idea of the rise of capitalism through the subordination and the ability of only a few of the South easterners to be engaged in the production of cotton for profits (Champagne 2007: 137). Furthermore, the concept of subsistence economy is also introduced by the markets because most of the natives were unskilled laborers who opted to work in the fisheries and mines instead of getting involved in the cotton plantations and the fur trade (Champagne 2007: 266). For instance, it is with the cotton markets that the formation of the small planter capitalist classes was based. It can be concluded that the markets played a very vital role in the establishing their own plantations and the creation of employment. However, it also sent some of the workers away to work on the established industries (Champagne 2007: 266). Effects of the American Cultural Features on Cultural Exchange 3. The American Cultural features, which include the language, gender, Christianity, education, the American Constitutional government and the different values for profit making infiltrated the Southwestern nations. As a result, they helped to change the relations that regard the cultural and institutional relations among the nations. In this way, the cultural exchange can be said to have greatly contributed in the rise of the classes, capitalism and the constitutional governments through their acceptance by many people and the ability to syncretize various elements such as Christianity and the American Constitutional Government organization. Thus, the most relevant modes of cultural exchange included the idea of Christianization, constitutional models and capitalist values that enabled the strengthening of the ability by the Southeastern nations to remain self governing and to make it possible for them to protect their land and culture. A proper example is the role that was played by the Christian missionaries to bring about civilization. Therefore, it can be said that the relevant patterns of social change engendered by cultural exchange were the ability to strengthen the governments through the knowledge and principles of the contemporary political and social theories to retain the cultures and values. It was facilitated by the exchange between the colonizer and those who were colonized (Champagne 2007: 132). Analysis 4. There are a wide variety of factors that affected the activities and the lifestyle of the Southeastern nation during the hegemonic period between 1820 and 1870 in the United States. Some of them included the geopolitical environment which enabled the natives to control their own directions of change as opposed to the time during the colonial era. This is mainly because the different markets such as the fur market and the cotton market also contributed largely to the various factors that include class formation, the rise of capitalism and the idea of the subsistence economy through the engagement in free markets and the ability to change various aspects in their own terms. It thus enabled the free will to participate in many more activities (Champagne 2007: 267). Finally, the other aspect that resulted in major changes among the Southeastern nations was the American cultural features that include the elements of Christianity and gender. They also led to the rise of classes, capitalism and constitutional government as by the determination of who were to take part in the activities following the United States constitution. They were combined with the various colonial relations that engendered the different patterns of political, economic and cultural changes among the southern nations by the interactions with the colonizers. As opposed to the individual factors, these combined colonial arguments provide an explanation to capitalism, class structures, constitutional governments, nationalism, and the continuity of the traditional community, the cultural conservatism and the subsistence factor in the sense that they were able to create strength that led to the conservation of values. In conclusion, it is with the combination of all the factors that the massive change among the southeastern nations was experienced. Multidimensional theory of cultural, political and economic colonialism 5. This multidimensional theory works states that the more modern societies are differentiated and complex according to the system functions. This is in the effort to explain the cultural changers in patterns that have taken place among the Southeastern nations. It thus explains the formation process of the societies through the development of the increasingly autonomous and specialized institutions of culture, politics, economy and the integrative institutions. However, it fails to take account of the all the aspects of the environment. In particular, it assumes that the more stable social systems react to their different environments through inter changes and the adjustments of their internal functions. In this way, the external environment that includes the social, political and economic environments is not taken into account (Champagne 2007: 255). Therefore, it cannot provide an explanation for the different forms of institutional change (Champagne 2007: 137). As such, the most appropriate way through which a comprehensive explanation for the social change patterns among the southeastern nations can be achieved is through the use of the voluntaristic institution changes where the different tribes in the United States are involved in a variety of movements. These are mostly the religious movements that have helped the native people to accommodate the changing cultural, political and economic conditions. In this case, it is the primacy of the social structures and the cultures that play the most significant role in social change processes. References Champagne, Duane. (2007). Social change and cultural continuity among Native Nations. Lanham: Altamira Press. Read More