“All men are created equal”. Wasn’t that one of the many famous lines of our country’s constitution? Nowadays, it really means what it reads. But in the time of our nation’s birth, it applied only to white men. This proclamation did not include American Indian men, or African American men, or women. In Thomas Jefferson’s research and way of thinking, did he determine the supposed inferiority of American Indians and African American Men was not simply a result of a social hierarchy, but were innate attributes? Makes sense to me. So many Americans were pro slavery. Why? Because it preserved their place in society: “Like other white southerners, most small farmers believed their economic and personal freedom rested on slavery (Foner, 393)” So some Americans, Jefferson perhaps too, claimed “manifest destiny”, and that the African Americans were biologically and physiologically predisposed to slavery. And that it was crucial to the expansion of America that blacks stay in the reins of slavery.
In Matthew Powell’s’ Pod cast on The Western Movement, Star Treks Borg species is used as an analogy for White America. Just as the Borg did, White Americans did not tolerate diversity. Assimilate or die: become a “White American” or die. There was tremendous pressure on the Indians to move towards a more “civilized” lifestyle. White government officials encouraged the Indians to adopt the white ways, because their differences were seen as changeable. And so began the molding of the Indians into civilization. “… Tribes had made great effort to become everything republican citizens should be. The Cherokee had taken the lead, establishing schools, adopting written laws and a constitution modeled on that of the United States, and becoming successful farmers, many of whom owned slaves (Foner, 370)”. But even after some Indians made the efforts to assimilate, they were still not respected, and were viewed the same way. “… In his messages to congress, Jackson repeatedly referred to them as “savages” and supported Georgia’s efforts to seize Cherokee lands and nullify the tribes laws (Foner, 370) So the removal of the Indians continued. Even after some Indians attempted to become Americanized, they did not serve a purpose in American society, as were still seen as a threat.
Needless to say, ignorance breeds contempt.
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Hi Kirsten,
Your blog was so good. It is nice you are able to present your thesis in your own words, rather than writing a bunch of facts from your sources. Your blog was interesting and also very important in todays society. Manifest Destiny still exists. Many people who come to the US from other countries still are faced with prejudice. THey are forced put aside their ancient culture and "fit in" with mainstream America or Manifest Destiny. If you do not conform to Manifest Destiny you will be made feel inferior. A perfect example of this is the movie the Namesake. A young boy grows up in the U.S with parents who have very Indian traditions in his home. He is made fun of at school and he is ashamed of his ancient culture such as traditional Indian clothing, language, and music parents listen to at home. This is U.S neo-colonialism working to erase ones ancient history to conform to what is they believe right and wrong. It is important for one to carry their ancient history or they will also be erased. The U.S uses neo-colonialism even in other 3rd world countries where they have economic power. I was shocked to hear my little cousins from El Salvador reciting American nursery rhymes rather than the traditional ones in El Salvador. They start early when kids are impressionable. We still do not live in a land where all men are created equal.
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