There is no clear definition of “becoming American”. Everyone has a different view of what American truly means. The term differs depending on what era in history it is. During the American Revolution, the United States was not a nation, therefore no one was truly American. While the Cherokee Nation fought for sovereignty, the definition of “becoming American” expanded. Both the American Revolution and the Red Clay simulations conveyed how race contributed to “becoming American”.
At the beginning of the American Revolution no one was American, yet some people believed their race was superior to others. White men assumed they were entitled and had more power than anyone else. For example; slaves were never considered American. They were pieces of property that were easily bought and sold. Slaves had no rights and were not allowed to participate in any form of government, even though “they had experienced travel and often knew more languages and dialects than their masters”
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The American Revolution simulation focused on slavery and freedom, whereas the Red Clay simulation emphasized the Cherokee Nation’s fight for sovereignty. Both simulations were dominated by the white elite who controlled minorities. In history and in the simulations, a simple vote or treaty could easily determine if someone could “become American”. Some people believed that “becoming American” meant that citizens needed to participate in the government. Because slaves were not allowed to be involved in the government, they were not American. In the Red Clay simulation, the Cherokee Nation was acknowledged by the government. President Jackson and Governor Lumpkin both attempted to create treaties with them; however, they were still seen as inferior beings. Jackson did not care about the Cherokee Nation, “His immediate problem was relocating the eastern tribes as quickly and as economically as possible” (Remini
During the Revolution, there were social changes that affected several different races, classes and genders. The four groups that the Revolution had an effect on the social changes were: white men, White women, Black Americans, and Native Americas. With the Revolution effecting the white men by “wearing homespun clothing in support of boycotts of British goods (Boyer, “Defining Nationhood”, p. 128). When the Virginia planters organized militia companies in 1775, they wore plain hunting shirts so that they didn’t embarrass the poorest farmer for his clothes so that they could enlist” (Boyer, “Defining Nationhood”, p. 128). While men were out in the war the “women stayed home and managed families, households, farms and businesses on their own” (Boyer, “Defining Nationhood”, P. 129). For the Black Americans, it started to show others that slavery was not a good thing. “The war, nevertheless, presented new opportunities to African-Americans” (Boyer, “Defining Nationhood”, P. 130). “The slaves were even trying to escape as all the confusion that was going on and pose as a freeman” (Boyer, “Defining Nationhood”, p. 130). Even though the Revolution showed new opportunities to the African-Americans it “didn’t end slavery nor brought equality to free blacks, but it did begin a process by which slavery could be extinguished” (Boyer “Defining Nationhood”, p.
In 1790, there was Naturalization Act in United States that questioned who was able to receive the term citizenship. The Naturalization Act states that only free white people are eligible for citizenship. After the Naturalization Act, there has been movement, daily action, and protest from people of color, and white women. Politically, socially, and economically, white men hold dominance in United States for many years. Thus for that many years, the people of color and women would fight for their political, social, and economical rights in United States. These actions were done differently with each racial group, as they are in different hierarchical status. As “Benedict Anderson viewed the Nation as “imagined communities”—in the sense that they are systems of cultural representation whereby people come to imagine a shared experience of identification with an extended community.” (McClintock, 353) The passage talked about culture imperialism. The idea of how the society is structured was taught to the people through their culture, such as in religion, missionaries, and education. Therefore, many of the people of color and women fought to achieve the notion of nationality in United States.
“The story of post-revolutionary America,” writes Rosemarie Zagarri, “is the story of how American women and men sought to define – and ultimately to limit and restrict – the expansive ideals they had so successfully deployed against Britain.” In this excerpt from Revolutionary Backlash, Zagarri depicts the extreme radicalism of the American Revolution, while also suggesting that there were some constraints to its extremism. Unlike the normal way of life in European government and society, Americans desired a nation in which the inherent rights and freedoms of individuals were recognized and respected. While these rights and freedoms were ultimately achieved, many groups of people were still left out. Women of all kinds, people of color, and men of poverty were often unable to enjoy and appreciate America’s newfound rights and freedoms. Despite these limits and restrictions, however, the American Revolution was still extremely radical in the sense that it was able to surpass traditional, European political and social ideology.
Americans can cherish their freedom of expression and are part of a diverse culture. An American is someone who would embrace freedom and liberty. Overall, to be an American, it is crucial to embrace the culture and become a part of it disregarding where you were born.
In America, there are many considerable companies created by immigrants during the height of immigration. During the early 1900s, the American Dream was in full swing and patriotism was found amongst most Americans. During this time, Americans had a sense of vivaciousness when talking about America and the economy. With the roaring 20s and significant economic growth in the 1910s, many non-natives flocked to America in search of a better life. However, as time went on and America’s economy started to adjust, the American Dream and patriotism of indigenous Americans also evolved. Bogged down with the aftermath of the Great Depression in the 1930s, second and third generation Americans fell out of love with America. Immigrants kept hope though,
Johnson wrote about the Native Americans: when the war started they fought on the British side against Americans but Britain ultimately abandoned them. Zinn wrote about the fact that the Revolution had nothing to do with the slaves, and that the elites tried to convince white males to be a part of it. When this was not enough, they tried to convince poor people by offering them incentives of social status and money. For Zinn, American elites were pushing Britain away for their own benefit which excludes the Native Americans. The Americans believed the land was theirs, not the Native Americans. Moreover, the revolution eventually led to the end of the slave trade; it was the first of many steps. It also gave Black individuals the opportunity to have a voice and stand up for themselves. The constitution at the time did not recognize women, Native Americans, slaves or poorer
All in all the American Revolution had a contradictory effect on the conceptions of freedom and slavery within American life. Colonial peoples desired universal freedom for all, however they did not understand how this new notion of freedom would apply to African-Americans slaves, in which they perceived as “property”. With the language of freedom changing, along with the uprising of petitions and the mobilization of slaves during the 18th century we began to see a glimpse of abolition, for the first time in American
The United States as a country has always been an entity unique amongst the world’s myriad of nations: a conglomeration of cultures, ethnic groups and religious backgrounds from around the planet, all fused together to yield something entirely new. Since its very inception, those who dwell within its borders have attempted to ascertain the makeup of the American identity, in order to pin down how exactly one can come to be considered as an American themselves. This is inherently quite a subjective issue, but the conversation primarily boils down to three core factors that make the American people who they are: a dedication to preserving the natural rights of every human being, a belief in the importance of the individual in deciding their own
Slavery is the idea and practice that one person is inferior to another. What made the institution of slavery in America significantly different from previous institutions was that “slavery developed as an institution based upon race.” Slavery based upon race is what made slavery an issue within the United States, in fact, it was a race issue. In addition, “to know whether certain men possessed natural rights one had only to inquire whether they were human beings.” Slaves were not even viewed as human beings; instead, they were dehumanized and were viewed as property or animals. During this era of slavery in the New World, many African slaves would prefer to die than live a life of forced servitude to the white man. Moreover, the problem of slavery was that an African born in the United States never knew what freedom was. According to Winthrop D. Jordan, “the concept of Negro slavery there was neither borrowed from foreigners, nor extracted from books, nor invented out of whole cloth, nor extrapolated from servitude, nor generated by English reaction to Negroes as such, nor necessitated by the exigencies of the New World. Not any one of these made the Negro a slave, but all.” American colonists fought a long and bloody war for independence that both white men and black men fought together, but it only seemed to serve the white man’s independence to continue their complete dominance over the African slave. The white man must carry a heavy
In the beginning of September 2005, disappointment and excitement revealed on my face when I boarded the plane to move to the United States of America. The feeling of leaving my families, friends, school, clothes, and culture in Cameroon presented a hardship for me on this journey. Of course, I anticipated this new life because it indicated a fresh start. I envisioned it resembling life in movies, where everything appeared to be simple and life was simply excellent. All things considered, I was heading off to the United States, known for the American dream. To me it meant that everyone is given equal opportunity to prosper, achieve a family, and attain a successful job as long as they are hardworking and determined. I felt exceptionally honored and blessed to have this open door since I realized that it was not provided to everybody. Coming to America denoted my transitioning on the grounds that I deserted my previous lifestyle in Cameroon, began a new chapter in my life once again, and finally became a much grateful individual.
Today, the United States is considered to be one of the most diverse countries in the world with regards to its citizens being of a different race and ethnic background other than white, but sadly this was not always the case. During the post-emancipation era, also known as the period of “redemption” for southern whites, was a time of great racial violence and hate from most white individuals, typically farm and plantation owners, towards the newly freed slaves emancipated after the civil war, which of whom were predominantly black. Right before the civil war, society was separated into two racial hierarchies: white, and black. If an individual was of any color other than white they were labeled as a slave and considered someone’s, referring to white slave owners, property. After the civil war America’s social lifestyle and overall government changed dramatically due to the emancipation of slaves in the south. When African Americans were emancipated the idea and concept that was once accepted, any individual other than white is considered to be insubordinate and a slave, was now abolished and considered inhumane. This caused a major disruption within society because former slave owners lost huge amounts of manpower that use to work and generate profit by making enslaved individuals farm their land. As a result, once wealthy farmers and plantation owners became the poorest of poor with no one to work their fields and no money to even hire anyone because of post-war fees that needed to be paid. With that being said, African Americans are considered now to be citizens of the United States but sadly were not treated equally by their white peers till the Civil Rights Act (1964); and from the time of reconstruction through the period of...
Among every other country in the world, the United States of America is where people feel the most comfortable place to come and live a better life. Immigrants are people who leave their counties to reside in other counties that are rich and safe to better themselves. Every year people immigrate to the USA for many reasons. Many people are having difficulty living in their native country such as over population, jobless which make the economy so hard. People from outside of the United States think there is peace, love, equality, free education, jobs, good food to stay healthy, but most importantly freedom of speech to express yourself in America. Today, I will only focus on some reasons why people in my country immigrates to America. This is
The definition of an American, is someone who is a citizen of the United States. Many African Americans, and immigrants struggled to become actual Americans in their lifetimes, because others didn 't see them as actual people; and based it on the color of someone. In today 's world people who live in America consider themselves as Americans, but to me there is certain qualities that make a person an American. To me being a true American is not based off of what Country they were born in, or what race their parents are, or even if they were immigrated to the United States. People from all over the world would say that maybe people could base this off of someone 's family heritage, or where they were before they came to America. If you were asked what makes an American an American what would you base it off of? To me there are four specific characteristics that make a person a true American; those three things would be, freedom, individuality, belief in the country, and happiness.
Today, in most cases, people don’t spend very much time thinking about why the society we live in presently, is the way it is. Most people would actually be surprised about all that has happened throughout America’s history. Many factors have influenced America and it’s society today, but one of the most profound ways was the way the “Old Immigrants” and “New Immigrants” came to America in the early to mid 1800s. The “Old Immigrants were categorized as the ones who came before 1860 and the “New Immigrants” being the ones who came between 1865 and 1920. The immigrants came to the United States, not only seeking freedom, but also education. Many immigrants also wanted to practice their religion without hindrance. What happened after the immigrants
Ever since I came to the United States, I have been influenced by the culture in many ways. I come from an island where there is no freedom of speech and where people do not follow their dream because they have few possibilities to achieve them. Also, people speak a whole different language. Arriving in the United States was scary; this country was different than anything I had ever seen before. I had to make new friends, I had to become used to speaking English, and It was hard to get used to the different atmosphere overall. Making new friends was hard at first, there were so many different people from different cultures and countries that I had no idea who to even talk to, but I was blessed to find my first friend in