The Vanishing American Historical Context Essays

From the very beginning of European colonization of the New World, the Native American population has continually been dropping. Throughout the frontier history of the United States, the chief objective of the pioneering white race was to move the savages aside by any way necessary, in order to settle the vast landscape of the continent. It was not until the Indian population was almost entirely wiped out that American society took an interest in the phenomenon of the perishing native race. Going along with societal trends, renown Western novelist Zane Grey published a work focused on the doomed people. The Vanishing American apart, none of Greys novels were ever made into really important movies; but, like other Zane adaptations,†¦show more content†¦in Takaki 40). By the time the new country was formed, intellectual and political leaders, such as Thomas Jefferson, began to take a different approach to the Indian problem: assimilation. While on one hand Jefferson wis hed to see Anglos and peaceful natives long continue to smoke together in friendship, he also believed it would be best if We would never cease pursuing [uncooperative Indians] with war while one remained on the face of the earth (309-10). However, the choice between civilization and extermination soon became void for the people who stood in the way of a pioneering young America, for Andrew Jacksons Indian Removal Policy forced tribes out of their native lands without any regard to previous treaties. When justifying this violent takeover of property, Jackson stated in his 5th Annual Message to Congress, ...in the midst of another and a superior race, they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear (Jackson 1829-1837). Thus, the concept of the Vanishing American was reinforced. The argument of a weaker race, which Jackson utilized, became a significant factor in the vindication of Anglo-Saxon manifest destiny. As the nineteenth century wore on, A merica continually outgrew its ever-expanding borders. As whites migrated westward, [Senator] BentonShow MoreRelatedNarrative Of The Disappearing, Native American, By Thomas King, The Truth About Stories1532 Words   |  7 PagesIn order to fully understand the first unit of American Studies I am going to orchestrate a class in which we explore the major themes and perform exercises to enhance the understanding of everyone in the class. This class will be titled, â€Å"Stories: Their Influence and Power.† This class will focus on how stories have the abilities to change people’s lives, and will especially focus on the context of stories in the lives of Native Americans. This class is extremely important because it will give studentsRead MoreCapitalism And Colonialism’S Links As Pillars Of White1582 Words   |  7 PagesCapitalism and colonialism’s links as pillars of white supremacy contribute to the racial exclusion and exploitation of certain racial groups, such as Native Americans and Black people. This can be seen through the timeline of North American history, but also farther back in the history of European settler colonialism throughout Europe and into other nearby continents. The methods of decolonization employed by various racial groups affected by colonialism interact with one another in various waysRead MoreBad Atonement Theology And Broken Justice Systems1583 Words   |  7 PagesFor me, this included questioning the impact of the execution which stands so central to Christianity. In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander describes how the mass incarceration of black Americans has been steadily undermining any progress made by the civil rights movement. She argues that even though Jim Crow laws are no longer written, the plethora of young people of color arrested remain marginalized by a broken justice system. The UnitedRead MoreThe Globalization of Culture: C ultural Homogenization1707 Words   |  7 Pagesnation. All communities rejoice in the richness and exoticness of their own cultural symbols, be it dressing, architecture, language or way-of-life. With the dawn of globalization, however, cultural variety and distinguishing characteristics are vanishing; giving rise to a monoculture common to all. While this may be a harbinger of unity and relatedness among all people of the world, it also damages the unique cultural identities they once took pride in. This paper discusses the effects of globalizationRead MoreA Force of Nature: Imagination in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens and John Ashbery1602 Words   |  7 Pagesthe present, but the present moment of the past, unless he is conscious, not of what is dead, but of what is already living† (Ibid). Poetic tradition is a concept usually used as part of historical literary criticism. The concept entails a comparative evaluation of a poet’s work in the context of his historical period with his predecessors and literary contemporaries. It is important to emphasize that due to the existence of marginalized groups, or subdivisions of the population, defining the conceptRead MoreThe Representation Of Muslim Women2033 Words   |  9 Pagesexamination aims to identify the importance of the representations of Muslim women in the specific recorded understanding of Quebecois in their particular dialect and culture. This essay will reveal that portion of the media procedures within the Quebec context. This will exhibit that Muslim women are minimized and victimized on the premise of their race, sexual orientation and social character. Revealing that the news print media makes harming depictions of Muslim women. The end goal is to counter theseRead MoreRepresentations of Native Ameri cans in Disney Productions from Peter Pan to Pocahontas2838 Words   |  12 PagesHistorically the treatment of Native Americans has been highly problematic, especially throughout the colonization of the New World. Although, when colonising some Europeans took a merciful and sympathetic approach to the Native Americans, generally the treatment towards the indigenous people was not humane. Not only did the Native Americans die at the hand of the settlers, they also died from diseases that had been brought to the new world by explorers for which they had no immunity. In some casesRead MoreAmerican Scholar And Activist Web Dubois1756 Words   |  8 Pagescan be best seen in the daily struggles of ordinary people. In a discussion with Professors Scharff and Miller, the struggles of Native Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans are placed in the context of the traditional white Progressive movement. How does Prof. Martin’s view treatment of Progressivism differ from that of other historians? African American scholar and activist WEB DuBois forecasted that the problem of the 20th century was the problem of the color line. He wants to argueRead MoreIs Flag-Burning Constitutionally Protected?2303 Words   |  10 Pagesdemonstrated through the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. Thus, American citizens can openly discuss political matters; criticize the President and his Cabinet on television, radio talk show or in the newspaper; or publicly protest against the government tax policy. However, Free Speech protection becomes debatable when some American citizens burn the nation’s flag to express their disagreement to the government. The act of burning the American Flag should be constitutionally protected under the FirstRead MoreThe Cultural Contributions Of Black Culture1800 Words   |  8 Pages How is black culture defined? According to Wikipedia African- American culture also known as â€Å"black culture† is the cultural contributions from blacks to the culture of the United States. Black culture would consist of historical experiences from African- Americans, some cultural experiences origin from Africa. However not all culture is stem from Africa, it is also a combination of experiences from slaves that was brought to this land, the segregation of blacks, poverty in the black community