Module 7~ A Proud Nation

The podcast about Westward Expansion explain to us the indomitable power of the US to easily conquer lands and gain even more power. The Mexican- American War provided to the US “1.5 million square miles territory, an increase of nearly 70 percent” (Faragher) We can see that the insatiability to own more and more land and to become the more powerful nation in the world, lead the US to various conflicts and wars.

Whites were also proud of their superiority and we learn from the podcast how they claimed that God gave them a “special mandate to be a beacon or model to others”. So they thought they were the only superior and capable race that would serve as a role model to others. Racism was strong back in those times, so much that they declared that the difference that they had with Indians was not a difference of nature but of circumstance. They take this and compare it with African Americans, claiming that they moral and physical differences were “fixed in nature”. “Does it follow that it is right to enslave a man because he is black? Will short curled hair, like wool, instead of Christian hair, as it is called by those whose hearts are as hard as the millstone, help the argument?”(Otis) As this quote states, how can white people support their statement that blacks are biologically inferior?

I also find intriguing the “racial ideologies” that were mentioned in the podcast. The racial ideology for Indians is a system of extermination or assimilation. At least they were given the opportunity to assimilate with whites, to be more like them. On the other hand, the racial ideology for African Americans was that they must remain slaves, since they difference are fixed in nature. Furthermore, they were not susceptible to be murdered since they were the only “marketable” species.

The famous painting that is depicted in the podcast that demonstrates a virgin woman, illustrates the idea that Anglo-Americans are more especial than the other races. They bring “technology, order, civilization”. The

The empire which US have created has been based on immoral act, and we know that one of the most controversial ones has been slavery. It is sad to know how this horrendous actions were so strong back in those times, and nevertheless we still find some racism nowadays. Anglo-americans have also proved their skills for survivals and their infinite greed to acquire more land and to enslave other races which they considered inferior, this way working their way up to the top, because this is what they have always believed, that they are superior to others.

Below is a video showing how there still is some racism in America, and how this might influence the coming presidential election.

Works Cited

James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved (London, 1776), pp. 43-44; Lerone Bennett, Ebony Pictorial History of Black America, Vol I, (Nashville, 1971), p. 71.

Faragher, John Mack, et. al., eds. Out Of Many: A History of the American People. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2006.

Video from Youtube. "Discussing Racism in Kentucky's 2008 Presidential Election" http://youtube.com/watch?v=IKWHCZSWbHU