Manifest Destiny and Race
Laurence Mandin
Professor Charles Turner M.A. J.D.
History 18
25 March 2011
Midterm Question #1 part 2: What impact did the English view of race have on American society? (Worth 50 points) note: I felt it was more logical for my purposes to place part 2 first.
The English view of race developed directly from their perceptions of themselves, from the ideas of their own racial origins, their own ethnocentricity. This perception became a concept that had its roots in 16th and 17th Century England. It involved their ancestry to the peoples of England prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, and further back to the Nordic and Germanic peoples of ancient, continental Europe. It didn’t start here; their Caucasian ancestry was believed to have traveled west through the centuries from Asia and the Caucasus, following the sun and a divine destiny that brought them through the cold northern European forests to England, and would compel them even further west. Primarily a myth, it fostered the notion of the English as the torch bearers of an inherently superior people; a people with a duty and responsibility to share their “advanced” philosophies and theologies with the rest of the world. This racial concept became known as Anglo-Saxonism: “a belief in the innate superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race” (free). This belief in themselves as a “special” people when incorporated into American expansion would have a tremendous impact on the history of the world—and grave implications for many “inferior peoples” (Horsman c.1) (Takaki c.1,2,3).
The atmosphere of England in the 1600’s was one of social unrest. With the Protestant reformation in Europe and England came religious and political conflict causing a series of civil wars in England. In the latter half of the 17th Century a group of Parliamentarians emerged in England who became attached to “the classic ‘Whig’ view of the past”, a somewhat utopian view of Anglo-Saxon English society prior to the Norman Conquest. This was
Professor Charles Turner M.A. J.D.
History 18
25 March 2011
Midterm Question #1 part 2: What impact did the English view of race have on American society? (Worth 50 points) note: I felt it was more logical for my purposes to place part 2 first.
The English view of race developed directly from their perceptions of themselves, from the ideas of their own racial origins, their own ethnocentricity. This perception became a concept that had its roots in 16th and 17th Century England. It involved their ancestry to the peoples of England prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, and further back to the Nordic and Germanic peoples of ancient, continental Europe. It didn’t start here; their Caucasian ancestry was believed to have traveled west through the centuries from Asia and the Caucasus, following the sun and a divine destiny that brought them through the cold northern European forests to England, and would compel them even further west. Primarily a myth, it fostered the notion of the English as the torch bearers of an inherently superior people; a people with a duty and responsibility to share their “advanced” philosophies and theologies with the rest of the world. This racial concept became known as Anglo-Saxonism: “a belief in the innate superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race” (free). This belief in themselves as a “special” people when incorporated into American expansion would have a tremendous impact on the history of the world—and grave implications for many “inferior peoples” (Horsman c.1) (Takaki c.1,2,3).
The atmosphere of England in the 1600’s was one of social unrest. With the Protestant reformation in Europe and England came religious and political conflict causing a series of civil wars in England. In the latter half of the 17th Century a group of Parliamentarians emerged in England who became attached to “the classic ‘Whig’ view of the past”, a somewhat utopian view of Anglo-Saxon English society prior to the Norman Conquest. This was
Cited: Olson, James S., and Olson Beal, Heather. The Ethnic Dimension in American History. Oxford, UK. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Print Horsman, Reginald Patterson, Thomas E. We the People: A concise introduction to American Politics. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print Dreschler, Seymour Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York, NY. Alfred A. Knopf, 1946 "The Glorious Revolution"[->0]