Cohen makes a good case against the hypocritical reasons that the British gave for their treatment of the Native Americans. First, the British did not value the civilization they thrust themselves upon even though it had been successful for thousands of years. The "new world" was not technologically advanced like many European inventions such as the globe, and the black powder weapon; which gave the British the idea that their superior knowledge made them worth more as human beings. Submission to their rule was only alternative for Native Americans. Failing that, then force and treachery were a way to handle the "savages".…
But also it led to prosperity also the forming of a new country and a new power in the world. Zinn in his “A People's History of The United States” talks about how when the Europeans found the land they thought to be deserted and ready for the taking was already taken and full of life. The life hes talking about are the Indians who have lived in this new world for centuries and it in fact was their home. But no matter the Europeans took the land killed the Indians without so much as a thought of what the progress they were making cost. The price that the Indians had to pay was a deadly price,the price of their life the price of their freedom and the biggest of all was the changing of their way of life in a drastic and negative matter. The French the English the Dutch and the Spaniards all took colonies in the new world for their own and in doing so destroyed the lives of millions of Indians who in fact came first and had more of a right to the land than the Europeans themselves did. There was also a by-product of colonialism, Zinn says and that’s the product of slavery, slavery of the Indians but more so of the Africans . What Zinn is really talking about is the slave trade which came about because of colonialism and the Lack of “man power” in the new world to harvest new found cash crops such as tobacco and indigo. So…
During the colonial era, European settlers brought new lifestyles and ways of thought to the New World, which redefined materialism and spiritualism. The colonists' lives and the civilizations they met were drastically altered by the new ideas, technologies, and faiths they carried with them. For example, ”English colonists brought to the New World particular visions of racial, cultural, and religious supremacy. Despite starving in the shadow of the Powhatan Confederacy, English colonists nevertheless judged themselves physically, spiritually, and technologically superior to Native peoples in North America. Christianity, metallurgy, intensive agriculture, transatlantic navigation, and even wheat all magnified the English sense of superiority.…
The early 1600s brought the first European settlers to the Americas, and on arriving they found the land inhabited by thousands of Native Americans. The colonists' lack of knowledge about the land and people led to a series of disputes to ensure the colonists' safety. Unfortunately, this eventually led to genocide, an act of hatred directed towards the natives, but undeniable because overtime the colonists began to kill for sport rather then defense against the Indians' attacks.…
The colonists policy toward the native Americans had different origins and therefore different consequences. Much has been written about the encounter of these two cultures, which would sooner or later bring about a painful clash. Because of their so diferent cultures, only one would prevail. The colonists as a group, depending on their beliefs, had a hard, harshpolicy toward Native Americans. Native Americans, on the other hand, structured their lives on beliefs which had no common base ground with the colonists. As a clear example of this, Native Americans believed that the land was owned by none, that the rich earth was abundant for all. As the colonies populated, harsher policies toward Native Americans arose, and the conflicts between the colonists and the Native Americans iscolated. Pennsylvania was probably the ideal colony. William Penn’s philosophy of pacifism made his colony a heaven of respect and tolerance for all. Some of William Penn’s theories may not have been carried out to a full extent, but it did set structured and social implications; this represented a harsh contrast with the policy of other colonies toward Native Americans, and an even sharper contrast of non English settlers toward Native Americans in areas such as New France. All this would establish a part of what would be the American identity.…
For native American Indians, this new opportunity for settlers proved even more costly, almost the entire culture was destroyed by either disease, famine, or murder. Many Natives believe that this culture war has never ended, even in today’s modern society. As History showed us, once these settlers colonized the Eastern portion of the New World, the Native were either killed, or had to move to the west, eventually living in their own settlements, known today as “Tribal Reservations”. Even today we as American’s believe that since we protect these Native American lands we were justified in our historical and in our own way oppressive actions.…
As Americans continued to push further west, the feeling that the Indians that lived in these areas needed to be removed so the land being inhabited by them could be used for agriculture and other profits to the U.S. On page 134, Zinn states that “Gold was discovered in Cherokee territory in Georgia. Thousands of whites invaded, destroyed Indian property staked out claims.” This shows how Americans were only preoccupied on their own wealth, and they were willing to destroy the lives of thousands of Indians to get what they wanted. In effect to this, the U.S government made numerous treaties with the Indians, which gave them land that would always be theirs, and also promised that they would protect them. On page 136, Zinn expresses how the U.S. lied in the statement: “’a permanent home … which shall under the most solemn guarantee of the United States be and remain theirs forever...’ It was another lie.”…
With Antebellum America followed a desire for Manifest Destiny. The people soon wanted to own all of the land in the country and began moving west. While this westward movement seemed euphoric for the Americans, advertised nearly as a getaway from the already crowded east, such a feeling did not exist for the Indians. Manifest Destiny was an aggressive imperialism pursued at the expense of others due to the facts that it was made out to be an expansion prearranged by Heaven when it simply was the craving of more land, it took the Indians only home that was promised to them by a previous treaty, and when the Manifest Destiny movement was created, it entitled the American people ownership of the Indian’s themselves.…
In the early 1600s England established its’ first colony in the New World with one hundred men and three boats at the mouth of the Chesapeake River it was called Jamestown. Soon after many more colonists would arrive to the New World seeking religious freedom, freedom from persecution, land, economic prosperity, or to work off debt. Nonetheless, people saw the New World as new opportunities and to leave a life to start a new one. As British colonies grew and created their own culture, policies, and life style England began to lose its’ control over them. Because the majority of the settlers left England seeking freedom they were disturbed to receive outlandish laws enforced by England on the colonies, like paying for war they were not a part of or being hostess to British soldiers.…
When Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas accidentally, tons of opportunities were born. Europe finally found a great opportunity to colonize the Americas for economic, political, and social benefits. England, who was experiencing overpopulation in the 18th century, colonized the eastern coast of today’s United States and their government and economy received massive benefits. However, life in the colonies had immeasurable, potential possibilities for new colonists to improve their life and to start a family. Life in the colonies was better than life in England for many reasons regarding economics, politics, and religion.…
Since the founding of Jamestown in 1607 the relationship between the English colonist and the Native Americans was delicate. The greatest troubles between the two groups was land, the colonists didn’t understand the English view of land ownership. The English believed that they owned the land and it didn’t belong to anyone else, land…
Today’s modern American Society consisting of equality and freedom for all did not always exist. The nation was initially defined by the laws and actions of Great Britain, and whether or not to separate from Britain was not decided until 1783. In the early 1760’s, Colonials did nothing more than question the true intention of British policies. These people were searching for a sign that they had a voice in the laws they were to obey. However, as time progressed, the colonials began to develop less passive attitudes.…
Many have written their views regarding on what they felt about the new continent and have presented a fertile ground for discerning the life of the discovered world. Religious tolerance and intolerance, as well as idealistic and realistic aspects, form a basis of the visions of colonial America. Religious intolerance was one of the…
As their governments transitioned to mercantilism overseas, and industrialized mechanics in their homelands, European peoples were caught in the middle of a great change. While their governments benefited from the ventures on wayward shores, they seldom saw benefit, and often succumbed to a worsening disposition as the wealth was not properly dispatched amongst all layers of the society. This yielded the inevitability of individuals yearning for a better purpose in their lives, and William Penn’s writing of foreign lands was the advent of those desires. Europeans viewed the Americas as a mode of escape: a new world where land was copious and therefore abundant, where crops grew with such ferocity that excesses were best used for international commerce vice hoarding for a cold winter’s day, and where worldly desires such as estates and blood lines were free to develop unhindered by their current environments. For those who chose to leave their native lands, they were willing to risk everything all for the simple notion of a promise…
In The American Crisis by Thomas Paine, he explains that, A man can distinguish himself between temper and principle, and I am as confident, as I am that God governs the world, that America will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion” (Paine, 99). Americans were able to defeat the British with their intense determination to become free of the tyrannical rule of Great Britain. The journey to freedom against tyranny was an important goal for the American people, which resulted in their success in the war. In Crèvecoeur’s writing piece, he mentioned that with the very intense explanation of the regime and economy of Europe, the new land is much more livable for people because of the freedom from religious prosecution (Crevecoeur, 90). To those suffering from harassment or maltreatment in the Old World, the New World offered space to create new societies in which they could worship without interference. The hardships the Europeans had to go through to America was very difficult but in the end, they were free to worship without any…