As I read Chapter 9, my overarching impression is that the idea I had in my mind of life in the United States during the period between 1815 and 1840 had been influenced a great deal by idealized portrayals in books, movies and plays. The fact of the matter is that life in this period, while starting to resemble some aspects of modern American life, was actually rather rough, unfair and unsettled for the majority of people.
Expansion: Growing up in the 1970s, I loved stories and movies about the Old West, "the Frontier", and all that sort of thing. I was amazed by the idea that our country was so new, especially since we celebrated the Bicentennial when I was in the 2nd grade. So much had happened in 200 years. We went from 13 colonies to 50 states! We threw off the chains of monarchy and declared our freedom!
I was thrilled to look at old maps that showed the constantly-changing borders of the United States as the country expanded Westward. I knew that there were "Indians" and that the U.S. sometimes fought with them, but in those days I had no idea of the countless ways in which Native Americans were marginalized and mistreated. I also knew that there had been slavery, but again, I had no idea of the brutality and the indignities that enslaved people suffered.
I guess in a way, I didn't think of Native Americans or black people as people in the same way that I thought of people I knew firsthand in my parents' suburban, lily-white neighborhood. I don't remember feeling dislike or prejudice toward people who were different, but I do remember thinking that they were very, very different than me. What I didn't realize as a little kid was that this worldview was directly tied to the message so popular in the period covered in Chapter 9 that "all men are created equal if they're white." It's sobering to reflect on the fact that the values my parents presented as truth were shaped by antiquated ideas so rooted in the mistreatment of large numbers of people.
Growing up, hearing about "the Land of the Free", I was ignorant that so many people had been brought here against their wills, and that others had been kicked off of their own lands and sent to other places to make room for white settlers. I did not understand that there is a permanent underclass of people who cannot get ahead in life because they fuel the economy for the wealthy. I believed that "liberty and justice for all" was a reality and that America was pretty much a perfect place. The Greatest Country on Earth and all that.
Of course, over the course of my life, I learned the truths of these injustices and inequalities, but taking this class has really made me stop and think. It's one thing to know that these different bad things happened over the course of history. But, to see them all laid out end-to-end in the way "The Enduring Vision" does, paints a much darker picture of America than I realized it would.
I see the arrogance of something like calling one particular subset of Native Americans "The Five Civilized Tribes", because they had taken up a way of life similar to the white settlers of their day. I feel sick when I think about the "Indian Removal Act", and read the story of the "Trail of Tears." There's a good example. It's something I knew happened, and thought of as unfortunate. But I didn't realize the tragic proportions of it. Reading that one-third of the Cherokee Nation died "during or just after the removal" made my heart so heavy.
Life was no picnic for women, free black people, immigrants, the poor. I didn't know that today's custom of blaming the poor for their own poverty has roots in the 1800s. I thought that was something that was a product of our current age. It's surprising that such an old idea still holds so much influence. Reading that "in 1800...the average American woman bore 7.04 children" was shocking to me. By 1850, that number had fallen to "only 5.02 children, and 3.98 by 1900." That is a lot of children. Too many children if you ask me. It certainly doesn't square with my idea of what life was like during that period.
It strikes me as funny that these days, we have so many people decrying the decline of our American society. In a historical context, the reality of American life, especially 200 years ago, bears little resemblance to the "good old days" that our nation as a whole seems to hold dear. It's both reassuring and frustrating to know that life in America has never been perfect, and that it's never going to be perfect, even if we do live in what many people would regard as "The Greatest Country on Earth."
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