Monday, January 20, 2020
Institutional Racism in the United States :: Sociology Racism Prejudice Essays
The history of the United States is one of duality. In the words of the Declaration of Independence, our nation was founded on the principles of equality in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, long before the founders of the newly declared state met in Philadelphia to espouse the virtues of self-determination and freedom that would dubiously provide a basis for a secessionary war, those same virtues were trampled upon and swept away with little regard. Beneath the shining beacon of freedom that signaled the formation of the United States of America was a shadow of deception and duplicity that was essential in creating the state. The HSS 280 class lexicon defines duality as â€Å"a social system that results from a worldview which accepts inherent contradictions as reasonable because this is to the believer's benefit.†The early years of what would become the United States was characterized by a system of duality that subjugated and exterminated peoples for the benefit of the oppressors. This pattern of duality, interwoven into our culture, has created an dangerously racialized society. From the first moment a colonist landed on these shores, truths that were â€Å"self-evident†were contingent on subjective â€Å"interpretation.† This discretionary application of rights and freedoms is the foundation upon which our racially stratified system operates on.                English colonists, Africans, and Native Americans comprised the early clash of three peoples. Essentially economic interests, and namely capitalism, provided the impetus for the relationships that developed between the English colonists, the Africans, and the Native Americans. The colonialization of North American by the British was essentially an economic crusade. The emergence of capitalism and the rise of trade throughout the 16th century provided the British with a blueprint to expand its economic and political sphere. The Americas provided the British with extensive natural resources, resources that the agrarian-unfriendly British isles could not supply for its growing empire.                When Britons arrived in North America, the indigenous population posed an economic dilemma to the colonists. The Native Americans were settled on the land that the British colonists needed to expand their economic capacity. To provide a justificatory framework for the expulsion of Native Americans off their land, the English colonists created a ideology that suited their current needs.                The attitude of Anglos toward the Native Americans began as one of ambivalence and reliance. When the English first arrived in North America, they needed the Indians to survive the unfamiliar land and harsh weather. Once the English became acclimated to their surroundings and realized that the Indians were living on valuable land, it was only a matter of time before guns and
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