Free The Rise of Post America Essay Sample
The British and French colonial parties settled in different parts of the new world hence creating partitions that are today now as states. The native Indians were displaced in the process to create room for large scale plantations where African slaves became the main source of cheap labor. The blacks and the native Indians should be congratulated for their hard work and sacrifice towards setting a stable base for the present American economy.
Just like the settler colonies were autonomous in their administration, the present American states have also adopted independence and autonomy from each other. History of America is characterized by various civilizations including the Maya, Incaz, and Aztec which formed the culture and lifestyle of the current America society. As it was in early civilization where people pledge allegiance to various gods, US has several denominations and one is at liberty to choose their religion or to remain atheist.
Discovery of States
The discovery of states in America took place one by one as the new visitors set up their base in different parts of the new world that they had discovered. The colonies that they founded each had a unique name. For example, the Carolina colony was founded in 1526 by Spanish called Lucas. The same region still has the same name although presently subdivided into North and South Carolina states. Just like the ancient colonies, the states are regional centers of power and administration. I think the present format of governance at state level borrowed a lot from decentralization that existed during the colonization days. Today, each state is autonomous to some level and carries out its functions without interference from other states. As more people settled into the new world, the number of colonies increased. Each settlement party gave a unique name to the places where they settled.
In 1600, the Virginia Company founded a colony in the northern America and named it Virginia colony. Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey colonies were later founded as more settlers came into the new world. I think the autonomy that each party had must have overlapped into the present autonomy that exists in the states in the post America. I also realized that each state has a majority population. For example, some states have many black Americans; others are dominated by people of color while others have people from Spanish origin. This population distribution must have been brought about by the settlement of people from different parts of the world in the traditional colonies which later became the states. Each of the colonies carried out their administrative issues independent of the other. I think the present American states have adopted the independence in administration. Most American states have taken after the colonies from where they inherited the boundaries.
Many African slaves found their way into America as cheap labor to work in the farms of the colonial powers. The settlers in Carolina are recorded to have brought in the first African slaves in 17th century. As the demand for cheap labor increased, many more Africans were brought into America. Today, the population of America comprises of a huge number of blacks all of whom were brought in during the slave trade days. Even though the blacks came into America as total slaves they became free after the declaration of independence. It is amazing how the blacks became so free even to vie for election posts. Today, America has a black president; thanks to the declaration of independence of 1776 that gave everyone the right to be free American citizens.
The slave mentality and the nature of being black still haunt America as a nation to date. There independent America found it difficult to assimilate the blacks into their society. In the early days, clear distinctions existed between schools of the blacks and those of the whites. Further, some jobs were reserved only for the whites even though some blacks could have qualified for them. I think such mindset of white superiority refused to diminish because of what Americans were used to. Initially, the blacks were slaves who fully submitted to the whites. I therefore understand why America struggled to accept equality of both the whites and the blacks. Even though a lot of progress has been registered in the platform of equality in America, some traces of racism and ethnicity still exist in public spaces. I think the public outburst of hate towards the blacks by Mr. Trump is evidence that many still feel that the whites are superior to blacks.
For America to be the superpower it is today, a lot of work and sacrifice has been invested. The ancient economy was predominantly agricultural. The colonial government really used the blacks to cultivate the lands so as to produce the crops. I am sure that little development could have been realized if the blacks were never brought to work the farms. The black Americans should really be appreciated for helping build the economy of America right from the inception when they worked in coffee and sugar cane plantations. The work done by the native Americans is also vital to have made America grow to where it is today. All the land that was put under agriculture was taken from the native red Indians. In fact, some of the land was take after resistance from the natives.
After the arrival of the Paleo-Indians in America, they spread throughout America and formed several culturally distinct tribes. An extended family consisted of up to 50 members who are highly mobile. Therefore, they migrated from place to place in search for resources. Because of stability of climate in North America, the population skyrocketed causing a widespread migration. After a while, they began to cultivate and domesticate different plant species. The migration continued for thousands of years before the first civilization emerged around 5000 BCE. They were major hunters of megafauna. The pre-Columbian civilization shaped the earlier culture of American society. They were characterized by empires, kingdoms, metallurgy, great cities and monuments, writing and refinement of arts. Mesoamerica is one of the regions that had a variety of ancient cultures that had common religious beliefs, architecture, art, and technology.
Most of this culture evolved into great civilizations such as Maya, Teotihuacan, Toltec, Olmec, Aztec (Mexica), and Inca. These civilizations were characterized by great inventions such as pyramid-temples, arts, astronomy, writing, accurate calendar, theology, medicine, agriculture, mathematics, and engineering among others. Olmec civilization, the earliest civilization in the history of America, was characterized by abundant pottery production. Their power was consolidated at a site currently known as San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan. Its achievement was pivotal to the emergence of Maya Civilization to the east and other civilization to the west of central Mexico. The fall of Olmec civilization created a power vacuum which was filled by Teotihuacan civilization. This civilization was characterized by a totally new economic and political order within the Maya cities. It had significant impact on Maya civilization through its artistic depictions, political power, and nature of economics. Maya civilization was centered on unity among its city-states which made it achieve major innovations in astronomy, mathematics, and calendrics. It is also credited for inventing the only true writing system native to the Americas.
The Mayan civilization collapsed after overexploitation of rainforest upon which the ecosystem depended. As a result, the population increased caused civil wars and Toltec took over. However, they also withdrew leaving the region politically fragmented. It is at this point that the Aztecs (Mexica) arrived and they believed they were heir to the preceding civilization. They ruled in empires and believed in warfare. Their empires expanded across central and south America and they were governed by stringent laws, engineering marvels, scientific farming techniques, and sophisticated structures. Further south, in the current Columbia, the Incas ruled an expansive empire covering a thousand miles along Andes Mountain from Ecuador to Chile.
The Aztec believed cosmic forces of nature. In other words, every aspect of life is associated with a deity. Their gods were inclined to natural forces such sun, rain, water, fire, and wind. One of the amazing factors of this religion is that the gods struggled for supremacy. According to Aztecs, the world is divided into three expanses; the heaven arena inaccessible to humans, the earth and its inhabitants, and the underworld harboring the dead. Humans would go through these expanses in stages of birth, life, death, and rebirth. They offered several human sacrifices to appease and gain the favor of the gods.
Before the arrival of Europeans, they worshipped spirits by performance of ritual and dances. As Europeans came to America, their main agenda was to establish a colony that would allow separation of church and state away from the stringent provisions of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. They brought with them amalgamation of denomination with protestant background.
The present states took after the partitions created by the settler colonial governments. The population distribution in the states is also unique and to some level just as the colonial groups. Today and in future America has equal rights both for the blacks, the colored and the whites. Such equality was however missing in the ancient days of colonization. America has experienced transformative evolution in terms of civilization and religion. Even though much has changed, a lot of early innovations formed the foundation of various areas such as mathematics, astronomy, artistic depictions, accurate calendar, and engineering among others.