New World Colonization and Racism
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1) Soon after the Europeans colonized the New World, the idea of racial distinctions developed. While many of the colonists had fled the rigid societies of Europe because they were dedicated to the concept of natural rights and equality, there were still many who believed that people should be treated differently according to the innate biological differences among them. Thus, it was determined that there should be a clear distinction between European "white" men and Native American or black persons. The colonies in North America were intended to be settlement colonies, as opposed to other types of colonies, such as the Spanish developed in Mexico, in which the conquerors wished to extort as much material wealth from the native population as possible. The North American colonies, therefore, wished to eliminate the indigenous population, or at the very least, separate them from the Anglo Saxon population completely (Kaufman 2003, p. 124). Still, in many ways, the colonial attitude toward black persons was tied to economic concerns. The burgeoning colonial economy benefited from the use of slave labor, and the colonists began to use racism as a means of justifying this exploitation. Political and legal measures decreed that blacks were non-persons, so that they could be considered the property of colonists. However, despite the fact that these efforts to dehumanize blacks was largely motivated by economic interests, they soon lead to institutionalized racism whi
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ning critics did not want to overthrow the government, as had been done in Russia, but instead wished to work with the labor unions to effect national reform in both economic and politics. For them, Roosevelt hadn't embraced socialism at all (Jansson 1996, chp. 8).
In reality, it would seem that both criticisms of Roosevelt are rather unfair, and that reality of the New Deal's policies instead lies somewhere between the two extremes. It is important to consider the extremely difficult challenge that Roosevelt faced when he took office, and the grim state of the national economy; such problems could not be solved overnight. If Roosevelt did incorporate ideas inspired by socialist ideology, one cannot ignore the desperate times in which he did so; no doubt, he considered many of his efforts only temporary measures to get the nation back on its feet. Moreover, there are many ways in which the New Deal helped preserve the capitalist system, such as Agricultural Adjustment Act and the new banking legislation. Thus, it would seem that Roosevelt did the best that he could, given the circumstances. While the New Deal is certainly open to criticism, he should not be viewed as villain, by either conservatives or liberals.
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Some common words found in the essay are:
African Americans, Anglo Saxon, Roosevelt's Deal, President United, Adjustment Act, Soon Europeans, Despite Roosevelt's, President Kennedy, Act WPA, Civil Rights, federal government, homeless persons, kaufman 2003, white society, jansson 1996, black persons, welfare programs, 1996 chp10, jannson 1996, homeless persons street, wagner act, broad welfare program, jansson 1996 chp10,
Approximate Word count = 2106
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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