Captain Smith by Pocahontas
Antonio Capellano's sculpture The Preservation of Captain Smith by Pocahontas (1825) is still in the Capitol Rotunda along with other works of the same period such as William Penn's Treaty with the Indians and The Landing of the Pilgrims, although they no longer resonate with audiences in the same way as they did in the 19th Century. In the 20th and 21st Centuries, more sophisticated and educated viewers at least would realize that these are all the product of an era of Western expansion and a highly romanticized view of history that is heavily tinged with racism and white nationalism. When these sculptures were first commissioned by the U.S. government, the early republic was engaged in westward expansion that would result in the destruction, displacement or removal of most Native Americans, a process that most white Americans of the era regarded as necessary and beneficial. All of the official public art and sculpture of the time adhered strictly to the standard narrative of the progress of Christianity and white civilization, which would overawe and overpower the Indians. Native American would literally be forced to bow down to the superior power, drive and intelligence of this white civilization, which Pocahontas is depicted as recognizing when she saves Smith from being clubbed to death. She realizes that the only real choice for the Natives is to adapt and assimilate to the white world or face eventual destruction. In addition, she also accepts that Smith is a heroic white man, physically, intellectually and sexually superior to Indian males, although in the 19th Century this was also highly problematic because of the implication of interracial sex, 'half-breed' offspring and miscegenation of the races.
Sculpture and paintings depicting American Indians in the 19th Century followed certain predictable themes and patterns, particularly the idea of the destruction and disappearance of a supposedly inferior race by the Western march of white civilization. Two sculptures that once decorated the Capitol, Horatio Greenough's The Rescue and Luigi Persico's Discovery of America, both commissioned by the government in 1836, were so explicitly racist that Congress finally removed them in 1958 after years of protests by Native Americans. The Rescue was finally destroyed in a moving accident...
" In other words, republicanism in an expanding state would inevitably lead to more despotic, aristocratic, and monarchical regimes. Hence, if the U.S. were to follow a policy of expansion, it would, at least, theoretically conflict with its republican origins. Interestingly, one of the leading proponents of republicanism, Thomas Jefferson had become the third U.S. President after an unexpected electoral crisis in the elections of 1800. He was a great champion
Moreover, Westward expansion also meant putting off the resolution of slavery. Slavery continued in the United States until the 1860s. In fact, Westward expansion was one of the issues that gave rise to the deep rifts between north and south, between free and slave states. How to address slavery in newly acquired territories became one of the most poignant political and social issues in nineteenth century America. Yet another
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Mercifully, this period oversaw the end of the horrible Catch-22 known as debtor's prison, were people were imprisoned for debt, and then kept in the prisons for life because they had no way of earning money to free themselves from their financial obligations. Also, Dorothea Dix "compiled a comprehensive report on the state of the mentally ill in Massachusetts. The report claimed that hundreds of insane women were chained like
Although they reacted with sorrow, they also attempted to preserve their culture. For example, some even ground the bones of their ancestors and sewed them into their clothing (Watson 1999). A similar story of Native American's peaceful reactions that were exploited by force is the history of Chief Joseph. This early recruit to Christianity was the chief mediator of peace between whites and his tribe, the Nez Perce, but when
For instance, the United States aided in the installation of Fidel Castro in Cuba, and then initiated a trade embargo against him when his policies did not meet their expectations. Ronald Reagan's involvement in the Iran-Contra affair suggested United States imperial action in both Latin America and the Middle East. Furthermore, while the United States' intervention in Latin America after the 1800s has been primarily motivated by a desire
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