Institutional Racism in the United States :: Sociology Racism Prejudice Essays

The history of the unite States is one of duality. In the words of theDeclaration of Independence, our nation was founded on the principles of compare in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, long before thefounders of the newly say state met in Philadelphia to espouse the virtuesof self-determination and freedom that would dubiously pull up stakes a basis for asecessionary war, those same virtues were trampled upon and swept away with minute regard. Beneath the shining beacon of freedom that signaled theformation of the United States of the States was a shadow of deception andduplicity that was essential in creating the state. The HSS 280 shape lexicondefines duality as a social system that results from a worldview which accepts immanent contradictions as reasonable because this is to the believers benefit. The premature years of what would become the United States was characterized by asystem of duality that subjugated and exterminated peoples for the benefit ofthe oppressors. This copy of duality, interwoven into our culture, hascreated an dangerously racialized society. From the number 1 moment a colonist come on these shores, truths that were self-evident were contingent onsubjective interpretation. This discretionary natural covering of rights andfreedoms is the foundation upon which our racially stratified system operates on. English colonists, Africans, and Native Americans comprised the earlyclash of three peoples. Essentially scotch interests, and namely capitalism,provided the impetus for the relationships that demonstrable between the Englishcolonists, the Africans, and the Native Americans. The colonialization of NorthAmerican by the British was essentially an sparing crusade. The emergence ofcapitalism and the rise of trade passim the 16th century provided theBritish with a blueprint to expand its economic and political sphere. TheAmericas provided the British with extensive natural resources, resources thatthe agrarian-unfr iendly British isles could not come forth for its growing empire. When Britons arrived in North America, the indigenous population posedan economic dilemma to the colonists. The Native Americans were settled on theland that the British colonists mandatory to expand their economic capacity. Toprovide a justificatory framework for the expulsion of Native Americans offtheir land, the English colonists created a ideology that suited their on-goingneeds. The attitude of Anglos toward the Native Americans began as one ofambivalence and reliance. When the English first arrived in North America, theyneeded the Indians to survive the unfamiliar land and abrasive weather. Once theEnglish became acclimated to their surroundings and realized that the Indianswere living on worthful land, it was only a matter of time before guns and