美国文学I-the making of he nation.ppt

North America The U. S. American values Individualism Hard work Pragmatism What Is an American? St. Jean De Crevecceur (1735-1813) Here is man free as he ought to be; nor is this pleasing equality so transitory(短暂的，暂时的) as many others are…He is an American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds…..Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions. (1782) Indians Indians Language families of North American indigenous peoples Ethnic groups circa 1300-1535 Indians visiting a Brazilian farm plantation in Minas Gerais c.1824 Tensions between the two sides Since the end of the 15th?century, the migration of Europeans to the Americas has led to centuries of conflict and adjustment between Old and New World societies. The indigenous cultures were quite different from immigrants. Many native cultures were matrilineal and occupied hunting grounds and agricultural lands for use of the entire community. Europeans at that time had patriarchal cultures. Tensions between the two sides The differences caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence, and social disruption. Native Americans suffered high fatalities from contact with Eurasian diseases to which they had not acquired immunity. Smallpox epidemics are thought to have caused the greatest loss of life for indigenous populations, Tensions between the two sides The acculturation proposed by George Washington and Thomas Jeffersons policy had been to respect the Native Americans rights to their homelands. Effectively, all Native Americans who had adopted a civilized behavior could remain east of the Mississippi. However, Andrew Jackson