A Brief History and Reasoning of Americanism

A Brief History and Reasoning of Americanism

               The history of the United States and Americans in general is long and varied.

               There are heroes and villains.

               What we are concerned with here, however, are Americans.  When the Europeans arrived in the Americas there were already Americans here.  Millions of them.  Their history is our history.  Many natural born Americans are descended from the mix of peoples that lived here and came here later.

               No matter when someone arrived here – the simple fact is that the only two prerequisites for being an American is that you are alive and that you are here.

               Having said that the duties that come along with being an American are several.  They are simple and profound.  They can bring you great joy if you know of them and allow you to get along better in American society if you practice them.

               The history of America taught in classrooms usually begins with a narration about some unnamed people crossing a land bridge from Asia.  Then children are shown a map with arrows pointing east and south from Alaska.

               Nothing much is mentioned about the breadth of civilizations and societies that existed here, some of which persist to this day.   There are lessons about the Incas, the Mayans and the Aztecs and suddenly, Christopher Columbus, the Spaniards and ‘history’ begins.

               That is not a charming part of American studies.  It needs to be changed.

               It needs to be changed for this simple reason.  Some of the things which are important and sacred to us as modern Americans were imparted to us by the Americans who were already here when modern ‘history’ began.

               These ideals include family ideals, religious beliefs (if not in substance then in understanding) and even political arrangements.  To this day the American President is referred to as Commander in Chief and as being Chief of the Nation.

               The history of Americans as we know them today started about 100 years prior to the American Revolution.  It is formed of a desire for self-rule, religious freedom, profit and private property.  During the course of the 100 years leading to the Revolution – which also was a revolt against European royalty and old social arrangements that could not be supported in the ‘New World’ (the Americas) – problems arose due to governing bodies being so far away and having interests of their own that differed from the people living here.

               These same arguments are raised today as people complain of their government being ‘distant’ and ‘out of touch’.

               It is a checkered past.

               After the American Revolution and the Battle With Britain there was an uneasy peace between the new nation and the rest of the world.  As Napolean ravaged Europe some years later the British Empire decided to try and recapture the American continent.  The War of 1812 lasted a number of years and ended the idea that England would again rule the United States, but also cemented their possessions in Canada.

               The relative peace that lasted until the American Civil War was filled with westward expansion.  I say relative peace because it was interspersed with Indian Wars and range wars and other undeclared hostilities like the Mormon Rebellion and the establishment of Utah and the annexation of California along with the War With Mexico.  It was not a peaceful and idyllic time.

               The Civil War was long in coming and involved the emancipation of the slaves as well as a reordering of the Federal Government and the way in which it would be run.  The whispers and ghosts of that conflict haunt this nation still.  Among those born in the regions of the North and South that were touched directly by the Civil War and the insane violence of it there can still be detected hints of anger and suspicion.  It is important to note that many of the ‘modern’ munitions used to kill large numbers of people in war were invented and first use on a large scale during the American Civil War.

               You can learn much about it by visiting any historical park dedicated to the memory of the fallen.

               After the Civil War the United States then began another period of expansion.  It ended with the War With Spain.  As a result of that war Spain was no longer a World Empire or, at least, no longer a world power able to stand alone.  American influence included taking over Spanish colonies in Asia like the Philippines and dominating countries like Cuba as well as taking islands previously administered by Spain.

               World War I was not long in coming.  The bloodshed and horror of that conflict was never fully understood by the American people who had already forgotten the lessons of the Civil War.  It is obvious when looking back in time to see that the seeds of World War II were sown in World War I.  Korea, Vietnam and many other conflicts followed up until the more recent era as we see American forces battling in the Middle East and preparing to intervene in Asia.

               Are the American errors of judgment or a curse of humanity?

               I am not here to write about war but about how to be an American.

               To leave out war would be to leave out a large part of our heritage and miss a great opportunity to understand American behavior.

               Even during times of hottest war and when war fever ran high and hatred was boiling over there were always Americans willing to stand up for their rights and their beliefs and if that meant opposing the war then that was what they did.

               In the case of the War With Mexico President Abraham Lincoln had this to say, “First, it is to be done by a more vigorous prossecution of the war in the vital parts of the enemies country; and, after apparently, talking himself tired, on this point, the President drops down into a half despairing tone, and tells us that "with a people distracted and divided by contending factions, and a government subject to constant changes, by successive revolutions, the continued success of our arms may fail to secure a satisfactory peace[.]" Then he suggests the propriety of wheedling the Mexican people to desert the counsels of their own leaders, and trusting in our protection, to set up a government from which we can secure a satisfactory peace; telling us, that "this may become the only mode of obtaining such a peace." But soon he falls into doubt of this too; and then drops back on to the already half abandoned ground of "more vigorous prosecution”. “

               What I am trying to illustrate here is that being patriotic is not the same as being blind and just because you don’t agree with someone or something on some point of national interest does not make you American – it makes you MOST American if you express yourself and let your ideas be known.  There is a good chance you may be right and it would be a loss to us all if you kept your tongue while others lost their lives.

               Here is this again from President Lincoln, "Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you shall allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure. Study to see if you can fix any limit to his power in this respect. If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, "I see no probability of the British invading us"; but he will say to you, "Be silent: I see it if you don't.""

               This gets to the root of the matter concerning what it means to be an American.  Often times during war or periods of severe loss – the Great Depression or some other calamitous events – Americans will complain.  They will also go forward and do their duty.

               Finally I revert to President Lincoln one last time in an effort to allow you to understand the attitude of Americans to government and how this government of Americans was set up – to be free not only means to be allowed to do what we wish or need to do without interference – (as long as it does not hurt someone else) means that we are free from something or someone.  Who was that?  Free from God?  Free from Reason?  Free from Truth?

               No.  Free from oppression and repression in the world.  The oppression presented by a nation ruled by right of birth rather than right of ability – which is what the United States is and what one facet of being American is all about.

               From President Lincoln when talking about a President taking on powers not granted by the Constituion, “Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending, generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object. This our convention understood to be the most oppressive of the kingly oppressions, and they resolved to so frame the Constitution that no one man should hold the power of bringing this oppression down upon us. But your view destroys the whole matter, and places our President where kings have always stood."

               I have leaned heavily on President Lincoln during this part of this very brief history – but that is only because the words seem to fit the idea very well and to illustrate it.

               The kernel of American history that has brought us to this modern day and is the focus of this book, which I have written for you, is contained in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America :

               “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”