Every nation comes into being with some special qualities and identities that differ from other nations. It is also true to the United States. The historical document Letters From an American farmer tried to define “who then is America, this new man” in the way that contrasts European countries. However, America does not always act in accordance with the national identity given by the author, Crevecoeur. In other words, things can vary because of intersectionality.
As one of the key documents of American Studies, the Letters From an American Farmer are a direct attempt at depicting the image of America, especially the Letter III titled “What Is an American”. In Crevecoeur’s understanding, American continent is an open and free land where people can start a good life and build a new society. It is different from European countries in many aspects—“here are no aristocratical families, no courts, no kings, no bishops, no ecclesiastical dominion, no invisible power giving to a few a very visible one”(“Letter III”, 25). What’s more, …show more content…
In the letter III, Crevecoeur discussed about how European emigrants could “take roots and flourish” by power of transplantation, but did not mention how the indigenous tribes should deal with being invaded by outsiders. The absence of addressing the native Americans in the letter implicates that Crevecoeur gave tacit consent to the fact that Americans conquered and occupied the wild land which did not belong to them before. This can also be confirmed by the poetry “The White Man’s Burden” by Kipling’s Hymn, who believes that the U.S. should shoulder the “burden” of an empire and cultivate the savages along with the expansion. And this is the same reason for the U.S. to send military army to Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippines, claiming the Americans were helping them gain independence from
As one of the key documents of American Studies, the Letters From an American Farmer are a direct attempt at depicting the image of America, especially the Letter III titled “What Is an American”. In Crevecoeur’s understanding, American continent is an open and free land where people can start a good life and build a new society. It is different from European countries in many aspects—“here are no aristocratical families, no courts, no kings, no bishops, no ecclesiastical dominion, no invisible power giving to a few a very visible one”(“Letter III”, 25). What’s more, …show more content…
In the letter III, Crevecoeur discussed about how European emigrants could “take roots and flourish” by power of transplantation, but did not mention how the indigenous tribes should deal with being invaded by outsiders. The absence of addressing the native Americans in the letter implicates that Crevecoeur gave tacit consent to the fact that Americans conquered and occupied the wild land which did not belong to them before. This can also be confirmed by the poetry “The White Man’s Burden” by Kipling’s Hymn, who believes that the U.S. should shoulder the “burden” of an empire and cultivate the savages along with the expansion. And this is the same reason for the U.S. to send military army to Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippines, claiming the Americans were helping them gain independence from