African American Women In The 19th Century

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In the early 1800's, oppression was widespread in the US – as much as America had emphasized the ideal of freedom, only a very specific group of citizens were able to enjoy the freedoms that the nation had fought for. Women, Native Americans and African Americans were all routinely oppressed by the culture they lived in, and each groups' fight against their oppression contributed to the changing national and cultural identity of the US. Women changed cultural ideas about gender roles by proving them wrong in the workplace; Native Americans affected the way that US citizens as a culture viewed and treated the land; and African Americans contributed to a cultural identity of the US as a place where people should overcome their obstacles and defy…show more content…
In the early nineteenth century, Native Americans were most commonly viewed as savages by white settlers, and this view of them was used as justification for the destruction of their culture and the murder of their people since the first British colonists had arrived in the New World. For instance, the Louisiana Purchase had wreaked havoc on many tribes west of Mississippi. Land that tribes had lived on and defended for decades or longer was suddenly taken from them, and most tribes weren't compensated adequately for their loss. Many fought against the taking of their land, even forming a pan-tribal alliance in order to do so – something that the many warring tribes hadn't managed to do ever before. Though many Native American tribes lost their lives and their land in their fight for freedom, their fight influenced the national identity of the US. In addition, Native American interaction with white settlers created the Thanksgiving tradition, and their belief in respecting the earth led to their early teachings on which crops to grow and how to grow them properly, which influenced American culture to become more agricultural, and encouraged Americans to learn to protect and care for their

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