American Literature 1

WHAT BEING AMERICAN MEANT IN 1780In 1780 , the notion of organism the Statesn meant different things depending on one s identity . To Thomas Jefferson , among the architects of the new nation , it meant deserving one s liberty , and he believed that indisputable people were ill-suited for what he considered the demands of an enlightened society . In particular , he believed blacks and whites could never coexist because of slaveholding s legacy , citing : implanted prejudices entertained by whites [and] ten thousand recollections , by the blacks , of the injuries they agree sustained (Binder , 1968 , p br 55-56 . In addition , he considered them intellectually inferior . He considered the States an improvement all over other nations , and while he felt ambivalent to the highest degree slavery and sympathetic toward blacks , he did not envision a multiracial AmericaFor poet Phyllis Wheatley , an African-American who spent years in slavery and lived in poverty , being an American meant barriers and contradictions based on race . Wheatley , whose poetry Jefferson thought below the dignity of reprimand (Robinson , 1982 , pp . 42-43 , was well aware of America s racial contradictions (a nominally plain nation which still embraced slavery ) but theless asked white America for tolerance and acceptance .

In On being Brought from Africa to America the narrator is optimistic about America and grateful for being part if it - Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land - but too admits , Some view our sable race with scornful meat There colour is a diabolic die (Robinson , 1975 ,. 60 . so far , her closing appeal is not for liberty and upright par , but simply a reminder that blacks can at least be equal as Christians , in matinee idol s eyes .To Jefferson , part of America s elite , being American meant freedom for those who met his standards , while Wheatley , aware of America s racial maculation , makes an appeal for at least spiritual equality . existence American meant being free - though race was utilize as a means of denying freedom to allREFERENCESBinder , F .M (1968 . The pretension Problem in Early National America genus Paris : MoutonRobinson , W .H (1975 . Phyllis Wheatley in the Black American Beginnings . Detroit : Broadside PressRobinson , W .H (1982 . Critical Essays of Phyllis Wheatley . Boston G .K . Hall and CompanyNAME Being American in 1780 PAGE 2...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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