Progress of Racial Equality in the United States

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Brianna Axon ENG 255.01 First Essay Assignment October 23, 2011 The idea of progress is what formed society in the 19th century. Some individuals thought that the United States was destined to expand across the entire country without a second thought about individuals who this would affect. Others believed that the “greater” race would come out in the end, and saw the social struggles through the eyes of evolution. Whether someone was a Native American, or an immigrant each individual saw the progress of the United States through different lenses. So many writers created literature that changed people’s ways of living, or allowed them to see ideologies through these different lenses. Many writers either recorded what they saw in 19th century America, or they went past simple observations and shared their own opinions on what was happening and what needed to happen involving the progress of the United States. An analysis of four very unique pieces of literature and art show not just culture, but diversity of the views on progress during the 19th century. An American historian, Frederick Jackson Turner had a great effect on the existence of land through his speech Significance of the Frontier in American History. Turner describes the greatest opportunity for progress in America through the frontier. This piece of literature offers concepts that were especially bold to the time period. The line “No subject is of greater magnitude than that of the public lands” (Turner 12) points out perfectly what Turner describes throughout his piece. Turner was mostly concerned with the “Americanization” of individuals (Turner 2). He does not deny that there is a steady growth of American progress, in fact he describes the development of America as an “expanding people” (Turner 2). His writings describe the importance of the land because Turner strongly believed that expansion could
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