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The theme of superiority is important to the history of racism in America because many historical events relating to racism involved Europeans believing they are superior to Native Americans and enslaved Africans. Therefore, they created racist laws or did racist things. This belief of European superiority is what now makes it harder for people of color to thrive in our country.

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Before the 15th century, the population of what later became the USA was 7-10 million. These were indigenous people, separated into almost 600 tribes, with unique languages and cultures (Encyclopedia).

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1492+: Colonization of Native American People

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1492+: Colonization of Native American People

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In 1492, An Italian explorer was sent on a voyage, and ended up landing on the shores of North America. When arriving, Christopher Columbus encountered the Indigenous people already living in North America. On his first day, Columbus writes in his journal that he captured six Native Americans, as he wanted them as servants. Soon after, Columbus began enslaving Native Americans and facing them to work for profit (History.com Editors). In total, 5 million indigenous Americans were enslaved because of colonization (Cohen).

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The colonization of America was a major event in shaping the foundational racism of our country today, and it demonstrates superiority because Columbus' belief that people of European descent were superior to Indigenous people was one of the motivations for him enslaving, kidnapping, and murdering many Indigenous People.

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In 1619, After the first African slaves arrived on a Dutch ship, the social dynamic in the British colony of Virginia changed. The status of a person started to depend much less on race, and more on money and land. A good example of this is Anthony Johnson, a former slave who was set free, and became wealthy, and a land owner. But this did not last long. Because of many slaves becoming successful, many new laws were passed by the House of Burgesses that supported European settlers making money and were against people of African or Indigenous descent, not allowing these people to become successful or own land (facinghistory.org).

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The laws passed by the House of Burgesses made it easier for European people to become successful, own land, and make money, while they made it even harder for former enslaved Africans / people of color to do so. These demonstrate superiority as they are in favor of white success and dominance, while they are not in favor of people of color being successful, promoting the fact that European people are superior. Because of this, many laws in our country today, make it easier for white people to own money, start businesses, and thrive.

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1775 - 1776: Slave Rebellions During the Revolutionary War

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1775 - 1776: Slave Rebellions During the Revolutionary War

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When the battle of Lexington and Concord occurred, the role of enslaved people in the Revolutionary war was thought about greatly. News emerged about British agents starting slave rebellions, and Royal Officials planning against the American side with slaves. This was one of the major ways that race played into the Revolutionary War (Parkinson).

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As we can see, race played an important role in the Revolutionary War, as the british army used slave revolts, and the fight against slavery as a way for them to win the war. These events exhibit superiority in American History as European people, in this case the british generals, used their position of power and superiority against enslaved people in order to benefit themselves.

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In 1830, president Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act removed Native American people from their tribal land, and placed them into reservations. Early on in the development of this act, the Supreme Court attempted to stand against it, however Jackson used his federal power to support it. 100,000 Indigenous People were deported, and 15,000 died. In 1862, 38 men who protested anti-indigenous laws were ordered to be hung. This was the biggest execution in American History. The men were protesting laws that allowed European settlers to steal natural resources that Native Americans depended on (Network Advocates).

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In these events, we are seeing the government and law defending White people stealing Native American people's land, and murdering Native American people when they try and speak against it. This is an example of how racism is deeply rooted in America's legal system. The events exhibit the theme of superiority as in both instances, the law favored white people over indigenous people, exhibiting the agenda of European dominance.

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1800s - 1900s: Catholic Assimilation of Indigenous People

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1800s - 1900s: Catholic Assimilation of Indigenous People

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Catholic Churches played a major part in Indigenous enslavement during the 19th century. Churches teamed up with the Federal government to force Christianity on Native people, starting the Catholic Assimilation of Indigenous People. During this time, children were separated from their families and sent to abusive boarding schools, where they were taught Catholism. As well as this, the President at the time, Ulysses S. Grant depicted Native American people in cruel, racist ways, such as "overgrown children and minors", which was a view shared by many churches as well. (Cossen).

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The forced assimilation of Indigenous People occured when the government and Catholic Church worked together to force Christianity on Indigenous People, abusing them in the process. This is an example of how the religious system in America has racist foundations, believing that European beliefs are better than indigenous beliefs, and should be forced on all non-european people. The belief that one religion is better than another demonstrates the theme of superiority.

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Works Cited

“1600-1754: Native Americans: Overview.” Encyclopedia.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2021.

“African Americans - The Civil War Era.” Encyclopedia Britannica : n. pag. Print.

Cohen, Rhaina. “An American Secret: The Untold Story of

Native American Enslavement.” NPR 20 Nov. 2017. Web. 22 Nov. 2021.

History.com Editors. “Why Columbus Day Courts Controversy.” HISTORY. N.p., 7 Oct. 2019. Web. 23 Nov. 2021.

Parkinson, Robert G. et al. “You Can’t Tell the Story of 1776 without Talking about Race and Slavery.” Time 4 July 2021. Web. 22 Nov. 2021.

“The Catholic Church’s Shameful History of Native American Abuses.” Washington post (Washington, D.C.: 1974) 20 Jan. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2021.

“The Legacy of Injustices against Native Americans - NETWORK Advocates.” Networkadvocates.org. N.p., 21 Mar. 2019. Web. 22 Nov. 2021.

“We and They in Colonial America.” Facinghistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2021.

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In the article, "The Legacy of Injustices Against Native Americans" (Used for Timeline Event 4), we can see that the author has a left-wing bias. The article states that it is important to recognize the history of racism against Indigenous People. It describes Native American life and tribes before European colonizers arrived. It then states that "From the first interactions with Native Americans to the modern day, white colonizers in North America have worked toward one thing: Theft" (Network Advocates). This exhibits left-wing bias as the author is striving to reach justice and equality between Indigenous People and White people by recognizing the racism against Native Americans. As we know, equality is a core left-wing value. At the end of the article, the author states that "We must all recommit to racial justice and work to dismantle the systems of white supremacy" (Network Advocates). Not only is this quote in support of Justice for all people, it states that it is against white supremacy. Because this author is against white supremacy, we know the author is standing up for equality.