Answer

Cultural and/or Racial Groups in American History

A culture is basically the beliefs, customs, and social norms of a specific social group. Additionally, culture is the way of life of a certain group of people (Henretta et al., 2018). Cultural traits and behaviors are passed from one generation to the next. Various primary sources found in the text have provide a glimpse into various cultural and racial groups.

            The native Indian culture is demonstrated as a group of people who were poor in everything because they did not have a holy religion and neither did they have clothes and other basics “Christopher Columbus, Journal of the First Voyage (1492),” chapter 1. According to this primary source document, the native Indian culture was based on friendship as opposed to hostility and the people seemed to be so lovely such that they welcomed visitors without knowing that they would be their colonizers. The humble and welcoming culture of the native Indians is clearly described in this primary source document. However, it is not lost that the manner in which Columbus describes the culture of the indigenous Indian populations as pegged on his misconceptions as a person observing the culture from outside.

            The aspect of culture can also be found in the “Petition from the Inhabitants of Orange County, North Carolina (1770),” chapter 4-6. In specific, the inhabitants of the Orange County show that they are people who believed in God. In specific, in the preamble of their later. They argue that it is a known maxim that no law, statute, or customs considered to be against God’s laws and principles of nature can be held to be valid. Since culture consists of the customs and beliefs of a social group, then this primary source demonstrates that the culture of the Orange County inhabitants was based on the belief in the law of God as well as the principles of nature. Since the author of this primary source was one of the residents of the county, emotions might have drove him into being biased.

            “Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (1781),” chapter 7-2, demonstrates the nature of a good society based on Jefferson’s view of the state of Virginia and the culture of people in the state. In specific, according to Jefferson, the culture of a good society was incarnated by the state of Virginia. The description of the culture of Virginia is; however, biased because of the personal presence of Jefferson to the manner in which the Virginia society was operating. For instance, Jefferson’s claim that whites were supreme and that the church ought to be separated from the state are based on his personal preferences and views as opposed to the actual he beliefs of people in the state of Virginia. As such, Jefferson’s notes on the state of Virginia might be biased considering he was a resident of Virginia.

            The culture of Kansas as a proslavery state is well demonstrated by “Harles Sumner, The Crime of Kansas (1856),” chapter 12-4. In specific, this primary source argues that the proslavery constitution of Kansas was promoting a culture of slavery and a crime against humanity. This writing evidences that the people of Kansas including some of the political leaders promoted a culture of inequality and slavery where some people were treated as bosses while other were viewed as lesser. However, it should not be forgotten that the author of this primary source was an anti-slavery crusader. As such, his views and writings might be biased because of his inclination towards the abolition of slavery and slave trade.