Synchristopher Columbus Thesis

MyChristopher Columbus "discovery" of America in 1776 was in reality an exploration that lead to the conquest and colonization of land already home to millions of people. This did however begin a pivotal moment in history that affected the Old and New World, with changes that are still current today. Along with the conquest of land the differing views of the Indians and Europeans opened different contradictory interpretations about freedom especially within religion, land use, and government.pectives . Many Indians of the North America based their religious ceremonies in farming and hunting, viewing nature as a world of spirits and souls. In contrast with the European idea of religious freedom which meant leaving the life of sin to embrace

Many Europeans took advantage of the Indians view on land as a common resource rather than an economic commodity. Generosity being one of the Indians most valued qualities, Indians didn’t care much for accumulation of wealth or materialistic goods rather their willingness to share goods. Instead of private property Indians would assign pieces of land to live to specific families and offer tribes land for hunting, leaving leftover land free for all. Unlike Indians though, Europeans believed land was the basis of liberty. Since North American Indians lacked the techniques Europeans had mastered such as metal tools, machines, gunpowder, and scientific knowledge Europeans found this as their justification for conquest. Besides the fact that Indians had no real claim to the land they didn’t cultivate or hunt in, many Colonial authorities forced Indians to sell their land in North America through treaties right after they suffered a military defeat. The New World became a site of unfree labor such as indentured servitude, forced labor, and plantation slavery. American freedom had already been linked with the availability of land in the West, between 1790 and 1840 when about 4.5 million people crossed the Appalachian Mountains. While the accommodation of land provided new opportunities and increased freedom for Europeans, it

The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments all had a great part, each ending with a clause saying, "Congress shall have the power to enforce this amendment." Basically, it offered Congress the right to defend the general rights of American citizens. But this also gave way for the limitation and violation of the basic rights of Indians and Blacks. In 1868 Congress adopted the Fifteenth Amendment (ratified in 1870) which prohibited the federal and state government from denying any citizen the right to vote because of race. Despite the fact that the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments started a transformation ending slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment was proposed to give residency to the African-American former slaves but not to Indians. The Fourteenth Amendment specifically declared that anybody born in the United States is a citizen, that all citizens regardless of race are to enjoy the same basic rights, and that no state can deprive a citizen of those rights; and it empowers the federal government to override and oversee the actions of the states that might interfere with the privileges and immunities of American