Throughout Morrison and Stewart’s Race and the Early Republic: Racial Consciousness and Nation Building in the Early Republic, authors such as James P. Ronda and Lacy K. Ford use varying methodologies to present their arguments. In the form of a synthesis of other authors’ works to reinforce their case, Ronda and Lacy weave a tapestry of primary and secondary sources whose context is made clear through narrative-like descriptions and analytical probing. Using references to other authors whose work appears within this synthesis of essays as well as popularly known primary sources, these authors successfully convey their ideals within their essays and in some cases provide further context information within their notes.
Just as important as the author’s research methodologies is their identity, whether it be their profession as it relates to the topic of their research and publication, or the author’s previous research and past or present publications. The context of the author is just as important as the context of the arguments within their writings, because once one understands the context of their author it is easier to identify any biases or predispositions they may have towards the subject of their works. In the case of Ford and Ronda, both authors are history professors at highly acclaimed universities, and have researched and published material relating to the subject of their essay within this synthesis[1]. Just as Ronda has researched and written about American westward expansion and the journeys of Lewis and Clark, the aforementioned essay is an argument surrounding the invention of “Indian territory” and the true identity of the landscape used as the expansive United States’ depository for Native Americans using the accounts of such explorers as Lewis and Clark to support his thesis. Likewise, just as Lacy’s previous research regards the antebellum political culture of Jacksonian America, the thesis of his aforementioned essay surrounds the Jacksonian political culture of the various divisions of the southern slave-holding states in juxtaposition with non slaveholding states of the union[2].
The thesis of Ronda’s “We Have a Country: Race, Geography, and the Invention of Indian Territory” is made prevalent within the first page of the essay, stating
In the first three decades of the nineteenth century,
Ronda worked to support his thesis through the integration of such primary sources as the writings of such politicians, bureaucrats and explorers as Edwin James, Washington Irving, and Thomas Jefferson to portray the contradictory landscape descriptions of the designated “Indian Territory”; as well as the editorials of John Ross to place emphasis on the commercial economy of the socio-economically stable Cherokee who were intended to be relocated to the arguably unfit “
Ford’s thesis is not as clearly identified as Ronda’s thesis, however it is surprisingly made prevalent in the last pages of the essay, stating
By linking Whiteness so closely with the prerogatives and rights of citizenship and political participation, the Jacksonian construction of racial modernity defined not merely the south but the entire American nation-state as a “white man’s country”. Thus racial modernity shaped a powerful national self-definition that would grudgingly [replace] its gender dimension well before the Civil Rights Movement of the mid twentieth century[7].
As shown throughout his reference notes, Ford used such primary sources as the speeches presented at the Virginia House of Delegates as well as the personal letters of politicians like John Marshall to provide an analysis of context to help the reader better comprehend the political circumstances surrounding the argument Ford wishes to impose. Ford also uses his reference notes for such ingenious means as the clarification of such expressions found throughout his essay as “exclusion”; and to provide further contextual information which would have distracted from the thesis if placed in the essay, yet may be helpful for understanding the broader topic of the synthesis[8]. Adversely, Ronda’s reference notes simply list the citation for the sources he used, providing no further explanation or analysis of the material he used. Although it shows the prevalent primary and secondary sources Ronda used throughout his essay, it provides only that; a mere list lacking any elucidation whatsoever.
As shown throughout Lacy and Ronda’s reference notes, both authors used a high amount of monographs in their research of their aforementioned topics. For example, Ronda’s Bibliography consists completely of monographs, written by such well accredited historians as George A. Schulz, Gary E. Moulton, and Gregory H. Nobles. These monographs include such relevant material as a surplus of contextual information surrounding Ronda’s New Social History research into the formation of “
Lacy and Ronda embrace the New Social History approach to the study of their thesis, placing emphasis on the contextual influences on the actions of ordinary people who played roles just as significant yet not as popularly researched as other political and religious figures involved. Basing their research on both primary and secondary sources, Ronda and Lacy successfully convey and support their thesis while continuing the ongoing conversation of historians that is so prevalent throughout the synthesis. These analyses of race in the early republic successfully provide a synthesis of other authors’ research into the topic of racial consciousness.
Works cited
Morrison, M.J. Stewart, J.B. Race and the Early Republic: Racial Consciousness and
[1] Michael J Mirrison, James Brewer Stewart, Race and the Early Republic: Racial Consciousness and
[2] Ibid see chapters 7&8, and pp. 201-203
[3] James P. Ronda “We Have a Country: Race, Geography, and the Invention of Indian Territory” found in Michael J Morrison, James Brewer Stewart, Race and the Early Republic: Racial Consciousness and Nation Building in the Early Republic. Rowman & Litlefield publishers Inc. USA. 2002
[4] Ibid. pp. 167-169
[5] Ibid. pp. 169-171
[6] Ibid. p. 143
[7] Lacy K. Ford Jr. “Making the White Man’s Country White: Race, Slavery, and
[8] Ibid. pp. 154-155
[9] Ibid. pp. 173-175
[10] Ibid pp. 157-158
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment