What was an American?
Western Europeans came to America
to start new lives, with new laws, a new social system but all in all to become
new men. In contrast African emigrants were brought to America to tend to the
needs of the settlers from Europe. They were brought over to be slaves. Each of
these views are views of St Jean de Crevecoeur and Fredrick Douglass.
St
Jean de Crevecoeur, was an emigrant of Europe. Crevecoeur, had no desire to go
back to the land in which his forefathers had lived. He was going to a more
diverse way of living “where all races melted into new race of man.” (pg 308) He
believed America was a place to go to be a free man, “who leaving behind him all
his ancient prejudices and manners, that he receives new ones from the new mode
of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he
hold.”(pg 308) Crevecoeur knew that his life as a new man would entail new ideas
and new opinions. Hoping that the new laws protect him, “from involuntary
idleness, servile dependence, penury and useless labor, he has passed to tolls
of very different nature, rewarded by ample subsistence.” (pg 308) Crevecoeur
lived the life of a free man in which he was paid for his labors, he owned land
and was a farmer. His view of an American, “is a new man, who acts upon new
principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions.” (pg
308)
Fredrick Douglass, was an African American and owned by an American. He
was taken care of in his early years by his grandmother and grandfather. Slave
children were children they could play and do what most children would do. The
only fear as a child was being seperated from his grandmother. Throughout,
Douglass’s life he taught himself to read and to write. He became a
knowledgeable man, which help him to succeed in being a free. However, Douglass
did go through the trials and tribulations of being a slave. He went through the
sleepless and hungry nights, and lashings. “Make a man a slave, and you rob him
of moral responsibility.” (pg 191) When Douglass describes America he describes
the beauties of nature and then the horrors of being a slave. “When I remembeer
that all is cursed with the infernal spirit of slaveholding, robbery and wrong.”
(pg 369) Douglass’s hardships lead to the hatred of American laws. “The entire
absence of everything that looked like prejudice against me, on account of the
color of my skin-contrasted so strongly with my long and bitter experience in
the United States.” After his escape from slavery he lived in the north until he
moved to Europe where he found the ways were different and everyone was treated
equally.
In both cases the America is viewed as two completely different
worlds. St Jean de Crevecoeur viewed America as new life full of excitement and
freedom.
However Fredrick Douglass viewed America as a beauty in nature but
a cruel in nurture.