Today’s first reading showed me exactly how rich whites in early America gradually turned a new land with potential for equality and prosperity into a land of continued oppression and systematic inequality. In my mind, it all begins with the need basic need to survive. Zinn describes the hardships that early settlers faced in terms of lack of food as he quotes Wilcomb Washburn on page 40, “there was genuine distress, and genuine poverty”. He continues to describe a “dry summer” that ruined the corn crop, leaving a lack of food, and destroyed the tobacco exports, leaving a lack of money. However, a small percentage of wealthy white businessmen and land owners were able to keep their head above water and survive more easily than the rest. This inequality would only grow, and eventually be used as a weapon by the wealthy elite to further their own agenda. As times in the colonies progressed, it got better for a few, and worse for many others. Zinn writes that in 1770, 1% of people owned 44% of the wealth of the country. A key point to remember here is that only landowners could vote. Therefore, as financial inequality progressed, the ability to vote and have a say in this new society became less available. At this time, poor whites were struggling, native Americans were struggling and victim to oppression, and imported African Americans were also persecuted.
At this point I began to think: “Why don’t the poor whites, native americans, and blacks join forces to push against the white elite?”. The more I read, I realized the answer to this stems back to biological human needs. Native Americans and blacks were kept at a distance from wealthy whites. However, poor whites were able to intermingle with both the rich whites as well as the Native Americans and the blacks. While native Americans and blacks had a population large enough for the poor whites to join and potentially overthrow the rich white elite, the poor whites wanted food, security, and community with the rich white elite. The white elite understood the potential for a revolt from poor whites, natives, and blacks, as Abbot Smith says, “it is a lively fear that the servants would join with Negroes or Indians to overcome the small number of masters” (pg. 53). However, rich whites used “concessions” (pg. 57) to the middle class, using them as a “buffer” pg. 54 to continue westward expansion. This Zinn describes this concession as the upper class using promises of “liberty” and “equality” that got their attention enough to push for a revolution against England, but not for the liberty and equality of those building the country, natives and blacks.
This chapter especially made me want to ask the question: “What if?” so many different times. What if the dry summer hadn’t caused such struggle and inequality, and the wealthy elite weren’t able to control the actions of the poor? What if poor whites would have joined forces with natives and blacks, rather than furthering the agenda of the wealthy elite? Would we have had to go through the systematic racial inequality in America if they had?
Great work, Michael. It’s hard to know the country we love was founded on racism by racists. I had a similar thought when you mentions the poor whites, blacks, and native Americans joining forces, but I thought about how if the 3 groups were to discuss such plans, there would still be racism among them. Even the poor whites would likely try to take all the power they can get from the situation and oppress the two groups, as he himself has been oppressed for his socio-economic status. It’s only human nature, great comment.