Most of the American colonies have people from different cultural backgrounds since the earliest historical eras. This multiculturalism was one of the main causes of conflicts and tensions in the American societies and still persisted disguised as racial discrimination which up to the late 20th century was allowed by some laws like the law of segregation. These conflicts and tensions thrived due to the fact that different people held different perspectives towards the same action or event. As a result, the conflict in ideas led to great tensions and at times turned bloody making a lot of people to lose their lives. According to early American history, the main driving forces of these conflicts and tensions included greed, believes and religion (William, paragraph 2).
Attempting to deduce this tension and conflicts from literary works presented at that time, the paper first alludes to a paper by John Smith. The opening statements act as an eye opener that any event, occasion, or event witnessed by more than one person will have a probability of almost one of resulting in a conflict. This can be related to the different approaches that a person can use to approach the situation at hand. In his literacy work, this settler came into Jamestown, an American colony, with too many people meant for the wrong job. The town required a lot of manual labor to develop but the people who came, as settlers were not ready to supply the labor. This resulted in a tension that was claimed to be because of social status segregation but in the real sense, it was a product of more than just a difference in social classes. In his literature still, Smith tries to explain what would have led to the tension. He was required to work for him to eat since he was born a commoner and the leaders (soft handed) were not ready to take part in developing the town of Jamestown. This created a lot of tension in the society. Plymouth was not left behind either. The main cause of the conflicts were the same as those in Jamestown but also included some religion. This makes this paper to look at some of the most historic conflicts and tensions that existed in the American colonies (Price, paragraph 3- 4).
Though many tensions reigned to colonies, the major ones can be claimed to have resulted from cultural division. A good example was the tension that existed between the English speakers and other people in the colonies. The English speakers often mistreated the others and even attempted to change them into English speakers. The law of segregation heightened racism in the region resulting in more tension. Racism acted as the most powerful source of tension and conflicts as different races termed themselves much more important than others. This is what led to demonstrations in the US streets in 1760s all through to 1873 when the English speakers allowed the others to retain part of their original languages. In the 20th century, the tension has been witnessed on many occasions whereby the black were treated as lesser human beings and law of segregation allowed for this.
After numerous demonstrations and great heroic actions by African leaders like martin Luther king junior, this segregation ended easing the tension (William, paragraph 6).
The major conflicts witnessed on the American soil can also be traced back to racial tension that existed in the American colonies. Taking an example from the ancient America, the French- Indian war was one of the major conflicts, which were based on races. The second conflict was the French-Briton conflict over who should posses, which land. These conflicts can be claimed to have been sparked by the tension that existed between these two colonizers. These conflicts were followed by smaller inter-tribe conflicts and lastly the revolutionary conflict that helped put all the Americans regardless of their cultural origin on an equal platform in law enforcement (Samuel, paragraph 5).
Relating these conflicts, tensions, and literary work of the times, the literature used was biased since it gave only one side of the story. If the work were from an Indian writer, it would be inclined to justifying the Indian innocence in the conflict while condemning the other party for the conflict or tension. This was also evident in slogans used by leaders like martin Luther king junior in his speeches. This made the work to appear heroic to one party while offensive to the other party involved.
In conclusion, though the American history presents a lot to be desired, a lot of exaggerations and omissions were also possible. This makes one to be required to understand the literacy works of the time well before making any argument for or against the work presented.
Works cited
Alexander W, West Virginia: A History for Beginners Appalachian Editions, 2003 print
William B. American Literature before the Civil War, 2011 retrieved from http://ebooks.apus.edu.ezproxy2.apus.edu/LITR220/Perkins_2011_week3.pdfPrice, D. Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Heart of a New Nation. 2011. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/apus/Doc?id=10046435&ppg=10
Samuel W Conflicts with White Settlers, 2012 Retrieved from www.studymode.com/essays/Conflicts-With-White-Settlers-946531.html
