Idea of Americanism: Descriptive Essay

America is a contradiction. It’s core constitutional values rest on prosperity, and the idea that all men are created equal, and yet was built and is thriving off of the systematic oppression and domination of people of color. It could be argued that the American culture hinges on on a widespread set of views, norms and beliefs, rather than true democratic norms. Without a doubt, from a young age we’re indoctrinated by Americanism. Activities such as learning the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem, serve as a tool utilized to limit any form of disobedience to our country and flag. In the same way, there is a sense of preserving Americanism and regarding it as sacred, which is vital to American culture.

These ideologies are so entrenched into contemporary society, that many see the denouncement of Americanism as unpatriotic and disrespectful; the most relevant example being Colin Kaepernick. In discussing America specifically, America maintains one of the longest standing democracies in history, which may be in part to these practices and norms we seek to maintain. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to credit the validity of American democracy, without a willingness to recognize the basis on which the nation was established. American democracy is not as substantive as many believe, due to the use of illiberal voter suppression tactics, and the ill-treatment and exploitation of people on the basis of race.

Place an order

To begin, one of the key elements of democracy includes the right to vote, in many cases it’s even seen as a duty or obligation. Voting is key to many modern democracies because it generates representation among political figures. Plus, it allows for those not in the political arena to appoint who will be governing public and private life. Explicitly taking away voting rights from citizens would be depriving us of the most fundamental privilege, and erasing any means of political choice or freedom. Rather, certain tactics are implemented to target certain communities, that either lower the chances of people from that community voting or stop them from voting altogether. These are recognized as voter suppression laws; legislation that reduces the chances of voting from a certain group, who are likely to be against a certain candidate or proposition.

According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, such penal laws were first introduced after the Civil War reconstruction, and primarily affected African-American people, despite the 14th and 15th amendments ensuring their right to vote. Despite popular belief, there was a period of time in which African Americans were granted the right to vote, freedom of speech and civil liberties, however, this all changed once reconstruction ended in 1877 and federal troops withdrew from the old confederacy These rights were soon systematically stripped by racist government who, at the time were Democrats, and keen on preserving the sanctity of whiteness in America. Since federal troops were no longer there to defend the political rights of African Americans, they became vulnerable at the grave threats of white employers and senseless violence from the Klu Klux Klan: a white supremacist hate organization that was most active during the reconstruction south.

Used forms of these undemocratic practices included poll taxes, which required voters to pay two years prior to an election. This primarily affected poverty-stricken areas in which many African-Americans resided. In addition to poll taxes, literacy tests were popular and considered the most effective form of voter discrimination. Literacy tests required a potential voter to read a part of the constitution and explain it to a voter clerk, who was always white. (CRF 1). It was then up to the clerk to decide if the potential voter was literate or not. These literacy tests affected almost all black men who were never taught to read, while their white counterparts were virtually always given a sentence to read and or interpret.

In addition, the grandfather clause was used as a form of voter suppression in the way that it only granted those whose grandfathers were able to vote before the civil war, the right to vote themselves. This was first enacted by Mississippi in 1895 but was soon mimicked by other southern states after it was deemed effective. With the right to vote being reduced, African-Americans found themselves with little to no influence over laws, local policies, schools, taxes, or public courts. As mentioned by authors Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky in How Democracies Die “the disenfranchisement of African Americans preserved white supremacy and democratic dominance in the South, which helped maintain the democrats’ national viability”(124). Although voter suppression laws were first us