History classes are wasted on the young. Even if the
formal history classes given to youth in each country focus on ideas, not dry
facts, national educational systems tend to treat their national history as a
unique, local and time-specific set of circumstances and ignore the universal
human elements. For example, early US history, until the American Civil War,
seems to involve a unique blend of elements: a distant, isolated continent; a
relative but not entirely benevolent democracy in England; and the political
complexity of disunited religious sects and native American tribes. On the
other hand, certain dynamic factors shaped its development, elements that can
affect history at any time and place. These factors include the sense of
entitlement by the majority, the impact of governmental institutionalization of
religion and the creation of existential intertribal conflict. A look at the
world today provides clear evidence that these trends are as alive and well worldwide as
they were several hundred years ago.
Early US history involved never-ending conflict,
internal and external. Each of the original thirteen colonies was the product
of a land grant from the British government to a group of religious “weirdos”,
who did not wish to accept the authority of the Church of England. The most
notable were the Quakers in Pennsylvania. They not only did not accept the
authority of the official church but also rejected their fellow exiled sects in
North America. As such, they experienced the consequences of state-recognized religion.
British democracy at the time, even if rather liberal for its age, did not
allow British non-landowners or women to vote, not to mention distant
colonists. Thus, the American rebel slogan “no taxation without representation”
is a complaint that the English government’s majority was imposing its will on
a minority, a non-voting one at that. Consequently, when called upon to ratify
the US Constitution, the voters insisted on minority protection in the first
ten amendments to the US Constitution. The economic crises were often a result
of the standard agricultural practice of its time (and still used in the
Amazon): slash and burn. Settlers would cut down a forest, burn it and grow
crops for seven years or so until the soil lost its fertility. The consequence
of this practice was the constant need for virgin land, which was primarily
east of the Appalachian Mountains. The British prevented expansion but once the
new American republic was founded, the land rush began. The results were a
series of wars between the Americans and Indians marked by cruelty and
massacres by both sides. Some good-intentioned people tried to calm the spirits
but ultimately to no avail. It became an “all or nothing” struggle, one that has
left a legacy of hate and regret. All these struggles may sound limited to
America of that time.
However, the concept of the tyranny of the majority
remains an issue today. Many people ask whether having a majority of one in an
elected body should allow the government to pass any law it wants. Many a
dictatorship has developed or is developing from a democratically elected
government, one law at a time. It appears that the Founding Fathers of America
were correct to worry more about abuse of power than the inefficient use of power. The
relevance of formal power limits remains.
As for religion, the separation of Church and State,
an essential concept in American civil law, may not be popular among the most
fervent religious believers. However, the national attitude towards religion seems to
have an inverse relationship to its status in the government. Where religion is
a private matter, it tends to thrive. For example, quite a high percentage of Americans have
a marked religious identity. Where the religion becomes linked to government
money and jobs, many people develop an antipathy towards the religion. It is amazing how fast the vast majority of Russians gave up Christianity after the Russian Revolution. As no
religion is truly monolithic in its approach despite all of its efforts to enforce one,
creating an official version tends to alienate dissenters and create conflict. As
atheistic as the division of Church and State may sound, it actually
strengthens religion.
One of the most tragic aspects of early American
history is the wars between the Indians and Americans. The conflict was long
and cruel. The leaders also framed it as “existential” as each group claimed that the land, all of it,
belonged to it. Thus, as revenge led to revenge and more cruelty,
politicians tapped into and fed this anger for their own purpose, creating a
national tragedy. Even today, in certain parts of the United States, this hate
remains for no reason and nobody’s benefit. It would be wonderful today to be able to state that
such a struggle was an 18th-century phenomenon but today,
unfortunately, there are too many violent and hateful ethnic struggles involving
taking all the land and eliminating the enemy. Some politicians encourage this
verbal and, far too often, physical violence, creating even more hatred. It
takes courage to stand up and insist that the enemy is human also. That courage
was lacking then and is lacking now.
History does not truly repeat itself as events occur
in a specific set of circumstances. However, the forces shaping the dynamics of
any particular situation exist at all times, generally latent, until conditions
release them. As adults responsible for the future of our children, we need to
study history to learn how to avoid releasing the forces of destruction and,
maybe, just as important, how to unleash the powers of construction.
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