Midterm 1
I believe the page numbers are different because it's an online version, and depending on my
font size, the pages change.​
Q1​
Manifest Destiny was the belief that white Americans were destined to expand across the
continent, justified as a moral and racial mission (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 94). Caucasian Democracy
refers to the U.S. political system centered on white male power, excluding Indigenous peoples
and non-whites (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 63). Continental Imperialism describes U.S. expansion
across North America, acquiring land through force and treaty (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 82). The
Monroe Doctrine asserted U.S. dominance in the Americas and blocked European influence
(Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 98). The Louisiana Purchase doubled U.S. territory but ignored Indigenous
sovereignty (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 78), and trading posts served as tools to control Native nations
economically (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 51). The War of Mexican Conquest allowed the U.S. to seize
Mexican land (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 102), leading to Mexican racialization, which positioned
Mexicans as inferior despite treaty protections (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 104). The Lewis and Clark
Expedition mapped and claimed western lands, preparing them for settlement and military
control (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 80).
These terms connect through white supremacy and settler colonialism: expansion, conquest,
and racial hierarchies reinforced Anglo-centric power. Today, similar ideologies appear in border
militarization, anti-immigrant policies, and land exploitation (Week 4 PowerPoint).
Q2
Race is a socially constructed category based on perceived physical differences, while
ethnicity refers to shared culture, language, or ancestry (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 63). For example,
someone might identify as Asian American (ethnicity) but be classified racially as Asian (race).
Racial formation explains how society creates, transforms, and assigns meaning to racial
categories over time (Week 5 PowerPoint). Race as classification shows that these categories
are arbitrary and historically specific (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 65). Racialization is the process of
imposing social meaning onto perceived differences. Laws enforced these classifications, such
as the Fugitive Slave Clause, colonial slave codes, the 1790 Census and Naturalization
Acts, and racial interpretations of the Second Amendment (Dunbar-Ortiz, pp. 63–66). The
historical construction of race connects race to social, legal, and economic systems,
demonstrating that race has no biological basis. Examples include slavery, segregation, and
legal limits on citizenship, showing how law and history produce racial meaning (Week 5
PowerPoint).
Q3
Racial capitalism describes how racial hierarchies are created and exploited to generate
economic profit (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 64). The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade forcibly moved millions
of Africans to the Americas, providing labor for the growing slaveocracy, the ruling class that
profited from slavery (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 65). Chattel slavery and property connected human
beings to capitalist property relations, treating enslaved people as both labor and legal property
(Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 66). Seasoning was the brutal process of breaking enslaved Africans into
compliant laborers, ensuring they could be “productive” property (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 67). Together,
these terms show how race and property were intertwined to create a capitalist system reliant
on exploitation, racial hierarchies, and the commodification of human life (Week 5 PowerPoint).
Q4
Settler colonialism is a system in which settlers come to stay, displace Indigenous peoples,
and claim sovereignty over their lands, differing from colonialism, which primarily extracts
resources without permanent settlement (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 22). Sovereignty of Indigenous
nations was denied to justify land seizure. Enlightenment ideas, especially those of John
Locke, supported property rights and rationalized land as empty or unused, linking to the
Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius, which framed Indigenous lands as legally claimable
(Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 30). The process of settlement relied on claiming property and converting it
into real estate for settlers. Firsting and Lasting refers to settlers marking historical narratives
to legitimize occupation and erase Indigenous presence (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 35). Together, these
ideas and practices allowed the United States to establish an Anglo-centric, settler colonial
nation under the guise of progress and legal ownership (Week 4 PowerPoint)
Q5
Mythology plays a central role in shaping national identity and justifying historical inequalities. In
class, we examined myths such as the idea that the United States is a “nation of immigrants”
and that expansion was peaceful and inevitable (Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 5). These national narratives
serve to obscure settler colonialism, racialization, and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples.
Mythology reinforces social cohesion for dominant groups while erasing marginalized histories
(Week 2 PowerPoint). Other myths in education and media include the glorification of
Columbus, the “discovery” of the Americas, and the narrative of meritocracy, which ignores
systemic oppression. Debunking these myths helps reveal the historical and ongoing power
structures that shaped the U.S., connecting history, law, and race to the stories we are told
(Dunbar-Ortiz, p. 10).
Q6
In My Documents, the media plays a role in normalizing injustices by presenting harmful policies
as reasonable or inevitable, such as the push for the American Advanced Protections Initiative
(Nguyen, p. 52). Conservative media amplifies fear, while even mainstream outlets may
legitimize these ideas through selective coverage, shaping public perception. Media can both
advance and resist harmful ideologies: it can reinforce oppression or expose injustice. Today,
traditional media sometimes mirrors this by framing immigrants or marginalized communities as
threats. Social media, however, provides a platform for activism, awareness, and
counter-narratives, allowing marginalized voices to challenge dominant stories and mobilize for
justice. Nguyen’s novel highlights the power of information in shaping social and political
realities.
Q7
Compliance in advance refers to people or institutions following rules or expectations before
being forced, often out of fear, social pressure, or perceived inevitability (Nguyen, p. 88). In My
Documents, many Vietnamese comply with authorities to avoid punishment, even when unjust,
highlighting the moral and psychological pressures of systemic oppression. Media outlets,
corporations, and government agencies may also comply in advance with dominant ideologies
to maintain power or avoid criticism. Dan can recognize that compliance does not reflect
weakness but survival within coercive systems. Historically, this occurs in contexts like the
Fugitive Slave Laws or Japanese internment, and today we see similar behavior in communities
or institutions adhering to discriminatory policies to avoid repercussions.
Q8
American Studies, from what I’ve learned in this class, is about understanding the United States
as a complex society shaped by history, race, culture, and power. Unlike history or political
science alone, it combines multiple disciplines to explore how ideas, laws, media, and everyday
life connect. This class showed me that American Studies examines myths, such as the U.S.
being a “nation of immigrants,” and asks who benefits from them. It’s useful today because it
helps us recognize ongoing systems of inequality, like racial capitalism and settler colonialism,
and challenges us to think critically about current events, media, and national narratives. As a
student, it has given me tools to question assumptions and understand the U.S. more deeply.