Quote:
Originally Posted by fivehundredyearwinter
[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]
See this is where things get weird, because the primary form of Christianity in the USA was born almost entirely from the Reformation and it's descendants and still had the 'top down authority' vibes you're talking about. You'll see in old census records that many reverends and respectable sorts were fairly wealthy landowners. In fact landowning was a requirement for voting rights initially, ensuring the continued 'top-down authority', at least until the Revolutionary War came. Then every state went its own way in deciding who could vote, there were multiple hiccups which even lead to New Jersey having to qualify that saying 'all persons' does not include women, black people, children, non-landowners, and/or those who don't pay taxes. (Religious restrictions also existed in a fair few states, Maryland finally allowed Jewish people to vote in 1828)
The vibes get stronger when it came to the institution of slavery, where the 'Curse of Ham' and the need to keep black people enslaved so they can remain Christian rather than fall back into paganism were used as justification by some more holy-minded slave owners.
In fact it wasn't even until the mid to late 1880s that we begin to see the 'American Self-Help' spirit actually form, as literacy continued exploding post-Civil War and there were huge shake ups on all sides of traditional power structures.
So in the end, things are quite messy.
|
Fascinating history lesson. Thank you. The death of half a million American men during the Civil War probably took out quite a bit of that 'top down authority' energy the USA initially had. Subsequently so much discovery and invention occurred in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century due to regular people getting a crack at things for the first time. Humans became creatures of flight via Aviation from folks like the Wright Brothers tinkering away without a boss telling them not to.
Maybe we're all just getting started in the whole scheme of things. The best days of humanity may be in front of us.