Into the West

Thanks to the glories of Tivo, I have recently been sucked into the TNT/Spielberg production, "Into the West." For those who have not seen the program, the story takes place during the mid-nineteenth century as the fictional Wheeler family of Virginia makes their way westward in search of adventure and fortune. I find the show interesting because, in a very Forest Gump-like way, it places various family members in the midst of the dominant historical events of the time.

I am particularly intrigued by Spielberg's portrayal of east meets west. The cultural collision that occurs when the industrialized, white Americans begin to settle among the Stone-Aged, hunter/gatherer American Indian tribes brings to mind images of a sci-fi, earthling/alien encounter or Planet of the Apes. I certainly have a great deal of pity for the Indians who were, in essence, steamrolled by the blitzkrieg expansion of the continental American empire. It makes me wonder, if the western lands had been physically held by the Spanish, or another European nation, would the US government have continued to encourage the westward expansion with such zeal? My gut feeling is, no. Intuitively, I tend to think that the US policy of pushing the Indians aside was part and parcel to the racist view that the American-Indian, like the African, was inferior to white-European culture.

Somewhat relatedly, in hindsight, I think that both the tribal leadership and the US government failed to advance the progress of their peoples, and humankind, despite being given the opportunity to do so. These two converging civilizations, like so many others throughout history, had a chance to chart a new path in the human experience and thus provide a revolutionary example of the moral superiority embodied in the larger American experiment. However, both camps reverted to age-old ills of xenophobia and violence. I think that this failure can be partly traced to their respective inadequate (in the case of the whites) or nonexistent (in the case of the Indians) understanding of private property rights and individualism. As for the Indians, their culture was consumed with tribal wars that were largely the result of territorial disputes over hunting grounds and the like. The absence of established legal title to lands contributed to the perpetual state of war between neighboring tribes and emboldened the American expansionists to lay claim to these "un-owned" lands. Equally important, the Indians were communal mystics who believed that their collectivist culture should remain homogeneous and untainted by white culture. These two elements played a major role in shaping the white-American view of the Indians as old world savages that could not peacefully coexist within the American melting pot. Nonetheless, the racist conception of "Manifest Destiny" cannot be justified, irregardless of the Indian's separatist, anti-assimilationist attitudes. The fact remains, the US government did not recognize the individual, natural rights of the Indians (despite its supposed reverence to the Declaration of Independence) and thus did not respect their right to claim ownership of the western lands which they inhabited.

UPDATE: Welcome Right-Coaster's and thanks to my former law professor and fellow history-buff, Mike Rappaport, for the link!