Saturday, September 6, 2008
Captain John Smith Sells America
Norton Anthology tells us that the first settlement in Virginia (Roanoke) was a disaster, and that consequently, the second trip was financed on a more "corporate" model--one where the funding generally came from merchants (not the aristocracy). This is important to what happens later. Smith's essay becomes a "sales pitch" for coming to America and settling down there. The idea, of course, is to make it profitable for the investors. If we think about it this way, we can see why he makes less of the danger and talks much more about the beauty and richness of soil, plant and animal life, and the possibilities for getting rich there. England itself was in need of the infusion of resources that were shipped back, and there were plenty of poor people who were willing to take a chance on a better life. This is the beginning of the "American Dream," and it still exists today--even outside of the political haymaking on it.
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4 comments:
I personally think that you've hit upon one of the more unique factors about John Smith; his keen business sense. His practice of "selling" America was not fueled by religious plight, and the potential human resources (Native Americans) was not an overwhelming factor to his decision. Instead, he pitches America in the veins of a common informercial. In this way, America would look much more desirable than the currently in-turmoil England.
Mathew's talking about something that permeates the settling and progress of America, right down to the Federalists and the early framers of the Constitution. The best argument for the Revolutionary War was economic, and these arguments also ring true in the 21st century...we are a nation of salesmen, brokers, and traders; always have been, always will be. And we are always swayed by these arguments.
What's interesting is to think now about how we advertise for the American dream. Where we've strayed from Smith and his cohorts - thinking of the hardly tainted land he was writing about and how most land today has been purchased or mulled over several times. It's hard to believe how much has changed over the centuries.
I agree with Mathews opinion and yours for that matter. Smith knew how to properly sell America to the people that could conquest it. He promoted the abundance of natural resources, something that tiny England lacked. As well as topography and geography that was unlike anything in Western Europe, which only alluded to the curiosity of the financers.
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