Essay Sample on Cultural Values of Early Republic

Economy

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The Republicans ended up cutting down the use of labor from slaves in their practice of agriculture with no ready substitute for the same. The slave trade in the South represented an enormous financial investment and with the repeal of the Manumission Act, slavery further played a critical role in the definition of the financial stability of the south which stabilized as the provision of free labor continued.

Social Mobility

Social mobility had minimal occurrences as most slaves became tied to their workplaces and could not easily move within the region, it contributed towards underdevelopment since room for new ideas had no space. The minimal occurrences of social mobility ensured that the African Americans could not pose any threat to the natives. In this regard, the condition provided that development could take effect as security was in check.

Technological Innovation

There existed minimal room for technological innovation as the whites had entirely depended upon cheap labor from the slaves. To them, there was a little essence of making use of machinery in agricultural practices for instance. Reliance on cheap labor from the slaves ensured that they got supplies free of charge and in most cases processing of the raw materials could still rely on the provision of labor from the slaves. Apparently, the region enjoyed maximum profits with its hard stand on the ideology.

Education

Grant of education opportunities to whites was encouraged as they represented the superior race and to a large extent quality of teaching also depended on the class of living. This form of discrimination ensured that development in the South lagged behind. Education and its accompanying practices could not help but build a morally weak society. Equal opportunities for both African American and aristocratic class could enable both races to compete for equal employment which then would bring conflicts. Locking out the African Americans could still not harm the economy as the whites represented the majority of inhabitants in the South.

Cultural Diversity

Cultural diversity could have no encouragement as there was a minimum contract between the African Americans and their masters. The existence of cultural diversity could prove disastrous to the Republicans as a rise in the number aristocrats could pose a threat to the unity of the south. Maintenance of the whites with a standard set of culture assured them of progress.

The predominant cultural values of aristocratic republicanism doomed the South to become culturally and economically underdeveloped during the first half of the 19th century.

Aristocratic republicanism represented an ideology that suppressed liberty and property rights. It facilitated a culture of inferiority on the side of the black slaves in the South. Even as the New York Emancipation Act had temporarily abolished slavery, there existed a general feeling that slavery, contributed much to underdevelopment in the South (Acquah, 2010, p. 176). Due to the subjection of the African American to the discrimination, most visitors (who were major investors) from the rest of the world noted that human bondage corrupted that society. As the slaves worked, the wealthy whites engaged in heavy drinking which showed no regard for work ethics and to this effect, the extravagant lifestyle soon led most of them to untold suffering as they could not invest their money wisely (Acquah, 2010, p. 170). These practices could not help but build a morally weak society which could still reflect on the poor economic states of the South as the North progressed due its change of stand in matters pertaining slavery.

Response:

In response to the argument that aristocratic republicanism contributed to cultural and economic underdevelopment, there is clarity of a growing southern region as far as republicanism is concerned. The area experienced one of the best financial stability in America after the repeal of the Manumission Act since all capitalists, would ideally rely on cheap labor for making huge profits (O’hara, 2007, p.71). Cheap labor from the slaves ensured that they got supplies free of charge and in most cases, processing of the raw materials could still rely on the provision of labor from the slaves. Apparently, the region enjoyed maximum profits with its hard stand on the ideology.

In another instance, the doctrine ensured that the whites remained superior compared to the African Americans. It only means that whites enjoyed a monopoly of services such as education, various employment opportunities and many other factors that are critical in instilling a given culture (O’hara, 2007, p.70). Denial of these privileges to African-Americans would ensure that the south becomes distinct in their culture as they could uphold their set of values according to their beliefs and practices. Incorporating the African Americans to enjoy similar privileges would not only hurt the system but also create unnecessary conflicts as they would wish to have their distinct cultural practices.

References

Acquah, E. & Hushak, L. (2010). Human Capital and Labor Turnover in Manufacturing Industries: The Case of a Relatively Undeveloped Region in Southeast Ohio. Southern Journal Of Agricultural Economics, 10(02), 171-176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0081305200014552

O'Hara, J. (2007). Aristocratic and Confederate Republicanism in Hamiltonian Thought and Practice. Publius: The Journal Of Federalism, 38(1), 56-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/publius/pjm034