Colin Calloway's "New Worlds for All" Essay Example

Various scholars and historians have conceptualized and reconstructed the history of the modern day America with the aim of attaining an understanding of the multiple forces that have shaped the continent. Some of them have idealized America continent as land that had not been occupied before the coming of the Europeans. Many authors have put in writing, the amalgamated culture in America, with an attempt at giving a clear picture of how the American culture and heritage came into existence. However, just like many other historians including James Axtell and Bernard Bailyn, Colin G. Calloway in his "New Worlds for All "delves into providing a systematic recapture of the American past. The author focuses on looking at how the Native Americans, majorly Red Indians interacted with the incoming Europeans, changing each other in the process and eventually giving birth to a new set of culture. The author explores the interactions and changes that occurred between the Europeans in diverse areas such as medicine, warfare, ideology, religion, and land. Calloway, in his work, stipulates that neither the colonizers nor the American natives were able to retain their cultures and heritages after they had interacted. The paper set to succinctly analyses the "New worlds for all," with emphasis on the intertwined cultures and heritage of the native and the colonial people of America.

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The history professor has made in his book, a thematic sequence of how the American culture came to be. He goes explaining chapter by chapter, the chronological account of how the American new way of life happened to be. The arrangement of each topic per chapter has made the work more comfortable to read and understand, making it an excellent piece for anyone who may want to understand the history of America. Giving an account of the encounter between the Native Americans and the immigrants, the author of the book "New world for all," vividly points out the fact that the different groups interacted in different ways. In an attempt to explain the cultural interconnection which led to the formation of modern America, Calloway recognizes the fact that the Indians were the native occupants of the American land. The author points out that the modern day America is a combination of different ways of lives. In his book, "New worlds for all," Calloway points out the fact that the different races and religions making America are affiliates of the original cultures. Both the Native Americans and the Europeans have had their cultures modified to some extent, leading to the formation of the American culture.

The different ways of interaction, according to Calloway, led to the highly diversified American culture. The groups interacted through trades, fights; they loved and hated each other, and eventually learned to live together, leading to the intertwining ways of life. Calloway's recognition of the contribution of the Indian Americans in the creation of the American lifestyle acts as a great keystone in the American history. Most of the modern historians have overlooked the fact that the Indians had a role to play in forming what would be the American way of life. Many historians have always felt that the Indians' contribution was insignificant, given the fact that 90% of the American Indians were wiped away by diseases. In addition to the interconnection of cultures, the author recognizes the fact that the environment played a vital role in achieving the American culture. The settlers who came to America had to embrace and adapt to the environmental conditions to be able to survive in their new destination. The environmental aspect is historically important, even though it has never been pointed out by most of the historical authors. The Europeans were able to copy the Indians' ways of worship and had to engage the natives in the issues of diplomacy to be able to fight certain wars.

According to the author, the cultural shifting and mixing came about when the Europeans settled among the Indian Americans with an attempt of assimilating and forcing the European culture on them. The reverse was, however, right as the Indians were able to push their ways of life on the Europeans, who adopted the European culture such as the use of canoes and the cultivation of Indian corn. The Indian Americans however, did not retain their culture, as it was also highly influenced by the culture of the foreigners. The Spanish colonist, for instance, struggled to maintain the core of their cultures. They did not, however, succeed as they ended up eating the Indian food and wearing the Indian clothes. Colin G. Calloway, therefore, illustrates the fact that no culture was left unaffected as the individual groups interconnected in one way or the other with some of them even intermarrying.

The author of "New worlds" in his book illustrates how the interlinking of the different cultures led to the cultural amalgamation, where a melting point was reached with a central culture being formed from the combining cultures. A new world with new identity was made for all with neither of the groups attaining their identity. The author's work properly matches his thesis statement .with a conviction that the Indians should be highly regarded when looking into the American history, he states that the Indians did not remain without fighting for their culture. "Like the European invaders, the Indians worked on remaining who they were" (92), Calloway clearly articulates through his book that the natives also struggled to retain their culture even though they did not succeed.

Interestingly, the book manages to bring out a vivid explanation as to why the Indians have been forgotten when it comes to the history of America. "Early America was like a cloth woven from many threads, but the Indian strands than ran through it have often been ignored, forgotten and allowed to fade from the American history" (98). The new Americans were able to wipe out the first Americans, by ensuring that they were moved from their lands of settlement. The book, therefore, proves to be very crucial as it solves the puzzle that exists in the history of America. Colin G. Calloway, thus, did not only mention the fact that the Indians form a part of the American history, but he also points out why they can no longer be traced in the history of America.

However, Colin G. Calloway agrees with the other historical authors, pointing out the fact the diseases introduced by the Europeans was the critical factor which led to the elimination of the natives. The traditional Indian medicines could not cure any of the imported different illnesses. In this context, the idea of cultural amalgamation does not seem to live to the author's intended meaning as the healing ought to have been a part of the mixed cultures. The fact that the natives could not find a cure for the foreign diseases a sign enough that there could have been an impartial mixing of cultures and that the natives did not grasp much of the alien cultures and vice versa.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is right to note that the author of "New world for all" wrote his book with the intention of showing the author all the interlinks that form the foundation of the American history. As opposed to the other historical authors, who often overlook the fact there had existed people in America before the American revolution, Callaway illustrates the point that America had previously been occupied majorly by the red Indians. The cultural assimilation and interconnection later occurred between the foreigners and the natives, leading to the formation of a common point of both cultures, which is the culture that has lived to the modern day America. The melting of the two different ways of life led to the creation of America with people who worshipped and reasoned the same way .the natives of the American land were later driven out of America, leaving their original homeland to the colonizing Europeans. The fact that the natives were forced out of America explains why they have been considered insignificant in the history of America. It is however clear that diseases imposed on them by the Europeans were a significant factor that led to the wiping out of the Indians.