Ronald Takakis Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th-Century America Es

Ronald Takakis Iron Cages Race and burnish in 19th-Century AmericaAfter America declared its independence from British rule, the psychiatric hospital fathers faced a conundrum How to build and maintain a successful republican govern manpowert that was ultimately dependent upon the passions and character of its people. Their solution was to propose the manifestation of what historians have called iron cages, which were ideological devices intended to deter the corruption and folly that might consume a free people, and instead promoterational and virtuous American citizens. Ronald Takaki expands upon this fantasy in his historical analysis, Iron Cages Race and Culture in 19th-Century America, explaining that these constructs functioned specifically to separate the bloodless man from blacks and Native Americans, who were believed to be devoid of the civility needed to build a democratic nation. As patriot leaders attempted to resolve the exclusiveness of American identity to Anglo -Saxon peoples, rhetoric and reality unified to form ideology In a land where all men are created equal, race was constructed as a justification for why all men would non be treated equal. Takakis book illustrates how literature came to play a vital role in the creation and reification of these racial ideologies. He states that, What white men in power thought and did mightily affected what everyone thought and did. Americans viewed the founding fathers as interpreters of both law and society. These same men, whom Takakinames culture makers, not only shouldered the task of explaining society, but were also instrumental in its conception. Takaki explainsthat their ideas were disseminated, and American mores were subsequently shaped through writing. Hi... ... finds America imprisoned behind a fourth iron cage, that which acts as an amalgamation of the republican, the corporate and the demonic. He explains that, Like the republicans of the American Revolution, we continue to insist on our right of and capacity for being supreme individuals. But we find ourselves again under the rule of a king - an authority exterior to the self. This time, however, we cannot as easily identify the king and declare our independence. patronagethe prejudice, hate and violence that seem to be so deeply entrenched in Americas multiracial culture and history of imperialism, Takaki does offer us hope. Just as literature has the power to construct racial systems, so it also has the power to refute and transcend them The pen is in our hands.Works ConsultedTakaki, Ronald. Iron Cages Race and Culture in 19th-Century America