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Westward Expansion
Slavery is a basic theme that builds a connection between the approaches of “Gold Rush Brides” and “Westward Expansion.” The idea of slavery in the case of Indian Americans utilized by Natalie Merchant to create an influential song on the event of Gold Rush. The lyrics of this song helps to recognize the actual circumstances that appear during the phase of Gold Rush. Brief and concise exploration of the event of Gold Rush is important to critically examine the actual prospect of this song. This form of consideration is also vital to determine its association with the main idea of Westward Expansion presented by Eric Foner. It is interesting to interpret the lyrics of “Gold Rush Brides” in the context of Foner’s narrative of Westward Expansion.
The lyrics of Gold Rush Brides by Natalie Merchant are a clear representation of the suffering of women during the era of Gold Rush in California. It is significant to identify specific hardships and disappointments faced by women during that time. It is revealed that singer that the phenomenon of Gold Rush eventually influences lives of people in different and critical manners such as domains of social association, gender, and culture prominently in the form of slavery of Indian Americans (Klarman, 267). The approach of migration is one critical trouble faced by people due to the event of exploration of gold in California. This event is discussed by Singer to demonstrate the miserable condition of people during the phase of Gold Rush. This particular prospect can be examined in the following lines:
“Follow the typical signs, the hand-painted lines, down prairie roads
Pass the lone church spire
Pass the talking wire from where to who knows
There’s no way to divide the beauty of the sky
From the wild western plains
Where a man could drift, in legendary myth, by roaming over spaces
The land was free and the price was right.” (Merchant lines 1-7)
Exploration of these lyrics helps to identify the actual grounds of the event of Gold Rush that immensely influenced lives of people differently. The social and economic placement of Gold Rush also affect the lives of native women in a great manner. Indian women are recognized as the one who faced many problems during the phase of Gold Rush. The general scarcity of women in the region made it possible for men to consider Indian women as a cost-effective option and used them as gold rush brides. The scarcity of white woman become the major tribulation for the Indian women that clearly defines the chronic form of slavery of Indian Americans. This particular social difference during the era of Gold Rush is discussed by Eric Foner in the form of the issue of slavery in the context of westward expansion. He developed the argument that the westward expansion of slavery was one great dynamic economic and social procedure that influenced different social classes differently (Foner). The approach of slavery also expanded after the growing prospect of westward following the era of Gold Rush. This specific argument presented by Foner is one suitable approach to interpret the lyrics of “Gold Rush Brides.”
The words presented by Merchant clearly defined how differently the era of Gold Rush influenced different social classes in the context of white and Indian women. The Indian women were the ones who compelled to face the difficulties of slavery during the time-period of Gold Rush to provide social and economic benefits to males. The entire progress of Gold Rush era was achieved through the prospect of slavery significantly in case of Indian Americans. This specific idea of Eric Foner was also acknowledged by Merchant in the form of “Gold Rush Brides” by discussing the problems of slavery faced by Indian women during the Gold Rush era.
Works Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Foner, E. The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery. W. W. Norton, 2011, https://books.google.com/books?id=earytjxi6pEC.
Klarman, Michael J. “Rethinking the History of American Freedom (Review Essay of Eric Foner, The Story of American Freedom (1998)).” Wm. & Mary L. Rev., vol. 42, 2000, p. 265.
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