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Essay 4
In Rooseveltian Nation, civic nationalism and racial nationalism were swirled to shape
the history, although they are contradicted to each other. After 1960s, the crisis sparked by
the civil rights revolution and Vietnam marked the end of the Rooseveltian nation (Gerstle,
342). Black power movement broke the racial nationalism, and also promoted to build the
civic nation. Vietnam War violated the freedom and equality in civic nationalism, because its
let thousands of Vietnamese lose their home and lives. Neither the racial nor the civic
traditions of American nationalism, both essential props of the Rooseveltian Nation, could
any longer bind a large majority of Americans together or give them reason to make common
cause (Gerstle, 342). Finally, Rooseveltian Nation collapsed.
In chapter 7, when new voters were barred from participating in the lily-white
Mississippi Democratic Party primary, they formed a new, avowedly interracial party,
MFDP (Gerstle, 286), and the tradition of racial nationalism simply ran too deep (309).
People were losing faith and no longer believing in the civic nationalism.
In chapter 8, Gerstle argues that Vietnam War and the antiwar movement is a critique to
the civic nationalism. Student movement, which is among the whole country, becomes
radicalized and accelerates breaking down the civic nationalism. The antiwar radicals
viewed the efforts of the American military to prevent the yellow Vietcong and other
Vietnamese from determining their own future as an extension of American efforts at home to
deny African Americans their freedom (Gerstle, 317). The civic nationalism was doubted by
people around the country, because Vietnamese were dying in the war, and students do not
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have enough political power, so that the freedom and equality, which were the very basic
creeds, were not guaranteed by government. At the same time, the black power movement
eroded racial nationalism, and helped elevate importance of particularist political cultures
above nationalism. Blacks were looking for their own identity and setting up their own social
standard. Not only blacks, but also other nonwhite groups, tried to establish proud identities
grounded in a reconnection to their native cultures and traditions (Gerstle, 329).
Because both civic and racial nationalism are too much to bear, finally Rooseveltian
Nation collapsed. Once it collapsed, left, liberals and conservatives advocate to different
places from left to right.
Left, who support hard multiculturalism, believe that American is hopelessly lost because
it is oppressive, restrictive, racist, imperialistic, and its virtue or goodness cannot be
salvaged (Gerstle, 350). Students and black radicals belonged to left. Meanwhile, some
people argue that have and recooperating unchanged cultures from the past is not possible.
Liberals, who support soft multiculturalism, is a little bit left from the center. In 1970s,
white ethnics still believed in American nation but also wanted to get back to their roots.
They argued that cultural diversity and national pride were compatible with each other. Bill
Clinton came up with an idea that one big happy diverse American family. Democratic
Party and Gerstle are in this position.
Conservatives on is the very right side comparing with left and liberals. Conservatives
want to build a glorificational Christian nation, which is anti-communist, anti-feminist, antigay and lesbian, anti-identity political, and has strong military. They have a new economic
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program, which includes dislike of social programs, minimal government authority in
environmental workplace, and dislike of labor agencies.
Gerstle criticizes hard multiculturalism, and he supports civic nationalism. In his opinion,
anti-American ideology is not proper, because the nation gives people opportunities to get a
happy life, and overt practices of racial discrimination have been largely eliminated, and
racialist discourses delegitimized, except among a resurgent far tight fringe (Gerstle, 368).
Cultural diversity and national pride can exist at the same time.
However, Assata Shakur rejected civic nationalism, because the nation is hopeless racism
and imperialism. In her book, Assata illustrates how she felt discrimination on street, in
school, in workplace and even in prison, so she believes that civic nationalism is a lie. The
only way to solve this problem is to use hard multiculturalism to replace civic nationalism.
Assata positively argues about hard multiculturalism will benefit blacks in her
Autobiography. In this book, she briefly talks about how alternative cultural standards
influence black peoples lives. Blacks accepted white value systems and white standards of
beauty and , at times, accepted the white mans view of themselves (Assata, 31). Not only
standards of beauty, the dance, music and art are also valued by white standards. In order to
set up their own standards, black students in college learn history and culture of their own
ethic group in order to find their own identities. In addition, many blacks change their
American name into African name in order to be involved in African culture and society.
What she argues about is to ignore or get rid of white peoples governing, and organize blacks
by themselves.
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As for black political organizing, Assata gives readers some benefit from black
organization, Black Panther Party (BPP), to prove the positive part of hard multiculturalism.
At first, Assata was assigned to the medical cadre, who was responsible for the health care
of the Panthers, and made medical and dental appointments for them and taught them basic
first aid so that they could help the people in emergencies (Assata, 217). Blacks can get
benefit from the medical care. After quit the medical care program, Assata joined the
breakfast program, lots of hungry children can be fed in the program, and they can even bring
some food back to their starving family. In addition, Assata joined the political education
program. In this program, they reviewed articles in the BPP paper, read passages from
Maos Red Book, and discussed certain speeches and articles by various Party (221). After
that, Assta assigned the Saturday Liberation School program. Many black children got
educated and gained knowledge for their own culture and history. It could be found that, in
this black political organization, black people do get benefit, so that Assata believes that these
are the positive parts of hard multiculturalism.