U.S. World Perspective, Circa 1881

I just found a copy of Harper's Introductory Geography, which was published in 1881. It was used in one-room schoolhouses across the country. The most interesting map had to be that showing South America, with Bolivia fronting the Pacific and Patagonia being its own country. Here are some excerpts:

On American Indians vis-a-vis Caucasians: "[T]he savage Indians live and roam about. They are proud, selfish, and cruel. They spend their time in hunting the buffalo on the plains, going on the war-path against some other tribe or against the white settlers, or in the warm, sunny weather lazily sauntering around their wigwams, while the women perform the labors of the family, grinding the corn and cooking the food.

What a contrast to this savage creature is the civilized white man, who, in the same zone, is engaged in tilling the soil, carrying on commerce, or working with the tools of the mechanic, and thus providing for himself a comfortable home!"

On Alaska: "There is not much to be told about Alaska, for it is a very cold region, and there are few inhabitants except Indians and Esquimaux. It was bought of Russia by the United States, and seems to be valuable only for its fur-seal fisheries."

On Mexicans: "[T]he mestizos are very ignorant, and, although active, are more fond of amusement than of work. They are wild and quarrelsome too, and keep their government in trouble almost all the time by their lawless conduct."

On Central America: "Between Mexico and South America is a country called Central America. It consists of small states, which are very often at war with one another."

On Patagonia: "Patagonia is a poor, cold, rocky country, whose uncivilized, half-starved people lead most wretched lives."

With this as textbook material, is it any surprise how America treated Native Americans and Latin America over the next 100 years?

CKY