Flashcards on The Roots of Violence in American Identity
The Roots of Violence in American Identity: Comprehensive Study Guide
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Violence in the United States
15 cards
Card 1
Question: What is the central thesis on violence in the United States presented in the 1967 essay?
Answer: That violence is not a sudden break in society but a continuous and integral thread in American historical and cultural identity.
Card 2
Question: According to the essay, what paradox of human nature connects violence and cooperation?
Answer: That human beings and society are born from both violence and cooperation and tenderness; both forces coexist in human nature.
Card 3
Question: What psychological reference is used to explain the human aggressive instinct?
Answer: It alludes to Sigmund Freud and the idea of the natural instinct for aggression; Bruno Bettelheim is also cited on the duality of violence/cooperation
Card 4
Question: Why does the essay claim that the United States was 'forged through violence'?
Answer: Because fundamental events such as the American Revolution, wars against Indigenous peoples, slavery, and the Civil War involved decisive violence in
Card 5
Question: What quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson is used to illustrate the American attitude towards violence?
Answer: When Fort Sumter was attacked, Emerson said, 'Sometimes gunpowder smells good,' showing a view of violence as a necessary tool.
Card 6
Question: How does the essay describe violence within labor movements between 1870 and 1930?
Answer: As one of the most violent in the world, with bloody clashes between strikers, company police, and state militias (examples: Molly Maguires, the Wobbl
Card 7
Question: What role did waves of immigration play in internal violence according to the essay?
Answer: Each wave brought intense ethnic feuds and violent reactions from nativist groups (e.g., the Know-Nothings); furthermore, the rise of organized crime
Card 8
Question: How is the romanticization of violence in American culture explained?
Answer: Through folklore and mythology—the Western cowboy and the urban gangster saga have been exported and revered globally as epic entertainment.
Card 9
Question: What psychological function does American violent mythology serve, according to the essay?
Answer: It serves as a psychological refuge for dreams of lawless freedom, reinforcing the idea of the individual who dispenses justice by their own hand.
Card 10
Question: What is the relationship between rapid social change and violence in the 1960s according to the essay?
Answer: Modern violence is closely linked to the dizzying pace of social change; instability and social reordering increase conflicts.