Comparing The United States And Brazil

Running Head: ETHNIC CONFLICT

Ethnic Conflict: Comparing the United States and Brazil

Name

Institution

ETHNIC CONFLICT 2

Ethnic Conflict: Comparing the United States and Brazil

Introduction

In the 19

century, slave trade was conventional in the American continents. The United

States and other developing nations such Brazil have a similar history with the slave trade. The

abolishment processes in these two countries were through the development of anti-slavery laws

that aimed at denying dominant whites the rights to own slaves. In the United States, the 13

Amendment was a pivotal point for the abolishment of human trafficking. A section of the

American politician known as anti-slavery Republican Party sought to counter the expansion of

slave trade and not suppress it entirely. As a result, the effectiveness of the American efforts to

abolish slave business remains questionable. The scope of the regulations made may have played

a significant part in promoting ethnic divisions in the US. Regarding Brazil, colonists in 1530

established sugar cane plantations and mills (Hébrard, 2013). Notably, in 1570 the colonists

started to transfer African captives to work for them in the farms until 1850 with over five

million Africans shipped to Brazil to work and live as slaves in the farmlands, in Brazilian cities

and mines (Hébrard, 2013). As such, activists such as Nabuco and Freyre led the fight against

enslavement with the establishment of Brazilian Anti-slavery Society. Similar to the U.S., the

effectiveness of the laws used to control slave trade in Brazil is questionable. Thus, this essay

aims at comparing the manner in which U.S. and Brazil handled the transition of former slaves to

free citizens. The primary objective is to determine the reasons ethnic conflict reduced in one

country than the other. Notably, this paper will use historical intuitionalism and cultural theories

to compare the two countries. However, the exploration is limited to the explanation of

significant differences that exist between US and Brazil in handling the transition from slavery to

citizenship and the recent appearance of ethnic conflict in the two countries.

ETHNIC CONFLICT 3

Theories

Historical institutionalism theory is based on the assumptions that institutional rules,

constraints, and the response to them over a long time help to guide political actors (Orfeo, Tulia,

& Adam, 2016). Therefore, this hypothesis points to the impact of the laws that were made to

abolish slave trade in the modern policy-making process in the U.S. and Brazil. Consequently, it

will facilitate a critical exploration of Slavery concerning segregation laws and civil rights

movements and laws. Based on this assumption, the institutional requirements used to control

slave trade played a more significant role in the development of the current social divisions

between the blacks and whites in the modern U.S. society (Orfeo, Tulia, & Adam, 2016).

Cultural theory is based on various attempts to conceptualize and have a better

comprehension of the dynamics of culture. Mainly, it proposes that individuals tend to identify

danger and react to the risk in diverse ways that tend to motivate the establishment of various

social schemes that can be examined as ‘grid’ and ‘group’ to demonstrate unity and the amount

of authority exerted unto them from above (Rusell, Suze, & Bram, 2017). Precisely, it is limited

towards the relationship between culture and society, specifically the split between high and low

cultures. In this regard, cultural theory will help to demonstrate the engagement with concepts

that are often concealed by cultural differences between the whites and blacks in the U.S. and

Brazil and their impact on the abolishment of slavery. Thus, it will help to prove that differences

in cultural superiority develop ethnic conflicts.

Historical institutionalism and the cultural theory help to develop a sufficient basis for the

exploration of African-American cultural trauma. The strain opens an exciting new perspective

on black American identity. Even after the establishment of laws to abolish slave trade, there

exist some significant gaps between the whites and blacks. The dream of gaining cultural

ETHNIC CONFLICT 4

integration and full citizenship was cut short by the nature of laws developed in the 1800s

(Washington, 2002). The result was an emergence of the meaning of slavery; hence, developed a

site for identity conflict. The newly expanded and resourceful ranks of the civilized blacks have

helped to articulate the identity conflict.

Comparative Analysis

Slave trade succeeded in promoting racial segregation and oppression of the blacks. As a

result, American civil rights movement led the protest against racial segregation and

discrimination, especially in the Southern parts of the federation. The efforts by the blacks to

resist racial oppression formed the basis for the development of civil rights, which saw some

African-American leaders channel their activism and develop activation movements. For

instance, some movements such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People (NAACP) used the legal system to fight against racial segregation in 1909 (Avidit,

Matthew, & Maya, 2016). Despite such efforts, racial separations continued to exist. For

example, after the great migration between 1910 and 1920, the Blacks continued to face

exclusion and discrimination in employment and segregation in schools. Other forms of isolation

during this period included separation in public accommodation facilities. However, the case was

extreme to the south.

Racial segregation in the Northern America was not as tremendous as in the Southern

part. For instance, anti-racial laws protected the Northern black men from extreme racial

exclusions; hence, they faced fewer barriers to voting. As their number increased, their vote

became a significant factor in elections (Daron & James, 2008). However, the American

leadership never allowed complete freedom and enjoyment of rights among the blacks. The

efforts by President Franklin Roosevelt provided the best support to the African Americans.

ETHNIC CONFLICT 5

However, the legislation and policies that he developed allowed the existence of a considerable

extent of discrimination. Therefore, the government significantly failed in establishing an

adequate support to the blacks.

In the southern region, things were entirely different. People were more conservatives

with unique attitude towards race motivated by distinctive racial past. The economic and political

importance of slave trade was very significant. Even after its abolishment, extreme ethnic

divisions were evident in the institutional and cultural features of the era that followed, and

extended to shaping racial order of the south and the manner in which the southerners think

about race, politics, and policies even in the modern world (Kerri, 2014). Today, the southerners

are still conservatives who consider the blacks as inferiors. Mainly, this orientation of attitude

may be linked to the experience that their ancestors had with the slaves. Passage of the extreme

stances over generations has made it possible to have racial divisions in a democratic nation.

In the nineteenth century, the wealthiest people in Brazil were slave traders due to the

activity’s economic importance. For instance, slaves were involved in sugar cane and mining

activities, which were the backbone of Brazil. Just like in the southern American, Brazilian

masters were reluctant in allowing freedom to slaves (Kerri, 2014). As a result, they were more

conservative, and continued with this business activity (Douglas, 2011). The Blacks started the

revolt against the whites with the aim of fighting for their freedom and rights that would protect

them from racial segregation. They used diverse approaches to combat involuntary enslavement.

For example, runaway slaves came up with quilombos, which had distinct objectives of self-rule

and self-sufficiency. They damaged their masters’ equipment to sabotage them. Also, they tried

to seize power through their groupings

ETHNIC CONFLICT 6

In the late 1800s, reformist activities in Brazil started to incite at institutions of higher

learning. Journalists, young lawyers and students began to mobilize citizens to liberate slaves in

the country (Park, 2013 ). Notably, Joaquim Nabuco started the fight against enslavement in

Brazil, motivating the establishment of the Brazilian Anti-Slavery Society (Park, 2013 ). Nabuco

stated that “there is neither freedom nor independence in a land with one million five hundred

thousand slaves” (Park, 2013). The fight to end slavery went on under his leadership, and lastly

on 13

May 1888, the Golden Law was enacted by the imperial family, formally abolishing

enslavement and allowing slaves to be assimilated as Brazilians (Park, 2013 ). For the better part

of the 20

century, Brazil was taken as a post-racial country, mulato being taken as the national

ideology. Gilberto Freyre championed the idea, which meant slave and master had a symbiotic

relationship due to the mixing of races to produce a stronger Brazil (Park, 2013 ).

Despite the officially ended slave trade in Brazil, racial segregation and gaps are very

evident. The whites tend to discourage a healthy form of interaction between the natives and

blacks (Kerri, 2014). For example, the level of earning in Blacks is significantly lower than that

of the whites. In other institutions such as schools and prisons, the gap between the whites and

blacks is very evident. The Brazilian society seems to have carried that ancient culture down to

the modern era.

Assessment

From the comparative analysis above, it is evident that racial segregation is still present

to this day in the American and Brazilian societies. The two countries have a shared history of

slavery. The whites were willing to retain slaves due to economic activities they promoted. They

were sources of cheap labor; hence, had a positive impact on the level of revenue generated.

Thus, this was the primary reason ethnic conflict was settled successfully in some areas. In

ETHNIC CONFLICT 7

regions where the whites experienced significant benefits from the slave trade, they were

reluctant to promote equality or even grant freedom to the slaves. In the modern world, political

and economic differences exist between the blacks and whites. The effect is a direct result of the

impact institutional rules, constraints, and the response to slavery. According to historical

institutionalism theory, the nature of institutional practices in the past played a significant role in

shaping the current attitudes. Political leadership in the U.S. never provided a comprehensive

support to the abolishment of racial discrimination. As a result, the effect has been carried down

through different generations and is evident in the modern American society. For instance, in

August 2014, there were protests in Ferguson, Missouri when an unarmed black teenager was

shot dead by a white police officer, leading to the establishment of the Black Lives Matter

movement, which gained support in places such as Chicago, Cleveland, and Baltimore

((Baptiste, 2017). From the cultural theory point of view, division between the superior whites

and inferior blacks has existed in the American culture since the time of slave trade. The whites

who live in the Southern part of the U.S, which heavily relied on slavery, are currently more

conservative, racially hostile, and less responsive to policies that promote progress of the blacks.

Notably, this behavior has persisted throughout the history of the U.S., and they are a direct

product of slaveholding history of the modern society. In Brazil, quilombos that were founded by

escaped slaves live in the remote parts of the county, holding to the traditional African schemes

of community elders to promote racial equality. Their efforts have seen more than 3,500

communities being provided with land and other social aids such as electricity.

ETHNIC CONFLICT 8

References

Avidit, A., Matthew, B., & Maya, S. (2016). Deep Roots: The Political Legacy of Southern

Slavery. Harvard University: Cambridge.

Daron, A., & James, A. R. (2008). The Persistence and Change of Institutions in the Americas.

Southern Economic Journal, 282-299.

Douglas, S. M. (2011). The Past & Future of American Civil Rights. American Academy of Arts

& Sciences, 34-54.

Kerri, L. H. (2014). Segregation in United States Healthcare: From Reconstruction to Deluxe Jim

Crow. Honors Theses and Capstones, 1-52.

Orfeo, F., Tulia, G. F., & Adam, S. (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Historical Institutionalism.

New York: Oxford University Press.

Washington, R. (2002). Review of Cultural Trauma: Slavery and the Formation of African

American Identity, by Ron Eyerman. American Journal of Sociology, 689-691.

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