Olaudah Equiano Research Paper

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Pages: 4

America is a country where one can have different ethnicities, backgrounds, cultures and create one uniformed country. Many different stories that prove this are Of Plymouth Plantation, Letters from Columbus, and Olaudah Equiano. These show how the people came to be and where they came from. The idea of what defines an American is not where one came from or how they came to America, but it is about who they became in the midst of all the hardships they have faced. The Pilgrims were demonstrations of people who overcame troubles. They were able to take risks and leave England. Many Puritans believed that the Church of England was corrupt. They faced persecution, fled to Holland, then sailed to North America on the Mayflower. The pilgrims declaration to leave England and the crew men's will to find money shows that many Americans often seek to find a better life. Even though the Pilgrims decided to leave their hardships did not sound …show more content…
Equiano was kidnapped by paid Europeans to become a slave at a young age. The slaves were separated and sent to different countries. “The next day proved a day of greater sorrow than I had yet experienced. For my sister and I were then separated” (Equiano 2) showed how all families and friends were were separated. Slavery is a way to to demonstrate how more powerful groups exploit others for America. Like Equiano, many slaves were able to buy their freedom and not give up after being sold like objects at auctions. Slavery molded America today. “We were conducted immediately to the merchant’s yard, where we all pent up together like so many sheep in a fold, without regard to sex or age” (Equiano 6) declares that the second largest ethnic group in the USA descends from slavery. It does not matter that the slaves came here by force, it matters that they are here and contain rights that every other American