American History and Culture Analysis

This essay analyzes Eric Lott's work on class stratification in American history, comparing it to European historiographies. It discusses the evolution of class structures, the role of slavery, and cultural perceptions of class, highlighting significant historical perspectives and literary references.

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Running head: AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
American History and Culture
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AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
The essay “Class” penned down by Eric Lott, has been successful in bringing out the
evident categorisation in social laws together with the significance of the term ‘class’ as
applied in the social context. The author has attempted to bring out a clear comparison
between the history of America and the feudal and monarchist’ historiographies of old-age
countries of Europe. The journey of Lott, while writing the essay, has been marked by the
important historical perspectives of the 20th century where the stratification of the class was
an important element of society. A considerable amount of debate emerged regarding class
stratification, and this concept has time and again been discussed in the literature, be it a
model of Christian Charity’ put forward by John Winthrop, or the concept of working class
put forward by Weber. While discussing class stratification prevalent in America, Lott has
referred to the work of Erik Olin Wright, as both of them have similar opinions. According to
Wright, clas structure, class consciousness and formation can be defined based on social
relation. The class structure is the collection of social relations that are responsible for
shaping the class consciousness1. Reflecting on the idea of Wright, Lott highlights that class
categorisation is prevalent since is defines a requirement for social structure2. A discreet
hierarchy is formed within the society due to class stratification, creating boundaries for
individuals for social interaction. Diverse ideas emerge regarding class stratification, the most
important one being the fact that hierarchy emerging from class stratification has often been
linked to historical events. It is, however, to be noted that hierarchies formed out of class
stratification are constantly evolving. As Lott points out, an in-depth analysis of class is
embedded in perceptions of culture.
1 Lott, Eric. 2014. "Class". Keywords for american cultural studies, 45-48.
2 Lott, Eric. 2014. "Class". Keywords for american cultural studies, 45-48.

AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
A detailed account of slave trade can be found in the works of Alexander
Falconbridge. The author supports the idea of Lotte that the main purpose of class
stratification os social order. One prominent example of this idea from the essay is the Negro
population. The captain of the ship has found a way of keeping order in beating up the
Negros if they oppose the captain3. Analysing further, it can be stated that the Negros were
regarded as those coming from the lowest state. Opposing the captain, an individual coming
from the White community and belonging to the higher strata, is to be perceived as
attempting to climb up the social order. Civilisation and culture does not allow an individual
from the lower strata to engage in any conflict with the individual from higher strata, and this
is important for maintaining the social position. Law and order can only be maintained in the
society are a certain class is always subjected to oppression. The concept of enslaving arises
from the broad concepts of religion in the initial levels that have been mentioned by Lott as
John Northrop’s “A Modell of Christian Charity”. The underlying notion is that class
differences are a part of God’s plan to bind the stratified community of Puritan believers4.
Opponents argue that this notion is out-and-out a form of hypocrisy as criticised by the
Negros. In her poem, Phillis Wheatley mentions that ‘mercy’ is to be given the credit of
transporting her from the ‘pagan’ land and teaching her the existence of God5. The tone that
this poem has born much resemblance with that of ‘Class’. The diverse images reflecting the
bitter truth of slavery, such as that of William O’Blake (Branding Slave) and George Bourne
(Auction at Richmond) highlight that it is a tradition to brand Negros as downtrodden and
3 "Africans In America/Part 1/Alexander Falconbridge". 2016. Pbs.Org.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1h281t.html.
4 Lott, Eric. 2014. "Class". Keywords for american cultural studies, 45-48.
5 "On Being Brought From Africa To America". 2016. Poetryfoundation.Org.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45465.

AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
oppressed6. These images also provide an account of slave trade originating in early times
and prevalent till date in some parts of the world.
6 "Slavery Image Database: Search Results". 2016. Hitchcock.Itc.Virginia.Edu.
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/return.php?
categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave%20Sales%20and%20Auctions:%20African
%20Coast%20and%20the%20Americas.

AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
References
"Africans In America/Part 1/Alexander Falconbridge". 2016. Pbs.Org.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1h281t.html.
"On Being Brought From Africa To America". 2016. Poetryfoundation.Org.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45465.
"Slavery Image Database: Search Results". 2016. Hitchcock.Itc.Virginia.Edu.
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/return.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave
%20Sales%20and%20Auctions:%20African%20Coast%20and%20the%20Americas.
Lott, Eric. 2014. "Class". Keywords for american cultural studies, 45-48.