Hello, Mr. Obama: A Letter from Me to You

Today the United States faces many problems unheralded by the rest of the globe both past and present and in order to better our nation as a whole, we must go back and take a look at the time when our great country was founded and learn from both our accomplishments and our transgressions. There are various models of colonial communities that have left footprints behind, some useful others un-useful, for us to learn from. This approach won't necessarily fix all of our problems but it may help in guiding us on a particular course in which will better our nation in the future. I have researched five specific early communities in which we should look back upon in order to better understand our society now and what can be done to help it along.

The first model of colonial community in which we can learn from was the Iroquois model. Iroquois, or the Great League of Iroquois, was one of the most powerful groups that was founded in the Northeast and consisted of five Native American tribes: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and the Senecas. Although it is unclear the exact reason for why the Iroquois were formed, whether it be a defense against an outside enemy or to bring an end to the violence that occurred between the tribes, they set up their communities to maintain stability and strength. The forty-nine chiefs that made the decisions for all five nations met only when needed, but not in a central capital. What is outstanding about these people was they didn't believe in private property, all land was for everyone. However, the most useful idea to come from the Iroquois was the claim that government is based on a covenant that is voluntarily entered into by the people.

The idea of a covenant did not disappear when the early European settlers arrived in the New World. Both the Puritans and the Quakers believed in that exact same concept. Puritans believed that the Church of England was corrupt and the radicals, or separationsists, believed the Church could not be fixed and set sail for the New World and landed in Plymouth in 1620. The Puritans established their community on their beliefs and strict values and were intolerant of other religious views, such as the Quakers. The legacy of Puritanism remains strong in our society today, they believed in the Protestant ethic, or work ethic, in that the more you contribute to your community the better standing you would have, even though they believed in predestination, this obligation to contribute remained in the society and still remains in America today. They also brought about a way of explaining inequality with "the calling," or an individual's contribution to the people. From the Puritans we must take away that simple idea of hard work can get you places and the idea of the separation of church and state, an idea brought about in the Puritan community because of their belief that politics were corrupt.

Third, is the Quaker model of community. The Quakers, who found a home in Pennsylvania and parts of western New Jersey, were exponentially more tolerant of other religions than their Puritan neighbors to the north. They created an idea called the "holy experiment" in which a utopia would be built where everyone would be tolerant of all faces, religions, and backgrounds and live in peace. Ultimately they wanted and dreamed of living in a future without a central government. During Quaker meetings at community meeting houses, everyone was allowed to speak to God freely and were to be judged by the listeners "Inner Light" an idea that if followed would lead the person to the one Truth. Although eventually they gave up their ruling power to non-Quakers when their land was threatened, in light of their views of not to take up arms against anyone, we still must learn from this society as well. We must understand that also that religious tolerance will build and support communities, especially in America, where your neighbor to the left might be Jewish and your neighbor to the right might be Muslim.

The pious plantation owners of Virginia are the fourth model of colonial community. This colony was settled by people who sought material gain and freedom and advancement of religion, they were casual about certain indiscretions that Quakers and Puritans might find offensive, such as gambling. With enormous field to harvest, they soon became heavily dependent on slave labor and plantation owners began to view themselves as aristocrats who took their job of governing the colony very seriously considering they were elected by the common farmer. Out of this community we should understand that even though elected officials today are amongst the wealthiest persons in America, they should take their job just as seriously as our founding fathers did.

The final colonial community we can learn from is the merchant community. Merchants in the New World provided various services and supplies for new Americans seeking someone to trade with or buy from. Merchants became very wealthy by selling agricultural supplies to farmers and setting up shop on large sea ports. In their wealth they began to resemble that of English nobility, living in large homes that had rooms to accommodate different family members. From this colonial community the most useful thing to come from it was the idea of business setting up in specific locations to tailor to its customers needs. This may be the least important out of the five colonial community models but none the less has provided insight to how our America grew and prospered.

In conclusion, in order to move forward and fix or nurture some of the problems that face America today, we must look to our past. We must understand all five communities, the Iroquois, Puritans, Quakers, plantation owners, and merchants to understand what we must do to help our current problems. Our future rests in your hands for the next few years, if you truly want an America that our Founding Fathers dreamt of, understand our past to the best of your knowledge and learn from it.