How did the Indian Removal Act spur Nationalism?
Answer Good Morning, Nidhi. Hope you are well, safe and happy: NATIONALISM is a loyalty to an imagined community. It creates a sense of COMMON IDENTITY even among people who have never met one another and probably never will. In large part, that is its function. We speak of American or German nationalism, but not the national identity of Luxembourg or Liechtenstein, where a far higher percentage of the people do, in fact, know one another. (I’m German) Even in large nations, the issues of who is imagined to be part of the community and who is entitled to do the imagining have often been fiercely contested. Most Indians were NOT a part of this community. Beginning with the Revolutionary War, African Americans have tried to use their participation in major wars to win acceptance of their membership in the national community, while those who founded and sustained that community have tried to exclude them or restrict their participation. By contrast, some white reformers were trying to tur
