Just before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the North American cultures had transformed the North American lands teeming with many cultures and societies. One of those tribes was the Pawnee, which inhabited the North American plains and living in what is present- day Nebraska. The Pawnees had their own distinctive culture and were bound together with standard practices ranging from communal living, norms, and religious practices. On the other hand, the colonists, particularly Spain, which then had the most powerful European monarchy had its own distinct cultural practices based around their religion, hierarchies, politics, and their economic motivations to settle and or form colonies in the Americas. In the New England colonies, the overarching basis for the Puritan culture followed the Calvinist theology. As a result, they had distinct religious beliefs that formed the foundation of their society, including how they organized their social, political, and economic structures. This paper will therefore take a closer look at the Pawnee, Spanish, and the Puritans culture and addressing their practices as relates to religion, social hierarchy, political organization, and economic subsistence.

Religion

From the notes, in the origin story, the Pawnees had a highly integrated system of religious practices where they share the belief that they emerged from the sky. In contrast, the world was formed as a result of the merging of storms in the sky, leading to the creation of star gods, particularly the morning and the evening stars. Moreover, along with other plain tribes, they also believed in honoring mother earth by taking care of her, such as in the video describing the Hopi creation story. This made the Pawnee pay special attention to the earth. The Pawnee's religious leaders were treated as wise men and led the tribes' people through the many rituals that dominated the lives of the Pawnee. Their religious ceremonies coincided with harvest time and involved human sacrifices. Additionally, they also believed in witchcraft and also life after death and performed sacrifices to the morning and evening stars.

From the texts by King Ferdinand, the Spanish were predominantly Christians who followed the Roman Catholic Church. They believed that the Roman Catholic faith was superior to any other faith they found in the Americas and were thus obligated to spread their faith to the pagans of the new world. For example, King Ferdinand's letter to the Taino-Arawak Indians where he demands that he should be let preside over their land because all lands belong to the Pope; moreover, the Indians had the duty to "allowing the religious fathers to preach our holy Faith to you." The Spanish, being believers in the Catholic Faith, observed its traditions, such as observing the religious ceremonies taking the sacrament, etc.

The English Puritans, on the other hand, observed stringent religious beliefs derived from the Calvinist theological doctrine as described by John Winthrop. In the description, the beliefs are seen as a "Model of Christin Charity" meant to purify the church of all its catholic influences. It also emphasized the qualities of obedience, patience, strong faith, low temperance, gentleness, mercy, and love, while despising those seen as wrong or evil. Added to that, their religious attitude also expressed a strong bond between members of the community. Religious education started at an early age and was mandatory for every household as described by Old Deluder Satan Law of 1647. From the movie, The Witch: A New England Folk Tale, one can see the clear evidence of the Puritan faith, which sees the world in a dualistic manner, evil and good. It is a faith where on one side exists the good and on the other side, the bad comprising, evil agents, witches, and Satan. They held strong beliefs that witches could inflict pain and suffering in people.

Social Hierarchy

Form the class texts, the basic unit of the tribes from the plains, such as the Pawnee, was the village. In this setup, the social organization resembled that of a class system. The tribal chiefs sat at the top, next was the tribes' warriors, then priests or wise men, and the healers. After the top ranks, there were the common folk without any authority, then the tribe's outcasts who were people who had transgressed the tribal norms, and finally, there were the slaves from other Indian tribes. Because hunting was a prominent aspect of the Pawnee culture, meaning that men spent a lot of time away from the villages, women had influential roles. They dictated the farming activities of the village. Moreover, leadership was also inherited matrilineally.

At the same time, the Spanish social hierarchy had a pyramid-like system within which they organized their society. It was different from the British hypodescent view and almost similar to the Pawnee structure in terms of stratification. At the top was the Spanish made up of Peninsulares-Whites born in Spain and Criollos-white but not born in Spain. This was followed by mixed-race categories including Mestizo-White and Indian, Mulato White and black, and the bottom classes were made of slaves and the indigenous peoples. The Peninsulares who dominated important positions such as the clergy, Spanish nobility, and government positions often putting them at loggerheads with the Criollos. In terms of gender roles, Spanish culture was a deeply patriarchal society where men saw women as inferior.

Different from the two cultures, social stratification in the Puritan society was based on religious influence. At the top of the society were English males, decently educated, and who were property owners. The second group was made of saints who were men and women and included farmers, fishermen, artisans, and other servants who performed various roles in their society. Beyond the saints, the next group was considered non-saints or strangers to their puritan life. These were people from other European backgrounds and local communities who lived in their areas or close to their areas. Finally, at the bottom were slaves. When it came to gender roles, society was patriarchal, with women expected to play family roles such as raising children, tending to the farm, etc. As such, they played a limited role and were not allowed to undertake other roles, such as voting.

Political organization

In the Pawnee world, the political organization was based on four relatively independent bands, the Skidi, the Pitahauerat, Chaui, and the Kitkehahki. The exact nature of the relationship of the bands is not defined clearly; however, it is thought they forged their unity in response to outside pressures. Within a band, many villages were enjoined by a leadership made up of chiefs who held positions inherited by the eldest son matrilineally. The responsibilities of the chief included giving land to people amongst also keeping social control within the bands.

In comparison, the Spanish, on the other hand, had a more bureaucratic political organization with the crown sitting at the top and controlling many aspects of the colonies that included governance, immigration, and trade. At the tip of the Spanish political conquest in the Americas were first the Conquistadores who came ostensibly to claim the new world in the name of the King. The expeditions led by Conquistadores, such as Herman Cortez, often acted with brutality in an attempt to gain political authority of the Indians. Their brutality is captured by Las Casas, who writes that they committed countless cruel aggression that is not befitting of Christians. This led to a shift in the political strategy after the Spanish crown was persuaded to leave the job of governing the colonies to the clergy.

Looking at the Puritans, their system was that of theocracy. They aimed to establish a perfect society based on divine godly principles, which would be "an example for the rest of the world'. As a result, their leader was a male; for example, the expedition to Massachusetts was led by John Winthrop. Later, when Massachusetts Bay Colony was given a charter, the Puritan church doctrines played a central role whereby the male church members elected John Winthrop its first governor. Also, Puritans believed that the state should be closely tied with religion and used to promote and protect puritanism. Moreover, all aspects of social and political aspects should be guided by their interpretation of the bible. In many leadership positions were church ministers who had been banned from preaching back in England. According to the Mayflower Compact of 1620, the Puritans had also expressed the wish for self-governance by being signatories bound to the "Civil Body Politic" however, when they settled into the Puritan colonies, their political organization followed strict religious principles.

Economic subsistence

In the early days, just after the first Europeans came to the Americas, the Pawnee's means of subsistence consisted of an alternating pattern of hunting and farming with some gathering activities. The main crops were corn, squash, and beans while they hunted the bison. Other economic and subsistence activities of the Pawnee people included using the bison skin to make ropes and tents, and even clothing. Theirs was majorly an agrarian economy done for subsistence farming.

Puritans, on the other hand, settled into a land that was not ideal for farming, and as such, it was hard to get subsistence from the land. This led to Puritans seeking other forms of economic activities such as trapping and fishing. Moreover, they also developed skilled artisans and craftsmen who were responsible for spawning a maritime-based economy over the years.

They were able to build ships and also supply ships with crews who transported all sorts of goods, including sugar, tobacco, and the slave trade.

American diversity and exceptionalism

The origin of modern America directly relates to its founding, which directly relates to the diversity in religion, social organization, political structures, and economic activities. In many respects, the United States is an exceptional country because it's composed of people from many cultures. Lee Greenwood captures the feeling of American exceptionalism in the Song God Bless the USA paying tribute for men and women who fought for America's freedom. America has values, a political system, history, and a unique cultural system, promoting freedom above everything else. What makes America exceptional is its landscape, which is composed of many cultures from different parts of the world fused together, although some using questionable methods; however, the end result is one national culture that one can argue represents the face of the world. Another exceptionalism can be attributed to the economy and also the military, which is the largest in the world, and greatly honored in the country as evidenced in the songs by Toby Keith, Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue; Aaron Tippin, Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle.

However, American exceptionalism is always rooted to a more considerable extent to the injustices committed to the Native American populations since the arrival of Columbus. This began by the stealing of Native Americans' lands and natural resources, not to mention racial injustice and the attempt to erase the culture of Native Americans by forcing them to adopt European culture. The video 'Lakota in America' encapsulates the aftermath of the injustices on the native population, which is still felt today after the naïve population was pushed to live in reservations. The result is high unemployment, drug addiction, poverty, and crime. At the same time, when discussing the military, one aspect that makes America exceptional, one sees the influence of the military-industrial complex dictating American foreign policy and initiation of wars, an aspect which Bob Dylan addresses in the song, Masters of War.

Conclusion

Pawnee and Spanish cultures each had their own distinct practices built over many generations, while the English Puritan being strict adherents to the bible, had their own distinct culture shaped around religion. In the Pawnee culture, they had built their own integrated system of practices and norms which spawned distinct religious, political, social, and economic (agricultural) activities. On the other hand, the Spanish were Roman Catholics, with a class system based on race and position in society where women played minor roles. The King decided politics in the Spanish system while in trade, the Spanish practiced mercantilism. The Puritans were unique in that they followed a strict interpretation of the bible. This was the basis of their culture, particularly the social organization and politics, where men took the top positions, whereas women played minor roles. Economically, the Puritans were skilled artisans serving many areas.

In many ways, the diversity of the many cultural backgrounds of American people is unique globally and serves as a high watermark of the exceptionalism of the U.S. As a result, the

U.S has a national culture that incorporates many backgrounds where everyone is free to exercise his beliefs. Moreover, the strength and the honor is given to its military also makes the U.S unique. However, exceptionalism is rooted in injustices committed on the Native American population, that its effects are still felt up to today.