The United States did not have to address the problem of racial equality as slavery and discrimination continued to dominate throughout the nation. A majority of Latin American countries abolished slavery and as a result, had to find a way to incorporate people of color into their society. This encouraged policial instability because there were many contrasting ideas on how to go about achieving this. In addition, abolishing slavery created a void of labor to produce goods for export. Slavery in the United States acted as a catalyst for economic development by having a consistent labor force to produce goods for export. Slavery brought in a large amount of revenue for the United States which contributed to a stable economy which, in turn, encouraged political stability.
The United States politics from the beginning was divided into two parties—federalist and anti-federalist. This I found similar to Latin America two-party ideology of liberal and conservatives. All of these ideologies were different beliefs on what the future of the nation should look like. The federalist and anti-federalist were arguments on how powerful the federal government should be in relations with the states. Liberalism and conservatism were arguments on the how modernity's role in the nation and whether they will look to the future or focus on the past.
I understand that this is a very complex comparison and cannot be summarized in a short blog post. I just find it very interesting on how one nation could have much success in their independence while others find themselves playing catch up. I plan to continue to make connections to the United States in later class discussions and future blog posts.
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