Summary

In Chapter 3, “Cult of the Covenant,” the book further addresses the myth that the Americas were largely unpopulated and uncultivated prior to the arrival of European settlers. Natives cultivated much of the land, but as genocide shrank their populations, natural plant growth erased many of their land cultivations. Historical myths purport that Native populations were underutilizing the land, when in actuality, European settlers forcibly destroyed highly complex Native civilizations. Moreover, European colonists directly stole and appropriated cultivated land from the Natives. The author goes on to describe how settlers subscribed to certain origin myths that attempt to justify colonial expansion. Many settlers believed that their settlement was ordained by divine right and by superiority over the Natives. Religious reformer John Calvin was pivotal in drawing connections between wealth and ideas of religious purity. Throughout American history, the sense of U.S. national identity has...