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Gentrification A Human Rights Violation Essay

Decent Essays
Since the evolution of man, it is evident that humans have only seen the land for its material value. People have consistently taken advantage of the Earth’s limited resources driven by greed and self interest. This can be seen in old pieces of writing like, “Undaunted Courage” and “The Indian Removal”, to more recent pieces like, “Is Gentrification a Human Rights Violation?”. To this day, man continues to take advantage of and exploit the land for their own economic benefits. One of the most popular examples is the exploration led by Christopher Columbus in the 15th century. Many explorers just like him sought for new land and efficient trade routes to increase their current profits. More specifically in the 18th and 19th century, America sought to expand its borders…show more content…
For instance, the text states, “It was assumed that the soil and rainfall conditions were similar to those in...which is to say, ideal for agriculture.” It can be seen that Americans only saw the land for its ability to sustain crops. If the land was to give them the best conditions to grow crops, not only will farmers feed themselves but it will encourage intrastate trade and the agricultural industry's profit margin. Commerce is a significant part of a nation’s economy. Countries fought over the possession of the most profitable trade routes. America’s President, Thomas Jefferson can be seen in the text to be one of these money-hungry pioneers. In the lines, “The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principal stream of it, as, by it’s course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether… any other river may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across the continent for the purposes of commerce.” it can be seen that Jefferson allocated funds towards Lewis and Clark’s expedition for the purposes of discovering the fastest and effortless water route to the ocean.
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