Changed my thinking...

Through all of my research, writing, and editing, I have learned a lot about the racial climate and early influences upon racialization in Florida. Also, I have learned a lot about preconceived notions of Native Americans. I had never really thought about it before, but the way people thought about the Native Americans near the end of the eighteenth century is incredibly similar to a lot of the ways people think about African Americans even to this day. In my opinion, Bartram was trying to destroy the ideas people held about Native Americans and replace the negative stereotypes with evidence of the identical human nature, capability, and morality, just as many people are still working hard to eliminate the racially based generalizations so prevalent all throughout American history. He may have simply been replacing negative generalizations with positive ones, and thus, was not deviating from racialization, but he still put forth a noble effort that must be appreciated as revolutionary and far more pluralistic then many of his contemporary intellectuals. William Bartram was certainly a forerunner in accepting and even admiring the differences between human beings.