Home: the designated quarantine hang-out spot, the Zoom-room, and, on Friday nights, the movie theater. There must be something in the wood; on each floorboard and stair, there are memories—whole lifetimes, even—nailed together in the shape of a house. Innocent in all its doors and bricks, a house doesn’t seem like a political influence. Frankly, a home is often considered a refuge from external conflict. Since the colonial era, however, the American house has actually played a significant role in centering success around property.
In the seventeenth century, a house was a colonist’s most prized possession. As historian Jill Lepore states in Habitations of Cruelty, colonization began to revolve around “the idea of property as identity”; the size, structure, and grandeur of a dwelling determined familial worth. Furthermore, “English accountings of [King Phillip’s war’s] casualties…tallied houses first, then people.” To account for damages, families recorded lost property. That wasn’t the end of it, though. To settlers, houses were marks of ‘civilization' and—wholly disregarding Indigenous lands and livelihoods— colonists “only [considered] land that [was] fenced in, tilled, and built upon [as land that could] be owned.” Overlooked and dismissed, Native American lives were destroyed, ravaged, and uprooted in the name of colonialism. Today, the influence of the house persists.
In modern America, houses symbolize family, comfort, and culture. In the aisles of Target and Walmart, shelves showcase dollhouses and mini-mansions. On television, home-remodeling shows dominate reality TV. In neighborhood streets, people showcase the latest and greatest: expensive roofing and manicured lawns, or stained-glass estates with gold-trim decor. Reinforced by capitalist culture, the house has become more than a home. Aside from functionality, it boasts class, art, modernity, style, and architecture. Although centuries have passed, it seems as if colonial and modern houses share similar foundations. All in all, both uphold Americans’ most prominent possession: property.
There must be something in the wood; across America, houses hold the power to change history. As Lepore proved, each dwelling has influenced the course of politics, economics, and even warfare. Houses are beloved in American culture but, unbeknownst to most Americans, homes hide a dark foundation. Not long ago, houses symbolized colonial superiority and justified violence on Indigenous societies. So now, looking back at the picket fences and windowsills, repeat after me: there’s no place like home…right?
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