The correct answer to this open question is the following.
The refusal to accept New Mexico as a state says a lot about what people at that time thought it meant to be American. Thet showed a racist behavior because the United States Congress did not accept the New Mexico's application to be a state of the Union. The reason? Congressmen had many doubts about the kind of people -mostly Native American Indians- that could be part of the United States.
Yes, I see contemporary parallels or similarities with present events. Recent racists events have taught us that racism practices are very ingrained in some parts of American society.
Colonial rule was oppressive in the fact that many natives of colonized nations were killed or enslaved. Benefits of it would be the nations that were colonized usually has knowledge brought to them. They also prospered most of the time.
Answer: when someone describes the United States as a “democratic republic” they are simply stating that we the citizens rule our government, that we have certain rights, and that we choose our representatives.
Should be right I hope
