From the beginning, the United States has been a country of immigrants. The only group of people who have not immigrated to the country has been Native Americans, otherwise, everyone has come to this country. This becomes relevant when looking at how the majority white population talks about people of color. 

“The divide of race has been America’s constant curse. And each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices. Prejudice and contempt, cloaked in the pretense of religious or political conviction are no different. These forces have nearly destroyed our nation in the past. They plague us still. They fuel the fanaticism of terror. And they torment the lives of millions in fractured nations all around the world.”

Clinton 1997

President Clinton acknowledges that the history of the U.S. was built on finding groups to always put down. He mentions how “the divide of race has been America’s constant curse” and “each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices” (Clinton 1997). Mentioning this within his speech we can see how white people in the United States put themselves into the majority group and help to continue putting others down. In the early years of the United States, the two groups most discriminated against were Native Americans and the black community, especially during western expansion, slavery, and Jim Crow. 

One of the groups people chose to be less than was Native Americans. In the same vein that black people were not considered equals, Native Americans were still discriminated against before slavery was abolished. Presidents would use terms like “Indians,” “uneducated,” and “aboriginals” to talk about how it was the duty of U.S. citizens to show Native Americans how to become more civilized. President Theodore Roosevelt uses the phrase “Indian” a total of 14 times, the most by any President. President Roosevelt was the last president to explicitly talk about Native Americans within his speech in 1901, “The Indian should be treated as an individual–like the white man” (Roosevelt 1901). President Roosevelt was talking about how it has become the duty of citizens of the United States to treat Native Americans as individuals and equals. 

Republicans were the most likely to include “Indian” within their speech with the highest average of .607 times per speech followed by Whigs (.6), Democratic-Republicans (.5), Democrats (.296), and Federalists (0). Democratic-Republicans were most likely to use “Aboriginal” with the higher average of .375 per speech followed by Federalists (.25), Whigs (.2), Republicans (.071), and Democrats (0).

Before President Roosevelt, there were a lot of references to “aboriginals,” “savages,” “Indians,” and “tribes.” President Grant, a Republican, said “we should “civilize” Native Americans and educate them so that we can continue to grow” and “once we treat Native Americans correctly they will be productive members of society… because they are not already” (Grant 1873). President Grant speaks on the general view of Native Americans, saying they do not know how to properly run a society and that they are not productive within their tribes. In the same view, President Jefferson speaks in a very similar fashion:

“Now reduced within limits too narrow for the hunter’s state, humanity enjoins us to teach them agriculture and the domestic arts; to encourage them to that industry which alone can enable them to maintain their place in existence and to prepare them in time for that state of society which to bodily comforts adds the improvement of the mind and morals.”

Jefferson 1805

President Jefferson talks about how it has become the job of the citizens of the United States to educate Native Americans to make them more “civilized.”

While there is a trend showing Republican presidents using those phrases, Democrats were not immune to this trend. President Jackson in 1829 was the last Democratic president to speak in that way, which then made it a Republican talking point. 

“It will be my sincere and constant desire to observe toward the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our Government and the feelings of our people.”

Jackson 1829

President Jackson is speaking about how the government needs to acknowledge Native American tribes and treat them as if they were citizens of the United States. While he is saying this within his speech it is widely acknowledged that he was one of the worst presidents when it came to Native American rights. During his two terms as President, there was a push towards moving Native American tribes westward and removing them from their land. This push took place on the trail of tears where thousands of Native Americans died and were displaced.

These quotes are only a couple of examples of the white savior complex, mentioning how the United States needs to go and help everyone. It was found that other presidents also spoke in the same way about different groups. President Eisenhower spoke about the U.S. having a duty to help other countries through their struggles saying:

“Knowing that only a United States that is strong and immensely productive can help defend freedom in our world, we view our Nation’s strength and security as a trust upon which rests the hope of free men everywhere. It is the firm duty of each of our free citizens and of every free citizen everywhere to place the cause of his country before the comfort, the convenience of himself.”

Eisenhower 1953

Except for President Eisenhower, this language all but stopped in 1901 with President Roosevelt. 

Through the use of various rhetorical devices, presidents are able to signal several different things. This could be policies that they want to push or how they truly feel about certain groups. The trends throughout history have shown that people have become more accepting of different racial groups but that it took a while to get there. During the early history of the United States Democrats were more likely to use language with racial connotations. Around the time of the Civil War, the trend switched with Republicans using more language with racial connotations.