A question about class in Middle Earth

[William Cloud Hicklin]

American indians were hunter-gatherers.

Not by any means universally true. While *some* Indians were as 'primitive' as the Kalahari Bushmen (the Shoshone, various California groups), there were also very highly-developed agrarian and civic societies, (the Pueblo and their ancestors, and the Mississippian culture); and many gradations in between (the Eastern Iroquoian and Algonkian groups were agriculturalists and hunters both; the Northwest Indians like the Tlingit were technically hunter-gatherers in their land of plenty but had very highly evfolved societies).

And then of course there was Mesoamerica, with high civilizations on a par with Egypt's Old Kingdom!

When the Europeans started to flux to America during the 16th century, they were mainly outlaws and protestants who were persecuted for their faith

.

Not really. Sure it applies to the Separatists of Plymouth Rock, but not at all to most of the rest of the colonies, which were founded by men seeking- what else? - wealth. Virginia was started as a money-making scheme by solid Anglicans, and produced its own upper class of planter-aristocrats, from which men like Washington and Jefferson came.

Calvinism - one of the major faiths of those immigrating to the Americas - says that those who are rich are approved by God and those who are poor are abhorred by Him.

Certainly Calvin never said anything of the sort. Say rather that certain rich men tried to justify themselves in pseudo-Calvinist terms.