Orientalism and Epic Encounters

In her book, Epic Encounters, McAlister states that "Orientalism was the cultural logic through which American culture symbolized a break from nineteenth-century Protestant piety and marked the nation's entry into 'modernity'" (22). After having completed various other readings for this course, we can now approach this statement with a broader knowledge of the various racial struggles going on at this time. Considering Reconstruction, the World Fairs, and the influx of immigration and expansionism occurring around the end of the nineteenth century, it would seem that this statement might be a reductionist view of the complexity of the shifts that were occurring at this time. But then again, Orientalism was a common way that European Americans engaged in the othering of different races and cultures. Where does the cultural importance of Orientalism lie in relation to all the other struggles and issues to be considered in the construction of 'modernity' and 'Americanness'?