Final answer:
Bellows' characterization of the nation and its people align with broader historical views that see virtues in the agrarian lifestyle and the Northern free labor system, while considering slavery as a detriment to the nation's moral fabric and a barrier to social mobility.
Step-by-step explanation:
The characterization of the nation and its people according to the various perspectives in the provided texts seems to focus on the virtues and vices attributed to the economic and labor philosophies of the time. Jeffersonian thought considered the agrarian lifestyle as the foundation of virtue and success in the republic, believing that the yeoman farmer embodied the ideal citizen. This contrasts with the more industrial and labor-focused views of the North, where free labor was seen as a path to economic growth, individual dignity, and social mobility.
These differing views reflect the broader tension between rural and urban economic models, as well as between North and South over the issue of slavery. The northern perspective saw slavery as antithetical to the dignity of labor and as an obstacle to the social and economic advancement of non-slaveholders.
How did Bellows characterize the nation and its people is not explicitly answered in the provided texts, but elements of his critique may resonate with views that slavery eroded national virtue (b), and that the free labor system in the North encouraged a diligent and respectable working class.