1st Semester Essay

1st Semester Essay 

           The United States of America has undergone a mass of transformations since Columbus first set foot on American soil. So far in this year of US history class we’ve learned an ample amount of things from segregation, to reconstruction, to cowboys, to the industrial boom, and so much more. Through all these changes have come new economies, new forms of politics, and countless new societies.

In a way this is what I was most pleased to learn about the United States. I enjoyed studying all the hardships that the United States has surpassed, building up to the country that we live in today. Seeing the great business typhoons emerge and submerge as their legends live on for new generations to admire and learn from, as well as the rise and fall of fads such as the romanticized west. Retaining the knowledge of the allure of the United States and why it was so appealing to others; from the better job opportunities, to the political and religious freedom, to the overall opportunities that we had to offer.  Seeing the quantity of conversions that our country has gone trough as well as the success and failure that occurred to reach our present day position has allowed me to have a steady foothold in our past.

With all the good however came some bad, from our semester only one thing really displeased me about our countries history. The downgrading way that we treated the people that simply didn’t look like us for that reason alone. Stating off with the majorly obvious example of this, slavery. Native Americans were treated terribly because of the color tone in their skin, they were not allowed the chance to succeed in life simply because of this one thing that set them about from the “average” white American citizen. Elaborating on more people that were looked down upon in earlier society were immigrants in the early to late 19^th century. Simply because their native born country was not the United States, equal rights were not received. Lower wages, social isolation, and horrific living conditions were the effects of this patronization. Learning about the unfairness that was cast onto harmless lives was very unpleasing for me to hear about my beloved country.

From this semesters studies in ten years I will be able to talk about in great detail slavery and the impact that it had on me. If you were to stop anyone on the street and ask him or her if they knew what slavery was their answer would be yes. Everyone knows what slavery is, but a lot of people don’t really know the true horrors that come with slavery. Through the historical film study of 12 Years a Slave I was able to see the true feelings that were experienced and pain that was endured for numerous years. To me slavery is one of the most important things that an American citizen should know in great detail about because of the intenseness that it embodies.

If I were to name the time of history of the United States from 1865 to 1920 the name would be the Age of Transformation and Reformation, because of the changes that the United States went through in this time. Varying from social, to political, to economical change all add up to the country in which we call home today.