American History by
Erica Thornton
American history - to know
or not to know - that is the question. Several people
today have trouble understanding American
history and many times get so frustrated
that they give up trying altogether. While
American history can provide a better
understanding of our culture, it can also be
very difficult to comprehend. Whether it be
the Civil War, the Great Depression, or even
the New Deal, history to us is the only way
of uncovering our country's long lost secrets.
Without American history, we would not
know anything about ourselves or the
environment we live in. All our lives would be is
a mystery with so many clues to uncover. Is
that really the way we want to live? Or do
we want to know about what is happening in our
world today? Maybe a closer look at
some of these historical events will help you
to decide how well you understand
American history.
First of all, many say history does not
treat men and women equally.
Lief Erikson, Christopher Columbus, and Abraham
Lincoln. These men were given the respect they deserve when written about in
American history books.
Sacagawea, Betsy Ross, and
Sojourner Truth, all women who, yes, are given
recognition in textbooks, but were not always
respected for being the superior and
talented people they were. History has not
always been good to women. While men
like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were
greatly spoken of in history women like
Martha Washington, put her life at risk for her
husband and froze at Valley Forge
along with him, or Abigail Adams, who stayed
home and kept the family business going
and raised the children, were not. My mom just
turned forty years old and today I
asked her about Harriet Tubman. She did not
know who that was. She does not know
who Madame C.J. Walker or Sojourner Truth are,
either. I know that this is not her
fault. When she was in school, she was never
taught much about women or blacks
and their role in history. We, as children,
need to learn about all aspects of history.
Whether it be man or woman, black or white,
they are all important.
History makes us question truth so that, hopefully, we will not make
the same
mistake twice. For example, have you ever sat
down and really thought about whether
or not the Mexican War was an exercise in
American imperialism? Before thinking about
this, you must first know that imperialism is
the policy of extending a country's power
of control over other countries or colonies by
military, political, or economical means.
Before the Mexican War, the Americans kept
moving west, buying land belonging to
Mexico. What is now Texas was at one time
Mexican land. The Texas area attracted
more than 100,000 settlers between 1836 and
1845. These people agreed to follow
Mexican laws but eventually backed down on the
deal. The Mexican War was to protect
Americans living in Texas, but was it
imperialism? Not really because the United States
didn't want Texas because it would shift the
even distribution of slave-holding and non-
slave-holding states. Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke
for many Americans when he said
"the U.S. will conquer Mexico, but it will be
as the man swallows the arsenic, which
brings him down in turn. Mexico will conquer
us." He too was afraid that the Mexican
War would hurt more than help. Nevertheless, in
the end, Texas did become part
of the U.S. and studying history helps us know
there are many sides to every question.
Studying history gives us a more balanced
view of events. Historians have been known to exaggerate or alter many of
their stories. One of the biggest questions among us today is whether or not
historians overemphasized the slavery issue as a cause of the Civil War.
What do you think? Do you think that there was another cause other than
slavery upon which the Civil war was based? Or was it entirely slavery
alone? I think that some historians have overemphasized the slavery issue as
a cause of the Civil War. When it started, it was about states' rights.
Abraham Lincoln did not issue the Emancipation Proclamation until two years
into the war. So, of course, slavery could not have been the only reason.
However, if there had never been a slavery issue, there would probably have
never been a Civil War.
Also, we examine history to see what
worked and what didn't. What springs to
mind when you talk about the dreadful Great
Depression and the things that helped to
solve and overcome it? Many people wonder
whether or not the New Deal was an
effective answer to the Depression. Because the
New Deal was Roosevelt's plan for
improving the economy, many doubted it.
However, it really came through for all the
people. It not only helped to reassure the
Americans that it was safe to return their
money to the banks, but it also brought a great
deal of relief to worried farmers. Then
in 1935, Roosevelt proposed a new series of
reforms to help American businesses, as
well as the millions of citizens who were still
out of work. These new reforms were
known as the "Second New Deal." Although they
were not as effective as the first set,
they still had a huge impact.
Finally, history gives a chance to
reflect. Was it necessary to drop the atomic
bomb at the end of World War II? In recent
years, this question spins in many people's
heads for days at a time. While some people are
very conscious of the death and
destruction of the bomb, others are proud that
we defeated Japan and ended that
atrocious war. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, on December 7, 1941 in the
wee hours of the morning. Because of this
attack, we were left with 150 destroyed
planes and more than 2,000 soldiers and sailors
dead. Japanese planes bombarded the
ships and airfields at the base and continued
on to disable all of the battleships. So, the
war started. Four years later to end it,
President Truman dropped the atomic bomb on
Hiroshima. Was it awful? Yes, but the Japanese
still didn't surrender until the second
bomb was dropped five days later on Nagasaki.
Studying history reminds us that we
must judge things in the time-frame they happen
- not by modern standards.
The Mexican War, the Civil War, and World War II - all things of
American
history. Without the history books that we have
today, we would never know about
anything in our lifetime or in our past. As you
can see, American history is something
everyone needs. Just because not everyone likes
it or is good at understanding it, it
doesn't mean that it is not something to be
appreciated. When children are not taught
effectively about American history, it could
seriously hurt them in their later years. Yes,
history keeps changing - not the truth but how
people look at the truth. Whether it is
women's roles, imperialism, or the necessity of
war, time can help make it clearer what
the truth is. So when you are sitting in your
American history class and are repeating in
your head how badly you want to get out of
there, stop for a minute and try to
understand why you need to be there.
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