My Grandfather : An Historian Of Nineteenth Century America

During the post-civil war era, America, specifically the south, was undergoing a period of reconstruction. The general goal of reconstruction was to successfully readmit the former Confederacy back into the Union as smoothly as possible, as well as enacting specific safeguards of freedmen’s liberties. The social and constitutional developments in America between 1860 and 1877 were very minor. The lack of change between pre and post civil war status could hardly be considered a revolution.

     During 1790-1860, there were many reformations taking place and many events that lead up to the reformation of this very inexperienced country, of America. All these events effected the United States different ways and caused many grievances for the young people living in America. In 1790 we firmly incorporated the first American cotton mill which led to the economic augmentation of the United States. In 1791 we established the Capital of the United States in Washington D.C., and Alexander Hamilton establishes the first bank of America. In 1794 in Pennsylvania there was an uprising called the Whiskey Rebellion. People were rejecting the taxes on their way of life, and that was whiskey.

In the eyes of the early American colonists and the founders of the Constitution, the United States was to represent the ideals of acceptance and tolerance to those of all walks of life. When the immigration rush began in the mid-1800's, America proved to be everything but that. The millions of immigrants would soon realize the meaning of hardship and rejection as newcomers, as they attempted to assimilate into American culture. For countless immigrants, the struggle to arrive in America was rivaled only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the existing American population.

“The United States emerged from a virulent, intense, and inhumane civil war and evolved into a new nation during this period. This transition was the culmination of political, economic, social, and cultural movements which transformed the nation. E Pluribus Unum - out of many United States, one nation; the United States was forged in the cauldron of these revolutions."     -Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History

Throughout American history, politics changed with the times, forming and growing as new situations and environments took place. However, the most drastic differences occurred between 1815 and 1840. During this time, the North and South develop different economic systems, which created political differences between the regions. Between 1815 and 1840, the number of eligible voters drastically increased as politicians utilized a wider variety of campaigning methods in order to appeal to as many voters as possible, all essentially caused by economic growth. Politics grow to include universal white male suffrage, a strong national government, and nationalism versus sectionalism. Economic Growth (American System, Industrial Revolution,

Many people from all over the world saw America as a place to create a better life for them and their family. America was a place full of many job opportunities, ones that were not available anywhere else in the world. It was in America that people from different nations saw the chance to escape the place they originally lived because of unfair government or as a chance to have money to send back to their family in their homeland. The period after the civil war was an era of tremendous migration from southern and eastern Europe as well as from China, because of all the opportunities that were available here that were not available anywhere else. Migration was also prominent within America when African Americans

AAmerica began as a small struggling nation, with each citizen desiring an opportunistic way of life. To achieve this way of life, many changes needed to be made. Different people with distinctive ideas came together, and although there was conflict, they made great changes politically, socially, and economically. Each aspect changed America tremendously in a variety of ways. Analyzing each specific change can determine the extent in which America has changed for better or for worse.

Since the beginning of time, individuals have been discriminated against based on their religion, culture, race, and sexual orientation. The article “How Did Jews Become White Folks?” by Karen B. Brodkin highlighted the struggles that European immigrants, Jews, and African Americans faced in the United States pre and post World War II. In her article Brodkin focused on the idea of “whiteness” in America, and how the word has evolved over time to include a variety of ethnicities.

Since the start of time, there has been individuals in society that have been discriminated against based on their religion, culture, race, and sexual orientation. The article “How Did Jews Become White Folks?” by Karen B. Brodkin highlighted the struggles that European immigrants, Jews, and African American faced in the United States pre and post World War two. Brodkin focused in on the idea of “whiteness” in America, and how the word has evolved overtime to include a variety of ethnicities.

For my interview with an older adult I interviewed a man named Herald who is 83 years old, or years young as he would say, on Saturday the 19th of September at his home in the town of Griffin, Georgia. In asking Herald to describe his background I determined that he was born in Long Island, New York in the year 1933 and lived there for the first 17 years of his life. Upon turning 17 he packed up his things and moved out west to Idaho where he worked as a park ranger for a several year until he moved back home where he enlisted in the army. When asking him about his family he described himself as an only child, with a mother and a father of European dissent. Herald was married to a woman named Doris for 45 years until she died in early 2000 of an inoperable brain tumor that was thought to be caused by the traditional radiation treatments for acne she received as a child. He has four living children from his marriage with Doris, two sons and two daughters, each of which still live in the state of Georgia and two who still live in Griffin where they were born. As well as this he has five grandchildren, three of which are boys and two who are girls. Three of his grandchildren are in college within the Georgia university system and the other two are in high school.

* Document 2 indicates life of an English indentured servant could be difficult. In this letter to his parents, Richard Frethorne recounts the trials of the living in the 17th century Virginia and pleads to return to England.

To become an effective counselor to Jewish Americans or any race or diverse population is to be aware of one’s thoughts and opinions concerning racism and racial advantage, as well increase knowledge of culture’s different from oneself (Hays & Erford, 2014). Jewish Americans are referred to those Caucasian individuals who have immigrated to the United States from another country, such as Eastern Europe (Hays and Erford, 2014). In this paper, I will identify and provide a description of the Jewish population and how they differ from myself in a variety of ways. Additionally, I will provide a reflection of my immersion into the Jewish culture via my observations and highlight what I have learned

Throughout literature many pieces of work can be compared and contrasted to each other. In “Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie discusses the challenges he faced as a young Indian adult, who found his passion of reading at an early age, living on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He challenged the stereotype of the young Indian students who were thought to be uneducated while living on a reservation. Likewise, in the excerpt from The Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez shares his similar experience of being a minority and trying to break stereotypes of appearing uneducated. He shares the details of his life growing up learning a different culture and the struggles he faced becoming assimilated into American culture. In these two specific pieces of literature discuss the importance of breaking stereotypes of social and educational American standards and have similar occupational goals; on the other hand the two authors share their different family relationships.

The United States between the years 1860-1870 was in turmoil, but from a historical point of view, this decade is one of the most exciting times in U.S. history. In 1861 there were still fifteen slave states, seven states open to slavery by the Dred Scott Decision and only eighteen free states in the north (Ferrell Atlas).

The youth of today can hardly compare to those of 200 years ago. As a matter of fact, under Common Law, a person between the ages of eight and fourteen could have been considered an adult (Blackstone, W., 1760). At the turn of the century the Revolutionary War occurred barely twenty years earlier and was actually still going on in places like Louisiana. Youth of that day had probably taken part in the war in one form or another which caused them to mature at a faster rate. This, coupled with an agrarian society and different social norms, had children as young as fifteen married and having children of their own (Hacker D. J., 2003). The age distinction we place on juveniles today would not have been applied at