Reflection Paper About The Year 1863

Were the United States of America always united? In the year of 1861, one of the bloodiest wars in American history commenced. 620,000 lives were lost during the war and many individuals still ask themselves the following questions; did this war need to happen; did it make a better America? The American Civil War had to happen because it made the America we know today.

The period of Reconstruction began after the Civil War ended. There were many leaders, goals and accomplishments that were involved and needed to rebuild our separated country. The main idea of this period of time was to protect and ensure the rights of African Americans but it had failed because of the restrictions and acts on the African Americans. The people in the South were terrorized by an American hate organization called the Ku Klux Klan (or the KKK). Republicans in Congress, argued on whether the freemen should vote alongside whites.The disagreements and different views from the North and South help aid the Reconstruction into a spiraling downfall.

Nearing the end of the Civil war and the beginning of the twentieth century the United States went through an economic revolution. During this time there was abundant natural resources, a growing supply of labor, and expanding market for manufactured goods. Because of all abundances the federal government encouraged the expansion of the railroads. This would benefit the United States economically. The Railroads were so important because it made the “second industrial revolution” possible. In 1913 the United States was producing a major amount of the world’s output. Which is more than Great Britain, France, and germany combined.

Unity has always been the goal of America. However, as their land expanded their unification fractured. From 1800 to 1850, America was separated between slave supporters and slave abolitionists. As America moved west, the conflict between the two sides increased because of the issues regarding southern farming, slaves states, and contradicting new laws.

The opinions changed from 1861-1863 due to the emancipation proclamation from slavery being the best thing that happened and that the world will always have slavery or one race would be killed off to Slavery being the worst thing ever and it would never be accepted again. But why these opinions changed was because the civil war was during that time.

The importance of the 1864 election cannot be overemphasized. The fact that Lincoln faced a tough re-election and ran against his former Union General George McClellan, the voting statistics were 212 to 21. One of the reasons that Lincoln got elected for his second term was all of the Union victories, including William T. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September. This presidential victory for Lincoln, changed the racial future of the United States.

April 6-7, 1862 Southwestern Tennessee. Once in the ranks of military life, I discover life turned out different than what I expected a soldier’s duty would be. I did not know the hardships that came with my signature. I saw the battlefield as a great challenge upon which I will either “secure my liberty” or “save the Union.” While I acknowledge that humans will die and losses will come around, I never envisioned the daily struggles to be in military camps, never thought in my wildest dreams, that twice as many soldiers would succumb to death from disease in military camps as from bullets, shells, and bayonets in battle.

The seven Presidents of the Gilded Age from 1876-1900, mainly focused on domestic affairs. Only a little interest was given to foreign affairs. The Presidents of the Gilded Age efforts included closing out Reconstruction, strengthened the federal government’s authority within the United States and help to keep America out of a depression. Some of the foreign affairs of the later years of the Gilded Age included participation in The Pan American Congress.

In my junior year AP US History class I was introduced to a classroom that emphasized open discussion instead of just a lecture style of learning. The intimate classroom setting helped expand my knowledge of American History as it encouraged critical thinking as well as connection building. The teacher-student interaction enabled me to become completely engaged in learning as I was able to develop new viewpoints and question my earlier ideas of American culture. In addition, the emphasis on peer discussions promoted the development of individual ideas along with an understanding of other viewpoints. Yet, the best aspect of the classroom was my teacher’s approach of learning through debates. Through debate, we increased our perspectives of the

The intellectual elements of 1815-1848 really revolutionized transportation and communication. The creation of roads really helped to dramatically cut travel time. These roads brought together the major urban areas that are located along the eastern seaboard (Keene, 263). What came next was even more measureable than the network of roads. The invention of the steamboat proved to be an economic blessing to river cities such as New Orleans (Keene, 264). It greatly changed the idea of upriver travel. The steamboat reduced the journey from New Orleans to Louisville to about a week. Canals also proved to make transporting goods even cheaper and faster. The largest undertaking to build a canal was proposed by the governor of New York. This canal

The ability to have ownership over something, tangible or not, can give a person a sense of value or superiority when comparing themselves to others. Furthermore, as humans, it is easy to desire things as one’s own and claim it, but the way something is treated differs from person to person. As a result, the material items and skills a person has ownership over provides a glimpse of his or her’s true nature.

Next, Gettysburg Day 2 came. After, the first day of battle at Gettysburg General Robert E. Lee ordered an attack on Union troops just South of town. The Union was positioned all along a fishhook. Starting at Culp’s Hill, going around Cemetery Hill and going down Cemetery Ridge South of Gettysburg with 90,000 troops. The Confederates surrounded the fishhook with 70,000 troops. Robert E. Lee planned to attack the Union Army from the left and right flanks of the fishhook (“Robert” History.com).

“I hate anyone that is not white Protestant,” begins Danny Vinyard, the brother of a former neo Nazi skinhead. American History X offers opinions from two sides through one character, the ex-neo Nazi Derek, and the post-prison-reformed Derek. The post-prison-formed Derek serves as a vision of hope for present time. This powerful movie not only depicts the most disturbing aspects of racism, but also shows how close racism is to the middle-class, white Americans. American History X is a fictional story that is told through the eyes of Derek’s brother Daniel, who is being recruited in the white power movement. This white power movement, also called skinheads, demonstrates how

The reconstruction era was a pivotal time period that shaped how the newly freed black slaves would be seen by the government of the United States. The Northern States were already tolerant of free black men that had rights however, in the south many were scared that those black men would be put in charge of them and ultimately suppress the white race. Eric Foner stated that “most white southerners insisted that blacks must remain a dependent plantation workforce in a laboring situation not very different from slavery (1998, p. 103).” In the south many people believed that their future relied solely on the exploited labor of blacks and they felt that this future was being threatened by the freedom of the blacks.

The colonial period in the United States all started when people starting immigrating to Boston in the 1630s. With high articulation of Puritan cultural ideas, the New England colonies have been regarded as the center of early American literature. In class we only talked about a few of the writing throughout the period but in this paper, I am going to tell you about the colonial period as a whole.