Important Historical Aspects in the History of the United States - Essay Example

American History Popularly known as America, the United s of America is the most powerful country on earth in terms of its economy and the country’s influence on major issues across the world. In line with this, it is crucial to point out that the country’s history contributes to its immense power with its rich history based on various factors that have contributed to the current state. For example, the country went a long way to achieve various liberties for its people with issues related to gender and race taking a center-stage in shaping the country’s history. America finds its strength in its strong constitution that confers the power to its. The constitution, which was written by a group consisting various professionals ranging from teachers, lawyers, representatives, and other professionals, is the supreme law of the land that provides the country with a room to exercise a high sense of patriotism among US citizens with the constitution acting as an art of compromise (Vile 4). Importantly, the country has passed various legislation and ratified various treaties overtime that strengths the country’s governance structures and provide various rights to the citizens of the country. With regard to treaties, the most important treaty signed by the US is known as the Paris Treaty. In fact, this is the is the very document that ensured that we have the modern day USA since the treaty with the Great Britain, under the then leadership of King George III ended the Revolutionary War with the USA being recognized as an independent state by Europe and no longer a colony of the British (Ledson). Most importantly, the treaty was achieved after various American statesmen - popularly known as the Founding Fathers - and included Benjamin Franklin and John Adams (USA's second president) engaged the British in the treaty some scholars describe as “exceedingly generous” to the USA with regard to the country’s territorial boundaries (Paterson, Clifford, and Maddock 20). Concerning the country’s political system, the country has experienced and continues to experience a vibrant political scene with various issues shaping policies adopted by various political parties. Most importantly, the two main political parties that control the direction of politics in the country are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Consequently, the country’s political support is almost divided down the middle with followers of the Republican Party known as Republicans while their Democratic Party counterparts are called the Democrats. Amongst the Republicans, Abraham Lincoln is the most recognized individual and party member due to the sweeping changes he brought to the country. As president, Lincoln adopted an abolitionists’ approach to ending slavery with his actions being against the Conservative wing of the Republican Party that adopted an anti-slavery stance (Foner, "The Fiery Trial" 86). This stance has endeared Lincoln to the American public making him one of the most revered leaders since he went against his party line. One of his major contributions was his opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1845 that sought to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that restricted slavery with the Act of 1845 providing powers to local settlers, instead of Congress, to determine the enactment of slavery in new states (Foner, "The Fiery Trial” 88). It is instructive to point out that President Lincoln set the agenda for abolishing slavery with his opposition to laws that entrenched slavery in the country, which highly contributed to his assassination. To drive his anti-slavery agenda, Lincoln used the provision in the country’s constitution that provide for the equality of all men before the supreme law, which was against what the president defined as Republicanism Principles (Foner, "The Fiery Trial" 86). The culture of the United States is as diverse as its history and its people. In fact, the country draws its success from the diversity in the different races inhabiting the country. Currently, it is a challenge to identify Native Americans who settled in the country long before the country became a British Colony. However, the Paleo-Indians are the first known inhabitants of the United States of America with archeological evidence suggesting that these Natives settled in the United States at around 40,000 – 8,000BC (White 1). These inhabitants are the Native Americans, also known as American-Indians who still observe some aspects of their culture despite the industrial, technological, and other changes that have taken place and diluted some traditional cultures. Despite this group being Native Americans, they have faced various challenges related to displacement from their native land. Perhaps the biggest oppressive issue that the natives have experienced is related to the ethnic cleansing incident they faced at their Indian Territory, in the modern-day state of Oklahoma (Green, 1995). As a result, the ethnic cleansing, which did a law enforce, contributed to the deaths of thousands of the Native Americans with many others losing their homeland in an incident that has become known as Trial of Tears (Green). The Trial of Tears is not the only act in which rights of a people have been trampled upon in the US. Other incidents have been a dark spot in the country’s history. Chief among them is the act of slavery that was not limited to African-Americans but also extended towards British and German youths who wanted to get free passage to any American Colony with this form of debt bondage known as indentured servitude. This form of servitude was characterized by a fixed number of years in which the youth could work in order to pay for their freedom with the Virginia Company being the main developer of this form of slavery (Galenson 4). Other than indentured servitude, immigrant Africans who came to the country as slaves underwent slavery in harsh conditions while working in the plantations with the persecution of the people who advanced the cause for the abolition of freedom. One renowned abolitionist is John Brown whose approach towards ending focused on an armed insurrection to overthrow institutionalized slavery in the country, which led to his capture and consequent sentencing to death (Foner, "Forever Free" 32). Although not conclusive, I believe my analysis has provided you with a view of some of the most important historical aspects in the history of the United States with these aspects contributing to the history of the United States and its current successes in various fields. Works Cited Foner, Eric. Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction. New York: Vintage Books, 2006. Print. ---. The fiery trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print. Galenson, David. “The Rise and Fall of Indentured Servitude in the Americas: An Economic Analysis.” The Journal of Economic History 44.1(March 1984): 1–26. Print. Green, Len. Trail of Tears from Mississippi walked by our Choctaw ancestors. 3 Feb. 2002. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. . Jedsen, Lee. The Treaty of Paris, 1783: A primary source examination of the treaty that recognized American independence. 1st ed. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2006. Print. Paterson, Thomas, Clifford, Garry J. and Shane J. Maddock, American foreign relations: A history, to 1920. Vol. 1. Stamford: Cengage Learning. 2009. Print. Vile, John R. A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments. 5th ed. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Company, 2010. Print. White, Phillip. M. American Indian Chronology: Chronologies of the American Mosaic. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Company, 2006. Print. Read More