Another Look at the History of the United States - Essay Example

US History Reflection What are the two or three most important things you learned about U.S. history that were new to you? Everyone during the course of his or her life will take an American history course no matter what the time frame is. For me, I believe that taking American history is absolutely fundamental to the patriotism that we as Americans share. The pride is derived from our history and traditions. Thus, this makes American history a fundamental course in learning about how to be an American. In the light of recent attacks and new enemies, it is even more important that we know this history now so that we can respect those that have lead the way before to not make the same mistakes. One of my new favorite eras to learn about was about the Gilded Age. I had known that Reconstruction after the Civil War was an extremely important part in the development of the United States for World War I, but I never thought about what was happening during the period that was post-Reconstruction. The term Gilded Age also referred to the fact that even though the era was a great time of industrial prosperity, it was still a time in which the middle and lower class suffered due to harsh labor and low pay. It can be concluded that the formation of labor unions, breakup of monopolies, and the somewhat end of political corruption is the reason that the United States developed into what it is today. Manifest Destiny was another topic which was new to me and I found interesting to learn about. Manifest Destiny was a belief about American expansion. It stated that the United States needed to expand not only to the Midwest, but also all the way out to the Pacific Ocean so that Lady Liberty could shine over the entire North American continent. This was achieved by explorers such as Lewis and Clark who explored the vast territories as well as wars with tribes and foreign nations for land. As a result, without the American drive to expand westward, the United States would have looked much differently than it does today. In addition, the American spirit for exploration did not only end with the expansion of the United States, but continued in programs such as the space exploration program under President Kennedy which succeeded in putting the first Americans into space and onto the moon. Lastly, another new thing that I was able to learn about was the Red Scare. I knew that during the Cold War that tensions between the communist Soviet Union and the democratic United States were high. However, I did not know that this turned into paranoia in the United States with the fact that people had thought that Russian spies had gotten into the United States. These fanatics were led by senator Joseph McCarthy created a fear in the American people and suspicion regarding communists in America. From this, we see a similar trend in history in that people look at Muslims in America as terrorists as the result of the attacks on September 11th in that they exacerbated anti-Muslim Semitism. 2. What did you learn about U.S. history that surprised you pleasantly? One of the things that I greatly enjoyed throughout American history was the way in which we interact with other countries. In President Washington’s farewell address, he stated specifically for the United States to have nothing to do in the foreign affairs of other countries. Not to disagree with Washington, but I believe that it is through the United States’ cooperation with foreign nations that we are able to have peace in the world. It started with the League of Nations and has now ended with the United Nations, a body in which countries from the world can come together to address world issues as well as promote the welfare of the human population. Because the United States is the only remaining super power left, many nations look to the United States as the leader in such matters. As a result, the United States will be needed in the future as humanity continues to increase and explore other areas such as space. 3. What did you learn about U.S. history that surprised you unpleasantly or disappointed you? One of the things that I learned that upset me during the course was the affair of the United States in that of the indigenous Native American cultures. For a country that preaches the right to be free and the right to remain sovereign, we forget that we come from a dark past. Today, we fight for those that are oppressed and for those that have no freedom, such as those countries in the Middle East. However, back in history, we were the oppressors. We entered Indian Territory under the pretense that we were there to educate the “savages” and integrate them into our enlightened society. However, we really just forced them out of their territories using force and killing innocent people in some cases. The Trail of Tears is the reminder of how the United States forced out the Indians in order to take the territory for their purposes. 4. How do you think this course has benefited you? If your answer is not at all, why do you think that is so? Even though many students consider this course to be repetitive, I have a counterargument. Yes, we relearn many of the same things repeatedly from history course to history course. Some of the information is what people would consider being remedial. However, each time you take United States history, you are taking it from a different perspective and at a different level. For this class, it was at a different level than my previous classes; therefore I was able to appreciate the course in a way, which was different from my other courses. In addition, each time that I take United States history, I am always learning something new or relearning something that I had forgotten previously. The respect and admiration I have for this country grows every time I learn something about our history because it is our history that binds every American together. For this particular course in general, I believe that it was challenging enough that I was able to learn things that I didn’t know, but it was not so difficult as I felt like I knew nothing about United States history. From this course, I will be able to take everything I have learned and pass it on to other people, as it is a history that we all share. Read More