The US: A Long and Varied History of Sweets and Bitters - Essay Sample

The story of the US is extensive, sweet, and bitter to both citizens and non-citizens. By saying that the history of the US is long and wide, James Baldwin meant that the US had so many historical events than people know. Baldwin was also suggesting that the country's historical moments are exciting with many undesirable moments. The US has undergone so many changes that scholars have not even fully described them. James Baldwin meant to say that the country has gone through many social, economic, and political moments, some of which are horrible and others very beautiful. According to the claims of the author, the United States of America is a country rich in history, but people do not know all the historical facts.

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According to what I learned, the political history of the country has had a very impressive political history. The history of the super nation dates back to 1500 BC when the indigenous Americans arrived in the country. The country had a rich indigenous culture, but it had already disappeared by 1500 AD (White, 2015). The political systems of the country experienced a lot of changes since the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the first explorer to tour America in 1492 (White, 2015). It was a result of the exploration of the country that European colonizers arrived in America between the 16th and 17th centuries (White, 2015).

According to how the history of America was taught, during the colonial period, Europeans imposed taxes on the Americans. The taxes made the natives resist the rule of the Europeans. High resistance to the taxes made the citizens form a party called the Boston Tea Party to fight for the interests of Americans in 1773 (White, 2015). from the continued resistance, the national parliament made laws that required the halting of the self-government in Massachusetts. The nationals of the country organized armed conflict for two years, which resulted in the colonial government allowing the country independent of the USA. One of the most exciting parts of the history of the US is in 1787 when the country formed the first Constitution and added a bill of rights to it in the year 1791. the state fought with Britain in 1812, and the US won the war to solidify their national pride (Yang, 2013).

Throughout the ages, the political system of the US has changed significantly. The changes that the system has gone through include the formation of political parties and movements, changing the voter's character, and that of the leaders (Yang, 2013). Interestingly, the country's economy has also been growing in terms of Gross Domestic Product from 4 million dollars in 1790 to $321 million in 2015 (Yang, 2013). one of the worst parts of the history of America was slavery and the slave trade, which happened during the periods of the industrial revolution. The government, however, amended the ConstitutionConstitution in 1877 to solve the problem of the slave trade and protect other human rights (Thomas, 2003). The amendment also gave African-Americans who had moved into the country through slavery right to vote.

The economic history of the US became better in the 20th century when industrialization and entrepreneurship recorded the biggest. During the same period, the US became the world leader of industrial development. The American ConstitutionConstitution also underwent a series of changes between 1890 and 1920. one cannot exclude the first world war in the history of the US. (Thomas, 2003). One of the terrible historical facts that the country has in its archives is the difference between the republicans and the democrats (Egnal, 2013). The conflict between the two has affected the politics of the state and its economic aspects. The second world war also involved the Americans, who were very active in warfare. Out of WW2, America and USSR became the worst enemy though they were the strongest countries of the 20th century (Egnal, 2013).

It is important to include the revolution that made the state include the right of movement of citizens in its laws in the 1960s in the country. The US and the USSR were always in disagreement and included the cold war between the two. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the US as the only superpower in the World (Egnal, 2013). The US has also suffered mass terrorist actions, with a significant case happening on 11th September 2001, which involved the Al-Qaeda. In 2007 the economy of the country suffered greatly and recorded a depression that preceded slow economic growth during the early 2010s (Egnal, 2013).

It is unpleasant to say that the US has had some very undesirable aspects, including racism. Although there have been many constitutional changes to solve social injustices in the country, racism in the country has persisted throughout ages. Many personalities have tried to address the problem of racial discrimination in America (Thomas, 2003). Anti-racial campaign champions include Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Those personalities significantly condemned the evil act but were unable to end the alienation ultimately. The government enacted a law that allowed racial alienation between the blacks and whites in 1968, and in the same year, Luther King was assassinated (Yang, 2013). However, the death of the man did not stop the anti-racism campaign and increased riots and demonstrations. Although racial discrimination did not end, its cases keep on decreasing with time.

In my opinion, the history of the United States of America is truthfully taught to us. The reason why I agree with the facts that teachers and narrators tell us is that they are also well archived in books written by American scholars. Another reason that makes me believe that the stories that people tell about America are truthful is that some of the latest events have been running through media platforms.

Through learning American history, I developed the value of patriotism. Most of the problems that the super country has faced ended because of patriotic citizens who gave a lot of attention to the well-being of the citizens. Historical events that have taken place in America are more than anyone can fully describe. The country has gone through a lot, both negative and positive. Other than the political and economic growth, the country has also evolved dramatically in terms of scientific inventions. Military and information technology have also been growing significantly, which has contributed to the power of the country widening. It is, therefore, a fact that the history of America is more prominent, longer, more horrifying, and beautiful than one can imagine.

References

White, R. (2015). It's your misfortune and none of my own: A new history of the American West. University of Oklahoma Press.

Yang, X. (2013). The history, experiences and inspiration of traffic administrative system of USA. Journal of Engineering Studies, 5(4), 382-394. https://doi.org/10.3724/sp.j.1224.2013.00382

Bulmer-Thomas, V. (2003). The economic history of Latin America since independence. Cambridge University Press.

Egnal, M. (2013). Racism takes command: The social transformation of nineteenth-century America. Social History, 38(2), 249-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/03071022.2013.786227