Common Themes In US History

I've learned a lot this semester about history, and in this post I'm going to attempt to summarize some common themes in US history.

Exploration and Discovery

One of the most common themes in US history is the theme of exploration. Our country was founded because of the European's thirst to know more. Our country expanded and added new states to the union because of exploration. We continued to explore, to push limits, to know what was not known, to push the boundaries. In this case, curiosity didn't kill the cat.

Diverse Opinions

The US for a long time has been home to a wide range of diverse opinions and practices. Since our founding, these opinions have sparked new laws, riots, and wars. Slavery, one of the most diverse out of these, deeply divided our nation, caused the Civil War, and still has repercussions today. Many different people had lots of opinions about the founding of our nation. 

Loyalty to our Country

We've had a history of being loyal to our country. From the many different wars that we've had to the tons of political debates, all have been in what we thought the best interest of our country was.

Democracy and Freedom

Our nation was founded on a system of democracy and freedom. Ever since the Declaration of Independence, we've had a system of democracy in our government and had a Bill of Rights to protect our freedoms.

Five Of The Causes Of The Civil War

1. North wanted to end slavery, South wanted to keep it.
2. Abraham Lincoln was elected, which was not who the South wanted elected.
3. Tensions rose, and multiple skirmishes/battles occurred.
4. Missouri Compromise worked until we wanted California admitted to the Union.
5. The North wanted to take away the South's main economic staple by taking away slavery, which was the thing that the Southern economy was built on.

Both of those posts that were due.

5 things that led to the civil war
1. State's rights and slavery
2. The precedent set by nullification that led to secessionism
3.  Slavery's role as an inseparable part of the South's economy
4. Influence from England on the Southern market
5. The election of Abraham Lincoln leading to a feeling that the south was being betrayed

It is said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it and America has had a history of repetition. The biggest themes to have come from the period between 1607 and 1861 are expansion, enslavement, and hypocrisy. The first European settlers to come to America and successfully set up shop came here with the intention of expanding their homeland's range of power. The multiple groups of people now settled fought each other for control of the most land while also fighting the natives who had already been living there. Ultimately, the drive to rule all of North America continued until America controlled all of the land it currently does (with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska). We had been using forced labor to fuel this endeavor. First it was failed attempts to force the natives to work for us and indentured servitude by those wishing to come here. Later, it would be the crushing institution of slavery using Africans. This is also where the hypocrisy plays in. Many settlers moved to America to escape tyrannical rule either under a ruler or religion or whatever else. We then preceded to become oppressive puritans who split off into new states to escape those tyrants. Our land of freedom did this multiple times over, creating new states to escape form the old, previously free ones. To fuel our freedom, we forced people across the world to work for us, to build or new world and expand into lands we had no reason to assume was ours except that out god willed it.

5 Things That Caused The Civil War

• 1831 | Nat Turner's Rebellion.
• 1846 - 1850 | The Wilmot Provison.
• 1854 - 1861 | Bleeding Kansas.
• 1859 | John Brown's Raid.
• 1860 | Abraham Lincoln's Election.

Reoccurring Themes

From the year 1607 to the year 1861 there were several different themes that reoccurred in our nations's history. Slavery and exploration are two of the main themes in out history. During this time period Slavery was going on throughout the world and had just got introduced to America at the time. I also learned that Africans were not the first spaces in America, but it was the Native Americans. Slavery also led to some huge events in our nations history. For example it was a huge factor of the Civil War due to the fact that the South relied on them for agriculture but the North did not. And during this war some of the slaves fought for the North to help win their freedom. Another big event was Nat Turner's rebellion. Nat Turner's rebellion was where slaves rebelled against their owners. At least 55 slaves were killed. The revolt was not effective and was easy to stop. It made the slave owners worry because they saw what the slaves could do. Another theme during this time period is exploration. One of the most famous expeditions was the Lewis and Clark expedition. Once the United States bought the Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark were given the task of exploring it. At this time the Louisiana Purchase doubled our country's size. Not only did they explore the land but they explored ways to run and maintain this country. And during this time people in the United States explored different types of crops to see what will grow and be profitable.

Main Themes of American History

The main themes of American history from 1607 to 1861 are conflict and exploration and expansion. The first of the main themes is exploration and expansion. This theme is prominent throughout all American history. The theme of exploration and expansion is shown best shown with Manifest Destiny and how American people want a place to call their own. With the expansion of land comes conflict, such as fighting other countries or natives to the land. Along with expansion, conflict makes up a large part of American history. It started when colonists came from Great Britain to colonize the new world. The original colonists had conflicts with the Native Americans. After the colonists settled down they wanted to be free so they had conflicts with Great Britain, and so on. Conflict and exploration and expansion are a large part of all American history including recent history. Recent American history has also been rife with conflict, mainly in the Middle East. In conclusion, the main themes of American history can be applied to all American history.

Important themes in American history

This term I have learned a lot on American history, from signing the Declaration of Independence to the beginning of the Civil War. I've seen how the American culture has changed in over 250 years. I think a highly important theme in the American history was slavery. I learned about how it was a major role in the south, and that slavery used to be thought of as as way of life. It was the way things had to be in order to thrive with an agricultural society. This is why it was defended so avidly by the confederate states. I learned that it was tied in with the wealth of the south. It was at such large amounts of influence that the southern states would be almost worthless without slavery. Without it the south's economy and wealth would fall drastically. Even with the fact that only one percent of whites owned large amounts of slaves. I also learned that they were transported across the Atlantic in the most obscene ways just so that more money could be made. Slaves had no rights and no say in anything that effected the way they lived. Not only were slaves used to toil in the fields, but the were also used to gain influence in politics. Thanks to the two-thirds compromise the south gained thousands more votes to be used in the election against the more populated northern states. In the end, I think that the most important theme was slavery and the impact it had on our culture.