american history essay topics

american history essay topics

Exploring Key Themes in American History

1. Introduction to American History

The key historical themes that have crystallized American understanding of these two qualitatively different elements of historical growth reflect one or both of these faiths in the inherent significance of the passage from the one to the other. This early attempt to consolidate themes may encourage further debate and reevaluation or be useful to supplement the standard organization of elective courses that survey the period as a whole.

Americans have often been described as “a people who learned from the past.” Such a characterization suggests two elements of American historical growth. The first, derived from the people’s pragmatic and utilitarian nature, asserts the importance of learning from experiences. The process is there, however unsystematized or unconscious, and because experience can only come by living through time, time must be mastered for material goals. In that respect, learning from the past is of a piece with subduing nature or instituting government: it is one more measured decision, one more positive and self-conscious step in the march of human progress. A second element, tacit in such phrases as “learning from the past,” but explicit in the body of historical leaders, promises that the chronological sequence itself must be significant. This insistence, derived from the people’s special sense of destiny and mission, takes two forms: the belief that the march of American experience has been different, and the belief that the American march has been especially notable.

2. Major Events and Movements

The geographical isolation of America from the European continent during most of the 19th and early 20th centuries contributed to the avoidance of both direct political and military confrontations with European powers. And not forgetting that the way in which the history of the European colonizing countries was made in America was the starting point for a new story, different, thanks to a combination of geographical, political, and sociological circumstances. Throughout history, the United States continues to face challenges, but with respect to an evolving social, political, and economic platform, leading to its consolidation as a world power. The reasons that led to a politically weak country located on the east coast of the United States to emerge as sole superpower, formulating new post-Cold War international policies, enrich the national debate on what is the United States and of what it will become.

Migration and settlement, political conflicts, constitutional issues, economic matters, and international relations are some of the key themes in American history. These themes are directly related to the manner in which the United States has developed since its foundation in the late 18th century. The structure of the Constitution of the United States was a result of social, political, economic, and even religious conflicts at the time. These conflicting forces also had a direct impact on the behavior both of the American people and of the various groups in which they are divided, based on race, sex, and social class. Within the political arena, economic, and international context, the American people always have their different, but derived, ways of perceiving and conceiving being American, and its Constitution values, and their impact the historical evolution of the country.

3. Influential Figures and Leaders

Crispus Attucks – In 1770, the Boston Massacre incited a great deal of anger and unrest in the years leading up to the American Revolution. A mob of colonists had challenged British troops who were occupying Boston, and as the situation spiraled out of control, the troops fired on the crowd, killing several men. Among the first of these casualties was a man named Crispus Attucks (1723-70). Residents of Boston who were of both African American and Native American ancestry, Attucks was an escaped slave and a ship’s cordwainer who scavenged parts and repaired boats and ships. Although often depicted as a runaway slave or a dockworker and frequently simply referred to as “the first martyr of the American Revolution” – more has also been surmised about this man. Other research suggests that Mr. Attucks instead may have been a revered figure within the political activist circles in his hometown of Boston, and was possibly one of the ringleaders behind the crowd’s mob-like behavior and aggressive actions.

In addition to important pieces of pivotal legislation, American history also involves iconic figures and leaders who have shaped and changed society. Different backgrounds and spheres of influence interacted with where and when these people lived to produce radically different views and approaches. While historical figures are capable of being just as multifaceted as the landmark legislation and movements they project, the portrayal of these people can also be controversial. Thus, the following profiles recognize key figures and must also acknowledge the complexity inherent in the following portraits. Elected representatives have helped to shape American society by authoring important laws, developing defense strategies, supporting policies and innovative ideas, or assisting in formulating both good and bad decisions.

4. Social and Cultural Transformations

The Gilded Age and Great Migration developed distinctive forms of inequality. Cities were at the center of these transformations, full of both prosperity and poverty, but shared in the significant changes that shaped the new America. Various social and cultural movements influenced primarily by the Second Great Awakening combined to help shape a new social order. New ideas condemning luxury and ostentation became noticeable in architecture, interior design, and dress. Society was motivated to aid the suffering and promoted visual images of service and sacrifice. Voluntary organizations proliferated, which efficiently mobilized financial and human resources for expansionist international missionary and relief activities, and for formal and informal national territorial and governmental reforms. A social identity allowing for readjustment of individual roles was a fundamental aspect of the new social order. The consequence was a return to pre-Victorian patterns in the gender structure by the end of the century. If these changes reflected the appearance of a more compassionate and prosperous society, other shifts in American values also contributed to the creation of social structure to hereafter advocate and historicize notions of essential bourgeoisness, consumerism, and nationalism.

5. Conclusion: Reflections on the Significance of American History

One of the first things to strike most foreigners in arriving for the first time in the United States is the way in which many events in one’s history are remembered and commemorated. Ways of life, and even minor struggles in obscure corners of the country, are enshrined as the glorious and moving epic of a great nation. Endless parks and monuments perpetuate the memory of the past. This sense of history has become more important after the nation reached maturity. Several generations of the immigrant heritages have been assimilated into a single American culture, and every subsequent northern European nation being swallowed up by a more homogeneous American people. The combination of a common language, religion, and political and economic institutions has been emphasized by instilling in all people a respect for and a loyalty to American heroes and their deeds. Washington, Jefferson, Pierre Lallemont, and countless others were generously remembered by reverent students, and fresh experiences poured forth from the writings of later heroes and settlers. By remembering and celebrating the past and its heroes, the daily lives of ordinary people were linked with the men and women who made America. The memories, experiences, and deeds of American heroes make the nation, justify its existence, and give its people patriotic faith, love, and the sense of belonging.