What topic in your study of US history was most influential for you

and why?
The most influential topic I studied for in US history was the time period of
Slavery, starting from 1619 all the way through the Civil War ending in 1865.
The reason I find slavery so influential because it impacts a whole race of
people and how it changed all of America for the better slowly. Starting with
slavery in the mid-18th century, the African-Americans have had a hard life.
Being captured and being forced to live a harsh, stressful, work life without
any say or rights.
Indentured slaves was the beginning of the how slaves were put into such a
horrible predicament, being cast into a life of slavery at birth was how most
slaves lived, starting in 1682 by Virginia. Going from their other states
started to adopt the same laws.
Going forward to the time of Nat Turner, who was a famous African-American
slave, led a group of free African-Americans and slaves to revolt against
whites of Southampton county Virginia, on August 21, 1831. Nat Turners
revolution caused the deaths of over fifty people including his slave master
and the slave masters family. Nat Turners revolution all started with him
receiving a sign from god, telling him it was time for change, and so he
started planning for such change, but with little luck and becoming ill he
could not fulfill his prophecy. Not until he received another sign, this time not
allowing the moment passes. By gathering as many people as he could, Nat
Turner started his war path to free his people. This part in history was very
influential to me because its after affects were seen almost everywhere and
were implemented for a long period of time after Nat Turners death with the
limited ability for the African-Americans ability to read, warship, and how
they rally together for many years.
Another influential aspect of the history of slavery is the Civil War. Beginning
around April 1861 till 1865 the Civil War was Americas bloodiest war to date,
all in the name of giving freedom to those without. The Civil War started the
South declaring independence from the Union states due to the fact that
they felt slavery was a dying cause, and the South felt that without slavery
there would be a huge decline in income forcing the South to change their
ways, this lead to the South becoming the Confederacy.
With the two sides drawn they are pitted against each other to see who side
is going to win, eventually leading to the Unions victory the AfricanAmericans become free and having some rights. Yet even though the African-

Americans were free the Native Americans were still treated poorly, which
loops back into how history repeats itself. This is also influential event
because it changed the course of America forever; giving most people the
same opportunities at having life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which
is still the goal, the American dream. This also lead to the Jim Crow acts
placed on African-Americans and lead to the separation of the two races later
down the road in the 1950s, without this we wouldnt have leaders like
Malcom X or Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks to have the need to stand
up for the rights of all blacks during that time. All the events that were
foreseen through-out the course of slavery and even events after its passing
has helped structure the foundation of the United States that we know and
love today making it a very influential part of US history.
How will a better understanding of US history influence your future?
Having a better understanding of US history will influence my future by
giving me the information about the past so that I have the knowledge of
what my ancestors had to go through which gives me a much more
appreciative outlook on how lucky I am to grow up in such a time where most
people co-exist. By understanding US history we are able to help stop history
from repeating itself. Like making sure that certain events wont happen
again and if they do we have a clue on how to predict the course of events.
Lastly taking from US history the ability to find improvements on things that
are still wrong with todays world and possible solutions that could come
arise from looking at the past and even from other countries pasts to make
the future better for all.
Citations

American Civil War. (n.d.). Retrieved May 02, 2016, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War
Nat Turner. (n.d.). Retrieved May 02, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Turner
P. (n.d.). Slavery and the Making of America. Retrieved May 02, 2016, from
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/timeline/1712.html