As the semester ends, I have thought a lot about what I have
learned this semester, not just factual things but about myself and how I
learn. One thing I have learned this semester that I was pleased with was that
I can learn just as much or more from doing projects, watching movies, or doing
research than from hearing a lecture and taking notes. Coming from AP, I found
that I learned better in this class and will be able to remember the things I
have learned for longer. For example, I did my research project on portrayals
of Native Americans in film and how these portrayals change the way Americans
viewed this group of people. During this project I was able to learn and retain
some really interesting information about this topic. I have learned this
semester that, personally, I learn better if I find the information myself and
I know I will remember this information for a long time. Going along with this:
10 years from now I will be able to have a conversation about the Native
Americans and the stages in which they were portrayed in film and the attitudes
of the Native Americans towards these portrayals. I loved reading about how the
Native Americans felt about the way they were shown to the public because I was
able to really understand how they reacted and why.
One thing I
was unpleasantly surprised to learn about the history of the United States was
that many of the wealthiest and most powerful people only achieved this success
through scheming and deceit. The success of these business tycoons, although did
attribute to hard work and ingenuity, was mainly due to the ruthlessness,
arrogance, and corruption of these men. Considering these tycoons had extreme
power in the country and many people looked up to them, I was disappointed when
I learned this. In the past, Americans, especially ones with great power
struggled with lying and cheating in order to maintain their degree of success.
Today, the same thing continues to happen with certain people who are obsessed
with how they appear and their stature.
If I could
name this period in United States history, I would name it the “Progress
Period”. Confucius once said, “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but
in rising every time we fall.” I think this is extremely relevant to this
period in American history because of the immense growth that has happened in
this span of 55 years. We have gone from owning African Americans to allowing
them to be a major part of our work force. From being a country who’s
boundaries trapped us into a confined space to expanding into completely
foreign territory. During this period, we’ve seen the introduction of the
assembly line and other major industrial engineering. When I really think about
it, America has made tremendous progress during this time and compared to other
eras, America and its society has grown more during this time period than any
other period in American history.
