First Semester Summary Activity

            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.