Final Essay - People

History Department, Salt Lake Community College

HIST 1700: American Civilization

Joshua Black

July 28th, 2023

Throughout history, America has been a place of opportunity and growth, but also a place

of great sorrow and tragedy. This growth and tragedy can be seen throughout many historical

figures throughout American history. A few of these people that lessons can be learned from are

the Clovis Tribe, Roger Williams, Crispus Attucks, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and J. Robert

Oppenheimer. History tends to repeat itself time and time again, giving people opportunities to

learn from these figures and events that are recorded. Even given these opportunities to learn

from mistakes in the past, some people don’t seem to learn from them. As Society learns from

America’s history, and does not ignore the lessons that can be learned, they can help the country

to grow, improve, and reach the potential that it can have.

Bridge. One of the earliest civilizations in America was the Clovis Tribe. Scientists thought that

the Clovis Tribe were "the people who spread the Clovis culture descended from migrants from

Asia who crossed the Bering Land Bridge to North America" (David Reich). Due to how long

ago they lived, not much is known about their culture compared to others throughout American

history. They were theorized to have settled in the New Mexico area after coming south from

what is modern day Canada and Alaska. There are continued discoveries today such as their tools

and weapons, to try and find more accurate facts about the tribe.

The Clovis Tribe laid the foundation for civilizations in America. After a time, they

disappeared, but new Native American groups began to live in North America in the next few

thousand years, until in the 1400s to the 1700s, Europeans began to colonize Eastern America

and build colonies and the people there. This time of colonization brought many to America, and

while the people coming to America grew and flourished, many of the Natives were affected

negatively by this colonization, such as disease, displacement, and war.

One of the many people that helped to colonize America is Roger Williams. Williams

was a puritan at the time that had very different beliefs from the local leaders regarding the

separation of church and state. He felt this way because he, "therefore concluded that

government must remove itself from anything that touched upon human beings’ relationship with

God" (John Barry). This opinion was not popular with the Puritan leaders and he was banished

from his colony. After some time spent away, he started a colony with religious and economic

freedom called the Providence colony. This colony was a place that he made "sure that Rhode

Island and Providence Plantations became a place in which people from any background,

religion, or nationality could make their own way." (C. Morgan Grefe). His example showed that
people could make a difference in the early days of American colonization, and why the

separation of church and state is so important.

Following the Colonization of America, the struggles continued. The ties between Britain

and America were still strong, and tensions started to rise. A large part of this is due to heavy

taxation without representation that the British implemented, and many other events such as the

Boston Tea Party. It is seen that even while many people left England to have religious or

commercial freedom, it did not always go as smoothly as the people would have hoped. Many

people had a large impact on the events leading up to the American Revolution, one of those

people being Crispus Attucks.

Attucks was an African American slave that lived during the time right before the

American Revolution. He was working at the time for a slave master named Deacon Brown. At

the age of 27 he was able to escape and start a new life in the Boston area. While he was helping

with a sailing job in Boston, in 1770, tensions between Americans and the British were as tense

as they had ever been. After a small riot, resulting in a brawl on King Street in Boston, British

soldiers began to fire on the Boston citizens involved, the first of which being Attucks, taking

multiple bullets to the chest. While the Revolutionary War didn't start for 5 years after this, "the

Boston Massacre imprinted into the minds of Bostonians the threat of British military

occupation" (Michael Kreamer). Due to Attucks death, he became a sort of icon for African-

American abolitionist movement, even years later.

As time passed after the revolution, a major issue started to arise was the division

regarding slavery. Slavery had become a large part of the economy in the Southern states, with

the heavy use of plantations that used many Black slaves. This led to a major divide within the

US, many states choosing to be part of the “North” or “South”. This injustice befalling the

African American people had become extreme, and many people wanted to help stop this. While
many people gained more freedom following the Revolution, not everyone was able to get that

freedom that was promised. One of the many people that had a positive influence on helping

slavery to end was Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Stowe is best known for writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin", a novel that looked at the life of a

slave and the effects it had on her life. Stowe grew up in a time of great slavery and racism. After

the death of her child, she started to empathize with the enslaved mothers. One of the many

thought provoking ideas presented in Uncle Tom's Cabin include "I make no manner of doubt

that you threw a very diamond of truth at me, though you see it hit me so directly in the face that

it wasn’t exactly appreciated, at first" (Norma Brickner and Harriet Beecher Stowe). She used

the fame gained from this novel and the impact it had on readers, to try and put an end to slavery.

Following the Civil War and the time of racism, America saw a time of great growth,

during the Industrial Revolution, new technology, cars, planes, and many other things were

invented and developed. During this time as well, America wasn't without tragedy. Following

World War 1, tensions grew in Europe with the creation of the Nazi party and Germany invading

other European countries. After Japan joined the war, and bombed Pearl Harbor, the United

States then joined the fight. One of the many people that had a large impact on the outcome of

the war was J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer, due to his efforts in the war, is known as the "father of the atomic bomb”.

As he learned physics in college, he soon gained a lot of traction and was well known for his

sophistication within the theoretical realm of physics. Being a renowned theoretical physicist, he

was soon "appointed to the Manhattan Project, code name for the project formed to develop an

atomic bomb" (Los Alamos Lab Director). The Manhattan Project was an organization tasked

with the creation of the Atomic Bomb, which would eventually lead to the bombing of

Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, concluding America's war with Japan during World War 2.
Following the events of the Manhattan Project and World War 2, Oppenheimer became an

advisor for the Atomic Energy Commission.

Oppenheimer's legacy lasts far beyond the Manhattan Project and the events of World

War 2. Following the War, America entered the Cold War with the USSR in which much of the

tensions regarded the use of nuclear technology. Oppenheimer soon became infamous and "His

security clearance was revoked in 1954 in a hearing during the Second Red Scare" (Los Alamos

Lab Director). While he faced a lot of punishment, the scientific community was outraged,

leading to more tension in the Cold War. While the Cold War never turned to active conflict, the

effect of Oppenheimer's nuclear technology had a great impact on the people during that time,

and continues to be a threat for international tensions today.

Through these examples of people in American history, and many others, the course of

American history can be seen. Through its colonization, to the wars, to the struggles within the

country, it has grown and changed forever. Even throughout the country's lowest moments, and

to the moments that it soars, it has been a place of freedom, opportunity, and growth. As people

take time to learn from American history, they can learn from the experiences of others. History

tends to repeat itself time and time again such as not everyone receiving freedom that is gained,

and the effects of war on the nation. If people learn from those mistakes and successes, and don’t

ignore them, they can help the country to grow and become better after each of these

experiences.
 Works Cited

*Clovis Tribe*

Keith Randall “Texas A&M Expert: New Clues Revealed About Clovis People” Texas A&M

Today, October 23rd, 2020

https://today.tamu.edu/2020/10/23/texas-am-expert-new-clues-revealed-about-clovis-people/

David Reich “Clovis People Spread to Central and South America, then Vanished” Howard

Hughes Medical Institute, November 8th, 2018

https://www.hhmi.org/news/clovis-people-spread-central-and-south-america-then-vanished

*Roger Williams*

John M. Barry. “God, Government and Roger Williams' Big Idea” Smithsonian Magazine,

January 2012

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/god-government-and-roger-williams-big-idea-

6291280/

C. Morgan Grefe, Ph.D. “Roger Williams and the Founding of Rhode Island” Liberty

Providence University, 2023

https://library.providence.edu/encompass/roger-williams-and-the-founding-of-rhode-island/

roger-williams-and-the-founding-of-rhode-island/

*Crispus Attucks*

Writer of Crispus Attucks Museum. “Biography of Crispus Attucks” Crispus Attucks Museum,

February 15th, 2023

http://www.crispusattucksmuseum.org/biography/
 Michael Kraemer. “The Boston Massacre-Origins” Ohio State University, March 2020

https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/boston-massacre-american-revolutionary-war?

language_content_entity=en

*Harriet Beecher Stowe*

Norma Brickner. “Quotes from Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Literary Ladies Guide, June 30, 2020

https://www.literaryladiesguide.com/author-quotes/quotes-from-uncle-toms-cabin-by-harriet-

beecher-stowe/

Harriet Beecher Stowe by Jessie Kratz: U.S. National Archives, March 8, 2019

https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2019/03/08/harriet-beecher-stowe-a-fighter-for-social-

justice/

*J. Robert Oppenheimer*

Los Alamos Lab Director. “J. Robert Oppenheimer” Atomic Heritage Foundation, 2022

https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/j-robert-oppenheimer/

IAS. “J. Robert Oppenheimer: Life, Work, and Legacy” Institute for Advanced Study, 2023

https://www.ias.edu/oppenheimer-legacy