Colonial and Post-Colonial America free essay sample

The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know. (Truman) America derives from relationships, events, and ideas that shaped all that it is today. The topics that most shaped America include the environment, government, and employment. The environment is a crucial key to any society, especially America. When the first colonies were formed, each had a very distant environment because of their separation. Each environment influenced their economies and social structures. According to Olsens lecture on Life in Colonial Times, the southern colonies had arm weather and enough rain for a very long crop season. In turn, they had many slaves (so many that the whites were outnumbered) and a completely different society than the north. The northern colonies had long winters and the soil was filled with rocks, which made for a hard time growing crops. The middle colonies were a little better off, but the warm weather and mediocre soil only gave way for small farms (bread basket colonies). We will write a custom essay sample on Colonial and Post-Colonial America or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page So what does this all mean for America today? The farms didnt work out in Northern and middle colonies, which is why they have shifted to specified areas for each crop. Oranges are grown in Florida, while potatoes are grown in Idaho. The colonists helped post colonial Americans fgure out where crops can and cant be grown, and made way for the creation of industrial cities, where crops wouldnt be able to thrive. Government was a topic of controversy in pre colonial America, and it still is today. However, America wouldnt be America without the ideas that the founding fathers set out. As presented in Wickers lecture on The Constitution, The Constitution set forth the idea of the three branches of government. This makes for a more fair ystem of government, and a far cry from a king born into the right family ruling the peoples every move. There would be no democracy, votes, freedom to be a part of the political party of choice, or any of the rights guaranteed by the bill without the ideas derived from Americas beginnings. The idea that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer isnt anything new. Colonial Americas relationship with Africas which lead to the event of slavery still lives on today with employment. As read in, America at 1750 Chapter 4 Black Slavery, whites believed that they were better than the slaves. They believed that the slaves were their property, and didnt treat them as human beings. Although the racism may not be as obvious or prevalent as colonial America, it still exists today. In the feature film, American Winter, families going through unemployment and hardships are documented. In this film, T. J, who is Mexican American, cant find steady qualifications, working a few days, and getting fired for his race. Some employers even made nasty comments to his face. This kind of discrimination of employment might not be to the caliber of slavery in Colonial America, but the ideas and elationships of Africans then, shaped the racist views of Americans today. The rich white men and still getting richer, and the poor minority groups (or in colonial times outsiders) are still getting poorer. Everything that happened in Colonial America shaped Post Colonial America. Ideas, relationships, and events from back then, are what America today derived from. The most important topics of what shaped America are the environment, the government, and employment, which all both plague and prosper America today. Some of this influence from Colonial America is good and some is bad, but either way it is what makes America.