American History

Every nation has its history that states its origin. For instance, Connecticut traces its origin from the Industrial Revolution that took place in America. Its development is also a result of the influences and contributions of the famous persons that existed in that society.

The state of today’s Connecticut is the result of the contributions of various individuals. These individuals have used their different ideas and knowledge based on the experience they had to facilitate the growth of their country. This is done by improving the lives of its people in political, social, and economic aspects. Their contributions have also helped in enhancing the social well-being of society as well as that of the individuals. They have had a great impact on society that provides grounds for their remembrance. For example, this section focuses on the contribution of Dannel Malloy and Donna Berman, who are remembered for their great contributions to Connecticut. They have influenced the current state of the city as discussed below.

Dannel Malloy

Dannel Malloy has contributed to the development of Connecticut in a number of ways. He was hardworking, very decisive, sincere and honest, caring and concerned and generally smart. He was industrious in such a way that he had always aimed at accomplishing all that he put in place regardless of what he had gone through. Moreover, he never gave up while carrying out his tasks despite all the obstacles he had encountered on his path. He initiated projects that aimed at improving the lives of people in the city as well as on the level of the nation. For instance, he introduced pre-school for every four-year-old, making the city be the first to facilitate access to pre-school education. He recognized the fact that education was the only way to national development, hence he emphasized on the need to invest a lot in educational facilities. He believed that knowledge and skills were the best necessity for national growth as well as human development. He emphasized that there was a need for citizens to be empowered by getting an education as this would enable them to get access or satisfy some of their basic needs. He introduced this project while still a mayor of Connecticut.

He was also honest and transparent to his nation. This is seen from the way he initiated and implemented transparency and accountability policies in the city that were later used nationally. He implemented the policy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principle. This ensured that leaders were accountable for their deeds. This was done in an attempt to enhance social welfare and that individuals were being treated well by their leaders. He was caring and concerned from the way he had implemented policies that were people-centered. He was of the welfare of society and he did everything to ensure that all the individuals in the city were not limited in their rights. He was also very decisive. He made decisions and attached plans of action on each he decided on. All these efforts have contributed a lot in the development of Connecticut as well as the entire nation.

Donna Berman

She is another person who influenced the development and growth of Connecticut. Her contributions were the result of the multi-cultural arts she had been involved in, and that had a great impact on society. She was the director of Oak cultural center and she explored various contemporary issues using her different arts she had made. These arts were a representation of contemporary society in the sense that they were the real reflection of what society was. She supported the idea that all human beings had a right to be exposed to their culture and society at large as it was only this that they came to realize what was expected of them. Through the arts, they were able to know their rights. She reduced the charges for individuals with lower incomes so that they could also get access to their culture. She also provided jobs and training for the youths who joined her organization where they were empowered with the required skills and knowledge as far as cultural arts were concerned. This greatly contributed a lot to national development.

Marilyn Nelson’s poem “Freedom Business” is a reflection of the slave trade that took place at the African coasts. It reflects the life of an African slave by the name Venture who was sold as a slave in America. The poem tries to bring out what the slave trade is by pointing out what the culprits go through while on the foreign land. The poet talks of the journey to the slave trade and shows all kinds of mistreatments the slave victims are exposed to. It also talks about the adverse impacts that occur because of the slave trade. For example, negative implications like loss of lives of both animals and human beings do take place as a result of the slave trade; there is also the destruction of property like physical structures and the general environment caused by fires. The general social well-being of society, as well as that of the individuals, is also tempered with the slave trade. Individuals are subjected to poor and harsh conditions of work, they are forced to work for longer hours and paid less, and there is the aspect of child labor where children are subjected to bad and hard jobs like farming.

The venture was subjected to slavery at the age of six; thus, he and his family lived a miserable life in a foreign country. He witnessed his father being killed after he had been subjected to torture and cruelty. His father was a leader; therefore, he deserved to die so that he did not lead his people out of slavery. The slaves were subjected to cruelty in the foreign country, America, where they were forced to work without any payment, and they were not expected to complain at all. They were expected to comply with all the rules that were in place for them. The venture was a representation or sample of what slaves went through while at the foreign country or on slave lands.

The poem enables the reader to visualize what had taken place in the past or in history and what takes place today. Through the poem, the readers are able to know what used to happen in the past and how changes have occurred with regard to the same. It is evident that life is related in such a way that whatever used to happen in the past or in history has got certain impacts on today’s life, for example, the Africans were the slaves in America. They could work on American farms, at companies and firms with meager salaries, or sometimes they were not paid at all. They depended on Americans for their survival, failure of which could lead to death.

This is still evident even today from the way African nations depend on the developed nations for their development and national growth in terms of provision of basic services, economic as well as political growth. This means that the effect of slavery on African nations still exists up to today but in a different way where the developed nations tend to exploit the developing nations by using their resources and controlling their economies by means of multinational companies. The poem generally tries to bring out the impacts of the slave trade on nations as well as on individuals. It points out the type of treatment individuals are exposed to while in slavery. It also helps in comparison with the past and the present.

The event discussed in this section is the Industrial Revolution. The term Industrial Revolution refers to fundamental changes that did take place in the world, altering the ways how things were done. These changes affected the ways of anything done society. It also led to structural changes where economic, social, cultural, and political reforms took place in the world, especially in America and other parts of the world like Great Britain and Europe. It took place between the 1700s and the 1900s. The changes occurred because of inventions and innovations like the development of machines that replaced human and animal labor and power in production processes like farming and industries. The invention of machines facilitated and contributed greatly to the increased productivity in both the agricultural sector and the industrial one. It also helped improve the quality and quantity of products. The Industrial Revolution also enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in the production process. The invention of various machines also led to the development and adoption of factory means and type of production since industries aimed at enjoying the economies of scale by producing more to a wider market.

The Industrial Revolution led to changes in the means of production in such a way that nations, individuals, companies as well as different kinds of industries shifted from traditional means of production to modern or manufacturing products with the invention and development of machines and new technologies that necessitated changes.

There was also an invention of new sources of power and energy. For example, coal began to be used to generate power and drive engines. It was used to drive machines such as vehicles and ships. This greatly improved the transport systems as it facilitated the development of a new transport system and increased its efficiency. Changes in power sources enabled faster transportation of materials from the industries to the market or from the sources to the industries in a timely manner without any wastage. Discovery of making iron and steel also helped in the construction of ships, airplanes, and vehicles that enhanced and facilitated the transportation of both the raw materials as well as the finished products from the industries.

The Industrial Revolution also led to the development and growth of towns, which necessitated rural to urban migration. People moved to urban or industrial areas of America to look for jobs and find employment opportunities in the industries that had developed so as to meet their basic needs of the time. This enabled them to generate income that they used to improve their standards of living. There were many job opportunities in the industrial and urban areas of America due to technological changes that contributed a lot to the adoption of factory production and development of industries.

Because of the Industrial Revolution, there were also great changes in America in the fields of medicine, energy, chemistry, and materials as well in the field of production. For example, in the field of chemistry, there was the development of chemical dyes as well as the manufacturing of fertilizers that were obtained through the conversion of ammonia to nitrates. Nitrates were then used in the making of fertilizers and explosives (Lehman {a} 16). Fertilizers improved agricultural productivity in the sense that they enhanced the quality of agricultural products as well as their quantity. This helped to ensure that there was food security without shortages, hence enhancing the well-being of society in terms of meeting their basic needs like food. In the field of medicine, the Industrial Revolution led to the invention of aspirin that was used as a painkiller with fewer side effects; disinfectants and antiseptics were invented to prevent and guard people against diseases. In the field of energy, there were new developments in the use of electricity that was mainly being used by telegraphs to facilitate communication. The Industrial Revolution led to the discovery of other sources of energy like diesel to power engines of cars and some ships, which improved transportation. Scientists developed materials like plastics and synthetic rubber that are being used even up to date in the production of other goods. Rubber is used in the manufacturing of tires that helps to improve transportation, especially by developing vehicles.

Finally, the Industrial Revolution was mainly associated with positive changes in America as discussed above, hence industrialization should be embraced by all the nations of the world to realize its great contributions to society. It leads to national development, and this is evident in America’s economy.