Conference: History Before 1877 Essay

Research Questions:

1. What historical events happened before 1877?
2. What is the most important historical event in the United States before 1877?
3. What is the most important political event before 1877?

Thesis: This paper mainly studies the historical and political events that happened before 1877. It is important to remember and discuss the occurrences as they provide context into the founding of the nation. Without a record and teaching of such happenings, it is difficult to write the history of the country.

Discussion

Document analysis is deployed as a data collection method to answer the research questions. Upon reviewing the available information, it is possible to establish three main historical events before 1877, including the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, and the signing of the Declaration. The latter counts as the most important historical occurrence in the U.S. before 1877, while the Mexican-American war is the most critical political event.

The Boston Tea Party refers to a protest by members of the Sons of Liberty organization in 1773. The aim of their actions was to target the Tea Act of 1773, which enabled the British East India firm to sell tea without paying taxes except those demanded by the Townshend Acts (Liebich, 2021). These individuals believed that the Townshend Act violated their rights as tea producers. In response to this, the parliament developed the Intolerable Acts in 1774 (Liebich, 2021). The motive behind this was to punish the opponents of the Tea Act in Massachusetts. The other historical event before 1877 was the Declaration of Independence in 1776 (Liebich, 2021). The function is described as the decree as well as the founding document accepted by the Second Continental Congress meeting.

The information gathered in the research shows that the Declaration of Independence was the most important historical occurrence in the U.S. before 1877. The founding fathers enacted the document during the American Revolution (Fourie, 2021). It explained the reason why the thirteen colonies at the battle against the British viewed themselves as sovereign states that were not under the rule of the Kingdom of Great Britain. After the Declaration, it was the duty and responsibility of the thirteen states to form the United States of America. Fifty-six founding fathers from various places in the country participated and signed the declaration (Fourie, 2021). The event as well served as a formal clarification of the reason behind Congress voting to declare independence from the British.

In addition to that, the Mexican-American war is considered an important historical occurrence in the U.S. before 1877. The event of 1846 to 1848 was the first United States struggle mainly fought on international soil (Guardino, 2022). The war was between a politically divided Mexican military and a President James K-led expansionist-minded side. A sequence of United States victories followed a border conflict along the Rio Grande that gave rise to the battle (Guardino, 2022). At the end of the struggle, Mexico lost almost a quarter of its territory. This included the area covered by places such as Arizona, California, Utah, New Mexico, and Nevada. In 1836, Texas gained its independence from Mexico (Guardino, 2022). Previously, the U.S. refused to integrate it into the union mainly due to the northern political interests being against the incorporation of another state that practiced slavery. Additionally, the Mexican government encouraged border raids as well as a warning that a trial to invade would result in war.

References

Fourie, B. (2021). Declaration of Independence.Cell, 82(921), 5445. Web.

One strength of this source is that it provides information concerning the Declaration event itself and other elements about the topic. For instance, offering data on the history behind land size allocation. One weakness about the source is that the author has failed to place more focus on the topic of Declaration.

Guardino, P. (2022). The constant recurrence of such atrocities: Guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency during the Mexican-American War.The Journal of the Civil War Era, 12(1), 3–27. Web.

One strength of this source is that it provides information concerning the methods used in fighting. For instance, there is a mention of the guerilla warfare tactic. The author as well describes the use of the technique when battling the Native Americans. One weakness is that the author offers much data on the wars during that time, which can cause the reader to forget the main topic of the research.

Liebich, A. (2021). History and Its “Losers.” Histories, 1(4), 282–288.

One strength of this source is that it provides an in-depth history of the United States in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. This allows a researcher to identify important aspects of the document to the study. One weakness is that for an inexperienced investigator, it would be tiresome for them to use the source as a point of reference.