Select two events in American history up to 1877 that you would like to have witnessed. Describe the events and explain why you would like to have been present.

EVENTS I WISH I HAD WITNESSED (PRE-1877

If I was able to witness any two events in American history prior to 1877 , I would choose the American Revolution and the Civil War . Both were extremely important because they created sweeping changes in American society and deeply transformed the nation , and one living in these times could not have helped but have a sense of excitement and change - especially if one was on the winning side

The Revolution would have been an exciting time to live in , though also dangerous and divisive . If

one had been in New England during the early 1770s , one would see many colonists ' discontentment boil over into open protest and Boston 's occupation by British troops . Though this would have added to existing tensions and occasionally erupted into violence (such as 1770 's Boston Massacre , when nervous British soldiers fired at an unruly street mob , it did not break the movement , which had intelligent leadership (like John Adams ) and was able to rally ordinary people to their cause

If one could witness the Continental Congress ' sessions , one would see the evolution of the group 's grievances and the move from protest to independence , and the creation of a new nation from a group of very different colonies . The subsequent war would be exciting to witness in one sense , though otherwise it put the colonists through a great deal of hardship . British armies occupied both New York and Philadelphia for a time , and the fighting in the Southern backcountry was particularly vicious , which made the Revolution an unsettled and difficult period for many . theless , when the conflict ended , the new United States would have been an exciting place for many on the rebels ' side , since the war yielded not only victory but also independence and a new kind of freedom (Loyalists would have found less to celebrate , as many were made pariahs or driven to leave

The Civil War was an even more brutal conflict , and being a soldier in either army would have been a difficult , often terrifying experience However , both sides were strongly committed to their beliefs and willing to fight for them , giving both Northerners and Southerners a sense of both excitement and dread . The excitement stems from the fact that almost every group involved saw reason to be optimistic and committed to their different causes . The long debate about slavery had become irreconcilable by 1860 , and many pro-slavery Southerners were excited by secession , seeing it as a new war for independence and validation for Southern society 's ways . Abolitionist Northerners also saw the war as the great chance to end slavery once and for all , and African Americans (both slave and free ) hoped that the war would bring them freedom citizenship , and opportunities (These took much more struggle well into the next century

Though Lincoln did not initially wage the war to end slavery (he claimed only to fight secession , he changed his aims with the Emancipation Proclamation , which elevated the war to...