The Big Picture

Is it possible to grasp the amount of changes that can be made to ones nation and world in the span of 200 years? Throughout both the 1800's and 1900's, many ideas were invented and wars were fought that got us to the point we are at today. One may ask, what is the big picture of these 200 years and how did we even get to where we are now? With a mixture of comparisons and contrasts, the years layered on top of each other to form a stable foundation for the modern countries of the world.

A key comparison during the 1800's and 1900's was the segregation seen throughout the United States. African American's originally had little to no rights and were considered as property yet overtime they gained more respect and privileges. Despite being free in the North during the 1800's, blacks still didn't have many rights of their own. They were still treated with little to no respect and as the government claimed, were given certain rights to make them "separate but equal." One white man might be able to sit in the front of the bus or go to a regular school yet for a black man, he would have to sit in the back of the bus or be arrested. He would not be able to go to any school he chose. The rights at this time, although slightly better, were still horrific compared to the rights these men and women deserved which is one point as to why the 1800's and 1900's were similar.



These time periods were different on the other hand in how women had respect for themselves and everyone was more proper during the 1800's. Long dresses, formal dialect, it was all lost when the flappers came during the Roaring 20's and started to revolt and drink alcohol and smoke in public and speak with a weaker tongue. They also wore different dresses and started to cut their hair short and style it how they liked to, opposed to their mothers who were more old fashioned then them. Rebellion from society is something we can even see during modern day where young kids speak rudely and disrespect their parents if they aren't allowed usage of electrical devices to keep themselves entertained. If kids talked to their parents like this back then, these kids would have had a whipping and could even possibly be disowned. As time progresses, so do people's attitudes and the trends the world follows. This was just another example as to how in just 200 years, the fashion and structure of our nation changed a whole lot.

Although I only briefly touched on two topics, those are two I feel had a large impact on our nation. Who knows, maybe if certain things didn't happen, we would still be dressing up in suits and dresses daily and have kids playing outside getting energy while playing baseball versus playing a baseball game on a TV in which you have no gain from it. Both the 1800's and 1900's gave a lot to the development of the modern world and although they had their differences at times, they also worked and set a foundation for our society today.