BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR

One might ask oneself what that means. The American Character. It sounds glorious, mighty, powerful and whatnot, but how many of us actually know the meaning of such a grand phrase?

The American character is an idea. It is how our minds are shaped when we are growing up: what we should be proud of, the values we are supposed to impose onto our children, how we should dress, the way we are expected to think. However, our mentality has not remained the same throughout the history of our country. People change, times change, and as this happens our mentality changes as well.

The American character was already developing even before the very first European colonizers set foot on American territory. Tired of the government and oppression, they came looking for freedom, they came looking for a place where no one would tell them what to believe, a place where they could own acres and acres of land and live off the land, or to just be free. It seemed like the perfect place to grow perfect crops in vast extensions of land.

Americans soon discovered that the rich soil was g

Groups like the minutemen and state militias were formed by men with the same goals, dreams and ideas. They fought bloody battles and many lost their lives for the cause. Their idea of what the American character was consisted of political freedom and to be able to govern themselves, to gain the right to vote. These men envisioned a great country for the people, whose fertile lands stretched 'from sea to shining sea'. After they gained their independence, America became the land of opportunity where everyone had a chance for a better life.

With all the new reforms and laws being passed, women thought they, too, could change the mentality of people about women. Some prominent leaders fought hard to accomplish this; they called meetings and organized conventions to recruit more followers who felt it was time for a change, too. Women wanted to gain the right to vote and fought for equal rights. At first they were laughed at, for no one thought they were serious. Although women would not gain the right to vote for a while, people learned that women could organize too.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Spanish English, Native Americans, American Character, African Americans, Church God, England Americans, Puritans American, american character, That's American, Heaven Children, CIVIL WAR, owned slaves, gain vote, native americans, escaped slaves, speak unless spoken, wasn't strong, speak unless, country people, demand land, women gain vote, unless spoken,
Approximate Word count = 1835
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)