History is created by individuals Article

I think that history is created by individuals. There are many examples of individuals in our past that have changed history in many ways. Our own history in America has many examples of these types of individuals. I think that many of our leaders, like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in our early history, and Martin Luther King Jr. and President Obama in more recent history, are all individuals that have had an important part in making history. Through their actions, these people helped change history and how we look at the world today.

George Washington changed history in many ways. He helped make our early form of government and even became the first president of the United States. He was not only the President but he was also first commander - in - chief of the Continental army. George Washington was also the delegate to the first and second Continental Congresses. Through all of his actions, George Washington made America a better country for everyone to live in. George Washington helped win the revolutionary War and many other wars to follow it. These are only some ways that George Washington changed history as we know it today.

Another person who changed history was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had many accomplishments in his short-lived life but those accomplishments changed the way we live and get along with each other. One of the most important accomplishments that Abraham Lincoln had was to lead his country, America, through the Civil War successfully. Abraham Lincoln managed to settle the differences between the two sides, the north and the south, and then to find a resolution that fit both of the sides. Another accomplishment that Abraham Lincoln had was becoming the first Republican President of the United States. Even though Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President, he was the only Republican out of the fifteen Presidents that were elected before him. Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery and wanted to end the act of it all together. Lincoln was one of the firsts to act on slavery and try to get slavery banned from the United States of America. Abraham Lincoln worked to stop slavery by introducing the Emancipation Proclamation. The first Act that was introduced and put into action was the Confiscation Act. This Act freed slaves of anyone convicted of aiding the rebellion. Abraham thought that Congress couldn’t free the slaves, but he signed the Act anyway so the Commander- in-Chief could free the slaves. When the Emancipation Proclamation got passed, it freed all of the slaves no matter if the area that they where in was controlled by the Union or not. Probably Abraham Lincoln’s most popular accomplishment was the Gettysburg Address. This speech was one of the most quoted speeches in history. These are just a few accomplishments that changed history. Abraham Lincoln was one of the most successful Presidents of his time and changed history through his actions and accomplishments. Abraham Lincoln, as an individual, helped change history and how we look at the world today.

Closer to our time, Martin Luther King Jr. also changed history in many ways. The first way that Martin Luther King Jr. changed history was to work to stop the segregation of colored people. It was important that Martin Luther King Jr. worked through peaceful ways to end segregation instead of using violence. Some of the peaceful ways that Martin Luther King Jr. helped get people to come over to his side was to give speeches and lectures about what his opinion was on the segregation of colored people. Martin Luther King Jr. also showed how evil segregation was by giving demonstrations on what the people were doing to colored people. Martin Luther King Jr. helped people see the true facts about what was happening to colored people when they weren’t paying attention. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I had a Dream” speech, he said that he had a dream about a world where white people and colored people would live in the same world peacefully. Everyone would get along no matter if their ethnicity was different than yours. This is how Martin Luther King Jr. created history and changed the way we live our life today.

Another individual that changed history is President Barrack Obama. Barrack Obama is our current President and made history just by being elected. Barrack Obama is the first African American President to be elected by the United States. Barrack Obama is the forty-fourth President of the United States. Barrack Obama changed the way we think about who can be President and how far we have come since slavery. This is why Barrack Obama changed history by becoming the first African American President.

All of these individuals prove that history is created by individuals. They all did different acts to help our country prosper. From the early 1800’s to the present day you can see that certain individuals can create history if they work hard on something. George Washington was the first commander in chief and the first President of the United States. He was the delegate to both of the Continental Congresses. Abraham Lincoln helped get rid of slavery in the United States of America and was the first Republican President. He also delivered the Gettysburg Address, which is one of the most quoted speeches in history. Martin Luther King Jr. ultimately stopped the segregation of colored people and helped America move on in their goal of uniting all races to get along with each other. Barrack Obama made a step in a new direction. Barrack Obama became the first African American President of the United States in 2008. These individuals changed history in many ways. Because of them we have developed further and gotten rid of slavery and segregation. These are all examples of how an individual can influence many people and change history. All of these individuals changed history for the better in some way, either by helping people to see the harms of segregation or to win wars.


Citations: "Abraham Lincoln -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. .

"Martin Luther King, Jr. -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .

"George Washington -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. .

"Barack Obama -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .

Picture Citation: "File:George-Washington.jpg -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .