if you are an
American, you know the basics of American history -
the revolution, Boston tea party, slavery, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor, Nine Eleven. But what most Americans don't know, and what I didn't know before I started flipping through the pages of my American literature anthology, is the personal and
real stories of the people who made up America and American ideals today. They were wrong about things; they were right about things; they
did things, things that made a
difference.
Most recently, I just read Harriet Jacobs account of being a slave. Even a peek into the dark side of America reveals such courage and strength. Without strong men and woman like her,
America today would be different. Even though she had almost everything taken from her, they could not take away her
voice. I shudder to read what happened during the time of slavery, but I also applaud slaves like Jacobs who
changed her world, and
changed ours.
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