by Amanda Teo

Created on: March 16, 2010

Revolutionizing is the new in-thing in this world today. It is all about change. Everyone anticipates it. Scientists and educators look for things to alter, hoping to make life better. With these constant transformations, society is cognizant nothing stays new for long. This habit has changed cultures forever. It has burned into their hearts and minds.

This mindset has shaped lives for centuries. One of the biggest turns in American History were the adjustments made before the turn of the 20th century. In that period, America just turned into a free country and all were looking for a better life. Immigration, Technology, Urbanization and Education shifted America into a whole new level. These changes quickly filtered into their lives.

Foreigners from far away lands sacrificed everything for change. Europeans, Chinese, Japanese traveled by steam ships in hope of a better life. Bad accommodation while traveling and hard inspections made the journey hard. However, perseverance and hopefulness made their dreams realities. Many passed the test that led to their settlement in America. Cultures from all over the world moved into this free land. However, the different values and background each culture came with brought anti-immigrant sentiments. Harmony was a challenge to enforce. This difficulty to live in peace led to “Nativism”, where the Natives considered other nationalities as aliens. The opposition of immigration led the government to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Gentlemen’s agreement. These acts banned most Chinese and Japanese from immigrating.

As these harsh acts were imposed, the government desired to improve their standards of education. It became a compulsory for children to attend school at a young age. More high schools were built for teenagers to study. As most foreigners sought “Americanization” for their kids, school was a great chance to expose them. However, as this was an obligation, African Americans were excluded from learning. Living a hard life was all they knew and a sense of hope was no where in sight. They protested. African Americans strived for an education to escape racism.

Lastly, Technology played a big part to change. Improving city life and daily living was crucial. Sky scrapers and parks were built. Subways, cars, planes, and bridges made it easier for people to get from place to place. The Kodak camera developed that started the rise of amateur Photography. Changes were beginning to be noticeable. It deepened their understanding of the world and more of what it had in store for them.

New toys, new friends and new life psyched society. Even though there were many disagreements in society, many were happy. Revolutionizing made those people blissful. It marked an important part of their life; made them cognizant of the power of change.

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