History and Personal Life, Essay Example

Born during the Seven Years War (1756-63), in Ohio, my parents struggled and moved from the frontier right after my birth after the conflict between the French and British to get their family into safety. My parents had a farm near the Ohio Valley, but as soon as the British arrived to the frontier, they moved further back to French territories, where my mother’s parents were from, in Arcadia, within New France. They had to leave everything behind: they took a few animals with them, and my mother’s parents provided them with a little land in their French colonies to cultivate. We often struggled, and my two brothers who were older than me worked on my grandmother’s farm.

By the time I was 18 years old, I experienced war, often called revolution by people who live in America today (Burg). As I had to support my family, and my older brothers already got married, and my parents’ health declined rapidly, I decided to sign up as  a solider. I marched to Boston to protect the nation under General Artemas Ward. Thankfully, I returned to home after a few months, following an injury. By 1776, Boston was evacuated, and I believe I only survived because of my injury. A new order was being born, and the British were finally to be eliminated. The country became independent from the British: the same people my parents escaped from during the Seven year War. A new order meant a new era and elections. There were two people running for leading the new country: Jefferson and Adams. Both promised to make order and peace to return to our land, but it was hard to believe either of them. Me and my family (By this time I had three daughters and a grandson) became used to disorder and the lack of direction. In 1800, however, all changed. Jefferson became the president, and he promised to listen to people. I doubted he would, and I was right.

In 1812, I was already too old to go to war, but I saw two of my son-in-laws leave. One of them never returned. It was strange to see that the British still did not give up, and they took my daughter’s husband, even though I was previously spared.

I supported my daughter left widowed with two children as much as I could. We set up a small farm for her, and lived considerably comfortably, until the depression in 1819 (Purcell). Farming became impossible. Our farm only just survived bankruptcy.

During my life, I experienced war, and got to loathe the British. Coming from a small farming colony, all me and my parents wanted to do was to look after our fields and live in peace. We were not asking for the British to come and take over power. We simply wanted a quiet life. At the age of 18, I survived the war, but suffered in Boston tremendously. I lost my son in law and struggled to provide for my family. My parents had to leave their land behind, and I almost lost my farm because of the war. People in the country simply wanted to live their lives. They did not want presidents and countries fighting over their land. I wanted order and peace, but even the President did not provide that. I am disappointed in politics. I only hope that my grandparents will see order and law prevail in their lifetime.

During the elections and the campaign in 1812, I was sympathizing with Madison, as he tole people how the British imposed taxes on people living in America to fund their war and Empire, and how they made thousands of French living in colonies flee for their lives. In the 1800 elections, he became a Republican, and came across as a forward-looking person who worked for the people and took responsibility. Therefore, I decided to vote for Jefferson, and did not regret it. He gave people more power, and the 12^th Amendment was a great step forward.

While the recession in 1819 affected many of my friends. I never trusted banks, and did not have credit on the small farm I managed, but one of my close friends had to go to prison over debt. Again, I wanted a quiet life within my farm, without having to depend on large corporations and banks. It was all the banks’ fault, and Jefferson warned us years before.

Works Cited

Burg, David F. “Prelude to Revolt: 17561774.” American Revolution, Updated Edition. Facts On File, 2007. American History Online. Web. 4 Nov. 2015. <http://online.infobase.com/HRC/LearningCenter/Details/2?articleId=203320>.

Purcell, Sarah J. “Economic Crisis, Political Stability: 18201823.” Early National Period. Facts On File, 2004. American History Online. Web. 4 Nov. 2015. <http://online.infobase.com/HRC/LearningCenter/Details/2?articleId=193957>.