How Learning About American History During The 2016 Election Changed My Views

My junior year of high school was during the 2016-2017 school year, which meant I was learning about American history while the 2016 election was occurring. I had learned about most of American history growing up in grade schools, but since my peers and I were older, we learned more about the horrors minorities faced during the course of American history. Before then, I had also never considered voting as such a big priority in my life, considering I wasn’t able to vote until the summer of 2018. When we learned more about how much discrimination was present and the duration of discrimination, I began to realize that voting is much more important that what I’d thought. Fighting for and eventually receiving voting rights for women and eventually men and women of color to better voice their opinions and introduce more views about an issue which may be more inclusive and better for multiple groups within the United States rather than the one group being represented.

My classmates and I had a lot of discussions about the election, and once a week

during history we would talk about the election. The more we discussed different political stances about specific issues, the better I understood that it was better to talk to with others about their views because it helped me better understand where each person may be basing their beliefs and views off of. I believe that the more I can hear different views, the better respectful citizen I can be. I used to hate discussing political views with people because I never liked the idea that I could cause someone to get upset or angry over politics. After looking more into the election, the history of voting, and having discussions in school, however, I have learned to appreciate my ability to vote more, and I value my right as a woman to vote after women in American history fought so hard for it.