Question

Write a one-page paper on why you would want to spend a day and what you would do with Robert Smalls. What would you do? Where would you do it? What knowledge would hope to gain?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Robert Smalls was an African American slave. He escaped his captors and went on to become a ship’s pilot, a captain and eventually a politician. He was notable for serving in the South Carolina legislature for five terms and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Smalls was a typical hero from a story where the protagonist changes the course of their fate through struggle and bravery. One might generally be asked common questions like who in history would you like to share a meal with or what fictional character would you like to meet. In choosing Robert Smalls, one would meet a notable historical figure and a brave hero who fought for his victory.

A meeting like that would be a good opportunity to gain some perspective on our future. In order to do so, one would have to consult the past in order to look at the state of affairs of the present. This is why it would be befitting to visit a museum that showcases the American political history of the last 200 years.

By doing this, we could perhaps talk more about the nuances of everyday life when racism was blatant. It would be nice to know about the kind of things that a history textbook might fail to report. Textbooks generally report the macro perspective of situations. However, things like social circles, everyday recreation and individual struggles etc. are scarcely talked about.

When a major incident gets a name or face or personal story associated with it, people tend to sympathise more. For instance, a hurricane is just a calamity. However, when we know about a friend and their family who has lost their home from the calamity, we might get a better micro perspective of the kind of effect that such an occurrence can have.

In doing so, one might hope to gain knowledge that might affect a certain change in current behaviours. It is imperative to know the kind of daily struggles a person like him might have gone through at the time. This would help us know if those struggles are common even today. Comparing lives from his time and now would help gain a certain perspective. It would help know if those problems still exist and what can be done to correct them.

His insight might help find any issues with the political scene and the civic structure of society since he lived though a time where such issues were rampant. Therefore, it would be nice to have a coffee and a long conversation after a visit to the museum.