Article 4: Is History Created by "The People" or Individuals?

History is a creation of “the people” and not by individual persons. Each major figure in history had a group of people behind him or her, supporting and helping him or her. Many times, the people would be the driving force in a cause, as opposed to a specific person.
An example of this is the recent Tea Party movement. This movement is against the recent taxes that have been proposed by government official in order to help pay off some of the debt that the United States is currently in. The Republic Party wants to back up this movement, but many of the people that make up the group do not want their help. They have said that the Republic Party needs them, more than they need the Republic Party. This shows that the people of the Tea Party movement feel as if they have enough power to overcome a bill without a major group. While the Republic Party is not an individual person; it represents a more powerful force then “the people.” Without a figurehead, it is lacking a face to the movement. One of the things that these people are trying to show is that this is what the people of the country want, not necessarily a more powerful, government official.
Another example of this is the Revolutionary War. The people of the new colonies in North America were being ruled over by a king in England. They did not think it was fair that a foreign ruler could control what they did across an ocean. The people of the new colonies chose to rebel against the British. One of the things that sparked the revolution was the Boston Massacre. This was when a few British soldiers were provoked by American colonists. A fight ensued in which the British fired shots at colonists armed with only rocks. The fact that the British soldiers attack colonists enraged the people to revolt. Although there were colonist leaders, the people were still the ones revolting against Great Britain.
A similar event to the Revolutionary War that was lead by the people was the Civil War. The people in the northern United States wanted to free the slaves, while the people in the south wanted to keep slavery. While there were leaders for each of the groups, they were helped and fought alongside the people. At the end of the war, the North won and slavery was abolished due to the people fighting for what they believed in and for what was fair.
During the Civil Rights movement, the African-American popular in the United States rebelled against common ideas and beliefs set forth by the American government. These ideas were race based and favored the white population. A very well known event that many people think of when talking about the Civil Rights movement is Rosa Parks not moving to the back of the bus when the bus driver told her to. This gave the idea to boycott the bus system. The boycott hurt the bus companies because they lost half of their pay. The bus boycott was one of many boycotts that took place. Another event that was common was a sit in. A sit in was when a group of African-Americans would sit at place in a restaurant where they were not allowed to be and would not move until they forced to move by the police or another force. These were often violent and always resulted in the participants being thrown in jail.
A major theme in the Civil Rights movement was being peaceful in their protests. All of the violence during this time period was caused by the government. Being peaceful meant that they could not get in trouble with the law for violence against other people. This idea was started by Martin Luther King Junior. While he was a major figure in the movement along with Malcolm X, they both were supported by the people of the African-American community. Without the people behind him, half of the things he accomplished would not have been possible. This shows the power that the people have when it comes to making major changes.
The Summer of Love was the summer of 1967 when teenagers migrated to San Francisco, California. San Francisco was considered the center of the hippie community, but most of the major cities in the United States housed hippies. During this summer, approximately 100,000 people traveled to San Francisco. Many of the people that went there had to live on the streets and find food without any money. This further exemplifies the idea that the people create history.
Without the people of civilizations, there would be no history. Major figures in history either emerged from “the people” or were supported and could not have succeeded with their followers. The people can either make or break history. Either way, they affect the way history was created and shaped it.