America: Today and YesterdayHumans tend to change over time. Humans are the most intelligent creatures and can adapt and survive in any environment. People change over time. It is human nature to want new things and new changes. The United States has changed a lot from the mid-1400s to today. Some are good, others bad. But even though change is inevitable, many things remain common. Some things never change. Since Christopher Columbus discovered America until today, a lot has changed. He is known as the father of this country. Even though he didn't get the ending he deserved, he is the reason this great country emerged from the darkness. Great leaders like Thomas Jefferson played an important role in shaping America into what it is today. John Winthrop was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the leading figure among the Puritan founders of New England. He was the one who established a civilized society in the middle of nowhere and contributed to the flourishing of the United States. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia, engineered America's freedom from brutal British rule. Jefferson was an exceptionally lively and politically motivated man. He helped found our country, nurturing it from its young and tumultuous beginnings, and he fought to improve it in many ways. Over time, we see many differences and some similarities in racism, gender equality, freedom, religion, slavery and standards of living. These factors are responsible for the America we find ourselves in today. Racism has always been a sensitive subject here. in the United States. Weather is b...... middle of paper ......ne Franklin, Philip F. Gura and The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: Norton, 2007. Print. Hawley, Helen and Gary Taylor. “Religious Freedom in America.” Contemporary Review 282.1649 (2003): 344+. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. April 20, 2014. Harlan, Judith. Feminism: a reference manual. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1998. Print. Scaliger, Charles. “The Declining Middle Class: Despite the very real technological advances that Americans are using to their advantage, the standard of living of the American middle class has been in decline for decades.” The New American March 3, 2014: 10+. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. April 20, 2014. Sowell, Thomas. Race and culture: a worldview. New York: Basic, 1994. “America’s Failure” in print. The American Dissident Spring/Summer 2000: 42. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Internet. April 20. 2014.