David McCullough’s “Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are” speech highlights the significance of history for the nation. McCullough’s speech represents themes such as work, exchange, technology, America in the world, and geography and the environment. McCullough uses these themes to bring attention to past incidents such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and the Pearl Harbor attacks. The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in the United States. It is taught throughout schools and has been acknowledged as being ratified on July 4th, 1776, yet that is misleading. John Trumbull’s famous painting regarding the Declaration of Independence also represents the misconception that the ratification of the document started on July 4th, 1776. The ratification process for the Declaration truly started on August 2nd, 1776, but the signing took place over multiple months due to the lack of Congress members at the original signing. McCullough’s speech represents the theme of work, exchange, and technology since the Declaration is a work …show more content…
An illustration of this is the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War was a dispute between Great Britain and the 13 colonies. The war caused the colonies to be over 75 million dollars in debt, but the colonies soon flourished due to gaining independence from Britain. The Revolutionary War began because of the intense rules and lack of representation among the colonies. These standards caused the colonies to take action against the British for their independence. The theme exemplified in the speech is America in the world because of the altercation between Britain and the colonies. This is represented throughout history since Britain and the colonies were rivals for many years. In addition, this theme is articulated through the text by mentioning the dark times the war brought upon the