Most Important Leaders

Explores, Inventors, and Leaders

Some of the important overall topics learned during this semester in the History 1301 class were Explores, Inventors, and Leaders. Certain of the important leaders focused were Sam Houston, Santa Anna, and Cortez and the Aztecs. For example, Sam Houston was a Texas hero who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, one of the most important battles during the Texas Revolution. Sam Houston planned perfectly his strategy to win the Battle of San Jacinto and for this reason he was recognized. Another significant leader was Santa Anna. He was an important leader in the Mexican history. He was also president of Mexico eleven times; however, several Mexicans hated him because he was a disastrous leader during his time as president. He lost the majority of his battles, including the Battle of San Jacinto. Also, he lost a large amount of land in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in which Mexico ceded California and New Mexico to the United States. Another important leader was Cortez and the Aztecs. Cortez was mostly known for his conquest of Mexico. After he learned how the Indians survived and their culture, he traveled further south and settled down in Veracruz. Also, particular important people did not like Cortez, including Montezuma the ruler of the Aztec Empire of Mexico and Narvaez

another Spanish conquistador. In addition, Cortez defeated Narvaez, and put Alvarado in charge. Consequently, several Aztecs were angry with Commander Alvarado for the reason that he had killed numerous important Aztec leaders.
The Oregon Trail was a route for the explorers.

The route was from the east to west in North America. The route was laid by trappers and traders; however, people only traveled by foot and horseback. In addition, the majority of the people used this route because they wanted to go to the western lands for several reasons. Some were escaping from debts, starting a farm, government encouragement, religious beliefs. However, there were various dangers that people experience on their way to Oregon. Crossing rivers was one of the dangerous obstacles that the settlers had to overcome. Diseases also caused the deaths of various settlers who were travelling on the

trail.
Ben Franklin was an inventor and scientist who changed the life of several people thanks to his inventions. For example, Franklin invented the stove, and increases efficiency of the fuel. This allows the settlers to build up stocks of wood for the winter or use it in other ways such as building. He also invented a pair of eyeglasses. This pair of eyeglasses became popular for the reason that it helped elderly people to see better. However, he invented the pair of eyeglasses because he suffered from presbyopia a farsightedness condition that produced the loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye. Another one of Franklin’s greatest inventions was the lightning rod, which to some degree controlled electricity, and helped to prevent houses from being hit by lightning. His invention helped save numerous lives.