Marcelo Pleitez

ENGL 101
Fall 2015

Smithsonian Museum
In the American History Museum at the Smithsonian, one can learn a great deal
about countless events and cultural impacts throughout the course of American History.
The exhibit, The Price of Freedom: Americans at War is an excellent source of
information that specifies the history of Americas involvement in wars. This particular
exhibit centers on sacrifices American soldiers had paid in order to ensure the safety
and security of the United States. The exhibit both pays tribute to soldiers to further
strengthen senses of patriotism and also pays respect to soldiers and allies of the
United States. This exhibit focuses primarily on major wars in American history: French
and Indian War, Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, Wars of Expansion, World War 2,
and the Vietnam War.
The exhibit follows American history in chronological order, beginning with the
French and Indian War as the primary focus of the exhibit. In 1754 the global rivalry
between Great Britain and France led to war in the colonies; this marked one of the first
major wars that took place in America. The war between the two European superpowers had sprung from the British desire to hamper French expansion and activity in
the British-claimed territory of the Ohio River Valley. The French and Indian War,
consisted of fighting not only in America, but throughout Europe and other colonies of
the 2 powerful nations. In America, Native Americans played an essential role in the
war. As a whole, Native Americans allegiances were split between the French and
British. Native Americans saw the opportunity to take sides as a way to pit European
powers against one another, but also as a way to potentially reap rewards that would
give them advantages over rival tribes. The war was ended with Great Britain emerging

Marcelo Pleitez
ENGL 101
Fall 2015

the victor. As a result, Britain won Canada, Florida, and added the Great Lakes region to
its growing number of territories. This caused France to lose a great majority of its North
American holdings, and further increased Great Britains wealth and natural resources.
Following the French and Indian War, Great Britain had achieved dominance
over America. Britains grasp on power caused Britain to divert its attention from
combating French troops and maintaining its status, to controlling the colonies. Britains
attention was also diverted away from potential armed conflict to compensating for the
massive debt left behind from the French and Indian War. The overwhelming amount of
debt owed by the British led to the King and Parliament levying various taxes, all of
which had the aim of generating revenue to help alleviate the debt and restore financial
balance to the British Empire. Moreover, members of British parliament believed that
British troops needed to be stationed in the colonies in order to maintain peace and
control, however, the stationing of British troops exacerbated financial burdens placed
upon colonists, and created further discord between the British and the colonists. The
series of acts and taxes that British Parliament levied were heavily protested; colonists
were enraged that such political activity had come to pass without proper colonial
representation in Parliament. As Parliament continued to bypass local legislatures, more
and more colonists began to resist the British monarch. It was estimated that
approximately 40 percent of colonists protested British policies within the time frame
following the French and Indian war, and just before the Revolutionary War. Without
proper representation in Parliament, colonists began to see that the British monarch had
differing economic and political interests and values than those of the colonies. The
more that the colonies interacted with one another, the more a sense of unity was

Marcelo Pleitez
ENGL 101
Fall 2015

formed. Colonists began to unite and protest acts passed by Parliament. Colonists
boycotted British goods and harassed British royal officials (magistrates, tax collectors,
etc.) As a growing sense of independence from Britain and sense of disdain for British
rule came to pass, various key events came to shape the way in which America would
deal with the growing pains and issues of being under British rule.
The Boston Massacre was a controversial event in which a group of British
soldiers shot fires into a group of colonists who had been throwing snowballs and
chunks of ice, and insults at the soldiers. The soldiers had killed 5 colonists. Colonists
saw this as an attack on colonists, and British soldiers firing upon unarmed civilians
while proponents of the British monarch saw this as the British defending what is true
and right. The Boston Massacre was a marquee moment that fueled the division
between rebellion and loyalist sentiment. The Boston Massacre was a core component
of the beginning of the Sons of Liberty, the very same group which had organized and
been responsible for the Boston Tea Party. After Parliament had passed yet another
intolerable act, the Tea Act, colonists were forced to only purchase tea from the British
East India Company. The British East India Company monopolized the market and had
set high taxes and was thus, very expensive. The Sons of Liberty boarded ships in the
night and dumped chests of tea into Boston Harbor. British Parliament retaliated by
closing off the Port of Boston until the damages were paid back in full by the city of
Boston, suspending civilian government in Massachusetts (and raising more Royal
officials), and dispatching even more troops to Boston.
Eventually the Revolutionary War began with the first battles of Lexington and
Concord in 1775, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Initially,

Marcelo Pleitez
ENGL 101
Fall 2015

Britain seemed to wield the advantage, however following the key Victory at Saratoga,
America had won over the support of European power and British enemy, France.
Frances aid was crucial to Americans winning independence from Great Britain.
Americas independence from Britain served a key event throughout the World; not only
had a colony fought and achieved its independence from its mother country, but a
colony had overthrown imperialism and elected for a democracy. America winning its
independence served as a precedent for other colonies to fight for theirs, i.e. Saint
Domingue (present-day Haiti), Jamaica, Mexico, and France to fight for the overthrow of
the monarchy.
The Price of Freedom stresses the importance of American history. The early
parts of the exhibit focus on the development of Americas National identity and the
struggles we faced as a young nation. As previously stated the exhibit follows the path
of this nations history. As the early parts of the exhibit deal with the formation of
nationalistic ideas and identity, the latter parts of the exhibit correlate to the preservation
of our national identity and the principles and ideologies our country supports:
democracy, freedom, and capitalism. The latter parts of the exhibit deal with the Cold
War and the struggle to preserve capitalism and democracy over communism and
oppressed nation states, as well as more recent wars such as the Vietnam War. The
exhibits chronological telling of Americas conflicts parallels the ideological conflicts
America faced.

Marcelo Pleitez
ENGL 101
Fall 2015

The Smithsonian exhibit The Price of Freedom: Americans at War is an exhibit

that focuses on key events of American wars and highlight the impact of these key
events. This exhibit is phenomenal and portrays Americas history and evolution through
the wars in which the nation partook. Through the walk of the exhibit, the exhibit does
an incredible job of bringing the history of America to life and putting every detail into
perspective. This exhibit truly shows how the country has changed over the centuries
and how each war has shaped our nation so strongly. The artifacts and models which
show how/what soldiers from past wars wore and the technology/weaponry used by
soldiers during each war highlight the evolution of war and weaponry, but also tie into
the nations scientific and technological advancement.

Works Cited
"The Price of Freedom: Americans at War | Smithsonian." Smithsonian Institution. N.p.,
11 Nov. 2004. Web.

Norton, Mary Beth., Carol Sheriff, David M. Katzman, David W. Blight, Howard P.
Chudacoff, Fredrik Logevall, and Beth Bailey. A People & a Nation: A History of the
United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print.