Historical Vacation in Nevada Essay

At present, Nevada is one of the largest and the best states in the U. S. Visiting this state simply means not finding a shortage of action. Nevada is one of the only places in the States where it is possible to perform morning ski world-class runs and afternoon world-class green walks. Nevada is also famous for Tahoe Rim Trail, Truckee River, Sand Mountain, and world-class shows and dines and world-famous casino and resorts. Aside from these, Nevada is also a state rich in culture and history. This is the reason why with my time machine, I decided to visit Nevada with my History professor. I chose to visit Nevada with my History professor because I thought that he is the best person who can help me understand special places and people in this state. However, with so many periods and so many places to explore, I asked my History professor, where should we begin? Historical Vacation in Nevada I had quite a long discussion with my professor about the places, period, and events to visit. After a long discussion, we both agreed to take my time machine and go back to the 19th century where some of the famous Nevadans, in the field of politics and arts, existed. For our first destination, my professor asked me to set my time machine to the 19th century. With a wink of an eye, we landed on a very beautiful place. I was very surprised to see mansions, 19th century houses, imported furniture, stylish fashion which seem to have come from the Orient and Europe. I had the impression that this place was a very boisterous town. I asked my professor if he knows this place. At first, he didn’t have any idea until we saw gold in the hills and dollars being made. I saw my professor’s eyes widened while saying â€Å"We are in Virginia City, Nevada! † We walked around the beautiful town and we saw a man walking on the street. My professor’s face brightened up and he told me that this man is a very important man in the history. I looked at the man’s face and realized that I saw it once in one of my history books. I suddenly remembered; this man is none other than William Morris Stewart! My professor explained that Mr. William Morris Stewart was one of the participants in the mining litigation in Virginia City, Nevada in 1860. He also helped and played a big role in the Comstock Lode’s development. Nevada became a state in 1864 and Mr. Stewart helped in the development of the State’s constitution (Smith, 1943). However, his role in the state as a politician and lawyer had always been very controversial. He was accused by his opponents of bribing juries and judges (Plazak, 2006). Despite this, Mr. Stewart was still elected as a Republican in the United States Senate in 1864 and served until 1875. He was again elected to the United States Senate in 1887 and was reelected in 1893 and again in 1899. During his term in the Senate, Mr. Stewart co-authored or drafted important legislation, including land reclamation laws and mining acts. However, he became famous for authoring the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1868. This amendment promotes the protection of people’s voting rights regardless of color, race, or previous servitude condition. It was a great pleasure to learn about the contributions of Mr. William Morris Stewart but of course, it was really a great pleasure to experience visiting Virginia City. We went back to my time machine and went to a slightly different setting but also in the same period, the 19th century. When we landed, what I saw was not at all as beautiful as what I saw in Virginia City. I had the impression that we were in a ghost town. It was so dusty, hot, humid, and all I could smell was dust. I asked my professor where we were and he told me that were in Goldfield, one of the important cities of Nevada. I was surprised because it was so different from the Goldfield I know of during my time. While wandering in this ghost town-like place, we saw Mr. George Wingfield, the man behind the Nevada business mining camps. Once again, my History professor explained that Mr. Wingfield converted the useless mines of Nevada into great mines. He was one of the greatest organizers that put mining companies into operation (Time US, 1937). My professor further explained that Mr. Wingfield’s first mining venture in the State was in Golconda copper mines. It was a hard time for him as he was practically stripped off and had a gold fever but he was not discouraged. He was also the man behind the fight against the Western Federation of Miners and Industrial Workers of the World. These two organizations controlled the situations in the mine and George Wingfield was so determined to go against the orders and he succeeded, giving freedom to majority of miners in the mines. Again, it was a pleasure for me to know that Mr. George Wingfield was behind the success of Goldfield. For our last destination, my professor decided to go to early 20th century of Reno. I was so fascinated to see that Reno in the early 20th century was not at all so different from the Reno I know of. I was entertained by the peculiar neon marquees as they cast an outlandish nighttime glow on Nevada’s ever famous Truckee River. From a distance where my professor and I were standing, we could see the hotel towers as they punctuate the high-desert setting of the city between the arid Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada’s eastern slope. However, what I won’t forget about this early 20th century to Reno is my encounter with Mr. Robert Cole Naples, one of the famous painters of the USA. My professor and I agree that he had contributed a lot in the American art. References Smith, Grant. (1943). The History of the Comstock Lode. Univ. of Nevada Bulletin, 37(3), 69. Plazak. Dan. (2006). A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top. Univ. of Utah Press 10: 0-87480-840-5, 26-27. Time US. (1937). King George. Retrieved 04 May 2009 from .