Human civilization is constantly in a state of flux. It is always changing, evolving, and adapting to the ways that humans not only interact with one and other, but also with the earth on which we reside. We often call this evolving interaction progress. Progress can be defined as the destruction and re-building of social, political, and religious norms to promote a more prosperous and equitable society. Perhaps more than any other event in human history the European “discovery” of the New World fundamentally altered the social, political, and religious landscape the world over.
The European Discovery of the New World in and of itself was not so much progress but an inevitable extension of a world beginning to refine global commerce and economics. It was bound to happen, as the explorers of the world’s great economic powers strove to connect the Far East to Europe in more profit friendly ways. Events resulting from this discovery most certainly fall into the category of progress as I have defined above. As we discuss progress it is prudent to keep in mind that not all things deemed to be progress in the present are good, or have had a positive impact on humanity. In fact many things called progress have invited horrors upon those whom progress has been impressed upon.
It is an undisputable fact that the creation of the United States and the implementation of a republican form of democracy is one of the crowning achievements of human progress. The American form of democracy was more or less an amalgamation of Moses, Cicero, and John Locke; and propelled by the ideas of Adam Smith and his economic treatise “Wealth of
Chris Hoyt
History&156
Dan Grisham
Assignment 1/ Progress, The discovery of America, and Human History
Nations...
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...Ritual human sacrifice, cannibalism, slavery, and war were a normal way of life in most pre-Columbian cultures. European settlement and specifically the works of missionaries were able to educate, and civilize native populations to a great extent.
Often humans wish to see that progress happen overnight; however, true progress is not that simple, it is a slow and often painful process. The discovery of the new world and the founding of the United States is some of the best evidence of this. America has been an incubator for ideas that when finally put into practice spread like wildfire across the globe. There is no doubt that when the Americas were discovered it set in motion a series of events that brought about the destruction and re-building of social, political, and religious norms to promote a more prosperous and equitable society.
Works Cited
American Pageant
America’s form of representative democracy came as a result of the transgressions Britain committed against their colonies. Several hundred years of salutary neglect served well for those living an ocean away from their motherland. Realizing the prosperity that colonies had obtained through a semi-free market society, the King of England and the parliament began enacting many taxes and acts. Taking away the colonies freedom was unsettling amongst the colonists and eventually led to a revolution. This revolution secured freedom from Britain as well as founded a new nation with the first ever constitution. Although the process to achieve democracy in America was a long, laborious road the freedom, prosperity and equality of opportunity shared by those amongst the states could not be denied.
When George Henry Evans cited the unalienable rights of the Declaration of Independence and that, “’to secure these rights’ against the undue influence of other classes of society, prudence… dictates the necessity of the organization of a party, who shall…prevent dangerous combinations to subvert these indefeasible and fundamental privileges”, he called for a party to become the sentinel of the original American democracy. And for many, the Jacksonian Democratic Party filled that role. The Democrats, who pursued a democracy that entailed economic and social independence for the common citizen, faced harsh opposition from the Whig Party in the Second American Party System. But apart from the political tensions of the era, the mid-1800’s were host to numerous movements and events that embodied, and didn’t embody, the Democratic ideals. Thus, it would be foolish to claim that the Democratic period merely represented a raising of the American democratic banner and even more foolish to ascribe any other black-and-white evaluation to this period. Rather, during a time of national and individual transformation, of economic missions, and of social revision, the Jacksonian Democrats succeeded in expanding their reality of individual liberty, in creating the circumstances for further change, and in falling short of some of their grandiose ideals for the “common citizen”.
The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society. The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic... ...
Since the beginning of the 1500’s new concepts and new societies have emerged across the Earth. All of these new empires and nations appear to have been sparked with the founding of the “New World” by Christopher Columbus. Although many nations inherited many good things through trade and cultural interconnections, many contained corrupted experiences from these new connections, but in result, all the occurrences made the world interconnected between nations.
The term, progress, is synonymous with phrases that denote moving forward, growth, and advancement. It seems unorthodox then that Ronald Wright asserts the world has fallen into a progress trap, a paradox to how progress is typically portrayed as it contradicts the conventional way life is viewed: as being a natural progression from the outdated and tried towards the new and improved. Wright posits that it is the world’s relentless creation of innovative methods that ironically contributes to the progress trap rather than to progress itself, the intended objective. Wright’s coinage of the term “progress trap” refers to the phenomenon of innovations that create new complications that are typically left without resolve which exacerbate current conditions; unwittingly then, matters would have been much better if the innovation had never been implemented. In his book, “A Short History of Progress,” he alludes to history by citing examples of past civilizations that collapsed after prospering, and ones that had longevity because they avoided the perilous progress trap. Wright recommends that societies of today should use indispensable resources, such as history, to learn and apply the reasons as to why certain societies succeeded, while also avoiding falling into the pitfalls of those that failed, the ones that experienced the progress trap. This can easily be interrelated with Godrej’s concept of “the overheated engine of human progress,” since humans for centuries have been risking environmental degradation for progress through ceaseless industrialization and manufacturing. This exchange is doomed to prevent improved progress and will lead to society’s inevitable decline since it is unquestionable that in the unforeseeable future, cl...
In 1924, the United States Congress granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States making them the last individuals to gain suffrage. In its early days before becoming its independent nation, during its first colonial enterprises, only white males who owned a property had suffrage. This nation’s granting of voting to Native Americans is one of many events that demonstrates that the United States has always been a nation that is receptive of change. Ultimately, American History is a history of unequivocal advancement proved by the expansion of inventions during Market Revolution, the progress of liberty and civilization in the west through the Manifest Destiny era, and even through violent terms as evidenced
At present day, our worldwide civilization of the human race continues to surpass many achievements of other past societies. Everyday, new technological advances are being achieved and the population is growing faster than it ever previously has. We must look back at past civilizations and analyze them to understand what is in store for us in the future. In the pursuit of progress, human societies create problems they do not have the resources or political motivation to solve, for fear of short term losses in status or quality of life, which prevents further advancements and sometimes leads to collapse.1 Three factors that have enabled past civilizations to fall into progress traps and ultimately contributed to the collapse of those societies are social conflicts, ecological depletion, and overpopulation.
Throughout world history, progress has always been influenced by external factors, which shaped society’s experiences and actions, and which in turn reshaped progress. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines progress as “the process of improving or developing something over a period of time.” Early scientists and philosophers, such as Copernicus, challenged conservative thinking established by the Catholic Church. They pushed society to be more open minded and consider other possibilities. Over time, as society progressed, many became concerned with how progress was taking place. It seemed to have no consideration for what might be right or serve the greater good. Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein, represented an uncontrolled advancement
We have progressed immensely since time began; either good or bad, it made the world what it is today. In the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, is about a futuristic society called “The World State”. In this novel people are modified to fit a certain role in their organized society and have certain moral and ethical beliefs that will be beneficial to the people in charge of their country and those around them. The embryos are modified in a factory-like building to fit into one of their five castes in their society. In this novel, they also do things that may seem inappropriate in today 's world but considered progress in theirs. Progress is all around us and whether it 's depriving us of being free or helping us scientifically, it 's something
When analyzed extensivley works of art can be used to reflect different time periods of history. Some works of art that represent the image of the American West in different periods of time are: Thomas Cole’s View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm, commonly referred to as The Oxbow (Painting, 1836), John Gast’s American Progress (Painting, 1872), and Dorothea Lange’s The Road West, New Mexico (Photograph, 1938). Each of these images capture the progress of the settlers journey westward in different periods, and their shifting views of the West as dangerous, tameable and tame.
There are some notable occasions in the modern human history when the world took a massive leap forward. The industrial revolution of the 18th century, the technological revolution of the 20th century and the commencing of the 21st century are among them. Where they have taken the world forward, they have also contributed to the rise of a certain amount of disparity amongst the people. The world of today is divided between developed and underdeveloped countries. Where the Middle East and the west are highly endowed with resources, others like the African countries do not have sufficient resources and technological means as well. As a consequence, inferiority complex among nations begins. From there, nations begin to change their systems to
The hinge of the nineteenth and twentieth century’s coincided, in the United States, with numerous social changes of great significance. The eminently agrarian society that had always been turned urban and industrial. The farmers stopped being those producers of the first wave, who cleared the land to speculate with it, or those of the second wave, who made it fertile. They were growers who acquired machines and produced on a growing scale. Companies also grew to unknown sizes. Railway companies, oil producers, steel producers, car manufacturers, pharmaceutical and chemical companies formed large corporations orchestrated by banks, which took time in their own process of nationalization and concentration. These companies and a myriad of new businesses attracted the cities to the children of the farmers, and to a new population. The natural growth did not satisfy the shortage of labor. There came, in new waves, workers from half the world; of zones different from those of the first migrations. They came with new ideas, strange to the political tradition of the United States. And they raised new problems. Also emerged a new social class, that of professionals, who held positions of responsibility in companies, or institutions. Its importance grew faster than the economy itself.
One of the few things that Americans can agree on is progress, it moves us forward, fuels the economy, creates opportunity, and is always I good sign for the future. But not for everyone. There is a dark side to progress, one that is usually swept under the rug in the modern world, but in early America it was much harder to just ignore the exploited paying for the progress they would most likely not enjoy. As a concept progress brought people together in spirit, but in reality stratified the society so only a few could reap the rewards of others' sacrifice. Progress was intended to bring America greatness, but not everyone could agree on that, some thought the idea was to have land and be able to produce for yourself, while others saw business and industrialization as the future. It is the basic misperception in America that progress is always good and that it will help everyone, because there are always loser in the game of progress who don't get anything out of progress. If anything to have progress there must be something to exploit be it humans, nature, resources, or any combination of such, our nation was built as much on progress as it was exploitation.
Ever since the end of the Middle Ages, humans have consistently shifted their interests and their purpose in life. In the 1700s humans started this era called the Enlightenment age. Out of all the efforts to improve in all areas that were lost from the romans and the french, this new ideology emerged. The idea of progress. This notion that humans are constantly in the struggle and in the constant search to improve quality of life. this “progress” is more than that, it's the ability to go past the grudges, that ability to overcome hard times, that is the real definition of this ideology. Therefore, the most important event in human history is this idea, that driving force that makes humanity improve, that belief that we are always progressing
Throughout history many things in general have been improved upon. Four major improvement areas are: warfare, medicine, education of society, and technology. All of these improvements have brought with them positive effects. Warfare has allowed oppressed people to rule themselves; medicine has saved countless lives with vaccines and treatment programs; education of societies has allowed people to make their dreams come true; and, advancements in technology have made the previous three possible. With these positive effects also come negative effects, which are seen on a grand scale. Advancement in warfare has caused numerous deaths, medicine has advanced to the point where ethical questions arise because of cloning and stem cell research, the education of society in addition with the advancement in technology have allowed these negative advancements to be achieved.