Three Key Events That Have Helped to Shape Western Civilization - Essay Example

Western Civilization History is full of events that have helped to shape the lives of those who lived in later years. Much debate has been given to how the world might have been different had the Greeks maintained mastery of the world rather than the Romans, for instance. In identifying three key events that have helped to shape Western civilization, it seems clear that the human rights and equality experienced by today’s generation, while not perfect, has been brought about by a long series of events that pulled society one step closer to what we know today. Beginning with the Age of Discovery, when practices of domination and oppression were becoming formalized, the American Revolution established the possibility that a group of individuals, working for the common good, might bring about tremendous change and inspired an entire generation in the 1960s to work for a better life for their own children. The Age of Discovery refers to the time in history when Europeans discovered the Americas. Explorers following the ships of Christopher Columbus found, on their own planet, a new land mass inhabited by humans. Of all mankind’s explorations, this period of discovery had the most impact on the future of the world’s collective societies. It caused the questioning of Christian religious dogma which encouraged the further use of critical thought on a widespread scale thus allowing society to advance both in knowledge and in the concept of human thought (Kreis, 2002). Until it was proved differently, church officials deemed it heresy to suggest the Earth was round because the Bible refers to the ‘four corners of the world.’ In addition, if God flooded the world and only Noah’s family survived, where did these people come from? The scientific boom that began in the 1600’s and continues to this day owes much to the Age of Discovery that preceded it. The church was no longer able to stifle scientific knowledge following the events of this era. Additionally, the economy of Portugal, then Spain, Europe and Asia among others experienced a revival due to the increasing slave trade and the lifestyle and cultural traditions of the native people of the ‘new world’ were forever altered. The term ‘discovery’ would indeed accurately describe this ‘age’ more so than any other era in human history. Simply finding the new land mass populated by humans would itself qualify the definition (Kreis, 2002). This era in history ushered in the practice of Imperialism, in which technologically advanced countries continued to move into less advanced nations and assert their dominance, enforcing their own standards and belief systems while undermining and eliminating any opposition and, often, enslaving those natives unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. The American Revolutionary War was of significance because its conclusion marked the beginning of a new country that would eventually become the greatest economic and military force in human history. Britain had ruled over the thirteen colonies in America for more than 200 years prior to the Revolution. By the beginning of the Revolution, the wars against France fought on both sides of the Atlantic had burdened Britain with a massive national debt. To ease the national debt, Parliament imposed taxes on the colonists believing it only fair that they bear part of the expenses incurred by the British military in protecting them from Indian attacks and French invasions. The colonists thought taxation without representation in the British government to be unjust and openly protested these laws which led to hostilities between British troops and the Massachusetts Minutemen in 1775. This and other conflicts with the ‘Red Coats’ led to colonists forming the Continental Congress which immediately created the Continental Army and in 1776, signed the Declaration of Independence (The American Revolution, 2006). The Americans, outmatched by more than three-to-one, were predictably defeated in the majority of battles that occurred during the war’s first year, but by 1778, France had become convinced that Britain stood the chance of being defeated and allied themselves with American forces. Throughout the struggle, the ‘savage’ Americans continued to prove again and again that a cause strongly believed in and creatively managed with help from allies equally tired of domination could be won. The government they established then served as a model for other countries seeking better treatment of the ‘common’ people, such as France, who experienced their own revolution before the close of the century. The Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. was the most significant social event of the past 60 years. It changed life conditions for Blacks as well as directing the general attitudes of the entire population regarding race relations on a progressive, humane course. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to relinquish her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery Alabama, a violation of existing Jim Crow laws. This act of civil disobedience became the spark that ignited the masses during the 1950’s and 1960’s in protesting the racial inequalities and having widespread repercussions within various other divides, such as that which existed between opportunities for women as compared to men. Segregation, during the Jim Crow era, was not limited to transportation mediums. In Alabama, hospitals, whether public or private, could not require a white nurse to care for blacks (“Jim Crow Laws”, 1998). The movement’s struggle for civil rights and liberties was based on lawful civil rights and had its roots in moral motivations. The righteousness of the cause was personified by King whose character and courage was applauded and supported by an increasing number of American citizens of all colors. On August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. approximately 200,000 people joined the March on Washington which ended at the Lincoln Memorial where those gathered heard King deliver his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. (“I Have a Dream Today” 2002). Because of the Civil Rights Movement, immigrants of all colors are now afforded equal opportunity under the law when coming into the country. The battles fought and won in the name of human dignity were enjoined by true American heroes who were willing to risk their jobs, homes and even lives to win the rewards of equitable civil liberties. This high-profile and historic quest for human rights achieved world notice and also inspired the Woman’s Movement in the 1970’s. While the Age of Discovery introduced the world to a new definition of the concepts of oppression and slavery, the American Revolution demonstrated how these practices could be resisted and even reversed. It took a few centuries between the Revolution and the 1960s before the mechanisms of the Civil Rights movement were able to take place, but a number of other important steps took place in the interim. Slaves first had to be recognized as people in one area of the country and then other states had to be forced to make the same recognitions. When they didn’t, they brought about the same sentiments of resistance and togetherness experienced during the Revolutionary period, thus enabling individuals to bring about the same sort of sweeping change, affecting not only their own lives, but the lives of their children and children in other nations around the world looking to the United States as an example. Works Cited (The) American Revolution. Military.com. (2006). April 8, 2008 “Jim Crow Laws.” Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site [online]. (January 5, 1998). April 8, 2008 “I Have a Dream Today.” University of Hawaii Maui Community College Speech Department [online]. (January 16, 2002). April 8, 2008 Kreis, Steven. “The Age of Discovery.” The History Guide. (2002). April 8, 2008 Read More