Progress in America

718 Words2 Pages

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.

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American Pageant

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