Brent Hardy

Western Civ II

Crauswell

May 4, 2003

            The Enlightenment was a very important period of history, one which has shaped the modern world in several ways.  It was the beginning of a political movement which still is active-liberalism- and brought about the advent of the ideas of freedom so prevalent in modern democratic thought.  The Enlightenment was important in that is sewed the seeds which would eventually become America, and thus has, to this day, a profound part to play on the global stage.  Also, the Enlightenment helped break the stranglehold of the Church on politics, allowing men to freely live their lives without repercussion for “sins.”

            The rise and fall of Napoleon also was of great import to the future of world events.  Napoleon’s manipulation of the populace, his practice of converting independent nations into satellite states, and his almost-successful attempt at a full conquest of Europe followed Alexander the Great’s, but it also gave rise to the state of Europe at the beginning of World War I.  European nations did not like the fact that they could be so easily overrun by a short, megalomaniacal Frenchman, so they started forming alliances to prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again.  Also, Napoleon’s conquest gave Hitler the idea that he could mimic the performance and, with sufficient allies, possibly succeed in world domination.  Therefore, Napoleon is the indirect cause of both world wars, and numerous other conflicts besides.

            During World War II, the United States implemented a program that would develop a weapon to give the Allies a clear advantage over their enemies.  This research and development program was called the Manhattan Project, and its goal was the development of a bomb that could harness nuclear energy.  The development of the atomic bomb has had a tremendous impact on warfare, much as the development of swords had an impact on the pointy-stick fights that were the rule of the day in antiquity, or the impact gunpowder had at a time where weapons consisted mostly of sharpened metal.  Because of the fruits of the Manhattan Project, we now live in a war filled with fear: fear of nuclear attack, fear of terrorists obtaining nuclear weapons, and fear of nuclear fallout.  However, another useful technology came out of the Manhattan Project.  The government instituted a new form of communications for the scientists to communicate.  They called it the Acronet, and it evolved into the Internet that is so popular today.

            At the beginning of the Cold War, with the threat of nuclear war hanging overhead, many Americans turned on those who espoused an unpopular opinion with a vitriolic fervor.  Anti-Communist sentiment became a prevalent trend and those who sympathized with the more socialistic aspects of Communism were demonized.  The trial and summary execution of Sacco and Vanzetti proves that Americans at the time did not tolerate political ideals not upheld by the status quo.  The McCarthian witch hunt mentality pervaded American politics and only proved to show how the public would willingly support the persecution of those with unpopular ideas.  This anti-Communism, which is so closely reflected in the anti-terrorism sentiment of today, served as the tombstone for America: the Land of Ideas.  It showed the world that America can persecute a minority while still claiming to be the land of the free.

            The fall of the U.S.S.R. led to great changes in the world.  It allowed a global economy to grow, increasing the profits of all nations involved in it.  It gave new freedoms to oppressed groups who lived behind the Iron Curtain under Soviet tyranny.  Unfortunately, the methods in which America helped topple the Soviet government had many unforeseen effects.  It provided many militants with the training that they now use to oppose American power.  It has led to many nuclear devices being unaccounted-for and possibly in the hands of terrorists.  We helped dictators gain power, even supplied them with weapons and technology, so that they would oppose communism.  Unfortunately, now that communism has fallen, many of those dictators now oppose us instead.