A Whole New World- Pivot Points in History
Introduction
Why do we study history? What’s the point? The study of history is of vital importance. It helps us discover who we are and where we come from. Believe it or not, we all have a personal history that is, in some inexplicable way, inseparably tied to our brothers and sisters in the human family. The great men and women of history and the infamous ones are not all that different from you or me- we all have the opportunity to live virtuously or tragically. History demands reflection, and hindsight is often 20/20. Without reflection on our past, we are bound to aimlessly drift through time and space, just taking up space and wasting time. There are many times throughout history when the course of humanity has made a sharp 180-degree turn, molding the world into what we experience today- these are considered pivot points in history. We must examine these pivot points to judge whether or not we made the right turn. It is important to note that there are several pivot points in history beyond the few mentioned here, namely: The Renaissance, The Scientific Revolution, The Industrial Revolution, and The World Wars. These events do not just stand on their own; they are like a line of dominoes, once one is tipped over the rest quickly follow- they are bound together by the idea that education fuels technological advancement.
The New Classic
Following the Medieval Era, a time period marked by its intellectual and cultural stagnation, came what many considered to be a glorious new morning for humanity- The Renaissance. The darkness of ignorance was dispelled by the light of a rekindled flame of learning, education, and art on the European continent, finding its hearth in Italy. It should be noted that the Renaissance was a primarily elitist movement experienced mostly by the wealthy and intelligent; the Renaissance was not necessarily a rising tide that raised all ships in the harbor.
One cannot simply disregard the role of art in the Renaissance, and before we launch into a discussion of Renaissance Humanism and the importance of education we must at least briefly touch upon some of the Renaissance’s rich art history. The intellectual field of theology and the scarce distribution of The Bible left religious texts widely inaccessible to the already illiterate and relatively unintelligent lower classes; the Medieval Era employed art as a tool to aid these members of society in their own personal spiritual union with God. Stain glass windows and religious paintings helped the lower classes comprehend, on a basic level, certain spiritual truths. The Renaissance saw art become less centralized on the beauty of God and rather turned the spotlight onto the beauty of man, for he is made in God’s image and likeness after all. Art no longer carried with it a utilitarian religious purpose; rather, art was created for art’s sake. Artists began to sprout up all over Italy and art began to be associated with wealth and power; not on behalf of the artist but on the behalf of their patrons. The prominent, powerful, and undeniably wealthy political powerhouse of the time was the Medici family who ruled over the flourishing city of Florence in Italy. The family was the primary benefactor of many aspiring artists; interested more in flaunting their power and wealth than with the beauty of the works created. Being able to buy pieces of art during that time period would be comparable to buying a fancy car today; it showcases the surplus of a person’s fortune, so much so that he can burn his money on a depreciating asset that promises no return on investment.
A major break from the medieval ideology came in the form of Renaissance Humanism, where thoughts of man and God were forever changed; these new ideas are traditionally attributed to Petrarch. Renaissance Humanism promulgated ideas such as the dignity and individualism of man, the need for a culture centered around the classical Greek and Roman empires, and a move toward universal education. Many Italians quickly committed themselves to learning of their classical Roman past in hopes of a rebirth of the glory days of the Roman Empire. In an excerpt from his book, Medieval and Modern History, Philip Van Ness Myers (1905) writes that, “Petrarch’s enthusiasm for the classical authors became contagious. Fathers reproached him for enticing their sons from the study of law to the reading of the classics… the movement started by Petrarch could not be checked. The impulse he imparted to humanistic studies is still felt in the world of letters and learning.” The Catholic Church is usually attributed to the darkness of intellect featured prominently in the Dark Ages; however, Myers argues against this idea writing that, “Pope Nicholas V sent out explorers to all parts of the West to search for manuscripts, and kept busy in Rome a multitude of copyists and translators… a little later Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X made Rome a brilliant center of Renaissance art and learning.” Surprisingly, the library founded at the Vatican (still in service today) is one the first libraries to be constructed. This exemplifies the new emphasis placed on education and learning during the Renaissance. Arguably one of the most important discoveries in human history is that of the printing press, discovered during the latter half of the fifteenth century, it allowed for the mass dissemination of ideas and perhaps drove the beginnings of mass literacy. In time the ideas spread during the Renaissance would evolve into thoughts of democracy, republicanism, and capitalism; however, it would take bloody uprisings and revolutions to put these thoughts into action.
More immediately following the Renaissance was the Scientific Revolution, which can be thought of as a sort of extension of the Renaissance. While the traditional Renaissance promoted new ideas in the area of philosophy, the Scientific Revolution produced world altering advancements in the area of the sciences. According to John Henry (2004), a historian of science, “The Renaissance Humanists, concerned with living the active life [as opposed to the contemplative life of the Middle Ages], increasingly looked to alternative intellectual traditions with more pragmatic aims, in particular the mathematical sciences,” (para. 8). The new shift towards an emphasis on the sciences can be seen in the shift of universities’ (founded during the Renaissance) curriculums from philosophy to the sciences. The advances in science during the Scientific Revolution would soon lead to (and make possible) an explosion of inventions and innovations starting in England during the mid- eighteenth century.
Labor Pains
Not since the Agricultural Revolution had there been such a significant change in labor and technology as would be found in industrialization. The Industrial Revolution found its origins in the mid-eighteenth century in England quickly spreading to Northern Europe, and eventually crossing the Atlantic to reach the United States, but what led to the need to industrialize in the first place? Doctor of History, Bonnie Harris states that, “Competition drove innovation; innovation drove technological advancement; technological advancement drove production; production drove wealth; wealth drove more competition- and the cycle continued.” Three main factors that are attributed to the overwhelming success of industrialization are: the invention of the steam engine, the abundance of coal, and the influx of raw materials imported into England. The invention of James Watt’s steam engine in 1764 would be the “point of no return” in the mechanization of labor. In her article, “How the Steam Engine Changed the World,” Heather Whipps (2008) explains that, “the simultaneous perfection of the steam engine and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution is a chicken and egg scenario that historians have long debated. The world was becoming an industrialized place before the advent of steam power, but would never have progressed so quickly without it, they argue,” (para. 11). She further goes on to point out the importance of the steam engine saying that, “factories that still relied on wind or water power to drive their machines during the Industrial Revolution were confined to certain locales; steam meant that factories could be built anywhere, not just along fast flowing rivers,” (para. 12). Coal was a necessary fuel source of the industrialization process; as luck would have it the precious resource was found in abundance in England. By the close of the industrial revolution 250 million tons of coal had been mined by more than 1.2 million miners in Britain. Though coal was found in abundance, trains were an important part of making that coal accessible to mine. Again the steam engine would have a vital role in making trains a reality; in the early nineteenth century the steam engine was compact enough to operate trains. Soon enough train tracks covered the English landscape. Finally, it was the influx of raw materials, especially cotton (due to the invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin), from the then English owned American colonies that drove the need to produced finish goods quickly and efficiently.
The mechanization of labor did not exclusively affect factories and industry, but the society and economy as a whole. The Industrial Revolution provided a higher standard of living for most people. American economist, and Nobel Prize winner, Robert Lucas Jr. argues that, “ For the first time in history, the living standards of the masses of ordinary people have begun to undergo sustained growth… Nothing remotely like this economic behavior has happened before.” For the first time in forever, class mobility was recognized as an attainable dream rather than a delusion, and the aristocracy and nobility were replaced by industrialists who far surpassed their wealth and power. Unfortunately, while class distinction was diluted it was not completely removed from English society, making for a major difference between the Industrial Revolution in England and the Industrial Revolution in the United States. Technological advancements were not the only innovations that progressed the Industrial Revolution, but instead innovations in the way things were done also advanced industrialization. Interchangeable parts and assembly line production replaced the artisan with an unskilled laborer and turns production into a science of its own. Where factories were built huge cities practically sprang up overnight. A mass exodus, unmatched since Biblical times, saw people flood into cities from rural areas; trading their relatively wide open farmland for cramped tenement housing. People quickly lost the self reliance and independence that characterized rural life, where they would grow their own food and sew their own clothes. Now people became largely dependent on stores to provide them with the necessities of daily life; earning money just to spend it on these products. This begs the question: has much really changed since the nineteenth century? What made these cities attractive must have been their economic opportunity, because cities were not the most picturesque place to live and raise a family. Cities had no infrastructure, sanitary conditions were horrendous due to lack of water and sewage systems, and pollution from factories and lack of garbage management covered the city in both a literal and symbolic black cloud.
The Industrial Revolution has left an indelible mark on the modern world. Ecologist Eric McLamb (2013) argues that, “Today’s changing weather patterns, global warming, environmental degradation, food production challenges and state of the human condition can all be attributed directly to the coming of age of man’s ingenuity: the Industrial Revolution. [And] the list of related effects does not stop there,” (para.1). Capitalism flourished during the nineteenth century, but tensions between big business and the working class would come to a head in the twentieth century. From these tensions came ideologies such as socialism and communism that also would present major problems for the world in the twentieth century. Leaders such as President Theodore Roosevelt and others who identified themselves as part of the Progressive Movement sought to reform and regulate this newfound industrialization. Unfortunately only about a decade after the turn of the century (20th century) the world would have to decide whether to use this newfangled technology and industry for good- or for evil.
No Man is an Island
It might seem strange to consider the world wars of the twentieth century to be pivot points in history, after all hadn’t there been countless wars before the twentieth century? It seems that destroying one another has become man’s specialty; finding its origins even as far back as Cain killing his brother Abel in the Book of Genesis. While there have been a great many wars fought throughout the centuries it could be argued that the world wars of the twentieth century are by far the most dramatic and damaging, even beyond the peace treaties that formally ended them. When it comes to the world wars, English poet, John Donne was ahead of his time in saying that, “no man is an island.” Sure there may be quite a few island nations scattered throughout the world; however, even they were involved in the wars to some extent- even if it be miniscule. Unlike the wars that preceded them, the world wars did not pit one single country against a single other; no, when it came to the world wars it was in fact a world affair. Due to the encompassing aspect of these wars, I think it is fair to say that they earn their right to be considered major pivot points in world history.
World War I was not an accident; there are many factors that premeditated the rise of conflict. The key reasons that ultimately led to war are: militarism, alliances, nationalism, imperialism, and the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It is important to note that while these are considered the most important factors premeditating the war, this is in no way a complete list. While many of these factors had been slowly brewing within the hearts of the people of Europe, it seems that the assassination of the Austrian archduke was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was in June of 1914 that Austria- Hungary declared war on Serbia, and subsequently the battle lines were drawn as Germany and Russia (along with the other nations of the world) chose sides in the rapidly heating up conflict. It finally came down to the Triple Entente (United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire) versus the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria Hungary, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire). Though the United States strove to remain neutral (well it was a good effort) events such as the Zimmerman Telegram and the sinking of the British passenger liner, The Lusitania, eventually led them to join the Triple Entente. In his Fourteen Points President Woodrow Wilson (1918) proclaimed that, “what we demand in this war is… that the world be made fit and safe to live in.”
Trench warfare became largely synonymous with World War I as an extensive network of trenches cluttered the European countryside; the scars of warfare can still be seen there today. Technological advances during the Industrial Revolution; which had once been viewed through the lens of progress now experienced a devolution with the inventions of industrialized weapons such as: mustard gas, u-boats, and fighter planes. Sadly, what Wilson (and the rest of the world) had hoped to be the, “war to end all wars ,” turned out to be just a preview of man’s potential for wicked crimes against one another.
The Treaty of Versailles brought with it a period of peace and prosperity; however, a wounded Germany, crippled in burdening the war guilt and reparations, retreated to recover. This period of peace soon came to an end revealing itself as an illusion and distraction from issues swept conveniently under the rug. Again the world divided into sides and yet again the United States maintained its neutrality (at least in theory, as we still supplied our “on the down low” allies with ammunition and weapons). Again the United States became roped into the war when our navy was ambushed by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 a day that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared, “[would] live in infamy.” In the same address to Congress, President Roosevelt stated that, “always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.” And this is what they did- they invested absolutely everything into the war effort. The technology that had found its origins in WWI resurfaced with a vengeance and proved itself to be even bigger and “badder.” Total war economy exploited militaristic technology to the limit as raw materials and manufacturing factories all became vital to the war effort. As men were being shipped off to military service, women were fleeing the domestic sphere in mass numbers to do their part in defending their country’s freedom, working long grueling hours in the newly converted war factories. The war manufacturing became so efficient that the United States was putting tanks on the ground and fighter planes in the sky faster than the opposition could shoot them down.
While the technologies that had been founded during the First World War and “improved” in the interwar years were being mass created at alarming rates; a new technology unique to WWII was about to hit the scene in an unforgettable and disastrous way. By 1945 President Roosevelt had died of a heart attack while serving as president; Harry Truman replaced him as Commander in Chief. With the war all wrapped up in Europe, Japan remained the final obstacle to reach whatever peace could be possible after such a bloody event. On August 6, 1945 the United States military dropped its new weapon of mass destruction, the atomic bomb, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima killing almost 80,000 people instantly. Those who were left behind in the nuclear fallout suffered an arguably worse fate suffering from painful radiation poisoning and cancer. Days later the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Japan, this time at Nagasaki. The Japanese surrendered, fearing further attacks from the United States. What seemed, in the moment, to be a quick way to end the war and tie up the loose ends of conflict in Japan would have world altering effects. Warfare no longer took place on distant battlefields or in foreign countries; the subsequent Cold War era would prove that our world is much more fragile than we might have once imagined- warfare could now take place on our own front porch, in a catastrophic way, in the form of nuclear weapons.
Conclusion
What we learn in history really matters; these are not just words on a page, but real events that happened to real people- not unlike you or me. Often times we can fall into the trap of letting this “sea of information” wash over us like we might the waves of the ocean- without a second thought. What exists in the world today is a lukewarm attitude towards any and everything that does not specifically pertain to our immediate lives; this belief is fraught with fallacy. Our world is tearing at the seams with violence, discrimination, and countless other injustices; we don’t have the luxury of sitting on the sideline. Saint Edith Stein once wrote, before being brutally murdered in a Nazi death camp that, “those who remain silent are responsible.” We must realize that at the end of the day humanity has been shaped by history and the world which we experience today is a product of that same history. All it takes is one domino to be tipped over to set off a chain reaction; it takes only one person to make a difference, no matter how big or how small.
References
Harris, B. (Director) The Industrial Revolution . History 101. Lecture conducted from,
San Diego.
Henry, J. (2004). Scientific Revolution: The Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution. In
Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Farmington Hills: The
Gale Company.
Mclamb, E. (2013). The continuing ecological impact of the industrial revolution.
Ecology Global Network. Retrieved from http://www.ecology.com/2013/11/11/continuing-ecological-impact-industrial-revolution/.
Myers, P.(1905) Medieval and modern history. Boston: Ginn and Company.
Roosevelt, F.D.(1941) Pearl harbor address to the nation. American Rhetoric. Retrieved from
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrpearlharbor.htm.
Whipps, H. (2008). How the steam engine changed the world. LiveScience. Retrieved from
http://www.livescience.com/2612-steam-engine-changed-world.html.
Wilson, W. (1918) President woodrow wilson’s fourteen points. Avalon Project. Retrieved from
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/wilson14.asp.