HISTORY

US World History and Geography

US World History and Geography

Task 1A: Environmental/Geographic Factors

From the time of independence, the thirteen colonies that formed United States initially underwent a process of population growth, territorial and economic, with the consolidation of its democratic system, laid the foundations of the great power that was to become after the Civil War (Hallo, 1996).

The United States experienced strong economic growth, especially from the 1830s. This was due to:

The availability of abundant labor and young.

The development of technical innovations, especially in textiles and steam navigation.

The early application of the methods of division of labor and production factories.

Task 1B: Mesopotamia

By 1200 BCE, as the powerful empires ruled by the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Hittites entered a period of decline, political power shifted, if only for a short time, to the small kingdoms on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. According to the Old Testament, in Palestine around 1000 BCE, David united the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, establishing a basis for prosperity that would flourish under his son, King Solomon. The Bible suggests that Solomon (ca. 970-930 BCE) acquired great wealth from a trading empire that extended from Arabia and Egypt to the Hittite kingdoms in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) (Black Green, 1998).

However, others nevertheless accept the basic outlines of its statements, acknowledging the likelihood of an increase in wealth and trading activity in southern Palestine during this period.

Task 2A: Martin Luther

The first widely influential Christian Protestant thinker, Luther (along with John Calvin) radically altered the Western view of church and state. Drawing on the theology of St. Paul (in Romans) and St. Augustine, Luther emphasized Christianity based on personal faith and God's grace, rather than the Catholic emphasis on religious rituals and works. He attacked the church official hierarchy through a democratic doctrine of "the priesthood of all believers," the equality of all Christians. Luther then reverses the order of church and state (from that given by St. Thomas Aquinas) by placing the government above the church in worldly authority (Wigoder et.al, 1986).

Task 2B: Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was the foremost leader of the civil rights movement in the United States, which fought against legalized segregation and racial injustice. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son and grandson of Baptist ministers. At the age of 15, he entered Morehouse College and received his B.A. in 1948.

To build on the success of the Montgomery boycott, King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC enabled civil rights activists and religious leaders to coordinate their efforts and provided King with greater visibility and support. The essence of King's thought was that all individuals have a moral obligation to refuse to cooperate with evil. To retain their moral authority, however, resisters must always pursue non-violent forms of non-cooperation because violence destroys the value and dignity of human life. Consequently, King advocated non-violent civil disobedience as the only morally and practically acceptable path to freedom ...