INTRODUCTION

The Unity of History 

American History is the Outgrowth of European History.

It would be a mistake to suppose that in studying American history and government we are studying something which has no connection with the history and government of the rest of the world. American history is simply a part of general history and not something separate and complete in itself. We must look upon the history of the world as one continuous story, and upon the study of history as one study. In short, we must recognize the unity of history. This means that the history of any one particular nation should be studied as a part of the history of the world. For our purpose it means that American history is an outgrowth of European history and should be studied in that light. When we study the history of the founding of the American colonies, we shall see that there is a very close connection between the history of the United States and that of England, France, Spain, and other European nations. In order to understand this connection, and to give to American history its proper historical setting, it will be necessary to note the position which the United States occupies in the history of the world's civilization. 

The Earliest Civilization was in the East. At the dawn of history the center of the world's civilization was in the East, or the Orient, as it is sometimes called. The history of the world, in so far as it has been traced, begins with the peoples who lived in the valleys of the Nile and Euphrates rivers about five thousand years or more before the birth of Messiah, or nearly seven thousand years ago. Egypt and Chaldea may be looked upon as "the twin sources of modern culture." Historians have been able to find no older civilizations. 

The Egyptians made Advances in Industry, Literature, Science, and Art. The early Egyptians made marked advances in agriculture, literature, religion, architecture, sculpture, painting, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and engineering, and transmitted their knowledge through the Hebrews, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans to the modern nations. It has been said that they “lit the torch of civilization” and passed it on to 'their neighbors’.

There is an undoubted connection between the history of Egypt and that of the United States. It is impossible, for example, to understand American history without an understanding of the Judeo-Christian faith; and an understanding of this faith is impossible without a knowledge of the religion of the Hebrews, the authors of the Tanak (Old Testament); and a thorough understanding of the Tanak cannot be obtained without a study of the Egyptians, as the Hebrews lived in Egypt for several centuries and Moses was educated in Egypt. 

The Civilization of Chaldea was quite Similar to that of Egypt. While the Egyptians were making progress in the arts and sciences on the banks of the Nile, the Chaldeans were similarly occupied on the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates. There was a striking similarity between these two early civilizations, and the land between the Tigris and Euphrates has been well called "The Asian Egypt.” 

The Hebrews were Teachers of Religion. We get our first glimpse of the Hebrews about eighteen hundred or two thousand years before Messiah, when the patriarch Abraham and his followers left the “Ur of the Chaldees” and came to what is now the Land of Israel. The Hebrews great contribution to the civilization of the world was their religious teaching. It is true that all ancient peoples had religions, but that of the Hebrews was of the most refining and elevating kind. It was called Monotheism and consisted, as the name implies, in the worship of one God. It was their religion that made them a " peculiar people." 

The Phoenicians were Traders, Navigators, and Colonizers. A few centuries after the time of Abraham the Phoenicians became an important factor in Eastern or Oriental history. They occupied a narrow strip of land between the Lebanon Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, and their principal cities were Tyre and Sidon. They were the merchants, the traders, the navigators, and the colonizers of the ancient Oriental world. Their greatest service to civilization was not in making advances in literature, art, or science, but in spreading the culture of other nations among the people with whom they came into contact. They were the “disseminators” or scatterers of civilization, and one of their chief exports was the (originally Hebrew) alphabet.. 

The Persians were Soldiers and Rulers. In the sixth century before Messiah the great Persian Empire was founded. The Persians were brave soldiers and masterly rulers, and extended their sway over thousands of miles of territory from Asia Minor on the west to the Indus River on the east. 

Summary of Oriental Civilization. Such, then, were the beginnings of the world's civilization. The Egyptians and Chaldeans made some advances in industry, literature, art, science, and law ; the Phoenicians were the spreaders of civilization ; the Hebrews were the teachers of religion ; and the Persians were the conquerors and governors who welded together an immense empire. The Chinese, Japanese, and Hindus have ancient and important civilizations, but as these peoples did not come into contact with other nations at this time, the influence of their civilizations need not be considered. 

The Greeks were Literary Men and Artists. After the decline of the Oriental nations the center of civilization moved westward and halted among the Greeks. Here for a few centuries flourished one of the most beautiful civilizations in all history. One writer calls the country “that point of light in history,” and another exclaims: “We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, . . . our art, have their roots in Greece.” 

The connection between the civilization of Greece and that of the Oriental countries is unmistakable. “It was from the East,” Mr. Rawlinson declares, “that Greece derived her architecture, her science, her philosophy, her mathematical knowledge, in a word, her intellectual life." It is undoubtedly true that Greece did receive the beginnings of her culture from the East, but she was in no sense an imitator. She improved to such an extent upon what she received that some of her achievements in literature and art have never been surpassed and, in the opinion of some, never equaled. 

The civilization of Greece reached its highest development during the so-called “Age of Pericles,” in the fifth century before Messiah. During this "golden age" architecture, sculpture, painting, history, poetry, oratory, and philosophy were developed to a degree of perfection never before approached. 

The Romans were Soldiers, Lawgivers, and Governors. There came a decline in Greek power, however, and the center of civilization moved on to Rome. Greece became a Roman province and Rome ruled the affairs of the world. The Romans were very different from the Greeks. The Greeks were literary men and artists, while the Romans were soldiers, lawgivers, and governors. Rome began her career as an insignificant little village, or group of villages, on the banks of the Tiber, but in the course of a few centuries she became the mistress of the civilized world. In the second century of the Christian era the Empire reached its greatest extent. It extended from the Atlantic Ocean on the west to the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf on the east, and from the Rhine and Danube on the north to the Sahara Desert on the south. The Mediterranean Sea was then,in truth, a “Roman lake.”

The civilization of Rome reached its highest development during the reign of Augustus, who was Emperor at the time of the birth of Messiah. This was Rome's best, or “golden age.” Her greatest artists, poets, historians, and orators lived at about this time. It was not in art or literature, however, that the Romans made their greatest contribution to civilization, but in law, politics, and government. In these subjects the Romans were masters; in art and literature they were imitators. 

Rome, however, in spite of her power and magnificence, was destined, like the other states of antiquity, to fall. In 395 C.E. the Empire was divided into two parts: the eastern with its capital at Constantinople, and the with its capital at Rome. The western part, from the historical standpoint, is by far the more important of the two. At the time of the division, and even before, the Empire had begun to decline. The Roman soldiers were no longer looked upon as unconquerable. The old fire and spirit seemed to be lacking. 

The Barbarians invade the Empire. The Barbarians of Europe were the most powerful foes of the Romans. As the Romans declined in placed on power and spirit, the fierce, hardy, barbarian “Barbarians” of Europe obtained footholds in various parts of the Empire.

In 390 Rome was sacked by the Gauls. In 410 it was sacked by the Visigoths, a tribe of Goths. In 455 Rome was sacked by the Vandals. In 476 the Goth Odoacer took the throne of the Roman Empire. In 546 Rome was sacked by the Ostrogoths.

The following map shows the area of the former Roman Empire after it had been taken over by the “Barbarians of Europe”:

 

Rome’s remnants became the Kingdoms of the Vandals, Visigoths, Franks, Danes, Gauls, Anglos and Saxons, Suevi and Burgundians. The Romans were far more cultured than these so-called “Barbarians”, but the latter were more vigorous and virtuous, and so triumphed in the end.

Charles the Great is crowned Emperor on Christmas Day, 800. The “Barbarians” continued to rule in the West, and finally there appeared among them one of the most important men in European history. Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day, 800, and immediately set about to educate his people and to improve his Empire. It should be borne in mind, however, that his Empire was not so extensive as the Roman Empire of the second century, which embraced the whole civilized world. The Empire in the East had cut off Greece and Asia Minor, and the Muslims, a religious sect which had originated in Arabia in the seventh century, had conquered western Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. The Empire of Charles the Great was thus of comparatively narrow limits, and to this Empire he gave his best efforts. He ruled his domains with a firm hand until his death 814 when he was succeeded by his weak son, Lewis the Pious. Lewis reigned until his death in 840, at which time the Empire was divided among his three sons. These sons quarreled over their possessions, but finally, by the Treaty of Verdun of 843, they came to a definite agreement. It was agreed that one son was to have the eastern part of the Empire, corresponding three parts roughly to modern Germany; that another was to have the western part, corresponding somewhat to modern France; and that the third was to have a part of Italy and a narrow strip of territory extending from Italy to the North Sea. 

The States of Modem Europe grew from the Divisions of the Empire. Thus the great Empire in the West fell apart, and from its divisions grew the states of modern Europe. When the foundations of these states were laid and each had begun its independent development, the course of civilization advanced from Rome and branched out in various directions. There was no longer a single center of civilization, but many centers. The treaty of Verdun helped to divide the river of civilization into several streams which flowed to the various capitals of Europe. 

The Dark Ages and the Renaissance. Some of these branches of the stream of civilization found their way, in due time, to America. In order to see clearly how this came about it will be necessary to retrace our steps somewhat. It will be remembered that the so-called “Barbarians” took possession of the Empire in the West in 476 C.E.. They came into the country in vast numbers both before and after this date, and their coming made a great change. The entire character of the Empire was transformed. The fires of its civilization seemed to be smothered as by a great, wet blanket spread over them. Then followed a period of ignorance and superstition, popularly known as the “Dark Ages.” It seemed as if the lights of learning had been snuffed out by the hands of the “barbarians”. The people were not being educated and the writing of literature had almost ceased. This period lasted for about eight hundred years, or until the fourteenth century; at which time a remarkable change took place. During the " Dark Ages " the fires of civilization had not really gone out. They were slowly smoldering during all of that time, and in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries they blazed up and burned more brightly than they had ever done. This period is called the Renaissance, or “the new birth,” as the world seemed to be born again. The period began with “a revival of learning” in Italy. The old literature of Greece and Rome, which had been neglected for centuries, was now studied by the scholars of the time.

In addition to a revival of learning there was also a revival in other lines of activity. Men's minds were more active than they had been for centuries. The dust and cobwebs of the “Dark Ages” were being brushed from the brain of Europe. Commerce and industry had been revived, and cities had begun to grow. Goods were manufactured in greater abundance, and trade routes were established to the extreme parts of the civilized world. Man was eager to find new and better routes for his trade, and as a consequence was an outgrowth of interest in geography and navigation was quickened. It was this latter desire, as we shall see later, that led to the discovery of the American continent. The famous re-discovery by Columbus in 1492 should be looked upon as the outgrowth of that remarkable revival in learning, industry, commerce, and navigation which took place in the latter part of the Middle Ages. The stream of civilization had penetrated to a new continent. 

American Civilization was derived from Europe in General and from England in Particular. The sources of American civilization constitute an interesting study. The civilization of Europe first came to America from Spain, as Columbus sailed from that country. At a later time it came from the British Isles, France, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, and other European countries. The majority of the leading nations of the world had a part in the exploration and colonization of the American continent. Consequently American civilization is a mixture, and it was a question for a time which element would come uppermost. We shall see, as we continue our study, that England and France obtained the strongest footholds in the New World, and that in 1754 they began a final struggle for the supremacy of North America. The English were victorious in this war. 

Our English influence has since dominated our civilization. While tributary streams have come from all of Europe, the main stream of American civilization is English. We speak the English language, and our manners, customs, law, and government have been, for the most part, derived from England. 

Perhaps enough has been said to show the connection between American history and the history of the rest of the world. We have traced the stream of the world’s culture from its twin sources in Egypt and Chaldea; we have followed its course to Israel and Phoenicia and on to Greece and Rome; we have noted its branching out from Rome to the countries of modern Europe, and thence to the American continent. The main point to be remembered is that there were six thousand years of history before the American continent was discovered, and that American history is inseparably connected with that which had gone before. American history is the outgrowth of European history, and American civilization is, for the most part, the flower and fruit of the civilization of Europe. The American continent is geographically separated from the rest of the world, but historically it is not so.

© 2013 Common Sense Cyber Schoolhouse ™ James Scott Trimm