| The patterns
of living that the world witnesses today are greatly
influenced by history. This is because of the
fact that history plays an immense role in forming
one’s future; the abundant interactions
socially, economically, politically, result in
repercussions that can hardly be unraveled. However,
this does not in anyway mean that one cannot trace
today’s state of affairs back to its roots.
Tracing today’s occurrences back to their
origin is possible due to the fact that the agents’
(nations) origins are known.
Having understood that the world has taken the
form it has through the domination or imperialism
of Western countries, it is said that they are
the agents that have greatly influenced the world;
their ideologies in addition to their political
as well as economic influences have spread across
the globe through time (Headrick, 1981).
In order to understand how these influences or
principles have spread, it must also be figured
out how these principles developed. Again here,
it must be asserted that the historical context
is of vital importance because it reveals the
manner in which some actions that took place at
particular points in time had formed consensus
notions. It is these notions that were carried
through and developed into what have become western
democratic principles. These had evidently developed
with the passage of time due to the occurrences
that took place on the American continent; the
types of people that landed there were responsible
for the influences they had in the formulation
of law. Though other western countries experienced
similar transition America is one country that
must be particularly mentioned (Kagan et al, 2000).
Protestantism, secularism, liberalism, nationalism,
and industrialism, are the ingredients that carved
American Heritage. It is each of these that have
contributed extensively at various stages in American
history to make paint the picture that one witnesses
today. Though these all may have existed and taken
control at different stages in history, some of
them are still prevalent, existing at different
intensities. Historically speaking, one may say
it is the way that people at particular times
behaved or interacted that led to the consensual
notions so formed.
An example of the people that landed in America
are the British who had played an immense role
in what was to develop into the United States
Constitution. The disputes over various significances
in the Constitution are actually what gave rise
to one that encompasses just about everything
the country needs. However, this is not the only
thing that influenced the development of this
nation; their heritage goes farther back in time
to describe the religious and other political
notions that developed. This refers to the way
that several Jewish settlers influenced those
that came there, and they also spread their influence
in other western countries as well. Indeed, this
was around the 1400s when they practiced and preached
their word in their communities. However, this
was not the only religious influence, as Christians
too managed to get there, Protestants as well
as Catholics (Kagan et al, 2000).
The presence of these two types of religions
was bound to influence the lives of the people
there. However, it is the Christians that dominated
because of the fact that they were many of them
in number. Also, aside from the Catholics, it
was the Protestants that were prevalent, and they
influenced a free form of Christian worship.
Protestantism was more widely practiced because
of the fact that the British were greater and
number, and this being their religion it was more
widespread. However, no one was ever compelled
to practice their religion in any particular way.
In addition to America, wherever Protestantism
existed there tended to be more freedom than Catholicism
provided (Kagan et al, 2000).
Western countries since then have made an effort
to become free countries. Particularly America,
since those times has generally been a free country,
allowing each one to practice his or her faith
peacefully. This religious freedom is in a way
one of the reasons for the rights of individuals
that prevails in the United States today (Marks,
2002). However, it is not the only reason, as
there were significant political reasons that
influenced freedom of the individual in America.
Hence, in a manner of speaking one may assert
that secularism which is thickly linked to the
political setup there is a result of the religious
notions of the people. However, in addition to
this, there is also the political side of this
story, as it was the general will of the people
to be free from domineering rule that created
a need for independence. This is why the war of
independence took place, and it was this military
effort against domineering rule that was extremely
symbolic for those that wanted the freedom of
the individual (Kagan et al, 2000).
Hereafter, there was no more rule around that
demanded all individuals answerable to the Queen;
the British lost control over those who traveled
across the English Channel to America, and those
that desired freedom remained in America after
the war. However, this does not mean that other
western countries do not have ‘liberalism’,
as today in places like the Britain ‘liberalism’
is a norm. The difference is that it took places
like Britain longer to recognize the merits of
liberalism, while America had already secured
its self with this character (Kagan et al, 2000).
Indeed, though there is a difference between ‘nationalism’
and the struggle for ‘liberalism’
it must be asserted that one emerged from the
other in this case. This is because of the fact
that in the struggle in the war for independence,
there was need for freedom from dominance.
It is after achieving this that America as a
nation worked towards nationalism; the people
became more patriotic to the idea of having their
own independent country. With the passage of time,
this heritage merged with industrialism to build
for them the greatest economic strength. Hence,
nationalism in America became associated with
its economic pride, as it soared in the agricultural
industry (Marks, 2002). It must be noted that
this part of American heritage had a great deal
to do with secularism. This is because of the
fact that it represented equal opportunity for
all to participate. This is in spite of the fact
that marginalization of different kinds did develop
in American society (Kagan et al, 2000). One particular
one that did arise was through the economic inequalities.
This was a serious one, as many individuals suffered
tremendously during the rise of the industrialized
America. In addition to this, there was the gender
inequality that was also a significant depravity,
especially because of the rise of industrial America,
as women were treated as a secondary/reserve source
of labor. Having understood that industrialism
had such an immense impact on America, it may
rightfully be asserted that it is the most relevant
historical force.
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