...Task 1 Carrie A. Nuxoll Western Governor’s University Themes in U.S. and World History/GKE1 March 10, 2013 Have you ever wondered about any great significant physical geographic factors that contributed to the development of our great United States? I must say, to do this, you must first look at the history of past great human societies trials and tribulations. For example, take a look a look at the history of Egypt and the Nile Valley civilizations. According to our course readings, Keita (2007) feels these ancient civilizations “were defined by the rich alluvial soils that annual floods deposited along the Nile banks and in the delta and the flood plains”. These annual floods gave rise to the development of these early civilizations by cultivating ingenuity, such as a rudimentary calendar, in which these civilizations could plan their years around cultivating the rich fertile land, and in turn, produced goods for these societies to make use of. This lead to the immigration of other societies to the area in order to flourish. With these immigrants came the process of diffusion. According to a PowerPoint created by our readings, diffusion can be defined as a geographic way of describing the way things spread [ (R. Whiting, 2014) ]. As course mentor Robert Whiting, of General Education Social Science states in his PowerPoint presentation, almost anything people think, make, or do can be diffused to another society and that people often change or adapt things to their...
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...factors that contributed to the development or expansion of the United States is the California Gold Rush and the Irish Potato Famine. The first most significant factor was the California Gold Rush. Before gold was officially discovered in Northern California on January 24, 1848, Kelly (n.d.) states that the entire population of the California territory was around 25,000. A few years after California was admitted as the 31st state in The Union in 1850, a special census was taken and the population had grown to 223,856. Kelly (n.d.) also states that in San Francisco alone, the population was approximately 800 in 1848 to well over 50,000 at the close of 1849. Before the rush, California was a vast wild wilderness that most Americans never dreamed of visiting. There were tales of savage people and even more savage wilderness and it was widely known that lawlessness and general uncivility reigned supreme throughout the new Western Territories. These tales enthralled the general public but deterred most from doing anything but follow the stories through newspaper articles and books. But with the discovery of a gold nugget at a sawmill owned by John Sutter, all of this changed. Newspapers reported the great discovery and when U.S. President James Polk confirmed the rumors in his annual congressional address in December of 1848, the California Gold Rush was on! This rush came a time in history when people of the United States were daring to dream of a nation that provided for its...
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...Chinese Exclusion Act is the first immigration law of United States for a specific ethnic group. It marks a major turning point of the American foreign policy over immigration. This act prohibited Chinese workers into United States and deprives the American citizenship from Chinese immigrants for ten years .The amendment of 1884 further enhanced the requirements that allow earlier arrival immigrants to leave and return the U.S. Then, the Chinese Exclusion Act was extended by Scott Act that mainly written by William Lawrence Scott of Pennsylvania, prohibiting Chinese from returning again after leaving the United States. In 1892, the Geary Act that written by Thomas J.Geary was passed, which extended the Chinese Exclusion Act for a decade. In 1902, the exclusion act was made permanent. It required Chinese resident to register and obtain a proof of residence. The Chinese Exclusion Act was finally repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943. The Magnuson Act set the immigration quota to 105 every year for Chinese immigrants.( “ Exclusion“,Library of Congress.) Background American had a series of changes in the attitude upon Chinese. The Chinese Exclusion Act is one of the most severe restrictions of immigration in American History. The unique historical background and complex domestic environments are the basis of resulting Chinese Exclusion Act. In 1848, gold was discovered in California, which caused the California Gold Rush. The development of mining needed large...
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...A. Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is known as the land between the rivers. The great rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates flow through the otherwise dry vast plains of Mesopotamia. The rivers start in the mountains emptying into the sea. The dry fertile soil of Mesopotamia is difficult to grown crops. But close to the rivers the land was fertile. The fertile soil comes down the rivers from the mountains and would collect when the rivers flood, creating the most fertile farmland in the world. This fertile land near the rivers created the rise of the earliest civilization in history. With the land irrigated by the rivers farming became extremely productive, large farming populations grew along the rivers with the increase in food productions societies formed and created the first civilization in world history. ("Ancient," n.d.) B. Tea A significant example of diffusion between early human societies can be seen in the popularity of tea around the world. As per Chinese legend tea was first discovered in 2737 B.C.. Sometime around the 9th century tea was first used in Japan. Japanese monks studying in China brought it back with them when they returned to Japan. Tea drinking and ceremonies have become an important part of the Japanese culture. The Dutch were the first to import tea back to Europe. In the 16th century tea was shipped from China to Holland it was expensive and seen as a drink for the wealthy. Tea was fashionable in Holland and started to spread to other...
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...PART A The most significant physical geographical factor that contributed to the development of the ancient South American society of the Incas was the Andes Mountains. The Inca Empire had villages and cities throughout the Andes Mountains. Some of these settlements were as low as sea level and their capital, Cusco, was at an altitude of 11,200 feet. The Andes are considered some of the longest and highest mountain ranges. In fact it’s tallest peak, Mount Aconcaqua, in Argentina, tops out at 22,841 feet (Zimmermann, 2013). Despite the fact that people were traversing mountains the people flourished creating trails, aqueducts and agricultural practices that still exist today. Almost every aspect of the Incas life were affected by the Andes. Due to the changes in climate and altitude from one settlement to another, the Incas had to develop resilient breeds of crops including potatoes, quinoa and corn (Graber, 2011). Not only were the mountains home to the Incas believed them to be Gods. They created some of the most indelible cities right into the sides of the mountains in an extremely precise manor that is still studied to this day. For these reasons and many more, the Andes Mountains are certainly one of reasons the ancient people of South America grew as a civilization. PART B The process of diffusion between early human societies can easily be seen through the use and distribution of the potato throughout the globe. The potato was originally cultivated in...
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...Daniel McClure California Culture October 1, 2014 California Sunshine and Noir California, the Golden State, where the sun is always shining, the waves are always crashing, and dreams are coming true. Right? Well, not exactly. It hasn’t always been sunshine and smiles for the great state of California. The state has gone through a variety of stages both economically, and politically. Throughout these phases, there have been a fair amount of themes that have helped build the foundation of California culture. Of course, there is the notion that anyone can move to California and strike it rich. This dream that is still very alive today has contributed in the past and present with massive booms in immigration into California. This popular conception is warm and welcoming, but it does not tell the entire story of California. When looking into the past and understanding how this state came to be, there is a dark and iniquitous aura that suggests that California isn’t really that enchanting, glamorous place that it is made out to be. The California Dream all started in 1848 when discovery of gold sparked a rapid movement known as the California Gold Rush. Word quickly spread when John Marshall first made his discovery in the American River. As Albert L. Hurtado explains in his paper, “Sex, Gender, Culture, and a Great Event: The California Gold Rush, ‘It is impossible to give more than rough estimates for the number of hopeful people who poured into California from 1848 to the...
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...U.S. & World History Themes One significant environmental factor that has contributed to the development of Egypt’s civilization is the bond between the Nile River and the Egyptian people. The Nile River provides a large amount of water. Soil is a great productivity caused by the Nile. The water levels began to rise each July and the floods reached their full height by the end of August. The flood began to recede, at the end of October, leaving deposits of silt behind (Metz, 1990). This helped flourish the land to produce an abundance of crops for food and trade. This also attracted settlers. With the cultivating success, the Egyptian society evolved rapidly. The Nile River was also the main way to transport goods, trade with outlying communities and to communicate (Hoyt, 2013). It has shaped the life of the Egyptian society. Dr. Robert Whiting describes the geographical process as a way things spread from one place to another (Whiting, PHD, 2013). Among the early human societies, tea is an important part of diffusion. Tea was discovered in China. The ideal climate in the country was perfect for harvesting the tea leaves. Tea can be traced back to 600 BC. It is believed that tea was used for herbal medicinal qualities. Tea became a popular drink during the Tang Dynasty of China (618AD) Tea then spread to Japan in the 6th century, by a priest studying in China. The tea was used for rituals for medicinal use, it is very popular beverage in today Japanese culture....
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...Why did Chinese immigrate to the United States? After civil war had settled down, many immigrants came to America to live from many countries such as Germany, Ireland, and England. There are as many as 12 million immigrants at this time. Regarding Chinese immigration, they immigrated to the United States from 1849 to 1882. Between this period, America had California Gold Rush, which is one of the reasons Chinese people immigrated. Because the Chinese Exclusion Act was taken into practice, no more Chinese people could immigrate to the United States after 1882. Chinese immigration is the divergent point for Chinese’ lives who lived in America. The main reason Chinese immigrants came to America after Civil War was for work. As a consequence, most of the Chinese immigrants were single men. Especially in California, Chinese people arrived. There is the promise of gold in California during 1850s. It was called California gold rush. After they gained money in America, they usually went back to their country. Chinese immigrants began doing their own business such as running restaurant and laundries. In addition, they started their agricultural laborers. Even though the hard work such as transcontinental railroad construction that connects the coast to coast did not give them good pay, they just work for money. There were two large rail road companies in the United States at this time: Central Pacific and Union Pacific. They began competing as soon as congress took the Pacific Railroad...
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...Task 1-A One significant environmental factor that contributed to the development of human society was the availability of an abundant supply of water, as provided by the rivers that helped contribute to the ancient civilization in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia, the area presently know as Iraq, is referred to as the “land between the rivers” (Hollar, 2011). In approximately 3300 BC, the people known as the Sumerians settled into an area known as the Plain of Shintar. In this area where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers converged, there was an amazing and consistent supply of water, which helped these people develop their way of life (Hollar, 2011). The largely watered area gave way to an abundant amount of rich soil. This soil provided the ability to build houses and create irrigation systems. These tasks required cooperation among the settlers, leading to the growth of their newly established government. The soil also allowed the Sumerians to benefit from the their agriculture. The first grown items were barley, emmer, olives, grapes and flax (Hollar, 2011). Task 1-B The process of the diffusion of tea between early human societies began as early as the first century AD. The origin of tea is not historically clear, although it is said to have originated in China (Saberi, 2010). Initially, tea was used for the treatment of various ailments, such as stomach problems and other illnesses (Saberi, 2010). During the Tang dynasty from 618-907 AD, tea earned the reputation of being refreshing...
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...After many centuries, tea became a popular drink in China (Columbia University, 2015). Tea slowly spread through Tibet, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. In the seventeenth, tea started to expand into the western world. During the following century, tea was common place in England. From the UK, tea was brought to the colonies in America. In 1773, the colonists threw tea into the Boston Harbor, in protest of high taxes the British imposed on tea. This was one of the major events that lead to the American Revolution. When James M. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, the California Gold Rush began (Harvard University, 2015). This brought thousands of immigrants from other countries, and Americans from the eastern United States. This event caused the population in the west to increase dramatically. The population in San Francisco grew from One Thousand people in 1848, to twenty thousand in just two years. California was difficult to reach from the east. One of the...
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...ethnically and religiously diverse countries in the world. Since the colonization of what is now the United State, the U.S. has been open to immigration from people all over the world. People migrated to the United States for many reasons. The Irish migrated to the U.S. in the 1800s to escaped famine, poverty and oppression by the English. Other ethnic groups migrated to escape religious persecution. The Chinese migrated to this country in search of financial The Chinese migrated to the United States in large numbers after gold was discovered in California in 1848. (http://www.cetel.org/timeline) The Chinese flocked to California in hopes of finding their fortunes in the “Land of Golden Mountain.” “By 1870, there were 63,000 Chinese, mostly male, in the United States, nearly all on the West Coast. It is estimated that another 120,000 Chinese entered the United States during the following decade.” (http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/nutr216/ref/nutr216_ref/kittler/asia/kittler_asia.html) Men from China came to California to amass their fortunes then return to their families in China where they would live more financially secure lives with their families. In the 1850s California state legislature passed the first Foreign Miners' Tax Law, levying a $20-per-month tax on each foreigner engaged in mining. As result the Chinese in California began pursuing other means of generating revenue. They opened restaurants, laundries and other personal services catering to the newly wealthy...
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...History 2/6/15 1. The Chinese immigration increased exponentially between the 1850’s and the 1870’s. They were migrating to America at the seaports of New York Philadelphia and Boston. Some were coming through a smaller port in San Francisco. Many of the Chinese came as contract laborers to help build the transcontinental railroad. Some others came for the Gold Rush in California that started at about 1849. The migration was stopped with the Chinese Exclusion act in 1882. 2. After the annexation of parts of Mexico in the year 1848, the Mexicans already living in the U.S. became citizens. They were told that they would be able to keep their land, many of them lost it in state and federal courts. The Mexican culture in California was mistreated by the Anglo miners similar to the way the African Americans were with the Jim Crow laws. 3. The Native Americans were treated the worst during this period of advance in America. When industrialization moved to the West, America began to make treaties with the Indians to make roads and railways in their land. The Indians held up to this, but America didn’t hold up on their end of the deal. When the demand for business and the gold rush came about in the west, Americans began to move in mass numbers to the west. They then told the Indians that they would move them to smaller reservations, and still pay them money, food, etc. for compensation. Once again the Americans lied because when the demand for resources grew, the...
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...Immigration in America AMH 2010 During the Colonial period, the United States experienced successive waves of immigration, particularly from Europe. Many immigrants came to America seeking greater economic opportunity, while others arrived in search of religious freedom. Starting in 1820, some federal records, including ship passenger lists, were kept for immigration purposes, and a gradual increase in immigration was recorded. At the turn of the 19th century, roughly 1790-1830, the population of the US doubled to 10 million people as a result of an increase in reproduction, as immigration had slowed during this time to about 250,000. Then another major wave of immigration occurred from 1815-1865 just after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. Between 1841 and 1850, immigration nearly tripled again, totaling in 1.7 million immigrants, including at least 781,000 Irish, 435,000 Germans, 267,000 British, and 77,000 French. Bad times and poor conditions in Europe drove people out, while land, relatives, freedom, opportunity, and jobs in the US lured them in. Approximately one-third came from Ireland, which experienced a massive famine in the mid-19th century resulting in 750,000 people who starved to death. In the 1840s, almost half of America’s immigrants were from Ireland alone. Typically penniless, these Irish immigrants settled near their point of arrival in cities along the East Coast such as Boston and Ney York City. Nearly 2 million Irish migrated to the United States during...
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...Immigration is the arrival of new individuals into a new environment or population. Immigration is a process that happens every day, but there is a side effect of immigration that is observed between the parents (first generation) and their children (second generation). In history, during the nineteenth century, Chinese travel to America for financial solutions, with hopes to return to their home with money. As time moves ahead, Chinese immigrants to America searching for a better life, for instance, my parents immigrated to America, who then conceived us as the second generation. With pressure from the parents, children of the second generation were forced to perfect both the American and Chinese culture to their very best. The second generation Chinese Americans were American born, but were still outcasts of the American society because of their skin color. The lives of the children of immigrants who immigrated to America have had stressful impacts from their parents and society because of their parent’s expectations of a perfect child who succeeds in school, and the society’s rejection of their ethnicity. From the old days until now, millions of people around the world have decided to immigrate to the United States in search of a better life. The reason why Chinese people immigrated to America due to the rumors of opportunity to gain higher wages jobs within America which would help support their families who were struggling to survive in China. According to Hubert Howe Bancroft...
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...Date Gold rush in America west [pic] Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1363522/How-American-West-really-won-C19th-images-early-settlers-Deadwood.html Above is a photograph of miners washing gold. The photo was taken in the nineteenth century at Deadwood town. The discovery of gold in American west spread like a bush fire, and within no time, a huge number of people had already camped in the mining fields ready to mine the gold and get rich. Many people left their families, jobs and moved to the goldfields’ (Limerick, 1998). During that time American west state experienced a large number of immigrants, all coming to try their luck in the fields. Those who managed to get gold became richer while those who didn’t become poorer. The gold rush brought about huge environmental changes in the country’s landscape (Limerick, 1998). There were very deep holes that were dug in search of the gold. Trees were cut down to clear the fields and to take care of the huge demand for wood that was used to power the steam engines that ran the lifting cables. The rapid destruction of the forest triggered soil erosion in the fields. The miners were less concerned with the consequences of their acts to the environment, for them, America was a place to exploit gets your wealth and leave. There was a rapid population growth in American west; this was as a result of the many migrants who came to the gold mines (Limerick, 1998). This image...
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