The Super Summary of World History Read online

  Copyright © 2010 by Alan Dale Daniel, BA, MBA, JD.

  Library of Congress Control Number:

  2008904529

  ISBN:

  Hardcover

  978-1-4363-4326-8

  Softcover

  978-1-4363-4325-1

  Ebook

  978-1-4500-6251-0

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This book was printed in the United States of America.

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  49740

  Contents

  Time Line of World History

  Introduction

  Top 20 Events in History (my opinion)

  Chapter 1

  Prehistory 150,000 BC to 3,500 BC (approximate)

  Ten Human Traits

  Neolithic Revolution—Agriculture 8,500 BC

  Differing Views of History

  Books and References:

  Chapter 2

  Ancient History 8000 BC to AD 455

  Geography

  Security

  Sumer and UR

  Abraham

  Egypt

  Mesopotamia

  The Bronze Age Collapse

  Harappan Civilizations—Indus Valley

  The Aryans and Iron Age Civilizations In India

  Greece and Rome

  The Greeks

  Individual Greater than the State

  Of Gods and Governments

  The Persians Invade Greece

  After the Persians—The Peloponnesian War

  Alexander the Great

  Rome

  The Punic Wars

  Cannae

  The Army, the Republic, and the Empire

  Discussion of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire

  The Need for Protection

  Invaders from the Center of the World

  Greek Philosophy

  Sophists

  Of Gods and Men

  The Role of Food, Disease, and Administration in Ancient Times

  Books and Resources

  Books and References on Philosophy

  Chapter 3

  The Dark Ages 455 to 1400

  Total Loss Of Roman Culture

  Events of the Dark Ages

  The Catholic Church

  Feudalism

  The Guild System

  Government During The Dark Ages

  The Franks—France

  England

  The Viking Raids

  The Mongols

  Europe Battles Toward the Renaissance

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 4

  The Renaissance 1300 to 1500

  New Thoughts and New Assumptions

  Science and Pseudoscience

  The Art of Oil Painting

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 5

  The Age of Discovery 1463 to 1522

  Native Empires in the Americas

  Spanish and English Empires in the Americas

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 6

  The EAST

  China

  The Dynasties (this can get very dull)

  Japan

  Korea

  India

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 7

  Africa

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 8

  The Middle East and the Fall of Byzantium (The Eastern Roman Empire) 500 to 1453

  Islam Turned Back at Tours

  Byzantium

  The Crusades

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 9

  The New World and the Rise of America

  Columbus and 1492

  Native Americans

  The American Revolution 1775 to 1782

  Background

  Lexington and Concord—the War begins

  The Declaration of Independence

  Early Defeats and Trenton—the Last Chance

  Saratoga

  The American Frontier

  The Constitution of the United States of America

  Problems—Discussing the Constitution

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 10

  Europe from the Renaissance to 1900

  Nation States, Religion, War, and The Armada

  Europe Undergoes Vast Change

  Science and the Printing Press (The Road to Tomorrow)

  The Arts—Painting

  Speed of Change

  The French Revolution 1789 to 1799

  The Impact of Empires

  The Industrial Revolution

  Art and the Future of Europe

  Rise of New Nations in Central Europe

  Chapter 11

  America and the Americas

  Latin America

  United States of America

  The War of 1812

  American Growth and Problems

  Mexican-American War

  The American Civil War 1861 to 1865

  Causes

  The time line to war:

  Casualties

  Strategy—the North

  Strategy—the South

  The War Begins

  Antietam and Emancipation

  Gettysburg

  Grant and Sherman Destroy the South

  Grant

  Sherman

  Reconstruction of the South

  Aftermath—the Impacts of the Civil War

  Books and Resources

  From the Civil War to 1900

  Industrial Expansion

  America Becomes an Imperial Power—1898

  Copying Britain

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 12

  1900: The Dividing Line to the Modern World

  Industrialism and the Machine Age

  Machines

  Politics

  America

  Power of Women

  Power of the Press

  Power of Religion

  Power of Science

  Art and Literature

  The Power of Change

  Chapter 13

  The First World War 1914 to 1918

  Casualties

  Financial Costs

  Other Costs

  Causes of the Great War

  The von Schlieffen Plan

  Mobilization

  Deciding Factors (in order of importance)

  The War Begins

  Stalemate in the West

  the Western Front

  The Russian Front

  The War at Sea

  New Technology

  The Eastern Front and Revolution

  Other Fronts

  Turning Point: The United States of America Enters the War

  Aftermath

  Some Thoughts on the Great War and the Aftermath

  Books and Resources on the Great War

  Chapter 14

  The Interwar Years 1919 to 1939

  The Great Depression 1929-1942?

  Background

  Causes

  The Contraction Starts

  Hoover and Roosevelt—The Twins of Economic Failure

  Economic Theories

  European Government’s under Stress: Fascist and Communist

  Japan Taken Over By Militarists

  The Future Goes Dark

  Books and Resources on the Great Depression and the Rise
of the Third Reich

  Chapter 15

  World War II 1939 to 1945

  How Many Dead?

  Compare 1914 and 1939

  Deciding Factors

  World War II Begins

  The Battle of France

  Battle of Britain

  Invasion?

  The Battle of the Atlantic

  Industrial Production

  The Crucial Years

  North Africa

  El Alamein

  The USSR

  Barbarossa

  Japan Enters the War December 7, 1941

  Background

  Deciding Factors In the Pacific

  Pearl Harbor And the Japanese Centrifical Offensive

  Pearl Harbor

  Japans’ Southern Offensive

  Singapore

  The Philippines

  The Battle of Midway

  The South Pacific and Indochina

  Guadalcanal

  Midpoint in the Second World War Europe: Key Decisions

  Axis (mis) Management

  Hitler Attacks in the East

  War In The Atlantic

  North Africa

  Sicily and Italy

  Planning D-Day

  Midpoint in the Second World War—Pacific

  Tarawa

  Marianas and New Guinea

  The Philippines—The Return of the USA

  Hammering Toward Victory—The Pacific

  Battle of Leyte Gulf—the Philippines

  Submarine Efforts—Axis and the Allies

  Hammering Toward Victory—Europe

  D-Day and Beyond

  Background to D-Day

  The Atlantic Wall Breached

  The Battle of the Bulge

  The Air War Over Europe

  The Eastern Front—After Stalingrad

  The End in Europe

  The End in Asia

  Battle of Okinawa

  Operation Olympic

  Truman Uses the A-Bomb

  Books and References

  Chapter 16

  The Cold War 1945 to 1989

  Truman: Neophyte Cold Warrior

  Eisenhower: Careful Cold Warrior

  Kennedy: Risk-Taking Cold Warrior

  Lyndon B. Johnson: Worthless Cold Warrior

  Nixon: Winning Cold Warrior

  Carter: Incompetent Cold Warrior

  Reagan: Ultimate Cold Warrior

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 17

  The Korean War

  Background to Invasion

  The Red Empires Strike!

  Inchon The UN Allies Strike Back

  China Enters the War

  The New Air War

  UN Forces Move North—Again

  Stalemate

  Use the Bomb—or Not?

  Analysis

  Chapter 18

  The Vietnam War

  Background

  Eisenhower Stays Out

  The Fall of Dien Bien Phu

  America Steps In (it)

  Johnson Commits US Troops—1964

  Tet Offensive

  Nixon Gets the United States Out

  The South Falls

  After the Fall

  Why? The Analysis of the War and its Aftermath

  Books and Resources

  Chapter 19

  The Postmodern World . . . or Not?

  The Long View of History

  What About the West is Unique?

  Modern Philosophy—of the west

  Propaganda

  Beyond the Cold War

  Technology

  War

  US Civil Rights Movement

  Bureaucracy in the Modern World

  The Future and our Ability to Discern the Future

  A Final Thought

  Online Sources

  Table of Figures

  Time Line of World History

  Not all events in this time line are covered in the text.

  Taking the Long View

  After about 1980, it is difficult to say what we are studying is “history” because it is still within the lifetimes of most people, and in such cases the “long view” of history is lost. In fact, I would have to say that anything occurring after 1950 is probably not history. It is best that “history” is written by people who were not alive at the time of the events and not affected by the emotions of the time including emotions passed down from their parents or their friends. My writings herein on Vietnam suffer from the prejudices of my age and my political positions both at the time of the war and now in the aftermath of the war and its perceived impact on the war in Iraq and the War on Terror. Even writing about the Great Depression is somewhat hard because my dad was alive during the Depression and told me a lot about his experiences during that time; thus, my view is colored by those remembrances. However, no one is ever free of prejudices and history has a lot to do with forming those prejudices. Nonetheless, I have written this history to include the Cold War up to its end in 1989 but very little thereafter. So, readers, beware of what anyone says about events within their lifetime. The long view will sort it all out. For now, be aware that like it or not my prejudices will come through no matter how much I try to suppress them. This is true of everyone, although some may be better at avoiding the pitfalls than others. The key is to be aware that no one is without a point of view, and most people who want to write about anything have very strong points of view. Awareness is the key. Have fun!

  AD2

  Introduction

  We are going to do an extreme summary of world history with a heavy concentration on Western Europe and the United States of America. Using this method, we will first lay a foundation so the pieces of history will have a place to fit as we study them. It is like looking at the picture before you build a puzzle; it makes it easier. After reading this summary you should be able to pick up any detailed history book and quickly understand where the era fits into the total stream of history.

  A little background on your author will help you understand his point of view. I was born in 1947 in Bakersfield, California, my dad died just after I graduated from High School, I earned a BA in history from San Fernando Valley State College (California State Northridge now) by working my way through, and then, from 1970 to 1975, I served as a helicopter pilot for the United States Marine Corps. While in the marines, I went to night school and earned my MBA from Pepperdine University. After the marines, I attended law school, obtained a JD from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1978, and passed the California bar that same year. I was a California attorney for over twenty-five years in both private and public practice. The City Attorney’s Office for the city of Bakersfield hired me in 1984 and I spent twenty years as their water law attorney (among many other things) leaving the city in 2004.

  My thesis study for my history degree was Herodotus, probably the greatest historian ever, even though Thucydides was probably just as good. Both Greeks, both fun to read, and both about as impartial as a person can get while still breathing.

  In this work I attempt to be impartial, as all historians should; however, I am prejudiced as all of us are, and by knowing that I am a staunch conservative Republican and a Christian will aid you in processing my writings, helping you know why I think some things are very important and others not so much. I like to compare events. How were the priesthoods in Egypt and the Dark Ages alike? Why didn’t China fall, as Rome did, into a complete collapse after conquest from outside invaders? Art in Europe seems to predict the future, but art in the East does not. Why is this? And so on. By comparing cultures and trying to notice similarities and differences between them, we can learn at a deeper level than simply memorizing bare sets of facts.

  The history of our world can be divided into sections, and here are the ones we will use:

  Prehistory (before the written word—150,000 BC to about 8000 BC in the near east)

  The most important events in human history occur here: agriculture, writing, societal
organization

  Ancient history (8000 BC to about AD 455 or the fall of Rome)

  The rise of cities and complex administrative organizations

  The Dark Ages (AD 455 to AD 1300)

  The failure and disintegration of Roman Western civilization and societal organization in Europe.

  Renaissance (AD 1300 to AD 1500)

  Rediscovering ancient wisdom and moving beyond, with the help of science and the printing press

  Age of Discovery to World War I (1500 to 1914)

  Europe finds out that the world is a large place, and then devours it while building a golden age of progress

  World War I (1914 to 1918)

  WWI cracks the Western world, then the Great Depression shatters it as the West totters on the brink of total economic and social collapse

  Interwar Years and World War II (1918 to 1945)

  The entire world tumbles into another total war, and then crawls over broken landscapes into the future

  Cold War (1945 to 1989)

  As the world rebuilds and rearranges itself, a twilight war rages menacing all, and after it fades the future darkens yet again with new threats of religious wars without end

  Postmodern History (End of the cold war in 1989 and beyond . . . well, a little beyond)

  Technology makes breathtaking advances while humanity’s thoughts grow cold and dark. New wars erupt with new methods of killing. What will rule the future, destruction or progress? Does progress really exist?

  The invention of agriculture and animal husbandry was THE most important event in secular history. The invention of writing and the invention of the printing press were some of the next most important events, but nearly every historian will agree that without agriculture and animal husbandry the world would be a far different place. Religious folks will say the advent of their religious leader, such as Jesus Christ, Mohammad, or Buddha for example, was by far the most important event in history; however, that leads to a decision based solely on religion and a religious leader’s impact. A Christian is not going to say the birth of Buddha was more important than the birth of Jesus. Because of this, I will stay away from proclaiming the start of a religion as the most important event in history although the start of the great religions truly was of immense importance.

  Just for fun, let’s guess at the top twenty events in world history (based on how they influence our present world), in order of importance (religion excluded). Here is my list. Does your list match?

  Top 20 Events in History (my opinion)