History of Western Civilization Discussion Questions

There are 2 posts that I have to comment them. Each one no less than three sentences and 100 words.

No research need it. Since we just have to comment them, please don’t do it way too professional. Ex. I agree with you….

The original question for post is:

Do the research on the following questions to:

1. Explain the relationship of the history of the Western Civilization II timeline to historiography
2. Find three wars that occurred during the early periods of Western Civilization II timeline, and briefly describe what these wars were about
3. Identify a primary, secondary, and tertiary source documents for each of the three wars, and briefly explain what their importance is related to each of these three wars?

Post 1

Historiography is the written historical documentation of factual past events. When historians documented events, they were thinking about the future and how we could learn from the past. Without historiography, Western Civilization II may not exist as we know it today. Everything that has been documented has helped us to evolve. Everything before documentation is known as prehistory and is just as important. Each document helps us learn from our past to make a better future for the world to come.

The seven years’ war was fought between the years of 1756 through 1763. This war was fought for territory between France and the British. Britain won the war, with William Pitt as their leader. A primary source of the seven years’ war would be the Treaty of Paris that was signed in 1763 ending the war. A Secondary source is an article: Seven Years’ War by History.com which explains about the war. A Tertiary source is an essay:7 Years War: AP US History Crash Course, explaining how the war ended.

The American Revolution started in 1775 and ended in 1783 when the Americans won their independence. The American Revolution was also the U.S. War of Independence. “The conflict arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies and the colonial government.” (History.com) This war was about fighting for their freedom, rights, and their political power. A primary document would be the Virginia Declaration of Rights. The Declaration of Rights is how the Declaration of Independence came to be, it was a great deal of our independence. A secondary source for the American Revolutionary War is the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. It has many artifacts, essays, and articles on the war. My tertiary source is the Oxford Handbook of The American Revolution, Edited by Jane Kamensky and Edward G. Gray.

The war of 1812 was valued in the U.S. as it was the second war for our independence. Great Britain’s conflict had great impact on our country’s future. The British blocked the U.S. from trading, causing our businesses to suffer. The Primary source is the Treaty of Ghent which ended the war. A Secondary source is an article: The War of 1812 by history.com. A tertiary source would be an essay: An American Perspective on the War of 1812 by Donald Hickey.

Post 2

The relationship between the histories of our Western Civilization II timeline to historiography is that the timeline is the result of the analyses of extensive finds, research, and conclusions drawn from the process of historiography. Researchers spend time not on the actual events themselves, but how history is being projected through such objects and documentation. They attempt to take the numerous items during such time periods and decipher between fact and bias, and then take such results to piece together the most thorough and unbiased accounting of the events throughout civilization.

One war depicted during the early periods of Western Civilization II timeline is the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). It was known to those in North America as the “French and Indian War”. This war, which had battles that covered the expanse of the new world – from Europe, to India, and to North America, set the alliance of England and Prussia in conflict with France, Austria, and Spain. (McKay et al., 2017, 614) According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the war itself “arose out of the attempt of the Austrian Habsburgs to win back the rich province of Silesia,” yet also involved conflict in another part of the world – North America – between France and Great Britain, as each power house attempted to gain control over the other for colonial power in the new world. (“Seven Years’ War”, 2019)

A second war depicted during the early periods of Western Civilization II timeline is the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). After doubling its national debt from the Seven Years’ War, and anticipating further expenses for defense of their newly acquired territories, the British made the unprecedented move of taxing colonists directly and maintaining an army in their new colony. Such taxation, along with other contentious decisions, such as restrictions on colonization of land and refusal to compromise with the colonies, caused tensions to grow between the colonists and British Parliament and ultimately resulted in the fighting between colonists and British troops in Lexington and Concord in April of 1775. The fighting lasted for approximately 7 years, ultimately with the Treaty of Paris of 1783 recognizing the American colonies’ independence from Britain. (McKay et al., 2017, 615, 617)

A third war depicted during the early periods of Western Civilization II timeline is the French Revolution (1789-1791). Similar to its British counterpart, France was in financial crisis after the Seven Years’ War. But, unlike the British, France did not have a central bank or paper currency and was on the verge of bankruptcy. To ease the financial burden, its only option was to increase taxes. (McKay et al., 2017, 615) Such moves brought forth instability in France’s financial, social and political structures. According to EyeWintesstoHistory.com, the three Estates (consisting of the clergy, the nobility, and middle and lower classes) met in May 1789 to discuss the crisis, only for it to become a power struggle. The Third Estate soon after proclaimed itself to be a “National Assembly”. King Louis XVI attempted to disband it, but instead escalated tensions between the nobility and the National Assembly as crop failures begot food shortages and ultimately erupted on July 14, 1789 (more commonly known today as Bastille Day). (“The Beginning of the French Revolution, 1789”, 2007) The fighting lasted for 2 years and ended with the acceptance of the National Assembly’s constitution by Louis XVI in September 1791. (McKay et al., 2017, 625)

We are able to understand the happenings of each war using primary sources from the time period. A primary resource for the Seven Years’ War would be the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which laid out and acknowledged the British victory, along with redefining territories their ownerships in North America. (McKay et al., 2017, 615) A primary source for the American Revolution is the Declaration of Independence, which “proclaimed the natural rights of mankind and the sovereignty of the American States.” (id., at 616) A primary source for the French Revolution are the letters sent by Thomas Jefferson, acting as America’s minister to France addressed to America’s Secretary of State, John Jay, which give first-hand observations during the days that led up to the Battle at Bastille. (“The Beginning of the French Revolution, 1789”, 2007) The current textbook, A History of Western Society, and the Encyclopedia Britannica are prime examples of secondary and tertiary sources, respectively, for each of these wars because each source can give commentary, as well as more general knowledge of, each of these wars, and point us to other primary sources that back up such general knowledge.