Research Paper

Bonke Rugira

Mr. Gates

Government

Turning points

Throughout history Political, economic and social conditions have often led to turning points. These turning points have forever changed the course of history for countries and its people. Both the declaration of Independence and the Atomic age are the major turning points in the United States history and in human society.

The declaration of Independence (1776) is what led to our independence from King George III and Great Britain. For many years, Great Britain tightens its control over the colonies. The British government passed laws which heavily taxed the colonists and controlled their trade. To make matters worse, these things were happening while the colonists were not being represented in the British government. This meant that the colonists did not have the right to vote for the people they wanted to represent them in the government. In addition to this, the colonists were required to care from British soldiers. The colonists were required to feed and give up their homes to British soldiers who came to their house. For example, if a British soldier knocked at my house in the middle of the night, I was required to open the door for him, feed him, and give him a place to sleep. These British soldiers were for the most part brutal and evil. They would sometimes beat up the man of the house and rape his wife. Great Britain believed that they had the rights to tax and mistreat the colonists since their government supported and defended them. The colonist felt otherwise.  The colonists believed that their rights as human beings were being threatened. They were afraid that tyranny will occur which is what they had ran away from in the first place. They were afraid that King George III was on his way to become an absolute leader. So the colonists had enough and they decided to fight for their freedom in the war known as the revolutionary war (1775-1783)

The revolutionary war was long and deadly. Millions of people died from both ends, but the colonists were victorious in the end and finally, they colonists had their freedom from Great Britain.  Achieving Independence from Great Britain and finally being free meant that that there were political, social, and economic changes. First and foremost, this new government was going to be exceptional. It was going to be like no other government in the world at the time. In fact, it was going to be the opposite of governments at the time. The colonists decided to create a democratic government where the power will be given to the citizens and not the leader. Now, the people were able to vote for a representative. The citizens were able to have their voices heard in the government. They now had the power to make changes to their government if there were something they didn’t like. The Unites State’s democracy has become a role model for many countries. Many nations around the world have adopted the United States’ democratic government because of how effective it. Many people believe that the reason why the United States’ is the best country in the world is because of her democracy. The declaration of independence brought social changes because it recognized all men as being important, unlike in the British government were the British were above everyone else. The United States’ constitutional stated that “All Men are created equal.”  The declaration of independence boosted people’s moral because they now viewed themselves capable and not in any way inferior. Even though this applied to white men at first, it now includes everyone regardless of race or gender. Economically, the declaration of independence meant that The United States would have a laissez faire economy, where it would have little to no interference with businesses.  The United States has a free market economy as a result.

Just like the declaration of Independence, the Atomic Age is a major turning point not just in the United States’ history, but in human society as a whole. On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Another bomb fell Aug. 9 on Nagasaki. It is estimated that (150,000) died in Hiroshima and (75,000) in Nagasaki. This occurred during WWII where the Allies were fighting the axis powers. The allies’ powers included the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The axis powers included Germany, Japan, and Italy. WWII had started because Adolf Hitler was constantly violating the treaty of Versailles which was signed after WWI where Germany was blamed for that war. One of the rules written in that treaty was for Germany not to expand. However, Hitler, the leader of Germany decided to break that rule by invading Poland and her people. Poland was allies with Britain and France, so they came to the rescue and declared war on Germany. The allies were asking the United States to help them, but the United States wanted to be neutral. It did not want to enter another world war especially after the consequences of the First World War. The United States had no choice but to enter the war after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The United States declared war on Japan and the axis powers the next day on December 8, 1941 and therefore joining the allies. The war ended in 1945 with the allies winning the war. Both Germany and Italy surrendered and Hitler committed suicide while Mussolini, the leader of Italy was captured and executed. Japan did not surrender until the United States dropped the two atomic bombs.

The use of atomic bombs had major affects both politically. First and foremost, the use of atomic bomb led to the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States. This led to citizens from both countries being constantly afraid of what might happen. Other nations who are against democracy such as North Korea many Middle Eastern countries also have the atomic bomb and that’s the reason Americans and other nations are constantly afraid that those countries could attack us and we now how deadly these nuclear weapons can be. We now know that the weapons we have created have the power to destroy us all and all it takes is one wrong decision. That’s how dangerous the world has become.

Turning points have changed the course of history forever. The declaration of independence and the atomic age are two major turning points in the history of the world. These turning points changed our ways of life for the better and for the worse. The declaration of Independence by the colonists brought democracy to the world where citizens are given the power to make changes in their government. On the other hand, the atomic age has made this world a very dangerous place to be. We have created weapons capable of wiping out the entire human race.  Political, economic, and social conditions have led many turning points through out history.