Chapter 19 European Movement in Worl History

What struck me most interesting in this chapter was the section about the perception of the "other" (563). Throughout history people have always treated other people differentlyt because they labeled them as different. It is an "us" vs. "them" kind of issue. People create a self concept and group with people who relate. All people who differ from them are automatically considered to be an other. This classification of people is very dangerous because it justifies peoples' actions when they treat one another differently. It is easy for a person to dehumanize another person when they classify them as an other. The white Europeans easily classified Africans as unhuman because they looked different from what the Europeans were used to. the Africans differed from the norm and were judged because of it. The Europeans convinced themselves that the Africans were less than human and thereforeable to be manipulated like animals. This section of the chapter speaks about the process of classifying people as the "other". In religion many would think that all other people who are not Christian are not children of God. People usually classified "others" based on physical appearances. Later the Europeans took a more scientific approach at classifying people. Craniologists began to measure the size of skulls. The skulls of white people happened to be larger so they automatically assumed that caucasian was the supior race and that all others were inferior to them. Race became everything, there were sterotypes created that labeled every person in a race the same things. There was no more individuality because people looked at your skin color and assumed they already knew everything about you. This system of creating "others" has only seperated the human race and kept us from uniting to learn from one another.

Chapter 17 Atlantic Revolutions

The beginning of the chapter spoke about eurocentricism. The idea that everything revolved around Europe caught my attention because it reminded me of what I had seen on T.V. the night before. I had been watching the opening ceremony for the olympics and noticed that when each country was introduced there was a little screen off to the side that showed where that country was in comparison with the United States. When I read about this chapter the next day I thought about how we are like Europe in our belief that we are the center. I found it interesting that all of the Atlantic revolutions were connected in that each reflected the one before it. The American revolution from the French was a big event that triggered more and more people to believe in their own independence. The idea of liberty spread like the industrial revolution. Soon everyone wanted to be apart of it. The revolutions influenced much more than independence, they inspired freedom of slavery, nationalism, and feminism. The people of Haiti are a good example of the abolition of slavery for they revolted and took freedom by force because they knew they deserved equality. People around the world began to realize that they were more than just a class status. Everyone was born with the right to freedom and equality, which ment that people no longer wanted monarchs or a handful of wealthy controlling all of the money while the majority of people starved. They realized that they deserved a better life and used to revolutions as a way to take what was rightfully theirs from those who formerly controlled everything and everyone. Although today everyone is no treated equally there is a much better sense of freedom because of these revolutions. We now have democracy and instead of tring to conquer the rest of the world many nations are more interested in becoming allies. Without the Atlantic revolutions I fear the world would have been far worse than it is today.

Chapter 18 Revolutions of Industrialization

The industrial revolution is a period in history where everything changed for the generation at the time and the many to come. Starting in Brittain the industrial revolution was the begining of new innovations and lifestyles for everyone. The industrial revolution followed the scientific revolution for people began to think of new ways to make things more easily. The people wanted to create new systems that would produce goods more easily and at less cost, but good quality. Machines were created and factories were built that put these new ideas into action. Industrialization spread quickly throughout the rest of the world once they saw what Brittain had created. Although this revolution created a foundation the the technilogically advanced society we now live in I am not sure it had all positive effects. The new factories enforced workers to work 13 hour shifts with little pay. There was child labor and critisism for women working alongside men to support their families. The creation of machines put many people out of jobs that were once done by hand. The revolution created a difference in classes as some people rose to upper class society through owning factories, but left many in the middle and labor classes. Middle class families did generally well, but the labor class were forced to live in crowded housing and work long hours while mansions were being built around them. Today there is a need for jobs in our country because like the industrial revolution we are outsourcing to try and produce more at lower cost to ourselves. I think that if there were less machines more people would have jobs building, what is now built with machines, with their own hands. Technology is increasing everyday and I think that it may lead to our downfall. It may be smarter to revert back to the days when things were made by the hands of our communties. It will be interesting to see how the industries will end now that I know how they began.