MATILDE OLVERA

HISTORY 1700
AMERICAN CIVILIZATION
American civilization refers to humans life style growth here in America.
It starts in Prehistory with the first humans on earth when they werent even able to
communicate to each other, but self- preservation made that men started figuring out
how to communicate, hunt, build safe places to protect them from inclement weather,
grow vegetables, rise animals, and even they got a political system when they were
organized in tribes. History tells us that they had leaders who made decisions for their
people in their tribes. As humans we have the urge to believe that there is a supreme
being who can help us to succeed in lifes trials, our ancestors had the same urge so
they started worshiping the wind, the moon, the water, the sun in order to be protected
physically and spiritually. And as time passed they became from tribes to flourishing
cultures in America, Cultures that were advanced. In which we find, the Toltec, Maya,
and Aztec, just to mention some of them. They had technological advance in
architecture, engineering, and metallurgy, art, astronomy, agriculture, commerce, and
even a form of government and religion.
When Christopher Columbus came to America, he realized the big civilizations and
empires that were in America, he communicated all this to the kingdom in Spain and
they came to America to colonize and conquered them, Spaniards took away all their
traditions, beliefs, and treasures, languages, etc. Unfortunately all those civilizations are
gone, but North America still has some ancient tribes that may not flourished as the
Mexican ones, but they have contributed to our history and more important they can
practice their beliefs and the life style they want to. In North America the ancient
cultures had experienced the same situation when Europeans arrived they went through
wars in order t defend their lands. Europeans brought diseases as well due to Native
Americans werent prepared to cure those diseases some of them died. Now t he
American continent has been conquered we have different languages, architectures,
government, beliefs and cultures that resulted in the mixture of different races. We still
trying to get lands, oil, gold, power! and we fallow the same patters we do it through
wars and still hurting others. We can see that in history we find examples of wars such
as King Philips war, king Williams war, Queen Annes war , French and Indian wars,
American revolution, Barbary wars, and among others wars of independence. Each
generation leaves something for a new generation. Human growth brings technology
that helps us to increase our knowledge in the good and bad way.
I see the same patters or cycles in each period of life. Man has trials and difficulties in
each generation. Humans start from zero so they invent ways to survive by developing
their potential. When they achieve their maximum potential, they become wealthy and
powerful. Ironically when man has reached this stage they want more so they start wars
to get more and in these wars humans lose everything including human lives and have
to start all over again.