AGMSPRITE Analysis
Art and Architecture
Photographers captured the violence of war.
Beginning in 1962, the Hutu and Tutsi began fighting and killing one another. However, unlike previous times when the exchange of information was limited and very slow, journalism became popular during the 20th century and began changing how much, and how quickly, the public saw what was going on overseas. Journalists began going overseas with the purpose of taking photographs to capture the atrocities of war and to help bring awareness to the public. Another situation in which photography played a huge role was the Vietnam War. Photographers captured the usage of agent orange and many other violent war tactics and this greatly influenced public opinion in America about the US's presence in Vietnam.
Geography
Industrialization and factories contribute to pollution.
The 20th Century has had a huge impact on the geography of the world, due to the exploitation of fossil fuels, war, and population booms. Humans are increasingly leaving their marks on the world, which can be seen through disasters such as oil spills, deforestation, wildfires, erosion, and greenhouse gases causing global warming. The destruction of the ozone layer due to carbon emissions, is causing global warming, which leads to natural disasters and the ultimate warming and decline of the planet. Especially in the early to mid 20th Century, the new technology for industry was extremely pollutant for the environment. The constant burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, is toxic for the environment, and it can lead to devastating occurrences like acid rain and the greenhouse effect. There was not really any research or active conservation groups for protecting the environment, and the detrimental effects on the environment were not known yet. Once laws started being passed to protect the environment, and alternative energy sources started being used, the poisonous effects on the earth began to slow. The results of the population booms across the world also contributed to the decline of the environment by stripping it of its resources and clearing land to make more room for farmland and living space. Also to produce more crops, pesticides were used, which are extremely harmful to the environment, can get into water supplies, and they negatively affect the health of consumers, which led to the organic vs inorganic issue. As the population of the world increases, the need for higher agricultural production grows, causing continuous deforestation and overuse of soil. Not only is human interaction having a negative impact on the environment, but it also damages the entirety of ecosystems. The animals that once thrived in a vivacious habitat are now fighting to get by. The decline in natural habitats and the animals that lived there are greatly decreasing the natural biodiversity of the world.
Military
The Space Race was between the US and USSR.
Beginning in 1947, the United States and Soviet Union entered into a period of extreme political and military tension due to the differing viewpoints these countries held. While these two countries never actually engaged in warfare, they both had nuclear weapons which gave them the power to cause serious damage to the other. Most of the warfare these two super powers engaged in was based on psychological warfare. Both countries took part in the arms race as they tried to out due the other country with more advanced weaponry. One of the most intense instances during the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis which involved the USSR placing missiles on Cuba and pointing them straight towards the United States. The USSR and US also took part in the Space Race. This race was meant to determine who would become supreme in space exploration. It was not until 1972, when the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks were agreed upon, that the Cold War finally began to come to a close. However, the Cold War officially came to a close in 1991 when the USSR broke up into many non-communist states.
Social
After the war, soldiers increased the labor force.
The Great Depression had a great impact on the entire world, sending many people into unemployment and poverty. The global trade had collapsed and was affecting everyone, and although there were attempts like the New Deal designed to help people, it wasn’t until World War II where the business came back to life. In the 1940s, the wartime production in factories was able to save many people from unemployment, including the soldiers who fought in the war. After World War II, there was a rise of the middle class, as well as a rise in the number of feminists. The middle class increase was the result of soldiers coming home from the war, increasing the labor force back in their own countries by both themselves and their new children. Most of America’s labor force was white collar middle class people, and these jobs lead people to move into the city and urbanize, along with a high demand for cars in the 60s. The feminism movement was revived due to more involvement in society during the second world war. Women had both a domestic job of taking care of the children, as well as a paid job in the factories. After the men came home from war, feminists rallied and produced what was called the second wave of feminism.
Political
EPA was created by U.S government to help the environment.
As the environment and demographics began to change, the government was forced to step in for protection against harm. As the health of the environment began to decline, laws were passed in the United States, designed to help longevity of resources and reverse the pollution. An interest group, known as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fights for the protection of human health and the environment, and it brings about issues to the government. New groups such as this are making problems known to the public and government, which spread awareness and policy. The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 allows the EPA to regulate the manufacture, distribution, import, and processing of certain toxic chemicals, which is a major aspect that the EPA handles to ensure safety. Further examples of policy are in 1970, the Clean Air Act was passed, and it ensures a higher quality and purity of air, as the Clean Water Act of 1972 includes that of water. Another major development was the Endangered Species Act of 1973 that helps protect and recover the threatened species and their habitats, which in turn works to protect the biodiversity of the earth. With demographic aspects, policy and the government began to intervene to protect the interests of the nation, which in turn allowed for the immense growth in population. The government established the FDA in the early 1900s, which protects people from unsafe food and drugs. Regulations were set to prevent false advertising, so that people would know what is safe to consume. With the health of the nation increasing, standard of living increased, allowing people to live longer.
Religion
Some extreme Islamic groups resort to violence.
Starting in the 20th century, globalization began to occur which allowed more contact between different groups of people with different ways of life, ideology and religions. For the first time, people were coming face to face with different religions and learning more about the customs and ceremonies from the people, rather than having stereotypes make up their knowledge on these religions. Globalization also forced many people to get along no matter a person's belief system because people were becoming dependent on one another for specific goods and services. Unfortunately, some extreme Islamic fundamentalist groups began viewing globalization as Americanization and became fearful that with this globalization, their country and people would begin to experience a loss traditional Islamic ways. These fears have prompted many violent acts including the bombing of the twin towers and many suicide bombings.
Intellect
The United States was the winner of the race to the moon.
During the 20th century, human intelligence was able to greatly increase. Many factors can be attributed to this, mainly the increased globalization and spread of ideas that was experienced during this time period. Collaboration and competition were extremely important aspects of the 20th century that was brought upon by globalization. As world superpowers began to emerge such as the United States and the Soviet Union, competition between them tested the limits of the human mind in their race into space. The competition and high stakes that existed in the space race provided an extremely large amount of motivation for leading scientists around the world to figure out a way to get into space. This is an extremely appropriate example of how human intelligence increased in the 20th century because previous to this time period the human dream of going up into space unreachable, however, the competition forced thinkers to imagine new technologies and strategies in order to make their dreams reality. A more modern sense of how the 20th and 21st century have increased human intelligence is increased amount of collaboration that is currently present in our world. Previous to inventions like the internet, communication between continents was very difficult and was not efficient enough to hold prolonged discussion where quick responses were necessary. However, the internet provided an extremely successful way for people to communicate around the world and share ideas, which lead to the creation of many new ideas and increased efficiency.
Technology
The Green Revolution was a series of technological advancements in agriculture.
Technology during the 20th century was significantly increased in both the agrarian and medical field. As mentioned before, it had a great impact on the demographics, increasing the world’s population immensely. The Green Revolution led to the production of pesticides, fertilizers, as well as modern irrigation methods, allowing for higher efficiency and yield. This growth in the production of food facilitated the population growth all around the world, preventing famine in most areas. Medical advancements were also present, such as the discovery and applied use of penicillin in the early-mid 1900s, treating extremely fatal diseases such as syphilis and other various infections and viruses. Among other inventions, were insulin, kidney dialysis machines, photography, X-Rays, and vaccines for polio and smallpox. Globalization was responsible for the majority of these inventions and discoveries; collaboration with other nations as well as the spur of competition drove scientists to create better things. The space race during the Cold War was another major contribution to technological advancement. Both Russia and the U.S were able to benefit from the technologies developed during their competitive race to space. Advancements that were meant for space travel were interchangeably adaptable to everyday life. For example, packaging food was advanced with better ways for dry packaging, and new transportation systems were made to be more efficient. This also impacted the environment, specifically by facilitating the environmental movement which stressed the importance of maintaining ecology as well as finding a sustainable fuel source. Technology overall was a big factor in the 20th century, affecting demographics and the environment severely, and was responsible because of the effects of globalization.
Economics
Communism and Capitalism battled throughout the Cold War.
The 20th century was an extremely important time in the development of the economy. As nations began to develop and become intertwined through relations, a global economy began to emerge. This new global economy was extremely influential throughout the 20th century because it played an extremely large role on political decisions that were made during this time period. In order to continue or gain prosperity for their nation, political leaders took the global economy into account when they made decisions regarding multiple countries such as wars and treaties. Leaders realized that the global economy furthered the relationship that countries experienced from globalization because their economies became fused, and if one nation began to decline economically, it would affect all other nations. Also, during this time period, the type of economy that was put in place by nations also placed a large role in the global interactions. Two large economic ideologies developed during this time period: capitalism and communism. This created an extremely large schism in world relations, and lead to many wars such as the Vietnam war in which countries wanted to protect their economic ideology and prevent the spread of the other.
Citations
"Cold War." Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, 05 May 2013. Web. 05 May 2013.
No Author. "Reference/Links." NRDC: Environmental Laws and Treaties. National Resources Defense Council, n.d. Web. 05 May 2013.
Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: a Brief Global History with Sources. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2010. Print.
"The Space Race." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Feb. 2013. Web. 05 May 2013.
No Author. "Reference/Links." NRDC: Environmental Laws and Treaties. National Resources Defense Council, n.d. Web. 05 May 2013.
Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: a Brief Global History with Sources. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2010. Print.
"The Space Race." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Feb. 2013. Web. 05 May 2013.