The Super Summary of World History (104 page)

[
99
]
    Two hundred plus years now, just a blink in time from a historical perspective.

[
100
]
    Two states had unicameral legislatures, meaning they had only one house, and that house was elected by population.

[
101
]
    Note this is nearly 100 years before the American Revolution, showing the idea of fundamental rights was already an established part of the English thought process. Also, this document establishes individual rights against the government. The Greek ideal of the individual being above the state lived on.

[
102
]
    An attempt to build monasteries in nearly inaccessible places and live apart from the world

[
103
]
    Bibles of the day were written in Latin which only the priests could read. The Catholic Church wanted biblical interpretation in the hands of the church alone, because they feared a fragmentation of Christianity if everyone could read and interpret the scriptures. They were right. Note the bibles were printed. The printing press had a major impact on the Protestant Reformation.

[
104
]
    The pope was under the power of the first wife’s nephew, Emperor Charles V. Charles had sacked Rome and held the pope as a virtual prisoner. The first wife was Catherine of Aragon, next was Ann Boleyn, then Jane Seymour, Ann of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and, finally, Catherine Parr.

[
105
]
    Sort of Protestant. The Church of England retained much from Catholic teachings. Note the year. This is about 500 years after William the Conquer carried a flag into battle against the Saxons and Britons which had been blessed by the pope. 500 years is a LONG time. The US has been around less than 250. Thus, Henry was really running against a long tradition of Catholicism in England. This was a
world changing
event.

[
106
]
    How did the public become literate so fast? Almost overnight, huge numbers of people in Europe learned to read.

[
107
]
    His words are now beamed into space, which could mean they will survive until the end of time as we know it, although the SETI project has stated radio beams disintegrate after a few years of traveling through space and become static. So why are they still looking for signals from space? The government must be paying.

[
108
]
    The “
Divine Right of Kings
” is a philosophy that holds the king is appointed by god; thus, he/she can do no wrong, and they rule by Divine Right. Only god can replace the king. Europe’s intellectuals were starting to think this kind of belief was pure hogwash and had to be reevaluated.

[
109
]
    Land and buildings are good things to tax because they are very hard to hide, and their ownership is normally very clear. The Catholic Church had been immune to taxation all over Europe for centuries, and a lot of the new leaders were fed up with that arrangement. Obviously, the Church had decreased in power.

[
110
]
    The First Estate was the
clergy,
the Second Estate was the
nobility,
and the Third Estate was the
commoners
—the ones that were starving.

[
111
]
    King Louis XVI was put to death on January 21, 1793, and his queen on October 16, 1793.

[
112
]
    For all his victories on land, Napoleon failed to win at sea; and this isolated him on the European landmass. Several key English naval victories by Admiral Nelson—Trafalgar in 1805 being the most famous—sealed Napoleon’s fate.

[
113
]
    Of course, it is hard to kill religion by decree. The Catholic Church survived the decree, although its political power was much reduced.

[
114
]
    Rome had industrial-level factories using waterwheels to grind flower and do other chores. These overshot waterwheel-driven factories turned out impressive amounts of grain for the vast empire. When the Dark Ages arrived, this Roman technology was lost.

[
115
]
    By 1399, the effects of the Black Plague were over; and the population was expanding again.

[
116
]
    Literature, music, and other artistic forms were expressing the same themes.

[
117
]
    In spite of the splotchy, close-up look, each stroke had a purpose, each color was exactly placed; and even when standing far away from the painting, the subject could still be discerned. When a person gets too far away from a painting by the old masters, the subject becomes indistinct. The Impressionists were showing the world that even though confusion seemed to be the scheme of life, in fact that confusion was organized into a solid, coherent whole when looked at in concert.

[
118
]
    As Will Rogers said during the Great Depression, “We (the US) will be the first nation to drive to the poor house.”

[
119
]
    Jefferson, the third US president, was elected in 1801, and this was the first power transfer between political parties. And yes, this is the same Thomas Jefferson that penned the Declaration of Independence. Note that political parties were not anticipated by the drafters of the US Constitution. Jefferson wanted Congress and the president to stay within the
specific
powers given them in the US Constitution, and since the ability to buy land was not specifically given to the president he worried that he was, by his actions, going to expand the power of the executive. Of course, he did expand the power of the executive, but it would make little difference given the massive expansion of power that would come later.

[
120
]
    Old Iron Sides was her nickname because metal sheeting placed over the hull caused enemy cannonballs to ricochet off.

[
121
]
    It was in one of these engagements that John Paul Jones, aboard the Bonhomme Richard, was asked to surrender by the British commander. Jones replied “I have not yet begun to fight,” and then went on to win the battle. His ship sunk after the battle, but he captured the still afloat British ship and continued on his way.

[
122
]
    It was in this war that the famous stand at the
Alamo
took place in San Antonio, Texas. Davy Crocket and several other well-known American frontiersmen died fighting for Texas and freedom.

[
123
]
    Ok . . . Ok. I did not tell you Montezuma was the Aztec emperor Cortez captured and defeated. Come on . . . it is the SUPER summary after all. The Halls of Montezuma is a reference to the Aztec ruler and his capitol of Mexico City. The “Halls of Montezuma” = Mexico City. Get it??

[
124
]
    Many would point out the Seminoles were never defeated by the United States, and the War of 1812 was probably a tie at best, so things are not clear-cut in the won-loss department of US history. In addition, the US did not lose the Vietnam War. South Vietnam lost the war. See the Chp on Vietnam.

[
125
]
    The US would place tariffs on incoming goods, then the foreign nations would place tariffs on US goods coming to them. Result: cotton and tobacco sales would suffer.

[
126
]
    Like the Dark Ages, there were the very rich and the very poor. The middle-class merchants were a small part of society in the Dark Ages and in the pre-Civil War South. Typical in an agricultural society.

[
127
]
    
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe published in 1852 was
the bestselling novel of the nineteenth century
and was a significant piece of northern propaganda that incensed people of the North
and
the South.

[
128
]
    Louisiana was one southern state that was not rabid about leaving the Union and perhaps could have been brought back. If Louisiana stayed Union, the Mississippi would be under Union control, and Texas split off from the rest. This might be a death blow to the Confederacy.

[
129
]
    Literally the
man
power barrel because women did not fight in this era. During World War II, the Soviets made extensive use of female units; however, the Western Allies did not send women into combat. They were used extensively in noncombat roles.

[
130
]
    Casualties include both the dead and the wounded.

[
131
]
    The rivers of the west moved
into
the south, thus providing highways to penetrate the defenses. Rivers running
across
the line of advance would have helped the South immensely.

[
132
]
    Some of the Union generals may not have been so clear on the goals. McClellan was accused of wanting the South to suffer as little as possible. McClellan’s actions were so incompetent he brought these rumors upon himself. How else could his actions be explained, except by treachery, many thought. Of course, it is always possible he was incompetent in battle. Several Union generals proved to be his equal in this department.

[
133
]
    Of course, other possibilities abound. The South may have requested to join England or M
e
xico; but in either event, they would have to abandon slavery. If they had to end slavery why not ban it and then try to rejoin the Union? The scenarios are endless.

[
134
]
    You will hear more about this later, but
logistics
are the key to victory in a long modern war. When the South lost its ability to trade by sea, it lost its ability to supply itself. Thus, no supplies and no victory.

[
135
]
    Many historians disagree. The brilliant Bevin Alexander in
How Great Generals Win,
thinks Lee was mediocre. I will disagree based on Chancellorsville, and his ability to defend the South for years against an army that outnumbered his, had more and better equipment, and was well fed if not well led. It is true that Lee did not see the early potential of a northern invasion, as suggested by Stonewall Jackson, and he may not have had the vision of Sherman, but he did accomplish a lot with very little and for that he should be remembered as an excellent commander. By the way,
very
few generals have had the vision of Sherman or Jackson.

[
136
]
    The Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution ended slavery, and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth protected the civil rights of the former slaves.

[
137
]
    For reasons unknown, Robert E. Lee never wrote a book about the war; thus, many of his decisions go unexplained. This is a great loss to history. Grant’s memoirs are highly useful because we get to look into the mind of the man making the decisions.

[
138
]
    The Union cannons had rifling, and the Confederate cannons did not. Rifling makes a projectile fly straighter.

[
139
]
    Compare this to George Washington at Boston. He had wanted to assault the city but listened to his fellow commanders when they told him they were against it, which was excellent advice. Lee did not listen to his fellow senior commanders and his men, and his cause, paid dearly.

[
140
]
    At Waterloo, the total losses were about
fort-seven thousand
men killed and wounded between all three armies (English, Prussian, and French). After more than 3
years
fighting in Iraq the US lost about 5,000 men and the public wanted an end to it. Time does change things.

[
141
]
    More proof of how incompetent they were.

[
142
]
    This would have forced Sherman to attack well-prepared Confederate positions blocking his supply lines, thereby costing him dearly in men.

[
143
]
    
Sherman’s march to the sea
. This was truly modern war. The target was the civilian population of the South. After this operation, there would be no such thing as civilians in war. Everyone was now a target. In spite of treaties and other documents trying to say otherwise, the fact is that every member of the opposing state is now a valid target for death and destruction. The bombing of civilians in WWII by both the Axis and the Allies, the atrocities of the Japanese, Germans, Soviets involving not only soldiers in uniform but civilians as well, and the latest terrorists attacks of the 21st Century, clearly show there are no civilians. The slaughter of Christians by Muslims, the slaughter of everything and everyone by the Mongols, the complete destruction of ancient cities by the Assyrians, show that this has long been the case, but somehow people cannot accept this blatant fact.

[
144
]
    The Carpetbaggers were northerners who moved south during Reconstruction for economic and political advantage. They bought plantations, became wealthy landowners, and managed, with the help of Freedmen in the state legislatures, to buy up southern railroads. By 1870, the Carpetbaggers controlled 21 percent of southern RR by mileage. By 1890, they controlled 88 percent of the RR by mileage and held an average of 47 percent on the boards of directors for the southern RR.