Is the World Order Starting to Crack?

Since the end of World War II, the United States has played a key role in the creation of a stable world order so that nothing like WWII ever happens again: training diplomats, encouraging international attorneys and strengthening international law, supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, the European Court of Human Rights, helping …

80 Turning Points Since 1923

Time magazine highlighted 80 turning points in history since 1923. The problem with this sort of list is that it encourages readers to believe that major changes happen overnight, and in the "black swan" theory of history -- that events crop up suddenly, without warning, that life frequently changes dramatically for everyday citizens. That's not …

Historical Study Offers Insights That Journalism, Political Science Can’t

A visit to Barnes and Noble after nearly a decade living abroad made me realize why I did not major in history as an undergraduate despite a strong interest in the subject. Rows and rows of biographies and military histories -- detailed analyses of significant battles, war leader and strategies dominated the non-fiction section. I …

Great Changes & Revolutions Often Spark Counter-Revolutions, Reactionary Movements

Attempts at great change, especially if conducted over a short period of time, often spark resistance, counter-revolutions, and reactionary movements that are sometimes -- often? -- more successful than the initial thrust toward change. The German political philosopher George Friedrich Hegel wrote of the patterns of social movements in history that one side proposes a …

At Cold War’s End, Western Leaders Feared the Worst. How US Perspective Has Changed With Hindsight

Only in retrospect does the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany and independence of Eastern Europe look to be a great triumph for the West, capitalism, freedom and the Reagan-Bush administration. Only in retrospect could Reaganites claim that he always intended to bring about the collapse of …

Turning Points from Invention of Printing Press in 1400s to Trump’s MAGA

Causation or Causality. How one thing leads to another. Printing Press, Invented in 1440s -->Challenged Governmental and Religious Authorities Control of Information, Knowledge and Thought --> Peasants Rebelled Against Pray, Pay, Obey, Church Corruption and Indulgences --> Protestant Reformation-->150 years of Religious Warfare -->Struggle against Censorship -->Divine Right of Kings --> Right to Criticize Constructively -->Freedom …

1930s to Present: Turning Points in US History

Turning Points are like dominoes falling. One thing leads to another. They can sometimes be social constructs, oversimplify causality, enlarge events that may be less connected and more isolated, or miss significant events that were perhaps turning points that we don't recognize until much later, but still it's a useful exercise to search for and …

Turning Points in Christian History

"Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity," by Mark A. Noll, 1997, a Wheaton College professor, was well-reviewed. The "decisive moments" he identified include the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), the Council of Nicaea (325), the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Rule of St. Benedict (530), the crowning of Charlemagne (800), the East-West schism …

Turning Points in World History: Perspective Is Key

Journalists like to declare "revolutions" which turn out in the long run, with the perspective of history, not to be revolutions but at best evolutions or just small changes. The Reagan "Revolution" was supposed to dismantle Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal safety net. It didn't. Historians like to declare "turning points" in history: Abraham Lincoln's "Emancipation …

NC High Schools Social Studies Elective: Turning Points in American History

"This course would emphasize, in greater depth, 10-15 key turning points in American History. These turning points would be “hinge” events in our nation’s history, caused by, and subsequently contributing to, major social, cultural, political, and/or economic events. Turning points chosen for this course do not need to be events that have been popularly discussed …