index

ED7211

Executive Summary:

This is an overview of how a small nation in the middle of nowhere became
a superpower and started this dream called democracy or self rule. Alex Tocqueville traveled across America had his observations.

Western civilization didn't arrive here overnight.

A guide to western civilization will enable students to log on to this website and learn about the onward march of progress and change in cultures from ancient Athenians to modern day Americans.

This site will be aimed at high school students and college students.

Each section will have a quiz at the end for students to interact.

All will have active links to similar  historical sites.

Less emphasis will be placed on religion and the spread of Christianity, Judaism or Islam. However the acknowledgement of these forces will be noted in each section.

The First Section will be the rise of the Greeks from 300 B.C dealing with Homer. It will detail the rise of democracy, nation states, and power. Socrates, Plato, and other historians of this time period will have samples of their works here.

This will be a tutorial that students can read and answer questions dealing with this time frame. There will be a test at the end where students will be encouraged to get every answer correct. Graphics  will be used to illustrate country borders, ethnic groups, environments, time lines, and approximate populations.

The Second Section will deal with the Greece eroding power and the advancement of other nation states in that time frame, particularly Rome after the birth and death of Christ.

There is a map of the Roman Empire that shows Rome at its peak. It will chronicle the rise of Caesar and Rome's expansion into west in Europe. It will deal with the philosophies of that time frame and socio-economic pressures to conquer other territories.
It will also chronicle Rome's demise under generals,and dictators to its ultimate collapse.

The second and third bloc chronicles the rise of the Mongols and their westward push from the outer reaches of the Gobi Desert.

The Third Section deals with Russia from a historical perspective during the time frame of how Russia evolved into a collection of many nationals into a nation state.

Russia had a monarch like everyone else from the time frame of 1 AD to 1200 A.D. Charlemagne became a power during Divine rights of kings also became after the break up of the Roman Civilization and the ascent of nation states like Germany, Italy, and France.

The Fourth Section will deal with the growth of modern cities and Europeans kings and dynasties. It will illustrate how rulers fought with the so called barbarians and gained a foothold in what we know to be England and famous battles during 1066 with William the Conqueror.

The fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1492 will be one of the main lessons of this section. German states and Austrian empire will also be studied. Dates and timelines will reflect the many cultures and civilizations that existed during that time frame before the eventual expansion of the Hapsburgs.

The Fifth Section deals with the origin of nations like the French under the manor system under Pepin will show presidents or heads of states became wildly popular.

England's monarchy is shown with links to active links to other historical website from the period of 1066 through the 1900's.

The Final Section deals with European countries before and after the Industrial Revolution and the final push to immigrate to America. How and why citizen and non citizens were persecuted for religious sake is one of the emphases of this section. Why and how Christopher Columbus discovery of the New World coincided with the fall of Constantinople will be illustrated with graphics and timelines.

Student
This tutorial will be appropriate for high school students through graduate level students.

Constraints will be how long students will have to take these tests. Florida state curriculum benchmarks will follow Florida's educational guidelines for history. Lesson plans will follow instructional design. Also, each state has different benchmarks for social sciences and history so a generic standard should be followed. The eventual outcome will be for students to obtain mastery of western civilization.

Link to Buffalo soldiers

Alphonso Johnson