Around 1500 two important events occurred. One was the Reformation, which opened the gate of the prison of Catholicism and thus released the human mentality to search for the truth. The other was the discovery of the Americas, two vast continents which until that time were virtually unknown and uninhabited.
When God created the earth, the continent of North America was included not by chance. Under God’s sovereignty it remained hidden for many centuries, preserved for God’s purpose. If you study a world globe, you will readily see how vital this land mass is to mankind. It lies between two oceans. The Atlantic and Pacific are like two wings of an eagle, which is the symbol of America. In the early days of American independence the eagle was chosen as the emblem of the new nation. Without its two wings, an eagle is powerless. The United States derives much of its strength from the two oceans on its shores.
The whole world today looks to the United States. The American dollar is universally desired. The dollar is one of the standards by which other currencies are measured. This is so, even though the United States is still a young country, less than three hundred years old. Other nations, like Israel, look to America for financial aid. Another indication of the United States being the world’s focus is the air traffic it has with other nations. To fly from the west coast to the Far East does not cost much more than to fly from Los Angeles to New York. How can the price be that little? It is because of the great abundance of traffic. Many different airlines fly these routes daily.
God preserved America for fifty-five hundred years. He allowed the fallen descendants of Adam to ruin all the other continents, but the Americas He kept undamaged. Parking spaces are reserved for VIPs; we should consider that all Americans are VIPs. The land of America has been reserved for them!
We all need a grateful attitude toward God for preserving America. Though I am Chinese by birth, I do appreciate the United States. It is the top country in the world. God has watched over it.
With the release of the human mentality around the time of the Reformation, new, aggressive ideas came in. Europeans wanted to explore distant places. There was much competition among them. Spain took the lead to send out explorers. Thus, many of the new territories came into her hand. Throughout South America, Central America, and the southwestern part of the United States the Spanish influence is still apparent. Spanish names like San Jose and Mission Viejo, with the letter j pronounced like an h, are examples of this. Spain’s preeminence on the seas ended with the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the smaller British fleet in 1588. This defeat restricted the further spread of Catholicism by Spain.
The new ideas of the sixteenth century led to modern science and the development of machines. The wealthy could set up factories which turned out goods much more quickly than had been possible before. The laborers worked hard for little pay. In effect, the wealthy owners were robbing the poor working class and pocketing their money. These were the millionaire capitalists. How was this problem of balancing the wealth to be solved?
The government favored the ever-expanding output of the factories because it meant more taxes, that is, increased revenue for the government. Thus, the factories got bigger and bigger, until eventually overproduction resulted. With goods not being sold, many of the factories then had to close down, causing unemployment and economic hardship. Where were markets to be found for these manufactured goods?
The rich countries looked overseas for new markets. They built up their navies and armies and went to the backward countries of Asia and Africa to subdue them. With a small number of men they would come into a country in their gunboats and force that country to sign a treaty promising to provide a market for their goods. This is imperialism. For my college graduation in 1926 this is the topic I chose to write on for my thesis.
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