Thematic Essay Outline

1. Theme: Belief Systems

Christianity:
• Christianity is monotheistic and teaches the belief in one God.
• They believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God and that he is the Messiah
• They believe that anyone who believes and follows Jesus will have salvation and eternal
life.
• Christians believe that God gave the Ten Commandments through Moses.
• A practice of Christianity is baptism and it is a ritual that is performed by a member of
the clergy in a church. Baptism is the way that a person becomes a member of the
church.
• Another practice of Christianity is the Eucharist, and it is meant to give thanks. This is
the replication of the Last Supper, is the final meal that Jesus Christ ate with his disciples
before his crucifixion.
• An influence that Christianity gives to its followers is that it gives them comfort. Poor,
suffering, and oppressed people found much comfort in Jesus’s message of peace and
love.
• Another influence is that there has been many fights over different interpretations of
the Bible. One dispute is the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther posted his 95
Theses, which were arguments against indulgences. During the Protestant Reformation,
Europe broke away from the Catholic Church and formed new Christian churches.

Islam:
• Islam is monotheistic and believe in Allah.
• The founder of this religion is the prophet Muhammad, who spread the message of
Islam.
• The sacred scriptures of Islam are in the Koran.
• Muslims believe that during the end of the world, every human will be resurrected from
the grave. This day is known as the Day of Judgment. Good souls will go to Heaven and
bad souls will go to hell.
• Muslims follow the Five Pillars.
• One belief from the Five Pillars is that they are to believe Muhammad is the most
important prophet.
• They are also suppose to pray five times a day.
• They are to give money to the poor
• Another belief they have is they are supposed to fast from sunrise to sunset during the
month of Ramadan
• The last of the Five Pillars is to visit Mecca at least once.
• An influence that it Islam has had is that since trade was seem to be a good job for
Muslims, Muslims built large trading empires and made trading networks with Africa,
China, and India.
• Another influence is that Islam brings comfort and unity to its people. It brings unity
because the Koran is said to that it is best to read it in one language, which Arabic.
Muslim laws, the Sharia has united Muslims of different backgrounds.

2. Theme: Human and Physical Geography (Geographic Impact on

Societies)

Nile River in Egypt:

• Since much of Egypt is a desert, people lived along the Nile River.
• The Nile River provides water for drinking and food, such as fish.
• Floods from the Nile River left the land with rich deposits of silt that kept the area
fertile for farming.
• The Nile River was very important in that it served as a highway for travel.
• It was an important for transportation and irrigation of crops.
• Since the Nile River was so important it was well respected and led to polytheistic
beliefs
• The Nile River led to civilization and technology, such as the pyramids.
• The Nile River allowed for a source of trade and allowed them to connect with others
cultures. Because of the Nile River, civilization flourished.

Oil in the Middle East:

• The discovery of oil brought power to Middle Eastern nations.
• Oil is the most important energy resource and is an important part of the global
economy.
• Middle Eastern countries have went to war and fought over control of oil-rich lands.
• Some Middle Eastern countries are members of the OPEC, which stands for the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Their goal is to control the oil undustry
by setting production levels and prices.
• In 1973, the OPEC stopped exporting oil to certain countries. Since Egypt and Israel
were at war, Arab countries put an embargo against the U.S. and any other country that
supported Israel.
• In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait because of oil which resulted in the Persian Gulf War.
• We see global economic interdependence from the problems that have developed over
oil. This shows us how important the oil from the Middle East is.
• Oil has increased the standards of living and benefited many parts of the Middle East.

3. Theme: Non-Political Revolutions

Industrial Revolution:
• The Industrial Revolution changed the way people lived because cities became
modernized.
• This was a period that became around 1750, in which the means of production of goods
shifted from hand tools to complex machines and from human and animal power to steam
power.
• Technology developed rapidly and production increased.
• The Industrial Revolution led to a new class structure. The upper class was made up of
very wealthy industrial and business families, there was an upper growing middle class,
and in the bottom of the class structure were factory workers and peasants.
• The standard of living was increased.
• Transporation was improved. Roads and were built, railroads grew, and new inventions
were built.
• The Industrial Revolution led to urbanization. People moved to towns and cities to be
closer to factories. During the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, conditions were
very poor. Factory workers lived in over crowded buildings, with no sewage services,
which resulted in widespread disease
• The Industrial Revolution led to imperialism, many countries were controlled by Europe
to provide raw materials and new markets for industrialized goods. Imperialism had a
negative effect on most of these countries and only benefited Europe.

Enlightenment:
• The Enlightenment was a period in the 1700s in which people rejected traditional ideas
and supported a belief in human reason.
• Believed that logical thought can lead to truth is called rationalism.
• Inspired a sense of individualism, a belief in personal freedom, and a sense of the basic
equality of human beings.
• Because of Enlightenment ideas of individualism and belief in equal rights many
revolutions occurred. Revolutions such as the Glorious Revolution, the American
Revolution, the French Revolution and the Latin American Revolutions.
• An Enlightenment French thinker called Baron de Montesquieu says that government
should divide itself according to its powers, creating different branches. He said that
under this system each branch would Check and Balance the others, which would help
protect the people's liberty and prevent any branch from becoming too powerful. His
ideas are seen in the government of the United States.
• Another Enlightenment French thinker called Voltaire believed in freedom of speech.
He criticize the Catholic Church and the French government because they did not permit
tolerance or intellectual freedom.
• Another Enlightenment thinker, John Locke believed that all people have natural rights,
which are the rights to life, liberty, and property. He proposed that a government should
be formed to protect people’s natural rights and that if a government does not protect
these natural rights that it should be overthrown.
• The ideas made by Enlightenment thinkers had a great impact all over Europe. An
increasing number of people began to question traditional beliefs and customs. This
affected leaders and the development of nations.

4. Theme: Turning Points

Neolithic Revolution:
• This Revolution changed the way of previous lifestyles, because people settled down
and stayed in one place. They established permanent settlements. Before 10,000 B.C,
people were nomadic hunters and did not settle down.
• Instead of hunting and moving from on place to another, during this Revolution farming
techniques emerged and crops were harvested.
• Animal became domesticated for to help with farming and for food.
• Towns and villages were developed since they no longer needed to travel to place to
place for survival.
• Led to the establishment of social distinctions since people began to have different jobs
and roles in their society.
• With the development of farming trade increased greatly. Now societies had a greater
capacity to produce important products to others.
• People had to learn many different skills other than finding and collecting food. Since
people had time to do other things and didn’t need to worry about finding their next meal,
new skilled professions emerge such as pottery, carpentry, tool-making, etc…
• Since people established permanent settlements, women now were able to have more
children. Also, farming techniques made it possible to feed people throughout the whole
year. Because of these factors, the human population greatly increase and villages,
towns, and cities were eventually built.

Renaissance:
• The Renaissance was period from the 1300s to the 1500s that happened in Europe. It
was a period of creativity and change.
• This was a golden age in the arts, literature, ance sciences.
• A new way of thinking was developed called humanism. Renaissance humanists were
interested with life in the present.
• Humanism put an emphasis on the achievements of the individual. They examined
many topics that the Greeks and Romans had studied.
• During the Renaissance beautiful paintings, sculptures, and architecture were made,
which were some of the greatest in the world.
• During the Renaissance, printing technology became available to Europe. Now, more
books became available, literacy increased, and ideas spread rapidly.
• The Scientific Revolution develops as a result of the Renaissance. Now, scientists
question traditional beliefs that blindly believed. Scientists used the Scientific Method.
The Scientific Method uses observation and experimentation to explain theories on how
things work.
• Humanism ideas was written about in the literature of the Renaissance. Much of the
literature written in the Renaissance is still enjoyed today, such as the writings of William
Shakespeare.

5. Theme: Change

Mohandas Gandhi:
• Gandhi led the Indian nationalist movement. He wanted the British to stop controlling
them and wanted to be self-governed.
• He believed in western ideas of democracy and nationalism. He supported equal rights
for everyone and rejected the caste system.
• He believed in nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience, which is the refusal to obey
unjust laws rather than use violence, was the way to win rights.
• He tactics included boycotting British goods and having peaceful demonstrations
• One peaceful demonstration was known as the “Salt March.” This was a campaign of
nonviolent protest against the British salt tax in colonial India. The British attacked the
protestors and ended up looking like the bad guys. The “Salt March” set off the wider
Civil Disobedience Movement, which was an important part of the Indian independence
movement.
• Gandhi went on a 21 day fast to protest against the war between the Muslims and the
Hindus.
• Gandhi has influenced many people with his tactics and beliefs. He greatly inspired
Martin Luther King Junior. Gandhi shows people that you can win something through
peace and without bloodshed.
• Due to Gandhi, India became an independent, democratic country. It successfully
achieved its independence.

John Locke:
• He was an English thinker who believed all people had natural rights. These rights are
the rights to life, liberty, and property.
• He believes that people form governments to protect their rights. If a government does
not protect these natural rights, it should be overthrown.
• He believed that humans had unalienable rights like freedom of speech.
• He also believed that people should have equal rights regardless of sex, race, age, etc…
Everyone should have the same rights.
• According to John Locke, a government should be limited and should not have absolute
authority.
• John Locke proposed that governments gain their authority from their people. He
believed a government is not legitimate if the people do not give their consent.
• John Locke’s ideas has had a great influence on many people and government. His
ideas of natural rights can be seen today in the American Bill of Rights
• John Locke’s idea of natural rights can be seen in the Declaration of Indepedence as
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Even though the quote changed slighty, he
still had a great influence on it. Many of Locke’s ideas are used in the American
government.

6. Theme: Political Systems

Communism in the USSR:

• In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto to explain
and show their ideas. The book shows that throughout history there was always a
struggle between people who were rich and had wealth and the people who did not. They
argued that that capitalism took advantage of the working class and should be abolished.
• Communism believe in atheism and want to do away with religion.
• Communism has had a huge effect on Russia. The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917
overthrew the government and became communist. Lenin became the ruler and was
successful in his plans. He died in 1924.
• A new Communist leader emerged, Joseph Staln. He ruled through fear and violence.
Stalin became paranoid that other Communists were plotting against and launced the
Great Purge in which thousands of people were executed, exiled, or sent to prison camps.
• Stalin set up a totalitarian state in which both the public and private lives of people are
controlled by the government.
• Stalin established a command economy and the government controlled all factories,
businesses, and farms.
• Stalin wanted to industrialize the USSR and make it more modern. He launched the
five-year plans to build industry and increase farm output. Soviet production in oil, coal,
steel, and other things was increased, but still most Russians remained poor and lived a
low standard of living.
• Stalin forced peasants to live on collectives. His plan for the collectives was to grow
grain for the workers in the cities and produce surplus grain to sell. This plan failed
because many peasants resised. The government took the land of whoever resisted and
sent them to prison labor camps where many died.
• Since so many peasants resisted and didn’t grow enough grain, starvation resulted.
Millions of people died in the Soviet Union because of that.

Fascism in Germany:
• A fascist state puts emphasis on having a powerful military and is ruled by a single
dictator.
• A fascist government censors and controls the news.
• It is extremely nationalistic and is also imperialistic.
• The state has control of the economy.
• Fascist governments use violence and terror to rule.
• Adolf Hitler rose into power in Germany. The Weimar Republic was a weak
government with many economic issues. People found Hitler promising and thought he
would be able to make Germany powerful again. Hitler said he was going to provide
new jobs and that Germany was going to regain its pride.
• Hitler became a dictator and called Germany the Third Reich. This was a totalitarian
state. He ended civil rights, used violent force and propaganda, and put businesses under
government control.
• Hitler used propaganda to push his policies. He was Anti-Semitism and gave the Jews
decreasing rights. Eventually, he said them to concentration camps and six million Jews
ended up dying.

7. Theme: Global Problems

Environmental pollution:
• Pollution is the contamination of the environment, which includes air, water, and soil.
• Air pollution is caused by the factories and automobiles releasing gases and soot into
the air. These can cause respiratory disease.
• Pollution is harmful to living things and the environment.
• Human wastes, fertilizers, pesticides, and toxic chemicals pollute the water. This could
lead to cancer and death.
• Acid rain is rain that falls through air that is polluted by the burning of fossil fuels.
Acid rain damages and harms forests, lakes, and land.
• Due to pollution and the burning of fossil fuels there is a rise in global temperature.
The cause for this is the greenhouse effect, which means that warm air becomes trapped
in the lower atmosphere.
• Due to the use of CFCs and other polluntants, the depletion of the ozone layer is
occurring. Depletion of the ozone layer could expose people to increase radiation and
skin cancer.
• Because of factors such as population, pollution, and climate change, there has been a
strain on clean water. One billion people are not able to get and use clean water.
Because of this, people could develop diseases.

Overpopulation:
• One cause for overpopulation are religious beliefs, which tell you that it is necessary to
bring children into the world.
• Another cause is cultural factors, some cultures believe that having a large family is
necessary to carry on the family name and provide for their parents.
• Another cause is economic factors, many people believe that having many children is
necessary to support the family econmically.
• One last cause is lack of knowledge and ignorance, many people are not knowledgable
of reproduction and birth control.
• The environment is negatively effected, there is a depletion of natural resources.
Forests are being torn down as more wood and land is needed to support our increasing
population of people.
• Another effect is the standard of living is decreased, and there is hunger and
malnutrition.
• Due to overpopulation and overcrowding, China made a law in which married couples
could only have one child. There is less valued place on a human life.
• Overpopulation leads to pollution. Factories and vehicles are releasing out toxic gases.
The more people there are, the more factories and vehicles there will be. This has
harmful effects on our health and is causing global warming.

8. Theme: Justice and Human Rights

Jews in Nazi Germany:

• “Human rights” can be defined as your life, liberty, and property. Every human
deserves to be treated right and with respect.
• Hitler had a goal of creating “living space” for Germans. He believed that German
“Aryan” race were racially superior.

• To accomplish this he planned to kill all the people he found inferior. Jews were his
main target, but he also want to kill or enslave Slavs, Gypsies, and the mentally or
physically disabled.
• Hitler began limiting the rights and encouraged harm to the Jews. On 11/8/1938,
violence against the Jews began called Kristallnacht. Thousands of Jewish synagogues,
businesses, schools, and other buildings were destroyed and ruined. The next day 30,000
Jews were arrested just for being Jewish, More restrictive laws against Jews and Jewish
businesses began.
• Eventually, Jews were forced to live in separate areas and then concentration camps
were formed.
• In these concentration camps, Jews suffered and their human rights were being violated.
Many Jews were starved, shot, or gassed to dead.
• Overall, over 6 million Jews had died in the Holocaust.
• In March 27, 1953, West Germany has admitted that all the atrocities they committed
were wrong. The German government has made a system of reparations to pay Israel for
the labor and persecution of Jews during the Holocaust, and to even out the Jewish
property that was taken by the Nazis.

The Killing Fields of Cambodia:

• “Human rights” can be defined as your life, liberty, and property. Every human
deserves to be treated right and with respect
• Cambodia served as a supply route for the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces
during the Vietnam war. To destroy this route, the U.S. bombed and invaded it.
• After the Americans left, the Khmer Rouge (Cambodian communist guerrillas) took
control of the government.
• Pol Pot, the leader of Khmer Rouge began a reign of terror to take away all western
influence from Cambodia.
• Pol Pot had the idea of bringing everything back to Year Zero. His idea was that all
culture and traditions from society must be destroyed and a new revolutionary culture
must replace it. He was to start from the beginning. Teachers and intellectuals were
executed as part of Year Zero.
• People were tortured and executed as if they had no value. Families were destroyed.
• About one to two million Cambodians were killed in the “Killing Fields.”
• The effect of the people of Cambodian is that 25% of the whole population were killed.
Anyone intelligent or skilled was killed, so that obviously had a negative effected on the
country. Similar to the “brain drain” in the USSR.
• The Vietnamese invaded Cambodia and took over the country.

9. Theme: Conflict

Apartheid in South Africa:

• Europeans ruled South Africa for nearly 350 years. Even though South Africa won its
independence from the British in 1910, the white citizens were the only ones able to get
political power.
• In 1948 whites made a system of apartheid, which is a separation of the races. They did
this for they could have the ability to control the nation’s government and economy.
• Under the system of apartheid, anyone who is nonwhite were made to live in certain
zones, they used segregated public transportation, and you could not have interracial
marriage.
• A politcal party called the African National Congress (ANC) was made in South Africa.
This part used violence, boycotts, and civil disobedience to go against apartheid.
• During a demonstration in which many people were killed and wounded by police, the
ANC was outlawed.
• In 1964, an important ANC leader, Nelson Mandela, was sentenced to life in prison. He
was the symbol of the struggle for freedom.
• In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became president of South Africa. He knew reform was
necessary, so he legalized the ANC, took away the segregation laws, and release Mandela
from jail.
• South Africa held an election that all people could vote in 1994. Mandela was elected
president. Black Africans and nonwhites now had more rights and were treated more
equally.

The French Revolution:

• There were many injustices that existed in France. Social, economic, and political
factors led to the French Revolution.
• One of the factors was that France was an Absolute Monarchy in which they were
denied of basic rights and had no say in government.
• Other factor is social inequality. The clergy were in the First Estate, they were 0.5% of
the population, but owned 10% of the land. The nobility were in the Second Estate, they
were 1.5% and owned 20% of the land. These two classes were very wealthy, did not
pay taxes, and got special rights. The Third Estate is 98% of the population and owned
70% of the land. These were the workers, the bourgeoisie, city workers, and rural
peasants. The Third Estate were unhappy with its situation; they disliked all the taxes
they were getting and have few rights they had. This brought tension.
• Another thing that led up to this is the Enlightenment. Many of the Enlightenment
thinkers disagreed with France’s absolute monarchy and wanted democratic reforms.
The French began to question traditional ideas, and felt that it was not fair that the First
and Second Estates had more rights.
• As conditions grew worse, people began to have even stronger feelings for reforms.
The working-class people rioted and stormed a prison called the Bastille. Fighting broke
out throughout France. This period is known as the Great Fear, when peasants fought
with nobles and destroyed their property.
• The National Assembly took away the special rights of the First and Second Estates and
then adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. It contained many
Enlightenment ideas.
• In 1791, the National Assembly wrote a constitution. It limited the power of the
government and it set up a representative assembly. It stated that people have natural
rights and the government should protect those rights. It also put the Church under state
control to prevent it from getting too much power.
• The French Revolution’s democratic ideals eventually spread throughout Europe
through Napoleon Bonaparte. People started to pursue liberty, equality,and working
together for a common cause.
• The French Revolution gave its people nationalism. People felt national pride and a
sense of national identity.
• The French Revolution inspired Latin American Independence Movements.
• As a result of the French Revolution, people have achieved more rights and have made
things more reasonable for everyone. Power was limited and people had more of a say.

10. Theme: Movement of People and Goods: Trade

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC):

• The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed in 1960 and
currently has 12 members. Oil became the most important energy resource after World
War II.
• OPEC’s goal is to control the industry by setting production levels and prices.
• In 1973, OPEC stop exporting oil to certain countries.
• Egypt and Israel were at war and Arab countries started an embargo against the United
States and any country that supported Israel.
• The embargo made prices greatly decrease and it slowed western economies.
• There is a global economic interdependence. The OPEC’s decisions affect the rest of
the world.
• The distribution of the oil is that it provides people a necessity in their life and it also
provides profit for those who control the oil,
• Due to oil, there have been many conflicts and problems. For example, Iraq invaded
Kuwait, resulting in the Persian Gulf War.

European Union (EU):

• In 1957, six European nations formed the European Community. This was meant to
expand free trade by ending tariffs and allow labor to move across the borders.
• The EC was expanded and became the European Union. In 2008 the EU had 27
member states.
• The euro, a new currency, was introduced in 1999.
• The aim of the EU is increase Europe’s trade position, as well as its political and
economic power in the world.
• The EU is suppose to unify Europe’s economy
• The EU has made trade easier and more efficient in Europe by making it easier to travel
through different countries due ti EU passports.
• Due to the European Union, there has been fewer tariffs in Europe.
• Although there are many positive aspects to the EU, there is also some negative aspects.
People argue that the different, unique cultures would vanish by turning into one
European culture.