Vivian Yuan

7/28/13
Non-fiction essay

Throughout the course of world history, there have been numerous events that inspired
what was to follow. They shaped the path of history through phenomenal means. It is impossible
for everyone to agree on exactly three events that prove to be the most significant, for there is
such a vast quantity of events to choose from. So I present the three that I have chosen, the
episodes in history that I feel has left the greatest lasting imprint for years to come.
First and foremost, the rise of the Roman Empire proved to be an outstanding
achievement and a positive standard for civilizations to come. There is no clear line as to when
Roman prosperity began, but historians speculate that it was around 265 B.C. After many Roman
villagers rebelled in 510 B.C. and founded their own government, the new and improved Rome
fought enemy after enemy and mastered surrounding tribes. They commanded almost all of Italy
and later conquered much more of the Mediterranean. But this is not what makes Rome a
significant part of world history. With great power comes great responsibility, and Rome knew
this. They built up a government system that resembles much of democracy today(e.g. their
Plebian assembly is much like the U.S. Congress today). In 27 B.C., an army chief named
Augustus came into power. He built up the Senate, crushed the enemies, and created an able
army. From then on, Rome was ruled by an emperor. In the next century, Rome came into an era
of peace and prosperity, known as Pax Romana. Rules and laws were put in place, giant roads
were constructed, and towns now had courts, schools, libraries, and even sewers and central
heating. Then, in around 300 A.D. after a period of inevitable turmoil, another great emperor
came into power known as Constantine. Under his rule, Rome acquired a new capital city
(Constantinople) and walls that were deemed unconquerable. Most importantly, he made
Christianity legal, which impacted history as through this, Christians no longer cowered and hid,
they spread the word through the entire Mediterranean and later to the entire world. Although
Vivian Yuan
7/28/13
Non-fiction essay

Rome only lasted a few decades after this, it is still revered as one of the greatest empires of all
time. Rome passed on its laws and ways of life to the European nations that conquered it, and its
roads and religion would also be invaluable assets in shaping countries of the future.
The second prevailing event was the infamous Industrial Revolution that began in Europe
and spread like a wildfire across the globe. Before the Industrial Revolution, the living standard
was very low due to the little profit made by selling small quantities of hand-made goods. In
England, the first development started in the 1730s when Kay created the weaver to hurry the
process of working on a loom along. In the next century, many others such as Cartwright and
Arkwright further developed useful machines to strengthen the textile industry. During this time,
Iron welding was also sped up by the inventions of a waterwheel and larger furnace. Also in the
18th century power became available through the engines made by James Watt. Later still,
Whitney produced thousands of muskets for military use. But the most infamous invention of all
that appeared in the Industrial revolution was the Model T, invented by the one and only Henry
Ford. All Model Ts were the same design and structure, which allowed the idea of an assembly
line, the basis of a successful factory. They were cheap and reliable, and soon, everyone either
wanted one or had one. If it hadn't been for the industrial revolution, we wouldn't have nearly as
many railroads, clothes, cars, weapons, and food, among other essential items. People now lived
happier and healthier, and the world would not be the way it is without the Industrial Revolution.
The final event that greatly shaped the world's history was the creation of the USSR. In
1818, a century before the real horror came, a man named Karl Marx was born in western
Germany. He had a vision of an ideal utopia, a vision that he wrote down in a volume called The
Communist Manifesto. The seeds of communism was planted then, in the minds of communists
Vivian Yuan
7/28/13
Non-fiction essay

and Marxists everywhere in Europe, but it wasn't until 1917, during World War 1, that the
communist revolutions started.. The working class in Petrograd, led by the council called Soviet,
revolted and threw out Czar Nicholas. In the years to come, leaders such as Lenin, Trotsky, and
of course, Stalin, would rule Russia and turn it into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Under Stalin's reign, hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens were executed, plainly because
he thought they had the potential of rebelling against his ideals (which were actually
contradicting Marx's original intents). Later, in 1947 at the end of the second World War, the
USSR, led by Khruschev and the U.S. led by Eisenhower, engaged in a Cold War. Throughout
the span of half a decade, the world would stand on the brink of nuclear war and wait in
anticipation as the tension between these two superpowers crackled and spit fire. The world
would see many more brutal wars, the ones in Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan. The Cuban
Missile Crisis would be an incident lived in infamy. At the end of the war, weapons ruled the
plains of far-off countries, and the U.S. and Russia still competed with each other in the space
race. It is clear that the start of communism and the USSR triggered all these events in recent
history and much more.
Of course, these three events cannot even come close to defining the world as a whole,
from the Stone Age to today. But these three events are landmarks in the timeline of the world;
they were the starting dominos of sequences in time.




Vivian Yuan
7/28/13
Non-fiction essay

Works Cited
Davis, James C. The Human Story: Our History, from the Stone Age to Today. New York: HarperCollins,
2004. Print.
Mattingly, David. "What Did the Romans Do For Us?" History Today. Web. 11 Aug. 2013.
"Primary History: Roman Remains." BBC News. BBC. Web. 11 Aug. 2013.
"Joseph Stalin." Cold War Museum. Web. 11 Aug. 2013.