Modern Era Synthesis

Period 2

Team 4

Modern Era Synthesis

Modern Era was the time when technology structured cities and saw agriculture’s new existence as a large factory, causing people to experience new technology and globalization which allowed people to interact and live interdependent lives. Development of technology altered conditions as well as the way people think. People began to pursue new ways of life, abandoning the old conventions that had been the legacy and influence in the American society. America during this era faced sharply fluctuating economic circumstances, from prosperity that came with technological advancements to the Great Depression. With these drastic events that changed the face of the world forever, change became the norm. Moreover, people, during the time of prosperity, relied on the government until the economic turnover, which began to implant distrust in the people. This extreme phase led people to question the family, the government, and the Church as to whether anyone can be trusted. Each individual behaves and thinks uniquely, naturally leading to introspection. The individual’s recognition of difference contributes to their challenging of old beliefs and bringing up new ideas. Men’s traditional mythical view transformed to incorporate the existence of others and create one’s own culture as the cities, trade, and communication arose. As spiritual entities, people believe that logical analysis with no spiritual connection lacks personal meaning. Humans have desire, an emotional will that is beyond pure reason. When there are no ways to express this within the cultural norms of society, it can beget fanaticism, radicalism, and extremism causing people look for some way to reveal their idiosyncratic existence.