Human civilization is constantly in a state of change. It is continually changing, evolving, and adapting to the ways in which humans not only interact with each other, but also with the land on which they reside. We often call this evolving interaction progress. Progress can be defined as the destruction and reconstruction of social, political and religious norms to promote a more prosperous and equitable society. Perhaps more than any other event in human history, the European “discovery” of the New World radically altered the social, political, and religious landscape across the globe. The European discovery of the New World in and of itself was not so much progress as an inevitable extension of a world beginning to perfect global trade and economics. It was bound to happen, as explorers from the world's great economic powers strove to connect the Far East to Europe in ways more conducive to profit. The events resulting from this discovery definitely fall into the category of progress as I have defined above. When discussing progress it is prudent to keep in mind that not all things considered progress in the present are good or have had a positive impact on humanity. Indeed, many things called progress have brought horrors upon those upon whom progress has been impressed. It is an indisputable fact that the creation of the United States and the implementation of a republican form of democracy is one of the most important achievements of human progress. The American form of democracy was more or less a fusion of Moses, Cicero, and John Locke; and driven by the ideas of Adam Smith and his economic treatise “The Riches of History by Chris Hoyt&156Dan Grisham Assignment 1/ Progress, The Discovery of America and Human History Nations...... middle of paper ...... Ritual human sacrifice, cannibalism, slavery and warfare were a normal way of life in most pre-Columbian cultures. European settlements and in particular the works of missionaries were able to educate and civilize the native populations to a large extent. Human beings often want to see progress happen overnight; however, real progress is not that simple, it is a slow and often painful process. The discovery of the New World and the founding of the United States are the best proof of this. America was an incubator of ideas that, once put into practice, spread like wildfire across the world. There is no doubt that the discovery of the Americas set in motion a series of events that led to the destruction and reconstruction of social, political and religious norms to promote a more prosperous and equitable society.