Enduring Issue Essay

Enduring Issues are problems and challenges that mankind has faced and learned from through all of time. An example of an enduring issue is the need for innovation. The need for innovation is an issue that causes mankind to create new things or find new ways to do something to address the issue. This is extremely important because this is what pushes mankind to create new technology and ideas. These new technologies and ideas are what cause humanity to progress. The need for innovation is vital to the progression of the human race and has led to the creation of many things such as the basis for farming, terrace farming, and farming using the seed drill, which all changed the world as they knew it in their respective time periods. These are

Terrace farming was a skill learned by farmers in civilizations that settled in or around hills and mountains. Due to the unlevel terrain, it was hard for these civilizations to farm. There was a need for innovation. Civilizations such as the Chinese, developed the terrace farming method. According to document 2, this method consisted of cutting into the side of a hill to create flat ledges going up the hill that look like steps. The problem was that there was not the right terrain for farming. WIthout farming it is very hard to have a steady food supply for the growing nation. This caused a need for innovation and caused the invention of terrace farming. Without people settling around mountains and hills in early civilzations, the practice of terrace farming may have never been created, and civilizations may have never been able to settle on or around these kinds of terrains. This would have vastly changed the world with less land to settle and create society, and it may have caused even more conflict in the world because without the option of settling on or around hills and mountains being available, the same civilizations that would have settled there would be packed closer together in a smaller space. Civilizations such as the Chinese and many others in Asia, South America, and other continents may have never grown and flourished the same way they did with the innovation of terrace farming. Therefore, the

As populations grew and there were more mouths to feed, farming needed to become more efficient. With inaccurately placed seeds and seeds being out in the open available to birds to eat before they get the chance to grow, there was a need for innovation. This is when the seed drill was invented. It states in document 4 that the seed drill drilled holes for 3 rows of seeds, planted the seed, and covered it back up, all at the same time. This not only made farming more effective, producing about 5 times the amount of food, but also made it more efficient. With the seed drill, crops were faster to plant and fewer workers were required. This was a huge innovation for farming as a whole and made the whole idea and process of farming even more necessary. The increase of food also in turn allowed for a larger population due to it creating a surplus. Additionally, due to the need for fewer workers, the people who previously worked in the fields could then take on jobs such as working in factories, which therefore made the production of those products better. The seed drill was invented around the time of the industrial revolution, meaning there was a need for more factory workers, so these people going from the farms to the factories really helped kick off the industrial revolution. Once again, this all started because civilizations needed food faster and more of it, there was a need for innovation. This is what caused the