Yes they were. their way of life was threatened/ thusly had to defend it.
Because of the geography of Greece, it was difficult to form bigger cities, so they tended to form smaller, more localized government systems.
Well, pre-1930s, our economy was booming due to The Great War (WW1), after the war ended, our economy slowly fell, resulting in the Stock Market Crash. After the Stock Market Crash, farm prices raised significantly due to the lack of crops coming in from farmers (due to the dust bowl) after our economy became stable, prices eventually evened out.
The puritans led the first permanent settlements