Yes, generally speaking it is true that historical geology is primarily the history of the earth's crust, although the ramifications are somewhat wider in that the discipline takes into account things that happened due to the crust's changes as well.
The end of World War II marked a new beginning for the global economy. Under the leadership of a new hegemon, the United States of America, and aided by the technologies of the Second Industrial Revolution, like the car and the plane, global trade started to rise once again.
To fund libraries, local community projects, and building roads and such.
Like what? what things do you mean