1900-1920 Flashcards
To educate students on world events, with a special emphasis on the events leading to World War I
Define:
communism
Communism refers to a system of government in which the government owns the means of production. Under a pure communist system, the government owns all land and factories, as opposed to a pure capitalist system, in which individuals own the means of production.
The “Eastern Question” dominated European diplomatic relations from at least the 1770s, becoming acute in the last half of the 19th century. What was the Eastern Question?
The Eastern Question arose as the Ottoman Empire declined in power. Both Austria and Russia sought to take advantage of the power vacuum, while Britain sought to shore up the Ottoman Empire to protect their interests in the region. Meanwhile, France saw the Eastern Question as a means to disrupt the Concert of Europe and assert her independence of action in European affairs.
Which artist is recognized as Cubism’s founding father?
Pablo Picasso is recognized as Cubism’s founding father and was the first artist to systematically break down objects and reassemble them in an abstract geometric formula.
Cubism as an artistic movement flourished in France in the 1910s and 1920s and along with Impressionism represents the birth of Modern Art.
How many European countries allowed women to vote in 1900?
None, but in the early decades of the 20th century, especially in Western Europe, those who advocated for female suffrage, known as “suffragettes” saw modest gains, and women were allowed to exercise their right to vote for the first time.
The suffragettes were highly organized and were led by women of the middle class.
What is the Bessemer Process?
The Bessemer Process was an inexpensive method for making steel from iron.
Since the Industrial Revolution began later in America and Germany than in the United Kingdom, American and German firms did not have to convert their foundries and mills from older iron methods to steel production, but could equip their factories at the outset with the newest methods.
By the 1880s, both American and German manufacturing output in steel and other industries was rapidly approaching that of Great Britain.
Germany’s Industrial Revolution began later than Britain’s, but made rapid strides in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What industrial areas proved particularly fruitful for the Germans?
Since Germany’s Industrial Revolution began later, German factories were outfitted with the latest technology, and German firms rapidly began to dominate fields such as steel-making and chemical production.
Germans such as Rudolf Diesel also developed industrial technology. Diesel’s internal combustion engine would power German submarines and lead to the development of the automobile.
What was the effect of the Japanese victories in the Russo-Japanese War?
In 1905, the Japanese roundly defeated the Russians on both land and sea. In Russia, the defeats signaled the weaknesses of Tsar Nicholas II’s regime and encouraged the hopes of those who sought to limit the Tsar’s power.
Throughout the rest of Europe, there was grudging admiration and disbelief that an Asian army had defeated a European one.
What was Bloody Sunday?
On Sunday, January 9, 1905, Russian demonstrators peaceably assembled near the Tsar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to present the Tsar with a list of grievances. Tsarist troops opened fire on the crowd, killing 96.
In response, a wave of protests and looting broke out and a general strike was declared by the city’s unions. Bloody Sunday marked the start of the 1905 Russian Revolution, and revolts quickly spread to the peasantry.
How did Tsar Nicholas II react to the outbreak of the 1905 Russian Revolution?
Tsar Nicholas II agreed to convene a representative legislature (known as the Duma); granted civil liberties such as freedom of the press, speech, and assembly; and declared that he would reorganize the government.
In the wake of the Tsar’s promises, the Revolution abated. In the years following the Revolution, the Tsar did convene the Duma, but basically ignored it. Most his other promises were rescinded within a few years.
Germany exacerbated European relations in the early 20th century by commencing an expansion in what branch of her armed services?
While Germany possessed Europe’s most powerful army, prior to the early 20th century her naval presence was negligible. Kaiser Wilhelm II announced a massive naval program building battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines.
If Germany built a large navy in addition to her army, it raised the potential of one power dominating Europe and upsetting the balance of power. Further, the new German navy was a threat to Great Britain, which had the world’s largest navy. Britain announced that for every battleship the Germans built Britain would build two, setting in motion an arms race.
What three powers made up the Triple Entente at the outset of World War I?
Britain, France, and Russia comprised the Triple Entente.
Russia and France had a treaty dating to the late 19th century. Britain never formally pledged her cooperation in a European war, but mounting German militarism led to closer ties with France and Russia and an end to the British policy of “Splendid Isolation” from the affairs on the Continent.
Define:
Pan-Slavism
Pan-Slavism referred to the unification of all Slav territory in Austria-Hungary into a single state. Pan-Slavism was fomented by Austria-Hungary’s enemy Serbia, who aspired to head a Pan-Slav state.
In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, technically an Ottoman territory that Austria-Hungary had been administering. How did Serbia respond?
The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina highly irritated the Serbs, who felt that they had justifiable territorial interests in the area. Russia, as a Serbian ally and self-proclaimed protector of the Slavs, backed Serbia’s protest, and Serbia mobilized her army.
War was narrowly averted when Serbia and Russia backed down and agreed to a diplomatic resolution. Relations between Serbia and Russia on one hand and Austria-Hungary on the other had been irreparably damaged, and Serbia would not back down from the next Balkan crisis.
What strategic concern faced the Germans before World War I?
On one border, Germany was faced with the hostile Russian Empire, and on the other, the French Republic, bent on revenge for the Franco-Prussian War.
To the south, her only ally, Austria-Hungary, had a weak army and was rent by internal divisions. Were France and Russia to declare war on Germany and attack her from both sides, Germany would be severely outnumbered.
How did Germany propose to deal with the prospect of a two-front war in 1914?
The German Schlieffen Plan sought to take advantage of the time it would take the slow-moving Russian Army to mobilize and sought to conquer France first by amassing troops on the Western Front before transferring troops to the Eastern Front to fight Russia.
France’s border with Germany was heavily defended and would unacceptably delay the German offensive, so the German Chief of Staff Alfred von Schlieffen designed a plan where the German Army would make a right hook around the French fortifications by marching through neutral Belgium.
What event set off World War I?
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Slav nationalist with ties to the Serbian secret service, assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Sophie. The assassination took place in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
How did Austria-Hungary diplomatically respond to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand?
Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia, and after making sure that Germany would support Austro-Hungarian actions, sent an ultimatum to Serbia demanding retribution. Serbia refused and Austria declared war.
Serbia’s ally Russia began to mobilize her troops, and Germany and Austria declared war on Russia, which was followed by a German declaration of war on Russia’s ally, France.
