HOTA Historiography Review Flashcards
Fritz Fischer (WWI)
Argued that Germany had expansionist ambitions and a plan for European domination, which played a central role in causing the war. WWI like WWII
Gerhard Ritter (WWII causation)
He was against democracy, blaming it as the cause for the Second World War, and supported authoritarian, totalitarian government.
John Keegan (WWI)
He emphasizes the complex interplay of alliances, militarism, and nationalism that led to the conflict.
Niall Ferguson (WWI)
He emphasizes the role of miscalculations and misunderstandings in the lead-up to the war.
Christopher Clark (WWI)
He emphasizes the complex and multifaceted nature of the causes, arguing that no single nation should bear sole responsibility.
Sean McMeekin (WWI)
He emphasizes the importance of the July Crisis in the immediate lead-up to the war.
A.J.P. Taylor (WWI)
Timetable Thesis: getting your army to the front first and rolling over the other country (i.e. Franco-Prussian War) motivated war
Paul W. Schroeder (WWI)
blamed Britain for the First World War, argued that British foreign policy was anti-German and even more anti-Austrian
Broadhead and Howard (WWI)
argue that Canada’s involvement was due to them seeing it as a chance to free themselves and get control of their own government (Critical vs repressive remembrance)
Norman Hillmer (WWI)
argued that Canada’s participation in the war was driven by a sense of duty and loyalty to Britain
David Williamson (WWII causes)
Fascist states were militaristic and expansionist by nature
Charles P. Kindleberger 🍔 (WWII causes)
The european economy was unstable and the United States failed to adapt
Richard Overy (WWII causes)
The axis powers believed that Britain and France’s diplomacy was meant to inhibit axis economic growth (have and have-nots)
Klaus Hildebrand (WWII causes)
Hitler had a master plan driven by his pragmatic racial stigma and desire for expansion. Hitler was an intentionalist and not a functionalist
Fritz Fischer (WWII causes)
Germany’s aggressive foreign policy was the cause of WWII.
Renzo De Felice (WWII)
Mussolini was a revolutionary modernizer in domestic issues but a pragmatist in foreign policy.
Andreas Hillgruber (WWII)
There was no moral difference between Nazi Germany and the rest of the European powers because they were equally as destructive and evil.
Gerard Ritter (WWII)
Germany’s biggest flaw was Hitler’s need to be the most powerful country in Europe, which made him avoid true alliances.
AJP Taylor (WWII causes)
Hitler is not a demonical figure of popular imagination but in foreign affairs was a typical German leader
Martin Walker (WWII effects)
the end of WWII led to competition for spheres of influence between the United States, a democratic government, and the USSR, a communist government.
Richard Overy (WWII effects)
The power of Europe was destabilized because of the war, The US had economic advancements in Asia after WWII.
Thomas Bailey (WWII effects)
The breakdown of postwar peace was the result of soviet expansionism following WWII.
William Appleman Williams (WWII effects)
Postwar peace failed because the United States was focused on empire building and foreign markets.
AJP Taylor (WWII effects)
The second world war shifted women’s roles in American society.
Peter Temin (Great Depression)
“The New Deal never ended the Depression because it did not spend enough.” Keynesian
Jim Powell (Great Depression)
The Depression was caused by monetary contraction. Monetarist
Michael Bernstein (Great Depression)
“the timing of the collapse” meant there were no industries to provide new jobs. Three different parts of the economy collapsed (finance, agriculture, and industry), inhibiting the creation of new jobs.
Charles P. Kindleberger (Great Depression)
“The world economic system was unstable unless some country stabilized it” (the US failed to take the lead)
David M. Kennedy (Great Depression)
“American banks were rotten”
John Kenneth Galbraith (Great Depression)
“Plainly; in these years, leadership failed” (Hoover sucked)
David J. Rothman (Great Depression)
Although the Great Depression increased the magnitude of poverty, the harmful stigma of poor people lived on
Allan Nevins (Great Depression)
FDR was a good people person without any political skill
Howard Zinn (Great Depression)
The New Deal did not change the status quo
Carmen Nava (Great Depression)
“The new and decisive intervention of the federal government employed public education as an ‘instrument of the state’”
Samuel Putnam (Great Depression)
Vargas’s dictatorship was a fascist regime partially established and supported by the US
Peter Smith (WWII)
WWII was the “golden era of US relations with Latin America”
Victor Raul Haya de la Torre (WWII)
USA was “the good neighbor of tyrants”
Randall Bennett Woods (WWII)
“The basic objectives of United States diplomacy in regard to Latin America have remained virtually unchanged since the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823.”
Dr. Jerry García (WWII)
The Mexican Government was pressured by the United States to relocate Japanese-Mexicans
Walter LaFeber (WWII)
The U.S. commitment at the close of World War II to ensuring a world in which every state was open to U.S. influence and trade underpinned many of the conflicts that triggered the beginning of the Cold War
Howard Zinn (Chapter 16) (WWII)
The war was not a people’s war. It was a war about power.
Martin Walker: (Chapter 1) (WWII/Cold War)
The Americans dropped the bomb to bypass the need for a Soviet ally to defeat Japan
Gar Alperovitz (WWII/Cold War)
The nuclear bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, in effect, started the Cold War
Thomas Bailey (WWII/Cold War)
The Cold War was a consequence of Stalin’s refusal to follow the diplomatic agreements made between the USSR and US during WWII, namely the Yalta Conference
Traditional Leftist Perspective (WWII/Cold War)
It was important that the US preserve civil liberties in Germany and Japan after the war in order to prevent WWIII
Canadian War Museum (Orthodox) (WWII)
“A new Canada emerged from the service and trauma of the war.”
Frank Underhill (WWII)
Eliminating Hilter will not necessarily eliminate the conditions that he arose from
Paul Fussell (WWII/Cold War)
The Great War engendered the “versus” dichotomy in Canada (and more broadly) that would play a large role in WWII and the Cold War
Soviet Participant (Cold War)
Pro-Soviet or get shot
E. H. Carr (Cold War)
Cold War was caused by US aggression, Soviets were the progressive force in the world
Thomas Bailey (Cold War)
US orthodox account, Cold War was because Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe, broken Yalta promises
William Appleman Williams (Cold War)
US revisionist account, Cold War was because of American imperialism, US isolating the USSR
Gar Alperovitz (Cold War)
Revisionist account, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the first shots of the Cold War
Thomas G. Paterson (Cold War)
US post-revisionist, both sides trying to dominate the world were equally responsible for the Cold War
Odd Arne Westad (Cold War)
21st Century account, importance should be placed on the “Third World”
Stephen Kinzer (Cold War)
UFC interests were crucial to motivating the U.S. to orchestrate the 1954 coup
Gorden L. Bowen (Cold War)
The motivations for the coup were driven by political interests more than economic ones
Michael Bernstein (Brazil)
Brazil had not developed self sufficiency to handle cyclical economic problems
Charles P. Kindleberger (Brazil)
Brazil suffered for not participating in international trade in order to emerge as a power
Gabriel and Joyce Kolko (Cold War)
Argued that the USA wasn’t fighting against the USSR specifically, but that they were fighting against anything that challenged US economic and political prerogatives
Melvyn P. Leffler (Cold War)
Cold War policies were not motivated by a fear of communism, but rather by socioeconomic issues, British weakness, and Eurasian Instability l following WWII
David Bercuson (Cold War)
The Korean War was not futile, but rather, it was the first real victory of the West in the Cold War
John Gaddis (Cold War)
There could be a bloody conflict between two countries armed with nuclear weapons where neither side would use them
Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (Cold War)
Kennedy was an “agent of worldwide social reform,” who faced disappointment in Cuba during Bay of Pigs incident, but learned from his mistakes and successfully opposed the USSR during the Cuban Missile Crisis
David Halberstam (Cold War)
Kennedy was motivated by political factors, causing him to be timid when facing communist expansion
Howard Zinn (Cold War)
The war cultivated a domestic sentiment against wars that extended beyond even the Vietnam War itself
Larry H. Addington (Cold War)
The Vietnam War was an awfully costly and unnecessary undertaking by the US, leading to paradigm shifts within the US and internationally
Traditional/Orthodox perspective on Jimmy Carter
Carter was a weak leader who failed to decisively deal with the problems of his time
Revisionist Perspective on Jimmy Carter
Carter’s failures were because of the unfortunately timing of his presidency and events outside of his control
Martin Walker (Cold War Latin America)
“The Third World was to be the new area of confrontation”
