Study Guide 4 Flashcards
The German Empire after 1890 :
a. Who was German Emperor William II’s most famous grandmother ?
b. What shocking thing did William II do that was called “dropping the pilot” ?
c. And what shocking thing did William II do to the Court Preacher Stöckler, who was a leading anti-Semitic propagandist in the German Empire ?
d. Why were Germans so disappointed with their culture by 1900, and into which fields of
endeavor did their creative energy flow instead ?
e. The “Second Industrial Revolution” occurred primarily in Germany and Switzerland.
Which new industries drove this revolution, and what did it do to the German Empire?
f. How did Emperor William II and his wife Auguste Viktoria address the “social question”
in Germany — and what was that social question by 1900 ?
g. What was “Revisionism” ? Who were its two most famous proponents (one in Paris, one in
Berlin) ? And what was this movement’s fate ?
h. What was the purpose of the 2nd International ? What was the purpose of
the “General Strike” ?
i. What was the position of the German Empire in the world in 1900 ?
a. Queen Victoria of England
b. When he fires Bismarck
c. He dismisses him (this high-profile anti-semitic preacher) for his anti-semitism (fires him). This was significant because it confirms to Jews that Germany is safe for them.
d. Because they thought they were this great cultural and artistic explosion, but it was technological.
e. Occurred primarily in electro-chemical industries.
f. It was “how do we undermine the Socialist parties?” Because the Socialists wanted to overthrow the political party. His response is to build a navy, and her response is to build churches. (He wants to provide jobs, and she wants to destroy an ideology with ANOTHER ideology.)
g. Refers to Marxist revisions that altered fundamental Marxism ideas. Its two famous proponents included Eduard Bernstein (Berlin) and Jean Jaurès (Paris). This movement led to the belief that socialism could be achieved through gradual reforms in a capitalist system, also known as reformist theory.
h. The 2nd International, which was an organization of socialist and labour parties, was aimed at organizing and uniting left wing, communist, socialist, and anarchist political groups. The “General Strike” in Britain, which occurred in 1926, was an unsuccessful attempt on the part of coal miners to force the government to prevent wage reduction and increasingly-detrminetal working conditions.
i. Third industrial power of the world after United States and
a. What factors brought about “the Age of Imperialism” and “the race for Empire” ?
b. Which were the 3 greatest empires in 1900 (in size and power) ?
c. Which were the 3 old and declining empires in 1900 ?
d. Which were the 3 new and upcoming empires in 1900 ?
e. Which were the 3 greatest industrial powers in the world in 1900 ?
a. Envy of the British empire and the belief that a country has to have an empire in order to survive.
b. 1. British 2. French. 3. U.S. 4. Russia (but annexes rather than creating colonies)
c. 1. Spain 2. Portugal 3. Holland
d. U.S., Belgium, and Germany
e. 1. Germany 2. United States 3. Great Britain
What was anarchism?
Man is good, Government is bad. A political philosophy that advocated self-governed societies.
a. freedom of the seas
b. “the sun never sets on the British Empire”
c. “a place in the sun”
d. “splendid isolation”
e. irredentism
f. dreadnought
a. No country can stake out parts of the oceans for their own use. A British demand — but this allowed Britain to advance its own interests under the guise of no national control over seas, since it controlled the seas.
b. Spans the world
c. William II’s demand for a greater role in world affairs, commensurate with Germany’s economic power
d. British belief that they don’t need any allies
e. Any political movement intended to reclaim/reoccupy a lost homeland.
f. The predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century, that breaded intense naval manufacturing competition between the United Kingdom and Germany around the time of World War I.
The origins of “Modernism”: how might it be defined ? What major currents and artists participated
in its creation ?
Basic idea is “non-objective art” and it begins by separating the IMAGE from the OBJECT. This doesn’t work for architecture because you can’t have a non-objective building or it would fall. Major currents included Impressionism, Futurism, Pointillism, Fauvism, and Cubism. Major artists included Monet, Renoir, Seurat, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Boccioni, and Paul Cézanne.
Be able to date and explain briefly the significance of:
a. the Fashoda crisis
b. the Scramble for Concessions
c. the Boer War
a. The Fashoda Crisis was the climax of territorial disputes between Britain and France in Eastern Africa, occurring in 1898. This was the last serious colonial dispute between Britain and France. The French didn’t want to take issue with the powerful British fleet and quietly retreated from the conflict (especially now that much of France was distracted with the Dreyfus Affair).
b. European powers compete in attempts to take over significant coastal regions and waterways of China (1898)
c. Clash between the British and the Boers in South Africa. (The British were battling for territory, and the Boers continued to fight on in BOTH wars for independence.)
What was the name of the ruling couple in Russia in 1900 ? Who were Rasputin and Fabergé?
Who were two of the most famous Russian writers (novelist and playwright) of this time ?
Nicholas II and Alexandra.
Rasputin was a Russian peasant and faith healer, and trusted family friend to Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia.
Fabergé was a Russian jeweler, most well-known for his famous Fabergé eggs.
Famous Russian writers of this time: Tolstoy, Chekhov
Who won the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 ? What were the 3 major effects of this war, and to which three long-term developments did this war lead ?
Against everyone’s expectation, the Japanese sink a major part of the 3 effects: 1. beginning of de-colonization 2. leads to revolution in Russia (government is de-stabailized) 3. And, also leads to a shift: the Russians begin involving in the Balkan regions (sub-Eastern Russian regions), where Serbia begins to play a role.
Why did U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt receive the Nobel Peace Prize ?
Because he negotiates end of war between Russia and Japan
What did the Suffragettes want, and how did their activities begin to mirror the glorification of violence of the early 20th century — for example, in relation to Winston Churchill ? What person of great power opposed the Suffragettes in England ?
Also effects women because they want to vote, and in order to emphasize this, they begin to engage in acts of violence such as attacking Churchill and Buckingham Palace.
The Titanic :
a. What prompted the construction of the Titanic, and why was it famous before its maiden
voyage ?
b. Why did it sink, and were the casualties significant ? Why ?
c. What were its sister ships and what happened to them ?
d. In what way was the construction and destruction of the Titanic symbolic for its time?
e. In what way did Wolf House, the splendid new home of the American writer Jack London,
also represent this era ?
a. Rivalry between two major English shipping countries (what prompts it is the creation of the Lusitania by the Cunard lines)
Famous because it is the BIGGEST and the “unsinkable ship” which is what the press called it.
b. Because it hit along the iceberg and the iceberg slit open a third of the ship, and so it puts it on a tilt and the ship is doomed. Casualties were significant because some famous people were significant. There were also not enough life boats, though more than required by law. (They believed that the ships would sink so slowly that other ships would get there before it went down.)
c. Olympic and Brittanic (Brittanic gets hit by a submarine)
d. Because the construction symbolized the belief in infallibility of the time – that man could not be conquered by nature, and the devastating consequences of such a belief.
e. (built for a thousand years), but it blew up right before it was finished.
How did the alliance system, in place by 1914, first develop, and what were the reasons for these
alliances initially ? What unexpected consequence did this alliance system have, and why did it prove fateful and fatal in 1914 ? What were “dreadnoughts”, and what role did they play ?
Russia, Japan Develops because the British decide to lead their splendid isolation and develop alliances with countries that are the greatest threat to their empire. Unexpected consequence of the alliance system was that it caused Germany to become sectioned off and surrounded, which proved very fateful at the outbreak of World War I. Significance of dreadnoughts: new state-of-the-art battleships, but it spurs on competition with the Germans, so the British have to try to build 2 dreadnoughts for every one that the Germans build, which puts much strain on economy in England.
Kipling believes this is threatening the empire.
Who were the Futurists and what were their teachings ?
The Futurists were a new wave of artists and intellectuals that emphasized the need to destroy the cult of the past, to despise every form of imitation, to encourage every form of originality, to ignore the feedback of art critics, to rebel against ideas such as “harmony” and what is considered generally “good taste”, etc. Included Boccioni, Marinetti (founder of “Futurism”), Marcel Duchamp, and Stravinsky.
Who managed the famous Ballet Russes in Paris, who was its most famous dancer, and which composer was the most famous contributor ? Which pieces did this composer write for them ?
Sergei Diaghilev managed the famous Ballet Russes in Paris. Its most famous dancer was Najinsky, and Stravinsky was the most famous composer who contributed to the company. (The Firebird, 1910, Petrouchka, 1911, and The Rite of Spring, 1913.)
The Dual Monarchy :
a. What was the Dual Monarchy, and why was it so called ?
b. Where was its capital (or capitals)?
c. Which two ethnic groups were on equal footing in the Empire at this time ?
d. Which other major ethnic group was left out ?
e. Who was the Austrian Emperor in 1900, and how long had he ruled ?
f. Who was his wife and what happened to her ? What happened to their son, the Crown
Prince ?
g. Who was Karl Lueger, what was his primary accomplishment, and what was the irony of his
relationship with the Jews in Vienna ?
h. Why was the Austrian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand so dangerous to Serbia and other
Slavic nationalists ?
i. What was “the Black Hand” and what did they hope to accomplish by the assassination of
Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand ?
j. Where was Franz Ferdinand assassinated, when and by whom ?
k. By 1914, what was the status of the 25-year-old Adolf Hitler, and where was he when
the war broke out ?
a. The Dual Monarchy typically refers to Austria-Hungary, and it was so called because the two separate kingdoms conjoined to form one dual monarchy.
b. Vienna (main capital), and also Budapest.
c. Germans and Hungarians.
d. Czechs.
e. Emperor is Franz Joseph I (rules for over 60 years).
f. His wife, Empress Elizabeth, gets assassinated by an anarchist. Before that, the son committed suicide after shooting his mistress. (And that causes the creation of the convent which still exists and they everyday pray for his soul.)
g. Very popular, handsome, loved by women. Accomplishment: made Vienna a very beautiful city. He was also a very strong anti-semite. Ironic because he had very prominent Jewish friends.
h. Because Franz Ferdinand wants to change Austro-Hungarian empire into triple crown (hungarians, austrians, slavic empires), but this is dangerous because the people in these regions don’t necessarily want to be a part of it.
i. “The Black Hand” was a prominent secret terrorist organization. Their motive was to establish Slav nationalism once and for all.
j. In the Balkan regions (Sarajevo, specifically) on June 28, 1914, by a young man of the Black Hand named Gavrilo Princip.
k. He is a high school dropout, draft dodger, and
unemployed. When the war breaks out, he is overjoyed and joins the Bavarian army in the first world war.
