unit 7 (1900-present)

Question 1

What were the main causes of WWI

Answer 1

Nationalism - people in empires wanted to be seperate (Serbia) leading to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Alliances - alliances between Britain, France, and Russia (Triple Entente), and Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Germany (Triple Alliance) caused the assassination to escalate into an all out war
Militarism - many nations had very detailed war plans, so they wanted to be the first to strike, leading to a quicker start to the war

Question 2

How did the Industrial Revolution have an effect on the start of WWI?

Answer 2

The industrial revolution created rivalries between states for resources

Question 3

Who as in the Triple Alliance?

Answer 3

Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Germany

Question 4

Who was in the Triple-Entente?

Answer 4

Britain, France, and Russia

Question 5

What specific event caused WWI?

Answer 5

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist
Russia sided with Serbia, and Austria-Hungary was threatened by this expression of nationalism, calling on the aid of Germany

Question 6

Why was Europe vulnerable after WWI?

Answer 6

The alliances and radical nationalism created a tense atmosphere, the rise of new nations changed the political landscape, and some nations (Germany and Italy) were resentful about the terms of the Treaty of Versaille

Question 7

How did most people feel about the war?

Answer 7

Due to the growth of nationalism, many were very excited by the war and even pressured governments to go to war
Men rushed to enlist (because they thought the war was going to end before they could fight, and those in the military were held in high social prestige) and those who didn’t were often looked down upon
When the war continued for many years, people became less happy about it

Question 8

What is conscription?

Answer 8

Compulsory military service/draft
many countries had this contributing to their large armies
Britain did not have compulsory military service but did have a draft

Question 9

How did women’s roles change during WWI?

Answer 9

Women worked in factories, on farms, and did other jobs that men had left
After the war they were given the right to vote, and many social norms changed; women began to wear shorter dresses, cut their hair, smoke, drink, go to nightclubs, and more

Question 10

How did WWI affect colonies?

Answer 10

Colonial subjects fought alongside Europeans, the violence they saw as well as the military skills and political awareness that they gained led to stronger feelings of nationalism, and led to more anti-colonial movements

Question 11

How did WWI change the government’s role?

Answer 11

During the war governments assumed greater control over the economy, in Germany especially
This is called war socialism

Question 12

How did people feel about Europe’s superiority after WWI?

Answer 12

Many were disillusioned and thought that the war mocked Enlightenment ideas (particularly intellectuals), they began to question the superiority of Europe (especially in colonies)

Question 13

How did WWI affect lower classes?

Answer 13

There was a lot of social mobility due to casualties in the upper classes

Question 14

How did consumerism change after WWI?

Answer 14

People began to buy more manufactured goods, and there was an economic boom known as the Roaring 20s
Many bought goods from the US, and American celebrities became international ones, marking the rise of the US as a global superpower

Question 15

How was Germany affected by the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 15

They had to
- take responsibility for the war
- lost most of their empire
- pay reparations
- reduce their army
This led to humiliation and resentment and allowed the rise of Hitler and fascism and the start of WWII

Question 16

What are Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points?

Answer 16

Wilson’s ideas for preventing future wars and a new model of international life that focused on moral principles and not secret deals and alliances
This created the League of Nations

Question 17

What caused the Great Depression?

Answer 17

Overproduction and the US stock market crash
The Depression spread to Europe because of trade, debts, and investments
It spread across the world because of European imperialism

Question 18

Who led the Russian Revolution in 1917?

Answer 18

Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks
Lenin’s messages of an end to the war, land for peasants, worker’s controlling factories, and self determination for non-Russian nationalities, resonated with many

Question 19

Who was Joseph Stalin and what was his rule like?

Answer 19

• dictator of the Soviet Union
• Modernized Russia and industrialized a lot
• Economy was good, Depression was avoided
• Collectivized agriculture, which led to a famine that killed 5 million people
• millions were also killed in his “Great Purge” due to internal conflicts
• many were wrongfully imprisoned and sent to gulags

Question 20

Who was the leader of fascism in Italy?

Answer 20

Mussolini
- Came to power through violence and force
- suspended democracy and created a corporate state
- implemented many traditional aspects of Italian culture, such as making the Vatican its own nation and making Catholicism the national religion
- wanted to create a “new Roman Empire”

Question 21

Who was the leader of fascism in Germany?

Answer 21

Hitler
- came to power through elections
- gained popular vote because of his calling for decisive government action against the Depression
- had plans for government spending in superhighways, bridges, channels and more
- these ended the Depression in Germany
- also called for a racial revolution which resonated with nationalist ideas

Question 22

Who was the fascist leader in Japan?

Answer 22

There was none, because of the strength of the traditional government and the fact that the emperor was seen as the “father” of his people
- the emperor gained more power and the parliament lost a lot of power
- nationalist ideologies also grew and many wanted Japan to expand across Asia

Question 23

What was going on in South America during the Depression?

Answer 23

In Mexico the Mexican Revolution occurred, pushing for land reforms, education, and the nationalisation of the oil industry
Also in Latin and South America many governments turned to import substitution to focus on internal markets rather than on exports

Question 24

Why did fascism appeal to many in Italy and Germany?

Answer 24

It promised a strong and stable government, less unemployment, not communism, getting revenge for the Treaty of Versailles, and rebuilding the military (appealing to veterns)

Question 25

What did the Lateran Accords of 1929 do?

Answer 25

It made Catholicism the official religion of Italy, gave sovereignty to the pope and Vatican, and the pope agreed to take a neutral stance on what Mussolini did

Question 26

What did the Nuremberg Laws do?

Answer 26

It took citizenship away from Jews and outlawed marriage and relationships between Jews and Germans

Question 27

What did Nazis believe?

Answer 27

That they (Germans/Aryans) were the superior race and that all “inferior” races should be eliminated
They tended to use phenology and scientific racism

Question 28

What Enlightenment idea DID the Nazis embrace?

Answer 28

The infinite perfectibility of humankind

Question 29

Who were Moga and Mogo in Japan?

Answer 29

They were very similar to flappers, they were modernized men and women during the 20s who wore more revealing clothing and cut their hair short

Question 30

What were the Revolutionary Right and Cherry Blossom Society in Japan?

Answer 30

Movements that promoted fascism in Japan
Started in the Great Depression when many felt that capitalism had failed them
Extremely nationalistic and believed that the nation should center completely around the emperor

Question 31

What were some ways that Japan’s modernization created a tense atmosphere?

Answer 31

The Rice Riots;
Rising prices of rice caused protests
Labor unions and workers rights movements grew
Tenant unions increased

Question 32

How did WWII start in Asia?

Answer 32

Japan became more ambitious and nationalistic
- in 1931 Japanese troops took control of Manchuria and began a puppet state there
- this was not under the direction of the government but was not condemned
- Japan then pulled out of the League of Nations
- a full scale attack on China happened in 1937 officially starting the war

Question 33

How did the war start in Europe?

Answer 33

German aggression (annexing Austria and German speaking areas of Czechoslovakia)
Britain and France were unwilling to stop this in hopes that it would satisfy Hitler
It did not; he invaded Poland, officially beginning WWII

Question 34

What was the Rape of Nanjing?

Answer 34

Atrocities committed by the Japanese army against Chinese civilians
In 1937-38 200,000-300,000 civilians were killed, often mutilated, and countless women were sexually assaulted

Question 35

Why did Japan invade European colonies?

Answer 35

To gain resources and “free” them from the West
Japan’s rule often exceeded Europe’s in brutality

Question 36

Why did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor?

Answer 36

America opposed Japan’s conquests in Asia and restricted oil trade

Question 37

When did WWII officially end?

Answer 37

September 2, 1945; a month after Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Question 38

What was D-Day?

Answer 38

When England and the US invaded Nazi occupied France to liberate it from Germany and open a second front of the war

Question 39

What is blitzkrieg and how did it affect the war?

Answer 39

“Lightning war” coordinated the rapid movement of infantry, tanks, and airpower over large areas
This allowed Germany and Italy to sweep over Europe, parts of the Soviet Union, and North Africa

Question 40

How did colonies react after WWII?

Answer 40

They wanted their own freedom and the right to govern themselves after Churchill and Roosevelt said every country had the right to do so
Europe was also very weak so this allowed anti-colonial movements to end colonial rule

Question 41

What were some organizations created to maintain peace after WWII?

Answer 41

The UN - a forum for international opinion rather than to solve conflicts
World Bank and International Monetary fund - were created to regulate the global economy, prevent another depression, and stimulate economic growth, especially in poorer nations
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in 1949; this alliance committed the US and its nuclear weapons to the defense of Europe against the USSR, it also anchored West Germany into the alliance and reduced military spending in Europe
European Economic Community/European Union - reduced tariffs and developed common trade policies
The EEC expanded to include almost all of Europe and became the European Union in 1994, and in 2002 many of its members adopted a common currency (the euro)

Question 42

What was the Marshall Plan?

Answer 42

US developed the Marshall Plan that gave $12 billion ($121 billion in 2017), and many advisors and technicians
It was motivated by a genuine humanitarian concern as well as a desire to prevent another depression by creating overseas customers for American businesses and a desire to undermine support for communist parties

Question 43

What did Stalin do after WWII

Answer 43

Stalin presided over an expansion of communist control in Eastern Europe as the war ended; he insisted that “friendly” governments in the region were required to end the threat of invasion from the west
He also feared that large scale American aid in Europe sought to to include Eastern Europe in a capitalist network, so he sought to install fully communist governments loyal to him, in Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria
Because of this communism in Eastern Europe was mostly imposed from the outside rather than a domestic revolution
In Yugoslavia, however, there was a popular communist party that fought against Nazi occupation, and came to power with little help from the Soviet Union, the leader, Josef Broz aka Tito, defied Soviet efforts to control Yugoslavia

Question 44

What was the outcome of the Chinese Revolution of 1949?

Answer 44

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took over
The party was led by Mao Zedong
The party promoted modern developments (railroads, light industry, banking, airline services)
The impact of these achievements was limited to cities, leaving rural areas (where most of the population lived) impoverished

Question 45

What social class supported the CCP the most?

Answer 45

Peasants in rural villages;
People in rural villages did not rise spontaneously against their landlords, instead there was years of guerrilla warfare, experiments with land reform in areas under communist control, and the creation of a communist military force to protect liberated areas gained support and respect for the CCP
Many also supported the CCP for fighting the Japanese and for their honesty as opposed to the Guomindang’s corruption