World War I Flashcards
Who first posited the theory of evolution?
In his 1859 work, On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin posited the theory of evolution. Darwin’s basic idea was that plant and animal life had evolved from earlier, simpler organisms, a process driven by what Darwin termed “natural selection.”
Darwin’s theory of natural selection contended that some species were able to prosper because they were more fitted to endure in their environment, a process known as “survival of the fittest.”
What economic argument did English sociologist Herbert Spencer derive from Darwin’s evolutionary arguments?
Spencer contended that individuals, companies, and nations were governed by the same rules as biological natural selection; for instance, strong companies thrive while weak companies go bankrupt.
Spencer’s theory, known as Social Darwinism, was used by many advocates to argue that the white race was superior to other races and that European nations were better suited than native inhabitants to govern far-flung empires.
Define:
Romanticism
The Romantic Movement was a cultural movement prevalent in Europe in the first half of the 19th century. It emphasized the importance of emotional subjects and heroism over reason. Romanticism influenced art, music, philosophy, and religion.
What cultural movement began as a reaction against Romanticism?
In the 1850s, Realism began as a reaction against Romanticism.
Realists attempted to portray subject matter truthfully and accurately, without artificiality, and sought to avoid exotic and supernatural elements.
Taking realism one step further, _____ writers such as Émile Zola sought not only to describe their subjects but also to find the underlying causes that influenced their subjects’ actions.
Naturalist
Naturalists such as Zola were strongly influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Rather than simply describing societal ills, naturalists sought to explore their underlying causes.
Define:
Realpolitik
Realpolitik refers to diplomacy or politics based not on idealistic, moral, and ethical principles, but on practical and material factors.
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.
Define:
Impressionism
Impressionism was a form of painting that emerged in Paris in the 1870s. Impressionists such as Renoir and Monet focused on the effect of light upon everyday subject matter and used characteristically visible brush strokes. Many Impressionist painters concentrated on temporary, fleeting moments: a woman reading or workers pausing from harvesting hay.
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.
What was Expressionism?
Expressionism developed in Germany in the years before World War I and sought to portray and evoke emotion by distorting the representation of the physical world. The most commonly cited example of Expressionist art is Edvard Munch’s The Scream.
What is meant by the term “Angel in the House”?
The term “Angel in the House” was used to describe the idealized role of women in British middle-class society during the Victorian Era.
With few of the labor-saving devices available today, running a household in the 19th century was a full-time job, and middle-class women were expected to oversee the household management, manage the servants, and provide a refuge for their husbands from the world’s cares.
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 Dreyfus Affair?
The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal in France in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
In the late 19th century, Albert Dreyfus was the only Jew on the French General Staff and was falsely accused of being a German spy.
The allegations against Dreyfus were motivated primarily by the virulent anti-Semitism endemic to the French military. Dreyfus was exiled but eventually cleared and allowed to return to France.
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.
