Review Session 6

1900 Present
The Modern Era
th
MAJOR THEMES
World conflict & the decline of empires
Decolonization and Nationalism
Cold War conflicts
Social Reforms
Globalization
Environmental Issues


WORLD WAR I
The Great War, 1914-1918
CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
M -- Militarism
A -- Alliances
N -- Nationalism
I -- Imperialism
A -- Assassination of
Archduke Ferdinand
(the spark that lit the
powder keg.)

EUROPE IN 1914
The Balkan region is the powder keg

WORLD WAR I
Promises of self-
determination
Use of colonial soldiers
Machine guns, trench
warfare, submarines,
planes, tanks = major
death and destruction
Financial strains on
empires
Treaty of Versailles ends
the war but will set the
stage for World War II
WORLD WAR I
Germany, Austria-Hungarian
Empire, and the Ottoman
Empire make up the Triple
Alliance
Britain, France, Russia and
eventually the U.S. make up the
Triple Entente, or Allies
Fighting was concentrated in
Europe between France and
Germany, in trenches, with very
little progress made in 3 years
Between 16 and 28 million
people died as a result of World
War I
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, 1919
Germany must take responsibility for starting the
war and pay reparations to the victors
Germany had to disband its military and give up
land they considered Germanic
Britain and France take the lands held by the
Ottoman Empire (Iraq, Palestine, etc.)
League of Nations is created (President Wilsons
idea but the U.S. does NOT join)

EUROPES NEW LOOK, 1919

THE 1920s
The U.S. becomes a
recognized world power
Britain and France regain
strength as Germany
suffers
Russia is now in the
Soviet Union after the
Bolshevik (Communist)
Revolution of 1917
Economic boom time
until 1929 when a global
depression hits

ACTS OF AGGRESSION
lead to World War II
Japan invaded Manchuria/China and did not have any
consequences
Italy is taken over by Fascists (Mussolini) and
invades Ethiopia, promising a return of the Roman
Empire
Germany takes Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland
in the 1930s while the European leaders watch
(policy of appeasement)
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping
it will eat him last.
-Winston Churchill
Hitler and Mussolini were both Fascists (a
militaristic nationalism that would stop at
nothing to make the country powerful)
WORLD WAR II, 1939-1945
CAUSES: Increased nationalist uprisings following
WWI and the problems of the global depression
Fighting took place in Europe, Northern Africa
(colonies of European powers), Southeast Asia,
and the Pacific Ocean
Total Warfare = destruction of entire cities with
firebombing; much deadlier weaponry than in
World War I

THE END OF THE WAR
Germany surrendered
in 1945 but Japan
refused to surrender
The U.S. dropped two
nuclear bombs (a new
technology only
America had) on
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
Finally Japan
surrendered, ending
World War II
At least 65 million
deaths from World War
II
The Impact of World War II
Empires no morecolonies fight for
independence and gain it
India, China, Vietnam, Israel, Afghanistan, and
African nations all begin the struggle for freedom
from western domination


IMPACT OF WORLD WAR II
(continued)
The Cold War begins with the
U.S. and the U.S.S.R. beginning
an arms race, a space race,
fighting proxy wars around the
globe
The Domino Theory
The Containment Theory
Dtente

POST WORLD WAR II
The United Nations begins and is
headquartered in New YorkAmerican
isolationism is over and a new era of global
involvement begins
The U.N. has the goal of keeping peace
between nations by promoting free trade and
attempting to negotiate conflicts rather than
fight wars
20
th
Century Revolutions
After World War II, colonies and developing
world nations struggle for independence and
change
Issues confronting these nations:
The need to industrialize rapidly
Corrupt and unresponsive political systems
Harsh living and working conditions
Foreign intervention
Need for land reform
The Mexican Revolution, 1910
Mexico had a second revolution
after the initial one to gain
independence from Spain in the
19
th
century
This one forged a new government
and a new constitution of 1917
with some real changes
Land reforms with limits on foreign
ownership of key resources
Guaranteed rights of all workers
Restrictions on the power of the
Catholic Church
Educational reforms (public
schooling for all)

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION,
1917
The Czar was seen as corrupt and
selfish by most Russian people,
who were poor and powerless
The Bolsheviks, a Communist
rebel group led by Vladimir Lenin
(aided by Stalin and Trotsky)
overthrew the Czars regime and
took over (after a long war)
The Soviet Union was formed in
1922 with Russia being the key
nation in the new Communist
powerhouse
Authoritarian rule with new
political, economic, and cultural
structure in place
COMPARING REVOLUTIONS
MEXICO
Sought the end of corrupt government
Land reform to help the peasants gain a better life as
well as the working class

RUSSIA
Sought the end of corrupt government
Centered more on improving the lot of industrial
workers (Proletariat) along with some land reform


CHINA in the 20
th
Century
Qing Dynasty falls in 1911
Japan invades and brutalizes China
for decades
Nationalists led by Chang Kai-shek
fight against the Communists led by
Mao Zedong
Mao wins and China becomes a
Communist nation in 1949;
Nationalists flee to Taiwan
Mao promised land redistribution,
rights for women, education access,
tax reform, and cooperative farming
Cuban Revolution, 1959
Fidel Castro and Che Guevara lead
rebel forces against dictator (Batista) in
Cuba for years
Batista is backed by the U.S. because
he allowed American business interests
to control his nations resourcesand
he wasnt a Communist (remember
how the Cold War made the U.S.
operate in a very black/white fashion)
Castro seizes control in 1959 and
executes opponents, nationalizes
industries, and creates a Socialist
nation just miles from the coast of
Florida
He threatened to spread Communism
to other Latin American nations which
will create a lot of Cold War
tension.just what we needed!

IRANIAN REVOLUTION, 1979
Also known as the Islamic Revolution
1953 Shah Reza Pahlavi came to power in Iran with the help
of the CIA; he repressed all opposition and violated their
constitution and promoted western values, angering his
conservative Muslim population
1979 the Ayatollah Khomeini led a revolution and overthrew
the Shah, creating a new constitution based on Islamic law
55 American hostages were taken and held for 444 days
1980-1988 Iran fought a war with Iraq over oil fields
Patterns of Decolonization
and Nation-Building
THREE PATTERNS
Violent Revolutions and Civil War (China,
Algeria, Vietnam, Palestine)
Non-violent, negotiated independence (India,
Ghana, Turkey)
Both violent and non-violent methods (Kenya,
Egypt, South Africa)


Palestine and Israel
Zionism led thousands of Jews to
migrate to Palestine, controlled
by Britain after World War I
(Balfour Declaration helped)
Palestinians living there (Arab
Muslims) resented the flood of
immigrants and began fighting
The UN promised nationhood to
both groups but only delivered for
Israel in 1948
Israel had to fight several wars to
defend herself against
neighboring nations who
resented a Jewish state in their
region (Israel won all of these
wars thanks to the support of the
U.S.)
Israel took more land after
victories
ALGERIA vs. FRANCE
Algeria broke away from French colonial rule
after a war lasting from 1954-1962
Arab nationalism vs. French colonialism
300,000 lives lost

INDIA
Indian National Congress formed in
1885 which got nationalist
sentiment started
Gandhi and other nationalist
leaders tried to prevent violent
uprisings and concentrated instead
on non-violent resistance
Boycotts, marches, hunger strikes
were designed to make the British
realize their policies in India were
immoral and India deserved
independence
1947 India is partitioned and
becomes 3 nations (India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh)
Many died as a result of religious
violence between Muslims and
Hindus after partitioning


Decolonization in Africa
GHANA
1957 - Ghana (the Gold Coast) gained independence,
led by western educated Kwame Nkrumah
Used non-violent methods like Gandhi
Developed a parliamentary democracy similar to the
British model
By 1963, all of British African colonies except for
Rhodesia were independent

KENYA
Presence of many British
settlers prevented a smooth
transition of power
Jomo Kenyatta used non-
violent protests
Mau-Mau Revolt of 1952 led
by tribal group known as
Kikuyus was suppressed by
the British
Finally in 1963 Kenya was
granted independence and
Kenyatta was the new leader
of the new nation
SOUTH AFRICA
Small white minority ruled over large black majority
using system of Apartheid (separateness)
No protests tolerated and leaders and members of the
African National Congress were imprisoned or
executed
1990 ANC becomes legalized and Apartheid finally
ends after 80 years
Nelson Mandela is freed from prison and becomes the
president of the new South Africa

Challenges of Independence
Ethnic disputes
Weak economies still dependent on industrialized
nations (that used to own them)
Growing debt (constant loans from IMF and World
Bank)
Widespread social unrest
Military responses to restore order
High population growth
Resource depletion
Education deficit and Brain Drain as a result
Neo-Colonialism through economic debt
THE COLD WAR, 1945-1991
The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. in a
tense ideological standoff pitting
democracy and capitalism against
Communism
Both sides were nuclear by the
1950s so the Cold War was very
tense indeed
Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
looked like the start of World
War III and the end of the
world
Proxy wars were fought all
over the world in Africa, Latin
America, and Asia
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
After World War II, the democratic western
nations (Britain, U.S., France) joined NATO (the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to form a
united front against the spread of Communism in
Europe
The Soviets and their allies formed the Warsaw
Pact to promote Communism in Europe and the
world
U.S. Cold War Policies
Containment: block Soviet influence and
prevent the spread of Communism
Truman Doctrine: monetary support given by
the U.S. to nations that resisted Communism
Marshall Plan: post WWII assistance program
to give food, aid, industrialization support to
war torn nations of Europe to keep Soviets out

The Berlin Wall built in 1961 to keep East
Germans inside the Communist controlled section
of East Berlin
The Iron Curtain controlled satellite nations
under Communism like Poland, Romania, Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
The Korean War, 1950-1953
Soviets aided North Koreas
new Communist
government and the South
was aided by the United
Nations, led by the U.S.
Stalemate was the norm,
and an armistice was signed
in 1953
There are still two nations
and North Korea is an
example of a Communist
dictatorship today, while
South Korea has done very
well as an economic tiger
in the global economy
VI ETNAM
French colony since the 1880s
During World War II, Japan took over
Nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh formed the Viet Minh to
fight France for independence
France asked for help from the U.S. in 1954 and then
pulled out as Vietnam was divided into two nations with
Communists in control of the North under Ho Chi Minh
VIETNAM
Viet Cong Communists fought
against the South (who were aided by
the U.S.)
500,000 U.S. soldiers were unable to
defeat the Viet Cong due to many
factors:
Limited war strategy of the U.S.
(fear of bringing China into the
war)
Dedicated insurgency (refusal to
be colonized again)
Guerilla war by the Viet Cong
Corrupt government in South
Vietnam supported by the U.S.
made America unpopular with the
Vietnamese
1973 the U.S. leaves Vietnam and
in 1975 Vietnam is united under
one Communist government


The Arms Race & The Space Race
The Cold War was all about
defense spending, with both the
Soviets and the U.S. spending
trillions of dollars developing the
newest, deadliest weaponry
The Space Race was also evidence
of Cold War competition, with the
Soviets winning the first round by
launching the satellite Sputnik in
1957 (making Americans panic that
they were falling behind the
Russians); but the U.S. won the
Space Race by being the first to
land a man on the moon in 1969
A NEW WORLD ORDER
Communism fell in Europe in 1989 and in the
Soviet Union in 1991
Most of the transitions were non-violent, but
Romania was pretty bloody
Reasons for collapse of Communism in Europe:
Food shortages (and everything else)
Corruption in government
Nationalist yearnings
Terrible and inefficient economies
GLOBALIZATION
In the 1990s, the global economy became even
more global
NAFTA, EU, and WTO
Consumerism
Interdependence of the global economy:
Recession in Greece impacts the EU which impacts the
United States which impacts the entire world
Many large companies are multinational
The World is Shrinking
Cultural imperialism (McDonalds everywhere)
THE RISE OF MILITANT ISLAM
In the 1990s, Global Terror networks like al-
Qaeda take the place of Communism as the
major threat to the west

SOCIAL REFORMS
Rise of feminism and
womens rights
Civil rights movements
Anti-Apartheid movement
in S. Africa
Class, religious,
racial, gender, sexual
reforms worldwide but
of course in many
places there is still
resistance to these
changes
HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTION
Continued urbanization
Green Revolution
(improved agricultural
yields in developing
world)
Deforestation
Ozone depletion and
other environmental
concerns
Rapid population
growth in one century,
now at 7 billion people

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!
And dont forget to study!