Exam Spring2010FinalExam,page1
Final Study Guide History 1003, Prof. Marchand
SECTION A MATERIAL SINCE THE SECOND MIDTERM 90 POINTS
Part I Map 14 (Cold War Europe) and Map 15 (Post-Cold War Europe) 10 points
Map 14 Be able to name the countries that joined NATO and which joined the Warsaw Pact,
and be able to draw a line where the Iron Curtain divided the Soviet and Western blocs.
o Members of NATO
Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, The Netherlands, The UK,
Denmark, West Germany, Italy, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, France, Belgium,
Luxembourg, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Crete
o Members of the Warsaw Pact
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria
o Other Communist States
Yugoslavia, Albania
o Non-Aligned States
Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Switzerland,
Austria, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Cyprus
o
Iron Curtain also covered Albania
Map 15 Be able to name (not identify) two newly-independent nations carved out of the Soviet
Union after 1991. Be able to give the dates for: the re-unification of East and West Germany, the
breakup of Czechoslovakia and the breakup of Yugoslavia, and be able to name those successor
states.
o Two newly-independent nations carved out of the Soviet Union after 1991
Estonia, Latvia
o Re-unification of East and West Germany: 1990
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o Breakup of Czechoslovakia: 1992
Successor states: Czech Republic and Slovakia
o Breakup of Yugoslavia: 1992
Successor states: Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia,
Croatia and Macedonia
Part II Timeline 20 points
1. Mussolini comes to power
2. Mussolinis Black Shirts March on Rome
3. Stalin begins collectivization
4. Hitler comes to power
5. Night of the Long Knives
6. The Nuremburg Laws are issued
7. Kristallnacht
8. Hitler launches Operation Barbarossa
9. The Wannsee Conference
10. Founding of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
11. Imre Nagy murdered
12. Building of the Berlin Wall
13. The Prague Spring
14. John Paul II visits Poland
15. Gorbachev comes to power
16. Fall of the Berlin Wall
17. The Velvet Revolution
18. Milosevic takes the Serbian nationalist turn
Part III Matching 30 points
T-4 Program Euthanasia campaign against life unworthy of living: the mentally and
physically handicapped. Hitler killed people without telling families. Between 75,000 and
250,000 people were murdered before 1939. People needed to be eliminated to save money for
the treasury; these people were a drag on the population. The program was stopped because of
public protests in summer 1939. Members of families of victims became concerned about number
of victims. Word slipped out from former doctors and nurses. There were protests and threats to
go public abroad and at home. The Nazis did stop (temporarily). The power to stop the program
suggested that Nazi policies could be tempered by public protest, but there was no public outcry
over the Jews.
Hyper-inflation a catastrophic price increase and currency devaluation that occurred in
Germany after WWII. This was the unintended by-product of the Weimar governments effort to
force the allies to reconsider reparations. It eroded the trust of the middle-class with the state and
was one reason for the fall of the Weimar Republic of Germany.
Srebrenica the mass rape and murder (ethnic cleansing or genocide) of thousands of Croatians
and Bosnians by Serbs in the Bosnian Wars.
14 Points done by Woodrow Wilson. The points outlined how he thought the peace needed to
be agreed upon once the war was over. They represented the spirit of idealism. He called for the
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self-determination of nations, the creation of a League of Nations and reparations to be made to
territories badly harmed by the war, to be assisted by the victors. It also called for an end to secret
diplomacy, freedom of the seas, removal of international tariffs, and reduction of national
armaments.
War Guilt Clause Article 231 in the Reparations portion of the Treaty of Versailles. In it,
Germany was assigned the responsibility for the damages caused by WWI, which served as a
justification for the obligations put upon Germany in the remainder of the portion. It blamed only
Germany for causing the war.
European Union an international political body that was organized after WWII to reconcile
Germany and the rest of Europe as well as to forge closer industrial cooperation. Over time,
member states of the EU have relinquished some of their sovereignty, and cooperation has
evolved into a community with a single currency, the Euro, and a common European parliament.
Marshall Plan a program created by the U.S. after WWII to rapidly rebuild Western Europe.
It funneled $23 billion into Europe to help rebuild their economies. It helped rebuild Germany so
it could be strong economically once again after WWII to avoid political radicalization. It was a
huge success; everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Stalin prevented eastern European nations
from receiving Marshall aid.
Economic Miracle how the West stabilized after WWII. The area forgot about fascism and
brought in consumer society and youth revolution.
Socialism with a Human Face the idea of a kinder, gentler socialism. It did not purport to
get rid of communism, but only to remove some of the harshness of it. It wanted a little more
independence and freedom, but it never happened.
Mussolini the prime minister and dictator of Italy from 1922-1943, when he was overthrown.
He established a repressive fascist regime that valued nationalism, militarism, anti-liberalism and
anti-communism, combined with strict censorship and state propaganda. He became a close ally
of German dictator Adolf Hitler, whom he influenced. He entered WWII in June 1940 on the side
of Nazi Germany. Three years later, the Allies invaded Italy. In April 1945, he attempted to escape
to German-controlled Austria, only to be captured and killed near lake Como by Communist
Resistance units.
Michael Gorbachev a Russian politician who came to power in 1985 as the General Secretary
of the Communist Party. He implemented two new policies (political and economic) that allowed
for more free speech in government and helped restructure the economy. He also allowed noncommunists to be elected to Congress and a new wave of immigration. He was looked at as a
reformer who allowed more independence and economic efficiency.
Truman Doctrine a U.S. policy beginning in 1947 at the start of the Cold War to fight
attempts of communist takeover and expansion, especially in Eastern Europe.
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Berlin Airlift the supply of vital necessities to West Berlin by air transport primarily under
U.S. auspices from June 1948 to May 1949. It was initiated in response to a blockade of the city
that had been instituted by the Soviet Union to force the allies to abandon West Berlin.
Hitlers Annexation of Austria is also known as the Anschluss, or the de facto annexation of
Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938. The country voted and an overwhelming majority wanted to
be a part of Germany. It was one of the first major steps in Hitlers long-desired creation of an
empire including German-speaking lands and territories Germany had lost after WWI.
Warsaw Ghetto the largest ghetto in Germany. In March 1941, there were 450,000 people
living in one square mile of Warsaw, and this got worse as new deportees arrived. Death rates
rose, and typhus began to spread due to low rations.
Polish Uprising Revolt against Soviet Union after WWII in the 60s. It isnt very successful
and was put down, but it laid the seeds for Solidarity.
Red Army the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in
1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. It eventually grew to form the largest
army in history from the 1940s until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Red refers to the
blood shed by the working class in its struggle against capitalism.
Auschwitz the largest of the Nazi concentration camps. It was located in southern Poland and
liberated in January 1944.
Jan Palach Czech student who set himself on fire during the Prague Spring in January 1969 to
protest Soviet intervention.
Kosovo located in southern Serbia, it is known as the homeland for the Serbs. Milosevic went
here in 1987 to give a speech, and the audience began shouting sentiments. Milosevic was a Serb,
and the ethnic balancing began to be jeopardized. In 1998, large-scale fighting between Serbs and
Albanians erupted here, and ethnic cleansing and mass rape began again. NATO and Russian
troops moved in to stop the fighting.
Winston Churchill the British prime minister who led the country during WWII. He also
coined the phrase Iron Curtain in a speech at Westminster College in 1946.
Slobodan Milosevic a Serb who became president of Yugoslavia in 1987. He was a Serbian
nationalist, and he jeopardized the ethnic balancing that Tito had organized. When the Croatian
Republic declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Milosevic mobilized the Serbdominated army to defeat the separatists. He was involved in the ethnic cleansing of the Bosnian
Wars and again in Kosovo. He was removed from power in 2000 and died in prison where he was
awaiting trial for hate crimes.
Vichy France the government that ruled France from July 1940 to August 1944. It was
established following the defeat of the French army by Nazi Germany during WWII. The regime
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willingly collaborated with the Nazi occupation to a high degree and organized raids to capture
Jews. It was removed after the liberation of Paris, and Charles de Gualle came to power.
Resistance Movement Resistance to Nazis in WWII. It can either be from a communist
standpoint or a non-communist standpoint. The resistance was usually to German control in
WWII. New communist leaders come out of the movement. Charles de Gualle, Tito in
Yugoslavia, and many other leaders of the movement took power after the war.
Nuremberg Trials trial of the major conspirators of WWII. Soviet leader and Churchill
wanted mass execution of them. But the U.S. Secretary of State Henry Morgan suggested
denazification, and they were tried on charges of: war crimes; crimes against humanity;
participation for crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; and
other crimes against peace. The outcome ended with 24 being accused and 12 sentenced to death.
Yalta Conference meeting between President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston
Churchill and Premier Josef Stalin that occurred in the Crimea in 1945 to prepare for the postwar
order. They all gathered to decide what to do with Germany and the rest of Europe after WWII.
Maastricht Treaty treaty that officially created the EU and lays the foundations for the
Eurozone in1992. Currency begins circulating in 2002 and is now used by more than 300 million.
Began the growth of the European bureaucracy.
Treaty of Rome treaty that transformed France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and
Luxembourg in 1957 into the European Economic Community (EEC) or Common Market. The
EEC aimed to abolish trade barriers among its members. The organization pledged itself to
common external tariffs, the free movement of labor and capital among the member nations and
to building uniform wage structures and social security systems in order to create similar working
conditions throughout the Common Market.
Vatican II a reform of the Catholic Church from 1962-1965. It established that Mass was no
longer required to be said in Latin, among other things. It transformed church practices and made
a new way of life for European Catholics.
Perestroika one of Gorbachevs policies of reform that helped to restructure and modernize
the Soviet economy. This policy was implemented in 1985.
Siege of Sarajevo Bosnian Serbs surrounded and bombarded a city that lived in relative ethnic
harmony. It lasted from 1992-1996. A series of mortar attacks in 1995 on public marketplaces in
Sarajevo produced fresh western outrage and moved the U.S. to act. It produced a terrible moral
crisis for Bosnia, Yugoslavia and Europe in general.
Woodrow Wilson president of the United States during WWI. He came up with the 14 points
and was the leading peace negotiator at the end of the war.
Charles de Gaulle postwar leader of France. He was a resistance hero. He retired from
politics in 1946 when French voters refused to accept his proposals for strengthening the
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executive branch of government. After Frances government collapse from civil turmoil caused by
the Algerian war, de Gaulle was invited to return. He came back and insisted on a new
constitution that increased the power of the president. He pulled French forces out of NATO in
1966. He also created better relations with the Soviet Union and West Germany. He accelerated
French economic and industrial expansion by building a modern military establishment complete
with atomic weapons.
Part IV Short Essays 30 points
Three questions will be given on the test, and you must answer two with 3-4 paragraphs.
1. Describe the social, economic, political and cultural conditions in Germany in the interwar
era. Why did the Weimar Republic fail?
Only two days before the end of WWI, a fast spreading revolution swept across Germany. On
November 9, 1918, thousands of Germans crowded the streets of Berlin to overthrow the imperial
government. The revolution gave birth to a new German republic, soon to be called the Weimar
Republic. The giant crowd converged in the city center where a member of the Social Democratic
Party announced that the Kaiser had abdicated merely hours before, turning the government over
to Friedrich Ebert, SDP leader. The majority of the socialists were not radical and wanted the
November Revolution to have a cautious democratic course. They wanted reforms but kept
most of the imperial bureaucracy in tact. More than anything, they wanted a popularly elected
national assembly to draft a constitution for the new republic. After two months, the republic was
created and the Weimar constitution drafted, but not without serious violence and uprising from
left-wing extremists.
However, the republic only lasted a decade due to devastating conditions in Germany. The fact
that they lost the war was a huge embarrassment to the Germans. Their shocking defeat by the
Allies caused many hardcore German patriots to use the stabbed in the back ploy by Socialists
and Jewish leaders, which helped to save their wounded pride. The Treaty of Versailles created
horrible tensions; the conditions of the treaty were almost too horrible for Germany to bear. Not
only did they have to admit blame, lose territories they had gained and cut down the army to
100,000, they had to pay a ridiculous sum of money. People argued that it was so large that they
could not pay it off until 1987. The sum would only cause problems for the new government and
grief from the public.
Germanys economic crisis in the interwar period was horrific and unstoppable. It came in the
20s while the country was still suffering from wartime inflation. The new government was
forced to create revenue from nothing. With the reparations, the social welfare and the
demobilization programs, the government had to print more and more money. Inflation grew to
where it could not be fixed. By 1923, people everywhere were affected by this hyperinflation,
and soon people dropped from political parties as a sign of protest.
In 1924, Germany accepted a new plan created by American financer Charles Dawes. Although
the reparations were much more tolerable, people continued to grumble about Versailles and the
government that continued to accommodate it. By 1925, however, the country seemed to be on a
better road politically and economically. By borrowing money, Germany could scale down its
reparations and earn money by selling cheap exports. In large cities, there was government
funding for projects, but this was largely misleading. Due to the Dawes Plan, Germany was
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largely dependent on the American economy. So when the U.S. stock market crashed and set
America spiraling downward into a depression, Germany was pulled right down with it.
The Great Depression put Germany in a crisis so economically destructive that, politically, the
Weimar Republic could not withstand it. Farmers, civil service employers, artisans, shopkeepers,
everyone was so pummeled by the depression that more and more people were in need of help,
so the government had to cut welfare benefits. Beaten from both sides, the Weimar Republic
crumbled, and people demanded a more stable, authoritarian government giving Hitler the
perfect opportunity to seize power.
2. Compare and contrast Nazism and Soviet Communism, including their systems of detention
and punishment for enemies of the state.
To most of the middle class, Nazism and Soviet Communism seemed a way out, a way to escape
the hardships that they had long been forced to endure. The poor rejected capitalism, claiming
it was only for the wealthy, and claimed that democracy was corrupt and decadent. Some saw
democracy and capitalism as a systematic exploitation of ordinary workers and had far too
much individualism and not enough nationalism.
Communism appealed to the little people. Lenins greatest advocacy for his regime was peace,
land and bread. He attacked the old corrupt leaders who started the Great War. Communism
promised equality in the economy and class solidarity established through collective work,
living, youth groups and others. The Soviet Union stood for modernization and
industrialization, and the government was a safety net for the people. Communism preaches
class solidarity across national and ethnic lines. It was anti-capitalist, anti-democratic and antifascist, but it was universalist.
Nazism was one of the many political parties that stemmed from the Great War. It was one among
many small militant groups of disaffected Germans devoted to radical nationalism and to the
overthrow of the Weimar Republic. They grew out of the political milieu that refused to accept
the defeat or the November Resolution that they blamed on both socialists and Jews. In Hitlers
autobiography, My Struggle, he declared that Germany was in dire need of a strong
leadership to regain international prominence.
Like the Communists, the Nazis offered economic protection and renewed social status. The
Nazis played upon civil service needs and got many of their votes from the rural middle class,
widowers and noble pensioners. Both groups are similar in gaining support from people who
desperately needed help from the government due to being stuck in a meaningless class
system, unable to climb the ladder.
Both groups had ways of getting rid of enemies of the state. While the Nazis had a clear-cut
idea of who was the enemy, Communists were forced to constantly ask who their enemy was.
Instead of finding an external enemy, Stalin chose to purge his own system. The Great Purge got
rid of 80 percent of military officers, mostly because he feared they might become too powerful.
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Nazism, on the other hand, attacked race. Anyone (especially Jews) not German was not
considered worthy by any means and was put into concentration camps or extermination camps.
Similarly, communists also had work concentration camps.
3. How did Hitler use carrots and sticks to stabilize support for his regime?
Hitler used a system of carrots or positive things that increased the quality of life in Germany
and sticks or punishments for those who opposed the Nazi party to support his regime. The
sticks included repression and violence. Hitler worked very quickly to shut down presses and
newspapers that opposed him (that were run by communists or other non-Nazis), and the Nazis
soon controlled the entire press.
Hitler also took political control using the Gestapo. The Gestapo rounded up opponents of the
regime and threw them in jail, and by June 1933, all other political parties were outlawed. Most
who are locked up are communists, members of labor unions (Nazis broke unions so they
wouldnt rally against the regime) or outspoken critics of regime. Many writers and left-leaning
intellectuals leave. Many ordinary Jewish people dont leave because they have a long history of
being persecuted, so they were used to some measure of anti-Semitism, among other things.
The SA also contributed to Hitlers sticks with racial violence and economic harassment. Hitler
used the SA to harass people who were not toeing the line, like those who shopped in Jewish
shops or tried to hand out critical literature, for example.
Hitler gained followers in a positive way with social policies for Aryans. He set up programs like
Winterhilfe, which was a winter-help program in which people gave coats, money, etc. Though it
sounds nice, it was a kind of forced charity, and people were threatened into contributing. He also
started the labor front, which was the movement to put people back to work. They did things
like building highways, and pay was extremely low. But at least they were fed. Hitler also created
Strength Through Joy, an awards program for hard work. It stated that if you worked through
strength and joy, you may be awarded a vacation or some other prize; in reality, very few people
got these.
Hitler also heroized veterans, which worked well for consolidating support. He reached out to
people who loved the war, who wanted to keep fighting and those who were angry about the
Versailles treaty. He urged them to put energy into projects that would help Germany regain its
strength. Alte Kampfer were some of the first leaders of the Nazi party and were trotted around
as heroes. He reached out to mothers as well, particularly those who had a lot of children, to
produce more Germans to serve in the military.
When Hitler got into power, he wanted to start remilitarization right away. Though the Versailles
treaty severely reduced the size of Germanys military, there were secret events to build a
collection of arms during the Weimar period. Hitler no longer tries to hide the fact that hes
expanding the military, and he gets Germany out of the depression faster than any other country
by putting people to work building arms.
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Finally, Germany withdraws from the League of Nations and refuses to abide by the Versailles
treaty, and Hitler has the support of the people because of the ideas of the right to take territory
and regain German strength he instilled in the people.
4. Why did Western European nations recover so quickly from WWII? In what ways did their
recovery differ from that of the nations of Eastern Europe?
After WWII, the economic recovery in the Western part of Europe was so rapid that many people
refer to it as the Economic Miracle. Recovery was remarkably fast. People were being fed, and
cities were being rebuilt. The government was even doing well in civil welfare and service.
Western Europe does so well that it returns very quickly to its prewar economic success.
One reason for the quick recovery is because of the Marshall Plan, which funneled some $23
billion into the European economy. Another reason for this rapid stabilization was the vast
amount of work left by the devastation of the war. Work was easy to find, so many people
found jobs with pay, and the economy flourished because of it. Another reason was another
agricultural revolution. This revolution freed many farmers from their plows, and they were
able to attend schools and get good educations so they could be employed in places working with
technological advances. It was truly the first time Europe had been introduced to such a
consumer society. Instead of one pair of shoes, you could buy three. Washers and dryers were
available to everyone. They now had many opportunities.
The Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 greatly helped the Western European economy. 73
delegates from 44 nations agreed to create a system for financial stability. It created the IMF, the
World Bank, the gold standard and fixed exchange rates.
Organizations also helped the West connect and prosper. The first of these was the European
Coal and Steel Community in 1951, which coordinated trade and managed Europes most
crucial resources. Coal was essential to Europes economy. It controlled and powered everything
and was Europes primary energy consumption. It was also key to relations between West
Germany and France. It had the power to regulate prices and the production limit. Another, in the
Treaty of Rome, transformed France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland
into the European Economic Community or the Common Market. The EEC aimed to abolish
trade barriers among its members.
Eastern Europe, however, could not have been more different. The main factor contributing to the
slow recovery of the area was Communist Stagnation. In industrialization terms, communist
states were falling drastically behind the Western advances. Everything was old-fashioned and
locked in the past, unable to move forward with any technological advances or agricultural
revolutions. Farmers and factory workers still lived peasant lives. The goods being produced
were shabby and old, not at all modern and new. The world wanted nothing they could offer.
5. Describe the cycles of resistance and repression in Eastern Europe between 1948 and 1989.
What did resisters want, and why were the Soviets hesitant to allow reforms?
6. Why did the wall fall?
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The Berlin Wall fell through a series of small but very influential events. The problems resulting
from the spread of Soviet Communism eventually accumulated and resulted in the Wall coming
down.
Gorbachev came to power in 1985 as the head of the communist party in Russia. While the older
generation had ruled Russia in the 60s and 70, devoting resources to an old-fashioned style of
economy, which was clearly in evidence in the 80s. Gorbachev wanted to reform the state to
make it more competitive and give it an opportunity to advance. He was very much a communist,
but still wanted to break down some barriers, maybe give the Soviet Union a window to the
West. He implemented two sets of reforms: political and economic. On the political side, he
wanted to allow a little more dialogue and communication with the West. He freed up some
political prisoners, allowed a few more people to immigrate and allowed state-run newspapers to
publish fair, straightforward reports on what was going on in Russia. On the economic side, he
gave entrepreneurs a little more opportunity by breaking up huge nationalist enterprises and
allowing more independent operations. He revised the economic system to make it more
responsive to the state around it. The reforms were slow, but they did begin to show as Russia
began to seem a little less oppressive.
Gorbachevs reforms brought new ideas and movements in other parts of the world, like the
revolution in Poland. With rumors circulating that Russian power was dwindling, Poland and
other nations tried to see what they could get away with. A network of dissidents develops with
the hope of creating some sort of autonomy. Jaruzeliski moves from Martial Law to less
oppressive law. With pressure from Solidarity and other dissidents, he calls Solidarity into
governance in 1989, and roundtable discussions and elections bring an end to the Soviet era by
summer 1989. By early 1989, Poland and Hungary are establishing themselves as
independent states.
In Germany, East Germans were finding roundabout ways of leaving East Germany, like through
Hungary then Austria, or Czechoslovakia. With a wave of refugees traveling through
Czechoslovakia to West Germany, the leader of East Germany decided to allow refugees to exit
directly through crossing points between East Germany and West Germany, including West
Berlin. On the same day, Nov. 9, 1989, the administration modified the proposal to include
private travel. It was decided that the plan would take effect the following day in order to give
time for the border guards to prepare. But the man responsible for announcing the memo was not
aware of the exact provisions. He announced that, as far as he knew, the new regulations would
take place immediately and without delay. After hearing the broadcast, East Germans began
gathering at the wall, demanding that border guards immediately open its gates. With no one
wanting to take responsibility to use lethal force, there was no way the vastly outnumbered guards
could hold back the East Germans. The guards gave in and allowed them to cross. There was a
euphoric feeling in Germany that day, but there was still a fear that the Soviet tanks would roll in.
Many believed this meant Germany would be reunited, while others disagreed. Some Eastern
Germans were not so keen on reuniting with the West or on capitalism. Still, the tanks never
rolled in, and less than a year later, East and West Germany were reunited.
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SECTION B CUMULITAVE MATERIAL 50 POINTS
Part V Matching 20 points
Robespierre leader of the very radical Jacobins during the French Revolution (the group
for the national assembly and wanted the dismissal of the monarchy, wanted a constitution); was
influential during the Reign of Terror. The Jacobins came into significant power; however, after the
Jacobins purged the assembly of moderates, the moderates retaliate by executing him at the
guillotine in the Ninth of Thermidor. Hes also known as the Great Jacobin orator who headed
up the committee of public safety.
Thermidor was the execution of Robespierre by guillotine in 1794. Moderates purged the
most radical of leaders, and this date marked the end of the Reign of Terror. The Directory is
created, and violence diminishes as the nation seeks security. There is still disorder and execution,
but wars on borders slow. The rule of the legislative assembly concluded the hyper-revolution.
Louis XIV the Sun King, known for his opulent court and absolutist political style. He stops
civil war in France in the 1640s when he takes the throne after his father Louis XIII. He
remembers the civil war and pushes down the nobility by building Versailles palace and inviting
nobles to come so he can keep an eye on them and keep their minds off politics. It works well but
is very expensive. He was a successful monarch. He uses intendants, which were bureaucrats who
went out to parts of France and watched the nobility to see if they were taxing correctly and make
sure they werent planning revolutions.
Charles I son to King James (Elizabeths successor, Scotlands king). He was married to a
French princess who was Catholic. He was a bad king to England. He was much more interested
in the church because he was a devout Protestant. He decided to bring England into the 30
Years War even though they are in debt. He uses forced loan (unparliamentarily taxation), rules
without parliament and gets England out of debt. He brings in William Laud, Archbishop of
Canterbury, and tries to reform the church, which angers the Calvinists and causes huge revolts
from Scotland (Bishop Wars). He is forced to call short parliament (which lasts two weeks)
then long parliament (which lasts 18 years); they got rid of the kings counselors, who were
protecting the king.
Peter the Great he rules Russia from 1682-1725. He wanted Russia to look more like the
rest of Europe, to get more Western culture, which leads him to build St. Petersburg. He
adopted many Western laws, clothes and style. He was very cruel and killed many people; he
destroyed representative assembly and created a very loyal bureaucracy that answers only to him.
Martin Luther Augustinian monk who was a very accomplished scholar. He had anxieties
about the Catholic Church. While reading Saint Paul, he had a revelation and realized man could
not dictate their own salvation; only grace and pure mercy saves us. He realized the church was
interfering with ones relationship to God and making money off it. He was seen as a heretic, or
someone who believed himself to be a part of the church but taught scriptures against the churchs
interpretable meanings. He was the key factor in the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic
Church realizes they have to do something after the 95 Theses are put into circulation, so they have
the Diet of Worms, which determines Luther will be burned at the stake. But he is saved by
Frederick the Wise who keeps him safe in his castle.
Diet of Worms the examination of Luther by a church council. The council condemned him
to burn at the stake when Luther was asked to recant after posting and circulating the 95 Theses. He
was rescued by Frederick of Saxony.
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Council of Trent was an intermittent meeting of Catholic leaders that reaffirmed Catholic
doctrine against Protestant criticisms while also reforming the Church. It is the response to the
reformation, a.k.a. the counter reformation.
St. Bartholomews Day Massacre was a massacre of French Protestants (Huguenots) by
Catholic crowds that began in Paris in 1572 and spreading to other parts of France. More than
70,000 were killed. The royal marriage that was supposed to take place that day might have made
peace between the Catholics and Protestants failed at the last moment due to the Catholic court.
Elizabeth I daughter to King Henry VIII and Anne Boelyn of England. She was the second
princess and third to ascend the throne in the line of Tudors after Henry. She never married, and her
siblings included Mary and Edward. She passes the Act of Supremacy again and becomes head of
the Church of England. Act of Uniformity also said every church in England will use English
language and be Protestant. She sets up Via Media, which was purposefully vague. She uses the
defeat of the Spanish Armada as an excuse to call England Gods chosen people. She supports
nationalism and ends the English reformation. She also orders sailors to plunder Spanish ships
and get gold for England.
Napoleon he first started as a lower-ranking officer in the French army; he supported the
revolution, and because of that, he moved up. He went to Egypt to stop British trade to India,
but it was an utter disaster. Even so, it gained the respect of many political powers in France, and
he was known for his great military prowess. After the 18th Brumaire where it was decided to
rule France with three consulates, he began to manipulate the system to where he became the
Emperor of France (self-crowned). One of the things that earned him the greatest respect was the
reformation of the army (The Grand Armee). He issues his civil code and puts all relatives on
thrones of other kingdoms. He defeated the Austrian army at the Battle of Austerlitz and the
Prussian army at the Battle of Jenna. He marched extremely quickly through all of Europe,
and all of the continent was under his grasp except the UK and Portugal, but because of the
continental system and his free religion, there was a large resistance to him from Spain and
Russia. After the failure at Moscow, he was exiled to Elba but comes back and takes his throne
during the 100 days rule. He is then defeated at Waterloo (which was controlled by the Duke of
Wellington) and went into exile again and died from illness.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was issued in 1789. It was a French charter of
liberties formulated by the National Assembly that marked the end of dynastic and
aristocratic rule. The 17 articles later became the preamble to the new constitution, which the
Assembly finished in 1791. It demolished the privilege system.
Levee en Masse a mass calling or general inscription in 1793 of young men to fight for
France against their enemies during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was fiercely
antagonistic, but used nationalism.
Reign of Terror was the campaign at the height of the French Revolution from 1793-1794
in which violence, including systematic executions of opponents of the Revolution, was used to
purge France of its enemies and extend the Revolution beyond its borders. Radicals executed as
many as 40,000 persons who were judged enemies of the states. Even those merely suspected of
being opponents were killed during these near anarchic conditions. Departmental armies ravaged
the countryside.
The 18th Brumaire was a coup staged against The Directory by Napoleon and planned by
Sieyes in which Napoleon overthrew the French Directory and replaced it with the French
Consulate on Nov. 18, 1799. There were three consuls at first: Napoleon, Sieyes and Ducos.
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Battle of Jenna was the defeat of the Prussian army by the French army in 1806 that was so
sound that it forced the Prussian government to reform. Napoleon marched through Berlin and
was greeted by crowds. Afterward, he took the Quadriga from Berlin to Paris. From 1807 on,
Prussia begins a series of reforms to win back the population.
Congress of Vienna was an international conference to reorganize Europe held form 18141815 after the downfall of Napoleon. European monarchies agreed to respect each others borders
and to cooperate in guarding against future revolutions and war. It was led by Austrian statesman,
Metternich, who established a new balance of power at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The four
most important territorial changes that took place as a result of the conference were: the scaling
back of France to their status in 1790, the Austrian acquisition of territory in west and northwest
Italy, the establishment of the new kingdom of the Netherlands and the formation of the new
German Confederation. The five major powers that drew this new map of Europe were Britain,
France, Russia, Prussia and Austria. They agreed to meet annually to prevent any one country from
achieving military dominance of the European continent.
Marie Antoinette sixteenth child to the Austrian line. Her brother is Joseph II, the Austrian
emperor. She was the wife of Louis XVI and supposedly had lovers like Axel von Fersen. She and
her husband fled to Varennes, were caught and beheaded at the guillotine during the French
Revolution.
John Calvin French born Protestant theologian and lawyer who stressed the predestination of
all human beings according to Gods will. He was vastly impressed by Luthers ideals and
converted, but his own ideas were more radical. He believed in faith alone but that only some
people could obtain grace, a.k.a. predestination. He believed churches should be about selfgoverning and should throw out all Catholic rituals. He had an emphasis on equality, simplicity and
asceticism (the idea that things should look common), and he believed in punishing sinful
behavior. He was chased from France and set up in Geneva, Switzerland.
Henry IV (France) known as The Good King Henry. He starts the Bourbon Dynasty in
France. He was from Navarre and was crowned king in 1589. He converted to Catholicism in 1593
in order to reach a religious compromise. He issues the Edict of Nantes, which says Catholicism
is Frances official religion, but toleration was offered to the Huguenots within specific areas of
southern and western France.
Abbe de Sieyes member of the first estate of the Estates General. His political savvy got him
elected as a representative of the Third Estate. His career during the French Revolution started by
his writing of a pamphlet entitled, What is the Third Estate? which posed fundamental
questions about the rights of the estate that represented a great majority of the population and
helped provoke its secession from the Estates General. It ended with assisting Napoleon to his
imperial throne after being a part of the three consulates.
Oliver Cromwell Puritan leader of the Parliamentary Army (from the round heads that
possess the army) that defeated the royalist forces in the English Civil War. After the execution
of King Charles I and dispersion of the Long Parliament, he ruled as self-styled Lord Protector
from 1653 until his death.
J.J. Rousseau philosopher radical and political theorist whose social contract attacked
privilege and inequality. One of the primary principles of his political philosophy is that politics
and morality should not be separated. From Geneva, Switzerland, he wrote: discourse on the
origins of inequality, disclaims of property rights and Emile critique of civilization itself, which
called back to primeval ways. He thought children should develop naturally and be loved by many.
He said, Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains.
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John Locke an English scholar and natural scientist that was involved in politics during the
exclusion crisis in the 1670s and 80s. He enforced the understanding that human institutions were
made by human beings, so it is possible to change them. Humans had the right to rebel if society
conducts it. The idea caught on. He wrote the letter concentrating toleration essay on human
understanding. It was a critique of tyranny in the second treatise of government and spells out the
right to rebel and sovereignty of the people. He thought the government must serve the needs of the
people.
Gustavus Adolphus a well-educated Swedish king and Protestant leader who enters the
Thirty Years War in 1630. He had ambitions to expand Swedish territory and was a devout
Lutheran. He reorganized Protestant forces along lines that prepare for military revolution. He has
mercenaries, nobles and an army motivated to fight for the nation and the cause. The cause idea
(nationalism) is just beginning to form. This ideal is a huge success; it makes the armies more
confident and less likely to desert. He dies at the Battle of Lutzen in 1632.
Defenestration of Prague the final straw that begins the Thirty Years War. The Holy Roman
Empire goes to war over Bohemian independence. Bohemia wants to go with reform, and against
the Catholics, these nobles from Bohemia wanted to elect a Protestant. Bohemian Protestants
threw Catholic emissaries out the windows.
Spinning Jenny was invented by carpenter and hand-loom weaver James Hargreaves. It was a
compound spinning wheel. With the water frame and spinning mule, it made stronger and finer
thread, which revolutionized production across the textile industry.
The Glorious Revolution the overthrow of King James II of England in 1688 by a union of
Parliamentarians with an invading army led by the Dutch leader William III of Orange-Nassau,
who then ascended the throne to become King William III of England. When King James II had a
son, the threat of a Catholic dynasty set in, and the English decided to overthrow the king and have
the kings Protestant daughters (Mary) husband (William) rule instead.
Alexander I was the Tsar of Russia during the time of Napoleon and agreed to ally with
Napoleon but revolted because of the continental system. Napoleons forces invaded Russia and
took over Moscow. But the winter was coming, and they waited it out until Napoleon and his men
were forced to return to France. He was a key player in the Congress of Vienna.
Putting-out system also known as the workshop system. It was a means of subcontracting
work where work is contracted by a central agent who completes the work in his own facility,
usually his home.
Continental system an economic system imposed by Napoleon. It was supposed to keep all
trade within the Empire. Its goal was to stop trade with England and keep the British out, but it
only hurt the Russians who were allied with Napoleon but very dependent on British trade.
Napoleonic Code was not the first civil code in Europe but was the most influential. It was
adopted by many other states, including the Netherlands, German and Italian states and Spain . It
was a set of laws and customs, not privileges. It established freedom of religion, meritocracy
(no privileges based on birth) and the right to divorce . But it also established the superiority of
fathers over their wives and children.
Encyclopedia had 28 volumes. It was created from 1751-1772 and was overseen by Diedrot. Its
utility was to be used by people now, not for the kings glory; it had man at its center. It had the
necessity of revolutions and ideas. It brought about the end of secrecy that came with guilds and
had many articles of people from the enlightenment era that were highly controversial.
95 Theses were written by Martin Luther. Luther posted the 95 Theses on the doors of the
Wittenburg Chapel for disputation among scholars, clergymen and regular people. His ideas
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included salvation by faith, primacy of scripture (which relates to humanism) and the priesthood of
all believers. These pamphlets were printed and distributed and created an uproar that eventually
led to the Diet of Worms and threatening from the pope.
Mercantilism was pioneered by Jean Baptiste Colbert. It was the idea that people should
concentrate all the hard currency in the state to the king/monarch rather than the people . The
reason for this was military (so they could hire mercenaries). Its development was also due to the
New World (gold and silver from Spain). The plan basically said that all hard currency could not go
out of the state. There were less incoming trades so there were high tariffs on imported goods, and
the idea encouraged colonies to supply the mother country with raw goods and bring money to
the central government. It was the first real national economic policy.
Mercenaries were hired by nobles and kings to fight their wars and battles; they were a
part of the military revolution. But it was often difficult to tell which side they were on. They
were mostly Hussars and pikeman (who used long spears). Proto-professionalization trained them
to use the weapons.
Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1500-1558. He had a vast empire of nearly all
of Europe. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and ruled through inheritance and marriage.
Because of how different each state was, there was no common culture or language. The only
thing that held the empire together was the emperor himself and Catholicism . This became
vastly important when Luther started his movement. He was a devout Catholic and hated heresy.
He and the pope conspired to bring Luther to the Diet of Worms and condemned him. However,
once Luther went into hiding and his sentence was not carried out, he went to fight wars in France.
1848 Revolutions a wave of revolutions that began in France and soon spread to the rest of
Europe. These European revolutions were the violent consequences of a wide variety of causes. In
politics, there is a pressure to rid conservative ideas. Liberals and radicals begin to organize,
seeking change in their nations governments. In society, technological change was creating new
ways of life for the working classes, a popular press extended political awareness, and new values
and ideas such as liberalism, nationalism and socialism began to spring up. The last straw was a
series of economic downturns and crop failures that left the peasants and the poor working
classes starving (like the Irish potato famine in Ireland). The National Assembly was formed in
Paris, and the Frankfurt Parliament in Germany. The people seemed to be victorious all over
Europe.
Peterloo Massacre happened outside of Manchester, England in 1819. A crowd gathered
outside of St. Peter to peacefully protest for better working conditions and more representation in
government. The National Guard goes, panics and shoots into the crowd. Only 11 people die, but
the situation is a propaganda disaster in the time of famine and radicalism following the
Napoleonic Wars.
Versailles Peace Conference ended WWI with Germany and other defeated nations in 1919.
Large chunks of German land are given to the Poles. Italy is very disappointed with the treaty, as is
Austria, who is left with a small state and wants to unite with Germany, but cant because of the
treaty. Hungary is also shrunken and left with a very small state. The conference imposed guilt
and stiff financial burdens on Germany.
Vladimir Lenin leader of the Bolsheviks (later Reds) Revolution in Russia and the first
leader of the Soviet Union. He was a Russian Revolutionary and a communist political who led
the October Revolution of 1917. He headed the Soviet state during its initial years (1917-1924), as
it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a socialist
economic system.
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Joseph Stalin The Bolshevik leader who succeeded Lenin as the leader of the Soviet Union in
1924 and ruled until his death. Launched a command economy, replacing the New Economic
Policy of the 1920s with Five-Year Plans and launching a period of rapid industrialization and
economic collectivization. The upheaval in the agricultural sector disrupted food production,
resulting in widespread famine.
Leopold II Belgian king who sponsored colonizing expeditions into Africa . Desperate to
make Belgium an important power and kept trying to colonize. Was the one who hired Henry
Stanley to go out and find Livingstone. Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole
owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken by the King. He used Henry Morton
Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo. Leopold ran the Congo brutally, by proxy through a
mercenary force for his own personal gain. Though he extracted a personal fortune from the
Congo, his harsh regime was directly or indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people.
The Congo became one of the most infamous international scandals of the early 20th century, and
Leopold was ultimately forced to relinquish control of it to the government of Belgium.
Otto von Bismarck The German chancellor who provoked the wars of the German
unification. Oversaw the unification of Germany, became Chancellor of the North German
Confederation, designed the German Empire in 1871, becoming its first Chancellor and dominating
its affairs until his dismissal in 1890. Known as the Iron Chancellor because of his diplomacy
of Realpolitik and powerful rule.
Camillo Cavour anti-papist Italian leader who led the initial stages of Revolution against the
Habsburgs; led the unification of Italy.
Armenian Massacres in December of 1914, the Ottoman Empire feared the Armenians
living in the empire would side with the Russians in WWI. The Ottomans were brutal to the
Armenians and killed Armenian men of military aid in masses and also sent women and children
into the desert to starve. Attaturk was part of the campaign, but the extent of his involvement is
really unknown.
The Somme fought in 1916, was one of the largest battles of WWI. With more than one
million casualties, it was also one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The Allied forces
attempted to break through the German lines along the River Somme in northern France. One
purpose of the battle was to draw German forces away from the Battle of Verdun; however, by its
end the losses on the Somme had exceeded those at Verdun and neither side gained ground. On the
offensive were the British and the French, while the Germans were on the defense. British
thought they would destroy the Germans but were tragically wrong.
Treaty of Sevres ended the war with the Ottoman Empire. One of the five peace treaties
signed to end WWI in 1919. This treaty was signed in France and determined the future of the
Ottoman Empire, dissolving the empire and leaving them with Turkey. The treaty caused problems
between the Greeks and Turks in the 1920s, leading to the Greek-Turkish war.
Belgian Atrocities Acts of atrocity committed by Belgian traders against African natives,
including the severing of hands and heads. Leopold II was King of Belgium at the time, and some
atrocities include raping the Congo of its natural resources, putting the people under forced slave
labor type conditions and chopping off workers hands.
Henry Stanley an American newspaperman and explorer who later became a British subject
and a king of the realm. His "scientific" journeys inspired the creation of a society of researchers
and students. Was hired by Leopold to find Livingstone, found him, sent back and interview, and
became a hero. Was also involved in Leopolds adventure in the Congo.
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Gavrilo Princip Was the anarchist and Bosnia Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and his wife, thus beginning WWI. He attempted to commit suicide but was caught
and put in prison in Austria.
Paul von Hindenburg German military genius who led the German efforts on the Eastern
Front in WWI (along with Ludenorff). After becoming a military hero, he began to move to the
center of German politics. Was chief of the imperial staff of the German army and had an
increasingly fanatic desire to win the war. He claimed the armies had not lost in the fields, but had
been stabbed in the back by civilians, Communists, Jews, etc.
Sykes-Picot Agreement a secret treaty in WWI between a French and British candidate that
said how Europe would be partitioned up after WWI.
Enver Pasha Was the Ottoman Minister of War and a Turkish Nationalist. He very much
wanted to take advantage of the European war. The Ottoman Empire was weakened by Balkan
wars, and he wanted to recoup territory, win glory and get rid of the debt weighing on the empire.
He wanted to push the Ottoman Empire into war to accomplish his own ends at a moment of
European weakness. He was a Turkish military officer and a leader of the Young Turk revolution.
Schlieffen Plan devised by Count Alfred von Schlieffen in 1905 and put into operation on
August 2, 1914. This required France to be attacked first through Belgium and a quick victory
to be secured so that the German army could turn around and fight Russia on the Eastern front.
14 Points done by Woodrow Wilson. The points outlined how the peace needed to be agreed
upon once the war was over. They represented the spirit of idealism. He called for the selfdetermination of nations, the creation of a League of Nations and reparations to be made to
territories badly harmed by the war, to be assisted by the victors. It also called for an end to secret
diplomacy, freedom of the seas, removal of international tariffs, and reduction of national
armaments.
War Guilt Clause Article 231 in the Reparations portion of the Treaty of Versailles. In it,
Germany was assigned the responsibility for the damages caused by WWI, which served as a
justification for the obligations put upon Germany in the remainder of the portion. It blamed only
Germany for causing the war.
Napoleon III was president of the French Republic from 1848-1851, then from Dec. 2, 1851
Dec. 2, 1852. He was the ruler of a dictatorial government, then overturns his own republic to
become Emperor of the French under the name Napoleon III, to 1870. He was the last monarch
to rule France. He is a liberal and the nephew of the great Napoleon. He represents French glory,
power.
Utopian Socialism was also known as Christian socialism. Its a form of socialism thats really
idealistic. It retained the idea that everyone would get along if theyre equal, and if this happened it
would rain lemonade. Was a very impractical idea, and the people who wrote about it eventually go
off the edge.
Frankfurt Parliament The parliament called to decide the fate of the German world. They
discussed whether or not to have a united Germany. It sits after the 1824 revolution. It failed
miserably because monarch of Prussia refused to even meet with them.
Big German/Little German Solution two solutions proposed by the Frankfurt Parliament
in 1848. The Big Germany solution proposed that the borders should be drawn to include
Austria like the old German Federation of States. This plan pleased Austrian liberals and
Catholics. The Little Germany solution excluded Austria from the borders and made Berlin
capital, dominated by Prussia. This solution pleased the Protestants. The conservative Little
Germany won.
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The Commune (France) after the French surrendered to Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War
in 1871, a group of radicals formed the Paris Commune to defend the city and implement social
reforms, such as a central employment bureau and womens labor unions. The Commune only
lasted a couple of weeks. Government troops took back Paris and executed members of this
radical group, in which they retaliated by executing hostages and torching government buildings.
Dreyfus Affair France 1894, Jewish man Alfred Dreyfus was accused of selling military
secrets to the Germans. He is accused and sentenced to prison with little evidence. Some
French intellectuals fought for Dreyfus and got him acquitted. Others saw Dreyfus as a threat to
Frances Catholic identity. This sparks anti-Semitism in France.
Pale of Settlement the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, along its western border, in
which permanent residence of Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish residence was
generally prohibited. Was something of a Jewish community, where the Russians put all the
Jewish people, especially in places where they were not integrated into Russian society.
Periodically, there would be violence toward them.
Palestine Mandate came out of the Sykes-Picot and Zionist movements. It established that
there should be some sort of Israel, Palestine. It said Jews should be able to live in Palestine. The
Jews interpreted that they should be the only ones allowed to live there, but others (Palestinians)
established that they could live there also. The lines were left very vague.
Gallipoli invasion of Dardanelles to try to knock Ottomans out of the war and provide relief to
Russia. Was composed of colonial troops (Australian and New Zealander). Territory was very
difficult to fight on, and Turkish had the opportunity to stand on hills and shoot down. Was an
utter disaster for the Allies, and the remaining troops were withdrawn with no success. Mustapha
Kemal (Attaturk) was the Ottoman hero coming out of this battle.
Treaty of Brest-Litowsk ends the war between Germany and Russia in 1917 and marks
Russias exit from WWI. Was not a fair treaty by any means, but Lenin does it because he promised
peace, land and bread, so the Russians gave up a huge chuck of territory to stop fighting.
Indian Mutiny the First War of Indian Independence of 1857. Was a prolonged period of
armed uprisings in different parts of India against British occupation of that part of the
subcontinent. Small incidences eventually turned into large-scale rebellion and then into what may
be called a full-fledged war in the affected regions. This war brought about the end of the British
East India Companys rule in India, and led to direct rule by the British government (British Raj) of
much of the Indian subcontinent for the next 90 years, though some states retained nominal
independence under their respective Rajas, or kings; Different parts of India mutinied against
British armies. It started by a rumor that the British cartridges were lined with pig fat, which
offended some Indians. They were violently put down by another group of Indians who were
working for the British army.
Opium Wars lasted from 1839-1842. This was the British conflict with China. The British
began forcing their way into Chinese markets and got into the opium trade. In 1939, the Chinese
emperor became concerned and attempted to close the trade. The war began when the Chinese
seized 20,000 chests of opium in the holds of the British and threw it out into the China Sea. Given
that Britain had the advantage of superior naval technology, they attacked Chinese ports and forced
them to come to terms. They signed a treaty of Nanking in 1842 giving the island of Hong Kong to
the British, and they had to pay them back for the opium they destroyed. In the end, these Chinese
ports had to be governed by a British consul, which allowed them to expand its empire and trade.
New markets were found for British manufactured goods in East Asia.
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Cecil Rhodes an English-born businessman and South African politician. An ardent believer
in colonialism and imperialism, he was the founder of the state of Rhodesia in May 1895, in
present-day Zimbabwe. He is also the founder of the diamond company De Beers, which
marketed 90 percent of the worlds diamonds at one point.
Democratic Socialism an idea that believes in using socialist ideas in a non-violent way to
improve democratic society. It aims to provide solutions for societys problems, i.e. plight of the
poor, plight of the working class. It believes that good points of socialism can be used in a
democratic society in a non-radical way. It is a very strong idea across Europe until the start of
WWI.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand an Austrian Archduke who was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb,
starting the First World War. One month later, Austria declared war on Serbia. One week later,
Europe was at war with the Central Powers Germany and Austria against the allies
Russia, France and Britain.
Austro-Prussian War a war fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and its German
allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the other,
that resulted in Prussian dominance over the German states.
February Revolution in Russia was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It occurred
March 812 and its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the collapse of
Imperial Russia and the end of the Romanov dynasty.
Greek-Turkish Population Exchange in 1923. Based upon religious identity, and involved the
Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece. It was the first compulsory
large-scale population exchange, or agreed mutual expulsion of the 20th century.
Balfour Declaration was a formal statement of policy by the British government stating that
Palestine would be a national home to the Jewish people, but nothing should be done against
non-Jewish communities living there; included in the Palestinian Mandate
Berlin Conference on Africa 188485 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa
during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an
imperial power.
Franco-Prussian War a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of
Prussia. Marked the downfall of Napoleon III and brought about the final unification of
Germany.
The Maximum
Henry VII King of England in 1509. He brutally suppressed the influence of the Protestant
Reformation in England, a movement having some roots with John Wycliffe in the 14th century.
He is more popularly known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the
Roman Catholic Church.
Part VI Interpretive Cumulative Essays 30 points
Two questions will be given, and you will have to answer one. It should be about 5-6 paragraphs in
length, and you must formulate an opinion and defend your position; you must make an argument
using comparisons and parallels from the scope of the entire course.
1. Compare and contrast Absolutism (in the 17th and 18th centuries) with Nazism. In what ways
were these systems alike? How did they differ?
Under Absolutism, power is concentrated in one person who has complete, unrivaled control.
The power of representative assemblies declines, and aristocrats who used to have power now have
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less control. The conflict is really between the aristocrats and the king, not the peasants or the
masses. The clergy also loses power because Absolutism aims to diminish the role of the church in
government.
The social structure of Absolutism created estates; they are marked by birth, not money. Each
estate came with a certain level of privileges. There was of course the king, who inherited his title
most of the time. The First Estate were members of the clergy, which included a large range of
people from very rich to very poor. The Second Estate were the nobles, which included those who
agreed to fight for the king and got privileges in return. This estate also had a large range of people,
from those who got huge plots of land to those who got next to none. Finally, the Third Estate
included everyone else. Those who were not born with a title and were not of aristocratic birth
belonged to the Third Estate. Especially in Eastern Europe, there is a tendency to suppress the
peasants and make them purely serfs.
Absolutism made way for new cities and new consumers. There was more trade, increased
prosperity, lower levels of famine and a bit of a better lifestyle for people. Absolutism was
often associated with mercantilism, which was the first real national economic policy and
encouraged consumers to keep currency and trade within the state or with the colonies.
Under Nazism, Hitler stabilized the economy. The European economy was terribly destabilized
after WWI, and hyperinflation in Germany in 1923 only added to the hardships. People were
unemployed in huge numbers, and food scarcity and agricultural depression took their toll on
the German people. Nazism solved economic problems form the top down with a planned
economy. People were given food and jobs when the free-market system was failing.
Also, authoritarian governance rose again, and power was in the hands of one person who
seemed like a man of the people. Power was taken from democratic assemblies that took too
long and didnt seem to get much done. Hitler claimed to provide a safety net for the people,
that he would keep them safe from harm.
Hitler also played up the purity and nobility of the peasant. He enforced the old-fashioned
notions that homosexuals, prostitutes and intellectuals were the types who were dragging the nation
down; the common man is considered the hero. This also led to the scapegoating of outsiders,
which played up nationalism and pride.
These systems are alike in the fact that nations are united under one ruler. People under both
regimes were willing to give up democratic rights in favor of speed and stabilization. Also, the
quality of life increased under both Absolutism and Nazism. Absolutism brought more trade and
increased prosperity, and Nazism brought new jobs and more food for its people. Both systems
provided for its constituents in a time of unease and instability. Also, the free-market
economy was eradicated in both systems. Absolutism favored mercantilism, and the Nazis
created a planned economy in which they controlled everything. Also, both systems favored
classification according to birth, not class. People were born into their estates under Absolutism,
and Aryans must be born so to receive privileges under Nazism.
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These systems are different because Absolutism favors the upper class, while Nazism claims to
favor the working class. Hitler played up the purity and nobility of the peasant, while Absolutism
granted no privileges to the large majority of the population that made up the Third Estate. Also,
Nazism placed an emphasis on a united Germany, while Absolutism doesnt purport to raise
nationalist pride. Nazism requires support and approval from the people, while Absolutism does
not seek to appease anyone other than the ruler.
2. The First World War was the great event in modern world history (since 1500). Do you
agree? Defend your answer by describing WWI and its consequences, and by comparing it to
two other major events, such as: the Reformation, the French Revolution, the Industrial
Revolution, the Second World War and the Cold War.
I agree that WWI was the great event in modern world history. There had never been a war of such
magnitude, hence the name, the Great War. It began because of an unsettling of the old balance of
European power with the rise of Germany and Russia. The arms race and surge in
militarization, including dreadnoughts and long-range artillery, also contributed to the start of the
war because there was a feeling these new, advanced armies should do something. Violence in the
Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires prior to the start of the war also contributed to
increased tensions that led to the start of the war. But the final straw was the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Bosnian Serb, causing Austria to declare war on Serbia, with
all the other nations joining in following until a full-fledged war ensues between the Allied Powers
(France, Russia, Great Britain, Italy and the U.S.) and the Central Powers (Germany, AustriaHungary and the Ottoman Empire).
As news of the assassination spreads, men volunteer by the hundreds of thousands while women
urge them on. In all countries, even Russia, there is a wave of nationalist sentiment that breaks
out and causes all individuals to sign on to fight with their new-found patriotism.
Europe expected a kind of chivalric, quick war that would be over by Christmas.They believe in
a clean, technological war, which is way different from what they were experiencing. They think
the great artillery would make the war shorter; it instead makes it much, much longer. Instead,
Europe got a seemingly endless, senseless war of pain and suffering. The war destroyed fellow
feelings between Europeans and only fostered more bitterness. It destroyed economies of all
nations, and the outcome was so contested and undecided, there was almost another war
brewing right as it ended.
The wars costs were almost innumerable, with about 6,000 people dying each day for more than
1,500 days. About 8.5 million men were killed, and about 22 million were wounded. It
destabilized old empires, fostered revolutions and created internal destabilization. The war
created new ways to destroy combatants with new inventions including poison gas and trench
warfare. WWI was a total war, meaning the whole population was supposed to contribute, and
consequently endure the harsh results. Perhaps most importantly, WWI rearranged the map of
Europe. The leaders tried to recreate a balance of power, but the effort is almost immediately in
vein given the enormous tension, anger and upset that come after the war. In effect, WWI led
to Germanys resentment, which led to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party, which led to WWII,
which led to the spread of Soviet communism, which led to the Cold War, etc. While some of these
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events may have happened in other forms without the First World War, its obvious that WWI
impacted the world so greatly that it almost directly influences many major world events that
followed.
While the Reformation definitely made a lasting mark on world history, it doesnt rival the impact
of WWI. Martin Luthers posting of the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg chapel started the
flow of ideas of salvation by faith and the priesthood of all believers all of which were
vehemently opposed by the Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation picked up speed and
proved too strong to be put down by opposing forces. The Reformation led to religious wars and
reformations in France and England, the Peasant Wars in the Holy Roman Empire and the
partitioning of the Holy Roman Empire, among other things.
While the results of the Protestant Reformation are still evident today, most of the conflict has
resolved itself with the separation of church and state in many areas. Protestants and Catholics live
in relative harmony these days, and the conflict from the Reformation seems a thing of the past.
But the bitterness from the outcome (or lack thereof) from WWI and its domino effect is still
evident today. The whole Germany/Greece bailout debacle has ties to events that stem from
WWI, solidifying the wars place as the most influential event in modern history.
And as far as World War II and the Cold War are concerned, I think neither would have happened
(at least neither would have played out in the way they did) if it werent for the First World War.
Germany never would have been bitter about losing power/everything good, Hitler never would
have risen to power, WWII never would have began, communism never would have spread and the
Cold War would have been non-existent. So you see, everything in modern history can be traced
back in some way, shape or form to WWI, which is why it is the most influential event in modern
history.
3. Compare and contrast any two of the following revolutions: the English Civil Wars, the
French Revolution, the revolutions of 1848, the Russian Revolution (1917) and the
Revolutions of 1989. Which had the greatest consequences for Europe and the world as a
whole? Why?
The 1848 Revolutions began with the French Revolution in February 1848, when the liberals and
radicals united to force out the King in favor of more rights and opportunities. The French were
sick of old, conservative rule. They gather and form the National Assembly, later pen the
Declaration of the rights of man, and later a full-fledged revolution.
In society across Europe, technological change was creating new ways of life for the working
classes, a popular press extended political awareness, and new values and ideas such as
liberalism, nationalism and socialism began to spring up. The last straw was a series of
economic downturns and crop failures that left the peasants and the poor working classes
starving (like the Irish potato famine in Ireland).
The revolution in France lit a spark across Europe and caused the Springtime of Peoples.
Revolutions began to pop up all over Europe in places like Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, Rome and
Dresden. Many capital cities fall to the revolution because the leaders are too weak to do anything.
Most of the handovers are peaceful, and there is rhetorical celebration all over Europe. The
Frankfurt Parliament is called during this time to decide on the fate of the German states.
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Though the issue is never resolved, it looks like its going to happen eventually. Mazzini in Italy
also spoke of the need for unification.
The 1848 Revolutions begin to falter with the June Days in France. Disagreement about policy
between the radicals and liberals in government comes to a head during this time. The radicals
set up barricades against the liberals, and the liberals put down the attempt at revolution in a bloody
way. In the wake of the June Days, conservatives reorganize their troops, come in and suppress
the revolutions. And as France goes, so goes Europe. The tide turns back to a more conservative
solution, and revolutions are put down in Central Europe by the Austrians, together with the
Russians.
The revolutions of 1989 began when Gorbachev came to power in 1985 as the head of the
communist party in Russia. Gorbachev wanted to reform the state to make it more competitive
and give it an opportunity to advance. He was very much a communist, but still wanted to break
down some barriers, maybe give the Soviet Union a window to the West. He implemented two
sets of reforms: political and economic. On the political side, he wanted to allow a little more
dialogue and communication with the West. He freed up some political prisoners, allowed a
few more people to immigrate and allowed state-run newspapers to publish fair,
straightforward reports on what was going on in Russia. On the economic side, he gave
entrepreneurs a little more opportunity by breaking up huge nationalist enterprises and
allowing more independent operations. He revised the economic system to make it more
responsive to the state around it. The reforms were slow, but they did begin to show as Russia
began to seem a little less oppressive.
Gorbachevs reforms brought new ideas and movements in other parts of the world, like the
revolution in Poland. With rumors circulating that Russian power was dwindling, Poland and
other nations tried to see what they could get away with. A network of dissidents developed with
the hope of creating some sort of autonomy. Jaruzeliski moves from Martial Law to less
oppressive law. With pressure from Solidarity and other dissidents, he calls Solidarity into
governance in 1989, and roundtable discussions and elections bring an end to the Soviet era by
summer 1989. By early 1989, Poland and Hungary are establishing themselves as independent
states. By December 1990, Lech Walesa is president of Poland.
On November 9, 1989, because of a bit of miscommunication, it was announced that East
Berliners were allowed to cross the wall, which triggered a mass of Germans to crowd around the
wall to cross over. There was a euphoric feeling in Germany that day, but there was still a fear that
the Soviet tanks would roll in. Many believed this meant Germany would be reunited, while others
disagreed. Some Eastern Germans were not so keen on reuniting with the West or on capitalism.
Still the tanks never rolled in, and less than a year later, East and West Germany were reunited.
The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989 followed the fall of the wall. Czechoslovakia
was very much under the thumb of communism when the wall fell. Candlelight vigils were held in
November 1989 as dissidents began coming out against the communist regime. The communist
party gave way to the huge movement with a smooth, peaceful transfer of power without
significant violence. Havel, a playwright and leading dissident, served as president.
The not-so-velvet revolution occurred in Romania. The Romanian leader had to be forced out
and was executed by dissidents on Christmas Day because he would not leave power peacefully.
After the murder, Romania continued to be run by communist elite and is still a very corrupt
and poor place.
In comparison, both revolutions began with the actions of one nation: France in the 1848
revolutions, and Russia in the 1989 revolutions. Both nations sparked a sentiment across Europe
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that incited other nations to implement new ideas. Of course, France had an actual revolution while
Russia just had reforms, but the notion of an idea sparking a chain reaction still remains. Also , both
series of revolutions occurred because of a united people. The French gathered to oust a King
who wasnt providing for them, and the Romanians, Poles and Czechs united under a common goal
to eradicate communism in their countries. In both cases, the power of the people prevailed over
their respective oppressors.
In contrast, most of the revolutions of 1848 were put down, and a conservative government was
restored, while many of the 1989 revolutions were met with little conflict, as the Soviet tanks
never rolled in, and the power of the revolutionaries was maintained. This may be because the 1848
revolutions opposed a multitude of oppressors, while the 1989 revolutions opposed one
oppressor: communism. Perhaps because all the nations were fighting the same battle, they were
able to be victorious and remain so.
Im inclined to say the revolutions of 1989 had a larger effect on Europe and the world as a whole
than did the revolutions of 1848, mainly because their effects are lasting to this day. The Berlin
Wall is still non-existent, and communism is still eradicated in Czechoslovakia and Poland. But
places like France, Budapest and Dresden endured much more war and governmental overthrow
before reaching their present situation.
4. Trace the development of European states from the era of multi-national empires (e.g. the
Russian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires) through the creation of nation-states in
the 19th century and after WWI. What did the experience of Fascism, Nazism, Nazi
occupation and then post-war expulsions do to Woodrow Wilsons idea that self-determining
nations could and would defend the rights of ethnic minorities? What do the breakups of
Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union tell us about the possibilities for toleration
of minorities even in the 20th century?
5. It can be argued that Europe, at the start of this course (1492) was an insignificant backwater
and by the end of this course (around 2000) had again lost its leading role in world history.
When and how did Europe make itself the driving force in world history, and when and why
has it (arguably) lost this role now? In answering this question, be sure to use specific
events/developments to mark Europes upward and downward progress.