World History Final Exam

Berlin Conference (1884-1885)

The meeting of European imperialist powers to divide Africa among themselves

Opium War

War between Britain and the Qing Empire that was, in the British view, occasioned by the Qing government's refusal to permit the importation of opium into its territories; the victorious British imposed the one-sided Treaty of Nanking on China.

India (colony)

Considered the "brightest jewel in the crown" of the British Empire; significant source of cotton, tea, and silk - most valuable of all Britain's colonies

United Nations (UN)

an organization of the world's countries that promotes peace and security around the globe, headquarters are in New York City

Israel

A Jewish state on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, both in antiquity and again founded in 1948 after centuries of Jewish diaspora.

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology

Marshall Plan

A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of democratic Europe (1948-1952)

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Military alliance created in 1949 made up of 12 non-Communist countries including the United States that support each other if attacked.

Mao Zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

Space Race

A competition of space exploration between the United States and Soviet Union.

Sputnik

First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA and the space race.

John F. Kennedy

President during part of the Cold War and especially during the superpower rivalry and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Other events during his term of office were the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, and early events of the Vietnamese war.

Nikita Khrushchev

A Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also famous for denouncing Stalin and allowed criticism of Stalin within Russia.

Fidel Castro

Communist dictator of Cuba who came into power in 1959.

Ho Chi Minh

1950s and 60s; communist leader of North Vietnam; used guerrilla warfare to fight anti-communist South Vietnam and US

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)

Negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union that reduced the two nations' supply of long-range nuclear weapons, used during President Richard M. Nixon terms of office

Adolf HItler

The dictator of Germany during world war 2

Benito Mussolini

The Dictator of Italy during world war 2

Winston Churchill

The Prime minister of Great Britain during world war 2

Joseph Stalin

The Dictator of the soviet union during world war 2

Non-Aggression Pact

Agreement between Germany and the USSR not to fight each other. They also agreed to divide Poland

Great Depression

The economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

Pearl Harbor

Surprise attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941 that resulted in the United States' entry into WWII

Holocaust

The Nazi campaign to exterminate the Jews during world war 2

Midway

The 1942 battle that was the turning point of the war in the pacific. With the loss of four air craft carriers, the Japanese advanced across the pacific was stopped.

League of Nations

An international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations; failed to address invasions by Italy, Germany, and Japan

Appeasement

Accepting demands in order to avoid conflict

Harry Truman

The 33rd President of the US. Led the U.S. to victory in WWII making the decision to use atomic weapons for the first time.

Tojo Hideki

Military leader of Japan leading up to, and during World War II

WWII began with

Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939

Cause of WWII

Treaty of Versailles leaving Germany angry and weak, desire for access to more resources by Japan, Germany, and Italy

D-Day

Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944

Island Hopping

A military strategy used during World War II that involved selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others

Albert Einstein, Manhattan Project

His letter to the US government helped initiate the U.S. effort to build an atomic bomb

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", typed of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland in 1939, begin with bombing from an air force followed by grounds troops/tanks

Zimmerman Telegram

This was sent by Germans to encourage a Mexican attack against the United States. Intercepted by the US in 1917.

Schlieffen Plan

Plan of attacking and defeating France in the west and rushing east to fight Russia. - meant for Germany to avoid a two-front war

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Treaty that ended World War I - most important part was the forced blame on Germany and other allies

Fourteen Points (1918)

A list of foreign policy goals which Woodrow Wilson hoped to achieve in the aftermath of World War I

League of Nations (1919)

A world organization of national governments proposed by President Woodrow Wilson and established by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. It worked to facilitate peaceful international cooperation. Despite emotional appeals by Wilson, isolationists' objections to the League created the major obstacle to American signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Spark that began WWI

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Germany and the Treaty of Versailles

Germany was blamed for the damage of the war and had to pay off the debt (reparations)

Enclosure Movement

The 18th century privatization of common lands in England, which contributed to the increase in population and the rise of industrialization.

Reasons the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain

1) large deposits of natural resources (iron and coal)

2) lots of rivers to transport goods & provide power to mills

3) banks, money, & a government that encouraged trade and innovation

4) colonies that provided cheap raw materials and markets for industrial goods

Cotton Gin

A machine for cleaning the seeds from cotton fibers, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 - made cotton a cash-crop and lead to an increase in slavery

Impact of Industrial Revolution

1) Farming methods improved so fewer farmers were needed and more food was produced.

2) People moved to cities to find jobs.

3) Cities became overcrowded and polluted.

4) There was not enough housing and there were very low wages.

5) Europe gained tremendous economic and military power

Factory Conditions

14 hour work days, machines were dangerous, coal mines were extremely dangerous, many people confined to a small space, dirty and unhealthy

Reforms

changes to bring about improvement

Capitalism

An economic system based on private property and free enterprise.

Adam Smith

Scottish economist who wrote the Wealth of Nations a precursor to modern capitalism.

Karl Marx

1818-1883. 19th century philosopher, political economist, sociologist, humanist, political theorist, and revolutionary. Often recognized as the father of communism. Analysis of history led to his belief that communism would replace capitalism as it replaced feudalism. Believed in a classless society.

Communism

a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

Scientific Revolution

A major change in European thought, starting in the mid-1500s, in which the study of the natural world began to be characterized by careful observation and the questioning of accepted beliefs. - spread from questioning the Church to questioning government

Divine Right of Kings

the belief that the authority of kings comes directly from God

Louis XIV (Sun King)

Louis XIV of France ruled from 1643-1715, the longest reign in French history. He constructed Versailles, believed in divine right of kings, engaged in many wars, and established absolutism in France.

Peter the Great of Russia

part of the Romanov Dynasty; was an absolutist monarch who claimed the divine right to rule; he westernized & modernized Russia thus making it a great military power; created the first Russian Navy; divided Russia into provinces; and established St. Petersburg as the capital of Russia.

Elizabeth I

(1533-1603) Queen of England and Ireland between 1558 and 1603. She was an absolute monarch and is considered to be one of the most successful rulers of all time.

John Locke

17th century English philosopher who opposed the Divine Right of Kings and who asserted that people have a natural right to life, liberty, and property; inspired Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence

Voltaire

(1694-1778) French philosopher. He believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government. He also spoke out against the corruption of the French government, and the intolerance of the Catholic Church; believed in individual liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion

Baron Montesquieu

French political philosopher who advocated the separation of executive and legislative and judicial powers (1689-1755); inspired the idea of checks and balances in government/separation of powers

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

"The Social Contract", people are born good but environment and education (power) corrupts them; must make a social contract with government based on the common good; argued in favor of direct democracy

Mary Wollstonecraft

British feminist of the eighteenth century who argued for women's equality with men, even in voting, in her 1792 "Vindication of the Rights of Women."; mother of Mary Shelley - author of Frankenstein

Impact of the Enlightenment

~Citizens began questioning government and demanded changes in government

~led to many revolutions (American, French, Haitian, and Latin American revolutions)

Absolute Monarchy

A system of government in which the head of state is a hereditary position and the king or queen has almost complete power

Declaration of Independence

the document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain

First Estate

The first class of French society made up of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. - owned 10% of the land and paid very little in taxes

Third Estate

97% of the population (the rest of France) They consisted of the bourgeoisie, the san-culottes and the peasants; they paid high taxes and had no special privileges

Bastille

fortress in Paris used as a prison; French Revolution began when Parisians stormed it in 1789

Reign of Terror

This was the period in France where Robespierre ruled and used revolutionary terror to solidify the home front. He tried "rebels" and "traitors" and they were all judged severely and most were executed.

Maxmilien Robespierre

One of the most radical revolutionaries of the French Revolution. Leader of the French government that put King Louis XVI on trial. Created and ran the Reign of Terror.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Overthrew the French revolutionary government (The Directory) in 1799 and became emperor of France in 1804. Failed to defeat Great Britain and abdicated in 1814. Returned to power briefly in 1815 but was defeated and died in exile.

Continental System

Napoleon's efforts to block foreign trade with England by forbidding Importation of British goods Into Europe, blockade of Britain

Congress of Vienna

met in 1815 after the defeat of France to restore the European balance of power; (1814-1815 CE) Meeting of representatives of European monarchs called to reestablish the old order after the defeat of Napoleon.

Waterloo

Battle in Belgium that was Napoleon's final defeat

Mary I (Bloody Mary)

1553-1558 AD. Catholic queen of England married to Philip II of Spain. Daughter of Catherine of Aragon. Executed hundred of Protestants when they refused to convert.

Act of Uniformity 1559

The Act of Uniformity made Protestantism England's official faith, established a form of worship which is still followed in English Parish churches today and showed the country that Elizabeth was bent on following a middle road where religion was concerned.

Coup d'etat

a sudden overthrow of the government

Louisiana Purchase

territory in western United States sold by Napoleon to the United States

Powder Keg of Europe

The Balkans; they had a long history of nationalist uprisings and ethnic clashes. Nowhere was a dispute more likely to occur than on the Balkan Peninsula

division of labor

the assignment of different parts of a manufacturing process or task to different people in order to improve efficiency.

Rosie the Riveter

symbol of American women who went to work in factories during the war

Effects of the Great Depression

1) Closing of many banks

2) Many Americans were left unemployed.

3) Rise of totalitarian leaders in Europe

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who loaded their planes with explosives and crashed them into American ships.

Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)

Mobs ransacked more than seven thousand Jewish shops and synagogues, 91 died, 30,000 were sent to concentration camps.

Nuremberg Trials

Trials of the Nazi leaders after WWII, showed that people are responsible for their actions, even in wartime

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

Richard Nixon

1968 and 1972; Republican; Vietnam: advocated "Vietnamization" (replace US troops with Vietnamese), but also bombed Cambodia/Laos, created a "credibility gap," Paris Peace Accords ended direct US involvement; economy-took US off gold standard (currency valued by strength of economy); created the Environmental Protection Agency, was president during first moon landing; SALT I and new policy of detente between US and Soviet Union; Watergate scandal: became first and only president to resign

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of the Indian independence movement and advocate of nonviolent resistance. After being educated as a lawyer in England, he returned to India and became leader of the Indian National Congress in 1920.

Boycott

A refusal to buy or use goods and services.

Apartheid

Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas.

Battle of Stalingrad

Unsuccessful German attack on the city of Stalingrad during World War II from 1942 to 1943, that was the furthest extent of German advance into the Soviet Union.

Manchuria

Province in northeast China invaded by Japan in September 1931

WTO (World Trade Organization)

organization through which member nations negotiate trading agreements and resolve disputes about trade policies and practices

Big Three

allies during WWII; Soviet Union - Stalin, United Kingdom - Churchill, United States - Roosevelt

Nelson Mandela

ANC leader imprisoned by Afrikaner regime; released in 1990 and elected as first black president of South Africa in 1994.

Rwandan Genocide

The killing of more than 500,000 ethnic Tutsis by rival Hutu militias in Rwanda in 1994. The conflict between the dominant Tutsis and the majority Hutus had gone on for centuries, but the suddenness and savagery of the massacres caught the United Nations off-guard. U.N. peacekeepers did not enter the country until after much of the damage had been done.

OPEC

An international oil cartel originally formed in 1960. Represents the majority of all oil produced in the world. Attempts to limit production to raise prices. It's long name is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Vietnam War

A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States.; led to sizeable, passionate, and sometimes violent protests, especially as the war went on - seen as a failure in the US