Honors World History 2nd Semester Final Exam Review

Mao Zedong

Chinese Communist leader from 1949 to 1976. Appealed to the peasant class of China.

Mohandas Gandhi

The Indian leader who used nonviolent methods to seek independence from Great Britain.

Totalitarianism

A political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens.

League of Nations

an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations; largely ineffective as they were unwilling to confront aggressive nations.

Decolonization

The process by which former colonies gain their independence from the mother country.

Adolf Hitler

Leader of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich in Germany during World War II.

Ayatollah Khomeini

Islamic religious leader who led a fundamentalist revolution in Iran in 1979. Ruled until 1989.

Bashar al Assad

Current president of Syria accused of using chemical warfare against his people.

Chiang Kai Shek

the Nationalist leader of China who was defeated by the Communists in 1949

Fidel Castro

Leader of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam

Kim Jong Il

son of Kim Il Sung, became ruler of North Korea after his father's death

Nelson Mandela

Led struggle against apartheid, became first black president of South Africa. Was imprisoned for decades for his work toward independence.

Neville Chamberlain

Great British prime minister who advocated peace and a policy of appeasement. Signed the Munich Pact.

Gaddafi

Libyan leader who seized power in a military coup d'etat in 1969. Defeated in the Arab Spring.

Ronald Reagan

President of the United States; led to increased conversations with the Soviet Union toward the end of the Cold War.

Joseph Stalin

Communist dictator of the Soviet Union

Harry Truman

President of the United States at the end of the World War II. Made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation between US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

D-Day

Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944

Fascism

an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.

Holocaust

the Nazi program of exterminating Jews and other "undesirables" under Hitler

Apartheid

the former policy of racial segregation and oppression in the Republic of South Africa

Appeasement

Giving in to an aggressor to keep peace

Communism

an economic system in which the central government directs all major economic decisions

Capitalism

An economic system based on private property and free enterprise.

Containment Policy

the policy of preventing the spread of communism any where in the world it appeared to develop

Truman Doctrine

President Truman's promise to help nations struggling against communist movements

Domino Theory

The US theory that stated, if one country would fall to Communism then they all would.

GDP

Gross Domestic Product; the total market value of all final goods and services produced annually in an economy

Guerilla warfare

type of fighting in which soldiers use swift hit-and-run attacks against the enemy

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Infant Mortality Rate

The percentage of children who die before their first birthday within a particular area or country.

Iron Curtain

Metaphorical Division between Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War

United Nations

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Alliance of Western European countries and the United States to protect themselves against the Soviet Union.

Proxy War

A war instigated by a major power that does not itself participate

Reparation

Making amends for something one did wrong that caused harm to another person or led to loss

Great Purge

A campaign of terror directed at eliminating anyone who threatened Stalin's power

Socialism

a political theory advocating state ownership of industry

Super Power

Country with unmatched military strength. In this case, the US and the USSR

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty particularly known for its harsh reparations towards the Germans after World War I.

Trench Warfare

A form of warfare in which opposing armies fight each other from trenches dug in the battlefield.

Soviet-Afghan War

war between Afghanistan and USSR. Afghanistan wins with the help of the US. Big defeat for the USSR.

Chinese Civil War

War between communist Mao Zse Tong and nationalist Chaing-Kai Shek. The communists took over and forced the nationalists to retreat to Taiwan

Cultural Revolution (China)

Campaign in China ordered by Mao Zedong to purge the Communist Party of his opponents and instill revolutionary values in the younger generation; targeted academia and older generation

Great Leap Forward (1958)

• Mao Zedong launched a program

• urged people to make a superhuman effort to increase farm and industrial output and created communes

• rural communes set up "backyard" industries to produce steel

• program failed b/c "backyards" produced low-quality

• communes had slow food output, bad weather, and a famine

Mikhail Gorbachev; glasnost, perestroika

New Soviet leader who impletmented changes in their domestic politics with these reforms: 1) glasnost: an openness to end political repression and move toward greater political freedom for Soviet citizens. 2) perestroika: reconstruction of the Soviet economy by introducing some free-market practices. (p. 661)

Bay of Pigs Invasion

failed invasion of Cuba in 1961 by the United States when a force of 1,200 Cuban exiles, backed by the United States, landed at the Bay of Pigs.

Marshall Plan

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

spheres of influence

Areas in which countries have some political and economic control but do not govern directly (ex. Cold War)

Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

End of Cold War (reasons)

1. US economy became much better than Soviets - difficult for USSR to keep up

2. Soviets tried and failed to invade Afghan

3. Fall of Berlin Wall

4. Gorbachev's reforms

Indian/Pakistan partition

Creation of Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India after Great Britain granted India independence in 1947; led to mass migration, a refugee crisis, and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths.

Iranian Revolution of 1979

popular uprising in Iran in 1978-79 that resulted in the toppling of the monarchy on April 1, 1979, and led to the establishment of an Islamic republic.

Bosnian War

Civil war in southeastern Europe in the 1990s that saw various ethnic groups slaughtered. The most devastating conflict in Europe since the end of WWII.

Arab Spring 2011

Wave of pro-democracy revolts that led to three North African dictators being overthrown in 2011. Tunisia (he fled), Egypt (he was arrested), Libya (he was killed).

Syrian Conflict

Broke out in march 2011 between government and civilians. It was because the Syrian people wanted democracy. Began in 2011.

North Korea today

Closed society, communist dictatorship