CLWH Benchmark II

Manifest Destiny

"God-given" right to move west

The philosophy that drove 19th-century U.S. territorial expansion

Origins of the Manifest Destiny

early colonial period when English colonists believed that God had given them a special mission to build a new society in the New World and adopted by American nationalist in the 19th century

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Freed slaves after Reconstruction 

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• Slavery was ended but there was still social discrimination 
• Northern armies forced social program of Reconstruction with violent backlash following after
• Once the North left the South decided not to follow it
• Violated the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment

Little Bighorn

Colonel Geroge Armstrong Custer’s army was destroyed by Lakota Sioux in 1878

Wounded Knee

US cavalry slaughtered 890 men, women, and children

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Emiliano Zapata

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• Revolutionary leader of the Mexican Revolution 
• Worked with Francisco Villa 
• Led masses of landless peasants

Importance of railroads

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• Construction of railroads/railroad lines drastically improved U.S. national economy
• Linked all U.S. regions
• Helped create integrated national economy
• cheap transportation
• development of other industries

Crimean War results

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• Was a Russian effort to gain more territory 
• Eventually failed, showing Russia’s weakness
  • Especially against western Europe
• Took a severe economic toll
• Prompted the tsar and his government to reevaluate and the social order and restructure/reform (Witte)

Sultan Selim III’s relationship with Janissaries

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• Selim attempted reforms, specifically trying to remodel his army to be like European forces
  • Threatened Janissaries
  • Janissaries revolted, killed the troops, and imprisoned the sultan
  • Also killed all male members of the dynasty other than Mahmud II when they tried to re-establish power

Reforms in Russia

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• Most significant was the emancipation of the serfs
  • Serfs were a peasant class that were similar to slaves 
  • They still did not have the same rights as other citizens
• Government created new groups to deal with issues of health, education, and welfare
  • These were formed of elected representatives
• Legal reforms promoted more uses of independent judges, appellate courts, and attorneys
• Industrialization was attempted but only semi-successful

Treaty of Nanjing

Chinese easily defeated by British naval forces

ended the Opium War in China

Opening of Japan

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• 1853: US send a group of ships to Japan to open up trade and diplomatic relations with the country
• Significant since Japan has been isolated prior
• The Japanese government agreed to a treaty that allowed American ships to enter some Japanese ports for supplies.
  • Other Western countries follows and helps Japan become a modern industrial nation 
  • However caused conflicts as Japan didn’t know whether to embrace Western ideas or stick to tradition

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Boers

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• a group of Dutch settlers in Africa (mostly farmers and ranchers)
  • Believed they had been chosen by God to settle and control Cape Town
• British did not like
• Miners stole metals, Boers angry
• Boer war started
• British put them in concentration camps
• they lived happily ever after (no they died)

Who were the Sepoys?

Indian Troops (mainly Hindus and Muslim) who worked for Britain

Sepoy Rebellion

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Also known as the Indian Rebellion

Catalyst: British created enfield rifles with cartilages made out of animal fat, angered Hindus and Muslim

Ended unsuccessful and caused direct rule of India by the British

Russian Revolution

Started 1917

Ended during the Great War

Russia changed from a monarchy to a socialist government

Industrialization occurred by unsuccessful

Francis Ferdinand

his assassination was a catalyst for WWI

Gavrilo Princip

assassinated Ferdinand and his wife

Triple Alliance

known as the Central Powers

Germany and Austro-Hungarians joined by the Italians

motives for Triple Alliance

Each group had different motivations for joining the alliance

• Germany: secure its position as a leading power in Europe, limiting the power of France and Russia
• Austria-Hungary: support in its conflicts with Russia and Serbia
• Italy: a way to gain support in its territorial ambitions in the Balkans

Plan XVII

heavy emphasis on rapid offensives (French)

Schlieffen Plan

fears of encirclement, conditional on mobilization of enemy forces (German)

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Western front in France

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• Major battleground during WWI
• 3 year bloody stalemate
• trenches from English Channel to Switzerland
• System of trenches, barbed wire, and fortifications

Who fought in Western front in France

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mainly Germany vs. France

Allied Powers (France, UK, and US) fought against the Central Powers (Germany)

League of Nations

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• Created by diplomats in Paris
• International organization founded in 1920 to promote peace and cooperation among nations after WWI
• 42 original member-states, 26 non-Europeans

How did US play into the League of Nations?

US was reluctant to join (due to isolationism), their absence was a significant blow to the organization and they struggled to achieve their goals which led to WWII

White Man’s Burden

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• Written by Rudyard Kipling 
• Justified imperialism
  • Western countries felt they had a duty to spread their culture and values around the world (to promote peace and stability)
• Led to conflict and resentment and reinforced racist attitudes