AP World History: Unit 6

Total War

A conflict where governments use every available resource (economic, industrial, and human) to fight, often blurring the lines between soldiers and civilians

Great Depression

The global economic collapse sparked by the 1929 US stock market crash, leading to high unemployment and the rise of authoritarian regimes.

Fascism

A nationalist, highly centralized government led by a dictator (like Mussolini or Hitler) that glorifies the military and suppresses any opposition.

Cold War

The decades-long state of political tension and "proxy wars" between the US (Capitalism/Democracy) and the USSR (Communism).

Non-Aligned Movement

A group of developing nations (like India and Egypt) that tried to remain neutral during the Cold War to avoid being pawns of the superpowers.

Indian National Congress

The primary political party that led the struggle for Indian independence from British rule, famously associated with Mohandas Gandhi.

Partition of India

The 1947 split of British India into two independent nations

Apartheid

The system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa that lasted until the early 1990s.

Pan-Africanism

A movement aimed at strengthening the bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent, often linked to decolonization efforts

Green Revolution

A mid-20th-century movement that used new technologies (GMOs, chemical fertilizers, and irrigation) to vastly increase global food production.

Greenhouse Gases

Emissions (like CO2) from burning fossil fuels that trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to modern Climate Change.

Globalized Economy

The trend of national economies becoming interconnected through free trade, multinational corporations (like Apple or Nestle), and global organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Knowledge Economy

An economy based on creating, distributing, and using knowledge and information (tech, consulting, education) rather than traditional manufacturing

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A 1948 UN document stating that all human beings have basic rights, regardless of race, sex, or nationality.

Feminism

The global movement for women's rights, which in Period 6 focused on suffrage, reproductive rights, and economic equality