history final

Describe what Tsars are

they are monarchs (kings or queens) that ruled by divine right and believed in absolute rule

Who is Tsar Alexander ll

He became Tsar at 26 after his father who died suddenly and who’s father was killed by revolutionaries, so they ruled very strictly (censorship, secret police, surveillance, anti-semetic). He led the country during the Russo-Japanese War and WW1, which was a major issue because he was performing too many tasks that he did not have the skills for while he didn’t listen to advisors and was disinterested, so Russia was mismanaged and was weak in every way.

Who is Rasputin

Rasputin was a holy man from Siberia who was rumored to belong to a religious sect, so many woman engaged in sexual acts with him to become holy. Many people came seeking advice or healing after he became a friend of the royal family because the queen believed he healed her sick son with magic. It was believed that he had an affair with the Russian queen, so people started to hate him. He was hated for his friendliness with the tsar and he was banished, but later came back and was censored from the press, removing freedom of the press. Murder was attempted against him by lacing a drink but it didn’t work, and it took many bullets, and falling into a cold lake for him to die.

Describe Russian Society before 1917

in 1917, armed factory worked stormed the winter palace and took over government officers and arrested government leaders to form the provisional government. Soon after Vladmir Lenin took power. Before this, society was under the absolute monarchy of Tsar Nicholas ll with involvement from the church. There was no real democracy, and little freedoms for Russian citizens. There was a very rigid social structure with a hierarchy that caused economic inequality and political opposition. This conditions set the stage for the opportunity to overthrow the government.

How was world war 1 impacted by Russia

Russia was very poorly managed during the period of world war 1 due to tsar nicholas’s rule, which caused a weak military that lacked basic supplies. When Russia entered the war, Germany was forced to fight a two-front war, which prevented them from focusing entirely on the Western front and slowing German advances. Russia suffered many defeats and casualties throughout the war and eventually Russia’s economy couldn’t handle the total war, which was leading to food shortages and inflation. This weakened support for the Tsar, leading to the Russian revolution. Russia withdrew from the war after the Bolsheviks seized power, causing them to lose european territory.

Describe communism and Stalin’s rise

Communism involves total state control and ideally a classless society. Lenin was the leader of the communist party, who gained control with the Bolsheviks. Lenin noticed Stalin, who got closer to Lenin when given the role of general secretary. After Lenin’s death Stalin positioned himself of leader of the party. He ruled extremely strict, initiated the five year plan (economic reforms to turn Russia into industrial powerhouse), extracted resources from peasants, and used the gulag for political/social cleansing, suppression, and labor.

describe totalitarianism

totalitarianism is a form of government where the state has total control over all aspects of public and private life. a single leader or party holds absolute power, often using propaganda, censorship, and fear to maintain control and suppress oppression.

what are collective farms

one aspect of Stalin’s totalitarianism is collectivization. In order to fund the five year plan, he needed more resources, and got them from peasants. Instead of farmers working on individual, privately owned plots of land, Stalin rain collective state-run farms that he had total control over. This made it easier for the government to take surplus grain and sell it to other countries, funding industrialization. Anyone who resisted was sent to the gulag and it resulted in a famine.

what was the new economic plan by lenin

it was an attempt to rebuild industry and agriculture after uprisings and rebellions due to the agriculture industry damage. It helped revive the russian economy and allowed private ownership and peasants could sell surplus crops for profit - it was a temporary retreat from full communism and improved living conditions, however it increased tension within the communist party.

what is the great purge

Stalin “purged” the communist party with desire for total rule. Whoever he didn’t trust or who he thought was a threat he sent to the Gulag or outright murdered. Stalin put some high-ranking party members on “show trials” to give a sense of legitimacy in this purposeful execution with no valid reasoning. If they went “off script” their families would pay the consequences. The gulag was used for political/social cleansing to remove specific groups like the Kulaks and to punish criminals. A lot of times criminals should not have actually been labeled criminals, but the rules were so strict. It was also used for slave labor to work on projects like canals and suppress freedoms by spreading fear.

what is war communism

a policy where the government could take control of private businesses to supply the red army and control the economy. some also believed it was a step towards pure communism and it cause damage to the industries. This is kind of the opposite of the new economic policy, which tried to get rid of these effects.

what is a command economy

a command economy is an economic system where the government makes all the major decisions about what to produce, how to do so, and who gets the goods and services. there is no or little private ownership, and the state controls resources, prices, and wages.

what is peace, land, and bread

it was a slogan used by vladimir lenin and the bolsheviks during the russian revolution the showered their promises to the russian people: people from ww1, land to give land back to the peasants, and bread to solve food shortages

who are the bolsheviks

they were a communist group led by vladimir lenin that siezed power during the russian revolution. they attacked the provisional government in a couple days and immediately started transforming Russia into the world’s first communist nation by renaming Russia to the USSR and creating the Cheka (secret police).

Who is Ghandi

He was a man from India who stood up for fair treatment of Indians like the British and did so through peace.

What did Ghandi and other Indians do for freedom

They burned papers from the government to defy against racism (British people didn’t need them-basically passports) and use non-civil disobedience.

what is non-violent civil disobedience

peacefully breaking unjust laws and accepting the consequences through events like boycotts, strikes, and demonstrations.

What does it mean to boycott something

withdraw from relations with someone, groups, or organizations in punishment or protest in hopes of causing damage to get a specific wanted result

What was the Amritsar Massacre

People gathered in Amritsar (large, open, sunny, sheltered from city - easy to speak and gather), showing unity between religions and against colonialism. Government opened fire on the crowd because they did not want them protesting and speaking up, and also not in that place because it was forbidden. They also wanted to teach them a lesson not to do it again - the general had little mercy, he just wanted to get rid of them.

What is the Salt March

Gandhi and others marched through India to hurt the British economy by not buying their salt and making their own (breaking a law). It hopefully was gonna provoke the British to change and it inspired many as they watched.

What is the enabling act

a law passed by Hitler after the Reich stag Fire that gave him supreme power over the laws of Germany. He then immediately began preparing the country for war and making extreme laws to sustain power.

who are the SS

the schutzstaffel , a paramilitary organization within the Nazi Part in Germany. They were originally bodyguards for Hitler but grew in size and power, eventually controlling police forces that implemented racial policies and managed concentration camps.

what is appeasement

the act of giving an aggressor something that they have demanded in order to prevent future conflict.

explain antisemitism

it is the physical and rhetorical othering of Jewish communities. This caused Jewish communities to be homogeneous and close-knit, partly because they had laws about where they could settle. They were looked down on as less than, but also feared because people could not relate to or understand them. They have been blamed for major catastrophes throughout history.

what was kristallnacht

a violent pogrom against Jews where they destroyed Jew-owned businesses and property. it was a turning point in the persecution of Jews and is considered a prelude to the holocaust.

what was the Munich Conference

a meeting between Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy, where the leaders agreed to allow Germany to Annex the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia - a key event leading up to the start of world war 2

what were the Nuremberg laws

antisemitic and racist laws that stated only individuals of German blood could be citizens of Germany and Jews could not marry other people who were not Jewish. this stripped Jews of their rights and led them to be isolated, representing a significant step in the persecution of Jews. the 2 main laws were named the Reich Citizenship Law and the law for the protection of German blood and German honor.

Japanese expansion

the great depression caused Japan to struggle to get enough resources with the slow of trade. so they resorted to invading China to get them, promoting independence as their cause. this caused the league of nations to want japan to leave, so japan left and began to attempt to make an empire on their own and become the most powerful force in Asia.

Who is Mao Zedong

he led the violent revolution and took part in the May 4th revolution. He grew up as a peasant and was inspired by these struggles to turn to communism (he founded the chinese communist part). His ideas were most popular among the peasants and the countryside because of his beliefs that revolution could be initiated and won by the peasants/agricultural society opposed to industrial society. This opposed Lenin’s beliefs, who though he did not have enough influence in order to do so.

What happened on the May 4th Revolution

it was inspired by when the treaty of versailles gave a portion of their German territory over to Japan instead of China. College students in Beijing started the protests and were later joined by workers, shopkeepers, and professionals. This temporarily united them with hope for a strong country and the leaders agreed with them but had trouble getting power because some youth started to favor Lenin’s communism.

explain the dynamic of nationalism vs communism

Peasants were turning away from the nationalists and towards the communists because after Jiang Jieshi became nationalist leader and saw communism as a threat to his power, and he did not improve life for the peasants, so they turned to Mao to improve their lives. He then turned against the communists by having his nationalist troops kill communist and union leaders (almost wiping out the party). A civil war broke out because communist were angry and more peasants began to support Mao. Peasants got trained in guerilla warfare, and a bloody battle of national vs communism broke out.

what is the long march

the nationalists had just tried to murder the entire communist population, so 100,000 of them fled to northern china on a 6,000 miles journey while experiencing rough terrain (mountains, rivers, swamps) and nationalist attack. Thousands died and 6-8,000 survived, including Mao, who worked to gain new followers. It became a legend that showed the strength and resilience of the communists after they survived almost being wiped out.

what were the effects of the civil war

Jiang Jieshi and his nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan when they formed their own government there. Mao won the war, meaning that his communist party would maintain control of mainland China and China would be a communist country. China and Taiwan continue to have a rough relationship because of this.

what is inflation and hyper inflation and why did it happen in Germany

inflation is the value of money decreasing while prices of goods rise of time. this happens naturally over time. hyperinflation in inflation happening very quickly (over 50% a month). This happened to Germany because of war debt from WW1, reparations that Germany owed to the Allies from WW1, and the government printing more money to try and solve these issues.

what was the treaty of Versailles and what impact did it have

it was signed by Germany (forced to) and many other Allied countries (main ones were France, Britain, US, and Italy) to officially end World War 1, while blaming Germany and forcing Germany to pay reparations for the war. This caused the creation of the League of Nations, instability in Germany, and border changes (Germany had territory taken away. Because Germany had to pay reparations, they struggled financially and lost territory.

describe germany’s new government after WW1

it was a democratic government of Germany from 1919 to 1933 with a parliament system. They faced economic issues and political instability, but witnessed a vibrant cultural scene. The Nazi party exploited these issues and sized power.

describe the great depression

The main causes were the stock market crash (buying stocks with borrowed money, overproduction of goods, lack of government oversight), people losing faith in the banks (the banks were running out of money from betting on the stock market with depositors money and the banks collapsed after people decided to withdraw their savings - banks runs), and trade tariffs (the smoot-hawley tariff act raised tariffs to protect american companies from foreign competition, but it triggered a trade war that led to a reduction in global trade that worsened the global economy). The Jews were blamed for this period of economic distress.

what is nazism

nazism was a far-right, totalitarian ideology and political government led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. It combined aspects of fascism with extreme racism and antisemitism that gained support during Germany’s economic difficulties and political instability while using propaganda. It led to the holocaust and the deaths of millions and led to shift in international law.

what was the truman doctrine

a promise that the united states would do whatever was necessary both economically and militarily to contain the spread of communism around the world. from this, the us signaled that its role on the world stage would not conclude after WW2, ending a century and a half isolationist foreign policy in america. it resulted in another conflict in Asia (Korea) as the us gov. attempted to prevent the unification of Korea under a communist gov.

what was the marshall plan

a plan made by George Marshall (US secretary of the state) in order to prevent Europe from turning communist that helped to rehabilitate European nations (13 billion in aid) and boosted the American economy

what was the berlin blockade and airlift

Stalin feared that the Marshall plan would threaten his grip on the communist government in Eastern Europe so he set up a blockade around Berlin to prevent influence from Western Allies and consolidate control. To get around this, Americans provided aid to Berlin citizens through air lifts full of food. This pushed him into a corner so he was not able to take over West Berlin, and American popularity soared across the globe.

what is nato

the northern atlantic treaty organization is a political and military alliance between north america and europe that was born out of ww2 to push back against any future agression from the soviets. article 5 requires nato members to treat at attack towards one country as an attack towards all - this has only happened after 9/11.

what is the warsaw pact

the alliance system between the soviet union and several eastern european countries formed to counter nato while maintaining soviet dominance in eastern europe, serving as collective defense, with the ussr as the dominant force

what does the iron curtain mean

a political and ideological barrier that seperated western europe from eastern europe - particiularly the soviet union and the satellite states

what is containment

it is the broader policy that drove the Truman doctrine, saying that the expansion of community needs to be prevented, particularly soviet influence, beyond its existing borders

who is the cold war between and why did it happen

a 45 year standoff between the US and USSR, characterized by indirect means of conflict (spies/espionage, propaganda, arms races, proxy wars). it was slower and less violent than other wars. after Germany was successfully defeated in WW2 they had nothing in common, so tension increased and there was no reason to be allied. they had different views for the future of europe - USSR was for communism and removing democracy, but America wanted the democracy and was for free rights. This was extremely upsetting because the entire world war they just fought was in order to rid of the totalitarian leaders/dictators, so now all the suffering they experienced would be for nothing.  In addition, Europe was divided between the 2 armies, and control was unstable.

what was the Berlin Wall

After the Berlin Airlift, Germany was divided into Soviet-controlled East Germany (German Democratic Republic) and West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany). East Germans sought to escape the oppressive communist rule and headed for the border to be free, and on 8/12/1961 2,400 people escaped. this made khrushchev close their borders to prevent people from leaving. the 12 by 4 armed border cut people from their families and jobs.

what happened during the cuban revolution

there was a revolution against spanish imperial control and the us supported the revolutionaries in this fight. america controlled Guantanamo bay and parts of cuba (first naval base) and could intervene with affairs. when Baristo got in power he suspended the consitution and his dictatorship caused a communist response. the us tried to invade cuba and overthrow this new communist government (bay of the pigs invasion).

what is the domino theory

the idea that if one nation adopted communism, so would the surrounding countries, and it could spread across the world.

what is the 38th parallel

a line of latitude that divides north korea and south korea. it was intended to be temporary but the division was cemented by the opposing allied regimes and the crossing of the parallel during the war

what is apartheid

a strict policy of segregation that barred South Africa’s black majority from skilled, high-paying jobs, quality education, and much more.

who is nelson mandela

an African National Congress member and communist party activist that helped establish the resistance's armed wing

What happened in Tiananmen Square and why? 

The face-off was weeks after demonstrations in Beijing, and in spring 1989, Chinese students and workers began calling for democratic values. This protest was centered in Tienanmen square in the middle of Beijing. Protesters began to occupy the square, growing up to 1 million people. The Chinese government sent their army in response, deploying thousands of troops who opened fire, killing and injuring many. The Chinese government said the protest was organized by counter-revolutionaries and discussion of this event is prohibited in China.

who are the red guards

the followers of Mao, the leader of the Chinese revolution, and primarily composed of youth. They believed they were very strong and powerful and Mao thought they could be used to make new beginnings (communist China). They were given a sense of power and control from this revolution and were easily drawn in through the aspects connected to education. They harmed the counterrevolutionaries who protested the shutdown of schools and individuals continuing to educate others by publicly humiliating them and harming them.

what happened during the korean war