Key Historical Events and Concepts Leading to Modern Political Landscapes

These flashcards cover key historical events and concepts that have shaped political landscapes, touching on themes of nationalism, oppression, and international relations.

Fourteen Points

A peace plan proposed by Woodrow Wilson in 1918 that introduced ideas like self-determination, free trade, and collective security.

Treaty of Versailles

A treaty signed in 1919 that ended WWI, imposing war guilt and reparations on Germany.

Balfour Declaration

A statement from the UK in 1917 supporting a Jewish homeland in Palestine, which ignored Arab concerns.

March on Rome

A 1922 Fascist demonstration led by Benito Mussolini that illustrated the vulnerability of democratic governments.

Reichstag Fire

The burning of Germany's parliament building in 1933, which allowed Hitler to suspend civil liberties.

Sudetenland

A region of Czechoslovakia annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, exemplifying the policy of appeasement.

Polish Corridor

An area created in 1919 that provided Poland access to the sea, used by Hitler to justify his invasion of Poland.

Manchukuo

A puppet government established by Japan in Manchuria in 1932, demonstrating the League of Nations' failure.

Nanjing Massacre

A series of mass killings by Japanese troops in Nanjing from 1937-1938, highlighting total war's brutality.

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Japan's 1930s-1940s plan to dominate Asia, framed as imperialism but leading to exploitation.

Francisco Franco

The nationalist leader who ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975 after winning the Spanish Civil War.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A 1948 UN document establishing a global standard for human rights in response to WWII atrocities.

Geneva Accords

An agreement from 1954 that temporarily divided Vietnam, leading directly to the Vietnam War.

Mohammad Mosaddegh

The Iranian leader who nationalized the oil industry in the 1950s and was overthrown with U.S. and British backing.

Satyagraha

Nonviolent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi in early 1900s India, demonstrating the power of peaceful protest.

Theodor Herzl

A promoter of a Jewish homeland in the late 1800s, who laid the groundwork for Zionism.

Apartheid

A legal system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948 to 1994, symbolizing global injustice.

Cultural Revolution

A campaign initiated by Mao Zedong in China from 1966 to 1976, aimed at reinforcing communist ideology.