Semester 2 WH Final- SHEEHAN

Name the dynasties of China. First? Last?

Xia (probably legendary), Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing

What was Confucianism? Legalism?

Confucianism is a philosophy and societal system based on the writings of Confucius. Confucianism emphasizes social order, virtue, respect for elders, education, and the idea that humans are complex social creatures that can be taught to be good.

Legalism was a governmental system based in harsh rule, punishment, and order. Much of Chinese dynastic history can be defined by Confucianism and Legalism.

The era from 1650-1850 in East Asia was the isolation era. What was that era like?

The countries of East Asia were isolated from trade—only trading through a single port and only with certain countries. This was combined with deeply conservative politics so very little change or innovation occurred.

What were the effects of the isolation policies? Why did many want to preserve isolation and conservativism?

The trade and manufacturing economies declined significantly and technology basically stopped growing but the trade off was a strong farming economy and peace. They argued it brought peace and stability, which was at least partially true.

How did the Opium Wars start in China? What was the result of the Opium War? Why was that such a shock in East Asia?

Britain was smuggling drugs into China. China tried to stop it. Britain got angry and declared war. Britain won an easy victory. This shocked East Asia because China had always been considered the strongest country in the world.

What was the name of China’s first reform effort? Why did it fail?

The Self-Strengthening Movement was overly conservative—trying to avoid any changes to China’s political or educational systems and failed because of rampant corruption in the political system.

How was the Hundred Days Reform different from China’s earliest reform efforts? Why did it still fail?

The Hundred Days Reform was much more ambitious but therefore it angered conservative nobles, who overthrew the ruling cabal around the emperor and then stopped the reform.

What was the 1899 Boxer Rebellion? Why was it fought? How did it end?

The Boxer Rebellion was a nationalist uprising against imperialism that called for all powers to be restored to the central Qing government and for foreigners to be expelled. It was put down by the Eight Nation Alliance, an alliance of every major industrial power in the world—who then brutally sacked China.

What happened to the Qing Dynasty? How did things change in China after the Qing Dynasty?

It was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. For a long time, China went through a turbulent era of division, war, and civil war. They were eventually unified by the Communists in 1949 and started successfully industrializing in the 1970s.

In what ways was Japan going through similar things to China before 1853?

They too were isolated and dominated by deeply conservative politics, which left them similarly weak compared to the advancing countries of the West.

What was the relationship between the Emperor and the Shogun in Japan? What was Japan like during the Tokugawa Shogunate?

The Emperor did not have any actual power, the Shogun had all of the real power. The emperor was just a figurehead. Japan was isolated, peaceful, and experiencing significant economic and technological decline.

Who were the Fudai? Who were the Tozama? Who were the Samurai?

The Fudai were daimyo whose ancestors had fought alongside the Shogun’s ancestors during the civil war. They were still given all the most important government positions as a reward. The Tozama were daimyo whose ancestors had fought against the shogun’s ancestors. Now they were kept out of government and looked down on, despite being some of the richest men in Japan. The Samurai had once been knights but now they were really just bureaucrats (there were no wars to fight).

What was the Perry Crisis? What did America want?

When Commodore Perry showed up in Japan in 1853 with 4 warships and threatened Japan. To start trade, open a coaling station for American ships, and stop killing shipwrecked sailors for being Christian. The Convention of Kanagawa and Harris Treaty ended the Perry Crisis.

What was the result? What did Japan give to the Americans? Why were the Samurai so angry about these treaties?

Japan gave America everything they wanted and Americans were even allowed to set up ports in Japan. They viewed it as a literal betrayal of Japan and that it showed the Shogun was a coward.

Why were the Tozama angry at the Shogun? How did this anger lead to the fall of the Shogun?

The Tozama never really liked the Shogun but now they also felt the Shogun was holding Japan back by refusing America’s help to modernize.

What was the Meiji Restoration?

When the Shogun was removed from office, he was replaced by the Emperor, who reclaimed his ancient authority. The Emperor’s name was Meiji and so it is called the Meiji Restoration.

How did Japan change during the Meiji Era?

Japan rapidly modernized under Meiji’s rule, quickly building an industrial economy and modern army as well as totally remaking Japanese culture and society.

Who fought for the Central Powers in WW1? Who fought for the Entente Powers/Allied Powers in WW1?

Central - Germany, Austro-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria.

Entente/Allied – France, Russia, Britain, USA, Serbia, Italy, Romania, Japan, China, etc.

What were some of the sources of tension leading up to the war? What was going on in the Balkans that drove up tensions prior to the war?

MAIN – Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism. In the Balkans, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, and the Ottoman Empire all wanted to control the Balkans and were fighting wars about it. A number of wars, acts of terrorism, and political assassinations all increased tensions.

What event started WW1? How did this event lead to war?

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne. Austro-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, who Austria blamed for the war. The ultimatum demanded ridiculous things and Serbia rejected. Russia was Serbia’s ally and so it joined the war. France was Russia’s ally, and Britain was Frances so all entered the war on Serbia’s side. Austro-Hungary was joined by its ally, Germany.

What were the countries’ initial plans for fighting the war? Why did they fail?

Germany – Schlieffen Plan (quick attack on France through Belgium, then turn and face the Russians). France – Plan 17 (attack Germany full force no matter the circumstances). All plans counted on the other countries’ plans failing.

What inventions made it difficult to attack during this war? Why did old generals and new weapons make this war so horrible?

Machine guns, barbed wire, planes, flamethrowers, large artillery. Old generals used tactics that no longer worked against the new weapons, throwing men to their death in hopeless attacks.

How did Trenches change the nature of war? What were conditions like in the trenches?

Trenches made it very hard to attack. Because no one could break the enemy position, the armies were trapped fighting and dying over the same pieces of land over and over again. Conditions were absolutely horrific. Soldiers were trapped for days, hiding from artillery they could do nothing about, unable to run. They had to deal with rats, lived in their own sewage, were subject to gas attacks, injuries, and trench foot. Soldiers died by the millions.

Describe each of the following inventions of the war: flamethrower, poison gas, tank, fighter plane

Tanks for attacking defended positions. Flamethrowers for clearing out trenches. Poison gas to kill soldiers in trenches and clear out positions for attacks. Warplanes to scout, bomb, and fight other planes

Why did the Central Powers lose the war?

outnumbered and while they might have been able to win a short war, when the war plans failed, the central powers were suddenly left in an almost impossible situation. Germany was also the only central power that was really doing well in the war.

a) Battle of the Marne: 1914.

German army is within 40km of Paris, with victory in sight, but is stopped when its two armies split apart, revealing a gap. The British and French attack this gap.

b) Battle of Verdun: 1916.

Germany tries to “bleed France to death” in a massive battle that lasted 300 days. Germany ends up losing about the same amount of soldiers as France, much different than planned.

c) Battle of the Somme: 1916.

Britain launches a massive offensive across the Somme River in support of the battle of Verdun. The result is 600,000 entente casualties and no significant ground gained.

d) Brusilov Offensive: 1916.

Russia launches a massive offensive against Austro-Hungary using brand new “infiltration tactics” to defeat trenches. Crushes the Austrian army but is stopped by mountains and Germans.

e) Spring Offensive: 1918.

After Russia collapses, Germany brings a million freed-up soldiers to the western front and launches a last-ditch effort to win the war before America’s millions join the war. Achieves a number of successes but ultimately is not enough.

f) Hundred Days Offensive: 1918.

American soldiers join the battle and the combined Entente powers launch a huge offensive. Each side loses over a million soldiers but the Germany army is pushed back and eventually surrenders.

Why was America so important to defeating the Central Powers?

American soldiers came into the war right when the Central Powers suddenly had the upper hand. The Entente may have lost without American help.

What conditions were forced upon Germany at the end of the war?

Forced to accept blame for the war, forced to pay an enormous amount of money, Forced to surrender its entire empire and much of its European territory, Forced to limit its army and navy and to have no air force whatsoever.

Why is the Treaty of Versailles considered a failure?

It did not successfully lead to an era of peace and stability as intended nor did it prevent another war like it from happening again.

Why is WW1 mostly a “European” war?

All its causes and most of the major battles were in Europe. Only minor battles were fought elsewhere.

How many colonial soldiers served in the war? Why did they fight? How did the war affect European relationships with their colonies? Why?

4 million. Fought to earn reforms and changes in their homes, to defend against invasion, and for pay. The European empires did not honor their promises of reform and change and so the colonies really started to more seriously try to achieve independence.

How was the Ottoman Empire trying to change before and during the war? Why did the Arabs revolt against the Ottomans?

undergoing many reforms and revolutionary movements. The chief goal was to modernize and industrialize the empire. One of the ways of doing this was to create an ottoman national identity. Arabs felt insulted by the Ottomans attempts to assimilate them and decided that they would rather be part of an Arab nation rather than an Ottoman nation.

What was the fate of the Arab States after the war? What is a Mandate? Why were they failures?

became colonies of Britain and France, called “Mandates” - just a colony by another name. The goal of these mandates was to ensure stability and peace in the region but instead caused many conflicts to start—some of which are unsolved even to this day.

In what ways did the Entente fail to bring about lasting peace?

Tried to build a peaceful new world, but their devotion to empire and paternalism, combined with poor leadership, led to an era of war, collapsing democracies, economic ruin, and ethnic conflict.

What is Socialism? What are is its goals?

Any political movement that tries to answer the Social Question: how do you create true equality and true freedom?

What are conservativism and liberalism?

Conservatives do not want change or want to go back to how things were before. They defend traditional power structures. Liberals believe in the values of the enlightenment such as freedom of speech, democracy, legal equality, constitutions, property, capitalism.

What is Communism? Why is it a type of Socialism?

socialists think society should be broken up into small groups called communes—usually around 300 people or so—and that these communes will then support each other and everyone else.

What is Authoritarianism?

Authoritarianism is a style of government when power is controlled by an institution like the military, religion, business, etc.

What is Totalitarianism?

Totalitarianism is when the government controls all aspects of life: economics, culture, media, etc.

How are Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism similar? How are they different?

Totalitarianism always ends up in dictatorship. Totalitarianism also is much more strict and controlling. Authoritarian governments may allow their citizens some rights/freedoms, while totalitarian governments control everything.

What is Fascism? What are the characteristics of fascism?

Fascism is a far-right, violent, reactionary movement that tends to focus on authoritarian government and ultranationalism. Violent, reactionary, far right, ultranationalist, totalitarian

Who was Vladimir Lenin? Who was Joseph Stalin?

revolutionary socialist who led the Bolshevik party during the October Revolution. Takes over Russia, wins the Civil War, and creates the Soviet Union. Dies of health failures in 1924. revolutionary socialist who takes over the Bolshevik party after Lenin’s death. Turns the soviet union into a totalitarian dictatorship. Murders all of his political rivals. Leads Russia through a brutal process of industrialization.

Why were people angry with the Tsar before the Russian Revolution?

His government was generally ineffective, oppressive and unfair. It needed reform but the Tsar was utterly unwilling to allow any of the changes that Russia needed.

How did WW1 contribute to anger with the government? How did the Tsar lose power? What happened to the Tsar and family after they lost power?

Russia did really bad in the war and people blamed it on the Tsar. A revolution broke out in Petrograd and nobody supported the Tsar, so he was forced to abdicate. Eventually, the Tsar and his family were killed by Bolsheviks.

Who were the Bolsheviks? Why were the Bolsheviks able to overthrow the Provisional Government?

Revolutionary Marxist socialists who wanted to nationalize all land and industry in Russia. Russians were unhappy that the Provisional Government did not get them out of WWI and supported the Bolsheviks’ coup

How did Stalin take control of the Soviet Union? Explain how Stalin changed the Soviet Union, including the Great Purge, collectivization, and the Five Year Plan.

After Lenin’s death, Stalin made a series of alliances to defeat his political rivals before turning on his allies with new allies before he finally stood alone. Then he killed them all in the Great Purge. The Five Year Plan and Collectivization were Stalin’s efforts to rapidly industrialize and socialize the Soviet Union. The Five Year Plan set insane industrial quotas and tasked ministers with accomplishing them. Collectivization took all land from the people and then forced people onto big state farms where they became workers of the state. 1-2 million were killed or worked to death. Another 5-9 million died in the ensuing famine

Who was the Emperor in Japan during this period? Who really controlled the government? Why?

Emperor Hirohito. The military – they began working independently from Japanese parliament and the emperor

In what ways was Japan authoritarian?

Controlled by an institution (the military), expected obedience from their citizens, had harsh punishments for law breaking

What was Japan feeling after the end of WWI? Why? What were Japan’s goals as a country during the Interwar Period?

Discriminated against since they were left out of many of the agreements after the war and treated as a second-class country. Become a great power like the USA or Britain and build an empire in Asia

Where did Japan invade in the early 1930s? Why there?

Manchuria region in China. It was next door and China was weak due to imperialism

Who was the leader of the Italian Fascists?

Benito Mussolini

What was the origin of Italian Fascists? Why did Fascism gain strength in Italy?

They were originally streetfighters like the Squadristi who had returned from the war and joined bands of thugs to kill socialists and communists. Italy was economically devastated after the war and there was a real threat of socialist revolution. People joined the fascists out of fear

What event brought the Fascists to power? How did it gain them power?

The Fascists launched the March on Rome in 1922, when thousands of them marched towards the capital. The King decided, rather than fight them, to invite them into the government

How did the Fascists change Italy? What was their goal for Italy?

Once in charge, Mussolini used propaganda and violence to turn Italy into a totalitarian dictatorship. To return Italy to its former Roman greatness Nazi Germany

What was the origin of the Nazi party? Who was the leader of the Nazi party?

The Nazis came out of streetfighters like the Freikorps, who were organized to fight socialists and communists after WW1. Adolf Hitler.

What was the name of the government that came before the Nazis? What problems did that government have?

The Weimar Republic. Economic devastation from the war, the Versailles treaty payments, and the Great Depression. Hyperinflation made their money basically worthless. Political instability made the central government weak. And there was massive street fights between Nazis, Socialists, and Communists which killed many

What was the Beer Hall Putsch? What was the result?

the Nazi attempt in 1923 to copy the March on Rome. They tried to march on Berlin but it was a massive failure and they all ended up in jail.

How did Hitler become Chancellor? What event allowed Hitler to become dictator? How was it used to do so?

Weimar government was eventually unable to form a coalition without either the Nazis or the Communists. The conservative government picked the Nazis and Hitler was invited to become Chancellor of Germany. One month after Hitler became Chancellor, a fire broke out in the Reichstag. Hitler claimed this was evidence of a communist plot to launch a revolution and declared emergency powers, getting rid of the constitution, rights, and the Reichstag for the rest of his reign

How did the Nazis change the German government?

used propaganda and violence to turn it into a totalitarian dictatorship and then used that system to push their agenda of racial cleansing and antisemitism

What were the Nazis’ ideas about race? How did this affect their government and control of Germany?

Nazis believed that Germans (“Aryans”) were the “master race” who were biologically superior to other races and groups of people. They used this as justification to oppress people (especially Jews, Slavs, Communists/political enemies, people with disabilities, LGBT people, etc.) and pass more and more racist and oppressive laws. This ultimately culminates in the genocide known as the Holocaust

What two events (and years) can be considered the beginning of WW2? What year did WW2 end?

Marco polo bridge incident in 1937 and invasion of Poland 1939. Ended 1945

Who was in the Axis Powers? Allied Powers?

a) Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan

b) Allies: UK, France, Soviet Union, USA

What was China like in the years immediately before the Japanese invasion? Who were the Kuomintang? What was the result of the Japanese Invasion by 1939? Why?

Politically divided, struggling to modernize, civil war. The KMT or “Nationalists,” a party that emerged during the 1911 revolution and who more or less ruled China. Invasion eventually halted because Japan didn’t have the strength to conquer all of China

What limits had been placed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles? How did Hitler interact with those?

Germany had a limited military, had to pay reparations, had some land taken away, and the Rhineland was occupied by Entente forces. Hitler immediately began trying to get out of these limitations and testing Western resolve to actually stand up to him

What was the occupation of the Rhineland? How did the West respond?

German forces marched into the Rhineland and evicted the Entente occupation. The West did nothing, though they easily could have stopped Germany

What was the Anschluss? How did the West respond?

Germany engineered the annexation of Austria, a country whose population was mostly ethnically German. The West did nothing

What was the Munich Conference? How did the West respond to the invasion of Czechoslovakia? What is Appeasement?

The Munich Conference was the West’s response to German actions against Czechoslovakia, a western ally. It basically gave Hitler everything he wanted in the hopes that it would make him happy. Appeasement is an effort to make your potential enemies happy by giving them the things they want and trying generally to show them that you aren’t an enemy

What was the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact?

A non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union—who everyone thought would be enemies. Agreed to split up Poland between them

What happened during the Invasion of Poland? How did the West react?

German forces invaded Poland, eventually joined by Soviet forces too. Poland quickly conquered. The West declared war but did very little to actually help Poland. Starts WW2 in Europe

What happened during the Invasion of France?

The French fortifications at the Maginot Line guarded most German paths into France. The best soldiers in the Allied army moved into Belgium to counter German invasion. Between them, the Ardennes Forest was almost unguarded. German tanks punched through the Ardennes, encircled the army in Belgium, and won a stunning victory. France surrendered after just 7 weeks

What happened during the Battle of Britain?

Germany attempted to destroy the British air force in order to allow a German naval invasion of Britain. However, their industry was not able to sustain such a long campaign of aerial attrition and they eventually gave up

What did Europe look like in 1941 before the invasion of the Soviet Union? What was Operation Barbarossa? How did it go? Why was it ultimately not successful? What battle ended Barbarossa?

Britain still at war with Germany. Almost all of Europe under Axis control. Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union. It went almost perfectly for Germany and the German army pushed deep into the Soviet Union, and killed or captured millions of Soviet soldiers. Ultimately it was still not enough. Germany ran out of steam and were doomed to a long war. Battle of Moscow ended Operation Barbarossa.

What happened at the Battle of Stalingrad? Why was Stalingrad such a big deal?

Germany was trying to capture Soviet oil production. Wanted to take Stalingrad also for prestige reasons—it has Stalin’s name. Bloodiest battle in history. German army eventually surrounded and annihilated in the winter. After Stalingrad, the German army started retreating. The Soviets will never again be on the defensive

How was Germany taken out of the war?

Conquered by Soviets and Western allies.

What was the Attack on Pearl Harbor? Which country did it bring into the war?

Japanese sneak attack on American fleet. America enters war

What happened at the Battle of Midway? Why was it such a big deal?

Japan tried to ambush America but America cracked the radio codes and knew of the trap. Huge battle results in sinking of all Japanese aircraft carriers. America has the initiative for the rest of the war

How was Japan taken out of the war?

Fleet annihilated, army on the retreat in China, and then the nuclear bombs are dropped, forcing Japan to surrender

What is a genocide?

A genocide is when one group of people is targeted for either elimination or reduction through methods including killing, sterilization, or starvation

How many people were killed in the Asian Genocides under Japan? How did Japanese beliefs cause their genocidal actions?

Anywhere between 3-30 million. 10+ million is probably accurate. Japanese beliefs of racial superiority and bushido caused Japanese soldiers and officers to have very little regard for human life and to have contempt for civilians and surrendered soldiers alike

Who were the Comfort Girls?

Victims of the Japanese systemic rape system who were kept as sex slaves for the Japanese army

What sort of experiments did the Japanese do on humans?

Extremely cruel and unethical experiments—most had little real scientific value. Unit 731, the program responsible for most of this, killed around 300,000 people by what can best be described as medical torture

How did the Japanese treat civilians? How did they treat Prisoners of War?

Civilians were murdered and raped in very large numbers by the Japanese soldiers. They were also treated like slaves—valuable only for the service they could perform for the Japanese army. Prisoners were treated with unusual contempt and often subject to torture and murder

What is “Lebensraum?” How did the Nazis plan to get more of it? What is antisemitism?

Living Space. The Nazis planned to get more land for the German people by emptying the lands to their east of all the inhabitants. Antisemitism is prejudice or discrimination against Jews.

How many people were murdered at the hands of the Nazis? How many Jews? Which other groups of people were murdered?

16-22 million total people. 6 million Jews. Slavs, Poles, Roma, people with disabilities, LGBT people, political enemies.

Who were the SS and Einsatzgruppen? What was their role in the Holocaust?

The SS or Schutzstaffel was a German paramilitary that carried out most of the actual killing in the Holocaust. The Einsatzgruppen or Task Forces were SS units that served as mobile death squads

How did the extermination camps work? Why did the Holocaust end?

People were loaded into trains and shipped to one of six extermination camps, which were basically death factories. They would then be tricked into a gas chamber and murdered. Then they were be stripped, looted, and either buried in mass graves or loaded into huge crematoriums. The Holocaust ended when the Nazis lost WWII.

What is strategic bombing?

Bombing of factories, civilians, infrastructure to achieve a military goal

What two cities were the only cities to ever be bombed by nuclear weapons?

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Who was tried at Nuremberg? What crimes were people accused of? How many were executed for those crimes? How were the Tokyo Trials different?

About 24 prominent Nazis (and another several hundred in the subsequent trials). War Crime &, Crimes Against Humanity. 12 of the original Nuremberg defendants executed and another 200 or so in subsequent trials. In the Tokyo Trials, Most charges dropped. Only 7 executed. However, one of them was Tojo, the most important Japanese leader

What is the United Nations? What is its purpose?

The UN is an international body of almost every country on earth. Its purpose is to coordinate international actions and prevent war and genocide