Shifting Power & Causes and Conducting of WWI
Shifting Power
Russian Tsar Nicholas II's Quote: "I shall never, under any circumstances, agree to a representative form of government because I consider it harmful to the people whom God has entrusted to my care."
Essential Question: How did internal and external factors contribute to change in various states after 1900?
Early 20th Century Rebellions: Rebellions erupted against authoritarian governments in Russia, China, and Mexico, leading to the collapse of established land-based and maritime empires and the emergence of a new global order.
Revolution in Russia
Russia's Lagging Status: By the early 20th century, Russia was behind most of Europe, the United States, and Japan in wealth and power.
Internal Challenges:
Russia was slow to promote economic growth, expand education for peasants, build transportation networks, and support entrepreneurs.
The tsarist government resisted political reform, civil liberties, and citizen participation.
External Problems:
Lack of a strong economic base weakened Russia in international affairs.
Lost the Crimean War (1853-1856) against the Ottoman Empire, supported by Great Britain and France.
Lost the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) in a battle for power in East Asia.
Bolshevik Revolution:
In the fall of 1917, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power and set up a communist government.
Communists believed in collective ownership of the means of production, leading to collective prosperity and a just society.
The Soviet government abolished private trade, distributed peasants' crops to feed urban workers, and took over ownership of factories and heavy industries.
Key Events Leading to Revolution in Russia:
Bloody Sunday, January 22, 1905: Thousands of workers marched peacefully to petition the tsar for better working conditions, higher wages, and universal suffrage, but troops and police shot at them, killing about 1,300 marchers.
The Revolution of 1905: Strikes involving 400,000 workers occurred in response to Bloody Sunday. The tsar tried to appease the protesters, but thousands of workers were killed, injured, or exiled.
Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905): Russia and Japan both wanted to expand their influence in Korea and Manchuria. Japan won easily, marking the first time in modern history that an East Asian state had defeated a European power.
World War I: Germany declared war on Russia in 1914. Russians quickly realized how poorly trained and armed their troops were, and civilians suffered from extreme food shortages.
Impact of Bolshevik Success:
The success of the Bolsheviks in taking power shook the world.
It was the first example of communists running a large country.
People worried that communists were a danger to their governments.
The conflict between communism and capitalism would become an important issue shaping world affairs in the rest of the 20th century.
Upheaval in China
Collapse of Qing Dynasty: China was another land-based empire that collapsed due to internal and external problems; the Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1911, creating a republic led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
Internal Challenges:
Ethnic Tension: China consisted of various ethnic groups, with the Han being the largest. The Qing rulers were Manchus, and many Chinese, particularly the Han, never fully accepted them as legitimate rulers.
Famine: Rapid population growth between the mid-1700s and mid-1800s outpaced the expansion of farmland and productivity, leading to food supply issues. Natural disasters could result in mass deaths.
Low Government Revenues: The imperial government had not updated the tax system with changes in the economy, resulting in low taxes and insufficient resources to maintain infrastructure.
External Challenges: Starting in the late 18th century, China faced growing threats due to industrialization in Europe.
Trade Restrictions:
Europeans interested in the Chinese market could trade only in Canton (Guangzhou).
Europeans bought tea, rhubarb, porcelain, and silk, paying with silver.
The Chinese did not desire European products and looked down on Europeans.
Chinese Republic:
In 1911, the last Chinese dynasty was overthrown by a revolutionary movement led by Sun Yat-sen.
Sun Yat-sen combined Confucian principles with modern ideas in his "Three People's Principles."
The Three People's Principles:
Democracy: Sovereignty for the "able" Chinese, governed by active experts.
Nationalism: Patriotism and loyalty to central authority.
Livelihood: End unequal distribution of wealth and economic exploitation.
Sun Yat-sen's Legacy:
Sun never had enough military strength to rule all of China, as various warlords controlled the majority of the country.
He gave up his position to a military leader after two months in office.
The Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, would later regain power and rule China for two decades before losing a civil war with Chinese Communists.
Both the Kuomintang and the Communists would honor Sun as the founder of the Chinese republic, but neither would fully implement his principles.
Self-Determination in the Ottoman Collapse
Decline of the Ottoman Empire: By the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire was declining with few exports and a waning agricultural economy, relying mostly on its position as a trade center.
The Young Turks: Reformers known as the Young Turks emerged, advocating for a constitution like those of European states and Turkification. Turkification was an effort to make all citizens identify with Turkish culture, which was heavily Islamic.
Armenian Issue: Some Young Turks scapegoated Armenians, who were mostly Christians, for the empire's economic problems.
Fight Against Foreign Influence: Turks resented Europeans, particularly the British and the French, for their economic policies, foreign investments, and trade privileges.
World War I Alliance: The Ottoman Empire secretly allied with Germany in World War I.
Dismantling of the Empire: After Germany's defeat in World War I, the Ottoman Empire was dismantled and replaced by a smaller nation-state, the Republic of Turkey, and several independent countries.
Allied Occupation: Victorious Allied forces immediately sent troops to occupy Anatolia, with the sultan serving as a puppet for British forces.
The Rise of Atatürk:
The Turkish National Movement, led by Mustafa Kemal, organized an army to fight for self-determination.
The Turkish Nationalists defeated British and other forces in 1921.
The Republic of Turkey was established in 1923, with Kemal as the first president.
Kemal was given the surname Atatürk ("father of the Turks") in recognition of his role in establishing the new republic.
Atatürk's Reforms:
Atatürk's policies focused on reforming Turkey to make it more like the Western democracies.
He created a secular nation by establishing public education for boys and girls, abolishing polygyny, and expanding suffrage to include women.
He wore Western suits and hats and encouraged others to do the same.
Despite his reforms, he ruled as a dictator for 15 years.
Power Shifts in Mexico
Mexico under Porfirio Díaz: Mexico entered the 20th century as an independent nation under the control of dictator Porfirio Díaz, who oversaw a period of stability and some economic progress.
Foreign Influence and Land Distribution: Díaz allowed foreign investors, particularly from the United States, control over many of the country's resources. 1% of the population controlled 97% of the land, and typical Mexican peasants were landless.
Revolution:
In 1910, Díaz jailed Francisco Madero, the opposition candidate for president.
Opposition to Díaz's policies, accommodation to foreign powers, and opposition to land reform led to the Mexican Revolution.
Madero escaped and set up revolutionary offices in El Paso, Texas.
In 1911, Madero's troops, under the command of Francisco "Pancho" Villa, defeated Mexican troops, sending Díaz into exile.
Emiliano Zapata began redistributing land to impoverished peasants.
Political Instability and Violence:
Until 1920, Mexico suffered from political instability and devastating violence, resulting in around 2 million deaths.
Political violence continued for another decade.
Outcomes of the Revolution:
Mexico adopted a new constitution in 1917, including land redistribution, universal suffrage, and public education.
The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, was formed in 1929 and dominated Mexican politics until 2000.
7.2 Causes of World War I
Otto von Bismarck's Prediction: "The next great European war will probably come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans."
Essential Question: What were the causes and consequences of World War I?
Escalation of Tensions: Social and political developments, including shifting powers, contributed to the escalation of tensions that resulted in global conflict.
Competition for Resources: European nations, expanding their empires, competed for raw material resources in Africa and Asia.
Mutual Alliances: A series of mutual alliances created entanglements that committed nations to defense systems that would draw them into war.
Arms Races: Arms races involving Germany, Great Britain, and Russia gave military establishments great influence.
Nationalism: The assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian nationalists in the Balkans sparked World War I.
Immediate Causes of the Great War
Immense Scale: Known as the Great War because of the immense scale of the fighting.
Global Impact:
Involved many nations from different parts of the world.
Killed many soldiers and civilians.
Weakened the Western European powers.
Encouraged the growth of nationalism and appeals for self-rule within European colonies in Asia and Africa.
Treaties signed at the end of this war helped set the stage for World War II.
Assassination:
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, on June 28, 1914, by Gavrilo Princip.
Princip, a Serbian, was a member of the Black Hand, a nationalist organization devoted to ending Austro-Hungarian presence in the Balkans.
Ultimatum:
Austria-Hungary sent an ultimatum to the Serbian government, demanding that it end all anti-Austrian agitation in Serbia.
When the Serbian government rejected the ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.
Declarations of War:
Austria-Hungary looked to Germany for military assistance to punish Serbia.
Serbia looked to Russia for help.
On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later on France.
The following day, Britain declared war on Germany, and on August 6 Austria declared war on Russia.
By the end of August 1914, Japan's entrance into the conflict changed a relatively minor incident into a true world war.
Long-Term Causes of the Great War
Acronym MAIN: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.
Militarism:
Aggressive military preparedness.
European powers competed for dominance, investing in the military.
Great Britain and Germany spent a great deal of money on building up their armies and navies.
The Industrial Revolution made it possible to mass-produce weapons and supplies.
The public viewed war as a festive competition.
Alliances:
Secret alliances where members agree to protect and help one another when attacked.
Countries that were allied with other countries were also sworn enemies of members of other alliances.
Britain and France were allies with Russia in the alliance called the Triple Entente, and all three viewed Germany as a rival.
France was bitter about its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and the loss to Germany of Alsace-Lorraine.
Britain and France competed with Germany for colonies in Africa.
After the war began, the Triple Entente became known as the Allies as they were joined by Italy, Japan, China, the United States, and other countries.
The Allies' rival alliance before the war was known as the Triple Alliance, composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
When the war began, Italy remained neutral until 1915, when it switched its allegiance and joined the Allies.
At the outbreak of the war, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the former Triple Alliance, which was now called the Central Powers.
Imperialism:
The alliance system developed largely because Western European countries became bitter rivals for global domination.
Owning overseas colonies was one of the most important ways these nations could assert their power and generate wealth.
Western European countries scrambled for any available land in Africa to add to the colonies they already owned in Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific.
Once European powers had claimed nearly all the land in Africa, they began fighting with one another over colonies.
Imperialism was a driving force behind tensions in Europe.
Nationalism:
The assassination of the archduke illustrates the growth of nationalism.
Nationalism originates from a feeling of pride in one's national identity.
Multinational empires such as the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had to contend with different nationalist movements among their subject peoples.
Serbs wanted to rid their land of Austro-Hungarian domination, and Arabs were tired of the limitations the Ottoman Empire imposed on them.
Both groups sought self-determination-the idea that peoples of the same ethnicity, language, culture, and political ideals should be united and should have the right to form an independent nation-state.
Militant nationalists among Serbs and Arabs fought for the Allies, thus extending the boundaries of the Great War.
Consequences of the Great War
Shattered Optimism: Virtually every major event during the remainder of the 20th century was a direct or indirect result of World War I.
Downfall of Monarchies: The war led to the downfalls of four monarchies: Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire.
Redrawn Maps:
It redrew the maps of Europe and the Middle East with the disintegration of Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires.
Germany lost all its overseas colonies to various Allied nations.
The former Ottoman provinces of Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon came under the control of Britain and France.
Beginning of the End of Colonialism:
New technologies made World War I the deadliest and most destructive war in human history.
It disrupted European economies and had profound social consequences, including the rise of communism and fascism, colonial revolts, and genocide.
Shift of Power: There was a massive shift of power from Europe to the United States.
Germany's Fury: Germany was furious about the terms of the peace treaty.
Treaty of Versailles:
Germany was forced to take full blame for the war-although Austria-Hungary started it―and forced to agree to make reparations, impossibly large payments to its opponents to make up for their losses.
The war that was to make the world safe for democracy instead gave rise to authoritarian regimes and an even greater world war.
7.3 Conducting World War I
Wilfred Owen's Quote:
From "Dulce et Decorum Est" (1920).
"If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood\nCome gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,\nObscene as cancer, bitter as the cud\nOf vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues\nMy friend, you would not tell with such high zest\nTo children ardent for some desperate glory,\nThe old Lie: Dulce et decorum est\nPro patria mori."
Labels the idea of dying for one's country as "The old Lie."
No previous war had involved as many nations from different parts of the world and none had killed as many soldiers and civilians.
British Conscription and Recruitment:
At the outbreak of World War I, Britain was the only major power going into the war without universal conscription, or compulsory enlistment in the armed forces.
The British Army began to recruit "Pals Battalions" made up of men who already knew each other.
By the end of the war, one out of four British men had served in the military.
Changes in Warfare
Shift in Perspective: During the first few months of World War I, most Europeans saw warfare differently, dreaming of heroism. Wartime assemblies sounded more like high school pep rallies, in which speakers naively predicted swift and easy victories in battles against supposedly inferior enemies.
Brutality of 20th-Century Warfare: As the war dragged on, the world became aware of the horrific effects of new advances in war technology and tactics, such as trench warfare, poison gas, machine guns, submarines, airplanes, and tanks.
Trench Warfare:
Long ditches dug in the ground with the excavated earth banked in front in order to defend against enemy fire.
Combatant nations dug hundreds of miles of trenches facing one another, and soldiers slept, ate, and fought in the trenches for months at a time.
Trenches were often cold, muddy, and rat-infested, and many soldiers died from diseases caused by unhygienic conditions.
Poison Gas:
Chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas were used during World War I.
Soldiers were soon equipped with gas masks, which were effective when used immediately.
Although fatalities were limited, the effects of a gas attack could be extremely painful and long lasting, and many veterans suffered permanent damage to their lungs.
After the war, international treaties outlawed the use of poison gas.
Machine Guns:
Developed in the late 1800s, machine guns could fire more than 500 rounds of ammunition per minute, increasing the deadly impact of warfare.
The weapon made it difficult for either side in a battle to gain new territory.
Submarines:
Although primitive submarines had been used briefly in the American Civil War, they played a much larger part in World War I, wreaking havoc on the shipping lanes of the Atlantic Ocean.
Airplanes:
In 1914, airplanes were still light, small, and unable to carry many weapons, so they did not present much of a threat to troops, vehicles, or ships.
At first, airplanes were used mainly to carry on reconnaissance (observation) of enemy lines.
By 1915, they were being fitted with machine guns and aerial combat began.
Individual "air aces" would engage in "dog fights" with enemy aircraft.
Tanks:
The British developed tanks to protect troops as they moved across vast areas of difficult terrain, even over trenches, with the ability to fire at the enemy.
They were developed by the Royal Navy, and originally referred to as landships.
They got their name from the fact that during their development, they were disguised as water tanks.
Stalemate: With both the Central Powers and the Allies using brutal weapons and tactics, neither side could defeat the other, resulting in a bloody four-year stalemate in which the death toll and suffering rose ever higher.
The United States Enters the War
Reasons for U.S. Entry:
Economic ties between the United States and the Allies.
Belief that the Allied nations were more democratic than the Central Powers were.
Growing resentment against the Germans, especially for U-boat (submarine) attacks on ships carrying civilians, including Americans.
Sinking of the Lusitania: On May 7, 1915, a German submarine attacked and sank the Lusitania, an ocean liner carrying more than 100 U.S. citizens among its passengers.
Zimmermann Telegram: The interception of the Zimmermann Telegram in January 1917, in which the German government offered to help Mexico reclaim territory it had lost to the United States in 1848 if Mexico allied itself with Germany in the war, finally pushed the United States into the war.
Total War
Commitment of Resources: Combatant nations intensified the conflict in World War I by committing all their resources to the war effort.
Domestic Population: This strategy, known as total war, meant that a nation's domestic population, in addition to its military, was committed to winning the war.
Women in the workforce: Millions of civilians, including women, worked in factories producing war materials.
Workers imported: Workers imported from China helped make up for labor shortages in Britain, France, and Russia.
Entire Economies centered: Entire economies were centered on winning the war.
Government Control: Governments set up planning boards that set production quotas, price and wage controls, and the rationing of food and other supplies. They censored the media and imprisoned many who spoke out against the war effort.
Propaganda: Propaganda is communication meant to influence the attitudes and opinions of a community around a particular subject by spreading inaccurate or slanted information.
Demonization: The use of highly emotional and often misleading information fomented hatred and bitterness across borders, among civilians as well as soldiers.
A Global War
Global Scale: World War I was fought in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Imperialism: Competition for these colonies was one major reason for war. Imperialism extended the boundaries of the war, and major battles were fought in North Africa and the Middle East.
Japan's Entry: Japan entered the war on the side of the Allies so that it could take control of German colonies in the Pacific-the Marshall Islands, the Mariana Islands, Palau, and the Carolines. Japan also occupied Tsingtao (Qingdao), a German-held port in China.
Germany loses African colonies: The British seized most of Germany's colonies in Africa. However, the Germans held on to German East Africa, later called Tanzania. The British also defended the Suez Canal from an attack by the Ottoman Empire.
Colonial Troops:
About half a million Australians and New Zealanders enlisted to fight the war. These troops formed a special corps known as ANZAC and fought in a bloody year-long campaign at Gallipoli, a peninsula in northwestern Turkey, that resulted in heavy Allied losses with little to show for the effort.
Canadian troops fought in several European battles.
Britain drafted Africans and Indians for combat roles in Europe. Some 90,000 Gurkha soldiers from Nepal fought in the Indian Army.
Approximately 1.3 million soldiers served in the Indian Army during the war, in Europe and Southwest Asia.
The French Army included 450,000 Africans, mostly from West Africa and Algeria, as well as another 110,000 Europeans from North Africa.
Some 44,000 Indochinese soldiers fought in the French army, with nearly 50,000 more working in support roles behind the lines.
Self-Rule Hope: Some colonial troops fought in hopes that their efforts would gain them recognition from their colonizers, who often promised the colonies self-rule after the war ended.
Arab troops fought: Arabs, long under the rule of the Turkish-led Ottoman Empire, fought with the Allies because the British promised self-rule after the war if they were victorious.
Women and the War
Changed Roles: In the early 20th century, most countries did not allow women to vote or to be soldiers. However, the sheer numbers of men enlisting meant that women's lives changed significantly. They began replacing those men on farms and in factories.
Front Lines: Thousands of women served on the front lines as nurses, ambulance drivers, and switchboard operators.
Combat Roles: Most countries forebade women from serving in combat, but Russia, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria allowed it. In 1917, the Russian government created an all-female battalion (military unit) as propaganda to shame men into continuing to fight.
The Paris Peace Conference
Profound Effects: The war itself greatly damaged Europe. However, the peace conference held in its wake would have even more profound effects on the entire world.
The Big Four: The leaders of the victorious countries at the Paris Peace Conference became known as the Big Four: Woodrow Wilson (United States), David Lloyd George (Great Britain), Georges Clemenceau (France), and Vittorio Orlando (Italy).
Absent Countries:
The Italians walked out of the peace conference in a rage because Italy would not get Dalmatia and other territories that they had been promised for joining the Allies, including the city of Fiume on the Adriatic Sea.
Russia was not invited to the conference because it had undergone a communist revolution. Russia's Bolshevik leaders refused to honor Russia's financial debts to the Allies, who in return refused to recognize the Bolshevik government.
Differing Visions: The Big Four had different visions of how to settle the peace.
Woodrow Wilson: President Wilson's pledge to establish "peace without victory" reflected his belief that no one country should be severely punished or greatly rewarded.
France's Clemenceau: France's Clemenceau rejected this view. He believed that France, out of all the Allies represented at the conference, had suffered the most and thus deserved special considerations to be protected from Germany.
David Lloyd George: David Lloyd George tended to support Clemenceau's ideas but often acted as an intermediary between the two differing points of view.
Fourteen Points: Despite Clemenceau's protests, Wilson pushed for his principles, which he outlined in a document called the Fourteen Points.
League of Nations: He particularly wanted to create a League of Nations, an organization in which all nations of the world would convene to discuss conflicts openly, as a way to avoid the simmering tensions that had caused World War I.
Self-Determination: Wilson also believed that conquered peoples under the defeated Central Powers deserved the right to self-determination, to decide their own political futures.
New Nations: A number of new nations were created or resurrected in Europe as the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were broken up: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The last three of these were home to Slavic peoples.
Treaty of Versailles: Because Wilson failed to convince France and Britain not to punish Germany, the Treaty of Versailles treated Germany harshly.
Consequences for Germany: Most notably, Germany had to pay billions of dollars in reparations for damage caused by the war, give up all of its colonies, and restrict the size of its armed forces. Germans took the entire blame for the war.
German's Grievances: Signing the treaty was humiliating for German leaders. Moreover, the terms of the treaty caused tremendous hardship to the nation during the decade following World War I.
Nazis Take Power: Resentment toward the Weimar Republic, which had agreed to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, set the stage for an extreme and militaristic political party known as the Nazis to take power barely 15 years later.