AP World History Units 6-9 Notes

Unit 6: 1750-1900 - Industrialization and Imperialism

Big Idea 1: Ideologies of Imperialism

• Various ideologies contributed to imperialism:

  • Cultural Ideologies

    • Belief in white superiority (e.g., Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden") which promoted the idea that Europeans had a duty to civilize and uplift people of color; this was used to justify colonial rule.

    • Social Darwinism: Applying "survival of the fittest" to states, suggesting that stronger nations were naturally destined to dominate weaker ones, thus providing pseudo-scientific justification for imperialism.

    • Desire to spread Christianity: Missionaries sought to convert indigenous populations, viewing it as a moral imperative to replace local religions with Christianity.

  • Nationalist Motives

    • Desire for powerful states to be the "greatest" by building empires: Colonies were seen as symbols of prestige and power, driving nations to compete for territorial acquisitions.

    • Examples: Britain in India, where the British sought to control key resources and trade routes; France in Africa, aiming to expand its influence and access valuable resources; Japan colonizing Korea after the Sino-Japanese War to establish a regional empire and gain access to resources like coal and rice.

  • Economic Motives

    • Need for new markets and raw materials due to the Second Industrial Revolution: Industrialized nations required resources like rubber, oil, and minerals, as well as markets to sell manufactured goods.

Big Idea 2: Consolidating Imperial Power

• Imperial states used different means to consolidate and expand their empires.

  • Non-state to State Control: Example, Congo initially a private colony under King Leopold II of Belgium. His policies led to international pressure due to brutal exploitation of the Congolese population for rubber, eventually creating the transfer of authority to the Belgian State.

  • New Imperial Powers Replacing Old Ones

    • Decline of Spanish and Portuguese power: Weakened by internal strife and loss of colonies in the Americas.

    • Rise of the United States after the Spanish-American War (1898), expanded into the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, marking its emergence as a global power.

    • Japan expanded into Korea, parts of China, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islands to create a sphere of influence and access resources.

    • Russian Czars expanded into Poland, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and China to secure resources, trade routes, and strategic advantages.

  • Scramble for Africa

    • European powers desired Africa's raw materials for industrial production.

    • Otto von Bismarck of Germany convened the Berlin Conference to divide Africa diplomatically among European powers without African representation or consent, leading to long-term political and social consequences.

    • Africans had no input in the division of their lands, leading to widespread resentment and resistance.

Big Idea 3: Resistance to Imperialism

• Colonized peoples resisted imperial intrusion through:

  • Direct Resistance

    • Tupac Amaru II led a rebellion against Spanish atrocities in Peru (crushed violently), highlighting the indigenous people's struggle against colonial exploitation.

    • Sepoy Mutiny/Indian Rebellion of 1857 in India, triggered by cultural insensitivity and perceived threats to religious practices, leading to widespread violence and the consolidation of British rule.

  • Creation of New States: Example, new Balkan states (Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria) emerging after fighting for independence from the Ottoman Empire, inspired by nationalism and supported by European powers seeking to undermine Ottoman influence.

  • Religiously Inspired Rebellions

    • Ghost Dance movement in the United States, aiming to expel white settlers and restore traditional ways of life (crushed by the U.S. military at the Wounded Knee Massacre).

    • Costa cattle killing movement in South Africa, where indigenous people slaughtered their cattle based on a prophecy that it would drive away the Europeans, leading to famine and further subjugation.

Big Idea 4: Transforming the Global Economy

• Imperial powers extracted raw materials and increased food supply, transforming the global economy.

  • Shift from subsistence farming to cash crop farming, where land was used to grow crops for export rather than local consumption, altering traditional agricultural practices.

  • Examples:

    • Cattle ranching in Uruguay and Argentina for beef, driven by European demand, transforming local economies and land use.

    • Guano extraction in Peru and Chile for fertilizer, driven by the need to increase agricultural yields in Europe and North America, profoundly impacting the environment and local communities.

  • Colonial economies served the needs of urban centers in imperial hubs, not the needs of the local colonial peoples, leading to economic dependency and stunted development.

Big Idea 5: Economic Imperialism

• Industrialized states and businesses practiced economic imperialism in Asia and Latin America.

  • Economic Imperialism Defined: When one country wields significant economic power over another, often through trade, investment, or debt.

  • Opium Wars in China

    • British smuggling of opium into China to address the trade deficit caused by high demand for Chinese goods like tea and porcelain.

    • Chinese ban on opium led to the Opium Wars, won by the British due to their superior industrial and military capacity, resulting in unequal treaties that weakened China.

    • British forced China to open trading ports and allow free trade, undermining Chinese sovereignty and economy.

    • China was divided into spheres of influence, with Japan, France, Germany, Russia (and the USA) having exclusive trading rights, further eroding Chinese control and exacerbating internal instability.

Big Idea 6: Migration

• Environmental and economic factors led to migration between 1750 and 1900.

  • Reasons for Migration

    • Work: new labor systems emerged to meet the demands of industrial economies.

      • Indentured servitude: workers paid for passage to a new place by working for a number of years, often under harsh conditions and limited rights.

      • Asian contract laborers: Chinese and Indian workers worked for low wages in plantations, mines, and construction projects, often facing discrimination and exploitation.

      • Penal colonies: convicts sent for hard labor (e.g., Australia), contributing to the development of new territories while subjecting prisoners to brutal conditions.

    • Bad conditions at home

      • Poverty in India led to mass migration, driven by economic hardship and limited opportunities.

      • Irish potato famine (1845) caused mass immigration to America, seeking refuge from starvation and disease.

  • Effects of Migration

    • Settlement in large cities led to urbanization, straining resources and creating social challenges.

    • Creation of ethnic enclaves, where immigrants clustered together for mutual support and cultural preservation.

  • Reception of Immigrants

    • Faced discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, and socio-economic status.

    • Racist legislation emerged – White Australia policy aimed to restrict non-European immigration; Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States, prohibiting Chinese laborers from entering the country.

Unit 7: 1900 to the Present - Global Conflicts

Big Idea 1: Change in States

• Significant internal and external factors caused change in various states.

  • Russia: lagging economically, reluctant to expand civil liberties

    • Loss in Crimean War and Russo-Japanese War exposed weaknesses in the Tsarist regime.

    • Bolsheviks seized power to establish a communist government led by Vladimir Lenin.

    • The Establishment of Soviet Union under the ideology of Marxism-Leninism.

  • China: Ethnic tensions, famine, diminished government revenue, Western encroachment weakened the Qing Dynasty.

    • The last Chinese dynasty was overthrown by Sun Yat Sen, who advocated for democracy, nationalism, and people's livelihood.

  • Mexico: Wealth gap, land issues, cooperation with US Investors, revolution under Francisco Madero aimed to overthrow the dictator Porfirio Díaz and implement democratic reforms.

Big Idea 2: Causes of World War I

• Combination of militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism (MAIN).

  • Militarism: Buildup of military weaponry leading to an arms race among European powers.

  • Alliance System: Defensive groupings of nations, such as the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia), promising to come to each other's aid if attacked.

  • Imperialism: Competition to claim remaining lands in Africa and Asia, leading to tensions and rivalries among European powers.

  • Nationalism: Intense pride in national identity, particularly in the Balkans, where various ethnic groups sought independence from Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian rule.

  • Spark that ignited the war: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo.

Big Idea 3: World War I Strategies

• Governments used propaganda, and new weapons technology.

  • Total War: Countries leveraged domestic assets, including industrial production, labor, and resources, to support the war effort.

  • Propaganda: Used to persuade people to support the war effort, demonize the enemy, and maintain morale.

  • New Technologies: Poison gas, machine guns, submarines, tanks led to unprecedented levels of destruction and casualties.

  • Trench Warfare: Ensured long-lasting stalemates and casualties along the Western Front.

  • Treaty of Versailles in 1919 ended the war, imposing harsh terms on Germany and setting the stage for future conflicts.

Big Idea 4: Increased Government Role in Economies

• Governments took a more prominent role in managing economies.

  • Great Depression

    • Started in the United States and spread globally, causing widespread unemployment and economic hardship.

    • Herbert Hoover's non-interventionist approach failed to alleviate the crisis.

    • Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal: Massive government spending on public works, social security, and financial reforms.

  • Germany: Economic ruin after World War I, hyperinflation destroyed savings and destabilized society.

    • Rise of fascism and the Nazi party, strong government intervention in the economy through rearmament and public works projects.

  • The Soviet Union: Five year plans to transform it into an industrial power, emphasizing heavy industry and collectivized agriculture.

    • Collectivization of agriculture led to widespread famine and death (especially in Ukraine).

Big Idea 5: Causes of World War II

• Unsustainable peace agreement of World War I, economic crisis, and rise of fascism.

  • Treaty of Versailles: War guilt clause and reparations for Germany ruined the German economy, fostering resentment and instability.

  • Economic Crisis: Great Depression gave rise to fascism in Germany and Italy, as people sought strong leadership to overcome economic hardship.

  • Fascist Regimes: Extreme nationalism utilized by the Nazi party in order to restore German greatness. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party enact measures to get needed Lebensraum, and, after a period of appeasement, the Hitler's invasion of Poland led to start of World War II (1939).

Big Idea 6: World War II as a Total War

• Another total war, deployed all national resources to fight and win.

  • Methods: Propaganda, manufacturing sectors repurposed for military output, colonial men called up to fight, and, in the case of Nazi Germay, the usse of forced labor.

  • Mobilization in The United States versus Nazi Germany highlights the distinction between democratic means of war versus totalitarian means.

  • Repression of Civil Liberties: Japanese internment in The United States, fueled by wartime hysteria and racism.

  • New Military Tactics and Technology: Firebombing, atomic bomb resulted in unprecedented levels of destruction and civilian casualties.

Big Idea 7: Rise of Extremist Groups and Genocide

• Rise of extremist groups led to the attempted destruction of populations through genocide or ethnic violence.

  • The Nazi Holocaust: Program to eliminate Jews and undesirables, based on racist ideology and the belief in Aryan supremacy.

    • Forced removal into concentration camps divided weaker from stronger individuals, where millions were systematically murdered in gas chambers and through forced labor.

  • Holodomor in Ukraine: Stalin's collectivization led to food confiscation, mass famines, and death of between seven to ten million peasants, aimed at suppressing Ukrainian nationalism and resistance to collectivization.

    • Stalin's policies led to widespread famine in Ukraine, deliberately engineered to break Ukrainian resistance to Soviet rule.

Unit 8: 1900 to the Present - The Cold War & Decolonization

Big Idea 1: The Cold War & Non-Aligned Movement

• The Cold War was a decades-long struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union.

  • Causes of the Cold War

    • Conflicting ideologies: Democratic capitalism vs. authoritarian communism (each wanting to expand).

    • Mutual mistrust between superpowers: Disagreements on postwar world, Stalin's control over Eastern Europe, disagreement about Germany.

  • Non-Aligned Movement

    • New states resisted getting caught up in the Cold War rivalry.

    • Started in 1955 with Indonesian President Akhmatsu Karno's meeting of 29 African/Asian heads of state.

Big Idea 2: Effects of the Cold War

• Major effects included an arms race, new military alliances, and proxy wars.

  • Arms Race: The US and Soviet Union spend significant sums to develop and stockpile more powerful weapons including nuclear.

  • Military Alliances: NATO (US and Western Europe for defense) VS. Warsaw Pact (Soviet Union and satellite states).

  • Proxy Wars: Smaller conflicts that represented the ideological differences of US vs. Soviet Union.

    • Examples:

      • Asia: Korean and Vietnam Wars.

      • Latin America: Nicaragua (Sandinistas vs. Contras).

      • Africa: Angolan Civil War.

Big Idea 3: Communism in China and Socialist Movements

• Several states adopted communism, China chief among them.

  • Causes in China: Grievances over dependence on Western powers. Mao Zedong's communist forces, supported by Soviet Union defeated Nationalist Party.

    • Mao's Communist policies:

      • Collectivization of agriculture. (Relatively peaceful and bloodless effort.

      • State control of the economy (Great Leap Forward).

        • Led to poor quality goods and widespread starvation of 20 to 50,000,000 Chinese.

  • Other Socialism movements redistribute land and resources

    • Example Egypt nationalizes the Suez Chanel.

    • Vietnam establishes Land Redistributions

Big Idea 4: Decolonization

• Occurred in one of two ways: negotiated independence or armed conflict.

  • Negotiated Independence: India formed the Indian National Congress. Mohandas Gandhi led non-violent. Britain officially recognized India's independence in 1947

  • Armed Resistance: Algeria rebelled against the French to gain independence. The French respond with high degrees brutality until President Charles De Gaulle eventually declared end of the war.

Big Idea 5: Conflict and Population Displacement due to Redrawn Boundaries

• The redrawing of political boundaries often led to conflict.

  • The Creation of Israel and the Palestian Partition: Zionism and a desire to have their own state among scattered Jews resulted in more and more jews migrating to Palestine. With the end of World War I the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and Palestine was transferred to Britain. After World War II the United Nations declared a partition resulting two States in Palestine: One for Muslims and One for Jews. Israel declaring their independence in 1948 which, subsequently lead to almost immediate violence.

Big Idea 6: The Role of Newly Independent States in their Economy

• Governments took a strong role in guiding their economyby implementing policies that promoted industrialization, land reform, and foreign investment to help boost economic growth and stability.

  • Nasser in Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal.

  • Indira Gandhi in India adopted the Green Revolution.

Big Idea 7: Resistance to Oppressive Power Structures

• Movements to resist oppressive power structures multiplied, some characterized by nonviolence; others by violence.

  • Nonviolent Resistance:

    • Mohandas Gandhi:

      • Indian Independence Movement and Indian National Congress.

    • Martin Luther King: modeled after Gandhi's, also focused on movement of Civil Obedience.

      • Montgomery Bus Boycott & Sit-Ins.

        • Integrated Schools after the Supreme Court outlawed racism.

    • Nelsen Mandela eventually endorsed violent resistance.

      • Was imprisoned for nearly two decades. Upon release in 1994 Nelson Mandela became Prime Minister. was the final nail for South African Apartment.

  • Response to Intensified Violence from Resisted Force

    In Chile (under Augusto Pinochet) he conducted raids, executions, and torture against his political enemies, so a military coup happens Democratically elected, Salvador Allendes and with help from the US, Pinochet eventually overthrow's Allendes and becomes a Brutal dictator,

    • Allendes had been trying to nationalize industry, seen as a threat to American businesses

Big Idea 8: The End of the Cold War

• The Cold War ended because of US and new Soviet policies.

  • US Military Development: US elected Ronald Reagan in 1980 who led the federal government to massive spending on military. Because the Soviet had a laggy economy this put it at a disadvantage.

    • The Failed Invasion of Afghanistan: In 1979 Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan as an attempt to prop up communism although, with the help of the United States the Afghans and with Afghan rebels, with them defeating the Soviet Union leading to the Soviet further loss economically

  • Soviet Policies of Mikhail Gorbachev:

    • Perestroika: meant structure to be Soviet economy to address the economic votes by reducing the central planning from the Soviet government.

    • Glasnost: Openness meant Freedom of speech and new freedoms for critics. They also announced the Soviet Union would no longer use military intervention for all communist governments in Eastern Europe. Due to the destabilizing forces, the Soviet legislature voted to dissolve the Soviet Union. Which marked an end to the Cold War.

Unit 9: 1900 to the Present - Globalization

Big Idea 1: New Technologies

• New technologies increased globalization and had widespread effects.

  • Communication Technologies: *the radio, the internet and the Cell phone which facilitate Migration and helps keep everyone connected

  • New Energy Technologies: Petroleum and nuclear powers had the effect of increasing worker productivity and increasing the amount of goods that could be manufactured.

  • Medical Innovations: Birth control gave women increasingly control over whether they would have the babies.

  • Advances in Agriculture: GREEN REVOLUTION.

    • Benefits:

      • Increased food production

    • Criticisms

      • Requires use of fertilizers and pesticides which pollute the environment

      • Causes dependence on foreign countries

      • Decreases biodiversity

      • Larger landowners profited more than small ones

Big Idea 2: New and Old Diseases

• New and old diseases continue to be a threat in the age of globalization.

  • Malaria and other diseases associated with poverty due to unequal access to vaccines

  • Ebola, AIDS, and new diseases associated with Old-age (like heart disease and Alzheimer).

Big Idea 3: Environmental Problems

• Globalization has created significant environmental problems with

  • Deforestation: *as there are so many people to feed.

  • Declining Air quality

    • Great Smog of 1952

      • Caused by a mix of fog, coal, and industrial polution

      • Killed 10,000

  • and increasing consumption of fresh water: * A lot of impoverished nations don't have access.

  • increasing global temperature:

    • climate change - Resulting from industrialization, carbon emissions that are released into the atmosphere increase increase the global temperature over time.

    • Two responses - The Kyoto Protocol 1997 / Paris Agreement 2015

Big Idea 4: Changes in the Globalized Economy

• Both the nature and scope.

  • The proliferation of free market economics - ( Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher)

    • Deregulation, tax cuts

  • the rise of knowledge economies

    • The United States and other countries which produce ideas rather than goods

  • The rise of multinational corporations. Such as, Nestle

  • They rise to very recognizable Global brands like Coca Cola and McDonalds.

Big Idea 5: Resistance to Globalization

• Increased the calls for Reform in Human Rights and Economic inequity. Various activist groups are organized around:

  • Race Based Reforms-

    • The outlawing the Segregation and passing civil rights laws. In both the USA

    • Apartheid was eventually ended in South Africa

  • Class Based Reform The cast the reservation system.

    • The caste reservation system which gave a certain amount of jobs to lower castes

  • Gender Based Reform. *

    • The United Nations held its first Conference on Women’s Rights in 1975

  • Reforms In religion and culture. (Christian liberation theology and from more than in West Africa? The Negritude movement celebrated blackness black skin tone in general).

Big Idea 6: Globalized Culture

*after 1990.

• Music (Reggae and K-Pop).

• Consumer culture

  • Online Commerce ( The Amazon and Alibaba)

  • Very recognizable Global brands (Coca-Cola)

Big Idea 7: Protest and Globalizations Instituions

• Despite benefits, movements resist the effects of globalization.

  Mostly for the protest of Global institution that have facilitated and for furthering and furthering spreads, and the engine of Global institution

  • World Bank, G10, IMF

• Criticisms of Globalization

  • Mostly enriches the global north

  • Companies take advantage of weak labor laws and environmental regulations

  • In developed nations many lose their manufacturing jobs

Big Idea 8: International Organizations

• Nations and states inter act through international organizations to address global issues, promote mutual understanding, and foster cooperation in areas such as trade, security, and environmental sustainability.

• UN, ect