WWI and Interwar Period Notes

Qing Dynasty's End and Revolutionary Movements

The Qing Dynasty was financially weak.
Foreign powers (British, French, Japanese) exploited this weakness.
These powers intervened in rebellions to their advantage, imposing further demands on China.
Sun Yat-sen, a Western-educated leader, spearheaded a revolutionary movement.
This movement led to the abdication of the Qing emperor, marking the end of 2000 years of imperial rule.
A new provisional government was established under Sun's leadership, but it was short-lived.
China ultimately emerged as a communist state under Mao Zedong (to be discussed later).

Mexican Revolution

Porfirio Diaz ruled Mexico as a dictator in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
His policies angered various social classes, leading to a united effort to remove him.
Madero, Diaz's political rival, was elected in 1910 but assassinated two years later.
A decade of civil war ensued, featuring peasant armies under leaders like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.
Unlike the Bolsheviks in Russia, these leaders were not successful in seizing long term state power.
By 1917, the revolution concluded, and Mexico became a republic with a new constitution.
The constitution brought significant reforms:
- Universal male suffrage.
- Minimum wages for workers.
- Separation of the Catholic Church from political and economic power.
The Mexican Revolution's impact was primarily confined to Mexico, unlike the Chinese and Russian revolutions.

Causes of World War I

Militarism

Militarism is the belief that states should build strong militaries and use them aggressively to protect interests.
Industrial manufacturing allowed states to produce deadlier weapons at a faster pace.
Germany was a major concern due to its rapid industrialization and military buildup after unification.
France felt threatened due to its comparatively weaker military.
Great Britain had a large military but its commitment to militarism strained resources.

System of International Alliances

Two major alliances existed in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century:
- Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, Austro-Hungarian Empire.
- Triple Entente: Britain, France, Russia.
Alliances were formed for national security or to isolate rivals.
These alliances included elaborate military mobilization plans.
States developed precise timetables for railroad mobilization, making it difficult to halt once started.

Imperialism

Imperial expansion was driven by the desire to project power and achieve great power status.
Germany sought to enlarge its empire at the expense of other European powers.
Competition over existing colonial holdings caused conflict and contributed to the creation of alliances.

Nationalism

Nationalism emphasized the glory and commonality of one's own people while defining other nations as enemies.
Europeans embraced nationalistic messages through schools, military service, and mass media.
Nationalism convinced people that their national identities were the most important thing and that they were under threat from rival states.

Nationalism's Role in Triggering WWI

A Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.
Nationalism led Austria-Hungary to view the assassination as a demand for retaliation.
The alliance system came into play:
- Serbia was allied with Russia.
- Austria-Hungary was allied with Germany.
- Russia was allied with Britain and France.
- Germany was allied with Italy.
The conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary triggered the entire alliance system and mobilization processes, resulting in World War I.

World War I: Total War

World War I was the world's first total war, requiring the mobilization of a country's entire population, both military and civilian.
Civilians became viable targets for military action.
Governments used propaganda to maintain morale and motivate sacrifices.
Propaganda demonized enemies and exaggerated atrocities.
Propaganda used intensified forms of nationalism to generate fear of foreign enemies and pride in the nation.

Military Technologies and Trench Warfare

New military technologies (machine guns, chemical gas, tanks) made World War I extremely deadly.
Trench warfare became a main feature of fighting.
Generals initially sought quick victories through spirited attacks.
However, machine gun fire led to massive casualties, leading to trench warfare.
Both sides dug miles of trenches opposite each other for protection.
Trench warfare led to years of stalemate and heavy casualties with little progress.

Global Scope and U.S. Involvement

Imperial powers used colonial troops from Africa, India, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
The U.S. was eventually drawn into the war after Germany tried to instigate Mexico to start a war with the U.S. to keep them occupied.
With the fresh surge of troops backed by the might of American industry, the tide turned against Germany and the Central Powers.
The war officially ended in 1918 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Post-WWI Economic Crisis

The end of World War I led to a generalized economic disaster worldwide.

Germany's Economic Crisis

The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to pay reparations.
Germany financed war spending with debt, expecting to annex resource-rich lands to repay it.
Germany started printing more money, leading to hyperinflation.
Example of hyperinflation: In November 1923, 1 would get you 4,200,000,000,000 German marks.
A load of bread cost 160 marks in 1922 but 200,000,000,000 marks in 1923.

Global Economic Impact

Germany's inability to pay reparations affected Britain and France, who struggled to repay debts to the U.S.
The Soviets did not repay their war debts due to the communist revolution.
Colonial governments suffered as they depended on the economies of their parent countries.

Economic Stabilization and the U.S. Role

By 1924, the economic situation stabilized as Germany borrowed money from U.S. banks.

Soviet Union's Economic Policies

Russia exited World War I during the Russian Revolution of 1917, which devastated its economy.
Vladimir Lenin instituted the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1923.
The NEP introduced limited free market principles into the Soviet economy.
After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin assumed power.
Stalin introduced a series of five-year plans to rapidly industrialize the Soviet Union.
Stalin enacted the collectivization of agriculture, merging private farms into state-owned collective farms.
The kulaks (landowning class) resisted collectivization and were arrested, executed, or sent to labor camps (approximately 8,000,000).
Ukraine suffered severely during collectivization.
The 1932-1933 harvest was half of what it had been in previous years.
Stalin's policies prioritized feeding industrial centers, leading to famine in Ukraine.
Millions starved to death in an event known as the Holodomor (death by hunger).

The Great Depression

The U.S. stock market crash in 1929 triggered the Great Depression.
European economies relying on U.S. investments suffered as funding stopped.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal, with government-sponsored programs to create jobs and provide social security.
World War II broke out in 1939 and solved the U.S.'s economic hardships.

Post-War Tensions and Colonialism

The end of World War I created tensions, particularly regarding colonial peoples' desire for independence.
Victorious powers did not grant independence to colonial peoples.
European powers and the Japanese largely maintained colonial holdings.
Some new states emerged, such as the Republic of Turkey under Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk).
Colonial territories often simply switched hands from one imperial power to another.
The Paris Peace Conference that ended World War I led to the dismantling of the Ottoman and German empires.
These colonial territories were divided among the victorious powers as spoils of war.
The mandate system was introduced in the Middle East.