Global Conflict and Depression Detailed Notes

WW1

  • Causes
    • Long term causes
      • Alliance System: Entente vs. Triple Alliance created tensions and made peace difficult.
      • Nationalism: Led to militarism, propaganda, and a belief in national superiority.
      • Militarism: Countries building up their armies.
      • Propaganda: Used to convince citizens of a country's superiority.
      • Total War: Belief that one's nation is the strongest.
      • Imperialism: Colonies were pulled into WW1; imperial expansion was seen as necessary.
    • Short term causes
      • Serbia vs. Austria-Hungary: Serbian nationalists were angry, leading to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
      • Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
      • Serbia asked Russia for help, and Russia agreed and declared war on Austria-Hungary.
      • Germany (Triple Alliance) came to Austria-Hungary’s aid and declared war on Russia. Germany also invaded France through Belgium, violating its neutrality.
      • Britain declared war, and all colonies were drawn into the conflict, resulting in a World War.
  • Effects
    • Treaty of Versailles: A harsh treaty that had numerous consequences.
      • Mandate System for the Middle East: Arabs were angered because they had been promised independence from the Ottomans. Jews also wanted to be in the region, which led to conflict between Arabs and Jews.
      • Germans' Anger: Hitler used the resentment over the treaty (a "stab in the back") to rise to power. People were aware of this potential consequence.
    • Increased Nationalism: Especially in fascist nations. Hitler blamed the Jews in Mein Kampf for Germany’s loss in WW1 and used them as a scapegoat.
      • Also seen in Turkey with Atatürk’s fight for Turkish independence. The Armenian Genocide occurred earlier during this period.
    • Disillusionment of Soldiers: Soldiers did not want to go to war after their experiences, leading to the formation of the League of Nations (LoN).
    • European states got the right to self-determination but the colonies did not.
    • Consumerism: Roaring twenties.
    • US center stage: US became more prominent, and Japan became more ambitious because of the land acquired from China during the war. The Chinese were angry and wanted the land back.

REVOLUTIONS

  • Mexican Revolution
    • 1910: Plan of San Luis Potosi called for democracy, women’s rights, and land reform. Diaz had been in power for 33 years and had won reelection.
    • 1911: Revolution of 1911.
    • 1912: End of Civil War, overthrow of Francisco Madero.
    • 1913: New constitution adopted; Huerta forced to resign.
    • 1915: Resistance forces against Villa were suppressed, resulting in many deaths.
    • 1917: Carranza wrote a progressive constitution.
    • 1919: Emiliano Zapata was assassinated.
    • 1920: Carranza was assassinated.
    • 1923: Pancho Villa was assassinated.
    • 1934: Land reform by Lazaro Cárdenas.
    • 1934-1940: Cárdenas presidency.
    • 1946: The PRM was renamed the Party of Revolutionary Institutions.
  • Chinese Revolution
    • People were disillusioned with the Qing Dynasty because it could not industrialize and was dependent on the West for growth.
    • They wanted something more modern and started adopting Western styles.
    • The Qing Dynasty rulers were not really Chinese (they were from Manchuria), which angered people.
    • The Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1912, and a nationalist state was established, leading to conflict between nationalists and communists.
  • Russian Revolution
    • First successful communist revolution.
      • Conflict between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (the rich).
    • Lower classes were still oppressed, and Nick II was still autocratic.
    • Industrialization was still not complete.
    • 1905 Revolution: Failed but created conditions for another possible revolution. Lenin was needed to lead them.
    • 1915: Nicholas II went to the front lines during WW1, resulting in so much death that people wanted Russia out of the war. The provisional government failed to pull Russia out.
    • 1917: The Romanovs were put under house arrest in Siberia, marking the beginning of the revolution.
      • Nicholas II abdicated. Lenin/Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government.
    • Russian Civil War: Communists (Reds) vs. everyone else (Whites).
      • The Reds killed all the Romanovs two hours before the Whites arrived. Lenin originally wanted to send them somewhere else.
    • 1922: Communist victory. The USSR was formed.
    • Stalin entered the game.

GREAT DEPRESSION

  • Context
    • America provided a lot of stuff after WW1, leaving allies in debt.
    • Brief recession followed, while Germany experienced a boom.
    • Stock market crashed in 1929.
      • Black Thursday: Prices plummeted.
    • Depression easy for many b/c already in debt after WW1 due to reparations or debt to the US for funds.
    • Economic nationalism: self-sufficient → tariffs, import quotas/prohibitions
  • Responses
    • Liberal
      • Trade declined and countries began producing solely for the internal market, not focusing on ramping up arms.
      • A form of socialism was implemented, with federal governments in control of regulation and distribution of wealth.
      • FDR: New Deal introduced federal programs (Social Security), minimum wage, and reforms. Trade unions were supported, but the New Deal did not actually end the Depression.
    • Communist
      • Eliminated private ownership of land, believed to be a faster way to modernize on collective farms.
      • Five-Year plans: Rapid industrialization created many jobs, enabling quick recovery from the Great Depression and victory over the Nazis.
      • Still searched for enemies who spoke out against communism → gulags.
    • Fascist (+ Hitler)
      • Appalled with the capitalist response to the Great Depression. They feared the rise of businesses and socialism, with resentment stemming from WW1.
      • Italy: Got screwed over despite winning WW1 → Mussolini
        • The state is absolute.
        • Organized people into corporations, toppling democracy.
        • Embraced Catholic culture.
        • Invaded Ethiopia in 1935.
      • Nazis: Hitler was angry about what happened in Versailles and the resulting crisis.
        • Hyperinflation occurred, leading to the Dawes Plan (1924).
        • Sought to rescue Germany from Versailles and the Depression while blaming the Jews for their problems.
        • Public projects and rearming created a lot of jobs, quickly getting Germany out of the Depression.
        • Legally became Chancellor and gradually made Jews outcasts, leading to the Holocaust.
        • Rejected Enlightenment values, favoring the "master" Aryan race.
      • Japan: Gradually leaned towards authoritarianism while expanding its empire.
        • There was no struggle to come to power. Japan did not initially look like the next authoritarian state and was very close to democracy.
        • Hurt during the Depression → PPL PISSED → authoritarian leadership.
        • Not fascism.

WW2

  • Caused DIRECTLY by Hitler’s rejection of the Treaty of Versailles.
    • Rebuilt the military. The world was okay because Hitler’s Germany was seen as a buffer between capitalism and communism.
    • Occupied the Rhineland again. Only France was angry; the world was okay because German troops were going into Germany.
    • 1937: Took signature off ToV.
    • 1938: Annexation of Austria and invasion of the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) → Munich Conference → appeasement → Chamberlain.
    • Hitler invaded and annexed Czechoslovakia 6 months later, resulting in more appeasement.
    • 1939: Non-aggression pact established between Germany and USSR. On 9/1/1939, they invaded Poland, and WW2 began.
  • Germany used blitzkrieg (lightning warfare), similar to the Schlieffen Plan. They betrayed the USSR with Operation Barbarossa. The USSR eventually achieved victory over the Nazis.
  • Nazis realized that starvation wasn’t killing the Jews fast enough, so they came up with the Final Solution, placing them all in death camps to kill them. There were 6 death camps.
  • Emigration of Jews into Palestine led to conflict.
  • Asia: Japan vs. China began the war there. Japan expanded its empire into colonies and committed many war crimes along the way, including the Rape of Nanjing (1937-38).
  • The US joined in December 1941 after Pearl Harbor, dominating in the Pacific and ending the war with the A-bomb and bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
  • They realized that the LoN didn’t quite work, so they formed the permanent United Nations.
  • Increased internationalism also led to the creation of the World Bank.
  • Increased nationalism in the colonies led to self-determination.