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 66 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.