AP World History Modern Test Prep for Unit 7

Context of Unit 7

  • Unit 7 focuses on global conflict, including World War I, World War II, and mass atrocities.
  • Starts in 1900, shortly after the Berlin Conference and during the Industrial Revolution.
  • European states needed resources and markets, leading to imperialism.
  • Key players at the Berlin Conference included Germany, Italy, Belgium, Britain, France, Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal, but no Africans.
  • Russia expanded into Asia, clashing with a modernizing Japan (Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905).
  • Other Asian states struggled against European imperialism.

Shifting Power

  • Dissatisfaction with authoritarian governments in Russia, Qing Dynasty (China), Ottoman Empire, and Mexico.
  • Russia: Losses in Russo-Japanese War and WWI led to Bolshevik Revolution (1917), establishing a communist regime.
  • China: Internal revolts and unequal treaties led to the end of the Qing Dynasty and creation of the Chinese Republic in 1911.
  • Ottoman Empire: Struggled after unsuccessful reforms; Young Turks pushed for a Turkish identity.
  • Mexico: Revolution led by Pancho Villa and Zapata overthrew dictator Porfirio Diaz in 1917.

World War I Causes

  • Acronym: MAINE (or MANIA)
    • Militarism: New technologies and weapons from the Industrial Revolution led to increased military spending.
    • Alliance System: Complex alliances ensured that when a conflict arose many countries would get involved.
    • Imperialism: Rivalries over resources and colonies created tensions.
    • Nationalism: Belief in the superiority of one's nation-state.

Spark of World War I

  • Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Bosnia by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip.
  • Austria-Hungary issued a harsh ultimatum to Serbia, which was rejected.
  • Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
  • Russia backed Serbia, leading Germany to declare war on Russia and France.

Conduct of World War I

  • New technologies, such as machine guns, poison gas, airplanes, and tanks, led to a horrific stalemate.
  • Civilians were part of the war effort.
  • Extensive propaganda was used to influence public opinion.
  • The United States joined the war in 1917 after the sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman Telegram.

Treaty of Versailles

  • Winners of WWI met at the Paris Peace Conference and created the Treaty of Versailles.
  • Germany had to accept blame, demilitarize, give up colonies, and pay war reparations.
  • The treaty is considered a cause of World War II.

Interwar Period

  • Post-war anxiety and disillusionment dominated.
  • Germany faced hyperinflation due to printing money to pay reparations.
  • The stock market crash of 1929 led to the Great Depression.
  • Economist John Maynard Keynes advocated deficit spending to stimulate the economy.
  • U.S. President FDR implemented New Deal programs inspired by Keynesian economics.

Global Economic Responses

  • Japan's exports dropped significantly but recovered the fastest.
  • Russia shifted to communist rule after the Bolshevik Revolution, introducing the New Economic Plan (NEP) temporarily.
  • Mexico nationalized its oil industries.

Rise of Fascism

  • Fascism is characterized by extreme nationalism, violence, and scapegoating.
  • Italy: Benito Mussolini rose to power and established a totalitarian state.
  • Germany: The Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, gained control.
    • Hitler blamed Jews for Germany's economic problems, leading to anti-Semitic policies and Kristallnacht.

Colonial Unrest

  • Colonized people recognized the hypocrisy of European self-determination.
  • Nationalist movements grew in India, Africa, and the Middle East.
  • Gandhi led non-violent civil disobedience movements in India.
  • The Balfour Declaration (1917) caused tensions between Jews and Muslims in Palestine.

World War II Causes

  • Hitler, failure of the League of Nations, and appeasement.
  • Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles and built up the military.
  • The policy of appeasement failed when Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland.
  • Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact.
  • World War II began on September 1, 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland.

Conduct of World War II

  • Different from WWI due to the speed and technological innovation
  • Hitler used blitzkrieg tactics.
  • Aerial fighting, firebombing, and atomic weaponry were introduced.
  • Government-controlled economies used ideologies (fascism and communism) to mobilize resources.

Change and Continuity Between World War I and World War II

  • Changes: Speed of war, fighting strategies (trench warfare vs. air and ground), atomic weaponry.
  • Continuities: Total war, propaganda, global nature, colonial people fighting for the parent company.

Mass Atrocities and Genocide

  • Extremist groups in power led to the destruction of specific populations.
    • Armenian Genocide (1915): The Turkish government targeted Armenians, resulting in mass deaths.
    • The Holocaust: Nazis targeted Jews, leading to the establishment of concentration and extermination camps and the killing of over 6 million Jews.
    • Nanking Massacre (1937): Japanese forces massacred an estimated 300,000 Chinese in Nanking.
  • Other instances: Rwanda (1994), Cambodia (1975-1979).
  • The United Nations was created and pledged to uphold human rights.