New AP Euro Chapter 24

1. Why were tensions building between European nations before WWI?

Answer: Nationalism, imperial rivalries, and militarism created tensions. France and Germany had ongoing hostility, Britain and Germany had a naval arms race, and the Balkans were unstable.

2. What changes in physics emerged in this era?

Answer: Einstein’s theory of relativity and quantum mechanics (Planck) challenged Newtonian physics, shaking people’s understanding of the universe.

3. Who were Marie and Pierre Curie?

Answer: They discovered radioactivity, proving atoms were divisible, revolutionizing physics and medicine.

4. Who was Max Planck?

Answer: He developed quantum theory, showing that energy is quantized, altering fundamental physics.

5. Summarize Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Answer: Time and space are relative, disproving Newton's absolute time and space concept.

6. Who was Friedrich Nietzsche?

Answer: A philosopher who criticized reason and Christianity, declaring “God is dead” to express the decline of religious influence.

7. What did Henri Bergson argue?

Answer: He claimed reality is fluid and intuitive, challenging rationalism.

8. What was revolutionary socialism?

Answer: The idea that violent revolution was necessary to overthrow capitalism (advocated by Georges Sorel).

9. What is psychoanalysis?

Answer: Freud’s method of exploring the unconscious mind to understand behavior.

10. What are the id, ego, and superego?

Answer:

• Id: Instinctual desires

• Ego: Reality-based mediator

• Superego: Moral conscience

Freud’s theory paralleled Einstein’s by disrupting long-held beliefs.

11. What is Social Darwinism?

Answer: Applying “survival of the fittest” to human societies (Herbert Spencer), fueling nationalism.

12. How did Bernhardi and Chamberlain extend Darwin’s ideas?

Answer: Bernhardi promoted racial struggle, and Chamberlain saw Aryans as superior.

13. Why did the Church lose influence in urban areas?

Answer: Industrialization, science, and secularism led to anticlericalism.

14. What was Pope Pius IX’s response?

Answer: Issued the Syllabus of Errors, rejecting modernism.

15. What was religious Modernism?

Answer: An attempt to reconcile Christianity with modern ideas, condemned by the Church.

16. What was Pope Leo XIII’s approach?

Answer: Advocated for social justice (De Rerum Novarum), inspiring the Salvation Army.

17. What was Modernism in literature and art?

Answer: A movement breaking with tradition; Naturalism depicted harsh realities.

18. Who was Emile Zola?

Answer: A Naturalist writer who exposed social issues in Rougon-Macquart.

19. What defined the golden age of Russian literature?

Tolstoy: War and Peace explored history and morality.
Dostoevsky: Crime and Punishment examined psychology and redemption.

20. How did Symbolism react against Realism?

Answer: Focused on emotions and imagination rather than external reality.

21. What was Impressionism?

Answer: An art style capturing fleeting light and color, led by Monet and Renoir.

22. What was Post-Impressionism?

Answer: Built on Impressionism but added more structure (Cézanne, van Gogh).

23. How did 20th-century art change?

Answer: Moved away from realism, focusing on abstract ideas.

24. What was Cubism?

Answer: A fragmented, geometric art style developed by Picasso.

25. How did nationalism influence music?

Grieg: Norwegian folk music
Debussy: French impressionism
Stravinsky: Russian-inspired avant-garde

26. How did intellectual anxieties affect democracy?

Answer: Liberals feared instability and adapted policies to maintain control.

27. How did women's rights progress?

Answer: Britain and France made strides; Spain and Italy lagged.

28. Why was nursing significant for women?

Answer: Gave them a respectable, professional role in medicine.

29. Difference between suffragists and suffragettes?

Answer:

• Suffragists (Fawcett) used peaceful protests.

• Suffragettes (Pankhurst) used militant tactics.

30. What did Emily Davison do?

Answer: Died after running in front of the king’s horse for women's suffrage.

31. Who was Bertha von Suttner?

Answer: A pacifist who wrote Lay Down Your Arms.

32. What was the “new woman”?

Answer: Independent, educated women (ex: Maria Montessori).

33. Why did anti-Semitism rise?

Answer: Nationalism and racial theories fueled discrimination.

34. Why was anti-Semitism strong in Eastern Europe?

Answer: Blamed Jews for economic and political issues.

35. What was Zionism?

Answer: The movement for a Jewish homeland, led by Theodor Herzl.

36. How did labor demands shift liberal policies?

Answer: Forced governments to embrace social welfare (Fabian socialists).

37. Who was David Lloyd George?

Answer: A British PM who expanded social reforms via taxation.

38. How did Lloyd George interact with the House of Lords?

Answer: Weakened their power to pass reforms.

39. What was the Irish Home Rule conflict?

Answer: Ireland sought independence, causing deep divisions.

40. What was transformismo in Italy?

Answer: A corrupt system where politicians shifted alliances.

41. What was the Dreyfus Affair?

Answer: A wrongful conviction of a Jewish officer, fueling Zionism.

42. Why was Germany torn between modernity and tradition?

Answer: Rapid industrialization clashed with conservative values.

43. What was the Pan-German League?

Answer: A nationalist group promoting German expansion.

44. Why did universal male suffrage worsen tensions in Austria-Hungary?

Answer: Increased ethnic conflicts.

45. How was Austria’s Social Democratic Party different from Germany’s SPD?

Answer: More nationalist and less revolutionary.

46. Why did Hungary’s independence movement fail?

Answer: Internal divisions and Austrian suppression.

47. Who was Sergei Witte?

Answer: Russian finance minister who modernized industry.

48. Why did Russia face revolution in 1905?

Answer: Economic struggles, political repression, and military failures.

49. What was Russia’s conflict in East Asia?

Answer: Clashed with Japan over Manchuria and Korea.

50. What was Bloody Sunday (1905)?

Answer: A massacre of protesters; led to the October Manifesto and Duma.

51. How did the U.S. expand internationally?

Answer: Gained overseas territories (Hawaii, Philippines).

52. What happened in Canada in the late 19th century?

Answer: Expanded westward and gained more autonomy.

53. What is New Imperialism?

Answer: More aggressive territorial expansion compared to earlier imperialism.

54. Why did Europeans colonize Africa and Asia?

Answer: Racism, religion, and economic motives.

55. How did Europe dominate Africa so quickly?

Answer: Military technology and strategic agreements.

56. What was the British-Dutch conflict in South Africa?

Answer: Clashed over land and resources, affecting native groups.

57. Who was Cecil Rhodes?

Answer: British imperialist who expanded into Southern Africa.

58. What was the Boer War? How did it start, and how did it conclude?

Answer: Fought between the British and Dutch Boers (1899–1902) over control of South Africa. Britain won, creating the Union of South Africa.

59. Who opened the Suez Canal? What did it achieve? Who ended up taking control of it?

Answer: Opened by France (Ferdinand de Lesseps) in 1869, it shortened trade routes. Britain took control in 1882 for strategic dominance.

60. What humiliation did Italy face in the scramble for Africa?

Answer: Defeated by Ethiopia at the Battle of Adwa (1896), failing to colonize it.

61. Describe the ruthless settlement of the Belgians in the Congo.

Answer: King Leopold II’s regime exploited and brutalized locals for rubber, leading to millions of deaths.

62. Who were David Livingstone and Henry Stanley? Why are they complex figures in imperialism?

Answer: Livingstone (explorer) and Stanley (journalist) mapped Africa; Stanley helped Leopold II claim the Congo, linking exploration to exploitation.

63. Describe the geographical regions the French possessed in Africa.

Answer: Controlled Northwest Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco) and much of West Africa (Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast).

64. What was the Berlin Conference? Why was Germany behind in overseas possessions?

Answer: 1884–85 meeting to divide Africa among Europeans; Germany, newly unified, had fewer colonies.

65. What two African states remained free from colonization? What invention helped Europeans dominate Africa?

Answer: Ethiopia and Liberia; Maxim machine guns secured European control.

66. What happened under British rule in India?

Answer: Exploited for resources; Indian culture and economy reshaped by British policies.

67. Describe Russia’s expansion into East Asia. What other region did they seek?

Answer: Expanded into Manchuria; also sought control in the Balkans.

68. What happened to China in the 19th century? What were extraterritorial rights?

Answer: Foreign powers dominated trade; extraterritoriality meant foreigners weren’t subject to Chinese laws.

69. Describe Japan’s path to dominance over Korea in the early 20th century.

Answer: Defeated China (1895) and Russia (1905), annexing Korea in 1910.

70. Which European power dominated Southeast Asia?

Answer: France controlled Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia (French Indochina).

71. How was American imperialism different from Europe’s? Where did the U.S. expand?

Answer: Focused on economic influence; annexed Hawaii, Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

72. How did educated African leaders view European imperialism?

Answer: Admired European progress but resented colonial oppression.

73. What was the Boxer Rebellion? How did it end? How did China’s new Republic handle European influence?

Answer: Anti-foreigner uprising (1900), crushed by foreign forces; the Republic struggled with foreign domination.

74. How was Japan’s response to the West different from China’s? What was the Meiji Era?

Answer: Japan embraced modernization; the Meiji Era (1868–1912) reformed government, industry, and military.

75. How did Indians respond to British rule during the Raj? Why was India divided?

Answer: Nationalist movements grew; caste, religion, and regional differences divided Indians.

76. How did British industrialization help and hurt India?

Answer: Boosted infrastructure but crushed local industries and led to famine.

77. Why did Bismarck want an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Russia? Why did it fail?

Answer: Wanted stability; failed due to Austro-Russian rivalry over the Balkans.

78. How was Bulgaria formed? Why was it a problem for Austria-Hungary? What happened at the Congress of Berlin (1878)?

Answer: Bulgaria’s independence threatened Ottoman balance; the Congress reduced its size.

79. What was the Triple Alliance? How was it formed?

Answer: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (1882) allied against France and Russia.

80. What was Bismarck’s fear about Wilhelm II dropping Russia’s treaty?

Answer: Feared a Franco-Russian alliance, which later formed.

81. What was the Triple Entente? Why was it formed?

Answer: Alliance of France, Russia, and Britain (1907) against the Triple Alliance.

82. What were the consequences of Austria’s annexation of Bosnia in 1908?

Answer: Angered Serbia and Russia, escalating Balkan tensions.

83. What were the Balkan Wars (1912–1913)?

Answer: First war: Balkans defeated the Ottomans; Second war: Serbia fought Bulgaria over land.

84. Why did Serbia resent Austria-Hungary by 1914?

Answer: Austria blocked Serbian expansion and opposed Slavic nationalism, fueling WWI tensions.