Change in States Across the World After 1900

Russia

  • Russia lagged behind the economic growth of the West, and was reluctant to expand civil liberties.
  • Internal problems led to external problems like losing the Crimean War and the Russo-Japanese War.
  • The Bolsheviks seized power and established a communist government, forming the Soviet Union.

China

  • Qing Dynasty faced ethnic tensions, famine, and diminished government revenue.
  • External threats included Western industrialization.
  • The last Chinese dynasty was overthrown by Sun Yat-sen.

Mexican Revolution

  • There was a huge wealth gap, especially regarding land, and long-term cooperation with US investors to the detriment of the landless poor in Mexico.
  • A revolution led by Francisco Madero sought to correct these problems with some success.

Causes of World War One

  • M.A.I.N. acronym:
    • Militarism: Buildup of military weaponry.
    • Alliance System: Defensive groupings of nations promising aid if attacked.
    • Imperialism: Fierce competition for unclaimed lands (e.g., the scramble for Africa).
    • Nationalism: Intense pride in national identity, culture, and language.
  • The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the spark that ignited the war.

World War One

  • It was a "total war," where each country leveraged all domestic assets to fight.
  • Governments used propaganda to mobilize their home fronts, spreading biased or inaccurate information to persuade people to support the cause.
  • New technologies in the battlefield included poison gas, machine guns, submarines, and tanks.
  • Trench warfare led to long-lasting stalemates and high casualties.
  • The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1918.

Government Role in Economies After World War One

  • The Great Depression:
    • Began in the US and spread worldwide due to intertwined economies.
    • President Herbert Hoover initially opposed government intervention (laissez-faire).
    • Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal involved massive government spending to rescue the US from the depression.
  • Germany:
    • Economically ruined after World War One, particularly due to hyperinflation.
    • The Nazi party implemented strong government intervention, ceasing reparations payments and building up the military.
  • Soviet Union:
    • Enacted a series of five-year plans to rapidly transform the USSR into an industrial power.
    • Collectivized agriculture to serve urban industrial centers, leading to widespread famine and death in rural areas, especially in Ukraine.

Causes of World War Two

  • The unsustainable peace agreement of World War One, economic crisis, and the rise of fascist regimes, most notably Nazi Germany caused WWII.
  • The Treaty of Versailles: Included the war guilt clause, blaming Germany for World War One, and mandated reparations, destroying the German economy.
  • The Great Depression led to hyperinflation in Germany, creating an environment for extremist ideologies.
  • Fascist regimes: Benito Mussolini in Italy and the Nazi party in Germany capitalized on extreme nationalism.
  • Adolf Hitler: He began taking land surrounding Germany for Lebensraum (living space).
  • Appeasement: Initial response to Hitler's expansion, but his invasion of Poland in 1939 triggered World War Two.

World War Two

  • It was another total war where totalitarian and democratic nations deployed all their nation's resources to fight and win.
  • Methods used were similar to World War One, including propaganda and repurposing manufacturing sectors.
  • Colonial powers called up colonial men and women to fight and support the war effort.
  • Mobilization of states:
    • The United States had a strong industrial sector and produced munitions and women replaced men in factories.
    • Germany relied on forced labor in concentration camps, which proved counterproductive.
  • Repression of civil liberties occurred, such as Japanese internment in the US.
  • New military tactics and technologies: Firebombing in Tokyo and Dresden, and the atomic bomb used by the US on civilian populations in Japan.

Rise of Extremist Groups and Genocide

  • Extremist groups led to attempted destruction of certain populations through genocide or ethnic violence.
  • Nazi Holocaust: The Final Solution aimed to rid German population of Jews and other undesirables.
    • Forced removal of the Jewish population into concentration camps. Stronger ones were forced into labor camps, and the weaker ones were shipped off to mass extermination camps.
  • Holodomor in Ukraine: Ukrainian farmland was the agricultural capital for the Soviet Union. Farmers resented Stalin's collectivization of agriculture.
    • Farmers burned crops and killed livestock, leading to a massive famine where 7-10 million peasants died.
    • Stalin continued to send crops to urban workers and not to the dying Ukrainian peasantry.