Standard 17
What are the five main long-term causes of World War I, often remembered by the acronym M.A.N.I.A., or MAIN?
The causes are Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism, and the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
1. What is "Fascism" and which leader introduced it in Italy?
Fascism is a militant political movement that emphasizes loyalty to the state and obedience to its leader; it was introduced by Benito Mussolini.
1. What strategy, meaning "lightning war," did Germany use to invade Poland?
The strategy was Blitzkrieg.
1. Define the policy of Brinkmanship.
Brinkmanship is the practice of pushing a dangerous situation to the very edge of war to force an opponent to back down.
Defining Movements: How does the presentation distinguish between Pan-Africanism and Pan-Arabism? What is the core shared belief in both movements?
Pan-Africanism emphasizes the unity of Africans and those of African descent worldwide, while Pan-Arabism focuses on the unity of the Arab world. Their core shared belief is the rejection of foreign/colonial influence in favor of regional unity.
What specific event in Sarajevo is considered the immediate "spark" that started World War I?
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip.
2. What was the goal of Stalin’s "Five-Year Plans"?
The goal was the rapid industrialization of the Soviet Union's economy to catch up with the West.
2. Who were the "Big Three" leaders who met at the Tehran Conference?
Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA), Winston Churchill (UK), and Joseph Stalin (USSR).
2. The slides mention that Brinkmanship relied on "retaliating instantly." Evaluate the risks of this policy. If a radar error occurred or communications failed, what would be the likely outcome for the world?
The risk is accidental nuclear war. If a false alarm occurred, the policy of instant retaliation would likely result in a full-scale nuclear exchange, leading to global devastation.
The Bosnian Genocide: What was the stated goal of the Bosnian Serb forces in the 1990s, and what specific 1995 event is cited as the deadliest massacre of that conflict?
The goal was "ethnic cleansing" to create a "Greater Serbia" by removing non-Serbs; the deadliest event was the Srebrenica massacre.
3. What was the slogan used by Lenin to rally support among the Russian people?
Lenin’s famous slogan was "Peace, Land, and Bread."
3. What term describes the government-owned farms created by Stalin after seizing private land?
These were called Collective Farms (or Collectives).
3. What were the "Nuremberg Laws" passed in 1935?
They were laws that stripped Jews of their German citizenship and prohibited marriages between Jews and non-Jews.
3. How did the policy of Détente under President Nixon differ from the previous policy of Brinkmanship?
Détente focused on easing Cold War tensions through diplomacy and treaties (like SALT), rather than the constant, high-stakes threat of nuclear war.
The Rwandan Genocide: According to the "Trigger" mentioned in Slide 5, what specific event in April 1994 initiated the massacres, and how long did the violence last?
The trigger was the assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana (his plane was shot down); the violence lasted approximately 100 days.
4. List three new weapons introduced during World War I as mentioned in the slides.
Three new weapons included tanks, airplanes, and poison gas (other options include submarines/U-boats and machine guns).
4. What event in 1929 caused devastating economic trouble for Germany again, after they had started to improve?
The Stock Market Crash in the United States, which triggered the Great Depression.
4. Which two rival military alliances were formed after WWII, led by the USA and the USSR, respectively?
NATO (led by the USA) and the Warsaw Pact (led by the USSR).
4. The Helsinki Accords included the US, the Soviet Union, and 33 other nations. Why might a treaty involving 35 nations be more effective at maintaining peace than a treaty between just two nations?
A multi-nation treaty creates global accountability. If one nation breaks the agreement, they face pressure and sanctions from 34 other nations, rather than just one rival.
Gorbachev’s Reforms: Define and contrast Glasnost and Perestroika. Which one was aimed at political "openness," and which was aimed at economic "restructuring"?
Glasnost was "openness" (increasing freedom of speech and press); Perestroika was "restructuring" (introducing some capitalism/private ownership into the economy).
5. What was the name of the peace treaty signed in 1919 that officially ended World War I?
The Treaty of Versailles.
5. Explain the difference between "Totalitarianism" and a standard authoritarian government.
Totalitarianism seeks to control every aspect of public and private life, including the thoughts and values of its citizens, whereas a standard authoritarian government primarily focuses on maintaining political power and control over the state.
5. What was the "Iron Curtain" and who coined the term?
The "Iron Curtain" was a metaphor for the ideological and physical divide between democratic Western Europe and the communist Eastern Bloc; the term was coined by Winston Churchill.
5. According to the slides, which four nations occupied and controlled the different zones of Germany after World War II?
The United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.
The End of an Empire: In December 1991, the Soviet Union officially dissolved. Into how many independent nations did it break, and which was the largest?
It broke into 15 independent nations, with Russia being the largest.
6. Why were the Balkans referred to as the "Powder Keg" of Europe prior to 1914?
The region was nicknamed the "Powder Keg" because of its intense ethnic tensions and extreme nationalism, which made it highly unstable and ready to "explode" into war at any moment.
6. How did the Great Depression contribute to the rise of military leaders in Japan?
The economic collapse caused the Japanese people to lose faith in their civilian government. They turned to the military, which promised to solve economic problems through imperial expansion and the conquest of resource-rich territories like Manchuria.
6. Explain the significance of the Battle of Stalingrad. Why was it a turning point?
It was the first major defeat for the German army on the Eastern Front. From this point on, the Soviet Union began pushing the Germans back toward Berlin, ending Hitler’s hopes of conquering the USSR.
6. What specific event in 1948 caused the Soviet Union to cut off highway, water, and rail lines to West Berlin, leading to the Berlin Airlift?
The Berlin Blockade, which was the Soviet reaction to the Western Allies' attempt to unify their zones and introduce a new currency.
Asymmetric Warfare: Why is contemporary terrorism described as a form of "asymmetric warfare"? What is the primary goal of targeting non-combatants?
It is asymmetric because terrorists lack the power of a national military and use unconventional tactics to fight stronger enemies. The primary goal of targeting non-combatants is to spread fear and exert political pressure on governments.
7. Describe the nature of "Trench Warfare" and its impact on the progress of the war on the Western Front.
Trench warfare involved soldiers fighting from long, excavated ditches separated by "No Man's Land." It led to a brutal stalemate where neither side could make significant gains, resulting in massive casualties for very little territorial progress.
7. Describe the methods Mussolini used to maintain control over the Italian people.
Mussolini used secret police (the OVRA), strict censorship of the press, indoctrination through youth groups, and the banning of all political parties except the Fascists.
7. Describe the U.S. strategy of "Island Hopping" in the Pacific theater.
The U.S. would capture key, less-defended islands to use as bases while bypassing heavily fortified Japanese positions, gradually moving closer to the Japanese mainland.
12. Analyze the statistics of the 1947 UN Partition Plan. Why did the Palestinians and Islamic nations reject this plan, arguing it was unfair to the Arab population?
They rejected it because, while Arabs made up the vast majority of the population, the plan gave the larger and more fertile portion of the land to the Jewish minority.
Impact of 9/11: What were three major domestic changes the U.S. government implemented to increase internal security following the September 11 attacks?
The creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the passage of the Patriot Act, and the establishment of the TSA for airport security.
8. How did the alliance system turn a local conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia into a global war?
The alliance system created a "domino effect"; because nations were bound by treaties to defend one another, the declaration of war between two countries forced their respective allies (such as Germany, Russia, and France) to enter the conflict.
8. Analyze the purpose of the "Great Purge" in the Soviet Union. Who was targeted?
The purpose was to eliminate any potential threats to Stalin’s power. He targeted members of the Communist Party, military officers, and anyone suspected of being "enemies of the people."
8. Compare the U.S. and Soviet experiences during WWII. How did these differences influence their post-war goals?
The U.S. emerged with its homeland untouched and its economy booming, leading to a goal of spreading democracy and open markets. The USSR suffered massive casualties and destruction, leading to a goal of creating a "buffer zone" of communist states in Eastern Europe for security.
16. What specific event in 1919 involved 3,000 students gathering in Beijing to protest the Treaty of Versailles, sparking a nationalist movement?
The May Fourth Movement.
1. Defining the "Global Village": How has television contributed to the creation of a "global village," and what are some examples of shared experiences that make different cultures more similar today?
Television allows people across the globe to watch the same events simultaneously, creating a sense of shared culture. Examples include the Olympics, World Cup, and global news coverage.
9. What were the specific punishments placed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles regarding its military and territory?
Germany was forced to return Alsace-Lorraine to France, reduce its army to 100,000 men, ban its air force and submarines, and pay massive financial reparations.
9. Why was the Weimar Republic considered weak, and how did this weakness help Hitler rise to power?
The Weimar Republic suffered from hyperinflation, political infighting, and a lack of democratic tradition. Hitler used this chaos to present himself as a strong, decisive leader who could restore German pride and stability.
9. What was the purpose of the Marshall Plan?
To provide economic aid to rebuild Western Europe, thereby stabilizing their economies and preventing the spread of communism.
9. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is described as a result of "mass demonstrations." Evaluate the importance of the protests compared to the government's decisions. Do you think the Wall would have fallen if the people had not physically taken tools to destroy it? Justify your answer using the timeline of events.
The protests were essential because they paralyzed the government's ability to maintain control. While the government's decision to open the border was the legal catalyst, the physical destruction of the wall by the people made the change permanent and impossible for the government to take back.
3. The Information Revolution: How do computers facilitate "intellectual integration" among professionals like scientists and engineers across different countries?
Computers and the internet allow professionals to collaborate in real-time, sharing massive amounts of data and research instantly, which creates a unified global community of experts.
10. Explain the significance of the "November Revolution" in Russia in 1917.
The November Revolution (or Bolshevik Revolution) was significant because it overthrew the provisional government and established the world's first communist state under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin.
10. Evaluate the effectiveness of the League of Nations in responding to Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia. What precedent did this set?
The League was ineffective; it imposed minor sanctions but refused to ban oil or close the Suez Canal. This set a precedent that the League was powerless to stop aggressive dictators from invading other nations.
11. Why did President Truman decide to use the atomic bomb on Japan instead of launching a land invasion?
Truman believed it would bring a swift end to the war and save hundreds of thousands of American and Japanese lives that would have been lost in a full-scale invasion of the mainland.
7. Contrast the government and economic systems of West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany) and East Germany (the German Democratic Republic). How did they differ?
West Germany was a democratic, capitalist nation with a free-market economy; East Germany was a communist, totalitarian state with a Soviet-style command economy.
4. Economic Interdependence: Explain how the combination of computer networks and satellites allows the global economy to operate 24/7. What does it mean for nations to be "completely dependent" on each other economically?
Networks allow financial trades to happen instantly; when one market closes (e.g., New York), another is opening (e.g., Tokyo). Nations are dependent because their supply chains and investments are linked—if one major economy fails, it affects everyone else.