Final Essay

Krystal Stringer

Period 4

June 1, 2008

Final Essay #1

 

The Start of World War 1

 

   I believe Germany was not the primary aggressor or the cause of War World 1. The main reason World War 1 was erupted was because of the treaty of alliances and the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Germany wasn’t the primary aggressor of World War 1 because France provoked Germany to declare war against them. Also, Russia provoked Germany to declare war just like France did.

Germany was not the main aggressor because the treaty of alliance system otherwise known as “one thing led to another” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm) and the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. This Alliance system was secret and none of the countries knew about it except the ones that were in alliance obviously. The alliances were the Triple Entente which is the Britain, Russia and Serbia the Central Power was Germany and Austria. “The explosive that was World War One had been long in the stockpiling; the spark was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm). “Ferdinand’s death at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret Society” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm) erupted World War because Austria declared war on Serbia and because of the alliance treaty system Russia declared war on Austria. “So then, we have the following remarkable sequence of events that led unavoidably to WW1” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm).

 

I believe Germany was not the primary attacker because Russia provoked Germany to declare war on them. “The Imperial German Government has used every effort since the beginning of the crisis to bring about a peaceful settlement.” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_russia.htm). Russia was looking for a reason to go to war against Germany. “The part of mediator between the Cabinets of Vienna and St. Petersburg; but Russia, without waiting for any result, proceeded to a general mobilization of her forces both on land and sea” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_russia.htm). Germany was trying to prevent war from erupting by demanding to get Serbia and Austria to come to an agreement. But Russia wanted war to happen so that it would be able to weaken the German Empire. “In consequence of this threatening step, which was not justified by any military proceedings on the part of Germany, the German Empire was faced by a grave and imminent danger” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_russia.htm). Germany wanted to compromise with Russia and demanded for them not to move there troops any further but this didn’t happen, Russia wanted war regardless. “The Government of His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russians and to insist upon a cessation of the aforesaid military acts.” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_russia.htm). Russia’s effort on trying to make Germany to declare war on them eventually worked. I think Germany was trying to prevent war not to start it but also not to have an option because Russia was a threat to the German Empire. “Russia having refused to comply with this demand, and having shown by this refusal that her action was directed against Germany, and considers himself at war with Russia” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_russia.htm).

I don’t see Germany as the primary reason of World War 1 because France also provoked Germany to declare war on them. France had every intention for Germany to declare war on them in order to get Alsace-Lorraine back. “Flagrantly hostile acts committed on German territory by French military aviators (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_france.htm). France was determining to enter war against Germany so they “attempted to destroy buildings near Wesel” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_france.htm). Many of these acts were a treat to Germanys other aviators “have been seen in the district of the Eifel” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_france.htm). France was being very aggressive in order to make sure that Germany would declare war as another aviator “has thrown bombs on the railway near Carlsruhe and Nuremberg” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_france.htm). Although France had done all those unfriendly acts “Germany will retain French mercantile vessels in German ports, but they will release them if, within forty-eight hours, they are assured of complete reciprocity” (http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/germandeclarationofwar_france.htm).

   To conclude as you can see I don’t think that Germany was the primary aggressor or the cause of World War 1. As I mentioned earlier the main reason everything happen was because of the treaty of alliance system. I see Serbia as the primary aggressor because they could have prevented the assassination of Franz Ferdinand but instead they were in favor of it. Everything happens as a chain reaction; something triggers another thing. I think war could have been prevented if there wouldn’t have been a treaty of alliance. Therefore, Germany can not be judge as the primary aggressor of World War 1 because they were trying to make Serbia and Austria comes to an agreement but Russia, unable to wait for a result, triggered war between the Allies and Central Powers. So to come to a conclusion I believe the ones to blame for the start of World War 1 would be the Russians.

 

**sorry mr. weiss i couldnt figure out how to upload it as a link.

 

Page 710 #1, 2, & 4

1.

-Propaganda: Ideas, facts, or rumors spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause. 

-War of attrition: Slow wearing down manner of welfare in which each side tries to outlast the other.

-Contraband:War materials supplied by a neutral nation to a belligerent one.

-Atrocities: Brutal crimes of war, often committed against civilians.

2.

-Central powers:World War I alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. 

-Allied powers: Alliance that included Great Britain, France, Russia, the U.S, and other countries during WWI&II. 

-U-boats: German submarines used in WWI.

-Woodrow Wilson:The U.S president. He warmed Germany that the US would not tolerate another such incident.

-Arthur Zimmermann: A high official in the German foreign ministry. He secretely sent telegrams to Mexico proposing tan alliance between the countries and offered to help Mexico to regain its lost land. 

4.

a.The new technology change the way the war was fought because more weapons were being mass produced by efficient methods. While Britain has the greatest navy at that time, Germans used U-Boat,  submarines to attack British boat and caused an extensive loss to Allied shipping. It also gave them more advantage in the war and powerful when the Germans soon introduced poisoned gas.

b. The US declared the war proclaiming that ” the world must be made safe for democracy”. They were fighting for democratic ideals rather than other ideas of the war.

Factory Worker

If I was a factory worker during the time of 1910, I would not prefer to go to war with Germany. While capitalists like factory owners benefits the most from our hard labors, we workers work for penny wages. The population or supply is growing exponentially while the demands for jobs is only growing linearly.  We, as workers in the lower class do not benefit from this, but in fact, we are the ones fighting in the front line.

Page 769 #3

3.

a. What were some of the factors that led to the fall of the Qing Dynasty?
 Some of the factors were the Boxers Rebellion and nationalism. 

b. How Did the Nationalist movement grow and change under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek?
The nationalist movement allowed the army to grow and become even stronger. Right after the Northern Expedition, China got some certain lands. From here on out China became a Nationalist government.

c. What factors led to rise of communism in china?
The factors that led china to rise into a communist were a group of Chinese intellectuals. They founded the Chinese Communist Party that was inspired by the eaxample of the Russian Revolution and the ideas of Marx and Lenin.

Page 416 #4 & Page 421 #2

4.

a. What changes did the growth of cities bring to China?

The changes that the growth of cities brought to china were that China became more into trade despite Government Disapproval, started the planting of more crops and there was a lot of peace in China during this time.

b. What attitudes might Chinese rulers have had toward foreigners during the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties?

The attitudes that Chinese rulers might have had during the Ming and Quing dynasties regarding foreigners were probably unimportant because they rejected western culture and foreigners.

2.

-Opium War: The conflict between China and Britian that lasted from 1839 to 1842

-Treaty of Nanjing: China gave the island of Hong Kong to the British

– Taiping Rebellion: Lasted from 1850- 1864 and caused terrible destiction in sounthern China and the Yangtze valley.

Page 681 #1 & 3

1.

-Meiji Restoration: Change when a group of samurai overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate and restored the emperor to power.

-Diet: Japan’s two house national legislature.

-Sino-Japanese War: War between China and Japan over Korea in 1894, resulting in a Japanese victory.

-Treaty of Shimonoseki: 1895 treaty forcing China to recognize independence of Korea and make concessions to Japan.

-Mongkut: A king who ascended to power in 1851 and was paraticularly good at such diplomacy. He studied Western ideas to understandhis enemies and help modernize his country.

-Liliuokalani: Hawaii’s queen that did not want foreigners to control Hawaii.

-Emilio Aguinaldo: Led the Filipinos in a fight for independence.

 

3.

a. How did British rule affect India?

The British system of education had a powerful impact. The classes were mostly taught in English, the students learned about Western ideas, like democracy and socialism, and with the regular school subjects.

b. Why were the Japanese able to reform and industrialize their nation so quickly?

They were able to reform and industrialize so quickly because the government bought new factory machinery from western countries and passes laws to encourage private citizens to start businesses. Also, the government sent students and leaders to the Western countries to learn as much as they could about their ideas.

c. How did United States expansion in Hawaii differ from its expansion in the Philippines?

In Hawaii the people from the United States just went in and started huge sugarcane and pineapple plantations and a few years later took over the island.

In philippines it was different; Spain and the United States went to war in the Philippines but within a few months the United States controled the Philippines.

Page 563 # 1 & 2

1.

-Free enterprise: System in which economic forces work autmatically and naturally, without merchantilist laws and regulations.

-Laisez-faire: Belief that government should not interfere with operations of businesses.

-Humanitarians: People who work to improve the conditions of others.

-Utilitarianism: Belief that a law was useful if it led to “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” of people. 

-Strike: Refusal of workers to work until thei demands are met.

-Unions: Associations of workers that combine forces and demand of different workers.

-Collective bargaining: Process of negotiation between management and union representatives.

 

2.

-Adam Smith: Scottish economist that wrote a book called Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, which was published in 1776.

-Thomas Malthus: Wrote book called An essay on the Principle of Population, which was published in 1798.

-David Ricardo: British economist that wrote a book called Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, which was published in 1817.

-Charles Dickens: English writer that used his novels to attack greedy employrs.

-Jeremy Bentham: A philosopher that came up with the theory of utilitarianism.

-John Stuart Mill: English philosopher that believed that a government shoudl work for the good of all its citizens.

Page 558 #1

1. Define:

-Capitalism: Economic system in which individuals, rather than governments, control the factors of production.

-Commercial Capitalism: Early economic system in hich most capitalists were merchants who bought and sold goods. 

-Industrial Capitalism: Type of capitalism that began during the Industrial Revolution when capitalists were involved in producing and manufacturing goods themselves, often using mechanized and industrialized methods of production.

-Interchangeable Parts: Identical parts that can replace each other.

-Mass Production: System of producing large numbers of identical items.

-Corporations: Businesses that allow people to buy stock in the company.

-Monopoly: Complete control of the production or sale of a single good or service by a single firm. 

-Cartels: Corporate combinations that control entire industries.

-Business cycle: Alternating periods of prosperity and decline.

-Depression: Period in which the decreased demand of goods causes the entire economy to sink.

Page 550 #1 & 2

1. -Enclosure movement: Practice of fencing or enclosing common lands into individual holdings.

-crop rotation: the practice of alternationg crops of different kinds to preserve soil fertility.

-industrial revolution: terms for changes beginning in the 1700s, when powerdriven machines began to do much of the work that people had done before.

-factors of production: Basic resources for industrialization, such as necessary land, capital, and labor.

-mechanization: use of automatic machinery to increase production.

-factory system: Production of goods in a factory through the use of machines and a large number of workers.

-vulcanization: Process of treating rubber to make it more useful.

2. -Jethro Tull: Landowner was concerned about the amount of seed wasted by hand-scattering it over the fields.

-Richard Arkwright: Invented a way to drive the machine by waterpower.

-Eli Whitney: invented the cotton gin, a machine that could clean much more cotton in a day than hand laborers could.

-James Watt: studied and improved on Newcomen’s machine.

-Henry Bessemer: working independently, he developed what came to be known as the Bessemer process- a cheaper and more efficient method of making steel.

-Robert Fulton: American engineer who was the first to build a profitable steamboat.

-Samuel Morse: Sent an eletric current through a wire, causing a machine at the other end to click.

Page 636 & 642

page 636 # 2 & 4

2.  -carbonari: secret society of italian nationalists in the early 18oos.

-Giuseppe Mazzini: One of the most famous carbonari

-Young Italy Movement: Group of italian partriots dedicated to spreading ideas of nationlism.

-King Victor Emmanuel II: king of Sardinia, he did want to expand Sardinian territory.

-Camillo Benso di Cavour: was a republican and an italian patriot.

-Napoleon III: Freanch emperor that wanted to increase French influence.

-Giuseppe Garibaldi: a man devoted to Italian freedom

4. a.  The French Revolution/Congress of Vienna and Revolution of 1848 led to new nationalist movements for unification in italy.

b. Camillo Benso di Cavour and Giuseppi Garibaldi were the important leaders in the fight for Italian unification.

c. The kingdom fo Sardinia took the lead in italian unification because they had a strong army with Garibaldi and was allied with France.

Page 642

4.

a. The prussia replaced Austria as the leading German state in Europe by the Danish war and the Seven weeks’ war replace the Austria.

b. German unification had both Prussia and Austria against them while italy had only one state. The German unification resulted into an Empire while Italy didn’t.

c. The government had one Emperor, and one Chief Minister. The Legislative Branch had two houses which were the upper house (Bundesrat) and the lower house (Bundestag).