HIST 410 FINAL EXAM ESSAY

HIST 410 final exam essays Analyze how nationalism and militarism contributed to the outbreak of World War I. Use historical examples to support your answer. Of the various causes of World War I, which do you think was the most important and why? Imperialism is a state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other nations. In other words it a system where a powerful nation or state takes control of territories outside its own borders these territories are called colonies, that were used to profit and enrich the imperial nations (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). European countries had been taking over colonies throughout the world since the fifteenth century. From 1870 on there was an unwritten competition to take over parts of the world they had earlier considered not worth colonizing. Britain and France, and Germany and France had almost gone to war over clashes in North Africa. Italy resented France because they prevented the setting up of Italian colonies, and the British and Russians clashed over who should have control in Persia (modern Iran), but were both worried that Germany would take land in the Middle East. Imperialism had an important side effect that explains why the 'Great War' became a world war. As each European country gained colonies, those colonies became committed to helping the 'motherland' in the event of a war (CCN, 2019). Nationalism is an intense form of patriotism to one’s country and places the value and interest of that country above all other countries. This dedication to their country surpasses any individual or group interests ( Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). An example of Nationalism, In the early 20th-century nationalism, was the driving force in Europe and a significant cause of World War I. The citizens of, Britain, France, and Germany acted on the premise that their nation was supreme to all others. The industrialization gives them economic, cultural, and military sovereignty over many nations and this power was used to invade and conquer many other nations especially in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean (Southey & Thompson, 2019). Nationalists were so proud of their nation that they wanted it to be the richest and most important - and recognized as such. Such strong feelings made the countries very aggressive towards other nations and very unforgiving if their nation had been offended. Nationalism created great tension between the nation and each one thought they were more superior than the other and did not compromise. Of the various causes of World War I, which do you think was the most important and why? After reviewing the causes of the war, I strongly believed that Imperialism has caused the war and is also responsible for the extension of the war across Europe and Asia. Throughout history European countries had been taking over colonies globally to enrich the imperial nations. As a result in the 1800’s industrialization saw the European nation scrambling for colonies especially in Africa where the British Empire had colonized most of Africa, however this resulted in rivalries and conflict between the nations. The Industrial Revolution and rise of nationalism in Western Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries cause imperial instabilities and affected the balance of power in Europe nations (CCN, 2016) . Also, the fight for power, raw materials, capital and cheap labor has contributed significant to the war because it help these nation remain wealthy and powerful. Brower, D., & Sanders, T. (2014). The world in the twentieth century: From empires to nations (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Chamberlain College of Nursing. (2016). Week One Lesson: From Imperialism to World War I. [Online Lesson]. Downers Grove, IL. Encyclopedia Britannica (2019). Imperialism. Retrieved from: International Encyclopedia (2017) . Armed Race prior to 1914, Armament Policy , in: -online. of the First World War. Retrieved from: https://encyclopedia.- 2 (TCO 5, 11) Compare and contrast the empires of Germany and Japan before the outbreak of World War II. Identify and describe the leadership qualities of their respective leaders. Make sure you use enough historical details to support your answer. Germany and Japan had a similar sense of nationalism , both nations felt strongly about their people. The German felt that they were superior to everyone likewise the Japanese considered to be superior . Their feeling of superiority led to them committing crimes against people that they considered inferior. Hitler and other Nazi officials in Germany advocated the concept of lebensraum, the natural “living space” required by what they considered the racially superior German people. Under this doctrine, Hitler claimed openly that German territory needed to be expanded through conquest of surrounding nations. Likewise the me of Japan’s leaders held similar beliefs in the racial superiority of the Japanese people, they also had concrete motivations for territorial expansion: Japan’s population was growing too large for the confines of the Japanese islands, and colonial holdings in Asia were. This led Germans committed war crimes against the Jewish people and the Japanese committed war crimes against the Chinese people (Clark & Dobrenko, 2007) . The Germans intention was to create an ideal and pure race of people that would eventually eliminate the Jewish people whereas the Japanese wanted to recover lost territory from WWI and gain more raw materials and resources to enriched themselves and become more stronger and dominant. These countries were axis aligned and used the German Nazism to rule their countries. Under the Leadership of Adolph Hitler the Germany exited the international community and started to rise tensions, before invading its neighbors. Similarly to Japan had been part of the international community before raising tensions and causing wars. Both Germany and Japan engaged in large-scale territorial conquests in the years leading up to World War II. Reference Clark, K., & Dobrenko, E. A. (2007).Soviet Culture and Power: a history in documents, . Yale Identify and analyze the main events of the Korean War and Cuban Missile Crisis. Then assess how these events affected the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. Make sure you use enough details to support your answer. The Korean war started June 1950 and was the first military action of the cold war . It was an invasion from the North Korea People’s Army into Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. The United States entered the war to help South Korea’s because they were fighting for democracy and against international communism. However very early they were some back-and-forth across the 38th parallel leading the fight to stop with significant casualties and no progress of the war front. During this time the world feared that it would become another World War 111 so to prevent this American officials developed a sort armistice with the North Koreans to prevent the wider war with Russia and China. Finally, in July 1953, the Korean War came to an end with more that million soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the warm, with no formal resolution of the Korea it still remain divided(Library of Congress ,1992). . During the Cold War the Soviet Union were very fearful that they were behind the United States with their nuclear weapons and arms. Khrushchev's and Castro decided to collaborate after Cuba was defeated at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, Castro was anticipating a second attack from the US so he teamed with the Soviet Union to defend his island nation by building a military base in Cuba. This base was an was going to be an intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Cuba as a means of countering an emerging lead of the United States in developing and deploying strategic missiles , also this was expected to protect Cuba from an invasion of the United States a sponsored invasion. President Fidel Castro's was convinced that this was needed and provided the approval, for the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build missile installations in Cuba(Library of Congress ,1992). During the construction President John Kennedy was shown photographs of Soviet missile installations under construction in Cuba, which they denied that they were responsible however they knew it was the Soviet Union was responsible . The U.S immediately placed a naval quarantine on Cuba and informed the USSR that they will respond accordingly with an all out war. This threatened the Soviet Union and would have been one of the deadliest war in history , fortunately they were able to come to an agreement and prevented an annihilation of the world by nuclear bombs (Library of Congress ,1992). These events worsened the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union which almost was responsible for the total annihilation on the world by nuclear weapons. Reference Brower, D., & Sanders, T. (2014). The world in the twentieth century: From empires to nations (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Chamberlain College of Nursing (CCN) (2019). Week Six Lesson The End of the Cold War. [Online Lesson]. Downers Grove, IL. Library of Congress (1992) . Revelations from the Russian Archives The Soviet Union and the United States. Retrieved from (TCOs 4, 8) Analyze how the Solidarity (Solidarnosc) movement in Poland led to the collapse of communism in Poland. Point out what events led to the growth of the Solidarity movement, and then identify and analyze the events that followed Gorbachev's policy of political pluralism in Poland. Use specific details to support your answer. Then evaluate the relative success of democracy and capitalism in Poland, after the end of the Cold War. The Solidarity movement in Poland led to the collapse of communism in Poland , this movement was noted as one of most unique and inspiring movements in modern European history. Between , Solidarity was a key turning point which triggered wider reform and revolution across the Eastern bloc. During this turbulent decade, Solidarity evolved from a legal trade union into an underground social network and protest movement, ultimately emerging as a revolutionary force, capable of toppling and replacing the communist system in Poland. According to Mark Kramer (2011) he stated that Solidarity may have started out as a free trade union however it “quickly became far more: a social movement, a symbol of hope and an embodiment of the struggle against communism and Soviet domination” (Ingleton, 2015). The Solidarity movement emerged because as a response to Poland’s decline economic and social developments, and the communist government was failing and the Polish economy had slipped more deeply into an irreversible economic decline, as production levels plummeted, real wages stagnated, shortages increased and foreign debt mounted which led to increasing food prices and many strikes across Poland that demanded the establishment of free trade unions, independent from Communist Party control, to better represent workers’ rights. However Jaruzelski’s declaration of Martial Law, and the creation of a ruling ‘Military Council of National Salvation’ , Solidarity was outlawed, its leaders arrested and its supporters repressed (Bloom, 2013, p297). Martial Law remained in force in Poland until July 1983. However, solidarity networks continued to function underground, focusing their efforts on illegally printing and distributing anti-communist literature, including books, journals, newspapers, leaflets, and posters. On April 12, 1982, ‘Radio Solidarity’ even began broadcasting. Throughout the mid-1980s, Solidarity persevered as an exclusively underground organization, promoting civil resistance, continuing their fight for workers’ rights and pushing for social and political change. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev’s was appointment Leader of the Soviet leader and he bought a reform agenda and was ready to negotiate with Solidarity because at this time the Solidarity was too big to repressed and was receiving tremendous support from the world. Also their was severe economic deterioration in Poland so a reform were urgently needed . So they has a round table talk that reinstate Solidarity’s original remit as an independent trade union so they could run for government as a free legal entity . In 1989, its membership quickly increased to 1.5 million and by 1990 they won 99/100 seats in the Polish Senate and in December 1990, Lech Wałęsa was elected President. As a democracy, Poland understood that bold economic reform meant sharp recession, and it was the first post-communist country to face the challenge of sustaining market reform with declining political support. To push through market reforms, Poland used two main political devices: (1) frequent elections (8 between 1989 and 1997) which gave the major players - post-communists and post-Solidarity actors alike - the perception that they could defend their interests in politics; and (2) President Lech Walesa rejected purges of ex-communists while simultaneously paying attention to the "left leg" of Polish politics. This latter policy blunted any temptation by Poland's "post-communist fifth" to sabotage economic reform. The payoff has been that every Polish government has stuck to the pro-democracy market basic reforms laid down in . As a result, despite all the continuing ambiguities and frequent regime turnovers, Poland has sustained enough economic growth to cushion the new system and marginalize both political radicalism and criminal capitalism (The Wilson Center, 2011) . References Bloom, J. (2013), Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution: Solidarity and the Struggle against Communism in Poland. Haymarket Books. Ingleton, K. (2015). The Evolution of the Polish Solidarity Movement. Retrieved from Kramer, M. (2011) “The Rise and Fall of Solidarity”, The New York Times, Op Ed The Wilson Center (2011).Retrieved from ,