Welcome to Unit 7: Global Conflict!
Welcome, explorers of history! You’ve made it to Unit 7. This unit covers the period from roughly 1900 to 1945. It’s a bit of a "rollercoaster" era because the world changed more in these 45 years than in the previous 200. We will look at why old empires fell, how two massive World Wars started, and how the global economy crashed and burned before being rebuilt. Don’t worry if this seems like a lot of names and dates at first—we are going to focus on the "why" and "how" to make it stick!
7.1 Shifting Power After 1900
At the start of the 20th century, the "old guard" was struggling. Large, traditional empires that had been around for centuries started to crumble because they couldn't keep up with modern times or the demands of their people.
The Big Four Collapses:
1. Russia: The Russian Empire was lagging behind in industry. In 1917, the Bolsheviks (led by Vladimir Lenin) overthrew the Tsar. They set up the world's first communist state, the Soviet Union.
2. China: The Qing Dynasty had ruled since 1644, but it couldn't stop foreign interference. In 1911, Sun Yat-sen led a revolution to create a republic based on his "Three Principles of the People" (Nationalism, Democracy, and Livelihood).
3. Ottoman Empire: Known as the "Sick Man of Europe," the Ottomans lost territory throughout the 1800s. After WWI, they collapsed, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led the creation of the modern, secular Republic of Turkey.
4. Mexico: People were tired of the dictator Porfirio Díaz and the fact that 1% of the people owned 97% of the land. The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) resulted in a new constitution that promised land reform and rights for workers.
Quick Review: Think of these empires like old houses that weren't renovated. Eventually, the pressure of the modern world (industrialization and nationalism) caused them to collapse so new structures could be built.
Key Takeaway: Internal decay and external pressures led to the collapse of land-based empires, making room for new types of government like Communism and Republics.
7.2 & 7.3 World War I: Causes and Conduct
World War I (1914–1918) was the first "industrial" war. It wasn't just soldiers fighting; it involved entire societies.
The Causes (M.A.I.N.)
Use this simple mnemonic to remember why the war started:
- Militarism: Countries were "flexing" by building huge armies and navies.
- Alliances: Countries made secret "I've got your back" deals. If one got into a fight, they all did.
- Imperialism: Everyone was arguing over who got to own parts of Africa and Asia.
- Nationalism: People had intense pride in their own nations and wanted independence.
The Spark: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian nationalist. Because of the Alliance system, this one death pulled the whole world into war.
How the War was Fought
WWI was a Total War. This means governments used every resource they had—factories made shells instead of cars, women went to work in those factories, and propaganda (posters and movies) was used to keep people supporting the war.
New Technology: This war was deadly because of new inventions like machine guns, poison gas, tanks, and submarines (U-boats). On the Western Front, this led to trench warfare, where soldiers lived in muddy ditches for months, resulting in a "stalemate" where neither side could win easily.
Did you know? Trench warfare was so slow that sometimes armies would fight for months and lose thousands of lives just to move their line forward a few yards—about the length of a football field!
Key Takeaway: M.A.I.N. causes led to a global "Total War" that used industrial technology to cause destruction on a scale never seen before.
7.4 The Economy in the Interwar Period
After WWI ended in 1918, the world entered a "Great Depression" in 1929. Imagine the world's bank account hitting zero.
The Great Depression: It started in the U.S. but spread globally. Because countries were interconnected by trade and debt, when the U.S. stopped lending money, everyone felt it. Germany was hit especially hard because they were already paying huge war fines (reparations).
Government Responses
When the "invisible hand" of the free market failed, governments stepped in:
- The New Deal (USA): President Roosevelt used Keynesian Economics—the idea that the government should spend money to create jobs and jumpstart the economy.
- The Five-Year Plans (USSR): Joseph Stalin took total control of the Soviet economy. He forced "collectivization" of farms and pushed for rapid industrialization to catch up with the West.
- Fascist Economies: In Italy and Germany, dictators took control of the economy to prepare for future wars.
Key Takeaway: The global economic crisis forced governments to take a much more active role in managing their economies.
7.5 & 7.6 Unresolved Tensions and the Path to WWII
The end of WWI didn't bring peace; it brought "unfinished business."
The Mandate System: After WWI, the winning Allies (Britain and France) didn't give colonies their independence. Instead, they created "Mandates" in the Middle East, basically keeping them as colonies under a different name. This caused huge resentment.
Causes of World War II
1. Treaty of Versailles: Germany felt humiliated by the harsh terms of the WWI peace treaty.
2. The Rise of Nazism: Adolf Hitler promised to fix the economy and restore German pride. He used fascism, a political system that puts the nation and race above the individual.
3. Appeasement: Britain and France were so afraid of another war that they let Hitler take over nearby lands, hoping he would eventually stop. (Spoiler: He didn't).
4. Japanese Expansion: Japan needed natural resources (oil and rubber) and began invading China and Southeast Asia.
Key Takeaway: WWII was caused by a mix of economic ruin, the failures of the WWI peace settlement, and the rise of aggressive, expansionist dictators.
7.7 & 7.8 Conducting World War II and Mass Atrocities
WWII (1939–1945) was even more "total" than WWI. It was fought between the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Allied Powers (Britain, USA, USSR, China).
New Ways of Fighting
WWII moved fast. Germany used Blitzkrieg ("Lightning War"), using tanks and planes to overwhelm enemies quickly. The war ended when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, showing the world the terrifying power of nuclear weapons.
Mass Atrocities
This unit also covers the darkest parts of human history. When governments have total control and use "us vs. them" propaganda, it can lead to genocide (the intentional killing of a large group of people).
- The Holocaust: The Nazi attempt to exterminate Jews and other "undesirable" groups. About 6 million Jews were murdered.
- Other Genocides: The Armenian Genocide during WWI, the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) under Stalin, and later atrocities in Cambodia and Rwanda show a recurring pattern of state-sponsored violence in the 20th century.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't confuse the Holocaust with "normal" war casualties. The Holocaust was a deliberate, industrial-scale government program to eliminate a specific group of people, separate from the actual battlefield fighting.
Key Takeaway: WWII resulted in total victory for the Allies but at a horrific cost, including the use of nuclear weapons and the discovery of the Holocaust, which led to the world saying "Never Again."
Quick Review Box
WWI: Trenches, M.A.I.N., Total War.
Interwar: Depression, New Deal, Rise of Dictators.
WWII: Blitzkrieg, Atomic Bomb, Holocaust.
Shifting Power: Old empires (Qing, Ottoman, Russia) OUT; New Superpowers (USA, USSR) IN.