World History for Us All

8/9/2019 World History for Us All

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World PoliticsWorld PoliticsA Half Century of CrisisA Half Century of Crisis

19001900 -- 19501950


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Three major events shook up themodern world system that had

been created during Big EraSeven.

World War I

Depression

World War II

Why is20th Centuryis all about

crisis?


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They could upsetthe balance of

political and economicforces in the

modern world.

What could the crises of 20th Century upset?


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Communications networks made possible bythe telegraph, telephone, and undersea cable.

Transportation networks made possible by therailway, steamship, and (soon to come)

airplane. Trade and financial networks.

Diplomatic relations and alliances.

Relations between imperial powers and thecolonial peoples they ruled.

Before we go any

further, how was theworld tied together atthe start of the 20th

century?


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Did an equal balance ofpolitical and military powerexist among world regions

in Big Era Eight?

Oh, no.I like to throw my

weight around.

At the start, European countriesdominated world. By the endwell,well talk about that towards the end.


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Europe

European descent-denseEuropean descent-sparse

European influence

European colonies

Japanese Empire

You alreadyknow thatEuropeans gotthe upper hand

in the modernworld systemduring the laterpart of 19th

Century.


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In 19th century, westernEuropean countriesachieved greatereconomic power than

most other countries asa result ofindustrialization.

Many Europeangovernments andbusinesses wanted more

overseas markets andraw materials. Western European

military forces had bigworld leads in militarytechnology.

Why did Europeans haveso much power in the

modern world system?


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Also . . .

The last quarter of the19th century saw greatdroughts and faminesin many parts of theworld.

These disasters wereconnected to El Nioclimatic conditions.

These disasters caused

economic, social, andpolitical disruption inAfrican and Asiansocieties just whenEuropean power was

strongest.


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No.

Europes leaders competed

with each other to dominatethe modern world. Theircompetition helped causeWorld War I, the first crisisof 20th Century.

Also, many workers inEurope felt that theirpolitical and business

leaders treated th

em poorly.

German cartoon depicts thethreat of British imperialexpansion in the 19th century.

Did Europeans get onlybenefits from the

modern world system?


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No. TheJapanesegovernment

seized anempire inEast Asia

No. Americansexpanded theiropportunitiesat home andabroad.

Did other

industrialcountries acceptEurope having

exclusivedominance?


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Somecollaboratedwith the

Europeantakeover

Many resisted, though usuallyfailed to defeat Europeanarmies. The Ethiopiansrepelled the Italians in 1896,but this was an exception.

What did peoples inAsia and Africa do

when Europeanpowers invaded theirlands or put economic

pressure on them?


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This is gettingold.

So, to review:

European countries dominateda booming world economy atthe start of 20th Century. Butmany people in other places(and some in Europe) did notlike this system.


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World War I

World War II

Depression

1. Two wars and a worldwide economiccollapse weakened European dominance.

2. But some countries saw these crises asopportunities to gain new influence ortake over parts of the system.

So how did thecrises of 20th

Century changethings?


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World War I was fought in several parts ofthe world, though the longest and biggest battlestook place in Europe. The war killed both soldiers

and civilians, and it devastated both towns andcountryside.

20,000,000

people died inconnectionwith the war, farmore than in anyearlier war inworld history.


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Regionswhere

figh

tingtook placein World

War I3

1 2

5

4

6

8

10

9

7

11

121 Western European

Front2 Eastern European

Front

3 Italian Front

4 Balkan Front

5 Palestine/Syria

6 Iraq

7 Arabia

8 German Togoland9 German Camaroons

10 German East Africa

11 German Southwest

Africa

12 German Pacific Islands


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It devastated Europeboth physically andpsychologically.

Europeans saw thatindustrialization madewarfare more brutal,deadly, anddestructive.

Many felt disillusionedand lost their belief inprogress.

How did World War Iweaken Europes

global dominance?


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If World War I weakenedEuropean power, how did it affect

everyone else?

Its about timesome more of usmade our weight

felt.

Hey! Howd I getoff the ground?


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The war caused deathand destruction inthe Middle East andAfricawherever

figh

ting took place.

It caused economicand social stress inall the European

colonial empires.


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Societies all over the world contributed resourcesor soldiers to the war effort, gaining experience

and a firmer voice on the global stage.


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Colonial soldiers became more confidentin their own abilities and less awed

by their foreign rulers.

Indian soldiers inBelgium


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Ford factory,Detroit, Michigan

As a result, some local leaders in colonies beganto call for self-determination or independence.

South Africa

India

Meanwhile, in Europe upheaval gave otherindustrial countries opportunities to grow.


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Women everywhere took on new responsibilitiesoutside the home as part of the Total War effort.

USA

France

Russia


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In 1917, the Bolshevik Party led asuccessful Communist revolution in

Russia.

The Bolsheviks overthrew themonarchy of the Tsar, whichhad been

in power for centuries.

Russia had been an ally of Britain,France, and the US. But Lenin, the

Bolsh

evik leader, tookR

ussia out ofWorld War I.

Tsar Nicholas II wasExecuted in 1918


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After World War I, the modern worldbecame more closely tied together

than ever before.

Yes. Along with global trade and finance, soundsfrom radios and images from movies andmagazines helped knit a modern global culture.

Did the world change inimportant ways?


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The 1920s saw silent film, tango, flappers,and jazz gain global popularity.

India

Japan

Paris

Argentina

USA


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Value ofGlobalExports inBillions of

Dollars

The Depression put another dent in the senseof progress and possibility that many peoplehad felt. The global economy spread misery aswell as wealth and prosperity.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938

Then, the Great Depressionhappened.


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Unemployment andhunger rippled through

many societies, raisingdoubts about the system.

Brazil

USA

France


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No, some industries in

th

e West kept going.

And some workers keptgoing on strike whenthey felt the system wastreating them badly.

(Remember the unhappyworkers before WorldWar I?)

Sit-down strikers, 1937, USA.

Did the Depression in themodern world system

affect everyone the sameway?


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-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

France

USA

Britain

Germ

any

Japan

USSR

Soviet GNP growth per year1928-37

Communists said the modernworld system had to change.Government planning,

communal ownership, and aclassless society should replacefree markets and close thedivide between rich ownersand poor workers.

In fact, the Soviet Union underthe Bolsheviks remainedauthoritarian and repressive.

Even so, while most of thecapitalist world struggled inthe 1930s, the Soviet Unionsindustrial economy grewrapidly.


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By the mid-1930s,

there was athree-waystruggle forcontrol ofmodernworlds

future.

How did the Depression andthe challenge of Communism

add to the crisis in the modernworld?

Mussolini

Hitler

Stalin

Along with Communisms challenge toliberal capitalism, a new challenger

appeared:Fascism.

Hitler


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Fascist leaders used nationalism and state control ofindustries and cultural life to unite people of all classes.

These leaders blamed national troubles on foreigners andcommunists.

Some fascist-run countries recovered quickly from theDepression, partly by expanding their military economies.

Major countrieswithFascist-style governmentsby the 1940s

Spain

South Africa

Japan


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Leaders of capitalist democracies

believed that they could meet thechallenges of Communism andFascism

by defending democraticvalues.

by modernizing capitalismthrough economic and socialreform.


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Regardless of these beliefs, democraciesused overseas colonies to help prop up thehome economies during the Depression.

Hawaii pineapple plantation


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As they recovered from the Depression, both Germanyand Japan became increasingly aggressive. When

Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Britain and Francewent to war against Germany. World War II wasunderway.

At first, Fascist Germany and Communist Russia had atense alliance. But when Hitler invaded Russia in June

1941, Stalin allied Russia withBritain and the United States.

The US entered the war afterJapan bombed Pearl Harboron December 7, 1941.

JapaneseBombingof PearlHarbor


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World War II Alliances

Axis Powers:: Italy,Germany, and Japanwere fascist, anti-communist, and anti-

liberal democracy.

Allies: The US andBritain were liberaldemocracies. TheUSSRwas Communist.But all three were

anti-fascist.

Mussolini and Hitler

Stalin, Roosevelt, & Churchill


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World War II involved men andwomen fighting and serving all overthe world.

Areas ofFighting


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Even more than in World War I, men andwomen around the world fought in orsupported the battles of World War II.

Indian

West AfricanCanadian


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New weapons and tactics of war made WorldWar II even more destructive and deadly thanWorld War I.

German planewreckage inNorth Africa


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Both sides in the wartargeted civilians. Dresden,

GermanyTokyo,Japan

London,

England


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The deadliest war inhistory (over 50million killed)

ended with the useof the deadliest

weapon inh

istory.


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Wh

at global ch

anges resultedfrom World War II?

New powers and political groups

competed to reshape the world.


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The United Statestook over as theworlds leadingmilitary andeconomic powerand supporter of

reformedcapitalism andliberal democracy

A poster encouragingAmericans to buy warbonds to support thewar effort


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A devastatedWestern Europedepended on US

aid for rebuilding.

This Americaneffort was calledthe Marshall Plan.

Dutch cartoon, late 1940s


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The USSR also emerged from the

war stronger than ever.

It rebuilt its economywithout Western aid.

It created an empire in

Eastern Europe. It worked to spread

Communist ideas andrevolutions.

It became the USAsmain rival for power inthe modern world.

Red Army Soldiers


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Japan lost its empire, swore off militarism, andrebuilt with American aid.

China became the second major communistcountry after its revolution in 1949.

American Ships Sail toJapan for Occupation,1945

Mao Zedong, Leader of theCommunist Revolution inChina


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Nehru and Gandhiin India

Nehru with KwameNkrumah of the Gold

Coast/Ghana

Colonies soughtindependence

from their formerEuropean rulers.

Ho Chi Minhin Vietnam


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European countries recovered fromthe war and went on to new

prosperity.

But Europe no longer dominated the

world as ith

ad at th

e start of th

ecentury.

Thats morelike it.

What happened?


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More world-wide integration

(now called globalization).

More conflict too! Willcapitalism triumph overCommunism? The USA overthe USSR? Will new groupspush their way into thecompetition for power? Howwill the environment change?

What is the future ofmodern world

system?

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