| At the end of the previous era, European states had emerged to hold enormous economic, political, and military power in the world, including most of Africa, India, and Latin America. Ideas that had originated in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries became highly influential outside Europe. The United States and Japan also grew in industrial and military power, rivaling Europe’s global control. On the other hand, a number of former centers of economic influence declined – most notably China and the Ottoman Empire. The time period from 1900 to 1945 can be described as an age of crisis and achievement. During the early years of the 20th century, competing political, ideological, and economic blocs generated tensions and conflicts, culminating in two global wars. Liberal democratic and capitalist systems of the west confronted fascist and totalitarian systems in Russia, Italy, Germany, and Japan resulting in ideological, economic, political, and military battles. By the end of the era, the United States emerged from two global wars and economic depression to assume a new role in the world. Set against this backdrop, the emergence of a global system of communication and transportation connected all regions of the world. Across these systems flowed new ideas, inventions, and commodities that generated “modernity.” Additionally, the growth of the first forms of mass media (radio and movies) allowed individuals to experience global events from other regions, thereby increasing global awareness. Within this context, propaganda fueled nationalistic trends. Three crises originating in Europe altered the world system that had developed in the previous era: World War I, depression, and World War II. Combined, these events weakened Europe’s dominance. First, both wars wreaked havoc on European life, property, economies, and spirit. Second, communism and fascism challenged the rise of liberal, capitalist democracies in Europe and then across the world. Finally, nationalist leaders inspired uprisings and political revolutions, attempting to cast off European imperial control. Accordingly, the first half of the 20th century was marked by unprecedented death and destruction caused by poverty, disease, and new forms of technology. The first half of this century also saw the combination of scientific racism with nationalist movements leading to genocide, first of the Armenians by the Turks and then of Jews by the Germans. By the end of the era, the European hegemony was weakened as the United States grew in power and world stature while communism flourished in the USSR. |
| MI: Social Studies (2007) World History & Geography WHG Era 7 – Global Crisis and Achievement, 1900-1945
7.1 Global or Cross-temporal Expectations
Analyze changes in global balances of military, political, economic, and technological power and influence in the first half of the 20th century. 7.1.1 Increasing Government and Political Power – Explain the expanding role of state power in managing economies, transportation systems, and technologies, and other social environments, including its impact of the daily lives of their citizens. (See 7.3.2) 7.1.2 Comparative Global Power – Use historical and modern maps and other sources to analyze and explain the changes in the global balance of military, political, and economic power between 1900 and 1945 (including the changing role of the United States and those resisting foreign domination). 7.1.3 Twentieth Century Genocide – Use various sources including works of journalists, journals, oral histories, films, interviews, and writings of participants to analyze the causes and consequences of the genocides of Armenians, Romas (Gypsies), and Jews, and the mass exterminations of Ukrainians and Chinese. (See 7.2.3) 7.1.4 Global Technology – Describe significant technological innovations and scientific breakthroughs in transportation, communication, medicine, and warfare and analyze how they both benefited and imperiled humanity. (National Geography Standard 11, p. 206) 7.1.5 Total War – Compare and contrast modern warfare and its resolution with warfare in the previous eras; include analysis of the role of technology and civilians. (See 7.2.1; 7.2.3) 7.2 Interregional or Comparative Expectations
Assess the interregional causes and consequences of the global wars and revolutionary movements during this era. 7.2.1 World War I – Analyze the causes, characteristics, and long-term consequences of World War I by
• analyzing the causes of the war including nationalism, industrialization, disputes over territory, systems of alliances, imperialism, and militarism
• analyzing the distinctive characteristics and impacts of the war on the soldiers and people at home (See 7.1.5)
• explaining the major decisions made in the Versailles Treaty and analyzing its spatial and political consequences, including the mandate system, reparations, and national self-determination around the globe 7.2.2 Inter-war Period – Analyze the transformations that shaped world societies between World War I and World War II by
• examining the causes and consequences of the economic depression on different regions, nations, and the globe
• describing and explaining the rise of fascism and the spread of communism in Europe and Asia (See 7.3.1 and 7.3.2)
• comparing and contrasting the rise of nationalism in China, Turkey, and India 7.2.3 World War II – Analyze the causes, course, characteristics, and immediate consequences of World War II by
• explaining the causes of World War II, including aggression and conflict appeasement that led to war in Europe and Asia (e.g., Versailles Treaty provisions, Italian invasion of Ethiopia, Spanish Civil War, rape of Nanjing, annexation of Austria & Sudetenland)
• explaining the Nazi ideology, policies, and consequences of the Holocaust (or Shoah) (See 7.3.2) (National Geography Standard 10, p. 203)
• analyzing the major turning points and unique characteristics of the war (See 7.1.5) (National Geography Standard 17, p. 219)
• explaining the spatial and political impact of the Allied negotiations on the nations of Eastern Europe and the world (See 8.1.4)
• analyzing the immediate consequences of the war’s end including the devastation, effects on population, dawn of the atomic age, the occupation of Germany and Japan (See 7.1.5; 8.1) (National Geography Standard 6, p.154)
• describing the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as global superpowers 7.2.4 Revolutionary and/or Independence Movements – Compare two revolutionary and/or Independence movements of this era (Latin America, India, China, the Arab World, and Africa) with at least one from the previous era. (See 6.2.1). 7.3 Regional Content Expectations
Explain regional continuity and change in Russia, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. 7.3.1 Russian Revolution – Determine the causes and results of the Russian Revolution from the rise of Bolsheviks through the conclusion of World War II, including the five-year plans, collectivization of agriculture, and military purges. 7.3.2 Europe and Rise of Fascism and Totalitarian States – Compare the ideologies, policies, and governing methods of at least two 20th-century dictatorial regimes (Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union) with those absolutist states in earlier eras. (See 5.3.5; 7.2.3) 7.3.3 Asia – Analyze the political, economic, and social transformations that occurred in this era, including (National Geography Standard 13, p. 210)
• Japanese imperialism
• Chinese nationalism, the emergence of communism, and civil war (See 7.2.2)
• Indian independence struggle 7.3.4 The Americas – Analyze the political, economic and social transformations that occurred in this era, including
• economic imperialism (e.g., dollar diplomacy)
• foreign military intervention and political revolutions in Central and South America
• nationalization of foreign investments 7.3.5 Middle East – Analyze the political, economic, and social transformations that occurred in this era, including
• the decline of the Ottoman Empire
• changes in the Arab world including the growth of Arab nationalism, rise of Arab nation-states, and the increasing complexity (e.g., political, geographic, economic, and religious) of Arab peoples
• the role of the Mandate system
• the discovery of petroleum resources Copyright © 2001-2015 State of Michigan |
