Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for History for Secondary education

The Causes of World War II

The Second World War was a vast conflict fought in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. It was a conflict between the Axis powers, led by Germany, Italy and Japan, and the Allied powers that included Britain, the USSR, France and (from 1941) the United States.

• The impact of World War I: the peace treaties: Germany lost territory, and its economy was damaged by the need to pay war reparations.

• The rise of fascism and nationalism: many people feared that there would be a communist revolution in their own countries, people considered that fascism and extreme nationalism were the most effective way to combat communism.

• The weakness of democracies: democracies like Britain and France wanted to avoid a new war at any

Key Historical Milestones

When was Black Thursday?
October 24th, 1929

What was the most important concentration camp?
Answer: Auschwitz

When did Francoism start?
In 1939

The Roaring Twenties in the United States

Between 1922 and 1929, the United States experienced massive industrial growth. This was due to the production line method, standardized production, and the rise of large corporations.

The standard of living rose, and the consumer society was born.

This period of growth, prosperity, and optimism in the United States is known as the Roaring Twenties.

The Fight for Women's Rights

Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928)

What Was Fascism?

Italian Fascism reflected the personality of Benito Mussolini, who founded the National Fascist Party in November 1921....

Modern Art Movements and Artistic Revolutions

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

Impressionism emerged in 1870; artists sought to capture the immediate effects of light and atmosphere in their works. They used small brushstrokes and overlapping pure colors. Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas are the most important painters of this movement.

Post-Impressionism emerged in 1886 and revised Impressionism by creating new approaches which constitute the precedent for new avant-garde movements. They used curved and thick brushstrokes. Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, and Paul Gauguin are the most significant painters.

Fauvism, Expressionism, and Cubism

Fauvism, appearing in 1905, attached importance to drawing and used color flatly, independent...

Fascist Aims and Early Aggression

1) In your notebook, answer the following questions:

• a) What was the aim of the fascist regimes in Italy and Germany?: Italy and Germany developed expansionist policies that aspired to expand their territorial boundaries.
• b) Which countries were invaded in the 1930s?: In the 1930s, Japan invaded China (Manchuria), and Germany invaded Ethiopia, Albania, and Poland.
• c) What alliances were formed in the second half of the 1930s?: The Pact of Steel, the Anti-Comintern Pact, and the Germany-Soviet Pact were formed.
• d) What territories did Hitler annex in the second half of the 1930s?: Many territories in Central and Eastern Europe.
• e) Which specific act of aggression began the Second World War?: The invasion of Poland

Causes of American Revolution

In 1733 the British Parliament passed the Tea Act, which hurt American merchants, who responded by attacking British ships laden with tea in Boston Harbor, known as the Boston Tea Party. This event was followed by the outbreak of the War of the American Revolution in 1775.

Declaration of Independence

There were important political changes. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which outlined the principles of nation sovereignty, separation of powers, and suffrage.

The colonies, led by General George Washington, won decisive victories at Saratoga and Yorktown. Then, Britain recognized the United States as an independent nation in the Treaty of Paris.

United States Constitution

The United...

Key 20th-Century Historical Definitions

Stalinism

Stalinism is a totalitarian political system established by Joseph Stalin in the USSR, beginning in 1927.

Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is a political system where a single party holds total control over the economy and society, establishing an authoritarian state characterized by the rejection of equality, ultra-nationalism, and militarism.

Sovkhozy

Sovkhozy were state-owned farms under Stalin's government where peasants worked for a salary.

Kolkhozy

Kolkhozy were agricultural cooperatives under Stalin's government where land was owned and farmed collectively.

USSR

The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) was a political organization created in 1922 by Vladimir Lenin, composed of Russia and other...

Participants

Allies: France, UK, US, and the Soviet Union (from 1941)

Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan

Causes

• Germany's quest for revenge after the Treaty of Versailles
• Expansion of totalitarian ideologies (Fascism, Nazism)
• Rise in militarism and nationalism, leading to territorial claims
• Economic depression during the 1930s

Steps to the War

• Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1932
• Annexation of Ethiopia (1935) and Albania (1939) by Italy
• Annexation of Austria (1938) and Czechoslovakia (1939) by Germany
• German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact (1939)

Spark of the Conflict

German invasion of Poland using the Blitzkrieg method (September 1, 1939)

Stages

1st Stage

Victory of the Axis Powers, invasion of Poland (quick attack using planes and tanks)

Denmark, the Baltic...

The Russian Revolution

The Opening of Japan to Trade in the 19th Century

The United States and the Opening to Japan, 1853: On July 8, 1853, American Commodore Matthew Perry led his four ships into the harbor at Tokyo Bay, seeking to re-establish, for the first time in over 200 years, regular trade and discourse between Japan and the Western world.

Why Was Commodore Perry Sent to Japan?

Perry, on behalf of the U.S. government, forced Japan to enter into trade with the United States and demanded a treaty permitting trade and the opening of Japanese ports to U.S. merchant ships. The Japanese had no navy with which to defend themselves, and thus they had to agree to the demand.

Italian Unification: Causes and Effects

What Caused the Italian Unification?

Those who stood for...