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

Phases of the War

1. Initial German Offensives (1914)

Germany put the Schlieffen Plan into effect. This consisted of launching a rapid offensive on the Western Front, invading Belgium and the north of France with the aim of reaching Paris. Once France was defeated, German troops planned to advance on the Eastern Front to fight the Russians. The German plan didn't succeed because the French and British armies stopped their advance at the First Battle of the Marne.

2. Trench Warfare (1915-1916)

The Western Front between Germany and the Allies stabilized, and a new phase of the war began. As they couldn't advance, both sides focused on defending their positions. To do this, they built trenches from where they could defend themselves using new weapons,...

From Lenin to Stalin: Soviet Political Transformation

Creation of the Third International (Comintern)

After the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks argued that European socialist parties had changed. Their aim was not primarily the destruction of capitalism; rather, the Bolsheviks defended the need to renew Marxism in Europe. They proposed the foundation of a new workers' international. In 1919 the Comintern (Third International) was founded. This proposal created divisions within socialist parties.

Expansion of the Communist Revolution

Lenin and Trotsky believed that the Soviet revolution might not hold if it did not spread to other countries. The most important attempts at revolutionary communist insurrection occurred in Germany. Their goal...

Spain: The Reign of Isabel II (1833-1868)

The reign of Isabel II marked the end of absolutism in Spain and the establishment of a liberal and constitutional monarchy.

Characteristics of the Reign

The reign had 8 characteristics:

1. When Isabel II was a child, 2 regents governed in her place:
   • Mª Cristina (her mother)
   • Espartero (army officer)
2. The royal power was limited by the constitution.
3. Isabel had the support of 2 liberal political parties:
   • The moderate party: who defended a stronger monarchy.
   • The progressive party: who wanted to limit royal power.
4. New constitutions were proposed and limited suffrage was established.
5. The military participated in politics, forming part of the government and staging revolts to obtain more power.
6. Different Carlist wars broke

The Madrid Uprising and Spanish War of Independence

This event marked the beginning of the Spanish War of Independence. It was the Revolt of the people of Madrid on the 2nd of May, 1808, who rose against the French occupation.

Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Napoleon’s troops were allowed to cross Spain to occupy Portugal. However, Napoleon took advantage of the treaty and occupied part of Spain. Subsequently, he attempted to move the Spanish royal family to Seville to protect them from the French troops, but this action caused a popular revolt known as the Revolt of Aranjuez.

At that moment, Spain had been a French ally after having previously fought against it and the French Revolution. But those years of alliance with France were over...

Women in the 1920s USA

LIMITATIONS

Paris Peace Conference

The conference took place in the Palace of Versailles, in France, and it lasted from 1919 to 1920 (12 months). The participants were the Prime Ministers or Presidents of the winning nations.

Five treaties were drawn up at the conference. The Treaty of:

• Versailles (Germany)
• Sevres (Ottoman Empire)
• Trianon (Hungary)
• St. Germain (Austria)
• Neuilly (Bulgaria)

All the important decisions on the fate of Germany were taken by Georges Clemenceau (Prime Minister of France), Woodrow Wilson (President of the USA), and David Lloyd George (Prime Minister of Britain).

Neither Russia nor the defeated countries were invited.

The cause of this conference was that the Allies wanted to establish peace and discuss what to do with the defeated countries....

Early Life and Path to the Presidency

On November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. He had a vision to build "A Great Society" for the American people. Born on August 27, 1908, in central Texas, not far from Johnson City, which his family had helped settle, Johnson felt the pinch of rural poverty growing up. He worked his way through Southwest Texas State Teachers College, gaining firsthand experience of the challenges faced by many Americans.

Legislative Achievements: Civil Rights and Tax Cuts

Upon assuming the presidency, Johnson prioritized enacting the measures President Kennedy had been urging at the time of his death: a new...

Summary of the Berlin Crisis: In 1945, the Allies decided to split Germany into four zones of occupation. The capital, Berlin, was also split into four zones. The USSR took huge reparations from its zone in eastern Germany, but Britain, France, and America tried to improve conditions in their zones.

In June 1948, Britain, France, and America united their zones into a new country, West Germany. On 23 June 1948, they introduced a new currency, which they said would help trade.

The next day, Stalin cut off all rail and road links to West Berlin - the Berlin Blockade. The West saw this as an attempt to starve Berlin into surrender, so they decided to supply West Berlin by air.

The Berlin Blockade lasted 318 days. During this time, 275,000 planes transported...

Hoovervilles: Shantytowns of the Great Depression

A Nation's Struggle for Shelter

During the Great Depression, resourcefulness became a necessity for survival. People salvaged discarded materials like lumber, tin, cardboard, tar paper, glass, and canvas to construct makeshift shelters known as Hoovervilles. These shantytowns, named after President Herbert Hoover, dotted the American landscape, a stark reminder of the widespread poverty and unemployment. While some residents with carpentry skills built relatively sturdy structures, others cobbled together packing boxes and whatever they could find. Some even resorted to living in empty water mains. The ingenuity and desperation of the era were evident in these makeshift communities.

The Challenge

Spain During World War II

In October 1940, Hitler and Franco met in the French city of Hendaye. In exchange for entering the war in support of the Axis Powers, Franco asked Hitler to grant Spain control of Gibraltar and France's North African colonies. However, Hitler did not accept these conditions. Consequently, Spain remained neutral throughout the Second World War. This decision allowed Franco to concentrate on domestic challenges:

• Economic crisis
• Demographic crisis
• Political opposition: Although the Civil War had ended, Spanish society remained divided between supporters of Franco's regime and those who had fought against the Nationalists.

Although Spain did not formally join the Axis powers, Franco supported Nazi Germany by sending volunteer...