Sunday, February 28, 2010

Versailles Treaty Terms and SAQ Answers

Terms:
  • David Lloyd George- a British statesman and a Welsh prime minister of the United Kingdom. He guided the British to victory during World War I and was a major player in the Paris Peace Conference. He wanted to punish the Germans, but did not want to punish them as much as Clemenceau.
  • Georges Clemenceau- a French statesman, journalist and physician. He was also France's prime minister. He is called the Tiger and Father Victory. He helped France win World War I and was a major voice behind the Versailles Treaty. He did not like Wilson's Fourteen Points and helped weaken Germany greatly.
  • Woodrow Wilson- the 28th president of the United States. He tried to keep the US from entering World War I, but the Zimmerman telegram forced him to join. He helped the Allies win the war. He created the Fourteen Points to try to avoid future world wars (no one listened to him, though). This ignorance might lead to World War II. The United States did not like Wilson's idea of joining the League of Nations and refused his offer.
  • Article 173- an article in the Versailles Treaty. It states that the Germans cannot make a draft and that the people who want to be German soldiers must be one voluntarily. This article might be a cause of World War II.
  • Article 227- another article in the Versailles Treaty. This says that Kaiser Wilhelm II is no longer the emperor of Germany (pretty much) and says something about him going on trial with the US, France, GB, Italy and Japan as the judges.
  • Article 231- another article in the Versailles Treaty. This one says that the Germans must accept full responsibility of World War I and all the destruction that happened during this war.

Short Answer Questions Answers:

1. What were some individual goals of Woodrow Wilson? He tried to create a better world with no more world wars and promote world peace (that is what I think).

2. What were some individual goals of Georges Clemenceau? He wanted to punish Germany for what they did during World War I, which contrasts to Wilson's goals.

3. What were some individual goals of David Lloyd George? He wanted to be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and he wanted to stop communism from spreading to other nations (did not work).

4. What problems did the United States Congress see in the League of Nations? Perhaps Congress thought that Wilson's goals and accomplishments will not come true and this idea of a League of Nations may not be effective.

5.What effect would article 231 have on the future of Germany? This should make the Germans mad (Mr. Adolf Hitler must have been really angry at this time). This article may lead to the rise of Communism, the rise of Hitler's power, World War II and maybe the Cold War.

Monday, February 22, 2010

World War I Casualties

1. Russia and Germany sent a lot of troops because they had really good transportation (more trains and maybe better and more efficient trains).

2. Austria-Hungary's high casualty rate could be from dying in battle (gunshots, bombardations, getting run over by a tank [I doubt this happened], etc...). There were a lot of sicknesses, so they could have died by being really sick. Since they were pretty small, they could easily be conquered by Russia.

3. This information about 2.5 Russian prisoners say that not many Russians want to die in the trenches and perhaps they are cowards.

4. Because of isolationism, the United States had time to train more troops and make more weapons for upcoming wars. That's a reason why Italy had only about a million more men than the US.

5. The Allies won the war probably because they were lucky and their armies were more accurate at shooting than the Central Powers' armies.

6. This chart tells me that this is the first war in which millions of people die, not thousands. I am surprised at the fact that the Central Powers had more troops than the Allies and that Russia had more casualties than Germany.

Monday, February 15, 2010

World War I Letter

April 5, 1917

To my darling beautiful wife,

I might be dead long before you read this, but being a doughboy is hard work. The training I got back at home is not really enough for something like trench warfare in France. Most of the members of my group, the Big Red One, are dead because of new chemical warfare. Too bad I may never see our son grow up to be a big strong man. He night never know who his father looks like. I got to kill a couple of Germans with the Frenchies today. They seem rather pleased to see me and my comrades kicking German butts. I haven't seen my friend. Perhaps he is in Africa. General Lemons just killed 50 Germans today, though. I'm planning on beating his record. I still don't get why them Russians decided not to help fight the Germans with us Allies. Maybe there's something wrong back home (could have something to do with Czar Nicholas and Stalin). Anyways, I love you and I hope to see you soon. I'll miss you, really.

Love, now and always
Vinnie Vu

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Simulation Questions

OK, Mr. Lemons, here are my responses to your simulation questions. And here we go:

1. What were two historical accuracies about the simulation? Why were the conditions similar to how it really was during the age of Imperialism?

Britain did colonize America and Italy did colonize Ethiopia (for a while). Conditions were similar to the real thing during the Age of Imperialism because most of the European countries did not care about life in their colonies; they just wanted more colonies so that they have more natural resources.

2. Name the advantages/drawbacks for the type of group that your were in.

My team's (France's) advantages were that we had a lot of students, so we could colonize the big countries, such as India. Our drawbacks were that we spent too much time colonizing the biggest countries, we didn't have a lot of time to colonize other ones.

3. How did your group communicate with each other? Was this in anyway similar to how countries communicated during their quest for colonies?

We communicated with each other by texting and by having conversations. This can be similar to communications in Europe during the quest for colonies because these modern texts are like letters.

4. What was your interaction with other countries? Did you have any disputes or conflicts?

We almost had no interactions with the other rival countries. Therefore, there were no conflicts or disputes.

5. What are your overall thoughts on the simulation itself? What did you learn? Was it effective in showing what the Age of Imperialism was really like?

I believed that the Imperialism simulation was both good and educative. I learned that this "quest for colonies" is similar to a NASCAR race. The country that is the winner is the the one that is the fastest and the smartest. Yes, this is effective in demonstrating the Age of Imperialism.

6. 3 short comments or suggestions on how to improve the effectiveness of the simulation. Not a chance to complain, give us solutions and ideas to make it better!

I would probably suggest some more colonies and activities to do at the colony stations (staying there for 5 minutes is boring, isn't it). I don't think I have a third comment.

That's it, Mr. Lemons. See you on Monday!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Motives for British Imperialism

Here are my answers to the questions, Mr. Lemons (sorry that I'm late).

1. According to Halstead, why was slavery in decline during the 1880s? How did this affect British Imperialism?

Slavery was in decline because of the Latin American slave revolts. This affected British Imperialism by "dealing with people that are 'undeveloped'".

2. According to Halstead, what did not have an influence on Britain's imperialism? Why? Do you agree on this?

According to Halstead, power did not influence Britain's imperialism because "industry and trade were the bases of British power, not imperialism. I do not agree because British imperialism was caused by a hunger for power.

3. How does Halstead's belief differ from Cobden and other's economic reasons?

Cobden saw imperialism as a bad thing. Halstead said that imperialism is "beneficial and created good government, philanthropy and free trade".

4. What are Halstead's final reasonings on motives for British imperialism?

Halstead says that British Imperialism was motivated by "national security and the protection of free trade, commercial routes, competition, the sphere of influence, settlement, colonization, diplomacy and ideology".

Saturday, December 12, 2009

White Man's Burden Questions

OK, Mr. Lemons, here are my answers to the White Man's Burden questions?

1. What does Kipling mean by "the White Man's burden"?

He means that "the White Man's burden" is a European's attempt to convert natives to "the dominant religion" (Christianity).

2. How does Kipling justify imperialism?

He justifies imperialism by stating in his poem that it is a good thingand it could benefit a lot of people.

3. Why might justification be so appealing?

It is very appealing because countries tend to want more power, so they colonized anything that's supposedly non-European to gain more land, resources and more power.

4. Why was religion used as a justification over money, capitalism, the greater good and political strength?

It was used for those stuff because religion probably helped the rise of imperialism.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Industrial Revolution SAQ's (Unit 2 Short Answer Questions)

I: Industrial Revolution

1. How did machines have both a positive and negative impact on the Industrial Revolution?

Machines have a positive impact on the Industrial Revolution by creating more products in less time, which means that the companies earn more money and the products are cheaper. They also have a negative impact on the Industrial Revolution by the fact that the workers get paid less.

3. How did crop rotation help support the growing population?

Crop rotation helps support the growing population by helping farmers grow more food annually, which could mean less starvation and cheaper food prices.


II: Social Ramifications

1. What social developments might be attributed to industrialization?

Better agriculture, better industries and better technology might attribute to industrialization.

3. How did working conditions change after the Factory Acts?

After the Factory Acts, women and children got to work less and working conditions might have been a little better.


III: Inventors and Inventions

1. What effect did the Cotton Gin have on the slave population in the South?

The cotton gin helped seperate cotton fibers from the seeds, so it was designed to help slaves with their jobs on the plantations. However, the owners wanted more slaves to pick cotton for the cotton gin, so it did not really help reduce the slave population.

6. How is the Alternating Current an advancement over Direct Current?

The Direct Current is just one wave going in one direction. For example, with the Direct Current, one can have a room either always lighted up or always dark. The Alternating Current is like a light switch. One can light up a room or darken it, which could save electricity bills.


IV: Second Industrial Revolution and Mass Society

4. How did the transportation industry change family structure and life?

The transportation industry created new ways of transportations for a cheap price, so many families can visit their relatives that live far away. Maybe the transportation industry also helped make larger families (moving).

6. Why did living conditions in the cities improve during the Era of Mass Society?

Living conditions improved during the Era of Mass Society probably because people wanted to prevent cholera and other diseases from spreading, so the sanitation and healthcare improved.


V: Labor Unions

2. What was the goal of the British Labor Party?

The goal of the British Labor Party probably had something to do with socialism and social democracy, because they supported these ideas. Maybe their main goal was to spread these ideas around the world.

6. How did Laissez-Faire economics spur the growth of Labor Unions?

Laissez-Faire, to the British, means "hands off", so that the government would not interfere with the operation of the economy. It helped the Labor Unions grow by not having any limits created by the government (Parliament).


VI: Japanese and Russian Industrialization

5. How was the Japanese society able to industrialize so rapidly?

Japan industrialized very rapidly by examining how other countries had their Industrial Revolutions and trying to copy them as bast as possible. Japan tried to achieve their pros with very few cons. Since the Japanese people work a lot, their Industrial Revolution was quick.

9. How did Stalin's Five-Year Plans both helped and hurt the industrialization of Russia?

Stalin's 5-Year Plans helped Russia's industrialization by building more technological stuff, such as advancements in transportation, agriculture and others. The plans also hurt Russia's industrialization because the people who could not meet Stalin's goals were sent to gulags, and received horrible treatment, such as death.