How did WWI shape the culture and society of Europe?

• After WWI, new ideas about society formed that appeared significantly different from former Enlightenment schools of thought. Rather than worshipping progress, most people during the "Age of Anxiety" renounced this Enlightenment ideal.
• Each one of these people signified the departure from the old idea of "progress" that was celebrated during the Enlightenment. European culture adopted an undertone of pessimism in the form of modernism after WWI.
• Freud was a pessimist, arguing that man is bound to suffer neuroses whether it comes from giving in to man's irrational nature or by depriving man's irrational nature through society. In Civilization and its Discontents, Freud highlights the ways in which society frustrates the "id," or the instinctual side of man. He argues that people use arts, religion, and literature as distractions from their neuroses. This shift from Enlightenment to modernism, which was marked with pessimistic views on humanity, was common in post WWI Europe. This Freud is known for being the first person to practice psychoanalysis and he dedicated most of his life's work to studying the mind.

• Like Freud, Nietzsche also renounced the Enlightenment ideals. He proclaimed that "God is dead" and was a critic of traditional European morality and religion. In many of his works, he discusses the problems of believing in anything and is very existential. He questions facts and instead calls them interpretations. No longer believing in the Enlightenment ideal of pursuing the truth, Nietzsche felt that truth is not a real thing. 
• Picasso was an artist who expressed his pessimistic and modernist ideas about society through his paintings. Most notable was Guernica, which depicted the suffering of the people of Guernica as a result of war. This painting became associated with the anti-war movement. It uses the technique of cubism.

Guernica

• Duchamp was an artist who rejected many of his contemporary artists for only creating "retinal" art that was pleasing to the eye. Instead, Duchamp focused on art that served the mind. His work is closely associated to Dadaism, a movement that emphasized the illogical and absurd side of man. Dadaism also rejected traditional forms of art and culture and Duchamp created several mockery pieces of art.

Class 3/19/18

In order to officially end World War I, the victorious Allied Powers(United States, Great Britain, France, Italy) needed to complete peace treaties with each of the lossing Central Powers(Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire)

What is the Treaty of Versailles?

• The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 and ended World War I between the Big 4(United Sates, Great Britain, France, Italy) and Germany.
• The Treaty of Versailles is commonly blamed for the eruption of World War II 20 years later.

What does the guy from article #2 think about the Treaty of Versailles?

• He begins by stating what most have been led to believe about the Treaty of Versailles- that the harsh terms given to Germany combined with the "war guilt" Germany was forced to feel through the usage of propaganda have destroyed both the economy and the democratic Weimar Republic in Germany. Therefore, the treaty gave way to the rise of Hitler and greatly contributed to the start of the Second World War.

• But, he next states, "Yet while the Treaty of Versailles did result in failed peace another world war only two decades later, its real failures are not what we have been led to believe for over 90 years. When we examine the facts, it becomes clear that what "everyone knows" about the infamous treaty is simply wrong."

The Treaty of Versailles was kinda doomed from the start because the leaders of the Big Four countries each had their own agendas:

President Woodrow Wilson(U.S) was a tad unrealistic when he essentially thought that all nations could simply live in peace and harmony with one another. In order to ensure this seemingly perfect peace plan, he proposed his "14 points", of which the most important 6 points are: League of Nations, Disarmament, Self-determination, freedom from colonies, and freedom of the seas 

Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau's(France) #1 concern was securing protection for his country against future German attacks. He also wanted Germany to pay large reparations including civilian damages. However, US and Great Britain did not want such harsh terms for Germany. So, as a compromise between the Big Three, the US and Great Britain promised Clemenceau that their countries would come to their aid if Germany was to attack them in the future. 

Prime Minister David Lloyd George(Great Britain) pretty much got what he wanted already, which was to reassurt Britain as the leading naval power.

Primer Minister Vittorio Orlando was mainly in search of land but didn't have enough power to really demand anything.  

So what are the misconceptions that are commonly believed about the Treaty and the War?

• 1. Too harsh of terms were given to Germany --> in reality, the Treaty did the opposite by failing to give Germany harsh enough terms
• It was very normal for the loser to pay war reparations to the victors. And anyways, Germany only really paid back expenses for civilian damages. It was originally believed that Germany had to pay 132 billion, but only had to pay 50 billion. Germany did not even pay the full 50 billion back. The article dude also includes a quote from a French economist in which he states, "Germany was not unable to pay reparations, it was unwilling to pay them."

• 2. The Treaty was the main cause for the tanking of the German economy --> in reality, the main cause for the tanking of the economy lies in the poor decisions of their leaders 
• Hyperinflation began at the beginning of the war when Kaiser chose wrongly when deciding how to finance the war. He relied too much on loans which eventually led to the decision to print more paper money, and therefore, inflation. Inflation was worsened when the Weimar politicians decided to send inflation skyrocketing into "hyperdrive". Hyperinflation greatly contributed to the rise of the Nazis because their revaluation of the German mark stabilized the German economy. 

• 3. "War Guilt" existed --> in reality, it probably didn't really exist according to article guy.
• German propagandists made it seem like they were forced to take all the responsibility and guilt for WWI. It is common for the whole "war guilt" thing to be misinterpreted as blaming and shaming solely Germany for the war. 

• 4. The League of Nations was domed because the U.S. did not join. The League would have been successful if the U.S. joined --> in reality, the League was not doomed solely because the U.S. did not join- it would have failed either way.

3/14 & 3/16

10 Perspectives on WWI Assignment

• Gillian and Caleigh
• Grouping: Everyone in the group believes that Austria-Hungary went out of their way to start a war with Serbia, which they were only comfortable doing because of Germany's blank check. 
• These perspectives connect to nationalism. Austria-Hungary disapproved of growing Serbian nationalism and feared it and what it could cause. In order to halt this, they decided to subdue the Serbians. 
• Hannah and Meghan
• Grouping: Everyone believes that World War 1 would likely not have happened if Germany had not promised its unwavering support to Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was not powerful enough alone to begin World War 1. 
• Germany's militarism was the key to the beginning of the war, because their weaponry frightened Serbia and its allies. Without all of Germany's weapons, their support of Austria-Hungary would mean very little. 

How did Franz Ferdinand's assassination relate to these other causes?

• According to the political cartoon, it was the match that lit the already-built pile of wood (made up of the main causes, fanned by other, secondary causes)
• Austria-Hungary already had everything it needed to start the war except a real reason. They took full advantage of his death to do what they had been planning for quite some time. 

What was Total War?

• Definition: a war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursues, especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded
• World War 1 was different from previous wars because of the new technology available. There was a take no prisoners mentality which resulted in the dehumanization of soldiers and the destruction of various places, some of which are still destroyed (like the Red Zone in France). Additionally, countries mobilized all available resources towards the war, which was new. 
• Propaganda was used to encourage everyone to get involved in the war effort in any way possible. 

Timeline of the Russian Revolution

• Background
• Russian absolutism was supported by 3 pillars:  Orthodoxy (religion), autocracy, and nationalism
• Absolutism was at its height with Nicholas' predecessors
• By the time of Nicholas II' reign, Russia was the only autocracy left
• Most countries had adopted representative bodies and mass politics
• The Russian loss in the Russo-Japanese war put Nicholas II in a precarious situation
• Revolution of 1905
• There were forces at play that Nicholas did not understand
• Ended with the October Manifesto, which created the Duma
• Nicholas II's wife, Tsarina Alexandra, had a trusted advisor named Rasputin

• Rasputin was known for his healing powers (healed Nicholas and Alexandra's son's hemophilia) and for seeing the future
• It was especially important to keep the hemophilia under wraps, because if the rebellious people knew that their future tsar was sickly, they would have even less faith in their government
• Russia was not a real perpetrator of the war, because they were not ready for it
• They were one of the least industrialized European powers, but they had a large population that they could send to fight the war
• Meanwhile (back at the ranch), the Russian people trusted their tsar and tsarina even less because of Rasputin
• They believed that Rasputin was secretly controlling the government
• He died, but left behind a note warning that all of the nobility would die
• Sometime during all of this, Lenin was allowed back into Russia
• His motto, "Peace, land, and bread," was very appealing to Russian peasants
• Tsar Nicholas II abdicated his rule, but between him and the communists, there was a provisional government led by Alexander Kerensky
• This was a pseudo-republic and not particularly revolutionary
• The one thing that the Russians wanted was to pull out of the war (which Lenin promised to do). This government did not do that
• The communists began their control by fighting the provisional government
• There were two factions of communists, the bolsheviks and the mensheviks
• Although Lenin was a communist, he did not follow the communism that Marx proposed

3/13 Blog

Causes of WWI

1. Imperialism
• Competition between countries regarding imperialism
• the countries were trying to expand to become more powerful
2. Industrialization
• The weapons from the new technology
• Better guns to fight, land mines, more updated weapons
• "It began this process of dehumanization through technology that got worse in World War II and is still a problem today." -LA Times article
3. Nationalism
• Serbians didn't want to be apart of Austria Hungary anymore
• Serbian nationalism
• Subject nationalism
4. Militarism
• increased armies
• “Why Germany is blamed for WWI, were aggressive in building up army and navy (in particular with Kaiser Wilhelm)
• increased navy
• Willie and his boat
• 

Political Cartoon of all the pieces to the fire that led to WWI

The Scramble for Africa

Is this New Imperialism different from the old imperialism?

• What was going on in Africa during the 1500s?
• Not much. Only a couple of Portuguese trading outposts along the coastline to help with trade in Asia. Europeans, only interested in securing profitable trade relations with Asian countries, never ventured inland in Africa.
• When did things change?
• The Boer War in South Africa marks the turning point for New Imperialism. This is the first major fight between native Europeans over African territory. This war sparked more European interest in colonizing Africa. By 1880, European nations were in a race to get their hands on as much African land as possible, regardless of the potential economic gains that the land offered. 
• Berlin Conference
• Similar to the Open Door Policy, which said that all European nations could exploit the failing Chinese Empire, the Berlin Conference said that European rule in Africa should be based off of "effective occupation" and that no single nation could take more land if they were not actually using it. This allowed for more European nations to exploit Africans and create colonies.

What caused this New Imperialism?

• Increasing economic competition between European nations led to a chain reaction scramble for Africa. If one European nation had African colonies, then every European nation had join the bandwagon lest they be left out of the potential economic gains in Africa.

• Many people also felt that more colonies meant greater nations. The idea of amassing large amounts of land was championed by imperialists who encouraged their nations to grab as much land as possible in Africa.

• Europe's technological superiority meant that any African uprisings could be quickly suppressed. The steamship and the telegraph also allowed for quicker communication and travel between the colonies and Europe.

• The last major reason for the New Imperialism in Africa was the idea that whites had the duty of civilizing the lesser African people. Many Americans used the ideology of the white man's burden to justify ruling over the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Again, this mentality was used to justify exploiting and ruling over the Africans, who were viewed as savages.

Were these colonies even useful?

Bismarck said that the African colonies reminded him of a "poor but proud nobleman who wore a fur coat but could not afford a shirt underneath"

• Africa had the appearance of wealth while in reality there was little profit to be gained there. The native Africans were too poor to purchase excessive amounts of European goods and much of the continent is barren. This led to many European nations ultimately giving up their colonies in Africa as they were of little use.

What did Hobson have to say about it?

• Hobson, a British economist, was disgusted by the harsh British tactics used during the Boer war and he argued that the rush to acquire African colonies stemmed from unregulated capitalism. He believed that the entire country did not benefit from the acquisition of these colonies, but that only a few unscrupulous groups made any real money at the expense of the African natives. Instead, he believed that European nations should focus on domestic reform and reducing the gap between the rich and the poor.

Class 3/5

How did Great Britain finesse China into importing more European goods?

• Previously, China was in fact interacting with other nations but were only really exporting their goods. 

• Merchants smuggle opium(which was legally grown in India) into China. The Chinese become addicted to the drug, but opium is illegal to buy and sell in China. The growing desire for opium forces the Chinese to look to other nations to supply them with the drug. Therefore, Great Britain intentionally hooked the Chinese on opium in order to manipulate China into importing more from Europe than they had been previously. The Opium Wars essentially opened up China to European free trade. 

At this point, imperialism involves more than simply territorial gain. 

• Along with the power that comes with gaining land, economic gain is also a very important source of power in regards to imperialism, beginning during this period.

Imperialism is the byproduct of the industrial revolution... why?

• European markets become oversaturated(thanks for the big word Gill!!) as the Industrial Revolution continues. Eventually, everyone in Europe acquires 10 shirts, for example. Therefore, Europe must look to other nations to consume their surplus of products in order to keep making bank/mula/doe. European markets had the supply, but needed the demand from outside nations. 

Were the situations in China, Japan, and Egypt similar? Different? 

• All three nations were coerced into tradinf more with nations that were very industrialized(GB, France, America)
• What happened in China and Japan were pretty similar. The only main difference is the fact that it took less time for Japan to fall in line than China. 
• "What the British had done in China with two wars, the Americans had achieved in Japan with the threat of one."

• Egypt is different though... Egypt was ruled by an outsider by the name of Muhammad Ali. Great Britain took advantage of the debt that Ismail(Ali's son) put them in by spending all their doe on super expensive projects. The British want their doe that they had invested back during this time when Egypt was in this massive amount of debt. Great Britain took advantage of Egypt and tied their hands when they, along with France, demanded to take control of Egyptian finances in order to ensure that they get their investments back in full. 
• “The British takeover in Egypt provided a new model for European expansion in densely populated lands. Such expansion was based on military force, political domination, and a self-justifying ideology of beneficial reform. This model predominated until 1914. Thus did Europe’s Industrial Revolution lead to tremendous political as well as economic expansion throughout the world after 1880”

24.2 Graph 

• This graph depicts how immigration from Europe spiked around 1914 due to the growing population in Europe. Immigration then declined because Hitler was crazy and kept everyone from escaping to other lands.

24.3 Pie Chart 

• This chart exemplifies the fact that although a large percentage of Europeans immigrated to the United States, many Europeans went to other places, too. It is important to note that the majority of European immigrants temporarily left their homelands to work and make money then return to their origins. 
• 45% of European immigrants came to the US --> US tried to cut down this number by imposing the Immigration Acts 

2/28

What does Darwin have to do with the Industrial Revolution/this time?

• Social Darwinism: people applied what Darwin discovered (organisms adapt over time to changes in their environments) to the Industrial Revolution
• Everything about the Industrial Revolution was new, so everyone had to be able to change in order to be successful. Those who could were rewarded and were the "fittest," and those who could not were likely unemployed and had little resources. 
• Additionally, if people were unable to keep up with the pace and demands of their jobs, there were thousands of other people in the overcrowded cities that were more than happy to replace them. 

Were the suffragettes terrorists?

Emily Davison being trampled

• It depends on who you ask
• People who call them terrorists cite Emily Davison (Ana?) who threw herself under the king's horse during a race. She died and another jockey fell from his horse, but the king was unharmed. 
• Her intention in doing this was to seriously injure or kill the king, potentially inspired by the People's Will movement who assassinated Tsar Alexander II (who "was da bomb"). 

How did the Second Industrial Revolution differ from the first?

• The Second IR is when people became more innovative and creative. During the First, most improvements were made out of necessity, and people did not think too outside of the box. During the Second, invented more things, such as the internal combustion engine (which is still used in cars today). 
• Most of the improvements and advancements that happened during the First IR were improved upon during the Second IR.

Who was Max Weber and what did he believe?

• He wrote a book linking the rise of capitalism to the rise of Protestantism. He believed that Protestants have stronger work ethics than Catholics, because Protestants believed that worldly success was a sign of God's love and Catholics did not. This meant that in general, Protestants were more likely to work hard. 
• Additionally, Protestantism has a focus on the individual that is not present in Catholicism. In order to be a successful individual, a person must work hard. 

What is the difference between Realism and Romanticism?

• Realism depicts real people in everyday settings, romanticism is more fantastical and has more of a focus on nature. 
• This reflects the shift from pastoral life to urban life, as well as the slight decline in belief in religious supremacy as more scientific discoveries were made. 
• 
  



The Gleaners is one of the most famous Realist paintings.