...were many factors that led up to the first world war, some more influential than others. In the late eighteen-hundreds into the early nineteen-hundreds tensions were high in Europe. Countries were forming alliances, taking over land, and building up their military in order to become the most powerful and influential country in Europe. A Serbian group of rebels killed the archduke of Austria-Hungary which sparked tensions between the two. This dragged in alliances, which became the main cause of the war because it forced countries to pick sides. Militarism and a “race for arms” was the second biggest contributing factor because it made it a competition for other countries to build their military. A combination of these two things caused a political conflict between two countries to turn...
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...system with one political party to represent the people. In the USSR, all political parties other than the Communist Party were banned and elections were contested between individuals of this party. The tensions that existed between the USSR and the USA in the 1920s and 30s Communism was viewed as an unstable force that threatened social and political order and Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, was to represent this. Allied countries Britain, France, USA and Japan had sent help to Bolshevik enemies during the Civil War therefore there were some hostile feelings towards them even after the war. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) was a result of Russia withdrawing from the war, leading to a feeling of betrayal amongst the allies who were left to fight Germany alone. Communist groups in Spain and France grew in strength in the 1930s in response to the hardships of the Great Depression which placed strains on the USA. Britain’s appeasement policy towards Germany under Hitler’s leadership led to Stalin seeing it as an attempt to placate Hitler and a sign of Britain’s lack of enthusiasm for halting Nazi foreign policy. This meant mutual mistrust and hostility remained between the countries. The strains that existed in the Grand Alliance during World War 2 Despite the meeting at Tehran in November 1943 there were divisions amongst the Big Three. The opening of...
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...the World University of Phoenix There were a many causes of the Cold War and the United States feared the rise and spread of communism throughout the world. The Soviet Union’s Government, along with many communist governments, did not want the people of their country to have a voice and think for themselves. They were not allowed the the luxury of being able to vote and electing who they wanted as their leader. The United States had a completely opposite approach and did not want governments that were in opposition to democracy and freedom of choice. People in the Soviet Union did not have freedom of speech and the press was not allowed to print anything freely without severe repercussions whereas the United States does have a free press. The immediate causes leading to the cold war was conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States at the peace-time conferences. The conflict was intensified after President Truman declared the Truman Doctrine and launched the Marshall Plan.” President Franklin Roosevelt believed the Soviet Union was going to start setting up a freely-elected parliamentary government, but he died before that ever happened. President Harry Truman became President and did not believe that the Soviet Union would honor the agreement and set up elections up in Eastern Europe. The United States exploded the Atomic bomb successfully and Truman also figured the United States could have a stiff attitude towards Russian expansion into Europe. President...
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...Tim Lerner History 10 November 2012 Midterm Part Two 8) WWI-in reality The first world war was unlike any other war. The living conditions were terrible because they were living in trenches for months. They had to deal with the fear dying from being shot because of the skilled snipers, gases being thrown into trenches, which have never appeared in any other war, and the deaths from diseases. People were dying daily and were in fear of just peaking their heads out side of the trenches but there was also issues with living in the trenches. Soldiers had infestations of rats, lice and other new medical issues come from living in the trenches. First off the rats in the trenches feared because the ate the remains of the others soldiers who had passed. These rats carried many diseases and got into everything. The soldiers were contently trying to fight them off and get rid of them but they populated so quickly it was hard to keep up. Also these rats would get to be as large as house cats from time to time. Lice became another big issue because they spread quickly and caused illness like trench fever which starts of as pain through out the body then a fever. Due to living in trenches the area was always wet and moist. Many soldiers got trench foot, which is a fungal infection, that was caused by their feet consistenly moist and in unsanatary areas. Living in these conditions and being cooped up in these trenches for weeks would make anyone crazy. The trenches were always crowed...
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...It’s debatable whether Germany was primarily responsible for the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914. The argument most commonly raised by historians is that Germany hold the most responsibility for the outbreak as they alone had the power to withdraw its “blank cheque” which offered unconditional support to Austria should they choose to invade Serbia. As Fritz Fischer and many other historians believe that Germany favoured a war as they were keen to showcase their strength as a nation and become the number one world power, evidence of this is shown by their aggressive foreign policy Kaiser Wilhelm II enforced in the years leading up to the war. The Fischer thesis also supports this view. However there were also other events in the build up to the war that were out of Germany’s hands...
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...Assess critically three causes of the outbreak of the First World War 1914-1918. There were certain events leading up to the outbreak of the first World War , in late July of 1914. For decades different historians have researched and presented what they believe and suggest to be the causes of this war that drastically changed Europe. In this essay, i intend to discuss and assess three longterm causes and to what extent the system of alliances, militarism and imperial rivalry contributed to the development of the crisis of 1914 and consequently the war. Europe was split into two rival alliance groups, connected by a secondary set of treaties and agreements to countries spread out around the globe. A number of alliances had been signed between countries between the years of 1879 and 1914. The division of the principal nations of Europe into two camps, did not necessarily make for war. It only made it inevitable that any conflict involving two great powers would bring general war. This system has often been justified as being necessary to maintain the balance of power and thus initiate peace amongst nations. This unfortunately was not the case as the Alliance System was based on secret diplomacy, mutual suspicion and fear were created among the powers. In 1905, for example, William II provoked the First Moroccan Crisis in order to see whether or not the Entente Cordiale really existed. Secondly, the Alliance System promoted armament races, too. Anglo-French military cooperation...
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...Introduction The Nigerian Civil War, 1967 – 1970, was an ethnic and political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the South-eastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed republic of Biafra. The war became notorious for the starvation in some of the besieged war-bound regions, and the consequent claims of genocide made by the largely Igbo people of those regions. Causes of the Conflict The conflict was the result of serious tensions, both ethnic and religious, between the different peoples of Nigeria. Like most modern African nations, Nigeria was an artificial construct, put together by agreement between European powers, paying little regard to historical African boundaries or population groups. The Nigeria which received independence from Britain in 1960 had a population of 60 million people of nearly 300 differing ethnic and tribal groups. Of the ethnic groups that made up Nigeria, the largest were the largely Muslim Hausa in the north, the Yoruba in the half-Christian, half-Muslim south-west, and the Igbo in the predominantly Christian south-east. At independence a conservative political alliance had been made between the leading Hausa and Igbo political parties, which ruled Nigeria from 1960 to 1966. This alliance excluded the western Yoruba people. The well-educated Igbo people were considered by many to be the main beneficiaries of this alliance, taking most of the top jobs and leading business opportunities in the Nigerian federation. The Yoruba westerners...
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...The Balkans is a strategically important region of South Eastern Europe. It has been a source of conflict for hundreds of years because of its’ critical geopolitical significance. Not only it serves as a gateway between Europe and the Near East but is also a melting pot of different cultures; a place where East meets the West. In the period preceding the First World War, this region was undergoing dramatic changes that eventually went on to impact not just the rest of Europe but the entire world. These developments manifested in the form of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Nationalism in the region. The political landscape was further transformed through Austria’s attempts to secure its imperial integrity and Russia’s evolving ideology of Pan-Slavism and territorial expansion. These developing trends threatened the sustainability of the centuries-old ‘Balance of Power’ in Europe and caused extreme tension and stress in the Balkan region. War seemed inevitable and only a ‘spark’ was required to set off the fuse.1 The dreaded stimulus was soon provided through the assassination of the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Sophie at Sarajevo in June 1914. The casus belli that the assassination presented Austria was too good to be missed. The prospects of an all-out war also aligned with Germans desire for establishing their military supremacy in the region. Hence they became actively engaged in the ensuing July Crisis and staunchly supported Austria....
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...The Main Reasons of the War in August 2008 Literature Review Course: Academic Writing December 22, 2014 Introduction There are lots of unsolved conflicts in contemporary world, among which is the issue of so called South Ossetia Region. As new government of Georgia came in to the power in 2004, territorial integrity became one of the major concerns to be solved. At that time the majority of Georgian society thought that integrity issue would be solved in the peaceful manner. However, since then, events developed in such way that in August 2008 military conflict launched in South Ossetia. The nature of this conflict had significant implications for regional and international power politics. According to the American scientist Kenneth Waltz “peace is the one among a number of ends simultaneously entertained… To explain how peace can be more readily achieved requires an understanding of the causes of the war”. After the war between Russia and Georgia the whole world was concerned about what was the reason of the August war? This paper attempts to review some literature about this topic trying to answer this main question and create even a little understanding of the views that were expressed during or after the war. According the literature reviewed, views about causes of the war can be divided in two parts. First part is about interests’ contradiction between Russia and the USA and the second – about “Matter” of Saakashvili. Interests’ contradiction – Russia...
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...Peace and Conflict > The Cold War 1945-1991 > Overview of US-Soviet relations and the Cold War The Cold War 1945-1991 Overview of US-Soviet relations and the Cold War David Mclean Charles Sturt University Principal Focus: Students investigate key features and issues in the history of the Cold War 1945 - 1991 Outcomes Students: H1.1 describe the role of key features, issues, individuals, groups and events of select twentieth-century studies (Extract from Modern History Stage 6 Syllabus Board of Studies NSW 2004.) Key features and issues: • origins and development of the Cold War • influence of ideologies on the Cold War • impact of crises on changing superpower relations • the arms race • reasons for the end of the Cold War This is the transcript of a talk given at a seminar co-sponsored by the History Teachers’ Association of New South Wales and the US Information Service in Sydney on 2 September 1995. From this tutorial you will learn about: • influence of ideologies that led resulted in the division of the world into two opposed camps from 1945 • emerging differences between the superpowers Contents 1. US – Soviet relations were not synonymous with the Cold War 2. Chronology of the Cold War 3. Influence of ideologies of communism and capitalism on the Cold War 4. Soviet Objectives 5. American objectives 6. The Arms Race 7. The Third World was important for the Cold War 8. Why did the Cold War not end earlier? 9. Did the...
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... A) How far did ‘peaceful coexistence’ ease Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the USA in the years 1953–61? Mark Scheme: Candidates should have knowledge about the main features of ‘peaceful coexistence’ in the period 1953-61. Developments which helped to ease Cold War tensions might include: the end of the Korean War (1953); Soviet settlement of border disputes with Turkey and Iran (1953) and recognition of Israel (1953); Austrian independence and improved Soviet-Yugoslav relations (1955); the ‘Geneva spirit’ based on east-west summit diplomacy and Khrushchev’s visit to the USA in 1959. Developments which sustained Cold War tensions during the period might include: US attitudes towards communism in the 1950s (domino theory, ‘roll back’, Eisenhower doctrine); Soviet concept of peaceful coexistence based on long-term victory of communism; the impact of the Hungarian Rising (1956) and the launch of Sputnik (1957); the U2 spy plane incident (1960) and the issue of Germany (1958-1961). At Levels 1 and 2 simple or more developed statements will provide either only simple or more developed statements about peaceful coexistence with either only implicit reference to the extent tensions were eased or argument based on insufficient evidence. At Level 3, students should provide some sustained analysis related to the extent tensions were eased but the detail may be hazy in places and/or the material unbalanced...
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...Century in Europe was a time of power-balancing, revolution, industrialization, and imperialism. The turn of the century marked the end of French continental domination and the beginning of longest period of European peace in history following the Congress of Vienna. Up until 1848, the delicate balance of European power was maintained from an international perspective, but in that year, domestic uprisings plagued much of continental Europe. Given Britain’s geographical isolation and the success of its early colonies (like Australia), it experienced general domestic and foreign tranquility, as well as economic success and worldwide naval supremacy. However, as the British Empire continued to expand, its domestic industrial infrastructure was almost altogether abandoned, causing its inevitable technological obsolescence by the last quarter of the century. The relative decline of British industry and global dominance began in the 1870s along with a shift in gross national investment from domestic markets to overseas, requiring British foreign policy to ensure the naval, military, and financial security of its empire through defensive build-up and diplomacy at the turn of the 20th Century; in response to Britain’s relatively weaker position, German policy became more aggressive in an effort to assert Germany’s new global power status and attract Great Britain to an Anglo-German alliance. Britain’s escape from the revolutionary fervor engulfing continental Europe in 1848 allowed...
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...Policemen of the World Gina M. Scott Professor Stuart Collins History 105 June 15, 2014 Foreign policy, whether for or against, seems to be the center or major problem in most of the international incidences, that have occurred recently. A) Two or three (2-3) international events from the past five years that can be traced back to a foreign policy created after the Civil War. 1. Sri Lankan government policy towards India against support of China - Sri Lankan government had a foreign policy towards India that was not supportive of China and that has led to a strained relationship between these two Nations. Tamilian issues were not completely addressed by Sri Lankan foreign policy and the recent atrocities against Tamil provoked the Tamilnadu state to pressurize the central government though this is Sri Lanka internal policy but in its foreign policy they couldn’t relate to the sentiments of Tamil people in India. The Indian government did not attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Summit which was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The protest of the Sri Lankan Government towards the Tamils of Sri Lanka forced the Prime minister of India to stay away from the CHOGM summit. The long civil war with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka did not patch up the relations between Sri Lanka and Tamilnadu and Tamil people forced Prime minister of India to boycott CHOGM. ...
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...events, individuals and ideas. 1. The seeds of conflict 2. Emergence of Cold War, 1944-53 3. The ‘Thaw’ & ‘Peaceful Co-existence’ 4. The arms impact of the arms race 5. Sin-Soviet relations 6. Détente 7. End of Cold War Reminder of the structure of Unit 3 • Unit 3 = 25% of total marks • Written exam: 2 hours • Answer ONE question from Section A (30 marks), and ONE from Section B (40 marks) - choice of 2 questions in both sections • Section A – discuss an historical issue • Section B – use source material & knowledge to discuss an historical event Section A – themes to explore in your revision: 1. The post-Stalin thaw and the bid for peaceful coexistence in 1950s: a) USSR: Khrushchev b) USA: the responses of Dulles, Eisenhower and Kennedy. • the continuation of the Cold War in the 1950s following the retirement of Truman & death of Stalin, despite the bid for improved relations on the part of the USSR in the form of unilateral cuts in the size of the Red Army and withdrawal from Austria and Finland. • the concept of peaceful coexistence & what motivated Khrushchev & the Soviet leadership, & why the USA under Eisenhower & his Secretary of State, Dulles, and later Kennedy and his staff, responded in the way they did. • the role of personality, particularly that of Khrushchev, in shaping relations in these years should be addressed & students should be aware of the Paris Summit, the U2...
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...Canada in the Great War-----------------------------------------5 World war and its outcome ------------------------------------------------------------------7 Impact of the war on the US –Canadian relations-----------------------------------------8 Modern day relations between US and Canada--------------------------------------------10 American –Canadian economic relations --------------------------------------------------11 Conclusion--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 First World War and Canada-US Relations Introduction The First World War or the Great War was a remarkable event in the history of the humanity. It influenced and shaped our modern world to an extent like none else, and the reflections of today’s development traces its route back to the decisions taken during and post-World War I. No one had any idea about the huge armies that would be involved, the amount of ammunition that will be expended, and how many people would die. However, the role of Canada in the war is noteworthy, considering the fact that the nation decided to stand by the Britain’s side during the war with the only aim of opposing aggression. It neither fought for anything for itself, nor did it receive any rewards of the war. In this paper, we will discuss about the role of Canada and US in the Great War, the history of the border regions along the Canada-US boundary during the war and how it impacted...
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