The Most Prominent Events in World History - Case Study Example

The Most Prominent Events in World History Treaty of Versailles was entered to in 1919 to mark the end of the First World War and had several loopholes that led to the short and long term consequences that were observed. In short term, the treaty limited the Germany’s military numbers to less than 100,000 of active troops with no heavy artilleries, tankers, and gas. This was to reduce Germany into a non-aggressive country. In terms of the long-term consequences, the treaty was actually unfair for the Germans in the sense that the country had spend billions of pounds in the war and was still being forced to take responsibility of the damages of the war. The situation angered the Germans and through Adolf Hitler, they were able to ignite the Second World War. The treaty also created irreparable damage to the Germans economy for along time (Friedman, 56). Communism in Russia came into place following the abolition of Serfdom in the 1861, Serfdom was a kind of slavery in which all the peasant were tied to a piece of farmland. The peasant are allowed to use the farm for the purpose of providing for the families and themselves but at the same time are forced to comply with their masters needs and requirements in all manner of sense which included military services. Abolition of Serfdom let to the mass migration into the cities leading to the neglect of agricultural as many people moved to the city. In the cities, they got involved in working for the factories during the industrial revolution in Russia. This group of people was exploited in terms f long working hors with law wages since they had formal association. This led to poverty epidemic and people became open to the communism idea, the situation was also accentuated by the fact that Russia had lost to Japan in 1905 in the Russo-Japanese war, the two situations made it possible for Russia to accept communism as a way of governance. Fascism was a way of believing that one race is better than the other is and these were manifested in Italy and Germany. In this regard, fascism in Italy and Germany were characterized with the following beliefs; the importance of struggle and will, Militarism, Organic state, instance authority and discipline, rule by an elite, mystic faith in leader, and Nazism which is a violent racism. The impact of fascism in the two countries led to the execution of masses that were considered lesser race. For instance, the holocaust period in Germany in which Adolf Hitler killed the Jews in masses. In Italy, the fascism party led to the banning of all political parties and trade unions. Books and syllabuses were also reviewed to conform to the requirement of the fascist. The opposition parties were also suppressed and the media controlled, there was also on freedom of speech, worship, and the creation of a common enemy and fear amongst the civilian. World War II was fought between the period of 1939 and 1945; the main cause of the war can be traced to the unresolved issues that accumulated form World War I. The immediate cause of the war was the Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 and the invasion of China by the Empire of Japan in the 1937. In terms of the cost, the World War II is rated to have consumed $ 1.075 trillion in accumulation of the expenditure incurred by the countries that directly involved into the war (Friedman, 76). With regard to the consequences of the war, apart from the casualties of the war that led to the humanitarian crisis, there is also the occupation of the Eastern Europe by the USSR and their need to spread communism in the area. This led to the onset of cold war that engulfed the two world super powers; US and the USSR up to the late 1990s. Cold War was used in reference to the relationship that existed between the Western bloc that were mainly capitalists and the Eastern Europe that were predominantly communists with the US and USSR respectively leading the blocs. The two divisions involved in involved in diplomatic, economic, and armament rivalry characterized with propaganda (Friedman, 79). The main difference during the cold war was the ideology; communism or capitalist. The extent of rivalry experience d during the period of cold war almost led to the Third World War, it was either belonging to the Communism or Capitalist. Following the threats that communist would spread uncontrollably, US and other 11 Western countries in 1949 formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that was responded to by the Communism by forming Warsaw Pact in 1955 (Friedman, 81). The formation of these two alignments was to provide a framework for military standoff that characterized cold war throughout. a period in which US and the USSR who had just emerged as the world super powers engaged in a series of ideological differences with no active military combat but with support to their allies in terms of military and finaces assistance. In this regard, the rivalry played an important role in the politics of the world by Balkanizing it into the communist and capitalist world; in this case, we see Germany dividing into two; East and West. The US also tried to control the spread of communism in Latin America and this led to the ratification of the Marshall plan in the US that enabled them to assist those countries that were under coercion in accepting political ideologies that they did not subscribe. In this relation, we see US joining through proxy several war fronts amongst them the Vietnam War, Korean War, and the Bay of Pigs military confrontation. Most of the colonies of the Europeans especially in Africa also took sides in the process and this lead to rivalries of the superpowers with reference to the ideological preferences in the countries. Edward Bernays, Sergei Eisenstein, and Leni Riefenstahl are regarded as propagandists because they manipulated the minds of the masses through public relation exercises. They understood the psychology of the masses. They were able to give to the public what they wanted to hear and know, in that regard, they molded the people’s minds, formed their tastes, and suggested their ideas unknowingly for them to be governable. Apartheid was a system that was employed by the whites in South Africa to segregate Africans as minority with no rights, it only recognized the rights of the whites as supreme and their was a clear distinction between African and the whites in terms of association and education system. Apartheid therefore was meant to create a distinction between the blacks and the whites in a way the African would feel they are inferior. The apartheid regime was dismantled following the ban that was lifted on the African National Congress party and the eventual release of Nelson Mandela from Prison by de Klerk. The two events marked the need for reconciliation between the African and the whites and it is through the reconciliatory process that the regime got to be dismantled in South Africa. The end of Communism and apartheid lead to both deductive and inductive reasoning since a number of issues can be drawn from them. The end of communism led to the collapse and disintegration of the USSR-the principal upholder of the ideology and that put a spirited fight to spread the ideology worldwide. Just like communism, Apartheid also led to the economic down fall of the indigenous people in South Africa since they were restricted on most of the things including education. Apartheid also led to the mass killing of Africans following the Soweto riots and the Sharpeville Massacre. The external factors had great influence on the country’s internal dynamics in the sense that after the formation of the League of Nations and the eventual United Nations, the world became a global village with the bodies monitoring every action in all the countries and taking necessary measures in regard. In pursuit of this, we see South Africa being expunged from a list of Commonwealth countries following the international condemnation of the Sharpeville massacre. Part B Question 1 Historical thinking shaped by what the historians defines as the 5 Cs. In the five Cs, there are two of the Cs that are rather instructive and these are context and casualty. History is all about context, for documented fact from the evidences that the historian can gather, there is always a reason for that. The publication of journals and books are driven by context to the extent that we look at the intended audience, what events informed the release of the document, and those that took place following the release of the document. The example II will give in this context is the Arthur Zimmerman’s letter that was sent to Mexico instructing them to give support for the Germans in order to attack US in case they join the join the First World War in favor of the opponents. It is clear that the telegram was intended for the Mexican government as the recipient I which they were to be given their territories which were taken from them by the US; Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. It is thus important to note the historical contextual of the Arthur’s letter to Mexico, again it is important to note that the letter was intercepted by the US intelligence and made them rehearse for the war having known the intention of the German. Casualty on the other hand denotes that a historical event unfolds other events, and that the political shift results from social changes. A case in point here is the unrestricted submarine warfare that was declared by the Germany intended to exterminate the Britons. Through the unrestricted submarines, Germany sank American Merchant Ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and this led to the US joining the Second World War even though they had pledged to remain neutral in the European issues. Again, during the Second World War, the American bombing of Japanese two cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the end of the war in the East and eventually to the West (Friedman, 113). It can therefore be noted that one event successfully led to the occurrence of the other. Question 3 Memo to the deans of Arts To the Dean Arts, RE: RETENTION OF COURSE MODULE; HIST 112 (THE MODERN WORLD) Following the University’s decision to scrap off some of the modules on grounds of being superfluous and in particularly The Modern History, HIST 112, I do write this letter in protest of the decision reached. It will be understood that for us to understand how we got into our current situation we need to understand the chronological events of the historical happenings that shaped some of the actions and decision that were reached and has dearly informed our current situation. It will be therefore absurd to scrap off the module that informs us on our pasts and how it influences our present. I would like to cite some of the examples of the historical events that are so crucial in informing our present and that if this module is scrapped, there would be a gap existing in connecting the past with the present, which is very important in influencing contemporary knowledge. I would consider the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 in which France lost to Germany and got possession of two of their coal rich provinces Alsace and Larraine, in this battle, France felt humiliated and were out to regain their lost glory after the defeat. This explains why they had to engage vigorously in the scramble for colonies in Africa only for regaining their lost glory in the 1900. Again, the historical hostility informs our knowledge on why France and Germany were on the opposite side of the alliance in both the First and Second World War in 1914 and 1939 respectively. I would therefore appeal passionately that the module be left intact for connecting the past and the present in a resonating manner. Question 4 In deed, it is true that arts are important in understanding some of the historical fundamentals that are important in creating a link of understanding history of the past and the present. Most of the arts were situated with a historical purpose, so it is in order that the history behind the arts be discerned in furthering the scope of historical knowledge. One of the most known historical arts is the Egyptian pyramid, which marks the onset of civilization. It demonstrates complex artwork that depicts the great level of specialization in artistry and artisanship. The artwork served both religious and symbolic in nature, it showed the immortality of the Pharaoh who was at the apex of hierarchical organ in the territory. Part C Question B Following Arthur Koestler’s proposition in his book ‘Darkness at Noon’, it follows that one has to exercise precautionary measures in making political decision, these decisions can bring your down fall or rise depending on how it augurs with the authority. If one do not take responsibility when the authorities are not happy with your ideologies, it is possible that you will succumb to their traps. The tale reports on how Rubashov was convicted and jailed for treason by the very government he helped to put into place. This was during Stalin regime, he condemned communism as a better ideological reference in Russia. The revelation of this tale in deed encompasses the intrigues that constitute the Modern World History. In most countries, the governments turned against its very loyal for the interest of establishing autocratic system that would further their own interests, this is seen in Germany, Italy, Japan, and Vietnam where totalitarian regimes were established and tolerated no dissenting voices. Work Cited Friedman, Thomas L.. The world is flat: a brief history of the twenty-first century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. Print. Read More