05 Jan WEEK 1: 1900: THE AGE OF HOPE AND

HIST410 Week 1 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 August

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WEEK 1: 1900: THE AGE OF HOPE AND THE AGE OF ‘ISMS’

7676 unread replies.116116 replies.Here’s a statement to consider: “Imperialism has been the most powerful force in world history over the last four or five centuries, carving up whole continents while oppressing indigenous peoples and obliterating entire civilizations.” Defend or condemn the argument by giving examples of the interaction between Western industrial powers and traditional, non Western societies. Were these contacts essentially positive or negative? ”
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WEEK 1: THE FIRST TOTAL WAR

7272 unread replies.113113 replies.World War 1 is said to have been the first ‘total’ war. What does that mean? And what does it mean for people and nations trying to pick up the pieces and resume normal life?

HIST410 Week 2 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 August

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WEEK 2: THE RISE OF TOTALITARIANISM

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Compare and contrast the two types of totalitarian governments that arose after 1917, that is, communism and fascism. What were the origins of these governments, their accomplishments, and their failures? What accounts for the fact that the masses mobilized to support these movements? Elaborate.

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WEEK 2: NATIONALISM AND THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

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What were reasons that led to the ultimate failure of the Treaty of Versailles? What were the challenges facing the newly-formed League of Nations, and why was it so difficult to form a lasting agreement that would prevent another war? Elaborate.

HIST410 Week 3 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 August

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WEEK 3: DICTATORSHIP AND DEMOCRACY

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Analyze Adolph Hitler’s rise to power and the policies he used to rule Germany. Textbook tyrant? Overheated Nationalist? Or the right man for at the right time for the right job?

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WEEK 3: WORLD WAR II AND THE HOLOCAUST

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The following statement was taken from a contemporary account of Germany in 1939:”Though the Fuhrer’s anti-Semitic program furnished the National Socialist party in the first instances with a nucleus and a rallying-cry, it was swept into office by two things with which the “Jewish Problem” did not have the slightest connection. On the one side was economic distress and the revulsion against Versailles: on the other, chicanery and intrigue…Hitler and his party promised the unhappy Germans a new heaven and a new earth, coupled with the persecution of the Jews. Unfortunately a new heaven and earth cannot be manufactured to order. But a persecution of the Jews can…”How do you interpret this contemporary account of the persecution of people who are Jewish? Elaborate.

HIST410 Week 4 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 August

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WEEK 4: THE COLD WAR: WHO SHOT FIRST?

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The United States accused the Soviet Union of breaking all its wartime pledges and holding Eastern Europe hostage while trying to subvert governments in the west. The Soviet Union accused the US and its allies of trying surround and ultimately destroy it. War of words? Or was somebody telling the truth? And where do our ‘Isms’ fit in? In particular nationalism?

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WEEK 4: COLD WAR BUZZ WORDS

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The Cold War its very own verbiage. The West had more than its share: Cold War, Iron Curtain, Containment, Domino Theory were just a few. What did they mean in this strange new post-war environment?

HIST410 Week 5 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 August

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WEEK 5: AFRICA AND THE WEST

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What accounts for the rather late emergence of African countries as independent nation-states? Is there something peculiar about Africa that delayed its drive for independence? (Begin with a specific African country, and argue your case.)

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WEEK 5: ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST

9191 unread replies.114114 replies.

Why has the Arab-Israeli conflict been so persistent? What religious and cultural factors have contributed to the persistent state of unrest in the Middle East and, in particular, in what some people refer to as the Holy Land?

HIST410 Week 6 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 August

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WEEK 6: THE END OF THE COLD WAR

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What impact did Mikhail Gorbachev’s ideas of glasnost (openness), perestroika (restructuring) and demokratizatsiia (democratization) have on Communist society? Were these principles compatible with collectivization and a command economy? Did Communist leaders favor these principles or did they feel that their hand were tied once they were introduced into Communist society?

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WEEK 6: THE NOT SO COLD WAR

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It would be easy to dismiss the Cold War simply as proof that Capitalism was a better theory than Communism. Easy, but not the whole story. In order for Communism to be relegated to the dustbin of history, it first had to be proven that its struggle against Capitalism unecessary and thus irrelevant. How do the US and the USSR close the gap in the last quarter of the 20th Century to allow Communism to go out with a whimper and not a bang?

HIST410 Week 7 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 August

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WEEK 7: COLD WAR NOSTALGIA

8686 unread replies.115115 replies.

In the years after the Cold War and the collapse of the bipolar order, the world has undergone significant changes. Chief among those changes has been a perceived deterioration of world stability, not only in terms of economics but also in terms of security. What indicators could lead one to conclude that in the years following the collapse of the Communist world, things have gotten more dangerous?

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WEEK 7: BRAVE NEW WORLD

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So…the Cold War is over. Time to do a victory lap and celebrate the primacy of American power. But the celebration seemed short-lived, as there were plenty of other concerns. Nothing is as it should be. Our adversaries are now our allies, and our allies are now competitors. The end of the Cold War knocked down the Iron Curtain, but it also destroyed conventional economic patterns. Is the end of the Cold War proving to be good for world peace, but not so good for world business?

HIST410 Week 1 Case Study # 1 Jules Ferry Latest 2017 August

Jules Ferry was Prime Minister of France as that nation launched its imperial expansion. In a debate with member of the French Parliament, Ferry Defends the decision to expand. Read his remarks and respond to the following questions:

1. According to Ferry, what recent developments in world trade have made it urgent for France to have colonies?

2. What arguments against imperialism have been raised by Ferry’s critics? How does he counter them?

3. What non-economic arguments does Ferry offer in favor of imperialism?

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/readings/ferry.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

This assignment must be in APA formatting, complete with an introduction, body, and conclusion. All sources must be cited and referenced. As a guideline, the assignment should be approximately 3-5 pages in length, including the title page and reference page.

HIST410 Week 2 Case Study – 1 Versailles The Allies’ “Last Horrible Triumph” Latest 2017 August

This week, you will read the comments of the German Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference on the conditions of the peace which ended World War 1. Please click on the link below to view the article. Many have argued that it was the way World War 1 ended which made World War 2 inevitable. Read the document and answer the following questions:

1. According to the authors of Germany’s complaint, how will various provisions of the treaty hurt Germany’s economy?

2. In Germany’s view, how would the country have been treated differently if the principles they attribute to President Wilson had been applied?

3. To what higher “fundamental laws” does the document appeal to in order to strengthen German assertions?

4. Do you agree with the authors of the document that Germany was being poorly treated? What response to their complaints might defenders of the treaty have made?

http://college.cengage.com/history/primary_sources/world/conditions_of_peace.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

This assignment must be in APA formatting, complete with an introduction, body, and conclusion. All sources must be cited and referenced. As a guideline, the assignment should be approximately 3-5 pages in length, including the title page and reference page.

HIST410 Week 3 Case Study – The Democrat and The Dictator Latest 2017 August

Franklin Roosevelt and Adolph Hitler both came to power in 1933. They found themselves in charge of nations still suffering from the consequences of World War 1 and the Great Depression. Unemployment in the US was nearly 25%, while nearly one-third of Germany’s workforce had been idled.

Americans and Germans had opted for new leadership in 1933 and were now looking to their new leaders for solutions, and perhaps a new vision of the future. Both FDR’s Inaugural address and Hitler’s first address as Chancellor of Germany have been analyzed for their similarities and differences. Now it’s our turn!

Complete the following:

1. Read both speeches and give an assessment of what these two leaders thought was the cause of the problems their countries faced. Provide quotes to support your view.

2. Using quotes from both speeches, tell how each leader intended to deal with your choice of ONE of the following:

1. Unemployment

2. Banking, finance and in general, the economy

3. Agriculture

4. Foreign Policy

3. Finally, in a concluding statement, tell where think these leaders find common ground in terms of their proposed solutions, and what you think their vision is with regard to the power of their position.

http://www.hitler.org/speeches/02-01-33.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres49.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

This assignment must be in APA formatting, complete with an introduction, body, and conclusion. All sources must be cited and referenced. As a guideline, the assignment should be approximately 3-5 pages in length, including the title page and reference page.

HIST410 Week 4 Mid Term Latest 2017 August

Question 1

Not yet graded / 25 pts

(TCO 1, 2) Analyze how World War 1 changed the economic, social, and political landscapes in the affected nations. Use examples to explain how the war affected men and women, government power, and the economy.

Question 2

Not yet graded / 25 pts

(TCO 5, 6) Identify and analyze the first two Russian Revolutions of 1917. Use historical examples to support your answer. In what ways did these revolutions radically change Russian society?

Question 3

Not yet graded / 25 pts

(TCO 5, 11) Compare and contrast German Nazism and Stalin’s Soviet Communism (Stalinism). What were the similarities and differences between these two political ideologies? Use historical examples to support your answer.

Question 4

Not yet graded / 25 pts

(TCO 5, 11) Analyze how the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, along with the Great Depression of the 1930s, contributed to the outbreak of World War II. Then analyze significant ways in which World War II changed the world. Make sure you use enough historical details to support your answer.

HIST410 Week 5 Case Study Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech Latest 2017 August

There are many ways to get a feel for the events of the 20th Century. One way is through the analysis of primary source documents. Few documents set the stage for the second half than Winston Churchill’s 1946 speech in Fulton, Missouri. Officially entitled “The Sinews of Peace”, it came to be known as “The Iron Curtain Speech”, in which Churchill laid out the challenges for the West in general, and the US and Britain in particular, regarding what would soon be known as the Cold War. Your assignment this week is to not just read Churchill’s speech, but read between the lines to answer the following questions:

1. Churchill believes the Soviet Union “desires the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines.” How might those expansionist desires challenge the Western principle of national political self determination, a cause it championed during World War 2?

2. Churchill’s speech acknowledges “Russia’s need to be secure on her western borders,” but at the same time it raises concerns about Soviet actions in Eastern Europe. Is Churchill being inconsistent? Or does he provide concrete justifications for those concerns?

3. In his speech, Churchill asserts “There is nothing they (the Russians) admire so much as strength, and nothing for which they have less respect for than military weakness.” If he isn’t advocating a direct military confrontation with the Soviet Union, then what is he saying?

4. Churchill delivered this speech to an American audience, but after reading it one might conclude it could have been given in any western country. Why did he pick the US?

http://www.historyguide.org/europe/churchill.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

This assignment must be in APA formatting, complete with an introduction, body, and conclusion. All sources must be cited and referenced. As a guideline, the assignment should be approximately 3-5 pages in length, including the title page and reference page.

HIST410 Week 6 Case Study Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese Independence Latest 2017 August

Was Ho Chi Minh a Communist? To many Americans he was. But to many Vietnamese he was a nationalist hero, and to even a few Americans he was that as well, plus a friend, and ally and a comrade in arms during World War 2. It may be hard to paint Ho with any color other than gray, and now, nearly 50 years after his death and 40 years after the end of the American war in Vietnam, even that color has faded with time. What we do have are his words.

The link below will take you the speech Ho Chi Minh gave on September 2, 1945, in which he proclaimed Vietnam’s independence, and its arrival on the world stage. Your assignment will be to read the speech and provide answers to the following questions:

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5139/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Questions for exploration:

Ho’s speech proclaiming Vietnam’s independence contains a demand that the free world support that independence in part as payment for services rendered during World War 2. What ‘service’ did Vietnam render during that conflict?
Ho claims that Vietnam’s independence is consistent with the philosophical principles which the Allies claimed were paramount during World War 2. What principles was Ho referring to, and does he make references to occasions where those principles were reasserted?
In the speech, Ho mentions crimes committed by the French during their occupation of Vietnam. Which crimes, as you read them, were in your opinion most severe and justified Vietnamese independence?
This assignment must be in APA formatting, complete with an introduction, body, and conclusion. All sources must be cited and referenced. As a guideline, the assignment should be approximately 3-5 pages in length, including the title page and reference page.

HIST410 Week 7 Case Study Mikhail Gorbachev’s 1988 UN Speech Latest 2017 August

If the pace of improving US-Soviet relations seemed rapid, Mikhail Gorbachev’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly would shift the process into overdrive. In this remarkable oration, which you can find by clicking on the link below,Gorbachev emphatically declared that all nations must have the freedom to choose their own destiny, that ideology had no place in foreign affairs, and that great powers should renounce the use of force in international relations. Review his speech and answer in essay form the following questions:

http://astro.temple.edu/~rimmerma/gorbachev_speech_to_UN.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

1. Why did Gorbachev choose the United Nations as his forum for this speech?

2. What did Gorbachev mean by “de-ideologizing relations among states? What implications did this have for superpower relations?

3. Why did he say that “force no longer can…be an instrument of foreign policy”? What implications did this have for the Soviet bloc?

4. What did he foresee as the future role of the superpowers in the world and the future relationship between them?

This assignment must be in APA formatting, complete with an introduction, body, and conclusion. All sources must be cited and referenced. As a guideline, the assignment should be approximately 3-5 pages in length, including the title page and reference page.

HIST410 Final Exam Latest 2017 August

Question 1.1. (TCO 6) World War I was considered a total war, which meant (Points : 4)

compulsory military service for all eligible men.

government supervision of key industries.

government propaganda, control of the media, and curbs on civil liberties.

All of the above

Question 2.2. (TCO 6) The main fronts in World War I were in (Points : 4)

France and Russia .

Germany and Austria.

Italy and Greece.

Africa and Asia.

Question 3.3. (TCO 5) In 1922, Joseph Stalin was made (Points : 4)

head of the government.

general secretary of the Communist party.

general secretary of the Comintern.

head of the Red Army.

Question 4.4. (TCO 5) What event marked the beginning of World War II? (Points : 4)

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

The German invasion of Poland

The Anschluss

Germany’s annexation of the Sudetenland

Question 5.5. (TCO 9) What city was divided during the Cold War and became a hotspot for espionage and intrigue? (Points : 4)

Paris

London

Berlin

Rome

Question 6.6. (TCO 9) During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States and the Soviet Union were led by (Points : 4)

Reagan and Gorbachev.

Reagan and Khrushchev.

Kennedy and Castro.

Kennedy and Khrushchev.

Question 7.7. (TCO 8) What was the intention of the Marshall Plan? (Points : 4)

To rebuild the military power of western Europe

To help the Japanese economy recover from the war

To rebuild the economies of war-shattered Europe

To prevent the spread of Communism into Africa and Asia

Question 8.8. (TCO 6) Bangladesh is (Points : 4)

home to thousands of Muslim radicals who fled Afghanistan.

the site of a long conflict with the Soviet Union and mujahedin rebels.

the former eastern part of Pakistan, and one of the world’s poorest nations.

a mountainous region with a small population.

Question 9.9. (TCO 2) Gamal Nasser was (Points : 4)

a pan-Arabist, secular, national leader.

an advocate of fundamentalist Islam.

a Turkish leader.

a loyal ally of the United States.

Question 10.10. (TCO 2) Arab-Israeli wars occurred in (Points : 4)

1946, 1948, 1955, 1967, and 1975.

1948, 1958, 1968, 1970, and 1973.

1948, 1958, 1967, 1973, and 1990.

1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982.

Question 11.11. (TCO 4) One problem that arose in East Germany after reunification was (Points : 4)

the presence of U.S. troops.

lack of support for the EU.

a lack of national pride.

high unemployment.

Question 12.12. (TCO 4) The only Eastern European country that had widespread bloodshed in 1989 was (Points : 4)

Romania

Czechoslovakia

Bulgaria

Poland

Question 13.13. (TCO 7) Al-Qaeda was organized to (Points : 4)

destroy the World Trade Center.

expel U.S. businesses and military power from Saudi Arabia.

support the Taliban government.

spread Islamic fundamentalism to Europe and the United States.

Page 2

Question 1.1.(TCO 10) Match the terms in Column I with the descriptions in Column II.
(Points : 18)

Potential Matches:

1 :former dictator of Cuba

2 :onetime leader of Israel

3 :populist president of Argentina during the 1940s and 1950s

4 :onetime leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization

5 :black civil rights leader during the 1960s

Answer

:Martin Luther King

:Yasser Arafat

:Golda Meir

:Fidel Castro

:Juan Peron

Question 2.2.(TCO 3) Match the terms in Column I with the descriptions in Column II.
(Points : 18)

Potential Matches:

1 :policy of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev authorizing Soviet intervention in socialist states to maintain communist rule

2 :an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated

3 :a U.S.-inspired plan for postwar European economic recovery

4 :the precursor to the European Union, a postwar system of economic integration among western European states

Answer

:European Economic Community

:Marshall Plan

:Brezhnev Doctrine

:Globalization

Question 1. 1. (TCO 1, 2) Identify and analyze two causes of World War I. Use historical examples to support your answer.

Of the various causes of World War I, which do you think was the most important and why? (Points : 20)

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Question 2. 2. (TCO 5, 11) Compare and contrast the empires of Germany and Japan before the outbreak of World War II.

Identify and describe the leadership qualities of their respective leaders. Make sure you use enough historical details to support your answer. (Points : 20)

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Question 3. 3. (TCOs 9, 10) Identify and analyze the main events of the Korean War and Cuban Missile Crisis. Then assess how these events affected the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. Make sure you use enough details to support your answer. (Points : 36)

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Question 4. 4. (TCOs 4, 8) Analyze how the reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev led to the breakup of the Soviet Union. Point out what events led to the ascendency of Gorbachev to party leadership, and then identify and analyze Gorbachev’s reforms. Use specific details to support your answer. Then evaluate the relative success of democracy and capitalism in Russia after the end of the Cold War. (Points : 36)

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