A Half Century of Crisis Big Era Eight A Half Century of Crisis 1900 - 1950

Why is Big Era Eight about crisis? Three major events shook up the modern world system that had been created during Big Era Seven. Depression World War II World War I

What could the crises of Big Era Eight upset? political and economic They could upset the balance of political and economic forces in the modern world.

Before we go any further, how was the world tied together at the start of the 20th century? Communications networks made possible by the telegraph, telephone, and undersea cable. Transportation networks made possible by the railway, steamship, and (soon to come) airplane. Trade and financial networks. Diplomatic relations and alliances. Relations between imperial powers and the colonial peoples they ruled.

political and military power exist among world regions Did an equal balance of political and military power exist among world regions in Big Era Eight? Oh, no. I like to throw my weight around. Maps: Microsoft®Encarta®Reference Library 2002. ©1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. At the start, European countries dominated Big Era Eight. By the end…well, we’ll talk about that towards the end. For now, let’s pick up where Big Era Seven left off.

Europe European descent-dense European descent-sparse European influence European colonies Japanese Empire You already know that Europeans got the upper hand in the modern world system during the later part of Big Era Seven. Map: G. Chaliand and J. Rageau, Strategic Atlas: A Comparative Geopolitics of the World’s Powers, 3rd ed. (Harper Perennial, 1992)

Why did Europeans have so much power in the modern world system? In Big Era Seven, western European countries achieved greater economic power than most other countries as a result of industrialization. Many European governments and businesses wanted more overseas markets and raw materials. Western European military forces had big world leads in military technology.

These disasters were connected to El Niño climatic conditions. Also . . . The last quarter of the 19th century saw great droughts and famines in many parts of the world. These disasters were connected to El Niño climatic conditions. These disasters caused economic, social, and political disruption in African and Asian societies just when European power was strongest. Photo: Beggar. Victim of famine in China. Library of Congress, Lot 10966-3 [item] [p&p], Reproduction number:  lc-usz62-68803 (b&w film copy neg.). Ccreated/published between ca. 1905 and 1926.

Did Europeans get only benefits from the modern world system? No. Europe’s leaders competed with each other to dominate the modern world. Their competition helped cause World War I, the first crisis of Big Era Eight. Also, many workers in Europe felt that their political and business leaders treated them poorly. German cartoon depicts the threat of British imperial expansion in the 19th century.

No. The Japanese government seized an empire in East Asia No. Americans expanded their opportunities at home and abroad. Did other industrial countries accept Europe having exclusive dominance?

Some collaborated with the European takeover… What did peoples in Asia and Africa do when European powers invaded their lands or put economic pressure on them? Photo Right: Battle of Adowa, Ethiopia. Artist unknown. Photo by R. Dunn Many resisted, though usually failed to defeat European armies. The Ethiopians repelled the Italians in 1896, but this was an exception.

So, to review: European countries dominated a booming world economy at the start of Big Era Eight. But many people in other places (and some in Europe) did not like this system. Maps: Microsoft®Encarta®Reference Library 2002. ©1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This is getting old.

So how did the crises of Big Era Eight change things? 1. Two wars and a worldwide economic collapse weakened European dominance. World War II World War I Depression 2. But some countries saw these crises as opportunities to gain new influence or take over parts of the system.

20,000,000 people died in connection World War I was fought in several parts of the world, though the longest and biggest battles took place in Europe. The war killed both soldiers and civilians, and it devastated both towns and countryside. 20,000,000 people died in connection with the war, far more than in any earlier war in world history. Photo: Library of Congress LOT 11527 REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZ62-75151.

Regions where fighting took place in World War I 1 2 3 12 1 Western European Front 2 Eastern European 3 Italian Front 4 Balkan Front 5 Palestine/Syria 6 Iraq 7 Arabia 8 German Togoland 9 German Camaroons 10 German East Africa 11 German Southwest Africa 12 German Pacific Islands 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

How did World War I weaken Europe’s global dominance? It devastated Europe both physically and psychologically. Europeans saw that industrialization made warfare more brutal, deadly, and destructive. Many felt disillusioned and lost their belief in progress.

European power, how did it affect If World War I weakened European power, how did it affect everyone else? It’s about time some more of us made our weight felt. Hey! How’d I get off the ground? Maps: Microsoft®Encarta®Reference Library 2002. ©1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

The war caused death and destruction in the Middle East and Africa—wherever fighting took place. It caused economic and social stress in all the European colonial empires. Photo of poster: Library of Congress POS - Fr .F68, no. 4 (C size) [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZC2-3947 (color film copy slide)

Societies all over the world contributed resources or soldiers to the war effort, gaining experience and a firmer voice on the global stage. Clear The Way!! Buy Bonds. Fourth Liberty Loan. US National Archives. Color poster by Howard Chandler Christy., ca. 1918, ARC Identifier: 542132 Faith in Canada, Use it all for Victory Bonds: Library of Congress POS - Can .A01, no. 2 (C size) [P&P] LC-USZC4-10666 French and African soldiers: Library of Congress POS - Fr .J65, no. 9 REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZC2-3949 Symbolos da liberdade y da humanidade A Crux Vermelha, Mãe de todas as nacões: Library of Congress POS - WWI - US, no. 24 (C size) [P&P] LC-USZC4-7381

by their foreign rulers. Indian soldiers in Belgium Colonial soldiers became more confident in their own abilities and less awed by their foreign rulers. Indian Soldiers The Indian Army, http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Images/0335.jpg Indian soldiers in Belgium

As a result, some local leaders in colonies began to call for self-determination or independence. India South Africa Meanwhile, in Europe upheaval gave other industrial countries opportunities to grow. Ford factory, first assembly line, Highland Avenue, Detroit, MI: Library of Congress REPRODUCTION NUMBER 16239, Harvard University Graduate School of Design Gandhi & Nehru: Indian National Congress, http://indiannationalcongress.com/swraj.html South African Native National Congress: African National Congress, http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/thisday/1912-01-08.htm Ford factory, Detroit, Michigan

Women everywhere took on new responsibilities outside the home as part of the Total War effort. France Russia women soldiers: Spartacus Educational, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Wdeath.htm 3 French women harnessed to plow: Courageous women, Oise, 1917, Library of Congress LOT 10282 [item] [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZ62-76025 American woman operating drill press. Naval aircraft factory, Washington, D.C., Library of Congress LOT 5353, REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZ62-80606 Russia USA

In 1917, the Bolshevik Party led a successful Communist revolution in Russia. The Bolsheviks overthrew the monarchy of the Tsar, which had been in power for centuries. Russia had been an ally of Britain, France, and the US. But Lenin, the Bolshevik leader, took Russia out of World War I. Lenin: Mosaic in Moscow Metro Station. Photo by R. Dunn Czar Nicholas II of Russia: Library of Congress, Call Number: LC-B2- 792-8[P&P] Reproduction Number:  LC-DIG-ggbain-03879 (digital file from original neg.). Medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. Created/Published, 1909. Tsar Nicholas II was Executed in 1918

After World War I, the modern world became more closely tied together than ever before. Did the world change in important ways? Yes. Along with global trade and finance, sounds from radios and images from movies and magazines helped knit a modern global culture.

The 1920s saw silent film, tango, flappers, and jazz gain global popularity. Paris USA Argentina Charlie Chaplin: Encarta Encyclopedia Archive Photo Women in front of car: http://korea.park.org/Japan/NTT/MUSEUM/html_ht/KA005700_e.html Silent movie lovers: http://www.indiaheritage.com/perform/cinema/person/silentstar.htm – Indian cinema Sulochana (left) and Dinshaw Billimoria in Anarkali, 1928 What-cha gonna do when there aint no jazz by Wendling, Pete. New York: Stark & Cowan, 1920. Library of Congress, American Memory, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, CALL/REPRODUCTION NUMBER Music A-6606; 1920. Japan India

Then, the Great Depression happened. Value of Global Exports in Billions of Dollars The Depression put another dent in the sense of progress and possibility that many people had felt. The global economy spread misery as well as wealth and prosperity.

Brazil Unemployment and hunger rippled through many societies, raising doubts about the system. Brazil picture from www.leedor.com/fotografia/ escenasdebrasil.shtml USA: Unemployment benefits aid begins, Lange, Dorothea, photographer.1938 Jan., Library of Congress CALL NUMBER:  LC-USF34- 018312-D, Reproduction Number: LC-USF34-018312-D France: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/images/photodb/27-0640a.gif . USA France

Did the Depression in the modern world system affect everyone the same way? No, some industries in the West kept going. And some workers kept going on strike when they felt the system was treating them badly. (Remember the unhappy workers before World War I?) Sit-down strikers in the Fisher body plant factory number three. Flint, Michigan. Dick, Sheldon, photographer. CREATED/PUBLISHED, 1937 Jan.-Feb, Library of Congress CALL NUMBER:  LC-USF34- 040027-D [P&P], REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USF34-040027-D (b&w film nitrate neg.) LC-USZ62-131617 Sit-down strikers, 1937, USA.

Soviet GNP growth per year Communists said the modern world system had to change. Government planning, communal ownership, and a classless society should replace free markets and close the divide between rich owners and poor workers. In fact, the Soviet Union under the Bolsheviks remained authoritarian and repressive. Even so, while most of the capitalist world struggled in the 1930s, the Soviet Union’s industrial economy grew rapidly. . Soviet GNP growth per year 1928-37

How did the Depression and the challenge of Communism add to the crisis in the modern world? By the mid-1930s, there was a three-way struggle for control of modern world’s future. Along with Communism’s challenge to liberal capitalism, a new challenger appeared: Fascism. Hitler Hitler and Mussolini walking in front of saluting military in Venice, June 14-16, 1934: Library of Congress CALL NUMBER  LOT 11415 REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZ62-99614 Stalin: "Soviets must do 100 yr. job in 10 or perish,“ Library of Congress CALL NUMBER:  BIOG FILE - Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953 [item] [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER  LC-USZ62-127379 Hitler Mussolini Stalin

Major countries with Fascist- style governments by the 1940s Fascist leaders used nationalism and state control of industries and cultural life to unite people of all classes. These leaders blamed national troubles on foreigners and communists. Some fascist-run countries recovered quickly from the Depression, partly by expanding their military economies. Bulgaria Germany Spain Japan Major countries with Fascist- style governments by the 1940s Italy South Africa

Leaders of capitalist democracies believed that they could meet the challenges of Communism and Fascism… by defending democratic values. by modernizing capitalism through economic and social reform. . Photo: Library of Congress LC-H824- 2009-001 REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-H824-T01-2009-001

Hawaii pineapple plantation Regardless of these beliefs, democracies used overseas colonies to help prop up the home economies during the Depression. Pineapple plantation: Library of Congress Digital ID: cph 3c08295   Source: b&w film copy neg. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-108295 Hawaii pineapple plantation

As they recovered from the Depression, both Germany and Japan became increasingly aggressive. When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Britain and France went to war against Germany. World War II was underway. At first, Fascist Germany and Communist Russia had a tense alliance. But when Hitler invaded Russia in June 1941, Stalin allied Russia with Britain and the United States. The US entered the war after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A small boat rescues a seaman from the 31,800 ton USS West Virginia burning in the foreground. Library of Congress, CALL NUMBER:  LC-USW33- 018433-C [P&P], REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USW33-018433-C Japanese Bombing of Pearl Harbor

World War II Alliances Axis Powers: Italy, Germany, and Japan were fascist, anti-communist, and anti-liberal democracy. Mussolini and Hitler Hitler and Mussolini: Library of Congress LOT 11415 [item] [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZ62-99613 (b&w film copy neg.) Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill: Library of Congress LOT 11597 <item> [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZ62-91957 (b&w film copy neg.) Allies: The US and Britain were liberal democracies. The USSR was Communist. But all three were anti-fascist. Stalin, Roosevelt, & Churchill

Microsoft®Encarta®Reference Library 2002 Microsoft®Encarta®Reference Library 2002. ©1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. World War II involved men and women fighting and serving all over the world. Areas of Fighting

Even more than in World War I, men and women around the world fought in or supported the battles of World War II. Canadian West African Indian Women had big share in filling these bundles for Berlin in a Canadian plant, Library of Congress CALL NUMBER:  LOT 915 [item] [P&P], REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZ62-128311 Ashanti troops in Gold Coast Regiment. Library of Congress CALL NUMBER:  LC-USE6- D-008885 [P&P], REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USE6-D-008885 India in the war. Indian soldiers in action before the capture of Keren. Library of Congress CALL NUMBER:  LC-USE6- D-008633 [P&P], REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USE6-D-008633

New weapons and tactics of war made World War II even more destructive and deadly than World War I. German plane wreckage in North Africa Wreckage of giant German transport planes intended for the Axis troop evacuation from Tunis, Library of Congress, CALL NUMBER:  LC-USW3- 029215-E [P&P], REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USW3-029215-E (b&w film nitrate neg.)

Both sides in the war targeted civilians. Dresden, Germany Tokyo, Japan London, England

The deadliest war in history (over 50 million killed)… ended with the use of the deadliest weapon in history. Mushroom cloud, Library of Congress, CALL NUMBER:  POS 6 - U.S., no. 1176 (C size) <P&P>[P&P]

What global changes resulted from World War II? New powers and political groups competed to reshape the world. Maps: Microsoft®Encarta®Reference Library 2002. ©1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

The United States took over as the world’s leading military and economic power and supporter of reformed capitalism and liberal democracy "Buy War Bonds" (Uncle Sam) US National Archives ARC Identifier: 514010, 1941 - 1945 A poster encouraging Americans to buy war bonds to support the war effort

A devastated Western Europe depended on US aid for rebuilding. This American effort was called the Marshall Plan. Jo Spier. "The Marshall Plan and You.“ The Hague, the Netherlands: Ministry of Economic Affairs, 1949, p.5., Averell Harriman Papers, Manuscript Division. Dutch cartoon, late 1940s

The USSR also emerged from the war stronger than ever. It rebuilt its economy without Western aid. It created an empire in Eastern Europe. It worked to spread Communist ideas and revolutions. It became the USA’s main rival for power in the modern world. Red Army Soldiers Red Army soldiers in the USS, CALL NUMBER:  LC-USF345- 091145-A [P&P], REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USF345-091145-A (b&w film neg.), 1941?

Japan lost its empire, swore off militarism, and rebuilt with American aid. China became the second major communist country after its revolution in 1949. Ships of 3rd fleet steam into Tokyo Bay, Japan, for the occupation, US National Archives ARC 520921, 08/1945 NAIL Control Number: NWDNS-80-G-472620, Local Identifier: NWDNS-80-G-472620 Mao Tse-Tung, leader of China's Communists, addresses some of his followers. US National Archives, ARC Identifier: 196235, 12/06/1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (NLFDR), 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538-1999 American Ships Sail to Japan for Occupation, 1945 Mao Zedong, Leader of the Communist Revolution in China

Nehru with Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast/Ghana Colonies sought independence from their former European rulers. Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam Nehru and Gandhi: www.meadev.nic.in/perspec/ ind-spl/intro.htm Nehru and Nkrumah: Library of Congress NYWTS - BIOG--Nkrumah, Kwame—Ghana REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZ62-112315 (b&w film copy neg.) Replace Ho Chi Minh with http://www.temple.edu/history/images/minh1.gif Nehru and Gandhi in India Nehru with Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast/Ghana

European countries recovered from the war and went on to new prosperity. But Europe no longer dominated the world as it had at the start of the century. That’s more like it. What happened? Maps: Microsoft®Encarta®Reference Library 2002. ©1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

What will Big Era Nine bring for the modern world system? More world-wide integration (now called globalization). More conflict too! Will capitalism triumph over Communism? The USA over the USSR? Will new groups push their way into the competition for power? How will the environment change? Stay tuned!