1. AICE International History Mid-Term Exam Review

2. International Relations in an Age of Imperialism 1871-1918
Chapter 1

3. Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa
Menelik II kept colonial interests out of Ethiopia by exploiting European rivalries and building a modern army.
European insistence on the growth of cash crops caused low food supplies in Africa.
Europeans used paternalism to govern people in colonies. This provided them with needs, but did not give them full rights.
Rudyard Kipling’s “white man’s burden,” referred to the white race’s supposed duty to “civilize” inferior non-white races.

4. Scramble for Africa continued…
The expression ‘Dark Continent,’ was widely used by Europeans in the 19th century to describe Africa. The name was not given because of the skin color of its inhabitants, but because Europeans knew very little about Africa, other than it seemed to be a dangerous place.
The British won the second Boer war.
“The sun never sets on the British Empire” was a saying about the Empire at the peak of its power. This meant that the British had colonies in every part of the world.

5. Scramble continued…
As part of their “sense of duty,” many imperial powers believed they needed to colonize the continent of Africa for reasons that were known as the “Three C’s.” These were Christianity, commerce, and civilization.
Britain insisted on taking control of the Suez Canal because Britain wanted easier access to its holdings in Asia, for example, India.
As a result of the Berlin Conference of , Europeans divided Africa into colonies without consulting African leaders.
The Berlin Conference of set up the terms for the division of most of Africa among European colonial powers.

6. Scramble continued…
The two European nations that, despite the Berlin Conference agreements, almost did engage in war over Egypt and the Sudan region were Britain and France.
The main purpose of the Berlin Conference was to prevent fighting of European nations over the division of Africa.

7. Colonial Management Methods
Indirect Control
Direct Control
Local government officials used
Limited self-rule
Goal: to develop future leaders
Government institutions based on European styles but may have local rules
Examples: British colonies such as Nigeria, India, Burma
U.S. colonies on Pacific Islands
Foreign officials were brought in to rule
No self-rule
Goal: assimilation
Government institutions are based on European styles
Examples: French colonies such as Somaliland, Vietnam
German colonies such as German East Africa
Portuguese colonies such as Angola

8. Colonial management continued…
The goal of direct control was assimilation.
Both Indirect and Direct control based their government institutions on European styles.
Direct control had no self-rule.
The British preferred indirect control, whereas the French preferred direct control.
India had the most successful experience after independence.

9. U.S. and Japan Become World Powers
Examples of Japan’s modernization were railroad lines, imitating western ideas and technologies, and shipbuilding.
Japanese treatment of the Korean people when they took over is best described as repressive.
Concern about the power of the U.S. military forced Japan to acknowledge the trade interests of outside nations.
China resisted modern ways while Japan adapted and modernized.

10. U.S. and Japan continued…
The Japanese adapted the American system of universal public education during the Meiji era.
Rapid industrialization and economic growth occurred during the Meiji Restoration.
Militarism was most important to Japan, of the three major power centers on the globe in 1900.

11. U.S. and Japan continued…
The Russo-Japanese War began when Japan surprise-attacked Russian ships in Port Arthur.
The purpose of the Monroe Doctrine was to discourage European countries from establishing colonies in Latin America.
The Roosevelt Corollary, an addition to the Monroe Doctrine, essentially allowed the United States to become an international police force.

12. U.S. and Japan continued…
Spain lost control of Cuba, as a result of the Spanish-American War.
Prior to the independence revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries, Spain and Portugal owned virtually all of the colonies in Latin America.
The Spanish-American War is the event that officially demonstrated the U.S. move from isolationism to imperialism.

13. U.S. and Japan continued…
The sinking of the Battleship Maine in Cuba was heavily criticized by the American press and forced the U.S. to get involved in international affairs.
One major result of the Spanish-American War was the United States becoming an imperial power in Latin America and the Pacific.

14. U.S. and Japan…
Theodore Roosevelt was the U.S. President awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his help in negotiating the Treaty of Portsmouth.
Protectionism is the policy of placing high tariffs (taxes) on imports in order to protect domestic industries from foreign competition.
The United States wanted to build a canal in Panama to allow ships to pass between the Atlantic and Pacific without having to go around Cape Horn.

15. World War I
Chapter 1

16. Bismarck’s Alliances
Germany was unified by Otto von Bismarck and later ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm II during the last decade of the 1800s and most of World War I.
Bismarck sought alliances that later became the Triple Alliance because he wanted to isolate France.
Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Germany belonged to the Triple Alliance.

17. Britain, France, and Russia all belonged to the Triple Entente.
Germany and Austria-Hungary were know as the Central Powers because of their location at the heart of Europe.

18. Causes of World War I
The four MAIN causes of World War I were Militarism, Alliance system, Imperialism, and Nationalism.
The policy of glorifying power and keeping an army prepared for war is militarism.
A key characteristic of nationalism is having strong pride in your country.
The most probable link between militarism and imperialism is that as a country gains colonies, the military grows to protect them.

19. The Spark
The Balkan Peninsula was referred to as the “Powder Keg” of Europe.
Serbia wanted to rule all of the Slavic peoples in the Balkan Peninsula. Austria was determined not to let that happen.
The assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo ignited the Great War.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Serbian nationalists.
Austria decided to use the assassinations to punish Serbia and presented Serbia with an ultimatum.
Serbia refused to give in to Austria’s demands.

20. The Great War
Austria-Hungary was the first nation to declare war in World War I against Serbia.
The Schlieffen Plan is the plan that Germany created to prepare for a two front war. They planned to attack France first and then Russia.
The Germans believed this would work because Russia lagged behind in its railroad system and would take longer to get supplies to the front lines.
The First Battle of the Marne was significant because it stopped Germany’s planned invasion of France.
This left the Schlieffen Plan in ruins.

21. The Great War Cont..
Trench warfare was a way to escape the Enemy Gunfire
Life in the trenches was miserable. The men lived in mud.
The area between the trenches was known as “no man’s land”
The Gallipoli Campaign was an attempt by the Allies to establish supply lines to the less industrialized Russia.
This was an effort by the British, Australian, New Zealand and French troops to take the Dardanelles.

22. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Germany’s policy to sink any ship in British waters without warning is known as unrestricted submarine warfare.
German submarines sank the Lusitania which was a passenger ship killing over a thousand people.
Germany promised to stop using this policy.
In 1917, Germany returned to this policy hoping to keep cargo ships from reaching Great Britain.

23. The U.S. enters the war.
Germany’s plan to help Mexico regain land lost to the United States was revealed in the Zimmerman telegram.
The German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare and the sending of the Zimmerman telegram prompted the United States to enter World War I.

24. Governments Wage Total War
World War I was a total war in the sense that the nations involved devoted all of their resources to it.
Many goods were in short supply during the war. Governments turned to rationing to limit the purchase of consumer goods.
During the war governments used propaganda to influence public opinion to keep up support and morale for the war.

25. The Allies Win the War
The Russians signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk taking them out of World War I. This allowed Germany to focus all of their efforts on the Western Front.
On November 11, 1918 an armistice was signed bringing World War I to an end.

26. The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany for the entire war.
This left a legacy of bitterness and hatred in the hearts of German people.
President Woodrow Wilson of the United States gave a speech, known as the Fourteen Points, which outlined his vision for the postwar world.
One of Wilson’s points was the creation of a League of Nations. However Americans believed that the United States should stay out of European affairs.

27. International relations in an age of uncertainty 1919-1933
Chapter 2

28. The Fourteen Points
January 1918: US President Woodrow Wilson delivered a speech to Congress in which he outlined his vision for the future.
This was known as the Fourteen Points
Some Goals of Fourteen Points:
No Secret Treaties
Reduction of Arms
Self-Determination: People of a common nationality should have the right to form their own nations and govern themselves
Creation of League of Nations
Including Russia in negotiations (this was not fulfilled)
Encouraging Free Trade

29. Russian Revolution & WWI
Bolshevik Leader, Vladimir Lenin, overthrew Czar Nicolas II in November 1917.
This caused concern in Europe because Lenin intended to spread the Communist Revolution as far as possible.
Lenin felt it was necessary to end Russia’s involvement in WWI, so he signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918:
Terms were very harsh on Russia and not in line with Wilson’s Fourteen Points.
Russia lost 25% of population 25% of industry and 90% of its coal mines to Germany
Comintern: a Communist organization founded in Moscow in Its aim was to encourage worldwide communist revolution.

30. Paris Peace Conference
January 1919: representatives from nearly 30 countries met in Versailles to create a settlement to end WWI and prevent another war.
The Council of Four made most decisions:
President Woodrow Wilson (USA)
Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Great Britain)
Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau (France)
Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

31. Aims of the Big Three:
France wanted to destroy Germany economically and keep them weak militarily.
Clemenceau’s determination to punish Germany earned him the nickname, “The Tiger”
France’s uncompromising position to punish Germany was probably the biggest obstacle of the Paris Peace settlements.
Britain & the USA wanted to help German economic recovery to enhance trade.
Wilson wanted a lenient peace based on the Fourteen Points

32. Treaty of Versailles Terms
Alsace and Lorraine returned to France
Rhineland would be demilitarized
Creation of the Polish Corridor
German African colonies became Mandates (land taken to be administered by the League of Nations)
The Saar Valley would be administered by the League for 15 years and then there would be a Plebiscite (a vote) to determine if it should belong to France or Germany
War Guilt Clause: Blamed Germany for WWI
£6.6 Billion in Reparations

33. Reactions to the Paris Peace Settlement
Germans felt resentful and bitter – they were not allowed to attend the peace talks and the “dictated peace” did not follow the Fourteen Points
Italy was upset it didn’t receive the land it had been promised
France thought the terms weren’t harsh enough
Russia was also not invited to the peace talks and they were upset they lost land.

34. Germany After the Treaty
Germany’s new democratic government in 1919 was called the Weimar Republic.
There were some weaknesses of the Weimar Republic:
A large number of political parties in Germany
There was a lack of democratic tradition
The economy was suffering from uncontrollable inflation.

35. Washington Naval Conference
Focused on disarmament and naval power and achieving peace in the Far East.
Terms:
Japan would withdraw from recently acquired Chinese territory
Japan would limit its navy to three-fifths the size of British and US Navies
Western powers would not develop any new naval bases near Japan
Britain, the US, France and Japan would protect China against invasion

36. The Dawes Plan, 1924
The German economy was destroyed after WWI and was unable to pay the war reparations.
French Troops occupied the Rhur in 1923 because Germany was failing to meet its obligations to pay the war debt.
The Dawes Plan of 1924 assisted Germany’s economic problems with a sizeable foreign loan and also helped with Europe’s economic recovery.
France then withdrew their troops from the Ruhr

37. The Locarno Treaties, 1925
Germany, Belgium and Italy promised to respect their joint borders that had been agreed at Versailles.
Treaty of Mutual Guarantee stated Britain and Italy would come to the aid of any country that fell victim to an act of aggression in violation of the Locarno treaties.
Marked a turning point in international affairs because is showed the effective working relationship between Astride Briand (France) and Gustav Stresemann (Germany).

38. The Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928
Suggested by Frank Kellogg (US) and Astride Briand (France).
65 nations agreed to renounce war as an instrument of national policy.
Unfortunately, there were no indication of what steps would be taken if the agreement was broken so the pact was worthless.
The United States never signed the pact.

39. The Young Plan, 1929
The best example of France’s new willingness to compromise
Committee, led by American banker Owen Young, met to discuss reducing the reparations for Germany.
German reparations were reduced from £6.6 billion to £2 billion.
Both the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan were crucial to the issue of German reparations.

40. American Foreign Policy
President Wilson believed the US had the responsibility to be “Internationalists” and ensure future world peace and stability.
The American people felt differently:
US Senate rejected the Paris Peace Settlement
The US refused to join the League of Nations
Americans wanted to return to Isolationism (Keep out of foreign affairs)

41. The Great Depression
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to the Great Depression
Unemployment was alarmingly high
Banks closed
Businesses failed
World Trade (imports/exports) came to a stop
The New Deal
A plan created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to stimulate the American economy.
How?: Increase Government spending by sponsoring public works projects.