Final Essay #2

                                                                                   Vanica Guignard

                                                                                    Period 4

                                                                                    5/31/08

Final Essay #2

As one of the world’s finest and death defining wars that ever existed took place, we witnessed epic battles on the “famous fronts” (“The Western Front, The Eastern Front, The Gallipoli Front, The Italian Front, The Palestine Front, and The Mesopotamian Front”).  [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/index.htm].  But of all of the six fronts of the First World War, the most famous front is The Western front.  The Western Front came into such a significant use and help for the Allied Powers (mainly consisting of France, Great Britain, United States, Russia, Italy, and Japan) who were fighting against the seemingly villainous Central Powers (mainly consisting of Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey).

Winning Belgium, which is part of the allies, won The Battle of Liege, signifying not only the first battle on The Western Front but the first land battle of the war; against central power Germany.  It was the primary moral victory for the allies.  After the same battle, every single man was wounded and most was unconscious.  Even General Leman was hurt but the commander went up to him and said (“General, you have gallantly and nobly held your forts.”  Then General Leman replied: “I thank you.  Our troops have lived up to their reputations.””)  [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/fallofliege.htm].  That just proved how tough the Allies (the Belgians in this case) were being able to fight with one hundred men and still come out on top.  Then there was another battle that demonstrated toughness and morale.  Following the Allies win at The First Battle of the Marne, French Army commander in chief Joseph Joffre said in his report to the Minister of War that (“Our troops, as well as those of our Allies, are admirable in morale, endurance, and ardour.  The pursuit will be continued with all our energy.”)  [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/marne_joffrereport.htm].  The Allies showed a lot of heart winning many important battles when it counted the most.

Even when they lost, it seemed that the Western Front was such an important part of the Allied war effort.  For example, during the Battle of the Frontiers, in an attempt to recapture Alsace and Lorraine, France was easily demolished by German forces.  The French were mainly involved in four of the five battles and lost all of them (“The Battle of Mulhouse, the Invasion of Lorraine, the Battle of the Ardennes, and the Battle of Charleroi”).  [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/frontiers.htm]  The fifth battle which was The Battle of Mons mainly involved the British instead of the French on the allied side.  The French mainly lost due to the Germans knowing the French’s Plan XVII (“which therefore made the recovery of Alsace and Lorraine a central plank of French strategy”) [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/lorraine.htm] and the Germans making a Schlieffen Plan to match it.  These just shows how important the Western Front was because the French tried to recapture the long lost cities in Alsace and Lorraine in that front.

The Western Front also had some of the events happen for the first time in World War 1.  One is, (“The Battle of Haelen, known as ‘The Battle of the Silver Helmets”) [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/haelen.htm] which was the first battle in the war that included cavalry (horses).  Another one is The Battle of Liege, which like I stated earlier was the first land battle of the war.  Coincidently, the Belgians won both of those battles.  During the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Canadians seeing all that land took advantage and (“they issued on the eastern slopes of Vimy Ridge – the first allied troops to look down upon the level plain of Douai since the German occupation in 1914.”) From the Canadians records office. [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/vimy_warrecordsoffice.htm].  Not only the Canadians won the battle they controlled almost all of the Vimy Ridge.  Also, when the English made a great attack with tanks that were so powerful the defender left his post, Paul Von Hindenburg said (“I had no doubt, however, that our men would soon get on level terms even with this new hostile weapon.”) [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/cambrai_hindenburg.htm].  The Allies really did good things with their firsts along the Western Front.

The Western Front also demonstrated the effort that was put forth in the war by the Allies.  Their effort was shown through teamwork and shown individually.  For example, during the last battle (The Battle of Epehy) that occurred on the Western Front, the British were heavily assisted by two divisions of the Australian Corps that were led through the centre of the advance.  Also, the Americans (American Expeditionary Force) won their first major attack against the Germans when they were very inexperienced in the war.  They entered the war in 1917 and they still were able to pull off a victory.  After the Allies won the Second Battle of the Marne General Charles Mangin Addressed the Americans in saying (“You have shown yourselves to be worthy sons of your great country and have gained the admiration of your brothers in arms.”) [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/marne2_mangin1.htm].  During the Second Battle of the Marne, the Allies showed their toughness and effort (In spite of bad fortune in weather at the beginning of the day, so bad that there was no visibility for the airmen, and our men had to struggle forward in a heavy rainstorm, the first attacks have been successful…) [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/vimy_gibbs.htm].  They showed that they would fight no matter what condition and fight just as hard.  During the Second Battle of the Aisne, Erich Ludendorff said how honorable the British are and (“Our infantry powerfully led and excellently supported by its sister and auxiliary arm, showed itself fully equal to its tasks.”) [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/champagne3_ludendorff.htm].  Even with most of their trenches being destroyed the British still won the battle.

The Allies began to take advantage of the Germans declining power towards the end of the war.  It became more and more difficult for the Germans to keep fighting when they were running out of troops.  During the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in 1917, the Allies lost 310,000 soliders and the Germans lost 260,000 soliders but the Germans still couldn’t seem to handle all of the intensity that was coming from the allies.  That proves the quote in which Erich Ludendorff said (“The fighting on the western front became more severe than any the Germany army had yet experienced.”) [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/ypres3_ludendorff.htm].  General Sir John Davison acknowledged the British’s effort during this same battle saying this battle was  (“the one in which the British held the German Army in its grip, closed with it, and fixed it to its ground,”) [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/ypres3davidson.htm].

So to close my statement it was to an important extent that the Western Front was

the most important front in the Allied War effort.  The Allies won battles when they

needed to.  They won battles with tanks and battle in the storm.  When they lost

against the Germans they would come back ten times harder.  Towards the end of the

 war they finished off the Germans when they needed to.  They even won against

numbers.  The Allies efforts against the Central powers in the Great War in the

Western Front could explain why the Allies went on to win the entire war.  The

Western Front is that famous!

p. 710 #1,2, and 4

1. Propaganda-  The use of selected bits of information, both true and false, to get people back to their country’s war effort.  Governments set up agencies to stir the patriotism of their people.

War of Attrition- A slow wearing down process in which each side was trying to outlast the other.  Thousands of lives were snuffed out.

Contraband- War materials supplied by a neutral nation to a belligerent one but the goods could be seized.  The United States were probably the biggest contraband prior to entering the war.

Atrocities- Brutal acts against defenseless civilians.  The British lied to the Americans by saying that the Germans did things like that.

2. Central Powers- During World War 1 Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottonam Empire were sided together.

Allied Powers-During World War 1 Great Britain, France Russia, eventually the United States.  A total of 32 countries made up the Allies.

U-Boats- Underwater boats that were first used effectively by the Germans.  They caused extensive losses to Allied shipping.

Woodrow Wilson- The U.S. President at the time of World War 1.  He’s the one who demounced the attack and warned Germany that the U.S. would not tolerate another attack.

Arthur Zimmermann- A high offical in the German foreign ministry.  He sent a secret telegram to the German ambassador in Mexico proposing and alliance between Germany and Mexico and offering to get a few U.S. states back if they fought with Germany.

4. a. New technology changed it by products being manufactured more efficently, U-boats taht cna disrupt shipping, having strong, fast weapons, and being able to observe enemy movements.

b. The principles that were proclaimed were that the Americans were more likely to be in a war fought for democratic ideals and “the world must be made safe for democracy.”

French Factory Thing

As a French factory worker in the year 1910, I would not be in favor of of a war with Germany.  First of all, as a French Factory worker, I wouldn’t be worried about fighting another country when my country already has enough problems of their own.  I would want to be in a war with all of the German factory workers against all of the French and German capitalists who earn most of the profit for all of our hard labor.  Second, its rarely about nationalism anymore.  Socialism is starting to take over in the world.  Third, countries were starting to become less dependent on other countries.  They wanted to be more independent and remain out of other countries’ business.  Finally, Europe is dealing with a huge population explosion and only a linear demand for jobs and people were making less money.  I doubt that the Europeans really care about going to war.

P. 769 #3 and 4

3. a. Some factors are the Boxer Rebellion and an increase in nationalism.

b. The Nationalist movement grew and changed by the Nationalist army growing even stronger.  Chiang became part of the conservative right wing.  After the Northern Expedition, China gained certain lands.  China became a Nationalist government.

c. Factors that led to the rise of communism are a small group of Chinese intellectuals founded the Chinese Communist party.  They built strong party organizations adn labor unions in the cities.  Also they defeated regional warlords.

4. I enjoy working for the Chinese Communist Party.  I love how they desired to free their country from the nasty foreign dominators and the backwardness of our economy.  To increase Communism’s popularity, our leaders would form invulnerable organizations and labor unity ceremonies in the cities.  100,000 of us were able to overcome the difficulties of the Long March which proves how resiliant we are.  Also not only we have a Red Army made of pesants, we truly hate the Japanese which is extravagant.

# 4 p. 416 and # 2 p. 421

p. 416

4. a. They brought changes of growth in popular culture.  They also brought increase of trade and new crops such as peanuts, sweet potatoes, and tobacco.

b. They would probably be rude to them because they didn’t want to rely on foreigners for things like trade and they didn’t want them in their business.

p. 421

2. Opium War- War between China and Britian that lasted from 1839 to 1842.  THis happened because the British government did not respond to China’s demands and the Chinese tried to stop the opium trade.

Treaty of Nanjing- In 1842, China gave Hong Kong to the British and opened 5 ports to british trade in which the goods were low tariff.

Taiping Rebellion- From 1850-1864 millions of people were killed and there was a lot of destruction in southern China and the Yangtze valley.  This happened because many rebellions were happening at the same time.

P.558 #1 and P.563 #1 and 2

p. 558

1. Capitalism- An economic system in which individuals or corporations, instead of governments control the factors of production.  The US and western Europe were characterized by that in the late 1800′s.

Commercial Capitalism- Most capitalists were merchants who bought and sold goods.

industrial capitalism- During the Industrial Revolution when capitalists were involved in producing and manufacturing goods themselves by using mechanized and industrialized methods of production.

interchangeable parts- Look-a-like parts that can replace each other.

mass production- System of producing huge numbers of identical items.  Division of labor is essential for it.

Corporations- Groups where people were allowed to buy stock in their companies.  Money was raised easier that were needed to run abd expand a business.

monopoly- In the late 1800′s to early 1900′s corporations gained almost complete control of the production or sale of a single good or service.

cartels-Steel industries got big by owning coal and iron mines, steel mills, and factories.

business cycle- Alternating periods of prosperity and decline during the Industrial Revoultion.

depression- The demand of goods reduced so the entier econmy was sinking into it.

p. 563

1. free enterprise- Without mercantilist regulations and laws, economic forces work automatically and naturally.

laissez faire- In English, this means “let it be” or “leave it or things alone.”

humanitarians- People who work and improve the conditions of others

utilitarianism- If it led to “the greatest happiness of the greatest number”of people that the law was useful.

strike- A large group of workers decides to stop working and refuse to work.

unions- Associations of workers that combine forces and demands of different workers.  They’d collect dues from members and used the money to pay workers if they went on strike.

collective bargaining-Agreements that were written into contracts lasting for a fixed period of time.

2. Adam Smith- Scottish economist that wrote the book “Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” in1776 which focused of wealth.

Thomas Malthus- Anglican clergyman who became a professor and wrote “An Essay on the Prinicple of Population” in 1798.

David Ricardo- British economist that wrote that working-class poverty is inevitablein his book “Principles of Political Economy and Taxation” in 1817.

Charles Dickens- English writer who wrote novels to sttack greedy employers.  Wrote about his childhood in “David Copperfield.”

Jeremy Bentham- A philosopher that put forth utilitarianism.

John Stuart Mill- English philosopher that also believed that the government should work for the good of all its citizens.  Wrote “On the Subjection of Women” around 1869.

Adam Smith Extra Credit

I think he’s being fair.  Most if not everything he said was right.  Espcially about how the government should mind their own business.  I feel bad for the poor factory workers but they put themselves in that situation so it is fair.  I wouldn’t give up anything for the factory workers.  It might sound selfish but they put themselves in that situation.  The world wouldn’t go round and round it we didn’t have the products from the factory workers.  Then we wouldn’t have anything else because no one is working in the factory.

p. 550 #1 and 2

1. Enclosure Movement- Small landholdings that were being combined into more effecient, larger holdings.  Small-plot owners were forced to become tenant farmers or move to the cities.  Other effects happened too.

Crop Rotation- It helped farmers produce more crops using the same amount of land.  They would plant different crops each year.

Indrstrial Revolution- A time of fast growing industries.  It started in Great Britian.

Factors of Production- Land, which was all natural resources, capital, which were tools, machinery, equipment, inventory, and money, and labor which was caused by population growth and migration into cities.

Mechanization- Machinery is used to increase production.  This was used since England couldn’t meet the growing demand for cloth.

Factory System- Production of goods in a factory through the use of machines and a large nunber of workers.

Vulcanization- The basis of the modern rubber industry.  The process of treating rubber (make it less sticky) to make it more useful.

2. Jethro Tull- A landowner that invented a seed drill that made it possible to plant seeds in straight rows.

Richard Arkwright- He invented a way to drive the spinning “jenny” by waterpower.  He also opened a spinning mill.

Eli Whitney- He invented the cotton gin, a machine that could clean much more cotton in a day than hand laborers could in 1793.

James Watt- He patented the modern steam engine around 1769.

Henry Bessemer-He developed the Bessemer process which is a cheaper and more efficient method of making steel.

Robert Fulton- An engineer who was the first to build a profitable steamboat.

Samuel Morse- He sent an electric current through a wire, then he worked out a system called the Morse Code.  Eventually, he invented the telegraph.

#2 and 4 p.636 and #4 p.642

2. Carbonari- One of the secret society groups that Nationalists formed.

Giuseppe Mazzini- In 1831, he called all the Italian patriots to join his Young Italy movement.  He said a republic should rule Italy.

Young Italy movement- This was dedicated to spreading the ideas of the risorgimento.  Mazzini and Italian patriots were part of this.

King Victor Emmanuel- King of Sardinia.  He wasn’t sympathetic to the liberals, but he wanted ot enlarge the Sardinian territory.

Camillo benso di Cavour- King Victor’s Chief minister who was a republican and Italian patriot.  He supported the liberal’s goals.  He governed Sardinia.

Napoleon III- French emperor who made a strategy against Austria with Cavour and tried to make Italy alliance with them.

Giusseppe Garibaldi- He was devoted to Italy and their freedom.  He led an army of more than 1000 soliders to seize Naples and drove King Francis II out.

4. a. The Young Italy movement and the War with Austria.

b. Giuseppe Mazzini, Camillo Benso di Cavour, and Giuseppe Garibaldi.

c. Sardinia was very strong with an army banks, etc. and with other countries.  They had an alliance with France and were getting the possessions.

p. 642

4. a. German nationalism favored Prussia way more than Austria.  In Prussia, almost everyone was German, but in Austria, there were different kinds of people.  Bismarck also helped Prussia a lot espically with the wars.  The German constitution favored Prussia and they had the most delegates in the Bundesrat and the most people.

b. The Italians had other countries like France and Sardinia involved and ther Germans had it amongst themselves. Plus Prussia and Austria fought to be leaders of Germany but Italy just wanted to be unified.

c. They formed the German Empire with everyone except Austria.  Bismarck was Chancellor of the empire.  They had a kaiser who had tremendous power.  They had the Bundesrat and the Reichstag which was the legislative branch.

One paragraph explanation of Simon Bolivar’s quote “We have achieved our independence at the expense of everything else.”

Simon Bolivar’s quote means that in the end, South America is an independent continent.  Everything else paid a price for independence to get what it wanted.  But all of the new countries fought each other for over a hundred years because there was a surplus of nationalisms rising at one time.  Plus, Bolivar didn’t end up with the Gran Colombia that he wanted.  Now the Criollos treat the Mestizos, the Africans, and the Native Americans like they’re nothing (really bad) since the Spanish aren’t there to do it themselves.