Shaileen's History Blog

Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of Communism

2008-05-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

The definition of Glasnost is the declared public policy within the Soviet Union of openly and frankly discussing economic and political realities: initiated under Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. Perestrokia was an economic and political reform in the USSR which occurred during the Russian Revolution. Upon being elected Gorbachev followed and pursued his own ideas. He followed his own ideas and demonstrated what a real government should be while straying away from Stalins ideas. Russia's history was ran by totalitarian rulers Gorbachev represented a turning point because he didn't follow this way of government. In 1985 he announced a glasnost, this marked a turning point because churches were opened, books were published and freedom of the press rised. Perestrokia was another policy Gorbachev brought to the Russian economy. This policy allowed people to own their own small businesses which weren't owned buy the government. This in a way marked the end of Communism, it proved that Communism wasn't affective and small businesses were needed for the success of the economy. He also introduced democratization, this allowed people to elect their own national leader through a list of candidates. Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the first leader who slowly strayed away from communism.He opened up the economy and allowed for positive change in Russia.

Collapse of Communism

2008-05-02T05:42:00.000-07:00

The collapse of communism was a result of the end to the cold war. Russians did not have enough money to support other allied communism countries like Cuba. The arms race had taken the little money they had. The people of Germany were long separated due to their different political and economic systems. When the Berlin wall was torn down East and Western Germany once divided by communism and democracy were now able to reunite, join together and form social and economic ties. The reason the wall was torn down was because people began to want to travel more to eat and western Germany. Roads were being built, but the people became tired and attacked the wall and destroyed it. Communism became so unpopular because of leaders who took advantage of their positions like Stalin. There was a lot of money being robbed and dictatorships being formed. Communism was suppose to be an equal government and way of life for everyone, instead of having everyone be in the middle class, people just became very poor, this decreased the popularity of communism tremendously. After the fall of Communism The Soviets had to start all over again. Communism weighed down the USSR, and its collapse made the United States one of the biggest powers in the world.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid.

2008-05-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

Apartheid was a racial segregation policy in Africa. It ran from 1948 to 1994. This policy did not give any rights to the black, mixed or Indian population of Africa.
Nelson Mandela was tired of the Apartheid policy, he wanted the liberation of Africans and minorities in Africa, throughout his life he constantly fought for the unity of the people, because this was the only way to beat the Europeans. His constant plea and struggles for freedom, lead him to jail which gave him more popularity and lead him to presidency in Africa. He was a good president who's 27 years spent in prison allowed him to become stronger and wiser creating journals and books of idea for his people and the road to independence. His ideas of "civil disobedience" were inspired by Ghandi and used by Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders such as AL Sharpton. His mission was to free the "oppressed and the oppressor". Which is why he is so admired by thousands of books and sites. Nelsons and Ghandi's ideas served as the basis for other black or national leaders. Promoting civil disobedience and eliminating the need some people have of getting physical or killing others as a way to prove their point. All his struggles awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

African Independance

2008-04-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

Africa changed so much during 1955-1975, the African to began to study and become more educated. Many young men were enrolling and collage and a steady middle class began to emerge.They made the negritude movement, celebrating all Africans. One African leader who really made a difference was Kwame Nkrumah. He studied in the United States and went to the University of Pennsylvania. He often held boycotts and strikes and was often imprisoned by the British. Other leaders included Leopold Senghor, he was a poet and a politician. Through his poetry he was able to support African traditions and emphasized the need for Africa to separate from Europe.He later on became president of Africa. Finally in 1957 Africa gained its independence and established one of its first nations ran only by blacks, which was Ghana. The Africans were regaining power of Africa and slowly becoming stronger. The Africans were creating a middle class, people began to advance. Other African leaders included, Marcus Garvey, who although being Jamaican born focused on having Africans rise to full power of Africa. Jomo Kenyatta was another African leader, who studied and educated himself in London. He was a nationalist who led the African people toward independence.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

2008-04-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

After the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Fidel Castro and many other governmental officials in Cuba felt that another attack was inedible. Cuba felt threatened by America and was looking for a way to defend themselves in case of an attack from the United States. Russia on the other hand, was considerably behind in Nuclear arms, during the Arms race. The United States quickly became a country to be feared. With their overwhelming amount of nuclear arms, we could easily attack anyone, and other countries like Russia had great to fear.
In order to protect themselves, Russia came up with a plan to put missiles in Cuba. Do to Cubans proximity to the United States this location was ideal. This would serve as one of Russia's strategic plans against the U.S in case of an attack. Fidel Castro quickly agreed to the missile plan from the Soviets, do to their need of protection as well. This way both Russia and Cuba would have benefits from the missile. The Cuban missile crisis became the closest time in period were Nuclear war became possible, this is why it is considered the hottest moment during the war.
When Kennedy found out about the missiles being built in Cuba, which was suppose to be a secret, he immediately launched the EX-COMM. It was a group of 12 important advisers who were capable of handling and managing the crisis. Kennedy's main focus now became to prevent more Soviets from arriving on the island of Cuba. On October 28th, teh situation was finally resolved, after a long time of tension, the United States finally came to an agreement with the Soviets, promising not to attack Cuba. Once the Russians felt sure of this promise they returned the missiles back to Russia.

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

2008-04-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was established April,4,1949. It was an agreement which involved 12 nations, some of these nations included the United states and the United Kingdom.The NATO was established with the singing of the North Atlantic Treaty. The NATO was basically a defensive system of alliance for some European countries and North America. The system was used as defense against the soviets and other countries, stating that if any country in the NATO, had to go to war, the other countries of the NATO would come to their aid. The NATO became very important the to the U.S, as the Soviets expanded in territory and spread communism, the NATO became an even greater symbol of the Unites States power.
The Warsaw pact was made up by the Soviet Union and its Satellite Countries. Satellite Countries were bordering countries around Russia. They were a method of protection for the Soviets. The Warsaw pact like the NATO was the Russians defense system. The Soviets kept military in their other countries, this was the Soviets first attempt to strengthen themselves after the war.

The right stuff

2008-04-01T05:40:00.000-07:00

The United States and the Soviet Union were competing during the space race in the movie. When Russia sent the first satellite into space, America was infuriated. We wanted to win this race and by them putting the first satellite, it showed them to look better. The United States needed something more powerful, but putting a person in space was to risky, so instead we decided to send out a monkey into space. We looked really foolish when right after Russia followed up by sending the first Man into space. Although they seemed to be the victorious ones, at the end we one the space race because we were able to send the first man to the moon. The scene that I will most remember about the movie was when the man was trying to break the sound wave. I thought this scene was an important part of the movie because it showed the frustration of the US trying to break the sound barrier, and also our reaction when we were able to actually break it. This is the beginning of the movie and I feel it sets the tone for the rest of the film. The Warsaw pact was successful in showing neighboring European countries that they in fact were the biggest military and political power.

Schindler's List

2008-03-31T05:35:00.000-07:00

Schindler's List, in my opinion did a great job in showing the
hardships that the Jews and others went through during the holocaust.The most powerfulscenes in the movie were, when the people were thrown from the ghettos and into the cramped trains. Many people were brutally shot and killed in the process of removing people from the ghettos.This scene was the most powerful in the movie, because since it's in the beginning it seems to follow you throughout the whole movie. Every time a new train arrives the scene of them being kicked out seems to reappear over and over again. These images stayed with me throughout the entire film, because putting my self in there shoes and having to be taken out of my home and possessions, is devastating to for those who tried to hide in there homes the way the Nazis stormed the homes at night and just started to shoot up everything killing all of those who were hiding. The man who tied himself under the bed, the lady in the piano, the woman and children under the floor boards and the man in thesewer system all these images were so powerful. They showed the risk or the extent that some people went through in order not to die or be taken away. It also made some look very smart,those who hid knew what was coming there way. Although in the movie they didn't survive it is those scenes which to me speak the most.

Night and Fog.

2008-03-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

My reaction to Night and fog is that's, you can seem remnants and artifacts left behind by the victims. You can see the crematoria or the "hospital". You can see flashbacks and see the cabins or the latrines. Everything is left only you can't see the sounds, cries and hopelessness of the people. The camp is alone and quiet. This film is a very impactful because while the man is visiting the camp they show flashbacks and videos of the time were the Jews still lived in the camp. I thought, that the film was successful in getting it's point across. Schindler's List,in my opinion was just as good as the documentary, or maybe even better. I liked the movie slightly more because the movie, I felt gave me a better understanding of the Holocaust and all the suffering the Jews went through. The Hollywood movie, showed them starting in the ghetto, and how people hid and how many were shot and killed. I thought the movie was more effective because, It showed us how everything progressed from the beginning. This is why I liked the movie better. They showed us the journey of the people from beginning to end. Overall I feel that the hollywood version was more effective because I was able to understand the overall concept better.

The Treaty of Versailles (Ends WWI)

2008-02-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

After WWI, Germany was blamed for the whole war. The war cost them nearly 10 percent of their land. Even their overseas colonies, were taken away by allies, who blamed Germany for their losses. German's economy was ruined along with their products and produce. After the War the German people, were left with nothing but their bitter feelings.
So what was the treaty of Versailles? It was an official peace treaty which officially ended the war. It was signed exactly 5 years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand,which was the same reason why the war started in the first place. Germany had been the second most powerful industrial nation in the world, after the United States. After WWI, Germany was lead to a dead end and was forced to accept all the terms the allies provided. It was a powerful humiliating defeat for Germany. All they were left with, was their guilt for starting the War, something they had to accept. Even though it wasn't fair. Later on Germany was again blamed for the causes of WW2. Many other countries used the excuse of the war to gain or take away power from Germany, who was one of the biggest powers in the world, at the time. After the war, many new countries formed such as Poland, who's land lies on what used to be Germany before the war. WWI and the treaty of Versailles lead to the great Depression in Germany. Many people lost their jobs and starved. The panic and fear of the people, led to the uprising of Hitler.

Mustaf Kemal (Ataturk) and the modernization of Tukey

2008-02-08T05:19:00.000-08:00

"The major challenge facing us is to elevate our national life to the highest level of civilization and prosperity."

Secular means,not pertaining to or connected with religion. Mustaf Kemal, modernized Turkey by first getting rid of the Ottoman dynasty. This made a huge turning point, since the Ottoman dynasty lasted more than six centuries. After winning many wars, and taking them out of power, he was able to start a real government. He created the republic of Turkey, in 1923. There he was president for 15 years. He brought many reforms to his country, in things like politics, and economical aspects. His principals, of humanism and his vision of a united country, helped Turkey become what it is today.
In his path or way,to modernizing Turkey, a secular way of life and thinking allowed Turkey to advance. He was able to create a secular government and secular education. Do to his way of thinking, Turkey unlike many other countries in the world, is fully secular. He made it possible for people to be able to live normal equal lives, not mattering or depending on what religion you're a part of. He made a state, of the people and by the people. Under his control, the country became better, and more equal. He gave everyone their rightful place, even the peasants, who were neglected for many years. He stressed their importance in society.
Another way in which Kemal modernized Turkey was by changing the way people dressed. He brought many reforms to the people. Eventually people stopped wearing their religious clothing and began to wear, suites etc.. This was another way in which he helped modernize Turkey. Not only by what they wore but also by how they looked. Kemal truly modernized Turkey, in all aspects of life.

Gandhi

2008-02-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

Gandhi,helped lead his nation of India to freedom, by first uniting the people, who were of all different religions. Those being Muslim,Hindu and Sik. The people were the only way which they could fight the British. By uniting to create one strong force, which was the goal of freedom. If they weren't united then the British could easily defeat them, which was what they had been doing to the Indians all along. They used their weaknesses to take power.
The biggest thing that Gandhi was known for was fighting using civil disobediences. He never encouraged his people to fight back. He taught them that violence was not the answer to solving their problems. Fighting using civil disobedience made the British look really bad. They tortured them, killed and arrested the Indians. After a while the Indian people grew tired and started to fight back. One of the major things that symbolized the outbreak of violence was the massacre at the field which killed many people, including children and women. The people responded using violence. All over India reports of Indians killing or beating guards came through. Gandhi became very disappointed. From the beginning all he ever taught his people was to protest using peace. He responded to these outbreaks of violence by going on a hunger strike.
Soon reports of Ghandi dying, scared the people into stopping the violence. Ghandi's acts of civil disobedience, formed the center of many civil leaders in America. One being DR. Martin Luther King Jr. Ghandi became the voice of the people. Do to his leadership and courage, India is now free. Of course it would have happened eventually but thanks to Ghandi, this happened using non violence. Which later spoke more than words. At the end Ghandi died, fighting for what he knew was right. Ironically, one of his own people killed him. Not the British but a Hindu extremist. Because of Ghandi India is what it is today.

Joseph Stalin and Totalitarianism

2008-01-13T21:01:00.000-08:00

Totalitarianism is a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state. Stalin came into rule after Lenin died. He used his position in the Party to get all his supporters and followers in key positions of the Communist Party. In time, this worked and Stalin gained control of the Soviet Union after Lenin died. Stalin made a "five year plan in order to make the Soviet Union one of the most industrialized nations in Europe, making them powerful and having and giving them an upper hand. The five year plan was made in oder to get more people working in factories. Stain made people give up their own land, in order to turn it into farms or factories. If people didn't obey, they would be killed Stalins harsh dictatorship, was what made him famously known among history.This leads to the Great Purges. This was when people were forced to join labor camps. Many people were killed and sent to exile. The economy raised, at the peoples expense. Stalins one and main concern was to gain economic power. He didn't care about his people. Stalin, is a symbol of the dark side of communism, and a great example of how far people are willing to go to gain money and power. This can very much compare to modern day government.

Film Lesson Doctor Zhivago

2008-01-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

Th film depicted the Russian Revolution because it showed all the cayuse caused by the Russian Revolution. Reasons why the Russian people wanted change was because The mo, they wanted equality. They wanted to run things themselves, and have some control of their country. This represents the idea of communism. In the movie, you were able to see the struggles that the soldiers faced. They showed, all the wounded and killed solders, which eventually led to them surrendering. During the movie, both sides called a trues. Because it was Christmas, they came together shared belongings and sang songs. They also took time to collected the dead bodies of their soldiers. But at the end, the long hard days of the war on the battle field became to much. The Russians called quits and pulled out of the war.In turn they sent Czar, the political ruler, to jail. This allowed the people to live their free lives, which depict a communist way of living. This is how Communism was born. Doctor Zhivago, witnessed communism when he returned to Moscow and saw all his belongings being split up among different families. His house was also split and numerous families lived their. Because according to communism, this was the fair thing to do because it allowed for equality.

Cause of WWI

2008-01-04T07:52:00.000-08:00

Causes of the World War were, Nationalism, Militarism, Assassination of Frans Ferdinand and the collapse of the alliance system. The first cause was nationalism, nationalism can turn other countries against each other because it can cause competition among other nations.This was one of the basic most common problems countries faced against each other. For example Nationalism posted a problem for Austria-Hungary and the Balkans. These areas were made up of conflicting national groups. Another strong reason as to why the Great War started was because of Imperialism. IT greatly contributed to the rivalry in Europe, and was one of the main reasons for it's increase.When the increase in manufacturing during the Industrial revolution occurred, Great Britain, Germany, and France needed foreign markets. Things that led to the war was the feud of Germany against Britain and France. Other issues, were that of the falling Ottoman empire to Austria-Hungary and Russia. Another reason to blame for the start of the War was the Alliance, which overall led o the immediate result of the War.Their were two alliances, they were the triple alliance and the triple entente. The triple alliance consisted of the countries of, Italy, Germany, Austria and Hungary. The triple entente was Russia, France, and Britain.

the Opium Wars

2007-12-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

After reading the links below; explain "The Opium Wars". What happened
during The Opium Wars? Why are they called The Opium Wars? Who won and
why?

During the Opium Wars, it all started out with the trade of the British with the Chinese. China was isolated for many years, the British came and wanted to trade with the Chinese, but their tries went in vain, since the Chinese didn't want or need what the British had to offer. When the British finally offered Opium to the Chinese, they quickly accepted the offer, it was something they could not turn down. For hundreds of years the Chinese doctors used this drug to heel patients, or to prevent heavy unbearable pains. The British thrived during this trade. Soon the British grew, in content. Since China was self sufficient, they couldn't find any other product to export to china, they decided to mix tobacco with Opium and promote smoking Opium in China. Soon over two million pounds of Opium were sold to China every year. The Britsh were thriving at the Chinese expense. The BRITISH were able to trick the Chinese, and in turn killed over thousands of people. This war was called the Opium wars because, it was almost literally a fight for Opium the Chinese wanted it out while the British wanted it in. The British won this war due to their high technology and powerful army.

"The White Mans Burrden"

2007-12-10T07:42:00.000-08:00

Explain what this means - what is "The White Man's Burden"? Read some
analysis of the poem (#1, #2, #3). Do you agree with this analysis? The
poem was written in 1899 about US imperialism in The Philippines - is
the US still imperialistic today? Are we still living the "White Man's
Burden" one-hundred years later? Explain.

In the poem they talk about the Europeans going to the Philippians, they thought they were actually helping them but in reality they were just making things worse. The white man felt that the Philippians needed them, as in almost what happened in Africa. ALL they were really doing, was robbing people out of their land and free natural rights. What the white people saw as a duty or a task, others saw as a living hell. Overall I don't agree with the poem on imperialism in the Philippians.
In a way i do still think that we are living the white mans burden. I think this because, still today the United States is always in everyone else's
business, they still feel the need to help everyone else and be in
their business. We are in Iraq right now... doing so called
"reconstructing" we tared apart their old government and changed it to
a democracy. We think we're doing good, as the Europeans thought they were doing for the Africans, but in reality we are just killing people. This can relate to the Europeans who traveled around the world conquering (as we did in Iraq). The Europeans felt that they were superiors or better. They felt a burden to have to conquer and make better these savage live people, when in reality they were just harming them. The Europeans felt that their race, the white race was the best. By them conquering and ruling other lands, they would just spread their race among the world, which in their eyes was the best race. The white race would be WORLDWIDE.

" The Scramble for Africa"

2007-12-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

In your own words - explain the term "Scramble for Africa" .
In your
explanation address the following: 1.) who were the main European
nations involved in this scramble; 2.) what were these nations looking
for in Africa; 3.) how were they able to dominate Africa so easily; and
4.) how did this scramble effect the African people?

The term the "Scramble for Africa" was the term used to describe the periods of imperialism in Europe, when Europeans raced to get to Africa. They wanted to
explore Africa for various reasons, one being all their natural
resources and they also wanted to explore the Nile River. Everyone
became interested in exploring Africa, even though few were successful. Some of the nations involved in the scramble were, France, Great Brittan, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Europe ultimately succeeded in gaining control of Africa. They won because they were civilized, and were able to strategies their defeat. Also they won because they had a great amount of technology compared to the Africans, who
were uncivilized and had never seen white men or even a gun.Sometimes they used their materials or gold to buy over some Africans. The scramble effect, affect the African people in horrible ways. They were taken from their homelands, killed and used as slaves. Many families were broken up and villages were destroyed.

Film Lesson: "Mounrtains of the Moon"

2007-12-03T07:47:00.000-08:00

In the film "Mountains of the Moon", what were some of the hardships
that Europeans faced as they explored Africa? Also, why is it strange
that the source of the Nile River, (Lake Victoria - the third largest
lake in the world) is named after a British Queen? Finally, what was
the primary technological advantage that Europeans had over African
people? Why were Europeans eventually able to conquer Africa so easily?

Some of the hardships that the Europeans faced were that they, had to battle Africans in farther villages, who had never seen "white men" They felt threatened and attacked the Europeans. Another thing that the Europeans faced was, Africans which they hired to work for them, leaving in the middle of the night, and stealing their things. Another big problem was the vast dry deserts of Africa. It is strange that The third largest river in Africa is named after a Britsh Queen because, the Europeans, when exploring Africa, went along dividing up the land and naming places, even though it was not their country nor their land. It is so strange because the lake should be named after an African name, and not British, since it's not their country. The primary technological advantage Europeans had was that they were civilized. They had a full grown society. People lived in houses. Had nice cloths and a government in place. Meanwhile the Africans, still lived in small tribes. They hunted food and wore "savage like cloths" Overall Europeans were able to conqueror Africa because of they were civilized and had technology such as gun powder and riffles. These things allowed them to defeat the Africans in war.

Meiji-Restoration-of-Japon

2007-11-27T07:50:00.000-08:00

Explain how Matthew Perry "bullied" the Japanese into signing a trade
treaty. What did he have that impressed the Japanese? Also, explain how
the Japanese economy changed during the Meiji Era. How did they
modernize and industrialize? Finally, Japan is an archipelago - what is
that?

Japan is an archipelago, this means Japan is a large group of islands, which are close to each other, or in near by areas. Like for example another archipelago would be the islands of Hawaii. Like Hawaii, Japan is joined together by various groups of small islands.
Mathew Perry "bullied" the Japanese into singing a treaty by impressing them with the technologies that the Americans enjoyed. The Japanese were very impressed by the technology of the American steam ships. The United States in a way bullied Japan,thats what can be said instead of "negotiating". The United States used their military might to scare the Japanese, or in a scene almost force them. Because Japan had been in isolation for so many years, their army was weak and especially their technology. Perry purposely dropped 26 miles off the coast of Tokyo, to impress the Japanese, which did work. The Japanese were impressed, on how far the ships were able to travel in such a short time. Perry also arrived in Tokyo with the sails of the ship down. He did this purposely, to show the Japanese, that with their steam technology, they no longer needed sails. The Japanese felt intimidated. The advances in technology and the weak navel left Japan hopeless, and in return it was to both United States and Japans best interest that the ports be opened. With this treaty in place, Japan was now able to advance.

Karl Marx and Communism

2007-11-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

explain Karl Marx's idea of Communism. What exactly is Communism? Why did Marx want Communism to take over the world? Who did Marx see as the "good guys" and who did he see as the "bad guys"?

Communism is an economic and political system based on the principle "From each according to their ability, to each according to their need. Marx hated the idea of Capitalism. He hated how the rich became richer and the poor became poorer. He liked the idea of communism because it allowed for equal rights among the people, and the system in place of factory owners getting all the money along with other influential people would finally end. He expressed his points of view and his ideas of communism to the workers, and other poor or middle class people. Many people loved the idea of communism, because this way, they would finally get the rights they longed for. Marx hated the Industrial Revolution, he wanted Communism to be world wide, because this way not only the people of England would have what he thought were equal rights, but everyone else world wide would be able to enjoy what he thought was the best way of life. Marx was truly a man, who was for the people, he always thought in the best interest of the people even though it meant putting in place a system which is so controversial as communism is. Marx saw the low class, working people or the factory workers as the "good guys". This was because they were for his idea of communism and he viewed them as the "victims" of capitalism, always left out, and never being able t advance or better themselves. Karl Marx viewed the factory owners and the people of high power as the "bad guys", because of all the power they had and because they were capitalist. He viewed them as bad guys, because they abused their power over the factory workers, and used Capitalism in their favor to make more money.

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revoltuion

2007-11-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

Marx ideas, He was strongly opinionated, and his ideas, impacted the lives of many other people.Marx thought that instead of the the landowners controlling the factories, that the workers should control them instead. He based this, argument, against landowners, and used his similar views and opinions as the workers to unite with them. "WORKERS OF THE WORLD TO UNITE" in a worldwide revolution.
His ideas became known as communism. In a Communist society,workers and people share a common wealth. Marx hated the Revolution because he hated, how it only mad the rich, richer and the poor, poorer. Many people worked long hard hours, only to receive a few quarters in return. Most of the money went to factory owners, and the people doing all the work, received almost nothing. He thought, that wealth should be spread equally, to help others advance. With his idea of communism, people would live fair more equal lives. Although he died in 1883, his ideas were still able to form the basis of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Nationalism and creation of Italy

2007-10-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

write a definition of Nationalism and give an example of how you are Nationalistic. What do you do that shows that you are nationalistic?
Then explain how Nationalism was used to create the nation of Italy. What was Italy like before it became Italy? How and why did it become Italy? Explain using your own words.

"Nationalism is a sense of identity with a nation. It is similar to tribalism, and like the family, is held together by a sense of kinship. Liah Greenfeld, Professor of Sociology at Boston University has defined nationalism as "an image of a social order, which involves the people as a sovereign elite and a community of equals". The original use of the term nationalism refers to elite groups, but in modern usage it refers usually to a very large group, sometimes as large as an empire." An example of how I am nationalistic is displaying an American flag in my house or celebrating the fourth of July. Before Italy became nationalistic, it was very separated or divided, each region had its own ruler or king. Italy was united by a man named Giuseppe Garibaldi who was a nationalist. After Italy was united it was able to become more nationalistic. However many wars broke out because of disagreements between Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini (who was an idealist). With all these wars, Italy was spending a lot of money and became a poor country during the 20th century. Above all Italy was able to become an independent nation thanks to Giuseppe Garibaldi. Above all the wars, his nationalistic ideas in some way allowed the country to advance and become better. Because of him Italy was able to become the country that it is today.

Simon Bolivar and the Latin American Revolution.

2007-10-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

During the 1800 South and Central America was inspired with what he saw in Europe. People were being governed by their own people. He was very much inspired by the FRENCH AND AMERICAN REVOLUTION. These revolutions were what triggered the Latin American Revolution. After returning to his homeland from Europe he started the Revolution. Simon Bolivar was so important because he was considered responsible for
fighting for the independence of south American countries such as Panama, Ecuador, Peru,Colombia and Bolivia which was named after him ( August 6, 1825), and other countries as well. Thanks to Bolivar, South Americans were able to defeat the Spanish control, through out most of South America. Simon Bolivar was influenced by the French and American Revolution. He saw all these countries ruling themselves, and wondered why they couldn't have or do the same. In time the Latin American Revolution, brought independence to many South American Nations.

The Reign of Terror

2007-10-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

The French Revolution promised democracy, but it did not happen immediately. First came "The Reign of Terror". Explain The Reign of Terror and Max Robespierre's involvement in it. Also, why did The Reign of Terror happen? And how were these executions carried out?

The region of terror was a tall machine, ( as shown is the picture) that was used to cut peoples heads. Of Max Robespierre, was the ruler at the time and used this machine to kill enemies he might have or people who were against him or didn't approve of his rule. This machine was also used to scare its citizens into keeping loyalty. The region of terror represented something horrible in the lives of many people. This ruler killed many people. They were usually tied, the machine had an area were the victim would place their head, and then there head would get sliced off, by a huge machine which carried weight, and came crashing down upon them. Many Innocent people died, because of rumors or speculations, that they might be a trader, or against the ruler. However finally the people got justice. They soon rebelled and took over. Max Robespierre was beheaded in the tower of terror. He finally understood what many people felt moments after death, as he wrote in his diary. So after many deaths, justice was served. After Max's death the tower of terror was still used but in many decreasing amounts. Many more people died, for absolutly no reason under the rule of this ruler.

The French Revolution

2007-09-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Explain some of the causes of The French Revolution. What were the three estates and why did the third estate feel used? How did the Enlightenment thinkers influence the French Revolution? What really triggered the revolution, what happened on July 14, 1789?

Causes Of the Revolution

The reasons why the French revolution started was because of the unjust spread of power among the people. There were political and social inequalities. During the 18th century, the French practiced feudalism. The main problem was that nobles and people of the clergy, always had special privileges. They didn't pay taxes, while common people didn't have freedom in politics, and unlike nobles, payed heavy taxes. In the states general, the nobles and clergy made up the fist and second estates, while the rest (common people) made up the third estate.Nobles and people of the clergy could outvote all common people though the Estates General was not always called by the king, who ruled as a monarch. The common people became angry with the privileged class. Which triggered the French Revolution. These people were also inspired by the people of the enlightment,who brought out doubt and question amoung the french. People began to question there ruler, which caused them to rebbel. The storming of the bastille occured on july 14, 1789. The storming of the bastile is seen as a symbol of the upbringing of the new modern france.

Copernicus and the trial of Galileo

2007-09-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

At a time back then, when the Roman Catholic church had absolute power, the theory of the planets and the universe was called geocentrism. Geocentrism is a theory which states that the universe revolves around the sun and was developed by Potolmy. The people of the church as well as its citizens believed in this theory. Copernicus developed a theory called Heliocentrism. This theory states that the planet is not the center of the world. In fact it states that the sun is the center of the universe and all the planets including the Earth rotate around the sun. Today this is the most widely believed theory. Galileo who invented the telescope also believed this theory. As this theory increased in popularity among the people, the Roman Catholic Church began to worry and decided to take a stand. Galileo was a person who represented power, do to his controversial experiments which showed Aristotle's theory's to be wrong. On,June 22, 1633 Galileo was taken into trial and was forced to kneel and admit to being wrong. He also had to state that he opposed Copernicus, all of this on top of a life sentence. The amount of unjust actions done by the Catholic Church to this man are incomparable. It was not until year of 1992 that the Roman Catholic Church formally admitted to having committed a huge error on Galileo.

Scientific Revolution; Scientific Method

2007-09-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

The scientific Revolution was a reaction against a medieval Aristotelian model of scientific explanation.

The scientific Revolution was something that interested many people because it challenged outdated ideas. The scientific method consists of four steps.
1. Theory
2. Hypothesis
3. Use of hypothesis to predict results.
4. Preform experiment

Before the 1500 many people widely accepted Aristotle's theory's. When the scientific revolution occur ed it challenged many peoples ideas and thoughts. Galileo used the scientific method to challenge older theories. He tested two objects in different amounts of weight. He was able to prove that objects of different weights do fall at the same time. If it wasn't for Galileo who along with other scientists challenged the theory's of then, maybe today we would still be following the wrong theories. The scientific method provides organization for scientists conducting experiments, the end result is a better chance of the results being correct. It lets you separate facts, theory's, and guesses from what is actually true.

With out the scientific method, many things known today probably wouldn't even be discovered yet. People of today have been able to advance and better themselves, technology wise as well, thanks to the scientific method.

Evolution vs. Creation

2007-09-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

Evolution:

This theory states that every organism that exists today is a descendant or related to a past animal or organism that has evolved into what it is today. Organisms or animals of the past adapt to the environment. When these animals reproduce, the new organism is born with a certain mutation. These mutations pass on to other generations and after a while result in a whole new type of species. For example animals like giraffes are believed to have been a species of horses which over time evolved and grew longer necks because of their environment, which often didn't have grass. These horses would stretch their necks to reach leaves from trees above, which caused their necks to grow. This theory of evolution is favored by most scientists. Because unlike Creationism, which doesn't consist of much evidence to back up the theory, the theory of Evolution has advanced thanks to molecular biology and other advances in technology. Also old fossils which add proof that the human species along with other organisms evolved over a period of time.

Creationism:

Creationism is the belief that all organisms of today were created by "God" (often the god referred to by religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam), in there original form and didn't go through any type of evolution process. Creationism sometimes has a wide range of interpretations or beliefs, that are generally the same. Creationism originated between the 18th and 19th centuries. The primary source is considered to be an ancient Hebrew text describing Creationism, according to Genesis. Creationism was unquestioned during the middle age. People were very religious and never questioned this or doubted this theory.

Up until the 1960's the theory of evolution was unspoken of and not heard of by many. The theory of evolution was cleared from text books around the United States and Creationism was excepted as a worldwide theory. Over time creationism has expanded, into several different versions, such as...

Flat Earth creationism: which states that God created the world with a flat surface 6,000 years ago. (Very few people today believe in this theory.)

Modern geocentrism: Says that God recently created a spherical world and placed it in the center of the universe. The sun planets and other things all revolve around it.

Young-Earth Creationism: This belief is normally held by Christians and Jews worldwide. And beliefs in the literal truth of Genesis. This type of theory also states by religions that the earth was created in 6 days about 6,000 years ago.