Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

Mikhail Gorbachev succeeded Leonid Brezhnev after he died as the party's new general secretary. People supported Gorbachev's energy and political skills. He was intelligent enough to break away from Stalin's policies and go on with his own new ideas to help the reform of Russia. The Soviet leaders from the past have always had a totalitarian system. To reform the Soviet Union, he needed ideas and information to come freely, with no pressure, so in 1985 he announced a glasnost. A glasnost is sort of like the United States' 1st amendment of freedom of speech. It was a way to inspire people to talk about ways to improve their society. The system of glasnost bought upon many opportunities such as the opening of churches, publications of books and freedom of the press.

Now that people had all the freedom to improve their society, they complained about how long they had to wait in lines to purchase things. Gorbachev blamed this on the economy. In 1985 he introduced perestroika, also known as economic restructuring. He allowed people to own small private businesses, which went against Communism. He wanted to make the Communism more efficient and productive. In 1987, he introduced a policy called democratization. Democratization was a political system that needed a new legislative body and allowed people to vote from a list of candidates who their new leader would be. Mikhail Gorbachev definitely helped out with the fall of Communism in Russia as well as other countries and the rise of democracy.

Collapse Of Communism

The collapse of Communism in Estern Europe and USSR was a major event in history. It was the result of the end of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall being torn down which meant that Eastern and Western Germany had the oppurtunity to form the social and economic ties. People from the West could not cross into the East Communist, and the East could not cross into the Western Democractic system.

The only thing seperating Eastern and Western Germany was he Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall was built to keep people from the east to enter the west and vice-versa. Anyone who attempt would gte shot. In 1989, the wall was being repaired and they were making roads for private trips between the East and the West. The also wanted to add several borders to allow people to travel more. People came to the wall with rocks to collect souvnier. Hundreds soon attacked the wall and destroyed it.

The Soviet Union had also divided into fifteen different countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Lativa, Lithuania, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. These countries had different flags and Russia itself changed its flag. When capitalism was the new type of system is Russia, the economy was affected greatly. People had to get higher paying jobs because there was less farming. There was less need for advanced weapons and people turned away from Communism.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

Apartheid is the legal racial segregation of the non-whites by the National Party(NP) in the Republic of South Africa. The NP would campaign apartheid and its policies, passing laws and prohibiting things from people of color. It created seperation of beaches, schools, buses, universities and hospitals. Signs would claim "For Whites Only." The laws became more strict, forcing South Africans to carry their documents withh them at all times. Apartheid was abolished throughtout the years of 1991-1992. Nelson Mendela used civil obidience to stop apartheid.

Nelson Mendela had a law degree from the University of South Africa. He participated in the youth program of the African National Congress(ANC) and was then promoted to its deputy national president. He created a paramilitary branch to the ANC to protect themselves from the whites. In 1964, Mendela was arrested on convictions of sabotage, sentenced to life in prison but released in 1990. A year later he was elected President of the Congress and his actions led to majority rule. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993.

African Independence

African Independence increase greatly over the course of 20 years. In 1955, the only independent countries of Africa were Eygpt, Ethopia, Liberia, Libya and the Union of South Africa. The rest of the countries were colonies of European nations. The "Scramble for Africa" was about the European countries racing to colonized territories in Africa. The Africans felt used and conquer. They felt as if the imperialist were taking over what was theirs and had no say in anything. In 1975, all countries were independent but Spanish Sahara, Rhosedia, South-West Africa and Afars and Issas Territory.

Some leaders of the the African Independence were Ahmad Ben Bella and Jomo Kenyatta. Ahmad Ben Bella was imprisoned and teh became the first prime minister. He reestablish national reforms, started land reforms and made new plans in the education system. Jomo Kenyatta was also imprisoned. After getting free, he became the prime mister, president and was considered the "founding father" of the Kenyian nation.

NATO and The Warsaw Pact

NATO, also known as the, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was a pact between countries. If one of the NATO countries were to be attacked, the other NATO allies would come into aide of the other country. NATO was establish after the signing of North Atlantic Treaty. Western Europe relied on the United States' nuclear weapons in case of an attack by Russia. Six years after NATO was established, the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact was a communist military alliance and was formed to keep control over Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was very superior to NATO, but its technology failed soon, so in 1991, they declared the Warsaw Pact "non-exsistent."

Film Lesson: "The Right Stuff"

"The Right Stuff" was a movie documenting the events of the Space Race. The Space Race was a part of the Cold War. The Cold War was a war [not exactly] between The Soviet Union and the United States. This war was different from every other war because it didn't involve fighting, hence the "Cold" War. In 1957, The Soviet Union had put a satallite in space by the name of Spunik. That really got the competition going. The United States wanted to be seen as "better" than the Soviets. Basically, it was sort of the "anything you can do, I can do better" situation. So, the United States put a monkey up in space. Weeks later, the Soviet Union, sent a man to space. Although, we were behind in the beginning, we ended up winning the Space Race by putting a man on the moon.

The scenes that I will remember most from this film was when the United States' rockets wouldn't launch. They went through so much prepartions for the rockets and they'd fail. Those scenes were most memoriable to me.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

"Schindler's List" illustrated the Holocaust extremely good. They didn't hold back on anything. They showed you exactly what would happen during the Holocaust. The showed the mental and physical abuse, they showed the cruelty, the atrocious and offensive behavior of the Nazis. One most powerful scene to me was the children hiding the toilets. They were hiding in at least 2-3 feet of waste in order not to get caught and killed by the Nazis. The children had become so territorial and had lost all their innocence. They would actually let another kid die in order for themselves to survive. When the little boy jumped in, they didn't want to risk getting caught, so they told him to leave. They were exposed to barbaric and sickening events at the age of 5. It was crazy to me. Another powerful scene to me was the burning of the bodies. People were actually lined up walking in to the pits of flame knowing they were going to die. I just can't imagine myself knowing that I'm going to die and not doing anything about it. They had no choice though. Either they would die, or trying fight and then get killed. It was horrific. One image was will stay with me forever was when the little girl with the pink jacket, tried so hard to stay alive by sneaking and hiding under the bed. And then during the scene of the burning bodies, you see her dead, burnt body. Who has the heart to kill anyone, a little girl at that? "Schindler's List" was a very powerful movie and I won't be able to forget the scenes we saw.

Film Lesson: "Night & Fog"

The documentary "Night and Fog" was powerful to me. I think that the way they explained ti really caught my attention and informed me. To me, it was almost like a horror movie because the way they displayed it, I felt as if I didn't know what was going to happen next. It vividly showed me the concentration camps and it portrayed the terror. Even though it had a big affect on me, I think that "Schindler's List" was way more powerful. It showed the Nazi's monstrosity and the people's struggle to survive. The children's expression and desperation. The children would do anything in order to stay away from the horror outside. For example, one scene, the children were territorial when they were hiding in the toilets. The didn't want to take nay chances getting caught. So, in my opinion, I think that "Schindler's List" illustrates the Holocaust more effectively.

The Treaty of Versailles (Ended WWI)

A treaty is a formal agreement between two or more states in reference to peace, alliance, commerce, or other international relations. The Treaty of Versailles was an agreement reached by all the countries who participated in WWI. Although they agreed to peace, Germany was blamed for fully the war. Germany was stripped of their colonies and they're resources. Right after the war, the United States suffered a depression and couldn't continue lending money to Germany. They needed a person to lead them to recovery.

Adolf Hitler wanted to overthrow the German government and was arrested. Then he stated that Germany had lost because of it's weak government. But, he also blamed problems on outsiders, targeting one main group, the Jews. By 1933, Hitler had controlled part of Germany. He became a dictator and had a group of mainly teenagers, the Nazis, follow his beliefs and killing the people who supposedly caused problems for Germany.

Adolf Hitler's rise, led to fascism. Fascism is the governmental system of a country ran by a dictator. An example of Fascism would be Italy's Benito Mussolini who ultimately formed an alliance with Hitler. He was pronounced Prime Minister by King Victor Emmanuel. He dreamed of military glory in a second world war to come and formed political parties. He centralized all power in himself of the Fascist Party and tried to create an empire. After Italy's lost in WWII, it bought his dream downhill.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

Secular means of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred. Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) was like the George Washington of Turkey. He wanted to transform the country of Turkey into a secular country. He has six principles in which he wanted base the country of Turkey on. They were republicanism, populism, secularism, reformism, nationalism and statism. The six prinicples were called the "Six Arrows" and they were the ways that helped Kemal in his journey on modernizing the country of Turkey.

Kenalism were the principles that Mustafa Kemal followed in order m to achieve his goal of making Turkey modern. His first principle was republicanism. Ataturk believed that republicanism was the best form of government to represent it's people's wishes. He only recgonized a republican ways. Another principle was populism. Populism was a term used to referred to "equal" people. In 1934, women earned the right to vote. In the country of Turkey there were no class privilages or distinctions, meaning that if you were "high" class or of a lower class, you would all have the same rights. It gave the people of the country a sense of unity. Another way Ataturk modernize the country of Turkey was by secularism. He wanted to make the country a less religious place and didn't wanted the government and its laws to be seperate from religion. Reformism was the way of elminating traditional ideas with modern ones. Nationalism in Turkey to preserve its independences and had nothing to do with race. This Kemalism prinicple stated that nationalism was about comprising its territory and people. Finally, statism was Turkey's moderniztion's dependency of its development in technology and economy.

Film Lesson "Gandhi"

Gandhi was one of the greatest leaders in the history of the world. He wanted to lead India to independence from the British. He did that by civil disobidence. Civil disobidence is when you go against something without voilence.

One way he was disobient in a civil way was by boycotting British goods. The British would betray there colony of India by buying cotton that was grown there. Then making clothes put of the cotton and selling it for a profit in India. Gandhi asked all Indians to stop purchasing British goods and make there own clothes. Gandhi himself dedicated 2 hours of each day to his spinning wheel to make his own clothes.

1931, Gandhi attempted to meet with British official at a Round Table confgerence, but no agreements were reached.

Another way that Gandhi went against the British to try to gain independence was by leading the Salt March. Great Britian made the people of India by salt from the British government and only the British government. They put tax on the salt. Gandhi had created teh idea of a Salt March. The Salt March was when Gandhi and his followers walked up to 250 miles to the Indian Sea for salt. There, they would collect the salt water. When they went back home, they would let water evaporate and they made they had made their own salt.

On January 20, 1948, there had been an attempt to kill Gandhi, but it didn't happen. But, 10 days later, a Hindu assassinated Gandhi because of Gandhi's ideas. Gandhi believed that Muslims and Hindus were equal and the assasinator didn't believe in those ideas.

Joseph Stalin and Totalitarianism

Stalinism is the term used to refer to Joseph Stalin's political regime. Totalitarianism is a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.) Jospeh Stalin was the ruler of Russia, the successor of Lenin and the head of the communist party. When Stalin was in office, he ran by the totalitarian type of government. Like Fidel Castro, in Cuba, the constitution of the country didn't matter, only Stalin's word did.

He introduced Five Year Plans. His five year plans stated that each industry would eb under state rule. How much, what and where stuff was produced was decided by the government. There were three five-year plans. These five years plans all have standards which each industy had to meet. He controlled Russia fully and ruled Russia with limited freedom towards its citizens.

Causes of WWI

One of the main reasons as to why WWI began was because of Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and Nationalism. Militarism is a nation's policy to maintain strong armed forces. Imperialism is a nation's attempt to gain control of weaker nations. Alliances is the formation of military agreements among the nations and nationalism is the extreme loyalty to one's nation.

Some examples of Militarism during WWI was when Great Britian and Germany raced to have to largest navies. Another example was when France, Russia and Germany contended to have the largest and most powerful armies. Alliances definitely formed during WWI. They were divided int o the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy were the Triple Alliance and Great Britian, France and Russia were the Triple Entente. European nations fought against each other of land too. Europe's countries were trying to colonized as much as Africa as they could. They would colonize African nations in order to get raw material and sell them. This set most of European countries against ecah other. Nationalism was another cause of WWI. The Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary want independence.

Because of these causes and WWI, four great empires came to an end: the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, The Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. This also caused for a start to new nations such as Estonia, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

The Opium Wars

The Opium Wars, also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was the most embarrassing defeat that they had faced. It was the first drug war in the 19th century. Opium is a drug made from poppy seedpods and is also used to make heroin. It was mostly used to as medicine to cure diseases. It was made and shipped to China from India from British traders. This drug is a very addictive drug and many Chinese people had gotten high off commonly in the early 1800's. 2 million pounds of opium was being sold to China and about 10% of the Chinese population smoked Opium. China's economy went down because of the silver being used to pay for the Opium. To balance out trade with the British importing, the Chinese would export tea to Britain.

Britain won the Opium War. It technology was so advance to defeat China in the world. They had huge ships with cannons and gun machines, nothing compared to the small things China had. China's army got demolished. After their defeat, China allowed trading ports for foreigners.

"The White Man's Burden"

"The White Man's Burden" is a poem written Rudyard Kipling about the United States's conquest to take over The Phillipines. It is considered a very racist poem. The White people thought they were better than everybody else. So, they took it upon themselves to take over the Phillipines and teach them how to be civilized. They took it upon themselves and still considered it a burden. From the interperatations that I read, I agree with the analysis. The analysis states that the white people had an obligation to encourage the Phillipines to be cultured and well-bred like the white people from the West. The picture is an advertisment teaching the people of the Phillipines how to be clean.

The United Statestoday is some-what imperialist. For example, In Iraq. We are fighting a battle with Iraq because the President wants to change the government to a democracy. That is a little imperialistic because we want to take the smaller country and change it. Also, in Puerto Rico. Presently, the Puerto Ricans have to carry the Puerto Rican flag along with the American flag.

With the exception of Iraq, we are not living the "White Man's Burden." In today's society, most people are cultured and know how to act. We know how take care of ourselves, physcially [hygiene], emotionally and mentally. People don't need the help of other countries to tell them how to live. We have the ability to do it ourselves.

The Scramble For Africa

"The Scramble for Africa" was mostly about the European countries racing to colonized territories in Africa. The Europeans nations were the ones that set borders on the continent of Africa. It began in 1881 with France, when it moved into Tunis. After many years of ignoring the continent of Africa, Europe felt that it had to put influence of the countries of it. The countries involved in the Scramble for Africa were Britain, France, Belgium and Germany. Britain's colonization of Africa began when the Suez Canal was built through Egypt. This canal was opening opportunities for the British to take over Africa. Little by little they began to conquer East Africa, but they wanted to expand upward for diamonds and gold. It took the British two wars to defeat the Boers, who were Dutch, to conquer African territory. The French's main concern for colonizing Africa was for its resources. After their defeat in the Franco-Prussia War, they wanted commercial gain and prestige so the wanted to move eastward. Belgium was one the most important reasons why they titled this the "Scramble for Africa." The King of Belgium just wanted to pt his flag on territory and was willing to pay any amount of money for it. Belgium contributed it most sense of urgency for land during the "Scramble for Africa." Germany joined the "Scramble for Africa very late. They barely got any land. The Africans left used and conquer. They felt as if the imperialist were taking over what was theirs and had no say in anything.

Film Lesson: "Mountain of the Moon"

In the film "Mountains of the Moon" British explorers were set on an adventure to discover the source of the Nile River in Africa. Africa is a very large continent and the Nile River was right smack in the middle of the continent. Africa was also surrounded by many deserts, like the Saharra Desert which is located in the Northern part of Africa. The Saharra Desert was about the size of the United States. So the English explorers had to go from England and go all around Africa until they were in the eastern part of Africa. In the journey from England to Africa, the English explorers lost many men due to sickness. One common sickness was malaria. From there, they went inland into Africa in search of the Nile River. The explorers faced many hardships when the went inland into Africa. The tribes in Africa are very territorial, so when the saw Richard Burton and his explorers enter on their territory, they would attack them. The only way Burton and his explorers were to enter the land of the tribes was if they bought gifts for them.

One of the explorers had located a river and belived that it was the source of the Nile. They weren't completely sure but they were correct. The source of the Nile is named Lake Victoria after the British Queen. It is no surprise the English explorers named the river they discovered after the English Queen. That is why the lake was named Lake Victoria.

The English explorers had many advantages towards conquering Africa. They had very advanced technology at that time like machines guns and guns. The English people could easily defeat the Africans tribes with these weapons. Eventually, the English began to take over. Currently, South Africa is occupied with people who's ancestors were English.

The Meiji Restoration of Japan

The Meiji Restoration of Japan refers to the restoration of the emperor's power and the revolutionary changes that simultaneously occurred with the Meiji's emperor's rule throughout the years of 1868-1912. The power of the Tokugawa shogunate weakened Japan. The country of Japan never even thought foreign trade policies until Commodore Matthew Perry arrived at the coast of Japan. When he arrived he wanted to set up a deal for opening up trade relations with the United States. They were very doubtful that they would accept the offer due to the major damage that Britain had done to China. China just wanted to be an isolated country from the World. But sights of a Pacific coast trading center looked attractive to Japan. The American politicians looked at the ports as a way for Americans to reload and unload their ships.

The deals between Japan and Matthew Perry were not really deals, as Matthew Perry forced Japan to sign the treaties using military force. Japan is an archipelago. An archipelago a chain of islands. The Japanese were shocked at the ships with no sails that Perry was running. The military force that Matthew Perry bought to Japan was greatly superior to Japan's, and Japan had no other choice than to grant the United State's wishes. On March 31, 1854, a treaty was signed between Japan and the U.S. Continuous unfair treaties were put upon Japan by the British, the Russians and the Dutch, all abusing the Japanese's military. Due to the "pushing around" of Japan by other countries, sent the economy of Japan going downward. With no Industrial Revolution, Japan's economy had set itself for unfair trade balance, and the economy was in a dire need of fixing it as soon as possible.

After Japan got their act together, they modernized greatly. A mandatory state of government was instilled and the state funded elementary leveled education. They translated Western textbook and believed that this system would raise national pride. The Japanese also developed their own way of writing. These system developed a sense of national pride, would help people in the future and also helped maintain the love for the Emperor.

Karl Marx and Communism

Karl Marx one of Communism's most beneficial people. He began the idea of Communism because he was very against Capitalism. Capitalism is a type of economic system where the success of the company was run privately and functioned for profit. On the other hand, Communism is a form of socialism that abolishes private possessorship. It is also a political theory which favors a classless society. In order for Communism to begin, Capitalism would have to be eliminated.

Marx had formed a group called the Communist League. Along side is friend Friedrich Engels, he wrote the Communism Manifesto. He explained how the lower classes would always rise up and create a whole new society. The Communism Manifesto was written to explain the course of action, as well as threaten the governement, that the proletarian Revolution to overthrow Capitalism and get rid of the class structure. Marx wanted the society to be a classless society. Communism was the thought that everyone was common. The working class would eventually own all the Capitalist property and it would benefit the proletarians drastically. Karl states that there would no longer be a need for a government because there would be no classes.

Karl was constantly harassed because of his Communist ideas. He believed that the worker of the factories should run the government, but the communist governments were very strict. Marx ended the Manifesto with very famous words which I mentioned in my previous blog: "Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world unite!"

Karl Marx and The Industrial Revolution

Karl Marx was a German philosopher and very famous political activist. He was a philosopher, political economist and was known for creating the idea of Communism. Marx's rise to popularity began during the Industrial Revolution. He was shocked at the sight of the workers. The conditions were terrible and the workers were being treated very poorly. They were making products that weren't theirs and depended greatly on money wages. He voiced his thought saying that the factory owners would own the factories instead of the landlords. He encouraged the workers to unite and revolt.

This was the when the period of Capitalism began to arise. Capitalism is a type of economic system where th e means of production, distribution and exchange of wealth is run under private companies or corporations. Landlords began to lose power and other people, such as merchants, eventually rose to power. During the Industrial Revolution, children worked 12 hour days and the conditions in England were damaging and dangerous to one's health. The streets were dirty. Families could only afford to live in ONE room and were very crowded. Many children died because of diseases and undernourishment. Capitalist gained much political power.

A man named Adam Smith wrote a book about Capitalism and his views about it. He was for it, but Karl Marx had a very different idea. He believed that the workers of the factories were disassociated "from the fruits of his own labors." He wanted to change that but first he has to get rid of the Capitalist system. This bought upon the idea of Communism. Communism was the thought that everyone would be common. Karl wanted to put an end to Capitalism. He exclaimed that wealth should be diffused "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."

When the kicked Marx and his family out of France because of his ideas, he went to Belgium, where he formed a small group called the Communist League and wrote his Communist Manifesto. In the Manifesto, he explained, how always in history, the lower classes of any system would always rise up and created a whole new society. He also explained how the real value of the product was the labor put into it. Marx kind of threaten the government saying that communist had a better understanding of class struggles and said they would start a revolution and take over the government. The proletarians, or the workers, would take away all the private property of capitalist. The plan for such a project would be used to benefit the proletarians. During the communist phase of the Revolution, the workers controlled mass production and Marx said that there would no longer be a need for government because all the classes would disappear.

He was kicked out of Belgium and then from France again. His ideas were not accepted. He was constantly attacked, threaten and harassed. His ideas were not used in some Communist countries, but others took his thoughts into consideration. Karl believed that the worker of the factories should run the government, but the communist governments were very strict. Workers were still forced to work difficult jobs and the newspaper was forbidden to write anything that would go against the beliefs of the government. Anyone who was against the government, and expressed it, they would be treated terribly. He died in 1883 and only 11 people attended his funeral. His friend and supported Friedrich Engels, who helped him write the Communist Manifesto, attended.

He ended the Communist Manifesto with these great words: "Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world unite!"