Download The Interwar Years 4

The Interwar Years
Unrest in Asia and Africa
1. China after World War I
a. The May Fourth Movement
i.
In 1917 China declared war on Germany
1.
2.
They had hoped that after the war the Allies would
give German controlled Chinese territory back to
China
Japan got these territories under the Treaty of
Versailles
ii. The Chinese saw the treaty as a sign that the
world still saw China as a weak nation
iii. On May 4, 1919, thousands of angry students
in Beijing demanded change
1. The strikes and protests that followed became
known as the May Fourth Movement
b. An Uneasy Partnership
i.
Guomindang nationalist still had the support of
some Chinese
ii. Others thought that Communism was the best
way to strengthen and modernize China
1.
1921, the Communist Part of China was formed
iii. Communists and the Guomindang formed an
uneasy partnership
1. They worked together to fight the warlords of
China
2. Made many gains by the early 1920s
iv. Led by Jiang Jieshi
(a.k.a. Chiang Kai-Shek)
continued to fight
imperialism and
warlords
v. Jiang will eventually turn on his communist
allies
vi. The partnership had expanded communist
influence in China
vii. 1927, Jiang had his armies attack
Communists in several cities, killing thousands
of people
1. This began the Chinese Civil War
C. The Long March
i. Mao Zedong
1. Leader of the Communist Party of China
2. Tried to rebuild the organization
3. Was under pressure by the Guomindang
4. Led 100,000 Communist supporters on a
6,000 mile trek through China
a. Purpose of what is now known as the Long
March, was to find a safe place for them in China
that was outside the influence of the
Guomindang
b. Only 8,000 survived
2. Changes in India
a. India and World War I
i.
Some 800,000 Indians served with the British in
WWI
ii. This did not gain India any new freedoms from
Great Britain
iii. 1919
1. British passed the Rowlatt Acts
a. They allowed the British to deal harshly with the
growing opposition in India
2. April 1919
a. British soldiers opened fire into a crowd protesting in
the city of Amritsar
b. Nearly 400 were killed
c. The Amritsar Massacre helped convince many Indians
that they must rid themselves of their British rulers
b. Gandhi’s Protest
i.
Mohandas Gandhi
1.
2.
Started organizing
protests against Britain
Believed in two
important concepts
a.
b.
Ahimsa (non-violence
toward living things)
Civil disobedience (the
refusal to obey unjust
laws)
3. 1920, he began his boycotts against British
rule
a. Encouraged Indians to boycott all British
products
4. 1930, he launched a protest against the
British monopoly on salt
a. This lead thousands to start to produce their own
salt
c. Gandhi’s Progress
i. Inspired millions to resist British rule
ii. 1935, the British Parliament gave Indians a
limited degree of self-rule
1. This was far from the full independence Gandhi
sought
3. The Middle East
a. Turkey and Ataturk
i.
Treaty of Sevres
1.
The Ottoman Empire agreed to give up control of
much of its territory
a.
b.
Included the homeland of ethnic Turks
Allies planned to give these lands to Greece and other
nations
ii. Kemal Mustafa
1. Led Turks to fight against the Allies for their
homeland
2. Defeated Greek forces sent to claim their
homeland
3. October 1923, Mustafa announced the
establishment of the Republic of Turkey
4. Later became known as Kemal Ataturk
(Father of the Turks)
iii. Ataturk
1. 1st president of Turkey
2. Sought to modernize the nation
3. Believed to achieve modernization, he had to
end the influence of the Muslim religion on
government and personal life
4. Made Turkey’s government completely secular
(non-religious)
b. Persia
i.
Reza Khan
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Overthrew Persia’s shah
in 1921
Became shah in 1925
Wanted to make Iran
into a modern and fully
independent nation
Sought to advance
industry and to improve
education
1935, changed Persia’s
name to Iran
c. French and British Mandates
i. Belfour Declaration
1. Issued in 1917
2. The British government declared support for a
Jewish homeland in Palestine, while respecting
the rights of existing non-Jewish communities
ii. Post war agreements set up French and
British mandates in the Middle East
iii. France gained control of: Syria and Lebannon
iv. Britain gained control of: Iraq and the Palestine
mandate
1. 1921, British gave eastern part of the Palestine
mandate to Abdulla, as the kingdom of Transjordan
(Jordan)
v. Will expand area population of Muslims and Jews
vi. Will lead to religious tensions in the area that are
still on going today
4. Nationalism in Africa
a. Nationalist Feeling Grows
i.
Many believed they had earned their
independence through their war effort
ii. War effort also caused great economic hardships
in Africa as well
iii. Trade with Europe had dried up
iv. Treaty of Versailles
1.
2.
No Africans were involved in the negotiations
European’s gave German colonies in Africa to other
European nations
b. Working for Independence
i.
Pan-African Congresses began in 1919
1.
2.
Organized by people of African heritage living around
the world
Led to a series of demands for African independence
ii. North African Arabs took action to win
independence in Egypt
1.
2.
3.
Protests over arrests swept the country
Forced Britain to recognize that they could not
maintain full control of Egypt
February 1922- Egypt gained its independence
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
1. The U.S. Economy in the late 1920s
a. Economic Growth
i.
American farms and factories supplied much of
the world with the foods and supplies necessary
to fight the war during WWI
ii. Had steady economic growth throughout the
1920s
1.
Much of this growth came in industry….i.e.
automobiles
iii. Success of American industry was reflected in
the stock market
iv. Many Americans rushed to buy stock, so as to
not miss out on the prosperity
v. The increasing investment drove prices higher
b. Hidden Problems
i. Wealth was not distributed evenly
ii. Easy availability of credit allowed Americans to
increase their spending on consumer goods
1. Credit- the arrangement in which a purchaser
borrows money from a bank or other lender and
agrees to pay it back over time
iii. By the end to the 1920s many consumers were
reaching their credit limit and could no longer
afford buying the products that had expanded
the U.S. economy
c. The Stock Market Crashes
i. By the fall of 1929, consumer spending had
slowed
ii. Fears began to grow that stock prices might
soon drop
1. By the end of October, some investors began
selling off their stocks
iii. Black Tuesday
1. Occurred Oct. 29, 1929
2. In a single day, investors had sold off 19 million
shares
a. This flooded the market and stock prices collapsed
b. Many investors wee forced to sell stocks at a loss to
repay their loans
3. This not only impacted the stock market but
also the banks
a. Banks that had lent money to investors were in
financial trouble as well
4. Crash delivered a blow to American industry
as well
d. Overall Causes of the 1929 Stock Market
Crash
1.
2.
3.
4.
Increasing speculation in the stock market
Stock prices at unrealistic levels
Declining consumer spending
Struggling businesses
2. The Depression Spreads
a. The Great Depression
i.
The period that followed after the stock market
crashed
ii. American economy took a downward turn
iii. Resulted from a number of complex factors
b. Industry slows
i.
ii.
Industry slowing was one cause of the depression
Had begun before the crash but only grew worse
afterwards
iii. Workers lost jobs (1 out of 4 people were
unemployed)
iv. Consumer spending was reduced which only hurt
the industry more
v. Bank failures
1.
2.
Meant people could lose their life savings
Many came to withdraw life savings, forced banks to close
c. Government Response
i.
Herbert Hoover
1.
2.
3.
4.
U.S. President at the
time of the crash
Did not believe
government should
interfere with the
economy
Saw the crash as a
healthy adjustment to
the overheated economy
Eventually will put forth
reforms but it was a little
to late
d. Roosevelt Elected
i.
Franklin Delano
Roosevelt
1.
2.
Elected president in
1932
Pushed for a program
called the New Deal, in
response to the
Depression
3. Believed government spending could help
start an economic recovery
4. New Deal
a. Established public works programs that gave jobs
to the unemployed
b. Provided government money for welfare and
other relief programs
e. New Economic Theories
i.
John Maynard Keynes
1.
2.
A British economist
Believed government
could limit or prevent
economic downturns
a.
Done by spending
money, even if it
created an unbalanced
budget
3. The Worldwide Depression
a. Before the Crash
i.
Some areas in the world were already having
economic difficulties before the American stock
market crashed
ii. Countries in Europe were still struggling to
recover after WWI
iii. Many countries were in debt to the United
States
iv. Great Britain
1. High interest rates led to decreased spending and
high unemployment
v. Germany
1. Steep reparations, led to severe inflation, making
German money virtually worthless and crippled the
economy
vi. Japan
Had a severe economic depression hit in 1927 that
forced many banks to close
b. A Slowdown in Trade
i.
1930, President Hoover signed the SmootHawley Tariff Act
1.
2.
3.
4.
Placed heavy taxes on imported goods
It was an attempt to encourage Americans to buy
goods and products made in the United States
Backfired, other countries raised tariffs on imported
American goods
Result, world trade slowed to a stand still
a.
This crippled many foreign economies
c. Political Impact
i.
Postwar era had been challenging for many
European governments
ii. Difficult peace process and formation of new
states life many countries politically unstable
1.
Will lead to several new governments in places like
Great Britain and France
iii. Extremist political groups will gain strength in
other countries as the economies worsened
JAPANESE IMPERIALISM
1. Japan in the 1920s
a. Economic Challenges
i.
Rapid industrialization in the late 1800s into the
1900s had created problems within society
1.
2.
3.
4.
Peasant and rural workers had not shared in the
nation’s prosperity
After WWI ended many industries started to slow
down
Businesses began laying off workers
Strikes and labor disputes increased in the 1920s
ii. Other Economic Challenges
1. Did not have the natural resources needed to supply
modern industry
a.
b.
Forced to import these materials
Paid for these materials with their own products against
foreign competion
2. Other countries had put tariffs on imports to protect
their own products against foreign competition
3. Both of these factors will lead Japanese leaders to
believe that they needed to expand
b. Social Change
i.
New ideas from the West began to influence
Japanese society
ii. Democracy flourished
iii. Political parties emerge
iv. Adopted western fashion
v. Question traditional Japanese values
1.
i.e Obedience and respect for authority
vi. Conservative Japanese, resented these changes and
believed that straying from traditional Japanese
beliefs and interest had corrupted the country
2. Growing Military Influence
a. Foreign Relations
i.
Military influence grew as public opposition to the
Japanese government’s foreign policy increased
ii. Civilian leader had made several treaties with the
West to limit size of the Japanese navy
iii. 1924, United States passed a law banning Japanese
immigration
i.
This deeply offended the Japanese and lead some to
question their policy of cooperation with the west
iv. Japanese public began to put its faith in their
military
3. Japanese Aggression
a. Building a Fighting Spirit
i.
WWI had shown that modern war would rely on
technology and industrial power
ii. Japanese realized they would have difficulty
contending with the world powers
1.
2.
They did no have the industrial capacity
They had been forced to limit the size of their navy
iii. Japanese military leaders focused on creating
the best soldiers to combat these two
problems
1. Promoted the fighting spirit among the troops
2. Removed the words of surrender, retreat,
defense from their training manual
a. These were no longer an option
3. Placed military personal in schools to instill the
fighting spirit in the public as well
b. Taking Over the Government
i.
A group of Japanese military leaders plotted to take
over the government and put into place a military
dictatorship
ii. Believed aggressive nationalist leadership was vital
to Japan’s future
iii. During the 1930s Japanese soldiers and military
leaders carried out assassinations of government
officials
1.
i.e. the prime minister and cabinet members
iv. Japanese government slowly gave into the military’s
demands for power
c. Conquering Manchuria
i.
The Manchurian Incident
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Happened in 1931
Japanese military leaders decided to conquer
Manchuria in northeastern China
Area was rich in natural resources like iron and coal
Many believed it would help free Japan from
economic reliance on the west
Japanese public supported this action, civilian
government was virtually powerless to stop it
6. Japanese troops will eventually set up a
government in the region
7. Announced that Manchuria was a new state
under Japanese control called Manchukuo
d. Forming New Alliances
i.
League of Nations condemned Japanese action
in Manchuria
ii. Japan withdrew from the league in 1933
iii. Japan announced in 1934 that it would no longer
limit the size of its navy
iv. In 1936, signed the Anti-Comintern Pact
1. Made with Germany
2. Agreed to work together to oppose the spread of
Communism
3. Each promised to come to the aid of the other if
that country was attacked by the Soviet Union
a. Italy joined a year later
e. War in China
i.
Conflict between Japan and China grew worse as
Japan became more aggressive and seized more
territory in eastern China
ii. Worried that the Guomindang and the Chinese
communist would join together and turn on
Japan
iii. Summer 1937
1. Open warfare between the two sides began
2. This conflict is known as the Second SinoJapanese War
3. Nanjing or Nanking
a. Early battle
b. Japanese troops took the city
c. Killed at least 100,000 Chinese men, women and
children
i.
Known as the Nanjing Massacre
f. A Move toward Wider War
i.
War with China will turn in a long and costly struggle
for Japan
ii. Japan looked to Southeast Asia to find natural
resources to use to supply its army
iii. 1940, Japan’s foreign minister proposed the creation
of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
1.
2.
This was to be a group of nations whose combined
resources would allow independence from Western
control
Presented as an economic benefit, but was nothing more
than Japan’s attempt at building an empire
DICTATORS IN EUROPE
1. Mussolini’s Italy
a. Fascist Ideology
i.
Benito Mussolini
1.
2.
Became known as Il
Duce (“the leader”)
Wanted to build a great
and glorious Italian
empire
3. 1919 founded the Nationalist Fascist Party
a. Name comes from the Latin word fasces
i.
Refers to an ancient Roman symbol for unity and
strength of the state
b. Fascism is an authoritarian form of government
that places the good of the nation above all else,
including individual needs and rights
i.
Envision an aggressive state ruled by a dictator (allpowerful leader)who makes all the decisions
b. Mussolini in Power
i.
By 1922 Fascist had become a significant force in
Italian politics
ii. Mussolini wanted to rule Italy
iii. Led the so-called March of Rome in October of that
year
1.
Show of force convinced the king of Italy to put Mussolini
at the head of Italy’s government
iv. Mussolini will move to establish a dictatorship
1.
Using threats, violence and political skill, he will outlaw all
opposition and take unlimited power
c. Fascist Italy
i.
Mussolini tried to influence Italians thoughts,
feelings and behaviors
1.
This is totalitarianism
a.
It is the governments’ attempt to control all aspects of life
ii. Totalitarian program had many parts
1.
Two most effective
a.
b.
Use of propaganda to promote Italy’s greatness
Establishment of festivals and holidays that reminded the
modern Italians of their proud Roman heritage
d. The Invasion of Ethiopia
i.
Mussolini wanted to make Italy a strong military
power
ii. Looked to Ethiopia to accomplish that end
iii. Ethiopia had two disadvantages
1.
2.
Located between two Italian colonies
Military was ill-equipped
iv. Italians crushed the Ethiopians in 1935
v. Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie appealed to
the League of Nations
1. No one would give aid to Ethiopia
2. Did not want to risk another world war
2. Stalin’s Soviet Union
a. Communism under
Stalin
i.
Joseph Stalin
1.
ii.
Came to power after
Lenin died in 1924
Stalin worked to turn the
Soviet Union into a
totalitarian state
1.
Was intent to control
every aspect of Soviet
Union
iii. Believed it was necessary
in order to strengthen
Communism in the Soviet
Union
b. The 5 Year Plans
i.
1928- Stalin began the first of the 5 Year Plans
1.
2.
Each factory and mine had production goals set by
the state
Plans reflected the Soviet system of central planning
a.
3.
Government makes major decision about the production of
goods
i.
Differs from capitalist economy
1. Market forces are the major influences on
production
Did increase Soviet industrial output
c. Collectivization and Famine
i.
ii.
Stalin also wanted to increase Soviet farm output
Wanted to combine the small farms into larger,
mechanized farms
1.
This combining of small farms is called collectivization
iii. Peasants resisted when Stalin tried to take the land
back after Lenin had given it to them
1.
Stalin responded with violence
a.
b.
He executed thousands
Sent others to Siberia to work in the Gulag or labor camps
d. Political Purges
i. By the mid-1930’s Stalin had absolute power
ii. Still feared that people would turn against him
iii. Began a campaign known as the Great Purge or
the Great Terror
1.
2.
Stalin attacked both real and imagined opponents of
his rule
Led to thousands being executed or sent to the Gulag
e. Totalitarian Rule
i.
Children were encouraged to join youth
organizations where they were taught the
attitudes and beliefs that Soviet leaders wanted
them to have
ii. Religion was discouraged and many churches
were closed
iii. Portraits of Stalin decorated public places
iv. Promoted a cult personality which allowed him
to gain a strangle hold over Soviet Society
3. Hitler’s Germany
a. Postwar Germany
i.
Germany formed a republican government
known as the Weimar Republic
ii. Extremely unpopular with Germans
1.
2.
Blamed them for the humiliating Versailles treaty
Also for the economic problems that overwhelmed
Germany after the war
b. Hitler’s Early Career
i.
Adolf Hitler
1.
2.
3.
4.
Born in Austria in 1889
Served in the German
army during WWI
Became involved with
right-wing extremist
Joined the Nationalist
Socialist Party or the
Nazi Party
ii. The Nazis
1. Hitler discovered that he had a talent for public
speaking and leadership
2. Became a key figure in the party
iii. Hitler led an attempt to overthrow the
German government in October 1923
1. Effort failed and he was given a short prison
sentence
2. Wrote the book “Mein Kampf” it means “my
struggle” while in prison
a. Major political ideas
b. Nationalism
c. Racial superiority of the German people, called Aryans
c. Hitler Gains Power
i.
ii.
Continued to work to gain power after being
released from prison
Effects of the Great Depression helped his cause
1.
People were desperate for a strong leader
iii. Promised to rebuild Germany’s military
iv. Nazis gained strength during the early 1930s
v. 1933- Hitler is appointed to the position of
chancellor
1.
The most powerful position within the German
government
d. Hitler Controls Germany
i.
Once in power he begins to crush his opposition
1.
2.
3.
Many were arrested
Other were intimidated by Nazi thugs
By these means Hitler was able to gain dictatorial
power
ii. Hitler’s rule was totalitarian
iii. Propaganda built up a cult personality that
glorified Hitler as the Fuhrer (leader)
iv. Nazi youth organizations shaped the young
minds who pledged complete loyalty to Hitler
and Germany
v. He rebuilt the military and improved the
economy
vi. Strict wage control and massive government
spending on public works programs helped
reduced unemployment
e. Nazi Anti-Semitism
i.
Key component to the Nazi system was strong antiSemitic beliefs
1.
Anti-Semitism is hostility toward or prejudice against Jews
ii. Hitler blamed Jews for many of Germany’s problems
iii. Christian hostility towards the Jews had existed in
Europe since the Middle Ages
1.
Nazis combined this with their anti-Semitism to state and
believe that the Jews were a separate race
iv. During the 1930s Hitler’s Nazi government
passed many laws aimed at excluding the Jews
from mainstream German life
1. Prohibited Jews from marrying Germans
2. Nuremberg Laws
a.
b.
Created a separate legal status for German Jews
Eliminated their citizenship and many civil and property
rights
i.
c.
d.
i.e. right to vote
Limited the type of jobs they could have
Defined Jewish as the ancestry of one’s grandparents not
religious beliefs
v. Kristallnacht or the Night of the Broken Glass
1. On the nights of November 9-10, 1938, Nazis
encouraged anti-Jewish riots across Germany
and Austria
2. Nearly 100 Jews were killed
3. Thousands of Jewish businesses and places of
worship were damaged and destroyed