Download Chapter 34 The World by the 1920s: Challenges to European

Chapter 34
The World by the 1920s: Challenges to European Dominance
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I.
Introduction
The interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s saw revolutionary and authoritarian regimes and
resistance to European imperialism. Western Europe’s recovery from World War I was
incomplete, while the United States and Japan increased their industrial strength. New
revolutionary governments appeared in China, Mexico, and Russia.
II.
The Disarray of Western Europe, 1918-29
A.
Introduction
The economic and demographic devastation of World War I unsettled Western Europe. Central
Europe lost its traditional structure with the collapse of the German and Austrian empires.
B.
The Roaring Twenties
A period of apparent peace reduced internal political tensions in Europe during the early 1920s.
Extremist groups on the right and left, which had appeared in the aftermath of World War I,
seemed to lose popularity by the middle years of the decade. Industrialization boomed on the
back of growing consumer demand and the development of assembly line factories. Cultural
creativity during the 1920s resulted in new artistic styles that conveyed some of the tensions of
modern life. Important new scientific discoveries appeared. Women across Europe and in the
United States gained the right to vote and other social liberties.
C.
Fascism in Italy
Italian Fascists, under Benito Mussolini, advocated a nationalist corporate state that would
replace both socialism and capitalism. Fascism stemmed from disenchantment with liberal
democracy and social conflict. Labor unrest, government stagnation, and resentments stemming
from the war opened the door for the Fascists to seize power.
D.
The New Nations of East Central Europe
Eastern European nations tried to emulate Western Europe while trying to build new nations.
They were all hostile to the Communist regime in the Soviet Union. Bitter rivalries broke out
over territorial disputes. After trying parliamentary democracy, most reverted to authoritarian or
monarchical regimes due to unaddressed social problems.
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III.
Industrial Societies Outside Europe
A.
Introduction
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all gained effective independence from Britain after World
War I. Canada enjoyed rapid economic growth and large-scale immigration. Australia
emphasized labor legislation and economic planning, and also witnessed rapid immigration until
the Great Depression.
B.
The Rise of the American Colossus
While World War I put the United State into a position of leadership, the country retreated into
isolation, except in its traditional intervention in Latin America. A “red scare” gave proof of its
hostility to socialism. During the 1920s, U.S. leadership in world economic and cultural affairs
accelerated. A new consumerism developed as the American middle class became able to afford
household luxuries. U.S. corporations were innovators in technology and production techniques.
The United States greatest mark came in popular culture, in such areas as movies and the
development of jazz.
C.
Japan and its Empire.
Japan turned increasingly to authoritarian government and imperialism in the interwar period. In
the early 20th century, Japan’s agricultural and industrial production improved. By the 1920s,
great industrial combines, or zaibatsus, in combination with the government, launched an
expansion in heavy industry. Japanese standards of living began to improve. By 1925, the state
initiated compulsory primary-school education. Because of the limited nature of Japanese
exports and continued reliance on the importation of raw materials, Japan remained vulnerable to
external economic conditions. Population growth restricted further advances in the standards of
living and created social problems in crowded cities. Military leaders took on a greater role in the
1920s. They resented what they saw as the selfishness and pandering of the political parties, as
well as reduction in military spending. Political liberalism did not resolve this problem.
D.
A Balance Sheet
Parliamentary democracy spread even as new challenges arose against it. Even as the United
States turned to isolation, its economic vitality, as well as Japan’s, challenged Western Europe.
IV.
Revolution: The First Wave
A.
New revolutions challenged Western dominance and offered alternatives to the Western model.
B.
Mexico’s Upheaval
The Mexican Revolution was a response to authoritarian modernization. The revolution, along
with the impact of World War I on Latin American markets and exports, caused a realignment of
both political and economic structures. After World War I, the United States emerged as the most
powerful external force in Latin America. Porfirio Díaz had created economic prosperity for
Mexico but at the cost of turning much of Mexico’s economy over to foreigners. The Díaz
government ruthlessly suppressed political opposition. Peasants, Indians, and laborers failed to
share in the economic prosperity. Opposed by Francisco Madero in 1910, Díaz felt sufficiently
threatened to arrest his opponent and conduct a rigged election. Various regions of Mexico rose
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in revolt. In the north, Pancho Villa organized resistance. In Morelos, Emiliano Zapata rallied
Indians and peasants behind the banner of land reform. The rebels drove Díaz from power and
replaced him with Madero. Madero’s moderate program of reform proved inadequate. In 1913, a
military coup removed Madero, who was assassinated. General Victoriano Huerta attempted to
restore the dictatorship, but Villa and Zapata again rebelled. Huerta fell from power in 1914, but
the remaining revolutionaries continued to fight among themselves over the nature of the new
government. In the long run, General Alvaro Obregón emerged as the new ruler. Obregón was
elected president in 1920 and attempted to resuscitate Mexico’s economy. The Mexican
Constitution of 1917 promised land and educational reform, limited foreign ownership of
Mexican industry and resources, guaranteed rights of workers, and limited the Church’s
ownership of land. Under President Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940), the promised land reform did
took place as did the beginning of a public education program.
C.
Culture and Politics in Postrevolutionary Mexico
One of the primary emphases in postrevolutionary culture was Indian heritage. Diego Rivera and
José Clem ente Orozco decorated public buildings and painted murals that glorified the Indian
past of Mexico. Popular literature and music celebrated the heroes of the revolution. Some
revolutionary changes met with opposition. The Church opposed increasing secularism within
Mexican society. The Cristero movement of the 1920s combined conservative peasants with
politicians and the Church in an attempt to halt secularization. The United States intervened
during the revolution in a minor fashion. More important to U.S. interests was President
Cárden as’s nationalization of oil companies in 1934. Despite tensions, agreements were worked
out between the two nations. Politically, the revolution resulted in a monopoly of power for the
Party of the Institutionalized Revolution (PRI). Although technically a democracy, the PRI
dominated Mexican politics from the 1920s to the present. In the 1990s, many came to question
the integrity and usefulness of the PRI.
D.
Revolution Russia: Liberalism to Communism
Riots began in March 1917 in St. Petersburg protesting poor conditions and demanding a new
political regime. Councils of workers, or soviets, took over the city. Unable to suppress the
disorder, the tsar abdicated. The first stage of the Russian Revolution was led by liberals, such as
Alexander Kerensky, who wanted to establish parliamentary government. Lack of a substantial
middle class, unwillingness to enact land reform, and devotion to the continuation of World War I
caused the liberal regime to lose support. In November of 1917, a second revolution unseated the
liberal government and brought the Bolsheviks to power under the leadership of Lenin. Lenin
centralized his power in the soviets. The Bolsheviks withdrew Russia from World War I, even at
the cost of land losses in western Russia. The remaining Allies regarded the Bolshevik
government as dangerous, excluded them from the Versailles peace conference, and carved new
nations from formerly Russian lands. The first election held following the November revolution
returned a parliament in which the Social Revolutionary party, not the Bolsheviks, held a majority.
Lenin shut down the parliament and replaced it with a Congress of Soviets, thus establishing a
Bolshevik monopoly on political action. The Communist party controlled Soviet politics until
1989. The revolution produced foreign opposition and internal unrest. Britain, France, the
United States, and Japan all attempted to intervene in Russia to overthrow the Bolsheviks, but
they failed. Internal efforts to oust the Communists and reverse the process of nationalization of
economic resources created a civil war.
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E.
Stabilization of the New Regime
The creation of the Red Army under Leon Trotsky and the restoration of some order in the
economy through the New Economic Policy reduced resistance to Communist rule. The NEP
permitted some market freedom for both small businesses and peasants. In 1923, a new
constitution established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which remained under the
domination of ethnic Russians. Separate republics were subject to the national Communist party
and the government remained strongly centralized. Universal suffrage elected the Supreme
Soviet, but only Communist party members were allowed to stand for office. The parliament
simply ratified decisions reached in the party’s executive committees. Although a new
constitution in the 1930s promised human rights, the Communist regime represented a return to
absolute autocracy.
F.
Soviet Experimentation
In the 1920s, many Soviet citizens gained a voice in new organizations encouraged by the
Communist Party. The rapid spread of literacy fostered creativity and gave the government tools
for reshaping popular culture. When Lenin died in 1924, a power struggle ensued for control of
the Communist party and the government. Joseph Stalin emerged as Lenin’s successor. Stalin
was more devoted to national development than the spread of international Communism. Stalin
concentrated on building socialism in one country. Rival political leaders were destroyed as Stalin
created a stranglehold on political power. Stalin accelerated industrialization and imposed
collectivization on the peasantry. The Bolsheviks succeeded in creating a new system that had
eliminated the tsar and the aristocracy while retaining some features of their government.
G.
Toward Revolution in China
The abdication of the last Qing emperor in 1912 began a long period of struggle to establish a
new government in China. Initially, regional warlords dominated Chinese politics. The most
powerful of the warlords, Yuan Shikai, wished to establish a new imperial dynasty. The power of
the warlords was partially offset by merchants and bankers in the more Westernized cities of the
Chinese coast. Chinese universities provided the theoretical foundation for political
reconstruction. Secret societies plotted to restore the empire under a Chinese ruler. The situation
was complicated by foreign intervention in China. Both Japan and the European nations sought
to divide China into imperial zones of influence. From the 1890s to 1945, the most dangerous of
the foreign interlopers was Japan.
H.
China’s May Fourth Movement and the Rise of the Marxist Alternative
Sun Yat-sen headed the civilian coalition, the Revolutionary Alliance, that had opposed the Qing
in 1911. He claimed the right to establish a government, but lacked the power to form one.
Although Sun Yat-sen was elected president in 1911, the warlords continued to dominate China.
In 1912, Sun Yat-sen resigned the presidency in favor of the leading warlord, Yuan Shikai.
When it became clear that Yuan Shikai intended to establish himself as the sole ruler, Sun Yatsen called for a second revolution. Yuan Shikai’s plans were interrupted by Japanese intervention
in China. In 1915, Japan presented Yuan Shikai with the Twenty-One Demands, which the
warlord attempted to ignore. When a second warlord was willing to oppose Japanese interests
more directly, Yuan Shikai was overthrown. In the political vacuum that followed Yuan’s fall,
the Japanese seized much of northern China with the assent of the European powers. On May 4,
1919, massive demonstrations by students and nationalist politicians protesting the betrayal of
China’s sovereignty occurred in Chinese cities. The public outrage was channeled into the May
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Fourth movement, the purpose of which was to create a liberal democracy in China. The May
Fourth movement called for the abandonment of Confucianism in favor of Western ideals. Until
the warlords could be neutralized, the rhetoric of the May Fourth movement could not be realized.
Awareness of the futility of a democratic philosophy bereft of force led to the emergence of
Communism within China. The Russian Revolution seemed to serve as a model for possible
reform in China. Under Li Dazhao, Marxist discussion groups were founded in the universities
and the coastal cities. In 1921, leaders of the Marxist movement met in Shanghai and formed the
Communist party of China.
I.
The Seizure of Power by the Guomindang, or Nationalist Party
In 1919, Sun Yat-sen attempted to revitalize the reform movement by creating the Nationalist
Party of China (Guomindang). The Nationalists began to militarize in order to drive out the
warlords. Sun Yat-sen enunciated a broad program of reform. The foundation of Nationalist
power was among commercial groups in the coastal cities. Sun Yat-sen also formed an alliance
with the Communist party in 1924. The Nationalist party also received advisors and material
assistance from the newly formed Soviet Union. As the Nationalists began to militarize, Chiang
Kai-shek became a close associate of Sun Yat-sen. While the Nationalists were engaged in
political and military organization, the chaotic economic situation in the countryside deteriorated.
The failure to address the problems of the peasants was a severe drawback for the Nationalists.
J.
Mao and the Peasant Option
Mao Zedong came from a peasant background but soon joined the revolutionary and nationalist
movement in China. He was heavily influenced by the Marxist thinkers in Beijing and began to
see the peasants as the key to a successful revolution. After Sun Yat-sen’s death in 1925, Chiang
Kai-shek began to expand the territory controlled by the Nationalists. He seized Shanghai in
1927. By the late 1920s, he had captured Beijing and controlled enough of China to be regarded
as the most powerful leader. In a sense, Chiang Kai-shek was simply the most influential warlord.
Chiang ruthlessly eliminated his political rivals. Chiang initiated a brutal crackdown on the
Communists, spurring Mao to lead 90,000 of his followers in a retreat known as the Long March.
Chiang would be forced to ally with the Communists to battle Japanese invaders.
V.
Global Connections: The 1920s and the World
While the League of Nations provided new kinds of linkages, it could not prevent war. American
and European companies extended their international operations. These paled against increased
United States isolationism, while nationalism gained ground. Globalization was in retreat.
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TIMELINE
Insert the following events into the timeline. This should help you to compare important historical events
chronologically.
the Long March
Fascists take power in Italy
Russian Revolution
┌───
│
├───
│
├───
│
├───
│
├───
│
└───
Lenin’s creation of New Economic Policy
Madero’s revolt in Mexico
Dominions become autonomous
1910
1917
1921
1922
1926
1934
TERMS, PEOPLE, EVENTS
The following terms, people, and events are important to your understanding of the chapter. Define each
one.
Kellg-Briand Pact
Fascism
Commonwealth of Nations
zaibatsu
Pancho Villa
Alvaro Obregón
Diego Rivera
PRI
Bolshevik
Red Army
Supreme Soviet
Joseph Stalin
May Fourth movement
Li Dazhao
Guomindang
cubist movement
Yugoslavia
Henry Ford
Mexican Revolution
Emiliano Zapata
Mexican Constitution of 1917
José Cleme nte Orozco
Alexander Kerensky
collectivization
Leon Trotsky
Comintern
Sun Yat-sen
Chiang Kaishek
New Youth
Whampoa Military Academy
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Benito Mussolini
Dominions
Charlie Chaplin
Francisco Madero
Victoriano Huerta
Lázaro Cárdenas
Cristeros
Vladimir Lenin
Council of People’s Commissars
New Economic Policy
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Yuan Shikai
Long March
Socialist Youth Corps
Mao Zedong
MAP EXERCISE
The following exercise is intended to clarify the geophysical environment and the spatial relationships
among the important objects and places mentioned in the chapter. Locate the following places on the
map.
Canada
Australia
Mexico
Russia
China
How did the geographical position of China, Russia, and Mexico affect their political
development in the first half of the 20th century?
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MAKING CONNECTIONS
The following questions are intended to emphasize important ideas within the chapter.
1.
What changes occurred as a result of the Mexican Revolution?
2.
Characterize the Roaring 20s.
3.
What factors led to the rise of the Fascists in Italy?
4.
Discuss the Japanese government in the 1920s. How was the military able to gain influence?
5.
Why did the liberal experiment in Russia fail? Why did Lenin’s revolution succeed?
6.
What was the basis for Lenin and Stalin’s domestic and economic policies, and how did they
differ?
7.
What elements led to Nationalist seizure of power in China in the 1920s?
8.
Why did the Nationalists fail to achieve permanent success in China?
PUTTING LARGER CONCEPTS TOGETHER
The following question tests your ability to summarize the major conclusions of the chapter.
1.
Compare and contrast the revolution in Mexico with the Russian Revolution of 1917.
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SELF-TEST OF FACTUAL INFORMATION
1.
Which of the following statements concerning women’s suffrage in the 1920s is most accurate?
a. Despite their service in World War I, women remained without the vote everywhere but in the
United States.
b. Women had been briefly granted the vote during the war, but the female franchise was rapidly
withdrawn when the conflict ended.
c. Women’s suffrage was granted after World War I in nearly every European country and the
United States.
d. Granting women’s suffrage during the war converted many governments to feminist principles.
2.
Which of the following factors limited Japanese economic advance prior to World War II?
a.
b.
c.
d.
3.
Francisco Madero
a.
b.
c.
d.
4.
the state takeover of property belonging to the Catholic Church
limited foreign ownership of key resources
land reform
guaranteed rights for workers
The Mexican muralist movement was indicative of
a.
b.
c.
d.
6.
was a member of the elite whose failed opposition to Díaz initiated the Mexican Revolution.
was an Indian lawyer from Oaxaca who led the liberal revolution against Díaz.
was removed from power by Porfirio Díaz.
was able to initiate land reform and the expropriation of foreign property in Mexico.
Which of the following reforms was NOT included in the Mexican Constitution of 1917?
a.
b.
c.
d.
5.
continued dependence on relatively few export products
low population growth
the failure of the agricultural economy
rapidly increasing wages in the work force
the anti-Communist spirit of the Mexican Revolution.
the policy of indigenism that was incorporated into the postrevolutionary reforms.
the failure of the revolution to incorporate the Indians.
the failure of Latin America to develop a significant indigenous cultural form.
How did Stalin’s view of Communism differ from that of Lenin?
a. Lenin was only interested in the Russian Revolution and did not visualize any further
revolutionary process.
b. Lenin was more interested in including a broad swath of the Russian population in the
Communist movement.
c. Stalin concentrated on a strongly nationalist version of Communism and concentrated on
socialism in one country.
d. Stalin was not a member of the Communist party.
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7.
Who succeeded Lenin as head of the Soviet state?
a.
b.
c.
d.
8.
Sun Yat-sen was the
a.
b.
c.
d.
9.
Joseph Stalin
Nikita Khrushchev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leon Trotsky
first leader of the Communist discussion group at the University of Beijing.
most powerful regional warlord of northern China.
leader of the Revolutionary Alliance and first elected president of China.
head of the Whampoa Military Academy.
What nation supplied most of the early support for the Chinese Nationalist movement?
a.
b.
c.
d.
the United States
the Soviet Union
Japan
Germany
10. Who emerged as the head of the Nationalist party and the de facto ruler of China by the late 1920s?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Sun Yat-sen
Mao Zedong
Chiang Kai-shek
Li Dazhao
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