Moin's History Blog

Mikhail Gorbachev and The Collapse of Communism

2008-05-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

Mikhail Gorbachev contributed many reforms. Glasnost meaning openness and Peristrokia meaning economic reforms. He encouraged Soviet Union citizens to discuss ways to improve their society. In 1986, He made changes and revived the Soviet Union local gained power over their farmers and factories. People were also allowed to open their own private business. People now can choose from list candidates for each office. He also didn't want a nuclear arm race so he signed a treaty with the U.S. Glasnost allowed people to do things freely such as write whatever they want on the newspaper. Reading newspaper people now know the truth of the economic problems they are facing. Religious people wanted freedom of religion. People were also against Gorbachev. Many events occurred such as the Hungarian Communist Disband and The Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Collapse of Communism

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

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union. He relaxed Communist strictures and rules with reform policies of glasnost(openness) and perestroika(restructuring). Another cause was the rise of nationalistic resistance of the ideology of communism, attempts of increasing democracy. Berlin a giant wall that separated East Germany from West Germany came down. This was necessary because East Germany was a Communist Society and West Germany was a Capitalist. Many people tried to cross the wall, however got killed. When the wall came down this was the beginning of The Collapse of Communism. This opened up a lot of opportunities for the people that are sick of Communism. They now can also visit their family's that don't live in a Communist Society.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

2008-04-18T05:02:00.001-07:00

Apartheid is a racial segregation policy of South Africa from 1948 - 1994. In the Apartheid system, nonwhites were referred to as Bantu meaning blacked or colored. Also the wealth class between the blacks and whites were very different. Whites got paid well, while the Blacks don't. Nelson Mandela stood up to Apartheid to make a difference. He influenced the people the support him. Later, society feared that he was capable of starting a revolution so they sentenced him to jail for 27 years. When he was released his people wanted to immediately elect him. He became president. He also won a noble prize

African Independence

2008-04-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

African Independence occurred not that long ago. Kwame Nkrumah was a non- violent protester and wanted Africa to have it's independence. He led strikes and boycotts in Africa. He was also often arrested. His efforts were very successful, thus getting Africa it's Independence. He was the main reason Africa got their independence. The only independent countries in 1955 were Egypt, Libia, Ethopia, Liberia, South Africa. Jomo Kenyatta was also a protest leader. Peopl respected him so much they named a Africa country after him named Kenya. In 1975, all countries were independent except , Rhosedia, South-West Africa and Afars Issas Territory, and the Spanish Sahara.

The Cuban Missle Crisis

2008-04-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

The Cuban missile crisis was the closest we ever came into having a war with The Soviet Union. Thanks to the cooperation and help of John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, the war was avoided. Nikita Khrushchev had conceived the idea of placing missiles in Cuba so if they ever needed to go to war with the U.S, they can release the missiles. In the summer of 1962, They had started placing the missiles in Cuba. After President John F. Kennedy, had found out about the installments of the Cuban missiles, he immediately organized The EX-COMM, consisting of 12 of his most important trustworthy advisers to handle the crisis. Kennedy imposed a quarantine on the island. After Kennedy pulled back the quarantine, Nikita sent a letter stating that if the U.S never invades Cuba they will get rid of the missiles, then another letter came from Nikita stating that if they remove the missiles from Turkey they would remove the missiles from Cuba. Two options. One was chosen, which was the first proposal. That was the end of the Cuban missile crisis

Nato and Warsaw Pact

2008-04-01T05:05:00.000-07:00

The Nato Pact consists of The United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Turkey. The main purpose for this alliance was defense. It stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Also since the western European countries were a little beat up after WW II, The US covered them by applying The Marshall Plan. Nato started a new program in 1979, which would help build up defense, as well as new efforts towards stopping the Soviet Union from building up their nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union then felt that Nato was a threat so they forged the Warsaw Pact. This pact consisted of mostly of The Soviet Union and it's satellite countries. The Soviet Union wanted to strengthen it's hold on it's satellite countries. This program was taken over by Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolay Bulganin in the early 1955.

Film Lesson: "The Right Stuff"

2008-03-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

The US and USSR were competing in many different unique concepts. The US were the first to break the sound barrier and Russia were the first to send a satellite and a man to space. The US then felt embarrassed and with hard work they pulled of their own space program and sent a monkey to space, while the Russians sent a man to space.The US felt very embarrassed sending a chimp to space. The US afterwards gained the upper hand by sending a man to the moon. The movie showed scenes where doctors were testing the men, to see if they're capable to go to space and handle the stress. There were also scenes were it took the US many tries to build a successful space rocket.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

2008-03-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Schindler's List was a hollywood version movie of the procedure the Jews went through. From ghettos to concentration camps to death camps. Schindler's List illustrates Holocause effectively, but not as effectively as Night and Fog. It illustrates the way the Jews were treated and how they were killed for no reason, just to take lives out of boredom. The movie illustartes how the children were taken away and disposed of because their lack of inability to work. In the movie there was one Jewish Girl wearing red while the rest of the movie was black and white. They did that for a reason so they could show the girl's corpse later burned and put in a shovel cart. It must be terrifying living with the thought that you could die any second for no reason. The SS with machine guns murdered the sick in the infirmary because they could not work.

Film Lesson: "Night and Fog"

2008-03-20T05:05:00.000-07:00

This movie illustrates the Holocaust effectively. It shows real images and clips of the massacred Jews and discusses how they were treated.I believe this movie was more effective in illustrating the Holocaust more than "Schindler's List" because it was a real documentary showing real images of massacred Jews. I felt really sad, how the bodys were all stacked up in a pile and the way the bulldozer moved the leftover bodys like they were nothing. It was also felt really sorry when they were all free and looking at their family and friends bodys all piled and spread in the unforgiven soil of the death/concentration camps. The Jews that became free after the Allied forces found the concentration/death camps did not know what to do since they are now free. They were all used to painstaking work and small amounts of food. Their minds never crossed what they would do if they became free because they thought they would never be free. When I saw the overgrown camp "Auschwitz" in the 1960s as shown in the documentary, I felt really amazed looking at a historical significant land that murdered 3,000,000 Jews alone in that camp.

The Treaty of Versailles(ended WWI)

2008-02-11T05:04:00.000-08:00

The Treaty Of Versailles was a peace treaty that ended World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919 by Germany and Allied powers at the Palace of Versailles. The treaty deprived Germany of 13.5 % of territory and all of it's oversea possesion. The Germany was now limited to 100,000 men, and banned against the use of heavy artillery, gas, tanks and aircraft. The treaty led to a situation when the German people felt let down, and wanted to blame someone. The treaty also led to economical problems. There was a lack of food and job opportunities. This increased the anger the Germans had inside them. In 19 23, Adolf Hiter attempted to take over the German government. He was unsuccesful, and was sent to jail for nine months. Hitler blamed Germany because of their weak governement. He spoke in a charismatic style that impresses the German citizens. He blamed outsiders for the cause of the Germans weak army. He placed the blame on one race "The Jews". by January 1933, Hilter and his nazi party controlled the German government. Hitler became dicator and had complete control. People who opposed him were often murdered.

Mustaf Kemal(Ataturk) and the modernization of Turkey

2008-02-08T05:05:00.000-08:00

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the founder of the Turkish Republic and it's first president. He was a military commander and protected his country as well as winning impressive victories against all odds. He lead his nation to independence. His goal was to modernize Turkish life to give his people a new sense equality, dignity, and happiness. In his road for modernizatrion secular governement and education played a major role.

He wanted religious faith to be a matter of individualities. One of his famous quote talking about modernizing Turkey was " The major challenge facing us is to elevate our national life to the highest level of civilization and prosperity." Mustaf Kemal had many accomplishments as president for 15 years, until his death in 1938, leading reforms in political, social, legal, economic, and culture in Turkey.

Film Lesson: "Gandhi"

2008-02-07T05:05:00.000-08:00

Gandhi was born in Porbander in western India on October 2, 1869. In 1888, Gandhi, he traveled to London, England to study Law in Law school. He was a political and spirtual leader of India and The Indian Independence Movement. He does not like to protest using violence, instead he uses none-violent protesting. He influenced the Indian people to not buy British goods, instead buy Indian goods. He believes that acts of violence against the British only provoked a negative reation, whereas none-violent protests provoked the British into doing something which pushed more people into supporting the Indians Independence Movement.Britian passed a law stating that Indians cannot get salt from any other source, but the British. In 1930, Gandhi led the Salt March to make salt from the ocean.

Joseph Stalin and Totalitarianism

2008-01-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

Totalitarianism is when the government controls all aspects of a citizen's life. Joseph Stalin took power in 1924, right when Vladimir Lenin died. Stalin was the undisputed leading figure of the Communist Party. By the 1930s, Stalin truly became dictator of The Soviet Unions. Stalin introduced a plan called THE FIVE YEAR PLAN. This plan stated a plan in which Stalin wants to rapidly industrialize Russia. Joseph Stalin also created "The Great Purge" which states that he will kill anyone that opposes him. Stalin was a powerful leader, however he takes advantage of his power which he did by creating "The Great Purge". He was very intimidating.

Film Lesson: Doctor Zhivago

2008-01-10T07:43:00.000-08:00

The Film , Doctor Zhivago depicted as a harsh time for Russia where people were killed and communism occurred. Zhivago is a very intelligent man that works very hard to on his job being a doctor. He owns a mansion house, however since it's a communist society he must let people in to make it equal.No one is special. One man is not richer than another man no matter how hard he works or how much more intelligent he is than the other person. When Doctor Zhivago went back to his house some of his belongings were stolen because he had too much. He didn't even have enough fuel for his home. He had to steal them.

Causes of WWI

2008-01-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

There were many causes for World War I. The causes consists of Nationalism, Imperialism, Arms race, the assassination of Franz Fredinand, Militarism, and Alliances. Nationalism caused divided Italy and German states to form. It was a problem for Austria-Hungary. They contained many conflicting national groups. Imperalism caused rivalry between Germany, Great Britian, and France. These countries competed for economic expansion for Africa, however France and Great Britian resolved their differences in Africa. Arms race was also another cause for World War I. It caused a lot of competition for amount of military power and technology. This lead to organized and well thought plans out to attack.

The Opium War

2007-12-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

The first Opium War was when The British fought The British and China. They fought with ships in the seas. This war started because the British had opium and wanted to trade with China.Opium comes from a plant called poppy. In the beginning British gave away opium to the Chinese so they can become addicted to it and make it a physical need for them. The rate of addiction greatly grew in China. Later the Chinese wanted more opium, however British didn't give it away this time, now they wanted to trade it to them for tea. The Emporer was not happy about this so when the British came to the ports to trade with the Chinese merchants, the Emporer sent out ships to block off the British ships. Obviously, the Chinese lost because of their out of date ships and weapons. The Europeans had high powered cannons and ships made of steel. European won the war because they had more superior technology's than China.

"The White Man's Burden"

2007-12-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

The poem talks about the white man's burden which talks about their job to civilize and bring knowledge to the Africans and Indians. They believe it is a blessing for them to come and educate. At that period of time England had the most Technology, Guns, and Inventions than any other country. They believe it is a blessing for them to come and educate these people that don't even want their help. This poem explains how at the end your son is "Half Devil and Half Child" referring to all the misdeeds he committed to the savages that caused him to turn into that devil. The White man may have raped a African or Indian women because of the lack of Intelligence they posses. They have so much power in their possession causing them to do foolish things. There is also a line where it says "The hate of those ye guard" discusses the racism the White Man has against the African's and Indians. They talk about how their race is the dominant race and the world couldn't form without one English man. The White Man believes they are the dominant race and is better than everybody else.

"The Scramble for Africa"

2007-12-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

The Scramble for Africa began in 1881. It was when different nation's all tried to colonize Africa. The nation's that were involved were Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and Italy were the main country's involved in the scramble for Africa. These European nations were looking for natural resources such as petroleum, gold , diamonds, timber, and ivory. Africans were also used for slave trade to the triangle trade to bring slaves to the New America's. This affected Africa by separating and splitting everybody up so they could not communicate with tribes. The Europeans created borders to isolate different Africans.It was very easy for Europeans to dominate Africa because of the Technology they possessed as well as a good military. Also Africa wouldn't have the intelligence to revolt against the British.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

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

In this film Richard Burton and John Speek were on a quest to look for the source of the Nile.The Europeans faced many different kinds of hardship. One was the lack of technology the had. They also lacked conservation of food. There were hazardous insects. John Speek was one of the victims from the insects. A beetle entered his ear and was causing him pain. He stabbed the beetle in his ear. They faced boredom and teaching African's how to use their technology. One was a dangerous and the primary advantage they had over the Africans was the invention of the firearm gun. I believe it was foolish to give a primitive unintellectual person a gun, who knows what they can do with it ? Its strange that the Nile river is named after a British queen when its an African country containing mostly African's not whites. When you think of Africa, White people don't come into your mind, unless you go back in time like I'm explaining now. It was so easy for Europeans to invade Europe because of the lack of intelligence the people there possessed and all the gifts the Europeans had to offer to them. What got me curious is, Why did John Speek commit suicide ?

The Meiji Restoration of Japan

2007-11-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

The Meiji Restoration ocurred in the later half of the 19th century. Japan is an isolated country. It had been locked away from other countries for years because they were imperialistic. In 1868 a Tokogawa shogun who ruled japan in the feudal period, lost his power and the emporer came into power and restored Japan. The emperor name was Meiji, he chose that name because it meant "enlightened rule" and also which the even was called THE MEIJI RESTORATION. Since the emporer was restored head of Japan, the nation had a weak military. The country also had lack of technoligical development. This caused United States and Europe took advantage of this by making them sign treaties which limited their supply of trade and in japanese citizens that live in the western parts will not be tried as the Meiji way when they do crime, however they will be tried as western citizens in court. When the emperor fell to his death in 1912, japan had many benifits to his death. They had a highly centralized bureaucratic government, a well developed transportation and communication system, a powerful army, a highly educated populations and free of feudal class restrictions.

Karl Marx and Communism

2007-11-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx idea of communism was very unique. He was a philisopher, social scientist, historian, and revolutionary. He was one of the most influential social thinker of the 19th century. He invented communism and believed it very strongly. Communism is a society where everyone is equal. He believed that every working class should have the same wealth. Everyone share the same income.He wanted everyone to be equal. Karl Marx didn't believe in unique talents. Industrial Revolution influenced him to invent communism. He observed the way the poor get payed less while the rich get payed more. He wanted everyone to be happy. He didn't think people would feel this strongly against communism. In my opinion I believe that his idea of communism was a smart idea, however it didn't work out. I liked the way he approached in thinking of communism by observing industrial revolution. I believe that he thinks that the message of communism was not to anger anyone it was a token of peace. He relates to John Lennon allot.

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revolution

2007-11-15T07:43:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx was a German. He believed that the way the factory's were run on industrial revolution was necessary to build a capitalist society which also led him to think it was a necessity precursor to the development of socialism and eventually communism. He was dismayed by the way workers were treated in the factory's and mills. He influenced workers of the world to unite in a worldwide revolution. He invented communism which came from the word common. He also quoted that " workers rather than landlords should control the factory's".I believe that his idea and perspective of the industrial revolution were correct, however he went wrong into inventing communism.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

2007-10-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Nationalism is not loyalty to the king but to the common history and cultures they share. Its when a group of little regions and states come together to make a government. Bonds that create a nation state are language, nationality, culture, history, and religion. Italy were one of the few to benefit from nationalism. The united from crumbling empires. From 1858 to 1870 many empires joined up with Italy and eventually became the shape of a boot. Before Italy was a country it was only a small mass of land. I show that I'm nationalistic by sharing my cultural food, share my religion, and talk in my language. I would also uphold our flag to show nationalism. Nowadays Italy is one of the main countries that support many other countries. One example is they invented the all popular pizza.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

2007-10-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

Simon Bolivar was a leader of several independence movements throughout South America. Bolivar was credited for leading the fight for independence in what countries are now called Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panima, and Bolivia. He also used a tactic called gurriella warefare which is a hit and run tactic.In 1803 Simon Bolivars wife died of yellow fever.He returned to Venezuela in 1807 and participated in resistance juntas in South America.He was then sent on a diplomatic mission to Britain and returned in 1811. He was forced to leave Venezuela because of an earthquake in Caracus , which is a city. The Bolivar had to flee to Cartagena de indias, another city in Venuzela. Simon Bolivar there created the Manifiesto de Cartagena which talked about a lot of important concepts such as opposing theinfluence of the Catholic church and the earth quake in Caracus as well as the bad adminstration. He was granted military command in 1813, he invaded Venezuela and won many other battles on his way with his army. After a collapse in his army he went to Jamaica to request the Haitian leader for aid and later won many more battles and captured more citys. In 1822 Bolivar became dictator of Peru. In 1824 he won against the Spaniards in Auacucho . Then in 1825 upper Peru was named Bolivia in honor of Simon Bolivar.Simon Bolivar was fighting for an American Style Revolution.Bolivar resigned his presidency in April 27, 1830.

Robespierre and the Reign of Terror

2007-09-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Reign of Terror at first did not give democracy, the convention instead established a war dictatorship. Georges Danton and Maximilien Robespierre were governing the country. Prices and wages were unevenly enforced. Assignats were a type of inflated currency during The French Revolution that were mandatory to pay off debts. Robespirre thought every person was his enemy. He executed many people.

Causes of the French Revolution

2007-09-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

The three estates were Clergy, Nobles, and the Peasants. The Peasants were the ones that felt like they were used cause they were the ones to pay the taxes the most. The peasants revolted by taking control of Bastille. Now every July 14th is a Holiday for French people.The Enlightenment changed France by making it a political power system instead of a monarchy system which it was previously.

Corpernicus and the trial of Galileo

2007-09-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

The Geocentric Theory that came before the Heliocentric Theory. The two theorys were very different. The Geocentric Theory say that the earth centers around all other planets such as the sun, the moon, and the 8 other planets. This theory was thought by Aristotle and Ptolemy however, it was disproven by Corpernicus and also defended by Galileo. The Heliocentric Theory proved that the sun was the center of the universe. It was said that all planets and the moon revolved around the sun.

The Trial of Galileo was done because then roman catholic church thought his ideas were influencing to many people. They protested against him backing up the heliocentric theory Corpernicus. Later the trial ended him to a sentence of death.

Evolution vs. Creation

2007-09-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

Evolution is when a singled cell organisim slowly naturally grow overtime from simpler ancestors. Sometimes a Organisim gets a genitic mutation causing it to grow different advantages such as wings to fly or a fangs. These advantage are heriditary which are called Natural Selection. Evolution also consist of adapting to the enviroment that causes these advantages. Evolution is mainly a way to create species in the world.For example monkeys evolved to us because we started wearing clothes causing us to loose fur and well as grow normal feet without thumbs that monkeys have.

Creation is mainly based on religion like the Old Testament Based on Creation all living things such as bugs, birds, humans, ect were made by God. Also according to creation and the Old Testament Adam and Eve were the first human beings to habit the earth.They believe that everything was made by god and only god.

Scientific Method

2007-09-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

The Scientific Method is a report of a question, hypothesis, materials , procedure, and conclusion. Its also when you think of a question and make observation and anylze it. You also think in different perspectives to figure out the true answer.Then you make a hypothesis on Your own perspective. You then collect the materials needed to complete and answer the question. Afterward you continue with the procedure and find your conclusion and answer to yourquestion.