Monday, May 17, 2010

IRL 21

http://www.google.com/search?q=hitler&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7ADFA_en&prmd=ilvb&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=ZTXxS73tCML38AbWtcz9Cg&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=22&ved=0CHkQ5wIwFQ
This is a timeline of Hitler's rise and rule by Google. I chose this because I have more trouble remebering the sequence of events than the events themselves and there will probably be a question I need to sight him in on my paper two. Limitation: I don't know how reliable Google itself is, I've only used sites offered by Google.

IRL 20

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1946.information but I doubt I'll need to know so much specific information, so this source for me ihtml
This is an article on detente by u-s-history.com. I chose this because one of my paper 2 questions will be on the cold war but I feel a little shaky about what we covered on detente. I hope this source can provis kinda limited ide more n usefulness.

IRL 19

http://www.mapsofworld.com/china/china-history/history-of-maoist-china.html
This is a very brief summary of Maoist china by mapsofworld.com that I chose because I wanted one last IRL on China. My paper 2 will have a question on single party states so I decided to brush up on China but this source is limited with its tiny amount of content.

IRL 18

http://www.science.co.il/arab-israeli-conflict.asp
This is an article on basic facts of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. I thought it was interesting because history facts are a section of a site about science and technology. Our IB paper 1 is on this topic so I need a basic background for question 8. The limitations of this source are probably it's content since this is from a a site focused on science and technology.

Friday, April 30, 2010

In class tok question

Can history provide a guide to understanding contemporary affairs? Can it provide a guide to the future? What might be “the lessons of history” for future generations?
History can absolutely provide a guide to understanding contemporary affairs, and to the future but to a lesser extent. The lessons of history for future generations will consist only of conditions under which major political shifts occur. For example, a competition of politics between countries tends to spread into foreign policy and economics: in IRL 12 I looked at a source that described Comecon- the USSR's answer to the American economic plan against communism. The use of propaganda (IRL 13) is essential in all political systems as a means of swaying public opinion and is seen across several continents and multiple generations. My IRL 14 is a document on the lessons of the Vietnam War- so this is a great example of where we are already using lessons of history to provide a guide for the future. The reliability of the recordings of history (IRL 15) place a limit on our accuracy when making predictions but we can almost always relate it to current affairs. In the Arab-Israeli crisis, which still continues to this day, history is the key to understanding the sources of conflict (IRL 16). The very core of the crisis is centralised around the history of the crisis itself. Thus history is closely connected to current affairs and can the lessons we gain can provide a guide to the future.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

SGQ12

Crisis in the Middle East p. 3-9
What was the Jewish claim to Palestine?
They were the original settlers according to the bible, it is their holy land.
What was the importance of the Balfour Declaration?
The British government agrees to support the Jewish reestablish their homeland in Israel.
What was the Arab claim to Palestine?
The Arabs were the current inhabitants of Palestine which they had conquered thousands of years ago after the Jews left.
To what extent was WWI a turning point in the struggle for Arab independence?
The Brits helped them to overcome the Ottoman empire and had promised them land.
Why did Britain and France want mandates in the Middle East?
They felt the Arabs could not govern themselves at the time.

Monday, March 22, 2010

IRL16

http://www.knesset.gov.il/elections/knesset15/elikud_m.htm
This is the Likud platform, I believe that Likud is a part of the Israeli government. It comes from the State of Israel. We're studying the Arab-Israeli Crisis in class right now so I thought it would be informative to gather more background information on Israel. I think this document is 10 years old so it's not super current and I don't know if anything has changed since it was published.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

in class essay

There is some evidence in sources A-C that the changes in relations between USA and the PRC in 1971 were less fundamental than is sometimes supposed. In source A, it is mentioned that China's foreign policy is still very hostile towards other countries. It is said that they are booth aloof and suspicious. Source B initially seems to support the idea that the change in Sino-US relations was great, but later on it goes on to mention that the relationships between the countries had been suspended for twenty years. Source C mentions that three-corner diplomacy was advantageous to the United States, showing that the US is still sticking to their own ways. There is façade of agreement, but really every country is still looking out for their own interests.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

IRL15

http://www.warsaw-life.com/poland/warsaw-pact
This is a brief description of the Warsaw pact by Warsaw-life.com. We were supposed to read about the Warsaw pact but I was having trouble locating it, and I still had no idea what it meant so I thought it would beneficial to look it up. I don't know anything about the creator of this source so it could be limited in their resources or personal opinions, but I feel confident that the lack of ads on the page signifies its trustworthy.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

IRL14

http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/exhibits/vietnam/750512a.htm
This is a link to university of Texas's' library's site where they have a document by Johnson on the lessons of Vietnam. We just did an activity on Vietnam today so I figured this document was appropriate. This document isn't very detailed but it's cool to see something once classified as a top secret government document.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

IRL13

http://www.iisg.nl/landsberger/mzdt.html
This is a description of several Maoist propoganda posters. We're studying China in class (kinda) and we've seen so many german and soviet posters that I decided to look up some chinese ones. The url adress tells me it's not a very reliable site, but at least there's no advertisements on the page. I have no idea who wrote the commentary or what their views on Mao are but the pictures are pretty concrete as sources themselves.

Monday, February 1, 2010

SGQ11

Guiding questions:
Why did the Cold War spread from Europe to other parts of the world after 1950?
For what reasons, and with what results for East-West relations, did the superpowers become involved
in the affairs of one of the following: Korea; Vietnam; the Middle East?
What were the effects of the Korean War on international relations?
MWH p. 143-147
1. Background
a. Explain the evolution of control of Korea from 1910 to 1948- the independent republicof korea or south korea was established,then the democratic peoples republic of korea or north korea was established
b. What was the leadership situation in Korea in 1949? Rhee and Sung are not very great leaders but Sung was trying to be like Stalin
2. Why did the North invade the South?
Possible answers:
a. Kim's idea - Acheson had angered him into action
b. Chinese role - south korean troops had crossed the border first
c. Russian role - testing truman's determination
d. S. Korea's role - the chinese provoked Sung
3. What did the USA do?
a. Why did Truman decide to intervene?
i. he thought it was stalins fault
ii.some americains were reminded of hitlers invasions
iii.to support the uno
iv. pressure to take action as a democrat
b. What nations joined the US in support of S. Korea?australia, canada, new zealand, nationalist china, france, netherlands, belgium, columbia, greece, turkey, panama, phillipines, thailand, and bratain
c. Briefly summarize the course of the war in 1950- sep-commies have captured everywhere except the southeast, so un swoopos in, truman then wants to invade the north, china threatens to interevene, un captures most of north
d. How and why did China get involved? chinese launch counter offensive on un
e. How did the war end?truman decides to return the original border
4. What were the results of the war?
a. Korea - devestated, millions of casualties, still fighting

b. the US -truman satisfied but reps wanted more
c. the UN -communists denounce it as a tool of the nationalists
d. China -now a world power but still without a un seat
e. the Cold War -us now strained with russia and china

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

IRL12

http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/germany_east/gx_appnb.html
This is a web page on the Comecon by Library of Congress / Federal Research Division / Country Studies / Area Handbook Series / Germany . We're studying Comecon in class so I thought it would be beneficial to learn more about it. I'm pretty sure this is an Americain government document so I think it would be without too much bias because it's too dry to be intended for pursuading the public.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

In class wrork

Can one talk meaningfully of a historical fact? How far can we speak with certainty about anything in the past?
History is comprised only partly of facts the rest is the meaning historians give to those facts. Historians can only speak with as much certainty about the past as they can about their own assumptions of the facts, even the assumption that the memoir or speech we are reading is a fact is dependent relies on whether or not we believe it's a fact. There would be no point to history if historical facts had no meaning. In IRL 11, a recent discovery has been made that what was once believed to be Hitler's skull, actually belongs to a woman. All this time it has been a historical fact that Hitler committed suicide, this fact has comforted millions of people all over the world. If Hitler had not died but escaped, the world would have been a very different place with this knowledge at hand. Everyone would have been looking for him and perhaps the war might not have ended the way it did. The fact that Hitler died is certainly a meaningful piece of history. IRL 10 talks about the removal of Mao from certain Chinese textbooks. Mao's role in China is certainly a meaningful piece of history, you can still see his face plastered up on walls in schools and the current form of government in China has evolved from the government that Mao established. Mao completely changed the nation of China, and to erase him from a Chinese history book would mean the exclusion of many meaningful historical facts. In IRL 9, the current leader of Russia is attempting to stop a revival of Stalin in certain radical groups in Russia. The memory of Stalin obviously carries some meaning to the people of Russia, especially the ones seeking to revive him. The fact that people make an effort to maintain a piece of history means that they must have some certainty in its validity as a historical fact. And their efforts also symbolize that this historical fact carries some value or meaning to them.

Monday, January 11, 2010

SGQ10

Guiding questions:
Analyse the origin of East-West rivalry and explain why it developed into the Cold War.
When and why did the Cold War end?
How did the Cold War develop?
MWH p. 117-140
1. What were the effects of WWII?
a. evidence of enormous destruction?40 million deaths, 21 million uprooted, the Holocaust
b. no all-inclusive peace settlement - what was there?Italy and japan lose territrory, USSR and romania gain territory, trieste is free, ussr refuse to agree on germany and austria

c. examples social changes?
population movements, rebuiling, welfare
d. nuclear weapons - so what?first weapon to wipe out a city
e. European domination of the world ended - why?everyone is weaker
f. emergence of the superpowers - who?usa and ussr
g. decolonization - what happened to the territories?third world is created, neutral and nonaligned
h. the United Nations - so what?succeeds the lon
2. What caused the Cold War?
a. what are the differences of principle?communism v. capitalism
b. what were Stalin's foreign policies?expand ussr
c. what were US and British policies?weve got the atomic bomb
3. How did the Cold War develop between 1945 and 1953?
a. what four things were agreed upon at the Yalta Conference?
i. un
ii.germany divided
iii.free elections in eastern europe
iv.stalin joins war against japan
b. why were Germany and Poland the major concerns at the Potsdam Conference?no longterm futur plan and big disagreement
c. how was Communism established in eastern Europe?iron curtain
d. how did Russia exert its influence in eastern Europe?communism, yugoslavia is a problem
e. what were the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan?contain communism and the iron curtain is real
f. what was Cominform?russian communism, molotov plan, comecon
g. what happened to Czechoslovakia?the curtain is complete
h. what happened in Berlin?3 of 4 war zones are western, west introduces new currency
i. what is NATO?north atlantic treaty
j. what happened to Germany?split into german federal republic and " democrtaic "
h. what developed with nuclear weapons?hbomb, communist china
4. To what extent was there a thaw after 1953?
a. why was there a thaw?
i.death of stalin
ii.mccarthy discredited
b. how do we know there was a thaw?
i.first signs
ii.russians make important concession s in 1955
1.finland gets military
2.lifted veto
3.yoguslavia is all better
4.cominform abandoned
c. what evidence suggests only a partial thaw?
i.warsaw pact
ii.russians build more nukes
iii.berlin is more temnse
iv.cuba gets missles
v.berlin wall
5. The nuclear arms race and the Cuban missile crisis
a. how did the arms race accelerate?Icbm by ussr then they lanch satellite
b. what happened in Cuba? how was it resolved? ussr loses lead in icbm, us is threatened, ussr and cuba look like friends, kennedy testyed, ussr is trying to force bargain
c. what happened to the arms race in the 1970s?slbms made, mirvs made, cruise missles in europe
d. how effective were anti-nuclear protests?play part in bringing both sides to the negotiatring tabole

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

IRL11

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1216455/Hitlers-skull-really-womans-Fresh-doubts-death-tests-bullet-hole.html
This is an article on the now mysterious death of hitler by the daily mail. We'rew talking about the preWWII scene and its key players, Hitler is one of those key players and I thought the article was funny. Unfortunately, judging by the celeb gossip running down the right hand side of the page, I don't think this source is very reliable for providing all the scientific facts.

SGQ9

Why was the time period 1933 to 1939 such a crucial era in world history?
MWH p.69-84
1. Relations between Japan and China
a. Japanese invasion of Manchuria
i. why? control of the valuable trade outlet
ii. who supported them? who was opposed? no one
iii. what was done? nothing
b. Japanese advance from Manchuria
i. explain - they invaded for no apparent reason
c. Further invasions
i. explain - they keep pushing further into china
ii. what did the League of Nations do? nothing

2. Mussolini's foreign policy
a. 1923-1934 (summarize)
i. He attended the Locarno conference
ii. He was friendly to greece, hungary, and albania
iii. he made good relations with england
iv. recognised the ussr
v. anti-german

b. after 1934 - how had Mussolini's attitude changed? examples:
i. joins england and france in condeming the germans
ii. invades abyssinia
1. what did the League of Nations do? disband
iii. helps Franco of spain
iv. rome-berlin axis
v. munich agreement raises popularity
vi. occupy albania
vii. pact of steel

3. Hitler's foreign policy
a. aims
i. destroy versailles treaty
ii. build army
iii. recover territory
iv. bring all germans together
b. successes
i. move cautiously at first
ii. 10 yr nonagression pact with poles
iii. anschluss
iv. take the saar
v. conscription
vi. anglogerman naval agreement
vii. troops to rhineland
viii. join forces with japan and italy
ix. anschluss

4. Appeasement
a. what is appeasement? summarize the two phases:
i. war avoided at all costs
ii. negotiation over force

b. how was it justified?
i. avoid war
ii. germitaly had grievances
iii. personal contact
iv. economic cooperaation of anglogermany
v. fear of russia
vi. brits are unprepared for war
c. what was the role of appeasement leading up to WWII?
i. no stopping germany
ii. anglogerman naval agreement
iii. halfheaarted british action against italy
iv. no mobilisation
v.frabrit doesnt stop the spanish war
vi. united germans
5. Munich to the outbreak of war
a. Czechoslovakia - what were the three steps to the conquest of Czechoslovakia?
i.propoganda
ii.munich conference
iii.its destruction
b. Poland - what were the two steps to the conquest of Poland?
i.return of daanzig
ii.invasion