ODE
​HIGH SCHOOL
MODERN WORLD HISTORY 

1600 AD to Present

This course examines world events from 1600 to the present. It explores the impact of the democratic and industrial revolutions, the forces that led to world domination by European powers, the wars that changed empires, the ideas that led to independence movements and the effects of global interdependence. The concepts of historical thinking introduced in earlier grades continue to build with students locating and analyzing primary and secondary sources from multiple perspectives to draw conclusions.​

Historical Thinking and Skills

1. Historical events provide opportunities to examine alternative courses of action. 
  • By examining alternative courses of action, students can consider the possible consequences and outcomes of moments in history. It also allows them to appreciate the decisions of some individuals and the actions of some groups without putting 21st century values and interpretations on historic events. 
  • How might the history of the world be different if the participants in historical events had taken different courses of action? What if Napoleon had not been defeated at Waterloo? What if England and France refused Hitler’s demands for the Sudetenland? What if Truman had not ordered atomic bombs dropped on Japan? What if South Africa had not instituted the policy of apartheid? 

Resource: AlternativeHistoryHub

Welcome to AlternateHistoryHub!

Promotional video for Stanford History Education Group's curriculum intervention in five San Francisco High Schools.
3. Historians develop theses and use evidence to support or refute positions.
  • Historians are similar to detectives. They develop theses and use evidence to create explanations of past events. Rather than a simple list of events, a thesis provides a meaningful interpretation of the past by telling the reader the manner in which historical evidence is significant in some larger context. 
  • The evidence used by historians may be generated from artifacts, documents, eyewitness accounts, historical sites, photographs and other sources. Comparing and analyzing evidence from various sources enables historians to refine their explanations of past events. 
  • Historians cite their sources and use the results of their research to support or refute contentions made by others. 

Resource: National History Day
Resource: Formal Writing in a Facing History Classroom

Reading Like a Historian
2. The use of primary and secondary sources of information includes an examination of the credibility of each source.

To help students analyze primary sources: 
  • Provide a highlighted document;
  • Create a bulleted list of important points;
  • Have students work in heterogeneous groups;
  • Modify the readability of the document by inserting synonyms for difficult vocabulary;
  • Provide two versions of text, one in original language and one in modified language:
  • Provide students a typed transcript, often available on history websites; and
  •  Add captions or labels to clarify meaning of graphics and images.

Resource: History Matters
Resource: Bridging World History
Resource: Analyzing Sources on Imperialism

What is a Primary Source? by Shmoop

Want more information on primary sources? We have a course specializing in it so you'll never be stumped by a Maori artifact again!

http://www.shmoop.com/courses/analyzi...
4. Historians analyze cause, effect, sequence and correlation in historical events, including multiple causation and long- and short-term causal relations.
  • When studying a historical event or person in history, historians analyze cause-and-effect relationships. For example, to understand the impact of World War I, an analysis would include the causes and effects of the war. 
  • An analysis also would include an examination of the sequence and correlation of events. How did one event lead to another? How do they relate to one another? 
  • An examination of the causes of World War I would include the assassination of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist as a short-term cause and Serbian opposition to the rule of Serbia by imperial powers as a longterm cause. 

Resource: Four Vital Skills Every Young Historian Needs: Sequences & Timelines
Resource: Furman University, Effective Structured Outlining
Resource: Cleveland State University Office of Research, History Speaks
Resource: History Teachers' of Association of Austrlia, Historical Skills

THE WORLD 1600AD

Age of Enlightenment 
(1600-1800) 

The Scientific Revolution 

5. The Scientific Revolution impacted religious, political and cultural institutions by challenging how people viewed the world. 
  • The Scientific Revolution marked a shift from the perception that truth is revealed solely through the Bible and the Church to the perception that truth could be learned through experience and investigation. It challenged religious teachings on the origins of the universe and explanations for natural phenomena. The Church reacted strongly against the scientists who challenged established beliefs. 
  • The Scientific Revolution served as the beginning of the challenging of established ideologies, leading to the Enlightenment and eventually the political revolutions that took place in Western Europe and colonies beginning in the late 18th century. 
  • The Scientific Revolution’s impact on cultural institutions included education. The number of scientific academies and museums grew with the support of monarchs. The Royal Society of London and the French Academy of Science helped establish the credibility of science as a discipline. 
  • The scientific method paved the way for modern science. New scientific discoveries resulted from this new way of explaining natural phenomena impacting the study of anatomy, astronomy, mathematics, medicine. 

The Scientific Revolution: The Events That Shaped the Modern World

Ancient cultures have been looking up at the stars for thousands of years, wondering about their place in the universe. What were those glowing spots in the black cover of night? Just how far away was the moon? These and other questions hounded humanity through the millennia until, finally, relative economic stability allowed for a number of people to examine their world more closely. Slowly, knowledge and understanding accumulated generation by generation until the conditions were ideal enough for a revolution to occur in thinking, experimentation, worldview, and natural philosophy. It was the Scientific Revolution, the time period when Western theologians had more and better tools to measure and make sense of the things around them. 
Resource: Age of Enlightenment, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Resource: An Introduction to Science Scientific Thinking and the Scientific Method by Steven D. Schafersman 
Resource: Introduction to the Scientific Method, University of Rochester
Resource: Scientific Methods an online book, Richard D. Jarrard
 

The Enlightenment​

6. Enlightenment thinkers applied reason to discover natural laws guiding human nature in social, political and economic systems and institutions. 
  • The Enlightenment movement began in Europe and inspired change across the world. Enlightenment thinkers believed in the influence of nature and in human progress. Some suggested that humans were naturally good and by freely exercising reason, would act for the common good. This required freedom from the restraints of the government and the church. 
  • Enlightenment thinkers believed that natural laws guided social, political and economic systems and institutions. This concept shaped the role of education, the relationship between the government and people, and how goods and services were produced and distributed.

What Was the Enlightenment?

​The European Enlightenment of the 18th century introduced the world to modern science, economics, medicine, and political freedom – or so we’re told. But is what we’re told accurate? Political philosopher Yoram Hazony explores this question and offers some surprising answers in this truly enlightening video.

Essential Enlightenment: What was the Enlightenment?

​Broadly speaking, the Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement, largely based in Europe, that spanned about a century—from the mid-to-late 1600s to the late 1700s. It was a time of major intellectual upheaval, characterized by the rise of reason and the scientific method as tools for understanding the world and bringing about progress. In fact, many of the radical ideas that came about in the Enlightenment period would ultimately lay the foundation for the liberal democratic institutions that we take for granted today, including: impartial courts and the rule of law, democratically elected governments, separation of church and state, equality for all people, and freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Watch this video to learn more, and visit www.EssentialEnlightenment.org.
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Ms. Aguilar's U.S. History Class!

Enlightenment Ideas on Government, Religion & Business

7. Enlightenment ideas challenged practices related to religious authority, absolute rule and mercantilism. 
  • Philosophical thought during the Enlightenment impacted religion, government and economics in Europe. Challenges to religious authority began during the Scientific Revolution with a shift away from the belief that truth is revealed solely through the Bible and the Church. 
  • There was a rejection of many of the Church’s doctrines and an increased focus on earthly as well as spiritual welfare. There was a shift from forms of government in which power was held by only one or few individuals to forms of government in which many have a say, both directly and indirectly. Enlightenment ideas promoted the belief in a social contract between the governed and their government. 
  • The mercantilist system was challenged due to a growing belief that natural laws could define an economic system including a free-market economy with limited government regulation.

Resource: Effects of the Enlightenment

Age of Revolutions 
(1750-1914)

Revolutions: American, French Revolution & Latin America

8. Enlightenment ideas on the relationship of the individual and the government influenced the American Revolution, French Revolution and Latin American wars for independence.
  • The chain of political, economic and social changes that developed during the Enlightenment Age inspired the American Revolution, French Revolution and Latin American wars for independence. Enlightenment writers explored the relationship between governments and the people they governed. The ideas they espoused included freedom, natural rights, self-determination, limited government, consent of the governed and the common good. 
  • Leaders of revolutions and wars for independence during this time based their quests for political change upon Enlightenment ideas.
​
​Resource: Rise of the Revolution

Tea, Taxes, and The American Revolution: Crash Course World History #28

In which John Green teaches you about the American Revolution and the American Revolutionary War, which it turns out were two different things. John goes over the issues and events that precipitated rebellion in Britain's American colonies, and he also explores the ideas that laid the groundwork for the new American democracy. Find out how the tax bill from the Seven Years War fomented an uprising, how the Enlightenment influenced the Founding Fathers, and who were the winners and losers in this conflict.(hint: many of the people living in the Colonies ended up losers) The Revolution purportedly brought freedom and equality to the Thirteen Colonies, but they weren't equally distributed. Also, you'll learn about America's love affair with commemorative ceramics and what happens when rich white guys take the reins from reins white guys, and put together a society of, by, and for rich white guys.
Resource: LoC - A Guide to the American Revolution, 1763-1783
Resource: National Archives - Pictures of the Revolutionary War
Resource: PBS - Liberty! The American Revolution
Resource: National Parks Service - The American Revolution, Lighting Freedom's Flame
Resource: American Independence Museum 
Resource: Northern Illinois University- American Archives Documents of the American Revolutionary Period
Resource: History.com - American Revolution 

The French Revolution: Crash Course World History #29

In which John Green examines the French Revolution, and gets into how and why it differed from the American Revolution. Was it the serial authoritarian regimes? The guillotine? The Reign of Terror? All of this and more contributed to the French Revolution not being quite as revolutionary as it could have been. France endured multiple constitutions, the heads of heads of state literally rolled, and then they ended up with a megalomaniacal little emperor by the name of Napoleon. But how did all of this change the world, and how did it lead to other, more successful revolutions around the world? Watch this video and find out. Spoiler alert: Marie Antoinette never said, "Let them eat cake." Sorry.
Resource: Fordham University, French Revolution 
Resource: Center for History and New Media, Exploring the French Revolution
Resource: Stanford University Libraries and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, French Revolution Digital Archive
Resource: NEH - Liberty, Equality, Fraternity Exploring the French Revolution

​History through Hollywood

Picture
Les Misérables (2012)
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
Director: Tom Hooper
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried 

Haitian Revolutions: Crash Course World History #30

Ideas like liberty, freedom, and self-determination were hot stuff in the late 18th century, as evidenced by our recent revolutionary videos. Although freedom was breaking out all over, many of the societies that were touting these ideas relied on slave labor. Few places in the world relied so heavily on slave labor as Saint-Domingue, France's most profitable colony. Slaves made up nearly 90% of Saint-Domingue's population, and in 1789 they couldn't help but hear about the revolution underway in France. All the talk of liberty, equality, and fraternity sounds pretty good to a person in bondage, and so the slaves rebelled. This led to not one but two revolutions, and ended up with France, the rebels, Britain, and Spain all fighting in the territory. Spoiler alert: the slaves won. So how did the slaves of what would become Haiti throw off the yoke of one of the world's great empires? John Green tells how they did it, and what it has meant in Haiti and in the rest of the world.

​History through Hollywood

Picture
Amazing Grace (2006)
​The idealist William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade.
Director: Michael Apted
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon
Resource: The Louverture Project, a free Haitian history resource
Resource: Hartford Web Publishing, Haiti Archives
Resource: Democracy Now: France Urged to Pay $40 Billion to Haiti in Reparations for "Independence Debt"

Latin American Revolutions: Crash Course World History #31

In which John Green talks about the many revolutions of Latin America in the 19th century. At the beginning of the 1800s, Latin America was firmly under the control of Spain and Portugal. The revolutionary zeal that had recently created the United States and had taken off Louis XVI's head in France arrived in South America, and a racially diverse group of people who felt more South American than European took over. John covers the soft revolution of Brazil, in which Prince Pedro boldly seized power from his father, but promised to give it back if King João ever returned to Brazil. He also covers the decidedly more violent revolutions in Mexico, Venezuela, and Argentina. Watch the video to see Simón Bolívar's dream of a United South America crushed, even as he manages to liberate a bunch of countries and get two currencies and about a thousand schools and parks named after him.

​​History through Hollywood

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The Liberator (2013)
Simon Bolivar fought over 100 battles against the Spanish Empire in South America. He rode over 70,000 miles on horseback. His military campaigns covered twice the territory of Alexander the Great. His army never conquered -- it liberated.
Director: Alberto Arvelo
Stars: Edgar Ramírez, Erich Wildpret, María Valverde
Resource: BBC- Bolivar 
Resource: New York Times, Building a New History by Exhuming Bolívar
Resource: LOC - Bolivar: American Liberator

Industrialization

Social & Economic Changes of Industrialization

9. Industrialization had social, political and economic effects on Western Europe and the world.
  • The Industrial Revolution transformed Europe and North America in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It had positive and negative effects on class distinctions, family life and the daily working lives of men, women and children. Population growth and migrations, urbanization and emigration out of Europe were impacted by the move to an industrialized economy. 
  • The Industrial Revolution led to movements for political and social reform in England, Western Europe and the United States. It also expanded the world-market economy.
  • ​
Resource: Fundamental Economic Questions and the Industrial Revolution
Resource: Urbanization
Resource: Fordham University, Industrial Revolution
Resource: History.com - Industrial Revolution
Resource: West Midland's History - Revolutionary Players
Resource: University of Cambridge, Documentary series: The Day the World Took Off

Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32

In which John Green wraps up revolutions month with what is arguably the most revolutionary of modern revolutions, the Industrial Revolution. While very few leaders were beheaded in the course of this one, it changed the lives of more people more dramatically than any of the political revolutions we've discussed. So, why did the Industrial Revolution happen around 1750 in the United Kingdom? Coal. Easily accessible coal, it turns out. All this, plus you'll finally learn the difference between James Watt and Thomas Newcomen, and will never again be caught telling people that your blender has a 900 Newcomen motor.

Capitalism and Socialism: Crash Course World History #33

In which John Green teaches you about capitalism and socialism in a way that is sure to please commenters from both sides of the debate. Learn how capitalism arose from the industrial revolution, and then gave rise to socialism. Learn about how we got from the British East India Company to iPhones and consumer culture in just a couple of hundred years. Stops along the way include the rise of industrial capitalism, mass production, disgruntled workers, Karl Marx, and the Socialist Beard. The socialist reactions to the ills of capitalism are covered as well, and John discusses some of the ideas of Karl Marx, and how they've been implemented or ignored in various socialist states. Plus, there are robots!
Resource: BBC - Capitalism 
Resource: Library of Economics Liberty, The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics - Capitalism 
Resource: Columbia University, The Center on Capitalism and Society
Resource: BB&T Center for the STUDY of Capitalism at Wake Forest University
Resource: Marx Engels Archive

History through Hollywood

Picture
Germinal (1993)
In mid-nineteenth-century northern France, a coal mining town's workers are exploited by the mine's owner. One day, they decide to go on strike, and
​the authorities repress them.
Director: Claude Berri

Imperialism 
(1800-1914)

Roots of Imperialism

10. Imperial expansion had political, economic and social roots.
  • By the early 20th century, many European nations as well as Japan extended their control over other lands and created empires. Their motivations had economic, political and social roots. 
  • The political motivations for imperialism included the desire to appear most powerful, bolster nationalistic pride and provide security through the building of military bases overseas. 
  • The economic motivations were tied to production and consumption of goods. There was a need for new markets, raw materials and outlets for population growth. 
  • The social roots for imperial expansion included the vision of some that it was “the white man’s burden” to civilize those perceived as uncivilized. There also were humanitarian concerns and religious motivations. 
  • Japanese leaders wanted to exert the power of Japan and confront Western imperialism by engaging in imperialist actions. Japan used its military might to establish footholds in Taiwan, China and Korea. 

Samurai, Daimyo, Matthew Perry, and Nationalism: Crash Course World History #34

In which John Green teaches you about Nationalism. Nationalism was everywhere in the 19th century, as people all over the world carved new nation-states out of old empires. Nationalist leaders changed the way people thought of themselves and the places they lived by reinventing education, military service, and the relationship between government and governed. In Japan, the traditional feudal society underwent a long transformation over the course of about 300 years to become a modern nation-state. John follows the course of Japanese history from the emergence of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji Restoration, and covers Nationalism in many other countries along the way. All this, plus a special guest appearance, plus the return of an old friend on a extra-special episode of Crash Course.
Resource: Nationalism Project  
​Resource: The Samurai Archives Japanese History Page  
​Resource: PBS - Japan Memories of a Secret Empire  
​Resource: About Japan A Teacher's Resource

​History through Hollywood

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An American military advisor embraces the Samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle.
​
​Director: Edward Zwick
​Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton

Imperialism

Global Impact of Imperialism

11. Imperialism involved land acquisition, extraction of raw materials, spread of Western values and maintenance of political control. 

  • In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, European countries competed to establish colonies in Africa and Asia. Raw materials needed for their growing industries were extracted from the colonies. 
  • Imperialism resulted in the spread of Western values (e.g., religion, customs, ways of governing). 
  • Some European powers (e.g., France, Belgium) preferred direct control over the colonies they established during this period. A pattern of paternalism reflected a European belief that Africans should be governed by the European colonizers and protected like children. 
  • Some European powers (e.g., Great Britain, the Netherlands) preferred indirect control over their colonies, using local systems of authority. They felt that working with the local native leaders would lessen the possibility of revolts and would encourage the colonized to assimilate western traditions (e.g., culture, governing). 
  • European powers used spheres of influence to establish economic control in China.

Imperialism: Crash Course World History #35

In which John Green teaches you about European Imperialism in the 19th century. European powers started to create colonial empires way back in the 16th century, but businesses really took off in the 19th century, especially in Asia and Africa. During the 1800s, European powers carved out spheres of influence in China, India, and pretty much all of Africa. While all of the major (and some minor) powers in Europe participated in this new imperialism, England was by far the most dominant, once able to claim that the "sun never set on the British Empire." Also, they went to war for the right to continue to sell opium to the people of China. Twice. John will teach you how these empires managed to leverage the advances of the Industrial Revolution to build vast, wealth-generating empires. As it turns out, improved medicine, steam engines, and better guns were crucial in the 19th century conquests. Also, the willingness to exploit and abuse the people and resources of so-called "primitive" nations was very helpful in the whole enterprise. 

Resource: The British Empire 
​Resource: Historical Atlas of the British Empire
Resource: The Johns Hopkins University Project Muse - French Colonial History
Resource: Colonial Voyages

​​History through Hollywood

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​The Four Feathers (2002)
A British officer resigns his post just before battle and subsequently receives four white feathers from his friends and fiancee as symbols of what they believe to be his cowardice.
Director: Shekhar Kapur
​Stars: Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Kate Hudson, Mohamed Bouich

​Consequences of Imperialism

12. The consequences of imperialism were viewed differently by the colonizers and the colonized.
  • Dramatic differences in viewpoints existed between the European colonizers and those they colonized. Different viewpoints between these two groups included the extension of Western cultural practices vs. loss of traditions and modernization vs. breakup of past institutions.

Achievements and Crises 
(1900-1945) 

Technology Advancements

13. Advances in technology, communication and transportation improved lives, but also had negative consequences.
  • Advances in technology during this time period improved lives through an increase in the availability and variety of consumer goods (e.g., appliances, synthetic fabrics, plastics). 
  • Advances in communication and transportation that improved lives included the radio, radar, motion pictures, automobiles and airplanes. 
  • In some cases, advances in technology, communication and transportation had negative impacts (e.g., pollution, social stratification, dramatic increases in war casualties). Battlefield weapons (e.g., machine gun, poison gas, hand grenades, tanks) and the atomic bomb increased the destructive power of war.

Inventions In America's Growth (1850-1910) - Phonograph, Telephone, Electric Lamp 24860 HD

​Photographs, reconstructed models, and the recollections of Jonathan Sharpe, editor of Scientific American, are used to show the impact of inventions on life in America during the age of miracles, 1850-1910. Explains the influence of railroads and farm machinery on the economy of the country and on centers of population. Shows how life in urban areas was revolutionized by the phonograph, telephone, electric lamp, motor car, aeroplane, and radio. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com​
SHOW LESS

The Early 20th Century in America - 1910 - 1919 - Reel I

​Focuses on the history of early 20th century America from the years 1910 - 1919. A classic educational film with excellent footage of the time period. First of 2 reels. Great film! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFdK...

Mechanization on the Farm in the Early 20th Century

​The first half of the twentieth century was a time of transition on the family farm. As tractors began to replace horses, farm families witnessed the birth of mechanization on the farm. This segment from Iowa Public Television's documentary "The People in the Pictures: Stories from the Wettach Farm Photos" features original photography, restored archival color film, filmed recreations, and first-person accounts of farm life in rural America during the Great Depression and early twentieth century. http://www.iptv.org/iowastories/detai...

Department of History | World War I, Episode 5 | Technologies at War

​In this documentary series commemorating the 100th anniversary of the First World War, professors in York University's Department of History examine various aspects of the war and the role Canada played in it.

The Great War: World War I

14. The causes of World War I included militarism, imperialism, nationalism and alliances.
  • Military spending among the great powers of Europe increased greatly in the years prior to World War I. Rivalries between the powers led to a building up of armed forces and an increase in distrust. 
  • Imperialism was an important underlying cause of World War I. The great powers of Europe were competing for land around the world. 
  • Intense nationalism grew among the European people (e.g., the influence of nationalism in the Balkans, which prompted the outbreak of WWI). Consequently, due to national animosities, there was little resistance to war when it began. 
  • The system of alliances early in the century set the stage for enlarging a small-scale conflict into a world war. Each alliance brought several nations into the conflict. By the beginning of the war, the two large alliances were the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance.

Resource: International Encyclopedia of the First World War
Resource: firstworldwar.com
Resource: Spark Notes: All Quiet on the Western Front
Resource: BYU, The World War I Document Archive
Resource: H-Net Commons, The World War I Crossroads
Resource: PBS - The Great War
Resource: BBC - Animated Map: Battle of the Somme
Resource: The Map as History, Europe plunges into War
Resource: British Pathe, WW1 - The Definitive Collection
Resource: LOC - A Guide to World War I Materials

Archdukes, Cynicism, and World War I: Crash Course World History #36

In which John Green teaches you about the war that was supposed to end all wars. Instead, it solved nothing and set the stage for the world to be back at war just a couple of decades later. As an added bonus, World War I changed the way people look at the world, and normalized cynicism and irony. John will teach you how the assassination of an Austrian Archduke kicked off a new kind of war that involved more nations and more people than any war that came before. New technology like machine guns, airplanes, tanks, and poison gas made the killing more efficient than ever. Trench warfare and modern weapons led to battles in which tens of thousands of soldiers were killed in a day, with no ground gained for either side. World War I washed away the last vestiges of 19th century Romanticism and paved the way for the 20th century modernism that we all know and find to be cold and off-putting. While there may not be much upside to WWI, at least it inspired George M. Cohan to write the awesome song, "Over There."

Why Trenches? - WW1 Uncut: Dan Snow - BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1 Trench warfare is one of the defining features of the First World War, but why? Dan Snow and One Show regular Michael Douglas find out why they were necessary - with the help of paintball guns.

Machine Guns - WW1 Uncut: Dan Snow

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1 Dan takes a deep breath as he prepares to have an extremely close encounter with some of the deadliest weapons of the war in an attempt to understand how they were able to wreak such havoc.

Why Barbed Wire? - WW1 Uncut: Dan Snow - BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1 Historian Dan Snow finds out how one low-tech weapon system in the First World War had a huge impact: barbed wire.

Tanks - WW1 Uncut: Dan Snow - BBC

Planes - WW1 Uncut - Dan Snow - BBC

War Dogs - WW1 Uncut: Dan Snow

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1 Tanks were invented by the British during the First World War. Historian Dan Snow traces their development, from prototype to battlefield fixture.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1
How aviation technology developed rapidly in WW1 to create planes of war.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1 Before the outbreak of WW1, Britain was surprisingly far behind other European nations in the training and deployment of working military dogs. While Germany had around 6000 dogs trained in a variety of support roles the British Army had a sole Airedale Terrier. Dan Snow heads to the Defence Animal Centre in Melton Mowbray to find out about the training and deployment of military dogs in war.

Propaganda During World War 1 - Opening Pandora's Box I THE GREAT WAR Special

Propaganda was nothing new at the beginning of World War 1. But the rapid development in mass media and the total war effort by the nations led the way to our modern understanding of mass propaganda, especially in Germany and Britain. Iconic images like that of Uncle Sam or Lord Kitchener are still known today and are part of the collective memory. ​

Medical Treatment in World War 1 I THE GREAT WAR Special

Some sources say that during the four years of World War 1, medicine and medical treatments advances more than during any other four year period in human history. The chances for a soldier to survive his injury were far greater in 1918 than in 1914. ​

Post War Instability & Change

The Bolshevik Revolution

15. The consequences of World War I and the worldwide depression set the stage for the Russian Revolution, the rise of totalitarianism, aggressive Axis expansion and the policy of appeasement, which in turn led to World War II. 
  • The hard toll of World War I on Russia fueled the Bolshevik Revolution and ushered in the ideology of state-sponsored communism. 
  • Following World War I, the Treaty of Versailles forever changed the political and social organizations of Europe. Its harsh terms for the defeated countries caused anger and created a climate for retribution. It also contributed to a worldwide depression. 
  • The German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires collapsed and their former lands were carved up into new states and nations.
  •  Financial losses, battlefield deaths and the destruction of towns, cities and infrastructure weakened European powers. Facing economic troubles, some countries found themselves easy prey to nationalistic and militaristic political parties that, in order to gain political power, were quick to point out the failure of democratic governments for their own gain. Totalitarian regimes found wide bases of support in several European countries, including Germany, Spain and Italy. 
  • As a consequence of the devastation resulting from World War I, Great Britain and France were reluctant to challenge Nazi Germany’s expansion efforts in the 1930s. Their efforts to avoid war resulted in a policy of appeasement. 
  • The aggressive expansion of Germany, Italy and Japan, the failures of the League of Nations and the policy of appeasement by Great Britain and France led to World War II. 

Resource: Global Turmoil Between the World Wars
Resource: The Map as History, Europe after World War I

History vs. Vladimir Lenin - Alex Gendler

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-...

Vladimir Lenin overthrew Russian Czar Nicholas II and founded the Soviet Union, forever changing the course of Russian politics. But was he a hero who toppled an oppressive tyranny or a villain who replaced it with another? Alex Gendler puts this controversial figure on trial, exploring both sides of a nearly century-long debate.

Lesson by Alex Gendler, animation by Brett Underhill.

​​​History through Hollywood

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October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (1927)
​A large-scale view on the events of 1917 in Russia, when the monarchy was overthrown.
Directors: Grigoriy Aleksandrov (as G. Aleksandrov), Sergei M. Eisenstein (as S. M. Eisenstein)
Stars: Boris Livanov, Nikolay Popov, Vasili Nikandrov 
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Battalion​ (2015)
Russia, 1917, WWI. This is the story of the 1st Russian Women's Battalion of Death, formed as part of an ill-conceived propaganda ploy by the Russian Provisional Government in late May of 1917.
Director: Dmitriy Meskhiev
Stars: Lesya Andreeva, Mariya Antonova, Mariya Aronova
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Solnechnyy udar
(SunStroke) (2014)​
​Officers of the White Army, holding as POWs in a Red Army's camp, try to understand why they lose Civil War and lost the Russian Empire at all.
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Stars: Martins Kalita, Viktoriya Solovyova, Anastasiya Imamova
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Burnt by the Sun (1994)
In the Soviet Union in 1936, shadow of Stalin's repressions lie on a famous revolution hero. The accusations of being him a foreign spy are nonsense, and all known that, but a slow process of his life's downfall is already running.
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Stars: Nikita Mikhalkov, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Oleg Menshikov

The Chinese Revolution

Communists, Nationalists, and China's Revolutions: Crash Course World History #37

In which John Green teaches you about China's Revolutions. While the rest of the world was off having a couple of World Wars, China was busily uprooting the dynastic system that had ruled there for millennia. Most revolutions have some degree of tumult associated with them, but China's 20th century revolutions were REALLY disruptive. In 1911 and 1912, Chinese nationalists brought 3000 years of dynastic rule to an end. China plunged into chaos as warlords staked out regions of the country for themselves. The nationalists and communists joined forces briefly to bring the nation back together under the Chinese Republic, and then they quickly split and started fighting the Chinese Civil War. The fight between nationalists and communists went on for decades, and was interrupted by an alliance to fight the invading Japanese during World War II. After the World War II ended, the Chinese Civil War was back on. Mao and the communists were ultimately victorious, and Chiang Kai-Shek ended up in Taiwan. And then it got weird. Mao spent years repeatedly trying to purify the Communist Party and build up the new People's Republic of China with Rectifications, Anti Campaigns, Five Year Plans. the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. These had mixed results, to say the least. John will cover all this and more in this week's Crash Course World History.

​History through Hollywood

Picture
​The Last Emperor 
​(1987)
The story of the final Emperor of China.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Stars: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole
Picture
To Live (1994)
After Fugui and Jiazhen lose their personal fortunes, they raise a family and survive difficult cultural changes during 1940s to 1970s China.
Director: Yimou Zhang
Stars: You Ge, Li Gong, Ben Niu

Genocides: Armenian & The Holocaust

16. Oppression and discrimination resulted in the Armenian Genocide during World War I and the Holocaust, the state-sponsored mass murder of Jews and other groups, during World War II. 
  • The decline of the Ottoman Empire and Armenian calls for political reform led to persecution of Armenians in the late 1800s. Growing Turkish nationalism, religious conflict and wartime circumstances led to organized killings and forced migrations of Armenians during World War I. 
  • When the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, it capitalized on long-standing anti-Semitic feelings to institutionalize discrimination against Jews (e.g., Nuremberg Laws). The government’s Final Solution resulted in the mass murder of Jews. Other groups of people (e.g., Gypsies, Slavs, disabled) also were murdered as part of the Holocaust.

Resource: The Armenian Genocide Museum Institute
Resource: Armenian National Institute
Resource: Armenian Genocide Debate
Resource: NYT - News about Armenian Genocide, including commentary and archival articles 
Resource: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Resource: Yad Vashem
Resource: The Holocaust and the UN Outreach Programme

ABC News - Armenian Genocide

​In a news series devoted to major events of the 20th century, ABC News' World News Tonight with Peter Jennings featured a story about the Armenian Genocide on April 30, 1999. The video includes Armenian Genocide survivors Mary Omartian and Perouze Ipekjian, historian Jay Winter, author Peter Balakian, and photos by Armin Wegner.

The Path to Nazi Genocide

​This 38-minute film introduces the history of the Holocaust. It begins by looking back at the major changes from 1918 to 1933 that created the political climate for the birth and rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. It explores the basis for the party’s support among ordinary Germans and the military, government, and business establishment before and after Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933.

History through Hollywood

Picture
The Promise (2016)
Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, The Promise follows a love triangle between Michael, a brilliant medical student, the beautiful and sophisticated Ana, and Chris - a renowned American journalist based in Paris.
Director: Terry George
Stars: Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, Christian Bale
Picture
Schindler's List (1993)
In Poland during World War II, Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis. (195 mins.)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall

Heroic Stories of the Holocaust

Yad Vashem: The Righteous Among the Nations

Sofka Skipwith

Sofka Skipwith (née Dolgorouky) was born 1907, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the daughter of Prince Peter Alexandrovitch Dolgorouky of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Maria Agnese Tribbioli

Cardinal Dalla Costa headed one of the most active networks rescuing Jews from Nazi persecution in Italy. Through the mediation of the cardinal's secretary, ...

Karolina Juszczykowska

(Poland) ... Karolina Juszczykowska was born in Budkow, Poland, in 1898. The story of her life and of her hiding Jews was found in the police and trial records – no ...

Antonina Gordey

Antonina Gordey née Zhur worked as a nanny for the Ledvich family, a Jewish family who lived in Minsk. She took care of six-year-old Rafail and three-year-old ...

Jeanne Daman-Scaglione

In 1942 Jeanne Daman was a young teacher in Brussels at a time when the Jewish community was setting up its own kindergartens, after the children were no ...

Ludviga Pukas

In 1937, Ludviga (Nina) Pukas left her hometown and moved to the town of Proskurov (today Khmel'nyts'kyy), where she found a job as a domestic with Frima ...

Klara Baić

(Serbia). Klara Baic with her daughter Margita Klara Baić Pavle and Mirko Deneberg (girl's identity unknown) Pavle and Mirko .

Caecilia Antonia Maria Loots

(The Netherlands) ... Caecilia Loots, born in Haarlem, trained to be a teacher in the Montessori school system. She ran a small private school in Amersfoort, Utrecht, ...

Karolina Juszczykowska

(Poland) ... Karolina Juszczykowska was born in Budkow, Poland, in 1898. The story of her life and of her hiding Jews was found in the police and trial records – no ...

Suzanne Spaak

Suzanne Spaak lived in Paris with her husband Claude, a filmmaker, and their two children. She found great fulfillment in raising her family. Spaak, as the ...

Irena Sendler

Irena Sendler, at great personal danger, devised means to get into the ghetto and help the dying Jews. She managed to obtain a permit from the municipality that ...

Lois Gunden

In 1941, twenty-six year old Lois Gunden, an American French teacher from Goshen, Indiana, came to work with the Mennonite Central Committee in southern ...

Johanna Eck

From 1942 until the end of the war, the war widow, Johanna Eck (b. 1888) sheltered, successively, four victims of Nazi persecution. Two of those who found refuge ...

Anna Igumnova

Anna Igumnova was born in Russia into an aristocratic family. In 1917, she and her husband left for a vacation in Europe and could not return home when the ...

Elisabeta Strul (Nicopoi)

Nicopoi married Strul in 1949, and in 1963, they immigrated to Israel. Her family remained in Romania, and she would visit them from time to time. She died in ...

Bronislava Krištopavičienė

Bronislava Krištopavičienė was born in the Belorussian village of Kublichi in 1888. She moved to Lithuania, settled in Kovno (Kaunas) and remained there for ..

Sofia Kritikou (Kritikoy)

(Greece) ... Sofia Kritikou, a single mother, worked as a house cleaner in Athens while residing in Peristeri, near Athens with her daughter Agapi. In September ...

WWII

17. World War II devastated most of Europe and Asia, led to the occupation of Eastern Europe and Japan, and began the atomic age.
  • World War II caused not only physical damage, but also social damage (e.g., refugees, casualties), cultural damage (e.g., lost works of art, residue of Nazi education), and economic damage (e.g., loss of infrastructure, loss of employment). 
  • Positions of armed forces at the end of the war led to zones of occupation and competition for political influence amongst the former Allies. World War II also changed the nature of warfare by introducing the use of atomic weapons. These weapons set the stage for an era of political tension.

Resource: The Consequences of World War II                    
​Resource: Wordology - Effect of World War II on Each Country
Resource: The Daily Signal - World War II: Economic Stimulant or Depressant?
Resource: NBER - The Marshall Plan: History's Most Successful Structural Adjustment Program
Resource: Film - The Last Emperor
Resource: Film - The Atomic Cafe 
Resource: Atomic Archive

History through Hollywood

Picture
Empire of the Sun (1987)
​A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation during World War II. (153 mins.)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers

World War II: Crash Course World History #38

In which John Green teaches you about World War II, aka The Great Patriotic War, aka The Big One. So how did this war happen? And what does it mean? We've all learned the facts about World War II many times over, thanks to repeated classroom coverage, the History channel, and your grandfather (or maybe great-grandfather) showing you that Nazi bayonet he used to keep in his sock drawer and telling you a bunch of age-inappropriate stories about his harrowing war experiences. So, why did the Axis powers think forceful expansion was a good idea? (they were hungry). So why did this thing shake out in favor of the Allies? HInt: it has to do with the fact that it was a world war. Germany and Japan made some pretty serious strategic errors, such as invading Russia and attacking the United States, and those errors meant that pretty much the whole world was against them. So, find out how this worldwide alliance came together to stop the Axis expansion. All this, plus Canada finally gets the respectful treatment it deserves. Oh, and a warning: there are a few graphic images in this episode. Sensitive viewers may want to use caution, especially around the 9:15 mark.

The Cold War: 1945-1991

18. The United States and the Soviet Union became superpowers and competed for global influence.
  • The United States and Soviet Union were victorious in World War II and emerged as superpowers. Unlike most of Europe and parts of Asia, the U.S. sustained little damage and had a strengthened economy. The Soviet Union had mobilized its resources for the war effort, and following the war, expanded its territorial control into most of Eastern Europe. 
  • The Cold War era of tense relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union began in the aftermath of World War II. Competition between the two countries for global dominance was influenced by their conflicting political and economic ideologies. By the end of the 1940s, the Soviets successfully exploded an atomic bomb, adding to the tensions between the two superpowers. 
  • The Cold War rivalry between the U.S. and Soviet Union found outlets in Europe (e.g., East and West Germany, Greece), Asia (e.g., Korea, Vietnam, Turkey), Africa (e.g., Angola, Congo) and the Caribbean (e.g., Cuba). Conflicts related to decolonization and national liberation provided opportunities for intervention by both sides. Alliances were formed that reflected the tensions between the two major superpowers (e.g., NATO, Warsaw Pact).

​Resource: Wilson Center - Cold War International History Project 
​Resource; NATO 
Resource: PBS American Experience - The Berlin Airlift
Resource: NPS - Teaching with Historic Places, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Resource: HERE 360 - History of the Berlin Wall through maps 
Resource: The Berlin Wall - official website for the State Capital of Berlin 
Resource: Berlin Wall Memorial 
Resource: Chronicle of the Wall 
Resource: The Berlin Wall, A Multimedia History 
Resource: Berlin Wall Online 
Resource: British Pathe, Newsreel Achives 
Resource: NPR - Fidel Castro: From Rebel to El Presidente 
Resource: NYT - Three Days with Fidel 
Resource: PBS American Experience - Fidel Castro

USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War: Crash Course World History #39

In which John Green teaches you about the Cold War, which was occasionally hot, but on average, it was cool. In the sense of its temperature. It was by no means cool, man. After World War II, there were basically two big geopolitical powers left to divide up the world. And divide they did. The United States and the Soviet Union divvied up Europe in the aftermath of the war, and then proceeded to spend the next 45 years fighting over the rest of the world. It was the great ideological struggle, with the US on the side of capitalism and profit, and the USSR pushing Communism, so-called. While both sides presented themselves as the good guy in this situation, the reality is that there are no good guys. Both parties to the Cold War engaged in forcible regime changes, built up vast nuclear arsenals, and basically got up to dirty tricks. If you had to pick a bad guy though, I would point out that the USSR had no intention of brining Laika the Cosmonaut Dog home alive. That poor dog never had a shot.

History through Hollywood

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The Good Shepherd​ (2006)
The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life. (167 mins.)
Director: Robert De Niro
Stars: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin
Picture
Dr. Strangelove (1964) 
An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden

WWII changes the World

19. Treaties and agreements at the end of World War II changed national boundaries and created multinational organizations.
  • National boundaries, particularly in Eastern Europe, changed as a result of World War II. Germany’s boundaries changed and it became a divided country, occupied by the former Allies. The Soviet Union annexed several Eastern European countries and exerted control in others, ushering in the era of the Iron Curtain.
  • The United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were the result of agreements between the Allies to promote economic and political stability. 

Resource: History of the United Nations
Resource: International Monetary Fund
Resource: World Bank History

The Impact of World War II

​Holt Rinehart and Winston's History's Impact Video Program captures students' imaginations, helps students focus on key images and ideas, and shows the impact on today. A Teacher's Guide accompanies the program and provides introductions, pre- and post-questions, and listening comprehension activities. This video program can be used in any middle school or high school World History classroom.

Impact of World War II on the U.S. Economy and Workforce | World War II Stories

​America’s involvement in World War II had a significant impact on the economy and workforce of the United States. The United States was still recovering from the impact of the Great Depression and the unemployment rate was hovering around 25%. Our involvement in the war soon changed that rate. American factories were retooled to produce goods to support the war effort and almost overnight the unemployment rate dropped to around 10%. Women went to work to fill jobs that were traditionally held by men. This segment of Iowa Public Television's Iowa’s WWII Stories includes historical footage and profiles how a civilian from Ankeny, Iowa supported the war effort.

The United Nations Is Created | Flashback | History

On June 26, 1945, delegates from 50 countries signed the charter of the United Nations in San Francisco, creating an international government tasked with maintaining peace around the world in the wake of World War II. After the signing, President Truman delivered a speech to the delegates in which he stated, "With this Charter the world can begin to look forward to the time when all worthy human beings may be permitted to live decently as free people". ​

How Did World War 2 Change Europe | Post-War Europe | Documentary

​This old U.S. Army documentary film reviews the results and aftermath of World War 2 in Europe and shows us how did the United States and the Soviet Union come to dominate the continent after 1945. The documentary focuses on the history and accomplishments of NATO and defines its role in defense of western Europe against the Communist threat.

The Middle East

20. Religious diversity, the end of colonial rule and rising nationalism have led to regional conflicts in the Middle East.
  • The conflicts in the Middle East during the second half of the 20th century were the culmination of several factors that have deep roots in history. Contacts among major religions and religious sects (e.g., Shiites, Sunnis, Christians, Jews, Baha’is’) in the region have caused long-standing tensions and conflicts. Rebellions against colonial rule also caused tensions that resulted in conflict. 
  • The rise in nationalism among Arab nations coincided with their opposition to the creation and presence of the modern state of Israel. 

Resource: Knesset - About the War of Independence
Resource: BBC News - UN Partition Plan
Resource: BBC News - Establishment of Israel
Resource: CFR - Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
​Resource: Oxford Islamic Studies Online - European Colonialism and the Emergence of Modern Muslim States 
Resource: CFR - The Sunni-Shia Divide 
Resource: BBC News - Sunnis and Shia: Islam's ancient schism 
Resource: NPR - The Origins Of The Shiite-Sunni Split

History through Hollywood

Picture
Kedma (2002)​
In May 1948, shortly before the creation of the State of Israel, hundreds of immigrants from across Europe arrive in Palestine--only to risk arrest by British troops.
Director: Amos Gitai
Stars: Andrei Kashkar, Helena Yaralova
21. Postwar global politics led to the rise of nationalist movements in Africa and Southeast Asia.
  • World War II had an important effect on Africa and Southeast Asia. Battles were fought on both continents. Many Africans and Asians in the colonies controlled by Britain and France were recruited to serve as soldiers. Following World War II, the oppression and exploitation in these colonies as well as the weaknesses of the colonial powers and the Cold War rivalries, helped unite different ethnic and religious groups in their struggles for independence. 
  • The Négritude movement and Pan-African movement helped fuel nationalist efforts in Africa to end the colonial ties to the European colonizers. 
  • In Southeast Asia, nationalists organized against colonial control and, in some cases, the American presence.

Resource: The Map as History - Decolonization after 1945
Resource: NYPL - The Challenge of Decolonization in Africa, Benjamin Talton – Temple University
Resource: NYPL-Pan–Africanism, Minkah Makalani – Rutgers University
Resource: TCNJ - The Pan-African Movement
Resource: BlackPast.org - The Pan-African Congresses, 1900-1945
​Resource: PADEAP - The History of Pan Africanism
Resource: Metropolitan Museum of Art- Timeline, Southeast Asia 

Decolonization and Nationalism Triumphant: Crash Course World History #40

In which John Green teaches you about the post-World War II breakup of most of the European empires. As you'll remember from previous installments of Crash Course, Europeans spent several centuries sailing around the world creating empires, despite the fact that most of the places they conquered were perfectly happy to carry on alone. After World War II, most of these empires collapsed. This is the story of those collapses. In most places, the end of empire was not orderly, and violence often ensued. While India was a (sort of) shining example of non-violent change, in places like The Congo, Egypt, Rwanda, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, things didn't go smoothly at all. John brings you all this, plus pictures of Sea Monkeys. Sadly, they don't look anything like those awesome commercials in the comic books.

History through Hollywood

Picture
Gandhi (1982)
The life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest. (191 mins.)
Director: Richard Attenborough
Stars: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox
22. Political and social struggles have resulted in expanded rights and freedoms for women and indigenous peoples.
  • The push for the expansion of rights and freedoms for women and indigenous groups during the second half of the 20th century was led by the efforts of human rights organizations and fueled by media coverage. 
  • The struggle for women’s rights pressured more countries to extend educational opportunities, grant suffrage, and allow women to hold positions in government. Governments also were pressured to end discriminatory practices and violence against women (e.g., India, Afghanistan). However, there was resistance to reform in many countries. 
  • The ending of apartheid in South Africa provided blacks the rights they had been denied. This was the result of political pressure within and outside the country. 

Resource: CIESIN - The rights of indigenous peoples in international law: An annotated bibliography 
Resource: UNHCR - refworld, Human rights/Indigenous persons
Resource: Cultural Survival
Resource: The Role of Afghanistan in the fall of the USSR
Resource: Apartheid Museum 
​Resource: ICTJ South Africa

History through Holloywood

Picture
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
Director: Justin Chadwick
Stars: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Terry Pheto

Globalization: 1991-Present 

23. The breakup of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War and created challenges for its former allies, the former Soviet republics, Europe, the United States and the non-aligned world.
  • The ending of the Cold War was marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union. A new relationship between the United States and Russia and the other former Soviet republics developed and offered new challenges for the U.S. The United States moved away from its containment policy. The U.S. and Russia reached bilateral agreements on space, energy and technology, and reached agreements for restrictions on nuclear weapons. 
  • The demise of the Soviet Union also created new challenges for its former allies, the former Soviet republics, Europe and the non-aligned world as well as the U.S. Among the challenges were the creation of separate and independent governments, the control of the nuclear arsenals installed by the former Soviet Union, the rise of ethnic tensions and the transition to free-market economies. 
  • The collapse of the Russian economy in the 1990s led the U.S. to offer financial assistance and the International Monetary Fund to provide loans to Russia. 
  • The former communist allies of the Soviet Union struggled in transitioning to free-market economies and instituting democratic reforms. Germany wrestled with the challenges of reunification. 
  • The U.S. emerged as the world’s sole superpower, which prompted national debates on its new role on the world stage. 
  • The Non-Aligned Movement, originally formed as a counterpoint to NATO and the Warsaw Pact, has struggled to define its purpose and establish common goals since the end of the Cold War.

November 9, 1989 - Fall of the Berlin Wall 

​The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Construction of the wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic on 13 August 1961. The Wall cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin. Wikipedia
​'The Berlin Wall and the Press' Video Lesson | NewseumED
Warm-up questions (see teacher key in lesson plan download for possible answers) ... What role did radio and television news play in the fall of the Berlin Wall?

Nov. 10, 1989: Celebration at the Berlin Wall

​"World News": Peter Jennings reports live from Berlin.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall in Photos: An Accident of History ...
It was the night of Nov. 9, 1989. As their yellow Wartburg advanced unimpeded into what had always been an off-limits security zone, Mr.

The fall of the Berlin Wall

​In the fourth of five films, Berliners remember the night in November 1989 when the barrier between two ideologies was finally breached
​The Berlin Wall and Beyond: An Online High School ...
The Berlin Wall & Beyond is an online high school curriculum for teaching World ... of the fall of the Wall, the Berlin Wall and Beyond was developed by UCLA's ... With six units of lesson plans, activities, discussion questions, ...

The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall - Konrad H. Jarausch

​View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-rise-a... On August 13, 1961, construction workers began tearing up streets and erecting barriers in Berlin. This night marked the beginning of one of history’s most infamous dividing lines: the Berlin Wall. Construction continued for a decade as the wall cut through neighborhoods, separated families, and divided not just Germany, but the world. Konrad H. Jarausch details the history of the Berlin Wall. Lesson by Konrad H. Jarausch, directed by Remus & Kiki.
Fall of Berlin Wall: How 1989 reshaped the modern world .. 
It was on 9 November 1989, five days after half a million people gathered in East Berlin in a mass protest, that the Berlin Wall dividing communist ...

History through Song

Scorpions - Wind Of Change (Official Music Video)

Jesus Jones - Right Here Right Now (Official Music Video)

​1990: First McDonald's opens in Moscow

Russian Capitalism After Communism | History
​CNN Business: Russians queue up as the first McDonald's restaurant opens in Pushkin Square at the end of the Cold War.
As the Soviet Union fell, Russia embraced capitalism. But Russia's definition of a "free market" doesn't exactly align with other parts of the globe. #HistoryChannel
24. Regional and ethnic conflicts in the post-Cold War era have resulted in acts of terrorism, genocide and ethnic cleansing.
  • Acts of terrorism resulting from regional and ethnic conflicts in the post-Cold War era include those initiated by Islamic fundamentalists and by separatist groups (e.g., Al Qaeda, Chechnyan separatists, Irish Republican Army). 
  • Regional and ethnic conflicts have led to acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Genocide involves the systematic extermination of a group of people based upon specific religious, national, racial or other cultural characteristics. Ethnic cleansing involves the purposeful and forceful removal of a group of people from a region. The targeted groups have specific religious, national, racial or other cultural characteristics. Members of these groups are typically subjected to deportation, displacement or, ultimately, genocide. 
  • The rise of nationalism among ethnic groups in the republics that emerged from the former Yugoslavia led to ethnic cleansing and the murder of thousands in Bosnia. Other examples of ethnic cleansing/genocide occurred in Sudan (Darfur), Iraq and Rwanda. 

History through Hollywood

Picture
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
The true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda. (121 mins.)
Director: Terry George
Stars: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Xolani Mali
25. Political and cultural groups have struggled to achieve self-governance and self-determination.

Political and cultural groups have struggled to achieve self-governance and self-determination in many places since 1991, including: 
  • Russia and the other former Soviet republics;
  • South Africa;
  • The former communist countries in Europe;
  • Israel and Arab nations in the Middle East; and
  • Northern Ireland.
26. Emerging economic powers and improvements in technology have created a more-interdependent global economy.
  • Emerging economic powers (e.g., China, India, Brazil, Russia) have helped create a more interdependent global economy by gaining market share in the production of some goods and services. 
  • The European Union was created in the early 1990s to strengthen the economies of the member nations and make them more competitive in the world market by using a common currency and eliminating trade barriers. 
  • Improvements in technology, such as the expanded use of satellites, personal computers, the Internet and cellular telephones, have created a more interdependent global economy. For example, the Internet and cellular phones enable the sharing of business data and facilitate commercial transactions. The personal computer and Internet have transformed the workplace, permitting employees to work virtually anywhere in the world. 
27. Proliferation of nuclear weapons has created a challenge to world peace.
  • The end of the Cold War posed new challenges with the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their threat to world peace. The collapse of the Soviet Union raised concerns for the nuclear weapons stored in some of the former Soviet republics. Instability in many of the former Soviet republics raised global concerns regarding the safety of the weapons they hold and the possibilities for proliferation. 
  • The possibility of access to nuclear weapons by terrorists and those countries that support terrorism also poses a challenge to world peace.

Why Only 9 Countries Have Nuclear Weapons (feat. It's OK to be Smart!)

​What are the rules that govern who has nukes and who doesn’t?

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty: Three Things to Know

The Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), has helped curb the spread of nuclear weapons since 1970. Over the next month, diplomats from around the globe will gather at the United Nations to review progress on the accord. Its future depends on...
http://www.cfr.org/nonproliferation-a...

What Countries Have Nuclear Weapons?

NowThis World is dedicated to bringing you topical explainers about the world around you. Each week we’ll be exploring current stories in international news, by examining the facts, providing historical context, and outlining the key players involved...
​http://go.nowth.is/News_Subscribe
28. The rapid increase of global population coupled with an increase in life expectancy and mass migrations have created societal and governmental challenges. 

The rapid increase of global population in the 20th and 21st centuries coupled with an increase in life expectancy has created societal and governmental challenges. The environmental impact has pressured governments to institute policies to reduce pollution and conserve resources. In response to the population problem in China, the government instituted a one child per couple policy. The increase of the elderly has placed burdens on many countries to provide adequate health care. 

Mass migrations have created societal and governmental challenges, including:  
  • Brain drain out of developing countries;
  • Tension and conflict in some receiving countries (e.g., immigrants from North Africa and other Arab nations into Europe); and
  • Illegal immigration (e.g., U.S., South Africa)

What is Brain Drain?

Countries around the world are competing for resources, and prime among those resources is human capital. When talent consistently leaves the country of birth, it creates a persistent drag on the home country’s economy and blights its growth – a phenomenon recognized as brain drain. What are the reasons behind citizens leaving their countries? And what is Government's role in preventing it, or even reversing it? This video showcases some successful examples from across the world.

African migrants now departing from Morocco to Europe

​Libya has cracked down on African migrants seeking to flee to Europe. As a result, Morocco has become the new jumping off point from the African continent. One flashpoint is Ceuta, a Spanish enclave at the northern tip of the country.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant, in partnership with the Pulitzer Center, explores the migration tension and allegations of human rights abuses in Morocco. Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour

​America's Brain Drain

President Obama devoted much of his State of the Union address to education and science. For years our American universities have attracted the best science students in the world, but as John Blackstone reports, it's keeping them here once they graduate that's the challenge.​

Can the Undocumented 'Earn' Citizenship?

“I'm here as an undocumented immigrant with no papers, no green card, no passport, and no legal documents, but I am still a citizen of this country,” says Jose Antonio Vargas in a new video filmed at the 2018 Aspen Ideas Festival...

Globalization I - The Upside: Crash Course World History #41

In which John Green teaches you about globalization, a subject so epic, so, um, global, it requires two videos. In this video, John follows the surprisingly complex path of t-shirt as it criss-crosses the world before coming to rest on your doorstep, and eventually in your dresser. (Unless you're one of those people who never puts their laundry away and lives out of a laundry basket. If that's the case, shame on you.) Anyway, the story of the t-shirt and its manufacture in far-flung places like China, Guatemala, and India is a microcosm of what's going on in the global economy. Globalization is a bit of a mixed bag, and there have definitely been winners and losers along the way. In this episode John will talk about some of the benefits that have come along with it. Next week, he'll get into some of the less-positive side effects of globalization.

Globalization II - Good or Bad?: Crash Course World History #42

In which John asks whether globalization is a net positive for humanity. While the new global economy has created a lot of wealth, and lifted a lot of people out of poverty, it also has some effects that aren't so hot. Wealth disparity, rising divorce rates, environmental damage, and new paths for the spread of disease. So does all this outweigh the economic benefits, the innovation, and the relative peace that come with interconnected economies? As usual, the answer is not simple. In this case, we're living in the middle of the events we're discussing, so it's hard to know how it's going to turn out. 

29. Environmental concerns, impacted by population growth and heightened by international competition for the world’s energy supplies, have resulted in a new environmental consciousness and a movement for the sustainability of the world’s resources.

World population growth and the competition for energy supplies have led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, the loss of tens of thousands of plant and wildlife species and the rapid decline of rainforests. 

A new environmental consciousness and a movement for the sustainability of the world’s resources influenced the actions of:
  • Citizen organizations (e.g., Greenpeace, Save Our Environment, World Wildlife Fund, Save Our Earth); and
  • Government conferences (e.g., 1992 Earth Summit, 1997 Kyoto Protocol). 
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Listen to the Children - Severn Cullis-Suzuki's famous speech on the environment (1992)

Why the Kyoto Protocol Failed and a New Way Forward

From the UN Audiovisual Library: Severn Cullis-Suzuki, delivers her famous speech at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Watch more from the archives: http://www.unmultimedia.org/​
​Steve Rayner, Professor of Science and Civilization at Oxford University explains why the Kyoto Protocol was destined to fail from the outset. The international treaty to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions was built on insights from three precedents -- ozone depletion, acid rain, and nuclear disarmament -- that turned out to be fatally flawed. Climate change presents an altogether different challenge that requires a fundamentally new way forward. The climate challenge should be decomposed into "bite sized pieces," each with multiple motivations, that can be pursued in parallel: providing universal energy access worldwide; advancing energy technologies through innovation; and building resilience to extreme weather of all kinds. For more, see the "Climate Pragmatism" report, co-authored by Prof. Rayner, at http://bit.ly/ClimatePragmatism