Class Work 5; term 4

1. Briefly describe a couple of political, economic and social conditions that led to Stalin's rise a dictator of Russia. (Chapter 1 of "Stalin" Book)

-Political Cause: The death of Lenin. Stalin sort of portrayed himself as being Lenin's disciple in a sense, like he was going to be the savior after Lenin died. Thus, when Lenin did die, everyone wanted Stalin to rule.

-Economic: The USSR was isolated from the western democracies economically, and thus they had to industrialize themselves on their own. (They needed a leader who was stable for support and help in doing this.)

-Social: There were bread riots which ultimately led to the fall of the Romanov government. Also, people hated the Tsar government.

2. What were four of Stalin's Aims as leader of the USSR?

-His main aim was to gain and maintain power.

-He also wanted to "collectivize agriculture." By doing this he hoped to make enough profit to buy equipment for industrialization.

-He aimed at destroying the Kulaks, who opposed his efforts of collectivisation.

-He wanted to industrialize the Soviet Union to be prepared for the inevitable invasion from the Western Capitalists.

3. Where did Stalin get support from during his rise to power? (Chapters 2 and 3)

-Stalin had to work to build up his support over the years. He did this by taking jobs from the communist party, such as the head of the Central Committee and eventaully he became the secretary of the communist party.

4. To what extent was totalitarianism achieved during his rule?

-A totalitarianism state was achieved to a very large extent because there was almost no recognition of "authority limits," and Stalin aimed at regulating every aspect of the public that he could.

5. Describe at least two "legal" methods Stalin used to achieve his aims during his rule.

-Stalin created trials against "anti-communist" people, who in reality were simply people which he didn't like.

-He sent kulaks to gulags.

6. Describe at least two examples of "force" Stalin used to achieve his aims.

-He increased the amount of power which military agencies had, so that he could use their power to his advantage as a way of killing people who he saw as a threat.

-He ordered the assassination of Kirov, because he thought he was a threat to his power.

7. Briefly describe Stalin's ideology as a ruler.

-He wanted to increase the economy of Russia, while aiming at keeping power by killing whoever "got in his way."

8. What was the nature of Stalin's opposition during his rise and rule? Give specific examples of groups/people that opposed him. (Chapters 2-4, 7)

-The general people opposed Stalin because their lifestyle worsened as he came to power.

-Trotsky opposed him and created a small group of people that also opposed him as well.

-Kirov attempted to win a vote against Stalin, which can be seen as a slight opposition because they were competing against each other in a sense.

9. How was the Soviet Government Structured and administered?

-Stalin controlled everything in Russia. In doing this, he killed everyone who could be a threat to him. All of the laws which were created were administered by Stalin- he had to approve of a law for it to be passed.

10. Give two examples of Stalin's political policies.

-The government began to control the military officials and police.

-He wanted to destroy the Kulaks (I don't know if this is really a policy, it is more an aim, and I'm not sure if it is political.. but I don't know another one.)

11. Give two examples of Stalin's social policies.

-Girls started to receive the same education as boys; Women had equal rights when it came to working as well.

-Health care improved greatly.

12. Give one examples of Stalin's religious policies.

-Stalin closed the churches when he rose to power however once WWII began, he re-opened them.

13. Give an example of how Stalin used education to achieve his aims. (Chapter 9)

-His ideology was taught in school to young children (this is similar to what Hitler did!)

14. Give an example of how Stalin used the arts to achieve his aims.

-Writers were made to write about the achievements of the government, to make the government look better.

15. Give an example of how Stalin used media or propaganda to achieve his aims. (Chapters 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14)

-Pamphlets were given to worked during the 5 year plan as a way of boosting their morale. In these pamphlets, things were said about "other workers," and how much more these people worked in comparison to the normal person. This motivated people to want to work more, because others were doing it.

16. What was the status of women under Stalin's rule? (handouts from mid year review)

-The treatment of women improved, they began to be treated equally in the workplace. Girls also received the same education as boys did, which was also an improvement.

17. Give an example of how Stalin treated religious groups or minorities in the USSR during his rule. (Chapter 9)

Class Work 4; term 4

World War 1: 1914-1918, Total War, Guerilla

Russian Civil War/Russian Revolution: 1918-1922, Civil War, Total War

Chinese Civil War: 1927-1937, Civil War, Guerilla, Total

World War II: 1931-1945, Total War, Guerilla

Iran-Iraq War: 1980-1988, Total War

Gulf War: 1990-1991, Limited War

Class Work 3; term 4

Review Aims of Major Powers at Paris Peace Conferences

Aims of Japan included control of German ports in China.

Italy demanded control of the Fiume Territory, a Port City.

Maintaining the balance of power was the aim of the British; they intervened only when this was threatened.

Some aims of the French were to get compensation for all of their suffering in the war.

Only Germany was to blame for the war, according to the Allied powers.

Fourteen Points were created by Woodrow Wilson as a way of expressing America's goals.

Vague guarantees were offered by the League of Nations.

Italy aims to achieve the territorial gains that had been promised in the Treaty of London.

China was a place where Japan had an opportunity to increase its power.

The British policy pointed towards a peace of reconciliation, rather than revenge.

One of the way which the French tried to weaken Germany involved territorial reduction and extensive disarmament.

Reparations were paid by Germany.

Support from the UK was not needed for France.

Class Work 2; term 4

1. Compare and contrast the two accounts of being attacked by gas. How might you account for the differences?

-One reason for the differences in these two accounts is that the first account is from an Iraqi's perspective, whereas the second account is from an American perspective. The Iraqi source talks about the pain that was felt, and how badly she suffered. The decriptions that are given are very intense, and it seems so shocking to read about. While this person is talking about hwo she was a victim of the gas attacks, the other source is talking about being one of the soldiers who were starting the gas attacks. In the first source, the main deaths were with friends and family members, and this person mourned greatly over the loss. However, the main loss in the other source appeared to be animals, and they don't seem as mournful. This source says that there in no disctinction between a friend or an enemy when it comes to death, both burials are treated the same. Thus, death is a huge contrast between these two sources.

2. What can you surmise about the goals of the Iraqi forces? What were the goals of the German army?

-It seems as though the Iraqi forces were there, unwillingly, because they were ordered to be there by their leaders. At the end of the first source, the person says that she hopes her leaders are blinded by god. However, it appears as though the German soldiers are there willingly- they aren't saddened by the death of a fellow soldier, and they seem like they really want to be there to fight and destroy the enemy.

3. Gas was not used extensively in the 20th-century wars after 1918. Why might this be?

-Well, it seems as though the person using the gas put themselves in danger as well, instead of only the enemy. They had to take extensive measures, such as wearing gas masks and changing them every five hours, so that they could stay safe from the gas. This seems as though it may have been a waste of supplies, when they could just use guns or bombs instead, without needing this expensive and extensive protection. Also, with gas, innocent people are effected, such as children. The death with gas is much more slow, and ina sesne more painful, because they can see eachother dying, and it is not immediate.

4. Construct a chart comparing the advantages and disadvantages of gas as a weapon. Is gas any more or less "humane" than other weapons? Explain your answer.

-Advantages: Ability to kill a large amount of people in a short amount of time.

-Disadvantages: The people who are distributing the gas have to wear special masks so that they aren't affected, these masks only last for 5 hours, and thus they could get a little bit pricey.

In a sense, gas is a bit less humane than other methods, because the people are suffering, as it takes a long time for it to actually work. However, it could be argued that bombing people is just as inhumane because people get body parts blown off. Most forms of killing are inhumane, depending upon the argument that you are approaching it from.

Class Work 1; term 4

Task 1: Read charts 1-6. "With reference to origin and purpose discuss the values and limitations of the charts for historians studying the causes of WWI"

The origin of this source is from the book Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic and Military Conflict, which was written by Paul Kennedy and published in 1988 in London. The purpose of this source is to provide different statistics regarding the industry and power before, during, and after WWI. Because the origin of this source is a chart, it it a strength because there are solid numbers, and thus it can't really be opinionated. However, a limitation of this source may be that in chart 3, it doesn't explain what "per capita" means, and this is not a common term known to all people. Thus, there should be an explanation of this term so that the audience can better interpret the chart.

Task 2: Answer question 1 of "What caused the first World War?"

It seems that John Stoessinger's thesis is the most convincing, simply because it is different than all of the others. Some of the other thesis have very general ideas as to what caused the war, but in this case, he is actually explaining why his opinion is better than the others. However, just because his thesis is the most convincing doesn't mean that it is necessarily correct. It is just a convincing argument.

1- John Stoessinger

2- Eric Hobsbawm

3- Sydney Fay

4- Fritz Fishcer

5- Niall Ferguson