Third Test Explanations

Multiple Choice for two points each:
___ 1) What country's crown prince was assassinated in retaliation for its annexing ethnically Serbian (and potentially Russian) territory? A. Germany, B. Britain, C. France, D. Austria-Hungary.
Austria-Hungary was new to the "Great Game" of imperial expansion, and, logically, they would choose to expand in the most vulnerable territory on their own border, parts of the "sick man of Europe," the Ottoman Empire. Austria-Hungary's first venture into this game, however, would backfire bigtime as a resentful Bosnian (the territory Austria-Hungary annexed) whose ethnicity was best affiliated with Serbia (and Russia) shot the crown prince when he was visiting Serbia.
___ 2) While the Britain, France, and America pointed the finger to German Kaiser Wilhelm's arrogance as a major cause of the First World War, Germany placed the blame on the unfair trade policies of France and Britain, especially in their imperial plans for what region? A. America, B. China, C. Africa, D. Indonesia
Great Britain and France's, less than free trade agreements over their colonies in Africa (Egypt/Britain; Algeria/Morrocco/France) is specifically mentioned in the German pamphlet excerpt we read in class, "Vampire of the Continent."
___ 3) The First World War, and the wars that followed, were like no other, in that for the first time in world history, targets for bombing included A. ocean-going vessels, B. civilian population centers, C. fellow Europeans, D. Africans
Civilian targets is the main attribute of the despicable Total War phenomenon of wars in the twentieth century. Despite Geneva agreements and unilateral statements made by Roosevelt, American firebombing of German and Japanese cities, not to mention the atomic bombings of Japan are cases in point.
___ 4) America, benefiting greatly by the weapons sales during the first three years of the war, was reluctant to enter the war until what country torpedoed the American passenger ship, Lusitania, that was transporting weapons? A. Britain, B. Germany, C. France, D. Russia.
Germany, believed the ship to be carrying munitions bound for England, contraband for a passenger ship (actually a British warship painted as a passenger ship) and their intelligence turned out to be correct. Does it justify the civilian deaths in the sinking of the ships? Not in the minds of the American people, who were quickly convinced of the need to go to war against Germany in the last year of the war.
___ 5) The "Zimmerman Note" was a German appeal to which country for its entry into the war with the promise that they would get back territory taken from them by America in the previous century? A. Paraguay, B. Russia, C. Cuba, D. Mexico
If Mexico weren't fighting a civil war of their own, perhaps they would have been receptive to the idea of going to back to war with the U.S. over their "stolen" territories, California and Texas. This incident highlights the reality of the imperial game for territorial/colonial expansion underlying the First World War.
___ 6) The U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson, appealed to the American public that our entry into the First World War would make the world safe for A. Free Trade, B. Tourism, C. Free Speech, D. Democracy
Woodrow Wilson and many of the colonies who helped Europe fight their "Great War" were heartbroken when the promise of making the world safe for democracy did not pan out as expected. Europe went right back to business as normal in terms of colonial possessions and actually expanded possessions through the Mandate System in the former Ottoman Empire.
___ 7) Soldiers from which of the following countries suffered more casualties than any other nation and consequently quit the First World War? A. America, B. Japan, C. Russia, D. Italy
By far Russia experienced more casualties in both of the wars and the hardships they endured certainly contributed toward the general willingness to overthrow the old order if not herald in a new one under Lenin's Bolshevik Revolution.
___ 8) Applying Segundo Freud's new categories for understanding dimensions of the human (European) psyche, the relentless wartime aggression and destruction can be categorized under which of the following? A. super ego; B. id, C. ego, D. super id
The id, representing the unbridled violent tendencies was the category best represented by the weapons of mass destruction of the First World War, and indeed the Second World War as well.
___ 9) The artist Picasso turned to which region of the world in search of inspiration that he felt had been lost when the European bubble of cultural superiority burst during the First World War? A. South America, B. Australia, C. Japan, D. Africa
Many, if not most of Picasso's art styles have antecedents in Africa, so it is no wonder that he recommended it a source for artistic insight.
___ 10) The May 4th Movement of students in China was in protest over the First World War settlement in which German territory in China was given to which country? A. America, B. Britain, C. France, D. Japan
The Allies decision to give Japan German territory in China probably drove the Chinese toward communism more than any other development. Chinese students in France actually blocked Chinese representatives from attending the signing ceremony.
___ 11) Evidence of a lesson learned by the victors when comparing the peace settlements of the two world wars is A. re-conquering their old colonies, B. rebuilding the economies of the defeated nations, C. getting war reparations from the defeated nations, D. blaming everything on Germany.
Certainly rebuilding the economies of the defeated nations is the biggest difference between the two peace settlements. Nothing like the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe's economy was launched after the First World War.
___ 12) Women finally received the right to vote after their contributions to industrial production during which war? A. Vietnam War, B. Second World War, C. First World War, D. Korean War
Women's contributions during the First World War to essential military/industrial production assured passage of universal suffrage for women in many countries, including the U.S. and Britain.
___ 13) Besides America's shutting down immigration to all Japanese to America, Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor could be linked to America's: A. shutting off oil sales to Japan, B. taking Hawaii from Hawaiian Queen Liliokilani in 1893, C. taking the Philippines in the Spanish American War, D. Great Depression
The U.S. oil embargo against Japan is most often cited as the event that required new Asian colonial sources for oil. Japan hoped that by defeating the U.S. navy at Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack, they would buy enough time to secure those Asian colonies necessary for their empire.
___ 14) The Mandate System, established in the Peace Settlement of the First World War, effectively expanded the territories of France and Britain in what region of the world? A. The Ottoman Empire, B. China, C. Africa, D. South Asia
The Mandate System divided the former Ottoman Empire, except for Turkey, between France and Great Britain.
___ 15) Aside from saving American lives, what other controversial imperative influenced the U.S. decision to drop two atomic weapons on Japan within three days? A. Japan's military alliance with Germany, B. Russia's military advancement toward Japan, C. Japan's naval power, D. Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor
Russia's advancement toward Japan, its declaration of war on Japan two days before America dropped the first bomb and Russia's seizure of four island off of the coast of Hokkaido proves that Russia indeed had its eyes set on Japan. Japan didn't realize this until it was too late and today they have still yet to sign a formal peace treaty.

1) Racial Equality Clause, proposed for the League of Nations after the First World War, was not acceptable to the victors.
2) Declaration of Human Rights, in contrast to the failed Racial Equality Clause after the First World War, proves that the attitudes of the victors had indeed changed after the massive destruction fueled by racial theories during the Second World War. The timing was finally right in the for the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. too.
3) Fire-bombings were more devastating to civilians during the war than the atomic bombs. Dresden, Hamburg, Tokyo are a few of the biggest cities that lost hundreds of thousands of civilians in the course of few hours of the fire bombings by American planes.
4) Kaiser Wilhelm had to overcome a disability resulting from complications of his birthing and some historians attribute this psychological dynamic as a significant factor in the First World War.
5) The Salt March was the centerpiece of Mahatmas Gandhi's campaign of Civil Disobedience against the British, thanks to the publicity that the British press gave to it. Gandhi planned this event for months to make sure that the eyes (and conscience of the world) would be tuned into India's just cause.
6) Woodrow Wilson's ideals of fighting to make the world safe for democracy were not realized at any level but especially in America, where legislators could not be convinced of the importance of the League of Nations.
7) Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in attempt to avert a labor led revolution in the U.S. sponsored a New Deal package of government jobs and federal planning for an increasingly regulated national economy.
8) The Milligram Experiment at Yale university proved that over sixty percent of respondents would continue increasing the voltage to shock someone who certainly didn't deserve such treatment as the paid actor screamed and flailed on the ground until apparent death.
9) Comfort women, one of many disgraces of the Japanese army, were forced to be Korean, Chinese, and Philippine women forced to be prostitutes for the soldiers' "comfort."
10) The Long March, unlike the Salt March, was not, nor could it have been, a planned event for the free press to broadcast world wide. It was, rather, Mao Ze Dong's bid at surviving against the advancing Chinese Nationalist troops, led by Chiang Kai Shek; but it at least galvanized Mao's support among the peasants as he retreated over a year into the northern mountains with the farmers' help along the way.

Short Response (two out of four for up to 10 points each)
1) What are the promises made in the Balfour Declaration at the end of the First World War that at least put part of the blame for continuing violence in the Mid-East on Britain?
Lord Balfour, a British diplomat responsible for facilitating Jewish immigration into Palestine made a promise to the Arabs in the region who had helped the British fight the successful war against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. He promised them that their civil and religious rights would not be infringed upon by the new Jewish settlements. If the declaration were upheld, Jerusalem should have been protected for all of the Judeo-Chritian-Muslim believers in the region.
2) How was the Cold War responsible for Osama Bin Laden's rise to power in Afghanistan?
Osama Bin Laden was one among tens-of-thousands of Mujahadeen (Muslim extremist) fighters the U.S. supported in the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Ironically, these tenacious, disciplined fighters did succeed in making Afghanistan, the Soviet Union's Vietnam, but when the Soviet's left, U.S. support dried up and the Mujahadeed became the Taliban, and eventually an enemy of the U.S.
3) What conditions were different in China that would have probably made Gandhi's method of non-violent resistance ineffective if used there?
China was in civil war as well as at war with the Japanese. There was not free press that could publicize a non-violent campaign for the world to see (a prerequisite for successful civil disobedience).
4) How does the response of the victors of the First World War to Ho Chi Min's appeal for support explain his eventual attraction to the Soviet Union in his fifty-year campaign to win Vietnam's independence?
Ho Chi Min was turned away by Wilson at the peace settlement in his bid for support for Vietnam's independence movement against France. The Soviet Union appeared to be the only alternative for finding support for his movement.
Extended Response (two out of three for up to 15 points each)
1) Compare and contrast American responses to independence movements in Indonesia and Vietnam after the Second World War?
In a nutshell, America stopped a return to the European colonial power play in Indonesia, while turning a blind eye to its return in Vietnam. Whereas America threatened to withhold Marshall Aid money to Holland if they didn't pull out of Indonesia, America went in to help France in Vietnam after they lost a key battle to Ho Chi Min in 1959 and the country was divided at the 17th parallel.
2) What Cold War factors (economic and military) facilitated the Japanese economic expansion after their defeat in the Second World War?
The Japanese benefited tremendously from America's Cold War with the Soviet Union and their Asian proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam. Japan served as a U.S. Airforce base and produced many of the products necessary for the war and the building of bases in the region. Japan's constitution after the Second World War also forbid any offensive military capacity. Money could be reinvested into civilian market products which Japan quickly found their niche.
3) Give specific examples of cases in Africa or Latin America of how Cold War rivalries and world economy created problems for peoples seeking economic and political independence. (You can comment on Honduras, represented in the video excerpt viewed in class). Honduras offers the easiest response to this question since everyone saw the video excerpt in class that described the Cold War dynamics in Latin America. The U.S. would support any group who was not attempting to overturn the old order, especially redistribute land to the people that either U.S. companies owned, or that was producing something for the American economy. Honduran farmers, under the leadership of Alvia Alvarez wanted to seize land of the cattle ranchers. The government called her communist to make it easier to get U.S. support against them, but she claimed that they knew nothing about Communism. They were only trying to find a way to make a living and "reclaim" land that wasn't doing their economy any good. Alvia viewed the U.S. as subversive in its funding of rebel training activities to support the war in Nicaragua against the Sandinistas. Then President Ronald Reagan even authorized the illegal selling of weapons to Iran to funneling more money to the Contra "freedom fighters" training in Honduras in the 1980s.
Extra Credit (do one for up to 10 points)
1) When asked about his religion, Gandhi said that "I am a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Christian. Explain the logic of this assertion in light of his Satyagraha movement?
Gandhi did not see religion as exclusive pathways to some exclusive end. He saw the common dimensions of the world religions and made connections between major stories in each of the religions. For example, he saw Jesus's Sermon on the Mount (the meek shall inherit the earth) as related to the Hindu Baghavad Gita. Gandhi felt that religious people had more in common with each other than they had against each other. Gandhi's creative interpretation of religions offended at least one Hindu fundamentalist who assassinated Gandhi before India could reconcile differences between Hindus and Muslims.
2) What specifically was Gandhi referring to when he said "[Western] civilization is such that one has only be patient and it will be self destroyed."? Gandhi saw Western Civilization as severely lacking (at least in the early twentieth century) in humanity to one another. Religion had become overshadowed by economic pursuits and religion was even being used to justify economic exploitation of people in other countries, he thought. From this critical standpoint, Gandhi is probably comparable with Marx in that he saw the industrial age and the urban hardships that it brought more as a destructive force than a constructive one. Gandhi argued that technological development needed to be appropriate to the needs of the people and their dignity as people.