Chinese Civil War political causes

Western supported Nationalists vs. the Soviet supported Communists.

Tension had been occurring for years.

The civil war began when Chiang Kai-shek decided to purge the Communists from the KMT-CCP (Chinese Nationalist Party-Chinese Communist Party) alliance to consolidate power.

The purge is know as the Shanghai Massacre of 1927 by the CCP and the Purging of the Party by the KMT.

Many prominent Communist members were imprisoned or executed by the KMT in an attempt to destroy the influence of the CCP.

The communists fled, preparing for the next stage of the Civil War.

Communists gained most of their strength from rural areas. The supporters were able to utilize guerrilla tactics to neutralize superior nationalist strength.

Villa and Zapata: Conclusion

Ten years. between 350,000-1 million died. There were three strands in the Revolution.

1. improving the hacendados and those against it

2. Village movement- free peasants

3. least clear cut, cowboys, miners, and other marginal people

It was Madero's strand that was the most successful (the first one). Villa and Zapata won at best partial victories. The Revolution broke up old political monopolies, great sociological change. However, the largest change were the popular attitudes (pg 403). Many great men involved.

Villa and Zapata: Epilogue

Obregon won the Presidency. Villa had four new ambitions (pg 386). Villa ran his estate on military lines. Obregon was always a capitalist. Obregon was for education, the Mexican realist movement (Rivera..) occurred during his presidency. Obregon was anti-clerical. As Villa got older he revealed himself as a man of the Right. Villa's first two years out of the public life he was only concerned with his tangled private life (women and their kids). For the next Presidential election there were two candidates, Obregon favored Calles. Obregon asked Villa to tell the press that he was not interested in running in the election. Villa gave a press interview but he did not do what Obregon wanted (to snub Obregon), he said he would either run himself, or give his support to de la Huerta. This greatly angered Obregon. Obregon began to think of how to kill Villa. Villa was assassinated. Calles became the President, de la Huerta fled to the US. During Calles' presidency there was a great deal of bloodshed. Meanwhile Obregon decided he wanted to be the President again. Obregon became a target for assassination attempts. Obregon was eventually killed in 1928. With Obregon the great leaders of the Mexican Revolution were gone forever.

The Decline of Villismo

After Villa was injured people thought his days with any type of power were limited. However, Villa reappeared. The harvest had just ended so people flocked to help him. Villa had three main advantages over Carranza (pg 363). Villa was more humane than Carranza in that he released his prisoners that were not officers. However, one of his officers, Uribe, clipped ears of prisoners so they would be recognizable if they fought against Villa again. Villa lived by the policy, "my enemy's enemy is my friend". The unemployed and disaffected flocked to Villa. Villa took town after town, including Chihuahua and Torreon (people continued to flock to him). Villa was anti-American. Villa gained a new amount of brutality, allowed his men to rape women, kill women....This alienated people who had previously supported Villa. Carranza would win towns and Villa would win towns (back and forth). Angles came back (from the US) and urged Villa to switch from guerilla warfare to regular campaigning. Angles was someone who could have untied everyone. He eventually attempted to go back to the United States after he saw the amount of American hatred towards Villa (they would never let him gain all power). He was captured by Carranza and executed in a mock trial. Obregon came back after being in retirement and announced his candidacy for President. Carranza vs. Obregon. Carranza was eventually killed, de la Huerta became the provisional President. de la Huerta granted Villa an agreement (Villa had to retire from public life, was allowed a body guard of 50 men). Obregon eventually said he would honor the agreement when he became President. Villa laid down his arms and agreed to the terms. The death of Carranza and the surrender of Villa effectively ended the Mexican Revolution.

Villa and Zapata : The Twilight of Zapatismo

Pablo Gonzalez was horrible, he looted, murdered (a lot), burned things down... Zapata went on the offensive, however, not all of his chieftains wanted to go back to war. Many of Gonzales's troops died from disease. Mexico was in a state of chaos. There was famine, disease, and there was a great financial crisis that occurred. During the revolution the leaders printed a great deal of money causing hyper-inflation. Carranza dealt with the hard times, but continued to push is political agenda. Villa and Zapata were limited by the village and hacienda, Carranza was not! Carranza wanted to modernize and mobilize. He was anti clericalism, he wanted the catholic church under his control. He wanted Mexico to stay neutral in WWII. His main problem was the military, he had to make sure the army was reliable (proven difficult throughout the Rev). His greatest new threat was Felix Diaz, Porfirio Diaz's nephew, the US kind of liked him. The felicistas were as hard to defeat as Villa and Zapata. The felicistas movement was helpful to Villa and Zapata, it drew Carranza's focus away from them. However, Zapata's aims were extremely similar to Diaz's so they were in competition for support. Zapata became paranoid. Carranza wanted to get rid of Zapata at all costs, even killing him. He did just that, had Zapata killed. Zapata was gunned down by a group of shooters, however, he became an icon in Morelos.

Keegan chapter 3 (Blitzkrieg):

Polish were not a good test of the German's capabilities. Case yellow was to ATTACK! it was for a western offensive..the plan was shelved and a new one was created it was called the Manstein plan. Reversal of the Schlieffen plan. The BIG German strength was their equipment, planes, tanks (Panzers)... The planes made a horrific scary noise (intimidate the enemy). The French army was still mainly a marching army, many divisions, not a lot of structure. They created the Maginot line, western front in concrete (not enough money to finish). The French had to prepare for a defensive battle. The German army had three divisions and a lot of structure. The dutch tried to be neutral. Germany attacked, quick defeat of the Dutch in a raid. British had almost ZERO armor. French would not give up! Hitler called for a halt on the advance. The Allies feared defeat and occupation. New prime minister (Churchill). MATERIAL weakness. Evacuation of Paris. Called the war of 1939-1940, no part of France had been spared, many people had been killed. German moral was WAY up! Churchill believed the Battle of Britain was soon to come.

HIT HARD, HIT FAST, SURPRISE!!!

Short term and long term causes

Short term-

The take over of Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Anschluss was the annexation of Austria, some people were angry within Austria but for the most part there was excitement. Hitler was able to come in (welcomed), there were zero shots fired. It signified the end of the Treaty of Versailles (Germany took over another country, creating a larger Germany).

The Czech crisis- A month after Anschluss. Chamberlain pretty much gave Czechoslovakia to Hitler in an attempt to appease him. Germany got the Sudate land, area on the border of Germany and Czechoslovakia where they speak German. March 1939 Hitler invades Czechoslovakia. Their government was in chaos, Hitler used it to his advantage. No shots were fired! In response the U.S. put a 25% tax on German goods. Hitler was slowly spreading his power.

Long term-

Nationalism (created partially by the Treaty of Versailles), Germans began to band together in the common belief that they had been treated unfairly in the Treaty. Consequently the Treaty of Versailles was also a long term cause.

The League of Nations- failed to punish countries that were threatening other countries. This showed Hitler that he would not be punished if he began to go against the Treaty, and eventually take over other countries and expand his influence.

Reparation- Germany was forced to pay back the money that was agreed upon in the Treaty. It helped create Germany's depression. This also led to a surge in Nationalism. Inflation, depression, reparations.

Immediate

Invasion of Poland- September 1st, 1939. Hitler assumed France and Britain would not go to war over Poland (he was wrong), so he attacked. Two days after he attacked Britain and France declared war! Nothing really happens between Britain and France vs. Germany for 9 months.

Practice Paper 1:

1. a) The significance of the Locarno treaty, according to source E, demilitarized the Rhineland a hostile area of land. The Rhineland would be completely evacuated by 1930. It was a move towards peace. Germany was willing to agree to the terms, they also agreed to become part of the League of Nations, this is significant because Germany would have to run their plans by the League, hopefully avoid war.

b) Source B is depicting an agreement between Briand, Chamberlain, and Streseman. They are agreeing to strengthen the League of Nations, as well as creating alliances between the fellow members within the League.

2. Source B states that the Treaty of Locarno created security, this is because other larger countries will back up the smaller countries that mare being attacked, a sort of alliance within the League. It states that the Locarno Treaty is mainly concerned with peaceful settlements. It says that with both the Locarno and the Geneva an agreement was not far off.

Source C states that the treaty of Locarno was a defeat for France, they had wanted a renewed alliance with Britain. It states that a military alliance became unlikely between Britain and France. However, it also stated that the Treaty of Locarno helped to create more agreements between France and Britain.

Source B states that the Treaty created more of an alliance between nations while source C believed it was not an alliance but rather merely a frontier. Source B believed that if one country was attacked other countries would come to its aid because they were both members of the League of Nations, Source C states that this plan was simply "impractical". Source B believed that the treaty would lesson the hostilities and create a stronger military bond between Britain and France. However, source c stated the exact opposite. The two sources had almost opposite opinions on the Treaty of Locarno.

3. Source A is an extract from a speech by Gustav Stresemann, after the signing of the Treaty of Locarno on 16 October 1925. The purpose of the source is to justify the signing of the Treaty and to outline its importance in order to bring about peace in the world, and overall an agreement between nations. The value of this source is that Stresemann signed the Treaty of Locarno and he seemed to fully believe in his opinion, he was also alive during the time period so he had a better historical perspective. The limitation of this source is that is is bias, it only shows the perspective of pro treaty people, not the people against the treaty, nor the people who will have to live by the rules of the treaty.

Source C is an extract from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website. The purpose of the source is to outline their stance on the Treaty of Locarno and to show that is was not a large move towards world peace, its other purpose is to show that the terms of the treaty were unrealistic. The value of this source is that it represents a somewhat anti Treaty of Locarno point of view. The other value of this source is that is is distributed by important individuals in the British government. The limitation of the source is that it is bias and only shows an opinion that is partially against the Treaty of Locarno.

4. During the time when the Treaty of Locarno was created the world,especially Europe, was in a state of turmoil. The world was still experiencing the repercussion of World War One. The world went into a state of financial crisis.

Sources A, B, and E supports the opinion that the Treaty of Locarno was an important step towards world peace. Source C however stated that it was not a move towards peace and it in fact hindered the alliances in Europe. Source D shows that while there was an agreement between important figures in Europe the treaty was both a move towards peace but it was not as strong of a treaty as some thought.

The Treaty of Locarno helped to create an alliance system within Europe. It hoped to lesson the hostilities after World War One. It was important because it outlined the demilitarization of the Rhineland, an important and hostile area between Germany and France. It was also significant because it promised to give the League of Nations more power, this was not effective because later the League was not as powerful or as people had previously hoped. The league did not truly protect the countries later on prior to World War Two. In conclusion, the treaty was created in an attempt to move towards peaceful relations in Europe.

Documents analysis from Origins book (pg 83-87)

4.1- He stated in his book Mein Kampf that the people of Germany need to continue to hold strong in the fight to get the land that was lost (in the Treaty of Versailles) back. He said that the land was there right. He said that Germany had to be a world power, that there was not other form it could take other than no power at all. He wanted to look to the East (Russia), and he wanted more land in the East. This is foreshadowing to the events that would occur later (during WWII). He believed Germany had the right to change the boundaries of countries. It shows that he wanted to return Germany to it's former glory, he wanted to make it powerful. Overall he briefly outlined his foreign policy.

4.2- This source is an excerpt from a speech by President Eisenhower. He stated that the political situation in the world was a cause for great concern. He discussed how many innocent people were being killed although war was not even declared. He says that the time of so called peace in incorrectly named. He believed that in order for the world to be safe the amount of disorder needs to be changes, there must be stability. He stated that for the time being the United States would refrain from entering war, that they only want peace.

4.6- This is an excerpt from a speech that Hitler made to his generals prior to the invasion of Poland . He stated his plan to attack Poland and then have German people settle there, he also discussed how his pact with Poland was merely a way for him to gain time, and a distraction. By stating this he is saying that Poland is too weak to cause trouble. He also outlined his reason for forming an "alliance" with Stalin. However he states that when Stalin dies he will go after Russia, and he will win. The idea of a Blitzkrieg is also evident, when he says to hit them fast, hard, and without mercy. He wanted to scare the people of Europe into submission, he said it would be more "humane".

Mexican Rev: The punitive expedition

Zapata was not a good politician. Obregon came in and took over Mexico City, the city went through it darkest times. There was famine, and water shortages caused by the Zapatista blockade. Wheh Obregon moved out of the City Zapata's men came in and looted. There were three main men in Morelos, Zapata, Palafox and the new governor Genovevo de la O. Zapata worked off of two principles:

1. support village leaders against professionals

2. civilians come before the military

Next Gonzales entered the Capital. Woodrow Wilson recognized Carranza's government, this made Villa extremely angry. Both Zapata and Villa were forced to flee to the hills at different points throughout their lives. Because Villa was angry with Wilson he began and anti-gringo campaign and began killing americans, and attacked a few US towns. Wilson was urged by the congress to take action and enter Mexico. Wilson made a deal with Carranza about a US occupation in Mexico. Villa was badly wounded in a battle and was forced to flee to the hills for seven weeks. When he came out of hiding he found that one of his officers, Pablo Lopez, had been executed. Lopez became a martyr and was important in turning Chihuahuans against Carranza. Wilson was urged to move out of Mexico. He did not want to play into Germany's trap, if he entered a full out war with Mexico the US would not have been able to be involved with WWI. Eventually the US completely pulled out of Mexico.

The Zimmerman telegram was created by Arthur Zimmerman. It asked Mexico for an alliance. It asked Carranza to attack the US, this way the US would be preoccupied with Mexico rather than going into WWI and helping the allies. The telegram was intercepted and deciphered in Britain and passed on to the US. Only person to benefit during this time was Villa.

IA evidence of research! Preliminary

Evidence of Research:

from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/39/a3921239.shtml

Question: how did Hitler and Stalin use their secret police to control their people?

Gestapo was the force of the Reich. Hitler used his German police to scare the people of Germany into submission. He had the power to throw someone who questioned him into jail for no reason. They started out by being Hitler's body guards. People knew that if they questioned Hitler publicly that they would either be killed or put into a concentration camp (they would most likely die there also). All of the judges were Nazis so that the ruling would be in favor of the Nazi party.

from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/nazi_police_state.htm

Nazi police made sure that everyone was doing what Hitler told them. The police could arrest people on "suspicion". Anyone could be arrested. The Gestapo was free from any judicial scrutiny. Laws meant nothing to them. The police were a large force because there were many people who were against the Nazis. Fear became the main form of control in Germany. INTIMIDATION!!! People who were arrested were allowed to pack for 3 minutes and then they were taken out of their house. The prisoners were forced to sign a form that then sent them to concentration camps.

from http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/germany/gestapo.htm

Founded in 1933. One of the primary groups used for persecuting the Jewish people. Carried out mass murders. SEVERE treatment. The Gestapo were the primary source of oppression under Hitler. Eliminated the people who were enemies to the Nazi's. "Schutzhaf" is the the ability to not use any type of judicial proceedings.

Origins OPVLs

3.1: Clemenceau was one of the four men who created the Treaty of Versailles. He believed that the Germans needed to be punished so they would not rise up again. He believed the Treaty should only focus on Germany. He wrote that the Treaty would help stop the German aggression but the German people would continue to have a strong sense of nationalism/spirit. 

OPVL- On the 27th of March, 1919 Clemenceau wrote a report on the French's position on Germany at the Paris Peace Conference. The purpose of this source is to outline the French's position in regards to Germany and the Treaty of Versailles, it is also used to justify the harshness of the Treaty. The Value of the source is it was written by one of the four men who created the Treaty of Versailles. The limitation of the source is that is bias and only shows Cleamenceau's opinion and not the French people's, or the other side. 

3.2: Hitler was against the Treaty of Versailles. He wanted the German people to stay strong in opposing the Treaty, he believed that when people realized how awful the Treaty was that they would think better of the German people because they opposed it. He also believed that opposing it would boost the German's confidence/nationalism. 

OPVL- The purpose of the excerpt from Hitler's book Mein Kampf was for Hitler to show his opinion on the Treaty of Versailles, and also to reiterate the harshness of the Treaty. The value of this source is that it was taken from a book written by the leader of Nazi Germany, Hitler. The limitation of this source is it bias because it only shows Hitler's view point. 

History Readind pg 53-64 bullets

#1- *League of Nations was created in the Paris Peace Conference. 

*Had an assembly with 4-5 permanent seats (numbers changed), and 4-6 temporary seats (numbers changed). 

*Because of the US senate the United States was blocked entry. 

* Soviet Union also denied entry 

*Promoted international co-operation 

*Prompted the signing of the Washington Naval agreement

#2-*Organizes by the League of Nations

*opened in 1932

*aim was to set limits on army, air force...

*Germans wanted equal rights

*In 1933 Germany left the League

#3- *Peace could not be secure if Germany was still upset about the Treaty

*Germany unstable after WWI

*German constitution had great flaws

*Political instability -no absolute ruling party

#4-*The instability caused economic problems

*Germans blames the Allies

*Mainly because Germany borrowed so much $ during WWI 

*Inflation rose BIG TIME, money not worth much at all!!

*German problem threatened Anglo-French relations

*2 US bankers went to Germany to help sort everything out..led to recovery

#5-*Daws plan: Germany payed regular payments on loan in the US, French promised to not use force to get payments. 

* Treaty of Locarno: Germans agreed to the Wester Front conditions of the Treaty of  Versailles (did not agree to the Eastern ones)

*Shows how badly the Germans wanted a revision of the Treaty of Versailles

#6-*1924-1929: Germany seemed secure

*However, trouble was coming. germany relied on US loans

*Left and Right political parties still upset with each other

*Hitler starts to gain power

* He wanted to return Germany as a major World Power

*He had 4 key policies pg 60

*Hitler was the leader of the NSDAP (Nazi Party)

#7-*US economy crashed

*Biggest world economic crisis

*The World relied on the stability of the US economy

*US could not give loans to Europe

#8-*The above caused the Manchurian crisis

*Political crisis in japan

*Japanese Army occupied Manchuria 

*has been a territorial dispute between China and Japan for a long time

*China asked League for help

*League didn't really do anything, Japan left the League 

*Manchuria remained a place of instability 

#9-*Germany used the loans given to them by the US but when they ran out their economy collapsed

*When Hitler came to power it was already like a dictatorship

*Von Hindenburg was the President

*many elections

*Country worried about either a communist dictatorship, the nazi party or a return to high inflation 

*Eventually Hitler was appointed the German Chancellor by the President 

*German problem NOT SOLVED!

IA Topic

I would like to do something with my Great Grandfather's letters that he wrote to my grandmother (and vise versa). He was on Utah beach on D day. I am thinking about discussing the differences of perception, or the censorship during WW II. 

OR 

I would like to do something comparing two of the dictators (maybe from different regions). Or how was Hitler was able to rise to power without a great deal of opposition? 

I definitely want to do something with World War II because it is one of the wars I am the most interested in.  Unless it would be better to do the Cold War because I don't know as much about it. 

If that would be more helpful then I would like to do something on how the leader's of the various causes caused it. 

Mexican Revolution: Civil War

Obregon gained importance, and soldiers. The Civil War began. Three issues divided Villa and Carranza (pg 289). Villa lost the propaganda war. Villa did not trust President Woodrow Wilson. Price of oil went up, so Carranza's revenue went up exponentially. Obregon used trenches. Villa lost multiple battles, consequently his men began loosing moral. Carranza won the Civil War. Villa's currency became worthless, Chihuahua was a mess. Villa's intellectuals fled to the U.S. Fiero killed Urbina, then Fiero died. Huerta came back but was put in jail. Villa fled to the mountains of Chihuahua.  (MESS FOR VILLA)!

Mexican Revolution: The Convergence of the Twain

Zapata gained an enormous amount of power, especially in Mexico City. Zapata saw four main problems that he was up against (pg 267). The main problem was banditry. A new phase of the Revolution was beginning. The groups all had different values. Zapata maintained his love for the land, and tradition. Zapata and Villa finally met (for the only time) in Mexico City (think of famous picture). Neither of the men wanted the Presidency. Each man had a major weakness. Villa' soldiers started a reign of terror, Villa had Zapata's aide murdered. Gutierrez (the President) issued a manifesto, he criticized both men. Zapata went into retirement and Villa continued to be self-destructive.