How far do you agree that the Cold War broke out in Europe because the USA and the USSR disagreed fundamentally about how they should treat the shattered European economy?
How far do you agree that the Cold War broke out in Europe because the USA and the USSR disagreed fundamentally about how they should treat the shattered European economy? Subsequent to the Second World War in 1945, the European economy was in tatters as much of the infrastructure had been laid to waste and industrial centres destroyed. As such, the two main victors of the war, the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), declared their commitment to postwar unity and mutual cooperation in improving global conditions. 1 Yet, in less than two years, a fervent rivalry between the two nations led to a breaking up of accord, concerning mutual blaming, the division of Europe, as well as the difference in political ideologies. The Cold War broke out in Europe in 1947, signifying a sharp and unexpected deterioration in postwar relations between the USA and USSR. Yet all through this period, the rivalry between the two superpowers was played out in numerous areas: military coalitions; ideology, military, industrial, and technological developments. Europe was split in half, with Western Europe supporting the USA, and Eastern Europe being an ally of the USSR. So, was the disagreement on how to deal with the shattered European economy between the USA and USSR the sole reason for the Cold War? I would agree with this statement only to a small
How far do you agree that Lenins leadership was the main reason why the Bolsheviks were able to seize power?
How far do you agree that Lenin's leadership was the main reason why the Bolsheviks were able to seize power? The Bolsheviks were able to successfully seize power for many reasons. Firstly the weakness of the provisional government made it easy to take power, secondly Trotsky's careful planning made sure the take-over was executed with great efficiency and finally the return of Lenin did help to build support and encourage the Bolsheviks to seize power. The First main reason the Bolsheviks were able to seize power was the failure the Provisional Government brought on itself. It had failed miserably in solving Russia's problems. The government was unsuccessful in combating the problem of having two governments it simply undermined its own power by doing nothing to stop the Soviets, it continued to fight a war the country could not afford and that was not supported by its people and a war in which in the end Russia did badly in, plus there was a massive lack of control over the countryside and so peasants seized control of land again proving the lack of authority the provisional government held. Ultimately all of these problems and the lack of authority was a huge factor in the downfall of the Provisional Government, you could argue that the government would have been overthrown without Lenin's leadership of the Bolsheviks as it was already widely unpopular and failing
Russell Baker's Growing Up
Russell Baker's Growing Up Autobiographical works tell a story of their authors by compiling antic dotes and accolades. Most autobiographies are that of famous authors or other celebrities and provide a synopsis of life according to them. Russell Baker's autobiography, Growing Up, achieves all these things as well, but, it does more than just tell of his life. As American citizens, history is a big part of our identity not only as Americans, but as individuals. Russell Baker lived through a depression, a world war, Utopia, a sexual revolution, and a lost cause conflict, among other things. If one were to study either the Great Depression or the Second World War, Russell Baker's autobiography would prove to be a valuable resource. Baker's autobiography provides a screen through which readers can view historical events in American history through one boy's eyes. As a newspaper columnist, Russell Baker has the ability to recall newsworthy events and tell of them in a professional, telling fashion. Early on in the book, Russell discusses his career as a magazine salesman and a newspaper delivery boy. It is hard to believe that Baker does not believe in some way these careers he had as a young boy did not shape his character. These two careers also provided him with a chance to read about events before anyone else did and thus recall these moments in time with a more focused
How effectively had Japan modernized itself by 1914?
How effectively had Japan modernized itself by 1914? -- Introduction Not until the 1800's did Tokugawa realize how powerless they were. Since the early 1600's, Japan completely isolated itself from the Western countries. Due to the anti-Christianity attitudes of the Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan prohibited itself from any contact with the Western countries, and trade was mostly done with the Dutch and Chinese. For the next 200 years, although the Japanese made contact with its trade partners, and gained information about some of the current developments, the western countries were far more advanced. Japanese fiefs such as Satsuma and Choshu noticed this when Commodore Matthew C. Perry finally succeeded in breaking down the wall of Japan's seclusion in 1864. -- What was the impact of Perry's missions on Japan? Dissatisfied about the fact that American "ship-wrecked sailors" were treated very badly by the Japanese, the United States sent Perry to negotiate a treaty with Japan. In 1853, Perry arrived in large, intimidating ships to display their strength and frightened the Japanese. Perry was then able to discuss his desire for a treaty for the shipwrecked sailors. Unable to make decisions for themselves, Tokugawa exposed their weakness by having to ask the imperial leaders whether they supported the American Treaty. A year later, the actual Treaty of Kanagawa was signed. Under
The collapse of the USSR was caused by internal problems and had nothing to do with the Cold War. Assess this view.
“The collapse of the USSR was caused by internal problems and had nothing to do with the Cold War”. Assess this view. In 1991, after over half a century of communist rule, the USSR ceased to exist as a political entity after many years of decline. This statement asserts that the cause for this cessation was only due to the effects caused by issues, policies and the framework within the USSR itself, and had absolutely no relation with regards to the external problem of the Cold War - defined by Ann Lane as a state of tension, conflict, hostility and competition which characterized US-USSR relations though not amounting to an actual war; this subscribes to the Soviet Initiative school of thought. However, this statement is unfair insofar that the collapse of the USSR was not only the result of trouble within its territorial boundaries, but rather a combination of factors both internal and external, including the foundational weakness of the Soviet economic system coupled with the long term pressure brought forth by the US policy of containment, the Reagan Doctrine as a catalyst, the turning point in USSR’s history with Gorbachev’s reforms and finally the immediate effect of the August 1991 coup d’etat that characterized the USSR’s decline. As such, this essay espouses that it was an amalgamation of both factors both within and outside the USSR that served as a
The development of the international economy in the period 1945-2000 favoured rich countries at the expense of the poor. How far do you agree?
"The development of the international economy in the period 1945-2000 favoured rich countries at the expense of the poor". How far do you agree? The global economy faced several ups and downs after World War II from 1945 to 2000, due to transformations achieved through the development of the economy. More often than not, these changes were executed by the richer 1st world developed countries (DCs) like the USA, Western Europe (WE) and Japan. While some of their policies aimed to improve the international economy on a whole, there were others that were pro-West and discriminated against the less developed countries (LDCs), hence causing them to enter crisis or suffer losses in trade and industry. This essay seeks to evaluate the extent of the policy changes and other events which disfavoured the economies of the LDCs or only benefited the DCs, as compared to those aiming to eliminate preferential treatment or discrimination. International economic institutions such as the World Bank (WB), IMF, GATT and WTO played significant roles in regulating the global economy and implementing new rules that affected both the DCs and LDCs. To begin with, the Bretton-Woods institutions were inherently unresponsive to 3rd world interests upon establishment, as they felt the LDCs were insignificant in the global economy. The institutions were largely inclined towards accelerating the
How important was foreign intervention in the unification of Italy by 1870?
HOW IMPORTANT WAS FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY BY 1870? BY ABUBAKAR A ABUBAKAR By 1870, after years of struggle, the Italian state was finally united. Unlike German unification Italians were not to be responsible for the entire process of national unity. Other powers were to play their parts in helping Italy unite. Some nations played a greater part than others, and therefore it will be necessary to address contributions of countries like France, Britain and Prussia. French intervention and of course that of Napoleon III played enormous roles during the various stages of the Italian unification. In 1849, France dispatched its forces to topple the new republican government of Mazzini and restore the Pope. This of course destabilised nationalists' aspiration of a united Italy. In 1858, Cavour and Napoleon arrived at what is known as a gentleman's agreement held at Plombieres in which France will support Piedmont with two hundred thousand troops in the event of war between Austria and Piedmont. Both men also agreed that after this war with Austria which hopefully will oust the Austrians from Italian territories, Italy will become a federal state made up of the kingdom of north Italy, the central duchies, Rome and the south Italian kingdom with the Pope as its president. In 1859, the war was fought and Napoleon III honoured his words and supplied Piedmont
The Soviet Union developed its influence in Eastern Europe in the years 1945 1949 because it simply wanted to guarantee its security in the future. How valid is this assessment?
'The Soviet Union was aggressively expansionist and showed little enthusiasm for détente.' How valid is this statement? The Soviet Union had been known for being aggressively expansionist in the past, but in détente the Soviet Union acted more out of security reasons rather than expansionist such as in Afghanistan which was on the USSR's border and could of possibly handed the USA a geostrategic position over them, also during détente they showed real enthusiasm for détente and more so than the USA, this spawns from the USSR having a much more serious view of the meaning of détente. The statement isn't valid because firstly in the Arab-Israeli and Angola conflicts although they did get involved with aiding one side, the acted second, after the USA which shows that they were acting less out of their 'aggressive expansionist' nature and more out of a response to their rival, the USA. Within the Arab-Israeli and Angola conflicts the USSR never deployed troops and only aided one side within these conflicts compared to when they wanted to expand their sphere of influence into Eastern Europe, they installed the Red Army into the Eastern European states to occupy them. In Angola the USSR wasn't acting aggressively due to Cuba having sent troops and aid to the FNLA party within Angola as they supported communism, the Soviets felt that because they were the arbiter of
Account for Mao's rise to power
Account for Mao's rise to power. Mao Zedong and the communist party came to power in 1949, we can account for the rise by applying Stephen Lee's criteria to it. The four main factors that led to this rise were conditions of China and failure of previous governments, failure of GMD, CCP tactics and strong leadership. It is important to note that not all these factors were created solely or even at all by Mao. Mao Zedong was one of the founding members of the CCP in 1921. His appointment as leader of the most successful communist base in Kiangsi gained him respect and in return for his services to the communist party he was elected Chairman of the central soviet government in 1931. It is difficult to unscramble Mao's individual contribution to the CCP's rise but many historians believe his background and personality helped him become chairman. Jung Chang1 disagrees, instead suggesting that he became leader through manipulation. It is generally undebated that Mao was a strong unifying leader this increased the CCP's popularity amongst the general population as problems that were affecting China such as disunification were a direct consequence of weak leadership. At the start of the 1900's China was industrially underdeveloped, traditional and weak. The failure of the traditional political system in china led to the formation of the CCP (not until 1921) and GMD as an
Explain why America became increasingly involved in the affairs of Vietnam
Explain why America became increasingly involved in the affairs of Vietnam Before the Second World War Vietnam had been a French colony. Vietnam consisted of mainly thick jungle and most of the people who lived their were farmers growing rice on the flat, fertile land by the coast. The Japanese during the war occupied Vietnam. A strong resistance movement, Vietminh (anti-Japanese resistance movement) emerged with a communist leader, Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh inspired the Vietnamese people to fight for an independent Vietnam. When the war ended the Vietminh controlled the north of Vietnam and were ready to take control of the rest of the country. The French wanted to regain control of Vietnam again. The Vietnamese people had not fought the Japanese only then to hand over power to the French. In 1946 war broke out between the French and the Vietminh. Ho Chi Minh cleverly did not mention that he was communist so that countries such as the USA would not get involved. The French asked President Eisenhower of the United States to send American troops to help. There was even mention of using nuclear weapons. Eisenhower said 'No' to both of these requests. The United States had just ended the war in Korea in which over 40,000 American's had died. They were in no mood to see anymore Americans die in Vietnam. In 1949, Ho Chi Minh declared himself communist. This date was cleverly
