Andy's global blog

Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

2009-05-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Soviet Union had been a world power competing against the United States for years. By the 1960s, it seemed like communism would endure anything. However, things soon began to change. The Soviet Union began to fall behind the United States. After the death of Leonoid Brezhnev, the Soviets needed to find a new leader. Brezhnev's next two successors died after 1 year in power. Mikhail Gorbachev was the last communist ledaer to rule the Soviet Union. He realized that if he wanted to restore the nation, he would have to change some of the policies imposed by previous Soviet leaders. Throughout most of history of the Soviet Union, the government had kept information under "lock and key." It did not want people to act on their own or spread their own ideas, and had firm control of the media. Gorbachev knew that he would never be able to help the country if he didn't let information flow freely, so he started a policy of glanost, or openness, in order to get more people to discuss how the economy could be helped. In order to help to economy, Gorbachev introduced perestroika, or economic restructuring. Soon, he opened up a policy called democratization, to open up the political system of the Soviet Union, and allow elections to be held in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev then began to improve relations with other countries. In 1987, he signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with the U.S. Despite Gorbachev's attempts to save communisms, he couldn't stop reforms from being made. Poland and Hungary were the first to rebel and the other countries soon followed suit. On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev officially resigned his position and the Soviet Union was dissolved. He wanted to bring about reform to help save communism and the Soviet Union, but his reforms eventually led to its destruction.

Collapse of Communism

2009-05-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

For over 8 decades, the Soviet Union had been controlled by a communist government. It had been going against the United States and capitalism as a superpower during the Cold War for years. Both countries were neck and neck and wanted to come out on top. However, the communists were eventually unable to keep up with the U.S. The Soviet Union was spending so much money on their military that the farming and manufacturing businesses were being hurt, which was also hurting the economy. Meanwhile, the U.S. was rapidly building up its own military. The falling oil prices were also hurting the Soviets even more, because oil was its chief export. By the 1980s, it was clear that change had to be made. In 1985, Mikail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev's reforms signified the end of the Soviet Union and the communist controlled government. It became official on December 25, 1991, when the Soviet Union was officially disbanded.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

2009-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Apartheid is a system of legal racial separation. It was practiced in South Africa for over 4 decades. Apartheid was first legislated in 1948, by the Afrikaner National Party, under Prime Minister Malan. They began to pass laws that prohibited relations between different races, including marraige. Then they began to separate public places and facilities, such as schools and restaurants, and also made it required that all black people older than 16 years old had to carry documents. They eventually took the citizenship of all black citizens of South Africa. People began to go against these policies of apartheid. One of the most famous people to go against apartheid was Nelson Mandela. He became a prominent figure in South Africa while trying to bring racial equality to South Africa. Mandela was a peaceful man, and led non-violent protests against the government, but at the same time, he used guerrila tactics to bring about change. He gained widespread popularity in South Africa, and the South African government had tried to shut him down by throwing him in prison for twenty seven years, but he never backed down. Many people from around the world began to support Mandela. Eventually, Mandela's efforts paid off, because apartheid was completely abolished in 1994, and Mandela was elected president of South Africa.

African Independence

2009-05-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

For centuries, many of the nations in Africa had been ruled by the European countries. Those countries had plundered and exploited the African nations for their personal gain. However, things had begun to change after World War 2. Many of the African people didn't want to go back to being ruled as colonies after fighting to "defend freedom" in the war. At the same time, many of those European countries were already willing to give these nations their independence. World War 2 had demolished a huge part of Europe, so these countries already had a lot of problems to deal with. They didn't have the time or money to continue to support their colonial empires. The main problem was how and when should the African people be given independence.

One of the first nations to start working towards independence was Ghana-previously known as the Gold Coast. It was originally a British colony, but after the war, the British started paving the way for it to become an independent nation. They started by allowing more Africans get nominated for the Legislative Council. The people of Ghana weren't happy with this. They wanted to have their own elections instead of having others choose who will represent them. Led by Kwame Nkrumah, they began having nonviolent protests in order to bring about change. Their efforts paid off, because despite being imprisoned, multiple times, Ghana was declared an independent nation in 1957. Soon, other nation began to follow in their footsteps. Nations such as Kenya and Congo began to fight for their independence from the European countries.

The Cuban Misille Crisis

2009-04-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Cuban Missile Crisis is considered the hottest point in the Cold War. It is the point where the U.S. and the Soviet Union got the closest to actual fighting. The Cuban Missile Crisis started because of an arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. By 1962, the Soviet Union was lagging far behind the U.S. in the effort to create more powerful nuclear weapons. The Missiles created by the Soviets were only powerful enough to reach Europe, but the American missiles had a much farther range. They could easily reach the Soviet Union quickly. The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev came up with the idea of placing Missiles in an area closer to the U.S, in order to prevent a potential attack from the U.S. and provide a new strategic arsenal. At the same time, Cuba was looking for a way to defend itself from the U.S. Things were extremely tense after the U.S. Bay of Pigs invasion. Even though the invasion failed, the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was positive that there would be another invasion attempt. In 1962, Khrushchev made an agreement with Castro to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. The U.S. soon found out about the plan, and tensions began to build. The U.S. tried to stop the Soviets from bringing in anymore missiles by cutting Cuba off from them with a naval quarantine. The tensions worsened when a U-2 was shot down over Cuba. The drama continued until the Americans and Soviets came to an agreement on October 28th. The missiles were taken out of Cuba in exchange for the U.S. to promise that they wouldn't invade Cuba.

Film Lesson- The Right Stuff

2009-04-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

In the movie, The Right Stuff, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were competing in a "space race" to send people into space. It began after World War 2 ended. The U.S. and the Soviet Union were allies at the time, but it was obvious that it wouldn't last. The U.S. wanted to stay ahead of the Soviets. At first, America was clearly ahead technologically. A U.S. pilot even managed to break the sound barrier and move at Mach speeds. Then the Soviets managed to send a satelite called Sputnik into space, and the race really began. The U.S. wanted to take it to the next level-they wanted to send people into space. Thousands of people signed of for the chance, but only seven were actually chosen. The first test launches by the U.S. were disastrous. Eventually, the U.S. managed to send a chimpazee into space. However, the Soviet Union took mit one step further by sending the first person into space. At the time, the U.S.S.R. was winning the space race.

I think that the most memorable scene of the movie was the scene where the U.S. is trying to launch a rocket into space, and isn't having any luck. That scene shows you how desperate the U.S. was to stay ahead of the Soviet Union. o them, it didn't matter how long it took, as long as they managed to come out on top.

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

2009-04-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

NATO was created on April 4th, 1949 as a military alliance between the U.S. and many of the Western European nations. It was formed as a defense mechanism against communism. Under the treaty, if any nation that was part of the treaty was attacked, then all of the other allied nations would come to its defense. At first, NATO was really just an agreement for the U.S. to defend any of the nations involved in NATO, but that began to change after 1950. After the U.S. involvement in Vietnam and Korea, the other nations began to realize that they couldn't just wait around for the U.S> to defend them against the Soviet Union.

The Warsaw Pact was created 6 years after NATO was created between the Soviet Union and its "satelite countries". The Warsaw Pact was originally created to counter NATO. At first, it was incredibly powerful, but the Warsaw Pact soon fell far behind NATO technologically. Eventually, the Warsaw Pact collapsed and was terminated in 1991. Oddly enough, the Soviet Union-now Russia- is now a part of NATO when NATO was originally created to go against it.

Film Lesson: Schindler's List

2009-03-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Schindler's List gives you a very powerful description of the Holocaust. It goes into the lives of people who experienced the terror caused by Hitler and the Nazis in the concentration camps. You can actually see how ruthless the the Nazi officers really were. They were willing to do anything to exterminate any race they thought "inferior". The film also goes into the life of Schindler, and how he managed to save the lives of over 2,000 Jews put under his control.

I thought that the most powerful scene of the movie was when the SS officers were trying to take the children away. The officers had taken them away during a medical examination so that the parents wouldn't resist them. Some children tried to hide so that they could stay with their parents. Some kids even resorted to hiding in the toilets to avoid getting caught. This scene shows you how desperate the prisoners were to keep the families together, and also shows how heartless the Nazi officers were.

Film Lesson- Night and Fog

2009-03-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

Night and Fog gives you a good description of how serious the Holocaust was. It shows you some of what was really going on in the concentration camps. It shows you the methods that the Nazis used in their death camps to try and eliminate an entire race of people. It also had some very powerful scenes about the Holocaust.

In my opinion, Schindler's List gives you a better description of the Holocaust than Night and Fog. Night and Fog had some intense scenes, but I believe that Schindler's list was a better movie. Night and Fog was interesting and it did give you more in-depth information about the concentration camps than Schindler's List did, but Schindler's List gives you a more personal side to the story. In Schindler's List, you can actually see the experiences that people had to endure in the camps while in Night and Fog, you just get an explanation of what happened.

Treaty of Versailles

2009-02-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

The Treaty of Versailles was the treaty that officially ended World War 1 between Germany and the Allied Powers in 1919. The treaty had disastrous effects on Germany in the years to come. For starters, the treaty blamed Germany for starting the war and made them pay heavy fines to Britain and France. It also made Germany drastically reduce its army and give up all of its colonies overseas. Under the treaty, Germany also had to give up about 1/8 of its land to the Allied Powers and lost about 1/10 of its population as a result. The Treaty Of Versailles wasn't really fair to Germany because it singled out Germany as the main cause of the war when in reality, there were many different causes. A lot of the German people felt betrayed because of the harsh and unfair conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, but they didn't really have a choice. Many historians believe that the treaty was actually what led to World War 2. The German people were frustrated because of how much they had to endure due to the treaty. They wanted a strong leader that could restore Germany to greatness and they turned to Adolph Hitler.

Mustafa Kermal and the Modernization of Turkey

2009-02-11T07:11:00.000-08:00

The Ottoman Empire was a powerful empire that had control over land in three different continents at the height of it's power. However, like all great empires, it's power eventually declined. Times were changing and the Ottoman Empire couldn't keep up. The final blow came when World War 1 began. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers and lost. The Empire was broken apart and from its ruins, the nation of Turkey was formed. Mustafa Kermal was the founder and 1st president of Turkey. It was under his rule that Turkey began to modernize itself and adapt to the changes of the 20th century. His reforms allowed all people to freely practice their faith, creating a secular system- a system where religion doesn't dominate the government or economy in Turkey. He wanted create a society where everyone was treated as an equal without prejudice from opposing religions. His reforms in the legal system allowed all of the Turkish citizens to live as equals.

Ghandi

2009-02-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

Mohandas K. Ghandi is known as the father of India. He played a major role in bringing about the independance of India from British rule. Ghandi experienced first hand the oppresion that that the Indian citizens faced and wanted to make a change. He used peaceful practices and civil disobedience to gain results rather than violence. He would even fast at times in order to get his supporters to stop using violence. Ghandi's non-violent approach in opposing the British made him incredibily popular worldwide. Many people respected and followed Ghandi. The British tried to stop Ghandi from opposing them by repeatedly throwing him in jail, but every attempt only brought him more popularity and support. Eventually, the British would be overwhelmed. The losses caused by World War 2 and Ghandi's protests against England eventually caused the British to grant India its independance in 1947.

The Russian Revolution

2009-01-09T06:39:00.000-08:00

The Russian Revolution signaled the end of the Czarist reign and paved the way for the communist government to take over. The czars had ruled Russia for centuries in an autocracy, but the people were getting tired of the way that the czars had ruled Russia. Many people were starving due to food shortages, but the czar decided to use force to stop the people from protesting. Also, the czar's family had become associated with Rasputin. Rasputin had a large influence on the Russian czar, but many people didn't trust Rasputin. World War 1 was the final trigger. The Russians entered the war without being well prepared. The Central Powers were slaughtering the Russian army in the war. Millions of soldiers had been killed, injured, or taken prisoner. Finally, the Russian people couldn't take it any more and they revolted. On March 13, 1917, Czar Nicolas II abdicated his throne. The Provisional government was set up after that, but it didn't do a good job of maintaining control. The Provisional Government's decision to stay in the war made them very unpopular, and it costed them dearly. By November of the same year, the the Boplshevik party, led by Vladmir Lenin, had taken over Russia. Lenin was a stronger leader who was able to maintain power when confronted. He managed to unite Russia under a communist government.

Causes of WWI

2009-01-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

World War 1 was one of the most deadly wars the world had ever experienced. Milions of people were killed, injured, or taken prisoner. Tensions had been building between the European nations for years. Militarism played a big part in causing World War 1. The Europeans were rapidly building up their military in case of attack. They also formed complicated battle plans that would usually involve more countries than necessary. The building up of militaries caused tensions to form between the nations. Also, some nations formed secret alliances to support each other in case of war. This caused even more nations to be dragged into the war when it finally began. Nationalism also played a huge role in starting World War 1. In many countries, there were people of many different nationalities that lived there, but only people of a certain nationality could rule. Those people resented the fact that they didn't have any political freedom. Countries that shared a common heritage with these people wanted to support them in political disputes. The final blow that started World War 1 was the assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Archduke was the next in line to rule Austria-Hungary. While visiting Sarajevo in Serbia, he was killed by Gavrilo Princep, a member of the Black Hand. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and World War 1 had begun.

The Opium Wars

2008-12-10T06:34:00.001-08:00

The Opium Wars were fought between the British and the Chinese from 1839-1842. It had begun because The Chinese government did not want the the British to sell opium in China anymore. Tea from China had become very popular in Britain, but the British needed to use gold and silver to pay for it. The British wanted to balance out trade, so they began to sell tobacco mixed with opium to the Chinese. However, the Chinese were becoming addicted to the drug, so the government wanted to stop the opium trade. Lin Tse-hsü had attempted to stop the Britsh by shutting down all traffic in opium and destroying stores that sold opium. He also tried to send a letter to England to try and get them to stop selling opium in China. England refused and Lin Tse-hsü threatened to cut off trade between England and China, which started the Opium Wars. During the Opium wars, England completely outclassed China in military strength. They had weapons and technology that was far more advanced than China had, so they easily defeated the Chinese.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

2008-12-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

In Mountains of the Moon, the explorers faced serious problems while trying to find the source of the Nile River. One of the biggest problems was disease. There were plenty of insects in Africa, and a lot of them would carry diseases on them. The terrain of Africa made it even harder to get through. A lot of the northern part of Africa is made up of the Sahara Desert. A lot of people died trying to cross through it. The natives had caused them problems as well. To help them with their expedition, the explorers would hire native people to help guide them through Africa. There were times when some of the natives would betray them. They would also steal some of their supplies when they would leave, making it even harder to get through Africa. Also, there were hostile tribes in Africa that would attack them on sight. When the explorers finally reached the Nile's source, they decided to name it Lake Victoria, after their queen. It is strange that to this day, no one has changed the name despite the fact that other people lived there before it was named. After the explorers reached Lake Victoria, other Europeans quickly went into Africa and completely took over. It was easy for them because the Europeans were more technologically advanced than the African Natives. For example, the Europeans had guns to defend themselves with. The natives only had spears or bows and arrows. The Europeans were also able to find a cure for malaria, which actually made it possible for them to get through Africa.

Mejii Restoration of Japan

2008-11-26T06:41:00.000-08:00

Commodore Perry first landed in Japan with the intention of "negotiating" with the Japanese to open up a treaty port in Japan for American sailors. In reality, he was trying to intimidate the Japanese into agreeing with his demands. Japan is an archipelago (a string of islands) on the east coast of Asia . The Americans wanted to use Japan as a place to reload on supplies for their ships. They tried to bully the Japanese into opening up a treaty port in Japan- and it worked. After seeing the ships and technology that the American fleet had, the Japanese had no other choice but to agree to their demands. However, the Japanese were able to learn from the other nations and was able to change from a third world nation to an imperialistic society in 1 generation. The feudalistic society that had governed Japan for centuries crumbled and was replaced by the Meiji era. The shoguns that held the power for so long relinquished their authority to the emperor. The samurai class could no longer carry their swords as well.

Karl Marx and Communism

2008-11-06T06:50:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx was the man that founded communism. He saw the way that the factories during the Industrial Revoelution were run and decided that there had to be a change. In his eyes, the factory owners were extremely harsh and the workers needed to band together and make changes for the better. Marx envisioned a world that had a classless society. He believed that eventually, the workers would get tired of being treated unfairly and band together to overthrow the government and the capitalist society. He believed that people could only live in a society without different classes.

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revolution

2008-11-05T07:00:00.001-08:00

Karl Marx was strongly against the changes caused by the Industrial Revolution. He felt that workers weren't being treated fairly. In his eyes, the factories were harsh and unsafe for the workers. Marx believed that the workers should unite and rebel against the factiry owners and the capitalistic society. He thought that this was the only way that the workers could get what they wanted. He used his beliefs and ideas to form Communism.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

2008-10-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Nationalism is the belief that a person should be loyal to their ancestry and the nation that they come from. In the past, nationalism has played a big part in shaping our world. Italy is the perfect example of this. For years, Italy was just a series of provinces ruled by some European contries. However, by 1815, the Italian people were getting tired of being controlled by other people. It was then that 2 people helped to unite Italy. The first was a man called Giuseppe Mazzini. In 1832. He organized a nationalist group known as Young Italy. In 1848, a series of revolts broke out in Italy and he managed to lead a democratic government for a while. However, the former rulers managed to drive him out of Italy and into exile. After that, the people turned to the Italian State of Piedmont-Sardinia for leadership. In 1852, the king of Piedmont-Sardinia appointed Camillo di Cavour as his prime minister. He worked tirelessly to help the Italian state expand its power. At the same time, he managed to unite Italy in the process.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

2008-10-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

Simon Bolivar was a revolutionary in Latin America. Inspired by the American and French Revolutions, he began to fight for the independence of the Spanish colonies in Latin America. In 1810, he began to take control of Caracas in Venezuela. He began to gain power and popularity in South America as he attempted to free to Spanish Colonies. By 1819, he established the Republic of Colombia and declared himself president. He then began to expand his views to the rest of South America. In 1822, with the help of his subordinate General Antonio Jose de Sucre, he freed Ecuador from Spanish rule. In 1824, Bolivar freed the last Spanish stonghold in South America-Peru. The country of Bolivia was also formed in honor of Simon Bolivar.

The Reign of Terror

2008-09-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

The Reign of Terror was a devastating time in France. It was mainly caused by the struggle between the Jacobins and the Girondins. Inspired by the French Revolution, this struggle had been the cause of fear in France for everyone. The Reign of Terror had begun in 1793, when the Jacobins began to take power. Their leader, Maximilien Robespierre seized control of the government and tried to wipe out all traces of the old form of government. He had ruled France like a dictator. Thousands of people were executed during this time. No one was safe in France. Eventually, the people of France grew tired of living in fear, so a conspiracy was planned to overthrow Robespierre. On July 27, 1794, Robespierre was overthrown and executed.

The French Revolution

2008-09-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

1. Many people in France were critical of the nobility because they had almost complete control over the peasants, did not have to pay taxes, did not have to perform military service, they were the only people that could hold important positions in society, and they lived in luxury in palaces while most people lived in poverty.
B) Many people were critical of the king because he ruled over the people with ABSOLUTE power and the many people didn't have a say in the government.
C) Many people were angry at the clergy because, like the nobles, they didn't have to pay taxes or perform military service, heavily taxed the peasants, and lived in luxury.

2. A peasant would have complained about having to do most of the work while the 1st and 2nd estates just watched them.

3. I think that the cartoonist is trying to show that the upper class needs to start pulling their own weight because they are being lazy and letting the lower class do all the work.

4. He describes the heavy taxes that the couple has to pay despite the fact that they don't have much for themselves.

5. They do expalin why the poor resented the rich because they show what the poor people had to go through to survive, while the rich didn't do much at all. For example, the clergy had made high yearly incomes, but barely had to pay taxes, while the lower classes had to pay taxes to them, and the goernment.

6. The lower class would be most influenced by his writing because they were being completely controlled by the clergy and the king and they didn't have a say in the government.

7. The rulers and the clergy would want it banned out of fear that they would be overthrown by the lower class.

John Locke and the Enlightenment

2008-09-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

John Locke was one of the most famous thinkers of the Enlightenment. His ideas for a modern democracy had heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. One of the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence was that the people should have the right to vote who their leader should be, meaning that the government gets its power from the citizens. The Declaration of Indepedence also states that people have the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The Government is supposed to defend these rights, but the Declaration of Independence also says that If the government becomes corrupt, or fails to protect these rights, that the citizens can overthrow it.

Copernicus and the Trial of Galileo

2008-09-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

Before the Scientific Revolution, many people had believed in geocentrism, which states that the Earth is at the center of the universe, and all celestial bodies revolved around it. For centuries, this theory was left unchallenged by anyone. Then, in the 16th century, a man named Nicolaus Copernicus presented the first modern theory of Heliocentrism to the scientific community.
One man in particular had strongly supported this theory. That man was Galileo Galilei, an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. He firmly believed in Copernicus' theory and had published a book known as the Dialouge, which explained the Heliocentric theory. However, the Church had a different view of how things were. They firmly believed that that earth was at the center of the universe, and that the sun, moon, and planets revolved around it. The church did not want to change the ideas that had been shown for centuries, so on February 13, 1633, Galieo stood trial for going up against the church's teachings. This was a fight he couldn't win. The merits of the case had already been decided. There was nothing he could do. He had been sentenced to house arrest for the remainder of his life.

The Scientific Method

2008-09-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

The scientific method is the process that people use to solve a problem or experiment. There are 5 main parts to the scientific method. The first is the problem that you are trying to solve. Then you have to make observations. Next is the hypothesis. The hypothesis is basically what you think will happen during the experiment. After the hypothesis comes the actual experiment to test the hypothesis. The experiment would contain different tests and procedures to test the hypothesis. Depending on what the results were, the experiment can prove or disprove a hypothesis. The final results of the experiment are the conclusion.

Example: An experiment to see how different materials effect plants would use the scientific method.

Evolution vs. Creation

2008-09-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

Evolution

Charles Darwin was the first man to propose the modern theory of evolution. He believed that all life originated from common ancestors, which were slowly making changes over time. Darwin believed in natural selection, meaning that he believed that random mutations occur in an organism, and the mutations that are beneficial to the organism are preserved and passed on to the next generation. Over time, the organisms with the inferior traits would die out because they would be unable to survive.

Creationism

Creationism is the religious belief that all life was created by an all powerful god or deity. The god's existence in the world is presupposed. Creationism is usually based on the first book of the Old Testament, with states that God created the Earth and all the life on it. There are many religions that believe in creation.

I personally belive in creation. I believe in creation because it was the way I was raised. My family and I are Jehovah's Witness. Jehovah is the name of God. Jehovah created the Earth and mankind as well.

test

2008-09-04T07:06:00.001-07:00

did it work