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A “CRASH COURSE” IN AP EUROPEAN HISTORY:
FROM THE AGE OF IDEOLOGIES THROUGH THE CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE
I.
THE AGE OF IDEOLOGIES, PART I [circa 1815-1850]
A.
Conservative reaction in post-Napoleonic Europe
1.
Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) = dominated by conservatives like Metternich and conservative principles like
legitimacy; also, the Congress sought to reestablish a balance of power and redrew European borders without
consideration of nationalist sentiments
2.
Concert of Europe sought to preserve the conservative status quo; peace generally preserved throughout the 19th
century, though the Crimean War in the 1850s had the European powers fighting an international war against
each other
3.
Holy Alliance led by Nicholas I of Russia went beyond legitimacy with the principle of intervention; Holy
Alliance weakened by lack of British support
4.
Edmund Burke → Reflections on the Revolution in France; principles of conservatism =
a.
Government viewed as a contract between past, present, and future
b.
Respect for the status quo; tradition remained the best source for order
c.
Anti-liberal and anti-nationalist
d.
Gradual/legal change permissible but never revolutionary change (think of Crane Brinton)
e.
Obedience to political authority; organized religion viewed as crucial to social order
f.
New police forces sought to protect private property and maintain law and order
5.
Proponents = aristocrats, Tories, hereditary monarchs, Louis XVIII, Charles X, Nicholas I, Quintuple Alliance
(BFPAR)
B.
Liberalism  both economic and political liberalism valued freedom from restraint
1.
Economic liberalism = laissez-faire economics = “classical economics” of Adam Smith, David Ricardo (“iron
law of wages”) and Thomas Malthus (Essay on the Principle of Population = survival of the fittest) in which the
economy ought to be organized according to natural laws like self-interest, supply and demand, and comparative
advantage; the government should serve as a “passive policeman” and stick to its proper functions like national
defense (military), protection of individual rights (police and court system), and infrastructure
2.
Political liberalism = protection of civil liberties such as equality before the law, freedom of speech, freedom of
the press, freedom of peaceful opposition to the government, freedom of religion, freedom from arbitrary arrest;
advocated separation of church and state, religious toleration, constitutional government, limited suffrage (not
democrats), and ministerial responsibility; significantly, can a people be free if they don’t possess selfdetermination? → link to nationalism
3.
Proponents = (upper) middle class = bourgeoisie, John Stuart Mill (On Liberty and On the Subjection of Women),
Anti-Corn Law League, Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín; generally those who favored the Greek Revolt
of the 1820s; advocates of the Poor Law of 1834
C.
Nationalism  self-determination of people that have common institutions, traditions, languages, and customs;
considered a radical ideology as it threatened to upend the balance of power; a natural alliance with liberalism? (see
above); nationalism became a potent ideology of change post-French Revolution; primary loyalty = national identity
D.
Governmental developments in…
1.
France = Bourbon restoration in Louis XVIII; succeeded by Charles X whose efforts (July Ordinances) to revive
the ancien régime led to the (“liberal”) July Revolution of 1830 that brought Louis-Philippe (the “bourgeois
monarch” → his prime minister = François Guizot = “Enrich yourselves” = bourgeois support for his rule) to
power; opposition to his increasingly despotic rule culminated in the 1848 Revolution that toppled L-P and led to
the creation of the 2nd French Republic (1848-1852) under the democratically elected leadership of Charles Louis
Napoleon (and the crushing of Louis Blanc’s June Days workers revolt inspired by the closing of the national
workshops); within a few years France had a 2nd Empire
2.
Great Britain = theoretical power of Hanover monarchy vs. the increasingly dominant role of Parliament and the
office of prime minister; struggle for political supremacy between the Whigs and Tories; bourgeoisie given
suffrage by the Reform Act of 1832; the British largely avoided the upheavals that plagued continental Europe by
making concessions to dissatisfied groups
3.
German states = Napoleon’s Confederation of the Rhine was replaced by the 38-state Germanic Confederation,
dominated by Austrian and Prussian interests; the Karlsbad Decrees sought to suppress the liberal and nationalist
sentiments of the Burschenschaften; failed attempts at liberal unification by the Frankfurt Assembly in 1848 passed
the torch of nationalism to the conservatives (who would ultimately be led by Bismarck and the Hollenzollern)
4.
Austria-Hungary continued to plagued by problems associated with ethnic minorities who clamored for selfdetermination; Hungarian nationalism championed by Louis Kossuth; Franz Joseph I came to power in 1848,
the last of the Habsburg line; Metternich sent into retirement after the 1848 revolution in Vienna
5.
Russia = continued rule of the autocratic Romanov dynasty; the Decembrist Revolt in 1825 against Nicholas I
hardened him into a reactionary; his repressive rule and support of intervention earned him the fitting nickname
“policeman of Europe”; leadership of Nicholas I in the Holy Alliance = intervention to crush nationalism in
Poland and Austria
E.
Revolutions of 1848
1.
“When France sneezes, Europe catches a cold” = like the French in 1848, nationalities everywhere had also
revolted in the pursuit of self-government…
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2.
F.
G.
II.
Little was achieved because divisions among revolutionary groups proved utterly disastrous; instead of joining
together against the status quo authorities, minorities fought each other, which had the effect of allowing
conservative forces to regroup and ultimately emerge victorious
Socialism = cooperation; public ownership of the means of production
1.
“Utopians” = Individuals like Robert Owen and Charles Fourier who were criticized by Marx for failing to
topple the capitalist system
2.
Marxism = Karl Marx (revolutionary author of The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital); core ideas =
dialectical materialism (history of class struggle between the haves and have nots), alienation (humanities
created potentiality has been sapped by the factory system), surplus value (the owner of the means of production
exploits those who give value to the means of production); primarily a critic of capitalism; the dialectic between
the proletariat (which will set aside nationalist differences) and bourgeoisie will inevitably lead to the success of
communism and the emergence of a classless society in which the guiding principle will be “from each according
to his abilities, to each according to his needs”
3.
Gradualism = socialist aims can be achieved gradually and without revolution through suffrage; advocated by
Eduard Bernstein in his Evolutionary Socialism; historical examples included Fabian Socialists in GB, Mensheviks
in Russia
Romanticism (late 18th through first half of 19th century) [see Enlightenment vs. Romanticism chart]
1.
Motto = “Dare to be” → duty of a Romantic to experience life to the fullest (Goethe); Emphasis = feeling,
passion, emotion, intuition; even the irrational (reaction against the Enlightenment); Preoccupation = with the
individual genius, the hero, and the exceptional figure in general
2.
View of nature = to revere nature; to live in harmony with it; nature can and will dominate humans;
God/Religious Implications = appreciation of traditional medieval Catholicism (Chateaubriand, mysticism);
pantheism; fideism
3.
Chief forms of writing = poetry (Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley), novels (Dumas, Hugo), and folk tales
(Andersen, Brothers Grimm; connection to nationalism); Painting = Romanticism style of Friedrich, Turner,
Delacroix, Géricault, and Goya
4.
Music = Romantic style, which is emotional, bold, passionate, and experimental (Beethoven’s 9th Symphony first
to have a chorus); Wagner and nationalism (The Ring of Niebelung); Historiography = the “hero” in history
(Thomas Carlyle); Architecture = Neo-Gothic revival architecture such as the British Parliament
THE AGE OF IDEOLOGIES, PART II: [circa 1850-1871]
A.
Across the Continent, the revolutions of 1848 had failed. The forces of liberalism and nationalism appeared to have been
decisively defeated as authoritarian governments reestablished their control almost everywhere in Europe by 1850. And
yet within 25 years, many of the goals sought by the liberals and nationalists during the first half of the nineteenth century
seemed to have been achieved. National unity became a reality in Italy and Germany, and many European states were
governed by constitutional monarchies, even though constitutional-parliamentary features were frequently facades
1.
All the same, these goals were not achieved by liberal and nationalist leaders but by a new generation of
conservative leaders who were proud of being practitioners of realpolitik, the “politics of reality”
2.
These leaders showed contemporaries how authoritarian governments could use liberal and nationalistic forces to
bolster their own power
B.
The France of Napoleon III (r. 1852-1870)
1.
Resorted to a coup d’état (Dec 1851) after the National Assembly voted that he could not stand for re-election to
the presidency of the Second Republic
2.
Used government favors to gain support of the army and RCC
3.
Restored universal male suffrage, then asked the French people to restore the empire in a plebiscite, which they
did with a resounding 97% affirmative response
4.
Policies of the Second Napoleonic Empire
a.
Authoritarian → Napoleon III controlled the armed forces, police, and civil service; only he could
introduce legislation and declare war; only government candidates were able to run for the relatively
weak legislature
b.
Believed in using the resources of the government to stimulate the national economy + took many steps
to encourage industrial growth
c.
Subsidies for construction of railroads, harbors, roads, and canals; provided hospitals and free medicine
for the workers and advocated better housing for the working class
5.
Rebuilding of Paris by Baron von Haussmann → for military and aesthetic purposes
a.
Narrow streets and old city walls of Paris replaced with broad boulevards, spacious buildings, public
squares, an underground sewage system, a new water supply, and gaslights; many lower class sections
torn down (had to move to neighboring villages)
b.
Broad streets made it difficult for revolutionaries to erect barricades
6.
“Liberal” Empire → as opposition to some of his policies mounted, Napoleon III loosened his grip a bit and
liberalized the empire
a.
Legalized trade unions and granted them the right to strike; legislative branch given more control;
opposition candidates allowed to campaign
b.
However, no free speech or press; Napoleon III interested in public opinion and how newspapers can
shape it
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c.
C.
D.
E.
These concessions initially strengthened his regime, but the disastrous Franco-Prussian War would be
his “Waterloo” and lead to the Third Republic
The Crimean War (1853-1856)
1.
“Eastern Question”→ originated in what should be done with the disintegrating Ottoman Empire → potential
balance of power issues in the Balkans
2.
The Russian request to protect Christian shrines in Palestine had been denied by the Ottomans →this denial
became their case for war against the Ottomans → behind the scenes the Russians viewed this situation as a
chance to enlarge their sphere of influence, especially in the Dardanelles, which would challenge British naval
power in the eastern Med.
a.
Fearful of Russian gains (Dardanelles), Great Britain and France declared war on Russia and attacked
them on the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea
b.
Austria refused to help Russia (“We will astonish the world with our ingratitude”), leaving them
without “friends” among the great powers after the war
3.
Outcomes
a.
Russians lost (key loss at Battle of Sevastopol), and had to accept the neutrality of the Black Sea by the
Treaty of Paris (1856)
b.
Not as many soldiers perished due to the efforts of Florence Nightingale because of her insistence on
strict sanitary conditions → she would help make nursing a profession of trained, middle class women
c.
Crimean War effectively destroyed the Concert of Europe as the Great Powers fought each other →
GB, Austria, and Russia withdrew from European affairs for the next decade, which helped spark
nationalist movements in Italy and Germany
Italy → as Metternich had observed, the “Italy” was merely a “geographic expression”
1.
Failure of Giuseppe Mazzini’s Young Italy movement (Risorgimento) and Revolution of 1848 led to focus on the
northern Italian state of Piedmont to help achieve unity
2.
The House of Savoy, rulers of Piedmont and Sardinia, ruled the only independent Italian territory in the Italian
states
a.
Victor Emmanuel II appointed Camillo da Cavour (1810-1861) prime-minister in 1852 → liberalminded nobleman who admired the British parliamentary system and economic liberalism → favored
constitutional monarchy
b.
A realist, he knew his little Italian state could not defeat the Austrians → made alliance with Napoleon
III
c.
Provoked war with Austria  early victory for Italians/French → France given Nice and Savoy,
Piedmont received Lombardy
d.
Early success inspired similar revolts in Parma, Tuscany, and Modena
3.
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) and the Red Shirts
a.
Leader of the southern Italian unification movement → he favored republicanism
b.
Victory in Sicily → on to the mainland → Naples and kingdom of the Two Sicilies fell by September
1860
c.
Garibaldi’s forces chose to turn over their conquests to Cavour’s Piedmont forces (very different from
the revolutions of 1848 where class and ethnic division led to failure)
4.
Unification
a.
Not complete yet because Venetia still held by Austria; Rome remained under French control
b.
Italy gained Venetia for siding with Prussia in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866; in 1870, the FrancoPrussian War resulted in the withdrawal of French troops from Rome
c.
Italian army annexed Rome in September, 1870; Rome became new capital; Pope given Vatican State
in Rome; Victor Emmanuel II made King of Italy
5.
Outcomes:
a.
Conflict between Church and State → Pope Pius IX called upon RC to reject the new government,
forcing citizens to choose between their religion and their country (peace reached by Lateran Accords
in 1929)
b.
Unification emphasized the disparity between the living standards of industrialized and more urban
North than the agricultural and relatively poor South
c.
Disappointment for Republican → though a constitutional monarchy, Italy was by no measure
democratically responsive to the will of the people → not a victory for liberalism → Italian government
since its inception has been plagued with corruption and inefficiency
d.
Risorgimento achieved → a victory for nationalism
Germany
1.
Failure of Frankfurt Assembly → Prussia and Austria being only 2 states powerful enough to unify Germany
a.
Prussian ascendancy due to the Zollverein → Prussian customs union that attempted to get rid of
internal tariffs, which would lead to better trade among German states → all states but Austria joined
2.
William I Hohenzollern → tried to expand and strengthen the Prussian army (wanted to double its size; blocked
by the Prussian legislature (liberals)
a.
Led to the appointment by William I of Bismarck as Prime Minister  Bismarck would dominate
German and European politics until 1890
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3.
F.
G.
Otto von Bismarck (the “Iron Chancellor”) and Realpolitik
a.
Bismarck ignored the legislature and made his famous “iron and blood” speech
b.
“Germany does not look to Prussia’s liberalism but to her power: “Not by speeches and majorities will
the great questions of the day be decided—that was the mistake of 1848-1849—but by iron and blood”
c.
Bismarck as the consummate realpolitik practitioner (relationship to Machiavelli) → Bismarck known
for his:
i.
Strong will
ii.
Ability to manipulate others and situations to his advantage
iii.
Tough minded evaluation of the needs of the state (raison d’être)
iv.
Power more important than principles such as liberalism
v.
Waged war only when other options had been exhausted → made sure military and
diplomatic advantages were on his side →isolated opponent diplomatically
d.
His active foreign policy led to war and German unification though this was not his original intent →
Bismarck’s primary loyalty was to the Hohenzollern → German unity would strengthen Prussia
4.
The Danish War (1864)
a.
Prussia and Austria gain Schleswig and Holstein (Denmark had tried to seize them)
b.
To be master of Germany, Bismarck realized Austria would have to be excluded from German affairs or
at least be willing to accept Prussian domination of Germany
5.
The Austro-Prussian War (1866)
a.
Bismarck made alliances/agreements with Russia (get back at Austria for Crimean War and Prussia
had helped suppress the Polish revolt of 1863), France (promised territory in the Rhineland), and Italy
(promised Venetia in the event of an Austrian defeat)
b.
Goaded Austria in to war in 1866…
c.
Prussians aided by better guns (breech-loading needle gun) and a superior network of railroads
d.
According to the terms of peace, Austria was now excluded from German affairs (not treated too
harshly after war); the German states north of the Main River were organized into a North German
Confederation (Protestant) controlled by Prussia
e.
South German (Roman Catholic) states forced into signing military agreements with Prussia
6.
The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
a.
Bismarck realized the French would never be content with a strong German state to its east because of
the potential threat to French security
b.
Immediate cause of war was a dispute over succession to the Spanish throne → throne of Spain offered
to a Hohenzollern prince → if accepted, France would be surrounded by Hohenzollern → Prussia
backed off, but France demanded a formal apology from William I → Ems Dispatch → Bismarck
doctored the telegram from the Prussian king that made it look like the French had been insulted →
honor sometimes is something that is defended irrationally (French declared war)
c.
Prussian armies invaded France; French army destroyed and Napoleon III was captured
d.
French had to pay an indemnity of 5 billion francs; lost Alsace and Lorraine → left France burning for
revenge; fall of the Second Empire in France and ultimately the emergence of the Third Republic
7.
Unification
a.
On January 18, 1871, William I was proclaimed Kaiser of the Second German Empire (Second Reich)
b.
“Germany had been merged into Prussia, not Prussia into Germany”
c.
Outcomes: German unification a victory for authoritarian and militaristic values over liberal,
constitutional sentiments; Germany would emerge as the strongest power on the Continent → a new
balance of power was at hand with German industrial resources and military might
The Austrian Empire
1.
Excluded from Germany after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866
2.
Hungarian Problem → whereas nationalism united Germany and Italy, it “undid” Austria
a.
Resulted in the Ausgleich of 1867 → creation of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary; both nations
were independent in domestic affairs
b.
United under Francis Joseph (r. 1848-1916) in foreign affairs (Emperor of Austria and King of
Hungary)
3.
Domination by the Germans and Magyars (ethnic Hungarians)
a.
Still a multiethnic state whose minorities still yearned for self-determination → such as the Slavs
(Balkan nationalism)
Imperial Russia
1.
Alexander II (1855-1881) and the emancipation of the serfs
a.
In the wake of Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War
b.
Serfs emancipated in 1861; though given land by the government, they were subjected to their mir →
village commune, which was collectively responsible for the land payments to the government
2.
The Zemstvos Assemblies → local government → moderate degree of self-government → public services,
education, famine relief, and road and bridge maintenance
3.
Alexander II ultimately proposed a constitutional monarchy, but was assassinated by the anarchist People’s Will
in 1881
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H.
I.
Britain’s Victorian Age
1.
Just as in the Revolutions in 1830 and 1848, Britain avoided the strife that plagued the Continent by making both
social and political reforms that enabled the country to remain stable and prosperous
2.
Queen Victoria of the Hanover dynasty (r. 1837-1901) → her reign was known for its pious complacency and
moral respectability and propriety that typified an age
3.
Benjamin Disraeli (Conservative) and the Reform Act of 1867
a.
More than doubled the number of potential voters, when the monetary requirements for voting were
lower (helped urban male industrial workers)
b.
Led to Liberal victory in the elections of 1868
4.
William Gladstone and the Liberal Party
a.
Generally, adopted policies to improve individual liberty and loosen political and economic restraints
b.
Education Act of 1870 → elementary education for all children guaranteed by government
c.
By end of the century, universal manhood suffrage and the secret ballot had been realized
d.
Promoted Irish Home Rule and a peaceful foreign policy → cost him support of his Liberal party
Science and Culture in an Age of Realism
1.
Between 1850-1870, the two major intellectual developments were the growth of scientific knowledge and a shift
from Romanticism to Realism
2.
Proliferation of scientific discoveries
a.
Laws of thermodynamics—science of the relationship between heat and mechanical energy—the focus
of 19th century physics → had been precipitated by development of steam power
b.
Dmitri Mendeleyev and the periodic law of elements → classified known elements by atomic weight →
foundation for periodic law
c.
Michael Faraday and electromagnetic induction
3.
Faith in science’s benefits
a.
Due to the increasing and often dramatic material gains generated by science and technology → led to a
growing faith in the benefits of science
b.
19th century as a century of increasing secularization and belief in materialism, especially after
Darwin’s theories
4.
Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution
a.
Darwin drew on the of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Charles Lyell, and Thomas Malthus → “we stand on
the shoulders of giants”
b.
His theories developed on the five-year voyage as the naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle → Galapagos
Islands (finches)
c.
On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859) → organic evolution (at first, only plant
and animal species); natural selection (“survival of the fittest”) → Darwin described the mechanism
by which species “transmutated”
d.
The Descent of Man (1871) → described the animal origins of human beings
e.
Like the Copernican revolution, Darwin’s ideas fundamentally challenged the special status of human
beings; some tried to apply Darwinian principles to society → Social Darwinism
f.
Thomas Kuhn, author of the influential The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, introduced the idea of the
paradigm shift → science is really a worldview, a way of looking at things → when the accepted
paradigm or worldview or lense can no longer account for new evidence, a “revolution” occurs → so,
science periodically undergoes “revolutions” or a shift in the dominant paradigm
5.
A revolution in health care:
a.
New clinical medicine a result of clinical observation and knowledge gained from detailed autopsies; a
shift from curative to preventative medicine
b.
Louis Pasteur and the germ theory of disease; pasteurization = heat destroys the organisms causing
spoilage; creation of a rabies vaccine; this rational means of treating and preventing infectious diseases
transformed the medical world
c.
Edward Jenner and smallpox vaccine (patients given a small dose of cowpox)
d.
Joseph Lister and the antiseptic principle →elimination of infections during surgery
e.
Development of anesthesia also helped surgeons
6.
Realism in literature and art
a.
The belief that the world should be viewed realistically, frequently expressed after 1850, was closely
related to the materialistic outlook
b.
Evident in the realpolitik of Bismarck and Cavour, realism evolved in the literary and visual arts
7.
The realistic novel → dealt with ordinary characters from actual life rather than Romantic heroes in unusual
settings; careful observation + accurate language (prose writing of novels vs. the verse of poetry)
a.
Charles Dickens → Hard Times, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and many other serial novels
8.
Realism in art → depictions of poverty and hardship as a form of political commentary; “socialist art”
a.
Barbizon school = en plein air
b.
Gustave Courbet → The Stonebreakers; Jean-Francois Millet →The Gleaners
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III.
SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTON AND “MASS” SOCIETY [circa 1850-1914]
A.
Overview
1.
In the late 19th century, Europe witnessed a dynamic age of material prosperity. With new industries, new
sources of energy, and new goods, a Second Industrial Revolution transformed the human environment, dazzled
Europeans, and led them to believe that their material progress meant human progress. Scientific and
technological achievements, many naively believed, would improve humanity’s condition and solve all human
problems. The doctrine of progress—important since the Enlightenment—became an article of great faith—and
one that would be tested by a series of crises in the 20th century
2.
The new urban and industrial world created by the rapid economic changes of the 19 th century led to the
emergence of a mass society by the late 19th century. A mass society meant improvements for the lower classes
that benefited from the extension of voting rights, a better standard of living, and mass education. It also brought
mass leisure. New work patterns established the “weekend” as a distinct time of recreation and fun, and new
forms of mass transportation—railroads and streetcars—enabled workers to make brief excursions to new forms
of mass entertainment like amusement parks and opened up a new industry in its own right, tourism
3.
The coming of mass society also created new roles for the governments of European nation-states, which now
fostered national loyalty, created mass armies by conscription, and took more responsibility for public health and
housing measures in the cities. Within many of these nation-states, the growth of the middle class had led to the
triumph of liberal practices: constitutional governments, parliaments, and principles of equality. The late
19th/early 20th century—sometimes called La Belle Époque (the “golden age” of European civilization)—also
witnessed the growth of political democracy, as the right to vote was extended to all adult males; women, though,
would still have to fight for the same political rights. With political democracy came a new mass politics and
new mass press. Both would become regular features of the 20th century
B.
The Growth of Industrial Prosperity—the Second Industrial Revolution (~1850-1914) [see 2nd IR vs. 1st IR chart]
1.
First Industrial Revolution had concentrated in areas of textiles, railroads, iron ore, and coal → Second IR
focused on steel, chemicals, electricity, and the internal combustion engine
2.
New Products and New Markets
a.
The Substitution of Steel for Iron → Henry Bessemer → made for lighter, smaller, faster machines and
engines, as well as railways, ships, and armaments → in Europe, steel industry dominated by the British
and Germans →both lagged behind the USA
b.
Chemicals → Germans and French dominant in producing the alkalis for the textile, soap, & paper
industries; artificial dyes, photographic plates and film, and fertilizers became important new industries
as well
c.
Electricity powered homes, factories, and ultimately transportation → led to new inventions [light
bulb—Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan (1879); telephone—A.G. Bell (1876); radio—Nikola Tesla
(1895) and Guglielmo Marconi (1901)] → illuminated houses, cities, and factories → used to power
streetcars and subways → in factories, conveyor belts, cranes, machine tools → electricity allowed
countries without big coal reserves to industrialize
3.
The Internal Combustion Engine → developed in 1878
a.
Widespread use after developments in refining gas and oil (petroleum)
b.
Gave rise to automobile (Gottlieb Daimler invented the light engine in 1886) and airplane industries
(the Great War would stimulate this industry)
c.
Coupled with interchangeable parts (Eli Whitney)  assembly line of mass produced automobiles by
Henry Ford → principles of scientific management were also introduced by 1900 to maximize
workers’ efficiency (and maximize alienation and exploitation for Marxists)
C.
New Patterns in an Industrial Economy
1.
The growth of industrial production depended upon the development of markets for the sale of manufactured
goods
a.
After 1870, the best foreign markets were already heavily saturated, forcing Europeans to take a
renewed look at their domestic markets → as Europeans were the richest consumers in the world, those
markets offered abundant possibilities
b.
The dramatic population increases after 1870 were accompanied by a steady rise in national incomes
c.
Britain and Germany, the leading industrialized nations, doubled and tripled their national incomes;
between 1850-1900, real wages increased by 2/3 in Britain and 1/3 in Germany
d.
As the prices of both food and manufactured goods declined due to lower transportation costs,
Europeans could spend more on consumer products
e.
Businesses soon perceived the value of using new techniques of mass marketing to sell the consumer
goods made possible by the development of the steel and electrical industries
f.
By bringing together a vast array of new products in one place, history witnessed the birth of the
department store that sold items such as sewing machines, clocks, bicycles, electric lights and
typewriters
2.
Increased competition for foreign markets and the growing importance of domestic demand led to a reaction
against free trade → to many industrial and political leaders, protectionism guaranteed domestic markets for the
products of their own industries
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a.
D.
E.
F.
During the same period, cartels (for instance, OPEC today) were being formed (prevalent in Germany)
to decrease competition internally. In a cartel, independent enterprises worked together to control
prices and fix production quotas, thereby restraining the competition that led to reduced prices
b.
Economic competition intensified the political rivalries of the age
3.
Newer fields of industrial activity, such as organic chemistry and electrical engineering, required a technical,
scientific education (another move towards the “practical” curriculum that defines much of the present
university system)
4.
Economic polarization—Europe was divided into two economic zones by 1900:
a.
An advanced industrial core in largely northwestern Europe that had a relatively high standard of
living, decent systems of transportation, and relatively healthy and educated peoples: Britain, Belgium,
France, the Netherlands, Germany, western part of Austria-Hungary, and northern Italy
b.
“Backward” and little industrialized area to the south and east, consisting of southern Italy, most of
Austria-Hungary, Spain, Portugal, the Balkans, and Russia was still largely agricultural and relegated by
the industrial countries to the function of providing food and raw materials
c.
European agriculture continued to become more efficient with the widespread adoption of chemical
fertilizers, continued to mechanize, and experienced lower transportation costs with improved
transportation, all of which tended to lead to falling prices
5.
Europe, with its capital, industries, and military might, dominated the world economy by the end of the 19 th
century →  competition for foreign raw materials and markets to buy European manufactured goods would
ultimately be a key cause of the so-called “New Imperialism”
Women and New Job Opportunities
1.
Most worked in white-collar low wage jobs (clerks, typists, secretaries, file clerks, sales clerks), as teachers (more
needed because of compulsory education laws), and as nurses (creation of modern hospital services) → some
lower-class women had to still turn to prostitution to make it → legal but regulated by governments in most
European countries → for instance, the Contagious Diseases Acts in Great Britain
2.
Considerable debate over a woman’s right to work →working class organizations like trade unions tended to
reinforce the underlying ideology of domesticity because women were attractive to business owners because they
often would work for less
Organizing the Working Class
1.
Socialist Parties...desire to improve their working and living conditions led many industrial workers to form
political parties and labor unions (German Social Democratic Party...inspired many SDP’s throughout Europe)
2.
Revisionism → Eduard Bernstein, Evolutionary Socialism
a.
Bernstein argued Marx was wrong on the imminent collapse of capitalism and worsening conditions of
proletariat
b.
Bernstein discarded Marx’s emphasis on revolutionary socialism; instead Bernstein and other
gradualists hoped to work within the political process to elect their own candidates that would pass
legislation beneficial to the working classes →importance then of expanding suffrage → position also
called gradualism
c.
Marx thought “the working men have no country” →in reality socialist parties varied from country to
country and remained tied to national concerns and issues and not to a worldwide struggle
3.
The Role of Trade Unionism → often tied to socialist parties → worked for better wages, benefits, and working
conditions
4.
Despite the revolutionary rhetoric, socialist parties and trade unions became less radical in pursuing their goals
a.
This lack of revolutionary fervor drove some into the Anarchist movement, which attempted to
violently overthrow any form of national/federal governing structuring, favoring instead small, local,
truly democratic government
b.
Though not initially a violent movement, anarchism ultimately became associated with fanaticism and
assassination
c.
The anarchist movement became prominent in less industrialized and less democratic countries → a
Russian tsar in 1881 (Nicholas I), a president of the 3rd Republic in 1894 (Sadi Carnot), the King of Italy
in 1900 (Umberto I), and President William McKinley in 1901 would all be victims of anarchist
assassinations
The Emergence of Mass Society
1.
The new patterns of industrial production, mass consumption, and working class organization that we identify
with the Second Industrial Revolution were only one aspect of the new mass society that emerged in Europe after
1870
2.
A larger and vastly improved urban environment, new patterns of social structure, gender issues, mass education,
and mass leisure were also important features of Europe’s mass society
3.
Population Growth (1850 European population = 270 million; by 1910 = 460 million) → why?
a.
Improved public sanitation → clean water and better sewage systems; vaccination programs (smallpox)
mandatory in many nations → led to rising birthrates, declining death rates (see below)
b.
An improved diet → better nutrition (more available healthy foods because improvements in agriculture
and transportation) and food hygiene because of things like pasteurization
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4.
G.
H.
I.
J.
A key result → overabundance of people for what was thought to be too few jobs; combined with desire among
many for greater “opportunity” and “freedom” and advancements in mass transportation, Europe witnessed a
mass exodus of its citizens → mass emigration → 60 million leave Europe between 1850-1930
Transformation of the urban environment → industrialization + pop explosion = urbanization
1.
The growth of cities → many driven to cities by rural unemployment, hunger, physical want; lure of the big city
→ jobs, better living conditions
2.
Improving living conditions → essential to public health was the ability to bring clean water into the city and to
expel sewage from it → major engineering feat
a.
Sanitation → clean water brought into cities by dams and reservoirs that stored the water, and
aqueducts and tunnels that carried it from the countryside to the city and into individual dwellings →
sewage improved by building mammoth underground pipes that carried raw sewage far from the city for
disposal (“from the toilet to the river in half an hour”→ environmental problems
b.
Housing → government intervention and codes → Public Health Act of 1875 (in England, new
buildings must have running water and internal drainage system) + British Housing Act of 1890
(empowered local town councils to collect new taxes to construct cheap housing for the working class)
c.
Results → in housing and sanitation, as in so many other areas of life in the late 19th century, the liberal
principle that the government that governs least governs best had simply proved untrue → more and
more governments were stepping into areas of activity that they would have never touched earlier
3.
Redesigning the Cities → at times at the expense of lower class housing; growing phenomenon of
suburbanization made possible by cheap, modern transportation like commuter trains
The Role of Women → contemporaries dubbed it the “Woman Question”→ reminiscent of querelles des femmes
1.
Gender-defined social roles: legally inferior, economically dependent, largely defined by family and household
roles
2.
The Cult of Domesticity → woman glorified in their role as mother and wife
3.
Birth Control →  in birthrates → common forms of birth control = coitus interruptus, abortion, infanticide,
abandonment; Dr. Aletta Jacob founded first birth control clinic in 1882 in Amsterdam
Education and leisure in “mass society”
1.
Primary education for all → “being educated became a state enterprise”
a.
Rationale → for a more capable work force, for a more intelligent electorate (because of mass suffrage),
and for a means of social control (education meant to instill patriotic and civic values); led to an
increased demand for teachers
e.
The increase in literacy due to mass “print-culture” like newspapers, magazines, and pulp fiction
2.
Mass leisure →leisure came to be viewed as the opposite of work →what people did for fun after work
a.
Leisure time = evenings after work, weekends, vacation
b.
Forms of mass entertainment and mass leisure = dance halls, amusement parks (where one could
experience new technology like Ferris wheels), and travel to beaches on the weekend (via improved
mass transportation)
c.
Tourism → increasingly a form of mass entertainment and form of big business
d.
The “professionalization” of sport → sports too became a big business and a challenge to religion itself
→ passive mass audiences at spectator sports who revered their heroes and reviled their enemies (the
opposition) on the weekends (typically Sunday so competed with traditional religious service); a form of
escapism?→ distract people from the reality of their lives?
Political Democracy in Western Europe
1.
Great Britain → the growth of political democracy was one of the preoccupations of British politics after 1871,
and its cause was pushed along by the expansion of suffrage
a.
Agricultural workers enfranchised by the Reform Act of 1884 (all men who paid regular taxes could
vote)
b.
Members of the House of Commons given a salary (1911)
c.
Ireland and self-determination: the so-called “Irish Problem” (nationalism)
i.
The Act of Union in 1801 had united the English and Irish Parliaments
ii.
Like other unfree ethnic groups in Europe, the Irish developed a sense of national selfconsciousness
iii.
The Liberal Party in Britain would ultimately champion “home rule” for Ireland, which would
be granted in the Home Rule Act of 1914 (led though to a Catholic/Protestant split in
Northern Ireland
iv.
Independent Irish Free State proclaimed in 1916
v.
Partition of Ireland between Free State of Ireland (mostly Catholic and independent of UK)
and Northern Ireland (primarily Protestant and remained part of UK) led to violent conflict
that has persisted to the present
d.
Gradual reform through parliamentary institutions had become the way of British political
life; “Reform that you might preserve”—Thomas Macaulay
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2.
K.
France’s Third Republic (1870-1940)
a.
Second Empire collapsed after the humiliating defeat in Franco-Prussian War
b.
The Constitution of 1875 (chosen by universal manhood suffrage) created the Third Republic but only
after the National Assembly had crushed the Paris Commune, an independent government in Paris that
was republican
c.
The PC opposed the pro-monarchist National Assembly, which later crushed the PC and instituted the
3rd Republic; in the end, the experience of the Paris Commune was another split between the middle
and working classes
Persistence of the old order in Central and Eastern Europe
1.
Though the creation of a parliament (from the new German constitution) elected by universal male suffrage
presented opportunities for the growth of a real political democracy, it failed to develop in Germany prior to the
Great War:
a.
Primarily because of Otto von Bismarck and the German—largely Prussian—army, which viewed itself
as the defender of monarchy and aristocracy and sought to escape control by the German parliament
and would only take orders from the emperor’s staff
b.
Bismarck’s conservative policies often served to prevent the growth of more democratic institutions
c.
At first, Bismarck worked with the liberals to centralize Germany’s criminal and commercial law codes
d.
The liberals joined Bismarck’s attack on the RCC in the Kulturkampf (the “struggle for civilization) →
Bismarck, a Protestant, distrusted Catholic loyalty to the new German state; he felt the RCC impeded
the growth of nationalist sentiment → had passed a series of measures against the Catholic clergy and
Catholic institutions (like past examples—Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution,
they proved to be very unpopular):
i.
Strict control over Catholic schools
ii.
Catholic teachers banned from teaching in state schools
iii.
Jesuit order banned from 1872-1917
iv.
Marriage became a civil, not a religious act
v.
Bismarck ultimately abandoned most of these unpopular tactics
e.
Fearful of socialist gains—popularity of the German Social Democratic Party (the SDP was socialist)—
he got parliament to pass a series of measures that not only curtailed socialist meetings and publications,
but outlawed the SDP, although socialist candidates were still permitted to run for the Reichstag
f.
Furthermore, he tried to minimize socialist gains by spearheading the most progressive social security
system the world had ever seen →sickness, accident, and disability benefits as well as old-age pensions
→ financed by compulsory contributions from workers, employers, and the state → these programs,
though, did not stop the growth of socialism
g.
Because Germany lacked ministerial responsibility, Bismarck was dependent on the favor of the king
and not the Reichstag to maintain his post as chancellor; he was dismissed by the newly ascended
Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890
2.
Austria-Hungary → problem of ethnic minorities who clamored for self determination continued to plague
Austria-Hungary (the “nationalities problem”)
3.
Russia (see Russian Revolution notes)
IV.
AN AGE OF MODERNITY, ANXIETY, AND “NEW” IMPERIALISM: EUROPE AT THE DAWN OF THE GREAT
WAR [circa 1870-1914]
A.
Before 1914, most Europeans continued to believe in the values and ideals that had been generated by the Scientific
Revolution and the Enlightenment. Reason, science, and progress were still important buzzwords in the European
vocabulary
1.
The ability of human beings to improve themselves and achieve a better society seemed to be well demonstrated
by a rising standard of living, urban improvements, and mass education that accompanied “mass society” and
the 2nd Industrial Revolution
2.
Such products of modern technology as electric lights, phonographs, and automobiles reinforced the popular
prestige of science and the belief in the ability of the human mind to comprehend the universe through the use of
reason
3.
Near the end of the nineteenth century, however, a dramatic transformation in the realm of ideas and culture
challenged many of these assumptions. A new view of the physical universe, an appeal to the irrational,
alternative views of human nature, and radically innovative forms of literary and artistic expression shattered old
beliefs and opened the way to a modern consciousness. These new ideas called forth a sense of confusion and
anxiety that would become even more pronounced after World War I
B.
Additionally, the late 19th century was also a time of significant tension as imperialist adventures and international rivalries
disturbed the apparent calm. After 1880, Europeans engaged in a great race for colonies around the world. This
competition for lands abroad significantly intensified existing antagonisms among European states
C.
The “New Physics”
1.
Science was one of the chief pillars supporting the optimistic and rationalistic view of the world that many
Westerners shared in the nineteenth century. Supposedly based on hard facts and cold reason, science offered a
certainty of belief in the orderliness of nature that was comforting to many people for whom traditional religious
beliefs no longer had much meaning. Many naively believed that the application of already known scientific laws
P a g e | 10
E.
would give humanity a complete understanding of the physical world and an accurate picture of reality. The new
physics dramatically altered that perspective
2.
Throughout much of the nineteenth century, Westerners adhered to the mechanical conception of the universe
postulated by the classical physics of Isaac Newton. In this perspective, the universe was viewed as a giant
machine in which time, space, and matter were objective realities that existed independently of the people
observing them. Matter was thought to be composed of indivisible solid material bodies called atoms
3.
Marie and Pierre Curie = their work with radium led them to conclude that atoms contained subatomic
particles such as protons and electrons that seemed to behave in seemingly random and inexplicable fashion—a
challenge to classical physics, which viewed atoms as indivisible solid material bodies
4.
Max Planck and quantum theory—another challenge to classical physics, which argued for a steady stream of
radiated energy; instead, Planck maintained that energy was radiated discontinuously, in irregular packets that he
called “quanta”
5.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and relativity theory—another challenge to classical physics, which argued that
time and space were objective realities that existed independently of the people observing them; his famous
formula e = mc2 led to the atomic age
6.
Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle: like the Curies, Planck, and Einstein, he upset Newtonian physics
by proposing that uncertainty was at the root of all physical laws (the antithesis to all thought since the
Enlightenment!) → at best, we could hope for probability, not certainty
D.
The New Philosophy and Psychology
1.
During the second half of the 19th century, philosophers began to question the adequacy of rational thinking to
address the human situation—no one more forcefully than German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
who was wholly at odds with the predominant values of his age. At one time or another, Nietzsche attacked
Christianity, democracy, nationalism, rationality, science, and notions of progress
a.
Epistemologically, Nietzsche endorsed perspectivism, theory that there are cannot be any uninterpreted
“facts” or “truths,” because everything we encounter is seen from one perspective or another →
“Gradually it has become clear to me what every great philosophy so far has been: namely, the personal
confession of its author and a kind of involuntary and unconscious memoir…”
b.
For Nietzsche, there multiple ways of structuring our experience that are relative to each individual, and
that are driven by our fundamentally nonrational nature, including our passions and our subjective
interests, needs, and motives
c.
Rather than reason being the primary instrument of knowledge, Nietzsche believed it was just a mask
we use to disguise a primitive drive that controls our cognitive life. This drive is what he calls the will
to power. It manifests itself as the desire to overcome, to dominate my environment, to make my
personal mark on the world, to create, to express myself
d.
Nietzsche believed that if there is no objective truth, no standard apart from us by which our ideas may
be measured, then it logically follows that there is no God. Belief in God is simply a symptom of the
human craving for absolutes
e.
Nietzsche believed that there was a growing realization that “God is dead,” meaning that this ideology
was no longer a live, cultural force in Western culture: “The greatest recent event that ‘God is dead,’
that the belief in the Christian god had become unbelievable—is already beginning to cast its first
shadows over Europe.”
f.
Dual personality theory = the master morality vs. herd morality. The noble vs. the weak. The
psychologically strong vs. the sheep. Übermensch vs. üntermensch. “I will” ethic vs. “Thou shall not” ethic.
One’s philosophy then is a reflection of the type of person we are
g.
In the end, we are responsible for ourselves. We ought to embrace that which enhances life, for that is
all that we have. Eternal recurrence is his litmus test for the authentic life
2.
Like the new physics and Nietzsche’s irrationalism, Sigmund Freud’s (1856-1939) ideas added to the
uncertainties of the age as his theory undermined the optimistic faith in the rational nature of the human mind
a.
According to Freud, human behavior was strongly determined by the unconscious, by earlier
experiences and inner forces of which people were largely oblivious. To explore the content of the
unconscious, Freud relied not only on hypnosis but also on dreams (“the royal road to the
unconscious”), but the latter were dressed in an elaborate code that had to be deciphered if the content
was to be properly understood
b.
Our inner life is a battle between the id (pleasure principle), ego (the reality principle), and superego
—the unconscious strongly determined human behavior
c.
The most significant repressions were sexual in nature, dating back to childhood
d.
Psychoanalysis (the “talking cure”) could resolve psychic conflict
e.
Three “great blows” to human dignity: first, with the Copernican Revolution humans are no longer the
center of things; with Darwin’s theories of evolution, humans are animals; with Freud’s theories, the
animal is sick
Other Intellectual Developments
1.
Herbert Spencer and Social Statistics (1892) = Social Darwinism = societies were organisms that progressed
through constant struggle, which he dubbed “the survival of the fittest”
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Houston Stewart Chamberlain and The Foundations of the 19th Century (1899) = paved the way for Nazi ideology
with his “volkish” thought, combining extreme nationalism and racism and glorifying the pure “Aryan” race and
denouncing as parasitic groups such as Jews, Negroes, and “Orientals”
3.
In 1864, Pope Pius IX in the Syllabus of Errors, condemned nationalism, socialism, religious toleration, and
freedom of speech and press; religious modernists tried to accommodate Christianity to intellectual and scientific
developments, encouraging less devotion to religious dogma and more focus on social justice
4.
Pope Leo XIII’s De Rerum Novarum (1891) reached a compromise position between outright rejection of new
ideas and accommodation; he argued that evolution, private property, and the spirit of socialism were compatible
with Christianity
5.
William Booth and the Salvation Army (1865) = win Christian support among the urban working class
6.
Emmeline Pankhurst (and daughters) and Emily Davison (death 1913) and the “radical” means by which they
tried to achieve women’s suffrage; derisively called “suffragettes”
7.
Anti-Semitism and the Dreyfus Affair = Emile Zola and J’Accuse (1898)
8.
Theodor Herzl and The Jewish State (1896) = Zionism
The Transformation of the Arts
1.
Since the Renaissance, artists had tried to represent reality as accurately as possible. By the late nineteenth
century, however, artists were seeking new forms of expression
2.
The preamble to modern painting can be found in Impressionism, a movement that originated in France in the
1870s when a group of artists rejected the studios and museums (and the state sponsored art exhibitions like the
Paris Salon) and went out into the countryside to paint nature directly (en plein air). Impressionist painters were
aided by innovations in oil paints themselves when they began to be sold in tubes and thus were easy to transport
out to the countryside and by the mass transportation system which allowed easy access to the countryside
a.
Impressionists like Pissarro sought to put into their paintings their impressions of the changing effects of
light on objects in nature (impact on impressionistic music of Debussy = what a painting or poem
“sounds like”)
b.
This preoccupation helps explain why someone like Claude Monet would paint the Rouen Cathedral at
different times of the day and during different seasons of the year
c.
But the Impressionists did not just paint scenes from nature. Streets and cabarets, rivers, and busy
boulevards—wherever people congregated for work and leisure—formed their subject matter
d.
The impressionists held eight independent art exhibitions between 1874 and 1886; some Impressionist
artists like Edgar Degas never sent any paintings to these exhibitions
e.
Representative artists = Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Berthe
Morisot
3.
By the 1880s, a new movement known as Post-Impressionism arose in France and soon spread to other
European countries. Post-Impressionism retained the Impressionist emphasis on light and color but
revolutionized it even further by paying more attention to structure and form
a.
Post-Impressionists sought to use both color and line to express inner feelings and produce a personal
statement of reality rather than an imitation of objects
b.
Impressionist paintings had retained a sense of realism, but the Post-Impressionists shifted from
objective reality to subjective reality and in so doing began to withdraw from the artist’s traditional task
of depicting the external world. Post-Impressionism was the real beginning of modern art
c.
Representative artists = Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin
4.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the belief that the task of art was to represent “reality” (remember
“mimesis”?) had lost much of its meaning. By that time, psychology and the new physics had made it evident
that many people were not sure what constituted reality anyway
5.
Then, too, the development of photography gave artists another reason to reject visual realism. Invented in the
1830s, photography became popular and widespread after George Eastman produced the first Kodak camera for
the mass market in 1888. What was the point of an artist doing what the camera did better? Unlike the camera,
which could only mirror reality, artists could create reality (link to Nietzsche and self-creation!). Individual
consciousness became the source of meaning. Between 1905 and 1914, this search for individual expression
produced a wide variety of schools of painting, all of which had their greatest impact after World War I
a.
One such style developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque was called Cubism that used
geometric designs as visual stimuli to re-create reality in the viewer’s mind. Picasso’s 1907 work Les
Demoiselles d'Avignon has been called the first Cubist painting
b.
The modern artist’s flight from “visual reality” reached a high point in 1910 with the beginning of
abstract painting. A Russian who worked in Germany, Wassily Kandinsky was one of the founders of
abstract painting. As is evident in his Composition VII, Kandinsky sought to avoid representation
altogether. He believed that art should speak directly to the soul. To do so, it must avoid any reference
to visual reality and concentrate on color
Throughout much of the late nineteenth century, literature was dominated by Naturalism.
1.
Naturalists accepted the material world as real and felt that literature should be realistic
2.
By addressing social problems, writers could contribute to an objective understanding of the world
3.
Although Naturalism was a continuation of Realism, it lacked the underlying note of liberal optimism about
people and society that had been prevalent in the 1850s. The Naturalists were pessimistic about Europe’s future
and often portrayed characters caught in the grip of forces beyond their control
2.
F.
G.
P a g e | 12
4.
H.
I.
J.
Representative writers include Émile Zola (Les Rougon-Macquart and Germinal)) and the penetrating and epic
Russian novelists Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment) and Leo Tolstoy (War
and Peace)
Like the intellectuals of his time, Igor Stravinsky sought a new understanding of irrational forces in his music (musical
primitivism), which became an important force in inaugurating a modern musical movement; key work = The Rite of
Spring (1913)
The “New Imperialism”
1.
Though colonial empires dated back hundreds of years, the rapid drive for colonies at the end of the 19th century
led Europe to gain political control of most of Asia and Africa. Between 1880 and 1914, European nations
scrambled to divide among themselves virtually the entire continent of Africa, except Liberia and Ethiopia (rules
for the “scramble of Africa” were established at the 1884/1885 Berlin Conference → no Africans were present).
Once European nations carved up empires, they quickly set up colonial governments to rule them and systems to
make them profitable
2.
Motives for the “New Imperialism” included:
a.
Economic motives included the desire to make money, to expand and control foreign trade, to create
new markets for products, to acquire raw materials and cheap labor, to compete for investments and
resources, and to export industrial technology and transportation methods
b.
Political motives were based on a nation’s desire to gain power, to compete with other European
countries, to expand territory, to exercise military force, to gain prestige by winning colonies, and to
boost national pride and security
c.
Ideological motives were based on cultural values such as the belief that the white race was superior,
other cultures were “primitive,” Europeans should “civilize” peoples in other parts of the world
(“White Man’s Burden”), great nations should have empires, and only the strongest nations will
survive (think Social Darwinism)
d.
Exploratory motives were based on the desire to explore “unknown” or uncharted territory, to conduct
scientific research, to conduct medical researches for the causes and treatment of diseases, to go on an
adventure, and to investigate “unknown” lands and cultures
e.
Religious motives included the desire to spread Christianity, to protect European missionaries in other
lands, to spread European values and moral beliefs, to educate peoples of other cultures, and to end the
slave trade in Africa
3.
European imperialism brought modern inventions and techniques of the Industrial Revolution to the nonEuropean world
a.
But, to peoples in Africa and Asia, Western expansion represented a profoundly disruptive assault
b.
Imperialist nations relied on force to conquer and rule, and treated non-Western peoples as racial
inferiors
c.
Furthermore, European domination often destroyed traditional economies and traditional ways of life
d.
By the early 1900s, leaders in colonial territories such as Africa began to organize nationalist
movements aimed at ending colonial rule
e.
The majority of those nations colonized during the so-called New Imperialism would gain their
independence from European rule after World War II (in a process called decolonization)
Outcomes of the pre-war era
1.
Ultimately, Europeans proved incapable of finding constructive ways to cope with their international rivalries.
The development of two large alliance systems—the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente (see Great War
notes)—may have helped preserve peace for a time, but eventually the alliances made it easier for the European
nations to be drawn into World War I
2.
The alliances helped maintain a balance of power but also led to the creation of large armies, enormous military
establishments, and immense arsenals. The alliances also generated tensions that were unleashed when
Europeans rushed into the catastrophic carnage of World War I
3.
What many Europeans liked to call their “age of progress” in the decades before 1914 was also an era of anxiety.
Frenzied imperialist expansion had created vast European empires and spheres of influence around the globe.
This feverish competition for colonies, however, had markedly increased the existing antagonisms among the
European states
4.
At the same time, the Western treatment of non-Western peoples as racial inferiors caused educated, nonWestern elites in these colonies to initiate movements for national independence
5.
Before these movements could be successful, however, the power that Europeans had achieved through their
mass armies and technological superiority had to be weakened. The Europeans soon inadvertently accomplished
this task for their colonial subjects by demolishing their own civilization on the battlegrounds of Europe
6.
The cultural revolutions before 1914 had also produced anxiety and a crisis of confidence in European
civilization. A brilliant minority of intellectuals had created a modern consciousness that questioned most
Europeans' optimistic faith in reason, the rational structure of nature, and the certainty of progress. The
devastating experiences of World War I turned this culture of uncertainty into a way of life after 1918
P a g e | 13
V.
THE GREAT WAR [1914-1919]
A.
The Road to the Great War → Europe at Its Peak
1.
By 1914, western European nations were the most technologically advanced, wealthiest societies on earth. All
aspects of life were affected by this modernization  transportation, medicine, food production, education,
housing and heating are but a few examples; standards of living generally increased, which  life expectancy and
 infant mortality
2.
Europe had 25% of world population—highest % of any time in history
3.
Modernization led to sense that Europeans were at the peak of world civilization and created a feeling of
superiority among many Europeans (partially realized in the “White Man’s Burden” of the New Imperialism)
4.
For others, the imbalance of power and fundamental inequality between the haves and have-nots in society
equated to sense of an “approaching storm” = Europe was on the brink of social revolution
B.
Long-term causes of the Great War = MAIN (militarism, alliance system, imperialism, and nationalism)
1.
The “New” Imperialism
a.
To maintain strong industrial economies, European nations competed for colonies; European nations
carved out overseas empires, which served as sources of inexpensive raw materials, pools of cheap
labor, and outlets for finished products
b.
In the late 1800s, a “scramble” for overseas colonies and economic competition/rivalry developed,
which in several cases nearly led to war between European countries; only Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and
Liberia remained free of European control
2.
Militarism (an all out arms race among the Great Powers prior to 1914)
a.
European nations adopted a militaristic stance in the late 1800s in order to acquire and protect colonies,
as well as to dissuade aggression by rivals; Britain’s colonial empire was 140 times the size of Great
Britain
b.
Militarism, the glorification of armed strength and the ideals of war, was a fashionable political theory
at the turn of the 20th century in Europe, which led to the emergence of large sophisticated mass armies
and navies
c.
Germany competed against England's naval superiority (remember the Kaiser’s fascination with the
British navy developed as boy)  Britain felt that its navy had to be as big as the next two biggest navies
on the continent, a strategy known as the “two-power rule” → when Germany  the size of its navy, so
too did England (dreadnoughts = enormous warships); by 1914, Russia had mobilized over 6 million
troops; Germany responded by doubling the size of its army
d.
Consider Jean Jaures’ vision = what if the billions spent on weapons were spent on infrastructure and
meeting the everyday needs of citizens
3.
Nationalism = excessive pride in one's country or aspiring to self-determination
a.
Germany and Italy had only recently become united, independent countries, which had upset the
European balance of power and in the case of Germany, had led to rivalry with France over AlsaceLorraine
b.
Many countries torn by tensions of different nationalist groups (Austria-Hungary plagued by Czech
demands, Russia plagued by Polish demands, Britain plagued by Irish demands for “Home Rule”)
c.
Nationalism led to a rivalry between Austria-Hungary versus Russia over Slavic peoples
d.
Combined with militarism and imperial competition, nationalism increased European tensions
4.
The [“Bismarckian”] System of Alliances
a.
Imperialism, militarism, and nationalism all contributed to a sense that war was an inevitable end to
European competition; no European power wanted to be left to fight by itself with no diplomatic or
strategic allies. Therefore, a web of treaties emerged for the great powers to protect themselves
b.
Bismarck’s foreign policy: had wanted to 1) avoid 2-front war 2) isolate France diplomatically as result
of Franco-Prussian War, which left France seeking revenge 3) Three power rule → always be in a
majority of 3 among the 5 Great Powers in any dispute
c.
Triple Alliance (1882): Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy = a defensive alliance
d.
Triple Entente (1908): France, Russia, and Great Britain = defensive alliance, less formal
e.
The alliance system, begun by Bismarck and hardened over the years, left Europe in a tenuous position
in 1914: its great economic, imperial powers, armed with massive, modern armies and inclined to
support the idea of a war for national glory, were tied to one another in a series of binding military
treaties
C.
Nationalism in the Balkans (“the powder keg of Europe”) → some damn little foolish thing in the Balkans will one day
cause a great conflict” (Bismarck)
1.
Balkans teemed with people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, languages, and religions
2.
As the Ottoman Empire receded (“sick man of Europe”), new nations were born (Greece, Serbia, Montenegro,
Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania); early history was violent  two Balkan wars were fought in these countries in
1912 and 1913
3.
Russia and Austria competed for control of new nations
4.
Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia in 1908, which Serbia resented (wanted to join the Slavic Bosnians to form
own nation)
5.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand (a Serbian nationalist
group) on June 28, 1914, in the Bosnian capital city of Sarajevo
P a g e | 14
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Austria-Hungary’s Ultimatum (issued July 23, 1914)
1.
Germany gave a “blank check” of military support to Austria-Hungary no matter what happened with the
Serbians
2.
Austria-Hungary’s ultimatum to Serbia was quite severe: demanded the right to internally investigate Serbian
state complicity in the assassination and to suppress anti-Austrian organizations
3.
Serbia refused to let Austria-Hungary’s officials run an investigation in Serbia (tantamount to relinquishing its
own sovereignty) knowing that it had the full support of Russia → Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on
July 28, 1914
The Alliance System Leads to War
1.
Was war inevitable? National honor was an important concept and something that was at times defended
irrationally: it was in no great powers’ interest to fight in this war and yet they all did
2.
Within a week, all the Great Powers plunged into war
Alliances and Fronts of the War
1.
The Alliances by 1914
a.
Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia  Allies
b.
Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire
2.
The Western Front (famously depicted in Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front)
a.
Germany tried to take France quickly with the Schlieffen Plan on the Western Front but failed; they got
within 20 miles of Paris before retreating; both sides dug-in = stalemate of trench warfare
3.
Life in the Trenches
a.
Trench warfare = mass charges by infantrymen preceded by long artillery bombardments
b.
Charging “over the top”, crossing “no man’s land” to reach enemy trenches
c.
Dangerous (snipers, artillery, later airplane attacks), boring (stir crazy), terrifying (caused shell-shock in
some)
d.
Horrible living conditions → dugouts, trench foot, rats, flies, lice, rationed “food”
4.
Trench warfare turned the Western Front into a “war of attrition”
a.
1916 Battle of Verdun → 680,000 casualties (German initiated assault)
b.
1916 Battle of the Somme →1,000,000 + casualties (French initiated)
c.
1917 German retreat back to the heavily fortified Hindenburg line, entry of USA into the war in April,
and the Russian Revolution in November
d.
1918 Allied naval blockade the Central Powers created dramatic shortages of food and raw materials in
Germany and Austria, which led to ~750,000 Germans deaths from starvation
5.
The Eastern Front and Southern Fronts (Baltic Sea to Black Sea; Balkans and Italy)
a.
Lack of modern technology caused Russia enormous defeats
b.
In November 1917, Vladimir Lenin led a revolution that overthrew the provisional Russian
government and immediately took Russia out of the war
c.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk—signed between the Central Powers and the revolutionary government in
Russia that ended Russian involvement in the war; Russia lost ¼ of its lands in the west
d.
The Allies abandoned attempts to land in Balkans after losing key battles along the Gallipoli Peninsula
e.
Only victories in this front were in the Middle East, where British soldier T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of
Arabia), rallied Arab support against the Ottomans; Italians joined the Triple Entente in 1915 and
fought Austria-Hungary
The Entry of the United States and the Conclusion of the War
1.
Why the initially neutral United States entered (and eventually turned the tide of) the war:
a.
Financial—the United States had lent over $10 billion dollars to Great Britain and France
b.
German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare (sinking of the Lusitania)
c.
Zimmerman telegram
d.
German violation of (Belgian) neutrality → to make the world “safe for democracy”
2.
Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were first Central Powers to be defeated
3.
Revolts inside Austria-Hungary (minorities promised independence) and Germany (Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated
after the Kiel Mutiny; Weimar Republic proclaimed) helped end the war quickly
4.
Armistice (cease-fire) signed on 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (Nov 11, 1918)
Effect of the War on the Home Front
1.
World War I transformed the governments, economies, and societies of the European belligerents in fundamental
ways. The need to organize masses of men and matériel for years of combat led to increased centralization of
government powers, planned economies, and manipulation of public opinion through propaganda to keep the
war effort going
2.
Compulsory (“mass”) conscription enacted to maintain the numbers of soldiers needed on the fronts
3.
To mobilize the entire resources of their nations for the war effort, European nations had moved toward planned
economies directed by government agencies. Free market capitalistic systems were temporarily shelved as
governments experimented with:
a.
Price, wage, and rent controls
b.
The rationing of food supplies and materials
c.
The regulation of imports and exports
d.
The nationalization of transportation systems and industries; compulsory employment
P a g e | 15
4.
I.
J.
K.
As the Great War dragged on and both casualties and privations worsened, internal dissatisfaction replaced the
patriotic enthusiasm that had marked the early stages of the war. By 1916, there were numerous signs that civilian
morale was beginning to crack under the pressure of total war
a.
Under the pressures of the war, however, even parliamentary regimes resorted to an expansion of police
powers to stifle internal dissent → for instance, at the very beginning of the war the British Parliament
passed the Defence of the Realm Act, which allowed the public authorities to arrest dissenters as
traitors. The act was later extended to authorize public officials to censor newspapers by deleting
objectionable material and even to suspend newspaper publication
b.
Wartime governments made active use of propaganda to arouse enthusiasm for the war
5.
New Jobs for Women
a.
Worked in jobs (from service to industrial sector) traditionally held only by men, who were at the front
b.
In Britain alone, the number of women in paid employment rose by over one million
c.
Worked in paramilitary organizations to support soldiers at front (nurses, cooks, supply drivers)
d.
Women’s wages → often paid less than men for same work; industrial and civil work provided better
pay and working hours than traditional jobs
6.
Women’s Changing Role
a.
Women discovered the benefits of financial autonomy and greater mobility
b.
Proved they could do “men’s work” → some refused to return to domestic service
c.
Women won right to vote throughout Europe during the period 1914-1930; growth of feminism
(expectation for change in their position and status in society)
The Paris Peace Conference → the victorious allies met in Paris on January 18, 1919, to begin negotiating terms of peace
1.
Peace of Justice (spirit of forgiveness to Germany; just division of territory)
a.
Leaders of Allied and Central Powers met at the Palace of Versailles
b.
Directed by the Big Four: British Prime Minister David Lloyd George; French President Georges
Clemenceau; Italian President Vittorio Orlando; and, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
c.
President Wilson’s 14 Points supported self-determination for all nations and a just peace
2.
Peace of Vengeance (make Germany pay for Great War) → Britain and France felt they had earned the right to
dictate the terms of peace due to their incredible losses
3.
By the harsh Treaty of Versailles, the Germans had to:
a.
Return Alsace-Lorraine region to France
b.
Keep area near France, called Rhineland, demilitarized
c.
Lost all overseas colonies, which would be administered by a mandate system that would prepare the
colonies for self-rule
d.
No navy (technically, no subs; 12 destroyers, 6 battleships, and 6 cruisers permitted) or air force
allowed; army could not have more than 100K soldiers (volunteer only)
e.
Could not manufacture weapons nor import weapons
f.
Pay war reparations of 32 billion dollars (amount set after conference)
g.
Agree to infamous “war guilt clause”—Article 231 (Germany solely responsible for Great War) →
harsh nature of the Treaty of Versailles contributed significantly to the collapse of the Weimar Republic
and the rise of the Nazi Party
The New Europe
1.
Treaties similar to Germany’s signed with other Central Powers
2.
Many countries experienced a change in their borders: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Belgium, Denmark, and
France
3.
Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia lost territory
4.
Many new countries were created = Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Turkey, and
Yugoslavia
5.
The end of empire: the Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire (and Habsburg rule), the Russian Empire
(and Romanov rule), the Second German Empire (Second Reich and Hohenzollern rule); British Empire
teetering
After 1918, it was no longer possible to maintain naive illusions about the progress of Western civilization
1.
As World War I was followed by the destructiveness of World War II and the mass murder machines of
totalitarian regimes, it became all too apparent that instead of a utopia, European civilization had become a
nightmare
2.
The Great War resulted not only in great loss of life and property but also in the annihilation of one of the basic
intellectual precepts on which Western civilization had been thought to have been founded—the belief in
progress
3.
A sense of hopelessness and despair among the “Lost Generation” soon replaced blind faith in progress. World
War I and the revolutions it spawned can properly be seen as the first stage in the crisis of the twentieth century
P a g e | 16
VI.
RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONS [circa 1905-1922] [see Russian Revolution and French Revolution Compared chart]
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Russia began to industrialize on a wide scale in the 1890s (Crimean War had demonstrated how industrially backward the
Russians were relative to Western Europe) under the leadership of Sergei Witte → by 1900, Russia was the world’s 4th
largest producer of steel; industrialization → urbanization → working class movements
1.
Socialist thought and socialist parties developed alongside the emerging factory system → repressive government
forced these workers’ parties underground, which resorted to radical means to achieve goals (for instance,
assassination)
Defeat in war leads to domestic unrest (1905 Revolution)
1.
Russian territorial expansion in northern Korea led to a confrontation with Japan → Russo-Japanese War (19041905)
2.
Russians decisively defeated in a series of naval battles → humiliating loss for a “great power”
3.
A massive food shortage (food rationing to feed troops overseas) in Russian cities led to a peaceful workers’
protest in January that was staged at the tsar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg
4.
Tsar’s troops opened fire → “Bloody Sunday”→ hundreds killed
5.
After a general strike, the government capitulated  by the October Manifesto, tsar Nicholas II (r. 1894-1917)
granted civil liberties and created a legislative body, the Duma (like British monarchs before, tsar could dissolve
legislative body)
6.
Constitutional monarchy would be short lived → after the assassination of his chief adviser, the tsar dissolved the
Duma and resorted back to autocracy
The Impact of the Great War
1.
Russia was unprepared both militarily and technologically for the total war of WWI
2.
Nicholas II, alone of all European monarchs, insisted upon taking personal charge of the armed forces despite his
lack of ability and training for such an awesome burden
3.
Russian industry was unable to produce the weapons and supplies it needed for its army → suffered incredible
losses → between 1914 and 1916 six million casualties → by 1917, the Russian will to fight had vanished
4.
Middle class, aristocrats, peasants, soldiers, and workers grew more disenchanted with the government,
exacerbated by the influence of the “mad monk,” Rasputin
The “March Revolution” (“February Revolution” in the old Russian calendar)
1.
Series of strikes erupted in Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg...sounded more “Russian”) → led by women
industrial workers → called for “Peace and Bread” and “Down with Autocracy”
2.
Women’s protest soon joined be legions of industrial workers (who were supported by the soviets)
3.
A significant number of soldiers joined the workers  members of the Duma (Constitutional Democrats)
established a Provisional Government (eventually led by Alexander Kerensky) that urged the tsar to abdicate 
he did on March 15
4.
The Provisional Government’s program consisted of 19th century liberalism → primarily a program established by
the middle-class and liberal aristocrats; foolishly, they decided to continue in the war effort
5.
This provisional government faced serious opposition from the soviets, councils of workers’ and soldiers’
deputies
a.
The soviets represented the more radical interests of the lower classes and were largely composed of
socialists of various kinds
b.
Social Democrats had split in 1903
i.
Mensheviks were gradualists → aimed to achieve socialism through democratic means
ii.
Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin, they advocated violent revolution as the only means to
destroy the capitalist system; uniquely, he argued an elite “vanguard” of activists must form a
small party of well-disciplined professional revolutionaries to accomplish this task
“April Theses”
1.
Lenin had been in Switzerland when the March Revolution erupted; with the help of the German high
command, he and a group of his followers were sent on a private train to Russia
2.
On April 20, he issued his “April Theses”
a.
Lenin revised Marx by arguing that Russia could directly move into socialism without first a proletarian
revolution that overthrew the bourgeois capitalists (Russian industrialization?) → Lenin argued the
workers would not develop revolutionary consciousness on their own
b.
The soviets of soldiers, workers, and peasants were groups that the Bolsheviks must gain control of →
they would help them overthrow the Provisional Government
c.
Bolsheviks would gain support through promises: end to the war, redistribution of all land to the
peasants, transfer of factories and industries from capitalists to committees of workers
d.
Slogans of Bolshevik program  “Peace, Land, Bread,” and “Worker Control of Production,” and
“All Power to the Soviets”
The Bolshevik Revolution—“November Revolution” (“October Revolution” in the old Russian calendar)
1.
Bolsheviks overthrow Provisional Government
a.
Bolsheviks were able to gain a majority in the powerful Petrograd soviet
b.
Lenin and Leon Trotsky organized a Military Revolutionary Committee within the Petrograd soviet to
plot the overthrow of the government
P a g e | 17
c.
G.
H.
VII.
On November 6-7, Bolshevik forces seized the Winter Palace, the seat of the Provisional Government
 collapsed quickly with little bloodshed
2.
Winning the masses
a.
Immediately, the Bolsheviks (renamed the Communists) tried to win mass support by fulfilling their
promises:
b.
Lenin declared the land nationalized (vs. privatized) and turned it over to local rural soviets
c.
Lenin turned over control of the factories to committees of workers
d.
Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918, with Germany  Russians lost eastern
Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic provinces → Lenin thought could be reclaimed with a
worldwide socialist revolution
Russian Civil War (1918-1921)
1.
Opposition → Lenin and his Communists faced opposition from groups loyal to the tsar, but also from bourgeois
and aristocratic liberals and anti-Lenin socialists like the Mensheviks
2.
In addition, approximately 100K Allied troops were eventually sent to different parts of Russia in the hope of
bringing Russia back into the war
3.
Showdown between the Red Army (Bolsheviks) and the White Army (anti-Bolshevik) resulted in a victory for
the Reds → how?
a.
Trotsky turned the Red Army into a well-disciplined and formidable fighting force; for instance,
reinstituted the draft and even recruited former tsarist officers; introduced Roman idea of decimation
for poor performance
b.
Had interior lines of defense and could move its troops easily
c.
Disunity of anti-Communist forces vs. Communists’ single-minded sense of purpose
d.
Bolsheviks implemented “War communism” → nationalization of banks and most industries, the
forcible requisition of grain from peasants, and the centralization of state administration under
Bolshevik control
e.
Bolsheviks implemented “revolutionary terror” → Red secret police known as the Cheka eliminated all
internal enemies (reminiscent of Robespierre’s Reign of Terror) → set stage for Stalinist purges that
reached into the millions! This fact alone is reason enough for many Americans to fear “communism”
f.
Foreign presence helped Bolsheviks appeal to Russian patriotism
Communist victory
1.
By 1921, Communists had succeeded in retaining control of Russia
2.
In the process, Russia was transformed into a bureaucratically centralized state dominated by a single party; the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was proclaimed on December 30, 1922
3.
With Lenin’s death in 1924, a power struggle would emerge in the Communist Party
INTERWAR EUROPE [1919-1939]
A.
Aftermath of the Great War
1.
Americans and British basically retreated into isolationism
2.
League of Nations very ineffective (Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931; Italian invasion of Ethiopia in
1935)  could only resort to economic sanctions; member nations balked at international army proposed by the
French and which would provide “collective security” (concern about giving up sovereignty)
B.
French Policy of Coercion
1.
Germans were unable to pay annual reparations by 1922, so France invaded the Ruhr valley and were paid “in
kind” by operating and using the mines and factories there
2.
Many German workers refused to work (“passive resistance”) → German government responded by printing
large quantities of paper money to support workers  spiraling inflation
C.
Dawes Plan (1923) → international commission that stepped in to help stabilize the German economy → reduced German
reparations, stabilized Germany’s payments on the basis of its ability to pay, granted Germany a $200 million economic
recovery loan, and reorganized German currency based on the real estate value of German all of which led to a relative
return to prosperity
D.
The Treaty of Locarno (1925) → Treaty negotiated between the French and German foreign ministers that guaranteed
Germany’s new western border (though not its eastern border with Poland); Germany and France would never again wage
war against each other; Germany was then admitted to the League of Nations in 1926; treaty was view of the dawn of new
era of European peace (if only!)
E.
Kellogg-Briand pact (1928) → another attempt at collective security → 63 nations eventually signed it; pledged to disarm
and to “renounce war as an instrument of national policy”→ wonderful in theory but utopian and unenforceable
F.
Suspicion of Soviets → many western European powers suspicious, especially in light of Soviet support of the Comintern
(Communist International), which agitated for worldwide communist revolutions
G.
Great Depression
1.
Longer term factors that led to the Great Depression included overproduction from WWI, debts from WWI,
European dependence on American loans (American investment in Europe dwindled during the Roaring 20s due
to the booming stock market), too much credit,  wages for factory workers,  in farmers’ earnings due to
overproduction
2.
Immediate cause of the Great Depression was the collapse of the American stock exchange in 1929
P a g e | 18
Effects of the Great Depression included  international trade,  in tariffs to protect domestic markets,  in
production,  in unemployment (for instance, by 1932, 25% unemployment in GB, 40% in Germany)
4.
Significantly, the failure of liberal remedies to solve the Great Depression opened the door to more extreme
and simplistic/dictatorial solutions
John Maynard Keynes → in his General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, he argued that to pull a nation out of
depression, which is caused primarily by a lack of demand, governments could finance massive public works programs to
stimulate production (even if the government had to resort to deficit spending) and demand
Retreat from Democracy: Authoritarian and Totalitarian States
1.
Origins → the total warfare of WWI, when governments, even democratic states, exercised virtual control over
economic, political, and personal freedom in order to achieve victory
2.
Aim of Totalitarian regimes  to control not only the economic, political, and social aspects of life, but the
intellectual and cultural as well; totalitarian regimes expected the active loyalty and commitment of citizens to the
regime’s goals → used mass propaganda techniques and high-speed communications to further their goals →
“without motor cars, sound films, and wireless, no victory of National Socialism” (Hitler)
3.
Organization → usually led by a single leader and a single party → fundamentally rejected liberal idea of limited
governments → individual freedom was to be subordinated to the collective will of the masses
4.
Characteristics  led by a dictator, one-party rule, primacy of the state, economic control, secret police (terror
and repression of opposition), censorship, propaganda, indoctrination
Fascist Italy
1.
Beginnings → in the early 1920s, in the wake of economic turmoil, political disorder, and the general insecurity
and fear stemming from WWI, former elementary school teacher Benito Mussolini (“Il Duce”) and his Black
Shirts burst upon the Italian scene with the first fascist movement in Italy; after the March on Rome (1922),
Mussolini was prime minister of Italy
3.
H.
I.
J.
2.
K.
Policies
a.
In theory, a parliamentary monarchy, in reality a fascist dictatorship led by Mussolini  bogus
elections, assassination of opposition leaders, censorship of press, police state, no freedom of assembly
or due process of law, anti-Fascist parties outlawed, indoctrination of the young (Young Fascists),
“women into the home” (supported a traditional view of women
b.
Mussolini’s government did provide discipline and order, put many to work with massive public works’
projects, and “made the trains run on time”
c.
Mussolini made peace with the RCC by the Lateran Accords in which the Vatican State was declared
an independent country; in return, the RCC recognized the Italian state and encouraged Italians to
support Mussolini’s government
4.
What is Fascism?
a.
Authoritarian regime that is not communist; rooted in extreme nationalism; glorified action, violence,
and discipline (blind loyalty to the state); antidemocratic; importance of the individual serving the state;
pursued aggressive foreign expansion; anti-socialist and anti-communist
b.
The Fascists found allies among the business leaders and wealthy landowners, as well as the lower
middle class
Nazi Germany
1.
Failure of the Weimar Republic, which was the republican government established at end of Great War
a.
Many blamed it for peace of vengeance that was meted out at the Paris Peace Conference
b.
The Weimar Republic was assailed from all sides, both by the communists on the left and Nazis on the
right
c.
The depression paved the way for social discontent, fear, and extremist parties
2.
Adolf Hitler and Mein Kampf → ideas hammered out during his formative Vienna years → core ideas included
racism, anti-Semitism, extreme German nationalism, Social Darwinism (nation’s struggle; the fit will flourish),
anti-communism, and Lebensraum (“living space” → superior nations deserve expansion)
3.
The Rise of the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers’ Party)/Nazis
a.
Hitler had joined the German Workers’ Party post-WWI; this party sought to gain support from the
working classes and fellow nationalists; it became a mass political movement that utilized flags, party
badges, uniforms (Brown Shirts), newspapers, and a police force (SA thugs “Storm Troops”)
b.
Hitler was able to garner more support with his charismatic oratorical skill; throughout the 1920s the
Nazis effectively employed mass propaganda and modern electioneering tactics →“Hitler over
Germany” → campaigned in 50 cities in 15 days
4.
In November 1923, Hitler led a failed coup against the Weimar Republic in the city of Munich (called the Beer
Hall Putsch) → Hitler jailed for 9 months where he wrote Mein Kampf
a.
Importantly, Hitler realized that the Nazis could not overthrow the Weimar Republic by force, but would have to
use constitutional means to gain power
5.
Hitler made Chancellor by January 1933 → Reichstag fire of February 1933 blamed on Communists  Hitler
given emergency powers that suspended the basic rights of all citizens (by the Enabling Act) → by August 1934,
Hitler assumed combined offices of president, chancellor, and commander of armed forces on death of President
Paul Hindenburg  Nazis dominated Germany → start of Third Reich
6.
Gleichschaltung [“Synchronizing”] → coordination of all activities under Nazi control
P a g e | 19
a.
L.
M.
N.
O.
Mass demonstrations and spectacles (propaganda → Nuremberg rallies; Triumph of the Will
documentary
b.
Economic sphere → factories not nationalized, secret rearmament → helped solve unemployment,
which led to acceptance of Nazis
c.
German Labor Front → single state-controlled union → kept eye on socialist movements
d.
Terror and repression under Heinrich Himmler’s SS (would ultimately coordinate Holocaust)
e.
Religion and education brought under Nazi control; many intellectuals flee
f.
Indoctrination of the young through the Hitler Youth/League of German Maidens
g.
Anti-Semitism → Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht were examples
h.
Women → traditional roles glorified → “Get ahold of pots and pans and broom and you’ll find a
groom!”
i.
Leisure (emphasis on physical activity) promoted and controlled by Nazis → “Strength through Joy”
j.
Censorship → public bonfires to burn dangerous and anti-Nazi works (Freud, Einstein)
k.
No political parties except Nazis
l.
Establishment of concentration camps for opponents
Soviet Russia → Russian Civil War had ended in 1921
1.
Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP)
a.
A modified version of the old capitalist system introduced in the Soviet Union by Lenin in 1921 to
revive the economy after the ravages of the civil war and war communism
b.
(Landowning) peasants could sell produce and keep the profits (kulaks); small businesses—less than 20
employees— could operate under private ownership (heavy industry, banking, and mining remained
under the control of the central government)
2.
Struggle in Politburo (executive committee of the Communist Party) after Lenin’s death between supporters of
Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin; Stalin as general secretary was able to galvanize mass support; Trotsky fled to
Mexico → assassinated in 1940 → Stalin followed a policy of “socialism in one country”
3.
Stalin’s Five-Year Plan → overarching goal was the transformation of Russia from an agricultural country into
an industrial state (iron ore, coal, steel, oil, electrical power stations, and capital goods)
4.
Included collectivization of agriculture and the elimination of the kulak class of farmers who had prospered
under Lenin’s NEP; collectivization overall was a disastrous policy because of inefficiency, lack of motivation
among collective farmers, and series of droughts that produced famines
5.
Similar to life under Napoleon, women saw many of the rights they had won under the leadership of Lenin
whittled away by Stalin (remember that the early Bolsheviks had made marriage a civil act, legalized abortions,
legalized divorce, and legislated the equality of men and women)
6.
“Man of Steel” → Stalin kept a firm grip over the Soviet bureaucracy through a series of purges of the old
Bolshevik elite (would have negative repercussions for the Soviet army in the early stages of WW2; and like
Hitler, Stalin introduced a massive propaganda and censorship campaign that sought to cultivate a “cult of
personality”
Spain under General Francisco Franco
1.
Franco led a successful authoritarian/conservative revolt in 1936 against the republican government → Spain
would remain in his firm grip until 1975
2.
Both the Italian fascists and Hitler’s Nazis militarily supported Franco → Hitler had wanted to test his new
weapons → the bombing of the city of Guernica, which had no military value resulted in the deaths of 1600
civilians, and led Pablo Picasso to paint his massive painting Guernica, one of the masterpieces of the 20th century
3.
This intentional targeting of civilians would be a forerunner of tactics to come in the total war of WW2
Expansionist mass culture and mass leisure → broadcasting corporations established (often state-owned, like the British
BBC) → mass radio; movies also became popular during this time → Hitler effectively used both media to further his aims
→ as he observed, “Without motor cars, sound films, and radio, no victory of National Socialism”
Cultural and intellectual trends → a sense of despair and disillusionment dominated
1.
Oswald Spengler → in his The Decline of the West, this German historian prophesied the collapse of western
civilization
2.
Art/Architecture/Music/Literature
a.
Dadaism (French for “hobby horse” → nonsensical name for the movement) → artistic movement that
glorified the purposelessness of life→ Marcel Duchamp (Fountain); “Like everything in life, Dada is
useless”
b.
Surrealism → artistic movement influenced by Freud’s theory of the unconscious; Salvador Dali’s The
Persistence of Memory; René Magritte’s The Treachery of Images
c.
Functionalism → school of architecture that sought to have “form follow function” → buildings
should fulfill the purpose for which they were constructed → for instance the modern skyscraper;
architects included Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Walter Gropius
d.
Atonal Music → Arnold Schonberg → organized sounds without recognizable harmonies; dissonance
e.
“Stream of consciousness”→ literary technique that details a characters interior monologue; an
attempt to follow a characters thought processes in writing → James Joyce (Ulysses) and Virginia Woolf
(Mrs. Dalloway)
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VIII.
WORLD WAR II [1939-1945]
A.
Hitler’s Diplomatic Revolution: 1933-1939
1.
German rearmament in 1934/1935 → creation of Luftwaffe; conscription = 4.5 million soldiers by 1939
2.
Anglo-German Naval Pact in 1935 = German navy 35% of Brits with equality of submarines; early example of
appeasement = satisfy Hitler’s (just?) demands to avoid a second world war; some in West felt Treaty of
Versailles had been too harsh on Germans, plus a strong Germany would be a bulwark against communist SU
3.
Reoccupation and militarization of the Rhineland in March 1936
4.
Rome-Berlin Axis → an agreement between Mussolini and Hitler that recognized their common interests → Oct
1936
5.
Anti-Comintern Pact → Germany and Japan agreed to maintain a common front against communism → Nov
1936
6.
Annexation of Austria (Anschluss) in March 1938
7.
Hitler and Nazi Germany awarded Sudetenland in September 1938 at the Munich Conference; Chamberlain =
“peace for our time”; Churchill’s rebut: the West chose dishonor at Munich, war will follow; supposedly the
Sudetenland was Hitler’s last territorial demand; however, the Nazis overran all of Czechoslovakia within
months
8.
Ribbentropp-Molotov Treaty in 1939 → Non-Aggression Pact with Soviet Union
9.
Invasion of Poland in September 1939 was the last straw for Great Britain and France; sitzkrieg (“phony war”)
in the winter of 1939/1940
B.
Course of the War
1.
German blitzkrieg (Luftwaffe + Panzers + Infantry) very effective in the early years of war = Germans crushed
Poland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France (outflanked “impenetrable”
Maginot Line by going through Ardennes Forest = cut off Allied forces = “miracle at Dunkirk”); Vichy Regime
set up in France under the leadership of Henri Petain; Charles de Gaulle and the Free French movement led
resistance to both Vichy and Nazis
2.
German war machine stifled by the British air force (and radar) at the Battle of Britain (“Blitz”); though the
British lived to fight another day, they needed help = Lend-Lease Act
3.
Hitler heavily fortified the Norman coast of France, then ultimately broke the non-aggression pact and invaded
the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) in the summer of 1941 (rationale: ideological crusade against
communism, racial crusade against Slavs and Jews, Lebensraum, oil in Caucasus Mts.); key battles included the
siege of Leningrad, Kursk (greatest tank battle of war; Soviets prevailed, which demonstrated their industrial
capacity), and Stalingrad (bloodiest battle in world history with approximately 2 million casualties; first large
scale defeat for Nazis; many have called it the “turning point” of the war)
4.
TOTAL WAR → unlike any seen before in human history (all citizens contributed in some way to the war effort;
thus all were targets?); both sides intentionally targeted civilian populations (Battle of Britain, Dresden,
Hiroshima, Nagasaki)
5.
USA gets involved after Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941, a day that will live in “infamy”)
6.
North Atlantic front a success for Allies due to convoy system, radar, and sonar; North African front (Allies
ultimately defeated Erwin Rommel then invaded “soft underbelly of Europe” = Italy), Asian front = American
island hopping
7.
Operation Overlord (D-Day) biggest naval invasion in world history (June 6, 1944) → liberation of France  on
to Berlin; VE Day on May 7, 1945; VJ Day Aug 15, 1945 in wake of Americans use of the atomic bomb on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
C.
The Mobilization of Peoples → like WWI, the total war of WWII led to planned economies, women in the workforce
(“Rosie the Riveter”), rationing, propaganda, censorship, and imprisonment of its own people (for instance, American
internment of Japanese-Americans)
D.
Wartime Conferences
1.
Tehran Conference (Nov 1943) → Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt  Americans and British would invade the
continent through northern France; would meet up with the Soviets in Germany, which meant the Soviets would
liberate (and dominate) Eastern Europe; agreed to a partition of Germany
2.
Yalta Conference (Feb 1945) → Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt → approved the Declaration of a Liberated
Europe that called for free elections in liberated countries (not followed by Soviets); approved establishment of
the United Nations; Soviets promised to help Americans against Japan; Germany would be divided up into 4
occupation zones (same for city of Berlin)
3.
Potsdam Conference (July 1945) → Attlee (his Labour Party) defeated Churchill in elections), Stalin, Truman
(Roosevelt had died in April) → contentious conference; major disagreement over free elections in Eastern
Europe (according to Stalin, “a freely elected gov’t in any of these East European countries would be anti-Soviet
and that we cannot allow”); Truman got word the US had a working atom bomb (Stalin knew this b/c of
spies...did Truman try to flex American strength by using it against Japanese?); Truman committed American
troops to post-war Europe for an indefinite amount of time
4.
The origins of the Cold War → ideological conflict between the Soviet Union and the US after WWII → “Iron
Curtain” speech by Churchill in March 1946
E.
Immediate Effects of WWII
1.
Devastation and loss of life in Europe and Asia (~50-70 million dead)
P a g e | 21
2.
F.
IX.
Horror of the Holocaust (emigration then Madagascar Plan then Einsatzgruppen then “Final Solution” devised at
Wannsee Conference in 1942 = death camps) → leaders held accountable for actions → for instance, Nuremberg
Trials
3.
Overthrow of fascism
4.
Founding of United Nations (UN charter approved in June 1945; would have military presence unlike League of
Nations
5.
Demilitarization of Germany and Japan
6.
New world superpowers = USA and USSR → AGE OF EUROPE HAD ENDED 1492-1945
7.
Soviet control of Eastern Europe, dubbed “Soviet satellites” and the “Iron Curtain”
Long-Term Effects
1.
Emergence of Cold War (~1945-1991)
2.
Divided/Partitioned Germany
3.
New military alliances = NATO and Warsaw Pact
4.
Emergence of arms race between Americans and Soviets
5.
Decolonization begins in European colonial territories
THE COLD WAR AND “NEW SOCIETY” [circa 1945-1980]
A.
Origins of Cold War = intense competition for political, military, and ideological supremacy had long been a feature of
Western civilization; both the Americans and Soviets were heirs of that European tradition of power politics; ideological
conflict that stemmed from the desired makeup of post-WWII Europe
1.
Mutual distrust = because of its need to feel secure on its western border, the Soviets were not prepared to give up
the advantages it had gained in Eastern Europe from Germany’s defeat
2.
But neither were the Americans willing to give up the power and prestige they had gained throughout the world
 between 1945-1949, a number of events entangled the two in continual conflict
B.
Disagreement over Eastern Europe
1.
USA and GB had championed self-determination for all liberated nations → UN Charter had been signed at the
tail end of the war (June 1945)
2.
Stalin feared if given free elections, E. European nations would return to traditional anti-Soviet attitudes → as
liberators of E. Europe, the Soviets won out and established pro-Soviet regimes in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria,
and Hungary → only another war could reverse this situation, something the “West” was unwilling to do
3.
“Iron Curtain” speech by Winston Churchill on March 5, 1946
C.
Greece and the Truman Doctrine
1.
Communists and anti-Communist forces clashed in Greece and Turkey in 1946-1947
2.
Fearful of the spread of communism, Truman enunciated the Truman Doctrine (1947)  the US would provide
$ and military assistance to countries that claimed they were threatened by Communist expansion
3.
Truman Doctrine represented the “hard side” of containment
D.
Western Europe and the Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program)
1.
On the heels of Truman Doctrine came the Marshall Plan (1947), which was intended to rebuild prosperity and
stability by providing $13 billion for the economic recovery of war-torn Europe
2.
Underlying this program was the belief that Communist aggression and expansion fed off economic turmoil
3.
Soviets perceived the MP as economic imperialism in the sense that the receiving countries would be indebted to
the US; eastern European economic cooperation orchestrated by the Soviets = Comecon (1949) = Council for
Mutual Economic Assistance)
E.
In an article in Foreign Affairs in July 1947, George Kennan, a well-known American diplomat with much knowledge of
Soviet affairs, advocated a policy of containment against further aggressive Soviet moves → after Berlin blockade became
US policy
F.
Berlin Blockade in 1948-1949 → Berlin Airlift by West; erection of Berlin Wall in 1961, which became the symbol of the
Cold War
G.
Arms Race
1.
Soviets detonated an atomic bomb in 1949
2.
By 1953 both sides had thermonuclear weapons (could be 1K times more destructive than atomic weapons)
3.
Both sides have intercontinental-ballistic missiles (ICBMs) by 1959
4.
Evolution of mutual deterrence (or MAD = “mutually assured destruction”)
H.
Emergence of space race with launching of Sputnik I in 1957; first man in space = Yuri Gagarin (1961)
I.
New defensive alliances = NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955)
J
Global Confrontation/Cooperation
1.
Chinese Communist Revolution (1949) led by Mao Zedong intensified American fears about spread of
communism
2.
The Korean War (1950-1953) and the “domino theory” → armistice between communist North Korea (backed
by China) and republican South Korea (backed by the USA) → armistice along the 38th parallel still persists
today
3.
Communist Cuban Revolution (1959) led by Fidel Castro successful against US backed government of dictator
Batista; disastrous American-backed Bay of Pigs invasion (1961)
4.
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) → showdown between Khrushchev and Kennedy over Soviet installation of nukes
in Cuba → brinkmanship → peaceful resolution
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a.
b.
c.
d.
K.
L.
USA will not invade Cuba
USA will remove missiles from Turkey
Soviets will remove missiles from Cuba
A hotline communication system between Moscow and Washington was installed in 1963 to expedite
rapid communication between the two superpowers in a time of crisis
e.
LTBT (see below)
5.
Vietnam War (1963-1975) → like the war in Afghanistan fought by the Soviets (1979), the Vietnam War
demonstrated that the “superpowers” could be frustrated by ultra-nationalist guerrillas if they were not willing to
use nukes
6.
Emergence of détente → lessening of tensions between East and West evident by the early late 1960s/early
1970s:
a.
Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 (LTBT) → banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater, and
in space
b.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 (NPT) → established the USA, USSR, UK, France, and
China as five “nuclear-weapon states → non-nuclear Weapon states were prohibited from possessing,
manufacturing, or acquiring nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices
c.
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 (ABM) →banned anti-ballistic weapons systems (USA ended
treaty in 2002)
d.
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties I & II of 1972/1979 (SALT I & II) → limited the growth of US
and Soviet missile arsenals
e.
Helsinki Agreements of 1975 → recognized the borders in central & eastern Europe that had been
established since WWII, which was tantamount to recognizing Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern
Europe and that borders are not “flexible”; also committed the signatories to recognize and protect the
human rights of their citizens
f.
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 (INF) → Soviet agreement with USA to eliminate
intermediate-range nuclear weapons from Europe
Decolonization movements in Africa, Asia, and Middle East in the post-WW2 world gave evidence of the power of
nationalism
1.
Origins = economic necessity (European economies lacked the resources post-WW2 to retain world empires; the
creation of the modern welfare state also contributed to the economic infeasibility of retaining colonial empires)
and not a commitment to self-determination led to the end of the European “new” imperialism
2.
Liberation from European colonial powers led to creation of countless new nations, many of which differed in
terms of government stability and technological/industrial sophistication → evolution of First World (advanced
industrial states like USA, Western Europe, Japan), Second World (Soviet Union and its “satellites”), and Third
World (new nations beset by poverty, political instability, and a lack of technological/industrial development)
nations
3.
Creation of the Israeli state in 1948 → ongoing conflict with groups like the PLO (Palestine Liberation
Organization); Gandhi—who had spearheaded Indian nationalism via nonviolent means and opposed the
division of India/Pakistan was assassinated in 1948 by a Hindu militant; Suez Crisis in 1956 (Egypt nationalized
the Suez Canal, much to the chagrin of Britain and France; the USA and Soviets backed Egypt); arrest of South
African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in 1962
Developments in the Soviet Union
1.
Stalin died in 1953; Nikita Khrushchev ultimately assumed power (r. 1953-1964)
2.
Khrushchev pursued a policy of destalinization
a.
Ended the system of forced labor camps (gulags)
b.
Condemned Stalin for his “administrative violence, mass repression, and terror”
c.
Permitted a certain degree of intellectual freedom
d.
Reduced powers of secret police (KGB)
e.
Put emphasis more on consumer goods in the economy
f.
In a show of greater freedom of speech, he allowed publication of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s A Day in the
Life of Ivan Denisovich (a fictional account of the Soviet gulags)
3.
K’s Stalin-bashing encouraged a spirit of rebellion in Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe → Soviets
crushed 1956 revolt in Hungary (30K killed) and thereafter downplayed their campaign of destalinization
4.
Successful launch of Sputnik I in 1957 → the resulting space race combined with the arms race the Soviets were
locked in with the US had negative implications for the development of the Soviet economy
5.
Following the debacle of the Cuban Missile Crisis (in which it was perceived that Kennedy had gotten the better
of Khrushchev), Leonid Brezhnev (r. 1964-1982) assumed power in the Soviet Union
a.
Brezhnev followed a “no experimentation” policy when it came to economic and political reform in
satellite nations
b.
What emerged was the so-called Brezhnev Doctrine → the right of the SU to intervene if socialism was
threatened in another “socialist state” →led to the use of Soviet troops in Czechoslovakia in 1968 to
crush the liberal reforms of Alexander Dubcek (“Prague Spring” → Czech liberalism was being reborn)
who had wanted to create a “communism with a human face”
c.
Détente in the late 1960s and 1970s (see above)
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M.
N.
O.
P.
Eastern Europe: Behind the “Iron Curtain”
1.
At the end of WWII, Soviet military forces had occupied all of Eastern Europe and the Balkans except for
Greece, Albania, and Yugoslavia (who was led by the independent communist Josip Tito). All of the occupied
states came to be part of the Soviet sphere of influence and, after 1945, experienced similar political developments
2.
Soviet Satellite States → typical policies included:
a.
Politics: one-party communist government with constitution based on Stalin’s 1936 constitution for the
USSR
b.
Authority: use of Stalinist terror techniques (secret police and imprisonment) to suppress internal dissent
c.
Economics: planned economies, nationalization of all industry, collectivization of agriculture
d.
Culture: adoption of Soviet culture; suppression of Western cultural influences
e.
Travel restrictions: citizens prevented from traveling to Western countries
3.
But communism, a “foreign” ideology, did not develop deep roots among the peoples of eastern Europe →
revolts seemed to be inspired by the destalinization movement in the Soviet Union until Khrushchev’s forces (and
later Brezhnev’s) crushed reforming movements in Poland (1956), Hungary (1956), and Czechoslovakia (1968)
Developments in France
1.
French Fourth Republic (1945-1958)
a.
Established in the wake of the Allied liberation of France from Nazi Germany; political disputes led to
de Gaulle withdrawing from public life
b.
The 4th Republic was plagued by foreign policy snafus like debacles in French Indochina and Algeria
2.
Led to the establishment of the French Fifth Republic (1958 -?) under the strong presidency of Charles de Gaulle
(r.1959-1969)
a.
Under the new constitution, the president could choose the prime minister, dissolve parliament, and
supervise both defense and foreign policy
b.
De Gaulle sought to revive the glory of France: detonated an atomic bomb in 1960 thus making them a
nuclear power; consented to the independence of Algeria in 1962 much to the approval of Third World
countries; withdrew from NATO in 1966 to pursue a foreign policy independent from the USA
c.
De Gaulle oversaw the nationalization of several industries such as coal, steel, and railroads; his
government faced serious deficits (partly due to the vast expenses due to being a nuclear power),
inflation, and rapidly rising costs of living, all of which cost him political capital
d.
Increased dissatisfaction with the inability of de Gaulle’s government to deal with these problems soon
led to more violent action → in May 1968, a series of student protests, followed by a general strike by
the labor unions, shook the government (see Education and Student Revolt below)
e.
Although de Gaulle managed to restore order, the events of May 1968 seriously undermined the French
people’s respect for their aloof and imperious president → tired and discouraged, de Gaulle resigned
from office in April 1969 and died within a year; brought a shift to the left politically and culminated in
the presidency of socialist Francois Mitterrand (r. 1981-1995)
f.
Mitterrand’s policies largely failed and led to the resurgence of conservative coalitions and the
presidencies of Jacques Chirac (r. 1995-2007) and Nicholas Sarkozy (assumed office in 2007); socialist
François Hollande was elected in 2012
West Germany
1.
The West German Federal republic had been created in 1949; by 1955 they had become an independent country
(occupation over) and had joined NATO
2.
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (r. 1949-1963) and the economic policies of Ludwig Erhard (who would succeed
Adenauer as chancellor)—who pursued a policy of free markets, low taxes, and elimination of controls, which,
combined with American financial aid—led to rapid economic growth led to a remarkable economic recovery
a.
To maintain its economic expansion, West Germany even imported hundreds of thousands of “guest
workers,” primarily from Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Yugoslavia → as have other European
nations which at times have led to assimilation problems
b.
The Adenauer government pursued a policy of denazification = continued prosecution of war
criminals; and, the government began to make payments to Israel and to Holocaust survivors and their
relatives in order to make some restitution for the crimes of the Nazi era
e.
Willy Brandt and Ostpolitik → chancellor from 1969-1974 → famous for his “opening” to the East →
trying to mend the relationship and improve relations with East Germany, for which he was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971
Great Britain and the Welfare State
1.
The end of WWII left Britain with massive economic problems
2.
Clement Attlee (r. 1945-1951) and economic nationalization
a.
Atlee’s Labour Party defeated Churchill’s Conservative Party, promising far-reaching reforms,
particularly in the area of social welfare, and in a country with a tremendous shortage of consumer
goods and housing, its platform was quite appealing
b.
The establishment of the British welfare state began with the nationalization of the Bank of England,
the coal and steel industries, public transportation, and public utilities, such as electricity and gas. In the
area of social welfare, the new government enacted the National Insurance Act and the National
Health Service Act in 1946
P a g e | 24
c.
Q.
R.
The insurance act established a comprehensive social security program and nationalized medical
insurance, thereby enabling the state to subsidize the unemployed, the sick, and the aged. The health act
created a system of socialized medicine that required doctors and dentists to work with state hospitals,
although private practices could be maintained. This measure was especially costly for the state, but
within a few years, 90 percent of medical practitioners were participating. The British welfare state
became the model for most European states after the war
d.
The cost of building a welfare state at home forced the British to reduce expenses abroad. This meant
the dismantling of the British Empire and the reduction of military aid to such countries as Greece and
Turkey (and motive for the Truman Doctrine!). It was not a belief in the morality of self-determination
but economic necessity that brought an end to the British Empire (see decolonization above)
The Emergence of a New Society
1.
During the postwar era, Western society witnessed remarkably rapid change. Computers, television, jet planes,
contraceptive devices, and new surgical techniques all dramatically and quickly altered the pace and nature of
human life. The rapid changes in postwar society, fueled by scientific advances and rapid economic growth, led
many to view it as a “new society.” In the 1960s, a wave of protests rocked this new society as blacks demanded
civil rights, young people marched for an end to the war in Vietnam and a ban on nuclear weapons, and women
argued for equal rights with men
2.
The Structure of European Society
a.
Further urbanization → still more and more people moving from rural to urban areas, which meant
that the number of individuals in agriculture declined → middle classes greatly augmented with new
group of managers and technicians, as large companies and government agencies employed  numbers
of white-collar supervisory and administrative personnel → increasing importance of service sector
b.
Rising incomes and more leisure time →  in real wages led even the lower classes to participate in
“consumer society” → installment plan; rising wages with shorter working hours created an even
greater market for leisure activities  popular culture became commercialized  music, sports, media
3.
The Welfare State → power of the state over the lives of its citizens (too much?)
a.
Stated goal of the welfare state was to make it possible for people to live better and more meaningful
lives
b.
Underlying belief is that the society (the state) has a responsibility to care for all its citizens → combat
poverty and homelessness, provide medical services for all, compulsory education, protection of the
elderly, workers’ benefits, and pensions
c.
Expansion of welfare state often led to deficit spending
4.
Women in the Postwar Western World
a.
In general, women were removed from the workforce at the end of the war to provide jobs for the
soldiers returning home  “baby boom”
b.
By the end of the 1950s though, family size began to decline, largely due to birth control (condoms, and
especially a new invention, the “pill”) → women as a group then experienced fewer “child rearing”
years →  number of married women in the workforce
c.
Women still tended to earn  salaries than men for the same work
5.
Feminism and the Search for Liberation
a.
Participation of women in the world wars helped them achieve one of the major aims of the late 19th
century’s women’s movement → suffrage
b.
After the “traditional” late 1940s and 1950s, there was a renewed interest in feminism (women’s
liberation movement)
c.
Inspired in part by Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, in which she argued that as a result of maledominated societies, women had been defined by their differences from men and consequently received
second-class status; interestingly, she posited that “one is not born a woman, but becomes one” → the
difference between sex and gender and how society cultivates certain gender roles
6.
The “permissive society”→ yet another term to describe the “new society” of post-WWII Europe
a.
Sexual Freedom → sex education in schools, decriminalization of homosexuality, birth control pill,
“public” appearance of “pornography” such as Playboy
b.
Divorce → new standards were evident in the breakdown of the “traditional” family →  in divorce
rates and increasing premarital/extramarital sexual experiences
c.
Drugs →emergence of a drug culture → marijuana, those interested in “mind expansion into the higher
levels of consciousness”→ LSD
Education and Student Revolt
1.
New attitudes toward sex and the use of drugs were only two manifestations of a growing youth movement in
the 1960s that questioned authority and fostered rebellion against an older generation. Spurred on by the
Vietnam War and a growing political consciousness, the youth rebellion became a youth protest movement by
the second half of the 1960s
2.
Why student revolts?
a.
Desire for reform within universities → classrooms with too many students, professors who paid little
attention to their students, authoritarian administrators
P a g e | 25
b.
3.
X.
Protesting the Vietnam War → viewed by many students as the product of western style imperialism →
revolts spread to Europe from the USA → remember France had had their own Vietnam with French
Indochina
c.
Students “attacked” aspects of western society, like rampant materialism; concern that they were
becoming cogs in the large and impersonal bureaucratic jungles of the modern world
d.
Concern about democratic decision making
e.
Some were inspired by Herbert Marcuse, who had argued in One-Dimensional Man that capitalism had
undermined the dissatisfaction of the oppressed masses by encouraging the consumption of material
things
Most famous revolt was 1968 French student revolt → Parisian students demanded a greater voice in the
administration of the university, took over buildings and then expanded the scale of their protests by inviting
workers to support them (general strike followed) → de Gaulle resigned by 1969
THE COLLAPSE OF SOVIET-STYLE COMMUNISM AND CONTEMPORARY EUROPE [circa 1980-present]
A.
From Cold War to Post-Cold War: Toward a New World Order?
1.
By the 1960s and 1970s, American-Soviet relations had entered a new phase known as détente (see above for
examples)
2.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979—undertaken to restore a pro-Soviet regime—hardened relations
between the superpowers
3.
In response, the American President Jimmy Carter led a US-sponsored boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in
Moscow (the Soviets did the same at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles) and placed an embargo on
grain shipments to the USSR
4.
Under President Reagan (1981-1988), there was a return to harsh rhetoric → Reagan infamously called the Soviet
Union an “evil empire” and began a military buildup that stimulated a new arms race (focus on cruise missiles—
low altitude, moderate speed, guided missiles—and SDI—“Strategic Defense Initiative”→ missile defense shield)
→ as a result, the USA became the biggest debtor nation in the world
B.
The Gorbachev Era (r. 1985-1991)
1.
The accession of Mikhail Gorbachev to power in the Soviet Union in 1985 eventually brought about a dramatic
end to the Cold War
2.
To review, remember that Khrushchev was succeeded by Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982) who followed a “no
experimentation” philosophy (reluctant to reform) → he asserted the Brezhnev Doctrine → the right of the SU
to intervene if socialism was threatened in another “socialist state,” that led to the use of Soviet troops in
Czechoslovakia in 1968 to crush the “Prague Spring” of the reformist Alexander Dubcek
3.
In the midst of such events, the Soviet economy faced two major problems
a.
The Politburo’s insistence on central planning led to a huge, complex bureaucracy that discouraged
efficiency and reduced productivity → the Soviet system, based on guaranteed employment and a lack
of incentives, bred apathy, complacency, absenteeism, and drunkenness
b.
Agriculturally, collective farms lacked incentives; the Soviet Union was devastated by a series of
droughts followed by heavy rains and early frosts that left the Soviets dependent on grain from the
West, particularly the USA
c.
In short, there was a growing perception in Soviet society that the Soviet system was on the verge of
collapse
4.
Gorbachev came to power after the brief rule of Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko; Gorbachev was
willing to rethink many of the fundamental assumptions underlying Soviet domestic and foreign policy, and his
“New Thinking,” as it was called, opened the door to a series of stunning changes
a.
“Gorby’s” ultimate aim was to solve the problems that plagued the SU, not to dismantle the system
itself; his “new thinking” =
b.
Perestroika → the cornerstone of Gorby’s radical reforms → this “restructuring” called for a reordering
of economic policy → called for the beginning of a market economy with limited free enterprise and
some private property → reminiscent of NEP under Lenin
i.
Under perestroika, companies could no longer rely on government bail outs to stay afloat
ii.
Gorby spent less money on weapons and encouraged people to set up their own private
businesses
iii.
Gorby also invited other nations to start new businesses with Soviet companies
iv.
Overall, the goal of perestroika was to help companies produce more and better goods, and to
improve citizens’ living conditions → with such changes, Gorby hoped that Soviet society
would improve with the communist government still in place
c.
Glasnost → Gorby understood that the economic sphere was intimately tied to the social and political
spheres → this “openness” allowed for Soviet citizens and officials to discuss openly the strengths and
weaknesses of the SU
i.
For instance, Pravda (the state run newspaper dating to the time of Lenin) started to print the
“truth” and included reports on official corruption, sloppy factory work, and protests against
government policy
ii.
Censorship of art was lifted; music based on Western styles, such as jazz and rock, began to be
performed openly
P a g e | 26
iii.
C.
Political dissidents were released (for instance, Andrei Sakharov was released → he was a
famous nuclear physicist, champion of human rights, and critic of Soviet policy; awarded 1975
Nobel Peace Prize—not allowed to leave the SU to receive it)
d.
Demokratizatsiya → non-Communist party candidates were allowed to run in elections; non-Communist
political parties legalized
i.
Demokratizatsia led to the creation in 1988 of a new Soviet parliament—Congress of People’s
Deputies—whose members were chosen by competitive elections
ii.
In January 1990, Gorbachev legalized the formation of other political parties and struck
Article VI, which had guaranteed the “leading role” of the Communist Party, from the Soviet
constitution
iii.
At the same time, Gorbachev attempted to consolidate his power by creating a new state
presidency. The new position was a consequence of the separation of the state from the
Communist Party. Hitherto, the position of first secretary of the Party (Soviet premiere) had
been the most important post in the Soviet Union, but as the Communist Party became less
closely associated with the state, the powers of this office diminished correspondingly. In
March 1990, Gorbachev became the Soviet Union’s first president
iv.
Each Soviet republic in turn elected a president; Boris Yeltsin elected to post of Russian
president in June 1991
e.
By October, 1989, the USSR no longer militarily supported Communist governments that were faced
with internal revolt (did not enforce Brezhnev Doctrine), which opened the door to the overthrow of
Communist regimes in eastern Europe → has been described as the Sinatra Doctrine (on his most
famous songs is “My Way” implying that eastern bloc countries could go their own way)
f.
For his actions, Gorby awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1990
5.
One of Gorbachev’s most serious problems stemmed from the nature of the nation he led
a.
The USSR was a truly multiethnic country, containing 92 nationalities and 112 recognized languages
b.
Previously, the iron hand of the Communist Party, centered in Moscow, had kept a lid on the centuriesold ethnic tensions that had periodically erupted. As Gorbachev released this iron grip, tensions
resurfaced, a by-product of glasnost that Gorbachev had not anticipated
c.
Ethnic groups took advantage of the new openness to protest what they perceived as ethnically
motivated slights. When violence erupted, the Soviet army, in disrepair since its ill-fated decade-long
foray into Afghanistan (1979), had difficulty controlling the situation
6.
The years 1988 to 1990 also witnessed the appearance of nationalist movements in the republics that made up
the Soviet Union. Many were motivated by ethnic concerns, with calls for sovereignty and independence from
the Russian-based rule centered in Moscow. These movements sprang up first in Georgia in late 1988 and then in
Latvia, Estonia, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Lithuania. On March 11, 1990, the Lithuanian Supreme
Council proclaimed Lithuania an independent state
7.
The end of the USSR → Gorby started to cooperate closely with the new president of the Russian republic, Boris
Yeltsin (r. 1991-1999)
a.
Conservative forces in the SU feared its dissolution (army, government, KGB, and military industries)
→ a group of these rightists (hard-liners) arrested Gorby and try to stage a coup in August 1991
b.
Gorby’s unwillingness to work with the conspirators and the brave resistance in Moscow of Yeltsin and
thousands of Russians who had grown accustomed to their new liberties caused the coup to disintegrate
rapidly
c.
Soviet republics soon moved for complete independence → Gorbachev formally resigned on December
25, 1991, and turned over his responsibilities as commander-in-chief to Yeltsin, the president of Russia
d.
Thus, the USSR had “ceased to exist” and was ultimately replaced by the new and voluntary
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
e.
By the end of 1991, one of the largest empires in world history had evaporated, and a new era had
begun in its lands
8.
Russia, in its transition to a free market economy, was plagued by economic hardship and social disarray, made
worse by a dramatic rise in the activities of organized crime mobs
a.
Hard-liners on both sides of the political fence were dismayed at Russia’s lost of prestige in world affairs
b.
Yeltsin was criticized for crushing Chechen (Chechnya—largely Muslim population in Northern
Caucasus Mountains → source of important gas and oil pipelines) resistance (had wanted to secede
from Russia and set up their own independent republic)
c.
Yeltsin was succeeded by the conservatives Vladimir Putin in 2000 and Dmitry Medvedev in 2008
Toward a New European Order
1.
Collapse of the Communist Order in Eastern Europe
a.
Discontent always simmered beneath the surface of the Soviet bloc, and after Gorbachev made it clear
that his government would not intervene militarily, the Communist regimes fell quickly in the
revolutions of 1989
2.
Lech Walesa’s Solidarity Movement in Poland
a.
A labor party that mounted tremendous threat to communist government
b.
Walesa arrested in 1981 (awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1983)
c.
Solidarity outlawed, and Poland was under martial law
P a g e | 27
d.
D.
E.
A vocal critic of the Polish state and advocate for Polish freedoms was the Roman Catholic Church and
Polish Pope John Paul II
e.
By 1988, martial law had not solved Poland’s serious economic problems →the Soviet-backed Polish
regime allowed free parliamentary elections → in 1990, Walesa chosen as new president
f.
The republic of Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004
3.
Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia
a.
The oppressive Czech government collapsed in 1989 after nationwide protests “Velvet Revolution” (it
was a bloodless revolt, “smooth as velvet”)
b.
The dissident playwright Vaclav Havel elected president and Alexander Dubcek elected head of the
Czech parliament
c.
Ethnic tensions flared → Czechs and Slovaks disagreed over the makeup of the new state → agreed to
peaceful division of the country in 1993 → both the Czech Republic and Slovakia are now NATO and
EU nations
4.
Hungary → held its first multiparty elections in 1990 and initiated a free market economy; joined NATO in 1999
and the EU in 2004
5.
Bulgaria → communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World
War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy; it joined
NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007
6.
Nicolae Ceausescu and Romania → the long and draconian reign of Nicolae Ceausescu came to an end on
Christmas 1989 when he and his wife were executed by anti-government rebels for acquiring illegal wealth and
genocide → joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007
7.
After the Fall of the Soviet Union, eastern European countries would be plagued with the following problems →
had little or no experience with democratic systems of government; ethnic divisions, which had been forcibly
submerged under Communist rule, reemerged; rapid conversion to market economies was painful (dubbed
“shock therapy”) → unemployment; in many countries, former Communist officials were able to retain
important positions of power or become the owners of newly “private property”
The Reunification of Germany
1.
Until 1989, the existence of West Germany and East Germany remained the most powerful symbol of a divided
post-war Europe
2.
Communist disarray
a.
East Germany, as a faithful Soviet satellite, had nationalized its industry and collectivized its agriculture
→ the exodus of mostly skilled laborers to West Berlin led to the creation of the Berlin Wall in 1961
b.
Erich Honecker ruled East Germany with an iron fist (made use of his secret police, the Stasi)
c
By November 1989, the Communist government was in complete disarray...
3.
Fall of the Berlin Wall → on November 9 (Europe’s “9/11”), it opened the entire border with the west →
collapse of the Berlin Wall
4.
By March 1990, East Germany had its first free elections, won by the Christian Democrats → supported
reunification with West Germany → achieved in October 1990
5.
A unified Germany
a.
Helmut Kohl elected first chancellor of a unified Germany
b.
Euphoria gave way to new problems → the realization that the revitalization of eastern Germany would
take far more $ than was originally thought
c.
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (Social Democratic Party) replaced in 2005 by the first female leader of
the modern German nation, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who leads the majority party, the Christian
Democratic Union (CDU)
The Disintegration of Yugoslavia
1.
Yugoslavia comprised of six republics (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, and
Montenegro) and two autonomous provinces (Kosovo and Vojvodina)
2.
Held together by independent communist, Josip Tito (died in 1980), after WWII; caught up in the reform
movements sweeping through Europe at the end of the 1980s → non-Communist parties elected in Slovenia,
Croatia, B-H, and Macedonia in 1990 → clamored for independent government
3.
Serbian nationalism → Slobodan Milosevic, leader of the Serbian Communist party, rejected separatism
a.
He maintained that these republics could only be independent if new border arrangements were made to
accommodate the Serb minorities in those republics who did not want to live outside the boundaries of
a Greater Serbian state → negotiations failed
b.
Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence → Milosevic sent in the Yugoslavian army (which he
controlled) → captured 1/3 of Croatian territory before cease fire
4.
War in Bosnia-Herzegovina → Milosevic turned his guns on B-H by early 1992
a.
By mid-1993, Milosevic controlled 70% of Bosnian territory
b.
The Serbian policy of “ethnic cleansing”—killing or forcibly removing Bosnian Muslims from their
lands—revived memories of Nazi atrocities in WWII
c.
European (and American) governments failed to take a decisive and forceful stand against the Serbs →
250,000 Bosnians (mostly civilians) were killed, and 2 million others were left homeless, often driven
from their homes by “ethnic cleansing”
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5.
F.
G.
H.
I.
Dayton Accords → air strikes by NATO bombers were launched in retaliation for Serb attacks on civilians and
weakened the Serb military positions
a.
Both sides met in Dayton, OH in Nov 1995 for negotiations
b.
A formal peace treaty was signed in Paris in 1995
c.
B-H split into a Serb Republic and B-H Federation → 60K NATO soldiers kept the peace
6.
War in Kosovo (1999) → war erupted between ethnic Albanians and Serbs in 1999 as Milosevic pursued a
ruthless policy of ethnic cleansing against the ethnic Albanians, which forced hundreds of thousands of ethnic
Albanians to flee their homeland → once again, NATO intervened with air strikes, and sent in ground troops to
keep the peace
7.
Milosevic was finally defeated in Serbian elections in 2000; surrendered to NATO troops in 2001; Milosevic died
of a heart attack in March of 2006 while standing trial at The Hague for “crimes against humanity” and genocide
8.
Yugoslavia became Serbia and Montenegro in February 2003; by referendum in May 2006, Montenegro, by a
narrow margin (55.5%), voted to secede from Serbia, thus destroying the last vestige of the former Yugoslavia
9.
Macedonia and Croatia—both former Yugoslavian republics—are now candidates for membership in the EU and
NATO (Albania, B-H, Montenegro, and Serbia are recognized as potential candidates)
10.
Kosovo voted to declare its independence from Serbia in February 2008, which has not been met favorably by
either Serbia or Russia (wonder why?)
Great Britain--Margaret Thatcher and Thatcherism (r. 1979-1990)
1.
Conservatives returned to power under Margaret Thatcher, who became the first woman to serve as Prime
Minister in British history
2.
This “Iron Lady” pledged to lower taxes, reduce government bureaucracy, limit social welfare, restrict union
power, and end inflation (policies tended to benefit the business class)
3.
Like Ronald Reagan, Thatcher took a hard-line approach toward communism
4.
Achieved foreign-policy success in the Falklands War, when Argentina tried to take over one of Britain’s last
colonial outposts
5.
She was ousted in 1990 → replaced by another conservative, John Major
6.
Importantly, the Britain has for the present not adopted the Euro as its currency (something all future EU
members must do)
7.
The Labour Party led by Tony Blair assumed leadership in 1997; Blair was an important ally of President George
W. Bush; Blair’s military support of the War in Iraq was a political quagmire; he resigned from office in June
2007 and was replaced by Labour leader Gordon Brown and succeeded by the Conservative David Cameron in
2010
Uncertainties in France (see previous unit)
Italy → has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification; persistent problems include illegal
immigration, organized crime, government corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low
incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north
New Directions and New Problems in Western Society
1.
It is estimated that parents need to average 2.1 children to ensure a natural replacement of a country’s population.
In many European countries, the population stopped growing in the 1960s, and the trend has continued since
then. By the 1990s, birthrates were down drastically; among the nations of the European Union, the average
number of children per mother was 1.4. Spain's rate of 1.15 was among the lowest in the world in 2002
2.
Women’s Movement
a.
The number of women in the workforce continues to increase (equal pay continues to be a problem)
b.
Women also have increasingly entered new employment areas, once the exclusive domain of men →
law, government, business, and education
c.
Women sought and gained a measure of control over their own bodies by insisting that they had the
right to both contraception and abortion
d.
Female professors also tried to change the curriculum of the universities → field of women’s studies
e.
Women have played prominent roles in both the anti-nuclear movement and ecological movement
f.
Women in the west have also reached out to work with women from the rest of the world in
international conferences to change the conditions of their lives (women from Western and nonWestern countries often had different priorities though)
3.
Terrorism
a.
Acts of terror by those opposed to governments became a frightening aspect of modern Western society
b.
These terrorist acts garnered considerable media attention, which may have been a catalyst for some
terrorist groups → examples include
c.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA), which seeks to unify Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland
d.
Palestinian terrorists kidnapped and killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972
e.
Pan American flight 103 (Dec 1988) from Frankfurt to New York exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland,
killing all 259 on board →perpetrated by two Libyan terrorists
f.
Attacks in Spain in March 2004; London Underground (subway) bombings in July 2005
g.
Governments fought back with counterterrorism → calculated policy of direct retaliation against
terrorists
4.
Guest Workers and immigrants → labor shortages led to reliance on foreign workers → ethnic conflicts
(xenophobia) → for instance, recent tensions in France (October/November 2005) and Denmark (anti-Muslim
cartoons published in 2005) have highlighted the plight of and alienation felt by these guest workers
P a g e | 29
a.
J.
K.
L.
Jean Marie Le Pen in France has recently campaigned (2002 and 2007 French presidential election) in
part on an anti-immigrant platform
5.
The Green movement
a.
Beginning in the 1970s, environmentalism became an important item on the European political agenda
b.
Environmental concerns forced the major political parties in Europe to advocate new regulations for the
protection of the environment
c.
The Soviet nuclear power disaster at Chernobyl in 1986 made Europeans even more aware of potential
environmental hazards.
d.
Ecological awareness led to formation of Green Parties (currently the Greens have 42/785 seats in the
European Parliament, which is the 4th largest party; significance of proportional representation for
third-parties)
The World of Western Culture
1.
Modern art continued to prevail at exhibitions and museums → for the most part, the USA dominated the art
world, much as it did the world of popular culture → after 1945, New York became the artistic center of the
western world
2.
Recent trends in art, music, and literature
a.
Jackson Pollack’s Abstract Expressionism broke all conventions of form and structure; his drip
paintings, with their total abstraction and randomness, were extremely influential with other artists →
painted with the canvas laid on the floor
b.
Andy Warhol’s Pop Art took images of popular culture and transformed them into works of fine art
(such as Campbell soup cans, photographs of Marilyn Monroe) → mass produced art (like Durer) ; “in
the future, everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame”
3.
Evolution of popular music: rock music of the 1960s/1970s (e.g. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, and Led
Zeppelin); punk in the 1970s/1980s (e.g. The Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash); rap music in the 1990s;
electronic music popular in Europe (techno, trance, house styles); introduction of MTV in 1980 → image as
important as selling records
4.
Revival of fantasy literature with the success of the movie trilogy Lord of the Rings and the international bestselling
Harry Potter series by British writer J.K. Rowling
Philosophy: Existentialism and Postmodernism
1.
Existentialism has been the major philosophical movement of the past half-century
a.
Key popular philosophers of this movement are Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus (both of whom
won the Nobel Prize in Literature)
b.
Intellectual forebears were Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Martin Heidegger
c.
Sartre famously argued that human “existence precedes essence”→ though the world might be absurd,
it could not be absurd unless individuals chose to view it as such → people must take full responsibility
for what they are, and this can only be done through their involvement in life → only through a person’s
acts can one determine his or her values  an ethical system of action → in short, we are the sum of our
acts in this world
2.
In recent decades, existentialism has been eclipsed in academic circles by so-called postmodernism
a.
Though it covers a variety of artistic and intellectual styles and ways of thinking, postmodernists reject
the modern Western belief in an objective truth and instead focus on the relative nature of reality and
knowledge
b.
Such a position harkens back to Nietzschean perspectivism = the contention that every view is only one
among many possible interpretations; luminaries of this movement include Michel Foucault and
Jacques Derrida (both of whom cite the enormous influence played in their own thinking by Nietzsche
and Heidegger)
Revival of Religion
1.
Roman Catholicism experienced a revival after Vatican Council II, which liberalized a number of Catholic
practices. For example, the liturgy of the Mass, the central feature of Catholic worship, was now to be spoken in
the vernacular, not in Latin. New avenues of communication with other Christian faiths were also opened for the
first time since the Reformation (part of the ecumenical movement, which seeks downplay differences with other
religious traditions and instead focus on what they share in common to work for the greater good of society)
2.
Although he alienated a number of people by reasserting traditional Catholic teaching on such issues as birth
control, women in the priesthood, and clerical celibacy, Pope John Paul II’s numerous travels around the world
helped strengthen the Catholic Church throughout the non-Western world
3.
A strong believer in social justice, John Paul (r. 1978-2005) was a powerful figure in reminding Europeans of their
spiritual heritage and the need to temper the pursuit of materialism with spiritual concerns. He also condemned
nuclear weapons and constantly reminded leaders and laity of their obligations to prevent war; succeeded by the
conservative German Benedict XVI in 2005 and Francis I in 2013
4.
Despite the revival of religion after World War II, church attendance in Europe and the United States declined
dramatically in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of growing secular attitudes. Yet even though the numbers of
regular churchgoers in established Protestant and Catholic churches continued to decline, the number of
fundamentalist churches and churchgoers has been growing, especially in the United States
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M.
N.
O.
P.
Science and Technology → before WWII, theoretical science and technology were largely separated
1.
Pure science was undertaken by university professors who were far removed from the practical technological
concerns of technicians and engineers
2.
But during WWII, university scientists were recruited to work for their governments and develop new weapons
and practical instruments of war  radar, self-propelled rockets, jet airplanes, the computer (Alan Turing), the
atomic bomb, cryptography
3.
By 1965, almost ¾ of all scientific research funds in the USA came from the government  “military-industrial
complex” (Eisenhower’s Farewell Address)
Explosion of Popular Culture
1.
The history of popular culture in a deep sense is the history of the economic system that supports it, for this
system manufactures, distributes, and sells the images that people consume as popular culture → folk culture is
something people make whereas popular culture is something people buy
2.
Americanization of the World → through movies, music (jazz, blues, r & b, rap, and rock and roll), advertising,
and television [Baywatch phenomenon]
3.
Television and radio → in Europe, these mass entertainment media have largely been controlled by the state like
the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
4.
Mass Sports → cheap form of entertainment for the consumer as fans did not have to leave their home to enjoy
athletic competitions → the Olympics now are primarily controlled by American television contracts → these
television contracts are paid for by advertising sponsors, mostly for products to be consumed along with the sport:
beer, soda, snack foods
5.
Politicization of sports → Olympic Games and nationalism; World Cup football tournament (the most watched
event in the world) → “war without weapons”
Toward an age of Globalization and Information
1.
Canadian media critic and popular philosopher Marshall McLuhan predicted in the 1960s that advances in mass
communications technology, such as satellites and electronics, would eventually lead to a shrinking of the world,
a lessening of cultural distinctions, and a breaking down of cultural barriers, all of which would in time transform
the world into a single “global village”
2.
Critics of McLuhan point out that the mass media, created by these technological breakthroughs, are dominated
by an increasingly smaller number of multinational corporations that “colonize the rest of the world” by
disrupting the traditional cultures of less developed countries and inculcate new patterns of behavior as well as
new desires and new dissatisfactions
3.
The Digital Age
a.
Since the invention of the microprocessor in 1971, the capabilities of computers have continued to
grow, resulting in today’s “Information” or “Digital Age” (Digital Revolution). Beginning in the
1980s, computer companies like Apple and Microsoft competed to create more powerful computers. By
the 1990s, the booming technology industry had made Microsoft founder Bill Gates the richest man in
the world
b.
Much of this success was due to several innovations within computers that made them essential devices
for communication, information, and entertainment → e-mail, Internet, cellular (mobile) phones, text
messaging, instant messaging, iPod, video games, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and so on…
Western Europe: The Move toward Unity
1.
As we have seen, the divisions created by the Cold War led the nations of Western Europe to form the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. But military unity was not the only kind of unity fostered in Europe after
1945. The destructiveness of two world wars caused many thoughtful Europeans to consider the need for some
form of European unity. National feeling was still too powerful, however, for European nations to give up their
political sovereignty. Consequently, the desire for a sense of solidarity was forced to focus primarily on the
economic arena, not the political one
2.
In 1951, France, West Germany, the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg), and Italy
formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC or Schuman Plan → French statesman who
introduced the plan at the urging of his friend Jean Monnet). Its purpose was to create a common market for coal
and steel products among the six nations by eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers. The success of the ECSC
encouraged its members to proceed further, and in 1957 they created the European Atomic Energy Community
(EURATOM) to further European research on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy
3.
In the same year (1957), these six nations signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic
Community (EEC), also known as the Common Market. The EEC eliminated customs barriers for the six
member nations and created a large free-trade area protected from the rest of the world by a common external
tariff. By promoting free trade, the EEC also encouraged cooperation and standardization in many aspects of the
six nations' economies. All the member nations benefited economically. By the 1960s, the EEC nations had
become an important trading bloc. With a total population of 165 million, the EEC became the world’s largest
exporter and purchaser of raw materials. Only the United States surpassed the EEC in steel production
4.
After 1970, Western European states continued to pursue the goal of integrating their economies
5.
Beginning with six states in 1957, the European Economic Community expanded in 1973 when Great Britain,
Ireland, and Denmark joined what its members now renamed the European Community (EC). Greece joined in
1981, followed by Spain and Portugal in 1986. The economic integration of the members of the EC led to
cooperative efforts in international and political affairs as well. The foreign ministers of the twelve members
consulted frequently and provided a common front in negotiations on important issues
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6.
7.
8.
9.
With the addition of Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995, the European Community (EC) had grown to fifteen
members
a.
The EC was primarily an economic union, not a political one → by 2000, it contained 370 million
people and constituted the world’s largest single trading entity, transacting one-fourth of the world’s
commerce
b.
In 1986, the EC had created the Single Europe Act, which had opened the door by 1992 to a truly
united internal market, thereby eliminating all barriers to the exchange of people, goods, services, and
capital. This was followed by a proposal for a monetary union and a common currency. The Treaty on
European Union (also called the Maastricht Treaty after the city in the Netherlands where the
agreement was reached) represented an attempt to create a true economic and monetary union of all EC
members. On January 1, 1994, the EC renamed itself the European Union (EU). One of its first goals
was to introduce a common currency, called the euro, adopted by twelve EU nations early in 1999. On
June 1, 1999, a European Central Bank was created, and by January 2007, the euro had officially
replaced thirteen national currencies
Goals
a.
In addition to having a single internal market for its members and a common currency, the EU also
established a common agricultural policy, under which subsidies are provided to farmers to enable
them to sell their goods competitively on the world market. The policy also provides aid to the EU’s
poorest regions as well as subsidies for job training, education, and modernization. The end of national
passports gave millions of Europeans greater flexibility in travel
b.
The European Union has been less successful in setting common foreign policy goals, primarily because
individual nations still see foreign policy as a national prerogative and are reluctant to give it up to an
overriding institution. Although EU foreign ministers meet periodically, they usually do not draw up a
uniform policy. Nevertheless, the EU did create a military force of 60,000, chiefly used for
humanitarian and peacekeeping purposes. Indeed, the focus of the EU is on peaceful conflict
resolution, not making war
Problems
a.
As successful as the European Union has been, problems still exist. Europeans are often divided on the
EU. Some oppose it because the official representatives of the EU are not democratically accountable to
the people
b.
Moreover, many Europeans do not regard themselves as “Europeans” but remain committed to a
national identity. Despite these problems, a majority—although not a large one—of the members
remain committed to the EU
Toward a United Europe
a.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the EU has established a new goal: to incorporate into the
union the states of eastern and southeastern Europe. Many of these states are considerably poorer than
the older members, which raised the possibility that adding these nations might weaken the EU itself.
To lessen the danger, EU members established a set of qualifications that focus on demonstrating a
commitment both to market capitalism and to democracy, including not only the rule of law but also
respect for minorities and human rights. Hence, joining the EU might well add to the stability of these
nations and make possible the dream of a united Europe
b.
In May 2004, the EU took the plunge and added ten new members: Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Their addition enlarged
the population of the EU to 455 million people. In January 2007, the EU expanded again as Bulgaria
and Romania joined the union (currently there are 27 member nations). Turkey, Croatia, and the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) are official candidate countries and the remaining
former Yugoslavian republics are “potential” candidate countries
c.
Miscellaneous: Europe Day = May 9 because it is the anniversary of the day that French Foreign
Minister Robert Schuman first put forward the idea of the European Union (along with Jean Monnet);
Motto = “United in Diversity”; Anthem = melody of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (without words); Flag
= see right
d.
Candidates must meet the so-called Copenhagen criteria: a) the requirement of stable democracy
respecting human rights and the rule of law, b) functioning market economy capable of competition
within the Union and the acceptance of the obligations of membership including law
e.
Norway, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and Iceland are not members