Neolithic Revolution and Early River Valley Civilizations

1.) Which policy shows that appeasement does not always prevent war?

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  India had been controlled by the British for about 200 years.
  
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  But as WW II approached - Indians began to really fight for their independence.
  
• 
  They were led in this fight by Mahatma Ghandi.
  
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  Ghandi practiced and preached the principal of non-violence, or passive resistance to fight the British.
  
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  He led Indians in boycotting British made goods and went on a famous salt march.
  
• 
  Ghandi managed to get all Indians to work together in their fight for independence.
  

1.) Mohandas Gandhi is best known for his

2.) Which event was used by Mohandas Gandhi to bring world attention to the injustices of British colonialism?

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  The Holocaust was Adolph Hitler's attempt to kill off all of the Jews in Europe.
  
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  Trying to kill off an entire race of people in called "genocide" - because their genes are to be eliminated.
  
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  Hitler hated Jews - thought they were an inferior race - and blamed them for Germany's problems.
  
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  During WW II European Jews were put in death camps, where they were gassed and their dead bodies burned in ovens.
  
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  It is estimated that the Nazi's killed about 6 million Jews in Europe.
  
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  After WW II many of the Nazi's that contributed to the genocide of the Jews were put on trail and executed at "The Nuremberg Trials".
  
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  Sympathy for Jews after the Holocaust and WW II helped to create the nation of Israel in 1947.
  

1. Jews of Europe have seldom been victims of persecution.

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  At the end of WW II Hitler was dead and Europe lay in ruins.
  
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  Two superpowers dominated the scene: the US and Russia.
  
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  The US was a capitalist/democratic nation; Russia was communist.
  
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  The two superpowers fought each other (without an actual war) for domination and influence.
  
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  Nations that supported the US formed NATO; nations that supported Russia formed the Warsaw Pact.
  
• 
  There was an "Iron Curtain" that separated the capitalist nations from the communist nations.
  
• 
  Other famous Cold War events were:
  

Sample Regents Question:

In the 30 years after World War II, which area was most influenced by the Soviet Union?

1. Southeast Asia
2. North Africa
3. Eastern Europe
4. Central America

European Union

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  After WW II, Europe was in ruins.
  
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  Europeans realized that they could not continue to fight each other as they had in WW I and WW II.
  
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  European nations began to organize themselves and cooperate economically rather than remain completely independent.
  
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  The end result of this is the European Union (EU), sometimes called the European Economic Community.
  
• 
  In 2002 European's adopted a single common currency (The Euro).
  
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  The Euro has been wildly successful and now rivals the US dollar as the most respected and accepted form of currency in the world.
  
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  Today, more Euros are exchanged on a daily basis than dollars - making the combined economies of European nations a force in the global economy.
  
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  Through communication and cooperation - Europe has put the threat of war in the past.
  

1.) A main goal of the European Union (European Economic Community) in the 1990’s has been to strengthen European

1.  isolationism
2.  socialism
3.  interdependence
4.  colonization

2.) Since the end of World War II, the nations of Western Europe have improved their economic position by

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  After WW II Japan built itself into an industrial power.
  
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  Japan excelled in manufacturing cars and electronic equipment.
  
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  Because Japan in an island nation with limited natural resources - it focused on developing an electronics industry.
  
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  Japan also worked to maintain a "favorable balance of trade" - meaning that it would export (sell) more than it would import (buy) from other nations.
  
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  Japan also put very high taxes on imports, forcing citizens to buy Japanese made products.
  
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  Using these policies - Japan became a major world economic power after WW II.
  

Modern Japan must trade to maintain its industry and living standard because Japan has

1.  a limited amount of investment capital
2.  little access to the sea
3.  a lack of communication systems
4.  few mineral resources

OPEC

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  After WW II the world began to depend more and more on oil and gas for fuel.
  
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  Much (but not all) of the oil reserves in the world are centered in the Middle East.
  
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  Oil rich nations got together to create OPEC (organization of petroleum exporting countries).
  
• 
  OPEC was created to give these oil producing nations more control over the supply and price of oil worldwide.
  
• 
  OPEC nations (mainly Middle Eastern Nations) have become very powerful politically and economically in today's world.
  

1.) The Middle East is a global importance today because it

1.  has become a model of economic and political equality
2.  allows major European powers to retain their spheres of influence
3.  provides much of the petroleum used by industrial nations
4.  remains a primary source of uranium

2.) Since the creation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), member nations have joined together to

• 
  After WW II China had a civil war that was won by the communist party.
  
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  The communists were led by Mao Zedong, the communists won the civil war mainly because they got the support of the peasants.
  
• 
  Mao was known for his "Great Leap Forward" - where he tried to modernize China's economy.
  
• 
  Lately (since the 1980's) Chinese leaders have tried to improve the economy by introducing limited free enterprise (this takes China away from Communism).
  
• 
  China has had many economic advances, but still struggles with political freedoms.
  
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  China is the largest (in population) nation in the world, and represents a huge economic market for other nations.
  

1.) After World War II, the Chinese Communists were successful in their revolution mainly because the

1.  United States refused to support the Nationalists
2.  communists had the support of the peasants
3.  communists had more technologically advanced weapons
4.  nationalist had been defeated by Japan

2.) The goal of Mao Zedong’s policy known as the Great Leap Forward was to

1.  develop foreign export industries in China’s coastal urban centers
2.  eliminate state-owned industries in rural China
3.  modernize China’s economic system by dividing China into communes
4.  introduce capitalism to the Chinese economy

Collapse of Imperialism

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  European powers were weakened by WW II and were no longer in a position to maintain their empires of Imperialism.
  
• 
  India and Africa in particular won their independence after WW II.
  
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  Nationalism played a big role in the independence of these former colonies after WW II.
  
• 
  Indian Independence was led by Ghandi.
  
• 
  Kenya was led in its independence from Britain by Jomo Kenyatta.
  
• 
  South African Independence was led by Nelson Mandella - who helped to end the racist system of Apartheid.
  
• 
  The nation of Pakistan was created so Indian Muslims would have their own country.
  

1.) Which statement best describes the political situation in Africa after World War II?

2.) Which statement best characterizes the period of apartheid in South Africa?

1.  the majority of the population had the right to vote
2.  the Boers attempted to conquer Nigeria
3.  many racist ideas of the ruling minority were adopted into laws
4.  French was declared the official language of the nation

Collapse of Communism

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  For years during the Cold War the USSR was trying to keep up with the US in the nuclear arms race and the space race.
  
• 
  But Communism proved to be a weaker economic system than capitalism and it eventually collapsed.
  
• 
  The collapse started with Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika.
  
• 
  These policies tried to open up and reform the old fashioned system of communism.
  
• 
  Then the Berlin Wall (the German symbol of the Cold War) came down - and communism in Russia followed.
  
• 
  Then Eastern European nations also ended their system of Communism.
  
• 
  Karl Marx's idea of Communism lasted about 72 years in Russia.
  

1.) One reason for the collapse of the Communist economic system in Eastern Europe during the early 1990’s was that this system

2.) The destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is symbolic of the

• 
  After WW II Latin America has been in transition.
  
• 
  Governments have been changing from dictatorships to democracies.
  
• 
  Additionally, Latin American nations have been dominated by a few wealthy landowners.
  
• 
  Latin American wealth is not as evenly distributed as it is in America and Europe.
  
• 
  The Catholic Church continues to be a huge influence in the lives of Latin American people
  
• 
  Cuba remains one of the worlds only communist nations.
  
• 
  Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has struggled to maintain communism after the collapse of his ally, the USSR.
  

1.) Which political trend exists in present-day Latin America?

1.  Most countries are becoming military juntas.
2.  Communism is spreading throughout the region.
3.  Democracy is replacing dictatorship.
4.  Religious leaders are making government policy.

2.) A major problem facing many Central American nations is that their nation’s wealth is

• 
  Israel was not a nation until 1947 - 2 years after WW II.
  
• 
  After the Holocaust there was world wide sympathy for the Jews.
  
• 
  The fight to get a homeland for Jews is called Zionism. Zionism was intensified after WW II.
  
• 
  It was decided that the nation of Israel was to be created in the Middle East.
  
• 
  The problem was that there were already many Arab Muslim people living in that area who did not want the Jews there.
  
• 
  The day after Israel was created - it was attacked by 6 neighboring nations.
  
• 
  The Jews and Arabs in the area have been in conflict ever since.
  
• 
  The nation of Israel (and surrounding areas) contain many religious sites that are important to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. 
  

1.) The main course of the Arab-Israeli conflicts from 1948 to 1973 was the clash between

1.  Islamic Fundamentalism and Orthodox Judaism
2.  Arab socialism and Israeli capitalism
3.  Arab nationalism and Jewish nationalism
4.  Israeli technology and Saudi Arabian economic goals

2.) Israel is a country that has