WWII, Change

World War 2 definitely changed the definition of war and how it was fought. World War 1 was a war of attrition where all troops hid in tenches for months at a time and fought each other until either side ran out of troops. Machine guns and poison gas were key inventions during World war 1, and when used together they were one of the deadliest combinations. But when World War 2 comes, things change greatly. Armies begin to fight with a faster pace, and battles become much shorter. Blitzkrieg becomes popular, which is a type of fast warfare involving planes, ships, tanks, and other automobiles. Troops begin to fight, and are motivated by the goal of being the strongest in the world. Cities are invaded and countries are conquered. Automobiles, ships, airplanes and tanks end up playing a large role in the war in many wars. They increase the mobility of the troops and the speed they can move at, and they become dangerous weapons. Planes begin to be used to provide air support for the troops, and drop bombs. This has a huge impact on the war, and ends up leading to the deaths of many. Firebombing begins to happen using incendiary bombs to destroy large portions of cities, and kills hundreds of thousands. Then the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, devastating Japan, and showing how dangerous an atomic bomb can be, and how much power it can give to an country. The atomic bomb was a weapon that could completely change the course of a war in seconds, and it did. These are just a few ways that WWII changed war.

The History of the Atomic Bomb

Sixty five years ago, the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and dicated war against Japan. The bomb was so forceful that Japan's government decieded to raise a white flag and give up. The era of the bombings were the first of using extremly more powerful weapons then guns and cannons. This bomb destroyed Hiroshima and almost all of its citizens. The controversy of the bombings were based on killing so many people. If you think about it, it isnt that much worse than two countries at war, it wipes out many more people at one time, but in war, killing is not so fast but still a lot of people are murdered. In reality it is all bad but by wipping out all of the citizens at once was extremely more powerful and sent out a message to people not to mess with the US because their weapons are MUCH stronger than guns and knives.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/index.htm

The Evolution of War

I think that war has completely changed after WWII. Almost every single aspect of the war has been changed varying from the battles, the diplomacy's, and the after effects of the war. If you look at WWI and how people prepared and fought during the war, it had almost nothing in common with WWII. Armies would sit in trenches for months seeing which army could last the longest, however this was the opposite in WWII. Armies were charging cities fighting with almost a sense of urgency. This made it much easier to conquer territories in a faster time, however the were more consequences. Also, both the naval and air force academies became HUGE factors in WWII. As we see with the Japanese-American fights in the Pacific, these both played major roles. However before, neither of these were used other then transportation of ammo and food. These two aspects almost determined the end of the war as we saw with the bombing in Japan. Another difference was the implications of the war. Millions died and it left nations in shambles and others trembling. This was the case with the US after they dropped the bomb. People around the world couldn't believe that they had that much power. It left nations in constant fear and would lead to the cold war. It was one of the first times in history where a weapon developed in war had such a psychological grip on the world. Overall, WWII changed both the concept and idea of modern warfare.

WWII Changing War

World War II definitely changed the definition of war. Almost every aspect of war changed, from the weapons used to the strategy and tactics. There was a huge difference between World War I and WWII. In World War I, most of the soldier sat in trenches and would come out only to immediately get shot by the opposing side. Compared to WWII, where the use of bombs became a new tactic. Also, instead of trenches on opposite sides, soldiers would storm cities and fight there. This allowed them to control areas more quickly. This is shown by the amount of cities that were destroyed in Japan by American forces.

The atomic bomb played a huge role in WWII. Not only did it show the power of the US but it devastated Hiroshima and Japan as a whole. It left the people in fear of what was to come and brought a new aspect to war itself. In my opinion, the atomic bomb was the biggest difference in the war and eventually changed future wars.

World War II's change on the definition of war

World War II introduced a new way of fighting and new weapons. The nuclear bomb was introduced and used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Firebombing also occurred. Both of these methods were very effective in the fact that they killed large amounts of people without much of a risk in doing it for the soldiers because most were done by air. This was very sad because many of the killings were used to demonstrate their power and how much destruction they could do so easily. Some who saw these killings that was thought of them as unnecessary considering how much damage was caused. Others saw it as necessary because they thought that they needed to make a statement and assure themselves that the place they bombed or burned would no longer be a threat. World War II had many killings but in large numbers rather than wars of attrition with killings but one by one being shot or killed in the trenches like in WWI. WWII was very traumatizing because having so many people who aren't necessarily directly connected to the war and were innocent civilians were killed. Whole cities were taken out and very few survived. The ones who did survive were traumatized for life because they saw their families and friends and just about everyone around them killed either by the bombs or burned to death. Trauma was a common result from war because it resulted a lot and was more commonly called shell shock in World War I.

Source:

In Class/Ms. Xia

WWII Definition

I think that the definition of war has changed a bit due to WWII because of the new technology. Over time we have developed from swords to guns and now we have bombs and other machinery that allows us to fight from a far and are even more deadly. WWII was the beginning of the first nuclear weapon and firebombing these weapons are deadly methods of destruction. This was a lot to lay on the USA, it gave them a lot of power over what they could do. They decided to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing many civilians. I think that after looking at the effects the bombing caused and the harm it changed what people thought of war. The idea of bombing harmless civilians seemed immoral and not beneficial all it brought was anger and fear from the enemy. Before this war there weren't that many rules because there was not much one could do in war that caused this much damage or gave one of the sides this much power. With the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an imaginary line was drawn in what was good and bad in other words this caused a strong emphasizes in what was war crimes. In my opinion, war is fighting with in certain boundaries. Even though the civilians of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and countless others were affected and in a way became part of the war, I don't believe it was a total war. This is because, not everyone in Japan didn't all help. I don't mean it literally when I say everyone but instead that all men, women, children, and elders could help. Unlike in Italy where they are fascists and they say a women can help by working in the factories and build weapons, or a farmer can produce food for the troops or look at the sky for any signs of invasions, the Japanese didn't place emphasizes on everyone as a whole helping in the war. WWII changed war then what it used to be.

Citations:
Notes from class

Causes of World War II

World War II was a war not started by numerous countries at the beginning. I believe the war was started when Germany invaded Poland and gradually captured and took away all of the Jews. Because of that, Britain and France were immediately forced to help Poland since they were "assigned" to be allies with Poland. I actually believe that World War II started because of what happened to Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. They got the least amount of good things happen to them and weren't well off in the 1920s just like how every other country involved in World War I was. Since Germany did not get all of these nice things, their government was corrupt and didn't have any money to import or export goods. As Hitler arose as the new leader, he put the blame on anyone who wasn't part of the Aryan race. He mainly scapegoated the Jewish people and since most of the Jews at the time lived in Poland; that was why they attacked that country first. In the end, I would 100% blame Hitler and his clan for starting World War II.

A Cause of WWII

I believe that World War II started partially due to the division of territory on September 16th 1939 but there were also many other steps that lead up to World War II. On September 16th Russian joined Poland's territory and spilt it up to territories of Germany vs. Britain and France. But this was all located in Poland, so Poland was over loaded with people and the French and British declared war. But then Russia moved in, and no war was declared. It all had to do with the soviet Union because when they entered Poland all hell broke lose, and the Soviet Union started capturing the polish and being shit disturbers. So if all the nations stayed in their own regions a world war II may have never been caused.

http://www.threeworldwars.com/world-war-2/ww2.htm

Causes for WWII

I think that the main causes for WW2 the governments that were instilled in the countries that consisted the Axis of Evil. These countries had g'ments that promoted war and nationalism however on the other hand, France, Britian, and the USA had g'ments that did not want to fight. The economies did not rely on war and were still recovering the Great Depression, but the Axis g'ments were ready to get out and fight. This is why the Allies did nothing to let try and stop Hitler as he gained momontum in claiming Easter Europe. They did not want to interfer because they were not ready to fight again, but the Axis were ready beacuse of their very pro-militay g'ments. Almost the entire Japanese g'ment had been swallowed by war officials. Italy needed the war to boost their econmy and Hitler had almost brainwashed the entire g'ment and wanted to fufill his dream of having an "elite" race. Because of these reasons each nation was ready to fight while the Allies did not want a part of it. Before they knew it, the Axis had gained too much momontum and WW2 was about the start.

Main Causes of WWII

There were a couple of causes of World War II but they all seem to have to do with Germany and Italy. All the other countries had such a tough time and needed time to build up their forces again. They did not bother doing anything about what Germany and Italy were doing. Italy had not exactly gained or lost much in WWI, and Germany had lost a great amount but after Hitler came into power, he decided to break the rules of the Treaty of Versailles. Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1933 and Mussilini slowly strengthened his empire. Hitler on the other hand step by step broke the rules and built a stronger military force. He also made a smart move of signing the non-agression pact with Stalin.  During all these events, none of the other countries stopped Hitler in any way. 

Causes of WWII

I think the biggest cause of World War II was no one standing up to Germany and Italy. At the end of World War I, Germany got 10% of their land taken away, their military was cut down, and they had to pay for the reparations. Italy on the other hand got nothing out of the Treaty of Versailles. At the beginning Germany followed what the Treaty of Versailles said however, when Hitler came into power he increased the military and stopped paying the reparations. But no one protested. The war had just ended and no one wanted to fight again so they didn't say anything. Germany then annexed Austria, Czechoslovakia, and other German speaking parts. This was against the Treaty of Versailles and yet no one did anything. Britain and France had a small conference with Germany asking them to stop increasing their land, which Germany did not follow through. As you can see France and Britain didn't even try stopping them and this caused Germany to break loose and do as they pleased. If someone would have stood up to Germany and put an end to it, I don't think the events would have happened as they did.

Sources:
Notes
Strayer 645-649
"Long Term Causes of World War II" <>

Major Cause of WWII

I think that the major cause of WWII was because of the result of WWI. Britain and France (with some others) created the Treaty of Versailles and it took everything away from Germany and put the blame on them for the war. This cause Germany's anger and this made them want to fight. Then they started taking over Rhineland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Then when they all gave in and let Hitler take over those parts, then he grew and gained more power. This lead to later fighting against America and causing the second world war. Back to WWI, not ending up with a relatively even and peaceful closing to that war left Germany enraged because they wanted to get bak at France and Britain and somehow get back what they took. It wasn't a fair ending and so not having the war's end conflict resolved only lead to WWII because of left over anger.

Sources:

Ms. Xia (in class 3-15-10)

Causes of WWII

I think that one key reason why World War II occurred was because the United States wasn't willing to get involved until 1941. Hitler was able to sweep across Europe with relative ease because nobody was willing to touch him. Most major nations in the world were still recovering from the massive bloodshed of World War I, and they weren't interested in becoming entangled in another fight. The United States was unaffected by Hitler's genocide and invasions of neighboring countries, and American citizens were strongly against another war that would once again significantly damage their already fragile economic structure. They only got involved once Pearl Harbor was bombed, as their nation's security was threatened.

The Soviet Union was the only military power who was willing to initially fight against Hitler, in part because they were geographically and historically involved with the situation. It is questionable whether they would have been able to defeat the Germans without additional assistance from the United States.

Had the US gotten involved sooner, they could have stopped Hitler before Germany grew into a global superpower, thus preventing a World War from breaking out.

How Our State Should Change: Problems with the Current State of Our Union: Taxation and Education

Where We Stand Today

Statism, Taxation and Education

A theme that seems to be taken for granted in America today is that we supposedly all want the same things. The essential idea that many people hold here is that the majority of the United States population has common interests; therefore, taxation is effective because it expresses the will of the majority. This is a Utopian (or perhaps fascistic) aspiration for society that has not yet been achieved. First, we must take into account how the poor, middle, and elite classes are extended the opportunity to get educated. Second, we must address what the different WE's want to do with tax dollars in our local communities, states and countries.

The opportunity to become a taxpaying citizen is not equally distributed in any society. Yes, Horatio Alger’s stories are moving, but there are Mexican day laborers who work harder than most Americans and make less than minimum wage. This makes the opportunity to pay for one's own healthcare very difficult. It appears once we make some coin, WE don't want to share revenue with others in the form of taxes for Education and Healthcare....well, fine. Create a fool proof system that guarantees everyone is contributing to the economic pie, and then pay for these essential needs. I am certain this will involve taking away some freedom of choice and liberty; all you have to do is look towards practical, real life examples of communism or fascism in the 20th century to understand this fact.

Often there exists a class of people (generally the ones with the power and wealth) that don't want to allow others to become well educated. This class often ends up keeping all the wealth and opportunities to themselves.

You will have a fight on your hands.

What will you do with that group, their political influence, and the power behind their wealth?

Education in many forms is necessary in order to compete for wealth creation opportunities. Unfortunately, when one becomes wealthy it is natural to become headstrong, conservative, protective, and over confident about how they created personal wealth.

Men kept women from education and wealth creation opportunities, Whites did this to Minorities and Jews, and the Upper class has done it to the lower classes since the beginning of time, and everyone has exercised their supposed inherent authority over youth in some manner or another.

Can we uncover this practice today? You have to dig deep into the legal framework of most societies to uncover institutionalized systemic practices that deny opportunities to others. Overt discrimination is no longer acceptable. Most developed societies can cover up systems that deny opportunity to groups with propaganda and anger over issues like illegal immigration. It is common to scapegoat a group and cover up the real truth. The wealthy can use their wealth to steer contracts and business opportunities in their direction and better educate their offspring to perpetuate a closed system. Often these people know exactly what they are doing, but the offspring have no clue until it is too late. Well...knowledge is power, and it is never too late to share.

Are we sharing with lazy people who are not contributing to the economic pie? This seems to be the dilemma we have with ourselves over issues like Healthcare. To calm the poorly informed citizenry, academics should get out of their Ivory Towers perhaps they can uncover who is contributing and who is undeserving of Healthcare from tax dollars.

The practice of financial aid is a perfect example of a way to reverse the continuation of a systemic practice that allows the wealthy to keep more of the wealth in the hands of a few families, as is affirmative action. While affirmative action may irritate some minority geniuses and conservative thinkers, it will produce people who can be voices for the problems in the system, i.e. a voice for the lack of opportunity in the system from education to job creation and in the work force. Financial aid gives opportunities to the less fortunate in education and brings fresh eyes into a system that has previously excluded them. It is not just about tax dollars, healthcare and education, but it is a fresh perspective on various unresolved issues.

Taxation originated as a process whereby the government would step in and redistribute money from the rich to the poor, as well as collecting a communal pot that could be used towards fulfilling societal desires. However, this money can get tied up or redirected by clever politicians and business leaders, and never fulfill its intended purpose: to create more opportunity for all citizens.

At some point back in history someone created the foundation that allows a family’s wealth to be created; this foundation may have been legal or illegal (whether it is via the free market and trade, slavery, or warfare). Once established their process of building wealth can be considered legitimate by the government for many years and generations. With this historical framework in mind, to take a snapshot today of and create policy that will affect future generations is irresponsible. It is not impossible to find many people from lower incomes with 4.0 GPA's, who have worked harder in school but will only make half as much at their job as you or I will someday.

Please feel free to comment below, but remember to be thoughtful and respectful.

(Because getting two points on a 10th grade extra credit blog assignment simply isn’t worth anyone’s time if you aren’t willing to sit down for a while, and think.)

Cause of WWII

I believe that the cause of the first world war was Germany's expansion. At first when it took over the Rhineland, it was as though Germany was testing the waters to see how far the western powers would let them go. They had already broken the treaty of versai by no longer paying the war indemnities and raising a large army, and now they were taking land that was given to Fracne through that treaty. The western powers let them have. Then germany wanted Austria and then Czechleslavokia and then Poland. It was the need for expansions, their goal of being like the British Empire that caused word war one. Germany would never stop growing and so the western powers had to put a stop to it when they finally invaded Belgium and then France.

Japan: Totalitarian?

Japan was very prosperous after WWI and had a growing democratic government. But the Great Depression hit them hard because their economic success was due to trade. they struggled with solving their economic crisis so they ended up turning to the military to handle things, so the military ended up taking matters into their hands. a military dictatorship formed in japan by the early 1930's. a small group of military leaders ended up dominating the government because japan didnt have on strong leading, like italy and germany did. japan did have some totalitarian characteristics: the began to impose censorship, arrest critics, and they created a special police force to hunt down enemies of the state. they then invaded Manchuria in order to gain an overseas empire that would provide them with raw materials.

http://fresno.k12.ca.us/divdept/sscience/history/totalitarianism.htm

Japanese Government

I think at the time that we are studying, the Japanese Government was not a totalitarianism government. This type of g'ment can be described as having 100% control of the laws, army, and this will give them the control of all of their citizens. This was not true for the Japanese g'ment but it was becoming more and more true as time continued. The military was becoming more frustrated with how the officials were dealing with Western powers and this lead to them trying to take control of the government. We see this when the military attacked the Manchus without the approval of the officials. The military would come to seize complete control during the time of WWII which is why they bombed America, something that the current Japanese government would never do due to their fondness of Western nations. At the time we are studying, the government was not totalitarianism but it soon would become this when the military was frustrated by the actions of their government.

Sorry it is late, thought it was due tommorow

Sources-Class

Was Japan Totalitarian

I believe that Japan was totalitarian because even thought they defeated the chinese and had a strong army, the japanese were facing a huge battle against their economy. Their army has been a big focus for centuries in Japan, and these were not fulfilling the ambition of Japan. With the Army going down hill and not being able to conquer on the road or at home during battle the Japanese were in for it. Japan needed a strong centralized government in which they had and is why japan was Totalitarian.

Used this website: http://www.jstor.org/pss/20028849

Extra Credit Blog

My view on whether or not government is a good thing, is that we indeed do need government, but maybe to a less extent. The Government is helpful in many ways, the main way is keeping the countries in order so that people do not break out in chaos. Without a government, passing any law would be extremely difficult and would make it almost impossible to do without rebellion. Because if passing a law meant that EVERYONE had to vote, then it would take a really long time and would be like a presidential election for everything trying to be passed, which would be simply ridiculous.

Japan...Totalitarian? hmmmmm.

Being totalitarian can be described as the form of government that does not tolerate different ideas or opinions and has dictatorial control over their people. During this time, Japan had Hirohito as their emperor. This alone point to the fact that their was a single ruler who had control over the people. Although the government had police with strict laws and penalties, it was not a complete secret. At this point in time, Japan was very focussed around their military. As their government began to lose to power, the military stayed strong because of the use of propaganda and because of their success. They were able to take control over Korea which gave the people of Japan a sense of strength and stability. Despite treaties and other agreements with nations such as the U.S. (which did not want Japan to grow their army), Japan chose to spend the time and money to grow their army and navy to a point where they were the 3rd largest navy in the world.

I think that Japan could be described as totalitarian. They had an emperor with complete control and a military with even more control. They captured the trust of their people with their ability to win battles and conquer nations.

Was Japan Totalitarian

Japan had a prosperous time of a great economy, but then the depression arrived, and Japan's economy was deflated greatly due to its dependency on foreign trade. No matter how hard they tried, Japan was unable to solve its financial troubles. After this the military took matters into its own hands, as people began to look towards it. There was a military dictatorship in Japan composed of a small group of military leaders, unlike Germany and Italy who had one sole leader. In the 1930s Japan began to develop into a totalitarian government. The government imposed censorship, arrested critics, and had secret police to track down enemies to the state. The Japanese government was interested in an overseas empire to help strengthen themselves. This type of empire would give them many raw materials that were needed. The Japanese then invaded Manchuria, and the Chinese appealed to the League of Nations, which did nothing.


http://fresno.k12.ca.us/divdept/sscience/history/totalitarianism.htm

Was Japan Totalitarian?

Totalitarian is defined as of or relating to a type of government that is centralized and dictorial and requires complete subservience to the state. Japan, like Russia and Italy, instituted secret police except they were a little more open about it. If you opposed the government you were thrown in jail for 30 + years. This seems as though they are requiring the people to be completely subservient. The government was militaristic by the time world war two came around with its main objective being to strengthen its navy and military. The people began to scaepgoat the politicians and put their faith in the military who was strengthening the hope and bringing honor to the country. Despite treaties signed with America and UK, Japan strengthened their army and began to couquer parts of CHina and Korea. Thus demonstrating their clear objective of trying to become like the dominant western powers. With such a strong military and successfully conquering nearby nations, it is no wonder that the people were subservient, however because the government was not explicitly dictorial and centralized Japan was not completely totalitarian.

Was Japan Totalitarian?

Japan went through a series of situations in which the country can be argued as totalitarian. In 1926, Hirohoti was the emperor sitting in power. They had a constitutional monarchy in which all the men could vote, and were allowed to raise working peasants. They also had a strong motivation of being westernized as a country. It started becoming very difficult for Japan to support their industry and trade so they decided to colonize Korea. Japan actually had the third largest navy in the world, with U.S. and Britain above. They teamed up and made a treaty with Japan to make sure they only had 60%-70% ships as the U.S. The Great Depression in Japan began in 1929. Since the government was very weak, the nationalist military came in power. They first disillusioned with the west and argued against politicians for creating such treaties that only hurt their country. The solution to this was only to imperialize and change the strategies of the country. The government died but the military stayed strong for a few reasons. There was propaganda and they decided upon reviving the Bushido (samurai spirit). They focused on proper education and taught the people to serve their country. As time went on, Japan invaded China, which strengthened their military skills. Since Japan went to war so early after the Great Depression, it allowed their economy to rise on its own. War involves making weapons and armor in which major employment is necessary. 

I believe that Japan was definitely Totalitarian because throughout history, the government or military always had complete control. Before the depression, the government and politicians had complete power over the country, but since the government was not successful, the military exceeded them and led the country onwards. Fascism on the other hand can be debated upon because Italy was being ruled by the government and people as a united group. It can be called Totalitarian because they had a "Father" whom they followed whenever he asked, but the people are also in charge because they make the decision of abiding to the "Father's" rules.  

Is Japan Totalitarian?

Japan had a constitutional monarchy and allowed males to vote. They also had the military dominate and take over during the times of the Depression. Then they began making people follow the emperor and they changed education and society became very nationalistic. They tried not to be totalitarian but they ended up turning into a totalitarian society in the end. They tried to give the people a voice and they passed male suffrage or the right to vote for males in 1925 and they had leaders of the groups of people and they expanded education. They westernized and that influenced their government and made them less focussed on complete control coming from the government or one major power. Then the Great Depression highly impacted society. The people lost their jobs and their lives became worse and worse. They decided to blame their dissatisfaction on the new rulers and the west because of their influence. Organizations were formed and they were small parties or groups of people with strong nationalism and they wanted change in their lives. They wanted to return to their old ways where they were all ruled under the emperor and the emperor was the leader and only main power source. They ended up going back but military authorities also had some control. I think that they were not totalitarianism but they tried to go back and make it like that but they were not completely totalitarianism.

Information from...

Strayer, Robert. Ways of the World. p. 642-644

Ms. Xia (in class discussion March 09, 2010)

Is Japan Totalitarian?

Just like all of the other countries outside the United States, Japan was hit hard by the Great Depression because of the foreign trade between America and Japan. At the time, Japan did not have just one person, like an emperor, in charge of everyone. So instead they had a small group of military leaders who basically took over the government. The definition of Totalitarianism is a type of government that has full control of all of the citizens lives. An example of how Japan was indeed ran that way was the government arrested critics, imposed censorship, and employed a secret police force to hunt down and punish enemies of the state. In addition to arresting critics, imposing censorship, and a secret police, the so called government planned to also strengthen Japan in any way that they could. Their final decision for succession was making an overseas empire in the country of Manchuria, which used to be the home of the Manchus. Having a empire across seas made it easier to get raw materials such as coal and oil. Usually when a country invades another country someone condemns, the League of Nations was disapproving of the idea, but let them do it as they pleased. In addition, Japan had a Totalitarian government was because they honestly had nothing else to choose from. People had lost their homes, money, everything and so when there was some sign of hope for a government the people gave it a shot which is how and why Totalitarianism worked after World War 1.






Citation: http://fresno.k12.ca.us/divdept/sscience/history/totalitarianism.htm

Extra Credit Blog

The role of government in my opinion goes as this; the rich basically pay for the basic needs of the poor. The families that have a low income are taxed less and therefore are not paying the government as much as say, Menlo families. I agree that if people don't pay taxes the economy will fail because the money will not being passed around, yet I do believe (like Cy said in class) that we should be spending money for things that WE want. I do not think that the rich people or families with a high income should be paying for the health of lower class citizens. If they wanted a better job and more money, they should have worked harder in school and gained knowledge while they could. Just like everyone says, Knowledge is Power.

Class Discussion Blog

I agree with Cy's point of how we just completely allow the government to do everything for us and how we trust them too much. But I also agree with Marjory's point on how if we didn't have government everything would be chaos. I think that no matter what we need a leader. It is in our DNA we need someone leading us and helping us out. In every type of group there is a leader. The one who makes most of the decisions. Even dogs have leaders. Alpha Dogs are basically dogs that are programmed to lead, which for some random reason think that they are the leader and that everyone should follow them. If fish didn't have a leader how would schools decide where to go and to stay together. Even if we have no taxes and no government I think we would still need a leader. Which sort of shows that I am a follower since I believe so strongly that I couldn't make decisions on my own. Or maybe it just shows how immature I really am.

Was Japan Totalitarian?

Dictionary.com meaning of Totalitarian:
to·tal·i·tar·i·an   [toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uhn]
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life.
2. exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic.
–noun
3. an adherent of totalitarianism.

Japan:
Japan arrested critics, they imposed censorship, and they employed a secret police to find and punish "enemies of the state" basically everything listed in the first definition of totalitarian, so I believe that Japan was totalitarian.

extra credit

I think we can all agree that the current government in the U.S. is far from perfect. However, Im sure as to what the perfect system would be. There should be a balance between freedoms and control by the government. I partially agree with Cy. The idea of taxes makes sense, however, it does not seem to work for the majority of the population. This becomes especially difficult as the government begins to raise them. This is why it makes more sense to have people pay directly for services provided by the government. Instead of the government charging a certain percent on income to cover all of the the amenities provided by them, it makes more sense to pay for each thing individually and how often you use it. This keeps the government from taking your money and using it for many things we do not know about. It makes more sense to know where your money is going instead of not seeing where it goes or not seeing it used for things you use.

extra credit blog post

I would like to respectfully disagree with the theory of anarchy. Although in theory, anarchy would respect people's privacy and freedoms with our world today as it is, taking away all types of formal government would cause utter chaos. Maybe originally it was cruel land owners who started the feudal system, what some consider the basis for the capitalist system today, however using that as a basis for taking away formal government now is incorrect. We are not the governments slaves, we work and live our lives primarily in accordance to our own wishes and not those of the government. People rely on the government to "think" for them. They pay money into a general pool that is them given out to pay for a multitude of things including protection (army, firefighters, and police), charity and organization. Having millions of people organize themselves is basically impossible, but our system of government has found a way to do it. IN the 20th century there were multible attempts at changing the capitalist system by implementing a new system of government. In Russia and China the governments became communist which seemed like a good idea in theory (like anarchy) but was in fact turned out terribly. As seen in the middle ages, when there is a power vacuum people cant just live their own seperate lives (as anarchy would suggest) usually some group of people take power by force and the world falls back into the system of feudilism.

Soviet Union + Japan

The Soviet Union, one of the 3 main countries that joined the war including Britain and France, suffered great losses in the year and a half they were in the war. They lost millions of soldiers and civilians that were necessary to even be in the war, so they dropped out. The country couldn't take the constant grinding of soldiers and supplies. Then came the overthrowing of the Czan during the Russian Rev. Around 1920, the communist party was established which lead to the Soviet Union. During the depression, Russia was not affected because of the foreign trade policies Lenin and Stallin instilled in the Russian gov't.

Japan during WWI didn't really make in impact. They were part of the alliance and were given orders by the British to take out ships near eastern Asia. They then were given part of China through the 21 demands later. During the depression, they were one of the countries that were not affected because of their Finance minister and his crafty ways of cushioning the blow from the depression.

America vs. Germany

Germany: Though Germany was a strong, intimidating power during the war, its experience post-World War I was not a pleasant one.  Germany was forced to pay war reperations to repair the damages in other countries caused by the violence and weaponry of WWI, though they expressed very clearly how unfair they thought this decision was.  At first, they tried printing more money in order to pay the millions of dollars they owed.  However, this was in a time before people knew much about economy and inflation, so they didn't understand how having this much money in circulation would cause such mass chaos.  When the Germans finally figured out that 1 Mark became about 72 billion only a few years later,  they decided to change their strategy and borrow money from the US to pay their debt to society.  Though they had many problems with money, Germany didn't suffer very much from the depression because the government pretty much had most of the issues under control, such as wages and investments.

America: Though America had a pretty high death toll during the war, every country had one too.  Plus, the site of the war was in Europe, far enough away from America for the war to not personally effect the people who werent soldiers.  

WWI

Italy did not have a good experience in World War I. Although they originally were undecided amongst the war, they ended up having huge losses. It is not surprising to see why Italy would be very upset. They fought and lost many men, but ended up on the winning side. However, they received none of the winnings such as land. Not only this, but inflation took a toll on the italian people; causing many job losses. However, Italy had a strong economy and did not suffer much from this.

In the beginning America was doing well. People used leverage to make much more money then they could have imagined. They continued to borrow and borrow money. Unknowingly, this led to the depression because of the stock market crashing and eventually a large amount of inflation. Eventually people had to borrow money from banks leaving them in debt as well as causing banks to shut down. This meant that people's money was not safe, if you had $1000 in the bank, that money was pretty much gone. So people tried to withdraw large amounts (or all) of their money. As this went on, people spent less money and did not buy stuff, keeping the money from circulating.

The Outcomes of Italy and France in World War I.

France:

The outcome of france ending the war was that the people of france got to go back to being an independent nation meaning that the war did not effect their independence which was a great success for France. Their new attitude was filled with excitement and they were ever so proud of France as a whole. The nationalism in france was also very strong and people were proud to say they lived in france. Also France went into the war looking for revenge and they accomplished their goals, so to come out of a war with your goals accomplished you are much happier then when you fail.

Italy:

Italy on the other hand had many more deaths around 1918, 600,000 italians dead to be exact. THe people of italy were on the winning side when the war ended but still the outcome was not looking to bright. Many job positions were cut and inflation occurred so people we fired and jobless. The Italians were essentially ripped off and not given what was promised to them, france Britain and germany received most of the earnings. The dishonnestnest was not forgiven in Versailles and to this day the Italians know they were ripped off.

Italy and Germany

Italy: In terms of Italy's World War experience, they were passive. Italy had a stance that was borderline "Watch the others fight" and "Take action once we know how this war is going". Italy was divided between the socialists and the nationalists. The nationalists, like Mussolini, were against the war and thought that action should be taken, while the socialists wanted to stand down and see the war's turnout. But it 1915, there was the Secret Treaty of London sent from Britain, that offered Italy land if they were to join the Entente. Italy could not refuse such a deal, so they took it and switched sides.
The Great Depression in Italy was seen as a small loss, but did not harm the well being of Italy's economy. Italy lost its international trade networks, but was able to maintain their jobs and stabilize the workflow.

Germany: During the war Germany was a strong warring power, but were not strong enough to fight the Entente's final push aided by the Americans. Germany did in fact though develop strong military weaponry that influenced many other great powers at the time. But in the end they were forced to weaken their military forces and give up parts of their land. In terms of the great depression, Germany was hit as hard as any other country during its time. Germany lacked the strong economical foothold, and lost much, just as the other countries did.




Sources:
Italy: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~quadrini/papers/deprpap.pdf
Germany: In Class information

Germany and America: Outcomes of WWI and the Depression

Germany:

A the end of the war, they lost a lot. They lost 10% of their land, their military was cut down, and they had to pay reparations for all the winners of the war on top of their own. Germany however could not pay for the reparations and got loans from the US. Germany unlike most of the world however did not suffer much from the Depression. This was because of Hitler who did a great job with controlled wages and prices, government investment, and peace between the capital and laborers.

America:

In America with the end of the war came a new social and cultural change. Women gained the right to vote and also middle class women became known as flappers. Flappers would go to nightclubs, smoke, had short hair, drink heavily, and wear more revealing clothing. They were the beginning to a new era. The war in a way broke America from their old traditional ways. However the Depression caused a great turmoil. When the stock market crashed it was chaotic banks closed down, many people lost their jobs. And because of this any farmer or producer lost a lot too because the prices were too high because everyone seemed to have lost their money due to the banks shutting down. This also caused a lot of farmers produce to go to waste. The President Franklin Roosevelt however tried to end this calamity with a plan called the New Deal.

All my information came from two source:
Strayer
Notes from class

comparing America to Germany

America didnt initially enter WWI, but Germany was there from the start. The main reason for this was that Germany had a bunch of treaties with other Central POwers, that declared if any were attacking they would all fight together. It was basically a fight to the death battle and Germany's side lost. THis was devastation for them, not just because they lost honor and a bunch of land, but had to pay war indemnities as well as pay for the war costs for themselves. America didnt have any potential gains or losses coming into the war, and it wasnt until after they thought Mexico would side against them that they did anything. Although America did end up on the winning side, they did not have to deal with trenches built through their country and an entire lost generation, although there was significant amount of PTSD. Because America did not invest that much money in WWI, they were not as in bad of shape as the rest of the European countries. Germany, as i said earlier, had to pay large amounts of war indemnities to the allied countries, creating massive hyperinflation. So Germany was suffering greatly before the depression, and so after it they were even worse off. Although America was hit very hard by the depression, they did manage to have public building projects and other ways of creating jobs. Germany had a different response to the depression. They set their hopes in Adolf Hitler, who offered promise of prosperity and the return of Germany being a strong country. Later, HItler would cause the second world war and an even greater destruction for Germany, this time with a genocide of its own people and killings of many other European countries.

Soviet Union and Japan

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was not established during WWI but from the events that occur ed to Russia during WWI. They were one of the three main countries who joined the war along with Britain and France. After only a year and half, Russia had hit an all time low. They lost millions of soldiers and civilians and were lacking both food and weapons that were needed to survive WWI. They then dropped out of the war because it was taking too much of a toll on the country. There was then the Russian Revolution where the Czar was overthrown. Then during the 1920s, there was the rise of the Communist Party that would soon establish the Soviet Union. Because of the transformation that Lenin was installing on the Soviet's economy, there was little effect on the Soviets. They had removed themselves from the world trading system, so when everyone else went down, the lack of trading connections for the Russians payed off. People from around the world actually moved to Russia in hope of a better life.

Japan

The Japanese did not have much effect on World War 1 thought they did do something. They were on the sides of the Allies and often received orders from the British to take out German ships around Southeast Asia. They also attacked German territories in China. They then presented the 21 Demands which would give Japan ownership of part of China. Japan was also one of the countries not affected by Great Depression. The Finance Minister of Japan used very effective techniques to minimize the damage. However during and after the Great Depression, Japan developed very imperial ambitions wanting to be established as a world power which lead to the invasions of China, Mongolia, and the USSR which would lead to Japan joining the Axis of Power.

WWI Experiences of Italy and America

Italy
Italy had only become a unified state in 1870, and hadn't developed its own culture yet. WWI brought social disruptions when the resentful veterans and patriots who weren't happy with the amount of territory they had received because of the Treaty of Versailles. By switching sides partway through the war they screwed themselves.
During the depression, many things threatened the Italian social order because of many strikes. The answer to this was Benito Mussolini. He took the jobless veterans and promised to change the order of rule away from communism and democratic rule. He focused on building state power. Democracy was ended and people who put up a resistance were deported. Although Mussolini was an atheist, he embraced the Catholic Church. All of this was the beginning to a new Italy.

United States
As a result of WWI the United States was the center of global power. It had contributed to the defeat of Germany, and its financial resources had evolved the United States into Europe's creditor. President Wilson's 14 Points inspired a new type of international life. However, this failed. Germany had been punished too severely in his opinion, and the United States refused to join the League of Nations that HE had suggested.
The depression brought many social and cultural changes to the Americans. On the day the stock market crashed, eleven Wall Street financiers committed suicide. Banks were shut down, and many people lost all of their money. Worst of all was the loss of work. Unemployment was everywhere, and it reached 30% by 1932. Empty businesses began to symbolize the severity of the depression.

All of this info comes from Robert W. Strayer's Ways of the World

WWI Nations: Germany and America

Germany:

Then they established the Reichstag Parliament. They had lost a lot through the Treaty of Versailles like limited military, lost 10% of land, war reparation of 30 billion dollars, and lost colonies to Britain. The war dues they had to pay were what caused hyper-inflation and that is what lead to the depression. Germany was under the Weimar Republic when they overthrew the Kaiser in November of 1918 and they negotiated an armistice. This was like Russia's armistice that we have previously learned about. The Weimar Republic was what ended the hyper-inflation because of new currency. It also included Dawe's plan which was for America to lend Germany money so they could pay back their war reparations. Hitler later rose to power because he talked about ways to get out of tough living situations like jobs or money. This appealed to the WWI veterans and the workers because they were struggling the most during this time. Hitler was put in jail but he wrote Mein Kampf or "My Struggle" and this basically blamed the Jews and made them the scapegoat and he said that the "Aryan" race was superior.

America:

For America, the war had created new opportunities in a sense for them. Women were given the right to vote (Women's Suffrage) and there was a new rising middle class and they had a lot of leverage going on with money. They would pay $1o dollars for example and get a bank loan for $90 and then they would sell things for more so they would increase their money by a large percent. This lead to the Great Depression because when the stock market crashed people lost money instead of gaining more from selling. They were having to sell at a lower price than what they bought it for and therefore they were in debt because their borrowed money from the banks but they couldn't pay it back. That lead to banks shutting down and people losing their money because the banks simply didn't have it. Then people decided to start taking their money out of the banks so that they wouldn't lose their money but that only made it worse. Then people didn't spend as much so people weren't getting paid as much and so they lost their jobs and wouldn't buy as much and it became a vicious cycle. It was a bad recession or called a depression. This lead to the decision of finding alternative ways of government.

Sources:

notes from Ms. Xia in class (02-24-10 & 02-26-10)

Italy vs All Other Nations

Italy was a very interesting country to focus on while studying World War I. They switched sides during the first couple months of the war which benefited them very much since they ended up on the side with the most "winnings". First off, they waited a while to join the war because they wanted to make sure that the chose the right side. In the Treaty of London Britain had offered Italy large sections of territory in the Adriatic Sea region. Such an offer was too tempting for Italy to refuse. Britain and France wanted Italy to join in on their side so that a new front could open up to the south of the Western Front. In the end, Italy didn't even get half of what the Treaty said and got the least of the good things that all the other countries received.

Citation: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/italy_and_world_war_one.htm