Blog # 27 - Cold War Hotspots

The Cold war affected countries all over the world as the US and the Soviet Union involved themselves in the conflicts of other countries. Choose a conflict from the list below and

1) Explain what the conflict was about
2) Explain how the conflict ended
3) Explain whether which side you would have supported in the conflict and why

Iranian Revolution

http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch29ir.html

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/arab-israeli-war

Afghanistan

https://sites.google.com/site/coldwarhotspotslathrop/afghanistan-3

Iran-Iraq War

https://sites.google.com/site/coldwarhotspotslathrop/iran-5

Blog # 26 - The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a physical wall built which separated Soviet controlled East Germany and US allied government in West Germany. The wall became a symbol of the Cold War because it physically separated Germans from each other just as the Cold War was separating countries, families and nations from each other.

Go to the following web page and look through the images and links related to Germany and the Berlin Wall; The Berlin Wall. Write a short journal entry from the perspective of someone living in Germany (East or West) during the Cold War. Make sure you describe what they see, feel, hear and think.

Blog # 25 - The Start of The Cold War

The Cold War was a power struggle between the US and their allies and the USSR and their allies. Although the two countries never went to war with each other, much of the world became the battlefield in their attempts to influence the world. Review the Timeline on the following webpage, The Cold War Museum  Choose two events that occurred either in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, or 80's and discuss what impact those two events had on the Cold War.

Blog # 24 - A new government in Germany

1) Read the following Program written by the Nationalist Socialist Party (Nazis). The document lists everything that the Nazi party wanted when they came to power

http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/document/PROGRAM.htm

2) Answer the following questions:
      a) Do you think these are reasonable demands? Why or why not?
      b) Respond to one other person by agreeing or disagreeing with them and explain why.

Blog # 23 - Leading the world to a better place

1) Using your notes from class, evaluate (judge) the leadership of two political leaders. (can't be the one you researched) What did they do? Do you think they genuinely helped their countries? Why or why not?

2) Respond to one other person's comment and explain why you agree or disagree with their judgments.

Political Leaders

1) Mao Zedong
2) Adolf Hitler
3) Benito Mussolini
4) Mohandas Gandhi
5) Emperor Hirohito
6) Jomo Kenyatta
7) Ataturk
8) Joseph Stalin
                                                                                                                       

Blog # 22 - Should we follow the leader?

1) Identify which political leader you have been learning about

2) Pretend you are that leader writing a letter to a newspaper in the year 1929. From the perspective of that leader, explain why war is an acceptable thing to do or not acceptable. Be sure to use some of the vocabulary you've learned!

3) Respond to another leader's letter from the perspective of your own leader. For example, if you have been learning about Hitler then you can respond to Gandhi or Mussolini.

Political Leaders

1) Mao Zedong
2) Adolf Hitler
3) Benito Mussolini
4) Mohandas Gandhi
5) Emperor Hirohito
6) Jomo Kenyatta
7) Ataturk
8) Joseph Stalin

Blog # 21 - War..what is it good for...absolutely nothing!!!

1) Using two examples from history (whether we've studied it or not), describe a situation when you think its ok to go to war (justified) and a situation when you don't think its ok to go to war (not justified).

2) Respond to at least one other person's post and explain whether you agree with their example or not and why.

Blog # 20 - Blame the Germans!

1) Do you believe that the Treaty of Versailles was a "fair" treaty? Why or why not?

2) If you could have changed or added something to the Treaty of Versailles, what would it be?

3) Respond to one other person's comment by saying whether you agree or disagree with what they said and why?

Blog #19 - WWI, a just war?

1) Review the notes you took in class on the causes of WWI.  Choose two reasons listed that you believe could be justifiable reasons for ANY of the countries to enter the war and explain why the reason is justifiable. You may use the link below to get more information on the topic
Causes of World War I

2) Respond to at least one other person's post

Blog # 18 - Who's Burden is it?

Read the following poems written by two poets and

1) What is White mans burden saying? How does this poem represent what Westerners (America and Europe) thought about the world?

2) What is the Black Man's Burden saying? How does this represent what is happening to any non-European in the world?

3) By writing the White Man's Burden, is Rudyard Kipling showing racism? Do you think it was necessary/ important for Europeans to conquer other parts of the world in order to help the areas they conquered? Is America doing anything similar in Afghanistan or other parts of the world? Should we do anything similar to whats mentioned in the White Man's Burden?

4) Respond to one other persons comment

White Mans Burden

Black Man's Burden

Blog # 17 - Unify this!

1) Thinking back to the work done in class and your own knowledge of the world, is nationalism a positive or negative force in the world? Explain. Be sure to use specific examples from class or from the world today.

2) Comment on one other persons post

Blog # 16 - European Supremacy

1) Imagine you are a citizen of one of the countries/ regions that was conquered by a European country. Write a journal entry describing what life is like under European dominion. Be sure to include actual historical events that occured

Blog #15: The New Germany

1) What roles did Otto Von Bismarck and Emperor Wilhelm I (pronounced Vilhelm in film) play in the war?

2) How did the Franco Prussian War help lead to a new and united Prussia? (explanation should be a paragraph in length)

3) What are the advantages of having a nationalistic and industrialized society at this point in history?

Blog #14: The evolution of racism

The idea of race began to be shaped and used regularly during the 1800's when Europeans began classifying different parts of the world. They used the idea of race to explain what makes them different from other people around the world that they began conquering. When Charles Darwin introduced his idea of evolution, many scientists use this idea of evolution to justify their mistreatment of other groups. This idea that some races were better than others became known as Social Darwinism.

Essentially this idea means that the "fittest" races and civilizations should survive while others will die. After clicking the link above, answer the following question

To what extent do you believe that the idea of survival of the fittest is true when it comes to people or civilizations? Should those groups of people who are not capable of surviving on their own be allowed to "die off"? As always, respond to one other person's comment after you make yours.

Blog # 13 - Do we want another revolution?

The Luddite movement in Britain was a movement in Britain during the 1800's in which men and women violently opposed the integration of technology into the everyday lives of people. Read the following articles on the Luddites and answer the questions below.

The Luddites
The new Luddites

1) Why do the Luddites and Neo-Luddites so violently oppose technology?
2) Do you believe that technology is influencing our lives in negative or positive ways? Explain
3) Do you believe people one day people may again violently oppose the integration of technology into our world?