Roxanne's Global Blog

Joseph Stalin and Totalitarianism

2008-01-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

Totalitarianism is defined as absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralized institution. In much simpler terms it is a government that keeps its control by telling its citizens what to think and punishing them if they think otherwise. With totalitarianism there are constant surveillance, government controlling the media, secret police, and harsh punishment. When Vladimir Lenin died he left his reign to an evil man named Joseph Stalin. He used harsh methods and easily disposed of his competition. Joseph Stalin felt they were 100 years behind so he made what was called the Five Year Plan. With this they would become a major industrial country within just 5 years. With them trying to increase their agriculture and coal output workers were first to work for 16- 18 hours a day. The great purges was when Stalin became extremely paranoid and decided to pretty much kill off all his past supporters and helpers. Many members of the government were killed or sent to labor camps. Some had even signed confessions. Joseph Stalin was a harsh and cruel dictator.

Film Lesson: Doctor Zhivago

2008-01-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

The movie started out before the revolution with Russians marching for change. When the people were getting closer to the czars house he ordered to have them killed. The people were starving and the czar was treating them all unfairly. The peaceful protest lead to many wounded and killed. This was called Bloody Sunday. Another cause for the revolution was WWI. The Russians didn't want to be part of the war. Later on in the movie the Russian soldiers decided to just leave their trenches and with the they got the new incoming soldiers to rebel against the czar. Thus the Revolution was set. In Doctor Zhivago a man was explaining how with communism there would be no czar and that only the workers would rule. The Doctor had a large wealthy house before the revolution but when he came back his large house was being shared with 13 other families. The government owned all the property and gave it to the people equally. Doctor Zhivago even spoke about it being just. But even with everything being shared the people were still poor and hungry. There wasnt enough heat or food to go around to everyone. And since no one can be rich in communism the governent was taking Doctor Zhivagos expensive plates and putting them in storage. Which is basically the government stealing to share with everyone.

Causes of WWI

2008-01-04T10:12:00.000-08:00

There were many things that contributed to world war one. One of the reasons for WWI were Nationalism. Before war all of the countries were building up with pride. Nationalism gave the countries a feeling of superiority which cause bother hatred and racism. Suddenly people from one country simply started disliking people from another country simply as a duty to their own country. Another reason was militarism. As the countries began to work harder on their military the others got suspicious. Over the years before WWI all the countries started putting more money into their army and navy. Each one was as suspicious as the next and making secret alliances with one another. At that point all the countries started preparing for a war and were ready for it at any moment. At last another major conflict was the countries alliance systems. The alliances pretty much made the teams up for war. There was the Triple Alliance which was Italy, Germany, and Austria- Hungary. Also there was the Triple Entente which was made up of Great Britain, France, and Russia.

The Opium Wars

2007-12-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

The Opium Wars were drug wars that took place from 1839 to 1842. The Chinese were extremely proud people and thought that they were the best and that they needed no one. The Qing ambassador showed no interest in the machines that could made him a stronger country. The British were desperate for something to trade with the Chinese in large amounts besides their Silver. That something was Opium. Opium is a narcotic made from poppy plant. By 1835 millions were addicted to the drug. The addiction made many problems for the country. Opium was ruining the people so the Chinese declared war with the British. The battles took place mostly in the sea which means the Chinese had no chance against Britains advanced ships. So the Chinese suffered a humiliating defeat that forced them to sign peace treaties. The peace treaties let the British us Chinas five ports instead of just one, the were forced to legalize Opium, and they lost control of Hong Kong. The Opium war started many unfair treaties with the Western countries.

The White Man's Burden

2007-12-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

The White Man's Burden represents the ideas of an imperialistic mind. From what I understand of the poem Rudyard Kipling believed that it was every white mans job to go to Africa and modernize the people who live there. It is clear that the poem is racist and that the white man only thought of the Africans as savages. Although the poem was hard to understand you can tell that Rudyard Kipling had strong nationalistic feelings towards his country and that he thought it was his duty to England to fix Africa. The White man felt they were superior to the Africans and that they should start acting like the White people. I don't agree with the analysis since the Africans were doing fine without anyones help. The Europeans were mostly being racist and didnt even treat the Africans like people. I think America is imperialistic to an extent. Our country is much less ignorant now and less racist. But although I think America tries to help because we just care I also think money and power has a lot to with it.

The Scramble for Africa

2007-12-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

The Scramble for Africa was when all the European nations began claiming all of Africas territory. Many treaties were made by the Africans themselves giving the Europeans all this power. Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Britain started taking interest in 1881. They started taking interest in Africa for its vast amount of natural resources. Africa contained gold, diamonds, petroleum, and much more. Also some of the countries would claim African land simply for power or to just have it for their own. The European countries had much better technology than the Africans which was the only reason for their easy victory. The Europeans had steam boats and machine guns while the Africans still depended on Spears and sheilds. This had a negative effect on Africa. The Africans were losing their land and culture. Also the Europeans took advantage of the Africans and looked down upon them.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

2007-12-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

In the movie Mountains of the Moon two British men went searching for the source of the Nile River. The first time their mission failed because another tribe basically murdered the group of Africans hired to help them and a lieutenant. During their journey some of the bearers helping them out ran away with some of their belongings. Also another problem faced were the harsh conditions of Africa. The ground was rough to walk on and the temperature was extremely hot. Another problem were the animals that lived in Africa. At one point Richard Burton became sick and Speke went on to try to find the source of the Nile. He thought he found it but what he really found was Lake Victoria. He named it himself after the Queen of the United Kingdom at the time. The Europeans had much more tools than the Africans that helped with the directions and health. They had steamboats which helped with their traveling. Also they had weapons such as machine guns. I think these technological advantages were the reason Europeans won so easily.

The Meiji Restoration of Japan

2007-11-27T10:13:00.000-08:00

The Meiji Restoration was basically the period where Japan finally modernizes. Before that Japan was hiding from the world and made little contact. All this change when Commodore Matthew Perry visited Japan in 1853. The Japanese were astonished by the American ships. But the point of his visit was to open up Japan to the world and start trade. It was clear that they would've done it by force. The Japanese had no choice but to sign treaties that limited the control Japan had on its on trading and that made crimes against foreigners be tried in American courts. After this other western countries began using Japan for trading which caused anger amongst the Japanese. Their thoughts were proud and nationalistic. After the visit from Commodore Perry everything changed from Japan. Japan adopted ideas from all the other countries to make their own better. By the end of the Meiji period the Japanese gained a better government, a stronger navy and army, better transportation and communication systems, and more educated people. Japan is a archipelago or a chain of islands.

Karl Marx and Communism

2007-11-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx believed in a word where the workers ruled over the bosses. He thought the workers should govern over the farms and factories. This whole idea is basically what Communism is. Communism comes from the word common. He loved the idea of financial equality. He thought that the people would share their wealth with each other and only get what they deserved or needed. Marx considered capitalist as the "bad guy" and the workers as the good guys". He refered to the capitalist and bosses as the bourgeoisie and the working class as the proletariat. To him capitalism would only bring destruction and chaos. He thought that with communism society would be a peaceful and classless society.

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revolution

2007-11-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

The industrial revolution was the starting point to capitalism. The industrial revolution meant workers slaving for low wages and land owners just enjoying their easily made money. The capitalist were gaining alot of power. Those terrible circumstances are what made Karl Marx change his way of thinking and the ways of people lives. Karl Marx hated the indurtial revolution and all it brought. He thought of capitalism as a catastophe. What Marx wanted to see was the workers gaining the power instead of capitalists. He thought that the workers sold themselves out. He urged the people to take a stand and over rule the government to his ideas. The unfair treatment of everything made him come up with communism. With communism his dreams would come true of a better and equal sociey.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

2007-10-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Nationalism is basically a devotion or pride to your own country not a king or queen. They cared about there people since they had similar language, culture, religion. In a way were all nationalistic to America by just saying the pledge of alligience. Some people have flags on their homes. Those are some types of things that show your pride for you country.

Before Italy became Italy, Austia and the Spanish owned the territories that made up Italy. After time the soon to be Italians were getting sick of their current rulers.

Simon Bolivar: Latin American Revolutions

2007-10-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

For years Latin America were being treated unfairly by the Europeans. Only the men who were born in Spain were allowed to control the government. And that angered the creoles and lesser classes who were born in the country. Napoleans brother was controlling Spain at the time and the citizens felt that they shouldnt be loyal to a king who wasnt even Spanish. To stop this it took alot of work from the people and a man named Simon Bolivar. He is also know as liberator of South America. He won independence for Venezuela and helped Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Bolivia and Peru to win their independence. He started with research. Before he started fighting he became informed. He went to France and the United states and studied there research.

The French Revolution:Social Causes

2007-09-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

What were the three estates and why did the third estate feel used?
- The three estates were basically the three social classes of France.
- The first estate were treated the best and pretty much ruled the country. They were the first estate was made up of Clergy. They were made up just 1% of the population.
- The second estate were also treated very well. This estate was made up of noble blood. The second estate took up 2% of the population.
- The third estate was anyone who wasnt in the first and third estate. It was made up of peasents, working people, and professionals. It made up 97% of France.
- They felt used because all of them had to pay unreasonable taxes.
What really triggered the revolution, what happened on July 14, 1789?

They were many things to trigger the revolution. One of them was the Feudalism and Unfair Taxation. They third estate was paying so much in taxes that they and there children were actually starving.

The Scientific Revolution

2007-09-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Back in the old days people used to get their information about sciencefrom the ancient Greeks and Romans or from the bible.
Aristotle and other Greek scientists had their own ideas on how things worked but thanks to the scientific revolution people know the truth.

The scientific revolution has proved scientist like Isaac Newton and Galileo right and Aristotle right. The scientific revolution was when people started to challenge ideas and started asking for experiments to prove such ideas. And thats how the scientific method was made. It uses experiment as much as you want to, to prove or disprove ideas.

The scientific method is always right. You can always get the right results with enough testing. Its bassically Hypothesis, Experiment, Results, and Conclusion.

Evolution vs Creation

2007-09-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Darwin's theory of Evolution is basically the belief that all living things are related and came from one common ancestor. It also believes that over time complex creatures evolved from more simple creatures. This theory of Evolution also believes in natural selection. Natural selection is when minor mutations act as great advantages over the others of its kind. Like if an animal inherits a good trait it will pass it down to its offspring and so on and so fourth. While the animals without the trait will slowly die out leaving only the advantaged ones. It can easily be compared to as domestic breeding. Over the years we'd made many advantages on molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics which is basically killing out Darwin's theory.

Now Creation is completely different. Creationism believes that absolutely everything was created by deity or deities. Creationism is mainly referred to when talking about Judaism, Christianity and Islam.