Imperialism, Great War, and Russian Rev.
Sep/Oct 2012
World Hist. II
Mr. Aiello
Imperialism, the Great War and the Russian Revolution,
Unit Syllabus
The West (Europe and the U.S.) used the 1800s to conquer much of the rest of the world, a
concept called imperialism. We will briefly look at some examples of this movement, laying the
groundwork for the post-World War II nationalism movements for indepenence, and the role that
plays in the current world. The First World War and the Russian Revolution have usually been
seen as the seminal events of the modern age, for how they truly showed the changes brought
about by the new technology, political ideologies, and economic ideas. We will use a variety of
methods to quickly explore some of the highlights of this important era.
World History II
Overview of Curriculum/Thematic introduction to the course
Enduring understandings for all 8 units
United States
EU #1
The United States has gradually risen as a global power throughout the
20th century.
EU #2
The United States has experienced societal change because of factors such as new
technologies, shifting demographics, changes in values and attitudes, and the role
of government.
World History
EU #3
The successes and failures of social, political, and economic systems and
movements have shaped 20th century World History.
EU #4
Conflict and cooperation between nations has ebbed and flowed during the
20th century as a result of social, political, and economic systems and movements.
Essential Questions:
1. What are various causes of imperialism around the world?
2. Why did the United States become involved in foreign imperialism?
3. What caused the Great War?
4. Why was this global war more destructive and widespread than other previous wars?
5. What were the immediate results of the end of the War?
6. What were the causes and immediate results of the Russian Revolution?
Night
Friday,
Sep. 21
Monday,
Sep. 24
Homeplay Assignment
Read A.R. (blue) Chapter 12:1
1) Explain 2 important reasons why the U.S. sought overseas territory?
2) How did the U.S. gain possession of Hawaii?
3) What is Pan-Americanism?
Read W.H. 24:1.
1) What internal problems contributed to the decline and fall of the
Manchu dynasty in China?
2) What is the Open Door policy?
Imperialism, Great War, and Russian Rev.
Sep/Oct 2012
World Hist. II
Mr. Aiello
Tuessday,
Sep. 25
Read W.H. 24:3.
Friday,
Sep. 18
Read W.H. 24:4. Make a chart in which you compare and contrast
China’s and Japan’s response to Western imperialism.
Monday,
Sep. 21
Read A.R. 12:1.
1) What were two important reasons why the U.S. sought overseas
territory?
2) How did the U.S. gain possession of Hawaii?
3) What is Pan-Americanism?
Tuesday,
Sep. 22
Complete reading/answering “Part I: The SPAM War” and then prepare
for the debate tomorrow.
Wednesday, Sep. 23
Read and answer the questions for “Epilogue – Imperialism’s Bitter Fruit
,” then read and complete the “Lessons from the Age of Imperialism”
and finally read “War Redux.”
Binder check on Thursday for items through Monday, Sept. 21 and EQs 1 and 2
For the remainder of the unit, consult the “Daily Questions/Assignments” packet
for the details and questions.
Thursday,
Sep. 24
Read W.H. Pages 710 – 715 and Chapter 25:1.
Complete the Historian’s Toolkit Project #1 – Chart
Friday,
Sep. 25
Read W.H. 25:2.
Monday,
Sep. 28
Read W.H. 811 – 812 and the handouts “The Trenches” and “Shell
Shock”
Complete the Historian’s Toolkit Project #2 - Propaganda
Tuesday,
Sep. 29
Read Am. Rep. 14:1.
Wednesday, Sep. 30
Read A.R. 14:2
Complete the Historian’s Toolkit Project #3 - Photograph
Thursday
Oct. 1
Read W.H. 25:3.
Friday,
Oct. 2
Read the “Animal Farm” packet.
Complete the Historian’s Toolkit Project #4 – Political Cartoon
Imperialism, Great War, and Russian Rev.
Sep/Oct 2012
World Hist. II
Mr. Aiello
Monday,
Oct. 5
Read W.H. 25:4
Tuesday,
Oct. 6
Read and complete the questions for the “Paris Peace Conference”
handout.
Wednesday, Oct. 7
Complete the Historian’s Toolkit Project #5 - Map
Thursday,
Complete your Historian’s Toolkit Project and your Binder
(including the 6 Essential Questions!)
Study for the Unit Test tomorrow!
Oct. 8
Imperialism, Great War, and Russian Rev.
Sep/Oct 2012
World Hist. II
Mr. Aiello
Historian’s Toolkit Unit Project
As the project for this unit, we will look at five different methods by which historians typically
look at the past. During class time, we will study some examples of each of these tools, and as
your out-of-class assignment, you will analyze and even create your own as a means of
demonstrating that you truly understand the content and the method of studying the time period.
Tool #1 – Chart: Militarism and the causes of the First World War
_______/5
Analysis of chart “Defense Estimates of the Great Powers, 1870 – 1914”
_______/5
Student creation of chart based on “Militarism” paragraph
_______/5
Explanation of student-created chart
Tool #2 – Photograph: Trench Warfare and its Effect on the War
_______/7
Selection and analysis of photo
_______/4
Selection of second photo
_______/4
Explanation of its effect
Tool #3 – Political Cartoon: The United States gets into the War
_______/5
Analysis of the given political cartoon
_______/5
Creation of a political cartoon
_______/5
Explanation of the student-created political cartoon
Tool #4 – Literature: Changing Views of the War
_______/7
Completion of questions about the writings
_______/8
Creation of before and after poems, diary entries, or letters about the War
Tool #5 – Map: Changes in National Borders due to the War
_______/5
Analysis of changes in the two maps of Europe, before and after the War
_______/5
Completion of the map of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire
_______/5
Explanation of the map of the Middle East
Imperialism, Great War, and Russian Rev.
Sep/Oct 2012
World Hist. II
Mr. Aiello
Daily Questions/Assignments
(Remember, it is from these assignments that you will turn in the Historian’s Toolkit Project and the Binder !)
Mon. 10/1: W.H. pp. 710 – 715 & 800 – 805
1.
What problems did the existence of German minorities in many European nations create?
2.
How did alliances, designed to prevent war, play a role in bringing about war?
3.
Why did the first two Balkan wars not solve the problems of the region?
4.
Why was the Great War “all the more disturbing to Europeans?”
5.
Define and explain the role that the following terms in bringing about the War:
brinksmanship, conscription, militarism, mobilization
Tool #1 – Chart: Militarism and the causes of the First World War
• After studying the attached chart, write a 4 – 6 sentence paragraph explaining how this
information could be used to help explain the causes of the War.
• Read the information below on militarism. Create your own chart or graph with these facts.
Clearly label your chart/graph.
• Write a 4 – 6 sentence paragraph explaining how this information could be used to help
explain the causes of the War.
“Militarism as a cause of the First World War”
Between 1890 and 1913, countries in Europe increased their military spending dramatically.
This concept called militarism is one of our causes of the the Great War. For example, Britain
spent 117% more before the War than it did in 1890 resulting in a peacetime army of 430,000 in
1914. For France their government spent 92% more during the same time span and their army
had 970,000 members in 1914. Germany and Austria-Hungary led the atmosphere of militarism
with increases of 158% and 160% of their military spending, respectively. Germany had a
standing army of 760,000 before they declared war and Austria-Hungary, their partner in the
Central Powers had a military of 480,000 men in 1914. Russia, on the other had, had the largest
initial army and only increased its military spending by 19% resulting in about 1.5 million troops
at the start of the Great War.
Tue. 10/2: W.H. 25:2
1. What was the Schlieffen Plan? (look back at page 805 for more details)
2. Define and explain the following terms: trench warfare, war of attrition, total war, planned
economies
3. How and why did the European war spread to include nations from outside Europe
(Ottoman Empire, the Middle East, the United States)?
4. Why do times of war often speed the process of achieving greater rights for women?
Imperialism, Great War, and Russian Rev.
Sep/Oct 2012
World Hist. II
Mr. Aiello
Wed. 10/3: W.H. pp. 811 – 812 & handout “The Trenches”
1. What were the major differences between the trenches of the Allied trenches and the German
trenches?
2. What “. . . changed from white to yellow-grey, to red, to purple, to green, to black”?
Tool #2 – Photograph: Trench Warfare and its Effect on the War
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=history&collection_list=Wo
rldWarIPhotographA&col_id+211
http://www.gwpda.org/photos/greatwar.htm
http://www.wwi-models.org/Photos/index.html
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/ww1/photoessay.htm
http://www.worldwaronecolorphotos.com/
• Search one of the websites from above and select one photo to print out.
• Using information from class and the homeplay, analyze how this picture could be used to
help explain what life was like during the War.
• Find a second picture from the above websites and print it out. In a 4 – 6 sentence paragraph,
explain what innovations were developed to minimize or overcome the horrible devastation
of trench warfare.
(Note: If you do not have a computer with internet access at home, or a printer, let Mr. Aiello
know and he will help you obtain two photos to use to complete this assignment.)
Thu. 10/4: Am.Rep. Ch. 14: 1
1. Why did President Wilson send troops to Mexico?
2. Define and explain the following terms and the role they played in the United States entering
the War: propaganda, contraband, Sussex Pledge
3. How did the Zimmerman telegram influence the decision of the U.S. to go to war against
Germany?
Fri. 10/5: Am. Rep. Ch. 14: 2
1. How did Congress ensure that the military had enough troops to fight the War?
2. Why did so many African-Americans and Mexicans move north during the War?
3. How did government efforts to ensure support for the War conflict with democratic ideals?
Tool #3 - Political Cartoon: The United States gets into the War
• Study the political cartoon “Some Promise!” in this packet. Write a 4 – 6 sentence paragraph
explaining how this cartoon helped the United States get involved in the War.
• Create your own political cartoon about the U.S. getting into the War. Artistic ability is not
what will be assessed, but the quality of the idea(s) in the cartoon.
• Write a 4 – 6 sentence paragraph explaining how this cartoon helped the United States get
involved in the War.
Imperialism, Great War, and Russian Rev.
Sep/Oct 2012
World Hist. II
Mr. Aiello
Mon. 10/8: “Shell Shock” and “Slaughter” handouts
• Answer the questions on the bottom and back of the “Shell Shock” handout.
• For the “Slaughter” reading:
1. Why was the region around Verdun referred to as “the Furnace?”
2. Why was the Battle of the Somme so especially ridiculous?
Tue. 10/9: W.H. Ch. 25:3
1. Briefly explain five (5) reasons why the Tsar was such a poor leader during this time.
2. How did a woman’s march for bread turn into a general strike and then Tsar Nicholas
eventually stepping down from the throne?
3. What was the fatal mistake of the Provisional government under Kerensky?
4. What promises did Lenin and the Bolsheviks make to the people to gather support for their
violent revolution?
5. What is “war communism” and how did it help the Reds defeat the Whites in the Russian civil
war?
6. What happened inside of Germany that helped bring about the end of the War?
Wed. 10/10: “Animal Farm” packet
1. Summarize, in your own words, the four lessons from George Orwell.
Thu. 10/11: “World War I Literature Packet”
Tool #4 – Literature: Changing Views of the War
• Read and complete the questions from the handouts “Poets View the War” and “From
Youthful Vision . . .”
Fri. 10/12:
Tool #4 – Literature: Changing Views of the War
• Pretend that you are a young man who has gone to war in 1915.
• Give a short biographical statement about your character.
• Write a poem, diary entry, or letter home about your excitement at being involved with the
biggest thing in your life. Explain your attitude.
• As a second piece of literature, write another poem, diary entry, or letter home as if two
years have passed, during which time you have experienced the horrors of trench warfare
and many other horrible things of this war. Again, explain your new attitude.
Mon. 10/15: W.H. Ch. 25:4
1. What did each leader (Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Wilson) want from the peace treaty?
2. Why was Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany the most controversial?
3. How did the Allies try to incorporate the principle of self-determination? Why did it not work
in eastern Europe nor in the old Ottoman Empire?
Imperialism, Great War, and Russian Rev.
Sep/Oct 2012
World Hist. II
Mr. Aiello
Tue. 10/16: “Paris Peace Conference: Different Hopes and Expectations” handout
1. Read the handout and revise anything you need to from last night’s assignment.
Tool #5 – Map: Changes in National Borders due to the War
• Study the two maps of Europe, before and after the First World War. Write a 4 – 6 sentence
paragraph explaining the most significant changes in the borders.
• On the map of the Ottoman Empire in 1914, draw and label the approximate borders of the
Middle East after 1919, including the boundaries of Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan,
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran.
• In another 4 – 6 sentence paragraph, explain the most significant changes in these borders.
Wed. 10/17
1. Complete all of the Historian’s Toolkit Projects!
2. Complete all of the assignments for the Binder!
3. Write out your answers to the Essential Questions!
4. Complete the Study Guide!