Key Questions – World History 2

 

Unit 1- The Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and Trade

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1. What new view of the universe was adopted during the Scientific Revolution?

 

- the heliocentric view, that the sun was the center of the solar system

2. During the Enlightenment, thinkers began to put more emphasis on the rights of individuals. What is the word for this?

 

- liberalism

3. What two European rivals colonized and fought for control of North America?

 

- England and France

4. What was the Middle Passage?

 

 

- the slave trade, from Africa to the Americas

5. Who were the Òphilosophes,Ó and where did they often meet?

 

 

- French Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and Montesquieu, who often met in ÒsalonsÓ to discuss new ideas

6. What was John LockeÕs main idea?

 

 

- that men had natural rights like life and liberty,  and could rule themselves with a limited government to protect those rights

7. What is the name for the global transfer of foods, plants, and animals during the colonization of the Americas?

 

- Columbian Exchange

8. What two Spanish conquistadors subjugated the Aztec and Incan peoples?

- the Aztecs were subjugated by Hernando Cortez and his army, and the Inca were conquered by Fransisco Pizarro.

9. What did the Spanish introduce to the Americas that led to the success of the Plains Indians?

 

 

- the horse

 

 

 

Unit 2- Political Revolutions of the 18th Century

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1. What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?

- to notify Great Britain, and the world, that the colonies in America were going to rule themselves.

2. Why does the Constitution divide the power of the federal government into three branches, and what are those branches?

- the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; to ensure that no one person or branch of the government would have too much power.

 

3. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and why were they added?

 

- the Bill of Rights, to protect basic liberties like freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

4. What European nation was inspired by the American Revolution and attempted a similar revolution?

 

- France

5. What was the ÒReign of TerrorÓ during the French RevolutionÓ?

 

- when radicals took over  and began using the guillotine to kill anyone who opposed them.

6.  Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?

- a French general who took over France after the French Revolution and then conquered most of Europe.

 

 

Unit 3- Industrialism and Imperialism

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1. Where did the Industrial Revolution begin, and what was the first industry to be mechanized?

 

- Great Britain, the textile industry, where thread and cloth is made.

2. What political ideology was formed in reaction to the problems faced by the new industrial workers?

 

- socialism

3. What was imperialism?

 

- when rich, industrial nations, starting about 1880, began taking over the affairs of poorer, non-industrial nations.

 

4. Who controlled India during the Age of Imperialism?

 

- Great Britain

5. During the Age of Imperialism, what was the purpose of the Berlin Conference?

 

- to divide Africa among the European powers.

6. Name three new territories that the U.S. acquired during the Age of Imperialism.

- Panama, the Philippines, and Hawaii

 

 

 

`        Unit 4- WWI and the Russian Revolution

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1.  What event triggered WWI?

- the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

2. What new weapons of warfare in WWI changed the way war was fought?

 

- the machine gun, tank, poison gas, airplane, and submarine

3. At the start of WWI, who were the key Central Powers? Who were the Allied Powers?

 

- the key Central Powers were Germany and Austria-Hungary, and the key Allied Powers were Great Britain, France, and Russia.

 

4. Who was the U.S. president during WWI, and what was his plan for peace?

 

- Woodrow Wilson, the Fourteen Points

5. What treaty ended WWI, and what country did it focus on?

 

- the Treaty of Versailles, was very harsh on Germany

6. What was the Bolshevik Revolution, and who was its leader?

- this was the communist revolution in Russia in 1917, also known as the Russian Revolution, and was led by Vladimir Lenin.

 

 

 

 

Unit 5- Global Depression and WWII

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1. What two fascist leaders rose to power in Europe during the turbulent years following WWI?

- Benito Mussolini in Italy, and Adolph Hitler in Germany

2. Describe the policy of appeasement prior to WWII.

 

- When the democratic countries like Great Britain accepted HitlerÕs aggressive actions, rather than fight.

 

3. What event brought the US into WWII, and when did it occur?

 

- the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

4. What was the Holocaust?

 

- When HitlerÕs Nazi government systematically murdered about 6 million Jewish people.

 

5. What was ÒVE DayÓ?

 

- ÒVictory in EuropeÓ; the day HitlerÕs Germany surrendered.

 

6. What ended WWII in the Pacific?

 

- the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

 

7, During which years was WWII fought?

 

- 1939- 1945

 

 

Unit 6-  Post-War Asia: China, Japan, and India

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1. What happened in China in 1949, and who led this change?

- Mao ZedongÕs communist party won a civil war there, and the PeopleÕs Republic of China was created, which is sometimes informally called ÒRed ChinaÓ.

 

    [teacher note- because MaoÕs army was known as the ÒRed ArmyÓÉ This event sometimes referred to as the communist revolution in China, or the Chinese Revolution] [someone correct me if IÕm wrong hereÉ]

 

2. Who was the leader of the movement in India for independence from Britain?

 

- Mohandas Ghandi

3. What kind of government did Japan adopt after WWII?

 

- a democracy that was committed to peace

 

 

 

Unit 7- Arab-Israeli Conflict, Islam Today

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1. What country was created after WWII as a homeland for the Jewish people?

- Isreal

2. How did Arab states respond to the creation of Israel?

 

- they tried, but failed, to crush Israel in a war.

3. What city in Israel contains holy sites revered by Jews, Moslems, and Christians alike?

 

- Jerusalem

 

 

 

 

Unit 8- Age of Superpowers: Nuclear weapons, the Cold War, and the Demise of the Soviet Union

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1. How was Europe divided politically and ideologically following WWII?

- the countries to the west of what was called the ÒIron CurtainÓ became liberal democracies, and the countries to the east fell under the control of the Soviet Union.

 

2. What was the Cold War?

 

- the long period after WWII when the Soviet Union and the United States were enemies.

 

3. What was Sputnik, and why was it important?

 

- it was a Soviet satellite, the first ever put into space, and it made the United States very fearful that the Soviet Union would soon control space.

 

4. What are ICBMs, why were they important, and who had them?

 

- Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, which could carry  nuclear warheads halfway around the world. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had thousands of them at the height of the Cold War.

 

5. What Soviet leaderÕs reforms resulted in the collapse of the USSR?

 

- Mikhail Gorbachev

 

 

 

 

Unit 9- Modern Times: Global Economy, World Cooperation, and the Challenges Ahead

 

QuestionÉ

 

AnswerÉ

1. What international body attempts to regulate world conflict?

- the United Nations

2. What disease, which is primarily sexually transmitted, is wreaking havoc throughout much of the developing world?

 

- AIDS

3. What are at least five of the biggest issues facing the world today?

 

Overpopulation, environmental destruction, dependence on fossil fuels, poverty and the disparity between rich and poor nations, weapons of mass destruction and nuclear proliferation, terrorism and religious extremismÉ