Anarchism
What: Political belief that society should function without government.
When: 1800s–present.
Where: Europe, U.S.
Why: Reaction to industrial inequality.
Significance: Inspired revolutionary movements and political violence in the late 19th century.
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Anarchism | What: Political belief that society should function without government. When: 1800s–present. Where: Europe, U.S. Why: Reaction to industrial inequality. Significance: Inspired revolutionary movements and political violence in the late 19th century. |
| New Imperialism | What: Period of aggressive European expansion. When: 1870–1914. Where: Africa, Asia. Why: Resources, markets, nationalism, “civilizing mission.” Significance: Reshaped global politics; caused conflicts that led to WWI. |
| Charles Darwin | Who: British naturalist. When: 1809–1882. Where: England. Why notable: Created theory of evolution by natural selection. Significance: Inspired Social Darwinism (misuse of his theories). |
| Social Darwinism | What: Misapplication of Darwin’s ideas to human society. When: Late 1800s. Where: Europe, U.S. Why: Justified inequality & imperialism. Significance: Used to support racism, eugenics, and colonialism. |
| Socialism | What: Economic system where workers/community own production. When: 1800s–present. Why: Response to poor industrial working conditions. Significance: Influenced labor reforms & revolutions. |
| Karl Marx | Who: German philosopher/economist. When: 1818–1883. Significance: Wrote Communist Manifesto; foundation of communism. |
| Leon Czolgosz | Who: Anarchist who assassinated President McKinley. When: 1901 (Buffalo, NY). Significance: Led to Theodore Roosevelt becoming president. |
| Nationalism | What: Pride/loyalty to one’s nation. Significance: Fueled unification movements & caused WWI tensions. |
| Giuseppe Garibaldi | Who: Italian nationalist leader. When: Mid-1800s. Significance: Helped unify Italy. |
| Franco-Prussian War | What: War between France & Prussia. When: 1870–1871. Significance: German unification; French desire for revenge helped cause WWI. |
| Eugenics | What: Belief in improving human population through selective breeding. Significance: Influenced racist laws; ties to Nazi ideology. |
| The White Man’s Burden | What: Poem by Kipling claiming Europeans had a duty to “civilize” others. Significance: Justified imperialism. |
| Francis Galton | Who: Darwin’s cousin; founder of eugenics. Significance: Pseudoscience used to justify racism. |
| Quinine | What: Drug to treat malaria. Significance: Allowed Europeans to colonize Africa. |
| Battle of Omdurman | When: 1898 (Sudan). Significance: Showed European military superiority. |
| Triple Entente | What: Alliance of France, Russia, Britain (1907). Significance: One major side in WWI. |
| Central Powers | Who: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire. Significance: Main opponents in WWI. |
| Black Hand | What: Serbian nationalist group. Significance: Planned assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. |
| Gavrilo Princip | Who: Black Hand member. When: 1914 (Sarajevo). Significance: Sparked WWI. |
| Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Who: Heir to Austria-Hungary throne. Significance: His assassination started WWI. |
| Schlieffen Plan | What: German plan to quickly defeat France then Russia. Significance: Failed, leading to trench warfare. |
| Vladimir Lenin | Who: Leader of Bolsheviks. Significance: Led Russian Revolution; first leader of Soviet Union. |
| Russian Revolution (1917) | What: Overthrow of Tsar → rise of communism. Significance: Created USSR; changed global politics. |
| Western Front | Where: France & Belgium (WWI). Significance: Stalemate, trench warfare. |
| Trench warfare | What: Defensive fighting in trenches. Significance: Huge casualties, stalemate. |
| Mustard Gas | What: Chemical weapon (WWI). Significance: Caused horrific injuries; later banned. |
| Battle of Verdun | When: 1916 (France). Significance: One of WWI’s bloodiest battles. |
| Lusitania | What: British passenger ship sunk by Germans (1915). Significance: Pushed U.S. toward WWI. |
| 14 Points | What: Woodrow Wilson’s peace plan (1918). Significance: Basis for League of Nations. |
| League of Nations | What: International peace organization (1919). Significance: Failed to prevent WWII. |
| Battle of Gallipoli | When: 1915–1916 (Turkey). Significance: Failed Allied campaign; boosted Turkish nationalism. |
| Spanish Flu (1918-19) | What: Global pandemic after WWI. Significance: Killed ~50 million people. |
| Treaty of Versailles | What: Peace treaty ending WWI (1919). Significance: Blamed Germany → led to WWII. |
| Woodrow Wilson | Who: U.S. President during WWI. Significance: Proposed 14 Points, League of Nations. |
| Joseph Stalin | Who: Soviet dictator (1920s–1953). Significance: Totalitarian rule, Great Purge, WWII ally. |
| Adolf Hitler | Who: Nazi dictator of Germany. Significance: Started WWII; responsible for Holocaust. |
| Mein Kampf | What: Hitler’s book. Significance: Outlined Nazi ideology |
| Kristallnacht | What: 1938 Nazi attack on Jewish businesses & synagogues. Significance: Start of violent persecution. |
| Lebensraum | What: Hitler’s idea of “living space” for Germans. Significance: Justified invasion of Eastern Europe |
| Munich Conference | What: 1938 agreement giving Hitler Sudetenland. Significance: Failed appeasement. |
| Final Solution | What: Nazi plan to exterminate Jews. Significance: Led to Holocaust. |
| Pearl Harbor | When: Dec 7, 1941 (Hawaii). Significance: Brought U.S. into WWII. |
| Open Door Policy | What: U.S. policy for equal trade in China (1899). Significance: Protected U.S. trade interests. |
| Matthew Perry | Who: U.S. naval officer. Significance: Forced Japan to open trade (1853). |
| Manhattan Project | What: U.S. program to build atomic bombs. Significance: Ended WWII; started nuclear age. |
| Greater East Asian co-Prosperity Sphere | What: Japan’s imperial justification. Significance: Masked military expansion. |
| Meiji Restoration | What: Modernization of Japan (1868). Significance: Turned Japan into major power. |
| Hiroshima | What: First atomic bomb dropped (1945). Significance: Helped end WWII; massive casualties. |
| Cold War | What: U.S. vs USSR ideological conflict (1947–1991). Significance: Shaped global politics. |
| Iron Curtain | What: Churchill’s term for division of Europe. Significance: Symbol of Cold War. |
| Containment | What: U.S. policy to stop spread of communism. Significance: Led to Korean & Vietnam Wars. |
| Truman Doctrine | What: Aid to nations resisting communism (1947). Significance: Beginning of U.S. Cold War policy. |
| Marshall Plan | What: U.S. aid to rebuild Europe. Significance: Prevented spread of communism. |
| NATO | What: Military alliance (1949). Significance: Collective defense against USSR. |
| Mao Zedong | Who: Communist leader of China. Significance: Led PRC; Cultural Revolution. |
| Yuri Gagarin | Who: First human in space (1961). Significance: Soviet space victory. |
| Korean War | When: 1950–1953. Significance: First major Cold War conflict. |
| Vietnam War | When: 1955–1975. Significance: U.S. loss; antiwar movement. |
| Fidel Castro | Who: Communist leader of Cuba. Significance: Led Cuban Revolution; Cold War hotspot. |
| Sputnik I | What: First satellite (USSR, 1957). Significance: Started Space Race. |
| Miracle on Ice | What: U.S. hockey win over USSR (1980 Olympics). Significance: Symbolic Cold War victory. |
| McCarthyism/Red Scare | What: Anti-communist hysteria (1950s). Significance: Violations of civil liberties. |
| Cuban Missile Crisis | What: 1962 nuclear standoff U.S.–USSR. Significance: Closest to nuclear war. |
| Détente | What: Easing Cold War tensions (1970s). Significance: Led to arms agreements. |
| Ronald Reagan | Who: U.S. president (1981–1989). Significance: Tough stance ended Cold War momentum. |
| Mikhail Gorbachev | Who: Last Soviet leader. Significance: Reforms led to USSR collapse. |
| Persian Gulf War | When: 1990–1991. What: U.S.-led coalition vs Iraq after Kuwait invasion. Significance: Showed U.S. military dominance. |
| Yasser Arafat | Who: Leader of PLO. Significance: Major figure in Arab-Israeli conflict. |
| Arab-Israeli Conflict | What: Ongoing conflict over land in Middle East. Significance: Major global tension. |
| PLO | What: Palestinian Liberation Organization. Significance: Represented Palestinian nationalism. |
| War on Terror | What: U.S.-led response to 9/11. Significance: Wars in Afghanistan & Iraq. |
| Cultural Revolution (China) | What: Mao’s campaign to enforce communism (1966–76). Significance: Chaos, deaths, destroyed culture |
| Tiananmen Square Massacre | When: 1989 (China). What: Gov’t crushed pro-democracy protests. Significance: Symbol of repression. |
| Iranian Revolution | When: 1979. What: Overthrew Shah → Islamic Republic. Significance: Major Middle East shift. |
| Taliban | Who: Islamist group in Afghanistan. Significance: Governed 1996–2001; sheltered Al-Qaeda. |
| Al-Qaeda | What: Terrorist group led by Osama bin Laden. Significance: Responsible for 9/11. |
| Mujahedeen | What: Afghan fighters against USSR (1980s). Significance: Some groups later became Taliban/Al-Qaeda. |
| Arab Spring | When: 2010–2012. What: Pro-democracy uprisings in Arab world. Significance: Toppled dictators; unrest continues. |
| ISIS | What: Extremist terrorist organization. Significance: Created a “caliphate” in Iraq/Syria. |
| Paris Agreement (2016 | What: Global climate agreement. Significance: Nations pledged to reduce emissions. |
| The Communist Manifesto | 1848 text by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels calling for worker revolution and criticizing capitalism. |
| Zionism | Jewish nationalist movement seeking a homeland in Palestine; led to creation of Israel. |
| Nationalism | Strong loyalty to one’s nation; major force behind revolutions, imperialism, and modern states. |
| Battle of Obdurman/Omdurman | 1898 British defeat of Sudanese forces using modern weapons; showed power of industrial militaries. |
| King Menelik | Ethiopian emperor who modernized his army and defeated Italian invaders at the Battle of Adwa (1896). |
| Taiping Rebellion | Massive civil war in China (1850–64) led by Hong Xiuquan; weakened Qing dynasty and killed millions. |
| Open Door Notes of 1900 | U.S. policy insisting on equal trade access in China; protected American commercial interests. |
| El Nino/ENSO | Periodic warming of Pacific Ocean altering global climate; has caused famines and environmental stress. |
| Charles Darwin | Scientist who developed theory of evolution; his ideas influenced science and (misused) imperial ideologies. |