Mikhail Gorbachev and the end of Communism

Mikhail Gorbachev opened up the Soviet Union and paved the way for the end of Communism by opening the soviet citizens to help out with their society. He started a thin called glasnost which means opening to help the citizens to open themselves and to be more comfortable with their leader and not be scared. Perestroika means economic restructuring. This helped change the government and it killed the communism in Russia.

Collapse of Communism

Why did people tear down the Berlin Wall? What happened to the Soviet Union and how did the collapse of the Soviet Union change the world?

Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and the USSR mainly because people had the rights to do whatever they wanted so they chose not to be communist anymore. People teared down the Berlin Wall because they were seperated from family and friends.

Creation of Israel

Zionism is the rise of the establishment of a Jewish state. The Arabs didn't like the fact that the Jews were getting land, their land from the Americans. So the Arabs attacked Israel from all sides. This was the war of 1948. The Palestinians and the Israels don't get along is because they are from two different religions. The Palestinians don't like the fact that the Jews took land from them. They don't like that they have to share the land. The Jews just want to have a land of thier own and they want to get along with the Muslims but the two have a long history of hating each other.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

Apartheid is a racial discrimination and segregation towards the non-white about politics that was formerly done in South Africa.
Nelson Mandela is a hero to the South Africans. He was fighting for freedom with the Africans. He wanted them to have a good life and them to be free. Mandela could've chose to get revenge on the whites for putting him in jail for 25 years but he didn't and that made him a good person. If he did then it would have made Africa a wild place. There would be a lot of chaos and it wouldn't have been good. Nelson Mandela was voted as presedent of South Africa in less than 5 years after he got out of jail. He got rid of the white government and made South Africa a democratic country. That is why people love him.

African Independence

Africa changed because it was the time period where people were rebelling against the ones who are controlling them and they want to be free. Africa didn't want the whites to be in charge of them anymore. The Africans rose against those who try to keep them down. They wanted to be a free country like the rest of the world. Some of the leaders who helped them rebel against the whites were: Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Mobutu Sese Seko, Ahmed Ben Bella, and more. Kwame led Ghana, Jomo led Kenya, Mobutu led the Congo, and Bella led Algeria.

9th Grade Review- Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution is a time when the nomads turned to farming and agriculture for food. They went from hunting and gathering to keeping animals and growing crops. They kept the animals and fed them till they got big and juicy to eat. They kept them there by building an fence around them. They farmed along the river because there was water and the soil was fertile enough to make the crops bigger. This made the nomads more civilized than they were and this was good. As time passed more revoulution came and we became more civilized. Now we live in a society where we are surrounded by buildings and technology.

The European Union

Read the link below. Briefly explain the European Union and respond to the following: Why is it a good thing? What will it prevent?

Film Lesson: "The Right Stuff"

The US and the USSR were competing in the film "The Right Stuff" by seeing who was the first one to go to outer space and to see who was the first man to the moon. The USSR were the first to send a satellite in outer space. The US was the first to go around the world more than once. Than the US was the first to put a man on the moon and that was the end of the competition. First the USSR was winning the competition but than the US was the winner. The scenes that help me remember this Cold War event is when the man runs through the hall way and dashes into the room where everyone is sitting and says old news that everybody already knew about. That was funny because the old man says that they already knew and that he should just sit down.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Explain the Cuban Missile Crisis. What happened and why is it considered “the hottest moment in the Cold War”? What did Kennedy do to combat the crisis?

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest that the world ever came to a nuclear war. The USSR sent nuclear bombs to Cuba and said that if the US attacked Cuba than the USSR had their backs. The USSR had their missiles facing towards the US if the US decides to launch their nuclear bombs. It was considered "the hottest moment of the Cold War" because it was so deadly and breath taking that it was considered that. Kennedy

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

NATO is an organization that includes countries in Europe and North America. NATO was formed so that if one of the countries were attacked by some country, they (NATO) would come and aide them. It was like a defense mechanism.

The Warsaw Pact is an organization that consisted mostly of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries. The pact was made by the Soviet Union (Russia) because they were scared that the US would attack them with Nuclear weapons and they were scared that the US made NATO so they wanted the US to get scared of them so they did that.

Film Lesson: "Night and Fog"

I didn't like it. It was cruel just taking bodies and throwing them like their nothing. It is a powerful film because it shows what really happened during the Holocaust. This had more powerful scenes than in "Schindler's List." The documentary illustrates the Holocaust more effectively. It showed how the Jews were treated and what the Nazi's did to them.

The Jews were treated like animals and it was horrible. The Nazi's used the Jews hair, body fat and other stuff that the Nazi's needed. I really didn't like it that the film showed naked bodies but I guess it shows how life was for the Jews.

The documentary was more powerful because it was filmed years after the Holocaust. It really showed how the Jews were treated. It showed the real Jews suffering the way they did when it happened. It showed real heads and real dead bodies.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

"Schindler's List" illustrated the Holocaust by showing how the Jews were treated and the way the Nazi's worked. Spielberg made the scenes very precise and it was a really good movie in showing how cruel the Holocaust was. Auschwitz was the most powerful scene in the movie for me. It really grabbed my attention and made me focus more into how I would feel if I were in that situation. I would do what most of them did and I thought it was better if you died earlier than to suffer the way they did. The image that would stay with me is the scene where the Jews were dumping the bodies of the dead Jews and the Germans were burning the bodies. It was really horrible and I thought that it was immorally wrong to have done that. It was terrible and to think that it really happened in this world. I always thought if the killer would ever feel guilty in killing someone or in this case thousnds of people. Many of them innocent and I hate it that they do this. Why does there have to be wars in this world? Can't there ever be peace? Well....that is what I believe.

US Atomic Bombing Of Japan In 1945

It is the number one news story but I don't agree that it was a good thing. It was the first time a nuclear bomb was ever used and it did make the war stop. I believe that it is the number 1 news story because it was a really big story to use the atomic bomb in a situation like that. I can't think of a big story at this time. I don't know if there is anything better than that but I would change the second one because if it's about the US shouldn't it be a good thing? I don't like that they put the atomic bombing first but I guess it is one of the most big thing that could happen but I know something bigger than that will come along and it will the most biggest news ever.

Germany At War- WWII

Propaganda is information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc. The poster shows Stalin getting punched by a fist. It also shows that there is a cross saying W.Churchill in England. It says that 'Europe's Victory is Your Prosperity.' It illustrates Germany and other nations at war by showing a fist hitting Stalin's face and that England has a cross with it's Chancellors name on it. There is a lot of things going on in the poster. There are factories, a bed, and I think that is a broken building. I think that the factories stand for the death camps or the concentration camp. The bed stands for lonliness or the killing of one kind. The broken building stands for destruction. The fist hitting Stalin's face is that the Germans are having a fight with Russia.

The Treaty of Versailles (end WW1)

Explain how the Treaty of Versailles affected Germany at the end of WW I. Some historians say that the Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of Fascism and Adolph Hitler. Why do you think historians say this?

The treaty really wounded Germany. It said that Germany's outside lands were token away and that Germany was responsible for the war. It made Germany really weak in it's mentality. People went in to a big depression. That is when they needed a powerful leader. That is when Adolph Hitler came into the picture. He brought in the Nazi party and Fascism into Germany. The people were very depressed so when he came along, all they could was cheer him on.
Historians say that the Treaty of Versailles led to Fascism and Adolph Hitler. They say this because if the treaty didn't only blame Germany for the war, the people wouldn't have excepted Hitler as their leader. They wouldn't have gone into a great depression. The people would at least have some self dignity. The people excepted anything to get them back on the track of their lives. The people had to do anything just to be back.

The Treaty of Versailles

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) And the Modernization of Turkey

Explain how Mustafa Kemal (aka: Ataturk) modernized Turkey and made it more secular. What changes did he make? Also define secular.
Mustafa Kemal modernized Turkey by telling the Turks to wear clothing that the westeners wear and that they should be less religious than they were. He thought that it would help them out. He told the men that they shouldn't wear the fez but they should wear a brimmed hat. He also wanted them to wear boots or shoes, trousers, shirt and tie, jacket and waistcoat. He wanted the Turks to be more civilized than they already were. He thought that this would make them better people. Secular means things that are pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal.

Picture of Fez

Film Lesson: Gandhi

Explain how Gandhi helped his nation of India gain Independence from Great Britain. What were some of the things that he did? Explain his philosophy of non-violence; and explain how he used it effectively.

Gandhi used the method of civil disobedience to take the British out of power. He helped his nation gain independence from Great Britain by making a stand against them and being the first one to get independence without violence. His method was really good and it was effective. Everyone followed his words but sometimes they would get out of control but Gandhi would do something to make the Indians feel bad about what they did. Gandhi had everyone put violence in the trash can. He said that "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
Gandhi was very intent in what he was saying and he would even fast to make people follow his footsteps. He was a great leader and he did all of this to make the mother land more peaceful and make India a country of its own. Some of the things Gandhi did was very moving to peoples hearts. He had the Indians make their own cloths so that they wouldn't have to buy the British clothing. It was a loss of money to the British. The British had the salt taxed very high and the Indians couldn't afford it so Gandhi had to do something about this. He did the Salt March. This is when Gandhi would walk all the way to the river to get some salt. They made it edible and used it. This made the British really mad so they guarded the gates so the Indians won't go in. The Indians were really persistent and kept on going to the gate and getting beat up. The army stopped beating them and this is when India got their independence but the British made it into two countries: India(Hindus) and Pakistan(Muslims).

Picture of Gandhi

Test

Testing if it works!!!!