Elizabeth's Global Blog

Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism.

2010-05-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

Mikhail Gorbachev was able to clear up a path to the end of communism. He was praised for his youth and his strong political experience. After a while, he was voted as the the political secretary. At age 54 he became voted as one of the youngest Soviet leaders. He lived during the time of Stalins harsh rule. When he became voted as the newest leader, he had no intention of continuing Stalin's "useless" way of rule. He decided to pursue new ideas. He wanted to encourage the citizens to give him new ways of improving their society. Because of this, many new changes were made. Churches were able to open. The government was very unfair to its people.

Glasnost was a policy created by Mikhail. It was another word for "openness". It was a way to get the citizens of the Soviet Union to tell them any ways they could try to improve their society. This is what brought a lot of change to society. Some good, some of it bad.

Peristrokia was the idea of economic reconstructing. Mikhail wanted to find new ways to revive the Soviet economy. They were also able to open up their own small business .

The Collapse of Communism

2010-05-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Communism was a major political party and belief that swept throughout Europe. Other countries, such as the United States, were worried that communism would spread and take over the world.

Communism in Eastern Europe collapsed because there was no support, economical issues and political downfall. The USSR collapsed because Stalin put all his money into defensive arms. The Soviet Union collapsed because they had no money, and they had a lot of competition, and socialism failed for them. It did change the world in some ways. Almost every country that was under communism turned into capitalism instead. Communism originally tried to help solve the corruption of the system, but it was just a waste of time and it ended badly.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

2010-04-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

Apartheid was a racial-segregation policy of the government in South Africa. Under the apartheid system, nonwhites (black), colored (mixed), or Indian-did not share full rights of citizenship with the white minority. The establishment of Black National States was another manifestation of apartheid. It was coined by the South Africa Bureau for Racial Affairs, or SABRA for short. Under the system, colored people did not share the same rights and privileges as the whites. One privilege that was taken away was, for example, a black cannot marry a white, or vice versa. Plus, any blacks over the age of 16 had to carry identity documents with them. Nelson Mandela fought for the independence of South Africa. Nelson Mandela was put into jail because of this. (Mandela was in the ANC's fight to promote non-violence methods to gain freedom and justice). He also tried to stop the Apartheid. He was considered a hero for these things. Mandela was in jail for 26 years, but later on, he got out and wrote a book called "Long Walk To Freedom". The book was about his struggle to overcome segregation and gain freedom. He still continued to fight for his country and his people admired him for that.

African Independence

2010-04-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Africa has changed in only 20 years. In 1955, Africa was practically overthrown by the European nations. Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia, as well as South Africa were the only countries not taken over by the European nations. By the time of 1975, almost all the countries that were once ruled over, were free from European rule. Before all these countries gained their independence, Europeans marched in to take all the natural resources that Africa was naturally known for. Many of the Africans were angry that their own homeland was taken over. A few of the Africans didn't really mind the Europeans taking over because the Europeans gave them many new things and resources. They built hospitals, schools and other helpful places for the Africans. Eventually, the Africans grew tired and worked really hard to gain their independence. They succeeded very well too.

One of the most memorable leaders was Jomo Kenyatta. When the Europeans invaded his homeland, he realized how unfair they were treating his people. He also realized that they were trying to change their government into that of communism. He went to Europe to try to persuade them to give his people their well deserved freedom, and later on, became president of Kenya.

Film Lesson:"The Right Stuff"

2010-04-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

This film about a space race to space and the moon. The United States and Russia were the two countries competing to get into space first.The race was to get the first man into space. We succeeded with sending a monkey into space but Russia got the first man into space. America lost this first race. The second race was to get someone on the moon. America got the first man on the moon! America can claim victory! The scene that will help me remember this Cold War event is were when both the United States and Russia tried to send different rockets into space. America failed at sending those rockets up to space. Once Russia sent up their rocket, America tried so hard to send rockets up to space until they finally succeeded. Eventually they caught up and won the space race.

NATO and The Warsaw Pact.

2010-04-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

NATO was an organization created by Europe and North America. (NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty). The major reason for the formation of NATO was that the countries involved would get a mutual defense alliance so that if one of them were attacked all of the other countries in NATO would come to help, as part of the alliance. The Warsaw Pact was a treaty between all of the countries that bordered the Soviet Union. The NATO saw the Warsaw Pact as a threat, although it was supposed to be another defensive group. The Warsaw pact deals mostly with satellites and it controls the alliances better by keeping the military organize in other countries of the alliance. The Soviet Union gain power quickly and became very powerful, they were also able to keep the socialist government secure.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

2010-03-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

"Schindler's List", I must admit, has to be one of the most powerful movies I have ever watched. This movie shows the details of the Holocaust. Seeing the Nazis round up all Jews and taking them away to concentration camps. All of those Jews didn't have any idea if that same night or day that they were rounded up, would be the last time of their living. Jews who were not needed or disobeyed the Nazi orders were shot right on the spot they were. Others, such as little kids, old people and the disabled that couldn't work were sent to be either shot, gased, and burned. That is totally unfair. As for me, the powerful scene that got to me, I must say, was the part were the families were separeted from eachother and when the Nazis filled the vans of the useless people and the little kids, and were to be taken away. It really hurt me because those kids didn't have a future. They didn't know that that was the last time they will see their parents and older siblings. I can't image me being separeted from my family. They mean the world to me. Mostly all the images of pain and killing will stay with me. Why? because once I saw those poor, innocent people being killed and living hell, it's hard to forget those images and plus, I can imagine what it will be like if I lived it. The movie most powerful to me, I must say, was this movie. "Schindler's List". This film showed more details and actually got to me. It's not easy watching a movie of the history when you know you should be lucky that you are living in the present, or the future for them. They never knew that the day the were in the concentration camps, could've been the last day living.

Film Lesson: "Night and Fog"

2010-03-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

"Night and Fog" is a documentary. I think My reaction to this documentary was shocking and upsetting because it was shocking and upsetting to see what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust and what the Jews had to live through. Probably felt like living hell in the Concentration Camps. The documentary also showed some pictures of how the Nazis killed the Jews. The documentary was not really as powerful as I though it will be. The movie "Schindler's list" was the most powerful because it actually shows more details as of what happened in the holocaust. The documentary mostly showed pictures and the people telling the story. As for the movie, it actually showed and shared the pain the poor, innocent Jews had to go through. It looked like livving hell. It also showed the way the Nazis treated them physically, the concentration camps, the trains...everything. In my opinion, the Hollywood film illustrates the Holocaust more effectively because as I said, it showed more details and I, myself, felt the pain and the suffering. This film got to me in so many ways.

The Treaty of Versailles (ended WWI)

2010-02-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

WW1 ended as a resut of the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles affected Germany a lot. The rules were very harsh on Germany. Germany had to pay all damaged of WW1. Because of this, it made Germany have a bad economy. Another rule was that Germany had to reduce its military power by a lot. They couldn't have more than 100,000 men in the military. They also banned the use of heavy artilery, tanks, or any other type of machines used for war. This made Germany embarrased and insecre about their military. While Germany was under the Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression came to the nation of Germany. America was helping Germany by paying for some the reparations, but America's economy was also in a not so good shape. So this cause Germany's economy suffering. The Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany for everything that happened and was damaged in the war. The people of Germany wanted a leader who would bring Germany back into that shape. The leader was Adolf Hitler. Hitlers words impressed the people of Germany. He explained why Germany had lost the word, and becuase of this Hitler was able to gain support and power. He blamed the Jews that Germany lost the war. Eventaully, Hitler became the dictator of Germany and started World War II.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey.

2010-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Mustafa Kemal made secular changes to the country of Turkey. (Secular means having objects that are not religious in any kind). Mustafa Kemal was a very famous young man who led his people to victory and independence. Mustafa found the Turkish Republic and became the first president. Before he was president, he was a military hero. Then he decided to lead his nation to liberation and independence. Mustafa was a powerful leader, He put an end to the power of the Ottoman empire, and he was president of his nation for 15 years.

Mustafa's main goal for Turkey, was to modernize his nation. He didn't want his people to follow the same old ways of the other surrounding lands. One of the most important fairly thing he did was letting people practice their religion. For example, he let Christians and Jews practice their faith as much as they wanted. Mustafa treated his people equally. Even peasants were considered important. Even the style and fashion became different. He made the Turkish men wear hats instead of the fez. Men also wore clothes like the Westerners (suit, tie, pants, and shoes). He also made women stop wearing a veil that covers the face. When it came to voting, he let and gave women the rights to vote. As you can see, during the year of 1923, Turkey got its independence and it became a modernize nation.

Film Lesson " Gandhi "

2010-02-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

Gandhi was a most important person for the Indian nation. It was Gandhi who helped India get its own independence from Great Britain.
Some of the ways he used was to oppose the British rule. Gandhi was fighting with non-violence. Gandhi protested in a peaceful way, and with his followers right behind him. Another thing Gandhi did was make his own supplies. Gandhi said to his Indian people that all of them would make their own clothes for now on. Gandhi and his follwers would even walk a lot of miles to collect their own salt by the ocean. Gandhi was a peacemaker. He decided not to "fight back" at the British with violence. All of his protest and fighting were in peace. If any of his followers ended up using violence, Gandhi would fast. His followers were afraid that he would die by fasting, so they stopped the violence on their own. Non-violence worked very well against the British. If the British attacked them while they did their peaceful protests, it would make the British look bad and the Indians look good.

The Russian Revolution.

2010-01-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

The Russian Revolution had many reasons why it happened. Communism was first introduced by Karl Marx during the Industrial Revolution. Communism is where the people work and everyone gets the same amount of pay no matter what profession.
During this time, Russia would be ruled by kings known as Czars. Changes were needed to be made, just like they were during the industrial revolution.
Russia had more physical conditions such as diseases spreading, starvation, and were controlled by a Czar who kept sending troops into war only to get injured and die. Russia didn't have a stable financial system so they were not able to supply the soldiers with enough or needed weapons for war.
Soon the revolts the people had made caused the Czar to leave his throne following that changes were finally made to Russia's political system. A group called the Bolsheviks, which was led by Vladimir Lenin, took over Russia. He led his small group into a revolution against the temporary government made after the Czar had left his throne.
After the Bolsheviks won and defeated the temporary government and gave what they promised in that quote. Russia soon left World War One because of its own internal reasons. Lenin ruled over Russia after taking over the Government and forming his own kind with ideas from Karl Marx's communism. Russia became the first ever communist country.

Causes of WWI.

2010-01-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

World War I was the extremely deadly war combined with the others. Many innocent people were killed for no reason.
One of the causes was nationalism. Nationalism was the love, pride and respect for one's country. Most people build the hatred among other countries thinking theirs is the best. Another cause was militarism. It was how each country was able to keep their own military. This means them keeping their military ready for war at all times. Each military had their own plan to dominate the others.
Another cause was the assassination of the King Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. He was killed or assassinated by someone from Serbia. Austria-Hungary realized they had a right to blame Serbia for the killing of their leader. Because of this they decided to declare war. This event leaded to the start of World War I. One of the most deadliest wars in the world.

Opium Wars - Imperialism in China

2009-12-18T09:37:00.000-08:00

During the year 1839 to 1842, China fought against the British. The war was known as the Opium War. It started out when the British seem to love the tea from China and wanted to trade with them. China didn't like the idea of trading. So however, the British decided to sell Opium to China, which was a drug grown in India. Then China banned the import of Opium because the effects of the drug was left to China to pay for it.
On the other hand, China said that anyone using, selling or buying Opium would be put to death. Simple as that, but the British's technology and army was too strong for China. Therefore Britain won the war. Also China was made to legalize the imports of Opium. China still had their money problem, so it was difficult to supply their soldiers with enough weapons.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

2009-12-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

For the last 2 days, we have watched a video called "Mountains of the Moon" (picture on the left). Some hardships for the Europeans in Africa were traveling because in Africa you travel by walking. Another was that leaders in Africa own part of land and they weren't allowed in their territory without presents and gifts. Another was the spoken language. The Europeans spoke English while the Africans spoke a different, native language.

Imperialism Project

2009-12-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

The class has worked on a project about imperialism. Imperialism means when one country takes over another country to gain control over their government. During this project, we had to color certain parts of different countries controlled by bigger nations. We also had to draw some sort of trade route to show where some of the products came and went. The main point of the project was to show where people from Europe went to so they can take over. Many of the European countries went to Africa and took almost every part of Africa.

I learned a lot from the project. I was able to learn what countries took over what parts of the world. I remember all the different types of products that they shipped. They had tea that came from China, all the way back to Europe. Slaves were also taken from Africa and brought over to the New World so they could work on plantations.

Karl Marx and Communism.

2009-11-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx was a German communist. Communism is when everyone has the same pay and social class. No matter what occupation you have, you will still make the same amount as everyone else.

It seems unfair for those people that work harder and more hours than most people but in the communism world, wealth is equally shared among everybody. But then yet, its fair because this way the high classed people have the same amount as the low classed people.

Karl Marx and The Industrial Revolution

2009-11-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx was a Communist German. He was born a Jew but his family converted to Christianity in order for him to get a job. As Karl grew older, he disagreed on the Industrial Revolution. He would think that the conditions in the Europe factories were too rough and dangerous. He strongly believed that people were born in a world were their ideas didnt count. The factories should be owned by the workers themselves and not by landlords.

Marx gathered a group of people to unite and began a movemetn. It was known as Communism. Capitalism should be taken down by this revolution, the money workers made would be equal among themselves.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy.

2009-10-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

What is Nationalism? Nationalism is the belief the one's greatest loyalty should not be to a king or an empire but to a nation of people who share a common culture and history. Basically National is loyalty towards one's own country or nation. Some of the ways people show they are proud of being were they from is hanging or wearing their flag. One way Americans show their loyalty is the song "Star Spangled Banner".
Its a good thing Nationalism came to Italy because Italy wouldnt be what it is now. Around 1815, a grand part of Italy was controlled by Austria. But from 1815-1848, Italy got tired of being ruled by another country. Luckly, they had two leaders that were able to help them and become their own nation.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions.

2009-10-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Simon Bolivar, also known as the Liberator, is known for liberating the north position of South America. The countries that he liberated were Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, which was named after him. When Bolivar was 15, his uncle, Carlos Palacios, sent him to Spain to continue his education. He married Maria Teresa Rodriguez in 1802. In 1803, one year after their marriage, Maria Teresa died of yellow fever. Bolivar was affected deeply and vowed never to marry again. After his wife's death, he visited Europe. While in Europe he witnessed the proclamation of Napoleon as King of France. Napoleon's brother, Joseph, was King of Spain. He thought to himself "Why should I be loyal to a King that's not even Spanish?"
Bolivar was not going to let his country, Venezuela, get ruled by a non-Spanish king. He vowed that he will not rest untill the northern countires of South America was liberated.

John Locke and The Enlightenment.

2009-10-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

"All men are created equal." This quote states that everybody is not to be treated differently than others. Everyone should be treated the same. These are the three things that every individual should have and together they form the whole group.
According to the declaration of independence, the government comes from us, the people. We decide who should lead, decide if the choices the government are good ones. One important line from the declaration of independence is that if "Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." It bascially means if the leader is in charge of the power, becomes too power-hungry, then we the people have the right to remove whoever from the position and make changes to the system. We have the right to form a type of government to please to our own "safety and happiness".
You can immediately see the changes in the structure and system in government than from the older ones like monarchy. These ideas were developed and formed by John Locke who gathered ideas for the perfect government from enlightenment thinkers. Those ideas soon formed into what we have now and that is known as a democracy where the people have power in what goes on in their own country or their own nation

Copernicus and the trial of Galileo.

2009-09-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

Helios is the Greek word for sun. Half of the word Geocentric, Geo is Greek for earth. Geocentric means that the earth is the center of the universe and everything revolves around it. During the scientific revolution advances in scientific and mathematic ideas were taken to different levels. One of the theories was that everything doesnt revolve around the earth. Galileo Galilei was a famous astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, and a physicist. He played a very important role in the scientific revolution. Unlike the geocentric theory Galileo was able to support heliocentrism with acknowledgeable facts and evidence from his studies. For his actions, Galileo was taken to trial, in 1633, by the Catholic Church because they on the other hand didnt follow the same beliefs as Galileo. They followed the teachings taught within the church. After the trial Galileo was forced to renounce his beliefs in heliocentrism and his book was banned by the Catholic Church. His original verdict was to be jailed for life in prison but was changed the day after to house arrest which led up to his death.

Scientific Revolution : The Scientific Method .

2009-09-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Ancient Greeks and the Romans started to get their scientific ideas before the 1500's. Ancient Greeks and Romans and the bible gave the scholars the idea of science. Some used the bible to find out answers to their scientific questions. Others used the scientific method to explain how the Earth wasn't the center of the universe. Scientific method means to study and try some experiments so that they can prove that their theory was right. Isaac Newton was one of the scientists that used the scientific method to approve and disprove other scientists theories.

Evolution Vs. Creation.

2009-09-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Creation is a religion belief. Not many people think this is true because some people believe or think that God doesn't exist or they can't see him ad stuff. God made the universe and all the planets and God only wanted one world with life so he picked Earth.

Evolution. Charles Darwin was the man who started this theory. He believes we are related to animals because we all have a common ancestor. Example; Darwin came out with the theory that birds are related its just that they look different because of their habitat. The wrong thing about evolution is that we couldn't have come from primates because now and days we don't see the primates from our time evolve into humans. Evolution is entirely based on science and not religion unlike creation.

Since I am a christian pentecostal, I personally believe in the creation by God . I go to church every Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I believe in God, the Creator of the universe and disagree of the theory of evolution. I believe we were made by God and we are here for a purpose.