Journal 7

Kyle  Anderson

Journal 7

         This week we read chapters 21, 22, 23 and 24 of our text book. It’s amazing that I actually got though this massive book, I don’t know how I did it. Well anyways, I shall start with chapter 21 which talked about the collapse and Recovery of Europe which set the stage for the modern world.  This chapter covered a lot of information but starts with the first world war and how it was set off by the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a man who was a Serbian nationalist. This assassination caused many countries who had alliance to enter the conflict such as Austria which was apart of the Triple Alliance and was now against Serbia. Strayer described this war as a “total war” causing many  countries to involve the entire population in some way.  Strayer also said that it was extremely gruesome and he talks about how it “resulted in enormous casualties while gaining or losing only a few yards of muddy, blood-soaked ground” (page 630). It also very interesting to find out that if it was not for this war the USA may not have become the Super power that we see them as today. Stayer says on page 632 of chapter 21 that “the fist World War brought the United States to center stage as a global power”. The end of World War I, marked by the creation and signing of The Treaty of Versailles, caused many changes to take place around the world and at home. Some of these changes were good, However some were bad. For example shortly after World War I the Great Depression developed and as a result the stock market crashed. While things were tough at home, Adolfo Hitler and the Nazi Party week to capitalize on the economic collapse in Europe and taking revenge for what happened with the Treaty of Versailles. This cause the rise to power for the Nazi Party and in 1939 Germany invaded Poland creating the start of WWII. This war, which I am sure most of know a a lot about, lasted until 1945 when the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. This was another mass war that had big casualties just like WW I. Chapter 22 which discussed the Rise and Fall of world Communism and talked about  the end of Word War II fostered the divide between Communist nations and non-communist. Chapter 23 and 24 discussed the independence and development in the Global South in 1914, as, well as accelerating global Interaction  since 1945. In the final chapter, Globalization and the Worlds environment were also a major theme that the author talked about. The author talked about three key factors that have intensified the impact of humans on the earth. Fist, the population of the world quadrupled in the twentieth century, second, large mount of fossil fuels use by people and last, large economic growth.