Blog

How did an assassination lead to WW1? On June 28 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie in Sarajev, were assassinated. This led to WW1, but why? Because of the assassination Austria-Hungary sent a list of demands to Siberia, who led the assassination. Austria-Hungary said if these demands were not completed, they would start war. The list of demands were done, but war started anyway. This caused all of the allies to join and start WW1.

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States of America and president during WW1. He is famous for his fourteen-points. According to Wikipedia, “The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms to the United States Congress by President Woodrow Wilson.” According to the National WWI Museum, the Fourteen Points are: “1. Open diplomacy without secret treaties 2. Economic free trade on the seas during war and peace 3. Equal trade conditions 4. Decrease armaments among all nations 5. Adjust colonial claims 6. Evacuation of all Central Powers from Russia and allow it to define its own independence 7. Belgium to be evacuated and restored 8. Return of Alsace-Lorraine region and all French territories 9. Readjust Italian borders 10. Austria-Hungary to be provided an opportunity for self-determination 11. Redraw the borders of the Balkan region creating Roumania, Serbia and Montenegro 12. Creation of a Turkish state with guaranteed free trade in the Dardanelles 13. Creation of an independent Polish state 14. Creation of the League of Nations”.

According to Tate, “Modernism refers to a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life.” Modernism has 5 key characteristics. They are individualism, experimentation, absurdity, symbolism, and formalism. In short modernism means what you are currently doing. 

The beginning of World War 1. The assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the key event that led to World War 1. Because of this Austria declared war in Siberia. Because of this Germany (Austria’s ally) declared war on Russia (Siberia’s ally). Then Germany declared war on France (Germany’s ally). The United States declared that they would remain neutral, but that didn’t work out. Everyone thought that this would be a short war, but they were wrong. The war lasted from August 1914 to November 1918.

According to Wikipedia “The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or “home rule”) for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of World War I.” Gladstone worked very hard to establish this, but in the end it failed and was rejected. 

The Kulturkampf. According to Wikipedia, the Kulturkampf was a “fierce conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck.” It began in 1871 and ended in 1887. The kulturkampf only took place in Prussia.

According to unacademy.com, “The four major reasons behind the unification of Germany are the role of Bismark, the strength of the Prussian economy, the decline of Austria, and the military power of Prussia. The economic strength of Prussia was one of the most important reasons behind the unification of Germany.” The four key steps in the German unification, according to Commack School District are “Step 1- War with Denmark. Step 2- Austrian-Prussian War. 7 Weeks War- 1866. Step 3 – Creation of the Northern German Confederation – 1867. Step 4 – Franco-Prussian War. (1870- 1871) By September of 1870, the Prussian army surrounded the main French force and captured approximately 83,000 prisoners (including Napoleon III)”

According to Wikipedia, “The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid scientific discovery, standardization, mass production and industrialization from the late 19th century into the early 20th century.” One major innovation was the telegraph. This helped people send messages to each other quickly. One more major innovation was the Transcontinental Railroad. This railroad went from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. 

Does Herbert Spencer deserve to be called a “Social Darwinist”? According to Wikipedia, “Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist. Spencer originated the expression “survival of the fittest”, which he coined in Principles of Biology after reading Charles Darwin’s 1859 book On the Origin of Species.” According to Wikipedia, “Social Darwinism is the study and implementation of various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in Western Europe and North America in the 1870s.” Yes he does deserve to be called a Social Darwinist. The description fits him perfectly. 

Weak points in Karl Marx’s views. According to Wikipedia, Karl Marx was a “German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto and the four-volume Das Kapital.” According to ReviseSociology, “Capitalism today is less exploitative. Control of the economic base does not mean control of the superstructure. False consciousness is a problem concept in postmodern society. There is less alienation today.” 

Were the Revolutions of 1848 successful or unsuccessful? These Revolutions were many republican revolts against European monarchies. All of these revolts failed and were followed by liberals (widespread disillusionment among people).

France during the Revolution of 1830.According to Wiley, the French revolution was “a popular rebellion that succeeded in overthrowing the rule of King Charles X and his ministers. The revolt was prompted by the government’s rejection of legitimate election results and its suspension of the constitution.” The purpose of the Revolution was to overthrow the king of France, and it succeeded. According to Wikipedia, “The 1830 Revolution marked a shift from one constitutional monarchy, under the restored House of Bourbon, to another, the July Monarchy; the transition of power from the House of Bourbon to its cadet branch, the House of Orléans; and the replacement of the principle of hereditary right by that of popular sovereignty.“

Romanticism. According to Wikipedia, “Romanticism was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century; in most areas it was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850.” Some of the characteristics of Romanticism are the critique of progress, an awe of nature, emotion and passion, and the search for subjective truth, but these are only a few of them.

Utopian socialists. According to Study.com, “Utopian socialism is socialism that is achieved through the moral persuasion of capitalists to surrender the means of production peacefully to the people. This belief holds that, through conscience and morals, people could work together in society and live together communally without the need for money or class.” 

Neoclassicism. According to Wikipedia, “Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity.” Some characteristics of Neoclassism are sober colors, strong horizontal and verticals that render that subject matter timeless, clarity of form, and classical subject matter.

Is there a difference between state-subsidized churches and state-subsidized schools? Well what does state-subsidized mean? State subsidized means The government gives the place money, but now that place is controlled by the government. 

What is a state-subsidized Church? This is when the state give money to a church to help it. Because they do this the basically own the church. They have the authority to shut down the church, tell them when they can meet, tell them what to teach, to give them their money back, how to teach it, etc. I go to a church that is not state subsidized and it is doing better than some state-subsidized churches. 

A state-subsidized school is basically the same thing. The state gives the school money and now they own the school. They tell them what to teach, how to teach it, and they can shut dawn the school if it teaches anything else. Almost all public schools are state-subsidized. That is that good thing about private schools. It is illegal for them to be state-subsidized. Private schools can teach whatever they want and not be shut down by the government. Private schools are a lot smaller then public schools though. 

Is there a difference between state-subsidized churches and state-subsidized schools? No. 

According to Wikipedia “Robinson Crusoe is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary, confessional, and didactic forms, the book follows the title character after he is cast away and spends 28 years on a remote tropical desert island near the coasts of Venezuela and Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued.” According to Wikipedia, “Daniel Defoe was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translations.” Robinson Crusoe is still widely read today. 

Why did Robinson Crusoe take the coins off the ship? Here is a recap of what I have read so far. First Robinson Crusoe leaves his home on a boat in search of an adventure, but he comes upon a storm. After this storm is over the boat is still floating. A couple days later another storm hits the ship and the ship sinks. Robinson Crusoe and a few other men escape in lifeboats. Later in the book Robinson Crusoe is enslaved in England for a few years. When he gets a chance to escape on a small boat with another slave, he does. After a couple weeks they come across a Portuguese ship. The man in charge buys Robinson Crusoe’s boat and takes them to South America. Robinson Crusoe builds a plantation there and becomes wealthy, but he wants more money. His friend asks him to take a ship to Africa and get some slaves. He tells Robinson Crusoe he’ll get paid so Robinson Crusoe accepts. On the way there a storm hits and Robinson Crusoe with the other men jump off the ship thinking that it will sink. Robinson Crusoe swims to an Island and when the storm is over the ship is still there, but all of the other people drowned. Robinson Crusoe swims to the ship and builds a raft so he can bring helpful things back to the island to help him survive. For the next few days he brings things from the ship to the island. This includes a dog and some cats. One night there is a storm and the ship sinks. A few months later the ship reappears and is much closer to shore. Robinson Crusoe goes to take more things off the ship and he finds a bag of coins. He decides to leave them because they would be useless on the island, but then he changes his mind and takes them. 

There are many reasons why Robinson Crusoe took the coins, but I think the most common reason is that he could use them to barter himself off the island if another ship came. 

Frederic Bastiat and his Petition of the Candlemakers. Frederic Bastiat was a French libertarian and economist. He wrote many books, but he is commonly known for his book “The Law”. In an essay he wrote “Petition of the Candlemakers.” This is about candlemakers that are complaining that the sun is an unfair competition, because it gives light all day long for free. The candlemakers make everyone shut all their windows so no light will come through, then they will have to buy candles. This just makes everyone poorer. Bastiat ends this essay by writing “Make your choice, but be logical; for as long as you ban, as you do, foreign coal, iron, wheat, and textiles, in proportion as their price approaches zero, how inconsistent it would be to admit the light of the sun, whose price is zero all day long!”

Classical liberalism. According to Wikipedia, “Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic freedom, political freedom and freedom of speech.” Liberty, individualism, and equal rights are the three main ideas of classical liberalism. Classical liberals believed these three things to require a free economy with no “help” from the government. 

Classical liberal themes that can be found in the work of Benjamin Constant. According to Wikipedia, “Constant emphasised how citizens in ancient states found more satisfaction in the public sphere and less in their private lives whereas modern people favoured their private life. Constant’s repeated denunciation of despotism pervaded his critique of French political philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Abbé de Mably.“