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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88813/overview	How present-day colonialism has affected the sustainability of the public health care system Overview A small look into how colonism is still affecting Belize's unsustainable public healthcare services from the eyes of the nurses and patients who have experienced it. Our health care system is one of the many sectors stilling affected by modern day colonialism by its unsustainable practices and low-quality mediocre services. Sastre et al (2014) explains that the health needs of the people in this region need to be addressed and to develop strategies to target the root of these negative health care trends along with many other issues and unsustainable practices and services. Although many countries including Belize signed in agreement to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals by the year of 2030, I personally do not see Goal number three target three point eight being in process to achieve. Target three point eight reads " to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all", but is anything being done to achieve this goal in our country or are my assumptions wrong (United Nations, n.d.)? In my research to seek the facts about my assumptions, two nurses who worked in both public and private health sectors and a patient who was recently discharged from the public hospital was kind enough to answer my questions that surrounded my assumption. Both nurses agreed that in terms of high-quality services at public health care providers are limited to mediocre consultations, basic surgical procedures and laboratory work, regular CT scans and X rays; however, the public hospitals are at a deficit. Patients are usually referred to more advanced health care establishments to receive the higher quality services that public hospitals are unable to offer. The Patient shared that while being admitted in the hospital the nurses did not even explain to him what medication was being administered and the doctors were very vague and limited on information about his situation and also criticized him for asking too. As a Patient, you have a right to know this information and to be treat respectfully. The Nurses continued by sharing that unfortunately not all necessary medications are currently accessible for patients at the public hospitals country wide for either walk in or admitted patients. Due to the deficit of medication in the public sector of health care, patients receive prescriptions to obtain their medication from private pharmacies at this time. One of the nurses added that not even Tylenol is available for distribution. The patient explained that after his surgery, his father had to purchase his pain medication, tape for his I.V. and necessary antibiotics due to the hospital not having any in stock. As both nurses and the patient compared the quality of health care between private and public hospitals, they all agreed that private hospitals are honestly a better choice as it relates to high-quality services, accessible medication and better treatment; however, the only downfall would be the high cost of these things. At public hospitals, resources and services are lacking due to the influx of monetary fund being limited as compared to private sectors that have a larger influx of funds which assists in making sure the quality service and necessary materials are available. However, the money is not the only factor to blame, as the government is the financial provider for these public health systems who chooses to neglected them because they do not need those services as they can afford to go to costly private health care facilities. This has been an ongoing situation and has gone further downhill due to the recent pandemic. This should be a call for change as many of our citizens’ only options are to go these public hospitals just to either be turned away or not assisted properly and cannot afford otherwise else. As I conclude and realize my assumptions were right, I am even more sadden by this reality we live in. The government and citizens should take pride in the public health care services being offered, not take shame and disgrace. References Magana, M., Patient, Personal Communication, December 8, 2021 Mejia. M., Nurse, Personal Communication, December 9, 2021 Sastre, F., Rojas, P., Cyrus, E., De La Rosa, M., & Khoury, A. H. (2014). Improving the health status of Caribbean people: recommendations from the Triangulating on Health Equity summit. Global health promotion, 21(3), 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757975914523455 Sustainable Development Goals \| United Nations Development Programme. United Nations Development Programme. (2021). Retrieved 6 October 2021, from https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals. Westby, N., Nurse, Personal Communication, December 9, 2021	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.796107	12/16/2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88813/overview", "title": "How present-day colonialism has affected the sustainability of the public health care system", "author": "Akirah Shaheed" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/69489/overview	MS SQL Server Overview test MS SQL Server Benefit from a consistent, unified experience across your entire SQL portfolio and a full range of deployment options from edge to cloud. The Azure SQL family of SQL cloud databases provides flexible options for app migration, modernization and development. Module 1 Like other RDBMS software, Microsoft SQL Server is built on top of SQL, a standardized programming language that database administrators (DBAs) and other IT professionals use to manage databases and query the data they contain. SQL Server is tied to Transact-SQL (T-SQL), an implementation of SQL from Microsoft that adds a set of proprietary programming extensions to the standard language.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.808745	07/08/2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/69489/overview", "title": "MS SQL Server", "author": "Alvin Tuason" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/116220/overview	PVT Flight Syllabus V1.2 Private Pilot Flight Syllabus Overview These syllabi outline training required for students to earn the FAA Private Pilot Certificate. Flight lessons include ground reference maneuvers, performance maneuvers, navigation, Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM), and safety practices and procedures. Ground lessons subjects included are aerodynamics, aircraft systems, weather and it’s associated hazards, preflight planning, and risk management. These syllabi were designed to be used together to best prepare students for the FAA practical and written exams. Private Pilot Flight Syllabus The CMU Tech Aviation Technology Flight Syllabus is a CFR Part 141 flight training syllabus designed to train a flight student to the issuance of a Private Pilot Certificate Airplane Single Engine Land (ASEL). This syllabus includes all the required tasks listed in 14 CFR Part 61, 141 and the Private Pilot Airmen Certification Standards (ACS). The listed hours for each lesson will meet the hour requirement for Part 141. Private Pilot Ground Syllabus This CMU Tech Aviation Technology Ground Syllabus is a CFR Part 141 flight training syllabus designed to prepare a student to for the FAA Private Pilot Written Exam and to supplement the flight course with ground knowledge essential to passing the FAA Private Pilot Practical Exam.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.829262	Joshua Barnes	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/116220/overview", "title": "Private Pilot Flight Syllabus", "author": "Sean Harwell" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/54370/overview	Mini-lecture: Limiting, excess, and theoretical yield pHET Simulation: Limiting and Excess Reactant Sample problem mini-lecture: Theoretical yield, limiting and excess reactant Limiting, Excess Reactant and Theoretical Yield Overview This module is an introduction to the relationship between stoichiometric coefficients, limiting and excess reactant, and theoretical yield. Includes a worked example asking for theoretical yield given two starting masses, to identify the limiting reactant, and calculate the percent yield from a given hypothetical "actual" yield. Applications of Stoichiometry Once we have mastered balancing chemical reactions using stoichiometric coefficients, we can apply formula weights (molar masses) to determine a number of quantities. We can calculate how much product we can make. We can calculate how much reactant we need to start with if we know how much product we want to end up with. Example problem: Theoretical Yield and Limiting reactant This particular example does not include how much excess reactant remains. Here is an example of a problem that asks for theoretical yield, limiting reactant, and percent yield. Interactive Simulation: Limiting and Excess Reactant This simulation allows you to choose sandwiches or molecules to visualize what theoretical yield, limiting reactant, and excess reactant look like.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.849553	05/15/2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/54370/overview", "title": "Limiting, Excess Reactant and Theoretical Yield", "author": "Amy Petros" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89728/overview	Stress, Parenting, and COVID-19 Overview This document characterizes the key struggles that have been identified in research for parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.865579	02/02/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89728/overview", "title": "Stress, Parenting, and COVID-19", "author": "Andrea Bearman" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/96869/overview	Emergency Drugs For The Dental Hygienist (Basic) (Pharmacology) Overview The target learner will have started in a dental hygiene program and have basic knowledge of common medical emergencies that may occur in the dental office. As a dental hygiene student, this lesson will enhance the learner's knowledge on basic emergency drug use as a dental hygienist in a clinic. Ideally, the learner would have completed the lesson regarding emergency drugs in their pharmacology course and can utilize this lesson as a supplement to self refelect on their retention of knowledge and key take aways.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.877811	08/30/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/96869/overview", "title": "Emergency Drugs For The Dental Hygienist (Basic) (Pharmacology)", "author": "Kristina Lengling" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97558/overview	Author flyer - OER Collective Overview This is an editable flyer for institutions participating in the OER Collective to use to promote the Collective to academics. This document is a one page primer on the Collective designed for prospective authors, to provide them with information about the Collective.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.894498	09/28/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97558/overview", "title": "Author flyer - OER Collective", "author": "Council of Australian University Librarians" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89261/overview	Sign in to see your Hubs Sign in to see your Groups Create a standalone learning module, lesson, assignment, assessment or activity Submit OER from the web for review by our librarians Please log in to save materials. Log in Its free or	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.916424	01/14/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89261/overview", "title": "PAPIA BAWA", "author": "Papia Bawa" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/118260/overview	SMART Worksheet Blank SMART Goals for OER Adoption and Creation Overview This SMART Goals Worksheet is designed to help educators develop clear, actionable, and achievable objectives using the SMART criteria. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. By applying these criteria, users can create well-defined goals that are easier to track and achieve. OER Creation SMART Goals Worksheet It can be overwhelming to start an OER project. Using SMART goals can help assist OER adoptors and creators in organizing their project into specific and achievable goals. This resource includes two documents: one detailing the SMART goals items, and a blank document for users to draft their own goals. The worksheets include a black and prefilled copy to guide users through creating their own goals. Utilizing this method breaks down complex and time consuming OER adoption/creation processes into smaller achieveable components.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.934254	Rachel Becker	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/118260/overview", "title": "SMART Goals for OER Adoption and Creation", "author": "Teaching/Learning Strategy" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/100174/overview	Writing a Review of Literature Overview This resource describes the steps involved in writing a review of literature at the postsecondary level. Learning outcomes What is a review of literature? What function does it play in the research process? How does one set about writing a review of literature? What is the structure of a review of literature? Library support Why write a literature review? A literature review: -reviews the existing research on a topic, -identifies the gaps in the existing literature on the topic, and -situates your research in relation to the previous research in the area. What is a literature review? A literature review is a synthesis of the existing knowledge on a topic. Drawing from multiple sources, demonstrate your familiarity with the information, evaluate it, identify areas where research is lacking, and present it concisely for the reader. What is the appropriate scope and depth? How do you know when you have enough peer-reviewed journal articles in your review of literature? How many articles is too many? How many articles is not enough? Whether you are in a master's or doctoral program will affect the breadth and depth of your search for literature. As you read your articles, at a certain point you will start to read the same ideas repeated in peer-reviewed journal articles, that is known as saturation. When you reach saturation on a topic, that means that you have explored the literature on the topic and you may have reached the end of the topic. Work closely with your subject librarian to find many peer-reviewed journal articles and start annotating them. Annotating your articles When annotating articles, look for: What was the goal of the study? What was the methodology? Who were the participants? How were they recruited? How did they collect data? What were the results? What do these results have to do with this field? Does this study fit into a theme in the research? How does it fit? Steps in writing a literature review Find & read peer-reviewed journal articles on your topic. Paraphrase & organize this information into a table, matrix, grid, mental map, or whatever works for you. Use the organizer to identify the themes which are the basis for your literature review. Write your first draft of the literature review based on the table. Elements of a literature review standalone paper Introduction Explain the context of the research Explain the significance of the problem – Why is this an issue? Review of Literature Show how the articles are interconnected. What patterns do you notice across the articles? Use patterns to form your themes. Critically evaluate the articles. When you look at the articles, what is the same? What is different? What is missing? Think about methodology, validity, and reliability. You should critique the research. From this, develop headings organized by theme. Conclusion Summary of major themes found. Identify the gap in the literature. What has not been studied? Where can a contribution be made?). Identify the connection between the gap in the literature and the inquiry question. Lead into the thesis with your research question (s). References Important elements of the review of literature When drafting your review of literature, make sure you have: The context of the study The purpose of the research (Purpose statement) Three – Five solid themes from the research Identified the gap in the research Your research question(s) Review of steps Decide on your topic. Identify your keywords. Search for and download your articles. Consult with a librarian in your field, if possible, about databases, key journals, and keywords. Type up the references for the articles you have chosen. Use citation management software. Make a bibliography of the articles collected. If this is for a master's or doctoral thesis/dissertation, get this reading list approved by your supervisor and committee before continuing. Write 8-10 sentences summarizing each article, what they did, their results, what method of data collection was used, and how the article supports your research. If it helps you, use grids, matrices, and tables to help you visualize themes, synthesize, and summarize the articles. All ideas MUST be paraphrased and cited. This is very important. End by identifying the gap in the literature. This will be the focus of your paper. Draft/revise one or more research questions. Paraphrasing while writing your review of literature Paraphrasing is ESSENTIAL when writing literature reviews. Why? The writer needs to explain other people’s ideas in their own words and give credit to the original writer in an in-text citation! Paraphrasing and summarizing Rather than being about words, paraphrasing is about ideas. Instead of focusing on replacing specific words in a quotation, think deeply about the ideas that the original author is explaining. Paraphrase at the idea level, not at the word or sentence level. Once you understand the ideas, you can zoom out and explain the most important idea(s) in your own way and give credit to the author in an in-text citation. Example of a paraphrased passage Lorimer-Leonard’s (2013) work shows that validation of prior knowledge can have a profound impact on a newcomer’s success. Learners use cognitive and metacognitive strategies to plan for learning, choose strategies, reflect on learning, and assess their learning (Anderson, 2008), and to regulate their learning (Griffiths, 2008). Steps for effective paraphrases and summaries Check your work against the original. Have you copied the vocabulary or the sentence structure? Restart! Have you changed the meaning of the original or given any wrong information? Revise! Add an in-text citation at the end of every sentence in which you discuss other people's ideas.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.964534	01/24/2023	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/100174/overview", "title": "Writing a Review of Literature", "author": "Tessa Troughton" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/58468/overview	Copying Plates from the Charles Bargue Drawing Course Overview The Charles Bargue Drawing Course was a highly influential guide to art instruction in the 19th century, which has recently returned to prominence in the Realist painting movement. This module introduces students to the fundamental drawing skills covered in the Charles Bargue Drawing Course, and leads them through the process of completing a Bargue plate copy. I recommend a first hour spent on the lay-in stage, with three 10 minute attempts to figure out the basic placement, plus a half-hour on a committed plate after that. The finished rendering should get at least an hour depending on the cast. Purpose The purpose of copying plates in the Charles Bargue Drawing Course is to develop an objective, analytical approach to drawing, in which you attempt to capture a realistic duplication of your source. Tools like sight-size, plumb lines, value matching, and simplifying a lay-in into points/lines/planes are invaluable to the realist painter. The Charles Bargue Drawing Course is also a fascinating historical artifact from the Academy systems of the 19th century art world. Knowledge The Charles Bargue Drawing Course can be read online here. An example video for copying a Bargue plate can be found here. Skills - Box drawing: Using a starting measure of the X and Y axis of your subject, allowing for future subdivision and consistent proportions. - Sight-size: Using a strict reproduction of the source material on the left or right of your rendering surface to objectively align features. - Plumb lines: use straight horizontal and vertical X and Y axis lines to guarantee the placement of landmarks. - Point/Line/Plane drawing: Using simplified straight lines between landmarks to construct a scaffolding of early lines for your drawing. Task Using an enlarged print from the Charles Bargue Drawing Course (11x17 or 18x24 preferably), copy a bargue plate. Criteria for Success A Bargue plate is first concerned with accurate placement. Your lay-in should approximate the major landmarks of a cast. If the initial lay-in failed, it is better to start over and continue focusing on accuracy. Rubric 50 points total. - 20 points: a page of notes on the techniques outlined in the Charles Bargue Drawing Course. - 15 points: An approximate line drawing for the start of a Bargue plate. - 15 points: A finished rendering of your Bargue plate.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:44.979652	Module	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/58468/overview", "title": "Copying Plates from the Charles Bargue Drawing Course", "author": "Visual Arts" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/123418/overview	BARUIPUR BLOCK PROJECT Overview - Baruipur Block is an administrative division located in the South 24 Parganas district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The block falls under the KMDA and plays an important role in both rural and semi-urban development. - Baruipur is located at a distance of about 25–30 km south of Kolkata, which is the state capital. The region falls under the vast Ganges Delta, and it is cut through by a series of rivers and waterways, which also form an important part of the local economy and agricultural activities. COMMUNITY INFORMATION SERVICE Table of Contents - Introduction 1.1 Overview of BARUIPUR Block 1.2 Importance and Significance of BARUIPUR 1.3 Purpose of the Assignment - Historical Context 2.1 Pre-Independence History of BARUIPUR 2.2 Post-Independence Developments 2.3 Cultural Heritage and Historical Landmarks - Geography 3.1 Location and Geographic Features 3.2 Climate and Seasons 3.3 Water Resources and Rivers 3.4 Natural Disasters and Vulnerabilities - Demographics 4.1 Population Overview 4.2 Ethnic Composition 4.3 Religious Diversity 4.4 Urban vs. Rural Dynamics - Economy 5.1 Agriculture in Baruipur 5.2 Fishing Industry and Its Economic Role 5.3 Small-Scale Industries and Crafts 5.4 Tourism Potential 5.5 Economic Challenges and Opportunities - Infrastructure 6.1 Transportation Systems 6.2 Electricity and Water Supply 6.3 Health and Sanitation 6.4 Educational Infrastructure 6.5 Government Programs and Development Initiatives - Social Issues and Challenges 7.1 Poverty and Unemployment 7.2 Health Issues and Healthcare Access 7.3 Education Barriers 7.4 Social Inequality and Rural Development - Governance and Administration 8.1 Administrative Structure 8.2 Political Landscape 8.3 Role of Local Governance and Panchayats 8.4 Government Schemes and Welfare Programs - Culture and Traditions 9.1 Festivals and Celebrations 9.2 Traditional Arts, Crafts, and Handicrafts 9.3 Music and Dance Forms 9.4 Cuisine of Baruipur - Environmental Issues and the 10.1 Environmental Importance of Baruipur 10.2 Impact of Climate Change 10.3 Conservation Efforts for the Baruipur 10.4 Biodiversity and Wildlife Protection - Conclusion - Introduction - 1.1Overview of Baruipur BlockBaruipur block is located in the southern part of South 24 Parganas district, which lies on the banks of the Hooghly River, and is part of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area. It is about 22 kilometres from Kolkata, making it well-connected to the state's capital and urban areas. The block spans several hundred square kilometres, consisting primarily of rural land interspersed with small settlements. It is situated in the lower Ganges Delta, so the landscape is characterized by fertile agricultural land and water bodies like ponds, canals, and rivers. The region experiences a tropical climate, with hot summers, a monsoon season, and mild winters. The heavy rainfall during the monsoon is essential for agriculture. 1.2 Importance and Significance of BARUIPUR.Baruipur Block, South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, is an area of significant geographical, economic, administrative, and cultural importance. Its location, a developing economy, and proximity to Kolkata have made it an important place in the development of the state. Here are some key reasons why Baruipur is important. 1.3 Purpose of the Assignment. The purpose of the assignment on Baruipur Block is to explore and understand the region's key characteristics, significance, and development potential. In particular, the assignment aims to: Provide Comprehensive Understanding: - To provide a comprehensive description of Baruipur Block, including its geography, demographics, economy, culture, and infrastructure. - This study intends to examine factors that influence growth and challenges of the region, like urbanization, agricultural practices, and governance. - Analyze the Region's Importance: - Measure its relevance for understanding the significance of Baruipur in the overall spatial context of South 24 Parganas district and Kolkata Metropolitan Area. - How Baruipur functions as a hub of rural-urban interaction and its place in economic, political, and cultural dynamics. - Analyze the Region's Importance: - Measure its relevance for understanding the significance of Baruipur in the overall spatial context of South 24 Parganas district and Kolkata Metropolitan Area. - How Baruipur functions as a hub of rural-urban interaction and its place in economic, political, and cultural dynamics. - Analyze Development Prospects and Issues: - Observe the block's key development opportunities in terms of agricultural, real estate, tourist, and education sectors. - Analyze challenges the region faces, which include environmental concerns, infrastructure development, and the impacts of rapid urbanization. 2. Historical Context Baruipur is a part of the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The area has a long history influenced by its geographical location, cultural heritage, and socio-political developments in the course of centuries. From ancient times to the present day, the area has seen significant historical milestones that have influenced its growth and transformation. 2.1 Pre-Independence History of BARUIPUR Baruipur is a place in the southern part of West Bengal, India. The pre-independence history of this place is rich and diverse. It is a town in the South 24 Parganas district, which was an important region under both the British East India Company and later the British Raj. Here's an overview of its pre-independence history: - Early History and Geography: - Baruipur is located within the deltaic region of the Ganges river system. Historically, this area was a part of the greater Bengal region; its name, "Baruipur," is believed to be taken from "Bari" meaning house in Bengali, and "Pur," meaning town or place, refers to an ancient settlement considered to be of considerable importance at that time. - During the medieval period, the region of Baruipur was under the Bengal Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire. - Mughal and Pre-British Era: - Under the Mughals, Bengal was a thriving province whose economy was primarily based on agriculture, trade, and crafts. The agrarian society of Bengal, including Baruipur, flourished under such a context. - The region, thus, was influenced by different dynasties, and Baruipur must have been under the administration of the Bengal Sultanate that existed before the 16th century Mughal conquest of Bengal. - British Rule and Development (18th to 19th Century): - Early British Period: Following the establishment of the dominance of the British East India Company in Bengal in the 18th century, Baruipur was included in South 24 Parganas. The fertile agricultural land was used for growing crops such as rice, jute, and indigo. - Colonial Impact: The British introduced land reforms like Permanent Settlement in 1793, which has a lasting impact on the economy and land ownership structure of the region. Land was granted to rich landlords known as "Zamindars," leading to consolidation of land holdings and an increased reliance on the agricultural economy. - Economic Development: The British government experienced growth in small-scale industries of Baruipur, mainly agriculture-based ones. Yet, it transferred all the generated wealth to Britain. Due to this reason, locals from this area were kept poverty-stricken. - Role in the Indian Freedom Struggle: - Revolts and Rebellions: Similar to the rest of Bengal, Baruipur also joined the anti-British movements. The district witnessed involvement in various rebellions against the British Empire. This includes the 1857 Rebellion, popularly known as the First War of Indian Independence. It experienced large-scale disturbances in Bengal although it was not a centre of rebellion. Still, the unrest among peasants and other rural laborers in the district indicated a more pervasive mood of revolt. - Social and Cultural Movements: The late 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed the rise of social reform movements in Bengal, led by great personalities like Rabindranath Tagore and others. The intellectual and cultural revolutions inspired by the desire for greater autonomy from British rule engulfed the area around Baruipur. - Swadeshi Movement and Nationalist Activities: The early 20th century saw Baruipur become a part of the larger nationalist movements in Bengal as it was near Kolkata (Calcutta). The Swadeshi Movement, which started in 1905 and lasted until 1908, was triggered by the British decision to partition Bengal. The movement led to the boycott of British goods and encouraged indigenous industries. - Participation in Revolutionary Movements: The region also witnessed the involvement of revolutionary groups that used more radical means to resist British rule. These included the formation of secret societies and revolutionary cells, which sought to carry out direct attacks on the colonial establishment. - Cultural and Education Development: - During the British period, the region under discussion underwent considerable cultural as well as educational transformations. Baruipur itself could not boast of large scale educational institutions, but certainly, the intellectual environment surrounding Kolkata was very influential here. The Bengali Renaissance, which led to the growth of modern literature, art, and social reform, had a bearing in the broader region of South 24 Parganas. 2.2 Post-Independence Developments. Following the declaration of independence by India in 1947, a large section of West Bengal, and in extension, the rest of the Indian subcontinent, was changed both socially, politically, economically, and infrastructural. There were various transformations within the town and the greater South 24 Parganas in terms of developments that marked larger trends within post-independence India. An outline of Baruipur's post-independence developments follows: - Political Changes and Governance: - State of West Bengal (1947): On gaining independence, Baruipur became part of the newly formed state of West Bengal. The state of West Bengal witnessed drastic political changes, especially after the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The new government of the left-oriented state implemented land reforms in rural areas, which deeply impacted the rural areas of Baruipur. - Land Reforms and Redistribution: In the 1970s, the Left Front government of West Bengal, led by the CPI (M), implemented very significant land reforms, such as redistribution of land to the tillers. The direct impact was on places like Baruipur, where landless peasants and small farmers obtained land ownership. These reforms reduced the Zamindars' authority and established a more egalitarian system of land tenure but had mixed outcomes and worked differently in different parts of the state. - Local Governance and Urbanization: The small village of Baruipur gradually was integrated into the urban governance system because it is located in close proximity to Kolkata, or Calcutta. As the town became increasingly urbanized, it came under more efficient local governance, and the administrative functions of the area became modernized. - Economic Developments: - Agriculture and Rural Economy: A strong foundation in the agricultural sector formed the bedrock of economy of Baruipur even after attaining independence. Rice cultivation, jute cultivation and other such crops remained well at focus in this particular region. However, rising industrialization in West Bengal marked slow but gradual transit from a basically agrarian type economy towards a diversified mode, while Baruipur was to gradually transform to an abode of mixed rural as well as semi urban economic activity. - Industrialization and Infrastructure Development: Despite not being a very heavy industrially industrialized area in the West Bengal state compared to others like the industrial belts in Howrah or Durgapur, the proximity to the Kolkata region ensured Baruipur enjoyed infrastructural benefits. Road networks improved significantly along with power and communications that brought the economy locally better tied in with the general economy at the regional level. - Transport Infrastructures: Some of the major improvements occurred post-independence and with regards to transport links, post-independence Baruipur is seen to improve by its access to the Kolkata Suburban train network which gave the place a stronger nexus to the capital. Then access roads, which expanded its facilities in reaching markets and also reaching other urban centers, resulted in higher economic growths within its people. - Urbanization and Growth: - Increased Migration and Population Growth: The 1970s and 1980s were marked by significant migration to Baruipur from rural areas as people sought better living conditions. Because of its proximity to Kolkata, Baruipur was a popular destination for those seeking employment and a higher standard of living. This influx of people contributed to rapid population growth and urbanization. - Real Estate Development: The last few decades have brought rapid urbanization in Baruipur with residential and commercial real estate developments. Since there is available land, the place has developed residential complexes and shopping areas because of the increased migration towards Kolkata. - Change in Social Fabric: With the town, the social fabric also changed. There emerged a traditional agricultural community as well as a growing middle class. The emergence of these classes led to the growth of new schools, healthcare facilities, and other amenities. - Education and Health-care - Improvement in Education: There was a marked improvement in education after independence at Baruipur. At that time, there were a couple of schools in this area; the government raised its concerns over rural education. So, now several schools along with a few higher educational institutes are seen in Baruipur. The establishment of institutions such as the Baruipur College established in 1981 increased local students' options for further education. - Healthcare Improvement: During the post-independence period, healthcare infrastructure also improved. Baruipur now has several health care units, including primary health centers, private hospitals, and clinics to cater to the increasing population. The government has also increased its health care outreach in rural areas, which has increased access to medical care. - Cultural and Social Developments: - In the post-independence period: the town of Baruipur has experienced cultural growth. There are various traditional Bengali festivals in the town, such as Durga Puja, Kali Puja, and Paella Boishakh (Bengali New Year). Gradually, the increased population and urbanization also brought a more cosmopolitan character to the town. - Social Movements and Activism: South 24 Parganas' Baruipur has supported several social movements. These involved the rights of the deprived and marginalized people, more specifically the landless movements. The area is part of the ongoing struggle for the safeguarding of farmers' rights as well as land reforms and improvement of local living conditions. - Environmental Issues and Sustainability: - Pollution and Sustainability Challenges: Like many urbanizing regions, Baruipur has faced challenges related to environmental degradation. The rapid growth in population and infrastructure development has led to increased pressure on local natural resources, leading to concerns about water supply, waste management, and pollution. However, local authorities have been working towards improving environmental sustainability through various initiatives. 2.3 Cultural Heritage and Historical Landmarks. The rich history, traditions, and being close to Kolkata has imprinted a cultural heritage for Baruipur in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. It is known largely for its agrarian economy but at the same time holds its historical landmarks and a kind of cultural heritage, with the influence of different kinds of civilizations and movements on it over the years. Here’s an overview of the cultural heritage and historical landmarks of Baruipur: - Historical Landmarks: - Baruipur Rajbari (Baruipur Palace): - Significance: Baruipur Rajbari is one of the town's most prominent landmarks. This historical palace is a symbol of the erstwhile zamindari system, wherein the ruling family-owned vast stretches of land in the region. - Architecture: Rajbari is a fine piece of traditional Bengali architecture, though much of it had fallen into disrepair over the years. The building still holds historical value. It carries the grandeur of the Zamindar era and gives a deep insight into the life standard of the land-owning class during British rule. The structure is surrounded with a garden and other leftover remnant of a once proud estate. - Kali Mandir, Baruipur: - Significance: Kali Mandir is a well-revered Hindu temple dedicated to the Goddess Kali, one of the main deities of the Bengali Hindu pantheon. Devotees come from the surrounding villages and towns. - Cultural Role: Baruipur temple plays an important role in its cultural life. Festivals, such as Kali Puja, are celebrated with all the enthusiasm, and crowds of followers come to worship. It has not only been a religion place but also a very significant cultural center for various social and community activities. - Cultural Significance: It is a place of cultural importance because it served as a part of social life in the region. Zamindar families were usually patrons of art, literature, and local festivals. All these things add up to the cultural significance of Baruipur. - Old Burial Grounds and Historic Sites: - Significance: There are a number of old burial grounds in Baruipur that speak of its past. There are some sites where British officials and local elites were buried during the colonial period. These places are silent historical markers and reflect the colonial past of the town. - Historical Impact: These burial grounds reflect the social and administrative structures during the rule of the British. Insights into the lives of colonial elites and local elites abound there. - Cultural Heritage: - Festivals: - Durga Puja: Similar to the rest of Bengal, Baruipur observes Durga Puja with great enthusiasm. It is the biggest cultural celebration of the town, which attracts people from all over the area. Temples and clubs create beautiful pandals for Goddess Durga. During the festival, the pandals are accompanied by processions, cultural shows, and community feasts. - Kali Puja: Another festival is that of Kali Puja, which worships goddess Kali. This too is celebrated with great enthusiasm at several temples. Kali Mandir at Baruipur is a good place to visit to participate in Kali Puja. Moreover, it is part of the Diwali festival too. - The Pohela Boishakh: The Pohela Boishakh marks the Bengali New Year, which is traditionally commemorated with folk songs and dance performances, accompanied by feasts. People dress up in new clothes and make a huge community activity involved, as cultural programs start spreading across the town. - Rath Yatra: This is another very important religious festival in the region-the famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, in which colorful chariots have processions. The devotees from Baruipur and neighboring towns gather here to pull the chariots and participate in the various rituals associated with the festival. - Folk Traditions and Performances: - Baul and Fakir Music: The folk music tradition of Baul is still prevalent in Baruipur, which is a characteristic of rural Bengal. Baul singers, who blend spirituality with music, are known for their soulful songs that depict love, devotion, and the human connection to the divine. Though more prominent in rural Bengal, the influence of Baul music can still be seen in Baruipur. - Jatra: Jatra is folk theater that has gained prominence in rural Bengal as entertainment. The folk drama performance has been witnessed in the town of Baruipur. Jatra performances typically take place outdoors or open-air platforms in conjunction with fairs and village gatherings and tells various mythological tales, societal themes, and folk heroes. - Local Cuisine and Traditional Crafts - Cuisine: The food culture of Baruipur is based upon traditional Bengali cuisine. Fish, especially river fish such as ilish and pabda, forms a significant part of the diet. Popular Bengali sweets like rosogolla, sandesh, and mishti doi (sweetened yogurt) are consumed frequently during festivals and social gatherings. - Handicrafts: Although Baruipur is not famous for particular crafts, the South 24 Parganas district has its own traditional crafts such as jute weaving and Madhubani painting. The influence of such handicrafts can be found in the local markets of Baruipur. - Educational and Intellectual Impression: The Educational and Intellectual Impression of Baruipur Block in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal reflects the landmark strides that have been recorded in the region since India's independence. Below is a detailed look at this impression: 1. Educational Development: - Expansion of Schools and Colleges: Post-independence, Baruipur Block saw the establishment of numerous educational institutions, from primary schools to higher education centers. Notable institutions include Baruipur College and various secondary and primary schools. These institutions have significantly improved access to education, particularly in rural areas. - Government Schemes: Government initiatives like SSA for primary education and RMSA for secondary education have been very effective in terms of improving the infrastructure of education and making it more accessible. - Increase in Literacy Rates: Literacy rates are considerably increased in the past since many efforts are being made through different programs that the government implements and, at the local levels, free education and adult education are provided that enhances education in the people - Focus on Female Education. There has been a focus on educating girls, and hence, numerous programs and scholarship schemes have been launched that encourage female education. This led to improved female literacy levels in the region. 2. Intellectual and Cultural Growth: - Cultural and Literary: Activities Baruipur Block has strong cultural traditions and after gaining independence, it was the intellectual and literary activities further nourished that heritage of culture. Programs at grassroots levels, festivals, workshops, and so on for literature have been augmenting the intellectual climate. - Prominent Intellectual Contributions: The region has nurtured renowned intellectuals, writers, and poets who have contributed to Bengali literature and regional arts. Through such intellectual personalities, a culture and an intellect within the region have developed over the years. - Educational Institutions as Cultural Hubs: Intellectual exchange centers can be seen in the institution of Baruipur College and local libraries, hosting events that foster learning and creativity. Education in Baruipur is vibrant, with academic excellence and cultural development in the same scale. 3. Improvement in Educational Access and Quality: - Infrastructure Development: With regard to educational infrastructure, it can be seen that the situation has improved with better school buildings, availability of teaching materials, and access to digital learning tools in some schools. It has helped improve the quality of education. - Vocational and Skill-based Education: In addition to formal education, Baruipur Block has experienced an upsurge in vocational and skill-based training programs. Such initiatives focus on equipping young people with practical skills that improve employability, responding to the requirements of both local and urban markets. 4. Community and NGO Engagement: - NGOs and Community Support: Many NGOs have been supporting education in the area. They have created learning centers, conducted literacy programs, and offered educational facilities to deprived sections of people, mainly in remote and economically weaker sections of Baruipur Block. - Local Initiatives for Awareness: Community-led initiatives, including educational awareness programs, have encouraged local people to prioritize education, improving social attitudes towards learning. Geography - Location and Geographic Features 1. Location: - Geographical Position: Baruipur Block is located in the southern region of South 24 Parganas district, a part of West Bengal, India. It is situated almost 24 kilometers south of the state capital Kolkata and can be easily accessed to the metropolis. - Coordinates: Approximately, geographical coordinates of Baruipur Block is at latitude 22.406° N and at longitude 88.478° E. - Administrative Setup: Baruipur is one of the administrative blocks in the South 24 Parganas district, and it falls under the Kolkata Metropolitan Region (KMR). 2. Geographic Features: - Land Form: Baruipur Block is located in the primarily flat landscape of the Ganges Delta. The region falls under the Gang etic plains and consists of large numbers of rivers, canals, and water bodies. - Rivers and Water Bodies: The block is crisscrossed by several small rivers and canals, the most important of which is the Malta River. The area has many ponds and wetlands, which support local agriculture and are thus important for the economy of the region. There exist good alluvial soils having a fertile nutrient supply at Baruipur. Although rarely, these flood with good nutrients through floods from close-by Rivers, the types of soil available are nutrient supplied and agricultural practices like vegetables, rice cultivation, or fish farming flourish well. - Climate: The region enjoys a tropical wet and dry climate. Summers, during March to June, are very hot and humid, sometimes reaching temperatures of over 40°C. The monsoon season, from June to September, is characterized by heavy rainfall. Winters, from November to February, are relatively mild and pleasant, with temperatures between 12°C and 25°C. - Flooding and Wetlands: The closeness of the Bay of Bengal and its low-lying nature make Baruipur Block vulnerable to flooding during the monsoon season. Wetlands and natural water bodies also make the area prone to seasonal waterlogging, affecting local agricultural practices. Vegetation and Natural Resources: - Flora: The region features tropical plants, mangroves near the river banks, and various crops, cultivated in the fertile soils of the region. Some areas are forested; particularly, along the banks of the river, so they serve as a haven for different species of birds and small wildlife. - Fauna: The fauna of the region comprises species common to the Ganges Delta, such as various bird species, small mammals, and reptiles. The wetlands and rivers also support a rich aquatic life, including fish species, which are very important for the local fishing economy. - Nearness to Kolkata: The closeness to Kolkata has played a dominant role in the development of Baruipur Block. The area has emerged gradually as a residential complex catering to the needs of its workers and as and agriculture and rural industry complex. - Climate and Seasons of Baruipur Block: Baruipur Block, South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, is under a tropical wet and dry climate, as it lies close to the Bay of Bengal. The region goes through clear seasonal changes that have an impact on daily life and agriculture. - Summer (March to June): - Temperature: Summer in Baruipur is hot, reaching 35°C to 40°C, with occasional spikes during the hottest months of May and June. - Humidity: The humidity rises significantly, making the climate feel hotter than the actual temperature. The weather can become oppressive, especially during the afternoon hours. - Rainfall: Although summer is basically dry, the pre-monsoon showers start in June and hence offer some relief from the heat. Thunderstorms are common in late afternoons. - Effect on Agriculture: The summer heat is not very friendly for agriculture, especially for crops requiring more moisture, but this season is crucial for field preparation for monsoon sowing. - Monsoon (June to September): - Temperature: Temperature is relatively lower during the monsoon season. It ranges from 25°C to 35°C, but it's high due to humid rain. - Rainfall: During the monsoon, the amount of rainfall increases and often crosses 1,500 mm annually. June and September mark the period of rainfalls. It's the peak time for rice cultivation, and the entire region relies on the monsoon. - Humidity: This is when the humidity is so high; the air will be filled with moisture, feeling clammy and oppressive. - Impacts on Farming: The monsoon rain supports paddy, besides a number of crops. Nonetheless, this season can also mean flooding and waterlogging due to rain, particularly at places close to rivers or canals. - Post-Monsoon: October through November - Temperature: The rains begin to recede, making the weather more pleasant. Temperature levels range between 25°C to 30°C and humidity decreases drastically. - Rainfall: Although heavy rains are on the wane, there might still be light showers. There will be clear skies and humidity is low, which will make it a great period for outdoor activities. - Impact on Agriculture: The crop harvesting time for crops such as rice, which have developed due to the monsoons, is during post-monsoon. Also, it is the ideal time for sowing the winter crops. - Winter (December to February) - Temperature: Winters at Baruipur are fairly cool and pleasant with an average temperature ranging from 12°C to 25°C. Nights can be cool. The mornings may have a slight chill. - Humidity: Humidity is minimal during winter, which also makes the climate comfortable. - Rainfall: Rainfall is scarce during the winter months, and dry and clear weather prevails throughout the season. - Impact on Agriculture: The cool weather favors harvesting crops and planting winter vegetables. Dry conditions favor activities such as fishing and market gardening. - Water Resources and Rivers Baruipur Block, in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is well-endowed with a good supply of water resources, mainly because it is close to the Ganges Delta and the rivers, canals, and ponds are abundant in the area. These water bodies are crucial for agriculture, fishing, transportation, and daily life. 1. Major Rivers: - Matla River Description: The Matla River is one of the most important rivers in the region. It passes through the southern parts of Baruipur Block and forms part of the complex network of waterways that make up the Ganges Delta. It is an important river for irrigation, fishing, and local transportation. - Significance: It supports irrigation in the agriculture sector, mainly in rice cultivation, and also supports the fish supply of the local people. It causes flooding in the low-lying areas during the monsoon season, which is a problem for agriculture and settlement. - Kochi River: It is another significant river flowing through the block. The Kochi is smaller than the Matla but is also important for the water system of the area. - Importance: Similar to the Matla, the Kochi is utilized for irrigation purposes, fishing, and for natural drainage. The river also links other minor rivers in the area. Ganga and Bhagirathi Rivers (Proximity): - Description: While these rivers do not directly pass through Baruipur Block, they are geographically close and part of the broader network of water systems feeding into the region. The Bhagirathi is an important branch of the Ganges River and affects the hydrology of the entire district, including areas like Baruipur. - Importance: The Ganges and its branches significantly influence the water table and agricultural patterns in the area. 2. Canals and Minor Waterways: Small canals of the block - Local Canals: Small canals are running from major rivers in various parts of the block. The local canals help the flow of water to irrigate crops in the fields away from the major river courses. - Effect: They aid the conservation of water supply in the agricultural fields. Especially in the dry period, it is essential to irrigate crops throughout the year for farming. - Wetlands and Ponds: The region also consists of many ponds and small lakes, which add to the total water resources of the block. These water bodies act as natural reservoirs for storing rainwater, especially during the monsoon season when excess water is stored for future use. - Importance: These wetlands also sustain the local biodiversity, with wetland habitats for birds and aquatic life. Furthermore, the ponds are fish cultured, which is an integral part of the local economy. 3. Groundwater Resources: - Aquifers and Wells: Groundwater in Baruipur Block is mostly found through wells and tube wells, which are the source of drinking water and irrigating during dry periods. - Usage: The water table can vary with seasonal rainfall and the rate of extraction, especially during the dry season when surface water resources are scarce. 4. Water Resources Impact: - Agriculture: Water from rivers, canals, and groundwater is very essential for maintaining the agricultural economy of Baruipur Block. The water resources support the irrigation of crops like rice, vegetables, and pulses. - Fishing Industry: The rivers and canals are a source of fish, and the local fishing industry is very vibrant. Fish farming in ponds is also an important economic activity. - Flooding and Drainage: The large number of rivers and canals in this region also expose Baruipur to flooding during monsoon. Excess rainfall water causes waterlogging in paddy fields that are very low-lying, which sometimes affects crop yields and inflicts damage on the structural setup. 5. Difficulties and Water Handling - Flooding: The rivers swell up due to heavy rains during the monsoon, causing floods in many parts of the block. Managing floodwaters and ensuring proper drainage are problematic, especially in densely populated areas. - Pollution and Conservation: The industrial activities, agriculture, and waste disposal are increasingly polluting the rivers and canals of the region. Water quality management, which includes cleaning up the water bodies and ensuring safe drinking water, has become an important issue for local authorities. - Demographics - Population. According to the 2011 Census of India, Baruipur CD block had a total population of 433,119, of which 315,817 were rural and 117,312 were urban. There were 221,200 (51%) males and 211,919 (49%) females. There were 50,049 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The Scheduled Castes numbered 165,537 (38.22%) and the Scheduled Tribes numbered 1,145 (0.26%). According to the 2001 Census of India, the Baruipur CD block had a total population of 351,569, out of which 181,486 were males and 170,083 were females. The Baruipur CD block registered a population growth of 28.12 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the South 24 Parganas district was 20.89 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.84 per cent. Scheduled Castes accounted for 158,882 or nearly one-third the population. Scheduled Tribes 7,176. Census Towns in the Baruipur CD block (2011 census figures in brackets): Petua (9,596), Garia (4,805), Panchghara (6,340), Mallikpur (19,120), Hariharpur (12,027), Champahati (12,111), Solgohalia (9,373), Naridana (4,277), Baruipur (CT) (22,430), Salipur (P) (5,091), Khodar Bazar (6,360) and Komarhat (5,782).[9] Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in the Baruipur CD block (2011 census figures in brackets): Faridpur (4,512), Ganespur (4,530), Begampur (12,742), Indrapal (4,088), Sikhar Bali (6,205), Sasan (P) (7,123), Balbalia (4,759), Panch Gachhia (4,710), Teruhat (4,423), Ramnagar (17,053), Padmajala (4,937), Sitakundu (11,354), Uttar Bhag (6,748), Kuruli (5,755), Brinda Khali (10,762), Nabagram (8,452) and Betberia (5,125).[9] Other villages in the Baruipur CD block include (2011 census figures in brackets): Gocharan (1,147), Sankarpur (1,630). - Literacy According to the 2011 census, in the CD block of Baruipur, the total number of literate persons was 292,095 (76.46 per cent of the population over 6 years), out of whom males were 160,710 (82.17 per cent of the male population over 6 years) and females, 132,195 (70.52 per cent of the female population over 6 years). The disparity between male and female literates was 11.65%. According to the 2011 Census of India, literates in South 24 Parganas district were 77.51[13] In 2011, West Bengal was at 77.08% 2011, literacy level in India was 74.04%. According to the 2001 Census of India, in the Baruipur CD block, the total literacy stood at 68.86 percent for 6+ age group. In it, male literacy was at 77.88 per cent while female literacy stood at 59.17 percent. In the South 24 Parganas district, the total literacy was 69.45 per cent, out of which male literacy was at 79.19 percent and female literacy was 59.01 percent - Language At the time of the 2011 census, 95.55% of the population spoke Bengali, 3.50% Hindi and 0.94% Urdu as their first language. - Religion In the 2011 Census of India, Hindus numbered 273,627 and formed 62.86% of the population in the Baruipur CD block. Muslims numbered 160,073 and formed 34.96% of the population. Others numbered 9,439 and formed 2.18% of the population. Amongst the others, Christians numbered 3,852.[16] In 2001, Hindus were 63.54% of the population, while Muslims and Christians were 35.43% and 0.77% of the population respectively. Hindu proportions in the South Twenty-four Parganas district were shown to have declined over this period from 76.0% in 1961 to 63.2% in 2011. Muslim proportion showed an increase from 23.4% in the district to 35.6% during the same time interval and Christians formed 0.8%. - Urban vs. Rural Dynamics Baruipur Block is located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India. This block has a mix of both urban and rural areas, which gives it a unique set of urban-rural dynamics. Here's a breakdown of these dynamics: - Urbanization Trend: - Proximity to Kolkata: Baruipur Block is located close to the city of Kolkata, which is a major urban agglomeration in India. The influence of the city with its expanding suburbs has resulted in gradual urbanization in parts of Baruipur Block. - Growth of Towns: The administrative headquarters of the block is Baruipur town. This is a clear case of urbanization within the block. As the town has connectivity with Kolkata, the town has been under infrastructural development and increasing population over time. More urban amenities such as markets, schools, and health services are coming up here. - Suburban Development: Parts of Baruipur are gradually transforming into suburban areas with better roads, communication, and services. The increase in housing developments, real estate projects, and commercial activities reflects this trend. - Rural Characteristics: - Agriculture-Based Economy: The block is largely rural, especially in the outer areas. The main occupation in these areas is agriculture, and rice, vegetables, and fish farming are common. The agricultural practices are traditional, with less mechanization and modern technologies. - Lower Population Density: Populations in the rural sectors of Baruipur, comparatively, are less crowded than in cities. Spreading out over the landscape, population numbers are not as populous as in towns. - Traditional Lifestyle: This is mainly preserved in rural areas; the main activities there involve agriculture, small local business, and community living. Infrastructure such as roads, sanitation, and electricity will be less developed compared to urban zones. - Socio-Economic Differences: - Income Levels: The general income level in urban areas, such as Baruipur town, is comparatively higher due to the growth of businesses, services, and employment opportunities. However, in rural areas, the average income is quite low as most people engage in agriculture and labor-intensive jobs. - Access to Education and Healthcare: Urban parts of the block have better access to education and healthcare facilities, including schools, colleges, and hospitals. Rural areas might have fewer resources and rely more on government-run services, which may be less equipped. - Employment Opportunities: In urban cities, people get employment opportunities in service sectors, government jobs, trade, and small industries. In contrast, rural areas are more reliant on farming, manual work, and small businesses. - Infrastructure and development: - Urban Areas: The urban areas of Baruipur Block have better road networks, electricity, water supply, and internet connectivity. These areas have also seen improvements in drainage and sanitation systems. The local government has focused on urban development in these areas. - Rural Areas: Though rural areas are experiencing improvement, most of the villages may still miss some basic infrastructures such as roads, electricity, or even a proper water supply. Schemes by the Government have been working to address these areas, but some connectivity and development issues have not been addressed yet. - Cultural and Social Dynamics: - Urban vs Rural Lifestyles: Baruipur's urbanized life goes at a faster pace; it is more inculcated with modern culture and entertainment, technology, etc. In rural life, community-based culture plays a crucial role; festivals, traditions, and agrarian are the center of life. - Migration: Urban areas tend to attract more migrant workers from nearby rural regions. These migrants often come in search of better job opportunities, especially in trade, commerce, and industries in or near Baruipur town. - Government Schemes and Rural Development: - Rural areas of Baruipur enjoy various government schemes for rural development. These include agricultural subsidies, rural employment schemes, health schemes, and infrastructure development schemes under the housing scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. - Economy - Economic Agriculture in Baruipur Block (located in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal) plays a significant role in the region's overall economy. As part of the broader agricultural landscape of West Bengal, Baruipur is known for its rural nature, with agriculture being the primary source of livelihood for a substantial portion of the population. Types of Agriculture: - Paddy Cultivation: The major staple crop in the area of Baruipur, there is full paddy cultivation present at the block especially the villages and villages falling into periphery. The alluvial soil combined with easy river proximity by which this help to grow Aman and Boro rice. - Vegetable Farming: In addition, Baruipur is famous for vegetable cultivation. Different vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, brinjal, and peas are grown by farmers. Most of them are grown during the winter season. - Fruit Cultivation: In some areas of Baruipur, people cultivate fruits like mangoes, guavas, and bananas. The rich soil and favorable climate help to grow different types of fruits. - Aquaculture (Fish Farming): As there are several rivers and water bodies in Baruipur, fish farming is an important agricultural activity. The Hooghly River and its tributaries offer ample opportunity for freshwater fish farming. Fish such as rohu, catla, and hilsa are common, and prawn farming is increasingly gaining interest. - Poultry and Livestock: Although not as significant as crop farming, poultry farming, such as chickens and ducks, is a source of income for many households. Dairy farming, cow and buffalo, is also practiced, but on a much smaller scale than crop cultivation. - Fishing Industry and Its Economic Role The fishing industry holds a very important place in the economic scenario of Baruipur Block, West Bengal, particularly in the South 24 Parganas district. Since the block is so close to the Hooghly River, a tributary of the Ganges, and the wetland ecosystems of this region are so bountiful, fishing—freshwater and brackish water alike—has always been an important source of livelihood for many residents of Baruipur. Here is the detailed account of the fishing industry and its importance in the economy of the region: Types of Fishing - Freshwater Fishing: A significant percentage of fishing in Baruipur revolves around freshwater fishing. Hooghly River, along with its tributaries, ponds, and small water bodies, provides abundant fish species like rohu, catla, mrigal, and hilsa. All these species are widely caught and form a significant source of food and income for local communities. - Brackish water aqua culture: Apart from fishing, now-a-days more importance lies on brackish water aqua culture farming-or aqua farming. Various people engage themselves in fish, prawns, as they take chances with the presence of saline and brackish water area especially near to rivers in that delta areas at Baruipur. - Marine Fishing: Though it is relatively nearer to the Hooghly River, the main marine fishing operations are more with the coastal parts of the South 24 Parganas district. For example, fishing areas near Sunderbans would also indirectly affect the economy of Baruipur regarding trade and market access. - Fish Frying and Preservation: Some of the Baruipur families also prepare dried or salted fish as an economic and cultural activity. The practice of fish drying has also been there for common purposes to consume fish through the year. - Small-Scale Industries and Crafts Small-scale industries and crafts of Baruipur Block, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, constitute a significant section of the local economy. Even though agriculture is the primary source of income for the region, small-scale industries and traditional crafts also serve as significant sources of employment, thereby enriching the local economy, and preserving cultural heritage. The traditional rural setting of the region and proximity to Kolkata blend artisanal and industrial activities in the region. Here is a more detailed look at small-scale industries and crafts in Baruipur, Small-scale industries in Baruipur are local manufacturing and service-based industries. They generally cater to regional needs or make use of the area's agricultural products. These are less capital-intensive and generally employ a large number of local workers. - Tourism Potential. Cultural, nearness to Kolkata, natural beauty, and the unique rural charm create much potential for tourism in Baruipur Block, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Although a basically agricultural and residential locality, its proximity to the Sundarbans, in addition to its traditional crafts and natural landscapes, would help create opportunities for ecotourism, heritage tourism, and rural tourism. A detailed analysis of tourism potential in Baruipur Block is given below: - Proximity to Kolkata and Sundarbans: Strategically located at a distance from Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, makes it an ideal destination for day trips or weekend getaways from the city. Being relatively close to the Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, mangrove forests, wildlife sanctuaries, and home to the Royal Bengal tiger, tourists visiting Kolkata or the Sundarbans might easily include a visit to Baruipur, which promises a quieter, more rural experience. - The landscape of Baruipur includes rural and riverine landscapes: It lies on the Hooghly River, a significant tributary to the Ganges. This picturesque, serene landscape of the Hooghly River and riverbanks, full of greenery, is perfect for boating, fishing, and nature walks. So, this tranquil environment invites tourists looking for a quiet retreat and experience with nature far from the hustle-bustle of cities. - Water Bodies and Wetlands: Baruipur has a large number of ponds, lakes, and small wetlands that are ideal for eco-tourism activities like bird watching, boating, and fishing. The rich biodiversity of the area, including migratory birds, could attract birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts. - Proximity to the Sundarbans: As Baruipur is at the edge of Sundarbans, the Sundarbans National Park and its wildlife sanctuaries are easily accessible for tourists staying in Baruipur. This proximity allows tourists to experience both the rural life of Baruipur and the wilderness of the Sundarbans. - Economic Challenges and Opportunities Located in South 24 Parganas in West Bengal, the Baruipur Block suffers from economic challenges and barriers, although these are contrasted by immense opportunities in growth. This is basically a predominantly rural block, with the agricultural base of its activities, due to the effects of the nearby presence of both Kolkata and Sundarbans, and its potential towards both agriculture and eco-tourism. Below is an overview of the key economic challenges and the opportunities that can help unlock Baruipur's growth potential. Economic Challenges - Agricultural Dependence and Low Diversification Challenge: Baruipur's economy depends too much on agriculture, which means the majority of crops are rice, vegetables, and fish. Due to dependence on one sector, it makes the economy vulnerable to fluctuations like weather-related shocks, price instability, and lack of modern farming techniques. Weather Vulnerability: Flooding can destroy crops in the areas of Baruipur, especially in the low-lying areas near the Hooghly River. Climate change causes erratic patterns of rainfall and results in either drought or floods, which can seriously affect agriculture. Low Productivity: Despite the heavy dependence on agriculture, the sector suffers from low productivity because of old farming practices, lack of access to modern technology, and poor irrigation facilities. - Slow Industrialization Problem Statement: Baruipur possesses a very weak industrial base which is mainly small-scale industries operating in food processing, rice milling, and some local crafts. Since the industrial growth is very low, employment opportunities exist only in agriculture. Problem of Infrastructure: Although close to Kolkata, the local infrastructure of the roads, electricity, and waste management is very less developed, and hence greater industries or businesses cannot attract easily. Industrial Stagnation: The area has not attracted large-scale manufacturing industries, and its proximity to Kolkata’s industrial areas has not significantly benefited it, leaving it reliant on agriculture and traditional industries. - Infrastructure - Transportation Systems: Baruipur Block is the one block in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, which comprises rural and urban infrastructure. Transportation is one of the vital factors in connecting this region with the capital city of West Bengal, Kolkata, and Sundarbans along with other parts of the district. Being close to Kolkata and also an agricultural hub, the transport system of Baruipur is road, rail, and river-based, though the infrastructure challenges have to be addressed in certain areas. - National and State Highways - National Highway 12 (NH-12): Baruipur is well-connected to Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal via National Highway 12, which connects Kolkata to Bengaluru and other important towns. NH-12 passes through the block, making it an important route for transportation of goods and people. - State Highways: There are several state highways and district roads that connect Baruipur with nearby areas like Canning, Joynagar, and Basanti. These roads play a vital role in the local transport system, especially for agricultural produce and local trade. - Electricity and Water Supply: Baruipur Block is a South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, which is predominantly a rural area with urban elements as well as agricultural features. Although the block lies close to Kolkata, sometimes access to electricity and water supply may vary between the town and the remote rural belt. Electricity and water supply are two of the indispensable elements that support the overall economic development, livelihood of the people, and good quality of life. Below is an analysis of the current status, challenges, and opportunities regarding electricity and water supply in Baruipur Block. Electricity Supply in Baruipur Block - Electricity Coverage - Power Supply Availability: Baruipur is under the state electricity grid, and most of the block is electrified. The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) provides power supply to the block. Many towns and semi-urban areas within Baruipur have regular power supply, especially those near the center of Baruipur town and major roads. - Rural Problems: Even in some remote rural areas of Baruipur, such as those situated along rivers or on low grounds, power supply remains erratic for reasons like vulnerable infrastructure, weather-related breakdowns, or a lack of robust grid connectivity. Electricity theft and overloading of local transformers cause frequent power cuts mainly during peak hours of consumption like harvesting periods. - Problems in Power Supply - Voltage Fluctuations: Rural areas mainly suffer from voltage fluctuations which may damage electrical appliances particularly in weak infrastructure areas. - Reliability and Duration of Power Cuts: While there is a good supply in the urban areas of Baruipur, power cuts are pretty common in rural areas mainly during storms or the monsoon season. Regular cuts can affect agriculture, including irrigation pumps, cold storages, and small enterprises. - Lack of Proper Infrastructure: Some areas, mostly fringe regions, lack infrastructure to support continuous power supply. This may be due to old lines, lack of investments, or poor planning. - Solar Energy and Renewable Solutions There is a great potential for solar power solutions considering the agricultural focus in Baruipur. In many off-grid areas, for irrigation pumps and household electricity needs, there is tremendous potential for developing solar energy solutions. Solar micro-grids and solar-powered street lighting can be a very sustainable solution to improve electricity supply in rural areas. - Water Supply - Limited Piped Water Coverage: Though in some part of the locality, most particularly in the town of Baruipur, has piped water supply facilities, a large percent of the block population uses hand pumps or bore well or rivers or ponds even in the close vicinity. - Water Scarcity and Accessibility: In some regions, there is seasonal water scarcity because of a lack of water storage infrastructure, and access to clean drinking water is a challenge in rural areas. - Pollution of Water Sources: The existence of polluted water bodies and the contamination of groundwater with iron, arsenic, and salinity are some persistent problems. These contaminants pose significant health risks to the local population and cause long-term problems, such as waterborne diseases. - Government Schemes and Programs - Jal Jeevan Mission: The Jal Jeevan Mission is an ambitious government initiative that aims to provide piped drinking water to every rural household in India. In many areas of Baruipur, this scheme is being availed, but more needs to be done to achieve full coverage. - Water Conservation and Management: Efforts in rainwater harvesting, water conservation, as well as wastewater treatment activities may help ensure that its usage is more sustainable in nature and more accessible by residents. - Expansion of Piped Water Networks: The expansion of piped water supply in rural areas under the Jal Jeevan Mission will ensure that more households have access to clean and safe drinking water. - Rainwater Harvesting: Encouraging the adoption of rainwater harvesting systems in both urban and rural areas will increase the availability of water during the dry season. It will reduce dependence on groundwater and surface water sources. - Water Awareness Campaigns: Educate the local population about conserving water, harvesting rainwater, and safe drinking water practices. It helps in developing a culture of sustainable water use. - Health and Sanitation: Health and sanitation are the most important aspects of life in Baruipur Block, South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. The region has a mix of urban, semi-urban, and rural populations. Thus, access to health care services and sanitation facilities varies significantly across different regions. Though there have been improvements in health care infrastructure and sanitation over the years, challenges still exist in terms of accessibility, quality of services, and public health. - Healthcare Infrastructure in Baruipur Block - Healthcare Facilities - Baruipur Sub-Divisional Hospital is the primary health care centre of the area. This hospital is situated in the town area of Baruipur. It is a referral hospital for the block, providing basic medical facilities like emergency, maternity services, and out-patient consultations. But the capacity and infrastructure of this hospital are sometimes insufficient for the treatment of more patients or in cases requiring more advanced medical attention. - Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and sub-centres: Apart from the sub-divisional hospital, several PHCs along with sub-centres provide healthcare services to the populace spread across different villages and towns. These centres provide preventive, promotive, and curative services such as immunization, maternal and child healthcare, basic diagnostics, medicines, etc. - There are 9 PHCs and 27 sub-centers in the block, which cater to the health needs of the rural population. These centers are usually manned by doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff. - In cities and semi-cities, including towns such as Baruipur, the population is also being served by private healthcare providers and clinics. Private centers are faster, better-equipped, and more specialized; however, they are pricier compared to government-run centers. - Maternal and Child Health Government programs have been focusing much on Maternal and Child Health Services. The state of West Bengal has initiated specific projects that improve antenatal care, childbirth services, and immunization throughout the block. - Anganwadi Centers: These are the main places where early childhood care and nutrition of children and mothers are provided. They are supported by ASHA workers (Accredited Social Health Activists) who provide outreach services. - Despite all improvements, maternal and child health indicators in rural and remote areas still reflect inequalities compared with the rest of the world mainly due to poor access to medical facilities, especially in pregnant women or complicated delivery cases. - Education: The CD Block had 174 primary schools with 23,747 students, 7 middle schools with 638 students, 5 high schools with 1,811 students and 26 higher secondary schools with 23,152 students in 2013–14. Baruipur CD block had 3 general degree colleges with 10,027 students and 591 institutions for special and non-formal education with 26,221 students. According to the census 2011, out of the 122 inhabited villages in Baruipur CD block, 4 villages had no school and two or more primary schools in 44 villages; at least 1 primary and 1 middle school in 38 villages, and at least 1 middle and 1 secondary school in 18 villages. Sushil Kar College was founded at Champahati in 1968. - Educational Infrastructure in Baruipur Block Education is a crucial pillar of development, and Baruipur Block, located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has made notable progress in expanding educational facilities in recent decades. The block, with its mix of urban and rural areas, presents unique challenges and opportunities in terms of providing equitable access to quality education for all its residents. Below is a detailed analysis of the educational infrastructure in Baruipur Block, covering aspects such as schooling facilities, higher education, government initiatives, challenges, and opportunities for further development. - Schooling Infrastructure in Baruipur Block - Primary and Secondary Schools - Government Schools: Under the government, there are hundreds of primary and secondary schools in Baruipur Block. They are scattered throughout both urban and rural areas to offer free and compulsory education to children as mandated by the Right to Education (RTE) Act. There are many governments run primary schools in Baruipur, the school follows up to class V, administered by West Bengal Board of Primary Education. - Secondary Schools: The block has a considerable number of secondary schools (up to class X), which are under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE). The schools follow different streams, like Arts, Science, and Commerce. - Private Schools: In recent times, private schools are growing up within the urban and semi-urban areas of Baruipur, mainly within and around the Baruipur town. The private schools use either the CBSE or ICSE curricula, as a lot of people are now preferring not to attend government-run schools. - School Enrolment and Attendance - Enrollment Rates: In most areas, enrollment rates within the primary school structure appear to be high for the most part, thanks mainly to initiatives such as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. - Dropout Rates: On the whole, drop rates within the secondary structure show some signs of improvements over time but remain more common, particularly in females who have faced early marriage. Poverty is another major contributory factor; people become unconscious of education and simply see it as a basic expense. - Vocational and Skill-Based Education: The government has increasingly focused on vocational education in order to enhance employability. Skill development centers are being established to offer training in areas like automobile repair, textile, computer skills, and agriculture. - Higher Education in Baruipur Block - Colleges and Universities: The principal institution for higher education in the block is Baruipur College. It is situated in Baruipur town and conducts undergraduate courses in Arts, Science, and Commerce affiliated with Calcutta University. It has a huge number of students, but it is always facing problems about infrastructure, less availability of specialized teachers, and a limited number of courses than the other larger universities. - Proximity to Kolkata: Baruipur is well connected to Kolkata and many students from the block commute to the city for higher education. Kolkata has a number of prestigious institutions such as the University of Calcutta, Jadavpur University, Presidency University, and several private colleges that attract students from the block. Government Policies and Programs - Right to Education (RTE) Act - The Right to Education (RTE) Act: The Right to Education (RTE) Act has seen the government make progress in providing free and compulsory education to children aged 6-14 years. This has increased enrollment at the primary level in Baruipur Block. - Mid-Day Meal Scheme: The Mid-Day Meal Scheme still has an integral role to enhance the schooling rate and eliminate malnutrition. It benefits greatly, especially in the rural regions since parents do not provide ample nutrition to the children. - Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan: Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan involved a proper government strategy which enhanced sanitation within schools while making sure there is proper construction of toilets. Hygiene, as well as cleanliness around schools, must be in place. - Digital Education - Digital Learning: The state government has also developed the "Kanyashree Prakalpa" for empowering girls, with efforts to bring in the digital classroom and e-learning solutions in government schools, while the implementation remains quite low in villages due to infrastructural gaps. - Government Programs and Development Initiatives: Baruipur Block in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal has witnessed various government-structured initiatives and development plans designed to uplift the life of its citizens. All of these programs have touched every sector, including education, healthcare, rural development, agriculture, infrastructure, and social welfare. Here are the key government programs and development initiatives undertaken by the government in Baruipur Block: - Rural Development Programs - Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) - Objective: This program aims to provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural households, ensuring that every rural household has at least one member employed throughout the year. MGNREGA has played a vital role in improving rural infrastructure and providing employment opportunities, especially during times of economic distress. - Impact in Baruipur: MGNREGA has been used in Baruipur Block for the construction of rural roads, irrigation canals, water conservation structures, afforestation, and other activities. It has also been able to check migration for work and is much-needed income for families. - Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Gramin - Objective: The scheme aims to provide affordable housing to rural poor families by constructing houses with basic amenities. - Baruipur: Through PMAY, several families in the block in Baruipur have become the beneficiaries of pucca houses built for the households, which reduced temporary shelter problems and improved living standards in rural households. - Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission DAY-NRLM - Objective: The program intends to eradicate poverty by giving self-employment opportunities to rural women and marginalized sections. It involves capacity building, skill development, and formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs). - Impact in Baruipur: Women's SHGs in Baruipur Block have been effectively involved in agriculture, handicrafts, food processing, and rearing of livestock, which have helped in enhancing economic independence and social status of the women. - Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods - Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) - Objective: The scheme provides irrigation facilities to boost up the agricultural productivity. The scheme promotes micro-irrigation techniques and the harvesting of rainwater. - Impact in Baruipur: This scheme has helped the farmers of Baruipur enhance irrigation access, especially at areas that earlier relied much on monsoon rains. Higher irrigation coverage has further increased crop yields, with crops such as paddy, vegetables, and fruits leading the way. - National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET) - Objective: NMAET seeks to spread agricultural practices to the countryside, emphasizing sustainable agriculture, training, and the building of capacity for the farmers. - Impact in Baruipur: Farmers of Baruipur have benefited from the exposure to new agricultural technologies, organic farming practices, and improved seeds leading to better productivity and sustainability in agriculture. - Atma Nirbhar Krishi Yojana: The scheme encourages farmers to be self-reliant through agriculture-based entrepreneurship, value-added products, and market linkages.In the Baruipur area, this scheme has supported farmers to establish agriculture-based enterprises particularly in agri-businesses, processing, and marketing that has created a new source of income for rural households. - Education and Skill Development - Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) - Goal: The flagship program of the Ministry of Education works towards universalizing elementary education for children between 6 to 14 years old, classes I to VIII. - Impact in Baruipur: The introduction of SSA has resulted in the establishment of new schools, infrastructure development, and teacher training in Baruipur Block. It has also enhanced the enrollment percentage among girls and brought a qualitative dimension to education. - Mid-Day Meal Scheme - Objective: The Mid-Day Meal Scheme offers free meals to children in government and government-aided schools. This scheme is meant to enhance nutrition, attendance, and learning outcomes. - Impact in Baruipur: The scheme has especially promoted the attendance of schools along with combating malnutrition that afflicts school-going children and has ensured children will at least get one nutricious meal every day - Kanyashree Prakalpa: This project offers incentives for education girl children by providing a bank balance to girls for each day of attendance in schools in order to prevent early marriage as well. - Impact in Baruipur: The Kanyashree Prakalpa has significantly improved girl education in Baruipur Block, encouraging higher enrollment of girls in secondary and higher secondary schools and reducing dropout rates among girls. - Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) - Objective: This national scheme aims to provide skill development training to youth, enhancing their employability in the industrial sector. - Impact in Baruipur: Thousands of young people in Baruipur have been trained in various skills such as hospitality, computer literacy, driving, tailoring, and electronics repairing, which helped them gain jobs or start up enterprises. - Health and Sanitation a. National Health Mission (NHM): The mission of NHM is to provide accessible health care for every citizen at affordable rates to improve health outcomes for women, children, and reduction of diseases. - Impact in Baruipur: NHM has been pivotal in improving the health infrastructure in Baruipur. It has aided the establishment of health centers, provided medical equipment, and engaged health workers. The scheme has also improved immunization coverage and decreased maternal and child mortality. b. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan - Objective: This national initiative focuses on ODF areas and sanitation in the country. - In Impact at Baruipur. A better sanitation facility in Rural of Baruipur exists after Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for many of them as through toilets constructed by Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan through School and rural individual latrine households. c. Jal Jeevan Mission: To achieve a piped water supply in every village or every household. - Impact in Baruipur: Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, a large number of house connections have been provided in Baruipur, providing clean and uninterrupted water supply for drinking and daily usage. - Social Welfare and Empowerment a. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) - Objective: This plan is for financial inclusion by opening bank accounts for all households, mainly in rural areas, and providing them access to credit and financial services. - Impact in Baruipur: The PMJDY has brought many rural families in Baruipur into the formal banking system, giving them access to bank accounts, direct benefit transfers, and insurance schemes. b. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) - Objective: This scheme provides free LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, with the objective of reducing health hazards associated with traditional cooking methods. - Impact in Baruipur: Many families in rural areas of Baruipur have received LPG connections under PMUY, significantly improving health and safety by reducing the use of firewood and coal for cooking. c. Atal Pension Yojana (APY) - Target Audience: The APY serves pension benefits to workers who are part of the informal sector by investing in an annuity through a state-run pension scheme. - Implications in Baruipur : Most beneficiaries of this plan in the greater Baruipur region included agricultural laborers and minor traders. d. Roads and Connectivity - PMGSY - Target Aim: The goal of this PMGSY scheme has been to extend all season rural connectivity. - Impact in Baruipur: The rural road infrastructures have improved connectivity in the villages, towns, and urban centers. As a result, access to markets, schools, and health facilities has increased. - BharatNet - Objective: BharatNet is an attempt to provide high-speed internet connectivity to rural areas, thus bridging the gap between the digital divide. The broadband internet connection has been expanded to many rural areas in Baruipur, enhancing digital education, online government services, and business opportunities for local entrepreneurs. - Social Issues and Challenges: Baruipur Block, South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is a mix of an urban and rural community. It has seen significant improvements over the years in infrastructure development, healthcare, and educational sectors. However, the block is still facing several socio-economic issues and challenges deep-rooted in socio-economic factors, cultural norms, and historical inequalities. Thus, the following is a detailed overview of the major social issues and challenges found in Baruipur Block. 7.1 Poverty and Unemployment: - Poverty Levels: Poverty still exists as one of the main issues in most of the rural and peri-urban parts of Baruipur Block. While government welfare programs have achieved considerable success, most people remain in poverty. - Several families engage in agriculture; most landholdings are small and yield low income, and even unemployment due to seasonality associated with rain-fed agriculture contributes to this poverty level. - Income Inequality: There is a significant income gap in the urban and rural sector. While the areas closest to Baruipur town and the Kolkata metropolitan region are probably better off in terms of infrastructure and employment, most rural households are heavily reliant on agriculture or manual labor, both of which are low-paid activities. The most vulnerable to economic shocks are landless agricultural laborers, marginal farmers, and people working in the informal sector without access to credit, insurance, and modern farming technologies. - Unemployment a. Agricultural Dependence: The majority of the rural population of Baruipur relies on agriculture for their livelihood, but due to the lack of access to modern techniques, irrigation systems, and market connectivity, productivity is low. This results in underemployment where workers are employed in agriculture but often receive meager wages. b. Low Non-Agricultural Employment Opportunities: Some employment opportunity through small-scale industries and services is available in the town of Baruipur. However, there are inadequate employment opportunities in rural areas in both skilled as well as unskilled sectors. Many residents from the rural areas move to the Kolkata city for better jobs that leads to brain drain along with family disruption. c. Youth Unemployment: Despite the initiatives undertaken by governments, there is a significant increase in the unemployment rates of youths, particularly in rural areas among educated youths. This is because formal education provides youth with skills that do not match the demands of the local job market. 7.2 Education Barriers: In general, education in Baruipur Block, as in other rural parts of West Bengal and India, has numerous challenges that hinder the children's and adults' ability to acquire quality learning. Although there are various initiatives by the government aimed at improving literacy and access to education, there are some major barriers to education, which limits the level of progress in this area. These can be divided into socio-economic factors, infrastructural problems, gender differences, and cultural issues-all affecting the sustenance of educational problems in this region. 1. Socio-Economic Obstacles to Education a. Poverty and Economic Inability Poverty is one of the most important barriers to education in Baruipur Block. Many families in rural areas face basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare, and education becomes a secondary priority. As a result, children from low-income families may be forced to drop out of school to work and contribute to household income, especially in farming or labor-intensive jobs. School fees, even in institutions that are government-owned, discourage economically disadvantaged families from accessing educational services. Uniforms, books, stationery, and other consumables make education expensive, unaffordable to some families. In some scenarios, parents who are ignorant or uneducated may never understand the value of school and prefer children to seek employment in agriculture or helping with domestic chores, mostly for girls. b. Child Labor:Child labor is still prevalent in certain parts of Baruipur, especially in agriculture, brick-making, and fishing. Children are forced to work instead of attending school, which hampers the dropout percentage, especially at the secondary and higher secondary levels, as most of them become dropouts. Seasonal migration for work also breaks into children's schooling as households move to urban centers or other rural areas to secure employment while children remain uneducated for a period long enough. c. Accessibility of Helpful Resources: Many families in the rural region do not have all the major resources such as internet, electricity, and even books, which limit children from reading and getting proper study sessions at home. This situation is mainly challenging nowadays with the significant increase in importance of e-learning and digital education. Inadequate nutritional intake and poor healthcare also can affect the ability of children to attend school regularly or concentrate in class, thus leading to poor academic performance and increasing the risk of school dropout. 2. School Infrastructure and Facilities a. School Infrastructure - Poor infrastructural conditions of most of the rural schools of Baruipur include dilapidated buildings, no sanitary facilities, inadequate classrooms and furniture. Such conditions may not only create discomfort at the learning arena but pose health hazards to students at times. - Schools without electricity or access to basic amenities like clean drinking water or toilets are common, which makes the school experience unpleasant for children and discourages enrollment, especially for girls. - Classroom overcrowding is a serious issue in many government schools. With teacher shortages and large student-to-teacher ratios, individual attention to students becomes limited, affecting the quality of education. b. Teacher Shortages and Quality of Teaching: - Absenteeism of teachers, shortages of teachers, and inadequate special subject teachers- particularly for subjects such as mathematics, science, and English-have been a huge issue in the Baruipur Block. The absence of quality teachers, especially in rural and remote schools, contributes to bad education and poor skills of subject knowledge. - Many teachers are burdened with administrative work or may not have received adequate training in modern teaching methods. This lack of professional development and teaching resources handicaps them in teaching effectively, especially when working with a diverse group of students with different learning needs. c. Distance and Accessibility - Long distances to the nearest school become a significant barrier for children in more remote or scattered villages. For rural Baruipur, transportation infrastructure is often underdeveloped, and children may need to walk several kilometers daily to reach school, both physically exhausting and time-consuming. - In some areas, school transportation is unavailable, forcing girls and children to travel a long distance in an insecure environment. Consequently, the number of children dropping or failing to attend school has been increasing due to either fear of insecurity or being unable to travel. 3. Gender Disparities in Education a. Gender-Based Educational Inequality - Girls in Baruipur Block face more difficulties accessing education than boys. The cultural preference for the education of boys, along with early marriage, domestic duties, and household chores, leads to higher dropout rates among girls, especially after primary school. - In rural areas, the boys are given preference over the girls in education, especially in the poor family where resources are very scarce. Gender stereotypes and the traditional believes often view the education of girls as unimportant or unnecessary, especially when the girls are expected to do the household chores or get married at a very tender age. - This has hindered girls' education because several schools do not have clean sanitary facilities, making attending school during menstruation unbearable. In some instances, girls drop out of school once they reach puberty as a result of lack of privacy, sanitary pads, and proper restroom facilities b. Early Marriage and Childbearing - Early marriage still is a common practice in the rural areas, and after marriage, girls drop school to become housewives. Though the government is making efforts through Kanyashree Prakalpa, the practice still holds a lot of barriers against the continued education of girls. 4. Cultural and Social Barriers a. Lack of Parental Support and Awareness - In rural Baruipur, many parents do not understand the importance of education, especially for girls. Families in poverty may regard education as a luxury, and in some cases, children are kept out of school to contribute to the household economy, either by agricultural labor or by working in the informal sector. - Parents, being illiterates may not have proper understanding about the long term benefit of sending children to schools or even government schemes in favor of education. Therefore, this parental alienation might be one major constraint towards children's academic success. b. Social Norms and Traditional Practices: Traditional thinking regarding education, especially for girls, is often more towards domestic roles than formal education. In many rural families, social norms dictate that girls should be trained in household chores, which makes them drop out of school early. Caste-based discrimination also impacts educational outcomes. Children belonging to SC, ST, and OBCs face social discrimination within schools, which affects their self-esteem, participation, and academic performance. c. Inadequate Community Participation: Education support from the community is usually low, especially in regions where cultural heritage is highly valued. The schools do not participate effectively with parents or local society to promote education. Thus, disengagement and lack of responsibility over educational outcomes are common. 5. Government Programs to Bridge Education Gap a. Kanyashree Prakalpa (Kanyashree Scheme): The Kanyashree Prakalpa, an initiative of the West Bengal government, has improved girl child education considerably by giving incentives to girls in the form of financial benefits if they stay in school and delay marriage. The scheme has been able to bring down the dropout rate among girls and make families send their daughters to school. b. Mid-Day Meal Scheme: The Mid-Day Meal Scheme aims to enhance the attendance in schools and improve the nutritional status of children, mainly in rural regions. Providing free meals is a step that reduces the effects of poverty and hunger, two major obstacles to education. It also persuades parents to send their children to school, where they are assured of receiving at least one nutritious meal a day. c. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a national program that provides free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 6 and 14 years. It has helped improve the infrastructure in schools, increase teacher training, and provided learning materials in rural areas, including Baruipur Block. Community mobilization under SSA has also led to the formation of school management committees, which involve parents and local authorities in the process of education. d. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme is focused on addressing gender disparities in education through the education and empowerment of girls. It collaborates with Kanyashree to promote education among girls and address gender-based discrimination at the community level. e. Digital Education and Online Learning Digital literacy programs and online learning platforms are gradually being provided in Baruipur Block through initiatives like PMGDISHA, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan. Such initiatives are aimed to increase the digital literacy and easy access to online resources of learning. 7.3 Social Inequality and Rural Development: Social inequality and rural development are interlinked issues in the Baruipur Block of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Despite the government's efforts towards inclusive development, the rural areas of Baruipur still experience significant social inequalities based on caste, class, gender, and ethnicity, which restrict the overall development of the region. It is thus important to address these inequalities for sustainable economic growth, social justice, and inclusive progress. This section examines how social inequality manifests in Baruipur Block and the challenges it poses for rural development, along with potential solutions and strategies for creating a more equitable and inclusive rural society. 1. Manifestations of Social Inequality in Baruipur Block a. Caste-Based Discrimination - Caste-based discrimination remains a dominant issue in the rural regions of Baruipur Block, mainly among Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). These groups are socially excluded, discriminated against, and also have limited access to economic resources such as land, credit, and employment. - Historically marginalized communities in Baruipur face systemic challenges that limit their ability to fully participate in economic development and decision-making processes. Issues such as untouchability, segregation in education, and exclusion from community activities persist in some villages. b. Gender Inequality - Gender-based discrimination is a persistent barrier to development in Baruipur, where women, especially from marginalized communities, face significant challenges in accessing education, healthcare, employment opportunities, and political participation. - Although initiatives such as Kanyashree Prakalpa and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao have significantly contributed to girls' education and empowerment, gender and patriarchal values still pose obstacles to women's engagement in economic and political domains. - Women are often limited to household activities, and early marriage is prevalent, particularly in rural settings, thereby limiting the education and career of women. c. Economic Inequalities and Class Divide - Economic inequality is also another major concern. Here, the difference between landholding families and landless laborers is in sharp contrast, where the landless families suffer from poverty and marginalization. Landless families depend much on seasonal farm laboring and get entangled into cycles of debt and poverty. - Urban-rural disparities are also there in Baruipur. Infrastructure development and economic activities have flourished in parts of the block, mainly near the Baruipur town, but lag in the rural areas. In fact, many villages have inadequate infrastructure, like roads, electricity, and markets, which restricts their economic development. d. Discrimination Against Marginalized Groups - Ethnic discrimination and marginalization extend to tribal groups and immigrant communities coming from neighboring states or regions. These groups often inhabit the more remote areas with less access to basic services and tend to be excluded from the mainstream development processes. - Due to social exclusion and unavailability of representation in the local governance, access to such public services like education, healthcare, and government welfare programs could also be challenging for them. 2. Obstacles to Rural Development in the Face of Social Inequality a. Inability to Access Resources: Inequitable distribution of land ownership and land access restricts the economic livelihood of marginalized communities. For instance, families without land or only possessing a few acres may not be able to afford enhanced agricultural practices, diversified means of livelihood, or micro-enterprises. This severely limits their capacity to extricate themselves from poverty and achieve the overall objective of the economy. b. Poor Access to Education: - Educational inequality is another critical barrier. Children from marginalized communities, especially SC/ST and OBC backgrounds, often face a poor quality of education, discrimination in schools, and a high dropout rate. It perpetuates the cycle of poverty and inequality because children from disadvantaged backgrounds often do not acquire the skills and knowledge to better their socio-economic standing. - Gender disparities in education exacerbate this issue, as girls from lower-caste or lower-income families are more likely to be pulled out of school for domestic work or early marriage. c. Health Inequities: - Marginalized groups in rural areas usually have worse health outcomes due to the lack of access to health care services, malnutrition, and poor sanitation. For example, tribal populations and SC/ST communities usually experience a higher rate of malnutrition, maternal mortality, and infant mortality. - Health facilities in rural areas are often inadequate with a lack of trained medical professionals, medicines, and basic infrastructure. The poor and marginalized are more likely to be affected by these limitations since they cannot afford private healthcare or transportation to urban hospitals. d. Limited Political Participation - Social exclusion extends to the political sphere as well, where marginalized communities are generally not represented in local governance or decision-making processes. This has led to their concerns and needs being neglected in the block's development planning. Despite reservations for SC/ST candidates in local governance, traditional power structures and patriarchal norms sometimes prevent meaningful participation and empowerment of marginalized groups. 3. Government Schemes for Reducing Social Inequality in Baruipur Block There are various government initiatives and schemes which have been launched to reduce social inequality and bring inclusive development in the Baruipur Block. These programs improve the socio-economic conditions of marginalized groups and promote equitable development. a. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) MGNREGA offers the rural households assured wage employment which is aimed at enhancing livelihood security and creating sustainable infrastructure in the rural areas. By offering work opportunities to the landless laborers and other underprivileged groups, MGNREGA has been seen to reduce economic inequality through equal pay and equal participation among women in public works. b. Kanyashree Prakalpa This Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme aims at promoting education and preventing early marriages for girls coming from economically challenged families. Financial incentives have been promised to the girls, which remain in school, thereby averting early marriage. These factors would enhance women empowerment and reduce inequality between gender by uplifting educational status among rural girl students. c. BBBP This national initiative focuses on the issue of gender imbalances in education and the empowerment of girls by encouraging education and social and economic participation. It tries to eradicate gender discrimination and bridge the gender gap in rural areas such as Baruipur. d. Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Welfare Schemes The government has launched several welfare schemes targeting SC/ST communities, such as scholarships, hostels, subsidized loans, and land redistribution programs. These programs are designed to address historical injustices and improve educational access, healthcare, and economic opportunities for marginalized communities. e. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) The PMAY scheme aims to make available housing for the rural poor at a cost that is economical for the marginalized and SC/ST people. The program reduces social inequalities by addressing basic human needs and providing living security for those who, by past exclusion from development, need it most. f. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) seeks to provide sanitation and public health in the rural areas, especially for the marginalized communities. The focus on open defecation-free villages and toilets built in rural homes addresses the health inequities among SC/ST and OBC populations, who are largely found in underdeveloped areas with poor sanitation facilities. 4. Strategies for Addressing Social Inequality and Promoting Inclusive Development a. Promotion of Equal Access to Education Establishing community-based education programs, scholarships, and vocational training would improve educational outcomes among the marginalized and girls. There is a focus on remedial education, digital literacy, and skill development for better educational improvement. b. Strengthening Legal Protections and Social Security Strict enforcement of laws against caste discrimination and gender-based violence. Increasing social security schemes such as old-age pensions, health insurance, and livelihood support will reduce vulnerabilities for marginalized communities. c. Infrastructure Development in Rural Areas Investment in infrastructure (roads, sanitation, electricity, water supply) in underserved rural areas will help bridge the urban-rural divide and create more economic opportunities for marginalized groups. d. Enhancing Political Representation Strengthening representation of marginalized communities in local governance and political structures through affirmative action (reservations in Panchayats, local bodies, etc.) can help address their concerns and ensure more inclusive policy making. 8.Governance and Administration Governance and administration in Baruipur Block, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, contribute to the development and welfare programs of the region as well as the quality of life it provides to its citizens. The governance structure of the block is a combination of Panchayati Raj Institutions, state government programs, and central government initiatives for the betterment of the socio-economic status of the people. This paper articulates the key aspects of governance framework, challenges and prospects for improving administrative efficiency and responsibility in Baruipur. - Administrative Structure: - Administrative Structure of Baruipur Block The administrative structure of Baruipur Block, in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is such that governance, public services, and development programs are efficiently implemented at the grassroots level. The block functions under a multi-tiered system of governance that incorporates local self-governance through the Panchayati Raj System as well as oversight from district and state-level administrative bodies. Here is a further look at the administrative setup of Baruipur Block: a. District Administration The Baruipur Block at its highest level is administered under the jurisdiction of South 24 Parganas District. It has its own administration which is managed by the District Magistrate. The district magistrate administers all functions, which includes both administrative, developmental, and law-and-order functions within the district. b.Key Positions in District Administration: - District Magistrate (DM): The DM is the chief administrative officer at the district level, responsible for handling law and order, revenue management, development schemes, and inter-departmental coordination. - Sub-Divisional Officer: The SDO oversees administrative affairs at the sub-divisional level. In Baruipur, the SDO acts as a supervisor for the block-level administration. The SDO also oversees the implementation of schemes of the government, ensures resolution of issues pertaining to land revenue, and exercises supervisory control over the Circle Officers. - Additional District Magistrates (ADM) • ADMs assist the district magistrate in particular sectors, namely in revenue, development, law and order, etc. 2. Block-Level Administration (Baruipur Block) - At the block level, the administrative unit is known as Baruipur Block. It comes under the South 24 Parganas district. The chief administrative head at this level is the Block Development Officer (BDO), responsible for implementing government schemes, overseeing the Panchayati Raj System, and ensuring local governance. - Block Development Officer (BDO): 1. The BDO is the head of the block and has the responsibility of managing development programs, resource allocation, and implementing welfare schemes such as MGNREGA, PMAY, and Swachh Bharat Mission. 2. The BDO also coordinates with Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, and Zilla Parishads to ensure effective and transparent implementation of schemes. - Circle Officer: 1. A Circle Officer is assigned to manage specific geographical areas or circles within the block. He assists the BDO in implementing government schemes and revenue matters, including the land records, revenue collection, and the disputes over land in his assigned circles. - Revenue Officer: - Revenue Officers: They are responsible for the land-related issues, such as maintaining land records, land reforms, tax collection, and resolving land disputes. They work under the BDO and coordinate with the District Revenue Officer for large-scale land administration tasks. - Block-level Staff: - The BDO's office includes various staff members such as clerks, technical assistants, accounts officers, and development officers, who help execute the administrative functions and monitor ongoing development activities at the block level. - Panchayati Raj System in Baruipur Block: The Panchayati Raj System is the vital part of local governance in Baruipur Block. It is the decentralised system of governance where it has involved the participation of the local communities at decision-making levels and brought government schemes to the grass-root level. The system is structured as follows :a. Gram Panchayat (Village Level) - Gram Panchayats are the local units of governance in rural areas. Every Gram Panchayat has to handle the local affairs like water supply, sanitation, road maintenance, school management, and health services. - At the local level, elect the Sarpanch along with other Panchayat members. These elected individuals are responsible for the local delivery of public goods and services b. Panchayat Samiti (Block Level) - The administrative body at the block level is the Panchayat Samiti. It co-ordinates all the activities of Gram Panchayats in the block and is the medium through which all government programs at the block level are implemented and managed. - The Panchayat Samiti cooperates closely with the BDO in implementing schemes under the government, such as MGNREGA, PMAY, and Swachh Bharat Mission. - It is headed by an Upa-Sarpanch and consists of elected members from different Gram Panchayats in the block. c. Zilla Parishad (District Level) - Zilla Parishad is the highest level of administration in the district and manages Panchayat Samitis at the block level. It has large-scale infrastructure projects, major rural development programs, and welfare initiatives. - The Zilla Parishad is one of the key players that ensure policies from the state government are implemented at the district level. It supports the Panchayat Samitis and Gram Panchayats with resources and technical support. - Key Departments and Their Roles at the Block Level a. Agriculture Department - Block-level development of agriculture is done by the Agriculture Department in the block. This further includes activities such as promoting modem farming techniques, offering subsidies, designing training programs for farmers, and supervising the implementation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) in the block. b. Education Department - The Education Department in the block makes sure that Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), mid-day meal programs, and improves literacy and quality of education. It also cooperates with the local schools to ensure improvement in infrastructure and educational schemes are beneficial for all children. c. Health and Family Welfare Department - The role of the Health Department covers ensuring health services in a block. This would extend to Primary Health Centers' functioning, Community Health Centers and outreach programs under NHM. It also manages programmes on vaccinations, maternal care, and other public healthcare initiatives. d. Public Works Department (PWD) - The PWD is responsible for the upkeep and development of the infrastructure in the block, which includes roads, bridges, drainage systems, and buildings. This department ensures that the local infrastructure is functioning, including providing basic transport facilities. e. Social Welfare Department - The Social Welfare Department works to implement welfare schemes for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes. It also operates other schemes such as Kanyashree Prakalpa, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and PMAY (Gramin) for eliminating social inequalities. - Role of the District Magistrate (DM) and Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) The DM and SDO are the pivotal officers who administer the Block Baruipur. However, it is the BDO who manages the block's routine administrative activities; the DM and SDO handle the strategic governance function and keep the developmental projects of the block in line with the district and state's policies. a. District Magistrate (DM) - Coordination: The DM ensures that all schemes implemented at the block level are aligned with district goals and state policies. The DM provides guidance to the BDO, Circle Officers, and Panchayat leaders. - Monitoring and Compliance: The DM is involved in monitoring the implementation of welfare schemes, ensuring they are being carried out according to government regulations. - Law and Order: The DM ensures law and order and solves the problem of land disputes, public grievances, and communal harmony in the block.b. Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO). - The SDO has more an operational role in the management of local administration compared to DM. SDO administers the block administration through observing that BDOs and their offices are dealing properly with routine operations of running government programs. Further, the administrative problems at sub-division levels involving one block are resolved by the SDO. - The SDO also collaborates with the Panchayat Samiti and other local bodies to coordinate development activities, conduct field inspections, and ensure that funds are properly utilized for rural development. - Political Landscape: The political environment of Baruipur Block is determined by the combination of local, regional, and national politics. Being located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, the block has been involved with a strong political past which has been more influenced by the dominant forces of state politics, such as Trinamool Congress (TMC) and, to some extent, BJP and Left Front parties. The local political environment is crucial in shaping the administration, development policies, and community welfare programs in the block. Below is a comprehensive look at the political structure, major political parties, and the impact of politics on governance and development in Baruipur Block. 1. Political Parties and Their Influence a. Trinamool Congress (TMC) - The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee, is the dominant political force in both West Bengal and Baruipur Block. TMC has strong support at the grassroots level, especially among the rural poor, marginalized communities, and SC/ST communities. - TMC has maintained a stronghold in local Panchayat elections, Block-level governance, and the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections. - The party’s focus on rural development, welfare schemes, women’s empowerment, and political representation for marginalized groups resonates with the electorate in Baruipur Block. Initiatives like Kanyashree Prakalpa, Khadya Sathi, and Swachh Bharat Mission have contributed to the party’s popularity. - Local TMC leaders, including Sarpanches and Panchayat members, play a significant role in shaping the political climate and controlling local administration. Their strong networks at the grassroots level ensure political influence over public service delivery, making TMC a powerful actor in the region. b. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - BJP has increasingly become a key player in West Bengal's political landscape, though its presence in Baruipur Block has been limited compared to TMC. The BJP's rise has been particularly significant at the national level, with a shift in support among urban middle-class voters and some segments of the Scheduled Castes (SCs). - The party's campaign in West Bengal, including in Baruipur, has largely focused on nationalist sentiments, cultural identity, and promises of better governance. BJP has also capitalized on discontent with local governance in some areas, offering an alternative to the dominance of TMC. - While the BJP's influence is not as entrenched at the block level as TMC's, it has gained support in certain urban pockets and middle-class sections who are dissatisfied with the state government's handling of various issues. c. Left Front (CPI(M)) - The CPI(M) and its allied parties under the Left Front were historically the dominant political force in West Bengal, ruling the state for several decades. However, since the 2000s, the Left Front has lost significant ground to TMC in both the state and district politics. - Despite their diminished presence, CPI(M) and other Left Front parties continue to hold influence, especially among working-class voters, farmers, and traditional Left-supporting segments of the population. - In Baruipur Block, the Left’s role has been mostly symbolic, with the party focusing on rural development, land rights, and farmers' welfare, though their capacity to mobilize voters has reduced over time. d. Other Regional and Local Parties - There are some smaller regional and local parties that hold limited influence in the region. These parties often align with larger national or state-level forces depending on the political climate. However, their impact in Baruipur is minimal compared to the big three: TMC, BJP, and CPI(M). 2. Political Power Structure at the Block Level The political power structure at the block level is centered around the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), which consist of Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, and the Zilla Parishad. The influence of political parties is strong in local governance, as they determine the election of office-bearers at all levels of the Panchayat system. a. Gram Panchayats (Village Level) - The Gram Panchayats are the most basic form of governance in Baruipur Block. Local elections for the Sarpanch (village head) and Panchayat members are held every five years. These elections are fiercely contested, with TMC emerging as the dominant party in most villages. - TMC leaders often have deep local ties, which helps them mobilize voters effectively. Their influence extends beyond just electoral victories, as they control key decision-making processes in the village, such as welfare schemes, public distribution systems, and land disputes. b. Panchayat Samiti (Block Level) - The Panchayat Samiti is the governing body at the block level, and it plays a crucial role in implementing both state and central government schemes. The Panchayat Samiti consists of elected representatives from various Gram Panchayats within the block. - Political parties, especially TMC, dominate the Panchayat Samiti, ensuring the smooth implementation of their policies. The Upa-Sarpanch and other members of the Panchayat Samiti are often aligned with the ruling party in the state, which in this case is TMC. - Local political dynamics often influence the decisions made by the Panchayat Samiti, from selecting development projects to managing the funding and resource allocation for various programs. c. Zilla Parishad (District Level) - The Zilla Parishad, which governs the entire district of South 24 Parganas, holds significant political power. In the district elections, the TMC has generally been the strongest force, controlling the district’s political landscape. - The Zilla Parishad is instrumental in coordinating large-scale rural development programs, which include roads, drainage, healthcare, and education. Political party influence at the district level often determines the prioritization of resources, ensuring that the needs of TMC-supporting areas are met first. 3. Key Political Issues in Baruipur Block a. Rural Development and Infrastructure - Political parties in Baruipur Block, particularly TMC, focus heavily on rural development. Infrastructure projects, such as the construction of rural roads, drainage systems, and electricity supply, are significant electoral issues. - TMC has used rural development programs, such as Swachh Bharat Mission, PMAY, and MGNREGA, as key vehicles for garnering support in rural areas. Opposition parties like BJP and CPI(M) often criticize the implementation and management of these schemes, claiming that they are either inefficient or subject to corruption. b. Land and Agrarian Issues - Land reforms and agrarian distress are perennial issues in rural West Bengal. The distribution of land to landless farmers and ensuring fair compensation for displaced individuals due to infrastructure projects remains a key political issue. - In Baruipur, where agriculture remains a major livelihood, TMC often claims credit for schemes that support farmers and agriculture-based livelihoods, while opposition parties like BJP and CPI(M) accuse the ruling party of neglecting the interests of small farmers and tenant farmers. c. Social Welfare and Empowerment - Programs aimed at women’s empowerment, education for girls, and social security schemes (like Kanyashree Prakalpa, Swasthya Sathi, and Ration Cards) are major political platforms for TMC. These issues appeal to the rural electorate, particularly in a region where marginalized communities, including SCs, STs, and OBCs, are significant. - BJP also champions issues like women’s safety and welfare, though their impact in rural areas like Baruipur has been limited by the stronghold of TMC. d. Political Rivalries and Tensions - Political rivalry in Baruipur is often heated, especially during Panchayat and Assembly elections. TMC-BJP and TMC-Left Front tensions often surface, with accusations of violence, intimidation, and electoral fraud being leveled against each other. This can affect local governance, with political parties trying to assert control over local resources and public services. 4. Political Representation and Empowerment The political system in Baruipur Block ensures a high degree of political participation through elections and the Panchayati Raj System. However, political representation is not without challenges: - Caste and community-based politics often play a significant role in shaping voter behavior, especially in rural areas. - Women’s political representation has been a focus of several initiatives, with reserved seats in Gram Panchayats and Panchayat Samitis providing a platform for women to become more involved in local governance. - The rise of BJP as an alternative political force, particularly among urban voters, has introduced a new dynamic, although TMC maintains its dominance in rural areas. - Role of Local Governance and Panchayats Local governance in Baruipur Block, located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is deeply rooted in the Panchayati Raj System. This system empowers local elected bodies, known as Panchayats, to manage day-to-day governance and implement welfare programs at the grassroots level. The role of local governance and Panchayats in Baruipur Block is crucial for promoting socio-economic development, public service delivery, and democratic participation. The effectiveness of these institutions significantly impacts the quality of life for rural populations, driving both bottom-up governance and local empowerment. 1. Structure of Local Governance in Baruipur Block The Panchayati Raj System in Baruipur Block is organized into three main levels: - Gram Panchayat (Village Level) - Panchayat Samiti (Block Level) - Zilla Parishad (District Level) Each of these levels is responsible for specific governance functions, ranging from local development and public service delivery to policy implementation. 2. The Gram Panchayat (Village Level) The Gram Panchayat is the most localized form of governance in Baruipur. It is responsible for managing the affairs of individual villages, playing a central role in the delivery of essential services and implementing welfare schemes. - Key Functions of Gram Panchayats: - Basic Infrastructure Development: Gram Panchayats are responsible for developing and maintaining village roads, water supply systems, sanitation facilities, and public spaces. - Public Health and Sanitation: Local governance plays a crucial role in public health services, including the cleanliness of villages, health camps, and immunization drives. They also implement Swachh Bharat Mission and manage waste disposal and sanitation schemes. - Social Welfare Programs: The Gram Panchayat implements various state and central welfare schemes like PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) for housing, MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) for employment, and Kanyashree Prakalpa for women’s education and welfare. - Conflict Resolution and Local Justice: Gram Panchayats play an important role in resolving local disputes related to land, family issues, and minor criminal matters through informal channels. - Transparency and Accountability: Regularly hosting Gram Sabhas (village assemblies) helps ensure community participation, where villagers can voice their concerns, raise issues, and demand accountability from local representatives. - Agriculture and Livelihood Support: They assist farmers with subsidies, crop insurance, and promoting agriculture-based livelihoods, which are vital for Baruipur’s predominantly agrarian economy. - Political Influence: - TMC (Trinamool Congress) has a strong foothold in the Gram Panchayats in Baruipur Block, given the party’s popularity in the rural areas of South 24 Parganas. The local Panchayat members from TMC play a significant role in shaping the local political landscape and ensuring the delivery of government programs. - The Gram Panchayat also manages fund allocation for various developmental activities and ensures financial transparency through the Panchayat Accounts. 3. The Panchayat Samiti (Block Level) The Panchayat Samiti operates at the block level and coordinates the activities of the Gram Panchayats within the block. It acts as a linking body between the Gram Panchayats and the Zilla Parishad (district-level governance), overseeing the implementation of development projects, welfare schemes, and policy initiatives. - Key Functions of Panchayat Samiti: - Coordination and Resource Allocation: The Panchayat Samiti ensures that resources, both financial and material, are appropriately allocated to Gram Panchayats based on the needs of the villages. It helps in distributing funds for local infrastructure projects, public services, and welfare schemes. - Development and Planning: The Panchayat Samiti takes the lead in planning development activities at the block level, including the construction of rural roads, public health initiatives, and irrigation systems. - Monitoring and Evaluation: It acts as a supervisory body for Gram Panchayats, monitoring the progress of schemes like MGNREGA, PMAY, and Swachh Bharat, ensuring that they are executed properly and funds are utilized efficiently. - Public Welfare Schemes: The Panchayat Samiti is responsible for the implementation of schemes such as education, healthcare, and water management at the block level. It often conducts health camps, vaccination drives, and promotes education programs through local schools. - Conflict Resolution: It also handles any disputes or conflicts arising within the Gram Panchayats and mediates between local stakeholders to ensure harmony. - Political Influence: - The Panchayat Samiti in Baruipur is heavily influenced by TMC, which controls the majority of seats in both the Gram Panchayats and the Panchayat Samiti. This dominance gives the party significant influence over the allocation of resources and policy implementation. - The Panchayat Samiti is also a platform for political networking, where TMC leaders from various Gram Panchayats come together to discuss local governance issues, share resources, and plan development activities. 4. The Zilla Parishad (District Level) At the district level, the Zilla Parishad plays an important role in coordinating the activities of all the Panchayat Samitis within the district, including the one in Baruipur Block. The Zilla Parishad is primarily concerned with overseeing large-scale rural development projects and ensuring that government schemes are implemented at the district level. - Key Functions of Zilla Parishad: - District-Level Planning: The Zilla Parishad oversees the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and water supply systems. It works closely with the Panchayat Samitis to ensure the seamless implementation of development plans. - Coordination of State and National Programs: The Zilla Parishad serves as a bridge between state-level governance and local bodies. It ensures that programs like Swachh Bharat Mission, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and National Health Mission are successfully carried out in the block. - Education and Health Management: It works on improving the quality of education, providing mid-day meals, and ensuring better healthcare facilities in collaboration with local health centers and hospitals. - Political Influence: - The Zilla Parishad is predominantly controlled by TMC in the South 24 Parganas district, which means that the party plays a central role in district-level governance. This results in significant influence over district-wide policy decisions and resource allocation. - The Zilla Parishad acts as a critical political node in the region, where local leaders from Gram Panchayats and Panchayat Samitis converge to influence policy decisions. 5. Role of Panchayats in Promoting Democracy and Empowerment Local governance in Baruipur Block through the Panchayat System is not just about administration but also about promoting democratic participation and social empowerment. a. Encouraging Democratic Participation: - Regular Gram Sabhas and Panchayat elections ensure that local people have a say in decision-making processes. This promotes democracy by giving people an opportunity to elect their representatives and voice their concerns. - The Panchayat system ensures that marginalized groups—including women, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs)—are represented in local governance. Women, for example, have reserved seats in Gram Panchayats and Panchayat Samitis, which ensures their political participation. b. Decentralization of Power: - The Panchayati Raj System in Baruipur ensures that governance is decentralized to the village and block levels. This helps address local needs and ensures more efficient use of resources. - By enabling local representatives to have control over decision-making, the system strengthens community involvement and makes governance more responsive to local issues. c. Social Empowerment: - The Panchayats act as a tool for social empowerment, especially for women and marginalized groups. Initiatives such as Kanyashree, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and vocational training programs have been instrumental in improving the economic status and social standing of women and underprivileged sections of society. - Educational schemes, healthcare services, and skill development initiatives promoted by the Panchayats contribute to the overall empowerment of local communities, reducing socio-economic disparities. 6. Challenges Faced by Panchayats Despite their significant role, Panchayats in Baruipur Block face several challenges that hinder their ability to function effectively: a. Political Interference: - Political influence at the local level can sometimes hinder the effective functioning of Panchayats. While political parties like TMC control most of the Panchayat seats, this can lead to issues of partisan politics, where development work gets delayed or sidelined due to political conflicts. b. Resource Constraints: - Although Panchayats are responsible for local development, they often face a lack of adequate financial resources and capacity to implement large-scale development projects. This can result in inefficiency in delivering services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure. c. Bureaucratic Red Tape: - Panchayats often face delays and bottlenecks in the release of funds from higher levels of government, leading to slow implementation of programs. d. Lack of Skilled Manpower: - The capacity of Panchayats is sometimes limited due to a lack of trained personnel to handle complex governance tasks, which can result in poor service delivery and ineffective implementation of schemes. - Government Schemes and Welfare Programs The Government of India and the State Government of West Bengal have launched numerous schemes and welfare programs aimed at improving the quality of life for the rural population in Baruipur Block, located in the South 24 Parganas district. These programs span across various sectors, such as healthcare, education, social security, employment, and infrastructure, with a special emphasis on poverty alleviation and empowerment of marginalized groups, including women, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). In Baruipur Block, where a significant portion of the population depends on agriculture and rural livelihoods, these schemes serve as crucial tools for local governance and socio-economic development. Below is an overview of the major government schemes and welfare programs being implemented in the block. 1. Central Government Schemes a. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) - Objective: To provide affordable housing to the urban and rural poor, particularly for those living in kutcha houses or slums. - Target Groups: Low-income families, economically weaker sections (EWS), SCs, STs, and minorities. - Implementation in Baruipur: In Baruipur Block, PMAY focuses on the construction of pucca houses for families that do not own a permanent house. This program is especially beneficial for families residing in rural or semi-urban areas, improving their living conditions. b. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) - Objective: To provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural households, ensuring a source of income and livelihood. - Target Groups: Rural households, especially those in agriculture and marginalized communities. - Implementation in Baruipur: MGNREGA is actively implemented in Baruipur Block, providing employment to local workers in various projects such as road construction, water conservation, and irrigation systems. This program supports agricultural laborers, landless farmers, and women workers. c. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) - Objective: To ensure financial inclusion by providing bank accounts to every household in the country, promoting savings, and facilitating Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT). - Target Groups: Unbanked rural households, farmers, marginalized communities. - Implementation in Baruipur: PMJDY has been instrumental in improving financial literacy and promoting banking services in rural areas. Through this scheme, local residents of Baruipur can access bank accounts, insurance, and credit facilities. d. Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) - Objective: To achieve open defecation-free (ODF) villages and improve sanitation and hygiene in rural areas. - Target Groups: Rural households, especially women and children. - Implementation in Baruipur: Baruipur has seen significant progress under this scheme, with the construction of individual household latrines (IHHL) and the promotion of community sanitation complexes. Local Panchayats are responsible for ensuring the success of the mission through awareness campaigns and monitoring. 2. State Government Schemes (West Bengal) a. Kanyashree Prakalpa - Objective: To encourage girl child education and delay early marriages by providing financial incentives. - Target Groups: Unmarried girls aged 13-18 from economically weaker sections. - Implementation in Baruipur: The Kanyashree scheme has been a game-changer in Baruipur Block, empowering young girls by offering a one-time grant for education and an annual stipend for girls aged 13-18. The scheme has successfully helped reduce child marriage rates and improve school attendance among girls. b. Rupashree Prakalpa - Objective: To provide financial assistance to families for the marriage of daughters, thereby reducing the financial burden on families. - Target Groups: BPL (Below Poverty Line) families, economically disadvantaged families. - Implementation in Baruipur: This scheme assists families from poor backgrounds with a one-time financial grant of ₹25,000 for the marriage of daughters aged 18 or above. It has helped families in Baruipur reduce financial pressure during marriage ceremonies. c. Swasthya Sathi - Objective: To provide universal health coverage to all residents, with cashless health services for hospitalization and medical treatments. - Target Groups: All residents of West Bengal, with special focus on poor and marginalized communities. - Implementation in Baruipur: Under Swasthya Sathi, people in Baruipur can access free treatment in government hospitals and partner private hospitals. The scheme has contributed significantly to improving access to healthcare for rural populations and reducing out-of-pocket health expenditures. d. Jai Johar Yojana - Objective: To provide financial support to tribal families in West Bengal. - Target Groups: Scheduled Tribes (ST) in rural and tribal areas. - Implementation in Baruipur: This scheme has been crucial in improving the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities in Baruipur, offering financial aid for educational purposes, agriculture, and livelihood activities. e. Bangla Awas Yojana (BAY) - Objective: To ensure that every family in rural Bengal has access to decent housing. - Target Groups: Rural BPL households and homeless families. - Implementation in Baruipur: Under the Bangla Awas Yojana, many families in Baruipur Block have benefited from housing construction subsidies. The scheme is designed to ensure that poor families who don’t have a home receive financial assistance to build a pucca house. f. Maa Karmo and Shrestha Karmo (MKS & SK) - Objective: To empower women workers by offering support in income generation activities and skills development. - Target Groups: Rural women, self-employed women, artisans. - Implementation in Baruipur: This program encourages self-help groups (SHGs) and provides training in various skills such as handicrafts, agriculture, and entrepreneurship. It helps women in Baruipur become financially independent by offering loans and market linkage for their products. 3. Special Programs and Welfare Initiatives a. West Bengal State Food Security Scheme (Khadya Sathi) - Objective: To provide affordable food grains to BPL families in West Bengal. - Target Groups: Poor and vulnerable households. - Implementation in Baruipur: Through Khadya Sathi, families in Baruipur receive subsidized rice and wheat, ensuring that they have access to nutritious food. The scheme is part of the broader Public Distribution System (PDS) in the state. b. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao - Objective: To address the declining child sex ratio and promote female education and empowerment. - Target Groups: Girl children and parents. - Implementation in Baruipur: This scheme has raised awareness about the importance of educating girls and preventing female feticide. It also promotes the enrollment of girls in schools and the protection of their rights. c. Ujjwala Yojana - Objective: To provide free LPG connections to poor households. - Target Groups: Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. - Implementation in Baruipur: Through Ujjwala Yojana, many families in rural areas of Baruipur have switched from traditional cooking fuels (like firewood) to clean cooking gas, improving health conditions, especially for women and children who are most affected by indoor air pollution. 4. Challenges in Scheme Implementation While these schemes have significantly contributed to the development of Baruipur Block, their implementation faces several challenges: - Awareness: Many rural households may not be fully aware of the availability or benefits of these schemes, especially those in remote villages. - Financial Constraints: Though many schemes provide subsidies or grants, resource constraints and bureaucratic delays can sometimes hinder the timely disbursement of funds. - Political Influence: In some cases, political interference or favoritism can affect the fair distribution of benefits. - Infrastructure: Local infrastructure may be inadequate to fully support the implementation of certain programs, such as healthcare and housing schemes. - Culture and Traditions 9.1 Festivals and Celebrations: Baruipur Block, like many parts of West Bengal, is a region rich in cultural heritage, with a strong connection to its religious traditions and local customs. The people of Baruipur celebrate a variety of festivals, ranging from religious to secular, reflecting the diverse fabric of the block’s population. These festivals play a significant role in promoting social cohesion, preserving traditions, and providing opportunities for local communities to come together. Below are some of the major festivals and celebrations that are widely celebrated in Baruipur Block: 1. Durga Puja - Overview: Durga Puja is the most significant and grandest festival celebrated in Baruipur Block, and across West Bengal. It is a major Hindu festival that honors the goddess Durga, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. - Celebrations: - In Baruipur, local Puja committees set up temporary pandals (pavilions) that are elaborately decorated with artificial idols of Goddess Durga. The festivities span several days, from Mahalaya to Vijayadashami, and include prayers, cultural programs, processions, and sweets. - Community involvement is high, with people from various walks of life coming together to organize the events. - On Vijayadashami, a grand procession takes place where the idol of Durga is immersed in rivers or water bodies. 2. Kali Puja - Overview: Kali Puja, dedicated to Goddess Kali, is another major religious festival, especially popular in the rural areas of Baruipur Block. Kali is considered a powerful deity, and the festival symbolizes strength, courage, and the triumph of good over evil. - Celebrations: - Devotees set up shrines and idols of Kali in their homes and temples. The celebrations include ritualistic prayers, offerings, and bhajans (devotional songs). - Night-long puja ceremonies are common, and many families and local communities’ light earthen lamps (diyas) to symbolize the victory of light over darkness. - Animal sacrifices are sometimes performed in some rural areas, though this practice is controversial. 3. Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year) - Overview: Poila Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali calendar year, is celebrated with much enthusiasm in Baruipur Block. This festival marks the beginning of the new year and is celebrated by people of all communities, especially Hindus. - Celebrations: - People clean and decorate their homes with alpana (a form of traditional floor art using rice paste). - There is a special Bengali feast that includes traditional sweets like rosogolla, sandesh, and mishti doi (sweetened yogurt). - Local markets and shops are often decorated, and it is a time for people to purchase new clothes, engage in prayers for prosperity, and visit family and friends. - Cultural programs, such as Bengali folk music, dance performances, and local plays, are held in various community halls and open spaces. 4. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha - Overview: With a significant Muslim population, the festivals of Eid al-Fitr (celebrating the end of Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha (marking the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son in obedience to God) are widely observed in Baruipur Block. - Celebrations: - On Eid al-Fitr, people attend special prayers in mosques and open fields, give zakat (charitable donations), and indulge in a feast with family and friends. - Eid al-Adha is observed by sacrificing goats, sheep, or cows, with the meat being distributed among family, friends, and the poor. - Traditional sweets like seviyan (vermicelli) and sheer korma are prepared and shared among the community. 5. Christmas - Overview: While Christmas is not as widely celebrated as the other festivals in Baruipur, the Christian community in the block observes it with enthusiasm. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. - Celebrations: - The Christian families in Baruipur celebrate by attending midnight mass, where they offer prayers and sing carols. - Christmas trees are decorated, and homes are adorned with lights and stars. A special Christmas feast is prepared, which includes traditional cakes and sweets. - Gift-giving is common, and the sense of community spirit is reinforced through visits to friends and neighbors. 6. Saraswati Puja - Overview: Saraswati Puja is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, arts, and wisdom. It is widely observed, especially among students and teachers. - Celebrations: - In Baruipur, schools, colleges, and temples organize the Puja, where idols of Saraswati are worshiped. - Students place their books and instruments (like musical instruments and paintbrushes) before the goddess to seek blessings for wisdom and learning. - Cultural programs, such as recitations, dance performances, and singing take place as part of the festivities. 7. Sankranti (Makar Sankranti) - Overview: Makar Sankranti is an important festival that marks the transition of the sun into the Capricorn (Makar) zodiac. It is especially celebrated by the farming communities. - Celebrations: - In Baruipur, kite flying is a popular activity, as people believe that flying kites during Sankranti brings good fortune. - The festival also involves the consumption of tilgul (sesame seeds and jaggery), which symbolizes the shedding of old habits and welcoming the new year with positivity. - Bonfires are lit in some areas to mark the end of winter. 8. Ratha Yatra (Chariot Festival) - Overview: Ratha Yatra is celebrated in honor of Lord Jagannath. The festival involves the procession of the deities in chariots pulled by devotees. - Celebrations: - The festival is observed by devotees who participate in processions, singing bhajans (devotional songs) and chanting mantras while pulling the chariots. - Local temples and community organizations often organize this festival in a grand manner, inviting participation from all sections of society. 9. Other Local Festivals - Tusu Mela: Celebrated by tribal communities in and around Baruipur, this festival marks the end of the harvest season and is celebrated with traditional dances, songs, and rituals. - Poush Sankranti: Celebrated by the Bengali Hindu community, particularly for offering sweets made from molasses and sesame. 9.2 Traditional Arts, Crafts, and Handicrafts Baruipur Block, located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is known for its rich cultural heritage and traditional craftsmanship. The local communities, especially those in rural and tribal areas, have long upheld practices related to arts, crafts, and handicrafts that reflect the region's unique history, traditions, and natural resources. These crafts are not only a reflection of the region’s artistic spirit but also an essential part of the local economy, providing livelihoods to many families. Below is an overview of the prominent traditional arts, crafts, and handicrafts of Baruipur Block: 1. Santal Tribal Art (Madhubani Art) - Overview: The Santal community, one of the prominent tribal groups in Baruipur, has a unique tradition of creating Madhubani-style paintings. This art form uses intricate designs, geometric patterns, and vibrant colors to depict nature, folklore, gods, and goddesses. - Materials Used: Natural colors, mud, brushes made from twigs, and paper. - Craftsmanship: The Santali people create these paintings on walls, cloth, and canvas. The use of symmetry and bold designs in their works highlights the deep connection between their spiritual beliefs and the natural world. - Economic Role: This form of traditional art is increasingly popular in the region and serves as a source of income for local artisans. Santal art is sold in local markets, exhibitions, and is also gaining popularity in urban centers. 2. Jute Products - Overview: Jute is one of the most important agricultural products in the South 24 Parganas region. Baruipur Block produces a wide range of jute-based products. These items include bags, mats, rugs, ropes, and decorative pieces. - Craftsmanship: Skilled artisans weave and process raw jute fibers into various useful and decorative items. The art of weaving is handed down through generations, with modern designs being incorporated to make products more marketable in both local and international markets. - Economic Role: Jute is a significant source of employment in Baruipur, as many local people are involved in the production, weaving, and processing of jute items. The export of jute products contributes significantly to the region's economy. 3. Pottery and Terracotta Craft - Overview: Terracotta pottery and clay sculptures are integral to the cultural life of Baruipur. These handicrafts are especially popular among rural communities in the area. - Craftsmanship: Local artisans create terracotta idols, masks, dolls, and decorative pots using clay from the nearby rivers. The crafts are typically made using hand-molding techniques and often fired in traditional kilns. - Designs and Features: Many of the terracotta idols represent gods and goddesses, animals, and traditional symbols. The artisans also create decorative pieces like tiles and wall hangings. - Economic Role: Pottery and terracotta crafts are a source of livelihood for many families in Baruipur, especially in rural areas. These handicrafts are sold in local markets, fairs, and festivals, and also find a market in urban centers. The traditional terracotta figurines are often in demand during the Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja festivals. 4. Kantha Embroidery - Overview: Kantha is a traditional form of hand-embroidery that has been practiced for centuries in West Bengal. It is particularly popular among the women of Baruipur, who use it to create beautiful embroidered textiles. - Craftsmanship: The Kantha stitch involves layering old clothes and using colorful threads to embroider geometric patterns, floral motifs, animals, and scenes from daily life. The design often reflects themes related to nature and mythology. - Economic Role: Kantha embroidery is widely used to create sarees, quilts, shawls, and wall hangings, which are sold at local fairs, craft exhibitions, and increasingly in online markets. It is a source of income for many rural women in Baruipur, as they use their embroidery skills to create high-quality and intricate textile products. 5. Bamboo Crafts - Overview: Bamboo is abundant in the South 24 Parganas district, and its use in traditional crafts is widespread in Baruipur Block. Bamboo craft involves the creation of furniture, baskets, decorative items, and utensils. - Craftsmanship: Skilled artisans use bamboo strips to create woven baskets, mats, chairs, tables, storage containers, and wall decorations. The flexibility of bamboo makes it an ideal material for both functional and decorative items. - Economic Role: Bamboo crafts have become an essential part of the local economy, with many artisans engaged in bamboo weaving and craft-making. These products are sold locally and in markets, and their growing demand for eco-friendly and sustainable products has led to an increase in their export potential. 6. Sholapith Craft (Shola Work) - Overview: Sholapith, a type of white foam-like material found in the stems of the Shola plant, is used to create intricate decorative pieces in Baruipur. This craft is commonly associated with the region’s Bengali New Year celebrations (Poila Boishakh) and Durga Puja. - Craftsmanship: The artisans cut, shape, and decorate the Shola material to create masks, idols, flowers, headpieces, and dolls. The delicate and detailed craftsmanship makes these items particularly popular in weddings, temples, and festivals. - Economic Role: Sholapith craft is an important source of livelihood in Baruipur. It is often used to create decorative items for festivals, especially Durga Puja, and is sold in local markets and craft fairs. This craft also has an export market, with tourists and collectors seeking unique Shola handicrafts. 7. Leather Craft - Overview: Leather craft is another traditional skill practiced in Baruipur, where local artisans create leather goods such as bags, wallets, belts, and footwear. - Craftsmanship: The process of tanning leather and creating products involves traditional methods of cutting, stitching, and embellishing the leather to produce durable and aesthetic items. Designs range from simple, practical items to intricate, decorative works. - Economic Role: Leather craft has historical significance in the region, and the goods are sold locally and through regional markets. These crafts support local artisans and are widely used both for personal use and as tourist souvenirs. 9.3 Music and Dance Forms Baruipur Block, nestled in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has a rich tradition of music and dance that is deeply intertwined with the cultural practices, festivals, and social life of its communities. The local folk music and dance forms reflect the region's historical heritage, religious beliefs, and rural way of life. Both traditional and contemporary forms of music and dance are an essential part of celebrations and rituals, fostering a sense of community and cultural pride. Below is an exploration of the prominent music and dance forms in Baruipur Block: 1. Baul Music - Overview: Baul music is one of the most iconic folk music forms in Bengal, and it has a significant presence in Baruipur Block. Bauls are mystic minstrels whose songs reflect themes of devotion, spirituality, and the human connection with nature. - Characteristics: The Baul music is characterized by its simple yet profound lyrics, often focused on the idea of universal love, humanity, and the search for truth. The songs are usually sung in a lilting rhythm and accompanied by traditional instruments like the ektara (a one-stringed instrument), dotara (a two-stringed instrument), and dholak (a drum). - Cultural Role: Baul music is often performed during religious festivals, community gatherings, and local fairs. It is a medium for both spiritual expression and social commentary, and the music has a deep emotional appeal that transcends religious and cultural boundaries. - Economic Role: Baul singers often travel from village to village, performing at festivals and rituals, and their music is considered both a form of entertainment and a means of spiritual guidance. 2. Kirtan and Bhajan - Overview: Kirtan and bhajan are devotional singing practices primarily associated with Hindu religious traditions. These forms of music are widely practiced in Baruipur Block, especially in temples and during festivals. - Kirtan: Kirtan involves the call-and-response chanting of sacred hymns or the names of deities, often accompanied by drums (such as the mrdanga) and harmonium. This form of devotional singing is a significant part of the worship in Vaishnavite temples, where it is performed in a group, encouraging the participation of the community. - Bhajan: Bhajans are devotional songs sung in praise of gods and goddesses. They are often accompanied by harmonium, tabla, and dholak. Bhajans can be performed solo or in a group, and they are often heard during religious ceremonies, festivals, and community gatherings. - Cultural Role: Both kirtan and bhajan bring people together, fostering a sense of spiritual unity and communal identity. These music forms also serve as a form of meditation and reflection, creating an atmosphere of devotion during religious events. 3. Chhou Dance - Overview: Chhou dance is a traditional martial dance form that is popular in several parts of West Bengal, including Baruipur Block. It is typically performed during festivals like Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja, especially in the rural areas. - Characteristics: Chhou dance is performed in a masked style, where the dancers wear elaborate masks that represent different mythological characters or deities. The dance is performed with drums and flutes, and it features acrobatic movements and high-energy steps, mimicking martial arts and battle scenes. - Cultural Role: The Chhou dance is a reflection of the region's martial traditions, mythological stories, and religious fervor. The performance is often part of a ritualistic ceremony or a procession, especially during Durga Puja, where it is believed to invoke divine blessings for the community. - Economic Role: The Chhou dancers are often invited to perform at festivals and temple celebrations, where their performances attract large crowds. This traditional dance form provides income for the dancers, artisans who make the masks, and musicians who accompany the performance. 4. Jhumur Dance - Overview: Jhumur is a traditional folk dance form performed by the tribal communities in Baruipur Block, especially the Santhal and Oraon tribes. It is performed during harvest festivals and other important occasions. - Characteristics: The dance is characterized by rhythmic hand claps, dancing in a circle, and swaying motions. The dancers are usually dressed in traditional tribal attire and perform to the beat of drums and other percussive instruments. The music is lively and celebratory, often reflecting themes of harvest, nature, and community bonding. - Cultural Role: The Jhumur dance is an expression of joy and gratitude for the harvest, and it helps strengthen community ties. The dance is an important part of the tribal identity and is passed down through generations. - Economic Role: The dance is performed at local fairs, community celebrations, and cultural festivals, and it is often a source of tourism attraction. Additionally, the dancers and musicians who perform Jhumur are an important part of the local cultural economy. 5. Tusu Dance - Overview: Tusu Dance is a traditional dance form performed primarily by the women of the tribal communities in South 24 Parganas, including Baruipur. It is especially popular during the Tusu festival, which marks the end of the harvest season. - Characteristics: The dance is performed in a circle with women dancing together while singing Tusu songs. The rhythm of the music is maintained with drums and other traditional instruments. The dancers often wear traditional attire and celebrate the harvest and the fertility of the land through their performances. - Cultural Role: The Tusu dance is a way for women to come together, celebrate fertility, and express their joy at the end of a successful harvest. It is also an expression of cultural pride and community solidarity. - Economic Role: Tusu Dance performances are often held during local festivals and fairs, and it provides opportunities for economic exchange for the women who participate in these dances. 6. Folk Songs of Bengal - Overview: Folk songs are an essential part of the cultural fabric of West Bengal, and Baruipur Block is no exception. These songs capture the daily life, fears, hopes, and joys of the local communities. Songs of the rural life, songs of the harvest, and songs of migration are commonly sung in the region. - Characteristics: The folk songs are simple, lyrical, and often passed down through generations. They feature themes like nature, love, separation, work, and devotion. They are usually accompanied by traditional instruments like the dotara, tabla, dhol, and flute. - Cultural Role: Folk songs help preserve the local dialects, traditions, and customs. They are a means of storytelling, capturing the collective experiences of the people. These songs are also an important part of festivals, weddings, and rituals. - Environmental Issues in Baruipur 10.1 Environmental Importance of Baruipur Baruipur Block, located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, holds significant environmental value due to its unique geography, ecosystems, and natural resources. The block's environmental importance lies not only in its biodiversity but also in its role in supporting the local population, agriculture, and climate regulation. Here are some key aspects of Baruipur's environmental importance: 1. Proximity to the Sundarbans Mangrove Forests - Overview: Baruipur Block is located near the world-famous Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Sundarbans is one of the largest mangrove forests in the world and is vital for the ecological health of the region. Though Baruipur itself is not part of the core Sundarbans area, it is influenced by the eco-climatic systems of this mangrove ecosystem. - Ecological Role: The Sundarbans mangroves are critical in providing coastal protection from storm surges, preventing erosion, and acting as a natural barrier against saltwater intrusion. These mangrove forests also support a rich variety of wildlife, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, and provide a breeding ground for many species of fish and other marine life. - Environmental Link: Baruipur's proximity to the Sundarbans means that it benefits from these natural services, particularly in the form of flood control and the preservation of freshwater resources. 2. River Systems and Wetlands - Overview: Baruipur Block is crisscrossed by several rivers and canals, with the Matla River being one of the prominent water bodies. These rivers and wetlands are an important feature of the region's hydrological system and contribute to the local economy through fishing, agriculture, and water resources. - Ecological Significance: The river systems in Baruipur support wetland ecosystems that act as carbon sinks, absorb excess nutrients, and provide habitats for diverse species of birds, fish, and other wildlife. The wetlands play a significant role in maintaining the biodiversity of the region and contribute to groundwater recharge. - Environmental Impact: These water bodies also help in flood control and regulate the local microclimate, benefiting both agriculture and the surrounding communities. However, the rivers and wetlands are vulnerable to pollution and the encroachment of agricultural or industrial land use. 3. Agricultural Landscape and Soil Fertility - Overview: The fertile alluvial soil of Baruipur, due to its proximity to rivers and wetlands, makes the block an important agricultural hub in the region. The main crops cultivated include rice, vegetables, fruits, and pulses. - Environmental Role: The agriculture in Baruipur plays a role in maintaining soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Traditional farming practices, which often involve crop rotation and organic farming techniques, help preserve the soil structure and reduce the risk of soil degradation. - Sustainability Concerns: However, the environmental health of the region is under threat due to unsustainable agricultural practices, such as overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which can degrade the soil quality and pollute local water bodies. The promotion of organic farming and water conservation methods is critical to preserving the agricultural landscape. 4. Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation - Flora and Fauna: Baruipur is home to a variety of flora and fauna, owing to its diverse landscapes that include riverbanks, wetlands, and patches of forested areas. The region supports several species of wildlife, including migratory birds, fishes, and smaller mammals. - Environmental Importance: The presence of these species contributes to the ecosystem balance and supports local livelihoods through activities such as fishing, birdwatching, and other forms of eco-tourism. - Conservation Efforts: Conservation initiatives, such as the protection of local habitats and biodiversity hotspots, are essential for preserving these ecosystems. Efforts are needed to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and aquatic species that thrive in the rivers and wetlands. 5. Climate Regulation and Air Quality - Role in Climate Regulation: The natural vegetation, including forests and wetlands, plays a crucial role in regulating the local climate by acting as carbon sinks. These areas absorb carbon dioxide, which helps mitigate the impacts of global warming and climate change. - Air Quality: The green cover of Baruipur contributes to the improvement of air quality by absorbing pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. The forests and wetlands also help in maintaining the local microclimate, reducing the intensity of heatwaves and temperature fluctuations. - Climate Change Vulnerabilities: However, the region faces the risk of rising sea levels, especially from storm surges due to climate change, which can lead to saltwater intrusion into freshwater systems. This could negatively impact agriculture and local water sources. 6. Flood Management and Natural Disaster Prevention - Flood Control: Baruipur Block, like much of the South 24 Parganas district, is prone to flooding during the monsoon season. The natural vegetation (including mangroves) and river systems play a crucial role in flood mitigation by absorbing and dissipating excess water. - Coastal Protection: The mangrove forests near the Sundarbans also provide a vital protective barrier against storm surges and tidal waves from the Bay of Bengal. These forests protect the hinterland, including Baruipur, from the devastation of cyclonic storms and flooding. - Environmental Challenges: As climate change accelerates, the frequency and intensity of flooding and storm surges may increase. Sustainable management practices are needed to preserve the natural flood control systems in place. 7. Sustainable Development and Eco-Tourism Potential - Eco-Tourism: Baruipur’s proximity to the Sundarbans, its river systems, and the rich biodiversity offer great potential for eco-tourism development. By promoting sustainable tourism practices, Baruipur can leverage its natural resources to support local communities while conserving the environment. - Conservation and Community Development: The integration of environmentally conscious development programs, such as community-based conservation projects and ecotourism initiatives, can provide economic benefits while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of the block’s natural resources. 10.2 Impact of Climate Change Baruipur Block, situated in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, faces significant challenges due to the effects of climate change. The region, with its proximity to the Sundarbans, rivers, wetlands, and coastal areas, is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and changing precipitation patterns. Climate change has already begun to affect the environmental, social, and economic conditions in Baruipur, and the future impact could be even more pronounced. Below are the key ways in which climate change impacts the Baruipur Block: 1. Rising Sea Levels and Saltwater Intrusion - Overview: One of the most significant effects of climate change in Baruipur is rising sea levels, particularly due to global warming. The South 24 Parganas district, including Baruipur, is situated in the deltaic region near the Bay of Bengal, making it highly susceptible to sea-level rise. - Impact: Rising sea levels result in saltwater intrusion into freshwater sources, including rivers, ponds, and groundwater. This makes water sources unsafe for drinking and irrigation, severely affecting agriculture. Crops like rice, which rely on freshwater, may be adversely affected, leading to reduced agricultural yields and food insecurity for local communities. - Saltwater Contamination: Saltwater intrusion also degrades soil quality, rendering agricultural land less fertile. Coastal farmers face challenges in cultivating traditional crops, and the region's fishery industry may also be harmed as marine species are forced to migrate due to changing water salinity levels. 2. Increased Flooding and Storm Surges - Overview: Baruipur Block is part of the larger Sundarbans delta, an area prone to flooding during the monsoon season. Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones, torrential rains, and storm surges from the Bay of Bengal. - Impact: Heavy rainfall and rising sea levels exacerbate flood risks in the region. The already low-lying nature of Baruipur makes it particularly vulnerable to flooding. Intense storm surges associated with cyclonic storms, such as Amphan (in 2020), cause widespread damage to homes, agriculture, and infrastructure. These floods often submerge agricultural land, wash away crops, and result in the destruction of property. - Displacement: Prolonged flooding and frequent storm surges lead to the displacement of rural communities. Coastal erosion further pushes people from their homes, contributing to internal migration and increased economic hardship. 3. Altered Rainfall Patterns and Agriculture - Overview: Climate change affects precipitation patterns, leading to irregular rainfall in Baruipur. Erratic rainfall can result in either droughts or excessive rainfall, both of which harm agricultural productivity. - Impact: - Droughts: Periods of insufficient rainfall or delayed monsoon seasons can lead to water scarcity, harming agriculture and crop production. Crops like rice, jute, and vegetables rely heavily on consistent rainfall, and droughts could lead to reduced yields, food shortages, and economic losses. - Excessive Rainfall: On the other hand, increased rainfall during the monsoon season can lead to flooding, waterlogging, and soil erosion, making it difficult for farmers to grow crops. Heavy rain also increases the risk of pests and diseases, which further damages agricultural output. 4. Impact on Biodiversity and Ecosystems - Overview: Baruipur Block's biodiversity is closely tied to its proximity to the Sundarbans and its rich river ecosystems. The Sundarbans mangrove forests are home to unique species like the Royal Bengal Tiger and many species of birds and fish. These ecosystems are sensitive to environmental changes brought about by climate change. - Impact: - Mangrove Degradation: Rising sea levels and storm surges threaten the health of the mangrove forests that act as natural barriers, protecting both the environment and the local communities. Loss of mangroves leads to increased coastal erosion, which can further damage the region's infrastructure and increase the vulnerability of local people to storms and floods. - Wildlife Threats: The changing climate and habitats affect the wildlife populations in Baruipur and the surrounding areas. As temperatures and rainfall patterns shift, species like the Royal Bengal Tiger, saltwater crocodile, and migratory birds may struggle to find suitable habitats. Fish populations may also be impacted by changing water temperatures and salinity levels, affecting the local fishing industry. - Loss of Ecosystem Services: Climate-induced damage to mangrove forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems leads to the loss of important ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, and water filtration, which are crucial for the region's sustainability. 5. Health Risks and Public Health Challenges - Overview: Climate change exacerbates existing public health challenges in Baruipur by increasing the prevalence of diseases and creating new health risks. Changing climate patterns, such as temperature fluctuations and extreme weather events, can directly impact human health. - Impact: - Vector-Borne Diseases: The increased rainfall and flooding can create ideal conditions for the spread of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and dengue. Stagnant water after floods provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes, leading to the spread of diseases like malaria and dengue fever. - Heat Stress: Increased temperatures due to climate change could lead to heat stress and heat-related illnesses, especially for outdoor workers in the agriculture and construction sectors. - Food Security and Malnutrition: Climate-induced damage to agriculture leads to reduced food availability and increased food prices, contributing to malnutrition, especially in low-income communities. This also increases the burden on healthcare systems as malnutrition-related diseases rise. 6. Loss of Livelihoods and Economic Impact - Overview: The livelihoods of many people in Baruipur depend on agriculture, fishing, and related industries. Climate change is a direct threat to these livelihoods, leading to economic loss and poverty. - Impact: - Agriculture: Flooding, droughts, and unpredictable rainfall patterns disrupt farming activities, leading to lower crop yields, loss of income, and food insecurity. Small-scale farmers are particularly vulnerable to climate-related challenges, as they often lack the resources and infrastructure to adapt. - Fishing: Changes in fish habitats, due to altered salinity levels and temperature changes in rivers and coastal waters, affect the local fishing industry. The reduced availability of marine resources could lead to job losses for fishermen and increased competition for dwindling resources. - Migration: Climate-induced displacement due to rising sea levels, flooding, and loss of agricultural productivity may force people to migrate, leading to rural-urban migration and increased pressure on urban infrastructure and resources. 10.3 Conservation Efforts for the Baruipur: Baruipur Block, located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is an ecologically sensitive area, especially due to its proximity to the Sundarbans mangrove forests, river systems, and wetlands. Given the importance of the region’s biodiversity, agriculture, and climate resilience, conservation efforts are critical in ensuring its environmental sustainability. Here are the major conservation efforts that have been initiated or could be further strengthened to preserve the natural resources and ecosystem of Baruipur: 1. Protection of Mangrove Ecosystems - Sundarbans Mangrove Forests: The Sundarbans, one of the largest and most unique mangrove ecosystems in the world, are located near Baruipur. These forests serve several vital ecological functions, such as providing a barrier against storm surges, preventing coastal erosion, and supporting diverse wildlife, including the Royal Bengal Tiger. - Conservation Measures: - Afforestation Programs: Local and national authorities have initiated mangrove afforestation projects to restore degraded mangrove areas. Planting native mangrove species, such as Sundari and Khalsi, has been a key strategy to strengthen the mangrove cover in the region. - Forest Protection: Protecting existing mangrove forests from illegal logging, land conversion for agriculture, and other anthropogenic activities is crucial. Community-based conservation programs can help monitor and protect these areas. - Awareness Campaigns: Educating local communities about the importance of mangrove ecosystems for flood protection, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity has been part of ongoing conservation efforts. 2. Wetland and River Ecosystem Conservation - Wetlands: Baruipur Block is rich in wetlands, including rivers, pools, and backwaters. These water bodies are crucial for fisheries, agriculture, and biodiversity. Wetlands act as natural filters, improve water quality, and offer habitats for a wide range of species. - Conservation Measures: - Restoration of Wetlands: There have been efforts to restore degraded wetlands by removing invasive species and reintroducing native vegetation that helps maintain ecological balance. - Pollution Control: Managing pollution from agricultural runoff, industrial waste, and urban sewage is essential to preserve water quality in the rivers and wetlands. Enforcing water quality standards and promoting organic farming can mitigate the damage caused by harmful chemicals. - Regulation of Water Use: Sustainable water management practices, such as rainwater harvesting and improving irrigation techniques, can reduce the strain on freshwater resources. 3. Sustainable Agriculture Practices - Agricultural Conservation: Agriculture is a primary source of livelihood in Baruipur, but unsustainable farming practices, such as overuse of chemical fertilizers and monocropping, can lead to soil degradation and water contamination. - Conservation Measures: - Promotion of Organic Farming: Encouraging farmers to adopt organic farming methods and reduce their reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers can improve soil health, water quality, and biodiversity. - Agroforestry: Introducing agroforestry practices, where trees are integrated into agricultural landscapes, can help conserve soil, reduce water use, and increase agricultural resilience to climate change. - Soil Conservation: Soil conservation methods, such as crop rotation, terracing, and mulching, help prevent soil erosion and maintain soil fertility. 4. Conservation of Biodiversity and Wildlife - Flora and Fauna Conservation: Baruipur's rich biodiversity, including species like the Royal Bengal Tiger, saltwater crocodiles, and various migratory birds, faces threats from habitat destruction, poaching, and climate change. - Conservation Measures: - Wildlife Protection: Strengthening wildlife protection laws and improving patrols and surveillance in critical habitats are essential to prevent poaching and illegal trade. - Biodiversity Mapping and Monitoring: Regular biodiversity surveys and habitat mapping help assess the health of local ecosystems and identify areas in need of conservation. - Community Involvement: Engaging local communities in wildlife monitoring, eco-tourism, and nature-based livelihoods is crucial for the sustainable management of biodiversity. 5. Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation - Addressing Climate Change: Baruipur Block faces multiple climate-related challenges, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and changing rainfall patterns. These changes threaten both the environment and the livelihoods of local people. - Conservation Measures: - Coastal Protection Initiatives: Preserving and expanding mangrove forests and planting coastal vegetation like grasses and shrubs can act as a buffer against storm surges and coastal erosion. - Flood Management: Enhancing floodplain management by preserving natural wetlands, improving drainage systems, and constructing flood barriers can reduce the impact of floods. Rainwater harvesting systems can also help manage water resources during periods of drought. - Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Encouraging the adoption of climate-resilient crops and water-efficient irrigation techniques can help farmers adapt to changing weather patterns and improve food security. 6. Government and NGO Initiatives - Government Programs: Various government schemes focus on environmental protection and sustainable development. These include programs for wetland management, afforestation, climate change adaptation, and eco-tourism. Some initiatives specifically target coastal zones and river ecosystems, aiming to protect vulnerable communities. - NGO Involvement: Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a vital role in promoting environmental education, implementing conservation programs, and working with local communities to develop sustainable livelihoods. Partnerships between the government, NGOs, and local communities can amplify conservation efforts. 7. Community Engagement and Awareness - Local Involvement: Conservation efforts in Baruipur cannot be successful without the active involvement of the local population. Raising awareness about the importance of environmental protection, sustainable resource use, and climate adaptation is crucial for ensuring the long-term success of conservation programs. - Conservation Education: Local schools, community centers, and environmental groups can organize workshops, seminars, and campaigns to educate the community about the value of preserving their natural environment and the consequences of unsustainable practices. - Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods: Shifting from traditional, resource-depleting industries like unsustainable fishing to eco-tourism, agroforestry, and sustainable fishing practices can create green jobs and help communities thrive without harming the environment. 10.4 Biodiversity and Wildlife Protection: Baruipur Block, located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is home to a rich array of biodiversity due to its proximity to the Sundarbans, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world, as well as its wetlands, river systems, and coastal ecosystems. The region supports diverse species of flora and fauna, many of which are endemic or threatened, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, saltwater crocodile, and numerous species of migratory birds. Given the ecological significance of this area, effective biodiversity and wildlife protection is crucial for preserving its natural heritage and maintaining ecological balance. Below are the major challenges and conservation efforts focused on biodiversity and wildlife protection in Baruipur Block. 1. Significance of Biodiversity in Baruipur Block - Flora and Fauna: The diverse ecosystems in Baruipur, including mangrove forests, rivers, wetlands, and coastal zones, support a variety of species. Notable species include: - Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), which is found in the Sundarbans and is critically endangered. - Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), a vulnerable species that inhabits the coastal rivers and marshes. - Numerous species of birds, such as herons, kingfishers, and migratory ducks, which depend on the wetlands and mangroves for nesting and feeding. - Marine species, including various fish and crustaceans, which are integral to the local economy, particularly the fishing industry. - Ecological Importance: The biodiversity in Baruipur plays a crucial role in maintaining the ecological health of the region. Mangrove forests, for example, protect the coastal areas from storm surges, erosion, and flooding, while also acting as vital carbon sinks and providing habitats for a variety of species. 2. Threats to Biodiversity and Wildlife Several human activities and natural factors pose significant threats to the biodiversity and wildlife of Baruipur: - Habitat Destruction and Degradation: Expansion of agriculture, urbanization, and industrial development leads to the destruction of crucial habitats such as mangroves, wetlands, and forests. The draining of wetlands for agriculture or land reclamation severely affects local wildlife. - Pollution: Industrial waste, agricultural runoff (including pesticides and fertilizers), and domestic sewage pollute the rivers and wetlands, leading to the degradation of water quality. This harms aquatic species and impacts the local fishing industry. - Poaching and Illegal Trade: Poaching and illegal trade in wildlife products, including tiger skins, crocodile eggs, and migratory birds, pose direct threats to species in the region. Unregulated hunting and deforestation for firewood and timber also contribute to the loss of wildlife. - Climate Change: Rising sea levels, altered rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events caused by climate change exacerbate the vulnerability of ecosystems. Saltwater intrusion can destroy freshwater habitats, and storm surges and flooding damage coastal ecosystems, which are home to critical species. - Overfishing: Unsustainable fishing practices in the Sundarbans delta lead to the depletion of fish stocks, which impacts both the biodiversity and the livelihoods of local communities who depend on fishing. 3. Key Conservation Efforts for Biodiversity and Wildlife Protection In response to these threats, various conservation initiatives have been implemented to protect the biodiversity of Baruipur and its surrounding regions. - 1. Sundarbans Tiger Reserve - Protected Area: A significant portion of the Sundarbans falls under the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (STR), a protected area established by the Government of West Bengal to conserve the Royal Bengal Tiger and its habitat. This reserve is a crucial sanctuary for one of the last populations of these tigers in the world. - Conservation Measures: - Anti-poaching Patrols: Forest guards and rangers conduct regular patrols to prevent poaching and illegal activities in the reserve. - Tiger Monitoring Programs: Scientists and wildlife experts use camera traps, footprint surveys, and DNA analysis to monitor the tiger population and track their movements. - Habitat Management: Efforts are made to protect and restore the mangrove and forest habitats of tigers by regulating human activities within the reserve. 2. Mangrove Forest Conservation - Afforestation and Reforestation: Efforts are being made to replant and restore mangrove forests that have been degraded due to human activity. This is crucial for the protection of coastal ecosystems and to provide habitat for species like the saltwater crocodile and various migratory birds. - Community Engagement: Local communities are involved in mangrove conservation efforts through eco-tourism, mangrove planting, and sustainable livelihoods that reduce pressure on the forests. 3. Wetland Protection and Restoration - Ramsar Wetlands: Many wetlands in the region, such as the Sundarbans Wetlands, have been designated as Ramsar Sites, recognizing their importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services. - Pollution Control: Efforts are underway to reduce pollution in the rivers and wetlands through the implementation of stricter regulations on industrial and agricultural waste disposal. - Restoration Projects: There are ongoing projects aimed at restoring degraded wetlands by removing invasive species and replanting native vegetation that supports wildlife. 4. Protected Species and Anti-Poaching Initiatives - Wildlife Protection: The Sundarbans and surrounding areas are home to endangered species, including the saltwater crocodile, tigers, dolphins, and migratory birds. The government and conservation organizations have implemented various anti-poaching and wildlife protection programs. - Community Participation: Local eco-clubs, forest protection committees, and volunteer groups are trained to monitor wildlife populations and report illegal activities. Local communities are also encouraged to engage in eco-friendly activities such as sustainable fishing and nature tourism. 5. Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Building - Coastal Protection: With the threat of rising sea levels, conservationists and local authorities are focusing on restoring coastal ecosystems, particularly mangroves, to act as natural barriers against storm surges and flooding. - Sustainable Resource Management: Programs promoting sustainable agriculture, fishing, and water management are helping reduce the impact of climate change on wildlife and ecosystems. The promotion of climate-resilient crops and fishing techniques contributes to the overall sustainability of local economies. 4. Role of Local Communities in Conservation Local communities play a pivotal role in conservation efforts, particularly in a region like Baruipur where livelihoods are closely tied to natural resources. Community-based conservation initiatives have proven to be effective in preserving biodiversity while providing economic benefits. Some key strategies include: - Eco-tourism: Promoting eco-tourism in the Sundarbans and surrounding areas allows local communities to generate income while conserving wildlife and habitats. Eco-tourism initiatives focus on responsible tourism that educates visitors about the region's biodiversity and supports conservation activities. - Sustainable Livelihoods: Encouraging sustainable livelihoods, such as organic farming, fisheries management, and eco-friendly handicrafts, provides alternatives to practices that harm the environment. These programs empower local people to become active participants in conservation. - Education and Awareness: Community workshops, school programs, and local media campaigns increase awareness about the importance of biodiversity conservation and the role that locals play in protecting their natural resources. Conclusion Baruipur Block, located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is a region rich in cultural heritage, natural resources, and biodiversity. Its strategic location near the Sundarbans mangrove forests, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems makes it an area of significant ecological importance. Over the years, the block has witnessed social, economic, and infrastructural changes, and has been a key player in regional agriculture, fisheries, and trade. Despite its potential, Baruipur faces challenges and opportunities in sustainable development, social issues, economic growth, and environmental protection. The wetlands, river systems, and mangroves present unique geography in Baruipur, which is a crucial source of ecological services. The Sundarbans mangrove forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, act as a shield against coastal erosion, provide habitat for endangered species like the Royal Bengal Tiger and saltwater crocodile, and contribute to the region's climate resilience. However, there are threats like habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and unsustainable practices posing significant challenges to these ecosystems. The economy of the block is primarily based on agriculture, fisheries, and small-scale industries. Farming and fishing are the primary sources of livelihood for most of the population. Efforts to introduce sustainable farming techniques, eco-tourism, and alternative livelihoods can enhance economic resilience. Small-scale industries and local crafts also play an important role in the region's development, providing opportunities for growth and diversification. Baruipur has a predominantly rural population, and poverty, unemployment, lack of access to health care, and education barriers are important social issues. Although significant improvement has been seen in the government schemes and development activities, issues of social inequality, gender disparity, and absence of access to basic facilities still need to be dealt with. Local governance and panchayats are imperative in promoting development and making welfare programs reach the marginal sections. Sustainable development, that balances economic growth, social welfare, and environmental conservation is the future of Baruipur Block. Natural resources like mangrove ecosystems and wetlands can be taken up by this block through activities such as eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture, and green industries. Social inequality must also be addressed in terms of equal access to the basic services of education, healthcare, and employment. Collaboration among local communities, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private stakeholders must be involved in overcoming the region's challenges. Using government schemes, environmental education, and boosting local craftsmanship can both contribute to economic empowerment and cultural preservation. In conclusion, Baruipur Block has the potential to evolve as a model of sustainable development that integrates economic prosperity, cultural heritage, and environmental conservation. With continued investment in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and eco-friendly industries, Baruipur can chart a path toward a prosperous and sustainable future.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.600279	12/27/2024	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/123418/overview", "title": "BARUIPUR BLOCK PROJECT", "author": "FIROZ ALI LASKAR" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/116964/overview	FAD Syllabus: UNCA HIST101 Overview Syllabus shared by a UNC System faculty member. Sample Syllabus HISTORY 101 – The U.S. to 1877 Fall 2023 [NAME] Office: Email: [FACULTY EMAIL] Office Hours: 11:30 – 2:00 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and by appointment. Course Objectives - To introduce the student to the significant historical events, persons, movements, and themes of American history from the colonial period through the end of the Civil War. - To develop an understanding of the roots of American identity, and how these seminal events and ideals continue to impact our society. - To develop each student's ability to think and read critically, and to write effectively. Course Content In this course we will examine five major themes in American history: the amazing variety of pre-Columbian Native American civilizations; the exploration, colonization and settlement of America by western Europeans, and the costs to the Native population, and the consequent development of a uniquely American identity; the political development of the United States as a new nation; the rise of nationalism and expansion of democracy; and the growth of sectional differences that eventually split the nation. Textbooks Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Readings on Moodle and On-Line (See Class Moodle Site) Course Requirements Exams: There will be three exams in this course. Exams will include a choice of essay questions. You will be expected to be prepared to deal with material from class lectures, discussions, and the textbooks. Exam dates and grade weight of each exam are as follows: Exam #1 – September 25 - 15% Exam #2 – October 27 - 15% Exam #3 – December 11 - 20% Weekly Reflections: Each student will keep a reflection journal which will be submitted to my email address [FACULTY EMAIL ADDRESS] every Monday before midnight (except for weeks when we have an exam, comparative essay, or break). Approximately one to three pages in length, each entry should reflect on a reading or topic of discussion from the previous week’s course material that made you think. Your entry should not just repeat something you heard or read, but should demonstrate reflection and rumination Feel free to make it light, even funny, to speculate, and let your imagination go, but make sure you make specific connections to readings and other course material. I’ll grade each on a one to ten-point scale. You’ll have 15 opportunities and I’ll take the 10 best journals to determine your final grade. 20% of the course grade. Constitution Quiz: Each student will take a comprehensive quiz on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. This quiz will be on October 16 and will count for 10% of your grade. Newspaper Research Exercise: Each student will choose an important event between 1800 and 1877 as the subject of their paper and then: - Give the background and major players in the event using secondary sources. - Using online newspaper sources gauge the reaction among at least five different newspapers to that event. You should choose newspapers from various parts of the country and from various political perspectives. The best places to go are the Library of Congress site Chronicling America, the New York Times – Historical Newspaper Collection (available under Online Resources on the library website), and America’s Historical Newspapers (goes up to 1876 and can also be found at Online Resources). - Analyze your information and arrive at some conclusions about the way this event was perceived at the time and how that view may have changed over the years. Paper should be 4 to 6 pages with footnotes and bibliography. 15% of the course grade and due November 15. Discussion: The final 5% of the course grade will be based on classroom participation. All students are expected to be prepared for every class and to actively participate in class discussion. Professor's Responsibilities - Arrive at each class meeting on time and well prepared. - Grade each student's work fairly and promptly (I always attempt to return assignments within one week of the date that they were received--I will notify you if I will be unable to do so). - Treat each student with respect and courtesy. - Faithfully meet office hours and honor appointments with students. - Communicate with students clearly and listen to students attentively. Student Responsibilities - Attend all classes. Students cannot expect to be successful if they miss class. Students will be penalized 2 points on their final average for each unexcused absence in excess of three (3). - Arrive at class on time. It is very distracting to have students walking in to class late. - Come to class well prepared. Students should plan on spending at least two hours of preparation for each hour in class in reading, writing, and ruminating. - Take all exams and turn in all papers at the assigned time. Make-up exams will only be given to students with legitimate, documented excuses. Late papers will be penalized at a rate of five (5) points per day. - Do you own work. While students are encouraged to cooperate and study together, each individual is required to do their own work. Cheating and/or plagiarism will not be tolerated. - Actively participate in the life of the class. I have designed this class as a learning community. Each student should participate in the life of the community by learning other classmates' names, working diligently in groups, studying with others outside of class, and contributing to classroom discussion. - Treat the professor with respect and courtesy. - Communicate clearly and promptly with the professor. I am much more sympathetic when students inform me that they must miss class or will be late with an assignment if I am notified well in advance. Students should not hesitate to speak to the professor if they are experiencing difficulty in the class or if they have special problems of which the professor needs to be aware. Course Calendar Week 1 – Native America August 21 \| Course Introduction \| \| 23 \| Native American Origins \| M – 1491 (Clovis and Folsom) \| 25 \| Native American Civilizations \| M – 1491 (Cahokia) \| Week 2 – Native America \| \|\| 28 \| Native American Civilizations \| M – The Lost World of the Old Ones (Chaco Canyon) \| 30 \| Ecological Indians \| M – Ecological Indian (Fire) \| September 1 \| Southeastern Indians \| M – Southeastern Indians \| Week 3 – Contact and the Columbian Exchange 4 No Class - Labor Day 6 Early Contact With Europeans Fort San Juan https://www.history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org/joara/ 8 The Columbian Exchange M – Columbian Exchange Week 4 – Colonization in the South 11 Roanoke and Jamestown M 13 Tobacco and Rice M 15 Subsistence in the Backcountry M Week 5 – Slavery and the Colonial African American Experience 18 Why Africans? The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano – Chapter II https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/equiano1/equiano1.html The 1619 Project https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html 21 Enslaved Life on a Colonial Plantation M – Clint Smith (Monticello) 23 Exam #1 Week 6 – Colonization in the North 25 Guest Speaker 27 Pilgrims, Puritans, and Quakers M - 29 Trade and the British Empire M - Week 7 – The American Revolution Declaration of Independence October 2 Gathering Clouds – Why Revolution? M - 4 The Declaration of Independence Declaration of Independence https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript 6 An Unlikely Victory M – Kings Mountain Week 8 – The U.S. Constitution 9 Fall Break – No Class 11 The Constitutional Convention 13 What Does the Constitution Actually Say? U.S. Constitution https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript Week 9 – The Early National Period 16 The Federalist Era M - Constitution Quiz 18 Jeffersonianism M - 20 The Louisiana Purchase and Expansion M - Week 10 – The Market Revolution 23 Market Revolution M - 25 Jacksonianism and Indian Removal M - 27 Exam #2 Week 11 – The Antebellum South, Slavery, and Anti-Slavery Movements 30 Markets and the Revitalization of Slavery M - November 1 Enslaved Life Jacobs – Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 3 Religion, Songs, and Tales – Agency and the Enslaved Week 12 – Manifest Destiny and the Coming of Civil War 6 Manifest Destiny M - 8 Oregon, The Mexican War, and Expansion 10 The Territorial Issue, Abolition, and Fugitive Slaves M - Week 13 – The Civil War 13 Secession M – Apostles of Disunion 15 This “Horrible War” M - 17 War and the Enslaved M - Week 14 – Reconstruction 20 Presidential Reconstruction M - 22 – Thanksgiving – No Class 24 – Thanksgiving – No Class Week 15 - Reconstruction 27 Congressional Reconstruction and the 14th and 15th Amendments M - 29 The Ku Klux Klan, White Supremacy, and “Redemption” M - December 1 The War, Reconstruction, and Memory M – Confederates in the Attic Week 16 4 Last Day of Class 11 Final Exam	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.683618	06/18/2024	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/116964/overview", "title": "FAD Syllabus: UNCA HIST101", "author": "UNC System" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/116967/overview	FAD Syllabus: UNCA POLS220 Overview Syllabus shared by a UNC System faculty member. Sample Syllabus POLS 220: Introduction to American Politics Instructor: Semester: Spring 2023 Office: Phone: Office Hours: MW 12:30-1:30 p.m., T 3:15-4:15 p.m. Class: Email: Room: Course Description This course will introduce students to American politics through an exploration of the foundational, institutional, and behavioral aspects of the American national government. In doing so, students will be exposed to the dynamic relationships between the institutions, political actors, and the American electorate. In addition, the course will help students gain a better understanding of the relationship between the citizenry and the government through the presentation, and subsequent discussions, of the various ways in which the two interact. Students will be exposed to an array of both historical and current events in the exploration of the American government. Course-Specific Learning Objectives After this class, students should be able to: - Describe the American founding and its impact on the construction and development of the Constitution. - Explain how the individual branches of government have changed over time, and how that has impacted their relationship with one another. - Discuss how citizens interact with government and the different factors that influence their attitudes and behavior. - Critically engage historical and contemporary readings on American government and politics. - Demonstrate an awareness of current events (and public policy) and how they relate to the study of American politics. Political Science (POLS) Student Learning Outcomes POLS Outcome No. 1: Knowledge of the Field – Concepts and Theories - Students learn the defining concepts and theories political scientists use to study and explain political phenomena in the discipline. POLS Outcome No. 2: Writing – Academic Writing and Information Literacy - Students learn to effectively use argument to communicate claims to know in academic writing appropriate for the discipline. Departmental and University Requirements Met POLS 220 can fulfill the prerequisite requirement for POLS 290 (other courses that can also fulfill this requirement are POLS 235, 240, 261, or 281). POLS 220 contributes to the required 34 hours in the political science major. This course also contributes to the required 120 semester hours of credit required for receiving a baccalaureate degree. Materials* - The Logic of American Politics. 10th Edition. Samuel Kernell, Gary Jacobson, Thad Kousser, Lynn Vavreck, and Timothy Johnson. 2021. CQ Press. ISBN: 978-1071815977.** - New York Times online subscription (complimentary access through the university can be accessed by going to accessnyt.com and typing “Asheville.” In order to receive free access, an official @unca.edu email needs to be used for registration). * Additional materials will be distributed in class, via e-mail, or posted on Moodle (https://learnonline.unca.edu/). Note: A reserve copy of the textbook is available in the library. Required Instructional Technology Familiarity with the Moodle learning management system. Student Assessment and Evaluation Methods Attendance and Participation Students are expected to: attend all class meetings, complete the assigned readings before class, and participate in class discussions. Together, attendance (10%) and participation (15%) will make up 25% of their overall course grade. Individuals with more than 6 absences, unless cleared by the instructor, will receive a zero for attendance. Any individual with 9 (or more) absences, unless cleared by the instructor, will receive an F for the course. In addition to the assigned class readings, students are expected to read the news daily and be up to date on current events, as doing so will directly impact their course grade. Simply showing up to class will not suffice. Students are expected to critically engage with the material and share their insights and opinions with the class. Since there will be some material covered in class that does not come from the text, students are encouraged to take good notes in preparation for the examinations. Also, in the event of an absence, students are responsible for obtaining any missed notes and must do so independently of the instructor. Quizzes and Additional Assignments There will be in-class pop quizzes based on the current events and/or the reading material for the week. In addition to the in-class pop quizzes, there are also online reading quizzes on Moodle based on the textbook chapter(s) assigned for any given week. These online quizzes are open book and untimed. All online chapter quizzes are due by 9:55 a.m. EST on the day of the corresponding in-class exam, no exceptions. There are no make-ups for missed in-class quizzes unless students have an excused absence. However, the lowest two quiz grades (in-class or online) will be dropped before final grades are calculated, so students have the flexibility to make the decision on whether to make-up a quiz or count it as a drop. Of the assigned chapters from the course textbook, students are responsible for completing the online Moodle quizzes for 7 of the available quizzes. This category will account for 10% of the overall course grade. Writing Assignments Students will have two writing assignments to complete, each worth 7.5% of their total grade. Students will be provided with a prompt for each, where the expectations and guidelines will be outlined. The assignments will be due on Thursday, February 16th at 11:59 p.m. and Thursday, April 13th at 11:59 p.m., respectively. Assignments turned in after the due date will lose a letter grade by the day – weekend included. For a paper submitted the day after a due date that warrants an A, the student will receive a B, and so forth. These assignments are to be submitted via Moodle. Examinations There will be two exams in this course: the first on Tuesday, February 21st, and the final will take place between 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 2nd. The exams will primarily consist of multiple-choice questions, though others – such as short answer, matching, fill-in-the- blank, and essay format – should be expected. Make-up exams will only be offered under extraordinary circumstances. Students have 72 hours from the time when the exam is given to the class to contact the instructor in order to schedule a make-up exam, which needs to be taken within a week of the original (7 calendar days) or forfeit the right to take said exam. The format of the examination is left to the discretion of the instructor. Extra Credit One extra credit opportunity will be made available before the end of the semester. More information will be presented in class and/or Moodle. Grading and Course Requirements The final course grade will be determined by students’ performance on the abovementioned assignments. See the following grading scale and assignment breakdown: Grading Scale \| \| Grading Formula \| \|\|\|\| A \| 92 – 100 \| C \| 72 – 77 \| Attendance & Participation \| 25% \| \| A- \| 90 – 91 \| C- \| 70 – 71 \| Quizzes & Misc. Assignments \| 10% \| \| B+ \| 88 – 89 \| D+ \| 68 – 69 \| Writing Assignments \| 15% \| \| B \| 82 – 87 \| D \| 60 – 67 \| Midterm Exam \| 25% \| \| B- \| 80 – 81 \| F \| Below 60 \| Final Examination \| 25% \| \| C+ \| 78 - 79 \| \| Total \| 100% \| Key Dates Writing Assignment 1: Thursday, February 16th 1st Batch of Quizzes: Tuesday, February 21st Midterm: Tuesday, February 21st Writing Assignment 2: Thursday, April 13th 2nd Batch of Quizzes: Tuesday, May 2nd Final Exam: Tuesday, May 2nd from 8:00 – 10:30 a.m. Office Hours I have office hours Monday and Wednesdays from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Tuesdays from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. In addition to these set hours, I am willing to work around your schedule whenever possible. Technology Computers and tablets are allowed in the classroom for note-taking and other class-related purposes. You are not allowed to use these devices for browsing the internet, social media, or checking email. Cell phones must be silenced and cannot be used in class at all. Failure to comply with these rules may result in a zero for both attendance and participation for the day. In addition, you may be asked to leave for the day. Communication of Announcements Announcements will be sent via e-mail to your official UNCA e-mail address and/or posted on Moodle. You are responsible for monitoring your school e‐mail account and the course Moodle site (https://learnonline.unca.edu/) daily. All emails sent to me must include the following: the student’s name, course section number (i.e., POLS 220), a proper and formal greeting, a clear subject line about the purpose of the e-mail, and the actual request or question that prompted the email. You should expect a response within 72 hours. If you have not received a response within 72 hours, then please send me another email or talk to me in class. The Writing Center You are encouraged to visit the University Writing Center (https://writingcenter.unca.edu/) on campus for help with assignments for this and other courses. The center supports writers in one- on-one sessions lasting 10 to 45 minutes. Consultants can help writers organize ideas, document sources, and revise prose. If you visit the UWC, bring a copy of your assignment, any writing or notes you may have, and the sources you are working with. Make an appointment by visiting writingcenter.unca.edu and clicking on “Schedule an Appointment.” Academic Integrity All rules concerning academic honesty as set out in the current edition of the university’s academic catalog (http://catalog.unca.edu/) will be enforced. Particular attention should be paid to the policies regarding cheating and plagiarism. Academic Indicators Faculty at UNC Asheville are encouraged to use the university’s academic indicator system. The purpose of this system is to communicate with students about their progress in courses. Academic alerts can reflect that a student’s performance is satisfactory at the time the alert is submitted or they can indicate concerns (e.g., academic difficulty, attendance problems, or other concerns). Professors use the system because they are invested in student success and want to encourage open conversations about how students can improve their performance. When a faculty member submits an alert that expresses a concern, the student receives an email from Academic Advising notifying them of the alert and subsequent registration hold on their account. To clear the hold, the student must complete an online Response Form included in the alert e-mail. The student’s responses will be shared with the instructor and advising staff. If a student receives three or more alerts, they will need to meet with an advisor by scheduling an appointment using the online appointment service at advising.unca.edu and select ‘Academic Alert Appointment’ as the type of appointment. The professor may also request to meet with the student to discuss the alert. It is in the student's best interest to complete the alert process quickly, as students who do so are more likely to earn credit for the course. Failure to complete the alert process means the student won't be able to register for the next semester's classes until they have submitted the required form and completed any requested meeting requirements. Questions about the alert system can be directed to ( S T A F F M E M B E R N A M E ) at (STAFF MEMBER EMAIL ADDRESS) in the Academic Success Center. Student Accommodations UNCA values the diversity of our student body as a strength and a critical component of our dynamic community. Students with disabilities or temporary injuries/conditions may require accommodations due to barriers in the structure of facilities, course design, technology used for curricular purposes, or other campus resources. Students who experience a barrier to full access to this class should let the professor know, and/or make an appointment to meet with the Office of Academic Accessibility as soon as possible. To make an appointment, call 828.232.5050; email academicaccess@unca.edu; use this link https://uncaoaaintake.youcanbook.me/; or drop by the Academic Accessibility Office, room 005 in the One Stop suite (lower level of Ramsey Library). Learn more about the process of registering, and the services available through the Office of Academic Accessibility here: https://oaa.unca.edu/. While students may disclose disability at any point in the semester, students who receive Letters of Accommodation are strongly encouraged to request, obtain and present these to their professors as early in the semester as possible so that accommodations can be made in a timely manner. It is the student’s responsibility to follow this process each semester. Sexual Harassment and Misconduct All members of the University community are expected to engage in conduct that contributes to the culture of integrity and honor upon which the University of North Carolina at Asheville is grounded. Acts of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking jeopardize the health and welfare of our campus community and the larger community as a whole and will not be tolerated. The University has established procedures for preventing and investigating allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking that are compliant with Title IX federal regulations. To learn more about these procedures or to report an incident of sexual misconduct, go to https://titleix.unca.edu/. Students may also report incidents to an instructor, faculty or staff member, who are required by law to notify the Title IX Office. Health and Wellness UNCA offers resources for students who are coping with both physical and mental health issues. If you would benefit from assistance, please contact the Health and Counseling Center. Contact information can be found at https://healthandcounseling.unca.edu/. Alteration of this Syllabus The instructor reserves the right to revise, alter, and/or amend this syllabus as necessary. Students will be notified by email and/or Moodle of any such revisions, alterations, and/or amendments. Key Resources for Students Political Science Department Website: https://politicalscience.unca.edu/ Academic Planning: https://advising.unca.edu/ Student Affairs: https://studentaffairs.unca.edu/ University Catalog: http://catalog.unca.edu/ Ramsey Library: https://library.unca.edu/ Career Center: https://career.unca.edu/ Schedule and Topics Week 1: Introduction January 10th (T): Course Introduction January 12th (Th): American Political Culture and Citizenship Assigned Reading: Skim Chapter 1: The Logic of American Politics and Declaration of Independence by Jefferson and The U.S. Constitution* Week 2: The Constitution January 17th (T)/ January 19th (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 2: The Constitution Week 3: Federalism January 24th (T)/ January 26th (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 3: Federalism Week 4: Civil Liberties January 31st (T)/February 2nd (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 5: Civil Liberties Week 5: Civil Rights February 7th(T)/ February 9th (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 4: Civil Rights Week 6: Congress February 14th (T)/ February 16th (Th): Writing Assignment #1 Due Assigned Reading: Chapter 6: Congress Week 7: Midterm & The Executive February 21st (T): Midterm Exam February 23rd (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 7: The Presidency Week 8: The Executive & The Bureaucracy February 28th (T): Assigned Reading: Chapter 7: The Presidency March 2nd (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 8: The Bureaucracy Week 9: Spring Break March 6th – 10th: No Class Week 10: The Supreme Court March 14th (T)/ March 16th (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 9: The Federal Judiciary Week 11: Public Opinion March 21st (T): Assigned Reading: Chapter 10: Public Opinion March 23rd (Th): No Class (Dr. G at North Carolina Political Science Association Conference) Week 12: The Media & Voting, Campaigns, and Elections March 28th (T): Assigned Reading: Chapter 14: Media March 30th (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 11: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections Week 13: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections (Cont.) & Political Parties April 4th (T): Assigned Reading: Chapter 11: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections April 6th (Th): Assigned Reading: Chapter 12: Political Parties Week 14: Political Parties (Cont.) & Interest Groups April 11th (T): Assigned Reading: Chapter 12: Political Parties April 13th (Th): Writing Assignment #2 Due Assigned Reading: Chapter 13: Interest Groups Week 15: Social Policy April 18th (T): No Class (Undergraduate Research Day) April 20th (Th): Assigned Reading: T.B.D. Week 16: Finals Week April 25th (T): Review Session (Last Day of Class) April 26th (W): Reading Day April 27th (Th): Finals Begin Week 17: Finals (Cont.) May 2nd (T): Final Exam Period for POLS 220 is 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Reading(s) available on Moodle course page. *The topics, as displayed on this syllabus, serve as a general plan for the course. However, since not all classes move at the same pace, the instructor will adjust as is necessary. Irrespective of the changes in the material covered, the dates of exams and any other assignments will remain as they appear on this syllabus.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.773863	06/18/2024	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/116967/overview", "title": "FAD Syllabus: UNCA POLS220", "author": "UNC System" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87918/overview	European Revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848 Overview European Revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848 The French Revolution inspired a succession of revolutions and revolts, among other uprisings across Europe. Uprisings began soon after Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815, occurring most noticeably around 1820, 1830, and 1848. These uprisings revolved around aspects of liberalism and nationalism, and they went hand-in-hand with other forms of economic, religious, social, and technological democratization that were part of the Industrial Revolution. Underlying these uprisings was a struggle among the participating groups and individuals over which reforms and changes would be pursued, as well as under whose control they would happen. Conservatives who sought to limit the scope and degree of any changes were led by the monarchies of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, collectively known as the Holy Alliance. These three governments sought to turn back the clock to the way things had been before the French Revolution. They influenced the agenda implemented by the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Opposing these conservative forces were groups and individuals who sought more democratic changes in European economies, governments, and social structures, along with the Roman Catholic Church. Learning Objectives - Explain the consolidation of national states in Europe during the 19th century. Key Terms / Key Concepts Congress of Vienna: a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich and held in Vienna from November 1814 to June 1815, though the delegates had arrived and were already negotiating by late September 1814 (The objective was to provide a long-term peace plan for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The goal was not simply to restore old boundaries but to resize the main powers so they could balance each other and remain at peace.) Frankfurt Assembly - the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany, elected on May 1, 1848 (The session was held from May 18, 1848, to May 31, 1849, in the Paulskirche at Frankfurt am Main. Its existence was both part of and the result of the “March Revolution” in the states of the German Confederation. After long and controversial debates, the assembly produced the so-called Frankfurt Constitution.) Nationalism and liberalism drove the Revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848. These revolutions were part of trends in democratization that accompanied the Industrial Revolution, which also included mass production and the development of a culture of consumption. Nationalism was about forging new nation-states on the basis of common culture and ethnicity in Europe. In the Americas nationalism was explicitly about a shared political ideology based on republicanism, and implicitly about common ethnicity and culture, a characteristic that many in the dominant cultures of the various American nations do not realize or will not admit, event today. The revolutions from 1820 through 1848 solidified the European definition of nationalism. Liberalism was concerned with the removal of economic, political, religious, and social obstacles built into society and worked toward the ultimate goal of achieving equality of opportunity, as distinct from equality of outcome. The ideology of liberalism was initially defined by Enlightenment writers during the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries. During the revolutions from 1820 through 1848 members of the new middle classes, which had emerged with the economic changes of industrialization, came to make liberalism an ideological vehicle for their economic and political aspirations, implicitly restricting useage of this ideology by the industrial working classes. Highlighting this succession of uprisings during the first half of the nineteenth century were the Revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848. Beginning in 1820 movements broke out in Portugal, Spain, and several Italian kingdoms; the objectives of these movements was to transform each into a constitutional monarchy. Although each of these movements failed in the short term, they established or strengthened precedents for liberalization and democratization. Troops of the restored French monarchy returned absolute authority, at least nominally, to the Spanish monarchy. However, the constitutional revolution in Portugal sparked a struggle that lasted into the 1840s. In 1830 revolution broke out in France with the expulsion Charles X, who fancied himself an absolute monarch in the tradition of Louis XIV. When Charles tried to repress opposition to his absolutist rule from newly elected liberals in the French legislature, mob reaction forced him to abdicate. Louis Philippe replaced Charles X as king. In an acknowledgement of the democratic spirit which drove the opposition to Charles X’s rule, Louis Philippe took the title of King of the French, rather than King of France. Nationalist uprisings also broke out in the Catholic portion of the Netherlands and Poland. The uprising in Poland failed in the short term, but national sovereignty would be restored to Poland at the end of the First World War. The uprising in the Netherlands, born of an antagonism between Catholics and Protestants in that country, led to the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium. A similar spirit of religious division between Protestants and Catholics contributed to the Irish nationalism that would lead to the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1922. During the nineteenth century Irish nationalists experienced incremental progress in their struggle for national sovereignty from the British Parliament. A major advancement in political democratization related to the 1830 uprisings occurred in the United Kingdom in 1832 with the First Reform Act—the first in a series of reform acts passed between 1832 and 1928. Collectively these acts led to the vote being extended to all adult citizens in the United Kingdom by 1928. The First Reform Act extended the vote to middle class male voters based on property value, rent/ taxes paid, and length of residence. In this respect the First Reform Act did not eliminate the traditional property requirements of the English political system, rather it modified these requirements to include members of the evolving middle classes in recognition of economic and social changes that accompanied the Industrial Revolution. In terms of new voters in parliamentary elections, this act only increased this number by about fifty percent. This increase is in and of itself unremarkable when one considers that before the 1832 act only about one in ten adult males in the United Kingdom could vote in parliamentary elections. In addition, this act explicitly prohibited women from voting. based on population. Population growth came with the development of manufacturing and the growth of cities in the Industrial Revolution, starting the process of correcting longstanding inequities in voting representation between rural and urban areas.This act was not only a response to democratic protests and movements in Britain, but also a conservative effort to stave off future uprisings by giving activists part of what they wanted. It ended up walking the line between the agendas of parliamentary conservatives and democratic reformers during the tumultuous early 1830s. The Revolutions of 1848—known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, People’s Spring, Springtime of the Peoples, or the Year of Revolution—were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history. These diverse revolutionary movements were in opposition to the conservative agenda of the Congress of Vienna and marked a major challenge to its vision for a stable Europe. The revolutions were essentially democratic in nature, with the aim of removing the old feudal structures and creating independent national states with democratic political structures and greater material security, even prosperity, for the working classes. The revolutionary wave began in France in February and immediately spread to most of Europe and parts of Latin America. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation between their respective revolutionaries. According to Evans and von Strandmann (2000), some of the major contributing factors were widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership, demands for more participation in government and democracy, demands for freedom of press, demands made by the working class, the upsurge of nationalism, and the regrouping of established governmental forces. The uprisings were led by shaky ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes, and workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed and many more forced into exile. Significant lasting reforms included the abolition of serfdom in Austria and Hungary, the end of absolute monarchy in Denmark, and the introduction of parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands. The revolutions were most important in France, the Netherlands, the states that would make up the German Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century, Italy, and the Austrian Empire. In the Austrian empire, France, a number of the Italian states, and Prussia, 1848 revolutionaries were teased with hints of success. Ultimately, however, they were disappointed, in a number of cases, fatally, disappointed. Advocates for reform and German unification from across the German states created the Frankfurt Assembly in 1848. However, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, who the Assembly elected as emperor of a new unified Germany, ended the Assembly’s efforts by refusing to accept this position. He undercut support for the Assembly by asserting that it had no authority to select him as emperor of a unified Germany. Promises of reform and liberal constitutions made by the Austrian emperor and rulers of various German and Italian states in 1848 and early 1849 were subsequently reversed between mid-1849 and the end of 1851. These reversals accompanied campaigns of persecution against the revolutionaries throughout European by the restored conservative leaders of these countries and states. French revolutionaries enjoyed possibly the most auspicious success with their creation of the short-lived Second Republic in 1848. Even though Louis Napoleon subverted the Second Republic with a coup in December 1851 that led to the creation of the Second Empire (the First Empire being that of Napoleon Bonaparte, his uncle), he had to do so under the guise of an implicit popular mandate, which he had established with his election as president of the Second Republic in December 1848. Throughout his reign, Louis Napoleon was mindful of popular opinion, even accepting quasi-democratic reforms during the second half of his reign. Despite its brevity the Second Republic set precedents for republican governance in France that would be adopted and built upon in the Third, the Fourth, and the Fifth French Republics. Sprinkled among the 1820, 1830, and 1848 Revolutions were a number of national independence movements. A weakening Ottoman empire was the most vulnerable multiethnic and religiously diverse Eurasian empire to such movements, with limited autonomy being gained by Serbia in 1817 and Moldavia and Wallachia in 1829, and national independence by Greece in 1832. Italian states unified under the auspices of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1861, and German states under Prussian direction in 1871. Ultimately, the activists who carried out these movements during the first half of the nineteenth century failed because they couldn’t work together. They had different agendas in terms of visions, goals, and means. In the aftermath of the 1820 – 48 Revolutions, conservative national leaders in France, the Italian states, and the German states took control of the process of change and reform, establishing top-down control. However, the efforts of these revolutionaries built upon the efforts of the 1789 – 95 French revolutionaries, laying the foundation for successes in European democratization during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikipedia Commons Title Image - "Liberty Leading the People" by Eugene Delacroix. Attribution: Eugène Delacroix, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Provided by: Wikipedia. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eug%C3%A8ne_Delacroix_-_Le_28_Juillet._La_Libert%C3%A9_guidant_le_peuple.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Boundless World History "The Congress of Vienna" Adapted from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-congress-of-vienna/ "France after 1815" Adapted from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/france-after-1815/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.795886	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87918/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Period of Revolution 1650-1871 CE, Chapter 9: Revolution, European Revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87917/overview	The Haitian Revolution Overview The Haitian Revolution In 1791, two years after the French Revolution began in France, the clarion call, “Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!," reached the French colony of Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti). The resulting Haitian Revolution is seminal in the history of slave revolts. Unlike other revolts and revolutions, the Haitian Revolution was successful. To date, it remains the most successful slave revolution. Learning Objectives - Examine the causes, events, and impact of the Haitian Revolution. - Evaluate how the French Revolution influenced the Haitian Revolution. Key Terms / Key Concepts - Haiti: island nation in the Caribbean, formerly known as Saint Domingue - Saint Domingue: name given to Haiti when it was a French colony - Julien Raimond: a prosperous planter and free man of color who petitioned France for support of the Haitian Revolution - Vincent Ogé: a wealthy, free man of color who led a revolt against racial discrimination promoted by the government of Saint Domingue - Toussaint L’Ouverture: Haitian leader and general during the Haitian Revolution - Jean-Jacques Dessalines: Haitian general during the Revolution and subsequent Emperor of Haiti - The French Massacre of 1804: massacre of French and mixed-race civilians in Haiti undertaken by Dessalines and his troops Background The Latin American and Caribbean Wars of Independence, which took place during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, were deeply influenced by the American and French Revolutions. The notion of independence simmered throughout Latin America and the Caribbean before other major revolutions occurred, as these areas had been long governed and certainly oppressed by European nations such as Spain, Portugal, and France. And by the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, wars of independence had erupted throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. The French and the Colony of Saint Domingue From its earliest history as a French colony, Saint Domingue was rife with social conflict. Society was organized around a complex class system of free whites, free Africans, Indigenous peoples, and enslaved Africans. [a] Of these groups, enslaved Africans totaled half a million—far more than the free whites and Africans combined. Yet, the whites, many of whom were immigrants from France or direct descendants of French parents, dominated the wealth and industry in Saint Domingue. The African slaves, many of whom were recently arrived from Africa’s west coast, were forced to work on the massive sugar plantations. Sugar production was complex and extremely labor-intensive. Not only must the crop be planted and harvested, but whole tracts of land cleared, usually by burning. Sugar fields also had to be thoroughly irrigated, rotationally planted, and fertilized. After the harvest, the cane was sent to a mill for refinement and transport abroad. To complicate matters, plantation owners oversaw production of sugar with intense ferocity on par with that of their North American neighbors. Slaves were beaten, forced to live in ramshackle housing, and issued minimal rations. French colonists and slaves frequently came into violent conflict. The French Revolution, which began in 1789, shaped the course of the ongoing conflict in Saint-Domingue and was at first welcomed on the island. In France, the National Assembly made radical changes to French laws, and on August 26, 1789, published the Declaration of the Rights of Man, declaring all men free and equal. Wealthy whites in Saint Domingue saw it as an opportunity to gain independence from France, which would allow elite plantation owners to take control of the island and create trade regulations that would further their own wealth and power. There were so many changes in the leadership in France and so many complex events in Saint-Domingue that various classes and parties changed their alignments many times. However, the Haitian Revolution quickly became a test of the ideology of the French Revolution. Violence comes to Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue’s free people of color, most notably Julien Raimond had been actively appealing to France for full civil equality with whites since the 1780s. Raimond used the French Revolution to make this the major colonial issue before the National Assembly of France. In October 1790, Vincent Ogé, another wealthy free man of color from the colony, returned home from Paris, where he had been working with Raimond. Convinced that a law passed by the French Constituent Assembly gave full civil rights to wealthy men of color, Ogé demanded the right to vote. When the colonial governor refused, Ogé led a brief insurgency in the area around Cape Français. He and an army of around 300 free blacks fought to end racial discrimination in the area. He was captured in early 1791 and was brutally executed by being “broken on the wheel” before being beheaded. The conflict up to this point was between factions of whites and between whites and free blacks. Enslaved blacks watched from the sidelines. Ogé was not fighting against slavery, but his actions later served as propaganda for slaves during the Haitian Revolution. The Revolution in Haiti did not wait on the Revolution in France. The individuals in Haiti relied upon themselves to lead the revolution. Ideas such as individual freedoms and equality, which were the rallying cry of the French Revolution, inspired Haitians to take matters into their own hands. What ensued was the most successful and comprehensive slave rebellion in history. Just as the French were successful in transforming their society, so were the Haitians. On April 4, 1792, The French National Assembly granted citizenship to slaves in Haiti. A year later, they granted freedom to all slaves who would side with the French in the revolution. A New Face for the Revolution: Toussaint L’Ouverture The French decision to emancipate the slaves catapulted a new hero to the face of the Haitian Revolution. Toussaint L’Ouverture, a freed African man and Haitian general, emerged as the quintessential figure of the Revolution. He allied with the French army, defeated French plantation owners and their allies-- British troops. By 1801, he had defeated his rivals and proposed a constitution for Haiti. The new constitution was progressive. It abolished slavery and put freed Haitians at the forefront of society. However, Haiti was not yet independent. In fact, its new constitution still proclaimed loyalty to France. Critically, L’Ouverture took the constitution one step too far for France's new ruler, Napoleon Bonaparte. L'Ouverture proclaimed himself “Governor for Life” of Haiti. The title irked Napoleon. He saw it as a threat to his power in Haiti and the broader French colonies. In 1802, Napoleon again sent French troops to Haiti to eliminate L’Ovuerture’s new government. Tricked into attending a meeting in France, L’Ovuerture was quickly arrested and imprisoned by French soldiers. He later died in exile in a French prison in the Jura Mountains along the French-Swiss border. Legacy of the Haitian Revolution The death of the “Father of Haiti,” as L’Ovuerture was later called, sparked an all-out war between the Haitians and the French troops in Haiti. The Haitian Revolution exploded in extreme violence in 1804. One of L'Ovuerture's former allies and soliders, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, ordered the execution of all remaining French people (including those of mixed race). Under his authority, Haitian troops executed between 4,000-5,000 French men, women, and children of all ages. The French Massacre of 1804 helped secure Haiti's independence, and lower the morale of French troops. Thousands of French troops also succumbed to diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. Fed up with the effort of maintaining a small colony in the Caribbean, Napoleon pulled his troops back. In 1804, Haiti emerged as an independent state and abolished slavery. Dessalines was declared governor-general of Haiti. Within a year, Dessalines was declared Emperor of Haiti by generals in the Haitian army. Almost as quickly as Dessalines became emperor, strong resistance to his autocratic leadership formed. Political opposition grew, and a conspiracy to murder the emperor was hatched. On October 17, 1806, Dessalines was violently murdered near the capital city, Port-au-Prince. His death catapulted Haiti into a civil war between rival political factions until the island was divided into two parts: the Kingdom of Haiti ruled by Henri Christophe; and the Republic of Haiti under Alexandre Sabès Pétion. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Cole, Joshua and Carol Symes. Western Civilizations: Their History and Culture, 5th Ed. W.W. Norton & Company, New York: 2020. 636-637. Boundless World History "The South American Revolutions" https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-south-american-revolutions/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.819632	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87917/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Period of Revolution 1650-1871 CE, Chapter 9: Revolution, The Haitian Revolution", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88264/overview	Reaction to Revolution: China Overview Reaction to Revolution: China In the 19th century, a rising British Empire challenged China’s traditional leadership in East Asia. Learning Objectives - Analyze the weaknesses of the Qing Dynasty in the 19th century that opened China to foreign influence and aggression Key Terms / Key Concepts Pax Britannica: the period of relative peace in Europe (1815 – 1914) during which the British Empire became the global hegemonic power and adopted the role of a global police force The imperial Chinese tributary system: the network of trade and foreign relations between China and its tributaries, which helped to shape much of East Asian affairs. It consisted almost entirely of mutually beneficial economic relationships, with politically autonomous and usually independent member states, as well as facilitated frequent economic and cultural exchange Opium Wars: two wars in the mid-19th century (1839 – 1842 and 1856 – 1860) involving Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China and China’s sovereignty, which weakened the Qing dynasty and forced China to trade with the rest of the world British East India Company: an English and later British joint-stock company formed to pursue trade with the East Indies but in actuality trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and Qing China Kowtow: the act of deep respect shown by prostration: kneeling and bowing so low as to have one’s head touching the ground (In East Asian culture, it is the highest sign of reverence and is widely used for one’s elders, superiors, and especially the emperor, as well as for religious and cultural objects of worship.) Treaty of Tientsin: a collective name for several documents signed in 1858 that ended the first phase of the Second Opium War involving the Qing, Russian, Second French Empires, United Kingdom, and United States (These unequal treaties opened more Chinese ports to foreign trade, permitted foreign legations in the Chinese capital Beijing, allowed Christian missionary activity, and legalized the import of opium. They were ratified by the Emperor of China in the Convention of Peking in 1860 after the end of the war.) Treaty of Nanjing: a peace treaty that ended the First Opium War (1839 – 42) between the United Kingdom and the Qing dynasty of China, signed in August 1842, which ended the old Canton System and created a new framework for China’s foreign relations and overseas trade that would last for almost 100 years (From the Chinese perspective, the most injurious terms were the fixed trade tariff, extraterritoriality, and the most favored nation provisions. It was the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties in which Britain had no obligations in return.) First Opium War: an 1839 – 1842 war fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing dynasty over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice for foreign nationals in China Convention of Beijing: an agreement comprising three distinct treaties between the Qing Empire (China) and the United Kingdom, France, and Russia in 1860, which ended the Second Opium War Century of Humiliation: the period of intervention and imperialism by Western powers and Japan in China between 1839 and 1949, which arose in 1915 in the atmosphere of increased Chinese nationalism Second Opium War: a war pitting the British Empire and the French Empire against the Qing dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860 Reaction to Revolution: China As Europe was engulphed in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution and in the throes of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars in the late 18th and early 19th century, China remained a stable and prosperous empire under the Qin Dynasty. However, as the 19th century progressed, China found itself bullied by the rising British Empire, which was emerging from the Industrial Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars as a dominating world power. Pax Britannica Pax Britannica (Latin for “British Peace,” modeled after Pax Romana) was the period of relative peace in Europe (1815 – 1914) during which the British Empire became the global hegemonic power and adopted the role of a global police force. Between 1815 and 1914, a period referred to as Britain’s “imperial century,” around 10 million square miles of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleonic France left the British without any serious international rival, other than perhaps Russia in central Asia. When Russia tried expanding its influence in the Balkans, the British and French defeated it in the Crimean War (1854 – 56), thereby protecting the by-then feeble Ottoman Empire. Britain’s Royal Navy controlled most of the key maritime trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power. Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, Britain’s dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled access to many regions, such as Asia and Latin America. British merchants, shippers, and bankers had such an overwhelming advantage over everyone else that in addition to its colonies, it had an informal empire. The global superiority of British military and commerce was aided by a divided and relatively weak continental Europe and the presence of the Royal Navy on all of the world’s oceans and seas. Even outside its formal empire, Britain controlled trade with countries such as China, Siam, and Argentina. Following the Congress of Vienna, the British Empire’s economic strength continued to develop through naval dominance and diplomatic efforts to maintain a balance of power in continental Europe. In this era, the Royal Navy provided services around the world that benefited other nations, such as the suppression of piracy and blocking the slave trade. The Slave Trade Act 1807 banned the trade across the British Empire, after which the Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron and the government negotiated international treaties under which they could enforce the ban. Sea power, however, did not project on land. Land wars fought between the major powers include the Crimean War, the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Prussian War, and the Franco-Prussian War, as well as numerous conflicts between lesser powers. The Royal Navy engaged in the First Opium War (1839 – 1842) and Second Opium War (1856 – 1860) against Imperial China. The Royal Navy was superior to any other two navies in the world, combined. Between 1815 and the passage of the German naval laws of 1890 and 1898, only France was a potential naval threat. Imperial Chinese Tributary System The rise of the British Empire challenged the traditional leadership that imperial China had maintained across East Asia. The imperial Chinese tributary system was the network of trade and foreign relations between China and its tributaries (neighboring states under China’s authority) which helped to shape much of East Asian affairs. Contrary to other tribute systems around the world, the Chinese system consisted almost entirely of mutually beneficial economic relationships. Member states of the system were politically autonomous and usually independent. The system shaped foreign policy and trade for over 2,000 years of imperial China’s economic and cultural dominance of the region and thus played a huge role in the history of Asia, particularly East Asia. The tributary system was the primary instrument of diplomatic exchange throughout the Imperial Era. While most member states of the system during the Qing rule were smaller Asian states, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Portugal also sent tributes to China. European Trade with Qing China British ships began to appear sporadically around the coasts of China from 1635. Without establishing formal relations through the tributary system, British merchants were allowed to trade at the ports of Zhoushan and Xiamen in addition to Guangzhou (Canton). However, trade began to flourish after the Qing dynasty relaxed maritime trade restrictions in the 1680s and after Taiwan came under Qing control in 1683. Even rhetoric about the tributary status of Europeans was muted. Official British trade was conducted through the auspices of the British East India Company, which held a royal charter for trade with the Far East. The British East India Company gradually came to dominate Sino-European trade from its position in India. Guangzhou (Canton) was the port of preference for most foreign trade. From 1700 – 1842, Guangzhou came to dominate maritime trade with China, and this period became known as the Canton System. From the inception of the Canton System in 1757, trade in goods from China was extremely lucrative for European and Chinese merchants alike. However, foreign traders were only permitted to do business through a body of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong and were restricted to Canton. Foreigners could only live in one of the Thirteen Factories, a neighborhood along the Pearl River in southwestern Guangzhou, and were not allowed to enter, much less live or trade in, any other part of China. While silk and porcelain drove trade through popularity in the west, an insatiable demand for tea existed in Britain. However, only silver was accepted in payment by China, which resulted in a chronic trade deficit. From the mid-17th century, around 28 million kilograms of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, in exchange for Chinese goods. Britain had been on the gold standard since the 18th century, so it had to purchase silver from continental Europe and Mexico to supply the Chinese appetite for silver. Attempts at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries by a British embassy (twice), a Dutch mission, and Russia to negotiate more expansive access to the Chinese market were all vetoed by successive Emperors. By 1817, the British realized they could reduce the trade deficit and turn the Indian colony profitable by counter-trading in narcotic Indian opium. The Qing administration initially tolerated opium importation because it created an indirect tax on Chinese subjects while allowing the British to double tea exports from China to England, thereby profiting the monopoly on tea exports held by the Qing imperial treasury and its agents. The increasingly complex opium trade would eventually become a source of a military conflict between the Qing dynasty and Britain (Opium Wars). Foreign Relations The kowtow—or prostration—was an issue facing Western embassies to China. Western diplomats understood that kowtowing meant accepting the superiority of the Emperor of China over their own monarchs, an act they found unacceptable. The British embassies of George Macartney (1793) and William Pitt Amherst (1816) were unsuccessful at negotiating the expansion of trade and interstate relations, partly because kowtowing would mean acknowledging their king as a subject of the Chinese Emperor. However, Dutch ambassador Isaac Titsingh did not refuse to kowtow during his 1794 – 1795 mission to the imperial court of the Qianlong Emperor. The members of the Titsingh mission made every effort to conform with the demands of complex Imperial court etiquette. Other European powers were not willing to make such a concession. China did not deal with Russia through the Ministry of Tributary Affairs, but rather through the same ministry as the Mongols (seen by the Chinese as a problematic partner), which served to acknowledge Russia’s status as a non-tributary nation. In 1665, Russian explorers had met the Manchus in present-day northeastern China. This initial contact led eventually to a treaty between the two powers. Using the common language of Latin, which the Chinese knew from Jesuit missionaries, the Kangxi Emperor of China and Tsar Peter I of the Russian Empire negotiated the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689. This delineated the borders between Russia and China, some sections of which still exist today. Under the Canton System, between 1757 and 1842, Western merchants in China were restricted to live and conduct business only in the approved area of the port of Guangzhou, through a government-approved merchant house. Their factories formed a tight-knit community, which the historian Jacques Downs called a “golden ghetto” because it was both isolated and lucrative. The Chinese worldview changed very little during the Qing dynasty as China’s perspectives on foreigners continued to be informed and reinforced by deliberate policies and practices designed to minimize evidence of its growing weakness and West’s evolving power. After the Titsingh mission, no further non-Asian ambassadors were even allowed to approach the Qing capital until the consequences of the Opium Wars changed everything. The Opium Wars The history of opium in China began with the use of opium for medicinal purposes during the 7th century. In the 17th century, the practice of mixing opium with tobacco for the act of smoking spread from Southeast Asia; this created a far greater demand. In the mid-18th century, after the British gained control over the Bengal Presidency—the largest colonial subdivision of British India, , the former monopoly on opium production held by the Mughal emperors passed to the East India Company (EIC) under the The East India Company Act of 1793. However, the EIC was £28 million in debt, partly as a result of the insatiable demand for Chinese tea in the UK market. Chinese tea had to be paid for in silver, so silver supplies had to be purchased from continental Europe and Mexico. To redress the imbalance, the EIC began auctions of opium in Calcutta and saw its profits soar from the opium trade. Considering that importation of opium into China had been virtually banned by Chinese law, the EIC established an elaborate trading scheme, partially relying on legal markets and partially leveraging illicit ones. British merchants bought tea in Canton on credit and balanced their debts by selling opium at auction in Calcutta. From there, the opium would reach the Chinese coast hidden aboard British ships and was smuggled into China by native merchants. In 1797, the EIC further tightened its grip on the opium trade by enforcing direct trade between opium farmers and the British and ending the role of Bengali purchasing agents. British exports of opium to China grew from an estimated 15 long tons in 1730 to 75 long tons in 1773 shipped in over 2,000 chests. The Qing dynasty Jiaqing Emperor issued an imperial decree banning imports of the drug in 1799. Nevertheless, by 1804, the British trade deficit with China turned into a surplus, leading to seven million silver dollars going to India between 1806 and 1809. Meanwhile, Americans entered the opium trade with less expensive but inferior Turkish opium and by 1810 claimed ~10% of the trade in Canton. In the same year the emperor issued a further imperial edict prohibiting the use and trade of opium. The decree had little effect. The Qing government, far away in Beijing in the north of China, was unable to halt opium smuggling in the southern provinces. A porous Chinese border and rampant local demand facilitated the trade and by the 1820s, China was importing 900 long tons of Bengali opium annually. The opium trafficked into China was processed by the EIC at its two factories in Patna and Benares. In the 1820s, opium from Malwa in the non-British controlled part of India became available and, as prices fell due to competition, production was stepped up. In addition to the drain of silver, by 1838 the number of Chinese opium addicts had grown to between 4 million and 12 million and the Daoguang Emperor demanded action. Officials at the court who advocated legalizing and taxing the trade were defeated by those who advocated suppressing it. The Emperor sent the leader of the hard-line faction, Special Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu, to Canton, where he quickly arrested Chinese opium dealers and summarily demanded that foreign firms turn over their stocks with no compensation. When they refused, Lin stopped trade altogether and placed the foreign residents under virtual siege in their factories. The British Superintendent of Trade in China, Charles Elliot got the British traders to agree to hand over their opium stock with the promise of eventual compensation from the British government for their loss. While this amounted to a tacit acknowledgment that the British government did not disapprove of the trade, it also placed a huge liability on the exchequer. This promise and the inability of the British government to pay it without causing a political storm was an important casus belli for the subsequent British offensive. First Opium War In October 1839, the Thomas Coutts arrived in China and sailed to Canton. The ship was owned by Quakers, who refused to deal in opium. The ship’s captain, Warner, believed Elliot had exceeded his legal authority by banning the signing of the “no opium trade” bond and negotiated with the governor of Canton, hoping that all British ships could unload their goods at Chuenpi, an island near Humen. To prevent other British ships from following the Thomas Coutts, Elliot ordered a blockade of the Pearl River. Fighting began on November 3, 1839, when a second British ship, the Royal Saxon, attempted to sail to Canton. Then the British Royal Navy ships HMS Volage and HMS Hyacinth fired warning shots at the Royal Saxon. The Qing navy’s official report claimed that the navy attempted to protect the British merchant vessel and reported a victory for that day. In reality, they had been overtaken by the Royal Naval vessels and many Chinese ships were sunk. The First Opium War revealed the outdated state of the Chinese military. The Qing navy was severely outclassed by the modern tactics and firepower of the British Royal Navy. British soldiers, using advanced muskets and artillery, easily outmaneuvered and outgunned Qing forces in ground battles. The Qing surrender in 1842 marked a decisive, humiliating blow to China. The Treaty of Nanjing demanded war reparations, forced China to open up the Treaty Ports of Canton, Amoy, Fuchow, Ningpo, and Shanghai to western trade and missionaries, and to cede Hong Kong Island to Britain. It revealed weaknesses in the Qing government and provoked rebellions against the regime. Second Opium War The 1850s saw the rapid growth of European aggression toward China. Some shared goals of the European powers were the expansion of their overseas markets and the establishment of new ports of call. To expand their privileges in China, Britain demanded the Qing authorities renegotiate the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, citing their most favored nation status. The British demands included opening all of China to British merchant companies, legalizing the opium trade, exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties, suppression of piracy, regulation of the coolie (indentured laborers) trade, permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing, and for the English-language version of all treaties to take precedence over the Chinese language. To give Chinese merchant vessels operating around treaty ports the same privileges accorded British ships by the Treaty of Nanking, British authorities granted these vessels British registration in Hong Kong. In October 1856, Chinese marines in Canton seized a cargo ship called the Arrow on suspicion of piracy, arresting 12 of its 14 Chinese crew members. The Arrow was previously used by pirates, captured by the Chinese government, and subsequently resold. It was then registered as a British ship and still flew the British flag at the time of its detainment, although its registration had expired. Its captain, Thomas Kennedy, aboard a nearby vessel at the time, reported seeing Chinese marines pull the British flag down from the ship. The British consul in Canton, Harry Parkes, contacted Ye Mingchen—imperial commissioner and Viceroy of Liangguang—to demand the immediate release of the crew and an apology for the alleged insult to the flag. Ye released nine of the crew members but refused to release the last three. On October 25, the British demanded to enter Canton. The next day, they started to bombard the city, firing one shot every 10 minutes. Ye Mingchen issued a bounty on every British head taken. On October 29, a hole was blasted in the city walls and troops entered, with a flag of the United States of America being planted by James Keenan (U.S. Consul) on the walls and residence of Ye Mingchen. Negotiations failed, the city was bombarded, and the war escalated. In 1858, with no other options, the Xianfeng Emperor agreed to the Treaty of Tientsin, which contained clauses deeply insulting to the Chinese, such as a demand that all official Chinese documents be written in English and a proviso granting British warships unlimited access to all navigable Chinese rivers. Shortly after the Qing imperial court agreed to the disadvantageous treaties, hawkish ministers prevailed upon the Xianfeng Emperor to resist Western encroachment, which led to a resumption of hostilities. In 1860, with Anglo-French forces marching on Beijing, the emperor and his court fled the capital for the imperial hunting lodge at Rehe. Once in Beijing, the Anglo-French forces looted the Old Summer Palace and, in an act of revenge for the arrest of several Englishmen, burnt it to the ground. Prince Gong, a younger half-brother of the emperor, was forced to sign the Convention of Beijing. The agreement comprised three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing Empire and the United Kingdom, France, and Russia (while Russia had not been a belligerent, it threatened weakened China with a war on a second front). The British, French, and Russians were granted a permanent diplomatic presence in Beijing, something the Qing Empire resisted to the very end, as it suggested equality between China and the European powers. The Chinese had to pay 8 million taels to Britain and France. Britain acquired Kowloon (next to Hong Kong). The opium trade was legalized, and Christians were granted full civil rights, including the right to own property and the right to evangelize. The treaty also ceded parts of Outer Manchuria to the Russian Empire. Legacy The First Opium War marked the start of what 20th century Chinese nationalists called the Century of Humiliation. The ease with which the British forces defeated the numerically superior Chinese armies damaged the Qing dynasty’s prestige. The Treaty of Nanking was a step to opening the lucrative Chinese market to global commerce and the opium trade. Historian Jonathan Spence notes that the harm opium caused was clear, but that in a stagnating economy, it supplied fluid capital and created new tax sources. Smugglers, poor farmers, coolies, retail merchants and officials all depended on opium for their livelihoods. In the last decade of the Qing dynasty, however, a focused moral outrage overcame these vested interests. The terms of the treaties ending the Opium Wars undermined China’s traditional mechanisms of foreign relations and methods of controlled trade. More ports were opened for trade, gunboats, and foreign residence. Hong Kong was seized by the British to become a free and open port. Tariffs were abolished preventing the Chinese from raising future duties to protect domestic industries and extraterritorial practices exempted Westerners from Chinese law. This made them subject to their own civil and criminal laws of their home country. Most importantly, the opium problem was never addressed and after the treaty ending the First War was signed, opium addiction doubled. Due to the Qing government’s inability to control collection of taxes on imported goods, the British government convinced the Manchu court to allow Westerners to partake in government official affairs. In 1858 opium was legalized. The First Opium War both reflected and contributed to a further weakening of the Chinese state’s power and legitimacy. Anti-Qing sentiment grew in the form of rebellions such as the Taiping Rebellion—a civil war lasting from 1850-64 in which at least 20 million Chinese died. The opium trade faced intense enmity from the later British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. As a member of Parliament, Gladstone called it “most infamous and atrocious,” referring to the opium trade between China and British India in particular. Gladstone was fiercely against both Opium Wars, denounced British violence against Chinese, and was ardently opposed to the British trade in opium to China. Gladstone criticized the First War as “unjust in its origin, a war more calculated in its progress to cover this country with permanent disgrace.” His hostility to opium stemmed from the effects of the drug on his sister Helen. The standard interpretation in the People’s Republic of China presented the war as the beginning of modern China and the emergence of the Chinese people’s resistance to imperialism and feudalism. Attributions Title Image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dragoon_Guards_in_Second_Opium_War.jpg The Engish King's Dragoon Guards closing with the Chinese cavalry in the engagement near Peking on 21 September 1860 during the Second Opium War.- "From a sketch by our special artist in China", Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Adapted from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-century-of-peace/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-last-chinese-dynasty/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.852192	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88264/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Period of Revolution 1650-1871 CE, Chapter 9: Revolution, Reaction to Revolution: China", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87810/overview	Pax Mongolica Overview Pax Mongolica The Mongol Empire expanded through brutal raids and invasions, but also established relatively secure routes of trade and technology between East and West. In a number of ways it foreshadowed globalization. Learning Objectives Identify and assess factors in the rise, decline, and disintegration of the Mongol empire(s). Identify and assess the impact of the Mongol empire(s). Keywords / Key Concepts Genghis Khan: founder of the thirteenth-century Mongol empire in Eurasia Kublai Khan: Mongol leader of the Yuan dynasty in China, and grandson of Genghis Khan Pax Mongolica: also known as the Mongol Peace, a system of relationships across Mongol-dominated Asia that allowed trade, technologies, commodities, and ideologies to be disseminated and exchanged across Eurasia Rise of the Mongol Empire During Europe’s High Middle Ages, the Mongol Empire began to emerge and ultimately became the largest contiguous land empire in history. The Mongol Empire began in the Central Asian steppes and lasted throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. At its greatest extent, it included all of modern-day Mongolia, China, parts of Burma, Romania, Pakistan, Siberia, Ukraine, Belarus, Cilicia, Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia, Persia, Iraq, Central Asia, and much or all of Russia. Many additional countries became tributary states of the Mongol Empire. The empire unified the nomadic Mongol and Turkic tribes of historical Mongolia under the leadership of Genghis Khan, who was proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206. The empire grew rapidly under his rule, and then continued to expand under his descendants, through military conquest and invasion. By 1300 the empire controlled much of Asia, including China, and eastern Europe. The vast transcontinental empire connected the east with the west under a Pax Mongolica, or Mongol Peace, through conquest, invasion, and forced displacement of peoples on an unprecedent scale. Although the Pax Mongolica allowed trade, technologies, commodities, and ideologies to be disseminated and exchanged across Eurasia on Mongol terms, the Mongols maintained order through fear and intimidation. Historians regard the Mongol raids and invasions as some of the deadliest and most terrifying conflicts in human history. Ghenghis Khan and the Mongol Empire Before Genghis Khan became the leader of Mongolia, he was known as Temujin. He was born around 1162 in modern-day northern Mongolia, into a nomadic tribe with noble ties and powerful alliances. These fortunate circumstances helped him unite dozens of tribes in his adulthood via alliances. He used diplomacy, political manipulation, and military power to expand his Mongol empire. He also forbade looting of his enemies without permission, and he implemented a policy of sharing spoils with his warriors and their families instead of giving it all to the aristocrats. His meritocratic policies, among other tactics, attracted a broader range of followers, but also alienated his uncles and brothers, who competed with him for control of the empire. War ensued from 1203 through 1205. Temujin prevailed, destroying all the remaining rival tribes and bringing them under his sway. In 1206, Temujin was crowned as the leader of the Great Mongol Nation. It was then that he assumed the title of Genghis Khan, meaning universal leader; this marked the start of the Mongol Empire. Khan maintained control over his empire through a combination of violence, surveillance of his subject peoples, and a relative lenient policy toward religious and local traditions. With his death in 1227, his sons and grandsons continued his empire, although dividing it into four smaller empires, or khanates. Innovations Under Ghenghis Khan As ruler of a vast and diverse empire, Genghis Khan implement a number of innovations. These innovations allowed him to maintain order, and also facilitated trade and exchanges of information across Eurasia. These innovations included reorganization of the army, elimination of tribal loyalties that threatened his control, establishment of his personal Imperial Guard, commission of a new law code, new taxes, administrative reforms, allowance of a greater voice for women and limited religious and cultural freedom for various groups within the empire, and the encouragement of greater literacy in the empire's Mongolian script. This limited tolerance did not constitute freedom for these subject peoples. For example, Jewish kosher traditions and Muslim halal traditions were also cast aside in favor of Mongol dining and social customs. Destruction and Expansion Under Ghenghis Khan Along with his relatively benign policies, Genghis also wreacked havoc and destruction across Asia. Mongol military tactics were based on the swift and ferocious use of mounted cavalry, cannons, and siege warfare, which led to crushing even the strongest European and Islamic forces; these troops left a trail of devastation behind. Cities that resisted the Mongols were subject to destruction, and/or the forced relocation or murder of city residents. For example, after the conquest of the city of Urgench, each Mongol warrior, in an army that might have consisted of 20,000 soldiers, was required to execute 24 people. The dark side of Genghis Khan’s rule also can be seen in the destruction of kingdoms in the Middle East, Egypt, and Poland, along with the replacement of the Song Dynasty by the Yuan Dynasty. Many local populations in what is now India, Pakistan, and Iran considered the great khan to be a blood-thirsty warlord set on destruction. Impact of the Pax Mongolica The Pax Mongolica refers to the relative stabilization of the regions under Mongol control during the height of the empire in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Mongol rulers maintained peace and relative stability in such varied regions because they did not force subjects to adopt religious or cultural traditions. However, they still enforced a legal code known as the Yassa (Great Law), which stopped feudal disagreements at local levels and made outright disobedience a dubious prospect. It also ensured that it was easy to create an army in short time and gave the khans access to the daughters of local leaders. The constant presence of troops across the empire also ensured that people followed Yassa edicts and maintained enough stability for goods and for people to travel long distances along established trade routes. In this environment the largest empire to ever exist helped one of the most influential trade routes in the world, known as the Silk Road, to flourish. This route allowed commodities such as silk, pepper, cinnamon, precious stones, linen, and leather goods to travel between Europe, the Steppe, India, and China. Ideas also traveled along the trade route, including major discoveries and innovations in mathematics, astronomy, papermaking, and banking systems from various parts of the world. Famous explorers, such as Marco Polo, also enjoyed the freedom and stability the Pax Mongolica provided, and were able to bring back valuable information about the East and the Mongol Empire to Europe. End of the Mongol Advance A number of factors brought an end to Mongol expansion into eastern Europe and Asia. In both eastern Europe and Asia Mongol forces were at the limits of their supply system. In addition, differences in the topography and climate of eastern Asia and Europe neutralized the Mongol advantage in mobile warfare. Although one of Genghis' grandsons, Kublai Khan, was able to conquer China and established the short-lived, Mongol-controlled Yuan Dynasty therein, Kublai failed to conquer other east Asian peoples, including the Japanese and the Vietnamese during the last quarter of the thirteenth century. East Europeans also united in their resistance to Mongol expansion, including a number of east European cities and fortresses. One example of such resistance was the Klis fortress in Croatia. In 1242 this east European fortress successfully held out against the Mongols. Decline and Demise of the Mongol Empire By the time of Kublai’s death in 1294, the four separate Mongol empires, or khanates, were each pursuing own separate interests and objectives: the Golden Horde Khanate in the northwest, the Chagatai Khanate in the west, the Ilkhanate in the southwest, and the Yuan Dynasty, based in modern-day Beijing. In 1304, the three western khanates briefly accepted the rule of the Yuan Dynasty in name. This weakness allowed the Chinese Ming Dynasty to take control in 1368, while Russian princes also slowly developed independence over the 14th and 15th centuries. With these developments, the Mongol Empire finally dissolved. Impact of Pax Mongolica Pax Mongolica left numerous legacies, including cultural, political, religious, and technological exchanges across the empire’s trade routes; the spread of pandemics, such as the Black Death; and resurgent nationalism among peoples subjected to Mongol rule, including the Chinese and the Russians. In China opposition to the Mongol Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan fed the rise of the Ming Dynasty in 1368. Finally, Mongol control over much of Asia facilitated additional European exploration of Asia and fed growing European interest in it. The most significant manifestation of this interest was Columbus’s 1492 voyage in search of east Asia, inspired in part by Marco Polo and his alleged travels. Attributions Licenses and Attributions CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY - Curation and Revision. Provided by: Boundless.com. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike CC LICENSED CONTENT, SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTION - Title Image - Abraham Cresques, Atlas catalan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caravane_Marco_Polo.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Yassa. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yassa. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Silk Road. 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Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_conquest. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Mongol invasion of Central Asia. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Mongol conquest of the Kara-Khitai. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Changes in Eurasia - Mongol Conquest and Aftermath. Provided by: Wikibooks. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Mongolian script. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - HIST302: Medieval Europe. Provided by: Saylor. Located at: https://legacy.saylor.org/hist302/Intro/. License: CC BY: Attribution - Mongol Empire. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Mongol Empire. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Yuan Emperor Album Genghis Portrait. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Jin Jar. Provided by: Wikipedia. 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License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.882490	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87810/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Making of Early Modern World 1450-1700 CE, Chapter 1: Asia & Oceania, Pax Mongolica", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87817/overview	Origins of the Ottoman, the Safavid, and the Mughal Empires Overview Origins of the Ottoman, the Safavid, and the Mughal Empires The founding of the Ottoman, the Safavid, and the Mughal empires occurred within a number of historic contexts, including the expansion and intersection of Islam and Turco-Mongol power across Asia. The founder of each empire followed a tradition and imperative of conquest most famously practiced and immortalized by Genghis Khan during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Khans would-be successors continued this tradition, including the fourteenth-century west Asian conqueror Tamerlane. The goal of these conquerors was the conquest of everything in sight, with the world as the ultimate goal. While that was not a practical goal for Mughal, Ottoman, or Safavid rulers, global conquest was at least worthy of lip service. The founder of each of these three empires embraced conquest without question, practicing it as part of a cultural norm or ritual, like members of a fraternity mindlessly getting drunk. They didn’t think much beyond conquest. Accordingly, each founder of these three empires also came from a lineage of conquerors. Learning Objectives - Describe the origins of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires as outgrowths of Turco-Mongol power in late medieval Eurasia. Key Terms and Concepts Osman: founding ruler of the Ottoman empire, and the source of its name, he led a small kingdom in northwest Anatolia, the core or homeland of the Ottoman empire Ismail: founding ruler of the Safavid empire Babur: founding ruler of the Mughal empire Along with being products of a culture of conquest, the Mughal, Ottoman, and Safavid empires all had viable territorial cores. The Ottoman empire made Anatolia its base, Ismail established the Safavid dynasty by taking over Persia, and Babur forged the Mughal empire by taking over northern and central India. Osman was the first of these three empire builders. In the early fourteenth century, he founded what would become the Ottoman empire in northwest Anatolia. His people were one of a number of Turkish peoples who lived across Asia. The Ottoman empire rose in power with the decline of the Seljuk Turks during the fourteenth century. From that territorial base the Ottoman Turks expanded westward across Anatolia, to the Bosporus and Dardanelle Straits, and then across those straits into southeastern Europe. In the process of this expansion, they conquered the Orthodox Christian Byzantine empire, with the capture of Constantinople in 1453, known in the Ottoman empire as Istanbul. Ismail established the Safavid empire through his conquest of part of Persia, the core of the Safavid empire. Babur, who founded the Mughal empire, was descended from both Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. Babur was the latest in a succession of invaders who had attempted to conquer India. During the early eleventh century Mahmud—ruler of the Ghazni state in what is now present-day Afghanistan—moved east across the Indus River into northeastern India. From the thirteenth through the sixteenth centuries the Delhi Sultanate controlled northern India. While each made progress into northern India, they were stopped from advancing into southern India by various Hindu states. Hinduism had emerged as the primary religion of India with the development of Aryan culture. This animosity between Hindus and Muslims was also the defining division of the Mughal empire. Each of these three empires reached its apex during the sixteenth and/or seventeenth centuries, and then began to decline, each at its own pace. Similar sets of factors contributed to the rise and then the fall of each. During the eighteenth century the Safavid empire disintegrated, and the Mughal empire was eclipsed by advancing British interests. The Ottoman empire held on for nearly two centuries before giving way to a final nationalist movement after the First World War, which resulted in the establishment of Turkey. This expansion distinguished the Ottoman empire from the Mughal and the Safavid empires in that the Ottoman empire was the only one of the three to expand into Europe, influencing various southeast European peoples. The Ottoman empire’s expansion constituted a conduit through which Islam spread. The Ottoman empire also came to incorporate more ethnically and religiously diverse peoples as part of this expansion. In their study of empires historians invariably pose the question of when an empire peaks. This question cannot be answered objectively. Any answer is a matter of interpretation. For example, the apex of an empire’s fortunes could be measured in years, decades, or even centuries, as represented by the metaphoric peak or plateau. Arguably the Ottoman empire peaked during the sixteen and the seventeenth centuries, as marked by its two most ambitious military operations: the Ottoman sieges of Vienna in 1529 and 1683. The failures of both sieges define the high point of Ottoman imperial power, although that was not immediately recognized as such. With respect to its longer and more gradual decline, beginning arguably at the end of the seventeenth century, the Ottoman stood apart from the Mughal and the Safavid empires. Safavid expansion was constrained by the Ottoman empire to the west and the Mughal empire to the east. For Safavid rulers, expansion was more a matter of regaining lost ground than taking over new territory, such as an entire empire outside of the Islamic world. These territorial struggles were exacerbated by the division between the Shi’ite identity of the Safavid empire and the Sunni predominance in the Mughal and the Ottoman empires. The reign of Akbar(1556 – 1605) marked the apex of the Mughal empire. Akbar implemented the most ambitions in the effort to bring together Hindus and Muslims in a harmonious synthesis that would be a new type of Indian civilization. Arguably India still has not achieved that today, as made clear by the 1947 partition of Muslims and Hindus into the newly independent nations of Pakistan and India. Hindu kingdoms across southern India blocked Mughal expansion. The similarities and parallels in the origins of these three empires continue with their development and fates. These west Asian empires represent a different direction of development and orientation during the early modern period. In their origins lie the seeds of these distinctions, along with the seeds of their failure to keep up with the emerging European powers. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikipedia Commons Title Image - Painting of Shah Ismail I by unknown medieval Venetian artist. Attribution: Uffizi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Provided by: Wikipedia. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shah_Ismail_I.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Licenses and Attributions CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY - Curation and Revision. Provided by: Boundless.com. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike CC LICENSED CONTENT, SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTION - History of the Ottoman Empire. Provided by: Wikipedia. Location: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Ottoman_Empire. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Ottoman Empire. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Foreign relations of the Ottoman Empire. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Eastern Question. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.902878	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87817/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Making of Early Modern World 1450-1700 CE, Chapter 2: Islam & Southeast Asia, Origins of the Ottoman, the Safavid, and the Mughal Empires", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87873/overview	Absolutist France Overview Absolutist France Absolutism is a period in French history during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in which the power of the monarch was theoretically unrestrained and unlimited. It resulted in exuberant wealth for the French monarchs, such as Louis XIV. It is also characterized by extreme poverty for most of the French population and exorbitant taxation, as well as political, social, and religious repression. Learning Objectives - Investigate the absolutist French state under Louis XIV. - Identify key people, events of Absolutist France. Key Terms / Key Concepts Cardinal: a senior member of the Roman Catholic church who often acts as an advisor to the Pope; second only to the Pope in their power Cardinal Armand de Richelieu: seventeenth-century French cardinal who wielded much power in shaping internal and external French policies King Louis XVI (The Sun King): authoritarian, supremely wealthy monarch of France who represents the height of absolutism Absolutism: practice in which European monarchs had unlimited power Versailles: luxurious palace of King Louis XIV outside of Paris The Fronde: series of French Civil Wars that erupted in the mid-seventeenth century in response to oppressive, absolutist rule under the French monarchies Huguenot: a religious minority group of French Protestants Absolutist France The most exemplary case of absolutist government was that of France in the seventeenth century. The transformation of the French state from a conventional Renaissance-era monarchy to an absolute monarchy began under the reign of Louis XIII, the son of Henry IV. Louis XIII came to the throne as an eight-year-old when his father was assassinated in 1610. Following conventional practice when a king was too young to rule, his mother Marie de Medici held power as regent—one who rules in the name of the king; she also enlisted the help of a brilliant French cardinal, Armand de Richelieu. While Marie de Medici eventually stepped down as regent, Richelieu joined the king as his chief minister in 1628 and continued to play the key role in shaping the French state. Portrait of Cardinal Armand de Richelieu. Richelieu deserves a great deal of credit for laying the foundation for absolutism in France. He suppressed various revolts against royal power that were led by nobles, and he created a system of royal officials called Intendants. These officials were usually men drawn from the mercantile classes. They collected royal taxes and oversaw administration and military recruitment in the regions to which they were assigned; they did not have to answer to local lords. Richelieu’s major focus was improving tax collection. To do so, he abolished three out of six regional assemblies that, traditionally, had the right to approve changes in taxation. He made himself superintendent of commerce and navigation, recognizing the growing importance of commerce in providing royal revenue. He managed to increase the revenue from the direct tax on land, almost threefold during his tenure (r. 1628 – 1642). That said, while he did curtail the power of the elite nobles, most of those who bore the brunt of his improved techniques of taxation were the peasants; Richelieu compared the peasants to mules, noting that they were only useful for working. Richelieu was also a cardinal: one of the highest-ranking “princes of the church,” officially beholden only to the pope. His real focus, however, was the French crown. It was said that he “worshiped the state” much more than he appeared to concern himself with his duties as a cardinal. He even oversaw French support of the Protestant forces in the Thirty Years’ War as a check against the power of the Habsburgs, as well as supported the Ottoman Turks against the Habsburgs for the same reason. Just to underline this point: a Catholic cardinal, Richelieu, supported Protestants and Muslims against a Catholic monarchy in the name of French power. King Louis XIV: The Sun King Louis XIII died in 1643, and his son became King Louis XIV. The latter was still too young to take the throne, so his mother became regent, ruling alongside Richelieu’s protégé, Jules Mazarin. Mazarin continued Richelieu’s policies and focus on taxation and royal centralization. Almost immediately, however, simmering resentment against the growing power of the king exploded in a series of uprisings against the crown known as The Fronde, a noble-led civil war against the monarchy. They were defeated by loyal forces in 1653, but the uprisings made a profound impression on the young king, who vowed to bring the nobles into line. When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis ascended to full power at just twenty-three-years-old. Louis went on to a long and dazzling rule, achieving the height of royal power and prestige, not just in France but in all of Europe. He ruled from 1643 – 1715 (including the years in which he ruled under the guidance of a regent), which means he was king for an astonishing 54 years at a time when the average life expectancy for those surviving infancy was only about 40 years. Louis was depicted as the sun god Apollo and called the “Sun King”, a term and an image he actively cultivated while declaring himself “without equal”. He was, among other things, a master marketer and propagandist of himself and his own authority. He had teams of artists, playwrights, and architects build statues, paint pictures, write plays and stories, and build buildings all glorifying his image. Louis' Versailles Palace and Court Culture Famously, Louis developed what had begun as a hunting lodge (first built by his father) into the most glorious palace in Europe; this palace was constructed in the village of Versailles, about 15 miles southeast of Paris, and built in the baroque style and lavishly decorated. Over the decades of his long rule, the structure and grounds of the Palace of Versailles grew into the largest and most spectacular seat of royal power in Europe, on par with any palace in the world at the time. There were 1,400 fountains in the gardens, 1,200 orange trees, and an ongoing series of operas, plays, balls, and parties. Since Louis ultimately had 2,000 rooms built both in the palace and in apartments in the village,10,000 people could live in the palace and its additional buildings, which were all furnished at the state’s expense. Today, the grounds cover about 2,000 acres, or just over 3 square miles (by comparison, Central Park in New York City is a mere 843 acres in size). Louis expected high-ranking nobles to spend part of the year at Versailles, where they were lodged in apartments and spent their days bickering, gossiping, gambling, and taking part in elaborate rituals surrounding the person of the king. Each morning, high-ranking nobles greeted the king as he awoke (the “rising” of the king, in parallel to the rising of the sun), hand-picked favorites carried out such tasks as tying the ribbons on his shoes, and then the procession accompanied him to breakfast. Comparable rituals continued throughout the day, ensuring that only those nobles in the king’s favor ever had the opportunity to speak to him directly. The rituals were carefully staged not only to represent deference to Louis but also to emphasize the hierarchy of ranks among the nobles themselves, undermining their unity and forcing them to squabble over his favor. Around the king’s person, courtiers had to be very careful to wear the right clothes, make the right gestures, use the correct phrases, and even display the correct facial expressions. Deviation could, and generally did, lead to humiliation and sometimes permanent loss of the king’s favor, to the delighted mockery of the other nobles. This was not just an elaborate game; anyone wishing to "get" anything from the royal government had to convince the king and his officials that he was witty, poised, fashionable, and respected within the court. One false move and a career could be ruined. At the same time, the rituals surrounding the king were not invented to humiliate and impoverish his nobles. Instead, they celebrated each noble’s power in terms of his or her proximity to the king. Nobles at Versailles were reminded of two things at once: their dependence and deference to the king and their own dignity and power as those who had the right to be near the king. Not just nobles participated in the dizzying web of favor-trading, gossip, and bribery at Versailles, however. Louis XIV prided himself on the “openness” of his court, contrasting it with the closed-off court of a tyrant. Any well-dressed person was welcome to walk through the palace and the grounds and confer with those present. Both men and women from very humble origins sometimes rose to prominence at Versailles and made a healthy living by serving as go-betweens for elites seeking royal positions through the bureaucracy. Others took advantage of the state’s desperate need for revenue by proposing new tax schemes; those that were accepted usually came with a payment for the person who submitted the scheme, so it was possible to make a living by “brainstorming” for tax revenue on behalf of the monarchy. The palace had been designed for display, not comfort. As a result, some aspects of life at Versailles seem comic today: the palace is so huge that the food was usually cold before it made it from the kitchens to the dining room; on one occasion Louis’ wine froze en route. Some of the nobles who lived in the palace or its grounds would use the hallways to relieve themselves instead of the privies because the latter were so inadequate and far from their rooms. The costs of building and maintaining such an enormous temple to monarchical power were immense. During the height of its construction, 60% of the royal revenue went to funding the elaborate court at Versailles itself (this later dropped to 5% under Louis XVI, but the old figure was well-remembered and resented); this was an enormous ongoing expenditure that nevertheless shored up royal prestige. Louis himself delighted in the life at court, refusing to return to Paris (which he hated) and dismissing the financial costs as beneath his dignity to take notice of. Louis' Domestic Achievements Louis did not just preside over the ongoing pageant at Versailles. He was dedicated to glorifying French achievements in art and scholarship, as well as to his personal obsession: warfare. He created important theater companies, founded France’s first scientific academy, and supported the Académie Française—the body dedicated to preserving the purity of the French language founded earlier by Richelieu (during Louis XIV’s reign, the Academy published the first official French dictionary). French literature, art, and science all prospered under his sponsorship, and French became the language of international diplomacy among European states. To keep up with costs, Louis continued to entrust revenue collection to non-noble bureaucrats. The most important was Jean Baptiste Colbert, who doubled royal revenues by reducing the cut taken by tax collectors. Colbert also increased tariffs on foreign trade going to France and greatly expanded France’s overseas commercial interests. Louis' Religious Intolerance While Louis’s primary legacy was the image of monarchy that he created, his practical policies were largely destructive to France itself. First, he relentlessly persecuted religious minorities, going after various small groups of religious dissenters but concentrating most of his attention and ire on the Huguenots. In 1685 he officially revoked the Edict of Nantes that his grandfather had created to grant the Huguenots toleration, and he offered them the choice of conversion to Catholicism or exile. While many did convert, over 200,000 fled to parts of Germany, the Netherlands, England, and America. In one fell swoop, Louis crippled what had been among the most commercially productive sectors of the French population, ultimately strengthening his various enemies in the process. An Empire at War Louis waged constant war. From 1680 – 1715 Louis launched a series of wars, primarily against his Habsburg rivals, which succeeded in seizing small chunks of territory on France’s borders; this seizing of various Habsburg lands saddled the monarchy with enormous debts. Colbert, the architect of the vastly more efficient systems of taxation, repeatedly warned Louis that these wars were financially destructive; however, Louis simply ignored the question of whether he had enough money to wage them. The threat of France was so great that even traditional enemies like England and the Netherlands on one hand and the Habsburgs on the other joined forces against Louis; after a lengthy war, the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 forced Louis to abandon further territorial ambitions. Furthermore, the costs of the wars were so high that his government desperately sought new sources of revenue, selling noble titles and bureaucratic offices, instituting still new taxes, and further trampling the peasants. When he died in 1715, France was bankrupt. Primary Source: Jean Dormat- "On Social Order and Absolute Monarchy" Jean Domat (1625-1696), “On Social Order and Absolute Monarchy” [Abridged] There is no one who is not convinced of the importance of good order in the state and who does not sincerely wish to see that state well ordered in which he has to live. For everyone understands, and feels in himself by experience and by reason, that this order concerns and touches him in a number of ways .... Everyone knows that human society forms a body of which each person is a member; and this truth, which Scripture teaches us and which the light of reason makes plain, is the foundation of all the duties that relate to the conduct of each person toward others and toward the body as a whole. For these sorts of duties are nothing else but the functions appropriate to the place each person holds according to his rank in society. It is in this principle that we must seek the origin of the rules that determine the duties, both of those who govern and of those who are subject to government. For it is through the place God has assigned each person in the body of society, that He, by calling him to it, prescribes all his functions and duties. And just as He commands everyone to obey faithfully the precepts of His law that make up the duties of all people in general, so He prescribes for each one in particular the duties proper to his condition and status, according to his rank in the body of which he is a member. This includes the functions and duties of each member with respect to other individuals and with respect to the body as a whole. [Necessity and the Origin of Government] Because all men are equal by nature, that is to say, by their basic humanity, nature does not make anyone subject to others .... But within this natural equality, people are differentiated by factors that make their status unequal, and forge between them relationships and dependencies that determine the various duties of each toward the others, and make government necessary .... The first distinction that subjects people to others is the one created by birth between parents and children. And this distinction leads to a first kind of government in families, where children owe obedience to their parents, who head the family. The second distinction among persons arises from the diversity of employments required by society, and which unite them all into a body of which each is a member. For just as God has made each person depend on the help of others for various needs, He has differentiated their status and their employments for the sake of all these needs, assigning to people the place in which they should function. And it is through these interdependent employments and conditions that the ties binding human society are formed, as well as the ties among its individual members. This also makes it necessary to have a head to unite and rule the body of the society created by these various employments, and to maintain the order of the relationships that give the public the benefit of the different functions corresponding to each person's station in life. * It is a further consequence of these principles that, since all people do not do their duty and some, on the contrary, commit injustices, for the sake of keeping order in society, injustices and all enterprises against this order must be repressed: which was possible only through authority given to some over others, and which made government necessary. This necessity of government over people equal by their nature, distinguished from each other only by the differences that God established among them according to their stations and professions, makes it clear that government arises from His will; and because only He is the natural sovereign of men, it is from Him that all those who govern derive their power and all their authority, and it is God Himself Whom they represent in their functions. [The Duties of the Governed] Since government is necessary for the public good, and God Himself has established it, it is consequently also necessary for those who are subject to government, to be submissive and obedient. For otherwise they would resist God Himself, and government, which should be the bond of peace and unity that brings about the public good, would become an occasion for divisions and disturbances that would cause its downfall. The first duty of obedience to government is the duty to obey those who hold the first place in it, monarchs or others who are the heads of the body that makes up society, and to obey them as the limbs of the human body obey the head to which they are united. This obedience to him who governs should be considered as obedience to the power of God Himself, Who has instituted [the prince] as His lieutenant .... * Obedience to government includes the duties of keeping the laws, not undertaking anything contrary to them, performing what is ordered, abstaining from what is forbidden, shouldering public burdens, whether offices or taxes; and in general everyone is obliged not only not to contravene public order in any way, but to contribute to it [positively) according to his circumstances. Since this obedience is necessary to maintain the order and peace that should unite the head and members composing the body of the state, it constitutes a universal duty for all subjects in all cases to obey the orders of the prince, without taking the liberty of passing judgment on the orders they should obey. For otherwise, the right to inquire what is just or not would make everyone a master, and this liberty would encourage seditions. Thus each individual owes obedience to the laws themselves and [even] to unjust orders, provided he can obey and follow them without injustice on his own part. And the only exception that can qualify this obedience is limited to cases in which one could not obey without disobeying the divine law. [The Power, Rights, and Duties of Sovereigns] The sovereign power of government should be proportionate to its mandate, and in the station he occupies in the body of human society that makes up the state, he who is the head should hold the place of God. For since God is the only natural sovereign of men, their judge, their lawgiver, their king, no man can have lawful authority over others unless he holds it from the hand of God .... The power of sovereigns being thus derived from the authority of God, it acts as the arm and force of the justice that should be the soul of government; and that justice alone has the natural claim to rule the minds and hearts of men, for it is over these two faculties of men that justice should reign. * According to these principles, which are the natural foundations of the authority of those who govern, their power must have two essential attributes: one, to make that justice rule from which their power is entirely derived, and the other, to be as absolute as the rule of that justice itself, which is to say, the rule of God Himself Who is justice and Who wishes to reign through [princes] as He wishes them to reign through Him. For this reason Scripture gives the name of gods to those to whom God has entrusted the right of judging, which is the first and most essential of all the functions of government.... Since the power of princes thus comes to them from God, and since He gives it to them only as an instrument of His providence and His rule over the states whose government He delegates to them, it is clear that they should use this power in accordance with the aims that divine providence and rule have established for them; and that the material and visible manifestations of their authority should reflect the operation of the will of God.... [The will of GodJ Whose rule they ought to make visible through their power, should be the governing principle for the way they use that power, since their power is the instrument [of the divine will] and is entrusted to them only for that purpose. This, without a doubt, is the foundation and first principle of all the duties of sovereigns, namely to let God Himself rule; that is, to govern according to His will which is nothing other than justice. Thus it is the rule of justice which should be the glory [of the rule] of princes. * Among the rights of the sovereign, the first is the right to administer justice, the foundation of public order, whether he exercises it himself as occasions arise or whether he lets it be exercised by others whom he delegates for the purpose .... * This same right to enforce the laws, and to maintain order in general by the administration of justice and the deployment of sovereign power, gives the prince the right to use his authority to enforce the laws of the Church, whose protector, conservator, and defender [sic] he should be; so that by the aid of his authority, religion rules all his subjects.... * Among the rights that the laws give the sovereign should be included [the right] to display all the signs of grandeur and majesty necessary to make manifest the authority and dignity of such wide-ranging and lofty power, and to impress veneration for it upon the minds of all subjects. For although they should see in it the power of God Who has established it and should revere it apart from any visible signs of grandeur, nevertheless since God accompanies His own power with visible splendor on earth and in the heavens as in a throne and a palace... He permits that the power He shares with sovereigns be proportionately enhanced by them in ways suitable for arousing respect in the people. This can only be done by the splendor that radiates from the magnificence of their palaces and the other visible signs of grandeur that surround them, and whose use He Himself has given to the princes who have ruled according to His spirit. * The first and most essential of all the duties of those whom God raises to sovereign government is to acknowledge this truth: that it is from God that they hold all their power [sic], that it is His place they take, that it is through Him they should reign, and that it is to Him they should look for the knowledge and wisdom needed to master the art of governing. And it is these truths they should make the principle of all their conduct and the foundation of all their duties. * The first result of these principles is that sovereigns should know what God requires of them in their station and how they should use the power He has given them. And it is from Him they should learn it, by reading His law, whose study He has explicitly prescribed for them, including what they should know in order to govern well. * These general obligations ... encompass all the specific duties of those who hold sovereign power. For [these obligations] cover everything that concerns the administration of justice, the general policing of the state, public order, the repose of subjects, peace of mind in families, vigilance over everything that can contribute to the common good, the choice of able ministers who love justice and truth [sic], the appointment of good men to the dignities and offices that the sovereign himself needs to fill with persons known to him, the observance of regulations for filling other offices with people not subject to his personal choice, discretion in the use of severity or mercy in those cases where the rigor of justice may be tempered, a wise distribution of benefices, rewards, exemptions, privileges, and other favors; good administration of the public finances, prudence in conducting relations with foreign states, and lastly everything that can make government pleasing to good people, terrible to the wicked, and worthy in all respects of the divine mandate to govern men, and of the use of a power which, coming only from God, shares in His own Authority. * We may add as a last duty of the sovereign, which follows from the first and includes all the others, that although his power seems to place him above the law, no one having the right to call him to account, nevertheless he should observe the laws as they may apply to him. And he is obliged to do this not only in order to set a good example to his subjects and make them love their duty, but because his sovereign power does not exempt him from his own duty, and his station requires him to prefer the general good of the state to his personal interests, and it is a glory for him to look upon the general good as his own. From Modern History Sourcebook, Fordham University Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Boundless World History "France and Authoritarianism" https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/france-and-authoritarianism/ "On Social Order and Absolute Monarchy." Jean Dormat. Fordham University. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1687domat.asp	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.935123	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87873/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Making of Early Modern World 1450-1700 CE, Chapter 5: Europe, Absolutist France", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87865/overview	The Protestant Reformation Overview Causes of the Reformation The causes of the Reformation were rooted in historical developments in the Roman Catholic Church in the Late Middle Ages Learning Objectives - Identify the primary factors from the late medieval period that led to the Reformation. Keywords/Key Concepts Conciliar movement: a reform movement in the 14th-, 15th-, and 16th-century Catholic Church, emerging in response to the Western Schism between rival popes in Rome and Avignon, that held that supreme authority in the church resided with an Ecumenical council, apart from, or even against, the pope the Western Schism: a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1418, when several men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope doctrine: list of beliefs and teachings by the church Indulgences: in Roman Catholic theology, a remission of the punishment that would otherwise be inflicted for a previously forgiven sin as a natural consequence of having sinned, which are granted for specific good works and prayers in proportion to the devotion with which those good works are performed or those prayers are recited Purgatory: according to Roman Catholic doctrine, this was a place of suffering where the souls of the Christian dead went to be purified and cleansed from sin before entering Heaven (The pope had the authority to grant Christians indulgences to be released from Purgatory.) Monastery: a place where a community of monks lived and worked (Monks (men) and Nuns (women) dedicated their lives to celibacy, poverty, and Christian living.) Avignon Papacy: a period from 1309 – 1376 when the Popes resided in Avignon in southern France instead of Rome (The Avignon Popes had a reputation for greed and corruption.) Scholasticism: a medieval system of philosophy that maintained that the doctrines of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle could be harmonized with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church Augustinian Theology: the teaching associated with the works of the Christian theologian Augustine (c. 400 CE) Discontent with the Roman Catholic Church The Protestant Reformation, often referred to simply as the Reformation, was a schism from the Roman Catholic Church initiated by Martin Luther and continued by other early Protestant reformers in Europe in the 16th century. Although there had been significant earlier attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church before Luther—such as those of Jan Hus, Geert Groote, Thomas A Kempis, Peter Waldo, and John Wycliffe—Martin Luther is widely acknowledged to have started the Reformation with his 1517 work The Ninety-Five Theses. Luther began by criticizing the selling of indulgences, insisting that the Roman Catholic doctrine regarding purgatory and indulgences had no foundation in the gospel. The Protestant position would come to incorporate doctrinal changes, such as sola scriptura (by the scripture alone) and sola fide (by faith alone). The core motivation behind these changes was theological, though many other factors played a part: the rise of nationalism, the Western Schism that eroded faith in the papacy, the perceived corruption of the Roman Curia (the Council of Cardinals, who elected the Pope), the impact of humanism, and the new learning of the Renaissance that questioned much traditional thought. Roots of Unrest Following the breakdown of monasteries and scholasticism in late medieval Europe—accentuated by the Avignon Papacy, the Papal Schism, and the failure of the Conciliar movement, the 16th century saw a great cultural debate about religious reforms and later fundamental religious values. These issues initiated wars between princes, uprisings among peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, which sparked many reform movements within the church. These reformist movements occurred in conjunction with economic, political, and demographic forces that contributed to a growing disaffection with the wealth and power of the elite clergy, resulting in a population that was more critical of the financial and moral corruption of the Roman church at the time of the Renaissance. The major individualistic reform movements that revolted against medieval scholasticism, and the institutions that underpinned it, were humanism and devotionalism. In Germany, “the modern way,” or devotionalism, caught on in the universities and required a redefinition of God—who was no longer a rational governing principle but an arbitrary, unknowable will that could not be limited. God was now a ruler, and religion was more fervent and emotional. Thus, the ensuing revival of Augustinian theology—stating that man cannot be saved by his own efforts but only by the grace of God—would erode the legitimacy of the rigid institutions of the church meant to provide a channel for man to do good works and get into heaven. Humanism, however, was more of an educational reform movement with origins in the Renaissance’s revival of classical learning and thought. As a revolt against Aristotelian logic, it placed great emphasis on reforming individuals through eloquence as opposed to reason. The European Renaissance laid the foundation for the Northern humanists in its reinforcement of the traditional use of Latin as the great unifying language of European culture. The breakdown of the philosophical foundations of scholasticism was a threat to an institutional church supposedly serving as an intermediary between man and God. New thinking favored the notion that no religious doctrine can be supported by philosophical arguments, eroding the old alliance between reason and faith laid out by Thomas Aquinas—13th century leading scholastic philosopher—in the medieval period. Additionally, the great rise of the burghers (merchant class) and their desire to run their new businesses free of institutional barriers or outmoded cultural practices contributed to the appeal of humanist individualism. For many, papal institutions were rigid, especially regarding their views on just price and rejection of usury (interest rates on loans). In the north, burghers and monarchs were united in their frustration for the practice of not paying any taxes to the nation and, instead, collecting taxes from subjects and sending the revenues disproportionately to the Pope in Italy. Early Attempts at Reform The first of a series of disruptive and new perspectives came from John Wycliffe (14th century) at Oxford University in England, one of the earliest opponents of papal authority influencing secular power and an early advocate for translation of the Bible into the common language. Jan Hus at the University of Prague in the Kingdom of Bohemia (modern Czech Republic) was a follower of Wycliffe and similarly objected to some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Hus wanted liturgy (public prayer in church services) in the language of the people (i.e. Czech), married priests, and to eliminate indulgences and the idea of purgatory. Hus spoke out against indulgences in 1412 when he delivered an address entitled Quaestio magistri Johannis Hus de indulgentiis (Questions of the teacher Jon Hus regarding Indulgences). It was taken literally from the last chapter of Wycliffe’s book, De ecclesia (Concerning the Church), and his treatise, De absolutione a pena et culpa (Absolution from punishment and sin). Hus asserted that no Pope or bishop had the right to take up the sword in the name of the Church; he should instead pray for his enemies and bless those that curse him. Furthermore, according to Hus, man obtains forgiveness of sins by true repentance, not money (paying for indulgences). The doctors of the theological faculty replied to these statements, but without success. A few days afterward, some of Hus’s followers burnt the papal bulls (letters with the commands of the Pope). Hus, they said, should be obeyed rather than the Church, which they considered a fraudulent mob of adulterers and Simonists (people who buy the position of priest). In response, three men from the lower classes who openly called the indulgences a fraud were beheaded. They were later considered the first martyrs of the Hussite Church. In the meantime, the faculty had condemned the forty-five articles and added several other theses, deemed heretical, that had originated with Hus. The king of Bohemia forbade the teaching of these articles, but neither Hus nor the university complied with the ruling, requesting that the articles should first be proven to be un-scriptural. The tumults at Prague had stirred up a sensation; papal legates and Archbishop Albik tried to persuade Hus to give up his opposition to the papal bulls, and the king made an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the two parties. Hus was later condemned and burned at the stake, despite promise of safe-conduct, when he voiced his views to church leaders at the Council of Constance (1414–1418). Wycliffe, who died in 1384, was also declared a heretic by the Council of Constance, and his corpse was exhumed and burned. Martin Luther The Protestant Revolution began with the call for reform by the German monk, Martin Luther. Learning Objectives - Explain Luther’s criticisms of Catholicism. - Identify the key features of Luther’s teachings. Key Terms / Key Concepts Excommunication: an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it Ninety-five Theses: a list of propositions for an academic disputation written by Martin Luther in 1517. They advanced Luther’s positions against what he saw as abusive practices by religious leaders Indulgences: certificates that would reduce the temporal punishment for sins committed by the purchaser or their loved ones in purgatory Purgatory: a place where Christian souls went to be purified of their sins after death before they could be allowed to enter Heaven, according to Roman Catholic teachings Martin Luther Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk, and seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God’s punishment for sin could be purchased with money, which led him to propose an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His refusal to renounce all his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520, and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521, resulted in his excommunication by the pope and his condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor. Luther taught that salvation and, subsequently, eternal life are not earned by good deeds but are received only as the free gift of God’s grace through the believer’s faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority and office of the pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge from God, and it opposed priestly intervention for the forgiveness of sins because he considered all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with these, and all of Luther’s wider teachings, are called Lutherans; however, Luther insisted on the term Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ. His translation of the Bible into the vernacular (German, instead of Latin) made it more accessible to the laity (non-clergy), an event that had a tremendous impact on both the church and German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation—the Tyndale Bible. His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches. And his marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry. In two of his later works, Luther expressed antagonistic views toward Jews, writing that Jewish homes and synagogues should be destroyed, their money confiscated, and their liberty curtailed. Condemned by virtually every Lutheran denomination, these statements and their influence on antisemitism have contributed to his controversial status. Personal Life Martin Luther was born in 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. His father, Hans Luther was ambitious for himself and his family, and he was determined to see Martin, his eldest son, become a lawyer. In 1501, at the age of nineteen, Martin entered the University of Erfurt. In accordance with his father’s wishes, he enrolled in law school, but dropped out almost immediately, due to a sense of uncertainty in his life. Luther sought assurances about life and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing particular interest in Aristotle, William of Ockham, and Gabriel Biel. Philosophy, however, proved to be unsatisfying, offering assurance about the use of reason but no assurance about loving God, which to Luther was more important. Reason could not lead men to God, he felt, and he thereafter developed a love-hate relationship with Aristotle over the latter’s emphasis on reason. For Luther, reason could be used to question men and institutions, but not God. Human beings could learn about God only through divine revelation, he believed, and scripture therefore became increasingly important to him. Luther dedicated himself as a monk to the Augustinian order, devoting himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, pilgrimage, and frequent confession. In 1507, he was ordained to the priesthood, and in 1508, von Staupitz, first dean of the newly founded University of Wittenberg, sent for Luther to teach theology. Start of the Reformation In 1516, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar and papal commissioner for indulgences, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences to raise money tofor rebuilding St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Roman Catholic theology stated that faith alone, whether fiduciary or dogmatic, cannot justify man; justification rather depends only on such faith as is active in charity and good works. The benefits of good works could be obtained by donating money to the church. On October 31, 1517, Luther wrote to his bishop, Albert of Mainz, protesting the sale of indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his “Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” which came to be known as the Ninety-five Theses. Luther had no intention of confronting the church, rather, he but saw his disputation as a scholarly objection to church practices. The purpose of the writing was a search for answers rather than a statement of faith. In the first few theses Luther develops the idea of repentance as the Christian’s inner struggle with sin rather than the external system of sacramental confession. The first thesis has become famous: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” In theses 41–47 Luther begins to criticize indulgences on the basis that they discourage works of mercy by those who purchase them. Here he begins to use the phrase, “Christians are to be taught…” to state how he thinks people should be instructed on the value of indulgences. They should be taught that giving to the poor is incomparably more important than buying indulgences, that buying an indulgence rather than giving to the poor invites God’s wrath, and that doing good works makes a person better while buying indulgences does not. There is an undercurrent of challenge in several of the theses, particularly in Thesis 86, which asks, “Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?” Luther objected to a saying attributed to Johann Tetzel that “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” He insisted that, since forgiveness was God’s alone to grant, those who claimed that indulgences absolved buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation were in error. Luther closes the Theses by exhorting Christians to imitate Christ even if it brings pain and suffering, because enduring punishment and entering heaven is preferable to false security. It was not until January 1518 that friends of Luther translated the Ninety-five Theses from Latin into German and printed and widely copied it, making the controversy one of the first to be aided by the printing press. Within two weeks, copies of the theses had spread throughout Germany; within two months, they had spread throughout Europe. Excommunication and Later Life On June 15, 1520, the pope warned Luther, with the papal bull (a public decree) Exsurge Domine, that he risked excommunication unless he recanted forty-one sentences drawn from his writings, including the Ninety-five Theses, within sixty days. That autumn, Johann Eck proclaimed the bull in Meissen and other towns. Karl von Miltitz, a papal nuncio, attempted to broker a solution, but Luther, who had sent the pope a copy of On the Freedom of a Christian in October, publicly set fire to the bull at Wittenberg on December 10, 1520, an act he defended in Why the Pope and his Recent Book are Burned and Assertions Concerning All Articles. As a consequence of these actions, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X on January 3, 1521, in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. The enforcement of the ban on the Ninety-five Theses fell to the secular authorities. On April 18, 1521, Luther appeared as ordered before the Diet of Worms. This was a general assembly (diet), where the representatives of the different states of the Holy Roman Empire met in Worms, a town on the Rhine. It was conducted from January 28 to May 25, 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding. Prince Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, obtained safe conduct for Luther to and from the meeting. Johann Eck, speaking on behalf of the empire as assistant to the Archbishop of Trier, presented Luther with copies of his writings laid out on a table and asked him if the books were his, and whether he stood by their contents. Luther confirmed he was their author but requested time to think about the answer to the second question. He prayed, consulted friends, and gave his response the next day: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.” Over the next five days, private conferences were held to determine Luther’s fate. The emperor presented the final draft of the Edict of Worms on May 25, 1521, which declared Luther an outlaw, banned his literature, and required his arrest. The Edict stated: “We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic.” Additionally, it made it a crime for anyone in Germany to give Luther food or shelter and permitted anyone to kill Luther without legal consequence.Before Luther could be punished by execution, Frederick "the Wise", the Elector of Saxony, provided a safe haven for Luther at his castle at Wartburg. Frederick was the ruler of Saxony and one of the seven "Electors" who elected the Holy Roman emperor. At Wartburg under the protection of Frederick, Luther continued to write letters and sermons to encourage and educate other champions of Church reform across the Holy Roman Empire and the rest of Europe. In 1530 another imperial diet convened at Augsburg and again condemned Luther as a heretic, At this diet, however, some of the princes assembled "protested" this condemnation and instead supported Luther. Hereafter, supporters of Luther became known as "Protestants". Over time this term referred to all the new churches which broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. Luther found himself increasingly occupied in organizing a new church, later called the Lutheran Church, for the rest of his life until his death in 1546. Calvinism John Calvin was another Protestant reformer besides Martin Luther. Calvin’s doctrines inspired a number of new Protestant churches across Europe. Learning Objectives - Identify the main points John Calvin’s theology and compare and contrast it with Lutheranism. Key Terms / Key Concepts Five Points of Calvinism: the basic theological tenets of Calvinism Huguenots: a name for French Protestants, originally a derisive term Predestination: the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul Calvinism Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set forth by John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. Calvinists broke with the Roman Catholic Church but differed from Lutherans on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, theories of worship, and the use of God’s law for believers, among other things. Calvinism can be a misleading term because the religious tradition it denotes is and has always been diverse, with a wide range of influences rather than a single founder. The movement was first called Calvinism by Lutherans who opposed it, but many within the tradition would prefer to use the word Reformed. While the Reformed theological tradition addresses all of the traditional topics of Christian theology, the word Calvinism is sometimes used to refer to particular Calvinist views on soteriology (the saving of the soul from sin and death) and predestination, which are summarized in part by the Five Points of Calvinism. Some have also argued that Calvinism, as a whole, stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things, including salvation. An important tenet of Calvinism, which differs from Lutheranism, is that God only saves the “elect,” a predestined group of individuals, and that those elect are essentially guaranteed salvation, but everyone else is damned. Origins and Rise of Calvinism First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli (1484 – 1531), Martin Bucer (1491 – 1551), Wolfgang Capito (1478 – 1541), John Oecolampadius (1482 – 1531), and Guillaume Farel (1489 – 1565). These reformers came from diverse academic backgrounds, but later distinctions within Reformed theology can already be detected in their thought, especially the priority of scripture as a source of authority. Scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of the bodily presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. Each of these theologians also understood salvation to be by grace alone and affirmed a doctrine of particular election (the teaching that some people are chosen by God for salvation). Martin Luther and his successor Philipp Melanchthon were undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, and to a larger extent later Reformed theologians. For instance, the doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther. Following the excommunication of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the pope, the work and writings of John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various groups in Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, Germany, and elsewhere. After the expulsion of Geneva’s bishop in 1526, and the unsuccessful attempts of the Berne reformer Guillaume (William) Farel, Calvin was asked to use the organizational skill he had gathered as a student of law in France to discipline the “fallen city.” His “Ordinances” of 1541 involved a collaboration of church affairs with the city council and consistory (council of clergy) to bring morality to all areas of life. After the establishment of the Geneva academy in 1559, Geneva became the unofficial capital of the Protestant movement, providing refuge for Protestant exiles from all over Europe and educating them as Calvinist missionaries. These missionaries dispersed Calvinism widely, and formed the French Huguenots in Calvin’s own lifetime, as well as caused the conversion of Scotland under the leadership of the cantankerous John Knox in 1560. The faith continued to spread after Calvin’s death in 1563, and it reached as far as Constantinople by the start of the 17th century. Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536 – 1559) was one of the most influential theologies of the era. The book was written as an introductory textbook on the Protestant faith for those with some previous knowledge of theology, and it covered a broad range of theological topics, from the doctrines of church and sacraments to justification by faith alone, as well as Christian liberty. It vigorously attacked the teachings Calvin considered unorthodox, particularly Roman Catholicism, to which Calvin says he had been “strongly devoted” before his conversion to Protestantism. Controversies in France Protestantism spread into France, where the Protestants were derisively nicknamed “Huguenots,” and this touched off decades of warfare in France. Huguenots faced persecution in France, but many French Huguenots still contributed to the Protestant movement, including many who emigrated to other countries, most notably John Calvin, who settled in Geneva. Calvin continued to take an interest in the religious affairs of his native land and, from his base in Geneva, beyond the reach of the French king, regularly trained pastors to lead congregations in France. Despite heavy persecution by Henry II, the Reformed Church of France, largely Calvinist in direction, made steady progress across large sections of the nation, in the urban bourgeoisie and parts of the aristocracy, appealing to people alienated by the perceived corruption of the Catholic establishment. Calvinist Theology The “Five Points of Calvinism” summarize the faith’s basic tenets, although some historians contend that it distorts the nuance of Calvin’s own theological positions. The Five Points: - “Total depravity” asserts that as a consequence of the fall of man into sin, every person is enslaved to sin. People are not by nature inclined to love God, but rather to serve their own interests and to reject the rule of God. Thus, all people by their own faculties are morally unable to choose to follow God and be saved because they are unwilling to do so out of the necessity of their own natures. - “Unconditional election” asserts that God has chosen from eternity those whom he will bring to himself not based on foreseen virtue, merit, or faith in those people; rather, his choice is unconditionally grounded in his mercy alone. God has chosen from eternity to extend mercy to those he has chosen and to withhold mercy from those not chosen. Those chosen receive salvation through Christ alone. Those not chosen receive the just wrath that is warranted for their sins against God. - “Limited atonement” asserts that Jesus’s substitutionary atonement was definite and certain in its purpose and in what it accomplished. This implies that only the sins of the elect were atoned for by Jesus’s death. Calvinists do not believe, however, that the atonement is limited in its value or power, but rather that the atonement is limited in the sense that it is intended for some and not all. All Calvinists would affirm that the blood of Christ was sufficient to pay for every single human being IF it were God’s intention to save every single human being. - “Irresistible grace” asserts that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (that is, the elect) and overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith. This means that when God sovereignly purposes to save someone, that individual certainly will be saved. The doctrine holds that this purposeful influence of God’s Holy Spirit cannot be resisted. - “Perseverance of the saints” asserts that since God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end. Anabaptism Anabaptist (or Baptists) arose as one branch of the Protestant Reformation. Learning Objectives - Discuss Anabaptism and why its adherents were persecuted throughout Europe by both Catholics and Protestants. Key Terms / Key Concepts Ulrich Zwingli: a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland who clashed with the Anabaptists infant baptism: the practice of baptizing infants or young children, sometimes contrasted with what is called “believer’s baptism,” which is the religious practice of baptizing only individuals who personally confess faith in Jesus Magisterial Protestants: a phrase that names the manner in which the Lutheran and Calvinist reformers related to secular authorities, such as princes, magistrates, or city councils; opposed to the Radical Protestants Anabaptism Anabaptism is a Christian movement that traces its origins to the Radical Reformation in Europe. Some consider this movement to be an offshoot of European Protestantism, while others see it as a separate and distinct development. Anabaptists are Christians who believe in delaying baptism until the candidate confesses his or her faith in Christ, as opposed to being baptized as an infant. The Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites are direct descendants of the movement. Schwarzenau Brethren, Bruderhof, and the Apostolic Christian Church are considered later developments among the Anabaptists. The name Anabaptist means “one who baptizes again.” Their persecutors named them this, referring to the practice of baptizing persons when they converted or declared their faith in Christ, even if they had been “baptized” as infants. Anabaptists required that baptismal candidates be able to make a confession of faith that was freely chosen, and thus rejected baptism of infants. The early members of this movement did not accept the name Anabaptist, claiming that infant baptism was not part of scripture and was, therefore, null and void. They said that baptizing self-confessed believers was their first true baptism. Balthasar Hubmaier wrote: “I have never taught Anabaptism…But the right baptism of Christ, which is preceded by teaching and oral confession of faith, I teach, and say that infant baptism is a robbery of the right baptism of Christ.” Anabaptists were heavily persecuted by both Magisterial Protestants and Roman Catholics during the 16th century and into the 17th century because of their views on the nature of baptism and other issues. Anabaptists were persecuted largely because of their interpretation of scripture that put them at odds with official state church interpretations and government. Most Anabaptists adhered to a literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, which precluded taking oaths, participating in military actions, and participating in civil government. Some who practiced re-baptism, however, felt otherwise, and complied with these requirements of civil society. They were thus technically Anabaptists, even though conservative Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites, and some historians, tend to consider them as outside of true Anabaptism. Origins Anabaptism in Switzerland began as an offshoot of the church reforms instigated by Ulrich Zwingli. As early as 1522, it became evident that Zwingli was on a path of reform preaching, when he began to question or criticize such Catholic practices as tithes, the mass, and even infant baptism. Zwingli had gathered a group of reform-minded men around him, with whom he studied classical literature and the scriptures. However, some of these young men began to feel that Zwingli was not moving fast enough in his reform. The division between Zwingli and his more radical disciples became apparent in an October 1523 disputation held in Zurich. When the discussion of the mass was about to be ended without making any actual change in practice, Conrad Grebel stood up and asked, “What should be done about the mass?” Zwingli responded by saying the council would make that decision. At this point, Simon Stumpf, a radical priest from Hongg, answered, “The decision has already been made by the Spirit of God.” This incident illustrated clearly that Zwingli and his more radical disciples had different expectations. To Zwingli, the reforms would only go as fast as the city council allowed them. To the radicals, the council had no right to make that decision, but rather the Bible was the final authority on church reform. Feeling frustrated, some of them would begin to meet on their own for Bible study. The city council also ruled in 1525 that all who refused to baptize their infants within one week should be expelled from Zurich. Since Conrad Grebel had refused to baptize his daughter Rachel, born on January 5, 1525, the council decision was extremely personal to him and others who had not baptized their children. As early as 1523, William Reublin had begun to preach against infant baptism in villages surrounding Zurich, encouraging parents to not baptize their children. Thus, when sixteen of the radicals met on Saturday evening, January 21, 1525, the situation seemed particularly dark. At that meeting Grebel baptized George Blaurock, and Blaurock in turn baptized several others immediately. These baptisms were the first “re-baptisms” known in the movement. This continues to be the most widely accepted date posited for the establishment of Anabaptism. Anabaptism then spread to Tyrol (modern-day Austria), South Germany, Moravia, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Persecutions Roman Catholics and Protestants alike persecuted the Anabaptists, resorting to torture and execution in attempts to curb the growth of the movement. The Protestants under Zwingli were the first to persecute the Anabaptists, with Felix Manz becoming the first martyr in 1527. On May 20, 1527, Roman Catholic authorities executed Michael Sattler. King Ferdinand of Hungary declared drowning (called the third baptism) “the best antidote to Anabaptism.” The Tudor regime, even the Protestant monarchs (Edward VI of England and Elizabeth I of England), persecuted Anabaptists, as they were deemed too radical and, therefore, a danger to religious stability. Martyrs Mirror, by Thieleman J. van Braght, describes the persecution and execution of thousands of Anabaptists in various parts of Europe between 1525 and 1660. Continuing persecution in Europe was largely responsible for the mass emigrations to North America by Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites. Primary Sources The 95 Theses of Martin Luther A Primary Source Document Provided By A.C.T.S. Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences by Dr. Martin Luther (1517) Published in: Works of Martin Luther: Adolph Spaeth, L.D. Reed, Henry Eyster Jacobs, et Al., Trans. & Eds. (Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Company, 1915), Vol.1, pp. 29-38 _______________ 1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance. 2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests. 3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh. 4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven. 5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons. 6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven. 7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest. 8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying. 9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity. 10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory. 11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept. 12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition. 13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them. 14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear. 15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair. 16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety. 17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase. 18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love. 19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it. 20. Therefore by "full remission of all penalties" the pope means not actually "of all," but only of those imposed by himself. 21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved; 22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life. 23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest. 24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and high sounding promise of release from penalty. 25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish. 26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession. 27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory]. 28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone. 29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal. 30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission. 31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare. 32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon. 33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him; 34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man. 35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia. 36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon. 37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon. 38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission. 39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition. 40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them]. 41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love. 42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy. 43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons; 44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty. 45. 45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God. 46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons. 47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment. 48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring. 49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God. 50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep. 51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold. 52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it. 53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others. 54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word. 55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies. 56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ. 57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them. 58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man. 59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time. 60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure; 61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient. 62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God. 63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last. 64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first. 65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches. 66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men. 67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain. 68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross. 69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence. 70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope. 71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed! 72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed! 73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons. 74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth. 75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness. 76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned. 77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope. 78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii. 79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy. 80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render. 81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity. 82. To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial." 83. Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?" 84. Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?" 85. Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?" 86. Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?" 87. Again: -- "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?" 88. Again: -- "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?" 89. "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?" 90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy. 91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist. 92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace! 93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross! 94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell; 95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace. This text was converted to ASCII text for Project Wittenberg by Allen Mulvey, and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. https://www.americancatholictruthsociety.com/docs/95Theses.htm Atrributions Title Image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Luther,_1529.jpg Martin Luther - Lucas Cranach the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Adapted from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/protestantism/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:45.990919	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87865/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Making of Early Modern World 1450-1700 CE, Chapter 5: Europe, The Protestant Reformation", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87870/overview	Catholic Spain Overview Catholic Spain Spain under the reign of the Hapsburg monarch, Philip II was the champion of the Catholic Reformation or Counter-Reformation. Learning Objectives - Discuss the religious and political developments in Spain under Philip II. Key Terms / Key Concepts the Catholic Monarchs: the joint title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins descended from John I of Castile; after marriage they were given a papal dispensation to deal with consanguinity by Sixtus IV. They established the Spanish Inquisition around 1480.) Alhambra Decree: an edict issued on March 31, 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) ordering the expulsion of practicing Jews from the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, along with its territories and possessions, by July 31 of that year Consanguinity: the property of being from the same kinship as another person; the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person (The laws of many jurisdictions set out degrees of consanguinity in relation to prohibited sexual relations and marriage parties.) Spanish Armada: a Spanish fleet of 130 ships that sailed from A Coruña in August 1588 with the purpose of escorting an army from Flanders to invade England, with the strategic aim to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and the Tudor establishment of Protestantism in England Catholic League: a major participant in the French Wars of Religion, formed by Henry I, Duke of Guise, in 1576 (It intended the eradication of Protestants—also known as Calvinists or Huguenots—out of Catholic France during the Protestant Reformation, as well as the replacement of King Henry III. Pope Sixtus V, Philip II of Spain, and the Jesuits were all supporters of this Catholic party.) Eighty Years’ War: a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces against the political and religious hegemony of Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands, between 1568 and 1648, also known also as the Dutch War of Independence Morisco: a term used to refer to former Muslims who converted to Christianity, or were coerced into converting, after Spain outlawed the open practice of Islam by its Mudejar population in the early 16th century (The group was subject to systematic expulsions from Spain’s various kingdoms between 1609 and 1614, the most severe of which occurred in the eastern Kingdom of Valencia.) Catholic Spain Around 1480, decades before the start of the Protestant Reformation, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, known as the Catholic Monarchs, established what would be known as the Spanish Inquisition. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and to replace the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control. It covered Spain and all the Spanish colonies and territories, which would eventually include the Canary Islands, the Spanish Netherlands, the Kingdom of Naples, and all Spanish possessions in North, Central, and South America. People who converted to Catholicism were not subject to expulsion, but between 1480 and 1492 hundreds of those who had converted (conversos and moriscos) were accused of secretly practicing their original religion (crypto-Judaism or crypto-Islam) and arrested, imprisoned, interrogated under torture, and in some cases burned to death, in both Castile and Aragon. In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella ordered segregation of communities to create closed quarters that became what were later called “ghettos.” They also furthered economic pressures upon Jews and other non-Christians by increasing taxes and social restrictions. In 1492 the monarchs issued a decree of expulsion of Jews, known formally as the Alhambra Decree, which gave Jews in Spain four months to either convert to Catholicism or leave Spain. Tens of thousands of Jews emigrated to other lands such as Portugal, North Africa, the Low Countries, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire. Later in 1492, Ferdinand issued a letter addressed to the Jews who had left Castile and Aragon, inviting them back to Spain if they would become Christians. The Inquisition was not definitively abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabella II, after a period of declining influence in the preceding century. Most of the descendants of the Muslims who submitted to Christian conversion during the early periods of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition rather than exile were known as the Moriscos; they were later expelled from Spain after serious social upheaval, when the Inquisition was at its height. The expulsions were carried out more severely in eastern Spain (Valencia and Aragon) due to local animosity towards Muslims and Moriscos who were perceived as economic rivals; local workers saw them as cheap labor undermining their bargaining position with the landlords. Those that the Spanish Inquisition found to be secretly practicing Islam or Judaism were executed, imprisoned, or expelled. Nevertheless, all those deemed to be “New Christians” were perpetually suspected of various crimes against the Spanish state, including continued practice of Islam or Judaism. The Hapsburgs Over the 16th and 17th centuries Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty. In this period, “Spain” or “the Spains” covered the entire peninsula and were politically a confederacy comprising several nominally independent kingdoms in personal union: Aragon, Castile, León, Navarre and from 1580 Portugal. The term “Monarchia Catholica” (Catholic Monarchy) remained in use for the monarchy under the Spanish Habsburgs. However, Spain as a unified state technically came into being after the death of Charles II in 1700, the last ruler of Spain of the Habsburg dynasty. Under the Habsburgs, Spain dominated Europe politically and militarily, but experienced a gradual decline of influence in the second half of the 17th century under the later Habsburg kings. The Habsburg years were also a Spanish Golden Age of cultural efflorescence. The Global Power When Spain’s first Habsburg ruler, Charles I became king of Spain in 1516, the country became central to the dynastic struggles of Europe. After becoming king of Spain, Charles also became Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and because of his widely scattered domains was not often in Spain. In 1519 Charles V, at the age of 19, inherited an immense realm in Europe from his ancestors. Charles' paternal grandfather Maximilian I was the Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor. Charles' paternal grandmother was Mary of Burgundy, the heiress of the Duchy of Flanders (The Netherlands and Belgium today). Maximilian married Mary in 1477 to prevent her archenemy, Louis XI of the Valois Dynasty of France, from seizing Flanders for himself. In 1496 the son of Maximilian and Mary, Philip the Handsome, married Joanna, the eldest daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1479 had united their two kingdoms into the kingdom of Spain. The marriage of their daughter, Joanna to Philip sealed an alliance against a common enemy, the Valois Dynasty of France. Ferdinand was also the king of the island of Sicily and his family, the House of Aragon, also claimed the kingdom of Naples in Southern Italy. However, the Valois king of France, Charles VIII—son of Louis XI—had claimed Naples for himself and invaded Italy in 1495 to make good this claim. The union of Philip and Joanna resulted in the birth of the future Charles V in 1500. In 1506 after the death of Philip, Charles, age six, inherited Flanders from his father. Charles grew up in Flanders and French was his native language. Since Ferdinand had no sons and Charles was the son of Ferdinand's and Isabella's eldest daughter, Joanna, Charles became his heir apparent. In 1516, after the death of his maternal grandfather, Ferdinand, Charles inherited, at the age of 16, the thrones of Aragon and Castile, as well as the kingdom of Sicily. In 1519, Maximilian died, and Charles inherited the Duchy of Austria from his paternal grandfather. The Electors of the Holy Roman Empire then elected Charles to succeed his grandfather as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, which was not surprising as one of the Electors was Charles' younger brother, Ferdinand, who was the king of Bohemia. As he approached the end of his life, Charles made provision for the division of the Habsburg inheritance into two parts. On the one hand was Spain, its possessions in Europe, North Africa, the Americas, and the Netherlands. On the other hand, there was Austria and the Holy Roman Empire. This was to create enormous difficulties for his son Philip II of Spain. During Charles’s reign, Spanish settlements were established in the New World. The Aztec and Inca Empires were conquered from 1519 to 1521 and 1540 to 1558, respectively. Mexico City, which became the most important colonial city, was established in 1524 and became the primary center of administration in the New World. Buenos Aires was established in 1536. New Granada (modern Colombia) was colonized in the 1530s. And Florida was colonized in the 1560s—shortly after Charles’s death. The Hapsburg family also inherited the throne of Portugal. In 1526 Charles married Isabella, the daughter of Manuel I of Portugal. Charles' sister Catherine in 1526 married John III of Portugal, the son of Manuel I. In 1578, the grandson of John III, Sebastian of Portugal died in battle in his war against the Sultan of Morocco. Since Sebastian died young without any children, the throne passed to his nearest male relative, Philip II of Spain, the son of Charles and Isabella. Philip II thus inherited the kingdom of Portugal and its far-flung overseas empire, which included territories in India, east and west Africa, and Brazil in South America. The Spanish Empire abroad became the source of Spanish wealth and power in Europe. But as precious metal shipments rapidly expanded late in the century, this contributed to the general inflation that was affecting the whole of Europe. Instead of fueling the Spanish economy, American silver made the country increasingly dependent on foreign sources of raw materials and manufactured goods. Philip II became king on Charles I’s abdication in 1555. During Philip II’s reign there were several separate state bankruptcies, which were partly the cause for the declaration of independence that created the Dutch Republic. A devout Catholic, Philip organized a huge naval expedition against Protestant England in 1588, known usually as the Spanish Armada, which was unsuccessful, mostly due to storms and grave logistical problems. Despite these problems, the growing inflow of New World silver from the mid-16th century, the justified military reputation of the Spanish infantry, and even the quick recovery of the navy from its Armada disaster made Spain the leading European power—a novel situation of which its citizens were only just becoming aware. Philip II and the Spanish Armada Extreme commitment to championing Catholicism against both Protestantism and Islam shaped both the domestic and foreign policies of Philip II, who was the most powerful European monarch in an era of religious conflict. Philip saw himself as a champion of Catholicism and faced challenges withing his realm in his quest to defend Catholicism. The Spanish Empire was not a single monarchy with one legal system but a federation of separate realms, each jealously guarding its own rights against those of the House of Habsburg. In practice, Philip often found his authority overruled by local assemblies and his word less effective than that of local lords. He also grappled with the problem of the large Morisco population in Spain, who were forcibly converted to Christianity by his predecessors. In 1569, the Morisco Revolt broke out in the southern province of Granada in defiance of attempts to suppress Moorish customs, and Philip ordered the expulsion of the Moriscos from Granada and their dispersal to other provinces. Despite its immense dominions, Spain was a country with a sparse population that yielded a limited income to the crown (in contrast to France, for example, which was much more heavily populated). Philip faced major difficulties in raising taxes, the collection of which was largely farmed out to local lords. He was able to finance his military campaigns only by taxing and exploiting the local resources of his empire. The flow of income from the New World proved vital to his militant foreign policy; nonetheless, his exchequer faced bankruptcy several times. During Philip’s reign there were five separate state bankruptcies. Philip’s foreign policies were determined by a combination of Catholic fervor and dynastic objectives. He considered himself the chief defender of Catholic Europe, both against the Ottoman Turks and against the forces of the Protestant Reformation. Philip achieved a decisive victory against the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, with the allied fleet of the Holy League (Genoa, Venice, and the Papal States), which he had put under the command of his illegitimate brother, John of Austria. This victory ended Ottoman domination of the Mediterranean Sea. He never relented from his fight against Protestantism. which he saw as heresy, defending the Catholic faith and limiting freedom of worship within his territories. These territories included his patrimony in the Netherlands, where Protestantism had taken deep root. Following the Revolt of the Netherlands in 1568, Philip waged a campaign against Dutch secession. The plans to consolidate control of the Netherlands led to unrest, which gradually led to the Calvinist leadership of the revolt and the Eighty Years War. This conflict consumed much Spanish expenditure during the later 16th century. Philip’s commitment to restoring Catholicism in the Protestant regions of Europe resulted also in the Anglo-Spanish War (1585 – 1604). This was an intermittent conflict between the kingdoms of Spain and England that was never formally declared. The war was punctuated by widely separate battles. In 1588, the English defeated Philip’s Spanish Armada, thwarting his planned invasion of the country in order to reinstate Catholicism. But the war continued for the next sixteen years, in a complex series of struggles that included France, Ireland, and the Netherlands, which was the main battle zone. Two further Spanish armadas were sent in 1596 and 1597, but they were frustrated in their objectives mainly because of adverse weather and poor planning. The war would not end until all the leading protagonists, including Philip, had died. Philip financed the Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion (primarily fought between French Catholics and French Protestants, known as Huguenots). He directly intervened in the final phases of the wars (1589–1598). His interventions in the fighting—sending the Duke of Parma to end Henry IV’s siege of Paris in 1590—and the siege of Rouen in 1592 contributed to saving the French Catholic League’s cause against a Protestant monarchy. In 1593, Henry agreed to convert to Catholicism. Weary of war, most French Catholics switched to his side against the hardline core of the Catholic League, who were portrayed by Henry’s propagandists as puppets of the foreign Philip. By the end of 1594 certain league members were still working against Henry across the country, but all relied on the support of Spain. In 1595, therefore, Henry officially declared war on Spain, to show Catholics that Philip was using religion as a cover for an attack on the French state and to show Protestants that he had not become a puppet of Spain through his conversion, while also hoping to take the war to Spain and make territorial gain. The war was only drawn to an official close with the Peace of Vervins in May 1598, when Spanish forces and subsidies were withdrawn. Meanwhile, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes, which offered a high degree of religious toleration for French Protestants. The military interventions in France thus ended in an ironic fashion for Philip: they had failed to oust Henry from the throne or suppress Protestantism in France and yet they had played a decisive part in helping the French Catholics gain the conversion of Henry, ensuring that Catholicism would remain France’s official and majority faith, which was of paramount importance for the devoutly Catholic Spanish king. The Gradual Decline In the century following Philip II’s reign, economic and administrative problems multiplied in Castile and Spain, revealing the weakness of the native economy. Rising inflation, financially draining wars in Europe, the ongoing aftermath of the expulsion of the Jews and Moors from Spain, and Spain’s growing dependency on the gold and silver imports combined to cause several bankruptcies that caused an economic crisis in the country, especially in heavily burdened Castile. Faced with wars against England, France, and the Netherlands, the Spanish government found that neither the New World silver nor steadily increasing taxes were enough to cover their expenses and went bankrupt again in 1596. Furthermore, the great plague of 1596 – 1602 killed 600,000 to 700,000 people, or about 10% of the population. Altogether more than 1,250,000 deaths resulted from the extreme incidence of plague in 17th century Spain. Economically, the plague destroyed the labor force, as well as created a psychological blow to an already problematic Spain. Philip II died in 1598 and was succeeded by his son Philip III (reigned 1598 – 1621). During his reign a ten-year truce with the Dutch was overshadowed by Spain’s involvement in the European-wide Thirty Years’ War in 1618. Philip III had no interest in politics or government, preferring to engage in lavish court festivities, religious indulgences, and the theater. His government resorted to a tactic that had been resolutely resisted by Philip II: paying for the budget deficits by the mass minting of increasingly worthless vellones (the currency), which caused inflation. In 1607, the government faced another bankruptcy. Philip III was succeeded in 1621 by his son Philip IV of Spain (reigned 1621 – 1665). During Philip IV’s reign much of the policy was conducted by the minister Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares. In 1640, with the war in Central Europe having no clear winner except the French, both Portugal and Catalonia rebelled. Portugal was lost to the crown for good; in Italy and most of Catalonia, French forces were expelled, and Catalonia’s independence was suppressed. Charles II (1665 – 1700), the last of the Habsburgs in Spain, was three years old when his father, Philip IV, died in 1665. The Council of Castile appointed Philip’s second wife and Charles’s mother, Mariana of Austria, regent for the minor king. As regent, Mariana managed the country’s affairs through a series of favorites (“validos”), whose merits usually amounted to no more than meeting her fancy. Spain was essentially left leaderless and was gradually reduced to a second-rank power. Inbreeding The Spanish branch of the Habsburg royal family was noted for extreme consanguinity. Well aware that they owed their power to fortunate marriages, they married between themselves to protect their gains. Charles’s father and his mother, Mariana, were actually uncle and niece. Charles was physically and mentally disabled and infertile, possibly in consequence of this routine inbreeding. Due to the deaths of his half-brothers, he was the last member of the male Spanish Habsburg line. He did not learn to speak until the age of four nor to walk until the age of eight. He was treated as virtually an infant until he was ten years old. His jaw was so badly deformed (an extreme example of the so-called Habsburg jaw) that he could barely speak or chew. Fearing the frail child would be overtaxed, his caretakers did not force Charles to attend school. The Habsburg dynasty became extinct in Spain with Charles II’s death in 1700, at which time the War of the Spanish Succession ensued; during this time, the other European powers tried to assume control over the Spanish monarchy. As a result, the management of Spain was allowed to pass to the Bourbon dynasty. Attributions Title Image Philip II of Spain - workshop of Titian, circa 1550, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Adapted from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/spain-and-catholicism/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.025477	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87870/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Making of Early Modern World 1450-1700 CE, Chapter 5: Europe, Catholic Spain", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87885/overview	Portuguese Colonization Overview Portuguese History and Culture Portuguese colonization rested up to two central themes: technology and training for the Portuguese sailors. The technologies that came from the Islamic World, such as the compass, astrolabe, rudders, and sails were all instrumental in helping the Portuguese to become the first Europeans to explore the world. By incorporating these tools, the Portuguese leader Prince Henry the Navigator, established schools and trainings for these sailors that helped them correctly position themselves and their newly discovered lands. Prince Henry the Navigator is one of the most important Portuguese leaders because of his leadership and establishment of sailing practices, which resulted in the Portuguese having a different mentality for colonization. The Portuguese practiced a unique version of colonization, where instead of directly establishing control and long-term holdings, the Portuguese established very limited government, leaving the Catholic Church to play a pivotal role in the colonies; this is because the Portuguese goal was exploring and learning new areas. This developed the “Mapped it, I own it” strategy, which was based on merely being able to identify the area first. The strategy had many serious faults and issues, but it provided the Portuguese with a clear methodology of conquest of Brazil and parts of Oceania. Learning Objectives - Evaluate the Portuguese strategy for colonization. - Analyze the impact of the Portuguese on the development of European traders. - Compare and contrast Portuguese colonization between the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds. - Evaluate the importance of Brazil in the Portuguese system. Key Terms / Key Concepts Vasco da Gama: a Portuguese explorer and one of the most famous and celebrated explorers from the Age of Discovery; the first European to reach India by sea. Introduction Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Asia, and Brazil. As early as 1317, King Denis made an agreement with Genoese merchant sailor Manuel Pessanha (Pesagno), appointing him first Admiral with trade privileges with his homeland, in return for twenty war ships and crews; this was done with the goal of defending the country against Muslim pirate raids. But the agreement also created the basis for the Portuguese Navy and the establishment of a Genoese merchant community in Portugal. In the second half of the 14th century, outbreaks of bubonic plague led to severe depopulation; the economy was extremely localized in a few towns, unemployment rose; and migration led to agricultural land abandonment. Only the sea offered alternatives, with most people settling on fishing and trading in coastal areas. Between 1325 – 1357, Afonso IV of Portugal granted public funding to raise a proper commercial fleet and ordered the first maritime explorations under command of admiral Pessanha, with the help of Genoese. In 1341, the Canary Islands, already known to Genoese, were officially explored under the patronage of the Portuguese king, but in 1344, the Spanish kingdom of Castile disputed them, further propelling the Portuguese navy efforts. Technology The Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 CE brought many useful tools to the Portuguese. The incorporation of Islamic culture and arts into Portugal meant that the Portuguese integrated technologies and cultures of Islam. The Islamic technologies of astrolabe, compass, rudders, and sails proved quite beneficial to Portugal. The use of the compass and astrolabe also meant that the Portuguese had another piece of technology that allowed them to sail further into the open ocean without the fear of being lost or falling off the other side of the world. In the 21st century it is common to use GPS to find one’s way, but in the 14th and 15th centuries the best tools for navigation were the astrolabe and the compass, which provided only approximate locations for explorers. Still, the astrolabe and the compass were advanced for their time and provided the ability to move throughout the open ocean and to locations that had not been reached before. The rudder and sail were also key additions to Portuguese ship building. The rudder meant that turning in the open ocean was easier and helped to provide key movement to ships to help them move in low winds. Sails were not only triangles but also curved to attempt to catch as much wind as they could. The combination of the rudder and sail together meant that the Portuguese ships were able to make the most out of limited wind conditions, in areas such as the horse latitudes near the equator. The ability to move in low winds and tides, coupled with the compass and astrolabe meant that the Portuguese had a clear advantage over their other European counterparts who did not have access to these technologies. Assumption of these Islamic technologies proved an important shift for both the Portuguese and the Spanish, because they gave these kingdoms an advantage over their European counterparts. Many of the other European states of the period had large square masts that did not rotate or move, and they also did not have rudders. Combined, this made it difficult to move in open ocean water. Prince Henry the Navigator recognized the importance of these inventions early on and integrated them into his training school for explorers. Henry realized future explorers and navigators would need to be trained on how to use these tools. And the development of this kind of schooling enabled Portugal’s successes in discovering new paths and traveling to more regions. Through the training developed by Prince Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese travelers devloped a very unique mentality when exploring. The Portuguese developed a “I mapped it, I own it” type of stance towards exploration. This meant that for the Portuguese explorers, they were experts at finding locations, and because of that, the Portuguese thought that these new locations were proprietary information. This meant that the Portuguese were not as active in defense or negative treatment of indigenous populations because they felt that other European states were not entitled to find these areas. This strategy would prove problematic for the Portuguese, especially as other European states started expanding quickly throughout the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean Worlds, where the Portuguese were successful early in their exploration. Vasco da Gama The long-standing Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama. His squadron left Portugal in 1497, rounded the Cape and continued along the coast of East Africa, where a local pilot was brought on board who guided them across the Indian Ocean. De Gama reached Calicut in western India in May 1498. Reaching the legendary Indian spice routes unopposed helped the Portuguese improve their economy that, until Gama, was mainly based on trades along Northern and coastal West Africa. These spices were at first mostly pepper and cinnamon, but soon included other products, all new to Europe. The second voyage to India was dispatched in 1500 under Pedro Álvares Cabral. While following the same south-westerly route as Gama across the Atlantic Ocean, Cabral made landfall on the Brazilian coast. This was probably an accident, but it has been speculated that the Portuguese knew of Brazil’s existence prior to this incident. Cabral recommended to the Portuguese king that the land be settled, and two follow-up voyages were sent in 1501 and 1503. The land was found to be abundant in pau-brasil, or brazilwood, from which it later inherited its name. But the failure to find gold or silver meant that for the time being Portuguese efforts remained concentrated on India. As the Portuguese were exploring the Indian and Pacific Ocean Worlds, they came into contact with new populations and also were increasingly interested in getting new goods from the regions. The Portuguese traders followed the Spice Routes in the Indian Ocean and soon came to acquire many of the spices, such as sugar, from the tropical areas of the Pacific Ocean. Sugar was a very important product for the 15th century, because it added flavor to foods and in Europe it was very expensive. The Portuguese getting access to sugar cane meant that they could plant their own sugar in similar tropical climates. This development resulted in Portugal seeking tropical areas that were much closer to Europe, in order to establish sugar production. One of the best locations for the Portuguese to establish sugar production was on the islands of the Canary and Azores, near northeastern Africa. This was ideal because of the tropical climate, closeness to Europe, and ease of access to ports. The Portuguese began establishing sugar production sites, and they quickly discovered that to ensure the maximum amount of money from planting they would have to resort to a different type of farming. Portuguese farmers began to plant in large plantations, which required large amounts of labor to produce products. These farms were modeled on the Roman system of haciendas and estates. The development of the plantation system meant that the Portuguese needed lots of agricultural workers to develop sugar. This was where the Portuguese had a significant problem: they did not know from where this labor was to emerge. There was a small indigenous population on the islands of the Canaries and Azores, and these populations refused to work for the Portuguese. The indigenous population’s refusal meant that the Portuguese had to look elsewhere for plantation labor. There was a small Jewish population in Portugal that were first offered to migrate to the island as a way to practice their cultural and religious beliefs. This method was unsuccessful because the Portuguese were too demanding of the workers; many of the Jewish peoples on the islands either failed to meet their contracted goals or they simply refused to continue to work. This meant that the Portuguese estate owners looked to another source of labor: African slaves. The Transcontinental Slave Trade started as early as the Portuguese’s first colonial settlement off the coast of Africa. The need for slaves resulted in the Portuguese contact with Central African tribes, such as the Kingdom of the Kongo. The relationships that the Portuguese developed with the Kongoese were central in the overall development of the colonies at the Canaries and Azores. Trading weapons, finished goods, and some gold for slaves in Africa provided a key source of labor for the Portuguese. By getting African slaves, the Portuguese were then able to develop their colonial model of plantation style economics and sugar production. This abhorrent system entered the European mentality with the Portuguese and would become central to how other Europeans developed their colonial economic relationships. Brazil As the Portuguese continued to explore throughout the 15th into the early 16th centuries, their colonial footprint was growing throughout the world. Many of the Portuguese explorers knew the best routes throughout the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific. Through a coincidence of accidents and luck, the Portuguese discovered Brazil and developed a key colony that would become a major resource center. Key Terms / Key Concepts brazilwood: a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used to make bows for stringed instruments. The wood also yields a red dye called brazilin, which oxidizes to brazilein. Starting in the 16th centuries, this tree became highly valued in Europe and quite difficult to get.) engenhos: a colonial-era Portuguese term for a sugar cane mill and the associated facilities Captaincies system: the colonial government of the Portuguese in Brazil that was heriditary. There were ten captancies in colonial Brazil. Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese explorer and military commander that sailed in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Cabral set sail in early 1500, following a route to India, like his predecessor Vasco da Gama. Cabral and his men found themselves in an unusual predicament. They passed the equator and thought that they were sailing westward as far as they could from Africa. This route proved to be fateful because, in less than one month after their leaving port, what they found instead was a new land on the northeastern coast of Brazil. This new land was christened as Monte Pascoal, meaning Easter Mount, because it was found during Easter week. Cabral and his men soon found that this land was unique and began exploring the territory. They discovered that the Northeastern corner of Brazil was tropic and an excellent location for developing sugar production. They also found that the local trees could be harvested and used to produce a deep red dye. This tree is a Brazil tree, and it is what the region is named after. brazilwood trade was key to the Portuguese early colonies and would be a central reason for the further exploration of Brazil. The early exploration of Brazil also established the development of a colonial government. The Brazilian government was known as a captaincy; these were developed in the early 16th century when the Portuguese monarchy used land grants with governing privileges as a way to colonize new lands. This system provided a unique way of providing a government system. There were ten different captaincies in Brazil that divided the northeastern coastline of Brazil. These captaincies had limited government oversight from the Portuguese government and the colonists were subject to few specific rules while in Brazil. The majority of the early Brazilian settlement was located along the line of the northeastern coast. The Amazon River was dangerous for many of the Portuguese settlers because of the diseases that the mosquitos spread and the difficulties travel created. One of the few groups that became central to Brazilian exploration was the Jesuit priests, who traveled to the Amazon looking for indigenous people to convert. The Jesuits were a major force in Brazilian colonization. The Jesuits were a branch of the Catholic Church, who was very interested in spreading their faith. This becomes one of the key methods of the Portuguese colonization is the way that Christianity plays a part in the Brazilian colonization. In 1530, an expedition led by Martim Afonso de Sousa arrived in Brazil to patrol the entire coast, ban the French, and create the first colonial villages on the coast, like São Vicente. The Portuguese crown devised a system to effectively occupy Brazil without paying the costs. Through the hereditary Captaincies system, Brazil was divided into strips of land that were donated to Portuguese noblemen, who were in turn responsible for the occupation and administration of the land, while answering to the king. The system was a failure with only four lots successfully occupied: Pernambuco, São Vicente (later called São Paulo), Captaincy of Ilhéus, and Captaincy of Porto Seguro. The captaincies gradually reverted to the Crown and became provinces and eventually states of the country. Starting in the 16th century, sugarcane grown on plantations along the northeast coast —called engenhos—became the base of Brazilian economy and society; these relied on slaves to make sugar for export to Europe. At first, settlers tried to enslave the natives as labor to work the fields. However, colonists were unable to sustainably enslave Natives, and Portuguese landowners soon imported millions of slaves from Africa. Mortality rates for slaves in sugar and gold enterprises were very high, and there were often not enough females or proper conditions to replenish the slave population. Still, Africans became a substantial section of Brazilian population; and, long before the end of slavery in 1888, they began to merge with the European Brazilian population through interracial marriage. The indigenous people of Brazil were in a very unique position. The Brazilian rainforest was dense and provided limited means of agricultural production. This meant that there were few large tribes, instead, most of Brazil’s indigenous populations were smaller and had limited resources. When the Portuguese arrived, they had no clear laws about protections of the indigenous peoples. These two factors meant that the indigenous people were in a unique position in the Portuguese system. The settlers wanted to use the indigenous people as labor, but when the Portuguese came to make them laborers the indigenous people could escape and live outside of the Portuguese system, where Portugal could not find them. The Gold Rush The discovery of gold in Brazil was met with great enthusiasm by Portugal, which had an economy in disarray following years of wars against Spain and the Netherlands. A gold rush quickly ensued, with people from other parts of the colony and Portugal flooding the region in the first half of the 18th century. The large portion of the Brazilian inland where gold was extracted became known as the Minas Gerais (General Mines). Gold mining in this area became the main economic activity of colonial Brazil during the 18th century. In Portugal, the gold was mainly used to pay for industrialized goods (textiles, weapons) obtained from countries like England, as well as to build magnificent monuments like the Convent of Mafra, especially during the reign of King John V. The discovery of gold in the area caused a huge influx of European immigrants and the government decided to bring in bureaucrats from Portugal to control operations. They set up numerous bureaucracies, often with conflicting duties and jurisdictions. The officials generally proved unequal to the task of controlling this highly lucrative industry. In 1830, the Saint John d’El Rey Mining Company, controlled by the British, opened the largest gold mine in Latin America. The British brought in modern management techniques and engineering expertise. Located in Nova Lima, the mine produced ore for 125 years. Gold production declined towards the end of the 18th century, beginning a period of relative stagnation of the Brazilian hinterland. The Portuguese system of colonization followed key ideas of using technology to find regions, and the school of Prince Henry the Navigator provided a key resource for the Portuguese establishment of a “I mapped it, I own it” mentality. The Portuguese need for labor in their newly founded colonies meant that they started the establishment of the slave system that other countries would further use to almost the end of the 19th century. Brazil was the biggest colonial establishment of Portugal. The Portuguese attempted to first use the indigenous population as a source of labor. This did not work, because of the harsh conditions, the indigenous populations quickly disappeared into the woods and were not able to be found by settlers. This meant that the Portuguese had a very similar problem in Brazil that they had in the Canaries and Azores island: how to get laborers for the sugar plantations. The solution that the Portuguese arrived at was the introduction of African slaves in 1530 CE. In 1550 CE, sugar was introduced to Brazil. Sugar revolutionized the Brazilian economy. Brazil was almost a perfect site to produce sugar, with significant rainfall, tropical heat, and fertile soils in the northeastern corner of Brazil. The production of sugar skyrocket and so too did the need for labor. This meant that the Brazilian economy soared and sugar was a central tenant of the Portuguese integration of the Brazilians. While sugar was the big economic product, so too was gold that was found further south in Mateo Grosso. Throughout the 15th into the 17th centuries the centers of the Brazilian economy was gold, sugar, and coffee. Attributions Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Capitanias.jpg Boundless World History https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/the-age-of-discovery/ Work based around the ideas of Patricia Seed: Ceremonies of Possession in Europe's Conquest of the New World, 1492–1640	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.052201	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87885/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Making of Early Modern World 1450-1700 CE, Chapter 6: Exploration, Portuguese Colonization", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87813/overview	Ming and Qing Dynasties Overview Ming and Qing Dynasties The Ming and Qing Dynasties presided over China during the early modern period in human history. Each witnessed economic development and growth, accompanying population growth, technological, financial, and organizational innovations, as well as the arrival of Europeans. These dynasties also witnessed the eclipse of China as a leading power in the world by a number of European powers. Learning Objective Explain the origins, course, accomplishments, decline, and downfall of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties. Key Terms / Key Concepts calligraphy: a visual art related to writing; the design and execution of lettering with a broad-tip brush, among other writing instruments Forbidden City: the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912—in Beijing. Manchu: a Chinese ethnic minority, formerly the Jurchen people, who founded the Qing dynasty Qing dynasty: the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917 (It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. Its multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for the modern Chinese state.) The Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (January 23, 1368 – April 25, 1644), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China founded by the peasant rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang (known posthumously as Emperor Taizu). It succeeded the Yuan dynasty and preceded the short-lived Shun dynasty, which was in turn succeeded by the Qing dynasty. At its height, the Ming dynasty had a population of at least 160 million people, but some assert that the population could actually have been as large as 200 million. Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of one million troops. Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China had taken place in previous dynasties, in the 15th century the size of the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He surpassed all others in grandeur. There were enormous construction projects, including the restoration of the Grand Canal, the restoration of the Great Wall as it is seen today, and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. The Ming dynasty is, for many reasons, generally known as a period of stable, effective government. It is seen as the most secure and unchallenged ruling house that China had known up until that time. Its institutions were generally preserved by the following Qing dynasty. Civil service dominated government to an unprecedented degree at this time. During the Ming dynasty, the territory of China expanded (and in some cases also retracted) greatly. For a brief period during the dynasty northern Vietnam was included in Ming territory. Other important developments included the moving of the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. Founding of the Ming Dynasty The Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1279 – 1368) ruled before the establishment of the Ming dynasty. Alongside institutionalized ethnic discrimination against Han Chinese that stirred resentment and rebellion, other explanations for the Yuan’s demise included overtaxing areas hard-hit by crop failure and inflation, as well as massive flooding of the Yellow River caused by abandonment of irrigation projects. Consequently, agriculture and the economy were in shambles, and rebellion broke out among the hundreds of thousands of peasants called upon to work on repairing the dikes of the Yellow River. A number of Han Chinese groups revolted, including the Red Turbans in 1351. Zhu Yuanzhang was a penniless peasant and Buddhist monk who joined the Red Turbans in 1352, but he soon gained a reputation after marrying the foster daughter of a rebel commander. Zhu was a born into a desperately poor tenant farmer family in Zhongli Village in the Huai River plain, which is in present-day Fengyang, Anhui Province. When he was sixteen, the Huai River broke its banks and flooded the lands where his family lived. Subsequently, a plague killed his entire family, except one of his brothers. He buried them by wrapping them in white clothes. Destitute, Zhu accepted a suggestion to take up a pledge made by his late father and became a novice monk at the Huangjue Temple, a local Buddhist monastery. He did not remain there for long, as the monastery ran short of funds, forcing him to leave. For the next few years, Zhu led the life of a wandering beggar and personally experienced and saw the hardships of the common people. After about three years, he returned to the monastery and stayed there until he was around twenty-four years old. He learned to read and write during the time he spent with the Buddhist monks. The monastery where Zhu lived was eventually destroyed by an army that was suppressing a local rebellion. In 1352, Zhu joined one of the many insurgent forces that had risen in rebellion against the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. He rose rapidly through the ranks and became a commander. His rebel force later joined the Red Turbans, a millenarian sect related to the White Lotus Society, and one that followed cultural and religious traditions of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and other religions. Widely seen as a defender of Confucianism and neo-Confucianism among the predominantly Han Chinese population in China, Zhu emerged as a leader of the rebels that were struggling to overthrow the Yuan dynasty. In 1356 Zhu’s rebel force captured the city of Nanjing, which he would later establish as the capital of the Ming dynasty. Zhu enlisted the aid of many able advisors, including the artillery specialists Jiao Yu and Liu Bowen. In the Battle of Lake Poyang in 1363, Zhu cemented his power in the south by eliminating his archrival, rebel leader Chen Youliang. This battle was—in terms of personnel—one of the largest naval battles in history. After the dynastic head of the Red Turbans suspiciously died in 1367 while a guest of Zhu, Zhu made his imperial ambitions known by sending an army toward the Yuan capital in 1368. The last Yuan emperor fled north into Mongolia and Zhu declared the founding of the Ming dynasty after razing the Yuan palaces in Dadu (present-day Beijing) to the ground. Instead of following the traditional way of naming a dynasty after the first ruler’s home district, Zhu Yuanzhang’s choice of “Ming,” or “Brilliant,” for his dynasty followed a Mongol precedent of choosing an uplifting title. Zhu Yuanzhang also took “Hongwu,” or “Vastly Martial,” as his reign title. Although the White Lotus had instigated his rise to power, the emperor later denied that he had ever been a member of the organization, and he suppressed the religious movement after he became emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang drew on both past institutions and new approaches in order to create jiaohua (civilization) as an organic Chinese governing process. This included building schools at all levels and increasing study of the classics, as well as books on morality. There was also a distribution of Neo-Confucian ritual manuals and a new civil service examination system for recruitment into the bureaucracy. The Ming Dynasty is regarded as one of China’s three golden ages (the other two being the Han and Song periods). The period was marked by the increasing political influence of the merchants, the gradual weakening of imperial rule, and technological advances. The Economy under the Ming Dynasty The economy of the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644) of China was the largest in the world during that period. It was characterized by extreme inflation, the return to silver bullion, and the rise of large agricultural markets. Currency during the Ming Dynasty The early Ming dynasty attempted to use paper currency, with outflows of bullion limited by its ban on private foreign commerce. Like its forebearers, paper currency experienced massive counterfeiting and hyperinflation. In 1425, Ming notes were trading at about 0.014% of their original value under the Hongwu Emperor. The notes remained in circulation as late as 1573, but their printing ceased in 1450. Minor coins were minted in base metals, but trade mostly occurred using silver ingots. As their purity and exact weight varied, they were treated as bullion and measured in tael. These privately made “sycee” first came into use in Guangdong. Spreading to the lower Yangtze sometime before 1423, sycee became acceptable for payment of tax obligations. In the mid-15th century, interruptions in the circulation of silver resulted in contractions in the money supply that led to an extensive reversion to barter. The silver shortage was solved in part through smuggling, then by way of the legal importation of Japanese silver, mostly through the Portuguese and Dutch, and Spanish silver from Potosí carried on the Manila galleons. In succession, China required silver for the payment of provincial taxes in 1465, the salt tax in 1475, and corvée exemptions in 1485. By the late Ming, the amount of silver being used was extraordinary. At a time when English traders considered tens of thousands of pounds an exceptional fortune, the Zheng clan of merchants regularly engaged in transactions valued at millions of taels. However, a second silver contraction occurred in the mid-17th century when King Philip IV of Spain began enforcing laws limiting direct trade between Spanish South America and China at about the same time the new Tokugawa shogunate in Japan restricted most of its foreign exports, cutting off Dutch and Portuguese access to its silver. The dramatic spike in silver’s value in China made payment of taxes nearly impossible for most provinces. The government even resumed use of paper currency amid Li Zicheng’s rebellion. Agriculture during the Ming Dynasty In order to recover from the rule of the Mongols and the wars that followed, the Hongwu Emperor enacted pro-agricultural policies. The state invested extensively in agricultural canals and reduced taxes on agriculture to 3.3% of the output, and later to 1.5%. Ming farmers also introduced many innovations and new methods, such as water-powered plows and crop rotation. This led to a massive agricultural surplus that became the basis of a market economy. The Ming saw the rise of commercial plantations suitable to their regions. Tea, fruit, paint, and other goods were produced on a massive scale by these agricultural plantations. Regional patterns of production established during this period continued into the Qing dynasty. The Columbian exchange brought crops such as corn. Still, large numbers of peasants abandoned the land to become artisans. The population of the Ming boomed; estimates for the population of the Ming range from 160 to 200 million. Agriculture during the Ming changed significantly. Firstly, gigantic areas devoted to cash crops sprung up, and there was demand for the crops in the new market economy. Secondly, agricultural tools and carts, some water powered, help to create a large agricultural surplus that formed the basis of the rural economy. Besides rice, other crops were grown on a large scale. Although images of autarkic farmers who had no connection to the rest of China may have some merit for the earlier Han and Tang dynasties, this was certainly not the case for the Ming dynasty. During the Ming dynasty, the increase in population and the decrease in quality land made it necessary for farmers to make a living off cash crops. Markets for these crops appeared in the rural countryside, where goods were exchanged and bartered. A second type of market that developed in China was the urban-rural type, in which rural goods were sold to urban dwellers. This was common when landlords decided to reside in the cities and use income from rural land holdings to facilitate exchange in those urban areas. Professional merchants used this type of market to buy rural goods in large quantities. The third type of market was the “national market,” which was developed during the Song dynasty but particularly enhanced during the Ming. This market involved not only the exchanges described above but also products produced directly for the market. Unlike earlier dynasties, many Ming peasants were no longer generating only products they needed; many of them produced goods for the market, which they then sold at a profit. Land Reform Because the Hongwu Emperor came from a peasant family, he was aware of how peasants used to suffer under the oppression of the scholar-bureaucrats and the wealthy. Many of the latter, relying on their connections with government officials, encroached unscrupulously on peasants’ lands and bribed the officials to transfer the burden of taxation to the poor. To prevent such abuse, the Hongwu Emperor instituted two systems: Yellow Records and Fish Scale Records. These systems served both to secure the government’s income from land taxes and to affirm that peasants would not lose their lands. However, the reforms did not eliminate the threat of the bureaucrats for the peasants. Instead, the expansion of the bureaucrats and their growing prestige translated into more wealth and tax exemption for those in government service. The bureaucrats gained new privileges, and some became illegal moneylenders and managers of gambling rings. Using their power, the bureaucrats expanded their estates at the expense of peasants’ land through outright purchase of those lands and foreclosure on their mortgages whenever they wanted the lands. The peasants often became either tenants or workers, and some sought employment elsewhere. Since the beginning of the Ming dynasty in 1357, great care was taken by the Hongwu Emperor to distribute land to peasants. One way was through forced migration to less dense areas; some people were tied to a pagoda tree in Hongdong and moved. Public works projects, such as the construction of irrigation systems and dikes, were undertaken in an attempt to help farmers. In addition, the Hongwu Emperor also reduced the demands on the peasantry for forced labour. In 1370, the Hongwu Emperor ordered that some lands in Hunan and Anhui should be given to young farmers who had reached adulthood. The order was intended to prevent landlords from seizing the land, as it also decreed that the titles to the lands were not transferable. During the middle part of his reign, the Hongwu Emperor passed an edict stating that those who brought fallow land under cultivation could keep it as their property without being taxed. Art under the Ming Dynasty Literature, poetry, and painting flourished during the Ming dynasty, especially in the economically prosperous lower Yangtze valley. Literature and Poetry Short fiction had been popular in China as far back as the Tang dynasty (618 – 907), and the works of contemporaneous Ming authors such as Xu Guangqi, Xu Xiake, and Song Yingxing were often technical and encyclopedic. But the most striking literary development during the Ming period was the vernacular novel. While the gentry elite were educated enough to fully comprehend the language of classical Chinese, those with rudimentary educations—such as women in educated families, merchants, and shop clerks—became a large potential audience for literature and performing arts that employed vernacular Chinese. Literati scholars edited or developed major Chinese novels into mature form in this period, such as Water Margin and Journey to the West. Jin Ping Mei, published in 1610, though it incorporated earlier material, exemplifies the trend toward independent composition and concern with psychology. In the later years of the dynasty, Feng Menglong and Ling Mengchu innovated with vernacular short fiction. Theater scripts were equally imaginative. The most famous script, The Peony Pavilion, was written by Tang Xianzu (1550 – 1616) and had its first performance at the Pavilion of Prince Teng in 1598. Informal essay and travel writing was another highlight of Ming literature. Xu Xiake (1587–1641), a travel literature author, published his Travel Diaries in 404,000 written characters, with information on everything from local geography to mineralogy. In contrast to Xu Xiake, who focused on technical aspects in his travel literature, the Chinese poet and official Yuan Hongdao (1568 – 1610) used travel literature to express his desires for individualism, as well as autonomy from and frustration with Confucian court politics. Yuan desired to free himself from the ethical compromises that were inseparable from the career of a scholar-official. This anti-official sentiment in Yuan’s travel literature and poetry was actually following in the tradition of the Song dynasty poet and official Su Shi (1037 – 1101). Yuan Hongdao and his two brothers, Yuan Zongdao (1560 – 1600) and Yuan Zhongdao (1570 – 1623), were the founders of the Gong’an School of letters. This highly individualistic school of poetry and prose was criticized by the Confucian establishment for its association with intense sensual lyricism, which was also apparent in Ming vernacular novels like the Jin Ping Mei. Yet even the gentry and scholar-officials were affected by the new popular romantic literature, seeking courtesans as soulmates to reenact the heroic love stories that arranged marriages often could not provide or accommodate. The first reference to the publishing of private newspapers in Beijing was in 1582; by 1638 the Beijing Gazette switched from using woodblock print to movable type printing. The new literary field of the moral guide to business ethics was developed during the late Ming period for the readership of the merchant class. Painting Famous painters included Ni Zan and Dong Qichang, as well as the Four Masters of the Ming dynasty: Shen Zhou, Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, and Qiu Ying. They drew upon the techniques, styles, and complexity in painting achieved by their Song and Yuan predecessors, but they added new techniques and styles. Well-known Ming artists could make a living simply by painting due to the high prices they charged for their artworks and the great demand by the highly cultured community, who could afford to collect precious works of art. The artist Qiu Ying was once paid 100 oz of silver to paint a long hand-scroll for the eightieth birthday celebration of a wealthy patron’s mother. Renowned artists often gathered an entourage of followers, some who were amateurs who painted while pursuing an official career, and others who were full-time painters. The painting techniques that were invented and developed before the Ming period became classical during it. More colors were used in painting during the Ming dynasty; seal brown became much more widely used, and even over-used. Many new painting skills and techniques were innovated and developed; calligraphy was much more closely and perfectly combined with the art of painting. Chinese painting reached another climax in the mid- and late-Ming, when painting was derived in a broad scale, many new schools were born, and many outstanding masters emerged. Pottery The Ming period was also renowned for ceramics and porcelains. The major production centers for porcelain were the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province and Dehua in Fujian province. By the 16th century, the Dehua porcelain factories catered to European tastes by creating Chinese export porcelain. Individual potters also became known, such as He Chaozong who became famous in the early 17th century for his style of white porcelain sculpture. The ceramic trade thrived in Asia; Chuimei Ho estimates that about 16% of late Ming era Chinese ceramic exports were sent to Europe, while the rest were destined for Japan and South East Asia. Carved designs in lacquerware and designs glazed onto porcelain wares displayed intricate scenes similar in complexity to those in painting. These items could be found in the homes of the wealthy, alongside embroidered silks and wares in jade, ivory, and cloisonné. The houses of the rich were also furnished with rosewood furniture and feathery latticework. The writing materials in a scholar’s private study, including elaborately carved brush holders made of stone or wood that were designed and arranged ritually to give an aesthetic appeal. Connoisseurship in the late Ming period centered on these items of refined artistic taste, which provided work for art dealers and even underground scammers who themselves made imitations and false attributions. The Jesuit Matteo Ricci, while staying in Nanjing, wrote that Chinese scam artists were ingenious at making forgeries and thus huge profits. However, there were guides to help the wary new connoisseurs; Liu Tong (d. 1637) wrote a book printed in 1635 that told his readers how to spot fake and authentic pieces of art. He revealed that a Xuande-era (1426 – 1435) bronze work could be authenticated by judging its sheen; porcelain wares from the Yongle era (1402 – 1424) could be judged authentic by their thickness. Fall of the Ming Dynasty The fall of the Ming dynasty was caused by a combination of factors, including an economic disaster due to lack of silver, a series of natural disasters, peasant uprisings, and finally attacks by the Manchu people. Economic Breakdown During the last years of the Wanli Emperor’s reign and the reigns of his two successors, an economic crisis developed that was centered around a sudden widespread lack of the empire’s chief medium of exchange: silver. The Protestant powers of the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of England were staging frequent raids and acts of piracy against the Catholic-based empires of Spain and Portugal in order to weaken their global economic power. Meanwhile, Philip IV of Spain (r. 1621 – 1665) began cracking down on illegal smuggling of silver from Mexico and Peru across the Pacific towards China, in favor of shipping American-mined silver directly from Spain to Manila. In 1639, the new Tokugawa regime of Japan shut down most of its foreign trade with European powers, causing a halt of yet another source of silver coming into China. However, while Japanese silver still came into China in limited amounts, the greatest stunt to the flow of silver came from the Americas. These events occurring at roughly the same time caused a dramatic spike in the value of silver and made paying taxes nearly impossible for most provinces. People began hoarding precious silver, forcing the ratio of the value of copper to silver into a steep decline. In the 1630s, a string of one thousand copper coins was worth an ounce of silver; by 1640 it was reduced to the value of half an ounce; by 1643 it was worth roughly one-third of an ounce. For peasants this was an economic disaster, since they paid taxes in silver while conducting local trade and selling their crops with copper coins. Natural Disasters In this early half of the 17th century, famines became common in northern China because of unusual dry and cold weather that shortened the growing season; these were effects of a larger ecological event now known as the Little Ice Age. Loss of life and normal civility was caused by widespread famine, tax increases, massive military desertions, a declining relief system, natural disasters such as flooding, and the inability of the government to properly manage irrigation and flood-control projects. The central government was starved of resources and could do very little to mitigate the effects of these calamities. Making matters worse, a widespread epidemic spread across China from Zhejiang to Henan, killing a large but unknown number of people. The famine and drought in the late 1620s and the 1630s contributed to the rebellions that broke out in Shaanxi led by rebel leaders such as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. The Qing Conquest of Ming: Rebellion, Invasion, Collapse The Qing conquest of the Ming was a period of conflict between the Qing dynasty, established by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro in Manchuria (contemporary Northeastern China), and the ruling Ming dynasty of China. The Manchu, formerly called the Jurchen people, had risen to power under the leadership of a tribal leader named Nurhaci. In 1618, leading up to the Qing conquest, Nurhaci commissioned a document titled the Seven Grievances, which enumerated resentments against the Ming and encouraged rebellion against their domination. Many of the grievances dealt with conflicts against Yehe, which was a major Manchu clan, and Ming favoritism of Yehe. Nurhaci’s demand that the Ming pay tribute to him to redress the Seven Grievances was effectively a declaration of war, as the Ming were not willing to pay money to a former tributary. Shortly afterwards, Nurhaci began to force the Ming out of Liaoning in southern Manchuria. In 1640, masses of Chinese peasants—who were starving, unable to pay their taxes, and no longer in fear of the frequently defeated Chinese army—began to form into huge bands of rebels. The Chinese military, caught between fruitless efforts to defeat the Manchu raiders from the north and huge peasant revolts in the provinces, essentially fell apart. On April 24, 1644, Beijing fell to a rebel army led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt and then proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming emperor, the Chongzhen Emperor, hanged himself on a tree in the imperial garden outside the Forbidden City. When Li Zicheng moved against him, the Ming general Wu Sangui shifted his alliance to the Manchus. Li Zicheng was defeated at the Battle of Shanhai Pass by the joint forces of Wu Sangui and the Manchu Prince Dorgon. On June 6, the Manchus and Wu entered the capital and proclaimed the young Shunzhi Emperor as Emperor of China. The Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne in 1661, and in 1662 his regents launched the Great Clearance to defeat the resistance of Ming loyalists in South China. In 1662, Zheng Chenggong founded the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan, a pro-Ming dynasty state with a goal of reconquering China. However, the Kingdom of Tungning was defeated in the Battle of Penghu by Han Chinese admiral Shi Lang, who had also served under the Ming. He fought off several rebellions, such as the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in southern China, which was led by Wu Sangui starting in 1673. Then he countered by launching a series of campaigns that expanded his empire. The fall of the Ming dynasty was caused by a combination of factors. Kenneth Swope argues that one key factor was deteriorating relations between Ming royalty and the Ming empire’s military leadership. Other factors include repeated military expeditions to the North, inflationary pressures caused by spending too much from the imperial treasury, natural disasters, and epidemics of disease. Contributing further to the chaos was the peasant rebellion in Beijing in 1644 and a series of weak emperors. Ming power would hold out in what is now southern China for years, but would eventually be overtaken by the Manchus. The Qing Dynasty At the peak of the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912), China ruled more than one-third of the world’s population, had the largest economy in the world, and by area was one of the largest empires ever. Rise to Power The Qing dynasty (1644 – 1911) was the last imperial dynasty in China. It was founded not by Han Chinese, who constitute the majority of the Chinese population, but by a sedentary farming people known as the Jurchen. What would become the Manchu state in the early 17th century was founded in Jianzhou (Manchuria) by Nurhaci—the chieftain of a minor Jurchen tribe known as Aisin Gioro. Originally a vassal of the Ming emperors, Nurhachi embarked on an intertribal feud in 1582 that escalated into a campaign to unify the nearby tribes. By 1616, he sufficiently consolidated Jianzhou enough to be able to proclaim himself Khan of the Great Jin, in reference to the previous Jurchen dynasty. In 1618, Nurhachi announced the Seven Grievances, a document that enumerated grievances against the Ming, and began to rebel against the Ming domination. Nurhaci’s demand that the Ming pay tribute to him to redress the grievances was effectively a declaration of war, as the Ming were not willing to pay a former tributary. Shortly after, Nurhaci began to invade the Ming in Liaoning in southern Manchuria. After a series of successful battles, he relocated his capital from Hetu Ala to successively bigger captured Ming cities in Liaodong Peninsula: first Liaoyang in 1621, then Shenyang (Mukden) in 1625. Relocating his court to Liaodong brought Nurhachi in close contact with the Khorchin Mongol domains on the plains of Mongolia. Nurhachi’s policy towards the Khorchins was to seek their friendship and cooperation against the Ming, securing his western border from a powerful potential enemy. Further, the Khorchin proved a useful ally in the war, lending the Jurchens their expertise as cavalry archers. To guarantee this new alliance, Nurhachi initiated a policy of inter-marriages between the Jurchen and Khorchin nobilities. This is a typical example of Nurhachi initiatives that eventually became official Qing government policy. During most of the Qing period, the Mongols gave military assistance to the Manchus. Two of Nurhaci’s critical contributions were ordering the creation of a written Manchu script based on the Mongolian, after the earlier Jurchen script was forgotten, and the creation of the civil and military administrative system, which eventually evolved into the Eight Banners—the defining element of Manchu identity. The Eight Banners were administrative/military divisions under the Qing dynasty into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the banner system was also the basic organizational framework of Manchu society. The banner armies played an instrumental role in his unification of the fragmented Jurchen people and in the Qing dynasty’s conquest of the Ming dynasty. In 1635, Nurchaci’s son and successor Huangtaiji changed the name of the Jurchen ethnic group to the Manchu. At the same time, the Ming dynasty was fighting for its survival. Ming government officials fought against each other, against fiscal collapse, and against a series of peasant rebellions. In 1640, masses of Chinese peasants who were starving, unable to pay their taxes, and no longer in fear of the frequently defeated Chinese army began to form huge bands of rebels. The Chinese military, caught between fruitless efforts to defeat the Manchu raiders from the north and huge peasant revolts in the provinces, essentially fell apart. Unpaid and unfed, the army was defeated by Li Zicheng—who became the self-styled as the Prince of Shun. In 1644, Beijing fell to a rebel army led by Li Zicheng when the city gates were opened from within. During the turmoil, the last Ming emperor hanged himself on a tree in the imperial garden outside the Forbidden City. Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official, established a short-lived Shun dynasty. Qing Empire The Qing fell to the reign of Dorgon, who historians have called “the mastermind of the Qing conquest” and “the principal architect of the great Manchu enterprise.” Under Dorgon, the Qing eventually subdued the capital area, received the capitulation of Shandong local elites and officials, and conquered Shanxi and Shaanxi. Then, they turned their eyes to the rich commercial and agricultural region of Jiangnan south of the lower Yangtze River. They also wiped out the last remnants of rival regimes (Li Zicheng was killed in 1645). Finally, they managed to kill claimants to the throne of the Southern Ming in Nanjing (1645) and Fuzhou (1646), and they chased Zhu Youlang, the last Southern Ming emperor, out of Guangzhou (1647) and into the far southwestern reaches of China. Over the next half-century, all areas previously under the Ming dynasty were consolidated under the Qing. Xinjiang, Tibet, and Mongolia were also formally incorporated into Chinese territory. Between 1673 and 1681, the Kangxi Emperor suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories: an uprising of three generals in Southern China who were denied hereditary rule of large fiefdoms granted by the previous emperor. In 1683, the Qing staged an amphibious assault on southern Taiwan, bringing down the rebel Kingdom of Tungning, which was founded by the Ming loyalist Koxinga in 1662 after the fall of the Southern Ming and had served as a base for continued Ming resistance in Southern China. The Qing defeated the Russians at Albazin, resulting in the Treaty of Nerchinsk. The Russians gave up the area north of the Amur River, as far as the Stanovoy Mountains, and kept the area between the Argun River and Lake Baikal. This border along the Argun River and Stanovoy Mountains lasted until 1860. The decades of Manchu conquest caused enormous loss of lives and the economy of China shrank drastically. In total, the Qing conquest of the Ming (1618 – 1683) cost as many as 25 million lives. The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Central Asia. The early rulers maintained their Manchu ways and while their title was Emperor, they used khan to the Mongols and were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. They governed using Confucian styles and institutions of bureaucratic government and retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the tributary system in dealing with neighboring territories. The Qianlong reign (1735 – 96) saw the dynasty’s apogee and initial decline in prosperity and imperial control. The population rose to some 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, virtually guaranteeing eventual fiscal crisis. Corruption set in, rebels tested government legitimacy, and ruling elites did not change their mindsets in the face of changes in the world system. Still, by the end of Qianlong Emperor’s long reign, the Qing Empire was at its zenith. China ruled more than one-third of the world’s population and had the largest economy in the world. By area alone, it was one of the largest empires ever. Government The early Qing emperors adopted the bureaucratic structures and institutions from the preceding Ming dynasty but split rule between Han Chinese and Manchus, with some positions also given to Mongols. Like previous dynasties, the Qing recruited officials via the imperial examination system until the system was abolished in 1905. The Qing divided the positions into civil and military positions. Civil appointments ranged from an attendant to the emperor or a Grand Secretary in the Forbidden City (highest) to prefectural tax collector, deputy jail warden, deputy police commissioner, or tax examiner. Military appointments ranged from a field marshal or chamberlain of the imperial bodyguard to third class sergeant, corporal, or first or second class private. The formal structure of the Qing government centered on the Emperor as the absolute ruler, who presided over six boards (Ministries); the Ministries were each headed by two presidents and assisted by four vice presidents. In contrast to the Ming system, however, Qing ethnic policy dictated that appointments be split between Manchu noblemen and Han officials who had passed the highest levels of the state examinations. The Grand Secretariat, a key policy-making body under the Ming, lost its importance during the Qing and evolved into an imperial chancery. The institutions inherited from the Ming formed the core of the Qing Outer Court, which handled routine matters and was located in the southern part of the Forbidden City. In order to keep routine administration from taking over the empire, the Qing emperors made sure that all important matters were decided in the Inner Court, dominated by the imperial family and Manchu nobility and located in the northern part of the Forbidden City. The core institution of the inner court was the Grand Council. It emerged in the 1720s under the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor as a body charged with handling Qing military campaigns against the Mongols, but soon took over other military and administrative duties and centralized authority under the crown. The Grand Councilors served as a sort of privy council to the emperor. Society Under the Qing Under Qing rule, the empire’s population expanded rapidly and migrated extensively, the economy grew, and arts and culture flourished, but the development of the military gradually weakened central government’s grip on the country. During the early and mid-Qing period, the population grew rapidly and was remarkably mobile. Evidence suggests that the empire’s expanding population moved in a manner unprecedented in Chinese history. Migrants relocated hoping for either permanent resettlement or at least in theory, a temporary stay. The latter included the empire’s increasingly large and mobile manual workforce, its densely overlapping internal diaspora of merchant groups, and the movement of Qing subjects overseas, largely to Southeastern Asia, in search of trade and other economic opportunities. The Qing society was divided into five relatively closed estates. The elites consisted of the estates of the officials, the comparatively minuscule aristocracy, and the intelligentsia. There also existed two major categories of ordinary citizens: the “good” and the “mean.” The majority of the population belonged to the first category and were described as liangmin, a legal term meaning good people, as opposed to jianmin meaning the mean (or ignoble) people. Qing law explicitly stated that the traditional four occupational groups of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were “good,” and they could have the status of commoners. On the other hand, slaves or bonded servants, entertainers (including prostitutes and actors), and low-level employees of government officials were the “mean” people, and they were considered legally inferior to commoners. Economy By the end of the 17th century, the Chinese economy had recovered from the devastation caused by the wars in which the Ming dynasty was overthrown. In the 18th century, markets continued to expand but with more trade between regions, a greater dependence on overseas markets, and a greatly increased population. After the re-opening of the southeast coast, which was closed in the late 17th century, foreign trade was quickly re-established and expanded at 4% per annum throughout the latter part of the 18th century. China continued to export tea, silk, and manufactures, which resulted in a large, favorable trade balance with the West. The resulting inflow of silver expanded the money supply, facilitating the growth of competitive and stable markets. The government broadened land ownership by returning land that was sold to large landowners in the late Ming period by families unable to pay the land tax. To give people more incentives to participate in the market, the tax burden was reduced in comparison with the late Ming and the corvée system replaced with a head tax used to hire laborers. A system of monitoring grain prices eliminated severe shortages and enabled the price of rice to rise slowly and smoothly through the 18th century. Wary of the power of wealthy merchants, Qing rulers limited their trading licenses and usually banned new mines, except in poor areas. Some scholars see these restrictions on the exploitation of domestic resources and limits imposed on foreign trade as a cause of the Great Divergence by which the Western world overtook China economically. By the end of the 18th century the population had risen to 300 million from approximately 150 million during the late Ming dynasty. This rise is attributed to the long period of peace and stability in the 18th century and the import of new crops China received from the Americas, including peanuts, sweet potatoes, and maize. New species of rice from Southeast Asia led to a huge increase in production. Merchant guilds proliferated in all of the growing Chinese cities and often acquired great social and even political influence. Rich merchants with official connections built up huge fortunes and patronized literature, theater, and the arts. Textile and handicraft production boomed. Military The early Qing military was rooted in the Eight Banners first developed by Nurhaci to organize Jurchen society beyond petty clan affiliations. The banners were differentiated by color. The yellow, bordered yellow, and white banners were known as the Upper Three Banners and remained under the direct command of the emperor. The remaining banners were known as the Lower Five Banners. They were commanded by hereditary Manchu princes descended from Nurhachi’s immediate family. Together, they formed the ruling council of the Manchu nation, as well as the high command of the army. Nurhachi’s son Hong Taiji expanded the system to include mirrored Mongol and Han Banners. After capturing Beijing in 1644, the relatively small Banner armies were further augmented by the Green Standard Army, made up of Ming troops who had surrendered to the Qing. They eventually outnumbered Banner troops three to one. They maintained their Ming-era organization and were led by a mix of Banner and Green Standard officers. Banner armies were organized along ethnic lines, namely Manchu and Mongol, but they included non-Manchu bonded servants registered under the household of their Manchu masters. During Qianlong’s reign, the Qianlong Emperor emphasized Manchu ethnicity, ancestry, language, and culture in the Eight Banners, and in 1754 started a mass discharge of Han bannermen. This led to a change from Han majority to a Manchu majority within the Eight Banner system. The eventual decision to turn the banner troops into a professional force led to its decline as a fighting force. After a series of military defeats in the mid-19th century, the Qing court ordered a Chinese official, Zeng Guofan, to organize regional and village militias into an emergency army. He relied on local gentry to raise a new type of military organization that became known as the Xiang Army, named after the Hunan region where it was raised. The Xiang Army was a hybrid of local militia and a standing army. It was given professional training, but it was paid for out of regional coffers and funds its commanders could muster. Commanders of the local militia were mostly members of the Chinese gentry. The Xiang Army and its successor, the Huai Army, created by Zeng Guofan’s colleague and mentee Li Hongzhang, were collectively called the Yong Ying (Brave Camp). The Yong Ying system signaled the end of Manchu dominance in Qing military establishment. The fact that the corps were financed through provincial coffers and were led by regional commanders weakened central government’s grip on the whole country. This structure fostered nepotism and cronyism among its commanders, who laid the seeds of regional warlordism in the first half of the 20th century. Arts and Culture Under the Qing, traditional forms of art flourished and innovations developed rapidly. High levels of literacy, a successful publishing industry, prosperous cities, and the Confucian emphasis on cultivation all fed a lively and creative set of cultural fields. The Qing emperors were generally adept at poetry, often skilled in painting, and offered their patronage to Confucian culture. The Kangxi and Qianlong emperors, for instance, embraced Chinese traditions both to control the people and proclaim their own legitimacy. Imperial patronage encouraged literary and fine arts, as well as the industrial production of ceramics and Chinese export porcelain. However, the most impressive aesthetic works were by the scholars and urban elite. Calligraphy and painting remained a central interest to both court painters and scholar-gentry who considered the arts part of their cultural identity and social standing. Literature grew to new heights in the Qing period. Poetry continued as a mark of the cultivated gentleman, but women wrote in larger numbers and poets came from all walks of life. The poetry of the Qing dynasty is a field studied (along with the poetry of the Ming dynasty) for its association with Chinese opera, developmental trends of classical Chinese poetry, the transition to a greater role for vernacular language, and poetry by women in Chinese culture. In drama, the most prestigious form became the so-called Peking opera, although local and folk opera were also widely popular. Even cuisine became a form of artistic expression. Works that detailed the culinary aesthetics and theory, along with a wide range of recipes, were published. The Qing emperors generously supported the arts and sciences. For example, the Kangxi Emperor sponsored the Peiwen Yunfu, a rhyme dictionary published in 1711, and the Kangxi Dictionary published in 1716, which remains to this day an authoritative reference. The Qianlong Emperor sponsored the largest collection of writings in Chinese history, the Siku Quanshu, completed in 1782. Court painters made new versions of the Song masterpiece, Zhang Zeduan’s Along the River During the Qingming Festival, whose depiction of a prosperous and happy realm demonstrated the beneficence of the emperor. By the end of the 19th century, all elements of national artistic and cultural life recognized and began to come to terms with world culture as found in the West and Japan. 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License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.147102	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87813/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Making of Early Modern World 1450-1700 CE, Chapter 1: Asia & Oceania, Ming and Qing Dynasties", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87954/overview	Australia at the turn of the Twentieth Century Overview Australia at the turn of the Century On January 1, 1901, Australia was proclaimed a commonwealth by Queen Victoria of England. By the clauses of the new Australian constitution, this upgrade in status meant that Australia was no longer a colony of England; rather, it was an associated nation within the larger British empire based on republican laws and values. It was also granted a parliament. Under the Australian Commonwealth, each of the Australian provinces was granted the status of “states” with their own governments. Australia’s new status provided more rights and freedoms to its white citizens, but it did little to protect its Aborigine population. In fact, the early years of the Australian Commonwealth were marked by increasingly repressive measures against the Aborigines. As Australians worried about internal threats, they also laid the foundation work for an alliance that would bring them into World War I. Learning Objectives - Examine Australia’s development, socially and politically, during its early years as a Commonwealth nation. Key Terms / Key Concepts Australian Commonwealth: Australian republic founded in 1901 Immigration Restriction Act: immigration act passed in 1901 to restrict emigration to Australia from China, Indonesian, and other parts of Asia Australians and the Protection of "White Australia" In the late 1800s, Australia had experienced high immigration rates from China, and many parts of the Pacific Islands, most of which were still under European occupation. In 1901, Australia was proclaimed a commonwealth and given a host of new powers, rights, and responsibilities. Many white politicians felt as though their power was threatened by the increased presence of non-whites in the country. To combat the growing numbers of immigrants, Australians passed the 1901 Immigration Restriction Act. This act, also called the “White Australian Policy,” restricted immigrants from China and Asia. To immigrate to Australia, all immigrants were required to pass a dictation test in which they wrote fifty words in a European language. In addition to restricting immigrants, the measure also helped ensure that Australia remained “British.” A year later, a bill was passed to restrict voting rights of Aborigines. The Australian Trade Union movement, which gathered nearly a million followers by 1914, similarly echoed the cries of white politicians and argued that Australian businesses should reflect white, Australian purity. For their parts, the Aborigines mostly remained separate societies from “white” Australia. On rare occasions when the two groups met, the Aborigines were regarded by most white Australians as primitive spectacles to gawk at from afar. Australia as a Military Power In the 1900s, Australia had a small but well-trained army. As part of the British Empire, it sent troops to fight in the Boer Wars of South Africa in 1902. But as an island nation far removed from England, Australians started to feel uneasy about their lack of naval protection. In particular, the Japanese victory over Imperial Russia during the Russo-Japanese War made the Australians acutely aware of their expansive coast, and lack of naval power. In 1907, Australians, led by their prime minister, clamored for the creation of an Australian navy. For four years, Australia and Great Britain negotiated for the establishment of an Australian navy. At last, in 1911, the British constructed an entirely new Pacific fleet. One of the three squadrons created was given to Australia and consisted of three light cruisers, six destroyers, and three submarines. While tension mounted in Europe, Australia enacted measures at home in case it should be drawn into war. Among its most stringent laws was one passed in January 1911 that required all boys, excluding Aborigines, twelve and older to register for the militia service. Additionally, boys were required to have some military training. Although the law seemed draconian to many in England, Australia saw it as essential. Other than New Zealand, they had no immediate allies, and were separated by vast oceans from England and the United States. If Australia were attacked, it would rely upon itself for defense of the nation. And if pulled into war, it would not be caught off-guard. Indeed, when World War I erupted in 1914, Australia had over 200,000 men working for the Australian armed forces. This reservoir of soldiers would prove critical to the Allies’ war effort in World War I. Legacy Australia at the turn of the century was a nation unsure of its place in the world. It was simultaneously a commonwealth with republican laws, but also remained part of the British Empire. Its white population was, generally, very invested in the perseverance of Australia for whites. As a result, Aborigines saw a reduction in the limited rights afforded them. Racial tension remained strong as white Australians developed the eastern Australian seaboard. For the average, white Australian, though, life in this country “down under” was glorious. Their social security system was unmatched by any country in the world at that time. They were afforded freedom to travel and relocate with government support, free education, and a basic living wage. On the eve of World War I, Australia was still considered a fledgling and inexperienced nation of farmers, miners, bankers, and ruffians. But the war would change that idea forever. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Welsh, Frank. Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land. The Overlook Press, New York: 2004. 334-362.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.175791	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87954/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 11: Reactions, Australia at the turn of the Twentieth Century", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87967/overview	The Treaty of Versailles and Other Treaties Overview The 1919-20 Paris Peace Conference With the conclusion of armistices that ended the fighting, the Allied Powers organized the peacemaking process that officially ended the war. Allied leaders carried out this process at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, negotiating peace treaties with each of the five major Central Powers. And each of these treaties influenced the course of subsequent events across Eurasia, leading to the Second World War and the Cold War. Learning Objectives Analyze the aims and negotiating roles of world leaders at the Paris Peace Conference and the consequences of the treaties that ended the war. Key Terms / Key Concepts Congress of Vienna: a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich and held in Vienna from November 1814 to June 1815, though the delegates had arrived and were already negotiating by late September 1814 (The objective was to provide a long-term peace plan for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The goal was not simply to restore old boundaries but to resize the main powers so they could balance each other and remain at peace.) Paris Peace Conference - 1919-20 meeting of delegates from the Allied nations that crafted the treaties which ended World War I David Lloyd George: British Liberal politician and statesman, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1908 – 1915) and was a key figure in the introduction of many reforms that laid the foundations of the modern welfare state. His most important role came as the highly energetic Prime Minister of the Wartime Coalition Government (1916 – 22), during and immediately after the First World War. He led the British delegation to the Paris peace conference. His priorities were security from Germany and being able to justify to his political coalition in the British Parliament and British voters the nation’s sacrifices in the war. Fourteen Points: a statement of principles used for peace negotiations to end World War I, as outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech by President Woodrow Wilson to the United States Congress on war aims and peace terms George Clemenceau: French prime minister during World War I, and leader of the French delegation to the Paris peace conference, who made French security his highest priority in the negotiation of peace with Germany. Accordingly, he pursued military restrictions on Germany, the demilitarization of the Rhineland in western Germany, and the restoration of Alsace and Lorraine to France. League of Nations: an intergovernmental organization founded on January 10, 1920, as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War; the first international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. Its primary goals as stated in its Covenant included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. Stab-in-the-back myth: The notion, widely believed in right-wing circles in Germany after 1918, that the German Army did not lose World War I on the battlefield but was instead betrayed by the civilians on the home front, especially the republicans who overthrew the monarchy in the German Revolution of 1918 – 19. Advocates denounced the German government leaders who signed the Armistice on November 11, 1918, as the “November Criminals.” Treaty of Versailles: the most important of the peace treaties that ended World War I, which was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Vittorio Orlando: Italian prime minister who led the Italian delegation at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and sought Italy’s acquisition of various territories from the disintegrating Austrian empire (Germany was a secondary concern to him.) Woodrow Wilson: an American politician and academic who served as president during World War I and led the U.S. delegation to the Paris peace conference. He sought a lasting peace, without explicit winners and losers. Paris Peace Conference The Paris Peace Conference, also known as Versailles Peace Conference, was the meeting of the Allied victors after the end of World War I to set peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris during 1919, opening on 18 January 1919. This date was symbolic as the anniversary of the proclamation of William I as German Emperor in 1871 in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, shortly before the end of the Siege of Paris. This date was also imbued with significance in Germany as the anniversary of the establishment of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. More than thirty nations, along with a number of peoples and non-governmental organizations sent voting and non-voting delegations. Each pursued its own agenda. The work of the conference was overwhelming. The attendees addressed dozens of widely varied issues, including the postwar disposition of prisoners of war, responsibility for the war, undersea cables, and international aviation; this was done in an effort to craft a lasting peace, while at the same time pursuing their own agendas. To handle this work, the participants set up fifty-two commissions, which held over sixteen hundred sessions to complete their work—much of it reports for the delegates to consider in their deliberations. The treaties crafted by the delegates were prodigious. The Treaty of Versailles, the Allied treaty with Germany, included fifteen chapters and 440 clauses. Thirty-two countries and nationalities, along with a number of non-governmental groups, sent delegations to the conference. Significantly, neither the Central Powers, the incipient Soviet Union, nor what was left of the disappearing Tsarist Russian empire were invited to send delegations. Leading the conference were the “Big Four”: President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Georges Clemenceau of France, and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando of the Kingdom of Italy. They were known as the Big Four because their nations were the most powerful Allied nations in Europe. They met informally 145 times and made all the major decisions, which in turn other national delegations ratifie The task of the delegates to craft peace treaties was complicated, even defined, by their conflicting agendas. Each of the Big Four, along with the leaders of the other countries invited to send delegates, had their own separate interests, concerns, and groups to which they were accountable. Consequently, coming to consensus on the terms of each treaty was difficult. Each of the Big Four was concerned primarily with his nation’s national security and imperial interests, very much as their predecessors had been at previous European peace conferences, such as the 1814 – 15 Congress of Vienna. Just like these predecessors the Big Four were not as concerned about inequities they felt were not directly related to the war, including European subjugation of Africans and Asians and gender discrimination. For example, none of these four leaders was a champion of women’s suffrage, and Wilson was a racist who approved of the white supremacist regime in the U.S. In a number of respects, however, the agendas of the Big Four reflected the democratization of the West. Each considered the demands and expectations of his national constituencies, and each recognized the growing opposition to Western imperialism. French Agenda For France, the only nation of the Big Four invaded by the Germans, the first priority in the treaty with Germany was security from another German invasion. The French Prime Minister, Georges Clemenceau—leader of the French delegation at the conference—focused on permanently weakening Germany, militarily and economically. Having personally witnessed two German attacks on French soil in the last 40 years, he was adamant that Germany should not be permitted to attack France again. In particular, Clemenceau sought an American and British guarantee of French security in the event of another German attack. Clemenceau also expressed skepticism and frustration with Wilson’s Fourteen Points: “Mr. Wilson bores me with his fourteen points,” complained Clemenceau. “Why, God Almighty has only ten!” Wilson won a few points by signing a mutual defense treaty with France, but back in Washington he did not present it to the Senate for ratification and it never took effect. Another alternative French policy was to seek a resumption of harmonious relations with Germany. In May 1919 the diplomat René Massigli was sent on several secret missions to Berlin. During his visits, Massigli offered on behalf of his government to revise the territorial and economic clauses of the upcoming peace treaty. The Germans rejected the French offers because they considered the French overtures to be a trap to trick them into accepting the Versailles treaty “as is,” and because the German foreign minister, Count Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau, thought that the United States was more likely to reduce the severity of the peace terms than France. However, it proved to be Lloyd George who pushed for more favorable terms for Germany. British Agenda At the conference the British delegation sought to protect its imperial holdings and justify the empire’s sacrifices in the Allied war effort. Maintenance of the British Empire’s unity, holdings, and interests was an overarching concern for the British delegates to the conference, with more specific goals of: ensuring the security of France, removing the threat of the German High Seas Fleet, settling territorial contentions, and supporting the League of Nations. David Lloyd George commented that he did “not do badly” at the peace conference, “considering I was seated between Jesus Christ and Napoleon.” This was a reference to the very idealistic views of Wilson on the one hand and the stark realism of Clemenceau, who was determined to see Germany punished, on the other. Nationalist Agendas A number of peoples across the world sought national independence from European imperial control. These peoples fall into two categories: 1) the descendants of British and European colonists in the settlement colonies of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and 2) African and Asian peoples subject to European, Russian, and U.S. imperial control. Related to and growing out of the British agenda, Australia, Canada, and India, and New Zealand pursued their own agendas. Indian nationalists sought independence. Convinced that Canada had become a nation on the battlefields of Europe, its Prime Minister, Sir Robert Borden, demanded that it have a separate seat at the conference. This was initially opposed not only by Britain but also by the United States, which saw a dominion delegation as an extra British vote. Borden responded by pointing out that since Canada had lost nearly 60,000 men, a far larger proportion of its men compared to the 50,000 American losses, it at least had the right to the representation of a “minor” power. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, eventually relented, and convinced the reluctant Americans to accept the presence of delegations from Canada, India, Australia, Newfoundland, New Zealand, and South Africa. These nations also received their own seats in the League of Nations. Italian Approach In 1914 Italy remained neutral despite its alliances with Germany and Austria. In 1915 it joined the Allies, motivated by gaining the territories promised by the Allies in the secret Treaty of London. These territories included the Trentino, the Tyrol as far as Brenner, Trieste and Istria, most of the Dalmatian coast except Fiume, Valona and a protectorate over Albania, Antalya in Turkey, and possibly colonies in Africa or Asia. In the meetings of the “Big Four, in which Orlando’s powers of diplomacy were inhibited by his lack of English, the others were only willing to offer Trentino to the Brenner, the Dalmatian port of Zara and some of the Dalmatian islands. All other territories were promised to other nations, most likely because the great powers were worried about Italy’s imperial ambitions. Even though Italy did get most of its demands, Orlando was refused Fiume, most of Dalmatia, and any colonial gain, so he left the conference in a rage. There was a general disappointment in Italy, which the nationalist and fascist parties used to build the idea that Italy was betrayed by the Allies and refused what was due. This led to the general rise of Italian fascism. Japanese Agenda The Japanese delegation came to the peace conference with a shopping list of German Pacific territories that they sought, as well as the expectation of respect from the European imperial powers and the U.S. The Empire of Japan sent a large delegation headed by former Prime Minister, Marquess Saionji Kinmochi. It was originally one of the “big five” but relinquished that role because of its slight interest in European affairs. Instead, it focused on two demands: 1) as part of the respect Japanese leaders sought, the inclusion of a racial equality proposal in the Covenant of the League of Nations, and 2) approval of Japanese territorial claims with respect to former German colonies, namely Shantung (including Kiaochow) and the Pacific islands north of the Equator (the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Mariana Islands, and the Carolines). The Japanese delegation became unhappy after receiving only half of the rights of Germany, and they walked out of the conference. Japanese imperialists and nationalists perceived this as another in a line of slights dating back to the Meiji Restoration. This resentment, building since the Meiji Restoration, contributed to the rise of ultranationalism and Japanese aggression in World War II. While Japan cannot be excused for its atrocities in the Second World War, the European imperial powers cannot be excused for their discrimination against Japan as an Asian imperial power. U.S. Agenda Not having the security concerns and imperial interests of France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, Wilson’s approach to peace was to avoid imposing a winners’ peace on the Central Powers. In addition, his influence at the conference was diminished by the late entry of the U.S. into the war in 1917. Even then, the Wilson Administration continued U.S. detachment from the Allied Powers by referring to the U.S. as an Associated Power, rather than an Allied Power. On 8 January 1918 Wilson outlined his vision for peace, introducing his Fourteen Points, in a speech before Congress. Wilson’s diplomacy and his Fourteen Points influenced the circumstances under which armistices were drafted that ended the fighting of World War I. Wilson was the first president to attend an international peace conference while president, and only the third president, after his two immediate predecessors, to leave the country during his presidency for diplomatic purposes. Wilson believed it was his duty and obligation to the people of the world to establish an international framework for avoiding another global conflict. Accordingly, fulfilment of that responsibility meant that he had to play a leading role at the peace conference. He continued and developed further Theodore Roosevelt’s initiative for U.S. interventionism in global affairs with a moral imperative. Every president since, except Donald Trump, either accepted or acquiesced to this initiative. High hopes and expectations were placed on Wilson to deliver what he had promised for the post-war era. In doing so, Wilson ultimately began to lead the foreign policy of the United States toward interventionism, a move strongly resisted in some domestic circles. Wilson took many domestic progressive ideas and translated them into foreign policy (free trade, open agreements, democracy, and self-determination). One of his major aims was to found a League of Nations “for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.” Background of the U.S. Entry into World War I The immediate cause of the United States’ entry into World War I in April 1917 was the German announcement of renewed unrestricted submarine warfare and the subsequent sinking of ships with Americans on board. But President Wilson’s war aims went beyond the defense of maritime interests. In his War Message to Congress, Wilson declared that the United States’ objective was “to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world.” In several speeches earlier in the year, Wilson sketched out his vision of an end to the war that would bring a “just and secure peace,” not merely “a new balance of power.” The United States joined the Allied Powers in fighting the Central Powers on April 6, 1917. Its entry into the war had in part been due to Germany’s resumption of submarine warfare against US merchant ships trading with France and Britain. However, Wilson wanted to avoid the United States’ involvement in the long-standing European tensions between the great powers; if America was going to fight, he wanted to unlink the war from nationalistic disputes or ambitions. The need for moral aims was highlighted when after the fall of the Russian government, the Bolsheviks disclosed secret treaties made between the Allies. The Fourteen Points President Wilson subsequently initiated a secret series of studies named the Inquiry, primarily focused on Europe and carried out by a group in New York that included geographers, historians, and political scientists; the group was directed by Colonel Edward House. Their job was to study Allied and American policy in virtually every region of the globe and analyze economic, social, and political facts likely to come up in discussions during the peace conference. The group produced and collected nearly 2,000 separate reports and documents plus at least 1,200 maps. The studies culminated in a speech by Wilson to Congress on January 8, 1918, in which he articulated America’s long-term war objectives. The speech was the clearest expression of intention made by any of the belligerent nations and projected Wilson’s progressive domestic policies into the international arena, being a statementof principles used for peace negotiations following the end World War I. The speech, known as the Fourteen Points, was developed from a set of diplomatic points by Wilson and territorial points drafted by the Inquiry’s general secretary, Walter Lippmann, and his colleagues, Isaiah Bowman, Sidney Mezes, and David Hunter Miller. Lippmann’s territorial points were a direct response to the secret treaties of the European Allies, which Lippman was shown by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker. Lippman’s task, according to House, was “to take the secret treaties, analyze the parts which were tolerable, and separate them from those which we regarded as intolerable, and then develop a position which conceded as much to the Allies as it could, but took away the poison…It was all keyed upon the secret treaties.” The Fourteen Points was a statement ; they were outlined in a January 8, 1918, speech on war aims and peace terms given by President Woodrow Wilson to the United States Congress. Wilson’s speech also responded to Vladimir Lenin’s Decree on Peace of November 1917 immediately after the October Revolution, which proposed an immediate withdrawal of Russia from the war, called for a just and democratic peace that was not compromised by territorial annexations, and led to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918. The speech made by Wilson took many domestic progressive ideas and translated them into foreign policy (free trade, open agreements, democracy, and self-determination). The Fourteen Points speech was the only explicit statement of war aims by any of the nations fighting in World War I. Some belligerents gave general indications of their aims, but most kept their post-war goals private. Europeans generally welcomed Wilson’s points, but his main Allied colleagues (Georges Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, and Vittorio Orlando of Italy) were skeptical of the applicability of Wilsonian idealism. In the speech, Wilson directly addressed what he perceived as the causes for the world war by calling for the abolition of secret treaties, a reduction in armaments, an adjustment in colonial claims in the interests of both native peoples and colonists, and freedom of the seas. Wilson also made proposals that would ensure world peace in the future. For example, he proposed the removal of economic barriers between nations, the promise of self-determination for national minorities, and a world organization that would guarantee the “political independence and territorial integrity [of] great and small states alike”— a League of Nations. Though Wilson’s idealism pervades the Fourteen Points, he also had more practical objectives in mind. He hoped to keep Russia in the war by convincing the Bolsheviks that they would receive a better peace from the Allies, to bolster Allied morale, and to undermine German war support. The address was well received in the United States and by Allied nations, as well as even by Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin as a landmark of enlightenment in international relations. Wilson subsequently used the Fourteen Points as the basis for negotiating the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war. It has long been argued that Wilson’s Fourteen Points, in particular the principle of national self-determination, were primarily anti-Left measures designed to tame the revolutionary fever sweeping across Europe in the wake of the October Revolution and the end of the war by playing the nationalist card. Once Wilson arrived at the conference, however, he found “rivalries, and conflicting claims previously submerged.” He mostly tried to sway the direction that the French (Georges Clemenceau) and British (Lloyd George) delegations were taking towards Germany and its allies in Europe, as well as the former Ottoman lands in the Middle East. Wilson’s attempts to gain acceptance of his Fourteen Points ultimately failed after France and Britain refused to adopt some specific points and its core principles. Wilson was further hindered by U.S. forces having only been fighting on the Western Front since the spring of 1918. In Europe, several of his Fourteen Points conflicted with the desires of other powers. Wilson hoped to establish a more liberal and diplomatic world, as stated in the Fourteen Points, where democracy, sovereignty, liberty, and self-determination would be respected. The French and British governments, on the other hand, already controlled empires, wielded power over their subjects around the world, and still aspired to be dominant colonial powers. For example, Wilson did not encourage or believe that the responsibility for the war placed on Germany through Article 231 was fair or warranted. It would not be until 1921 that the United States finally signed separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Fourteen Points vs. the Versailles Treaty President Wilson became physically ill at the beginning of the Paris Peace Conference, allowing French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau to advance demands substantially different from Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Clemenceau viewed Germany as having unfairly attained an economic victory over France, due to the heavy damage their forces dealt to France’s industries even during retreat, as well as expressed dissatisfaction with France’s allies at the peace conference. Notably, Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, which would become known as the War Guilt Clause; it was seen by the Germans as assigning full responsibility for the war and its damages on Germany. However, the same clause was included in all peace treaties and historian Sally Marks has noted that only German diplomats saw it as assigning responsibility for the war. The myth that Germany had not lost World War I, which came to be known as the Stab-in-the-back-myth, began in the last year of the war. The text of the Fourteen Points had been widely distributed in Germany as propaganda prior to the end of the war and was thus well-known by the Germans. The differences between this document and the final Treaty of Versailles fueled anger among Germans. German outrage over reparations and the War Guilt Clause is viewed as a likely contributing factor to the rise of national socialism. At the end of World War I, foreign armies had only entered Germany’s prewar borders twice: the advance of Russian troops into the Eastern border of Prussia, and, following the Battle of Mulhouse, the settlement of the French army in the Thann valley. This lack of important Allied incursions contributed to the popularization of the Stab-in-the-back myth in Germany after the war. Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the peace treaties that brought World War I to an end. It was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I signed separate treaties. Although the armistice signed on November 11, 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on October 21, 1919. Learning Objectives - Analyze the aims and negotiating roles of world leaders at the Paris Peace Conference and the consequences of the treaties that ended the war. Key Terms / Key Concepts League of Nations: an intergovernmental organization founded on January 10, 1920, as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War; the first international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. Its primary goals as stated in its Covenant included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. Paris Peace Conference - 1919-20 meeting of delegates from the Allied nations that crafted the treaties which ended World War I Treaty of Versailles: the most important of the peace treaties that ended World War I, which was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Of the many provisions in the treaty, one of the most important and controversial required “Germany accept the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage” during the war (the other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing similar articles). This article, Article 231, later became known as the War Guilt clause. The treaty forced Germany to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions, and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. In 1921 the total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks (then $31.4 billion, roughly equivalent to $442 billion USD in 2017). At the time economists, notably John Maynard Keynes, predicted that the treaty was too harsh—a “Carthaginian peace”—and said the reparations figure was excessive and counter-productive, views that have since been the subject of ongoing debate by historians and economists from several countries. On the other hand, prominent figures on the Allied side such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently. The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals among the victors was a compromise that left no one content: Germany was neither pacified nor conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened. The problems that arose from the treaty would lead to the Locarno Treaties, which improved relations between Germany and the other European Powers, and the renegotiation of the reparation system resulting in the Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, and the indefinite postponement of reparations at the Lausanne Conference of 1932. Other Treaties of the Paris Peace Conference Along with the Treaty of Versailles, the Paris Peace Conference drafted four other treaties to be imposed on each of the other Central Powers: Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary(to be treated separately from Austria), and the Ottoman Empire(later Turkey). Each treaty was a punitive treaty which reflected the national interests of the concerned Allied Powers. Although the Treaty of Versailles was the most prominent, each of the other treaties had its own consequences. Learning Objectives Analyze the aims and negotiating roles of world leaders at the Paris Peace Conference and the consequences of the treaties that ended the war. Key Terms / Key Concepts Treaty of Versailles: the most important of the peace treaties that ended World War I, which was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Paris Peace Conference - 1919-20 meeting of delegates from the Allied nations that crafted the treaties which ended World War I All together Allied representatives prepared five major peace treaties at the Paris Peace Conference (with the subject countries in parentheses): The Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919 (Germany); The Treaty of Saint-Germain, September 10, 1919 (Austria); The Treaty of Neuilly, November 27, 1919, (Bulgaria); The Treaty of Trianon, June 4, 1920 (Hungary); The Treaty of Sèvres, August 10, 1920; subsequently revised by the Treaty of Lausanne, July 24, 1923, (Ottoman Empire /Republic of Turkey). Austria-Hungary was partitioned into several successor states, including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, largely but not entirely along ethnic lines. Transylvania was shifted from Hungary to Greater Romania. The details were contained in the Treaty of Saint-Germain and the Treaty of Trianon. As a result of the Treaty of Trianon, 3.3 million Hungarians came under foreign rule. Although the Hungarians made up 54% of the population of the pre-war Kingdom of Hungary, only 32% of its territory was left to Hungary. Between 1920 and 1924, 354,000 Hungarians fled former Hungarian territories attached to Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The Russian Empire, which had withdrawn from the war in 1917 after the October Revolution, lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were carved from it. Romania took control of Bessarabia in April 1918. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated, with much of its Levant territory awarded to various Allied powers as protectorates, officially referred to as "mandates", including Palestine, chiefly to the British and the French empires. The Turkish core in Anatolia was reorganized as the Republic of Turkey. The Ottoman Empire was to be partitioned by the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920. This treaty was never ratified by the Sultan and was rejected by the Turkish National Movement, leading to the victorious Turkish War of Independence and the much less stringent 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. As the conference’s decisions were enacted unilaterally and largely on the whims of the Big Four, for the duration of the Paris Peace Conference was effectively the center of a world government that deliberated over and implemented sweeping changes to the political geography of Europe. Most famously, the Treaty of Versailles itself weakened Germany’s military and placed full blame for the war and costly reparations on Germany’s shoulders. The League of Nations proved controversial in the United States as critics said it subverted the powers of Congress to declare war. The U.S. Senate did not ratify any of the peace treaties and the U.S. never joined the League; instead, the Harding administration of 1921 – 1923 concluded new treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Germany was not invited to attend the conference at Versailles. Representatives of White Russia (but not Communist Russia) were present. Numerous other nations sent delegations to appeal for various unsuccessful additions to the treaties; parties lobbied for causes ranging from independence for the countries of the South Caucasus to Japan’s demand for racial equality among the other Great Powers. The League of Nations The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded on January 10, 1920, as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace, specifically preventing another world war. Its primary goals, as stated in its Covenant, included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. Other issues in this and related treaties included labor conditions, just treatment of native inhabitants, human and drug trafficking, the arms trade, global health, prisoners of war, and protection of minorities in Europe. At its greatest extent, from September 28, 1934, to February 23, 1935, it had 58 members. However, by 1939 economic depression, radicalized nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation (particularly in Germany) contributed to its demise and paved the way for World War II. Learning Objectives Analyze the aims and negotiating roles of world leaders at the Paris Peace Conference and the consequences of the treaties that ended the war. Key Terms / Key Concepts League of Nations: an intergovernmental organization founded on January 10, 1920, as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War; the first international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. Its primary goals as stated in its Covenant included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. Paris Peace Conference - 1919-20 meeting of delegates from the Allied nations that crafted the treaties which ended World War I Woodrow Wilson: an American politician and academic who served as president during World War I and led the U.S. delegation to the Paris peace conference. He sought a lasting peace, without explicit winners and losers. Fourteen Points: a statement of principles used for peace negotiations to end World War I, as outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech by President Woodrow Wilson to the United States Congress on war aims and peace terms Treaty of Versailles: the most important of the peace treaties that ended World War I, which was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Establishment of the League of Nations American President Woodrow Wilson instructed Edward M. House to draft a U.S. plan that reflected Wilson’s own idealistic views (first articulated in the Fourteen Points of January 1918), as well as the work of the Phillimore Committee. The outcome of House’s work and Wilson’s own first draft, proposed the termination of “unethical” state behavior, including forms of espionage and dishonesty. Methods of compulsion against uncooperative states would include severe measures, such as “blockading and closing the frontiers of that power to commerce or intercourse with any part of the world and to use any force that may be necessary…” The two principal architects of the covenant of the League of Nations were Lord Robert Cecil (a lawyer and diplomat) and Jan Smuts (a Commonwealth statesman). Smuts’s proposals included the creation of a Council of the great powers as permanent members and a non-permanent selection of the minor states. He also proposed the creation of a mandate system for captured colonies of the Central Powers during the war. Cecil focused on the administrative side and proposed annual Council meetings and quadrennial meetings for the Assembly of all members. He also argued for a large and permanent secretariat to carry out the League’s administrative duties. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Wilson, Cecil, and Smuts put forward their draft proposals. After lengthy negotiations between the delegates, the Hurst-Miller draft was finally produced as a basis for the Covenant. After more negotiation and compromise, the delegates finally approved the proposal to create the League of Nations on January 25, 1919. The final Covenant of the League of Nations was drafted by a special commission, and the League was established by Part I of the Treaty of Versailles. On June 28, 44 states signed the Covenant, including 31 states that took part in the war on the side of the Triple Entente or joined it during the conflict. The League would consist of a General Assembly (representing all member states), an Executive Council (with membership limited to major powers), and a permanent secretariat. Member states were expected to “respect and preserve as against external aggression” the territorial integrity of other members and to disarm “to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.” All states were required to submit complaints for arbitration or judicial inquiry before going to war. The Executive Council would create a Permanent Court of International Justice to make judgments on the disputes. The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a fundamental shift from the preceding hundred years. The League lacked its own armed force and depended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, keep to its economic sanctions, and provide an army when needed. However, the Great Powers were often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could hurt League members, so they were reluctant to comply. During the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, when the League accused Italian soldiers of targeting Red Cross medical tents, Benito Mussolini responded that “the League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out." Despite Wilson’s efforts to establish and promote the League, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1919, the United States did not join. Opposition in the Senate, particularly from two Republican politicians—Henry Cabot Lodge and William Borah, especially in regard to Article X of the Covenant, ensured that the United States would not ratify the agreement. Their objections were based on the fact that by ratifying such a document, the United States would be bound by international contract to defend a League of Nations member if it was attacked. They believed that it was best not to become involved in international conflicts. The League held its first council meeting in Paris on January 16, 1920, six days after the Versailles Treaty and the Covenant of the League of Nations came into force. On November 1, the headquarters of the League was moved from London to Geneva, where the first General Assembly was held on November 15. The aftermath of the First World War left many issues to be settled, including the exact position of national boundaries and which country particular regions would join. Most of these questions were handled by the victorious Allied powers in bodies such as the Allied Supreme Council. The Allies tended to refer only particularly difficult matters to the League. This meant that during the early interwar period, the League played little part in resolving the turmoil resulting from the war. The questions the League considered in its early years included those designated by the Paris Peace treaties. Successes and Failures of the League As the League developed, its role expanded, and by the middle of the 1920s it had become the center of international activity. This change can be seen in the relationship between the League and non-members. The United States and Russia, for example, increasingly worked with the League. During the second half of the 1920s, France, Britain, and Germany were all using the League of Nations as the focus of their diplomatic activity, and each of their foreign secretaries attended League meetings at Geneva during this period. They also used the League’s machinery to improve relations and settle their differences. After a number of notable successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the League ultimately proved incapable of preventing aggression by the Axis powers in the 1930s. Germany withdrew from the League, as did Japan, Italy, Spain, and others. The onset of the Second World War showed that the League had failed its primary purpose to prevent any future world war. The League lasted for 26 years; the United Nations (UN) replaced it after the end of the Second World War in April 1946 and inherited a number of agencies and organizations founded by the League. In addition to territorial disputes, the League also tried to intervene in other conflicts between and within nations. Among its successes were its fight against the international trade in opium and sexual slavery and its work to alleviate the plight of refugees, particularly in Turkey in the period up to 1926. One of its innovations in this latter area was the 1922 introduction of the Nansen passport, the first internationally recognized identity card for stateless refugees. For all of its successes, the League failed to intervene in many conflicts leading up to World War II, including the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, the Spanish Civil War, and the Second Sino-Japanese War. Certainly, the onset of the Second World War demonstrated that the League had failed in its primary purpose: the prevention of another world war. There were a variety of reasons for this failure, many connected to general weaknesses within the organization, such as voting structure that made ratifying resolutions difficult and incomplete representation among world nations. Additionally, the power of the League was limited by the United States’s refusal to join. New World Order: Britain, France, the United States The end of World War I saw the defeat of the Ottomans and Germans, and the Russians reduced to a chaotic, communist state. In the early 1920s, many of the world’s major actors were in a state of crazed confusion, which effectively reduced their global influence. As such, the global community was spearheaded by a decidedly Western group of countries, primarily Great Britain, United States, and France. Although Britain still reeled from economic hardships, its status as an international lawmaker and arbiter still far surpassed that of the largely isolationist United States. France, likewise, reeled with the pain of economically, and physically rebuilding their country. Still, these “big three” nations: Britain, the United States, and France, dominated much of the New World Order following World War I. Learning Objectives - Evaluate the argument that the “New World Order” was really a “New Western Order” after World War I. Key Terms / Key Concepts Matthias Erzberger: German minister of finance who signed the Treaty of Versailles on behalf of Germans New World Order: global approach to establishing precedents, laws, ideas following World War I Second Polish Republic: rebirth of an official country of Poland in 1918 The Peace Settlement and the Discontented Germany In October 1918, Matthias Erzberger—a German politician who had dramatically opposed the war—arrived in the quiet French forest of Compiègne to negotiate a peace settlement with the Allies. Aware that they had the Germans in a vise grip, the Allies would not give way on their peace terms. In the same forest in France, Erzberger sat in a boxcar and reluctantly signed the document which accused the Germans of starting the war and that forced them to pay massive war reparations to the Allied nations. A year later, these terms would be formalized under the Treaty of Versailles. Erzberger received no accolades for his behavior. Although largely ignored in society, far-right paramilitary groups and organizations resented him for “betraying” the German nation. In 1921, Erzberger was assassinated by two members of the far-right organization Organisation Consul. It was a foreshadowing of future events with the rise of far-right German organizations, political assassinations, and entrenched belief that Germany had been betrayed from within. Twenty-two years after Erzberger signed the surrender of the Germans to the Allies, Adolf Hitler would force the French to sign their surrender to the German forces in the very same boxcar. Italy Germany was not the only country discontented with the Treaty of Versailles and its provisions. Critically, all three of the three main Axis countries in World War II were slighted by the 1919 Treaty. The Italians had played a small role in which they supported the Allies, but the Italian casualty-rate was above average. Italy expected compensation for their losses. Instead, the big three countries, Britain, the U.S., and France, dominated talks at Versailles and largely ignored Italy. Unlike the British and French, who acquired substantial territory after World War I, Italy gained very little territory, and was refused their coveted territory: Fiume. The slights at Versailles helped propel political chaos in Italy in 1919 – 1920, as well as prompted them to adapt fascist policies. Japan Japan was also disappointed by the Treaty of Versailles. As a non-European people, Japan sought racial equality in the League of Nations Commission. They considered it their due for their part in fighting for the Allies in World War I, albeit it on a minimal scale. Moreover, the Japanese considered themselves equal in every measure to the Western Europeans, Americans, and Australians. They had secured territory throughout the Pacific, modernized, and developed a strong navy. For these reasons, they sought equal terms in negotiating world affairs. Their demands were rejected unanimously by the British, Americans, Australians, and French. The Australians, whose government promoted a “White Australia” policy, vehemently opposed the idea that Japan be given equal status with them in the League of Nations. Japan, like Italy, had been slighted in the worst way by the Allies. Like Italy, Japan would carry the memories of the slight into the opening years of World War II. Birth of the Second Polish Republic In deciding the global order, the British, French, and Americans often ignored nationalist movements and cries for independence. They regularly slighted the Japanese and Arabs, as well as ignored the Africans and much of Latin America. In one case, though, they promoted the creation of a country: Poland. Under the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies agreed to oversee the recreation of a Polish state. In late 1918, the Second Polish Republic was born based on historical borders and Polish populations. While it cannot be doubted that the restoration of Poland was a morally good maneuver, it had little to do with the welfare of the Poles, and the Allies did not understand the complex problems that would arise from the creation of the state. Indeed, the recreation of Poland provoked Russia, Germany, and Ukraine. Wars were tipped off between Poland and each of its eastern neighbors during the interwar years, unsettling the area politically and economically. Moreover, most of the Allies saw new Polish state as a buffer. It was a Catholic nation that separated the Western Europeans from the “godless,” communists in Russia. It also was further insult to the vanquished enemies, Austria-Hungary, and Germany, which lost territory with the creation of the Second Polish Republic. Long Term Impact After World War I, the new world order was led by Western nations who concerned themselves primarily with protecting Western interests. They openly rejected partnership with non-Europeans and slighted former allies. While the ideas of peace and world rebuilding were promoted, the new world order largely turned a blind eye to problems outside of the West, with fateful consequences. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Title Image - 27 May 1919 candid photo of the Council of Four. Attribution: Edward N. Jackson (US Army Signal Corps), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Provided by: Wikipedia. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_four-1919-cropped.jpg. License: Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal. Willmont, H.P. World War I. DK Publishing, New York: 2012. 282-305. Boundless World History "The Treaty of Versailles" Adapted from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-treaty-of-versailles/ CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY Curation and Revision. Provided by: Boundless.com. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike CC LICENSED CONTENT, SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTION Paris Peace Conference, 1919. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Peace_Conference%2C_1919. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike World War I. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike International relations of the Great Powers (1814u20131919). Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_relations_of_the_Great_Powers_(1814-1919). License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Big_four.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_four.jpg. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright World War I. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike The Inquiry. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inquiry. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Fourteen Points. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Points. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Idealism in international relations. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idealism_in_international_relations. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Stab-in-the-back myth. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stab-in-the-back_myth. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Big_four.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_four.jpg. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright Wilsons_Fourteen_Points_--_European_Baby_Show.png. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Points#/media/File:Wilsons_Fourteen_Points_--_European_Baby_Show.png. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike World War I. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Paris Peace Conference. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Peace_Conference%2C_1919. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Treaty of Versailles. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Carthaginian peace. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthaginian_peace. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Big_four.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_four.jpg. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright Wilsons_Fourteen_Points_--_European_Baby_Show.png. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Points#/media/File:Wilsons_Fourteen_Points_--_European_Baby_Show.png. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike William_Orpen_u2013_The_Signing_of_Peace_in_the_Hall_of_Mirrors,_Versailles_1919,_Ausschnitt.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Orpen_%E2%80%93_The_Signing_of_Peace_in_the_Hall_of_Mirrors,_Versailles_1919,_Ausschnitt.jpg. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright World War I. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike League of Nations. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Big_four.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_four.jpg. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright Wilsons_Fourteen_Points_--_European_Baby_Show.png. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Points#/media/File:Wilsons_Fourteen_Points_--_European_Baby_Show.png. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike William_Orpen_u2013_The_Signing_of_Peace_in_the_Hall_of_Mirrors,_Versailles_1919,_Ausschnitt.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Orpen_%E2%80%93_The_Signing_of_Peace_in_the_Hall_of_Mirrors,_Versailles_1919,_Ausschnitt.jpg. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.237147	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87967/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 12: World War I in the West, East, and Colonies, The Treaty of Versailles and Other Treaties", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87964/overview	The Battle for the Atlantic Overview World War I at Sea In World War I, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean were significant battlegrounds. In particular, the Atlantic Ocean transformed into a sea of naval clashes. The British always had the superior navy, with massive battleships called Dreadnaughts. The Germans, contrastingly, developed their Unterseebooten (U-boats). These early submarines ultimately were more psychologically threatening than they proved to actually be in combat. For the course of the war, the Atlantic would be the scene of clashes and unfortunate mishaps between the U-boats that stalked the ocean and the battleships that sought to destroy them. Learning Objectives - Evaluate the importance of the Atlantic Ocean as a theater of war in World War I Key Terms / Key Concepts Blockade of Germany: British blockade of the German coast with their navy from 1914 – 1918 convoys: groups of military vessels traveling together for protection Dreadnaught: British battleships RMS Lusitania: British passenger ship that was torpedoed in World War I by German U-boat that caused American sentiment to favor the British in the war U-Boats: shorthand for Unterseebooten—German submarines in World War I Unrestricted Submarine Warfare: 1917 – 1918 German policy of attacking any ship that was sailing near British or German waters The Blockade of Germany In 1914, the British decided the easiest way to defeat the Germans was to starve their civilian population. Germany was an industrial country with little ability to provide sufficient foodstuffs to its people unless it imported goods. It was largely a landlocked country with only a small coast that jutted into the violent and bitterly cold waters of the North Atlantic. Britain recognized early in the war that they could employ their navy to help defeat Germany. They imposed a blockade of Germany’s coast with the intent of starving the country into defeat. In August 1914, the British deployed their ships to cut off all merchant and military ships, while British ships patrolled the ocean between Scotland and Norway. The British blockade of Germany was highly illegal and violated international law. However, it seemed to work. The German navy was no match for the British battleships, so the Germans began accelerated construction of their submarines. At the beginning of the blockade, Germany had only 29 U-Boats, most of which were used to lay mines. In 1915, Germany began to feel the effects of the blockade and launched a U-boat campaign that targeted military and merchant vessels near their coast. The international community, especially Britain, was outraged. To them, the use of submarines to attack merchant and military vessels was deplorable. This new campaign produced mixed results. The Germans successfully destroyed hundreds of tons of cargo, as well as began patrolling British waters. However, the U-boat threat was feared more because of its use of stealth and secrecy, rather than for its overall effectiveness in knocking Britain out of the war. Claims by the Allies, primarily the British, that submarine warfare was illegal and inhumane resonated around the world when a U-boat crew sunk the RMS Lusitania in May 1915 off the coast of Ireland. RMS Lusitania was a British passenger ship on which 123 Americans were aboard, and the Americans were citizens of a then neutral country. Outraged, Americans clamored for Germany to be punished, though they largely stopped short of advocating a declaration of war on Germany. Woodrow Wilson pressed Germany for a reduction in U-boat warfare, insisting on the American right to travel as neutral citizens aboard passenger ships. The Germans initially balked. Truthfully, they explained they had placed ads in over 50 major American newspapers warning them not to ride about the Lusitania. And, as the Germans suspected, the British were secretly loading the hulls of passenger ships with military armaments to aid them in the war against Germany. This violated international law and transformed merchant ships into military targets in the eyes of Germany. But Wilson would not be persuaded of German claims. In 1915, the German government reversed their policy of attacking merchant and neutral ships. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare In 1917, World War I entered its third year. Armies on the continent had experienced millions of casualties, while civilians endured intense deprivation. These conditions led to total war on land, and at sea, where international law was largely ignored. In early 1917, the German government again reversed its maritime policies. They implemented a new measure: Unrestricted Submarine Warfare. This meant that German submariners could attack merchant and military vessels without fear of repercussions. The growing strain on German civilians undoubtedly provoked the measure. Germany felt it needed to defeat Britain by the summer of 1917, or they could face defeat. For the final two years of the war, Germany launched continual attacks on ships encroaching on their territory, and in the waters surrounding the British Isles. At the height of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare over 100 U-boats were deployed. To counter the U-boat threat to merchant vessels, the British (and later Americans) began using convoys. This strategy protected merchant vessels and dramatically increased U-boat casualties. When the war ended in 1918, the U-Boats had reduced the cargo bound for Britain, but they failed to defeat the British military. Significance The Battle for the Atlantic was not a decisive theater of war in World War I, but it pitted two of the primary belligerent nations against one another: Germany and Great Britain. Both suffered significant losses. The British lost ships and hundreds of tons of cargo, while the mortality rate among U-boat crews were astronomical. The war at sea also introduced modern technology that would be further developed when World War II began. Among the technologies developed were the submarine, torpedo, depth charge, and sonar. Britain and Germany both violated international law many times throughout the Battle for the Atlantic, but neither entirely gained the upper hand on the ocean. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Willmott, H.P. World War I. DK Publishing, London: 2009. 176-185.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.265359	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87964/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 12: World War I in the West, East, and Colonies, The Battle for the Atlantic", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87950/overview	Poverty and the Urban Working Class Overview Poverty and the Urban Working Class Industrialization changed living and working standards dramatically, reducing many to poverty. People in the working classes had new opportunities for employment and faced new challenges. A new culture of consumption grew out of the mass production of a growing number of inexpensive consumer goods. Members of the working classes enjoyed only limited access to these goods, along with only crowded, substandard, even unhealthy, housing in the growing industrial cities of England, Europe, and the United States. Such conditions effectively consigned many in the industrial working classes to an effective state of poverty. These conditions and the responses of people in these working classes to these conditions changed the economic, political, and social landscapes of the industrializing world. Learning Objective - Analyze the human and environmental consequences of Industrialization and the factory system in England. - Compare the lives of factory owners and workers in England during Industrialization. Key Terms / Key Concepts The Condition of the Working Class in England: Friedrich Engels' influential 1844 study of the impact of the Industrial Revolution, which inspired numerous reforms in industrial Britain Friedrich Engels’ The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 is arguably the most important record of how workers lived during the early era of industrialization in British cities. Engels, who remains one of the most important philosophers of the 19th century, came from a family of wealthy industrialists. He described backstreet sections of Manchester and other mill towns where people lived in crude shanties and shacks, some not completely enclosed, some with dirt floors. These towns had narrow walkways between irregularly shaped lots and dwellings. There were no sanitary facilities. Population density was extremely high. Eight to ten unrelated mill workers often shared a room with no furniture and slept on a pile of straw or sawdust. Toilet facilities were shared if they existed. Disease spread through contaminated water sources. New urbanites—especially small children—died due to diseases spreading because of the cramped living conditions. Tuberculosis, lung diseases from the mines, cholera from polluted water, and typhoid were all common. Engels’s interpretation proved to be extremely influential with British historians of the Industrial Revolution. He focused on both the workers’ wages and their living conditions. He argued that the industrial workers had lower incomes than their pre-industrial peers and lived in more unhealthy environments. This proved to be a wide-ranging critique of industrialization and one that was echoed by many of the Marxist historians who studied the industrial revolution in the 20th century. Conditions improved over the course of the 19th century due to new public health acts that regulated things like sewage, hygiene, and home construction. In the introduction of his 1892 edition, Engels notes that most of the conditions he wrote about in 1844 had been greatly improved. Chronic hunger and malnutrition were the norm for the majority of the population of the world, including Britain and France, until the late 19th century. Until about 1750, in part due to malnutrition, life expectancy in France was about 35 years, and it was only slightly higher in Britain. In Britain and the Netherlands, food supply had been increasing and prices falling before the Industrial Revolution due to better agricultural practices (Agricultural Revolution). However, the population grew as well. Before the Industrial Revolution, advances in agriculture or technology led to an increase in population, which again strained food and other resources, limiting increases in per capita income. This condition is called the Malthusian trap and according to some economists, it was overcome by the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution resulted in better and faster transportation that allowed for the faster movement of goods from different regions of countries. Transportation improvements, such as canals and improved roads, lowered food costs because they helped increase supply. The post-1830 rapid development of railway further reduced transaction costs, which in turn lowered the costs of goods, including food. The distribution and sale of perishable goods such as meat, milk, fish, and vegetables were transformed by the emergence of the railways, giving rise not only to cheaper produce in the shops but also to far greater variety in people’s diets, which improved nutritional intake. The question of how living conditions changed in the newly industrialized urban environment has been very controversial. A series of 1950s essays by Henry Phelps Brown and Sheila V. Hopkins set the academic consensus that the bulk of the population at the bottom of the social ladder suffered severe reductions in their living standards. Conversely, economist Robert E. Lucas, Jr., argues that the real impact of the Industrial Revolution was that the standards of living of the poorest segments of society gradually, if slowly, improved. Others, however, have noted that while growth of the economy’s overall productive powers was unprecedented during the Industrial Revolution, living standards for the majority of the population did not grow meaningfully until the late 19th and 20th centuries and that in many ways workers’ living standards declined under early capitalism. For instance, studies have shown that real wages in Britain increased only 15% between the 1780s and 1850s and that life expectancy in Britain did not begin to dramatically increase until the 1870s. Not everyone lived in poor conditions and struggled with the challenges of rapid industrialization. The Industrial Revolution also created a middle class of industrialists and professionals who lived in much better conditions than they had before. In fact, one of the earlier definitions of the middle class equated it to the original meaning of capitalist: someone with so much capital that they could rival nobles. To be a capital-owning millionaire was an important criterion of the middle class during the Industrial Revolution although the period also witnessed a growth of a class of professionals (e.g., lawyers, doctors, small business owners) who did not share the fate of the early industrial working class and enjoyed a comfortable standard of living in growing cities. Attributions This photo is Jacob Riis' 1889 "Lodgers in a Crowded Bayard Street Tenement--'Five Cents a Spot'". Images courtesy of Wikipedia Commons Title Image - Jacob Riis, "Lodgers in a Crowded Bayard Street Tenement--'Five Cents a Spot'". Attribution: Jacob Riis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Provided by: Wikipedia. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacob_Riis,_Lodgers_in_a_Crowded_Bayard_Street_Tenement.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Boundless World History "Social Change" Adapted from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/social-change/ CC licensed content, Shared previously - Curation and Revision. Provided by: Boundless.com. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike CC licensed content, Specific attribution - Factory system. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_system. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Factory. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Etruria Works. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Josiah Wedgwood. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Soho Manufactory. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Cromford Mill. Provided by: Wikipedia. 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License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Factory system. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Life in Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Urbanization. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - The Condition of the Working Class in England. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - FrameBreaking-1812.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Cromford_1771_mill.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Die_Lage_der_arbeitenden_Klasse_in_England.png. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Cottonopolis1.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Industrial Revolution. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Mines and Collieries Act 1842. 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License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Meeting_of_the_trade_unionists_in_Copenhagen_Fields_April_21_1834_for_the_purpose_of_carrying_a_petition_to_the_King_for_a_remission_of_the_sentence_passed_on_the_Dorchester_labourers_1293402.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - 1024px-William_Edward_Kilburn_-_View_of_the_Great_Chartist_Meeting_on_Kennington_Common_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.295964	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87950/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 11: Reactions, Poverty and the Urban Working Class", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87959/overview	World War I on the Western Front Overview World War I Erupts On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot dead in Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip. This event led to a diplomatic crisis and the outbreak of World War I. Franz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Hungary from 1896 until his death, as well as heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia. This caused the Central Powers—including Germany and Austria-Hungary—and Serbia’s allies—Russia, and later England and France—to declare war on each other, starting World War I. Learning Objectives - Examine how the assassination of Franz Ferdinand caused the outbreak of World War I. Key Terms / Key Concepts Archduke Franz Ferdinand: heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination started World War I Austria-Hungary: multi-ethnic, multi-lingual state in central Europe comprising a territory that included present-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia, parts of Romania, Poland, and the Balkans Serbia: small, independent country comprised of Slavic-speaking peoples Sarajevo: major city in present-day Bosnia famous as the site of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Black Hand: a clandestine, Serbian-based society that used terrorist tactics to achieve political goals; famous for its role in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand Gavrilo Princip: nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist and member of the Black Hand who assassinated Franz Ferdinand and his wife July Ultimatum: Austria-Hungary’s list of demands placed on Serbia during July 1914 that was designed to humiliate Serbia in the name of preserving peace July Crisis: breaking of diplomatic ties between Austria-Hungary and Serbia Central Powers: one of the major combatant sides of World War I that included primarily Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire Allies: the major combatant side of World War I that initially was led by England, France, and Russia, which later changed to England, France, and the United States in 1918. Background Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria as the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1875, when he was only 11 years old, his cousin Duke Francis V of Modena died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir. Franz Ferdinand thus became one of the wealthiest men in Austria. In 1889, Franz Ferdinand’s life changed dramatically. His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling. This left Franz Ferdinand’s father, Karl Ludwig, first in line to the throne. Ludwig then died of typhoid fever in 1896. The death of his father meant that Franz Ferdinand, grandson of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph, was now the direct heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Emperor Franz Joseph was displeased by the fact that his brash grandson was now his immediate heir and successor. To him, Franz Ferdinand was an arrogant and indulged man who had spent his adulthood traveling, hunting large game, and pursuing women who were not of royal stock. One of his pursuits led Franz Ferdinand to fall in love with a lady-in-waiting, Sophie Chotek. Alleging that he was deeply in love, Franz Ferdinand refused to marry anyone else. He was only granted the right to marry the commoner when he agreed to certain stipulations that would limit Sophie’s rights as a duchess and erase royal privileges for their children. The relationship between Franz Ferdinand and his grandfather remained stormy. Still, despite his personal misgivings and dislike of his grandson, Emperor Franz Joseph conceded that he must train and treat his grandson as heir to the throne. In June 1914, he had Franz Ferdinand accept an invitation to inspect troops in Sarajevo. As a concession, the emperor allowed Sophie to travel with her husband. Little did the emperor suspect how radically that trip would shape the future of Europe. The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, arrived in Sarajevo. A large city located in the southern part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now present-day Bosnia), it offered a stark comparison to the mainly German city of Vienna. Sarajevo was a city comprised of Bosnians, Serbs, and other minorities. Many of the minorities wished to break free of the Germanic Austro-Hungarian crown and form independent states like their neighbor: the tiny Slavic country of Serbia. This sentiment was well-known by Emperor Franz Joseph who sought to strengthen the power and presence of the crown in the southern parts of his kingdom. As such, Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s visit was conducted largely as a show of power and presence. Little did the royals know that an underground, secret Serbian organization named the Black Hand was exhaustively planning the assassination of the heir to the throne. In Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were welcomed by the governor and a motorcade. But not long after their welcome, a grenade hurled overhead, landing under the car behind their open carriage. A dozen men in the cars behind the archduke were injured. The rest of the motorcade arrived at city hall, shaken, but determined to carry-forth with the Archduke’s parade. Blood from the injured men remained on the Archduke’s uniform as he snapped at the city mayor, “Is this how you greet your guests?” What followed is, perhaps, among the strangest coincidences in modern history. Miscommunication among aides and drivers resulted in Franz Ferdinand’s chauffer, a stranger in Sarajevo, becoming lost in the city streets. He turned right at the Latin Bridge, onto Franz Joseph Street. Realizing his mistake, he stopped the car right outside of Schiller’s Delicatessen, which unintentionally stalled it. In a peculiar twist of events, Gavrilo Princip, a young Serb nationalist and assassination-conspirator of the Black Hand, was standing right out front of the deli. He ran to Franz Ferdinand’s stalled-out limousine and shot the archduke and his wife at point-blank range, killing them both. Before he could commit suicide, Princip was seized and taken into custody. The Black Hand’s attempt to assassinate the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne succeeded, albeit in the strangest of ways. But little did the clandestine group suspect that soon all of Europe would be engulfed in a “war to end all wars.” Choosing Sides: Europe Divided The murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife produced widespread shock across Europe, and there was initially much sympathy for the Austrian position. Within two days of the assassination, Austria-Hungary and Germany advised Serbia that it should open an investigation, but Secretary General to the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Slavko Gruic, replied “Nothing had been done so far and the matter did not concern the Serbian Government.” An angry exchange followed between the Austrian and Serbian governments. Behind the scenes, a special friendship and bond existed between Austria-Hungary and its stronger, more militaristic neighbor, Germany. Unofficially, Germany offered military and diplomatic advice to their Austrian cousins. And assured Austria that they would ally with them in the event a war erupted between Austria and Serbia. After conducting a criminal investigation, Austria-Hungary issued a formal letter to the government of Serbia. The letter contained specific demands aimed at preventing the publication of propaganda that advocated the violent destruction of Austria-Hungary, removing the people behind this propaganda from the Serbian Military, arresting the people on Serbian soil who were involved in the assassination plot, and preventing the clandestine shipment of arms and explosives from Serbia to Austria-Hungary. Serbia agreed to most of the demands but would not accept that clause that suggested the government was involved in the assassination plot of Franz Ferdinand. This letter became known as the July Ultimatum, and Austria-Hungary stated that if Serbia did not accept all of the demands in total within 48 hours it would recall its ambassador from Serbia. But much as Germany privately advised and built an alliance with Austria, Russia privately came to the aid of its smaller, Slavic nation, Serbia. And this Russian aid emboldened the Serbs. The situation quickly escalated from a small conflict in the Balkans, to a looming war that would pit Austria-Hungary and Germany against Serbia and Russia. After receiving private assurance of Russian military support, Serbia mobilized its army. Austria-Hungary responded to Serbian mobilization by breaking diplomatic relations. This diplomatic crisis is known as the July Crisis. By the end of July, Serbian reserve troops crossed onto the Austro-Hungarian side of the river at Temes-Kubin and Austro-Hungarian soldiers fired into the air to warn them off. The report of this incident was initially sketchy and reported to Emperor Franz-Joseph as “a considerable skirmish.” Austria-Hungary then declared war and mobilized the portion of its army that would face the already mobilized Serbian Army on July 28, 1914. This moment marked the start of World War I. Moreover, under the Secret Treaty of 1892 France was obliged to mobilize its army because its ally, Russia, had also mobilized. No longer an isolated conflict in the Balkans, a war erupted that pulled in most of Europe to its battlefields within days. With the crossing of German troops into initially neutral Belgium, England joined the war on the side of France, Russia, and Serbia. Thus, the two sides of the war became the Central Powers (predominately Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) and the Allies (Russia, Serbia, France, England, and in 1918, the United States). Because most of the combatant nations also had colonial territories around the world, troops from across the globe were sent to fight in Europe’s war over the next four-and- half-years. And European troops would discover themselves fighting a war in places as remote as German East Africa. Impact The assassination of Franz Ferdinand did not cause World War I. Indeed, the middle-aged heir to the throne was disliked by many of his own inner circle, and even his grandfather, Emperor Franz Joseph, reportedly did not mourn the loss as personal, so much as the symbolic loss for Austria. Many historians cite the turning of the twentieth century in Europe as a moment filled with tension. Tension between increasingly powerful European nations. The root causes of World War I were hyper-nationalism, hyper-militarism, colonial rivalries, the rivalry between England and Germany as the dominant European power, and the alliances between European nations. All of these played vital roles in creating a war-mongering climate in Europe. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand acted as a final blow in a long series of tensions between European nations. It marked the tipping point that caused war to finally erupt. Although few heads of state, or military leaders predicted a long war. Perhaps only British Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey, had the foresight to see what the European war would become in 1914 when he wrote, “The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.” The Western Front: England, France, and Germany: 1914-1917 The Western Front was a four-hundred-mile line of fortifications that stretched from the northern border of Belgium and the Netherlands to the northern border of Switzerland. This territory became the primary center of action for the Allies and Central Powers in World War I. The Western Front is often emphasized in studies of World War I because of the extensive combat between German troops and those of the French and British. Beginning in 1918, the United States also fought on the Western Front. It was the Western Front battles that turned the war’s tide in favor of the Allies in 1918. Learning Objectives - Evaluate how the Western Front became the primary center of combat in World War I. - Explore the development of “modern warfare” techniques, including trench warfare, and modern weapons. - Examine why some historians argue that “the war was won and lost on the Western Front.” Key Terms / Key Concepts Western Front: four hundred miles of trenches established by the Allies and Germany from the border of northern Belgium to northern Switzerland, predominately in France and Belgium Race to the Sea: the frantic building of trenches by the Allies and Germans in 1914 to Belgium’s coast First Battle of the Marne: decisive 1914 battle that resulted in the development of trench warfare trench warfare: stagnant form of warfare in which firepower exceeds mobile ability No Man’s Land: area between opposing enemy trenches, typically characterized as open field covered with barbed wire Schlieffen Plan: German offensive strategy in 1914 used to try and defeat France on the Western Front by first invading them from the north through neutral Belgium Battle of Verdun: major 1916 battle between the French and Germans on the Western Front Battle of the Somme: major 1916 battle between predominately the British and Germans on the Western Front War of Attrition: a form of combat in which the end goal is to wear down the enemy to the point of collapse through patience and the destruction of their men Stalemate: a battle in which there is no clear victor Total War: a form of warfare in which the international rules of warfare, particularly those applying to the treatment of civilians, POWs, and use of technology, are increasingly ignored in favor of “no rules” of warfare Meuse-Argonne Offensive: campaign led by the French and Americans in Fall 1918 against the Germans on the Western Front Alvin C. York: most decorated American soldier of World War I Poison Gas: typically chlorine, phosgene, or mustard gas that was used extensively on the Western Front as an irritant that would attack the skin, eyes, lungs, or some combination thereof Background In July 1914, most of Europe had chosen sides in World War I. Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and to a lesser extent, Bulgaria, comprised the Central Powers. The Allies consisted of England, France, Russia, and smaller states such as Serbia. Each European country also recruited colonial troops from Africa, India, and other parts of their empires to fight on the Western Front. Fatally, the mentality of each European nation was initial excitement and the expectation of a short war. Heads of state touted their military developments and the belief that they could “lick” the enemy within six months. None of the combatant nations had developed defensive strategies. On the contrary, each nation developed offensive plans. A dance of offensive and counter-offensive maneuvers ensued throughout Belgium and France. When it became clear that the war would not end in six months, both sides developed trench warfare, and they “dug in” for a long and costly war. The Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan was Germany’s offensive strategy for defeating France in August 1914. Germany’s military strategists planned to deploy troops using the modernized railways, and thought they would quickly defeat the Allies on the Western Front before turning their attention to helping Austria-Hungary defeat the Russians on the Eastern Front. This strategy was meant to ideally prevent Germany from fighting a two-front war: one in the east and one in the west. To achieve this, German troops would march through the northern half of neutral Belgium, then encircle French troops from the north. Thus, France would be defeated before England could come to their aid. Although a respectable plan on paper, it proved harder to successfully enact. Germany attacked their neighbor, Luxembourg, on August 2; on August 3 it declared war on France. On August 4, after Belgium refused to permit German troops to cross its borders into France, Germany declared war on Belgium as well. Britain declared war on Germany on the same day following an “unsatisfactory reply” to the British ultimatum that Belgium must be kept neutral. In the end, Germany failed to avoid a long, two-front war, but it had fought its way into a good defensive position inside France and effectively halved France’s supply of coal. It had also killed or permanently crippled 230,000 more French and British troops than it itself had lost. Despite this, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany the chance of a more decisive outcome. Early Battles Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium but were forced back with the First Battle of the Marne. First Battle of the Marne The German Army came within 43 miles of Paris; however, at the First Battle of the Marne (September 6 – 12) French and British troops were able to force a German retreat by exploiting a gap that appeared between the German 1st and 2nd Armies. This ended the German advance into France. The German Army retreated north of the Aisne River, establishing the beginnings of a static western front that would last for the next three years. Following this German retreat, the opposing forces made reciprocal outflanking maneuvers known as the Race for the Sea and quickly extended their trench systems from the Swiss frontier to the North Sea. The territory occupied by Germany held 64% of French pig-iron production, 24% of its steel manufacturing, and 40% of the coal industry, dealing a serious blow to French industry. Trench Warfare After the German march on Paris was halted at the First Battle of the Marne, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. The Western Front settled into a war of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. Trench warfare is a style of combat in which combatant nations have excellent firepower, but poor mobility. While trench warfare was not new in World War I, it quickly became associated with World War I because of its prolonged use by both Germany, and the Allies, on the Western Front. Both sides of the war would dig long networks of trenches that sometimes extended as deep as twelve-fifteen feet underground. Trenches were fortified (strengthened) by use of boards and sandbags. Both sides also employed the use of barbed wire rows in front of their trenches. In between the two sides was a massive, usually open field called No Man's Land that was extremely dangerous to cross because of mines, barbed wire, snipers, artillery, and machine gun fire. And yet for nearly four years, this form of combat was the definitive form of warfare on the Western Front. Attacks involved sending hundreds of men, sometimes thousands, charging across No Man’s Land to dislodge or defeat the enemy who was in the opposing trench system. This tactic frequently resulted in massive losses of life, such as half a million men in a month, as well as stalemated battles in which neither side had a clear victory. Throughout 1915 – 17, the British Empire and France suffered more casualties than Germany because of the strategic and tactical stances chosen by the sides; while the Germans only mounted one major offensive, the Allies made several attempts to break through the German lines. Daily Life inside a Trench In accounts of the trench warfare of World War I, the daily life of the men is over overshadowed by the sweeping battles of the Western Front. But one of the primary challenges of the war was combatting the daily struggles of living inside a trench. Indeed, many soldiers could not escape these horrors and succumbed to shell shock, which is a form of PTSD. On both sides of the war, soldiers were confronted with the challenges of fighting a war on a poor diet. Rations for the British were notoriously bad and became worse as the war waged on. Tinned beef and biscuits were the mainstay for most troops. At best, soldiers could hope to receive a package from home with something to supplement their diets. As a result of poor diet, combined with exhaustion, many troops also contracted diseases and experienced malnutrition. Harold Mayhall of the Durham Light Infantry, recalled with horror, his diet on the Western Front: Oh, that’s a sore point: rations were very poor. The rations when you went up in the trenches and you couldn’t get rations up! You’d try to brew tea and you couldn’t, it was always cold and probably the water was all tasted of petrol because it came up in petrol tins – which were never cleaned out properly – and the tea was half petrol and cold. The food, they were supposed to give you some bacon, well you were lucky if you got a piece of bacon it was all cold and greasy. I mean you couldn’t get any. If you were out of the line they’d cook some bacon and you could, they’d let you have – you’d get a piece of bread and dip it in, that was that, or you could have a tiny bit of bacon without dipping your bread in, that was all you got. And the cooks, probably if a man was a chartered accountant they’d make him a cook or something like that because it was always square pegs in round holes, you know. They couldn’t cook; we used to say they couldn’t boil water without spoiling it or something. The food was terrible. In addition to poor diet, soldiers had to deal with pests. Their presence ranged from annoyances, such as snakes and spiders, to outright dangerous. For instance, lice and fleas infested soldiers; one American soldier reported that the average soldier had a quart of lice on his person. And typhus, a disease carried by lice, ravaged soldiers on all fronts in World War I. But the most dangerous, and famous, of the pests to plague soldiers were the notorious trench rats. They not only carried fleas and lice that would infect the soldiers; they also carried diseases, and did not hesitate to chew on anything inside the trench, including a human face. James Harvey, an English soldier, gave an account of this issue: Rats were common, very common, you didn’t dare leave a bit of food about or else there’d be swarms of rats round you. And all the time you didn’t attack them, they didn’t attack you. But on one occasion where we got a bayonet and stuck one; needless to say we got out of that place quick! There were thousands of rats, must’ve been thousands, the number I couldn’t count them – didn’t stop to count ’em! Didn’t matter what part of the line you was in, you’d got these rats. One of our men who was asleep, and had his forehead all bitten by them. Oh yes, he had to go into hospital special for it. Given the poor living conditions, continual presence of disease, and the looming threat of death, it is unsurprising that many soldiers suffered from shell shock. But many more suffered from wounds, injury, and mysterious fevers, as they fought to stay alive another day on the Western Front. "We Shall Bleed France White": The Battle of Verdun In February 1916 the Germans attacked the French defensive positions near the symbolic and ancient French village of Verdun. The attack’s goal was simple in the eyes of the German commander, Erich von Falkenhayn. “We shall bleed France white.” In short, the goal was to kill or critically wound as many French soldiers as possible, thereby forcing France to surrender. After their surrender, the Germans could sue the British for peace. Although the Battle of Verdun became the longest, and one of the costliest battles of World War I in terms of human life, the Germans came very close to achieving this goal. Lasting for ten months (until December 1916), the battle saw initial German gains before French counterattacks returned them near their starting point. Casualties were greater for the French, but the Germans bled heavily as well. Between the two sides, the Battle of Verdun inflicted nearly one million casualties in ten months. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice. The outcome of the battle was a stalemate. Critically though, the Battle of Verdun (and also the Battle of the Somme) helped alter the mentality of the war. Having suffered such intense, high casualties, both sides of the war increasingly disregarded the rules of warfare prescribed under international law. The two major battles would transform World War I from a war theoretically governed by agreed-upon rules of war, into a total war 1917. Relieving Pressure: The Battle of the Somme News of the horrible French casualties at Verdun prompted the British to launch an attack against the Germans to try and relieve pressure on their French allies. After months of planning, the British began their attack in June 1916. From June 24 – June 30, 1916, the British bombarded the German trenches and defensive position near the Somme River in northeastern France. British artillery and aerial bombardment hammered No Man’s Land with the goal of destroying barbed wire and obliterating the German trench network. Convinced that the week-long bombardment had been largely successful, the British then strategized an attack that would charge over No Man’s Land and defeat the surviving German troops in their trenches. The decision proved one of the most underestimated and costliest mistakes of World War I. For although the bombardment had looked successful, the barbed wire had become badly mangled in No Man’s Land, rather than destroyed. Twisted and bent into virtual soldier traps, the barbed wire formed a nearly impassable network of obstacles. Worse for the British, they had underestimated German engineering. During the weeklong bombardment, the Germans had simply gone deep into their trenches, some twelve to fifteen feet underground. The result was that most of the German army had survived the British bombardment, unbeknownst to their enemy. When the British infantry attacked, the Germans were ready and waiting. The British, unaware of the follies of their bombardment, launched an infantry attack on the German defensive position early in the morning of July 1, 1916. Quickly, troops were ensnared in the endless barbed wire rows. As they worked to free themselves, the German machine gunners opened fire. In a matter of a few hours, No Man’s Land was transformed into a slaughterhouse. In one day alone, the British suffered 57,470 casualties with 19,240 dead; including many officers. A young lieutenant in the British army named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien experienced the Battle of the Somme firsthand. He wrote of how at night; he would go with medics to help retrieve bodies from the battlefield. Horrified, he recalled seeing the mangled bodies of comrades who seemingly peered up him through the mud with shocked and ghostly expressions. Decades later, his memories inspired the eerie “Dead Marshes” in his famous book The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The scene depicts heroes Frodo and Sam traversing a swamp with their guide, Gollum, while ghoulish corpses leeringly peered and reached up through the mud and water toward the travelers. The successive weeks and months proved horrible for both sides. Infantry attacks, artillery bombardments, horrific weather, and failed charges resulted in massive casualties. The entire Somme offensive cost the British Army some 420,000 casualties. Their French allies suffered another estimated 200,000. The Germans suffered an estimated 500,000. In only five months, Europe had suffered over one million casualties (mostly young men) in a single battle. World War I was indeed, tearing Europe apart. New Weaponry Both sides tried to break the trench stalemate using scientific and technological advances. Machine guns, tanks, airplanes such as the biplane and triplane, Zeppelins, grenades, artillery, and personal weapons were employed on the Western Front. The Use of Poison Gasses on the Western Front The French Army was the first to use gas on the battlefield. They deployed tear gas, a skill and eye irritant, against the invading German Army in August 1914. Very quickly, the idea of using gas as a weapon took hold. An English war poet, second lieutenant Wilfred Owen wrote several poems depicting the horrors of battle on the Western Front. One of his most famous, “Dulce et decorum est” is an ironic title, which translated as “It is sweet and fitting to die for ones country.” Among the most poignant points expressed in the poem is the horrific experience of a poison gas attack: “Gas! GAS! Quick Boy—an ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone was still yelling out and stumbling And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.— Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.” Perhaps more than any other form of technological warfare, poison gas became the iconic weapon employed on the Western Front. As well as the most feared. Although banned by international law, both the Germans and the Allies would use various poison gases, including tear, chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas, which was the most-deadly. Some of the gasses simply irritated exposed skin and eyes; others attacked mucus membranes. The most-feared, mustard gas, attacked both skin and the lungs. Importantly, mustard gas also lingered in low lying areas of the battlefield for several days after it was deployed and was difficult to see. This combination made it particularly dangerous for advancing troops. On April 22, 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans used chlorine gas for the first time on the Western Front. After a two-day bombardment, the Germans released a cloud of 171 tons of chlorine gas onto the battlefield. Though primarily a powerful irritant, it can asphyxiate in high concentrations or prolonged exposure. The gas crept across no man’s land and drifted into the French trenches. The green-yellow cloud killed some defenders and those in the rear fled in panic, creating an undefended 3.7 mile gap in the Allied line. The Germans were unprepared for the level of their success and lacked sufficient reserves to exploit the opening; this resulted in Canadian troops on the right drawing back their left flank and repelling the German advance. The success of this chlorine gas attack would not be repeated, as the Allies countered by introducing gas masks and other countermeasures. The British retaliated, developing their own chlorine gas and using it at the Battle of Loos in September 1915. Fickle winds and inexperience led to more British casualties from the gas than German fatalities. French, British, and German forces all escalated the use of gas attacks throughout the rest of the war. Tanks and Airplanes Tanks were developed by Britain and France, and they were first used in combat by the British during the Battle of Flers–Courcelette (part of the Battle of the Somme) on September 15, 1916, but only with partial success. Unlike later counterparts used in World War II, the tanks of World War I were clumsy, enormous, and difficult to maneuver effectively. However, their effectiveness would grow as the war progressed; the Allies built tanks in large numbers, whilst the Germans employed only a few of their own design supplemented by captured Allied tanks. For the first time in human history, a major conflict was fought in the air. And far more romantic than the war on land was the war in the air. The Germans employed the use of Zeppelins—rigid airships—that could silently fly over major targets such as London and drop bombs on the city under the cover of darkness. All sides of the war employed the use of airplanes. Famously, the English developed the olive-green Sopwith Camel biplane for use on the Western Front in 1917. Far more famous though was the German DR.1 Fokker triplane piloted by aerial ace, Baron Manfred von Richthofen. The highest-scoring ace of World War I, the “Red Baron” has been immortalized as the rival pilot of Charles M. Schultz’s comic strip beagle Snoopy. Biplanes and triplanes became a common feature, and often a welcome sight, for troops on the Western Front. As the war evolved into a total war in 1917, fighting increased in severity and scope. For the final two years of the war, planes were regularly employed with mixed success. The Western Front: America enters the War:1917-1918 Background The role of the United States in World War I is constantly being evaluated by historians. On the one hand, as a neutral nation from 1914 until 1917 it provided aid in the form of material goods and food stuffs to both the Allies and Germany. It also acted as the main monitor of prisoner of war camps from 1914 until 1917 for both the Allies and Germany because according to the rules of international warfare established by the Hague Convention of 1907, neutral nations must monitor POWs and POW camps. Yet, the United States was far from entirely neutral even before its official entry into the war. President Woodrow Wilson, a confirmed Anglophile, privately sided and supported England’s cause in the war. However, he knew that the American public did not necessarily share his support. In fact, many Americans were German American and resisted the idea of fighting against Germany. Still, more Americans were outraged that England had the audacity to seize American naval vessels at sea and strip them of cargo bound for Germany or Austria-Hungary. But as tension on the high seas mounted between Germany and England, hostility toward Germany increased within the United States. American and the RMS Lusitania At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the United States pursued a policy of non-intervention, avoiding conflict while trying to broker a peace. Things started to change with the development of the British blockade of Germany, and Germany’s policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. Although the Germans had put notices in many famous American newspapers warning Americans not to sail on any British ship, Americans did not heed the warning. When the German U-boat U-20 sank the British liner RMS Lusitania on May 7, 1915, 128 Americans were killed. In response, President Woodrow Wilson insisted that “America is too proud to fight” but demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany complied, and Wilson unsuccessfully tried to mediate a settlement. Wilson was re-elected in 1916 under the banner, “He kept us out of the war.” The Zimmermann Telegram In January 1917, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, realizing it would mean American entry. The German Foreign Minister, in the Zimmermann Telegram, invited Mexico to join the war as Germany’s ally against the United States. In return, the Germans would finance Mexico’s war and help it recover the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The United Kingdom intercepted the message and presented it to the U.S. embassy in the UK. From there it made its way to President Wilson, who released it to the public. Wilson asked Congress for “a war to end all wars” that would “make the world safe for democracy” and eliminate militarism from the globe. He argued that the war was important and that the U.S. thus must have a voice in the peace conference. After the sinking of seven U.S. merchant ships by German submarines and the publication of the Zimmermann telegram, Wilson called for war on Germany, which the U.S. Congress declared on April 6, 1917. The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) The United States initially had a small army, but after the passage of the Selective Service Act 2.8 million men were drafted. By summer 1918 America was sending 10,000 fresh soldiers to France every day. The British and French wanted American units to reinforce their troops already on the battle lines and not waste scarce shipping on supplies. General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) commander, refused to break up American units to be used as filler material. As an exception, he did allow African-American combat regiments to be used in French divisions. The Harlem Hell Fighters fought as part of the French 16th Division and earned a unit Croix de Guerre for their actions at the Battles of Château-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Sechault. AEF doctrine called for the use of frontal assaults, which had long since been discarded by British Empire and French commanders due to the large loss of life that resulted. Final Battles of WWI The Hundred Days Offensive—the Allies’ series of decisive victories on the Western Front—began on August 8, 1918 with the Battle of Amiens. The battle involved over 400 tanks and 120,000 British, Dominion, and French troops. After an advance as far as 14 miles, German resistance stiffened, and the battle was concluded on August 12. In nearly four weeks of fighting that began on August 8, over 100,000 German prisoners were taken. The German High Command realized that the war was lost and made attempts to reach a satisfactory end. The day after that battle, Ludendorff said: “We cannot win the war anymore, but we must not lose it either.” The final assault on the Hindenburg Line began with the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, launched by French and American troops on September 27. This offensive attack would prove a turning point, as it resulted in the devastation of German morale. On October 8, 1918, a gangly, red-haired man from Pall Mall, Tennessee became the most decorated American soldier of the war during one event of the Meuse-Argonne Campaign. Corporal (later Sergeant) Alvin C. York, who had initially been a conscientious objector—someone who does not believe fighting in a war is right, led his unit up a hill north of the Chatel-Chéhéry village in northern France. Ordered to assault and capture the position, York and thirteen of his men charged the hill. Using a technique he learned hunting turkeys in Tennessee, York attacked the German soldier at the rear of the advancing line, before attacking the ones at the front. At the end of the day, he had captured 132 German soldiers and destroyed twenty-five machine gun nests. When York returned to camp that night with his columns of German prisoners, his superior officer remarked, “Well York, I see you captured the whole damned German Army.” Modestly, York replied, “No Sir, I’ve caught 132.” York’s actions earned him the Medal of Honor, the French Medal of Honor, and numerous other awards. With the military faltering and widespread loss of confidence in the Kaiser, Germany moved towards surrender. Prince Maximilian of Baden took charge of a new German government to negotiate with the Allies. Maximilian immediately began negotiations with President Wilson in the hope that he would offer better terms than the British and French. On November 9, 1918, Germany was declared a republic. The Kaiser, kings, and other hereditary rulers were removed from power and Wilhelm fled to exile in the Netherlands. The new Germany, known as the Weimar Republic, would emerge as a democratic state fraught with social and political challenges and turmoil. Soon after the Weimar Republic was enacted, the Germans signed the Armistice of Compiègne, which ended the fighting on the Western Front. It went into effect at 11 a.m. Paris time on November 11, 1918 (“the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”); this marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not formally a surrender. Although the armistice ended the actual fighting, it took six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty: the Treaty of Versailles. Legacy The Western Front proved the decisive front in the outcome of World War I. Some historians claim “the war was won and lost on the Western Front.” However, the Western Front must not overshadow the scope, scale, and losses endured around the world as World War I raged. Many historians argue that Germany could have potentially won the war had the German Army not been scattered across various parts of the world and instead had been solely focused on the Western Front. On the other hand, some historians argue that Germany was doomed to defeat from the moment it went to war because it lacked the industrial, agricultural, and human resources to be successful. The legacies of Germany’s loss in World War I were felt immediately as the new Weimar Republic struggled to stay afloat. Hyperinflation, violence, and political instability rocked the new country. Meanwhile, England, France, and Belgium struggled to repair and compensate for their countries’ unbearable losses (financial, physical, and human). Only the United States would emerge financially triumphant after World War I. And that triumph would come crashing to a complete collapse in 1929 with the arrival of the Great Depression. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et Decorum Est." Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est Boundless World History "Events of World War I" https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/events-of-world-war-i/ "The Coming of War" https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-coming-of-war/ "The End of World War I" https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-end-of-world-war-i/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.367073	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87959/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 12: World War I in the West, East, and Colonies, World War I on the Western Front", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87957/overview	China in the Early 20th Century Overview China in the Early 20th Century The fall of the Qing Dynasty was an important turn in Chinese history. Out of the Qing rose two political ideas that would become in direct polar opposition of one another and would take a half a century for China to resolve the conflict. Key Terms / Key Concepts Beiyang Government: the government of the Republic of China, in place in the capital city of Beijing from 1912 to 1928 (It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Chinese government but lacked domestic legitimacy.) Kuomintang: a major political party in the Republic of China, currently the second-largest in the country, often translated as the Nationalist Party of China or Chinese Nationalist Party (Its predecessor, the Revolutionary Alliance, was one of the major advocates of the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of a republic. The party was founded by Song Jiaoren and Sun Yat-sen shortly after the Xinhai Revolution of 1911.) Early Republic The History of the Republic of China begins after the Qing dynasty in 1912, when the formation of the Republic of China as a constitutional republic put an end to 4,000 years of Imperial rule. The Qing dynasty ruled from 1644 – 1912. The Republic experienced many trials and tribulations after its founding, including domination by warlord generals and foreign powers. The Republic of China was a state in East Asia that existed from 1912 to 1949. It largely occupied the present-day territories of China, Taiwan, and, for some of its history, Mongolia. As an era of Chinese history, it was preceded by the last imperial dynasty of China, the Qing dynasty, and ended with the Chinese Civil War. After the war, the losing Kuomintang retreated to the island of Taiwan to found the modern Republic of China, while the victorious Communist Party of China established the People’s Republic of China on the Mainland. The Republican Era of China began with the outbreak of revolution on October 10, 1911, in Wuchang among discontented modernized army units whose anti-Qing plot had been uncovered. This would be known as the Wuchang Uprising, celebrated as Double Tenth Day in Taiwan. It was preceded by numerous abortive uprisings and organized protests in China. The revolt quickly spread to neighboring cities, and members of the underground resistance movement Tongmenghui rose in support of the Wuchang revolutionary forces throughout the country. After a series of failures of the revolutionary forces, during the 41-day Battle of Yangxia, 15 of 24 provinces declared their independence from the Qing empire. On January 1, 1912, delegates from the independent provinces elected Sun Yat-sen as the first provisional president of the Republic of China. The last emperor of China, Puyi, was forced to abdicate on February 12. Although Sun was inaugurated in Nanjing as the first provisional president, power in Beijing already had passed to Yuan Shikai, who had effective control of the Beiyang Army—the most powerful military force in China at the time. To prevent civil war and possible foreign intervention from undermining the infant republic, Sun agreed to Yuan’s demand for China to be united under Yuan’s Beijing government. On March 10 in Beijing, Yuan Shikai was sworn in as the second provisional president of the Republic of China. Although many political parties were vying for supremacy in the legislature, the revolutionists lacked an army, and Yuan soon revised the constitution and revealed dictatorial ambitions. In August 1912, the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) was founded by Song Jiaoren, one of Sun’s associates. It was an amalgamation of small political groups, including Sun’s Tongmenghui. In the national elections held in February 1913 for the new bicameral parliament, Song campaigned against the Yuan administration and the Kuomintang won a majority of seats. Over the next few years, however, Yuan proceeded to abolish the national and provincial assemblies and declared himself emperor in late 1915, but his imperial ambitions were fiercely opposed by his subordinates. Faced with the prospect of rebellion, he abdicated in 1916 and died the same year. His death left a power vacuum in China and ushered in what would be known as the Warlord Era, during which much of the country was ruled by shifting coalitions of competing provincial military leaders. The poster commemorates the permanent President of the Republic of China Yuan Shikai and the provisional President of the Republic Sun Yat-sen. The text on the poster reads, "Chinese Republic forever," an unconventional English translation of "Long Live the Republic of China." Yuan Shikai (left) and Sun Yat-sen (right) with flags representing the early republic. The Warlord Era Despite the fact that various warlords gained control of the government in Beijing during the Warlord Era, a new form of control or governance did not emerge at the time because other warlords did not acknowledge the transitory governments of the period. These military-dominated governments were collectively known as the Beiyang Government; the name derives from the Beiyang Army, which dominated its politics. Although the government and the state were nominally under civilian control with a constitution, the Beiyang generals were effectively in charge, with various factions vying for power. Although the Beiyang Government’s legitimacy was challenged domestically, it had international diplomatic recognition and access to the tax and customs revenue, as well as could apply for foreign financial loans. In 1917, China declared war on Germany in the hope of recovering its lost province, then under Japanese control. On May 4, 1919, there were massive student demonstrations against the Beijing government and Japan. The political fervor, student activism, and iconoclastic and reformist intellectual currents set in motion by the protest developed into a national awakening known as the May Fourth Movement. The intellectual milieu in which this movement developed was known as the New Culture Movement. The student demonstrations of May 4, 1919 were the high point of the New Culture Movement and the terms are often used as synonyms. Chinese representatives refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles due to intense pressure from both the student protesters and public opinion. The discrediting of liberal Western philosophy among leftist Chinese intellectuals led to radical lines of thought inspired by the Russian Revolution and supported by agents of the Comintern sent to China by Moscow. This created the seeds for the irreconcilable conflict between the left and right in China that would dominate Chinese history for the rest of the century. In the 1920s, Sun Yat-sen established a revolutionary base in south China and set out to unite the fragmented nation. With assistance from the Soviet Union, he entered into an alliance with the fledgling Communist Party of China. After Sun’s death from cancer in 1925, one of his protégés, Chiang Kai-shek, seized control of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party or KMT) and succeeded in bringing most of south and central China under its rule in a military campaign known as the Northern Expedition (1926 – 1927). Having defeated the warlords in south and central China by military force, Chiang was able to secure the nominal allegiance of the warlords in the North. In 1927, Chiang turned on the CPC and chased the CPC armies and its leaders from their bases in southern and eastern China. In 1934, driven from their mountain bases, the CPC forces embarked on the Long March across China’s most desolate terrain to the northwest, where they established a guerrilla base at Yan’an in Shaanxi Province. During the Long March, the communists reorganized under a new leader, Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung). Primary Source: Sun Yat-sen: Fundamentals of National Reconstruction (1923 CE) Sun Yat-sen (1844-1925 CE) began life as the son of poor farmers, yet became the father of' modern China. A younger son, he was brought to Hawaii by an older brother who had immigrated there as a laborer. Sun studied at a missionary school and ultimately earned a medical degree in Hong Kong. His years in the west induced in him a dissatisfaction with the government of China and he began his political career by attempting to organize reform groups of Chinese exiles in Hong Kong. In l895 a coup he plotted failed, and for the next 16 years Sun was an exile in Europe, the United States and Japan. In Japan he joined dissident Chinese groups and soon became their leader. He was expelled from Japan and was in America when he learned of the successful rebellion against the Qing emperor. Sun immediately returned to China, headed the revolutionary movement for a time, and then went back into exile until 1923, when he finally emerged as president of China. He died two years later, having founded the Koumintang (Nationalist Party). Fundamentals of National Reconstruction is Sun Yat-sen's most important political statement. It enunciates his famous three principles whereby he set China on the road to modernity. Fundamentals of National Reconstruction Sun Yat-sen (1923) HISTORY OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION Following China's war with France (1883-1884) I made up my mind to devote myself to the revolution. In 1895 I started the first insurrection in Canton and the revolution of 1911 culminated in the establishment of the Republic.. Up to present the task of revolution, however, has not yet been completed. A span of thirty-seven years of my revolutionary work is to be chronicled by future historians from all manner of facts and incidents. An outline sketch is given below. I Principles of Revolution The term Kemin, or revolution, was first used by Confucius. Incidents of a revolutionary' nature repeatedly happened in Chinese history after Tang (founder of the Shang Dynasty,. 1766 BCE) and Wu (founder of the Zhou Dynasty, 1122 BCE). In Europe revolutionary tides surged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and they have since spread over the whole world. In due course they created republics, they conferred constitutions on monarchies. The principles which I have held in promoting the Chinese revolution were in some cases copied from our traditional ideals, in other cases modeled on European theory and experience and in still others formulated according to original and self-developed theories. They are described as follows:- l. Principle of Nationalism Revelations of Chinese history prove that the Chinese as a people are independent in spirit and in conduct. Coerced into touch with other people, they could at times live in peace with them by maintaining friendly relations and at others assimilate them as the result of propinquity. During the periods when their political and military prowess declined, they could not escape for the time from the fate of' a conquered nation, but they could eventually vigorously reassert themselves. Thus the Mongol rule of China (1260-1333 CE), lasting nearly a hundred years was finally overthrown by Tai Tse of the Ming dynasty and his loyal follower. So in our own time was the Manchu yoke thrown off by the Chinese. Nationalistic ideas in China did not come from a foreign source; they were inherited from our remote forefathers. Upon this legacy is based my principle of nationalism, and where necessary, I have developed it and amplified and improved upon it. No vengeance has been inflicted on the Manchus and we have endeavored to live side by side with them on a n equal footing. This is our nationalistic policy toward races within our national boundaries. Externally, we should strive to maintain independence in the family of nations, and to spread our indigenous civilization as well as to enrich it by absorbing what is best in world civilization, with the hope that we may forge ahead with other nations towards the goal of ideal brotherhood. 2. Principle of Democracy In ancient China we had the Emperor Yao (2357-2258 BCE) and Emperor Shun (2258-2206 BCE) who departed from the hereditary system and chose their successors. We also had Tang and Wu who overthrew kingdoms by revolution. Preserved in our books are such sayings as :Heaven sees as the people see; Heaven hears as the people hear." "We have heard of a person named Zhou having been slain, we have not heard of a monarch having been murdered " "The people are most important, while the king is of the least importance." All these sayings ring with democratic sentiments. Since we have had only ideas about popular rights, and no democratic system has been evolved, we have to go to Europe and America for a republican form of government. There some countries have become republics and others have adopted constitutional monarchism, under which royal power has shrunk in the face of the rising demand for popular rights. Though hereditary monarchs have not yet disappeared, they are but vestiges and shadows of their former selves. All through my revolutionary career I have held the view that China must be made a republic. There are three reasons. First, from a theoretical point of view, there is no ground for preserving a monarchical form of government, since it is widely recognized that the people constitute the foundation of a nation and they are all equal in their own country. In the second place, under Manchu occupation the Chinese were forced into the position of the vanquished, and suffered oppression for more than two hundred and sixty years. While a constitutional monarchy may not arouse deep resentment in other countries and can maintain itself for the time being, it will be an impossibility in China. This is from a historical point of view. A third reason may be advanced with an eye on the future of the nation. That in China prolonged periods of disorder usually followed a revolution was due to the desire of every insurgent to be a king and to his subsequent contention for the throne. If a republican government is adopted, there will be no contention. For these three reasons, I have decided for the republican form of government in order to realize the principle of democracy. My second decision is that a constitution must be adopted to ensure good government. The true meaning of constitutionalism was discovered by Montesquieu. The threefold separation of the legislative, judicial, and executive powers as advocated by him was accepted in every constitutional country in Europe. On a tour of Europe and America I made a close study of their governments and laws and took note of their shortcomings as well as their advantages. The shortcomings of election, for instance, are not incurable. In the past China had two significant systems of examination and censoring and they can be of avail where the Western system of government and law falls short. I therefore advocate that the examinative and censorial powers should be placed on the same level with legislative, judicial and executive, thereby resulting in the five-fold separation of powers. On top of that, the system if the people's direct political powers should be adopted in order that the provision that the sovereign power is vested in the people may become a reality. In this way my principle of democracy may be carried out satisfactorily. 3. Principle of Livelihood. With the invention of modern machines, the phenomenon of uneven distribution of wealth in the West has become all the more marked. Intensified by crosscurrents, economic revolution was flaring up more ferociously than political revolution. This situation was scarcely noticed by our fellow- countrymen thirty years ago. On my tour of Europe and America, I saw with my own eyes the instability of their economic structure and the deep concern of their leaders in groping for a solution. I felt that, although the disparity of wealth under our economic organization is not so great as in the West, the difference is only in degree, not in character. The situation will become more acute when the West extends its economic influence to China. We must form plans beforehand in order to cope with the situation. After comparing various schools of economic thought, I have come to the realization that the principle of state ownership is most profound, reliable and practical. Moreover. it will forestall in China difficulties which have already caused much anxiety in the West. I have therefore decided to enforce the principle of the people's livelihood simultaneously with the principles of nationalism and democracy, with the hope to achieve our political objective and nip economic unrest in the bud. To sum up, my revolutionary principles in a nutshell consist in the Three Principles of the People and the Five Power Constitution. Those who have a clear knowledge of the general tendency of the world and the conditions in China will agree that my views are practical and must be put in practice. II Fundamentals of Revolution In the age of autocracy, the masses of the people were fettered in spirit and body so that emancipation seemed impossible Those who worked for the welfare of the people and were willing to sacrifice themselves for the success of revolution not only did not receive assistance from the people but were also ridiculed and disparaged. Much as they desired to be the guides of the people, they proceeded without followers. Much as they desired to be the vanguards, they advanced without reinforcement. It becomes necessary that., apart from destroying enemy influence, those engaged in revolution should take care to develop the constructive ability of the people. A revolutionary program is therefore indispensable. According to my plan, the progress of our revolution should be regulated and divided into three stages: First, military rule; second, political tutelage; third, constitutional government. The first stage is a period of destruction, during which military rule is installed. The revolutionary: army is to break doom (as it did) Manchu despotism, sweep away official corruptions, and reform vicious customs. The second stage is a transitional period, during which a provisional constitution (not the present. one) will be promulgated. Its object is to build a local self-government system for the development of democracy. The Hsien or district will be unit of self-government. When disbanded troops are disposed of and fighting ceases, every district should accept the provisional constitution, which will regulate the rights and duties of the people and the administrative powers of the revolutionary government. It will be in force for three years, at the end of which period the people will choose their district magistrates. Even before the expiration of the period, the people in a district may be empowered to choose their own magistrate and become a complete self-governing body on the following conditions: That the self-government bureau of the said district has already cleaned the district of its long-standing corruptions; that it has succeeded in getting more than half of its population to understand the Three Principles of the People and devote themselves to the republic; that. it has fulfilled the minimum requirements of the provisional constitution in regard to census-taking, residence registration, police, health, education and road-building. In reference to the self-government body, the revolutionary government may exercise the power of political tutelage only in accordance with the provisional constitution. Six years after the whole nation is restored to peace and order, each district which has attained complete self-government. may elect. one delegate, and these delegates will form the People's Congress to adopt the five-power constitution. The central government will have five yuan or boards. The five yuan. will be (1) The Executive Yuan, (2) The Legislative Yuan, (3) The Judicial Yuan, (4) The Examination Yuan, and (5) The Censor Yuan. Following the promulgation of the constitution, citizens of the various districts will elect the President by vote for the formation of the Executive Yuan, and elect representatives for the formation of the Legislative Yuan. The heads of the three other yuan will be appointed by the President with the consent of the Legislative Yuan, but they will not be responsible to the President and the Legislative Yuan. All the five yuan will be responsible to the People's Congress. Members of a yuan, in case of failure to discharge their duties, may be impeached before the People's Congress by the Censor Yuan. In case the members of the Censor Yuan fail in their duties, the Congress will directly impeach them and remove them. The duty of the Congress is solely to attend to the amendment of the constitution and the punishment of public servants. The qualification of the employees in the Congress and the five yuan as well as be high and junior officials of the whole nation will be determined by the Examination Yuan. Following the adoption of the five-power constitution and the election of the President and representatives, the revolutionary government will be turned over to the President elected by the people, whereupon the period of political tutelage will terminate. The third stage, which marks the completion of national reconstruction, will usher in constitutional government. During this period the self-governing bodies in the various districts should exercise the direct political powers of the people. In district political affairs citizens should have the rights of universal suffrage, initiative, referendum and recall. In national political affairs they should. while directly exercising the right of election, delegate the three other rights to their representatives in the People's Congress. This period of constitutional government marks the completion of national reconstruction and the successful conclusion of the revolution. If we can proceed according to the revolutionary fundamentals that have been briefly out-lined, not only can we clean the Augean stable of autocracy and carry out the rights of the people, but we can also strengthen and safeguard the constructive power of the people against the manipulations of politicians and the unscrupulousness of militarists. It becomes obvious that the principles of revolution must depend upon the fundamentals of revolution for a thorough realization. From University of Delawary Index of History Sun Yat-sen, Fundamentals of National Reconstruction , (Taipei: China Cultura; Service, 1953), pp. 76-83, as excerpted in Mark A. Kishlansky, Sources of World History , Vol. 2 (New York: HarperCollins, 1995), p. 281-285 Attributions Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: Mao and Chiang Kai Shek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek#/media/File:%E9%87%8D%E6%85%B6%E6%9C%83%E8%AB%87_%E8%94%A3%E4%BB%8B%E7%9F%B3%E8%88%87%E6%AF%9B%E6%BE%A4%E6%9D%B1.jpg Boundless World History https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/communist-china/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.394997	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87957/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 11: Reactions, China in the Early 20th Century", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87965/overview	Evicting "Fritz": World War I in the Pacific World Overview World War I in the Pacific World War I in the Pacific was a sideshow to the larger theaters of war in Europe and the Middle East. The war, however, had significant repercussions. The Allied victory over Germany meant that Germany would lose its Pacific colonies, and by extension, its status as a global empire. More significantly, the Pacific theater of war brought a new country in on the side of the Allies—Japan. Although Japan’s role was significant, the other Allies (Britain, France, and the United States) failed to see it as such in the postwar era. This oversight causes strong resentment among the Japanese people who felt that they had not received dues for their part in the war. The political slight by Western nations during the signing of the Treaty of Versailles led the Japanese to increasingly distrust Western leaders. When World War II erupted in Europe in 1939, the Japanese nation remembered the failed promises of the Allies after World War I, and they allied with Nazi Germany. Learning Objectives - Examine the events and significant of World War I in the Pacific. Key Terms / Key Concepts Tsingtao: port city on China’s east coast where the Germans’ primary naval base was in World War I The Siege of Tsingtao War came to the Pacific in late August 1914. Even at the time, it was considered a minor war within the “Great War.” Although the Germans had naval bases throughout the Pacific, they were primarily small and insignificant to the rest of Europe. The British, Americans, and Japanese all possessed far stronger navies than the Germans. Still, Britain worried that perhaps the Germans might engage in expansion throughout the Pacific or strike British colonial possessions. Australia and New Zealand also felt poorly defended. While their troops fought for the Allies in far-flung locations, their homelands were left wide open to attack. Aware that the navies of Australia and New Zealand were small and marginal, the British called upon their ally, Japan, to help defeat the Germans in the Pacific. The Japanese readily agreed, less because of their alliance to Britain, and more because they hoped to secure Pacific possessions and expand their influence and power through much of Oceania. In late September, the Japanese advanced on the German naval base at Tsingtao. Combined, their army exceeded 60,000. By comparison, the Germans left to defend their base did not reach 5,000. Low on ammunition and far outnumbered, the Germans surrendered to the Japanese in November 1914. The siege of Tsingtao, the only major battle of the Pacific, was won with comparatively few casualties, and Germany lost its foothold in Asia and the Pacific forever. Impact Following the fall of the German naval base at Tsingtao, the Japanese continued to “mop up” the smaller German bases throughout the Pacific islands. Alarmed by Japanese expansion, the Australians and New Zealanders also sent naval vessels to German colonial possessions, namely Samoa, and were met with no resistance. Before World War I officially ended in 1918, Germany had lost all of its Pacific colonies. Little did the Japanese suspect that their success in the Pacific would largely be ignored by the Western allies, and little did the Allies suspect that this gross oversight would one day push the Japanese to side with the Germans in an even more brutal world war—World War II. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Willmott, H.P. World War I. DK Publishing, London: 2009. 90-91.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.417849	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87965/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 12: World War I in the West, East, and Colonies, Evicting \"Fritz\": World War I in the Pacific World", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87966/overview	The Human Cost of War Overview The Human Cost of World War I One of the often-overlooked costs of World War I is its human cost. Not only were lives lost, but lives were also disrupted, maimed, and uprooted. The war destroyed landscapes around the world, forced rationing and saw food scarcity, caused forty million casualties, resulted in trillions of dollars of damage globally, shifted borders, saw the end of empires and monarchs, ushered in communism in Europe, sparked rampant inflation and war debt, and left millions of widows and orphans behind. Learning Objectives - Examine the human cost of World War I. Key Terms / Key Concepts Broken Faces: soldiers who obtained severe facial wounds in World War I, usually through shrapnel wounds Homefront: part of a country at war that is inhabited and operated by civilians Spanish Flu of 1918: largest epidemic of the 20th century The Homefronts in World War I Across the globe, World War I galvanized the homefronts. Civilians were eager to help the war effort. People created victory gardens at home and in public parks, served in the Red Cross, donated money, collected scrap metal, and served in anyway they could to rally support for their troops, as well as protect their countries. Women in World War I Women’s roles shifted dramatically with the start of World War I, particularly in Western Europe. No longer were women confined to the kitchen, church, and children. With the outbreak of war, women took over jobs vacated by men. War munitions were produced largely by women workers in mass factories. Nursing and field hospital work was undertaken by women. Women also replaced men on the farms, doing the plowing and harvesting. In Britain, women frequently filled the artillery shells and were dubbed “canaries” because their skin was turned bright yellow by the powder. Women served as welders, woodworkers, streetcar drivers, teachers, and painters. Virtually every sector of labor relied upon a female labor force during the war years. Additionally, women managed their children and homes at the end of the workday. Women’s roles were not confined to the homefront. Many served in the military, legally or illegally, often disguised as men. Women were also used as spies in World War I. Two of the most famous female spies of the war were women. Edith Cavell helped English, French, and Belgian refugees escape from German-occupied Holland; she was later executed by a German firing squad in 1917. Contrastingly, the Dutch dancer and courtesan, Mata Hari, was accused by the French as being a German spy; she was executed by a French firing squad in 1917. The now world-famous female spy network—the Alice Network—operated for the Allies in World War I. Rationing and Shortages Throughout the war, countries struggled to provide food and resources to their civilians. Armies always received preferential treatment in terms of supplies, especially foodstuffs. Most of the belligerent countries experienced scarcity of raw materials and resources, as well as war munitions, at some point in the war. For instance, France had a troubled, chaotic economy at the start of the war that left them significantly under-supplied in the number of artillery shells they needed. During the war, the United States emerged as the breadbasket of the Allies. Under future president Herbert Hoover, the United States Food Administration was created. Through public campaigns, he urged Americans to eat less on “Meatless Mondays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays” so that extra food and rations could be sent to the millions of civilians living under German occupation in France and Belgium. The public response was overwhelming. By the end of the war, over $615 million dollars of food was sent to Western Europe. Hoover took the act one step further at the war’s end: he supplied food and rations to Europeans across the continent, including their vanquished enemies because of the soaring rates of malnourishment and starvation. Germany suffered terribly from shortages. In part because it was a relatively small, industrialized country with not enough farms to feed their people. In part, also, because of the naval blockade of their coast by Great Britain. Dubbed the “hunger blockade,” by Germans, they cited it as the reason for the starvation and malnutrition of their children and elderly. In particular, Germany suffered during the winter of 1915 – 1916, when it was unusually cold and fuel supplies were lacking. This time is infamously remembered as the “Turnip Winter” because the German people found very little to eat outside of their fall turnips. More than any other nation in World War I, Russia experienced staggering shortages in both food and supplies. The country was so far behind in the production of their rifles that by 1915, entire units were forced to train without a gun. Besides lacking basic equipment, by the end of the war soldiers were suffering from starvation and malnutrition. On the Russian homefront, civilians were starving because of the loss of Poland and parts of the Baltic countries, which had routinely shipped grains and other foodstuffs to Russia. The Spanish Flu of 1918 In the spring of 1918, neutral Spain began to report about a new influenza virus in their newspapers. It seemed mild in its symptoms but rapidly spread. The timing of the virus could not have been worse. All over the world, troops were being deployed, shipped home, crossing countries, and interacting with one another. In August 1918, just as World War I was approaching its end, the second wave of the Spanish Flu of 1918 struck with vengeance. It spread rapidly throughout the United States, West Africa, and France. Then it spread throughout the Americas, Europe, and Africa. This wave of the virus quickly resulted in pneumonia in most patients, sparking a high mortality rate. In part, because antibiotics such as penicillin were not discovered until the late 1920s. A third, milder, wave struck in spring 1919. By the end of the flu’s course, 500 million people worldwide had contracted the virus, and about 10% or 50 million perished from it. Estimates suggest that over 660,000 Americans died from the Spanish Flu in the course of roughly a year—more than the combined total of deaths in the four years of the American Civil War, which was America’s bloodiest war. Casualty figures continue to be debated. But one thing remains certain, by the spring of 1919, the Spanish Flu vanished mysteriously. Collapse of Governments Very few of the governments which were in place at the outbreak of World War I would not be changed by its course. The war caused the collapse of the Russian, German, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Communism swept through much of Eastern Europe, and even had a strong movement in Weimar Germany. In the Middle East, the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire did not result in the creation of new Arab states. Although a few Arab states existed fleetingly. Instead, it resulted in the creation of European protectorates over large swathes of the Middle East. In Africa, the German colonies were relinquished upon Germany’s defeat, only to be divided between the French and British. Independence remained a pipedream for most of the African countries. Returning to Normalcy? After World War I, American president Warren G. Harding declared a “Return to Normalcy.” But returning to a normal state proved difficult for many people around the world. Prisoners of war often remained in foreign nations well after the ceasefire and Treaty of Versailles due to logistical difficulties. France, Belgium, and parts of Eastern Europe had been occupied, the war had resulted in civilian deaths. Soldiers returning home faced psychological and physical challenges. Shell-shock, a mental illnesses akin to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, was widespread among soldiers. Although seldom diagnosed, depression and anxiety also plagued soldiers. Outwardly, troops frequently faced challenges, too. Millions had lost an arm or leg, and had to rely upon a prosthetic if they could get one. For civilians, a sure sign of the war’s brutality could been seen in the grotesque facial injuries soldiers had obtained, usually through shrapnel wounds. In France, soldiers with facial injuries were called the “Broken Faces.” In an effort to reduce stress on the affected soldier, physicians worked with professional mask makers to create masks that matched the man’s face and was worn to cover the injury. This development is considered the beginning of the field of modern plastic surgery. Global Impact For millions across the globe, there would be no return to “normalcy.” No return to pre-war ways of life. Families had been displaced. Many had endured the loss of a father, son, husband, or brother. For millions across Europe, soaring inflation meant they could no longer afford their homes or necessities such as food and fuel. For soldiers, the years immediately following World War I’s end proved psychologically and physically challenging as they attempted to adjust to a “normal life” after experiencing years of war. Of the belligerent nations in World War I, only the United States would emerge with a booming economy, and that would topple in 1929 with the beginning of the Great Depression. For women, the impact of World War I and its aftermath was great. Their experiences working in traditionally "male" occupations during the war helped them gain strong support for women's suffrage globally. In 1918, women won the right to vote in Germany, Britain, Austria, the Baltic Nations, Russia, and parts of Holland, Canada, and Ireland. The following year, 1919, saw women achieve the right to vote in Holland, Belarus, Luxembourg, Ukraine, and Belgium. And in 1920, women received the right to vote in the United States, Albania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The subsequent years would see women receiving increased voting rights around the world. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Willmott, H.P. World War I. DK Publishing, New York: 2012. 122-131; 287.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.447682	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87966/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 12: World War I in the West, East, and Colonies, The Human Cost of War", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87948/overview	Growth of the Middle Class Overview Growth of the Middle Class with Industrialization Title Image description - Schubertiade in a middle-class Viennese household, heliogravure after a painting by Julius Schmid, 2nd half of 19th century During the Industrial Revolution, not everyone lived in poor conditions and struggled with the challenges of rapid industrialization. The Industrial Revolution also gave rise to a new middle class of industrialists and professionals who lived in much better conditions than they had before. In fact, one of the earlier definitions of the middle class equated it to the original meaning of capitalist: someone with so much capital that they could rival nobles. To be a capital-owning millionaire was an important criterion of the middle class during the Industrial Revolution. Additionally, the period witnessed a growth in professionals, including lawyers, doctors, small business owners, and government officials; these professionals did not share the fate of the early industrial working class and enjoyed a comfortable standard of living in growing cities. Learning Objectives - Analyze the human and environmental consequences of Industrialization and the factory system in England. - Compare the lives of factory owners and workers in England during Industrialization. This new industrial middle class also was defined by its members’ limited access to the new consumer goods made possible through mass production. In this respect these new consumer goods gave rise to the new materialistic aspirations; the satisfaction of which determined one’s place in the new industrial class hierarchy. These new consumer goods were the core of a new consumer culture. Other components of this new consumer culture included department stores, mail order catalogs, and world fairs, where such consumer goods could be displayed. Department stores, such as Le Bon Marche which opened in Paris in 1852, allowed shoppers to actively shop with the store serving as a huge display case. This model of shopping replaced the old model in which shopkeepers controlled the process of shopping. Mail order catalogs allowed consumers to shop by mail, using railroads to transport their purchases. World fairs, the first of which took place in London in 1851, known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition, provided huge showcases of new products and inventions to titillate the new desires of shoppers. Both a new working and upper class emerged with industrialization. These new working, middle, and upper classes were continuations of the preindustrial working, middle, and upper classes, but evolved with the changes of industrialization. Through the changes of industrialization the new incarnations of these classes distinguished themselves in the same sorts of ways that they had distinguished themselves before the Industrial Revolution, including dress, housing, associations, recreational pursuits, and conspicuous spending, among other visible signs of class status. Even more than before the Industrial Revolution such visible manifestations of class status reflected the accomplishments of one within her or his class. These manifestations were part of the new quantification that took hold with industrialization. Relations among members of all three new classes changed accordingly. As part of these changing relationships members of the new industrial middle class sought to close the distance between themselves and the new industrial upper class, while increasing the distance from the new industrial working class. These efforts by the middle classes to distance themselves from the working class, along with other developments, inspired the establishment of political parties and other kinds of organizations that were designed to empower them politically. These new parties were part of the larger trend of political democratization that grew out of the Industrial Revolution. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikipedia Commons Title Image - Au Bon Marche, opened in Paris in 1887. Attribution: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Provided by: Wikipedia. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Au_Bon_March%C3%A9_(vue_g%C3%A9n%C3%A9rale_-_gravure).jpg. License: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication Boundless World History "Social Change" Adapted from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/social-change/ CC licensed content, Shared previously - Curation and Revision. Provided by: Boundless.com. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike CC licensed content, Specific attribution - Factory system. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_system. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Factory. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Etruria Works. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Josiah Wedgwood. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Soho Manufactory. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Cromford Mill. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Luddite. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Truck system. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Putting-out system. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - FrameBreaking-1812.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. 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License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Phossy jaw. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Life in Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Provided by: Wikipedia. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - FrameBreaking-1812.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Cromford_1771_mill.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Die_Lage_der_arbeitenden_Klasse_in_England.png. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Cottonopolis1.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Powerloom_weaving_in_1835.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Baines_1835-Mule_spinning.png. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Coaltub.png. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Luddite. 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Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Cromford_1771_mill.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Die_Lage_der_arbeitenden_Klasse_in_England.png. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Cottonopolis1.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Powerloom_weaving_in_1835.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Baines_1835-Mule_spinning.png. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Coaltub.png. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - Meeting_of_the_trade_unionists_in_Copenhagen_Fields_April_21_1834_for_the_purpose_of_carrying_a_petition_to_the_King_for_a_remission_of_the_sentence_passed_on_the_Dorchester_labourers_1293402.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright - 1024px-William_Edward_Kilburn_-_View_of_the_Great_Chartist_Meeting_on_Kennington_Common_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright Title Image -	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.475414	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87948/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 11: Reactions, Growth of the Middle Class", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87936/overview	The Austro-Hungarian Empire Overview Austro-Hungary In the late 19th century, the Conservative emperor, Francis Joseph struggled to hold together his ancient Hapsburg dominions in the face of demands by the many ethnic groups within the empire for more Liberal government and for autonomy. The threat of the break-up of this empire resulted in an enduring alliance with neighboring Germany and was a factor in the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Learing Objectives - Analyze politics and society in Austria-Hungary in the late 19th century. - Analyze and identify the role of the MAIN (Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism) causes of World War I. Key Terms / Key Concepts Dual Monarchy: created by the union of Austria and Hungary in 1867 as equal states (Ausgleich); the Hapsburg emperor, Francis Joseph, was the emperor of Germany and king of Hungary League of the Three Emperors: an alliance between the three empires of Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Russia that was renewed every three years between 1873 and 1886 Treaty of San Stephano: peace treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empires in 1877 that ended the Russo-Turkish War and won Bulgaria its independence from the Ottoman Empire Congress of Berlin: international conference called by the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1878 to address concerns about the stability of the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Turkish War Bosnia-Herzegovina: a region in the Balkans in southeastern Europe inhabited by Orthodox Serbs, Roman Catholic Croats, and Muslim Bosnians; the former Ottoman province awarded to Austro-Hungary by The Congress of Berlin in 1878 Kulturkampf: a “cultural struggle” between German Protestants and Roman Catholics in the 1870s, primarily concerned with Roman Catholic Church’s control of public education in some German regions Balancing Austria and Hungary In 1866, the defeat of Austria at the hands of Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War led to a crisis in the Hapsburg Austrian Empire; this was due to the Austrian government fearing another outbreak of rebellion in Hungary, as happened in 1848, due to Austria’s weakened state. To deter such a rebellion, the Emperor Francis Joseph in 1867 issued a new Liberal constitution that created what became known as the Dual Monarchy and the Ausgleich (Balancing). Under this constitution Francis Joseph was both emperor of Austria and king of Hungary. Germans and Hungarians with property could each elect representatives to a legislature of their own, which could draft laws and impose taxes for the areas controlled respectively by Austria and Hungary. However, Francis Joseph alone controlled the military and foreign affairs for this new Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this empire, millions of inhabitants who were neither German nor Hungarian were denied the vote and the right to participate in government. Ethnic Tensions In this new Austro-Hungarian Empire, ethnic Germans and Hungarians with property could vote and elect representatives to sit in the German and Austrian legislatures due to the Ausgleich in 1867, but Slavic ethnic groups were all denied the right to vote; this included Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Poles, Slovenes, and Ruthenians (Ukrainians), as well as ethnic Romanians, Italians, and Bosnians. Moreover, all government business and public education was conducted in either German or Hungarian. Croats and Poles alone were allowed to conduct their public affairs at the local level in their native languages. This empire was also divided religiously. The Austrian Germans and Hungarians were predominantly Roman Catholic, but the empire's inhabitants included Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and Jews. The leaders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were desperate to keep this fragile empire together and maintain the superior status of the Austrians and Hungarians. Additionally, in the closing decades of the 19th century, Austro-Hungary hoped to strengthen its position in Europe by forging a strong alliance with the newly formed German Empire to west, with whom Austro-Hungary shared a common ethnic heritage. Foreign Affairs In his efforts to isolate France diplomatically and to deter a future war, the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sought to forge alliances with Austro-Hungary and Russia. Bismarck hoped that this league would restore the traditional alliance between the Austrian Hapsburg and Russian Romanov Dynasties that had been damaged by the Crimean War of 1853. In that conflict, Hapsburg Austria had failed to support its traditional ally during Russia’s war against the Ottoman Empire, France, and Great Britain out of fear that Russia’s encouragement of Slavic Orthodox Christians to rebel against Ottoman rule could inspire a rebellion of Slavic peoples under Hapsburg rule. In 1873, Bismarck successfully negotiated the League of the Three Emperors, which linked Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Russia in a military alliance. These three states all shared common values and concerns. All three emperors of these states were staunch Conservatives. Moreover, all three states had previously partitioned Poland in the late 18th century and were all concerned with suppressing Polish nationalism. However, this proved no easy task with the various tensions that had been brewing in the region. In 1815 the Sultan had granted the Ottoman province of Serbia self-government and autonomy after the Serbs had revolted against Ottoman rule. Under this 1815 agreement, the local Serb nobles or voivodes elected a prince (Knez) to govern the province as the vassal of the Sultan. In 1876, the prince of Serbia, Milan Obrenovich declared war on the Sultan for the following reason. The Ottoman Empire in 1876 had engaged its new and improved military in brutally crushing uprisings in Bulgaria and Bosnia by Orthodox Christian Bulgarians and Serbs, who were also inspired by nationalism to seek independence from Ottoman rule. It was in response to these revolts and the massacres by Ottoman troops that the Ottoman province of Serbia declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire and went to war against the Sultan. In this conflict, the superior Ottoman army quickly defeated Serb forces. The brutal suppression of these revolts in Bosnia, Bulgaria, and Serbia and the slaughter of Slavic, Orthodox Christians by Ottoman forces angered Russia, whose Tsar was also a Slav and the head of the Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire. In 1877 Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The emancipation of the serfs in 1861 had enabled the Russian state to draft and train millions of former serfs into an immense army. Russian forces quickly defeated the outmanned Ottoman armies, and the Ottoman capital, Istanbul, was in peril of falling. Unfortunately for Bismarck, the Russo-Turkish War in 1877 strained relations between Russia and Austro-Hungary, because Austro-Hungary once again feared that Russian support for Slavic nations in the Balkans against the Ottoman Empire might stir up revolts by Slavic peoples in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1878 the Ottoman Empire sued for peace, and the Russian government dictated the terms of the Treaty of San Stephano. Under the terms of this treaty, Romania and Serbia became independent nations instead of Ottoman vassal states, and Bulgaria became an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire, but under Russian occupation. The Russian victory over the Ottoman Empire resulted in an international crisis. Austro-Hungary feared that this Russian victory and independence for Slavic nations in the Balkans would inspire revolts by the Slavic populations within its own empire. Bismarck was worried that Germany would have to choose to support either Russia or Austro-Hungary in a conflict between these two empires, and the one not chosen consequently would ally with Germany's enemy, France. In 1878 Bismarck invited the European states to send delegates to Berlin, the capital of Germany, to resolve the problems that had arisen due to the Russo-Turkish War. In 1878 delegates from European nations convened at the Congress of Berlin, under the leadership of Bismarck, and negotiated an end to the current crisis. Under agreements reached at this congress, the Ottoman Empire ceded the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean to the United Kingdom, so that the United Kingdom could station a fleet on the island and, therefore, secure the routes that linked the United Kingdom to the Indian Ocean and India. To strengthen the Ottoman Empire after this devastating defeat and maintain regional stability, the congress shrank the size of the Bulgarian nation created by the Treaty of San Stephano. The congress returned to the Ottoman Empire, the southern section of Bulgaria, known as Eastern Rumelia. The Congress also installed a German prince, Alexander of Battenberg, as the new constitutional monarch of Bulgaria; he was related to both the British and Russian royal families. To balance the influence of Russia in the Balkans through their influence over Bulgaria, the congress permitted Austro-Hungary to occupy and administer the Ottoman province of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Balkans, as a protectorate. The Congress of Berlin was effective in meeting the concerns of the European powers and Bismarck in particular. In 1879 the League of the Three Emperors was renewed for another three years, and France remained diplomatically isolated and without allies. In 1882, Bismarck convinced Italy to join Germany and Austro-Hungary in a Triple Alliance, which was directed against France. After the Russo-Turkish War, Bismarck decided to expand Germany's system of alliances to keep France in check, as he was now unsure about keeping both Austro-Hungary and Russia as German allies due to their hostility for one another. In 1879, Bismarck successfully negotiated an alliance between Germany and Austro-Hungary alone, known as the Dual Alliance. Since the German Austrians shared a common culture and Roman Catholic faith with Germans in southern Germany, the maintenance of this alliance was key to promoting unity within the German Empire, especially with the ongoing Kulturkampf within Germany. The German alliance with Austro-Hungary, therefore, took precedence over any alliance with Russia. As relations between Austro-Hungary and Russia further deteriorated in the 1880s, ultimately Germany had no choice but to side with Austro-Hungary over Russia, thereby opening a military alliance between France and Russia and an end to France's diplomatic isolation. By 1885, the Bulgarian government of Alexander of Battenberg had dismissed its Russian advisers and embarked on an independent course. In that year also, Bulgarian nationalists in Eastern Rumelia revolted against the Ottoman government, and in response, the Bulgarian government sent troops to the region and annexed it. This expansion of Bulgaria worried both Serbia and Greece, who feared that Bulgarian nationalists were seeking to recreate the Medieval Bulgarian Empire of the 9th century, which had dominated the Balkans. In 1885, the new king of Serbia, Milan Obrenovich, consequently, pushed Serbia into a war with Bulgaria to hold in check possible Bulgarian territorial expansion. Austro-Hungary, however, feared that a protracted war in the Balkans involving Serbia might inspire ethnic Serbs in Austro-Hungary to revolt in the hope of uniting with their fellow Serbs in Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian government, therefore, pressured both Serbia and Bulgaria to end the war through negotiations. Russia was incensed by the decrease of their influence in the Balkans and the increase in Austro-Hungary's standing. From the perspective of Russian nationalists, the Slavic Orthodox Christians in the Balkans were the natural allies of "Mother" Russia. In 1886, Russian agents kidnapped Alexander of Battenberg, transported him to Russia, and tortured him until he agreed to abdicate the throne. The Russian government hoped that this action would result in the creation of a new, pro-Russian government in Bulgaria. Almost all European governments, however, including Germany and Austro-Hungary, denounced the Russian state for taking this action. France, however, alone publicly supported Russia. France was by this point desperate to win an ally for a possible war against Germany. Within France, an influential national organization, the League of Patriots lobbied the French government to wage war of revenge on Germany and recover Alsace-Lorraine. In response to France's support for Russia in this crisis, Bismarck warned the German Reichstag—the German national legislature—that Germany might soon face war against both France and Russia. Historians, however, assert that Bismarck was exaggerating the threat of war at this point since he was trying to convince the German Reichstag to approve a massive ten-year spending plan for the German military. Once the German legislature approved Bismarck's military spending plan, Bismarck began downplaying the possibility of war. Bismarck always wanted to make sure that his fellow Prussian aristocrats—the Junkers—were placed in the German military as high-ranking officers, possessing power and influence. When the whole affair had blown over, the Russians were not even able to secure a pro-Russian government in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian legislature in 1887 offered the throne to another German prince, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was native to Austro-Hungary. In 1887, Bismarck negotiated the Re-insurance Treaty between Russia and Germany, which established a non-aggression pact between the two empires for three years; however, his reign over the matters would soon end. After the events of 1886, Bismarck knew that he could not renew the League of the Three Emperors due to the growing antagonism between Russia and Austria-Hungary. And he still wanted to avoid an alliance between France and Russia. In 1888 however, Bismarck's plan was derailed by the deaths of his friend, the German emperor William I, as well as that of William's son, Frederick III. This resulted in the accession of William II (r. 1888 – 1918) —William I’s grandson—as the new Kaiser (emperor). William II embraced popular racial theories in Germany at that time that maintained that Germans were a racially superior nation. William II didn't understand why Bismarck feared an alliance between racially inferior Frenchmen and Russians. When the Re-insurance treaty was up for renewal in 1890, William II dismissed Bismarck as Chancellor and refused to renew the non-aggression pact with Russia. When the Re-insurance treaty between Russia and Germany lapsed in 1890, France and Russia quickly reached an agreement to become allies in 1891. The stage was, thereby, set for the outbreak of World War I with the alliance between Germany and Austro-Hungary in central Europe—the “Central Powers” —and the opposing alliance between France and the Russian Empire, whose states flanked these Central Powers to the west and east. Russia’s ongoing support for their fellow Slavs in Serbia fueled fears in Austro-Hungary that Russia and Serbia together could stir up rebellion by Slavs within Austro-Hungary and destabilize this fragile empire. On June 28, 1914, Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary, and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated by a Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip, while visiting the Bosnian city of Sarajevo on a goodwill tour. This assassination would begin a chain of events that would result in the outbreak of World War I a month later. Gavrilo Princip was a member of a secret, nationalist organization, the Black Hand. that was committed to liberating the Serbs and other Slavic peoples from Austro-Hungarian rule. The government of Austro-Hungary correctly assumed that Serbia was secretly supporting the activities of the Black Hand. Consequently, the Austro-Hungarian government desired to wage war against Serbia to put a stop to its hopes for territorial expansion. Austro-Hungarian statesmen knew, however, that war against Serbia could also lead to war with Russia, a fellow Slavic and Orthodox Christian state. Austro-Hungary therefore received personal assurances from William II of Germany that Germany would stand with its ally, Austro-Hungary, if Russia declared war on Austro-Hungary. On July 23, The Austro-Hungarian government issued an ultimatum to Serbia, demanding that Serbia publicly condemn all efforts to instigate a rebellion among Bosnian Serbs and arrest and punish those involved in these efforts within Serbia. When Serbia refused to comply with this ultimatum, Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. After this declaration of war, Russia immediately began mobilizing its massive army. Germany then quickly on August 2 declared war on France and Russia. The fragility of the Austro-Hungary and the anxieties of its governments thus helped spark a world war. Attributions Title Image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congress_of_Berlin,_13_July_1878,_by_Anton_von_Werner.jpg Anton von Werner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.510343	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87936/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, European Imperialism and Crises 1871-1919 CE, Chapter 10: Enlightenment and Colonization, The Austro-Hungarian Empire", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88265/overview	Reaction to Revolution: Southeast Asia Overview Reaction to Revolution: Southeast Asia After experiencing its series of revolutions, an industrialized France in the 19th century saw Southeast Asia as source of raw material for its expanding economy. Learning Objectives - Identify the factors that resulted in the expansion of French control in Southeast Asia (Indochina) Key Terms / Key Concepts Dark Ages of Cambodia: the historical era from the early 15th century to 1863, the year that marks the beginning of the French Protectorate of Cambodia (As reliable sources for the 15th and 16th century in particular are very rare, a fully defensible and conclusive explanation for the decline of the Khmer Empire, recognized unanimously by the scientific community, has so far not been produced.) Greater India: a term most used to encompass the historical and geographic extent of all political entities of the Indian subcontinent and beyond (To varying degrees, these entities were transformed by the acceptance and induction of cultural and institutional elements of pre-Islamic India.) Indochina: a geographical term originating in the early 19th century and referring to the continental portion of the region now known as Southeast Asia, referring to the lands historically within the cultural influence of India and China and physically bound by India in the west and China in the north (It corresponds to the present-day areas of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and (variably) peninsular Malaysia. The term was later adopted as the name of the French colony of today’s Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.) French Indochina: a grouping of French colonial territories in Southeast Asia consisting of three Vietnamese regions of Tonkin (north), Annam (center), and Cochinchina (south), Cambodia, and Laos, with the leased Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan added in 1898 Cochinchina Campaign: an 1858 – 1862 military campaign fought between the French and Spanish on one side and the Vietnamese on the other (It began as a limited punitive campaign and ended as a French war of conquest. The war concluded with the establishment of the French colony of Cochinchina, a development that inaugurated nearly a century of French colonial dominance in Vietnam.) Reaction to Revolution: Southeast Asia The French emperor, Napoleon III (reigned 1852 – 1870) fancied himself to be a champion of Liberalism and Nationalism, just like his uncle and namesake Napoleon I. As a nationalist, Napoleon III hoped to advance French economic interests. Napoleon III and French industrialists viewed Southeast Asia primarily as a source of raw silk for silk mills in France. To secure this resource, during Napoleon III’s reign, France began to carve out for itself territory in Southeast Asia, which Europeans referred to as Indochina. In this period France took advantage of Chinese weakness, as that empire—the traditionally dominant regional power—was in the midst of the Opium Wars. Indochina Indochina is a geographical term originating in the early 19th century for the continental portion of the region now known as Southeast Asia. The name refers to the lands historically within the cultural influence of India and China, which were physically bound by India in the west and China in the north. It corresponds to the present-day areas of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and (variably) peninsular Malaysia. The term was later adopted as the name of the colony of French Indochina (today’s Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos). The entire area of Indochina is now usually referred to as the Indochinese Peninsula or Mainland Southeast Asia. Greater India In the pre-modern era, significant parts of the region that would later become French Indochina belonged to what is known as Greater India. Although the term is not precise, Greater India is most used to encompass the historical and geographic extent of all political entities of the Indian subcontinent and beyond; those that had been transformed in varying degrees by the acceptance and induction of cultural and institutional elements of pre-Islamic India. Since around 500 BCE, Asia’s expanding land and maritime trade resulted in prolonged socioeconomic and cultural stimulation and diffusion of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs into regional cosmology, particularly in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. The kingdoms that belonged to Greater India, and eventually overlapped with what would become French Indochina, were Funan and its successor Chenla, Champa, and the Khmer Empire. Champa controlled what is now south and central Vietnam since approximately 192 CE. The dominant religion was Hinduism and the culture was heavily influenced by India. By the late 15th century, the Vietnamese—descendants of the Sinic (Chinese) civilization sphere—conquered the last remaining territories of the once powerful maritime kingdom of Champa. The last surviving Chams began their diaspora in 1471, many resettling in Khmer territory. Between the 3rd and the 5th centuries CE, Funan and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilizations that are now Thailand and Laos. The Khmer Empire, with the capital city in Angkor, grew out of the remnants of Chenla, and it was firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II declared independence from Java. He and his followers instituted the cult of the God-king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire, which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Around the 13th century, monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor. After a long series of wars with neighboring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Thai Ayutthaya Kingdom in modern day Thailand. The city was abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown. This led to a period of economic, social, and cultural stagnation when the Angkor kingdom’s internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbors. The period that followed is today known as the Dark Ages of Cambodia: the historical era from the early 15th century to 1863 - the year that marks the beginning of the French Protectorate of Cambodia. As reliable sources from this period are very rare, a fully defensible and conclusive explanation for the decline of the Khmer Empire, recognized unanimously by the scientific community, has so far not been produced. In the 19th century a renewed struggle between Siam (Thailand) and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs. This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance. The Siamese-Vietnamese War (1841 – 1845) ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty. This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak. Lan Xang Laos was inhabited the Lao people, who are closely related ethnically to the neighboring T(h)ai peoples, as they both speak similar languages. The Lao and Thai peoples had migrated to southeast Asia from southern China by 1000 CE. Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang (Million Elephants), founded in the 14th century by Lao prince Fa Ngum, who with 10,000 Khmer troops took over Vientiane. Ngum made Theravada Buddhism the state religion. Within 20 years of its formation, the kingdom expanded eastward to Champa and along the Annamite mountains in Vietnam. Following the exile of Ngum, his eldest son, Oun Heuan, came to the throne under the name Samsenthai and reigned for 43 years. During his reign, Lan Xang became an important trade center. After his death in 1421, Lan Xang collapsed into warring factions for the next 100 years. By the 17th century, Lan Xang had recovered from this factionalism and would further expand its frontiers; in today’s history of Laos, this period is often regarded as the country’s golden age. In the 18th century, however, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed Luang Phrabang, while Champasak eventually came under Siamese suzerainty. Chao Anouvong was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese. He encouraged a renaissance of Lao fine arts and literature. Under Vietnamese pressure, he rebelled against the Siamese in 1826. The rebellion failed and Vientiane was ransacked. Anouvong was taken to Bangkok as a prisoner, where he died. Lan Xang had ethnic diversity from trade and overland ethnic migrations. The multiple hill tribe peoples were grouped into the broad cultural categories of Lao Sung and Lao Theung, which included most indigenous groups and the Mon-Khmer. The Lao Loum were ethnically dominant and there were several closely related T(h)ai groups. Perhaps because of the complicated ethnic diversity of Lan Xang, the structure of society was fairly straightforward, especially in comparison to the Khmer with their complex caste system and concepts of a divine kingship or devaraja. Dynastic Vietnam In 938, the Vietnamese lord Ngo Quyen defeated the forces of the Chinese Southern Han state and achieved full independence for Vietnam after a millennium of Chinese domination. Renamed as Dai Viet (Great Viet), the state enjoyed a golden era between the 11th and the beginning of the 15th centuries. Buddhism flourished and became the state religion. In the 15th century, Vietnamese independence was briefly interrupted by the Chinese Ming dynasty, but was restored by Le Loi, the founder of the Le dynasty. The Vietnamese dynasties reached their zenith in the Le dynasty of the 15th century. Between the 11th and 18th centuries, Vietnam expanded southward, eventually conquering the kingdom of Champa and part of the Khmer Empire. From the 16th century, civil strife and frequent political infighting engulfed much of Vietnam. Although the state remained nominally under the Le dynasty, actual power was divided between the northern Trinh lords and the southern Nguyen lords, who engaged in a civil war for more than four decades before a truce was called in the 1670s. During this time, the Nguyen expanded southern Vietnam into the Mekong Delta, annexing the Central Highlands and the Khmer lands there. The division of the country ended a century later in the 18th century when the Tay Son brothers established a new dynasty. However, their rule did not last long, and they were defeated by the remnants of the Nguyen lords aided by the French, who soon took over the region. Background: French Imperial Ambitions in Indochina The French had few pretexts to justify their imperial ambitions in Indochina. In the early years of the 19th century, some in France believed that the Vietnamese emperor Gia Long owed the French a favor for the help French troops had given him in 1802 against his Tay Son enemies. However, it soon became clear that Gia Long felt no more bound to France than he did to China, which had also provided help. Gia Long believed that as the French government did not honor its agreement to assist him in the civil war—the Frenchmen who helped were volunteers and adventurers, not government units—he was not obliged to return any favors. Vietnamese leaders were interested in reproducing the French strategies of fortification and in buying French cannon and rifles, but neither Gia Long nor his successor Minh Mang had any intention of coming under French influence. Regardless of Gia Long’s desires, the French were determined to establish their presence in the region, and it was religious persecution that they eventually used as pretext for intervention. French missionaries had been active in Vietnam since the 17th century and by the middle of the 19th century, there were around 300,000 Roman Catholic converts in Annam and Tonkin. Most of the bishops and priests were either French or Spanish. Many in Vietnam were suspicious of this sizable Christian community and its foreign leaders. The French, conversely, began to claim responsibility for their safety. The tension built up gradually. During the 1840s, persecution or harassment of Catholic missionaries in Vietnam by the Vietnamese emperors Minh Mang and Thieu Tri evoked only sporadic and unofficial French reprisals. In 1857, the Vietnamese emperor Tu Duc executed two Spanish Catholic missionaries. It was neither the first nor the last such incident and on previous occasions the French government had overlooked them. But this time, the incident coincided with the Second Opium War. France and Britain had just dispatched a joint military expedition to the Far East, so the French had troops on hand and could easily intervene in Annam. Seizing Control In 1858, a joint French and Spanish expedition landed at Tourane (Da Nang) and captured the town. What began as a limited punitive campaign, known as Cochinchina Campaign, ended as a French war of conquest. Sailing south, French troops captured the poorly defended city of Saigon in 1859. In 1862, the Vietnamese government was forced to cede three additional provinces and Emperor Tu Duc was forced to cede three treaty ports in Annam and Tonkin as well as all Cochinchina, the latter formally declared a French territory in 1864. In 1867, three other provinces were added to French-controlled territories. During the 19th century, the kingdom of Cambodia had been reduced to a vassal state of the kingdom of Siam (present-day Thailand), which had annexed its western provinces while growing influence from the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty threatened the eastern portion of the country. In 1863, King Norodom of Cambodia, installed as a leader by Siam, requested a French protectorate over his kingdom. At the time, Pierre-Paul de La Grandière, colonial governor of Cochinchina, was carrying out plans to expand French rule over the whole of Vietnam and viewed Cambodia as a buffer between French possessions in Vietnam and Siam. The country gradually fell under the French control. In 1867, Siam renounced suzerainty over Cambodia and officially recognized the 1863 French protectorate over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces, which officially became part of Thailand. These provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Siam in the first decade of the 20th century. Under the treaty with the French, the Cambodian monarchy was allowed to remain, but power was largely vested in a resident general to be housed in Phnom Penh. France was also to oversee Cambodia’s foreign and trade relations and provide military protection. Attributions Title Image Painting from the Le Dynasty (Vietnam), circa 17th century - Wazin Kyle, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Adapted from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/indochina-2/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.536068	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88265/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Period of Revolution 1650-1871 CE, Chapter 9: Revolution, Reaction to Revolution: Southeast Asia", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87975/overview	France and Britain in 1920s Overview "The Crazy Years": France in the 1920s In the wake of World War I, Britain and France were the European countries guiding a new world order committed to the ideas of democracy and increased rights for humanity. But the war had taken a severe toll on them, also. Like the rest of Europe, Britain and France struggled to rebuild after World War I. They faced significant political, social, and economic challenges. Simultaneously, the “Roaring 20s” culture of flappers, jazz, and avante garde art also reached Britain and France. The clashing of conservativism and new age liberalism produced fragile republics that seemed to be in the middle of national identity crises. Learning Objectives - Evaluate how events of the 1920s affected British and French societies. Key Terms / Key Concepts Action Française: far-right, extremist, antisemitic organization in France that would serve as the model for similar-minded groups in the 1930s Années folles: “crazy years” of the 1920s in France Michael Collins: hero of the Easter Uprising and Irish War for Independence who was assassinated during the Irish Civil War for signing the Anglo-Irish Treaty France: Economic Catastrophe More than any other western European nation, France had been devastated by World War I. Nearly 1.4 million Frenchmen had perished in the war, with others wounded or missing. Millions of French women and children were now widows and orphans. Many others were forced to provide for the family because the husbands, fathers, and brothers had been disabled by the war. Disabled and badly marred veterans of the war seemed to haunt every corner of Paris, many unable to work. Families were displaced and broken. Much of the combat on the Western Front had occurred on French territory, and left the land, towns, and villages destroyed. Moreover, families had been forced to flee the fighting and remained displaced from their homes. And northeast France remained physically scarred by four years of warfare on its land. At the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the French and British had both demanded reparations from Germany. Initially, the payment plan to France was fixed at 33 billion dollars. Soon, it became evident that the very frail Weimar Republic of Germany could not pay back the war reparations. The German economy plummeted into a long period of hyperinflation. Eventually, with the of the United States, a new plan was drafted to deliver German reparations; this partially satisfied France. But the advent of World War II would prevent Germany from fulfilling their reparations to France until 2010, leaving France without the funds necessary to quickly recover. The French economy was scarcely better off than that of Germany’s following World War I. Internationally, the franc plummeted in value after World War I. Before the war, the franc had been worth .20 cents to the American dollar. By 1925, it had fallen to less than .02 cents to the American dollar. The country had removed its currency from the gold standard, and therefore had little backing for the franc. As a result, French society became deeply divided. One French prime minister after the other tried to resolve the growing set of crises in the country. One by one, they failed. Increasingly, France relied on foreign and private loans to rebuild their country, all the while still suffering from the social trauma of the war. In 1925, France, one of the leaders of the new world order, appeared to teeter on the edge of collapse. The savior of France was Raymond Poincaré. Restored as prime minister by French conservatives, he likewise restored the gold standard in France. Additionally, Poincaré implemented tax reforms, reduced government spending, and paid off government debts. Under his supervision, the franc began to stabilize. Within a year, France was recovering from their major economic crisis. Due to the need to rebuild much of the country, work abounded, and employment rates soared. France had entered the golden age of modern European affairs. Two years later, it would come crashing down as the international Great Depression hit Europe. The Années Folles Translated, Années folles literally means “crazy years.” Indeed, even as France reeled with economic and political instability, the country also experienced a social and cultural revolution. Heavily influenced by American culture, France saw the emergence of the “flapper” girls. As in the United States, many French women bobbed their hair, smoked, drove cars, and wore provocative clothing. This was done to display the “new woman” of the 1920s. Among the most famous of the French flapper girls was a woman who was not, initially, French at all. Josephine Baker was an African American woman born in St. Louis. Frustrated with American segregation, she renounced her American citizenship and moved to Paris in the 1920s. Once there, she achieved international acclaim and interest as an actress, dancer, and singer. She became a person of fascination for the French, not only because of her African heritage, but also because she frequently performed nearly naked; her costumes consisting only of short skirts and necklaces. The 1920s were, in many ways, the heyday of Parisian artistic expression. Many American performers and writers who had become disenchanted with the United States moved to Paris to form expatriate communities. Among the most famous were Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. But France had plenty of artists of their own, also. Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse were enormously influential in the postwar neoclassical art movement. This style of art was a sharp contrast to the abstract, chaotic art of the prewar era. In the 1920s, people had leisure time built into their lives in a way unimaginable before World War I. As such, many French men and women flocked to the radio, theater, and to movie houses where silent films experienced wild popularity. Two of France’s biggest film and theater performers began their careers in the 1920s: Maurice Chevalier and Charles Boyer. Both men would perform in Parisian theaters, French silent films, and eventually find their way to Hollywood’s walk of fame. Similarly, the rise in leisure time also meant an increased interest in sporting events. Most popular in France were the famous bicycle race, the Tour de France. Cultural Backlash: Extreme Conservativism in France Not everyone in France enjoyed the cultural changes, or the new government. Several far-right political groups came to the forefront of public attention in the 1920s. The parent organization of these groups was Action Française. An extreme rightist organization of roughly 200,000 people, it promoted “traditional” French values and was strongly antisemitic. Action Française circulated their messages through their newspaper, demonstrations, marches, and public protests. Although they promoted a “Catholic France,” their inflammatory language and use of occasional violence won them no support from the Catholic Church. Instead, the church ultimately prohibited its members from joining the organization. By the late 1920s, Action Française was losing members and popularity. But it had served its purpose in the eyes of its founders. Because in its stead, new, even more extreme rightist groups, such as the Croix-de-Feu, would emerge in the 1930s to rally people to its causes. Despite the efforts of the French government of the 1920s, as well as the cultural developments, much of France remained politically and socially divided during this time. Strife Within: Britain in the 1920s More than any other nation in the world, Britain emerged as the leader of democracy and protector of humanity after World War I. It had suffered less physical damage to the countryside than France, although the country writhed with the pain of more than 1 million dead and wounded men. As France rebuilt itself, and the United States retreated into isolationism, Britain became the face of Western democracy. But Britain also faced numerous challenges domestically and internationally. In the 1920s, the British economy was far from stable, and British politicians were consumed with the question of “What should Britain do about the Irish?” Learning Objectives - Evaluate how events of the 1920s affected British and French societies. - Analyze how Ireland developed during the 1920s. Key Terms / Key Concepts Irish Republican Army (IRA): nationalist and militaristic group that supported Irish independence from England Irish Civil War: 1922 – 1923 war that pitted supporters of the Anglo-Irish Treaty with those who opposed the treaty Irish Free State: predecessor to the Republic of Ireland (1922 – 1949) Irish War for Independence: 1919 – 1921 conflict fought between Irish nationalists and the British Michael Collins: hero of the Easter Uprising and Irish War for Independence who was assassinated during the Irish Civil War for signing the Anglo-Irish Treaty The British Economy after World War I During World War I, the Atlantic Ocean had transformed into a theater of combat between British ships and German submarines. Millions of tons of British exported goods had been sunk. For an industrialized economy such as Britain’s, this loss was difficult to bear. In particular, the loss of exported, manufactured goods proved difficult for the British because of interwar competition from Japan and the United States. As a result, unemployment soared in Great Britain following World War I. By 1921, roughly four million people were receiving government aid. For the thousands of British soldiers returning home from the war, there were often too few jobs. Throughout the 1920s, the British economy fluctuated and proved unstable. In 1925, Winston Churchill reintroduced the gold standard to generate income from British exports. But the result was that Americans and other nations undersold the British abroad. British manufactured goods were overpriced and undersold, contributing widely to the wavering economy. Moreover, when the Great Depression struck the United States in 1929, it would amplify economic problems for the British. For no longer did foreign countries want to purchase what were, already overpriced, manufactured goods. As a result, Britain lost many of the export markets it relied on, the economy remained poor, and unemployment remained high. The "Roaring 20s" in Britain The only country to emerge prosperous immediately after World War I was the United States. In fact, by 1920, Britain experienced deep economic crises. Despite heavy American influence on both France and Britain in the 1920s, neither country “roared” with the financial success of the United States. For the British, the 1920s were a very difficult decade politically and economically. But just as the French and Americans experienced cultural revolutions in the 1920s, so too did the British. During World War I, women had filled the labor void caused by men leaving for war. After the war, British women called later for the right to vote, believing that they had demonstrated their equality with men. In 1918, Britain gave women the right to vote. On the heels of this achievement came the idea of the “new woman”: the flapper. Internationally renowned for her short hair, beaded necklaces, short dresses, and “morally loose” lifestyle, flapper women became pronounced throughout British society. Like the Americans and French, British men and women experienced more leisure time in the 1920s. Radio programs became widely popular. In the evenings, men and women also flocked to theaters, cafés, movie houses, and sporting events. But the love of life that permeated America and France in the 1920s never reached the same zenith in Britain. The Irish Question In Great Britain’s modern history, no question has proved so bitter and ill-fated as the question of Irish statehood. Part of the difficulty resided in Ireland itself. On the eve of World War I, six counties in the north of Ireland remained strongly pro-British and protestant. The remaining four-fifths of the country were strongly Catholic and supported Irish independence, and a breakaway from England—a country that had treated them as second-class citizens or even indentured servants. The Irish War for Independence In 1916, England was in the middle of fighting World War I against the Central Powers. But that did not dissuade the explosion of Irish discontent. The same year, a group of roughly 3,000 Irish patriots launched a rebellion against English rule. Known as the Easter Uprising, the nationalists captured key buildings in Dublin in April 1916. The British responded swiftly. Despite the fact they needed men to fight on the Western Front, the British sent 8,000 troops to Ireland to crush the Irish insurrectionists. At the end of the rebellion, fifteen Irish leaders were executed. The end-result was not what the British anticipated, however. Except for northeast Ireland, the Irish independence movement swept throughout the country. It would culminate in numerous bloody wars between the English and Irish during the 1920s. In 1919, Irish representatives were elected to the British parliament. With Irish nationalism growing, they refused to take their seats. Instead, the representatives formed their own Irish governing assembly in Dublin. Nationwide strikes and boycotts against British businesses, shops, and industries took place. The Irish War for Independence had begun. Within weeks, the Irish Republican Army was formed to fight the British, who were preparing to use force to suppress the Irish. For two years, war raged in Ireland. The Irish Republican Army fought for the independence of Ireland. The British forces, nicknamed the “Black and Tans” because of their mismatched uniforms, were largely a group of war veterans deployed to crush the Irish. Frustrated and war weary, the Black and Tans quickly became known for their poor discipline and willingness to carry-out war crimes against the Irish. These crimes included murder and torture of soldiers and civilians, as well as the burning of civilian homes. By the end of the war, both sides had adopted guerilla warfare, and the war had escalated dramatically, particularly in Dublin. After two years of brutal warfare, the Irish were running out of ammunition, while British resources appeared to be endless. In December 1921, the two sides signed a peace treaty. The following year, British forces withdrew from southern Ireland. In 1922, the Irish achieved their principal goal, and the Irish Free State was created. Originally a dominion of Great Britain, the Free State included 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland. (Northern Ireland—the remaining six counties—did not join the Free State and remained loyal to Great Britain.) The Irish Civil War Although the Irish Free State was created in 1922, many Irish people felt the conflict was far from over. The British has stopped short of recognizing the Irish Free State as entirely independent. It was a country independent from the United Kingdom, but still considered part of the British Empire. A fact which many Irish nationalists resented deeply. Moreover, the Anglo-Irish peace treaty had divided Ireland into two separate and distinct Irelands: the Irish Free State and Ulster (Northern Ireland)—the six counties in northeast Ireland that remained loyal to England and part of Great Britain. Across Ireland, people became divided over the treaty. Many sought an independent, united, and single Ireland with no attachments to Great Britain. Many others felt that they had achieved the best possible peace terms with the British. In 1922, the Irish Civil War erupted between those who supported the treaty, and those who did not. For eleven months, brutal warfare spread throughout Ireland, claiming between 1,500 and 2,000 lives. The most famous casualty of the civil war was none other than the hero in both the Easter Uprising, and the Irish War for Independence, Michael Collins. Anti-treaty forces assassinated Collins in County Cork, Ireland because of his role in approving the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921 The side that supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 ultimately won the Irish Civil War. In 1931, the passage of the Statute of Westminster ensured that the Parliament of the United Kingdom relinquished nearly all of its remaining authority over the Free State of Ireland; this had the effect of granting the Free State internationally recognized sovereignty. In 1949, the Irish Free State achieved complete independence and was renamed the Republic of Ireland. As well as “the Republic of Ireland,” the state is also referred to as “Ireland,” “Éire,” “the Republic,” “Southern Ireland,” or “the South,” depending on who is making the reference and to whom. To this date, deep tension still exists between Northern Ireland, which remains largely protestant, and a part of the United Kingdom, and the largely Catholic country, the Republic of Ireland. This tension is conveyed through the many names used to reference this one nation. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Ferguson, Wallace K. and Geoffrey Bruun. A Survey of European Civilization. 4th Ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston: 1969. 816-826.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.572511	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87975/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 13: Post WWI, France and Britain in 1920s", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88076/overview	United States During the Cold War Overview Introduction Following World War II, the United States saw an advanced economic and political growth. The United States foreign policy was to be against the Soviet Union. This meant that in many ways the United States had deep economic and political ties throughout the world in the middle of the 20th century. The Truman Doctrine played a significant role in how the United States grew during this period. Learning Objectives - Evaluate the differences between Soviet Communism and United States Capitalism. - Analyze the impact of the end of World War II on the post-war societies. - Evaluate the role of United States foreign policy in shaping the post World War II world. Key Terms / Key Concepts containment: a military strategy to stop the expansion of an enemy; the goal of the United States and its allies to prevent the spread of communism “Long Telegram”: a 1946 cable telegram by U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan during the post-WWII administration of U.S. President Harry Truman that articulated the policy of containment toward the USSR Marshall Plan: an American initiative to aid Western Europe in which the United States gave more than $12 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II National Security Act of 1947: a bill that brought about a major restructuring of the United States government’s military and intelligence agencies following World War; a bill that established the National Security Council, a central place of coordination for national security policy in the executive branch, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the U.S.’s first peacetime intelligence agency North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO): an intergovernmental military alliance signed on April 4, 1949 and including the five Treaty of Brussels states (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom) plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland Truman Doctrine: an American foreign policy created to counter Soviet geopolitical spread during the Cold War, announced by Harry S. Truman to Congress in 1947 NATO The North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO was little more than a political association until the Korean War galvanized the organization’s member states and an integrated military structure was built up under the direction of two U.S. supreme commanders. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, which formed in 1955. Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defense against a prospective Soviet invasion—doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of France from NATO’s military structure in 1966 for 30 years. The Treaty of Brussels 1948 is considered the precursor to the NATO agreement; it was signed on March 17 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom. The treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Union’s Defense Organization in September 1948. However, none of these organizations were thought to be sufficient without participation of the United States, which was thought necessary both to counter the military power of the USSR and prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. In addition, the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'etat by the Communists had overthrown a democratic government, and British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin reiterated that the best way to prevent another Czechoslovakia was to evolve a joint Western military strategy. In 1948, European leaders met with U.S. defense, military, and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon under U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall’s orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 1949. It included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization’s goal was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” The members agreed that an armed attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. Consequently, they agreed that if an armed attack occurred, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense, would assist the member being attacked, taking such action as it deemed necessary; this would include the use of armed force to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor. Although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 was crucial for NATO as it raised the apparent threat of all Communist countries working together and forced the alliance to develop concrete military plans. Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) was formed to direct forces in Europe and began work under Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower in January 1951. In September 1950, the NATO Military Committee called for an ambitious buildup of conventional forces to meet the Soviets, subsequently reaffirming this position at the February 1952 meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Lisbon. In 1954, the Soviet Union suggested that it should join NATO to preserve peace in Europe. The NATO countries, fearing that the Soviet Union’s motive was to weaken the alliance, ultimately rejected this proposal. The incorporation of West Germany into the organization on May 9, 1955 was described as “a decisive turning point in the history of our continent” by Halvard Lange, Foreign Affairs Minister of Norway at the time. A major reason for Germany’s entry into the alliance was that without German manpower, it would have been impossible to field enough conventional forces to resist a Soviet invasion. One of its immediate results was the creation of the Warsaw Pact, signed on May 14, 1955 by the Soviet Union, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, and East Germany as a formal response to this event. The Warsaw Pact ensured the delineation of the two opposing sides of the Cold War. Foreign Policy Learning Objectives - Analyze the role of propaganda for the United States and the Soviet Union. - Evaluate the United States' goals in establishing partnerships around the world. Key Terms / Key Concepts Marshall Plan: an American initiative to aid Western Europe in which the United States gave more than $12 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II National Security Act of 1947: a bill that brought about a major restructuring of the United States government’s military and intelligence agencies following World War; a bill that established the National Security Council, a central place of coordination for national security policy in the executive branch, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the U.S.’s first peacetime intelligence agency North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO): an intergovernmental military alliance signed on April 4, 1949 and including the five Treaty of Brussels states (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom) plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland Truman Doctrine: an American foreign policy created to counter Soviet geopolitical spread during the Cold War, announced by Harry S. Truman to Congress in 1947 Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government-funded broadcasting organization that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East “where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed.” During the Cold War, Radio Free Europe (RFE) was broadcast to Soviet satellite countries and Radio Liberty (RL) targeted the Soviet Union. RFE was founded as an anti-communist propaganda source in 1949 by the National Committee for a Free Europe. During RFE’s earliest years of existence, the CIA and U.S. Department of State issued broad policy directives, and a system evolved where broadcast policy was determined through negotiation between them and RFE staff. RL was founded two years later. The two organizations merged in 1976. Radio Free Europe was created and grew in its early years through the efforts of the National Committee for a Free Europe (NCFE), an anti-communist CIA front organization formed by Allen Dulles in New York City in 1949. The United States funded a long list of projects to counter the Communist appeal among intellectuals in Europe and the developing world. RFE was developed out of a belief that the Cold War would eventually be fought by political rather than military means. American policymakers such as George Kennan and John Foster Dulles acknowledged that the Cold War was essentially a war of ideas. The implementation of surrogate radio stations was a key part of the greater psychological war effort. RFE played a critical role in Cold War-era Eastern Europe. Unlike government-censored programs, RFE publicized anti-Soviet protests and nationalist movements. Its audience increased substantially following the failed Berlin riots of 1953 and the highly publicized defection of Józef Światło. Its Hungarian service’s coverage of Poland’s Poznań riots in 1956 arguably served as an inspiration for the Hungarian revolution. During the Revolution of 1956 RFE broadcasts encouraged rebels to fight and suggested that Western support was imminent. These RFE broadcasts violated Eisenhower’s policy which determined that the United States would not provide military support for the Revolution. In the wake of this scandal a number of changes were implemented at RFE, including the establishment of the Broadcast Analysis Division to ensure that broadcasts were accurate and professional while maintaining the autonomy of journalists. Communist governments frequently sent agents to infiltrate RFE’s headquarters. Radio transmissions into the Soviet Union were regularly jammed by the KGB. RFE/RL received funds from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) until 1972. The Truman Doctrine The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy created to contain Soviet geopolitical spread during the Cold War; President Harry S. Truman first announced to Congress on March 12, 1947 and further developed on July 12, 1948, when he pledged to contain Soviet threats to Greece and Turkey. The Truman Doctrine implied American support for other nations threatened by Soviet communism. It became the foundation of American foreign policy, and led to the formation of NATO in 1949. Historians often use Truman’s speech to date the start of the Cold War. Truman reasoned that because the totalitarian regimes coerced free peoples, they represented a threat to international peace and the national security of the United States. Truman told Congress that “it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” This plea was made amid the crisis of the Greek Civil War (1946 – 49), and he argued that if Greece and Turkey did not receive the aid that they urgently needed they would inevitably fall to communism with grave consequences throughout the region. Because Turkey and Greece were historic rivals, it was necessary to help both equally even though the threat to Greece was more immediate. The policy won the support of Republicans who controlled Congress and involved sending $400 million in American money but no military forces to the region. The effect was to end the communist threat, and in 1952, both Greece and Turkey joined NATO, a military alliance, to guarantee their protection. For years, Britain had supported Greece, but was now near bankruptcy and was forced to radically reduce its involvement. In February 1947, Britain formally requested for the United States to take over its role in supporting the Greeks and their government. The Truman Doctrine was informally extended to become the basis of American Cold War policy throughout Europe and around the world. It shifted American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union from détente (a relaxation of tension) to a policy of containment of Soviet expansion as advocated by diplomat George Kennan. It was distinguished from rollback by implicitly tolerating the previous Soviet takeovers in Eastern Europe. Historian Eric Foner argues the Truman Doctrine “set a precedent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes throughout the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against the Soviet Union.” Background for Greek Crisis The Greek Civil War was fought in Greece from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek government army (backed by the United Kingdom and the United States), and the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE, the military branch of the Greek Communist Party (KKE), backed by Yugoslavia, Albania, and Bulgaria. The fighting resulted in the defeat of the Communist insurgents by the government forces. In the second stage of the Greek Civil War in December 1944, the British helped prevent the seizure of Athens by the Greek Communist Party (KKE). In the third phase (1946 – 49), guerrilla forces controlled by the KKE fought against the internationally recognized Greek government,t which was formed after 1946 elections boycotted by the KKE. At this point, the British realized that the Greek leftists were being directly funded by Josip Broz Tito in neighboring Yugoslavia; the Greek communists received little help directly from the Soviet Union, while Yugoslavia provided support and sanctuary. By late 1946, Britain informed the United States that due to its own weakening economy, it could no longer continue to provide military and economic support to Greece. In 1946 – 47, the United States and the Soviet Union moved from wartime allies to Cold War adversaries. Soviet imperialism in Eastern Europe, its delayed withdrawal from Iran, and the breakdown of Allied cooperation in Germany provided a backdrop of escalating tensions for the Truman Doctrine. To Harry S. Truman, the growing unrest in Greece began to look like a pincer movement against the oil-rich areas of the Middle East and the warm-water ports of the Mediterranean. In February 1946, George Kennan, an American diplomat in Moscow, sent his famed “Long Telegram,” which predicted the Soviets would only respond to force and that the best way to handle them was through a long-term strategy of containment by stopping their geographical expansion. After the British warned that they could no longer help Greece and Prime Minister Konstantinos Tsaldaris’s visit to Washington in December 1946 to ask for American assistance, the U.S. State Department formulated a plan. Aid would be given to both Greece and Turkey to help cool the long-standing rivalry between them. American policymakers recognized the instability of the region, fearing that if Greece was lost to communism, Turkey would not last long. If Turkey yielded to Soviet demands, the position of Greece would be endangered. Fear of this regional domino effect threat guided the American decision. Greece and Turkey were strategic allies for geographical reasons as well, as the fall of Greece would put the Soviets on a dangerous flank for the Turks and strengthen the Soviet Union’s ability to cut off allied supply lines in the event of war. Long-Term Policy and Metaphor The Truman Doctrine underpinned American Cold War policy in Europe and around the world. In the words of historian James T. Patterson, “The Truman Doctrine was a highly publicized commitment of a sort the administration had not previously undertaken. Its sweeping rhetoric, promising that the United States should aid all ‘free people’ being subjugated, set the stage for innumerable later ventures that led to globalistic commitments. It was in these ways a major step.” The doctrine endured, historian Dennis Merill argues, because it addressed a broader cultural insecurity about modern life in a globalized world. It dealt with Washington’s concern over communism’s domino effect, it enabled a media-sensitive presentation of the doctrine that won bipartisan support, and it mobilized American economic power to modernize and stabilize unstable regions without direct military intervention. It brought nation-building activities and modernization programs to the forefront of foreign policy. The Truman Doctrine became a metaphor for emergency aid to keep a nation from communist influence. Truman used disease imagery not only to communicate a sense of impending disaster in the spread of communism but also to create a “rhetorical vision” of containing it by extending a protective shield around non-communist countries throughout the world. It echoed the “quarantine the aggressor” policy Truman’s predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, sought to impose to contain German and Japanese expansion in 1937. The medical metaphor extended beyond the immediate aims of the Truman Doctrine in that the imagery combined with fire and flood phrases evocative of disaster provided the United States with an easy transition to direct military confrontation in later years with communist forces in Korea and Vietnam. By ideological differences in life or death terms, Truman was able to garner support for this communism-containing policy. The Marshall Plan and Molotov Plan In June 1947, in accordance with the Truman Doctrine, the United States enacted the Marshall Plan. This was a pledge of economic assistance for all European countries willing to participate, including the Soviet Union, who refused and created their own Moltov Plan for the Eastern Bloc. Overview In early 1947, Britain, France, and the United States unsuccessfully attempted to reach an agreement with the Soviet Union for an economically self-sufficient Germany, including a detailed accounting of the industrial plants, goods, and infrastructure already removed by the Soviets. In June 1947, in accordance with the Truman Doctrine, the United States enacted the Marshall Plan, a pledge of economic assistance for all European countries willing to participate, including the Soviet Union. The plan’s aim was to rebuild the democratic and economic systems of Europe and counter perceived threats to Europe’s balance of power, such as communist parties seizing control through revolutions or elections. The plan also stated that European prosperity was contingent upon German economic recovery. One month later, Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, creating a unified Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council (NSC). These would become the main bureaucracies for U.S. policy in the Cold War. Stalin believed that economic integration with the West would allow Eastern Bloc countries to escape Soviet control, and that the U.S. was trying to buy a pro-U.S. realignment of Europe. Stalin therefore prevented Eastern Bloc nations from receiving Marshall Plan aid. The Soviet Union’s alternative to the Marshall Plan, purported to involve Soviet subsidies and trade with central and eastern Europe, became known as the Molotov Plan (later institutionalized in January 1949 as the COMECON). Stalin was also fearful of a reconstituted Germany; his vision of a post-war Germany did not include the ability to rearm or pose any kind of threat to the Soviet Union. In early 1948, following reports of strengthening “reactionary elements”, Soviet operatives executed a coup d’état in Czechoslovakia, the only Eastern Bloc state that the Soviets had permitted to retain democratic structures. The public brutality of the coup shocked Western powers and set in a motion a brief scare that swept away the last vestiges of opposition to the Marshall Plan in the United States Congress. The twin policies of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan led to billions in economic and military aid for Western Europe, Greece, and Turkey. With U.S. assistance, the Greek military won its civil war. Under the leadership of Alcide De Gasperi the Italian Christian Democrats defeated the powerful Communist-Socialist alliance in the elections of 1948. At the same time, there was increased intelligence and espionage activity, Eastern Bloc defections, and diplomatic expulsions. Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $12 billion (approximately $120 billion in value as of June 2016) in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. The plan was in operation for four years beginning April 8, 1948. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-devastated regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, make Europe prosperous again, and prevent the spread of communism. The Marshall Plan required a lessening of interstate barriers, saw a decrease in regulations, and encouraged an increase in productivity, labor union membership, and the adoption of modern business procedures. The Marshall Plan aid was divided among the participant states on a per capita basis. A larger amount was given to the major industrial powers, as the prevailing opinion was that their resuscitation was essential for general European revival. Somewhat more aid per capita was also directed towards the Allied nations, with less for those that had been part of the Axis or remained neutral. The largest recipient of Marshall Plan money was the United Kingdom (receiving about 26% of the total), followed by France (18%) and West Germany (11%). Some 18 European countries received Plan benefits. Although offered participation, the Soviet Union refused Plan benefits and blocked benefits to Eastern Bloc countries such as East Germany and Poland. The years 1948 to 1952 saw the fastest period of growth in European history. Industrial production increased by 35%. Agricultural production substantially surpassed pre-war levels. The poverty and starvation of the immediate postwar years disappeared, and Western Europe embarked upon an unprecedented two decades of growth during which standards of living increased dramatically. There is some debate among historians over how much this should be credited to the Marshall Plan. Most reject the idea that it alone miraculously revived Europe, as evidence shows that a general recovery was already underway. Most believe that the Marshall Plan sped this recovery but did not initiate it. Many argue that the structural adjustments that it forced were of great importance. The political effects of the Marshall Plan may have been just as important as the economic ones. Marshall Plan aid allowed the nations of Western Europe to relax austerity measures and rationing, reducing discontent and bringing political stability. The communist influence on Western Europe was greatly reduced, and throughout the region communist parties faded in popularity in the years after the Marshall Plan. MAD Learning Objectives - Evaluate the role of atomic weapons on the Cold War. - Analyze the policies of Mutually Assured Destruction on the Cold War policies. The Atomic Race Eisenhower’s secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, initiated a “New Look” for the Cold War containment strategy, calling for a greater reliance on nuclear weapons against U.S. enemies in wartime, and promoted the doctrine of “massive retalitation,” threatening a severe response to any Soviet aggression. Background: Political Changes in the U.S. and USSR When Dwight D. Eisenhower was sworn in as U.S. President in 1953, the Democrats lost their two-decades-long control of the U.S. presidency. Under Eisenhower, however, the nation’s Cold War policy remained essentially unchanged. While a thorough rethinking of foreign policy was launched (known as “Operation Solarium”), the majority of emerging ideas (such as a “rollback of Communism” and the liberation of Eastern Europe) were quickly regarded as unworkable. An underlying focus on the containment of Soviet communism remained to inform the broad approach of U.S. foreign policy. While the transition from the Truman to the Eisenhower presidencies was conservative-moderate in character, the change in the Soviet Union was immense. With the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, his former right-hand man Nikita Khrushchev was named First Secretary of the Communist Party. During a subsequent period of collective leadership, Khrushchev gradually consolidated his power. During a February 25, 1956 speech, to the closed session of the Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev shocked his listeners by denouncing Stalin’s personality cult and the many crimes that occurred under Stalin’s leadership. Although the contents of the speech were secret, it was leaked to outsiders, shocking both Soviet allies and Western observers. Khrushchev was later named premier of the Soviet Union in 1958. The impact on Soviet politics was immense. The speech stripped Khrushchev’s remaining Stalinist rivals of their legitimacy in a single stroke, dramatically boosting the First Party Secretary’s power domestically. Khrushchev was then able to ease restrictions, freeing some dissidents and initiating economic policies that emphasized commercial goods rather than just coal and steel production. American Nuclear Strategy Along with these major political changes in the U.S. and USSR, the central strategic components of competition between East and West shifted as well. When Eisenhower entered office in 1953, he was committed to two possibly contradictory goals: maintaining, or even heightening, the national commitment to counter the spread of Soviet influence and satisfying demands to balance the budget, lower taxes, and curb inflation. The most prominent of the doctrines to emerge from this goal was “massive retaliation,” which Secretary of State John Foster Dulles announced early in 1954. Eschewing the costly, conventional ground forces of the Truman administration and wielding the vast superiority of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and covert intelligence, Dulles defined his approach as “brinksmanship” in a January 16, 1956 interview with Life: pushing the Soviet Union to the brink of war in order to exact concessions. The aim of massive retaliation is to deter another state from initially attacking. In the event of an attack from an aggressor, a state would massively retaliate with force disproportionate to the size of the attack, which would likely involve the use of nuclear weapons on a massive scale. This new national security policy approach, reflecting Eisenhower’s concern for balancing the Cold War military commitments of the United States with the nation’s financial resources, was called the “New Look.” The policy emphasized reliance on strategic nuclear weapons to deter potential threats, both conventional and nuclear, from the Eastern Bloc of nations headed by the Soviet Union. This approach led the administration to increase the number of nuclear warheads from 1,000 in 1953 to 18,000 by early 1961. Despite overwhelming U.S. superiority, one additional nuclear weapon was produced each day. The administration also exploited new technology. In 1955 the eight-engine B-52 Stratofortress bomber, the first true jet bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons, was developed. Attributions Source image provided by Wikimedia Commons: Truman Signing the North Atlantic Treaty https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/photograph-records/73-3194 Chapters adapted from: https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/the-beginning-of-the-cold-war/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/life-in-the-ussr/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/containment/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/competition-between-east-and-west/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/crisis-points-of-the-cold-war/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.609210	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88076/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 15: Cold War & Decolonization, United States During the Cold War", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88114/overview	Space Exploration Overview Human Activity in Space and its Foundations: An Overview The title image is a photo of Neil Armstrong on the Moon. Human activity in space has its roots in the development of balloon flight from the eighteenth century, followed by power flight in the early twentieth century, and the rocket flights carried out by Robert Goddard. From the mid-twentieth century to the early twenty-first century it occurred in an atmosphere of international competition, with national accomplishment at the forefront and scientific discovery a close second as goals. By the mid-1970s international cooperation had begun, although the national space infrastructures remained separate. By the 2020s, while there has been considerable activity in Earth orbit, only six U.S. expeditions have visited the Moon and missions beyond the Moon have been uncrewed. Learning Objectives Evaluate how global social, political, and technological trends have shaped contemporary life. Identify, explain, and assess the historic impact and significance of efforts in space exploration. Key Terms / Key Concepts Robert Goddard: U.S. physicist, engineer, and inventor who built and launched the atmospheric rockets that paved the way for space flight V-2 rocket: ballistic missile developed by Germany during World War II Between 1926 and 1941 Robert Goddard—a U.S. physicist, engineer, and inventor—launched thirty-four rockets with his team; these rockets reached altitudes as high as 2.6 kilometers and speed as great as 885 kilometers per hour. His developments in rocketry, including multi-stage and liquid-fuel rockets, paved the way for the rockets that reached Earth orbit, the Moon, and other bodies in the solar system. The next major advances in atmospheric rocketry occurred during World War II. From September 1944 through March 1945 Germany launched over a thousand V-2 rockets against Britain, France, and Belgium. Since the late thirties the Nazi rocket program had been designing and building ballistic missiles with which to strike Allied cities such as London and Paris. The Nazis sought to damage the British and French economies and demoralize British, French, and Belgium citizens with their V-1 and the V-2 rockets. At the end of the war and for several years afterward the U.S. and Soviet governments brought over 1600 and 2000 scientists and engineers from the German program, respectively. These engineers and scientists helped to construct the postwar Soviet and U.S. space programs. For instance, Wernher von Braun was an aerospace engineer brought from Germany to the U.S; he participated in the development of the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo program. Soviet-U.S. Space Race From the end of World War II to the early seventies the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet dominated the human presence in space. The space race was actually a succession of space races with progressively more ambitious goals, culminating in the first crewed expeditions to the Moon. These races were for national prestige and the technological advances that came with the efforts. As far as public support was concerned these goals were easy for people to understand and appreciate, whether in a democratic society, such as the U.S., or an authoritarian society, such as the Soviet Union. These goals also inspired other nations with the resources to join the competition, including China and India. Learning Objectives Evaluate how global social, political, and technological trends have shaped contemporary life. Identify, explain, and assess the historic impact and significance of efforts in space exploration. Key Terms / Key Concepts Sputnik: first human satellite in Earth orbit, launched by the U.S.S.R. in October 1957 Apollo 11: first crewed expedition to the Moon, occurring in July 1969 The first race revolved around the first nation to launch a satellite into space. On 4 October 1957 the Soviet Union won this race by launching Sputnik into Earth orbit. A month later the Soviets launched Sputnik II with the first animal passenger, the dog Laika; this second mission ended with Sputnik II and Laika burned up upon reentry into the atmosphere. In the short-run Sputnik caused panic across the U.S. First, the rocket used to put Sputnik in orbit was similar to the intercontinental ballistic missiles that would be used to carry nuclear warheads between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Many in the U.S. also feared that Sputnik foreshadowed Soviet control of Earth’s orbit. In addition, Americans feared future Soviet advances in space technology. These concerns resulted in increased U.S. space efforts, first and foremost with the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in July 1958. The U.S. put its own first satellite into space with the launch of Explorer on 31 January 1958. For the next four years the Soviets and Americans split honors for a string of orbital accomplishments. By the mid-sixties the U.S. dominated the field of uncrewed spacecraft in orbit and across the inner planets. The same pattern occurred in the Cold War competition over early crewed operations in space, with the Soviets winning the early races, including the first person to reach low Earth orbit and the first person to orbit the Earth several times. The Soviets also won the races for the first multi-person space flight and first spacewalk. In each of these competitions the U.S. followed closely behind. The central competition in the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was getting a crewed expedition to the Moon and back, which the U.S. won in July 1969. On 12 September 1962 U.S. President John Kennedy identified that as a national goal, with completion by the end of the 1960s. The U.S. government accomplished this through three programs: the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. From 1961 through 1963 Mercury, the first program, launched six single-person spacecrafts into Earth’s orbit; these were all successfully returned. The goal of Mercury was to see if such a feat could be accomplished with the technology that the U.S. then had, as well as to investigate how astronauts could function in Earth’s orbit. Gemini, the second program, consisted of ten two-person missions in 1965 – 66 in Earth’s orbit; the mission was to investigate how astronauts would function in missions of a couple of weeks, to carry out activities outside the spacecraft, and to test launching, landing, and docking in space procedures. Apollo, the third program, aimed at taking three-person crews to the Moon. The first four Apollo missions from October 1968 through May 1969 tested equipment and procedures in preparation for the first crewed mission to the Moon: Apollo 11. After Apollo 11, NASA launched six more Apollo missions through the end of 1972, before cancelling the program, in part because of waning interest among Americans. The Soviet Union did not succeed in reaching the Moon. The three Soviet space programs that roughly coincided with the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs were the 1961 – 63 Vostok, 1964 – 65 Voskhod, and the 1967 – 91 Soyuz programs. The Soyuz program, roughly analogous to the Apollo program, did not succeed in developing the crewed landing craft and larger spacecraft system necessary for a Moon landing and return to Earth. Within four years of the Apollo 11 milestone, the U.S. government had terminated the Apollo program and all further human activity on the Moon. The intensity that had driven the U.S. get to the Moon had burned out many Americans’ interest in space. Additionally, interest may have waned due to the decreasing focus on the Cold War space race. Subsequently, the U.S. government pursued less ambitious programs with a space station, robot probes, and the space shuttle program. The Soviet Union and the U.S. also competed with robot probes in outer space; however, the competition was not as intense because the efforts and their goals were not as visible to average citizens. These probes included targets such as the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, the Martian moon of Phobos, the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, Saturn and its moon Titan, Uranus, Neptune, the Kuiper Belt, and various comets. US space probes explored the solar system and tested new propulsion and sensor technologies. Such robot probes were a fraction of the cost of crewed expeditions. U.S. Shuttle Program and U.S. and Soviet Space Stations After the end of the Apollo program the most visible U.S. space effort was the shuttle program. From 1981 to 2011 the five-shuttle fleet crewed by 355 astronauts completed 135 missions. Along with the U.S., astronauts and cosmonauts from fifteen other nations participated. This fleet explored new areas of reusability in the components of the shuttles. The two greatest tragedies in the Shuttle program were the breakup of the Challenger in 1986, shortly after liftoff, and the disintegration of the Columbia in 2003, upon reentry into the atmosphere. Learning Objectives Evaluate how global social, political, and technological trends have shaped contemporary life. Identify, explain, and assess the historic impact and significance of efforts in space exploration. In addition to other goals, the shuttles transported components of the International Space Station during its construction and shuttle crews participated in that construction. The ISS is an international effort with the U.S. and Russia supplying most of the components and many of the crew members. After completion of the ISS, the shuttles continued to transport supplies, equipment, and astronauts to the ISS. Along with the International Space Station, which was first crewed in 2000, the U.S. built and crewed Skylab during the 1970s; the Soviet Union launched six small space stations from 1971 to 1986, as well as the Mir space station from 1986 to 2001; and China maintained two space stations from 2011 to 2018 and 2016 to 2019: Tiangong 1 and 2. However, Tiangong 1 was only occupied for twenty days and Tiangong 2 for twenty-six days. Other National Space Programs In 2003 China became the third nation to launch a crewed spacecraft. During the 1960s the Chinese government was determined to compete with the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the space race. In 1964 China launched its first rocket into space. In 1970 China launched a satellite into Earth’s orbit: Dong Fang Hong 1. In 1999 China launched its first uncrewed spacecraft into Earth orbit, as part of the Shenzhou program. In 2001 and 2002 China followed the uncrewed Shenzhou 1 mission with three more uncrewed Shenzhou missions: Shenzhou 2 – 4; these were a prelude to Shenzhou 5—the first Chinese crewed mission with astronaut Yang Liwei. China has followed up with several more crewed missions to Earth orbit, including Shenzhou 7, during which a Chinese astronaut carried out a spacewalk. China also has conducted uncrewed missions to the Moon, including orbital missions and three landings on the Moon between 2013 and 2020. In 2020 China followed the U.S. and Russia in launching an uncrewed expedition to Mars, with a landing vehicle reaching the surface of Mars in 2021. Learning Objectives Evaluate how global social, political, and technological trends have shaped contemporary life. Identify, explain, and assess the historic impact and significance of efforts in space exploration. Key Terms / Key Concepts Shenzhou: Chinese crewed space program of the early twenty-first century India has followed a path into space that parallels the paths of its predecessors: the Soviet Union/Russia, the U.S., and China. On 19 April 1975 the first Indian satellite launched into space aboard a Soviet rocket from the Soviet launch facility at Kapustin Yar. The Indian satellite was named in honor of the Indian astronomer Aryabhata. In 1980 the Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) launched four Indian satellites on Indian rockets from Indian sites, having established its own indigenous launching capability. In October 2008 the ISRO launched India’s first lunar orbiter, which operated until August 2009. In 2013 India launched its first Mars orbiter, which reached Mars the next year, making India the fourth nation after the U.S., the Soviet Union/Russia, and China to complete such a mission to Mars. In 2019 India launched its second Lunar orbital mission, this one with a lander aboard. However, while the spacecraft reached Lunar orbit, the lander crashed. Along with these other missions, the ISRO also has launched 54 Polar Launch Satellite Vehicle missions into orbit since 1993, with 51 of these missions being successes. The PLSV is an Indian launch vehicle for reaching Earth orbit. In addition, the Indian government plans on building and launching its own space station in the future. Along with the U.S., Russia, China, and India, other nations—such as France and Japan—have contributed to space exploration and use, along with the European Space Agency. Both France and Japan have launched uncrewed spacecraft into Earth’s orbit, as well as participated in various international efforts. Human Activity in Space in the Early Twenty-First Century This expanding international presence in space occurred at the same time as U.S. interest in such efforts was waning. From 2011—when the Shuttle program ended—to 2019, the U.S. did not have its own rocket for space travel, and had to rely on Russia just to get to Earth orbit. While the U.S. government, along with many individuals and groups, have supported specific goals, such as exploring the Moon, Mars, other planets, and a number of their moons, no specific commitments have been made to crewed expeditions or settlements. Learning Objectives Evaluate how global social, political, and technological trends have shaped contemporary life. Identify, explain, and assess the historic impact and significance of efforts in space exploration. In the early twentieth century the commercialization of space began. This commercialization grew out of the developments in rocketry and built upon it with the development of new launch vehicles. Using extant infrastructure these ventures were able to streamline procedures. By the early twenty-first century this commercialization has progressed into Earth’s orbit for purposes of transportation to space stations such as the ISS, as well as tourism. In July 2021 Virgin Galactic then Blue Origin took tourists into low Earth orbit. While these diverse efforts have gained a great deal of information, they have not been effectively coordinated, either at the national or international levels. This lack of coordination has been characteristic of space exploration. Most accomplishments have been limited, only requiring the national resources of each of the two Cold War antagonists. Outside of work in Earth’s orbit and robot space probes, both requiring only incremental technological improvements over Goddard’s rockets, all work beyond the Moon has been completed by uncrewed spacecraft. A great deal has been learned and continues to be learned. However, while there are visions for a human presence in space, definitive plans with specific timetables to which one or more nations have committed themselves have not been devised and executed as of the early 2020s. In the early twenty-first century human activity in space can be divided into two categories, Earth orbit and beyond Earth orbit. In Earth orbit most space activity concerns telecommunications, meteorology, and other sciences. Orbital activity is still easily accomplished by extant rocket propulsion technology, bolstered by advances in other technologies, such as sensors, computers, and energy systems fo these devices. It continues to improve within these limits in propulsion technology. Space activity beyond Earth orbit is still dominated by exploration as marked by milestones, with no permanent settlements in the foreseeable future on either the Moon or Mars. Space exploration has been limited by the scarce resources allocated by national governments. In particular, governments and the private sector have only made incremental progress in the advancement of propulsion technology. In the early twenty-first century spacecraft were still propelled by the same kind of rockets that Goddard’s team had designed and built. Many around the world hope that the human presence in space will continue to expand, but hopes have not been translated into the necessary commitment of the necessary resources by government and the private sector. Attributions Title Image - Neil Armstrong on the Moon, 20 July 1969 - Attribution: NASA photo As11-40-5886, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons - Provided by: Wikipedia Commons - Location: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Armstrong_on_Moon_%28As11-40-5886%29_%28cropped%29.jpg - License: Creative Commons CC0 License Adapted from: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/about/history/dr_goddard.html https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/program-toc.html https://www.space.com/space-tourism-giant-leap-2021-milestones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Solar_System_exploration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/these -7-turning-points-in-indias-space-race-made-us-a-global-force/727779#:~:text=India%2C%20too%2C%20is%20one%20of%20the%20leading%20players,launched%20the%20country%20onto%20the%20global%20space%20race	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.643586	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88114/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 17: Post-Cold War International Structure, Space Exploration", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88088/overview	Latin America Overview Introduction Latin America held a unique position in the Cold War, because of the geographical and cultural importance of the region to the United States. Many Latin American states struggled by allying themselves to the United States during this period. To understand the period, it is important to recognize the political powers of populism and military dictatorships that would come to dominate the period and region. As a way to understand the challenges of Latin America, an example of the period would be Argentina. Learning Objectives - Evaluate the role of the Cold War on the relationship of Latin America. - Analyze the impact of the Cold War on Latin American society. Latin America Following World War II Latin America struggled throughout the Cold War period, mostly because of the issues of political proximity and relationship to the United States. As the United States saw the expansion of the Soviet Union in Europe and Asia as proximity, so too did the United States see Latin America as fertile grounds to expand their goals and agendas of capitalism. To understand the period, it is important to recognize the political powers of populism and military dictatorships, that because of political corruption would yield to democracies by the 1990s. that would come to dominate the period and region. As a way to understand the challenges of Latin America, an example of the period would be Argentina. Argentina After World War II: From Peronism to Dictatorship Argentina following the Great Depression struggled throughout the Infamous Decade of the 1930s. The country saw a radical rise in political instability and economic conditions worsened. The majority of the goods produced in Argentina’s farms struggled to find a market in Europe or the United States. This would compound the political instability due to the limitations of economics and the spread radicalism. In 1943, a military dictatorship replaced a struggling democracy. By 1945, things began to change in Argentina. Learning Objectives - Evaluate Peronism's affects on Argentin in the 20th century - Analyze the importance of the Dirty War on Argentina. Key Terms / Key Concepts disappeared: a person who is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, especially if there is a refusal to acknowledge the person’s fate or whereabouts, which essentially places the victim outside the protection of the law hyperinflation: in economics, when a country experiences very high and accelerating rates of inflation, which erodes the real value of local currency and causes the population to minimize their holdings of said money military junta: an oligarchic form of government that differs from a civilian dictatorship in a number of ways, including motivations for seizing power, the institutions through which rule is organized, and the ways in which leaders leave positions of power (Many military juntas have viewed themselves as saving the nation from corrupt or myopic civilian politicians. Military leaders often rule as a junta, selecting one as the head.) Peronism: also called Justicialism, an Argentine political movement based on the political legacy of former President Juan Domingo Peron and his second wife, Eva Peron Peronism The Argentinian political movement Peronism is based on three main principles: social justice, economic independence, and political sovereignty. Developed by Juan Domingo Perón in the 1940s, this political ideology was built on points of populism as a political movement. Populism is a political style where the leadership builds a coalition of ordinary people that feel their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. This style of leadership usually is led by charismatic leaders that attempt to build coalitions of populations by showing how the ordinary people are left behind and abandoned by the political establishment. Perón rose to power by harnessing the tensions inside of Argentina in the middle of the 1940s. Perón first rose to power as part of the military dictatorship of the 1943 rebellion. He could have had any position of power, but instead chose to be the secretary of unions because he understood the tensions that the everyday people felt. Perón built a political coalition that followed him based on the industrialization of Argentina during World War II. Many inside of Argentina had Italian and German heritage, and this would provide a unique blend of politics inside the country during World War II. Argentina would be the last country in the Americas to join the Allied forces because of the allegiance to Italy and Germany from ex-patriotic families. Perón used this tension to great effect domestically by painting the United States as an empire and his position of Peronism as a justified removal of the United States from Argentine politics. Peronism, or Justicialism, is an Argentine political movement based on the political legacy of former President Juan Domingo Peron and his second wife, Eva Peron. The Justicialist Party derives its name from the concept of social justice. In 1945 Perón won the presidential election of Argentina by building a case of social justice and having one of the most famous radio actresses of Argentina as his significant other. The use of radio and mass media were key to Perón’s success and a way to incorporate his movement inside of Argentina. Radio programs, books, and newspaper articles were created to support the supremacy of Peronism and to stop political opposition. After winning the presidency, Perón would go on to take over radio stations and newspaper organizations in Argentina. This was a way to remove freedom of the press. By removing political opposition’s ability to speak about problems facing Argentina, Perón would come to dominate the country throughout the late 1940s into the early 1950s. One of the key problems that historians have with Peronism is that from the outside, it appears like a dictatorship or authoritarianism. Part of Perón’s success was not from domestic challenges, but instead from a serendipitous moment of post-war economics. Throughout World War II, Argentina supplied war materials, such as wheat and spam, to England. After the war ended, England had a massive debt to Argentina for the years of support. Therefore, when England began to repay Argentina in the late 1940s it caused an economic boom period for the country. Perón was at the right place at the right time because many of his policies of economic and social justice were able to be funded by these repayments. For example, he was able to pass public health reform in Argentina, union rights, and paid maternity leave, because all were funded by repayments. However, as the English funds began to dry up at the turn of the 1950s, Perón’s spending and the growth of government programs did not remain stable. Without the economic funding to support this growth, Argentina, and thus Perón, suffered. Ideology The pillars of the Peronist ideal, known as the “three flags,” are social justice, economic independence, and political sovereignty. Peronism is considered a third-position ideology because it rejects both capitalism and communism. It advocates corporatism as a means for mediating tensions within society, with the state responsible for negotiating compromises if conflicts arise. Traditionally, its adherents come primarily from the working class and unions, and the ideology has been described as proletarian in nature. Peronism, however, is a generally ill-defined ideology, with contradictory statements sometimes expressed. The legacy of Peron is thought to transcend the confines of any political party in modern times and blend into the broader political landscape of Argentina. Peron’s ideas were widely embraced by a variety of groups in Argentina across the political spectrum. Peron’s personal views later became a burden on the ideology, however. For example, his anti-clericalism did not strike a sympathetic chord with upper-class Argentinians. Peron’s public speeches were consistently nationalist and populist. In fact, Peronism draws many parallels with corporate nationalism due to the nationalization of many Argentinian corporations during Peron’s administrations. At the same time, labor unions became more corporate in nature, ceding the right to strike in the early to mid-1940s. Defenders of Peronism describe the doctrine as populist in that they believe it embodies the interests of the masses, especially the most vulnerable members of society. Admirers hold Peron in esteem for his administration’s anti-imperialism, non-alignment, and socially progressive initiatives. Peron’s governments made social security universal, education free for all who qualified, and provisions for one paid week off before every major examination for working students. Vast low-income housing projects were created, and paid vacations became standard. All workers were guaranteed free medical care and mothers were given three paid months off prior to and after giving birth. Workers’ recreation centers were constructed all over the country, including a vast resort in the lower Sierras de Cordoba that included eight hotels, riding stables, swimming pools, movie theaters, and scores of cabins. From the perspective of Peron’s opponents, however, Peronism was an authoritarian ideology. Peron was often compared to fascist dictators, accused of demagoguery, and his policies derided as too populist. Claiming to be an embodiment of Argentinian nationality, Peron’s government often silenced dissent by accusing opponents of being unpatriotic. Peron’s corporatism also drew attack from socialists who accused his administration of preserving capitalist exploitation and class division. Conservatives, on the other hand, rejected his modernist ideology and felt their status was threatened by the ascent of Peron’s governing officials. Liberals condemned Peron for his regime’s arbitrariness and dictatorial tendencies. Influence and Contributions of Eva Peron Eva Peron, popularly known as Evita, was instrumental as a symbol of hope to the common laborer during her husband’s first five-year plan. Her strong ties to the poor lent credibility to Juan Peron’s first presidential term and ushered in a new wave of supporters to his regime. She was loathed by the elite due to her humble origins, but she was adored by the poor for her work with the sick, elderly, and orphans. She was involved in behind-the-scenes work to secure women’s suffrage in 1947 and supported a women’s movement that concentrated on the rights of women, the poor, and the disabled. The extent of her role in her husband’s first term remains disputed, although it is clear that she was responsible for introducing social justice and equality into the national discourse. It is speculated that Eva’s influence on her husband led to the stipulations within the five-year plans that called for full employment, public healthcare and housing, labor benefits, raises, and humanitarian relief efforts. Evita established the Eva Peron Foundation in 1948. Enjoying an annual budget of approximately 50 million USD, which was nearly equivalent to one percent of Argentinian GDP at the time, the Foundation had 14,000 employees and founded hundreds of new schools, clinics, old-age homes, and holiday facilities. It also distributed hundreds of thousands of household necessities, as well as paid for physicians’ visits, scholarships, and other benefits. During the 1951 presidential campaign, Evita replaced Juan Peron’s ailing running mate, Hortensio Quijano, to become the official candidate for vice president. Her political hopes, however, were defeated by her own health problems and opposition to the Peron-Evita ticket from within the military. On September 28 of the same year, an attempted coup was launched against Peron by General Benjamin Andres Menendez and elements within the Argentine Army. Though they were unsuccessful, they proved the final nail in the coffin of the first lady’s political ambitions. She died the following July. Following the death of Eva Perón, Juan and his leadership struggled to lead in Argentina. Between 1952 and 1955, Juan Perón saw the economic fortunes turn, as Argentina struggled to support the new programs that he installed in the country. Mounting pressure on Perón from religious and military groups would start because of the massive changes that he brought to the country. By 1955, the military and navy rose up against Perón and pushed the leader into exile. Between 1955 to 1958, Argentina was under a military dictatorship. This was a difficult time for the country because, in an attempt to remove any and all references to Peronism, the military dictatorship outlawed and jailed anyone who referenced Perón, Evita, unions, or any other references to the leadership. This government had great difficulty in establishing cohesion throughout the period. Between 1958 to 1970, Argentina struggled as the military dictatorship turned power to civilians and allowed a democracy to return to Argentina. The governments of the 1950s and 1960s struggled to find cohesion, many in the country wanted the populist leader Juan Perón to return to Argentina. The governments had very big problems creating national plans, presidential elections saw winners with total votes of about 30% of the total population. This meant that government parties had difficulty establishing political and economic power. At the same time, the economy of Argentina became increasingly tied to the United States. The two countries were very similar in products that they sold around the world, and this would mean that Argentine products often suffered at the market place due to the United States position of power in the Cold War. Many called on the government to end the ban on Peronism in the 1960s. There was a period of tremendous changes inside of Argentina. The country would experience many of the same social movements of the youth that the United States and Europe saw during the same period. This would mean political and cultural troubles for Argentina in the period. By 1970, the end of the ban on Peronism meant that the former president of Argentina was able to run for a third term in power. He was swept into office but there were significant problems with Perón in the 1970s. First, he was old, in his mid-70s. Much of his campaign focused on the return of unions and discussion of returning Argentina to the 1950s. This was another problem for many of the youth who did not understand Peronism’s goals and had a difficult time in seeing connections between Peronism and the youth movements that swept the country. Second, much of Perón’s charisma in the 1950s was his use of his wife Eva, yet by his third term he had a younger wife, Isabel, who was born and raised in Venezuela. Having limited understandings of Argentine culture and politics, Isabel struggled to connect Perón to his electoral base, as Evita had two decades before. Perón died in 1974, at the age of 78. His sudden death created a ripple effect in Argentine politics that would create a very deadly military dictatorship and the origins of the Dirty War. National Reorganization and the Dirty War The Dirty War began as the government became increasingly fearful and repressive of leftist dissidents. Also known as the Process of National Reorganization, The Dirty War was the name used by the Argentina Military Government for a period of state terrorism in Argentina from roughly 1974 to 1983. During this time, the military, security forces, and right-wing death squads such as the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (Triple A), hunted down and killed left-wing guerrillas, political dissidents, and anyone believed to be associated with the socialist movement. A total of 7,158 left-wing activities, terrorists, and militants were victimized, including trade unionists, students, journalists, and Marxist and Peronist guerrillas. Official records account for 13,000 missing people, known as the “disappeared.” Meanwhile, leftist guerrillas accounted for 6,000 casualties among military and police forces, as well as civilians. Background The military, supported by a significant number of the general populace involved in the Radical and Socialist parties, opposed Juan Peron’s populist government and attempted to overthrow his regime once in 1951 and twice in 1955 before finally succeeding on a third attempt in 1955 during the Revolucion Libertadora. After the military took control, Peronism was outlawed. Peronists began organizing a resistance movement centered around workplaces and trade unions, and the working classes sought economic and social improvements. Over time, as democratic rule was partially restored and promises to allow freedom of expression and other political liberties to Peronists was not respected, resistance groups militarized, forming guerrillas groups. Jorge Ricardo Masetti, the leader of the Guevarist People’s Guerrillas Army (EGP) that infiltrated Bolivia’s army in 1964, is considered by some to be Argentina’s first disappeared person. Prior to 1973, the major revolutionary groups within Argentina were the Peronist Armed Forces (FAP), the Marxist-Leninist-Peronist Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), and the Marxist-Leninist Armed Forces of Liberation (FAL). Over time, many of these guerrillas forces combined or were effectively eradicated by the government. For example, FAR joined the Montoneros, formerly an urban group of intellectuals and students, and FAP and FAL were absorbed into the Marxist People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP). Meanwhile, the EGP and the Peronist Uturuncos were small enough to be overcome by government forces and ceased to exist. By the early 1970s, the consolidated guerrillas groups that remained were kidnapping and assassinating high-ranking military and police officers almost weekly. A Decade of Violence The extreme left bombed and destroyed numerous military and police buildings in its campaign against the government, but unfortunately a number of civilian and non-governmental buildings were targeted as well. For instance, the Sheraton Hotel in Buenos Aires was bombed in 1972, killing a woman and injuring her husband. A crowded theater in downtown Buenos Aires was also bombed in 1975. In 1978, a powerful bomb meant to kill an Argentine admiral ripped through a nine-story apartment building, killing three civilians and trapping many others under the debris. In 1973, as Juan Peron returned from exile, the Ezeiza massacre marked the end of an alliance between left- and right-wing factions of Peronism. In the subsequent year, Peron withdrew his support of the Montoneros shortly before his death. During the presidency of his widow Isabel Martinez de Peron, the far-right paramilitary death squad Triple A emerged, increasing armed struggles. In 1975, Isabel signed a number of decrees empowering the military and the police to step up efforts to destroy left-wing subversion, particularly the ERP. Isabel was ousted from power the subsequent year, 1976, by a military coup. U.S. Involvement The United States was very interested in the conflict involving Argentina’s domestic politics. Much of this has to do with the Cold War and fears of a communist takeover in Argentina. The United States began the heavy involvement in Argentine politics during the rise of Perón in the 1940s, yet because of the leaders’ presentation of the United States as an imperial nation, much of the United States’s efforts went in vain. By the 1950s, following Perón’s exile, the United States was able to begin to have a bigger impact in Argentine life. For example, United States corporations began buying Argentine television stations and putting on US programs such as “I Love Lucy” and the “Andy Griffith Show.” This was a radical change for both Argentina and the Southern Cone, because Argentine media had historically been the major hub of most of the media created in Latin America. United States television influence created a radical shift not only in Argentina but also to the rest of South America. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the United States became increasingly afraid of communism spreading throughout Latin America, and following the Cuban Revolution, these fears put a bigger emphasis on Latin American life and culture. The Nixon government was hyper focused on Latin America and started a program known as Operation Condor, which focused on how to increase United States influence in Chile and Argentina, so as to stop the spread of socialism and communism in both states. In August 2016, the U.S. State Department released 1,080 pages of declassified State Department documents that revealed a growing hostility between the administration of US President Jimmy Carter and the 1976 junta that overthrew Isabel. The previous administration under Gerald Ford was strongly sympathetic to the junta, with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger even advising Argentina’s Foreign Minister, Cesar Guzzetti, to carry out anti-Communist policies before Congress was back in session. However, Carter took issue in particular with Argentina’s growing list of human rights violations. Despite this, there is no documentation suggesting that the U.S. government had direct involvement or knowledge of the developments leading up to or following the coup that ousted Isabel. The National Reorganization Process The juntas, led by Jorge Rafael Videla until 1981 and subsequently by Roberto Viola and Leopoldo Galtieri until 1983, organized and carried out strong repression of political dissidents via the government’s military and security forces, which they referred to as their National Reorganization Process. They were responsible for illegal arrests, torture, killings, and the forced disappearance of an estimated 9,000 to 30,000 people. Assassinations occurred via mass shootings and throwing live citizens from airplanes to their death in the ocean below. Additionally, 12,000 prisoners, many of whom had not been convicted via any legal processes, were detained in a network of 340 secret concentration camps located throughout Argentina. The government coordinated actions with other South American dictatorships as well. Faced with increasing public opposition and severe economic problems, the military tried to regain popularity by occupying the disputed Falkland Islands. It suffered a lopsided defeat against Great Britain, which was in possession of the territories, during the subsequent Falklands War, and was forced to resign governing powers in disgrace; this paved the way for the restoration of Argentinian democracy. Alfonsín's Presidency Raul Ricardo Alfonsin Foulkes was an Argentine lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983 until July 8, 1989. He was elected a deputy in the legislature of the Buenos Aires province in 1958 during the presidency of Arturo Frondizi and a national deputy during the presidency of Arturo Umberto Illia. Although Alfonsín began his administration well-liked due to his prosecution of war crimes and consolidation of Argentina’s democratic institutions, his inability to prevent worsening economic crises caused his popularity to decline. Alfonsín was then able to move into the presidency. Alfonsín opposed both sides of the Dirty War and filed several writs of Habeas corpus, requesting the freedom of victims of forced disappearances during the National Reorganization Process. He denounced the crimes of the military dictatorships of other countries and opposed actions of both sides of the Falklands War. He became the leader of the Radical Civil Union (UCR) following Ricardo Balbin’s death and was the Radical candidate for president during the 1983 elections, which he won. Alfonsín’s presidential inauguration was attended by Isabel Peron in a sign of support, despite internal recriminations regarding the Peronist defeat. Left-wing terrorism had been neutralized by this time, but both parties were eager to prevent the return of right-wing military rule, and there were factions within the military eager to reinstate an authoritarian government. Alfonsin assumed the presidency after the darkest period of dictatorial rule in Argentina’s modern history. Three days after assuming the office of president, Alfonsín sent a bill to Congress to revoke the self-amnesty law established by the military, as he had promised to do while on the campaign trail. He also ordered the initiation of judicial cases against guerrillas and military leaders, as well as the extradition of guerrillas leaders living abroad. These acts were well-received by groups such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo that were seeking reparations for the actions of the military during the Dirty War. Prosecution of the Military The Trial of the Juntas began at the Supreme Court in April 1985 and lasted the remainder of the year. It was the first time the leaders of a military coup were put on trial in Argentina. In December, the tribunal handed down life sentences for Jorge Videla and former Navy Chief Emilio Massera, as well as a 17-year sentence for Roberto Eduardo Viola. The trials were followed by bomb attacks and rumors of military protests and coups. In order to appease the military, Alfonsin proposed the full stop law, which set a deadline for Dirty War-related prosecutions. The Congress approved the law despite strong public opposition. Prosecutors rushed to start cases before the deadline, filing 487 charges against 300 officers, 100 of whom were still in active service. Two officers refused to appear in court, starting mutinies in Cordoba and Campo de Mayo. The rebels were referred to as Carapintadas, which is Spanish for “painted faces”—a reference to their use of military camouflage. The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) called for a general strike in support of Alfonsin, and large masses rallied in the Plaza de Mayo to support the government. Alfonsin negotiated directly with the rebels and secured their surrender. However, the timing was exploited by the military and opposition parties, and they painted the outcome as a surrender by Alfonsin. Alfonsin’s first priority in office was to consolidate democracy in the country, incorporate the armed forces into their standard role within a civilian government, and prevent further military coups. He used budget and personnel cuts to attempt to reduce the political power of the military. Despite the revocation of self-amnesty and prosecution of senior officers, Alfonsin was willing to dismiss charges against lower-ranking military personnel under the principle of command responsibility. He also created the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP), composed of several well-known personalities, to document cases of forced disappearances, human rights violations, and abduction of children. In its “Nunca mas” report, the CONADEP revealed the wide scope of crimes committed during the Dirty War and how the Supreme Council of the military supported the military’s actions against guerrillas. Relationship with Unions Labor unions were still controlled by Peronist elements, and Alfonsin sought to reduce their influence, fearing they would become destabilizing forces for the fledgling democracy. He rejected their custom of holding single-candidacy internal elections and felt union administrations were totalitarian rather than a genuine reflection of the demands of the workforce. He proposed changing the laws by which those internal elections abided and removing union leaders appointed during the millitary junta. The CGT rejected the proposal, claiming it was too interventionist, and prompted Peronist politicians to vote against it. The law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies, but it failed to pass in the senate by one vote. A second bill was proposed that simply called for new internal elections, without changing the laws by which they abided, and that bill was approved. As a result, the labor unions remained largely Peronist. Alfonsin made use of a regulation established during the junta that allowed the president to regulate the level of wages, and authorized wage increases every 3 months to keep up with inflation. The CGT rejected this and proposed instead that wages should be determined by free negotiations. Alfonsin allowed strike actions, forbidden during the junta, which also allowed the unions to expand their influence. There were 13 general strikes and thousands of minor labor conflicts during his administration. Conflicts centered around high inflation, and the unions remained supportive of the president in the face of military rebellions and despite political differences. Economic Policy Alfonsin began his term with many economic problems. Argentina’s foreign debt was nearly 43 billion dollars by the end of 1983, and the country narrowly prevented a sovereign default in 1982. During that year, GDP fell by 5.6% and manufacturing profits fell by 55%. Unemployment was around ten percent, and inflation was nearly 209%. It also seemed unlikely the country would receive badly needed foreign investment. Many possible solutions, such as devaluation of the currency, privatization of industry, or restrictions on imports, would have proven unpopular. Instead, Bernardo Grinspun, the first minister of the economy, arranged to increase wages, which caused inflation to decrease significantly. Negotiations were also entered to obtain more favorable terms on the country’s foreign debt, but those were unsuccessful. Grinspun resigned in March 1985 when debt reached $1 billion. He was succeeded by Juan Vital Sourrouille, who developed the Austral plan. The Austral plan was a success in the short term. It froze prices and wages, choking inflation for some time; put a temporary hold on the printing of paper money; arranged for spending cuts, and established a new currency: the Austral. However, inflation rose again by the end of 1985, the CGT opposed the wage freeze, and the business community opposed the price freeze. With the support of the World Bank, Alfonsin’s government attempted new measures to improve the state of Argentina’s economy in 1987. The government increased taxes and privatizations and decreased spending. However, many of these measures could not be effectively enforced, and the government lost the 1987 midterm elections. Many of the large unions that previously supported the government attempted to distance themselves from it, and the business community was unable to suggest a clear course of action to resolve the crisis that was unraveling. A “spring plan” was proposed to keep the economy stable until general elections took place in 1989. The plan consisted of freezing prices and wages, as well as reducing the federal deficit; it earned even worse public reception than the Austral plan, with no political parties fully endorsing it. Meanwhile, the World Bank and IMF refused to extend credit to Argentina, and many big exporters refused to sell dollars to their central bank, depleting reserves. The austral was devalued in February 1989 and the already high inflation evolved into hyperinflation. As a result, Alfonsin’s government lost the general election to Peronist Carlos Menem. Argentina as an Example during the Cold War Argentina struggled with the relationship of the United States and the Soviet Union in the period between 1955 – 1989. The ups and downs that the Argentine population saw are very similar to that of other Latin American states. Many countries in Latin America attempted to follow ideas of democracy; instead they experienced the brutal dictatorships that often accompanied the period of decolonization for the rest of the world. Taking the ups and downs of Argentina as a case study, in the next section, the examination of other Latin American states in the period is going to demonstrate the problems of the Cold War in this region of the world. Chile in the Cold War Many of the problems of Argentina were similar to what was happening in Chile. The country suffered significantly due to the Great Depression. The Ibanez government was very repressive. Following World War II, the country had some economic rebounding because of political and cultural links with Europe. Yet, the United States’s fear of a socialist state in Latin America again drove many of the policies and problems that Chile would face in the late 1960s – 1980s. The Dirty War in Argentina was linked to the Operation Condor in Chile, where a president died and a brutal dictator rose to power with the backing of the United States. Learning Objectives - Evaluate the role of the United States on Chile in the Cold War. - Analyze the impoact of Allende's death on Chile. - Evaluate the problems of the military dictatorship in Chile. Key Terms / Key Concepts ceasefire: a temporary stoppage of war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions command responsibility: sometimes referred to as superior responsibility, the legal doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes disappeared: a person who is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, especially if there is a refusal to acknowledge the person’s fate or whereabouts, which essentially places the victim outside the protection of the law hyperinflation: in economics, when a country experiences very high and accelerating rates of inflation, which erodes the real value of local currency and causes the population to minimize their holdings of said money military junta: an oligarchic form of government that differs from a civilian dictatorship in a number of ways, including motivations for seizing power, the institutions through which rule is organized, and the ways in which leaders leave positions of power (Many military juntas have viewed themselves as saving the nation from corrupt or myopic civilian politicians. Military leaders often rule as a junta, selecting one as the head.) The Birth of Mass Politics, 1952-1964 Due to the protectionist policies of the radical governments and their predecessors, Chile had developed a strong, national industry, which led to a renewal of the economic and social structure of the country. For the first time in its history, agriculture ceased being the primary productive sector; instead, mining and the service sector became increasingly important to the national economy. At the same time, Chile’s political climate was becoming increasingly divided. The 1952 presidential election was carved up among many competing parties, including conservatives, liberals, socialists, radicals, and an emerging centrist Christian Democrat Party; the latter receiving support from a large specter of personalities. Additionally, for the first time in Chile’s history, women’s suffrage was legalized. Four candidates stood up in the 1952 election. Arturo Matte was the centrist candidate presented by the Conservative and Liberal parties; Salvador Allende served as the Socialist Party’s candidate in his first candidacy to the presidency; the Radical Party supported Pedro Enrique Alfonso; and General Carlos Ibanez ran for the office as an independent. Ibanez campaigned on a platform of eliminating political corruption, but he remained vague in his proposals and provided no clear position as to his position within the political spectrum. He won the election on September 5, 1952, with 46.8% of the popular vote. Ibanez’s election was ratified by Congress, and he took office on December 4. Once in office, Ibanez focused on rallying his supporters to win a majority in the 1953 legislative elections. His supporters consisted of the right-wing Partido Agrario Laborista (PAL) and dissidents within the Socialist Party, which had formed the Popular Socialist Party. Some feminist political unions also lent their support to Ibanez. Many such supporters stacked Ibanez’s initial cabinet, which despite its internal fragility, helped to win some seats in the 1953 elections. Nonetheless, Ibanez remained at the mercy of a unified opposition during his tenure as president. Ibanez left much of the governing during his second term to his cabinet, and indeed his second term progressed as a modest political success. Ibanez won the support of many left-wingers by repealing the Ley de Defensa de la Democracia (Law for the Defense of Democracy), which had banned the Communist Party. However, in 1954, a copper mine strike spread across the country, and Ibanez proclaimed a state of siege in response. Congress immediately opposed this executive measure and put an end to it. Ibanez also froze wages and prices in order to put an end to the chronic inflation of the Chilean economy. Unfortunately, these same policies stopped growth and inflation continued to skyrocket, leading to relative civil unrest. A movement of Ibanistas, consisting mainly of young army officers and inspired by the movement surrounding Argentine President Juan Domingo Peron, formed groups aimed at creating a new dictatorship under Ibanez. Controversy erupted when the public learned that Ibanez met with these conspirators. Additionally, Ibanez’s hostility towards the Federacion de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Chile student trade union led to outbreaks of violence during demonstrations. As a result, PAL withdrew itself from Ibanez’s government, leaving him isolated. Meanwhile, the Radicals, Socialists, and Communists organized the Frente de Accion Popular (Front for Popular Action) and concentrated their efforts around presidential candidate Salvador Allende. Allende and Popular Unity Salvador Allende was the president of Chile from 1970 until 1973 and the head of the Popular Unity government. He was the first ever Marxist to be elected to the national presidency of a democratic country. Although the 1970 Chilean presidential election was lawful, the Chilean Senate declared the Allende government unlawful in August 1973 due to its practice of unconstitutional expropriation of private property. Allende’s presidency was cut short by a military coup shortly thereafter. The United States was distrustful of Chile’s President Salvador Allende due to his Marxist beliefs and policies, leading to a military coup ousting Allende from power that was strongly encouraged by the CIA. Chilean Presidential Election, 1970 Allende ran with the Popular Unity coalition during the 1970 presidential election. Succeeding the FRAP left-wing coalition, it was comprised primarily of leftist political parties, including the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the Radical Party, the Party of the Radical Left (until 1972), the Social Democratic Party, MAPU, or Movimient de Accion Popular Unitario, and the Christian Left, which joined the coalition in 1971. Allende won a plurality of the popular vote at 36.2%, with a platform promising nationalization of the mineral industry and income/land redistribution. Conservative former president Jorge Alessandri, the candidate from the National Party, received slightly fewer votes, approximately 34.9%. According to the Chilean constitution, Congress had to decide between the two candidates with the most votes, and according to precedent, Congress tended to choose the candidate with the largest number of votes. An active campaign against Allende’s confirmation within Congress resulted from the Congressinal decision, including clandestine efforts to prevent Allende from being inaugurated. In the end, his presidency was only ratified once he signed a Statute of Constitutional Guarantees, convincing the majority of Christian Democratic senators who favored Alessandri of Allende’s allegiance to democracy. Having signed this statute, members of the Christian Democratic Party in the Senate were willing to vote in favor of granting the presidency to Allende. "The Chilean Way to Socialism" While in office, Allende pursued a policy he called “La via chilena al socialismo,” or “the Chilean way to socialism.” This policy included nationalization of certain large-scale industries—such as copper and healthcare, land redistribution, the continuation of the educational policies of his predecessor Eduardo Frei Montalva, and a program guaranteeing free milk for children. Eduardo Frei’s government already partially nationalized the copper industry by acquiring a 51% share in foreign-owned mines, but copper remained the primary U.S. business in Chile during this time. Early on, Congress supported Allende’s extensive vision for government involvement in the economy, especially since the Popular Unity and Christian Democratic parties combined had a clear majority in the legislature. However, the government’s efforts to pursue these policies led to strong outpouring of opposition from landowners, some middle-class sectors, financiers, the Roman Catholic Church, and the rightist National Party. Eventually, the Christian Democrats united with the National Party in Congress as opposition grew. The Popular Unity coalition itself was far from perfectly united around the platform of the president. Allende himself was a more moderate representative of the Socialist Party and was committed to the principles of democracy. He was supported by the Communist Party, which, although less committed to the principles of representative democracy, favored a cautious and gradual approach to the vast reforms that had been proposed. By contrast, the radical left wing of the Socialist Party wanted an immediate disruption to the existing capitalist system, even if it meant resorting to violent means. During his first year in office, Allende’s government achieved economic growth, reductions in inflation and unemployment, redistribution of income, and increases in consumption. The government also significantly increased salaries and wages, reduced taxes, and introduced free distribution of certain items deemed necessities. Groups previously excluded from the state labor insurance scheme, such as the self-employed or those employed by small businesses, were included for the first time. Additionally, pensions were increased for widows, invalids, orphans, and the elderly. And the National Milk Plan provided more than 3 million liters of milk per day in 1970, free of charge. Foreign Relations Soviet Union Allende’s predecessor, Eduardo Frei, had improved relations with the USSR, and in February 1970, Frei’s government signed Chile’s first cultural and scientific agreement with the Soviet Union. When Allende assumed the presidency, he attempted to maintain normal relations with the United States. However, as a result of Chile’s nationalization of the copper industry, the US cut off credits and increased its support to the opposition. As a result, Allende’s government was forced to seek alternative sources of trade and finance. Chile gained commitments from the USSR to invest approximately $400 million in Chile over the course of the next six years, though that number was smaller than the amount Allende hoped to receive. Trade between the two countries did not significantly increase and mainly involved the purchase of Soviet equipment. When Allende visited the USSR in late 1972 to request more aid and additional lines of credit, he was turned down. In mid-1973, the USSR approved the delivery of weaponry to the Chilean army. However, when news of an attempted army coup to overthrow Allende reached Soviet officials, the shipment was redirected to another country. U.S. Opposition to Allende U.S. opposition to Allende began several years before he was elected President of Chile, but it escalated once the prospect of a second Marxist regime being established in the Western Hemisphere became more likely (the first being Fidel Castro’s government in Cuba). The administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon was already embroiled in the Vietnam War and the broader Cold War with the Soviet Union. The U.S. government intended to encourage Allende’s resignation, overthrow, or defeat by the presidential election of 1976. To this end, the Nixon administration clandestinely funded independent and non-state media and labor unions within Chile and directed other governmental entities to not begin new bilateral economic aid commitments with the government of Chile. The United States did, however, provide humanitarian aid to Chile, as well as forgave old loans valued at $200 million from 1971 to 1972. The United States also did not invoke the Hickenlooper Amendment, which would have required an immediate cut-off of U.S aid due to Allende’s nationalizations. Allende received new sources of credit valued between $600 million and $950 million in 1972 and $547 million by June 1973. The International Monetary Fund also loaned $100 million to Chile during the Allende years. The U.S. government used two tactics when countering Allende’s government. “Track I” was a State Department initiative designed to thwart Allende by subverting Chilean elected officials within the bounds of the Chilean constitution. This tactic excluded the CIA. Track I was expanded to encompass a number of policies with the ultimate goal of creating conditions that would encourage a coup. “Track II” was a CIA operation overseen by Henry Kissinger and the CIA’s director of covert operations: Thomas Karamessine. Track II excluded the State Department and Department of Defense. The goal of Track II was to find and support Chilean military officers who would engage in a coup. Crisis: Congressional Resolutions On August 22, 1973, the Christian Democrats and the National Party members of the Chamber of Deputies voted 81 to 47 in favor of a resolution that asked the authorities to preserve Chilean democracy in face of the threat Allende’s government presented. They believed Allende’s policies infringed upon the freedoms guaranteed by the Chilean constitution and accused Allende of attempting to establish a totalitarian order upon the country. Most accusations centered around a perceived disregard for the separation of powers and the erosion of legislative and judicial prerogatives in favor of granting these powers to the executive branch of government. Finally, the resolution condemned the creation and development of government-protected armed forces. President Allende’s efforts to reorganize the military and police forces were characterized as nefarious attempts to use the armed and police forces for partisan ends, destroy their institutional hierarchy, and politically infiltrate their ranks. Two days later on August 24, 1973, Allende responded point-by point to the accusations. He accused Congress of encouraging sedition, civil war, and even a coup. He also pointed out that the declaration failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority constitutionally required to bring an accusation against the president and argued that the legislature was trying to usurp the executive role. 1973 Chilean Coup D'etat In early September 1973, Allende floated the idea of resolving the congressional resolution crisis with a referendum. However, the Chilean military seized the opportunity created by the Chamber of Deputies’ August 22nd Resolution to oust Allende on September 11, 1973. As the Presidential Palace was surrounded and bombed, Allende committed suicide. A September 2000 report released by the CIA using declassified documents related to the military coup found that the CIA had probably approved of and encouraged the 1973 coup, but there was no evidence that the U.S actually participated in it. This view has been challenged by some historians, such as Tim Weiner and Peter Kornbluh, who have stated that the covert support of the United States was crucial to the preparation for the coup, the coup itself, and the consolidation of the regime afterward. The Pinochet Years Pinochet’s regime represented a violent swing to authoritarianism following Allende’s Marxist administration. Augusto Jose Ramon Pinochet Ugarte was the President of Chile between 1973 and 1990, as well as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army from 1973 to 1998. He was also the president of the Government Junta of Chile between 1973 and 1981. His rule of Chile is considered a dictatorship. Pinochet assumed power in Chile following a U.S.-backed coup d’etat on September 11, 1973, which overthrew the democratically elected Popular Unity government of President Salvador Allende and ended civilian rule. In December 1974, the ruling millitary junta appointed Pinochet the Supreme Head of the Nation by joint decree. Human Rights Violations Human rights violations during the military government of Chile refer to human rights abuses, persecution of opponents, political repression, and state terrorism committed by the Chilean armed forces and the police, government agents, and civilians in the service of security agencies. According to the Commission of Truth and Reconciliation (Rettig Commission) and the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture (Valech Commission), the number of direct victims of human rights violations in Chile accounts for at least 35,000 people: 28,000 tortured, 2,279 executed, and 1,248 missing. In addition, some 200,000 people suffered exile and an unknown number went through clandestine centers and illegal detention. The systematic human rights violations committed by the military government of Chile under Pinochet included gruesome acts of physical and sexual abuse, as well as psychological damage. From September 11, 1973, to March 11, 1990, Chilean armed forces, the police, and those aligned with the millitary junta were involved in institutionalizing fear and terror in Chile. Political Suppression Following its assumption of power in 1973, the government junta formally banned socialist, Marxist, and other leftist parties that comprised former President Salvador Allende’s Popular Unity coalition. On September 13, 1973, the junta dissolved Congress and outlawed or suspended all political activities, including suspension of the 1925 constitution. Eduardo Frei, Allende’s predecessor as president, initially supported the coup along with other Christian Democratic politicians. Later, however, they assumed opposition roles to the military rulers, though by that time many of them already lost much of their public influence. The Catholic Church, which first expressed its approval of military rule over Allende’s Marxist government, was now led by Cardinal Raul Silva Henriquez, one of the most outspoken critics of the regime’s social and economic policies. From 1974 to 1977, the DINA (National Intelligence Directorate) and other agencies, such as the Joint Command, were the main institutions that committed acts of repression. It was during this period that most forced disappearances took place. In DINA-established interrogation and detention camps, former members of Allende’s Marxist government and Leftist movements like Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionario were incarcerated and brutally tortured. A large proportion of the Chilean population was vulnerable to government surveillance. Disappearances “Disappearing subversives” was a central instrument of state terror administered by the Chilean military regime. According to the Rettig Report, 1,248 people were “disappeared” by the Pinochet regime. This number remains a source of contention, however, as hundreds of bodies have yet to be discovered. Many who disappeared were neither given the chance to escape nor to become asylum seekers elsewhere, and their bodies were deliberately hidden in undisclosed locations. Many people were last seen in detention or torture centers run by intelligence agencies of the military regime. Following General Pinochet’s arrest in 1998, Chile made a renewed effort to uncover the atrocities of the past. For the first time in several decades, human rights lawyers and members of the armed forces investigated where the bodies of the disappeared were buried. On January 7, 2000, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos made a 15-minute nationwide address, revealing that the armed forces had uncovered information on the fate of approximately 180 people who had disappeared. According to Lagos, the bodies of at least 150 of these people were thrown into lakes, rivers, and the Pacific Ocean. The whereabouts of hundreds of more bodies remain unknown. Economy and Free Market Reforms After the military took over the government in 1973, a period of dramatic economic changes began. The Chilean economy was still faltering in the months following the coup. As the millitary junta itself was not particularly skilled in remedying the persistent economic difficulties, it appointed a group of Chilean economists who were educated at the University of Chicago. This group, known as the Chicago Boys, was given financial and ideological support from Pinochet, the United States, and international financial institutions. They advocated laissez-faire, free-market, neo-liberal, and fiscally conservative policies in stark contrast to the extensive nationalization and centrally-planned economic programs supported by Allende. As a result, Chile was drastically transformed from an economy isolated from the rest of the world with strong government intervention into a liberalized, world-integrated economy where market forces were left free to guide most of the economy’s decisions. From an economic point of view, the era can be divided into two periods. The first, from 1973 to 1982, corresponds to the period when most of the reforms were implemented. The period ended with the international debt crisis and the collapse of the Chilean economy. Unemployment was extremely high, above 20 percent, and a large proportion of the banking sector had become bankrupt. The following period was characterized by new reforms and economic recovery. Some economists argue that the recovery was due to a turnaround of Pinochet’s free market policy; during this time he renationalized many of the industries that were nationalized under Allende and fired the Chicago Boys from their government posts. Social Consequences The economic policies espoused by the Chicago Boys and implemented by the junta initially caused several economic indicators to decline for Chile’s lower classes. Between 1970 and 1989, there were large cuts to incomes and social services. Wages decreased by eight percent. Family allowances in 1989 were 28% of what they had been in 1970 and budgets for education, health, and housing dropped more than 20% on average. Massive increases in military spending and cuts in funding to public services coincided with falling wages and steady rises in unemployment. The junta relied on the middle class, huge foreign corporations, and foreign loans to maintain itself. Financial conglomerates became major beneficiaries of the liberalized economy. Large foreign banks reinstated the credit cycle, and international lending organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Inter-American Development Bank also lent vast sums to Pinochet’s regime. Additionally, many foreign multinational corporations returned to Chile, such as International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), Dow Chemical, and Firestone, which was previously expropriated by Allende. Relationship with the United States Overall, the United States maintained significantly friendlier relations with Pinochet than it did with Allende. A document titled “CIA Activities in Chile,” released by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2000, revealed that the CIA actively supported the millitary junta after the overthrow of Allende and made many of Pinochet’s officers paid contacts of the CIA or U.S. military despite records detailing human rights abuses. The United States provided substantial support to the military regime between 1973 and 1979, although it criticized Chile in public. In 1976, the United States went beyond verbal condemnation of the regime and placed an embargo on arms sales to Chile that remained in effect until the restoration of democracy in 1989. Presumably, as international concerns grew surrounding Chilean repression, the United States did not want to be seen as an accomplice to the junta. Other prominent U.S. allies like the UK, France, and West Germany, however, did not block arms sales to Pinochet and benefited from the lack of American competition. The Chilean Constitution of 1988 Due to pressure from big business, the international community, and general unease with his rule, Pinochet was denied a second eight-year term as president during the 1988 national plebiscite. Following the September 11, 1973 coup d’etat, Army General Augusto Pinochet was designated president of the newly established millitary junta government. He and Air Force General Gustavo Leigh, Navy Admiral Jose Toribio Merino, and Carabinero Chief General Cesar Mendoza verbally agreed to rotate presidential duties; but, shortly thereafter, the junta established an advisory committee and Pinochet staffed it with his loyal Army officers. One of the first recommendations brought forward by the advisory committee was to do away with a rotating presidency, arguing it would lead to too many administrative problems and confusion. In March 1974, Pinochet verbally attacked the Christian Democratic Party and stated there was no set timetable for the country’s return to civilian rule. Concurrently, a commission set up by the junta was working on drawing up a new constitution. By October 5, 1978, the commission had finished its work. During the next two years, the proposed outline was studied by the Council of State, presided over by former president Jorge Alessandri. In July 1980, a draft of the constitution was presented to Pinochet and the governing junta. On September 11, 1980, seven years after the coup d’etat that brought the millitary junta to power, a constitutional referendum took place in which the new constitution was approved by 67% of voters. Some observers, however, argued that the referendum was carried out in a highly irregular way and the outcome was thus fraudulent. Nonetheless, the new constitution took effect on March 11, 1981, and established a transition period of eight years during which Pinochet would continue to exercise executive power and the junta would yield legislative powers. Before the end of that period, a candidate for president was to be proposed by the Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces and Carabinero Chief General for a subsequent term of eight years, and the proposed candidate would need to be ratified by registered voters in a national plebiscite. On August 30, 1988, Pinochet was declared the presidential candidate. Plebiscite of October 8, 1988 The millitary junta began to shift leadership tactics in the late 1970s. Due to increasing resistance and attendant problems with General Pinochet’s rule, Air Force General Gustavo Leigh was expelled from the junta in 1978 and replaced by General Fernando Matthei. Throughout the 1980s, the government gradually permitted greater freedom of assembly, speech, and association, including trade union activities. In 1985, Cesar Mendoza, a member of the junta since 1973, was forced to resign as a result of the Caso Degollados (“slit throats case”) in which three Communist Party members were assassinated. The following year, Carmen Gloria Quintana, a woman detained by an army patrol during a street demonstration against Pinochet, was burned alive in what became known as the Caso Quemado (“burnt alive case”). These horrofoc events rallied those who believed the country should move towards a more democratic form of governance. It was in this context that the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite took place, in which voters would accept or reject a single candidate proposed by the millitary junta. The plebiscite presented two choices to voters: vote yes and extend Pinochet’s mandate for another eight years, or vote no and Pinochet and the junta would continue in power for only one more year. The outcome was that Pinochet was denied a second eight-year term by 54.5% of the vote. Presidential and parliamentary elections would take place three months before Pinochet’s term expired, with the newly elected president and Congress taking office March 11, 1990. The fact that the dictatorship respected the results is attributed to pressure from big business, the international community, and general popular unease with Pinochet’s rule. Open presidential and congressional elections were held in December 1989, and the new democratically-elected president, Patricio Aylwin of the Christian Democratic Party, assumed power as planned in March. Due to the transitional provisions of the constitution, Pinochet remained as Commander-in-Chief of the Army until March 1998 The Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War spanned nearly four decades and took place from 1960 to 1996. It stemmed from a number of institutionalized grievances among different social classes, and included a large-scale, one-sided campaign of violence against the civilian population by the state. It was fought between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups supported chiefly by ethnic Maya indigenous people and Ladino peasants, who together make up the rural poor. The government forces of Guatemala have been condemned for committing genocide against the Maya population of Guatemala during the civil war and for widespread human rights violations against civilians. Learning Objectives Analyze the Guatemalan Civil War on the population. Key Terms / Key Concepts ceasefire: a temporary stoppage of war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions command responsibility: sometimes referred to as superior responsibility, the legal doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes corporatism: also known as corporativism, corporatism is the sociopolitical organization of society by major interest, or corporate, groups disappeared: a person who is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, especially if there is a refusal to acknowledge the person’s fate or whereabouts, which essentially places the victim outside the protection of the law genocide: the intentional act to destroy a people (usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group) in whole or in part guerrilla: a participant in an irregular form of warfare in which small groups engage in military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility to fight a larger and less mobile traditional military After the 1871 revolution, the Liberal government of Justo Rufino Barrios escalated coffee production in Guatemala, which required much land and many workers. To support these needs, Barrios established the Settler Rule Book, which forced the native population to work for Criollo and German settler landowners in return for low wages. Barrios also confiscated the native population’s land, which had been protected during Spanish rule and the Conservative government of Rafael Carrera. Barrios redistributed the confiscated indigenous land to his Liberal friends, who in turn became important landowners. While societies established through Spanish colonilzation had an inherent class division, this confiscation and redistribution of lands from one class to another drove a further wedge between classes. By the 1940s Guatemalan society was composed of three sharply defined classes: - Criollos were a minority group who descended from both the ancient families of the Spaniards that conquered Central America and the Natives who had been conquered by the Spaniards. As of the 1920s, the Criollos led the country both politically and intellectually by virtue of their education, which, although poor by European standards of the time, remained superior to that of the rest of the people in the country. That was partially because Criollo families controlled or owned most of the cultivated areas of Guatemala and were the only group allowed in either of the main political parties. - The Guatemalan middle class, Ladinos, was composed of people with heritage from the native and black populations, as well as that of Criollos. Ladinos held almost no political power in the 1920s and made up the bulk of artisans, storekeepers, tradesmen, and minor officials. In the eastern part of the country, many Ladinos were agricultural laborers. - The majority of the Guatemalan population was composed of indigenous peoples referred to as “Indios.” Many had no formal education and served as soldiers or agricultural workers. Within the indigenous population were further categories: “Mozos colonos” settled on plantations and were given small piece of land to cultivate on their own in return for their work on the plantation itself, while “mozos jornaleros” were day-laborers who were contracted to work for certain periods of time and paid a daily wage in return. Both of these categories typically worked to pay off debts to higher class individuals, who in turn encouraged the assumption of further debt on the part of the indigenous person. Often, due to the large amount of debt and small amount of pay, a mozo essentially became an indentured servant to the owner of their debt. If a mozo refused to work or attempted to run away, the owner of their debt could have them pursued and even imprisoned. Some indigenous people remained independent tillers, who lived in remote provinces and survived by growing a subsistence crop of maize, beans, or wheat. Occasionally a small margin of their crop would be available for sale in town markets, but the travel to get to these markets could be arduous, given the mountainous terrain and lack of infrastructure. Initial Phases of the Civil War Democratic elections during the Guatemalan Revolution in 1944 and 1951 brought popular leftist governments to power, but a United States backed coup d’état in 1954 installed the military regime of Carlos Castillo Armas, followed by a series of conservative military dictators. On November 13, 1960, a group of left-wing junior military officers from the national military academy led a failed revolt against the autocratic government of General Ydigoras Fuentes, who usurped power in 1958 following the assassination of incumbent Armas. The surviving officers fled into the hills of eastern Guatemala and later established communication with the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. By 1962, those surviving officers had established an insurgent movement known as the MR-13 (Movimiento Revolucionario 13 Noviembre), named after the date of the initial officers’ revolt. Through the early phase of the conflict, the MR-13 was a principal component of the insurgent movement in Guatemala. The MR-13 later initiated contact with the outlawed PGT (Guatemalan Labour Party)—composed and led by middle-class intellectuals and students—and a student organization called the Movimiento 12 de Abril (April 12 Movement). These groups merged into a coalition guerrillas organization called the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR) in December 1962. Also affiliated with the FAR was the FGEI (Edgar Ibarra Guerrillas Front). The MR-13, PGT, and FGEI each operated in different parts of the country as three separate “frentes” (fronts). The MR-13 established itself in the mostly Ladino departments of Izabal and Zacapa. The FGEI established itself in Sierra de las Minas, and the PGT operated as an urban guerrillas front. Each of these three “frentes” (comprising no more than 500 combatants) was led by former members of the 1960 army revolt who has been trained in counterinsurgency warfare by the United States. As well as fighting between government forces and rebel groups, the conflict included a large-scale, coordinated campaign of one-sided violence by the Guatemalan state against the civilian population from the mid-1960s onward. The military intelligence services (G2 or S2) and an affiliated intelligence organization were responsible for coordinating killings and “disappearances” of opponents of the state, suspected insurgents, and those deemed by the intelligence services to be collaborators. The afilliated intelligence organization was known as La Regional or Archivo and was headquartered in an annex of the presidential palace. The Guatemalan state was the first in Latin America to engage in widespread use of forced disappearances against its opposition, with the number of disappeared estimated at between 40,000 and 50,000 from 1966 until the end of the war. In rural areas where the insurgency maintained its strongholds, the repression amounted to wholesale slaughter of the peasantry and massacres of entire villages, starting in Izabal and Zacapa (1966 – 68) and later in the predominantly Mayan western highlands. In the early 1980s, the killings reached the scale of genocide. Domination by Military Rulers In 1970, Colonel Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio became the first of a series of military dictators representing the Institutional Democratic Party, or PID. The PID dominated Guatemalan politics for 12 years via electoral fraud favoring two of Arana’s proteges: General Kjell Eugenio Laugerud Garcia in 1974 and General Romeo Lucas Garcia in 1978. Also during the 1970s, continuing social discontent gave rise to an insurgency among large populations of indigenous people and peasants, who traditionally bore the brunt of unequal land tenure. The PID lost its grip on Guatemalan politics when General Efraín Ríos Montt, together with a group of junior army officers, seized power in a military coup on March 23, 1982. During the 1980s, the Guatemalan military assumed almost absolute government power for five years. It successfully infiltrated and eliminated enemies in every socio-political institution of the nation, including the political, social, and intellectual classes. In the final stage of the civil war, the military developed a parallel, semi-visible, low profile, but high-effect, control of Guatemala’s national life. Mejia Victores Regime and Democratic Transition Ríos Montt was deposed on August 8, 1983, by his own Minister of Defense, General Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores. Mejía Victores became de facto president and justified the coup by characterizing Montt’s regime as corrupt and its officials as abusing their positions of power within the government. Montt remained in politics and founded the Guatemalan Republican Front party in 1989. He was elected President of Congress in 1995 and 2000. By the time Mejia Victores assumed power, the counterinsurgency under Lucas Garcia and Montt had largely succeeded in its objective of detaching the insurgency from its civilian support base. Additionally, G2 had infiltrated most political institutions, eradicating opponents in the government through terror and selective assassinations. The counterinsurgency program had militarized Guatemalan society, creating a fearful atmosphere that suppressed most public agitation and insurgency. The military had consolidated its power in virtually all sectors of society. Due to international pressure, as well as pressure from other Latin American nations, Mejía Victores allowed a gradual return to democracy in Guatemala. On July 1, 1984, an election was held for representatives to a Constituent Assembly to draft a democratic constitution. On May 30, 1985, the Constituent Assembly finished drafting a new constitution, which took effect immediately. General elections were scheduled and civilian candidate Vinicio Cerezo was elected as president. The gradual revival of democracy did not end the disappearances and death squad killings, however, as extrajudicial state violence had become an integral part of the political culture. The Democratic Era: Cerezo Administration Vinicio Cerezo, a civilian politician and the presidential candidate of the Guatemalan Christian Democracy, won the first election held under the new constitution with almost 70% of the vote. Upon its inauguration in January 1986, President Cerezo’s civilian government announced that its top priorities would be to end the political violence and establish rule of law. Reforms included new laws of habeas corpus and amparo (court-ordered protection), the creation of a legislative human rights committee, and the establishment in 1987 of the Office of Human Rights Ombudsman. The Supreme Court also embarked on a series of reforms to fight corruption and improve legal system efficiency. With Cerezo’s election, the military moved away from governing and returned to the more traditional role of providing internal security, specifically by fighting armed insurgents. The first two years of Cerezo’s administration were characterized by a stable economy and a marked decrease in political violence. Dissatisfied military personnel made coup attempts in May 1988 and May 1989, but military leadership supported the constitutional order. However, the government was heavily criticized for its unwillingness to investigate or prosecute cases of human rights violations. Presidential and congressional elections were held on November 11, 1990. After the second-round ballot, Jorge Antonio Serrano Elías was inaugurated on January 14, 1991, completing the first transition from one democratically elected civilian government to another. Because his Movement of Solidarity Action (MAS) Party gained only 18 of 116 seats in Congress, Serrano entered into a tenuous alliance with the Christian Democrats and the National Union of the Center (UCN). Serrano Administration The Serrano administration’s record was mixed. It had some success in consolidating civilian control over the army, replacing a number of senior officers and persuading the military to participate in peace talks with the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity, or URNG, an umbrella organization representing leftist beliefs among the Guatemalan people, particularly the poor. He took the politically unpopular step of recognizing the sovereignty of Belize, which until then was officially though fruitlessly claimed by Guatemala. The Serrano government reversed the economic slump it inherited, reducing inflation and creating real growth. Then on May 25, 1993, Serrano illegally dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court and attempted to restrict civil freedoms, allegedly in order to fight corruption. The auto-coup failed due to the unified efforts of most elements of Guatemalan society to protest Serrano’s actions, international pressure, and the army’s enforcement of the decisions of the Court of Constitutionality, which ruled against the attempted takeover. Subsequently, Serrano fled the country and pursuant to the provisions of the 1985 constitution, the Guatemalan Congress elected the Human Rights Ombudsman, Alfonso Guillermo de León Marroquín, to complete Serrano’s presidential term as of June 5, 1993. De León was not a member of any political party and lacked a political base. Nonetheless, he enjoyed strong popular support. During his time in office, he launched an ambitious anti-corruption campaign within Congress and the Supreme Court, demanding the resignations of all members of the two bodies. Renewed Peace Process, 1994-1996 Under de León, the peace process, now brokered by the United Nations, took on new life. The government and the URNG signed agreements on human rights (March 1994), resettlement of displaced persons (June 1994), historical clarification (June 1994), and indigenous rights (March 1995). They also made significant progress on a socioeconomic and agrarian agreement. National elections for president, Congress, and municipal offices were held in November 1995. With almost 20 parties competing in the first round, the presidential election came down to a January 7, 1996, run-off in which National Advancement Party (PAN) candidate Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen defeated Alfonso Portillo Cabrera of the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) by just over two percent of the vote. Arzú won because of his strength in Guatemala City, where he previously served as mayor, and in the surrounding urban area. Portillo won all of the rural departments except Petén. Under the Arzú administration, peace negotiations were concluded, and the government and URNG, which became a legal party, signed peace accords ending the 36-year internal conflict in December 1996. The General Secretary of the URNG, Comandante Rolando Morán, and President Álvaro Arzú jointly received the UNESCO Peace Prize for their efforts to end the civil war and attain the peace agreement. The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1094 on January 20, 1997, deploying military observers to Guatemala to monitor the implementation of the peace agreements. Legal Charges of Crimes Against Humanity In total, an estimated 200,000 civilians were killed or “disappeared” during the conflict, most at the hands of the military, police, and intelligence services. Victims of the repression included indigenous activists, suspected government opponents, returning refugees, critical academics, students, left-leaning politicians, trade unionists, religious workers, journalists, and street children. The “Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico” has estimated that 93% of the violence committed during the conflict was carried out by government forces and 3% by guerrillas. In 2009, Guatemalan courts sentenced the first person to be convicted of the crime of ordering forced disappearances: Felipe Cusanero. This was followed by the 2013 trial of former president Montt for the killing and disappearances of more than 1,700 indigenous Ixil Maya during his 1982-83 rule. The accusations of genocide derived from the “Memoria del Silencio” report written by the UN-appointed Commission for Historical Clarification, which held that genocide could have occurred in Quiché between 1981 and 1983. Montt was the first former head of state to be tried for genocide by his own country’s judicial system; he was found guilty the day following the conclusion of his trial and sentenced to 80 years in prison. A few days later, however, the sentence was reversed, and the trial was rescheduled due to alleged judicial anomalies. The trial began again in 2015. The court decided, due to his alleged senility, that a closed-door trial would resume in January 2016, and that if Montt were found guilty, a jail sentence would be precluded given his health condition. From the Somozas to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua In the 20th century, Nicaragua transitioned from an oligarchic dictatorship to the revolutionary government of a democratic socialist political party. Learning Objectives - Evaluate the Nicaraguan Civil War on the United States foreign policy. Key Terms / Key Concepts ceasefire: a temporary stoppage of war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions guerrilla: a participant in an irregular form of warfare in which small groups engage in military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility to fight a larger and less mobile traditional military Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN): now a democratic socialist political party, but previously a Nicaraguan resistance organization opposed to the hereditary Somoza dictatorship Somoza Dynasty, 1927-1979 Over the course of its history, Nicaragua has experienced several military dictatorships; the longest was the hereditary dictatorship of the Somoza family, who ruled for 43 years during the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as part of a U.S.-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the Guardia Nacional (National Guard) to replace the marines who had long reigned in Nicaragua. Anastasio Somoza slowly eliminated officers in the National Guard who might have stood in his way, then deposed President Juan Bautista Sacasa to become Nicaragua’s new president on January 1, 1937, in a rigged election. When Anastasio was shot and mortally wounded by Liberal Nicaraguan poet Rigoberto Lopez Perez on September 21, 1956, his eldest son, Luis Somoza Debayle, was appointed president by Congress and officially took charge of the country. He is remembered as moderate, but he was only in power for a few years before dying of a heart attack. His successor as president was Rene Schick Gutierrez, widely considered a puppet of the Somoza family. The Somoza family was among a few families or groups of influential firms that reaped most of the benefits of the country’s growth from the 1950s to the 1970s. When Anastasio Somoza Debayle was deposed by the Sandinistas in 1979, the family’s worth was estimated between U.S. $500 million and $1.5 billion. In 1972 when an earthquake destroyed nearly 90% of Managua, Anastasio Somoza Debayle siphoned off relief money instead of helping to rebuild the city. Even the economic elite were reluctant to support Somoza following his actions, as he had acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation. Nicaraguan Revolution, 1960s-1990 In 1961, Carlos Fonseca, along with two others, founded the Sadinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which was a return to the influence of the historical figure of Augusto Cesar Sandino—the charismatic leader of Nicaragua’s nationalist rebellion against the U.S. occupation of the country. The December 1972 Managua earthquake was a major turning point in the revival of the Sandinistas, stoking violent opposition to the government during a time of heightened international attention. The Sandinistas even received some support from Cuba and the Soviet Union during this period. On December 27, 1974, a group of nine FSLN guerrillas invaded a party at the home of a former Minister of Agriculture, killing him and three guards in the process of taking hostage several leading government officials and prominent businessmen. In return for the hostages, they succeeded in getting the government to pay $2 million US ransom. Additionally, they effected the broadcast of an FSLN declaration on the radio and in the opposition newspaper La Prensa, the release of 14 FSLN members from jail, as well as flights to Cuba for the raiders and the released FSLN members. The incident humiliated the government and greatly enhanced the prestige of the FSLN. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, in his memoirs, refers to this action as the beginning of a sharp escalation in terms of Sandinista attacks and government reprisals. Martial law was declared in 1975, and the National Guard began to raze villages in the jungle suspected of supporting the rebels. Human rights groups condemned the actions, but U.S. President Gerald Ford refused to break the alliance with Somoza. The country tipped into full-scale civil war with the 1978 murder of Pedro Chamorro—a Nicaraguan journalist and publisher who opposed violence against the regime. Fifty thousand people turned out for his funeral. Many assumed that Somoza ordered his assassination because there was evidence implicating Somoza’s son and other members of the National Guard. A nationwide strike commenced in protest, demanding an end to the dictatorship. At the same time, the Sandinistas stepped up their rate of guerrillas activity. Several towns, assisted by Sandinista guerrillas, expelled their National Guard units. Somoza responded with increasing violence and repression. When León became the first city in Nicaragua to fall to the Sandinistas, he responded with aerial bombardment. The U.S. media grew increasingly unfavorable in its reporting on the situation in Nicaragua. Realizing that the Somoza dictatorship was unsustainable, the Carter administration attempted to force him to leave Nicaragua. Somoza refused and sought to maintain his power through the National Guard. At that point, the U.S. ambassador sent a cable to the White House saying it would be “ill-advised” to call off the bombing, because such an action would help the Sandinistas gain power. When ABC reporter Bill Stewart was executed by the National Guard and graphic film of the killing was broadcast on TV, the American public became more hostile to Somoza. In the end, President Carter refused Somoza further military aid, believing that the repressive nature of the government led to popular support for the Sandinista uprising. Beginning of the Sandinista Period In May 1979, another general strike was called, and the FSLN launched a major push to take control of the country. By mid-July, they had Somoza and the National Guard isolated in Managua. As Nicaragua’s government collapsed and the National Guard commanders escaped with Somoza, the rebels advanced on the capital victoriously. On July 19, 1979, a new government was proclaimed under a provisional junta headed by 33-year-old Daniel Ortega. The FSLN took over a nation plagued by malnutrition, disease, and pesticide contamination. Lake Managua was considered dead because of decades of pesticide runoff, toxic chemical pollution from lakeside factories, and untreated sewage. Additionally, soil erosion and dust storms were also a problem in Nicaragua due to deforestation. To tackle these crises, the FSLN created the Nicaraguan Institute of Natural Resources and the Environment. The Sandinistas were victorious in the national election of November 4, 1984, gathering 67% of the vote. The election was certified “free and fair” by the majority of international observers, although the Nicaraguan political opposition and the Reagan administration claimed political restrictions were placed on the opposition by the government. The primary opposition candidate was the U.S.-backed Arturo Cruz, who succumbed to pressure from the United States government not to take part in the 1984 elections. Other opposition parties, such as the Conservative Democratic Party and the Independent Liberal Party, were free to denounce the Sandinista government and participate in the elections. Later, historians such as Christopher Andrews did find evidence that the FSLN was actively suppressing right-wing opposition parties while leaving moderate parties alone. Communist Leanings and U.S. Contras American support for the Somoza family soured diplomatic relations with Nicaragua. The FSLN government was committed to a Marxist ideology, with many leading Sandinista individuals continuing long-standing relationships with the Soviet Union and Cuba. U.S. President Carter initially hoped that continued American aid to the new government would keep the Sandinistas from forming a Marxist-Leninist government aligned with the Soviet bloc, but the Carter administration allotted the Sandinistas minimal funding, and the Sandinistas resolutely turned away from the United States, investing Cuban and East European assistance into a new army of 75,000. The buildup included T-55 heavy tanks, heavy artillery, and HIND attack helicopters; this was an unprecedented military buildup that made the Sandinista Army more powerful than all of its neighbors combined. The first challenge to the powerful new army came from the Contras—groups of Somoza’s National Guard that had fled to Honduras and were organized, trained, and funded by CIA elements involved in cocaine trafficking in Central America. The Contra chain of command included some ex-National Guardsmen, including Contra founder and commander Enrique Bermúdez. One prominent Contra commander, however, was ex-Sandinista hero Edén Pastora, aka “Commadante Zero,” who rejected the Leninist orientation of his fellow commandantes. The Contras operated out of camps in neighboring Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. They engaged in a systematic campaign of terror among the rural Nicaraguan population in order to disrupt the social reform projects of the Sandinistas. The Contra campaign and supporting Reagan administration came under criticism for the brutality and numerous human rights violations related to these operations, including the destruction of health centers, schools, and cooperatives at the hands of the rebels. With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, relations between the United States and the Sandinista regime became an active front in the Cold War. The Reagan administration insisted that the Sandinistas posed a Communist threat, reacting particularly to the support provided to them by Cuban president Fidel Castro, as well as the Sandinistas’ close military relations with the Soviets and Cubans. Opposition to the Sandanistas also furthered the Reagan administration’s desire to protect U.S. interests in the region, which were threatened by the policies of the Sandinista government. The U.S. quickly suspended aid to Nicaragua and expanded the supply of arms and training to the Contra rebels in neighboring Honduras, as well as allied groups based in Costa Rica. American pressure against the Nicaraguan government escalated throughout 1983 and 1984. Meanwhile, the Contras began a campaign of economic sabotage and disrupted shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua’s Port of Corinto, an action condemned by the International Court of Justice as illegal. The UN General Assembly also passed a resolution in order to pressure the U.S. to pay the fine. The U.S. refused to pay restitution and claimed that the ICJ was not competent to judge the case. On May 1, 1985, Reagan issued an executive order that imposed a full economic embargo on Nicaragua, which remained in force until March 1990. However, in 1982, legislation was enacted by the U.S. Congress to prohibit further direct aid to the Contras. Reagan’s officials attempted to illegally supply them out of the proceeds of arms sales to Iran and third-party donations, triggering the Iran-Contra Affair of 1986 – 87. Mutual exhaustion, Sandinista fears of Contra unity and military success, and mediation by other regional governments led to the Sapoa ceasefire between the Sandinistas and the Contras on March 23, 1988. Subsequent agreements were designed to reintegrate the Contras and their supporters into Nicaraguan society in preparation for general elections. Colombia and the FARC FARC’s guerrilla movement against the Colombian government, an active conflict since 1964, has been fraught with violence, human rights abuses, and numerous attempts to broker a lasting peace. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC) is a guerrilla movement involved in the continuing Colombian armed conflict since 1964. It employs a variety of military tactics in addition to more unconventional methods, including terrorism. The FARC-EP, formed during the Cold War as a Marxist-Leninist peasant force, promotes a political line of agrarianism and anti-imperialism. The operations of the FARC-EP were funded by kidnap and ransom, illegal mining, extortion or taxation of various forms of economic activity, and the taxation, production, and distribution of illegal drugs. The United Nations has estimated that 12% of all killings of civilians in the Colombian conflict have been committed by FARC and ELN guerrillas, with 80% committed by right-wing paramilitaries, and the remaining eight percent committed by security forces. Learning Objectives - Evaluate the civil war in Colombia. History of the Conflict Communists were active throughout rural and urban Colombia immediately following World War I. The Colombian Communist Party (PCC) began establishing “peasant leagues” in rural areas and “popular fronts” in urban areas, calling for improved living and working conditions, education, and rights for the working class. However, many of the PCC’s attempts at organizing peasants were met with violent repression by the Colombian government and the landowning class. These groups began networking together to present a defensive front against the state-supported violence of large landholders. Members organized strikes, protests, and land seizures, and organized communist-controlled “self-defense communities” in southern Colombia that were able to resist state military forces while providing for the subsistence needs of the populace. In 1961, a guerrilla leader and long-time PCC organizer named Manuel Marulanda Vélez declared an independent “Republic of Marquetalia.” The Lleras government attempted unsuccessfully to drive out the guerrillas, due to fear that a revolution similar to that of Cuba’s may develop. Several army outposts were set up in the area and the Colombian government began routinely attacking communist groups, hoping to reassimilate territories under the influence of communists. In 1964, Manuel Marulanda Vélez and other PCC members formed FARC. Sixteen thousand Colombian troops attacked the community, which only had 48 armed fighters. Marulanda and 47 others fought against government forces at Marquetalia and then escaped into the mountains along with other fighters. These 48 men formed the core of FARC, which later grew in size to hundreds of fighters. Initially, FARC rejected any involvement in the emerging phenomenon of drug growing and trafficking, but during the 1980s the group gradually came to accept it as it became a burgeoning business. Taxes on drug producers and traffickers were introduced as a source of funding and increased income from the “coca boom” allowed them to expand into an irregular army able to stage large-scale attacks on Colombian troops. This in part led to the Seventh Guerrilla Conference held by FARC in 1982, which called for a major shift in FARC’s strategy. FARC had historically been doing most of its fighting in rural areas and was limited to small-scale confrontations with Colombian military forces. FARC began sending fighters to Vietnam and the Soviet Union for advanced military training. They also planned to move closer to middle-sized cities, as opposed to only remote rural areas, as well as closer to areas rich in natural resources to create a strong economic infrastructure. It was also at this conference that FARC added the initials “EP”, for “Ejército del Pueblo” or “People’s Army”, to the organization’s name. Uribe Agreement and the Union Patriótica Also in the early 1980s, President Belisario Betancur began discussing the possibility of peace talks with the guerrillas. This led to the 1984 La Uribe Agreement, which called for a ceasefire that lasted from 1984 until 1987. In 1985, members of the FARC-EP, along with a large number of other leftist and communist groups, formed a political party known as the Union Patriótica (“Patriotic Union”, UP). The UP sought constitutional reform, more democratic local elections, political decentralization, and the end of the two-party system dominated by Liberal and Conservative parties. They also pursued socioeconomic reforms such land redistribution, greater health and education spending, the nationalization of foreign businesses, Colombian banks, transportation, and greater public access to mass media. While many members of the UP were involved with the FARC-EP, the large majority of them were not and came from a wide variety of backgrounds such as labor unions and socialist parties. In the cities, the FARC-EP began integrating itself with the UP and forming Juntas Patrióticas (or “solidarity cells”)—small groups of people associated with labor unions, student activist groups, and peasant leagues, who traveled into the barrios discussing social problems, building support for the UP, and determining the sociopolitical stance of the urban peasantry. The UP performed better in elections than any leftist party in Colombia’s history. In 1986, UP candidates won 350 local council seats, 23 deputy positions in departmental assemblies, nine seats in the House, and six seats in the Senate. The 1986 Presidential candidate, Jaime Pardo Leal, won 4.6% of the national vote. During the ceasefire, the Colombian government continued its negotiations with the FARC-EP and other armed groups, some of which were successful. Some groups that demobilized during this period include the EPL, the ERP, the Quintin Lame Armed Movement, and the M-19. Towards the end of 1990, however, the army, with no advance warning and while negotiations were still ongoing, attacked a compound known as Casa Verde, which houses the National Secretariat of the FARC-EP. The Colombian government argued that the attack was caused by the FARC-EP’s lack of commitment to the peace process. Peace Negotiations On June 3, 1991, dialogue resumed between the Simon Bolivar Guerrilla Coordinating Board and the government. The conflict did not halt, however, and armed attacks by both sides continued. The renewed negotiations were broken off in 1993 when no agreement could be reached. A letter written by a group of Colombian intellectuals, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, to the Coordinating Board was published denouncing the approach taken by the FARC-EP and the dire consequences it was having on the country. The Coordinating Board disappeared not long afterwards, and the guerrilla groups continued their activities independently. Renewed negotiations began on November 7, 1998, under President Andres Pastrana, who granted FARC-EP a 42,000-square-kilometer (16,200-square-mile) safe haven as a confidence-building measure. Unfortunately, the peace talks ended on February 21, 2002, due to a series of high-profile guerrilla actions, including the hijacking of an aircraft, sieges on a number of small towns and cities, several political kidnappings, and the arrest of the Irish Colombia Three—a group of Irish Republican Army members who allegedly were training FARC-EP militants to make bombs. Afterwards, Pastrana ordered the armed forces to start retaking the FARC-EP controlled zone. The Uribe and Santos Administrations For most of the period between 2002 and 2005, the FARC-EP was believed to be in strategic withdrawal due to the increasing military and police actions of President Alvaro Uribe; this led to the capture or desertion of many fighters and medium-level commanders. Uribe ran for office on an anti-FARC-EP platform and was determined to defeat the guerrillas in a bid to restore confidence in the country. Uribe’s own father was killed by FARC-EP in an attempted kidnapping in 1983. Nonetheless, FARC interventions and violence continued throughout Uribe’s administration and well into that of his successor: Juan Manuel Santos. Military offensives carried out under former President Uribe and President Santos have significantly reduced the number of FARC combatants and the amount of FARC territorial control; this has pushed guerrillas to more remote and sparsely populated regions, often close to territorial or internal borders. On June 23, 2016, a ceasefire accord was signed between the FARC-EP and Colombian government. Under the accord, the Colombian government agreed to support massive investment for rural development and facilitate the FARC’s reincarnation as a political party. FARC promised to help to eradicate illegal drug crops, remove landmines in areas of conflict, and offer reparations to victims. FARC leaders can avoid prosecution by acts of reparation to victims and other community work. However, during a referendum held October 2, 2016, Colombians voted to reject the peace deal with FARC by 50.2% to 49.8%. The government met with victims and peace opponents after the referendum was rejected, receiving over 500 proposed changes, and continued to negotiate with FARC. A revised agreement was announced on November 12, 2016, which would require parliamentary approval rather than a nationwide referendum. Among the reported 60 new or modified t erms was a provision for FARC assets to be distributed for victim compensation. FARC members would be able to establish a political party and be granted full immunity for full confession and cooperation, although drug trafficking would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Peace terms would be enforced by a Special Justice for the Peace, who would report to the Constitutional Court and not to an international body. Additionally, both Parliament and the Special Justice would have the ability to modify terms of the agreement as seen necessary. The Colombian government and FARC signed the revised peace deal on November 24, 2016, and Congress approved it on November 30, 2016. Primary Source: What is Peronísm? 1948 Juan Domingo Perón is among the most contentious figures in the modern political history of South America. On the one hand, many commentators are prepared to argue that he was a fascist, but others see in Perónism, which long retained the support of the Argentine working class, real elements of a social justice movement combined with severely compromised leadership. Perón, an army officer, siezed power in 1944 with a group of other officers. During the Argentine presidential election of 1946, Perón claimed to be a democrat who would accept any outcome. And it seems that, with the support of his hugely popular wife Eva Duarte de Perón (Evita)[1919-1952], he won that election quite fairly. His government was a sort of populist dictatorship, characterized by genuine efforts to raise the living standards of the urban poor, but also quite dramatic levels of petty corruption. He was initially support by the army, nationalists, and the Catholic heirarchy as well as the trade union support secured by Evita. After Evita's death in 1952, and the severe economic problems which followed the failure of his nationalist economic measures, he was overthrown by a coup in 1955, and sent into exile. After 18 years of military rule, he was allowed to return in 1971, and won the presidential election of 1973. He was succeeded in office in 1974 by his third wife Isabel Martínez de Perón (Eva had been number two), who was herself displaced by a military coup in 1976. That period of military rule ended in 1982, and by 1989 yet another Perónist government came to power - headed by Carlos Saúl Menem. As of 1998 Argentina is still governed by the Perónist Party, although it must be noted that Menem's policies are very different than Perón's. What is Perónism? Speech of 20 August, 1948 In Congress a few days ago, some of our legislators have asked what Perónismis. Perónism is humanism in action; Perónism is a new political doctrine, which rejects all the ills of the politics of previous times; in the social sphere it is a theory which establishes a little equal ity among men, which grants them similar opportunities and assures them of a future so that in this land there may be no one who lacks what he needs for a living, even though it may be necessary that those who are wildly squandering what they possess may be deprived of the right to do so, for the benefit of those who have nothing at all; in the economic sphere its aim is that every Argentine should pull his weight for the Argentines and that economic policy which maintained that this was a permanent and perfect school of capitalist exploitation should be replaced by a doctrine of social economy under which the distribution of our wealth, which we force the earth to yield up to us and which furthermore we are elab orating, may be shared out fairly among all those who have contributed by their efforts to amass it. That is Perónism. And Perónism is not learned, nor just talked about: one feels it or else disagrees. Perónism is a question of the heart rather than of the head. Fortunately I am not one of those Presidents who live a life apart, but on the contrary I live among my people, just as I have always lived; so that I share all the ups and downs, all their successes an all their disappointments with my working class people. I feel an intimate satisfaction when I see a workman who is well dressed or taking his family to the theatre. I feel just as satisfied as I would feel if I were that workman myself. That is Perónism. One Single Class of Men I have never been of the opinion that in this world there should be groups of men against other groups, nations against nations and much less can I admit that men should be enemies because they profess a different religion. How could it be admitted, how could it be explained that anti-Semitism should exist in Argentina? In Argentina there should not be more than one single class of men: men who work together for the welfare of the nation, without any discrimination whatever. They are good Argentines, no matter what their origin, their race or their religion may be, if they work every day for the greatness of the Nation, and they are bad Argentines, no matter what they say or how much they shout, if they are not laying a new stone every day towards the construction of the building of the happiness and grandeur of our Nation. That is the only discrimination which Argentina should make among its inhabitants: those who are doing constructive work and those who are not; those who are benefactors to the country and those who are not. For this reason in this freest land of the free, as long as I am President of the Republic, no one will be persecuted by anyone else. The Twenty Truths of the Perónist JusticialismFrom a speech of 17th October 1950 made at the Plaza de Mayo. 1., True democracy is the system where the Government carries out the will of the people defending a single objective: the interests of the people. 2. Perónism is an eminently popular movement. Every political clique is opposed to the popular interests and, therefore, it cannot be a Perónist organization. 3. A Perónist must be at the service of the cause. He who invoking the name of this cause is really at the service of a political clique or a "caudillo" (local political leader) is only a Perónist by name. 4. There is only one class of men for the Perónist cause: the workers. 5. In the New Argentina, work is a right which dignifies man and a duty, because it is only fair that each one should produce at least what he consumes. 6. There can be nothing better for a Perónist than another Perónist. 7. No Perónist should presume to be more than he really is, nor should he adopt a position inferior to what his social status should be. When a Perónist starts to think that he is more important than he really is, he is about to become one of the oligarchy. 8. With reference to political action the scale of values for all Perónists is as follows: First, the Homeland; afterwards the cause, and then, the men themselves. 9. Politics do not constitute for us a definite objective but only a means of achieving the Homeland's welfare represented by the happiness of the people and the greatness of the nation. 10. The two main branches of Perónism are the Social Justice and the Social Welfare. With these we envelop the people in an embrace of justice and love. 11. Perónism desires the establishment of national unity and the abolition of civil strife. It welcomes heroes but does not want martyrs. 12. In the New Argentina the only privileged ones are the children. 13. A Government without a doctrine is a body without a soul. That is why Perónism has established its own political, economic and social doctrines: Justicialism. 14. Justicialism is a new philosophical school of life. It is simple, practical, popular and endowed with deeply Christian and humanitarian sentiments. 15. As a political doctrine, Justicialism establishes a fair balance between the rights of the individual and those of the community. 16. As an economic doctrine, Justicialism achieves a true form of social economy by placing capital at the service of the national economy and this at the service of social welfare. 17. As a social doctrine, Justicialism presides over an adequate distribution of Social Justice giving to each person the social rights he is entitled to. 18. We want a socially just, an economically free and a politically independent Argentina. 19. We are an organized State and a free people ruled by a centralized government. 20. The best of this land of ours is its people .Juan Perón October 17, 1950, Year of the Liberator General San Martin Source: from Juan Domingo Perón, Perónist Doctrine. Edited by the Perónist Party. (Buenos Aires, 1952) Attributions Source image provided by Wikimedia Commons: Che and Castro https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%83%D0%BC%D1%84_%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8#/media/%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB:CheyFidel.jpg Chapters adapted from: https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/argentina/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/chile/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/brazil/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/conflict-across-latin-america/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/crisis-points-of-the-cold-war/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.782116	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88088/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 15: Cold War & Decolonization, Latin America", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88057/overview	An Axis Europe, 1939 – 1942 Overview The War in Western Europe: 1940-2 In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. England and France quickly declared war on Germany for the act of aggression. Despite the war declarations, though, very little combat occurred between the Germans and the Allies for the first six months of World War II, aside from minor skirmishes on the border of France and Germany. For this reason, newspapers began to call World War II, the “Phoney War.” Then in the spring of 1940, Germany launched all-out blitzkrieg invasions of much of Western Europe, including Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Between spring 1940 and early 1943, it looked as if Germany might indeed win World War II because of its superior technology, style of warfare, and military command. Despite the grim outlook, the Allies always hung on, determined to see the war to its bitter end. Learning Objectives - Examine the factors that led to Nazi Germany’s occupation of much of Western Europe in 1940 - Analyze the Allies’ responses to Nazi occupation of much of Western Europe Key Terms / Key Concepts Battle of Britain: aerial war between Britain and Germany from June – October, 1940 that resulted in a narrow British victory Dunkirk evacuation: between May 26 and June 4, 1940, during World War II, the critical evacuation of over 300,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk, France Fall of France: French surrender to the Germans on June 22, 1940 Maginot Line: line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapon installations that France constructed on the French side of its borders with Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg during the 1930s to deter German attack RAF: Royal Air Force of Great Britain The Blitz: the heavy bombing of London and other British civilian targets by the German air force in the fall of 1940 Vichy France: the French collaborationist government from 1940 – 44 in the southern half of France “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”: powerful speech by Winston Churchill delivered after the evacuation of Dunkirk that committed Britain to see the war to its end Nazi-Dominated Europe: 1940 – 1942 Background During the 1930s, the French constructed the Maginot Line, a series of fortifications along their border with Germany. This line was designed to deter a German invasion across the Franco-German border and funnel an attack into Belgium, where it would be met by the best divisions of the French Army. The area immediately to the north of the Maginot Line was covered by the heavily wooded Ardennes region, which French General Philippe Pétain declared to be “impenetrable” as long as “special provisions” were taken. The French commander-in-chief, Maurice Gamelin, also believed the area to be of limited threat, noting that it “never favored large operations.” With this in mind, the French Ardennes area was left lightly defended. The initial plan for the German invasion of France called for an encirclement attack through the Netherlands and Belgium, avoiding the Maginot Line. Erich von Manstein, then Chief of Staff of the German Army Group A, prepared the outline of a different plan and submitted it to the German High Command. His plan suggested that Panzer tank divisions should attack through the Ardennes, then establish bridges on the Meuse River and rapidly drive to the English Channel. The Germans would thus cut off the Allied armies in Belgium and Flanders. This part of the plan later became known as the Sichelschnitt (“sickle cut”). After meeting with him on February 17, Adolf Hitler approved a modified version of Manstein’s ideas, today known as the Manstein Plan. Rather than engaging the Maginot Line head-on, the German army simply went around it. The Invasion of France and the Low Countries In April 1940, Germany successfully conquered and occupied Denmark in a day. Norway also soon fell to the Nazis. On May 10, 1940, Germany attacked Belgium and the Netherlands. Using tanks, their Stuka airplanes, and troops, the Germans quickly defeated Belgium and the Netherlands, setting up occupational governments after they conquered the countries. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent troops to bolster the failing armies of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. But the German blitzkrieg strategy, combined with superior military equipment, quickly overran the Allied armies. By mid-May, they had forced the Allies to the English Channel and encircled them. Defeat seemed imminent. The best course of action, the Allied commands determined, was an evacuation at the French port city of Dunkirk, located six miles south of the Belgian border. The Dunkirk Evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation was one of the most dramatic, and remarkable moments for the Allies on the Western Front. The operation occurred after most of the surviving Belgian, British, and French armies were cut off and surrounded by the German army during the Battle of France. With the Nazi occupation of much of Western Europe, the rescue of these troops was essential. They were almost all that remained of the Allied forces, and the only significant resistance to Nazi Germany and its allies. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the events in France “a colossal military disaster,” saying “the whole root and core and brain of the British Army” had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. Beginning on May 26, 1940, the evacuation at Dunkirk began. Its goal was to rescue the 400,000 British, French, and Belgian soldiers trapped at the port. While the Allied soldiers waited, the German Stuka airplanes relentlessly bombed and strafed them, and bodies littered the beach. The British navy sent destroyers. The French sent additional destroyers, but neither country had enough ships to rescue the number of men awaiting them on the French coast. In a desperate plea, the British called on private sailors, fishermen, and anyone who owned a private boat to join the effort to rescue “the boys” trapped in France. More than 800 private vessels set sail between May 26 and June 4. Of the roughly 400,000 soldiers awaiting evacuation, nearly 340,000 were brought safely across the Channel to England. By luck, combined effort, and the ingenious, quick planning of the British, the Allied forces had been evacuated, but not defeated. Churchill commemorated the Dunkirk evacuation with a speech titled “We shall Fight on the Beaches”; his speech remains one of the strongest of the war because it presented strength and resignation at a point when the Allies were at their lowest. …We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender… The Fall of France As Churchill noted, an evacuation is not a victory. The Allies had been saved from complete destruction by the success at Dunkirk, but the war still raged. Most of Western Europe, and much of Eastern Europe, was under Nazi authority. Not long after their arrival in England, the thousands of French troops who were evacuated at Dunkirk were refreshed and redeployed to fight against the Nazis. Even across the English Channel, it was easy to understand that France could not withstand the German onslaught. On June 18, the Germans claimed Paris—only a month after their invasion began. By June 22, the French government had lost the will to fight. Utterly defeated, they surrendered to the Nazis. In a cruel twist of fate, the cease-fire was signed by the French in the very same train car, in the very same corner of France, in which the Germans had been forced to sign the 1918 cease-fire with France that ended World War I. Hitler himself decided upon the location to demonstrate Germany’s triumph over France. Vichy France Following the cease-fire, France was divided into two zones. The northern half of France, including Paris, was occupied and administered by Nazi Germany. The southern half operated under an independent French government headed by World War I hero, Marshal Philippe Pétain. This government bartered for independence in exchange for cooperating with the Nazis. Commonly, the southern government became known as Vichy France, and widely despised by the Allies for its collaboration with the Nazis, which included the arrests and deportations of French Jews. The government operated until June 1944, when the Allies successfully occupied all of France. In addition to the southern half of the country, Vichy France also governed in the French colonies in North Africa and the Mediterranean—an important point when the Allies launched invasions of North Africa. The Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain was an air war that occurred when the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the United Kingdom against the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacks from June to October 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. The primary objective of the Nazi German forces was to push Britain into a negotiated peace settlement. In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal shipping convoys, ports, and shipping centers, such as Portsmouth. On August 1, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over RAF with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command. Twelve days later, it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in aircraft production and strategic infrastructure, eventually deploying terror bombs on areas of political significance and civilians. By preventing the Luftwaffe’s air superiority over the UK, the British forced Adolf Hitler to postpone and eventually cancel Operation Sea Lion, a proposed amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain. However, Nazi Germany continued bombing operations on Britain, which became known as The Blitz. Beginning September 7, 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 57 consecutive nights. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, almost half of them in London. Ports and industrial centers outside London were also attacked. The main Atlantic sea port of Liverpool was bombed, causing nearly 4,000 deaths. The North Sea port of Hull, a convenient and easily found secondary target, was subjected to 86 raids; this resulted in a conservative estimate of 1,200 civilians killed and 95 percent of its housing stock destroyed or damaged. Other ports were also bombed, as were major British industrial cities. The failure to destroy Britain’s air defenses to force an armistice (or even outright surrender) is considered the Nazis’ first major defeat in World War II and a crucial turning point in the conflict. Several reasons have been suggested for the failure of the German air offensive. The Luftwaffe’s High Command did not develop a strategy for destroying British war industry; instead of maintaining pressure on any of them, it frequently switched from one type of industry to another. Neither was the Luftwaffe equipped to carry out strategic bombing; the lack of a heavy bomber and poor intelligence on British industry denied it the ability to prevail. By the end of 1940, much of Western and Northern Europe was under German occupation. And for the next two years, most of Europe remained either allied to or under control of the Nazis. England remained the sole member of the Allies to be free of the Nazi yoke, protected by its ocean borders and German interests in Eastern Europe. The fall and winter of 1940 were perhaps the bleakest for the Allies, but it also solidified their will to fight to the end. Little could they suspect that the “end” would not come until more than four years later, in 1945. The War in Eastern Europe: Operation Barabarossa, 1941 In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. This act broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and it opened the largest land theater of war in history. It also resulted in the most brutal of the European campaigns with millions of military and civilian casualties. Learning Objectives - Analyze the significance of Operation Barbarossa. Key Terms / Key Concepts Operation Barbarossa: the codename for Nazi Germany’s World War II invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on June 22, 1941 Hunger Plan: Nazi policy to seize food and agricultural products from the Soviets to feed German soldiers during their invasion of the Soviet Union Einsatzgruppen: killing squad responsible for the execution of Jews, Poles, and Soviet POWs Operation Typhoon: codename for the German plan to attack Moscow Battle of Moscow: fierce battle for the Russian capital that ultimately resulted in a narrow Russian victory and a German stalemate Setting the Stage for the Invasion In the two years leading up to the invasion, Germany and Russia signed political and economic pacts for strategic purposes. Nevertheless, on December 18, 1940, Hitler authorized an invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, began on June 22, 1941. Over the course of the operation, about four million Axis soldiers invaded the Soviet Union along the 1,800-mile front, the largest invasion force in the history of warfare. In addition to troops, the Germans employed some 600,000 motor vehicles and between 600,000 and 700,000 horses. The operation transformed the perception of the Soviet Union from aggressor to victim and marked the beginning of the rapid escalation of the war, both geographically and in the formation of the Allied coalition. The Germans did win resounding victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the Soviet Union, mainly in Ukraine, both inflicting and sustaining heavy casualties. However, despite their successes, the German offensive stalled on the outskirts of Moscow and was subsequently pushed back by a Soviet counteroffensive. The Red Army repelled the Wehrmacht’s strongest blows and forced the unprepared Germany into a war of attrition. The Germans would never again mount a simultaneous offensive along the entire strategic Soviet-Axis front. The failure of the operation drove Hitler to demand further operations inside the USSR of increasingly limited scope. The failure of Operation Barbarossa was a turning point in the fortunes of the Third Reich. Most importantly, the operation opened up the Eastern Front, to which more forces were committed than in any other theater of war in world history. The Eastern Front became the site of some of the largest battles, most horrific atrocities, and highest casualties for Soviets and Germans alike, all of which influenced the course of both World War II and the subsequent history of the 20th century. The German forces captured millions of Soviet prisoners of war who were not granted protections stipulated in the Geneva Conventions. A majority never returned. Germany deliberately starved the prisoners to death as part of a “Hunger Plan” that aimed to reduce the population of Eastern Europe and then re-populate it with ethnic Germans. Over a million Soviet POWs and Jews were murdered by Einsatzgruppen death squads and gassing as part of the Holocaust. Overview of the Battles The initial phase of the German ground and air attack completely destroyed the Soviet organizational command and control within the first few hours, paralyzing every level of command from the infantry platoon to the Soviet High Command in Moscow. Therefore, Moscow failed to grasp the magnitude of the catastrophe that confronted the Soviet forces in the border area. Marshal Semyon Timoshenko called for a general counteroffensive on the entire front “without any regards for borders” that both men hoped would sweep the enemy from Soviet territory. Timoshenko’s order was not based on a realistic appraisal of the military situation at hand and resulted in devastating casualties. Four weeks into the campaign, the Germans realized they had grossly underestimated Soviet strength. German operations were slowed to allow for resupply and adapt strategy to the new situation. Hitler had lost faith in battles of encirclement as large numbers of Soviet soldiers had escaped. He now believed he could defeat the Soviets by economic damage, depriving them of the industrial capacity to continue the war. That meant seizing the industrial center of Kharkov, the Donbass, and the oil fields of the Caucasus in the south, as well as the speedy capture of Leningrad, a major center of military production, in the north. Operation Typhoon—the drive to Moscow—began on October 2. After a German victory in Kiev, the Red Army no longer outnumbered the Germans and no more trained reserves were available. The Germans initially won several important battles, and the German government now publicly predicted the imminent capture of Moscow and convinced foreign correspondents of a pending Soviet collapse. To defend Moscow, Stalin could field 800,000 men in 83 divisions, but no more than 25 divisions were fully effective. On December 2, the German army advanced to within 15 miles of Moscow and could see the spires of the Kremlin, but by then the first blizzards had already begun. A reconnaissance battalion also managed to reach the town of Khimki, about 5 miles away from the Soviet capital. It captured the bridge over the Moscow-Volga Canal as well as the railway station, which marked the farthest eastern advance of German forces. But in spite of the progress made, the Wehrmacht was not equipped for winter warfare, and the bitter cold caused severe problems for their guns and equipment. Further, weather conditions grounded the Luftwaffe from conducting large-scale operations. And newly created Soviet units near Moscow then numbered over 500,000 men; these newly formed units launched a massive counterattack on December 5 as part of the Battle of Moscow that pushed the Germans back over 200 miles. By late December 1941, the Germans had lost the Battle of Moscow, and the invasion had cost the German army over 830,000 casualties in killed, wounded, captured, or missing in action. Operation Barbarossa was the largest military operation in human history—more men, tanks, guns, and aircraft were committed than had ever been deployed before in a single offensive. Seventy-five percent of the entire German military participated. The invasion opened the Eastern Front of World War II, the largest theater of war during that conflict, which witnessed titanic clashes of unprecedented violence and destruction for four years that resulted in the deaths of more than 26 million people. More people died fighting on the Eastern Front than in all other fighting across the globe during World War II. Damage to both the economy and landscape was enormous for the Soviets as approximately 1,710 towns and 70,000 villages were annihilated. Attributions All Images Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Boundless World History “World War II: Axis Powers” https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-european-front/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Churchill, Winston. “We Shall Fight on the Beaches.” June1940. https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1940-the-finest-hour/we-shall-fight-on-the-beaches/ “Operation Barbarossa” https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/operation-barbarossa/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.835751	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88057/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 14: The World Afire: World War II, An Axis Europe, 1939 – 1942", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88102/overview	Post Cold War Latin America Overview Chile and Argentina Following the Cold War, Latin America had a variety of new opportunities to grow economically. Many states began to explore globalization and economic growth. Learning Objectives - How did the end of the Cold War affect Latin America? Key Terms / Key Concepts Concertación: a coalition of center-left political parties in Chile, founded in 1988 (Presidential candidates under its banner won every election from when military rule ended in 1990 until the conservative candidate Sebastián Piñera won the Chilean presidential election in 2010. In 2013 it was replaced by the New Majority coalition.) “disappearances”: in international human rights law, this occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person’s fate and whereabouts, with the intent of placing the victim outside the protection of the law Peronist: a person who follows the Argentinian political movement based on the ideology and legacy of former President Juan Domingo Perón and his second wife, Eva Perón (The Justicialist Party derives its name from the concept of social justice. Since its inception in 1946, candidates from his party have won 9 of the 12 presidential elections from which they have not been banned. As of 2016, Perón was the only Argentine to have been elected president three times. Trial of the Juntas: The judicial trial of the members of the de facto military government that ruled Argentina during the dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (el proceso), which lasted from 1976 to 1983.) Democracy in Chile and Argentina Chile and Argentina both transitioned from military dictatorships to democratic regimes in the 1980s, leading to relative political stability in both countries in the 21st century. Chile’s Transition to Democracy The Chilean transition to democracy began when a constitution establishing a transition itinerary was approved in a vote. From March 11, 1981 to March 1990, several organic constitutional laws were approved leading to the final restoration of democracy. After the 1988 plebiscite, the 1980 Constitution, still in force today, was amended to ease provisions for future amendments to the constitution, create more seats in the senate, diminish the role of the National Security Council, and equalize the number of civilian and military members (four members each). Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin served from 1990 to 1994 and was succeeded by another Christian Democrat, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (son of Frei-Montalva), leading the same coalition for a 6-year term. Ricardo Lagos Escobar of the Socialist Party and the Party for Democracy led the Concentración (a coalition of center-left political parties in Chile, founded in 1988) to a narrower victory in the 2000 presidential elections. His term ended on March 11, 2006, when Michelle Bachelet of the Socialist Party took office. Center-right investor and businessman Sebastián Piñera, of the National Renewal, assumed the presidency on March 11, 2010, after Bachelet’s term expired. Part of the transition from the military dictatorship to democracy entailed investigating the human right’s abuses under the previous regimes. In February 1991 Aylwin created the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, which released in February 1991 the Rettig Report on human rights violations committed during the military rule. This report counted 2,279 cases of “disappearance” that could be proved and registered. Of course, the very nature of “disappearances” made such investigations very difficult. The same issue arose several years later with the Valech Report released in 2004, which counted almost 30,000 victims of torture, among testimonies from 35,000 persons. Contemporary Era in Argentina Argentina also experienced a transition from a military dictatorship to a democracy in the 1980s. Raúl Alfonsín won the 1983 elections, after campaigning for the prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations during the military dictatorship. The Trial of the Juntas and other martial courts sentenced all the coup’s leaders but, under military pressure, Alfonsín also enacted the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws, which halted prosecutions further down the chain of command. The worsening economic crisis and hyperinflation reduced his popular support, and the Peronist Carlos Menem won the 1989 election. Soon after, riots forced Alfonsín to an early resignation. Menem embraced neo-liberal policies: a fixed exchange rate, business deregulation, privatizations, and dismantling of protectionist barriers normalized the economy for a while. He pardoned the officers who had been sentenced during Alfonsín’s government. The 1994 Constitutional Amendment allowed Menem to be elected for a second term. However, the economy began to decline in 1995, with increasing unemployment and recession; this led to Fernando de la Rúa and the UCR—Radical Civic Union, a centrist social-liberal political party—returning to the presidency in the 1999 elections. De la Rúa kept Menem’s economic plan despite the worsening crisis, which led to growing social discontent. A massive capital flight led to a freezing of bank accounts, generating further turmoil. The December 2001 riots forced him to resign. Mexico Learning Objectives - Evaluate the role of NAFTA on Mexico. Key Terms / Key Concepts Peronist: a person who follows the Argentinian political movement based on the ideology and legacy of former President Juan Domingo Perón and his second wife, Eva Perón (The Justicialist Party derives its name from the concept of social justice. Since its inception in 1946, candidates from his party have won 9 of the 12 presidential elections from which they have not been banned. As of 2016, Perón was the only Argentine to have been elected president three times. Mexico’s Transition to True Democracy In the November 2015 elections, after a tie in the first round of presidential elections on October 25, Mauricio Macri won the first ballotage in Argentina’s history, beating Front for Victory candidate Daniel Scioli and becoming president-elect. Macri is the first democratically elected non-radical or Peronist president since 1916, although he had the support of the first mentioned. He took office on December 10, 2015. In April 2016, the Macri Government introduced austerity measures intended to tackle inflation and public deficits. The Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), the political party that controlled national and state politics in Mexico since 1929, was finally voted out of power in 2000 with the election of Vicente Fox Quesada, the candidate of the National Action Party (PAN). Background: Decline of the PRI A phenomenon of the 1980s in Mexico was the growth of organized political opposition to de facto one-party rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Institucional or PRI), which held power uninterruptedly in the country for 71 years from 1929 to 2000. The National Action Party (PAN), founded in 1939 and until the 1980s a marginal political party and not a serious contender for power, began to gain voters, particularly in Mexico’s north. They made gains in local elections initially, but in 1986 the PAN candidate for the governorship of Chihuahua had a good chance of winning. The 1988 Mexican general election was pivotal in Mexican history. The PRI’s candidate was Carlos Salinas de Gortari, an economist who was educated at Harvard and who had never held an elected office. Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas, the son of former President Lázaro Cárdenas, broke with the PRI and ran as a candidate of the Democratic Current, later forming into the Party of Democratic Revolution (PRD). The PAN candidate Manuel Clouthier ran a clean campaign in long-standing pattern of the party. The election was marked by irregularities on a massive scale. The Ministry of the Interior administered the electoral process, which meant in practice that the PRI controlled it. During the vote count, the government computers were said to have crashed, something the government called “a breakdown of the system.” When the computers were said to be running again after a considerable delay, the election results they recorded were an extremely narrow victory for Salinas (50.7%), Cárdenas (31.1%), and Clouthier (16.8%). Cárdenas was widely seen to have won the election, but Salinas was declared the winner. One observer said, “For the ordinary citizen, it was not the computer network but the Mexican political system that had crashed.” There might have been violence in the wake of such fraudulent results, but Cárdenas did not call for it, “sparing the country a possible civil war.” Years later, former Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid (1982 – 88) was quoted in the New York Times stating that the results were indeed fraudulent. Salinas embarked on a program of neoliberal reforms that fixed the exchange rate, controlled inflation, and culminated with the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came into effect on January 1, 1994. The same day, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) started a two-week-long armed rebellion against the federal government, and this has continued as a non-violent opposition movement against neoliberalism and globalization. In 1994, Salinas was succeeded by Ernesto Zedillo, followed by the Mexican peso crisis and a $50 billion bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Major macroeconomic reforms were initiated by President Zedillo, and the economy rapidly recovered and growth peaked at almost 7% by the end of 1999. President Vicente Fox Quesada, 2000 – 2006 Emphasizing the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, integrate with the U.S. economy, and allow private investment in the energy sector, Vicente Fox Quesada—the candidate of the National Action Party (PAN) —was elected the 69th president of Mexico on July 2, 2000, ending PRI’s 71-year-long control of the office. Though Fox’s victory was due in part to popular discontent with decades of unchallenged PRI hegemony, Fox’s opponent, president Zedillo, conceded defeat on the night of the election—a first in Mexican history. A further sign of the quickening of Mexican democracy was the fact that PAN failed to win a majority in both chambers of Congress—a situation that prevented Fox from implementing his reform pledges. Nonetheless, the transfer of power in 2000 was quick and peaceful. Fox was a very strong candidate, but an ineffective president who was weakened by PAN’s minority status in Congress. Historian Philip Russell summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of Fox as president: Marketed on television, Fox made a far better candidate than he did president. He failed to take charge and provide cabinet leadership, failed to set priorities, and turned a blind eye to alliance building….By 2006, as political scientist Soledad Loaeza noted, ‘the eager candidate became a reluctant president who avoided tough choices and appeared hesitant and unable to hide the weariness caused by the responsibilities and constraints of the office….’ He had little success in fighting crime. Even though he maintained the macroeconomic stability inherited from his predecessor, economic growth barely exceeded the rate of population increase. Similarly, the lack of fiscal reform left tax collection at a rate similar to that of Haiti….Finally, during Fox’s administration, only 1.4 million formal-sector jobs were created, leading to massive immigration to the United States and an explosive increase in informal employment. President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, 2006 – 2012 President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa (PAN) took office after one of the most hotly contested elections in recent Mexican history; Calderón won by such a small margin (.56% or 233,831 votes) that the runner-up, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), contested the results. Calderón’s government ordered massive raids on drug cartels upon assuming office in December 2006 in response to an increasingly deadly spate of violence in his home state of Michoacán. The decision to intensify drug enforcement operations led to an ongoing conflict between the federal government and the Mexican drug cartels. And, despite imposing a cap on salaries of high-ranking public servants, Calderón ordered a raise on the salaries of the Federal Police and the Mexican armed forces on his first day as president. President Enrique Peña Nieto, 2006 – Present On July 1, 2012, Enrique Peña Nieto was elected president of Mexico with 38% of the vote. He is a former governor of the state of Mexico and a member of the PRI. His election returned the PRI to power after 12 years of PAN rule. He was officially sworn into office on December 1, 2012. The Pacto por México The Pacto por México was a cross party alliance that called for the accomplishment of 95 goals. It was signed on December 2, 2012 by the leaders of the three main political parties in Chapultepec Castle. The Pact has been lauded by international pundits as an example for solving political gridlock and for effectively passing institutional reforms. Among other legislation, it called for education reform, banking reform, fiscal reform, and telecommunications reform, all of which were eventually passed. Most importantly, the Pact wanted a revaluation of PEMEX. This ultimately resulted in the dissolution of the agreement when in December 2013 the center-left PRD refused to collaborate with the legislation penned by the center-right PAN and PRI that ended PEMEX’s monopoly and allowed for foreign investment in Mexico’s oil industry. Northern South America Learning Objectives - Evaluate the role of Hugo Chávez in Latin American politics. - Analyze the importance of Northern Latin America in the late 20th century. Venezuela and Chavismo Under the presidency of Hugo Chávez from 1999 to 2013, Venezuela saw sweeping and radical shifts in social policy, marked by a move away from the government officially embracing a free-market economy and neoliberal reform principles and a move towards the government embracing socialist income redistribution and social welfare programs. Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela The Bolivarian Revolution is a leftist social movement and political process in Venezuela that was led by late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez—the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. The “Bolivarian Revolution” is named after Simón Bolívar, an early 19th-century Venezuelan and Latin American revolutionary leader, prominent in the Spanish American wars of independence, which led to the independence of most of northern South America from Spanish rule. According to Chávez and other supporters, the “Bolivarian Revolution” seeks to build a mass movement to implement Bolivarianism: popular democracy, economic independence, equitable distribution of revenues, and an end to political corruption in Venezuela. They interpret Bolívar’s ideas from a socialist perspective. Hugo Chávez Hugo Chávez, a former paratroop lieutenant-colonel who led an unsuccessful coup d’état in 1992, was elected President in December 1998 on a platform that called for the creation of a “Fifth Republic,” a new constitution, a new name (“the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”), and a new set of relations between socioeconomic classes. In 1999, voters approved a referendum on a new constitution and in 2000, re-elected Chávez, also placing many members of his Fifth Republic Movement party in the National Assembly. Supporters of Chávez called the process symbolized by him “the Bolivarian Revolution” and were organized into different government-funded groups, including the Bolivarian Circles. Chávez’s first few months in office were dedicated primarily to constitutional reform, while his secondary focus was on immediately allocating more government funds to new social programs. However, as a recession triggered by historically low oil prices and soaring international interest rates rocked Venezuela, the shrunken federal treasury provided very little of the resources Chávez required for his promised massive populist programs. The economy, which was still staggering, shrunk by 10% and the unemployment rate increased to 20%, the highest level in since the 1980s. Chávez sharply diverged from previous administrations’ economic policies, terminating their practice of extensively privatizing Venezuela’s state-owned holdings, such as the national social security system, holdings in the aluminum industry, and the oil sector. Chávez worked to reduce Venezuelan oil extraction in the hopes of garnering elevated oil prices and, at least theoretically, elevated total oil revenues, thereby boosting Venezuela’s severely deflated foreign exchange reserves. He extensively lobbied other OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) countries to cut their production rates as well. As a result of these actions, Chávez became known as a “price hawk” in his dealings with the oil industry and OPEC. Chávez also attempted a comprehensive renegotiation of 60-year-old royalty payment agreements with oil giants Philips Petroleum and ExxonMobil. These agreements had allowed the corporations to pay in taxes as little as 1% of the tens of billions of dollars in revenues they were earning from their extraction of Venezuelan oil. Afterwards, Chávez stated his intention to complete the nationalization of Venezuela’s oil resources. In April 2002, Chávez was briefly ousted from power in the 2002 Venezuelan coup d’état attempt following popular demonstrations by his opponents, but he was returned to power after two days as a result of demonstrations by poor Chávez supporters in Caracas, as well as actions by the military. Chávez also remained in power after an all-out national strike that lasted from December 2002 to February 2003, including a strike/lockout in the state oil company PDVSA. The strike produced severe economic dislocation, with the country’s GDP falling 27% during the first four months of 2003, which cost the oil industry $13.3 billion. In the subsequent decade, the government was forced into several currency devaluations. These devaluations have done little to improve the situation of the Venezuelan people who rely on imported products or locally produced products that depend on imported inputs, while dollar-denominated oil sales account for the vast majority of Venezuela’s exports. The profits of the oil industry have been lost to “social engineering” and corruption, instead of investments needed to maintain oil production. Chávez survived several further political tests, including an August 2004 recall referendum. He was elected for another term in December 2006 and re-elected for a third term in October 2012. However, he was never sworn in for his third term due to medical complications. Chávez died on March 5, 2013 after a nearly two-year fight with cancer. The presidential election that took place on April 14, 2013, was the first since Chávez took office in 1999 in which his name did not appear on the ballot. Chavez’s ideas, programs, and style form the basis of “Chavismo,” a political ideology closely associated with the Bolivarianism and socialism of the 21st century. Internationally, Chávez aligned himself with the Marxist–Leninist governments of Fidel and then Raúl Castro in Cuba, and the socialist governments of Evo Morales (Bolivia), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua). His presidency was seen as a part of the socialist “pink tide” sweeping Latin America. Chávez described his policies as anti-imperialist, being a prominent adversary of the United States’s foreign policy as well as a vocal critic of U.S.-supported neoliberalism and laissez-faire capitalism. He described himself as a Marxist. He supported Latin American and Caribbean cooperation and was instrumental in setting up the pan-regional Union of South American Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the Bank of the South, and the regional television network TeleSUR. Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro has been the President of Venezuela since April 14, 2013, after winning the second presidential election after Chávez’s death with 50.61% of the votes against Henrique Capriles Radonski, who had 49.12% of the votes. The Democratic Unity Roundtable contested his election as fraudulent, and as a violation of the constitution. However, the Supreme Court of Venezuela ruled that under Venezuela’s Constitution, Nicolás Maduro is the legitimate president and was invested as such by the Venezuelan National Assembly. Since February 2014, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have protested over high levels of criminal violence, corruption, hyperinflation, and chronic scarcity of basic goods due to policies of the federal government. Demonstrations and riots have left over 40 fatalities in the unrest between both Chavistas and opposition protesters, as well as led to the arrest of opposition leaders such as Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma. Human rights groups have strongly condemned the arrest of Leopoldo López. In the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, the opposition gained a majority. The following year, in a July 2016 decree, President Maduro used his executive power to declare a state of economic emergency. The decree could force citizens to work in agricultural fields and farms for 60-day (or longer) periods to supply food to the country. In mid-2016, Colombian border crossings were temporarily opened to allow Venezuelans to purchase food and basic household and health items in Colombia. In September 2016, a study published in the Spanish-language Diario Las Américas indicated that 15% of Venezuelans are eating “food waste discarded by commercial establishments.” Attributions Attributions Source image provided by Wikimedia Commons: Brazil Carnival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Carnival#/media/File:Desfile_Portela_2014_(906185).jpg Chapters adapted from: https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/argentina/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/chile/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/brazil/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/conflict-across-latin-america/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/crisis-points-of-the-cold-war/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/the-americas-in-the-21st-century/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.868439	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88102/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 16: Globalization, Post Cold War Latin America", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88052/overview	Technology of a Modern War Overview Technology in World War II Technology played a significant role in World War II. Some of the technologies used during the war were developed during the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s, much was developed in response to needs and lessons learned during the First World War, while others were beginning to be developed as the war ended. Many wars had major effects on the technologies that we use in our daily lives. However, compared to previous wars, World War II had the greatest effect on the technology and devices that are used today. Technology also played a greater role in the conduct of World War II than in any other war in history, and had a critical role in its outcome. Learning Objectives Identify, explain, and assess the impact of the new technologies of the Second World War. Key Terms / Key Concepts atomic bomb: explosive device powered by nuclear fission, first developed by the United States through the Manhattan Project jet aircraft: jet-powered military aircraft developed by Britain, Germany, Japan, and the United States V-2 rocket: ballistic missile developed by Germany during World War II Summary of World War II Technological Developments During WWII. many types of technology were customized for military use, and major developments occurred across several fields including: Weaponry: ships, vehicles, submarines, aircraft, tanks, artillery, small arms; and biological, chemical, and atomic weapons Logistical support: vehicles necessary for transporting soldiers and supplies, such as trains, trucks, tanks, ships, and aircraft Communications and intelligence: devices used for navigation, communication, remote sensing, and espionage Medicine: surgical innovations, chemical medicines, and techniques Rocketry: guided missiles, medium-range ballistic missiles, and automatic aircraft World War II was the first war where military operations were conducted to obtain intelligence on the enemy's technology and widely targeted the research efforts of the enemy. This included the exfiltration of Niels Bohr from German-occupied Denmark to Britain in 1943; the sabotage of Norwegian heavy water production; and the bombing of Peenemunde; the Bruneval Raid for German radar; and Operation Most III for the German V-2. Interwar Period In the aftermath of World War I nations responded in a variety of ways to the question of rearming for the next war. Military investments differed by nation between WWI and WWII. In August 1919 the British Ten Year Rule declared the government should not expect another war within ten years. Consequently, they conducted very little military research and development (R&D). In contrast, Germany and the Soviet Union were dissatisfied powers who, for different reasons, cooperated with each other on military R & D. The Soviets offered Weimar Germany facilities deep inside the USSR for building and testing arms and for military training, well away from Treaty inspectors' eyes. In return, they asked for access to German technical developments, as well as for assistance in creating the Red Army General Staff. In the late 1920s, Germany helped the Soviet industry begin to modernize and to assist in the establishment of tank production facilities at the Leningrad Bolshevik Factory and the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory. This cooperation would break down when Hitler rose to power in 1933. The failure of the 1932 World Disarmament Conference marked the beginning of the arms race immediately preceding World War II. In France the lesson of World War I was translated into the Maginot Line, which was supposed to hold a line at the border with Germany, was a product of French R&D based on the static warfare on the Western Front during WWI. The Maginot Line did achieve its political objective of ensuring that any German invasion had to go through Belgium ensuring that France would have Britain as a military ally. France and Russia had more, and much better, tanks than Germany in 1940, right before they clashed. As in World War I, the French generals expected that armor would mostly serve to help infantry break the static trench lines and storm machine gun nests. They thus spread the armor among their infantry divisions, ignoring the new German doctrine of blitzkrieg based on fast, coordinated movement using concentrated armor attacks, against which the only effective defense was mobile anti-tank guns, as the old infantry antitank rifles were ineffective against the new medium and heavy tanks. Air power was a major concern of Germany and Britain between the wars. Commercial trade in aircraft engines continued, with Britain selling hundreds of its best designs to German firms, who used them in the first generation of their aircraft and then improved on them for use in German military aircraft. These new inventions in aircraft parts aided German successes in World War II. Germany was at the forefront of internal combustion engine development. The laboratory of Ludwig Prandtl at University of Göttingen was the world center of aerodynamics and fluid dynamics in general, until its dispersal after the Allied victory. This contributed to the German development of jet aircraft and of submarines with improved underwater performance. Induced nuclear fission was discovered in Germany in 1939 by Otto Hahn, as well as expatriate Jews in Sweden. Germany lagged in this area because many of the scientists needed to develop nuclear power had escaped or migrated to other countries due to Nazi anti-Jewish and anti-intellectual policies. Scientists have been at the heart of warfare and their contributions have often been decisive. As Ian Jacob—the wartime military secretary of Winston Churchill—famously remarked on the influx of refugee scientists into Allied nations (including 19 Nobel laureates): "the Allies won the [Second World] War because our German scientists were better than their German scientists". Allied Cooperation The Allies of World War II cooperated extensively in the development and manufacture of new and existing technologies to support military operations and intelligence gathering during the Second World War. There are various ways in which the allies cooperated, including the American Lend-Lease scheme, the development of hybrid weapons such as the Sherman Firefly, and the British Tube Alloys nuclear weapons research project, which was absorbed into the American-led Manhattan Project. Several technologies invented in Britain proved critical to the military and were widely manufactured by the Allies during the Second World War. Weaponry Military weapons technology experienced rapid advances during World War II; over six years there was a disorientating rate of change in combat in everything from aircraft to small arms. Indeed, the war began with most armies utilizing technology that had changed little from World War I, and in some cases, had remained unchanged since the 19th century. For instance, cavalry, trenches, and World War I-era battleships were normal in 1940, ; however, within only six years armies around the world had developed jet aircraft, ballistic missiles, and even atomic weapons in the case of the United States. Aircraft In the Western European Theatre of World War II, air power became crucial throughout the war, both in tactical and strategic operations (respectively, battlefield and long-range). Superior German aircraft, aided by ongoing introduction of design and technology innovations, allowed the German armies to initially overrun Western Europe with great speed in 1940, largely assisted by lack of Allied aircraft, which in many cases lagged in design and technical development during the slump in research investment after the Great Depression. Aircraft saw rapid and broad development during the war to meet the demands of aerial combat and address lessons learned from combat experience. From the open cockpit airplane to the sleek jet fighter, many different types were employed, often designed for very specific missions. Aircraft were used in anti-submarine warfare against German U-Boats, by the Germans to mine shipping lanes, and by the Japanese against previously formidable Royal Navy battleships such as HMS Prince of Wales. Since the end of World War I, the French Air Force had been badly neglected, as military leaders preferred to spend money on ground armies and static fortifications to fight another World War I-style war. As a result, by 1940, the French Air Force had only 1562 planes and was together with 1070 RAF planes facing 5,638 Luftwaffe fighters and fighter-bombers. Most French airfields were located in north-east of France, and were quickly overrun in the early stages of the campaign. Subsequently, the Luftwaffe was able to achieve air superiority over France in 1940, giving the German military an immense advantage in terms of reconnaissance and intelligence. German aircraft rapidly achieved air superiority over France in early 1940, allowing the Luftwaffe to begin a campaign of strategic bombing against British cities. Utilizing France's airfields near the English Channel the Germans were able to launch raids on London and other cities during the Blitz, with varying degrees of success. The Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom possessed some very advanced fighter planes, such as Spitfires and Hurricanes, but these were not useful for attacking ground troops on a battlefield, and the small number of planes dispatched to France with the British Expeditionary Force were destroyed fairly quickly. After World War I, the concept of massed aerial bombing—"The bomber will always get through"—had become very popular with politicians and military leaders seeking an alternative to the carnage of trench warfare, and as a result, the air forces of Britain, France, and Germany had developed fleets of bomber planes to enable this. However, France's bomber wing was severely neglected, while Germany's bombers were developed in secret as they were explicitly forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. German industrial production actually rose continuously from 1940 to 1945, despite the best efforts of the Allied air forces to cripple industry. Despite the abilities of Allied bombers, though, Germany was not quickly crippled by Allied air raids. At the start of the war the vast majority of bombs fell miles from their targets, as poor navigation technology ensured that Allied airmen frequently could not find their targets at night. The bombs used by the Allies were very high-tech devices, and mass production meant that the precision bombs were often made sloppily, so they failed to explode. The practical jet aircraft age began just before the start of the war with the development of the Heinkel He 178—the first true turbojet. Late in the war the Germans brought in the first operational Jet fighter—the Messerschmitt Me 262. However, despite their seeming technological edge, German jets were often hampered by technical problems, such as short engine lives, and the Me 262 had an estimated operating life of just ten hours before failing. German jets were also overwhelmed by Allied air superiority, frequently being destroyed on or near the airstrip. The first and only operational Allied jet fighter of the war—the British Gloster Meteor—saw combat against German V-1 flying bombs but did not significantly distinguish from top-line, late-war piston-driven aircraft. Fuel As with other resources, the Allies possessed quantitative superiority over the Axis nations in petroleum production. During the Axis countries had serious shortages of petroleum from which to make liquid fuel. These shortages drove Axis conquest efforts in the Middle East and east Asia. Germany also was able to mitigate somewhat this shortage through a process to make synthetic fuel from coal. Consequently, synthesis factories were principal targets of the Oil Campaign of World War II. Vehicles The Treaty of Versailles had imposed severe restrictions upon Germany constructing vehicles for military purposes; in response, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, German arms manufacturers and the Wehrmacht had begun secretly developing tanks. As these vehicles were produced in secret, their technical specifications and battlefield potential were largely unknown to the European Allies until the war actually began. French and British Generals believed that a second war with Germany would be fought in the same way as WWI had been – static trench warfare. Fighting on the Western Front was marked by hundreds of thousands of casualties in campaigns that lasted months for territorial gains of only a few hundred square miles, such as the Battle of the Somme, which lasted four and a half months, cost both sides close to a million casualties, and gained the British just under one hundred square miles. Beginning in WWI both sides invested in thickly armored, heavily armed vehicles, including tanks and self-propelled vehicles, designed to cross shell-damaged ground and trenches under fire, ending static trench warfare. At the same time the British also developed faster but lightly armored cruiser tanks to range behind the enemy lines. Communication technology also varied between nations. Only a handful of French tanks had radios, and these often broke as the tank lurched over uneven ground. German tanks were, on the contrary, all equipped with radios, allowing them to communicate with one another throughout battles, while French tank commanders could rarely contact other vehicles. World War II marked the first full-scale war when mechanization played a significant role. This meant that both men and materials would be transported by motorized vehicles, as opposed to animals or people. Most nations did not begin the war equipped for this. Even the vaunted German Panzer forces relied heavily on non-motorized support and flank units in large operations. While Germany recognized and demonstrated the value of concentrated use of mechanized forces, they never had these units in enough quantity to supplant traditional units. However, the British also saw the value in mechanization. For them it was a way to enhance an otherwise limited manpower reserve. The U.S. as well sought to create a mechanized army. For the United States, it was not so much a matter of limited troops, but instead a strong industrial base that could afford such equipment on a great scale. The most visible vehicles of the war were the tanks, forming the armored spearhead of mechanized warfare. Their impressive firepower and armor made them the premier fighting machine of ground warfare. However, the large number of trucks and lighter vehicles that kept the infantry, artillery, and others moving were massive undertakings also. Ships Naval warfare changed dramatically during World War II, with the ascent of the aircraft carrier to the premier vessel of the fleet, as well as the impact of increasingly capable submarines on the course of the war. The development of new ships during the war was somewhat limited due to the protracted time period needed for production, but important developments were often retrofitted to older vessels. While the Germans were able to develop advanced types of submarines, this development came into service too late and after nearly all the experienced crews had been lost. In addition to aircraft carriers, destroyers were advanced as well. For instance, the Imperial Japanese Navy introduced the Fubuki-class destroyer. The Fubuki class set a new standard not only for Japanese vessels but also for destroyers around the world. At a time when British and American destroyers had changed little from their un-turreted, single-gun mounts and light weaponry, the Japanese destroyers were bigger, more powerfully armed, and faster than any similar class of vessel in the other fleets. The Japanese destroyers of World War II are said to be the world's first modern destroyer. Submersibles, or submarines, played an even greater role in WWII than they had in WWI. German U-boats came close to cutting off the flow of supplies from the U.S. and Canada to Britain in 1942, before Allied ships and aircraft brought an end to the Battle of the Atlantic. U.S. submarines were more successful against the Japanese in the Pacific, cutting off the flow of soldiers and supplies to Japanese-held islands. Both sides improved submersibles during the war, including with devices such as snorkels and more effective torpedoes. The success of submersibles on both sides in the war ensured their place in the planning of naval warfare in future conflicts. The most important shipboard advances were in the field of anti-submarine warfare. Driven by the desperate necessity of keeping Britain supplied, technologies for the detection and destruction of submarines were advanced at high priority. The use of ASDIC (SONAR) became widespread and so did the installation of shipboard and airborne radar. The Allies’ breaking of the German Ultra code also contributed to the defeat of German U-boats. Firearms, Artillery,and Bombs The actual weapons (guns, mortars, artillery, bombs, and other devices) were as diverse as the participants and objectives. A large array was developed during the war to meet specific needs that arose, but many traced their early development prior to World War II. Torpedoes began to use magnetic detonators; compass-directed, programmed and even acoustic guidance systems; and improved propulsion. Fire-control systems continued to develop for ships' guns and came into use for torpedoes and anti-aircraft fire. Human torpedoes and the Hedgehog were also developed. Small Arms Development World War II saw the establishment of the reliable semi-automatic rifle—such as the American M1 Garand—and, more importantly, of the first widely used assault rifles—named after the German sturmgewehrs of the late war. Machine guns also improved. However, despite being overshadowed by self-loading/automatic rifles and sub-machine guns, bolt-action rifles remained the mainstay infantry weapon of many nations during World War II, most likely due to manufacturing and training issues for more advanced weapons. When the United States entered World War II, there were not enough M1 Garand rifles available to American forces, which forced the US to start producing more M1903 rifles in order to act as a "stop gap" measure until sufficient quantities of M1 Garands were produced. Atomic Bomb The massive research and development demands of the war included the Manhattan Project, the effort to quickly develop an atomic bomb or a nuclear fission warhead. It was perhaps the most profound military development of the war, and it had a great impact on the scientific community, among other things, as well as led to the creation of a network of national laboratories in the United States. While only the U.S. had succeeded in developing atomic weapons during WWII, other countries tried. The British started their own nuclear weapons program in 1940, being the first country to do so. But, due to the potential radioactive fallout, the British considered the idea morally unacceptable and put it on hold until after the war. The Empire of Japan was also developing an atomic Bomb. However, it floundered due to lack of resources despite gaining interest from the government. The invention of the atomic bomb meant that a single aircraft could carry a weapon so powerful it could burn down entire cities, making conventional warfare against a nation with an arsenal of atomic bombs a suicidal move; this means possession of the bomb worked as a deterrent to foreign aggression. There was also a German nuclear energy project, including talk of an atomic weapon. But it failed for a variety of reasons, most notably German Antisemitism. Half of continental theoretical physicists did much of their early study and research in Germany —including Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Enrico Fermi, and Robert Oppenheimer; they were either Jewish or married to a Jewish person. (Erwin Schrödinger had also left Germany for political reasons.) When they left Germany, the only leading nuclear physicist left in Germany was Heisenberg, who apparently dragged his feet on the project, or at best lacked the high morale that characterized the Los Alamos work. In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote the now infamous Einstein-Szilard letter to President Franklin Roosevelt. The letter informed Roosevelt of what the Germans were doing to develop atomic capabilities and encouraged the president to directly and secretly invest in developing this technology. This letter contributed to FDR’s decision to proceed with the Manhattan Project. Following the conclusion of the European Theater in May 1945, two atomic bombs produced as part of the Manhattan Project were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 by U.S. developed and built strategic B29 bombers toward the end of forcing Japan to surrender. The success of these bombs brought a final end to the war, and made the U.S. world’s first super power, defined by possession of a nuclear arsenal. The strategic importance of the bomb, as well as its even more powerful fusion-based successors, did not become fully apparent until the United States lost its monopoly on the weapon in the post-war era. The Soviet Union developed and tested their first fire weapon in 1949, based partially on information obtained from Soviet espionage in the United States. Competition between the two superpowers played a large part in the development of the Cold War. The strategic implications of such a massively destructive weapon still reverberate in the 21st century. Rocketry Rocketry advanced markedly during World War II, as illustrated most visibly by the German glide bombs, the V-1 flying bomb, and the V-2 rocket. V-1 and V-2 rockets took the lives of many civilians in London during 1944 and 1945. These weapons were precursors to "smart" weapons. The V-1, also known as the buzz bomb, was an automatic aircraft that would be known as a "cruise missile" today. The V-1 was developed at Peenemünde Army Research Center by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. During initial development it was known by the codename "Cherry Stone." The first of the so-called Vergeltungswaffen series designed for terror bombing of London, the V-1 was fired from launch facilities along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts. The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944), one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landings in Europe. At its peak, more than one hundred V-1s a day were fired toward south-east England—9,521 in total. This firing decreased in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was captured by Allied forces. After this, the V-1s were directed at the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, with 2,448 V-1s being launched. The attacks stopped when the last launch site was overrun on 29 March 1945. The V-2 was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile with liquid-propellant rocket engine was developed during the Second World War in Germany as a "vengeance weapon" that was designed to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings of German cities. The V-2 rocket was also the first artificial object to cross the boundary of space. This was the first step into the space age as its trajectory took it through the stratosphere, higher and faster than any aircraft. This later led to the development of the Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Wernher Von Braun led the V-2 development team and later emigrated to the United States where he contributed to the development of the Saturn V rocket, which took men to the moon in 1969. Medicine Both sides also made remarkable medical advances during the war. Penicillin was first mass-produced and used during the war. The widespread use of mepacrine (Atabrine) for the prevention of malaria, sulfanilamide, blood plasma, and morphine were also among chief wartime medical advancements. Advances in the treatment of burns, including the use of skin grafts, mass immunization for tetanus, and improvements in gas masks also took place during the war. The use of metal plates to help heal fractures began during the war. When World War II ended in 1945, the small arms that were used in the conflict still saw action in the hands of the armed forces of various nations and guerrilla movements during and after the Cold War era. Nations like the Soviet Union and the United States provided many surplus, World War II-era small arms to a number of nations and political movements during the Cold War era as a pretext to producing more modern infantry weapons. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Title Image - July 1945 Trinity atmosphere nuclear test. Attribution: The Official CTBTO Photostream, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. Probided by: Wikipedia. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trinity_atmospheric_nucleat_test_-_July_1945_-_Flickr_-_The_Official_CTBTO_Photostream.jpg. License: CC-BY-2.0. Wikipedia "Technology durig World War II" Adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_during_World_War_II CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY Curation and Revision. Provided by: Boundless.com. License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0 CC LICENSED CONTENT, SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTION World War II Technology. Provided by: Wikipedia. Location: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_during_World_War_II. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Roberts, Susan A.; Calvin A. Roberts (2006). New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780826340030. - ^ Gasiorowski, Zygmunt J. (1958). The Russian Overture to Germany of December 1924. 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ISBN 9780814208526. - ^ James Phinney Baxter III (Official Historian of the Office of Scientific Research and Development), Scientists Against Time (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1946), page 142. - ^ "Jet Fighters: Inside & Out", Jim Winchester, 2012. - ^ "Meteor I vs V1 Flying Bomb", Nijboer, Donald. - ^ Parshall and Tully, Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. p. 336. - ^ (PDF). Dennis C. Fakley https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/00416632.pdf. Retrieved 24 June 2018. {{cite web}} : Missing or empty\|title= (help) - ^ "The History of the UK Nuclear Weapons Programme". Nuclear-info.org. Retrieved 24 June 2018. - ^ Macintyre, Ben (10 December 2010). "Bravery of thousands of Poles was vital in securing victory". The Times. London. p. 27. - ^ Magazine, Smithsonian. "The Brief History of the ENIAC Computer". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2021-11-07. - ^ "Computer History". www.cs.kent.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-09. - ^ "Discovery and Development of Penicillin: International Historic Chemical Landmark". Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019. - ^ "Nursing History: The History of WWII Medicine for Schools". NurseGroups.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019. - ^ Jump up to:a b Trueman, C.N. (16 Jun 2019). "Medicine And World War Two". The History Learning Site. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019. - ^ Tobey, Raymond E. (23 February 2018). "Advances in Medicine During Wars". Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Foreign Policy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:46.905889	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88052/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 14: The World Afire: World War II, Technology of a Modern War", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88081/overview	Cold War Conflicts Overview Korea At the end of World War II, the Korean peninsula had been liberated from Japanese occupation. Following the partition of the peninsula into Soviet and United States zones of occupation (North and South Korea, respectively), North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 and launched the Korean War. In 1953, this war ended in armistice, and the two Koreas remained distinct countries and hostile to one another for the duration of the Cold War, with the North aligned with the Soviet Union and the South allied with the US. Learning Objectives - Analyze the Korean War in the context of the Cold War and Communist expansion. - Examine political, social, and economic developments in North and South Korea during the Cold War. Key Terms / Key Concepts April Revolution: a popular uprising in April 1960 led by labor and student groups, which overthrew the autocratic First Republic of South Korea under Syngman Rhee August Faction Incident: a 1956 attempted removal of Kim Il-sung from power by leading North Korean figures from the Soviet-Korean faction and the Yan’an faction, with support from the Soviet Union and China Bodo League: an official “re-education” movement whose members were communists, communist sympathizers, or actual and alleged political opponents of the President of South Korea Syngman Rhee Coup d’état of December Twelfth: a military coup d’état which took place on December 12, 1979, in South Korea Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty: a 1910 treaty between representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire that formally annexed Korea following the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 Japan–Korea Protectorate Treaty: a 1905 treaty between the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire that deprived Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty and made it a protectorate of Imperial Japan, which was influenced by Imperial Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 Jeju uprising: an attempted insurgency on the Korean province of Jeju Island followed by a brutal anticommunist suppression campaign that lasted from April 3, 1948, until May 1949 Juche: the official state ideology of North Korea, described by the regime as Kim Il-sung’s “contribution to national and international thought,” which claims that an individual is “the master of his destiny” and calls for the economic self-reliance of North Korea June 29 Declaration: a speech by Roh Tae-woo, presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Justice Party of South Korea, on June 29, 1987, in which he promised significant concessions to opponents of the incumbent authoritarian regime of Chun Doo-hwan, who had been pressing for democracy June Democracy Movement: a nationwide democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to June 29, 1987 and forced the ruling government to hold elections and institute other democratic reforms Korean Demilitarized Zone: a highly militarized strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that was established at the end of the Korean War to serve as a buffer zone between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) Korean War: A 1950 – 1953 military conflict that began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, came to the aid of South Korea March 1st Movement: one of the earliest public displays of Korean resistance during the ruling of Korea by Japan, which was initiated by activists reading the Korean Declaration of Independence and followed by massive demonstrations May 16 coup: a military coup d’état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung-hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee; an event that rendered the democratically elected government of Yun Bo-seon powerless and ended the Second Republic Miracle on the Han River: a phrase that refers to the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea following the Korean War (1950 – 1953), during which South Korea transformed from a poor developing country to a developed country People’s Republic of Korea: a short-lived provisional government organized with the aim to take over control of Korea shortly after the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II Provisional People’s Committee: the official name of the provisional government governing the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula following its post-World War II partition by the United States and the Soviet Union after the defeat of the Empire of Japan in 1945 Russo-Japanese War: a 1904 – 1905 war fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and Korea The United States Army Military Government in Korea: the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korean Peninsula from September 8, 1945, to August 15, 1948 Japan's Annexation of Korea In 1897, Joseon—a Korean kingdom founded in 1392—was renamed the Korean Empire, and King Gojong became Emperor Gojong. The imperial government aimed to establish a strong and independent nation by implementing domestic reforms, strengthening military forces, developing commerce and industry, and surveying land ownership. Russian influence was strong in the Korean Empire until Russia was defeated by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War (1904 – 1905). Japan won the war with Russia, thus eliminating Japan’s last rival to influence in Korea. Two months later, Korea was obliged to become a Japanese protectorate by the Japan-Korea Protectorate Treaty of 1905 and pro-Japanese reforms were enacted, including the reduction of the Korean Army from 20,000 to 1,000 men. Many Korean intellectuals and scholars set up various organizations and associations, embarking on movements for independence. And in 1907 Gojong was forced to abdicate after Japan learned that he sent secret envoys to the Second Hague Conventions to protest against the protectorate treaty, leading to the accession of Gojong’s son, Emperor Sunjong. In 1910, Japan effectively annexed Korea by the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty. While Japan asserts that the treaty was concluded legally, this argument is not accepted in Korea because it was not signed by the Emperor of Korea, as was required, and violated international convention on external pressures regarding treaties. Korea was controlled by Japan under a Governor-General of Korea until Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces in 1945, with de jure sovereignty deemed to have passed from the Joseon dynasty to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Japanese Rule Begins After the annexation, Japan set out to repress Korean traditions and culture and implement policies primarily for Japanese benefit. European-style transport and communication networks were established across the nation to extract resources and labor. The banking system was consolidated and Korean currency abolished. The Japanese removed the Joseon hierarchy, destroyed much of the ancient imperial palace, and replaced it with the government office building. Many Japanese settlers were interested in acquiring agricultural land in Korea even before Japanese land ownership was officially legalized in 1906. Japanese landlords included both individuals and corporations such as the Oriental Development Company. Many former Korean landowners and agricultural workers became tenant farmers after losing their entitlements almost overnight. By 1910, an estimated 7% to 8% of all arable land was under Japanese control. This ratio increased steadily. By 1932, the ratio of Japanese land ownership increased to 52.7%. The level of tenancy was similar to that of farmers in Japan but in Korea, the landowners were mostly Japanese, while the tenants were all Koreans. As was often the case in Japan, tenants were required to pay more than half their crop as rent, forcing many to send wives and daughters into factories or prostitution so they could pay taxes. Ironically, by the 1930s, the growth of the urban economy and the exodus of farmers to the cities gradually weakened the hold of the landlords. After Emperor Gojong died in 1919 amidst rumors of poisoning, independence rallies against the Japanese took place nationwide: the March 1st Movement. This movement was suppressed by force and about 7,000 Koreans were killed by Japanese soldiers and police. An estimated 2 million people took part in pro-liberation rallies, although Japanese records claim participation of less than half million. This movement was partly inspired by United States President Woodrow Wilson’s speech of 1919, declaring support for right of self-determination and an end to colonial rule for Europeans. No comment was made by Wilson on Korean independence. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was established in Shanghai, China, in the aftermath of March 1 Movement, which coordinated the liberation effort and resistance against Japanese control. The Provisional Government is considered the rightful government of the Korean people between 1919 and 1948, and its legitimacy is enshrined in the preamble to the constitution of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). In Korea itself, continued anti-Japanese uprisings, such as the nationwide uprising of students in November 1929, led to the strengthening of military rule in 1931. In 1929, protests by Koran high school students against Japanese occupation inspired protests nationwide that last for five months. After the outbreaks of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and World War II, Japan attempted to exterminate Korea as a nation. The continuance of Korean culture itself became illegal. Worship at Japanese Shinto shrines was made compulsory. The school curriculum was radically modified to eliminate teaching of the Korean language and history. The Korean language was banned, Koreans were forced to adopt Japanese names, and newspapers were prohibited from publishing in Korean. Numerous Korean cultural artifacts were destroyed or taken to Japan. According to an investigation by the South Korean government, 75,311 cultural assets were stolen from Korea during this period. Korea during World War II Starting in 1939, organized official recruitment of Koreans to work in mainland Japan were instituted to address Japanese labor shortages that resulted from conscription of Japanese males; the recruitment of Korean workers was initially conducted through civilian agents but later involved elements of coercion. As the labor shortage increased, by 1942 the Japanese authorities extended the provisions of the National Mobilization Law to include the conscription of Korean workers for factories and mines on the Korean peninsula, Manchukuo, as well as the involuntary relocation of workers to Japan itself as needed. Of the 5.4 million Koreans conscripted, about 670,000 were taken to mainland Japan for civilian labor. Those who were brought to Japan were often forced to work under appalling and dangerous conditions. Although Koreans were often treated better than laborers from other countries, their long work hours, as well as lack of food and medical care, still led to many deaths. The number of deaths of Korean forced laborers in Korea and Manchuria is estimated to be between 270,000 and 810,000. Most Korean atomic-bomb victims in Japan were drafted for work at military industrial factories in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Starting in 1944, Japan began the conscription of Koreans into the armed forces. All Korean males were drafted to either join the Imperial Japanese Army, as of April 1944, or work in the military industrial sector, as of September 1944. Ethnic Koreans were not desired by the Japanese military until 1944 when the tide of WW II turned dire. Until 1944, enlistment in the Imperial Japanese Army by ethnic Koreans was voluntary and highly competitive. The acceptance rate reveals discrimination, as it went from 14% in 1938 to a 2% acceptance rate in 1943, while, at the same time, the raw number of applicants increased from 3000 per annum to 300,000. Around 200,000 girls and women, many from China and Korea, were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers as the so-called “comfort women.” It was not until 2015 that Japan formally apologized for enslaving Korean women and girls and offered a monetary restitution of 8.3 million dollars. By then, very few of the women and girls who survived sexual torture were still alive. Koreans, along with many other Asians, were experimented on in Unit 731—a secret Japanese military medical experimentation unit in World War II. General Shiro Ishii, the head of Unit 731, revealed during the Tokyo War Crime Trials that 254 Koreans were killed in Unit 731. Some historians estimate up to 250,000 total people were subjected to human experiments. A Unit 731 veteran attested that most that were experimented on were Chinese, Koreans, and Mongolians. Economic Growth Controversy The industrialization of the Korean Peninsula began with the Joseon dynasty while Korea was still independent, but vastly accelerated under Japanese occupation. The rapid growth of the Korean economy under Japanese rule, which as historians note cannot be ignored in the analysis of the later economic success of South Korea, continues to be the subject of controversy between the two Koreas and Japan. While the growth is unquestionable, North Korea and South Korea point to alleged long-term negative repercussions caused by how the acceleration of industrialization under Japanese occupation was executed, which was for the purposes of benefiting Japan while exploiting the Korean people and marginalizing Korean history and culture, as well as while exploiting the Korean Peninsula environment. End of World War II: Division of Korea In November 1943, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek met at the Cairo Conference to discuss what should happen to territories occupied by Japan and agreed that Japan should lose all the territories it had conquered by force. In the declaration after the conference, Korea was mentioned for the first time. The three powers declared that they were “mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea […] [and had] determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent.” At the Tehran Conference in 1943 and the Yalta Conference in 1945, the Soviet Union promised to join its allies in the Pacific War within three months of victory in Europe. On August 8, 1945, after three months to the day, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Soviet troops advanced rapidly, and the U.S. government became anxious that they would occupy Korea. On August 10, 1945, two young officers—Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel—were assigned to define an American occupation zone. Working on extremely short notice and completely unprepared, they used a National Geographic map to decide on the 38th parallel. They chose it because it divided the country approximately in half but would also place the capital city Seoul under American control. No experts on Korea were consulted. The two men were unaware that 40 years earlier, Japan and Russia had discussed sharing Korea along the same parallel. The division placed sixteen million Koreans in the American zone and nine million in the Soviet zone. To the surprise of the Americans, the Soviet Union immediately accepted the division. General Abe Nobuyuki, the last Japanese Governor-General of Korea, had established contact with a number of influential Koreans since the beginning of August 1945 to prepare for the evacuation of Japanese forces. Throughout August, Koreans organized people’s committee branches for the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence headed by Lyuh Woon-hyung, a moderate left-wing politician. On September 6, 1945, a congress of representatives convened in Seoul and founded the short-lived People's Republic of Korea. In December 1945 at the Moscow Conference, the Allies agreed that the Soviet Union, the U.S., the Republic of China, and Britain would take part in a trusteeship over Korea for up to five years in the lead-up to independence. Most Koreans demanded independence immediately, with the exception of the Communist Party, which supported the trusteeship under pressure from the Soviet government. A Soviet-U.S. Joint Commission met in 1946 and 1947 to work towards a unified administration but failed to make progress due to increasing Cold War antagonism and Korean opposition to the trusteeship. Meanwhile, the division between the two zones deepened. The difference in policy between the occupying powers led to a polarization of politics and a transfer of population between North and South. In May 1946, it was made illegal to cross the 38th parallel without a permit. U.S. Occupation of the South The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korean Peninsula from September 8, 1945, to August 15, 1948. On September 7, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur announced that Lieutenant General John R. Hodge was to administer Korean affairs, and Hodge landed in Incheon with his troops the next day. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, which had operated from China, sent a delegation with three interpreters to Hodge, but he refused to meet with them. The USAMGIK tried to contain civil violence in the south by banning strikes and outlawing the People’s Republic of Korea and the people’s committees. Things spiraled quickly out of control, however, with a massive strike in September 1946 by 8,000 railway workers in Busan, which quickly spread to other cities in the South. On October 1, police attempts to control protesters in Daegu caused the death of three student demonstrators and injuries to many others, sparking a mass counter-attack that killed 38 policemen. In Yeongcheon, a police station came under attack on October 3 by a 10,000-strong crowd who killed over 40 policemen and the county chief. Other attacks resulted in the deaths of about 20 landlords and pro-Japanese officials. The U.S. administration responded by declaring martial law, firing into crowds of demonstrators, and killing an undisclosed number of people. Although the military government in South Korea was hostile to leftism from the beginning, it initially tolerated the activities of left-wing political groups, including the Korean Communist Party. However, this period of reconciliation did not last long. Within a short time, the military government actively disempowered and eventually banned popular organizations that were gaining public support. The justification was the USAMGIK’s suspicion that they were aligned with the Communist bloc, despite professing a relatively moderate stance compared to the actual Korean Communist Party, which was also banned. Among the earliest edicts promulgated by USAMGIK was to reopen all schools. No immediate changes were made in the educational system, which was simply carried over from the Japanese colonial period. In this area as in others, the military government sought to maintain the forms of the Japanese occupation system. Although it did not implement sweeping educational reforms, the military government did lay the foundations for reforms that were implemented later. In 1946, a council of about 100 Korean educators was convened to map out the future path of Korean education. Soviet Occupation of the North When Soviet troops entered Pyongyang, they found a local branch of the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence operating under the leadership of veteran nationalist Cho Man-sik. The Soviet Army allowed these people’s committees, which were friendly to the Soviet Union, to function. Colonel-General Terentii Shtykov set up the Soviet Civil Administration, taking control of the committees and placing Communists in key positions. In 1946, a provisional government called the Provisional People's Committee was formed under Kim Il-sung, who had spent the last years of the war training with Soviet troops in Manchuria. Conflicts and power struggles ensued at the top levels of government in Pyongyang as different aspirants maneuvered to gain positions of power in the new government. The government instituted a sweeping land-reform program: land belonging to Japanese and collaborator landowners was divided and redistributed to poor farmers. Landlords were allowed to keep only the same amount of land as poor civilians who had once rented their land, thereby instituting a far more equal distribution of land. The farmers responded positively, while many collaborators and former landowners fled to the south. According to the U.S. military government, 400,000 northern Koreans went south as refugees. Failed UN Intervention With the failure of the Soviet-U.S. Joint Commission to make progress, the U.S. brought the problem before the United Nations in September 1947. The Soviet Union opposed UN involvement, but the UN passed a resolution on November 14, 1947, declaring that free elections should be held, foreign troops should be withdrawn, and a UN commission for Korea—the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea—should be created. The Soviet Union boycotted the voting and did not consider the resolution to be binding, arguing that the UN could not guarantee fair elections. And in the absence of Soviet cooperation, it was decided to hold UN-supervised elections in the south only. The decision to proceed with separate elections in the south was unpopular among many Koreans, who rightly saw it as a prelude to a permanent division of the country. General strikes in protest against the decision began in February 1948. In April, Jeju islanders rose up against the looming division of the country, and South Korean troops were sent to repress the rebellion. Tens of thousands of islanders were killed, and, by one estimate, 70% of the villages were burned by South Korean troops. What began as a demonstration commemorating Korean resistance to Japanese rule ended with this Jeju Uprising, an attempted insurgency against the scheduled election on the Korean province of Jeju Island. A brutal anticommunist suppression campaign by the South Korean government lasted until May 1949. Although atrocities were committed by both sides, the methods used by the South Korean government to suppress the rebels were especially cruel, including random executions of women and children. In the end, between 14,000 and 30,000 people died as a result of the rebellion, or up to 10% of the island’s population. Some 40,000 others fled to Japan to escape the fighting. The uprising flared up again with the outbreak of the Korean War. Despite opposition to elections, on May 10, 1948, South Korea held a general election. On August 15, the Republic of Korea formally took over power from the U.S. military, with Syngman Rhee as the first president. In North Korea, meanwhile, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was declared on September 9, 1948, with Kim Il-sung as prime minister. On December 12, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the report of UNTCOK and declared the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to be the “only lawful government in Korea.” Unrest continued in South Korea after independence in 1948. Since President Rhee’s regime excluded communists and leftists from southern politics, these disenfranchised groups headed for the hills to prepare for guerrilla war against the US-sponsored ROK government. While Rhee indeed aimed to eradicate communist and leftist groups, the anti-communist slogans were applied to eradicate all his actual and alleged political opponents and establish his authoritarian rule by inciting fear among the civilians with no ties to communism or politics. By early 1950, Syngman Rhee had jailed about 20,000 – 30,000 alleged communists, and about 300,000 suspected communist sympathizers enrolled in the Bodo League re-education movement. The Bodo League gathered suspected communist sympathizers or Rhee’s political opponents, but to fulfill the enrollment quota, many civilians with no ties to communists or politics were forced to become members. The majority of the Bodo League’s members were innocent farmers and civilians who were forced into membership. The Syngman Rhee government later executed many registered members of this league and their families at the beginning of the Korean War in 1950, as suspected communist sympathizers. On December 24, 1949, South Korean Army massacred the 86 to 88 residents of Mungyeong. The victims were massacred because they were suspected communist supporters or collaborators (though some sources say nearly one-third of the victims were children). The government blamed the crime on marauding communist bands. By 1949, South Korean forces had reduced the active number of communist guerrillas in the South from 5,000 to 1,000. The Korean War Soviet ruling forces departed from North Korea in 1948 and American ruling troops finally withdrew from South Korea in 1949. However, with the approval and support of the Soviet leader, Stalin and the Chinese communist leader, Mao Zedong, the North Korean Communist leader, Kim Il-sung believed that an effort to unite the Korean Peninsula under communist control would be supported by much of the South Korean population. Consequently, North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, marking the outbreak of the Korean War. Kim Il-sung believed that the communist guerrillas had weakened the South Korean military and that a North Korean invasion would be welcomed by much of the South Korean population. Kim began seeking Stalin’s support for an invasion in March 1949, but with Chinese Communist forces still engaged in the Chinese Civil War and American forces stationed in South Korea, Stalin did not want the Soviet Union to become embroiled in a war with the United States. By spring 1950, the strategic situation changed. The Soviets had detonated their first nuclear bomb in September 1949, American soldiers had fully withdrawn from Korea, and the Chinese Communists had established the People’s Republic of China. The Soviets had also cracked the codes used by the U.S. to communicate with the U.S. embassy in Moscow, and reading the dispatches convinced Stalin that Korea would not warrant a nuclear confrontation. In April 1950, Stalin gave Kim permission to invade the South under the condition that Mao Zedong, the leader of China, would agree to send reinforcements if they became needed. Stalin made it clear that Soviet forces would not openly engage in combat to avoid a direct war with the Americans. Mao was concerned that the Americans would intervene but agreed to support the North Korean invasion. Once Mao’s commitment was secured, preparations for war accelerated. Soviet generals with extensive combat experience from World War II were sent to North Korea as the Soviet Advisory Group and completed the plans for the attack. While these preparations were underway in the North, there were frequent clashes along the 38th parallel, many initiated by the South. The Republic of Korea Army (ROK Army) was being trained by the U.S. Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG). On the eve of the war, KMAG’s commander General William Lynn Roberts voiced utmost confidence in the ROK Army and boasted that any North Korean invasion would merely provide “target practice.” For his part, Syngman Rhee repeatedly expressed his desire to conquer the North. Despite the southward movement of the Korean’s People’s Army (KPA), U.S. intelligence agencies and UN observers claimed that an invasion was unlikely. Outbreak of the War At dawn on Sunday, June 25, 1950, the North Korean Korean People’s Army (KPA) crossed the 38th parallel behind artillery fire and invaded South Korea. The KPA justified its assault with the claim that ROK troops had attacked first, and that they were aiming to arrest and execute the “bandit traitor Syngman Rhee.” Fighting began on the strategic Ongjin peninsula in the west. There were initial South Korean claims that they had captured the city of Haeju, and this claim has led some scholars to argue that the South Koreans actually fired first. Within an hour, North Korean forces attacked all along the 38th parallel. The North Koreans had a combined arms force including tanks supported by heavy artillery. The South Koreans did not have any tanks, anti-tank weapons, or heavy artillery that could stop such an attack. In addition, South Koreans committed their forces in a piecemeal fashion, and these were routed within a few days. On June 27, Rhee evacuated from Seoul with some members of the government. On June 28 at 2 a.m., the South Korean Army blew up the Hangang Bridge across the Han River in an attempt to stop the North Korean army. The bridge was detonated while 4,000 refugees were crossing it and hundreds were killed. Destroying the bridge also trapped many South Korean military units north of the Han River. In spite of such desperate measures, Seoul fell that same day. A number of South Korean National Assemblymen remained in Seoul when it fell and 48 subsequently pledged allegiance to the North. On June 28, Rhee ordered the massacre of suspected political opponents in his own country. In five days, the South Korean forces, which had 95,000 men on June 25, were down to less than 22,000 men. In early July when U.S. forces arrived, what was left of the South Korean forces was placed under U.S. operational command of the United Nations Command. U.S. and UN Interventions The United States government under President Harry Truman was unprepared for this invasion. Korea was not included in the strategic Asian Defense Perimeter outlined by Secretary of State Dean Acheson. Military strategists were more concerned with the security of Europe against the Soviet Union than East Asia. At the same time, the Truman Administration was worried that a war in Korea could quickly widen into another world war, should the Chinese or Soviets decide to get involved as well. America did not initially want to get involved. One aspect of the changing attitude toward Korea and whether to get involved was Japan, especially after the fall of China to the Communists. U.S. East Asian experts saw Japan as the critical counterweight to the Soviet Union and China in the region. While there was no United States policy that dealt with South Korea as a national interest, its proximity to Japan increased the importance of South Korea. However, a major consideration was the possible Soviet reaction in the event that the U.S. intervened. The Truman administration was fretful that a war in Korea was a diversionary assault that would escalate to a general war in Europe once the United States committed in Korea. Truman believed if aggression went unchecked, a chain reaction would be initiated that would marginalize the United Nations and encourage Communist aggression elsewhere. On June 25, 1950, the United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned the North Korean invasion of the Republic of Korea with UN Security Council Resolution 82. The Soviet Union, a veto-wielding power, had boycotted the Council meetings since January 1950, protesting that the Republic of China (Taiwan), not the People’s Republic of China, held a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. After debating the matter, the Security Council on June 27, 1950, published Resolution 83 recommending member states provide military assistance to the Republic of Korea. On the same day, President Truman ordered U.S. air and sea forces to help the South Korean regime. On July 4, the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister accused the United States of starting armed intervention on behalf of South Korea. As the conflict between South Korea and North Korea reflected the international tensions of the Cold War, the U.S. military forces supported South Korea under the auspices of the UN, while Chinese forces backed North Korea with the Soviet Union providing materiel and strategic help. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson and President Truman agreed that the United States was obligated to act, comparing the North Korean invasion with Adolf Hitler’s aggression in the 1930s; they came to the conclusion that the mistake of appeasement must not be repeated. However, Truman later acknowledged that he believed fighting the invasion was essential to the American goal of the global containment of communism. In August 1950, the President and the Secretary of State obtained the consent of Congress to appropriate $12 billion for military action in Korea. Several U.S. industries were mobilized to supply materials, labor, capital, production facilities, and other services necessary to support the military objectives of the Korean War. General Omar Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was faced with re-organizing and deploying an American military force that was a shadow of its World War II counterpart. Acting on Acheson’s recommendation, President Truman ordered General MacArthur to transfer material to the Army of the Republic of Korea, while giving air cover to the evacuation of U.S. nationals. The President disagreed with advisers who recommended unilateral U.S. bombing of the North Korean forces and ordered the U.S. Seventh Fleet to protect the Republic of China (Taiwan), whose government asked to fight in Korea. The United States denied ROC’s request for combat lest it provoke a communist Chinese retaliation. Because the United States sent the Seventh Fleet to “neutralize” the Taiwan Strait, Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai criticized both the UN and U.S. initiatives as “armed aggression on Chinese territory.” In September 1950, MacArthur received the top-secret National Security Council Memorandum from Truman reminding him that operations north of the 38th parallel were authorized only if “at the time of such operation there was no entry into North Korea by major Soviet or Chinese Communist forces, no announcements of intended entry, nor a threat to counter our operations militarily.” Just three days later, Zhou Enlai warned the United States that China was prepared to intervene in Korea if the United States crossed the 38th parallel. By October 1950, the UN Command repelled the North Korean People’s Army (KPA) northwards past the 38th parallel and the South Korean ROK Army crossed after them into North Korea. MacArthur subsequently made a statement demanding the KPA’s unconditional surrender. On October 7, with UN authorization, the UN Command forces followed the ROK forces northwards. The US army’s X Corps landed at Wonsan (in southeastern North Korea) and Riwon (in northeastern North Korea), already captured by ROK forces. The Eighth U.S. Army and the ROK Army advanced up western Korea and captured Pyongyang city, the North Korean capital, on October 19, 1950. At month’s end, UN forces held 135,000 KPA prisoners of war. Taking advantage of the UN Command’s strategic momentum against the communists, General MacArthur believed it necessary to extend the Korean War into China to destroy depots supplying the North Korean war effort. President Truman disagreed and ordered caution at the Sino-Korean border. Chinese Intervention with Soviet Support China justified its entry into the war as a response to “American aggression in the guise of the UN.” In August 1950, Zhou Enlai informed the UN that “Korea is China’s neighbor” and “the Chinese people cannot but be concerned about a solution of the Korean question.” Thus, through neutral-country diplomats, China warned that in safeguarding Chinese national security, they would intervene against the UN Command in Korea. President Truman interpreted the communication as an “attempt to blackmail the UN” and dismissed it. October 1, 1950, the day that UN troops crossed the 38th parallel, was also the first anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. On that day, the Soviet ambassador forwarded a telegram from Stalin to Mao and Zhou requesting that China send five to six divisions into Korea, and Kim Il-sung sent frantic appeals to Mao for Chinese military intervention. At the same time, Stalin made it clear that Soviet forces themselves would not directly intervene. There was considerable resistance among many Chinese leaders, including senior military leaders, to confronting the U.S. in Korea. Mao strongly supported intervention and Zhou was one of the few Chinese leaders who firmly supported him. In order to enlist Stalin’s support, Zhou and a Chinese delegation arrived in Moscow on October 10. Stalin did not agree to send either military equipment or air support until March 1951. Soviet shipments of material, when they did arrive, were limited to small quantities of trucks, grenades, and machine guns. Immediately upon his return to Beijing on October 18, Zhou met with Mao and military leaders Peng Dehuai and Gao Gang. The group ordered 200,000 Chinese troops to enter North Korea. After secretly crossing the Yalu River on October 19, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) 13th Army Group launched the First Phase Offensive on October 25, attacking the advancing UN forces near the Sino-Korean border. This military decision made solely by China changed the attitude of the Soviet Union. Twelve days after Chinese troops entered the war, Stalin allowed the Soviet Air Force to provide air cover and supported more aid to China. After decimating the ROK II Corps at the Battle of Onjong, the first confrontation between Chinese and U.S. military occurred on November 1, 1950. Deep in North Korea, thousands of soldiers from the PVA 39th Army encircled and attacked the U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment with three-prong assaults—from the north, northwest, and west—and overran the defensive position flanks in the Battle of Unsan. On December 16, 1950, President Truman declared a national emergency, which remained in force until September 1978. The next day, Kim Il-sung was deprived of the right of command of KPA by China. After that, the leading force of the war on the North Korean side became the Chinese army. Stalemate and Armistice From July 1951 to the end of the war, the UN Command and the Chinese PVA fought but exchanged little territory. The stalemate held although large-scale bombing of North Korea continued. Protracted armistice negotiations began in July 1951, but combat continued while the belligerents negotiated. The UN Command forces’ goal was to recapture all of South Korea and avoid losing territory. The PVA and the KPA attempted similar operations and later effected military and psychological operations to test the UN Command’s resolve to continue the war. The on-again, off-again armistice negotiations continued for two years, first at Kaesong, on the border between North and South Korea, and then at the neighboring village of Panmunjom. A major, problematic negotiation point was prisoner of war (POW) repatriation. The PVA, KPA, and UN Command could not agree on a system of repatriation because many PVA and KPA soldiers refused to be repatriated back to North Korea, which was unacceptable to the Chinese and North Koreans. In the final armistice agreement signed in July 1953, a Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission was set up to handle the matter. In 1952, the United States elected a new president, and in November, the president-elect, Dwight D. Eisenhower, went to Korea to learn what might end the Korean War. With the United Nations’ acceptance of India’s proposed Korean War armistice, the KPA, the PVA, and the UN Command ceased fire with the battle line approximately at the 38th parallel. Upon agreeing to the armistice, the belligerents established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has since been patrolled by the KPA and ROKA, United States, and Joint UN Commands. A Divided Korea After the Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, the Korean War ended but the conflict between the two Korean states continues, still shaping their economic, political, diplomatic, and social relations. The United Nations Command, supported by the United States, the North Korean People’s Army, and the Chinese People’s Volunteers, signed the Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953 to end the Korean War fighting. The Armistice also called upon the governments of South Korea, North Korea, China, and the United States to participate in continued peace talks. The war is considered to have ended at this point, although there was no peace treaty. North Korea nevertheless still claims that it won the Korean War. Upon agreeing to the armistice, the belligerents established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has since been patrolled by the KPA and ROKA, United States, and Joint UN Commands. The Demilitarized Zone runs northeast of the 38th parallel and to the south, it travels west. It is a de facto border barrier that divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, running 160 miles long and about 2.5 miles wide. Within the Zone, there is a meeting-point between the two nations in the small Joint Security Area near the western end of the zone, where negotiations take place. There have been various incidents in and around the Zone, with military and civilian casualties on both sides. Owing to the theoretical stalemate (no peace treaty has been signed) and genuine hostility between the North and the South, large numbers of troops are still stationed along both sides of the line, each side guarding against potential aggression from the other side. The armistice agreement explains exactly how many military personnel and what kind of weapons are allowed in the DMZ. Social Landscape after the War There were numerous atrocities and massacres of civilians throughout the Korean War, committed by both the North and South Koreans, that impacted the social landscape after the war. Many of them started on the first days of the war. South Korean President Syngman Rhee ordered what would be known as the Bodo League massacre in June 1950, initiating the killing of more than 100,000 suspected leftist sympathizers and their families by South Korean officials and right-wing groups. In occupied areas, North Korean Army political officers purged South Korean society of its intelligentsia by executing academics, government officials, and religious leaders who might lead resistance against the North. When the North Koreans retreated back home in September 1950, they forced tens of thousands of South Korean men to move to North Korea. The reasons are not clear, but the intention might have been to acquire skilled professionals. Large numbers of people were displaced because of the war and many families were divided by the reconstituted border. In 2007, it was estimated that around 750,000 people remained separated from immediate family members, and family reunions have long been a diplomatic priority. The exact number of South Korean POWs who were detained in North Korea after the war is unknown, as is the number who still survive in North Korea. In its report to the legislature in October 2007, the South Korean Ministry of Defense reported that “a total of 41,971 South Korean soldiers were missing during the Korean War. 8,726 were repatriated through POW exchanges after the Armistice of 1953. Some 13,836 have been determined to have been killed based on other information. To date, the status of 19,409 soldiers has not been confirmed. Most of these unconfirmed were believed to have been unrepatriated POWs. Other estimates of South Korean POWs held by the North Koreans at the Armistice have been higher. Yi Hang-gu, a writer and North Korea expert currently in South Korea who served in the Korean People’s Army, has testified that he commanded former South Korean POWs who had been enlisted into the Korean People’s Army during the Korean War. He has estimated the number of South Korean POWs who survived in North Korea at the end of the fighting at about 50,000 – 60,000. The South Korean government estimates that 560 South Korean POWs still survive in North Korea. After the war, the Chinese forces left, but U.S. forces remained in the South. Sporadic conflict continued between North and South Korea. The opposing regimes aligned themselves with opposing sides in the Cold War. Both sides received recognition as the legitimate government of Korea from the opposing blocs. In 1953, the United States and South Korea signed a defense treaty and in 1958, the United States stationed nuclear weapons in South Korea. In 1961, North Korea signed mutual defense treaties with the USSR and China. North Korea presented itself as a champion of orthodox Communism, distinct from the Soviet Union and China. The regime developed the doctrine of Juche or self-reliance, which included extreme military mobilization. In response to the threat of nuclear war, it constructed extensive facilities underground and in the mountains. The Pyongyang Metro opened in the 1970s with capacity to double as bomb shelter. Tensions between North and South escalated in the late 1960s with a series of low-level armed clashes known as the Korean DMZ Conflict. In 1968, North Korean commandos launched the Blue House Raid—an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee. Shortly afterwards, the U.S. spy ship Pueblo was captured by the North Korean navy. In 1969, North Korea shot down a US EC-121 spy plane over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 crew on board, which constitutes the largest single loss of U.S. aircrew during the Cold War. In 1969, Korean Air Lines YS-11 was hijacked and flown to North Korea. Similarly, in 1970, the hijackers of Japan Airlines Flight 351 were given asylum in North Korea. In response to the Blue House Raid, the South Korean government set up a special unit to assassinate Kim Il-sung, but the mission was aborted in 1972. In 1974, a North Korean sympathizer attempted to assassinate President Park and killed his wife, Yuk Young-soo. In the 1970s, both North and South began building up their military capacity. It was discovered that North Korea dug tunnels under the DMZ which could accommodate thousands of troops. Alarmed at the prospect of U.S. disengagement, South Korea began a secret nuclear weapons program which was strongly opposed by Washington. In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter proposed the withdrawal of troops from South Korea. There was a widespread backlash in America and in South Korea, and critics argued that this would allow the North to capture Seoul. Carter postponed the move, and his successor Ronald Reagan reversed the policy, increasing troop numbers. After Reagan supplied the South with F-16 fighters and after Kim Il-sung visited Moscow in 1984, the USSR recommenced military aid and cooperation with the North. North Korea after the Korean War Following the 1956 August Faction Incident (an attempted removal of Kim Il-sung from power), Kim Il-sung successfully resisted efforts by the Soviet Union and China to depose him in favor of pro-Soviet Korean officials or the pro-Chinese Yan’an faction. The last Chinese troops withdrew from the country in 1958, but North Korea remained closely aligned with China and the Soviet Union, and the Sino-Soviet split allowed Kim to play the powers off each other. At the same time, North Korea emphasized the ideology of Juche (self-reliance) to distinguish itself from both the Soviet Union and China. In North Korea, economic recovery from the Korean War was quick — by 1957 industrial production reached 1949 levels — but reconstruction of the country depended on extensive Chinese and Soviet assistance. Koreans with experience in Japanese industries also played a significant part in this industrial recovery. Following the example of the Soviet Union under Stalin, agricultural land was collectivized between 1953 and 1958. Resistance to this move appears to have been minimal as landlords were eliminated by earlier reforms or during the war. Collectivization of farms freed up peasants to work in state owned factories in the cities. North Korea, like all the postwar communist states, undertook massive state investment in heavy industry, state infrastructure and military strength, neglecting the production of consumer goods. The country was placed on a semi-war footing, with equal emphasis being given to the civilian and military economies. At a special party conference in 1966, members of the leadership who opposed the military build-up were removed. Industry was fully nationalized by 1959. Taxation on agricultural income was abolished in 1966. As late as the 1970s, North Korea’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP ) per capita was estimated to be equivalent to South Korea’s. By 1972, all children from age 5 to 16 were enrolled in school and more than 200 universities and specialized colleges had been established. By the early 1980s, 60 – 70% of the population was urbanized. Economic Decline In the 1970s, expansion of North Korea’s economy, with the accompanying rise in living standards, came to an end. North Korea’s desire to lessen its dependence on aid from China and the Soviet Union prompted the expansion of its military power, and the government believed massive expenditures could be covered by foreign borrowing and increased sales of its mineral wealth on the international market. North Korea invested heavily in its mining industries and purchased a large quantity of mineral extraction infrastructure from abroad. However, following the world 1973 oil crisis, international prices of many of North Korea’s native minerals fell, leaving the country with large debts, inability to pay them off, and an extensive network of social welfare benefits. The state began to default in 1974 and halted almost all repayments in 1985. Consequently, it was also unable to invest further in Western technology. In 1984, Kim visited Moscow during a grand tour of the USSR where he met Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko. Soviet involvement in the North Korean economy increased, with bilateral trade reaching its peak at $2.8 billion in 1988. In 1986, Kim met the incoming Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and received a pledge of support. However, Gorbachev’s reforms and diplomatic initiatives, the Chinese economic reforms starting in 1979, and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc from 1989 to 1991 increased North Korea’s isolation. The leadership in Pyongyang responded by proclaiming that the collapse of the Eastern Bloc demonstrated the correctness of the policy of Juche. Simultaneously, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 deprived North Korea of its main source of economic aid, leaving China as the isolated regime’s only major ally. Without the Soviet aid, North Korea’s economy went into a free-fall. South Korea's Economic Growth Although South Korea emerged from the Korean War as one of the poorest countries in the world and despite a series of authoritarian regimes lasting until the late 1980s, the South Korean economy has been one of the fastest growing and most stable in the world since the 1960s. Following the armistice that ended the Korean War fighting, South Korea experienced political turmoil under the autocratic leadership of Syngman Rhee. Throughout his rule, Rhee took additional steps to cement his control of government. In 1952 during the Korean War, he pushed through constitutional amendments, which made the presidency a directly elected position. To do this, he declared martial law, arresting opposing members of parliament, demonstrators, and anti-government groups. He was subsequently elected by a wide margin. In the 1954 elections, Rhee regained control of parliament and thereupon pushed through an amendment to exempt himself from the eight-year term limit. He was once again re-elected in 1956. Soon afterwards, his administration arrested members of the opposing party and executed its leader after accusing him of being a North Korean spy. Rhee’s administration became increasingly repressive while dominating the political arena and in 1958, sought to amend the National Security Law to tighten government control over all levels of administration, including local government. These measures caused much outrage among the people. But despite public outcry Rhee’s administration rigged the 1960 presidential elections and won by a landslide. On the election day, however, protests by students and citizens against the irregularities of the election burst out in the city of Masan. Initially these protests were quelled with force by local police, but when the body of a student was found floating in the harbor of Masan, the whole country was enraged, and protests spread nationwide. On April 19, students from various universities and schools rallied and marched in protest in the Seoul streets in what would be called the April Revolution. The government declared martial law, called in the army, and suppressed the crowds with open fire. Subsequent protests throughout the country shook the government and after an escalated protest, Rhee submitted his official resignation and fled into exile. A period of political instability followed, broken by General Park Chung-hee’s May 16 coup in 1961 against the weak and ineffectual government. Park took over as president, overseeing rapid export-led economic growth as well as implementing political repression. He was heavily criticized as a ruthless military dictator, who in 1972 extended his rule by creating a new constitution that gave the president sweeping (almost dictatorial) powers and permitted him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. Park was assassinated in 1979, which sparked political turmoil as the previously suppressed opposition leaders all campaigned to run for president in the sudden political void. In 1979 came the Coup d'etat of December 12 led by General Chun Doo-hwan. Following the coup d’état, Chun Doo-hwan planned to rise to power through several measures. On May 17, he forced the Cabinet to expand martial law to the whole country (it had previously not applied to the island of Jejudo). The expanded martial law closed universities, banned political activities, and further curtailed the press. Chun’s assumption of the presidency triggered nationwide protests demanding democracy. Chun and his government held South Korea under a despotic rule until 1987, when a Seoul National University student, Park Jong-chul, was tortured to death by the regime. On June 10, the Catholic Priests Association for Justice revealed the incident, igniting the June Democracy Movement around the country. Eventually, Chun’s party, the Democratic Justice Party, and its leader, Roh Tae-woo, announced the June 29 Declaration, which included the direct election of the president. Roh went on to win the election by a narrow margin. Since then, South Korea has engaged in consistent democratization efforts. Following the Korean War, South Korea remained one of the poorest countries in the world for over a decade. In 1960, its gross domestic product per capita was $79, lower than that of some sub-Saharan countries. At the beginning of the 1960s, the government formulated a five-year economic development plan, although it was unable to act on it prior to the April Revolution. The hwan (South Korean currency) lost half of its value against the dollar between fall 1960 and spring 1961. Park’s administration started by announcing its five-year economic development plan based on an export-oriented industrialization policy. Top priority was placed on the growth of a self-reliant economy and modernization. “Development First, Unification Later” became the slogan of the times and the economy grew rapidly with vast improvements in industrial structure, especially in the basic and heavy chemical industries. Capital was needed for such developments, so the Park regime used the influx of foreign aid from Japan and the United States to provide loans to export businesses, with preferential treatment in obtaining low-interest bank loans and tax benefits. Cooperating with the government, these businesses would later become chaebols—business conglomerates that are typically global multinationals and own numerous international enterprises controlled by a chairman with power over all the operations. Relations with Japan were normalized by the Korea-Japan treaty ratified in 1965. The treaty brought Japanese funds in the form of loans and compensation for the damages suffered during the colonial era without an official apology from the Japanese government, sparking much protest across the nation. The government also kept close ties with the United States and continued to receive large amounts of economic and military aid. The US and South Korea agreed to mutual defense agreement in 1966. Soon thereafter, South Korea joined the Vietnam War. Economic and technological growth during this period improved the standard of living, which expanded opportunities for education. Workers with higher education were absorbed by the rapidly growing industrial and commercial sectors, and urban population surged. Construction of the Gyeongbu Expressway was completed and linked Seoul to the nation’s southeastern region and the port cities of Incheon and Busan. Unlike in most other countries, the incredible economic growth in South Korean did not go hand in hand with democratization. Despite the authoritarian regime, South Korea’s tiger economy soared at an annual average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful. Despite the immense economic growth, however, the standard of living for city laborers and farmers was still low. Laborers were working for low wages to increase the price competitiveness for the export-oriented economy plan, and farmers were in near poverty as the government controlled prices. As the rural economy steadily lost ground and caused dissent among the farmers, however, the government decided to implement measures to increase farm productivity and income by instituting the Saemauel Movement (“New Village Movement”) in 1971. The movement’s goal was to improve the quality of rural life, modernize both rural and urban societies, and narrow the income gap between them. Despite social and political unrest, the economy continued to flourish under the authoritarian rule with the export-based industrialization policy. The first two five-year economic development plans were successful, and the 3rd and 4th five-year plans focused on expanding the heavy and chemical industries, raising the capability for steel production and oil refining. As most of the development had come from foreign capital, most of the profit went back to repaying the loans and interests. In the 1980s, tight monetary laws and low interest rates contributed to price stability and helped the economy boom with notable growth in the electronics, semi-conductor, and automobile industries. The country opened up to foreign investments and GDP rose as Korean exports increased. This rapid economic growth, however, widened the gap between the rich and the poor, the urban and rural regions, and also exacerbated inter-regional conflicts. These dissensions, added to the hardline measures taken against opposition to the government, fed intense rural and student movements, which had grown since the beginning of the republic. Vietnam Following the end of World War II, French Indochina collapsed, and three independent states emerged by 1954: Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Vietnam was divided into Capitalist, pro-Western South Vietnam, and Communist, pro-Soviet North Vietnam. In 1965 the United States sent troops to defend South Vietnam from North Vietnamese attacks and “contain” Communist expansion, thus initiating the Vietnam War. Learning Objectives - Examine Communist expansion in French Indochina. - Analyze the factors in the victory of North Vietnam in the Vietnam War. Key Terms / Key Concepts August Revolution: a revolution launched by the Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam) against French colonial rule in Vietnam, on August 14, 1945 Cambodian Genocide: mass atrocities carried out by the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979, in which an estimated 1.5 to 3 million people died Democratic Kampuchea: the name of the Khmer Rouge-controlled state that between 1975 and 1979 existed in present-day Cambodia; founded when the Khmer Rouge forces defeated the Khmer Republic of Lon Nol in 1975 First Indochina War: the military conflict that began in French Indochina in December 1946 and lasted until August 1954, after fighting between French forces and their Viet Minh opponents in the South began in September 1945 Geneva Accords: the 1954 settlement that ended the First Indochina War, reached at the end of the Geneva Conference; a ceasefire that resulted in France withdrawing its troops from the region; resulted in French Indochina being split into three countries: Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam Geneva Conference: a 1954 conference among several nations that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina Khmer Issarak: a loosely structured anti-French and anti-colonial independence movement in Cambodia, formed around 1945 and composed of several factions, each with its own leader Khmer Rouge: the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in Cambodia Operation Passage to Freedom: a term used by the United States Navy to describe its assistance in transporting 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers, and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam in 1954–55 Paris Peace Accords: a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War It ended direct U.S. military combat and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam.) Pathet Lao: a communist political movement and organization in Laos formed in the mid-20th century, ultimately successful in assuming political power in 1975 after the Laotian Civil War Second Indochina War: a military conflict known commonly in the United States as the Vietnam War and in Vietnam as Resistance War Against America or the American War, that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1955 (with some sources citing 1956 or 1959 as the starting date) to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 Vichy France: the common name of the French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, which was the southern, unoccupied “Free Zone” of France and was a client and puppet of Nazi Germany Viet Cong: a political organization and army, known also as the National Liberation Front, that operated in South Vietnam and Cambodia during the Vietnam War Viet Minh: a national independence coalition formed in 1941 with the initial goal to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire Vietnamization: a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to “expand, equip, and train South Vietnam’s forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops” The End of French Indochina In 1940, France was swiftly defeated by Nazi Germany and colonial administration of French Indochina passed to the Vichy French government, a puppet state of Nazi Germany. In September 1940, Japan launched its invasion of French Indochina, mirroring its ally Germany’s conquest of France. Keeping the French colonial administration, the Japanese ruled from behind the scenes in a parallel of Vichy France. Indochinese communists had set up hidden headquarters in 1941, but most of the Vietnamese resistance to Japan, France, or both, including communist and non-communist groups, was based over the border in China. In 1941, Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese communist leader, returned to Vietnam from China to lead the Viet Minh independence movement. The “men in black” was a 10,000-member guerrilla force that operated with the Viet Minh, but Ho was soon jailed in China by Chiang Kai-shek’s local authorities. As part of the Allied fighting against the Japanese, the Chinese Nationalists formed a resistance movement— the Dong Minh Hoi—which included communists but was not controlled by them. When the movement did not provide the desired intelligence data, Ho Chi Minh was released from jail and returned to lead an underground centered on the communist Viet Minh. This mission was assisted by Western intelligence agencies, including the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Free French intelligence also tried to affect developments in the Vichy-Japanese collaboration. Vichy signed the Protocol Concerning Joint Defense and Joint Military Cooperation in 1941. This agreement defined the Franco-Japanese relationship for Indochina until the Japanese abrogated it in March 1945. It gave the Japanese a total of eight airfields and allowed them to have more troops present and use the Indochinese financial system, in return for a fragile French autonomy. In March 1945 with the collapse of Nazi Germany, the Japanese imprisoned the Vichy French and took direct control of Vietnam. After the Japanese removed the French from administrative control in Indochina, they made no attempt to impose their own direct control of the civilian administration. Primarily concerned with the defense of Vietnam against an Allied invasion, the Japanese were not interested in Vietnamese politics. However, they also understood the desirability of a certain degree of administrative continuity. It was to their advantage to install a Vietnamese government that would acquiesce in the Japanese military presence. With this in mind, the Japanese persuaded the Vietnamese emperor Bảo Đại to cooperate with Japan and declare Vietnam independent of France. In March 1945, Bảo Đại did just that. Vietnam’s new “independence,” however, rested on the government’s willingness to cooperate with Japan and accept the Japanese military presence. From March until August 1945, Vietnam enjoyed what was called “fake independence,” when all the affairs of Indochinese were still in the hands of the Japanese. After World War II Three conflicting visions of post-war French Indochina emerged: Western anticommunists saw the French as protectors of the area from communist expansion; nationalists and anti-colonialists wanted independence from the French; and communists focused on the expansion of communism. Lines between the movements that promoted these three visions were not always clear, and their co-existence shaped the post-war fate of French Indochina. When the Japanese surrendered, the Viet Minh immediately launched the insurrection, which would be known as the August Revolution. People’s revolutionary committees across the countryside took over administrative positions, often acting on their own initiative, while in the cities the Japanese stood by as the Vietnamese took control. On August 19, the Viet Minh took control of Hanoi, seizing northern Vietnam in the next few days. Ho Chi Minh declared independence for the newly established Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), headquartered in Hanoi, on September 2, 1945. However, the Viet Minh faced various problems in the southern part of the country. The south was politically more diverse than the north, and the Viet Minh had been unable to establish the same degree of control there that they had achieved in the north. There were serious divisions in the independence movement in the south, where different nationalist groups competed for control. On August 25, the communists established a Provisional Executive Committee with Tran Van Giau at its head. The committee took over public administration in Saigon but followed Allied orders that the Japanese maintain law and order until Allied troops arrived. At the Potsdam conference in July 1945, the Allies divided Indochina into two zones at the sixteenth parallel, effectively assigning the southern zone to French control and leaving the northern part to Chiang Kai-shek’s China, to accept the surrender of the Japanese. However, in the north, this occupation period became a critical opportunity for the Viet Minh to consolidate and triumph over domestic rivals. As southern Vietnam’s disunited resistance forces struggled to push back French advances, Ho Chi Minh and the DRV started to negotiate with France in hopes of preserving national independence while avoiding war. In March 1946, the two sides reached an accord. Instead of obtaining French recognition of Vietnamese “independence,” Ho Chi Minh agreed to his government being weakly identified as a “free state” within the Indochinese Federation under the French Union. For their part, the French agreed that referendum was to be held on the issue of unifying the Vietnamese regions. This agreement entangled the French and Vietnamese in joint military operations and fruitless negotiations for several months. However, the status of southern Vietnam remained the sticking point. The March accord had left the fate of southern Vietnam (also known as Cochinchina) in flux. From June to September 1946, Ho Chi Minh met with French representatives in Vietnam and France to discuss this and other issues. However, almost immediately after the signing of the March accord, relations began to deteriorate. Negotiations broke down over the issue of the fate of southern Vietnam. As talking failed to bring results, both sides prepared for a military solution. Provocations by both French and Vietnamese troops led to the outbreak of full-scale guerrilla war on December 19, 1946. Nearly one year after the August Revolution, Vietnam and France were at war. After World War II, the French also reestablished their control in Laos and Cambodia. In October 1945, supporters of Laotian independence announced the dismissal of the king and formed the new government of Laos: the Lao Issara. However, the Lao Issara was ill-equipped and could only await the inevitable French return. In 1946, the French forced the Lao Issara leadership to flee into exile in Thailand and formally endorsed the unity of Laos as a constitutional monarchy within the French Union The Japanese occupation of Cambodia ended with the official surrender of Japan in August 1945 and the Cambodian puppet state lasted until October 1945. Some supporters of the kingdom’s prime minister Son Ngoc Thanh escaped to north-western Cambodia, then still under Thai control, where they banded together as one faction in the Khmer Issarak movement. Although their fortunes rose and fell during the immediate postwar period, by 1954 the Khmer Issarak operating with the Viet Minh by some estimates controlled as much as 50 percent of Cambodia’s territory. King Sihanouk reluctantly proclaimed a new constitution in May 1947. And while it recognized him as the “spiritual head of the state,” it reduced him to the status of a constitutional monarch of a Cambodia within the French Union. Independence in Indochina The division of Vietnam into the communist North and pro-Western South led to the First Indochina War. Viet Minh forces fought against the French Union from 1946 until the Geneva Conference of 1954 that forced France to abandon all claims to the colonies of Indochina, including Laos and Cambodia. The first few years of the war involved a low-level rural insurgency against French authority. However, after the Chinese communists reached the northern border of Vietnam in 1949, the conflict turned into a conventional war between two armies equipped with modern weapons supplied by the United States and the Soviet Union. French Union forces included colonial troops from the whole former empire (Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese ethnic minorities), French professional troops, and units of the French Foreign Legion. The use of French recruits was forbidden by the government to prevent the war from becoming even more unpopular at home. It was called the “dirty war” by the Leftist intellectuals in France. The French military efforts were made more difficult due to the limited usefulness of armored tanks in a jungle environment, lack of strong air forces for air cover and carpet bombing, and use of unreliable foreign recruits from other French colonies. On the other hand, General Vo Nguyen Giap—the military leader of the Viet Minh—is considered by historians to be one of the greatest strategists of the 20th century. He used efficient and novel tactics: direct fire artillery, convoy ambushes, and amassed anti-aircraft guns to impede land or air supply deliveries. He also recruited a sizable regular army facilitated by wide popular support and employed a guerrilla warfare doctrine, which Chinese Communists had developed. General Vo Nguyen Giap also had access to simple and reliable war materials provided by the Soviet Union. This combination proved fatal for the Viet Minh’s opponents, culminating in a decisive French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and independence for the peoples of French Indo-China Laos and Cambodian Independence After the French reasserted conrol over Laos after World War II, the Lao Issara government fled to Thailand, where they maintained opposition to the French until 1949, when the group split over questions regarding relations with the Viet Minh and the communist Pathet Lao was formed. The Franco-Lao General Convention of 1949 provided most members of the Lao Issara with a negotiated amnesty and sought appeasement by establishing the Kingdom of Laos as a quasi-independent constitutional monarchy within the French Union. In 1950 additional powers were granted to the Royal Lao Government, including training and assistance for a national army. In 1953, the Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association transferred remaining French powers to the independent Royal Lao Government. By 1954, the defeat at Dien Bien Phu brought eight years of fighting with the Viet Minh during the First Indochinese War to an end, and France abandoned all claims to the colonies of Indochina, including Laos. In Cambodia, the French had also been able to reimpose the colonial administration in Phnom Penh with the withdrawal of japanese forces. The Cambodian prince, Sihanouk’s “royal crusade for independence” resulted in grudging French acquiescence to his demands for a transfer of sovereignty. A partial agreement was struck in October 1953. Sihanouk then declared that independence had been achieved and returned in triumph to Phnom Penh. As a result of the Geneva Conference, Cambodia gained full independence from France and was able to bring about the withdrawal of the Viet Minh troops from its territory. The Geneva Agreements The 1954 Geneva Conference produced an agreement between the French and Viet Minh military commands (but not the pro-Western State of Vietnam) that divided Vietnam along the 17th Parallel, escalating tensions between the North and the South and leading to the Second Indochina War (Vietnam War). The Geneva Conference took place between April 26 and July 20, 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Soviet Union, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the People’s Republic of China were present throughout the conference. The conference produced a set of documents known as the Geneva Accords or Geneva Agreements. The Question of Indochina While the delegates began to assemble in Geneva in late April, the discussions on Indochina did not begin until May 8. The Viet Minh had achieved their decisive victory over the French Union forces at Dien Bien Phu the previous day. The Western allies did not have a unified position on what the Conference should achieve in relation to Indochina. The French delegation was keen to preserve something of France’s position in the region. The Unites States had been supporting the French in Indochina for many years, and the Republican Eisenhower administration wanted to ensure that it could not be accused of having lost Indochina to the communists, mainly because its leaders had previously accused the previous Truman administration of having lost China when the communists successfully dominated that country. On May 10, Pham Van Dong, leader of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; North) delegation set out their position, proposing a ceasefire, separation of the opposing forces, a ban on the introduction of new forces into Indochina, exchange of prisoners, independence and sovereignty for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, elections for unified governments in each country, withdrawal of all foreign forces, and the inclusion of representatives of the independence movements from Laos and Cambodia, Pathet Lao, and Khmer Issarak in the Conference. On May 12, the State of Vietnam (South) rejected any partition of the country, and the United States expressed a similar position the next day. The United States countered with what became known as the “American Plan,” with the support of South Vietnam and the United Kingdom. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the United Nations, but this proposal was rejected by the Soviet delegation. Although behind the scenes the U.S. and French governments continued to discuss the terms for possible U.S. military intervention in Indochina, by mid-June it was clear such intervention would not receive much support among allies. The United States began to consider the possibility that, rather than supporting the French in Indochina, it might be preferable for the French to leave and for the United States to support the new Indochinese states. Unwilling to support the proposed partition or intervention, by mid-June the United States decided to withdraw from major participation in the Conference. The Soviet and Chinese representatives also argued that the situations in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were not the same and should be treated separately. Consequently, Pham Van Dong agreed the Viet Minh would be prepared to withdraw their forces from Laos and Cambodia provided no foreign bases were established in Indochina. This represented a major blow to the DRV, as they had tried to ensure that the Pathet Lao and Khmer Issarak would join the governments in Laos and Cambodia, respectively, under the leadership of the DRV. The Chinese likely sought to ensure that Laos and Cambodia were not under Vietnam’s influence in the future, but under China’s. Geneva Accords After lengthy negotiations, on July 20 the remaining issues were resolved as the parties agreed that the partition line should be at the 17th parallel and that the elections for reunification should be in July 1956, two years after the ceasefire. The Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam was signed only by French and Viet Minh military commands, completely bypassing the State of South Vietnam. The Geneva Accords, issued on July 21, 1954, set out a “provisional military demarcation line” running approximately along the 17th Parallel “on either side of which the forces of the two parties shall be regrouped after their withdrawal.” A 3-mile (4.8 km) wide demilitarized zone was expected on each side of the demarcation line and French Union forces were to regroup to the south of the line while Viet Minh to the north. Free movement of the population between the zone would be open for 300 days and neither zone was to join any military alliance or seek military reinforcement. The International Control Commission (ICC), comprising Canada, Poland (at the time under the Soviet control), and India as chair, was established to monitor the ceasefire. Because the Commission was to decide on issues unanimously, Poland’s presence in the ICC provided the Soviet Union and the communists with effective veto power over supervision of the treaty. The unsigned Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference called for reunification elections, which the majority of delegates expected to be supervised by the ICC. The Viet Minh never accepted ICC authority over such elections. The agreement was signed by the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam, France, the People’s Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The State of South Vietnam under emperor Bao Dai rejected the agreement, while the United States stated that it “took note” of the ceasefire agreements and declared that it would “refrain from the threat or use of force to disturb them.” Separate accords were signed by the signatories with the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Laos in relation to Cambodia and Laos respectively. Outcomes In October 1954, the last French Union forces left Hanoi. In May 1955, French Union forces withdrew from Saigon to a coastal bases and in April 1956, the last French forces left Vietnam. Many communist sympathizers viewed South Vietnam as a French colonial and later American puppet regime. Simultaneously, many viewed North Vietnam as a communist puppet state. After the cessation of hostilities, a large migration took place. North Vietnamese, especially Catholics, intellectuals, business people, land owners, anti-communist democrats, and members of the middle-class, moved south of the Accords-mandated ceasefire line during Operation Passage to Freedom. The ICC reported that at least 892,876 North Vietnamese were processed through official refugee stations, while journalists estimated that as many as 2 million more might have fled. Around 52,000 people from the South went North, mostly Viet Minh members and their families. The mass emigration of northerners was facilitated primarily by the French Air Force and Navy. American naval vessels supplemented the French in evacuating northerners to Saigon, the southern capital. The operation was accompanied by a large humanitarian relief effort, bankrolled in the main by the United States government in an attempt to absorb a large tent city of refugees that had sprung up outside Saigon. With the withdrawal of the French, the United States replaced the French as a political backup for Ngo Dinh Diem, then Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam). In 1954, the Vietnamese emperor, Bai Dai had appointed him to be Prime Minister, but with American support, Diem ousted this emperor in 1955. In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam in 1955, Diem rigged the poll supervised by his brother and was credited with 98.2% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. Three days later, he declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with himself as president. Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communist officials always won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese “elections.” Diem asserted his power in South Vietnam as a military dictator, and refused to hold national elections in 1956, citing that the South did not sign and thus was not bound to the Geneva Accords. Diem maintained that it was impossible to hold free elections in the communist North. He went on to attempt to crush communist opposition in South Vietnam. Diem also launched the “Denounce the Communists” campaign, during which communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty against any activity deemed communist in 1956. Between 1954 and 1957 there was large-scale but disorganized opposition to his government in the South Vietnamese countryside, which the Diem government succeeded in quelling. North Vietnam violated the Geneva Accords as well by failing to fully withdraw Viet Minh troops from South Vietnam, stifling the movement of North Vietnamese refugees and conducting a massive military build-up with assistance from the Soviet Union that more than doubled the number of armed divisions in the North Vietnamese army. In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) under the terms of the Geneva Accords, stated that fair, unbiased elections to unite Vietnam under the terms of the Geneva Accords were not possible, with the ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. By mid-1957 through 1959, incidents of violence increased across South Vietnam directed against Diem's regime. There had been some division among former Viet Minh groups in South Vietnam, whose main goal was to hold the elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to “wildcat” activities separate from the other communists and anti-government activists. In 1960, North Vietnam ordered the National Liberation Front in South Vietnam, known more commonly as the Viet Cong, to unite all these activists, including non-communists to oppose the government of South Vietnam. Earlier in 1959, North Vietnam had invaded Laos and used 30,000 men to build invasion routes to South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia by 1961. About 40,000 communists soldiers infiltrated into South Vietnam from 1961 to 1963. North Vietnam sent 10,000 troops of the North Vietnamese Army to attack the south in 1964, and this figure increased to 100,000 in 1965. The Vietnam War The 20-year-long Vietnam War between the communist North and pro-Western South backed by the United States has had tragic consequences for the entire region, including the victory of communists in Vietnam, the rise of the Khmer Rouge to power in Cambodia, a massive refugee crisis, and the lasting impact that the use of chemicals by the U.S. military had on the region’s population.. Because of the ongoing conflict and constant tensions, the beginning date of the Second Indochina War, known in the US as the Vietnam War and in Vietnam as the American War, is a matter of debate. U.S. government reports currently cite November 1, 1955, as the commencement date of the “Vietnam Conflict” because that was when the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Indochina (deployed to Southeast Asia under President Truman) was reorganized into country-specific units and MAAG Vietnam was established. Other start dates include when Hanoi authorized Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam to begin a low-level insurgency in December 1956, or September 26, 1959, when the first battle occurred between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese army. Eventually, by 1965, the war pitted the Communist Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and the Viet Cong against United States troops and the United States-backed ARVN (Republic of Vietnam soldiers). The war would last until 1975. Vietnamization After US Marines came under attack from the Viet Cong at the Pleiku airbase in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson ordered additional troops to the region. The number of US troops in Vietnam quickly escalated to nearly 200,000 by the end of 1965 and peaked at over 500,000 in 1968. The US strategy involved a massive aerial bombing operation against North Vietnam (Operation Rolling Thunder) to cut off the Viet Cong (VC) in South Vietnam from their supplies. The US military also conducted "search and destroy" missions in which helicopter gunships landed US ground troops to find and fight VC guerillas, while US warplanes overhead sprayed the thick jungle with napalm and Agent Orange (a defoliant) to flush them out. In 1967 the US military initiated the New Relocation Program in which US troops forced Vietnamese farmers and their families from villages, which were suspected of harboring VC guerillas, to move to special restricted areas so that they could not aid the VC. Contrary to popular myths perpetuated by Hollywood movies, US servicemen were quite effective in combating VC troops. Moreover, the US strategy was quite sound in theory. The underlying principle of this strategy was the assumption that the US could wear down the VC and win a long drawn-out war of attrition. The VC, the US military theorized, would soon become tired of war and have to tolerate the anti-Communist South Vietnamese government. Through this strategy, the US would not need to mount an invasion of North Vietnam, which could lead to an expanded war against China and the Soviet Union. This strategy, however, did not take into consideration either the dogged determination of the VC or the impatience of American voters, whose support was vital to the war effort. The VC guerillas considered themselves patriots defending their beloved country from foreign invaders, just as they had fought invading Mongols in the 13th century or the Japanese in World War II. Despite heavy US bombardment, the flow of supplies and new troops from North Vietnam to the VC along the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail increased between 1965 and 1968. The US public grew tired and impatient concerning the war's progress well before the VC. In January 1968 the VC launched a surprise offensive against US and South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnamese New Year celebration (Tet). This Tet Offensive from a military standpoint was a total failure for the VC, whose forces were defeated and sustained heavy casualties. The American people however were shocked that the VC were even able to mount such an attack since the Johnson administration had told them repeatedly that war was being waged successfully and the VC were on the run. Soon after the Tet Offensive, Johnson's approval rating in public opinion polls plummeted to 35% and he consequently announced his intention not to seek the Democratic nomination for president in the upcoming1968 election. Following the escalation of the war under US presidents Kennedy and Johnson, President Richard Nixon began troop withdrawals in 1969, but not before escalating matters himself. Nixon promised in his successful 1968 presidential campaign to end the Vietnam War with “honor.” His plan, called the Nixon Doctrine, was to build up the ARVN so that they could take over the defense of South Vietnam. The policy became known as Vietnamization. On October 10, 1969, Nixon ordered a squadron of 18 B-52s loaded with nuclear weapons to race to the border of Soviet airspace to convince the Soviet Union, in accord with the madman theory, that he was capable of anything to end the war. Nixon also pursued negotiations and began to pursue détente (relaxation policy) with the Soviet Union and rapprochement with China. This policy helped to decrease global tensions. Détente led to nuclear arms reduction on the part of both superpowers, but Nixon was disappointed that China and the Soviet Union continued to supply the North Vietnamese with aid. Beginning in 1970, American troops were withdrawn from border areas where most of the fighting took place and instead redeployed along the coast and interior. Cambodia President Nixon, as part of his strategy to end the Vietnam war, sought to end North Vietnam’s use of Cambodian territory to funnel supplies to VC forces along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia had proclaimed his country neutral since 1955, but the communists had used Cambodian soil as a base. Sihanouk tolerated their presence because he wished to avoid being drawn into a wider regional conflict. Under pressure from Washington, however, he changed this policy in 1969. In 1970, Prince Sihanouk was deposed by his pro-American prime minister Lon Nol. North Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1970 at the request of Khmer Rouge deputy leader Nuon Chea. In that same year, U.S. and ARVN forces launched an invasion into Cambodia to attack NVA and Viet Cong bases. After meeting resistance, ARVN forces retreated and fled along roads littered with their own dead. The operation was a fiasco and represented a clear failure of Vietnamization. Vietnamization was again tested by the Easter Offensive of 1972, a massive conventional NVA invasion of South Vietnam. The NVA and Viet Cong quickly overran the northern provinces and in coordination with other forces attacked from Cambodia, threatening to cut the country in half. This invasion occurred as U.S. troop withdrawals continued as planned, leaving South Vietnamese ground troops to stop the North Vietnamese forces largely by themselves. American air power, however, responded, beginning Operation Linebacker. US air force assaults and South Vietnamese forces together halted the North Vietnamese offensive. It became clear that without American air power South Vietnam could not survive. No Peace after Paris Peace Accords Nixon’s National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, was meanwhile continuing secret negotiations with North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho in Paris, France. On January 15, 1973, Nixon announced the suspension of offensive action against North Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords on “Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” were signed on January 27, 1973, officially ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. A cease-fire was declared across North and South Vietnam. U.S. prisoners of war were released. The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam and, like the Geneva Conference of 1954, called for national elections in the North and South. The last remaining American ground troops were withdrawn by the end of March 1973. U.S. naval and air forces remained in the Gulf of Tonkin, as well as Thailand and Guam. Despite the accords, military conflict between the South and the North continued. The final series of increasingly large-scale and ambitious offensive operations by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong began in December 1974. The eventual goal of these operations was to defeat the armed forces and force the surrender of the government of South Vietnam. The operational plan for what would be known as the Ho Chi Minh Campaign called for the capture of Saigon before May 1. By the end of April, the ARVN had collapsed on all fronts except in the Mekong Delta. Thousands of refugees streamed southward ahead of the main communist onslaught. Chaos, unrest, and panic broke out as hysterical South Vietnamese officials and civilians scrambled to leave Saigon. Martial law was declared. On April 30, 1975, NVA troops entered the city of Saigon and quickly overcame all resistance, capturing key buildings and installations. Aftermath in Southeast Asia On July 2, 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Despite speculation that the victorious North Vietnamese would massacre South Vietnamese, there is a widespread consensus that no mass executions took place. However, in the years following the end of the war, up to 300,000 South Vietnamese were sent to reeducation camps, where many endured torture, starvation, and disease while being forced to perform hard labor. In addition, 200,000 to 400,000 Vietnamese boat people died at sea, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, fell to the communist Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975. Under the leadership of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge would eventually kill 1 – 3 million Cambodians out of a population of around 8 million in one of the bloodiest genocides in history. After repeated border clashes in 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and ousted the Khmer Rouge, who were being supported by China, in the Cambodian-Vietnamese War. In response, China invaded Vietnam in 1979. The two countries fought a brief border war, known as the Sino-Vietnamese War. The Pathet Lao overthrew the monarchy of Laos in December 1975, establishing the Lao People’s Democratic Republic under the leadership of a member of the royal family: Souphanouvong. The change in regime was relatively peaceful, although 30,000 former officials were sent to reeducation camps, often enduring harsh conditions for several years. Over 3 million people left Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in the Indochina refugee crisis. Most Asian countries were unwilling to accept the refugees, many of whom fled by boat and were known as boat people. Between 1975 and 1998, an estimated 1.2 million refugees from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries resettled in the United States, while Canada, Australia, and France resettled over 500,000. China accepted 250,000 people. Of all the countries of Indochina, Laos experienced the largest refugee flight in proportional terms, as 300,000 people out of a total population of 3 million crossed the border into Thailand. Included among their ranks were about 90% of the educated and professional elites. Vietnam retained its pro-Soviet orientation after the war and remained an important ally of the USSR in the region. Estimates of casualties in the Vietnam War vary widely. They include both civilian and military deaths in North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Civilian deaths caused by both sides amounted to a significant percentage of total deaths, perhaps from 30% to nearly 50%. Civilian deaths caused by communist forces, which included the Viet Cong, North Vietnamese Army, Pathet Lao, and Khmer Rouge, mostly resulted from assassinations and terror tactics. Civilian deaths caused by the armed forces of the governments of South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, the United States, South Korea, and other allies were primarily the consequence of extensive aerial bombing and the use of massive firepower in military operations conducted in heavily populated areas. One of the most controversial aspects of the U.S. military effort in Southeast Asia was the widespread use of chemical defoliants between 1961 and 1971. They were used to defoliate large parts of the countryside to prevent the Viet Cong from being able to hide their weapons and encampments under the foliage. These chemicals continue to change the landscape, cause diseases and birth defects, and poison the food chain today. Vietnamese victims affected by Agent Orange attempted a class action lawsuit against Dow Chemical and other U.S. chemical manufacturers, but District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein dismissed their case. They appealed, but the dismissal was cemented in 2008 by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. As of 2006, the Vietnamese government estimates that there are over 4,000,000 victims of dioxin poisoning in Vietnam, although the United States government denies any conclusive scientific links between Agent Orange and the Vietnamese victims of dioxin poisoning. In some areas of southern Vietnam, dioxin levels remain at over 100 times the accepted international standard. The U.S. Veterans Administration has listed prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, multiple melanoma, diabetes type 2, B-cell lymphomas, soft-tissue sarcoma, chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, peripheral neuropathy, and spina bifida in children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge The history of the Khmer Rouge is tied to the history of the communist movement in Indochina. In 1951, the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) was reorganized into three national units: the Vietnam Workers’ Party, the Lao Issara (in Laos), and the Kampuchean (or Khmer) People’s Revolutionary Party (KPRP). According to a document issued after the reorganization, the Vietnam Workers’ Party would continue to “supervise” the smaller Laotian and Cambodian movements. Most KPRP leaders and rank-and-file seem to have been either Khmer Krom, or ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia. The party’s appeal to indigenous Khmers appears to have been minimal. During the 1950s, Khmer students in Paris organized their own communist movement, which had little if any connection to the hard-pressed party in their homeland. From their ranks came the men and women who returned home and took command of the party apparatus during the 1960s, led an effective insurgency against Lon Nol from 1968 until 1975, and established the regime of Democratic Kampuchea. Some members of the Paris group, most notably Pol Pot and Leng Sary, turned to Marxism-Leninism and joined the French Communist Party. In 1951, the two men went to East Berlin to participate in a youth festival. This experience is considered a turning point in their ideological development. Meeting with Khmers who were fighting alongside the Viet Minh, they became convinced that only a tightly disciplined party organization and a readiness for armed struggle could achieve revolution. They transformed the Khmer Students Association (KSA), to which most of the 200 or so Khmer students in Paris belonged, into an organization for nationalist and leftist ideas. After returning to Cambodia in 1953, Pol Pot threw himself into party work. In the 1960s, Pol Pot emerged as the leading communist in Cambodia. In 1960, 21 leaders of the KPRP held a secret congress in a vacant room of the Phnom Penh railroad station and addressed the question of cooperation with or resistance to Prince Sihanouk (head of the Cambodian state). As a result of this meeting, the KPRP was renamed the Workers’ Party of Kampuchea (WPK). In 1962, Tou Samouth, the WPK secretary, was murdered by the Cambodian government. A year later, Pol Pot was chosen to succeed Tou Samouth as the party’s general secretary. Pol Pot was also put on a list of 34 leftists who were summoned by Sihanouk to join the government and sign statements saying Sihanouk was the only possible leader for the country. Pol Pot and one more leader, Chou Chet, however, were the only people on the list who escaped. The region where Pol Pot moved to was inhabited by tribal minorities, the Khmer Loeu, whose rough treatment (including resettlement and forced assimilation) at the hands of the central government made them willing recruits for a guerrilla struggle. In 1965, Pol Pot made a visit of several months to North Vietnam and China. In 1968, the Khmer Rouge was officially formed, and its forces launched a national insurgency across Cambodia. Although North Vietnam had not been informed of the decision, its forces provided shelter and weapons to the Khmer Rouge after the insurgency started. Vietnamese support for the insurgency made it impossible for the Cambodian military to effectively counter it. For the next two years the insurgency grew as Sihanouk did very little to stop it. As the insurgency grew stronger, the party finally openly declared itself to be the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK). The political appeal of the Khmer Rouge increased as a result of the situation created by the removal of Sihanouk as head of state in 1970. Premier Lon Nol, with the support of the National Assembly, deposed Sihanouk. Sihanouk, in exile in Beijing, made an alliance with the Khmer Rouge and became the nominal head of a Khmer Rouge-dominated government-in-exile (known by its French acronym, GRUNK) backed by China. After Sihanouk showed his support for the Khmer Rouge by visiting them in the field, their ranks swelled from 6,000 to 50,000 fighters. Many of the new recruits for the Khmer Rouge were apolitical peasants who fought in support of the Prince, not for communism. Sihanouk’s popular support in rural Cambodia allowed the Khmer Rouge to extend its power and influence to the point that by 1973 it exercised de facto control over the majority of Cambodian territory, although only a minority of its population. Many people in Cambodia who helped the Khmer Rouge against the Lon Nol government thought they were fighting for the restoration of Sihanouk. By 1975, with the Lon Nol government running out of ammunition, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the government would collapse. On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh. Khmer Rouge Regime The Khmer Rouge carried out a radical program that included isolating the country from all foreign influences; closing schools, hospitals, and factories, abolishing banking, finance, and currency; outlawing all religions; confiscating all private property; and relocating people from urban areas to collective farms where forced labor was widespread. The purpose of this policy was to turn Cambodians into “Old People” (as opposed the urban populations known as “New People”) through agricultural labor. The Khmer Rouge attempted to turn Cambodia into a classless society by depopulating cities. The entire population was forced to become farmers in labor camps. The total lack of agricultural knowledge by the former city dwellers made famine inevitable. Rural dwellers were often unsympathetic or too frightened to assist them. Such acts as picking wild fruit or berries were seen as “private enterprise” and punished by death. The Khmer Rouge forced people to work for 12 hours, without adequate rest or food. These actions resulted in massive deaths through executions, work exhaustion, illness, and starvation. Commercial fishing was banned in 1976, resulting in a loss of primary food sources for millions of Cambodians, 80% of whom rely on fish as their only source of animal protein. Money was abolished, and books were burned. Teachers, merchants, and almost the entire intellectual elite of the country were murdered to make agricultural communism a reality, as Pol Pot envisioned it. The planned relocation to the countryside resulted in the complete halting of almost all economic activity. All religion was banned. Any people seen taking part in religious rituals or services were executed. Thousands of Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians were killed for exercising their beliefs. Family relationships not sanctioned by the state were also banned and family members could be put to death for communicating with each other. Married couples were only allowed to visit each other on a limited basis. If people were seen engaged in sexual activity, they would be killed immediately. In many cases, family members were relocated to different parts of the country with all postal and telephone services abolished. Almost all freedom to travel was abolished. Almost all privacy was eliminated. People were not even allowed to eat in privacy. Instead, they were required to eat with everyone in the commune. Fall of Khmer Rouge Regime In 1978, Pol Pot, fearing a Vietnamese attack, ordered a pre-emptive invasion of Vietnam. At the end of the same year, the Vietnamese armed forces, along with the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation, an organization that included many dissatisfied former Khmer Rouge members, invaded Cambodia and captured Phnom Penh in January 1979. Despite a traditional Cambodian fear of Vietnamese domination, defecting Khmer Rouge activists assisted the Vietnamese and with Vietnam’s approval became the core of the new People’s Republic of Kampuchea. At the same time, the Khmer Rouge retreated west and continued to control certain areas near the Thai border for the next decade. The Khmer Rouge survived into the 1990s as a resistance movement operating in western Cambodia from bases in Thailand. In 1996, following a peace agreement, Pol Pot formally dissolved the organization, and died shortly thereafter in 1998. Currently, Cambodia is officially a multiparty democracy but in reality, it is a communist-party state dominated by Prime Minister Hun Sen, a recast Khmer Rouge official in power since 1985. Cambodian Genocide The Khmer Rouge government arrested, tortured, and eventually executed anyone suspected of belonging to several categories of supposed “enemies.” These “enemies” including anyone with connections to the former Cambodian government or with foreign governments along with professionals and intellectuals. Among these categories were also ethnic Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, and other minorities in the Eastern Highlands, Cambodian Christians, Muslims, and Buddhist monks, and “economic saboteurs”—a category that included many former urban dwellers deemed guilty of sabotage due to their lack of agricultural ability. Those who were convicted of treason were taken to a top-secret prison called S-21. The prisoners were rarely given food and, as a result, many people died of starvation. Others died from the severe physical mutilation caused by torture. Modern research has located 20,000 mass graves from the Khmer Rouge era all over Cambodia. Various studies have estimated the death toll at between 740,000 and 3 million, most commonly between 1.4 million and 2.2 million, with perhaps half of those deaths due to executions and the rest from starvation and disease. The Cambodian Genocide Program at Yale University estimates the number of deaths at approximately 1.7 million (21% of the population of the country). A UN investigation reported 2 – 3 million dead, while UNICEF estimates that 3 million had been killed. An additional 300,000 Cambodians starved to death between 1979 and 1980, largely as a result of the after-effects of Khmer Rouge policy. The Khmer Rouge regime targeted various ethnic groups during the genocide, forcibly relocated minority groups, and banned the use of minority languages. The Khmer Rouge banned by decree the existence of ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese, Muslim Cham, and 20 other minorities, which altogether constituted 15% of the population at the beginning of the Khmer Rouge’s rule. Because of the intense opposition to the Vietnam War, particularly among Western intellectuals, many Western scholars denied the genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge regime. Despite the eye-witness accounts by journalists prior to their expulsion during the first few days of Khmer Rouge rule and the later testimony of refugees, many academics in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, and other countries portrayed the Khmer Rouge favorably or at least were skeptical about the stories of Khmer Rouge atrocities. None of them, however, were allowed to visit Cambodia under Khmer Rouge rule and few actually talked to the refugees whose stories they believed to be exaggerated or false. Some Western scholars believed that the Khmer Rouge would free Cambodia from colonialism, capitalism, and the ravages of American bombing and invasion during the Vietnam War. Cambodian scholar Sophal Ear has titled the pro-Khmer Rouge academics as the “Standard Total Academic View on Cambodia” (STAV). With the takeover of Cambodia by Vietnam in 1979 and the discovery of incontestable evidence, the Khmer Rouge atrocities proved to be entirely accurate. Some former enthusiasts for the Khmer Rouge recanted their previous views, others diverted their interest to other issues, and a few continued to defend the Khmer Rouge. A few months before his death in 1998, Nate Thayer interviewed Pol Pot. During the interview, Pol Pot stated that he had a clear conscience and denied responsibility for the genocide. In 2013, the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen passed legislation that makes the denial of the Cambodian genocide and other war crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge illegal. Attributions Title Image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:80-G-420027_Inchon_Invasion,_September_1950.jpg Unites States forces landing at Inchon, Korea in September 1950 - Unknown Marine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Adapted from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-koreas/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/indochina/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.019713	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88081/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 15: Cold War & Decolonization, Cold War Conflicts", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88064/overview	War Crimes: The Pacific Overview Pacific War Crimes The Holocaust is widely remembered around the world. However, there were other WWII war crimes, and the lesser remembered and discussed ones were committed by the Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater during World War II. These are of critical importance because they took place over a longer period of time (1933 – 1945), and they resulted in the deaths of an estimated 7 – 10 million people, mostly of Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Australian heritage. Learning Objectives - Identify the war crimes of the Pacific Theater of War. Key Terms / Key Concepts Bataan Death March: 60-mile march orchestrated by Japanese troops in which Americans and Filipinos were forced to walk long expanses, without any needs being met, resulting in 20,000 deaths Burma Railway: 250-mile stretch of railroad between Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand The Nanking Massacre: 1937 – 1938 destruction of the city of Nanking, China, by the Imperial Japanese army Unit 731: Japanese unit designed to perform human experimentation The Nanking Massacre The best-known Japanese atrocity was the Nanking Massacre in China. Reports suggest that 2.7 million casualties occurred because of the actions undertaken by the Japanese army. Nanking was targeted by the Japanese following their victory in Shanghai in 1937—two years before World War II erupted in Europe. Up to that point, Nanking had been one of China’s most prosperous, industrial cities. But when Chinese nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-Shek received news of the advancing Japanese army, he ordered his army to retreat from Nanking for fear that it would be decimated, leaving China entirely defenseless. While, perhaps, the act saved the Chinese army, it left the city of Nanking open to attack. The Japanese army poured into the city in December 1937. Citizens hid and fled where they could, rumor had reached them of the atrocities that the Japanese army had committed before arriving, including mass murder and a scorched earth policy. The auxiliary forces which had remained behind were hunted down and slaughtered. Pregnant women were pierced with bayonets. Children and the elderly were executed without hesitation. Tens of thousands of women were raped, then summarily murdered. Nearly one-third of all buildings were destroyed, and property was seized. The massacre only concluded when the Japanese installed a government in Nanking in February 1938. Forced Labor and Prisoners of War Japan ratified the 1907 Hague Convention respecting the treatment of prisoners of war. However, it constantly violated the agreements made at the convention throughout World War II. The Japanese overall treatment of prisoners of war, including women and children, was infamous in World War II. Executions, starvation, neglect, beatings, and death marches were common practices. Forced Labor British and Australian prisoners of war experienced some of the most heinous forced labor of World War II during the construction of the Burma Railway. The railroad stretched over 250 miles along the border of Burma (present-day Myanmar) and Thailand. More than 60,000 Allied POWs were forced into massive labor gangs with little to no provisions and ordered to begin construction on the railroad. The route of the railroad cut through both mountains and nearly impassable jungle that was riddled with disease and venomous animals. Camps for the POWs consisted of primitive shelters that were mostly open, leaving the prisoners exposed to the torrential rains and disease-carrying insects. Men were forced to work for nine days, and rest on the tenth day. Each primitive hut housed 200 men. Living conditions were so cramped that men could scarcely move. Their days consisted of fourteen-hour shifts where they would clear bamboo forests, dig and haul dirt, and contend with the rivers in preparation for the laying of the railroad. Beatings were common among those who did not work fast or efficiently. Food was scarce and poor in quality. Malaria, along with a host of other diseases, plagued the prisoners of war. When the railroad was completed in 1943, more than 16,000 Allied POWs had died. Death Marches Death marches were commonly practiced by the Imperial Japanese army during World War II. Prisoners of war and civilians alike could be forced on such marches, including women and children. The most infamous of these marches was the Bataan Death March. This event occurred following the Battle of Bataan in the Philippines in 1942. Tens of thousands of American and Filipino troops were captured by the Japanese army. Because there was no permanent camp at the point of their capture, their captors forced the POWs to march over sixty miles to a permanent camp. The march proved indescribable. Japanese guards frequently beat the POWs, and randomly pulled men out of line to be shot or bayoneted. Little food or water was afforded the prisoners, and both physical and psychological torture was common practice. The tropical climate not only bred disease but also excessive heat. Sunburn, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and disease claimed thousands of lives. Medical care was also, in large, denied to the prisoners of war. By the time the Allied POWs reached their final internment camp, more than twenty thousand had died along the 60-mile march. After the war, the Allies classified the march as a Japanese war crime. Human Experimentation Just as the Nazis engaged in human experimentation, so too did the Japanese. Infamous among the units that carried out medical experiments was Unit 731. Emperor Hirohito authorized the creation of the unit that would conduct some of the most heinous wartime activities. Among other procedures, the unit regularly performed vivisection—removal of organs from a living human without anesthesia. Similarly, the unit performed experiments on Chinese and Korean subjects in which body parts were amputated without anesthesia, with the supposed goal of learning how the body reacted to such trauma. Other experiments included the injection of poisonous chemicals into human bodies and regular torture of prisoners of war. Impact on Humankind The atrocities carried out by Imperial Japan during World War II remain indescribable, and expansive in their scope. Crimes were carried out not only against the Allied armies but also, most especially, against civilians in China, Korea, the Philippines, and the Pacific Islands. Tens of thousands of young girls and women were enslaved to serve the needs of the Japanese army. Prisoners of war were regularly subjected to torture, forced labor, executions, and human experimentation. To date the crimes of Japan in World War II continue to taint its relationship with China, as well as other countries in East Asia. Attributions Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Bailey, Ronald H. Prisoners of War: World War II-Time Life Books. Time Life Books, Alexandria, VA: 1981. 14; 37-53; 194-5.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.056634	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88064/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 14: The World Afire: World War II, War Crimes: The Pacific", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88093/overview	End of the Cold War Overview Collapse of the Soviet Union By 1982, it was clear the Soviet Union’s economy was failing. Once the breadbasket of the world, the Soviet Union was forced to import grain from the United States starting in the 1970s. Yet, even this development could not predict that in less than a decade, the Soviet Union would cease to exist. In America, Ronald Reagan gambled that if the United States government invested millions of dollars in developing its military, the Soviets would follow suit and that such an investment on the side of the Soviets would lead to their bankruptcy. It was a risky gamble. But the Soviet government continued to invest extensively in new military technology—technology that cost a fortune, even though it did not have the funds for such an expense. Meanwhile, this build-up of the military at the expense of the Soviet economy was a key topic of Soviet politics that drove decisions about leadership. Learning Objectives - Analyze how and why the Soviet Union collapsed. - Examine the impact, internally and abroad, of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Key Terms / Key Concepts Belavezha Accords: document signed by leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine that ended the Soviet Union Boris Yeltsin: President of Russia from 1991 – 1999 Chernobyl: nuclear power plant near Pripyat, Ukraine; site of the worst nuclear disaster in world history fall of the Berlin Wall: monumental event in 1989 that united the two Germanies, and facilitated the end of the Cold War glasnost: policy of “openness” during Gorbachev years KGB: main domestic and foreign intelligence and security force for the Soviet Union Lech Wałęsa: head of the Solidary Movement and in 1990; the President of Poland Mikhail Gorbachev: last General Secretary of the Soviet Union of liberalizing politics; won Western support and helped bring about an end to the Soviet Union perestroika: policy of “economic restructuring” during the Gorbachev years Ronald Reagan: president of the United States during the 1980s Solidarity Movement: Polish movement that peacefully, and successfully opposed Soviet policies during the 1980s Ukrainian independence: monumental moment in 1991 when Ukraine peacefully separated from the Soviet Union, thus signaling the collapse of the Soviet Union Vladimir Putin: President of Russia (2000-2008; 2012-Present) Yuri Andropov: General Secretary of the Soviet Union from 1982 – 1984 Andropov Years In November 1982, Yuri Andropov was appointed the new General Secretary of the Soviet Union. Andropov had maneuvered his way into power both through his KGB connections and by gaining the support of the military with his promise not to cut defense spending. At age 69, he was the oldest General Secretary ever appointed. He would also be the last of the “old guard Soviets”—men who sought to maintain Stalinist ideology in which the Soviet Union was strong, authoritarian, and uncompromising. Andropov's Domestic Policies Andropov’s domestic policy leaned heavily towards restoring discipline and order to Soviet society. He rejected radical political and economic reforms. . In tandem with these economic experiments, Andropov launched an anti-corruption drive that reached high into the government and party ranks. This measure was undertaken to preserve and protect Andropov’s power as General Secretary of the Soviet Union. Unlike his political predecessors who possessed several mansions and luxury cars, Andropov lived a modest life. Andropov began a thorough house-cleaning throughout the Communist party and state bureaucracy, a decision made easy by the fact that the Central Committee had an average age of 69. This fact suggested that the politicians had served under several previous General Secretaries, and that they may not be entirely loyal to Andropov and his policies. He replaced more than one-fifth of the Soviet ministers and regional party secretaries, and more than one-third of the department heads within the Central Committee apparatus. As a result, he replaced the aging leadership with younger, more vigorous administrators. But Andropov’s ability to reshape the top leadership was constrained by his own age and poor health and the influence of his rivals. Andropov's Relationship wiht the United States U.S.-Soviet relations deteriorated rapidly beginning toward the end of Andropov’s leadership in March 1983. The first significant blow to the relationship that year was when President Ronald Reagan dubbed the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” The official Soviet press agency, TASS, accused Reagan of “thinking only in terms of confrontation and bellicose, lunatic anti-communism.” Further deterioration occurred when on September 1, the Soviets shot down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007; the plane was carrying 269 people, including a sitting U.S. congressman, Larry McDonald. The incident was further fueled, by Reagan’s stationing of intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Western Europe. It was a show of force by the United States against the Soviet Union, which was suffering from economic setbacks and internal discontent. Moreover, the U.S. undermined Soviet-supported governments around the developing world by supplying arms to anti-communist resistance movements such as those in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and Angola. . Andropov's Death Andropov’s health declined rapidly during the tense summer and fall of 1983, and he became the first Soviet leader to miss the anniversary celebrations of the 1917 Revolution. He died in February 1984 of kidney failure after disappearing from public view for several months. His most significant legacy to the Soviet Union was his discovery and promotion of Mikhail Gorbachev. A Noblest Man?: Mikhail Gorbachev In March 1985, the Soviet Union introduced a new General Secretary: Mikhail Gorbachev. The new leader was stately and stocky, nearly bald, and famously had a prominent birthmark on his scalp. Moreover, Gorbachev was relatively young. At the time of his appointment, he was only in his mid-fifties, and of a different generation than all his immediate predecessors. No one knew entirely what to expect from Gorbachev. He was intellectual, but he had a sly humor about him and was frequently self-deprecating. He adored his wife and preferred the comfort of family, sports, and intellectual pursuits to Communist party events. Importantly, he publicly claimed to maintain the Soviet Empire and its Socialist principles, but he also promoted democratization, intellectualism, and a general “openness” in society. To hard core Communists, Gorbachev appeared weak. To others in the Soviet Union, he was the long-awaited hope for restructuring Soviet society. Perestroika and Glasnost With the hope of saving the failing economic and social conditions of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev initiated two critical new policies upon his appointment as General Secretary. The first was his new policy of perestroika (“economic restructuring”) in 1986—one year after his appointment. This measure pushed away from the Soviet practice of a planned state economy. Instead, Gorbachev proposed a mixed-economy of state and private entities. Two years later, Gorbachev introduced glasnost (“openness”), which gave the Soviet people freedoms they had not previously known, including greater freedom of speech. The press became far less controlled, and thousands of political prisoners and many dissidents were released as part of a wider program of de-Stalinization. Gorbachev’s goal with glasnost was to pressure conservatives who opposed his policies of economic restructuring. At the same time, he exposed his plans to more public criticism. In June 1988, at the CPSU’s Party Conference, Gorbachev launched radical reforms to reduce the Communist party’s control on the Soviet government. He proposed a new executive in the form of a presidential system. He also proposed a new legislative element: the Congress of People’s Deputies. Elections to the Congress of People’s Deputies were held throughout the Soviet Union in March and April 1989. This was the first free election in the Soviet Union since 1917. Gorbachev became Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (or head of state) on May 25, 1989. Discontent across the Soviet Union By the late 1980s, people in the Caucasus and Baltic states were demanding more autonomy from Moscow, and the Kremlin was losing some of its control over certain regions and elements in the Soviet Union. In November 1988, Estonia issued a declaration of sovereignty, which eventually led to other states doing the same. Then in April 1986, an event occurred that shook the world. During a test operation, the nuclear reactor core at Chernobyl in Ukraine melted down, creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster. Winds spread the majority of the radiation north and west into Belarus, but smaller amounts of radiation were spread around the world. It is difficult to establish the total economic cost of the disaster. According to Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union spent 18 billion rubles (the equivalent of USD $18 billion at the time) on containment and decontamination, virtually bankrupting itself in the process. One political result of the Chernobyl disaster was the greatly increased significance of the Soviet policy of glasnost. Under glasnost, relaxation of censorship resulted in the Communist Party losing its grip on the media, and Soviet citizens were able to learn significantly more about the past and the outside world. The Soviet media began to expose numerous social and economic problems in the Soviet Union that the government had long denied and covered up, such as poor housing, food shortages, alcoholism, widespread pollution, creeping mortality rates, the second-rate position of women, and the history of state crimes against the population. Although Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin’s personality cult as early as the 1950s, information about the true proportions of his atrocities had still been suppressed until Gorbachev’s reign. These revelations had a devastating effect on those who believed in state communism and had not been previously exposed to this information, as they began to realize their driving vision of society was built on a foundation of falsehood and crimes against humanity. Additionally, information about the higher quality of life in the United States and Western Europe and about Western pop culture were exposed to the Soviet public for the first time. As Gorbachev weakened the system of internal political repression, the ability of the USSR’s central government to impose its will on the USSR’s constituent republics was largely undermined. During the 1980s, calls for greater independence from Moscow’s rule grew louder. This was especially marked in the Baltic Republics of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, which had been annexed into the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin in 1940. Nationalist sentiment also took hold in other Soviet republics such as Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. Starting in the mid-1980s, the Baltic states used the reforms provided by glasnost to assert their rights to protect their environment (for example during the Phosphorite War) and their historic monuments, as well as strengthen their claims to sovereignty and independence. When the Balts withstood outside threats, they exposed an irresolute Kremlin. Bolstering separatism in other Soviet republics, the Balts triggered multiple challenges to the Soviet Union. Collapse of the Soviet Union (Summer 1989 to Fall 1991) Poland Momentum toward full-blown revolution against the Soviet Union began in Poland. In 1980, a Polish, independent trade union was founded in the coastal city of Gdansk; this trade union transformed into a political party was known as Solidarity. For the first time since the establishment of the Warsaw Pact in 1947, Poland officially recognized the trade union as independent and legitimate. Headed by Lech Wałęsa, roughly one-third of Poland’s working population joined the trade union in support of its freedoms and in opposition to Soviet policies. The organization practiced firm, but largely peaceful, protests to promote workers’ rights and social change. For heading the largely peaceful resistance, Wałęsa won the Nobel Peace Price in 1983. To the shock of neighboring countries, Russia seemed to be doing little to halt Wałęsa or Solidarity. By 1989, the trade union had expanded to become the Solidarity Movement—a direct challenge to Soviet policy. In 1989, the first free elections since 1947 were held in Poland as a result of the peaceful civil resistance and negotiations of the Solidarity Party. The results were staggering. The Solidarity party received widespread support. And a coalition government was formed. One year later, in 1990, Wałęsa was elected President of Poland. The Soviet Bloc Dissolves Revolutionary momentum, encouraged by the peaceful transition underway in Poland, continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. A common feature among these countries was the extensive use of campaigns of civil resistance, demonstrating popular opposition to the continuation of one-party rule and contributing to the pressure for change. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country whose people overthrew its Communist regime violently. The Fall of the Wall When Hungary disabled its physical border defenses with Austria on August 19, 1989, it initiated a chain of events that would eventually precipitate the fall of the Berlin Wall. In September 1989, more than 13,000 East German tourists escaped through Hungary to Austria. After that, the Hungarians prevented many more East Germans from crossing the border and returned them to Budapest. Those East Germans were sent to the West German embassy and refused to return to East Germany. The East German government responded to this by disallowing any further travel to Hungary, but allowed those already there to return to East Germany. Soon, a similar pattern began to emerge out of Czechoslovakia. This time, however, the East German authorities allowed people to leave, if they did so by train through East Germany. This was followed by mass demonstrations within East Germany. Protest demonstrations grew considerably by early November, and the movement neared its height on November 4, when half a million people gathered to demand political change at the Alexanderplatz demonstration, East Berlin’s large public square and transportation hub. The wave of refugees leaving East Germany for the West kept increasing. This was tolerated by the new government in East Germany because of long-standing agreements with the communist Czechoslovak government that allowed free travel across their common border. However, this movement grew so large it caused difficulties for both countries. And both sides took steps to reduce the exodus of East Germans. November 9, 1989 On November 9, 1989, Günter Schabowski, the party boss in East Berlin, was preparing to announce new travel regulations that restricted the movements of East Germans. He was not yet aware of the details. Shortly before a press conference began he was handed a note announcing the changes but given no further instructions. These regulations had only been completed a few hours earlier and were to take effect the following day to allow time to inform the border guards. But this starting time delay was not communicated to Schabowski. At the end of the press conference, Schabowski read out loud the note he had been given. One of the reporters asked when the regulations would take effect. After a few seconds’ hesitation, Schabowski stated, “immediately.” The speech by Schabowski was broadcast across East and West Germany. East Germans began gathering at the Wall at the six checkpoints between East and West Berlin, demanding that border guards immediately open the gates. The surprised and overwhelmed guards made many hectic telephone calls to their superiors about the problem, but it soon became clear that no one among the East German authorities would take personal responsibility for issuing orders to use lethal force, so the vastly outnumbered soldiers had no way to hold back the huge crowd of East German citizens. Finally, at 10:45 pm, Harald Jäger—the commander of the Bornholmer Straße border crossing—yielded, allowing the guards to open the checkpoints and people to pass through without checking identities. As the Ossis (“Easterners”) swarmed through, they were greeted by Wessis (“Westerners”) waiting with flowers and champagne amid wild rejoicing. Soon afterward, a crowd of West Berliners jumped on top of the Wall and were joined by East German youngsters. Some danced together to celebrate their new freedom. Others still, took hammers out and began the symbolic step of knocking down the border that had separated Germans for twenty-seven years. The fall of the Berlin Wall had finally occurred. The Fall of the Soviet Union: August - December 1991 On August 24, 1991, Gorbachev dissolved the Central Committee, resigned as the party’s general secretary, and dissolved all party units in the government. Five days later, the Supreme Soviet indefinitely suspended all party activity on Soviet territory, effectively ending Communist rule in the Soviet Union and dissolving the only remaining unifying force for the Union. The Soviet Union collapsed with dramatic speed in the last quarter of 1991. Between August and December, ten republics declared their independence, largely out of fear of another coup. In September 1991, the United Nations Security Council admitted Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania by unanimous vote. No longer did the Soviet Union have a stronghold in the Baltics. By the end of September, Gorbachev no longer had the authority to influence events outside of Moscow. He was challenged even there by Yeltsin, who had begun taking over what remained of the Soviet government, including the Kremlin. The final round of the Soviet Union’s collapse began with Ukrainian unrest. In 1990, Ukrainians formed human chains that linked two of their most important cities, Lviv and Kyiv. The demonstration resulted in sharp, almost universal calls from Ukrainians for independence. On December 1, 1991, 90 percent of voters opted for Ukrainian independence. The same month, Leonid Kravchuk was elected the first President of Ukraine. For the first time since the brief period following World War I, Ukraine was independent and free. The Secession of Ukraine, the second-most powerful republic, ended any realistic chance of Gorbachev keeping the Soviet Union together, even on a limited scale. On December 8, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus secretly met in western Belarus to sign the Belavezha Accords, which proclaimed the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and announced formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States as a looser association to take its place. On December 12, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian states formally ratified the Belavezha Accords and renounced the 1922 Union Treaty. It also recalled the Russian deputies from the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Later that day, Gorbachev hinted for the first time that he was considering stepping down. In a nationally televised speech early in the morning of December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR, or, as he put it, “I hereby discontinue my activities at the post of President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.” He declared the office extinct; All of its powers, including control of the nuclear arsenal, were ceded to Russian President, Boris Yeltsin. On the night of December 25, at 7:32 p.m., after Gorbachev left the Kremlin, the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time and the Russian tricolor was raised in its place. It symbolically marked the end of the Soviet Union. On that same day, the President of the United States George H.W. Bush held a brief televised speech officially recognizing the independence of the 11 remaining republics. Conclusion: The Transition to a Market Economy, 1991-2000 Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia radically transformed from a centrally planned economy to a globally integrated market economy. Corrupt and haphazard privatization processes turned major state-owned firms over to politically connected “oligarchs,” which left equity ownership highly concentrated. Yeltsin’s program of radical, market-oriented reform came to be known as a “shock therapy.” It was based on the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund and a group of top American economists. The result was disastrous, with real GDP falling by more than 40% by 1999, the occurrence of hyperinflation—which wiped out personal savings, and rapidly spreading destitution and crime. Difficulties in collecting government revenues amid the collapsing economy and a dependence on short-term borrowing to finance budget deficits led to the 1998 Russian financial crisis. It also contributed to Yeltsin’s declining popularity. At such a time of crisis, the Russian people sought a strong leader who could transform Russia and make it strong again. Little did they know that in just two short years, they would elect a man whose political origins stemmed from his service in the KGB, Vladimir Putin. Attributions All Images from Wikimedia Commons Boundless World History “Fall of the Soviet Union” https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/fall-of-the-soviet-union/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.099484	Neil Greenwood	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88093/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 15: Cold War & Decolonization, End of the Cold War", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91199/overview	Factors Influencing Consumer Decisions Overview Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Outcome: Factors Influencing Consumer Decisions The consumer decision process helps you understand the steps people go through when they are deciding whether and what to buy. Many different factors can influence the outcomes of purchasing decisions. Some of these factors are specific to the buying situation: what exactly you are buying and for what occasion. Other factors are specific to each person: an individual’s background, preferences, personality, motivations, and economic status. Because no two people are exactly alike, it is difficult to predict how the tangled web of influencing factors will ultimately shape a final purchasing decision. For marketers, an understanding of these factors provides a more complete view into the mind of the customer. As you learn more about what influences decisions for your particular target segment, product category, brand, and competitive set, you can use these influencing factors to your advantage. What you say to customers, the words you use, the people who say them, the images they evoke—all of these things can link back to that web of influencing factors at work in a purchaser’s mind. Great marketing uses those connections powerfully and effectively to win the minds and hearts of customers. The specific things you’ll learn in this section include: - Describe situational factors that influence what and when consumers buy: - Buying situation - Market offerings - Describe personal factors that influence what and when consumers buy: - Demographics (age, economic status, etc.) - Life stage - Lifestyle - Describe psychological factors that influence what and when consumers buy: - Motivation and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as it pertains to marketing - Perception, learning, belief - Describe social factors that influence what and when consumers buy - Culture, subculture, social class, family, reference groups - Culture and marketing in different countries Learning Activities The learning activities for this section include the following: - Reading: Situational Factors - Reading: Personal Factors - Reading: Psychological Factors - Video: Consumer Attitudes and Heinz Baked Beans - Reading: Social Factors Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Outcome: Factors Influencing Consumer Decisions. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Influences on Consumer Decisions What, Exactly, Influences a Purchasing Decision? While the decision-making process itself appears quite standardized, no two people make a decision in exactly the same way. People have many beliefs and behavioral tendencies—some controllable, some beyond our control. How all these factors interact with each other ensures that each of us is unique in our consumer actions and choices. Although it isn’t feasible for marketers to react to the complex, individual profiles of every single consumer, it is possible to identify factors that tend to influence most consumers in predictable ways. The factors that influence the consumer problem-solving process are many and complex. For example, as groups, men and women express very different needs and behaviors regarding personal-care products. Families with young children tend to make different dining-out choices than single and married people with no children. A consumer with a lot of prior purchasing experience in a product category might approach the decision differently from someone with no experience. As marketers gain a better understanding of these influencing factors, they can draw more accurate conclusions about consumer behavior. We can group these influencing factors into four sets, illustrated in the figure below: - Situational Factors pertain to the consumer’s level of involvement in a buying task and the market offerings that are available - Personal Factors are individual characteristics and traits such as age, life stage, economic situation, and personality - Psychological Factors relate to the consumer’s motivation, learning, socialization, attitudes, and beliefs - Social Factors pertain to the influence of culture, social class, family, and reference groups Each of these factors will be discussed in greater detail in the next four readings. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and Adaptation. Authored by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 4: Understanding Buyer Behavior, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Situational Factors Buying Task The buying task refers to the consumer’s approach to solving a particular problem and how much effort it requires. The level of consumer involvement is an important part of the buying task: whether the buyer faces a high-involvement decision with lots of associated risk and ego involved, versus a low-involvement decision with little risk or ego on the line. Product or brand familiarity is another, related dimension of the buying task. When a consumer has purchased a similar product many times in the past, the decision making is likely to be simple, regardless of whether it is a high- or low-involvement decision. Suppose a consumer initially bought a product after much care and involvement, was satisfied, and continued to buy the product. For the buyer, this is still a high-involvement decision, but now it’s simpler to make. The customer’s careful consideration of a product and the subsequent satisfaction have produced brand loyalty, which resulted from involvement in the product decision. Once a customer is brand loyal, a simple decision-making process is all that is required for subsequent purchases. The consumer now buys the product through habit, which means making a decision without additional information or needing to evaluate alternatives. Selling to and satisfying brand-loyal customers can be a great position for marketers, although it’s important not to rest on one’s laurels and take them for granted. New competitors are always looking for ways to break existing brand-loyal habits and lure the consumer into an enticing new product experience. Market Offerings The available market offerings are another relevant set of situational influences on consumer problem solving. The more extensive the product and brand choices available to the consumer, the more complex the purchase decision process is likely to be. And the more limited the market offerings are, the simpler the purchase decision process is likely to be. For example, if you already have purchased or are considering purchasing a smartphone, you know that there are multiple brands to choose from—Samsung Galaxy, Apple iPhone, Sony, LG, HTC One, and Nokia, to name several. Each manufacturer sells several models that differ in various features–design, screen size, memory, speed, camera quality, and so on. What criteria are important to you? Is purchasing a smartphone an easy decision? If a consumer has a need that can be met by only one product or one outlet in the relevant market, the decision is relatively simple: Either buy the product or let the need go unmet. This is not ideal from the customer’s point of view, but it does happen. For example, suppose you are a student on a campus in a small town many miles from another marketplace. Your campus and town have only one bookstore. You need a textbook for class tomorrow; only one particular book will do, and only that bookstore carries it. Amazon and other online retailers have the book at a lower price, but they can’t get the book to you overnight, so you’re stuck. In this case the limitation on alternative market offerings has a clear influence on your purchase behavior. As you saw in the smartphone example, when the extent of market offerings increases, the complexity of the problem-solving process and the consumers’ need for information also increase. A wider selection of market offerings is better from the customers’ perspective, because it allows them to tailor their purchases to their specific needs. However, lots of choices may also confuse and frustrate the consumer, such that less-than-optimal choices are made. Marketers can find opportunities in either scenario—a crowded competitive set and a complex decision for the consumer, or a narrow competitive set with limited choices and a simpler decision for the consumer. In a crowded field, the marketer’s challenge is to make compelling offerings and useful information prominent in the consumer’s processes for gathering information and evaluating alternatives. In a narrow field with limited choices, effective marketing can help the consumer feel good about the choice they had to make. A good experience with the product during and after purchase is a recipe for brand loyalty. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 4: Understanding Buyer Behavior, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - GALAXY S (I9000). Authored by: Cheon Fong Liew. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/liewcf/4764970338/. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Reading: Personal Factors In addition to situational factors, there are also individual traits and characteristics that can shape purchasing decisions. These include things like demographics, life stage, lifestyle, and personality. Demographics Demographics are an important set of factors that marketers should not overlook when trying to understand and respond to consumers. Demographics include variables such as age, gender, income level, educational attainment, and marital status. Each of these can have a strong influence on consumer behavior. Historically, marketers have made much of generational differences—focusing on the best ways of reaching different cohorts such as Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, Millennials, and so on. Many of the distinctions between these groups are related to the groups’ ages and related needs at any given point. For example, as Baby Boomers head into their retirement years, marketers target them with messages about prescription drugs and other health care products, insurance, home and financial security—all issues of growing concern for people as they age. Generational differences can also be factors in the ways people use media and where they go for information to inform their consumer choices. A 2013 study found that Millennial moms (birth years 1981–1997) were online “followers” of 22.5 brands, on average, while Generation X moms (birth years 1965–1980) followed just 13.7 brands online.1 Understanding differences like these can be essential to developing the right marketing mix whenever age is an identifying factor in market segmentation. Gender is also a defining characteristic for many consumers, as is the marketing that targets them. You have only to watch TV ads during an NFL game and the TV ads during the women-oriented talk show The View to see how the different needs and wants of men and women are translated into marketing messages and imagery. DeBeers Limited, which has commanded an 80 percent share of the market for diamonds used in engagement rings, employs a consumer demographic profile in the development of its promotional programs. Their primary target market for engagement rings is single women and single men between the ages of 18 and 24. The company combined this profile with some additional lifestyle-related factors to develop a successful promotional program. The demographic marker of economic status is another strong influencer in consumer decisions. Not surprisingly, people in different income brackets tend to buy different types of products, shop in very different ways, and look for different qualities. Many designer clothing shops, for example, aim their marketing at higher-income shoppers. Meanwhile, a retail chain like Wal-Mart sticks closely to its “lowest prices” positioning in order to maintain its appeal for middle- and lower-income shoppers. Life Stage Linked to demographics is the concept of life stage: consumer behavior is tied to the significant life events and circumstances people are experiencing at any given moment. Moving out of your parents’ home, going to college, getting married, buying a house, starting a family, sending children to college, retiring: all of these are life events that shape consumer attitudes, behaviors, and decisions. Life stage has a big enough impact on consumer decisions that many marketing organizations develop proprietary segmentation schema to help them better understand this dimension of the consumer experience and better target products and services to individual needs. A representative example is the set of lifestyle segments developed by the consumer data company Experian. Experian’s life stage segments include Independent Youth, Young Families, Maturing Couples & Families, Elderly Singles, and six other segments it uses to encompass the entire U.S. adult population. American consumers experience life-stage marketing when offers relevant to their life events appear in their in-boxes, mailboxes, and even in the checkout line. Producers and sellers of baby products like Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Target send a barrage of product samples, coupons, and other promotions to expecting and new parents. Families of young children are invited to sign their kids up for LEGO’s free quarterly magazine and become part of their VIP promotions and offers program. Financial services companies target new college students and their parents with credit card offers and banking plans. Home Depot, Lowe’s, and even the U.S. Postal Service send promotional welcome packets to new homeowners, hoping to win their business as they settle into a new residence. Lifestyle One of the newer and increasingly important set of factors that’s being used to understand consumer behavior is lifestyle. In this context, “lifestyle” refers to the potential customer’s pattern or being or living in the world combined with his or her psychographics (a set of attitudes, opinions, aspirations, and interests). The variables determining lifestyle are wide-ranging: - Activities and interests (e.g., hunter; fitness enthusiast; fashionista; foodie; lawyer; musician; pet lover; farmer; traveler; reader; homebody; crafter, etc.) - Opinions about oneself and the world (e.g., politically conservative; feminist; activist; entrepreneur; independent thinker; do-gooder; early adopter; technophobe; populist; explorer, etc.) Lifestyle variables reveal what consumers care about, how they spend their time, what they’re likely to spend money on, and how they view themselves. Inevitably these individual characteristics impact consumer decisions—and brand preference in particular. The criteria that determine lifestyle are often things consumers feel passionately about. When a consumer identifies your brand as consistent with his interests, attitudes and self-identity, it paves the way for building a long and loyal customer relationship. It is the multifaceted aspect of lifestyle research that makes it so useful in consumer analysis. A prominent lifestyle researcher, Joseph T. Plummer, summarizes the concept as follows: . . . lifestyle patterns combines the virtues of demographics with the richness and dimensionality of psychological characteristics . . . Lifestyle is used to segment the marketplace because it provides the broad, everyday view of consumers lifestyle segmentation and can generate identifiable whole persons rather than isolated fragments. Marketers are often attracted to lifestyle as a segmentation schema because it helps reveal a deeper, more vivid picture of consumers and what makes them tick. As marketers try to create strong emotional connections between the brands they promote and the consumers they serve, they are selling more than product features. They are selling a sensibility, an attitude, a set of values they hope will resonate strongly with the target segments they want to reach. Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart are interesting comparative examples of extremely successful marketing that uses a lifestyle orientation to attract and keep devoted consumers. Both brand empires are built around strong, successful, self-made women, and they both target women consumers. Oprah Winfrey’s brand is architected to appeal to women who are socially conscious seekers, readers, idealists, self-helpers, working women, striving for balance and self-fulfillment. Martha Stewart’s brand, on the other hand, is carefully curated to appeal to women with a passion for fine food, design, beautiful surroundings, cultural experiences, arts and crafts, and the creative act of doing it yourself. The strong lifestyle-oriented identity of each brand makes it relatively easy for individual consumers to recognize which one is most consistent with their own identity and values. Personality Personality is used to summarize all the traits of a person that make him or her unique. No two people have the same personalities, but several attempts have been made to classify people with similar traits. Perhaps the best-known personality types are those proposed by Carl Jung, which are variations on the work of Jung’s teacher, Sigmund Freud. His personality categories are introvert and extrovert. The introvert is described as defensive, inner-directed, and withdrawn from others. The extrovert is outgoing, other-directed, and assertive. Over the years, several other more elaborate classifications have also been devised. Personality traits may also include characteristics linked to the ways people view themselves and calibrate their behavior in the world: for example, sincerity, self-confidence, empathy, self-reliance, adaptability, and aggression. Various personality types are likely to respond in different ways to different market offerings. For example, an extrovert may enjoy the shopping experience and rely more on personal observation to secure information. In this case, in-store promotion becomes an important communication tool. Knowing the basic personality traits of target customers can be useful information for the manager in designing the marketing mix. Marketers have found personality to be difficult to apply in many cases, primarily because it is not easy to measure personality traits. Personality tests are usually long and complex; many were developed to identify people with problems that needed medical attention. Translating these tools into useful marketing data is no small feat, and marketers have turned to lifestyle analysis instead. Where personality does come into play more prominently is in the notion of brand personality. Brand managers strive to cultivate strong, distinctive, recognizable personalities for the brands they promote. The personality gives dimension to the brand, opening the door for consumers to connect with the brand emotionally and identify its personality as consistent with their own values and self-identity. In this case there is a blurry line between the use of lifestyle and personality to understand and appeal to target customers. If you run down a list of super-brands, though, it is easy to recognize the power of brand personality at work: Apple, Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Star Wars, Google, and Nike, to name a few. - Holland, Stephanie. “Marketing to Women Quick Facts.” She-Conomy, 15 Sept. 2016, http://she-conomy.com/report/marketing-to-women-quick-facts. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and Adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 4: Understanding Buyer Behavior, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Diamond Ring. Authored by: Jeffrey Beall. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/denverjeffrey/8476801743/. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Too Much Lego. Authored by: Michael Anthony Dziedzic. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/129866963@N06/24149788356/. License: CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives - Martha Stewart's Cakes. Authored by: Sylvia Chan. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/abakedcreation/10122941096/. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Reading: Psychological Factors Consumer Decisions and the Workings of the Psyche When we talk about psychological factors that influence consumer decisions, we are referring to the workings of the mind or psyche: motivation, learning and socialization, attitudes and beliefs. Motivation A motive is the inner drive or pressure to take action to satisfy a need. A highly motivated person is a very goal-oriented individual. Whether goals are positive or negative, some individuals tend to have a high level of goal orientation, while others tend to have a lower level of goal orientation. People may display different levels of motivation in different aspects of their lives. For example, a high school junior may be flunking trigonometry (low motivation) while achieving champion performance levels at the video game Guitar Hero (high motivation). In order for any consumer purchasing decision to happen, the need must be aroused to a high enough level that it serves as a motive. At any given time, a person has a variety of needs that are not of sufficient urgency to generate the motivation to act, while there are others for which he is highly motivated to act. The forces that create a sense of urgency and motivation may be internal (people get hungry), environmental (you see an ad for a Big Mac), or psychological (thinking about food makes you hungry). For motivation to be useful in marketing practice, it is helpful for marketing managers to understand how motivation plays into a specific purchasing situation—what triggers consumers to set goals, take action, and solve their need-based problems. Motivation starts with an unmet need, as does all consumer problem solving. One of the best-known theories about individual motivation is the work of A. H. Maslow, known as the hierarchy of needs. Maslow developed a model that lays out five different levels of human needs. These needs relate to one another other in a “need hierarchy,” with basic survival-oriented needs at the lower levels of the hierarchy, building up to higher emotional needs associated with love, self-esteem, and self-fulfillment. This hierarchy is shown in the figure below: Physiological needs are at the first level of Maslow’s hierarchy: hunger, thirst, and other basic drives. All living beings, regardless of their level of maturity, possess physiological needs. Physiological needs are omnipresent and recur throughout nature. Safety and security are second in Maslow’s hierarchy. Safety and security needs imply a continued fulfillment of physiological needs, as well as the absence of the threat of physical harm. Safety and security encompass both physical and financial security, because financial security is linked to a person’s ability to have her physiological needs met. Health and physical well-being and protection from accidents are also associated with this level of need. This is considered an extension of the more basic needs. Love and belonging are third in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Love encompasses the needs for belonging, friendship, human intimacy, and family. They involve a person’s interaction with others and the need to feel accepted by social groups, large or small. Self-esteem is the fourth level. Self-esteem includes the need to feel good about oneself, to be respected and valued by others, and to have a positive self-image. Self-actualization is the fifth and highest level in Maslow’s needs hierarchy. Also described as “self-fulfillment,” this is the need humans feel to reach their full potential and to accomplish all that they can with their talents and abilities. Different people may express this need in very different ways: for one person, self-actualization might involve musical or artistic pursuits, for another, it’s parenting, and for a third the focus might be athletics. At different points in their lives, individuals may express this need through different pursuits. In his work, Maslow asserts that these five levels of needs operate on an unconscious level. In other words, people may not even be aware that they are concentrating on one particular level of need or an assortment of needs. Maslow’s theory suggests that lower levels of need must be met before an individual can focus on higher-level needs. At the same time, a person may experience several different needs simultaneously. How an individual is motivated to act depends on the importance of each need. When we think about Maslow’s needs hierarchy in the context of marketing and segmentation, we might use the hierarchy to help identify a common level of needs for a given segment. Effective and powerful marketing may operate at any level of Maslow’s hierarchy. Consider the following examples: - In-N-Out Burger’s freeway billboards featuring a giant, 3-D cheeseburger (physiological needs) - Procter & Gamble’s “Thank You Mom” ad campaign featuring dedicated parents of Olympic athletes and their loving relationships (love & belonging) - The U.S. Army’s famous “Be All You Can Be” slogan and advertising campaigns encouraging young adults to join the army (self-actualization), shown in the following video. Learning and Socialization In the context of consumer behavior, learning is defined as changes in behavior that result from previous experiences. Learning is an ongoing process that is dynamic, adaptive, and subject to change. Learning does not include behavior associated with instinctive responses or temporary states of an individual, such as hunger, fatigue, or sleep. Learning is an experience and practice that actually brings about changes in behavior. For example, in order to learn to play tennis, you might learn about the rules of the game and the skills tennis players need. You would practice the skills and participate in tennis games to gain experience. Learning can also take place without actually participating in the physical experience. You can learn about something conceptually, too. In other words, you could learn to play tennis by observing experts and reading about it without actually doing it. This is called nonexperiential learning. Consumer decisions can be influenced by both experiential and nonexperiential learning. Take an example of buying wine. Suppose you are at a winery and you are considering buying a bottle of zinfandel, which you have never tried before. If you taste the wine and discover you don’t care for the strong, spicy flavor, you have learned experientially that you don’t like zinfandel. On the other hand, you could ask the tasting-room host about the flavor of zinfandel, and she might say that it resembles strong ginger ale, in which case you might decide not to buy the wine because you don’t like ginger ale. In this second case, you have learned about the product nonexperientially. Marketing relies heavily on nonexperiential learning, using tactics like customer testimonials, case studies, and blogger reviews to teach new customers through the experiences and opinions of others. Consumers themselves seek out resources for nonexperiential learning when they read book and product reviews on Amazon, film reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and restaurant reviews on Yelp. Another characteristic of learning is that the changes may be immediate or anticipated. In other words, learning may be taking place even if there is no evidence of it. We can store our learning until it’s needed, and we do this often with purchasing decisions. For example, a person might read up on product reviews for the latest set of tablet computers even though she doesn’t expect to buy one soon. Eventually she may be in the market, and at that point she can put her learning to use. Reinforcement is the process of having your learning validated through rewards or punishments, which confirm that what you learned was correct. Over time, reinforcement can shape strong patterns of behavior. Suppose a consumer’s first car purchase is a Subaru. He loves the car and finds it to be safe, reliable, energy efficient, and a great value for the money. Each positive experience with his car rewards him and reinforces what he has learned about Subarus: they are great cars. When he decides to replace the car, positive reinforcement will almost certainly lead him to consider a Subaru again. Reinforcement can work in positive or negative ways, with consumers experiencing rewards or punishments that influence their decisions. Socialization is the process by which people develop knowledge and skills that make them more or less able members of their society. Socialized behaviors are learned and modified throughout a person’s lifetime. This social learning approach stresses “socialization agents” (i.e., other people), who transmit cognitive and behavioral patterns to the learner. These people can be anyone: a parent, friend, celebrity spokesperson, teacher, role model, etc. In the case of socialization in consumer behavior, this takes place in the course of the person’s interaction with other people in various social settings. Socialization agents may include any person, organization, or information source that comes into contact with the consumer. Consumers acquire this information from other individuals through the processes of modeling, reinforcement, and social interaction. Modeling involves imitation of the agent’s behavior. For example, a teenager may acquire a brand-name preference for Adidas from friends and teammates. Marketers can take advantage of this idea by employing product spokespeople who have strong credibility with their target consumers, as in the case of NBA star LeBron James for Nike. As noted above, reinforcement involves either a reward or a punishment mechanism used by the agent. When a colleague compliments a coworker on her outfit, it conveys a rewarding message about the type of clothing to wear to work. Marketers may use reinforcement by providing good product performance, excellent post-purchase services, or some similar rewarding experience. Social interaction may include a combination of modeling and reinforcement in a variety of social settings. These variables can influence learning by having an impact on the relationship between the consumer and other people. Attitudes and Beliefs Attitudes and beliefs represent another psychological factor that influences consumer behavior. A belief is a conviction a person holds about something, such as “dark chocolate is bitter,” or “dark chocolate is delicious,” or “dark chocolate is good for baking.” An attitude is a consistent view of something that encompasses the belief as well as an emotional feeling and a related behavior. For example, an attitude toward dark chocolate may be expressed as a belief (“dark chocolate is delicious”), a feeling (“dark chocolate makes me happy”), and a behavior (“I eat dark chocolate every afternoon as a pick-me-up”). People have beliefs and attitudes about all sorts of things: food, family, politics, places, holidays, religion, brands, and so on. Beliefs and attitudes may be positive, negative, or neutral, and they may be based on opinion or fact. It is important for marketers to understand how beliefs and attitudes affect consumer behavior and decision making. If an incorrect or detrimental belief exists among the general population or a target audience, marketing efforts may be needed to change people’s minds. For example, in 1993, rumors erupted and spread widely about a syringe allegedly being found inside a can of Diet Pepsi. The entire incident turned out to be a hoax, but PepsiCo responded not only with strong immediate public statements but also with videos and a public relations campaign to quell the rumors and reassure consumers that Pepsi products are safe. Beliefs and attitudes do not always translate into behaviors: in some situations customers may choose to do something despite their personal views. Suppose a consumer likes pizza but doesn’t like Pizza Hut. In a social setting where everyone else wants to go to Pizza Hut for dinner, this person might go along with the group rather than dining alone or skipping dinner. When consumer attitudes present a major stumbling block, marketers have two choices: either they can change consumers’ attitudes to conform with their product, or they can change the product to match attitudes. Often it is easier to change the product than to change consumers’ attitudes. Attitudes can be very difficult to change, chiefly because they are intertwined with a pattern of beliefs, emotions, and behaviors. Changing the attitude requires changing the whole pattern. As a rule, it is easier for marketing to align with existing attitudes rather than trying to alter them. However, marketers may look for opportunities to reshape or create new attitudes in moments when consumers may be more open-minded, as with a product redesign or a new product introduction. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 4: Understanding Buyer Behavior, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Wine Tasting. Provided by: Pixabay. Located at: https://pixabay.com/en/wine-drink-wine-glass-red-wine-335672/. License: CC0: No Rights Reserved - Couch Potatoes. Authored by: mitch huang. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mitch98000/3498386012/. License: CC BY: Attribution All rights reserved content - Be All That You Can Be In The Army commercial 1982. Authored by: Kevin Noonan. Located at: https://youtu.be/VlPEg9LCKgo. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license Video: Consumer Attitudes Putting Consumer Attitudes and Beliefs to the Test Just how powerful are consumer attitudes and beliefs? Are they so powerful that they can fool consumers during a taste test? Watch the following video to see the power of consumer attitudes in action as the narrator dives into the psychology behind brand loyalty, including a taste test with Coca-Cola and Pepsi to see whether people’s brand-loyal attitudes can overrule the reality of what they are tasting. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Putting Consumer Attitudes and Beliefs to the Test. Authored by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Why Are We Loyal to Certain Brands?. Provided by: SciShow Psych. Located at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iqo8N7clEE. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube License Reading: Social Factors People Influencing People Social factors represent another important set of influences on consumer behavior. Specifically, these are the effects of people and groups influencing one another through culture and subculture, social class, reference groups, and family. Culture A person’s culture is represented by a large group of people with a similar heritage. Culture exerts a strong influence on a person’s needs and wants because it is through culture that we learn how to live, what to value, and how to conduct ourselves in society. The American culture, which is a subset of the Western (European) culture, will be the primary focus of this discussion, although other societies in other parts of the world have their own cultures with accompanying traditions and values. Traditional American culture values include freedom, hard work, achievement, security, self-reliance, community involvement, and the like. Marketing strategies targeted to people with a common cultural heritage might demonstrate how a product or service reinforces these traditional values. There are three components of culture that members of that culture share: beliefs, values, and customs. As discussed in the prior section, a belief is a proposition that reflects a person’s particular knowledge or opinion of something. Values are general statements that guide behavior and influence beliefs. The function of a value system is to help people choose between alternatives in everyday life and prioritize choices that are most important to them personally. Customs are traditional, culturally approved ways of behaving in specific situations. For example, in the United States, Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November with the custom of feasting with family and offering thanks for the things we appreciate in life. Taking your mother to dinner and giving her gifts for Mother’s Day is an American custom that Hallmark and other card companies support enthusiastically. Understanding customs is hugely important for marketing to consumers, because many customs represent occasions for spending money, and culture dictates the appropriate things to buy in order to honor the custom. The power of culture is evident when you think about the tens of millions of Americans who buy Valentine’s Day flowers in February, chocolate Easter eggs in April, Independence Day fireworks in July, Halloween candy in October, and all kinds of food and gifts throughout the holiday season. It is worth noting that for marketers anywhere in the world, it is essential to develop a strong understanding of the local culture and its accompanying beliefs, values, and customs. Culture is how people make sense of their society, its institutions, and social order. Culture frames how and what people communicate, how they express what is proper and improper, what is desirable and detestable. Without an understanding of culture, marketers are not really even speaking the right language to the consumers they want to target. Even if the words, grammar, and pronunciation are correct, the meaning will be off. An expensive example of a massive cultural blunder was Wal-Mart’s short-lived foray into Germany. In 2006, the retailer pulled out of Germany after opening eighty-five stores in six years. The company expected success in Germany using the formula that works well in the U.S.: streamlined supply chain, low-priced products sold in big stores with wide selection and long operating hours. What Wal-Mart didn’t account for was the strong cultural preference in Germany for several things that directly oppose the Wal-Mart model. Germans prefer small and medium-sized retailers grounded in local communities. They have a cultural suspicion of low prices, which create concern about quality. German law includes significant restrictions on retail establishments’ operating hours and many labor protections, and these laws are viewed, in part, as important in protecting the German quality of life. Due in large part to these cultural disconnects, Wal-Mart was unable to sustain successful operations.1 Subculture Subcultures are cohesive groups that exist within a larger culture. Subcultures develop around communities that share common values, beliefs, and experiences. They may be based on a variety of different unifying factors. For example, subcultures exist around the following: - Geography: Southerners, Texans, Californians, New Englanders, midwesterners, etc. - Ethnicity: Latinos, Asian Americans, African Americans, etc. - Religion: Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Baptists, Muslims, etc. - Nationality: Italians, Koreans, Hungarians, Japanese, Ethiopians, etc. - Occupation: military, technology worker, state department, clergy, educator, etc. Subcultures can represent huge opportunities for marketers to make a significant impact within a population that may feel underserved by companies operating in the mainstream market. Individuals with strong subcultural identity are likely to welcome organizations that seem to understand them, speak their subcultural language, and satisfy their subculture-specific needs. In the United States, many organizations and marketing activities focus on major ethnicity-based subcultures such as Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans. Each subculture has distinct experiences living and working within the broader U.S. culture, and it has shared customs and values that shape their consumer needs and preferences. As each of these subcultures grows in size and buying power, they become a distinct market for companies to woo. A noted example of effective marketing to a subculture is Ford Motor Company’s approach to serving the African American community. Ford invests in advertising campaigns that specifically target the black community and celebrate its diversity. Ford supports a number of scholarship and community-building programs at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Through public relations activities, Ford maintains a presence at significant events, such as the Essence Festival and the BET Awards.2 The following video shows how a shopping mall managed to save itself by catering and marketing to the Latino subculture. You can view the transcript for the video “Demise of the Mall and Reinvention” (opens in new window). Social Class Some manifestation of social class is present in virtually every society. It’s determined by a combination of factors including family background, wealth, income, education, occupation, power, and prestige. Like culture, it affects consumer behavior by shaping individuals’ perceptions of their needs and wants. People in the same social class tend to have similar attitudes, live in similar neighborhoods, attend the same schools, have similar tastes in fashion, and shop at the same types of stores. In some nations, the social class system is quite rigid, and people are strongly encouraged to stay within their own class for friendships, marriage, career, and other life decisions. In other countries, such as the United States, social class is more permeable, and people can move between classes more easily based on their circumstances, behaviors, and life choices. Social class mobility is an important value in mainstream American culture and is part of our collective belief system about what makes the nation great. In the U.S., the most common social classification system is illustrated in the figure below. Social Class in the United States Upper Class makes up 1% of the population. Characteristics of the upper class include Heirs, celebrities, top corporate executives $500,000+ income Elite education is common Upper Middle Class makes up 15% of the population. Characteristics of the upper middle class include Managers, professionals $100,000+ income Highly educated, college and graduate degrees are likely Lower Middle Class makes up 32% of the population. Characteristics of the lower middle class include Skilled contractors, craftspeople, artisans, semi-professionals, autonomy in work environment is common $35,000 to $75,000 income Some college, training, secondary education is likely Working class makes up 32% of the population. Characteristics of the working class include Clerical, blue- and pink-collar workers, job security is often a problem. $16,000 to $30,000 income High School Education Lower Class makes up 20% of the population. Characteristics of the lower class include Poorly paid positions and/or reliance on government assistance Some high school education Source: Thompson, W. & Hickey, J. (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon. For marketers, social class may be a useful factor to consider in segmentation and targeting. It provides helpful context about how consumers view themselves and their peer groups, their expectations, life experiences, income levels, and the kinds of challenges they face. For example, if a marketer wishes to target efforts toward the upper classes, they should realize that, first, this is a very small proportion of the population, and second, the market offering must be designed to meet their high expectations in terms of quality, service, and atmosphere. Having enough money is a persistent concern for people in the lower, working, and lower middle classes, so price sensitivity and value for the money are important for products targeting these groups. Reference Groups Consumer behavior can be influenced by the groups a person comes into contact with, through friendship, face-to-face interaction, and even indirect contact. Marketers often call these reference groups. A reference group may be either a formal or informal group. Examples include churches, clubs, schools, online social networks, play groups, professional groups, and even a group of friends and acquaintances. Individuals may be influenced by the groups of which they are members. They may also be influenced by aspirational groups–a reference group a person hopes to belong to one day, such as young boys hoping to grow up and become Major League Soccer (MLS) players. Reference groups are characterized by having individuals who are opinion leaders for the group. Opinion leaders are people who influence others. They are not necessarily higher-income or better educated, but others may view them as having greater expertise, broader experience, or deeper knowledge of a topic. For example, a local high school teacher may be an opinion leader for parents in selecting colleges for their children. In a group of girlfriends, one or two may be the opinion leaders others look to for fashion guidance. These people set the trend and others conform to the expressed behavior. If a marketer can identify the opinion leaders for a group in the target market, then she can direct efforts towards attracting these people. The reference group can influence an individual in several ways: - Role expectations: Reference groups prescribe a role or way of behaving based on the situation and one’s position in that situation. For example, as a student, you are expected to behave in a certain basic way under certain conditions when interacting with a reference group at school. - Conformity: Conformity the way we modify out behavior in order to fit in with group norms. Norms are “normal” behavioral expectations that are considered appropriate within the group. To illustrate, in a school lecture setting, you might conform to the group norm of raising your hand to make a comment or question, rather than shouting out to the teacher. - Group communications through opinion leaders: As consumers, we are constantly seeking out the advice of knowledgeable friends or acquaintances who can provide information, give advice, or even make the decision for us. In some product categories, there are professional opinion leaders who are easy to identify, such as auto mechanics, beauticians, stock brokers, or physicians. In a school setting, an opinion leader might be a favorite teacher who does a good job explaining the material, a popular administrator who communicates well with students and parents, or a well-liked fellow student who is willing to assist when peers ask for help–or all of these individuals. - Word-of-mouth influence: Consumers are influenced by the things they hear other people say. This is “word-of-mouth” communication. It happens every time you ask someone for a recommendation or an opinion about a product or service, and every time someone volunteers an opinion. Do you know a good dentist? Where should we go for lunch? Have you heard that new song from . . . ? Not surprisingly, research consistently shows that word-of-mouth information from people they know is more credible than advertising and marketing messages. Word-of-mouth influence in the school reference group example might include students discussing which Spanish instructor is better, or where to shop for a dress to wear to the homecoming dance. Reference groups and opinion leaders are essential concepts in digital marketing, where consumers tap into a variety of social networks and online communities. Marketers need to understand which reference groups influence their target segments and who the opinion leaders within these groups are. Those leaders may be bloggers, individuals with many followers who post frequently on various social media, and even people who write lots of online reviews. Then marketing activity can focus on winning over the opinion leaders. If you manage to get the opinion leaders in your segment to “like” your product, “follow” your brand, tweet about your news and publish favorable reviews or comments on their blogs, your work with online reference groups is going well. (You’ll recall from the module on ethics that this was the strategy Microsoft adopted—and misgauged—when it attempted to influence opinion leaders with its gifts of free laptops loaded with its latest operating system.) Family One of the most important reference groups for an individual is the family. A consumer’s family has a major impact on attitude and behavior, and families themselves are critically important in society as consumer units. Many consumer decisions are made by family members on behalf of the family, so understanding the family consumer decision-making dynamics around your product is essential. Depending on the product or service under consideration, different family members may be in the role of primary decision maker or influencer. In some cases, the husband is dominant, in others the wife or children, and still other cases, families make joint decisions. Traditionally the wife has made the primary decisions around store choice and brands for food and household items, although this has evolved somewhat as more women participate in the workforce. A joint decision is typical for purchases involving a larger sum of money, such as a refrigerator or a vehicle. Teenagers may exercise a lot of influence over their own clothing purchases. Children may heavily influence food and entertainment choices. Of course, decision dynamics within any individual family can vary, but marketers need to understand the general tendencies around family decision making for the product or service in question. - https://journalofinternationalmanagement.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/walmarts-downfall-in-germany-a-case-study/ - http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2015/10/12/why-procter-gamble-mcdonalds-ford-are-chasing-black-consumer/, http://targetmarketnews.com/storyid06071201.htm Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and Adaptation. Authored by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 4: Understanding Buyer Behavior, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Untitled. Provided by: Pexels. Located at: https://www.pexels.com/photo/purple-petaled-glower-besode-pen-2072162/. License: CC0: No Rights Reserved - Jeff Phillips SK8 Party. Authored by: Scott Lumley. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottlumley/10692510614/. License: CC BY: Attribution - Shopping Family. Authored by: Tim Riley. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/timriley/403254675/. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives - Alma de Mexico dancers at Latino Fest today in Lorain. Authored by: Rona Proudfoot. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ronnie44052/3938931572/. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Demise of the Mall and Reinvention. Provided by: BBC. Located at: https://youtu.be/F_pHmmVov34. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.157177	03/22/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91199/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit Principles of Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Factors Influencing Consumer Decisions", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91234/overview	Using Channels of Distribution Overview Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Outcome: Using Channels of Distribution What you’ll learn to do: explain what channels of distribution are and why organizations use them Monster Energy drink is a dominant player in the growing market for drinks enhanced with stimulants to give consumers extra energy. Monster promises to deliver “a big, bad buzz.” The company sponsors the X Games and a broad range of high-adrenaline sports. The company boasts that it puts all its marketing dollars into supporting the scenes that energy-drink buyers love. In 2014, the company found itself closing in on Red Bull, the market leader that launched the original energy drink in 1997.1 In deciding how to best capture the top position in the market, Monster forged an important strategic partnership with Coca-Cola. The press release that announced this partnership stressed the benefit to Monster of Coca-Cola’s global distribution network—the most powerful distribution network in the global beverage industry: The Coca-Cola Company and Monster Beverage Corporation announced today that they have entered into definitive agreements for a long-term strategic partnership that is expected to accelerate growth for both companies in the fast-growing, global energy-drink category. The new, innovative partnership leverages the respective strengths of the Coca-Cola Company and Monster to create compelling value for both companies and their share owners. Importantly, the partnership strategically aligns both companies for the long-term by combining the strength of the Coca-Cola Company’s worldwide bottling system with Monster’s dedicated focus and expertise as a leading energy player globally.2 The terms of the agreement also included Coca-Cola transferring all of its energy drinks to Monster, and Monster transferring all of its non-energy beverages to Coca-Cola, with Coca-Cola purchasing 16.7 percent of Monster Beverage Corporation. Between June 2014 and December 2015, Monster Beverage Company’s stock price rose by 115 percent. The company has clearly benefited from access to Coca-Cola’s distribution infrastructure, and will continue to do so. However, it still lags behind Red Bull, which has the largest market share. This example illustrates the power of distribution channels, which we’ve been calling “place” in the four Ps. Up next, you’ll learn what these are and why companies use them. Learning Activities - Reading: Define Channels of Distribution - Reading: Distribution Objectives - Reading: Channel Structures - Reading: The Role of Intermediaries - Reading: Marketing Channels vs. Supply Chains - Simulation: Distribution - Mitchell, Dan. “Monster, Red Bull, Rockstar Ranked.” Time. Time, May 11, 2015. https://time.com/3854658/these-are-the-top-5-energy-drinks/. - The Coca-Cola Company. “The Coca-Cola Company and Monster Beverage Corporation Enter into Long-Term Strategic Partnership.” The Coca-Cola Company, August 14, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20181221193452/https://www.coca-colacompany.com/press-center/press-releases/the-coca-cola-company-and-monster-beverage-corporation-enter-into-long-term-strategic-partnership. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Outcome: Using Channels of Distribution. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Define Channels of Distribution Evolution of Channels of Distribution As consumers, we take for granted that when we go to a supermarket the shelves will be filled with the products we want; when we are thirsty there will be a Coke machine or bar around the corner, and we count on being able to get online and find any product available for purchase and quick delivery. Of course, if we give it some thought, we realize that this magic is not a given and that hundreds of thousands of people plan, organize, and labor long hours to make this convenience available. It has not always been this way, and it is still not this way in many other parts of the world. Looking back over time, the channel structure in primitive culture was virtually nonexistent. The family or tribal group was almost entirely self-sufficient. The group was composed of individuals who were both communal producers and consumers of whatever goods and services could be made available. As economies evolved, people began to specialize in some aspect of economic activity. They engaged in farming, hunting, or fishing, or some other basic craft. Eventually this specialized skill produced excess products, which they exchanged or traded for needed goods that had been produced by others. This exchange process or barter marked the beginning of formal channels of distribution. These early channels involved a series of exchanges between two parties who were producers of one product and consumers of the other. With the growth of specialization, particularly industrial specialization, and with improvements in methods of transportation and communication, channels of distribution have become longer and more complex. Thus, corn grown in Illinois may be processed into corn chips in West Texas, which are then distributed throughout the United States. Or, turkeys raised in Virginia are sent to New York so that they can be shipped to supermarkets in Virginia. Channels do not always make sense. The channel mechanism also operates for service products. In the case of medical care, the channel mechanism may consist of a local physician, specialists, hospitals, ambulances, laboratories, insurance companies, physical therapists, home care professionals, and so on. All of these individuals are interdependent and could not operate successfully without the cooperation and capabilities of all the others. Based on this relationship, we define a channel of distribution, also called a marketing channel, as sets of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption, as well as providing a payment mechanism for the provider. This definition implies several important characteristics of the channel. First, the channel consists of organizations, some under the control of the producer and some outside the producer’s control. Yet all must be recognized, selected, and integrated into an efficient channel arrangement. Second, the channel management process is continuous and requires continuous monitoring and reappraisal. The channel operates twenty-four hours a day and exists in an environment where change is the norm. Finally, channels should have certain distribution objectives guiding their activities. The structure and management of the marketing channel is thus, in part, a function of a firm’s distribution objective. It’s also a part of the marketing objectives, especially the need to make an acceptable profit. Channels usually represent the largest costs in marketing a product. Channel Flows One traditional framework that has been used to express the channel mechanism is the concept of flow. These flows reflect the many linkages that tie channel members and other agencies together in the distribution of goods and services. From the perspective of the channel manager, there are five important flows. - Product flow: the movement of the physical product from the manufacturer through all the parties who take physical possession of the product until it reaches the ultimate consumer - Negotiation flow: the institutions that are associated with the actual exchange processes - Ownership flow: the movement of title through the channel - Information flow: the individuals who participate in the flow of information either up or down the channel - Promotion flow: the flow of persuasive communication in the form of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations Monster Channel Flow The figure below maps the channel flows for the Monster Energy drink (and many other energy drink brands). Why is Monster’s relationship with Coca-Cola so valuable? Every single flow passes through bottlers and distributors in order to arrive in supermarkets where the product will be available to consumers. Coca-Cola explains the importance of the bottlers in the distribution network: While many view our Company as simply “Coca-Cola,” our system operates through multiple local channels. Our Company manufactures and sells concentrates, beverage bases and syrups to bottling operations, owns the brands and is responsible for consumer brand marketing initiatives. Our bottling partners manufacture, package, merchandise and distribute the final branded beverages to our customers and vending partners, who then sell our products to consumers. All bottling partners work closely with customers — grocery stores, restaurants, street vendors, convenience stores, movie theaters and amusement parks, among many others — to execute localized strategies developed in partnership with our Company. Customers then sell our products to consumers at a rate of more than 1.9 billion servings a day.1 Revisiting the channel flows we find that the bottlers and distributors play a role in each flow. Examples of the flows are listed below. Remember, while the consumer is the individual who eventually consumes the drink, the supermarkets, restaurants, and other outlets are Coca-Cola’s customers. - Product flow: the bottlers receive and process the bases and syrups - Negotiation flow: the bottlers buy concentrate, sell product and collect revenue from customers - Ownership flow: distributors acquire the title of the syrups and own the product until it’s sold to supermarkets - Information flow: bottlers communicate product options to customers and communicate demand and needs to Coca-Cola - Promotion flow: bottlers communicate benefits and provide promotional materials to customers Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Monster Channel Flows. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution - Revision and adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 10, Chanel Concepts, Distributing the Product, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Channels of Grace. Authored by: Liam Moloney. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tir_na_nog/5244765107/. License: CC BY: Attribution - Monster Energy. Authored by: Mike Mozart. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/13100200773/. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Distribution Objectives Introduction The distribution strategy supports company-level objectives, as well as marketing objectives. Typically, distribution approaches support company-level objectives related to growth, as in the example of Monster Energy, or profitability, since distribution can improve company efficiencies. Think about your perspective as a buyer. When you need food, you most likely shop at a grocery store. You could purchase bread from a bakery, milk and eggs from a dairy, fruit and vegetables directly from a farm, but most people don’t. They appreciate the convenience of purchasing many different types of items from a single store. We call this contact efficiency, because the buyer is able to make contact with many different product types in a more efficient way. Distribution channels provide efficiencies in a number of areas: product form, time, place, and exchange. Remember the example of the Coca-Cola bottlers: The bottlers purchase a concentrate that is condensed and easy to distribute all around the world. Once the concentrate is mixed with carbonated water and bottled or canned, it’s larger and heavier—and more difficult to distribute. For that reason, this process happens in the local markets, where final distribution to customers is easier. The bottlers provide efficiency in product form. Likewise, grocery retailers provide efficiency in time and place by offering many different products in a single shopping experience. Similarly, the groceries are purchased in a single cash or credit card transaction, even though they are coming from many different producers. These efficiencies benefit both consumers and businesses. Early in this course we looked at the success of the Chobani yogurt company, which has grown through a national and now global distribution network. An effective distribution network enables the company to get its product in front of consumers far from its headquarters in Norwich, New York, and it means that a consumer in Norwalk, California, can buy Chobani’s greek yogurt in a local supermarket without ever thinking about the time and effort it required to get it there. The primary purpose of any channel of distribution is to efficiently bridge the gap between the producer of a product and the user of it, whether the parties are located in the same community or in different countries thousands of miles apart. Channel Partners That Support Objectives The channel is composed of different institutions that facilitate the transaction and the physical exchange. Institutions in channels fall into one of the following three categories: - The producer of the product: a craftsman, manufacturer, farmer, or other producer - The user of the product: an individual, household, business buyer, institution, or government - Middlemen at the wholesale and/or retail level Not all channel members perform the same function. Channel partners perform the following three important functions: - Transactional functions: buying, selling, and risk assumption - Logistical functions: assembly, storage, sorting, and transportation - Facilitating functions: post-purchase service and maintenance, financing, information dissemination, and channel coordination or leadership These functions are necessary for the effective flow of product and title to the customer and payment back to the producer. Certain characteristics are implied in every channel. First, although you can eliminate or substitute channel institutions, the functions performed by these institutions cannot be eliminated. Typically, if a wholesaler or a retailer is removed from the channel, the function they perform will either be shifted forward to a retailer or to the consumer, or shifted backward to a wholesaler or to the manufacturer. For example, a producer of custom hunting knives might decide to sell through direct mail instead of retail outlets. The producer absorbs the sorting, storage, and risk functions; the post office absorbs the transportation function; and the consumer assumes more risk in not being able to touch or try the product before purchase. Second, all channel institution members are part of many channel transactions at any given point. As a result, the complexity may be quite overwhelming. Consider for the moment how many different products you purchase in a single year and the vast number of channel mechanisms you use. Third, the fact that you are able to complete all these transactions to your satisfaction, as well as to the satisfaction of the other channel members, is due to the routinization benefits provided through the channel. Routinization means that the right products are most always found in the places where the consumer expects to find them, comparisons are possible, prices are marked, and methods of payment are available. Routinization aids the producer as well as the consumer, in that the producer knows what to make, when to make it, and how many units to make. Fourth, there are instances when the best channel arrangement is direct—from the producer to the ultimate user. This is particularly true when the producer feels he can perform the tasks best or when no competent middlemen are available. It may be important for the producer to maintain direct contact with customers so that quick and accurate adjustments can be made. Direct-to-user channels are common in B2B settings where personal sales are a more common tactic. Indirect channels are more typical and prevalent, though, because producers are not able to perform the tasks provided by middlemen as efficiently or with as broad of a reach. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and Adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 10, Channel Concepts, Distributing the Product, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Shopping Cart. Authored by: uacescomm. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uacescomm/21133249788/. License: CC0: No Rights Reserved Reading: Channel Structures While channels can be very complex, there is a common set of channel structures that can be identified in most transactions. Each channel structure includes different organizations. Generally, the organizations that collectively support the distribution channel are referred to as channel partners. The direct channel is the simplest channel. In this case, the producer sells directly to the consumer. The most straightforward examples are producers who sell in small quantities. If you visit a farmer’s market, you can purchase goods directly from the farmer or craftsman. There are also examples of very large corporations who use the direct channel effectively, especially for B2B transactions. Services may also be sold through direct channels, and the same principle applies: an individual buys a service directly from the provider who delivers the service. Examples of the direct channel include: - Etsy.com online marketplace - Farmer’s markets - Oracle’s personal sales team that sells software systems to businesses - A bake sale Retailers are companies in the channel that focuses on selling directly to consumers. You are likely to participate in the retail channel almost every day. The retail channel is different from the direct channel in that the retailer doesn’t produce the product. The retailer markets and sells the goods on behalf of the producer. For consumers, retailers provide tremendous contact efficiency by creating one location where many products can be purchased. Retailers may sell products in a store, online, in a kiosk, or on your doorstep. The emphasis is not the specific location but on selling directly to the consumer. Examples of retailers include: - Walmart discount stores - Amazon online store - Nordstrom department store - Dairy Queen restaurant From a consumer’s perspective, the wholesale channel looks very similar to the retail channel, but it also involves a wholesaler. A wholesaler is primarily engaged in buying and usually storing and physically handling goods in large quantities, which are then resold (usually in smaller quantities) to retailers or to industrial or business users. The vast majority of goods produced in an advanced economy have wholesaling involved in their distribution. Wholesale channels also include manufacturers who operate sales offices to perform wholesale functions, and retailers who operate warehouses or otherwise engage in wholesale activities. Examples of wholesalers include: - Christmas-tree wholesalers who buy from growers and sell to retail outlets - Restaurant food suppliers - Clothing wholesalers who sell to retailers The agent or broker channel includes one additional intermediary. Agents and brokers are different from wholesalers in that they do not take title to the merchandise. In other words, they do not own the merchandise because they neither buy nor sell. Instead, brokers bring buyers and sellers together and negotiate the terms of the transaction: agents represent either the buyer or seller, usually on a permanent basis; brokers bring parties together on a temporary basis. Think about a real-estate agent. They do not buy your home and sell it to someone else; they market and arrange the sale of the home. Agents and brokers match up buyers and sellers, or add expertise to create a more efficient channel. Examples of brokers include: - An insurance broker, who sells insurance products from many companies to businesses and individuals - A literary agent, who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, and film producers - An export broker, who negotiates and manages transportation requirements, shipping, and customs clearance on behalf of a purchaser or producer It’s important to note that the larger and more complex the flow of materials from the initial design through purchase, the more likely it is that multiple channel partners may be involved, because each channel partner will bring unique expertise that increases the efficiency of the process. If an intermediary is not adding value, they will likely be removed over time, because the cost of managing and coordinating with each intermediary is significant. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 10, Channel Concepts: Distributing the Product, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Portland Farmer's Market. Provided by: Oregon Department of Agriculture. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oragriculture/8080735396/. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Reading: The Role of Intermediaries Introduction While the retail channel is most familiar to students, wholesalers play an important role as intermediaries. Intermediaries act as a link in the distribution process, but the roles they fill are broader than simply connecting the different channel partners. Wholesalers, often called “merchant wholesalers,” help move goods between producers and retailers. For example, McLane Company Inc. is among the largest wholesalers in the United States. The breadth of its operations is described on the company Web site: McLane Foodservice and wholly owned subsidiary, Meadowbrook Meat Company, Inc., operates 80 distribution centers across the U.S. and one of the nation’s largest private fleets. The company buys, sells, and delivers more than 50,000 different consumer products to nearly 90,000 locations across the U.S. In addition, McLane provides alcoholic beverage distribution through its wholly owned subsidiary, Empire Distributors, Inc. McLane is a wholly owned unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and employs more than 20,000 teammates.1 Let’s look at each of the functions that a merchant wholesaler fulfills. Purchasing Wholesalers purchase very large quantities of goods directly from producers or from other wholesalers. By purchasing large quantities or volumes, wholesalers are able to secure significantly lower prices. Imagine a situation in which a farmer grows a very large crop of potatoes. If he sells all of the potatoes to a single wholesaler, he will negotiate one price and make one sale. Because this is an efficient process that allows him to focus on farming (rather than searching for additional buyers), he will likely be willing to negotiate a lower price. Even more important, because the wholesaler has such strong buying power, the wholesaler is able to force a lower price on every farmer who is selling potatoes. The same is true for almost all mass-produced goods. When a producer creates a large quantity of goods, it is most efficient to sell all of them to one wholesaler, rather than negotiating prices and making sales with many retailers or an even larger number of consumers. Also, the bigger the wholesaler is, the more likely it will have significant power to set attractive prices. Warehousing and Transportation Once the wholesaler has purchased a mass quantity of goods, it needs to get them to a place where they can be purchased by consumers. This is a complex and expensive process. McLane Company operates eighty distribution centers around the country. Its distribution center in Northfield, Missouri, is 560,000 square feet big and is outfitted with a state-of-the art inventory tracking system that allows it to manage the diverse products that move through the center.2 It relies on its own vast trucking fleet to handle the transportation. Grading and Packaging Wholesalers buy a very large quantity of goods and then break that quantity down into smaller lots. The process of breaking large quantities into smaller lots that will be resold is called bulk breaking. Often this includes physically sorting, grading, and assembling the goods. Returning to our potato example, the wholesaler would determine which potatoes are of a size and quality to sell individually and which are to be packaged for sale in five-pound bags.3 Risk Bearing Wholesalers either take title to the goods they purchase, or they own the goods they purchase. There are two primary consequences of this, both of which are both very important to the distribution channel. First, it means that the wholesaler finances the purchase of the goods and carries the cost of the goods in inventory until they are sold. Because this is a tremendous expense, it drives wholesalers to be accurate and efficient in their purchasing, warehousing, and transportation processes. Second, wholesalers also bear the risk for the products until they are delivered. If goods are damaged in transport and cannot be sold, then the wholesaler is left with the goods and the cost. If there is a significant change in the value of the products between the time of the purchase from the producer and the sale to the retailer, the wholesaler will absorb that profit or loss. Marketing Often, the wholesaler will fill a role in the promotion of the products that it distributes. This might include creating displays for the wholesaler’s products and providing the display to retailers to increase sales. The wholesaler may advertise its products that are carried by many retailers. Wholesalers also influence which products the retailer offers. For example, McLane Company was a winner of the 2016 Convenience Store News Category Captains, in recognition for its innovations in providing the right products to its customers. McLane created unique packaging and products featuring movie themes, college football themes, and other special occasion branding that were designed to appeal to impulse buyers. They also shifted the transportation and delivery strategy to get the right products in front of consumers at the time they were most likely to buy. Its convenience store customers are seeing sales growth, as is the wholesaler.4 Distribution As distribution channels have evolved, some retailers, such as Walmart and Target, have grown so large that they have taken over aspects of the wholesale function. Still, it is unlikely that wholesalers will ever go away. Most retailers rely on wholesalers to fulfill the functions that we have discussed, and they simply do not have the capability or expertise to manage the full distribution process. Plus, many of the functions that wholesalers fill are performed most efficiently at scale. Wholesalers are able to focus on creating efficiencies for their retail channel partners that are very difficult to replicate on a small scale. - https://web.archive.org/web/20160314195108/https://www.mclaneco.com/content/mclane/en/about-us.html - https://web.archive.org/web/20160609170047/https://www.mclaneco.com/content/mclane/en/solutions/grocery-supply-chain-solutions/locations/mclane-minnesota.html - https://web.archive.org/web/20180321131122/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcs.asp?Cl=9&Lg=1&Co=6 - http://www.csnews.com/industry-news-and-trends/special-features/why-mclane-2016s-general-merchandise-category-captain?nopaging=1 Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Potatoes. Authored by: Olivier Bacquet. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/olibac/10508674534/. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Marketing Channels vs. Supply Chains What Is a Supply Chain? We have discussed the channel partners, the roles they fill, and the structures they create. Marketers have long recognized the importance of managing distribution channel partners. As channels have become more complex and the flow of business has become more global, organizations have recognized that they need to manage more than just the channel partners. They need to manage the full chain of organizations and transactions from raw materials through final delivery to the customer— in other words, the supply chain. The supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities involve the transformation of natural resources, raw materials, and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer.1 The marketing channel generally focuses on how to increase value to the customer by having the right product in the right place at the right price at the moment the customer wants to buy. The emphasis is on the providing value to the customer, and the marketing objectives usually focus on what is needed to delivery that value. Supply chain management takes a different approach. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) defines supply chain management as follows: Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. Supply Chain Management is an integrating function with primary responsibility for linking major business functions and business processes within and across companies into a cohesive and high-performing business model. It includes all of the logistics management activities noted above, as well as manufacturing operations, and it drives coordination of processes and activities with and across marketing, sales, product design, finance and information technology.2 Supply Chain and Marketing Channels The supply chain and marketing channels can be differentiated in the following ways: - The supply chain is broader than marketing channels. It begins with raw materials and delves deeply into production processes and inventory management. Marketing channels are focused on bringing together the partners who can most efficiently deliver the right marketing mix to the customer in order to maximize value. Marketing channels provide a more narrow focus within the supply chain. - Marketing channels are purely customer facing. Supply chain management seeks to optimize how products are supplied, which adds a number of financial and efficiency objectives that are more internally focused. Marketing channels emphasize a stronger market view of the customer expectations and competitive dynamics in the marketplace. - Marketing channels are part of the marketing mix. Supply chain professionals are specialists in the delivery of goods. Marketers view distribution as one element of the marketing mix, in conjunction with product, price, and promotion. Supply chain management is more likely to identify the most efficient delivery partner. A marketer is more likely to balance the merits of a channel partner against the value offered to the customer. For instance, it might make sense to keep a channel partner who is less efficient but provides important benefit in the promotional strategy. Successful organizations develop effective, respectful partnerships between the marketing and supply chain teams. When the supply chain team understands the market dynamics and the points of flexibility in product and pricing, they are better able to optimize the distribution process. When marketing has the benefit of effective supply chain management—which is analyzing and optimizing distribution within and beyond the marketing channels—greater value is delivered to customers. If the supply chain team came to you (the marketer) and told you that, based on their analysis, you should add a lean warehousing, just-in-time inventory approach for your product, you should definitely listen. - Nagurney, Anna (2006). Supply Chain Network Economics: Dynamics of Prices, Flows, and Profits. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. ISBN 1-84542-916-8. - http://cscmp.org/ Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Marketing Channels vs. Supply Chains. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution - Revision and adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike CC licensed content, Shared previously - Supply Chain. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_chain. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Supply Chain of Peanut Butter. Authored by: Elco van Staveren. Provided by: Flickr. Located at: https://flic.kr/p/gcQi8S. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Simulation: Distribution Try It Play the simulation below multiple times to see how different choices lead to different outcomes. All simulations allow unlimited attempts so that you can gain experience applying the concepts. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Simulation: Distribution. Authored by: Clark Aldrich for Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.216188	03/22/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91234/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit Principles of Marketing, Place: Distribution Channels, Using Channels of Distribution", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91227/overview	Pricing Impact on Value of Products or Services Overview Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Outcome: Pricing Impact on Value of Products or Services What you’ll learn to do: discuss how price affects the value of an organization’s products or services Price determines how much revenue a company is going to earn. It determines whether the business is covering the costs to create and deliver its products. Price drives the financial health of the business. In our initial discussion of pricing, we’ll start with the perspective of the customer. If the customer doesn’t see value in the product offering—and that includes pricing—company objectives won’t be met. Customer perceptions of value must be the central consideration in the pricing process. The specific things you’ll learn in this section include: - Describe the customer view of value and pricing - Discuss psychological factors in pricing Learning Activities - Reading: Demonstrating Customer Value - Reading: The Psychology of Pricing - Video: Value in Branded Eyewear Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Demonstrating Customer Value Introduction Rent the Runway is a company that lets customers borrow expensive designer dresses for a short time at a low price—to wear on a special occasion, e.g.— and then send them back. A customer can rent a Theia gown that retails for $995 for four days for the price of $150. Or, she can rent a gown from Laundry by Shelli Segal that retails for $325 for the price of $100. The company offers a 20 percent discount to first-time buyers and offers a “free second size” option to ensure that customers get the right fit. Do the customers get a bargain when they are able to wear a designer dress for a special occasion at 15 percent of the retail price? Does the retail price matter to customers in determining value, or are they only considering the style and price they will pay for the rental? What does value really mean in the pricing equation? The Customer’s View of Price Whether a customer is the ultimate user of the finished product or a business that purchases components of the finished product, the customer seeks to satisfy a need through the purchase of a particular product. The customer uses several criteria to decide how much she is willing to spend in order to satisfy that need. Her preference is to pay as little as possible. In order to increase value, the business can either increase the perceived benefits or reduce the perceived costs. Both are important aspects of price. If you buy a Louis Vuitton bag for $600, in return for this high price you perceive that you are getting a beautifully designed, well-made bag that will last for decades—in other words, the value is high enough for you that it can offset the cost. On the other hand, when you buy a parking pass to park in a campus lot, you are buying the convenience of a parking place close to your classes. Both of these purchases provide value at some cost. The perceived benefits are directly related to the price-value equation; some of the possible benefits are status, convenience, the deal, brand, quality, choice, and so forth. Some of these benefits tend to go hand in hand. For instance, a Mercedes Benz E750 is a very high-status brand name, and buyers expect superb quality to be part of the value equation (which makes it worth the $100,000 price tag). In other cases, there are tradeoffs between benefits. Someone living in an isolated mountain community might prefer to pay a lot more for groceries at a local store than drive sixty miles to the nearest Safeway. That person is willing to sacrifice the benefit of choice for the benefit of greater convenience. When we talk about increasing perceived benefits, we refer to this as increasing the “value added.” Identifying and increasing the value-added elements of a product are an important marketing strategy. In our initial example, Rent the Runway is providing dresses for special occasions. The price for the dress is reduced because the customer must give it back, but there are many value-added elements that keep the price relatively high, such as the broad selection of current styles and the option of trying a second size at no additional cost. In a very competitive marketplace, the value-added elements become increasingly important, as marketers use them to differentiate the product from other similar offerings. Perceived costs include the actual dollar amount printed on the product, plus a host of additional factors. If you learn that a gas station is selling gas for 25 cents less per gallon than your local station, will you automatically buy from the lower-priced gas station? That depends. You will consider a range of other issues. How far do you have to drive to get there? Is it an easy drive or a drive through traffic? Are there long lines that will increase the time it takes to fill your tank? Is the low-cost fuel the grade or brand that you prefer? Inconvenience, poor service, and limited choice are all possible perceived costs. Other common perceived costs are the risk of making a mistake, related costs, lost opportunity, and unexpected consequences, to name but a few. Viewing price from the customer’s point of view pays off in many ways. Most notably, it helps define value–the most important basis for creating a competitive advantage. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Chapter 9: Pricing the Product, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by: John Burnett. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Bibhu Mohapatra: NY Fashion Week. Authored by: j-No. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/j-no/6167576401/. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Reading: The Psychology of Pricing You will notice that when we discussed the value equation in the previous reading, we referred to perceived benefits and perceived costs, rather than absolute/actual benefits and costs. Every customer perceives benefits and costs differently, and many of these perceptions aren’t even conscious. There are very few buying decisions in which a customer meticulously lists and weighs the benefits and costs in order to determine value. More often than not, the buying process involves snap judgments and decisions, and psychological factors likely come into play. Despite tremendous advances in brain research, the factors involved in perception and decision making are still not well understood. We do know that perception is highly individual and complex. If you, as a marketer, are trying to understand how consumers perceive something abstract like the “value” or “benefit” of a product, it’s important to know that there is certainly a psychological dimension to that perception, but there isn’t a scientific formula that can give you all the answers or accurately predict whether someone will buy. Still, you can avail yourself of the interesting work that has been done in this field and be aware of some of the factors that might affect buying decisions. Studies of Psychology in Pricing Most of our understanding about the psychology of pricing comes from research studies that explore buyer behavior. The Case for the Number Nine Many studies show that customers are more likely to buy products whose price points end in the number nine. That is, they prefer products that cost $99 over identical items priced at $100. Somehow the brain perceives greater value from a small price change that ends in nine. A study in the journal Quantitative Marketing and Economics validates the benefit of using nines in pricing—with a few important qualifiers, noted below. The study compared purchases of women’s clothing discounted to $35 and the same clothing discounted to $39. The study found that 24 percent more consumers purchased when the clothing was priced at $39, even though the price was higher. The study found that if a product has been available at a different price for a long time, then changing the price to end in nine will have a smaller effect than if it’s a new product that starts out with a price that ends in nine. It also found that if a product is marked “on sale,” the nine will have a small impact. The researchers conclude that the nine has more power in situations where the buyer has limited information. If there is enough information for the customer to suspect that the nine is being used to manipulate the sales decisions, the customer is less likely to buy.1 Providing Pricing Options Anchoring is a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions. During decision making, anchoring occurs when individuals use an initial piece of information to make subsequent judgments. Once an anchor is set, other judgments are made by adjusting away from that anchor, and there is a bias toward interpreting other information around the anchor.2 In the presentation of pricing, anchoring has a powerful impact on buyer behavior. In negotiated pricing, the first price offered becomes the anchor. For example, the initial price offered for a used car sets the standard for the rest of the negotiations, so that prices lower than the initial price seem more reasonable even if they are still higher than what the car is really worth. On company Web sites, on restaurant menus, and in the layout of retail stores, anchoring is used to adjust perceptions of price. The prominent presentation of a higher-priced item lifts the buyer’s price expectations in a way that makes other items seem more reasonable, even if their prices are also high. Inviting Price Comparisons Are there limitations on the impact of anchoring? Another study examined the impact of providing price comparisons on buying behavior. First, researchers listed popular music CDs on the auction site eBay flanked by CDs of the same title with different prices. In one auction, CDs with an opening bid of $1.99 were positioned next to CDs of the same title with a starting bid of 99 cents. In a second auction, those with a starting bid of $1.99 were positioned next to CDs with a starting bid of $6.99. In an auction, the buyer sets the top price, but the cheaper CDs positioned next to the $6.99 CDs sold at much higher prices than the same CDs presented next to those with an initial bid price of 99 cents. Researcher Itamar Simonson explains, “We didn’t tell people to make a comparison; they did it on their own, and when people make these kinds of comparisons on their own, they are very influential.” Next, the research team ran the same auctions but in this case explicitly told the auction participants to compare the $1.99 price to the price of the other CDs presented. This explicit instruction to compare prices adversely impacted buyer behavior in a number of ways. The price of the adjacent CDs ceased to have a statistically significant impact, buyers waited longer to make the first bid, submitted fewer bids, and were much less likely to participate in multiple auctions simultaneously. Simonson explains, “The mere fact that we had asked them to make a comparison caused them to fear that they were being tricked in some way.”3 So while pricing comparisons can be a value presentation strategy, they are not without risk. As you can see, pricing has a profound impact on buyer behavior, not only in determining what the buyer can afford, but in the deeper perceptions of value and the marketing exchange process. - Anderson, Eric T., Simester, Duncan I. (2003), Effects of $9 Price Endings on Retail Sales: Evidence from Field Experiments. Quantitative Marketing and Economics, Volume 1, (Issue 1), pp 93–110. - Anchoring bias in decision-making, Science Daily, retrieved September 29, 2015 - LaPlante, Alice. “Asking Consumers to Compare May Have Unintended Results.” Stanford Graduate School of Business, July 1, 2005. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/asking-consumers-compare-may-have-unintended-results. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Psychology of Pricing. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Volunteer Dutyu2014Psychological Testing. Authored by: Tim Sheerman-Chase. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tim_uk/8135755109/. License: CC BY: Attribution - Nineru20149/9/09. Authored by: Malia. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/malia111/3905163055/. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Video: Value in Branded Eyewear Many consumers pay a premium price for branded eyewear. How does the brand name influence the price and value? The following video shows the mechanics behind these brands and considers the impact on price. You can view the transcript for “Expensive Glasses” (opens in new window). Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Value in Branded Eyewear. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Expensive Glasses. Provided by: BBC. Located at: https://youtu.be/XvDCqn7MrvM. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.253010	03/22/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91227/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit Principles of Marketing, Pricing Strategies, Pricing Impact on Value of Products or Services", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91220/overview	Product Life Cycle Overview Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Outcome: Product Life Cycle What you’ll learn to do: discuss the product life cycle and its implications for marketing We just considered the case of Apple launching a new product (the Apple Watch). A particular set of marketing strategies and tactics was needed to define a product that did not exist, to create it, and introduce it to the world. If we were instead focused on marketing the iPhone, which was introduced in 2007, would the strategies and tactics be different? The answer is yes. In this section we will look at how marketing approaches for a product change over time. Nabisco introduced Wheat Thins crackers in 1947, yet the brand continues to be strong (it generated $344.8 million in revenue in 2015). The cracker even has more than 250,000 Twitter followers. In contrast, other products like children’s toys and trendy clothing are designed for a single sales season and have to be quickly replaced with the next model, in order to draw sales. While the length of time is different, there are common patterns across the product life cycle that we will discuss in this section. The specific things you’ll learn in this section include: - Identify the stages of the product life cycle - Explain the unique marketing requirements of each stage - Identify challenges with using product lifecycle in marketing Learning Activities The learning activities for this section include the following: - Reading: Stages of the Product Life Cycle - Reading: Marketing through the Product Cycle - Reading: Challenges in the Product Life Cycle Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Outcome: Product Life Cycle. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Stages of the Product Life Cycle A company has to be good at both developing new products and managing them in the face of changing tastes, technologies, and competition. Products generally go through a life cycle with predictable sales and profits. Marketers use the product life cycle to follow this progression and identify strategies to influence it. The product life cycle (PLC) starts with the product’s development and introduction, then moves toward withdrawal or eventual demise. This progression is shown in the graph, below. The five stages of the PLC are: - Product development - Market introduction - Growth - Maturity - Decline The table below shows common characteristics of each stage. \| Stage 1: Product Development \| \| \|---\|---\| \| Stage 2: Market Introduction \| \| \| Stage 3: Growth \| \| \| Stage 4: Maturity \| \| \| Stage 5: Decline \| \| Using the Product Life Cycle The product life cycle can be a useful tool in planning for the life of the product, but it has a number of limitations. Not all products follow a smooth and predictable growth path. Some products are tied to specific business cycles or have seasonal factors that impact growth. For example, enrollment in higher education tracks closely with economic trends. When there is an economic downturn, more people lose jobs and enroll in college to improve their job prospects. When the economy improves and more people are fully employed, college enrollments drop. This does not necessarily mean that education is in decline, only that it is in a down cycle. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the PLC framework holds true for industry segments but not necessarily for individual brands or projects, which are likely to experience greater variability.[1] Of course, changes in other elements of the marketing mix can also affect the performance of the product during its life cycle. Change in the competitive situation during each of these stages may have a much greater impact on the marketing approach than the PLC itself. An effective promotional program or a dramatic lowering of price may improve the sales picture in the decline period, at least temporarily. Usually the improvements brought about by non-product tactics are relatively short-lived, and basic alterations to product offerings provide longer benefits. Whether one accepts the S-shaped curve as a valid sales pattern or as a pattern that holds only for some products (but not for others), the PLC concept can still be very useful. It offers a framework for dealing systematically with product marketing issues and activities. The marketer needs to be aware of the generalizations that apply to a given product as it moves through the various stages. - Mullor-Sebastian, Alicia. “The Product Life Cycle Theory: Empirical Evidence.” Journal of International Business Studies 14.3 (1983): 95–105. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and adaptation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Product Life-cycle Management (Marketing). Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_life-cycle_management_(marketing). License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike - Chapter 7: Introducing and Managing the Product, from Introducing Marketing.. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf.. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Marketing through the Product Cycle There are some common marketing considerations associated with each stage of the PLC. How marketers think about the marketing mix and the blend of promotional activities–also known as the promotion mix–should reflect a product’s life-cycle stage and progress toward market adoption. These considerations cannot be used as a formula to guarantee success, but they can function as guidelines for thinking about budget, objectives, strategies, tactics, and potential opportunities and threats. Keep in mind that we will discuss the new-product development process later in this module, so it is not covered here. Market Introduction Stage Think of the market introduction stage as the product launch. This phase of the PLC requires a significant marketing budget. The market is not yet aware of the product or its benefits. Introducing a product involves convincing consumers that they have a problem or need which the new offering can uniquely address. At its core, messaging should convey, “This product is a great idea! You want this!” Usually a promotional budget is needed to create broad awareness and educate the market about the new product. To achieve these goals, often a product launch includes promotional elements such as a new Web site (or significant update to the existing site), a press release and press campaign, and a social media campaign. There is also a need to invest in the development of the distribution channels and related marketing support. For a B2B product, this often requires training the sales force and developing sales tools and materials for direct and personal selling. In a B2C market, it might include training and incentivizing retail partners to stock and promote the product. Pricing strategies in the introduction phase are generally set fairly high, as there are fewer competitors in the market. This is often offset by early discounts and promotional pricing. It is worth noting that the launch will look different depending on how new the product is. If the product is a completely new innovation that the market has not seen before, then there is a need to both educate the market about the new offering and build awareness of it. Google Glass In 2013 when Google launched Google Glass—an optical head-mounted computer display—it had not only to get the word out about the product but also help prospective buyers understand what it was and how it might be used. Google initially targeted tech-savvy audiences most interested in novelty and innovation (more about them later when we discuss diffusion of innovation). By offering the new product with a lot of media fanfare and limited availability, Google’s promotional strategy ignited demand among these segments. Tech bloggers and insiders blogged and tweeted about their Google Glass adventures, and word-of-mouth sharing about the new product spread rapidly. You can imagine that this was very different from the launch of Wheat Thins Spicy Buffalo crackers, an extension of an existing product line, targeting a different audiences (retailers, consumers) with promotional activities that fit the product’s marketing and distribution channels. The Google Glass situation was also different from the launch of Tesla’s home battery. In that case Tesla offered a new line of home products from a company that had previously only offered automobiles. Breaking into new product categories and markets is challenging even for a well-regarded company like Tesla. As you might expect, the greater the difference in new products from a company’s existing offerings, the greater the complexity and expense of the introduction stage. One other consideration is the maturity of the product. Sometimes marketers will choose to be conservative during the marketing introduction stage when the product is not yet fully developed or proven, or when the distribution channels are not well established. This might mean initially introducing the product to only one segment of the market, doing less promotion, or limiting distribution (as with Google Glass). This approach allows for early customer feedback but reduces the risk of product issues during the launch. While we often think of an introduction or launch as a single event, this phase can last several years. Generally a product moves out of the introduction stage when it begins to see rapid growth, though what counts as “rapid growth” varies significantly based on the product and the market. Growth Stage Once rapid growth begins, the product or industry has entered the growth stage. When a product category begins to demonstrate significant growth, the market usually responds: new competitors enter the market, and larger companies acquire high-growth companies and products. These emerging competitive threats drive new marketing tactics. Marketers who have been seeking to build broad market awareness through the introduction phase must now differentiate their products from competitors, emphasizing unique features that appeal to target customers. The central thrust of market messaging and promotion during this stage is “This brand is the best!” Pricing also becomes more competitive and must be adjusted to align with the differentiation strategy. Often in the growth phase the marketer must pay significant attention to distribution. With a growing number of customers seeking the product, more distribution channels are needed. Mass marketing and other promotional strategies to reach more customers and segments start to make sense for consumer-focused markets during the growth stage. In business-to-business markets, personal selling and sales promotions often help open doors to broader growth. Marketers often must develop and support new distribution channels to meet demand. Through the growth phase, distribution partners will become more experienced selling the product and may require less support over time. The primary challenges during the growth phase are to identify a differentiated position in the market that allows the product to capture a significant portion of the demand and to manage distribution to meet the demand. Maturity Stage When growth begins to plateau, the product has reached the maturity phase. In order to achieve strong business results through the maturity stage, the company must take advantage of economies of scale. This is usually a period in which marketers manage budget carefully, often redirecting resources toward products that are earlier in their life cycle and have higher revenue potential. At this stage, organizations are trying to extract as much value from an established product as they can, typically in a very competitive field. Marketing messages and promotions seek to remind customers about a great product, differentiate from competitors, and reinforce brand loyalty: “Remember why this brand is the best.” As mentioned in the previous section, this late in the life cycle, promotional tactics and pricing discounts are likely to provide only short-term benefits. Changes to product have a better chance of yielding more sustained results. In the maturity stage, marketers often focus on niche markets, using promotional strategies, messaging, and tactics designed to capture new share in these markets. Since there is no new growth, the emphasis shifts from drawing new customers to the market to winning more of the existing market. The company may extend a product line, adding new models that have greater appeal to a smaller segment of the market. Often, distribution partners will reduce their emphasis on mature products. A sales force will shift its focus to new products with more growth potential. A retailer will reallocate shelf space. When this happens the manufacturer may need to take on a stronger role in driving demand. We have repeatedly seen this tactic in the soft drink industry. As the market has matured, the number of different flavors of large brands like Coke and Pepsi has grown significantly. We will look at other product tactics to extend the growth phase and manage the maturity phase in the next section. Decline Stage Once a product or industry has entered decline, the focus shifts almost entirely to eliminating costs. Little if any marketing spending goes into products in this life stage, because the marketing investment is better spent on other priorities. For goods, distributors will seek to eliminate inventory by cutting prices. For services, companies will reallocate staff to ensure that delivery costs are in check. Where possible, companies may initiate a planned obsolescence process. Commonly technology companies will announce to customers that they will not continue to support a product after a set obsolescence date. Often a primary focus for marketers during this stage is to transition customers to newer products that are earlier in the product life cycle and have more favorable economics. Promotional activities and marketing communications, if any, typically focus on making this transition successful among brand-loyal segments who still want the old product. A typical theme of marketing activity is “This familiar brand is still here, but now there’s something even better.” Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Reading: Marketing through the Product Cycle. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Ok Glass, Find Spaceship. Authored by: Thomas Hawk. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/22467231948/. License: CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial Reading: Challenges in the Product Life Cycle In theory, the product life cycle follows a predictable path that is easy to understand. This might suggest that the marketer just needs to gear up for the ride and be ready to adjust tactics as the product moves through its life cycle. To the contrary, a marketer’s job is much less passive—instead, the marketer’s goal is to influence the life cycle. An effective marketer tries to extend the growth stage in order to maximize revenue and profits and to extend the maturity stage in order to fund the development and introduction of new products. Apple’s iPod Life-Cycle Strategies It is easier to understand the complexity of the product life cycle in the context of a real-life example. The total sales of Apple’s iPod across all models follow a classic product life-cycle curve (see Figure 1, below). Remember, these data include all models of iPods. One strategy that Apple employed to increase growth was to introduce new models often. The new models had fairly similar functions but offered significantly different styling. This drove multiple sales to the same buyer. A buyer was less likely to say, “I already have an iPod,” than to say, “I have an iPod Classic but I want an iPod Nano.” From the initial launch in October 2002 through 2007, Apple introduced five major iPod models, with multiple versions of each. The graph below shows the sequence of releases, with large dots representing the initial release of each new model. In September of 2008 and 2010, Apple released new versions of three different iPod models at the same time. Apple’s rapid product releases kept it on the cutting edge of design and made it difficult for competitors to take market share during the product’s growth stage. In September 2006, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reported that iPods held 75.6 percent market share. Throughout the growth period Apple chose not to sell old versions of new devices. Once the company introduced the third generation of the iPod Nano, it stopped selling new second-generation iPod Nanos (though it did still offer refurbished versions of the older products). This allowed the company to quickly make the older versions obsolete, which drove new sales and reduced the ongoing support costs for older models. When companies talk about “cannibalizing” their market, they mean that one product takes market share from another. In effect, one of the company’s products is eating the other product’s market share. Each new model of the iPod took market share from its predecessors, but collectively the iPod products dominated their market. The greatest cannibal of all in the Apple story is the iPhone, which was first released in June 2007. The Smartphone Product Life Cycle A smartphone is a mobile phone that performs many of the same functions as a computer. Prior to the introduction of the smartphone, most people used cell phones—which are now referred to as “feature phones.” Feature phones provide phone and text capabilities but lack an operating system that can support the more advanced capabilities of today’s smartphones. Early smartphones saw broad adoption in Japan in 2001, but mass adoption of smartphones did not reach the U.S. until business users fell in love with the Blackberry in 2003. Today, smartphones from a range of providers use primarily Google’s Android operating system, Apple’s iOS, or Microsoft Mobile. Global sales of smartphones have grown rapidly, as shown in Figure 3, below. Marketers are using many different strategies to drive the growth of smartphones, but perhaps the greatest impact has been the opening of the technology platform to allow other vendors to offer applications for them. Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and other players have not tried to imagine every possible use for a smartphone and build it themselves. Instead they have created the technology infrastructure and an open marketplace for applications. Programmers can develop applications that can run on any phone, and smartphone owners can select and buy the apps that are of interest. Through this broad range of applications, the smartphone brings together a number of different functions on one device. Before the first release of the smartphone, many people carried a feature phone to answer calls and a personal digital assistant to manage email and calendars. With the smartphone, these two functions came together, and as the device has matured, it has taken over many other tasks that were formerly performed on a separate device. Adoption of smartphones has had tremendous impact on the product life cycle of a range of other products. When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, the company was cannibalizing its market for iPods. Today, most Apple customers play their media on a phone rather than on a separate media-dedicated device. There are still sales of iPods, but the company, in effect, initiated the decline of the market with its own introduction of the iPhone—a market in which it had more than 75 percent market share. The markets for digital cameras (especially the low-end models) and personal navigation systems (GPS systems) have also been impacted. The product life-cycle graph for digital camera purchases, shown in Figure 4, below, shows a striking resemblance to that of the iPod. While smartphone cameras have lagged behind digital cameras in terms of features and performance, they provide two distinct benefits: - The smartphone adds the camera to an existing device that the user already carries with him - The smartphone makes it easier to use and share photos through other applications on the phone Smartphones are a dominant factor in the product life cycle of digital cameras, iPods, and a number of other products. Lessons from the Smartphone Life Cycle This example shows some benefits of considering the product life cycle in marketing strategies but also some significant limitations. The product life cycle is not forward looking. At any point on the graph, a marketer can see what has already occurred but not what is ahead. In planning a product strategy, it is important to understand the past sales performance of the product and the industry broadly, but the role of marketing is to shape future performance, and the product life cycle doesn’t offer many tools to inform that proactive work. The product life cycle can focus a marketer on a defined set of products and competitors in the current market—but miss broad trends or innovations in adjacent markets and products. A marketer looking for the next feature to add to a digital camera to extend the maturity phase could easily miss the impact that the smartphone would have on the digital camera market. We can learn from Apple’s description of a product marketing manager position in its own company: One of the product marketing manager’s responsibilities is to “closely follow emerging technology, consumer, and societal trends and make recommendations for how products will leverage or fit into those emerging trends.” This broad view is critical to successful marketing. Finally, this example demonstrates the importance of creating a diverse set of products. When the iPod lost market share to the iPhone, Apple won. Other companies that have lost market on account of the transition to smartphones—Nikon and Canon in cameras, Garmin in navigation devices, etc.—have not fared as well. Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Reading: Challenges in the Product Life Cycle. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.295884	03/22/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91220/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit Principles of Marketing, Product Marketing, Product Life Cycle", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91205/overview	Developing Positioning Statements Overview Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Outcome: Developing Positioning Statements What you’ll learn to do: develop and evaluate positioning statements based on defined criteria After marketers work through the process of homing in on the best positioning strategy, they arrive at the final step: the positioning statement. The positioning statement reflects everything you’ve learned up to that point about how your product, service, or brand can best reach your target segment. As a document, it explains exactly how you plan to provide value to those target customers. In effect, it’s a short, persuasive argument. In this next section, you’ll learn a simple formula for creating effective positioning statements. You’ll also learn how to evaluate existing positioning statements and decide whether and how they might be improved. The specific things you’ll learn in this section include: - Describe a standard structure for positioning statements - Outline criteria for a strong positioning statement - Recognize good examples of positioning statements - Create a positioning statement aligned with a value proposition and target audience Learning Activities The learning activities for this section include the following: - Reading: Developing Positioning Statements Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Outcome: Developing Positioning Statements. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Developing Positioning Statements A Simple Formula A positioning statement is one sentence that succinctly identifies the target market and spells out what you want them to think about your brand. This statement should include 1) the target segment, 2) the brand name, 3) the product/service category or frame of reference in which you are establishing this market position, 4) the key points of differentiation, and 5) the reasons customers should believe the positioning claims. The brand consultancy EquiBrand recommends the following straightforward formula for writing positioning statements: To [target audience], Product X is the only [category or frame of reference] that [points of differentiation/benefits delivered] because [reasons to believe].1 The parts of the formula supplied by you (the marketer) are as follows: - The “target audience” is a brief description of the segment you’re targeting with this positioning strategy. For example: young urban males, managing partners in law firms, or small business owners in the Pacific Northwest. - “Product X” is your product, service, or brand name. - The “category or frame of reference” is the category of products or services you’re competing in. For instance: spectator sporting events, virtual assistant services, or employer 401K benefit plans. - The “points of differentiation/benefits delivered” explains both what problem you solve and how you solve it in a different and better way than competitors. It highlights the competitive advantage(s) underpinning your positioning strategy. Be sure to explain not just what is different about you, but why customers care about that difference. - The “reasons to believe” are any proof points or evidence that show your customers how you live up to your claims about how you are different and better. Let’s look at some examples of well-written positioning statements: Example #1: Amazon (circa 2001, when it sold primarily books) For World Wide Web users who enjoy books, Amazon is a retail bookseller that provides instant access to over 1.1 million books. Unlike traditional book retailers, Amazon provides a combination of extraordinary convenience, low prices and comprehensive selection.2 This clearly worded positioning statement follows the formula closely, even though the “reasons to believe” are added as a second sentence. It presents the competitive advantage (“instant access to over 1.1 million books“) as a clear differentiator, and with this wording we also understand the problem Amazon solves–convenient access to lots of books. The specific reasons to believe are highly desirable benefits for the target audience. Note that World Wide Web refers to the Internet. Example #2: Motel 6 To frugal people, Motel 6 is the alternative to staying with family and friends that provides a welcoming, comfortable night’s rest at a reasonable price.3 The Motel 6 example is a very concise positioning statement. It’s interesting that the frame of reference is “staying with friends and family,” rather than “motels” generally. This shows an astute understanding of the target customer’s mindset and the recognition that the motel chain’s leading competitor is not staying in a motel. The point of differentiation also reveals the problem Motel 6 solves: where to get a “welcoming, comfortable night’s rest at a reasonable price.” Its points of differentiation and reasons to believe blur together, but the statement provides well-focused direction for a marketing mix that targets “frugal people.” Example #3: Tide Laundry Detergent For cost-conscious moms of large blue-collar families with active children, Tide is the brand of laundry detergent that gets clothes their cleanest and keeps them looking new because “improved” Tide formulation powers out stains while keeping clothes from fading and fraying.4 This third positioning statement identifies the target audience so specifically that it’s easy to create a vivid mental picture of the customer. The problem Tide solves is very clear: getting clothes clean. This statement emphasizes the product’s competitive advantage around cleaning power and superior formulation, while promising valued benefits that customers enjoy when they use this product. The onus here is on the brand to provide these concrete benefits around not “fading and fraying,” but these are definite reasons to believe if indeed the product can deliver. Evaluating Positioning Statements How do you know when a positioning statement is going to be effective? Obviously, positioning statements should contain all the elements in the formula above, since that information is needed to translate the positioning strategy into a well-developed marketing mix. There are other criteria you should look for, as well. For example, the following: - Is it tailored to the target market? Too often, positioning statements either leave out the target segment, or else the entire approach isn’t really suited to that unique group. If a positioning statement would work just as well if you plugged in a completely different target segment, then you probably haven’t thought deeply enough about your target’s unique needs and what will make them want your product. Or, you’ve defined your target segment too narrowly, in which case you should revisit whom you’re trying to reach. - Is it simple, focused, and memorable? A positioning statement that is overly complex will be hard to execute against because it isn’t focused enough to deliver a clear message to the customer. Make sure it is very clear what problem(s) you solve. Use easy-to-understand words instead of jargon that muddles the meaning. If your statement is running long, consider trimming a few differentiators or benefits. It’s actually very good to prune down to the essentials so your meaning is crystal clear. Make every word count! - Does it provide an unmistakable picture of your product, service, or brand? Your positioning statement should work beautifully for you, but not very well for your competitors. If you can substitute any competitor’s name for your own in the positioning statement—and it still sounds credible—then you need some additional work on your differentiators and competitive advantages. If you are going to own your market niche, it must be a place that no one else can easily occupy. - Can you deliver on the promise you make? The positioning statement promises some benefits or outcomes to your customers. You must be able to consistently live up to this promise—otherwise you’ll lose credibility, and your offering will stand for something that’s untrustworthy. If you can’t live up to your promise, you need to take another, more realistic look at the offering’s benefits and the customers’ reasons to believe. - Does it provide helpful direction for designing the marketing mix and other decisions? From the positioning statement, you should have a sense of what types of activities and messages are consistent with that positioning and support the brand you are working to build. Practice: Evaluate These Statements Read the following statements. For each one, ask yourself whether it’s a strong positioning statement based on the formula and criteria outlined in this reading. Why or why not? - Nike brings inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.5 - To married women over fifty, Victoria’s Secret is the brand of alluring lingerie that will reignite the passion in their marriage.6 - For taxpayers, H&R Block offers the best tools and tax professionals to examine their lives through taxes and find ways to help them save time and money.7 - For shoppers, Macy’s is a premier national omnichannel retailer with iconic brands that serve customers through outstanding stores and dynamic online sites.8 - To business leaders, Wieden+Kennedy is an independent, creatively driven advertising agency that creates strong and provocative relationships between good companies and their customers.9 Analysis: Here is how these examples stack up: - Nike: This is a powerful mission statement, and it sets a perfect tone for the Nike brand. However, it is not an effective positioning statement because it doesn’t really articulate any points of differentiation, problems solved or reasons to believe. - Victoria’s Secret: This example works reasonably well as a positioning statement, since it contains all the key elements. Although the wording of the competitive advantage/benefit does a great job explaining the problem Victoria’s Secret solves (“alluring lingerie that reignites the passion in their marriage”), it’s unclear whether this positioning truly differentiates this brand from competitors. After all, isn’t all lingerie alluring? However, if no one else has claimed this niche and if Victoria’s Secret can truly “own” reigniting passion, it just might work! - H&R Block: This is an exemplary positioning statement, including each element of the formula in clear, concise terms. What’s memorable and unexpected about this statement is how it humanizes tax preparation services by presenting them as services that “examine your life” and “find ways to help.” There is room for improvement: it’s arguable whether “taxpayers” is too broad as a target segment. But overall, this is a great example. - Macy’s: This example exhibits a couple of obvious weaknesses as a positioning statement. First, it’s got a lot of jargon–terms like premier, omnichannel, and dynamic online sales. Second, as a segment, “shoppers” is too broad. Surely Macy’s has more detailed information about its target segments and what they want. Third, this statement discusses features (“outstanding stores,” “iconic brands,” “dynamic online sites”) but it does not mention any customer benefits. Positioning statements definitely need benefits–and reasons to believe. Full disclosure: This statement is actually taken from an “About Macy’s, Inc.” page on the company’s Web site, so it may be intended as a simple company description, not a positioning statement. - Wieden+Kennedy: As we would expect from one of the world’s leading advertising agencies, this statement does a reasonably good job positioning the company for a broad business-leader audience. As with example #2 above, the competitive advantages and differentiators blur with the benefits, but “strong and provocative relationships” is a compelling promise for anyone investing in advertising and promotion. - http://equibrandconsulting.com/templates/positioning-templates - http://www.fastcompany.com/3034721/hit-the-ground-running/figuring-out-the-delicate-art-of-positioning-your-startup - https://books.google.com/books?id=zEGhBgAAQBAJ, p. 114 - https://books.google.com/books?id=zEGhBgAAQBAJ, p. 115 - http://help-en-us.nike.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/113/~/nike-mission-statement - https://books.google.com/books?id=zEGhBgAAQBAJ, p. 115 - https://www.hrblock.com/corporate/our-company/ - https://www.macysinc.com/about-us/corporate-vision-philosophy-financial-objectives/default.aspx - http://www.wk.com/office/global Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Reading: Developing Positioning Statements. Authored by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Disruption. Authored by: Tsahi Levent-Levi. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/86979666@N00/7829098984/. License: CC BY: Attribution - Wieden+Kennedy door. Authored by: Sebastian Oehme. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/iamseb/1581319503. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.330127	03/22/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91205/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit Principles of Marketing, Positioning, Developing Positioning Statements", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91203/overview	Defining Positioning and Differentiation Overview Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Outcome: Defining Positioning and Differentiation What you’ll learn to do: define product positioning and differentiation, and explain why they are important to marketing a product or service Positioning addresses an important question: What do you want to be known for? Positioning provides the basic foundation for effectively marketing any product or service to a target audience. Positioning goes hand in hand with differentiation (in much the same way that segmentation and targeting work together). Differentiation is the process of figuring out what will make your product different and better in ways that matter to customers–and ways that are not easily replicated by competitors. Positioning and differentiation offer something of a road map for marketing a product or service to the customers you’re targeting. Read on to learn more. The specific things you’ll learn in this section include: - Define positioning and differentiation - Explain the relationship between positioning and value proposition - Explain the importance of positioning in executing segmentation and targeting strategy Learning Activities The learning activities for this section include the following: - Reading: Defining Positioning and Differentiation Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Outcome: Defining Positioning and Differentiation. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Reading: Defining Positioning and Differentiation What Makes You Different and Better? Positioning is a strategic process that marketers use to determine the place or “niche” an offering should occupy in a given market, relative to other customer alternatives. When you position a product or service, you answer these questions: - Place: What place does the offering occupy in its market? - Rank: How does the product or service fare against its competitors in the areas evaluated by customers deciding what to buy? - Attitude: How do we want customers to think about this offering and the benefits it offers them? - Outcomes: What must we do to ensure the product or service delivers on the positioning we select? Marketers use the positioning process to identify the distinctive place they want a product or service to hold in the minds of a target market segment. Effective positioning is always aimed at a specific target segment. In fact, positioning tailors the generally focused value proposition to the needs and interests of a particular target segment. Positioning can be subtle and hard to detect, but it can also be easy to spot when it conforms to your perceptions as a consumer. Perhaps one of the following positions appeals to you: Volvo, for example, positions itself as a family of premium vehicles that are well designed for performance, innovation, and safety. Kia strives to position itself as delivering practical, utilitarian vehicles that offer high quality and value for the price. Cadillac is, well, the Cadillac of automobiles: powerful, luxurious, and catering to every need of its well-heeled drivers and passengers. Differentiation is closely related to positioning. Differentiation is the process companies use to make a product or service stand out from its competitors in ways that provide unique value to the customer. Differentiation identifies a set of characteristics and benefits that make a product different and better for a target audience. Ideally these qualities are things that 1) customers value when they are evaluating choices in a purchasing decision, and 2) competitors cannot easily copy. When both conditions exist, the offering is more attractive to target customers. Differentiation is at work any time you’re choosing between two products in the same category. For example, when you’re buying a soft drink, why do you choose Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, or Mountain Dew? Is it because of the taste? The cost? The level of sugar or caffeine? Or is it something less tangible, like the way you just want to smile when you drink Coke, or you feel amped up when you drink Mountain Dew? These tangible and intangible qualities are what differentiate one soft drink from another. Interconnected Strategies Positioning and differentiation are connected in important ways. Effective positioning for a product or service is based on the differentiating characteristics or qualities that make the product/service better than the competition in the minds of the target segment. Positioning and differentiation are strategic activities: marketers work to create a desired position for a product or service in the market, rather than waiting for it to be created by customers, the public, or competitors. The end result of positioning is the successful creation of a market-focused value proposition: “This is the compelling reason why the target segment should buy the product.” Positioning shapes key elements of the marketing mix: which features matter most in the differentiation of a product or service, what messages to communicate about the offering, how to price it relative to competitors, and the role distribution might play in satisfying the customer. To illustrate, think about American retail chains targeting American households as a target segment. The table below identifies the ways in which three large retail chains position themselves to attract customers and the key differentiators they use to set themselves apart. \| Name \| Positioning \| Differentiators \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| Wal-Mart \| Wide selection of products people want, at the lowest prices \| Wide selection; low prices \| \| Target \| Trendy, fashionable products at reasonable prices \| Continually refreshed, on-trend product selection \| \| Macy’s \| Preferred “go-to” shopping destination for upscale brands and current fashions. \| Broad selection of most-wanted, upscale brands; engaging shopping experience \| Note that, in each case, positioning is based on factors that are important to the target segment(s) each retailer focuses on. Wal-Mart customers are very brand-loyal because of the company’s commitment to low prices and huge selection. Loyal Target customers love browsing the latest, on-trend apparel, accessories, and home fashions. Macy’s shoppers appreciate a more elegant, upscale shopping experience and are willing to pay more for upscale brands. Each of these positioning strategies carves out a “niche” of the retail market that defines the particular, differentiating strengths of each chain in the minds of customers. Positioning is essential for launching a new product or service, because it helps marketers and customers understand how the new offering fits into the set of available choices, and it makes a set of claims about why customers should consider it. Positioning can also be useful at any other stage of the product life cycle to help clarify what makes a product or service different from competitors and why people should prefer it. Positioning Is a Statement Positioning plays an important role for marketers in expressing how they will make an offering attractive to customers. It also helps customers become educated about the options available to them so they can evaluate and select the product or service that’s the best fit. Positioning is most often articulated as a positioning statement. A positioning statement is one sentence that concisely identifies the target market and what you want customers to think about your brand. This statement should include 1) the target market, 2) the brand name, 3) the key points of differentiation, 4) the product/service category or frame of reference in which you are establishing this market position, and 5) the reasons customers should believe the positioning claims. Positioning statements should also be statements of truth. Effective positioning is credible and convincing, reflecting customers’ actual experiences with the product or service. If a positioning statement does not reflect the customer’s reality, the positioning will fail because it will not take hold in the minds of consumers. Likewise, positioning must be based on qualities that matter to customers as they consider which product/service to purchase. If positioning is based on characteristics or customer benefits that do not matter, customers will opt for other offerings that deliver what they care about. We will discuss positioning statements in more detail later in this module. Same Offering, Different Positioning Because effective positioning is always linked to a specific target segment, it is worth pointing out that the same basic product or service may be positioned differently for different market segments. When this happens, it is because companies recognize that their target segments are looking for different qualities when they make their purchasing decisions. Different positioning strategies for the same product enable marketers to communicate the value of the product or service more effectively to each target audience. For example, the airline JetBlue caters to two “sweet spot” target segments: 2) “high-value leisure travelers” and 2) “mixed-wallet customers,” who fly for both business and leisure. The airline’s positioning for “high-value leisure travelers” focuses on attractively priced airfare and packages to fun vacation destinations, along with a comfortable flying experience. For “mixed-wallet customers,” JetBlue positions itself as providing a competitively priced and convenient flying experience with features like expedited security and multiple fare options in case travel plans need to change. In both cases, JetBlue is selling air travel, but the positioning for each target segment is built around the differentiating qualities that make JetBlue particularly attractive to those segments.1 - http://skift.com/2013/03/20/why-jetblue-doesnt-target-road-warriors-and-doesnt-plan-to-anytime-soon/ Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Revision and Adaptation. Authored by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Introducing Marketing, Chapter 2. Understanding and approaching the market. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Introducing Marketing, Chapter 7. Introducing and managing the product. Authored by: John Burnett. Provided by: Global Text. Located at: http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf. License: CC BY: Attribution - Kia GT4 Stinger. Authored by: Chad Horwedel. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chorwedel/12613017214/. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives - Macy's Flower Show. Authored by: Stephen Rees. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_rees/4499802916/. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives - Smooth Flight. Authored by: Frans Persoon. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/38659937@N06/4234237775/. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.361500	03/22/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91203/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit Principles of Marketing, Positioning, Defining Positioning and Differentiation", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91218/overview	Why it Matters Overview Teacher resources for Unit 10 can be found on the next page. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution Why It Matters: Product Marketing Resources for Unit 10: Product Marketing Slide Deck - Module 10: Product Marketing Discussion Assignments and Alignment: Product Strategy Marketing Plan Resources Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce Tennessee Small Business Development Center Pacing The Principles of Marketing textbook contains sixteen units—roughly one unit per week for a 16-week semester. If you need to modify the pace and cover the material more quickly, the following units work well together: - Unit 1: What Is Marketing? and Unit 2: Marketing Function. Both are lighter, introductory units. - Unit 15: Global Marketing and Unit 16: Marketing Plan. Unit 16 has more course review and synthesis information than new material per se. - Unit 5: Ethics can be combined with any unit. You can also move it around without losing anything. - Unit 8: Positioning and Unit 9: Branding. Companion modules that can be covered in a single week. - Unit 6: Marketing Information & Research and Unit 7: Consumer Behavior. Companion units that can be covered in a single week. We recommend NOT doubling up the following units, because they are long and especially challenging. Students will need more time for mastery and completion of assignments. - Unit 4: Marketing Strategy - Unit 10: Product Marketing - Unit 13: Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communication Did you have an idea for improving this content? We’d love your input. Learning Outcomes - Explain what a product is and the importance of products in the marketing mix - Discuss the product life cycle and its implications for marketing - Explain product portfolio management and how it relates to the organization’s marketing strategy and tactics - Define the process for creating new products - Identify the challenges associated with creating a successful new product Why make product marketing decisions based on product life cycle and product portfolio structure? Often when students begin to study marketing they expect to study promotion or perhaps only advertising, but product is the core of the marketing mix. Product defines what will be priced, promoted, and distributed. If you are able to create and deliver a product that provides exceptional value to your target customer, the rest of the marketing mix becomes easier to manage. A successful product makes every aspect of a marketer’s job easier—and more fun. Is it possible to offer a product that is so good it markets itself? Yes. When this is the case, marketers can employ something called viral marketing, which is a method of product promotion that relies on customers to market an idea, product, or service themselves by telling their friends. Generally, in order for viral marketing to work, the product must be so compelling that customers who use it can’t stop talking about it. Let’s look at an example of viral marketing and a successful new product that has changed transportation in cities around the world. How did the individuals who created the product at the beginning of its life cycle develop a winning product concept and take it to market? Technically speaking, Uber is a ride-sharing solution—an incredibly successful one. The company launched in June 2010, and today Uber drivers provide well over one million rides each day to passengers around the globe. The company’s self-reported annual revenue for 2018 was $11.3 billion.1 When a passenger needs a ride, he simply opens the Uber app on his phone. He can immediately see the locations of cars nearby and request a pickup. The passenger knows which driver is coming and can track the car’s location until it arrives. When the ride is over, the passenger’s credit card is automatically billed for the service. Bill Gurley, a seasoned investor who has put money in Uber, evaluates the company this way: “The product is so good, there is no one spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on marketing.”2 Industry experts who have analyzed Uber’s success agree again and again that Uber took on a problem that was real for many people—poor taxicab availability and abysmal service—and completely fixed it. Among the many problems Uber is tackling are: poor cab infrastructure in some cities, poor service, and fulfillment–including dirty cabs, poor customer experience, late cars, drivers unwilling to accept credit cards, and more. Uber set out to reimagine the entire experience to make it seamless and enjoyable across the board. They didn’t fix one aspect of the system (e.g. mobile payments for the existing taxi infrastructure); they tackled the whole experience from mobile hailing, seamless payments, better cars, to no tips and driver ratings. By avoiding the trap of smaller thinking, and iterating on one element of the taxi experience (say, by making credit card payments more accessible in the car) they were able to create a wow experience that has totally redefined what it means to use a car service, sparking an avalanche of word of mouth and press.3 Again, the product creates a “wow experience” that creates “an avalanche of word of mouth and press.” That is the power of the product in the marketing mix. - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/15/uber-2018-financial-results.html - http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/29/benchmarks-bill-gurley-uber-is-growing-faster-than-ebay-did/ - https://growthhackers.com/growth-studies/uber Licenses and Attributions CC licensed content, Original - Why It Matters: Product Marketing. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution CC licensed content, Shared previously - Image: Uber on a phone. Authored by: Sandeepnewstyle. Provided by: Wikimedia Commons. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E0%B4%AF%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A4%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%9F%E0%B4%99%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%99%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%B5%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A8%E0%B5%8D%E2%80%8D_%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%9E%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%9E%E0%B5%86%E0%B4%9F%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%A8%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%A8%E0%B5%81_..jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.394922	03/22/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/91218/overview", "title": "Statewide Dual Credit Principles of Marketing, Product Marketing, Why it Matters", "author": "Anna McCollum" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/61046/overview	General Biology Fungi Pictures Overview Pictures of fungi for a general biology course. Fungi Pictures Fungus images for general biology course.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.411276	12/27/2019	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/61046/overview", "title": "General Biology Fungi Pictures", "author": "Margaret Krone" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/84243/overview	ECE 100--Sample Assignment ECE 100--Syllabus ECE 100: Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education Overview Examines underlying principles of quality practices utilized in early childhood programs emphasizing the key role of relationships, constructive adult-child interactions, and teaching strategies to support physical, cognitive and social/emotional development for all children. This course includes a review of the evolution of the field and introduces the profession of early childhood education. Requires a minimum of 10 hours in a pre-approved early childhood setting and a current TB test, TDAP & MMR vaccine. (This may not pertain to this semester as we are navigating a pandemic) Formerly ECE-121. This course meets the requirement for licensing and the Child Development Permit. Syllabus, Sample Assignment, & Reading List Examines underlying principles of quality practices utilized in early childhood programs emphasizing the key role of relationships, constructive adult-child interactions, and teaching strategies to support physical, cognitive and social/emotional development for all children. This course includes a review of the evolution of the field and introduces the profession of early childhood education. Requires a minimum of 10 hours in a pre-approved early childhood setting and a current TB test, TDAP & MMR vaccine. (This may not pertain to this semester as we are navigating a pandemic) Formerly ECE-121. This course meets the requirement for licensing and the Child Development Permit.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.431682	Open for Antiracism Program (OFAR)	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/84243/overview", "title": "ECE 100: Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education", "author": "Syllabus" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/117801/overview	Searchable Pacific Northwest History Overview Searchable Pacific Northwest History provides a comprehensive examination of our past that includes geology, Native American culture and traditions, and history from earliest times to beyond 2000 C.E. This searchable chronological series is designed to be interactive making it easy for students to find and record specific information quickly to generate a personal study of history. Traditionally, history is taught as isolated events rather than as interconnected episodes. Multiple events may occur simultaneously but presenting the interaction is problematic. This approach misrepresents the context in which historical events occur. Time is distorted as activities that take months or years are condensed into paragraphs or pages creating an incomplete sense of the effort involved. The internet opens a vast resource of historical material enriching our understanding of the past. Searchable Pacific Northwest History provides students a door into our past by using a computer to study history. Rather than learning about history students can now learn from history through research and writing their own narrative. How to Use This Material Searchable Pacific Northwest History provides the student access to research to be used in generating a personalized study of history. I have chosen to use a format that includes a series of indentions (something like an outline) so Searchable Pacific Northwest History material can be copied and pasted. To assist in organizing the research project download this TEMPLATE paste it onto a computer screen and open it and save it. Using the “document search navigator” (ctrl [Control] F on a computer) students can find the topic they are researching in Searchable Pacific Northwest History. To copy the information, right click the mouse and drag the cursor over the material to turn it gray. Using “copy” (Ctrl C) and “paste” (Ctrl V) this information can be copied and pasted onto the TEMPLATE and saved to generate a new chronological document of their own making in “outline” form. For instance, after copying and pasting the formatted TEMPLATE on a computer, a student might research the activities of Juan Ponce de Leon. Opening Searchable Pacific Northwest History “1500-1599” and placing LEON into the search navigator (Ctrl F) shows Leon is found 21 times in the history. The paragraph “CONQUISTADOR JUAN PONCE de LEON BECOMES GOVERNOR OF PUERTO RICO” on page 4 begins his adventures. This paragraph can be COPIED and PASTED onto the TEMPLATE. (Note: quotations footnoted as to source are carried with the quotation when copied. The next paragraph where “LEON” is found is “SPANISH CONQUISTADOR JUAN PONCE de LEON EXPLORES (TODAY’S FLORIDA)” on page 5. This too can be copied and pasted onto the TEMPLATE following the first paragraph. (Notice that Florida is in parenthesis because it was still unnamed by Europeans so the name is out of sequence with history.) Further examination of 1500-1599 would result in additional information being discovered. Adding this material to the “outline” template would produce a document featuring the exploits of Juan Ponce de Leon in chronological order. Converting the “outline” into sentences would be the task of the student. Additional materials from the internet and other sources such as maps, photos, documents, etc. can be easily added to personalize the project. The complete 5 book series on Kindle (updated on 12/1/22): Why Did I Undertake A Searchable History? Computers have changed the way we can look at history. The study of our past has always been constricted by the space available to present it. The person, topic, or event being studied was confined by the physical limits of books. This constricting of the past is even greater in a history book dedicated to a very broad subject. Each topic must be compressed to fit the space available. These restrictions are no longer necessary with the advent of computers and the internet. The historic material that I have included has had a direct impact on the inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest. I have tried to focus on topics that people who live here, regardless of decade or century, would discuss with their family and friends. My hope is that because it was a topic of conversation and interest to people residing here at one time it may yet be so today. History happens chronologically and in context. However, it is not taught that way. Rather, attention is focused on dates, names and selected topics. For instance, the exploration of Captain George Vancouver might be presented without any mention of the discoveries of Spanish explorers although both investigations occurred simultaneously and sometimes mutually. Also, American sea traders were operating in the same waters while Alexander Mackenzie was actively conducting his overland expeditions to find the Pacific Ocean. Events do not occur in isolation. The topics of missionaries to the Pacific Northwest and Hudson’s Bay Company might be presented without acknowledging both entities were dealing with the same Native Americans at the same time. These interactions had a unique impact on the Indians. Or, similarly Northwest Indian wars and Indian treaties are presented without mentioning the treaties came before the wars. Presenting history one topic at a time, while necessary until now, makes historic context almost impossible. Presenting history one topic at a time also presents a false image of the time necessary to accomplish a task. When students are introduced to the Oregon Trail, attention is perhaps paid to the preparations essential for the journey and the sacrifices necessary. The route West is depicted passing by a series of prominent land features, hardships for the travelers may be indicated, and Oregon is reached three paragraphs or three pages after setting out depending on the detail of the text. There is no feeling for the nine months the journey on foot took to complete. The neglect of the amount of time necessary to accomplish a goal is so frequent in history books that this could, perhaps, account for the instant gratification so often demanded today. Those of us who enjoy reading history are intrigued with adding new information to what we have previously discovered. Each addition provides an opportunity to gain new insight. We are aware that previous generations faced challenges and mysteries much like our own. Discovering how these demands were met, successfully or unsuccessfully, in the past can guide us as we seek answers to our own personal and collective dilemmas. Most history instructors strive to teach their students about history. My goal is to enable students to learn from history. As President Harry Truman noted: “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.” About the Author/Narrator My name is Jim Ruble. I was born in Western Washington and raised in a small village on the shore of the Salish Sea. My professional life was dedicated to teaching primarily Washington State History and United States History at the junior high school level. Of course, I coached for several years. I was active in my local education association serving as president, treasurer and negotiator representing teachers. I also was active in local and state politics. After retiring from teaching I was elected Washington State Senate Sergeant-at-Arms for two four-year terms. I began A Searchable History as a lecture series to supplement the Washington State History textbooks available for junior high student use. I discovered that an understanding of the present is predicated on an understanding of the past. When I was introduced to the computer my research grew exponentially. This document is the result of my life-long interest in history. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at jimrublehistory@gmail.com Book 1, Origin Book1 Overview GEOLOGY (Pages 1-15) In this section of the document you will find a chronological listing of geologic time broken down by Eons, Eras, Periods and Epochs relayed in terms of a twenty-four clock. Significant events are noted such as volcanic activities, glacial events, the formation of glacial valleys and river valleys, various mountains, Lake Missoula, Grand Coulee, Dry Falls, Channeled Scablands and Puget Sound are noted. The advent of fishes, reptiles, dinosaurs and mammals are indicated. In contrast, a Chinook Indian legend that attempts to explain the earliest times is also included. NATIVE AMERICANS (Pages 16-115) In this section of the document the earliest people to live in the Pacific Northwest such as Marmes Man, Buhl woman, and Kennewick Man, are investigated as are theories of their origin. Coastal and Plateau Native language and culture are contrasted. Indian beliefs in the spirit world and the role of the shaman are considered. Ceremonial activities such as the potlatch, salmon ceremony and winter ceremony are examined. Class structure including slavery and political life are discussed. Native interaction with the environment, housing, Ozette village, and transportation including canoe making are presented. Fishing and hunting activities and Makah whaling are investigated. Native art work represented by clothing, jewelry, basket making and wood working is explored. Food gathering, cooking and serving, especially salmon, are presented. Attention is also placed on the cycle of life from birth to death. The impact of European and American invaders on native lives are considered. B.C.E.-1499 (Pages 116-135) An understanding of the history of the Pacific Northwest must begin prior to any European contact. This document begins with the Roman Empire and the efforts of early European and Chinese merchants who strived to establish trade. European and Chinese explorers set out to develop trade routes such as the Silk Road, develop cities as trading centers and generate wealth. Viking raiders, crusaders, Mongol invaders and Venice merchant Marco Polo each generated interest in expanding trade. 1500-1599 (PAGES 136-164) Interest in the “New World” was motivated by the rivalry between Portugal and Spain. Spain sent conquistadors Juan Ponce de Leon and Vasco Nunez de Balboa, to the New World to exploit her discovery. Portugal sent explorer Jorge Alvares across the Pacific Ocean to China. Spain continued its New World exploitation with Hernan Cortes, Juan Ponce de Leon, Pedro de Alvarado, Francisco Pizarro, Hernando de Soto and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. Portugal’s Ferdinand Magellan attempted to sail around the world but he died when reaching the Philippines. His crew succeeded. As Spain reached the Philippines, France sent Jacques Cartier to find a shorter route to China. Portugal created a business monopoly in the city of Macau, China. Muscovy Company was chartered in England to trade with Russia. England took an interest in North America as the Muscovy Company financed two investigations by Martin Frobisher. 1600-1699 (Pages 135-165) France showed an early interest in l’Acadie (Canada) when Francois Grave Pontgrave led an effort to build a colony. Samuel de Champlain explored the St. Lawrence River. Pierre Du Gua de Monts began trade between France and l’Acadie as the colony of Saint Croix Island was established. Massachusetts Bay Company was chartered bringing Puritans to America. Pierre Espirit Raddison with his brother-in-law Medard Chouart, Sieur des Grosseilliers explored and traded in the upper Mississippi River region bringing out a fortune in furs. Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), chartered by England, developed a system of trading posts. Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet traveled the Mississippi River almost to the Gulf of Mexico which was later reached by Robert La Salle. York Factory was established by HBC whose trading posts were raided by independent French fur traders. Book 2, Discovery Book2 Overview 1700-1749 (Pages 1-23) Trade expands the reach of nations: British Hudson’s Bay Company operates in Canada, British East India Company opens trade with Canton, China, British South Seas Company begins trade with South America. Independent French-Canadians traders open Fort Michilimackinac in Canada’s interior. Russian fur traders sweep across Siberia, Russia. Cayuse Indians acquire the horse. Vitus Bering conducts two tragic voyages for Russia to northern North America. 1750-1779 (Pages 24-73) France and Great Britain fought the French and Indian War to control the Ohio River region while Spain claimed all of North America. Independent fur traders develop the Canadian fur trade as Americans Alexander Henry (The Elder) and Peter Pond investigate the Canadian interior to the Great Plains. English fur trading brothers Benjamin, Thomas and Joseph Frobisher operate out of Montreal. Scotsman Simon McTavish works the Niagara Falls region. Attention of the British government again turnes to North America as Chief Pontiac’s War erupted. Great Britain dominated her American colony passing the Townshend Acts resulting in the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Declaration of Independence and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Captain James Cook leads a scientific expedition to the North Pacific for Great Britain as far as the Arctic Ocean. Canadian free traders form the Michilimackinac Company in Canada to compete with Hudson’s Bay Company. Nine independent Canadian trading posts are established near the Straits of Mackinac west of Lake Superior. 1780-1789 (Pages 74-204) American traders Peter Pond and Alexander Henry the Elder work the Lake Athabasca region of Canada. Canadian North West Company is chartered. Company employees, known as Nor’Westers include wintering partners who conduct trade with the Indians and voyageurs who provide transportation. America’s Revolution ends but the nation’s boundaries remain undefined. United States Constitution is ratified and George Washington is elected president. North West Company’s Alexander Mackenzie leads an expedition from Fort Chipewyan on Canada’s Lake Athabasca to reach the Pacific Ocean. Traversing the Peace and Great Slave rivers, Great Slave Lake, Great Bear and Mackenzie rivers he mistakenly reaches the Arctic Ocean. Suffering through rapids, ice, freezing weather, mosquitoes and mutiny Mackenzie leads his men across 1,080 miles of wilderness in forty-one days before returning to Fort Chipewyan. 1790-1799 (Pages 205-491) Commandant Francisco de Eliza leads a fleet north to defend Spain’s claim of San Lorenzo (Nootka Sound). Spanish Army Captain Pedro d’Alberni and his soldiers are stationed at Fort San Miguel (1790). Lieutenant Salvador Fidalgo establishes Spain’s second colony in the Pacific Northwest. Nunez Gaona is located at Neah Bay on the coast of Washington (1792). Sailing expeditions are sent to investigate the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, Clayoquot Sound, Barkley Sound, the Gulf Islands and the Gulf of Alaska. American Captain Robert Gray sails Columbia Rediviva from Boston back to the Pacific Northwest. He purchases land from the natives of Clayoquot Sound, names Adventure Cove and builds Fort Defiance there -- all while generating hostility with the natives. Gray sails south to trade discovering Grays Harbor and the Columbia River -- America’s only claim to what is now Washington State. British Captain George Vancouver sails the Discovery to the Pacific Northwest accompanied by Chatham commanded by Lieutenant-Commander William R. Broughton. Vancouver, Broughton, Peter Puget, Joseph Whidbey and James Johnstone thoroughly investigate the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound naming hundreds of geographic features which remain on maps today. Vancouver charts the Strait of Georgia along with Spanish lieutenants Galiano and Valdes. Vancouver next conducts a thorough investigation of Alaska waters. Book 3, Exploration Book3 Overview 1800-1809 David Thompson was named North West Company chief geographer and made a partner. Thompson, his wife Charlotte and their three children crossed Western Canada several times surveying and trading with the Indians. He carried several fortunes in furs east to the company’s Montreal headquarters. North West Company developed a transcontinental transportation system. Its Eastern Division linked Grand Portage on Lake Superior with Hudson’s Bay using large canoes manned by Montreal Boatmen. Western division linked Grand Portage with the wilderness using small canoes manned by voyageurs. Supplies traveled west; furs were carried east. Spain ceded her claim to North America vacating her colony and fort at Nootka Sound and selling her continental claim to France. Spanish attention focused on exploiting the resources of Central America. President Jefferson purchased Louisiana Territory from France. 1810-1819 Manuel Lisa’s St. Louis Missouri Fur Company’s Fort Raymond at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Bighorn rivers was visited by Andrew Henry who traveled with sixty trappers and established Henry’s Fort at the Three Forks of the Missouri River. Henry abandoned Henry’s Fort and built Fort Henry on the Snake River. North West Company’s Columbia Brigade pushed up the North Saskatchewan River bound for Rocky Mountain House. Piegan Indians harassed the brigade. David Thompson tried a new route West up the Athabasca River. He opened Athabasca Pass and wintered at Boat Encampment before continuing on to survey the Columbia River from source to mouth. John Jacob Astor created the Pacific Fur Company. He planned two expeditions to the Pacific coast, one overland and the other by sea. Astor’s Land Expedition under Wilson Price Hunt was filled with hardship, suffering and death. Astor’s Sea Party aboard the Tonquin under Captain Jonathan Thorn resulted in Astoria being built at the mouth of the Columbia River before the Tonquin was destroyed in an explosion. 1820-1829 Company wars led to the folding of North West Company into Hudson’s Bay Company. George Simpson was assigned to the Columbia Department. Fort George (Astoria) remained the headquarters for the department. Dr. John McLoughlin was named Chief Factor of Fort George. Fort Vancouver replaced Fort George as Hudson’s Bay Company headquarters for the Columbia Department Dr. John McLoughlin diversified operations to include lumbering, crop farming, sheep and cattle raising. Coastal trade was carried out by Hudson’s Bay Company’s Maritime Department. Competition came from American ships such as the Owyhee under Captain John Dominis. Sailors on Owyhee carried smallpox which devastated the native population as Indian villages became ghost towns. General William H. Ashley hit on the idea of supplying trappers in the field who traded goods with the natives for pelts. He established the Rendezvous system that required wagon routes be established from St. Louis to gathering places in the Rocky Mountains. 1830-1839 Annual Rendezvous became the method of supplying trappers in the field who worked the Wyoming and Montana area. Rocky Mountain Fur Company and other freight companies delivered caravans of goods from St. Louis to annual Rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains. Pacific Fur Trading Company carried goods from St. Louis to Santa Fe opening the Southwest. Catholic priests had followed French-Canadian trappers into the wilderness since the earliest arrival of Europeans to North America. Indian Ignace La Mousse studied the Catholic faith and settled among the Flathead Indians of Montana. They sent four young men to St. Louis seeking “Black Robes.” Spokane Garry studied the Church of England faith in Winnipeg, Canada. Garry opened a makeshift school among his people. Catholic Father Norbert Blanchet and Father Modeste Demers opened a mission in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Washington’s Cowlitz Valley. Hudson’s By Company dominated its Columbia Department politically and economically. Canoe brigades carried supplies from, and furs to Lake Superior. Fur brigades penetrated the interior of the Columbia Department. Willamette Valley Methodist missionaries greeted the “Great Reinforcement” when they arrived aboard the ship Lausanne. Exuberant expansionist James K. Polk was elected President of the United States. He called for American jurisdiction over Oregon settlers. Oregon Country was plagued with nationalistic and racist feelings. Whitman’s Waiilatpu Mission was attacked on November 29, 1847. Thirteen people including the Whitmans were killed initially. Organic Act creating Oregon Territory was signed by President Polk August 14, 1848. Joe Lane was named territorial governor. Colonel William Loring led the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen over the Oregon Trail to provide protection to travelers and settlers alike. Book 4, Settlement Book 4 Overview California gold spawned get-rich-quick dreams in Oregonians who less than a decade before had been completely dependent on Hudson’s Bay Company for their protection and livelihoods. Married men, bachelors, boys, military deserters and frustrated missionaries were among the first of the 49ers. Very few made fortunes, some made enough money to invest in other schemes, most made very little. Many more made money mining the miners: farmers sold their harvests at fantastic prices, eggs sold for $1-$3 each, butter at $6 a pound, Long Beach oystermen could get almost any price they had the guts to ask. But the real money was made by Midwest timber barons who milled the seemingly endless old growth cedar and fir trees into dressed limber, piled it on fleets of ships and sailed to San Francisco to attempt to appease the insatiable appetite for building material. Change was rapid. Oregon Territory’s government hanged five participants in the Whitman tragedy. Millard Fillmore became president on the death of Zachery Taylor. Congress passed the Oregon Donation Land Law giving 320 acres of land to qualified (not Indian) settlers. Treaties written with six Indians tribes were almost immediately broken by resentful land grabbers. The U.S. Senate refused to ratify any of the treaties with Oregon Territory Indians to the confusion of Indians and settlers alike. Wanapum Indians lived along the Columbia River below the mouth of the Snake River. For centuries they practiced a religion known as Washani (dancers). Smohalla the Dreamer was accepted as a prophet and holy man. He opposed Christianity and told natives that if they returned to their old ways The Changer would drive off the invaders. This was the foundation of the Indians’ Dreamer Religion. Indian schools opened to impose American culture on native children in Washington Territory. Squaxin Island school educated Squaxin and Puyallup children. Puyallup School for Indian Education opened to provide a more convenient location. St. Anne’s Mission and Boys Day School opened on the Tulalip Reservation. The first Indian Boarding School in the United States opened on the Yakima Indian Reservation. Election of Abraham Lincoln brought Civil War to the nation. When Lincoln issued his call for support Washington Territory rallied. Women of the territory contributed clothing and hospital supplies in greater amounts than any other state or territory in the Union. Women’s voting rights had been discussed in the Washington Territory legislature in 1866 and 1869 to no avail. Abigail Scott Duniway published The New Northwest, a weekly women’s suffrage newspaper, in Portland. Suffragist Lizzy Ordway served as secretary of the Washington Women’s Suffrage Organization. Her efforts resulted in the territorial legislature granting women the right to vote in school elections. Fifteen Thurston County women were among the first to vote in America when they cast ballots in the school election November 1870. Lizzie Ordway was elected School Superintendent of Kitsap County. Lumbering boomed in Washington Territory to meet local needs and California demands. Old growth stands of public forests were frequently raided by timber pirates. Steam powered sawmills efficiently, if dangerously, turned out dressed lumber to be carried south by fleets of sailing ships hauling lumber. Northern Pacific Railway linked Duluth, Minnesota and the Great Lakes with the West coast September 11, 1883. Railroad companies sold the glories of the Pacific Northwest to Americans and Europeans alike even as the railroad bought politicians in Olympia and Portland. Washington Territory experienced a flurry of railroad construction projects as tributary shortline railroads stretched into coal fields, wheat growing regions and forest lands. Northern Pacific Railway’s Stampede Pass Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains linked the transcontinental track with Tacoma. Tacoma became the home of Foss tugboat company and the Ryan ore smelter. Washington Territory Legislature passed women’s suffrage on November 23, 1883 providing women the vote on local issues. Only Wyoming and Utah territories had enacted women’s suffrage earlier. Members of Seattle’s small African-American community rejoiced as they became the first politically organized group of black women ever to vote in the United States. However, women could not participate in national elections as federal laws denied the right. Canadian railroad builder Jim Hill dreamed of a privately-owned transcontinental rail line. He undertook his goal by linking together short line routes into his Great Northern Railway. He built his “Coast Line” track to connect Seattle with the Canadian Pacific transcontinental rail terminal at New Westminster, B.C. Scheduled international train service from Seattle began in 1891. From Seattle Hill also laid track toward the Cascade Mountains to link with his mainline transcontinental track under construction from the east. Washington State experienced a booming economy. Farmers led the way as farms blessed with good climate, rich soil. abundant rainfall and a long growing season became very productive. Oystermen began to harvest oysters with such abandon they depleted stocks and fish canneries did the same. Northern Pacific Railroad developed the land along the Yakima River when the railroad’s Yakima Land and Canal Company built the Sunnyside Canal and sold irrigatable land. But Washington’s principal industries were extractive in nature: lumber and mining returned huge profits for company owners. Financial crisis again hit America as the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad went into bankruptcy. President Cleveland was sworn into office for a nonconsecutive second term. He did little to address the growing crisis. New York Stock Exchange crashed on June 27, 1893. Business activities slowed, Farm prices for crops and land dropped ever lower and unemployment swept across the nation. Men wandered the countryside looking for work. Public opinion began to slowly swing toward governmental activism and intervention to help the poor. U.S. Navy battleship Maine was sunk under mysterious circumstances in the harbor of Havana, Cuba February 15, 1898. William Randolph Hearst and his chain of newspapers assumed Spain had plotted the treachery. America declared war and a patriotic frenzy was ignited. The First Washington Volunteers under Colonel J.H. Wholley answered the call. Seven officers and one hundred-forty of these men suffered casualties. The Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War. Critics accused the U.S. government of using the Maine as a pretext to gain an empire in the ten-week war. Book 5, Development Book 5 Overview Gold rushes continued to enrich the nation and bolster the state of Washington. Socialist colonies sprung up in Pierce, Skagit and Island counties. Industrial Workers of the World radicalized the labor movement and women struggled to gain voting rights. Boarding schools deprived native children of their culture and Indian families of their children. An interurban transportation system linked towns and cities providing passenger and freight service. Prosperity led to political reform: women in Washington regained voting rights; cities attacked local crime; and state voters demanded accountability from political leaders. Europe marched off to war as Germany attempted to expand its empire. The United States joined in the “war to end wars” as ancient European empires collapsed. Boeing built airplanes to supply the war effort. Unions took advantage of wartime needs with strikes to improve wages and working conditions and expand the labor movement. Having supported the victors, America’s economy rapidly expanded. Communists organized in American to attack the capitalist financial system. In response a “Red Scare” swept the nation. Automobiles replaced the interurban transportation system. Prohibition attempted to diminish crime and social problems. Women’s voting rights were added to the U.S. Constitution. Electricity divided America into urban “haves” and rural “have-nots.” Economic Depression made everyone “have-nots.” Economic Depression spread poverty, destroyed the nation’s confidence and crushed American values. Drought-stricken mid-westerners driven by poverty fled to the coasts. White males took shelter in “Hoovervilles” while women and children faced homelessness, scarcity and fear in families or alone.” Europe again erupted in war as Adolf Hitler imposed his will. President Franklin Roosevelt promised Americans a “New Deal.” Imperial Japan imposed its will on Asia. America faced two wars simultaneously. Washington’s Japanese Americans were gathered in “Camp Harmony” before being shipped to internment camps. Women temporarily entered the work force to produce war goods in astonishing amounts. Atomic Power, born in part in Washington State, unleashed the threat of total annihilation on an unsuspecting world. Victory provided America economic prosperity and an opportunity to return to a male-dominated capitalistic society. America rescued Europe as the Marshall Plan provided, food, equipment, money and expertise to a stricken continent. North Korea with the support of Communist China invaded South Korea destabilizing Asia. America strived to achieve the “American Dream” but minority Americans did not qualify. Communists in the USSR detonated a series of atomic bombs. American children practiced “duck and cover” drills in schools as adults contemplated nuclear annihilation. Washington state and national politicians reignited the “Red Scare.” Nuclear war was very narrowly avoided by the U.S. and USSR. The Civil Rights Movement expanded from the South across the United States. Washington Indians demanded their treaty fishing rights be honored. Civil Rights marchers demanded minority groups be included in society. America entered the conflict in Viet Nam to stop the spread of Communism and entered the “Space Race” for the same reason. Boeing engineers made advances in air transportation, but the USSR led in space until American Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. America expanded the war in Viet Nam into Cambodia as campus protests across the nation led to college students being killed. Vice-President Spiro Agnew resigned from office for taking bribes before the Watergate scandal forced President Richard Nixon to resign from office in disgrace. Economic recession resulted in education funding being cut in Washington. Teachers went on strike in school districts across the state. Disasters hit Washington’s logging industry when Mt. Saint Helens erupted destroying timber and powdering the state with volcanic ash. When the Northern Spotted Owl was placed on the endangered species list 30,000 timber jobs were lost. HIV/AIDS devastated America and the world. Crime alarmed the Puget Sound region as serial killer Ted Bundy was captured but the “Hillside Strangler” took his place. White supremacists conducted a statewide crime spree. A criminal syndicate led by the sheriff operated in Pierce County. State political leaders were convicted of corruption. The Green River Killer preyed on young women. Iraq invaded Kuwait. The United Nations Security Council authorized military intervention in Iraq August 29, 1990. Army reservists were called to active duty across the United States as protestors took to the streets. President George H.W. Bush ordered Operation Desert Storm (First Gulf War) launched against military targets in Iraq and Kuwait. A cease fire was declared after 100 hours of devastation. Iraq threatened to build nuclear weapons. President George W. Bush announced a Second Gulf War and ordered more than 100 airstrikes on Iraq before announcing an invasion March 20, 2003. The Communist government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) began to experience politically independent pressure as nationalist movements emerged in several of the republics. A coup to overthrow the Soviet Union president failed, but as the world watched in amazement the government disintegrated. President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned December 25, 1991 ending the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Native Americans exerted their treaty rights. Tacoma’s city and port and the city of Fife had expanded onto Puyallup Indian reservation land. The Puyallup Tribe sent eviction letters to farmers and landowners. Negotiations resulted in the tribe acquiring a $162 million settlement. In a court case Washington State treaty tribes retained the right to harvest shellfish even on private property. Makah Indians, reviving a protected ancient tradition, conducted a successful whale hunt December 1994. Teacher strikes continued culminating in a stateside strike. Governor Booth Gardner and legislators took up education reform but ignored education funding. Commissions and Task Forces proposed that student learning goals and teacher accountability were the real issues facing education. Local school districts saw their funding slashed as corporate lobbying for billions of dollars in tax breaks and other benefits began. WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) testing was imposed to acquire a high school diploma. Problems of wide variations in individual schools’ performances and inconsistencies in test scoring soon surfaced. Controversy forced WASL testing to end in 2009. Teachers in districts across the state went on strike as legislators focused attention on student testing rather than lack of school funding. Washington courts addressed the funding crisis and the state supreme court ruled legislators were in contempt of court for not meeting their paramount duty to fund education. Local and international events were of concern as The Green River serial killings continued for ten years. The United State entered a series of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trade agreements with Europe and Asia were reached but rioters in Seattle protested the World Trade Organization agreement. Boeing absorbed its competitors and moved its headquarters out of Seattle. Several billionaires called Washington their home. Sound Transit began to link the cities and towns of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties with a transportation network reminiscent of the Interurban system.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.466180	Teaching/Learning Strategy	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/117801/overview", "title": "Searchable Pacific Northwest History", "author": "Student Guide" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/108602/overview	The Complete Subjective Health Assessment Pain Assessment-A Case Study Overview Case Study for Pain Assessment using the PQRSTU method. Identifies how to find objective and subjective cues for pain. Case Study-Pain Assessment Part 1 1. B and E 2. A and C 3. A, C, and D 4. A 5. C You have been assigned Mr. Edmund, who is a 30 year old patient who arrived in your facility yesterday following a motorvehicle accident. In the emergency department he was diagnosed with fractures of left ribs 6-8, left humorus fracture, and bilateral lung contusions. His arm was set and splinted in the emergency department last night. He has multiple bruises, abrasions and lacerations to his face, left arm, chest and abdomen. You review his most recent vital signs and note the following: R-26, P-110, B/P-140/86, Temp 36.8 C. Upon arrival in the room, you note Mr. Edumund is lying in bed with his eyes closed and is grimacing. He is lying very still and refuses to move. He tells you he is "very sore from the accident". You decide to use the PQRSTU assessment ( Lapum et al, 2019) to assess his pain and you note the following: respirations are shallow and about 26 per minute, radial pulse is strong and rapid at 112 bilaterally, L arm is in a splint, fingers are swollen and bruised but he reports sensation and is able to move them, lungs are clear bilaterally but diminished in the bases. Mr. Edmund is not on any oxygen and his oxygen saturation is 96%. He states he is unable to take a deep breath or cough. He states when he takes a deep breath he gets a immediate stabbing pain in his L side. He can not get comfortable and states nothing makes his pain any better. He states he hurts all over but his main concern is the severe pain in his left ribcage. He reports that as an 8 of 10 on the 0-10 numeric pain scale your facility uses. He states he has not had any pain medication since he left the emergency department last night. 1. Identify all of the following that are subjective assessments related to pain (more than one may be correct) A. Oxygen Saturation of 96% B. Reports when he takes a deep breath he gets an immediate stabbing pain C. Bruising and abrasions on his face D. Cast in place on his left arm E. Reports pain of 8 out of 10 on the numeric scale 2. Identify all of the following that are objective assessments related to pain (more than 1 may be correct) A. Respiratory Rate of 26 B. Reports when he takes a deep breath he gets an immediate stabbing pain C. Facial Grimace D. Splint in place on his left arm E. Reports pain of 8 out of 10 on the numeric scale 3. Which of the following cues might indicate a patient is experiencing pain? A. Facial Grimace B. Pulse oximeter reading of 96% C. Pulse rate of 112 D. Refusal to move 4. After getting Mr. Edmund pain medications, what would the prudent nurse focus on first to prevent further complications? A. Having Mr. Edmund deep breath and cough and use a spirometer B. Getting Mr. Edmund up to walk C. Giving Mr. Edmund pain medication on a regular basis D. Elevating Mr. Edmunds L arm to prevent swelling 5. Based on your assessment what is the primary nursing concern at this time? A. Preventing swelling of Mr. Edmunds arm B. Keeping Mr. Edmunds pain at a "0" rating C. Preventing respiratory complications D. Walking Mr. Edmund to the bathroom Reference: Lapum, J; St-Amant, O; Hughes, M; Petrie, P; Morrell, S; and Mistry, S. (2019). The Complete Subjective Health Assessment. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/healthassessment/part/preface/	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.491078	Case Study	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/108602/overview", "title": "Pain Assessment-A Case Study", "author": "Assessment" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/113096/overview	AZ Regional Conference Keynote Video_Final_01.18.23 Connection_Collaboration_Creativity_AZ Regional Conference Keynote Keynote - Connection, Collaboration, and Creativity: An approach to synergistic efforts leading to greater impact Overview Archived session from the 2023 Arizona Regional OER Conference. Session Title: Keynote - Connection, Collaboration, and Creativity: An approach to synergistic efforts leading to greater impact This resource includes the session abstract, presenters, PPT, and recording. Session Abstract, PPT, and Recording Session Abstract Educational attainment of people living in rural areas is markedly lower than urban areas in Arizona and the rest of the U.S. Eighty-three percent of Arizona geographically is classified as rural. Fifteen percent of people in rural Arizona live in poverty compared to 12% in urban Arizona and 11% in the U.S. Twenty-one percent of persons 25+ in rural Arizona have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 33% in both urban Arizona and in the U.S. Through connection, collaboration, and creativity, the Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona initiative has created a collective of eight rural Arizona community colleges, leveraging resources to increase student cost savings, collaboration, and access and knowledge of OER and Open Pedagogy. Dr. Diane Ryan and Ms. Megan Crossfield will explore the importance of collaboration in the context of Open Education and share effective strategies used to impact the greater Arizona community and beyond. Always keeping in mind, together we achieve more. Presenters Megan Crossfield, Manager of Academic Initiatives & Special Projects, Yavapai College Diane Ryan, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Yavapai College	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.511371	02/19/2024	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/113096/overview", "title": "Keynote - Connection, Collaboration, and Creativity: An approach to synergistic efforts leading to greater impact", "author": "OERizona Conference" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/71092/overview	Essay 2 Annotated Bibliography and Rubric Essay 3 Final Essay Assignment and Rubric Essay 3 Final Essay Introduction Handout - Conscription and the U.S. Draft Handout - The Quang Ngai Province and the My Lai Massacre Handout -Tips on Reading a Collection of Linked Short Fiction Instructions for This Course Readings from Composition II Suggested Class meeting Discussions Suggested OER Syllabus Composition II Writing Exercises Composition II: The Things We All Carry Overview This course incorporates original OER materials with readings from the novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, a gripping and compassionate account of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War and readings from the textbook Composition II from Lumen Learning. The course will challenge students in their reading and writing skills while providing them with a historical and cultural context to better understand war, peace, and the human condition. Instructor Guides These are documents that explain the main parts of this course and how to deploy them. You will find a syllabus, class discussion prompts, writing exercises, and an outline of the textbook readings. Articles Here you will find some of the articles used in the syllabus. These were taken from the NEA Big Read initiative, "Teacher's Guide." The other articles can be found in the "Reader Resources" guide. Essays and Rubrics This section provides both the main essay assignments as well as their rubrics. These largely come from the textbook Composition II from Lumin Learning, though some have been adapted to better serve this OER course.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.535030	Full Course	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/71092/overview", "title": "Composition II: The Things We All Carry", "author": "Assessment" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/64710/overview	Bubbl.us Overview Instructions and ways to use Bubbl.us in Community College ESL courses. Bubbl Instructions Bubbl.us is a brainstorming tool that can be used for many types of assignments.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.552354	03/30/2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/64710/overview", "title": "Bubbl.us", "author": "Annemarie Roscello" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/84472/overview	Curvature of a Curve: Calculus 3 project by Ryan Taylor Overview This Project has been completed as part of a standard 10 weeks Calculus 3 asynchronous online course with optional WebEx sessions during Summer 2021 Semester at MassBay Community College, Wellesley Hills, MA. Curvature of a Curve What is Curvature Driving down the road you see a bend in the road, and you turn your wheel a little bit to make that bend. A little bit farther down the road, you see another bend, but this one is very tight, and you will have to turn very quickly, so you turn your steering wheel a lot more and you make the bend. The amount that turned your steering wheel is a good representation of curvature. Curvature measures how quickly a line is changing direction as it is travelled, so that tight turn where you had to turn your steering wheel a lot, had a large value for curvature while the first curve has a much smaller value. Another way to define this is that it is the inverse of the radius of the circle that would be created to fit that curve, the larger the radius, the smaller the curve. Figure 1: Created with Solidworks In this example, the radius of the circle that would hug the curve at that point is .5, since the curvature is the inverse of radius, the curvature would be 2 or 1/.5 Figure 2: Created with Solidworks In this example, the radius of the circle is greater, which means the curvature is going to be smaller which means this is a more gentle curve. If the line were a road, the driver would have to turn the steering wheel a lot less to stay on the road for this curve rather than the first curve shown. This curvature value would be ~.5714 or 1/1.75. The next challenge to overcome with curvature, is finding the curvature value when the radius of the curve is not given. That is what we will figure out next. Equations There are two equations to find curvature, they are as follows. $\displaystyle{k}=\frac{{\left\\|{\vec{{T}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}}{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)'}}\right\\|}} ~~ \text{ or }~~ {k}=\frac{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'\times\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}{''}}\right\\|}}{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}^{3}} ~~ \text{ and }~~ \displaystyle\vec{{T}}{\left({t}\right)}=\frac{{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'}}{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}} $ To see how these equations come from, watch the the following 3 videos. They provide an excellent explanation of the curvature formulas. Let's use these formulas in a couple examples. Example 1 First let's find the curvature of $\displaystyle{\vec r}{\left({t}\right)}=<{4} \sin{{\left({t}\right)}},-{4} \cos{{\left({t}\right)}}>$ Start by finding $\vec {r}~'(t)$ $\vec {r}~'(t)=<4\cos(t),4\sin(t)>$ This will allow us to find $\vec{T}(t)$ $\displaystyle\vec{{T}}{\left({t}\right)}=\frac{{<{4} \cos{{\left({t}\right)}},{4} \sin{{\left({t}\right)}}>}}{\sqrt{{{16}{{\cos}^{2}{\left({t}\right)}}+{16}{{\sin}^{2}{\left({t}\right)}}}}}=\frac{{<{4} \cos{{\left({t}\right)}},{4} \sin{{\left({t}\right)}}>}}{{{4}\sqrt{{{{\cos}^{2}{\left({t}\right)}}+{{\sin}^{2}{\left({t}\right)}}}}}}=\frac{{<{4} \cos{{\left({t}\right)}},{4} \sin{{\left({t}\right)}}>}}{{4}}=<\cos(t),\sin(t)>$ Next find $\vec{T}~'(t)$ $\displaystyle\vec{{{T}}}~'{\left({t}\right)}=<- \sin{{\left({t}\right)}}, \cos{{\left({t}\right)}}>$ Now that we have $\vec{T}~'(t)$ we need to find $\|\|\vec{T}~'(t)\|\|$ and $\|\|\vec{r}~'(t)\|\|$. $\displaystyle{\left\\|{\vec{{T}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}=\sqrt{{{\left(- \sin{{\left({t}\right)}}\right)}^{2}+{\left( \cos{{\left({t}\right)}}\right)}^{2}}}={1}$ $\displaystyle{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}=\sqrt{{{\left({4} \cos{{\left({t}\right)}}\right)}^{2}+{\left({4} \cos{{\left({t}\right)}}\right)}^{2}}}=\sqrt{{{16}{{\cos}^{2}{\left({t}\right)}}+{16}{{\sin}^{2}{\left({t}\right)}}}}={4}\sqrt{{{{\cos}^{2}{\left({t}\right)}}+{{\sin}^{2}{\left({t}\right)}}}}={4}\times{1}={4}$ This will allow us to substitute these values into the first curvature equation. $\displaystyle\kappa=\frac{{\left\\|{\vec{{T}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}}{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}}=\frac{1}{{4}}$ The curvature of $\displaystyle{\vec r}{\left({t}\right)}=<{4} \sin{{\left({t}\right)}},-{4} \cos{{\left({t}\right)}}>$ is $\kappa= \dfrac{1}{4}$1/4 or .25. The inverse of this is 4, which is the radius of the equation. To check this, we can look at a graph of $\vec{r}(t)$. Figure 3: Created with Matlab Example 2 Let's find the curvature of $\displaystyle \vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}=<\frac{{t}^{3}}{{3}},{4}{t},\frac{{t}^{5}}{{5}}>$ To start, let's graph this equation. Figure 4: Created with Matlab 3D Graph.fig This time we are going to use the second formula for curvature. That equation is as follows: $\displaystyle\kappa=\frac{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'\times\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}{''}}\right\\|}}{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}^{3}}$ To make things simpler, we are going to find $\vec{r}~'(t)$ and $\vec{r}~''(t)$, then find the cross product, and then put everything into the equation. $\displaystyle\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'=<{t}^{2},{4},{t}^{4}>$ $\displaystyle\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}{''}=<{2}{t},{0},{4}{t}^{3}>$ Next we will need to find the cross product. $\displaystyle\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'\times\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}{''}={\left\|\begin{matrix}\hat{{i}}&\hat{{j}}&\hat{{k}}\\{t}^{2}&{4}&{t}^{4}\\{2}{t}&{0}&{4}{t}^{3}\end{matrix}\right\|}=<{16}{t}^{3},-{2}{t}^{5},-{8}{t}>$ From here we will put the vectors we found into the curvature formula. $\displaystyle\kappa=\frac{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'\times\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}{''}}\right\\|}}{{\left\\|{\vec{{r}}{\left({t}\right)}'}\right\\|}^{3}}=\frac{\sqrt{{{\left({16}{t}^{3}\right)}^{2}+{\left(-{2}{t}^{5}\right)}^{2}+{\left(-{8}{t}\right)}^{2}}}}{{\left(\sqrt{{{\left({t}^{2}\right)}^{2}+{\left({4}\right)}^{2}+{\left({t}^{4}\right)}^{2}}}\right)}^{3}}=\frac{\sqrt{{{256}{t}^{6}+{4}{t}^{10}+{64}{t}^{2}}}}{{\left(\sqrt{{{t}^{4}+{16}+{t}^{8}}}\right)}^{3}}$ To find the curvature at a specific point, a $t$ value can be inputted, for example, let's use $t=10$. $\displaystyle\frac{\sqrt{{{256}{t}^{6}+{4}{t}^{10}+{64}{t}^{2}}}}{{\left(\sqrt{{{t}^{4}+{16}+{t}^{8}}}\right)}^{3}}={2.0061}\times{10}^{ -{{7}}}$ Curvature Being able to calculate curvature can open a lot of doors and can be very helpful, and thankfully, it is fairly simple to do. The two formulas will both give the same results, but in some situations one may be easier than the other. Knowing when to use which equation will save you a lot of time and so practiving with each can be quite helpful. Now you will be able to calculate the curvature of the road you are driving on, or the curvature of a graph you are looking at. I hope you have found this to be a helpful guide! If you would like to learn more about calculus, I highly encourage you to visit the following wiki pages that I found very informative! Gradient and Directional Derivatives References	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.575193	Homework/Assignment	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/84472/overview", "title": "Curvature of a Curve: Calculus 3 project by Ryan Taylor", "author": "Activity/Lab" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/118474/overview	Improvisation Recipe Book (adpated) Improvisation Recipe Book Overview This open resource provides a comprehensive guide to learning and applying improvisation techniques, including historical context, key principles, and a variety of exercises for different group sizes and durations. It covers warm-ups, games, career applications, and devised theatre, making it suitable for both novice and experienced improvisers. Image Attribution: (Theatreland Masks by Garry Knight is licensed CC BY 2.0) Improvisation Recipe Book The Improvisation Recipe Book is an extensive guide that delves into the art of improvisational theater, outlining its historical context, fundamental rules, and various styles. It begins with a brief history of improv, tracing its roots from ancient practices such as the Atellan Farce in 391 BC to the development of modern improvisational techniques by influential figures like Viola Spolin and Keith Johnstone. The book emphasizes key principles essential for successful improvisation, including listening, agreement, teamwork, and maintaining character throughout performances. “The following recipes, or games, are intended to be used as reference and study for the college course: Improvisation. This format has been set up to help with ease of quick learning and immediate application. Bon Appétit !” - Dan Stone	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.593406	07/27/2024	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/118474/overview", "title": "Improvisation Recipe Book", "author": "Red Rocks CC" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/95539/overview	CT_adipose_kidney_400x, p000136 Overview CT_adipose_kidney_400x, p000136 CT_adipose_kidney_400x, p000136 CT_adipose_kidney_400x, p000136	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.615140	Diagram/Illustration	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/95539/overview", "title": "CT_adipose_kidney_400x, p000136", "author": "Health, Medicine and Nursing" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/17962/overview	Rhetorical Appeals Overview This module covers four rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, logos and kairos. Section 1 This module covers four rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, logos and kairos.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.631902	10/19/2017	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/17962/overview", "title": "Rhetorical Appeals", "author": "Lauren Williams" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/94561/overview	الفيديو التفاعلي Overview يهدف الموقع الى ان يتعرف الطالب على الفيديو التفاعلي واستخداماته في مجالات عده ويحتوي الموقع على تاريخ ونشاه الفيديو التفاعلي ,وتعريف الفيديو التفاعلي ,واهم مكونات الفيديو التفاعلي , وخصائصه , واستخداماته , واهم مميزات وعيوب الفيديو التفاعلي ." الصفحه الرئيسية الفيديو التفاعلي مرحبا بكم في موقع الفيديو. التفاعلي إعداد/ أحلام خشافة. إشراف/ أنور الوحش الموضوعات \| مكونات الفيديو التفاعلي \| تعريف الفيديو التفاعلي \| تاريخ ونشاه الفيديو التفاعلي \| \| اهم مميزات وعيوب الفيديو التفاعلي \| خصائص الفيديو التفاعلي \| استخدماته في العمليه التعليمية \| من نحن نحن طلبة تكنولوجيا التعليم والمعلومات الدفعة التاسعة شعبة المعلومات المستوى الثالث تاريخ ونشاه الفيديو التفاعلي ديو التفاعلي "ديسك" سنة 1973م وانتشر في الولايات المتحدة سنة 1978م وفي أروبا 1982 م كانت تطبيقاته مختصره في البداية على الاقلام المتحركة التجارية وفي سنة 1982م استخدم نظام الليزر في الكمبيوتر وادى الى ظهور الأسطوانات المدمجة (السي دي_ والروم)فزادت سعته في الفيديو ديسك ومن ثم ظهرت الأسطوانات المدمجة التفاعلية واصبحت متاحة تجاريا منذ عام 1922م ثم ظهرت محاولات الوحدة بين الفيديو ديسك والبطاقة الفائقة الهارد كارد ساعدت الى تخزين صور ثابته ومتحركة على الفيديو ديسك . في نهاية الثمانينات وبداية التسعينات من القرن 20 بدأت مشروعات الفيديو التفاعلي لا كنة لم ينتشر في المدارس بسبب ارتفاع سعره . تعريف الفيديو التفاعلي عبارة عن مزج الحاسب الالي بالفيديو ليتاح للمتعلم فرصة التفاعل مع البرنامج الموجود على شريط او قرص بطريقة تسمح له بتعلم الافكار واكتساب الخبرات والجديدة في الموقف التعليمي ويرى بآرونز جون 2015م هو خليط لبيئة الوسائط المتعددة التي تنتقل مميزات الفيديو التعليمي والكمبيوتر المساعد للمتعلم بحيث تتيح للمتعلم التفاعل والاستجابة لتقديم المعلومات ت السمعية والبصرية مكونات الفيديو التفاعلي تشمل انظمة الفيديو التفاعلي على المكونات التالية: الأجهزة التعليمية: وتشمل الكمبيوتر وأدوات الإدخال ووسائل التخزين وأجهزة الصوت. إدارة المعلومات: دورها تحديد وتجميع وتخزين أداء المستخدم وتفاعله مع النظام. ب ا رمج الفيديو التفاعلي: وتشمل أدوات متعددة للتأليف . نظم التأليف: وهي تتطلب قد ا ر قليلا من المعلومات عن البرمجة لتصميم الشاشات لغة التأليف: ونعني بها لغة البرمجة وتمتاز لغة التأليف بالمرونة خصائص الفيديو التفاعلي يتسم الفيديو التفاعلي بالخصائص التالية: 1- يجمع بين كل من ميزات كل من الفيديو والكمبيوتر من خلال البرامج التعليمية 2- يسهم في ايجاد المشاركة الايجابية الفعالة بين المتعلم والبرنامج. 3- يسهم توفير زمن المتعلم. 4- يراعي خصائص المتعلم وحاجاته المختلفة. 5- يساعد على إتقان التعلم، لما يقدمه من تغذية ا رجعة وتعزيز فوري لاستجابات المتعلم . 6- التحكم الذاتي من خلال عرض للفيديو والحاسوب أثناء عملية التعلم 7- التفاعلية ؛ حيث يقوم المتعلم باستجابات أثناء عملية التعلم . استخدامات الفيديو التفاعلي من استخدامات الفيديو التفاعلي في التعليم كما يلي . قواعد البيانات البصرية: كأداة للشرح والتوضيح في المحاض ا رت التعليم والتعلم التفاعلي: أداة إرشاد:	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.653792	Full Course	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/94561/overview", "title": "الفيديو التفاعلي", "author": "Literature" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/95075/overview	simple squamous epi_lung alveoli_100x, p000119 Overview simple squamous epi_lung alveoli_100x, p000119 \| one layer surface cells top layer is flat \| simple squamous epi_lung alveoli_100x, p000119 simple squamous epi_lung alveoli_100x, p000119 \| epithelia \| Anatomy, p000119 \|	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.669575	Diagram/Illustration	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/95075/overview", "title": "simple squamous epi_lung alveoli_100x, p000119", "author": "Health, Medicine and Nursing" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/78283/overview	Production of OER Worklow Overview This workflow can help you understand the major steps in the production of OER and manage your own progress towards creating OER. Key questions are asked at various points and direction to support from library. We ask faculty and departments authoring open content to engage in this process in order for their OER to be recognized. This work, created by Billy Meinke and University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 International license - Revisions by Regina Gong at Lansing Community College and OPEN SLCC. Production of Open Educational Resources (OER) Workflow This workflow can help you understand the major steps in the production of OER and manage your own progress towards creating OER. Key questions are asked at various points and direction to support from library. We ask faculty and departments authoring open content to engage in this process in order for their OER to be recognized. This work, created by Billy Meinke and University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 International license - Revisions by Regina Gong at Lansing Community College and OPEN SLCC.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.687693	03/17/2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/78283/overview", "title": "Production of OER Worklow", "author": "Liliana Diaz" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/105770/overview	Open For Antiracism (OFAR) Template Overview The Open for Antiracism (OFAR) Program – co-led by CCCOER and College of the Canyons – emerged as a response to the growing awareness of structural racism in our educational systems and the realization that adoption of open educational resources (OER) and open pedagogy could be transformative at institutions seeking to improve. The program is designed to give participants a workshop experience where they can better understand anti-racist teaching and how the use of OER and open pedagogy can empower them to involve students in the co-creation of an anti-racist classroom. The capstone project involves developing an action plan for incorporating OER and open pedagogy into a course being taught in the spring semester. OFAR participants are invited to remix this template to design and share their projects and plans for moving this work forward. How To Remix This Template OFAR participants are invited to remix this template to design and share their projects and plans for moving this work forward. Once logged in, click the remix button on this resource to make your own version of this template. Change the title to describe your project and add text, videos, images, and attachments to the sections below. Delete this section and instructions in other sections before publishing. When you are ready to publish, click next to update the overview, license, and description of your resource, and then click publish. Action Plan Both OER and open pedagogy helped my class to bring materials that were more accessible and representative of students' experiences. One of the open pedagogy elements I used in my class was a liquid syllabus (https://sites.google.com/view/esl-a100-liquid-syllabus?usp=sharing) which presented the information in a web-based manner, engaging students and allowing students to navigate through the document more readily. Also, by having a liquid syllabus, I was able to incorporate images that communicated an antiracist and more inclusive environment in my class. OER, on the other hand, allowed me to bring in videos such as "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adeche and other open-access materials that are more representative of the experiences of a wide range of students beyond what is traditionally featured in college-reader-type books, normally used in college composition courses. Course Description ESL A100: College Composition Course Description ESL A100 is a transfer-level course, equivalent to English 100, designed to provide additional linguistic support to students. This course focuses on the instruction and practice of essay writing, critical reading and analytical, and polishing of sentence structure, tone and voice. We will also work on helping you develop research skills and practices to incorporate information from researched sources as supporting evidence. Students will be required to spend three hours per semester in the OCC Writing Center, Instructor’s Office Hours, or other equivalent revision activities as determined by the instructor. Learning Outcomes: At the end of the semester, students who have successfully completed this course will be able to: Articulate clear, logical, and adequately supported ideas in an in-class essay that is effectively organized and satisfactorily edited, using correct sentence structure. Demonstrate comprehension of college-level readings by annotating and using them in essays and research-based paper Link to Liquid Syllabus This is the link to my liquid syllabus: https://sites.google.com/view/esl-a100-liquid-syllabus?usp=sharing Antiracist Assignment / Module This module culminated in students writing a persuasive paper that asked them to challenge a stereotype or misconception they have experienced firsthand. We discussed three texts in preparation for this writing assignment. The video "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimananda Ngozi Adeche provided the core concept they would explore in their essays--the dangers of a single story and our responsibility to "complete the story." We also read the prologue of Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez and examined social labels. We discussed how we identify ourselves and our reactions to the labels others impose on us. Lastly, we analyzed how Ronald Takaki structured his argument in "The Hamful Myth of Asian Superiority." Students modeled their argument after his.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.710018	06/24/2023	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/105770/overview", "title": "Open For Antiracism (OFAR) Template", "author": "Marely Cervantes" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89982/overview	Micrograph human cheek epithelial cells methylene blue 100X p000020 Overview This micrograph was taken at 100X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is human cheek epithelial cells collected fresh with a toothpick. The cells were stained with methylene blue stain prior to visualization. Image credit: Emily Fox Micrograph Light background with irregular-shaped cells with round blue nuclei.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.727365	Diagram/Illustration	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89982/overview", "title": "Micrograph human cheek epithelial cells methylene blue 100X p000020", "author": "Health, Medicine and Nursing" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92735/overview	Creating Study Guides Final Draft Guidelines Norco College English 1B Spring 2022 Syllabus OFAR Action Plan Peer Workshop Assignment Guidelines Practicing Analysis Proposal Assignment Guidelines Rough Draft Guidelines Tutor Feedback Assignment Wikipedia Assignment Guidelines English 1B--Critical Thinking and Writing: Open for Antiracism (OFAR) Overview The Open for Antiracism (OFAR) Program – co-led by CCCOER and College of the Canyons – emerged as a response to the growing awareness of structural racism in our educational systems and the realization that adoption of open educational resources (OER) and open pedagogy could be transformative at institutions seeking to improve. The program is designed to give participants a workshop experience where they can better understand anti-racist teaching and how the use of OER and open pedagogy can empower them to involve students in the co-creation of an anti-racist classroom. The capstone project involves developing an action plan for incorporating OER and open pedagogy into a course being taught in the spring semester. OFAR participants are invited to remix this template to design and share their projects and plans for moving this work forward. Action Plan There are many ways that OER and open pedagogy have helped promote anti-racism in my course. First, utilizing an OER textbook eliminates a cost barrier for students taking my course (and in the long-term should help me work towards more inclusive pedagogy as I remix and reuse). Second, utilizing the Wiki Edu training platform to create a Wikipedia assignment helps me increase students' intellectual confidence as I turn them into co-creators of knowledge, increase representation and diverse perspectives as they contribute to an online body of knowledge, and much more. In addition to these core uses, there are many other smaller uses that I have encountered along the way. Course Description English 1B: Critical Thinking & Writing Course Description Students will critically read diverse literary texts in order to compose inquiry-driven writing. Students will write a minimum of 7500 words of assessed writing. Classroom instruction integrates writing lab activities. Students may not receive credit for both ENG-1B and 1BH. Student Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following skills: - Analyze diverse literary texts through various social, historical, cultural, psychological, or aesthetic contexts. - Critical Thinking: Students will be able to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills about issues, problems, and explanations for which multiple solutions are possible. Students will be able to explore problems and, where possible, solve them. Students will be able to develop, test, and evaluate rival hypotheses. Students will be able to construct sound arguments and evaluate the arguments of others. - Develop written arguments in response to diverse literary texts. - Communication Skills: Students will be able to communicate effectively in diverse situations. They will be able to create, express, and interpret meaning in oral, visual, and written forms. They will also be able to demonstrate quantitative literacy and the ability to use graphical, symbolic, and numerical methods to analyze, organize, and interpret data. Anti-Racist Assignment / Module Attached here are the following: - Wikipedia Assignment: There's one main document, "Wikipedia Assignment Guidelines" and six supporting documents related to that main document. The purpose (and value) of these documents is to provide a framework to faculty who may be seeking to implement a Wikipedia Assignment using the Wiki Edu dashboard (which does not always integrate well on its own). The scope of this assignment was about 8 weeks for this course, but it can be adjusted to more weeks. - Creating Study Guides: This assignment offers a framework for turning "busy work" studying into a productive exercise that can benefit both your current students as well as future students (the document specifically applies to Samanta Schweblin's Mouthful of Birds but the general parameters can be applied to anything). - Practicing Analysis: This is a culturally relevant series of exercises meant to encourage students to think critically about literary analysis.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.762996	Ryan Hitch	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92735/overview", "title": "English 1B--Critical Thinking and Writing: Open for Antiracism (OFAR)", "author": "Syllabus" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/93389/overview	Micrograph Candida albicans Gram stain 1000x p000024 Overview This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is Candida albicans cells grown in broth culture at 30 degrees Celsius. The cells were heat-fixed to a slide and Gram stained prior to visualization. Image credit: Emily Fox micrograph Light background with dozens of dark purple oblong cells.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.780331	Emily Fox	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/93389/overview", "title": "Micrograph Candida albicans Gram stain 1000x p000024", "author": "Diagram/Illustration" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/106717/overview	Writing Know-How: Understanding Professional Communication Overview This a collection of original writing and OER materals designed to aid learners in better understanding professional communication. Introduction Overview The following book is a collection of original writing and OER materials focused on professional communication, which can be broadly separated into two categories: technical writing and business writing. These categories are meant to prepare a reader for the various situations in which they may need to create something, whether it's a resume, proposal, graphic, or something else found within a professional setting. The information found within this book is not all-encompassing, nor are there hardened "rules" for writing; rather, this book acts as a foundation from which to build. As with all writing, the best way to sharpen our skills and gain an understanding of what we're doing is to practice, yet practicing on the job may have unintended consequences. As such, take the examples, exercises, guidelines, suggestions, and advice to heart, as they are meant to aid you in becoming a successful professional communicator. *** Technical Writing Technical communication—or technical writing, as college courses often call it—is not writing about a specific technical topic such as computers, but about any technical topic. The term “technical” refers to knowledge that is not widespread, that is more the territory of experts and specialists. Whatever your major is, you are developing an expertise—you are becoming a specialist in a particular technical area. And whenever you try to write or say anything about your field, you are engaged in technical communication. https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/technicalwriting/front-matter/introduction-2/ When you hear the term “technical communication,” what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of scientific reports, specifications, instructions, software documentation, or technical manuals. And you are correct. However, technical communication is so much more than that. Technical Writing is a genre of non-fiction writing that encompasses not only technical materials such as manuals, instructions, specifications, and software documentation, but it also includes writing produced in day-to-day business operations such as correspondence, proposals, internal communications, media releases, and many kinds of reports. It includes the communication of specialized technical information, whether relating to computers and scientific instruments, or the intricacies of meditation. And because oral and visual presentations are such an important part of professional life, technical communication also encompasses these as well. We might define technical communication, then, as using various modes (oral, written, visual) of communication to manage technical information to analyze a problem, find and evaluate evidence, and draw conclusions in a way that allows people to take action. Technical communication is “transactional” – it entails a purposeful transaction between sender and receiver that provides specific information for practical and specific purposes (informing, instructing, persuading) and is usually geared towards the needs of a specific audience. Technical communicators produce a wide variety of documents and other products, such as - Proposals and requests for proposals (RFPs) - Technical or research reports - Documentation records and product specifications - User guides (step-by-step instructions, procedures, manuals) - Online help, technical support - Reference information (encyclopedia-style information) - Consumer literature (information for the public about regulations, safety issues, etc.) - Marketing literature (product specifications, brochures, promotional literature) - Technical journalism (found in trade magazines, media releases, etc.) Thus, it is a highly “designed” form of communication that requires practitioners to have a heightened awareness of the conventions (rules and expectations) and rhetorical situations (audience, purpose, context) in which they are communicating. This textbook aims to provide you with that heightened awareness – that is, to introduce you to the basic conventions of technical communications, and to train you to take a reader- and audience-centered approach to communications tasks, to find the tools and methods that will work best to communicate your ideas to your target audience, and to achieve the desired results. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/part/techcomm/ Business Writing One common concern is to simply address the question, what is good writing? As we progress through our study of written business communication we’ll try to answer it. But recognize that while the question may be simple, the answer is complex. Edward P. Bailey [1] offers several key points to remember. Good business writing - follows the rules, - is easy to read, and - attracts the reader. Let’s examine these qualities in more depth. Bailey’s first point is one that generates a fair amount of debate. What are the rules? Do “the rules” depend on audience expectations or industry standards, what your English teacher taught you, or are they reflected in the amazing writing of authors you might point to as positive examples? The answer is “all of the above,” with a point of clarification. You may find it necessary to balance audience expectations with industry standards for a document, and may need to find a balance or compromise. Bailey [2] points to common sense as one basic criterion of good writing, but common sense is a product of experience. When searching for balance, reader understanding is the deciding factor. The correct use of a semicolon may not be what is needed to make a sentence work. Your reading audience should carry extra attention in everything you write because, without them, you won’t have many more writing assignments. When we say that good writing follows the rules, we don’t mean that a writer cannot be creative. Just as an art student needs to know how to draw a scene in correct perspective before he can “break the rules” by “bending” perspective, so a writer needs to know the rules of language. Being well versed in how to use words correctly, form sentences with proper grammar, and build logical paragraphs are skills the writer can use no matter what the assignment. Even though some business settings may call for conservative writing, there are other areas where creativity is not only allowed but mandated. Imagine working for an advertising agency or a software development firm; in such situations success comes from expressing new, untried ideas. By following the rules of language and correct writing, a writer can express those creative ideas in a form that comes through clearly and promotes understanding. Similarly, writing that is easy to read is not the same as “dumbed down” or simplistic writing. What is easy to read? For a young audience, you may need to use straightforward, simple terms, but to ignore their use of the language is to create an artificial and unnecessary barrier. An example referring to Miley Cyrus may work with one reading audience and fall flat with another. Profession-specific terms can serve a valuable purpose as we write about precise concepts. Not everyone will understand all the terms in a profession, but if your audience is largely literate in the terms of the field, using industry terms will help you establish a relationship with your readers. The truly excellent writer is one who can explain complex ideas in a way that the reader can understand. Sometimes ease of reading can come from the writer’s choice of a brilliant illustrative example to get a point across. In other situations, it can be the writer’s incorporation of definitions into the text so that the meaning of unfamiliar words is clear. It may also be a matter of choosing dynamic, specific verbs that make it clear what is happening and who is carrying out the action. Bailey’s third point concerns the interest of the reader. Will they want to read it? This question should guide much of what you write. We increasingly gain information from our environment through visual, auditory, and multimedia channels, from YouTube to streaming audio, and to watching the news online. Some argue that this has led to a decreased attention span for reading, meaning that writers need to appeal to readers with short, punchy sentences and catchy phrases. However, there are still plenty of people who love to immerse themselves in reading an interesting article, proposal, or marketing piece. Perhaps the most universally useful strategy in capturing your reader’s attention is to state how your writing can meet the reader’s needs. If your document provides information to answer a question, solve a problem, or explain how to increase profits or cut costs, you may want to state this in the beginning. By opening with a “what’s in it for me” strategy, you give your audience a reason to be interested in what you’ve written. More Qualities of Good Writing To the above list from Bailey, let’s add some additional qualities that define good writing. Good writing - meets the reader’s expectations, - is clear and concise, - is efficient and effective. To meet the reader’s expectations, the writer needs to understand who the intended reader is. In some business situations, you are writing just to one person: your boss, a coworker in another department, or an individual customer or vendor. If you know the person well, it may be as easy for you to write to him or her as it is to write a note to your parent or roommate. If you don’t know the person, you can at least make some reasonable assumptions about his or her expectations, based on the position he or she holds and its relation to your job. In other situations, you may be writing a document to be read by a group or team, an entire department, or even a large number of total strangers. How can you anticipate their expectations and tailor your writing accordingly? Naturally you want to learn as much as you can about your likely audience. How much you can learn and what kinds of information will vary with the situation. If you are writing Web site content, for example, you may never meet the people who will visit the site, but you can predict why they would be drawn to the site and what they would expect to read there. Beyond learning about your audience, your clear understanding of the writing assignment and its purpose will help you to meet reader expectations. Our addition of the fifth point concerning clear and concise writing reflects the increasing tendency in business writing to eliminate error. Errors can include those associated with production, from writing to editing, and reader response. Your twin goals of clear and concise writing point to a central goal across communication: fidelity. This concept involves our goal of accurately communicating all the intended information with a minimum of signal or message breakdown or misinterpretation. Designing your documents, including writing and presentation, to reduce message breakdown is an important part of effective business communication. This leads our discussion to efficiency. There are only twenty-four hours in a day and we are increasingly asked to do more with less, with shorter deadlines almost guaranteed. As a writer, how do you meet ever-increasing expectations? Each writing assignment requires a clear understanding of the goals and desired results, and when either of these two aspects is unclear, the efficiency of your writing can be compromised. Rewrites require time that you may not have, but will have to make if the assignment was not done correctly the first time. As we have discussed previously, making a habit of reading similar documents prior to beginning your process of writing can help establish a mental template of your desired product. If you can see in your mind’s eye what you want to write, and have the perspective of similar documents combined with audience’s needs, you can write more efficiently. Your written documents are products and will be required on a schedule that impacts your coworkers and business. Your ability to produce effective documents efficiently is a skill set that will contribute to your success. Our sixth point reinforces this idea with an emphasis on effectiveness. What is effective writing? It is writing that succeeds in accomplishing its purpose. Understanding the purpose, goals, and desired results of your writing assignment will help you achieve this success. Your employer may want an introductory sales letter to result in an increase in sales leads, or potential contacts for follow-up leading to sales. Your audience may not see the document from that perspective, but will instead read with the mindset of, “How does this help me solve X problem?” If you meet both goals, your writing is approaching effectiveness. Here, effectiveness is qualified with the word “approaching” to point out that writing is both a process and a product, and your writing will continually require effort and attention to revision and improvement. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/1/view REFERENCES: Introduction by Allison Gross, Annemarie Hamlin, Billy Merck, Chris Rubio, Jodi Naas, Megan Savage, and Michele DeSilva is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Technical Writing Essentials by Suzan Last is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. "Professional and Technical Writing" 2019 by Suzie Baker under license"Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial" What shapes my writing? Understanding the Rhetorical Situation The Rhetorical Situation To better understand professional communication it's worthwhile to discuss communication in general. In a basic sense, communication is the exchange of information, both giving and receiving. Yet, who is offering that information, and who is open to hearing it? And how will this information be conveyed and what need exists to exchange anyway? And what exactly is my purpose communicating? These questions are all rhetorically-based, which is to say these questions are interested in the use of techniques when communicating in a given situation. In fact, an effective approach to understanding all communication, professional or otherwise, is to consider the Rhetorical Situation of that communication. A rhetorical situation is a language-based interaction that draws upon five identifiable traits for giving and receiving information. These five traits are founded in the questions asked earlier, and include: - Author - Audience - Text/Genre - Purpose - Context Another common way to understand the Rhetorical Situation is to see it as something called the Rhetorical Triangle: - From the left-hand point we start with the author, which can either be you or someone you're reading. In either case, the author initiates the communication and they have the most work to do. In fact, they're the authority. - On the right-hand point we find the audience, whomever is going to be receptive to our communication. Of all the rhetorical traits this one should receive the most attention (which is why an entire chapter is dedicated to "Audience"). - The space between the author and the audience (the entire white-space of the triangle) is the text, or genre. This trait is concerned with how the author communicates with the audience, what form it takes, whether through an email, photograph, proposal or any other professional genre. Think of the text as the bridge bewtween the giver and the receiver. - The top of triangle is the purpose, what the writer hopes to accomplish in communicating. Think of it as "the point," or the intention of communicating. - Lastly, but very importantly, we have context, which as you can see, surrounds all the other traits, shaping them to some degree. Context is discussed in more detail below. As an example, let's look at the rhetorical situation of this very book, Writing Know-How: Understanding Professional Communication. - Author=Ben Greenlee, a writing instructor - Audience=a reader who has little or no professional communication training (notice that I did not write "anyone" even though anyone could read this book; I have a specific audience in mind which gives my writing more direction. More on this in the next chapter) - Text/Genre=a digital OER textbook - Purpose=to provide a collection of resources and insights for for those interested in professional communication - Context=the lack of an OER text that covers the material in the way I wish it was covered; there is a need and I'm trying to address it Notice how the rhetorical traits seem to overlap: my purpose as an instructor is to reach an audience that is interested in professional communication through a free, digital textbook because the type of textbook I'm interested in doesn't exist in the ways I want it to. This overlap strengthens our professional communication and makes it as effective as possible. So, understanding these five traits by critically thinking (asking questions), as we did earlier in the section, will significantly improve any communication, though this process takes time and practice. * The following link will take you to Susan Last's book, Technical Writing Essentials. This chapter--titled, "Understanding the Rhetorical Situation"--provides a more a thorough discussion on the five elements that make up a rhetorical situation, offering a visual understanding as well as several exercises. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/understandingrhetoricalsituation/ * A Focus on Context Though all elements of the Rhetorical Situation are important to consider in professional communication, one of the first to keep in mind is context. For the purposes of this book, context can be defined as the "circumstances surrounding," meaning there are a number of larger situations that shape who we are, what we can do, and how we're perceieved. For example, if you're an international student studying in the United States and have been invited to a football game by classmates, you may not recognize that your peers could be referring to a completely different sport than what you had in mind, and they may not have understood the different meaning of the word "football" for those outside the United States. This scenario is context in action, in which larger situations (in this case, historical and national) have shaped two different understandings. The same is true for writing. Whenever we engage in professional communication it's our responsibility as writers to consider the larger forces shaping our communication. Another way to think about context is asking yourself, "why am I creating this text?" Any answer to this question will be a matter of responding to a need, responding to a larger situation. Perhaps a supervisor needs an update on a project. Perhaps the public is unaware of a scientific breakthrough. Perhaps clarity is needed in how to complete a specific task. Perhaps you're confused over a particular detail and are seeking guidance. In all the scenarios above, there's a clear need attempting to be met, there are circumstances surrounding the situation which created that need, and they shape the way the situation is understood. A final note on context. Responding to a need is NOT the same as enacting your goal, that is, context is not the same as purpose. For instance, in the scenario where a supervisor needs an update on the project, the project itself--timeline, costs, pressure on the company, colleagues contributions--is the context, the larger circumstance that guides the creation of this text. The purpose, then, is to inform, communicating to the supervisor what has already been completed since the last update and what stills needs to be completed for the project as a whole. There is obviously a connection between context and purpose (the project itself; informing someone of the changes to the project), but, as stated earlier, each of the fivel elements interacts with and informs the others while still being unique unto themselves. Understanding the differences between all the rhetorical elements--especially context, as it surrounds the entire situation--can take time, but once these concepts start to solidify in your thinking and writing, your professional communication will become much more effective. Context in a Professional Setting Though you may already know a great deal about effective communication within an academic environment, technical communication is not limited to this area. You must know how to communicate effectively in many other settings such as a professional environment. Technical Communication Can Take Many Forms Many different types of documents are created and used every day by professionals. The most common and well known of these documents are memos and emails, which are used in every type of business. In addition to this, technical communicators also create instructions, product guides and documentation, graphs, charts, images, videos, and other forms of content. No matter what medium a technical communicator chooses to use, the main goal is always to be informative and clear. Technical Communication Serves a Practical Purpose Technical communication is employed in real world settings for practical purposes. Whether to instruct, inform, or to persuade, technical communication is used for a myriad of purposes beyond the sort of straightforward informative writing typical of educational or certain social settings. Beyond being inspiring or entertaining, technical writing must be useful to an audience trying to perform a task. Technical Communication Addresses Complex Audiences Academic papers are often addressed to a single individual or a small group of peers with very similar experiences and expectations. Technical writing, because of its practical and collaborative nature, must often be geared toward a complex audience. Technical communicators must be careful to be conscious of intended and unintended audiences, foreign and domestic readers, and individuals with vastly differing responsibilities, experiences, and expectations of a given document. The context in which a document is read will differ with each reader and it is important to keep documents concise and free of bias and excessive or unclear language to ensure that they are understood. Technical Communication is Collaborative Technical communication documents will often require input or additional work from several co-authors, depending on the complexity of the document and the nature of the task with which it is dealing. Paul Anderson's Technical Communication textbook relates an anecdote regarding the proposal to build the International Space Station which contained text and drawings from more than 300 engineers. This may be an extreme example, but even when writing a technical document alone, collaboration and consultation with coworkers or other members of the intended audience may form a part of an author's writing process. Technical Communication is Shaped by Conventions and Culture Much as with academic writing, organizational conventions as well as culture will shape the style used in technical documents. Organizations may conceive of themselves and formal and conservative or informal and innovative, and reflect this self-conception in their communication style. This reflection often extends to social dimensions within the workplace or the culture of the society in which the organization operates. A technical communicator's style will change depending on the social and organizational contexts that they are working within. Technical Communication is a complex discipline because it can occur in so many contexts. It can be encountered in nearly any professional setting from a construction yard to a courtroom. It is present when you consult a user manual for your car, microwave, computer, or un-assembled bookshelf. Adaptivity to ever changing audiences as well as legal and ethical issues and a variety of social factors is one of the most important traits of a successful technical communicator. REFERENCES: Technical Writing Essentials by Suzan Last and Candice Neveu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. The Many Contexts of Communicating Technical Information. Provided by: WikiBooks. Located at: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professional_and_Technical_Writing/Rhetoric/Context. Project: Professional and Technical Writing. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Who is this for? Appreciating your Audience Rhetorical Nature of Technical and Professional Writing Communication in the workplace is practiced and accomplished for many practical purposes. The goal is to effectively convey information to an audience, whether it be to co-workers or someone with greater responsibilities in the workplace. Workplace writing differs from written communication in other contexts, such as educational or social arenas. In the workplace, writing is considered a legal document and is frequently archived or retained for several years at a time. These writings can be referenced to in the future if legal complications arise. Workplace writing also varies from typical writing due to the fact that the audience is generally reading documents not for entertaining nor teaching themselves; it should contain important, relevant and needed information only, with no redundancy. Reader-Centric Writing Workplace writing should always focus on the audience; what does the reader need to know? Writing should effectively convey the precise information that the reader is seeking. If the writing is an attempt to persuade the reader, then the writer must consider what will persuade the reader most. For example, a work team may be writing a proposal to install new production machinery in a factory. Different readers in the company will want different information from this proposal. A well-written document will consider every potential reader and give the information that each reader is seeking. Throughout all of your work, constantly think about your readers. As you make each writing decision, consider your readers' characteristics, goals, expectations, situation, and other factors that will shape their response to what you say. Concentrate on crafting a communication that will be persuasive and usable in your readers' eyes. These are two important qualities of successful work-related communications. Focus specifically on the ways your readers will respond, moment by moment, while they are reading your communication. This will be the only opportunity to influence your readers directly. Effective Workplace Writing Workplace writing must be persuasive and usable to all potential readers. For a document to be efficient, it must be easily understood by the intended audience. It is important to use simple sentences, words, and structure so that all that view the document can comprehend it. A document that is hard to understand is not usable or effective, since the audience will be unable to properly understand the document. Highly usable writing should help readers quickly locate, understand, and use the information to complete their task(s). It can be used as a reference, a how-to, or a means for them to see your progress on your own tasks and what still needs to be done. Persuasive writing should convince readers that the information is accurate and should be followed. For example, a reader may be considering several different proposals. The chosen proposal is most likely to be the one that is most persuasive; however, if writing is not persuasive, then it is not likely to be followed. Thus, the entire writing effort will have been wasted. It is pertinent to understand, though, that being persuasive does NOT mean conducting unethical behavior. Do not write a document to simply to have yours preferred or chosen over others. Always be sure to use ethical practices. Some ethical practice questions to ask yourself: Did I cite my sources? Did I use credible information? Did I "twist" any information? Am I using the correct language? Am I only telling the truth, no "bluffing"? Am I being realistic? Am I being timely? Am I being accurate? Am I giving a correct assessment and perception of what will be done? How Writers and Readers Interact Writers and readers interact in unique ways. In all cases, writing is a one-way flow of information.Therefore, writers must consider and include all of their readers' needs. Every reader is different, but an effective writer must anticipate what will be most useful to the audience. Additionally, the world is extremely diverse. Some readers may be more relaxed or open-minded than others. For this reason, writers must learn to be conscientious in their writing to ensure they won't discourage or offend any of their readers. If a reader is offended, any decision made will likely not be made in the writer's favor. Effective writing eliminates unnecessary pieces of information and ensures a concise document. Different readers may construe different meanings from the same words. The meaning may be shaped by a user's previous experience, culture, or even a user's state of mind. Each reader will construct a meaning based on the context of the writing and their previous experiences. This is why when writing a document you must start with who your audience is and what they need to know. Readers react moment by moment when reading a document. Important information will usually have a greater impact if it is placed at the beginning of a document. This ensures that it will be read right away. Many readers will not finish a document, and so this "inverted pyramid" writing style is very effective. In addition, the average business professional says that they do not spend more than 30 seconds reading a resume, and no more than 5 minutes on a business proposal. It is prudent to place the most important information at the beginning of the document and least important at the end. The writer should ensure stylistic continuity as well. A writer attempting humor in a long technical document may confuse the reader; while the same humor, if used while writing about a personal anecdote, may more easily amuse the reader. To reiterate, every reader will have a different reaction to a piece of writing, and these reactions will depend on everything from the context of the writing to the reader's cultural upbringing. Types of Audiences When preparing documents, it is important to remember potential audiences for your work. Awareness of the differences between Intended and Unintended audiences may impact how an author presents or includes information in a document, and may make a difference in the event of a legal issue concerning the document. Also, awareness of a complex audience will ensure that an author's writing does not exclude any potential readers. You do not want to leave an important figure out if they need to be touched on. Intended vs. Unintended Audience Intended audiences are best thought of as the people you are initially writing to. It is the audience for which your document is intended. Unintended audiences may be anyone that comes across your writing at any point in time. In a professional setting, its important to be mindful of the unintended audience of any written work. This includes any email, memos or proposals produced in the course of business. In addition to being a good rule of thumb, it is in your best interest legally to remain professional in every document you produce as these documents may be used as evidence in court against either the author or the business from which they originated. Complex Audience Writing for a complex audience is different from academic writing. In academia, there is a specific audience for most pieces of writing, generally an instructor, teaching assistant, or a fairly small group of peers. In a professional setting, you will often write for a complex audience of people with different backgrounds, specialties, and expectations. With that in mind, avoid using terminology that is too technical so you don't unintentionally exclude portions of your audience. This can become increasingly difficult when writing for larger and more complex audiences. Tailoring Employment Documents For a Specific Audience When it comes to an employment document such as a résumé or a cover letter there is no such thing as “one size fits all”. Each document should be individually tailored to catch the attention of the employer to which the document(s) are being submitted. To do this effectively, it helps to research the company and the position. Some different ways that this can be done are: Looking at the job description – The job description usually gives a set of skills that will be required for the position. The skills outline what the employer is looking for, and therefore, what should be added into a resume. (One should never lie about applicable skills, but highlight and prioritize these skills among others). Looking at the company website – Looking at the company’s website can help with understanding the company environment and values that may not be listed in a job description. This can be most beneficial when writing a cover letter, in which it is important to acknowledge the potential employer. In addition to looking at the job description and company website, it is helpful to evaluate the type of job that you are applying for. If you are applying to a job in a design field, you would want to tailor your résumé to be more creative and avoid using any sort of generic template. Depending on your level of experience, it can be beneficial to create a list of skills and job experience in a Word document. As mentioned above, different jobs typically look for a specific set of skills. To make it easier to tailor a business document to a potential employer, it can be easy to have a Word document of skills and job experiences listed. After you determine the specific job you're applying for, copy and paste the appropriate skills into the document. It is important to remember that in employment documents you are selling yourself. Each job will be slightly different, so it is crucial to tailor your résumé to the employer. Additionally, make sure it is not cluttered with information that the employer may find unnecessary. REFERENCES: Appreciating Technical Communication Audiences. Provided by: Wikibooks. Located at: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professional_and_Technical_Writing/Rhetoric/Audiences. Project: Professional and Technical Writing. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike What are my choices when writing? Language, Tone, and Organization How to Communicate Professionally After considering the larger shaping forces of our writing--context--,what it is we're attempting to do--purpose--, and determining who our writing is for--audience--, it's time to actually write, but which words will we place within the document? How will we place them? Where? If you've ever asked yourself these questions while staring at a blank document, wondering what to do, you're actually starting a very important writing process, which is: navigating the concept of choice. Choice is simply working through the possibilities of your writing. Everything in your writing is a matter of choice, what you decide to include and what you decide to omit, and like the choices we make in life, they often feel like a reflection of who we are and how we think. This means our writing can feel quite personal. Not so simple, then, is the possible paralyzing nature of those choices, AKA what if I make the wrong writing choice? What if this choice is a poor reflection of me and my ability? This worry is what often prevents writers from starting their writing projects, or slows those projects mid-creation, as we're preoccupied with limiting "wrong" and hoping for "right." But what exactly is wrong and right when it comes to writing? As suggested, this duality can feel quite personal and intimate, which is a close perspective; we're primarily thinking of ourselves. So, perhaps a better way to consider our communication choices is to think of the effect, that is, the result of our choices. This change in perspective moves our writing from the personal/internal and closer to the social/external, turning "is this a good choice?" into "how effective is this choice?" With this new question in mind we're starting to think rhetorically, placing our energies outwards, towards concepts such context, purpose, and, as was presented in the previous chapter, audience, and these concepts guide our choices, limiting them and expanding them with each new situation. So, what we place on the page becomes less personal and we're freer to consider all our choices that help others make choices, whether on the job or for gaining technical understanding (after all, we're trying to communicate, which is built on conveying information). With this new perspective established, aside from genre conventions of certain professional documents, which will be covered in a later chapter, a great place to start with writing choices is langauge, tone, and organization, which can be considered the elements of style. * The following link will take you to a section of Suzie Baker's book, Professional and Technical Writing (2019). This section--titled, "Style in Written Communication"--goes in-depth on the various skills necessary for effective professional communication. There are also a variety of exercises for you to practicde these skills before applying them to your own writing. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/3/view * NOTE: For further guidance on writing choices beyond those presented in this chapter and the following chapter, review the last section of this book titled, "What if I'm a "Bad" Writer? Writing Fundamentals." What are my other choices when writing? Clarity and Accuracy How to be Heard, AKA Communicating with Clarity and Accuracy In addition to language, tone, and organization, professional communication also relies on clarity and accuracy. The common element between being coherent and intelligible--clarity--and trusted--accuracy--is that of percision. As writers we want every choice we make to be exact, meaning there is a larger purpose for everything we include in a document. This precision allows our readers to understand what we're communicating as quickly and efficiently as possible, further enacting our purpose in whatever genre we're writing. As with all writing, precision is a matter of choice and practice, and will become more comfortable as opportunities arise. * The following link will take you to a section of Susan Last's book, Technical Writing Essentials. This section--titled, "Communicating with Precision"--disscusses how to consider every word in your writing, making sure that what you're commuicating has a distinct and useful purpose. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/communicatingprecision/ What does my writing look like? Document Design and Formatting The way a text looks matters to a reader, so it should matter to a writer. Letters, reports, and blogs are more than just words on a page or a screen. How ideas are arranged and delivered in physical form, whether electronically or on paper, can make reading seem intimidating, confusing, or downright unfriendly, even if the content itself is perfect. Your text is like a room for your ideas. Sometimes you want readers to get in and get out quickly, but often, you want them to sit down and make themselves comfortable, to put their feet up and stay awhile. Whatever the case, you should be in control of the reader’s experience. And most readers are a lot like TV viewers with remote controls. In a moment, their attention is diverted to another channel if something about your content puts them off. It’s important to get their attention and hold it. Good content is a key part of this, of course, but the visual presentation of your content matters too. Reading is a difficult, cognitively demanding task, so if your design helps make your readers’ journey through the text easier, you will hold their attention longer. Give readers reasons to linger, and they will. Good document design is both science and art. The particular design of a document—what it contains, what color scheme it follows, what alignment strategy it reflects, and so on—is the result of a series of choices made by the designer. It takes a long time to master the finer points of design, and this chapter won’t turn you into a designer, but it will offer some simple ways of thinking that will help you strategize about how to make your document intuitive and reader friendly—easy to scan, search, and read. This is not a chapter on design per se; rather, it will familiarize you with a few basic truths and a way of thinking that all designers know well. Whether you’re typing up a memo on new safety policies at work, producing a newsletter for your community group, or putting together a booklet describing the new app you just finished and wish to market, you need to think about a few basic elements of document design. \| ACTIVITY: Discuss texts that you have found intimidating or hard to read because of their layout or appearance. What exactly made the text difficult to read? \| You already engage in some basic document design practices. For instance, when you format an academic essay, you center your title and regularly break to a new paragraph, which signals to the reader that it’s time for a breather, the content is shifting slightly, or you are moving on to a completely new topic. You illustrate blogs, Web pages, and PowerPoint slides with photos and graphics, animations, or videos. Even small elements of your writing help guide readers: indentation, changes in type style (bold, italics, underline), or the punctuation at the end of a sentence. Professional writers, especially those who work for well-funded web sites and mass-market print publications (like newspapers and magazines) are lucky enough to have the services of artists, graphic designers, skilled photographers, and layout experts. But most of us just want to have a cooler-looking blog, a more professional-looking report, or an eBay listing that doesn’t make buyers suspect our credibility. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/part/documentdesign/ Specifics of Document Design The following link takes us back to Susan Baker's Technical Writing Essentials. From there, you can jump to other subsections that overview document design and formatting choices, such as: readibility, headings, lists, figures and tables, and other style tips. REFERENCES: Technical Writing Essentials by Suzan Last is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. What exactly am I writing? The Different Genres of Professional Communication Genre in Writing As discussed when introducing the rhetorical situation, whatever document you're creating is considered a text (also known as a genre, and sometimes the "message"). The reason different words may be applied for this rhetorical element is that not everything created for professional communication, or otherwise, is a text as we traditionally understand it (printed or written work). For example, a verbal presentation may be considered a "text;" an infographic may be considered a "text," or a photograph. And yes, documents such as emails and reports are texts. To avoid confusion, then, the word genre may be more appropriate. You've probably heard the word genre in other contexts, such as in movies or music, and probably have a favorite genre of those categories yourself. Thinking about that genre now you may recognize similarities across the different examples, the commonalities you come to expect and appreciate about that genre; there's a level of comfort and interest present. This expectation, similarity, and comfort can be considered the conventions, or characteristics, of a genre; the specific elements of that genre which sets it apart from other genres. The same is true in writing. Each document has a particular and unique set of characteristics that set it apart from other documents, and, most importantly, a reader has expectations of that document. This means that when we're making our writing choices, as discussed in previous chapters, the type of document we're creating guides our choices, limiting them or expanding them as necessary, based on the characteristics of that genre. Whatever genre you're writing in, you want to make sure it fits the rhetorical situation, meaning: it recognizes the shaping forces of context; enacts your purspose and voice as the author; and is written with a specific audience in mind. To be successful in professional communication you need to pick the right tool, the right genre, for the job. The following long chapter is a collection of different genres one may encounter in a professional setting. Each document type has specific characteristics unique to it and may also include characterisitics that are shared with other genres. Collected here are: - Correspondence: Email - Correspondence: Letters and Memos - Instructions - Reports - Presentations - Proposals - Graphics - Resumes ****** Correspondence: Email Email is familiar to most students and workers. In business, it has largely replaced print hard copy letters for external (outside the company) correspondence, and in many cases, it has taken the place of memos for internal (within the company) communication.[4] Email can be very useful for messages that have slightly more content than a text message, but it is still best used for fairly brief messages. Many businesses use automated emails to acknowledge communications from the public, or to remind associates that periodic reports or payments are due. You may also be assigned to “populate” a form email in which standard paragraphs are used but you choose from a menu of sentences to make the wording suitable for a particular transaction. Emails may be informal in personal contexts, but business communication requires attention to detail, awareness that your email reflects you and your company, and a professional tone so that it may be forwarded to any third party if needed. Email often serves to exchange information within organizations. Although email may have an informal feel, remember that when used for business, it needs to convey professionalism and respect. Never write or send anything that you wouldn’t want read in public or in front of your company president. As with all writing, professional communications require attention to the specific writing context, and it may surprise you that even elements of form can indicate a writer’s strong understanding of audience and purpose. The principles explained here apply to the educational context as well; use them when communicating with your instructors and classroom peers. Guidelines for Effective Business Emails Open with a proper salutation: proper salutations demonstrate respect and avoid mix-ups in case a message is accidentally sent to the wrong recipient. For example, use a salutation like “Dear Ms. X” (external) or “Hi Barry” (internal). Include a clear, brief, and specific subject line: this helps the recipient understand the essence of the message. For example, “Proposal attached” or “Electrical specs for project Y.” Close with a signature: identify yourself by creating a signature block that automatically contains your name and business contact information. Avoid abbreviations: an email is not a text message, and the audience may not find your wit cause to ROTFLOL (roll on the floor laughing out loud). Be brief: omit unnecessary words. Use a good format: divide your message into brief paragraphs for ease of reading. A good email should get to the point and conclude in three small paragraphs or fewer. Reread, revise, and review: catch and correct spelling and grammar mistakes before you press “send.” It will take more time and effort to undo the problems caused by a hasty, poorly-written email than to take the time to get it right the first time. Reply promptly: watch out for an emotional response—never reply in anger—but make a habit of replying to all emails within twenty-four hours, even if only to say that you will provide the requested information in forty-eight or seventy-two hours. Use “Reply All” sparingly: do not send your reply to everyone who received the initial email unless your message absolutely needs to be read by the entire group. Avoid using all caps: capital letters are used on the Internet to communicate emphatic emotion or “yelling” and can be considered rude. Test links: if you include a link, test it to make sure it works. Email ahead of time if you are going to attach large files: audio and visual files are often quite large; be careful to avoid exceeding the recipient’s mailbox limit or triggering the spam filter. Give feedback or follow up: if you don’t get a response in twenty-four hours, email or call. Spam filters may have intercepted your message, so your recipient may never have received it. Tip: add the address of the recipient last (after you have written and proofread your message) to avoid sending prematurely. This will give you time to do a last review of what you’ve written, make sure links work, make sure you’ve added the attachment, etc., before adding the sender’s address and hitting send. Example The sample email below demonstrates the principles listed above: Dear Colleagues: Please consider signing up for the next available Safe Zone workshop offered by the College. As you know, our department is working toward increasing the number of Safe Zone volunteers in our area, and I hope several of you may be available for the next workshop scheduled for Friday, October 9. For more information on the Safe Zone program, please visit http://www.cocc.edu/multicultural/safe-zone-training/ Please let me know if you will attend. Steve Jobs \| https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/correspondence/ ****** Correspondence: Letters and Memos Memos are a major accepted method of communication within a specific business, company, or institution. The successful operation of a company depends on memos for communication between the employees of the company. Types of memos include: inquires, recommendations, problem-solution, etc. A memo's format provides employees with clear and easy access to information. The message is direct. Unless directly related to the message, references to company structure and operation are eliminated in a memo. However, a memo follows a specific format for easy access to information. A memo includes a heading block that identifies the recipient, the sender, the date, and the subject of the message. The order of the parts of the memo heading block and location of specific part of the block varies, according to different companies' expectations. However, the message has three parts, each of which is identified by a specific heading. The three parts are the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introduction references background information and informs the purpose of the message. The body is the message. The body can be one simple paragraph or multiple paragraphs. The conclusion expresses what you expect the recipient to do. The conclusion could be one paragraph or several paragraphs, or the conclusion could be a simple sentence that asks for the recipient to contact the sender if there are questions. Consider the following scenario: You are a consultant for a construction company. The project manager of the company has charged you with following the progress of a job that the company has contracted. To keep the project manager informed of the progress of the job, you may send him/her one of 3 types of memos: A Projection Analysis Timeline Memo, which is sent before the job begins and details the expected beginning and ending dates of the job; a Progress Memo, which is sent during the progression of the job and details the progress of the job, and a Period Report Memo, which is sent after the completion of the job and details the completion dates of all phases of the job. https://www.coursesidekick.com/business/study-guides/technicalwriting/unit-2_memos_lecture-2 Addtional Information on Professional Correspondence The following link will take you to Suzie Baker's book, Professional and Technical Writing (2019). This section--titled, "Text, Email, and Netiquette"--provides a more thorough discussion of professional correspondence while also providing videos and exercises. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/5/view ****** Instructions One of the most common and important uses of technical writing is to provide instructions, those step-by-step explanations of how to assemble, operate, repair, or do routine maintenance on something. Although they may seems intuitive and simple to write, instructions are some of the worst-written documents you can find. Most of us have probably had many infuriating experiences with badly written instructions. This chapter will show you what professionals consider the best techniques in providing instructions. An effective set of instruction requires the following: - Clear, precise, and simple writing - A thorough understanding of the procedure in all its technical detail - The ability to put yourself in the place of the reader, the person trying to use your instructions - The ability to visualize the procedure in detail and to capture that awareness on paper - Willingness to test your instructions on the kind of person you wrote them for. Preliminary Steps At the beginning of a project to write a set of instructions, it is important to determine the structure or characteristics of the particular procedure you are going to write about. Here are some steps to follow: 1. Do a careful audience and task analysis Early in the process, define the audience and situation of your instructions. Remember that defining an audience means defining the level of familiarity your readers have with the topic. 2. Determine the number of tasks How many tasks are there in the procedure you are writing about? Let’s use the term procedure to refer to the whole set of activities your instructions are intended to discuss. A task is a semi-independent group of actions within the procedure: for example, setting the clock on a microwave oven is one task in the big overall procedure of operating a microwave oven. A simple procedure like changing the oil in a car contains only one task; there are no semi-independent groupings of activities. A more complex procedure like using a microwave oven contains several semi-independent tasks: setting the clock; setting the power level; using the timer; cleaning and maintaining the microwave, among others. Some instructions have only a single task, but have many steps within that single task. For example, imagine a set of instructions for assembling a kids’ swing set. In my own experience, there were more than a 130 steps! That can be a bit daunting. A good approach is to group similar and related steps into phases, and start renumbering the steps at each new phase. A phase then is a group of similar steps within a single-task procedure. In the swing-set example, setting up the frame would be a phase; anchoring the thing in the ground would be another; assembling the box swing would be still another. 3. Determine the best approach to the step-by-step discussion For most instructions, you can focus on tasks, or you can focus on tools (or features of tools). In a task approach (also known as task orientation) to instructions on using a phone-answering service, you’d have these sections: - Recording your greeting - Playing back your messages - Saving your messages - Forwarding your messages - Deleting your messages, and so on These are tasks—the typical things we’d want to do with the machine. On the other hand, in a tools approach to instructions on using a photocopier, there likely would be sections on how to use specific features: - Copy button - Cancel button - Enlarge/reduce button - Collate/staple button - Copy-size button, and so on If you designed a set of instructions on this plan, you’d write steps for using each button or feature of the photocopier. Instructions using this tools approach are hard to make work. Sometimes, the name of the button doesn’t quite match the task it is associated with; sometimes you have to use more than just the one button to accomplish the task. Still, there can be times when the tools/feature approach may be preferable. 4. Design groupings of tasks Listing tasks may not be all that you need to do. There may be so many tasks that you must group them so that readers can find individual ones more easily. For example, the following are common task groupings in instructions: - Unpacking and setup tasks - Installing and customizing tasks - Basic operating tasks - Routine maintenance tasks - Troubleshooting tasks. Common Sections in Instructions The following is a review of the sections you’ll commonly find in instructions. Don’t assume that each one of them must be in the actual instructions you write, nor that they have to be in the order presented here, nor that these are the only sections possible in a set of instructions. For alternative formats, check out the example instructions. A Set of Instructions Often Includes the Following Introduction: plan the introduction to your instructions carefully. It might include any of the following (but not necessarily in this order): - Indicate the specific tasks or procedure to be explained as well as the scope (what will and will not be covered) - Indicate what the audience needs in terms of knowledge and background to understand the instructions - Give a general idea of the procedure and what it accomplishes - Indicate the conditions when these instructions should (or should not) be used - Give an overview of the contents of the instructions. General warning, caution, danger notices: instructions often must alert readers to the possibility of ruining their equipment, screwing up the procedure, and hurting themselves. Also, instructions must often emphasize key points or exceptions. For these situations, you use special notices—note, warning, caution, and danger notices. Notice how these special notices are used in the example instructions listed above. Technical background or theory: at the beginning of certain kinds of instructions (after the introduction), you may need a discussion of background related to the procedure. For certain instructions, this background is critical—otherwise, the steps in the procedure make no sense. For example, you may have had some experience with those software applets in which you define your own colors by nudging red, green, and blue slider bars around. To really understand what you’re doing, you need to have some background on color. Similarly, you can imagine that, for certain instructions using cameras, some theory might be needed as well. Equipment and supplies: notice that most instructions include a list of the things you need to gather before you start the procedure. This includes equipment, the tools you use in the procedure (such as mixing bowls, spoons, bread pans, hammers, drills, and saws) and supplies, the things that are consumed in the procedure (such as wood, paint, oil, flour, and nails). In instructions, these typically are listed either in a simple vertical list or in a two-column list. Use the two-column list if you need to add some specifications to some or all of the items—for example, brand names, sizes, amounts, types, model numbers, and so on. Discussion of the steps: when you get to the actual writing of the steps, there are several things to keep in mind: (1) the structure and format of those steps, (2) supplementary information that might be needed, and (3) the point of view and general writing style. Structure and format: normally, we imagine a set of instructions as being formatted as vertical numbered lists. And most are in fact. Normally, you format your actual step-by-step instructions this way. There are some variations, however, as well as some other considerations: - Fixed-order steps are steps that must be performed in the order presented. For example, if you are changing the oil in a car, draining the oil is a step that must come before putting the new oil. These are numbered lists (usually, vertical numbered lists). - Variable-order steps are steps that can be performed in practically any order. Good examples are those troubleshooting guides that tell you to check this, check that where you are trying to fix something. You can do these kinds of steps in practically any order. With this type, the bulleted list is the appropriate format. - Alternate steps are those in which two or more ways to accomplish the same thing are presented. Alternate steps are also used when various conditions might exist. Use bulleted lists with this type, with OR inserted between the alternatives, or the lead-in indicating that alternatives are about to be presented. - Nested steps may be used in cases when individual steps within a procedure are rather complex in their own right and need to be broken down into sub-steps. In this case, you indent further and sequence the sub-steps as a, b, c, and so on. - “Step-less” instructions can be used when you really cannot use numbered vertical list or provide straightforward instructional-style directing of the reader. Some situations must be so generalized or so variable that steps cannot be stated. Supplementary discussion: often, it is not enough simply to tell readers to do this or to do that. They need additional explanatory information such as how the thing should look before and after the step; why they should care about doing this step; what mechanical principle is behind what they are doing; even more micro-level explanation of the step—discussion of the specific actions that make up the step. The problem with supplementary discussion, however, is that it can hide the actual step. You want the actual step—the specific actions the reader is to take—to stand out. You don’t want it all buried in a heap of words. There are at least two techniques to avoid this problem: you can split the instruction from the supplement into separate paragraphs; or you can bold the instruction. Writing Style for Instructions Placing the key user steps in bold can a very helpful way to signal clearly what the reader needs to do. Often the command verb is bolded; sometimes bold font highlights the key component being discussed. Use of the passive voice in instructions can be problematic. For some strange reason, some instructions sound like this: “The Pause button should be depressed in order to stop the display temporarily.” Not only are we worried about the pause button’s mental health, but we wonder who’s supposed to depress the thing (ninjas?). It would be more helpful to indicate when the reader must “press the Pause button.” Consider this example: “The Timer button is then set to 3:00.” Again, one might ask, “is set by whom? Ninjas?” The person following these instructions might think it is simply a reference to some existing state, or she might wonder, “Are they talking to me?” Using the third person can also lead to awkwardness: “The user should then press the Pause button.” Instructions should typically be written using command verb forms and using “you” to make it perfectly clear what the reader should do. Illustrating Your Instructions Perhaps more than in any other form of technical writing, graphics are crucial to instructions. Sometimes, words simply cannot explain the step. Illustrations are often critical to the readers’ ability to visualize what they are supposed to do. Be sure that the graphics represent the image from the reader’s perspective. Formatting Your Instructions Since people rarely want to read instructions, but often have to, format your instructions for reluctant readability. Try to make your reader want to read them, or at least not resistant to the idea of consulting them. Highly readable format will allow readers who have figured out some of the instructions on their own to skip to the section where they are stuck. Use what you have learned about headings, lists, visuals, and passive space to create effective and readable instructions: Headings: normally, you’d want headings for any background section you might have, the equipment and supplies section, a general heading for the actual instructions section, and subheadings for the individual tasks or phases within that section. Lists: similarly, instructions typically make extensive use of lists, particularly numbered vertical lists for the actual step-by-step explanations. Simple vertical lists or two-column lists are usually good for the equipment and supplies section. In-sentence lists are good whenever you give an overview of things to come. Special Notices: you may have to alert readers to possibilities in which they may damage their equipment, waste supplies, cause the entire procedure to fail, injure themselves or others—even seriously or fatally. Companies have been sued for lack of these special notices, for poorly written special notices, or for special notices that were out of place. See special notices for a complete discussion of the proper use of these special notices as well as their format and placement within instructions. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/writinginstructions/ Addtional Information on Instruction Writing The following link will take you to Suzie Baker's book, Professional and Technical Writing (2019). This section--titled, "Creating Rhetorically Effective Instruction Manuals"--provides a more thorough discussion of instruction writing while also providing examples. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/9/view ****** Reports Out of the many genres collected here, reports may be the most formal while also being the most diverse. Regardless of the variety of reports a professional communicator may encounter, the core characteristic of the report is objectivity. Think of the word "reporter" from the different context of a TV news channel. That reporter is on location trying to find information and then share that information as clearly and as objective as possible; their purpose is to offer the facts as they've been collected so far. When writing a report, your purspose is quite similar. * The following link will take you to Suzie Baker's book, Professional and Technical Writing (2019). This section--simply titled, "Report"--provides a more thorough discussion of reports, including sections on the types and functions of reports, design, and exercises for understanding this common genre in professional communication. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/8/view ****** Presentations Informative presentations focus on helping the audience to understand a topic, issue, or technique more clearly. You might say, “Is that all?” and the answer is both yes and no. An affirmative response underscores the idea that informative speeches do not seek to motivate the audience to change their minds, adopt a new idea, start a new habit, or get out there and vote. They may, however, inform audiences on issues that may be under consideration in an election or referendum. On the other hand, a negative response reaffirms the idea that to communicate a topic, issue, or subject clearly is a challenge in itself and shouldn’t be viewed as a simplistic process. There are distinct functions inherent in a speech to inform, and you may choose to use one or more of these functions in your speech. Let’s take a look at the functions and see how they relate to the central objective of facilitating audience understanding. Share The basic definition of communication highlights the process of understanding and sharing meaning. An informative speech follows this definition in the aspect of sharing content and information with an audience. You won’t be asking the audience to actually do anything in terms of offering a response or solving a problem. Instead you’ll be offering to share with the audience some of the information you have gathered relating to a topic. This act of sharing will reduce ignorance, increase learning, and facilitate understanding of your chosen topic. Increase Understanding How well does your audience grasp the information? This should be a guiding question to you on two levels. The first involves what they already know—or don’t know—about your topic, and what key terms or ideas might be necessary for someone completely unfamiliar with your topic to grasp the ideas you are presenting. The second involves your presentation and the illustration of ideas. A bar chart, a pie graph, and a video clip may all serve you and the audience well, but how will each ingredient in your speech contribute to their understanding? The audience will respond to your attention statement and hopefully maintain interest, but how will you take your speech beyond superficial coverage of content and effectively communicate key relationships that increase understanding? These questions should serve as a challenge for your informative speech, and by looking at your speech from an audience-oriented perspective, you will increase your ability to increase the audience’s understanding. Change Perceptions How you perceive stimuli has everything to do with a range of factors that are unique to you. We all want to make sense of our world, share our experiences, and learn that many people face the same challenges we do. Many people perceive the process of speaking in public as a significant challenge, and in this text, we have broken down the process into several manageable steps. In so doing, we have to some degree changed your perception of public speaking. When you present your speech to inform, you may want to change the audience member’s perceptions of your topic. You may present an informative speech on air pollution and want to change common perceptions such as the idea that most of North America’s air pollution comes from private cars, or that nuclear power plants are a major source of air pollution. You won’t be asking people to go out and vote, or change their choice of automobiles, but you will help your audience change their perceptions of your topic. Gain Skills Just as you want to increase the audience’s understanding, you may want to help the audience members gain skills. If you are presenting a speech on how to make salsa from fresh ingredients, your audience may thank you for not only the knowledge of the key ingredients and their preparation but also the product available at the conclusion. If your audience members have never made their own salsa, they may gain a new skill from your speech. In the same way, perhaps you decide to inform your audience about eBay, a person-to-person marketplace much like a garage sale in which items are auctioned or available for purchase over the Internet. You may project onto a screen in class the main Web site and take the audience through a step-by-step process on how to sell an item. The audience may learn an important skill, clean out the old items in their garage, and buy new things for the house with their newfound skills. Your intentions, of course, are not to argue that salsa is better than ketchup or that eBay is better than Amazon, but to inform the audience, increasing their understanding of the subject, and in this case, gaining new skills. Exposition versus Interpretation When we share information informally, we often provide our own perspective and attitude for our own reasons. But when we set out to inform an audience, taking sides or using sarcasm to communicate attitude may divide the audience into groups that agree or disagree with the speaker. The speech to inform the audience on a topic, idea, or area of content is not intended to be a display of attitude and opinion. Consider the expectations of people who attend a formal dinner. Will they use whatever fork or spoon they want, or are there expectations of protocol and decorum? In any given communication context there are expectations, both implicit and explicit. If you attend a rally on campus for health care reform, you may expect the speaker to motivate you to urge the university to stop investing in pharmaceutical companies, for example. On the other hand, if you enroll in a biochemistry course, you expect a teacher to inform you about the discipline of biochemistry—not to convince you that pharmaceutical companies are a good or bad influence on our health care system. The speech to inform is like the classroom setting in that the goal is to inform, not to persuade, entertain, display attitude, or create comedy. If you have analyzed your audience, you’ll be better prepared to develop appropriate ways to gain their attention and inform them on your topic. You want to communicate thoughts, ideas, and relationships and allow each listener specifically, and the audience generally, to draw their own conclusions. The speech to inform is all about sharing information to meet the audience’s needs, not your own. While you might want to inform them about your views on politics in the Middle East, you’ll need to consider what they are here to learn from you and let your audience-oriented perspective guide you as you prepare. Exposition This relationship between informing as opposed to persuading your audience is often expressed in terms of exposition versus interpretation. Exposition means a public exhibition or display, often expressing a complex topic in a way that makes the relationships and content clear. Expository prose is writing to inform; you may have been asked to write an expository essay in an English course or an expository report in a journalism course. The goal is to communicate the topic and content to your audience in ways that illustrate, explain, and reinforce the overall content to make your topic more accessible to the audience. The audience wants to learn about your topic and may have some knowledge on it as you do. It is your responsibility to consider ways to display the information effectively. Interpretation and Bias Interpretation involves adapting the information to communicate a message, perspective, or agenda. Your insights and attitudes will guide your selection of material, what you focus on, and what you delete (choosing what not to present to the audience). Your interpretation will involve personal bias. Bias is an unreasoned or not-well-thought-out judgment. Bias involves beliefs or ideas held on the basis of conviction rather than current evidence. Beliefs are often called “habits of the mind” because we come to rely on them to make decisions. Which is the better, cheapest, most expensive, or the middle-priced product? People often choose the middle-priced product and use the belief “if it costs more it must be better” (and the opposite: “if it is cheap it must not be very good”). The middle-priced item, regardless of actual price, is often perceived as “good enough.” All these perceptions are based on beliefs, and they may not apply to the given decision or even be based on any evidence or rational thinking. By extension, marketing students learn to facilitate the customer “relationship” with the brand. If you come to believe a brand stands for excellence, and a new product comes out under that brand label, you are more likely to choose it over an unknown or lesser-known competitor. Again, your choice of the new product is based on a belief rather than evidence or rational thinking. We take mental shortcuts all day long, but in our speech to inform, we have to be careful not to reinforce bias. Bias is like a filter on your perceptions, thoughts, and ideas. Bias encourages you to accept positive evidence that supports your existing beliefs (regardless of whether they are true) and reject negative evidence that does not support your beliefs. Furthermore, bias makes you likely to reject positive support for opposing beliefs and accept negative evidence (again, regardless of whether the evidence is true). So what is positive and what is negative? In a biased frame of mind, that which supports your existing beliefs is positive and likely to be accepted, while that which challenges your beliefs is likely to be viewed as negative and rejected. There is the clear danger in bias. You are inclined to tune out or ignore information, regardless of how valuable, useful, or relevant it may be, simply because it doesn’t agree with or support what you already believe. Point of View Let’s say you are going to present an informative speech on a controversial topic like same-sex marriage. Without advocating or condemning same-sex marriage, you could inform your audience about current laws in various states, recent and proposed changes in laws, the number of same-sex couples who have gotten married in various places, the implications of being married or not being able to marry, and so on. But as you prepare and research your topic, do you only read or examine information that supports your existing view? If you only choose to present information that agrees with your prior view, you’ve incorporated bias into your speech. Now let’s say the audience members have different points of view, even biased ones, and as you present your information you see many people start to fidget in their seats. You can probably anticipate that if they were to speak, the first word they would say is “but” and then present their question or assertion. In effect, they will be having a debate with themselves and hardly listening to you. You can anticipate the effects of bias and mitigate them to some degree. First, know the difference between your point of view or perspective and your bias. Your point of view is your perception of an idea or concept from your previous experience and understanding. It is unique to you and is influenced by your experiences and also factors like gender, race, ethnicity, physical characteristics, and social class. Everyone has a point of view, as hard as they may try to be open-minded. But bias, as we’ve discussed previously, involves actively selecting information that supports or agrees with your current belief and takes away from any competing belief. To make sure you are not presenting a biased speech, frame your discussion to inform from a neutral stance and consider alternative points of view to present, compare and contrast, and diversify your speech. The goal of the speech to inform is to present an expository speech that reduces or tries to be free from overt interpretation. This relates to our previous discussion on changing perceptions. Clearly no one can be completely objective and remove themselves from their own perceptual process. People are not modern works of minimalist art, where form and function are paramount and the artist is completely removed from the expression. People express themselves and naturally relate what is happening now to what has happened to them in the past. You are your own artist, but you also control your creations. Objectivity involves expressions and perceptions of facts that are free from distortion by your prejudices, bias, feelings or interpretations. For example, is the post office box blue? An objective response would be yes or no, but a subjective response might sound like “Well, it’s not really blue as much as it is navy, even a bit of purple, kind of like the color of my ex-boyfriend’s car, remember? I don’t care for the color myself.” Subjectivity involves expressions or perceptions that are modified, altered, or impacted by your personal bias, experiences, and background. In an informative speech, your audience will expect you to present the information in a relatively objective form. The speech should meet the audience’s need as they learn about the content, not your feelings, attitudes, or commentary on the content. Here are five suggestions to help you present a neutral speech: - Keep your language neutral and not very positive for some issues while very negative for others. - Keep your sources credible and not from biased organizations. The National Rifle Association (NRA) will have a biased view of the Second Amendment, for example, as will the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on civil rights. - Keep your presentation balanced. If you use a source that supports one clear side of an issue, include an alternative source and view. Give each equal time and respectful consideration. - Keep your audience in mind. Not everyone will agree with every point or source of evidence, but diversity in your speech will have more to offer everyone. - Keep who you represent in mind: Your business and yourself. Exercises - Consider the courses you have taken in the past year or two, and the extent to which each class session involved an informative presentation or one that was more persuasive. Do some disciplines lend themselves more to informing rather than interpretation and attitude? Discuss your findings with your classmates. - Visit a major network news Web site and view a video of a commentator such as Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) or Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly (Fox News). Identify the commentator’s point of view. If you were giving a presentation to inform, would you express your point of view in a similar style? - On the same network news Web site you used for Exercise no. 2, view a video reporting a news event (as opposed to a commentator’s commentary). Do you feel that the reporter’s approach conveys a point of view, or is it neutral? Explain your feelings and discuss with your classmates. - What is the difference between an informative presentation and a persuasive one? Provide an example in your response. - Consider a sample speech to inform on a topic where you have a strong opinion. In what ways would you adjust your key points so as not to persuade your listeners? Discuss your ideas with a classmate. * Additional Information on Professional Presentations The following link will take you to Suzie Baker's book, Professional and Technical Writing (2019). This section--simply titled, "Presentations to Inform"--provides a very thorough discussion of presenting, including sections on presentation theory, tips for the act of presenting, guidelines for what to include in your presentation, persuasion and argumentation, and numerous exercises to practice understanding presentations. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/12/view ****** Proposals In a technical writing course, the proposal assignment is an opportunity for you to present an idea to a specific, named audience about an idea you have to improve a certain aspect of that company, organization, center, or other business. Whatever topic you choose, you must be able to conduct thorough research that you will integrate into your final report. To begin planning a proposal, remember the basic definition: a proposal is an offer or bid to complete a project for someone. Proposals may contain other elements—technical background, recommendations, results of surveys, information about feasibility, and so on. But what makes a proposal a proposal is that it asks the audience to approve, fund, or grant permission to do the proposed project. A proposal should contain information that would enable the audience of that proposal to decide whether to approve the project, to approve or hire you to do the work, or both. To write a successful proposal, put yourself in the place of your audience—the recipient of the proposal—and think about what sorts of information that person would need in order to feel confident having you complete the project. It is easy to confuse proposals with other kinds of documents in technical writing. Imagine that you have a terrific idea for installing some new technology where you work, and you write up a document explaining how it work, showing the benefits, and then urging management to install it. Is that a proposal? All by itself, this would not be a complete proposal. It would be more like a feasibility report, which studies the merits of a project and then recommends for or against it. However, all it would take to make this document a proposal would be to add elements that ask management for approval for you to go ahead with the project. Additionally, for some technical writing classes offered in college, one of those elements may be scholarly research. Check with your instructor to see if this is the case. Certainly, some writers of proposals must sell the projects they propose, but in all cases, proposals must sell the writer (or the writer’s organization) as the one to complete the project. https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/technicalwriting/chapter/3-1-some-preliminaries/ * The following provides a review of the sections you will commonly find in proposals. Do not assume that each one of them has to be in the actual proposal you write, nor that they have to be in the order they are presented here. Refer to the assignment sheet provided by your instructor and consider other kinds of information unique to your topic that should be included in your particular proposal. Introduction. Plan the introduction to your proposal carefully. Make sure it does all of the following things (but not necessarily in this order) that apply to your particular proposal: - Indicate that the content of the memo is a proposal for a specific project. - Develop at least one brief motivating statement that will encourage the recipient to read on and to consider approving the project (especially if it is an unsolicited or competitive proposal). - Give an overview of the contents of the proposal. Background on the problem, opportunity, or situation. Often occurring just after the introduction, the background section discusses what has brought about the need for the project—what problem, what opportunity exists for improving things, what the basic situation is. For example, management of a chain of day care centers may need to ensure that all employees know CPR because of new state mandates requiring it, or an owner of pine timber land in eastern Oregon may want to get the land producing saleable timber without destroying the environment. While the named audience of the proposal may know the problem very well, writing the background section is useful in demonstrating your particular view of the problem. Also, if the the proposal is unsolicited, a background section is almost a requirement—you will probably need to convince the audience that the problem or opportunity exists and that it should be addressed. Benefits and feasibility of the proposed project. Most proposals briefly discuss the advantages or benefits of completing the proposed project. This acts as a type of argument in favor of approving the project. Also, some proposals discuss the likelihood of the project’s success. In an unsolicited proposal, this section is especially important—you are trying to “sell” the audience on the project. Description of the proposed work (results of the project). Most proposals must describe the finished product of the proposed project. In a technical writing course, that means describing the written document you propose to write, its audience and purpose; providing an outline; and discussing such things as its length, graphics, binding, and so forth. In the scenario you define, there may be other work such as conducting training seminars or providing an ongoing service. At this early stage, you might not know all that it will take to complete your project, but you should at least have an idea of some of the steps required. Method, procedure, theory. In some proposals, you will need to explain how you will go about completing the proposed work. This acts as an additional persuasive element; it shows the audience you have a sound, thoughtful approach to the project. Also, it serves to demonstrate that you have the knowledge of the field to complete the project. Schedule. Most proposals contain a section that shows not only the projected completion date but also key milestones for the project. If you are doing a large project spreading over many months, the timeline would also show dates on which you would deliver progress reports. If you cannot cite specific dates, cite amounts of time for each phase of the project. Costs, resources required. Most proposals also contain a section detailing the costs of the project, whether internal or external. With external projects, you may need to list your hourly rates, projected hours, costs of equipment and supplies, and so forth, and then calculate the total cost of the complete project. Internal projects, of course, are not free, so you should still list the project costs: hours you will need to complete the project, equipment and supplies you will be using, assistance from other people in the organization, and so on. Conclusions. The final paragraph or section of the proposal should bring readers back to a focus on the positive aspects of the project. In the final section, you can urge them to contact you to work out the details of the project, remind them of the benefits of doing the project, and maybe make one last argument for you or your organization as the right choice for the project. Special project-specific sections. Remember that the preceding sections are typical or common in written proposals, not absolute requirements. Always ask yourself what else might your audience need to understand the project, the need for it, the benefits arising from it, your role in it, and your qualifications to do it. What else do they need to see in order to approve the project and to approve you to do it? https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/technicalwriting/chapter/3-4-common-sections-in-proposals/ * Additional Information on Proposals The following link will take you to Suzie Baker's book, Professional and Technical Writing (2019). This section--simply titled, "Proposals"--provides a very thorough discussion of proposals, including sections on the rhetorical nature of proposals, audience appeals, argumentation, logical fallacies, and exercises in better understanding proposals. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/7/view ****** Graphics in Professional Communication We're familair with the old adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and the inclusion of graphics in professional communication holds to that belief. Often, a reader can grasp an idea or concept or fact much quicker if it's presented to them visually rather than described textually. However, you don't want to only rely on visual elements as the viewer may miss vital aspects of what you're attempting to communicate. The idea, then, is to find a balance between the textual and the visual, with each element enhancing the other. Some graphics may be simple while others highly complex, yet whatever is shown to the reader needs to adhere to the same principles discussed so far: whatever you communicate to your audience is intentional. * Photos and Illustrations Photos are used in professional documents as tools for communicating a message that a writer feels can be strengthened through the use of proper imagery. Photographs can do many things to enhance a message, some examples can be seen here: Illustration Checklist Planning - What kinds of illustrations are your audience familiar with? - Do you have information that could be more easily or quickly communicated to your audience visually or in a combination of words and graphics? - Do you have definitions that could be displayed visually in whole or in part? - Do you have any processes or procedures that could be depicted in a flowchart? - Do you have information on trends or relationships that could be displayed in tables and graphics? - Do you have masses of statistics that could be summarized in tables? - Do you need to depict objects? If so, what do you need to display about the objects? Do you need to focus attention on specific aspects of the objects? Do you require the realism of photographs? - What are the design conventions of your illustrations? - Are there suitable illustrations you could borrow or adapt? Or will you need to create them yourself? Revising - Are you illustrations suited to your purpose and audience? - Do your illustrations communicate information ethically? - Are your illustrations effectively located and easy to find? - Are your illustrations numbered and labeled? - Do your verbal and visual elements reinforce each other? - Are your illustrations genuinely informative instead of simply decorative? - When necessary, have you helped your readers to interpret your illustrations with commentary or annotations? - Have you acknowledged the sources for borrowed or adapted tables and figures? How To Perform an Action Pictures are an effective tool for giving visual representation of how to do something. They can can stand alone or work in conjunction with the given text, and they can enhance a message if used properly. If you are using pictures in conjunction with text: As in a set of instructions, the imagery increases understanding of the task, in addition to decreasing confusion that may arise from text that stands alone.When using a picture to help portray how to perform a task, it is your responsibility to make sure the picture matches up with the text. You must explain the picture using text, and vice versa, explain the text using a picture. Also, the viewer will accomplish the task more often when the picture looks how it would if they were watching the task, not necessarily if they were experiencing it. An example would be: if your task was doing a cartwheel, you wouldn't want the pictures at an angle where the person is looking through the eyes of the one doing the cartwheel. You would want the pictures to be from someone watching the event, so that the viewer isn't confused by what they can't see (such as where their feet are when they're looking at their hands). It's the simple things that make or break a document when using pictures. Think and re-think the pictures you are using and how someone seeing them for the first time will react to them. How a Finished Product Should Look When textual information does not capture the essence of what your trying to describe, try putting an actual photo of what your trying to describe in the document. This type of picture enables you to come as close to reality as possible. Make sure your pictures are in color and of high quality. Black and white photos tend to blur easily on paper and lack the detail needed to fully understand a photo. Images cut down on excessive use of describing words. "A picture is worth a thousand words" relates to this situation. Be sure to use the text wrap abilities of most word processors. A well placed picture with clean text wrapping can make an otherwise overwhelming block of text seem reasonably approachable. Looking at 25 pages of block, justified alignment, plain black text is one of the most boring ways to see a report. A picture can liven up a report, make it more memorable, and help clarify the report all in one motion. Map Out an Object, Place, or Process An example of these types of pictures can be found in an automotive manual or a science textbook. This canbe anything from a picture of a machine to an example of how photosynthesis works. Arrows and labels can be used in order to show where everything is and how the process takes place. The picture should include a big enough background so that the reader can locate the area in relation to things around it. Photographs can also play a major role in connecting with the audience. They are useful in multi-cultural situations when a shared written language may not exist. Pictures can speak louder than words, and usually portray the message quicker. It is very important to keep the first initial reaction in mind when choosing the image you will place within your document. Be sure to avoid photos that may have several meanings, or the true meaning may be unclear. In order to avoid this type of situation, put yourself in the audience that you are writing for and try to be unbiased when you view the image. Better yet, test the image on someone who does not know much about your photo's topic and ask them what message the photo sends to them. Clarity is essential in conveying your message. Do not rely too heavily on pictures though. Pictures and text should be used simultaneously in order to give the audience the most accurate direction. Pictures can make a great break in words, but are not always as useful to get a point across as words are. Software Can Tremendously Increase Photograph Effectiveness There are a great deal of photo editing programs for computers that can be utilized to bring out the right angle, zoom, view, and color of a photo. Some of the most popular photo editing software includes Photoshop, Corel, and Image Smart. Many computers now come with basic image editing software, which allows one to adjust color, brightness, crop, and other basic edits. Cropping is an essential key feature that allows you to enlarge the area of the photo you want the reader to see, while omitting the background and obsolete area of the background. Cropping is equivalent to looking at an image under a microscope where you can focus on the areas you want the readers to see the clearest. However, this can decrease image quality and make the image hard to see. When possible, it is best to use images that need little to no editing. When using imagery make sure it is of high image resolution (300 dpi for print, 72 dpi for screen) and the proper format to be inserting into your document. Typically, sticking with images from original sources, such as a camera or other .jpg or .tif file are best. If you find your photograph is not using the right coloring, computer programs such as Photoshop, Corel, etc. will allow you to adjust the color balance and light in many different variations. This is an important feature, especially when the photograph was not professionally taken or lacks the appropriate lighting for the setting. Be careful not to over or under expose the photography. Labeling is also another feature you can do in a computer program. You can insert boxes with text and arrows into a photograph in order to label key details. Labeling your photographs keeps the information you are trying to convey to the reader clear. These computer programs may take some time to become familiar with how they work. It might be necessary to take a course or tutorial on how to use them to their full advantages, but it's worth it for all the features these programs have. There are some free tutorials available on the internet or through the actual program. Using Graphics From the Artists, Internet, and Other Misc. Sources Graphics can be found for just about any topic relatively easily if you know how to search for them and cite the artist properly. Like any written material, pictures are also property of the original artist in many cases. It is important to use good ethics and cite artists when necessary. The internet and your computer's clip art file have countless pictures and graphics as well. Knowing how to use these techniques and tools will make finding and using images easier. Citing Images In order to use or manipulate an image or graphic not your own, from either the Internet or any other source, you must obtain permission from whoever created or has rights to that image. Usually some type of arrangement between you and this person or organization will have to be negotiated. This could be anything from paying for the rights to use the image, or citing the image in the way that is expressed by the owner. Sometimes graphics will be considered public domain. Studying the copyright information of an image is one way to determine whether or not it is public domain. Images belonging to a government agency or even to your employer would typically be considered public domain. Even so, these images should still be cited. A quick guide to citing images from books and internet can be found at, [[1]] Finding Images on the Internet If you are looking for a high resolution image from the internet, you can select in the Google header bar that you want it only to search for "large images, or extra large images". If you are not finding what you are looking for, there are many stock photography sites out there that allow you to have the image, royalty free for very little of your own money. Some sites to consider would be: Stock.XCHNG (this is a free site, with some restrictions), Stock Xpert, Corbis, Getty, or others, just type in stock photography in the search bar. Clip Art/Illustrations An example of Clip Art Illustrations are a great way to convey information easily and effectively to an audience of all ages. However, when using illustrations be sure that there is relevance from the illustration to the topic your discussing. Illustrations can serve as tangents if they have no relevance to the topic being discussed. Illustrations must be chosen to highlight the topic you are discussing and not to distract readers from it. Graphics can portray ideas more easily than a picture. They give a different type of quality than text in the document. However, when presenting the ideas to well-educated and technologically savvy professionals, clip art may not present the information efficiently. Illustrations that have a low image resolution can take away from the details you are trying to portray to your audience.If this is the case then photos may be a better choice because they are more clear and may get you point across better. Headline text Headline text is used to introduce or even explain graphics. It is expected that you label all of your graphics in one way or another so that when you reference them in you document the reader knows which graphic you are talking about. Headline text can be as simple as a title for a graph or as complex as a short paragraph below a photo explaining the origin and context of the image. Your images and text may seem to go together logically without headlines to you, but your readers will not have your same familiarity. https://www.coursesidekick.com/business/study-guides/technicalwriting/photos-and-illustrations * Quick Tips for Visual Enhancement in Professional Communication Keep the following in mind as you consider possible visual enhancements to your report: - Use graphics to supplement or clarify information provided within the body of your report. - Make sure your graphics are appropriate to your audience, subject matter, and purpose. - Discuss graphics in nearby text preceding the graphic. Don’t just insert a graphic in your report unexplained. Orient readers to the graphic; explain its basic meaning, easily done in introductory and follow-up sentences before and after your graphic. - Intersperse graphics and text on the same page. Don’t put graphics on pages by themselves; ideally, no visual should take up more than one-third of any page in your report. - Use figure numbers and titles for graphics. Additionally, include identifying detail within the graphics such as illustration labels, axis labels, keys, and so on. - Make sure graphics fit within normal margins. Leave at least one blank line above and below graphics. - Place graphics as near to the point in the text where they are relevant as is reasonable. However, if a graphic does not fit properly on one page, indicate that it appears on the next page and put it at the top of the next, continuing with regular text on the preceding page. Don’t leave half a page blank just to keep a graphic near the text it is associated with. - Cite all images that you create from any source material. You should do this in your introductory sentences before the visual as well as include a citation, if relevant, at the bottom of the visual. See samples above. - Cite any images you use created by another writer which you include in your report. While it is perfectly legal to borrow graphics—to trace, photocopy, scan, or extract subsets of data from them, you are obligated to accurately cite your sources for graphics just as you are for the words you borrow. ****** Resumes Perhaps the professional document everyone enounters at some point, the resume is designed to extentuate and communicates one very important thing: yourself. This document is a summary of whatever history, skills, training, expereince you may posses which sets you apart from someone else. Unlike the other genres presemtd so far, a resume can be quite personal, and the desire to communicate our "best self" can be daunting. However, gain confidence in this genre can open a whole host of other writing opportunities, so we've saved the best for last. * The following link will take you to Suzie Baker's book, Professional and Technical Writing (2019). This section--titled, "Preparing Job Materials: Reading Job Ads"--provides a very thorough discussion of looking for employment, how to read employment advertisements, the rhetorical nature of your resume, cover letters, the resume as a genre, and smaller tips to make the most of your resume. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/6/view REFERENCES: 7.1 Correspondence: Text Messages, Emails, Memos, and Letters by Suzan Last is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Technical Writing. Authored by: Dr. Elizabeth Lohman. Provided by: Tidewater Community College. Located at: https://www.tcc.edu/. Project: Z Degree Program. License: CC BY: Attribution "Professional and Technical Writing" 2019 by Suzie Baker under license"Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial" Functions of the Presentation to Inform. Provided by: Writing Commons. Located at: http://web.archive.org/web/20150320234217/http://writingcommons.org/open-text/genres/professional-business-and-technical-writing/presentations-to-inform/809-functions-of-the-presentation-to-inform. License: CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Technical Writing by Allison Gross, Annemarie Hamlin, Billy Merck, Chris Rubio, Jodi Naas, Megan Savage, and Michele DeSilva is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Additional Examples of Different Genres Though several of the genres and links included in the previous chapter included examples, collected here are even more examples of professional communication; as you've learned, it's always worth examining and questioning how other writers create their documents. You may see choices that you'd like to incorporate in your own writing, or examples of practices you'd want to avoid. Regardless of how you use them, engaging with diverse examples is one of the best practices in better understanding your own writing and how you communicate, in a professional context or otherwise. ****** Example Emails Dear Colleagues, For those interested in presenting for an being involved in the Narrative Medicine thread for the conference, I am organizing a conversation about possible workshops and gatherings for the 4th and 5th at Norman Community College. We have space for two workshops during that time, and I believe we have a wonderful chance to exchange ideas and information. Please email me at rlv123@ncc.edu , and I will get you on a discussion list. We defiantly want you to be there! In addition, we can exchange ideas for other sessions in Narrative Medicine and Medical Humanities. Best and Happy Holidays, Campus Connection will be unavailable while end of term processing occurs from 6 to 10 p.m. CT Sunday, Dec. 30. All access to Campus Connection will be unavailable during this time. Touchnet access will also be interrupted. On your website, you are advertising positions for the upcoming season. I believe that my background and experience can be an asset to your organization. Attached is a copy of my resume. For the past few years, I have been working in a restaurant and have extensive experience in most of the service positions – from bussing to waiting and bartending. I am planning to arrive in the US in the beginning of June and am available to work through the end of September. I would very much like to have an opportunity to work for your restaurant and am confident that I can bring an international flare to your staffing. You may reach me through this email or at 44 22 929444 between the hours of 3 and 5pm your time. Dear Hiring Manager, I am writing to express my interest in the Web Content Manager position listed on MediaBistro.com. I have experience building large, consumer-focused health-based content sites.. While much of my experience has been in the business world, I understand the social value of the non-profit sector and my business experience will be an asset to your organization. My responsibilities include the development and management of the site’s editorial voice and style, the editorial calendar, and the daily content programming and production of the web site. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Welcome to [company name]. Dear [customer’s name], Thank you for registering with the [company name]. You can manage your personal information from the “My Account” section of the site when you sign in to [company name]. You can change your contact details and password, track recent orders, add alternate shipping addresses, and manage your preferences and customer profile all in this one convenient location. Thank you for your interest in [company name]. We look forward to your next visit. To: Harriet Adamo, Physical Plant Manager, XYZ Corporation From: Mel Vargas, Construction Site Manager, Maxim Construction Company Sent: Monday 10/25/09 8:14 AM Subject: construction interruptions Harriet, I know employees of XYZ Corp. are looking forward to moving into the new ABC Street building in January, but recently groups of employees who do not have business here have been walking through the building. These visits create a safety hazard, interrupt the construction workers, and could put your occupancy date in jeopardy. Would you please instruct your staff members who haven’t already been moved to ABC Street to stay out of the building? If they need to meet here with someone who has already moved, they should conduct their business and leave promptly via the nearest staircase. We need to avoid further interruptions so our construction workers can get the building ready for occupancy on schedule. If you have any questions, please call me. Thanks, Mel Melvin R. Vargas Construction Site Manager, Maxim Construction Co. 1234 Main Street, Big City, USA 98765-1111 (111) 123-4567, ext. 89 ****** Example Cover Letters E-2 Apartment Heights Dr. Blacksburg, VA 24060 (540) 555-0101 abcd@vt.edu February 22, 2011 Dr. Michelle Rhodes Principal, Wolftrap Elementary School 1205 Beulah Road Vienna, VA 22182 Dear Dr. Rhodes: I enjoyed our conversation on February 18th at the Family and Child Development seminar on teaching elementary children and appreciated your personal input about balancing the needs of children and the community during difficult economic times. This letter is to follow-up about the Fourth Grade Teacher position as discussed at the seminar. I will complete my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction at Virginia Tech in May 2011, and will be available for employment as soon as needed for the 2011-12 school year. My teacher preparation program at Virginia Tech has included a full academic year of student teaching. Last semester I taught second grade and this semester am teaching fourth grade. These valuable experiences have afforded me the opportunity to: - Develop lesson plans on a wide range of topics and varying levels of academic ability, - Work with emotionally and physically challenged students in a total inclusion program, - Observe and participate in effective classroom management approaches, - Assist with parent-teacher conferences, and - Complete in-service sessions on diversity, math and reading skills, and community relations. My experience includes work in a private day care facility, Rainbow Riders Childcare Center, and in Virginia Tech’s Child Development Laboratory. Both these facilities are NAEYC-accredited and adhere to the highest standards. At both locations, I led small and large group activities, helped with lunches and snacks, and implemented appropriate activities. Both experiences also provided me with extensive exposure to the implementation of developmentally appropriate activities and materials. I enthusiastically look forward to putting my knowledge and experience into practice in the public school system. Next week I will be in Vienna, and I plan to call you then to answer any questions that you may have. I can be reached before then at (540) 555-7670. Thank you very much for your consideration. Sincerely, (handwritten signature) Donna Harrington Enclosure * Subject line: Application for sales representative for mid-Atlantic area April 14, 2010 Mr. William Jackson Employment Manager Acme Pharmaceutical Corporation 13764 Jefferson Parkway Roanoke, VA 24019 jackson@acmepharmaceutical.com Dear Mr. Jackson: From the Acme web site I learned about your need for a sales representative for the Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina areas. I am very interested in this position with Acme Pharmaceuticals, and believe that my education and employment background are appropriate for the position. You indicate that a requirement for the position is a track record of success in meeting sales goals. I have done this. After completion of my B.S. in biology, and prior to beginning my master’s degree in marketing, I worked for two years as a sales representative with a regional whole foods company. My efforts yielded success in new business development, and my sales volume consistently met or exceeded company goals. I would like to repeat that success in the pharmaceutical industry, using my academic background in science and business. I will complete my M.S. in marketing in mid-May and will be available to begin employment in early June. Attached is a copy of my resume, which more fully details my qualifications for the position. I look forward to talking with you regarding sales opportunities with Acme Pharmaceuticals. Within the next week I will contact you to confirm that you received my e-mail and resume and to answer any questions you may have. Thank you very kindly for your consideration. Sincerely, Layne A. Johnson 5542 Hunt Club Lane, #1 Blacksburg, VA 24060 (540) 555-8082 lajohnson@vt.edu Resume attached as MS Word document (assuming company web site instructed applicants to do this) * 1000 Terrace View Apts. Blacksburg, VA 24060 (540) 555-4523 stevemason@vt.edu March 25, 2010 Ms. Janice Wilson Personnel Director Anderson Construction Company 3507 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20895 Dear Ms. Wilson: I read in the March 24th Washington Post classified section of your need for a Civil Engineer or Building Construction graduate for one of your Washington, DC, area sites. I will be returning to the Washington area after graduation in May and believe that I have the necessary credentials for the project. Every summer for the last five years I have worked at various levels in the construction industry. As indicated on my enclosed resume, I have worked as a general laborer, and moved up to skilled carpentry work, and last summer served as assistant construction manager on a two million dollar residential construction project. In addition to this practical experience, I will complete requirements for my B.S. in Building Construction in May. As you may know, Virginia Tech is one of the few universities in the country that offers such a specialized degree for the construction industry. I am confident that my degree, along with my years of construction industry experience, make me an excellent candidate for your job. The Anderson Construction Company projects are familiar to me, and my aspiration is to work for a company that has your excellent reputation. I would welcome the opportunity to interview with you. I will be in the Washington area during the week of April 12th and would be available to speak with you at that time. In the next week to ten days I will contact you to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, (handwritten signature) Jesse Mason Enclosure ****** Example Letter of Recommendations Letter of Recommendation for Ms. X Department of Y, PhD Program I first knew X in the spring of l986 when she was a member of my Freshman Seminar, '. . . .` In such small groups teacher and students come to know one another in a way that is seldom, if ever, possible in large lecture courses. In either forum something can be learned about a student's academic ability, but only in the former can one get a reliable measure of the student as a person. . . . Having kept in touch with X in the intervening years, I am confident in my knowledge of her. To begin with, she is an excellent student, with a lively curiosity that makes her dissatisfied with superficial explanations. That curiosity frequently led our seminar down avenues and into areas that, otherwise, would have remained unexplored. . . . One has only to speak to her to recognize her openness and eagerness. It is easy to mistake this for naiveté, an error I made when she first told me she had signed up to be an apprentice teacher in one of Boston's more notorious inner city high schools. . . . Throughout the term, often at great cost to her own peace of mind, and sometimes in explicit conflict with the regular teacher, she continued to insist on a high level of performance from her students. She not only survived the term but won the admiration and respect of students accustomed to being patronized by teachers content to believe that nothing much can be expected. I would expect X to bring these same qualities of character to . . . . That is, an openness to new places, peoples, cultures and customs; a keen intelligence, with which to analyze and order her experience; irrepressible curiosity; and an unusual ability for dealing with people of all ages and conditions. Those qualities, combined with her toughness of character. . ., will enable her to understand and empathize with others while never losing touch with who she is. * Letter of Recommendation for Jane Doe Office of Graduate Admissions, Institute of Design I'm honored to recommend Jane Doe for admission to graduate studies at the Institute of Design. Since Jane will be visiting you soon, the following information should help introduce her as well as convey my wholehearted recommendation that she be admitted to your program. My association with Jane--I've known Jane closely for three years, during which we've collaborated on many projects. Her role has been that of a consultant to our architectural firm. Jane and I have also conversed privately on theoretical and practical matters of style, aesthetics, and philosophies of design. I've always been impressed by her know-how--from how to design an arboretum to good principles of document design. Jane's integrity--The hallmark of Jane's character is her honesty. This extends from those areas where we easily see it (in relationships and business transactions) to integrity of thought. Scientific, thorough, and meticulous, she approaches any analytical task with an exacting eye. This is the kind of care and concern I mean by integrity of thought. Jane's scholarship and balanced education--As a student of the humanities, Jane pursued a course of study that could serve as a model for any general education curriculum. She knows not only Shakespeare but mathematics. She's as comfortable in a wood shop as at the opera. Her professional manner--Jane Doe is one of the most pleasant persons you'll ever meet or work with. She's forthright, but neither intimidates nor intrudes. She's open, friendly, and authentic--the Jane you'll soon meet is the Jane you'll get, without any surprises. Jane has my unqualified professional endorsement and my deep personal respect. Please feel free to call at any time if I can be of further assistance. ******** Examples of Proposals Narrative of OER Plan Project Description Conversations regarding science-based issues—most recently COVID-19/vaccines and for decades, climate change—are often met with skepticism and distrust, with many people not understanding science as a process, typically only engaging with conclusions which can create a barrier for appreciating how those conclusions were reached. The Composition course CO301B, Writing in the Sciences, was created specifically to have STEM-based CSU students practice reducing this barrier, showing their readers the step-by-step processes of their majors and teaching those same readers to be scientifically-minded, i.e. believe in the conclusions as proven by the process. However, this reader-as-scientist approach is not without its own blind spots, often focusing on Westernized characteristics such as objectivity and quantitative value—empirical qualities—which inherently undermine other knowledge systems, specifically, traditional and indigenous knowledge. If CSU students are to appreciate their own scientific backgrounds, and in turn communicate to a wider audience the necessity to understand science-based situations, then they must also be able to work with and recognize Traditional Knowledge (TK) as an equal system in knowledge creation, learning from local and diverse communities across the globe who often view science as a spiritual and subjective experience. My proposed OER will act as a collection of scholarly articles focused on TK in the larger discourse communities of Health, Environment, and Technology—which correspond to most CO301B student major demographics. Students will use this collection in tandem with other scholarly works, a requirement of a 300-level course, to deepen their individual projects and engage with diverse communities by expanding the concept of “scientific thought.” As an OER, this collection will expose students to scientific practices not generally covered, at no additional cost to them, and further enact CSU’s commitment to diversity and inclusion across curriculums. Note that this OER cannot fully replace the current CO301B textbook listed above as these proposed materials are not rhetorically focused—a requirement of CO courses. This OER will be best used as a supplement/compliment to other scholarly readings and course concepts within the CO301B content criteria, specifically writing as a rhetorical practice. Essentially, this proposed OER is intended for discussion and implementation of traditional scientific knowledge within a larger science-based course. Format of OER Given that my OER is text-based I will use a format that many assistive technologies recognize: PDF. Beyond the format itself, to the best of my ability, and through the aid of accessibility checkers, I will use common design considerations such as: logical page structure, consistent placement of information from page-to-page, true text throughout, standard font families, easily recognizable links, and other elements that follow POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust) guidelines. Goals and Assessment of OER A major goal of the OER is to have students thoughtfully work with/understand TK as being in relationship with modern science and to further recognize science as a process—one spanning cultures and centuries, not merely study to study. Ideally, students will synthesize current scientific processes alongside indigenous knowledge systems, equating the two and promoting the concept of “local” expertise as a valid and valuable means of knowledge creation. In turn, given that 301B is centered on writing about science to general audiences, students will communicate that synthesis to imagined readers and, hopefully, to individuals in their future careers—such as patients, stakeholders, and clients. A parallel goal is to have instructors, from a variety of discourse communities, use the OER as a way to include diverse perspectives in their science-based courses. In terms of assessment, I will use similar evaluation metrics as other critical thinking and writing techniques found within a writing course, usually through asking “how?” in relation to effectiveness of communication: how well has this student used their TK source in regards to their overall topic? How well are they communicating the information found within their TK source? How well are they thinking of their TK source in relation to their other sources? Etcetera. As with other critical thinking and writing techniques implementation is a practice and cannot be assessed completely in a single setting. Funding Request and Use I am requesting funding of $4,000 to create OER and to be used as summer salary for a faculty member on a 9-month appointment schedule. Through the months of June and July 2021 I plan to set aside roughly 15 hours a week to create this OER, culminating in 120 hours of labor. Through CSU’s library databases and Open-Access repositories this time will be spent finding, analyzing, and categorizing potential scholarly articles related to TK. This time will also be spent in creating supplemental writings such as a larger introduction to the collection, how to use the collection in a science-based writing course, placing TK in context, introduction to the sections, and smaller text-based activities for potential instructor use. Timeline for OER Creation My estimated timeline is assembling a sample collection of TK scholarly texts within the aforementioned three discourse communities over the summer of 2021. My hope is to collect and analyze at least 25 scholarly texts for each of the three communities of the framework—so roughly 75+—and organize them into distinct sections. Once my scheduled classes begin in Fall 2021 I will integrate the collection into the course and have students choose sources that fit their individual projects, which then culminates in student feedback/course evaluations, allowing me to modify/revise the collection. After that semester, and if I teach the course in Spring 2022, I will reintegrate the modified collection into that course, culminating once again in student feedback/course evaluations. My hope is to have a “near complete” draft of the collection by the end of Summer 2022 fully informed by student use and engagement. Implementation of OER The first full implementation of a working draft will be in the Fall 2021 semester. I am scheduled to teach 3 sections of CO301B, so roughly 72 students will interact with this text. The OER will be further “tested” in the Spring 2022 semester, if I am scheduled to teach this course then. The OER will be used as a supplemental text, deepening course content criteria and allowing for other instructional opportunities. Sustained Use of OER The sustained use of this specific OER is dependent on my teaching schedule as offered by my department. To date, I have been a full-time instructor at CSU from Fall 2019-Spring 2021 (further scheduled to teach in the 2021/2022 schoolyear). Of these 6 semesters, 4 have included teaching CO301B, the initial intended course for this OER. I believe I will be scheduled to teach this course again in future semesters. Beyond this specific OER material, I am an OER Ambassador and have been granted course releases to aid in the creation and development of OER at CSU with Dr. Mike Palmquist (Spring 2020, Summer 2020, & Spring 2021), all of which have been funded by the Colorado OER Council. When possible, I intend to use OER materials for the remainder of my professional teaching career. * Request For Professional Development Funds: 2018-2019 Ben Greenlee From: Ben Greenlee To: Graduate Professional Development Awards Committee Introduction: With our current political, social, and environmental changes I am constantly considering the future. I oscillate between fears of all things becoming worse, or hope that humanity can overcome any obstacle. I occupy a space of in-between-ness, never quite settling into either emotion, unsure of which reigns supreme. As a writer, the genre of speculative fiction best encompasses this split of the self, allowing me to project and imagine what comes next, both the negative and the positive, so as to better understand what to do now; I can fling myself into the future or past from the relatively safety of the present. Contemporary writers also seem to embrace this position, turning to this genre in order to imagine their own worries. Award winning/nominated books such as Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo, Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties, and recent MacArthur Fellow recipient Kelly Link, to name a few, all represent the genre of speculative fiction. They, like myself, project themselves outward using a genre that seeks out the horizon. In order to deepen my own projections to craft necessary fictions, I am requesting $765 in professional development funds to finance my acceptance into the competitive three-day speculative fiction workshop at the Futurescapes Writing Conference. Brief Description: The Futurescapes Writing Conference is an annual conference that discusses and practices the writing of speculative fictions (science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, graphic novels, etc.). As indicated on the Futurescapes website, the competitive workshop portion of the conference will be held over a three-day period where each participant will be paired with three faculty mentors (an author, and editor, and an agent) and engage in multiple workshop critiques, craft lessons, and talks on the commercial aspects of writing [as referenced on document “D”]. Relevance to Graduate Work: My thesis novel is heavily influenced by the speculative fiction subgenre of a possible future where ecological change and crisis has strengthened the notion of a surveillance state. I would not call this a dystopian narrative, rather a forecast into what may be based on what is, speculative fiction’s greatest characteristic. Another element of my novel is the interplay of masculine and feminine approaches to preparing for potential catastrophic events, aka doomsday prepping. My desire is that these two elements combine to offer some commentary on what it means to have hope in a seemingly hopeless world. In terms of other graduate work that speaks to the Futurescapes workshop, I have taken a course on Hybridity and another on the Philosophy of Science Fiction. The Hybrid class taught me how the blending of outwardly different modes of writing can create a richer reading experience while also suggesting a more realized reflection of our current world of information overload, while the Philosophy of Science Fiction course raised questions of what it means to be human, and how the genre of speculative fictions ask those questions in nuanced and entertaining ways; both courses have been invaluable in the development of my thesis novel. Lastly, in regards to the Futurescapes workshop itself, with critique groups of a student-to-mentor ratio of 7:1, individual attention will be given to each manuscript as well as creating space for the development of professional relationships. My goals for this workshop are to gain specialized feedback for my thesis novel, practice techniques specific to the genre of writing speculative fictions, gain greater insight into the commercial aspect of writing, and, outside of my thesis project, have an opportunity for professional discussions of the graphic novel mode of writing, a mode I have only enjoyed as a reader thus far. Dates of Travel: Thursday evening April 11th through Sunday April 14th, 2019, Sundance, Utah. Budget: - Early Bird registration $436 - Lodging @ local AirBNB, 3 nights (halved) $150 - Mini-workshop w/ writer Ted Chiang $89 - Travel for round-trip and inter-city commuting (halved) $60 - Per diem, 3 meals $30 TOTAL: $765 Notes on Budget: - Registration=This pricing is based off the Early Bird registration fee, local rooming rate (meaning not purchasing a room on the resort grounds), and a 20% discount based on student status [as referenced on document “C”]. Purchased October 31st 2018. - Lodging=This pricing is based on an average of local AirBNB 2-bedroom rates in the town of Provo, Utah, 26 miles away from the Workshop setting, for the weekend of April 12th-14th for a three-night stay. I have indicated “halved” as another CSU graduate student will also be staying with us, consolidating expenses and providing additional care for, during that time, her 5 month-old baby. This shared pricing is more individually cost effective than the private room rate with the partner rate [as referenced on document “C”], saving myself and CSU Partner $245 each. - Mini-workshop=Ted Chiang is a high-profile writer in the speculative fiction and fantasy genres, earning multiple Locus, Hugo, and Nebula awards, the highest honors in the speculative fiction and fantasy genres. Working with Mr. Chiang in a more intimate setting beyond the larger workshop would be invaluable for developing my craft and techniques in these two genres, respectively. Purchased October 31st 2018. - Travel=I will be driving my own vehicle, so this pricing is based on the average price of gas and the ability of my specific vehicle in conjunction with the round-trip distance of Fort Collins, CO and the Sundance Resort, UT. I have indicated “halved” as another CSU student will be sharing the costs. Together, we have added an additional $20 for inter-city commuting ($10 each). This total has been calculated by the website, “GasBuddy” [as referenced on document “E”]. - Per diem=This pricing is based on three meals, at $10 a meal, not provided during the workshop [as referenced on document “D”]. All other meals are provided by the workshop. Needed meals for myself only: dinner Friday 12th, dinner Saturday 13th, and lunch Sunday 14th. Additional Information: Attached are: a current Curriculum vitae; proof of workshop acceptance [“A”]; proof of purchase for registration [“B”]; general information on the workshop [“C”]; workshop schedule [“D”]; and travel distance with cost [“E”]. Conclusion: The Futurescapes Workshop will enable me to gain a deeper practice while surrounding myself with other writers who excel in the speculative fiction genre, a genre I am currently exploring through my thesis novel and CSU course load. The workshop will also be a much appreciated developmental space to discover writing beyond my thus far academic writing life, diversifying into a professional field, creating relationships with writers, editors and agents that could strengthen my writing career, opening a future with greater possibilities. Thank you for your time and consideration. Ben Greenlee When will I use my Writing on the Job? Career-Based Readings As with many college courses, especially courses that focus on writing, there is the constant thought of how to apply learned skills in a "real-world" setting. After reading all the previous chapters a student may ask themselves "can I really keep all this in mind?", "do my writing choices matter in the ways we've been learning?", "is a future job going to care that I took a course on professional communication?" Rather than responding with an enthusiastic "YES!", and telling you developing professional communication skills is important, this chapter collects several instances of professionals (experts and students) speaking of their own practical application of writing techniques previously discussed. Hopefully by including these voices here you'll gain a wider perspective on what your future writing life may include. *** - “Writing in Criminal Justice: The Process” - Book Excerpt with Reflection - LaNina Cooke https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/processes/chapter/writing-in-criminal-justice-the-process/ * - “Writing in Science: Creating a Lab Write-Up" - Article Excerpt with Reflection - Cesar Hernandez and Thawanhathai Kiatsutthakorn https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/processes/chapter/writing-in-science-creating-a-lab-write-up/ * - “My Education in Writing as a Nurse” - Reflection - Darcy McRedmond https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/processes/chapter/my-education-in-writing-as-a-nurse/ * - “How Nursing Taught Me to Write Scholarly” - Student Writing Excerpts with Reflection - Ricky Hsiao https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/processes/chapter/how-nursing-taught-me-to-write-scholarly/ *** Readings taken from Processes: Writing Across Academic Careers, edited by Christopher Iverson and Dan Ehrenfeld; 9781942341818. March 31, 2023. https://milneopentextbooks.org/processes-writing-across-academic-careers/ REFERENCES: Processes by LaNina Cooke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. What if I'm a "Bad Writer"? Writing Fundamentals You may think that some people are simply born better writers than others, but in fact writing is a reflection of experience and effort. If you think about your successes as a writer, you may come up with a couple of favorite books, authors, or teachers that inspired you to express yourself. You may also recall a sense of frustration with your previous writing experiences. It is normal and natural to experience a sense of frustration at the perceivedinability to express oneself. The emphasis here is on your perception of yourself as a writer as one aspect of how you communicate. Most people use oral communication for much of their self-expression, from daily interactions to formal business meetings. You have a lifetime of experience in that arena that you can leverage to your benefit in your writing. Reading out loud what you have written is a positive technique we’ll address later in more depth. Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement, “Violence is the language of the unheard” emphasizes the importance of finding one’s voice, of being able to express one’s ideas. Violence comes in many forms, but is often associated with frustration born of the lack of opportunity to communicate. You may read King’s words and think of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, or perhaps of the violence of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, or of wars happening in the world today. Public demonstrations and fighting are expressions of voice, from individual to collective. Finding your voice, and learning to listen to others, is part of learning to communicate. You are your own best ally when it comes to your writing. Keeping a positive frame of mind about your journey as a writer is not a cliché or simple, hollow advice. Your attitude toward writing can and does influence your written products. Even if writing has been a challenge for you, the fact that you are reading this sentence means you perceive the importance of this essential skill. This text and our discussions will help you improve your writing, and your positive attitude is part of your success strategy. There is no underestimating the power of effort when combined with inspiration and motivation. The catch then is to get inspired and motivated. That’s not all it takes, but it is a great place to start. You were not born with a key pad in front of you, but when you want to share something with friends and text them, the words (or abbreviations) come almost naturally. So you recognize you have the skills necessary to begin the process of improving and harnessing your writing abilities for business success. It will take time and effort, and the proverbial journey starts with a single step, but don’t lose sight of the fact that your skillful ability to craft words will make a significant difference in your career. READING Reading is one step many writers point to as an integral step in learning to write effectively. You may like Harry Potter books or be a Twilight fan, but if you want to write effectively in business, you need to read business-related documents. These can include letters, reports, business proposals, and business plans. You may find these where you work or in your school’s writing center, business department, or library; there are also many Web sites that provide sample business documents of all kinds. Your reading should also include publications in the industry where you work or plan to work, such as Aviation Week, InfoWorld, Journal of Hospitality, International Real Estate Digest, or Women’s Wear Daily, to name just a few. You can also gain an advantage by reading publications in fields other than your chosen one; often reading outside your niche can enhance your versatility and help you learn how other people express similar concepts. Finally, don’t neglect general media like the business section of your local newspaper, and national publications like the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and the Harvard Business Review. Reading is one of the most useful lifelong habits you can practice to boost your business communication skills. In the “real world” when you are under a deadline and production is paramount, you’ll be rushed and may lack the time to do adequate background reading for a particular assignment. For now, take advantage of your business communication course by exploring common business documents you may be called on to write, contribute to, or play a role in drafting. Some documents have a degree of formula to them, and your familiarity with them will reduce your preparation and production time while increasing your effectiveness. As you read similar documents, take notes on what you observe. As you read several sales letters, you may observe several patterns that can serve you well later on when it’s your turn. These patterns are often called conventions, or conventional language patterns for a specific genre. WRITING Never lose sight of one key measure of the effectiveness of your writing: the degree to which it fulfills readers’ expectations. If you are in a law office, you know the purpose of a court brief is to convince the judge that certain points of law apply to the given case. If you are at a newspaper, you know that an editorial opinion article is supposed to convince readers of the merits of a certain viewpoint, whereas a news article is supposed to report facts without bias. If you are writing ad copy, the goal is to motivate consumers to make a purchase decision. In each case, you are writing to a specific purpose, and a great place to start when considering what to write is to answer the following question: what are the readers’ expectations? When you are a junior member of the team, you may be given clerical tasks like filling in forms, populating a database, or coordinating appointments. Or you may be assigned to do research that involves reading, interviewing, and note taking. Don’t underestimate these facets of the writing process; instead, embrace the fact that writing for business often involves tasks that a novelist might not even recognize as “writing.” Your contribution is quite important and in itself is an on-the-job learning opportunity that shouldn’t be taken for granted. When given a writing assignment, it is important to make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. You may read the directions and try to put them in your own words to make sense of the assignment. Be careful, however, not to lose sight of what the directions say versus what you think they say. Just as an audience’s expectations should be part of your consideration of how, what, and why to write, the instructions given by your instructor, or in a work situation by your supervisor, establish expectations. Just as you might ask a mentor more about a business writing assignment at work, you need to use the resources available to you to maximize your learning opportunity. Ask the professor to clarify any points you find confusing, or perceive more than one way to interpret, in order to better meet the expectations. Before you write an opening paragraph, or even the first sentence, it is important to consider the overall goal of the assignment. The word assignment can apply equally to a written product for class or for your employer. You might make a list of the main points and see how those points may become the topic sentences in a series of paragraphs. You may also give considerable thought to whether your word choice, your tone, your language, and what you want to say is in line with your understanding of your audience. We briefly introduced the writing process previously, and will visit it in depth later in our discussion, but for now writing should about exploring your options. Authors rarely have a finished product in mind when they start, but once you know what your goal is and how to reach it, you writing process will become easier and more effective. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND TARGETED PRACTICE Mentors can also be important in your growth as a writer. Your instructor can serve as a mentor, offering constructive criticism, insights on what he or she has written, and life lessons about writing for a purpose. Never underestimate the mentors that surround you in the workplace, even if you are currently working in a position unrelated to your desired career. They can read your rough draft and spot errors, as well as provide useful insights. Friends and family can also be helpful mentors—if your document’s meaning is clear to someone not working in your business, it will likely also be clear to your audience. The key is to be open to criticism, keeping in mind that no one ever improved by repeating bad habits over and over. Only when you know what your errors are—errors of grammar or sentence structure, logic, format, and so on—can you correct your document and do a better job next time. Writing can be a solitary activity, but more often in business settings it is a collective, group, or team effort. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to seek outside assistance before you finalize your document. Learning to be a successful business writer comes with practice. Targeted practice, which involves identifying your weak areas and specifically working to improve them, is especially valuable. In addition to reading, make it a habit to write, even if it is not a specific assignment. The more you practice writing the kinds of materials that are used in your line of work, the more writing will come naturally and become an easier task—even on occasions when you need to work under pressure. CRITICAL THINKING Critical thinking means becoming aware of your thinking process. It’s a human trait that allows us to step outside what we read or write and ask ourselves, “Does this really make sense?” “Are there other, perhaps better, ways to explain this idea?” Sometimes our thinking is very abstract and becomes clear only through the process of getting thoughts down in words. As a character in E. M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel said, “How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?” (1976, p. 99). Did you really write what you meant to, and will it be easily understood by the reader? Successful writing forms a relationship with the audience, reaching the reader on a deep level that can be dynamic and motivating. In contrast, when writing fails to meet the audience’s expectations, you already know the consequences: they’ll move on. Learning to write effectively involves reading, writing, critical thinking, and hard work. You may have seen The Wizard of Oz and recall the scene when Dorothy discovers what is behind the curtain. Up until that moment, she believed the Wizard’s powers were needed to change her situation, but now she discovers that the power is her own. Like Dorothy, you can discover that the power to write successfully rests in your hands. Excellent business writing can be inspiring, and it is important to not lose that sense of inspiration as we deconstruct the process of writing to its elemental components. You may be amazed by the performance of Tony Hawk on a skateboard ramp, Mia Hamm on the soccer field, or Michael Phelps in the water. Those who demonstrate excellence often make it look easy, but nothing could be further from the truth. Effort, targeted practice, and persistence will win the day every time. When it comes to writing, you need to learn to recognize clear and concise writing while looking behind the curtain at how it is created. This is not to say we are going to lose the magic associated with the best writers in the field. Instead, we’ll appreciate what we are reading as we examine how it was written and how the writer achieved success. https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/1/view *** Further Guidance on Writing Fundamentals The following link will take you to a section of Suzie Baker's book, Professional and Technical Writing (2019). This section--titled, "Writing Basics"--includes lessons, examples, and exercises on writing fundamentals, such as: - Sentence Writing (17.1) - Subject-Verb Agreement (17.2) - Verb Tense (17.3) - Capitalization (17.4) - Pronouns (17.5) - Adjectives and Adverbs (17.6) - Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers (17.7) https://oercommons.org/authoring/54645-professional-and-technical-writing/17/view REFERENCES: "Professional and Technical Writing" 2019 by Suzie Baker under license"Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial"	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.910207	Ben Greenlee	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/106717/overview", "title": "Writing Know-How: Understanding Professional Communication", "author": "Textbook" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/112162/overview	Welding-121 Mid term Welding-121 Quiz Questions and Asnwers WLD__121_GMAW_MIG_FCAW-Plate WLD 121 GMAW [MIG] FCAW-Plate Overview This course is meant to be an introduction to MIG welding. It was created in conjuction with the AWESM grant constoritum led by Forsyth Tech. The material has been reviewed and acknowleged by the eight colleges within the program.The PDF includes the course layout, embedded readings, and links to video content. WLD 121 GMAW [MIG] FCAW-Plate This course is meant to be an introduction to MIG welding. It was created in conjuction with the AWESM grant constoritum led by Forsyth Tech. The material has been reviewed and acknowleged by the eight colleges within the program.The PDF includes the course layout, embedded readings, and links to video content. Odigia was the platform used to create the course.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.941349	Module	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/112162/overview", "title": "WLD 121 GMAW [MIG] FCAW-Plate", "author": "Lecture" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/103898/overview	Video Guide "What is Theatre?" Overview Video guide for the PBS Crash Course Theatre video, "What is Theatre?" Crash Course Theatre "What is Theatre" Video Guide “What is Theatre” Crash Course Theatre 1 Video Guide Please watch "What is Theatre" and answer the following questions in academic language (complete sentences with appropriate grammar and punctuation). - Who is Dionysus? - What does the word “theatre” mean when traced back to its Greek origins? - According to the video, where is theatre? - What is the correlation between ritual and theatre? - Who took a scientific approach to theatre? - People learn due to a “medic impulse;” what are the three desires we have that inform our learning?	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.961158	05/15/2023	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/103898/overview", "title": "Video Guide \"What is Theatre?\"", "author": "Lindsay Bryan" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/111292/overview	Optimizing the Game: Linear Models in Soccer - Precalculus Project by Abrar Habib Overview This Project has been completed as part of a Precalculus course with corequisite section during the Fall 2023 semester at MassBay Community College, Wellesley Hills, MA. Summary Author: Abrar Habib Instructor: Igor V Baryakhtar Subject: Calculus 3 Course number: MA 104/104X-901 Course type: Lecture Semester: Fall 2023 College: MassBay Community College, MA Tags: Calculus, Project Based Learning, Active Learning Language: English Media Format: pdf License: CC-BY 4.0 All project content created by Abrar Habib Content added to OER Commons by Igor V Baryakhtar PDF file Optimizing the Game: Linear Models in Soccer Abrar Habib	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:47.979420	Igor Baryakhtar	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/111292/overview", "title": "Optimizing the Game: Linear Models in Soccer - Precalculus Project by Abrar Habib", "author": "Reading" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/99709/overview	Instructions for Authoring a Resource OER Publishing Agreement (Sept. 2024) Required Collection Tags Instructions for Authoring a Resource Overview Instructions for creating resources in OER Commons and adding existing materials to the Open Massachusetts Repository in PDF and video format. Instructions for Authoring a Resource Slideshow of instructions to add content to the Open Massachusetts: A Public Higher Education Repository for Faculty and members of the Massachusetts Public Higher Education Community. A PDF version of this document is attached, and a video detailing the upload process can be found in the last section of this document. An OER Commons Checklist and Agreement to Publish document is also attached. This document can streamline the uploading process, specifically with the descriptive metadata fields and appropriate licence selection. 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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/67174/overview	Nation Introduction to the Sociology of Family Overview - Describe society’s current understanding of family - Define the sociological imagination and apply it to the study of family - Identify two organizations that provide scholarly information about families - Name the cross-cultural functions of the family - Recognize changes in marriage and family patterns - Differentiate between lines of decent and residence Introduction: What is Family? What is a family? A husband, a wife, and two children—maybe even a pet—has served as the model for the traditional U.S. family for most of the twentieth century. But what about families that deviate from this model, such as a single-parent household or a homosexual couple without children? Should they be considered families as well? The question of what constitutes a family is a prime area of debate in family sociology, as well as in politics and religion. Social conservatives tend to define the family in terms of structure with each family member filling a certain role (like father, mother, or child). Sociologists, on the other hand, tend to define family more in terms of the manner in which members relate to one another than on a strict configuration of status roles. Here, we’ll define family as a socially recognized group (usually joined by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption) that forms an emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of society. Sociologists identify different types of families based on how one enters into them. A family of orientation refers to the family into which a person is born. A family of procreation describes one that is formed through marriage. These distinctions have cultural significance related to issues of lineage. Drawing on two sociological paradigms, the sociological understanding of what constitutes a family can be explained by symbolic interactionism as well as functionalism. These two theories indicate that families are groups in which participants view themselves as family members and act accordingly. In other words, families are groups in which people come together to form a strong primary group connection and maintain emotional ties to one another over a long period of time. Such families may include groups of close friends or teammates. In addition, the functionalist perspective views families as groups that perform vital roles for society—both internally (for the family itself) and externally (for society as a whole). Families provide for one another’s physical, emotional, and social well-being. Parents care for and socialize children. Later in life, adult children often care for elderly parents. While interactionism helps us understand the subjective experience of belonging to a “family,” functionalism illuminates the many purposes of families and their roles in the maintenance of a balanced society (Parsons and Bales 1956). How Do We Define Family? People in the United States as a whole are somewhat divided when it comes to determining what does and what does not constitute a family. In a 2010 survey conducted by professors at the University of Indiana, nearly all participants (99.8 percent) agreed that a husband, wife, and children constitute a family. Ninety-two percent stated that a husband and a wife without children still constitute a family. The numbers drop for less traditional structures: unmarried couples with children (83 percent), unmarried couples without children (39.6 percent), gay male couples with children (64 percent), and gay male couples without children (33 percent) (Powell et al. 2010). This survey revealed that children tend to be the key indicator in establishing “family” status: the percentage of individuals who agreed that unmarried couples and gay couples constitute a family nearly doubled when children were added. The study also revealed that 60 percent of U.S. respondents agreed that if you consider yourself a family, you are a family (a concept that reinforces an interactionist perspective) (Powell 2010). The government, however, is not so flexible in its definition of “family.” The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as “a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together” (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). While this structured definition can be used as a means to consistently track family-related patterns over several years, it excludes individuals such as cohabitating unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples. Legality aside, sociologists would argue that the general concept of family is more diverse and less structured than in years past. Society has given more leeway to the design of a family making room for what works for its members (Jayson 2010). Family is, indeed, a subjective concept, but it is a fairly objective fact that family (whatever one’s concept of it may be) is very important to people in the United States. In a 2010 survey by Pew Research Center in Washington, DC, 76 percent of adults surveyed stated that family is “the most important” element of their life—just one percent said it was “not important” (Pew Research Center 2010). It is also very important to society. President Ronald Regan notably stated, “The family has always been the cornerstone of American society. Our families nurture, preserve, and pass on to each succeeding generation the values we share and cherish, values that are the foundation of our freedoms” (Lee 2009). While the design of the family may have changed in recent years, the fundamentals of emotional closeness and support are still present. Most responders to the Pew survey stated that their family today is at least as close (45 percent) or closer (40 percent) than the family with which they grew up (Pew Research Center 2010). Alongside the debate surrounding what constitutes a family is the question of what people in the United States believe constitutes a marriage. Many religious and social conservatives believe that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, citing religious scripture and the basics of human reproduction as support. Social liberals and progressives, on the other hand, believe that marriage can exist between two consenting adults—be they a man and a woman, or a woman and a woman—and that it would be discriminatory to deny such a couple the civil, social, and economic benefits of marriage. A Sociological Perspective on Family: Developing Your Sociological Imagination Sociological Imagination According to C. Wright Mills, the average person lives too narrow a life to get a clear and concise understanding of today's complex social world. Our daily lives are spent among friends and family, at work and at play, and watching TV and surfing the internet. There is no way one person can grasp the big picture from his or her relatively isolated life. There's just not enough time or capacity to be exposed to the complexities of a society of over 315 million people. There are thousands of communities, millions of interpersonal interactions, billions of internet information sources, and countless trends that transpire without many of us even knowing they exist. What can we do to make sense of it all? Psychology gave us the understanding of self-esteem, economics gave us the understanding of supply and demand, and physics gave us the Einstein theory of E=MC2. When I learned of the sociological imagination by Mills, I realized that it gives us a framework for understanding our social world that far surpasses any common-sense notion we might derive from our limited social experiences. C. Wright Mills (1916-1962), a contemporary sociologist, suggested that when we study the family we can gain valuable insight by approaching it at two core societal levels. He stated, "neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both" (Mills, C. W. 1959. The Sociological Imagination. Oxford Univ. Press, p. ii). Mills identified "Troubles" (challenges on the personal level) and "Issues" (challenges on the larger social level) as key principles for wrapping our minds around many of the hidden social processes that transpire in an almost invisible manner in today's societies. Personal troubles are private problems experienced within the character of the individual and the range of their immediate relation to others. Mills identified the fact that we function in our personal lives as actors and actresses who make choices about our friends, family, groups, work, school, and other issues within our control. We have a degree of influence in the outcome of matters within the personal level. A college student who parties 4 nights out of 7, who rarely attends class, and who never does his homework has a personal trouble that interferes with his odds of success in college. But when 50 percent of all college students in the country never graduate, we call it a larger social issue. Larger social issues lie beyond one's personal control and the range of one's inner life. These pertain to society's organization and processes. To better understand larger social issues, we need to define social facts. Social facts are social processes rooted in society rather than in the individual. Émile Durkheim (1858-1917, France) studied the "science of social facts" in an effort to identify social correlations and ultimately social laws designed to make sense of how modern societies worked given that they became increasingly diverse and complex (Durkheim, Émile. 1982. The Rules of the Sociological Method. Ed. Steven Lukes; trans. W.D. Halls. New York: Free Press, p. 50-59). The real power of the Sociological Imagination is found in learning to distinguish between the personal and social levels in our own lives. Once we do that, we can make personal choices that serve us the best, given the larger social forces that we face. We can also better understand the circumstances and experiences of others. Family Culture Another key point in studying the family from a sociological perspective is to understand that all families have some cultural traits in common, but all also have their own unique family culture. Culture is the shared values, norms, symbols, language, objects, and way of life that is passed on from one generation to the next. Culture is what we learn from our parents, family, friends, peers, and schools. It is shared, not biologically determined. In other words, you are only born with drives, not culture. Most families in a society have similar family cultural traits. But, when you marry you will learn that the success of your marriage is often based on how well you and your spouse merge your unique family cultures into a new version of a culture that is your own. Yet, even though family cultures tend to be universal and desirable, we often judge other cultures as being "good, bad, or evil" while we typically judge our own culture as being good. We have to consider our perspective when studying families from different cultures. Are we ethnocentric or cultural relativist? Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge others based on our own experiences. In this perspective, our culture is right, while cultures that differ from our own are wrong. I once visited a beautiful Catholic cathedral, Cathédrale St. Jean in Lyon, France. I fell in love with this beautiful and historic monument to the religious devotion of generations of builders. I learned that it took about 300 years to build, that England's King Henry the VIII married his Italian bride there, and that a few families had nine generations of builders working on it. I left with a deep sense of appreciation for it all. On the bus back to our hotel, we met two American tourists who reacted very differently to their vacation in France. The gentleman said, "These people will eat anything that crawls under the front porch, they never bathe, they dress funny, and they can't speak one *#&@ word of English!" Another more valuable and helpful perspective about differing cultures is the perspective called cultural relativism, which is the tendency to look for the cultural context in which differences in cultures occur. If you've eaten a meal with a friend's family, you have probably noticed a difference in subtle things like the food that is served and how it is prepared. You may have noticed that the friend's family communicates in ways different from your own. You might also notice that their values of fun and relaxation also vary from your own. To dismiss your friend's family as being wrong because it isn't exactly like yours is being closed-minded. Cultural relativists like all the ice-cream flavors, if you will. They respect and appreciate cultural differences even if only from the spectators' point of view. They tend to be teachable, child-like, and open-minded. They tend to enjoy or learn to enjoy the many varieties of the human experience. An ethnocentric person thinks on the level of carrot soup: peel carrots, add water, and boil. The cultural relativist thinks on the level of a complex stew: peel and prepare carrots, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, broth, tofu, and 10 secret herbs and spices, and simmer for two hours. The diversity of the human experience is what makes it rich and flavorful. Family Research The American Sociological Association (ASA) is the largest professional sociology organization in the world. One section of ASA members focuses its studies specifically on the family. Here is an excerpt of that section's mission statement: "Many of society's most pressing problems -- teenage childbearing, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, domestic violence, child and elder abuse, divorce -- are related to or rooted in the family. The Section on Family was founded to provide a home for sociologists who are interested in exploring these issues in greater depth." (Retrieved 18 May 2010) Many family sociologists also belong to the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). This council's mission statement reads as follows: "The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) provides an educational forum for family researchers, educators, and practitioners to share in the development and dissemination of knowledge about families and family relationships, establishes professional standards, and works to promote family well-being." (Retrieved 30 May 2014) There are other family-related research organizations in the world, but these two rank among the largest and most prestigious organizations in the field of family studies. As with all of sociology and other social sciences, science and scientific rigor are paramount. It is not enough to simply study the family from our narrow personal points of view. We have to reach into the larger social picture and see the hidden social processes that teach us how to inform marriage and family therapy, provide useful and accurate data to governmental and policy-making figures, and provides reliable advice that will help the most people in the most efficient way. This becomes a scientific endeavor then to study and examine the family with rules of scientific engagement and analysis. Those earning a Ph.D. in a family-related field learn and execute this science with rigor. If researchers make the results of their study public and present them for critical review by other family scientists, then scientific rigor is even stronger and the findings can be afforded more credibility. For example, studies have shown that the leading factor of divorce is not any of the following: sex problems, failures to communicate, money mismanagement, nor even in-law troubles. What is the leading cause of divorce? Would you believe it is marrying too young? Specifically, if you marry at 17, 18, or 19 you are far more likely to divorce than if you wait to marry until your 20s. This was discovered and confirmed over decades of studying who divorced and which factors contributed more to divorce than others (see chapter 12). The cool thing about knowing the risks of marrying as a teen is that you can choose to wait until you are older, more established in your sense of self, and more experienced in knowing your own likes and dislikes. Cross-Cultural Functions of the Family What are the functions of families? In studying the family, sociologists have identified some common and nearly universal family functions, meaning that almost all families in all countries and cultures around the world have at least some of these functions in common. Economic Support By far, economic support is the most common function of today's families. When your parents let you raid their pantry, wash your clothes for you, or replenish your checking account, that's economic support. For another young adult, say in New Guinea, if she captures a wild animal and cooks it on an open fire, that's also economic support in a different cultural context. I've always been amazed at how far family economic cooperation extends. Some families cooperate in businesslike relationships. In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, there is an established pattern of Italian immigrants helping family and friends emigrate from Italy to Canada. They subsidize each other's travel costs, help each other find employment once in Canada, and even privately fund some mortgages for one another. Each immigrant supported through this system is expected to later support others in the same manner. To partake in this form of economic cooperation is to assume a very businesslike relationship. Emotional Support Emotional relationships are also very common, but you must understand there is a tremendous amount of cultural diversity in how intimacy is experienced in various families around the world. Intimacy is the social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical trust that is mutually shared between family members. Family members share confidences, advice, trust, secrets, and ongoing mutual concern. Many family scientists believe that intimacy in family relationships functions as a strong buffer to the ongoing stresses family members experience outside of the home. Socialization of Children Socialization of children is covered in more detail in future modules. For now, keep in mind that children are born with the potential to be raised as humans. Through the process of socialization, children must acquire the tools they need to survive in their culture. In addition to learning the basics about how to feed themselves, children also need older family members or friends to take the time to protect and nurture them into their cultural and societal roles. Today the family is the core of primary socialization (where our initial socialization takes place, usualy as children). But many other societal institutions contribute to the socialization process, including schools, peer groups, religious establishments, workplaces, and media. Control of Sexuality and Reproduction The family has traditionally asserted control over sexuality and reproduction. A few centuries ago many fathers and mothers even selected the spouses for their children (they still do in many countries). Today, U.S. parents want their adult children to select their own spouses. Older family members tend to discourage unwed mothers and encourage pregnancy and childbirth only in marriage or a long-term relationship. Unwed Mothers are mothers who are not legally married at the time of the child's birth. Being unwed brings up concerns about economic, emotional, social, and other forms of support for the mother that may or may not be available from the father. Many unwed fathers reject their fatherly obligations. When an unwed mother delivers her baby, it is often the older female family members rather than the birth father who end up providing the functions of support for that child. Most of the live U.S. births each year are to married mothers. Only about 10 percent of teen mothers and 35 percent of all mothers were unwed (retrieved 30 May 2014 SOURCE). This trend of relatively high unwed birth rates suggests that more and more families have less control over sanctioning childbirth only within marriage. On the other side of the coin, it also shows that people are able to exercise more choice in building their family instead of relying on cultural stereotypes and expectations. Ascribed Status Finally, ascribed status is given to children by their families because it is a type of status that is present at birth. With your friends, have you noticed that one or two tend to be informally in charge of the details? You might be the one who calls everyone and makes reservations or buys the tickets for the others. If so, you would have the informal role of "organizer." Status is a socially defined position, or what you do in a role. There are three types of status considerations: Ascribed status is present at birth (race, sex, or class), achieved status is attained through one's lifetime and can be positive or negative (college student, movie star, teacher, athlete, or felon), and master status stands out above our other statuses and can distract others from seeing who we really are. You were born into your racial, cultural-ethnic, religious and economic statuses. Those shaped to some degree the way you grew up and were socialized. By far in our modern societies, achieved status (which comes as a result of your own efforts) is more important than ascribed status (which you're born with) for most members of society. However, the degree of achievement you attain often depends heavily on the level of support your family gives to you. Another consideration about roles is the fact that one single role can place a rather heavy burden on you (e.g., student). Role strain is the burden one feels within any given role. And when one role comes into direct conflict with another or other roles, you might experience role conflict. Role conflict is the conflict and burdens one feels when the expectations of one role compete with the expectations of another role. Marriage Patterns With single parenting and cohabitation (when a couple shares a residence but not a marriage) becoming more acceptable in recent years, people may be less motivated to get married. In a recent survey, 39 percent of respondents answered “yes” when asked whether marriage is becoming obsolete (Pew Research Center 2010). The institution of marriage is likely to continue, but some previous patterns of marriage will become outdated as new patterns emerge. In this context, cohabitation contributes to the phenomenon of people getting married for the first time at a later age than was typical in earlier generations (Glezer 1991). Furthermore, marriage will continue to be delayed as more people place education and career ahead of “settling down.” One Partner or Many? People in the United States typically equate marriage with monogamy, when someone is married to only one person at a time. In many countries and cultures around the world, however, having one spouse is not the only form of marriage. In a majority of cultures (78 percent), polygamy, or being married to more than one person at a time, is accepted (Murdock 1967), with most polygamous societies existing in northern Africa and east Asia (Altman and Ginat 1996). Instances of polygamy are almost exclusively in the form of polygyny. Polygyny refers to a man being married to more than one woman at the same time. The reverse, when a woman is married to more than one man at the same time, is called polyandry. It is far less common and only occurs in about 1 percent of the world’s cultures (Altman and Ginat 1996). The reasons for the overwhelming prevalence of polygamous societies are varied but they often include issues of population growth, religious ideologies, and social status. While the majority of societies accept polygyny, the majority of people do not practice it. Often fewer than 10 percent (and no more than 25–35 percent) of men in polygamous cultures have more than one wife; these husbands are often older, wealthy, high-status men (Altman and Ginat 1996). The average plural marriage involves no more than three wives. Negev Bedouin men in Israel, for example, typically have two wives, although it is acceptable to have up to four (Griver 2008). As urbanization increases in these cultures, polygamy is likely to decrease as a result of greater access to mass media, technology, and education (Altman and Ginat 1996). In the United States, polygamy is considered by most to be socially unacceptable and it is illegal. The act of entering into marriage while still married to another person is referred to as bigamy and is considered a felony in most states. Polygamy in the United States is often associated with those of the Mormon faith, although in 1890 the Mormon Church officially renounced polygamy. Fundamentalist Mormons, such as those in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), on the other hand, still hold tightly to the historic Mormon beliefs and practices and allow polygamy in their sect. The prevalence of polygamy among Mormons is often overestimated due to sensational media stories such as the Yearning for Zion ranch raid in Texas in 2008 and popular television shows such as HBO’s Big Love and TLC’s Sister Wives. It is estimated that there are about 37,500 fundamentalist Mormons involved in polygamy in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, but that number has shown a steady decrease in the last 100 years (Useem 2007). U.S. Muslims, however, are an emerging group with an estimated 20,000 practicing polygamy. Again, polygamy among U.S. Muslims is uncommon and occurs only in approximately 1 percent of the population (Useem 2007). For now polygamy among U.S. Muslims has gone fairly unnoticed by mainstream society, but like fundamentalist Mormons whose practices were off the public’s radar for decades, they may someday find themselves at the center of social debate. Residency and Lines of Descent When considering one’s lineage, most people in the United States look to both their father’s and mother’s sides. Both paternal and maternal ancestors are considered part of one’s family. This pattern of tracing kinship is called bilateral descent. Note that kinship, or one’s traceable ancestry, can be based on blood or marriage or adoption. Sixty percent of societies, mostly modernized nations, follow a bilateral descent pattern. Unilateral descent (the tracing of kinship through one parent only) is practiced in the other 40 percent of the world’s societies, with high concentration in pastoral cultures (O’Neal 2006). There are three types of unilateral descent: patrilineal, which follows the father’s line only; matrilineal, which follows the mother’s side only; and ambilineal, which follows either the father’s only or the mother’s side only, depending on the situation. In partrilineal societies, such as those in rural China and India, only males carry on the family surname. This gives males the prestige of permanent family membership while females are seen as only temporary members (Harrell 2001). U.S. society assumes some aspects of partrilineal decent. For instance, most children assume their father’s last name even if the mother retains her birth name. In matrilineal societies, inheritance and family ties are traced to women. Matrilineal descent is common in Native American societies, notably the Crow and Cherokee tribes. In these societies, children are seen as belonging to the women and, therefore, one’s kinship is traced to one’s mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and so on (Mails 1996). In ambilineal societies, which are most common in Southeast Asian countries, parents may choose to associate their children with the kinship of either the mother or the father. This choice maybe based on the desire to follow stronger or more prestigious kinship lines or on cultural customs such as men following their father’s side and women following their mother’s side (Lambert 2009). Tracing one’s line of descent to one parent rather than the other can be relevant to the issue of residence. In many cultures, newly married couples move in with, or near to, family members. In a patrilocal residence system it is customary for the wife to live with (or near) her husband’s blood relatives (or family or orientation). Patrilocal systems can be traced back thousands of years. In a DNA analysis of 4,600-year-old bones found in Germany, scientists found indicators of patrilocal living arrangements (Haak et al 2008). Patrilocal residence is thought to be disadvantageous to women because it makes them outsiders in the home and community; it also keeps them disconnected from their own blood relatives. In China, where patrilocal and patrilineal customs are common, the written symbols for maternal grandmother (wáipá) are separately translated to mean “outsider” and “women” (Cohen 2011). Similarly, in matrilocal residence systems, where it is customary for the husband to live with his wife’s blood relatives (or her family of orientation), the husband can feel disconnected and can be labeled as an outsider. The Minangkabau people, a matrilocal society that is indigenous to the highlands of West Sumatra in Indonesia, believe that home is the place of women and they give men little power in issues relating to the home or family (Joseph and Najmabadi 2003). Most societies that use patrilocal and patrilineal systems are patriarchal, but very few societies that use matrilocal and matrilineal systems are matriarchal, as family life is often considered an important part of the culture for women, regardless of their power relative to men. Currently, most relationships in the United States follow a neolocal residence pattern, where a new couple moves away from their family and establishes a entirely new home. Summary Sociologists view marriage and families as societal institutions that help create the basic unit of social structure. A sociological perspective on families means appreciating the role of large-scale (macro) social forces (like history and social institutions) and using scientific research to gather information. Family may be defined differently—and practiced differently—in cultures across the world, but there are features that are shared by families, as well. Key Terms Key terms found in this reading. You should be able to define all of this important vocabulary. - achieved status - ASA - Ascribed status - Bigamy - bilateral descent - Cohabitation - Cultural relativism - Culture - Ethnocentrism - Family - family of orientation - family of procreation - kinship - Larger social issues - master status - Matrilineal - matrilocal residence - Monogamy - NCFR - neolocal residence - Patrilineal - patrilocal residence - Personal troubles - Polyandry - Polygamy - Polygyny - primary socialization - Role conflict - Role strain - Social facts - Socialization - sociological imagination - Status Questions for Review 1. What does it mean to look at family from a sociological perspective? In other words, when you use a sociological imagination to examine families, what can you see? 2. Summarize the cross-cultural functions of the family. Which of these functions do you think U.S. society finds most important? Which of these functions to YOU find most important? Why? 3. Using your family of origin, your family of procreation, or another kinship grouping (ie: your chosen family) to complete a 'fact sheet' that includes aspects of your family's structure, authority, marriage norms, residence, and decent. Try to find another (real or imagined) family with traits different from yours. How might the differences on the 'fact sheet' contribute to different lifestyles, opportunities, or experiences? 4. Name two organizations that conduct and present useful research about families in the United States. References Altman, Irwin, and Joseph Ginat. 1996. Polygamous Families in Contemporary Society. New York: Cambridge University Press. Cohen, Philip. 2011. “Chinese: Maternal Grandmothers, Outside Women.” FamilyInequality.com, Retrieved February 13, 2012 (http://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/chinese-maternal-grandmothers-outside-women/). Glezer, Helen. 1991. “Cohabitation.” Family Matters 30:24–27. Glick, Paul. 1989. “The Family Life Cycle and Social Change.” Family Relations 38(2):123–129. Griver, Simon. 2008. “One Wife Isn’t Enough … So They Take Two or Three.” The Jewish Chronicle Online, April 24. Retrieved February 13, 2012 (http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-features/one-wife-isn’t-enough-so-they-take-two-or-three). Haak, Wolfgang et al. 2008. “Ancient DNA Reveals Male Diffusion through the Neolithic Mediterranean Route.” Proceedings of the National Association of Sciences, November 17. Retrieved February 13, 2012 (http://www.pnas.org/content/105/47/18226). Harrell, Stevan. 2001. “Mountain Patterns: The Survival of Nuosu Culture in China.” Journal of American Folklore 114:451. Jayson, Sharon. 2010. “What Does a ‘Family’ Look Like Nowadays?” USA Today, November 25. Retrieved February 13, 2012 (http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/sex-relationships/marriage/2010-11-18-pew18_ST_N.htm). Joseph, Suad, and Afsaneh Najmabadi. 2003. “Kinship and State: Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia and the Pacific.” Pp. 351–355 in Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures: Family, Law, and Politics. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers. Hammond, Ron, Paul Cheney, and Raewyn Pearsey. 2015. Sociology of the Family Textbook, Retrieved May 22, 2020 from http://www.freesociologybooks.com. Lambert, Bernd. 2009. “Ambilineal Descent Groups in the Northern Gilbert Islands.” American Anthropologist 68(3):641–664. Lee, Richard. 2009. The American Patriot’s Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Mails, Thomas E. 1996. The Cherokee People: The Story of the Cherokees from Earliest Origins to Contemporary Times. New York: Marlowe & Co. Murdock, George P. 1967. Ethnographic Atlas: A Summary. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. Murphy, Patrick, and William Staples. 1979. “A Modernized Family Life Cycle.” Journal of Consumer Research 6(1):12–22. Museum of Broadcast Communications. 2010. “Family on Television.” Retrieved January 16, 2012. O’Neal, Dennis. 2006. “Nature of Kinship.” Palomar College. Retrieved January 16, 2012 (http://anthro.palomar.edu/kinship/kinship_2.htm). Parsons, Talcott, and Robert Bales. 1955. Family Socialization and Interaction Process. London: Routledge. Pew Research Center. 2010. “The Decline of Marriage and Rise of New Families.” November 18. Retrieved February 13, 2012 (http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1802/decline-marriage-rise-new-families). Powell, Brian, Catherine Bolzendahl, Claudia Geist, and Lala Carr Steelman. 2010. Counted Out: Same-Sex Relations and Americans’ Definitions of Family. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Respers France, Lisa. 2010. “The Evolution of the TV Family.” CNN, September 1. Retrieved February 13, 2012 (http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/01/families.on.tv/index.html). Ruoff, Jeffrey. 2002. An American Family: A Televised Life. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Strong, B., and C. DeVault. 1992. The Marriage and Family Experience. 5th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company. U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. “Current Population Survey (CPS).” Retrieved January 16, 2012 (http://www.census.gov/population/www/cps/cpsdef.html). Useem, Andrea. 2007. “What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Co-Wife.” Slate, July 24. Retrieved January 16, 2012 (http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2007/07/what_to_expect_when_youre_expecting_a_cowife.html).	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.071448	Katie Nutter-Pridgen	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/67174/overview", "title": "Introduction to the Sociology of Family", "author": "Reading" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97536/overview	Music 11 African American Music (Syllabus): Open for Antiracism (OFAR) Overview This is a sample syllabus of the course I offered for Merritt College in Spring 2022. This is a sample syllabus of the course I offered for Merritt College in Spring 2022.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.091160	09/27/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97536/overview", "title": "Music 11 African American Music (Syllabus): Open for Antiracism (OFAR)", "author": "Open for Antiracism Program (OFAR)" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/111944/overview	Teaching Global African Diaspora: Final Paper Assignment Overview The final paper assignment asks students to use what they have learned about historical events as part of global processes in a course on the Global African Diaspora. It asks students to explain the historical conditions that may have led people from an African country to move to the United States, as well as any economic and cultural reasons. It asks students to describe the nature of the informal and formal economies in which African immigrants participate. And finally to explain the challenges (legal, financial, cultural, etc.) that African immigrants face and the ways in which they deal with those challenges. Final Paper Assignment Instructions In this class, you have learned to think about historical events as part of global processes. Through the assigned readings and by engaging in global current events, the economic, political, and cultural significance of each have come to light. Paul Stoller’s Money Has No Smell offers an anthropological case study that illustrates how personal histories, culture, formal and informal economies, local and national politics influence Africans to migrate to the United States. Use Money Has No Smell, the documentary Dollars and Dreams and our textbook, Twentieth Century and Beyond to offer an analysis about why certain people chose to move from an African country to the United States. Explain the historical conditions that may have led to the move, as well as any economic and cultural reasons. Describe the nature of the informal and formal economies in which African immigrants participate. Finally explain the challenges (legal, financial, cultural, etc.) that African immigrants face and the ways in which they deal with those challenges. About This Resource The sample assignment included here was submitted by a participant in a one-day virtual workshop entitled, "Teaching the Global African Diaspora" for world history teachers hosted by the Alliance for Learning in World History. This was a draft document that may subsequently have been revised in light of feedback and discussion during the event. This resource was contributed by Dr. Robin P. Chapdelaine, Department of History, Duquesne University.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.148060	Alliance for Learning in World History	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/111944/overview", "title": "Teaching Global African Diaspora: Final Paper Assignment", "author": "Homework/Assignment" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/111955/overview	Learning on the Job: Becoming a World Historian Overview This presentation introduces practical considerations for new world history educators or for educators looking to incorporate world history methods into their classrooms. The presentation considers challenges educators may face such as choosing the chronology and pivot points of the course and choosing a textbook. It also offers strategies for student engagement and world history resources. Attachments The attachment for this resource is a PowerPoint presentation that explores challenges and successes in teaching a world history survey course. About This Resource This resource was contributed by Dr. Molly Warsh, Associate Professor, Department of History, Associate Director of the World History Center and Head of Educational Outreach, the University of Pittsburgh.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.166047	Alliance for Learning in World History	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/111955/overview", "title": "Learning on the Job: Becoming a World Historian", "author": "Teaching/Learning Strategy" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/112158/overview	BPR-111 Mid term BPR-111 Print_Reading BPR-111 Quiz Questions and Answers BPR-111 Print Reading Overview This course provides basic principles of print reading. Topics include line types, orthographic projects, dimensioning methods, etc. There is also a two week introduction to GD&T towards the end of the course. This material includes the course layout, lectures, videos, and other resources. The LMS used to create it was Odigia. BPR-111 Print Reading This course provides basic principles of print reading. Topics include line types, orthographic projects, dimensioning methods, etc. There is also a two week introduction to GD&T towards the end of the course. This material includes the course layout, lectures, videos, and other resources. The LMS used to create it was Odigia. The attached resource is the course layout in PDF form.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.184924	Reading	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/112158/overview", "title": "BPR-111 Print Reading", "author": "Lecture" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/114902/overview	Positive Psychology OER Implementation: Lessons Learned Overview Archived session from the 2024 Arizona Regional OER Conference. Session Title: Positive Psychology OER Implementation: Lessons Learned. This resource includes the session abstract, presenter(s), resources, and recording. Session Abstract, Presenters, Resources, and Recording Session Abstract I would like to present lessons learned from my implementation of an MIT Open Courseware grant. In this grant I integrated different elements that included teaching in a Live Online environment, involving students as authors, adapting and mixing OER resources, and integrating pedagogical practices to engage students in cognitive and non-cognitive learning outcomes. Presenter(s) - Fernando Romero, Chandler-Gilbert Community College Resources Recording	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.203197	04/03/2024	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/114902/overview", "title": "Positive Psychology OER Implementation: Lessons Learned", "author": "OERizona Conference" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/115932/overview	How did the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Impact African Civilizations? Overview This resource is a document based activity that consists of eight primary sources related to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The assignment asks students to consider how the trans-Atlantic slave trade impacted African civilizations using primary sources. Attachments The attachment for this resource is a sample document-based question about the impacts of the transatlantic slave trade. The attachment also includes a packet of primary source documents, objects, and artwork for students to use in this activity. About This Resource The sample assignment included here was submitted by a participant in a one-day virtual workshop entitled, "Teaching the Global African Diaspora" for world history teachers hosted by the Alliance for Learning in World History. This is a draft document that may subsequently have been revised in light of feedback and discussion during the event. This resource was contributed by Elizabeth Mulcahy, a social studies educator in Virginia.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.221179	Alliance for Learning in World History	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/115932/overview", "title": "How did the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Impact African Civilizations?", "author": "Homework/Assignment" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97435/overview	Introduction to the Mean Value Thm. Overview Google Slides fro an Introduction to the mean value thm. Introduction to the Mean Value Thm. Google Slides: Mean Value Thm.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.242096	09/24/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97435/overview", "title": "Introduction to the Mean Value Thm.", "author": "Lakhvr Atwal" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/114904/overview	OERizona Info Session Overview Archived session from the 2024 Arizona Regional OER Conference. Session Title: OERizona Info Session. This resource includes the session abstract, presenter(s), and recording. Session Abstract, Presenter(s), and Recording Session Abstract Learn about the new leadership structure and how to get involved in the OERizona Network. Presenter(s) - Megan Crossfield, Yavapai College & OERizona Network Board President - Matthew Bloom, Scottsdale Community College & OERizona Network Past President Recording	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.255206	04/03/2024	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/114904/overview", "title": "OERizona Info Session", "author": "OERizona Conference" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/77638/overview	Document Formatting Assignment Overview This is an assignment for computer students new to document formatting. Document Formatting - Travel Specials - Download the data file Travel Specials. - Save the data file as Last Name - Oregon. - Change the title Travel Specials to all capital letters, bold and center the text. Change the font style and size of the title to any style and size of your choice. - Apply BOLD to the sub-title Oregon Trail Lines. - Add a hyphen to the text five months. - Select and delete the city Independence replacing it with the city Elm Grove. - Replace all occurrences of the word tour with the word journey. - Turn the list starting after the colon into a bulleted list. Use the Help feature in Word to learn how to do this! - At the end of this document add the text Starting in 1870, we will be happily offering transcontinental railroad service! - Optional: add an image to the end of the document that relates to the topic. - Save the completed document and turn the file into the Assignment folder. Be sure to spell check the document.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.272494	02/27/2021	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/77638/overview", "title": "Document Formatting Assignment", "author": "Sherie Guess" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/84421/overview	Gradient and Directional Derivatives: Calculus 3 project by Charles Tang and Hengyuan Zhang Overview This Project has been completed as part of a standard 10 weeks Calculus 3 asynchronous online course with optional WebEx sessions during Summer 2021 Semester at MassBay Community College, Wellesley Hills, MA. Introduction Imagine standing on a mountain blindfolded, and you are tasked with reaching the peak of the mountain. You feel your foot around the surface you are standing on, and realize one of the directions is the steepest in the upwards direction. You take a step in that direction and repeat that until you reach the peak. Your path might look something like the image below. To the right of the mountain is an image showing what your path might look like if you were to draw level curves along the mountain. *the vector notation used below is the column vector notation, which is simply the transpose of the row vector and means the exact same thing A transposed vector is a "flipped" version of the vector. For example, the row-vector $<a,b,c>$would be $\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} a\\ b\\ c \end{bmatrix} \end{align}$in column-vector notation. In more advance courses such as linear algebra and advanced calculus courses, you will see more of the column vector-notation. What you just performed was an iterative process of using the gradient of some function, in that example - a mountain. The Gradient A gradient of a function or a vector field is a vector that encompasses all of the partial derivatives of the function. It is defined using the nabla symbol $\nabla f(x,y)$, or grad $ f$ for some function $f$. Definition of Gradient Gradient of $f(x,y)$ Let $z=f(x, y)$ be a function of two variables x and y such that all partial derivatives exist. The vector $\nabla f(x,y)$ is called the gradient of $f$ and is defined as $\vec \nabla f(x,y)=\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial x}\\ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial y} \end{bmatrix} \end{align}$ \| Gradient of $f(x,y,z)$ Let $f(x, y, z)$ be a function of three variables x, y, and z such that all partial derivatives exist. The vector $\nabla f(x,y,z)$ is called the gradient of f and is deffined as $\vec \nabla f(x,y)=\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial x}\\ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial y} \\ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial z} \end{bmatrix} \end{align}$ \| Even Higher Dimensions - Gradient of $f(x,y,z, \dots)$ The previous definitions can be generalized to higher dimensions. Assume all partial derivatives of the function exist, then the gradient of is defined as $\vec \nabla f(x,y)=\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial x}\\ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial y} \\ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial z}\\ \dots \\ \dots \end{bmatrix} \end{align}$ \| At every point along the surface of the function, there corresponds to a gradient vector that points in a direction normal to the level curve as long as the function has continuous first-order partial derivatives around the points to which the gradient is drawn from. This also means that the gradient vector points in the direction of the steepest ascent. In the image below, each arrow corresponds to a gradient vector drawn along a level curve of $a = f(x_1, x_2)$ that points towards the relative maximum. As you can see, each gradient vector is normal to the level curve. This is analogous to our first example of climbing a mountain where the fastest way to get up the mountain is to continually climb along the gradient vectors until you reach the peak. Example 1 - Calculating Gradient Given $z=f(x,y)=2x^3+4y^2+4xy$, find the gradient vector $\nabla f(x,y)$ at point $(2, 3)$ Solution First, we need to find the partial derivative with respect to x and the partial derivative with respect to y in order to construct the vector for the gradient. $\dfrac{\partial} {\partial x}[f(x,y)]= \dfrac{\partial} {\partial x}[2x^3+4y^2+4xy]$ $\dfrac{\partial} {\partial x}[f(x,y)]=6x^2+4y$ $\dfrac{\partial} {\partial y}[f(x,y)]= \dfrac{\partial} {\partial y}[2x^3+4y^2+4xy]$ $\dfrac{\partial} {\partial y}[f(x,y)]=8y+4x$ Thus, the gradient vector is $\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} 6x^2+4y\\ 8y+4x \end{bmatrix} \end{align}$ then evaluated at the point $(x, y) = (2, 3)$, the gradient vector at the point $((2, 3), f(2, 3))$ is $\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} 6\times 2^2+4\times 3\\ 8\times 3+4\times 2 \end{bmatrix} \end{align} = $$\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} 36\\ 32 \end{bmatrix} \end{align} $ Example 2 - Calculating Gradient Given $f(x,y,z)=yz\sin(x)+e^{xyz}+4z$ , find the gradient vector $\nabla f(x,y,z)$. Solution: First, we need to find the partial derivative with respect to x, the partial derivative with respect to y, and the partial derivative with respect to z in order to construct the vector for the gradient. $\dfrac{\partial f }{\partial x}=\dfrac{\partial }{\partial x} [yz \sin(x) +e^{xyz}+4z] \\ \dfrac{\partial f }{\partial x}=\dfrac{\partial }{\partial x} [yz \sin(x)] +\dfrac{\partial }{\partial x}[ e^{xyz}]+\dfrac{\partial }{\partial x}[4z] \\ \dfrac{\partial f }{\partial x}=yz \cos(x) + yz e^{xyz} $ $\dfrac{\partial f }{\partial y}=\dfrac{\partial }{\partial y} [yz \sin(x) +e^{xyz}+4z] \\ \dfrac{\partial f }{\partial y}=\dfrac{\partial }{\partial y} [yz \sin(x)] +\dfrac{\partial }{\partial y}[ e^{xyz}]+\dfrac{\partial }{\partial y}[4z] \\ \dfrac{\partial f }{\partial y}=z \sin(x) + xz e^{xyz} $ $\dfrac{\partial f }{\partial z}=\dfrac{\partial }{\partial z} [yz \sin(x) +e^{xyz}+4z] \\ \dfrac{\partial f }{\partial z}=\dfrac{\partial }{\partial z} [yz \sin(x)] +\dfrac{\partial }{\partial z}[ e^{xyz}]+\dfrac{\partial }{\partial z}[4z] \\ \dfrac{\partial f }{\partial z}=y\sin(x)+ xy e^{xyz}+4 $ Constructing the gradient vector using the partial derivatives gives us: $ \nabla f(x,y,z)= \begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} yz \cos (x)+yz e^{xyz}\\ z\sin(x) +xz e^{xyz}\\ y\sin(x) +xy e^{xyz}+4) \end{bmatrix} \end{align} $ Please watch the supplemental video found near the bottom of the wiki page that summarizes what we learned above. Directional Derivatives Another question you might ask from the mountain analogy, in the beginning, is: How steep is the mountain in any specific direction? We know that the partial derivatives with respect to x and y represent the "steepness" of the mountain in the x and y directions respectively, but we don't know a way to find the rate of changes in any direction. The directional derivative in the direction of unit vector $\vec u$ is represented with a capital $D$ and a subscript $\vec u$ i.e. $ D_{\vec u}$. Definition of Directional Derivative Directional Derivative of $f(x,y)$ Let $z=f(x, y)$ be a function of two variables x and y, and assume that $f_x$ and $f_y$ both exist. Then the directional derivative of f in the direction $\vec u = <\cos(\theta), \sin(\theta)>$ is $D_{\vec u}~ f(x,y)= \lim_{h \to 0}\dfrac {f(x+h\cos \theta, y+h \sin \theta)-f(x,y)}{h}=\\ \hspace{2.4cm} \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial x}\cos\theta+ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial y}\sin\theta$ \| Directional Derivative of $f(x, y, z)$ Let $w=f(x, y, z)$ be a function of three variables x, y, and z and assume that $f_x,~ f_y$ and $f_z$ exist. Then the directional derivative of $f$ in the direction $\vec u = <\cos(\alpha), \cos(\beta), \cos(\gamma)>$ is $D_{\vec u}~ f(x,y,z)= \lim_{h \to 0}\dfrac {f(x+h\cos \alpha, y+h \sin \beta,z+h \cos \gamma)-f(x,y,z)}{h}=\\ \hspace{2.4cm} \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial x}\cos\alpha+ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial y}\cos\beta+\dfrac{\partial f}{\partial z}\cos\gamma$ \| Directional Derivatives in Higher Dimensions Let $ z = f(x, y, z, ...)$ be a function of multiple variables $x, y, z, ... ,$ and assume that all partial derivatives exist. Then the directional derivative of $f $ in the direction $\vec u = <cos(\alpha), cos(\beta), cos(\gamma), ...>$ is $D_{\vec u}~ f(x,y,z)= \lim_{h \to 0}\dfrac {f(x+h\cos \alpha, y+h \sin \beta,z+h \cos \gamma, \dots )-f(x,y,z, \dots)}{h}$ or $D_{\vec u}~ f(x,y,z)= \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial x}\cos\alpha+ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial y}\cos\beta+\dfrac{\partial f}{\partial z}\cos\gamma+ \dots= \nabla f \cdot \vec u$ \| The directional derivative of a function is the dot product between the gradient vector of the function and the unit vector of the specified direction. The general formula for the directional derivative is $\nabla f \cdot \vec u$ for function $f$ and unit vector $\vec u$ . A directional derivative may look like one of the following images, where the direction of the unit vector is along the plane. Using the directional derivative $\nabla f \cdot \vec u$ , and our vector properties, we know that $ \vec \nabla f \cdot \vec{u}= \|\| {\vec \nabla f}\|\| \cdot \|\|\vec u \|\|\cdot \cos (\theta)$. Since $\vec u$ is a unit vector and has a magnitude of 1, we know $ \vec \nabla f \cdot \vec{u}= \|\| {\vec \nabla f}\|\| \cdot \cos (\theta)$ . To answer a common question, in what direction does the directional derivative point in the direction of steepest ascent and/or steepest descent, we want to maximize/minimize the directional derivative $ \vec \nabla f \cdot \vec{u}= \|\| {\vec \nabla f}\|\| \cdot \cos (\theta)$. To maximize the directional derivative, cos(θ) must equal 1 and the direction is thus the direction that the gradient points to. To minimize the directional derivative, cos(θ) must equal -1 and the direction is the direction opposite the gradient vector points towards. This proves our previous statement that the gradient points to the direction of the steepest ascent and the negative of the gradient point to the direction of steepest descent. This concept is useful in areas like Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence where models are trained using an iterative method of finding the gradient. Example 1 - Finding the Directional Derivative Given $z=f(x,y)=x^2e^y+3xy^2$ , find the directional derivative in the direction $\theta=\dfrac{\pi}{3}.$ Solution: The directional vector is the unit vector: $\vec u= \begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \cos(\pi/3)\\ \sin(\pi/3) \end{bmatrix} \end{align} =$$\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{1}{2}\\ \dfrac{\sqrt {3}}{2} \end{bmatrix} \end{align} $ The gradient vector for the function $f(x, y)$ is: `\vec (nabla) f(x,y)= [((partial f)/(partial x)),((partial f)/(partial x))]= [((partial )/(partial x) [x^2e^y+3xy^2]),((partial)/(partial y)[x^2e^y+3xy^2])]=[( 2x e^y +3y^2),(x^2 e^y+6xy) ]` $\vec \nabla f(x,y)=\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial x}\\ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial y} \end{bmatrix} \end{align}$=$\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{\partial }{\partial x} [x^2e^y+3xy^2]\\ \dfrac{\partial }{\partial y} [x^2e^y+3xy^2] \end{bmatrix} \end{align} = $$\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} 2x e^y +3y^2\\ x^2 e^y+6xy \end{bmatrix} \end{align} $ Using the definition and formula to find the directional derivative given the gradient and the unit vector, we find the dot product between the two: $D_{\vec u}~ f(x,y)= \nabla f(x,y) \vec u=$$\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} 2x e^y +3y^2\\ x^2 e^y+6xy \end{bmatrix} \end{align} \cdot $$\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{1}{2}\\ \dfrac{\sqrt {3}}{2} \end{bmatrix} \end{align}= $$\dfrac{1}{2}(2x e^y +3y^2)+\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}(x^2 e^y+6xy)$ Example 2 - Finding the Directional Derivative Given $z=f(x,y)=\cos(xy)$, find the directional derivative in the direction of the vector $\vec v=<4,3>$ at the point $(1,\dfrac{\pi}{2})$ . Solution: First we need to make our directional vector a unit vector $\vec u_v$, so we scale it by its magnitude $\|\| \vec v\|\|=\sqrt {4^2+3^2}=\sqrt{25}=5 \Rightarrow \vec {u_v }=\Big<\dfrac{4}{5},\dfrac{3}{5} \Big>$ Next we use the formula for the directional derivative: the dot product between the gradient and the unit directional vector. To find the gradient, we need to take the partial derivatives with respect to x and y. The gradient vector for the function $f(x, y)$ is: $\vec \nabla f(x,y)=\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial x}\\ \dfrac{\partial f}{\partial y} \end{bmatrix} \end{align}$$=\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{\partial }{\partial x} [cos(xy)]\\ \dfrac{\partial }{\partial y} [cos(xy)] \end{bmatrix} \end{align} = $$\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} -y\sin(xy)\\ -x\sin(xy) \end{bmatrix} \end{align} $ Using the definition and formula to find the directional derivative given the gradient and the unit vector, we find the dot product between the two: $D_{\vec u}~ f(x,y)= \nabla f(x,y) \vec u_v=$$\begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} -y\sin(xy)\\ -x\sin(xy) \end{bmatrix} \end{align} $$\cdot \begin{align} \begin{bmatrix} \dfrac{4}{5}\\ \dfrac{3}{5} \end{bmatrix} \end{align}= $$\dfrac{4}{5}(-y\sin(xy))+\dfrac{3}{5}(-x \sin(xy)$ Evaluating it at the point $(1, \dfrac{\pi}{2})$, we get $D_{\vec u}~ f(1,\dfrac{\pi}{2})= \dfrac{4}{5}(-\dfrac{\pi}{2}\sin(\dfrac{\pi}{2}))+ \dfrac{3}{5}(-\sin(\dfrac{\pi}{2}))=-\dfrac{2\pi}{5}-\dfrac{3}{5}=\dfrac{-2\pi-3}{5}$ Please watch the supplemental video found near the bottom of the wiki page that summarizes what we learned above. Properties of the Gradient using Directional Derivatives Suppose the function $f(x,y)$ is differentiable at $(x_0,y_0)$ , then: - If $\nabla f(x_0,y_0)=0$ , then $D_{\vec u}~ f(x_0, y_0)=0$ for any unit vector $\vec{u}$. - If $\nabla f(x_0,y_0)\ne 0$, then $D_{\vec u}~ f(x_0, y_0)$ is maximized when $\vec{u}$ points in the same direction as $\nabla f(x_0,y_0)$. The maximum value is $\|\|\nabla f(x_0,y_0)\|\|$ - If $\nabla f(x_0,y_0)\ne 0$ , then $D_{\vec u}~ f(x_0, y_0)$ is minimized when $\vec{u}$ points in the opposite direction as $\nabla f(x_0,y_0)$ . The maximum value is $-\|\|\nabla f(x_0,y_0)\|\|$ . These properties are pretty intuitive as we have discussed some above. Supplemental Videos Directional Derivatives, Gradient Applications of Gradients and Directional Derivatives Please watch this video before moving onto the next section to understand how the gradient plays a role in machine learning. https://youtu.be/IHZwWFHWa-w Conclusion Gradients and Directional Derivatives play a powerful role in math and other fields, especially machine learning. With the formulas and processes shown above, you are now able to calculate the gradient and directional derivatives of multivariate functions. If you are on a mountain with a defined function giving its height everywhere, you are able to find how steep the mountain in every direction and the direction of steepest ascent/descent. We hope you found this wiki page about gradients and directional derivatives helpful. Be sure to check out two other wonderful wiki pages below to learn more topics in Calculus! Arc-length in Polar Coordinates References [1] D. Nykamp, An introduction to the directional derivative and the gradient https://mathinsight.org/directional_derivative_gradient_introduction [2] G. Strang, E. Herman, N. Bila, S. Boyd, D. Smith, E. Terry, D. Torain, K. Messer, A. Mulzet, W. Radulovich, E. Rutter, D. McCune, M. Merriweather, J. Lakey, J. Levandosky, C. Abbott, J. Debnath, Calculus Volume 3, OpenStax, 2016. [3] P. Dawkins, Pauls Online Notes https://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcIII/DirectionalDeriv.aspx (updated March 10, 2021) [4] S. Jamshidi, Directional Derivatives and the Gradient Vector http://www.personal.psu.edu/sxj937/Notes/Directional_Derivatives_and_The_Gradient_Vector.pdf (Updated 2013)	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.310238	Igor Baryakhtar	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/84421/overview", "title": "Gradient and Directional Derivatives: Calculus 3 project by Charles Tang and Hengyuan Zhang", "author": "Homework/Assignment" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92934/overview	Creating a Date in Crystal Reports Overview Create a Date Formula Learners are expected to have a working knowledge of how to create a simple Crystal report. Crystal Reports is a business tool that is used to create letters and reports. The Crystal reports tool retrieves stored data, making it both a developer and a viewer, and must be connected to a data source to retrieve information. Although Crystal requires the user to acquire a level of competence to produce reliable data output, the application has some standard functionality that can be used to manipulate the data as required. This lesson is a beginner’s level introduction on how to build a formula using the tool. The learner will be shown how to take a date field that has a date result associated to it and use that information to make a new date field by adding or subtracting the desired number of days that need to be reflected. The learner for this lesson is expected to have some Crystal report experience. The learner should know the basic areas of the reports tool such as tables, fields, and how to add fields. At the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to create a date field that will display the exact target date desired based on the number of days different from the starting date. They should also be able to format the date using the format field function, understanding the difference between allowing the date to remain in its default format and changing it as requested or required by the end-user. Although this demonstration uses a letter as an example, the same method can be used in any report situation that presents the same opportunity to use an existing date field.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.329037	05/22/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92934/overview", "title": "Creating a Date in Crystal Reports", "author": "Charlotte Busbee" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/74311/overview	Instructional Guide: Our Communities after COVID-19 Overview This guide is intended to support you in adapting the State of Innovation’s “Our Communities after COVID-19” Challenge case into a lesson plan to implement with your students. It includes background information on the case, problem solving questions for students to work on, and suggested activities to use with your students. It also explains how you can get support during the Challenge, including helping your students connect with industry leaders throughout the Challenge. State of Innovation: Our Communities After COVID-19 How to Use This guide is intended to support you in adapting the State of Innovation’s “Communities After COVID-19” Challenge case into a lesson plan to implement with youth. It includes background information on the case, problem solving questions for youth to work on, and suggested activities to use with youth. It also explains how you can get support during the Challenge, including helping youth connect with industry leaders throughout the Challenge. Challenge Case The COVID-19 pandemic will not last forever, but it has changed the way of life for nearly all Washingtonians. Our buildings, public spaces, homes, and communities are designed for our pre-COVID-19 world, but we anticipate that we will need to maintain some level of social distancing in our communities and buildings for several years in the future. We want to figure out how we can create a healthy future that still allows us to stay connected as a community. Your challenge is to help the state imagine how we could redesign our buildings, public spaces, homes, and/or communities to allow for both social distancing and community connections. How can we help Washington build back from the pandemic in a healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable way? Watch the Communities After COVID-19 Challenge case video for a brief overview of the topics and themes covered by this Challenge case. Career Paths - Architecture and Construction - Business and Marketing - Distribution and Logistics - Human Services - Transportation Learning Objectives Youth will be able to… - Solve real problems around rebuilding communities currently facing Washington State - Analyze social and logistical issues impacting their local communities - Evaluate emerging solutions to rebuilding communities after the COVID-19 pandemic - Develop new proposals and prototypes to rebuild Washington’s economy and infrastructure Implementation The resources presented in this guide are designed to be used flexibly based on the needs of youth and your classroom. You are invited to develop lesson plans of your own in alignment with your course, leveraging one or more of the problem solving questions below or weaving the rebuilding theme into your own curriculum. You are also encouraged to use or build on lesson plans shared by other Washington State educators - see the “Support” section of the guide for information on how to access the State of Innovation Lesson Bank on OER Commons. Structure and Timing Participation in the State of Innovation Challenge has no strict time expectations or requirements. Youth can meaningfully engage with this Challenge with as little as one hour, or as much as several months. Youth are invited to work on this challenge individually or in teams of any size. If you have one class period, you could: - kick off the Challenge case with the Communities After COVID-19 Challenge video - present one of the problem solving questions to youth with a brief class discussion - break youth into small groups to each read one of the provided background information resources - have youth summarize their findings to the class, highlighting any ideas they have to build on the existing solution - Suggested end product: A quick poster or slide deck If you have one week of classes, you could: - kick off the Challenge case with the Communities After COVID-19 Challenge video - present an overview of each problem solving question and allow small groups of youth to each choose one question to focus on - have each group explore the background information resources provided for their question - ask each group to develop a novel solution to their problem in the form of a lightweight design proposal, building on the successes and shortcomings of existing solutions in that space - provide a space for groups to each present their solutions to the class with ample time for discussion and peer feedback - Suggested end product: A design proposal document or poster If you have one month of classes, you could: - kick off the Challenge case with the Communities After COVID-19 Challenge video - present an overview of each problem solving question and allow small groups of youth to each choose one question to focus on - have each group explore the background information resources provided for their question, and additionally find several research sources of their own - ask each group to develop a novel solution to their problem in the form of a robust prototype, model or sales pitch - run weekly design reviews with ample time for discussion and peer feedback - connect youth with relevant industry leaders for authentic feedback - help youth connect with relevant end users for user-oriented collaborative design opportunities - Suggested end product: A functional prototype or business plan Project Submissions Youth can submit projects in a wide range of formats to the Challenge. Once you’ve selected the project format below that works best for you/your group, please review the submission guidelines in the Appendix and submit your project through the submission portal at www.innovationwa.org. Problem Solving Questions Below are some suggested questions for youth to tackle in this Challenge case. You can choose to use one or more of these questions, or you can create a problem of your own choosing that is related to the Challenge case. \| Theme \| Problem Solving Question \| \| Housing \| As we plan for the future - what are some strategies cities or towns could pursue to ensure everyone has a safe place to live? \| \| Urban Centers \| How would you design an urban center that serves the needs of our communities after COVID-19? \| \| Redesigning Schools \| How would you redesign a classroom, school, or educational experience (e.g. school day schedule, method of learning delivery -- virtual, online, etc.) to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection and maximize effective learning for students? \| \| Safe Factories and Worker Safety \| Imagine you were in charge of a manufacturing business in your community. How would you keep workers safe while ensuring operations continued smoothly? \| \| Climate Change and Wildfires \| Design a community to lower the risk that people, homes, and businesses face from wildfires. \| You can find more information on each problem solving question below, including additional context and links to background information in the form of articles, videos 🎥 and data presentations 📊. Housing COVID-19 has really shown how important having a safe, clean place to live is not just for individuals but for the health of our entire community. Many cities have come up with creative ways to quickly house people - including building tiny house villages, creating modular housing, placing people in hotels or motels, changing the way they design homeless shelters, creating eviction moratoriums, and increasing access to affordable housing. As we plan for the future - what are some strategies cities or towns could pursue to ensure everyone has a safe place to live? - Are there innovative types of housing we should consider building or building more of? - How can communities help inform these decisions? Background Information - $98 million allocated to Washington state for homeless protections against coronavirus - KING 🎥 - A colorful ‘tiny house village’ for youth is opening in Oakland - The Oaklandside - COVID-19 outbreak among three affiliated homeless service sites - CDC - Plum Street Village residents say it offers a reprieve, not a solution to homelessness - The Olympian 🎥 - Seattle fast-tracks tiny house village for homeless amid coronavirus outbreak - KING 🎥 - Tiny house village inside old Kmart could shelter 200 people - Minnesota Reformer - Washington Homelessness Statistics - USICH 📊 Urban Centers The downtown areas of most Washington cities have been designed to support large populations of visitors and workers with office buildings, restaurants, hotels, parks, attractions, concert venues, sporting arenas, and housing. After COVID-19, we may not use these spaces in the same way - for example, workers who are working from home may not return to work in large office buildings in the same numbers. How would you design an urban center that serves the needs of our communities after COVID-19? Would you repurpose existing infrastructure (office buildings, restaurants, parks, transportation, etc.), and if so, how? Background Information - COVID-19: is working from home really the new normal? - The Economist 🎥 - How experts are rethinking the workplace - National Geographic - How the coronavirus recovery is changing cities - Bloomberg - How to design a post-pandemic city - Bloomberg - Redesigning the COVID-19 city - NPR - Redesigning the office for the next 100-year flu - NPR Redesigning Schools Finding a safe way to reopen schools so students can learn in person instead of online is one of the state’s top priorities. But school buildings are not necessarily designed to allow students and teachers to safely learn during a pandemic. Some architects are beginning to re-imagine how schools could be designed in the future to provide better health and safety and maybe better learning environments. How would you redesign a classroom, school, or educational experience (e.g. school day schedule, method of learning delivery -- virtual, online, etc.) to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection and maximize effective learning for students? - Should it be a virtual classroom? - Should it be blended - virtual and in-person? Background Information - 6 classroom layouts to maintain social distancing - Fanning Howey - Enrollment is dropping in public schools around the country - NPR - Parents gamble on virtual schools amid coronavirus closures - Seattle Times - Reopening American: Strategies for safer schools - American Institute of Architects - Washington aims for improved virtual learning as classes begin - MyNorthwest - What back to school might look like in the age of COVID-19 - NY Times - Will coronavirus prevention have positive long-term impact on classroom design? - Education Dive Safe Factories and Worker Safety Manufacturing is an essential business in Washington state and it cannot usually be done from home - people who work in manufacturing need access to tools, equipment, materials, and working conditions that can only be found in a manufacturing business. Imagine you were in charge of a manufacturing business in your community. How would you keep workers safe while ensuring operations continued smoothly? - What protective equipment should workers wear? - What protocols should you adopt to allow for greater distancing between employees? - Will you test employees regularly to ensure they are not infected, and if so, how? - Look at manufacturing businesses in your community for examples Background Information - COVID-19 guidance for the manufacturing industry workforce - OSHA - COVID-19: How to reimagine work for factories and distribution centers - EY - Factory workers face a major COVID-19 risk. Here’s how AI can help keep them safe - World Economic Forum - Manufacturers strive to stop spread of coronavirus while staying at work - Lincoln Journal Star - Phase 2 manufacturing facility COVID-19 requirements - WA State - Tracking coronavirus closures at food and beverage factories - Food Dive 📊 - Washington’s largest meat-packing plant, hard-hit by COVID-19, to reopen - Seattle Times Climate Change and Wildfires As more people are able to work from home, and do not need to be within easy commuting distance of an office, some people are moving to more distant communities that can offer a lower cost of living along with more space. As these communities grow however, they can push closer to protected state and national lands that are at risk for wildfires. Design a community to lower the risk that people, homes, and businesses face from wildfires. - How would you plan the community? - How big would it be and how close would you recommend it get to public lands? Background Information - 5 digital technologies to help fight wildfires - Orange Business - 5 ways to protect your home from wildfires - Sierra Club - The climate case for working from home - Heated - How Silicon Valley companies are thinking about the future of work - Business Insider - Information on Wildfires in WA State - WA State Department of Natural Resources - Microsoft is letting more employees work from home permanently - The Verge - Remote towns evacuated as California wildfire grows - Spokesman Review - WA can't contain epic wildfires without state, federal help - Crosscut - Working from home is erasing carbon emissions - but for how long? - Grist Support Industry Leader Engagement Your class will have multiple opportunities to engage with relevant industry leaders during the Challenge period. These interactions will take the form of pre-scheduled meetings with members of several industries to build on themes related to the Challenge case, learn about career pathways within the industry, and to get feedback on youth work. The schedule for these sessions will be available on the State of Innovation website. Be sure you are signed up for the State of Innovation Outreach list to receive updates as new sessions are added. All sessions will be recorded and posted on the State of Innovation website. Office Hours During the Challenge period, you may request one on one support from a member of the State of Innovation team. To schedule office hours, please visit this link to find a time that works well for you. You can get help with lesson planning, using any of the provided resources, or technical assistance with OERCommons or the youth response forum. OER Commons A wealth of complete lesson plans developed for this Challenge case are available in the State of Innovation group at oercommons.org, a platform for open educational resources. On this website, you will find remote-friendly lessons tailored to middle school classrooms, high school classrooms and Open Doors classrooms. Are you willing to share a lesson plan you’ve developed for this Challenge case with other local educators? Please upload your resources using the button on the State of Innovation OERCommons page. In addition to helping to build a robust lesson bank, the most creative lesson ideas uploaded to OERCommons will be recognized at a celebratory statewide event at the conclusion of the Challenge. Standards Due to the flexible nature of the Challenge, there are a great number of standards that may apply to your specific implementation. If you are looking for standards with which to align your implementation, you may find the following sources from OSPI helpful. CTE Standards - 21st Century Leadership Skills - Program of Study, Career Clusters, and Career Pathways - Program Standards Subject Area Standards - Arts Learning Standards - English Language Arts Standards - Environmental and Sustainability Learning Standards - Mathematics Learning Standards - Science Learning Standards - Social Studies Learning Standards Appendix: Submission Guidelines Disclaimer: Participating youth and their teachers or adult advisors are responsible for securing all necessary parental permissions and/or waivers prior to submitting a Challenge solution. Nano Project - Up to 2 minute video on Flipgrid using one of the followings submission links: - If you don’t have access to Flipgrid, you can also upload a video to Vimeo or Youtube and email a short written solution. Flipgrid Privacy Notice Flipgrid submissions are publicly accessible. Once approved by the project team, your Flipgrid video can be viewed by anyone with a link to the Flipgrid community page. Do not share personal identifiable information such as your last name, name of your school, address, etc. in your Flipgrid video. Flipgrid videos will be reviewed for approval by the project team prior to posting on the community page. Videos containing personal identifiable information, as well as videos containing discriminatory, racist, offensive, obscene, inflammatory, unlawful or otherwise objectionable statements, language or content will be rejected. Video Guidance - In your video, give your first name only -- this will protect your privacy - Say which case you’re working on - The Food Chain - Our Communities During COVID-19 - Our Communities After COVID-19 - State the problem you’re trying to solve - Give your answer - in your own words, what do you think the solution should be? Your answer should: - Reference the case video or at least one of the research links provided for the problem - Explain what this solution would look like if it was used in your community. Who would it help and why? Micro Project Upload through the Submission Portal in one of the following formats: - Submit a video of up to 5 minutes that demonstrates your solution -- this includes a music video -- you can upload your video to Youtube or Vimeo and submit a link through the project website. - Submit a short essay narrating your solution of up to 2 pages (middle school) or up to 4 pages (high school). - Write an editorial explaining your solution and arguing why the state should support your solution -- if possible, submit your editorial to a local or school newspaper for publication. - Submit a drawing or comic that describes your solution. - Create a short research project around the problem-solving prompt. Create a hypothesis, write a research plan for how you will collect data (example: 2-3 questions you will ask community members about the issue), go out and collect the data, and submit a 1-2 page report or a slide deck with your research plan and an analysis of your findings. - Create an elevator pitch for a business or nonprofit entity that implements your solution. For your pitch you can: - Create a slide deck (Powerpoint, Google Slides, Keynote, etc.) or short narrative (maximum 2 pages) explaining what your proposed business is, what problem it solves, and how. - Record yourself giving the pitch, as if you were talking to the state government or other potential investors about supporting your solution -- upload your pitch to Youtube or Vimeo and include a link in your slide deck. Macro Project Upload to the Submission Portal in one of the following formats: Creative Project - Write and record a podcast episode, song, or play about your solution. Record and submit your performance or podcast episode. - Submit a link to your video or podcast through the project website. Create a model - Build a physical model of your solution. Submit a 1-3 page description with photographs of your project. Research Project - Create a research project around the problem-solving prompt. Create a hypothesis, write a research plan for how you will collect data, go out and collect the data, and submit a 3-5 page report or a slide deck with your research plan, an analysis of your findings, and a recommendation for next steps the state could take based on your research. Computer Program or App - Create an app or computer program for your solution. Submit at 1-3 page report about your app/program including: - What it does, and who it helps - How you developed it and why - Any links demonstrating your app or program Service Project - Create a service project around your solution. Submit a 1-3 page report of your project, describing: - What the project was and who you were helping - Did you partner with any other community organizations for your project? If so, describe what they do in the community - The length of the service project -- including how long it took you to prepare for and complete the project - Why you chose this project and what you learned from the process - What you think the state should do about the issue you focused on in your project going forward Business Plan - Create a business plan for a business that implements your solution. This can be an imaginary business or based on a real business in your community, but you must create the business plan yourself. Your business plan should include: - 1-3 page description of your business plan - Staff and customer safety plan for operating safely during COVID-19, including compliance with all state and local public health rules - Projected budget for your business - Sample menu for food, service, or merchandise offering - Optional -- Actually create the food item, service, or merchandise for your business. Photograph and describe the final product - Drawings of the physical space of your business (if physical) - Marketing plan for your business Challenge Submission Criteria We will recognize some of the most creative solutions submitted to the Challenge at our closing event in spring 2021. We’ll be looking for solutions that meet most of the following criteria. \| We are looking for solutions that are… \| That means the solution shows us... \| \| Creative \| Original ideas or your personal spin on existing ideas. \| \| Future focused \| What isn’t happening yet but that you think should be happening. \| \| User focused \| Who will use this solution? What do you know about them and how do you know they would benefit from your solution? \| \| Implementable \| How we can use the tools we have in real life to implement this solution -- unfortunately the Avengers are busy, we checked. Think about how you could use state and city budgets, support from business or philanthropy, donations or volunteer support from communities, etc. to accomplish your goals. \| \| Reflective of you \| How does your personal identity and your experiences shape the way you see the problem? \| \| Reflective of your community \| How are the people around you -- your family, friends, teachers, bosses, teammates, coworkers -- impacted by the problem? How will the solution you propose impact them? \| \| Equitable \| You’ve thought about how this problem impacts people of different races or ethnicities, genders, abilities, or income in different ways. How does your solution help address those different impacts? \| \| Accessible \| Is this a solution that could be used by a person with disabilities? Someone who speaks a language other than English? A person living in a rural area? In an urban area? An elderly person? A person with kids? What about a person who doesn’t have access to the internet or a computer? \|	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.383994	Career and Technical Education	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/74311/overview", "title": "Instructional Guide: Our Communities after COVID-19", "author": "Business and Communication" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/75183/overview	Técnicas de autoexamen de mamas dirigidas a mujeres mayores de 20 años de edad del Ministerio Cristo es la Salvación, institución evangélica, San Carlos de Bariloche durante el 2020/2021 Overview Planificacion Socio-Educativa con el fin de promocionar técnicas de autoexamen de mamas dirigidas a mujeres mayores de 20 años de edad del Ministerio Cristo es la Salvación, institución evangélica, San Carlos de Bariloche durante el 2020/2021. Contenidos de la Planificacion Socio-Educativa "Técnicas de autoexamen de mamas dirigidas a mujeres mayores de 20 años de edad del Ministerio Cristo es la Salvación, institución evangélica, San Carlos de Bariloche durante el 2020/2021": Cáncer de mama, Anatomía de la mama femenina, autoexamen de mamas y técnicas de autoexamen de mamas.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.401949	11/27/2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/75183/overview", "title": "Técnicas de autoexamen de mamas dirigidas a mujeres mayores de 20 años de edad del Ministerio Cristo es la Salvación, institución evangélica, San Carlos de Bariloche durante el 2020/2021", "author": "Virginia Alvarez" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/115946/overview	Understanding Political Change in Ghana through Sources Overview This assignment asks students to engage with different primary sources and perspectives to understand political change in the Gold Coast between World War II and 1950. Through close readings of documents, students can recognize how historical events, in this case, the experience of the Second World War and the Accra riots of 1948, transformed what was politically possible in the context of the Gold Coast. Students should see that national independence and the establishment of Ghana as a nation state were far from inevitable in the late 1940s as different actors, on the ground in the Gold Coast and from the vantage of the colonial government, negotiated changing expectations and aspirations. Attachments The attachment for this resource is a sample activity for a course in modern African history that asks students to analyze political changes in Ghana through six different primary sources. About This Resource The sample assignment included here was submitted by a participant in a one-day virtual workshop entitled, "Teaching the Global African Diaspora" for world history teachers hosted by the Alliance for Learning in World History. This was a draft document that may subsequently have been revised in light of feedback and discussion during the event. This resource was contributed by Dr. Carly Goodman, Department of History, La Salle University.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.420016	Primary Source	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/115946/overview", "title": "Understanding Political Change in Ghana through Sources", "author": "Homework/Assignment" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/122028/overview	OER ANTH101 Visit a virtual or actual primate rescue/research center or zoo Overview - Visit to a virtual via live webcam or actual via foot wildlife/primate rescue center, lab or zoo. - Visit a wildlife primate (baboons, orangs, monkeys, chimps, etc. ) rescue center or sanctuary (eg. GRACE, Born Free, Sanaga-Yong, Chimp Haven), lab (Oregon Prinate Center) or a zoo (eg. Oregon Zoo, Bristol Zoo, National Zoo, San Diego Zoo, etc.) via the Internet (view a live web cam only not a recorded video) or in-person. - You have three options for your observations. - Option One: Discuss two specific animals of the same species within one exhibit. - Option Two: Discuss one animal from two different species or exhibits from the same location. - Option Three: Discuss one animal from two different locations (eg., maybe one from a Zoo and one from a Sanctuary and compare). Visit to a virtual via live webcam or actual via foot wildlife/primate rescue center, lab or zoo. - Visit to a virtual via live webcam or actual via foot wildlife/primate rescue center, lab or zoo. - Visit a wildlife primate (baboons, orangs, monkeys, chimps, etc. ) rescue center or sanctuary (eg. GRACE, Born Free, Sanaga-Yong, Chimp Haven), lab (Oregon Prinate Center) or a zoo (eg. Oregon Zoo, Bristol Zoo, National Zoo, San Diego Zoo, etc.) via the Internet (view a live web cam only not a recorded video) or in-person. - You have three options for your observations. - Option One: Discuss two specific animals of the same species within one exhibit. - Option Two: Discuss one animal from two different species or exhibits from the same location. - Option Three: Discuss one animal from two different locations (eg., maybe one from a Zoo and one from a Sanctuary and compare). - Visit to a virtual via live webcam or actual via foot wildlife/primate rescue center, lab or zoo. - Visit a wildlife primate (baboons, orangs, monkeys, chimps, etc. ) rescue center or sanctuary (eg. GRACE, Born Free, Sanaga-Yong, Chimp Haven), lab (Oregon Prinate Center) or a zoo (eg. Oregon Zoo, Bristol Zoo, National Zoo, San Diego Zoo, etc.) via the Internet (view a live web cam only not a recorded video) or in-person. - You have three options for your observations. - Option One: Discuss two specific animals of the same species within one exhibit. - Option Two: Discuss one animal from two different species or exhibits from the same location. - Option Three: Discuss one animal from two different locations (eg., maybe one from a Zoo and one from a Sanctuary and compare).	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.439068	sharon methvin	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/122028/overview", "title": "Visit a virtual or actual primate rescue/research center or zoo", "author": "Activity/Lab" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/96666/overview	Alder p000082 Overview \| Alder module. Image and content credit: Fernando Agudelo-Silva \| Micrograph Light background with knobby brown roots	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.455984	Emily Fox	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/96666/overview", "title": "Alder p000082", "author": "Diagram/Illustration" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/96362/overview	Preparation and Reactions of Alkenes Overview Preparation and Reactions of Alkenes Preparation and Reactions of Alkenes.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.478110	08/13/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/96362/overview", "title": "Preparation and Reactions of Alkenes", "author": "Pranali Joshi" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/96657/overview	Nassella pulchra p000073 Overview Nassella seeds germinated in water. Image credit: Fernando Agudelo-Silva Micrograph Light background with tan seed and long green and white projections.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.494776	Forestry and Agriculture	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/96657/overview", "title": "Nassella pulchra p000073", "author": "Botany" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/70780/overview	Critical Thinking and Evaluating Information Overview LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Define critical thinking - Describe the role that logic plays in critical thinking - Describe how both critical and creative thinking skills can be used to problem-solve - Describe how critical thinking skills can be used to evaluate information - Apply the CRAAP test to evaluate sources of information - Identify strategies for developing yourself as a critical thinker Critical Thinking and Evaluating Information Critical Thinking and Evaluating Information Critical Thinking As a college student, you are tasked with engaging and expanding your thinking skills. One of the most important of these skills is critical thinking because it relates to nearly all tasks, situations, topics, careers, environments, challenges, and opportunities. It is a “domain-general” thinking skill, not one that is specific to a particular subject area. What Is Critical Thinking? Critical thinking is clear, reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do. It means asking probing questions like “How do we know?” or “Is this true in every case or just in this instance?” It involves being skeptical and challenging assumptions rather than simply memorizing facts or blindly accepting what you hear or read. Imagine, for example, that you’re reading a history textbook. You wonder who wrote it and why, because you detect certain biases in the writing. You find that the author has a limited scope of research focused only on a particular group within a population. In this case, your critical thinking reveals that there are “other sides to the story.” Who are critical thinkers, and what characteristics do they have in common? Critical thinkers are usually curious and reflective people. They like to explore and probe new areas and seek knowledge, clarification, and new solutions. They ask pertinent questions, evaluate statements and arguments, and they distinguish between facts and opinion. They are also willing to examine their own beliefs, possessing a manner of humility that allows them to admit lack of knowledge or understanding when needed. They are open to changing their mind. Perhaps most of all, they actively enjoy learning, and seeking new knowledge is a lifelong pursuit. This may well be you! No matter where you are on the road to being a critical thinker, you can always more fully develop and finely tune your skills. Doing so will help you develop more balanced arguments, express yourself clearly, read critically, and glean important information efficiently. Critical thinking skills will help you in any profession or any circumstance of life, from science to art to business to teaching. With critical thinking, you become a clearer thinker and problem solver. \| Critical Thinking IS \| Critical Thinking is NOT \| \|---\|---\| \| Skepticism \| Memorizing \| \| Examining assumptions \| Group thinking \| \| Challenging reasoning \| Blind acceptance of authority \| \| Uncovering biases \| Critical Thinking and Logic Critical thinking is fundamentally a process of questioning information and data. You may question the information you read in a textbook, or you may question what a politician or a professor or a classmate says. You can also question a commonly-held belief or a new idea. With critical thinking, anything and everything is subject to question and examination for the purpose of logically constructing reasoned perspectives. What Is Logic? The word logic comes from the Ancient Greek logike, referring to the science or art of reasoning. Using logic, a person evaluates arguments and reasoning and strives to distinguish between good and bad reasoning, or between truth and falsehood. Using logic, you can evaluate the ideas and claims of others, make good decisions, and form sound beliefs about the world.[1] Questions of Logic in Critical Thinking Let’s use a simple example of applying logic to a critical-thinking situation. In this hypothetical scenario, a man has a Ph.D. in political science, and he works as a professor at a local college. His wife works at the college, too. They have three young children in the local school system, and their family is well known in the community. The man is now running for political office. Are his credentials and experience sufficient for entering public office? Will he be effective in the political office? Some voters might believe that his personal life and current job, on the surface, suggest he will do well in the position, and they will vote for him. In truth, the characteristics described don’t guarantee that the man will do a good job. The information is somewhat irrelevant. What else might you want to know? How about whether the man had already held a political office and done a good job? In this case, we want to think critically about how much information is adequate in order to make a decision based on logic instead of assumptions. The following questions, presented in Figure 1, below, are ones you may apply to formulating a logical, reasoned perspective in the above scenario or any other situation: - What’s happening? Gather the basic information and begin to think of questions. - Why is it important? Ask yourself why it’s significant and whether or not you agree. - What don’t I see? Is there anything important missing? - How do I know? Ask yourself where the information came from and how it was constructed. - Who is saying it? What’s the position of the speaker and what is influencing them? - What else? What if? What other ideas exist and are there other possibilities? Figure 1 Problem-Solving with Critical Thinking For most people, a typical day is filled with critical thinking and problem-solving challenges. In fact, critical thinking and problem-solving go hand-in-hand. They both refer to using knowledge, facts, and data to solve problems effectively. But with problem-solving, you are specifically identifying, selecting, and defending your solution. Below are some examples of using critical thinking to problem-solve: - Your roommate was upset and said some unkind words to you, which put a crimp in the relationship. You try to see through the angry behaviors to determine how you might best support the roommate and help bring the relationship back to a comfortable spot. - Your campus club has been languishing due to lack of participation and funds. The new club president, though, is a marketing major and has identified some strategies to interest students in joining and supporting the club. Implementation is forthcoming. - Your final art class project challenges you to conceptualize form in new ways. On the last day of class when students present their projects, you describe the techniques you used to fulfill the assignment. You explain why and how you selected that approach. - Your math teacher sees that the class is not quite grasping a concept. She uses clever questioning to dispel anxiety and guide you to a new understanding of the concept. - You have a job interview for a position that you feel you are only partially qualified for, although you really want the job and you are excited about the prospects. You analyze how you will explain your skills and experiences in a way to show that you are a good match for the prospective employer. - You are doing well in college, and most of your college and living expenses are covered. But there are some gaps between what you want and what you feel you can afford. You analyze your income, savings, and budget to better calculate what you will need to stay in college and maintain your desired level of spending. Problem-Solving Action Checklist Problem-solving can be an efficient and rewarding process, especially if you are organized and mindful of critical steps and strategies. Remember to assume the attributes of a good critical thinker: if you are curious, reflective, knowledge-seeking, open to change, probing, organized, and ethical, your challenge or problem will be less of a hurdle, and you’ll be in a good position to find intelligent solutions. The steps outlined in this checklist will help you adhere to these qualities in your approach to any problem: \| STRATEGIES \| ACTION CHECKLIST[2] \| \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 \| Define the problem \| \| \| 2 \| Identify available solutions \| \| \| 3 \| Select your solution \| \| Critical and Creative Thinking Critical and creative thinking (described in more detail in Chapter 6: Theories of Learning) complement each other when it comes to problem-solving. The following words, by Dr. Andrew Robert Baker, are excerpted from his “Thinking Critically and Creatively” essay. Dr. Baker illuminates some of the many ways that college students will be exposed to critical and creative thinking and how it can enrich their learning experiences. THINKING CRITICALLY AND CREATIVELY Critical thinking skills are perhaps the most fundamental skills involved in making judgments and solving problems. You use them every day, and you can continue improving them. The ability to think critically about a matter—to analyze a question, situation, or problem down to its most basic parts—is what helps us evaluate the accuracy and truthfulness of statements, claims, and information we read and hear. It is the sharp knife that, when honed, separates fact from fiction, honesty from lies, and the accurate from the misleading. We all use this skill to one degree or another almost every day. For example, we use critical thinking every day as we consider the latest consumer products and why one particular product is the best among its peers. Is it a quality product because a celebrity endorses it? Because a lot of other people may have used it? Because it is made by one company versus another? Or perhaps because it is made in one country or another? These are questions representative of critical thinking. The academic setting demands more of us in terms of critical thinking than everyday life. It demands that we evaluate information and analyze myriad issues. It is the environment where our critical thinking skills can be the difference between success and failure. In this environment we must consider information in an analytical, critical manner. We must ask questions—What is the source of this information? Is this source an expert one and what makes it so? Are there multiple perspectives to consider on an issue? Do multiple sources agree or disagree on an issue? Does quality research substantiate information or opinion? Do I have any personal biases that may affect my consideration of this information? It is only through purposeful, frequent, intentional questioning such as this that we can sharpen our critical thinking skills and improve as students, learners and researchers. While critical thinking analyzes information and roots out the true nature and facets of problems, it is creative thinking that drives progress forward when it comes to solving these problems. Exceptional creative thinkers are people that invent new solutions to existing problems that do not rely on past or current solutions. They are the ones who invent solution C when everyone else is still arguing between A and B. Creative thinking skills involve using strategies to clear the mind so that our thoughts and ideas can transcend the current limitations of a problem and allow us to see beyond barriers that prevent new solutions from being found. Brainstorming is the simplest example of intentional creative thinking that most people have tried at least once. With the quick generation of many ideas at once, we can block-out our brain’s natural tendency to limit our solution-generating abilities so we can access and combine many possible solutions/thoughts and invent new ones. It is sort of like sprinting through a race’s finish line only to find there is new track on the other side and we can keep going, if we choose. As with critical thinking, higher education both demands creative thinking from us and is the perfect place to practice and develop the skill. Everything from word problems in a math class, to opinion or persuasive speeches and papers, call upon our creative thinking skills to generate new solutions and perspectives in response to our professor’s demands. Creative thinking skills ask questions such as—What if? Why not? What else is out there? Can I combine perspectives/solutions? What is something no one else has brought-up? What is being forgotten/ignored? What about ______? It is the opening of doors and options that follows problem-identification. Consider an assignment that required you to compare two different authors on the topic of education and select and defend one as better. Now add to this scenario that your professor clearly prefers one author over the other. While critical thinking can get you as far as identifying the similarities and differences between these authors and evaluating their merits, it is creative thinking that you must use if you wish to challenge your professor’s opinion and invent new perspectives on the authors that have not previously been considered. So, what can we do to develop our critical and creative thinking skills? Although many students may dislike it, group work is an excellent way to develop our thinking skills. Many times I have heard from students their disdain for working in groups based on scheduling, varied levels of commitment to the group or project, and personality conflicts too, of course. True—it’s not always easy, but that is why it is so effective. When we work collaboratively on a project or problem we bring many brains to bear on a subject. These different brains will naturally develop varied ways of solving or explaining problems and examining information. To the observant individual we see that this places us in a constant state of back and forth critical/creative thinking modes. For example, in group work we are simultaneously analyzing information and generating solutions on our own, while challenging other’s analyses/ideas and responding to challenges to our own analyses/ideas. This is part of why students tend to avoid group work—it challenges us as thinkers and forces us to analyze others while defending ourselves, which is not something we are used to or comfortable with as most of our educational experiences involve solo work. Your professors know this—that’s why we assign it—to help you grow as students, learners, and thinkers! —Dr. Andrew Robert Baker, Foundations of Academic Success: Words of Wisdom Evaluating Information with Critical Thinking Evaluating information can be one of the most complex tasks you will be faced with in college. But if you utilize the following four strategies, you will be well on your way to success: - Read for understanding - Examine arguments - Clarify thinking - Cultivate “habits of mind” Read for Understanding When you read, take notes or mark the text to track your thinking about what you are reading. As you make connections and ask questions in response to what you read, you monitor your comprehension and enhance your long-term understanding of the material. You will want to mark important arguments and key facts. Indicate where you agree and disagree or have further questions. You don’t necessarily need to read every word, but make sure you understand the concepts or the intentions behind what is written. See the chapter on Active Reading Strategies for additional tips. Examine Arguments When you examine arguments or claims that an author, speaker, or other source is making, your goal is to identify and examine the hard facts. You can use the spectrum of authority strategy for this purpose. The spectrum of authority strategy assists you in identifying the “hot” end of an argument—feelings, beliefs, cultural influences, and societal influences—and the “cold” end of an argument—scientific influences. The most compelling arguments balance elements from both ends of the spectrum. The following video explains this strategy in further detail: Clarify Thinking When you use critical thinking to evaluate information, you need to clarify your thinking to yourself and likely to others. Doing this well is mainly a process of asking and answering probing questions, such as the logic questions discussed earlier. Design your questions to fit your needs, but be sure to cover adequate ground. What is the purpose? What question are we trying to answer? What point of view is being expressed? What assumptions are we or others making? What are the facts and data we know, and how do we know them? What are the concepts we’re working with? What are the conclusions, and do they make sense? What are the implications? Cultivate “Habits of Mind” “Habits of mind” are the personal commitments, values, and standards you have about the principle of good thinking. Consider your intellectual commitments, values, and standards. Do you approach problems with an open mind, a respect for truth, and an inquiring attitude? Some good habits to have when thinking critically are being receptive to having your opinions changed, having respect for others, being independent and not accepting something is true until you’ve had the time to examine the available evidence, being fair-minded, having respect for a reason, having an inquiring mind, not making assumptions, and always, especially, questioning your own conclusions—in other words, developing an intellectual work ethic. Try to work these qualities into your daily life. CRAAP Test In 2010, a textbook being used in fourth-grade classrooms in Virginia became big news for all the wrong reasons. The book, Our Virginia by Joy Masoff, had caught the attention of a parent who was helping her child do her homework, according to an article in The Washington Post. Carol Sheriff was a historian for the College of William and Mary and as she worked with her daughter, she began to notice some glaring historical errors, not the least of which was a passage which described how thousands of African Americans fought for the South during the Civil War. Further investigation into the book revealed that, although the author had written textbooks on a variety of subjects, she was not a trained historian. The research she had done to write Our Virginia, and in particular the information she included about Black Confederate soldiers, was done through the Internet and included sources created by groups like the Sons of Confederate Veterans, an organization which promotes views of history that de-emphasize the role of slavery in the Civil War. How did a book with errors like these come to be used as part of the curriculum and who was at fault? Was it Masoff for using untrustworthy sources for her research? Was it the editors who allowed the book to be published with these errors intact? Was it the school board for approving the book without more closely reviewing its accuracy? There are a number of issues at play in the case of Our Virginia, but there’s no question that evaluating sources is an important part of the research process and doesn’t just apply to Internet sources. Using inaccurate, irrelevant, or poorly researched sources can affect the quality of your own work. Being able to understand and apply the concepts that follow is crucial to becoming a more savvy user and creator of information. When you begin evaluating sources, what should you consider? The CRAAP test is a series of common evaluative elements you can use to evaluate the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose of your sources. The CRAAP test was developed by librarians at California State University at Chico and it gives you a good, overall set of elements to look for when evaluating a resource. Let’s consider what each of these evaluative elements means. You can visit the ACC Library’s Web page for a tutorial on Evaluating Information using the CRAAP test. Currency One of the most important and interesting steps to take as you begin researching a subject is selecting the resources that will help you build your thesis and support your assertions. Certain topics require you to pay special attention to how current your resource is—because they are time sensitive, because they have evolved so much over the years, or because new research comes out on the topic so frequently. When evaluating the currency of an article, consider the following: - When was the item written, and how frequently does the publication come out? - Is there evidence of newly added or updated information in the item? - If the information is dated, is it still suitable for your topic? - How frequently does information change about your topic? Relevance Understanding what resources are most applicable to your subject and why they are applicable can help you focus and refine your thesis. Many topics are broad and searching for information on them produces a wide range of resources. Narrowing your topic and focusing on resources specific to your needs can help reduce the piles of information and help you focus in on what is truly important to read and reference. When determining relevance consider the following: - Does the item contain information relevant to your argument or thesis? - Read the article’s introduction, thesis, and conclusion. - Scan main headings and identify article keywords. - For book resources, start with the index or table of contents—how wide a scope does the item have? Will you use part or all of this resource? - Does the information presented support or refute your ideas? - If the information refutes your ideas, how will this change your argument? - Does the material provide you with current information? - What is the material’s intended audience? Authority Understanding more about your information’s source helps you determine when, how, and where to use that information. Is your author an expert on the subject? Do they have some personal stake in the argument they are making? What is the author or information producer’s background? When determining the authority of your source, consider the following: - What are the author’s credentials? - What is the author’s level of education, experience, and/or occupation? - What qualifies the author to write about this topic? - What affiliations does the author have? Could these affiliations affect their position? - What organization or body published the information? Is it authoritative? Does it have an explicit position or bias? Accuracy Determining where information comes from, if the evidence supports the information, and if the information has been reviewed or refereed can help you decide how and whether to use a source. When determining the accuracy of a source, consider the following: - Is the source well-documented? Does it include footnotes, citations, or a bibliography? - Is information in the source presented as fact, opinion, or propaganda? Are biases clear? - Can you verify information from the references cited in the source? - Is the information written clearly and free of typographical and grammatical mistakes? Does the source look to be edited before publication? A clean, well-presented paper does not always indicate accuracy, but usually at least means more eyes have been on the information. Purpose Knowing why the information was created is a key to evaluation. Understanding the reason or purpose of the information, if the information has clear intentions, or if the information is fact, opinion, or propaganda will help you decide how and why to use information: - Is the author’s purpose to inform, sell, persuade, or entertain? - Does the source have an obvious bias or prejudice? - Is the article presented from multiple points of view? - Does the author omit important facts or data that might disprove their argument? - Is the author’s language informal, joking, emotional, or impassioned? - Is the information clearly supported by evidence? When you feel overwhelmed by the information you are finding, the CRAAP test can help you determine which information is the most useful to your research topic. How you respond to what you find out using the CRAAP test will depend on your topic. Maybe you want to use two overtly biased resources to inform an overview of typical arguments in a particular field. Perhaps your topic is historical and currency means the past hundred years rather than the past one or two years. Use the CRAAP test, be knowledgeable about your topic, and you will be on your way to evaluating information efficiently and well! Developing Yourself As a Critical Thinker Critical thinking is a fundamental skill for college students, but it should also be a lifelong pursuit. Below are additional strategies to develop yourself as a critical thinker in college and in everyday life: - Reflect and practice: Always reflect on what you’ve learned. Is it true all the time? How did you arrive at your conclusions? - Use wasted time: It’s certainly important to make time for relaxing, but if you find you are indulging in too much of a good thing, think about using your time more constructively. Determine when you do your best thinking and try to learn something new during that part of the day. - Redefine the way you see things: It can be very uninteresting to always think the same way. Challenge yourself to see familiar things in new ways. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and consider things from a different angle or perspective. If you’re trying to solve a problem, list all your concerns: what you need in order to solve it, who can help, what some possible barriers might be, etc. It’s often possible to reframe a problem as an opportunity. Try to find a solution where there seems to be none. - Analyze the influences on your thinking and in your life: Why do you think or feel the way you do? Analyze your influences. Think about who in your life influences you. Do you feel or react a certain way because of social convention, or because you believe it is what is expected of you? Try to break out of any molds that may be constricting you. - Express yourself: Critical thinking also involves being able to express yourself clearly. Most important in expressing yourself clearly is stating one point at a time. You might be inclined to argue every thought, but you might have greater impact if you focus just on your main arguments. This will help others to follow your thinking clearly. For more abstract ideas, assume that your audience may not understand. Provide examples, analogies, or metaphors where you can. - Enhance your wellness: It’s easier to think critically when you take care of your mental and physical health. Try taking activity breaks throughout the day to reach 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Scheduling physical activity into your day can help lower stress and increase mental alertness. Also, do your most difficult work when you have the most energy. Think about the time of day you are most effective and have the most energy. Plan to do your most difficult work during these times. And be sure to reach out for help if you feel you need assistance with your mental or physical health (see Maintaining Your Mental and Physical Health for more information). Complete Section #2 Below: ACTIVITY: REFLECT ON CRITICAL THINKING KEY TAKEAWAYS - Critical thinking is logical and reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do. - Critical thinking involves questioning and evaluating information. - Critical and creative thinking both contribute to our ability to solve problems in a variety of contexts. - Evaluating information is a complex, but essential, process. You can use the CRAAP test to help determine if sources and information are reliable. - You can take specific actions to develop and strengthen your critical thinking skills. ACTIVITY: REFLECT ON CRITICAL THINKING Objective - Apply critical thinking strategies to your life Directions: - Think about someone you consider to be a critical thinker (friend, professor, historical figure, etc). What qualities does he/she have? - Review some of the critical thinking strategies discussed on this page. Pick one strategy that makes sense to you. How can you apply this critical thinking technique to your academic work? - Habits of mind are attitudes and beliefs that influence how you approach the world (i.e., inquiring attitude, open mind, respect for truth, etc). What is one habit of mind you would like to actively develop over the next year? How will you develop a daily practice to cultivate this habit? - Write your responses in journal form, and submit according to your instructor’s guidelines.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.531122	Mary Johnson	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/70780/overview", "title": "Critical Thinking and Evaluating Information", "author": "Assessment" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/106158/overview	Group Memo _ social problem excerise SOWK 403 Social Problem Framing Exercise Online Social Problem Assignment Overview This activity aims to help student groups in an undergraduate macro social work course understand what a social problem is, how to reimage issues that affect a group of people, research the magnitude of the problem, and develop a workable solution. It also gives students practice experience working in groups and using TEAMS demonstrating leadership skills as each collaborates on research and development of the social problem report. Social Problem Exercise Instructors Note: This assignment was designed for an online class to allow students to think critically about problems that affect people and give you, as an instructor, a creative way to offer students a "real world." practice group experience in an online program. It will allow them to collaborate and consult with the Librarians and the department chair on the department's needs. Additionally, it allows you as an instructor to observe group work and process their creative ideas with each group via chat, offering feedback through their collaborative writing and attending their meetings through TEAMS. As an instructor, you essentially become the manager overseeing their project. Note: This assignment can be applied to face-to-face students creating in-class workgroups that meet weekly to discuss the assigned issue, share ideas with the entire class, and use you, the instructor, as a consultant. TEAMS (or Google Drive): These program are use consistently in organizations with work groups, more so since the pandemic. By using these programs in your course it will allow students practice experience when collaborating on projects remotely. Managers also use it to oversee employees productivity. As the instructor, it will allow you to do the same and intervene when appropriate. Review your learning platform options for external program connections. There are some that allows the instructor to connect their course to TEAMS or Google Drive. For TEAMS or Google Drive: You would add the external program to your course according to your learning platform instructions. Then, - set up channels of groups according to groups students selected making the private to each group. - set up folders so they can keep their work (e.g., minutes, group recording, their paper to work collaboratively, etc.). It will also allow student to chat about their work, instead of their normal group chats created on their communication devices (telephone). - Make a welcome announcement. Communication \| Work sharing platform: Students need access to TEAMS or Google Drive to store their assignments, chat, minutes collaborative writing, and hold and record meetings. Students meet weekly as they collaborate and work on the assignment to produce a 5-7 page report on their findings. Group Contract: Students will develop a contract on participation for the work to be completed as well as develop a plan to solve problems as they arise. This will give you an opportunity to use the contract when intervene as an instructor. Memo: In the fourth week of the semester, students will produce a memo reporting their progress. Note: Students should maintain minutes noting progress, conflicts, and concerns. Assignment Completion Time \| This assignment takes about six weeks to complete. This activity aims to help student groups in an undergraduate macro social work course understand what a social problem is, how to reimage issues that affect a group of people, research the magnitude of the problem, and develop a workable solution. It also gives students practice experience working in groups and using TEAMS to hold meetings while collaborating on research. Group Contract Instructor Note: The purpose of this assignment or activity is to assist students in creating a group, establishing guidelines, and formulating a plan in case of issues. This enables students to apply their leadership and organizational abilities, as well as the problem-solving skills they have learned in their program. Assignment due date: This assignment activity should be completed within the first two weeks of the semester when the social problem exercise is introduced.is introduced. The goal of this activity is to assist students in creating their own groups, establishing participation rules, and devising strategies to address any potential issues that may arise while working on the social problem exercise. Memo Instructor Notes: The memo will give you an opportunity to see the progress made and engage with students as appropriate. Description: Often, administrators, managers, and supervisors are required to update other individuals (i.e., staff, advisory boards, investors, clients, organization administrators, etc.) regarding the progress of projects. This is often done by circulating within the organization or emailing a memo. This assignment will allow the group to create a report as a memo to the instructor on the progress made on the social problem exercise.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.557368	Lesson Plan	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/106158/overview", "title": "Social Problem Assignment", "author": "Homework/Assignment" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/70955/overview	Duchess of Malfi Overview Summary of Duchess of Malfi John webster Summary of Duchess of Malfi	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.573917	Student Guide	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/70955/overview", "title": "Duchess of Malfi", "author": "Lecture Notes" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/74043/overview	COVID‐19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking University COVID 19 Impact on Higher Education Overview You should have learned about the effect of the Coronavirus with the use of OER support. By Anthony Hurtado Please post a discussion for your peers to review on what you learned about the Coronavirus effect on HIgher Education.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.591999	10/29/2020	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/74043/overview", "title": "COVID 19 Impact on Higher Education", "author": "Anthony Hurtado" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97538/overview	POL 13--Introduction to American Foreign Policy: Open for Antiracism (OFAR) Overview This syllabus explains the goal of the course which is to provide students with a comprehensive and critical coverage of U.S. foreign policy since(and before) World War II. Through a coherent chronological narrative, the course traces the evolution of U.S. foreign policy, centered on whiteness which, by default, institutionalizes racism. Political Science 13 Syllabus The goal of this course is to provide students with comprehensive and critical coverage of U.S. foreign policy since(and before) World War II. Through a coherent chronological narrative, the course traces the evolution of U.S. foreign policy from its assumption of world leadership during and after World War II to its present concerns with sprouting democracies, a militarized policy, and global economic and political interdependence. The questions framing this class are the following: - What caused past U.S. involvement in foreign wars and interventions? - Were the results of U.S. policies good or bad? - Were the beliefs that guided U.S. policy true or false? General theories that bear on the causes and consequences of U.S. policy are applied to explain and evaluate past and present policies.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.612274	09/27/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97538/overview", "title": "POL 13--Introduction to American Foreign Policy: Open for Antiracism (OFAR)", "author": "Open for Antiracism Program (OFAR)" }
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92597/overview	The Other Fifty Weeks: An Open Education Podcast [Episode 8] Overview The eighth episode of "The Other Fifty Weeks: An Open Education Podcast", discussing strategic thinking with David Porter. The Other Fifty Weeks: An Open Education Podcast [Episode 8] Episode 8 - David Porter (eCampus Ontario) on Strategic thinking, not strategic planning Originally published on March 26th, 2018 Welcome to Episode 8, featuring David Porter (CEO, eCampus Ontario), as we discuss 'strategic thinking, not strategic planning' and what this means for openness. David shares some of the excellent open education initiatives at eCampus Ontario, including some student-focused activities that build transparency in course design. In addition to plenty of ideas that can be repurposed, David has provided some links so that you can engage with some of the stories and activities mentioned in the episode. - CogDog's Amazing Stories of Openness - EdTech Sandboxes - Ontario Extend - Student Experience Design Lab, and We Do Design - Open Fellows and Open Rangers - Open Textbook Library Until next time, remember that 'good ideas are everywhere; good collaborators are everywhere'. Words to live by.	oercommons	2025-03-18T00:34:48.636055	05/09/2022	{ "license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92597/overview", "title": "The Other Fifty Weeks: An Open Education Podcast [Episode 8]", "author": "Adrian Stagg" }

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