The French Revolution

The French Revolution

Nikusha Beatty, Student, January 8, 2013

The French Revolution took place in 1789, when the French people grew tired of poor harvesting and bankruptcy. The commoners were also treated poorly, and wanted solutions to their problems while the upper class focused on other things such as democracy. The French were also influenced by the Americans because of the American Revolution and their success in overthrowing the British. The French fought for liberty and freedom. Besides the failure of farming, the common people were ignored by those in upper class. The lower class wanted to be treated better, as they were starving and poor. The upper class wanted to stay as it was, because they did not have to pay taxes and they were wealthy.
When citizens spoke up about monarchy, they were arrested and imprisoned. Finally, citizens rushed into a hated central prison and released those in imprisoned. It was the peasants against the aristocracy. After the King Louis XVI and his family tried to escape and failed, him and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed by the guillotine. This led an open space for Robespierre, who murdered 18,000 people by the guillotine. The weapons used in the French Revolution were the Charleville musket, the guillotine, daggers and the bayonet. These weapons were used in the war, though they were short ranged and inaccurate. Bourgeois and the upper class fought against each other.
  The war brought fundamental government changes. The peasants of rural France started to make some progress. Along with gain, there is loss, as it also brought terror and death to those in the war. France was already at war with most of Europe for all but the early years of the Revolution. France had a lot of death because of men such as Robespierre who used the war for their personal gain for power. Between 16,000 and 40,000 people were killed during the French Revolution. After the Revolution, France was completely turned around as religion was seized, the government was changed and the people had more freedom.

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The Cold War

(From left to right Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin)

By: William Fox

There can be no one clear cause of a war. The presumed causes of the Cold War are; American Fear of communist attack, USSR’s aim of spreading world communism, USSR’s fear of American attack. The leader of America at the time of the Cold War was President Harry Truman who came into power in April 1945 after the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The leader of the USSR was Joseph Stalin who came into power in 1941.

There were no weapons used in the Cold War, but there were many created. One of the weapons America developed was the B53 bomb. The B53 bomb was 12 feet in length and weighed 8,500 lbs. The U.S. constructed 340 of these bombs that were capable of a 50 Megaton Blast, 600 times more powerful than the little boy dropped on Hiroshima. The USSR’s equivalent of the B53 bomb was the Tsar Bomb. The Tsar Bomb weighed 60,000 lbs and was 28 feet in length. It was capable of creating a fireball 5 miles in diameter and a mushroom cloud 34.8 miles high. The blast of a Tsar Bomb would unleash 418,400,000,000,000,000 (Four Hundred and Eighteen Quadrillion, Four Hundred Trillion) Joules of energy. A smaller weapon made by America was the Davy Crockett. It was operated by a three man team and was capable of launching a M338 Nuclear Projectile up to two and a half miles. The M338 Nuclear Projectile was able to deliver a fatal dose of radiation up to a quarter mile away.

The stakes of the outcome of the Cold War were without a doubt the most important of any war to date. The gains for each country was becoming the world's superpower and spreading communism or democracy to the world. If the weapons developed would have been used with their intended purposes the world would have been unlike anything we can conceive of.

Bibliography

“History Learning Site,” last accessed January 8, 2013, http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk.
“History.com,” last accessed January 8, 2013, http://www.history.com.
“Cold War Museum,” last accessed January 8, 2013, http://www.coldwar.org.

World War I

World War I

by: Jonathan Hays, European News, January 8, 2012

On July 28, 1914, one of the worlds largest wars was started: World War I. This was was entirely centered around Europe (being the one of the most, if not, the most, important continent on the world map). Many controversies go around today on how World War I was started. The most popular and well -known reason is the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne. A group called the Black Hand (a Serbian Nationalist Secret Society) organized and completed the assassination. Austria-Hungary was looking for an excuse at the time to prevent Serbia from growing. They were looking towards weakening Serbia and taking back land in the Balkens that they had lost to Serbia. Soon after the assassination, Austria-Hungary allied Germany in war against the Serbians, and possibly the Russians. Russia then allied Serbia after hearing about this, and the war began to spread. Britain then allied France and Belgium, thus declaring war on Germany. With Britain declaring war, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa entered the war against Germany, due to the fact that they were all colonies of Britain. The US then entered the war fighting against Germany, due to their submarines preventing commercial shipping from the US. This fighting quickly spread around the world.

One main leader during WWI was Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States of America. When the war first began, he tried to not be involved, but Germany's submarines were preventing a lack of commercial trade, causing Wilson to declare war. During the war, he quoted, "We will not choose the path of submission." Another important leader was Vittorio Emanuele Orland, the prime minister of Italy at the time. He demanded more land for Italy, but failed while trying to receive it. One leader who maintained the war was Nicholas II, who was leading Russia. He wanted to claim the world as his, and gain complete power. His negligence led to the loss of Russia. Lastly, Emperor Franz Josef I began the war by making the treaty with Germany to fight against Serbia. 

One main weapon used by the British (and most other countries) was the bolt-action rifle. It is estimated that 15 rounds could be fired per minute per person. The range of this weapon was up to 14,000 meters. Technological advances in weaponry also occurred at this time. Advancements such as tanks and zeppelins were used for attack during this war. Zeppelins were often used by the Germans to bomb other countries. They contained weaponry such as machine guns, and bombs. The first tank was also developed during this time. It could only travel 3 mph, though, and required three people to run it.

At the end of the war, many losses occurred. Russia was now suffering from a social and economic downfall, with their leader killed and 7 million soldiers and civilians dead. Austria-Hungary, however, gain many treaties. Some of which included the Treaty of Saint-Germain and Treaty of Trianon. They did also have losses, though. They lost the Southern half of the County of Tyrol and Trieste to Italy and separated into two separate countries. Overall the losses exceeded the gains. Many countries lost land and had economic issues relating to the war. 8 million soldiers died and an approximate 12 million civilians died from the war.

Sources:
"The home front: Man builds 60ft-long World War I TRENCH in his back garden - and then invites history buffs round for re-enactment," last modified November 1, 2012, accessed January 8, 2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2226235/Historian-Andrew-Robertshaw-builds-60ft-long-First-World-War-TRENCH-Surrey-garden-highlight-plight-frontline-Tommies.html.

"Causes of World War I," last updated August 22, 2009, accessed January 8, 2013, http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm.

"Why World War I Started," last updated December 10, 2012, accessed January 8, 2012, http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/12/what-started-world-war-i/.

"Biographies of Military and Political Leaders of World War I," accessed January 8, 2013, http://library.thinkquest.org/10927/leadwwi.htm.

World War II

Although it wasn't in the continent of Europe, this photo of  U.S.  soldiers  raising a flag on top of the Japanese island Iwo Jima depicts the strugle that World War 2 brought to millions.

              After the end of World War I Germany was in a massive economical downfall through hyper inflation due to the punishment by the Allied countries toward Germany for starting the war. The allies wanted Germany to pay them for most of the losses that had occurred, and the German Reichsmark became incredibly worthless. Then the new Rentenmark was introduced in 1923 that helped stabilize the German economy. When money was back in circulation people were cautious to take out loans due to an age old prejudice against Jews. They were considered the only ones that people could take out loans with due to the Christian view that making money off of money is one of life's greatests sins and Judaism does not. Jews were then known as the "bankers" of society. Although the main reason for Germany's economic downfall was the repercussions made by the Allies, many people also believed the banks to be responsible for hyperinflation. A man by the name of Adolf Hitler noticed this and advanced on the opportunity to gain power.
              A common question about World War 2 is, "Why would the German people elect Hitler as chancellor?" Hitler did provided jobs and brought money into the economy with his plans of a major war machine, but what Hitler did best was to unite the people in hatred of jews and rapidly expanding the already existing Nazi party. Hitler called his regime the Third Rich. Hitlers plans for the war were to massively expand his regime and to eliminate those who should not be part of his new society, hence the concentration camps. The European Allies were not okay with Hitlers plan and would not stand being conquered and watching as millions were being executed in camps. The U.S. Joined soon after when the events in Pearl Harbor solidified there place in the war. The joining of the two forces resulted in the beginning of the second World War.
            Throughout the war there were many battles with tremendous death tolls. Although many of the deadly and destructive weapons used during World War I were universally banned, new and improved automatic weapons were introduced. Some of the weapons most commonly used in WWII were the Thompson sub-machine gun, the PPsh-41, the M1 Garand, the Luger P08, the Sten Gun, and the MP40. Along with the ultra destructive weapons, tanks, planes, and various forms of artillery were used as even more powerful tools of death. By the end of the war, every country had taken massive losses and a great deal of Europe was completely destroyed. Each country had lost countless numbers of soldiers along with civilians and in total, 72 million people were killed in the war along with over 6 million Jews in concentration camps. When Germany had finaly surrendered, the allies split up control of germany between the allies, which later became its own conflict. The war allowed for many advancements in technology including planes, nuclear weaponry, and eventually nuclear power. Although the world gained some out this war, the destruction it left in its path was incomprehensible.
             
                  -Sean Jarrell-Hurtado


Goodman, George. PBS, "Commanding Heights: The German Hyperinflation 1923." Last modified 1981. Accessed January 8, 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitext/ess_germanhyperinflation.html.

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The 100 Years War

The 100 Years War was war compiled of many battles that ranged from 1337-1453 between the French and the English. One of the causes for the war was that the English king Edward III, who claimed most of France anyway, wanted to control all of France. Another cause of the 100 Years War was an economic conflict over the French taxing northern European towns who grew wealthy due to trade.

One of the most noted leader of war during the 100 Years War was a french peasant girl named Jeanne d’ Arc (aka Joan of Arc). Joan believed that she God commanded her to drive out the English from France.1 At 16, Joan rallied the French troops and led them into battle, this battle became known as the Siege of Orleans. This is considered to be the turning point in the war.2 Another important leader during the war was Edward the III son, Edward of Woodstock. He later became known as the Black Prince. He was an exceptional military leader, and his victories over the French at the Battles of Crecy and Poitiers made him very popular during his lifetime.

Weapons that were used during the war by the English were a lot more advanced than the French’s weapons. For example the English used a longbow, with enough strength to penetrate armor, whereas the French still used old-fashioned feudal cavalry. Typical cavalry usually consisted of close ranged, one on one weaponry such as a longswords, daggers, lances, etc. Some long ranged items that were used were a crossbow, longbow, javelins, etc. The 100 Years War was fought with hand- combat with a few exceptions from technology. For example the English developed cannons during this time.

The gain in fighting the war was that France won in the end and got to keep their land. The French also gained more of a sense of unity among their country from their victory. Both France and England’s economies were in shambles due to the many battles fought during this time, taxes were raised in both countries. England gained (got to keep, rather)  the coast of Calais.3 The number of casualties during the 100 Years War is believed to be about 1,500,000-2,000,000. The bubonic plague hit during the time of the 100 Years War as well. This affected the communities by uniting France and England having civil wars because of the all the losses they endured.

Carrigan Davis

Sources:
1. “Hundred Years War,” last accessed January 8, 2013, http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/hundred-years-war.htm.
2. “The Hundred Years’ War,” last modified January 2, 2012, http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/Hundred_Years.html.
3. “The Hundred Years’ War,” last modified January 2, 2012, http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/Hundred_Years.html.

The Russian Revolution

              The Russian Revolution is one of the most bloody wars ever. It has the highest death count for any Civil War. The war was between the Russian Republic and the Bolsheviks. There was a revolution in 1918 because there was increasing opposition to the Bolsheviks. This opposition came from indigenous Russian people, Czechs legions in Russia, and the West. The Russian Civil War started right after the first World War, which ended in November 1918. The war started because of oppositional ideologies fighting for government control. This War is also known as the Reds vs the Whites. (Reds were the Bolsheviks and Whites were the Russian Republic/Russian People) 

               There was three Soviet leaders during the War. They were Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Mikhail Tukhachevsky. These men were on the side of the Bolsheviks. These men had a large amount of power of the aftermath of the war. Vladmir was a Political Theorist, Leon was a Revoultionary Marxist, and Mikhail was the commander in chief of the Red Army. The most popular weapon during the war was Japanese Bolt action rifles. Created during World War I. 

               The Russian Civil War caused many casualties. These casulaties came out to the massive number of 9 million deaths including military and civillians.The winning group were the Bolsheviks. Because of this win Russia started the Soviet Union. Some other results of the war were; Russian economy devastated by the war, with factories and bridges destroyed, cattle and raw materials pillaged, mines flooded, and machines damaged. The industrial production value descended to one seventh of the value of 1913, and agriculture to one third.

Sources:
The Russian Civil War, Last Accessed 1/8/13, http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/russian_civil_war1.htm.
The Russian Civil War, Last Accessed 1/8/13, http://www.historyorb.com/russia/civil_war.php
The Russian Civil War, Last Accessed 1/8/13, http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/romeo/russia1918.htm