WAW: Overview

An image shows a Holocaust memorial with the words "Lest we forget" inscribed in stone.World at War: 1850 - 1950 CE

Introduction

Considering all of the heads that rolled in the last module, you probably thought the topic of a world at war had been covered. But those were domestic disputes, for the most part.

You might have thought we were done with all of the revolutions - there were revolutions in just about every region of the world in the previous module. However, the one that impacted humanity the most hadn’t happened yet.

The revolutions and wars weren’t over and in fact, were about to culminate in a series of large-scale global conflicts. In this unit, we look at what happens when the world goes to war with itself - not once, but twice - culminating in the explosion of the atomic bomb - not once, but twice. (Clearly, the world needs a learning curve.) Here we delve into the causes and effects of "the war to end all wars" and learn that one of those effects was another war. Brace yourself, it will get ugly and eventually...cold.

Essential Questions

  • Why did the Industrial Revolution happen?
  • How did the Industrial Revolution impact people that lived through it? How did it impact people where Industrialism didn’t occur?
  • How did people resist imperialism?
  • Why were nationalism, alliances, and militarism so important in leading up to World War I?
  • How did World War I alter the atlas?
  • Were all of the conditions outlined in the Treaty of Versailles met?
  • What signs of impending doom were overlooked leading up to World War II?
  • How did Hitler's vision for Germany and the Third Reich come to fruition? How did it end?
  • What were the global effects of World War II?

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

Key Terms

The Industrial Revolution: Britain, the US, German, and Japan

The Rise of Nationalism

Imperialism: Asia, Africa, and Latin America

Early Anti-Imperialist Movements: Africa and Asia

World War I

The Russian Revolution

Anti-Imperialism Between World Wars

Causes of World War II

World War II

The Holocaust

World War II Negotiations

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