Twentieth Century History

10 Questions

What were the main factors that led to the rebuilding of Europe's economies and political systems after WWII?

EEC, Marshall Plan, and NATO

What led to Japan's economic growth during American occupation?

American occupation

What did the Soviet Union prioritize at the expense of consumer goods?

Heavy industry, agriculture, and military expenditure

How did China recover under the CCP?

Through collectivization and the Great Leap Forward

What was the result of Mao Zedong's attempts to eliminate inequalities through the Cultural Revolution?

A massive famine

What led to the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union?

Different political views

What put everyone on edge during the Cold War?

Arms race of nuclear weapons

What did both the US and Soviet Union do to spread their preferred political system?

Helped previous colonies become independent

What discredited communism and made capitalism look better?

Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary and Czechoslovakia

What was a common struggle for independence during decolonization?

Chaos, exploding populations, and ethnic conflicts

Study Notes

Europe rebuilt their economies and political systems due to the EEC, Marshall Plan, and NATO.
Japan's economy also grew under American occupation.
The Soviet Union focused on heavy industry, agriculture, and military expenditure at the expense of consumer goods.
China recovered under the CCP through collectivization and the Great Leap Forward.
Mao Zedong's attempts to eliminate inequalities through the Cultural Revolution resulted in a massive famine.
US and Soviet Union emerged as global superpowers after WWII with different political views, leading to the Cold War.
Arms race of nuclear weapons put everyone on edge.
Both US and Soviet Union helped previous colonies become independent to spread their preferred political system.
The Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary and Czechoslovakia discredited communism and made capitalism look better.
Decolonization was a struggle for independence.
The end of empires led to the mobilization of colonies' people and nationalism.
Decolonization happened due to pressures from nationalist movements.
Different countries had different movements and ideologies for independence.
After independence, developing countries faced chaos, exploding populations, and ethnic conflicts.
Economic disappointments, class resentments, and ethnic conflicts in Africa allowed for many military takeovers.
Globalization of democracy brought popular movements, multiparty elections, and new constitutions to many countries around the world.
The end of communism happened in three steps.
China's reforms led to economic growth and prosperity but also corruption and inequality.
Eastern European revolutions were from national self-determination and freedom from Soviet control.
Movements were mostly fragile alliances between groups with varying classes, ethnic groups, religions, or regions.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the rise of capitalist and trade union movements.
The decline towards capitalism made other communist countries in Eastern Europe follow in their footsteps.
After communism, Russia had a sharply contracting economy, widespread poverty, and inequality.
China completely abandoned a communist economy for a market economy, resulting in economic growth.
Vietnam and Laos remained communist but did some Chinese style reforms.
Cuba's economy took a hit after they stopped receiving help from the Soviet Union.
North Korea remained the most isolated and oppressive communist country.
The end of the Cold War did not mean peace as there was still conflict between major world powers.
The Middle East became a vortex of instability and conflict.
More global military spending led by the US resulted in more tensions.