Identification Questions
3.2 Party of the Institutionalized Revolution
The Party of the Institutionalized Revolution was a political party in Mexico that was created by Plutarco Elias Calles in 1929. It lasted for 71 years in power in the country, and was the largest political party in Mexico at the time. The party leans toward socialism but has been grouped together with other socialist-democratic government parties. The PIR is historically significant because of its different take on the idea of revolution and the government. Every revolution in history has been based on the idea of breaking down institutions and tearing apart the social system, while the PIR intended to do the complete opposite and build institutions. It also held power for a significantly long time, placing it an important factor in Mexican nationalism and imperialism.
3.3 Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a treaty that the Soviet Union had ratified with multiple other countries during the Cold War. Some of these countries include Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. The Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact in order to keep alliances during the conflicts with the United States and NATO. The Warsaw Pact is historically significant because of its large role in the Cold War. It held together the Soviet Union’s imperial power and ensured that the country had its allies regardless of the actions that it took, leading to the power that the Soviet Union had at the time. This power was the source of intimidation for the United States, leading to the increased tensions that caused the war.
3.4 Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh was a communist revolutionary in Vietnam during the twentieth century. He went on to become prime minister and president of North Vietnam. He was involved with many revolutions and movements in the struggle for Vietnamese independence, and is credited as one of the founding leaders of the Viet Cong at the time of the Vietnam War. He is historically significant because he was a leader and revolutionary in the Vietnamese independence movement, helping to form the Republic of Vietnam, which would later be renamed after him. He is therefore extremely important in regards to Vietnamese nationalism and imperialism as well as politics. He helped to shape the Vietnamese identity and political structure, allowing the people to have more say in the modern-style democracy.
3.6 Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is located in Beijing, China. It is a large square of land located in the center of the city and has been the location of many important political developments throughout Chinese history. It includes museums and monuments dedicated to significant historical Chinese people, such as Mao Zedong. Tiananmen Square is historically important mainly because it was the location of the 1989 protests for democracy in China, which resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths. During this time, protesters engaged in hunger strikes, and the government engaged in excessive force on the protesters. Most of these protesters were university students who did not agree with the communist rule of China. These protests showcase the historical conflict of China and its people, and have remained a significant part of Chinese political history.
3.7 Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a Sunni Islamic terrorist organization that is known for its militancy and extremism. It was founded by Osama Bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam in 1988 and is currently run by an Egyptian extremist named Ayman al-Zawahiri. Al-Qaeda is very historically significant because of its involvement in many devastating terrorist attacks and its role in current politics. Most notably, Al-Qaeda was responsible for the terrorist attacks of 9/11, which shook the planet and began the American War on Terror. These actions have caused modern events such as the Syrian refugee crisis that has dominated human rights in the last few years. Al-Qaeda is therefore historically important because it is one of the most notorious associations with terrorism today. Terrorist issues are important because they are a significant part of many aspects of today’s world, including nationalism, the military, and global politics.
3.10 Essay Question
Within the last few centuries of the world’s history, evidence has mounted to support the fact that science and technology define the modern world. Science and technology go hand in and one cannot exist without the other. Science is the structure that forms the basis of how technology can be developed and can offer explanations that technology can subsequently enhance. These two major developments have successfully infiltrated almost every single aspect of life since the beginning of modern civilization, but in the last three hundred years there has been a boom in development that has increased at a rapid rate. Since the 1700’s, society has become dependent on the inventions that have made life better, easier, and more effective. This includes areas such as medicine, weapons, government, wealth, and literature. Even the smaller inventions, like the ballpoint pen, have made some form of society easier and more comfortable for people in the world. Since the dawn of the Scientific Revolution, developments have been steadily increasing in regards to science and technology, and these developments have had a significant impact on the people of the modern world in many major ways, including through their thought processes, the way that wars are fought, and the logistics of society.
Over time, whenever there have been significant advancements in science, the way that people think has changed significantly. Scientific discovery is the reason that people no longer believed that the moon revolved around the Earth, or that the planet was flat. Discoveries such as Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity or Alexander Graham Bell’s development of the telephone have been able to show people the true ways that the world works, changing their belief systems with clear evidence. Before modern science, many people in the Western world simply followed what they were being told by the Church and the monarchy, which were usually working together. Science has developed free thought in the people of the world and encouraged the formation of many different belief systems, all which cohabitate in the same area. After the Scientific Revolution, which was the turning point in creating the modern thought process, people began to think of the world in terms of ideas and information instead of faith. The Scientific Revolution taught people that they could solve their own problems using science and technology (Lecture, p. 119) instead of relying on God to provide a solution for them. This allowed for more self-determination among the people in the world and showed them that they could think for themselves, and believe theories based on factual evidence. By inspiring this type of thought process, science and technology opened the minds of the people and made them more optimistic about the changes that were about to happen in regards to inventions and advancement. If people had not been open to these new thought processes, and were less inclined to partake in self-determination, they would not have embraced technological developments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with such ease.
Technology, developed by advancements in science, has changed almost every single aspect of war. What once used to consist of men charging at one another on horseback, drawing large spears, now consists of drone technology and nuclear weapons designed to destroy entire cities. In fact, technology is so vital to the development of war that “the history of warfare is also the history of technology” (Lecture, p. 130). Technology has allowed for the development of new weapons, fighter planes, communications technology, and transportation. Since about 1800, technology has advanced warfare to the point that it is now fought on a global scale instead of as smaller conflicts (Lecture, p. 131). The majority of the major developments to military tactics have occurred within the last century in particular. One of the most significant symbols of the way that technology has changed war is the example of the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. This was symbolic not only because of the fact that bombs could now be dropped from the sky, but because war had escalated to a point where civilians were no longer being spared. In August 1945, American forces dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing at least 100,000 people, and on Nagasaki, killing roughly 40,000 people (BBC History, Nuclear Power). The majority of these people were civilians who lived in the villages. In more recent years, the wars in the Middle East have used these tactics to kill more civilians than actual soldiers (Lecture, p. 131). In 2006, Israel used cluster bombs against Lebanon that killed thousands of people, both soldiers and civilians, prompting immediate discussion on humanitarian action against these specific weapons (Human Rights Watch, Israel’s Use of Cluster Bombs). Cluster bombs are notoriously dangerous because they can be launched both from air and on land, and they pose threats to civilians in two major ways; firstly, they do not always explode on time, which means they can linger around after the conflict and explode unexpectedly, and secondly, they are almost guaranteed to kill large numbers of civilians (Human Rights Watch, Israel’s Use of Cluster Bombs). The leftover bombs that unexpectedly go off later on killed at least 200 people in 2006 during this conflict between Israel and Lebanon (Human Rights Watch, Israel’s Use of Cluster Bombs). This is a prime example of how technology has shaped modern warfare in the current era because people are still using weapons that can kill hundreds of people at once, instead of firing a gun in a specified battlefield that sits away from any homes or villages. At the beginning of the twentieth century, soldiers were digging trenches and using cavalry on the battlefield. Just thirty years later, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki from an airplane. This means that war tactics and military advancements had the capacity to be revolutionized within a few short decades, and over a few centuries, thanks to science and technology.
Society has consistently changed in the way that it is structured as technology has progressed over time. Some of the most significant technological developments over the last three hundred years include electricity, the steam engine, the telegraph, and the Internet. Electricity was a broad invention that allowed for many other inventions to be created, such as the light bulb and heat. Electricity is the fuel that powers many of the technological devices that have been invented over time, and has allowed for more developments to be created. It opened the doors for many changes that would improve current technologies and help to advance new ones. In the early 1800’s steam power began to replace water in the factories and manufacturing facilities (Lecture, p. 126). Steam power allowed for the transfer of labor from humans to machines, introducing the origins of mass production and consumerism. It also allowed for more convenience and economic opportunity because factories could now be built anywhere in the country instead of in specific locations to rely on water power (Lecture, p. 126). It also allowed for the creation of railways, which were useful in industrializing Britain and the rest of the world as people could now transport themselves as well as products to other areas to increase trading routes. The telegraph was significant because it can be considered the basis for modern communication, which has become crucial to the way that society functions today. It was invented for military purposes, as the British and American armies needed a method of rapid communication during the looming threat of invasion from France in the 1800’s (Lecture, p. 144). The telegraph changed the way that people could keep in contact with one another and would lead to more modern inventions, such as the Internet. The most important piece of technology in the modern world is the invention of the Internet. Like the “Age of Electricity” and the “Steam Age,” today’s age is being labelled the “Internet Age.” The core of all modern technology rests on the Internet and its uses in creating the culture that is currently experienced all over the world. All of these inventions and developments have had a significant impact on the way that society functions, from the level of comfort that people enjoy in their lives to the economic development and wealth that individuals and organizations can gain.
Science and technology have shaped the modern world and have consequently become the defining factor for this era, especially in regards to human thought, war, and society. Science has progressively been able to change the way that people view the world, and allow them to see things for what they are instead of what others tell them. People have been able to determine their own futures and live their lives by doing something out of their own will instead of waiting for God to do something for them. Science has also led to the development of technology that has been implemented in society to better the lives of the people and shape governments, economies, and class hierarchies. Evolution has changed with technology, but humans have adapted to conditions that they now have control over. Science and technology have defined what modern society is, and will continue to do so within the future.
Works Cited
“Nuclear Power: The War Against Japan.” BBC History. The British Broadcasting Corporation,
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<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nuclear_01.shtml>
“Israel’s Use of Cluster Bombs Shows Need for Global Ban.” Human Rights Watch. Human
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<https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/02/17/israels-use-cluster-bombs-shows-need-global-ba
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Hepp, John H. “Lecture: Historical Foundations of the Modern World.” Lecture.
