Pragmatism and idealism in the process of nation-building (1781-1788)
Essay - 7 pages - Modern history
“Idealism without pragmatism is impotent. Pragmatism without idealism is meaningless. The key to effective leadership is pragmatic idealism.” (Richard Nixon). Were the very first years of the new nation, born of the American Revolution, marked by a “spirit of pragmatic...
South Africa: Colonial expansion and British consolidation
Essay - 3 pages - Modern history
History of South Africa's colonization is undoubtedly one of the most complex, partly due to the fact that several colonizing nations and several native tribes were in interaction. What kind of evolutions knew South Africa from the second part of the 17th century to the end of the 19th century...
When the Japanese moved into Southeast Asia in 1941, local reactions to the occupying forces differed greatly. Evaluate the motivations that fueled these varying responses, taking into consideration particular local situations and periods of the war
Essay - 5 pages - Modern history
Raising the question of the reactions to the Japanese takeover in Southeast Asia is very delicate and original for many reasons. Firstly, Southeast Asia is a broad region and it is most likely that the reactions of locals will differ greatly from one place to another. Secondly, there is not one...
Preparing the Great War: The Schlieffen Plan
Essay - 3 pages - Modern history
Between 1905 and 1914, due to the instability of Europe dominated by alliances, every country in Europe was preparing for the war and developing war plans and strategies, which had to suit their conceptions of the war. Germany, which was allied with Austria-Hungary (which had a poor army), feared...
What to call the genocides of the Second World War and why?
Essay - 8 pages - Modern history
“Historians are not always trustful guides when we have to reconstitute past”. Those words, of Lucy DAWIDOWICZ -an American historian who wrote quite a lot of books about the historiography of genocides- directly aimed at criticizing historians of genocides, who treated the murder by...
Was terror an integral part of the mentality of the revolutionaries in France?
Thesis - 4 pages - Modern history
No part of the Revolution calls as much pictures to mind as the “Terror”. The endless lines of people waiting to be guillotined, the Committee of Public Safety with the heartless figure of Maximilien Robespierre, Marat's corpse lying in his bath... more and more bloody pictures...
France under the Fifth Republic
Thesis - 7 pages - Modern history
The French Fourth Republic collapsed following the rise of the civil war in Algeria. Its lack of stability, which was a consequence of its parliamentary structure and the weaknesses of its parties, did not manage to survive this major crisis, and pointed out the need for a stronger executive...
Radicalization of the French Revolution, from 1789 to the end of 1794
Thesis - 5 pages - Modern history
The French Revolution is often depicted as a process of growing violence, underpinned by more and more radical theories. Indeed, a Manichean view often leads people to believe that France was peaceful in the beginning of 1789, and turned violent and radical in 1793. In other word, it is often...
The reasons behind decolonization
Thesis - 5 pages - Modern history
Between the two world wars, colonialism reached its zenith. Geographically first: at this time, colonial empires were indeed established in every continent, notably in Africa where France and Britain had the lion's share. Economically speaking, the context of economic slump and protectionism...
"The major parties of the Federal Republic of Germany provide better models of the 'catch-all party' (Kirchheimer) than do those of the French Fifth Republic and post-war Italy." Discuss
Essay - 3 pages - Modern history
The Post war period was characterized by move towards spreading secular and mass consumer-goods societies. This note is valid in the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Fifth Republic, and post-war Italy. This major turn in societies had to be understood by political parties and translated in...
Japan and China in the 1930's
Tutorials/exercises - 11 pages - Modern history
At the end of the XIXth century, the dominant position of European powers and of the United States in the Far East remained unmistakable. In fact, the European powers occupied Indochina and shared the occupation of China. Asia remained a stifled continent. But at the end of the century, Japan,...
The Constituent Assembly (1789-1791) and its major reforms during the French Revolution
Essay - 2 pages - Modern history
The Constituent Assembly is the Assembly in power in France between July, 9th 1789 and September, 30th 1791. On July 9th 1789, the National Assembly (created on 17th June) proclaims itself the Constituent National Assembly. This means its primary task will be to draw up a Constitution and adopt...
Discuss the origins of the French Revolution - economically, politically, socially, and ideologically
Essay - 3 pages - Modern history
“Great revolutions which succeed make the causes which produced them disappear, and thus become incomprehensible because of their own success” (1), wrote Alexis de Tocqueville one hundred and fifty years ago. Yet, we will try all the same to understand what the origins of the French...
Impact of the French Revolution on 19th century France
Essay - 9 pages - Modern history
It is quite difficult to discuss the impact of the French revolution on the French society for the country had difficulty accessing stability in the 19th century. Indeed the intervening decades witnessed four major upheavals: in the 1790s, 1830, 1848 and 1870, which brought a whole variety of...
Transition Macedonia
Essay - 20 pages - Modern history
Throughout the centuries, the South-eastern corner of Europe has been the scene of many invasions and transcending civilizations. This left the trace of different cultures, religions and empires. One of the most evident cleavages in the region is religious cleavage between the Catholic Church,...
The government of the Iroquois
Thesis - 9 pages - Modern history
The Iroquois confederation, also called the League of Nation was a confederation of five Nations. These Nations of Iroquois were the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas and the Senecas). A sixth Nation (the Tuscaroras) joined the confederation in the early eighteenth century. They...
What were the major impacts of World War One on British society?
Thesis - 6 pages - Modern history
One could argue that World War One did not have a huge impact on British society compared to the Second World War. However, the conflict was soon called the ‘Great War' in Britain, and it was the first time that the whole society was involved in the war effort. A new type of war had reached...
The civil rights movement - From counters to subs
Essay - 7 pages - Modern history
The Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery (speech by Lincoln Sept.23nd 1862 ? 13th amendment in 1865); the 14th amendment declared everyone equal and the 15th gave the right to vote provided some very restrictive conditions were met. Between the Civil War and the 50's, however, the South...
The truths we cling to: Un-Americanism and the Dies Committee
Essay - 5 pages - Modern history
What does it mean to be ‘un-American?' For most of the twentieth century, a congressional committee took upon itself the mission of defining that vague and often misused term. The committee went through different iterations and attacked different targets. By 1946, one thing was clear: the...
Slavery and politics in early America
Thesis - 6 pages - Modern history
The legal practice of slavery in the United States of America ended on December 6th, 1865 with the passage of the 13th amendment to the Constitution. In the wake of the terrible carnage of the American Civil War, people have tried to make sense over what the hundreds of thousands of lives were...
The effect of black soldiers in the Civil War
Essay - 9 pages - Modern history
Throughout the history of the United States, Africans and African-Americans have consistently been treated as second-class citizens. This prejudice is most apparent and appalling in the system of slavery that lasted for more than two hundred years in the United States. In the 1800's tensions over...
The battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943
Essay - 9 pages - Modern history
The year is 1942. Nazi gains in the Soviet Union and North Africa have brought the Allies to the verge of destruction, while Japan continues to conquer island after island in the Pacific. Even Australia is in full panic mode, as occupied New Guinea seems likely to serve as the staging point for...
The historical conditions for the emergence of youth in Italian society
Essay - 5 pages - Modern history
To analyze history is to delve into a world of a complex mixture of social, political, economic, and technological interaction. Indeed, it is these elements that define and furthermore provide some form of a substantive characterization of the civilizations and societal structures that have...
The Meiji restoration and the dawning of Japanese modernity
Essay - 9 pages - Modern history
The Meiji Ishin, or Meiji Restoration culminated in 1868 in the abolition of the feudal Tokugawa bakufu and made way for the modern, Westernized Japan. The mid nineteenth century was a time of vast development around the world, and Japan was falling behind the industrialized nation states of...
Analyzing Oswald's relationship with the FBI
Essay - 4 pages - Modern history
The United States intelligence community is comprised of people who live their lives according to a code of conduct and the orders they receive from superior members of their hierarchical “family”. Members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation work closely with the United States...
Aboriginal Australians - Black response to white dominance 1788 - 1980
Essay - 8 pages - Modern history
It seems that a sad hallmark of indigenous peoples is their oppression and systematic elimination at the hands of foreigners. The Native American marginally survives today after centuries of conflict with Europeans. The Ainu of Japan were nearly entirely wiped out by half a millennium of...
How Peter the Great's window to the West empowered Russia
Essay - 4 pages - Modern history
It was during Peter the Great's reign that Russia emerged as a prevailing European power. This advancement of Russia into European affairs would be accredited to Peter's introduction of Western technological, cultural, military and political ideas and customs. Peter's changes would begin during...
How imperial Asian activity contributed to the causes of the First World War
Essay - 7 pages - Modern history
Imperialism is the policy of expanding national territory and influence. Throughout the nineteenth century Europe immersed itself in an embroiled colonial race that caused rivalries and friendships that were forever altering with every move. Central and eastern Asia was an area of particular...
Ending the reign of a crime king: The taking down of Al Capone
Essay - 9 pages - Modern history
The city of Chicago, Illinois has experienced numerous monumental periods and events during its history. From the famous Chicago Fire to the creation of the world's tallest building, it is quite easy to declare Chicago's past to be very eventful. With any form of history, there are positive and...
Trials and Triumphs: A look at the leadership of the nation of Islam 1930-2005
Essay - 5 pages - Modern history
The Nation of Islam is defined as “a religious and political organization founded in the United States in 1930 with a declared aim of resurrecting the spiritual, mental, social and economic condition of the Black man and woman of America and the world.” When the Nation of Islam was...
