worldhistorymrsd

Introduction and Beginning of WW II

I am a retired history teacher.  I taught for 36 years in middle school and high school.  This included honors classes in middle school and high school and International Baccalaureate classes in high school.   During that time I amassed a lot of information that I would like to pass on.  I particularly like the odd bits of information that make history interesting.  This interest was initially fostered by college history teachers and a newspaper column written by L.M. Boyd in the Orange County Register and The Daily Pilot.  He has since retired but he influenced many of my classes and made them more interesting to students.  As well as using items from his column I started a search of my own that has lasted over 40 years.  Trivia is denoted by *** so look for those if you like the odd facts in history.  Many authors and teachers have contributed to my knowledge and enjoyment of history over this time.  Hopefully what I have gathered will interest you! 

Information will be placed on this site by unit, in the form of the lecture notes (so don't look for perfect punctuation) I used in class. Look through to find what areas you find interesting. It will take some time to post them all.  If you have a particular area of interest that is not yet on the site let me know and I'll see if I can help you out.  I would love to hear from you in the comments on how you feel about the blog (deneffs@sbcglobal.net).  Feel free to copy anything you can use.  If it can enrich your knowledge or your students I will feel repaid for writing this blog.  If you are a middle school teacher or student I have put in my notes for 6th grade (Early Civilizations, Greeks, and Romans).  The notes for 7th grade (Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation) are in progress.  I stopped teaching Middle School Social Science just as the state framework changed so I do not have much information on the Third World countries.  I will eventually post what I have, but it is sparse.  Sorry 8th graders but American history is not my thing.

Good luck and good teaching!  Sue

The order they have been recorded:

• World War II
• The Holocaust
• Inter War Years
• The Rise of Dictators
• World War I
• Russian Revolution
• Cold War
• Korean War
• Vietnam
• China
• Japan
• Absolutism - England - Tudors
• Absolutism - England - Stuarts
• Absolutism - France
• Absolutism - Russia
• Imperialism
• French Revolution
• Napoleon
• Early Man (this is the beginning of the 6th grade material)
• Mesopotamia
• Egypt
• Hittites
• Phoenicians
• Hebrews
• Assyrians
• Persians
• Greeks
• Rome - Republic and Carthage
• Rome - Julius Caesar
• Rome - Augustus (Octavian)
• Rome - Tiberius
• Rome - Caligula
• Rome - Claudius
• Rome - Nero
• Rome - Trajan
• Rome - Hadrian
• Rome - Recreation - The Games
• Rome - Religion - Decline
• Rome - Fall of the Empire
• Middle Ages - The Church (This is the beginning of the 7th grade material)
• Middle Ages - Franks
• Middle Ages - Barbarian Invasions
• Feudalism - Knights
• Feudalism - Serfs
• Feudalism - Medicine
• Feudalism - The Catholic Church/Crusades - First, Second and Third
• Feudalism - Fourth Crusade, Children's Crusade, Fifth Crusade and others
• Middle Ages - Towns
• Middle Ages - Family
• Middle Ages - End
• Renaissance
• Reformation
• Counter Reformation - Catholic Reformation and Religious wars
• Witchcraft Trials - Europe
• Witchcraft Trials - Salem, Mass
• Industrial Revolution
• Mongols - Genghis Khan, Ogadei, Invasion of Europe, Kubli Khan, Timur the Lame (Tamerlane)
• Mughl Empire - India  - in progress

The following are ones I am planning to do next, so check back to see them.

• Ottomans  
• Islam
• Africa
• Explorers

A web site you might want to check out is http://score.rims.k12.ca.us.  This is put up by the California Department of Education and has wonderful lesson plans, especially if you have use of a computer lab.

Teachers there are some wonderful books called Lessons in World History and Lessons in American History.  These are self contained units that you can use to supplement your material.  There level is a little high for middle school (but this is where I primarily used them) and a little low for high school, but I still found many places they could be applied.  They also have books of quizzes and tests that go along with them.  I bought mine from Social Studies School Services, a great vendor if you are not familiar with this company.  The books are pricey but well worth the money!

Here is an idea for the classroom, from Gary Horton, Grayson County High School, Independence, Virginia, called Tall Tales Tell Tremendous Truth.  Give the students a location and time period - say, Great Britain, 1942.  Then ask one student to develop a character and tell, in one minute, as much about that character as he or she can.  The next student in line then adds another character to the story, using a connection to the previous character,  This continues until all students have added characters.  Each student keeps a running character list to be used as a guide in writing an essay about one or more of the characters.

A source of trivia that I have really enjoyed reading is Oh, Yikes! History's Grossest, Wackiest Moments by Joy Masoff, Workman Publishing, New York.  This book is written on about a middle school level and covers things in both World and American history.  It would be a good addition to a school library or you own personal library!

A new book that I have just purchased is the Handy History Answer Book.  I found this at Borders(Dec. 9, 2007), on sale for $5.99.  It is also on Amazon.com and I saw a used copy for $.49.  It is a great book to get short, concise answers in a variety of areas.  Both American and World History.  I wish I had had it when I was teaching.  It is a great go to book for fast answers.

Note: The book I refer to in the notes is Eyewitness to History by John Carey.  I found it used on Amazon.com.  It covers a multitude of areas and is a good addition to a history library.

World War II

*** "Sig heil" means onward to victory

*** 1939

• Radar stations are used in Britain to give early warning of approaching enemy aircraft.  Radar was not yet on planes.
• Nylon stocking first appear
• Igor Sikorsly (Russian - American) constructs the first helicopter - 1940 is the first successful flight

***  When dirigibles were built they were considered a nonrigid airship, like a balloon.  As opposed to a rigid airship, like a plane.   The first Navy dirigible was called the "A-Limp," the second model was the "B-Limp."  That''s where the name blimp comes from.  (This information came from the book Counterattack  p. 60 by W.E.B. Griffin.  Mr. Griffin writes novels about the military and they are very well researched.  This particular book is from his series The Corp about the Marines in World War II.)

***  The Quonset hut was invented at the Quonset Point Naval Station consequently its name.  It was originally thought of as an easy to erect shelter - sort of a portable warehouse - not as barracks.  (This also came from the book Counterattack p. 320.)

Poland

• Germany has been making aggressive moves on the Poles ever since the annexation of the rump of Czechoslovakia in early 1939
• The Poles had built up their military and hoped to stop the Germans following the annexation of Czechoslovakia the British and the French had promised full support of Poland
• Germany demanded the city of Danzig - when refused they invaded
• The attack came September 1, 1939
• During the interwar period the Germans had developed a new approach to warfare called Blitzkrieg ("lightning war").  Its purpose was to prevent a repeat of the horrors of the trenches in World War I.
• Blitzkrieg called for the rapid movement of troops and tanks working together in military groups called Panzer Divisions
• Additionally airplanes would bomb the enemy behind the lines and create greater confusion.  The plane they used was the Stuka- abbreviation of the German word Sturzkampfflugzeug - literal translation "dive-bomber."
• The Poles were quickly overwhelmed - most resistance was over in 3 days
• Warsaw, the capital, fought until September 27, 1939 (the Warsaw ghetto held out for 9 months Sept. 21 1942 - May 15, 1943.  300,000 had been there - 65,000 were there when the resistance began.  Size 1000 X 300 yards.  ( The book Mila 18 by Leon Uris gives a wonderful description of the fight in the Warsaw ghetto in fiction form.  It is very well researched.  There actually was an address Mila 18.)
• The British and French honored their promises to the Poles and declared war on Germany - Sept. 3 - then did nothing.
• Sept. 17, 1939 - Russia invades Poland from the east.  They claimed "to protect their own frontiers."  Actually they seized their 1/3 of Poland promised under the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
• Sept. 28 - Russia and Germany divided Poland
• 1940 Russian forces Finland to lease them land.

PHONY WAR (aka "SITZKRIEG")

• the next 7 months are quiet. 
• While Poland was destroyed the British and French prepared for a German attack in the west at the Maginot Line. (The series The World At War (#3) shows the Maginot Line.)
• Sept. 1939 - April 1940 the two sides confronted each other with out attacking
• The Allies were not confident enough to launch an attack
• The Germans were still hoping to negotiate a treaty.

***During World War II the German was called a "Jerry."  This was British slang or a chamber pot.  It referred to the distinctive shape of their helmet.

ATTACK IN THE WEST

In April Hitler decided that the Allies would not negotiate so the attack began.

April 9, 1940 Germany quickly overran Denmark and Norway. 

• Denmark surrendered almost immediately.  There was little opposition. (King Christian X)
• Norway had a 5th column of spies and German sympathizers that helped the invaders and were traitors.  Led by Vidkun Quisling.  He became head of a puppet government in Norway.

• After the first shock the Norwegians began to fight back.  They helped the British and the French who were driven out in June.

As a result of these invasions Winston S. Churchill ( 5'8" tall) takes over from Neville Chamberlain in May, 1940.

May 10, 1940 Germany enters Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Germans race to the coast and isolate the Allied forces in Belgium from the main force in France.

Luxembourg fell in one day.

The Netherlands fell in 5 days.

Belgium lasted 18 days and surrendered May 28 (King Leopold III)

GESTAPO

• full title - Geheime Staatspolizli - Secret State Police
• leader Himmler
• brilliant and ruthless detectives
• established by Goring in Prussia on April 26, 1933
• task to witch-hunt all opponents of the Nazis
• brutal force the basic method
• knew it the agent could hold out 48 hours his contacts would have time to disperse
• 1st beat him - slaps, punches, kicks and abuse until near unconsciousness
• 2nd revived - "soft" treatment - handcuffs loosened - cigarette, coffee, food - not too long
• 3rd redoubled ferocity of the first
• ex. (all done to one agent) - naked, chain around his ankles in a bath with icy water.  Hosted by his feet - head under water until he passed out - revived.  Done again and again.  Hands handcuffed bhind his back and he was hoisted by them until his shoulders were dislocated.  Beatings with rubber hose.

FALL OF FRANCE

The Allies expected the Germans to come through Belgium (just like 1914) - they concentrated their forces along the Belgian frontier

The French considered the Maginot Line impregnable

June 5, 1940 - The Germans attacked through a small gap in the Maginot Line (Ardennes Woods)

Maginot was quickly encircled and rendered useless... all of it's heavy guns faced Germany and could not be turned.

In 4 days the French were in retreat

Happened so fast the British did not have time to send for help

June 10 - Italy entered the war - invaded a small part of the coast of Southern France - kept French troops tied down

The Germans then swung north towards the English Channel...the goal was to cut off the allied armies on the Belgian frontier from the rest of France - it worked

Nearly 340,000 allied troops were trapped on the coast at the city of

Dunkirk

• Germans halted about 20 miles away - RAF kept the German bombers away (a good description of this is in Eyewitness to History -p 531 - Dunkirk: The Beaches, 1 June 1940)
• More than 336,00 escape- * The British called out all boats that could cross the channel.  This included pleasure boat, fishing boats, sail boats and anything that could hold soldiers and carry them back to Britain.
• the way this was handled caused a great deal of anger in France
• the British did not tell France of plans to remove the British army - they urged the French to keep fighting
• during the first days of the evacuation they did not allow the French to board the vessels - at least one time they fired on the French to enforce this - only after all the British soldiers were saved did they allow the Frence (27,000) to evacuate to England - France perceived this to be Britian trying to sacrifice the French arm to the Germans

some historians believe Hitler allowed the escape because he believed it would be easier to negotiate a peace with the British if he spared them

with the Allied armies destroyed the rest of France was undefended

Surrender

• On June 20, 1940 the German army marched into Paris...what the Kaiser could not do in 4 years Hitler accomplished in 6 weeks
• Premier Henri Philippe Petain surrendered...the Third Republic was over
• Signed the armistice June 22  at Compiegne Forest - in the same railroad car the Germans had signed the treaty ending WW I - The Germans blew up the car when they left
• The Germans divide France in two zones - German troops in the north and west - Petain set up the Vichy Government in the south - this replaced the disgraced Third Republic - Vichy controlled the French Colonies as  well

Most French supported the new government and considered the war over for France

Now Britain stood alone

A few thousand French troops fled to Britain...they will become the "Free French" (led by General Charles DeGaulle in London) - he kept in touch with the French by radio

I was sent this on the internet and I assume that it is true although I have no other verification.

 ***  WWII and Monopoly*

*You would think by now that every significant, or even modestly interesting, fact about World War II had been unearthed and posted on the Internet. You might have to do some digging, of course, but somewhere in Cyberland, you can find out the brand name of Field Marshal Montgomery's favorite toothpaste!

So we were amazed, and hugely intrigued, by a revelatory piece that appeared recently on the ever-fascinating website Mental Floss. The article, entitled "World War II Weapon: Monopoly With Real Money", recounts the following amazing story:

Starting in 1941, increasing numbers of British airmen found themselves as the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and the Crown was casting about for ways and means to facilitate their escape. Now obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful, accurate map, one showing not only w h ere-stuff-was, but also showing the locations of "safe houses" a POW on-the-lam could go to for food and shelter.

Paper maps had real drawbacks: they make a lot of noise when you open and fold them, they wear-out rapidly, and if they get wet, they turn into mush. Someone in the MI-5 branch (one hopes it was the youthful incarnation of "Q"!), got the idea of printing escape maps on silk. It's durable, can be scrunched-up into tiny wads and unfolded as many times as needed, and makes no noise whatever.

At that time, there was only one manufacturer in Great Britain that had perfected the technology of printing on silk, and that was John Waddington, Ltd. When approached by HM Government, the firm was only too happy to do its bit for the war effort.

By pure coincidence, Waddington's was also the U.K. licensee for the popular American board game, Monopoly. As it happened, "games and pastimes" was a category of item qualified for insertion into "CARE packages" dispatched by the International Red Cross to prisoners of war of all belligerents.

Under strictest secrecy, in a securely guarded and inaccessible old workshop on the grounds of Waddington's, a group of sworn-to-secrecy employees began mass-producing escape maps, keyed to each region of Germany or Italy where Allied POW camps were located (Red Cross packages were delivered to prisoners in accordance with that same regional system). When processed, these maps could be folded into such tiny dots that they would actually fit inside a Monopoly playing piece

As long as they were at it, the clever workmen at Waddington's also managed to add:

A playing token containing a small magnetic compass A two-part metal file that could easily be screwed together Useful amounts of genuine high-denomination German, Italian and French currency hidden within the piles of Monopoly money! British and American air crews were advised, before taking off on their first missions, on how to identify a "rigged" Monopoly set - by means of a tiny red dot, one cleverly rigged to look like an ordinary printing glitch, located in the corner of the Free Parking square! Of the estimated 35,000 Allied POWS who successfully escaped, perhaps one-third were aided in their flight by the rigged Monopoly sets. Everyone who did so was sworn to secrecy indefinitely - HM Government might want to use this highly successful ruse in another, future war.

The story wasn't declassified until 2007, when the surviving craftsmen from Waddington's, as well as the firm itself, were finally honored in a public ceremony.

At any rate, it's always nice when you can play that "Get Out of Jail Free" card! *

Balkans

BALKANS

A minor "theater" of war

In 1937 Mussolini had occupied Albania...as the Germans racked up triumph after triumph Mussolini sought victories of his own.

Oct., 1940 -Germany entered Romania on the pretext of protecting its oil fields and reorganizing its army

In 1940 Italy attacked Greece expecting and easy victory...they were surprised

Mussolini demanded the right to bases in Greece- they refused - he sent an army across the border (hadn't notified Hitler)

Greeks fought savagely, forced Italy back to Albania and nearly drove them out of Albania

Hitler was forced to send Mussolini assistance...this diversion into the Balkans was critical in delaying the attack on the Soviets - instead of launching the attack in May, 1941 the attack did not begin until late June, 1941

German troops occupied Greece and Yugoslavia...stiff resistance in the area tied down thousands of Axis troops who could not be devoted to the Russian front

Hungary and Romania joined the Axis in November and Bulgaria a short time later

Yugoslavia signed an Axis pact - the people revolted against the pro-German ministers

• German troops poured in
• In 12 days the Yugoslavian army was destroyed
• Guerrillas kept fighting
• Hitler used Yugoslavia as a base to help the Italians in Greece
• German troops entered Athens April 27, 1941 - handed over the country to Italy

Russia and Germany uneasy partners

Russia had attacked Finland Nov. 30, 1939 - Finns surrendered March, 1940 - they fought for 3 months

Summer of 1940 Russia seized Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Rudolph Hess flew to Great Britain May, 1941 - He said to work out a peace with Britain - they threw him in jail - *** he would become the last prisoner to be kept in the Tower of London - he also was the last prisoner in Spandau prison where he committed suicide at age 92 ( A very good book to read about this prison is Spandau - written by Albert Speer who spent 25 years there.)

INVASION OF RUSSIA

INVASION OF RUSSIA

This was the long expected showdown between Nazi Germany and Communist Russia

June 22, 1941

Began a two front war

Stalin had ignored numerous warnings

Blitzkrieg    - Means "lightening war."

• 150 divisions ( 3 million men) vs. 2 million Russians
• The ill-prepared Red Army was pushed back deep into the Soviet Union
• ***  One of the strong points of the Russian army were their snipers.  Not only did they have men but there were 2000 women snipers.  Of this number only 500 women survived the war. (Source: The History Channel program "Snipers: World's Deadliest Snipers." )
• Initially the advancing Germans were well-received by the Soviet population
• By Nov., 1941 the Germans had reached the gates of Moscow (this would be the farthest they would get) and Leningrad
• battle line 2,000 miles long - from the Arctic to the Baltic Sea
• Germans said they were saving the world from Bolshevism
• Germans confident - thought it would be a short war - no preparation for a long struggle - didn't issue winter uniforms - vehicled not prepared for winter
• In 5 weeks they drove the Russians back - took 1000's of prisoners
• killing squads (Einstazgruppen) followed the troops and rounded up the Jews and killed them. (There is an excellent description of this in The Holocaust by Nora Levin on p. 242 - This book is available on Amazon.com.  I saw one for sale for $.23 plus shipping.  It is a fabulous book the covers every country in Europe and relates what the Germans did and how the people reacted.)
• As the Soviets moved back they set mines and booby traps everywhere they could.  *** One sailor armed only with a Molotov cocktail died throwing himself under a tank.  In another case, a Soviet died beside a German tank where he wrote a message in his own blood: "I die, but my country and the Party will win."
• Russians were helped by the Allies (materials)
• The world thought Russia would collapse

WINTER

• The arrival of winter cold caught the Germans unprepared
• The Soviets went on the offensive
• The soviet used the "scorched earth" forced the Germans to depend on long supply lines - Germans needed vast supplies of food, petroleum, and other raw materials
• The Soviets "moved" thousands of factories east of the Ural Mountains out of range of the Germans
• To rally the support of the Soviet people Stalin turned it into the "Great Patriotic War" - a crusade for Russia, not communism
• Religion was even revived for the war effort
• General Zhukov and his Siberian troops drove the Germans back a few hundred miles
• But, the winter turned to spring and the German offensive began anew in 1942

Stalingrad

• In the 1942 campaign the Axis armies changed their focus to the oil fields of the Caucasus Mountains - Germany needed oil
• The city of Stalingrad dominated this region - it became the focus of the turning point battle of the war
• August the German 6th Army drove south to Stalingrad (on the Volga River) - it held firm - both sides determined to hold this city
• The battle became a disaster for the Germans and the beginning of the end for the Axis forced
• In 2 months the Russians surrounded the 6th Arm and destroyed it - ***The German generals wanted to retreat.  Hitler replied, " If you can't win, stay there and die."
• Germans surrendered Jan. 31, 1943
• The original force was 350,000 men
• Captured 90,000
• About 6,000 eventually returned to Germany after the war
• Hitler's first major defeat - a turning point

Occupied Europe

Occupied Europe

The German occupation ranged from brutal to merely repressive depending on the ethnic nature of the population

Poland and Russia suffered the worst

Scandinavia and the Low Countries were the "best" treated

In some of the occupied areas pro-Nazi collaborationist governments arose

• Vichy France under Petain
• Norway under Vidkun Quisling (he actually betrayed his own government)
• Slovakia
• Croatia

In many of the occupied countries there was a sense that the Germans were "saving" Europe from communism - thousands volunteered for service in the SS

most Europeans considered the Germans to be invincible and thought that resistance was futile

as the war continued, especially after the attack on the Soviet Union resistance movements began to spring up all over Europe

• dominated by communist groups
• the best example was in Yugoslavia where Josef Broz ("Tito") led    d. 1980  he led a highly effective communist "partisan army"

America Joins the War/Pearl Harbor

America Joins the War - F.D.R. president

• 1939 - stopped shipments of arms to warring nations - later allowed  "cash and carry" - by the end of 1940 British almost out of money
• March 11,1941 Lend Lease bill passed - next 4 years the U.S. sent the Allies more the $50 billion in war materials - armaments
• began to build the army - Draft Law - Sept. 16, 1940
• women also served - eventually in almost every theater of war - clerks, cooks, mechanics, drivers, nurses
• America very pro China - one reason was that many missionaries (Old China Hands) were related to people in politics ( ***  Roosevelt's cousin was one).  These people talked about how wonderful China was and were able to convince the government - at one point the American government censored anything written that was good about Japan

Japan

• undeclared war between Japan and China began in 1937
• 1938 - U.S. gave China $25 million credit - stopped exporting aircraft to Japan
• 1940 - Japan occupied Indochina - U.S. stopped shipping gasoline, iron, steel and rubber - froze Japans assets
• 1941 - stopped shipping crude oil
• when the crude oil is stopped Japan decides to conquer oil wells south of them - they believed if they did this the U.S. would attack them -Yamamoto disagreed (he had lived in the U.S. and taken classes at Harvard) but he was out voted so he planned the attack

Turning the Tide

On Dec. 7,1941 the Japanese attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

It was planned by Isoroku Yamamoto b. 1884

• ***he had lost 2 fingers in the war with Russia - if it had been 3 fingers he would have been out of the navy
• He was against attacking the U.S - he felt they would eventually lose because the U.S. was too strong
• High command believed in one big battle (this would dominate their strategy during the whole war) after winning the Battle of Tsushima Strait against the Russians - May 27,1905

Japan - Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo led the attack

Japan - 6 carriers - Kaga (Increased Joy), Adagi (Red Castle), Hiryu (Flying Dragon), Soryu (Green Dragon), Zuikaku (Happy Crane), Shokaku (Soaring Crane)

Sent out planes when 230 miles from Pearl - 1st wave 183 planes

• used the Zero
• ***   Named for the last 2 digits of the Japanese year 2600 (1940) when the plane went into production - fuselage markings "OO"
• ***  In the mid 1930's Howard Hughes designed a plane he said was the fastest in the sky.  He flew from California to New Jersey at an average speed of 332 mph.  U.S. Army turned it down so he sold it to the Japanese.  This is the plane that became the Zero

As the planes approach Pearl Harbor they are mistaken for some expected Flying Fortresses (B-17's - these planes later showed up in the middle of the battle low on gas and not armed)

Sighted at Pearl Harbor about 0750

Sank the Arizona - 1117 died along with Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd - total crew of 1511 - Arizona's Length 812 1/2' beam 106 3/4'

Depth of water rarely more than 35' (Japanese had to develop special torpedoes for the shallow water)

0715 second wave launched - 170 planes - hit at 8:40 - Ford Island, Wheeler and Hickham Field and the flying boat station a Kaneohe

Also launched 5 midget subs (ineffective - killed or captured)

American losses - 2,403 killed - 1,178 wounded

Japanese losses - 29 planes - 55 airmen - 5 midget subs

(A good description to read to the class is Pearl Harbor (p. 547) in Eyewitness to History)

Also bombed: Philippines, Hong Kong, Wake Island, Malaya, Guam, Midway

Dec. 8, 1941 - U.S. declared war against Japan

• One voted against - Jeannette Rankin - House of Representatives from Montana - she justified her vote with "a good democracy" does not vote unanimously for war - she was a pacifist - she was not reelected

Dec. 11, 1941 - Germany and Italy declared war on the  U.S. then Congress declared war on them

Senior Commander - Pearl Harbor

• Admiral Husband E. Kimmel (1882 - 1968)
• Lt. General Walter C. Short ( 1880 - 1949)
• Dismissed for "errors of judgment"
• ***  Nimitz had been offered this command but turned it down - he anticipated what happened to these 2 men

The aircraft carriers were not in port and they were what held the Japanese back

• Enterprise
• Hornet
• Yorktown

After this the U.S. will assist both the British and the Soviets.  This will allow these countries to wage a more credible war effort

North Africa

Point of reference

Axis - Germany, Italy, Japan, Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Thailand

Allies - Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States, China, approximately 40 other nations (check an encyclopedia if you want a list)

North Africa

• Italy had controlled Libya since before the First World War - they had also seized Ethiopia in 1935
• In 1940 the Italians launched a major effort at seizing the Suez Canal - the campaign was a disaster - the heavily outnumbered British (British 8th Army under General Bernard Montgomery) defenders routed the Italians  - the Italians were driven back into Libya
• Mussolini was forced to call on Hitler for aid
• Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps were sent
• The British were pushed back deep into Egypt
• The North African campaign would seesaw back and forth - taking and losing land over and over ( British )
• May 1942 Rommel's Afrika Korps, and Italian troops began an offensive - took Tobruk in Libya - moved toward Egypt - July halted - strong British resistance and supply shortage at El Alamein, Egypt
• October the British took the offensive under General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery - rolled on to Tripoli and Southern Tunisia - major turning point of the war

Operation Torch

• November 8, 1942
• Allied landing at Algeria and Morocco
• Under Lt. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
• ***  Eisenhower was a heavy smoker, smoking 4 packs of cigarettes a day. 
• First large scale American and British joint attack (amphibious)
• American forces were landed in Morocco (Vichy Ruled) and the British squeezed the Germans/Italians from the east - the Americans from the west
• *** This area had been checked out by spies before the assault - they swam in to the coast in wool sweaters and corduroy pants ( wet suits had not been invented - they were during the war  because of things like this)
• They were afraid the French fleet would fire on them but with few exceptions the French held their fire
• This assault caught the German high command completely by surprise
• When Hitler found out about the landing he ordered German troops to occupy all of France
• Within 8 months the Africa Corps was defeated
• *** When the U.S. Army landed in North Africa, among the equipment brought a shore was 3 complete Coca Cola bottling plants.
• U.S. pushed eastward across Algeria
• British 8Th Army advanced into southern Tunisia
• May 12, 1943 last organized Axis army force in Africa surrendered
• Ended Axis threat to Egypt and the Suez Canal

***1942 - Enrico Fermi (U.S.) splits the atom

***When I was in Germany I talked to men who had been taken prisoner in these battles.  One went to a prisoner of war camp in Texas and the other to a camp in Hawaii.  The one in Texas was not allowed to return home until 2 years after the war ended.  He was kept in Britain to help rebuild the destruction.  The man in Hawaii eventually traveled around the world by the time he got home.

***1943

• Penicillin successfully used in treatment of chronic diseases - there was a big push to be able to make this in large quantities (at the beginning of the war they could only make small batches) because they knew they would need it.
• Shoe rationing begins in the U.S. followed by rationing of meat, cheese, fats, and all canned foods
• Pay-as-you-go income tax system instituted in the U.S.

***I had a friend who drove across the U.S. during the war.  The speed limit the whole way was 35mph to save on gas and tires.

Fall of Italy

Fall of Italy

Following the Allied victory in North Africa the next logical step was the Italian mainland

Churchill called Italy the "soft underbelly of Europe"

Sicily was invaded on July 10, 1943

• Allies landed the 15th Army
• August 17, 1943 - Allies occupied all of Sicily - Patton head of the 3rd Army

Italy itself was invaded in September 1943

• Sept. 3, 1943 British 8th Army landed in Calabria in southern Italy
• the mountainous terrain of Italy made the fighting there difficult - the Allies could make little progress
• Sept. 9 - U.S. 5th Army landed at Salerno - Germans counterattacked and threatened to push them back into the sea - intense fighting
• U.S. won and linked with the 8th Army

The allied landings provoked a backlash against the Mussolini government

Mussolini was dismissed as Prime Minister by the king and put in prison - he was later rescued by troops sent in by Hitler

General Pietro Badoglio (Ba-dol-yo) took over - he dissolved the Fascists

On Sept. 8, 1943 he surrendered Italy (they had signed an Armistice on Sept. 3 - and announced it 5 days later)

Germany was prepared for the Italian betrayal and quickly occupied much of the country - Mussolini had never allowed any Italian Jews to be sent to concentration camps.  When the Germans took over they rounded them all up and sent them to the camps.

Mussolini was re-installed as a puppet ruler in northern Italy

• He held out until the end of the war...he was executed by Italian Parisians with his mistress Claretta Petacci (they had no orders to kill her but she wouldn't let go of him) and the 16 men who were traveling with him in April 1945 - they strung their bodies up by their feet - because of this Hitler had his body burned because he did not want the same thing to happen to him

Oct. 13, 1943 - Italy became a co-belligerent by declaring war on Germany

Italian soldiers allowed themselves to be disarmed by the Germans

Germany continued to fight Allied advances into the country

Allied drive up the Italian boot was slow

Early Nov. 1943 Allies were 75 miles south of Rome - couldn't pierce the German line

An amphibious (both land and sea) landing at Anzio moved the armies to Rome - it was 33 miles south of Rome - one of the fiercest battles of the war - hemmed in - Germans held the high ground

June 4, 1943 - Allies finally got to Rome - first Axis capital to fall

two months later captured Florence

Teheran Conference

Teheran Conference

November 1943

First meeting of the "Big 3"

• FDR (Roosevelt)     United States
• Churchill                Great Britain
• Stalin                     Soviet Union

All agreed on the need for a new second front to relieve the Soviets

Churchill favored a compaign in the Balkans

FDR supported the Soviet view

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

The largest amphibious assault in history, planned for the beaches of Normandy, France - 600 ships involved

Supreme Commander - General Eisenhower (Ike)

Allied Expeditionary Force

D-Day June 6, 1944 - the weather men were not sure this date would be clear (they need a dark moon) and gave an alternate date in August.  Eisenhower decided to go ahead - on the August date it was pouring rain -*** when the invasion started Eisenhower began writing a speech saying the attack failed just in case he needed it - a copy of this can be found on the internet

Beaches

• Juno (Canada)
• Gold and Sword (British)
• Utah and Omaha (United States)

Almost 3 million men

16 million tons of arms, munitions and supplies - code name Mulberry

1st wave led by General Bernard Montgomery

• landed at 6:30 a.m.
• no air opposition

U.S. army landed on both sides of the Vire River

British and Canadians near Caen

After some uncertain early hours the attack was a success and gained a foothold

*** Among the first "German" captured at Normandy were several Koreans.  They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans and forced to fight for the German Army until they were captured by the U.S. Army.

Bitterly resisted - the invaders confronted Hitler's Fortress Europe

• June 13, 1944 - first use of V-1 rocket (buzz bomb) - ***   V -2's 47' long weighed 3000 pounds

Breakthrough

• Captured Cherbourg - June 27, 1944 - excellent harbor
• St. Lo fell July 18
• Allies swept across France

*** A German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.

July 20, 1944 - tried to kill Hitler

• Col. Count Klaus von Stauffenberg placed a  time bomb in a room with Hitler and his staff - then he left - it was in their way and they moved it - because of this the blast was blocked by a heavy table leg and Hitler was not killed, only wounded - 4 were killed
• von Stauffenberg was arrested and shot - this angered Hitler because he wanted him to have a more painful death
• nearly 3,000 (I've read numbers as high as 5,000 so this number is iffy) people were rounded up for execution
• Eventually 17 generals were executed - some took poison or shot themselves
• General Erwin Rommel was implicated (It is not known for sure that he was involved.  Many believed he knew nothing about the plot.) - Hitler believed he knew about the plot and gave him a choice - a public trial or suicide and a state funeral - on October 14, 1944, Rommel took poison and died.
• Ended brutally for the ones Hitler caught - strangled with wires - hung on meat hooks -
• ***  Moving pictures were taken of this so Hitler could watch them die

August 15 - landed at Cannes - southern France - Operation Anvil

August 25, 1944 - entered Paris

Early September Brussels fell

Fall of Germany

Fall of Germany

Sept. 12 crossed the German border - the Allies were determined to invade Germany so they could not claim they had been betrayed by politicians (and had truly lost the war) the way they did after World War I

German forces were being slowly crushed between the advancing Soviets (east) and the British/Americans (west)

In the west the Allies had reached the Rhine River by Sept. 1944

*** When Allied armies reached the Rhine River the first thing men did was pee in it.  This was pretty universal from the lowest privates to Winston Churchill (who made a big show of it) and Gen. Patton (who had himself photographed in the act).

On Dec. 16, 1944 the final German offensive of the war, the Battle of the Bulge was launched

• Ardennes Forest
• Tried to split Allies in two and capture Antwerp
• German code word "Watch on the Rhine"
• 38 German divisions struck under fog cover
• 50 mile front
• overran several 1st Army positions
• drove Allies almost to the Meuse River
• surrounded Bastogne in the southern Ardennes
• 3rd Army (General George Patton) armored units pierced the German lines from the south and relieved Bastogne - *** I talked to a man who was with Patton's troops.  His job was to retrieve the American dead.  He told me they were always afraid they would be surrounded and cut off by the Germans because Patton moved so fast and got way out in front of the rest of the Allied forces.
• Got the name the Battle of the Bulge because of the bulging shape of the battleground on the map
• By early January 1945 the Allies had recovered all their lost ground
• Took 110,000 German prisoners and about 100,000 other casualties
• March 7, 1945 crossed the Rhine River

Yalta Conference

Yalta Conference

February 8, 1945

In the final days of the European was the Big 3 met for the last time at Yalta in the Soviet Union

The most important meeting of the war...it set up many of the conditions for the Cold War which followed World War II

*** The following are statements from Andrew Sawchuk who was at the conference as an interpreter and were printed in the L.A. Times March 6, 1990. 

• Alleged strong body odor of Joseph Stalin - hard to tell because of the conditions who had the problem
• Churchill called Yalta "the worst choice in the world - good for typhus and lice, which thrive in those parts."
• President Roosevelt was assigned the only private bathroom at Yalta.  All the others had to go down to one of the mine sweepers docked at the port to take a shower
• No comments were made regarding body odor, as that would have been most impolite and inappropriate in the diplomatic process.

FDR was very ill...he would be dead in 2 months

The war with Germany was nearly over...at Yalta the Big 3 Discussed what to do in post-war Europe

The leaders also talked about the continuing war against Japan

Results of Yalta

• Germany would be divide in four zones of occupation - American, British, Soviet, French - at some point in time the zones would be reunited.
• The Soviets were to have "influence" in eastern Europe - "the ambiguity" of the term will cause many problems
• The Soviet Union would join the war against Japan - exactly 3 months after the surrender of Germany (V-E Day - May 8, 1945) - FDR's idea
• The Big 3 agreed on the formation of a new world body to replace the League of Nations (The United Nations) - the U.N. will be created at the San Francisco Conference in June 1945

Russia/Potsdam Conference

• Russia
• Moving in from the east
• Last major German offensive had been in July 1943 - failed
• Within a year the Russians had recaptured the Ukraine, the Crimea, White Russia, Poland and most of Lithuania, Rumania, Blugaria and the Baltic States
• *** The Russians destroyed over 500 German aircraft by ramming them in mid-air (they also sometimes cleared minefields by marching over them).  "It takes a brave man not to be a hero in the Red Army." - Joseph Stalin
• October 1944 - Finland surrendered to Russia and declared war on Germany
• Russian forces swept into eastern Hungary - joined with Tito in Yugoslavia
• Swung north to capture Vienna and eastern Austria
• January 1945 took Warsaw and Krakow
• Red Army - Drove toward Berlin - entered German territory in December 1944 - committed horrible atrocities ( *** I talked to a German who stood and watched as the Russians lined up to rape his mother)...revenge for German actions

From all directions Allied armies closed on Germany

April 29, 1945 - Mussolini executed - shot

German forces in Italy surrendered May 2, 1945

April 30.1945 - Hitler committed suicide

• He married Eva Braun (his mistress) in the evening then they both committed suicide
• She took poison
• He shot himself because he was afraid the poison would hurt
• he ordered that the bodies be burned because he didn't want his body treated like Mussolini's
• his body had to be identified by dental records

Goebbles Hitler's propaganda minister also committed suicide.  He poisoned his 6 children with a lethal injection administered by an army doctor and then he and his wife were shot by an aide.  Their bodies were burned.

Berlin fell May 2, 1945

May 7 - the Germans signed an unconditional surrender - V-E Day (Victory in Europe)

May 9 - Ceremony in Berlin ratified the surrender

The war lasted 5 years, 8 months, and 7 days.

Potsdam Conference

• July 1945
• The "Big 3" met in the ruins of the suburbs of defeated Berlin 
• FDR had died in April 1945...replaced by Harry Truman
• Churchill arrived for the start of the conference, but during the meeting Churchill's Conservative Party lost the elections in Britain and he was replaced by Clemet Attlee
• The loss of these 2 men allowed Stalin to dominate the conference claiming things had been decided previously that could not be refuted by the new members.  This would allow Stalin a great deal of leeway.
• The meeting was hostile from the start because of growing disagreement about Soviet action in eastern Europe
• * in the middle of the meeting the U.S. successfully detonated a nuclear bomb at Alamagordo, New Mexico
• Truman attempted to get Stalin to agree not to join the war against Japan - he feared the spread of communism into Asia
• Stalin refused...created a race to get Japan to surrender before the Soviets entered the war

War in the Pacific

WAR IN THE PACIFIC

*** Hirohito emperor of Japan - b. 1901 d. 1989 - ruled 61 years

The Japanese government was dominated by the military.  They took the best and the brightest of the young Japanese men.  Because of the way the Japanese constitution was written they could hold the government hostage.  All departments had to agree before any new budget could be passed but, everyone still got their money.  When the military wanted something they refused to pass the budget until their demands were met.  If there was too much opposition assignation was used.

"The military squeezed the Japanese populace in an iron vise.  On one side was a militarized educational system that prohibited free thought.  Schools became boot camps complete with military language and physical discipline.  Youth magazines carried jingoistic articles such as "The Future War between Japan and America."   The final examination at the Maebashi middle school in March of 1941 required the students to discuss the necessity for overseas expansion.  "It was commonplace for teachers to behave like sadistic drill sergeants, slapping children across the cheeks, hitting them with their fists, or bludgeoning them with bamboo or wooden swords.  Students were forced to hold heavy objects, sit on their knees, stand barefoot in the snow, or run around the playground until they collapsed from exhaustion." (This quote is taken from Flags of Our Fathers p. 59 by James Bradley.  This book is about the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima.))

*** Banzai - literally means a "thousand years"

1931 - The Japanese take Manchuria

1931 - The Japanese attack Shanghai

1937 - The Japanese attack China

• "The Japanese army employed ruthless tactics in China.  Japanese air planes bombed defenseless civilians.  Rats infected with deadly bacteria were systematically released among the populace, making Japan the only combatant to use biological warfare in World War II.  The Japanese army raped and pillaged with full encouragement from its superiors." (Flags of Our Father p. 59)
• Nanking, capital of China, fell to the Japanese December 13, 1937
• "In less than a month Japanese troops, with the encouragement of their officers, killed up to 350,000 Chinese civilians.  Pregnant women were marched to one killing field where Japanese placed bets on the sex of the fetus about to tumble from its mother's womb, cut by a samurai sword.  In another area of town drunken soldiers laughed and tossed babies in the air to be skewered on the ends of their buddies' bayonets.  Dogs grew too fat to walk, feasting on the corpses in the streets...The Japanese in Nanking killed even more than the atomic bombs later would."  (Flags of Our Fathers p. 65)
• *** The first German serviceman killed in the war was killed by the Japanese (China, 1937)

Roosevelt supported the Chinese but took no military action - no war declared

September 1940 - Japanese take French Indochina (Vietnam) - part of their plan for the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

December 7, 1941

• bombed Pearl Harbor
• *** At the time of Pearl Harbor the top U.S. Navy command was called CINCUS (pronounced "sink us"), the shoulder patch or the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry division was the swastika and Hitler's private train was named "Amerika."  All three were soon changed for PR purposes.
• Struck at Guam, Midway and Wake Island
• Bombed Manila and Singapore - uncontrolled troops butchered the wounded and raped the Chinese and British nurses

December 10 - 22 landed more than 56,000 Japanese troops on Luzon in the Philippines

Hong Kong seized

Occupied Guam and Wake Islands

February 16, 1942 -Singapore fell

Japanese routed the Allied fleet in the Battle of the Java Sea

***  I talked to a man who was on an American ship that was captured by the Japanese.  He told me the Japanese lined all the men up and then went down the line using a rifle butt they smashed every other man in the face knocking out his teeth.  The man I was talking to was one of the ones who lost his teeth.

Early 1942 - Burma and the Philippines fell

General Douglas Mac Arthur withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula - Japanese entered Manila January 2, 1942

*** I know a woman who was there in the hospital. The Japanese threw everyone out of the hospital.  She ended up on the street with just a sheet wrapped around her.  A nice cab driver came by and took her home.  Eventually she and her family were forced to flee to the hills for protection from the Japanese.

General Douglas Mac Arthur resisted the assaults

• March 11, 1942 Mac Arthur ordered out by Roosevelt
• Left on a PT boat
• Then flew to Australia
• "I shall return."

Lt. General Jonathan M. Wainwright left in charge of fortress of Corregidor in Manila Bay

• Shortage of food and medical supplies forced the surrender of Bataan on April 6

Bataan Death March

• Japanese forced 76,000 prisoners to march 70 miles to the prison camps
• 12,000 Americans - 64,000 Filipinos
• Japanese had only expected 30,000 so were not prepared to transport that many - had them walk
• Took 3 days in intense heat
• About 10,000 (some say 15,000) died from thirst, starvation,exposure, and the brutality of the Japanese soldiers who whipped, beat and shot those who stumbled or paused to drink at water in roadside streams
• Japanese - Lieut. General Homma - executed after the war because of the death march

*** A note about the treatment of prisoners by the Japanese.  According to their culture if you were captured it was like being dead.  This is why so many of them committed suicide rather than surrender.  They did not feel they had to treat prisoners well because of this belief.  Also, in some areas of the march prisoners were treated fairly well while on others they were brutalized.

Corregidor, a rocky fortress in Manila Bay, held out until May 6, 1942

• American and Filipino troops fought from a concrete cave called Malinta Tunnel
• attacked night and day
• suffering from hunger and exhaustion
• finally surrendered on May 6 - Japanese troops swarmed the rock
• The final message sent was, "Everyone is bawling like a baby.  They are piling dead and wounded in our tunnel.  The jig is up."
• The general and the survivors joined the Bataan Death March

Burma

• rich resources of oil and tin
• its fall would close east land route to China
• Chinese tried to hold Mandalay and protect the road under Lt. General Joseph W. Stilwell ("Vinegar Joe") - ***Stillwell had spent much of his military career in China and spoke fluent Chinese
• Japan too strong
• Stilwell and a handful of men tramped 140 miles out to India

Allies strike back

• Japanese expect the Allies to seek peace
• Early 1942 - U.S. carrier task force raid Marshall, Gilbert and Marcus Islands
• April 18, 1942 - 16 B-25 bombers led by Lt. Colonel James H. Doolittle left the carrier Hornet - 650 miles east of Honshu, Japan
• bombed Tokyo and other cities
• ***My name is Edgar McElroy.  My friends call me "Mac".  I was born and raised in Ennis, the youngest of five children, son of Harry and Jennie McElroy.  Folks say that I was the quiet one.  We lived at 609 North Dallas Street and attended the Presbyterian Church.  My dad had an auto mechanic's shop downtown close to the main fire station.   My family was a hard working bunch, and I was expected to work at dad's garage after school and on Saturdays, so I grew up in an atmosphere of machinery, oil and grease.  Occasionally I would hear a lone plane fly over, and would run out in the street and strain my eyes against the sun to watch it.  Someday, that would be me up there! I really like cars, and I was always busy on some project, and it wasn't long before I decided to build my very own Model-T out of spare parts.  I got an engine from over here, a frame from over there, and wheels from someplace else, using only the good parts from old cars that were otherwise shot.   It wasn't very pretty, but it was all mine.  I enjoyed driving on the dirt roads around town and the feeling of freedom and speed.  That car of mine could really go fast.  40 miles per hour!  In high school I played football and tennis, and was good enough at football to receive an athletic scholarship from Trinity University in Waxahachie.  I have to admit that sometimes I daydreamed in class, and often times I thought about flying my very own airplane and being up there in the clouds.  That is when I even decided to take a correspondence course in aircraft engines.  Whenever I got the chance, I would take my girl on a date up to Love Field in Dallas .  We would watch the airplanes and listen to those mighty piston engines roar.  I just loved it and if she didn't, well that was just too bad.  After my schooling, I operated a filling station with my brother, then drove a bus, and later had a job as a machinist in Longview , but I never lost my love of airplanes and my dream of flying.  With what was going on in Europe and in Asia , I figured that our country would be drawn into war someday, so I decided to join the Army Air Corps in November of 1940.  This way I could finally follow my dream.  I reported for primary training in California .  The training was rigorous and frustrating at times.  We trained at airfields all over California .  It was tough going, and many of the guys washed out.  When I finally saw that I was going to make it, I wrote to my girl back in Longview , Texas .  Her name is Agnes Gill.  I asked her to come out to California for my graduation.  and oh yeah, also to marry me.  I graduated on July 11, 1941.   I was now a real, honest-to-goodness Army Air Corps pilot.  Two days later, I married "Aggie" in Reno , Nevada .  We were starting a new life together and were very happy.  I received my orders to report to Pendleton , Oregon and join the 17th Bomb Group.  Neither of us had traveled much before, and the drive north through the Cascade Range of the Sierra Nevada 's was interesting and beautiful.  It was an exciting time for us.  My unit was the first to receive the new B-25 medium bomber.  When I saw it for the first time I was in awe.  It looked so huge.  It was so sleek and powerful.  The guys started calling it the "rocket plane", and I could hardly wait to get my hands on it.  I told Aggie that it was really something!  Reminded me of a big old scorpion, just ready to sting!  Man, I could barely wait!
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  >> We were transferred to another airfield in Washington State , where we spent a lot a time flying practice missions and attacking imaginary targets.  Then, there were other assignments in Mississippi and Georgia , for more maneuvers and more practice.
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  >> We were on our way back to California on December 7th when we got word of a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor .   We listened with mixed emotions to the announcements on the radio, and the next day to the declaration of war.   What the President said, it just rang over and over in my head, "With confidence in our armed forces, with the un-bounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph.   So help us God."  By gosh, I felt as though he was talking straight to me!  I didn't know what would happen to us, but we all knew that we would be going somewhere now.
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  >> The first weeks of the war, we were back in Oregon flying patrols at sea looking for possible Japanese submarines.  We had to be up at 0330 hours to warm up the engines of our planes.  There was 18 inches of snow on the ground, and it was so cold that our engine oil congealed overnight.  We placed big tarps over the engines that reached down to the ground.  Inside this tent we used plumbers blow torches to thaw out the engines.  I figured that my dad would be proud of me, if he could see me inside this tent with all this machinery, oil and grease.  After about an hour of this, the engines were warm enough to start.
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  >> We flew patrols over the coasts of Oregon and Washington from dawn until dusk.  Once I thought I spotted a sub, and started my bomb run, even had my bomb doors open, but I pulled out of it when I realized that it was just a big whale.  Lucky for me, I would have never heard the end of that!  Actually it was lucky for us that the Japanese didn't attack the west coast, because we just didn't have a strong enough force to beat them off.  Our country was in a real fix now, and overall things looked pretty bleak to most folks.  In early February, we were ordered to report to Columbus , South Carolina .  Man, this Air Corps sure moves a fellow around a lot!  Little did I know what was coming next!
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  >> After we got settled in Columbus , my squadron commander called us all together.  He told us that an awfully hazardous mission was being planned, and then he asked for volunteers.  There were some of the guys that did not step forward, but I was one of the ones that did.  My co-pilot was shocked.  He said "You can't volunteer, Mac!  You're married, and you and Aggie are expecting a baby soon.  Don't do it!"  I told him that "I got into the Air Force to do what I can, and Aggie understands how I feel.  The war won't be easy for any of us." We that volunteered were transferred to Eglin Field near Valparaiso , Florida in late February.  When we all got together, there were about 140 of us volunteers, and we were told that we were now part of the "Special B-25 Project."
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  >> We set about our training, but none of us knew what it was all about.  We were ordered not to talk about it, not even to our wives.  In early March, we were all called in for a briefing, and gathered together in a big building there on the base.  Somebody said that the fellow who's head of this thing is coming to talk to us, and in walks Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle.  He was already an aviation legend, and there he stood right in front of us.   I was truly amazed just to meet him.
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  >> Colonel Doolittle explained that this mission would be extremely dangerous, and that only volunteers could take part.  He said that he could not tell us where we were going, but he could say that some of us would not be coming back.  There was a silent pause; you could have heard a pin drop.  Then Doolittle said that anyone of us could withdraw now, and that no one would criticize us for this decision.  No one backed out!  From the outset, all volunteers worked from the early morning hours until well after sunset.  All excess weight was stripped from the planes and extra gas tanks were added.  The lower gun turret was removed, the heavy liaison radio was removed, and then the tail guns were taken out and more gas tanks were put aboard.  We extended the range of that plane from 1000 miles out to 2500 miles.
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  >> Then I was assigned my crew.   There was Richard Knobloch the co-pilot, Clayton Campbell the navigator, Robert Bourgeous the bombardier, Adam Williams the flight engineer and gunner, and me, Mac McElroy the pilot.  Over the coming days, I came to respect them a lot.  They were a swell bunch of guys, just regular All-American boys.
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  >> We got a few ideas from the training as to what type of mission that we had signed on for.  A Navy pilot had joined our group to coach us at short takeoffs and also in shipboard etiquette.  We began our short takeoff practice.  Taking off with first a light load, then a normal load, and finally overloaded up to 31,000 lbs.   The shortest possible take-off was obtained with flaps full down, stabilizer set three-fourths, tail heavy, full power against the brakes and releasing the brakes simultaneously as the engine revved up to max power.  We pulled back gradually on the stick and the airplane left the ground with the tail skid about one foot from the runway.  It was a very unnatural and scary way to get airborne!  I could hardly believe it myself, the first time as I took off with a full gas load and dummy bombs within just 700 feet of runway in a near stall condition.  We were, for all practical purposes, a slow flying gasoline bomb!
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  >> In addition to take-off practice, we refined our skills in day and night navigation, gunnery, bombing, and low level flying.  We made cross country flights at tree-top level, night flights and navigational flights over the Gulf of Mexico without the use of a radio.  After we started that short-field takeoff routine, we had some pretty fancy competition between the crews.  I think that one crew got it down to about 300 feet on a hot day.  We were told that only the best crews would actually go on the mission, and the rest would be held in reserve.  One crew did stall on takeoff, slipped back to the ground, busting up their landing gear.   They were eliminated from the mission.   Doolittle emphasized again and again the extreme danger of this operation, and made it clear that anyone of us who so desired could drop out with no questions asked.  No one did.
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  >> On one of our cross country flights, we landed at Barksdale Field in Shreveport , and I was able to catch a bus over to Longview to see Aggie.  We had a few hours together, and then we had to say our goodbyes.  I told her I hoped to be back in time for the baby's birth, but I couldn't tell her where I was going.  As I walked away, I turned and walked backwards for a ways, taking one last look at my beautiful pregnant Aggie.
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  >> Within a few days of returning to our base in Florida , we were abruptly told to pack our things.   After just three weeks of practice, we were on our way.  This was it.  It was time to go.  It was the middle of March 1942, and I was 30 years old.  Our orders were to fly to McClelland Air Base in Sacramento , California on our own, at the lowest possible level.  So here we went on our way west, scraping the tree tops at 160 miles per hour, and skimming along just 50 feet above plowed fields.  We crossed North Texas and then the panhandle, scaring the dickens out of livestock, buzzing farm houses and a many a barn along the way.  Over the Rocky Mountains and across the Mojave Desert dodging thunderstorms, we enjoyed the flight immensely and although tempted, I didn't do too much dare-devil stuff.  We didn't know it at the time, but it was good practice for what lay ahead of us.  It proved to be our last fling.  Once we arrived in Sacramento , the mechanics went over our plane with a fine-toothed comb.   Of the twenty-two planes that made it, only those whose pilots reported no mechanical problems were allowed to go on.   The others were shunted aside.
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  >> After having our plane serviced, we flew on to Alameda Naval Air Station in Oakland .  As I came in for final approach, we saw it!  I excitedly called the rest of the crew to take a look.  There below us was a huge aircraft carrier.  It was the USS Hornet, and it looked so gigantic!  Man, I had never even seen a carrier until this moment.  There were already two B-25s parked on the flight deck.  Now we knew!   My heart was racing, and I thought about how puny my plane would look on board this mighty ship.  As soon as we landed and taxied off the runway, a jeep pulled in front of me with a big "Follow Me" sign on the back.  We followed it straight up to the wharf, alongside the towering Hornet.   All five of us were looking up and just in awe, scarcely believing the size of this thing.  As we left the plane, there was already a Navy work crew swarming around attaching cables to the lifting rings on top of the wings and the fuselage.  As we walked towards our quarters, I looked back and saw them lifting my plane up into the air and swing it over the ship's deck.  It looked so small and lonely.  Later that afternoon, all crews met with Colonel Doolittle and he gave last minute assignments.   He told me to go to the Presidio and pick up two hundred extra "C" rations.  I saluted, turned, and left, not having any idea where the Presidio was, and not exactly sure what a "C" ration was.  I commandeered a Navy staff car and told the driver to take me to the Presidio, and he did.  On the way over, I realized that I had no written signed orders and that this might get a little sticky.  So in I walked into the Army supply depot and made my request, trying to look poised and confident.  The supply officer asked "What is your authorization for this request, sir?"  I told him that I could not give him one.  "And what is the destination?" he asked.  I answered, "The aircraft carrier, Hornet, docked at Alameda ."  He said, "Can you tell me who ordered the rations, sir?" And I replied with a smile, "No, I cannot." The supply officers huddled together, talking and glanced back over towards me.  Then he walked back over and assured me that the rations would be delivered that afternoon.  Guess they figured that something big was up.  They were right.  The next morning we all boarded the ship.  Trying to remember my naval etiquette, I saluted the Officer of the Deck and said "Lt. McElroy, requesting permission to come aboard."  The officer returned the salute and said "Permission granted."   Then I turned aft and saluted the flag.   I made it, without messing up.  It was April 2, and in full sunlight, we left San Francisco Bay .  The whole task force of ships, two cruisers, four destroyers, and a fleet oiler, moved slowly with us under the Golden Gate Bridge .  Thousands of people looked on.  Many stopped their cars on the bridge, and waved to us as we passed underneath.  I thought to myself, I hope there aren't any spies up there waving.
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  >> Once at sea, Doolittle called us together.  "Only a few of you know our destination, and you others have guessed about various targets.   Gentlemen, your target is Japan !"  A sudden cheer exploded among the men.  "Specifically, Yokohama , Tokyo , Nagoya , Kobe , Nagasaki and Osaka .  The Navy task force will get us as close as possible and we'll launch our planes.  We will hit our targets and proceed to airfields in China ."  After the cheering stopped, he asked again, if any of us desired to back out, no questions asked.  Not one did, not one.  Then the ship's Captain then went over the intercom to the whole ship's company.  The loudspeaker blared, "The destination is Tokyo !"  A tremendous cheer broke out from everyone on board.  I could hear metal banging together and wild screams from down below decks.  It was quite a rush!  I felt relieved actually.  We finally knew where we were going.
  >>  
  >>
  >> I set up quarters with two Navy pilots, putting my cot between their two bunks.  They couldn't get out of bed without stepping on me.  It was just fairly cozy in there, yes it was.  Those guys were part of the Torpedo Squadron Eight and were just swell fellows.   The rest of the guys bedded down in similar fashion to me, some had to sleep on bedrolls in the Admiral's chartroom.   As big as this ship was, there wasn't any extra room anywhere.  Every square foot had a purpose...  A few days later we discovered where they had an ice cream machine!
  >>  
  >>
  >> There were sixteen B-25s tied down on the flight deck, and I was flying number 13.  All the carrier's fighter planes were stored away helplessly in the hangar deck.  They couldn't move until we were gone.  Our Army mechanics were all on board, as well as our munitions loaders and several back up crews, in case any of us got sick or backed out.  We settled into a daily routine of checking our planes.  The aircraft were grouped so closely together on deck that it wouldn’t take much for them to get damaged.  Knowing that my life depended on this plane, I kept a close eye on her.
  >>  
  >>
  >> Day after day, we met with the intelligence officer and studied our mission plan.  Our targets were assigned, and maps and objective folders were furnished for study.  We went over approach routes and our escape route towards China .  I never studied this hard back at Trinity.  Every day at dawn and at dusk the ship was called to general quarters and we practiced finding the quickest way to our planes.  If at any point along the way, we were discovered by the enemy fleet, we were to launch our bombers immediately so the Hornet could bring up its fighter planes.  We would then be on our own, and try to make it to the nearest land, either Hawaii or Midway Island .
  >>  
  >>
  >> Dr. Thomas White, a volunteer member of plane number 15, went over our medical records and gave us inoculations for a whole bunch of diseases that hopefully I wouldn't catch.  He gave us training sessions in emergency first aid, and lectured us at length about water purification and such.  Tom, a medical doctor, had learned how to be a gunner just so he could go on this mission.  We put some new tail guns in place of the ones that had been taken out to save weight.  Not exactly functional, they were two broom handles, painted black.  The thinking was they might help scare any Jap fighter planes.  Maybe, maybe not.
  >>  
  >>
  >> On Sunday, April 14, we met up with Admiral Bull Halsey's task force just out of Hawaii and joined into one big force.  The carrier Enterprise was now with us, another two heavy cruisers, four more destroyers and another oiler.  We were designated as Task Force 16.  It was quite an impressive sight to see, and represented the bulk of what was left of the U.S. Navy after the devastation of Pearl Harbor .  There were over 10,000 Navy personnel sailing into harm's way, just to deliver us sixteen Army planes to the Japs, orders of the President.
  >>  
  >>
  >> As we steamed further west, tension was rising as we drew nearer and nearer to Japan .  Someone thought of arming us with some old .45 pistols that they had on board.   I went through that box of 1911 pistols, they were in such bad condition that I took several of them apart, using the good parts from several useless guns until I built a serviceable weapon.   Several of the other pilots did the same.  Admiring my "new" pistol, I held it up, and thought about my old Model-T.
  >>  
  >>
  >> Colonel Doolittle called us together on the flight deck.  We all gathered round, as well as many Navy personnel.  He pulled out some medals and told us how these friendship medals from the Japanese government had been given to some of our Navy officers several years back.  And now the Secretary of the Navy had requested for us to return them.  Doolittle wired them to a bomb while we all posed for pictures.  Something to cheer up the folks back home!
  >>  
  >>
  >> I began to pack my things for the flight, scheduled for the 19th.  I packed some extra clothes and a little brown bag that Aggie had given me, inside were some toilet items and a few candy bars.  No letters or identity cards were allowed, only our dog-tags.  I went down to the wardroom to have some ice cream and settle up my mess bill.   It only amounted to $5 a day and with my per diem of $6 per day, I came out a little ahead.  By now, my Navy pilot roommates were about ready to get rid of me, but I enjoyed my time with them.  They were alright.  Later on, I learned that both of them were killed at the Battle of Midway.  They were good men.  Yes, very good men.
  >>  
  >>
  >> Colonel Doolittle let each crew pick our own target.  We chose the Yokosuka Naval Base about twenty miles from Tokyo .  We loaded 1450 rounds of ammo and four 500-pound bombs...  A little payback, direct from Ellis County, Texas!  We checked and re-checked our plane several times.  Everything was now ready.  I felt relaxed, yet tensed up at the same time.  Day after tomorrow, we will launch when we are 400 miles out.  I lay in my cot that night, and rehearsed the mission over and over in my head.  It was hard to sleep as I listened to sounds of the ship.
  >>  
  >>
  >> Early the next morning, I was enjoying a leisurely breakfast, expecting another full day on board, and I noticed that the ship was pitching and rolling quite a bit this morning, more than normal.  I was reading through the April 18th day plan of the Hornet, and there was a message in it which said, "From the Hornet to the Army - Good luck, good hunting, and God bless you."   I still had a large lump in my throat from reading this, when all of a sudden, the intercom blared, "General Quarters, General Quarters, All hands man your battle stations!  Army pilots, man your planes!!!"   There was instant reaction from everyone in the room and food trays went crashing to the floor.  I ran down to my room jumping through the hatches along the way, grabbed my bag, and ran as fast as I could go to the flight deck.  I met with my crew at the plane, my heart was pounding.   Someone said, "What's going on?"  The word was that the Enterprise had spotted an enemy trawler.  It had been sunk, but it had transmitted radio messages.   We had been found out!
  >>  
  >>
  >> The weather was crummy, the seas were running heavy, and the ship was pitching up and down like I had never seen before.  Great waves were crashing against the bow and washing over the front of the deck.  This wasn't going to be easy!  Last minute instructions were given.  We were reminded to avoid non-military targets, especially the Emperor's Palace.  Do not fly to Russia , but fly as far west as possible, land on the water and launch our rubber raft.  This was going to be a one-way trip!  We were still much too far out and we all knew that our chances of making land were somewhere between slim and none.  Then at the last minute, each plane loaded an extra ten 5-gallon gas cans to give us a fighting chance of reaching China .
  >>  
  >>
  >> We all climbed aboard, started our engines and warmed them up, just feet away from the plane in front of us and the plane behind us.  Knobby, Campbell , Bourgeois and me in the front, Williams, the gunner was in the back, separated from us by a big rubber gas tank.  I called back to Williams on the intercom and told him to look sharp and don't take a nap!   He answered dryly, "Don't worry about me, Lieutenant.  If they jump us, I'll just use my little black broomsticks to keep the Japs off our tail."
  >>  
  >>
  >> The ship headed into the wind and picked up speed.  There was now a near gale force wind and water spray coming straight over the deck.  I looked down at my instruments as my engines revved up.  My mind was racing.  I went over my mental checklist, and said a prayer?  God please, help us!  Past the twelve planes in front of us, I strained to see the flight deck officer as he leaned into the wind and signaled with his arms for Colonel Doolittle to come to full power.  I looked over at Knobby and we looked each other in the eye.   He just nodded to me and we both understood.
  >>  
  >>
  >> With the deck heaving up and down, the deck officer had to time this just right.  Then I saw him wave Doolittle to go, and we watched breathlessly to see what happened.  When his plane pulled up above the deck, Knobby just let out with, "Yes! Yes!"  The second plane, piloted by Lt. Hoover , appeared to stall with its nose up and began falling toward the waves.  We groaned and called out, "Up! Up! Pull it up!" Finally, he pulled out of it, staggering back up into the air, much to our relief!
  >>  
  >>
  >> One by one, the planes in front of us took off.  The deck pitched wildly, 60 feet or more, it looked like.  One plane seemed to drop down into the drink and disappeared for a moment, then pulled back up into sight.  There was sense of relief with each one that made it.  We gunned our engines and started to roll forward.  Off to the right, I saw the men on deck cheering and waving their covers! We continued inching forward, careful to keep my left main wheel and my nose wheel on the white guidelines that had been painted on the deck for us.  Get off a little bit too far left and we go off the edge of the deck.   A little too far to the right and our wing-tip will smack the island of the ship.  With the best seat on the ship, we watched Lt. Bower take off in plane number 12, and I taxied up to the starting line, put on my the brakes and looked down to my left.  My main wheel was right on the line.  Applied more power to the engines, and I turned my complete attention to the deck officer on my left, who was circling his paddles.  Now my adrenaline was really pumping!   We went to full power, and the noise and vibration inside the plane went way up.  He circled the paddles furiously while watching forward for the pitch of the deck.   Then he dropped them, and I said, "Here We Go!"   I released the brakes and we started rolling forward, and as I looked down the flight-deck you could see straight down into the angry churning water.  As we slowly gained speed, the deck gradually began to pitch back up.  I pulled up and our plane slowly strained up and away from the ship.   There was a big cheer and whoops from the crew, but I just felt relieved and muttered to myself, "Boy, that was short!"
  >>  
  >>
  >> We made a wide circle above our fleet to check our compass headings and get our bearings.  I looked down as we passed low over one of our cruisers and could see the men on deck waving to us.  I dropped down to low level, so low we could see the whitecap waves breaking.  It was just after 0900, there were broken clouds at 5,000 feet and visibility of about thirty miles due to haze or something.  Up ahead and barely in sight, I could see Captain Greening, our flight leader, and Bower on his right wing.  Flying at 170 mph, I was able to catch up to them in about 30 minutes.  We were to stay in this formation until reaching landfall, and then break on our separate ways.  Now we settled in for the five hour flight.  Tokyo , here we come!
  >>  
  >>
  >> Williams was in the back emptying the extra gas cans into the gas tank as fast as we had burned off enough fuel.   He then punched holes in the tins and pushed then out the hatch against the wind.  Some of the fellows ate sandwiches and other goodies that the Navy had put aboard for us...   I wasn't hungry.  I held onto the controls with a firm grip as we raced along westward just fifty feet above the cold rolling ocean, as low as I dared to fly.  Being so close to the choppy waves gave you a true sense of speed.  Occasionally our windshield was even sprayed with a little saltwater.  It was an exhilarating feeling, and I felt as though the will and spirit of our whole country was pushing us along.  I didn't feel too scared, just anxious.  There was a lot riding on this thing, and on me.
  >>  
  >>
  >> As we began to near land, we saw an occasional ship here and there.  None of them close enough to be threatening, but just the same, we were feeling more edgy.   Then at 1330 we sighted land, the Eastern shore of Honshu .  With Williams now on his guns in the top turret and Campbell on the nose gun, we came ashore still flying low as possible, and were surprised to see people on the ground waving to us as we flew in over the farmland.  It was beautiful countryside.
  >>  
  >>
  >> Campbell, our navigator, said, "Mac, I think we're going to be about sixty miles too far north.  I'm not positive, but pretty sure." I decided that he was absolutely right and turned left ninety degrees, went back just offshore and followed the coast line south.  When I thought we had gone far enough, I climbed up to two thousand feet to find out where we were.  We started getting fire from anti-aircraft guns.  Then we spotted Tokyo Bay , turned west and put our nose down diving toward the water.  Once over the bay, I could see our target, Yokosuka Naval Base.  Off to the right there was already smoke visible over Tokyo .   Coming in low over the water, I increased speed to 200 mph and told everyone, "Get Ready!"
  >>  
  >>
  >> When we were close enough, I pulled up to 1300 feet and opened the bomb doors.  There were furious black bursts of anti-aircraft fire all around us, but I flew straight on through them, spotting our target, the torpedo works and the dry-docks.  I saw a big ship in the dry-dock just as we flew over it.  Those flak bursts were really getting close and bouncing us around, when I heard Bourgeois shouting, "Bombs Away!"  I couldn't see it, but Williams had a bird's eye view from the back and he shouted jubilantly, "We got an aircraft carrier!  The whole dock is burning!"   I started turning to the south and strained my neck to look back and at that moment saw a large crane blow up and start falling over!...  Take that!  There was loud yelling and clapping each other on the back.   We were all just ecstatic, and still alive!   But there wasn't much time to celebrate.   We had to get out of here and fast! When we were some thirty miles out to sea, we took one last look back at our target, and could still see huge billows of black smoke.  Up until now, we had been flying for Uncle Sam, but now we were flying for ourselves.
  >>  
  >>
  >> We flew south over open ocean, parallel to the Japanese coast all afternoon.  We saw a large submarine apparently at rest, and then in another fifteen miles, we spotted three large enemy cruisers headed for Japan .   There were no more bombs, so we just let them be and kept on going.  By late afternoon, Campbell calculated that it was time to turn and make for China .  Across the East China Sea , the weather out ahead of us looked bad and overcast.  Up until now we had not had time to think much about our gasoline supply, but the math did not look good.  We just didn't have enough fuel to make it!
  >>  
  >>
  >> Each man took turns cranking the little hand radio to see if we could pick up the promised radio beacon.  There was no signal.  This is not good.  The weather turned bad and it was getting dark, so we climbed up.  I was now flying on instruments, through a dark misty rain.  Just when it really looked hopeless of reaching land, we suddenly picked up a strong tailwind.  It was an answer to a prayer.   Maybe just maybe, we can make it!
  >>  
  >>
  >> In total darkness at 2100 hours, we figured that we must be crossing the coastline, so I began a slow, slow climb to be sure of not hitting any high ground or anything.  I conserved as much fuel as I could, getting real low on gas now.  The guys were still cranking on the radio, but after five hours of hand cranking with aching hands and backs, there was utter silence.  No radio beacon!   Then the red light started blinking, indicating twenty minutes of fuel left.  We started getting ready to bail out.  I turned the controls over to Knobby and crawled to the back of the plane, past the now collapsed rubber gas tank.  I dumped everything out of my bag and repacked just what I really needed, my .45 pistol, ammunition, flashlight, compass, medical kit, fishing tackle, chocolate bars, peanut butter and crackers.  I told Williams to come forward with me so we could all be together for this.  There was no other choice.  I had to get us as far west as possible, and then we had to jump.
  >>  
  >>
  >> At 2230 we were up to sixty-five hundred feet.  We were over land but still above the Japanese Army in China .  We couldn't see the stars, so Campbell couldn't get a good fix on our position.  We were flying on fumes now and I didn't want to run out of gas before we were ready to go.  Each man filled his canteen, put on his Mae West life jacket and parachute, and filled his bag with rations, those "C" rations from the Presidio.  I put her on auto-pilot and we all gathered in the navigator's compartment around the hatch in the floor.  We checked each other's parachute harness.  Everyone was scared, without a doubt.  None of us had ever done this before!   I said, "Williams first, Bourgeois second, Campbell third, Knobloch fourth, and I'll follow you guys!  Go fast, two seconds apart!  Then count three seconds off and pull your rip-cord!"
  >>  
  >>
  >> We kicked open the hatch and gathered around the hole looking down into the blackness.  It did not look very inviting!  Then I looked up at Williams and gave the order, "JUMP!!!"  Within seconds they were all gone.  I turned and reached back for the auto-pilot, but could not reach it, so I pulled the throttles back, then turned and jumped.  Counting quickly, thousand one, thousand two, thousand three, I pulled my rip-cord and jerked back up with a terrific shock.  At first I thought that I was hung on the plane, but after a few agonizing seconds that seemed like hours, realized that I was free and drifting down.  Being in the total dark, I was disoriented at first but figured my feet must be pointed toward the ground.  I looked down through the black mist to see what was coming up.  I was in a thick mist or fog, and the silence was so eerie after nearly thirteen hours inside that noisy plane.  I could only hear the whoosh, whoosh sound of the wind blowing through my shroud lines, and then I heard a loud crash and explosion.  My plane!
  >>  
  >>
  >> Looking for my flashlight, I groped through my bag with my right hand, finally pulled it out and shined it down toward the ground, which I still could not see.  Finally I picked up a glimmer of water and thought I was landing in a lake.   We're too far inland for this to be ocean.  I hope!  I relaxed my legs a little, thinking I was about to splash into water and would have to swim out, and then bang.  I jolted suddenly and crashed over onto my side.  Lying there in just a few inches of water, I raised my head and put my hands down into thick mud.  It was rice paddy!  There was a burning pain, as if someone had stuck a knife in my stomach.  I must have torn a muscle or broke something.
  >>  
  >>
  >> I laid there dazed for a few minutes, and after a while struggled up to my feet.  I dug a hole and buried my parachute in the mud.  Then started trying to walk, holding my stomach, but every direction I moved the water got deeper.  Then, I saw some lights off in the distance.  I fished around for my flashlight and signaled one time.  Sensing something wrong, I got out my compass and to my horror saw that those lights were off to my west.  That must be a Jap patrol!   How dumb could I be!  Knobby had to be back to my east, so I sat still and quiet and did not move.
  >>  
  >>
  >> It was a cold dark lonely night.   At 0100 hours I saw a single light off to the east.   I flashed my light in that direction, one time.   It had to be Knobby!  I waited a while, and then called out softly, "Knobby?"  And a voice replied "Mac, is that you?".  Thank goodness, what a relief!   Separated by a wide stream, we sat on opposite banks of the water communicating in low voices.  After daybreak Knobby found a small rowboat and came across to get me.  We started walking east toward the rest of the crew and away from that Japanese patrol.  Knobby had cut his hip when he went through the hatch, but it wasn't too awful bad.
  >>  
  >>
  >> We walked together toward a small village and several Chinese came out to meet us, they seemed friendly enough.  I said, "Luchu hoo megwa fugi!   Luchu hoo megwa fugi!" meaning, "I am an American! I am an American!"  Later that morning we found the others.  Williams had wrenched his knee when he landed in a tree, but he was limping along just fine.  There were hugs all around.  I have never been so happy to see four guys in all my life!
  >>  
  >>
  >> Well, the five of us eventually made it out of China with the help of the local Chinese people and the Catholic missions along the way.  They were all very good to us, and later they were made to pay terribly for it, so we found out afterwards.  For a couple of weeks we traveled across country.  Strafed a couple of times by enemy planes, we kept on moving, by foot, by pony, by car, by train, and by airplane.  But we finally made it to India .
  >>  
  >>
  >> I did not make it home for the baby's birth.  I stayed on there flying a DC-3 "Gooney Bird" in the China-Burma-India Theatre for the next several months.  I flew supplies over the Himalaya Mountains, or as we called it, over "The Hump" into China .  When B-25s finally arrived in India , I flew combat missions over Burma , and then later in the war, flew a B-29 out of the Marianna Islands to bomb Japan again and again.
  >>  
  >>
  >> After the war, I remained in the Air Force until 1962, when I retired from the service as a Lt. Colonel, and then came back to Texas , my beautiful Texas .  First moving to Abilene and then we settled in Lubbock , where Aggie taught school at MacKenzie Junior High.  I worked at the S & R Auto Supply, once again in an atmosphere of machinery, oil and grease.
  >>  
  >>
  >> I lived a good life and raised two wonderful sons that I am very proud of.  I feel blessed in many ways.  We have a great country, better than most folks know.  It is worth fighting for.   Some people call me a hero, but I have never thought of myself that way, no.  But I did serve in the company of heroes.  What we did, will never leave me.   It will always be there in my fondest memories.   I will always think of the fine and brave men that I was privileged to serve with.  .Remember us, for we were soldiers once and young.  With the loss of all 16 aircraft, Doolittle believed that the raid had been a failure, and that he would be court-martialed upon returning to the states.  Quite to the contrary, the raid proved to be a tremendous boost to American morale, which had plunged following the Pearl Harbor attack.  It also caused serious doubts in the minds of Japanese war planners.  They in turn recalled many seasoned fighter plane units back to defend the home islands, which resulted in Japan 's weakened air capabilities at the upcoming Battle of Midway and other South Pacific campaigns.
  >>  
  >>
  >> Edgar "Mac" Mc Elroy, Lt.  Col. , U.S.A.F.  (Ret.) passed away at his residence in Lubbock , Texas early on the morning of Friday, April 4, 2003.
  >>  
  >>
  >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  >>  
  >>
  >> Hansen footnote: When I graduated from pilot training (T-33) at Bryan AFB I agreed to become an instructor pilot at Bryan rather than go to fighters.  My decision was based in part on the fact that I was dating a U of Texas student.
  >>  
  >>
  >> While taking the Instructor Pilot Training course in Alabama , I learned that Bryan would be closing and that I would have a choice of which pilot training base to be assigned.  I chose Reese AFB since it was only a few miles from Texas Tech coeds.
  >>  
  >>
  >> When I arrived, Reese had just started to convert from B-25s to the T-33.  For the first few weeks I was the most experienced T-33 pilot on the base (until the seasoned IPs from Bryan began arriving).  I was 1 of 2 plts who began checking out Col. Travis Hoover (the plt of the second plane -- the one that dipped on takeoff), the Pilot Training Group Commander.   It was not my most pleasant AF experience and one that I would repeat with a few other WW2 pilots when I was reassigned to Randolph AFB as an IP in the Jet Qualification Course.
  >>  
  >>
  >> RH
   
• astonished the Japanese
• 15 planes crashed on the China coast - out of gas
• 1 landed in Siberia
• Chinese underground helped Doolittle and 63 of his fliers to escape
• Japanese executed 2 pilots

***Yamamoto - graduated 6th in his academy class and had lost 2 fingers in the Russo-Japanese War

***Nimitz - graduated 7th in his academy class - lost a finger on his left hand to the navy's first diesel engine, which he had built

***  The word "Admiral" comes from a Spanish phrase "Prince of the Sea." (source Close Combat , p. 148, W.E.B. Griffin)

Battle of the Coral Sea - 1942

• Japanese (Admiral Shigeyoshi Inouye) planned to seize Port Moresby in south eastern New Guinea
• Intercepted by the U.S. (Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher) in the Coral Sea
• Fought a 4 day battle - May 4-8
• Aircraft did all the fighting
• Blocked Japans push southward - turned them back
• Americans - lost an oiler, destroyer and the carrier Lexington - lost 33 of 82 planes
• Japanese - lost a light carrier, large carrier damaged - lost 43 of 69 planes
• First naval battle in history where surface ships never saw each other
• Strategic victory for the U.S.
• first time the Japanese had been stopped in the war

Battle of Midway

• Japanese wanted to capture Midway Island and Aleutian Island
• Midway 1,000 miles north west of Hawaii
• Planned by Admiral Ioroku Yamamoto - wanted to draw the U.S. fleet away from Hawaii - looking for the one big battle that would end the war
• U.S. had cracked the Japanese code - U.S. sent a message the water system was broken on Midway.  When the Japanese sent a message that their target had a broken water system the U.S. knew they were going to attack Midway.
• Admiral Chester W. Nimitz - Quickly assembled two talk forces east of Midway
• Number 16 - commanded by Admiral Raymond Spruance
• Number 18 - directed by Admiral Frank Fletcher - *** he replaces Admiral  "Bull" Halsey who had a bad skin condition and was in the hospital
• Chief strength the carriers Enterprise, Hornet and the Yorktown - plus aircraft based on Midway
• June 3, 1942 - Midway based planes attacked the Japanese - unsuccessful
• June 4, 1942 - 108 Japanese planes hit Midway destroying 15 of 25 Marine fighters
• Led by Admiral Chuichi Nagumo who had led the attack on Pearl Harbor
• He had a 4 carrier strike force and about 88 ships total

From Midway - 1st strike - 10 U.S. torpedo bombers - no hits - 7 planes shot down

• 2nd strike - 8 of 27 Marine dive bombers lost - again no damage
• 3rd strike - 15 B-17 bombers attacked - no damage

From U.S. Carriers

• Torpedo bombers from all 3 carriers - little damage - 35 of 41 shot down
• Opened the way for the attack of 54 bombers from the Enterprise and Yorktown (Hornet bombers missed the target)

Japan - 3 heavy carriers -Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu - their decks were loaded with aircraft about to take off - were sunk in 5 minutes - they were caught with their gas lines on deck - the fire went straight to the gas tanks

• Akagi - Captain Aoki - ties himself to the anchor and goes down with the ship

Hiryu - 4th carrier is destroyed in the second attack that afternoon

• Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi ties himself to the bridge and goes down with the ship
• The planes of the Hiryu had mortally wounded the Yorktown (it was finished off by a submarine on June 6, 1942)

American forces too weak to pursue

June 5 - Japanese began withdrawing

U.S. - lost 150 planes - 307 men

Japanese - lost 275 planes - probably 4800 men

• Many carrier pilots were lost when their ships were sunk and were virtually irreplaceable - many of these pilots had attacked Pearl Harbor

This battle is the turning point in the Pacific naval war

It made possible the U.S. counter offensive beginning in the Solomon Islands 2 months later.

South Pacific

Strategy of Allies

• recapture the Philippines
• cut the Japanese communications with its overseas bases
• set up bases from which to attack Japan itself

Guadalcanal

• August 7, 1942
• 1st offensive in the Pacific
• U.S. Marines under Major General Alexander V. Vandergrift landed in the Solomon Islands
• Caught the Japanese by surprise - they did not at first oppose the landing
• The Marines streamed in and unload until the Japanese counterattacked
• After losing 4 ships the U.S. Navy left
• The Marines were abandoned
• For weeks they fought off attacks - living on 2 meals of captured rice a day
• fighting bitter
• Some 23,000 Japanese were killed: another 13,000 were evacuated
• February 1943 finally cleared
• This is the first defeat suffered by the Japanese in the war

By November other forces advanced up the Solomons chain to Bouganville Island

Encountered fanatical code of "bushido" 

• Requires the Japanese to fight to the death
• Believed surrender meant disgrace on himself and his family
• Often preferred suicide - only 1% of the Japanese troops ever surrendered
• *** On one island attacked by the Allies a group of school children were visiting.  Rather than being captured they and their teachers threw themselves off of a high cliff to their deaths.

Military regulations - adopted January 1942 forbid surrender

• Training manual said "Those becoming prisoners of war will suffer the death penalty."
• Combat instructions advised the troops to commit suicide rather than be captured
• When a Japanese soldier left to join a combat unit a farewell ceremony was held in accordance with funeral rites.
• After he left he was regarded as dead by his family unless he returned a conqueror
• It is because of this the Japanese regarded prisoners as little better than dead men. Hence their living conditions were of no importance

Jungle fighting in the Solomons tough

• Heavy rains made roads unusable
• Troops waded knee deep in thick, black mud
• Malaria and other jungle diseases
• Japanese snipers
• Giant leeches and scorpions

Island hopping - Central Pacific

*** Kamikaze - means "Divine Wind"

• 1280 - Mongolian war lord - Kublai Khan sent an invasion fleet to Japan
• As the mighty Chinese fleet lay off the Japanese coastline a killer typhoon moved in an wrecked the fleet
• To the Japanese this was indeed a Kamikaze sent by the Sun Goddess to save them from certain annihilation

*** Generally speaking there was no such thing as an average fighter pilot.  They were either an ace or a target.  For instance, Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80 planes.  He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.

*** A number of air crewmen died of farts.  Ascending to 20,000 ft. in an unpressurized aircraft causes intestinal gas to expand 300%.

*** The U.S. Army had more ships than the U.S. Navy.

 

Tarawa

• November 20,1943 (code name Galvanic)
• Fierce opposition
• Intricate system of fortifications - barricades - pillboxes - gun emplacements - bomb proof underground structures
• *** One of Japan's methods of destroying banks was to bury a very large artillery shell with only the nose exposed.  When a tank came near enough a soldier would whack the shell with a hammer. "Lack of weapons is no excuse for defeat." - Lt. Gen. Mutaguchi
• Ordered to resist to the bitter end - 3,000 enemy troops - 1,800 civilians
• 147 - Japanese and Koreans captured alive - only 17 were Japanese
• U.S. suffered 3,110 casualties
• One of the wars most savage battles

Saipan

• Within long range bomber distance of Japan
• Troops landed June 15,1944 - marine and army
• finally occupied June 9
• U.S. - 16,000 casualties
• Japanese - 28,000 casualties
• Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo could not face the criticism - he resigned July 18,1944

Guam

• Invaded July 21,1944
• +10,000 Japanese died
• 7,800 Americans died
• August 10 - organized resistance over

Philippines - return

• October 20,1944 - U.S. 6th Army landed on Leyte
• U.S. moved on toward Manila - fiercely resisted
• By February the Allies had largely cleared Manila and Luzon
• Scattered Japanese resistance until the end of the war

China

• Pinned down 1000's of Japanese troops
• Supplied by the Burma Road
• Japanese seized Burma and closed the road
• Allies built a new road in the north (finished - Jan. 1945) - later known as the Stilwell Road - ran from north east India to the Chinese end of the old Burma Road
• Stilwells' Chinese troops held the Chinese end of the road
• By early 1945 Chinese troops had regained most of the lost territory

Iwo Jima - means "sulfur island"

• 1/2 way between Guam and Japan
• tiny 14 square mile volcanic island
• An ugly, smelly place - giant boulders, shifting sands, and stinking sulfur beds allow for little vegetation - covered by twised brush - no fresh water
• Concrete fortifications and under ground defenses
• Honeycombed with caves and tunnels
• More than 600 guns were protected by the natural terrain
• For over two months (76 days) ships fired more than 20,000 shells, and planes dropped nearly 7,000 tons of bombs on the island
• February 19,1945 - 30,000 U.S. Marines landed Resistance so fierce that after 3 days of continuous combat the marines had advanced only about 700 yards inland
• Eventually about 110,000 American troops opposed fewer than 25,000 Japanese
• 26 days of heavy fighting before it fell
• Killed more than 20,000 enemy troops
• 6,000 Americans killed
• The Japanese literally fought to the last defender - only 216 were taken alive

Okinawa

• Lasted nearly 3 months - from April to June 1945
• Allied force on Okinawa was 2nd only to the Normany invasion in size
• Some 1,300 warships and more than 180,000 combat troops were amassed to drive out the Japanese
• April 1,1945 (Easter Sunday) landing
• Japanese fought desperately
• Japanese pilots flew nearly 2,000 Kamikaze attacks
• Nearly 100,000 Japanese defended the island
• They knew they were the last obstacle to the invasion of Japan, and many had pledged to fight to the death
• they made suicidal banzai charges - attacks intended to kill as many of the enemy as possible before dying in battle
• Resistance ended June 21
• Only 7,200 Japanese remained alive
• U.S. lost nearly 50,000 men - made this the costliest battle in the war in the Pacific
• Last major land battle of the war

Atomic Bomb - ***code name for developing the bomb "The Manhattan Project"

• Japanese refused to surrender
• Decision reached at Potsdam to drop the bomb
• August 6,1945 - Enola Gay - pilot Paul Tibbets - bomb called "Little Boy" -bombed Hiroshima
• * Enola Gay was named for Paul Tibbets' mother
• 92,000 killed or missing
• Asked Japan if they wanted to surrender and Japan said no.  They thought the U.S. only had one bomb.
• Estimated the fighting would go on for 2 more years with out the bomb - the Japanese had 2 million soldiers in position - at least 9,000 Kamikaze planes and 800 Kamikaze type frog men - They would have cause the deaths of thousands of Americans (*** These facts are now being disputed.  I have heard that the Japanese were ready to surrender and had tried to contact Washington.  I'm not sure how accurate this is but if you are teaching this information you might look in to it.)
• August 9,1945 - Nagasaki
• At least 40,000 killed - bomb called "Fat Man"
• *** Some had been in Hiroshima and fled to Nagasaki and were bombed twice. 
• *** There is a book Children of the A Bomb written in 1959 that interviews children that lived through these bombings.  It is now a collectors item and is quite expensive but you might find one in a library.
• Injuries from the 2 bombs about equal to the deaths
• Later others died from radiation sickness - because the bomb was so new no one knew this would happen

August 8 - Russia declared war on Japan - invaded Manchuria

August 14 - Japan surrendered unconditionally

*** A fleet of 100's of ships was posed to invade Japan.  When they heard of the surrender it was night and they all turned on their lights.

September 2,1945 - signed papers on the battle ship Missouri

War lasted 3 years, 8 months, 22 days after Pearl Harbor

Results of World War II

• Approximately 50,000,000 died world wide
• A new tension between the communist and non-communist worlds
• ***The youngest U.S. serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham USN.  He was wounded in combat and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age.  His benefits were later restored by an act of Congress.

Holocaust

• Much of the information in these notes came for the book The Holocaust by Nora Levin.  It is available an Amazon.com.  In fact I saw a used copy for $.23!  It's quite long but well worth the time!

HOLOCAUST

Beginnings

• From 1933 - 1939 Jews were encouraged to leave Germany - most were completely stripped of their possessions by the time they left
• Other countries would not allow them to enter
• Finally all emigration was banned from Germany on October 1,1941
• U.S. January 1933 to June 1938 only admitted 27,000 (in 6 years) - their allowed annual quota from Germany was 25,957 per year
• British offered 1/2 of their quota to the U.S. to be used by the Jews - U.S. replied it was not theirs to give away
• Palestine emigration - White Paper restricted emigration - British people were against the Colonial Office - it was responsible for keeping Jews out of Palestine

General Procedure of Germans against the Jews

This list was basically followed in this order in all countries where they had control or influence

• They tried to get the existing governments to pass the laws
• 1. Took their property - or forced them to sell it
• 2. Froze their bank accounts
• 3. Took away their jobs
• 4. Took away their citizenship
• 5. Put them in ghettos
• 6. Deported them to concentration camps
• The German did everything possible to keep the Jews off balance, never knowing what to expect nice one day, brutal the next - kept them totally unaware of what awaited them in the death camps
• Elaborate shams were perpetrated to keep their lies going - not only to the Jews but to the world
• Those outside got reports and refused to believe or publish them - ex. about the Warsaw ghetto

POLAND

• Greatest losses
• History of antisemitism
• Equity under the law opposed by almost all political parties and the Catholics
• Wouldn't allow Jews to fight to defend Poland
• The people wouldn't protect the Jews - often they were worse than the Germans - the few that escaped the ghettos and death camps were mostly killed by the Partisans - this is why the death camps were located in Poland
• Most Jews poor - 10% of the population
• Not assimilated

Invasion - September 1,1939

• From the first moment the Germans committed atrocities on the civilian population
• Germans planned to kill or enslave ALL Poles and Jews and repopulate with Germans
• ***Deportations (p. 180 - The Holocaust) - read to class
• ***Maiden (p. 600 - Eyewitness to History) - read to class - had bath houses about 5 yards square - looked like a row of nice little garages - there were 6 of them - held 200 to 250 people in each box - within 2 to 10 minutes everyone dead
• Total estimated civilians dead 5,384,000 of these 3,200,000 were Jews
• After the war Poland more anti-Semitic than ever
• They were welcomed by "Oh, you're alive."
• Any Jews that lived eventually went to Palestine
• All extermination camps in Poland

EINSTAZGRUPPEN

• Killer squads
• Set up to follow the army and kill all Jews and undesirables (Gypsies and mentally ill)
• Established just before the Russian invasion
• *** massacres - description - The Holocaust p. 235
• German army cooperated - handed over Jewish prisoners
• 4 groups - each 500 to 900 men - average citizens - even a priest
• *** court questions after the war - The Holocaust p. 242
• Killers drunk most of the time
• Estimated that by the end of 1942 more than a million Jews were killed by them

RUSSIA

• Invaded June 22,1941
• Hitler planned to kill or enslave the Russians and repopulate with Germans
• Losses heaviest next to the Poles
• Estimated 1,400,000 Jews died - About 1,000,000 eluded German advance -another 1,000,000 saved in general evacuations of the population on the eastern front by the Russians
• Tried to force refuges (from Europe) to accept citizenship - if they didn't they were expelled to Siberia
• Russians started deportations early in 1940 - Jews were treated brutally but no exterminations
• Stalin unprepared for the attack
• Purges in 1930's took some of the best army officers - 90% of the generals - 80% of the colonels
• No other nation in Europe had so much human loss
• Jews allowed to join the army
• Government withheld information of the mass killings
• Polish Army formed in Russia - Jews not allowed to join
• Germans killed over 4 million Russian prisoners of war - starvation, exposure, execution
• *** read from Eyewitness to History p. 569 - Jews in the Ukraine

SCANDINAVIA

• Jews lived in peace
• Numbers not large
• Most lived in the capitals

NORWAY

• Invaded April 9.1940
• Jews fled to Sweden
• Almost 2/3 escape

SWEDEN

• Offered refuge to all Jews

DENMARK

• Invaded April 9,1940
• Entire nation resisted the destruction of the Jews
• King Christian and his whole family threatened to wear a yellow star if the Jew had to.
• Helped in escapes - everyone all over
• Only 360 deported to Theresienstadt - treated better than the other prisoners - government at home kept up a steady barrage of inquires - sent regular deliveries of food packages
• After the war welcomed home - given money by the government - made welcome by the neighbors

FINLAND

• Protected Jews
• Wouldn't bow to Nazi demands
• 4 Jews seized and deported
• No more were surrendered

NETHERLANDS

• Were very well assimilated - no noticeable differences
• Had all the rights of citizens
• supported by the population but they couldn't stop the deportations - many wore yellow flowers in sympathy - non Jews shopped for Jewish neighbors
• Protestant and Catholic churches urged resistance
• Waves of strikes against the deportations were soon crushed
• Workers were arrested and deported to concentration camps
• Cities were fined
• German control was absolute
• At least 105,000 died
• Less than 20,000 survived
• 20,000 Christians deported for opposition

BELGIUM

• almost 1/2 the Jewish population fled
• People helped the Jews every way possible
• Many wore stars in sympathy
• Hid Jews
• Police uncooperative with the Germans
• Church most active in Europe in rescues
• Railway workers left doors open
• Postal officials intercepted exposures of Jews and warned those threatened by informers
• Couldn't stop Germans
• 25,000 Jews delivered to Auschwitz

FRANCE

• Allowed the refugees to be deported but protected native born Jews
• Officials regarded them as Frenchmen first and Jews second - procrastinated
• 1939 - about 270,000 Jews in France
• 1940 - May - about 310,000 - 150,000 foreign born - more than 1/2 stateless
• France was forced to adopt strong anti-Jewish measures but the French were slow to Aryanize Jewish businesses - after 2 years only had done 21%
• There was opposition to the Vichy government by the Christian clergy - some gave their lives to rescue Jews
• Germans lacked police and had to use the French forces - who were not helpful
• Jews were active in the French resistance - they make up 15% to 20%
• Total of about 80,000 deported - only 6,000 were nationals

ITALIANS

• Abolition of the papal ghetto in Rome in 1870 - the Jews had been absorbed
• Mussolini had no intention of arousing antisemitism where none existed - felt it had no value as propaganda - he was finally forced by the Germans
• Enforcement of the laws was low and lax - Mussolini encouraged evasion
• Anti -Jewish laws harsh but the Jews were not totally deprived - not ghettoized
• Accepted Jewish refugees and tried to protect them
• September 3,1945 concluded the armistice
• Allies agreed not to make it public for 4 weeks so the Jews could be evacuated from southern France - the Allies announced it September 8 - doomed the Jews
• Losses between 8,500, and 9,500
• One of the least successful for the Nazis

GREATER REICH - (GERMANY)

• Quote from Martin Luther - The Jews were "like a plague, a pestilence, pure misfortune in our country."
• First transports in the fall of 1941 - description The Holocaust p. 470
• Theresienstadt - Czechoslovakia, about 35 miles from Prague - designed for old people, 65 and over, who were expected to die soon - originally advertised as a retirement home to live out your golden years - end of 1942 it held over 85,000 - 60,000 sent to the concentration camps -*** "model ghetto" - description in The Holocaust p. 481 - out of 15,000 children 100 survived - this and Auschwitz claimed 110,000 lives
• labor shortages - brought in Jews from Russia - 70,000
• Potential power of public protest very little used - no resistance to the movement
• Major churches passive - protected converts - very few spoke out
• Deportation of 1942 - 1,000,000 from the Reich - more than 200,000 from the Protectorate
• *** Read "Dachau Medical Experiments" from Eyewitness to History p. 555

YUGOSLAVIA

• First country in southeastern Europe to suffer
• Defied Hitler - threw him into a rage- decided to crush them - smashed them in a few days
• Delayed Russian offensive 5 weeks
• After conquest it ceased to exist as a nation
• Destroyed Jewish life - 80% killed - the worst massacres were in Serbia
• Ustashi - were Croat and Muslim fascists - hated Serbs and Jews - murdered and tortured them worse than the Germans (* There are pictures of this on the internet if you look under Ustashi.)
• The Italians protected the Jews in their sector

GREECE

• Italians protected the Jews in their sector
• Death camps were virtually unknown
• There was some help from the population
• Estimated 60,000 deported to Auschwitz
• Only 1,475 survive

SLOVAKIA

• Local support of Nazis against the Jews
• Traditions anti-liberal, clerical, and strongly nationalistic
• Some Jews ransomed - most plans failed because they were blocked by the U.S. and Britain, or they were not believed
• Europa Plan - failed - plan to ransom all the Jews in Europe - lives sold for $2 a head - about $6,000,000 - U.S. would not release the money - said it would finance Hitler
• Deaths 1942 - 1944 - 68,000 to 71,000
• Survivors 20,000 to 25,000 - one of the most shattering destruction's of any of the Jewish communities in Europe

BULGARIA - Axis Power

• No Jews from old Bulgaria deported
• At no time was the country occupied
• The government and the public favorably disposed to the Jews
• Persecution began in 1941 - the purpose to impoverish the Jews - deliberate procrastinations - public opposed - Churches helped the Jews
• Deported the Jews from the annexed areas (11,353)
• August 26,1944 withdrew from the war on Germany's side
• Declared war on Germany September 5

ROMANIA - Axis Power

• No country has a worse record in its treatment of the Jews
• Most virulently antisemetic country in pre war Europe
• Jews not accepted as nationals
• Economic oppression
• Very little assimilation
• Lived apart
• Jews considered foreigners
• Country as a whole poor
• Not a conquered country - military ally of Germany
• Government followed extremely uneven course against the Jews - at times great violence and speed - other times balked or suddenly stopped the killing process
• The people murdered the Jews - Romanian Army helped in the killings - most heavily persecuted were the immigrants and annexed provinces
• As a whole not eliminated from the economy
• The camps in Trensnistria (general geographic area) were the most appalling in Europe
• Bogdanovka - Romania's greatest death camp
• August 23,1944 - war ended with the Allies
• August 25 - declared war on Germany
• losses considered moderate - estimated the number killed was from 200,000 to 530,000

HUNGARY - Axis Power

• Had the least Jews to be attacked
• Suffered the most concentrated and methodical deportation and extermination of any in Europe
• Wiped out almost 4,000,000 Jews in 46 days
• Didn't have conviction or force of arms to oppose Germany
• Germany needed Hungary - railway vital to supply the troops in Russia
• Needed to hold open the Hungarian plain to protect Germany
• Army helped the Germans kill the Jews
• Churches tried to protect the converts - they didn't bother with the full Jews
• Police helped deport - very brutal
• Jews the middle class - others either poor or nobles
• Labor shortages forced them to forgo complete destruction of the Jews
• Deportations started on the outer perimeter and worked toward the center of the country
• Brand Mission - tried to ransom the Jews from Himmler - Joel Brand not believed - British jailed him and the Jews were killed as a consequence
• *** Death marches - description - The Holocaust p. 655
• October 1945 the Red Army invaded
• 550,000 died in 9 months
• Hungarians responsible themselves for an estimated 80,000 deaths
• *** Read from Eyewitness to History p. 620 - Belsen: 24 April 1945 - liberated camp

SUMMATION

• Clear that the Allies didn't include rescue of Jews as a wartime objective or security for survivors a postwar goal
• Slavs and Gypsies suffered great losses (about 10,000 in Germany)
• Germans also killed their own mentally retarded and mentally ill - usually with lethal injection - there were public protests to this and they stopped

EXPERIMENTS IN DEATH CAMPS

Many "scientific experiments" were performed on Jews between 1939 and 1945.  At least 70 different types took place.  Over 7,000 people were part of these forced experiments and about 200 Nazi doctors participated. Dr. Mangele is probably the most infamous of these doctors for his work with twins.  If you want to find out more about this I found a good web site: http://remember.org/educate/medexp.html.  Some of the information here is from that site.

• Skull collections
• Skeletal examinations
• Shrunken heads
• Large doses of radiation were used to sterilize prisoners
• Submerged in icy water to test the life span one could exist in below freezing temperatures - this was to help their pilots - (this is shown in the movie Nurmeburg with Spencer Tracy)
• Castration
• Injections of deadly disease - malaria is one
• Random amputation
• Attempts to change eye color by injecting chemicals into the eyes
• Collections of body fluids
• Blood transfusion
• Organ dissection
• Exposure to extremely high and low pressures - for pilots or submariners
• Removal of limbs and vital organs
• Crushed glass and sawdust rubbed into wounds
• Skin transplants
• Attempts to change skin color
• Placed under sun lamps for long periods of time - so hot it would burn their skin
• Internal irrigation - Tried to use hot water to revive a frozen victim
• Boiling alive

EXTERMINATION

• The Germans first tried shooting the Jews.  They found this unsatisfactory because they left evidence (bodies) and used up ammunition
• They also tried putting them in enclosed trucks and venting the exhaust into the truck.  They would then drive around until they were all dead.  They didn't like this either.  Again evidence (bodies) and they used precious gasoline.  Also the drivers didn't like it because the people cried and screamed and scratched on the sides of the truck.  It also wasn't very fast.  Taking anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.
• Finally they decided to build extermination camps.  These were built in Poland because they knew the Poles would kill any that escaped. 
• They did not focus on killing prisoners in other concentration camps the way they did in Poland. 
• In Dachau which is out side of Munich they have ovens that they forced the priests to build.  They were used when necessary but not as the main focus of the camp.

CAMPS

• Once people were arrested they were transported to the concentration camps. Those slated for extermination went on to the camps in Poland.  Sometimes this trip would be short 2-3 days others it could be a week or more.  They were not given food or water and were packed so tightly they had to stand sometimes with children thrown in on top of them. 
• *** I heard a survivor speak.  She was 4 when she was sent to Auschwitz and she said on the train they drank each others urine to survive.
• Once at the camp they were taken out of the cars and herded in a line up to a desk where a doctor sat.  He would point left or right.  One side would go to the gas chambers and the others would go into the camp to be worked to death before they too were gassed.
• The people to be gassed were told they were going to get a shower to clean up after their train ride.  (The Germans tried to keep them as calm as possible because it was easier to control them.)  They were told to undress and hang their clothes on a hook, and to remember the number, so they could get their clothes later. ( Some people tried to hide small children in their clothing.  These were found and tossed into the gas chamber.)  They went unsuspecting into the gas chamber.  As they began looking around someone would notice the soap was made of stone and an out cry would begin.  The soldiers would toss in any children they found and bolt the door.
• The Germans had developed a gas called Zyklone B a cyanide-based insecticide.  This would be dropped through a door at the top of the chamber.  It would kill the people very quickly (less than 15 minutes).
• ***Zyklone is German for cyclone.
• The people would pile up in one corner.  They crawled over each other to get away from the gas.
• Once every one was dead prisoners would be sent in to untangle the bodies and check for hidden wealth.  Gold teeth would be pulled out and stomachs would be slit to see if diamonds or other jewels had been swallowed.  After this process the bodies would be taken to the ovens and burned.  The ashes would later be used by the Germans in things like fertilizer.
• *** The prisoners that had to handle these bodies were rotated every 3 or 4 months because they became so traumatized by the job.  They in their turn were sent to the gas chamber.
• The people who were sent into the camp had their heads shaved (The Germans said to prevent lice.) and were given uniforms.  They were sent out each day to work and given very little food.  Usually soup with a few vegetables and very little meat.  They usually got around 500 calories (the equivalent of one donut) and worked 12 to 14 hours.
• When they became too weak or too ill to work they were gassed.

Hitler's Final Solution killed nearly 6,000,000 Jews.  He also had killed political dissidents, priest, nuns, midgets, homosexuals, the mentally retarded, the insane and gypsies.  This count was also about 6,000,00 so the total that died in the camps was some where around 12,000,000.

Historians have always questioned why Hitler chose to exterminate the Jews.  It did not make economic sense since they contributed greatly in all areas.  The most logical argument that I have heard (not necessarily correct or incorrect, just my choice) is the he needed something to unite the German people.  They were the last country in Europe to unify and needed something to bring them together.  Because antisemitism already existed in the society it was an easy thing to use.

As far as Hitler personally being antisemitic I have read things that make me question it.   For example, he absolutely adored his mother.  When she was dying of breast cancer the doctor that treated her was a Jew.  Hitler respected this man and allowed him to treat the woman he loved beyond all others.   He also helped him to flee Germany. (I believe I read this in Inside the Third Reich by Albert Speer who was Hitler's architect.) This does not sound antisemitic to me.

I have also been made aware of an opinion by authors Alice Miller and Erich Fromm. They believe "Hitler suffered from a life long obsession with avenging his mother , who had been wrongly treated by a Jewish doctor (Rudolph Binion)."  This quote came from the book The Hidden Hitler ( This book presents the opinion that Hitler was a homosexual) by Lothar Machtan.  I guess if you are using these notes to teach with you'll have to make you own call.  Obviously, no matter how he personally felt, he was still one of the greatest killers in modern times!

Inter-War Years

INTER-WAR YEARS - Around the world

Years of great turmoil

Desire for democracy and self-determination contributed to explosive struggles in many regions

Revolutions toppled governments - (Mexico and Canada) - and triggered civil wars

Continued western imperialism fueled the forces of nationalism - (Latin America, Africa, and Asia)

Everywhere, new leaders were slowly forging liberation movements that would change the face of the world

Latin America

Mexico

• Swept with revolution between 1910 and 1920
• Unleashed radical forces
• Indian peasants battled to end centuries of oppression and to win land
• Porfirio Diaz - ruled almost 35 years by 1910 - On the surface, Mexico enjoyed peace and economic growth - He welcomed foreign investors - benefited the wealthy landowners, business people and foreign investors - most Mexicans were peasants who live in desperate poverty
• In 1910 Francisco Madero - liberal reformer - demanded free elections - imprisoned by Diaz - led a revolt - soon joined by revolutionaries all across Mexico
• Faced with rebellion Diaz resigned in 1911
• Madero became president but was murdered within two years - probably at the order of one of his generals (Victoriano Huerta)
• Power struggle followed
• Several radical leaders
• Francisco "Pancho" Villa - hard riding rebel from the north - fought mostly for personal power -won intense loyalty from his peasant followers
• Emiliano Zapata - southern Mexico - lead a peasant revolt - he was an Indian tenant farmer - understood the misery of peasant villagers - battle cry "Land and Liberty!"
• Fighting flared across Mexico for a decade
• Soldaderas - women soldiers - cooked, tended the wounded, fought along side of the men - marched with the regular army units or joined hit-and-run guerrilla bands

Reforms

• 1917 - Venustiano Carranza - conservative - elected president - reluctantly approved a new constitution - with amendments it is still in force today
• Constitution - permitted the breakup of large estates - placed restrictions on foreigners owning land - allowed nationalization of natural resources - 1938 nationalized foreign oil holdings - church land was made "the property of the nation" - set minimum wage - guaranteed right to strike - suffrage only to men - some protection for women - doing the same job got the same pay as men - allowed married women to draw up contracts, take part in legal suits, have equal authority with men in spending family funds

Social Change

• 1920's government restored order and began reforms
• Helped some Indian communities regain lands
• Supported labor unions
• Launched a massive effort to combat illiteracy - schools and libraries set up
• Mexicans in rural areas who grew up speaking various Indian languages learned Spanish
• Mexico became the first Latin American nation to pursue real social and economic reforms for the majority of its people

Economic Nationalism

• After World War I trade fell off with Europe
• Great Depression spread around the world in the 1930's
• Prices for Latin American exports plunged as demand dried up - same time the cost of imported goods rose
• They were determined to develop their own economy and end foreign economic control
• Set up factories to produce goods
• Urged the governments to raise tariffs to protect the new industries
• Some nations also nationalized resources or took over foreign owned industries
• Most Latin American countries did not have oil and lacked the resources to build large industries
• During and after World War I, investments by the United States in the nations of Latin America soared
• The United States continued to play the role of "international policeman," intervening to restore order when it felt its interest were threatened - caused violent anti-Yankee sentiment in Mexico - 1930's president Franklin Roosevelt pledged "the policy of the good neighbor" - this survived until 1945

AFRICA

1920's and 1930's struggled to stem the tide of imperialism and restore Africa to Africans

Kenya and Rhodesia - white settlers forced Africans off the best land - those lucky enough to keep their land were forbidden to grow the most profitable crops - only Europeans could grow these - in Kenya the British made all Africans carry identification cards and restricted where they could live or travel

Everywhere Africans were forced to work on European plantations or in mines to earn money to pay taxes

Opposition to imperialism grew among Africans

Many western educated Africans criticized the injustice of imperial rule - best jobs went to the Europeans - condemned the system that excluded Africans from the political life of their own lands - socialism had a growing appeal - protests were common

South Africa

• Between 1910 and 1940 whites strengthened their grip on South Africa
• Apartheid - 1948 - goal to ensure white economic power - blacks had to carry passes at all times
• Vital nationalist movement - African Christians churches and African run newspapers demanded rights for black South Africans
• 1912 - Political Party - African National Congress (ANC) - members worked through legal means - protested laws that restricted the freedom of black Africans

During 1920"s movement known as Pan-Africanism emphasized the unity of Africans and people of African descent around the world

Negritude - celebrated Africa's rich cultural heritage - fostered African pride

EGYPT

1922 - British finally agreed to declare Egypt independent

Troops stayed in Egypt to guard the Suez Canal and Britain remained the real power

TURKEY

The defeated Ottoman empire collapsed in 1918

Arab lands divided up between Britain and France

Mastafa Kemal

• Leading Turkish nationals overthrew the sultan
• Defeated western occupation forces
• Declared Turkey a republic
• Kemal later took the name Ataturk - meaning "father of the Turks"
• Forces through an ambitious program of radical reforms - wanted to modernize Turkey and separate religion from government
• In order to do this ruled with an iron hand
• Replaced Islamic law with a new law code based on European models
• Changed from a Muslim calendar in favor of the western calendar and moved the day of rest from Friday to Sunday
• Forced the people to wear western dress
• Replaced Arabic script with the western alphabet
• Closed religious schools but opened thousands of state schools
• Women - no longer had to veil their faces - allowed to vote - polygamy was banned - given freedom to work outside the home - became teachers, doctors, lawyers and even politicians
• Helped industry expand
• Built roads and railroads

IRAN

• Resented the British and Russians
• 1925 - ambitious army officer - Reza Khan - overthrew the shah- set up his own Pahlavi dynasty
• Rushed to modernize
• Built factories, roads, and railroads
• Adopted the western alphabet
• Forced Iranians to wear western clothing
• Set up modern, secular schools
• Muslim religious leaders fiercely condemned his efforts to introduce western ways
• In the decades ahead oil would become a major factor in Iranian economic and foreign affairs

MANDATES

• Outraged Arabs
• Had been promised independence
• Instead the Allies carved up the Ottoman lands - gave France mandates in Syria and Lebanon - British mandates in Palestine and Iraq
• Arabs felt betrayed by the West - a feeling that has endured to this day
• Palestine - 1897 - Theodor Herzel (HERS tsuhl) founded modern Zionist movement - goal to rebuild a Jewish state in Palestine
• During World War I the Allies made two vague sets of promises - 1. Promised the Arabs their own kingdoms in former Ottoman lands, including Palestine - 2. 1917 - British issued the Balfour Declaration supporting the idea of setting up a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine - did say "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine."

INDIA

British promised India greater self-government after WW I - then proposed only a few minor reforms

Mohandas Gandhi

• United all Indians behind the drive for independence
• Called Mahatma or "Great Soul"
• Came from a middle-class Hindu family
• At 19 he went to England to study law
• Returned to India than then joined a law firm in South Africa - for 20 years he fought laws that discriminated against Indians - he adopted the weapon on nonviolent (passive) resistance
• 1914 - returned to India
• His ideas inspired Indians of all religions and ethnic backgrounds and  encouraged them to resist British rule
• Believed in civil disobedience - the refusal to obey unjust laws
• He rejected the inequalities of the caste system - fought hard to end the harsh treatment of untouchables - urged equal rights for all Indians - women as well as men (Today the caste system has been legally done away with.  But it still exists in society.  As per my Indian history teacher: "If you want to find the untouchables just ask who the Christians are in a village.")
• Gave up western style clothing - dressed in a dhoti - simple white garment (He actually wove his own.)
• Called for boycotts of British goods - especially textiles (cloth) - urged Indians to wear only cotton grown and woven in India
• Worked to restore pride in India's traditional spinning and weaving industries
• The Salt March - to end the British salt monopoly - British claimed the sole right to produce and sell salt - by taxing those sales they collected money to maintain their government in India - Indians forbidden to touch the natural salt available in the sea - could only buy it from the government - Ghandi set out on a 240 mile walk (it took 24 days) - started with 78 followers - by the time they reached the sea they numbered in the thousands - when he reached the sea he waded in and picked up a lump of sea salt - he was arrested and jailed - but coastal villagers started collecting salt
• As Ghandi's campaign gained force tens of thousands of Indians were dragged off to jail
• All around the world newspapers turned against Britain
• Embarrassed Britain
• Slowly Britain was forced to agree to hand over some power
• Freedom would not be achieved until 1947 - one year before Ghandi was assassinated (shot)
• While millions of Muslims responded to Gandhi's campaigns tensions between Hindus and Muslims often erupted into violence
• Idea of a separate state for Muslims - Pakistan - means "land of the (ritually) pure

CHINA

(The movie The Last Emperor shows a lot of this from the emperors perspective.)

After the overthrow of the Qing dynasty Sun Yixian (I always had seen this spelling as Sun Yat Sen.  This is the spelling in the state textbook.  I assume this new spelling gives a closer correct pronunciation.) took over

In 1912 Sun Yixin stepped down in favor of a powerful general Yuan Shikai - Yuan tried to start a new dynasty but died in 1916

China plunged into still greater disorder - local warlords seized power - constant fighting ravaged the land - foreign powers also increased their influence over Chinese affairs

Japan tried to make China a protectorate

May 4, 1919 - student protest erupted in Beijing and later spread to cities across China - set off a cultural, intellectual ferment known as the May Fourth Movement - its goal was to strengthen China - reformers wanted to learn from the West and use that knowledge to end foreign domination - women played a key role - campaigned to end arranged marriages, foot binding, and the seclusion of women in the home - their work helped open doors for women in education and the economy

1921 - Sun Yixian and his Guomindang or Nationalist party established a government in south China - Russian experts helped the Nationalists plan and carry out their campaign against the warlords (western powers ignored pleas for help)

1925 - After Sun's death Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek - again a new spelling) - energetic young army officer began a march into northern China crushing local warlords - struck at the Communist party - saw them as a threat - 1927 - Jiang ordered troops to slaughter Communist party members and the workers who supported them - thousands were killed - anger over the massacre would fuel a bitter civil war for the next 22 years

Mao Zedong

• Young revolutionary of peasant origins
• Had been a librarian and was a school principal when he founded the Communist party
• Looked for support among the large peasant masses
• Organized the peasants in southeastern China
• Jiang determined to destroy the "Red bandits" as he called the Communists - led a series of "extermination campaigns" against them
• 1934 - Long March - epic retreat - Mao and about 100,000 of his followers fled the Guomindang - during the next year they trekked more than 6,000 miles facing daily attacks - only about 20,000 people survived the ordeal - during the march enforced strict discipline - 3 main rules 1. don't steal - pay for the goods you want   2. treat peasants politely   3. avoid damaging crops - made Mao's forces welcome among peasants - at the end of the Long March the Communists set up a new base in remote northern China - he rebuilt his forces and plotted new strategies
• 1931 - Japan invaded Manchuria in northeastern China - eventually Jiang was forced to form a united front with the Communists against Japan
• 1937 - Japanese attacked China proper - well-equipped Japanese troops overran eastern China - the Japanese set up a puppet government in Nanjing - killing and brutality - became known as the "rape of Nanjing"
• From 1937 to 1945 locked in a three - sided struggle
• After Japan's defeat the United States tried to prevent renewed civil war but with no success
• Within a few years the Communist would triumph

JAPAN

Hirohito - reigned from 1926 to 1989 (63 years)

1920's Japan moved toward greater democracy - political parties grew stronger - by 1925 all men could vote - overall Japanese women remained subordinated to men - they could not vote until 1947

During WW I the Japanese economy enjoyed phenomenal growth - exports soared - by the 1920's powerful business leaders known as the ziabatsu strongly influenced politics through donations to political parties

During the 1920's the economy grew more slowly than any time since the Japanese had modernized - rural peasants did not enjoy the prosperity of city-dwellers

1929 - Great Depression rippled across the Pacific striking Japan with devastating force - prices for all exports plummeted - unemployment in the cities soared - countryside peasants were only a mouthful from starvation

Economic disaster fed the discontent of the military and extreme nationalists - condemned the politicians

Further outraged by racial policies in the U.S., Canada and Australia that shut out Japanese immigrants

As the crisis worsened nationalists demanded renewed expansion

1931 - A group of Japanese army officers provoked an incident that would provide an excuse to seize Manchuria

• Blew up tracks on a Japanese owned railroad line and claimed the Chinese had done it
• In "self-defense" they attacked the Chinese without consulting their own government
• Japanese army conquered all of Manchuria and set up a puppet state
• League of Nations condemned their aggression
• Japan simply withdrew from the League
• When politicians in Tokyo objected to the army's high-handed action public opinion sided with the military
• Members of "patriotic" societies assassinated a number of politicians and business leaders who opposed military expansion
• Military leaders plotted to overthrow the government - 1936 briefly occupied the center of Tokyo
• The civilian government survived but by 1937 it had been forced to accept military domination
• Most democratic freedoms were ended

Revived the ancient warrior values and built an cult around the emperor

Students were taught absolute obedience to the emperor and service to the state

Japan expected to complete its conquest of China within a few years but WW II broke out and spread swiftly to Asia

EUROPE

1920's

• The war stirred feelings of revulsion among most Europeans - so many had died yet so little had changed
• Culture rejected many of the values of the pre-war years
• Art moved from the Impressionist and Expressionist movements into the Cubist and Surrealist periods
• Cubism rejected visual reality in favor of a geometric expression - Picasso
• Surrealism created a world of the disjointed dream - views of the subconscious - ex. melting watches - Dali
• Architecture moved away from the Victorian and new-Gothic styles of the pre-war into the modern movement of minimalist building - Bauhaus (school) - founded by Walther Gropius (1883 - 1969) who was a WW I vet - he established the principle that "form follows function" - had collaborative efforts with architects, sculptors, artists and artisans
• Literature reflected the pessimistic outlook common among the youth in the post-war period - ex. All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque
• Motion picture industry developed in the 1920's
• Music entered the Jazz Age
• Sexual mores, gender roles, attitudes towards elders, substance abuse all underwent a complete transformation
• Fascism (Italy) - comes from the Roman symbol fasces - a bundle of rods tied around a ax - strongly nationalistic political system - always a dictatorship - emotionalism, strong pro-war, anti-Christian, anti-liberals - to thrive needs enemies - when enemies not available they are created
• Totalitarianism - complete control of the state by a dictator - individual has no rights - state hold all rights - robs the individual of their dignity and freedom
• How they gain control - modern technological methods and communication - excellent tools - mass media - easy for propaganda - modern methods of imprisonment, psychological torture and killing - destroyed effective opposition

GREAT BRITAIN

• Britain survived the war better than most of the countries in Europe - the nation was financially devastated but the Empire was intact - the government was stable - the first Prime Minister from the Labour Party was elected in 1923 - PM Ramsey MacDonald
• the Great Depression began at the end of 1929 - Britain survived the Depression with fewer problems than most nations
• the Empire provided a supportive network of business
• Unemployment did rise substantially
• In 1931 MacDonald formed the National Government - a coalition government of Labour, Conservatives and Liberals
• While the popularity of Fascism grew all across the continent in Britain it was insignificant

Foreign Policy -

• Britain and France quickly disagreed about the treatment of Germany
• Britain wanted Germany to recover to be a bulwark against the Soviets
• Home Rule was granted to the Irish Free State in 1922
• Britain opposed the French occupation of the Ruhr in 1923
• Britain supported the Treaty of Locarno in 1925 (it basically renounced war)

Scandal

• In 1936 King Edward VIII ascended the throne - his father had died Jan. 20 - He quickly fell into trouble over his desire to marry a twice divorced American Wallis Warfield Simpson ( I talked to a woman who had seen her in her 70's and said she was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.  I don't think this shows in her pictures.)
• Because he was head of the Church of England he was not allowed to marry a divorcee (This is kind of ironic since Henry VIII started the church so he could get a divorce!)
• He abdicated Dec. 11, 1936 - before his coronation - for the "woman I love."

FRANCE

The Third Republic had survived the war - France was victorious but was physically and financially exhausted

There was no agreement about the direction of France - unstable governments - between 1918 and 1940 over 40 separate governments were formed

Economy

• The nation had insisted on heavy reparations on Germany at Versailles to finance the cost of rebuilding
• When Germany missed its 1923 payment France occupied the Ruhr - it was an attempt to not only get their money but also to remind the Germans who was boss - it failed - German workers went on strike and refused to work - Britain angrily demanded French withdrawal - showing the growing disagreement over how to deal with Germany
• By the mid-1920 France had recovered its pre-war prosperity
• The Depression did not hit France until after 1931 - when it did it hit hard

Politics

• France was a house divided - (They had many political parties not a two party system like we have.  These groups formed coalitions.) -the French Left (Socialists and Communists) despised each other as much as the Right - disagreed about loyalty to the Soviet form of socialism (fascism)
• The French Right was increasingly violent and fanatic - in 1934 a huge right-wing riot left 14 dead
• Control of the government continued to alternate between the two extremes all through the 1930's
• In the election of 1936 a coalition of left-wing parties called the Popular Front was established - led by the socialist Leon Blum - the new government instituted numerous reforms such as wage hikes and two-week vacations for all to win support - but the right resisted
• By 1938 the Popular Front government was replaced by a right-wing administration under Edouard Daladier (dah-lah-DYAY) - but the left resisted
• On the eve of WW II France was so divided it could not put up a united front against Germany

Foreign Relations

• After the war France considered itself to be the leading continental power
• France was determined to keep Germany in line
• To keep Germany isolated France sought new allies in the new successor states in eastern Europe
• France allied itself with the Little Entente of Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia - a weak substitute for the old Triple Entente
• As France felt more isolated after the break with Britain following the Ruhr Crisis of 1923 the nation began to spend on defense - during the 1930's the Maginot Line was constructed

Successor States of Eastern Europe

The new nations of Eastern Europe faced a wide array of problems - weak economies - unstable governments - rise of dictatorial governments

Austria

• following the end of the war a democratic government was established
• But - there was no economic base - when the Empire collapsed raw supplies were cut off from industry
• The economy could not function properly
• The Depression hit hard
• Austria also quickly turned to authoritarian government
• Engelbert Dollfuss ruled as dictator
• In 1934 Nazi supporters attempted a coup
• Dollfuss was assassinated ( He was a friend of Mussolini's and Mussolini stepped in and stopped the coup.)
• Kurt von Schuschnigg became the new Chancellor until the Anschluss (This is the union Hitler forced with Austria.)

Hungary

• Following the end of the war Hungary was embittered over the huge loss of territory (to Romania especially)
• In 1919 a communist coup set up a government under Bela Kun - it lasted a few months and was crushed by Romanian troops and counter-revolutionaries
• A traditional authoritarian government was established under Admiral Horthy which was a regency and continued until 1944

Poland

• A major disappointment
• Poland became a military dictatorship under the rule of General Pilsudski by 1926
• The nation was caught between Germany and the Soviet Union - Germany wanted to recover the Polish Corridor - The Soviets wanted to recover the old Russian section of Poland
• Made alliances with France

Czechoslovakia

• The success of Eastern Europe
• Czechoslovakia contained a strong industrial base and an educated population
• It established a truly democratic government under Thomas Maseryk
• The greatest danger facing the new nation came from the unhappy German minority ( less then 3,000,000) living in the Sudetenland - they resented the Czech government - the Sudeten Germans will find an ally in Hitler

The Rise of Dictators

ITALY

• An Allied nation during WW I - nation left angry at the terms of the Versailles Treaty - felt that it had been promised a lot more under the Treaty of London than it actually received - the nation had sustained large casualties
• Returning veterans could not find jobs in the post-war economy - massive unemployment - urban workers were forming unions affiliated with the communists - a general strike in 1919 paralyzed the country - peasant farmers seized landlord estates in areas of the countryside
• the middle-class feared the growing instability and unrest

Fascism

• The Fascist Party was organized immediately after the end of the war
• Benito Mussolini (Il Duce) led the party (b.1883 - d.1945) - born in Dovia - son of a blacksmith - teacher and journalist (newspaper editor) - former socialist - veteran (wounded) - organized disgruntled veterans (unemployed soldiers) into a paramilitary force called the "Blackshirts" - they beat up communists - terrorized those who opposed them
• By 1922 the Fascist Party had become very powerful - supported by the middle-class and the young - destroyed the socialists
• Ideology - authoritarian - leader centered - elite party - rallying cry: "Believe, Obey, Fight" - nationalistic - militaristic - advocated a system where private property and business were allowed; but where the state controlled the direction of the economy - for his Italian audience Mussolini preached a restoration of the Glory of Rome - he promised to revive the Roman Empire

March on Rome

• The political situation in the country continued to deteriorate in 1922
• The government was powerless
• In October 1922 several thousand Blackshirts marched on Rome to demand a role for Mussolini in the government (without a majority in parliament)
• The marchers were unopposed
• King Victor Emmanuel III (he will be king during WW II and eventually be the one to oust Mussolini) offered Mussolini the Prime Ministership - he became Premier

Once in power Mussolini and the Fascists quickly solidify their control

• Opposition parties are outlawed
• Dissidents are exiled or killed
• Law and order restored
• Censorship
• Unions and strikes are banned
• Every segment of society organized into corporations

Economics - Mussolini's government achieved some important results

• Swamps (south of Rome) were drained - ending the threat of malaria and providing new productive farmlands
• Roads, bridges, dams, power plants, hospitals, and schools built
• "Mussolini made the trains run on time"

Foreign Policy

• Initially Mussolini pursued a very cautious foreign policy - he was soon hailed as a statesman of Europe
• Mussolini signed the Treaty of Locarno in 1925
• In 1928 he made peace with the Catholic Church in the Lateran Treaty - the Catholic Church (Pope Pius XI) finally recognized the Italian state - Italy paid compensation for the Papal loss of Rome and made Catholicism the state religion
• Mussolini defended the sovereignty of Austria from a Nazi coup in 1934
• But - his status changed after the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia - he wanted to avenge the defeat at Adowa in the 1890's - savage attack - the Italians attacked with modern weapons and the Ethiopians defended with spears and shields - the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations for assistance - got weak sanctions
• In 1936 Mussolini signed the Rome-Berlin Axis formally binding Italy to Nazi Germany

Weimar Germany

• When Kaiser Wilhelm II's government collapsed in 1918 a republic was proclaimed in Berlin
• Weimar Republic lasted from 1918 to 1933 - a very liberal democratic government - constitutional freedom for all citizens - dynamic culture - even decadent
• The new republic was hated by many citizens on both the right and the left - the right blamed the Weimar government for signing the Versailles Treaty and  "stabbing the nation in the back." - the left felt that Weimar was in the way of the true socialist revolution they desired
• In 1919 an attempt at a communist coup was made in Berlin called the Spartacus Revolt - led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebkneckt - crushed by right-wing veterans called the Free Korps and the army
• In 1923 a coup attempt called the Beer Hall Putsch - in Bavaria by the National Socialists (Nazis) led by Adolf Hitler was put down - When the economy begins to recover in the mid-1920's Weimar finally begins to gain popular support

Economics

• Immediately following the war Germany was in economic collapse
• It was saddled with hue reparations
• Inflation devastated the economy - by 1923 the Mark was worthless - prices raised more than one trillion percent from Aug. 1922 to Nov. 1923 - In 1923, $1 in U.S. money was worth over 4 trillion German marks - workers would go to work in the morning, get paid at noon, and their wives would come get the money and spend it - because it would be worth less by evening
• In 1925 the United States organized the Dawes Plan (developed by Charles Dawes and American banker  1865-1951) which offered loans and payment relief (a realistic schedule) to the Germans - the economy finally began to recover - by 1928 Germany had attained pre-war prosperity
• In 1929 the United States developed the Young Plan (Owen D. Young an American businessman  1874-1962) which offered Germany still further relief
• In Oct. 1929 the stock market crash destroyed the German economy
• The collapse of the economy doomed the Weimar Republic

Foreign Relations

• Treaty of Rapollo (1922) - Russia signed with Germany
• Treaty of Locarno (1925) - Germany, France, Belgium, British, Italy
• Kellogg-Brand Pact (1928) - 23 nations - to renounce war
• All 3 treaties basically renounced war

Rise of the Nazis

• The National Socialist German Worker's Party (when Hitler took it over it only had 7 members) was formed in 1920
• It gained followers in the early years among veterans and nationalists who
• felt that the Weimar government had betrayed the nation a Versailles

Adolf Hitler 1889-1945

• son of an Austrian customs official
• father illegitimate - probably 1/2 Jewish - conceived while his mother worked as a maid for a Jewish family - the family paid support until he was 14
• when Austria was captured Hitler had his father's birthplace, Dollersheim and his grandmother's grave, designated a tank training ground - destroyed all evidence
• Hitler's mother died in Dec. 21, 1907 of breast cancer - the doctor that treated her was Jewish and Hitler would later help him escape Germany
• he also had an older brother that had died
• Hitler fought in WW I - he was wounded (He was a runner delivering messages.  He was sent out to deliver a message when 6 runners had already been killed.  He succeeded but was wounded.  He received the Iron Cross.)  and he was gassed
• After the war he tried to become an architect - he was rejected from the school and told he had not talent (When he came to power he had a great deal of building done.  His main architect was Albert Speer.) - he drifted and painted postcards and sold them to raise money - he became involved with the Nazi party

Hitler's Main Henchmen

• Joseph Goebbles who would become his head of propaganda - one of the few with a university education - had a PHD - got it at age 24 - crippled left leg - result of osteomyelitis at age 7 - followed by an unsuccessful operation - fine voice - razor keen sense of timing
• Hermann Goering - head of the airforce - a heroin addict
• Heinrick Himmler - head of the SS and the concentration camps - a former chicken farmer

Beer Hall Putsch

• 1923
• Hitler believed that the time was right to stage a coup in Munich - inspired by the March on Rome in 1922
• Joined by General Ludendorff
• Failed when the police interfered
• Hitler was tried and sentenced to prison for 5 years - he served 9 months - while in prison he dictated Mein Kampf to Rudolph Hess - it spelled out his future goals including Lebensraum (living space - conquest!) and the Final Solution
• ***  "Hess known in Party circles as "Black Emma," was for many years the Fuhrer's (homosexual) partner, especially during their joint detetion in Landsberg." ( The Hidden Hitler p. 232)

By the time Hitler was released from prison the economy had begun to recover and his popularity evaporated - in the 1928 election for the Reichstag the Nazis got 12 seats

The Depression began in 1929 and gave Hitler a new opportunity - in the 1932 Reichstag elections the Nazis got 230 seats - he was supported by business who feared the Communists

In 1932 Hitler challenged President Paul von Hindenburg (General) in the presidential election - Hindenburg won easily - but Hindenburg was old (in his 80's)and sick and not able to stand up to Hitler

Hindenburg appointed Hitler the Chancellor in January 1933 - he and his conservative supporters believed Hitler could be controlled  - they were wrong

The Approach of War

From 1933 on the stage was set for another major European war

Nazi Germany

Following Hitler's appointment to the Chancellorship in January 1933 he quickly consolidated his grip on power

In February 1933 the Reichstag building was set on fire by an arsonist

• A Dutch communist (mentally retarded) was quickly arrested and charged with the crime - it's believed the Nazis actually set the fire
• A new Nazi government use the incident to seek broad dictatorial powers to reestablish law and order in Germany

In March 1933 The Reichstag passed the Enabling Act which gave Hitler full dictatorial power - he never gave them up after that

In June 1933 all other political parties were officially declared illegal

Night of the Long Knives

• The German Army was jealous of the Nazi Party's private army the Stormtroopers (SA) - the "Brownshirts"
• To win the army's support Hitler secretly planned the murders of several SA leaders when reports of their homosexuality began to surface in the media - he had initially protected them
• especially Ernst Roehm (had him executed in prison) - he was homosexual - he had established a sort of homosexual network within the SA - assigned prominent posts to homosexual friends and lovers
• ***  There is a book called The Hidden Hitler by Lothar Mechtan.  It alleges Hitler was homosexual as well as many of the men around him.  I personally think the author makes a very good case!

On August 2,1934 President Hindenburg died - he was the last voice not under control of Hitler

Hitler was master of Germany

Nazism

• Very similar to Fascism
• Nationalistic and militaristic
• Elite party - leader center (Der Fuhrer)
• Totalitarian
• Pageantry and ceremony (almost paganistic)
• The biggest distinction between Fascism and Nazism is the racial policies of Nazism
• Secret police maintained tight control - Gestapo

Anti-Semitic Legislation

• In 1933 Jews were barred from the civil service
• In 1935 the Nuremburg Laws were passed - Jews were stripped of their citizenship - no intermarriage - no government jobs or college education

In November 1938 the first wide-scale violence occurred - Kristalnacht

• Thousands of businesses were attacked
• Thousands of people were deported

Not until after the start of the war did the large-scale extermination policies of the Final Solution begin - adopted in January 1942 at the Wanasee Conference

***1938 - Time Magazine named Hitler "Man of the Year" - criteria "news impact" not moral worth

Initial popularity of the Nazi regime stemmed from a sense or renewed spirit and pride - Hitler promised jobs and glory - he delivered both

Nazi Foreign Policy

After the failure of the Austrian coup Hitler actively cultivated Mussolini - by 1936 the Rome-Berlin Axis was formed

Hitler wanted to annul Versailles Treaty - he began playing a game of "chicken" with the Allies

In March 1935 Hitler re-militarized the Rhineland - this was in violation of the Versailles Treaty - a gamble his generals advised against - the Western Allies did nothing to stop him - missed a great opportunity

March 1935 Hitler announced the re-arming of Germany - again the Allies only offered faint protest

In October 1935 Mussolini launched his attack against Ethiopia - again encountered limited resistance

Emboldened in March 1938 Hitler turned his attention to his homeland Austria

• The Nazi coup in 1934 had failed
• In 1938 Hitler tried to bully the Austrian Chancellor into going along with Anschluss (union of Austria and Germany) - annexation of Austria - Clear violation of the Versailles Treaty
• Chancellor Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite for March 13
• Germans invaded on the 12th
• Known as the "Battle of the Flowers" because of the tremendous welcome
• Hitler was greeted as a conquering hero in Vienna
• Austria ceased to exist - it became part of Germany

Again the West did nothing

Only Stalin was actively demanding that Hitler be confronted

SPANISH CIVIL WAR (1936 - 1939)

• The monarchy (King Alfonso XIII) had been overthrown in Spain in 1931
• The new government of the republic began some moderate reforms which enraged the traditional centers of power in Spain - the Church, the military, and the large landowners
• In the elections of 1936 a Popular Front government was elected - dominated by radical leftists including some communists - this was too much for the traditionalists
• General Francisco Franco (1982 - 1975) - 1935 Army Chief of Staff - February 1936 government exiled him to an obscure command in the Canary Islands -July 1936 brought his army over from the colony in Spanish Morocco and the civil war began - supported by the Falange (fascists in Spain) - supported by the Catholic Church
• The war devastated Spain
• nearly 1,000,000 were killed
• The war took on international ideological implications
• The government (Loyalists/Republicans) were supported by the Soviet Union - and some tepid support by the democracies
• Franco (Nationalists) was actively supported by both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy - (Franco was 1/2 Jewish and Hitler didn't know it) - the war was an opportunity to test the weapons and tactics to be used in WW II - Condor Legion bombed the Basque village of Guernica in 1937 - this became the subject of Picasso's painting Guernica
• The war ended in a fascist victory in 1939
• Again Stalin had been the only voice to actively speak out against Hitler
• Franco would rule until his death in 1975 - in 1969 he designated Prince Juan Carlos, grandson of Spain's former king, Alfonso XIII, as his official successor

Czechoslovakia

• With it's large German minority it was the next logical target
• The Czechs had a defensive treaty with the French
• The Sudetendeutsch resented their minority status in Czechoslovakia
• They received encouragement from the Hitler government
• By September 1938 Hitler was demanding that the Sudentenland ( it was actually northeast of the German settlements) be ceded to Germany or war would ensue - in September 1938 a series of meetings were held in Munich to discuss the crisis - present were Hitler (Germany, Mussolini (Italy), Daladier (France), and Chamberlain (Great Britain) - neither the Czechs nor the Soviets were invited
• At the meeting Hitler got everything he demanded
• Chamberlain practiced the concept of appeasement
• Chamberlain returned from the Munich Conference and declared that he had bought "...peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time." - (The British and French were very afraid of another war.  World War I had been so devastating for them they were willing to do most any thing to avoid another war.  Obviously that policy did not work.  Most historians believe that WW II really is just an extension of WW I because things were not resolved in the war and the Versailles Peace Treaty was so harsh.)
• Hitler had promised that he had no further territorial demands in Europe - that he would respect the territorial integrity of what remained of Czechoslovakia
• On March 15, 1939 Hitler broke his word and seized all of Czechoslovakia

Chamberlain and Daladier were left humiliated and resolved that Hitler was an unreasonable and dishonorable man

• They were determined not to be humiliated again
• Appeasement was over
• The two democracies offered their full support to Poland - the next logical target (Polish Corridor) - Poland was skeptical

Stalin was convinced that a war between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia was inevitable - he needed time to prepare

• Stalin began secret negotiations with the Nazis
• Nazi-Soviet Pact - announced on August 23, 1939 - shocked to the French and British - non-aggression treaty - the agreement contained secret provisions for the division of Poland and the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states

Only one week later on September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland

World War II begins

Japan

• Fought with the Allies in World War I - received German islands in the Pacific
• Over industrialization created economic distress
• Struggle between democracy and militaristic feudal ways
• 1931 - young army officers plotted to overthrow the government
• To gain support they invaded Manchuria - successful
• Swept the military into power
• Civilian ministers eliminated
• Military dictatorship established
• Started invasions of southern coastal cities in China - information reported back to the U.S. by the "Old China Hands" (Mainly missionaries.  President Roosevelt's cousin was one.)

World War I

WORLD WAR I

Underlying reasons

Imperialism - international tensions

Nationalism - prestige and pride influenced countries international conduct

Militarism - because of insecurity wanted greater armies and weapons - this increases tensions, fears and taxes - arms race - leaders urged mobilization

Alliances - gave false sense of security

• Triple Alliance - Germany (Kaiser Wilhelm II - his father died of throat cancer after 99 days as Kaiser probably caused because he was a heavy smoker.  *** A note on German words the W's are pronounced like V's.), Italy (later dropped out and joined the Triple Entente), and Austria Hungary
• Triple Entente - France (wanted revenge on Germany - afraid of being isolated in Europe), Russia, England (afraid of German ambitions)

Catalyst is the murder of the heir to the Austrian throne and his wife in Sarajevo by members of the Black Hand a Serbian secret nationalist party

Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Franz is the German form of Francis)

• Nephew of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph -he was heir because Franz Joseph's son Rudolf had committed suicide in 1889
• Not an oppressor of the Serbs
• They killed him because they wanted a bigger place in the sun for Serbia
• He was in Sarajevo (in Bosnia) because he wanted royal honors for his wife
• Wife - Countess Sophie Chotek, Duchess of Hohenberg - noble but obscure family - beneath his station
• had to argue with Emperor Franz Joseph for one year to be allowed to marry her (1900) - then compelled to renounce rights of succession and rank for his children
• Great love affair - blessed by 3 children
• But Sophie was snubbed in the Vienna court - she couldn't ride in the royal carriage with her husband - or sit in the royal box at the theater
• Gradually the emperor softened toward Sophie
• Franz Ferdinand could never forgive the court - swollen with pride - dangerously thin-skinned - religious bigot - miser - loneliest man in Vienna - loved only by his wife and children - no moderation in him - aides didn't last long  - had many broken friendships - ruined by his venomous temper and petty spite
• Took Sophie to Sarajevo so she could have special honor on their 14th wedding anniversary - June - she would have to be treated with special honors there

Assassins

• 7 young men - Serbian nationalists
• Only 1 had a police record for hitting a teacher
• Several had never touched liquor
• None gamblers
• All free of personal debt
• Only thing they had in common - all had tuberculosis

Assassination

• In a motorcade
• 1st man froze (Mohammed Mehmedvasic) - he got away but was arrested later after bragging about his part in the assassination
• 2nd man threw his bomb (Nedjelko Cabrinovic - 17 years old) - at that instant the car accelerated - bomb passed behind Sophie's back
• The Archduke raised his arm to protect his wife and deflected the bomb into the street
• A flying splinter hit Sophie's cheek and about a dozen other were wounded
• (2nd)bomber swallowed a cyanide capsule and dove into the river (Mljacka) - the cyanide made him retch and the river was only a few inched deep (the potency had expired on the cyanide) - he was not eligible for the death penalty as a juvenile - served 16 years and then became a history teacher
• The car sped up and shot past 3 more assassins - (4th)Vasco Cubrilovic, Cnyetko Popovic (18 years old - became a museum curator), Aanilo Ilic - they did nothing - these last 3 wandered off to the local pub to get drunk and celebrate
• The car reached City Hall
• The Archduke sent a wire to the emperor saying he there had been a bomb attack, but they were unhurt
• They canceled the rest of the days activities and decided to go to the hospital to see the bomb victims
• He begged Sophie not to share the risk - she replied: "No, I must go with you."
• 6th man (Trifko Grabez) - did nothing when he was passed
• At the next intersection the car made a wrong turn and drove past the pub
• The driver stopped and turned around
• Put them within 5 feet of the next man
• 7th man (Gavrilo Princip - had once been turned down by the Serbian Army for being too "small and weak") - drew a Browning revolver and fired instantly (twice) - so little noise sounded like blanks - one hit Franz Ferdinand in the neck - the other hit Sophie in the abdomen - the man riding with them (Potiorek) thought them unhurt - they sat upright, looking calmly ahead - directed the driver to return the way they came - as the car picked up speed blood shot from the Archduke's mouth
• Sophie cried, "For heaven's sake what's happening to you?" - then crumpled in a heap
• Franz Ferdinand cried, "Sophie dear, Sophie dear, don't die!  Stay alive for our children!"
• He then sagged and when asked if he was suffering whispered, "It is nothing." several times - these were his last world
• Sophie was dead before they could get her out of the car
• Franz Ferdinand soon followed her
• All over by 11:00am - June 28, 1914
• Princip (7th man) - tired to shoot himself - pistol knocked down by a spectator - crowd closed in and roughed him up - managed to swallow a cyanide pill - merely made him vomit - if he had died he could not have talked - Austria might not have made a 1/2 way case against Serbia - he was convicted but spared the death penalty because he was only 19 - he died in prison of tuberculosis in 1918

Austria - sent and ultimatum to Serbia - July 23, 1914

• Serbia must give up their independence
• Serbia agreed to most of the demands
• Germany goaded Austria Hungary into taking military action against Serbia - they wanted them to prove "themselves worthy of being Germany's ally"
• Declared war
• As a result Russia mobilized then Germany then France
• British took up battle positions in the North Sea
• When the Serbian Minister of Public Information read Austria's ultimatum, he said "There is nothing to do but die fighting."
• Austria declared war at noontime on July 28

As a result Russia fully mobilized

In response Germany fully mobilized - then France mobilized

British Royal Navy took up battle positions in the North Sea

Germany declared war on Russia August 1, 1914 and on France August 3, 1914

The "war to end all wars" had begun -65,000,000 combatants would take part and Europe would never be the same

By August Europe was engulfed in the first major war since Napoleon

(***If you would like to read about this in more depth The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman is an excellent book.)

The war was greeted by patriotic fervor all over the continent

By 1915 the two sides had clearly formed

      Central Powers                   versus                            Allies

• Germany                                                          France          Serbia
• Austria-Hungary                                               Britain          Japan
• Ottoman Empire                                               Russia           Portugal
• Bulgaria                                                           Italy               U.S.
•                                                                        Belgium

Both sides planned for and expected a short war - a few decisive battles - both were in for a surprise

Discuss rulers - all first cousins through Queen Victoria - Hohenzollern (Germany) - Hapsburg (Austria) - Romanov (Russia)

von Schlieffen Plan

• Since 1984 Germany had faced the possibility of a two-front war against both France and Russia
• To win such a war German generals had developed a strategy called the von Schlieffen Plan
• Germany would attack France first because that nation could mobilize faster than Russia
• To get the best advantage over the French this invasion would go through the neutral nation of Belgium
• The von Schlieffen Plan called for the passage through Belgium in six day and the conquest of France in six weeks
• Then German troops would be rushed east to face the still mobilizing Russians

Germany invaded Belgium on August 3, 1914

• The Kaiser referred to Belgian neutrality as a "scrap of paper"
• The Belgians resisted - King Albert I said, "Belgium is a nation, not a road."
• It took the Germans eighteen days to conquer Belgium - atrocities were committed

German troops entered France behind schedule - French and British troops had time to prepare for the onslaught

Still the Germans drove the Allies back deep into France to within 25 miles of Paris

Stopped at the Battle of the Marne

• French and British retreated for 12 days and then they turned and counter attacked
• For 3 bloody days (Sept. 6 - 8) the battle swayed back and forth along a 100 mile front
• Reinforcements arrived - "Miracle of the Marne" - French troops (600) rushed to the front in taxi cabs - first major use of motorized transport in the history of warfare - each cab made two 36 mile trips to the line - these troops had been shifted from the Moselle front and brought to Paris by train
• September 9 - the Germans began to retreat
• Casualties - Germany, 900,000 - French and English, 1,083,000
• Called a French victory
• Ranked one of the decisive battles in history - it stopped bringing the war to a quick close - determined WW I would last a long time
• Dug in - trench warfare began

In the first 3 months of the war almost the entire original British army was wiped out.

Russia also went on the offensive in the early days of the war - In response to pleas from France the Russians launched an attack on the Germans from the east while the Battle of the Marne was going on

Battle of Tannenburg - Germany wins - late August of 1914

• Panicked Germans brought General Hindenburg out of retirement to save the day - 13,000 killed, wounded or missing
• Germans surrounded the Russian army
• Russia retreats
• Russian general (Samsonov) killed himself
• Entire 2nd Army virtually wiped out
• Russian casualties were astronomical  - including the flower of the aristocratic youth - over 30,000 killed or missing - 92,000 taken prisoner
• One of the greatest disasters in military history

1914 - Christmas Truce

• Southern section of the Ypres Salient
• Mud lay deep in the trenches
• Men caked from head to foot in mud
• Rifles wouldn't work
• Trenches only a few hundred feet a part
• There is a book written about this time: Silent Night by Stanley Weintraub.  The following is a excerpt.
• "In the early months of WW I, on Christmas Eve, men on both sides laid down their arms and joined in a spontaneous celebration.  Despite orders to continue shooting, the unofficial truce spread across the front lines.  Even the participants found what they were doing incredible:  Germans placed candlelit Christmas trees on trench parapets, warring soldiers sang carols, and men on opposite sides shared food parcels from home.  They climbed from the trenches to meet in "No Man's Land" where they buried the dead exchanged gifts, ate and drank together, and even played soccer."

1915

Little ground changes hands in the west.

Italy joined the war on the side of the Allies - forced Austria-Hungary to fight a two front war

• Treaty of London promised the Italians new colonies and territory from Austria-Hungary
• Proved to be inept against the Austrians

Ottoman Empire proved to be a valuable ally to the Germans

• The Ottomans closed the straits to allied shipping leaving Russia isolated
• Gallipoli Campaign - Allies held for 8 months - finally withdrew - lost approximately 100,000 casualties
• During 1915 the Turks were also massacring the Armenians (**I have a friend who's pregnant, 15 year old, grandmother was put on a ship by her husband to the United States.  She never saw her husband again.)

Eastern Front saw the Russians driven back deep into Russia

The Central Powers occupied all of Poland and Lithuania - over 1,000,000 Russian casualties

In the Balkans the Austrians quickly conquered Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania

Western Front remained mired in a stalemate of trench warfare

• Started by the Germans to hold ground they had gained
• Stretched 600 miles
• Trench war was hellish - lots of rats - some bodies were buried in the sides of the trenches and at times would be exposed after a rain or attack
• Deadlocked for 2 years
• First use of gas April 22 - chlorine - released by the Germans - greenish white mist

At sea the war saw the first use of the submarine as a weapon - Germany used it in an attempt to break a British blockade and to starve Britain

HMS Lusitania was sunk by a German sub May 7, 1915

• ***The Germans notified Americans in New York with a newspaper ad that they would sink it if possible - only 12 people canceled their ticket
• Carried 1200 civilian passengers - 139 Americans
• Sunk with one torpedo
• This ship was actually heavily armed - carried 1,248 cases of 3-inch shells - 4,927 boxes of cartridges (1,000 rounds in each box) - 2,000 more cases of small-arms ammunition
• Her manifests were falsified to hide the fact
• British and American governments lied about the cargo
• Worldwide outrage compels Germany to issue the Sussex Pledge (the Sussex was another civilian ship sunk March 24, 1916) - Germany said they would warn unarmed vessels - later reverted to unrestricted sinking (April 1917)

***During hand-to-hand fighting in WW I a young British private (Henry Tandey) held an injured and frightened young German corporal at bayonet point.   He let him go.  The German was Adolf Hitler.

***The parachute had been invented by WW I.  German pilots had them.  Americans did not.  The War Department believed the pilot would bring home his injured plane if he couldn't bail out when he was hit.

Colonies of the Germans were quickly seized by the Allies (British and Japanese)

World War I sparked some major revolutions in military technology

• machine gun
• poison gas (mustard Gas)
• submarine
• flamethrower
• airplane
• tank - ***When the British were developing this they kept it very secret.  They built it in a factory that made water tanks so it became known as the "tank."  It was first used at the Battle of Somme.
• Zeppelin (lighter than air balloon)
• grenade

1916

• Drives on all fronts
• On the Western Front the trench war stalemate continued
• In the spring the Germans launched a major offensive against the French fortress of Verdun (Feb. 21) - the attack lasted almost 4 months - cost nearly 1,000,000 casualties (French - 540,000   German - 430,000) - hero of the Battle of Verdun was the French general Henri Petain (pay - tan) who rallied the nation with the cry "They shall not pass!" - the Germans failed to capture the fortress - advanced 4 miles in 6 months
• July 1 - Allies launched an attack of their own  - Battle of the Somme - it goes on for 5 months - again casualties were tremendous (Germans - 500,000    Allies - 600,000) - results were inconclusive - the British introduced the tank in this battle
• On the Eastern Front the Russians continued to suffer setbacks and casualties
• Ottoman forces confronted a British campaign in their Arab provinces and the British supported Arab revolt directed by a British military officer named T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia)
• May 31 to June 1 - only significant naval battle of the war - German fleet sailed out into the North Sea - tried to divide the British fleet - didn't work - the British navy under Admiral Jellico met the Germans in the Battle of Jutland - they battled to a draw - Germans claimed victory but the British still controlled the high seas - the Germans retreated and did not fight again
• Easter Revolt in Ireland also drained British manpower

Home front

• This was a total war necessitating the mobilization of the entire nation - everyone had a role to play - grew victory gardens - knit socks and scarfs for soldiers
• Women began working in the industrial systems to replace men needed to fight - also assumed more traditional roles as nurses and spies
• Edith Cavell (1865 -1915) - English nurse in Brussels - helped about 200 Allied soldiers escape - shot by the Germans - last words: "Patriotism is not enough."
• Mata Hari (1876 - 1917) - Dutch dancer - pretended to be a Javanese temple dancer - accused of spying for the Germans - shot by the French - real name, Margaritha Gertrud Zelle
• The war effort created shortages of all goods for the civilian populations - caused rationing - especially food - the situation worsened as the war dragged on

War Leaders

• Germany                        Kaiser Wilhelm II
• Austria-Hungary             Emperor Franz Josef (d.1916) / Emperor Karl
• Great Britain                  King George V / P.M. David Lloyd-George
• France                           President Raymond Poincare / Clemenceau
• Russia                            Tsar Nicholas II (abdicated 1917)
• Italy                               P.M. Vittorio Orlando

Air war - battles became common - 1st fired pistols or rifles - then carried machine guns - also dropped bombs by hand - end of the war they had battles with 10 to 50 planes - replaced single combat

***The idea that 3 on a match was unlucky came from troops in the trenches.  By the time the third person was ready to use the match the other side had taken aim and was ready to shoot them.

***16th Amendment - 1913 - Established the income tax - started first as a resolution - then became part of the constitution - was suppose to be temporary

1917

• Critical year of the war
• Russia was disintegrating - the Tsar's armies were deserting or worse in mutiny
• February 1917 - Romanov dynasty was overthrown - the democratic party came to power and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovosk to get out of the war

United States finally enters the war

• it had tried to remain neutral
• Isolationist policy - cited Washington's Farewell Address (no foreign entanglements)
• Ethnic divisions in the U.S.
• German use of the submarine and atrocities combined with Allied propaganda slowly turned the U.S. opinion in favor of the Allies
• February 1917 - Germans announced the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
• The U.S. broke diplomatic relation
• March 1917 the British intercepted a coded German diplomatic message to the German embassy in Mexico - the Zimmerman Telegram (you can find copies of this on the internet)- asked Mexico to attack the U.S. - promised Mexico would receive all lands lost to the U.S. - British turned over the note to the U.S. government - within a week President Wilson asked for a declaration of war (April 6, 1917) - (Any one interested in learning more about this should read The Zimmerman Telegram by Barbara Tuchman) -
• Almost totally unprepared
• Army less than 200,000
• Adopted the draft (selective service) for men 21 to 30
• America eventually raised an army of over 4,000,000 men and shipped nearly 2,000,000 across the ocean to France - they took part in 13 major operations
• called the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) - led by General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing
• began landing in France on June 26,1917
• *"Lafayette, we are here."  - said by Col C.D. Stanton a week after  U.S. troops arrived in France
• Did not play a significant role until 1918

1918

The war entered its final year with both sides exhausted and the end no where in sight

January 8 - Wilson announced 14 Points - gave hope of a just peace to the enemy

The defeat of Russia allowed the Germans to transfer all of those troops to the Western Front

Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff planned an all out spring offensive as a last attempt at victory before American troops began to arrive in force - the offensive began with success

Allies driven back

Once again Germans lacked sufficient power to finish the job

The Americans began to arrive and the Germans began to fall back to Germany

April - Allies unified under Marshal Foch

May 31 - Germans reached the Marne River - U.S. stopped their crossing the Marne at Chateau-Thierry

August 26 - Germans began retreating

Collapse of the Central Powers

• By the end of the summer of 1918 each of the Central Powers were near collapse
• Ottoman Empire - British troops had occupied the lower provinces and were closing in on Turkey
• Austria-Hungary - the nation was being torn apart by ethnic unrest - whole regions were in revolt - Italian troops split Austria-Hungary's armies in two and destroyed them
• Germany - the nation was starving and the army near mutiny

The Allies were not much better off

• France -Army was near mutiny - civilian population was sick of the war and the losses - out of 112 divisions, 68 would have mutinies, 629 men tried and condemned, 50 shot by firing squads
• Britain - nation on the verge of bankruptcy - was also exhausted
• Only the arrival of American reinforcements kept the Allies going

September - Allies broke the Siegrried Line

Surrenders

• September - Bulgaria surrendered
• October the Ottomans surrendered
• November 3 - Austria-Hungary simply disintegrated
• November - Kaiser was overthrown and fled to Holland - Germany asked for terms

***Note - Germany was never invaded - This will be used by the Germans later to say they were betrayed by their politicians.

On November 11, 1918 (11:00am) the fighting ended - ***notice it is 11,11,11 - this date would become a holiday to celebrate the end of the "Great War" - later it would be changed to "Veteran's Day" to honor all veterans

In a railroad car in the Compeigne Forest in Northern France 2 German delegates met  Allied officials to sign the armistice.

Losses

• Cost over $337,000,000 in the first 3 years - that's over $85,000 a minute
• Cost twice that in 1918
• Over 8 million killed - 126,000 Americans
• 24 million wounded

Peace

When the U.S. entered the war in 1917 President Wilson said that the goal was "peace without victory" - he sought a just, fair peace

Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points - some of the key provisions:

• Free trade
• No secret treaties
• Arms limitations
• Borders drawn along ethnic lines
• A free Poland
• Creation of a League of Nations

When the Germans asked for peace terms they expected  on based on the Fourteen Points - they did not get it - the Allies wanted revenge

Treaty of Versailles

• Delegates from the warring nations met at the Palace of Versailles to negotiate a conclusion to the war
• Big Four
•      President Wilson                     United States
•      P.M. Lloyd-George                  Great Britain - wanted German colonies
•      Clemenceau                            France - wanted Germany to pay
•      P.M. Orlando                           Italy
• Representatives of the Central Powers were not allowed to attend the negotiations - had to wait for the finished treaty to be presented to them
• The resulting treaty was very harsh
• Wilson was forced to give up most of the Fourteen Points - *** He suffered a mild stroke in Paris.  It was not recognized as a stroke at the time.  It seriously affected his judgment.
• Other Allied leaders were not in the mood to be conciliatory to the Germans
• Blamed Germany for starting the war - wanted to make sure it was so stripped of power that they would be safe from future aggression

Terms for Germany

• Given sole war guilt - outraged the Germans
• Lost all of it's colonies - Samoa, New Guines, German China, Marianas, Carolinas, Marshalls
• Had to return Alsace-Lorraine to France
• Lost territory to the new nation of Poland - Polish Corridor cut off East Prussia from the rest of Germany
• Had to pay huge reparations - held responsible for all damages
• Rhineland was demilitarized
• France was given control of the coal mines of the Saar for 15 years
• The army was limited to 100,000 - no airforce
• The navy was limited to coastal vessels only - no submarines

At first Germany refused to sign but they were in a terrible position. Britain was blockading Germany. - Germans close to starving - this situation increased the Germans resentment

To avoid occupation a second delegation signed on June 28, 1919

Treaty of St. Germain

• With the old Austro-Hungarian Empire
• The Nation was carved up into 5 new and separate nations
• Austria left a small rump state
• Hungary lost almost half it's land to neighboring Romania - bitter and vengeful
• Czechoslovakia - old industrial heart of the empire
• Yugoslavia - new federation of the South Slavs
• Poland - joined with former German and Russian territories
• Large reparations

Treaty of Lausanne

• With the old Ottoman Empire
• The Republic of Turkey was established under the government of Kemal Ataturk
• Turks lost all of their territory except the remains of modern Turkey

League of Nations

• One of the only ideas of President Wilson to be incorporated into the peace settlements
• Established at Geneva, Switzerland
• Purpose was to meet and peacefully negotiate disputes among nations
• Membership exclusive from the start - neither Germans or the Soviets were initially admitted - both joined later
• The United States never joined - it needed 2/3 vote from the Senate to join and there was too much opposition - this weakened it - Wilson suffered a stroke when he returned to the U.S. - his left side was partly paralyzed
• the League lacked sufficient power to enforce its will on member states - only "weapon" it had were sanctions
• Included a Mandate Section - devised to administer former Turkish territories and German colonies

Aftermath of World War I

• The end of the war left Europe at peace but divided into exhausted victors and bitter losers
• No one was left feeling content with the Versailles aftermath
• Over 10,000,000 soldiers died
• Over 20,000,000 soldiers wounded
• Over 1,000,000 civilians killed
• Influenza outbreak in 1918 killed another 5,000,000 (My father told me his whole family had the "flu" and they were all too weak to get out of bed.)
• All of the combatants were bankrupt
• New Nations
•      Soviet Union         Lithuania                 Finland
•      Hungary                Latvia                     Yugoslavia
•      Austria                  Eastonia                  Poland
•      Czechoslovakia     Ireland
• Europe was segregated into separate blocks of winners and losers
•     Winners                                     Losers
•      Great Britain                              Germany              Italy
•      France                                       Austria                 Hungary
•                                                       Soviet Union
• The losers will quickly begin to establish governments pledged to redress the injustices of Versailles
• Dictatorships arose all over Europe - democracy was discredited
•      Soviet Union                       Italy
•      Hungary                              Poland
•      Romania                             Austria
• The winners quickly lost their will to support Versailles - there was a growing realization that the Germans had been treated unfairly at Versailles

Postwar Economics

• All of Europe was left economically devastated
• France and Belgium were devastated by the German occupation
• Soviet Union was an economic wreck due to the revolution and civil war
• Britain was bankrupt
• Germany was crushed under the weight of reparations - in 1923 the economy collapsed due to the reparations and the ravages of inflation - the Mark became worthless - the middle-class was wiped out - Germany missed its reparation payment - France responded by occupying the Ruhr (Germany's industrial heartland) in 1923 - France was forced to withdraw under British pressure
• Beginning in 1925 the United States began to assist Germany in it's recovery through the Dawes Plan (a series of loans)

Diplomatic Relations

• In the years immediately following the war diplomacy will begin to change - at first the goal was German and Soviet isolation - that will begin to alter
• Treaty of Rapollo (1922) between Germany and the Soviet Union - the two outcasts establish relations
• Treaty of Locarno (1925) between France and Germany - the two agreed to accept the borders in the west as legitimate - Germany joined the League of Nations
• Kellogg-Brand Pact (1928) - 62 nations signed - it "outlawed " war as a tool of foreign policy
• Each of these agreements reflected the spirit of the new Europe which wanted to do anything to avoid another 1914

Many of the problems which plagued the last half of the 1900's can have their roots traced back to this war.

Russian Revolution

• RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

*** The movie Nicholas and Alexandra (in Foothill High School's library - VC 791.43) goes along with these notes.

Conditions

• Largest country in Europe
• For centuries the czars had tried to turn their backward country into a unified nation and world power
• Tried reforms but they found if they gave them some freedom they only wanted more
• As a result periods of tolerance and reform were followed by longer periods of harsh rule
• Early in the 1800's Russia remained one of the most firmly autocratic states in the world - one of the least developed

Internally divided

• Badly ruled
• Absolutist Romanov dynasty since the 17th century controlled with a huge secret police

Tsar Nicholas

• Grandson of Queen Victoria
• Became Czar in 1894 - 26 years old
• * 5' 6" tall
• Too gentle and too reserved to be a good autocrat
• Goal to make Russia a respected world power
• A devoted family man who led a simple, pious life
• What he really loved was spending time with his family - not ruling
• Married Alexandra - German princess - Queen Victoria's granddaughter - ***met at a family wedding
• Daughters - Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia
• Son - Alexis
• His trust in the tradition of the Russian autocracy blinded him to the fact that times had changed

Sergie Witte (VEET-yeh) - czar's ablest minister

• Tried to build up Russia's industries - Russia's industrial revolution did not begin until 1890's - workers suffered low pay, long hours and bad working conditions - lived in dismal shacks or huge communal barracks - they had no legal way to improvement through direct action -trade unions were banned - strikes considered criminal activities - czarist police would brutally suppress the protesters
• Raised taxes and borrowed money from abroad
• Brought in foreign experts
• Sent Russians abroad to study
• Pushed for completion of the Trans-Siberian Railroad - longest continuous rail line in the world - 5,750 miles long - (much has been electrified - now joins the Chinese Eastern Railway in Manchuria to form a route across the whole of Asia)
• Also built other railroad lines
• Boosted the growth of heavy industry - particularly iron and steel
• For a while Russia prospered

• Even with the improvements Russia was the least developed economically in the 19th century

Peasants

• Farming still supported the nation - serfs (*would be the last to be released from serfdom in Europe) - was the most unproductive in all of Europe
• Few peasants had enough land to support their families
• Less then 2% could read
• One in three died their first year
• Lived in pathetic hovels - built from loosely fitted logs - brush and straw for roofs - no chimneys - they didn't want a spark to set the roof on fire - smoke filled the house and went out the cracks - windows merely holes in the wall covered with something translucent, like stretched and dried bulls bladders
• They were wasted from malnutrition, disease, ignorance and crushing poverty
• Crowded
• Long wooden benches used as tables and beds
• Kept their animals inside - ex. one house had 10 to 15 lambs with their mothers - 2 or 3 pigs with their piglets - 2 or 3 calves and sometimes a colt - helped keep people warm
• Excrement of man and animals left inside the house - animals usually as hungry as the people and they ate the excrement - caused a lot of sickness (flu, cholera, diphtheria)
• Many peasants left to work in factories

Discontent spread to factory workers as industrialization began

Workers unhappy with their low standard of living and their lack of political power

Censorship tightened

Religious persecutions increased - many Jews were either terrorized or killed in mob attacks called pogroms - between 1882 and 1914 millions of Jews emigrated from Russia to seek a better life in the United States, Canada and western Europe

Czars tried to "russify" non-Russians by forcing them to use the Russian language in schools and local governments - this embittered many non-Russians such as the Poles and Finns

Upper classes resented the influence of foreign companies

Critics of the government disagreed over what changes were needed - eventually many Russians revolutionaries accepted the view of history set forth by Karl Marx - believed the revolution would come from the proletariat ( the working class) - not the peasants

Russo-Japanese War

• War - Russia vs Japan
• Russia wanted to take over Korea - Japan had seized control from China a few years before
• Russia thought Japan was militarily weak - didn't try to avoid war
• One Russian official even welcomed "a little victorious war to stem the tide of revolution"
• Japan struck first - without a declaration of war - February 1904 - fleet attacked Port Arthur - Russian naval base on the Liaotung peninsula
• Russia unprepared for war - went badly on all fronts
• Army and navy suffered humiliating defeats
• May 27, 1905 the Russian fleet sailed all the way around Africa - had one battle with the Japanese - lasted less than an hour ( ***note - Because of this battle, in WW II, the Japanese were always looking for the one big battle that would cause the U.S. to give up, since it had worked with the Russians.
• War unpopular with the Russian people - partly because it prevented much needed reform at home
• Russia badly beaten
• Created an impression of military incompetence to the rest of the world
• Ended in 1905 with a peace treaty that humiliated Russia
• Revealed the weakness of the government

Revolution of 1905 - February 1904 to September 1905

• Revolts broke out all over Russia - different groups - each group had its own set of demands
• Russia corrupt and inefficient
• Bureaucracy produced food shortages in the major cities
• Peoples patriotism turned to bitterness
• January 22,1905 thousands of unarmed workers marched on the palace at St. Petersburg (this happened during the war with Japan)
• A group of unarmed workers carried a petition to ask Nicholas for reforms - over 200,000 marchers- Czar not even there - was at his estate 15 miles away
• Led by Father George Gapon
• Palace guard (Cossacks) opened fire - several hundred killed or wounded (one source says over 500 another says 200)
• Aroused fierce anger against the government
• Strikes shut down railroads, telegraph system and government offices
• Workers in St. Petersburg formed a soviet ( representative council) - to lead the strikers
• Crowds carried red banners and posters demanding reforms
• Known as Bloody Sunday
• this started the revolution of 1905
• protest meetings - strikes - violence broke out
• Groups of workers organized to lead by the soviets - Lenin and Trotsky were active in S. Petersburg

Czar shocked and frightened by this mass outburst issued the October Manifesto

• Called for the formation of Russia's first parliament - the imperial Duma
• Made laws
• Levied taxes
• Legalized political parties and trade unions

Czar was forced to agree to:

• A constitution
• Civil rights
• National parliament
• Became a constitutional monarchy
• Article 87 - the czar could dissolve the Duma at any time and pass decrees with out it  - Stolypin used this

Most Russians satisfied with the reforms

The tsar then called in loyal army troops to crush uprisings throughout the country

The Revolution of 1905 ran out of steam

The first two Dumas (1906, 1907) are dismissed by the czar when they asked for reforms

The third and fourth Dumas did pass some reforms - actually represented the interests of the wealthy more than the interests of peasants and workers - the rich had more seats - Russians had more seats than non-Russians

Anti-Government groups continued despite censorship and police

• Radicals  - wanted changes in the economy and the political systems
• Terrorist - used violence and assassination

Revolution Begins - World War I

Beginning Russia warmly supported the czar and armies

Problems

• Unprepared to fight
• Many top military commanders proved to be incompetent - *** The Minister of War bragged that he had not read a military manual in 25 years.  He felt it was not honorable to use modern weapons, like machine guns, in battle.
• Waste - corruption - inefficiency of bureaucracy
• Material and food shortages at home and on the front
• War casualties astronomical
• Military moral was at rock bottom as early as 1915 - troops had no supplies - soldiers poorly equipped - no guns ( ***sent into battle and told to pick up a gun when some one was killed)
• Transportation network was unable to meet the needs of the army and the economy - both soldiers and cities were starving

Rasputin

• Gained entrance to the royal family because he could stop the bleeding of their son Alexis who was a hemophiliac - ( ***He could lay his hands on the boy and stop his bleeding.  It has never been figured out how he did this.)
• He was a peasant born in Siberia in the 1870's
• He  rarely bathed
• He was a heavy drinker and womanizer
• "He also lacked table manners and preferred to eat with his hands peasant style - *** his more passionated fans took pleasure in licking his fingers clean - usually he fell into a drunken stupor after lunch" (This is from the book The Man Who Murdered Rasputin by Christopher Dobson)

Nicholas II was at the front directing the war - 1915

• Left Alexandra and Rasputin ( *** Name means "dissolute" and he was.) running the government
• Alexandra a firm believer in absolute monarchy - she ignored the czar's top advisers - only trusted Rasputin (He was a starets.  This was a title given to itinerant preachers that wandered the countryside.)- People warned her Rasputin was a greedy and corrupt man - she refused to believe them - allowed him to make more and more decisions

Finally a group of nobles murdered Rasputin in 1916 - If you want a more complete description go to http://historyhouse.com

• Invited to a home to meet the man's wife (Prince Felix Yusupov) - (Rasputin actually bathed that day.)
• The prince's friends are upstairs listening to the only record they own - Yankee Doodle Dandy over and over
• Rasputin is given poisoned wine and poisoned cakes (cyanide of potassium) - greedily consumed them without visible effects - he keeps partying until after 2:00 in the morning and then decides to leave
• The prince panics and goes upstairs and asks his friends what to do and it's decided he better shoot him
• The prince comes back down and orders Rasputin to bow to a crucifix on the wall - Yusopov shoots him in the back and brings him to all fours - then left him to die - (They don't want to shoot him any more because it would make more of a mess.)
• Rasputin managed to scramble up the stairs and goes through a side door into the courtyard
• He was followed (by Purishkevich - a conspirator) and shot 4 more times and then kicked in the temple
• More shots brought a policeman who was told a dog was being shot to explain the blood
• The supposed corpse was hastily bundled over the side of one of the Neva bridges
• The autopsy is said to have found water in the lungs
• Because of their high station and widespread sympathy for their act in influential circles the murders escaped serious punishment

3 million killed the first year

Large territories lost

By 1917 military had little respect for their officers or the czar - moral low - began to desert in large numbers

Food shortages

Workers on strike

Chaos through out the empire

February Revolution

• Riots broke out in Petrograd in February - (St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd in August 1914 because the original name seemed too German - 1924 name again changed to Leningrad)
• Spontaneous and without direction of any revolutionary group
• Government taken completely by surprise
• The troops (mostly young peasants) sent to crush the rioters joined them instead

March 1917 more strikes and rioting

When the soldiers were ordered to shoot he rioters - they shot their officers instead and joined the rebellion

A week after the rioting began - Nicholas was forced to abdicate - March 15, 1917 - for himself and his son Alexis - in favor of his brother Michael

Michael in turn abdicated the following day in favor of a Provisional Government

Prince George Lvov - becomes head of state

• A liberal aristocrat and member of the Constitutional Democrat Party (Kadets) in the Duma

Provisional Government

• Organized by the Duma - democratic
• Middle class in charge - liberal
• Opposition to this government - strongest from Lenin and Trotsky
• The new government faced the problems of the war and the general collapse of the economy
• The major parties in the Duma supported the Provisional Government -especially the Kadets
• the Mensheviks (means minority - they had the most members) were a Marxist party which supported a new government - they believed that Russia must have a bourgeois state before a socialist one could exist
• The Bolsheviks (means majority - actually they were the smaller group) - a radical Marxist party that opposed the new government - it wanted the power for itself
• Early on the provisional Government decided to continue to fight in the war - this was a BAD decision
• In July 1917 - Alexander Kerensky replaced Prince Lvov as prime minister - he was a moderate socialist - wanted a Western-style parliamentary government and to continue the war
• By the summer of 1917 the Russian people had lost faith in the government - wanted: real change, land reform, an end to hunger, self-determination for non-Russians and an end to war
• Bolsheviks knew this was the moment to seize power
• At the czar's overthrow the Bolshevik leaders had been either in jail or in exile
• April 1917 - a month after the overthrow the Germans sent Lenin and his companions back to Petrograd (some 30 men and women) - hoped they would add to the turmoil within Russia and distract the Russians from the war with Germany - Long Black Train

October Revolution - (Bolshevik Revolution)

( *** It took place in November.  The Russians still followed the Julian calendar which was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.  In 1918 the Soviet Union switched to the Gregorian calendar and now celebrates the October Revolution in November.)

Lenin - b.1870

• Real name Vladimil Ilyich Ulyanov (ool-YH-NOF)
• From a well-educated Russian family
• His father was a respected school official - son of a serf - d. 1886 of a cerebral hemorrhage
• His mother the daughter of a doctor
• He was a bright and studious child - he received high grades
• He became a revolutionary while still in his teens after his older brother (Alexander - called Sasha) was executed for plotting against the czar - his brother refused to have a lawyer or ask for mercy - he was hanged May 20, 1887
• Planned to become a lawyer
• As a university student he studied the works of Karl Marx - he decided to devote his life to overthrowing the czarist rule - wanted to set up a socialist state
• Lenin studied law on his own - passed the exam - he was first in a class of 124  in 1891
• 1895 - arrested for Marxist activities - sent to Siberia until 1900
• Married 1898 - Nadezhda Krupskaya
• 1900 - shortly after he entered the university he was kicked out of Russia and sent to Germany - he went to Switzerland
• He had been expelled for taking part in a student meeting seeking more freedom for the students - it was a peaceful protest
• He was considered dangerous because of his older brother
• He worked for most of the next 17 years against czarist rule
• Lived in St. Petersburg and practiced law - was in exile when the revolution started

Bolsheviks were disciplined and could act as a tightly knit unit - formed a worker's militia called the Red Guard

Lenin soon gained control of the soviets in the major cities (Petrograd and Moscow)

November 7 - arrested the members of the government and called for a general election

The Bolshevik Revolution also called the Russian Revolution - was over in a matter of hours

• The Red Guard joined by pro-Bolshevik soldiers and sailors seized the central government
• Captured government buildings in the capital and stormed the Winter Palace - site of Kerensky's Provisional Government
• All government ministers were arrested except Kerensky - he escaped and tried to fight Lenin - he failed and soon fled the country
• Changed the name to the Communist Party

Huge gap between the Bolshevik's plan for the future and the grim realities of Russian life

Still plagued by the miseries that had brought down the Provisional Government - hunger - fear - political upheaval

There was no effective government or army - no industry - no railway - no commerce - often no food

Election held November 7, 1917 - to elect a new Duma

• Mensheviks won
• Bolsheviks got 1/4 of the votes
• The Red Army surrounded the Duma and disbanded it
• The Bolsheviks became the only legal party - set up a party dictatorship
• End of the revolution
• Established a one-party state - what Marx called the "dictatorship of the proletariat"

Lenin revolutionized the economy and society - ended private property - all taken over by the state

Took over important industries and banking, railroads and shipping

By the winter of 1917 - 1918 Russia was defenseless before German troops

March 3, 1918 - new Soviet Union and the Central Powers forced to sign an unfavorable peace treaty - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Lu tof)

• Very harsh
• It took Russia out of the war
• Germany took Poland the the Baltic states
• Germany and Austria-Hungary split the Ukraine

Opposition to the Bolsheviks began to gather strength - civil war became wide spread

April 1918 - the Allies landed in Vladivostok, Siberia to help 60,000 Czech and Slovaks that were prisoners of war of Russia

Bolshevik take over caused an anti-Communist civil war for 3 years - began in January 1918

Opponents known as the Whites

• Moderate socialist and supporters of parliamentary government
• Defenders of the czarist cause - mostly former Tsarist army officers and soldiers as well as nobles and ex-government officials
• Often unable to cooperate - they did not have a common objective
• Helped by foreign troops (France, Britain, U.S. and Japan)
• August 1918 - Allies occupied Archangel to protect supplies from Bolshevik troops
• Following summer (1919) - Allied soldiers landed in Murmansk to fight against Bolsheviks in the civil war - earning the eternal mistrust of the Soviet Government
• Allies fearing that communism would spread to the rest of Europe tried to destroy Lenin's regime
• Actually aroused Russian nationalism and drew the people into a more united front against the counterrevolutionaries

Lenin ordered that force be used to smash all opposition

• Afraid of losing power
• Wanted to establish a communist dictatorship - many Russians opposed this
• Soon spread to almost every part of Russia
• Red Army was organized by Leon Trotsky to battle the Whites - it was highly disciplined and organized -*** one unit performed poorly and they shot every 10th man
• The Whites were disorganized and battled one another as much as the Reds
• Conditions created by this war were worse for Russia than those of WW I
• Famine and disease killed thousands and casualties were in the millions

Both sides committed  terrible atrocities

Communist secret police created and soon began a campaign of terror

They executed tens of thousands of people thought to oppose the communists

Imprisonment of the royal family

• Kerensky hoped to save their lives by sending them to England - England refused to take them (Remember this was the tzar's cousin.)
• When the Bolsheviks took power all changed
• Lenin tried to use them as a bargaining chip with the Germans since they were relatives of the Kaiser (first cousins)
• When civil war broke out the family was moved to Siberia (Tobolsk) - treated well
• Then moved to Ekaterinburg a small town on the Trans-Siberian Railroad in the Ural Mountains - surrendered all privacy - close scrutiny of their guards - guards would deliver meaningless messages - followed the 4 girls to the bathroom - watched the family members get dressed - other times the family would go for 2 or 3 days without being fed
• With the civil war going bad for the Reds and the Whites getting close - troops opposing the Bolsheviks were advancing along the railway
• It appeared that the family might be freed
• The Bolsheviks ordered the entire family executed
• On the night of July 16, 1918, they were awakened and taken to a basement room
• They were read a formal statement of execution
• Guards opened fire on the family (the Czar was 49 - the Czarina was 46) - (***when they were shot jewels scattered across the floor - they had been sewen in their clothing )
• Also killed were the family doctor - 3 servants- Anastasia's little spaniel which she was holding in her arms
• ***A description of this is in the book Nicholas and Alexandra p. 517 - it is supposition because this book was written 20 or 30 years ago
• The bodies were taken and dumped in a mine shaft
• Until 1990 nobody outside Russia knew exactly what happened
• The house was destroyed July 27, 1977 by orders of Boris Yeltsin during Brezhnev's reign
• July 17, 1998 their remains were reburied in St. Petersburg - 2 bodies were missing - Alexis and one girl (There is a site on the web that claims Alexis lived, moved to the U.S., married and had a family.)
• *** For years after the execution a woman claimed to be Anastasia.  Some believed her and others thought she was after money.  (There was a great deal of money in Swiss banks.)  Finally in 1993, after her death, scientists compared her DNA to a descendant of Czarina Alexandra.  It did not match.  It showed she carried DNA of Polish peasants.  The supposition is that she was a child of a servant and that is how she learned about the family.
• After the revolution - between 1917 and 1921 - over 25 million Russians came down with typhus and over 2.5 million died
• The worst typhus epidemic in history - lice carry Reckettsia bacteria which causes typhus

Early communist State

Red army eventually defeated the White Army - 1921

All land taken over by the state - nationalized

• Run by peasant committees
• Broke their promise to redistribute the land among the peasants
• Surplus crops seized from the farmers to feed the army and people in the cities
• The farmers refused to grow more than was necessary for themselves
• 1921 - more than 30 million Russians on the brink of starvation - severe famine began - resulted in the deaths by starvation of 5 million Russians

Also took over industry, banks and foreign trade

• Running of factories by inexperienced workers disastrous - *** communism taught that everyone was equal so they switched the jobs around every 2 or 3 months - one month a person might be running the company and the next sweeping the floors - obviously it didn't work so they stopped it
• Gave just enough freedom to save the Russian economy

These measures only sped up Russia's decline

Commerce came to a standstill and production fell disastrously

Many thousands died from hunger, cold and disease (one source says 27 million total)

1921 - as soon as the war was over Lenin introduced the NEP (New Economic Policy)

• Temporarily put aside his plan for a state-controlled economy
• He let some small factories, businesses and farms return to private ownership
• Small business people did well
• Peasants more satisfied - except for a tax on surplus grain they were free to grow and sell their produce
• This was a very un-Marxist idea - the effect was the rapid recovery of the Soviet economy
• The government kept control of major industries, banks, and means of communication

The government was moved from Petrograd to the Kremlin (means fort) an old palace-fortress in Moscow

The party led by members of the communist Party's Politburo (political office)

• Backed by about half a million loyal Communist Party members who made up less than one percent of the population - almost all had been industrial workers
• In theory the members of the Party were elected
• In practice all decisions were made at the top - just like with the Czar's government
• Party leaders also ran trade unions, youth leagues, and other organizations

All who opposed the communists were killed or exiled to labor camps in Siberia (called gulags which means prison) - some of these were still in existence even after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991

Other political parties were banned

Opposition disappeared

Communists enjoyed no real popularity

The Communists tried to implement the teachings of Karl Marx - some worked - a lot did not

• Education - 1920's - teacher authority removed - students allowed to study when and how they felt like it - returned to the old ways finally
• Allowed unlimited divorce - if you wanted a divorce you went to a government office and it was granted right away - this eventually done away with
• Kept social equality of sexes - women given every opportunity to develop - doubled the work force
• Educational opportunities for all retained
• Social leveling continued
• Of course forcing the farmers into communes did not work as mentioned earlier

Religion

• From the beginning the Party opposed the Russian Orthodox Church and all other organized religions
• According to Marx religion was a tool that the ruling class used to exploit the workers (He was right in many cases as the church was controlled by the nobility.)
• The churches suffered greatly under the Communist rule
• Church lands and property seized
• Many clergy jailed
• Church schools were closed
• State schools taught that God did not exist
• Atheism - disbelief in the existence of God - was encouraged
• By the 1930's the state recognized religion could not be up rooted - had to be tolerated - peasants deeply devoted - some Jewish rights returned (bakeries) - Jews very oppressed under communist rule - today the government still discriminates against Jews and many are still trying to leave
• In June 1988 the Soviet Union celebrated the country's 1000th year of Christianity
• the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest organization in the Soviet Union - membership far out numbers that of the Communist Party

Propaganda

• Party controlled information
• Cut the Soviet Union off from the outside world
• Used strict censorship to silence it's critics at home
• Bombarded the public with its own ideology (set of beliefs) - a mixture of Marxism and Lenin's ideas on the role of the Party in building socialism
• Lenin tried to give the Soviet people a faith in the Party and their nation
• Laid the base for a powerful dictatorship by building a strong, well organized party

1922 - Created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Lenin died January 21, 1924 after a series of strokes - ***his body is still on display in Moscow

After Lenin's death a 3 man coalition emerged

Struggle for power - Trotsky vs. Stalin - became bitter rivals for command of the Communist Party

Leon Trotsky

• Jewish
• Widely traveled journalist
• Brilliant writer
• Forceful speaker
• Skilled organizer
• He led the "Left" of the Communist Party
• He favored the seizure of peasant crops to finance the industrialization of the Soviet Union
• He wanted immediate collectivization of agriculture
• His biggest divergence from Stalin concerned the need for immediate international revolution - to safeguard the Soviet state and strengthen communism
• The Red Army was his base of support

Joseph Stalin

• means "man of steel"
• real name Joseph Djugashvili - (1879 - 1953) -***5' 4" tall
• Originally from Georgia - region in the Caucasus Mountains
• Peasant origin
• As a boy studied for the priesthood - only way he could get an education - expelled for his political views
• Shoemaker's son
• ***As a boy (7) he had smallpox - children called him "Pocky" - he had severe scars on his face
• While Lenin and Trotsky were living safely abroad he stayed in Russia
• His activities earned him years in prison and a long exile in Siberia
• 1907 organized robberies to get money for the party
• Between 1902-1913 arrested 8 times - exiled 7 times - escaped 6 times
• Quite possibly he was a spy for the czarest government
• 1922 made general secretary of the Communist Party
• Did day to day work of managing the party
• Nobody respected him
• Coarse, vulgar, crude, uneducated
• Resented being looked down on
• ambitious
• Unprincipled
• Built up a loyal following
• Rode the fence - always wound up on the winning side
• Placed his followers in office
• Lenin soon came to distrust him - he wanted Trotsky - not Stalin to succeed him as head of the Party
• Not as well known as Trotsky
• Stalin led the "Right" faction of the Party - in the 1920's the Right was in favor of the continuation of the NEP (Stalin will change in the 1930's) - advocated "socialism in one country"
• He wanted to build the Soviet state into such a power no capitalist nation could be a threat - then spread the revolution
• The communist Party organization was his power base
• Used his position as general secretary to gain control of the Party
• Shrewd politician
• Nicolai Bukharin - editor of Pravda (newspaper) - supported Stalin
• By 1927 Stalin had amassed enough support to oust Trotsky from all of his offices and send him into exile to Siberia
• In 1929 Trotsky was exiled from the Soviet Union
• Trotsky and his supporters were driven out of the Party - eventually out of the Soviet Union - In 1940 he was assassinated in Mexico by an agent of Stalin - ***stabbed many times in the face with an ice pick - he died the next day
• By 1928 - Stalin eliminated all other potential rivals
• Became an absolute dictator - Stalin Constitution made him an absolute ruler
• He ruled through terror - secret police and gulags(prisons)
• His rivals either gave in to his plans or were wiped out
• 1929 - on his fiftieth birthday - Stalin was hailed as Lenin's successor
• Under his rule the family gained new importance because an increased population was needed to carry out national goals
• Childbearing was encouraged - divorce was made more difficult

Atheism remained the official position on religion - government continued to persecute the Orthodox Church and other religious groups

Five-Year Plans

• Two goals: rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture
• Believed they could only be met by dictatorial controls because the huge amounts of money needed would have to be squeezed out of the peasants
• Set ambitious quotas for the production of steel, coal, oil, and hydroelectric power, as well as for consumer goods
• All individual efforts and national resources used for state production
• The capitalist measures revived by Lenin were wiped out
• Consumer goods limited - food rationing
• To achieve a strong military it became state supported by heavy industry
• Success not impressive for the first plan - begun in 1928 - goal to increase output by 250% before 1933 - to reach the target the nation had to cut down on consumer goods - standard of living dropped sharply
• Caused staggering problems because the government concentrated on quantity not quality
• Many shoddy goods were produced
• Working conditions were grim - workers received little pay - poorly fed - liven in overcrowded housing
• Government could force worker to take any job where they were needed - anywhere in the country

Stalin replaced the private farms with collective ones

Stalin's demand for greater farm output turned into a war against his own people - millions died

Expected to use modern machinery and scientific farming methods to produce more food than ever before

Peasants saw collectivization as the loss of their freedom

• Resisted giving up lands
• Stalin ruthless - used armed force - tanks, artillery, bombers - sometimes set entire villages on fire
• Brought terror to much of the nation
• Prime target the kulaks - more prosperous farmers who had prospered under the NEP - Stalin began seizing their crops to finance industrialization - they resisted - he crushed them - between 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 perished
• Over 50% of the farms collectivized
• Stalin saw them as enemies of socialism
• 1920's - told the Party workers to "liquidate the kulaks as a class"
• Thousands shot or sent to gulags (forced labor camps) in Siberia (***They returned 15 or 20 years later and did the same thing to the children that had grown up.)
• Many starved or died from the miserable living conditions
• Many of the remaining peasants killed their horses, cows and pigs (95%) and burned their crops rather than turn them over to the collective
• Had terrible consequences for years to come
• 1932 - government seized nearly all the grain in the Ukraine - this caused a severe famine - estimated 3 million starved to death - 4 million sent to labor camps in Siberia and elsewhere
• 1932-1933 famine hit many parts of the Soviet Union - about 5 million peasants died from starvation
• Even though people were staving Stalin went on selling food abroad
• As many as 10 million people died as a result of collectivization

By the mid-1930's collective farms were the rule in the Soviet Union - each made up of 100's of households

Stalin made one concession

• Allowed the peasants to keep one small plot of land for their private use
• Food grown on these plots could be sold on the open market for whatever price it would bring
• Peasants worked much harder on these private plots
• They became the Soviet Union's most productive farmlands

1933 - the Second Five-Year Plan began but was held up by inefficiency and a shortage of skilled workers - eventually the Plan was enforced

1938 - the Third Five-Year Plan went into effect but was cut short by WW II

None of the five-year plans met their goals in the allotted time

In the short span of 12 years the Soviet Union became a major industrial nation

Today their agricultural record is still poor - they have trouble raising surplus crops - quite often they import food

Political Terror

• Many blamed Stalin for the millions of lives lost
• Even his own family criticized him
• His wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva (al-lee-loo-YEH-vuh) urged him to moderate his policies
• She died of an apparent suicide in 1932 - probably helped on orders from Stalin

Great Purge

• 1934-1939 to destroy the opposition
• Some of the most important Communists, "Old Bosheviks", were put on trial - those who had known Lenin from the early days - he feared they knew much about the true feelings of Lenin
• Show Trials were held in the 1930's where they all confessed to treason
• They were forced to make public confessions of crimes they could not possibility have committed - then executed
• Got rid of the top Party members - Bukharin and Kalinin
• 100's executed or sent to Siberia - important party officials - intellectuals - scientists - workers - collective farmers - leaders of non-Russian nationalist movements
• Got rid of most of the officer corps of the Red Army (he feared their ties to Trotsky) - this left the Soviet Union in a disastrous state when WW II began in 1941
• Only ones spared were obedient bureaucrats who would not challenge Stalin
• It has been estimated that approximately 8 million people were arrested and 800,000 executed during the Great Purge
• Those arrested but not killed were sentenced to prison camp ***Usually what happened was if you were innocent you got a 25 year prison term - if you were guilty you were executed.  Stalin's goal was to wipe out whole segments of society.  Example all engineers.  This is covered extensively in the Gulag Archipelago: 1918-1956 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• Under Stalin every person's total submission to the new order was required

Part of his power came from his total domination of the Communist Party

He organized it into an elite party with a selective membership

Membership began with participation in youth organizations - Young Pioneers and Komosol - the best were recommended to higher level in the party

Whoever led the Party (General Secretary) was also the Premier of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union became a totalitarian state

The government controls every aspect of the lives of it's citizens

It will collapse in 1919

***The following is from the Parade magazine, December 15, 2002

• "Russia now has less than half the population of the U.S. and that number is falling fast.  Russia's Health Ministry says only 33% of the nation's newborns and 10% of it's teens are healthy.  Tuberculosis is raging, and the county has about 4 million heroin addicts.  Alcoholism, drug abuse and the use of abortion as a primary method of birth control have left more than 20% of Russian couples infertile.  Russia also has one of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemic.  Within 6 year, 5% of the population may be infected.  the U.S. strategic forecasting firm Stratfor says that without a cure for HIV, Russia's population could fall to 77 million by 2050.  This would mark the sharpest peacetime population decline anywhere since the plague ravaged Europe in the 1300"s and it would diminish Russia as a key player on the global scene."

The Cold War

COLD WAR

The euphoria of V-E Day was short-lived

Japan continued to fight for another 3 months (surrendered August 15, 1945)

Growing tension between the Soviets and their western Allies

The victorious Allies had to settle some old scores in conquered Europe

Collaborators

• In every occupied country many people had actively collaborated with the Nazi occupation - some countries more than others - in each nation they were rooted out
• France had a very large collaborationist community - Action Francaise of Pierre Leval had actively supported the Germans - thousands of Frenchmen served in the SS - most French had supported Petain and Vichy - after the liberation everyone claimed to have always supported the Free French - well-known collaborators were beaten or worse - Leval was executed - women who had dated Germans had their heads shaved - Petain was briefly imprisoned
• Norway also had a large collaborationist movement led by Vidkun Quisling - he had helped the Germans take over Norway - he was executed
• Thousands of Soviet citizens who had initially supported the defeat of the communists were turned over to Stalin - how many thousands were murdered is unknown - ***Prisoners of war begged not to be returned to the Soviet Union.  The Allies agreed but said they had to be moved.  When they got them on the train they sent it back to the Soviet Union.  The prisoners were all sent to gulags or executed.  Stalin said they had been corrupted by the West.

Germany

• The Nazi regime was so discredited the entire structure had to be destroyed
• de-Nazification - every judge, police official, civil servant tied to the old regime was removed as soon as possible
• The Allies also faced the issue of dealing with the crimes against humanity committed by the Nazis - ***When the Allies found the concentration camps they diverted supplies earmarked for prisoners of war to be used by the inmates.  I talked to a man in Germany who's father was a prisoner of war and he was very bitter about the treatment he had received.  The prisoners were imprisoned outside in the elements with very limited food and shelter.  He blamed his father's early death on these conditions.
• The decision was made to hold trials of the leading figures and for those directly involved in the Holocaust
• Many of the Nazi leaders, like Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels had committed suicide - ***Himmler had been taken prisoner and strip and body cavity searched three times but somewhere on his body he had poison and managed to take it.

Nuremburg Trials

• 1945-1946
• An international court of justice was convened to try the leadership of the Nazi state for the Holocaust
• Some were Goering - Doenitz - Ribbentropp - Speer
• 12 of the leaders were executed
• Many incarcerated in Spandau Prison outside of Berlin - ***This prison was run by the Soviets, France, Britain and the U.S. - Each county was responsible for running the prison for one quarter of the year.  In later years when feelings were not running so high France, Britain, and the U.S. tried to shorten some of the sentences.  The Soviets would have none of that.  What ever the sentence was they demanded it be served.

Growing Tensions

• The mood between the victorious Allies continued to sour in 1946
• In March 1946 Churchill spoke at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri "From Settin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." - this is where the term "iron curtain" comes from
• The source of the problem was mistrust of Soviet intentions in eastern Europe
• The agreement among the Allies was that all of Europe would be occupied.  After everything began to return to normal control of the countries was to be returned to their government.  The Soviets did not do this in the areas they controlled.

Eastern Europe

• "liberated" by the Red Army - Poland - Yugoslavia - Czechoslovakia - Bulgaria - Hungary - East Germany - Romania - Albania
• In each of these newly "liberated" states the Red Army openly assisted local communists in establishing governments and cut off most contact with the West
• During the war many of these countries had maintained "governments in exile" in London
• In many of these nations the only true resistance movements were led by communists during the war years
• These "anti-communist" governments were harassed whenever possible
• An example would be Czechoslovakia.  It had a well established pre-war government in London - in February 1948 the Soviets and local communists seized power by murdering the Foreign Minister, Jan Masaryk, and forcing President Eduard Benes to resign
• For the Truman government this was the incident which proved the ill intentions of the Soviets

Truman Doctrine

• In 1944 civil war had broken out in Greece between the royalists (supported by the British) and the communists (supported by the Soviets)
• By 1947 the British could no longer afford to help the royalists
• President Truman asked Congress for money to support the royalists - "free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."
• Pledged immediate American military assistance to any government threatened by revolution - would help in resisting communism
• Immediate goals was to assist Greece and Turkey
• Used as a justification for Korea and Vietnam
• Becomes the basis of the cold war policy of "containment" - to keep communism from spreading

Marshall Plan

• Named after General George C. Marshall - Army Chief of Staff (1939) - became a 5 star general (1944) - Secretary of State (1947-1949) - Secretary of Defense (1950-1951) - received the Noble Peace Prize (1953) for this recovery plan
• Western Europe had been ruined by war and this was a threat to stability
• Fear was that communism would prove a popular alternative to the poverty of the post-war era
• To get Europe back on it's feet economically the European Recovery Program was established (Marshall Plan 1948-1952) - it was offered to all countries - ***Marshall announced this plan in a speech he gave at Harvard.   It was a 12-minute commencement speech and few realized it's importance at the time.
• 11,000,000,000 invested in western Europe (I've seen figures as high as 23 billion so this number is iffy.)
• Soviets refused to allow their satellites to participate
• By 1951 Europe was back to pre-war levels of production - support for the communist parties in the west was minimal

The Soviet response to these western initiatives was to form the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform) - dedicated to spreading communism all over the world and to launch the Molotov Plan - this was not as good as the Marshall Plan

Tito (Yugoslavia) refused to follow Stalin's orders - kicked out of the Soviet Bloc - became nonaligned (neutral) in the cold war - will stay in power until his death

Berlin Crisis

• The first major crisis of the post-war era - war appeared likely - arose over the future of Berlin
• Berlin had been divided into 4 zones after the war - it lay deep in the Soviet zone
• In July 1948 the Soviets cut off western Berlin from the Allied zones - all roads, railroads and waterways - cut off food
• Feared a rebuilt, reunified Germany would threaten Soviet security
• Within 2 days and for the next 10 months the Allies supplied their zones from the air - 277,000 flights - delivered over 2,300,000 tons of supplies - food, fuel, medicine, machinery
• In May 1949 the Soviets backed down and re-opened the land corridors - there would be no appeasement for Stalin

West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany)

• In September 1949 the three western Allies combined their occupation zones into the new nation of West Germany
• Free democratic style of government led by Konrad Adenauer - head of the Christian Democratic Party
• An "economic miracle" took place that drove West Germany into the position of the economic leader of Europe

East Germany (German Democrat Republic)

• October 1949 - Soviets formally established their zone as East Germany
• Communist style government led by Walter Ulbricht
• Enjoyed a much slower economic recovery than the western section
• Considered the success story of the Soviet Bloc

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

• Berlin crisis had pointed out the need for military cooperation
• Formed April 1949
• Led by the United States
• Organized as an alliance of non-communist nations pledged to mutual support in the event of Soviet aggression
• Members: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France (1966), Great Britain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Iceland, Canada, United States, West Germany (1955), Spain (1982), Greece (1952), and Turkey (1952)
• American forces and nuclear weapons kept in Europe - still there today

Warsaw Pact

• 1955
• Soviet response to West Germany joining NATO and beginning to rearm
• It was structured like NATO and pledged mutual assistance to one another
• Members: Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and East Germany
• Soviet troops kept in each member country

Yugoslavia

• Communist government established by Tito (real name: Josip Broz) in 1945
• Tito was a maverick - resented Stalin's attempt to bully all other communist leaders - (The Soviets always felt that all communist countries should be run their way.  This caused conflict with other communist leaders, especially Mao in China.)
• Tito developed an independent foreign policy which was not closely aligned with the Soviets
• Stalin left him alone because he was a communist

United Nations

• Formally established at the San Francisco Conference in June 1945
• Originally had delegates from 50 countries - today 185 countries
• Headquartered in New York
• General Assembly - every member nation has a vote - conducts general business (trade, visa, travel, etc.)
• Security Council - 15 members - deals with international conflicts - 10 alternates, each elected for a 2 year term - 5 permanent members - each with a veto (United States, Great Britain, France, China, Soviet Union) - any action must be approved by all permanent members - can veto to block an action
• Presided over by the Secretary General - elected by the General Assembly
• Trygve Lie 1946-1953 - Norwegian
• Dag Hammarskjold 1953-1961 - Sweden
• U Thant 1961-1972 - Burma
• Kurt Waldheim 1972-1982 - Austria
• Javier Perez de Cuellar 1982-1992 - Peru
• Butros Boutros-Ghali 1992-1997 - Egypt
• Kofi Annan 1997- , Ghana
• The United Nations will become a sparing arena for the two rival blocs of nations during the Cold War
• The conflict on the Korean peninsula became the first test of the new world body's ability to enforce its will

(1949 - Communists defeat Nationalists in China)

POST-WAR EUROPE

Great Britain

• Following it's victory in WW II they were once again an exhausted world power
• Nation suffered heavy war damage
• Population tired of wartime sacrifices and shortages
• Welfare State - Election of Clement Attlee in 1945 began the rise of the Labour Party - beginning of the welfare state- new social programs were established including free medical services for all citizens - many businesses were nationalized - taxes soared
• The economy had problems with high unemployment and low growth - mixture of free enterprise and socialism
• Nation lost it's competitive edge in the world market
• Powerful unions had a stranglehold
• "sick man of Europe"
• Britain did not join the Common Market until 1973
• The decline continues until the election of the Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher (P.M. 1979-1990)
• British foreign policy illustrates it's sharp decline most clearly
• In 1947 they had been forced to admit they could no longer police the Mediterranean Sea - hence the Truman Doctrine
• Suez Crisis - 1956 - Egypt's Gamal Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal
• British, French, and Israeli commandos attacked and reclaimed the canal
• Nasser, with Soviet support, threatened to start a war which could have become a world war
• The Eisenhower government forced the British and their allies to give up the canal and recognize the Egyptian claims
• End of the Empire - following the war the independence movements began to develop all over the Empire
• India - 1947 finally granted them independence - Moslem/Hindu violence led to the formation of two separate states Hindu India and Moslem Pakistan - this was terribly disruptive to the population ***People were forced to move even if they had lived in the area for hundreds of years and wanted to stay regardless of their religion.  I had a student who's family had to move from India to Pakistan.  His grandfather had to stand in the door of a railway car with a gun to protect them on their journey.  Once they got there they were forced to live in tents, as no housing was available, for several years.
• Africa - 1950's independence campaigns began in many areas - in the British ruled areas of the continent the people had been somewhat prepared for independence - trained as civil servants, teachers, doctor, and lawyers
• Kenya - scene of a bloody uprising in 1953 called the Mau Mau Uprising (1953-1959) - led by Jomo Kenyatta - gained independence in 1963
• Nigeria - Britain's richest colony  - won independence in 1960 - fell into a bloody civil war over Biafra
• By 1967 most of the former colonies of the Empire had won their full independence
• In place of the Empire the British Commonwealth was established - members practiced free trade within the Commonwealth - free travel (no visas)

France

• After the war there was chaos in France
• The Vichy Government had to be destroyed - it's leaders and supporters were harassed and even executed
• There was no desire to resurrect the failed Third Republic
• A temporary Provisional Government was established under the only legitimate hero of the war, General Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970) - *** The Allies had planned to put another man in charge.  General de Gaulle seemed to go along with it, but once France was invaded his free forces took over.  Controlled the telephones, gas, water, electricity, trains, etc. - de Gaulle forced the Allies to give him control - de Gaulle hated the Allies for trying to keep him out and in later years fostered and anti-American policy that we still see today.
• Fourth Republic (1946-1958) - constitution created a strong legislative branch and a weak executive - this angered de Gaulle who refused to serve as President - the result was a series of weak governments - ***France had many political parties, probably well over 50 and it made it very hard to get enough of them to agree and form a majority

Foreign Affairs - biggest cause of instability during the Fourth Republic

Indochina (Vietnam)

• During the war occupied by the Japanese
• After the war the French tried to reoccupy the area
• During the war an anti-Japanese resistance sprang up - led by a charismatic Vietnamese communist - Ho Chi Minh
• Allied with the U.S. - Viet Minh made special OSS agents
• Rescued downed pilots
• Helped prisoners of war escape
• Provided intelligence to the OSS
• The Viet Minh now began to resist the French
• The U.S. actively supported France fearing the spread of communism in Asia
• Domino Theory  - if one country fell the rest would go - so had Theory of Containment
• War went badly for the French
• In 1954 the Foreign Legion was badly defeated by the Viet Minh in the Battle of Diem Bien Phu (Fu) - lasted 55 days - area the French controlled was reduced to the size of a baseball field - surrendered
• France announced it's departure from Indochina
• The area of Vietnam was divided at the 17th Parallel into North Vietnam and South Vietnam - North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh became a Soviet client - South Vietnam was in the American sphere

Algeria

• This region of North Africa had been an official Department of France since 1830
• A large population of French people immigrated to the area
• In 1956 an independence minded revolt broke out led by Moslem Arabs - the Algerian Liberation Movement (FLN)
• The French government considered it to be a civil war and tried to crush it - had little success
• By 1958 the revolt was tearing France apart - nationalists demanded France hold Algeria - leftists demanded France quit Algeria at once
• In 1958 the army mutinied in Algeria and Corsica - the nation was on the verge of collapse (4th Republic)

Fifth Republic

• Into the chaos of 1958 came Charles de Gaulle
• The nation turned to the one man everybody respected, even those who hated him
• de Gaulle agreed to accept the position of President of the Republic but only with a new constitution which gave him broad powers - created the Fifth Republic
• de Gaulle recognized that Algeria was unwinnable - negotiated a face saving withdrawal in 1962 - gave Algeria independence
• Many of the former parts of the French Empire were organized into the French Community - closely resembled the British Commonwealth

Charles de Gaulle

• an old fashioned nationalist
• He pursued policies which were in the interest of France - oversaw the French development of a nuclear bomb - took French forces out of NATO in 1966 - vetoed British membership in the Common Market
• His heavy-handed rule grew increasingly unpopular - in 1968  huge student demonstrations swept through Paris - workers went on support strikes - de Gaulle rallied his supporters to take to the streets as well - the nation was paralyzed
• In 1969 de Gaulle resigned following a minor political setback

his successors, Georges Pompidou and Valey Giscard d'Estaing, pursued his same policies - including close ties with West Germany

The Election of 1980 of Francois Mitterand - a Socialist - marked a milestone for French leftist politics

West Germany

• Most prosperous state in Europe following the rebuilding of the post-war
• Konrad Adenauer rapidly rebuilt the ruined economy and slowly brought the nation back into the family of nations
• In 1955 West Germany joined NATO
• Adenauer helped establish the European Economic Community -  the Common Market
• West Germany and France forged strong ties
• West Germany was in a unique position - it had German citizens on the other side of the Iron Curtain
• In 1969 Willy Brandt of the Social Democratic Party became the new Chancellor
• Brandt perused a foreign policy called Ostpolitik - sought cooperation rather than confrontation with the Soviet Bloc - he established ties with the East Germans - he recognized the border with Poland - he visited Moscow

Italy

• Also had rebuilding to do - had to de-fascistise the government
• The Christian Democratic Party got a firm grip on the government - led by Alside do Gaspari
• Nation quickly recovered from war
• The Italian Communist Party was the strongest of any Western European nation - led by Enrico Berlinguer - pursued Eurocommunism rather than strictly following directives from Moscow

Austria

• following the war Austria was divided into 4 zones of occupation
• In 1955 the Soviets agreed to withdraw in exchange for an Austrian statement of neutrality in world affairs

STEPS TOWARDS EUROPEAN UNITY

One of the most significant developments since WW II has been the growing movement towards continental cooperation

Politically

• In 1949 10 European states organized the European Parliament - headquartered in Strasbourg, France
• Members states elect delegates to attend - they are seated by political orientation rather than by national groups
• It was hoped that the European Parliament would eventually grow into a true continental government - today the Parliament is virtually powerless

Economically

• It is in the field of economics that Europe has made the greatest strides towards unity
• following the end of the war most European statesmen acknowledged the economic nationalism had played a role in provoking the wars 
• The leading voices of economic cooperation were Adenauer (West Germany), Schuman (France's Foreign Minister), Gaspari (Italy)
• In 1949 the Benelux Union was formed - it ended all tariffs and trade barriers between the Low Countries (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)
• In 1950 the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was formed - Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, West Germany, and Italy - it was a huge success, coal and steel production soared as the members cooperated on production and price
• In 1957 the Treaty of Rome set up the structure of the European Economic Community (Common Market) - members pledged to eliminate all tariffs and trade barriers - capital and labor were allowed to flow freely - similar wages and benefits were to be established in member states - Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, West Germany, Italy, Britain (1973), Ireland (1973), Denmark (1973), Spain (1982), Portugal (1982), and Greece (1982) - the EEC has been a great success
• In 1959 the European Free Trade Area was established as an alternative to the French/German dominated EEC - Britain, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland - has basically ceased to exist as it's members left to seek a place in the Common Market

SOVIET BLOC

The end of the war found Eastern Europe in ruins and under the control of the Red Army

The physical reconstruction of the region was much slower than that of Western Europe - Stalin took a lot for Russia - machinery, raw materials, railroads, entire factories, skilled workers

All over the region communist regimes were established

1949 tested an atomic bomb - began arms race

• 1952 - U.S. - hydrogen bomb
• 1953 - USSR - hydrogen bomb
• Both developed rockets to carry nuclear warheads
• 1957 - USSR - intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) - could reach any part of the world

Soviet Union

At the end of the war Stalin still held power

Harsh purges of collaborators and former prisoners of war followed - sent to gulags

*** The author Alexander Solzhenitsyn points out:  The Russian czars killed about 17 victims a year.  The infamous Spanish inquisitors killed about 10 victims a month.  But the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's henchmen in the late 1930's killed about 9,000 victims a week.  (L.M. Boyd)

Stalin actively encouraged the establishment of communist governments all over Eastern Europe

In 1953 - just as a major new purge based on the Doctor's Plot was about to begin Stalin died - Molenkov took over

Stalin's death left a power vacuum in the Soviet leadership - not until 1956 did a new leader emerge

Nikita Khrushchev

• Consolidated his hold on the nation by 1956
• The new government wanted to gradually relax some of the most extreme aspects of the Stalin era
• At the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956 Khrushchev issued a secret condemnation of Stalin detailing some of his crimes - called his "secret speech" - caused a rift with several communist leaders
• Launched "de Stalinization" - more liberal policies
• Khrushchev firmly believed that the Soviets would triumph in the Cold War - he thought it could be done without war
• He liberalized the system - curbed the power of the secret police - ended large scale purges
• 1961 - allowed publication of One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn who had actually spent time in a gulag - the book won the Noble Prize in 1970 - *** Solzhenitsyn was told if he went to accept the prize he could not return - in 1974 he was deported (to the U.S.) anyway
• Khrushchev traveled all over the world - including the United States and the  United Nations
• *** When he was in the U.S. he flew from the East coast to the West coast.  The pilot of the plane was a friend of my brother in law.  He told him that Khrushchev thought the U.S. had transported all the cars on the East coast to the West coast to make him think we had a lot of cars.
• *** I remember when Khrushchev came to southern California he wanted to go to Disneyland and was told there was not time.  He threw a temper tantrum and refused to do anything until he got to go to Disneyland.
• Said he wanted "peaceful coexistence" - eased some tensions
• He tried to increase the production of consumer goods and housing - high priority
• Industrial production stayed low - factory managers lacked technical skills - chosen for party loyalty
• He opened vast new areas of Siberia to agriculture - the Virgin Lands Program - it was done so poorly it was a dismal failure - crop failures common after 1963

Launched the "space race" in 1957 with the appearance of Sputnik (means "traveler")

• 1959 USSR on the moon
• ***  Information came out later that they had sent animals and humans into space that were never recovered.  Our radios picked up cosmonauts begging for help because they could not return to land.
• 1961 Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth at over 17,000 mph - total time for the trip was 1 hour and 48 minutes
• *** I had a friend that spoke fluent Russian that went to Russia in 1965 who saw Yuri and he was a drunk going from bar to bar and not respected at all.  According to the Soviets he became training director for the women cosmonaut program until 1963.  Then he resumed training to go to space again.  He died in 1968, his jet crashed on a training mission.  (I suspect he was killed, but I don't know.)  His ashes are buried in the Kremlin wall.  (Kremlin means "fort")
• 1961 - American - Alan Shepard went into space
• 1969 - July 20 - Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin landed on the moon
• ***  Star City in the central Russian steppes has a population of more than 100,000 people. Plus a university, a concert hall, movie theaters, numerous shopping complexes and a soccer stadium.  But no tourists, foreign or domestic, can visit there.  And it's not listed on any map ever made public inside or outside the Soviet Union.  It's the USSR's space center (L.M. Boyd)
• ***During the height of the space race in the 1960's NASA realized the astronauts would need something to write with in zero gravity.  After considerable research and development over 2 years they developed a zero-g pen at the cost of about 1 million dollars.  The first production run was 50 pens.  The Soviet Union faced the same problem.  They issued pencils.

Khrushchev's Foreign Policy

• Denouncement of Stalin had worldwide repercussions
• Mao Zedong denounced Khrushchev - the split with China began
• Other communist leaders saw an opportunity to seek more independence from Moscow
• In 1956 shortly after the Twentieth Congress speech a revolt broke out in Hungary - the Hungarian Premier Nagy was inspired by the speech to declare a more non-aligned direction - Hungarians expected to get American help - initially the Red Army withdrew from Budapest and the Hungarians thought they had won - Khrushchev ordered the Red Army to crush the uprising - Nagy was killed
• In 1961 the Cold War escalated dangerously
• In early May 1960 and American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory - the pilot was Francis Gary Powers - he was taking pictures of a major industrial area - sentenced to 10 years in prison - was held for 2 years - traded for a KGB master spy Col. Rudolph Abel
• Later in the year the U.S. launched the Bay of Pigs Invasion against the new Castro government in Cuba
• In August 1961 the East German government erected the Berlin Wall - *** 12' high and 28 miles long
• In October 1962 the most dangerous confrontation of the Cold War occurred - Cuban Missile Crisis - the Soviets had secretly shipped nuclear missiles to Cuba - the U.S. spotted launch sites only 90 miles from the U.S. border - President Kennedy demanded removal - began a blockade of Cuba
• Khrushchev backed down - agreed to remove the weapons
• In 1964 Khrushchev was stripped of his office - *** fired for "harebrained schemes"

Following the removal of Khrushchev the next significant leader to appear was:

Leonid Brezhnev

• The rise of Brezhnev marked the beginning of the fall of the Soviet state
• He was a party hack
• Not a tyrant like Stalin nor an idealist like Khrushchev
• Reversed many of Khrushchev's policies - called "re-Stalinization"
• Restricted personal freedoms
• Restored full central planning
• Emphasized military spending at the expense of consumer goods
• While Brezhnev ruled the soviet Union the nation began to decay sharply

Economically

• Agricultural production dropped so much that the country began to buy grain from the West (They still do this today.)
• The standard of living continued to fall further behind the West

Brezhnev's Foreign Policy

Initially he continued the hostile relationship with the West

In 1968 the Brezhnev Doctrine was proclaimed - pledged military assistance to any Communist state threatened by revolt/overthrow

In 1968 the communist government of Czechoslovakia announced a series of internal reforms and liberalization's that frightened Moscow

• Czech leader Alexander Dubeck advocated a "socialism with a human face"
• Called the "Prague Spring" - in July 1968 the Warsaw Pact demanded an end to reforms
• In August 1968 Warsaw Pact troops invaded the country and tight communist hard line rule was restored

In 1969 a brief border war flared with the People's Republic of China - Illustrated how bad relations had become between the two communist superpowers

In 1972 Brezhnev and President Nixon met in Moscow and the slow thaw in U.S./Soviet relations began

• Detente -"relaxation of tensions" - by USSR
• More trade with the West
• Helped the USSR win international respectability

In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the puppet government installed there

• Used the Brezhnev Doctrine as the justification
• It became a 10 year nightmare and ended with a Soviet withdrawal in 1989
• They took the cities but could not control the countryside
• *** A note about Afghanistan.  It is a country of tribes.  The mostly fight each other until there is an invader and then they band together to fight the invader.  This has been going on for 100's of years.  With this type of history it is nearly impossible to form a government because the tribe in power is always under attack.  Additionally, the center of the country is mountainous and there is only 1 road that goes around the outside of the country.  And, finally their government is supported by the drug trade.  Before the the Soviets and the U.S. became involved it was about 25% of the budget.  To day it makes up over 75% of the national budget.  This information came from the book Afghanistan's Endless War by Larry P. Goodson if you would like to know more about this.

Brezhnev died in 1982

Mikhail Gorbachev    b. 1931 near Stavropol

• The next (and last) major Soviet leader
• 1952 became a Communist Party member - held a number of local posts
• 1970 rose to become First Secretary of his local party committee
• 1971 became a member of the Central Committee
• 1980 Politburo member
• 1985 General Secretary
• Had not fought in WW II and had not risen to power under Stalin's brutal regime
• He brought fresh views and a spirit of change to the government
• In the mid-1980's he began a series of reforms designed to open up the Soviet system to greater personal freedom
• Glastnost -"openness" about the nations problems - such as Chernoble (nuclear power plant - killed 31 people - injured 100's - spread radiation over much of the world)
• Similar reforms of the failing Soviet economy
• Perestroika - "restructuring" - ambitious program of political and economic reforms - introduced democratic measures like the secret ballot and multi-candidate elections - economic reforms gave the local producers more power and incentives - larger private plots for farmers - allowed some privately owned businesses to open and encouraged foreign investment

Foreign Relation

Built stronger ties with the West

Signed arms reduction agreements with the U.S.

Abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine

• Removed troops from Afghanistan
• Promoted peaceful change in Eastern Europe
• For his efforts he won the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize
• Appeared the cold war was over and a period of cooperative relations with other nations had begun for the Soviet Union

Brought dramatic changes to the Soviet Union

• Deputies criticized the Communist Party and Gorbachev
• 1990 the Party made a historic decision to give up its 70-year monopoly on power, paving the way for a multi-party political system
• Party agreed to create a strong Western-style presidency
• Gorbachev now had unparalleled power

Despite his successes he had many critics

Changes caused a steady decline in the standard of living

By 1991 the Soviet economy appeared to be near collapse

Gorbachev introduced a moderate reform plan

At the same time the Soviet Union showed signs of disintegration

Many non-Russian people were discontent

Ethnic tensions erupted

• Azerbaijan - fighting between Muslims and Christians
• Republics demanded independence from central control including - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia

Get tough response

• Soviet troops in 1991 attacked key buildings in the Lithuanian and Latvian capitals

Many threw out their communist governments between 1989 and 1990

• Poland - 1989\Hungary - 1990
• Czechoslovakia
• Bulgaria - 1990
• Rumania - 1989
• East Germany - 1989

Soviet control crumbled

Belief in communism as a workable system had vanished

Gorbachev defended the military crackdown

Now giving higher priority to the survival of the Soviet state than to any continuation or reform policies

Boris Yeltsin   b. Feb. 1, 1931

• Oldest of 3 children
• Parents Russian peasants
• *** At age 11 he lost the thumb and forefinger of his left hand while disassembling a grenade that he and 2 friend had stolen from a weapons warehouse
• Trained as a structural engineer - he worked for a company that built apartment buildings
• 1968 he entered politics
• By 1976 he headed his regional branch of the Communist Party - also running the factory where he began working 20 years earlier
• 1985 - Gorbachev asked him to move to Moscow - he was appointed first secretary of the Moscow branch of the Communist Party - a post similar to that of mayor in the U.S. - he served until 1987
• He eagerly aligned himself with the Gorbachev led reformist wing of the Communist Party
• He arrested 100's of corrupt officials
• Hard working and incorruptible - abrasive and domineering - he made enemies
• Impatient with the pace of the reforms
• He quit the party in 1990 after being elected speaker of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
• On June 12, 1991, he became the first elected president of the Russian Federation - later that year he oversaw the breakup of the Soviet Union into independent states
• He helped found the Commonwealth of Independent States on December 8, 1991, bringing an end to efforts to preserve the USSR
• His popularity plummeted when he introduced a radical reform plan intending to move Russia to a market-based economy

Health Problems

• ***Alcoholic - seen drunk on numerous public occasions
• Suffered 2 heart attacks
• Worsening heart condition sidelined him through much of the fall and winter of 1996
• Underwent quintuple heart bypass surgery - November 1996
• January 8, 1997 contracted pneumonia
• His enemies wanted to impeach him but his health improved and he reappeared to seize the reins of government

Unexpectedly resigned December 31, 1999

*** After he left office he was very wealthy and lived much better than he ever could on the salary he made

February 1, 2006 he celebrated his 75th birthday

Vladimir Putin   b. October 7, 1952

• A native of St. Petersburg
• Humble beginnings - lived in a rat infested tenement in a communal apartment building
• *** Stands about 5' 4" tall - very sensitive about it
• *** Favorite sport Judo - a black belt
• Appointed Prime Minister by Yeltsen - August 1999
• When Yeltsen resigned appointed President then won the election March 26, 2000
• Former KGB operative - suppressed dissident activities in Leningrad
• Promised to clean up corruption but still surround himself with many of Yeltsin's cronies (they helped him come to office)
• Strengthened the economy
• Tried to regain control of areas Yeltsin had granted autonomy

Korean War

Korean War

• Korea had been a Japanese colony prior to 1945 (since 1910)
• At the wars end the peninsula had been divided at the 38th parallel - between the Soviets in the North and the Americans in the South - to oversee the Japanese surrender
• Soviets cut off communications lines
• Soviets placed Kim Il-Sung as head of the Communist government (His son rules today and is considered one of the worlds worst dictators.) - he became the first president of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
• United States placed Syngman Rhee as head in South Korea - he was later elected president of the Republic of Korea (ROK)
• Soviet and American troops began to pull out
• The last American troops left at the end of June, 1949
• Were frequent border clashes between both sides into 1950
• Because the Americans had pulled out the North Koreans thought the South was their for the taking
• North Korean troops began quietly amassing along the border
• In June 25, 1950 at 4am the North Koreans artillery opened fire - about 1/2 hour later almost 80,000 troops streamed across the border
• Truman asked the U.N. Security Council to meet in an emergency session
• Council call for the North Koreans to stop
• North Korea ignored them
• The Security Council voted to send the member troops to aid in South Korea's defense
• (The Soviets were not present to cast a veto - they were boycotting over the Berlin crisis)
• Truman never asked Congress to declare war
• Troops were sent as part of a police action
• General Douglas MacArthur became the commander-in-chief for the United Nations forces
• 17 nations sent troops - another 5 nations provided medical support
• Quickly overrun by the North Korean troops
• Pushed all the way down to a small southeastern corner near Pusan
• Massive U.S. reinforcement held off a fierce series of attacks
• The United Nations forces pushed the North Koreans all the way back to the 38th parallel
• On October 1 South Korean forces crossed into North Korea
• United Nations passed a resolution for the unification of Korea
• Allowed MacArthur to send troops into North Korea
• To combat this Chinese troop crossed the Yalu River in North Korea - between October 14 and November 1, nearly 180,000 Communist Chinese troops crossed into North Korea
• On October 25, U.S. troops and the Chinese troops first clashed
• November 25 - Chinese troops smashed thought the Untied Nations lines and forced the offensive to retreat
• By December 15 the United Nations forces had been pushed back to the 38th parallel
• By April pushed the Communist forces back beyond the 38th parallel
• MacArthur was determined to push the Communists out of North Korea - direct violation of Truman's orders -(MacArthur's plans to expand the war would have been a deadly mistake.)
• MacArthur continually disobeyed Truman's orders
• Truman relieved him of command - April 11, 1951
• Replaced by General Ridgway
• April 22, 1951 - Chinese Communist Forces launched a spring offensive
• Were turned back
• U.N. chose not to push the Communists out of Korea - policy dictated a stalemate situation - it continued for the next 2 years
• Proposed a cease fire
• Major sticking point was the voluntary repartriation of prisoners
• United Nations believed some Communist troops did not want to return
• Communists insisted on all being returned - by force if necessary
• Communists did not want to lose face by them not returning
• Fall of 1952 talks were halted
• Fighting continued with fierce battles - Heartbreak Ridge - Punch Bowl - Old Baldy - Pork Chop Hill
• Americans wanted out of the fighting
• Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected president - Communists know he will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons
• Stalin died March 1953 and the new leader seemed to desire and end of hostilities
• Communists accepted voluntary reparations
• Finally things could be worked out
• Armistice document signed on July 27, 1953
• Nearly 3,000,000 killed
• Estimated 1,300,000 South Koreans killed or wounded  - almost 1,000,000 civilians
• Chinese losses over 900,000
• North Korean losses over 500,000
• American casualties 162,000 - 1/3 killed
• Additionally 17,000 United Nations forces from other countries were killed or wounded
• By June 1953 the concluded in an uneasy stalemate

Today the North Korean economy is in trouble

• in 1997 the government cut the rice ration for bureaucrats to 6 ounces per day - this is a starvation ration for some of the best fed people in their society - this is an old statistic but things do not seem much better today
• In spite of massive famine threatening the country the government still spends huge amounts of money on their military - even threatening the U.S. with nuclear weapons

Vietnam

VIETNAM

War Memorial - dedicated November 13, 1982

• Over 58,000 names
• At the dedication all the names were read aloud, in shifts, around the clock
• it took 54 hours to read all the names

Began mid-1940's to 1975

Longest war in American history - considered by some the only war America has ever lost - I take exception to that because American troops were not in Vietnam when South Vietnam fell

Over 57,000 Americans and 4 million Vietnamese were killed

Shaped U.S. foreign policy for decades to come

U.S. entered the war to prevent communism

• Withdrew its troops from Vietnam in 1973
• 1975 - Communist assumed leadership of a united Vietnam

French in Vietnam

• Indochina - Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam - had complete control since 1886
• Nazis occupied France in 1940 and allowed Japan to set up military bases throughout Indochina - their presence weakened French control over the country
• Vietnamese people intensified their resistance to the French occupation

Viet Minh -Vietnam Independence League

• Began in 1941 - led by Ho Chi Minh
• Main objective was to over throw colonial French rule in Vietnam
• Vietnamese people had a 2,000 year long history of resisting foreign occupation - possessed a fierce national identity - managed to overthrow almost 1,000 years of Chinese rule - turned away invaders such as Kubla Khan

Dwight D. Eisenhower - dedicated to halting the spread of communism

• "Domino Theory" - he equated Vietnam and the rest of Indochina to a row of dominoes

U.s. Support of South Vietnam

• Strongly supported Ngo Dinh Diem - his rule proved to be undemocratic - unpopular with the Vietnamese people - in spite of this when he asked for American aid Kennedy gave it
• Kennedy was strongly Anti-Communist
• Kennedy sent almost 1,000 military advisers to South Vietnam - November 1961
• By 1963 over 16,000 American military personnel were there - this violated the Geneva Accords
• Kennedy and his advisers began to feel that Diem was corrupt - that he was obstructing the fight against communism
• U.S. deliberately failed to warn Diem of an impending coup by some of his generals
• Diem was assassinated on November 1, 1963 (and his brother)
• Kennedy was assassinated 3 weeks later (Lee Harvey Oswald)

Johnson's Approach to Vietnam

• His advisers immediately pressured him to increase military aid
• He had grave misgivings about American involvement in Vietnam
• Despite his private doubts he felt great pressure to deepen U.S. involvement - did not want to appear weak against communism
• Afraid if he appeared "soft" on communism he would not be reelected in 1964
• Thus in 1964 he began to send more troops to Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• Occurred in the summer of 1964 - officially pulled the U.S. into the war
• August 2, 1964 the U.S. ship SS Maddox - on a covert intelligence mission clashed by Communist patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin
• The small boats were no match for the destroyer - one crewman said firing on the patrol boats was "like trying to swat mosquitoes with a big fly swatter"
• U.S. vessels refused to retreat - claimed the U.S. had "legitimate rights in (the gulf's) international waters
• Johnson justified the assault by arguing that the Vietnamese attack was unprovoked
• North Vietnam responded that it was rightfully chasing attackers from its territorial waters

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• Johnson seized the opportunity to send a pre-planned resolution to Congress
• It gave the president the right to "take all necessary measures" to defend any nation in Southeast Asia threatened by Communist aggression
• It covered everything
• Passed through Congress almost unanimously - only 2 senators dissenting
• This document gave Johnson the legal right to send troops into Vietnam without an official U.S. declaration of war

Johnson Escalates the War

• Began air raids on North Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin incident
• Began bombing on a regular basis in early 1965
• By December 1965 there were nearly 200,000 combat troops in South Vietnam
• In 1966 Johnson sent another 200,00 troops
• By the end of 1967 there were 500,000 troops in Vietnam

Guerrilla Warfare

• Vietnam totally unlike anything U.S. troops had previously experienced
• Wet, often dense terrain made movement difficult and very uncomfortable
• Flooded rice fields and tangled jungle trails
• Soldiers were harassed more by heat and leeches than by the enemy
• ***  My husband said the leeches were about 6" long and could climb up hill faster than the soldiers.  When he came home from Vietnam he had scars on his arms from leeches.
• Viet Cong troops used various guerrilla tactics
• Darted out of tunnels and bunkers to ambush U.S. patrols
• Used an ingenious assortment of land mines and booby traps

Effective Vietnamese Forces

• U.S. government was confident that it could defeat the Vietnamese with a superior show of military force
• Dropped approximately 3.2 million tons of explosives on Vietnam
• Large North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighting units went into actual combat infrequently - preferred to engage in hit-and-run maneuvers so they could choose the terrain for battle and avoid direct confrontations - their forces were very familiar with the local terrain
• Vietnamese soldiers were well disciplined and effective

Distinguishing Friends From Enemies

• Soldiers could not always differentiate between hostile and friendly peasants
• Many South Vietnamese did not welcome the presence of the U.S. troops
• Many times the enemy in the area was a farmer by day and VC by night

Growing U.S. Disillusionment

• In the beginning of the war many U.S. soldiers believed they were fighting for a good cause
• moral began to decline as the war progressed

The Vietnamese "People's War"

• Communists called their war a "people's war" and received widespread support in both North and South Vietnam
• Sacrifices - Horrendous sacrifices in lives to attain their long-range goals - at least half a million troops died in action, yet there were always new recruits to replace the casualties
• U.S. bombings did little to halt the tenacious Vietnamese forces
• U.S. troops would conquer territory by launching massive air assaults - then the Viet Cong would sneak back in after the bombing

Ho Chi Minh Trail

• Ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through Cambodia and Laos
• Virtually undetectable from the air because of the dense jungle cover
• U.S. could not send troops to attack because they were in neutral territory
• U.S. tried to bomb Vietnamese forces traveling on the trail - largely unsuccessful

Plight of Vietnamese Civilians

• In the north 80% of the people killed by U.S. bombings were civilians
• Had a devastating impact on the country's civilians and countryside
• Wiped out South Vietnamese villages in a vain attempt to prevent the Viet Cong from seizing the territory
• Nine percent of the bombs the U.S. dropped were napalm bombs - jellylike chemical mixture that burned whatever it touched

Antiwar Demonstrations at Home

• Began early 1965
• College students and professors began holding sit-ins and teach-ins
• First major antiwar protest occurred in Washington,DC, on April 17, 1965 - over 20,000 people participated - the largest ever in U.S. until that time
• By the end of 1967 antiwar demonstrations were practically a daily occurrence at colleges around the nation - massive peace marches drawing upward of 50,000 people were held in major cities
• *** A note about Jane Fonda.  She now says she is sorry she went to North Vietnam and sat on one of their guns that shot at U.S. pilots.  That's fine as far as it goes but she left out the fact that she was responsible for the beating and deaths of American soldiers.  She was scheduled to meet prisoners of war.  They knew she was coming and decided to pass her their social security numbers, as she shook hands with them, so their family's would know they were alive.  This happened and when she was done she handed them to their jailers.  The prisoners of war were beaten severely and some died.  She has never apologized for this to my knowledge.

Unpopularity of the War

Increasingly unpopular for a variety of reasons

• Number of American casualties
• Many uncertain as to why the U.S. was involved in Vietnam
• Many found it hard to understand why American lives were being lost in what amounted to another country's civil war
• Horrifying images of war in magazines, newspapers, and on TV
• ***All of this sounds familiar and could be applied today in Iraq

Resistance to the Draft

• Public demonstrations
• Illegally burned or tore up their draft cards
• Refused to register for the draft or registered as conscientious objectors
• Fifteen million men applied for and received draft deferments (If you were in school or married were a couple of reasons.)
• Over half a million men went into hiding or fled the country to avoid the draft

War Reaches It's Height

• American casualties rose
• Clear-cut victories proved to be scant
• Cost of the war mounted
• 1968 to 1969 over 500,000 American troops were stationed in Vietnam
• 130,000 Vietnamese civilians perished per month
• Well over 35,000 U.S. soldiers had been killed since the beginning of the war

Tet Offensive

• January 1968 - U.S. and Vietnam agreed to a temporary truce during the celebration of Tet - Vietnamese new year
• On January 31, 1968 70,000 communist soldiers launched a surprise offensive
• Went into more than a hundred cities and towns
• It took the U.S. completely by surprise
• Shifted the war from it's rural settings to the supposedly impregnable urban areas
• Resounding military defeat for the Viet Cong
• By the end of March 1968, 2,000 Americans had died compared to over 50,000 Communist troops

My Lai Massacre - 1968

• 30 Americans under the direction of Lieutenant W.I Calley
• Fired on the defenseless villagers
• Killing over 200 women, children and old men (another source says 128 died)
• The deaths Calley said were "no big deal"
• Calley was eventually court-marshaled

Nixon's Policy of "Peace with Honor"

• Nixon did not want to be "the first president of the U.S. to lose a war"
• Began pulling out troops and transferring responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese
• In March 1969 he approved a plan to secretly bomb Vietnamese in neutral Cambodia
• Eventually the illegal bombings were revealed in an article in the New York Times
• April 30 Nixon announced that we had invaded Cambodia
• Met with an outpouring of protests - some tragically ended in violence
• Jackson State University in Mississippi - police killed 2 students and wounded 9 others
• Kent State University - Ohio - they burnt down the campus ROTC building - the governor claimed the students were "worse than the brownshirts (Nazis)" and vowed to "eradicated" them - on May 4, 1970 National Guardsmen opened fire on antiwar demonstrators and killed 4 students - the killings outraged the public and caused an additional wave of students strikes around the country

Peace Talks Falter

• June 1970 the war had spread to Laos
• Talks faltered due in part to the death of Ho Chi Minh in 1969
• Had public peace talks and secret ones
• Neither the public nor the private negotiations resulted in a quick "peace with honor"

Cease-Fire Declared

• January 27,1973 signed an agreement in Paris

U.S. Forces Leave Vietnam

• On March 29, 1973 the last U.S. combat troops left the Capital of Saigon
• North Vietnam released it's remaining American prisoners of war
• The U.S. stopped bombing Laos
• In August 1973 Nixon stopped the bombing of Cambodia
• The U.S. was in Vietnam had officially ended

Fighting Resumes in Vietnam

• Both North and South soon violated the Paris Agreement and resumed fighting
• South Vietnam began to crumble
• Without U.S. fire power major South Vietnamese cities such as Hue and Da Nang soon fell to the Communists
• 1975 North Vietnam prepared it's final siege on Saigon
• April 29,1975 the U.S. ordered all Americans in Vietnam to leave the country
• Panicked Americans and Vietnamese rushed the U.S. embassy in Saigon
• April 39 South Vietnam surrendered

Effects of the Vietnam War

• Human cost was staggering
• Three million Americans serve - 58,000 died, 303,000 were wounded - over 750 taken prisoner
• More than 4 million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians on both sides were killed or wounded - roughly 10% of the entire population
• Cost the U.S. more than $120 billion and was the longest war the country ever fought
• It created doubts about American judgment - about American credibility - about American power - not only at home, but throughout the world

Vietnam After the War

• Struggled to recover from the devastating effects of the war
• In 1991 their economy began to improve
• In 1993 the U.S. finally lifted it's trade embargoes and the two countries reestablished diplomatic relations

Mac's Facts no. 45 (Room 7, Hanoi Hilton)

November 17, 2001

Note:  In late 2000, CAG Stockdale (Room 7 SRO) asked his old friend, By Fuller to provide a list of the roommates of Room 7, Hanoi Hilton as of Christmas 1970.  The roommates of this room were extraordinary, both at the time of incarceration, and then later in freedom. 

Room 7 had the first organized church service to be held in the prisons of North Vietnam.  Permission was asked for by Stockdale, and twice denied by the Camp Commander.  The room was warned not to do it.  Room 7 decided to do it anyway.  They even had a choir. Their solemn service quickly caught the eye of the guards and authorities.  Armed guards rushed into the room to break up the "ominous" unauthorized meeting.  Ringleaders, Risner, Coker and Rutledge were led out of the room with guards at each arm (they were headed for more Heartbreak Hotel, solitary confinement and lots of punishment).  Bud Day was the one who then jumped up on his bed and started to sing "The National Anthem" and "God Bless America."  The entire room burst into song.  Then Rooms Six, Five, Four, Three, Two and One joined in succession.These songs of pride and defiance were loud enough to be heard outside the 15-foot walls of the Hanoi Hilton. As Robbie marched out the door, his back straightened with pride.  He held his head high. 

Robbie later recalled his thoughts as his roommates burst out in song, "I felt like I was nine feet tall and could go bear hunting with a switch."   Thirty one years later, on November 16, 2001 a nine-foot tall bronze statue of Brigadier General Robinson Risner, USAF would be dedicated on the central plaza of the United States Air Force Academy.  To Bud Day (principal speaker), Ross Perot (the sponsor of the project), and dozens of Robbie's Room-Seven roommates at the ceremony, it seemed more fitting to call the statue "life size." Photos: Dedication of B/Gen Robbie Risner's Statue - USAFA 16-18 November 2001

CAG, knowing what the V reaction would be, was heard to remark something to the effect, "Well, I guess we just can't stand prosperity."  Our camp, yet unnamed, from that moment on became known as "Camp Unity."The guards protested, but the songs continued.  Shortly thereafter, Vietnamese troops entered each room in force.  They had their hats secured with chinstraps in place, they had fixed bayonets, and they were mad!  They quickly backed the POWs against the walls with a bayonet in each POW's stomach.  The singing immediately ceased as the troops burst through the doors.  The V later claimed that they had put down a riot.  It wasn't a real riot, but it was a lot of funÖuntil the soldiers entered the room.  Several roommates of Room 7 were jerked out the next day.  The next day, Orson Swindle in Room 6 tapped the following message on the wall:  "Damn, you'd have to get in line to get in trouble in that crowd!!"

Thanks to By Fuller for the gut work of putting together this Mac's Facts.  Paul Galanti and Mike McGrath assisted.This historical document is dedicated to a fearless leader, Vice Admiral Jim Stockdale.  CAG, here's what the men of Room 7 accomplished:

Roster of "Room 7" on 26 December, 1970 (Hanoi Hilton):

Name:                                                  Shootdown rank:               Days captive:             

1.  Brady, Al                                       Cdr, USN                          2236

2.  Coker, George                                Lt (jg), USN                      2381

3.  Coskey, Ken                                  Cdr, USN                          1650

4.  Craner, Bob (Deceased)                 Maj, USAF                       1911

5.  Crayton, Render                            LCdr, USN                        2562

6.  Crow, Fred                                     LCol, USAF                      2170

7.  Crumpler, Carl                               LCol, USAF                      1713

8.  Daniels, Vern                                 Cdr, USN                          1966

9.  Daughtrey, Norlan                         Capt, USAF                      2751

10. Day, Bud                                      Maj, USAF                       2027

11. Denton, Jerry                                Cdr, USN                          2766

12. Doremus, Rob                               LCdr, USN                        2729

13. Dramesi, John                               Capt, USAF                      2163

14. Dunn, Howie (Deceased)              Maj, USMC                      2624

15. Fellowes, Jack                               LCdr, USN                        2381

16. Finlay, Jack                                   LCol, USAF                      1781

17. Franke, Bill                                   Cdr, USN                          2729

18. Fuller, By                                      Cdr, USN                          2060

19. Gillespie, Chuck (Deceased)         Cdr, USN                          1968

20. Guarino, Larry                              Maj, USAF                       2801

21. Gutterson, laird                             Maj, USAF                       1846

22. Hughes, Jim                                  LCol, USAF                      2130

23. James, Charlie                               Cdr, USN                          1761

24. Jenkins, Harry (Deceased)            Cdr, USN                          2648

25. Johnson, Sam                                Maj, USAF                       2494

26. Kasler, Jim                                    Maj, USAF                       2400

27. Kirk, Tom                                     LCol, USAF                      1964

28. Lamar, Jim                                    LCol, USAF                      2474

29. Larson, Swede                               LCol, USAF                      2130

30. Lawrence, Bill                               Cdr, USN                          2076

31. Ligon, Vern (Deceased)                 LCol, USAF                      1942

32. McCain, John                               LCdr, USN                        1966

33. McKnight, George                        Maj, USAF                       2655

34. Moore, Mel                                  Cdr, USN                          2185

35. Mulligan, Jim                                Cdr, USN                          2521

36. Pollard, Ben                                  Maj, USAF                       2120

37. Risner, Robbie                              LCol, USAF                      2706

38. Rivers, Wendy                              LCdr, USN                        2715

39. Rutledge, Howie (Deceased)         Cdr, USN                          2633

40. Schoeffel, Pete                              LCdr, USN                        1988

41. Shumaker, Bob                              LCdr, USN                        2923

42. Stockdale, Jim                               Cdr, USN                          2713

43. Stockman, Hervey                        LCol, USAF                      2093

44. Stratton, Dick                               LCdr, USN                        2250

45. Tanner, Nels                                 LCdr, USN                        2338

46. Webb, Ron                                    Capt, USAF                      2093

47. Gary Anderson (Deceased)            Lt (jg), USN                      2151

                                                            Total days in captivity:  108,116

                                                            Man-years in captivity:   296.21

 

Here's a brief history of the 47 men:

5  Made Admiral rank (Stockdale O-9, Lawrence O-9, Shumaker O-8, Denton O-8,

      Fuller O-8).

1   Made General rank (Risner O-7)

40   Others stayed in the military and attained the following ranks: (USMC 1 Col--Dunn; Navy 1 Cdr--Coker; AF 1 LCol--Daughtrey; AF 19 Colonels--Craner, Crow, Crumpler, Day, Dramesi, Finlay, Guarino, Gutterson, Hughes, Kasler, Johnson, Kirk, Lamar, Larson, Ligon, McKnight, Pollard, Stockman, & Webb; Navy 18 Captains--Brady, Coskey, Crayton, Daniels, Doremus, Fellowes, Franke, Gillespie, James, Jenkins, McCain, Moore, Mulligan, Rivers, Rutledge, Schoeffel, Stratton, & Tanner.  No. 47 yet to be determined.)

1      Became U.S. Congressmen (Johnson, Texas; McCain, Arizona).

2      Became U.S. Senators (Denton, Alabama; McCain, Arizona).

1      Was a Vice Presidential candidate (Stockdale).

1      Was a Presidential candidate (McCain).

2      Received the Medal of Honor (Stockdale, Day).  Day resumed his career as a lawyer.

3      Received the Navy Cross (Denton, Coker, Fuller).  (3 of the 4 POWs to receive this award were from this room.  Red McDaniel was the 4^th  POW to receive the award).

4      Made escapes.  All were recaptured, all were tortured. (Dramesi, Coker, McKnight, Day).

2      Were jet aces from the Korea War (Risner: 9 kills in F-86; Kasler: 6 kills in F-86).

1      First pilot to fly over Russia in U-2 spy aircraft (Stockman).

1    Was shot down 4-15-1944 in Germany.  POW until April 1945.  26^th mission in P-47 (Ligon)

1      Shot down 3 German planes during WW II.  Flying British aircraft (Guarino).  Flew 156 missions in Sicily, India, China and Indo-China.

1      Flew 62 missions in Korea War. Got credit for 1 kill, 1 damaged, 1 probable kill against

Mig ñ15s (Johnson).

7    Received the Air Force Cross (Kasler--3 awards; Risner--2 awards; Dramesi: 2 awards, Day, Kirk, Guarino & McKnight each received one award). 

4    Were Navy Test Pilots (Stockdale, Lawrence, Gillespie, & Franke).

1      Flew with the Thunderbirds (Johnson).

11   Were USNA graduates (Brady '51, Denton '47, Fellowes '56, Fuller '51, Gillespie '51, Lawrence '51, McCain '58, Rivers '52, Schoeffel '54, Shumaker '56, & Stockdale '47).

2      Were Landing Signal Officers (LSOs); (Stockdale, Tanner).

1      Escaped the B-52 community and got into combat flying the F-105G (Larson).

1    Has a daughter who is an astronaut, gone into space three times (789 hours).  She is presently in training as a crewmember of the International Space Station.  (Lawrence).         

1    Was a Navy Air Wing Commander (CAG): (Stockdale, (COMAIRGRU 16).

1      Commanded a Navy Carrier, USS America.  Later became Battle Group Commander ñCARGRU 4 Commander (Fuller).

10   Were Squadron Commanders (Coskey (VA-85), Day (TBD), Denton (VA-75), Franke, Fuller (VA-76), Gillespie, Jenkins VA-163), Lawrence (VF-143), Ligon (11^th TRS) and Larson (469^th TFS) when shot down), Schoeffel (VA-83).

5      Were Squadron Executive Officers (Daniels, Moore, Mulligan, Rutledge, & Brady).  They were shot down before they could make Squadron Commander.

10   Authored books:

a.     Day: Return With Honor.

b.     Denton: When Hell Was In Session.

c.     Dramesi: Code of Honor.

d.     Guarino: A POW's Story: 2801 Days in Hanoi.

e.     Johnson: Captive Warriors: A Vietnam POW's Story.

f.      McCain: Faith of My Fathers.

g.     Mulligan: The Hanoi Commitment.

h.     Risner: The Passing of the Night.

i.      Rutledge: In the Presence of Mine Enemies.

j.      Stockdale: Courage Under Fire; In Love and War; A Vietnam Experience; Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot.

4    Became Presidents/Commandants/Superintendents of institutions of higher learning: (Stockdale:President of the Citidel and President of the Naval War College; Lawrence: Superintendent of the USNA; Shumaker: Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School; and Ö(TBD)Ö; Denton: Commandant of Armed Forces Staff College).

2      Built their own airplanes: (Jenkins: Long EZ; Shumaker: Glassair).Pollard  is currently flying sail planes.

1      Was the first active duty Naval Aviator to fly Mach II (Lawrence).

1      Was first Naval Aviator to land on an aircraft carrier in 0/0 fog with a newly developed Aircraft Carrier Landing System (Gillespie).  Yes, it was an emergency low fuel state!

2      Naval Aviators were in the final selection groups (before shootdown) for the Mercury Astronaut Program (Lawrence, Shumaker).

Many of the members of Room 7 either served during wars prior to Vietnam, or who saw combat in theatres other than Vietnam:

WW II:

Vern Ligon: USA Air Corps, 25 missions, P-47 pilot, POW in Stalag Luft 1, 1944-45, escaped once, recaptured.

Larry Guarino: USA Air Corps, 156 missions in Sicily, India, China and Indo-China.  Spitfires.

Hervey Stockman: USA Air Corps.  68 missions, P-51.

Jim Kasler: USA Air Corps, 7 missions as tail gunner, B-29.

Harry Jenkins & Gordon Larson were Navy V5 cadetsÖand Fred Crow was an Army Air Corps aviation  cadet when WW II ended.

Bud Day: Corporal, USMC, 30 months in south and central Pacific, April 1942-Nov 1945.

By Fuller and Carl Crumpler: Enlisted in US Navy summer of 1945.  Saw boot camp by the end of WW II.

Fred Crow and Al Brady: were Navy dependents at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

Korea:

Robby Risner: USAF, 108 missions, F-86.  Mig Ace with 9 kills.

Jim Kasler: USAF, 100 missions, F-86, Mig Ace with 6 kills.

Howie Rutledge:  USN, 200 missions, F9F-2 as a Flying Midshipman.

Harry Jenkins: Served aboard USS Fred T. Berry (DD-141) off coast of Korea.  Flying Midshipman.

Tom Kirk: Flew missions in Korea (we need more information from Tom).

Larry Guarino: USAF, Air Defense Alert missions.

Jim Lamar: USAF, 100 missions in F-80 and P-51.

Wendy Rivers: Served on a destroyer off the coast of Korea.

Laird Gutterson: USAF, flew 60 missions, P-51.

Verlyne Daniels: Flew AD-4 missions, March-August 1953.

Sam Johnson: USAF, flew 62 missions, F-86, 1 kill, 1 probable, 1 damaged against Mig 15s.

Bud Day: USAF, air defense missions, F-84s.

Bill Lawrence: (F2H-3) and By Fuller (F9F-5) arrived off the coast of Korea in October 1953.  They were flying off the USS Oriskany.  Too lateÖthe war was over!

Fred Crow: Had various commands stateside during the Korean War.

Carl Crumpler: Flew F-86s at George AFB.  War was over too soon for him to participate.           

     

(We need more information from the men of this room to continue this paper.  In particular, we need Air Force positions such as Wing Cdr, Base Cdr, Ops Officer, or other terms us Navy guys aren't familiar with.  Please submit corrections or additions to: mmcgrath62@earthlink.net). 

China

CHINA

Country

• Slightly larger than the United States
• Rich in natural resources
• Much of the soil is poor - makes farming a challenge
• The northwest is arid - cold air from inner Asia causes very cold winters - plagued with cycles of flooding and drought
• Eastern part of the country where most of the population (96%) lives - has all of China's major plains and supports most agricultural production
• Semitropical southeastern coast of China has most of the major cities and trading ports
• 80% live in the countryside - majority make their living by farming
• Remaining 20% live in crowded and heavily overpopulated urban areas

Manchu Dynasty - fell in 1911

• Allowed local armies to gain enormous power
• Foreign influence hastened the decay of the dynasty
• 1911 soldiers rebelled against the dynasty in the name of Dr. Sun Yat-sen - he had little military support - failed to create a western-style democracy
• Caused a period of disorder - warlords fought to control various provinces - this period lasted until 1927 and caused a flood of violence in the countryside
• *** The movie The Last Emperor gives interesting insight to what happens to the last ruler.  There is also a web page that gives information on this emperor: http://www.royal.nu

Struggle between the Nationalist and Communist forces began in the 1920's - continued on and off for more than two decades

• Mao Zedong's Communist finally won the mainland - controlled the country with the largest population in the world - about 600 million people 
• *** There is an old saying that there is a pass in China.  If it's people started marching through it the line would be endless because by the time the last ones got there they would have had children.  Then the children would have children and so on and the line would never end.
• Began to make radical changes in the society and government

Reason for Success

• Won the support of the huge (90%) peasant population
• Communists pledged to distribute land to poor peasants and end the oppression of the landlords
• Supported by women - Nationalists had done little to improve their hard lives
• Mao's army superior of Jiangs"
• Nationalist popularity dwindled - corrupt officials worked at getting rich instead of solving China's problems - the peasants that were drafted had little desire to help a government that oppressed them

Chinese Revolution

• During WW II 3-way struggle among the Chinese Nationalist, the Chinese Communists, and the Japanese
• Western power supported Chiang Kai-shek - by 1927 he had defeated most of the other warlords - in 1934 he surrounded the small communist armies and tried to defeat them
• Mao led about 90,000 supporters over thousands of miles of mountains - became known as the Long March - only about 6,000 marchers survived
• Mao was the leader of the Nationalist Government (Guomindang) against the Japanese
• U.S. gave millions of dollars worth of military aid, medical supplies, and food
• Chiang considered the Communist the real enemy - he depended on the Allies to oppose the Japanese while he kept his best troops (and many supplies) to fight Mao Zedong's Red Army
• ***Chaing also kept the tanks, guns, ammunition and armored vehicles in reserve and would not commit them to battle.  This drove the Americans crazy.  He said use the soldiers, they are cheap and there are plenty of them.  He really didn't care about the loss of life.  (This is covered very well in the book Stilwell by Barbara Tuchman.  It's a biography about General Stilwell.  He was the main American general dealing with the Chinese during WW II.)
• During the war the Communists made guerrilla attacks on the Japanese to gain supplies and weapons - preparing for the showdown with the Nationalists
• The success of the Red Army gained it much popular support
• Many Chinese angry at the widespread corruption in Chiang's government and the high inflation
• Mao tried to treat his troops fairly

Communist Victory

• At the end of the war full-scale fighting broke out between Mao's troops and the Nationalists
• By 1949 the Chinese Revolution was over
• Communists had taken control of the mainland
• Chiang Kai-shek and his followers fled to the island of Formosa (today Taiwan) about 130 miles east of mainland China
• They set up what they declared to be the government of China in exile - claimed they were the only legitimate government of China - On the mainland Mao proclaimed the birth of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949

China and the World

• In the years following the revolution they had few contacts with non-Communist countries
• Nations of the West and China's neighbors in Asia all viewed the new regime with suspicion
• Another area of conflict was Taiwan - U.S. and the United Nation recognized Chiang Kai-Shek's government as the only government of China.  Refused to recognize mainland China.  The U.S. did not want to recognize a communist government
• U.S. gave Chiang economic and military aid
• *** A note - I was taught that Chiang and his government were very corrupt, enriching themselves at the expense of the people.  I have had Chinese student from Formosa that took exception to this stance.  They, and their parents, claim that he was a wonderful ruler.  I still don't agree with that but I learned to be a little more diplomatic in the classroom.  If you are teaching this material be aware that this may arise.  It can lead to some interesting classroom discussions!

Soviet Union

• For several years after the revolution they were close allies with China
• Eventually China rejected the guidance of the Soviet Union because they thought the Soviets relied too much on a class of technological experts and not enough on human spirit and the socialist value of equality - (The Soviets thought all Communists should be like them and follow their lead.)
• After 1956 relations grew strained
• Chinese saw Khrushchev's policies of de-Stalinization and peaceful coexistence with the West as signs of weakness
• Soon Soviet and Chinese leaders were publicly denouncing each other
• 1966 - border dispute - China claimed 750,000 square miles of Soviet land along the Amur River - March 1966 fighting broke out
• Did not grow into a full-scale war - they did keep large armies on either side of the border

Communist Rule

• Set up the National People's Congress - several thousand elected members - in theory they ran the country - in reality the power was in the hands of top officials of the Party
• A totalitarian dictatorship that crushed all opposition and exerted control over the personal lives of it's people
• To protect it's power the Party destroyed all opposition in China
• New government killed more than one million people
• Many sent to forced labor camps
• Public was bombarded with government propaganda - books, billboards and movies all urged people to be loyal
• Communist ideology replaced Confucian beliefs and traditional religion
• To increase literacy reformers they simplified Chinese characters - made it easier to learn to read and write - schools were opened for young and old
• Education as always been revered in China
• In traditional Chinese society any man could achieve a position of importance in the government through studying and passing a series of three exams - women were rarely encouraged to study before Mao
• Health-care workers were sent to remote rural areas - they had limited training - helped to reduce disease and taught better hygiene
• Women were expected to work along side of the men - state run nurseries were set up to care for the children - did not enjoy full equality - only a few were promoted to top jobs - were often paid less than men for the same work - still responsible for cleaning, cooking, and child care
• *** Today there is great equality for women.  I have friend, female, who went to China on business in the late 70's.  She was very impressed that the Chinese treat her just as well as a man.  Something she had not experienced in the U.S.
• Organized peasants into state-owned collectives
• New government faced huge problems - industries were producing at less than half of their prewar level - railroads, bridges, ports, and roads needed repair - trade had come to a halt - inflation was so high that paper money was almost worthless

Five-Year Plan    1952 - 1957

• Soviet Union provided support to the Chinese by loaning money and heavy equipment - provided expert technical advice
• Aimed at raising production in farms and industries
• 1953 the government reversed the original land reform of the revolution and set up state owned farms - within 4 years all farms had been collectivized - they pooled their land and equipment though they retained ownership - shared the harvest according to what each contributed
• China still not growing enough to feed all its people - used rationing and price controls for fair distribution of food
• Industrial production, especially steel production, increased
• Regardless China was still mainly an agricultural nation
• Mao encouraged peasants to "speak bitterness" against landlords - tens of thousands of landlords were attacked and killed

Great Leap Forward   1958 - 1961

• A more ambitious Five-Year Plan
• Goals to increase industrial and agricultural production rapidly - wanted to transfer some of China's wealth from the cities to the countryside
• Government called on people to build small factories in the countryside - rural factories were not well planned -  goods often poor quality
• Production goals not met
• Fell short of it's goals for agriculture
• Collective farms were combined into even larger units (10,000 acres) called Communes - each made up of about 5,000 families - included several villages - thousands of acres of land - up to 25,000 people - had own schools, factories, housing and dining halls - had production quotas
• Government hoped food would be produced more efficiently
• Many peasants unhappy - housed in barracks - many families broken up
• Farm machinery scarce
• Had to turn over work animals and equipment - not allowed to own anything except a few personal items
• Had little incentive to produce more than the minimum - crop production dropped drastically
• Millions did from starvation - *** There are pictures of children eating grass to stay alive
• Natural disasters led to poor harvests
• To avoid famine had to buy grain from abroad
• Dismal failure - backyard industries turned out low-quality useless goods - commune system slowed food output -led to a terrible famine between 1959 and 1961 - up to 30 million Chinese are thought to have starved to death
• In response China turned to more moderate policies

Cultural Revolution    1966-1969

• By mid-1960"s the Communists had broken with many Chinese traditions
• Expanded education and women's rights - 1950 introduced new marriage and divorce laws that freed women from arranged marriages and allowed them to choose their own husbands - treated equally with men in divorce cases - women's rights regarding children and property were protected
• Tried to up root the Confucian ideas that formed the basis of Chinese life
• Insisted that the party be more important than the family
• Giving higher status to workers and peasants
• Mao feared the original spirit of the revolution was being lost - feared the bureaucrats and technicians were slowly replacing the revolutionaries in running the country
• 1966 - launched the Cultural Revolution to purge China of "The Four Olds" - old thoughts - old culture - old customs - old habits
• Many longtime party members were ousted
• People believed to be corrupted by class privilege or Western ideas were sent to work in the communes or in factories - others were jailed or killed
• Artists were forced to glorify the common people - paintings, poems and songs were "beautiful" only if they were politically correct - destroyed precious art objects in museums and Buddhists shrines
• The most eager supporters were the millions of young Communists who joined military-style units known as the Red Guard
• The government closed schools so that these young people could travel through China attacking anyone with traditional ideas
• Their guidebook was called "the little red book" - the sayings of Chairman Mao - collection of short quotations from Mao Zedong - example: "Not to have a correct political point of view is like having no soul."
• Red Guard ran wild in China's cities - bullied and killed managers, teachers, and others who did not show enough revolutionary spirit - sought to stamp out "incorrect" or old values and habits - millions of people driven from their jobs - even turned against the army and against government and Party officials
• Realizing they had gone too far Mao put a stop to the Cultural Revolution in 1969
• Mao disbanded the Red Guard and sentenced about 18 million Guards to hard labor for "re-education"
• In 1981 the Chinese government officially declared the Cultural Revolution a catastrophe
• they had lost a generation - under-educated and cut off from normal family life and careers
• In the end many became disillusioned with communism

Cold War

• U.S. continued to support the Nationalist government (Taiwan) - refused to recognize the People's Republic of China
• Rift deepened with the Korean War
• For years the U.S. tried to isolate China - saw China as an aggressive communist power expanding across Asia
• With the end of the Cultural Revolution relations with the U.S. improved
• China needed U.S. technology to speed modernization - also hoped for help in case of a Soviet attack
• ***  My friend who signed the contract with the Chinese worked for an electronics company.  The U.S. would only allow goods to be sold that were very out of date.  In her case they were 10 years old.
• 1971 - China won admission to the United Nations
• November 1971 The General Assembly of the United Nations voted to make the People's Republic, and not Taiwan, the official representative of China
• 1972 - President Nixon visited Mao in Beijing - opened the door to improved relations
• 1979 - formal diplomatic recognition of China by the U.S. finally came
• Relation were damaged the the crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy movement - Tienanmen Square
• In spite of this Chinese and U.S. officials continued to meet

Split with the Soviet Union

• Mao had adapted Marxism to Chinese conditions
• Stalin rejected Mao's views
• Mao thought the Soviets were too conservative and accused them of being too willing to "coexist" with the capitalist powers - thought Khrushchev was weak
• China and the Soviet Union were also rivals for influence in the Third World - border disputes triggered tensions between the two

New Leadership

• Mao became old and ill in the early 1970's - his wife (Jiang Qing) gained powerful influence in the Communist Party and continued many radical policies of the Cultural Revolution
• Jiang was Mao's 4th wife - she had been an actress
• Mao died in 1976 - despite disastrous mistakes he remained the revolutionary hero who had restored order - ended foreign domination - made China a world power
• Afterwards (1981) his wife and three advisers were tried for sedition - known as the Gang of Four - arrested for trying to overthrow the government and causing the deaths of 34,000 people during the Cultural Revolution
• Jiang was sentenced to death but it was later commuted to life in prison - she was released in 1991 for medical reasons - 10 days later she died - the government said she committed suicide

Deng Ziaoping  (DUNG SHAOW-PING)   d.1997

• By 1979 Deng, a leader twice disgraced by Mao, secured control of the communist Party
• Veteran of the Long March
• Made sweeping changes
• Shifted the focus of the government back to making China strong economically
• A new constitution was adopted - gave people more freedom in their personal lives - put more emphasis on initiative and individual reward in the work place
• Reforms aimed at giving people greater incentives to work
• Communes broken up
• People encouraged to start small businesses
• More moderate leader
• Practical reformer - more interested in raising output than in political purity
• Program called the Four Modernization's - emphasized agriculture, industry, science and defense
• Agriculture - responsibility system replaced the communes - allotted plots of farmland - government took a share of the crops - people could sell the rest
• Entrepreneurs were allowed to set up their own businesses
• Mangers of state-run factories were given more freedom - expected to make their plants more efficient
• Government turned to the West and Japan for help in improving technology and management
• The reforms brought a surge of growth and a better standard of living for some Chinese
• In spite of the reforms China is still lacking efficient energy and transportation systems
• By the early 1990's China was in the middle of a serious economic slowdown - many millions of people had no jobs - unemployment was at the highest level since 1949 - crime and corruption grew

Hopes for Democracy

• 1986 apparent loosening of government controls could be seen at the Chinese universities - students were allowed to criticize some government policies in newspapers and in speeches
• June 1989 a peaceful gathering of university students in Beijing attracted world wide attention - hundreds of thousands of students and workers filled a large open area called Tienanmen Square

Tiananmen Square - May 1989

• Thousands of student demonstrators
• First few weeks the government did little to stop the demonstrations
• Demonstrators called for democratic reforms and meetings with government leaders
• List of grievances - inflation - crime - official corruption - Communist party's monopoly on power
• After a month of protest the government declared martial law - sent in units of the army
• June 4 - brutal crackdown when they would not leave - tanks rolled - followed by armed troops
• Thousands of demonstrators were killed and wounded (killed between 700 and 3,000 citizens)
• Most of the dead were actually not students - they were killed while the soldiers were fighting their way into the square
• Many others arrested and tortured - some put to death
• Deepened the resentment felt by many Chinese people toward their government and its officials
• Massacre showed that China's leaders would not allow their authority to be challenged - to them order was more important than political freedom
• Martial law was lifted in early 1990
• Tiananmen Square was reopened to the public
• China's leaders showed little willingness to consider democratic changes - no democratic reforms occurred
• It became a symbol for Chinese who hoped one day to achieve democracy

By the mid-1990's China was a major industrial power - it's economy ranked among the fastest growing in the world

Since 1949 China's population has more than doubled to 1.2 billion

• Such rapid growth strained the economy
• In the year 2000 there were 42,000 children born everyday
• In the 1980's the government instituted a one-child-per-family policy
• If they had only one child parents were given rewards - like better housing or improved medical benefits
• Those who had more children faced fines and other penalties
• This campaign worked better in the cities
• Farm families who wanted children to work the land often paid fines rather than obey the policy - *** Some never admitted to having extra children thus keeping them out side the system as non-citizens - not eligible for any benefits such as health care.
• Chinese value boys over girls and female infanticide increased despite efforts to prevent it - *** Today there are many girls in orphanages because the parents only want to keep the boys.  The boys are considered their retirement because they will take care of the parents when they are old.  The girls marry and go to their husband's family.  Because of these practices there is going to be a problem with this upcoming generation of not enough women for the men to marry.

Across China communist ideology was weakening - more interested in profit than in socialism

Deng Xiaoping's death in 1997 marked the end of an era of stunning change

More changes seem likely as economic reforms continue and pressure for political reform grows

2001 - Chinese President Jiang Zemin

Japan

JAPAN

150,000 square miles - slightly smaller than California - 85% mountains - 40 active volcanoes

Known as the "Land of the Rising Sun"

Had emperors but mostly ruled by shoguns (literally meaning "barbarian conquering general")

Tokagawa Shogunate - est. by 1600

• Expelled Christian missionaries and virtually closed the nation's borders to foreigners
• Restricted contact with Christians because they were afraid they would turn the loyalty from the shogun to the Pope and European armies might invade Japan - by 1600 - 300,000 Japanese had converted to Christianity
• Forbid foreign travel - would not be allowed to return if they left
• Next 250 years the Japanese remained isolated from the West
• Opening of Japan in 1853 - American Commodore Matthew C. Perry - *** He basically said open to the American trade or we will come back and attack in one year.
• Overthrown in 1866 - *** The Imperial family has never been overthrown.  They have reigned without interruption into the 21st century (from 5th century A.D.

Meiji Restoration - (1868-1912)

• "restored" the sixteen year old Meiji Emperor
• Actual political power fell into the hands of a group of samurai and their allies from the imperial court
• Moved control of the national government to the new capital of Tokyo (from Edo)
• Made a new Constitution of 1889 - made the power of the emperor supreme - created a two-house legislature, the Diet
• Aggressively pursued western ideas
• Sent students abroad
• Brought in European technicians
• Adults dressed in the latest western styles
• Played western sports of golf and baseball
• The government's single-minded goal to leap from the feudal to the modern age proved largely successful
• Emperor Hirohito died in 1989 - (He was emperor during WW II.)
• Today his son Aikhito rules

Strongest from the early 1930's until the end of WW II

Reached its height in 1942 before Allied forces severely crippled the Japanese navy in the Battle of Midway

1945 - first time in history Japan had to accept foreign occupation

Japan lay in ruins - bombing destroyed about 25% of all factories and 20% of all houses

1945 - Japan lay reeling - had suffered perhaps the most devastating property damage of any nation involved in WW II - tens of thousands of Japanese were homeless and hungry

Japanese learned from the outsiders

They selectively borrowed western ideas and technology and put them to their own use

By the 1960"s Japan had emerged as an economic superpower - equal to the U.S. and the Soviet Union

Occupation Goals

• Under General Douglas MacArthur
• Two main goals - destroy militarism - ensure a democratic government
• Japan's armed forces were disbanded
• Trials were held to punish those responsible for wartime atrocities - doctors were granted immunity in exchange for their research data - some of these where: vivisection of humans without anesthetic, germ warfare, and various medical experiments (If you want to learn more go to the following website: http://www.centurychina.com/wiihis/germwar)
• Purged over 200,000 soldiers
• 1946 - New Constitution - stripped the emperor of power - power vested in the people who elected representatives to the Diet - protected basic rights, such as freedom of thought, press, and assembly - very similar to ours

Social and Economic Reforms

• Reformed the education system to open it to all people
• Emphasized legal equality for women - women gained the right to vote and hold office - marriages had to be based on mutual consent - equal rights for wife and husband
• Economic reforms designed to promote democracy
• Protected the right of workers to organize unions
• Sweeping land-reform program divided up large estates among tenant farmers - prohibited absentee landlordism and restricted the amount of land a resident landowner could hold - excess land had to be sold to the government - peasants owned land for the first time - this erased lingering traces of feudalism in Japan
• Americans tried to disband the Zaibatsu (ZY-baht-soo) - giant business combines
• Japanese resisted - felt the large firms were needed to compete internationally

Cold War

• By 1950 Japan was on the road to recovery
• Cold War was making the United States eager to end the occupation
• In 1952 the occupation ended
• Japan and the U.S. preserved close ties during the Cold War - American military operated out of bases that they set up - Japan enjoyed the protection of the American "nuclear umbrella"
• Two nations trading partners and in time competitors

Japanese Success

• Success was built on producing goods for export - textiles - steel - manufactured goods (cars, cameras, televisions sets, etc.) - high technology (electronic goods - computers to robots)
• As a small island with few resources Japan depended on trade
• As the economy expanded it invested in ventures around the world
• It's presence everywhere showed that it had not only caught up with the West but was rapidly moving ahead of it

Reasons for Success

• It quickly built efficient, modern factories that out produced older industries in the West
• Adapted the latest technology for the West to create its own high quality products
• Benefited from a well-educated and skilled work force - almost all Japanese went to high school and almost 40% continued through higher education
• Workers saved much of their pay - gave banks the capital to invest in industrial growth
• Management and labor tended to work together
• Until recently many large companies guaranteed workers lifetime employment - in return the workers gave the company total loyalty
• Benefited from the restrictions on military development - spent very little on defense
• *** A note about the Japanese military.  The treaty after WW II restricted their military and navy.  The U.S. Navy assumed the job of protecting Japan.  This has allowed the Japanese to put a lot of money into businesses that might otherwise have gone to the military.  The U.S. of course has not had this luxury and this is one of the reasons our businesses have suffered when compared to the Japanese.
• Today the U.S. has urged Japan to rearm and assume more of the costs for its own defense
• Asian neighbors oppose Japan's rearmament - the Japanese themselves are divided on the issue - most prefer to avoid the hazards and expense of becoming a military power

Trade Issue

• Japan's protectionist policies angered its trading partners - they were concerned about the trade deficit
• U.S. threatened to raise tariffs on Japanese imports - designed to force Japan to open its door to more American imports - only limited success
• *** I talked with a man who traded food goods with the Japanese.  He said if a shipment was only a day late they would refuse it.

New World Role

• Economic success allowed Japan to benefit from the modern global economy
• The negative effects of interdependence was its need for imported raw materials
• Dependence on oil caused Japan to seek better relations with oil producing nations of the Middle East
• Tried to reduce energy use by building more efficient power plants and improving public transportation

Japan and its Neighbors

• Slow to apologize for its wartime actions
• Did work hard to regain the trust of neighboring peoples
• In the 1990's Japanese leaders finally offered public regrets for the death and destruction of the war years

Japan Today

• 1990's they faced the worst economic depression since the 1930's
• Companies had to make cutbacks - many workers lost the security of guaranteed lifetime employment
• today 80% of the population lives in cities - very over crowded
• Housing is expensive
• Space is scarce - most people live in tiny, cramped apartments

Women

• Have legal equality
• Often control the family finances
• Traditional values keep them in a subordinate position in the workplace
• About half the adult women work outside the home - most in low paying jobs or in family-run businesses
• Fewer women than men get a university education
• Only a handful have moved into higher- level jobs in business or government

Absolutism - England - Tudors

TUDOR ENGLAND

• 1485 - 1630
• Began with the victory of Henry VII at Bosworth Field (August 22, 1485) and will end with the death of Elizabeth I
• A note about the information on the Tudors.  Much of it came from books by Alison Weir.  She is a well researched English author and is very readable.

*** In old England hanging day was Friday.  The hangman's pay per job was 13 pence.  This combination adds another eerie aspect to superstition about Friday the 13th.

*** Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June.  However, they were starting to smell so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.  Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

*** Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.  The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children, last of all the babies.  By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.  Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Henry VII   b. 1457 - d.1509

• House of Lancaster
• Father died 2 months before he was born - raised mostly by and uncle
• Had consumption (tuberculosis)
• After Bosworth Field married Elizabeth of York ( January 18, 1486) and ended the civil war - The War of the Roses - *** It was called this because one house was represented by a white rose and the other house was represented by a red rose on their coat of arms.
• Henry was cunning and avaricious - wrung large sums of money from the rich
• divided and undermined the power of the nobles - made them disband their private armies
• Wanted peace and economic prosperity
• Was not a military man and had no interest in wars on the continent
• Daughter Margaret married James IV of Scotland - 1503 - opened the way for the union of the two kingdoms
• Oldest son - Arthur also had consumption - married Catherine of Aragon in 1501 - she was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain
• She was 16 and he was 15 - a few month later he died in an epidemic (April 2, 1502)
• A few months late Henry's queen died in childbirth
• ***Before the wedding the Spanish nobles demanded an inspection of Arthur - he was stripped and inspected minutely (they were afraid he could not sire a child) - very skinny - but passed inspection
• Henry obtained a dispensation from the pope that permitted him to marry his younger son Henry to Arthur's widow (he said the marriage had never been consummated) - he kept negotiations open - *** In reality he did not want to return Catherine's dowry and never intended to marry her to his son.
• When he died he left a vast fortune which his son spent faster than it had been made.

*** In the 1500's most floors were dirt.  Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.  Hence the saying "dirt poor."  The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.  As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside.  A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way.  Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

*** In those days they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.  Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot.  They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat.  They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.  Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while.  Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

*** Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.  When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.  It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon."  They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

*** Those with money had plates made of pewter.  Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach into the food, causing lead poisoning death.  This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

*** Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey.  The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.  Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.  They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.  Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

*** England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.  So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave.  When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.  So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.  Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

Henry VIII   b. about 1491     d. January 28, 1547 (56 years old)

• *** People in portraits painted during the time of King Henry VIII all wear long sleeves.  It was considered indecent than not only for women to bare their arms in public but for men to do so, too.
• Came to power April, 1509 - 9 weeks and 4 days from his 18th birthday
• Was ambitious - wanted to take a hand in continental wars - wooed by France and Germany - invaded France
• Began developing the navy
• Supreme egotist
• ***  IN 1420, Henry V of England hired the writer to create a valentine to send to Catherine of Valois.  It must have worked.  The two were married the same year.  About a century later Henry VIII, Catherine's great-grandson, declared Valentine's Day a national holiday.
• A very handsome young man and very athletic - liked hunting and tournaments
• Was tall for his time period - 6'1"
• *** When he was 22 he had a fever which historians belief was smallpox 
• *** At 29 he got malaria and suffered bouts of it the rest of his life.  
• He became paranoid about disease and would move the court at the least sign of illness  
• Early part of his reign he was not interested in ruling - left most of it to others - notably Thomas Wolsey who would hold power until he failed to get an annulment for Henry
• Later the government would be run by Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer
• He did defeat the Scottish in the Battle of Foldden Field (James IV of Scotland was killed)
• Also wrote a paper denouncing Martin Luther's ideas - the Pope rewarded him for this by naming him "Defender of the Faith."
• *** The later pictures of Henry show him fat.  When he died he weight almost 400 pounds.  It was a result of a series of events. 
• *** He was hit in the head while jousting.  His helmet was up and even though the crowd roared to put it down he just thought they were cheering him.  He suffered migraines off and the rest of his life from this accident.
• *** He got varicose ulcers on his legs caused from wearing tight garters 
• *** He was kicked in the leg by a horse during a tournament.  This wound never healed.  Additionally, in 1536 while jousting his horse fell on him.  He was out for 2 hours.  Today researchers believe that possible his frontal lobes in his brain were damaged and this caused his more brutal behavior later in life.  His legs were also damaged making the ulcers worse.The doctors kept bandaged on as they ran and smelled.  People could smell him 3 rooms away.
• *** Later in life Henry suffered from gout.  This and the ulcers caused him great pain.
• *** Because he could no longer exercise he became a binge eater and snacked for comfort.  It is estimated he ate about 5000 calories a day.  Mostly meat, white bread,sweets, red wine with sugar in it, and ale.  He wouldn't eat vegetables but he did like strawberries.  These habits probably caused him to be a diabetic and have high blood pressure.  He died a paranoid reculse.  It was reported by some that his body exploded in the casket.
• *** Henry had wanted to marry Catherine of Aragon but his father would not permit it.  His father felt he already had the dowry and he could do better for his son.

Catherine of Aragon b. about 1485   d. January 8,1536 ( 51 years old)

• 6 years older than Henry - married 6 weeks after Henry became king - mother of Mary (b. February 18, 1516 - d. 1558)
• *** Catherine had other children but they all died.  There were 7 pregnancies in all.  One source I read postulated that this was caused because Henry had a venereal disease.  The reasoning was that Catherine miscarried around the 4th or 5th month each time and this is a sign of venereal disease.  Her first child lived because she had just been infected.  Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, had the same problem.  She bore one healthy child and then miscarried the second.  This assumption is not an out of line as 75% of Europeans were infected with a venereal disease at this time in history.  Others have refuted this saying Henry showed no signs of having syphillis.
• Henry eventually tired of Catherine - under the pretense that he believed the marriage unlawful he determined to get a divorce so he could marry Anne Boleyn
• Divorced in 1533 - Catherine was forbidden to write to Henry or see her daughter
• Mary was declared illegitimate - she refused to accept her change in status - only after Anne Boleyn died would she sign a paper accepting her parents marriage was unlawful - later Henry restored her to the succession
• Catherine died alone, basically in poverty - *** She was embalmed by a kitchen scullion.  There was no autopsy.  It is possible she may have been poisoned.

Anne Boleyn  b.1507     d. May 19, 1536  (29 years old)

• *** Had 11 fingers - wore gloves all the time to hide it - Also 11 toes.
• Henry fell in love with her 1525-1526 - she was 17 - he was 34
• Henry asked the pope for a divorce - Pope stalled because Catherine's parents (Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain) were putting pressure on him
• Henry and Anne moved in together and Henry and Catherine would still visit "every few days" for the sake of appearances
• When Anne became pregnant Henry became desperate
• Henry had Parliament declare him head of the Church of England with the Act of Supremacy - gives himself a divorce - dissolves the monasteries and gives the lands and revenues to the nobility consequently gaining their support
• *** This is the beginning of the Church of England which become the Episcopal Church in the U.S.
• Secretly married January 25, 1533 - Anne 24 - Henry 42
• Anne is mother to Elizabeth - b. September 7, 1533
• Anne was arrogant and had a forthright manner of speaking to Henry - he grew tired of it
• Anne becomes pregnant again but loses the baby - a boy
• Henry then asks his courtiers to figure out a way to get rid of her - divorce was out of the question
• Anne was accused of treason - claimed she had sexual relations with other men - because she could bear the heir to the throne this was considered treason - the men had confessed under torture - she was probably guilty
• Anne was beheaded - May 19, 1536 (29 years old)

*** Sailors in the early English navy used square wooden plates.  This is where the term "square meal" comes from

*** In early falconry if an older man could no longer hold the bird he used a wooden frame to carry the hawk.  It was called a "cadge" pronounced "codge."  Some say that's the first use of "old codger."

Jane Seymour   b. 1509?    d. October 24, 1537

• Not too smart - uneducated - could only read and write her own name
• Receding chin - pale
• Married May 30, 1536 (11 days after Anne died) - Jane 27 - Henry 46
• Mother of Edward VI (b. October 12, 1537 - d. 1553) d. at 15
• *** Rumored that she had a Cesarean section after being in labor several days (remember no pain killers in those days) - died 12 days later possibly from child bed fever (puerperal fever)
• Henry always claimed she was the love of his life - he  is buried next to her in Windsor Castle

Anne of Cleves  b.1515   d. July 16,1557 (42 years old)

• Henry decided he would wed a bride from the continent so he could make a political alliance - He sent out an artist to make miniatures of the available brides - this artist really liked and respected Anne - in his picture he showed her inner beauty - this did not match up with her looks
• *** As one person described her: Anne had dull little eyes - large, flabby nose - untidy mouth - wide pendulous cheeks - neck stiff and ungainly - skin pitted with small pox and course, greasy and pasty
• Henry chose Anne from the miniatures and they were married by proxy before she ever left home - January 6, 1540
• When she got to England Henry took one look at her and left - eventually they became friends
• He called her the Flanders Mare
• They were divorce but remained friends - July 1540
• *** She testified that the marriage was never consummated to allow the divorce
• Anne was close to Elizabeth, Mary and Edward  - she gave them love and attention that they had been lacking and helped bring the girls back to court and their father's attention

*** Early England's roads were dirt over clay.  Wheels gouged ruts.  Pottery makers needed cheap clay for their pots.  They dug the clay out where ruts were deep.  Drivers called these spots "potholes."

Catherine Howard  b.1521?  d. February 13, 1542 (about 21 years old)

• Cousin of Anne Boleyn
• Flirtatious and emotional - rarely understood the consequences of her actions
• Henry was besotted with her - showered her with gifts and public attention
• Married July, 1540 - Catherine 19 - Henry 49
• Wanton before marriage
• Henry was distraught when evidence of her unfaithfulness was presented to him
• Found out and accused by a lady-in-waiting of being with a noble and her musician - both were tortured to give evidence
• Convicted of treason
• Beheaded - probably guilty

Catherine Parr  b. 1512   d. September 5, 1548 (36 years old)

• When Catherine caught Henry's eye she was in love with someone else - once the king wanted her she was forced to put him aside
• Married in 1534 - Catherine 31 - Henry 52
• She was basically a nurse and took care of Henry until he died January 28, 1547 (56 years old) of syphilis and cirrhosis of the liver - she was also very good to his children
• After Henry's death she married Thomas, Lord Seymour of Sudeley (1547) - Jane's brother - this was the man she had been forced to give up when Henry wanted her
• Died in childbirth - had a daughter called Mary (b. August 30, 1548) - Catherine developed puerperal fever - went into delirium
• Thomas was beheaded March 20, 1549 - lost a bid for power to become protector of Edward VI

*** A note on the following information (through Elizabeth) much of it came from the book The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir.  She is a wonderful writer,  well researched and very readable.  If you want to know about the Tudor's she is a wonderful resource.  I have read several of her books and they are all very interesting!

Edward VI  b.1537   d. July 6, 1553

• Came to the throne (1547) 10 years old
• Very devout Protestant
• England ruled by regents
• Got consumption 1553
• Died July 6, 1553 - 15 years old - may have been poisoned
• Rumor a female quack did feed him arsenic to prolong his life in agony
• His skeletal body swollen like a balloon - extremities being eaten away by gangrene
• *** Do not know for certain what happened to his corpse - may have buried him privately and substituted another young man like him who had been murdered and showed no signs of arsenic

Lady Jane Grey  b. October, 1537   d. February 12, 1554

• Description: very short and thin - prettily shaped and graceful - small features - well-made nose - mouth flexible - lips red - eyebrows are arched and darker than her hair - hair nearly red - eyes are sparkling - color good but freckled
• Very intelligent - fluent in Latin, French, Italian and Greek - learning Hebrew
• Intolerant of non-Protestants
• Not interested in young men - preferred to pursue her intellectual interests
• Hated the Dudley family
• At first refused to marry Guilford
• *** Her parents beat her until she agreed
• Married at 16 - May 25, 1553 - to Guilford Dudley
• Guilford Dudley- 5th and youngest son of the Duke of Northumberland - (The Duke had been Lord Protector for Edward VI.  He forced this marriage to keep his power)
• Guilford was his mother's favorite - she spoiled him - he was vain, foolish, and self-indulgent - he was fair-haired, tall, elegant physique, autocratic good looks, courteous manner - could be petulant and disagreeable
• They were probably indifferent to each other
• With the death of Edward some of the nobles were afraid of Mary becoming queen and returning England to Catholicism - they chose Lady Jane Grey because she was a staunch Protestant and in line for the throne
• She was terrified to be name queen - convinced by her parents to accept the honor - she unwillingly consented - she broke down in tears when told
• She was proclaimed July 10, 1553
• Ruled 9 days
• Mary was coming to London and had the support of the people
• No one helped her and Mary was proclaimed queen
• She and her husband were sent to the tower
• Plots kept forming around her
• She was beheaded with her husband - he went first - she was 17 years old

Mary I     b. 1516   d. 1558

• First female ruler England ever had
• Married Philip IIof Spain - July 25, 1554 - he was blond and 10 years younger than Mary - she was very fond of him - he was a languid bigot - he ruled Spain from 1556 to1598 - he was not very kind to Mary - he married to suit his father's (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) policy - they were united in their wish to return England to Catholicism
• When Philip came to England he was received with coldness and distrust - he was a good administrator - many of Mary's decisions blamed on him -  Mary would not give him any direct power
• He returned to Spain - only came back once more to urge the queen to join him in a war against France - she did - results disastrous - lost Calais (January 1558) to the French
• Her main goal during her reign was to return England to Catholicism
• Burned about 300 Protestants (one book say 200, another 400, a third 300 [about 240 men and 60 women]) - because of this she was called "Bloody Mary" but not until the 1600's
• Of those burned: "most were popular preachers, artisans, farm laborers or poor, ignorant folk that were apprehended by over-zealous parish priest: the majority came from the south and east.  Some were blind or disabled; one woman was pregnant.  Her baby was born as she was burning, and cast back into the flames by the executioner.  Frequently, the executions were bungled or mismanaged by incompetent executioners, or the fagots were damp, causing the victim unnecessarily prolonged suffering one man burned for 45 minutes before he died."  (From Children of Henry VIII, p.296)
• Many Protestants fled the country - Mary did not try to stop them
• *** In the beginning of the movie Elizabeth they show people burning.
• Public out cries against the burnings - often violent demonstrations at executions
• In the beginning heretics who recanted at the stake could have a reprieve - later (1556) not given the choice and any one showing sympathy to their execution was to be arrested - 80 people burned in 1556
• Eventually Mary was broken in health - at age 40 she looked 10 years older, thinner than ever - eyesight getting bad - usually slept at most 4 hours a night
• Neglected by her husband
• Hated by her countrymen
• She probably had ovarian cancer
• Died November 17,1558  at 7:00 am - age 42 - reigned 5 years

*** Women during this time period wore their wedding rings on their thumbs.

*** Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath.  It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.  When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip off the roof.  Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

*** There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.  This posed a real problem in the bedroom when bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed.  Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.  That's how canopy beds came into existence.  They were also used for privacy since the servants usually slept in the room.  The canopy additionally kept the bed area warmer since the only heat was a fire place and they were not always in every room.

Elizabeth I     b. September 7, 1533   d. 1603    ruled 1558 - 1603  (44 years)

• She was never beautiful - she was striking looking
• Had her father's red hair and hooked nose - her mother's long, thin, pale face, pointed chin and witty dark eyes
• Her eyebrows and lashes were so fair as to appear non-existent
• Had beautiful white hands with long tapering fingers - inordinately vain about them
• Owned more than 3,000 dresses and wore new shoes each week - *** She wore a flea collar - slept in velvet lined with fur - she bathed once a month which was 12 times more frequently than her subjects - she also required her courtiers to bath because she didn't like their smell
• *** Elizabeth had a fear of growing older - during the last 20 years of her life she refused to look in a mirror - she also refused to let painters show her old
• Anne Boleyn was executed when Elizabeth was 3
• Her tutor Roger Ascham at her home in Hatfield
• She was well educated - spoke French, Italian, Latin, Greek, English, Welsh, and Spanish - read all the classics - knew math
• 1554 -Sir Thomas Wyattsled a rebellion to stop Mary from marrying Philip - wanted to put Jane Grey on the throne - he was caught trying to assassinate the queen - Elizabeth was accused of helping Wyatts - after 2 months in the Tower she was put under house arrest - this is one of the cases of the delicate balance Elizabeth had to maintain in order to stay alive
• This rebellion forced Mary to execute Jane Grey because the uprising had used her
• 1558 - Elizabeth came to power - 25 years old
• Royal treasury had been bled dry by Mary and her advisers - gave money to Philip for his war with France
• England's armies had been defeated in the fields and their morale was low
• There were problems in: religious settlement - with royal marriage - the succession - the Church
• Society was shaken by bad harvests (mini ice age was going on) - epidemics - prices were high - labor was short - currency still corrupted
• Average life expectancy about 40
• Favorite entertainments of the day - bear baiting and cock fighting
• France had a strong foothold in Scotland (Mary Queen of Scots had been married to the French king)
• Spain posed a threat to the security of the realm
• Elizabeth proved most calm and calculating (even though she had a horrendous temper) in her political acumen - master of political science
• First order of business was to eliminate religious unrest
• She lacked the fanaticism of her siblings
• One of her most important acts was the Act of Uniformity - issued by Parliament in 1559 - changed England's religion from Catholicism to Protestantism - this was necessary to prove, with out doubt, that she was legitimate
• Refused to directly antagonize Parliament
• Acquired undying devotion from her advisement council - they were constantly perplexed by her habit of waiting till the last minute to make decisions
• *** 1562 - got small pox - almost died - went bald - 29 years old
• She used the varying factions (instead of being used by them, as were her siblings) - playing one off another until the exhausted combatants came to her for resolution of their grievances
• Few English monarchs enjoyed such political power while still maintaining the devotion of the whole of English society
• Employed capable and distinguished men
• She was constantly being urged to marry - one of her suitors was the Duke of Anjou - he was French and 19 years old - bisexual - promiscuous - wore more make-up and jewelry than the heavily made-up and bejeweled queen - also known to attend parties wearing dresses that were just as fabulous as any Elizabeth owned
• She was compelled to take a strong Protestant stance because of Mary Queen of Scots and the persecution of continental Protestants by Spain and France - in spite of this she never persecuted the Catholics

Mary Queen of Scots   b. 1542   d. 1587

• Beautiful and fascinating woman - she was 6' tall and spoke 6 languages
• *** In Scotland, a new game was invented,  it was entitled Gentlemen only Ladies Forbidden...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language
• ***She was the first prominent woman to play golf.  She referred to the lad who carried her clubs as a "cadet," using the French pronunciation.  The name stuck.  Others less precise simply called such a fellow a "caddy."
• Became Queen of Scotland at one week old when her father King James V was killed in battle
• Her mother Mary of Guise (Geese) took her back to France to be raised when she was 5
• Mary married the French dauphin, Francis II (d 1560) - she was 15 - he was 14
• On the death of Henry II (king of France) in 1558 she became the Queen of France
• While Mary lived in France John Knox and the Kirk led a reformation in Scotland (the beginning of the Presbyterian Church)
• In 1561 Mary (she's was 19) returned to Scotland to rule - Francis had died
• She was slim - very pale complexion - frizzy chestnut hair and brown eyes - slightly oriental features - over long nose - kind and loyal to her friends - her servants adored her - lacked practical experience in governing - had mood swings and rarely hid her feelings
• She was elegant and graceful - loved music, dancing, ballet and she was an excellent rider
• She battled Knox continually
• July 29, 1565 - she wed her cousin an English Catholic noble, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley - he was 19 - 3 years younger than Mary
• He was physically attractive - curly haired - shrewd - had considerable learning - mean - vulgar - undignified - bi-sexual - unfaithful - conceited about his own wisdom - felt he ruled by divine right - offended many in Scotland
• Together they had a son James VI (in England he will become James I)
• 1566 - Darnley was jealous of Mary's Italian secretary, Rizzio - with several companions he seized Rizzio in Mary's presence - dragged him into an antechamber and stabbed him to death
• Darnley was assassinated in 1566 - his house was blown up - he was found strangled in the yard - he was 21 years old
• The suspected assassin was the Earl of Bothwell who then married Mary
• The outraged Scottish nobility rose up in revolt (Protestant nobles) - they put her in prison - forced her to divorce Bothwell - (He died insane, chained to a pillar, as a prisoner of the Danish king - August 4, 1578)
• Mary was forced to abdicate in favor of her son James - 1567
• Mary escaped and fled south to England in 1568
• She was a possible heir to the English throne - Elizabeth kept her locked in a castle because the Catholics wanted to put her on the throne
• Mary instituted several failed assassination/overthrow plots against Elizabeth
• Ridolfi Plot, aimed at assassinating Elizabeth - Jesuit priest - would do anything necessary to return England to the Catholic religion
• Babington Plot - wanted to murder Elizabeth
• Elizabeth did not want to execute her because she remembered how she felt when she was in the Tower  (she was afraid her sister Mary was going to execute her) - consequently, she never willing executed anyone
• Mary's enemies finally concocted a plot which proved to Elizabeth that Mary wanted her dead
• In 1587 Mary (44 years old) was beheaded for treason (p. 136 Eyewitness to History - description)
• *** it took 3 hits - the executioner picked up her head and her hair came off - she had a wig - her hair was short and white

Her execution convinced Philip II of Spain he had to invade England

Mary's son James VI (James I) was raised as a moderated Protestant by Elizabeth

Persecution of continental Protestants forced Elizabeth into war to protect the French Huguenots (Calvinists in France) when there was a 1572 massacre of 3000 Huguenots

She also helped Protestant factions on the continent and in Scotland

Helped Belgium gain independence from Spain

Spain

• Philip had tried to marry Elizabeth - actually proposed before Mary was dead
• He remained a constant threat to England until the defeat to the Spanish Armada in 1588 - England knew about the invasion - waited a year before it happened
• Armada composed of 132 galleons - 8000 sailors - over 20,000 soldiers on board - 34,000 more soldiers waited in the Netherlands
• Spanish lost a series of battles - British set much of the Armada a blazed - destroying the fleet's defensive crescent formation
• The English had smaller more maneuverable ships - faster and more heavily armed
• *** Legend has it that Sir Francis Drake was playing a game of bowls when the Armada was sighted on July 19 - he finished and then went off to fight
• *** Not a single British ship was sunk by enemy guns
• Some English captains - Sir Francis Drake (ship - The Golden Hind) - Sir John Hawkins - Martin Frobisher
• Spanish were driven into the North Sea - violent storm destroyed many of the top heavy, over loaded ships
• *** Some driven as far away as the Irish coast
• The defeat of the Armada removed the danger of the Spanish invasion
• England lost 100 men
• Spain lost 20,000 men
• Insured the legend of the Queen - That she had stood on the cliffs in white, carrying a sword ready to defend her kingdom
• As a result England developed into the most important naval power in Europe
• Her reign one of the more constructive periods in English history

Successes

• She brought religious peace - she was not obsessively religious and she tried to keep peace between the Catholics and the Protestants
• Capable government - William Cecil was her chief adviser for 40 years
• Literature bloomed through the works of - Christopher Marlow (1564 - 1593) - Ben Jonson (1573? - 1637) - William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
• *** William Shakespeare made the equivalent of about $400 a year.  It doesn't sound like much today but in his time a loaf of bread cost $.01.
• *** In Shakespeare's day tobacco cost its weight in silver shillings.  Dandies held smoke-ring blowing contests
• *** In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.  When the ropes of the mattress were tightened, it made the bed firmer to sleep on.  Hence the phrase "goodnight, sleep tight".
• *** In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts.  So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down.  That is where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's".
• ***  Many years ago in England pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups.  When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service,  "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

Exploration

• Francis Drake - sacked Spanish colonies in the Caribbean - fought in the Armada
• Walter Raleigh - expanded English influence in the New World - established Roanoke Island (1587)

Fashion and Education

• Became popular because Elizabeth loved: knowledge, courtly behavior, and extravagant dress
• Textiles boomed
• She had lavish parties
• She wore extravagant clothes
• Costumed herself in the finest of accessories
• Wore wigs

Dental Problems

• Her lips were narrow and her teeth black (1598)
• Lost her front teeth (1602)
• She put fine cloth into her mouth to fill out her cheeks

Description of her at age 65 - Her face oblong, fair, but wrinkled: her eyes small yet black and pleasant; her nose a little hooked; lips narrow...she had in her ear two pearls, with very rich drops (This and the following information is from a book by Alison Weir, The Life of Elizabeth I - If you are interested in the Tudors Alison Weir is a very interesting, well researched and readable author.)

During the last years of her life Elizabeth became depressed for uncertain reasons - maybe because she had outlived her peers and trusted advisers

The love of her life Robert Dudley, who she was never able to marry, had died

Elizabeth died of a mild cold on the morning of April 28, 1603 - she was 69 years old - she was buried in Westminster Abbey in the same tomb as her sister Mary

There was much grief but she left a secure and prosperous kingdom

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester - b. June 24, 1533   d. September 1588

• One of 13 children - 7 survived - he was the 5th son - very close to his family
• Both his father and grandfather were eventually executed for treason - his brother Guilford Dudley, husband of Lady Jane Grey, executed
• At 17 he married Amy Robsart - their marriage is rumored to have been a romantic match - one source says Elizabeth attended the wedding
• He and Elizabeth shared the same tutor as young adults - no evidence that they shared lessons - it is certain that the two were childhood friends
• It is said that the two were extremely close and that Elizabeth highly regarded him
• It is speculated that the Queen wanted to marry him and was in love with him - they were a good match - both loved to hunt - both loved to dance, doing spirited and complicated galliards together for hours - both intensely interested in affairs of state
• He was certainly one of Elizabeth's favorites
• Supposedly full of life and outrageous fun
• Courtiers dubbed him "the Gypsy" for his dark eyes and hair
• Many who disliked him often complained that he was arrogant - he was certainly ambitious
• He loved to spend money on lavish gifts and he had many possessions - patron of the arts
• Was Commander of the English forces and also expressed interest in exploration, trade (including the slave trade), science and technology and classical literature
• Known to have had relationships with a few ladies at court
• His first wife, Amy, died in 1560 - she was 25 - on Sunday, September 8, 1560 she was found dead at the bottom of a stone staircase by servants returning from the Abingdon Fair - at the time considered probably a suicide
• *** Recent evidence, points to written evidence that she suffered from "disease of the breast."  If she had advanced breast cancer it might have weakened her spine causing her vertebrae to snap and make her fall.
• Gossip at the time felt Dudley had her killed so he could marry Elizabeth
• The questionable circumstances behind her death prevented Elizabeth and Robert from ever marrying
• 1573 - he married Lady Douglas Sheffield - some sources say he married her in secret - others say she was already married - she had his only surviving male heir but he did not inherit his name and title - thus Dudley died with no successor to his name
• 1578 - secretly married Lettice Knollys- he wanted an heir - lost him Elizabeth's favor when the Knolly's family demanded that the marriage be officially acknowledged - he stayed with her until his death on September 4, 1599 (55 years old) - died of malarial fever
• Up until then he was also loyal to and worked continuously for his Queen - stayed by her side for 30 years
• Died of intestinal and abdominal complications

Sir Francis Walsingham   b.1530?   d. 1590

• Protestant family - embraced his religion fervently
• Intelligent and scholarly - studied at Cambridge
• When Mary came to the throne he voluntarily exiled himself rather than give up his religion - he was 23
• Returned to England 5 years later when Elizabeth became queen
• 1570 - appointed Ambassador to France - worked passionately for the full toleration of the Huguenots
• 1573 - he became on of the queen's principal secretaries of state and remained one of her top advisers for the rest of his life
• He became involved in obtaining intelligence from abroad
• He showed a special genius for the secret service work - built up a very effective and elaborate political spy system
• Employed several agents in foreign courts - paid them himself
• Was able to uncover many plots and conspiracies that threatened England
• The most famous plot he discovered was the plan to assassinate Elizabeth (initiated by Anthony Babington) - this implicated Mary Queen of Scots in the conspiracy and led to her execution
• His intelligence system also acquired very important details about the impending attack of the Spanish Armada
• Very temperamental man
• Biting sarcasm
• Never hesitated to use torture if he thought it was needed - only used it as a last resort
• Known for his loyalty
• Elizabeth knighted him in 1577
• He was always financially hard up because of Elizabeth's parsimony about government services
• Later in his life he took responsibility for the debts of his son-in-law - because of this he died in debt in 1590

Absolutism - England - Stuarts

• STUARTS

A new dynasty ascends to the throne following the death of Elizabeth I - 1603 with the crowning of James I until 1714 with the death of Queen Anne

Origins in Scotland

The Stuarts will have serious problems - many of their own making - they will try to be absolute rules and will be thwarted by Parliament - ironically by losing power the English monarchy will be one of the few to maintain their rule

James I  June 19, 1566 - March 27, 1625   (ruled 1603 - 1625)

• Son of Mary, Queen of Scotland and Lord Darnley - cousin of Elizabeth
• King James VI in Scotland
• First to call himself king of Great Britain (he ruled England, Scotland and Ireland)
• Problems - in a difficult position of having to follow after a legend like Elizabeth - he also was handicapped by being Scottish - historically they were discriminated against by the English
• Biggest fault was his personal style - he had absolutist tendencies
• He authored The True Law of Free Monarchs - influenced by the work of Jean Bodin - James recalls the Biblical story where the Israelites begged God to create a King to rule over them - his conclusion: God created kings to rule -"Rex est Les, Lex est Res" ("King is Law, Law is King")
• James also supported a new translation of the Bible - King James Bible
• He also had difficult relations with the Parliament - something all of the early Stuarts will share
• English Parliament had real rights - unlike the French Estates-General - had power to tax and the power to make laws
• Tudors had enjoyed a good relationship with the Parliament - consulted when necessary - popular enough to get their own way - James was not used to consulting anyone
• James ran a lavish court - Parliament was stingy about providing the necessary funds
• *** His son Prince Henry had typhus. He ordered the latest medical treatment.  The royal doctor stuck the prince's bare legs into bird cages of pigeons where they could peck at the soles of his fee.  Didn't work.  He died at age 18.
• ***An explanation of where we got the term "the whole nine yards."  In sailing days, fighting ships of the line typically had three masts, each with three yardarms.  To execute a course change the captain would order the yards of all three masts put over.  He would commit "the whole nine yards."
• Religion will also be a problem for several of the Stuarts - beginning with James
• James was an Anglican - when he took the throne there was some concern about his religious views due to his family background (his mother was Catholic)
• To reassure the Anglican leaders he passed some anti-Catholic measures - banned the Jesuits from England - put restrictions on the Catholic mass
• In 1605 and inept group of Catholics plotted to assassinate him - led by Guy Fawkes - became known as the Gunpowder Plot - they planned to blow up Parliament - word got out and they were stopped - Guy Fawkes was caught, tortured, and executed - led to further Catholic oppression
• *** They have a Guy Fawkes holiday for this in England today (November 5).  Bonfires are lit, fireworks are set off and Guy Fawkes is burned in effigy.
• Suspicions about James' religious views remained - especially after his wife, Anne of Denmark, converted to Catholicism
• James was a conservative High Anglican - retained many of the practices more associated with Catholicism
• James is considered one of the most intellectual and learned rulers England ever had - he was a talented scholar
• Culture continued to flourish under his rule

Foreign Relations

• He had several major failures and few successes
• James became a pacifist
• He attempted to arrange a marriage alliance between Spain (the Infanta) and England (eldest son, Charles) - failed due to popular opposition in both countries
• The settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and later establishment of Plymouth colony in 1620 were major successes
• James dies in 1625 (59 years old) - general relief in the land

Charles I  November 19, 1600 - January 30, 1649    (ruled 1625 - 1649)

• When he takes the throne there is a public rejoicing at the handsome, young king - expectations was that he had to be better than his father - wrong
• Shortly after assuming the throne he wed Henriette Marie, a sister of Louis XIII, a Catholic - created suspicions about his religious sympathies
• *** Henretta Maria surrounded herself with pets, exotic and domestic, animal and human.  Jeffrey Hurson was her favorite dwarf.  In 1626 when he was 7 years old, the 18 inch, Jeffrey was concealed in a pie as a surprise present for the queen.  In the coming years Hudson would take part in the English civil war, kill a man in a duel, be captured by pirates, sold into slavery and imprisoned. (This information is from a L. A. Times article publlished Monday, August 26, 2002.)
• Religious Problems- within the Anglican Church there was a small but growing minority who felt that the Anglican Church retained too many Catholic tendencies - they wanted to "purify" it of all "popery" (hence Puritans)
• Although Charles was an Anglican he was a High Anglican - the Queen led the Catholic faction in court
• Parliamentary Problems - quarrels began almost immediately between the leaders of the Parliament and the headstrong king - initially over money - Charles maintained an elaborate court
• Like his father he believed in the divine right to rule
• Petition of Right (1628) - Parliament felt Charles was incompetent - disgust with the Duke of Buckingham - anger over the failure to help La Rochelle
• Parliament offered Charles a needed cash bonus if he would sign the Petition of Right - it would limit the King's rights - no taxation without representation - no quartering - no arbitrary arrest (had to be charged with a crime - habeas corpus) - no martial law
• Charles signed - at the Duke of Buckingham's urging he reneged - angry Parliament protested
• Charles dissolved Parliament
• Buckingham was assassinated
• All criticism directed now at Charles

*** In 1632 two gallons of beer a day was part of the rations allocated to each youngster in the Children's Hospital of Norwich, England.  The English claimed it was a food.  Serve it warm and it is just like soup.  But 2 gallons per child?

Eleven Years of Tyranny  (1629 - 1640)

• Charles attempted to run the nation without Parliament - difficult due to money problems - only Parliament could tax
• He revived ancient levies and created new fees - he just got by until...
• In 1637 Charles authorized his High Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, to attempt to force the Book of Common Prayer (Church of England prayer book) on Scotland
• They were Calvinist Presbyterians - led to Scottish rebellion - Bishop's War
• To deal with the threat Charles was forced to recall Parliament in November 1640
• Parliament refused to give him money unless it's complaints were settled - king disbanded it - known as the Short Parliament (April 1640)
• Long Parliament - November 1640 - it will meet off and on for the next 20 years
• Parliament came with demands against Charles - they would not vote money for the war against Scotland until the King agreed to: 1. King cannot dismiss Parliament without their consent 2. Parliament must meet at least once every 3 years  3. king would have no revenue sources other than Parliament's approved ones
• Also, Charles agreed to execute Archbishop Laud
• Charles had no choice but to agree to Parliament's demands
• After agreeing to the conditions Charles expected to receive money for a war against the Scots
• Parliament bypassed Charles and negotiated a settlement with the Scots - Charles felt deceived
• The situation between the King and Parliament went downhill from there
• By 1642 Charles felt that Parliament was in open revolt and he left London for Norwich - sent his two eldest sons abroad
• Called for loyal troops to come defend the crown

(Teachers if you have access to the films Newscast from the Past show October 23, 1642.  If it is not available you might look into getting a set.  It does fit with the middle school curriculum more than high school but parts of it can be used both places.)

English Civil War  (1642 - 1649)

• When Charles left London about half of Parliament went with him - 2/3 House of Lords - 1/3 House of Commons
• The key issue of the war was sovereignty - Who should rule, King or Parliament?
• Cavaliers  - *Charles - Royalists - High Anglicans - Catholics - North - countryside
• Roundheads (called this because of their haircuts) - *Oliver Cromwell - Parliamentarians - Low Anglicans - Puritans - South - London

Oliver Cromwell   (1599 - 1658)

• Nobleman from the south of England
• Puritan
• Favored an end to the monarchy and the establishment of a republic
• During the war Cromwell organized the finest army in the field
• (The movie Cromwell has a very good battle scene depicting how battles were fought at that time.  I think generally the movie was boring but I always used that scene in the classroom.)
• The New Model Army - combination of 3 existing armies in 1645 - uniformed and well-trained - disciplined Puritan soldiers - allied with the Scots
• 1644 - Battle of Marston Moor - Scots defeated the Cavaliers - 45,000 soldiers engaged in the largest battle of the English Civil War - 4000 dead
• 1645 - Battle of Naseby - after it was over Charles surrendered to the Scots who sold him to the Parliamentary army in 1647 - for 400 pounds
• by 1647 Charles was defeated and was imprisoned on the Isle of Wight
• The victorious Parliament began to quarrel among themselves - majority wanted to retain the monarchy but with limited power - a vocal minority wanted a republic
• Seeing his enemies divided Charles attempted to seize power again - Parliament quickly reunited against the common enemy - Charles was defeated...again

Regicide

• Charles was tried for treason - convicted
• Parliament believed their victory was the will of God
• Charles was a threat that needed to be removed
• Executed January 30, 1649

***England was the world's greatest coffee drinking country until 1657.  That's when the tea promoters first were successful there.

Oliver Cromwell

• Wanted to establish a tolerant, democratic government - popular support never materialized
• During the Commonwealth (1649 - 1660) England got it's first written constitution
• Cromwell dismissed the Rump Parliament (he had eliminated those who disagreed with him) in 1653 - ruled as a military dictator - Rump was the remainder of the Parliament left after the regicide
• The nation was divided into military districts ruled by generals loyal to Cromwell
• Strict, conservative, Puritan laws were passed - source of the government's unpopularity (no plays, no parties, every one was to go to church all day Sunday, etc.)
• Foreign Policy Successes - fought a successful war against Spain (1654) - fought the Commercial War against the Dutch and won again (1652 - 1653)
• He died of malaria in 1658 (age 59) - buried in Westminster
• His son Oliver had been killed in battle
• His son Richard Cromwell, was made the new Lord Protector - weak and unpopular
• Increasingly obvious that the Commonwealth lacked any public support

*** In 1670 Cromwell's bones were dug up and displayed.  His head was cut off.  It took 8 tries.  The head was put on a spike for 8 years.  The wind eventually blew it down.  A servant found it and hid it until his death.  In 1787 Hughes Brothers bought the head and put it on display.  Not too popular.  Sold it to the family a 100+ years later.  Eventually they gave it to Cambridge.  Cambridge buried the head.

Result

• Absolute monarchy had been rejected
• Still tension over how much power the king should actually wield
• Although the nation was destined for greatness, in the mid-seventeenth century it was hard to believe
• the nation still had wounds left from the Civil War and the Commonwealth

Charles II - Restoration

• In 1660 members of the old Long Parliament were recalled - sent representatives to visit Charles II in exile in Holland
• Parliament offered Charles the throne if he would promise to respect the rights of Parliament and to seek no vengeance
• Charles agreed - his return sparked wild celebrations throughout the nation
• The restoration was extremely popular
• After the stark years of Puritan rule Charles was carefree and lived life to the fullest
• Like his father before him he wanted to increase the powers of the crown - but since he had lived in his exile years in poverty he was determined to do nothing to risk his throne

Cavalier Parliament (1661 - 1679)

• Very royalist and Anglican
• dominated by the gentry
• Although hostile to any memory of the Commonwealth period they still had no desire to see the King increase his personal power
• Old question was still unresolved:  who should rule, King or Parliament?

***When we hear something we can't believe, why do we say, "Tell it to the Marines"?.  Someone told Charles II about flying fish.  He didn't believe them.  His colonel of marines said flying fish did exist.  So the King decreed: "Doubtful reports henceforth shall be told to the marines, and if they verify them, we can safely consider them true."

Problems

• Charles' problems were basically the same as his father's - religion and money
• Like the two earlier Stuart monarchs Charles suspected Catholicism was the cause of much debate
• His queen, Catherine of Portugal, was Catholic - no children
• *** Charles had numerous illegitimate children - he acknowledged 14 of them
• He wanted to grant full religious toleration to all religious groups, including Catholics and Puritans - Parliament not only refused but passed a series of laws, the Clarendon Code (1665), excluding Catholics and Puritans from the political and religious life of the nation
• Charles's need for money led him to form an alliance with his cousin, Louis XIV, against the Dutch - Treaty of Dover (1670) - on the surface it was a French/English alliance against Holland - it also contained secret provisions calling on Charles to publicly convert to the Catholic faith - in exchange he would receive considerable monies and French troops if needed - it was discovered and never enacted
• In 1672 Charles issued the Declaration of Indulgence - promised full religious liberty to all Englishmen - Parliament rejected it
• Parliament responded by passing the Test Act (1672) - barred all non-Anglicans from holding any government or military positions of importance - one had to take an oath against "transubstantiation" (the bread and wine turned into body and blood of Christ)
• Parliament was increasingly concerned that Charles's heir would be his brother, James, the Duke of York - James made no secret of his Catholicism
• Popish Plot (1678) - a notorious liar, Titus Oates, claimed that there was a plot to kill Charles and replace him with the Catholic James - Oates said the Queen, Jesuits, and James were involved - several people were tried and executed - the "plot" was really a ploy to discredit it James so the succession would pass over him to one of his daughters
• Within Parliament the debate about the succession of James led to the formation of two rival groups - Wigs who wanted to exclude James - Tories who wanted to preserve the legitimate succession - * first political parties
• Tories came out victorious - but it signaled the problems to come for James
• Charles's death in 1685 led to the succession of his brother, James

James II (ruled 1685 - 1688)

• Already an unpopular figure due both to his religion and his personality
• He was aggressively Catholic - appointed them to high positions
• His arrogant and boorish manners alienated everyone
• Much of his impression of how a king should rule he learned during his exile at Versailles during the period of the Commonwealth
• He had two children with his first wife - two daughters, Mary and Anne - both of his daughters were protestants, and as James had no other children and no wife it meant that the throne would return to protestant control at his death
• James took a second wife, Mary of Modena, a French princess and Catholic - she got James to put Catholics into prominent positions at court - frightened Parliament more
• Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes then occurs - religious tension rose even further
• The young Queen got pregnant - the Parliament had tolerated James only because the succession was protestant - if the Queen gave birth to a son the heir would be Catholic - a son, James was born in 1688

Glorious Revolution (1688)

• The birth of a Catholic heir was the last straw
• Parliamentary leaders went to visit William and Mary (James' daughter) in Holland to see if they would agree to assume the throne
• On November 5, 1688 William landed with troops (14,000) - James' army melted away - unable to make terms James and his wife and son fled into exile (France)
• William and Mary were proclaimed joint sovereigns
• All accomplished without bloodshed

The old question of who should rule England was finally answered - Parliament would have ultimate power

William and Mary (1688 - 1704)

• To receive the throne the new sovereigns had to agree to a few conditions
• Toleration Act (1689) - basic freedom of worship to all protestants - Catholics were excluded
• Bill of Rights (1689) - the monarchy would respect all of the rights of Parliament and of the English people - free speech, trial by jury, taxation, etc.
• In 1701 the Act of Settlement stated that on the death of Queen Anne the throne would pass to the Hanovers
• James attempted to recover his throne but was crushed in 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland
• His son, James (the "Old Pretender") would attempt to seize power in 1715 - failed
• The "Old Pretender's" son Charles (Bonnie Prince Charlie) attempted his own coup in 1745 - again crushed
• The bloodless rise of William and Mary finally brought about a period of domestic peace in England - could begin to concentrate on the development of the empire
• William brought England into the War of Spanish Succession
• In 1694 the Bank of England was formed

After the death of William (plagued by gout and obesity) and Mary (***  died of smallpox at age 32) Anne ruled - last daughter of James II

• ***Queen Anne reigned over England 1702 - 1714.  In her lifetime she gave birth to 17 children.  One lived to age 11. The others died in infancy.   Most of the children were born dead or died shortly after birth.
• Following the death of Queen Anne in 1714 the Stuart dynasty gave way to the rise of the German Hanover family (George) - couldn't speak English

***It took 12 or more assembled people, creating a disturbance, to be called a riot.  That, under England's Riot Act of 1714.  The sheriff was supposed to show up and read aloud that piece of legislation.  It's what gave us the old "reading the riot act" line.

***England taxed soap from 1712 to 1862 with the declaration it was a frivolous luxury of the aristocracy

*** An 18th-century British admiral named Edward Vernon usually wore a Grogham foul-weather coat, so his men nicknamed him"Old Grog."  He sought to eradicate scurvy aboard ship by rationing rum and water.  And that mixture became known as grog.  The home of George Washington, Mount Vernon, was named in his honor, too

*** British sailors got the nickname "limeys" because they ate limes to prevent scurvy.

Absolutism - France

Absolutism in France

• 17th and 18th century model absolutist state
• Religious wars - violence particularly strong - middle of 16th century large community of French Calvinists called Huguenots - persecuted - resisted strongly
• 1562 - war between Catholics and Huguenots - lasted 10 years - attempted peace by marrying king's sister to the Huguenot leader
• King's mother (Catherine de'Medici) felt Huguenots too strong - persuaded Charles IX to massacre them (didn't want to) - on St Bartholomew's Day - August 24, 1572 - thousands slaughtered - Huguenots kept fighting for 20 years after

Early Bourbon Dynasty

Henry III (1574 - 1589)

• Loved clothes
• Slept in a mask and gloves to protect his complexion
• Painted his face
• Wore a rosary with beads carved like skulls
• With his friends (all fops) would go in sack cloth and barefooted to churches in Paris with whips and flog one another in penitence
• Yet was horrible cruel and thought nothing of murder
• Died stabbed by a monk (Clement) who was instantly slain by the king's guards

Henry IV (ruled 1589 - 1610)

• Ambitious, courageous, intelligent and well-liked
• So poor he had to wear robes left by his brother-in-law (Henry III)
• Was Protestant and had to change to Catholicism for the throne - said, "Paris is worth a mass."
• Had a hard job after 30 years of civil war
• To keep peace - outlawed firearms
• Encouraged agriculture and manufacturing
• Established fair methods of tax collection
• Kept country out of foreign wars
• Tried for religious toleration - Edict of Nantes (NANTS) - 1598 - gave years of peace - guaranteed religious freedom and political equality for the Huguenots - remarkably fair document
• Henry paid with his life - assassinated (stabbed in his carriage) - May 14, 1610

Louis XIII  (ruled 1610 - 1643)

• *** The name Louis means: "famous warrior."
• 9 years old when his father killed
• First years his mother ruled with the help of the nobles - weak, foolish woman
• Nobles gained back much power during this time
• As an adult he was slow, dull, cold hearted, and had bad health
• Weak king
• *** He started wearing wigs to cover his receding hairline.  Everybody copied.  Thus wearing a wig carried aristocratic prestige.
• 1617 sent his mother and her friends into exile to England - she died in extreme poverty
• Powerful nobles harder to handle
• His power remained unsteady - he hated problems of state

1624 - Chose Cardinal Richelieu (1585 - 1642) as first minister

• He ran the country for 18 years
• One of France's ablest statesmen
• Had anyone killed who tried to influence the king
• The king did nothing to save his friends
• Brilliant
• Ruthless
• Single-minded
• Goal to make the king supreme and France the strongest country in Europe
• First major obstacles the nobles and Huguenots
• Nobles - destroyed their castles and private armies
• Against the Edict of Nantes - allowed Huguenots a state within a state - started a war to destroy their power - let them keep religious and civil liberties
• When he died (December 4, 1642) - 58 years old - left the king practically absolute and the most powerful ruler in Europe
• Power of nobility fading
• Power of Huguenots destroyed
• *** Cardinal Richelieu decreed that the blades of all dinner knives have round ends.  What bothered him he said, were guest at his table who picked their teeth with the old pointy ones.
• *** Richelieu did his daily workout by jumping over furniture.

Jules Marazin   (1602 - 1661) - Italian priest

• Foreigner of low birth
• Succeeded Richelieu - trained by him - carried out his policies
• Clever and cunning
• Taught Louis XIV statecraft - kept him poor
• Embittered nobility - 2 rebellions broke out - last efforts to destroy royal absolutism - unsuccessful
• At his death Louis XIV became the most absolute ruler in Europe

Louis XIII died 5 months after Richelieu - May 14, 1643 - 42 years old

Louis XIV   (ruled 1643 - 1715)

• Parents hated each other - they had been married 23 years - his birth hailed as a miracle
• 5 years old when his father died - his mother Anne regent with Marazin

• Following the French triumph in the Thirty Years War (1648) France was the unquestioned dominant power on the continent

• *** "Taps" dates back to the Thirty Years War, 1615 - 1643.  The name "Taps" meant the military day's end signal.  At bedtime, the provost visited each military unit to tap the bung into every keg and mark it with chalk.  The chalked markings were checked to next day to make sure the keg hadn't been reopened after "taps."

• Both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were in sharp decline

• The War of the Fronde (1651) in the early years of his reign left a permanent mark on the king's life - he was blockaded in the Louvre by citizen guards - thought he escaped they broke in and demanded to see him - he was furious - because of this incident he despised Paris

• Ruled 72 years
• Trained to be king - poor education
• Not brilliant or a deep thinker - distaste for books
• Had an excellent memory, persistence and common sense
• Governed many hours a day - reading reports - presiding over meetings - issuing orders
• Determined there would be no challenge to his power
• Grew up thinking the nation was made for his glory
• He became the symbol of the absolute monarch
• He was the creation of the vision of Cardinal Richelieu - the "Sun King" - "L' etat c'est moi" (I am the state) - also known as the "the Grand Monarch" and "Louis the Great"
• *** It's a matter of historical record that he owned 413 beds
• *** Balding he elected to wear a powdered wig.  So his courtiers did likewise.  Englanders took up the French fashion.  Also did notables in the colonies.  Ranking men of the whole Western world wore wigs.
• Chose ministers and administrators from the middle class so they would be loyal only to him
• Wanted efficient men he could control
• Didn't trust nobles - place them on display at Versailles
• He oversaw the construction of his fabulous palace at Versailles - it took nearly 36,000 workers 47 years to complete - cost about $100,000,000 to build - 6 out of 10 francs from taxes spent on it
• It began as a simple hunting lodge and became the grandest royal residence in all of Europe - 1/2 mile long - every other royal residence will be measured against it
• Staff of 15,000 guards and servants were required or the 10,000 inhabitants
• The new Baroque artistic movement influenced the design - elaborate design - vibrant colors - Hall of Mirrors
• The unstated purpose of Versailles was to keep the nobility under Louis' watchful eye
• An elaborate and complex court etiquette was created - failure to abide by it led to social disgrace
• Enjoyed hunting, boating, ballet, sporting events, horse shows, good food and drink
• The society created at Versailles became the envy of Europe and was imitated all over the continent
• French became the preferred language in every court (except England)
• French became the language of diplomacy
• French art and architecture were dominant
• French literature was read all over Europe - Moliere, the great playwright, mocked the failings of humanity (such as snobbery and stinginess) in his comedies - Racine was the dramatist counterpart of Moliere
• *** Louis purposely made his clothing very expensive.  Since the nobles copied him it could cost them as much as a year's income for a suit of clothing.  When they ran out of money he gave them more, thus keeping them indebted to him and in his power.
• Married Marie-Terese of Spain - fair-haired and blue-eyed - had a somewhat fleshy nose and a rather loose mouth - most complacent disposition and sincerely loved Louis
• Had a son the Grand Dauphin - very dull (*** this usually was their nice way of saying retarded) - cared nothing but playing cards and hunting - very little could be taught to him (he died before Louis) - he married a German princess who was duller still - they had 3 sons - one son the Duke of Burgundy died of malignant measles
• Marie-Terese had 5 other children - all died young
• At her death Louis married Madame de Maintenon his long time mistress

Government

• Following the death of Mazarin in 1661 Louis did not appoint a First Minister - all final power was in his hands
• Louis was a capable and hard working monarch
• Louis did appoint several able advisers to assist him run the state
• Jean-Baptiste Colbert - Finance Minister - brilliant - built a rich treasury
• Chief proponent of the economic theory of mercantilism - called for rigid government control of the economy - the goal was to create a strong economy for the purpose of waging war - self-sufficient economy - theory based on the idea that there is a limited amount of gold in the world - acquisition of the most bullion was essential to national survival - to acquire gold, exports were encouraged - to prevent imports, new industries were created and high tariffs imposed
• *** The nobles were wearing wigs and importing bales and bales of horse hair for them from Germany.  Colbert went into a snit for fear the Germans would get all the French gold.  He tried to outlaw the wig, but couldn't pull it off.
• Colbert encouraged colonization - they should exist as: a source or raw materials and a market for finished goods - new colonies were established in Canada and the Caribbean
• The navy and the merchant marine were built up
• The tax farming system was further reformed

Michel le Tellier, the Marquis of Louvois

• War Minister
• Built the French army into the largest and strongest in Europe - standing army of 100,000 in peacetime and 400,000 in wartime - army well trained and professional - pay was increased and regular - promotions were more merit based

Sebastien Vauban

• Military engineer
• Perfected the art of fortifying and besieging towns
• developed the fixed bayonet

Louis' government relied on the Intendants to keep thing running efficiently - these were royal agents - like a governor - responsible only to Louie

Problems - While the reign of Louis XIV marked a high point for France it is also a time of great mistakes

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685)

• The Edict of Nantes (1598) had brought a measure of peace to the nation but tensions remained
• Louis and the Catholic Church continued to view the Huguenots as potential traitors
• Louis' government had increased persecution of the Huguenots - barred them from government service - forced to baptize their children in the Catholic Church - closed their schools
• In 1685 Louis, in grief over the loss of his wife, decided to revoke the Edict of Nantes - he was also afraid of civil war if they gained strength - he wanted to have a religiously unified France
• Under the revocation all protestant churches were closed
• Huguenot ministers were exiled
• Huguenots who refused to convert were forced to galleys as slaves
• Result - nearly 300,000 Huguenots fled the country - most to England and America - the Huguenots were among the most valuable parts of the French economy (silversmiths, jewelers, textile makers, etc.) - the French economy will take generations to recover
• Louis will be viewed as a religious fanatic all over protestant Europe and France as a dangerous bully

Wars

• Disastrous - didn't have good generals
• Louis' other big error was his nearly continual warfare
• France was at war for 42 of the 72 years he ruled
• He had built a massive army - he needed to use it
• Thirty Years War - it was going when he took the throne - strengthened France's position among European countries
• Invasion of the Netherlands - surprisingly his biggest problem was the Dutch - he realized that French control of the continent meant that the Dutch must be neutralized - in the 1670's Louis' attempts to defeat the Dutch all failed - the Dutch even opened the dikes and flooded the French army out - after 1672 the Dutch were led by young Prince William of Orange - he became the chief organizer of European opposition - married to Princess Mary of England - in 1688 he became King William III of England
• War of the League of Augsberg  (1689 - 1697) - when Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 he frightened his protestant neighbors - in 1689 he allowed his troops to devastate the area of the Palatinate (Rape of the Palatinate) - in central Germany - south east of Worms
• William used the incident to rally opposition to the French... the League of Augsburg
• France  versus  Dutch, Spain, Sweden, Holy Roman Empire, England, Bavaria, Saxony, Palatinate
• The war was fought until both sides were exhausted - but both sides also viewed the peace as a temporary truce - Peace of Ryswick  (1697) confirmed French gain but would keep France from further territorial acquisitions - minor setback for Louis XIV
• War of the Spanish Succession (1701 - 1714) - the decisive and disastrous war of Louis' reign
• The roots of the war lay in competing claims to the throne of Spain
• Charles II (the Sufferer). the king of Spain was dying - he was a Hapsburg - he had no heir
• There were two legitimate claimants to the throne  1. Louis' grandson, Philip  2. HRH Leopold's grandson, Charles
• Whoever controlled the throne also gained control of all of Spain's European and worldwide territory
• All of the major European states had come to an informal agreement that the Spanish Empire would be divided up following Charles' death - the Spanish were not even consulted - Charles II refused to allow the division - he left a will - left everything to Louis's grandson, Philip - he wanted a powerful Catholic family on the Spanish throne - it Philip took the throne the Bourbons would rule both France and Spain
• Louis XIV had already agreed to proposed partition but no tried to renege - all of the old League of Augsburg were quickly pledged to stop the Bourbon takeover
• Charles II died in November 1700
• Philip Bourbon was proclaimed Philip V in Madrid
• WAR - very brutal - advances in weapons and combat tactics made it very bloody - Louis' enemies were out to destroy him and break French power once and for all - France lost all of the major battles - the French fleet was destroyed - League troops drove Philip V briefly out of Spain
• In 1709 with France in collapse a desperate Louis asked for peace terms - the League offered extremely harsh terms - included Louis personally removing Philip from the Spanish throne
• The unjust peace terms rallied both France and Spain to the support of their Bourbon monarch - fought to a better settlement
• Treaty of Utrecht (1714) - Philip V got to keep the Spanish crown - but the French and Spanish thrones could never be united - France lost all territory east of the Rhine River - France could have no say in Spanish colonial trade
• England was the big winner - got territory in Canada and control of Gibraltar - Royal Navy supreme for the next 240 years
• Austria (HRE) got control of the Spanish Netherlands - after 1714 the Austrian Netherlands - control of Milan, Naples, Sicily (dominant in Italy)

Louis died the following year - on his deathbed he warned his heir not to repeat his mistakes - nearly bankrupted France - "I fear that I have loved war too much."

Poverty and starvation began to appear

No priest or noble ever paid taxes

Louis XV - (king 1715 - 1774)

• Great grandson of Louis XIV
• Lazy - pleasure seeking
• *** One afternoon he came down with a slight fever.  His doctor sent him to bed with a cold damp towel for his forehead.  The next morning he woke up feeling better.  He was so grateful to his doctor he presented him with an estate which took in five villages and 207 farms.  Rentals garnered from all the property added the equivalent to $31,000 a year to the doctors annual income.  A sizable sum in those days
• Glutton
• Drunkard
• Cared little for affairs of government
• During his reign France continued to decline
• Involved in a series of wars - lost almost all colonies in America and India
• Nobility began to exercise power
• At his death (age 64) France in greater financial trouble - people very discontent

Louis XVI - (king 1774 - 1793)

• married to Marie Antoinette - Austrian
• Well meaning
• Not clever enough to solve problems
• Inherited too many problems to be effective
• France continued on a path of destruction - discontent as extravagances, court and inequalities of economic system caused serious financial troubles
• Absolutism ended with revolution in 1789

Absolutism - Russia

Eastern Europe

• Centuries behind western Europe in political and economic development
• In Western Europe the majority of people were free peasants - increasingly urban - rapid modern economic growth - political growth
• In eastern Europe serfdom remained the norm - the nobility was all powerful - central governments were still relatively powerless

RUSSIA

The sleeping giant of the east

Russia was very different from the rest of Europe - it endured centuries of domination by the Asian Mongols - the Mongol Yoke - it left strong Asian characteristics - seen in dress, architecture, facial structures and political attitudes

Used the Cyrillic alphabet

Russia was also distinct from the rest of Europe in several other important aspects

Eastern Orthodox

• Christianity came to Russia from Byzantine missionaries - so unlike the rest of Europe Russia was neither Catholic nor protestant
• *** One of the tsars sent out emissaries to look at the Catholic Church, Judaism, and Eastern Orthodox.  The ones that saw the Orthodox religion came back and raved about how beautiful the ceremonies were.  The tsar invited missionaries in to convert his people and declared all the people would become Russian Orthodox.
• After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 the Russian Orthodox Church claimed to be the new center of Orthodoxy - Moscow was proclaimed the "Third Rome"
• By the 1500's the Russian Orthodox Church was as powerful in Russia as the Catholic Church had ever been in the rest of Europe - controlled about 25% of all land

Absolutism in Russia

Much of the following information comes from the book Fire and Water by Alex de Jonge - I just found this book on Amazon.com for $.01 if you are interested in owning a copy.  Another source is Peter the Great by M.S. Anderson.

Old Muscovy

• Czar also spelled Tsar - comes from the word caesar

Moscow

• Splendid appearance "miserable place"
• Houses crude and poor
• Streets irregular
• City almost all wood - thought it was healthier - fires - seldom fought - houses easily replaced - had quick houses (pre-fab) - moved them out of the way
• 17th Century violent city - robbery and murder commonplace - every morning corpses in the street - days not safe either - would not help others when they saw them being attacked because they could be held responsible
• Passionate belief in tradition
• Fierce resistance to change
• Fasts - children had to follow from age 2 - failure to comply punishable by death - fasts severe and rigid
• Dress - beards essential to personal salvation - dress never changed - notion of fashion unknown - hadn't changed for generations
• Law - all men equal before the czar - czar held all power - laws determined by his will
• Denunciation - encouraged - informer received all the victim's possessions - both people arrested and imprisoned and both subjected to identical process or interrogation (torture) - *** knout (had multiple strands sometime embedded with pieces of metal)- simple flogging - flogging accompanied by strappado (hands were tied behind their back and then they were raised off the floor) or dislocation of the arms - dropped almost to the ground by the rope around their wrists - also combined flogging, strappado and roasting over a slow fire and occasionally tearing out ribs with hot pincers
• If confessed still tortured to make sure they told all
• Penalties - decapitation - breaking on the wheel (*** They were spread eagled on a wagon wheel, tied down and their bones were systematically broken) - flogging to death - false coiners had molten metal poured down their throats - wives who killed their husbands were buried alive up to their necks in a public place and left to die - husbands who killed their wives paid a fine
• Women - marriages arranged - not infrequently the bride and groom met at the altar - after marriage confined to a "terem" or women's quarter - kept under rigid discipline - wife beating common - ***  Cosmetics - painted their faces red and white - teeth black
• Drinking - excessive - "Some of them going home drunk, if not attended with a sober companion, fall asleep upon the snow, and there they are frozen to death.  If any of their acquaintances chance to pass by, though they see them likely to perish, yet they will not assist them to avoid the trouble of examination if they should die in their hands.  Tis a sad sight to see a dozen people brought upright in a sledge frozen to death, some have their arms eaten off by dogs, others their faces, and others have nothing left but bones.  Two or three hundred have been brought after this manner in the time of Lent." (Fire and Water)
• Hundreds of peasants loved miserably
• Merchants unfairly taxed
• Military strength out of proportion to size and needs
• Nobles called boyars

Ivan IV  (E-von) - The Terrible - (1530 - March 18, 1584)

• Took the throne at 3 years old
• Nobility took advantage to gain power
• ***  He had a terrible childhood.  He was forced to hid out in the palace and steal food to live.  Periodically the nobles would have hunts to try and find him and kill him.
• ***  It's a matter of record that Ivan entertained himself at age 12 by dropping dogs for the Kremlin's higher battlements.
• ***  Kremlin means fort.
• When Ivan came of age he used plots and violence to destroy his enemies and gain power - 1544
• Had 7 wives - loved the first Dmitri - driven partially mad by her death
• ***  One source claims he probably went mad in his later years due to syphilis.  It is known that he would go down the street and order people killed just because he did not like the way they looked.
• Was the first to use the title of Czar - 1547
• Began oprichnik (a-prick-ni-key) - 6,000 man political police - wore black and had black horses - attached a dogs head to their saddle to scare enemies - ravaged the country, terrorizing the boyars and peasants alike - tracked down traitors
• Contributions - defeated Mongols (they had taken over Russian in 1240) - they were never again a threat - began conquest of Siberia (got it in 1581) - doubled the size of Russia
• Small farmers became serfs - not released until 1861
• No good heir - killed his son, Ivan, in a fit of anger (1580) - other son Fedor an idiot
• At his death (he was poisoned) there was a civil war over the throne - made the nation weak - his successors weak - couldn't control the nobility
• Son Fedor, the idiot, came to the throne - 27 years old (ruled 1584 - 1598) - died Jan. 1598 - ended Rurik line - Boris Gudunov regent
• ***  Rurik was a viking that had settled in Russia around 862

Time of Troubles - lasted 25 years - great strife and upheaval throughout the land

1601 - 1603  Famine - cannibalism

Michael Romanov

• Elected (by Zemsky Sobor) new czar - February 12, 1613
• Weak ruler (that's why he was chosen) - 16 when he came to the throne
• Died July 12, 1645 - while attending a church service he suffered a stroke and died
• Ruled 32 years

State improve the next 75 years

Peter the Great   (Czar 1683 - January 28, 1725)

• Born May 30, 1672
• Father 43 when he was born - Aleksey Mikhailovich  1645 - 1675
• Father's 1st wife - married in 1647 - died 1669 in child birth - Maria Miloslavskaya - had 13 children - 5 sons - 2 lived, Ivan and Fedor - 8 daughters - all lived
• Father's 2nd wife - Peter's mother - Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina - married her in 1670 - stupid and extremely limited - never understood Peter
• Childhood - stifling luxury - limited education - illiterate and innumerate - 1st tutor a drunk - Peter liked history - learned the New Testament by heart
• Father died suddenly February 8, 1676 - he caught a cold at the annual event of the blessing of the water of the Moscow River - loved for his gentleness and humanity - conscientious and diligent ruler
• Name Fedor (14 years old) his successor  (Peter is 4 at the time)
• Fedor -  (ruled 1676 - 1682) - very poor health - educated and enlightened ruler - his 1st wife died in 1681 - their only son soon after - against medical advice he remarried 9 months later, February 24, 1682 - by April 27 he died without naming a successor (he was 30 years old) - did not name his brother Ivan since he was mentally weak and almost blind
• Support was for Peter
• Peter's mother unable to cope

Sophia Alekselnva - 1/2 sister - wanted power - used the streltsy (strel-see) - literally shooters or musketeers - by 1682 streltsy at point of mutiny - April turned against their officers - new rulers panicked

• 16 officers condemned to be flogged 2 hours a day until they returned unfair taxes to the soldiers (never tried to prove they were guilty) - they were the unpopular ones - beaten twice a day
• Lynched junior officers - also tossed them off high buildings
• Sophia worked hard to increase agitation
• Turned into a violent, howling mob
• Went to the palace (Kremlin)
• Brought out Ivan and Peter to show they were O.K.
• Commander in Chief (Dolguruky) began yelling at men telling them to go home
• They grabbed him and tossed him down on the waiting spears
• Patriarch (Matveev) next - tore him from Nataly's arms - dismembered - no limb remaining joined to his body
• Soldiers went on a rampage - raping - looting - lynching - lasted all summer
• Sophia the only one who could control them
• Finally agreed on May 26 that there would be 2 czars - Ivan and Peter - with Ivan (he was mentally and physically weak) the senior - Sophia the regent
• They ruled together 1682 - 1689
• Ivan lived 1666 - 1696 (The father of Anna Ivanovra who was empress 1730 - 1740)

Peter went into exile after 1682 with his mother (in Prebrazhenskoe)

• He had a great time in the country
• Played war games
• Loved fire (bombs, grenades, fireworks)
• No regard for rank - used the sons of grooms and gentry - they become the core of his army later
• Lack of vanity
• Magnificent pride
• No education

He learned Sophie wanted him killed - fled to a monastery - a friend persuaded him to mount a coup against Sophie

Takes control September 12, 1689 - 17 years old - he rode in triumph into Moscow

Physically he was huge 6' 7" ( I have also read he was 6' 8" or 6' 5")

Had great energy

Worked hard

Supported by streltsy

Ivan deposed

Sophia imprisoned in a monastery (Novedevichy) for the rest of her life

Takes little interest in government

***  If someone annoyed him he would have their nostril torn out with iron pincers

Married Erdokia Lopukhin - February 6, 1689

• Reasonably pretty
• She lacked spirit and imagination
• They had little in common
• 2 children, ill-fated Alexis - another boy (Alexander) who died in childhood
• ***  Peter executed his wife's lover and put the head in a jar of alcohol.  Then Peter made his wife keep the jar in her bedroom
• Sent her to a convent - she kept her son (Alexis) with her
• Peter eventually divorced her (1698)

Alexis - Peter's son

• Received a lot of physical abuse from his father - beaten about the head - dragged by his hair across the floor, etc.
• Left him timid, secretive and lacking in self-confidence
• Became a heavy drinker
• None of this sat well with Peter
• Alexis disinterested in government
• 1715 Peter threatened to disinherit him
• Alexis offered to renounce the throne
• Peter told him he would have to retire to a monastery to diminish a threat of rebellion
• Alexis fled to Vienna,Austria
• Prompted a hunt for him that covered Europe for 6 months
• Coaxed back to Russia with promises of amnesty
• He publicly renounced his claim to the succession
• He was imprisoned in the fortress of St. Peter and Paul - June 24, 1717
• Same day a court ordered him executed for treason
• Before it could happen he was tortured
• Archives say: "The rack was applied at eleven o'clock, and that same day at six o'clock in the afternoon the Tsarevich gave up his soul."  (One of the movies I have seen says they gave him 40 lashes with the knout.)
• Peter's biography says 25 lashes at first interrogation - 2 days later 15 lashes
• There are 9 different versions of his death

Drinking bouts

• Might last for days
• No one allowed to stop
• Would have drink poured down them until they collapsed
• Some never recovered and literally died of drink
• Relished spectacle of hopeless and if necessary enforced drunkenness in others
• (Note: Most men during this time period were much shorter than Peter so did not have his capacity for alcohol.)

Grand Tour

• About 200 people (sources vary on this number)
• Peter wanted to travel incognito (At 6' 7" I doubt he was very successful at this.)
• Left Moscow March 9, 1696
• When he traveled in the west he realized that the other European states were far more advanced
• Went to Sweden (Riga)
• Holland - worked in the shipyard, docks - stayed 4 months
• England - king gave him a 20 gun yacht
• Vienna, Austria
• He hired hundreds of western craftsmen to come to Russia to train Russian workers
• Returned home because streltzy mutinied
• Leaders and men tortured and executed - except for the very young (16 - 20 year olds) - they were branded, flogged, noses slit, ears cut off and exiled

Began modernizing

• Cut off beards - did it at receptions and entertainments - men believed they were essential attribute to male godliness so not to have one seriously compromised ones chance for salvation - by 1699 beards were taxed
• Clothing - decreed they dress like the English - cut off the long sleeves
• Women - liberated from the terem (harem)
• Marriage - insisted it be based on mutual assent - couple should visit for at least 6 weeks before - made literacy a requirement for nobles to marry
• Encouraged the speaking of French and the learning of art and music
• Doctors trained
• Fire fighter plans
• Gardens planted
• Reformed army
• Founded schools and universities
• Centralized the government
• Forced the boyars to give a certain number of days each year in service to the state
• Set up 2 hospitals

Obsession with acquiring a warm water port

• To achieve this goal Peter built and trained a modern military based on the French model
• He equipped it with the finest weapons
• Copied enemy tactics
• First attempted to secure a Russian port on the Black Sea - he ultimately failed

Peter's Second Marriage

• Catherine - probably born illegitimately in 1684 or 1685
• Lithuanian peasant stock (Estonia)
• Mother died when she was 3
• Beautiful dark haired girl - fine figure
• Russian Field Marshal Boris Sheremetov kept her as his housekeeper for 6 months
• Alexander Menshikov (close friend of Peter's) saw her and took her
• 1703 Peter came to visit Alexander - next few months shared her with Alexander
• Eventually he took her for his own
• She went with Peter on military campaigns
• Showed remarkable courage
• 1707 they were married in a private ceremony - didn't make the marriage public for 5 years (1712)
• Had 5 children - only 2 lived Anna and Elizabeth
• Peter was absent many times for long periods fighting against Charles XII of Sweden

Great Northern War   (1700 - 1721)

• Next target was Sweden
• The leading power in the Baltic
• The new Swedish monarch, Charles XII, was only 18
• Denmark, Russia and Poland hoped to seize Swedish territory
• Charles turned out to be a born leader - he quickly defeated the Danes and Poles - only Russia hung on
• In 1708 - 1709 Charles invaded Russia
• He defeat4ed Peter's army over and over, but the Russians just kept retreating
• Russians burned everything as they retreated "scorched earth"
• Swedes could not live off the land - when winter arrived they starved
• Peter counter-attacked at the Battle of Poltava and defeated Charles's army
• In the 1721 treaty Sweden lost most of its empire
• Russia became the dominant Baltic power

Peter built a new capital, St. Petersburg, on land seized from the Swedes

Moved the focus away from Moscow

It became the "window to the west"

St. Petersburg - named after his patron saint

• Afraid of Moscow after the riots when he was a child
• Loved the sea
• Wanted a port
• Ordered people to go - 1712 - 1000 men of lesser nobility +500 merchants and shopkeepers
• Needed permission to leave
• Houses expensive
• ***  Peter's first house in Petersburg only 3 small rooms - bedroom, dining room and study - pine boards
• Food costly
• 3 - 4 hours of daylight in the winter
• Neva river would flood
• Wolves prowled and attacked in winter
• Workforce - up to 40,000 every year - soldiers - criminals - deserters exiled to labor for life - press gangs used to get skilled laborers - few saw mills or animals - most work done by human labor
• Declared St. Petersburg the capital - all senators ordered to leave Moscow and move

Did nothing for the serfs except make them more of a slave - peasant uprisings became epidemic

Used tortures and execution

Peter died January 28, 1725 at the age of 53

• He tried to save some drowning soldiers - in November
• He caught a cold
• By December he felt better - had a relapse - died in Catherine's arms

Catherine became ruler - she died 2 1/2 years later

Named Peter's grandson Peter Alexelvich successor

• Only 11 years old
• Died 1730 of small pox - not quite 15

Succession went to the line of Peter's 1/2 brother

November 1741 Peter and Catherine's daughter Elizabeth Petrovna staged a palace coup

• Arranged for her sisters Anna"s son to be name her heir
• Got him a bride from Prussia - named her in honor of her mother (Catherine)
• She ruled for 22 years
• ***  "Mixture of laziness and obstinacy, coquetry and cruelty, piety and licentiousness.  Her amorous excesses, her taste for orgies and her mania for clothes (she never wore the same dress twice) did not prevent her from fearing God and worshiping icons." ( quote fromCatherine the Great by Henri Troyat)
• ***  Every week she had a party and forced men to dress as women, and women to dress as men.  Neither sex like it.  Elizabeth thought she look wonderful in men's dress and thought other women ought to enjoy the privilege.

Catherine the Great  b. 1729   (Czarina 1762 - 1796)

• German princess
• Born Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst
• Father petty German prince - too poor to provide for his family - hired out as a military officer to the kings of Prussia - family lived comfortably
• Sophie had a French governess (Babette Cardel) - learned French from her
• Sophie curious and very spirited
• Age 7 sudden sickness - coughing, fevers, and fits - ill for weeks - a time when her life was in danger - one morning she woke up and it was gone
• Weeks of lying on her side caused a physical change - assumed the shape of a Z - right shoulder higher than the left - backbone a zigzag - a result as mysterious as the disease - no doctor could help - at last a veterinarian who practiced on the limbs of horses and cows prescribed a useless concoction of medicine - but also built a body frame to reshape her deformity - she wore it for 4 years until she regained her former posture
• Sophie did not have a close relationship with her mother - later years quarreled incessantly - but her mother expanded her knowledge of the world - took her to visit relatives who would be future kings and queens
• Sophie was chosen by Empress Elizabeth (Russia) - daughter of Peter the Great - she wanted a German princess - 1744 summoned Sophie to Russia - her mother thrilled - no one asked Sophie her opinion because it hardly mattered
• Very hard trip
• Very cold
• Huddled together for warmth
• Took nearly 4 weeks to get to St. Petersburg
• Then sent to Moscow to court
• Received with unusual warmth
• It was Peter's 16th birthday
• Everyone wanted to see his bride
• First meeting - Sophie only 15 - Peter tells her he loves one of the court ladies passionately but he'd marry her anyway - confused Sophie and caused anger and resentment - she resolved to please the empress and keep her own consul
• Before her marriage she spent her time learning Russian and the Eastern Orthodox religion
• Part of her conversion was she had to take a Russian name -Catherine
• Married August 1745 - she was 16 - he was 17
• He will become Peter III - nephew of Elizabeth - he is Peter the Great's grandson - he is mentally weak and he drank excessively - lacked charm - ugly
• Soon estranged
• His chief pleasure was playing with dolls and toy soldiers and tormenting his own dogs
• *** He never had a bath in his life
• Catherine is bright, eager for power
• Knows she is alone in the world
• Fought bitterly with her mother
• Shared nothing with Peter
• Her household all spies of Elizabeth
• Even her correspondence monitored
• Spent the next 15 years adding to her education - read everything she could get a hold of - classics, reformers
• Liked to ride - not usually done by women
• Made friends among Russia's army officers
• Passion for handsome guardsmen - had more than 20 lovers - became pregnant in 1754 - almost certainly not Peter's child - father probably Sergius Saltykov - nobody really believed the child was Peter's - nobody cared because Elizabeth had an heir
• Maybe revenge for Peter's conduct or in return for his neglect

As Empress Elizabeth's health worsened she tried to cure her ills with liquor and lovers - limited success

When Elizabeth died she was grotesquely fat - body on show for 6 weeks

• Catherine worked to endear herself to the public by weeping openly at the Empress' grave
• Peter began throwing parties immediately after her death - he refused to stand vigil over the body - he clowned his way through the funeral procession

Peter came to the throne on Christmas day 1761 - ruled 6 months

• His favorite was Elizabeth Vorontzov - she was lame, squint-eyed, marked by small pox, and stank - always ready to drink, sing, or shout abuse - she excited Peter with her stupidity and crudeness
• Peter alienated the military, nobles and the church with his demands

Catherine usurped the throne July 8, 1762

• Backed by nobles and the church
• ***  When Peter found out he ran in all directions, fainted, revived - drank large glasses of wine - he was drunk, staggering and weeping - eventually he renounced the throne

Removed Peter July 17, 1762

• Sent him to a monastery
• Lived his live lonely and weeping
• Catherine's supporters later had him killed -probably poisoned - 1762
• Official report was that he died of hemorrhoidal colic

Catherine had a dynamic personality who alternately captivated and terrified those around her

Gained a reputation as the most enlightened of European monarchs

• Undeserved
• Tried to change the law - it didn't work - never tried again

Had the sincere devotion of her people

Did nothing to help the Serfs

• Gave nobles greater power over them - after a peasant revolt
• Even took away the serfs right to complain - said nobles could beat them and send them to the salt mine in Siberia
• During her reign many peasant rebellions due to unbearable conditions - she had them crushed ruthlessly - killed the leaders

Gained land by foreign affairs

• Almost to the size it was under the Soviet Union
• Portions of Poland (1772, 1793, 1795) - disappeared from the map until 1918 - Russia got the most - divided it with Prussia and Austria
• Won over Turks and got the Crimea from them - annexed Crimea 1783 - wanted a warm water port
• Developed Russia into a major military power

At Court

• French spoken
• Latest fashions worn
• ***  Catherine kept her wigmaker in an iron cage in her bedroom for more than 3 years.  She didn't want anybody to know she needed his handiwork.
• Newest ideas for economic and educational reform were aired - not put into practice
• Russian nobles mingled comfortably with their European counterparts

Military Service class developed into bureaucrats and administrators

In the country it remained the same dull regimen - their quality of life was no different

Catherine died of a stroke November 10, 1796  (67)

Succeeded by her son Paul I

• For 34 years he had waited for the throne that he had always considered rightfully his
• 5 years of Paul's madness brought about a palace revolt
• Palace guards plotted with the nobles who were his "friends"
• March 11, 1801 he was murdered in his sleep

Placed his son Alexander I on the Romanov throne

• Czar when Napoleon invaded

Imperialism

`IMPERIALISM

Late in the 1800's Western nations again competed for overseas territories

Imperialism is the domination over other nations - 1870 to 1914

Scramble to control colonies

Africa and Asia carved up - exploited - great cost of lives and property

This competition one of the major reasons for WW I

Wanted three thing

• New markets - producing large surpluses of manufactured goods - more than the Western world could use - looked elsewhere to sell their products
• Raw materials - no industrialized country had enough of all the raw materials - rubber, hemp, cotton, etc
• Places to invest - saw enormous profits could be made - government take over would protect their investments

Nationalism - aggressive

• Intolerant of those of different national origin
• Encouraged rivalry and competition between nations - wanted larger armies and navies
• Wanted colonial empires for national pride
• Result - competition became intense between nations

Colonies

• Nation's greatness came to be measured by its colonial possessions
• Tried to add to their power and prestige by adding to their territory
• National pride mixed with religious and humanitarian motives
• Missionaries wanted their government's help in spreading Christianity - believed it a duty to "improve" the natives lives regardless of the natives wishes - divine mission to civilize the uncivilized
• Westerners felt confident that their beliefs and institutions were superior to all others
• Famous poem - Rudyard Kipling suggested that Westerners were duty-bound to colonize

"The White Man's Burden"

• Take up the White Man's burden-
• Send forth the best ye breed-
• Go bind you sons to exile
• To serve your captive's need;
• To wait in heavy harness,
• On fluttered folk and wild-
• Your new caught, sullen peoples,
• Half-devil and half-child
• Take up the White Man's burden-
• Ye dare not stoop to less-
• Nor call too loud on Freedom
• To cloak your weariness;
• By all ye cry or whisper.
• By all ye leave or do, the silent, sullen peoples
• Shall weigh you Gods and you

Led to some reforms - abolition of slavery - improvement in health and justice

Military rivalries between the nations of Europe also fueled the scramble for empires - sometimes countries would take an area simply to prevent other powers from claiming it

Surplus population - said needed room for them in Africa - not true - most settlers went to the American continent

***  In 18th and 19th century Europe lace makers often inscribed bobbins made of metal, bone or wood with declarations of love or the dates and names of important events, such as the birth of a child.

***  1901 - First British submarine launched

***  1903 - Motor car regulation in Britain - set a 20 mph speed limit

***  1904 - Ten hour work day established in France

***  1904 - New York policeman arrests a woman for smoking a cigarette in public

***  1906 - China and Britain agree to reduction of opium production

***  1912 - First successful parachute jump

***  In the early 1900's the average man stood 5' 9" tall.  Today he's 5' 10" plus.  The average woman in the early 1900's was 5' 2 1/2" tall.  Today she's almost 5' 4 1/2" tall.

British

• Had the largest holdings - India, Africa, area in North America (Canada), the Pacific region, Australia and Ireland
• "The sun never sets on the British Empire"

India

• Most valuable of all the British colonies - "jewel in the crown"

British East India Company - 

• Main goal to make money
• Leading officials often got very rich
• Company active in India
• By 1647 there were 27 English trading posts in India - mainly along the coast - soon built up a thriving trade
• Traveled all over India - setting up contracts with local weavers of cotton cloth - named calico after the port city of Calicut - an important source of wealth for Britain
• Operating with permission of the Mughal rulers
• Made several small settlements - rented from local rulers - had own military forces in the settlements - were used to extend British political control
• 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and France were often at war with each other both in Europe and in their overseas empires

India a frequent battleground

At first France won

During the Seven Year's War (1756 - 1763) British won

• Got Bengal - wealthy region in northeastern India - cornerstone of the British Empire in India

British government decided to eliminate the British East India Company's political power

• India Act of 1784 gave power over the company to a Board of Control whose president was a British cabinet member
• Government also chose the highest company official in India, the Governor General
• They were sure the British way of life was superior
• Felt they had a duty to reshape Indian life according to European standards
• Did not make much of an attempt to understand Indian customs
• Made may reforms in the system of government set up by the East India Company
• Replaced East India Company employees with well-trained administrators
• Made government more efficient and less corrupt
• Indians barred from the highest jobs in the civil service
• Improved education
• Removed trade barriers among the Indian states
• 1814 - Parliament took away the company's trade monopoly
• 1833 - its China trade monopoly was also ended

Company still remained active

• Extended British control over more and more territory
• First half of the 1800's gradually took over more and more of India
• Some Indian states annexed entirely - others did not have full independence
• Sometimes conquered lands directly with their own army
• Arranged alliances with local rulers who accepted company protection
• By mid 19th century nearly all of India had come under British control

Indians resented British missionaries and policies

Alarmed by the aggressive expansion in the mid 1800's

Sepoy Rebellion (SEE-poy)

• British introduced a new kind of rifle - to load the greased tops had to be bitten off - the new rifle cartridges were greased with beef and pork fat
• Hindus regarded cows as sacred
• Muslims considered pigs unclean
• Both groups outraged
• When the British realized their mistake they quickly recalled the tainted ammunition and reissued cartridges coated with pure vegetable fat
• Nothing stopped the rumors from spreading
• Many sepoys were convinced that the problem was a devious British plot so they would have to abandon their own religion and convert to Christianity
• When troops refused the order to "load rifles" they were dismissed without pay and sent home in disgrace
• Sunday evening - May 1857 - three units near Delhi rose in revolt
• Rose in mutiny and brutally massacred many Europeans
• Both sides committed atrocities
• One incident occurred at Cawnpour - British garrison of some 400 along with several hundred civilians surrendered in return for a promise of safe conduct - as they entered boats that would take them to safety they found themselves caught in a murderous crossfire - all but a few soldiers were killed - the women and children who survived were later cut down with knives and swords
• British responded with atrocities of their own - ***  When they retook Cawnpore they forced their captives to lick the dried blood of the murdered women and children off the floor and then executed them
• Rebels were hanged or shot without trial -  ***  Some tied to the muzzles of cannons and blown to bits
• Soon spread to other areas
• Fierce fighting went on for a year
• Did not have the support of the people
• British able to end the rebellion by late 1858 - They took terrible revenge for their earlier losses, torching villages and slaughtering thousands of unarmed Indians

As a result of the rebellion the British Parliament abolished the East India Company in 1858 - transferred all of its activity and holdings to the British crown

Left a bitter legacy of fear, hatred, and mistrust on both sides

Divided India into two parts

• British India - ruled directly by the British
• Indian India - ruled by Indian princes who were in charge of their own internal affairs
• Created a new cabinet post, Secretary of State for India
• Appointed a viceroy to rule within India - had full power - aided by legislative and executive councils that included some Indians - all members appointed rather than elected
• An efficient Indian civil service developed - British held all the top positions - Indians filled most of the middle and lower posts - some trained in British schools (When they eventually gain freedom this would be an asset in running the country.)
• 1876 - Parliament declared Queen Victoria "Empress of India" - ***  This was one of her favorite titles.  Queen Victoria ruled 1837 - 1901.

Probably the most important contribution of the British in India was unification - almost all of the subcontinent had come under one authority

Use of English as the official language helped - there had been no single language that all educated Indians could speak - 6 main languages - over 200 all together

Also suppressed organized bands of robbers - reduced the dangers of travel

Protected life and property

Outlawed suttee (variant spelling sati) - suicide of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre - practiced mainly by the upper classes

Outlawed the killing of infant girls

Improved medical facilities

Added thousands of miles of railroad and telegraph lines so they could sell goods across the continent

Built irrigation works throughout the countryside

Dark side

• Population grew rapidly - food production could not keep up - result living standard declined sharply for many - one poor harvest could cause widespread famine - late 1800's terrible famines swept India - because of its large population poverty was and still is today a major problem in India
• End of the centuries old handcraft system a heavy blow - for centuries home spinning had been an important source of income for peasant families in India - Indian cotton was quickly and cheaply woven into cloth in British mills
• With the growth of British industry India became a market for cheap manufactured goods - especially cloth - it sold at a lower price than the domestic homespun cloth
• Hand woven cloth could not sell as cheaply as imported cloth and Britain forbid them to sell to to other countries
• Forced to depend more and more on agriculture to earn a living

Nationalism

• Note: the movie "Passage to India" shows the discrimination against the Indians.  Parts of it are very good to use in the classroom if it is available.
• Many high-caste Indians were educated in Britain or in British-style universities set up in India in the 1850's
• Knowledge of Western civilization helped fuel Indian discontent over British policies in India
• Major complaint - racial discrimination - British-educated Indians rejected the caste system - adopted the Western idea that a person's status should be based on their accomplishments - shocked British did not live up to their own ideals
• ***  The Indians are trying to do away with the caste system.  Supposedly there are no more "untouchables."  When I took Indian history the professor said, "If you want to find the untouchables in a village just ask who the Christians are."  The Indians have a saying about the castes, "It is better to do your own job poorly than another's job well."
• Top jobs, finest clubs and hotels, and the best railroad cars reserved for the British
• No matter how intelligent or educated, an Indian was not considered the equal of a European
• Many wanted self-government in their country - Australia and Canada had been given much home rule
• British eager to keep Indian nationalism in check, gave in to some Indian demands in the early 1900's

AFRICA

In 1875 only a tenth was under European control.  Within 20 years, only a tenth was free of such control.

English

• Took Egypt - 1882
• Suez Canal - 1875 British government bought a large bloc of shares in the Suez Canal Company - when civil war broke out in Egypt in 1882, Britain sent in a military force and reduced the country to the status of a British protectorate
• Sudan - their next move - wanted a solid belt of land from Cairo in the north to Cape Town in the south - after a battle in 1899 shared control with France

Boers

• Dutch descended farmers settled in Cape Colony (South Africa)
• British took the colony from the Dutch in 1815
• Boers resented the British rule and moved north - found their own Boer republic
• Late 1800's there were discoveries of gold and diamonds in the Boer Republic
• This set off the Boer War (1899 - 1902)
• Bitter guerrilla fighting
• ***  British placed Boer women and children in concentration camps where many died
• ***  Winston Churchill was captured by the Boers.  He escaped and they put a price on his head.  He was never recaptured.
• 1910 - British united Cape Colony and the former Boer Republic into the Union of South Africa - new constitution set up a government run by whites - laid the foundation for a system of complete radical segregation that would remain in force until 1993

Portuguese

• Had large colonies in Angola and Mozambique

Belgium - Leopold

• Congo (present-day Zaire) - 900,000 square miles
• 80 times the size of Belgium
• Vast wealth - gold, ivory, rubber
• Millions of natives worked to death - slaves - estimated 8 - 10 million
• Overseers inflicted brutal punishments in order to increase rubber production - after the invention of inflatable tires
• Held wives and children hostage
• Executions, whippings and torture were common
• ***  Had the hands and ears cut off of rebels - resorted to doing it to live people and children to meet their quotas
• Other countries in Europe tried to control Belgium
• 1908 - Leopold was forced to turn it over to the Belgium government - he demanded a huge cash payment
• Only when Leopold died in 1909 were they freed from abuses
• It did little to improve the well-being of the people

Diamond Mines

• European owned
• African laborers - terrible working conditions - little or no pay
• Africans smuggled out diamonds
• ***  Hid diamonds inside decayed teeth or self-inflicted wounds.  Others swallowed them for recovery later
• By some estimates, as much as 50% of a diamond mines production was lost to smuggling

Italy

• Occupied Libya
• Tried to conquer Ethiopia and was defeated (see below)

Ethiopia

• Manelik II - reforming ruler
• Began to modernize the country
• Hired European experts for: modern roads and bridges - western school system - latest weapons - European officers to train the army
• 1896 - Italy invaded
• Battle of Adowa (ah  DUH wah)
• Ethiopians smashed the Italian invaders (Mussolini will invade Ethiopia in the thirties as revenge for this loss.)
• Only African nation, beside Liberia, to preserve its independence

France

• Algeria - most of the west coast - invaded in 1830 - for prestige and to stop Algerian pirates who attacked French ships
• (The book A Savage War of Peace p. 120 description of massacre)
• Held Tunisia
• At the height of their holdings colonies in West and Central Africa were as large as the continental United States

Germany

• Bismark tried to stay away from colonies
• Had to yield to public pressure

Only free countries in Africa were Liberia and Ethiopia

IMPACT

• A western-educated African elite emerged
• Some middle-class Africans admired western ways and rejected their own culture
• Others valued African traditions and condemned western societies that upheld liberty and equality for whites only
• By the early 1900's African leaders were forging nationalist movements to pursue self-determination and independence

China

• Chinese viewed trade as a privilege given to foreigners, not as a right.
• Foreign merchants were allowed only one Chinese city - Guangzhou (GWONG-JOH) - once known as Canton
• Contacts with the Chinese people were strictly limited by rules set down in the early 1700's
• 1.  No foreign warship may sail inside the inlet to the river.
• 2.  Neither foreign women nor firearms may be brought into warehouses.
• 3.  Foreign warehouses shall employ no maids and no more than eight Chinese male servants.
• 4.  Foreigners living in the warehouses must not move in and out too frequently, although they may walk freely within a hundred yards of their warehouses.
• 5.  Foreigners may neither buy Chinese books nor learn Chinese.
• 6.  foreigners are not allowed to row boats freely in the river.  They may visit the flower gardens and the temple opposite the river in groups of ten or less three times a month, on the 8th, 18th and 28th.  They shall not visit other  places.
• 7.  Foreign traders must not remain in Guangzhou after the trading season - even during the trading season when the ship is laden, they should return home or go to Macao (a Portuguese colony).
• For two centuries, European traders accepted the Chinese rules
• Trade in tea and silk was so profitable they would agree to any restrictions
• Had to look hard to find goods the Chinese would take in return
• During the 1800's found opium - narcotic made from the poppy plant - would buy it in India and sell it in China
• Chinese government forbade the sale of opium - law against it had not been enforced in years
• Many Chinese officials took bribes from British traders to smuggle in large amounts of the drug.
• Harmed the Chinese people - by 1830's million addicted - turned to robbery to get money to buy opium - neglected their farms
• Drained the treasury
• Concern over problems finally prompted the Chinese government to crack down on the opium trade

Opium War  (1839 - 1842)

• Grew out of the Manchu refusal to allow the British to establish regular trade with China
• 1839 - government began a campaign against opium use - arresting and executing opium dealers
• Smuggling continued to increase
• Aware that the British were hiding opium in their storehouses the emperor sent soldiers to Guangzhou.
• The soldiers imprisoned British traders and government officials in their own warehouses and seized the opium and destroyed it
• British viewed the Chinese action as an insult to their nation
• Also saw the quarrel as a chance to get rid of Chinese restrictions on trade
• British struck back and the war began
• Chinese forces, badly organized and armed with old-fashioned weapons - lost battle after battle to the modern British army and navy - Chinese had no navy - no match for the British
• After three years the Chinese government asked for peace and gave in to British demands
• Treaty of Nanjing (1842) - ended the war and established a new pattern of European trade with Asia
• Chinese no longer made the rules
• Gave the British the right to trade in 5 treaty ports
• Foreigners accused of crimes would be tried under their own country's laws
• Gained the island of Hong Kong (lease ended in 1998)
• Got a cash settlement for the destroyed opium
• Marked the real opening of China
• Next few years other Western nations made similar treaties with China
• Treaties forced China to give other countries the kinds of trading rights and privileges given to Britain

Internal Problems

• Qing government had become corrupt and inefficient
• Public officials grew wealthy from bribes and high taxes

the Taiping Rebellion - (1850 - 1864)

• ***  Taiping means "Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace."
• Probably the most devastating peasant revolt in history
• 1850 - secret anti government society led an uprising against the Manchus
• Led by a religious fanatic who claimed to be "the Heavenly Younger Brother" of Jesus - he was a village school teacher Hong Xinquan (howng shyoo CHWAHN)
• One sign of rebellion - Taiping men cut off the pigtails the Manchu rulers had forced them to wear
• Called for changes in society - divide the land equally among all peasants - equal rights for women, including the right to take civil service examinations and become government officials - about one fourth of the rebel soldiers were women
• Built a well-disciplined army of believers
• After 4 years had more than one million followers
• Easily defeated the imperial troops
• Their success frightened many Chinese who opposed reforms
• Europeans also alarmed - wanted to protect their trade treaties
• Both groups aided the Manchus - began to win military victories
• Rebellion, weakened by poser struggles among its leaders, finally collapsed in 1864
• About 20 to 30 million people had died in the fighting and parts of China had been devastated

Not the only revolt in the mid-1800's

French and British took advantage of the confusion and made new trade demands

Also looked for reasons to begin a military conflict

• Minor incident involving an "insult" to the British flag
• France claimed that Chinese authorities murdered a French missionary
• With these excuses Britain and France sent an army to invade China in 1856
• Captured the imperial capital of Beijing in 1860 - forced the emperor to flee - burned the beautiful summer palace
• Treaty - Chinese government gave in to foreign demands for more trade - opened 11 more ports - legalized the opium trade - agreed to receive Western diplomats - agreed to let British missionaries into China - other Western nations claimed the same privileges
• Each of the major European powers now carved out a part of China as its sphere of influence
• Areas largely under European control, even though they still belonged formally to China

Attempts at Reform

• Chinese slow to begin the process
• Some refused to believe in the need for change - scholars and officials - most saw no reason for it
• Others hoped that Western technology could be blended with Chinese traditions - tried to blend with "self-strengthening" movement - efforts did no go very deep
• Weakness made clear by its defeat in the Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895)

Struggle for control of Korea

• Japan's small but modern armies trounced the larger Chinese forces - gained Taiwan
• Chinese government realized Japan's victory was due mainly to its use of Western technology and ideas
• China's defeat prompted foreign nations to demand further privileges in China

China seemed in danger of being completely carve up into colonies

U.S. afraid of being shut out of Chinese trade, stepped forward - 1899 called on other countries to follow an Open Door Policy - all countries should have equal trading rights in China - several countries agreed on paper but it had little real effect

Boxer Rebellion

• Secret Society of Harmonious Fists - known in English as the "Boxers"
• ***  After seeing them train in the martial arts the English called them "Boxers"
• Dedicated to driving all foreigners out of China
• Particularly hated Christian missionaries and Chinese who had converted to Christianity
• Late in 1899 the Boxer Rebellion broke out in many parts of China - destroyed railroads, burned bridges, killed Europeans
• Mobs attacked missionaries and killed thousands of Chinese Christians
• Many government officials and court nobles shared the Boxer's hatred of foreigners - some simply looked the other way, while others actively helped the Boxers
• The Empress showed sympathy for the Boxers at first - later changed her mind
• 1900 - attacked the homes of foreign diplomats in Beijing - nearly 1,000 foreigners, as well as about 3,000 Chinese Christians had taken refuge there
• After 55 days, an army of 20,000 British, American, Japanese, German, and Russian soldiers rescued them
• Foreign nations demanded payment for the Boxer's attacks on their citizens - given a huge cash settlement and more concessions
• Further weakened the Chinese government

Last Days

• 1908 the Dowager Empress - Ci Xi (tsie SHYEE) - died at the age of 73 - she had been against change
• The imprisoned emperor - Guang Xu (gwawng SHYOO) - had died the day before - rumor spread that he had been poisoned
• The heir to the throne was only 2 years old - (the film The Last Emperor chronicles his life)
• Three years later revolts broke out in much of China

Nationalist Revolution

• 4,000 years of unbroken dynastic rule suddenly came to an end
• The last Manchu emperor left the throne in February 1912

Sun Yat-sen - (SOON YAT-SEN)  b. 1866   - alternate spelling in 10th grade text Gixian (soon yee SHYAHN)

• Western-educated Christian
• Family were poor farmers in southern China
• Age 12 went to Hawaii to find work
• Later studied medicine in China and the British colony of Hong Kong - gave it up for politics
• His political party - known as the Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party - goal was to rebuild China
• His work made him a hero to many Chinese in Britain and other Western countries
• December 1911 - elected temporary president of the new republic - soon after the last Manchu emperor left the throne
• Served only one day as president - knew China needed a military leader to hold the country together

Resigned in favor of General Yuan Shikai - powerful general

• Became president of the Nationalist Party
• Not interested in democracy
• Wanted to build his own power
• By 1913 had thrown his opponents out of the government and was ruling as a military dictator - forced Sun into exile
• His actions led to civil war in China
• At the time of his death in 1916 the country was in chaos
• Warlords with private armies began to take over various parts of the country

Sun Yat-sen failed to unite China - he became a symbol of China's efforts to build a strong, modern nation

Sun is still known as the "father of modern China"

JAPAN

1630's -Tokagawa shoguns began policy of isolation from the West

• Forced Christian missionaries and many of their converts to leave Japan
• Barred Japanese people from foreign trade and travel
• Refused to let foreign ships enter their ports
• For more than 2 centuries contacts with the West limited to the visit of one Dutch trading ship per year

1850 - Western nations dominated much of Asia

• No longer willing to accept Japan's policy of isolation
• They had the power to force open ports
• Needed ports where their vessels could stop for food, fuel, and water
• Wanted protection for their sailors - Americans who had been shipwrecked on Japanese shores had been badly treated

July, 1853 - American warships under the command of Matthew C. Perry arrived in Tokyo with 4 ships

• ***  When Perry was planning this trip he quickly learned how little knowledge the West had about Japan.  he employed several agents to comb the bookstores of New york and London to gather material to study.  He found that trustworthy navigational chars to be seriously lacking.  So he traveled to the shaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, in order to personally interview sailors who were familiar with the winds and currents around Japan.
• Perry brought a message from the President Millard Fillmore asking for: protection of shipwrecked sailors - establishment of a refueling station - statement of friendship for Japan
• Perry said he would return in a year for their reply
• Returned in February, 1854 with 10 ships
• Carried many presents for Japanese officials - books, rifles, clocks, perfume, sewing machine, and even a small locomotive
• Japanese impressed by the gifts and by Perry's dignity and show of force
• Japanese knew that they lacked the technology to win a war against the United States
• Shogun signed the Treaty of Kanagawa with the U.S. in March
• Opened 2 Japanese ports to American ships - but not for trade (soon won them)
• Provided better treatment for shipwrecked sailors
• Set up diplomatic relations between the two countries
• Gave foreign traders only limited rights
• Was the first step toward allowing foreign influence in Japan
• Weakened the Tokagawa government
• Caused anti-foreign riots
• Treaties with the British, Dutch, French, and Russians quickly followed
• By the 1860's had been forced to make many trade concessions to the West
• Chinese deeply resented the humiliating terms of the unequal treaties

Meiji Rule

Tokugawa shoguns had held on to power partly by keeping the Daimyo (Dime yo) - feudal lords in competition with one another - they had been in power since 1600

Unpopularity of the foreign treaties gave these lords a chance to join together against the shogun

In 1866 two groups of feudal lords joined together to overthrow the shogun and restore imperial government

Next year the emperor was restore to a position of authority - capital was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo (means "eastern capital")

Two years later the rebel forces seized the shogun's court in the name of the emperor

The last of the Tokagawa shoguns was forced to resign

Emperor Mitsuhito  (grandfather of Hirohito d. 1989)

• Only 15 when he took the name Meiji (MAY-jee) - meaning "enlightened rule" as the name of his reign
• His accession to the throne is known as the Meije Restoration
• Formal ruler of Japan (1868 - 1912)
• Important decisions were actually made by the group of young samurai who had led the rebellion - military men eager to close the gap in military power between Japan and the West - believed in rapid modernization - next 50 years transformed Japan into a powerful modern state
• Japan becomes the first industrialized country in Asia

Charter Oath - April 1868

• Issued by the Meiji emperor
• Set a new course for Japan
• Called for an assembly to decide important matters by public debate
• 1871 - declared feudalism ended and commoners would be given the chance to hold many new jobs

Reasons for success:

• Strong national feeling - long standing sense of its identity as a nation - national loyalty more important than loyalty to family or to a feudal lord
• Prosperous and well-educated population - fairly high living standard - about 40% literate - fairly high for the time - trade and agriculture had prospered - country had become urbanized
• Acceptance of new ideas - little resistance about borrowing useful ideas from other cultures - saw modernization as a way to help them compete with the West

Reforms

• Affected all parts of Japanese society
• Large landowners had to give up direct control of their lands to the imperial government - most did so voluntarily - in return given cash and important government jobs
• Military completely overhauled - Samurai class lost its special privileges - all classes made equal before the law
• Samurai ordered to throw away their swords - for centuries it had been a symbol of their position
• 1873 law made all men subject to the draft
• Army used ideas from the French
• Navy remodeled after the British navy
• Government also relied on Western advice in industry, agriculture, and education - sent best students to universities in Europe and the U.S.
• Introduced the telegraph and built railroads - by 1900 Japan had more the 15,000 miles of track

Constitution

• Emperor remained the head of state and the highest authority in the country
• Prime Minister appointed to take charge of the day-to-day running of the government
• Parliament, called the Diet, created to make laws and advise the emperor on government policy - actually had little power - emperor could veto laws it passed and issue laws of his own
• Western nations impressed that Japan had adopted a constitution in less than 25 years after the end of feudalism - they agreed to end the unequal treaties of the 1850's and 1860's

Japanese Imperialism

• Had major handicap in lack of natural resources
• Farmland scarce - growing enough food for the nation always a problem
• During Meiji period scientific and medical advances caused a sudden population increase - further straining the food supply
• Forced to import much of its food as well as most of the raw materials needed for industrialization
• Looked to overseas possessions to provide Japan with land, crops, and raw materials

Sino-Japanese War of 1894 - 1895  (Fighting over Korea)

• Japan defeated China
• China's army failed to win a single battle - it's navy almost destroyed
• Peace treaty gave Japan the island of Formosa (present-day Taiwan) - and some small neighboring islands as well as the Liaodong (lee-OW-DOONG) Peninsula in southern Manchuria - Russia forced Japan to return it to China
• China recognized Korea's independence
• Japan became the dominant foreign power in the country

Britain hoped that Japan's military strength would discourage Russia

Anglo-Japanese Alliance

• In 1902, signed a 10-year treaty of alliance - treated Japan as an equal partner - restored Japanese pride lost when Western ships first entered Tokyo Bay
• First military treaty that a Western nation signed on equal terms with a non-Western nation

Russo-Japanese War

• Japanese tried to negotiate with Czar Nicholas II about his troops in Manchuria
• Russia thought Japan was weak and delayed the discussions - fatal mistake
• February 8, 1904 - without warning - Japan attacked the Russian flee anchored at Port Arthur
• Torpedo boats struck a Russian naval squadron and inflicted heavy damage
• Japan did not issue a formal declaration of war until several days late
• Many western observers were undisturbed - The Times of London reported that "the Japanese navy has taken the initiative and has opened the way by an act of daring."
• In 1941, most western observers had an entirely different view (You can't say they hadn't been warned by this action!)
• After a bloody siege Port Arthur fell to Japan - nearly a year later
• On land Japanese troops steadily forced the Russians out of Manchuria
• Czar sent Russia's  Baltic fleet to Japan
• Britain, honoring its alliance with Japan, would not let the ship through the Suez Canal
• Forced to sail all the way around Africa
• Finally reached Japan 7 months and 10,000 miles later
• It was wiped out by the Japanese navy   ***  note: This battle would drive the strategy of the Japanese navy in WW II.  They thought if they won one big battle the U.S. would quit the way the Russians did.
• ***  Yamamoto lost 2 fingers in this naval battle.  If he had lost one more he would have been out of the military and never planned the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• Beaten and humiliated and troubled by rebellion at home Nicholas called for peace
• Treaty of Portsmouth signed in 1905 - confirmed Japan's claim to the Liaodong Peninsula (including Port Arthur) - also got Russia's mines and industry in Manchuria - recognized Japan's interest in Korea and allowed Japan to take over the southern half of Sakhalin Island
• War forced Western nations to admit that Japan was now a world power
• First time in modern history that an Asian country had defeated a European country
• 1910 japan annexed Korea with no interference from the West - this made Japan an Imperialistic nation

RUSSIA

• Trying to get a warm water port - could go through the Mediterranean via the Black Sea - the Persian Gulf through Persia - or by reaching the Pacific Ocean north of Korea - all tried
• Mediterranean - stopped by France and England in the Crimean War (1854 - 1856) - tried again in 1914 and this was a contributing factor to bringing on WW I
• Asia - when China was forced to open to Western exploitation they moved quickly to secure a large coastal area north of Korea where they founded the town of Vladivostok in 1869 - still Russia's main naval base in the Pacific

Southeast Asia - Britain and France the two chief rivals

French - first in the area in the late 18th century

• mid-1800's hostile Asian feelings led to attacks on French missionaries
• French fleet attacked - captured Saigon in 1860
• Next 20 years took control of Cochin-China, Cambodia, and Annam - these areas had always paid tribute to China, which tried unsuccessfully to eject the French by force in the 1880's
• 1893 - took over Laos
• Grouped all of these areas together to form the French colony of Indochina - an area a third larger than France itself
• French rule gradually transformed villagers into landless agricultural workers whose incomes came to depend on the rise and fall of world prices

British

• 1885 - Burma formally annexed to India
• Also took Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka), Singapore, and northern Borneo

Netherlands

• Height of Imperialism was from 1870 to 1902
• They were one of the main sea powers of this time
• In 1870 -1880 most of the land the Netherlands had gained had been lost (areas in North American, Brazil, South Africa, Guyana, Ceylon, India and Malacca)
• Dutch mainly concentrated on the lands in the West and East Indies
• Did not try to expand the way the other great European powers did
• Controlled the East Indies
• A private trading company - the Dutch East India Company - ruled for many years
• In 1798 the home government took over
• Reaped handsome profits from their colony
• Provided Europeans with spices, sugar, coffee and tea
• Built schools - taught in native languages - preserved the many native cultures in the region

PACIFIC ISLANDS

• Britain - Australia, New Zealand, and many Pacific islands - including Fiji, southeastern New Guinea, and the southern Solomons
• Germans - northern Solomons amd northwestern New Guinea and bought some islands from Spain
• France - took Tahiti and annexed New Caledonia a major source of nickel and chromium
• United States - Hawaii - established missions and set up a thriving export trade in sugar - by 1880's dominated the government, although Hawaii was still technically independent - to receive better trade benefits, Hawaiian sugar planters wanted the islands to become part of the U.S. - when Queen Liliuokalani (le le u o ka la' ne) refused to support the annexation she was overthrown, in 1893 (President Cleveland in power) - 1898 Congress took over the Hawaiian Islands - 1959 it became the 50th state in the U.S.
• Guam - Philippines - acquired from Spain after the U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War - Filipino leaders expected independence - instead the U.S. annexed them (President McKinley) - Filipino guerrilla leader, Emilio Aguinaldo (a  gwe nal' do) had been fighting the Spanish - now led a rebellion against the Americans - after 3 years of fierce fighting, the rebellion was crushed
• Samoa - 1878 secured rights to a naval base at the harbor of Pago Pago - British and Germans contested the arrangement - in 1889 the islands were divide outright between Germany and U.S.

Impact of Imperialism

By 1900, western nations had control over much of the globe.  The expansion caused radical changes in the lives of subject people from Africa to Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

A global economy emerged dominated by the industrialized nations.

From these nations, machine-made goods, investment capital, and technology reached the rest of the world.  In return, the countries provided agricultural goods, cheap labor and natural resources.

The demands disrupted traditional local economies in Asia and Africa.  Most goods had been produced by hand.  Under colonial rule, they were forced to supply other products (ex. rubber, copper and coffee) to the industrialized world.

***   Labor conditions overseas today.       (This information is from and article in the L.A. Times 12 -1- 02)

• Levi Strauss Co moves production overseas - in Georgia paying $14/hour for a woman to sew in zipper
• Last quarter of 2001, 83% of all apparel sold in the U.S. imported
• Wages per hour - Mexico $.48 - Nicaragua $.23 - Guatemala $.37 - Bangladesh $.13 to $.20 - China $.28
• Child labor
• Long workdays
• No health plans
• No environmental protections
• No work place safety standards
• No effort to organize workers
• Bangladesh - Lisa (young girl) - went to work at 10 - had never gone to school - never ridden a bike - never seen a movie - her wages allow her to eat chicken maybe once every 2 months - 90 to 100 people in her neighborhood all use one water pump, one outhouse and one stove with 4 burners - often works from 8am to 10pm - 7 days a week with a day off maybe once a month - take home pay equivalent to $.14 and hour
• Third world countries have no choice but to let these companies operate so their teeming populations don't die of hunger.

French Revolution

FRENCH REVOLUTION

An excellent book on the French Revolution is The Days of the French Revolution by Christopher Hibbert.  My copy of this is a hard back printed in 1980.  I found a paperback on Amazon.com by the same author printed in 1999.  It look like the same book that has been republished.  I'm sure it is excellent but the page numbers probably will not match up with the ones I have listed.  Oh well, that's what indexes are for!

A seminal (an event that leads to later development(s) in history) event in European history

• Altered attitudes about government and society
• Unleashed: nationalism - class conflict - democracy - rise of the middle class
• Every major revolution since 1789 has claimed decent from the French Revolution
• Every major revolution in Europe in the 19th century succeed or failed based upon French Assistance

Ancient Regime

• France was the wealthiest nation in Europe
• 40% of all farmland was peasant owned (highest percentage in all of Europe)
• France was an intellectual center
• France was the most populous state - 24,000,000 (more than even Russia)
• But - the nation was burdened with an unjust tax system
• Most common taxes were the taille (tie-a), corvee and the gabelle - rarely left with more than 1/2 their income
• Taille, a head tax paid only by the common people - land tax
• Gabelle, a tax on salt - a necessary commodity for life
• Corvee - forced labor on roads and bridges
• Church tithe - 10% of income
• Nobles - feudal dues
• The nobility and the Church were exempt from taxation

There was rising anger among the bourgeoisie (middle class) against the privileges of the nobility

• About 10% of the French population
• Dominated trade
• Medicine, art, education , the bureaucracy were all bourgeoisie professions
• Lack of social mobility
• Lack of a voice in the government

Structure of the society

• Pre-revolutionary France was rigidly divided into estates (The state text [11th grade] has a good graphic organizer you can use to explain this.)
• First Estate - the Catholic clergy
• Second Estate - the nobility (aristocracy)
• Third Estate - everyone else (peasants, sans-culottes, bourgeoisie)

First Estate

• the Catholic Church was the largest single land owner in France - 10% of all land, much of it farmed by peasants ***  The Catholic Church today is the largest land holder in the world.
• There were about 100,000 clergy in the nation - about 5% of the population
• The Church could and did levy religious taxes (tithe)
• The common priests and nuns were drawn from the Third Estate - worked hard
• The Church leaders, the Bishops and Cardinals were from the Second Estate - some lived in luxury in Versailles
• The Church was exempt from taxation - ***  Today in the U.S. churches are exempt from taxes
• Church ran schools, kept birth and death records, cared for the poor

Second Estate

• The aristocracy owned about 30% of the land
• Many nobles were absentee landlords who collected rents from their tenants no matter what the harvest
• The nobles were approximately 15% of the population
• All the major positions of influence in the government, military, and the Church were held by nobles
• In the late 18th century there was a growing demand among the nobility to reclaim privileges lost in the days of Louis XIV
• The nobility paid no taxes - exemption from taxes was seen as a privilege of noble birth
• Only nobles could be army officers ("nobles of the sword") - or fill high church offices ("nobles of the robe")
• ***Some researchers say the 17th-century court popularized high heels.  Women who wore them couldn't walk any too well on cobblestones.  So they had to be carted around in sedan chairs.  That showed how classy they were

Third Estate

• A diverse group which had little in common with one another beyond their second class status
• Approximately 23,500,000 people
• The vast majority were peasants - eked out a bare existence
• The French peasantry owned about 40% of the land - the highest percentage of land ownership in Europe
• Most worked for others
• The sans-culottes were the poor of the cities - most were recent arrivals from the countryside and were struggling to survive in the cities - day laborers for low wages
• the bourgeoisie were the most frustrated group - often well educated and prosperous but neither helped to gain them entry into the corridors of power - despised the arrogance of the aristocracy - owned bout 20% of the land
• Petite-bourgeoisie - lower middle class - city dwellers - professionals, artisans, shopkeepers
• Rising expectations created a powder keg
• Only the Third Estate was compelled to pay taxes

Crisis of 1789

• France's financial situation was growing progressively worse throughout the 1700's
• The nation was burdened by the weight of an accumulated debt that had been growing since the days of Louis XIV - the wars of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI (War of the League of Augsburg, War of Spanish Succession, War of Austrian Succession, and the American Revolution) - The construction and extravagant court life at Versailles
• ***  Marie Antoinette ( She married Louis at age 15) lost the equivalent of $1.5 million in 1 year gambling on card games
• ***  Louis XVI was the only French monarch to remain faithful to his wife.  It's said he took quiet pride in the wholesome fact.
• ***  One of Marie Antoinette's most ardent courtiers flatteringly suggested he would never sip champagne unless the crystal glass were molded from the gracious queen's breast.  The insipid quotation was carried to the artisans who allegedly used their imagination to design what's now the traditional champagne glass.
• Over 50% of the national budget went to service the debt
• The nation was on the edge of bankruptcy
• To address the growing problem the new king Louis XVI (ruled 1774 - 1793) sought out financial advice
• He was weak and indecisive
• In 1777 Louis appointed Jacques Necker his Finance Minister
• Necker proposed that the tax system be revised to allow for the taxation of the nobility
• The nobility angrily objected to the proposal and demanded Necker's removal
• Louis agreed
• The financial situation only worsened
• In 1783 Louis appointed Charles Alexandre de Calonne to the position - he was a noble
• Calonne carefully examined the financial condition of the kingdom and authored a radical series of reforms - he wanted to transfer the tax burden from those least able to pay to those most able to pay
• He advocated that the entire tax structure be ended, that the taille be lowered or eliminated
• Instead Calonne proposed that a tax be levied on land
• All landowners would pay an amount proportional to their holdings - this would include the monarchy, aristocracy, and the Church
• Callone persuaded Louis to call and Assembly of Notables (150 people) to gain their support
• Instead he was denounced and Louis was forced to remove him
• The financial situation only worsened
• In 1787 Louis appointed Archbishop Brienne to the post
• Brienne had been one of Calonne's severest critics
• He was a noble and an official of the Church
• After examining the financial condition of the state Brienne came to agree with Calonne's earlier assessment
• He proposed the same plan to the Parliament of Paris in 1788 he was confident that they would heed his recommendations
• He was denounced as a traitor to his class
• Brienne persuaded Louis to arrest the leaders of the Parliament
• The shocked and outraged nobility began a concerted effort to paralyze the state
• The nobility demanded a meeting of the Estates-General (the first since 1614 - it had not met in 174 years)
• In late 1788 Louis agreed and called for election to the Estates-General
• The king's call was greeted with celebrations throughout the nation
• Every segment of the society saw the meeting as an opportunity
• Enthusiastic election campaigns were conducted in every district
• The Second Estate saw the meeting as a  chance to finally recover all of the privileges lost to the monarchy in the last 150 years - they planned to offer the nation a program of liberal reforms - they were confident of having their way in the Estates-General due to the historic voting procedures
• The Third Estate also viewed the meeting with optimism - the suffering peasants and sans-culottes were confident of the king's intervention once he learned of their misery - "If only the king knew." - The bourgeois saw the meeting as an opportunity to assert their voice in the government of the nation
• Each Estate was assigned a number of seats
• First Estate - 300
• Second Estate - 300
• Third Estate 648 (text says 600)
• Unresolved issue - how to vote - Third Estate wanted to vote by head - First and Second Estate wanted one vote for each Estate
• Every district in the land drew up cahiers de doleances - list of local grievances to be addressed at the Estates-General
• Popular opinion was inflamed by the writing of Abbe Sieyes whose What is the Third Estate? (pamphlet) inspired millions
• Sieyes asked: "What is the Third Estate?  Everything.  What has it been heretofore in the political order?  Nothing.  What does it demand:  To become something therein..."  "But what really is the Third Estate?  Everything"
• Sieyes and the Count de Mirabeau were two of the most prominent delegates to the Third Estate
• National expectations were rising to a level of dangerous optimism

Estates-General

• The meeting convened on May 5, 1789 amid much pomp and fanfare
• The site was the large ceremonial reception room at Versailles
• Louis sat on the throne of France at the head of the room - the leading nobles sat on the king's left and the hierarchy of the Church on his right - delegates from the Third Estate sat at the back of the chamber
• Immediate controversy when the Third Estate all came in black and then refused to kneel at the entrance of the king
• Despite the pageantry there were already insurmountable problems
• The Third Estate was insisting on a "one man, one vote" policy - the Second Estate could never agree to this
• The Estates-General fell into a stalemate which lasted for nearly 6 weeks
• Finally on June 17, 1789 the members of the Third Estate declared the Estates-General ended and proclaimed themselves the National Assembly
• They were joined by some sympathetic members of the First Estate
• The Second Estate was angry and shocked
• The king was persuaded to kick the Third Estate from their meeting chamber
• When the delegates went to the hall and were locked out it was raining - there was a notice on the door saying Louis would meet with them later (no date given)
• ***  In fact workers were just preparing the hall for a royal speech
• The delegates decided to go to a near by tennis court ( ***  suggested by Dr. Guillotine)
• June 20, 1789 the new National Assembly took the Tennis Court Oath - pledged to remain together until a constitution could be drafted
• The result would be the Declaration of the Rights of Man - "All men are born and remain free and equal in rights."
• Basic rights were promised such as free speech, religious toleration, liberty, property, resistance to oppression, equality before the law
• It will become a propaganda tool for the revolution
• The stalemate at Versailles continued - Louis refused to recognize the national Assembly - he insisted on negotiating with the old "Estates"
• At the same time Louis began to summon in troops to Paris and to Versailles
• Concerns were rising in Paris that the government was not going to reform at all...in fact that the government was going to close the National Assembly
• On July 14, 1789 a mob of Parisians surged through the streets of the city to the old prison armory - the Bastille - in the heart of the city
• The mob wanted weapons to defend the city from an attack by the army - rumors royal troops were going to occupy the capital
• the city organized a National Guard under the Marquis de Lafayette
• They demanded the surrender of the fortress - the commanding officer refused - killed 98 attackers - the Bastille was stormed and captured - the defenders were slaughtered, their heads piked and paraded through the streets - released 7 prisoners
• The mayor of the city, who had been appointed by the king, was also killed
• The Revolution was now beyond the stage of the king's control
• The Bastille symbolized the end of royal tyranny
• The Bastille attack shocked the nation
• The king and the nobility began to realize that they were not in the position to control events
• In the countryside the peasantry had been so hopeful of the king's intervention in their misery - now feared there would be no relief
• The Great Fear swept the countryside in late July 1789 - worst famine in memory - driven by rumors of a conspiracy by the nobility to crush the revolution mobs of peasants rampaged through the great estates of the landed nobility waving pitchforks and torches and burning down the chateaus - tore up old legal papers that bound them to pay feudal dues - their goal was to destroy any tax records
• ***  When I was in the Charte Cathedral in France there was a very tall screen around the alter.  At the top were carved scenes from the Bible about 5' tall.  Some of the figures were missing their heads.  The guide said that happened during the Revolution.  The peasants thought the figures with halos represented the nobles so they cut their heads off.
• Rallying cry: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
• Louis finally caves in to the new reality
• The king ordered the vestiges of the Estates-General to disband and to join the National Assembly
• On August 4, 1789 the nobility renounced all of their privileges and manorial taxes
• The old regime was dead
• Events in France were stirring emotions all over Europe.  Intellectuals saw hope for their own nation's political reform.  Monarchs and nobles saw threats to their positions
• ***  When Frenchmen first started wearing trousers, almost all did so together - only nobles wore knee breeches, and nobody in the streets wanted to be seen as a noble during the French Revolution
• ***  When Americans first started holding dinner forks in the right hand, almost all did so together - the fork in the left hand was a European - therefore British mannerism, and few Americans wanted to be identified publicly by a British mannerism at the end of the American Revolution
• A clear demonstration of the changes in power came on October 5, 1789
• A mob of about 6,000 Parisian women, upset by high bread prices spontaneously marched on Versailles (in a driving rain storm) - to demand  that the king do something about prices (Versailles is 12 miles from Paris)
• Kept waiting at the gates for several hours they finally attacked the palace, killing and decapitating  2 of the royal guards
• They forced their way into the royal apartments and compelled the terrified royal family to return to Paris to live with the people
• ***  They looted the palace.  A bed spread was taken and in the 1980's it was found in a pawn shop and restored.  It is now on display at Versailles.  There is a picture of this bed spread in the 10th grade text on page 70.
• they walked 12 miles back the next day
• The king was now prisoner of the revolution

National Assembly designs a new government

• Reforms - the king was transformed into a constitutional monarch - no longer an absolute divine right king - still hereditary with control over the foreign policy and the military
• Voting citizens were divided into active and passive status
• Active citizens were those who owned property and could vote - about 2/3 of French males were active citizens
• Passive citizens owned no land and could not vote
• Every Frenchman was to be equal in rights before the law
• The nation was divided into 83 equal departments, replacing the historic regions of France - each department with uniform administration and laws
• To be elected had to won property - only about 50,000 qualified out of 27 million - millions excluded
• To vote had to pay a tax equal to 3 days wages - had to be 25 years old
• Church lands were confiscated and sold to support the government - Civil Constitution of the Clergy - government appointed bishops (83 total) - clergy paid a government wage - all clergy must take and oath of loyalty to the government - those who refused, as the Pope insisted, were called non-juring or refractory clergy and risked arrest
• The opposition of the Church becomes the rallying point for a growing counter-revolution
• Conservative elements of society began to flee the country in large numbers - these emigres will become the focus of plots against the revolution

Louis appeared to be going along with the revolutionary tide, but in June 1791 the king and his family attempted to flee the country in disguise (Louis a valet - Marie Antoinette a governess)

They were very quiet as they rode through Paris - once they go into the country Louis grew careless - his guards, who were set at specific intervals in the journey became confused and were out of place

The next day they stopped for long meals and did not stick to the crucial schedule - Louis' troops were growing increasingly aware that the town's people were noticing them - lost the location of the king's carriage in the process

Town of Sainte-Menehould, Jean-Babtiste Drouet - town postmaster - recognized Louis from the profile that he was use to seeing on coins - rode ahead of the king's party and alerted the guard

They were caught near the border at Varennes and brought back to Paris as prisoners

The monarchy was finished as an institution in France

Louis arrest became the catalyst for the other nations of Europe to finally begin to take concerted action to contain the upheaval

Austria (the empress of Austria was Marie Antoinette's mother) was the leader of the foreign conspiracy - in 1792's Declaration of Pillnitz the Austrians pledged to take the lead in an effort to crush the revolt if the other states would assist - many nations neglected France - busy dividing Poland

In April 1792 France declared war on Austria - the king hoped it would crush revolution - radicals thought it would crush the monarchy

The hope was that the was would recapture the spirit of the early revolution

The was went badly from the start and by summer the Austrians and Prussians were approaching Paris - threw the French into a panic - Paris mob acted - imprisoned Louis - abolished monarchy

SECOND FRENCH REVOLUTION

The first revolution from 1789 - 1792 was based on liberty - the second on equality

The urban poor, the sans-culottes, felt excluded from the benefits of the revolution

• On August 10,1792 the sans-culottes stormed the Tuileries and trashed it
• Respect for the king was dead
• They hated the "haves" and wanted to destroy them
• In September 1792 the mob attacked the main prison in Paris and massacred over 1,300 prisoners suspected of opposing the revolution

The government will struggle to lead this mob - in September the National Convention was elected by universal manhood suffrage

Now the new revolution begins

September 21, 1792 the monarchy is abolished

Louis is tried as a traitor - the verdict of the King's guilt was never in doubt - it was given unanimously - Girondins tried to save his life - unsuccessful

***  Louis `condemned to death by one vote

On January 21, 1793 Louis XVI went to the guillotine (description The Days of the French Revolution p.188)

***  After Louis was behead people came up and dipped handkerchiefs in his blood.  One person even tasted it.

Marie Antoinette was executed in October 1793 - she was 38 years old

***  Son Louis XVII spent the whole 9th year of his life imprisoned alone in a filthy room - was beaten and tortured by his jailers -  one mass of infection - died June 8, 1795 - tuberculosis of the bones - 10 years old

***  Daughter Marie Teresa Charlotte (Madame Royale) was released in 1795 - she had had her dog for company - the dog probably helped keep her alive by giving its unconditional love - went to Russia to join her uncle

In the National Convention various factions appeared

The Jacobins were the largest faction or club - radical democrats

• They were called the Mountain
• They took up the cause of the sans-culottes and incited their violence
• The Mountain advocated total democracy - wanted a republic, destruction of monarchy, centralized government

The Girondins were the second faction

• They were called the Plain
• They took a more moderate stance and desired to control the disorder in the streets -
• Wanted liberal reforms

By June 1793 the radical Mountain was in charge

Reign of Terror (July 1793 - July 1794)

• The most radical phase of the revolution - when the mob rules
• In July 1793 Maximilien Robespierre (ROBES-pyair). leader of the Mountain assumes control of the Committee of Public Safety - a 12 member board which was elected by the Convention for terms of one month to run the nation with dictatorial powers
• The Committee was dominated by Robespierre, Marat, and Danton
• The nation is in crisis
• The republic is now at war with Austria, Prussia, Holland, and England - the military must be reinvented if it is to win the war
• Counter-revolution is spreading in the provinces - especially the Catholic inspired revolt in Vendee
• Inflation was destroying the value of currency
• Peasants were hoarding food rather than sell it for worthless money - this provoked food riots in Paris

Reforms of the Committee of Public Safety

• General Carnot re-organized the army to fight the foreigners - mass conscription to defend the republic was started - a people's army - more than 800,000 citizens
• The estates of the emigres were confiscated and sold for revenues
• A new legal code was written which was more democratic - women could own property - slavery ws outlawed - imprisonment for debt was forbidden
• The metric system was adopted
• A new revolutionary calender was adopted - 12 months of 30 days each - each month had 3 weeks of 10 days - each month was named after a characteristic of the month - failure
• Robespierre attempted to begin a new religion based on the worship of nature - Cult of the Supreme Being - a further attempt to de-Christianize the state - failure

Robespierre wanted to save the revolution - to do so the enemies of the revolution had to be destroyed - "Terror was the order of the day."

• Militant revolutionary tribunals were set up all over the nation
• Justice was swift and harsh
• Main victims were peasants, refractory clergy, and Girondins - 15% nobles and clergy - 15% middle class - rest peasants and san-culottes
• ***  Prisoner never knew the date they were to be executed - but never Sunday - darkest hour - bootless wardens approached softly to unlock the door, to wake him -  give him a glass of rum and a cigarette and his civilian clothes back - including his hat
• Guillotines were set up all over the nation in most towns - "scythe of equality"
• ***  First guillotine was built by a German harpsichord maker (Tobias Schmidt)
• ***  The guillotine was suggested by Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotine as a humane way to execute people.  Consequently it was named after him.  He did not die by the guillotine.  He died naturally in 1812 at age 76.  His family changed their name so as not to be associated with the executions.
• Nantes victims drowned
• ***  Quartering - tearing apart by 4 horses - one horse tied to each limb - executioner often needed to slice into the prisoners arm and leg joints when the horses became tired
• Lyons placed in a square and shot down with grapeshot
• About 50,000 were executed in the Terror - about 3,000 in Paris
• ***  At the height of the Terror, Sanson and his assistants guillotined 300 men and women in 3 days, 1,300 in 6 weeks, and between April 6,1793 and July 29, 1795, about 2,831 were guillotined ( from Rack, Rope and Red-Hot Pincers p. 214)
• ***  The head was steadied by the hair, or in cases of baldness by the ears.  The person holding the head faced a blood proof screen.
• ***  Some times the blade got dull and and had to raise and let fall several times to sever the head.
• ***  One man condemned to the guillotine was a scientist.  He believed the brain lived on after the head was severed.  He arranged with a friend to watch and see how many times he blinked before he died.  After his head was severed he blinked 17 times.
• ***  The nobles kept chefs.  When the revolutionists beheaded the nobles the chefs were out of work.  They began selling cooked food out of their own kitchens to make enough money to live.  This marked the beginning of the restaurant business.
• Marat was the most radical - "In order to insure public tranquility, 200,000 heads must be cut off."

By July 1794 the Committee had succeeded in driving back the foreign invaders - also the army had "liberated" the Austrian Netherlands and annexed it

Fear of the excesses of the Committee led the National Convention to act

• Marat had already been killed by Charlotte Corday - ***  she stabbed him in his bath (he suffered from a skin disease that was slowly putrefying his flesh and could only find relief in bathing) because she blamed him for the execution of her father - she was executed (description The Days of the French Revolution p. 213
• Robespierre had had Danton executed
• Robespierre was arrested and executed in July 1794 (description The Days of the French Revolution p. 265)
• Thermidorian Reaction swept Robespierre's supporters from power and to the scaffold (White Terror)

Legacy of Terror

• The Terror left a mark on the Revolution for both good and ill
• The democratic character of the Terror left such a mark that divine right monarchy could never be revived
• The concept of equality was set firmly in the minds of the lower classes
• Patriotism, even nationalism, had been unleashed and could not be contained
• French troops inspired by the call of the nation had conquered large new areas (Belgium, Italy, Switzerland)
• The violence done in the name of the Revolution had also discredited the Revolution in the eyes of many
• There was a permanent cleavage in French society
• Foreign admirers who had cheered the start of the Revolution had recoiled from the carnage
• There was a fear of a concentration of power which would haunt the next government

DIRECTORY

The Thermadorian Reaction unleashed a quick burst of violence against the supporters of the Terror and then a reaction against all extremism

Moderate members of the National Convention drafted a new constitution (the third since 1789) - power was back in the hands of the upper bourgeoisie

Directory was a 5 member board selected by the Convention to run the  government and 2 house legislature

• Corrupt and self serving
• The government was undermined due to the continual demands of the ongoing war in Europe - only the army's support kept the government in power
• Conscription riots actually forced the government to call in troops to subdue unrest - troops under the young General Napoleon Bonaparte quelled unrest
• Napoleon's victories in Italy and exploits in Egypt were the only bright spots for the Directory
• Failed to halt inflation
• In elections in 1797 pro-Bourbon candidates won - the army (Napoleon) had to be used to annul the people's vote
• Amid growing popular discontent the Directory became a victim of the fame of it's most famous personality - Napoleon
• 9 Brumair (November) 1799 Napoleon staged a coup d'etat

Napoleon

NAPOLEON

He was born in Corsica August 15, 1769

His father a lawyer who died of stomach cancer when Napoleon was 16

He had 4 brothers and 3 sisters

His mother had 13 children - 5 died

He went away to school at age 9 - Brienne

• Little is known
• Pupils rarely allowed to leave
• No vacations
• He was there for 5 years and never went home
• received modest pocket money from the king
• Given 2 uniforms a year
• Changed their linen (underwear) twice a week
• Forbidden to receive any gifts from the outside
• No classmates belonged to the nobility - but Napoleon was teased because he was not born in France
• His last year went to Ecole Militare (15 years old)
• He was trained as a royalist officer - graduated at 16 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in artillery in the army of Louis XVI

Physically - 5'2" tall - excessively thin - well muscled - fairly powerful

Early life took little care of his person - long ill-powdered hair - clothes and boots shabby - hands dirty

Bookish youth - excellent mathematician

Talkative - gregarious

Aroused genuine love and devotion - his veterans worshiped him - he could remember all their names

Worked hard - only slept 3 hours a night - napped

May have had epilepsy - passed out a few times

May have had gall stones

Had migraines, hemorrhoids - later years peptic ulcer

When the revolution broke out in 1789 Napoleon returned to Corsica to lead a revolt for independence - failed

1793 Napoleon rejoined the French military and supported the Jacobin's

• He received the rank of General in 1794 (only 25 years old) at the Battle of Toulon vs British
• He never could have advanced under the old system
• March 2. 1796 appointed Commander in Chief of the Army in Italy (27)

A week later (March 9) he married Josephine de Beauharnais - creole from West Indies - a widow she had been married to General Alexandre de Beauharnais - he had been executed 2 years before - Josephine had been imprisoned and then freed after Robespierre's downfall - had 2 children - son Eugene (future Viceroy of Italy) - daughter Hortense (future queen of Holland)

• 3 days after the wedding Napoleon left for Genoa

Directory

• Napoleon made his reputation as the leading military figure of the Directory

1797 - Italian Campaign

• drove the Austrians from Italy and established the puppet state of the Cisalpine Republic
• Ended with the Treaty of Campo Formio
• All but England stopped fighting
• The principles of the revolution were exported to a new area

1797 - National Elections

• The Directory lost to conservatives and royalists
• Napoleon feared conservatives would surrender the military conquests like Belgium and the Cisalpine Republic
• Napoleon used his army to forcibly annul the results

1798 - Egyptian Company

• Directory wanted to invade England
• Napoleon persuaded the government to launch an attack on the Ottoman ruled region of Egypt to disrupt English trade
• Egypt was strategically important to England as it was the "lifeline to India"
• Napoleon's army was able to seize Egypt with relative ease
• Battle of the Pyramids - lasted one hour - Napoleon only lost 30 men - Egypt lost 500 - 600 men
• Holding it was the hard part - he was dependent on getting supplies from France - by sea
• Napoleon brought scientists with him who undertook the first extensive examination of ancient Egyptian culture or Egyptology
• Found the Rosetta Stone in Rosetta, Egypt
• ***  Eventually the Rosetta Stone was deciphered by a French scholar Jean Champolion.  Many scholars had tried to decipher it and none had succeeded.  Champolion was a language wizard.  He could learn a new language in 4 weeks.  If I remember correctly he spoke 13 languages.  He deciphered the stone in 6 weeks.
• 1798 - Battle of the Nile the British Royal Navy under the leadership of Lord Horatio Nelson defeated the French fleet leaving the French trapped
• Black plague broke out
• Enemies rising up in Europe
• Napoleon left his army and returned to France - knew a coup was imminent

In 1799 Napoleon was the leading military figure in France - several leading figures approached him about the possibility of leading a coup

9 Brumair 1799 - Napoleon (30 years old) seized power without opposition (no bullets fired) - overthrew the Directory

The French Revolution is over

Napoleon

NAPOLEON

He was born in Corsica August 15, 1769

His father a lawyer who died of stomach cancer when Napoleon was 16

He had 4 brothers and 3 sisters

His mother had 13 children - 5 died

He went away to school at age 9 - Brienne

• Little is known
• Pupils rarely allowed to leave
• No vacations
• He was there for 5 years and never went home
• received modest pocket money from the king
• Given 2 uniforms a year
• Changed their linen (underwear) twice a week
• Forbidden to receive any gifts from the outside
• No classmates belonged to the nobility - but Napoleon was teased because he was not born in France
• His last year went to Ecole Militare (15 years old)
• He was trained as a royalist officer - graduated at 16 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in artillery in the army of Louis XVI

Physically - 5'2" tall - excessively thin - well muscled - fairly powerful

• ***  His height is given in French measurement.  In English measurement he is 5' 6.5" which was actually a little above average for men in this time period.

Early life took little care of his person - long ill-powdered hair - clothes and boots shabby - hands dirty

Bookish youth - excellent mathematician

Talkative - gregarious

Aroused genuine love and devotion - his veterans worshiped him - he could remember all their names

Worked hard - only slept 3 hours a night - napped

May have had epilepsy - passed out a few times

May have had gall stones

Had migraines, hemorrhoids - later years peptic ulcer

When the revolution broke out in 1789 Napoleon returned to Corsica to lead a revolt for independence - failed

1793 Napoleon rejoined the French military and supported the Jacobins

• He received the rank of Generalin 1794 (only 25 years old) at the Battle of Toulon vs British
• He never could have advanced under the old system
• March 2. 1796 appointed Commander in Chief of the Army in Italy (27)

A week later (March 9) he married Josephine de Beauharnais -creole from West Indies - a widow she had been married to General Alexandre de Beauharnais - he had been executed 2 years before - Josephine had been imprisoned and then freed after Robespierre's downfall - had 2 children - son Eugene (future Viceroy of Italy) - daughter Hortense (future queen of Holland)

• 3 days after the wedding Napoleon left for Genoa

Directory

• Napoleon made his reputation as the leading military figure of the Directory

1797 - Italian Campaign

• drove the Austrians from Italy and established the puppet state of the Cisalpine Republic
• Ended with the Treaty of Campo Formio
• All but England stopped fighting
• The principles of the revolution were exported to a new area

1797 - National Elections

• The Directory lost to conservatives and royalists
• Napoleon feared conservatives would surrender the military conquests like Belgium and the Cisalpine Republic
• Napoleon used his army to forcibly annul the results

1798 - Egyptian Company

• Directory wanted to invade England
• Napoleon persuaded the government to launch an attack on the Ottoman ruled region of Egypt to disrupt English trade
• Egypt was strategically important to England as it was the "lifeline to India"
• Napoleon's army was able to seize Egypt with relative ease
• Battle of the Pyramids - lasted one hour - Napoleon only lost 30 men - Egypt lost 500 - 600 men
• Holding it was the hard part - he was dependent on getting supplies from France - by sea
• Napoleon brought scientists with him who undertook the first extensive examination of ancient Egyptian culture or Egyptology
• Found the Rosetta Stone in Rosetta, Egypt
• ***  Eventually the Rosetta Stone was deciphered by a French scholar Jean Champolion.  Many scholars had tried to decipher it and none had succeeded.  Champolion was a language wizard.  He could learn a new language in 4 weeks.  If I remember correctly he spoke 13 languages.  He deciphered the stone in 6 weeks.
• 1798 - Battle of the Nile the British Royal Navy under the leadership of Lord Horatio Nelson defeated the French fleet leaving the French trapped
• Black plague broke out
• Enemies rising up in Europe
• Napoleon left his army and returned to France - knew a coup was imminent

In 1799 Napoleon was the leading military figure in France - several leading figures approached him about the possibility of leading a coup

9 Brumair 1799 - Napoleon (30 years old) seized power without opposition (no bullets fired) - overthrew the Directory

The French Revolution is over

CONSULATE - new constitution - 1799-1804

Napoleon is a military dictator

• First Consul - Napoleon
• Second Consul - Abbe Sieye
• Third Consul - Tallyrand - statesman
• In reality all decisions were made by the first Consul - he appointed all officials

Napoleon created an enlightened government

• All positions in society were based on merit - "In every corporal's hand can rest a general's baton."
• Equal taxes - efficiently collected
• Bank of France created in 1800 - introduced a sound currency - the Franc
• Invited back emigres who would swear loyalty to Napoleon - over 100,000 returned
• Universal manhood suffrage - but, only powerless assemblies
• Negotiated a Concordat with the Churchin 1801 - the Church recognized the loss of its' porperty - the Church recognized Napoleon as the legitimate ruler of France - Napoleon accepted Catholicism as the official faith of France
• Developed the Code Napoleon - a logical, systematic code of laws for the nation - paternalistic - promise of judicial equality - guilty until proved innocent
• ***  This will become his one lasting major contribution to history because it was spread to all the countries he conquered.
• Sold Louisiana to the United States - 1803 - needed money - sold it for $15 million - averages $ .03 1/2 per acre
• In 1802 Napoleon conducted a plebiscite asking if the French desired him to assume the title of First Consul for Life - "Confidence from below, authority from above." - results:  yes 3,011,007 - no  1,562

But - very despotic

• Napoleon created a secret police to monitor his enemies - Joseph Fouche: Minister of the Police - enemies were sent to insane asylums
• Strict censorship of the media - the number of newspapers was reduced from 73 to 4
• Very Macciavellian when dealing with his rivals - after an assassination attempt on December 24, 1800 he arrested several leading Jacobins and had them exiled - even though he knew that the actual assassins were royalists - Jacobins were a bigger threat
• Napoleon's  philosophy of government - "My government is based on three forces, my policemen, my officials, and my priests."

FIRST EMPIRE

By 1803 Napoleon felt secure enough to announce his intentions to assume the title of Emperor of the French - height of his personal power - 36 years old

Staged and elaborate coronation in December 1804

Pope Pius VII was summoned to Rome to officiate

Napoleon crowned himself - then placed the crown on the head of his wife Josephine

***  Although Napoleon reportedly bathed daily, history records he insisted the Josephine not do so

The revolution had come full circle

He would be emperor 10 years

Napoleons "empire" included not just France, but also Belgium, Holland, the western parts of Germany, northern Italy, and Rome

NAPOLEON'S WARS

Napoleon will be at continuous war with his neighbors (most of Europe) - only in 1802 does he get a brief respite

Grand Coalition - Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain (only Britain will never ally with him)

Conquests

• Battle of Austerlitz (1805) - Austria - defeated the combined armies of both Austria and Russia - this battle makes Napoleon master of Europe
• England, Austria, Russia and Sweden form a coalition
• Battle of Jena (1806) - defeated the Prussians - exceedingly savage with the Prussians
• Battle of Friedland (1807) - defeated Russia
• Persuaded Tsar Alexander I to sign the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 - Napoleon will be Emperor of the West - Alexander will be Emperor of the East

Setbacks

• Battle of Trafalgar (October 21, 1805) - gave British control of the sea - blockade - Royal Navy under Lord Nelson destroyed the French fleet off the coast of Spain while not losing a single ship - he used the maneuver called "crossing the T" for the first time - it decimated the French fleet - last great battle fought by sailing ships - changed style of warfare (this maneuver is still taught in war colleges) - the remains of the French fleet retreated to port and never returned to sea
• ***  Lord Nelson was shot by a sniper - broke his spine - he lived for 3 hours - he knew he was dying and asked to be buried in England - his body was shipped back to England in a cask of rum - the cask started out full and it arrived empty - the sailors did not want to give up their rum
• Peninsular War  (1808 - 1814) - lasted 6 years - Napoleon attacked Spain to get to Portugal, an English ally - he installed his brother, Joseph, as King of Spain - the Spanish aggressively resisted, with the assistance of the British - guerrilla resistance - the unrest in Spain tied down thousands of troops and the French could not bring the war to a successful conclusion - massacres - memorialized by the paintings of Goya ( The 5th of May) - the occupation of Spain provoked a series of rebellions in the Spanish colonies in the New World

Britain

• The British were the one power that Napoleon could not reach an understanding with

By 1807 Napoleon had conquered the continent - established "satellite" states

• Spain under his brother Joseph - earlier king of Naples
• Holland under his brother Louis
• Westphalia under his brother Jerome
• Italy under his stepson Eugene
• Switzerland under his personal control
• Naples under his brother in law - General Murat - husband of his sister Caroline
• Friendly revolutionary governments in the Confederation of the Rhine and in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw
• He also had formed alliances with the Austrians, Prussians, Russia, Swedes and Danes

He divorced Josephine because she could not bear him a child - ***  Rumor has it she had and abortion that damaged her.

In 1810 he married the daughter of the Austrian Emperor - Francis I - a niece of Marie Antoinette - Napoleon was 40 - Archduchess Marie Louise was 18 - she bore him a son in 1811 - his son was named King of Rome (Napoleon II) - Named him Napoleon Francis Charles Joseph

Only England continued to resist

In 1807 Napoleon issued the Berlin Decrees - all of Europe agreed to cease all trading with Britain - Napoleon hoped this would spark workers riots in Britain and bring the government to it's knees

Continental System - blockade against British goods to protect French merchants on the continent - not successful

Britain's response was to announce a blockade of the continent

The British captured new foreign markets

This rivalry will pull in the United States in the War of 1812 - goals never clear - impressing seamen - battles around the Great Lakes, D.C. and at sea

Portugal's resistance will provoke the Peninsular War

By 1812 several nation were violating the Continental System - especially Russia

Russian Campaign

• Napoleon felt that he must stop the Russian violations or the system would collapse - also fighting over conquered land
• Alexander I would not heed his warnings
• Napoleon tired to wed the tzar's sister - denied - infuriated him
• In June 1812 Napoleon invaded
• Grand Armee- 600,000 - Russia had about 250,000 - Napoleon's armee mostly German conscripts - troops carried only a 3 week supply of food - Napoleon expected a quick, decisive battle and that the troops would live off the land - 150,000 deserted on the way to Russia
• At first things went well
• Reached Poland - it was filthy dirty - peasants unwashed, foul matted hair, lousy and flea ridden hovels full of insects - hot and water hard to come by and thick with organic matter - supply train lagged behind - food scarce - soldiers pillaged cottages, livestock and fields - 20,000 horsed died from lack of water - hunger and bad water caused dysentery and fevers
• Typhusfever hit - disease of dirt carried by lice - cause unknown - lack of water and clean clothing made bodily cleanliness impossible - by 1st battle (3rd week in July) 80,000 dead or too ill to fight
• Russians withdrew and the French marched further into Russia - Russians used the "scorched earth" policy
• August 25 striking force 160,000 men by September 5 had 130,000 remaining
• Battle of Borodino- in Russia - Napoleon sick - attack of cystitis - inflammation of the bladder - bad cold - lost between 28-30,000 men in the battle - ***  Napoleon's surgeon (Baron Dominique Jean Larrey) performed 200 amputation in the 24 hours immediately following the battle.  That's an amputation every 7 minutes 12 seconds.
• Russia allowed the French to march unopposed to Moscow - destroyed everything in their path
• Army now 100,000 lost 10,000 the week of September 7 - 10
• Moscow- again the Czar retreated and would not negotiate - population of Moscow 300,000 - when Napoleon reached it the population was down to 50,000 - fires broke out - no fire engines - 3/4 of Moscow destroyed - this left the Grand Armee without shelter and all the civilians in Napoleon's care - typhus spread - moral low - soldiers plundered and drank
• Abnormally warm autumn
• Napoleon felt winter wouldn't be worse than in France - MISTAKE
• For 5 weeks Napoleon remained in Moscow waiting for the Tsar to begin negotiations. 
• Finally in late October he began the long retreat back to Europe

Retreat - in Russia 4 months before leaving - began October 19

• Bitter cold winter temperatures
• Lost 10,000 from disease and wounds
• Had just over 95,000 dirty, 1/2 starved, unhealthy men
• Cold became intense (-30 degrees) and snow started November 5
• Foraging almost impossible because of Cossacks and guerrillas
• Russians harassed the retreating troops and forced them to march northwest rather than to the south
• No preparation for winter
• Horses not properly shod
• Went to Smolensk where reserves were
• They had no food and almost 20,000 were sick
• Left Smolensk November 13 - left sick behind (20,000)
• Headed for next supply base in Minsk - it had fallen to the enemy
• Russia closing on either side - only 50,000 men able to continue
• Army degenerated into an undisciplined rabble
• 15,000 died between Beresina and Vilna
• ***  It was so cold that the horses skin froze on the outside even though they were walking - the soldiers would cut meat off the horses flanks and they would not even feel it - because it was so cold the blood would clot immediately 
• Reached Vilna on December 8
• Only 20,000 in effective force - rest stragglers - harried by Cossack patrols
• Starving and frozen
• Men suffering from typhus fever, dysentery and pneumonia lay on rotten straw soaked in their own excrement
• No medical attention or warmth
• So hungry gnawed leather or human flesh
• By the end of Dec. over 25,000 sick and frost bitten men had struggled into town (Vilna)
• Less then 3,000 alive in June, 1813
• Napoleon heard of an attempt to take over the government in France
• News of defeat had sparked uprisings all over Europe
• Napoleon raced back to France and raised a new army.  All of his former allies and enemies united for the first time to an alliance against the French
• Austrians, Prussians, Russians joined in an attack from the east
• British, Portuguese, and Spanish forces moved north from Spain
• Saved himself but not his army
• The Army retreated from Vilna Dec. 10 - less then 40,000 (10%) of the men reached Germany - over 100,000 left as prisoners
• Only 1,000 ever fit for duty again
• Dec. 1812 and July 1813 gathered 470,000 men - army superior in numbers but poor in quality - raw recruits - more susceptible to campaign disease than seasoned veterans
• 1813 - 1814 Nearly all of Europe rose against him - he won a couple of battles (Lutzen, Bautzen) but had troubles during major battles with stomach pain and vomiting
• France began to lose battles
• Napoleon's big defeat came at the Battle of Nations (October 16-19, 1813)

Battle of Nations - at Lepzig (in present day Germany)

• 1st day(16th) French surrounded - disorganized attack - petered out at noon
• French counter attack - drive back allies viciously
• By nightfall the French have the advantage
• 2nd day - little fighting
• Napoleon withdraws 175,000 troops into Leipzig perimeter
• 3rd day - massive attack - 9 hours of murderous assaults - gain little ground
• During the night and early morning Napoleon withdraws
• Battered French army retreated south west toward Frankfort
• Followed by allied armies
• French lost 38,000 killed - 15,000 prisoners - 15,000 wounded
• Allies lost +52,000

March 1814 the Allies (British, Russians, Prussians, Austrians) entered Paris

April 1814 Napoleon abdicatedhis throne - he attempted suicide probably by strychnine (April12)

Josephine died in May 1814

His wife,Marie-Louise von Hapsburg and his son fled to Austria

• The son became the Duke of Reichstadt - ***  he died at 21 of tuberculosis
• Marie given a little Italian duchy - never saw Napoleon again
• After 100 days she formed a liaison with the Austrian officer appointed to watch over her
• She eventually married him secretly without waiting for Napoleon's death

CONGRESS OF VIENNA

1814 - 1815

The victors gathered to decide the fate of France and the future of Europe

Met in Vienna for several months

• Austria     Prince Metternich - Prime Minister of Austria - conservative - opposed to liberalism and nationalism - felt their job was to restore order - disregarded wishes of the people in the countries
• Prussia     Kaiser Frederick William III
• Russia     Tsar Alexander I
• Britain     Lord Castlereagh
• France     Tallyrand

Decisions

• Dominating theme at Vienna was Legitimacy and Restoration - (Conservative)
• Napoleon was exiled to Elba - given $2 million francs a year - guard of 400 men
• France was restored to it's pre-revolutionary borders
• Very small reparations
• The Bourbon dynasty was restored - Louis XVIII (1814 - 1824) - uncle of Louis XVII - legitimate - moderate
• The Kingdom of the Netherlands was recreated and given control of the old Austrian Netherlands - the British hoped to create a strong buffer state against France
• Bourbons were restored in both Spain and Naples
• The Papal States were restored
• Switzerland was restored to it's independent state
• Fierce arguments ensued about the future of Poland - not resolved
• The Polish question had the victors in Vienna quarreling bitterly - there were even threats of war

Napoleon in his exile plotted to return to power

HUNDRED DAYS

On March 1, 1815 Napoleon snuck back to France - landed at Antibes - began 100 Days

Ill-health almost brought the venture to an end

• Hemorrhoids became excruciatingly painful
• To walk agonizing
• To rid a horse unthinkable
• Went by carriage
• Lasted only 2 days then he could go on

He was greeted by popular support

• In a proclamation to the nation he sought support
• "Victory will march at full speed, you will be the liberators of your country."
• When Louis XVIII sent troops to arrest Napoleon he confronted the familiar officers and won their support
• Louis fled the country
• Napoleon quickly raised an army - 124,000 men
• Asked the Congress of Vienna to accept his as ruler and promised only peace
• The Allies quickly responded by raising an army

Waterloo

• In Belgium
• 12 miles from Brussels
• On June 18, 1815
• Napoleon met the British Army under the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley)
• ***  The Duke of Wellington nearly missed the battle when one of his corset stays snapped
• ***  In 1815, Britain made up a sample to show its army recruits how to fill out a certain form.  They put a generic name on it, "Tommy Atkins."  From that, the British soldier came to be called a "Tommy."
• Napoleon had been in the saddle the whole day of June 17 - completely worn out - hemorrhoids agonizingly painful - sleepless through out the night (17 - 18) - didn't get up until 8am - not until 11am did he order his general (Grouchy) to pursue the Prussians but contact had been lost - sent him in the wrong direction
• By the time Napoleon assumed command he had lost the chance to inflict a decisive defeat
• Still very nearly won

Battle - 70,000 French vs. 70,000 Allies (24,000 British - 44,000 Dutch, Belgium's and Germans)

• Fought all day long
• Napoleon attacked the English wings
• Compelled Wellington to send reinforcements
• Weakened center
• Then Napoleon concentrated the best troops on the center
• Just as the charge was ready to begin the Prussian troops, under Baron von Blucher (33,000 men) arrived and overwhelmed the exhausted French
• Troops for the center had to be turned against them
• Flower of French cavalry charged the English center
• Invisible ditch between them
• Those in front fell - made a bridge of living bodies for the others to ride over
• Weakened forces - couldn't break English lines
• More Prussian troops arrived
• One last hopeless charge by the French into devastating artillery fire
• Wellington declared a victory and the whole English line advanced by 8pm
• The French were swept from the field in disorderly flight - retreated toward Paris
• Napoleon lose 26,000 killed and wounded, 9,000 captured, 9,000 missing
• Allies lost 22,000
• Marshall Ney (neigh) had 5 horses shot from under him without a wound - personally led several assaults
• Napoleon tried to force his way to the English line - officers surrounded him and forced him to flee to Paris
• On June 22, 1815 Napoleon abdicated again - in favor of his son - ***  The boy was never strong.  He died of T.B. at 21, July 22, 1832
• French ignored him
• Allies entered Paris July 7
• Napoleon eventually surrendered to the captain of an English ship, the Bellerophon - taken to Plymouth harbor - remained on board until his fate decided
• Louis XVIII - restored to throne
• Ney later court-marshaled and shot because he had sworn allegiance to Louis and then returned to fight with Napoleon

Napoleon exiled to St Helena in the South Atlantic - guarded by the British - governor Sir Hudson Low - harsh and insulting treatment

Death - 6 years later on May 5, 1821 - 52 years old

• Terminal illness lasted 6 months - nausea, chills, weakness
• Had cancer (ulcer) of the stomach, which had pierced the walls - hole large enough to admit a finger
• Allegations of poison were made
• Napoleon in his will had ordered his head shaved and locks of his hair given to his followers
• In 1960 it was reported traces of arsenic were present in the hair - it is believed his wine had been poisoned - for more information read The Murder of Napoleon by Ben Weider and David Hapgood - this is and old book there are probably more recent studies done as technology has improved

His fall began when his health and judgment started to fail

His Grand Armee was destroyed by his impatience and by ill-luck of encountering typhus fever - never recovered the destruction of that army

December 15, 1840 - body taken to Paris

"Such work as mine is not done twice in a century.  I have saved the revolution as it lay dying.  I have cleansed it of its crimes, and have held it up to the people shining with fame.  I have inspired France and Europe with new ideas that will never be forgotten."

Summary

• Early power struggles in France resulted in absolute monarchy - model for the rest of continent - reign of Louis XIV set pattern for European thought
• Monarchy restored - Louis XVIII (1814 - 1824) - uncle of Louis XVII - (Louis XVII in name only 1793 - 1795 , this is the boy that died in the hands of the revolution) - Charles X (1824 - 1830) - Louis Philippe (1830 - 1848) violence - abdicated within 24 hours - went into exile
• Second Republic Louis Napoleon (nephew of Napoleon), elected President 1848 - 1852 - the son of Louis Bonaparte brother of Napoleon and king of Holland
• Second Empire - Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon)  1852 - 1870

Other European monarchs

• England- Parliament checked kings by the end of the 18th century - had a constitutional monarchy with guarantees of personal freedom
• America- Principles of Enlightenment 1st put into practice
• French - revolution helped destroy idea of divine right of kings to govern countries as their private property - Napoleon spread liberal principles, progressive laws and encouraged enlightened rule - this is considered his greatest contribution (The Napoleonic Code)

This is the end of the material taught in the 10th grade.  What follows will be 6th grade material.

Early Man - Beginning of the 6th grade material

This is the beginning of the material for the 6th grade in California. 

A note about this information.  These notes were created before the present state framework was put in place.  That framework split the 7th grade curriculum into the 6th and 7th grades and expanded it to cover around the world.  At that time when I was teaching 7th grade. I had to cover the Cave Men to World War II.  This same area was later covered in high school in more depth. 

I felt my job in 7th grade was to expose the students to the history, the vocabulary, and make them familiar with the events in each time frame.  I wanted to get them excited about history!  (I'm sorry to say that many of them came to me only knowing history as reading the chapter and answering the questions at the end.)  Consequently, you may find this is lacking in historical depth and you are right.  If you are a teacher you will probably want to add more information when you present this material.  You have twice the time to cover the material that I did.  You MUST do a good job of it because it will not be covered again in high school.   Yours is the only exposure the students get to this material!  I know you care or you wouldn't be spending you time looking at this blog.  I wish you the best and I hope everyone who is reading this comes to love history as much as I do!

History shows what man was, what he has become and what he has accomplished for a better knowledge of the present

Earth - 4 1/2 billion years old

Life - 2 billion years old

Primitive Man - hard to trace

• Ages named by tools used
• Java Man - 1/2 million years old - brain 1/2 the size of humans today
• Peking Man - larger brain
• Lucy - skeleton found by Louis B. Leaky - 1959 - 1.75 million years old
• 1972 - Richard Leaky found a skull 2,600,000 years old
• Note:  It's very possible there are more current discoveries since I created these notes.
• Homo erectus - erect man - died out
• Homo sapients - wise man - larger brain - today
• Neanderthal Man - early homo sapien - extinct - used tools, fire, buried dead - ***  Named after the Neander River in Germany
• Paleolithic man - Old Stone Age (500,000 BC - 8,000 BC) - better tools - religious beliefs - built homes
• Mesolithic Man - Middle Stone Age (about 8,000 BC to 4500 BC)- variety of food - religion - dogs domesticated - tools and weapons - better and more variety - still depended on nature for food
• ***  Look closely at the next child you see who stands less than 5 feet tall and weighs about 85 pounds.  That was the typical size of earliest man.
• ***  It is believed that women dipped their hands in animal blood to show that their mate was a good hunter.  This is thought to be the beginning of nail polish.

Agricultural Revolution - about 7800 BC

• Discovered at different times in different places
• Different crops in different parts of the world
• Pretty sure it was Mesolithic man
• Used very simple methods
• Small scale - women farmed
• Men hunted - hunting more difficult - men joined the women

Domesticated animals

Farming improved

• Limited movement
• Soil lost richness - group moved - discovered fertilizer
• Man begins to live longer
• Primitive fertilizer needed a long time
• Developed fallowing process - allowed parts to not be farmed each year
• Animals pulled plows
• Women had more time - to weave - very little cloth making till this time

Neolithic Culture

• Speech - developed along with brain - gestures - sounds - could pass on knowledge
• Religion - combination of superstition and magic - reverence for nature - cannibalism
• Division of Labor - all adults had special jobs
• Shamans - witch doctors - trained in healing practices - early priests probably magicians - agent between man and gods - leader in community
• Toolmaking - flint - knives, arrowheads - to brittle for larger weapons - polished stone tools, axes, knives
• Cooking became more complex - needed better containers - had baskets covered with clay - pottery created
• Homes formerly made of wood now began to be make of clay
• Products - clay house with hinged doors - pottery - bracelets - vases - wigs - sense of personal property - canals - temples (indicated math and measurement of time) - sailboats - cemeteries as we know them
• Writing - pictographs - 3550 BC - Middle East
• Transportation - legs - carriage man's back - logs - placed on top and rolled along - led to the wheel - carts - oxen or goats - later horses (A note about horses:  They were not as big and as strong as they are today.  For example the Egyptians used chariots because most of the horses backs were not strong enough to carry them.) - used rivers and waterways - rafts - later sails - extended range of activity - trade - learned from others
• Mining - needed far stronger tools and weapons - smelting - to separate metals - copper and tin - combined the two and made bronze - marked beginning of civilization

What is civilization?

• Around 3000 BC
• High degree of social organization
• Different skills demanded
• Chief or King - political leader
• Priest - spiritual leader
• Shamans - helped the sick
• Farmers - to work fields
• Craftmen - tools, potter, houses and clothing
• Merchants - trade
• Developed writing
• Expanded knowledge
• Developed arts, religion, moral codes  ***  The only moral code common to all societies then or now is a rule on incest, and it is not always the same rule.
• Solutions to basic problem of food, clothing, shelter

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia - means "land between the rivers"

Fertile Crescent

• Climate - summers long, hot and dry - winter - mild and rainy - melting snow kept streams flowing

Between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Flatland - no natural protection - had trees

Urban revolution - farm centered to city centered - produced advantages that changed a culture to a civilization

Bronze - in order to make called for organization

Sumer (SOO-mur) - about 3500 BC  until 2350 BC

• First known center of civilization
• Invented the wheel for transportation
• Reached highest point during 3000 BC - lasted another 1000 years
• First time new ideas developed in urban centers
• Near mouth of Tigris and Euphrates rivers (southern Mesopotamia - cities separate         city-states)
• First to use irrigation in dry seasons
• Had surplus crops - not everyone had to be a farmer
• Developed specialists - builders - potters - religious leaders - metal workers - weavers - soldiers - doctors - writers - merchants - boat builders
• With the rivers the land fertile from silt that was left
• Sumerians developed canals - complicated and long
• Invented the sailboat for rivers and sea
• Trade - abundant crops - allowed trade bartering - goods traded for goods - no natural copper,stone or timber so it was imported - money not used until 800 BC
• Sent caravans across the desert
• Trade became complicated therefore needed records - invented earliest forms of writing - basis for most later writing

Religion

• Decided all forces of nature alive - sun, rain, wind, etc.
• Worshiped many of them - more than 3000 gods
• Beginning only male gods - later both male and female gods
• Humans created to be servants of gods
• Believed gods controlled everything
• Carved statues of the gods from stone
• Gods looked and acted like humans
• Obeyed the priests - make the people work hard and long
• Temples owned city land
• Priests collected taxes - were the richest men in the city
• Each city had it's own special god - believed it owned the city, land, people
• Temple to honor god was largest and most important building in the city - ziggurat - meant hill of heaven (mountain of god) - some over 70' high - base 100' square
• Had mass graves - when the rulers died the court died with them

Social structure

• King
• Priests
• Nobles
• Middle class - government officials - craftsmen - shopkeepers
• Lower - sailors - fishermen - farmers
• Slaves - mostly women

Families

• Man only had one wife - he was head of household - could sell his wife and children into slavery for as long as 3 years
• Women could own property - carry on business - own slaves and sell slaves - if husband away she could run his affairs unless she had a grown son
• Children had to obey all the older members of the family - could be sold as slaves - parents arranged marriages - marriage took place when a clay marriage tablet was made and signed before witnesses

Schools

• Called edubbas (def. tablet houses )
• Often in temples
• Only sons of rich attended
• Mainly to teach writing - memorized about 600 world signs
• Attended sunrise to sunset
• Learned to write by copying lines over and over
• No special activities
• Little or no class discussion
• Work the same day after day
• Later in time taught other subjects
• School principal was the ummia (u me a) - def. school father - also "a man in charge of the whip"

Decline

• Irrigation carried salt in water and left it in the soil - then crops wouldn't grow
• As cities grew became close fighting began over boundaries, water rights
• Not well organized for war - had no experience fighting
• Created military leaders - replaced priests as kings - became stronger than the temple
• Wars long and hard
• Soldiers wore copper helmets and leather kilts - some fought from donkey drawn carts - used spears, swords and shields
• Winning army often killed its prisoners or made them slaves
• Surrounded by barbarians who attacked and robbed their cities

Akkad 2300 - 2200 BC

• Sargon I - about 2300 BC - began moving south conquering cities one by one (Sumer)
• Created world first empire
• Ruled more than 50 years
• Ruins have never been found
• Eventually invaded from east than west by  Babylon and Babylon took over

Babylon Empire  - about 2000 BC to 1575 BC

• Chaldeans called themselves Babylonians
• Spread slowly - eventually held most of Mesopotamia
• Capital - Babylon - means "gate of god" - called Babel in the Bible - protected by thick walls - actually 2 walls each 10' thick - 2 chariots could drive side by side between them - also grew crops between the walls
• Houses also had walls 10' thick ( made with bricks)
• Developed trade - market place busy - weavers famous - potters highly skilled - needed records for trade - invented pound and ounce - ***  Used the kings foot as a measure of length.  Divided it into 12".
• Great builders - no stone in southern Mesopotamia - brick makers - invented dome and arch
• Huge zigguret - over 300' high - thought to be the Tower of Babel in the Bible
• Nebuchadnezzar - built hanging gardens of Babylon - considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
• Hammuabi (1728 - 1686 BC)- most famous king - ruled 46 years - beginning about 1750BC - expanded empire capturing cities - unified laws - Code of Hammurabi - not the first laws - 3 before - written on clay tablets - (These tablets can be seen in the Louve in Paris) - eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth - no prisons - earliest attempt to govern all people in the kingdom
• Story of Gilgamesh - like Noah's Ark in the Bible
• Later crops poor - trade slow
• 539 BC conquered by Persians

Egypt

• EGYPT

***  According to an ancient Egyptian legend, God sneezed and the world was born.  Then a goddess in heaven cried,  Her tears splashing down to earth in a stream formed the Nile.

***  3000 BC to 2501 BC - First reports of domesticated dogs in Egypt.

***  Rosetta Stone - Found in 1799 by Napoleon's scientists in Rosetta Egypt (hence the name) - 3' 9" long by 2' 4" wide by 11" thick - Public notice to commemorate the coronation of King Ptolemy V and his piety and generosity during his first 9 years of reign (196 BC) - gifts of corn and money to priests - forgiveness of debts owed by commoners to his government - reduction of taxes - conquests of enemies of Egypt - rebuilding of ruined shrines and sacred buildings.  Was written in 3 languages hieroglyphics, demotic (di-MOT-ik), a short hand hieroglyphics - and Greek - it was deciphered in 1821

Early civilizations needed rivers for farming, fishing and transportation

Egypt relatively free from fear of attack

Did not have much contact with other peoples

Upper Nile floods once a year - begins in late June or early July and ends in Oct. or Nov. - leaves behind rich black silt - only source of fertile soil in the land

Devised canals to water crops and used catch basins to hold water - shadoof refilled them

Wheat and barley main crops - also grapes, vegetables and flax

Hunted - the rich got the meat - ***  Used cats as retrievers in the swampy areas

No forests - wood rare and expensive - had to be imported

Poor ate mostly bread, vegetables and fish

*** Honey was used as an embalming fluid.  The only known sweetening agent in Biblical times to the Middle Ages, when sugar was first accessible on European druggists shelves it was as a costly medicinal.

Villages remained independent and generally peaceful for a 1000 year period

Life became more complex and population increased

Ruler of each village became its king

Menes(MEE-neez) - 3100 BC

• Capable ruler - king of Upper Egypt
• 3100 BC invaded Lower Egypt and conquered it
• Moved the capital north to Memphis
• United Upper and Lower Egypt - married a princess from Lower Egypt
• Started first dynasty - 30 to follow over 3000 year period - his lasted about 150 years

Early people believed the land belonged to the gods

Pharaohs living representatives of gods - absolute rulers - all power royal and religious

Had officials who helped rule

• Vizier (prime minister) advised on problems within Egypt
• Chief treasurer
• Chief tax collector
• Minister of public works (builder)
• General-in-chief
• Governors - had 42 provinces in Egypt

Taxes collected in goods - paid 1/5 total produce - expected to help on building projects and to serve in the army during wars

Economy

• Based on agriculture
• Most free people farmers
• Wealth of Egypt great
• Huge surpluses of harvest

Family Life

• Great affection for children
• Husband ruled at beginning - later women gained equal rank - could own property and buy and sell goods
• Eldest sons usually inherited largest share of estate
• Daughters could also inherit property
• Food - average man - barley bread, fish, vegetables and beer
• Holidays - fruit, meat and wine
• Wealthy - beef, veal, antelope, gazelle, fruits, honeyed sweetmeats, several kinds of bread and cakes
• ***  The Egyptian grooms were the first to give wedding rings to their brides.  In hieroglyphics the circle represented eternity and the wedding ring supposedly did likewise

Farmers

• Raised many animals - chickens, pigs, goats, cattle, donkeys, ducks and sheep
• 2 or 3 crops a year
• Life hard
• After taxes and rent not much left
• Lived in mud huts and wore rough clothing
• Worked every day
• Had little leisure

Craftsmen

• Pottery making, weaving, leather making, coppersmiths, jewelers, etc.
• Added wealth to state

Merchants - Nile made trade easy

Slaves

• Lowest level of society
• Usually prisoners of war
• Had no rights or freedom
• Did every kind of work
• Life hard
• Thousands died building pyramids (Note:  The historians are now questioning this premise and thinking possibly the work was done by free men.)

Religion

• Center of everything Egypt produced, invented and achieved
• Many gods
• Everything that happened caused by them
• Also caused every human activity from birth to death
• Osiris believed to have the power to raise anyone from death to life
• Encouraged strong belief in the afterlife - one of the first to do this
• Egyptians believed when a man died he joined Osiris in the next world where spirit and body would be united - therefore need body preserved for eternal happiness
• ***  A chemical called natron was used to cover the body to draw out the water - caused the body to shrink
• ***  When a mummy was wrapped each toe was wrapped individually.
• Buried things to accompany dead on their long journey
• Tombs usually built of bricks - sometimes cut into a mountain - lower classes buried in sandy earth - dry climate helped preserve the bodies.
• ***  When the British controlled Egypt they used mummies to fuel their trains because so many of them were available and they were very flammable.
• Pharaohs began preparing for death the moment they took office
• ***  Much of what we know about the tombs is because the tomb of King Tut'ankhaten(1333 - 1323 BC).  He came to the throne at about 7.  His tomb was discovered in 1922 by English Egyptologist Howard Carter.  It took 8 years to record and remove the hundreds of rich furnishings in 4 small chambers.  He was 5' 6" tall.  Before this find all other tombs that had been discovered had been looted.  Using the clothing left for him in the tomb archaeologists estimate him having a 31" chest, 29" waist, and 43" hips.  This is validated by the pictures of him on the walls which were once thought to be stylized.  They have also found that he had a broken left leg and believe that he died from the infection of that leg.
• Pyramid of Khufu - 5000 years old - covers 13 acres - Great Pyramid - near Giza - bottom square - 250 yards long - north of Memphis - blocks cut to a precise size - loaded them on barges - carried down the Nile - put on sleds - pulled to building site - nearly 500 feet tall (481 feet) - said to have take 100,000 workers 20 years to build - ***  This is the pyramid pictured on the back of a dollar bill
• Sphinx - represents the god Horus - guarded temples and tombs - Great Sphinx in Giza - 240' long by 70' high - 5000 years old
• Science - interested more in practical knowledge - calendar - developed the 365 day year - when would the Nile overflow?
• Land surveying - to reestablish borders after floods
• Astronomy - priests recorded movement of stars
• Medicine - best in the ancient world - sewed up wounds (no pain killers!) - used splints, bandages and compresses - setting and splinting bones
• Egypt influenced architecture, sculpture, science, medicine and learning
• Great influence on Greeks and Romans

HISTORY

Old Kingdom (2700 - 2050 BC)

• Called Age of the Pyramids
• Kings dictators
• Greatest accomplishments in art and architecture - built more than 20 major pyramids - near Giza - all able bodied men had to work on pyramids several months each year
• Developed copper mines in Sinai Peninsula
• Massive stone quarries in upper Egypt
• Large scale irrigation projects built along Nile
• Period ended in confusion - nobles struggling for power

First Intermediate Period (2200 -2050 BC)

• Suffered political and social chaos
• Rival families competed for throne
• Provincial rulers fought civil wars
• Upset conditions - trade declined - also arts and crafts

Middle Kingdom (2050 - 1750 BC)

• Egypt reunited by nobles from Thebes
• King did not have absolute power at the beginning
• Later strong kings (12th dynasty) recovered all power
• Resumed trade with other countries
• Egyptian trade and influence expanded south into Nubia and east into Palestine and Syria
• Kings buried in tombs cut in cliffs not pyramids

Second Intermediate Period (1800 - 1570 BC)

• Weak rulers
• Wandering Hyksos gradually enter in 1700's BC - dominated Egypt for about 150 years - bring new tools of war - horse and chariot - body armor - new types of bronze weapons

Early New Kingdom (1570 - 1300 BC)

• Egyptians learn how to use new weapons
• Drove Hyksos out (back to Asia) about 1600 BC
• Restore peace - Egyptians led by Ahmose - a prince
• Used Hyksos style of fighting
• Strengthen economy
• King Thutmose III - led military campaigns for about 20 years - had about 20,000 archers - expanded frontiers to the upper waters of Euphrates River - conquered Palestine, Syria and the south on Nile River - Egypt reached it's greatest size - his empire lasted 100 years

The Amarna Revolution

• Shook empire for a generation
• Began about 1370 BC   
• King Amenhotep IV- came to throne about 1377 BC - worshiped the sun (Aton) - changed his name toAkenaton(Spirit of Aton) - developed a religion that approached monotheism - lasted only until his death - first time for monotheism 
• Outlawed worship of more than 1 god
• Forced people to worship him as a god and as the son of Aton
• Moved capital from Thebes (because it was the center of worship of Amon) to Akhetaton about 300 miles north of Thebes
• During his reign began calling the king pharaoh
• Married to Nefertiti
• People did not readily accept all the changes
• He concentrated so much on affairs at home the outlying possessions revolted
• His successor ruled almost no territory outside of Egypt
• Priests forced the return to the old religion after his death and Thebes again became the capital
• Much remains murky because Horemheb, who became Pharaoh in 1347 BC, tried to expunge his memory by having his name removed from all the monuments and inscribed documents
• ***  Some early scholars believed that Akhenaten was really a woman in disguise, or a eunuch, because the representations of him in art show such grotesquely exaggerated and effeminate features.  More recently, an endocrine disorder, which would have suppressed his secondary sex characteristics and led to eunuchoidism, has been suggested as an explanation of his bizarre appearance.  This information came from a review of the book Akhenaten the Heretic King by Donald B. Redford.

Later New Kingdom (1300 - 1090 BC)

• Territory expansion - recovered empire in Asia
• Economic prosperity - recovered leading position
• Building activity
• Threatened by Hittites in Asia and Philistines and others from eastern Mediterranean area
• King Seti I recaptured Palestine and Syria
• Ramses II(son of Seti I) - fought Hittites
• About 1100 BC - world entering Iron Age - Egypt had no source of iron for weapons - could not compete with armies that had iron weapons - gradually gave up outlying possessions
• Ended with Egypt divided into small states that cooperated in trade and commerce, but competed for political power

Period of Invasions

• Non-Egyptians dominated during final period of the history - Lybians, Sudanese, Assyrians, Persians
• 332 BC Alexander the Great conquered Egypt
• When Alexander died one of his leading generals, Ptolemy, succeeded him - took title King of Egypt in 306 BC - founded the dynasty known as the Ptolemies - it ended with Cleopatra when she died in 30 BC
• 30 BC Egypt conquered by Rome and made a province

Hittites

Hittites - (HIHT - ites)

Part of general movement of people from northern Europe and Asia

Fair skinned - blond hair

Different language - Indo-European - most modern European languages come from it

Farmers and herdsmen

Built an empire that lasted 700 years - capital Hattusas

Humane to conquered subjects - didn't make them slaves - nobody had done this before - considered equal members of the empire

Began conquests about 1700 BC - reason for success had lightest and fastest chariots of the time -used iron earlier than others - their area rich in metals - credited with the discovery of smelting iron

Religion - borrowed from Mesopotamia - at times human sacrifices made - did not try to force their religion on subject peoples - unusual

Law - codified it - not as harsh as Sumerian - stressed repayment or retribution

Did not contribute many original ideas but brought mercy to the law

Phoenicians

• PHOENICIANS

***  Name means "the purple people" - name comes from the Greeks - because the Phoenicians made purple dye.

Dense network of trade routes - traded with and advised  the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians

Cities sea oriented

Behaved like wandering nomads of the sea

People who made up the race came from Sinai - poor bedraggled lot - nomads herding small livestock - 4000 BC - no horses or camels until 2000 BC - Aegeans from Eastern Mediterranean near Greece - did not come from somewhere else - evolved from existing groups

Took over the sea - best, fastest and bravest

Shrewd traders

Skilled merchants

Technically inventive - ***  First they invented the fishing line.  Then the net.  Then the raft with bushes for sails.  Then dugout canoes.  Then real sails.  Then bigger boats.  The navigation came along when they followed the fish out to sea.  Getting out there was no trick.  It was getting back.

Phoenician history begins about 2,300 BC - by 1200 BC built cities

Left no written history of their own - everything we know comes for the annals of other races and the Bible

Through fusion with foreign invaders they found themselves in a position to move out from their former coastal territory to the ocean

Used cedar from the mountains to build boats (Lebanon Mountains) - sold cedar to other lands

Rise of Tyre, Sidon, Byblo, and Beirut to become the leading towns in Lebanon - marks the beginning to the Phoenician trading empire

Developed small glass works - first transparent glass in the history of mankind - also probably developed glass blowing - set up regular trade networks - mass market

First with purple dye - (this was a closely guarded secret )- from a shellfish called murex - one drop from each murex - took more than 3 million to make 1 lb of dye and 6 lbs of dye to color 1 lb of wool - dye extremely expensive - thats why it became the color of royalty

Religion

• Trinity of gods - chief god El - 2nd Baal (storm god) - each represented a number of natural forces and phenomena
• Below these whole row of lesser heroes and demigods to whom carefully limited areas of the real world were apportioned as their territory
• Priests in the individual sea cities frequently remodeled the existing gods to suit their own ends and arranged their relationships one to another to fall in with the political needs of the day
• Rumors of human sacrifices during holy ceremonies
• At Carthage found thousands of urns (tophets) full of charred bones of children
• Many scholars now believe infant sacrifice was used only in cases of dire emergency - when the fate of the entire population was at stake and the gods could not be satisfied by less drastic rites
• Another theory - they used sacrifice as a method of population control to narrow the number of prospective heirs to family fortunes and holdings

Towns ruled by kings 

Can only guess about class structure

• No aristocracy - not enough land for feudal estates
• Only a strong middle class
• All rough work done by servants
• All lowly tasks by slaves
• Must also have been powerful councils of elders who acted as a supervisory board in trade transaction

Reluctant to wage wars - too expensive

Generally saw no point in burdening themselves with large tracts of land in foreign countries - not economical

Set up base supply stations and refuge harbors - empire depended on its fleet

Well fortified staging posts and goodwill of their customers

Sailed around Africa - 609 BC - from Red Sea eastward

Started a canal from Mediterranean to the Red Sea

• Work started after 600 BC
• Followed roughly the course of the modern Suez Canal
• Stopped shortly before it was finished
• Then alternately opened and closed
• Fell into disuse in the 8th century AD

Alphabet - 22 symbols

Empire lasted about 300 years

No major powers strong enough to extent its boundaries to include them

Lost power under Persian rule

Became a 3rd class power - slow decline

Greeks developed to rival them as sailors

• Greeks hated the Phoenicians - wrote bad thing about them
• Greeks borrowed the alphabet from the Phoenicians

Hebrews

HEBREWS

***  From Abiru "dusty ones" - they were traveling merchants - kicked up dust

Monotheism - 1 god - Old Testament contributions to Western civilization

Canaan - included modern Israel, Lebanon, and Syria

Their history told in the Old Testament

Left Ur and moved to Canaan (c. 1900 BC) - farmers

Famine (c. 1800 BC) some went to Egypt - famine came again (c. 1200 BC) - forced into slavery

Fled Egypt - Exodus - led by Moses (Passover today) - 12 tribes - Moses managed to unite them into the Nation of Israel

Worshiped Yahweh (Jehovah)

Returned to Canaan - had to fight for about 100 years to conquer it

Saul - 1st king - died in battle

David took over

Became an empire under David

• Wrote Psalms
• Reunited Hebrews
• Defeated Canaanites
• Got Jerusalem

Solomon

• Son of David
• Brought it to greatest point
• Built temple and palace

Familys

• Fathers controlled by public opinion
• Betrothal - both parties had to agree - usually eldest daughter first - actual contract - marriage age girls 12, boys 13
• Marriage ceremony formalized transfer of control from father to bridegroom - private affair between parties and families - not controlled by religion or government
• Divorce - man had free hand - woman no power - made out decree "I thee divorce" - considered a private matter - husband got all the children

When Solomon died empire split  - Israel in the north - Judah in the south - fought each other for nearly 200 years

Kingdoms grew weaker

Assyrians destroyed Israel 722 BC

586 BC Jerusalem fell to Babylon (Judah)

Nebuchadnezzar took slaves to Babylon - Jews stayed 70 years before being allowed to return home

***  Traditionally in a deck of playing cards, the King of Spades supposedly represented King David, the King of Clubs is Alexander the Great, the King of Diamonds stands for Julius Caesar and the King of Hearts portrays Charlemagne.  As for the queens, the Queen of Spades is the Greek War Goddess Athena, the Queen of Clubs is said to be Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Queen of Diamonds is the biblical Rachel and the Queen of Hearts is the Bible's Judith.  (From an L.M. Boyd column.)

Assyrans

ASSYRIAN EMPIRE

Arose after Babylonia

Reached height about 800 BC

On upper Tigris River - from Persian Gulf to Mediterranean Sea and Egypt

Land not as good as in the south

In constant danger of attack from the north and east - nomads

Became well armed

Then decided to conquer neighbors - ruled Babylon 745 to 639 BC

First to use horses to pull chariots (before pulled by donkeys)

Chariots were large - pulled by 4 horses - carried 4 men

Became the terror of Mesopotamia

Also had iron weapons (Hittites had developed these in the west)

Became a military state - all fit men in the army

Fought for 400 years

Developed new methods - battering rams, ladders, tunneling

Reputation for cruelty

Ashurbanipal - last great Assyrian king

• Warrior
• Collected cuneiform tablets - 25,000
• Built a great library - this was found 2400 years later in 1839 - contained hymns, stories and biographies
• After his death Assyria finally crushed in 612 BC by the Chaldeans

Persians

PERSIAN EMPIRE

Last great Near Eastern empire

Came from central Asia

Modern day Iran - "land of the Aryans"

Settled about 1200 BC - warrior horsemen

Largest empire before the Greeks

Cyrus - Emperor 559 - 529 BC - son of Cambysis II who conquered Egypt

• Unified Persia - capital Persepolis
• Treated conquered enemies well
• Avoided unnecessary cruelty - thus maintained efficiently governed empire and gained the goodwill of the people
• Captured Babylon in 539 BC
• Released Hebrews from captivity
• Granted religious freedom to all
• His people also respected traditions and customs of different peoples

***  Wealthy men rode horseback on in a litter - thought only lower classes should be seen walking

***  Men wore hair and beard long and curled - used make-up on their faces - colored their eyelids - used perfume

Darius the Great - ruled 521 - 486 BC

• Organized the empire
• Taxed goods
• Built roads to tie empire together - Royal Road over 1600 miles long - a messenger could travel from one end to the other in a week - camel or donkey caravan took about 3 months - opened route to China
• One code of laws

*** First coins used in Lydia - Persians conquered it and decided to use coins in their empire.

Alexander defeated Darius III c. 329 BC

Greek Civilization

Greek Civilization developed out of 2 earlier civilizations Minoan (Crete) and Mycenean (mainland Greece)

MINOAN

***  Name comes from Minos who ruled Crete in early Bronze Age

• Said to be the son of Zeus
• Palace at Knossos - built about 2000 BC - covered 28 acres - discovered 1900 by Sir Arthur Evans (British)

Began around 2800 BC

• First farmers - wheat, barley, grapes, olives
• Later traders
• About 2000 BC became world first important seafaring civilization
• People - small - dark - bronzed skin (men from sun - the women fair) - long hair
• Loved sports - built probably the first arenas - seated about 500 - boxing - bull leaping

Clothing (From The Life of Greece by Will Durant p. 9)

• Men - short skirt - occasionally codpiece for modesty
• Both - tightly laced in middle
• Women - stiff corsets - bare breasted or diaphanous chemise - bodies laced below bust, open in a circle, Medici collar at the neck - sleeves short, sometimes puffed - skirt widens spaciously from hips, stiffened presumably with metal ribs or horizontal hoops

*** 1000 to 901 BC - Earliest use of iron in Greece

Rulers - priest - kings - made laws and represented gods on earth

Many gods - main one Great Goddess

• Mother Earth - made plants grow and brought children into the world
• Certain things sacred - lily sacred flower - double ax - dove (flew to heavens) - snakes (kept in most houses - thought spirits of underworld)

Fall - no one certain

• Legend - Theseus and Minotaur - Monos after defeating Athens - had 14 young Athenians sent to Crete every 9 years - sacrifices to the Monotaur - Theseus is one of these - killed the Monotaur with a magic sword - a novel about this that I really liked is The King Must Die by Mary Renault.
• All the experts know for certain is about 1400 BC control of the sea and Crete passed to Myceneans - writing Linear A - not yet translated

MYCENEANS - (my suh nay uns)

• Got name from chief city - Mycenae - excavated in 1876 and 1877 by Heinrich Schliemann (***  He spoke 10 languages - Latin, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, German, English, Greek, Dutch, Spanish and Italian)
• Came from Russia around 2000 BC
• Settled mainland Greece
• Copied Minoans - gold and bronze work - Cretan script - fashions - how to build and navigate ships
• Began to grow olives - made presses to get oil - grew rich selling it
• Flourished 1600 to 1200 BC
• Colonized along Aegean coast
• Developed Minoan civilization of Crete which dominated the Aegean from 1600 to 1400 BC - about 1450 BC Crete captured by the Greek mainland
• In the path of ancient trade routes
• Liked fighting - grew strong - around 1400 BC - replaced Minoans as main power - stayed strong for nearly 300 years

DORIANS

• Conquered Myceneans about 1100 BC - settled down
• From present day Albania and Yugoslavia
• Thousands fled to Aegean islands and shores of Asia Minor - later known as Ionia
• After Dorian conquest entered "Dark Age" for more than 300 years
• Overseas trade stopped
• Forgot how to write
• Had to start over

Trojan War

• Myceneans attacked Troy (1194 to 1184 BC)
• Written about by Homer a blind Greek poet in the Iliad - got his material from songs and legends
• Fought over a woman - Helen - wife of Menelaus
• Paris was from Troy - took Helen home with him
• 9 years of fighting
• Used a wooden horse to conquer the city - ***  This may have been a siege machine that was called a horse in the story.  We also get the saying "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" from this horse they left behind
• The ruins of Troy were discovered by Heinrich Schlumann in 1870 - in the ruins it was the 7th city deep - Schlumann was scoffed at by other historians when he said the key to finding Troy was in the Iliad  (This location was accepted fact when I was using these notes.  There have recently been some questions raised that possibly he did not find Troy.  If you are using these notes in the classroom it might be a good idea to check on this.)
• ***  Schlumann spirited away many of the objects (many of them gold) he found in the city.  The city is located in present day Turkey.  He felt that the artifacts belonged to the Greek people.  When he tried to give them to the Greek government the government refused them.  They were afraid of the problems it would cause with Turkey.  Schlumann then gave them to a German museum in Berlin where they remained until World War II.  When the Russians invaded Germany these artifacts disappeared.  Never to be seen again.

GREECE

Called themselves Hellenes - believed they were descended from the god Hellen

Their land Hellas

Anyone not speaking (native) Greek a barbarian

Had city-states

• Called a Polis - related to politics and metropolis
• Average population 5000 10,000 people
• Independent
• Surrounded by a fort called an asylum
• Lines defensible
• Usually had a king
• Later kings fell and royal families ruled
• Athens was the largest polis - about 1000 square miles - about the size of a country today
• ***  Questions arose in ancient Greece as to which was the more valuable, the horse or the olive tree.  The god Neptune was credited with the creation of the horse.  The goddess Athena was said to have devised the olive tree.  After considerable debate, a majority of those Greeks on Attica decided the olive tree outpointed the horse in usefulness.  So they honored the goddess instead of the god by naming their chief city Athens. (from L.M. Boyd's column)
• Acropolis - fortified hill
• Agora (a gur ha) - market place

***   First recorded Olympic Games - 776 BC (possibly existing since 1350 BC), horse racing, wrestling, boxing, pentathlon, running.  All athletes were nude

Society

• Had 3 classes
• Athens - citizens, slaves, metics (resident aliens)
• Sparta - citizens, helots (slaves), perioeci who were non-citizens (means dwellers around)
• ***  Helots - named from the town of Helus - the first to be enslaved by the Spartans

ATHENS

Family life - general

• Began day at dawn - ended shortly after sunset
• Most ate 2 meals a day - midmorning often a dish of beans or peas and a raw onion or roasted turnip - sunset was the main meal - usually included bread, cheese, figs, olives and sometimes fish or meat
• Had no sugar - used honey
• Used olive oil as a spread for bread, cooking and soap
• Drank a mixture of wine and water - considered milk fit only for animals and barbarians

Clothing

• Chiton (KY tun) - both men and women - fell to knees or ankles - on women belted
• Most made of wool
• Only rich could afford cotton or lines
• Wore brown for work - bleached white on formal occasions
• Both wore cloaks - called himation (hih MAT ih ahn)
• Indoors went barefoot - outside sandals

Farming - chief occupation - barley, wheat, grapes, olives, apples, figs, pomegranates

Family

• (This information comes from a text I had in college Family, Society and the Individual p. 104)
• Patriarchal - man ruled
• Believed women of a different species - intellectual inferiors - women not educated - could not leave home without the husbands permission then had to be veiled and attended by a slave - men did the shopping - women expected to stay in their own quarters except at mealtime
• Marriages - monogamy - girls not consulted - consent not necessary from the boy or girl - dowry
• Betrothal - legal rather than religious
• Marriage Ceremony - both wore white wedding robes topped with garlands - sacrifices made to the gods - each guest given cake - wedding procession moved from brides to rooms - mock struggle - wife carried over threshold - private family affair - father assumed role of priest
• Family life - generally not happy - not suppose to be (the idea of romantic love does not emerge until around 1000 AD) - considered illegal to let a family die out - marriage seen as a way to replenish the population
• Children - boys started school at 6 - girls learned how to run the home
• Wives - assured: of economic security - love of children - respect of husband - responsible for general household chores
• Divorce - infrequent - public opinion against it - neither a legal or religious matter - up to husband but held back by society - also had to return dowry - 2 grounds for the men to use to divorce the wife, other boy friends or sterility - women had no right  unless she could prove the husband endangered the family
• Both sexes married in their early teens

Greeks believed in the worth of the individual

Geographically separated (mountains) hard to control - men forced not to be specialists

Belief in freedom sustained by deep respect for personal honor and love of action

Law

• Wasn't the will of the monarch
• Aimed entirely to improve the lot of the people
• Others could be changed by the kings will
• Usually based on some kind of popular consent and could be changed by referring to the people for their approval
• Expected to secure life and property of its members - not just leaders and priests
• Romans learned from the Greeks
• Each state had it's own government - first loyalty to strong local ties - second loyalty to all Greeks - felt they were better than others - other empires (Babylonia or Persia) many types under despotic ruler

Work - believed anything worth doing is worth doing well - worked for patrons not for public - patrons demanded they do good work

Poetry

• Delighted in words
• Poetry before prose
• Poets highly esteemed
• Originally sung or spoken to music
• Invented or perfected forms we use today

Invented tragedy and comedy

• Began as religious ceremonies to honor Dionysus
• Tragedy - Aeschylus (Father of Greek Tragedy) - Sophocles (wrote Oedipus) - Euripides
• Comedy - Aristophanes
• Still relevant today

Science

• Provided a theoretical basis for astronomy and engineering
• Founders of science and philosophy
• Archimedes - one of the best mathematicians and scientists in their culture
• ***  Archimedes was in a city that was conquered.  He was busy working out a math problem in the dirt when a conquering soldier cast a shadow over his work.  He told the soldier to move and the soldier killed him.

Medicine

• Flowered  5th century BC
• Hippocrates - The Father of Medicine - better at diagnosing
• ***  What made Hippocrates different from other healers was that he insisted that evil spirits had nothing to do with idseased, that diseases had natural causes. (L.M. Boyd)
• Surgery - basic - fractures - dislocations - wounds - especially head wounds received in war

First true historian - Herodotus - Father of History - he was the first to analyze history

• The following information is from the book Stories From Herodotus
• Born about 480 BC in Halicarnassus (Greek city-state on the western coast of Asia Minor)
• Member of a prominent family - good education
• Internal struggles for political control of the city
• One of Herodotus' relatives killed by political "strong man"
• Herodotus left the city - went to Samos
• Soon after this he began his travels
• When he was finished traveling he began working on his book
• Lived in Athens - then joined a colony in Southern Italy - Thurii in 443 BC - died there
• He had financial means, curiosity, traveled widely
• Travel slow - not always comfortable or safe
• Visited Egypt extensively by way of Babylon
• Visited the Black Sea and steppes of the Ukraine (Kiev)
• Those days few books - no newspapers - travel was the only way to see the world and learn about people and their lands
• Herodotus was a born story teller and writer
• He had 2 themes - first he wanted to inform fellow Greeks about the world - second the conflict between the Greeks and Persians - conflict of 2 different types of civilizations, 2 contrasting ways of life, represented by enslaved Persians, and free Greeks (love of independence
• Herodotus the first to see possibilities of history written on a grand scale - at the same time he always wrote in human terms

Religion

• No rigid theology
• Not tied to creeds so free to ask questions
• Said it showed the wonderful working of the gods
• Gods a source of power so honored every kind of power

SPARTA - means the scattered

• After 800 BC had 2 kings who ruled jointly
• By 500 BC greatest military power in Greece
• Citizens pawns of the state
• Rigidly controlled from birth to death
• Age 7 onward children trained in a program called agoga - lived in military war camps
• Way of life called eunomia - the supremacy of the state over the right of the individual
• At its peak - 5 villages - 70,000 population - today a hamlet of 4,000 - hardly anything remains

Greatest honor that could come to a Spartan was to die in defense of his country

People

• 3 classes
• Spartans ruling class only ones with full citizenship - they enslaved earlier Greeks - called helots
• Helots outnumbered the Spartans - always afraid of revolt because of this
• Some escaped enslavement - not citizens but free - called perioeci (pair ih EE sigh)
• Numbers varied over the years - estimated at one time 25,000 citizens, 500,000 slaves
• By 750 BC helots and perioeci out numbered aristocrats 20 to 1

Way of Life

• Engaged only in agriculture
• Few owned land
• Citizens had state owned plots - had to make enough to support their family and pay taxes or they lost the land to someone who could make it pay - also lost citizenship
• Made it dangerous to have large families
• ***  Sometimes left unwanted children in a deep cavern in the mountains to die - especially if weak - ill or deformed automatically exposed - washed in wine to test their strength
• Citizens not allowed to carry on manufacturing or trade - done by perioece - potters had great skill
• Helots farmed - had to produce a fixed amount - gave 1/2 to noble - rest he could keep (often little) - bitterly resented their lot - revolts not unusual
• ***  Once a year the Spartans officially declared war on the helots so they could kill any who seemed rebellious without breaking the law against murder.  The secret police could kill them at anytime with out cause or trial.
• Every Spartan belonged to state from birth

Training of boys

• Left with their mother until age 7
• Enrolled in a company of 15 members
• Kept under strict discipline
• From 7 on ate in public dining hall - given small amounts of food
• Sometimes not given enough to eat so would learn to go without
• Stealing OK if you didn't get caught - severely punished
• ***  Every 10 days lined up and checked to see if they were getting fat
• Bravest boy made captain - others obeyed him and bore the punishments he decided
• ***  Except for a yearly bath on special occasions they did not wash
• At 12 undergarments taken away so they could learn to stand the cold
• Allowed one outer garment a year
• Bed made of tops of reeds they gathered with their own hands without knives
• Went barefoot so their feet hardened
• Didn't consider reading and writing necessary
• Learned Iliad, songs of war and religion
• Leaping, running , wrestling, wielding a weapon with grace and accuracy held more important than learning
• Between 20 - 30 served as cadets - policed the country - kept helots in order
• At 30 reached full maturity - enjoyed rights and duties of citizenship - attended meeting of the assembly - could hold public office
• At 60 military career ended then worked either in public office (Council of Elders) or in training the youths
• As a result of this system the men became tough, proud, disciplined - noted for obstinate conservatism, and brevity and directness of speech - all the gentler feelings suppressed

Women

• Lived the freest life of any women in Greece
• As girls engaged in athletics - wrestled, boxed and races with the men
• Ran their own household
• Engaged in business
• Many became wealthy and influential
• Owned 2/5's of land in Sparta
• Sent men off to war saying. "Come home with your shield or on it."

Main food black broth made of pork, vinegar, and salt

Tired to prevent change - believed new ideas would weaken their way of life - example: ***  When money came in still used iron rods

Home life almost nonexistent

• Men ate at a common mess
• Couldn't marry before 20 and couldn't live with wives until 30
• After 30 could have a household but children belonged to the state

Because they were outnumbered by slaves they were so afraid of them that they kept their military ways.

Downfall 371 BC

***  Between 600BC and 501 BC were the first reports of the introduction of papyrus into Greece

***  Between 500 BC and 451 BC the Indian surgeon Sustata performs cataract operations

***  Between 450 BC and 401 BC carrier pigeons are used in Greece (These three entries are from The Timetables of History, translated by Bernard Grun from the original German.  This is a really fun book. It outlines all the major events/discoveries in history.  If you haven't see it before you should take a look at it, or better yet buy a copy.)

Conflict with Persians

Persians

• Absolute ruler
• large kingdom
• Tried to conquer Greeks
• Darius the Great - d. 486 BC - ***  Contemporaries called him the "huckster" since he tried to make a gain on everything.
• Succeeded on conquering on outer limits
• Attacked Athens - 490 BC

Causes

• Persians controlled Asia Minor
• Included Greek cities in Ionia (captured 520 BC)
• Ionians revolted - 499 BC
• Greeks helped them - sent warships - fought 5 years - put down by Persians
• Darius decided to punish the Greeks - 490 BC
• He sent an army to Greece - 600 ships - Persian generals - Datis and Artaphernes
• Captured the island of Eubola and set up a base - from here landed on the Greek mainland
• After a few days began to prepare to sail to attack Athens
• Loaded cavalry first - these were the strongest fighters

Battle of Marathon

• The main force (about 20,000) faced the Greeks at Marathon - about 24 miles north of Athens - 490 BC
• Greeks had about 11,000 men - led by Miltiades, from Athens
• Miltiades sent Pheidippides to Sparta for help - supposedly he ran 150 miles in 2 days (there and back)
• Sparta delayed because of a religious festival - Carneian Festival of Apollo - it didn't end for 11 more days - did not arrive until after the battle
• After the cavalry loaded the Athenians attacked with a running charge
• Persians sent a great shower of arrows
• Athenians had speed and heavy armor (they had better weapons and body strength) - reached the Persians with small losses
• Greeks drove the Persians to their ships
• Persians lost 6,400
• Athens lost 192 hoplites (foot soldiers)
• Miltiades was afraid the ships would attack Athens by sea and it might surrender without knowing of the victory - he sent Pheidippides to warn them - ***  The story is he race 25 miles to Athens, gasped out "Rejoice, we conquer" and died - this is pure legend - also it is not know if this is the same Pheidippides who went to Sparta of if it was 2 different men with the same name.
• The Marathon race today is 26 miles 385 yards - ***  The reason it has an added 385 yards is because when the Olympics were held in Great Britain, in the early 1900's, they wanted the race to end in front of the grandstand where the king was sitting, so they added the extra 385 yards.
• Marathon is often considered the first great decisive battle of the world
• Persians tried to attack at Phaleron but the Greeks were too strong for them to land so they sailed home
• The dead were buried in a great commemorative mound - still stands
• Miltiades died in 489 BC of a gangrenous wound
• The veterans were held in high honor all their lives

The Greeks were left alone for 10 years - during this time Athens discovered silver mines - they used the silver to build triremes - got the largest navy in Greece

Xerxes - the son of Darius began to move - 480 BC

• 250,000 soldiers came around on land - crossed the Hellespont
• 600 warships

20 Greek city-states asked Sparta to lead them - 1st and last time these city-states were united

• Chose the narrow pass of Thermopylae (50' wide) to defend
• Commanded by King Leonidas with 7000 man - only 300 Spartans

Against Persians with 150,000 men

Xerxes attacked for 3 days and made no headway

• A traitor (Ephialtes) showed them a way through the mountains
• They attacked the Greeks from the rear
• Leonidas sent most of the Greeks back to safety but kept 300 Spartans to hold the pass - vowed to firth to the last man
• Leonidas killed almost at once - others fought to the last man - refused to give up when surrounded

Xerxes then moved to central Greece

Athens evacuated - took to the sea - fled to the island of Salamis - many old men left and pets

Xerxes took Athens - burned the Acropolis

Xerxes attacked at sea - Battle of Salamis

• Narrow channel
• Persians greatly outnumbered the Greeks but hampered by not enough room - couldn't mover as easily
• Greek ships better manned and maneuvered - had rams - led by Themistocles of Athens
• Forced the Persians to retreat
• Enormous rout
• Persian fleet destroyed
• The sea choked with wreckage of ships and slaughtered men
• Coast piled high with dead
• Persians lost more than 200 (perhaps 300) ships
• Athens lost 40 ships
• First decisive naval battle in history - lasted 7- 8 days

Xerxes went home - left some of his force that was later defeated (at Plataea - 479 BC)

Victory of the Greeks an astonishing achievement - no other people had been able to do it

***  The pelican is named because its beak is shaped like the Greek battleaxe known as the pelekus.  (From:  L.M. Boyd)

Greeks set up the Delian League for defense

Left Sparta the most important power even though Athens for the next 50 years counted for almost everything in Greek life

Democracy (***  Means "rule by the people" - demos for "people - kratia for "rule")developed

***  Origin of the word "police" is a Greek word for "citizen." (L.M. Boyd)

• Government open to any man rich or poor who was a citizen and 20 years old - fewer than 1/10 the population
• Solon developed the first constitution
• Cliesthenes developed the first democratic constitution - it lasts until the fall of Greece
• ***   When the Greeks wanted to get rid of a politician it took 6,000 nays, written on oyster shells and cast into ballot boxes.  The Greek word for oyster shell was ostrakon.  From this we get the word ostracize. (From:  L.M. Boyd)
• Had time for it because of the slaves
• Slaves about 1/3 of the population - about 115,000 to 315,000 population - rich mine contractors might have 1000 - largest households about 20
• slaves - born of other slaves - acquired by piracy - captives taken in war
• Their lot no worse and sometimes better than those in other parts of the world
• In mines most unhealthy
• Galley slaves sometimes chained
• Sometimes slaves got wages
• Sometimes freed

City Life

• Market place had shops, temples, gymnasiums, theaters and others - center of activity
• Majority of people lived in poorly built houses and huts
• Preferred public rather than private buildings - that's where they spent their time (Nice for the men.  Remember women had to stay in the house.)

Farming and flocks outside walls - orchards - olives, figs, grapes

Pericles - Begins golden Age 461 to 431 BC

• Lived 490? - 429 BC
• 461 BC elected head of board of generals
• Personally aloof
• Friends the leading thinkers of his day
• Effective speaker and coiner of memorable pharses
• Had foresight and initiative - ex. salaries to officials
• Wanted to make Athens a great city
• ***  Population of Athens at this time about 300,000
• Began Delian League - 20 cities all paid taxes to Athens so Athens could keep a navy for protection
• Built the Acropolis (***  mean: upper city) with state money - money from the Delian League paid for it - took 11 years to complete
• Athens a talkative town - ruled by orators
• Pericles became its leader because he was the best orator
• Under his influence Athens became a center of world culture
• Died in 429 BC of plague

Philosophers - ***  Means: "lover of wisdom."

• Socrates - b. 399 BC -  His wife was Xanthippe - she was a notorious shrew - because of this he didn't like to go home - first to demonstrate knowledge comes from general abstract ideas called concepts - discussed truth, justice and goodness
• Plato - student of Socrates - first to present a system of philosophy - theory of ideas - nature of good and evil, truth, justice - began the Academy
• Aristotle - student of Plate - gave the final answers to philosophical questions - interested in world around him - tried to find scientific explanations - Alexander the Great's teacher

First Peloponnesian War (457 - 446 BC) - limited conflict - division of Greeks into hostile camps

Second Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC)

• Ended for Athens in disaster
• Sparta was conservative, aristocratic and wanted to maintain existing state of affairs
• Athens was aggressively democratic, even revolutionary and determined to spread it to new places
• Underlying cause was Sparta's distrust of Athens
• Many unconventional tactics used - ***  ex. Sparta built a mound for archers to shoot over the walls - Athens tunneled to the mound and removed the dirt from the bottom as fast as Sparta put it on top - ***  another case, Sparta brought up battering rams - Athens lassoed them and pulled them inside
• The following information is from Disease in History  p. 6 - 8
• Sparta had a good army but no fleet
• Athens had a strong navy but weak army - land defenses almost invulnerable - ample supplies by sea - should have been able to defeat Sparta without trouble - they were winning the first year
• Defensive policy meant Athenians crowded and besieged within the city walls
• 430 BC pestilence struck - raged only a short time - 1/3 to 2/3 of the population died
• Breakdown in morale
• Disease subsided so they sent out the fleet
• Broke out on ships so violently had to return
• Nature of this disease unknown - it attacked all classes - rapid onset, raging fever, extreme thirst, tongue and throat bloody, skin red and livid, breaking out into pustules and ulcers
• Doctors helpless - many of them died
• Today believe it may have been scarlet fevers first appearance - therefore especially lethal
• Plague contributed to the downfall of Athenian empire
• Killed many - Pericles died
• Demoralized the capital
• Destroyed fighting power of navy
• Prevented Athens striking a decisive blow to Sparta
• War dragged on for 27 years - ended with defeat of Athens in April of 404 BC
• Athens navy was captured (160 out of 180 ships) and the city was starved into surrender
• Sparta conquered Athens and forced them to accept a humiliating peace treaty - rule short lived - rule so cruel they revolted and threw off the Spartan yoke
• Athens retained cultural leadership
• Sparta remained a powerful city for the next 200 years
• In 146 BC came under Roman rule

There is a modern town of Sparta (pop. 10,412) near the site of the ancient city - started about 1835

Evacuations have been made at the old site - a lot of valuable material discovered from early city's history

War left Greek states weak - easy victims

Strongest neighbor Macedonia

• Strong warriors - eager for combat
• Led by King Philip II
• by 338 BC he had conquered almost all of Greece - battle of Chaeronea
• Had first standing army - well organized - flexible - tough
• He admired Greek culture
• Planned to go on and take Persia but he died
• *** Philip took a new wife (Cleopatra) - he had 6 or 7 other wives - displeased Alexander's mother Olympius - she left court in anger - Philip was murdered by a noble (one of his body guard who was immediately killed) at his daughter's wedding - murderer named Pausanius - officially it was reported Pausanius had been in Persian pay - most thought Olympius behind it

Alexander

• Blond hair - fair skin - soft blue eyes (another source says gray eyes) - not as tall as other men
• Born in 356 probably on July 20 but date is not know for sure
• Well schooled - one of his tutors was Aristotle
• ***  One famous story about Alexander is that he went to a horse sale with his father.  There was a horse that no one could ride.  Alexander bet he could ride it.  He noticed the horse was afraid of it's shadow so he turned it so he couldn't see the shadow and was able to get on.  This became his favorite horse (Bucephalus) and he rode it all the way to India where Bucephalus died.  He had him buried in a grave standing straight up and named the near by town for him. 
• ***  Horses back then were not as large as they are now.  Usually between 13.2 and 14.2 hands high (a hand is 4").  Todays thoroughbreds (race horses) are around 16 or 17 hands high.
• Became king when he was 20 - 336 BC
• Wanted to gain glory as a great hero and conqueror
• Believed it his duty to spread Greek civilization - he took philosophers and scientists with him
• To do this he needed to conquer the barbarian world
• 333 BC - at age 23 - began conquests with a small but perfectly disciplined army
• Took 30,000 infantry - 5,000 cavalry
• In 3 years he conquered Egypt, Asia Minor, all of Persia
• Because of this very rich had many talents of gold - *** A talent weighted 57 1/2 pounds of gold
• Began drinking a lot - had trouble with alcohol (from the History Channel)
• In Persia he married a princess, and had his soldiers also marry, to try and establish harmony - he had a son.  Once Alexander died this son was lost to history.
• Never lost a battle
• Founded a lot of cities - Alexandria, Egypt is the most famous
• Wanted to go farther into India - his soldiers tired and threatened revolt unless they could return home
• ***  When they went into battle against the Indians it was the first time they had ever seen an elephant let alone fought one.  They managed to defeat the elephants by hamstringing them.
• Was severely wounded in battle with and arrow that had to be cut out - was weak for many months after
• Empire extended to Indus River
• Empire larger than any that had existed in the ancient world - about the size of the United States
• At 33 years old, on June 13, 323 BC he died of a fever (***  Thought to possibly be malaria but no one is sure.  Other factors were believed to be his weakness from his wound and possibly liver problems from excessive drinking.) in Babylon
• Alexander tried to introduce Greek culture to the East and Eastern culture to the West - tried to unify his conquests - not successful
• Brought in scholars to study cultures of conquered peoples - gained much for the East
• At his death there was no successor
• Lands were divided up among 3 of his generals - ***  One was Ptolomy the ancestor of Cleopatra who was the last ruler of the Ptolomy line.
• In the following years warfare and difficulties plagued the Mediterranean world

A new power in the West was rising that would soon conquer the East - Rome - conquered Greece in 197 BC

Roman Republic and Carthage

ROME

Began as a tiny mud village on the banks of the Tiber River that became a power that lasted nearly 800 years

Had the military genius and talent for organized government - rule sufficient to maintain peace in the Mediterranean for 200 years - Pax Romana

Borrowed and extended cultures of other peoples 

Christianity grew and spread - it was the only surviving cultural force in the West after the fall of Rome

Geography

• City had 7 hills
• Rome began on the Palatine (PAL-un-tine) - ***  We get the world "palace" from Palatine.

Story of Romulus and Remus

• Mother a princess (c. 800 BC)
• Father Mars
• She had sworn never to have children - broke her oath
• The children were taken from her and left to die on the banks of the Tiber River
• Found by a she wolf - she fed and cared for them
• One day a shepherd killed the wolf and found the babies
• Took them home and raised them
• When the boys got older they decided to build a city
• Couldn't decide who would rule
• Dedicated to let the gods choose
• Got on different hills
• 12 vultures flew over the Palatine where Romulus stood - he claimed to be king
• Remus disagreed and the fought and he killed Remus
• 753 BC Romulus founded the city and named it for himself
• ***  More likely the city's name comes from groma, a Latin world meaning "crossroads."

Actual - 1200 BC invasions of Latins - about 1000 BC a group of tiny villages - joined together from fear of attack - built a fortified city-state

Etruscans

• About 800 BC - settled in the region of Etrurea
• Little is known about them or where they came from
• Some historians believe they are indigenous to Italy
• Other think they came from Lydia in Asia Minor
• Language and literature lost - what does exist is not translated
• Farmers, miners and cattle breeders
• Made different cheese from ewe's milk (one variety Peiorino still available today)
• Strong armies - copied Greeks - led by priests masked as demons, carrying torches and live snakes over their heads to throw at the enemy
• Wore shoes of heavy leather when no one else did - gave them better footing on rough or hilly ground
• Conquered Rome in 616 BC -
• Ruled the next 100 years
• More culturally advanced than Latins
• Many contributions - how to use the arch in building bridges - laid Rome's first sewer system - Rome borrowed the alphabet form the Etruscans
• *** When a noble died a great banquet was held - Two of the noble's slaves fought to the death - The spirit of the loser accompanied the noble's spirit to the underworld - this became a model for the gladiatorial games held by the Romans
• Overthrown because of a hated ruler - Tarquin II (the Proud) - 509 BC
• Leaders formed a republic
• Culture influenced Rome long after they were gone

The history of Rome generally breaks into 2 parts.  The Republic and the Roman Empire.  The following information on the family comes from a textbook I had in college: Family, Society and the Individual.

Roman Republic (509 - 264 BC)

Families

• Families patriarchal (means: father rules)
• Marriage - held in high esteem - considered a civic responsibility - early marriage the rule - arranged by families - considered a private affair (not controlled by the state or religion) - consent of both parties the rule - monogamous
• Wife not severely restricted - she was not educated to take part in civic affairs - she was permitted to help entertain her husband's friends and was respected as a homemaker
• Divorce - legally available only to the husband
• Patria Potesta - complete power of father over children - absolute - could banish, sell or kill children
• Manus - complete control of husband over wife

Disintegration of the Family

• About 2nd century BC - time of the Punic Wars
• Men away a lot - some never returned
• Women began to achieve independence
• Male domination slowly diminished
• Practice of "free Marriage arose" without manus
• Influx of wealth - many slaves - feed women - even child rearing given over to slaves
• ***  The average life expectancy in ancient Rome was 6 years old.  About 1/2 the children died before their 2nd birthday.  Half of the remaining died before they were teenagers and half of those remaining died before they were adults.
• Marriages for expedience - political, wealth, position - looked on as an instrument of personal gain
• Children considered a burden
• Marriage rate fell
• Moral laxness spread
• Birth rate fell - customary for well to do families to adopt a son
• ***  Upper class families were rich enough to have water piped into their homes.  The pipes were made out of lead.  This probably caused the decline in birth rate among the rich as well as other health problems.
• Divorces became more and more common
• Just kept getting worse until Rome fell

***  Women - cosmetics - pale complexion fashionable - achieved with powdered chalk or white lead - red ocher was used for cheek and lip color - eyes make up with compounds based on ash or antimony.  Some cosmetics poisonous.  Combs - more to get rid of lice than to style the hair.  Occupations - priestesses (if rich) - lamp makers - midwives - hairdressers - few doctors - gladiators.  This information is from: Eyewitness Books, Alfred A. Knopf. New York 1990.

Society

• Patricians - aristocrats - wealthiest - only ones allowed to become senators - 10% of the population
• Plebians - common people - had political rights - not as many privileges or rights
• Slaves - captured in battle - sold themselves to pay off debts, became free when debts paid

Republic

• 509 - 264 BC
• Governed by a group of citizens
• Elected to represent all voters
• Consuls - 2 chief executives - held office for one year - could veto each other
• Senate - 300 members - for life
• Times of emergency chose a dictator - limited to 6 months
• During 5th century BC plebeians began to fight with patricians for greater rights and power
• Struggles lasted nearly 200 years
• First won the right to elect their own officials - 494 BC - they threatened to stop serving in the army and paying taxes unless they were given a voice in the government - gained tribunes - could veto any legislation or laws - 10 elected annually
• 471 BC led by tribunes the people created a new assembly - Tribus - with right to make laws
• 450 BC - first code of Roman law appeared - Twelve Tables - demanded by the plebeians - added protection to plebeians - first time the Roman law had been written down - ***  school boys had to memorize it - written on 12 bronze tablets - same everywhere in the Empire - Praetors (judges) made many laws
• ***  338 BC - first Roman coins used
• ***  264 BC - first public combats of gladiators in Rome
• 4th century BC - plebeians won the right to hold consulship's and intermarry with the patrician class
• Aristocrats still held the most power but couldn't use it with out considering opinion of the plebeians
• Rome conquered almost all of Italy by 275 BC (I have seen 264 BC as a date for this)
• Magistrates to govern provinces
• Superior military tactics and weapons - changed from phalanx to manipal - more flexibility
• Responsible and loyal citizens
• Very persistent
• After 275 BC became an important power in the western Mediterranean
• Rivaled with Carthage for trade and colonies
• Ended in war with Carthage - Punic Wars

Army

• Beginning suppose to be citizens - later changed to regular soldiers - not allowed to marry - many did anyway
• Signed for 20 years of active duty - spent 5 more years with veterans
• Divided into legions
• When Augustus came to power there were 60 legions of about 5000 men each
• Wore helmets and breast plates made of bronze
• Shield of wood covered with canvas and leather - rimmed with iron
• Each soldier carried 2 spears, dagger and a double edged sword - also carried food, pots, spade, 2 stakes, hammer, bag of nails, cloth - about 60 to 80 pounds (our military carries about the same amount of weight today)
• Attacked in 3 lines - young men in front - older men in back to save their strength - would mover up if the young ones tired
• Led by a standard bearer - an eagle of silver or gold - symbol of Roman power - each legion proud of it's eagle - closely guarded - its loss or capture by the enemy considered a terrible disgrace - would rather die fighting than surrender the eagle - when a legion went into battle the eagle led the charge and helped rally the men - to be a standard bearer was a great honor - rank of officer - often held by veteran soldier nearing retirement
• 100 men = century
• 2 centuries = manuple
• 3 maniples  = cohort
• 6 centuries = cohort
• 30 maniples = 1 legion - suppose to be 6000 men but was usually lower - around 5000

Carthage

• Located in North Africa
• Punic - Latin for Phoenician
• Legendary founder of Carthage Dido
• ***  Dido was the queen of Carthage - She fled to Africa from Tyre with her followers after her brother Pygmalion murdered her husband - she was offered as much land as could be surrounded by a bull's hide - cut it in thin strips - pierced them together - laid them out to surround a large area - this became Carthage
• ***  An African prince (Hiarbus or Iarbas) wanted to marry Dido - threatened war if she refused - she hated and feared him - she built a large funeral fire - threw herself upon it stabbing herself at the same time
• Carthaginians were merchants - didn't want to keep an army - disarmed town militia except for and elite corps of 3000 men - hired mercenaries instead
• Placed no value on patriotism - only wanted the best war machine money could buy that could be disbanded and not have to be supported during peace time
• Soldiers not worth much
• General not a person of consequence - if he won he was praised and pensioned off - if he lost he was crucified
• People very conservative - developed slowly
• Very religious - burning of offering only possible means of communication with the gods - meal, oil, milk, meat, mostly human beings - ***  children and adults burnt alive on pyres or put on outstretched hands of a great bronze statue and slid into the fire
• Sometimes could substitute a living animal but not always
• Had mass human sacrifices when town was in danger or giving thanks for great victories
• ***  After on battle sacrificed 200 children - 300 more offered by their parents
• Relatives strictly forbidden to show any grief - one tear or sigh diminished value of the offering
• Priest highly respected - had fixed rules and precisely laid down tariffs - high priest job often handed down
• (A note about Carthage.  What we know about them is from the writing of the Romans.  Because they were enemies the Romans did not have a lot of good to say about them and their own writings did not survive.)
• Government - plutocracy (rule of the wealthy) - had a constitution - no exact description survived - highest power consuls - from ranks of the rich patricians - needed a private income - no expense accounts - head for a year maybe 2 then had to abdicate or be reinstated - not clear what powers he had - couldn't declare war or control state treasury - nor regulate moral conduct
• Senate - members patricians - main political body - 104 members
• Upper house - several hundred members - could only discuss, turn down or accept resolutions put forward by the senate
• Public assembly - all adult citizens - decided issues between senate and upper house
• Military - strategists mainly from same families - fathers handed experience to sons
• Merchants distrusted and despised soldiers - sailors more popular - more useful - used for commercial as well as military
• Trade - metals strong part of trade - specialists in trading with undeveloped races - dealt in West African gold - seemed to find it difficult to become part of the Mediterranean trade network or deal with other civilized states - vigorously defended their markets but tried to encroach on foreign markets - exported colored materials, carpets, cheap jewelery, amulets, painted ostrich eggs, glass, weapons, poetry, scents - didn't seem to have a reputation for quality goods - imported mainly from their own colonies - cheaper
• Population - at peak - early 3rd century about 400,000 - mostly slaves

First Punic War

• Lasted 23 years
• Began 264 BC to 241 BC
• For over 200 years Carthage and Rome friends
• Carthaginians better sailors than Romans - began to threaten them
• Carthage led by Hamilcar Barca (Hannibal's father)
• War fought mostly at sea - put Rome at a disadvantage - not a sea power or very skillful at shipbuilding
• By luck Rome found a stranded Carthaginian oar driven warship (quinquereme) - made 100 copies in 60 days
• Rome couldn't out sail Carthage but could outfight them - developed boarding ramps (called corvus)
• Totally changed style of sea warfare
• 241 BC Rome defeated Carthage and drove them out of Sicily 
• Peace lasted 23 years - really only a truce
• Sicily became the first Roman province

Carthage realized they must fight Rome on their own territory

Hamilcar Barca (means "lightening") wanted to try this - he had to gain power at home - started a civil war that lasted 4 years (241 BC - 237 BC) - when Carthage settled went on and took 1/3 of Iberian Peninsula - he was killed in 228 BC (***  He was killed crossing a river.)

His son-in-law Hasdrubal took over - had himself appointed king by the Spanish princes - 5 years later he was murdered - ***  killed by a Celtic assassin

Hannibal

• Little is known of his early life - tall for a Phoenician - spoke Greek - forced by his father , when he was 9, to swear eternal hatred of Rome
• 221 BC took over Spanish throne - 26 years old
• Gained major part of the Iberian Peninsula - Spain
• Irritated Rome - it wanted the silver from there
• Rome declared war - began 2nd Punic War

Second Punic War - 218 BC - 201 BC

• Hannibal's Italian campaign probably the most dangerous and daring feat of ancient military history
• Began the march from the Iberian Peninsula to Italy with 50,000 soldiers, 19,000 cavalry, 37 African elephants
• ***  Had elephant farms in Carthage.
• Attack carefully worked out - prepared in advance with the help of spies and scouts who inspected the route
• Crossed Pyrenees, Rhone River and the Alps - 218 BC
• No army had ever crossed central Europe
• Had to face peril of glaciers, avalanches and attacks from Gallic tribes
• It took 15 days in November
• ***  At one point the route was blocked by snow.  They cleared it by having the soldiers urinate  on it to melt the snow.
• ***   Some elephants were lost because they fell off the mountain trails.
• Survived with 20,000 soldiers, 6,000 cavalry, 20 elephants
• This invasion forced Rome to cancel plans to attack Carthage
• Had to enlist 14,000 soldiers from Upper Italian Gauls who didn't like Rome
• This invasion began the 2nd Punic war
• followed 4 great battles which won Hannibal the reputation as one of the great strategical geniuses of all time

First - near Pavia (near central Italy - by the Alps)

• Brisk cavalry skirmish
• Defeated Cornelius Skipio (SKIP-ee-oh) - Scipio wounded

Second - 218 BC at Trebia (alternate spelling Trebbia)

• Used his famous encircling technique for the first time
• Attacked in a snowstorm
• Immobilized enemy (40,000 troops) in the center and outflanked them
• His opponent was consul Sempronius Longus who barely saved his own life
• Roman army fled southward through the snow and fog - less then 1/2 returned to camp

Now Hannibal had Rome by the throat - he was at the gates of Rome but had no siege machines and not enough men

• To defeat Rome had to get non-Roman population on his side
• Also he had no way to feed his army - Carthaginian fleet could not supply them
• Hasdrubal tried too bring supplies - defeated in northern Italy - ***  The Romans cut off his head and threw it in Hannibal's camp
• Army had to live off the land
• Waited - winter of 218 - 217 BC - drilled new mercenaries
• ***  Hannibal went blind in one eye from the cold
• Hannibal rested his troops for 2 months
• While he waited Rome won other battles
• Hannibal was completely cut off and Carthage's only hope

Third Battle - Lake Trasimene 217 BC 

• (This information comes from the Encyclopedia of Battles p. 443.  This is an excellent reference for most military battles, American and European.)
• Battle lasted 2 - 3 hours
• Hannibal lured the Romans into a trap - in a valley by the lake
• The Romans planned to trap Hannibal between 2 armies - they had 40,000 troops
• Hannibal had 35,000 men - he took most of the army off the road and concealed them in a wooded hills overlooking the water
• The Romans began to move along the lake road
• Hannibal's forces assaulted while the Romans were strung out in marching formation
• One of the bloodiest ambushes in history
• Over 3/4's of the Roman army either killed or taken captive
• Hannibal lost about 2,500 men
• Italy now lay open to him
• Rome wanted to avoid battle
• Hannibal wanted to save his troops
• Played cat and mouse

Forth Battle - Cannae - August 3, 216 BC - on the spur of the Italian boot

• Roman army - 85,000
• Encircling technique carried out with almost parade ground precision on a broad level plain
• Hannibal's troops waited for the Romans in a 1/2 moon formation
• Rome attacked Hannibal's line
• Rome slowly forced the center back
• This withdrawal was planned
• Flanks (sides) held
• Soon Romans wedged between the two sides
• Massed tighter by men pushing from the back
• Hanno led a charge of heavy cavalry past the right flank of the Roman lines - then turned and routed the Roman horsemen on both wings
• Completed the encirclement and literally mowed down the Romans
• Rome assailed on all sides
• Legionaries cut to pieces where they stood
• Rome lost 35,000 men - 2/3's killed - 1/3 taken prisoner - (alternate figures 50,000 killed  - 4,500 prisoners)
• Carthage lost 5,700
• (If you are teaching this material this might be a good place to have a discussion about how they counted armies, deaths, and prisoners.  These figures were estimated and precise records were not kept the way they are today.  Consequently, different sources will have different figures.)

This fourth battle changed little - would only help if other Italian peoples had joined Hannibal in vast numbers - the majority stayed loyal to Rome and wanted Hannibal driven out

For 13 years Hannibal marched up and down Italy

Meanwhile Rome conquered other places

• Syracuse - ***  Archimedes was killed here.  He was working a problem and a Roman soldier's shadow fell over his work.  He told the soldier to get out of his light.  The soldier killed him.
• Some Greek towns
• Punic territory in Spain
• Tunis

Carthage recalled Hannibal from Italy to drive Rome from it's homeland

Battle of Zama - 202 BC

• Romans better trained
• Armies about the same size (37,000)
• Skipio (SKIP ee oh) Africanus the Older led the Roman forces
• Hannibal unloosed 80 elephants
• Rome stood their ground and scattered them
• Roman cavalry charged Carthaginian cavalry on wings and Carthage fled
• Rome followed across the plains
• Now battle of infantry
• Rome crushed 1st line (Lugurians and Gauls)
• Then moved forward to take 2nd line (Africans under Hanno)
• This line broken
• Rome exhausted - regrouped to attack still fresh 3rd line (veterans from Italy - directed by Hannibal)
• At that moment the Roman cavalry returned and struck at the rear of the Carthaginian line
• Combined attack smashed the last line of resistance
• Carthage - 20,000 dead - 20,000 captured
• Rome - 1,500 dead

Rome dictated peace terms

• Carthage gave up it's navy
• Lost its freedom in foreign affairs
• Paid an annual tribute to Rome
• Surrendered Spain

Carthage didn't kill Hannibal they honored him - (they usually killed generals who lost battles)

Hannibal reformed the Carthaginian state - introduced new methods of elections - made contact with the ruler of Syria - Rome expected trouble - demanded Hannibal be arrested (195 BC)

Hannibal fled - went to several courts - he was finally betrayed - when troops surrounded his villa to capture him he killed himself - 65 years old

***  He took poison he carried in a ring.

Probably buried in 183 BC

50 years of peace followed

Carthage began being harassed by Massinissa (Numidian prince) with attacks and minor irritations finally made Carthage mad and they started a war - they should have gotten the OK for from Rome

This starts the Third Punic War - 149 BC

• Cato (Roman Senator) incited the Senate - ended speeches "Carthago delenda est." (Carthage must be destroyed.)
• Rome arrived with 2 armies
• Romans led by Scipio Africanus the Younger - adopted grandson of Scipio Africanus the Older in the 2nd Punic War
• Carthage asked humbly for pardon
• Rome demanded 300 children as hostages
• Carthage agreed - gave them the children
• Rome then demanded all their weapons
• Carthage agree - gave up weapons
• Rome then said leave your town and settle elsewhere
• This was too much
• Carthage decided to resist
• Basically collective suicide
• City held out for 3 years (wide spread starvation)
• When the walls finally caved in they turned every house into a fortress
• Fought 6 days
• Town burnt for 17 days
• Town totally destroyed and plowed over
• Salt scattered in furrows
• Africa became the 6th province in Rome's sphere of influence
• Carthage rose from her ashes once more as a Roman province
• Today it is a residential district of Tunis

From conquests Rome became very wealthy

Became the worlds greatest builders of roads and bridges

Aqueduct - means: "carrier of water" - one of their greatest engineering achievements - gave Rome fresh drinking water and sanitary systems

***  The Romans did throw their trash and sewage into the streets and it joined animal excrement.  This is why today the traditions is that the men walk on the outside of the sidewalk when walking with women.  This originated so they protected the woman from what was splashed up from the road and also what was thrown out of the windows (garbage and sewage).

Arch - used and invented by earlier people (Etruscans)

• Rome made it an important part of their architecture - notice the word arch in architecture
• Used it in many large public buildings built by the emperors
• Recognized as a symbol of their civilization

Stadium - another kind of building made famous by the Romans

• Most well known were the Colosseum and Circus Maximus

Aristocratic classes became wealthier

Poor stayed poor

When the Roman soldiers returned from war they found their farms taken over by aristocrats who created large farms called latifundias

Soldiers powerless to regain land - many moved to the city where free bread was given by the government

Often the poor sold their votes to the wealthy for food

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (GRACK-us) - 134 BC -

• Tried to return the land to the soldiers
• Aristocrats fought him he was murdered
• *** Clubbed to death by a mob led by the senators

124 BC - His brother Gaius Sempronius Gracchus tried again

• Offered land in various parts ot the empire
• Started a road building program to provide work
• Upper classes started riots against him
• ***  Forced him to commit suicide (121 BC)

Result of deaths - plebeians convinced senate cared little for their needs

Conditions kept growing worse

Government became more corrupt

Men more interested in political careers than the good of the republic

Army and politicians waged war for political control

Army won almost all the power in a series of civil wars

Many army commanders became dictators - ignored the senate - ruled with support of the soldiers

Rome - Julius Caesar

There is a wonderful book called The Twelve Caesars that has short (around 10 pages) biographies of the first Caesars.  Much of the following information comes from this book.

Julius Caesar

• Born 100 BC
• Tall, fair, well-built, dark brown eyes - bald
• Extra ordinary charm
• Energetic
• Ability to to get things done
• Skillful swordsman and horseman
• Good endurance - ***  In a light 4 wheeled carriage he could cover 100 miles in a day
• Could do everything with extraordinary speed - ***  ex. he could read and dictate at the same time
• He had a good relationship with his troops - *** He doubled their salaries
• Knew exactly how to treat his men - as people
• His officers and troops very loyal and respected his skill
• Loyal to him not to Rome - this was true of all troops and leaders in Rome

Gaul - 58 BC to 51 BC

• Launched to satisfy his personal ambition
• Unequaled brutality, treachery and slaughtering
• He claimed 430,000 Germans killed in 1 day
• Won with utter decisiveness
• Opened up central Europe
• ***  Romans learned the use of soap from the Gauls

Caesar was recalled to Rome - they were afraid he was gaining too much power

Civil War  49 BC

• Vs. Pompey
• ***  Pompey had been married to Caesar's daughter Julia who died in 54 BC
• Roman legions were not allowed past the Rubicon, a river in northern Italy
• When Caesar decided to "cross the Rubicon" this began the civil war
• The first time whole legions formed of non-Italians
• Caesar took Italy
• Pompey fled to Greece with his army
• Caesar took Spain
• Caesar went to the Balkans - Aug. 9 defeated Pompey - (at Pharsalus in Thessaly)
• Pompey fled to Egypt - *** He was killed on the sea shore
• Caesar followed and conquered Egypt - defeated the young monarch
• Met Cleopatra 47 BC
• Caesar boasted "I came, I saw, I conquered"  (Vini,Vide,Vici)
• Fought several more battles - North Africa, Spain
• Crushed Pompey's sons - Cnaeus and extus
• Returned to Rome - seized the treasury
• Cleopatra joined him

Feb. 44 BC - appointed perpetual dictator

Began building program to create jobs

Made administrative reforms

Encouraged people to start colonies in Africa and Greece

Reformed the tax system

Changed the calendar - Julian

Power unlimited

Held every major office

Controlled foreign policy

Patricians jealous of his power

Caesar killed march 15, 44 BC - Ides of March

• 60 men involved
• Led by Brutus and Cassius

*** A Roman physician named Celsus required his epilepsy patients to drink the fresh, warm blood of gladiators. (L.M. Boyd)

Rome - Augustus Caesar

Augustus - - b. 63 BC  ruled 27 BC - 14 AD

Born Gaius Octavian

Grand nephew of Julius Caesar

• 18 when Caesar died
• Caesar left him 3/4 of his property

Octavian took Julius Caesar's name - Gaius Julius Caesar

14 year struggle to gain supremacy

Destroyed Caesars murders

Snubbed by the senate - joined Antony and Lepidus - created the Second Triumvirate - organized the proscription and execution of political enemies - including the orator Cicero

Antony had Cicero put to death (43 BC) because he made Antony jealous - Cicero was a master statesman and public orator - one of the leading writers of the Golden Age

***  The movie/book Ben Hur is set in the time period of Octavian's reign.  The movie has a wonderful sea battle and of course the chariot race.  Showing these two pieces in the classroom create a great learning situation for the students.

October, 42 BC their forces overwhelmed Caesar's assassins - Brutus and Cassius (they died) - battle of Philippi

***  Ill health and perhaps cowardice kept Octavian from much of the fighting

Next 11 years shared the Roman world with Antony who ruled in the east

Antony angered Romans when he planned to divorce his wife (Octavia) and leave his Roman territories to Cleopatra

He did divorce Octavia by mail - she was pregnant - she had a boy and a girl

Octavian declared war on Antony and Cleopatra

They were defeated at the naval battle of Actium in 31 BC - this was fought off the north western coast of Greece -Admiral Agrippa - winner

***  They actually could have won on land.  Cleopatra said to fight at sea because then they could go to Rome and conquer it.  Not as strong at sea.

The following year Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide - they were not together - possibly Cleopatra afraid of being captured, placed in a cage and paraded through the streets of Rome

Octavian the unchallenged master of Rome and Egypt

***  One of the flavoring the ancient Romans commonly put on their food was an extract of rotting fish (l.M. Boyd)

27 BC the senate gave Octavian the title Augustus which means "revered" or "the majestic"

He becomes Romes 1st emperor

The republic was dead and the empire had begun

Roman Empire

Augustus

• Strong general
• Ruled 41 years
• Poor health
• Able ruler
• Had all the power
• Reorganized the provinces so soldiers would not revolt against the government of Rome
• Created new civil service jobs
• Reformed the tax system, made it fairer
• Trade and industry prospered
• Farming improved
• Died in 14 AD age 76

Pax Romana - (27 BC - 180 AD)

• Begun during Augustus' reign
• Means "Roman peace"
• Period of law and order - brought peace and prosperity
• Spread of civilization - Rome spread culture through out the known world
• United all of the Mediterranean area
• ***  Most historians agree that Jesus was born in the year 7 AD in the summer.  The reason the date is off is that there were so many different calendars the earlier calculations were incorrect.   (This information came from a class I took on the early Christian Church at CSF.)
• ***  During the time of the Pax Romana Christ died.
• ***  Gospel author Mark, Matthew and Luke never met, saw or heard Jesus in person.  They wrote between 60 and 70 AD.  It is doubtful that the author of the Gospel of John ever did, either. 

Rome - Tiberius

Tiberius - b.42 BC   ruled 14 AD - 37 AD

Followed Augustus

Mother Livia married Octavian (before Augustus)

Spent 22 years commanding armies

Augustus forced him to divorce his wife and marry Augustus' daughter Julia - 12 BC - he was unhappy with her

Augustus' heirs died - he adopted Tiberius in 4 AD

Tiberius came to the throne at Augustus' death in 14 AD

Continual fear of conspiracies and supposed conspiracies

Tiberius retired to the island of Capreae (Capri) in 26 - never returned

Well-ruled empire

d. March 16,37  age 79

Rome - Caligula

Caligula - name Gaius        b. 12 AD   ruled 37 - 41 AD

***  As a baby he was given miniature military boots.  The soldiers nicknamed him Caligula - "Little Boots"

His father died when he was 7

Rest of his family (mother and 2 brothers) later arrested and killed when he was 18 or 19

Went to live with Tiberius on Capreae

When Tiberius died Caligula took over - 25 years old - 37 AD

Rumored Caligula poisoned or starved or strangled or smother him - probably not true

Looks

• Very tall and pale
• Unshapely body
• Very thin legs and neck
• Eyes and temples hollow
• Forehead broad
• Hair thin - bald on top
• Face forbidding and ugly

Neither sound of body or mind - called insane - falling sickness - labeled - epileptic, schizoid, schizophrenic, alcoholic - probably not mad in any accepted sense

Talent for oratory - spoke Greek and Latin

Anti-Jewish policy - Josephus writes a lot about this

Caligula authorized his own deification - ordered the Jews to set up his statue in their temple at Jerusalem - Jews would have died rather than do this - Caligula changed his mind

October, 37 - suffered a serious illness

January, 39 - formed a violent aversion to the senate

***  Threatened to have his horse appointed consul

• ***  The horse's name was Incitatus - it had a house, furniture, and slaves - also purple blankets, jeweled collar, marble stable and ivory stall

Had plots against his life - precautions intensified

January 24, 41 a group of praetorian officers killed him - his wife was then stabbed

• ***  His baby daughter (his only child) seized and one of the officers smashed her head against a wall

Rome - Claudius

Claudius  b. 10 BC   ruled 41 - 54 AD

When Caligula was murdered there was chaos

Claudius the only surviving member of the Julio-Claudian family

He was 50 years old

He was put on the throne by the praetorian guard

• ***  They found him cowering behind a curtain (maybe - this was reported by Suetonius)
• Senate gave way and appointed him

Praetorian Guard

• To be in the Praetorian Guard had to be of good family
• Swore complete loyalty to the emperor
• Had special privileges
• Better pay and conditions than legions
• Served for 16 years
• Most of the time stationed in the Praetorian Barracks on the outskirts of Rome
• Accompanied the emperor if he left Rome

Physical description

• Constantly ill
• Uncouthness approaching deformity
• Frothed and slavered at the mouth
• Nose dripped
• Stuttered
• Used to shake and tremble a lot
• Evidently trouble with paralysis of some sort - no one knows - have suggested meningitis, polio, multiple sclerosis and alcoholism

During his reign his health was good except for occasional heartburn

Spent his youth on learning - as emperor still wrote a lot

Compulsive appetite - threw up - then ate more or went to sleep

Bad temper - bordered on sadism - ***  Had people tortured in his presence - liked to watch horrible forms of execution

Afraid for his own life - a lot of security precautions

Executed senators at a rate of 2 or 3 a year

Marked administrative gifts

Good at judicial duties - made reforms - mainly to safeguard the weak and defenseless

Added Britain to the Empire - went to Britain and led the troops successfully - only there 16 days

Annexed Thracia

Reformed the finances of the state and the empire

Reformed the military

Extensive building projects

Killed 1st wife when she and her lover made a play for power (Valeria Messalina, 48 AD) - she was driven to suicide

Remarried the next year

• Agrippina (sister of Caligula)
• She had a year old son - Nero - Claudius adopted him

Agrippina exercised a dominant influence over the course of events

Claudius died October 13, 54 - age 63

Several accounts of his death - most believed Agrippina killed him with poisoned mushrooms

Rome - Nero

Nero            b. December 15, 37 at Antium (Anzio)  ruled 54 - 68 AD

• Near sighted - made him blink or squint
• Body full of specks and spots and foul of skin
• Hair somewhat yellow
• Eyes - grey
• Neck full and fat
• Belly and paunch
• Slender spindle-shanks
• Very healthy - in 14 years on sick 3 times
• Became emperor at 16 - his mother (Agrippina) ruled for a few months - used her power to eliminate all possible rivals
• Early in 55 - Britannicus (son of Claudius) died at a dinner party - allegedly murdered - could not be proved
• Seneca had been Nero's tutor - became his adviser
• Burrus - commander of praetorian guard  - ***  Had a crippled arm
• The two ran the country while Nero was young - did a good job
• Nero more interested in the circus and theater, singing, acting, dancing and writing poetry than ruling
• ***  He thought himself very talented (he wasn't) and would force people to listen to him for hours
• When he was young he lived a self-indulgent life - partied round the city at night - long and lavish dinner parties (some lasted 12 hours)
• He would disguise himself and he and his friends would terrorize the streets - attacking individuals - if they defended themselves they often faced death afterwards because they showed disrespect for the emperor
• Got rid of his enemies  - first they were banished - later executed or forced to commit suicide
• Tried to kill his mother - poisoned her 3 times - she took and antidote in advance
• Had a machine put in the ceiling of her bedroom to make the ceiling panels fall on her - she was warned by a servant
• Had a collapsible boat built to either sink or have the cabin fall on her - she escaped by swimming
• Finally he had her murdered - stabbed
• Nero rushed to examine her corpse - sat beside her body he drank wine and discussed her good and bad points
• Always felt guilt afterwords
• Also murdered his aunt - fatal laxative - took her estate

Nero's wives

• First - Octavia - daughter of Claudius - had married her in 53 - she was too shy, quiet and modest for him ***  tried strangling her several times - finally divorced her - almost immediately had her killed - 62AD
• Second - Poppaea - ***  Kicked her to death while she was pregnant and ill - because she complained he came home late from the races - later he was sorry and made her a goddess
• ***  The public made dolls of her to worship that they called "pupa."  The word puppet is derived from her name.

Great fire of Rome

• Lasted for more than a week
• Made the Christians the scapegoats (64 AD)  because his popularity was waning he blamed everything on them -
• Had them killed in his circus near Mons Vaticus - they were torn apart by wild animals - smeared with pitch and let on fire  "to illuminate the night" - so grisly the people felt sorry for the victims
• Peter was crucified upside down at this time
• Paul was beheaded
• ***  A note, Nero was not in Rome during the fire (he was in Antium) and he did not fiddle while it burned.  The fiddle hadn't even been invented.

No one left to control Nero

• 62 - Burrus died - ***  Abscess of the throat or maybe cancer.
• Seneca retired - in 66 AD Nero had him killed
• Began killing enemies (66 AD)

Senate declared him an enemy

• Nero fled to the suburbs
• With the help of a secretary he stabbed himself in the throat and died
• His last words "You are too late!  What a great artist dies with me." (68 AD)

Rome - Trajan

Trajan   lived   53? AD - August, 117

• Military education
• AD 97 adopted by the Emperor Nerva (he died Jan 27, 98 and was the 1st of the 5 good emperors)
• When Nerva died in 98 Trajan succeeded him
• Trajan expanded the empire by conquest - He led in person.
• He added Dacia in 104 - 105 - this was the first conquest since Augustus
• Then added Armenia (in 106) and Babylon
• He extended the empire to it's greatest size
• Took the empire beyond the Tigris River in the east
• Tried to reduce poverty
• The finances of Rome improved
• Found new cities and improved and beautified Rome
• Built bridges and harbors
• ***  At the end of his life he had dropsy and paralysis
• He died childless

Rome - Hadrian

Hadrian     ruled 117 - 138     b. January 24, 76        d. July 10, 138

• Son of Trajan's cousin
• Third of the 5 good emperors
• When he came to power the empire was in critical condition
• Decided to limit Rome's boundary
• Gave up the country beyond the Euphrates
• 119 began traveling - mostly on foot
• Went to Gaul, Germany, Britain, Spain, Mauritania (123), Egypt, Greece (132 - 133), Asia Minor and many others - there is some question as to the exact route
• Gone 7 years
• In Britain he built a wall from Solway to Tyne
• Reorganized and disciplined the army
• Did more than any other emperor to consolidated the monarchical system of Rome
• Tried to wipe out Jerusalem and build a temple to Jupiter on the site of the Holy Temple
• Sparked a vast uprising - at least 1/2 million Jews were killed
• Hadrian outlawed the Jewish religion and renamed Judea "Palestine" the Latin name for the Philistines
• The Philistines had once lived along the coast many centuries earlier
• After the uprising was put down the Jews became a minority in their own country
• The center of Jewish life gradually shifted to the Diaspora - communities outside Judea where many Jews already lived

If you would like more information on Hadrian I found a web site that I liked.  It is http://www.roman-emperors.ore/hadrian.htm

Rome - Recreation - The Games

Recreation

• Many holidays
• Caesar's time (40 BC) more than 100 per year
• 3rd Century AD nearly 200 per year
• Most had public entertainment at government expense
• Poor people like them - The poet Juvenal said their only need in life was for "bread and circuses."
• *** Amphitheater - means double theater - the theater shaped like a D - put 2 together and they make the oval.

Chariot Races

• Most popular entertainment
• Held at the Circus Maximas in Rome (seated 300,000)
• People bet
• 7 laps about 5 miles
• 24 races a day - today a race track has about 6 races
• Most popular number of horses 4 - also ran 2, 6, and 7 teams
• Most charioteers slaves
• Very dangerous - earned huge sums of money
• ***  For any one interested the chariot race in Ben Hur is a wonderful example of the races.  Inspite of rumor, no one died in the filming of the race.

Colosseum in Rome

• Gladiators fought here
• In Rome it was shaped like a present day football stadium
• Could seat 45,00 to 50,000 altogether
• 161' high by 600' long by 500' wide
• Floor of the arena an oval - 282' long by 207' wide at the widest point - usually sanded
• Made out of stone
• Originally could be flooded for mock naval battles - 5' of water - none after 1st century AD
• Later cages for people and animals built underneath
• Construction began under Emperor Vespasian (Masada during his reign - 70 AD) - he ruled 69 to 77 AD
• Construction finished in 80 AD during the reign of Titus

Gladiators

• Most prisoners of war, slaves or criminals
• Condemned to fight
• Some freemen who fought for money and fame - knights - senators - occasionally women
• Christians when being persecuted
• ***  The night before the fights gladiators would appear at a banquet.  There they could be looked over by fans and gamblers.
• Carefully fed
• Received medical care
• Usually housed in barracks
• ***  1st games held 264 BC in a cattle market for the funeral of an aristocrat.

At the Colosseum - wild beasts fought in the morning - lions, boars, bulls, bears, elephants - most from Africa

• Titus killed 5000 animals in 1 day
• Augustus killed 3,500 in 1 day - AD 249 - killed all the animals in Rome - ***  32 elephants, 10 elks, 10 tigers, 60 tame lions, 30 tame leopards, 10 hyenas, 6 hippos, 1 rhinoceros, 10 zebras, 10 giraffes, 20 wild asses, 40 wild horses

Gladiators fought in the afternoon

Weapons

• Gaul - oblong shield, visored, greaves (leg protectors), helmet, sword about 2' long
• Thracian - small round shield, greaves, scimitar (short curved sword)
• Retiarius - net, 3 pronged spear (trident), dagger, shoulder guard

In the beginning they paraded - raised weapons to the emperor's box - "Hail Caesar, we salute you, we who are about to die."

Usually fought till one was killed

95% died - held up one finger asking to be spared - thumbs down by audience meant death - thumbs up, or waved handkerchiefs meant life

If excellent may be freed by being given a wooden sword (rudis) - or if free could retire

***  If they gave a poor performance they had their throat cut

These cruel battles were justified as hardening citizens to the sight of human bloodshed so they could endure war better

Finally banned about 404 by Emperor Hororius(the 1st had been 264 BC)

Spartacus    (? - 71 BC)

• Born in Thrace
• Joined the Roman army to try to improve his life
• When he was forced to fight his own countrymen he deserted
• Captured by Romans with his wife and they were both sold into slavery 
• Sold as a slave to be made a gladiator
• With 70 men - escaped - hid on Mt. Vesuvius - 73 BC
• Raised a large army of rebel slaves - one source says 90,000 - another says 70,000 men
• Conquered most of So. Italy
• Loose 2 years
• Defeated 2 Roman armies
• Spartacus wanted to go over the Alps out of Italy - to Gaul - he wanted to return home
• Slaves forced him to march on Rome because they wanted more loot
• Lost their courage
• Began quarreling
• Fresh Roman army (under Marcus Licinius Crassus) defeated them
• *** Before they went into battle Spartacus killed his horse.  He said, " If we win there will be plenty of horses.  If we lose I won't need a horse."
• Many (6000) crucified as a warning to other slaves - ***  The line stretched 130 miles.
• Spartacus fought till he was killed - his body was never found 
• After the revolt the Romans made a law that if any slave killed his master all slaves in the house would be killed
• Pompey mopped up remnants that had fled north

Later - 60 BC - Crassus, Pompey and Caesar formed the 1st triumvirate to rule Rome

58 - 51 BC Caesar in Gaul

Crassus died fighting in battle

Pompey out of fear of Caesar conspired with the Senate to ruin him