World History Homework Ten - Model

1\. When and where was the Industrial Revolution?

The Industrial Revolution was from 1760 to 1840 and was located in Western Europe in addition to some of the American colonies. (Leonard)

2\. Pick your two favorite scientists or mathematicians from the 1800s and explain what you like about them.

I greatly admire Thomas Edison for overcoming his and other people’s doubts and going after his dreams. What amazed me the most about him was that even though he was deaf, he invented many machines that only a person could enjoy with their ears. Many people do not want other people to enjoy something that they are not capable of enjoying themselves, but Thomas Edison was different. Marie Curie is greatly known for her discoveries and theories on radioactivity. She might have experienced discrimination from some of her colleges and friends because she was a woman and, at that period in time, some people believed that women were not as capable in different subjects as men. She did what she enjoyed and believed what was correct no matter what other people thought. What I found interesting was that she died by poisoning from her own lab. She was an amazingly ambitious woman who did not let anyone get in the way of her goals. (Veronika)

My favorites ... were the Wright brothers. The fact that two young men in the biking industry had the brains and determination to invent a machine that would be capable of lifting man into the skies is an inspiration to every single American. I am also impressed by the guts they had in selling their bike shop. (Cole)

3\. Do you think the Industrial Revolution was good or bad, and why?

The Industrial Revolution was good, with some bad effects. Modern life would be impossible without the industrial technology that the Revolution spearheaded and developed. Also, capitalism suggests that such progress is inevitable. Unless government suppresses progress, it will happen. The bad effects of the Revolution were the poor working conditions in the factories, pollution caused by factories, and the low quality of living in factory towns and slums. But with these unfortunate effects eventually came affordable clothing and food, increased sanitation, and a new production network that enabled modern manufacturing and communications to flourish within a century. (Addison)

There is a bit of both in the Industrial Revolution, but on the whole, I think it was a good thing. It allowed for much of the technology and lifestyles that we are able to lead today. People cannot blame the Industrial Revolution for the stressful lifestyle that today proposes. It's their choice to go out and make it stressful. The Industrial revolution was not wholly responsible for the stress that many people feel today. (Anna)

4\. Give an example of nationalism from the lecture, with dates.

The best example of nationalism is Germany, which in 1848 was a mere collection of states. In 1862, Otto van Bismarck became the prime minister of Prussia, the most powerful of the states, and quickly annexed most of northern Germany. He then tricked France into declaring war on Prussia in 1871; Prussia defeated France and southern Germany joined northern Germany under the rule of Prussia. (Duncan)

5\. What is imperialism? Describe the four patterns of imperialism.

Imperialism is the gain or attempt to gain political or economic control over certain nations or territories. There were four basic types of imperialism: the establishment of colonies which were ruled by the mother country, such as England with Australia and the establishment of protectorates which were self-governed but the establishing country had an agreement to protect it. Then there were “spheres of influence,” meaning that a certain nation had special trading rights in that area, and “economic imperialism,” where a private business held sway over the region. (Duncan)

6\. Describe an aspect of Africa in the 1800s, such as an example of imperialism.

Imperialism in Africa could be viewed as being both good or bad. Imperialism brought advances in technology, built hospitals, and improved the infrastructure, such as railroads, telephones, telegraphs, sanitation and other public works, which improved trade and communications, and reduced disease. During this time Literacy improved, and Christianity flourished. Not everything about imperialism was good though, Europeans displaced Africans from their individual farms and shifted them into working for European businesses, which caused Africans to lose control of their land. Europeans also completely disrupted African cultural groups and village life. (Amanda)

7\. Pick any aspect of Asian history in the 1800s and describe and discuss it.

I find it interesting that Japan, which is geographically tiny compared to Russia and China was able to defeat both of them in quick succession (Russia in the 1900s, not 1800s). It's surprising that Japan could even have a large enough military to prevent being completely overrun by hordes of Chinese and Russians. Japan's battles with these two nations reminds of the 300 Spartans who held back the Persian army of hundreds of thousands. (Addison)

Opium had become a serious problem in China. The British had gotten the Chinese addicted, so that they would keep buying, which translated into a nice profit for Britain, and an addicted populace for China. This issue led to the Opium War, and later another rebellion. Opium caused much grief; it destroyed lives, and caused bitterness against Europeans. Yet another example of imperialism gone bad. (Michelle)

H1. Utilitarianism - what is it, and what's your view of it?

Utilitarianism is “the ethical doctrine that virtue is based on utility, and that conduct should directed toward promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number of persons.” There are certain aspects of this concept which I believe, such as the idea of substitutionary atonement. However, there are no Christian morals present at all in utilitarianism. (Olivia)

Utilitarianism is the application of business principles to government. It also removes freedom, and puts choices in the hands of the government. At a first glance, it could seem beneficial: everything would ideally be done for the good of the people. But in truth, people are corrupt, and those running the government would have their own good at heart. Also, different people have different ideas of what is best. Some people may think that the benefit in, say, funding abortion is greater than the cost. Business principles cannot be the only principles used in government. Decisions like that need to be made with respect to morals, and conscience, not profit. (Michelle)

H2. What is your view of imperialism, and whether it is sometimes good?

This is a very subjective question, because how good or bad whatever is influencing something is, is greatly reliant on what the motives are. Picture it like this; imperialism is like a car going very fast: if there is a criminal in that car, well then it’s just his get-away car…but if there’s a police officer in that car, he can have a positive effect. (Jonathan R.)

H3. Nationalism: good or bad?

Nationalism was an interesting idea that an individual should remain totally loyal to their country. Unfortunately the idea seems to have been taken too far into practice leading to the striping of rights and individuality. (James)

H4. Describe how Japan to became a military powerhouse by the 20th century.

In 1549, Christian missionaries came to Japan and gave them European technology which later aided them during World War II. The firearms that the missionaries brought aided Japan in unifying their country. In 1637 the spread of Christianity caused the retaliation and the persecution of the Christians. Therefore Japan closed all of its ports but one (Nagasaki). In 1853 the American Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Edo harbor. His trip was successful and caused the treaty of Kanagawa to be signed. The United States was also allowed to use two ports and start an embassy. Later other European nations gained access to Japan. In 1868, a new emperor rose to power, Mutsuhito, he industrialized Japan, strengthened Japan’s military power and centralized its government. By the 1900’s Japan was a leading world power that could compete militarily and economically with other countries. Japan defeated China first then invaded Korea in 1894. The Chinese retreated from Korea and then Japan invaded Manchuria in the Sino-Japanese War. In 1895, the peace treaty was signed that gave Japan the Pescadores Islands and Taiwan. Next, Japan took on Russia and defeated it in 1905. The Russian fleet was defeated and Japan received control of Chinese Eastern Railway’s southern portion. Japan became of one of most imperialistic nations while it had begun as a target of imperialism. Japanese aggression was unlimited especially in depressing the populations of Korea and China. Perhaps, in its initial hatred of another country’s imposition it became what it hated the most. (Sandro)

H5. Comment on socialism, communism or evolution.

Charles Darwin was a bum; his children nearly starved to death at one point because he couldn't buy food. He failed in science, math, and becoming a doctor. He also gave up Christianity .... Finally, Darwin's father got him a job on the HMS Beagle. ... In an attempt to hide God away, Charles Darwin wrote a book on his hypothesis of evolution, which remains an important religious book to this day. Looking at all of this, it is funny how Darwin is taught as a genius scientific man, if not scary. (Tom)

H6. Discuss any aspect of the lecture.

Dimitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist who put together the periodic table which is still used today. He not only put it together, but he accounted for gaps in which elements that were not discovered yet would go, he went even further when he predicted the properties of these elements using the periodic law. An example of this was Mendeleev’s new element, ekaaluminum (Ea), which is what we know as gallium (Ga) today: his predicted atomic mass was 69, the actual atomic mass is 69.7. His predicted density was 6.0 g/cm3, the actual density is 5.9 g/cm3. I am amazed at the accuracy of these predictions, and in honor of his contributions, they named an element after him: Mendelevium (Md). (Jonathan R.)