Modern Era

Key Terms Kellogg-Briand Pact: multinational treaty sponsored by American and French diplomats that outlawed war; an example of the optimism that existed during part of the 1920s. Interwar Period: the 1920s and 1930s, shaped by the results of World War I. The Roaring Twenties: great social and economic changes were the hallmark of this decade. Cubist movement: artistic style rendering familiar objects in geometric shapes; headed by Pablo Picasso, who was influenced by African art. Fascism: created in Italy by Mussolini and expanded in Germany by Hitler, this political and economic movement promoted socialist programs combined with authoritarianism. Benito Mussolini: Italian fascist leader after World War I; created first fascist government (1922-1943) based on aggressive foreign policy and new nationalist glories. Settler Societies: Australia, Canada, and New Zealand; forged separate "autonomous communities" within the British empire, called the British Commonwealth of Nations. Zaibatsu: in Japan, industrial corporations with close government cooperation that expanded rapidly in this era into shipbuilding and other heavy industries. Porfirio Diaz: one of Juarez's generals elected president of Mexico in 1876, dominated Mexican politics for 35 years; imposed strong central government. Pancho Villa: Mexican revolutionary who led guerrilla fighting in the North; pursued unsuccessfully by the U.S. government in 1913. Emiliano Zapata: Mexican revolutionary who led guerrilla fighting in the South; motto was "Tierra y Libertad"; demanded land reform. Victoriano Huerta: attempted to reestablish centralized dictatorship in Mexico following the removal of Madero in 1913; forced from power in 1914 by Villa and Zapata. Alvaro Obregon: emerged as leader of the Mexican government in 1915; elected president in 1920. Diego Rivera: socialist Mexican painter of murals (1886-1957). Cristeros: conservative peasant movement in the 1920s in Mexico; backed by the Catholic church and many politicians; resisted the secularization of the culture and government. Party of the Industrialized Revolution (PRI): Mexican political party that dominated politics from the 1930s to the end of the century. Alexander Kerensky: leader of the provisional government in Russia after the fall of the tsar; kept Russia in World War I and resisted major reforms; overthrown by Bolsheviks at the end of 1917. New Economic Policy: Lenin's temporary measure that allowed some capitalism within a Communist framework; food production increased under this program; ended by Stalin. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: a former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia. Joseph Stalin: assistant to Lenin who beat out Trotsky for undisputed control of the U.S.S.R. after Lenin's death; installed the nationalistic "socialism in one country" program, collectivization, and widespread purges. Sun Yat-sen: Western-educated leader of the Revolutionary Alliance, the Guomindang, and at times, China, in the 1910s and 1920s; struggled with warlords for control of the nation. Yuan Shikai: warlord in northern China after fall of Qing dynasty; hoped to seize imperial throne; president of China after 1912; resigned in the face of Japanese invasion in 1916. May Fourth Movement: popular 1919 uprising in China against Japanese interference and for Western-style government that featured intellectuals and students as its leaders; sank under the weight of problems facing China in the early 20th century. Li Dazhao: Chinese intellectual who gave serious attention to Marxist philosophy; headed study circle at the University of Beijing; saw peasants as vanguard of revolutionary communism in China. Mao Zedong: Chinese communist leader (1893-1976). Guomindang: Nationalist party in China; it was the Communist Party's greatest rival, yet the Guomindang and Communists forged an alliance against Japanese aggression; the ruling party in mainland China until 1949, it failed to implement most of the domestic programs it proposed. Whampoa Military Academy: founded in 1924; military wing of the Guomindang; first head of the academy was Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek: successor to Sun as leader of the Nationalists; fierce opponent of the Communists, yet he formed an alliance with them to fight Japan. Long March: to escape the Nationalists, 90,000 Mao supporters traveled thousands of miles in 1934 to remote regions; solidified Mao's leadership and created much of his myth. Syndicalism: economic and political system based on the organization of labor; imported in Latin America from European political movements; militant force in Latin American politics. Mexican Revolution: fought over a period of almost 10 years form 1910; resulted in ouster of Porfirio Diaz from power; opposition forces led by Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. Francisco Madero: (1873-1913) Moderate democratic reformer in Mexico; proposed moderate reforms in 1910; arrested by Profirio Diaz; initiated revolution against Diaz when released from prison; temporarily gained power, but removed and assassinated in 1913. Mexican Constitution of 1917: promised land reform, limited foreign ownership of key resources, guaranteed the rights of workers, and placed restrictions on clerical education; marked formal end of Mexican Revolution. Red Army: military organization constructed under leadership of Leon Trotsky, Bolshevik follower of Lenin; made use of people of humble background. Comintern: international office of communism under U.S.S.R. dominance established to encourage the formation of Communist parties in Europe and the world. Lazaro Cardenas: president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940; responsible for redistribution of land, primarily to create ejidos, or communal farms; also began program of primary and rural education. Great Depression: international economic crisis following the First World War; began with collapse of American stock market in 1929; actual causes included collapse of agricultural prices in 1920s; included collapse of banking houses in the United States and Western Europe, massive unemployment; contradicted optimistic assumptions of 19th century. Popular Front: combination of Socialist and Communist political parties in France; won election in 1936; unable to take strong measures of social reform because of continuing strength of conservatives; fell from power in 1938. New Deal: President Franklin Roosevelt's precursor of the modern welfare state (1933-1939); programs to combat economic depression enacted a number of social insurance measures and used government spending to stimulate the economy; increased power of the state and the state's intervention in United States social and economic life. Gestapo: secret police in Nazi Germany, known for brutal tactics. Spanish Civil War: war pitting authoritarian and military leaders in Spain against republicans and leftists between 1936 and 1939; Germany and Italy supported the royalists; the Soviet Union supported the republicans; led to victory of the royalist forces. Corporatism: political ideology that emphasized the organic nature of society and made the state a mediator, adjusting the interests of different social groups; appealed to conservative groups in European and Latin American societies and to the military. Francisco Franco: a Spanish general and the dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. Getulio Vargas: elected president of Brazil in 1929; launched centralized political program by imposing federal administrators over state governments; held off coups by communists in 1935 and fascists in 1937; imposed a new constitution based on Mussolini's Italy; leaned to communists after 1949; committed suicide in 1954. Juan Peron: military leader in Argentina who became dominant political figure after military coup in 1943; used position as Minister of Labor to appeal to working groups and the poor; became president in 1946; forced into exile in 1955; returned and won presidency in 1973. Collectivization: Soviet policy of eliminating private ownership of farmland and creating large state-run farms. Five-Year Plan: Stalin's plans to hasten industrialization of USSR; constructed massive factories in metallurgy, mining and electric power; led to massive state-planned industrialization at cost of availability of consumer products. Socialist Realism: attempt within the USSR to relate formal culture to the masses in order to avoid the adoption of Western European cultural forms; begun under Joseph Stalin; fundamental method of Soviet fiction, art, and literary criticism. Politburo: executive committee of the Soviet Communist party; 20 members.