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Thus by 1908 one powerful group of three nations (Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary), known as the Triple Alliance, stood against another powerful group of three nations (Britain, France and Russia), known as the Triple Entente.  It was like one football team standing on a field opposite another football team, with both teams fully suited up.  It doesn’t take much for someone to shout, “let’s play,” and the battle will begin.  The “battle” became the first world war in history.

Thus by 1908 one powerful group of three nations (Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary), known as the Triple Alliance, stood against another powerful group of three nations (Britain, France and Russia), known as the Triple Entente.  It was like one football team standing on a field opposite another football team, with both teams fully suited up.  It doesn’t take much for someone to shout, “let’s play,” and the battle will begin.  The “battle” became the first world war in history.

And what a devastating war it was.  Never before in the history of the world was a war fought in such a deadly manner.  With Christians on both sides, one might wonder how this could have happened.  But this was long past the feudal times when fighting stopped on every Christian holiday.  By 1914, leaders in both Germany on one side and Britain on the other had embraced deadly beliefs like the evolutionary survival-of-the-fittest, and many educated people felt that war was an essential, inevitable part of the improvement of the human race.  According to this theory, may the stronger racial group win.

And what a devastating war it was.  Never before in the history of the world was a war fought in such a deadly manner.  With Christians on both sides, one might wonder how this could have happened.  But this was long past the feudal times when fighting stopped on every Christian holiday.  By 1914, leaders in both Germany on one side and Britain on the other had embraced deadly beliefs like the evolutionary survival-of-the-fittest, and many educated people felt that war was an essential, inevitable part of the improvement of the human race.

== Igniting World War I ==

== Igniting World War I ==

Also in 1916, and also in France, the British and French armies met at the Somme River to begin a massive attack on the Germans in order to distract them from Verdun.  This became the Battle of the Somme, and the fighting was even heard across the British channel in England.  First the Allies “shelled” (fired many shots and bombs) at the Germans to weaken them, and then 100,000 British soldiers charged the enemy.  But the shelling did not have its intended effect, as the Germans were dug in too deeply to be affected by it.  On July 1, 1916, the Germans killed 20,000 of the British soldiers and wounded over 40,000, making it the single worst day for the British in their history.  This battle, which did not succeed in moving trench lines, eventually involved over 2 million men along a 30-mile front.  The British and French lost nearly 750,000 men.  

Also in 1916, and also in France, the British and French armies met at the Somme River to begin a massive attack on the Germans in order to distract them from Verdun.  This became the Battle of the Somme, and the fighting was even heard across the British channel in England.  First the Allies “shelled” (fired many shots and bombs) at the Germans to weaken them, and then 100,000 British soldiers charged the enemy.  But the shelling did not have its intended effect, as the Germans were dug in too deeply to be affected by it.  On July 1, 1916, the Germans killed 20,000 of the British soldiers and wounded over 40,000, making it the single worst day for the British in their history.  This battle, which did not succeed in moving trench lines, eventually involved over 2 million men along a 30-mile front.  The British and French lost nearly 750,000 men.  

 

====Third Battle of Ypres====

====Third Battle of Ypres====

(Also known as the Battle of Passchendaele)

(Also known as the Battle of Passchendaele)

This news, plus the sinking of American ships by German submarines, swung American opinion towards entering the war against the Germans.  Even though President Woodrow Wilson campaigned for the presidency on his promise to keep America out of World War I, he pushed Congress to declare war on Germany on April 2, 1917.  The addition of the United States to the Allies tipped the power in their favor.

This news, plus the sinking of American ships by German submarines, swung American opinion towards entering the war against the Germans.  Even though President Woodrow Wilson campaigned for the presidency on his promise to keep America out of World War I, he pushed Congress to declare war on Germany on April 2, 1917.  The addition of the United States to the Allies tipped the power in their favor.

 

===Russia===

===Russia===

This was how the communist Stalin killed perhaps 20 million in the Ukraine.  In 1928, Stalin seized millions of private farms, and combined them into large, government-owned farms.  Stalin did this to punish the Ukrainian kulaks, who were wealthier peasants who had done well (through their own hard work) during Lenin’s NEP.  Stalin’s enforcement of collective farming against the kulaks caused a huge famine in the Ukraine, and the famine resulted in the death of an estimated 20 million victims.  In sum, the communist Stalin was one of the most brutal dictators in world history, and also one of the dumbest.

This was how the communist Stalin killed perhaps 20 million in the Ukraine.  In 1928, Stalin seized millions of private farms, and combined them into large, government-owned farms.  Stalin did this to punish the Ukrainian kulaks, who were wealthier peasants who had done well (through their own hard work) during Lenin’s NEP.  Stalin’s enforcement of collective farming against the kulaks caused a huge famine in the Ukraine, and the famine resulted in the death of an estimated 20 million victims.  In sum, the communist Stalin was one of the most brutal dictators in world history, and also one of the dumbest.

==Nationalism in Eastern, Southern and Southwestern Asia==

==Nationalism in Eastern, Southern and Southwestern Asia==

The mass production of affordable cars had a tremendous effect on society, influencing everything from teenage life to families moving to the suburbs with the father commuting to work each day.  Arrival of the airplane also had an enormous impact, with Charles Lindbergh flying solo for the first time from New York to Paris in 1927.  Amelia Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic by solo flight, in 1932.

The mass production of affordable cars had a tremendous effect on society, influencing everything from teenage life to families moving to the suburbs with the father commuting to work each day.  Arrival of the airplane also had an enormous impact, with Charles Lindbergh flying solo for the first time from New York to Paris in 1927.  Amelia Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic by solo flight, in 1932.

In 1920, KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, became the first commercial radio station, and radio quickly developed into the center of entertainment for families.  Use of radio spread most quickly in the United States, where there is freedom of speech, and slowly in other countries where speech is controlled or regulated by the government.  Movies caught on in the 1920s in silent form and then, with sound, in the late 1930s.  ''The Wizard of Oz'' in 1939 was the first color movie.

In 1920, "KDKA" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, became the first commercial radio station, and radio quickly developed into the center of entertainment for families.  Use of radio spread most quickly in the United States, where there is freedom of speech, and slowly in other countries where speech is controlled or regulated by the government.  Movies caught on in the 1920s in silent form and then, with sound, in the late 1930s.  ''The Wizard of Oz'' in 1939 was the first color movie.

===Literature and Philosophy===

===Literature and Philosophy===

==The Great Depression==

==The Great Depression==

The complex political alliances that led to World War I were replaced by a complex set of financial relations after World War I.  The Great War was very, very expensive and there were many debts to pay off after the war.  But in order for Britain and France to pay their debts to the United States, Germany had to pay reparations to Britain and France.  In order for Germany to be able to reparations, it had to receive loans from American banks and also benefit from a strong global market.  Meanwhile, colonies were already beginning to struggle due to a decreased demand in raw materials by industrialized nations, which had learned to make more with less.  Any economic downturn in a major country could have set off a financial chain reaction that would be hurtful to all.  In 1928 American lenders did begin pulling money out of Europe to invest in the more successful American stock market, and that was an early warning sign of potential trouble.

The network of political alliances that led to World War I were replaced by a set of financial relations after World War I.  The Great War was very, very expensive and there were many debts to pay off after the war.  But in order for Britain and France to pay their debts to the United States, Germany had to pay reparations to Britain and France.  In order for Germany to be able to reparations, it had to receive loans from American banks and also benefit from a strong global market.  Meanwhile, colonies were already beginning to struggle due to a decreased demand in raw materials by industrialized nations, which had learned to make more with less.  Any economic downturn in a major country could have set off a financial chain reaction that would be hurtful to all.  In 1928 American lenders did begin pulling money out of Europe to invest in the more successful American stock market, and that was an early warning sign of potential trouble.

   

   

The American economy had been booming during the “Roaring Twenties” (1920s).  Everything looked good.  In 1920, the politically conservative President Warren Harding was elected president.  He favored limited government so that free enterprise could thrive, and his economic policies benefited the nation and the world for a decade.

The American economy had been booming during the “Roaring Twenties” (1920s).  Everything looked good.  In 1920, the politically conservative President Warren Harding was elected president.  He favored limited government so that free enterprise could thrive, and his economic policies benefited the nation and the world for a decade.

But President Harding died from an illness in 1923.  He was succeeded by his Vice President Calvin Coolidge, who was conservative but not as much as Harding.  When Coolidge declined to run for reelection in 1928, Republican Herbert Hoover took office.  In his first year in office, on “Black Thursday” Oct. 24, 1929, the stock market in New York crashed.  Stock prices plummeted and many lost everything.  This was the beginning the Great Depression in the United States, which then pulled down the economies in European nations also.

But President Harding died from an illness in 1923.  He was succeeded by his Vice President Calvin Coolidge, who was conservative but not as much as Harding.  When Coolidge declined to run for reelection in 1928, Republican Herbert Hoover took office.  In his first year in office, on “Black Thursday” Oct. 24, 1929, the stock market in New York crashed.  Stock prices plummeted and many lost everything.  This was the beginning the Great Depression in the United States, which then pulled down the economies in European nations also.

Economists debate the possible causes of the Great Depression to this day.  There is no consensus in favor of one single cause.  There is no apparent reason why a drop in stock market value alone would cause a massive depression.  Only those owning the stocks that fell in value were immediately hurt.  But many had bought stock “on margin,” which means on a mere promise to pay.  When their stocks fell in value, those buyers could not pay their obligations on stock they had already purchased.  That means the losses were felt far beyond the stock owners, and were felt by many others in the economy, including banks.  Laws changed afterwards to guard against this ripple effect.  The stock market crash hurt public confidence, and people stopped buying things.  It was a vicious cycle.

Economists debate the possible causes of the Great Depression to this day.  There is no consensus in favor of one single cause.  There is no apparent reason why a drop in stock market value alone would cause a massive depression.  Only those owning the stocks that fell in value were immediately hurt.  But many had bought stock “on margin,” which means on a mere promise to pay.  When their stocks fell in value, those buyers could not pay their obligations on stock they had already purchased.  That means the losses were felt far beyond the stock owners, and were felt by many others in the economy, including banks.  Laws changed afterward to guard against this ripple effect.  The stock market crash hurt public confidence, and people stopped buying things.  It became a vicious cycle.

Perhaps it was an overreaction by government that really caused the Great Depression.  Economists criticize the Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930, which imposed high trade barriers on imports to protect American manufacturers, as a huge mistake.  Foreigners retaliated by refusing to buy American products, and factories, banks and stores closed in increasing numbers.  Unemployment that was only 5 million in 1930 skyrocketed to 13 million in 1932.  The Great Depression had hit.

Perhaps it was an overreaction by government that really caused the Great Depression.  Economists criticize the Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930, which imposed high trade barriers on imports to protect American manufacturers, as a huge mistake.  Foreigners retaliated by refusing to buy American products, and factories, banks and stores closed in increasing numbers.  Unemployment that was only 5 million in 1930 skyrocketed to 13 million in 1932.  The Great Depression had hit.