Unit 6 Test Review

While there were many, many causes for the First World War, what event is usually said to have been the spark that started the fighting?

• A war poem written by Wilfred Owen

• The invention of the telegraph

• The sudden and increased efficiency of the railroad

• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Answer explanation

This assassination concerned a smaller set of parties than would ultimately participate in this massive conflict, but it is regarded as the spark that touched a highly flammable set of circumstances.

What does the term “military burden” refer to, primarily?

• The number of soldiers’ lives lost in a war

• The weapons and equipment provided to soldiers

• A citizen’s mandatory participation in the military (i.e. conscription, or the draft)

• The amount of money a nation spends on the military

Answer explanation

Right. This term is important, considering some nations’ military burdens were three or four times what is considered the maximum sustainable amount of 15%.

What major shift occurred in Russian politics in 1917?

• The monarchy was replaced first with a parliament, then soon after with a communist government.

• The tsar (emperor) introduced a democratic process for creating new legislation.

• A coup reinstalled the monarch after a communist revolution.

• The Romanov family rose to power, and the king was exiled.

Answer explanation

Right! The lead up to this major shift in governance structure involved massive food shortages, economic disaster, and the loss of millions of lives.

While the Industrial Revolution brought tremendous progress – technological, social, and political – which response most clearly identifies one of the problems with all of this change?

• The advantages did not reach everyone, so many parts of the world became vulnerable to conquest by newly powerful nations.

• The automation that came with the factory system created a huge burden of unemployment worldwide.

• As globalization increased, people became less loyal to their own nations, weakening many states.

• Increased production in many parts of the world meant fewer products had to shipped, damaging existing systems of production and distribution.

Answer explanation

Correct. It is important in the study of world history not to assume that big, sweeping trends include everyone, and to look at what was happening to those who were left out of such trends.

Despite the many problems in the world going on at the eve of the First World War in 1914, what were some of the positive developments that had occurred by this time?

• American women now had the vote, and colonialism was for the most part at an end.

• Gender equality and racial equality were now recognized by law in most places.

• More children were in school, and working conditions had been improved.

• Russia had become more stable, and the advent of television made it easier to keep people informed.

Answer explanation

Right. There was still a lot more to improve, but these reforms were well under way.

In what way did poet Wilfred Owen represent the way many people felt about the First World War?

• At first, he was excited to fight for his country, but he was later disillusioned by the horrors he experienced.

• He was ashamed that his injuries took him off the battlefield, but felt the experience made him a better soldier in the long run.

• He was furious that he was forced to go to war, but in by the end developed more pride in his country.

• He had been afraid of dying before entering the war, but ultimately felt like a hero for fighting in it.

Answer explanation

That’s correct. One of his poems refers to “the old lie” that dying for your country is a good thing.

Which war did U.S. president Woodrow Wilson predict would be “the war to end all wars”?

• The First World War

• The Second World War

• The Seven Years War

• The Spanish-American War

Answer explanation

True. Wilson wasn’t the only one to call it that, even if what it led to was the opposite of what he had hoped.

What was the general position of Germany after the First World War?

• Shell-shocked, disoriented from violence, and regretful that they had let their nationalistic ideas get out of hand

• Humiliated, weakened by its loss, and eager to fight again to regain power

• Arrogant, proud of its victory, and on a campaign to demonstrate its power

• Humbled, regretful for the lives lost, and intent on finding more peaceful methods to resolve political conflicts

Answer explanation

Right. Many historians note that it was the lack of real resolution in the wake of this war that led to the Second World War, and that despite the interwar period, some call the timespan between 1914-1945 one continuous war.

What is one of the ways in which the First World War was affected by industrialization?

• The high amount of pollutants in the air, caused by rapidly increasing factory production, sometimes damaged the lungs of soldiers and put them in hospitals even though they had not been in battle.

• Nuclear weapons were used for the first time, which increased by dramatic measures the threat of what war could do.

• There were so many factory workers that it was nearly impossible to recruit soldiers without damaging the production and distribution aspect of the economy.

• Newer and deadlier weapons could be produced on a larger scale than ever before, so the war benefitted some economies despite a shockingly high death toll.

Answer explanation

Correct! Munitions factories could make more guns, bombs, and equipment faster than ever before.

In what way was the First World War a “total” war?

• The weapons provided by industrialization produced a level of violence and mortality that many referred to as “total” devastation.

• Unlike most wars, which are messy and unpredictable, this one had a clear beginning, middle and end, creating a totality of experience for those involved.

• Victories and losses were measured by totals – i.e. total deaths, total financial loss, etc. – hence the term “total war”.

• Citizens from the involved nations participated at almost every level – so even if you weren’t a soldier, you were doing something for the war.

Answer explanation

Right. Attitudes of nationalism promoted the idea that everyone in a given nation should participate in that nation’s political battles.