The First World War was not a reversal of the trends of the long nineteenth century, but rather their product. Nationalism, industrialization, capitalism, and imperialism all helped cause the war and its immense suffering. The grandsons of those who fought in the First World War went back to war only a few decades later, in an even more devastating conflict, and one in which great violence was aimed at civilian populations. How does our understanding of these two wars—and the peace between—change when we consider them together, as one thirty-year period of conflict?

This video will provide you with an overview to begin evaluating how revolutions in the Atlantic world in the long nineteenth century had implications far beyond this region and after this period. It gives you your first two pieces of evidence to begin exploring these changes: a case study from Saint Louis in West Africa and data on the number of democratic states in the world from about 1750 to the present. Finally, it asks questions that can help you to think about, and use, this information to evaluate the limits of political revolutions.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. How does the scale of the First World War compare to that of the Second World War, according to the video?
2. What were some problems left by the First World War that contributed to the Second World War?
3. What kinds of intellectual ideas and economic situations helped to drive the rise of nationalism in this era?
4. What were some horrors of the Second World War that resulted from this extreme nationalism and from authoritarianism?
5. What does the data about the number of democracies in the world show for the period from 1930 to 1944?
6. Why did Emperor Haile Selassie travel to Geneva? Did he succeed? Why or why not?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. For much of the nineteenth century, we saw an expansion of democracy and citizen rights, at least in some places. But many of those same countries that were becoming more democratic, particularly in Europe, turned towards authoritarian and racist/nationalist policies in the 1930s. What are some reasons this might have happened?

The devastation of the First World War was such that many started calling it “The War to End All Wars.” At the time, it was the worst and most violent conflict in human history. But it didn’t end all wars, and after only twenty years of shaky peace, attempts at international cooperation failed. As authoritarian governments invaded their neighbors, the Second World War broke out. It was even bloodier than the first. Should we consider these as three separate periods or as a single, 30-year conflict?

This overview article introduces Unit 7. Most history textbooks divide the period from 1914 to 1945 into two or three separate periods. But what happens if we consider these two world wars and the period of peace that separated them as a single conflict? This article begins to explore some answers to the main focus of the Unit Problem: What caused the global conflicts and atrocities from 1914 to 1945, and how did people experience this period of global war? As you read, remember that wars are caused by humans. By studying the history of these wars, we can strive to avoid these horrors in the future.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What seem to be some explanations for the origins and spread of the First World War, according to the article?
2. What does the author argue was the most dangerous impact of the First World War?
3. What were some events that the author points to as leading to the Second World War?
4. According to the author, what two countries emerged strongest from the war, and what was their relationship?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. The author mentions the many atrocities that took place in this period, particularly during the Second World War. How does connecting these three periods into a single 30-year conflict help us see these atrocities differently than if we separate these events into three different units (World War I, interwar, and World War II)?

In Unit 7, students look at World War I, World War II, and the twenty years of the Interwar period in between them as a single global conflict spanning from 1914-1945. Rising nationalist tensions, and a new system of internationalism, paved the way for new ideas about community. The First World War diminished global networks, and as those networks rebuilt, they also contributed to the spread of extreme nationalism. Meanwhile, global production and distribution were completely reshaped as the war effort consumed resources. How can we use these frames to understand this conflict and the horrors it brought with it?

This video uses the three frames of the course to view World War I, World War II, and the Interwar period as a single global conflict. Each frame gives you a unique perspective to understand these events: the rise of extreme nationalism, diminishing global networks, and large-scale industrialized warfare all offer different ways to understand this period of global unrest. This information will help you better understand the connections that link this period as well as the issues facing governments and people everywhere at the end of the second world war.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. The Long Nineteenth Century saw nationalism emerge as a transformative force. How did that contribute to the start of World War I?
2. What is internationalism?
3. How did new ideas about community that arose in the 1930’s lead to the atrocities of the World War II?
4. How did World War I diminish global networks?
5. How did production and distribution change during this period?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. Knowing what you know about the world we live in today, what do you think are some answers to the questions posed at the end of the video? For example, is possible to have nationalism without extremism? Can international networks be built to avoid future wars? What kind of production and distributions system would allow the world to rebuild after a massive event like this?

The long nineteenth century transformed the world. Political revolutions, nationalism, industrialization, imperialism, and social upheaval all sent shockwaves of change through societies in every corner of the world. In 1914, the tensions surrounding many of these changes would send the world to war. In this mapping exercise you will identify some of the participants in the First World War and make predictions about what you think might have caused the war.

You’ll begin this activity by identifying several countries in the world of 1914 CE. You will locate these countries on a blank map and then make some guesses and predictions about how they participated in the war and what changes of the long nineteenth century might have caused the war.

Step 1

Remember, this activity is intended to introduce you to geography in this unit. You aren’t expected to have all the answers.

With your teacher, brainstorm some of the ways that the transformations of the long nineteenth century might have led to the First World War.

Step 2

In small groups, select one of the columns of countries from the table on the worksheet. Label each of the countries on the 1914 Blank Map. When this is complete, each group should share their answers until all 20 countries are labeled on your maps.

Step 3

Examine the 1914 Blank Map you just labelled. Select five of the countries you identified and guess which side of the First World War it fought on (Allied Powers, Central Powers, or Neutral). Next, you should make a prediction of which country you think suffered the highest casualties during the war, including a 1-2 sentence explanation for your prediction. Finally, annotate one part of the map with a transformation of the long nineteenth century that helped cause WWI.

This repeated activity should help you become familiar with a process for understanding unfamiliar words anytime you encounter them in the course.

Take out your vocab tracker and be sure to record new and unfamiliar words on it according to your teacher’s instructions.

Understanding vocabulary helps you access course content, become a better reader, and a better communicator. This word wall activity will help you begin to learn some of the key vocabulary from Unit 7.

In this activity, you’ll work with your class to create a word wall using the Unit 7 vocabulary.

Your teacher will assign a vocab card to each of you. Once you get yours, take a few minutes to look it up in the Unit 7 Vocab Guide and then examine the unit itself (click around and quickly skim the content) to see where in the unit your word might be most applicable. Then, add as many antonyms to your card for your word as possible. Your teacher will give you a limited amount of time to write antonyms. Then, the people with the most correct antonyms will put their words on the word wall first.

Your teacher may add some fun twists to this assignment, so be sure to listen closely for directions!

Each unit of the WHP course is guided by a Unit Problem. You’re learning a ton of stuff in this and every other unit, and it can be hard to keep track of what’s most important. It would be pretty easy to become obsessed with a detail that, although interesting and a great way to impress people at a party is relatively unimportant. This activity will help you stay focused! You’ll think about the Unit Problems, and then you’ll respond to them in writing. By keeping track of how your thinking changes throughout each unit, you’ll see how much you’re learning as you move through each section of the course.

Use the Unit 7 Problem Notebook Worksheet to respond to the prompts as best as you can. Be prepared to talk about your ideas with your class.

Open these three charts in your internet browser:

• Chart 1 – Number of Autocracies and Democracies: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/numbers-of-autocracies-and-democracies
• Charts 2 and 3 – World Citizens Living under Different Political Regimes: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-pop-by-political-regime Political Regime, 1816–2015: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/political-regime-updated2016

For most of human history, democracy was pretty rare. Starting in the nineteenth century, this started to change as more democracies emerged from revolutions. During the twentieth century, two world wars, decolonization, and the end of the Cold War all helped propel democratic governments to power. Today, more people live in democracies than not, and most governments in the world are democratic. However, this transition to majority democracies only happened very recently.

What are the limits of data? What kinds of things can we use data to measure? In this data exploration, you will encounter three charts that apply numeric values to a pretty fluid social concept: democracy. Is it useful to quantitatively measure something like democracy? What does this sort of data tell us about the history of the spread of democracy? What does it leave out or make it difficult to see? The charts in this data exploration will provide you with evidence to respond to these questions and evaluate the uses to which data is put.

Your teacher will let you know if there is an overall question to hold in your mind as complete your three reads of the article.

Preview – What Do We Have?

Fill out the Read 1: Preview section of the Three Close Reads for Data worksheet as you complete your first close read. Remember—this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – What Do We Know?

For this read, your goal is to understand the “story” the chart is telling by identifying its arguments and evaluating its presentation of data. You will decide what claim or claims this chart is making and what evidence is being used to support those claims. Do you think the data is reliable? Is the chart misleading in any way? By the end of this read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How are Charts 1 and 2 different?
2. According to Charts 1, 2, and 3, when did the transition to most of the world living under democratic governments take place? What events might have contributed to this change?
3. Were there any points in history when democracies declined for a sustained period? What caused the drop?
4. According to Chart 3, which parts of the world were the most democratic, historically? Which are the most democratic today?
5. Do you trust this data? Is there anything that this chart leaves out? Do you see any problems with assigning a “democracy score”?

Making Connections – What Does This Tell Us?

The third read is really about why the chart is important, what it can tell us about the past, and how it can help us think about the future. At the end of this read, respond to the following questions:

1. Why do these charts matter? What do they tell us about the history and future of human communities and governance? Is our current democratic moment just a blip in a long history of autocracy?
2. Using these charts, make one prediction about how democracy will change in your lifetime. What evidence from the charts supports your prediction? What evidence challenges it?

Access to the Our World in Data website: https://ourworldindata.org/

This activity will help you select the topic of your final presentation. This is a brainstorming activity that will help you identify your interests and where those interests intersect with the available charts on Our World in Data (OWID). Selecting the right topic can be tricky. You need to select a topic that’s meaningful to you and that has world-historical significance. You also need to be sure that there’s enough evidence available on your topic to sustain your final project. This activity gives you a chance to explore the OWID website and gather information about two possible topics of your choice.

In this activity, you’ll be picking your final project topic. Begin by exploring the OWID website to identify two topics that are meaningful to you. Next, you’ll fill out a worksheet in which you reflect on why these topics are important and record the resources available on the OWID site. Finally, you will select one of the two topics as the subject of your final presentation.

The first step in this this activity is to explore the OWID website. Spend about five minutes exploring the OWID website, clicking on links and images you find interesting. Once you’re familiar with the website, find the Articles by Topic menu and hover the cursor over it:

Notice that each topic (for example: Health, Demographic Change, Food and Agriculture) has several subtopics to choose from. For example, the Health topic includes Smallpox, Life Expectancy, and Vaccination among its subtopics. Take another five minutes to explore the topics and subtopics that are most interesting to you.

In addition to selecting a topic that is important to you, your topic also needs to be significant in a world-historical context. This means that the topic deeply affects lots of people over a long period of time. Once you’ve identified two subtopics that are meaningful to you and significant in a world-historical context, take out the Topic Selection worksheet and answer the questions for each of your two chosen subtopics.

Once you have completed the worksheet for both subtopics, review what you’ve written and choose the subtopic that you think is most meaningful and significant. Record your choice on the worksheet. Congratulations! You have a research topic.