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Peristrokia: restructuring of the Soviet political and economic systems
Glasnost: a term that was made up that meant "openness"
Mikhail Gorbachev opened up the Soviet Union by letting the people speak out and be heard. The books that were banned were allowed, churches were open and people were released from jail.
Communism was when the government basically controlled how the people live. Mikhail Gorbachev paved a way so that he would let the people be heard. He allowed angered Soviets to speak about their problems that they had. He listened to his people instead of ignoring them.
By the late 1970's, Communism was in crisis in many parts of the world. The population of Communist China had almost doubled under the power of Mao Zedong, & the Chinese government was barely able to provide food for its people. Dissatisfactions with Communism in the Soviet controlled countries of Eastern Europe was growing.
The Soviet Union was confronted with serious economic problems, an unsatisfied middle class & many disappointments with the Communist political system. Many non-Russians resented the power of ethnic Russians and began to demand more control over their owns problems. Also, corruption was growing among the Communist party. In western Europe, Communist parties faced declining electoral support by the late 1970's
By the late 1980's most Communist countries had experienced long periods of very little or no economic growth. Centralized planning planning proved to be inefficient, & was behind with the development of new technologies. Most Communist countries was not able to compete economically with Japan and the industrial powers of the West.
The collapse of Communism also made the Berlin Wall fall. The Berlin Wall separated East and West Germany. East Germany was Communist. West Germany was capitalists. The tearing down of the Berlin Wall was more of a symbolic act, showing the fall of the Soviet Union and Communism. In order to be truly unified, the Germans felt that the Berlin wall needed to come down.
Zionism is a movement aimed at establishing a national Jewish state in Palestine, the ancient Jewish homeland.
The United Nations Special Commission on Palestine recommended that Palestine be divided up into two different states. A state for the Arabs and a state for the Jews. In 1948, the Jews proclaimed the independent state of Israel. The very next day that Israel was made, the neighboring Arab nations attacked the new nation. The Arabs thought the whole entire land of Israel should have been their own land.
The reason that the Jews and the Arabs don't get along is because they both want the land for themselves.
Apartheid - separating people based on what they are
In the time of Apartheid, the Africans weren't considered a citizen of their own countries. They really didnt have any civil rights or freedom rights. Somebody needed to stand up for the African people and be the voice of the people.
Then came along Nelson Mandela. He was the brave one who had stood up for the people of Africa. He faught and spoke for the people of Africa. The African people had found the voice for their scilence.
Nelson Mandela went to jail for speaking for the African people. At one time, he refused to be released because there was no freedom.
He is admired because of his books and for what he did. He faught for the freedom of the African people. He is a freedom fighter.
Over a 20 year period[1955-1957], Africa had changed drastically. They were divided up into colonies by the European imperialists.
In many of the colonies, Africans who had been educated in Europe led the organizations that called for self government. Supported by the people of Africa, these organizations began strikes, boycotts, & rallies. In some cases, the anti colonial feelings were made into riots, terrorists attacks & armed rebellions. A revolt against the French broke out in 1954 in Algeria. Because of the large number of French settlers, the revolt lasted eight years before the country gained their independence. In 1957, the Gold Coast became the first African colony to gain their independence. It won their independence from Britain & renamed their country Ghana.
An African leader Kwame Nkumah, was like Ghandi in a way. He believed in non violent protests & strikes, just like Ghandi believed it. His ways made good use in Ghana. He became the Prime Minister & then the president of Ghana.
Jomo Kenyatta was another African leader. He had studied in London. He had become President of Kenya, but unfortunately died in 1978.
There were many other African leaders that help Africa reach their goal of being their own independent nation. It only takes one person to make a difference.
The Neolithic Revolution was a major turning point in history. The Neolithic Revolution is also known as the first agricultural revolution. Humans went from hunting & gathering for animals and moving around from place to place to settling down in one area and planting seeds.
From this, cave men evolved into farmers. The population of people grew and cities had formed. The cities formed in river valleys because of the rich soil that was good for planting crops. From this, more advanced civilizations began because the places where the new & improved cavemen, which were knew as farmers, had the places well organized.
The European Union is the joining of the 25 European countries. It became the competing superpower with the United States.
With the EU being made, people could now travel to other countries without having to go through all the passport stuff at the country borderline. They can just pass through freely. Also, people were free to work in the other countries of Europe. For example, an Italian man could have the ability to work in Germany without any trouble.
It is also easy for the people money wise. Throughout Europe, there was only one currency. It was called the Euro. Now it was easy because every time they traveled to another country, they could still keep their money. They didn't have to do a money exchange every time they traveled to another country.
The EU is a good thing because it saves money for the people who live in Europe. The EU joined them to become one. Now, they can prevent wars from breaking out.
