Final Exam!!!

The final exam is upon us!  Keep in mind that the final exam counts for 15% of your 1st semester average.  That makes this test EXTREMELY important!  The notes are attached below.

Final Exam Notes –

Europe’s Historical Influence

Worldwide Depression

            During the 1920’s, the decade after World War I, many countries around the world were very successful.  However, in 1929, the stock market of the United States crashed.  Many businesses closed and workers lost their jobs.  Farmers could not afford to keep their farms.  Many people tried to withdraw all of their money from the bank at the same time, causing the banks to go out of business. 

            The United States has always traded with many countries around the world.  When people in the U.S. could not afford goods from other countries, their economies suffered also.  This caused a worldwide economic depression.

Rise of Nazism

            Germany faced many problems after World War I.  They lost a large amount of land and had to pay Great Britain and France millions of dollars.  The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to reduce the size of its army and navy, so many people in the military lost their jobs.  Also, Germany was hurt by the stock market crash in the United States.  Germans were extremely frustrated.

            Adolf Hitler and his followers, the Nazi Party, claimed they could fix Germany’s money problems.  They blamed Jewish people for many of the country’s problems because the Jews controlled many of the banks.

            After becoming the dictator of Germany, Hitler opened many factories to make weapons to rebuild the military.  This gave many people jobs and improved the economy.  However, Hitler’s new laws took away the civil rights of many people.  People who spoke against Hitler were put in prison and killed.

            Adolf Hitler was determined to expand Germany and make it a powerful country again.  In 1939, the German army invaded Poland.  France and Great Britain decided that Hitler must be stopped, so they declared war on Germany, and World War II began.

The Holocaust

            As a part of Hitler’s plan to conquer the world, he began the systematic killing of all Jewish people.  The Nazis built concentration camps to imprison the Jews.  As many as 2,000 people could be killed at one time in the gas chambers of the concentration camps.  Jews were not the only victims.  People who spoke out against Hitler or tried protect the Jews were killed.  Other minorities, the mentally ill, the disabled, and “undesirable” people were also killed.  This planned killing of a race of people is called genocide.  During the Holocaust, over 11 million people, including 6 million Jewish people, were killed.

            After Germany was defeated in World War II and Hitler committed suicide, the Allies freed all of the prisoners of the concentration camps.  However, most of the survivors had no living family members and no place to go.  In 1947, the United Nations divided Palestine, part for the Arabs and the other part for the Jews (Israel).

The Cold War

            After World War II, the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France divided Germany into sections and decided to share control of the country.  However, the Soviet Union disagreed with the other countries about how Germany should be governed.  The “Iron Curtain” was soon formed.  This was the line separating the Eastern European countries (known as the Eastern Bloc) and the Western European countries (known as the Western Bloc).  In 1961, the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall to divide Berlin into eastern and western halves.  The United States and Soviet Union became known as the “Super Powers.”  Each country grew stronger and gained allies.  However, the economy of the Soviet Union began to struggle.  The country spent a lot of its money building nuclear weapons during the “Arms Race”.  Many countries pulled away from the Soviet Union.  In 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down and Germany was reunified.  The Soviet Union collapsed, and Russia became an independent country again.

     Final Exam Notes –

Types of Government

Systems of Government

            There are three systems of government – unitary, confederate, and federal.  In a unitary government, the central government has all the power.  This central government will make all of the decisions for the lower levels of government.  France has a unitary form of government.

            A confederation is a group of states that come together to support each other, but they each have an individual state government.  There is no central government in a confederation.  Confederations are usually just the first step before becoming a more powerful government.  Many countries start as a confederation.

            A federal system has a central government and individual state governments.  Power is shared between the central government and the lower levels of government.  The government of the United States is an example of a federal system, with a central power and individual state governments.  Presently, Germany also has a federal system.

Citizen Participation in Government

            There are three different types of government – autocracy, oligarchy, and democracy.  This determines how people participate in government.  In an autocracy, the country has only one ruler, who has complete control.  This person is the leader because of their family tradition (ex. king or queen), or this person took control of the country through military force (ex. dictator).  Before the Russian Revolution, Russia was an example of an autocracy.

            In an oligarchy, a small group of people is in control of a country.  They usually own the majority of the land, or they have military support.  Members of the group make all of the decisions for the country.

            In a democracy, all citizens of a country participate in government.  People have the right to vote on the decisions that are made.  People also vote for leaders to act as representatives.  The U.S. has a democratic government.  France is another example of a democratic country.

Final Exam Notes –

Europe’s Economic Systems

            Each person has certain needs and wants.  In order to meet the needs and wants of its citizens, each country has a system that decides how goods and services will be produced, how the goods and services will be distributed, and how goods and services will be consumed.  The three basic economic systems are traditional, command, and market.

Traditional Economy

            In a traditional economy, the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services are based on traditions and customs that have been passed down from generation to generation.  Children know at a very early age what their jobs will be.  Farming, hunting, raising animals, and constructing certain items are usually a major part of a traditional economy.  None of the countries in Europe currently have a traditional economy.

Command Economy

            In a command economy, the government makes most of the decisions.  The government decides what goods are produced and the prices at which the goods will be distributed.  The government also decides which consumers will receive certain goods.  In a command economy, the government usually owns the businesses and the farms.  Before the Soviet Union collapsed, it had a command economy.

Market Economy

            In a market economy, individual business-owners make the decisions for their businesses.  Decisions about production and distribution are based on supply and demand (the amount of an item that is available and the number of people that want the item).  The United States has a market economy.  Most of the countries in Europe also have market economies.

Mixed Economy

            Even though most countries are considered to have a command economy or a market economy, most countries are actually a combination of both types of economy.  For example, in a market economy, business owners make the decisions, but the government also creates laws that protect the workers and the consumers.  In this case, the country actually has a mixed economy.

Final Exam Notes –

Europe’s Environmental Issues

Acid Rain in Germany

            Germany has many forests and rivers.  The country also has large amounts of historic artwork and buildings.  Over the past 30 years, acid rain has damaged many forests by damaging the trees and the soil.  Acid rain has polluted many rivers, killing the wildlife living there.  Many statues and buildings have also been damaged by acid rain, which eats holes in the surfaces of these objects.

            Acid rain in Germany is mainly caused by smoke from factories and power plants.  Wind carries this toxic smoke to different areas, which pollutes the air and causes the rain to be acidic.

            The amount of acid rain that falls in Germany has been reduced because of the changes the people have made.  Many factories are using water power from rivers instead of burning coal.  The country is also creating new wind and solar power technology.

Air pollution in the United Kingdom

            London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is famous for air pollution.  The air in the United Kingdom has been known to contain large amounts of smog, a mixture of smoke and fog.  This makes it difficult for people to see at times.

            The major cause of air pollution today is the exhaust from cars.  Many are concerned about the air pollution issue because it can cause health conditions such as asthma and pneumonia.  Air pollution in the United Kingdom has been known to burn the citizens’ lungs, nose, and eyes and even endanger their lives.

            The government has made many changes to decrease air pollution.  Laws have been written to force automakers to build cars that produce less harmful exhaust.  Citizens are asked to drive less and use cleaner forms of energy.  The government has also forced factories to burn cleaner coal to decrease pollution.  The air quality in the United Kingdom has improved, but it remains to be an issue.

Nuclear Disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine

            Chernobyl is a city in Ukraine that once had very valuable farmland.  At one point, farmers in the area supplied food for many people living in the Soviet Union.  However, in 1986, a disaster in the area affected millions of lives.  A section of the local nuclear power plant exploded.  Millions of people in the surrounding areas were exposed to harmful radiation, which is known to cause cancer and other diseases. 

The radiation also affected nearby land and water.  Water was not safe to drink for months.  Food grown on local farms and fish from the rivers were unsafe to eat.  This affected not only the people of Chernobyl, but also people across the Soviet Union.

At that time, thousands of factories around the world used nuclear power.  Nuclear power is cheaper to produce and causes less air pollution.  However, after this accident, many areas have stopped using nuclear power.  Governments have created stricter laws about how nuclear power can be used.