The Ultimate Guide to World History

Chapter 23 The Transformation of the World Economy In 1944 The United States convened the Bretton Woods Conference to plan post war economic growth and stability. From the 1st through the 20th of July 1944, 730 delegates from 44 Allied nations got together and hammered out an agreement to create three economic organizations: the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) known as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), which became the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. The Bretton Woods system of state led economics was very successful until 1971 when the US pulled out, opening the way to a market led economic system. However in 2013 economists and some politicians are calling for a Bretton Woods II the as a solution to current economic problems stemming from the 2008 crash. In Addition to Bretton Woods several other post war organizations contributed to Strayer's Dense Web. The European Comm...

Chapter 22 In Africa, countries began to overthrow their European rule. After getting independence, these countries had to deal with divisions in their population, building the economy and stabilizing politics. Toward Freedom During the twentieth century, many empires fell after the world wars and when Africa and Asia fought for their independence. Empires began to fall after the wars which weakened Europe and discredited their moral superiority. The United Nations allowed countries to speak out against colonial rule. Veterans, educated people and workers who were being exploited put pressure on colonial rule. Europeans began to change relationship with their colonies so that they could still gain profit but without colonial governments. This was done through elections, writing constitutions and building railroads and ports. Comparing Freedom Struggles In India, Gandhi began leading protests against the British after experiencing racial segregation in South Africa. He rose up to l...

Chapter 21 Places like Russia, China and Cuba took on communism because it promised freedom from inequality, oppression and exploitation. Communism posed a threat to capitalism and democracy in the West. It started an arms race between the U.S and Russia. Global Communism Countries underwent revolutions to become communists. As the Soviets and the Vietnamese took over other areas, communism’s influence spread. Communist parties formed in governments like U.S, Philippines and Malaysia generating fear and causing crackdowns by those governments. Russia joined Eastern European communist countries in the Warsaw Pact and Russia and China formed an alliance in 1950 with the Treaty of Friendship. Revolutions as a Path to Communism World War I made many of the lower class in Russia unhappy forcing them to organize into parties and overthrowing the elites. Soldiers abandoned their posts, trade unions were created, organizations called soviets arises to speak for the working class, peasants...