Application and Reflection Questions
1.
How did the Paris Peace Conference and the Washington Naval Conference reestablish the international order in Europe and Asia?
2.
What were the long-ranging effects of World War I on the global economy? How did actions taken in the immediate aftermath of the war influence these outcomes?
3.
How did the average Russian worker’s life change under Stalin? Did workers regard Stalin as a villain or a savior? Why?
4.
Is loss of personal freedom in exchange for an improved standard of living an acceptable trade-off? Why or why not? What might a Russian in the 1930s have said?
5.
To what extent should a government help its citizens in times of economic crisis? Why?
6.
Is a planned economy a solution to the problem of economic depression? Why or why not? If it is, should Western countries soften their commitment to free enterprise? Why or why not?
7.
How do the European decisions made in the aftermath of World War I continue to affect Asia and Africa today?
8.
Was the current conflict between the Jewish people and the Palestinians inevitable? Why or why not?
9.
How did liberties and civil rights expand in Asia during the 1920s and 1930s?
10.
What would have drawn people in China to either the Nationalist or the Communist cause? What type of person may have been drawn to each? Why?
11.
In what ways were the new forms of culture in the 1920s and 1930s reflections of people’s political concerns?
12.
In what ways were flappers a reaction to World War I?