In class today, Mrs. Separ wasn't here so we had a substitute, ol' demby poo. Mrs. Separ gave us alot of work today. One piece of work was the packet she gave us with the 3 documents on it and we had to answer the questions that followed. One of the documents was the sinking of The U.S. Passenger ship The Lusitania. The Lusitania was sunk by one of the German U-Boats, this was after the Germans sent out a warning to the U.S. about official submarine warfare that they will be initiating. The document after was the actual document that warned the U.S. about the warfare. The last document was the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk. This treaty was a bunch of articles talking about why Russia surrendered the war early which was because of their economic issues and their internal rebellions. Sorry this is such a short blog but there wasn't much going on in class today. HW #2 is due tomorrow and the next blogger will be ol' Dylan Ratner
Actually, there was A LOT more to the documents then this blog explains. For example, the Luistiana WAS NOT a US ship it was a British ship. So why did the US care? Also, the second document described the Zimmerman telegram. Who was this from? Who was it to? Why did the US care? These are all important questions that should have been answered today and in this blog. Perhaps, some of you did not make use of class time but instead acted extremely childish...are you sure this is an AP class? Be prepared to discuss these questions tomorrow, via a quiz. Ms. Separ
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Brandon said 3/24...
Today we started off class by looking at a picture taken on June 28,1914 of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was the next heir of Austria-Hungary, and Duchess Sophie his wife, driving in Serbia the day of their traditional Holiday and it was also the day of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination. the cause of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination was the growing hatred in the Balkan States towards Austria-Hungary or any power attempting to take over. the Balkan States were so unstable they were given the name "The Powder Keg" which meant one little thing wrong and they will snap. the head player in the Balkan States was Serbia and when word reached them that the Archduke was coming to Serbia, the Serbians began to plot the assassination. Archduke Franz Ferdinand purposely chose the day of Serbia's holiday because he wanted to rub his power in their face, but that was a huge misconception. the main plots of the assassination were developed by a group called the Black Hand, which composed of all teens. the Black Hand's plots weren't the most successful plots around, but they did put a lot of effort and attempts into it. Mrs. Separ told use stories of the Black hands unfortunate failures, such as premature explosion of bombing attempts, or delayed explosions, as well as failed suicide attempts by the gang members. after the embarrassing failures, the teens went to a pub to drink the memories away, but unexpectedly the Archduke turned down the block of the pub, and a teen the name of Princep got his chance to assassinate the Archduke. Princep took out his gun and killed the Archduke Franz Ferdinand,his wife and the driver. these men were arrested but when this assassination reached Austria-Hungary they were very mad. on July 23rd Austria-Hungary sent an ultimatum to Serbia a ultimatum is a threat saying follow these commands or we will declare war. Serbia declining the ultimatum saying it wasn't the government who planned this it was the people and also they didn't agree with some of the commands, this waged war amongst Austria-Hungary and Serbia. When word reached Russia, they immediately mobilize troops to a close spot near the border of the Balkan states, as Russia believes that the Balkan States should be part of Russia as they are both Slavic. Germany confused on what's going on, sends a letter to Russia telling them to back off or we will declare war, but the only thing Russia does is send more troops. along the road Germany declares war on Russia. With Russia's need for help, France joins in but doesn't declare war first but Germany did. with 2 out of 3 Triple Entente in war, it was up to GB to join in, but they said GB will only join if it interferes with them and clearly says to Germany don't invade Belgium(neutral nation since 1815) or we will declare war. Germany thinking who the hell do you think you are invades Belgium and is now in a 3 way war with GB,France and Russia. the nations were no longer called alliances as now they are called...
Central Powers- Germany,Austria-Hungary and Ottomans
Allied Powers- France,Great Britain, and Russia
Russia ends up leaving in 1917 due to internal conflict
not until 1917 does the US and Italy enter.
the war starts in 1914 and ends in 1918
Also, map is due tomorrow.
Tomorrow's blogger is Rachel, Brandon forgot to name one so I am. Blog even if I am not in class.
Central Powers- Germany,Austria-Hungary and Ottomans
Allied Powers- France,Great Britain, and Russia
Russia ends up leaving in 1917 due to internal conflict
not until 1917 does the US and Italy enter.
the war starts in 1914 and ends in 1918
Also, map is due tomorrow.
Tomorrow's blogger is Rachel, Brandon forgot to name one so I am. Blog even if I am not in class.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Eliner said 3/23...
Today, we were introduced to the beginning of 1914 and the causes of World War I. We started off class with a packet called, “Causes of the Great War” and each group got different factors that caused the war. A great way to remember the causes is MAIN. MAIN stands for militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. The one I received was arms buildup which discussed the powerful navies and new, superior battleships that were constructed. Each country became a threat to each other and started to have a naval race of who retained naval superiority which was mostly between Germany and Britain. This naval race contributed to international tensions and hostilities between nations.
We also looked at a map of Europe in 1914 which included Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Ottoman Empire, and Serbia.
We also briefly went through each cause of the war (MAIN):
- These big countries start to advance militaristically by stock-piling weapons and building up strong militaries. For an example, Germany is slowly becoming as strong as Great Britain, which makes them a threat to Britain.
- Alliances start to be made in Europe during this time period as well even if the “balance of power” policy doesn’t allow it. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy make up the Triple Alliance, while Great Britain, France, and Russia make up the Triple Entente. Due to these alliances, if only 2 countries get into a dispute, everyone would get involved.
- Imperialism, which leads to competition for economic gain, resources, land, colonies, power, etc.
- Nationalism starts to build up in the Balkan States. The Balkan States are located on the Balkan Peninsula and are made up of Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The people there are all different ethnicities, but they’re all Slavic nations. These states are controlled by Austria, but they’re still independent nations. Since Russia also has a lot of Slavic-speaking people too, they believe that they should be the one controlling the Balkan States. This causes a huge dispute and chaos, especially since the Balkan States just want to rule themselves instead of being controlled. The States are called, “Powder keg of Europe” since they are angry and might explode one day if one more thing goes wrong.
Then we ended class with quick information that Serbia is the state that starts all the trouble and we find out that World War I actually started on the Balkan Peninsula.
Homework: Textbook assignment #2 due Friday
The next to blog will be…Brandon.
We also looked at a map of Europe in 1914 which included Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Ottoman Empire, and Serbia.
We also briefly went through each cause of the war (MAIN):
- These big countries start to advance militaristically by stock-piling weapons and building up strong militaries. For an example, Germany is slowly becoming as strong as Great Britain, which makes them a threat to Britain.
- Alliances start to be made in Europe during this time period as well even if the “balance of power” policy doesn’t allow it. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy make up the Triple Alliance, while Great Britain, France, and Russia make up the Triple Entente. Due to these alliances, if only 2 countries get into a dispute, everyone would get involved.
- Imperialism, which leads to competition for economic gain, resources, land, colonies, power, etc.
- Nationalism starts to build up in the Balkan States. The Balkan States are located on the Balkan Peninsula and are made up of Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The people there are all different ethnicities, but they’re all Slavic nations. These states are controlled by Austria, but they’re still independent nations. Since Russia also has a lot of Slavic-speaking people too, they believe that they should be the one controlling the Balkan States. This causes a huge dispute and chaos, especially since the Balkan States just want to rule themselves instead of being controlled. The States are called, “Powder keg of Europe” since they are angry and might explode one day if one more thing goes wrong.
Then we ended class with quick information that Serbia is the state that starts all the trouble and we find out that World War I actually started on the Balkan Peninsula.
Homework: Textbook assignment #2 due Friday
The next to blog will be…Brandon.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Dani said 3/18...
Sorry I posted it late. My internet was not working last night. Well done, Dani!
Hello everyone. So to recap on our lesson today, we mainly discussed the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and their attempt at revitalizing their expired power.
Yesterday we left off discussing the economic problems of the empire which included large debt from the shifting of trade routes, which resulted in financial aid from European powers. The Ottomans also granted the Europeans special privileges such as trade without taxation, and extraterritorial rights. We know this is yet another country Europeans have extraterritorial rights (the first being China), therefore it is clear this is yet another indication of Europeans’ increasing dominance over inferior countries. Today, we studied reforms enacted during the rule of Mehmed the II, extending into the rule of the Young Turks.
Mehmed II, aware of the changing world around him decided to implement reforms that would mimic western ideas. Before he could reinforce these changes, his first task was to overpower the Janissaries. They strongly opposed of changes, and when a sultanate attempted to reform, the Janissaries immediately rebelled. Being the clever man he was, Mehmed II formed his own private army, and brought in European troops to train them. When he tried to once again, employ other reforms, the Janissaries refused, but this time, Mehmed II brought in his private troops, they beat the Janissaries, so now they couldn’t refute any more changes.
After the defeat of the Janissaries, Mehmed II modernized the army, set up secular schooling, built telegraph lines and roads, and so on. Even though the size of the empire significantly shrank, it had achieved the most stability since Suleyman. After Mehmed’s death, other leaders continued these reforms; some being, changed taxes, equal rights, an end to the devisirme system, and a greater emphasis put on the extraction of religious ideas in education. Conservative Muslims certainly refuted theses changes because as we can tell, these alterations are based off Western ideas, and the Muslims connect westernization to Christianity, therefore they were strongly against this process of change; they feared it may be a threat to their religion. This time frame of radical reforms is known as the Tanzimat era, and it lasted from 1839 (the end of Mahamed’s rule) to 1876.
In 1876, a man by the name Abdul Hamid II came into power. Initially, he supported the idea of ruling alongside a constitution; however, a year and a half later, he disproved of this method of governing, and decided to get rid of the constitution, parliament, and any threats that stood in his way. He ruled solely as one leader, and continued reforms concerning education and the military.
In 1909 Hamid is overthrown by the Young Turk Party. Ironically, the members of this group were neither young, nor Turkish. They referred to themselves as Turkish because the vast majority of citizens are Turkish, and their goal is to appease the young Turks of the empire because they are the “future” of the country. This political party brought about many democratic, enlightment ideas such as universal suffrage, freedom of religion, free public education, equality for women, secularizing the state, and improvement of the education system. The group puts Rashid into power, and he “ruled” from 1909-1918. Ruled is put in quotations because he is seen more a figure head, instead, the Young Turk Party controls administrative policies.
Although many reforms are made, the Ottomans continue losing wars, thus becoming weaker. Once World War I hits in 1914, the Ottomans entered complete turmoil, and collapses at the end of the war. A major thing you have to realize is the Ottomans were able to survive for so long because European nations supported them financially in order to maintain the balance of power in Europe. Furthermore, the empire found it necessary to enact modernized/ westernized reforms because that was the only method of gaining more power. Their attempt may have failed because it’s difficult to implement homogenous rules to a set of heterogeneous people, or it may have failed because of the strong tension between Muslims and Christians, or even from their poor economic and militaristic strength.
That’s pretty much it for the decline of the Ottomans; remember to study for the test on Monday (1750-1914). I would write out the major topics that will appear on the test, however it is quite a lot, and I think everyone was here today, so they should have it written down. If you don’t, you can always ask me, and I can lend it to you, and I’m sure others will have it as well. Basically, study the major concepts we went over including major events regarding revolutions, westernization, modernization, imperialism, nationalism, and industrialization.
The next one to blog will be Eliner.
Hello everyone. So to recap on our lesson today, we mainly discussed the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and their attempt at revitalizing their expired power.
Yesterday we left off discussing the economic problems of the empire which included large debt from the shifting of trade routes, which resulted in financial aid from European powers. The Ottomans also granted the Europeans special privileges such as trade without taxation, and extraterritorial rights. We know this is yet another country Europeans have extraterritorial rights (the first being China), therefore it is clear this is yet another indication of Europeans’ increasing dominance over inferior countries. Today, we studied reforms enacted during the rule of Mehmed the II, extending into the rule of the Young Turks.
Mehmed II, aware of the changing world around him decided to implement reforms that would mimic western ideas. Before he could reinforce these changes, his first task was to overpower the Janissaries. They strongly opposed of changes, and when a sultanate attempted to reform, the Janissaries immediately rebelled. Being the clever man he was, Mehmed II formed his own private army, and brought in European troops to train them. When he tried to once again, employ other reforms, the Janissaries refused, but this time, Mehmed II brought in his private troops, they beat the Janissaries, so now they couldn’t refute any more changes.
After the defeat of the Janissaries, Mehmed II modernized the army, set up secular schooling, built telegraph lines and roads, and so on. Even though the size of the empire significantly shrank, it had achieved the most stability since Suleyman. After Mehmed’s death, other leaders continued these reforms; some being, changed taxes, equal rights, an end to the devisirme system, and a greater emphasis put on the extraction of religious ideas in education. Conservative Muslims certainly refuted theses changes because as we can tell, these alterations are based off Western ideas, and the Muslims connect westernization to Christianity, therefore they were strongly against this process of change; they feared it may be a threat to their religion. This time frame of radical reforms is known as the Tanzimat era, and it lasted from 1839 (the end of Mahamed’s rule) to 1876.
In 1876, a man by the name Abdul Hamid II came into power. Initially, he supported the idea of ruling alongside a constitution; however, a year and a half later, he disproved of this method of governing, and decided to get rid of the constitution, parliament, and any threats that stood in his way. He ruled solely as one leader, and continued reforms concerning education and the military.
In 1909 Hamid is overthrown by the Young Turk Party. Ironically, the members of this group were neither young, nor Turkish. They referred to themselves as Turkish because the vast majority of citizens are Turkish, and their goal is to appease the young Turks of the empire because they are the “future” of the country. This political party brought about many democratic, enlightment ideas such as universal suffrage, freedom of religion, free public education, equality for women, secularizing the state, and improvement of the education system. The group puts Rashid into power, and he “ruled” from 1909-1918. Ruled is put in quotations because he is seen more a figure head, instead, the Young Turk Party controls administrative policies.
Although many reforms are made, the Ottomans continue losing wars, thus becoming weaker. Once World War I hits in 1914, the Ottomans entered complete turmoil, and collapses at the end of the war. A major thing you have to realize is the Ottomans were able to survive for so long because European nations supported them financially in order to maintain the balance of power in Europe. Furthermore, the empire found it necessary to enact modernized/ westernized reforms because that was the only method of gaining more power. Their attempt may have failed because it’s difficult to implement homogenous rules to a set of heterogeneous people, or it may have failed because of the strong tension between Muslims and Christians, or even from their poor economic and militaristic strength.
That’s pretty much it for the decline of the Ottomans; remember to study for the test on Monday (1750-1914). I would write out the major topics that will appear on the test, however it is quite a lot, and I think everyone was here today, so they should have it written down. If you don’t, you can always ask me, and I can lend it to you, and I’m sure others will have it as well. Basically, study the major concepts we went over including major events regarding revolutions, westernization, modernization, imperialism, nationalism, and industrialization.
The next one to blog will be Eliner.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Jut said 3/9....
Ohhhh Grace… thanks for saying I’m fun and understandableJ!
So here’s what went down today:
-First we got this insane packet, also called a take home quiz: DUE FRIDAY!
-Second we recapped yesterday:
+We talked about Matthew Perry, his big ships, the paintings and pictures of his big ships, and that gift of the picture of that Japanese girl to show the beauty of Japan.
-Thirdly… we talked about the US now in Japan!
+The ruling family, the Meiji, accepted western ideas. They kinda followed the model of, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” The government backed this up but there were still some people that were anti-west (but then again, when is there not :P)
+We looked at some pictures too. The first one was of the two Japanese men wearing traditional clothing, but one was wearing a western-styled hat. It was showing how you can have the best of both worlds (…EW Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana song...).
+We also looked at a painting called “The Exotic White Man”. It was painted by a Japanese anti-west person. It was of a Japanese woman who had a baby with a “white man”. The baby was to represent a monstrosity that would be created if the two cultures were to combine. Well apparently that monstrosity would look like a small, hairy, dancing, troll-like thing (*giggles*).
+Another important thing to remember is Meiji = Modernized!
Lastly Mrs. Separ left us (*sad faces*) with Hanly who seemed a bit angry….well then we did some silent group work, where we were giving documents we have to summarize and pass to the next person.
+The documents were about how western ideas “commercial intercourse” and “foreign intercourse” was good for the growth and modernization of Japan.
HW: Use documents and pages 661-664 in the textbook to complete the chart on the back of that sheet she handed out.
NEXT VICTIM:*Drum roll* Dani! *APPLAUSE* J
So here’s what went down today:
-First we got this insane packet, also called a take home quiz: DUE FRIDAY!
-Second we recapped yesterday:
+We talked about Matthew Perry, his big ships, the paintings and pictures of his big ships, and that gift of the picture of that Japanese girl to show the beauty of Japan.
-Thirdly… we talked about the US now in Japan!
+The ruling family, the Meiji, accepted western ideas. They kinda followed the model of, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” The government backed this up but there were still some people that were anti-west (but then again, when is there not :P)
+We looked at some pictures too. The first one was of the two Japanese men wearing traditional clothing, but one was wearing a western-styled hat. It was showing how you can have the best of both worlds (…EW Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana song...).
+We also looked at a painting called “The Exotic White Man”. It was painted by a Japanese anti-west person. It was of a Japanese woman who had a baby with a “white man”. The baby was to represent a monstrosity that would be created if the two cultures were to combine. Well apparently that monstrosity would look like a small, hairy, dancing, troll-like thing (*giggles*).
+Another important thing to remember is Meiji = Modernized!
Lastly Mrs. Separ left us (*sad faces*) with Hanly who seemed a bit angry….well then we did some silent group work, where we were giving documents we have to summarize and pass to the next person.
+The documents were about how western ideas “commercial intercourse” and “foreign intercourse” was good for the growth and modernization of Japan.
HW: Use documents and pages 661-664 in the textbook to complete the chart on the back of that sheet she handed out.
NEXT VICTIM:*Drum roll* Dani! *APPLAUSE* J
Jut wrote 3/8...
Ohhhh Grace… thanks for saying I’m fun and understandableJ!
So here’s what went down today:
-First we got this insane packet, also called a take home quiz: DUE FRIDAY!
-Second we recapped yesterday:
+We talked about Matthew Perry, his big ships, the paintings and pictures of his big ships, and that gift of the picture of that Japanese girl to show the beauty of Japan.
-Thirdly… we talked about the US now in Japan!
+The ruling family, the Meiji, accepted western ideas. They kinda followed the model of, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” The government backed this up but there were still some people that were anti-west (but then again, when is there not :P)
+We looked at some pictures too. The first one was of the two Japanese men wearing traditional clothing, but one was wearing a western-styled hat. It was showing how you can have the best of both worlds (…EW Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana song...).
+We also looked at a painting called “The Exotic White Man”. It was painted by a Japanese anti-west person. It was of a Japanese woman who had a baby with a “white man”. The baby was to represent a monstrosity that would be created if the two cultures were to combine. Well apparently that monstrosity would look like a small, hairy, dancing, troll-like thing (*giggles*).
+Another important thing to remember is Meiji = Modernized!
Lastly Mrs. Separ left us (*sad faces*) with Hanly who seemed a bit angry….well then we did some silent group work, where we were giving documents we have to summarize and pass to the next person.
+The documents were about how western ideas “commercial intercourse” and “foreign intercourse” was good for the growth and modernization of Japan.
HW: Use documents and pages 661-664 in the textbook to complete the chart on the back of that sheet she handed out.
NEXT VICTIM:*Drum roll* Dani! *APPLAUSE* J
So here’s what went down today:
-First we got this insane packet, also called a take home quiz: DUE FRIDAY!
-Second we recapped yesterday:
+We talked about Matthew Perry, his big ships, the paintings and pictures of his big ships, and that gift of the picture of that Japanese girl to show the beauty of Japan.
-Thirdly… we talked about the US now in Japan!
+The ruling family, the Meiji, accepted western ideas. They kinda followed the model of, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” The government backed this up but there were still some people that were anti-west (but then again, when is there not :P)
+We looked at some pictures too. The first one was of the two Japanese men wearing traditional clothing, but one was wearing a western-styled hat. It was showing how you can have the best of both worlds (…EW Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana song...).
+We also looked at a painting called “The Exotic White Man”. It was painted by a Japanese anti-west person. It was of a Japanese woman who had a baby with a “white man”. The baby was to represent a monstrosity that would be created if the two cultures were to combine. Well apparently that monstrosity would look like a small, hairy, dancing, troll-like thing (*giggles*).
+Another important thing to remember is Meiji = Modernized!
Lastly Mrs. Separ left us (*sad faces*) with Hanly who seemed a bit angry….well then we did some silent group work, where we were giving documents we have to summarize and pass to the next person.
+The documents were about how western ideas “commercial intercourse” and “foreign intercourse” was good for the growth and modernization of Japan.
HW: Use documents and pages 661-664 in the textbook to complete the chart on the back of that sheet she handed out.
NEXT VICTIM:*Drum roll* Dani! *APPLAUSE* J
Grace said 3/8...
Hello Ms. Separ!
I hope this isn't too long!
Hello, fellow classmates! I hope you were as excited as I was to learn something new in our WHAP class today: Japan 1750-1914
Let’s recap on what we’ve learned in the previous time period, 1450-1750.
1540 – Arrival of the Portuguese (Like they did in China, the Portuguese brought Christianity and guns to Japan, which the Japanese definitely weren’t fond of.)
1600s – Unification of Japan (under the Tokugawa Shogunate).
1635 – First Seclusion Edict (or First Seclusion Act, forbade Japanese from leaving the country, banned all foreigners except the Dutch and Chinese from entering, and prohibited the practice of Christianity)
1640s – Pax Tokugawa (Although there was peace, there was no Scientific Revolution or industrialization in Japan at this time.)
1680s – Edo Period (Edo = Tokugawa capital, modern-day Tokyo)
In 1852, U.S. President Fillmore wrote a letter to the emperor of Japan. The whole purpose of this letter was to establish friendship, commerce, a supply of coal and provisions, and protection with Japan. One year later (1853), U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan to deliver the letter to the emperor. The U.S. gives Japan one year to make a decision.
Advantages of accepting President Fillmore’s requests: increase in trade, new technology, industrialization, and a possibly ally.
Disadvantages of accepting President Fillmore’s requests: Christianity is likely to spread, chance of losing culture and Shintoism, and imperialism.
Based on India, Africa, Philippines, and China’s history with Westerners, resistance isn’t the successful option. Japan kept this in mind, and chose to open their doors when Perry returned in 1854 with The Black Fleet.
In Japanese history, we’ve seen that the Japanese have the ability to adopt and adapt. For example, when the Portuguese came over to introduce guns and Christianity, they saw what the effects were, and ended up mostly isolating themselves to prevent such ideas. In 1750 to 1914, they’re aware of colonization in Africa, India, and China, so that influences them to agree to U.S. terms, and engage in trade and use modernized technology.
NEXT UP: Because I enjoyed reading her previous fun and understandable blog, Jut will go next [:
HOMEWORK: Compare the Treaty of Nanking (August 1842) and the Treaty of Kanagawa (March, 1854).
Grace Barrett-Snyder
I hope this isn't too long!
Hello, fellow classmates! I hope you were as excited as I was to learn something new in our WHAP class today: Japan 1750-1914
Let’s recap on what we’ve learned in the previous time period, 1450-1750.
1540 – Arrival of the Portuguese (Like they did in China, the Portuguese brought Christianity and guns to Japan, which the Japanese definitely weren’t fond of.)
1600s – Unification of Japan (under the Tokugawa Shogunate).
1635 – First Seclusion Edict (or First Seclusion Act, forbade Japanese from leaving the country, banned all foreigners except the Dutch and Chinese from entering, and prohibited the practice of Christianity)
1640s – Pax Tokugawa (Although there was peace, there was no Scientific Revolution or industrialization in Japan at this time.)
1680s – Edo Period (Edo = Tokugawa capital, modern-day Tokyo)
In 1852, U.S. President Fillmore wrote a letter to the emperor of Japan. The whole purpose of this letter was to establish friendship, commerce, a supply of coal and provisions, and protection with Japan. One year later (1853), U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan to deliver the letter to the emperor. The U.S. gives Japan one year to make a decision.
Advantages of accepting President Fillmore’s requests: increase in trade, new technology, industrialization, and a possibly ally.
Disadvantages of accepting President Fillmore’s requests: Christianity is likely to spread, chance of losing culture and Shintoism, and imperialism.
Based on India, Africa, Philippines, and China’s history with Westerners, resistance isn’t the successful option. Japan kept this in mind, and chose to open their doors when Perry returned in 1854 with The Black Fleet.
In Japanese history, we’ve seen that the Japanese have the ability to adopt and adapt. For example, when the Portuguese came over to introduce guns and Christianity, they saw what the effects were, and ended up mostly isolating themselves to prevent such ideas. In 1750 to 1914, they’re aware of colonization in Africa, India, and China, so that influences them to agree to U.S. terms, and engage in trade and use modernized technology.
NEXT UP: Because I enjoyed reading her previous fun and understandable blog, Jut will go next [:
HOMEWORK: Compare the Treaty of Nanking (August 1842) and the Treaty of Kanagawa (March, 1854).
Grace Barrett-Snyder
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