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Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Antonia Lopez de Santa Anna played a huge role in fighting the Spanish for the Mexicans independence in 1821. In December 1822 he also signed the Plan de Casa Mata to transform Mexico into a republic and abolish the monarchy. In 1829 he also fought the Spaniards again. -
Texas Revolt
The Americans living in Mexican Texas fought for their independence because they did not want to be part of Mexico anymore. This revolution was significant because it gained Texas its independence thanks to General Sam Houston who led the army to victory. -
La Reforma
La Reforma, created by Benito Juarez during the 1850s, had two major goals: First, separating the church and the states (redistributing the lands). Second was increasing educational opportunities for the poor. -
Benito Juarez
Benito Juarez, a moderate reformer, influenced politics in Mexico. In 1858 he became president. During the 1840s until the 1850s, he created La Reforma and its main goals were to separate the church and the states, to redestribute the lands, and also increase educational opportunities for the poor. -
Porfirio Diaz
Porfirio Diaz, a new Caudillo who appeared in mid-1870, took control of Mexico in 1876. He supported the military which needed some help since its lost most of its power from Bonito. Diaz made election meaningless at his time. He basically harmed Mexico more than he helped it. He made the rich richer, and the poor poorer which was really bad for the economy. The good things he had done to Mexico was, he expanded railroads, created banks, stabilized the currency and foreign investment grew. -
Triple Alliance
Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy made up the Triple Alliance. They agreed to support each other if attacked by any other countries. This alliance started until the start of WWI in 1914. It is significant because it caused countries that had nothing to do with the arguments to fight against each other because of a deal. -
Kaiser Wilhelm II
He was a strong believer in increasing the strength of the German armed forces. He alienated Britain with his naval expansion and a policy of aggressive German colonial expansion. He initiated policies destined to free France from isolation and turn Britain into a potential adversary. He is significant because he took actions that placed his empire in the precarious position of having to fight a two-front war. -
Schlieffen Plan
The Schlieffen Plan was created by General Count Alfred von Schlieffen in December 1905. The Schlieffen Plan was the operational plan for a designated attack on France by going through Belgium. It's significant because it led to Britain declaring war on Germany. -
Militarism
Militarism started in 1907. It was a rise in military influence on policy making. A perfect example of this was in Germany and Russia. The parliament and the politicians revolved around the military's decisions. It is significant because it was one of the main causes of the First World War. -
Triple Entente
When the Triple Alliance was formed France felt threatened and formed an alliance with Russia and Britain. This led them to make a deal with Serbia to help them if they were attacked by the triple alliance. This is significant because it is the reason so many countries got involved in the war even though they had nothing to do with it. -
Emiliano Zapata
Was an important leader during the Mexican Revolution. His greatest significance is when he defeated Diaz at the battle of Ciudad Juarez fighting along side with Madero. -
Francisco Madero
Was an early leader in the Mexican Revolution; in 1911 he became the President of Mexico. As president he wanted land ownership and freedom. His elections were all honest. Two years later he was murdered which led to some power struggles. -
Bolsheviks
The political parties in Russia split in 1903 and resulted in the creation of two revolutionary groups. On of which were the Bolsheviks which were led by Lenin. They are significant because when they came to power, Russia was pulled out of the war, all farmland was distributed evenly. They gave workers control of factories and signed truces. -
Battle of Tierra Blanca
This was a battle fought during the Mexican Revolution. The battle was a huge victory for Francisco "Pancho" Villa over the forces of Victoriano Huerta. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand is significant because his assassination touched off World War I. He and his wife Sophie were shot to death as they rode through the city by a member of the Serbian nationalism group. The shooting led to war between Austria and Serbia, which escalated into World War I. -
Victoriano Huerta
A Mexican military officer and became President of Mexico. He first joined Madero in his efforts to revolutionize Mexico but was also secretly planning to overthrow him and take rule. He established a harsh military dictatorship and was disliked by the Mexicans. He was later defeated by Emiliano Zapata and Francisco "Pancho" Villa. After that he was exiled and died of liver cancer in jail. -
The "Powder Keg" Of Europe
The Balkan countries in Southeastern Europe were called "The Powder Keg of Europe" because of the nationalistic spirit that was causing revolts and rebellion in that area prior to World War I. It's significant because it was where World War I began with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. -
Central Powers
Austria-Hungary was the first to go to war on July 28th, 1914 with its declaration against the Kingdom of Serbia. They are significant because they are the countries that helped Germany during the war. -
Trench Warfare
The Western Front during World War 1 stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier with France. Both sides dug themselves into trenches. They are significant because Over 200,000 men died in the trenches of WW1, most of who died in battle, but many died from disease and infections brought on by the unsanitary conditions. -
New Weapons Of War
This is significant because once the war started an urgency to make better and more deadly weapons rose, for example: poison gases, long-range guns, and tanks, which meant more people were killed and more families had to grieve their loved ones. -
Rationing
This system is significant because it made people buy a limited amount of the items that were also needed for the war, which meant that everyone got the same share -
Total War
This is significant because “Total War” means that countries put everything they had into this war, so factories had great business and there was almost no unemployed people in Europe -
Propaganda
This is significant because since the beginning of the war, nations have been trying to trick people into thinking in a certain way. For example propaganda poster have been used to justify their actions or promote things such as men joining the army. -
Allies
Made up of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan and the U.S. They were significant because they were the powers at war with the Central Powers. -
Western Front
The Western Front was the name the Germans gave to a series of trenches that ran 700 kilometres from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. They are significant because the living conditions in them were awful and they were the cause of death of thousands of soldiers. -
Eastern Front
The Eastern Front was the front between Germany and Russia. It is significant because more than three-million men died in the fighting here. -
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
This policy is significant because it meant that Germany would sink without warning any ship in the water around Britain. Germany sank US ships in 1917 which infuriated the Americans, so they joined the war and allied with the Allies. -
Francisco "Pancho" Villa
In 1917 Pancho and Zapata were fighting against Carranza. After Carranza and Pancho killed Zapata, the civil war ended. The significance of Pancho was ending the civil war. Ending the civil war helped Mexico in great ways such as, revising the Constitution, promoting education and reforming the worker’s rights. Pancho Villa also raided the United States in 1916 in vengeance against an arms dealer. -
Provisional Government
Workers protested and had a general uprising called the March revolution. In this revolution they overthrew the king and killed him and his family. They took down the government but failed to find a good replacement and so they had a temporary government known as the provisional government. It's significant because it was a failed attempt to set up a government to replace the old regime and it led to the forming of soviets and the loss of soldiers and civilians in the war. -
Lenin
Vladimir Lenin was the main leader of the Bolsheviks. He fled Russia because he was running away from the Czar regime but when it was safe to come back he came back and took over the government. The germans brought him back after years of exile because they wanted Russia to be corrupt and they weakened the government by sneaking Lenin back into russia. He is significant because he led to Russia's withdrawal from WWI and the loss of a large part of russian terr -
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau became 85th Prime Minister of France on the 16th of November 1917. He is significant because he was the French representative in the Paris Peace Conference and one of the “big four” who wrote the treaty of Versailles. Clemenceau was frustrated and afraid of Germany because of WW1 and because Germany invaded France a couple of times before, so he tried to make the treaty as severe as he could to punish Germany. -
Communist Party
The Bolsheviks renamed their political party. It held all power in reality. Lenin established dictatorship in the communist party. It was significant because it made Communism official. -
Influenza
The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an about 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. It is significant because of how many people it killed and because it was the worst disease ever to hit the world. -
Self-Determination
This is significant because it gave the people an opportunity to decide for themselves to be ruled by a government of their choice. It was one of Wilson’s fourteen points. -
The League Of Nations
The League Of Nations is one of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. It is significant because it was designed to promote and keep world peace(to make sure that war never broke out again). It also sorted out international disputes. -
The Fourteen Points
These are the 14 points Woodrow Wilson proposed at the session of Congress on Jan 8, 1918. 8 out of 14 points solved border disputes and territorial issues. 5 out of the rest of the 6 concerned world peace and freedom and self-determination. The last point is the League of Nations which was an organization to ensure that another war does not break out and resolve issues in peace like the U.N. -
Nationalism
There were two kinds of nationalism in 19th century europe: the desire for independence, and the desire of independent nations for dominance. It's significant because as the powers try to dominate each other in Europe, their rivalries may be regarded as one of the causes of WWI. -
Armstice
This was signed arailway carriage in Compiègne Forest and it is significant because this was an agreement to end fighting in the war. -
Treaty Of Versailles
This treaty is significant because it blamed Germany for the war(which frustrated the Germans the most), demanded that Germany pay the war cost, stripped Germany from its power, and took away German land, all this to punish Germany. One good thing that came out of it was the league of nations. -
War Guilt Clause
This article is significant because it blamed Germany for the war and all the damages that came with it. They forced Germany into agreeing with this, therefore taking away the little pride they had left. Germans were frustrated and felt betrayed by their leader who signed this. -
Venustiano Carranza
Became president after the overthrow of Huerta. He was a significant ruler because he eventually wrote the new constitution of Mexico which is still used today. He was later assassinated near the end of his term as the President of Mexico. -
Soviet
Local councils made up of workers, peasants, and soldiers. In many cities Soviets were more powerful than the provisional government. It's significant because it demeaned the provisional government. -
Proletariat
The rapid industrialization in Russia made the people mad. More factories meant more workers, less wages, worse working conditions, and child labor. It was like the industrial revolution but 100 years later, and in Russia. They organized strikes because it was all they could do. This is significant because it resulted with several revolutionary movements that began competing for power. They later ruled the country. -
Stalin
Cold, harsh and impersonal. He was next in line after Lenin. He had complete power of the communist party and was a dangerous man. He transformed the Soviet union. He worked to establish total control of all aspects of life in the Soviet reunion. He controlled the government, the economy, ad many aspects of the citizens personal lives.
