Sunday, April 24, 2011

Honors Business Economics: 25 April 2011

Prayer
Beyond the Sound Bites:


The Chapter 10 Section 1 Quiz Make-up is today.

The Chapter 9 Test Make-up is today.

The Quiz 9.(4) Prep Page is available.

For the Make-up Quiz, consider the material found in Chapter 9 Section 3:

minimum tax, VAT (Value-Added Tax), flat tax, federal tax reform, business taxes, profits, tax burden, personal income rate, depreciation, investment tax credit, and, capital gains.

Cf. http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/Honors+Business+Economics+Chapter+9+Section+4+Quiz+Prep+Page+Spring+2011

Standard feature:

The electronic edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer is available. We have the Sunday edition, available on Mondays, in addition to the Tuesday through Friday editions on the other days.

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Chapter 11 Resources

Cf. http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078747643/student_view0/unit3/chapter11/chapter_overviews.html

Chapter 11: Financial Markets

Section 2 Financial Assets and Their Markets

Bonds as Financial Assets

Bond Components

Bond Prices

Bond Yields

Bond Ratings

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Reading Check

What factors determine a bond's value?

Financial Assets and Their Characteristics

Certificates of Deposit

Corporate Bonds

Municipal Bonds

Government Savings Bonds

Treasury Notes and Bonds

Treasury Bills

Individual Retirement Accounts

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Reading Check

Analyzing

What features of a government bond most appeal to you?

Markets for Financial Assets

Capital Markets

Money Markets

Primary Markets

Secondary Markets

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Reading Check

Contrasting

How are capital and money markets different? How do primary and secondary markets differ?

In-class assignment, with a partner, fill in the graphic.

11.2 Review

Use the graphic organizer to identify the characteristics of financial assets.

Case Study The NYSE

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

p. 304, #1 Why did the NYSE decide to expand into overseas markets?

p. 304, #2 What has happened to NYSE's share of market capitalization since the enactment of SarbOx (Sarbanes-Oxley Act)?

Then, answer the following while viewing the video.

How long has the NYSE been exclusively American?
Which country, U.S. or German, will own the majority of the NYSE?
Is New York, and American, still the dominant player in world financial markets?
Are derivatives a safe investment, or more risky?

The NYSE may not be New York anymore.

In finance, a derivative is a financial instrument whose value depends on other, more basic, underlying variables. Such variables can be the price of another financial instrument (the underlying asset, interest rates, volatilities, indices, etc. There are many kinds of derivatives, with the most common being swaps, futures, and options. Derivatives are a form of alternative investment.

Germany Buys New York Stock Exchange - Possible Dollar Collapse? 1:36


11.3 Investing in Equities and Options

Guide to Reading

equities

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

What are equities?
What do you call a person who considers equities?
What is a key factor?
How much, or how little, should you invest?

Finance & Investment Tips: What Are Equities? 1:14


Equities are a short term finance term given to stocks, bonds and mutual funds when an individual and financial investor has a stake in investment instruments. Understand equities and the risk factors involved with advice from a registered financial consultant in this video on finance and investment.

Expert: Patrick Munro

stockbroker

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

What is important when choosing a stockbroker?
What suggestions are available if you want a less expensive option?

Investment Advice: How to Choose a Stockbroker, 1:23


Choose a stockbroker by finding a brokerage firm that fits your financial goals and preferences. Use a traditional brokerage to get more direction and support or an online brokerage for cheaper trading. Find out more about finding the right stockbroker with advice from a financial consultant in this video on stockbrokers.

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH)

Trust Me, I'm an Economist, 2:54

Do most people most of the time choose the best option?
As a result, are there easily predictable bargains?
What do economists call this?
Can all experts be trusted, why or why not?


Tim Harford in the BBC 2 show, with a demonstration of why you should never trust the experts.

portfolio diversification

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Faculty Focus: Don Chance speaks about portfolio diversification, 2:37

Why is portfolio diversification important?
What popular expression reflects this view?
What shouldn't you do?
What is the lesson?


Faculty Focus, a new video series from the E. J. Ourso College of Business, showcases research faculty in regular installments. In this episode, Dean Eli Jones interviews James C. Flores Endowed Chair of MBA Studies and Professor of Finance Don Chance about how investors should be diversifying their portfolios.

mutual fund

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Investment Basics: How Do Mutual Funds Work? 1:12

How do mutual funds work?
What do they charge?
Where do you find information about them?


net asset value (NAV)

401(k) plan

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

What will companies encourage their employees to do?
Do you pay taxes on these monies?
Can you take the money out at any time?

Finance & Investment Tips: 401k Plan Benefits, 1:25


Benefits of a 401k retirement savings plan include tax-free deductions, which could affect an individual's adjusted gross income, and receiving matching financial contributions from an employer. Understand the benefits of a 401k savings plan with tips from a registered financial consultant in this video on finance and investment.

Expert: Patrick Munro

stock exchange

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

When did the NYSE begin?
What famous person went there often?
What does the Exchange mirror?

Stock Market: History of the New York Stock Exchange, 2:26


The New York Stock Exchange began in 1792, with people exchanging certificates at a common meeting place for George Washington. Learn about the movement of the New York Stock Exchange over the years with help from a personal asset manager in this free video on investing in the stock market and money management.

Expert: Roger Groh

securities exchange

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Personal Finance: What Is the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)? 1:37

What is the Securities and Exchange Commission?
What limits their power?
Is it a bi-partisan commission?
Are stockbrokers under their supervision?

over-the-counter market (OTC)

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Over the Counter Vs. Exchange Traded Markets, 5:15

What is the difference between Over-the-Counter vs. Exchange Traded Markets?
Forex stands for Foreign Exchange.
What are the the four characteristics of Over the Counter Markets?
a)
b)
c)
d)
What is the market made up of?
What is its advantage?


A lesson explaining the difference between exchange traded and over the counter markets for forex traders, currency traders, and foreign exchange traders.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

Beginner Investing: What Is the Dow Jones Industrial Average? 1:25

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average?
How many firms make up the index?
They are a good ______________ of the market?
How is the average indicated?
What colors are used?


The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a company stock index made up of 30 American companies that have been around for a long time. Discover how the Dow Jones is used as a snapshot reference of the market on any given day with help from a registered financial consultant in this video on investments and personal finance.

Expert: Patrick Munro


Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500)

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Financial Planning & Investment Tips: S&P 500, 1:27

What is the S&P 500?
How many firms make up the index?
Why is this described as blue-chip?
Where are many of their sales made these days?


The S&P 500 is an index of the top 500 companies in the U.S. stock exchange. Find out more about the S&P 500 with tips from a registered financial consultant in this video on financial planning.

Expert: Patrick Munro

bull market

Beginner Investing: What Is a Bull Market? 1:16

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

What is a Bull Market?
What do people do in this market?
What may happen?
What is the opposite of a bull market?


A bull market is a market that is strong and moving upwards on a regular basis, and this market has people who are investing and moving the economy. Discover how stocks can become overvalued in a bull market with help from a registered financial consultant in this video on investments and personal finance.

Expert: Patrick Munro

bear market

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Personal Finance: What Is a Bear Market? 1:18

What is a bear market?
What are investors afraid of?
Why might you embrace a bear?
Would invest in the short-term, or the long term?


Bear markets generally occur over a long period and are marked by widespread pessimism. Discover how bear markets can help investors with tips from a financial planner in this video on personal finance and the stock market.

Expert: Chris Markowski

spot market

futures contract

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Investopedia Video: How Do Futures Contracts Work? 1:38

What can a futures contract do?
What can companies do to ensure their profits?
This situation includes two words that begin with the letter "r."
What are they?


Futures contracts are one of the most important financial innovations in history, but they are often misunderstood. Find out this contract is used to transfer risk between different parties.

option

call option

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Investopedia Video: Call Option Basics, 1:27

What are call options?
As an example, what does Ken do and why?
How is Bob involved?
What do call options offer?


Call options offer investors a way to leverage their capital for greater investment returns. Find out more about these financial contracts and how they work.

put option

In-class assignment, with a partner, answer the following.

Investopedia Video: Put Option Basics, 1:14

Why does Jim use a put option?
What is his life situation?
What is the only thing he loses?
How does Dan use a put option?
What does a put option allow an investor to do?


Put options allow investors to hedge an investment they own or speculate in an investment they don't own. Find out more about this type of option and how it can work in an investor's favor.

11.3 Reading Strategy

In-class assignment, with a partner, fill in the graphic.

Use the graphic organizer to describe the different stock markets.

Figure 11.7 How Much Money Will You Have at Retirement?

Cf. http://glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/in_motion_08/epp/EPP_p308.swf

11.3 Review

In-class assignment, with a partner, fill in the graphic.

Use the graphic organizer to evaluate the risks and rewards of investments.

Figure 11.1 Overview of the Financial System

Cf. http://glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/in_motion_08/epp/EPP_p291.swf

Figure 11.2 The Power of Compound Interest

Cf. http://glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/in_motion_08/epp/EPP_p293.swf

Figure 11.7 How Much Money Will You Have at Retirement?

Chapter 10: Government Spending

Chapter 10 Resources

Chapter 10: Government Spending Multiple Choice Quiz

Chapter 10: Government Spending ePuzzles and Games Column

Chapter 10: Government Spending Vocabulary eFlashcards

Chapter 10: Government Spending In Motion The Federal Budget for Fiscal Year 2007

Chapter 10: Government Spending In Motion State and Local Expenditures

Chapters 8-11

Cf. http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078747643/student_view0/unit3/

Chapter 10 Resources

Self-Check Quiz, Crossword, Vocabulary

Cf. http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078747643/student_view0/unit3/chapter10/

Wisconsin Labor Protests - Noodles, 1:36


Spending, 6:25


Seinfeld Risk Management, 4:17

Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laKprX-HP94

Finance Company Collector - A song protesting the current recession, 4:30


Josh Riddle and David Rufful are seniors at Dartmouth College.


Pension Tension Blues, 5:42

Lyrics: co-written by Susan Mangiero and Steven Zelin, Singing CPA.


Houston’s Second Baptist Church

More than 2,000 people from Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, gathered at Discovery Green in the heart of Houston to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The purpose of Dance Your Shoes Off! was to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a powerful and celebratory way. Most importantly, each participant left a new pair of shoes on the field for those in need. These shoes will be given to local mission agencies, including Star of Hope, individuals all across the world through our mission partners and mission trips.


Email (or hand in hard copy) to gmsmith@shanahan.org.

Monday HW
1. p. 286, #33-35
Tuesday HW
1. p. 286, #36-37, p. 294, #2
Wednesday HW
1. p. 294, #4-6
Thursday HW
1. p. 294, #7-8, p. 295, #1
Friday HW
1. p. 295, #2

Honors World History II: 25 April 2011

Today in 1980: Tehran hostage rescue mission fails
A top-secret attempt by the United States to free American hostages held in Iran's capital,Tehran, has collapsed in failure, with the death of eight soldiers.

President Carter announced the end of this disastrous mission.

Prayer

Beyond the Sound Bites:


The Chapter 16 Section 3 Quiz Make-up is today.

The Chapter 16 Section 2 Quiz Make-up is today.

Cf. http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/Honors+World+History+II+Chapter+16+Section+2+Quiz+Prep+Page+Spring+2011

The Chapter 16 Section 1 Quiz Make-up is today.

Cf. http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/Honors+World+History+II+Chapter+16+Section+1+Quiz+Prep+Page+Spring+2011

Cf. http://moodle.catholicschools-phl.org

Cf. http://www.cueprompter.com/

The Philadelphia Inquirer is available.

URL: http://nie.philly.com
Click on the words "Access e-Inquirer" located on the gray toolbar underneath the green locker on the opening page.
Login:
Username: bshsinky@shanahan.org
Password: 10888

Cf. http://vozme.com/index.php?lang=en

Cf. http://www.xtranormal.com/

Cf. http://www.wordle.net/create

ABCya! Cf. http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm

Or, http://www.glogster.com/login/

Cf. http://moodle.catholicschools-phl.org

Cf. http://www.cueprompter.com/

Cf. http://ant.umn.edu/vae.php

Cf. http://moodle.catholicschools-phl.org

Chapter 17 The West Between the Wars 1919-1939

An image from a magazine of Benito Mussolini leading his nation to war; Italian national flag during Mussolini’s rule.

Section 2 The Rise of Dictatorial Regimes

By 1939 most European democracies had collapsed. Only France and Great Britain remained democratic. Benito Mussolini began his political career as a Socialist, but he abandoned socialism for fascism, which glorified the state and justified the suppression of all political dissent. In Italy, Mussolini outlawed most political opposition, but also compromised with powerful groups and never achieved totalitarian control. After the Russian civil war, Lenin restored capitalist practices to prevent economic and political collapse. After Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin emerged as the most powerful Communist figure. Stalin sidelined the Bolsheviks of the revolutionary era and established totalitarian rule. His program of rapid industrialization and collectivization forced horrendous sacrifices on the population. His political purges caused millions to be arrested, imprisoned, and executed. Elsewhere in Eastern Europe and in Francisco Franco's Spain, authoritarian regimes were mainly concerned with preserving the existing social order.

5th/8th

When Mussolini visited Berlin in September 1937 one million people crowed the Olympic Stadium and adjoining Mayfield to hear Il Duce (The Leader) address them in German, 2:27.

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the questions.

What sphere was important for both Italy and Germany?
What tactic was used to oppose Italy?
Does Mussolini consider himself an ethical person?


The Rise of Dictators

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the questions.

Note Taking

Reading and Listening Skill: Identify Main Ideas

Find the main points of the Mussolini section under the first two headings and record them in a flowchart like the one below.


In the early 1920s, a new leader named Benito Mussolini arose in Italy. The Italian people were inspired by Mussolini’s promises to bring stability and glory to Italy.

“[Only joy at finding such a leader] can explain the enthusiasm [Mussolini] evoked at gathering after gathering, where his mere presence drew the people from all sides to greet him with frenzied acclamations. Even the men who at first came out of mere curiosity and with indifferent or even hostile feelings gradually felt themselves fired by his personal magnetic influence. . . .”

—Margherita G. Sarfatti, The Life of Benito Mussolini (tr. Frederic Whyte)

Mussolini and the People

An excited crowd of women and children greets the Italian leader in 1940.

“I hated politics and politicians,” said Italo Balbo. Like many Italian veterans of World War I, he had come home to a land of economic chaos and political corruption. Italy’s constitutional government, he felt, “had betrayed the hopes of soldiers, reducing Italy to a shameful peace.” Disgusted and angry, Balbo rallied behind a fiercely nationalist leader, Benito Mussolini. Mussolini’s rise to power in the 1920s served as a model for ambitious strongmen elsewhere in Europe.

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

Reading Check

Summarizing

What is the goal of a totalitarian state?

Fascism in Italy

Rise of Fascism

When Italy agreed to join the Allies in 1915, France and Britain secretly promised to give Italy certain Austro-Hungarian territories. When the Allies won, Italy received some of the promised territories, but others became part of the new Yugoslavia. The broken promises outraged Italian nationalists.

Disorders within Italy multiplied. Inspired in part by the revolution in Russia, peasants seized land, and workers went on strike or seized factories. Amid the chaos, returning veterans faced unemployment. Trade declined and taxes rose. The government, split into feuding factions, seemed powerless to end the crisis.

Into this turmoil stepped Benito Mussolini. The son of a socialist blacksmith and a teacher, Mussolini had been a socialist in his youth. During the war, however, he rejected socialism for intense nationalism. In 1919, he organized veterans and other discontented Italians into the Fascist party. They took the name from the Latin fasces, a bundle of sticks wrapped around an ax. In ancient Rome, the fasces symbolized unity and authority.

The fasces is an ancient symbol of authority and power derived from the Romans. A Roman official called a lictor carried the fasces. The elm whips could be removed from the bundle and used to punish and the ax could be used to execute thus the symbolism should be clear from the illustration.


The association with Rome was deliberately chosen by Mussolini to identify himself with the glory of ancient Rome.


Nonetheless, the fasces symbol appears also in some unexpected places.

Mussolini was a fiery and charismatic speaker. He promised to end corruption and replace turmoil with order. He also spoke of reviving Roman greatness, pledging to turn the Mediterranean into a “Roman lake” once again.

Mussolini organized his supporters into “combat squads.” The squads wore black shirts to emulate an earlier nationalist revolt. These Black Shirts, or party militants, rejected the democratic process in favor of violent action. They broke up socialist rallies, smashed leftist presses, and attacked farmers’ cooperatives. Fascist gangs used intimidation and terror to oust elected officials in northern Italy. Many Italians accepted these actions because they, too, had lost faith in constitutional government.

In 1922, the Fascists made a bid for power. At a rally in Naples, they announced their intention to go to Rome to demand that the government make changes. In the March on Rome, tens of thousands of Fascists swarmed towards the capital. Fearing civil war, King Victor Emmanuel III asked Mussolini to form a government as prime minister. Mussolini entered the city triumphantly on October 30, 1922. He thus obtained a nominally legal, constitutional appointment from the king to lead Italy.

People in History

Benito Mussolini

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

Learn History: Top 5 Things to Know About Benito Mussolini, 3:12

What are the 5 things you should know about Mussolini?


For a quarter of a century, Italy is controlled by the Fascist dictator known as "I1 Duce."

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

Mussolini by the History Channel, 2:36

What was Mussolini's dream?
What actually happened?
When was he born?
What were his mother and father like?
What was the goal of his party?
Why did the party prosper in a time of economic difficulty?
Why was he handed power?
Did he have peaceful aims?
What was his end?


Cf. http://www.history.com/videos/benito-mussolini

Benito Mussolini — History.com Video

Reference:

“Benito Mussolini,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/videos/benito-mussolini (accessed Apr 5, 2010).

The Fascist State

At first, Fascists held only a few cabinet posts in the new government. By 1925, though, Mussolini had assumed more power and taken the title Il Duce (eel doo chay), “The Leader.” He suppressed rival parties, muzzled the press, rigged elections, and replaced elected officials with Fascist supporters. In 1929, Mussolini received support from Pope Pius XI in return for recognizing Vatican City as an independent state, although the pope continued to disagree with some of Mussolini’s goals. In theory, Italy remained a parliamentary monarchy. In fact, it was a dictatorship upheld by terror. Critics were thrown into prison, forced into exile, or murdered. Secret police and propaganda bolstered the regime.

To encourage economic growth and end conflicts between owners and workers, Mussolini brought the economy under state control. However, he preserved capitalism. Under Mussolini’s corporate state, representatives of business, labor, government, and the Fascist party controlled industry, agriculture, and trade. Mussolini’s system favored the upper classes and industrial leaders. Although production increased, success came at the expense of workers. They were forbidden to strike, and their wages were kept low.

In Mussolini’s new system, loyalty to the state replaced conflicting individual goals. To Fascists, the glorious state was all-important, and the individual was unimportant except as a member of the state. Men, women, and children were bombarded with slogans glorifying the state and Mussolini. “Believe! Obey! Fight!” loudspeakers blared and posters proclaimed. Men were urged to be ruthless, selfless warriors fighting for the glory of Italy. Women were pushed out of paying jobs. Instead, Mussolini called on women to “win the battle of motherhood.” Those who bore more than 14 children were given a medal by Il Duce himself.

Shaping the young was a major Fascist goal. Fascist youth groups toughened children and taught them to obey strict military discipline. Boys and girls learned about the glories of ancient Rome. Young Fascists marched in torchlight parades, singing patriotic hymns and chanting, “Mussolini is always right.” By the 1930s, a generation of young soldiers stood ready to back Il Duce’s drive to expand Italian power.

The Makings of a Totalitarian State

1st

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

There are two critical thinking questions to answer.

Cf.
http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/ebook/products/0-13-133374-7/view1_WH07A02134.pdf

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

5th/8th

Reading Check

Examining

How did Mussolini gain power in Italy?

1st

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

Rare Mussolini's Speech in English! (1929 Fox Movietone Newsreel), 1:24

What impression do you have from viewing Mussolini?
Does he appear rather personable, or something more ominous?


Very rare footage of the infamous Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini. In his Fox movietone newsreel footage from March 1929

Mussolini says (Roughly transcribed);

"I am very glad to be able to express my feelings to the American nation. Friendship which Italy looks to millions of citizens who from..... from Pacific to Atlantic..... United States is very deeply rooted in our hearts.

This feeling created by mutual interest in preparation of an even brighter era in the life of both nations. I agree - the wonderful energy of the American people and I feel....... my fellow citizens who are working to make America great.

I salute the great American people, I salute the Italians of America who unite in the love of the nation."

1st

Rise of Mussolini, 4:35

With a partner, answer the following.

What was Mussolini able to do in Italy?
What did he burn?
What were his relations with the Church like?
What boosted his popularity?
How was his family an advantage?
How were youth a part of his plan?
Where and when did Italy go to war?


Soviet Russia

A New Era in the Soviet Union

Lenin's New Economic Policy

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

Soviet animated propaganda 1924 (Lenin's Kino Pravda), 4:54

What is this propaganda an answer to?
What has happened in Russia by this time?
How many people had joined the Communist Party?

What is the name of the second piece of propaganda?
What is the goal of cooperatives?
Who does the work?
Who gets rich?
What should workers and peasants do?
What is the key word to make things fine?
What is the solution to the problem of the horse, the plow, and the seeds?
What should be formed?
What is the goal?
What do the owners of the private shop do?
Why is the cooperative better?


Two short early Soviet propaganda films.
#1- Our answer to the gloating capitalist world
About the continued growth of the Communist Party and the accomplishments of the USSR.
#2- Collectivization
Short advocating the formation of collective farms and discouraging patronage of private shops. This film must have certainly appeared during the NEP era and signaled that its continuation was uncertain.

The Rise of Stalin

With a partner, answer the following.

Josef Stalin and Vladimir Lenin, 1:57

What was Stalin's title?
What did the Soviets do under his command?
Was he a good leader?
What was Lenin?
What were his accomplishments?
Was he a good leader?


Two key figures in the rise of communism in 20th century Russia.

In addition to tactics like the Terror Famine, Stalin’s Communist party used secret police, torture, and violent purges to ensure obedience. Stalin tightened his grasp on every aspect of Soviet life, even stamping out any signs of dissent within the Communist elites.

Stalin ruthlessly used terror as a weapon against his own people. He perpetrated crimes against humanity and systematically violated his people’s individual rights. Police spies did not hesitate to open private letters or plant listening devices. Nothing appeared in print without official approval. There was no free press, and no safe method of voicing protest. Grumblers or critics were rounded up and sent to the Gulag, a system of brutal labor camps, where many died.

People in History

Joseph Stalin

With a partner, answer the following.

Stalin (trailer), 1:29

What impression do you have of Stalin from this trailer?
What was he? Father? Killer? etc.


Stalin's rise from obscure revolutionary to feared leader of Russia is documented in vivid detail in this outstanding, critically acclaimed docudrama.

Five-Year Plans

The first Five Year Plan was launched in 1928, the second in 1932 and the third in 1937. Each plan laid out targets for industrial production. Targets were set for each factory in the USSR, every shift of workers and even for every individual worker.

The plans aimed at producing a surplus. Production targets were set very high to give the workers something to aim for. If workers did not achieve their targets, they were punished. Desperate factory managers fiddled the books or committed suicide as the pressure to produce more and more became too great. If the workers succeeded in reaching targets, they might be rewarded with increased wages. But usually their targets were increased as well.

Each year Stalin's government produced a report on progress. These reports were made available for foreign governments to see how successful communism was. Stalin was careful not to publicize any failures to the rest of the world. The picture that emerged from the USSR during the 1930s was one of success.

It is clear that production greatly increased and new factories, dams, railways and roads were built. However, there were problems with wastage and inefficiency in the plans. Official figures were exaggerated or gave only a partial picture of the targets met, so it is difficult to know the extent to which production increased.

Costs of Stalin's Programs

Even though Stalin’s power was absolute, he still feared that rival party leaders were plotting against him. In 1934, he launched the Great Purge. During this reign of terror, Stalin and his secret police cracked down especially on Old Bolsheviks, or party activists from the early days of the revolution. His net soon widened to target army heroes, industrial managers, writers, and ordinary citizens. They were charged with a wide range of crimes, from counterrevolutionary plots to failure to meet production quotas.

Trotsky's last office: this is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

The most famous incident of the Great Purge occurred on 20 August 1940, when Trotsky was attacked in his home in Mexico with an ice axe (not an ice pick as is often stated) by undercover NKVD agent Ramón Mercader.

With a partner, answer the following.

The Assassination of Leon Trotsky, 2:40

Who conspired against Trotsky?
What happened between Mercader and Trotsky?
What did Trotsky do after the attack?
How long afterwards did he die?
What happened to his assassin?


On August 20, 1940, Trotsky was successfully attacked in his home by a NKVD agent, Ramón Mercader, who drove the pick of an ice axe into Trotsky's skull.

The blow was poorly delivered and failed to kill Trotsky instantly, as Mercader had intended. Witnesses stated that Trotsky spat on Mercader and began struggling fiercely with him. Hearing the commotion, Trotsky's bodyguards burst into the room and nearly killed Mercader, but Trotsky stopped them, shouting, "Do not kill him! This man has a story to tell." Trotsky was taken to a hospital, operated on, and survived for more than a day, dying at the age of 60 on August 21, 1940 as a result of severe brain damage.

According to James P. Cannon, the secretary of the Socialist Workers Party (USA), Trotsky's last words were "I will not survive this attack. Stalin has finally accomplished the task he attempted unsuccessfully before."

The blow was poorly delivered and failed to kill Trotsky instantly, as Mercader had intended. Witnesses stated that Trotsky spat on Mercader and began struggling fiercely with him. Hearing the commotion, Trotsky's bodyguards burst into the room and nearly killed Mercader, but Trotsky stopped them, laboriously stating that the assassin should be made to answer questions. Trotsky was taken to a hospital, operated on, and survived for more than a day, dying at the age of 60 on 21 August 1940 as a result of severe brain damage. Mercader later testified at his trial:

I laid my raincoat on the table in such a way as to be able to remove the ice axe which was in the pocket. I decided not to miss the wonderful opportunity that presented itself. The moment Trotsky began reading the article, he gave me my chance; I took out the ice axe from the raincoat, gripped it in my hand and, with my eyes closed, dealt him a terrible blow on the head.

According to James P. Cannon, the secretary of the Socialist Workers Party (USA), Trotsky's last words were "I will not survive this attack. Stalin has finally accomplished the task he attempted unsuccessfully before."

Trotsky's assassination was indicative of the brutality and ruthlessness of Stalin.

Between 1936 and 1938, Stalin staged a series of spectacular public “show trials” in Moscow. Former Communist leaders confessed to all kinds of crimes after officials tortured them or threatened their families or friends. Many of the purged party members were never tried but were sent straight to the Gulag. Secret police files reveal that at least four million people were purged during the Stalin years. Some historians estimate the toll to be much greater.

The purges increased Stalin’s power. All Soviet citizens were now well aware of the consequences of disloyalty. However, Stalin’s government also paid a price. Among the purged were experts in industry, economics, and engineering, and many of the Soviet Union’s most talented writers and thinkers. The victims included most of the nation’s military leaders and about half of its military officers, a loss that would weigh heavily on Stalin in 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

With a partner, answer the following.

1st

Reading Check

Summarizing

What was Lenin's New Economic Policy?

Authoritarian States in the West
Like Germany, most new nations in Eastern Europe slid from democratic to authoritarian rule in the postwar era. In 1919, a dozen countries were carved out of the old Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German empires. Although they differed from one another in important ways, they faced some common problems. They were small countries whose rural, agricultural economies lacked capital to develop industry. Social and economic inequalities separated poor peasants from wealthy landlords. None had much experience with the democratic process. Further complicating the situation, tensions leftover from World War I hindered economic cooperation between countries. Each country in the region tried to be independent of its neighbors, which hurt all of them. The region was hit hard by the Great Depression.

Eastern Europe

Old rivalries between ethnic and religious groups created severe tensions. In Czechoslovakia, Czechs and Slovaks were unwilling partners. Serbs dominated the new state of Yugoslavia, but restless Slovenes and Croats living there pressed for independence. In Poland, Hungary, and Romania, conflict flared among various ethnic groups.

Economic problems and ethnic tensions contributed to instability, which in turn helped fascist rulers gain power. In Hungary, military strongman Nicholas Horthy (hawr tay) overthrew a Communist-led government in 1919. By 1926, the military hero Joseph Pilsudski (peel soot skee) had taken control over Poland. Eventually, right-wing dictators emerged in every Eastern European country except Czechoslovakia and Finland. Like Hitler, these dictators promised order and won the backing of the military and wealthy. They also turned to anti-Semitism, using Jews as scapegoats for many national problems. Meanwhile, strong, aggressive neighbors eyed these small, weak states of Eastern Europe as tempting targets.

With a partner, answer the following.

Spain

Reading Check

Explaining

How did Czechoslovakia maintain its political democracy?

Preview

Section 3 Hitler and Nazi Germany, Preview

Section 3 Hitler and Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler, a failed student and artist, built up a small racist, anti-Semitic political party in Germany after World War I. Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch failed. In prison, he wrote Mein Kampf—an account of his movement and his views. As democracy broke down, right-wing elites looked to Hitler for leadership. In 1933 Hitler became chancellor. Amid constant chaos and conflict, Hitler used terror and repression to gain totalitarian control. Meanwhile, a massive rearmament program put Germans back to work. Mass demonstrations and spectacles rallied Germans around Hitler's policies. All major institutions were brought under Nazi control. Women's primary role was to bear Aryan children. Hitler's Nuremberg Laws established official persecution of Jews. A more violent anti-Semitic phase began in 1938 with a destructive rampage against Jews and the deportation of thousands to concentration camps. Increasingly drastic steps barred Jews from attending school, earning a living, or engaging in Nazi society.

Weimar:

Cf.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/germany/weimaract.shtml

Nazis:

Cf.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/germany/nazisact.shtml

Information on Nazi Germany, Hitler

Click on "Germany Image Gallery" for the slideshow.

Cf. http://www.worldwar2database.com/cgi-bin/slideviewer.cgi?list=preludegermany.slides

Read a detailed account of the life of Hitler

Cf. http://library.thinkquest.org/19092/hitler.html

Test yourself on how Hitler came to power

Cf. http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/lessons/riseofhitler/index.htm

Nazi propaganda posters: Election, Sower of peace, 'One People, One Nation, One Leader,' Saving for a Volkswagen, Jews, Anti-Bolshevism.

Cf. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nazi_propaganda_gallery.shtml

Hitler and His Views Cf. http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/iText/products/0-13-133374-7/audio.html?fname=audio/audio_WH07Y03252.mov

Note Taking
Reading and Listening Skills: Identify Main Ideas

As you read and listen to this section of material, summarize the section’s main ideas in a flowchart like the one below.

Hitler depicted with a member of a Nazi youth organization

In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party brought hope to Germans suffering from the Great Depression. On the dark side of Hitler’s promises was a message of hate, aimed particularly at Jews. A German Jewish woman recalls an attack on her family during Kristallnacht, a night in early November 1938 when Nazi mobs attacked Jewish homes and businesses.

“They broke our windowpanes, and the house became very cold. . . . We were standing there, outside in the cold, still in our night clothes, with only a coat thrown over. . . . Then they made everyone lie face down on the ground . . . ‘Now, they will shoot us,’ we thought. We were very afraid.”

In 1923, as you may have read, Hitler made a failed attempt to seize power in Munich. He was arrested and found guilty of treason. While in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”). It would later become the basic book of Nazi goals and ideology.

Mein Kampf reflected Hitler’s obsessions—extreme nationalism, racism, and anti-Semitism. Germans, he said, belonged to a superior “master race” of Aryans, or light-skinned Europeans, whose greatest enemies were the Jews. Hitler’s ideas were rooted in a long tradition of anti-Semitism. In the Middle Ages, Christians persecuted Jews because of their different beliefs. The rise of nationalism in the 1800s caused people to identify Jews as ethnic outsiders. Hitler viewed Jews not as members of a religion but as a separate race. (He defined a Jew as anyone with one Jewish grandparent.) Echoing a familiar right-wing theme, he blamed Germany’s defeat in World War I on a conspiracy of Marxists, Jews, corrupt politicians, and business leaders.

In his recipe for revival, Hitler urged Germans everywhere to unite into one great nation. Germany must expand, he said, to gain Lebensraum (lay buns rowm), or living space, for its people. Slavs and other inferior races must bow to Aryan needs. To achieve its greatness, Germany needed a strong leader, or Führer (fyoo rur). Hitler was determined to become that leader.

Reading Check

Summarizing

What main ideas does Hitler express in his book Mein Kampf?

Rise of Nazism

Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889. When he was 18, he went to Vienna, then the capital of the multinational Hapsburg empire. German Austrians made up just one of many ethnic groups in Vienna. Yet they felt superior to Jews, Serbs, Poles, and other groups. While living in Vienna, Hitler developed the fanatical anti-Semitism, or prejudice against Jewish people, that would later play a major role in his rise to power.

Hitler went to Germany and fought in the German army during World War I. In 1919, he joined a small group of right-wing extremists. Like many ex-soldiers, he despised the Weimar government, which he saw as weak. Within a year, he was the unquestioned leader of the National Socialist German Workers, or Nazi, party. Like Mussolini, Hitler organized his supporters into fighting squads. Nazi “storm troopers” fought in the streets against their political enemies.

As a boy, Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) became obsessed with Germany’s 1871 victory in the Franco–Prussian War. “The great historic struggle would become my greatest spiritual experience,” he later wrote. “I became more and more enthusiastic about everything . . . connected with war.”

In school, young Hitler was known as a ringleader. One of his teachers recalled, “He demanded of his fellow pupils their unqualified obedience.” He failed to finish high school and was later crushed when he was rejected by art school.

After his attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government, for which he was in prison for less than a year, Hitler was released. He soon renewed his table-thumping speeches. The Great Depression played into Hitler’s hands. As unemployment rose, Nazi membership grew to almost a million. Hitler’s program appealed to veterans, workers, the lower middle classes, small-town Germans, and business people alike. He promised to end reparations, create jobs, and defy the Versailles treaty by rearming Germany.


Inflation Rocks Germany

A man uses German marks to paper his wall because it costs less than buying wallpaper. At the height of the inflation, it would have taken 84,000 fifty-million mark notes like the one below, to equal a single American dollar. Why would inflation hit middle class people with modest savings hard?

With the government paralyzed by divisions, both Nazis and Communists won more seats in the Reichstag, or lower house of the legislature. Fearing the growth of communist political power, conservative politicians turned to Hitler. Although they despised him, they believed they could control him. Thus, with conservative support, Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933 through legal means under the Weimar constitution.

Within a year, Hitler was dictator of Germany. He and his supporters suspended civil rights, destroyed the socialists and Communists, and disbanded other political parties. Germany became a one-party state. Like Stalin in Russia, Hitler purged his own party, brutally executing Nazis he felt were disloyal. Nazis learned that Hitler demanded unquestioning obedience.
After Hitler came to power, he used his elite guard of storm troopers to terrorize his opponents. But when he felt his power threatened, Hitler had leaders of the storm troopers murdered during the “Night of the Long Knives” on June 30, 1934.

Reading Check

Explaining

What factors helped the Nazi Party to gain power in Germany?

Victory of Nazism

Reading Check

Examining

Why was the Enabling Act important to Hitler's success in controlling Germany?

The Nazi State

The State and Terror

Economic Policies

Spectacles and Organizations

Women and Nazism

Anti-Semitic Policies
Reading Check

Summarizing

What steps did Hitler take to establish a Nazi totalitarian state in Germany?

A New Era in the Soviet Union

Lenin's New Economic Policy

The Rise of Stalin

People in History

Joseph Stalin

Five-Year Plans

Costs of Stalin's Programs

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

Reading Check

Summarizing

What was Lenin's New Economic Policy

Authoritarian States in the West

Eastern Europe

Spain

In-class assignment, with a partner, consider the following.

Reading Check

Explaining

How did Czechoslovakia maintain its political democracy?

Preview


Ch. 17 References

The Great Depression

Photo Essay on the Great Depression

Cf. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/tools/browser12.html

Diaries of people who lived during the Depression

Cf. http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/our_america/great_depression/

People and events of the Dust Bowl

Cf. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dustbowl/

Original photographs from the times

Cf. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fatop1.html

Cf. Click on links to view original documents from Mussolini's life and times.

Cf. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/heroesvillains/g3/

Click on "Germany Image Gallery" for the slideshow.

Cf. http://www.worldwar2database.com/cgi-bin/slideviewer.cgi?list=preludegermany.slides

Read a detailed account of the life of Hitler

Cf. http://library.thinkquest.org/19092/hitler.html

Test yourself on how Hitler came to power

Cf. http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/lessons/riseofhitler/index.htm

Nazi propaganda posters: Election, Sower of peace, 'One People, One Nation, One Leader,' Saving for a Volkswagen, Jews, Anti-Bolshevism.

Cf. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nazi_propaganda_gallery.shtml

Soviet Russia

Stalin and Industrialization of the USSR
See original documents and learn more about Stalin's methods.

Cf. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/heroesvillains/g4/

View Soviet posters

Cf. http://www.internationalposter.com/country-primers/soviet-posters.aspx

Review Stalin's takeover of power

Cf. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/russia/stalinsact.shtml

Find out more about jazz

Cf. http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/class/whatsjazz/wij_start.asp

How To Take Effective Notes

Ch. 17 References

The Great Depression

Photo Essay on the Great Depression

Cf. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/tools/browser12.html

Diaries of people who lived during the Depression

Cf. http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/our_america/great_depression/

People and events of the Dust Bowl

Cf. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dustbowl/

Original photographs from the times

Cf. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fatop1.html

Cf. Click on links to view original documents from Mussolini's life and times.

Cf. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/heroesvillains/g3/

Click on "Germany Image Gallery" for the slideshow.

Cf. http://www.worldwar2database.com/cgi-bin/slideviewer.cgi?list=preludegermany.slides

Read a detailed account of the life of Hitler

Cf. http://library.thinkquest.org/19092/hitler.html

Test yourself on how Hitler came to power

Cf. http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/lessons/riseofhitler/index.htm

Nazi propaganda posters: Election, Sower of peace, 'One People, One Nation, One Leader,' Saving for a Volkswagen, Jews, Anti-Bolshevism.

Cf. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nazi_propaganda_gallery.shtml

Soviet Russia

Stalin and Industrialization of the USSR
See original documents and learn more about Stalin's methods.

Cf. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/heroesvillains/g4/

View Soviet posters

Cf. http://www.internationalposter.com/country-primers/soviet-posters.aspx

Review Stalin's takeover of power

Cf. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/russia/stalinsact.shtml

Find out more about jazz

Cf. http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/class/whatsjazz/wij_start.asp

Paul McCartney and Wings - Give Ireland back to the Irish, 3:43

Song about the British in the north eastern counties of Ireland which denies the Irish people the right of national self-determination.

Song performed by Wings.

Give ireland back to the irish
Dont make them have to take it away
Give ireland back to the irish
Make ireland irish today
Great britian you are tremendous
And nobody knows like me
But really what are you doin
In the land across the sea

Tell me how would you like it
If on your way to work
You were stopped by irish soliders
Would you lie down do nothing
Would you give in, or go berserk

Give ireland back to the irish
Dont make them have to take it away
Give ireland back to the irish
Make ireland irish today

Great britian and all the people
Say that all people must be free
Meanwhile back in ireland
Theres a man who looks like me

And he dreams of God and country
And hes feeling really bad
And hes sitting in a prison
Should he lie down do nothing
Should give in or go mad

Give ireland back to the irish
Dont make them have to take it away
Give ireland back to the irish
Make ireland irish today

Give ireland back to the irish
Dont make them have to take it away
Give ireland back to the irish
Make ireland irish today

Lyrics reproduced here for educational purposes only; copyright remains in the hands of the legitimate owners.



John & Yoko - Sunday Bloody Sunday, 5:03, from Lennon's 'Sometime In New York City' album.


Sunday Bloody Sunday - Wolfe Tones, 4:09

This is a song from their CD entitled Celtic Symphony.


References

Chapter 17 References

The BBC on Weimar:

Cf. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/germany/weimaract.shtml

The BBC on Nazis:

Cf. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/germany/nazisact.shtml

Wagner - RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES - Furtwangler, 5:09

The Ride of the Valkyries, by Richard Wagner, in a classic recording with Wilhelm Furtwangler and the Vienna Philharmonic. Illustrations are by Arthur Rackham.

The music: probably the most famous and instantly identifiable of Wagner's works is this short orchestral prelude from Die Walkure, the second opera in the monumental Der Ring des Nibelungen. It has gone on to enter popular culture, being used in many films, most notably the helicopter attack sequence in Apocalypse Now. In terms of composition it perfectly demonstrates Wagner's epic sense of drama, and also his masterful orchestration.

The conductor: Wilhelm Furtwangler is probably unrivalled as an interpreter of the core Austro-German Romantic repertoire, setting benchmarks in the performance of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Wagner, Bruckner and others. His recordings include two complete Ring Cycles, both of them classics.

The illustrations: Arthur Rackham was one of the greatest illustrators at the turn of the 19th century, creating classic visions for fairy tales and fantasies (Alice, Peter Pan, etc.).

His work on Der Ring des Nibelungen is often considered one of the finest visual depictions of Wagner's epic.


Duce! the rise and fall of Benito Mussolini by Richard Collier

Fascism

Russia

Soviet

Totalitarian

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Fortunate Son, 2:19


Give Peace A Chance - John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band - Toronto 1969, 3:28

http://youtu.be/bqrypsYtHkE

The Chapter 16 Section 2 Quiz Prep Page is available.

Cf. http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/Honors+World+History+II+Chapter+16+Section+2+Quiz+Prep+Page+Spring+2011

Marines Rock Out to Britney, 3:58


HW: email (or hard copy) me at gmsmith@shanahan.org.

Monday HW
1. p. 538, #5-7.
Tuesday HW
1. p. 538, #8-9; 2. p. 540, #1.
Wednesday HW
1. p. 540, #2; 2. p. 541, #1-2.
Thursday HW
1. p. 544, #1-2; 2. p. 546, History Through Art.
Friday HW
1. p. 546, #4.

Honors World History II: HW for Week of 25 April 2011

Monday HW
1. p. 538, #5-7.
Tuesday HW
1. p. 538, #8-9; 2. p. 540, #1.
Wednesday HW
1. p. 540, #2; 2. p. 541, #1-2.
Thursday HW
1. p. 544, #1-2; 2. p. 546, History Through Art.
Friday HW
1. p. 546, #4.

Honors Business Economics: HW for Week of 25 April 2011

Monday HW
1. p. 286, #33-35
Tuesday HW
1. p. 286, #36-37, p. 294, #2
Wednesday HW
1. p. 294, #4-6
Thursday HW
1. p. 294, #7-8, p. 295, #1
Friday HW
1. p. 295, #2