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Rise of Totalitarianism
In the early 1920's, Italy was facing difficulties economically and politically. Benito Mussolini, a Fascist, won against the communist party. He promised to expand Italy's empires by invading other countries, and led with "total" power and control.
This event set the stage for so many other countries rising to Totalitarianism. Russia, Japan, and Germany all are ruled under Totalitarianism or a similar form of government, such as a dictatorship or fascism soon following the rule of Mussolini. -
Ratification of the 19th Amendment
The Ratification of the 19th Amendment means that women were allowed the right to vote. The amendment was passed by congress on June 4, 1919, but it took over a year to finally be ratified, (made valid).
This event is important because of the issue of women's suffrage, which is still today a very prevalent issue. Women had to fight for a long time to even gain the right to vote for the leaders of our country, this was a huge step in women's history, and in an issue that we still face today. -
Stalin Rises to Power
Following the death of Vladmir Lenin, Josef Stalin rose to a dictator in the USSR. He launched a series of "5 Year Plans" to repair the USSR's broken economy. He ruled through fear of death/punishment and a totalitarian government, like many before him.
This is particularly important because of the amount of people that died during Stalin's rule, which is around 20 million. He also is one of the greatest examples of a true totalitarian leader of a totalitarian government style. -
Black Tuesday
On October 29,1929, investors on Wall Street, located in the heart of the Financial District of New York and home to the New York Stock Exchange, traded around 16 million shares in a single day. Nearly billions of dollars were lost and investors were wiped out.
This event is very important because it led to the Great Depression; the worst economic downturn in history. By 1933, when the Depression reached its lowest point, around 15 million Americans were unemployed as companies laid off workers. -
Salt March
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Hitler Becomes Chancellor
On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was offered chancellorship of Germany. This was considered a very high and advantageous position, and one that was very well respected.
This event is a significant one, because Hitler now had the resources and people needed to successfully commit genocide. He now had obtained the influence he needed to be viewed as someone who was worth listening to, and he had gained the power he needed to create an army. -
The First Neutrality Act
The US passed an Act enforcing neutrality. In this particular case, the Act prohibited the export of any weapons or military supplies to foreign nations at war. Americans traveling through war zones were also warned to do so at their own risk.
Particularly in US history, this event is important because it was the first of many similar Acts passed, which kept the US out of international wars for nearly 10 years.Leading up all the way to the bombing at Pearl Harbor, the US stayed out of many wars -
Second Sino-Japanese War
The war was long foreseen, with Japan constantly trying to dominate China. It began with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. The League of Nations decided this was illegal, however was not able to enforce their decision. This war carried into WWII after the bombing at Pearl Harbor.
This event was the largest Asian war in the 20th century. It was not an expression of the people, instead a strictly militaristic war. It was also very much an assertion of Japan's power. It led to very many deaths. -
Munich Pact Signed
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Kristallnacht
"The Night of Broken Glass" began when violence broke out against Jews across the Reich. In two days, over 250 synagogues were burned, 7,000 Jewish facilities raided and destroyed, and dozens of Jews were killed.
This is an important event in history, because it was when the German anger towards the Jewish really bubbled over. It was a very harsh and brutal attack on people in retaliation for their religion, and it was really one of the first major acts of Jewish persecution.
