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E. The World since 1900 · The World since 1900

The World since 1900: Unit Review

A1.1 A1.2 A1.3 A1.4 A1.7 A1.8 A1.9 A1 A2 E1 E1.1 E1.2 E2 E3 E3.2 E3.3 E3.4About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can recall and explain key events, people and ideas from the world since 1900.
  • I can use historical thinking concepts to connect lessons.
  • I can identify which lessons to revisit.

Words to know

historical significance
Why an event, person or development matters.
cause and consequence
Why things happened and what resulted.
continuity and change
What stayed the same and what changed over time.
historical perspective
Understanding people of the past in their own context.

Let's review!

In this unit you investigated the world since 1900: two world wars and the revolutions, depression and dictatorships between them; the Holocaust and other genocides; the United Nations and human rights; the Cold War in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America; decolonization and the end of apartheid; the modern Middle East and Latin America; globalization, technology and the environment; women's rights; culture; Indigenous peoples' resurgence; and the world since 1991.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check.

How to use this review

Do three or four sections at a time instead of all at once. Write full-sentence answers before checking: in history, how you explain matters as much as the fact. For every question you miss, write down why (forgot a date? mixed up two people or places? did not use evidence?) and reread that lesson's modelled example. Keep using the historical thinking concepts: significance, cause and consequence, continuity and change, and perspective. Finish with the 10-question quiz. Some sections cover genocide and residential schools; take a break when you need one.

Six big themes of the world since 1900The worldsince 1900Total war1914–1918,1937–1945Ideologiescommunism,fascism, democracyDecolonizationAsia, Africa,1945–1980Cold War1945–1991,a global contestHuman rightsUN, UDHR, women,Indigenous peoplesGlobalizationtrade, technology,environment
Six themes that connect the lessons. Try to link each lesson to at least one of them.
The world since 1900: the big picture (not to scale)1914–18First WorldWar1917RussianRevolution1929GreatDepression1939–45Second World War;the Holocaust1947–75Decolonizationin Asia and Africa1989–91End of theCold War2007UNDRIPadopted2020COVID-19pandemic
The big picture of the unit, from the First World War to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just for fun

Why did the history student bring a calendar to the exam?

So every answer would be on the right date.

The World in 1900: Empires, Questions and Evidence

1

Write one factual and one evaluative question about the Russo-Japanese War.

2

Which two African states were independent in 1900?

3

Is a 1995 news report on the 1994 Rwandan genocide primary or secondary?

The First World War as a Global War

1

Explain the difference between the long-term causes and the immediate cause of the First World War.

2

Give two examples of non-European involvement in the war.

3

Why did the 1919 peace disappoint many colonized peoples?

Revolutions in Mexico, Russia and China, 1910–1928

1

What did Mexico's 1917 Constitution promise?

2

Put in order: the October Revolution, the founding of the USSR, the tsar's abdication.

3

What happened to China after Yuan Shikai died in 1916?

Depression and Dictatorship, 1919–1939

1

Why were countries that exported raw materials badly hurt by the Depression?

2

Name two features shared by Stalin's USSR and Nazi Germany.

3

Give one argument for and one against appeasement.

The Second World War: A Global War, 1937–1945

1

Why might the war be said to start in 1937?

2

Which country suffered the most deaths in the war, and about how many?

3

Why do historians still debate the atomic bombings?

The Holocaust

1

List three stages in the escalation of Nazi persecution of Jews.

2

What does the Wannsee Protocol show, and how?

3

Give one example of rescue and one of resistance.

Genocide and Crimes against Humanity

1

State the key element of the legal definition of genocide.

2

Name the genocide that happened in about 100 days in 1994.

3

Why is the Akayesu judgement (1998) important?

Never Again? The United Nations and Human Rights

1

Why does the Security Council veto matter?

2

Name two people who helped shape the UDHR and their contributions.

3

Give one method used by the U.S. civil rights movement.

The Cold War Begins: Europe, China and Korea, 1945–1962

1

What was containment?

2

What were the human costs of the Great Leap Forward?

3

How did the Cuban Missile Crisis end?

Proxy Wars, Non-Alignment and the End of the Cold War, 1955–1991

1

What was the Non-Aligned Movement?

2

Give two places where the Cold War became a hot war after 1960.

3

Give two explanations for the end of the Cold War.

Decolonization in Asia: India, Indonesia and Vietnam

1

Why did Partition cause so much violence?

2

Compare Vietnam's and India's paths to independence.

3

When did the Dutch transfer sovereignty to Indonesia?

Decolonization in Africa and the Struggle against Apartheid

1

Why was independence harder to win in Kenya and Algeria than in Ghana?

2

What was the Group Areas Act?

3

Name three forces that ended apartheid.

The Modern Middle East: Mandates, Oil, Israel and Palestine, and Revolution

1

Name the three contradictory British promises of 1915–1917.

2

What do Israelis and Palestinians each call the events of 1948?

3

What happened in Iran in 1979?

Latin America since 1900: Revolution, Dictatorship and Democracy

1

Who were the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo?

2

Why did the U.S. back the 1954 coup in Guatemala?

3

Name one Indigenous movement or leader in Latin America since 1990.

Globalization, Technology and the Environment

1

Give two social trends since 1900.

2

Name a medical advance from Toronto.

3

Why is the Montreal Protocol considered a success?

Women's Rights and Roles around the World since 1900

1

Name the first self-governing country to give women the national vote.

2

Who was the world's first woman prime minister?

3

Give one example of continuity or backlash in women's rights since 2000.

Culture, Media and Identity since 1900

1

Why do regimes censor culture?

2

Give an example of cultural exchange from the lesson.

3

What did Tommie Smith and John Carlos do in 1968?

Indigenous Peoples Worldwide: Survival, Resistance and Resurgence

1

Name two countries other than Canada with policies that removed Indigenous children.

2

What does UNDRIP Article 3 recognize?

3

Give two examples of Indigenous resurgence.

The World since 1991, and Using History Skills Today

1

What did Fukuyama and Huntington each predict?

2

What happened on February 24, 2022?

3

Name two careers that use historical thinking skills.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which leader proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949?

2.

What must be proven for an act to be genocide under the 1948 Convention?

3.

Which Canadian wrote the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

4.

Which event sparked China's May Fourth Movement?

5.

What was apartheid?

6.

Which Mexican president nationalized foreign oil companies in 1938?

7.

Which statement about UNDRIP is correct?

8.

Which explanation for the end of the Cold War focuses on ordinary people?

9.

What was the Nakba?

10.

Which country was the first self-governing country to give women the national vote?

For parents and teachers

What this review covers: every lesson in the unit, with three questions each, plus a 10-question quiz.

Which lesson to revisit for which kind of mistake:

  • Mixing up primary and secondary sources, weak inquiry questions or citation errors: The World in 1900: Empires, Questions and Evidence.
  • Errors about the causes of the First World War, colonial participation or the 1919 peace: The First World War as a Global War.
  • Confusing the Mexican, Russian and Chinese revolutions or their leaders: Revolutions in Mexico, Russia and China, 1910–1928.
  • Errors about the Depression, fascism, Stalinism, Japanese militarism or appeasement: Depression and Dictatorship, 1919–1939.
  • Errors about turning points, the Asian war, the Bengal famine or the atomic bombs: The Second World War: A Global War, 1937–1945.
  • Errors about the stages of the Holocaust, its victims, or resistance and rescue: The Holocaust.
  • Errors about the legal definition of genocide or the Armenian, Ukrainian, Cambodian, Rwandan and Bosnian cases: Genocide and Crimes against Humanity.
  • Errors about the UN, the UDHR or rights movements: Never Again? The United Nations and Human Rights.
  • Errors about the origins of the Cold War, China under Mao, Korea or Cuba: The Cold War Begins: Europe, China and Korea, 1945–1962.
  • Errors about non-alignment, proxy wars, détente or the end of the Cold War: Proxy Wars, Non-Alignment and the End of the Cold War, 1955–1991.
  • Errors about India, Pakistan, Indonesia or Vietnam: Decolonization in Asia: India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
  • Errors about African independence or apartheid: Decolonization in Africa and the Struggle against Apartheid.
  • Errors about mandates, Israel and Palestine, oil or the Iranian Revolution: The Modern Middle East: Mandates, Oil, Israel and Palestine, and Revolution.
  • Errors about U.S. intervention, coups, the disappeared or Indigenous movements in Latin America: Latin America since 1900: Revolution, Dictatorship and Democracy.
  • Errors about globalization, social trends, technology or environmental treaties: Globalization, Technology and the Environment.
  • Errors about suffrage dates, women leaders or judging change and continuity in women's status: Women's Rights and Roles around the World since 1900.
  • Errors about cultural trends, censorship or using culture as evidence: Culture, Media and Identity since 1900.
  • Errors about assimilation policies, UNDRIP or Indigenous resurgence: Indigenous Peoples Worldwide: Survival, Resistance and Resurgence.
  • Errors about events since 1991, checking online claims or careers: The World since 1991, and Using History Skills Today.

Sensitive content: the review includes questions on the Holocaust, other genocides and residential schools. Encourage breaks.

Note on expectation codes: The ministry's specific expectations for this strand could not all be confirmed from an online source. Confirmed specific codes are used where available (A1.1–A1.4, A1.7–A1.9, E1.1, E1.2, E3.2, E3.3, E3.4); the rest of the strand is tagged with its overall expectations (A1, A2, E1, E2, E3).