The Dust Bowl and the New Deal: America’s Response to Crisis
The Dust Bowl: A Decade of Dust and Despair
The most visible evidence of the devastating drought of the 1930s was the dust storm. Tons of topsoil were blown off barren fields and carried in storm clouds for hundreds of miles. Technically, the driest region of the Plains – southeastern Colorado, southwest Kansas, and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas – became known as the Dust Bowl, and many dust storms originated there. However, the entire region, and eventually the entire country, was affected.
Read MoreDecline of Spanish Empire & Rise of Centralized Monarchy
The Decline of the Spanish Empire in Europe
The seventeenth century marked the end of the Habsburgs’ hegemony in Europe, characterized by a loss of political influence and numerous possessions. Simultaneously, France rose as a major European power.
Under Philip III, a period of peace began after previous conflicts, known as The Twelve Years’ Truce. Philip IV, with his minister the Count-Duke of Olivares, aimed to restore the prestige of the Spanish monarchy by defending the Catholic religion and unifying
Read MoreThe First Carlist War: Dynastic Conflict and Political Shifts
Dynastic Conflict in Spain (1830s)
In 1830, the birth of King Ferdinand VII’s daughter, Isabel (Elizabeth), seemed to guarantee the continuity of the Bourbon dynasty. However, the Salic Law, which prevented women from inheriting the throne, complicated matters. Ferdinand, influenced by his wife Maria Cristina, repealed the Salic Law through the Pragmatic Sanction, opening the way for his daughter to become his heir.
Carlos, Ferdinand’s brother, refused to accept this new situation. Supporters of Carlos
Read MoreRise and Fall of Totalitarian Regimes: 1917-1945
The Russian Revolution and the Rise of the Soviet Union
In 1898, the Russian Social Democratic Party was founded. By 1912, it had split into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. In February 1917, a revolution in St. Petersburg led to the fall of Tsarism. On October 25th, the Soviets, mandated by the Bolsheviks, overthrew the interim government and established a socialist state, forming a worker’s government.
The new Soviet government faced a civil war that lasted three years (1918-1921). In 1918, the party
Read MoreKey Figures of the 20th Century: Wałęsa, Allende, Gorbachev
Lech Wałęsa: A Polish Leader
Lech Wałęsa was born on 29 September 1943 in Popowo, Poland, the son of a carpenter. He attended primary and vocational training before entering the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk as an electrical technician in 1967. In 1969, he married Danuta Gołoś, and the couple had eight children.
He was a member of the committee during the illegal strike in the Gdańsk shipyard in 1970. After the bloody end to the strike, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 80 workers by
Read MoreEducational and Social Reforms in Spain
Educational and Social Reforms During the Second Spanish Republic
The proclamation of the Republic in 1931 led to the opportunity to realize educational renewal projects. The reform was centered on the idea of a unified, secular, compulsory, and free school system. The expulsion of the Jesuits and the exclusion of religious orders from instruction required the government to make a major effort in education. Primary education expenditures rose considerably, which permitted an increase in the number
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