Russia,+Japan,+and+the+West

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 * 1) Russia Questions**
 * 1) What was the Decembrist uprising? What were its causes and effects?
 * Decembrist officers were veterans after Napoleon's invasion of Russia. They realized the indignities of peasant soldiers and refused the ancien regime. Their revolutionary leader was **Pavel Pastel**, who encouraged the rise of a republic and the redistribution of land. The immediate cause of the revolt was the succession controversy in which **Nicholas I** succeeded the throne after his brother **Constantine** abdicated his succession. In comparison, Constantine was liberal and the Nicolas was reactionary, which proved counterintuitive for the Decembrists. As a result, the rebellion strengthened the conservatism in Nicholas. Political enemies were silenced, the secret police expanded, and any outlets of free speech and seditious seeds were tightly supervised.
 * 1) What were the weaknesses of the Russian economy?
 * They did not industrialize or modernize. While some central European powers adopted railways, telegraphs, etc., Russians imported expensive western machinery to set up isolated factories. Therefore, Russia remained an profoundly agricultural society that fed West Europe's open market for grains. To do so, the serfs with taxed with higher labor obligations.
 * 1) What caused the Crimean War? What were its major effects?
 * The Crimean War (1854-1856) was at the Black Sea between Britain and France supporting the Ottomans against Russia. The British wanted to protect its territories in India, seeing the Russians as a greater threat than the Ottomans to their dominions while the French wanted the diplomatic glory and to emphasize that they were the defenders of Christianity. The battle was won by the industrialization of the western powers and Russians, who have prided themselves on their prowess, were convinced they need to change. **Alexander II,** who succeeded Nicholas I, sough economic reform and westernization.
 * 1) Why were serfs emancipated? How did their emancipation differ from the emancipation of slaves in the U.S.? What changes did it create?
 * The serfs were emancipated in 1861 because Alexander believed the serfs could be transformed into a mobile, urban workforce. The emancipation of serfs granted them freedom from their landlords and land, which the United States slaves did not receive. On the other hand, serfs did not get new political rights on the national level like the slaves. In order to maintain good ties with the nobility and retain their power, Alexander II binded the serfs to their villages until a redemption fee was paid to the nobility. The emancipation caused restiveness, since the redemption payments added to the peasant hardships.
 * 1) What were the Zemstvoes? How successful were they?
 * The **Zemstvoes** were local political councils that were in charge of public facilities like roads and schools. They ended the noble's direct rule of the peasantry and gave many middle-class professionals political experience.
 * 1) What was the significance of the Trans-Siberian railroad?
 * It connected the East with the West and stimulated the iron and coal sectors that constituted a major part of their economy. The railroad also increased the exports of grain increasing the revenues for their agricultural sector and thus permitting the Russians to industrialize. In addition, the railroad also allowed Russians an active role in Asian affairs. Modern factories were established in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and various Polish cities and they grew alongside an urban work class filled with skilled artisans and unskilled laborers.
 * 1) What economic reforms were enacted by Sergei Witte?
 * Witte was the minister of finance and an advocate of economic modernization. He enacted high protective import tariffs, revolutionized the banking system, and encouraged Western investors to build factories. By 1900, half of the Russian industry was foreign owned and most of it was foreign operated with primarily British, German and French industrialists. Russia became a debtor nation as a result, however they became the 4th highest producer of steel and the 2nd highest producer of petroleum.
 * 1) What were the signs that Russia was headed to revolution? (think about - intelligentsia, anarchists, Marxists, Bolsheviks.)
 * Nationalism in a multinational empire caused agitation and concern. Peasants chafed under the redemption payments. Educated Russians sought various goals: liberal professionals asked for a greater political voice, such as free speech in schools and press, the radical **intelligentsia** were active, critical, and expanding as student groups and universities expanded. The most radical of the intelligentsia were **anarchists** who wanted political freedom and deep social reform to create a society distinct from the material western society. Anarchists opposed the tsarism, and without popular support and political outlets they resolved to terrorism. With the introduction of Marxism, **Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov "Lenin"** became an active Marxist leader and organized the communist **Bolshevik** party.


 * 2) Japan Questions**

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 * 1. Explain major developments in Japan in the early 1800's**
 * Development of commoner schools, **terakoya,** **Dutch Studies**, and national studies -- emphasizes the spread of intellectualism, spread of Western ideas and superiority of Western knowledge; weakening of reverence for Chinese texts; push for an end for isolation; caused ultra-nationalism at the end of the century
 * Rise of neo-Confucianism - prevented a religious-based resistance to Westernization
 * Development of corporations/large merchant companies -- basics of industrialization
 * 2. What effect did the actions of Commodore Perry have on Japan? (include details on Samurai discontent)**
 * Perry submitted the apan to western influence and allowed western powers to establish ports exempt from Japanese laws. In addition, Perry's naval superiority opened the Japanese's eyes to the weaknesses of their isolation policy. The daimyos forced the shogun to appeal to the emperor to reprimand the new developments. The samurai opponents of the bureaucracy appealed to the emperor as well effectively ending the emperor's century old puppet position. The samurai attacked foreigners and the ensuing conflicts pitted samurai versus the shogunate. The samurai adopted western weaponry and defeated the shogunate force, establishing the Meiji State and emphasizing the Japan backwardness.
 * 3. List the actions taken by the Meiji State**
 * Abolished feudalism/removed the daimyos in 1871 and replaced them with the French practice of nationally appointed prefects
 * Sent samurai officials to study abroad
 * Abolished the samurai class
 * Given government bonds that decreased heavily in value, impoverishing many samurai
 * Final uprising occurred in 1877
 * Changed the former agriculture-only tax to a tax payable in money
 * National conscription so Japan had a solid army by 1878
 * Reorganized the governing system
 * A conservative nobility was created in 1884 that copied a British-style House of Peers
 * Instated civil service examinations
 * The constitution of 1889 gave the emperor many powers and limited powers for the lower house of the parliament
 * The **Diet**, the parliament, was based on the German system
 * Could pass laws if both houses agreed
 * Advise, but not control government
 * Conservative restricted to 5% of the Japanese men
 * New government banks to provide capital
 * State-sponsored/built railroads throughout the country
 * Innovated agricultural techniques to improve productivity
 * Guilds and internal road tariffs were abolished
 * Clear individual land ownership
 * Established the Ministry of Industry in 1870
 * Established disciplined work systems by the 1880s
 * Regularized commercial laws
 * Expanded technical training and education
 * Tokyo Imperial University had a faculty of agriculture

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 * 4. Explain how Japan Industrialized - (Private and government roles)**
 * The government passed many laws that promoted agriculture, productivity, and industrialization.
 * Samurai were sent abroad to bring back knowledge
 * Farmers gained individual ownership of land coupled with knowledge of new equipment and fertilizer
 * National banks were established to provide capital
 * Allowed people like **Shuibuzawa Eiichi** to create **zaibatsus,** large industrial combines; and **Iwasaki Yataro** to establish the Mitsubishi company
 * The taxes were now payable in money instead of solely agriculture allowing people to pursue industrial labor
 * The Ministry of Finance oversaw development and erected model shipyards, arsenals, and factories
 * Roads and other forms of connection were built to connect the islands and the major cities
 * Road tariffs were removed and commercial laws were regularized
 * Education provided the people with familiarity with the industrial technologies and processes
 * 5. List ways that Industrialization changed Japan**
 * Class tensions due to a population spurt caused by better nutrition, medicinal quality, and changes to the traditional restraints on births
 * Eventually caused a decline in birth rates
 * Child labor became less useful
 * Divorce exploded until new limits were established
 * Universal education that promoted science and nationalism
 * After importing many western thinkers, the emperor became more conservative and promoted piety and nationalism
 * Foreign books on morality were banned
 * Western fashion and practices were adopted
 * Buddhism declined even more, but remained a prevalent religion
 * Shintoism won new interest
 * Overhaul of the political and economic system
 * 6. What division within Japanese society were created by modernization?**
 * Parliamentary political parties conflicted with the ministers on the rights to determine policy
 * Often dissolved the Diet and replaced them with new elected officials that were more compliant
 * Political and attempted assassinations were committed
 * Japanese scholars were adopted Western philosophy that conflicted with the Shinto and Confucian philosophies adhered by the government
 * Intellectuals expressed loss of national identity