QCAA Modern History cheat sheet

Liberalism: individual rights, constitutional government, free markets; classical liberalism (19th c.) differs from modern social liberalism on state intervention.

Socialism: collective or state ownership of production; Marxism predicts class struggle leading to proletarian revolution and a classless society.

Communism in practice (Leninism, Stalinism) centralised party rule; 'socialism in one country' (1924) contrasted with permanent revolution.

Fascism: extreme nationalism, one-party dictatorship, glorification of violence and struggle, corporatist economy; Mussolini's Italy 1922 model.

Nationalism as ideology: nation defined by shared language, culture, or ethnicity; civic nationalism (citizenship-based) vs ethnic nationalism.

Conservatism: order, tradition, hierarchy, gradual change; Burke's critique of the French Revolution is a foundational text.

Enlightenment ideas (reason, liberty, equality) shaped 18th–19th century revolutionary movements and constitutionalism.

Feminism waves: suffrage (late 19th–early 20th), second wave (1960s–70s), third wave (1990s); each targets different legal and social inequalities.

Unification of Italy (1861) and Germany (1871) are classic examples of nationalism creating new nation-states.

Treaty of Versailles (1919) applied self-determination in Europe, creating states like Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.

Balkan nationalism contributed to the outbreak of WWI (1914) via the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo.

Decolonisation after 1945 produced new nation-states; borders often reflected imperial convenience rather than ethnic boundaries.

Partition of India (1947) created India and Pakistan; mass migration and communal violence followed.

Zionism and Palestinian nationalism are competing national claims over the same territory, central to Middle East conflict.

Nationalist movements often use symbols (flags, anthems, monuments) and 'invented traditions' to forge identity.

Apartheid South Africa constructed ethnic and racial nationhood through law; dismantled 1990–94.

Scramble for Africa (1880s–1914): European powers partitioned Africa; Berlin Conference 1884–85 set rules for claims.

Motives: economic (raw materials, markets), strategic (coaling stations, routes), political prestige, and ideological 'civilising mission'.

British India: East India Company rule until 1858, then Crown rule (Raj) after the 1857 rebellion.

Indirect rule (British, e.g. Nigeria) used local elites; direct rule (French assimilation) sought cultural conversion.

Colonial economies were restructured for export crops and extraction, creating dependency (e.g. rubber, cotton, minerals).

Resistance: 1857 Indian Rebellion, 1896–97 Matabele uprising, 1898 Boxer Rebellion in China, 1919 Amritsar massacre response.

Decolonisation causes: weakened European powers after WWII, nationalist movements, Cold War superpower pressure, UN anti-colonialism.

Legacy: artificial borders, economic dependency, ethnic divisions, and post-colonial leadership challenges.

WWI causes: militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism (MAIN); trigger was the Sarajevo assassination (28 June 1914).

Treaty of Versailles (1919): Germany accepted war guilt (Article 231), reparations, territorial losses, and military limits.

Appeasement (1930s) failed to prevent WWII; Munich Agreement (1938) ceded Sudetenland to Germany.

Cold War: superpower rivalry (1947–1991); key crises include Berlin Blockade (1948), Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), and détente in the 1970s.

Nuclear deterrence (MAD) shaped Cold War strategy; arms control treaties include SALT and START.

UN founded 1945; Security Council has five permanent veto-holding members.

Post-Cold War conflicts: Gulf War (1991), Yugoslav wars (1990s), Rwandan genocide (1994), War on Terror after 2001.

Peace-building: truth commissions (South Africa 1996), tribunals (Nuremberg, ICTY), and transitional justice mechanisms.

Industrialisation shifted populations from rural to urban areas; poor working conditions spurred trade unionism and reform laws.

Suffrage movements won votes for women in stages: New Zealand 1893, Australia 1902, UK 1918/1928, US 1920.

Civil rights: US Brown v. Board (1954), Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56), Civil Rights Act 1964, Voting Rights Act 1965.

Apartheid: National Party 1948 laws (Group Areas Act, Population Registration Act); ended with 1994 elections.

1960s counterculture questioned authority, gender roles, and sexual norms; second-wave feminism campaigned for workplace equality.

Media and technology (radio, television, internet) transformed public opinion and political mobilisation.

Migration and multiculturalism reshaped societies; postwar migration to Europe and Australia altered demographics.

Youth culture and rock music became vehicles for generational identity and protest (e.g. anti-Vietnam War movement).

Classify sources as primary (created in the period) or secondary (later interpretation); both can be biased.

Assess origin, purpose, value, and limitation (OPVL) for every source in an evaluation.

Provenance includes author, date, place, audience, and intended purpose; context affects reliability.

Corroboration: compare multiple independent sources before accepting a claim as reliable.

Detect bias through loaded language, omission, selection of evidence, and framing.

Historians' interpretations change over time (historiography); note schools of thought and revisionism.

Cause vs consequence: distinguish long-term structural causes, short-term triggers, and outcomes.

Continuity and change: identify what persisted as well as what transformed across a period.

Significance criteria: importance to people at the time, depth of impact, breadth, and durability.