Lindemann, History 4cComprehensive Questions for Study and Review (Final Examination)The following questions are designed to help you review and study for the final examination. Itwill consist of one section devoted to short essay questions (concentrating on material since themid-term), one to geographical identifications (25 of them), and one of long (comprehensive)essay questions. Some of the following questions might be included in the final examination.These questions have been formulated in a general way in order to help you review; the actualquestions on the exam will be more focused and precise. You will be given terms to incorporateinto the essay, as was the case in the mid-term examination.1. “Revolutions appear to have a consistent logic to them: They begin with a benevolententhusiasm, veer off into a narrow fanaticism, and end in disillusionment, when the people turn toa dictator.” Considering this quotation critically, discuss the following revolutions: The FrenchRevolution of 1789-99, the revolutions of 1848 (in France but also in central and southernEurope), the Paris Commune of 1871, the Russian Revolution of 1917-28, the revolutions of1989-1996 (if events in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are indeed to be considered“revolutionary” – if not, explain why not).2. Compose an essay that discusses the wider implications of changing military technology in thewars of modern times. You should include at least one war in each century (18th, 19th, 20th).3. Compare and evaluate the peace settlements following the Napoleonic period (Congress ofVienna), the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, and World War II (in this case, include the war-time agreements, such as those made at Yalta). Do you agree that in some of these settlementsthe statesmen were notably “wiser” than in others? Did “open covenants” and scrutiny by thepeople ensure better, more lasting settlements? Make clear what were the main or overridingconcerns of the statesmen in each case.4. “Of course, Great Men have been decisive in history but they were only great insofar as theywere able to respond to Great Historical Forces.” In the light of this essay consider theaccomplishments of the following: Napoleon I, Metternich, Cavour, Bismarck, Woodrow Wilson,Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Gorbachev. In each case, make clear your understanding of thehistorical forces that these men were responding to. How justifiable in each case is the term “greatmen”?5. “Whatever the role of Great Men, the course of modern history might be more revealinglypresented in terms of the role of Mediocre Men who failed to understand the Great HistoricalForces around them.” In the light of this quotation consider the roles of the following: LouisXVI, Louis Philippe, Lamartine, Napoleon III, Wilhelm II, Nicholas II, Alexander Kerensky,Heinrich Brüning, Gorbachev. In each case, describe as concretely as possible what it was thatthese men failed to understand.6. “The socialist ideal has not only evolved remarkably since the early nineteenth century but ithas been hugely corrupted.” Consider this quotation critically in terms of the following: Marx,Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse-tung, showing how each altered key aspects of the socialist theory thatwent before them.7. “The word ‘liberalism’ has come to mean nearly the opposite of what it first meant in themiddle of the nineteenth century.” In the light of this quotation, compose an essay that traces thetransformation of liberalism from an ideology that advocated a minimum of state intervention andthat was inclined to see poverty as the result of personal, moral failures, to the twentieth-centuryideology that looks to state regulation of the economy and that is inclined to see poverty as theresult of factors beyond the control of individuals.8. Around the theme of “war as accident vs. war by design” consider the origins of the followingwars: Franco-Prussian War, World War I, World War II.9. “The history of modern Russia is the history of a paranoid power, constantly driven by fear ofinvasion, above all of invasion by a more advanced west.” How appropriate is this quotation inexplaining the following: the reforms of Alexander II, the outbreak of World War I, theBolshevik Revolution, Collectivization and Five Year Plans, the Stalinist Purges, the Cold War,Perestroika.10. The midterm asked that the following quotation be critically evaluated for the period up to1840; how might one deal with it from 1840 to the present, particularly for the major ideologiesof the twentieth century, fascism and communism? “The common people, in their present state,are little different from uncomprehending cattle; they are unable even to recognize their own bestinterests. Left on their own, they turn to vice and self-destructive behavior—declining into chaosand violence. Thus, a responsible leader must make decisions for them.” 11. “Appeasement, which has such negative connotations today, would have been a wonderfulthing in the summer of 1914.” In the light of this quotation, compare the origins of WW I andWW II. It has been suggested that the lessons facilely digested in history merely lead to newtragedies – for example, the “lessons” learned about appeasement led to unnecessary tensions inthe Cold War and indeed to the pointless tragedies of the Vietnam war. What is your opinion?12. “Modern history sees relatively few female counterparts to the ‘Great Men’—thank God!—but on the other hand women in the mass or in secondary positions have often enough playeddecisive roles, and, it must be admitted, sometimes rather unfortunate ones.” Analyze and critiquethis quotation. Your essay should say something about the women you would consider “Great”(e.g., Catherine the Great, or Rosa Luxemburg) but also consider situations where anonymouswomen in the mass played decisive roles (e.g., the Women’s March to Versailles, the women inthe bread riots that started the revolution in Russia in 1917). Is it fair to conclude that womensuch as Marie Antoinette or Alexandra (wife of Nicholas II), as powers behind the scenes, werethe cause of much suffering or in other regards played a deleterious role? Can you think of otherexamples, in either European or American