Edvard Munch, The Scream Essays

Edvard Munch, The Scream Essays Edvard Munch, The Scream Essay Edvard Munch, The Scream Essay not only animals and plants, but also societies, were called Social Darwinists. These people believe that Just as species, so some human societies-races, classes, nations-were destined to survive, while others were condemned to fade away (Textbook pg 797). The main Social Darwinist of the 19th century was Herbert Spencer. He came up with the expression survival of the fittest (Textbook pg 797). Spencer believed that society coddled the poor people too much. He believed that the poor were weak and deserved to die in order for the society to evolve. He felt that welfare and other such programs only delayed social evolution (Textbook pg 797). As Spencer became more popular, people started to develop a dislike for poor people. Social Darwinists also believed that white people were superior to people of color which helped support slavery (Textbook pg 797). II. A. Darwins Finches Charles Darwin (1809-1882) took a scientific expedition in the 1930s to the Galapagos Islands. On these islands Darwin studied finches that were different from the finches on the main land and also different from each other (Textbook 796). Darwin used these finches to illustrate his theory of natural selection. This continuous process occured because as some species are better adapted to an environment than others they are more likely to survive and, therefore, they are more likely to pass on their positive traits to their young (Textbook 796). Specifically, the main difference in these finches was their beaks. The beaks have changed over time to better suit their functions (Internet Source 2). For example, if a finch was in an environment where it had to crack nuts to get food, the finches that had harder beaks would survive and pass on their traits to their young. There are 13 types of these finches on the Galapagos islands and each has a different beak used for insects, seeds, buds, fruit, etc. (Internet Source 2). Darwins discovery of these finches and the natural selection process paved the way for Social Darwinism and for scientists to study evolution even more thoroughly. II. B. Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Garibaldi was a fiery Italian who was interested in bringing all Italians together. He was born in 1807 and died in 1882. Though the two were fighting the same war, Cavour and Garibaldi were rivals (Textbook pg 748). Despite Napoleons orders to stop fighting, Garibaldi rounded up roughly 1000 troops and set sail for Sicily in May 1860 (LN-2-21-03). The poorly armed red shirts were not expected to do well, but because of their passionate fighting spirits they waged war on the Bourbons. In August they had completely rolled over the Bourbons. Garibaldi became extremely popular and became 57,000 men strong (Textbook pg 748). Garibaldi and his men took the entire kingdom of Naples. Napoleon believed that Garibaldi had gone too far and ordered him to stop. Garibaldi knew that he was quite capable of taking Rome, but sent the word obedisco, which meant I obey, to Napoleon. Garbaldi was tired and decided to stop fighting (LN 2-21-03). III. A. The Schlieffen Plan The Germans believe that if they could concentrate on defeating France before Russia could step in then they would have a greater chance of winning the war. In 1905, the Schlieffen Plan was drafted. The plan consisted of devoting one-eighth of the German forces against Russia while the rest of their forces quickly defeated France in only six weeks (Textbook pg 848). The plan then called for the Germans to deal with Russia with France out of the way. The Schlieffen Plan was a race against time. The Germans knew that the Russians would take at least eight weeks to mobilize an effective army. They believed that if they could defeat France in the short time of six weeks then they would have enough time to reorganize and face Russia (Textbook pg 848). The plan was a gamble because the Germans would have to defeat France very quickly. As the Germans moved through Belgium into France the plan worked as it was supposed to. It was at the Marne River, however, that things changed (LN 3-17-03). The French launched an effective counterattack which stopped the Germans in their tracks. The Schlieffen Plan was unsuccessful and the war would now last longer than either side expected it to (LN 3-17-03). III. B. Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty The 231 article of the final Treaty of Versailles was a devestating one for Germany. This article stated that Germany and its allies were morally responsible for the war. Germany was also forced to pay the victors of the war back the money that they had spent on the war, a sum that was not officially established until 1921 (Textbook pg 871). This outrageuos price was what prolonged a compromise of peace on both sides and caused hyperinflation when finally agreed to. The German military was forced to drastically reduce. The army could only consist of 100,000 men and the navy had to reduced greatly aswell. Also, Germans were prohibited from manufacturing military machinery, poison gas, and other military products (Textbook pg 871). France benefited greatly from the victory over Germany. The provinces Alsace and Lorraine were taken back and the Rhineland was de-militarized so that no German military could be maintained there (LN-3-21-03). This was extremely important to France because in the event of and hostility between the two nations, France could easily take this land which is an important economical area to Germany (Textbook pg 871). Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles was considered a very harsh one by the German people. This Treaty would become very important in the future when it is violated by Adolf Hitler. IV. Hyperinflation of Germany in 1923 After losing the war, Germany was forced to pay a large amount of money to the victors of the war to cover their wartime costs. This caused major inflation of Germany. When Germany reacted to French occupation of the Ruhr it went into one of the worst hyperinflations the world has ever seen (Textbook pg 895). The German currency was pathetic. People had to carry huge amounts of bills to buy the most simple and inexpensive things. The Weimar democracy in Germany was blamed for agreeing to the Treaty of Versailles. Therefore, Weimar was blamed for the hyperinflation and done away with (Textbook pg 900). The people of Germany needed a powerful person with a strong will and that would promise to rebuild Germany. Their need for a savior blinded the German people and Adolf Hitler used this to his advantage. He took advantage of the German people by telling them what they wanted to hear. Therefore, through an indirect series of events, the hyperinflation of 1923 brought Hitler into power and all the tragedy and horror that came with him.