The Modern World

The United States of America: The United States of America, after the Civil War, made tremendous progress in the field of science, technology, agriculture, industry, transport and communication. By the beginning of 19th century, The U.S.A emerged as a powerful and industrialized nation. The U.S.A entered the First World War after the British ship Lusitania was sunk by the Germans. The U.S.'s help was crucial for the victory of Britain and France. The 'Great Depression' which began in 1929, was a severe blow to its economic growth. The prices of commodities fell and income of people also decreased. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as the president of the United States of America. He introduced the economic reform called "The New Deal". According to this policy, the industries reduced the number of working hours and increased the pay for workers, compensation was paid to the farmers and the unemployed. Within a decade, the U.S.A. once again emerged and became an economic power.

Russian Revolution 1917 and Soviet Union- Socialism: In the 19th century Russia was ruled by an absolute and autocratic emperor called the Czar. His regime was repressive and cruel. People had no rights. The condition of the peasantry was miserable. The feudal lords exploited the peasantry. The situation worsened when Russia was defeated by Japan in 1905. There were wider spread revolts in every part of Russia. The Czar suppressed the revolts. It was during this time that the Communist leader Lenin organized a band of revolutionaries. They were influenced by ideology of Karl Marx. Marx advocated the dictatorship of proletariat as a solution to all feudal problems. They set up revolutionary communities throughout Russia. They overthrew Czar's regime in 1917 and Russia became the Soviet Union. This is called the Great Russian Revolution. The government took over the land and all other means of production. Peasants and workers became government servants. It was dictatorship of a single party. Lenin who brought about the revolution was succeeded by Stalin in 1924. Through his year plans, Stalin expanded the industries. Stalin ended private farming and introduced collective farming. Stalin also developed military power and made the Soviet Union as powerful as the United States. During the Second World War, initially the Soviet union was on the side of Germany. When Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, the latter joined hands with England. Stalin became a leader of Allied Powers together with Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. In the victory of the Allies, the Soviet Union played a major part. After the war the Soviet Union made rapid progress in scientific research and became a prosperous nation. It entered space research when it launched space satellite 'Sputnik' in 1957. It produced atom bombs and competed with the United States in arms race. But within four decades, after the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union lost the great influence that it had in Eastern Europe. The rule behind the 'iron curtain' of the Soviet Union ended and today the Soviet Union is once again called Russia and it is a vibrant democracy.

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