REFORMING THE NATION, RESPONDING TO WAR, FAMOUS SPEECHES

World War I and World War II were “pivot points” in world history in the sense that they produced new global conditions and gave rise to new movements. From the Treaty of Versailles (1919) through the founding of the United Nations (1945) and the years that followed, the world wars gave way to new nationalist, internationalist and reform movements in many countries.

Select one of the following four nations: Germany, India, China, or Russia. Using assigned readings, write a comparative analysis of this nation’s situation in the World War I-postwar era (1917-1940) with its situation in the World War II-postwar era (1943-1960). Was the country better off after World War I or after World War II? Explain why, using cited examples from the reading. In what ways did the situation stay the same? How did conditions change materially, culturally or environmentally in these two post-war eras? Why?

Besides citing assigned readings, your comparative analysis this time should include two primary source speeches, one from the post-WWI era and one from the post-WWII era. Many historical figures in Germany, India, China and Russia gave rousing speeches at different moments on different issues. Many of these speeches can be found (in English translation) online. You are to incorporate one speech in the post-WWI section and another speech in the post-WW2 section.

Suggested Organization of the Response

In crafting your essay, your comparative analysis should be organized with an intro + thesis, 2 major sections (WWI-era and WWII-era), and at least two paragraphs in each of the body sections. One should provide your topic sentence/response followed by evidence/examples (!!!assigned readings only!!!) to back up your points. Another paragraph in each of the two sections should introduce the speech that you have found. Your topic sentence for the speech paragraph should relate it to your argument. How does the speech exemplify or highlight the issues you have raised? Finally, you should write a concluding paragraph that recaps the main points of your comparison of this nation’s situation in the two eras.

Rules for Finding Primary Source Speeches

This time, you are free to Google away! However, there are some groundrules:

1. You must use/cite a web-page with the ENTIRE, ACTUAL SPEECH.

See examples below (you can’t use these speeches in your paper):

2. The speech must be less than 2000 words long.

3. You must cut and paste the text of the actual speech at the end of your paper. (It won’t count toward your word-count, and it’s not plagiarism even though safeAssign will note a “match.” FORMATTING: Do a page-break then do a subheading that includes: Speech Title: , Speech Location: , Speaker: , and web-link: . Then, cut and paste the text of the speech after that. Do another page-break and repeat for your second speech.

3. Speeches must be less than 2000 words long! (ex. Stalin’s “Speech to Voters” is 1954 words; Hitler’s is about 905 words)

4. It should be a famous speech. Do some reading, make a determination that the speech had some bearing on the country’s history in the era.

Here are three examples:

Hitler’s Speech at the Putsch Trial (1924):

https://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=3913

Gandhi’s Speech on the Kashmir Issue (1948):

https://www.mkgandhi.org/speeches/kashmir_issue.htm

Stalin’s Speech to Voters (1937):

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1937/12/election/

5. Its easy to find leader-speeches (like above) given almost exclusively by MEN, but the extra-smart can search for other famous speeches, such as those given by WOMEN, MINORITIES or others typically without a spot at the podium. These are much harder to find. If you want to go this route, the ONLY rules are that (1) the speech had to have been relatively famous, documented by that nation’s historians; and (2) the speech had to have been written/delivered by an Indian/German/Russian/Chinese person. (ie a citizen, if not ethnically from the majority group.) MUCH HARDER TO FIND. SPEECHES CAN GO OVER THE 2000-word limit, but shouldn’t be by too much. Here’s an example:

Speech Delivered By Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Leader Of The Indian Delegation, At The General Assembly Of The United Nations On October 25, 1946.

https://www.saadigitalarchive.org/item/20141107-3939

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• 1000-1200 Words

• Use in-line citations, i.e. (Roberts, p. 40)

• Outside research, online, ONLY for the speeches

• Do NOT use block quotes or quote excessively

• Turn in via your SECTION