World War I: Changing Societies In The 19th Century

Towards the late 19th century and in the early 20th century the world was changing at a rapid pace. World War I had a left an enormous hole in Europe’s economy and they were doing everything they could to compensate for their losses. The theme that connects all of these societies is change. Cultures were changing in some places and some were not handling as well as others. Changes were affecting societies in Asia, The Middle East, and South America. Change did not come easy to any of these societies because cultures were being banished which caused internal and external challenges. The contest for power was complex before all of these changes affected their societies but now it was more complicated than ever. In the late 19th and early
Mao Zedong came with the revolutionary troops into Hunan, which is his home. He speaks of a massive revolt, which cannot be stopped coming from his hometown. Internal pressure was given from the peasant’s revolt towards the gentry’s. When the gentry’s heard of this revolt it caused mayhem amongst them. The peasants and all other revolutionaries thought that this revolt was fine. The end of the Qing era led into the time of the early Chinese Republic. The industries changed when machines started to replace manual labor in a lot of industries. “Social changes followed shifts in the economy and the political culture.” The old system and intelligent young people were being attacked. Young people wanted to have to right to be with who they wanted to be with which ties into the Ba Jin family. Chinese social customs changed greatly especially when it came to universal suffrage and sexual discrimination. “Some progressives wanted free choice in marriage and divorce and even for free love.” Chueh-hsin was a young boy who was in love with his cousin Mei or as he called her plum blossom. When he got his diploma his Dad sat him down and told him that he had arranged a marriage for him. Breaking his heart this was a very cruel way for someone to be with someone that they would spend the rest of their lives with. But there was nothing that Chueh-hsin could do. The women’s movement externally is challenging universal suffrage and wants to end sexual discrimination. The word universal makes this an external pressure because they are pushing hard to end suffrage everywhere, not only in