Kaiser Wilhelm II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Kaiser Wilhelm II - Essay Example The period between 1888 and 1914 saw rapid growth of Germany as an economic and military dominance. On the other hand, Europe was largely divided into different opposing camps due to the suspicion arising from allies that were formed during this period. The mistrust culminated into the World War 1, where Germany experienced the worst defeat in the century. Consequently, there was the abolishment of German monarchical rule, and all this was blamed on Wilhelm’s actions and character (Imperial War Museums 1). Additionally, the miscalculated judgments by Wilhelm led to the dismissal of Bismarck in 1890. Moreover, Wilhelm II disrupted the political system that had existed in Europe (Imperial War Museums 1). This was largely seen through strained relationship that existed between Germany and Britain. In addition, as Germany engaged in supporting the Boers against Britain, this hastened the development of strong ties between France and Britain to the detriment of Germany (Imperial Wa r Museums 1). This also increased isolation of Germany to the rest of Europe. The other essential thing to note is Wilhelm’s support of Austria-Hungary against Serbia. This opened doors for strenuous relations between various allies in Europe. This was detrimental to Germany and Europe and was utterly opposite of the situation in the last quarter of 19th century. ... He adopted different form of governing for over two decades before the beginning of the First World War. The form of governance was different as compared to the one practiced by Bismarck. The governance was more liberal and compared to the conservative nature adopted by Bismarck. He engaged in aggressive and expansionist political course entirely in the name of maintaining Germany position in Europe. All these far-reaching policies acted as a recipe to war in 1914. This was because the policies adopted by Wilhelm II destabilized the relative peace that Bismarck had managed to restore. However, the foreign policy remained the same throughout this period as what was envisioned in the unification of Germany. Moreover, there was the adoption of a German constitution in this period that envisaged the militaristic foundation of the new empire. The constitution gave all sections of the government real political power. The sections included the Bundesrat, the Reichstag, Prussian cabinet and the military establishment. The election of the Reichstag was by all males over the age of 24 (Imperial War Museums 1). This gave Germany a law making body that had similar democratic principles to the rest of Europe. However, all the different factions of the government were under Wilhelm II. As a result, Wilhelm had enormous political power and this was instrumental to the institutionalization of ‘personal rule’ as envisioned in his dreams (Imperial War Museums 1). Secondly, Wilhelm made a political decision that was not expected by many in Germany at this period. He forced Bismarck to resign in 1890. This was seen as resulting from variation in political ideologies. This was because Bismarck was conservative as compared to Wilhelm 11 liberal approach. This provided

The shift from specific social science subjects to current Essay

The shift from specific social science subjects to current multidisciplinary approaches - Essay Example The changes this is creating leads into a different set of definitions of what it means to receive a specific education while having the correct approaches to learning within the classroom. Exploring the understanding of movement from social studies and sciences into multidisciplinary approaches to learning within the classroom also conveys a deeper understanding of how education can work from a variety of perspectives and in terms of the necessary components of teaching, education and how learning can be enhanced by using a variety of approaches. However, a variety of perspectives and studies all relate to different factors which change the understanding and outcome of social sciences and learning with multidisciplinary approaches. The traditional approach to teaching the social sciences is based on offering historical facts and figures while moving through highlighted events within history. This particular approach in the curriculum is one which is now being recognized as ineffective. While the historical facts and figures are developed with student retention, there is often little to no association with the facts and figures to the current events. This is combined with the lack of understanding of how the particular historical events affect those who are a citizen of a particular country. The ideology of multidisciplinary learning challenges the concept of traditional learning to an expanded curriculum. The ideology is to create a personal relationship to the materials while expanding the awareness of students with the material that is being learned. Multidisciplinary ideologies consist of everything from adding in personal and social relationships to the material to combining the curriculum with other format s of teaching, such as other topics or literature. The initiative which is taken is based on a re-examination of the materials which are being taught and what this means to students when they are beginning to understand the philosophies of social studies and the importance which this holds (Clark, 2008). Citizenship Education The first approach which is now considered with multidisciplinary education and social studies is citizenship education. There are many which are showing that the concept of history is not only to learn about historical facts and figures. There is also a direct correlation between the approach with citizenship to a country and the way in which one’s perspective alters toward the country. If there is not the ability to understand the historical factors within a country, then one cannot become a responsible citizen while having different opinions, social responsibilities and political actions which are taken. By changing the curriculum to incorporate socia l responsibility and citizenship, there is also the ability to begin altering the way in which social and cultural movements occur in terms of political terms and conditions. Changing the approaches to teaching so it correlates with meaning behind being a citizen is one which is then able to develop a different alternative in terms of educational development as well as the relationship which one holds to the historical ideologies which are taking place through current events. There are a variety of factors which show that social studies are not only linked to the main topic and sets of facts but also to other multidisciplinary approaches. The first is with the understanding of citizenship and what it means to be a part of a nation. The concept of being a citizen within a nation becomes an important term. It links directly to the understanding of the country, relationships to different historical facts and the responsibility which one takes in turn of being a citizen. However, this c annot be