APWH Unit 9.5

Unit 9.5 — Calls for Reform and Responses（1900–Present）

Essential Question:
How have social categories, roles, and practices changed and stayed the same since 1900?

One-glance Review

• Human Rights → Became a global issue after World War II
• United Nations → Promoted rights, Refugees, and humanitarian aid
• Global Feminism → Expanded women’s political and social rights globally
• Racial equality movements → Challenged segregation, Apartheid, and caste discrimination (挑战种族隔离、南非种族隔离制度和种姓歧视)
• China → Economic reform without political liberalization
• Environmental and fair-trade activism → Responded to damage and inequality caused by globalization

Core Ideas

Rights, Reform, and Resistance

• Since 1900, people around the world increasingly demanded:

  • Human Rights
  • Gender equality
  • Racial equality
  • Political freedom
  • Environmental justice

• At the same time, many governments and institutions resisted reform or limited change.

The modern era saw both expanding rights movements and continued repression.

KEY TERMS BY THEME

GOVERNMENT: Human Rights

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• UNICEF
• International Court of Justice
• Human Rights
• Refugees

SOCIETY: Women and Gender

• Global Feminism
• CEDAW
• International Women’s Day

SOCIETY: Race and Equality

• Negritude
• Léopold Sédar Senghor
• Civil Rights Act
• Voting Rights Act
• Apartheid
• Pass Laws
• African National Congress
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• Dalits
• Caste Reservation System

GOVERNMENT: China

• Tiananmen Square
• Uighurs
• Tibetans

ENVIRONMENT / ECONOMY

• Earth Day
• Greenpeace
• Green Belt Movement
• World Fair Trade Organization

LEADERS / THINKERS

• Nelson Mandela
• Desmond Tutu
• F. W. de Klerk
• Wangari Maathai
• Pope Francis
• W. E. B. Du Bois

1. An Era of Human Rights

UN and Global Rights

• In 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• It declared that all humans are entitled to rights regardless of:

  • Race
  • Color
  • Sex
  • Language
  • Religion
  • Origin or status

UN Organizations and Roles

• UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund):

  • Created in 1946
  • Helped children suffering after World War II

• ICJ (International Court of Justice):

  • Settles disputes under international law

• UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations):

  • Assist Refugees with food, medicine, and shelter

Key Concept

• Human Rights became part of global discourse, not just national politics.
  人权成为全球话语的一部分，而不再仅仅属于国家政治范畴。

2. Global Feminism

Growth of Women’s Rights Movements

Major landmark events:

• 1911 → First International Women’s Day celebration
  首次国际妇女节庆祝活动

• 1915 → First International Congress of Women
  第一届国际妇女大会

• 1975 → UN First World Conference on Women
  联合国第一次世界妇女大会

• 1979 → CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) adopted by the UN
  联合国通过《消除对妇女一切形式歧视公约》

• 1995 → Fourth International Congress of Women in Beijing
  第四次世界妇女大会在北京举行

CEDAW Rights

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women supported:

• the right to vote and hold office
• the right to choose a spouse
  “选择配偶的权利”
• equal access to education
• access to family planning and birth control

Modern Example

Global Feminism became a transnational movement linking women’s rights to Human Rights.
女权主义演变为一场跨国运动，将妇女权利与人权紧密相连。

3. Cultural and Religious Reform Movements

[Negritude|Negritude]

• Developed mainly in French West Africa

• Promoted:

  • pride in Black identity
  • rejection of colonial rule
  • self-determination

• Léopold Sédar Senghor became a major voice of the movement

Liberation Theology(解放神学)

• Spread in Latin America in the 1950s–1960s

• Combined:

  • Catholicism(天主教)
  • social justice / socialist ideas

• Argued that religion should help free people from:

  • poverty(贫困)
  • oppression(压迫)
  • unequal social systems

Effects

• Inspired activists and reformers
• Sometimes led to persecution by military dictators
  有时会招致军事独裁政权的迫害
• Later gained new acceptance under Pope Francis

4. Steps toward Gender Equality

Expanding Suffrage

Women gained voting rights in many countries over time, including:

• New Zealand → 1893

• Britain → 1918 (full equality in 1928)

• United States → 1920

• India → 1947

• Saudi Arabia → 2015

Important Continuity

• Legal voting rights did not always mean equal access in practice

• Some groups of women, especially by race or ethnicity, gained full voting rights much later

Gender roles changed significantly, but equality remained incomplete.

5. Steps toward Racial Equality

United States Civil Rights

Key laws:

• Civil Rights Act (1965)
  banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

• Voting Rights Act (1965)
  protected voting rights and challenged racial discrimination

South Africa and Apartheid

What was [history-concepts/Apartheid|Apartheid]?

• Official system of racial segregation established in 1948

• Reserved privileges and good jobs for whites

• Used Pass Laws

• Banned mixed marriages

• Restricted where Black South Africans could live and move

Resistance and Reform

• Nelson Mandela and the ANC fought Apartheid

• Mandela was imprisoned in 1964

• International pressure grew through:

  • sanctions(制裁)

  • divestment(撤资)

  • protests

• F. W. de Klerk released Mandela in 1990

• In 1994, South Africa held free elections and Mandela became president

After Apartheid

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) aimed to expose abuses and rebuild trust

• Led prominently by figures such as Desmond Tutu

• Focused more on truth and healing than revenge

6. Caste and Social Equality in South Asia

[Dalits|Dalits]

• India’s 1949 Constitution outlawed discrimination against Dalits

• Pakistan outlawed such discrimination in 1953

• Even so, discrimination continued well into the 21st century

Caste Reservation System

• India created the Caste Reservation System

• Reserved some:

  • government jobs

  • public sector jobs(公共部门职位)

  • higher education places

• Goal: expand opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups

7. Human Rights Repression in China

Reform without Democracy

• China’s economy liberalized, but the CCP kept tight political control

• The government:

  • censored media

  • controlled education

  • restricted NGOs

  • suppressed opposition parties

Tiananmen Square (1989)

• Students and activists demanded:

  • freedom of the press

  • political reform

• Protests spread to hundreds of cities

• After weeks of protest, the government declared martial law(戒严令)

• On June 4, 1989, troops attacked protesters in Beijing

Minority Rights(少数群体权利)

Groups that challenged state policies included:

• [Tibetans|Tibetans]

• [Uighurs|Uighurs]

• Mongolians in Inner Mongolia

Issues included:

• lack of autonomy(缺乏自治)

• religious discrimination

• environmental destruction

• Han migration into minority regions

China shows that economic modernization did not necessarily lead to political freedom.

8. Steps toward Environmental Repair

Why Environmental Activism Grew

• People increasingly linked Human Rights with:

  • clean water

  • clean air

  • sustainable ecosystems

  • biodiversity protection(生物多样性保护)

Major Examples

Earth Day

• Began in 1970

• Promoted environmental awareness and anti-pollution efforts

• Later spread to about 174 countries

Greenpeace

• Founded in 1971

• Fought:

  • deforestation

  • global warming

  • whaling

  • overfishing

• Known for direct action tactics

Green Belt Movement

• Founded in 1977 by Wangari Maathai in Kenya

• Encouraged women to plant trees

• Addressed:

  • soil decline

  • water problems

  • environmental degradation

• Also promoted women’s participation in public life

9. Steps toward Economic Fairness

World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO)

• Created in 1989

• Sought to balance the power of global trade organizations such as the WTO

• Promoted fair trade principles including:

  • fair prices

  • no child labor

  • safe working conditions

  • gender equity

  • environmental respect

Key Concept

• Reform movements also responded to the inequalities of globalization.

10. Cause and Effect

Change

• Human Rights became globalized

• Women gained more legal and political rights

• Anti-racist and anti-caste movements challenged older hierarchies

• Environmental activism became international

• Fair-trade movements pushed back against exploitative globalization

Continuity

• Governments still repressed dissent(政府仍然压制异议)

• Social discrimination persisted even after reforms

• Economic inequality and exploitation continued

• Political freedom did not always accompany economic change

Exam-ready Phrases and Sentences

• Expand human rights discourse

• Promote gender equality

• Challenge racial segregation

• Resist authoritarian repression(抵抗专制镇压)

• Demand political reform

• Protect minority rights

• Address environmental degradation

• Promote fair-trade principles

• Secure greater political participation

• Continue social and economic discrimination

• The growth of Human Rights discourse after World War II encouraged reform movements around the world.

• Global Feminism expanded women’s political, educational, and social rights.

• Anti-Apartheid and civil rights movements challenged systems of racial discrimination.(反种族隔离和民权运动挑战了种族歧视体系。)

• China’s economic liberalization was not matched by democratic reform.

• Environmental and fair-trade organizations emerged in response to the negative effects of globalization.

LEQ / DBQ 使用思路

可用论点（Thesis Ideas）

• Since 1900, reform movements expanded global awareness of Human Rights, gender equality, and racial justice, but discrimination and political repression persisted.

• While new international organizations and social movements promoted equality and reform, many states continued to limit political freedom and preserve social hierarchies.

• The modern era brought broader recognition of human and environmental rights, yet the benefits of reform remained uneven and incomplete.

相关笔记

APWH Unit 9.6