1. History 20: How to Think About History
Unit 8: The Crucible

2. Events are the products of other events
Causation
Events are the products of other events
Gorbachev introduced a series of reforms to introduce capitalism and democracy to the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union collapsed three years later because the country depended upon the threat of violence and concentration camps to survive
Introducing liberalism to the Soviet Union brought the whole corrupt structure down

3. Change is ongoing and ever present
When the Soviet Union dissolved suddenly 15 new republics appeared in 1991
Ukraine and Kazakhstan became nuclear superpowers over night
They both agreed to give their nukes back to Russia if the Russians agreed never to invade
The Russians invaded Ukraine in December 2014 and then invaded the western part of the country in 2015
People in Kazakhstan fear a “Ukraine scenario” might play out

4. Continuity connects different historical periods and developments
Russian aggression in the 21st century is a continuation of its foreign policy in both the 19th and 20th centuries
Terrorism existed in the 19th and 20th centuries and not new to the 21st

5. History is not a science but a perspective or story
Perspectives & Biases
History is not a science but a perspective or story
Communism was not destroyed through war or armed conflict but collapsed over time because of how it depended upon violence instead of legitimacy for its basis
Almost every communist country—China, North Vietnam, and the Soviet Union—all eventually voluntarily abandoned communism in favor of capitalism because capitalism produced much greater economic growth