The Meiji Restoration of Japan

For a long period of time, the nation of Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world. This was known as the Tokugawa period. The Shogun and the samurai believed that outside contacts could potentially threaten their power. This period of isolation lasted for over 250 years. In 1853, four American warships appeared in Edo Bay. They were under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry. He came with a request from the United States government asking for Japan to open up its ports and to establish diplomatic relations between the two nations. Perry came with the sails of his ships down to show the Japanese the technological progress that the West has made. The Japanese also saw the guns on the ships and knew that no Japanese vessel can stand up against Western ships. The Japanese knew they could not reject any of the United States' requests because those requests were backed up with force. The Japanese decided to sign the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States which opened up ports to United States ships. This allowed other Western nations to sign treaties with Japan.

There was much unrest afterward and the Shogun no longer ruled Japan. The Meiji Restoration was when power was "restored" to Emperor Meiji. During the Tokugawa period, the Emperor had no real power and only had ceremonial duties. Emperor Meiji wanted to modernize Japan and used Western nations as his model. He sent envoys to study the West's political system's. What was learned was used to shape Japan's government. Their old feudal system was done away with. A new system was set in place which allowed citizens to elect their legislators. They also imitated the education systems and the military of the West which made Japan a very powerful nation.

Karl Marx and Communism

Communism was a economic system created by Karl Marx in the 19th century. He believed that capitalism was responsible for the poor working conditions that workers faced. He believed that capitalism was driven by the exploitation and alienation of workers by the business owners. He wanted the workers of the world to unite and violently overthrow the business owners and aristocrats. They would form a society in which all the people would share their wealth. There would no longer be exploitation of workers and oppression would be non existent

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revolution

Karl Marx was a German philosopher who lived during the 19th century. He was known for the creation of communism. He created communism because he believed that capitalism was going to fail and be replaced by another economic system just like feudalism before it. He believed that industrialization and capitalism were driven by the exploitation of workers. He did not agree with the way workers were treated for their small payments. He decided to make an economic system in which people had full freedom. In this type of society, people would be in conditions in which there would be no need for exploitation and where everyone would a fair share of products. He believed that in order for this society to be realized, a class struggle will have to take place with the working class having a victory and a communist society would established.