Breaking Barriers in History

NHD World History Topic Ideas

(Look for Breaking Barriers with these topic ideas – eliminate, overcome, dismantle, remove, tackle, things such as obstacles, walls, impediments, constraints, challenges)

Asia

-Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)

-The Opium Wars

-Philippine Revolution or Tagalog War (1896)

-The Chinese Revolution of 1911

-Non-Cooperation Movement of Gandhi (1920s)

-Indian Salt March

-Thai Revolution of 1932

-Ho Chi Min and Vietnam’s Struggle for Independence

-The Indo-Pakistani Conflict

1949 Chinese Civil War

-The Tibetan Uprising 1959

-Deng Xiaoping’s economic reform in Communist China (1960s)

-People Power Revolution in Philippines

-Tiananmen Square Protests 1979

-The Shimabara Rebellion

-Emperor Meiji’s Modernization of Japan

-Indira Gandhi

-Sakoku – Perry Open Door to Japan

-Satyagraha

-The Japanese Invasion of Manchuria

-The Partition of India

-De-Colonization – French in Vietnam

-Philippine-American War

-Cultural Revolution in China

-Genghis Khan

-Chiune Sugihara

-Howard Carter and King Tut’s Treasure

-Akbar I and Unification

-Malala Yousafzai and education for women

-Hiroki Sugihara: Japanese diplomat

-Rape of Nanking: Japanese invasion of China

-Marco Polo: The economy of the Silk Road

-Mariel Boatlift

-Emperor Kangxi: Political stability and the unification of China

-Ashoka: The last Mauryan emperor

-Ambedkar: Untouchability

-Khmer Rouge of Cambodia

-Opium Wars

-King Rajaraja Chola conquers Ceylon

-The development of Imperial Confucianism during the Han Dynasty

Africa

-Scramble for Africa (1800s)

-The Jihad movement of Islam (1800s)

-Maji Maji Revolution (1905-1907)

-Mau Mau Uprising (1950s)

-Hutu vs. Tutsi – Rise of Rwandan genocide (1959)

-Non-aligned Movement (1961)

-Angola War for Independence (1961-1975)

-Guinea-Bissau War of Independence (1963-1964)

-Decolonization:

-Egypt (1953)

-Somalia (1960)

-South Africa (1961)

-Algeria (1962)

-Nelson Mandela

-Emily Hobhouse and the second Boer war -Concentration camps

-Haile Selassie and Ethiopia

-The end of South African apartheid

-Saladin

-Arusha Accords of 1993

-The Kimberley Process and blood diamonds

-Religious conflict in 1980s Nigeria

-Transatlantic Slave Trade

-Dag Hammarskjold: Keeping Peace in the Congo

-Nigerian Civil War

-King Leopold’s Vision of the Congo

Latin and South America

-Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)

-Hidalgo and the Mexican Revolt against Spain (1810)

-The Mexican Revolution of 1810

-Jose de San Martin and the liberation of Chile (1810-1826)

-Great reforms of Benito Juarez (1840s-1850s)

-War of reform in Mexico (1857-1861)

-Ateneo de la Juventud (1910)

-Cristero War (1926-1929)

-Sandino in Nicaragua (1927-1933)

-Banana massacre (1928)

-Brazilian Revolution of 1930 – Getulio Vargas

-Bolivan Civil War – David Toro (1930s)

-1848 Costa Rican Civil War

-Puerto Rican Revolution (1950s)

-Cuban Revolution (1895 and 1959)

-Augusto Pinochet and Chile (1973)

-Salvador Allende’s reforms in socialist Chile (1970s)

-“Dirty War” or Guerra Sucia (1976-1983)

-1994 Zapatista rebellion and the North American Free Trade Agreement

-Political Statements of Isabel Allende regarding Pinochet Chile (1970/80)

-Reaction of Pablo Neruda to Neo-Liberalism in South American (1930-50s)

-Rigoberta Menchu: Social Reform in Guatamala

-Panama Canal

-Che Guevara: Overcoming the Capitalist Exploitation of South America

Middle East

-The Indian Rebellion of 1857 (The Indian Mutiny)

-The Turkish Republic and Ataturk’s reforms (1920s)

-The Young Turk Revolution (1908)

-The Arab Revolt of 1916

-Arab-Israeli Conflict (1948-)

-Women movement (1960)

-Saur Revolution in Afghanistan (1978)

-Six Day War

-Iran Hostage Crisis

-Iranian nationalism and BP Oil

-Anwar Sadat: struggle for peace

-Suez Canal

-Lebonese Civil War and the Taif Accord

-Siege of Baghdad (1258) Hulagu Khan and the end of the Abbasid Caliphate

Australia

-The Castle Hill Convict Rebellion

-The Crown Lands Act of 1861

-Bennelong and the Aborigines of Australis Incognita

Other acceptable topics

-Shackleton’s Expedition

-Universal Declaration of World Peace

-Crimean War (1853) and the control of the Black Sea

-NPT – UN Attempt to prevent Global Nuclear conflicts

-Constantine and the Nicaea Council (325)

-Battle of Tours (732) – end of Emayyad Expansion into Europe

-T.S. Lawrence – uniting of Bedouin tribes in the Middle East during the 20^th Century

Saving Millions of Lives:

-Carl Bosch – Pulling nitrogen out of air

-Abel Wolman and Linn Enslow – chlorination of water

-William Foege – smallpox eradication

-Maurice Hilleman – vaccines

-John Enders- measles vaccine

-Howard Florey – penicillin

-Gaston Ramon – diphtheria and tetanus

-Davin Nalin – oral rehydration therapy

-Paul Ehrlich- diphtheria and tetanus

-Edward Jenner- vaccine development

-Robert Koch – germ theory based on the ideas of Girolamo Fracastoro and Marcus von Plenciz

-Margaret Sanger – birth control

-Rachel Carson – banning of DDT