| A | B |
|---|
| Israeli - Palestinian Conflict | Conflict over landownership in Israel/Palestine. This conflict has at times involved most of the nations of the Middle East as well as the United States and the Soviet Union. Widespread terrorism against Israel and its allies occurs because of this conflict. |
| Jiang Jieshi | (1887-1975) Leader of the Guomindang, or Nationalist Party in China. Fought to keep China from becoming communist, and to resist the Japanese during World War II. He lost control of China in 1949, and fled to Taiwan where he setup a rival government. Also known as Chang Kai Shek. |
| joint stock company | A company that sells shares to investors who share in the profits and losses. |
| Kaiser Wilhelm | (1859-1941) King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany whose political policies led his country into World War I. He was forced from power when Germany lost the war. |
| Kuomintang | Nationalist Party in China led by Jiang Jieshi, which began a war against the Communist Party led by Mao Zedong. Both fought for control of China, with Mao and the Communists ultimately winning in 1949. |
| Laissez-Faire Economics | This was an economic philosophy begun by Adam Smith in his book, Wealth of Nations, that stated that business and the economy would run best with no interference from the government. This economic system dominated most of the Industrial Revolution. |
| Latin America | The Geopolitical designation for Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands which were settled by the Spanish. |
| Latin American Revolutions | Political revolutions in various Latin American countries beginning in the late 18th century. These revolutions were aimed at overthrowing the European powers that controlled these nations. Many were successful, but few achieved the success of the American Revolution. |
| League of Nations | A multinational peace keeping organization which began as an idea of United States President Woodrow Wilson following the first World War. The Treaty of Versailles created a League with over 40 different countries joining. The United States was not one of them. The League of Nations was to be an international body that would settle future problems through negotiations instead of warfare. The member nations were to work cooperatively through economic and military means to enforce its decisions. However, since the United States did not join, the League never achieved its intentions. While the League did attempt to halt the aggressiveness of Hitler's Germany, their inherent weakness prevented them from stopping World War II. |
| legislative | Relating to a system that makes laws. |
| liberty | In the political sense, this usually means freedom. |
| Locke, John | (1632-1704) English philosopher and political theorist. He wrote Two Treaties on Government which explained that all men have Natural Rights, which are Life, Liberty, and Property, and that the purpose of government was to protect these rights. |
| Long Parliament | (1640 – 1660) English Parliament which met off and on for twenty years due to religious and civil problems. Occurs during the English Civil War. |
| Loyola, Ignatius | (1491-1556) Founded the Society of Jesus, the Order of the Jesuits. He worked to combat the Protestant Reformation by providing strong Catholic leadership to monarchs across Europe. |
| Luther, Martin | (1483-1546) Theologian and religious reformer who started the Reformation with his 95 Theses which protested church corruption, namely the sale of indulgences. |
| Magna Carta | A document granting rights to both the Church in England and the Nobility signed by King John in 1215. This is considered to be the beginnings of British democracy. |
| Mansa Musa | Emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa. He made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca and established trade routes to the Middle East. |
| Mao Zedong | (1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People’s Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976. |
| market economy | An economy based on free trade and supply and demand. |
| Marx, Karl | (1818-1883), German political philosopher and writer. Coauthor with Friedrich Engels of The Communist Manifesto which described the new philosophy of scientific socialism, which is the basis for modern communism. |
