Context: The definition of imperialism has not been finalized for centuries and was confusedly seen to represent the policies of major powers, or simply, general-purpose aggressiveness. Further on, some writers[who?] used the term imperialism, in slightly more discriminating fashion, to mean all kinds of domination or control by a group of people over another. To clear out this confusion about the definition of imperialism one could speak of "formal" and "informal" imperialism, the first meaning physical control or "full-fledged colonial rule" while the second implied less direct rule though still containing perceivable kinds of dominance. Informal rule is generally less costly than taking over territories formally. This is because, with informal rule, the control is spread more subtly through technological superiority, enforcing land officials into large debts that cannot be repaid, ownership of private industries thus expanding the controlled area, or having countries agree to uneven trade agreements forcefully.

Question: A forced trade agreement between two countries would be an example of what?

Question: colonial rule, or physical occupation of a territory is an example of what kind of imperialism?

Question: Some have generalized the meaning of the word imperialism down to general-purpose what?

Question: What subtle tool can be used in an informal imperialistic situation to expand a controlled area?

Question: Which is more costly, formal, or informal imperialism?


Context: "The word ‘empire’ comes from the Latin word imperium; for which the closest modern English equivalent would perhaps be ‘sovereignty’, or simply ‘rule’". The greatest distinction of an empire is through the amount of land that a nation has conquered and expanded. Political power grew from conquering land, however cultural and economic aspects flourished through sea and trade routes. A distinction about empires is "that although political empires were built mostly by expansion overland, economic and cultural influences spread at least as much by sea". Some of the main aspects of trade that went overseas consisted of animals and plant products. European empires in Asia and Africa "have come to be seen as the classic forms of imperialism: and indeed most books on the subject confine themselves to the European seaborne empires". European expansion caused the world to be divided by how developed and developing nation are portrayed through the world systems theory. The two main regions are the core and the periphery. The core consists of high areas of income and profit; the periphery is on the opposing side of the spectrum consisting of areas of low income and profit. These critical theories of Geo-politics have led to increased discussion of the meaning and impact of imperialism on the modern post-colonial world. The Russian leader Lenin suggested that "imperialism was the highest form of capitalism, claiming that imperialism developed after colonialism, and was distinguished from colonialism by monopoly capitalism". This idea from Lenin stresses how important new political world order has become in our modern era. Geopolitics now focuses on states becoming major economic players in the market; some states today are viewed as empires due to their political and economic authority over other nations.

Question: The amount of land a country controls is its greatest what?

Question: Western Imperialism divided the globe according to which theory?

Question: Who suggested that imperialism was the "highest" form of capitalism?

Question: One country's authority over a number of others would constitute the original country as what?

Question: Most imperialism was carried out using which method of transport?


Context: The term "imperialism" is often conflated with "colonialism", however many scholars have argued that each have their own distinct definition. Imperialism and colonialism have been used in order to describe one's superiority, domination and influence upon a person or group of people. Robert Young writes that while imperialism operates from the center, is a state policy and is developed for ideological as well as financial reasons, colonialism is simply the development for settlement or commercial intentions. Colonialism in modern usage also tends to imply a degree of geographic separation between the colony and the imperial power. Particularly, Edward Said distinguishes the difference between imperialism and colonialism by stating; "imperialism involved 'the practice, the theory and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory', while colonialism refers to the 'implanting of settlements on a distant territory.' Contiguous land empires such as the Russian or Ottoman are generally excluded from discussions of colonialism.:116 Thus it can be said that imperialism includes some form of colonialism, but colonialism itself does not automatically imply imperialism, as it lacks a political focus.[further explanation needed]

Question: Imperialism is confused with what other term?

Question: What does colonialism lack that imperialism has?

Question: Colonialism as a policy is caused by financial and what other reasons?

Question: Who besides the Russians are often left out of the colonialism debat?

Question: Imperialism and colonialism both assert a states dominance over what?


Context: Imperialism and colonialism both dictate the political and economic advantage over a land and the indigenous populations they control, yet scholars sometimes find it difficult to illustrate the difference between the two. Although imperialism and colonialism focus on the suppression of an other, if colonialism refers to the process of a country taking physical control of another, imperialism refers to the political and monetary dominance, either formally or informally. Colonialism is seen to be the architect deciding how to start dominating areas and then imperialism can be seen as creating the idea behind conquest cooperating with colonialism. Colonialism is when the imperial nation begins a conquest over an area and then eventually is able to rule over the areas the previous nation had controlled. Colonialism's core meaning is the exploitation of the valuable assets and supplies of the nation that was conquered and the conquering nation then gaining the benefits from the spoils of the war. The meaning of imperialism is to create an empire, by conquering the other state's lands and therefore increasing its own dominance. Colonialism is the builder and preserver of the colonial possessions in an area by a population coming from a foreign region. Colonialism can completely change the existing social structure, physical structure and economics of an area; it is not unusual that the characteristics of the conquering peoples are inherited by the conquered indigenous populations.

Question: Political advantage is an attribute of which state policies?

Question: Colonialism often means a country doing what?

Question: How would one create an empire by means of Imperialism?

Question: What is colonialism's core meaning?

Question: what do conquering people pass down to native populations?


Context: A controversial aspect of imperialism is the defense and justification of empire-building based on seemingly rational grounds. J. A. Hobson identifies this justification on general grounds as: "It is desirable that the earth should be peopled, governed, and developed, as far as possible, by the races which can do this work best, i.e. by the races of highest 'social efficiency'". Many others argued that imperialism is justified for several different reasons. Friedrich Ratzel believed that in order for a state to survive, imperialism was needed. Halford Mackinder felt that Great Britain needed to be one of the greatest imperialists and therefore justified imperialism. The purportedly scientific nature of "Social Darwinism" and a theory of races formed a supposedly rational justification for imperialism. The rhetoric of colonizers being racially superior appears to have achieved its purpose, for example throughout Latin America "whiteness" is still prized today and various forms of blanqueamiento (whitening) are common.

Question: what is the most controversial aspect of imperialism?

Question: Friedrich Ratzel thought what was needed for a state to survive?

Question: J. A. Hobson wanted which races to develop the world?

Question: Which theory justifies imperialism in part?

Question: In Latin America what is the most revered skin color?


Context: The Royal Geographical Society of London and other geographical societies in Europe had great influence and were able to fund travelers who would come back with tales of their discoveries. These societies also served as a space for travellers to share these stories.Political geographers such as Friedrich Ratzel of Germany and Halford Mackinder of Britain also supported imperialism. Ratzel believed expansion was necessary for a state’s survival while Mackinder supported Britain’s imperial expansion; these two arguments dominated the discipline for decades.

Question: Where was Friedrich Ratzel born?

Question: Where was Halford Mackinder born?

Question: Halford Mackinder and Friedrich Ratzel where what kind of geographers?

Question: Friedrich Ratzel thought imperialism was what for the country?

Question: How would the geographical societies in Europe support certain travelers?


Context: Geographical theories such as environmental determinism also suggested that tropical environments created uncivilized people in need of European guidance. For instance, American geographer Ellen Churchill Semple argued that even though human beings originated in the tropics they were only able to become fully human in the temperate zone. Tropicality can be paralleled with Edward Said’s Orientalism as the west’s construction of the east as the “other”. According to Siad, orientalism allowed Europe to establish itself as the superior and the norm, which justified its dominance over the essentialized Orient.

Question: Which theory suggested people in the tropics were uncivilized?

Question: According to Ellen Churchill Semple what type of climate was necessary for humans to become fully human?

Question: Which book by Edward Said portrayed the east as being the "others?"

Question: According to certain Geographical theories what type of human does a tropical climate produce?

Question: By justification certain racial and geographical theories, Europe thought of itself as what?


Context: The principles of imperialism are often generalizable to the policies and practices of the British Empire "during the last generation, and proceeds rather by diagnosis than by historical description". British imperialism often used the concept of Terra nullius (Latin expression which stems from Roman law meaning 'empty land'). The country of Australia serves as a case study in relation to British settlement and colonial rule of the continent in the eighteenth century, as it was premised on terra nullius, and its settlers considered it unused by its sparse Aboriginal inhabitants.

Question: What law justified British imperialism?

Question: When did Great Britain colonize Australia?

Question: Imperialism is most often associated with which sovereignty?

Question: What were the native inhabitants of Australia called?

Question: Terra Nullius is a Latin expression meaning what in English?


Context: Orientalism, as theorized by Edward Said, refers to how the West developed an imaginative geography of the East. This imaginative geography relies on an essentializing discourse that represents neither the diversity nor the social reality of the East. Rather, by essentializing the East, this discourse uses the idea of place-based identities to create difference and distance between "we" the West and "them" the East, or "here" in the West and "there" in the East. This difference was particularly apparent in textual and visual works of early European studies of the Orient that positioned the East as irrational and backward in opposition to the rational and progressive West. Defining the East as a negative vision of itself, as its inferior, not only increased the West’s sense of self, but also was a way of ordering the East and making it known to the West so that it could be dominated and controlled. The discourse of Orientalism therefore served as an ideological justification of early Western imperialism, as it formed a body of knowledge and ideas that rationalized social, cultural, political, and economic control of other territories.

Question: Orientalism refers to how the West developed a what of the East?

Question: Early Western texts referencing the East describe the people as being what?

Question: The West saw the East as what?

Question: What was used by the West to justify control over eastern territories?

Question: The West saw themselves as what compared to the east?


Context: To better illustrate this idea, Bassett focuses his analysis of the role of nineteenth-century maps during the "scramble for Africa". He states that maps "contributed to empire by promoting, assisting, and legitimizing the extension of French and British power into West Africa". During his analysis of nineteenth-century cartographic techniques, he highlights the use of blank space to denote unknown or unexplored territory. This provided incentives for imperial and colonial powers to obtain "information to fill in blank spaces on contemporary maps".

Question: bassett focuses on what to illustrate his idea?

Question: What provided an incentive to western empires to colonize Africa?

Question: What were blank spaces used for on nineteenth-century maps?

Question: What did Basset analyze before coming to his conclusions?

Question: Who besides the british colonized Africa?


Context: Imperialism has played an important role in the histories of Japan, Korea, the Assyrian Empire, the Chinese Empire, the Roman Empire, Greece, the Byzantine Empire, the Persian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Ancient Egypt, the British Empire, India, and many other empires. Imperialism was a basic component to the conquests of Genghis Khan during the Mongol Empire, and of other war-lords. Historically recognized Muslim empires number in the dozens. Sub-Saharan Africa has also featured dozens of empires that predate the European colonial era, for example the Ethiopian Empire, Oyo Empire, Asante Union, Luba Empire, Lunda Empire, and Mutapa Empire. The Americas during the pre-Columbian era also had large empires such as the Aztec Empire and the Incan Empire.

Question: During which era did the Aztec and Incan empires thrive?

Question: Who used imperialism during their rule of the Mongol Empire?

Question: How many Muslim empires have used imperialism?

Question: Which is older the British Empire or the Ethiopian Empire?

Question: The Asante and Lunda Empires were in which region?


Context: Cultural imperialism is when a country's influence is felt in social and cultural circles, i.e. its soft power, such that it changes the moral, cultural and societal worldview of another. This is more than just "foreign" music, television or film becoming popular with young people, but that popular culture changing their own expectations of life and their desire for their own country to become more like the foreign country depicted. For example, depictions of opulent American lifestyles in the soap opera Dallas during the Cold War changed the expectations of Romanians; a more recent example is the influence of smuggled South Korean drama series in North Korea. The importance of soft power is not lost on authoritarian regimes, fighting such influence with bans on foreign popular culture, control of the internet and unauthorised satellite dishes etc. Nor is such a usage of culture recent, as part of Roman imperialism local elites would be exposed to the benefits and luxuries of Roman culture and lifestyle, with the aim that they would then become willing participants.

Question: When imperialism impacts social norms of a state, what is it called?

Question: What is Cultural Imperialism often referred to as?

Question: Which American show changed the views of Romanians during the cold war?

Question: Which historic empire used cultural imperialism to sway local elites?

Question: How do regimes fight against cultural imperialism?


Context: The Age of Imperialism, a time period beginning around 1700, saw (generally European) industrializing nations engaging in the process of colonizing, influencing, and annexing other parts of the world in order to gain political power.[citation needed] Although imperialist practices have existed for thousands of years, the term "Age of Imperialism" generally refers to the activities of European powers from the early 18th century through to the middle of the 20th century, for example, the "The Great Game" in Persian lands, the "Scramble for Africa" and the "Open Door Policy" in China.

Question: When did the age of Imperialism begin?

Question: What were European countries doing during the 1700's?

Question: How many years have imperialistic practices existed?

Question: When did the age of imperialism end?

Question: What was the name of the imperialistic policy in China?


Context: During the 20th century, historians John Gallagher (1919–1980) and Ronald Robinson (1920–1999) constructed a framework for understanding European imperialism. They claim that European imperialism was influential, and Europeans rejected the notion that "imperialism" required formal, legal control by one government over another country. "In their view, historians have been mesmerized by formal empire and maps of the world with regions colored red. The bulk of British emigration, trade, and capital went to areas outside the formal British Empire. Key to their thinking is the idea of empire 'informally if possible and formally if necessary.'"[attribution needed] Because of the resources made available by imperialism, the world's economy grew significantly and became much more interconnected in the decades before World War I, making the many imperial powers rich and prosperous.

Question: When was John Gallagher born?

Question: When did Ronald Robinson die?

Question: What profession were Ronald Robinson and John Gallagher?

Question: What grew on a global scale as a result of imperialism?

Question: Who was made rich and prosperous prior to World War 1


Context: Europe's expansion into territorial imperialism was largely focused on economic growth by collecting resources from colonies, in combination with assuming political control by military and political means. The colonization of India in the mid-18th century offers an example of this focus: there, the "British exploited the political weakness of the Mughal state, and, while military activity was important at various times, the economic and administrative incorporation of local elites was also of crucial significance" for the establishment of control over the subcontinent's resources, markets, and manpower. Although a substantial number of colonies had been designed to provide economic profit and to ship resources to home ports in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Fieldhouse suggests that in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in places such as Africa and Asia, this idea is not necessarily valid:

Question: European imperialism was focused on what?

Question: When did the colonization of India occur?

Question: What did European empires rely on to supply them with resources?

Question: Who did Britain exploit in India?


Context: Along with advancements in communication, Europe also continued to advance in military technology. European chemists made deadly explosives that could be used in combat, and with innovations in machinery they were able to manufacture improved firearms. By the 1880s, the machine gun had become an effective battlefield weapon. This technology gave European armies an advantage over their opponents, as armies in less-developed countries were still fighting with arrows, swords, and leather shields (e.g. the Zulus in Southern Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879).

Question: What advancements besides military technology did Europe achieve?

Question: What did European chemists make that could be used in warfare?

Question: what was invented in 1880 that revolutionized warfare?

Question: What weapons were the Zulus using during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879?

Question: Which region invented the machine gun?


Context: In anglophone academic works, theories regarding imperialism are often based on the British experience. The term "Imperialism" was originally introduced into English in its present sense in the late 1870s by opponents of the allegedly aggressive and ostentatious imperial policies of British prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. It was shortly appropriated by supporters of "imperialism" such as Joseph Chamberlain. For some, imperialism designated a policy of idealism and philanthropy; others alleged that it was characterized by political self-interest, and a growing number associated it with capitalist greed. Liberal John A. Hobson and Marxist Vladimir Lenin added a more theoretical macroeconomic connotation to the term. Lenin in particular exerted substantial influence over later Marxist conceptions of imperialism with his work Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. In his writings Lenin portrayed Imperialism as a natural extension of capitalism that arose from need for capitalist economies to constantly expand investment, material resources and manpower in such a way that necessitated colonial expansion. This conception of imperialism as a structural feature of capitalism is echoed by later Marxist theoreticians. Many theoreticians on the left have followed in emphasizing the structural or systemic character of "imperialism". Such writers have expanded the time period associated with the term so that it now designates neither a policy, nor a short space of decades in the late 19th century, but a world system extending over a period of centuries, often going back to Christopher Columbus and, in some accounts, to the Crusades. As the application of the term has expanded, its meaning has shifted along five distinct but often parallel axes: the moral, the economic, the systemic, the cultural, and the temporal. Those changes reflect - among other shifts in sensibility - a growing unease, even squeamishness, with the fact of power, specifically, Western power.

Question: Theories on imperialism use which country as a model?

Question: When did the term imperialism first come to be used by its current definition?

Question: What was the idealized value of imperialism?

Question: According to Lenin why must capitalistic countries have an imperialistic policy?


Context: The correlation between capitalism, aristocracy, and imperialism has long been debated among historians and political theorists. Much of the debate was pioneered by such theorists as J. A. Hobson (1858–1940), Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950), Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), and Norman Angell (1872–1967). While these non-Marxist writers were at their most prolific before World War I, they remained active in the interwar years. Their combined work informed the study of imperialism and it's impact on Europe, as well as contributed to reflections on the rise of the military-political complex in the United States from the 1950s. Hobson argued that domestic social reforms could cure the international disease of imperialism by removing its economic foundation. Hobson theorized that state intervention through taxation could boost broader consumption, create wealth, and encourage a peaceful, tolerant, multipolar world order.

Question: some debate that there is a correlation between capitalism, imperialism, and what?

Question: When was the military-political complex reflected upon within the scope of understanding imperialism?

Question: When were Joseph Schumpeter and Norman Angell at their most prolific writing period?

Question: Hobson argued that imperialism was an international what?

Question: How did Hobson argue to rid the world of imperialism?


Context: The concept environmental determinism served as a moral justification for domination of certain territories and peoples. It was believed that a certain person's behaviours were determined by the environment in which they lived and thus validated their domination. For example, people living in tropical environments were seen as "less civilized" therefore justifying colonial control as a civilizing mission. Across the three waves of European colonialism (first in the Americas, second in Asia and lastly in Africa), environmental determinism was used to categorically place indigenous people in a racial hierarchy. This takes two forms, orientalism and tropicality.

Question: What served as a justification for imposing imperialistic policies on certain peoples or regions?

Question: What was thought to decide a person's behavior?

Question: Humans in tropical environments were considered what?

Question: Europe first colonized the Americas, then Asia, but what continent was third?

Question: What were the two forms of environmental determinism?


Context: According to geographic scholars under colonizing empires, the world could be split into climatic zones. These scholars believed that Northern Europe and the Mid-Atlantic temperate climate produced a hard-working, moral, and upstanding human being. Alternatively, tropical climates yielded lazy attitudes, sexual promiscuity, exotic culture, and moral degeneracy. The people of these climates were believed to be in need of guidance and intervention from the European empire to aid in the governing of a more evolved social structure; they were seen as incapable of such a feat. Similarly, orientalism is a view of a people based on their geographical location.

Question: Who thought the world could be split into climatic zones?

Question: Which regions have temperate climates?

Question: What did the the Europeans think the peoples in the tropics were in need of?

Question: What was a similar view about the Asian continent called?

Question: Who did the geographic scholars work for?


Context: Britain's imperialist ambitions can be seen as early as the sixteenth century. In 1599 the British East India Company was established and was chartered by Queen Elizabeth in the following year. With the establishment of trading posts in India, the British were able to maintain strength relative to others empires such as the Portuguese who already had set up trading posts in India. In 1767 political activity caused exploitation of the East India Company causing the plundering of the local economy, almost bringing the company into bankruptcy.

Question: When is the earliest Britain had an imperialist policy?

Question: When was the British East India Company established?

Question: Who chartered the British East India Company?

Question: What happened to the East India Trading Company in 1767?

Question: Which country had trading posts in India before Britain?


Context: France took control of Algeria in 1830 but began in earnest to rebuild its worldwide empire after 1850, concentrating chiefly in North and West Africa, as well as South-East Asia, with other conquests in Central and East Africa, as well as the South Pacific. Republicans, at first hostile to empire, only became supportive when Germany started to build her own colonial empire. As it developed, the new empire took on roles of trade with France, supplying raw materials and purchasing manufactured items, as well as lending prestige to the motherland and spreading French civilization and language as well as Catholicism. It also provided crucial manpower in both World Wars.

Question: When did France take control of Algeria?

Question: When did France begin in earnest to rebuild its global empire?

Question: What religion did the French spread along with their imperialism?

Question: Where did France focus its efforts to rebuild its empire?

Question: When did French Republicans back building the French empire?


Context: It became a moral justification to lift the world up to French standards by bringing Christianity and French culture. In 1884 the leading exponent of colonialism, Jules Ferry declared France had a civilising mission: "The higher races have a right over the lower races, they have a duty to civilize the inferior". Full citizenship rights – ‘’assimilation’’ – were offered, although in reality assimilation was always on the distant horizon. Contrasting from Britain, France sent small numbers of settlers to its colonies, with the only notable exception of Algeria, where French settlers nevertheless always remained a small minority.

Question: Jules Ferry thought that the "higher races" have a duty to what?

Question: What did France offer that was rare by imperial standards?

Question: How did france differ from Britain in managing its colonies?

Question: The French thought bringing what would uplift other regions?

Question: Where did the French send a large number of settlers?


Context: In World War II, Charles de Gaulle and the Free French used the overseas colonies as bases from which they fought to liberate France. However after 1945 anti-colonial movements began to challenge the Empire. France fought and lost a bitter war in Vietnam in the 1950s. Whereas they won the war in Algeria, the French leader at the time, Charles de Gaulle, decided to grant Algeria independence anyway in 1962. Its settlers and many local supporters relocated to France. Nearly all of France's colonies gained independence by 1960, but France retained great financial and diplomatic influence. It has repeatedly sent troops to assist its former colonies in Africa in suppressing insurrections and coups d’état.

Question: Where did Charles de Gaulle and the Free French run operations during World War 2?

Question: After 1945, what challenged the French empire?

Question: Where did France lose a war in the 1950's?

Question: Where did France win a war in the 1950's

Question: By when did most of France's Colonies gain independence?


Context: From their original homelands in Scandinavia and northern Europe, Germanic tribes expanded throughout northern and western Europe in the middle period of classical antiquity; southern Europe in late antiquity, conquering Celtic and other peoples; and by 800 CE, forming the Holy Roman Empire, the first German Empire. However, there was no real systemic continuity from the Western Roman Empire to its German successor which was famously described as "not holy, not Roman, and not an empire", as a great number of small states and principalities existed in the loosely autonomous confederation. Although by 1000 CE, the Germanic conquest of central, western, and southern Europe (west of and including Italy) was complete, excluding only Muslim Iberia. There was, however, little cultural integration or national identity, and "Germany" remained largely a conceptual term referring to an amorphous area of central Europe.

Question: Where were the Germanic tribes originally located?

Question: What was the only region in Europe not conquered by the Germanic tribes?

Question: When did the Germanic tribes claim territory in north and west Europe?

Question: By when did the Germanic tribes conquer the Celtic peoples?

Question: Germany referred to which area more so than an actual country?


Context: Not a maritime power, and not a nation-state, as it would eventually become, Germany’s participation in Western imperialism was negligible until the late 19th century. The participation of Austria was primarily as a result of Habsburg control of the First Empire, the Spanish throne, and other royal houses.[further explanation needed] After the defeat of Napoleon, who caused the dissolution of that Holy Roman Empire, Prussia and the German states continued to stand aloof from imperialism, preferring to manipulate the European system through the Concert of Europe. After Prussia unified the other states into the second German Empire after the Franco-German War, its long-time Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (1862–90), long opposed colonial acquisitions, arguing that the burden of obtaining, maintaining, and defending such possessions would outweigh any potential benefits. He felt that colonies did not pay for themselves, that the German bureaucratic system would not work well in the tropics and the diplomatic disputes over colonies would distract Germany from its central interest, Europe itself.

Question: Germany doesn't have an imperialistic past until when?

Question: When was Otto von Bismarck born?

Question: When was the the second German empire founded?

Question: Who caused the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire?

Question: What was Germany's central interest?


Context: However, in 1883–84 Germany began to build a colonial empire in Africa and the South Pacific, before losing interest in imperialism. Historians have debated exactly why Germany made this sudden and short-lived move.[verification needed] Bismarck was aware that public opinion had started to demand colonies for reasons of German prestige. He was influenced by Hamburg merchants and traders, his neighbors at Friedrichsruh. The establishment of the German colonial empire proceeded smoothly, starting with German New Guinea in 1884.

Question: Besides Africa, where did Germany have imperial interests?

Question: Colonies were a sign of what amongst European countries?

Question: When did Germany found their first settlement?

Question: What was the name of the first German settlement?

Question: Who influenced Bismark besides his neighbors?


Context: During the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, Japan absorbed Taiwan. As a result of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan took part of Sakhalin Island from Russia. Korea was annexed in 1910. During World War I, Japan took German-leased territories in China’s Shandong Province, as well as the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands. In 1918, Japan occupied parts of far eastern Russia and parts of eastern Siberia as a participant in the Siberian Intervention. In 1931 Japan conquered Manchuria from China. During the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Japan's military invaded central China and by the end of the Pacific War, Japan had conquered much of the Far East, including Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, part of New Guinea and some islands of the Pacific Ocean. Japan also invaded Thailand, pressuring the country into a Thai/Japanese alliance. Its colonial ambitions were ended by the victory of the United States in the Second World War and the following treaties which remanded those territories to American administration or their original owners.

Question: What happened as a result of the Russo-Japanese War?

Question: When was the first Sino-Japanese War?

Question: Which country did Japan force into an alliance?

Question: Which area of China did Japan conquer in 1931?


Context: Bolshevik leaders had effectively reestablished a polity with roughly the same extent as that empire by 1921, however with an internationalist ideology: Lenin in particular asserted the right to limited self-determination for national minorities within the new territory. Beginning in 1923, the policy of "Indigenization" [korenizatsiia] was intended to support non-Russians develop their national cultures within a socialist framework. Never formally revoked, it stopped being implemented after 1932. After World War II, the Soviet Union installed socialist regimes modeled on those it had installed in 1919–20 in the old Tsarist Empire in areas its forces occupied in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China supported post–World War II communist movements in foreign nations and colonies to advance their own interests, but were not always successful.

Question: Who along with Russia supported post WW-II communist movements?

Question: When was the Russian Policy "Indigenization" defunded?

Question: Who asserted Russia's right to "self-determination?"

Question: After WW-II where did Russia apply its old Tsarist regimes?

Question: Who had established the Russian empire to its former glory prior to 1921?


Context: Trotsky, and others, believed that the revolution could only succeed in Russia as part of a world revolution. Lenin wrote extensively on the matter and famously declared that Imperialism was the highest stage of capitalism. However, after Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin established 'socialism in one country' for the Soviet Union, creating the model for subsequent inward looking Stalinist states and purging the early Internationalist elements. The internationalist tendencies of the early revolution would be abandoned until they returned in the framework of a client state in competition with the Americans during the Cold War. With the beginning of the new era, the after Stalin period called the "thaw", in the late 1950s, the new political leader Nikita Khrushchev put even more pressure on the Soviet-American relations starting a new wave of anti-imperialist propaganda. In his speech on the UN conference in 1960, he announced the continuation of the war on imperialism, stating that soon the people of different countries will come together and overthrow their imperialist leaders. Although the Soviet Union declared itself anti-imperialist, critics argue that it exhibited tendencies common to historic empires. Some scholars hold that the Soviet Union was a hybrid entity containing elements common to both multinational empires and nation states. It has also been argued that the USSR practiced colonialism as did other imperial powers and was carrying on the old Russian tradition of expansion and control. Mao Zedong once argued that the Soviet Union had itself become an imperialist power while maintaining a socialist façade. Moreover, the ideas of imperialism were widely spread in action on the higher levels of government. Non Russian Marxists within the Russian Federation and later the USSR, like Sultan Galiev and Vasyl Shakhrai, considered the Soviet Regime a renewed version of the Russian imperialism and colonialism.

Question: Trotsky thought what was needed for a true Russian revolution.

Question: Who wrote that imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism?

Question: Who argued that the USSR had itself become an imperialist power?

Question: Who was the leader of Russia in the 1960's?

Question: What policy did Stalin implement shortly after Lenin's Death?


Context: The First British Empire was based on mercantilism, and involved colonies and holdings primarily in North America, the Caribbean, and India. Its growth was reversed by the loss of the American colonies in 1776. Britain made compensating gains in India, Australia, and in constructing an informal economic empire through control of trade and finance in Latin America after the independence of Spanish and Portuguese colonies about 1820. By the 1840s, Britain had adopted a highly successful policy of free trade that gave it dominance in the trade of much of the world. After losing its first Empire to the Americans, Britain then turned its attention towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Following the defeat of Napoleonic France in 1815, Britain enjoyed a century of almost unchallenged dominance and expanded its imperial holdings around the globe. Increasing degrees of internal autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies in the 20th century.

Question: What was the first British empire based on?

Question: When did Great Britain lose its colonies in North America?

Question: What policy gave Britain dominance in world trade?

Question: When did the Spanish and Portuguese colonies gain their independance.

Question: When was the defeat of Napoleonic France?


Context: A resurgence came in the late 19th century, with the Scramble for Africa and major additions in Asia and the Middle East. The British spirit of imperialism was expressed by Joseph Chamberlain and Lord Rosebury, and implemented in Africa by Cecil Rhodes. The pseudo-sciences of Social Darwinism and theories of race formed an ideological underpinning during this time. Other influential spokesmen included Lord Cromer, Lord Curzon, General Kitchner, Lord Milner, and the writer Rudyard Kipling. The British Empire was the largest Empire that the world has ever seen both in terms of landmass and population. Its power, both military and economic, remained unmatched.

Question: By the late 19th century, which country had the largest empire ever to exist in the world?

Question: What kinds of sciences were Social Darwinism and theories of race?

Question: Rudyard Kipling was an influential spokesman for what?

Question: In which continent besides Asia were major gains made by the British Empire in the late 19th century?


Context: The early United States expressed its opposition to Imperialism, at least in a form distinct from its own Manifest Destiny, through policies such as the Monroe Doctrine. However, beginning in the late 19th and early 20th century, policies such as Theodore Roosevelt’s interventionism in Central America and Woodrow Wilson’s mission to "make the world safe for democracy" changed all this. They were often backed by military force, but were more often affected from behind the scenes. This is consistent with the general notion of hegemony and imperium of historical empires. In 1898, Americans who opposed imperialism created the Anti-Imperialist League to oppose the US annexation of the Philippines and Cuba. One year later, a war erupted in the Philippines causing business, labor and government leaders in the US to condemn America's occupation in the Philippines as they also denounced them for causing the deaths of many Filipinos. American foreign policy was denounced as a "racket" by Smedley Butler, an American general. He said, "Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents".

Question: How did the United States plan to subdue imperialistic tendencies?

Question: What was the name of Theodore Roosevelt’s policy of imperialism?

Question: What caused the US public to condemn the occupation of the philippines?

Question: Which country besides the Cuba did the United states try to annex in 1898?

Question: What did Smedley Butler call US foreign Policy?


Context: One key figure in the plans for what would come to be known as American Empire, was a geographer named Isiah Bowman. Bowman was the director of the American Geographical Society in 1914. Three years later in 1917, he was appointed to then President Woodrow Wilson's inquiry in 1917. The inquiry was the idea of President Wilson and the American delegation from the Paris Peace Conference. The point of this inquiry was to build a premise that would allow for U.S authorship of a 'new world' which was to be characterized by geographical order. As a result of his role in the inquiry, Isiah Bowman would come to be known as Wilson's geographer.

Question: Who was the director of the American Geographical Society in 1914?

Question: When was Isiah Bowman appointed to President Wilson's Inquiry?

Question: Who besides Woodrow Wilson himself had the idea for the inquiry?

Question: What was the premise of Woodrow Wilson's inquiry?

Question: What was Isiah Bowman nick name, as known by the public.


Context: Some have described the internal strife between various people groups as a form of imperialism or colonialism. This internal form is distinct from informal U.S. imperialism in the form of political and financial hegemony. This internal form of imperialism is also distinct from the United States' formation of "colonies" abroad. Through the treatment of its indigenous peoples during westward expansion, the United States took on the form of an imperial power prior to any attempts at external imperialism. This internal form of empire has been referred to as "internal colonialism". Participation in the African slave trade and the subsequent treatment of its 12 to 15 million Africans is viewed by some to be a more modern extension of America's "internal colonialism". However, this internal colonialism faced resistance, as external colonialism did, but the anti-colonial presence was far less prominent due to the nearly complete dominance that the United States was able to assert over both indigenous peoples and African-Americans. In his lecture on April 16, 2003, Edward Said made a bold statement on modern imperialism in the United States, whom he described as using aggressive means of attack towards the contemporary Orient, "due to their backward living, lack of democracy and the violation of women’s rights. The western world forgets during this process of converting the other that enlightenment and democracy are concepts that not all will agree upon".

Question: Some people describe what between individuals or groups as imperialism or colonialism?

Question: the US expansion Westward could be viewed as what type of colonialism?

Question: How many Africans were brought into the United States during the slave trade?

Question: Who does Edward Said say is being attacked by US imperialism?


Context: The Ottoman Empire was an imperial state that lasted from 1299 to 1923. During the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was a powerful multinational, multilingual empire controlling much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.

Question: When did the Ottoman Empire fall?

Question: Who reigned over the Ottoman empire when it was at its most powerful.

Question: How many provinces did the Ottoman empire contain in the 17th century?

Question: The Ottoman empire controlled territory on three continents, Africa, Asia and which other?

Question: When was the Ottoman empire at its height?


Context: With Istanbul as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. Following a long period of military setbacks against European powers, the Ottoman Empire gradually declined into the late nineteenth century. The empire allied with Germany in the early 20th century, with the imperial ambition of recovering its lost territories, but it dissolved in the aftermath of World War I, leading to the emergence of the new state of Turkey in the Ottoman Anatolian heartland, as well as the creation of modern Balkan and Middle Eastern states, thus ending Turkish colonial ambitions.

Question: What was the capital of the Ottoman empire?

Question: Who did the Ottoman empire ally with in WW I?

Question: What ended Turkish imperial Ambitions?

Question: Which country today is a remnant of the Ottoman empire?


Context: The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a mainline Protestant Methodist denomination. In the 19th century its main predecessor was a leader in Evangelicalism. Founded in 1968 by the union of the Methodist Church (USA) and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces both liturgical and evangelical elements.

Question: What does UMC stand for?

Question: What is the United Methodist Church?

Question: When was the UMC founded?

Question: Who founded the UMC?

Question: What is the church's theological orientation?


Context: The United Methodist Church is the largest denomination within the wider Methodist movement, which has approximately 80 million adherents across the world. In the United States, the UMC ranks as the largest mainline Protestant denomination, the largest Protestant church after the Southern Baptist Convention, and the third largest Christian denomination. As of 2014, worldwide membership was about 12 million: 7.2 million in the United States, and 4.4 million in Africa, Asia and Europe. It is a member of the World Council of Churches, the World Methodist Council, and other religious associations. In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 3.6% of the U.S population, or 9 million adult adherents, self-identify with the United Methodist Church revealing a much larger number of adherents than registered membership.

Question: What is the largest denomination within the wider Methodist movement?

Question: Approximately how many adherents does the United Methodist Church have across the world?

Question: In the United States the UMC ranks as the largest what?

Question: What percentage of the U.S. population self-identify with UMC?


Context: The movement which would become The United Methodist Church began in the mid-18th century within the Church of England. A small group of students, including John Wesley, Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, met on the Oxford University campus. They focused on Bible study, methodical study of scripture and living a holy life. Other students mocked them, saying they were the "Holy Club" and "the Methodists", being methodical and exceptionally detailed in their Bible study, opinions and disciplined lifestyle. Eventually, the so-called Methodists started individual societies or classes for members of the Church of England who wanted to live a more religious life.

Question: When did the movement that would become The United Methodist Church begin?

Question: Where did the movement that would become The United Methodist Church begin?

Question: Why was the student group called "the Methodists?"


Context: In 1735, John and Charles Wesley went to America to teach the gospel to the American Indians in the colony of Georgia. In less than two years, the "Holy Club" disbanded. John Wesley returned to England and met with a group of clergy he respected. He said "they appeared to be of one heart, as well as of one judgment, resolved to be Bible-Christians at all events; and, wherever they were, to preach with all their might plain, old, Bible Christianity". The ministers retained their membership in the Church of England. Though not always emphasized or appreciated in the Anglican churches of their day, their teaching emphasized salvation by God's grace, acquired through faith in Christ. Three teachings they saw as the foundation of Christian faith were:

Question: In what year did John and Charles Wesley come to America to teach the gospel?

Question: In 1735, where did John and Charles Wesley teach the gospel in America?

Question: In 1735, who did John and Charles Wesley teach the gospel to in America?

Question: What did "The Holy Club's" teachings emphasize?


Context: Though John Wesley originally wanted the Methodists to stay within the Church of England, the American Revolution decisively separated the Methodists in the American colonies from the life and sacraments of the Anglican Church. In 1784, after unsuccessful attempts to have the Church of England send a bishop to start a new church in the colonies, Wesley decisively appointed fellow priest Thomas Coke as superintendent (bishop) to organize a separate Methodist Society. Together with Coke, Wesley sent a revision of the Anglican Prayerbook and the Articles of Religion which were received and adopted by the Baltimore Christmas Conference of 1784, officially establishing the Methodist Episcopal Church. The conference was held at the Lovely Lane Methodist Church, considered the Mother Church of American Methodism.

Question: What caused the separation of the Methodists in the American colonies?

Question: When did Wesley appoint Thomas Coke as bishop?

Question: Who did Wesley appoint as bishop in 1784?

Question: Where was the Baltimore Christmas Conference of 1784 held?

Question: What is considered the Mother Church of American Methodism?


Context: St. George's United Methodist Church, located at the corner of 4th and New Streets, in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, is the oldest Methodist church in continuous use in the United States, beginning in 1769. The congregation was founded in 1767, meeting initially in a sail loft on Dock Street, and in 1769 it purchased the shell of a building which had been erected in 1763 by a German Reformed congregation. At this time, Methodists had not yet broken away from the Anglican Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church was not founded until 1784.

Question: What church is located at the corner of 4th and New Streets in Philadelphia?

Question: What is the oldest Methodist church in continuous use in the United States?

Question: When was the congregation at St. George's founded?

Question: Where did the congregation at St. George's initially meet in 1767?

Question: When was the Methodist Episcopal Church founded?


Context: Richard Allen and Absalom Jones became the first African Americans ordained by the Methodist Church. They were licensed by St. George's Church in 1784. Three years later, protesting racial segregation in the worship services, Allen led most of the black members out of St. George's; eventually they founded the Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church and the African Methodist Episcopal denomination. Absalom Jones became an Episcopal priest. In 1836, the church's basement was excavated to make room for a Sunday School. In the 1920s a court case saved the church from being demolished to make way for the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The case resulted in the bridge being relocated. Historic St Georges welcomes visitors and is home to archives and a museum on Methodism.

Question: Who became the first African Americans ordained by the Methodist Church?

Question: Richard Allen and Absalom Jones were licensed by what church?

Question: Richard Allen and Absalom Jones were licensed by St. George's Church in what year?


Context: In the more than 220 years since 1784, Methodism in the United States, like many other Protestant denominations, has seen a number of divisions and mergers. In 1830, the Methodist Protestant Church split from the Methodist Episcopal Church over the issue of laity having a voice and vote in the administration of the church, insisting that clergy should not be the only ones to have any determination in how the church was to be operated. In 1844, the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church split into two conferences because of tensions over slavery and the power of bishops in the denomination.

Question: When did the Methodist Protestant Church split from the Methodist Episcopal Church?

Question: Why did the Methodist Protestant Church split from the Methodist Episcopal Church?

Question: When did the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church split into two conferences?

Question: Why did the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church split into two conferences?


Context: On April 23, 1968, the United Methodist Church was created when the Evangelical United Brethren Church (represented by Bishop Reuben H. Mueller) and The Methodist Church (represented by Bishop Lloyd Christ Wicke) joined hands at the constituting General Conference in Dallas, Texas. With the words, "Lord of the Church, we are united in Thee, in Thy Church and now in The United Methodist Church" the new denomination was given birth by the two churches that had distinguished histories and influential ministries in various parts of the world.

Question: When was the United Methodist Church created?

Question: Where did two leaders join hands and "give birth" to a new denomination?

Question: Who was one man who joined hands and said "Lord of the Church, we are united in Thee...?"


Context: The United Methodist Church understands itself to be part of the holy catholic (or universal) church and it recognizes the historic ecumenical creeds, the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed; which are used frequently in services of worship. The Book of Discipline also recognizes the importance of the Chalcedonian Creed of the Council of Chalcedon. It upholds the concept of the "visible and invisible Church," meaning that all who are truly believers in every age belong to the holy Church invisible, while the United Methodist Church is a branch of the Church visible, to which all believers must be connected as it is the only institution wherein the Word of God is preached and the Sacraments are administered.

Question: The UMC understands itself to be part of what church?

Question: What book recognizes the importance of the Chalcedonian Creed?

Question: What is the concept of the visible and invisible Church?


Context: Some argue that The United Methodist Church can lay a claim on apostolic succession, as understood in the traditional sense. As a result of the American Revolution, John Wesley was compelled in 1784 to break with standard practice and ordain two of his lay preachers as presbyters, Thomas Vasey and Richard Whatcoat. Dr. Thomas Coke, already an Anglican priest, assisted Wesley in this action. Coke was then "set apart" as a superintendent (bishop) by Wesley and dispatched with Vasey and Whatcoat to America to take charge of Methodist activities there. In defense of his action to ordain, Wesley himself cited an ancient opinion from the Church of Alexandria, which held that bishops and presbyters constituted one order and therefore, bishops are to be elected from and by the presbyterate. He knew that for two centuries the succession of bishops in the Church of Alexandria was preserved through ordination by presbyters alone and was considered valid by the ancient church. Methodists today who would argue for apostolic succession would do so on these grounds.

Question: Why was Wesley compelled to break with standard practice and ordain two of his lay preachers as presbyters?

Question: Who assisted Wesley with ordaining Whatcoat and Vasey as presbyters?

Question: Who were the two lay preachers that Wesley ordained as presbyters?


Context: While many United Methodist congregations operate in the evangelical tradition, others reflect the mainline Protestant traditions. Although United Methodist practices and interpretation of beliefs have evolved over time, these practices and beliefs can be traced to the writings of the church's founders, especially John Wesley and Charles Wesley (Anglicans), but also Philip William Otterbein and Martin Boehm (United Brethren), and Jacob Albright (Evangelical Association). With the formation of The United Methodist Church in 1968, theologian Albert C. Outler led the team which systematized denominational doctrine. Outler's work proved pivotal in the work of union, and he is largely considered the first United Methodist theologian.

Question: When was the UMC formed?

Question: Who were two of the founders of the United Methodist Church?

Question: In 1968, who led the team which systematized denominational doctrine?

Question: Who is largely considered the first United Methodist theologian?


Context: Prevenient grace, or the grace that "goes before" us, is given to all people. It is that power which enables us to love and motivates us to seek a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This grace is the present work of God to turn us from our sin-corrupted human will to the loving will of the Father. In this work, God desires that we might sense both our sinfulness before God and God's offer of salvation. Prevenient grace allows those tainted by sin to nevertheless make a truly free choice to accept or reject God's salvation in Christ.

Question: What is the grace that "goes before us?"

Question: What is that power that enables us to love?

Question: What is Prevenient grace?

Question: Prevenient grace allowas those tainted by what to make a choice to accept or reject God's salvation in Christ?


Context: Justifying Grace or Accepting Grace is that grace, offered by God to all people, that we receive by faith and trust in Christ, through which God pardons the believer of sin. It is in justifying grace we are received by God, in spite of our sin. In this reception, we are forgiven through the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The justifying grace cancels our guilt and empowers us to resist the power of sin and to fully love God and neighbor. Today, justifying grace is also known as conversion, "accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior," or being "born again". John Wesley originally called this experience the New Birth. This experience can occur in different ways; it can be one transforming moment, such as an altar call experience, or it may involve a series of decisions across a period of time.

Question: What is the grace that we receive by faith and trust in God?

Question: What cancels our guilt and empowers us to resist the power of sin and to fully love God and neighbor?

Question: What is justifying grace also known as today?

Question: What is another name for being born again?

Question: What did John Wesley originally call the experience of conversion?


Context: Sanctifying Grace is that grace of God which sustains the believers in the journey toward Christian Perfection: a genuine love of God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, and a genuine love of our neighbors as ourselves. Sanctifying grace enables us to respond to God by leading a Spirit-filled and Christ-like life aimed toward love. Wesley never claimed this state of perfection for himself but instead insisted the attainment of perfection was possible for all Christians. Here the English Reformer parted company with both Luther and Calvin, who denied that a man would ever reach a state in this life in which he could not fall into sin. Such a man can lose all inclination to evil and can gain perfection in this life.

Question: What is Sanctifying Grace?

Question: What is that grace of God which sustains the believers in the journey towards Christian Perfection?

Question: What is Christian Perfection?

Question: What is a genuine love of God with heart, soul and mind?


Context: Wesleyan theology stands at a unique cross-roads between evangelical and sacramental, between liturgical and charismatic, and between Anglo-Catholic and Reformed theology and practice. It has been characterized as Arminian theology with an emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit to bring holiness into the life of the participating believer. The United Methodist Church believes in prima scriptura, seeing the Holy Bible as the primary authority in the Church and using sacred tradition, reason, and experience to interpret it, with the aid of the Holy Spirit (see Wesleyan Quadrilateral). Therefore, according to The Book of Discipline, United Methodist theology is at once "catholic, evangelical, and reformed." Today, the UMC is generally considered one of the more moderate and tolerant denominations with respect to race, gender, and ideology, though the denomination itself actually includes a very wide spectrum of attitudes. Comparatively, the UMC stands to the right of liberal and progressive Protestant groups such as the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church on certain issues (especially regarding sexuality), but to the left of historically conservative evangelical traditions such as the Southern Baptists and Pentecostalism, in regard to theological matters such as social justice and Biblical interpretation. However, it should be noted that the UMC is made up of a broad diversity of thought, and so there are many clergy and laity within the UMC that hold differing viewpoints on such theological matters.

Question: What has been characterized as Arminian theology with an emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit?

Question: What is seeing the Holy Bible as the primary authority in the Church?

Question: Today, which church is generally considered one of the more moderate and tolerant denominations?

Question: What states that United Methodist theology is at once "catholic, evangelical and reformed?"


Context: The United Methodist Church upholds the sanctity of human life both of the child and the mother. As a result, the church is "reluctant to affirm abortion as an acceptable practice," and condemns the use of late-term or partial birth abortion except as a medical necessity. The denomination as a whole is committed to "assist[ing] the ministry of crisis pregnancy centers and pregnancy resource centers that compassionately help women find feasible alternatives to abortion." Still, the denomination is pro-choice and also "was a founding member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice...[and] 2008 General Conference [went] on record in support of the work of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice".

Question: When did the General Conference go on record in support of the work of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice?

Question: Is the UMC pro-life or pro-choice?

Question: The UMC was a founding member of what coalition?


Context: The church also holds that they "are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother, for whom devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy. In continuity with past Christian teaching, we recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures." As such, two official bodies of the United Methodist Church are part of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice's governing coalition, The General Board of Church and Society, and the United Methodist Women. The church cautions that "Governmental laws and regulations do not provide all the guidance required by the informed Christian conscience." The Church emphasizes the need to be in supportive ministry with all women, regardless of their choice.

Question: What are two official bodies of the UMC governing coalition?

Question: The church emphasizes the need to be in supportive ministry of what group?

Question: The church holds that they are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of whom?


Context: Members of the United Methodist Church who identify with the pro-life position have organized into the Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality (TUMAS) to further their position within the denomination. There was an attempt to withdraw the United Methodist Church membership in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice at their General Conference, held in May 2012, with a petition that passed through the legislative subcommittee and committee votes, but was not given a floor vote. Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth, president of the Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality said he "had every reason to believe" that pro-life delegates would have won a floor vote.

Question: What is the taskforce that was organized to identify with the pro-life position?

Question: In what year was there an attempt to withdraw the UMC membership?

Question: Who is the president of TUMAS?


Context: Historically, the Methodist Church has supported the temperance movement. John Wesley warned against the dangers of drinking in his famous sermon, "The Use of Money," and in his letter to an alcoholic. At one time, Methodist ministers had to take a pledge not to drink and encouraged their congregations to do the same. Today the United Methodist Church states that it "affirms our long-standing support of abstinence from alcohol as a faithful witness to God's liberating and redeeming love for persons." In fact, the United Methodist Church uses unfermented grape juice in the sacrament of Holy Communion, thus "expressing pastoral concern for recovering alcoholics, enabling the participation of children and youth, and supporting the church's witness of abstinence." Moreover, in 2011 and 2012, The United Methodist Church's General Board of Church and Society called on all United Methodists to abstain from alcohol for Lent.

Question: Historically, which movement has the Methodist Church supported?

Question: When did the UMC's General Board of Church and Society call on all United Methodists to abstain from alcohol for Lent?

Question: What was the name of Wesley's famous sermon in which he warned against the dangers of drinking?

Question: What does the United Methodist Church use in the sacrament of the Holy Communion?


Context: The United Methodist Church, along with other Methodist churches, condemns capital punishment, saying that it cannot accept retribution or social vengeance as a reason for taking human life. The Church also holds that the death penalty falls unfairly and unequally upon marginalized persons including the poor, the uneducated, ethnic and religious minorities, and persons with mental and emotional illnesses. The United Methodist Church also believes that Jesus explicitly repudiated the lex talionis in Matthew 5:38-39 and abolished the death penalty in John 8:7. The General Conference of the United Methodist Church calls for its bishops to uphold opposition to capital punishment and for governments to enact an immediate moratorium on carrying out the death penalty sentence.

Question: The UMC condemns what type of punishment?

Question: The UMC believes that Jesus abolished the death penalty in what Bible verse?

Question: The UMC believes that Jesus repudiated the les talionis in what BIble verses?

Question: What part of the UMC calls for its bishops to uphold opposition to capital punishment?


Context: In addition, the United Methodist Church prohibits the celebration of same-sex unions. Rev. Jimmy Creech was defrocked after a highly publicized church trial in 1999 on account of his participation in same-sex union ceremonies. It forbids any United Methodist board, agency, committee, commission, or council to give United Methodist funds to any gay organization or group, or otherwise use such funds to promote the acceptance of homosexuality. Other ministers have been defrocked for officiating at same-sex weddings and several trials of others are scheduled. Still, some congregations have sought other ways to recognize same-sex couples. For example, one congregation hosted a proposal for a same-sex couple announcing their engagement. Moreover, some churches, especially in 2016 after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide, have provided blessings for same-sex marriages. In April of 2016, a United Methodist bishop made a bold statement by performing a same-sex marriage in church as a clear sign of his advocacy for change.

Question: The UMC prohibits the celebration of what type of unions?

Question: In what year was the trial of Rev. Jimmy Creech?

Question: In what year was same-sex marriage legalized nationwide?


Context: Nevertheless, The United Methodist Church "implore[s] families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends" and commits itself to be in ministry with all persons, affirming that God's grace, love, and forgiveness is available to all. Additionally, many organizations, conferences, and congregations have recently called for broader acceptance of the LGBT community within the UMC. For example, the Connectional Table, a governing committee, has voted in favor of a proposal that calls for a localized option, which would permit ministers to officiate same-sex weddings, and it would allow conferences to ordain gay clergy. Moreover, many conferences have taken a position by voting in favor of same-gender marriages with resolutions.

Question: What is the governing committee  that voted in favor of a proposal that would permit ministers to officiate same-sex weddings?

Question: Many organizations have recently called for broader acceptance of which community?

Question: Many conferences have taking a position by voting in favor of what?


Context: In 1987, a United Methodist church court in New Hampshire defrocked Methodist minister Rose Mary Denman for openly living with a same-sex partner. In 2005, clergy credentials were removed from Irene Elizabeth Stroud after she was convicted in a church trial of violating church law by engaging in a lesbian relationship; this conviction was later upheld by the Judicial Council, the highest court in the denomination. The Judicial Council also affirmed that a Virginia pastor had the right to deny local church membership to a man in an openly gay relationship. This affirmation, however, was based upon a senior pastor's right to judge the readiness of a congregant to join as a full member of the church. However, at the same time, the UMC Judicial Council, in 2008, ruled that conferences can determine their own policy related to transgender pastors, and therefore some regional conferences have voted to recognize ordained transgender pastors. The Baltimore-Washington Conference of the UMC has approved the appointment of an openly partnered lesbian to the provisional diaconate.

Question: In what year was Rose Mary Denman defrocked for openly living with a same-sex partner?

Question: In what year was Irene Elizabeth Stroud convicted in a church trial?

Question: What group has approved the appointment of an openly partnered lesbian to the provisional diaconate?


Context: The United Methodist Church opposes conscription as incompatible with the teaching of Scripture. Therefore, the Church supports and extends its ministry to those persons who conscientiously oppose all war, or any particular war, and who therefore refuse to serve in the armed forces or to cooperate with systems of military conscription. However, the United Methodist Church also supports and extends its ministry to those persons who conscientiously choose to serve in the armed forces or to accept alternative service. The church also states that "as Christians they are aware that neither the way of military action, nor the way of inaction is always righteous before God."

Question: What does the UMC oppose as incompatible with the teaching of Scripture?

Question: The church states that, as Christians, they are aware that neither the way of what is righteous before God?"

Question: The Church supports those persons who conscientiously oppose what?


Context: The United Methodist Church maintains that war is incompatible with Christ's message and teachings. Therefore, the Church rejects war as an instrument of national foreign policy, to be employed only as a last resort in the prevention of such evils as genocide, brutal suppression of human rights, and unprovoked international aggression. It insists that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them; that human values must outweigh military claims as governments determine their priorities; that the militarization of society must be challenged and stopped; that the manufacture, sale, and deployment of armaments must be reduced and controlled; and that the production, possession, or use of nuclear weapons be condemned. Consequently, the United Methodist Church endorses general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.

Question: The UMC maintains that war is incompatible with what?

Question: The Church rejects was as an instrument of what?

Question: What does the UMC endorse under strict and effective international control?


Context: The United Methodist Church teaches that pornography is "about violence, degradation, exploitation, and coercion" and "deplore[s] all forms of commercialization, abuse, and exploitation of sex." The Sexual Ethics Task Force of The United Methodist Church states that "Research shows it [pornography] is not an 'innocent activity.' It is harmful and is generally addictive. Persons who are addicted to pornography are physiologically altered, as is their perspective, relationships with parishioners and family, and their perceptions of girls and women."

Question: Which task force states that pornography is harmful?

Question: The UMC teaches that pornography is about what?

Question: According to the UMC, persons who are addicted to pornography have altered perceptions of whom?


Context: The UMC supports federal funding for research on embryos created for IVF that remain after the procreative efforts have ceased, if the embryos were provided for research instead of being destroyed, were not obtained by sale, and those donating had given prior informed consent for the research purposes. The UMC stands in "opposition to the creation of embryos for the sake of research" as "a human embryo, even at its earliest stages, commands our reverence." It supports research on stem cells retrieved from umbilical cords and adult stem cells, stating that there are "few moral questions" raised by this issue.

Question: The UMC supports federal funding for research on embryos created for what purpose?

Question: The UMC supports research on what cells retrieved from umbilical cords?

Question: The UMC stands in oppopsition to the creation of embroys for the sake of what?


Context: The common pattern comes from John Wesley, who wrote that "there is no Liturgy in the world, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational piety, than the Common Prayer of the Church of England." When the Methodists in America were separated from the Church of England, John Wesley himself provided a revised version of The Book of Common Prayer called the Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America. Wesley's Sunday Service has shaped the official liturgies of the Methodists ever since.

Question: What is the revised version of The Book of Common Prayer called?

Question: When did John Wesley provide a revised version of The Book of Common Prayer?

Question: The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America was a revised version of what book?


Context: Like other historic Christian churches, The United Methodist Church has official liturgies for services of Holy Communion, baptism, weddings, funerals, ordination, anointing of the sick and daily office prayer services. Some clergy offer healing services, while exorcism is an occasional practice by some clergy in The United Methodist Church in Africa. These services involve the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. Along with these, there are also special services for holy days such as All Saints Day, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil. These services are contained in The United Methodist Hymnal and The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992). Many of these liturgies are derived from the Anglican tradition's Book of Common Prayer. In most cases, congregations also use other elements of liturgical worship, such as candles, vestments, paraments, banners, and liturgical art.

Question: In what country does some clergy in the UMC occasionally practice exorcism?

Question: Many liturgies are derived from what book?

Question: Healing services involve the laying on of hands and what else?


Context: Methodist institutions may be named after a biblical figure (e.g., "St. James UMC"). Methodists also honor notable heroes and heroines of the Christian faith and look to these prominent saints as providing examples of holy living and commitment to Christ that are worthy of imitation (see 1 Corinthians 11:1). Such exemplary saints include martyrs, confessors of the Faith, evangelists, or important biblical figures such as Saint Matthew, Lutheran theologian and martyr to the Nazis Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Salvation Army Founder William Booth, African missionary David Livingstone and Methodism's revered founder John Wesley are among many cited as Protestant saints.

Question: What may be named after a biblical figure?

Question: Who is the founder of the Salvation Army?

Question: Who is Methodism's revered founder?


Context: The United Methodist Church is organized into conferences. The highest level is called the General Conference and is the only organization which may speak officially for the church. The General Conference meets every four years (quadrennium). Legislative changes are recorded in The Book of Discipline which is revised after each General Conference. Non-legislative resolutions are recorded in the Book of Resolutions, which is published after each General Conference, and expire after eight years unless passed again by a subsequent session of General Conference. The last General Conference was held in Tampa, Florida, in 2012. The event is currently rotated between the U.S. jurisdictions of the church. The 2016 General Conference will be in Portland, Oregon. Bishops, Councils, Committees, Boards, Elders, etc., are not permitted to speak on behalf of The United Methodist Church as this authority is reserved solely for the General Conference in accordance with the Book of Discipline.

Question: What church is organized into conferences?

Question: What is the only organization which may speak officially for the church?

Question: What book is revised after every General Conference?

Question: What is the highest level of the UMC?

Question: How often does the General Conference meet?


Context: Subordinate to the General Conference are the jurisdictional and central conferences which also meet every four years. The United States is divided into five jurisdictions: Northeastern, Southeastern, North Central, South Central and Western. Outside the United States the church is divided into seven central conferences: Africa, Congo, West Africa, Central & Southern Europe, Germany, Northern Europe and the Philippines. The main purpose of the jurisdictions and central conferences is to elect and appoint bishops, the chief administrators of the church. Bishops thus elected serve Episcopal Areas, which consist of one or more Annual Conferences.

Question: The United States is divided into how many jurisdictions?

Question: How many central conferences are outside of the United States?

Question: What is the main purpose of the jurisdictions and central conferences?

Question: Who are the chief administrators of the church?

Question: What consist of one ore more Annual Conferences?


Context: Decisions in-between the four-year meetings are made by the Mission Council (usually consisting of church bishops). One of the most high profile decisions in recent years by one of the councils was a decision by the Mission Council of the South Central Jurisdiction which in March 2007 approved a 99-year lease of 36 acres (150,000 m2) at Southern Methodist University for the George W. Bush Presidential Library. The decision generated controversy in light of Bush's support of the Iraq War which the church bishops have criticized. A debate over whether the decision should or could be submitted for approval by the Southern Jurisdictional Conference at its July 2008 meeting in Dallas, Texas, remains unresolved.

Question: Who makes decisions in between the four-year meetings?

Question: The Mission Council usually consists of whom?

Question: In March 2007, the Mission Council of the South Central jurisdiction approved a 99-year lease on how many acres?

Question: Why was the 36 acres leased?

Question: Where is the George W. Bush Presidential library?


Context: The Judicial Council is the highest court in the denomination. It consists of nine members, both laity and clergy, elected by the General Conference for an eight-year term. The ratio of laity to clergy alternates every eight years. The Judicial Council interprets the Book of Discipline between sessions of General Conference, and during General Conference, the Judicial Council rules on the constitutionality of laws passed by General Conference. The Council also determines whether actions of local churches, annual conferences, church agencies, and bishops are in accordance with church law. The Council reviews all decisions of law made by bishops The Judicial Council cannot create any legislation; it can only interpret existing legislation. The Council meets twice a year at various locations throughout the world. The Judicial Council also hears appeals from those who have been accused of chargeable offenses that can result in defrocking or revocation of membership.

Question: How many members make up the Judicial Council?

Question: What is the highest court in the United Methodist denomination?

Question: How long is the term of a Judicial Council member?

Question: How many times a year does The Council meet?

Question: Where does The Council meet?


Context: The Annual Conference, roughly the equivalent of a diocese in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church or a synod in some Lutheran denominations such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is the basic unit of organization within the UMC. The term Annual Conference is often used to refer to the geographical area it covers as well as the frequency of meeting. Clergy are members of their Annual Conference rather than of any local congregation, and are appointed to a local church or other charge annually by the conference's resident Bishop at the meeting of the Annual Conference. In many ways, the United Methodist Church operates in a connectional organization of the Annual Conferences, and actions taken by one conference are not binding upon another.

Question: What is the basic unit of organization within the UMC?

Question: The term Annual Conference is often used to refer to what?

Question: Clergy are members of what group rather than of any local congregation?


Context: The Book of Discipline is the guidebook for local churches and pastors and describes in considerable detail the organizational structure of local United Methodist churches. All UM churches must have a board of trustees with at least three members and no more than nine members and it is recommended that no gender should hold more than a 2/3 majority. All churches must also have a nominations committee, a finance committee and a church council or administrative council. Other committees are suggested but not required such as a missions committee, or evangelism or worship committee. Term limits are set for some committees but not for all. The church conference is an annual meeting of all the officers of the church and any interested members. This committee has the exclusive power to set pastors' salaries (compensation packages for tax purposes) and to elect officers to the committees.

Question: What is the guidebook for local churches and pastors?

Question: What is the least number of members a board of trustees can have?

Question: What is the greatest number of members a board of trustees can have?

Question: What is an annual meeting of all the officers of the church and any interested members?

Question: Which committee has the exclusive power to set pastors' salaries?


Context: Throughout its history, the United Methodist Church has placed great emphasis on the importance of education. As such, the United Methodist Church established and is affiliated with around one hundred colleges and universities in the United States, including Syracuse University, Boston University, Emory University, Duke University, Drew University, University of Denver, University of Evansville, and Southern Methodist University. Most are members of the International Association of Methodist-related Schools, Colleges, and Universities. The church operates three hundred sixty schools and institutions overseas.

Question: The UMC established and is affiliated with approximately how many colleges and universities in the U.S.?

Question: How many schools and institutions does the church operate overseas?

Question: Most schools established by the UMC are members of what group?


Context: The first Methodist clergy were ordained by John Wesley, a priest of the Church of England, because of the crisis caused by the American Revolution which isolated the Methodists in the States from the Church of England and its sacraments. Today, the clergy includes men and women who are ordained by bishops as elders and deacons and are appointed to various ministries. Elders in the United Methodist Church itenerate and are subject to the authority and appointment of their bishops. They generally serve as pastors in local congregations. Deacons are in service ministry and may serve as musicians, liturgists, educators, business administrators, and a number of other areas. Elders and deacons are required to obtain a master's degree (generally an M.Div.), or another equivalent degree, before commissioning and then ultimately ordination. Elders in full connection are each a member of their Annual Conference Order of Elders. Likewise each deacon in full connection is a member of their Annual Conference Order of Deacons.

Question: Who ordained the first Methodist clergy?

Question: Clergy usually serve as what in local congregations?

Question: Elders in full connection are each a member of what?

Question: Each deacon in full connection is a member of what?


Context: All clergy appointments are made and fixed annually by the resident bishop on the advice of the Annual Conference Cabinet, which is composed of the Area Provost/Dean (if one is appointed) and the several District Superintendents of the Districts of the Annual Conference. Until the bishop has read the appointments at the session of the Annual Conference, no appointments are officially fixed. Many Annual Conferences try to avoid making appointment changes between sessions of Annual Conference. While an appointment is made one year at a time, it is most common for an appointment to be continued for multiple years. Appointment tenures in extension ministries, such as military chaplaincy, campus ministry, missions, higher education and other ministries beyond the local church are often even longer.

Question: What is composed of the Area Provost/Dean ad the several District Superintendents of the Districts in the Annual Conference?

Question: All clergy appointments are made for how long?

Question: No appointment is official fixed until what occurs?


Context: Elders are called by God, affirmed by the church, and ordained by a bishop to a ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order and Service within the church. They may be appointed to the local church, or to other valid extension ministries of the church. Elders are given the authority to preach the Word of God, administer the sacraments of the church, to provide care and counseling, and to order the life of the church for ministry and mission. Elders may also be assigned as District Superintendents, and they are eligible for election to the episcopacy. Elders serve a term of 2–3 years as provisional Elders prior to their ordination.

Question: Who is called by God, affirmed by the church and ordained by a bishop?

Question: Who appoints elders?

Question: How many years do Elders serve as provisional Elders prior to their ordination?

Question: Who may assign Elders?


Context: Deacons are called by God, affirmed by the church, and ordained by a bishop to servant leadership within the church.They are ordained to ministries of word, service, compassion, and justice. They may be appointed to ministry within the local church or to an extension ministry that supports the mission of the church. Deacons give leadership, preach the Word, contribute in worship, conduct marriages, bury the dead, and aid the church in embodying its mission within the world. Deacons assist elders in the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism, and may be granted sacramental authority if they are appointed as the pastor in a local church. Deacons serve a term of 2–3 years as provisional deacons prior to their ordination.

Question: Deacons serve a term of how many years as provisional deacons?

Question: Who gives leadership, preaches the Word and conducts marriages, among other duties?

Question: Who assist elders in the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism?

Question: What are Deacons granted if they are appointed as pastor in a local church?


Context: At the 1996 General Conference the ordination order of transitional deacon was abolished. This created new orders known as "provisional elder" or "provisional deacon" for those who seek to be ordained in the respective orders. The provisional elder/deacon is a seminary graduate who serves a two-three-year term in a full-time appointment after being commissioned. During this two or three-year period, the provisional elder is granted sacramental ministry in their local appointment. For the first time in its history non-ordained pastors became a normal expectation, rather than an extraordinary provision for ministry.

Question: In what year was the ordination order of transitional deacon abolished?

Question: What is the title for a seminary graduate who serves a two-three-year term in full-time appointment after being commissioned?

Question: What provided for the creation of new orders known as "provisional elder?"


Context: Local Pastors are called by God, affirmed by the church, and appointed by a bishop to a ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order and Service within the church. The Local Pastor are given the authority to preach the Word of God, administer the sacraments of the church, to provide care and counseling, and to order the life of the church for ministry and mission, but are not ordained. When elders are not available to be appointed to a local church, either through shortage of personnel or financial hardship of a pastoral charge, the bishop may appoint a "local pastor" to serve the pastoral appointment. Local Pastors are often bi-vocational, living out their ministerial call in the local church and in their field of employment. Full-time and part-time licensed local pastors under appointment are clergy and hold membership in the annual conference and not in the local church. A Local Pastor's official title is 'Licensed Local Pastor' and is appointed as clergy to the local church where they preach, conduct divine worship and perform the regular duties of a pastor. The licensed local pastor has the authority of a pastor only within the context and during the time of the appointment and shall not extend beyond it. Local pastors are not required to have advanced degrees but are required to attend licensing school and attend and pass an approved five-year course of study at an approved United Methodist seminary or course of study school, successfully complete written and oral examinations, and appear before the District Committee on Ministry and the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. They may continue towards Associate Membership allowing them to retire as clergy. They also may continue towards ordination if they complete their bachelor's degree, requirements of their particular Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, as well as an advanced course or study or prescribed seminary courses at an approved seminary. Upon retirement, local pastors return to their charge conference as lay members.

Question: What is a local pastor's official title?

Question: Who has the authority of a pastor only within the context and during the time of the appointment?

Question: How many years must a local pastor attend a course of study at United Methodist approved seminary?

Question: What type of membership will allow local pastors to retire as clergy?


Context: The United Methodist Church (UMC) practices infant and adult baptism. Baptized Members are those who have been baptized as an infant or child, but who have not subsequently professed their own faith. These Baptized Members become Professing Members through confirmation and sometimes the profession of faith. Individuals who were not previously baptized are baptized as part of their profession of faith and thus become Professing Members in this manner. Individuals may also become a Professing Member through transfer from another Christian denomination.

Question: What are members who have been baptized as an infant or child but who have not subsequently professed their own faith?

Question: How to Baptized Members become Professing Members?

Question: Name one way in which a person can become a Professing Member?


Context: Unlike confirmation and profession of faith, Baptism is a sacrament in the UMC. The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church directs the local church to offer membership preparation or confirmation classes to all people, including adults. The term confirmation is generally reserved for youth, while some variation on membership class is generally used for adults wishing to join the church. The Book of Discipline normally allows any youth at least completing sixth grade to participate, although the pastor has discretionary authority to allow a younger person to participate. In confirmation and membership preparation classes, students learn about Church and the Methodist-Christian theological tradition in order to profess their ultimate faith in Christ.

Question: Unlike confirmation and profession of faith, what is a sacrament in the UMC?

Question: How do students learn about the church?

Question: What directions the local church to offer membership preparation to all people?

Question: What do students learn about in confirmation and membership preparation classes?


Context: Another position in the United Methodist Church is that of the lay servant. Although not considered clergy, lay speakers often preach during services of worship when an ordained elder, Local Pastor, Associate Member or deacon is unavailable. There are two categories of lay servants: local church lay servant, who serve in and through their local churches, and certified lay servants, who serve in their own churches, in other churches, and through district or conference projects and programs. To be recognized as local church lay servant, they must be recommended by their pastor and Church Council or Charge Conference, and complete the basic course for lay servant. Each year they must reapply, reporting how they have served and continued to learn during that year. To be recognized as certified lay servant, they must be recommended by their pastor and Church Council or Charge Conference, complete the basic course and one advanced lay servant course, and be interviewed by the District or Conference Committee on Lay Speaking. They must report and reapply annually; and they must complete at least one advanced course every three years.

Question: Local church and certified  are two types of what?

Question: How can someone be recognized as local church lay servant?

Question: How often must local lay servant reapply?

Question: How many courses must a local lay servant take?