Can You Remember the Heartland Theory for the AP® Human Geography exam?
If you think about the position and the role of your heart in your body, you can remember details about the Heartland Theory for the AP® Human Geography Exam.
What is the Heartland Theory?
In the Heartland Theory, someone would gain power over Eastern Europe, and then their power would spread out from there until it covered the whole earth, like blood pumping out to power up the rest of the body.
What is the heartland in geopolitics?
The Heartland (or pivot area) could have become the focus of power if either Russia had united with Germany or Russia had been overthrown by China and Japan. The Heartland concept inspired Kjellen and Haushofer in their study of geopolitics.
How important is the physical position of the heartland?
This illustrates pretty well the importance of the physical position of the Heartland; however, the theory is fairly outdated. Even during the U.S.S.R.'s prime there was always the threat of air attack and also atomic warfare. No environment will provide safety from that, but at the time of Mackinder's writing, that really wasn't a problem.
What is the heartland theory human geography?
Explanation: The Heartland Theory was first proposed by Halford Mackinder. According to Mackinder's theory any government that was able to control central Eurasia would eventually amass enough power to dominate the world.
Where is the heartland theory?
Mackinder thought that whoever controlled Eastern Europe –the Heartland—would control the world. The idea was that whoever gained control of Eastern Europe, controlled the Heartland –also known as the Pivot Area—and whoever controlled the Heartland, could easily gain control of the World Island (Africa and Eurasia).
Who created the heartland theory AP Human Geography?
Halford Mackinder'sAp Human Geography : Example Question #1 Explanation: Nicholas Spykman developed the Rimland Theory in response to Halford Mackinder's Heartland Theory. According to the Heartland Theory, whoever controlled Central Eurasia would eventually come to control the whole of the world.
What is the Heartland and rimland theory?
Heartland theory believed that whoever controls the heartland( Siberia and part of central Asia) will control the world islands whereas rimland theory believed that whoever controls the rimland( Inner marginal crescent ) comprised Europe, North Africa, West Asia, India, South East Asia, and part of China will control ...
Why is the heartland theory important?
Ultimately, the conclusion of the paper states that Central Asia is significant in the foreign policies of the great powers because of its natural resources, the need to secure market access to those very resources, and its geo-strategic location in the “war on terror.” The Heartland theory is therefore influential to ...
What was the Heartland?
The heartland, when referring to a cultural region of the United States, is the central land area of the U.S., usually the Midwestern United States or the states that do not border the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, associated with mainstream or traditional values, such as economic self-sufficiency, conservative political ...
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Heartland Theory?
Weaknesses And Strengths The Heartland Theory was accurate in the fact that Central Asia is important for world domination due to the resources available. However the weakness of the Heartland Theory is that Halford Mackinder did not account for shifts in power.
Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island?
One of them consisted of controlling the “inner crescent.” He put his idea of Eastern Europe as the key to the Heartland in a nutshell by saying: “whoever rules East Europe commands the Heartland; whoever rules the Heartland commands the World-Island; whoever rules the World-Island commands the World.”
Who developed the Heartland theory?
Heartland Theory and Germany. Nazi Germany. Karl Haushofer, a German general turned geostrategist, developed many theories for the Nazi regime. Many of his theories drew off of Ratzel's Organic State, Mackinder's Heartland Theory, and a few others.
Which country is right on top of the Heartland?
The Soviet Union. Russia has always been a good example of this theory since it happens to be right on top of the Heartland. Take a look at the Soviet Union. From it's original position it spread into parts of Eastern Europe and downwards as well.
What is the pivot area?
It's basically a fancy name for everything besides the Americas and Australia. In other words, it's the large landmass created by Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Where did the Mongols take control of?
From the lower part of the pivot area (Heartland) the Mongols swept first across the Heartland, then parts of Asia, and then the edges of Eastern Europe. The Mongols controlled a large portion of the known world at the time, yet they took control slightly out of order. They took control of the Heartland and then Eastern Europe, ...
Did the Mongols control the Heartland?
The Mongols instead controlled the Heartland and then eventually, Eastern Europe. This shows the theory can vary and be inconsistent; also showing some steps can be bypassed or done out of order. This leads to the thought that perhaps Mackinder simply made the Heartland seem more important than it actually is.
Which countries created the largest landmass?
In other words, it's the large landmass created by Africa, Asia, and Europe. There's no real way to be sure of the validity of this theory since no one's actually controlled all of Eastern Europe, the Heartland, or the World Island. Or, you know, the world. Either way, this theory has definitely had an influence on military thinking.
Is Mackinder's theory true?
The theory has never been proven true, or false, yet many military thinkers have followed Mackinder's theory. This makes the theory seem true and important, and it is, to some extent; yet they simply assumed a world empire could spread from the Heartland and seize the World Island. Controlling Eastern Europe and the Heartland, though, ...
What was the drawback of the Heartland theory?
One major drawback of this theory is its inability to make allowances for the technological advances. The theory was formulated at the end of the railway age. Mackinder saw it as a high point of communication system capable of uniting the whole Heartland into a cohesive unit. That never actually happened.
Who supported the Heartland theory?
Mackinder’s Heartland Theory: Mackinder gave this theory in 1904. This theory regards political history as a continuous struggle between land and sea powers with the ultimate victory going to the continental power. This assertion was also supported by Kjellen.
What mountains were in the heartland?
It had rugged mountains of Lena Land in the north-east; in the east it had the Altai, Tienshan mountains across which lie the wastelands of Mongolia and Sinkiang; in the south it had Hindukush ranges and the plateau of Afghanistan and Iran; in the south-west, between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea lie the Caucasus and the plateau of Armenia; in the west, the Heartland was surrounded by the Carpathian mountains ; in the north-west were the Baltic Sea and the wastes of Lappland; in the north lies the Arctic Ocean.
What landmasses did the Heartland conquer?
With its vast industrial and agricultural resources, the Heartland could conquer Europe, the Middle-East, India and the Far-East. The other landmasses would follow later.
What did Mackinder predict?
Mackinder predicted that whoever got the balance of power in its favour would rule-the World Island. He divided Europe into east and west by a line joining the Adriatic to the Baltic. This dividing line was also a zone of struggle between the Teutonic (Germany) and the Slavs (Russia) with no established balance of power.
AP Human Geo Models & Theories to Know!
The models & theories for each unit are centerpieces of content and they appear alllllll over the exam. You'll be asked about them in multiple-choice and free-response questions, so it's crucial that you are familiar with each of these.
Unit 1 Models & Theories: Intro to Geography
1. Latitude, Longitude: Lat is fat! Long is Long! Latitude lines are horizontal, Longitude lines are vertical. Latitude is natural because the Earth is a globe, so half of it is 0°, also known as the equator, and each line north and south measures distance from the equator. Longitude lines are not based on a natural marker.
Unit 2 Models & Theories: Population & Migration
4. Population Pyramids: Used to analyze the demographic makeup of a population including age and gender.
Unit 3 Models & Theories: Culture
10. Diffusion S-Curve: Culture and innovation spreads for different reasons, but the S-Curve theorizes the speed at which ideas are adopted. Things start picking up slowly, then become popular quickly, then taper off. Just think about trends like the bottle flip.
Unit 4 Models & Theories: Political Geography
12. Organic Theory: Inspired by none other than Hitler, the organic theory is that states are like living organisms that have life cycles (birth and death) and need "nourishment" in the form of acquiring less powerful states to survive. Without expansion, the state will die.
Unit 5 Models & Theories: Agriculture, Food, & Rural Land Use
17. Von Thunen Agricultural Location Theory: This is super simplified map that shows where different industries are located. The inner circle is closest to the city center and is where the market is located. Outside of that is dairy or other goods that have expiration dates and therefore need to be physically close to the market.
Unit 6 Models & Theories: Industry & Development
19. Rostow’s Stages of Growth: This theory states that countries develop their industry in five stages over time. The highest stage is one of high mass consumption where there are tons of goods developed and consumed.
Key Parts of The Heartland Theory
Why Is The Heartland Important?
- Eastern Europe holds some of the greatest resources in the world in terms of raw materials and agriculture – the basic ingredients you need to control a large military. A large military would make it easy to gradually take over the rest of the world. It sounds crazy, but the USSR actually tried this during the Cold War. Previously, many people thought world conquest would come through …
Remembering The Theory For The AP® Human Geography Exam
- Let’s think for a second why Mackinder may have used the word “Heartland” to describe Eastern Europe. Picture where Eastern Europe is on the map. Eastern Europe is sort of in the top middle part of Eurasia. Your heart is at the top of your chest and also towards the middle (but slightly more to one side than the other). The heart also pumps the much needed blood throughout our …