VUS 9-10

Latin America

Refers to the region of countries in the Americas where Spanish and Portuguese are the dominant languages.

Spanish-American War

A conflict between the United States and Spain in 1898, resulting in the United States gaining control of Puerto Rico and asserting its right to intervene in Cuban affairs.

Panama Canal

A canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, built with the encouragement of the United States and negotiated through a treaty.

Roosevelt Corollary

An addition to the Monroe Doctrine that expanded the United States' presence in the Western Hemisphere and asserted its right to intervene in the affairs of Latin American countries.

Hawaii

Efforts by the United States to depose Hawaii's monarchy and eventually annex the islands.

Philippines

Annexed by the United States after the Spanish-American War.

Guam

Annexed by the United States after the Spanish-American War.

Open Door Policy

A policy that urged all foreigners in China to obey Chinese law and observe fair competition.

Racial conflict in the Spanish-American War and the Philippines

African American soldiers and sailors fought in segregated units, and the conflict in the Philippines was often seen as a struggle between white and "colored" peoples.

United States involvement in World War I

The United States entered the war due to German submarine warfare, ties to Great Britain, and the desire to make the world safe for democracy.

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson's plan to eliminate the causes of war, including self-determination, freedom of the seas, and the establishment of the League of Nations.

Treaty of Versailles

A treaty that punished Germany, created a League of Nations, redrawn national boundaries, and established the Mandate System in the Middle East.

League of Nations debate in United States

Many senators objected to United States foreign policy decisions being made by international organizations, leading to the United States not joining the League of Nations.

Mass media and communications

Includes radio, movies, newspapers, and magazines, which shaped cultural norms and provided entertainment during the Great Depression.

Challenges to traditional values

Includes the Scopes Trial, flappers, the 19th Amendment, rise of the Ku Klux Klan, and prohibition.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural movement in the 1920s and 1930s where African Americans created vibrant communities, particularly in Harlem, New York, producing influential music, literature, and art.

Causes of the stock market crash of 1929

Business boom, overspeculation, panic selling, excessive expansion of credit, business failures, and bank deposits invested in the market.

Consequences of the stock market crash of 1929

The beginning of the Great Depression, financial ruin, bank runs, and no new investments.

Causes of the Great Depression

Overproduction, purchasing on credit, unequal distribution of wealth, agricultural depression, Federal Reserve's failure, and high protective tariffs.

Impact of the Great Depression

Unemployment, homelessness, financial system collapse, decline in demand for goods, political unrest, and farm foreclosures.

New Deal

Franklin Roosevelt's program that changed the role of the government, provided relief, recovery, and reform measures to combat the Great Depression.

Legacy of the New Deal

Influence on the belief in the responsibility of government to deliver public services, intervene in the economy, and promote the general welfare.

Spanish-American War

Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States.

The United States asserted its right to intervene in Cuban affairs.

Panama Canal and the role of Theodore Roosevelt

o   The United States encouraged Panama’s independence from Colombia.

o   The parties negotiated a treaty to build the canal.

Roosevelt Corollary

• Expanded the United States “police” presence in the Western Hemisphere that was established in the Monroe Doctrine

Hawaii:

United States efforts to depose Hawaii’s monarchy; United States annexation of Hawaii

Philippines:

Annexed after the Spanish-American War

Guam:

Annexed after the Spanish-American War

Open Door Policy:

Urged all foreigners in China to obey Chinese law, observe fair competition

Racial conflict in the Spanish-American War and the Philippines

·        African American soldiers and sailors eagerly enlisted to fight but were kept in segregated units

·        The long fight against the Filipinos after the American arrival was often interpreted in the United States as a struggle between white and “colored” peoples

Fourteen Points

·        Wilson’s plan to eliminate the causes of war

·        Key points

·     Self-determination

·     Freedom of the seas

·     League of Nations

Treaty of Versailles

· The French and English insisted on punishment of Germany.

· A League of Nations was created.

· National boundaries were redrawn, creating many new nations.

· The Mandate System was established in the Middle East.

League of Nations debate in United States

·        Many senators objected to United States foreign policy decisions being made by international organizations rather than United States leaders.

·        The United States Senate’s failure to approve the Treaty of Versailles led to the United States not joining the League of Nations.

Mass media and communications

Radio, movies, newspapers & magazines

Radio:

Broadcast jazz, entertainment programing, sporting events, and Fireside Chats

Movies:

Provided escape from Depression-era realities

Newspapers and magazines:

Shaped cultural norms, established a consumer culture, and sparked fads

Challenges to traditional values

Religion, role of women, open immigration, y prohibition was challenged

Traditional religion

Darwin’s theory, the Scopes Trial

Traditional role of women

Flappers, 19th Amendment

Open immigration

Rise of new Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a Red Scare

Prohibition

Smuggling alcohol, speakeasies

Harlem resistance

·        Following the Great Migration of World War I and the 1920s, African Americans created vibrant cultural communities in the North.

·        One of the most prominent areas of black life was Harlem in New York City, filled with vibrant music and entertainment.

·        A number of important poets and writers emerged in that community, including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, Anne Spencer.

·        The jazz produced in the 1920s and 1930s in Harlem and other centers of black population became popular worldwide.

Causes of the stock market crash of 1929

·        Business was booming, but investments were made through buying stocks on credit.

·        There was overspeculation of monetary returns on investments.

·        There was a large number of small investors.

·        Panic selling of stocks led to the collapse of the stock market.

·        There was excessive expansion of credit.

·        Business failures led to bankruptcies.

·        Bank deposits were invested in the market.

·        When the market collapsed, the banks ran out of money.

Consequences of the stock market crash of 1929

·        The crash signaled the beginning of the Great Depression although serious flaws in the economy had existed for years.

·        People lost investments, which led to financial ruin, and many committed suicide.

·        Bank runs: Clients panicked and, attempting to withdraw their money from the banks, discovered their funds were lost. 

·        There were no new investments.

Causes of the Great Depression

·        Overproduction of industrial and agricultural products

·        Purchasing items on credit, placing Americans in an unstable financial position

·        Unequal distribution of wealth, making it difficult for many Americans to make purchases

·        An agricultural depression that had plagued farmers throughout the 1920s

·        Federal Reserve’s failure to prevent widespread collapse of the nation’s banking system in the late 1920s and early 1930s, leading to severe contraction in the nation’s supply of money in circulation

·        High protective tariffs produced retaliatory tariffs in other countries, restricting world trade 

Impact of the Great Depression

·        Unemployment and homelessness

·        Collapse of the financial system (bank closings)

·        Decline in demand for goods

·        Political unrest (growing militancy of labor unions)

·        Farm foreclosures and migration

New Deal (Franklin Roosevelt)

·        This program changed the role of the government to a more active participant in solving problems.

·        Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to have an entirely African American advisors who served in a “kitchen cabinet.”

·        Roosevelt rallied a frightened nation in which one in four workers was unemployed (“We have nothing to fear, but fear itself”).

·        Relief measures provided direct payment to people for immediate help (Works Progress Administration [WPA]).

·        Recovery programs were designed to bring the nation out of the depression over time (Agricultural Adjustment Administration [AAA]).

·        Reform measures corrected unsound banking and investment practices (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC]).

·        The Social Security Act offered safeguards for workers, except for domestic workers. 

·        African Americans were discriminated against in these government programs.  

Legacy of new deal

The legacy of the New Deal influenced the public’s belief in the responsibility of government to deliver public services, to intervene in the economy, and to act in ways that promote the general welfare.