HIST 1302: Unit 2- WWI, 1920s, Great Depression, WWII

Which country/countries did the US favor in WWI?

mostly Britain and France

What was President Wilson's response to the Lusitania (1915)?

Wilson only gave a strong verbal response to Germany, but did not enter the war yet

Why did Germany resume unrestricted submarine warfare?

they were trying to get ahead of the British naval blockades and uncertain American neutrality

What is the Zimmerman Telegram, and what offer did it contain?

a telegram sent from Germany to Mexico, asking for an alliance and promised territory in the Southeastern US states

What was America's contribution to the WWI war effort?

the US provided a massive boost to the Triple Entente through weapons and eventually soldiers, which boosted morale and helped defeat the Central Powers

What was the War Industries Board?

it was a U.S government agency that organized supplies for the war effort; they were in charge of organizing supplies and getting resources for the war and men overseas

Why were railroads nationalized during WWI?

for efficient movement of wartime supplies

What was the cost-plus contract (Bernard Baruch) in WWI?

a cost-plus contract is a government contract where the contractor is reimbursed for the total cost of production plus an additional fixed profit or percentage

Describe food rationing/conservation in WWI.

food rationing and conservation was a type of war conservation in general, as all materials were being needed on the warfront

Who were the WWI Codebreakers?

Choctaw Nation members that served in the US military, decoding German messages; also sent messages in their native language so that Germany couldn't understand what they were saying

Describe the Espionage Act 1917 & Sedition Act 1918.

- Espionage Act: prevented spying, sabotage, and interference with military operations

- Sedition Act: further restricted anti-war speech and criticism of the government through severe limitations to the 1st Amendment

What methods did the Committee on Public Information use?

George Creel & his "Four-minute" men; propaganda for support of war

What are the key aspects of the 1918 Flu Epidemic (Spanish Influenza)?

the Spanish Flu broke out severely because soldiers were passing it around to each other internationally, adding significantly to the war's death toll

What was the "Great Migration" of African Americans during WWI?

the movement of African Americans to the Northeast (especially Detroit) for better jobs

What was the migration pattern of Latino Americans in WWI?

Braceros moved to Southwestern industrial cities in order to take up contracting jobs

How did the wartime (WWI) labor shortage affect women?

women were given more jobs and promotions, which were promptly taken away as soon as the men came home from war

What are the key points of Wilson's 14 Points?

- World dominated by democracy

- Open diplomacy and trade

- Disarmament

- National self determination

- Resolving territorial disputes

- Redrawn Central and Eastern European map along ethnic lines

- Formation of the League of Nations to create international peace

What was the Paris Peace Conference?

discussed how to deal with the end of the war; established the Treaty of Versailles

Why did the US not ratify the Treaty of Versailles (1919)?

they didn't approve of the League of Nations and were afraid of Wilson's health concerns

What was the League of Nations?

an international association whose goal would be to keep peace among nations after WWI

What was the First Red Scare (1919)?

the American fear of communism, socialism, and anarchists

What key events took place in 1919 because of the Red Scare?

the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti; the large influence of Emma Goldman in anarchist thinking

Define what happened around A. Mitchell Palmer & the Palmer Raids.

after Secretary of Defense Palmer's house was affected by mail bombs, Palmer exploited immigrant statues that supported deportation of Russians in particular in order to get rid of "radicals"; led to 4,000 deportation warrants

Which business leader revolutionized workplace efficiency and production?

Henry Ford

What was the culture of the 1920s?

modernity and pleasure

What was the role of advertising and mass consumption in the 1920s?

marketing was designed to entice housewives to buy and spend much more, which built the American dependence on credit and stocks (paving the way for Black Thursday before the stock market crash)

What did the 19th Amendment ultimately stand for?

a movement for changing gender roles with the new female vote

What did the "New" Woman and Flapper symbols push for?

gender equality and changing gender ideals

What was the most popular consumer attraction of the 1920s?

movies (think of Charlie Chaplin and black & white movies)

What was the Harlem Renaissance?

a literary and artistic movement celebrating African-American culture

What is the concept of the "New Negro?"

emerged during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, marking a significant cultural and intellectual movement that sought to redefine the identity of African Americans

Why were Sacco and Vanzetti seen as a threat?

they were Italian men with anarchist pamphlets in their home, making them seem as the classic Italian enemy

Why did the KK have a resurgence in membership in the 1920s?

racism and spite against the Great Migration and increasing immigrant populations

What is the purpose of the National Origins Act?

banned Asians entirely, reduced the 3% quota to 2%, and used numbers based on 1890 census to figure out their new quotas

What is the 18th Amendment?

prohibition of alcohol

What was the 18th Amendment difficult to enforce?

the popularity of breaking this prohibition and the lack of resources for enforcement

What did Al Capone do?

he gave alcohol to speakeasies, bribed cops, and killed people who owed him money

What medical loophole and "circle" system did George Remus use?

- Was a lawyer that bought up a bunch of distilleries with whiskey in them

- Bought permits and sold the whiskey as a drug, "losing shipments" as the whiskey was being shipped to companies

- Used a "circle system" in order to keep the money and the whiskey

What was the central issue in the Scopes Trial (1925)?

John Scopes (biology teacher, TN) was teaching Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species (1859) after it became illegal to do so

What was the Stock Market Crash a symptom of?

the Great Depression

What were the causes of the Great Depression?

1. Consumer debt and uneven distribution of wealth

2. Inadequate purchasing power

3. Banking system

4. Corporate structure and public policy

5. "Sick" industries/ market economy

6. Oversaturated markets

7. Chaotic international system

What was the demand of the Bonus Army's march on DC?

to be paid back the dues they were owed by the US government for serving in WWI

What were Hoovervilles and Hoover flags?

shanty towns of people that had no jobs or money; used boxes to create homes in visible areas so ppl couldn't deny how bad things had become

What was FDR's initial response to the banking crisis?

setting a National Banking Holiday for the first 100 days of his presidency, sharing updates in his "fireside chats"

What are the three Rs of FDR's plans of reforms?

Relief, Recovery, and Reform

What happened during the two phases of FDR's major reforms?

Early New Deal: saving the banks and making sure businesses get back on their feet

Second New Deal: restructuring the economic system to prevent another crisis from happening again

What were the limits of the New Deal?

- the US became a "broker state"

- Native Americans, African Americans, and women didn't get all of the support they needed despite the benefits they were given

- the national economy was dependent on the government

- American politics were essentially controlled entirely by FDR without much use of checks and balances

What was the dust bowl?

a long drought in the plains in the 1930; windstorms would blow away the top soil creating dust storms, ruining agriculture

What did Senator Huey Long support?

redistribution of wealth

What provisions did Social Security provide?

- old age insurance (retirement savings)

- unemployment benefits

- aid to dependent children

- disability aid

What did the Wagner Act (NIRA section 7a) dictate?

collective bargaining (employees could advocate as groups or labor unions safely)

How were women and racial minorities affected by the New Deal?

- African Americans were no longer able to be discriminated against in the military

- Native Americans could collectively own their land again

- Women had more opportunities within traditionally feminine jobs

What is the outcome of the Indian Reorganization Act 1934?

allowed Native tribes to take back collective land ownership over their Native land

Define the "Court Packing" Plan.

FDR's proposal to expand the size of the Supreme Court by allowing the President to appoint an additional justice for each sitting justice who was over the age of 70 and had served for at least 10 years; gave FDR seemingly indefinite power to fill SCOTUS with his judges

What are the causes of WWII?

- extended energy from the failed peacemaking at the Treaty of Versailles

- the Great Depression and rise of dictators

- Japan having a power vacuum over the Pacific

- Russia, Spain, and Italy being run by fascism

- France and Britain using an appeasement policy

Compare internationalists and isolationists.

internationalists believed in entering the war and meddling in international politics, while isolationists wanted to remove the US from war talks completely

What was the goal of the Good Neighbor Policy of 1933?

improving ties between the US and Latin America

What were the Nye Committee Investigations?

investigated the reasons behind U.S. involvement in World War I, with a particular focus on the idea that American arms manufacturers, banks, and other corporate interests had played a significant role in dragging the U.S. into the conflict

What was the objective of the Neutrality Acts 1935-1939?

avoiding American involvement in foreign conflicts and ensuring that the United States would remain neutral in the face of growing tensions in Europe and Asia

What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939?

an agreement between Hitler and Stalin not to fight each other in war and to share conquered lands

Define the Lend-Lease Act of 1941.

- would lend Britain and Russia military equipment and aide, or "any nation in defense of the US"

- funneled weapons on the basis of promise to returns those weapons

What was Japan's GEACPS?

Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, a vision for an Asian bloc of nations that would be economically self-sufficient, free from Western colonial rule, and united under Japanese leadership

When was the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the context leading up to it?

December 7th, 1941; Japan was trying to expand the territory they controlled, as the US was already ramping up for war and Japan thought they could take them over before they had too many resources

What were the "Four Freedoms?"

1. Freedom of speech

2. Freedom of worship

3. Freedom from want

4. Freedom from fear

What was the Atlantic Charter?

pact signed by Great Britain and the United States that endorsed certain principles for building a lasting peace and establishing free governments in the world

What lives were impacted in the American home front of WWI?

there was a sense of tolerance for those except Japanese Americans, as the country was united in the fight to win the war; those in science, factory production, and the military were the most affected

What was the Manhattan Project?

the plan to develop the atomic bomb, which was released on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and led by Robert Oppenheimer

How were women represented in the war?

women often did factory work during WWII in place of the men, being depicted by Rosie the Riveter

What was the Double V campaign?

a slogan adopted by African Americans to work for victory in the war and victory over racism at home

How were American ethnic minorities used in war?

- Native American were code breakers that sent and decoded messages in the Choctaw language in order to figure out what Germany was doing

- military leaders are being forced to make adjustment to utilizing all military personnel in their forces, regardless of race; segregation was waste of manpower, allowing African Americans to serve next to Whites

What was the Detroit Race Riot of 1943?

a 2-day long fight in Detroit between White and Black people that resulted in more than 30 dead

What were the Zoot Suit Riots?

Whites thought that zoot suits (based on Harlem Renaissance) were outrageous, so a 4-day riot broke out after White sailors invaded Mexican communities

Why did FDR create internment camps for Japanese Americans during WWII?

as a response to fears of espionage and sabotage following the attack on Pearl Harbor

Why did the US have limited acceptance for Jewish refugees?

widespread anti-Semitic attitudes and fear of immigrants in general

Why was America's transition from war to peace so turbulent after WWI? What freedoms of Americans were limited during wartime? What were the major causes of the First Red Scare?

- the transition from war to peace was so turbulent after WWI because of the following economic recession and unhappiness with racist attitudes that weren't nearly as bad in Europe

- freedom of speech in general was limited during wartime

- the major causes of the First Red Scare were the Bolshevik Revolution, the Palmer Raids, and propaganda

Why was 1919 such a watershed year for the U.S. and the world? Describe key events and/or issues impacting the US that particular year, and reflect upon their role in this transformative moment?

1919 was a watershed year because of the Treaty of Versailles, the first Red Scare, the Palmer Bombings, and the passage of the 18th Amendment

The decade of the 1920s witness tremendous tension between new and changing attitudes & actions on the one hand (modernism) and old & established values, attitudes, and conformity (traditionalism) on the other. What are some of the major events/factors that led to a real tension between old and new attitudes & lifestyles? How did this tension show up in American life and culture?

the flapper movement in general created tension in attitudes because of how aggressively women were demanding equality and freedom; this also includes the women's suffrage, tension surrounding prohibition, and how the Great Depression should have been handled

What were the major policy initiatives and aims of the New Deal? Support with an example of an agency or act designed to meet the goal of each policy initiative. Lastly, what were the achievements and limitations of the New Deal?

the aims of the New Deal were Recovery from the Great Depression, Relief for victims of the Depression, Conservation of natural resources, and promoting Reform in American society