history of the USA (1920s–Present)

What significant demographic shift occurred in the United States according to the 1920 census, and what societal strains did this contribute to during the decade?

1920 census marked the first time most Americans lived in towns and cities → increased urbanization

it contributed to social strains arising from urbanization, immigration, and African American’s northward migration, right next to technological change and ideological turmoil.

Describe the initial response of President Herbert Hoover to the Great Depression, including the key agency he supported in 1932.

Initially, he favoured voluntarist ideology - urged private organizations to lead relief efforts.

1932 - he supported the creation of Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) to provide credit to financial institutions and loans for state and local relief programs.

How did Franklin D. Roosevelt’s approach to the Great Depression differ from Hoover’s, particularly in terms of experimentation and advisers?

He was much more confident and optimistic, compared to Hoover’s inactivity, he recruited young experimental advisors including people from minority groups which were previously excluded from Washington’s inner circles.

Identify atleast two key early New Deal programs and explain their primary objectives.

Public Works Administration - PWA, hired workers for infrastructure projects

Civilian Conservation Corps CCC - employed jobless youth on conservation and wilderness projects

What were the two most lasting legislative measures of the New Deal enacted in 1935, and how did they reshape the American social contract?

National Labor Relations Act - guaranteed unions’ collective bargaining rights

Social Security Act - established a federal-state program for old age pensions, unemployment benefits, aid to dependent children

→ laid the groundwork for a national welfare system

Explain the concept of “Containment” as outlined by George Kennan and how it influenced early Cold War policy.

it argued that the West must vigilantly “contain” the Soviets within their existing sphere of influence

→ ideological framework for the Cold War policy

How did the Korean War become a manifestation of Cold War tensions, and what significant event involving General Douglas MacArthur occurred during the conflict?

The Korean War (1950-53, NK+China and the Soviet Union x SK + the UN, the US) began when North Korean troops, with Moscow's approval, invaded South Korea across the 38th parallel. General Douglas MacArthur commanded UN forces, pushed back the North Koreans, and advanced into North Korea, but was dismissed by Truman for insubordination after criticizing presidential orders and advocating for overthrowing China's communist regime.

Beyond political changes, what were some of the social and cultural tensions in American society in the 1950s?

Social and cultural tensions in the 1950s were reflected in popular culture. Movies portrayed rebellious youth, literature like the Beat movement works offered visions of alienated loners, and the rise of rock 'n' roll challenged traditional music genres.

Describe Brown vs Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education ruled racial segregation in public places unconstitutional, unleashing pent-up protest energies. A key event was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, spurred by Rosa Parks' defiance, led by Martin Luther King Jr., which ended segregation on Alabama buses.

What event prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to significantly escalate US involvement in the Vietnam War, and what theory underpined this escalation?

The ambiguous incident involving U.S. warships in the Tonkin Gulf in August 1964 prompted Johnson to seek and secure a sweeping resolution from Congress authorizing military action. This escalation was underpinned by the "domino theory," which suggested that if Vietnam fell to communism, surrounding countries would quickly follow.

Analyze the extent to which economic policies of the 1920s contributed to the onset of the Great Depression.

Evaluate the impact of the New Deal on American society and government, considering both its immediate effects on the Depression and its long-term legacy.

Discuss the origins and early development of the Cold War, focusing on the ideological frameworks and key events that shaped the confrontation of US x Soviet Union.

Examine the various forms of social and political activism that emerged in the United States during the mid-20th century, including the Civil Rights Movement and other challenges to the status quo.

Trace the evolution of the American political landscape from the New Deal coalition of the mid-20th century, through the rise of conservative politics in the late 20th century.

Roaring Twenties

a mythological image of the 1920s as an exuberant and hedonistic decade, marked by new cultural trends and social changes

Prohibition

nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933

Speakeasies

illicit establishments that sold alcoholic beverages during the Prohibition era

Ku Klux Klan

a white supremacist hate group that saw a resurgence in the 1920s, spreading beyond the South and using intimidation tactics

Sacco-Vanzetti Case

a controversial trial in the 1920s involving two Italian immigrant anarchists, seen by some as symbolising the nation’s bitter divisions and anti-radical, anti-immigrant prejudice

Great Depression

severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning with the stock market crash of October 1929

Voluntarist ideology

President Hoover’s belief that private organization should lead relief efforts during the Great Depression rather than the federal government

RFC

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

agency created in 1932 to extend credit to banks and other financial institutions and make loans to state and local relief programs

New Deal

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s programs and policies designed to combat the Great Depression

PWA

Public Works Administration

an early New Deal program that put jobless youth to work on reforestation, trail maintenance, and other conservation projects

TVA

Tennessee Valley Authority

an innovative early New Deal program that built damn and hydroelectric power plants for electricity, erosion/flood control, recreation

WPA

Works Progress Administration

a New Deal agency created in 1935 to create public jobs more quickly than the PWA

National Labor Relations Act

a lasting New Deal measure (1935) that guaranteed unions’ collective bargaining rights and outlawed anti-union tactics

Social Security Act

a lasting New Deal measure (1935) that created a federal-state program of old age pensions, unemployment benefits, and aid to families with dependent children

Court Packing Scheme

FDR’s failed plan to enlarge the Supreme Court membership in the 1930s after the conservative-dominated court struck down several New Deal measures

Keynesian Economics

Economic theory advocated by John Maynard Keynes, suggesting deliberate deficit spending as an economic stimulus, which FDR initially rejected

isolationism

a national policy of avoiding political or economic alliances with foreign countries, prevlaent in the U.S. after World War I

Neutrality Acts

a series of laws passed by Congress in the mid-1930s to prevent U.S. involvement in future conflicts

fascism

a political ideology characterized by authoritarianism, nationalism, and often militarism, exemplified by Mussolini’s Italy and Franco’s Spain

nacism

the ideology and practices connected to Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, fueled by extreme nationalism, antisemitism/racism, militarism

Lebensraum

German term meaning “living space,” referring to the nazi expansionist policy seeking territory beyond Germany’s eastern borders.

America First movement

an isolationist movement in the US prior to WW2 that rallied against US involvement in foreign conflicts

Quarantine Speech

FDR’s 1937 speech vaguely calling for a “quarantine” of aggressive nations.

Lend-Lease Act

March 1941

congressional act authorising financial aid and armaments to Britain, among other Allied nations

Pearl Harbor

US naval base in Hawaii attacked by Japan on Dec 7, 1941

led to the US declaration of war on the Axis powers (Germany+Italy+Japan)

Grand Alliance

US + GB + Soviet Union in WW2

Manhattan Project

a secret wartime undertaking funded by President Roosevelt to develop the atomic bomb

→ Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Japanese cities destroyed by it in August 1945, leading to Japan’s surrender)

Cold War

Soviet Union x its satellite states

the US x its allies

geopolitical tension after WW2

Containment Doctrine - ideological framework outlined by George Kennan, advocating for prevention of expasion of Soviet influence

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill’s description of the symbolic division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe

Marshall Plan

a massive US aid program to help rebuild devastated Europe after WW2 and prevent communist advances

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency

a US gov agency established in 1947

involved in intelligence gathering and covert operations

Sputnik

the world’s first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957

triggered increased US focus on science and math education

Peace Corps

a program by Kennedy that recruited young Americans for voluntary service in developing countries

Cuban Missile Crisis

a tense confrontation in 1962

the US x the Soviet Union

over nuclear missiles in Cuba

Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963): A treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union permanently halting atmospheric nuclear tests.

Red Scare

Periods of intense anti-communist paranoia and persecution in the United States

reminiscent of the WW1 era

HUAC

House Committee on Un-American Activities

a congressional committee that investigatšed alleged disloyalty and weird activities (communist ties)

McCarthyism

a term describing the anti-communist paranoia and reckless accussations

led by Senator Joseph McCarthy

in the 1950s

Montgomery Bus Boycott

pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement where African Americans boycotted the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregation

Martin Luther King Jr

a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement

nonviolent activist

“I have a dream” speech

founded SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) - a civil rights org

March on Washington

a massive Civil Rights demonstration in 1963 where Martin Luther King Jr delivered his I have a dream speech.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislationn outlwaing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation that further strenghtened the gov’s powers to prevent discrimination against black voters.

Vietnam War

a prolonged conflict (1955—75) between the communist North Vietnam and the US-backed South Vietnam, a major theatre of the Cold War

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency

a federal agency created in 1970 to protect human health and the environment

Watergate scandal

a major political scandal in the 1970s involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and subsequent cover-up, leading to President Nixon’s resignation

Reaganomics/Supply-side economics

Economic theory advocating for tax cuts and deregulation to stimulate economic growth

SDI

“Star Wars”

Strategic Defense Initiative

a proposed missile defense system by President Reagan, aimed at creating an impenetrable shield against missile attacks

First Gulf War

1990-91

a conflict triggered by Iraq’s invasion Kuwait, in which an international coalition led by the US expelled Iraqi forces

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement

ratified in 1933

linking the US, Canada and Mexico into a single trading zone

Welfare reform

legislation passed in the 1990s under President Clinton that cut welfare spending and reduced the federal government’s role

Impeachment

a process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a high official of government, leading to a trial

Al Qaeda

a fanatical Islamist organization responsible for 9/11

War on Terror

the military campaign launched by the US and its allies after the 9/11 attacks, targeting terrorist groups and their supporters

harbored by a conservative Islamist movement Taliban

TARP

Troubled Assets Relief Program

a program enacted in 2008 to bail out troubled financial companies during the financial crisis