Semester 2 Final Study Guide

Bank Holidays

Closing of banks during the Great Depression to avoid bank runs (when a massive crowd of depositors simultaneously rush to withdraw their savings, fearing the bank is about to collapse)

What was the first thing Roosevelt had to do to fight the Depression?

Restore the people’s confidence in the banking system

Brain Trust

group of FDR’s advisors, including Harry Hopkins

How many acts were passed in Roosevelt’s first hundred days as president?

15 major acts to resolve the economic crisis, made up the First New Deal

New Deal

Roosevelt's policies for ending the depression (Relief, Recovery, and Reform)

Social Security Act

Provided some financial security for older Americans, unemployed workers, and others. Workers earned the right to receive benefits because they paid special taxes to the federal government, just as they paid premiums in buying a life insurance policy. Also provided welfare to disabled and poor mothers with dependent children

Schechter v. United States

Supreme Court struck down the authority of the National Recovery Administration - Constitution did not allow Congress to delegate its legislative powers to the executive branch, Roosevelt worried they would strike down other parts of New Deal

Whom did the Social Security Act initially exclude?

Domestic workers and farmers, especially women and African Americans

Roosevelt’s court packing plan

The act of changing the political balance of power in a nation’s judiciary system whereby a national leader, such as the president of the United States, appoints judges who will rule in favor of his policies. Hurt president’s reputation and causes conservative Democrats to join the Republicans to block further New Deal programs

Safety Net

Roosevelt’s programs created safeguards and relief programs that protected people against economic disaster

Deficit Spending

Government practice of spending borrowed money rather than raising taxes, usually in an attempt to boost the economy

Adolf Hitler

Became leader of Germany’s National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazis), called for Germany to expand its territory and reject terms in the Treaty of Versailles

Sudetenland

Agreement made at Munich Conference, Czechoslovakia gave up Sudetenland to Germany (practicing appeasement)

Appeasement

Giving into the unjust demands of a belligerent leader in order to avoid war

The Nuremberg Laws

Took citizenship away from Jewish Germans, banned marriage between Jews and other Germans, barred Jews from holding public office or voting, passport of Jews marked with a red J

Final Solution

Jews taking to concentration or extermination camps

Kristallnacht

Anti-Jewish violence that erupted throughout Germany and Austria on November 9, 1938. “The Night of Broken Glass” 

Munich Conference

Agreed to Hitler’s demands, Czechoslovakia gave up Sudetenland to Germany (Practicing appeasement)

Battle of Britain

The Luftwaffe (German airforce) battled the British Royal Air Force in a fight to invade Britain, fought entirely by air force, 

America First Committee

Opposed any intervention to help the allies

The Atlantic Charter

Roosevelt and Churchill met and developed the Atlantic Charter, committed both nations to a postwar world of democracy, nonaggression, free trade, economic advancement, and freedom of the seas

Export Control Act

limit the import and export of military equipment, munitions, and other materials whenever doing so is deemed “necessary in the interest of national defense.”

Why did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor?

Prevent interference with Japan’s plan to get natural resources from Southeast Asia

Douglas MacArthur

The commander of the U.S. Army Forces in the Philippines who made the promise, “I Shall Return”

Island hopping

Strategy used by the United States Navy to advance across the Pacific

Midway

Considered a turning point in the war because Japanese navy lost 4 large carriers, stopped Japanese advance, Shifted from defensive to offensive strategy

Red Point and Blue Points (rationing)

To ensure fair distribution of scarce goods without completely eliminating consumer choice. Red - Meat, fats, and dairy

Blue - Processed and Canned foods

What conditions were required for D-Day to occur?

Needed a moonlit night to see where to land, good weather; a storm would ground the airplanes and high waves would swamp landing craft.

What was George Patton’s role during D-Day?

Put in charge of a phony battalion

The Tehran Conference

Stalin promised to launch a full-scale offensive against the Germans when the Allies invaded France in 1944, Roosevelt and Stalin then agreed to divide Germany after the war so that it would never again threaten world peace, Stalin promised that once Germany was defeated, the Soviet Union would help the United States against Japan

The Manhattan Project

Secret American Program to build an atomic bomb

The Four Freedoms

Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear

What actions did the gov’t take to increase wartime production?

Shifting production to war equipment, Roosevelt believed government and business had to work together, and created a national defense advisory committee. Cost-plus contracts encouraged companies to shift to war production

Iwo Jima

US captured island and secured vital airfields, many American casualties  

Liberty Ships

30% of all American ships produced during the war, production time went from 244 days to 31 days; showed massive advancements in mass-production techniques

Zoot Suits

Fear of juvenile crime and racism against Mexican Americans led to “zoot suit” riots, the baggy clothes Mexican Americans wore, weren’t conserving fabric

Sunbelt

Areas of the country that experienced rapid population growth as people moved to take jobs in war industries. Southern and Southwestern US, Florida to California

VJ Day

The surrender of imperial Japan and the end of WWII

Kamikaze

During WWII, a Japanese suicide pilot whose mission was to crash into his target

Operation Overlord

Codename for allied invasion of Normandy, France, established a second front in Europe, forcing Nazi Germany to fight a war on two fronts

Why did wages and prices rise during WWII?

massive war spending, factories shifted to military production, consumer goods rationed factories competed for workers by raising wages

Why did US leaders promote international trade and free enterprise after WWII?

Prevent economic chaos, contain communism, discourage nations from going to war against each other

Truman Doctrine

Aid those who worked to resist being controlled by others. Pledged to the U.S. to fight the spread of communism worldwide.

The Long Telegram

George Kennan Proposed a message explaining his views of the Soviets. Keep communism within its present territory through diplomatic, economic, and military actions.

Containment

the Cold War policy of keeping the Soviet Union from expanding its power

The Yalta Conference

After the invasion of Poland, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin agreed upon postwar reorganization of Germany and the rest of Europe

Josef Stalin

At the Potsdam Conference, When Truman, an anti-communists, became president he demanded that Stalin hold free elections. Set up stage for further confrontations

Iron Curtain

The political and military barrier that isolated Soviet-controlled countries of Eastern Europe after World War II.

The Marshall Plan

Gave European nations American aid to rebuild their economies. Truman saw it as essential to containment of communism. Offered to help plan a recovery program.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, mutual defense alliance agreed to come to the aid of any member that was attacked. Formed because the Berlin Wall convinced Americans that the Soviets were bent on conquest

38^th parallel

The latitude Korea was divided into two nations after WWII

Why did Truman fire Douglass MacArthur during the Korean War?

Disagreements about how to conduct the Korean War. MacArthur wanted to expand the war against China and use atomic bombs.

What was the result of the Korean War?

The allies divided Korea at the 38th Parallel of latitude

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

Charged with spying for the Soviets. Death penalty

How did President Eisenhower change defense spending when he entered office?

New look policy to cut military spending from $50 billion to $34 billion by reducing the size of the army

How did Eisenhower decide to prevent Communists from staging revolutions inside democratic nations?

Covert operations in other countries conducted by the CIA. Provide financial aid to fight against communism. Sometimes ran operations to overthrow anti-American leaders and replace them with pro-American leaders

G.I.Bill

Provided funds to help veterans establish businesses, buy homes, and attend college, successful

Federal Highway Act

Largest public works program in American history, created interstate highway system

John Kenneth Galbraith / Economy of Abundance

Publisher of The Affluent Society. Where past societies had an “economy of scarcity” with limited economic productivity, the US had now created an “economy of abundance” with new business techniques and technological advancement enabling production of abundant goods and service

What is the difference between white-collar and blue-collar?

White collar - jobs in fields not requiring work clothes or protective clothing, such as sales

Blue collar - workers in the manual labor field, particularly those requiring protective clothing

Baby boom

Young couples who had put of getting married during WW2 and the Korean War could finally start families, government encouraged growth of families by offering generous GI benefits for home purchases, and popular culture celebrated pregnancy, parenthood, and large families

Sputnik – How did this affect Americans' attitudes about our educational system?

Sputnik - first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, Marked a turning point in history, began use of satellites in space to assist in communications and spy on other nations. Americans felt they were falling behind.

Elvis Presley

The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Which groups were left out of the economic boom of the 1950s?

Many minorities and rural poor

Why did Kennedy win the presidential election?

Televised debates

The Bay of Pigs

Location where Cuban exiles landed to invade and stop the popular uprising of Communist president Castro. Disaster, Castro’s forces killed or captured almost all members and made US look weak and disorganized

What was the agreement that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Americans learned Soviet technicians and equipment had landed in Cuba, very close to the US. Secret negotiations led to Soviets removing missiles and US agreeing not to invade Cuba and remove missiles from Turkey

Great Society

Created by Johnson, promised in his campaign to create a “great society.” His vision encompassed more than 60 programs including medicare and medicaid. Strongly supported education by granting millions to public and private schools.

Miranda v. Arizona

In the supreme court case, attorneys argued that ernesto miranda had no idea of his legal rights and should have been told that he had the right to a lawyer

Rosa Parks

Arrested for refusing to give up bus seat

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Montgomery Improvement Association responded to Rosa Parks arrest by putting King in charge and aimed at applying economic pressure to the bus company 

CORE

Congress of Racial Equality. began using sit-ins to desegregate restaurants founded by James Farmer and George Houser

Sit-ins

Successfully integrated many restaurants, theatres, and other public facilities in Northern cities, including Chicago, Detroit, Denver, and Syracuse

The Southern Manifesto

Denounced Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v Board of Education as a “clear abuse of judicial power” and pledged to use “all lawful means” to reverse the decision

Plessy v. Ferguson

Declared segregation constitutional, “separate but equal,” laws that segregated African Americans were permitted as long as equal facilities were provided 

March on Washington

Put pressure on legislators and the president, more than 250,000 demonstrators, “I have a dream” speech

Freedom Riders

To challenge segregation on public buses. Force desegregation

How did Southern Democrats in the Senate try to stop the passage of the Civil Rights Act?

Used a filibuster, a tactic in which senators speak continuously to prevent a vote

What was the focus of the Civil Rights Movement before 1965?

Protect the rights of African Americans to vote and desegregate. After 1965, goals shifted to economic concerns

Malcolm X

Malcolm X preached black power, black nationalism, and economic sufficiency. “An eye for an eye” and self-determination

Civil Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Johnson, gave the federal government the power to bring lawsuits to force school desegregation and required private employers to end discrimination in the workplace.

Voting Rights Act

Authorized US attorney general to send federal examiners to register qualified voters, bypassing local officials who refused to register African Americans. Also suspended discriminatory devices, such as literacy tests 

What was the focus of the Civil Rights Act after 1965?

Economic concerns 

The Black Panthers

Organized in Oakland California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, called for end to racial oppression, control of major institutions in the African American community (schools, law enforcement, housing, hospitals)

Dien Bien Phu

French defeat, Convinced the French to make peace and withdraw from Indochina

Why was Ngo Dinh Diem an unpopular ruler?

Refused to hold national elections, discriminated against and repressed buddhism

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Authorized president to take all necessary measures to repel only armed attack against forces of US to prevent further aggression

Agent Orange

A chemical defoliant used to clear Vietnamese Jungle during war

Why did Johnson not order an invasion of North Vietnam?

Feared directly attacking North Vietnam would bring China in war

Why did Johnson not attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail?

Johnson feared that directly attacking North Vietnam would bring China into the war, as had happened in Korea

What was the American media’s response to the Tet Offensive?

Shocked that an enemy supposedly on the verge of defeat could launch such a large-scale attack, shifted policy from winning war to negotiate

The War Powers Act

A way to reestablish some limits on executive power required the president to inform congress of any commitment of troops abroad within 48 hours, and to withdraw them in 60 to 90 days unless approved by congress

How did President Nixon respond to the break-down of peace talks in 1972?

Nixon administration began the most destructive air raids of the war

Credibility gap

The broadcast of war footage on television turned the American people against the war. Saw the brutality. Made them question if the government was being truthful

The Pentagon Papers

Confirmed what Americans had long believed: the government had not been honest with them

What happened at the 1968 Democratic National Convention?

Chaotic and well-publicized clash between antiwar protesters and police, aired on national television 

The Port Huron statement 

Written by Tom Hayden, editor of the University of Michigan’s student newspaper, the declaration called for an end to apathy and urged citizens to stop accepting a country run by big corporations and big government.

The Free Speech movement

Led by Mario Savio and others at UC Berkeley.  It began in the fall of 1964 when the university decided to restrict students' rights to distribute literature and to recruit volunteers for political causes on campus. Huge classes were divided into sections taught by graduate students. Professors claimed they were too busy with research

The Haight-Ashbury

Neighborhood in san francisco that became epicenter of counterculture

Woodstock

1969 music festival, important event of counterculture, served as proof for the concept of the movement