Dual Credit US History Unit 5

18th Amendment

18th Amendment

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages

Effects of the 18th Amendment? How successful was the government in regulation and enforcing the 18th?

-Americans did not stop drinking
-there was supply and demand
-Rural vs Urban Americans
-"Speakeasies" were underground bars where alcohol was still served
-Resulted in Organized Crime

Organized Crime

-By trying to enforce the prohibition of liquor, criminals started to organize themselves, and actually started fighting back against the cops

Flappers

-Young women of the 1920s whose rebellion against prewar standards of femininity included wearing shorter dresses, bobbing their hair, dancing to jazz music, driving cars, smoking cigarettes, and indulging in illegal drinking and gambling.

Jazz Age

-Jazz music was controversial because there were white and black artists
-Flappers

The Harlem Renaissance

-Centered around Harlem, NY
-A time where African American culture flourished
-Sought to break away from the white culture and developments that were inherently racist
-African American writers, artists, and musicians made significant cultural contributions
-Many authors wrote about the lived of African Americans
-Many writers during the Harlem Renaissance set the foundation for future writers (ex: Langsten Hughes)
-The Cotton Club was a popular club in Harlem

Marcus Garvey

African American leader during the 1920s who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and advocated mass migration of African Americans back to Africa.
-Was deported to Jamaica in 1927.

Rise of Nativism

-American public was exhausted from WWI
-Public debate over the League of Nations had divided America
-An economic downturn meant many faced unemployment
-A wave of nativism swept the nation
-Isolationism and Fear of Communism resulted in the rise of nativism

Isolationism

-Isolationism meant pulling away from involvement in world affairs
-Many Americans adopted a belief in isolationism

Fear of Communism

-One perceived threat to American life was the spread of Communism
-Communism is an economic and political system based on a single-government party, equal distribution of resources, no private property and ruled by a dictatorship

Palmer Raids

-Conducted by Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer
-He targeted suspected anarchists and communists
-Facilitated by Nativism

Sacco & Vanzetti

-The Red Scare fed nativism in America
-Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti were a shoemaker and fish peddler
-Convicted of robbery and murder despite flimsy evidence, their execution was symbolic of discrimination against radical beliefs during the Red Scare

KKK Rises Again

-As the Red Scare and anti-immigrant attitudes reached a peak, the KKK was more popular than ever
-Rebuilt starting in 1915; it saw a significant increase in membership
-By 1924, the Klan had 4.5 million members
-Many of the new members were northerners

The Monkey Scopes Trial

-The state of Tennessee charged John Scopes with violating the Butler Act and set a trial date in July, 1925
-He taught evolution in the classroom
-The ACLU provided legal services to John Scopes
-They will call on one of the most famous trial lawyers of all time, Clarence Darrow

The Monkey Scopes Trial Details

-The Defense Attorney: Clarence Darrow
-The Prosecutor: William Jennings Bryan
-Both were the best lawyers of their day
-There argument was Christianity vs. Science. A challenge of the traditional way of thinking
-John Scopes is found guilty of violating of the Butler Act
-He was fined $100
-The verdict was overruled due to technicality in the case
-The case showed the greater debate between creationism and science

1st Red Scare

Time period after WWI in which the nation feared the spread of communism

The Emergency Quota Act of 1921

-Set up a quota system to control and restrict immigration
-This was further restricted in 1924

Presidents of the 1920's

-Warren G. Harding (1920-1923)
-Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
-Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
-All three of these presidents were guided by Laissez-Faire Policies

The Harding Presidency

-Kellogg-Briand Pact
-Dawes Plan
-Teapot Dome Scandal

Kellogg-Briand Pact

-Renounced war as a means of national policy (signed by 15 nations, but difficult to enforce)

Dawes Plan

-Solved the problem of post war debt by providing loans to Germany
-The US loaned $2.5 billion to Germany
-Germany gave $2.0 billion to the Allies in Reparation payments
-The Allies paid $2.6 billion to the US in War Debt payments
-Harding's main problem was that he didn't understand many of the issues
-Several of Harding's appointees were caught illegally selling government supplies to private companies

Teapot Dome Scandal

-The worst case of corruption
-The gov set aside oil-rich public land in Teapot, WY
-Secretary of Interior Albert Fall secretly leased the land to two oil companies
-Fall received $400,000 from the oil companies and a felony conviction from the courts

The Coolidge Presidency

-He fit his pro-business spirit of the 1920s very well
-"The Chief business of American people is the business"
-Both Coolidge and his Republican successor Herbert Hoover favored governmental policies that kept taxes down and business profit up
-Tariffs were high which helped American Manufacturers

Causes of The Great Depression

-1920's had been a period of good economic times
-From March 1928- September 1929, the Stock Market grew dramatically
-On Oct. 24th, stockholders got nervous, and started to sell
-The stock market bounced back until Oct. 29, 1929 when NYC Stock Market crashed, causing a depression that would last until 1942

The Stock Market

-The public invests in companies by purchasing stocks; in return for this they expect a profit
-The 1920's economy was booming, so banks were quick to make loans to investors
-Investors only had to pay for 10% of the stock's actual value at the time of purchase (this was known as BUYING ON MARGIN, and the balance was paid later...aka buying stocks on credit)

Stock Speculation

-People would buy and sell stocks quickly to make a quick buck
-All this buying and selling meant stock values increased
-This quick turnover led to artificial wealth
-They needed long term investments so they could pay bills
-stock value was like an illusion
-Unscrupulous traders would buy and sell shares intentionally to inflate a stock's value
-All of this gave a false sense of security and confidence in the American Market

The Crash Hits

-Oct. 1929, investors' confidence dropped, leading to a market collapse
-"Black Thursday" (Thursday, Oct 25th, recovered on Friday but only temporarily)
-Tuesday, Oct 29th, stockbrokers all tried to sell at once and bottom fell out of market = panic selling
-Many bankruptcies occurred once banks called in loans
-While a tiny minority of people traded on the stock exchange, they possessed vast wealth, and the crash had a ripple effect on the economy

Aftermath of the Crash

-Bank Runs:
-people ran to the bank to withdraw their savings, only to discover that the banks had run out of cash
-banks at the time were not required to hold a certain level of physical cash

-Banks made poor investments and had lost their investors' money
-Many companies started to lay off their workers
-Overnight, millions of people lost everything
-Unemployment drastically rose, gradually topping out at 25%

Factors that contributed to the Great Depression

- Stock Market Crash
- Income inequality and uneven distribution of wealth
-Overproduction of consumer goods
-Weak Farm Economy
-The Federal Reserve and Conservative Monetary Policies
-Global Economic Issues

Economic Cycle-

As unemployment increased -> purchasing power declined again -> reducing productivity yet again

Herbert Hoover's Attempt to Respond

-He did not believe the gov should play an active role in the economy
-He worked out a system with European powers that owed US money as a result of WWI debts

Americans React to Hoover

-Hoover was increasingly unpopular, but he continued to try
-Reconstruction Finance Corp
-Rugged Individualism

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

-Had power to make emergency loans to banks and companies who needed help
-Hoover persuaded congress to establish this
-But it was too little too late

"Rugged Individualism"

-Philosophy that Hoover had that explained how Americans should be individual and do what they want, not what the gov wants

Bonus Army

-A 1932 incident further damaged Hoover's image
-Spring, 1932 about 15,000 WWI veterans arrived in Washington to support the Patman Bill (authorized congress to pay a bonus to WWI veterans immediately)
-The bonus was scheduled to be paid in 1945, Army veterans wanted it immediately
-On June 17, 1932, the senate voted down the Patman Bill
-Hoover told the Bonus Marchers to go home - most did
-2,000 refused to leave and Hoover sent a force of 1,000 solders under command of General Douglass MacArthur and his aid Dwight Eisenhower
-MacArthur's 12th infantry gassed more that 1,000 marchers including a baby, who died
-Two veterans were shot
-Americans were outraged and once again, Hoover's image suffered

Hoovervilles

-Depression shantytowns, named after the president whom many blamed for their financial distress

Election of 1932

-Reps. re-nominated Hoover -> No Hope
-Democrats nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt (NY governor)
-Roosevelt wins by a landslide

1st Hundred Days in Office

-FDR pledges a "new deal for the American people"
-FDR's Plan:
1. Deal with the banking crisis
-Banking Holiday: Federal Gov shuts down all banks
2. Evaluate the banks
3. Allow the banks to open when "healthy"
-people's confidence returned -> they redeposited, allowing
banks to invest in the economy

The New Deal

-It was a revolution in American society and it changed completely the way the gov functioned
-The first phase of the New Deal dealt exclusively with economic recovery
-FDR believed gov legislation/involvement was crucial to stimulate the economy

Banking Holiday

Federal Gov shuts down all banks

"Fireside Chats"

-FDR went on to the radio to explain to the Americans what he was going to do which helped them build trust in him

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

-Insured banks deposits up to $5,000

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

-Regulated the stock market

Purpose of the New Deal (3 R's)

-Relief
-Recovery
-Reform

Relief

-To provide jobs for the unemployed and to protect farmers from foreclosure

Recovery

-To get the economy back into high gear, "priming the pump"

Reform

-To regulate banks, to abolish child labor, and to conserve farm lands

Challenges to the New Deal

-Many conservatives saw FDR's New Deal as a platform for socialism
-They were alarmed by:
1. increase in federal regulations
2. pro-union stance
3. deficit spending
-Many liberals thought that his New Deal did not do enough to resolve the crisis and they saw the issues with society and the economy continue to persist

American Liberty League

-Founded in 1934 to oppose FDR's New Deal
-Du Pont Brothers
-Conservative Democrats
-Leading Republicans
-They worried/felt that the New Deal was a socialist gov program
-They wanted the gov to stop "subverting" American political and economic systems

Dr. Francis Townsend

-He Proposed a federal pension of $200 per month to any person over 60 years old who would retire and give their jobs to a younger person
-Money would come from a 2% federal sales tax
-Led to "Townsend Clubs"
-25 million people signed his petition
-Precursor to social security

Father Charles Coughlin

-"Radio Priest"
-He arranged for the local radio station to carry his sermons
-As depression worsened, his sermons become more political
-He attacked Hoover relentlessly
-Supported FDR in the election of 1932
-Shortly after though, he turned against FDR
-Said he "Out-Hoovered Hoover"
-He became increasingly anti-semitic

Huey Long

-Senator of Louisiana
-Grass-root populism led him to attack rich corporations
-"Every man a kin, but no one wears a crown"
-He proposed:
1. Increased taxes on big businesses
2. Improved infrastructure (appealed to the "average man")

Share our Wealth Society

-Proposed by Huey Long
-Promised:
1. One time grant of $5,000 per family
2. Guranteed income of $2,500
3. Educational subsidies
4. Pensions for the ederly

Court Packing

-President Franklin D. Roosevelt's failed 1937 attempt to increase the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices from nine to fifteen in order to save his Second New Deal programs from constitutional challenges.

America Moving Toward WWII

-In Sept of 1939 (invasion of Poland), Roosevelt persuaded congress to pass a "cash and carry" provision that allowed nations to buy US arms and transport them in their own ships

Axis Threats Rises; Britain gets our support

-Axis Powers were making great progress across Europe
-France fell to Germany in 1940
-The Axis Powers were formidable- Germany, Italy, Japan
-Hoping to avoid a two-ocean war, FDR scrambled to support Britain
-He provided 500,000 rifles and 80,000 machine guns and numerous ships

US Builds Defense in WWII

-Roosevelt got congress to increase spending fro national defenses and re-institute the draft
-Sept 16, 1940 -> 1st Peacetime draft
-FDR ran for and won an unprecedented third term in 1940
-The majority of voters were unwilling to switch presidents during such a volatile time in history

The Great Arsenal of Democracy

-To support Britain, FDR established a "Lend-Lease Plan" which meant the US would lend or lease arms to nations whose defense was vital to Americans
-America was becoming the "Great Arsenal of Democracy" supplying weapons to fighting democrats

US Supports Stalin

-In June of 1941, Hilter broke the agreement he made with Stalin 1939
-FDR began sending lend-lease supplies to the USSR
-German U-boats traveled in "wolf packs" at night torpedoing weapons shipments headed for the Britain and the USSR
-FDR OK'ed US warships to attack German U-boats in self defense

The Atlantic Charter

-FDR and Churchill met secretly and agreed on a series of goals for the war
-Among their goals were:
-collective security
-disarmament
-self-detemination
-economic cooperation
-freedom of the seas

Pearl Harbor

-While tensions with Germany mounted, Japan launched an attack on an American naval base
-Japan had been expanding in Asia since the 1930s
-Early on the morning of Dec 7, 1941, Japan bombed the largest naval base Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
-Surprise raid on Pearl Harbor by 180 Japanese plans sank or damaged 21 ships and 300 planes
-Losses continued more than the US Navy suffered in all of WWI
-The next day, FDR addressed congress
-The US declared war on Japan and three days later Germany and Italy

Why did Pearl Harbor not kill the US?

-Germany did destroy oil storage or dry dox of America
-Aircraft carries were not at Pearl Harbor

Mobilizing for Defense

-Japan thought America would avoid further conflict with them
-The Japan Times newspaper said American was "trembling in their shoes"
-But if America was trembling, it was with rage, not fear
-"Remember Pearl Harbor" was the rallying cry as American entered WWII

The Battle of the Atlantic

-Unrestricted Submarine Warfare vs. Allied Shipping
-Allies used convoys of ships and airplanes to transport supplies
-Destroyers used Sonar to track U-boats
-Airplanes were used to track the U-boats ocean surfaces
-With this improved tracking, the Allies defeated German U-boats ad inflicted huge losses on German U-boats

The North African Front

-"Operation Torch": an invasion of Axis, controlled by North Africa and was launched by American General D. Eisenhower in 1942
-Allied troops landed in Casablanca, Oran, and the Algiers in Algeria simultaneously
-They sped eastward chasing the Afrika Korps

Casablanca Meeting

-January 1943
-FDR and Churchill met in Casablanca and decided their next moves
1) Plan amphibious invasions of France and Italy
2) Only unconditional surrender would be accepted

Dwight D. Eisenhower

-American General who began in North Africa and became the Commander of Allied forces in Europe.

George Patton

-Famous American General who fought in North Africa and Europe.

442nd CIR (Combat Infantry Regiment)

-Combat unit that consisted of majority Japanese-Americans

Italian Campaign

-Allied Powers invaded Sicily then Italy after the North African Front
-Invaded Italy in Sept 1943
-They wanted to go up the Italian Peninsula
-442nd CIR

Tuskegee Airmen

-All black 99th Squadron (The Tuskegee Americans)
-The pilots made numerous effective strikes against Germany and won two distinguished unit citations
-They were led by white men who treated them differently
-They were brave men who fought in Italy

Operation Overload

-As Allies were battling for Italy, they began plans on a dramatic invasion of France
-They made fake tanks, submarines, boots, etc
-This was led by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
-It was to make Germans/Hitler think we would invade Calais
-Also called "D-Day," the operation involved 3 million US and British troops and was set for June 6, 1944
-They were actually attacking Normandy

D-Day

-June 6, 1944
-It was the largest land-sea-air operation in military history
-Despite air support, German retaliation was brutal especially at Omaha Beach
-Within a month, the Allies had landed 1 million troops, 567,000 tons of supplied and 170,00 vehicles
-Significance was that the Allies carved a foot-hole in Europe

Battle of the Bulge

-In Oct 1944, Americans captured their first German town (Aachen)- The Allies were closing in
-Hitler responded with one last ditch massive offensive on Dec 16th, 1944
-Hitler hoped breaking through the Allied line would break up Allied supply lines
-The battle raged for a month- the Germans had been pushed back
-Little seemed to have changed, but in fact the Germans had sustained heavy losses
-Germany lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks, and 1,600 planes
-From that point on the Nazis could do little but retreat
-The Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last gasp

War in the Pacific

-While the Allies were advancing on the Third Reich, the war in the Pacific raged
-The empire of Japan had conquered much of SE Asia including the Dutch East Indies, Guam, and most of China
-Their plan to reinforce each and every Pacific island they captured meant that the Pacific Theater of war would be brutal

Leading Generals in the Pacific

-Admiral Chester Nimitz
-General Douglas MacArthur

Admiral Chester Nimitz

-Lead Navy Commander

General Douglas MacArthur

-Lead Army Commander

Battle of Midway

-June 3-7, 1942
-Japan's next thrust was toward Midway Island - a strategic Island Northwest of Hawaii
-Admiral Chester Nimitz, the commander of American Naval forced in the Pacific, moved to launch a surprise attack
-The Americans won a decisive victory as their planes destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers and 250 planes

Battle of Midway Significance

-This battle shifted the tide of the war (Japan -> defensive; Americans -> offensive)
-It was the turning point in the war - soon the Allies were island hopping toward Japan

Kamikaze Pilots Attack Allies

-The Americans continued leapfrogging across the Pacific toward Japan
-Japanese countered by employing a tactic - Kamikaze (divine wind) attacks
-Pilots in small bomb-laden planes would crash into Allied Ships

Iwo Jima

-General MacArthur and the Allies next turned the island Iwo Jima
-The island was critical to the Allies as a base for an attack on Japan
-Doubled as a bomber recovery base
-It was called the most heavily defended spot on Earth
-Allied and Japanese forced suffered heavy casualties

The Battle for Okinawa

-In April 1945, US Marines invaded Okinawa
-The Japanese unleashed 1,900 Kamikaze attacks sinking 30 ships and killing 5,000 seamen
-Okinawa cost the Americans 7,600 marines and the Japanese 110,000 soldiers

Kamikaze

-Japanese suicide pilots who loaded their planes with explosives and crashed them into American ships.

Atomic Bomb

-Hiroshima ("Little Boy")
-Nagasaki ("Fat Man")
-A B-29 bomber dropped these two atomic bombs on Japan

The Yalta Conference

-Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin (the big 3)
-A series of compromise were worked out concerning postwar Europe

Yalta Agreements

1) Agreed to divide Germany and Berlin into 4 occupies zones after the war
2) Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe
3) Stalin agreed to help the US in the war against Japan and to join the United Nation

Nuremberg War Trials-

-The discovery of Hitler's death camps led to the Allies to put 24 surviving Nazi leaders on trial per crimes against humanity, crimes against the peace, and war crimes
-Trial were held in Nuremberg, Germany
-"I was only following orders" was not an acceptable defense as 12 of the 24 were sentenced to death and the others to life in prison

GI Bill

-To help returning servicemen ease back into civilian life, congress passed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act (GI Bill)
-The act provided education for 7.8 million vets

Executive Order 9066

-120,000 Japanese Americans lived in the US during the beginning of the war - mostly lived on the west coast
-After Pearl Harbor, many people were suspicious of possible spy activity by Japanese Americans
-In 1942, FDR ordered Japanese Americans into 10 relocation centers

Korematsu vs. US

-A landmark supreme court case where the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066 was upheld

Cash n Carry

-policy adopted by the United States in 1939 to preserve neutrality while aiding the Allies.
-Britain and France could buy goods from the United States if they paid in full and transported them.

Liberty Ships

-Ships built using mass production methods that carried goods and troops during WWII.

Selective Service Act, 1940

-Required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards
-marked the first peacetime conscription in United States history.

Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD)

-Was created to bring scientist into the war effort
-Focus was on radar and sonar to locate submarines

Manhattan Project

-The most important achievement of the OSRD was the secret development of the atomic bomb
-Einstein wrote to FDR warning him that the Germans were attempting to develop such a weapon
-The code used to describe American efforts to build the bomb was the "Manhattan Project"

Office of Price Administration (OPA)

-With prices of goods threatening to rise our of control, FDR responded by creating the OPA
-OPA froze prices on most goods and encouraged the purchase of war bonds to fight inflation
-Additionally, the OPA set up a system of rationing
-Households had set allocations of scarce goods - gas, meat, shoes, sugar, coffee

War Production Board (WPB)

-To ensure the troops had ample resources, FDR created the WPB
-The WPB decided which companies would convert to wartime production and how to best allocate raw materials to those industries

Collection/Scrap Drives

-The WPB also organized nationwide drives to collect scraps of iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling

The Code Talkers

-A code talk the name given to American Indians who used their tribal language to send secret communications on the battlefield