The Great Depression-WWII

What is the idea of the consumer economy and how did it lead to the Great Depression?

Increasing employees increases consumers (cyclical). leads to the Great Depression because when people stop buying things, people stop being employed

What is Laissez-Faire Government and what does it lead to?

Government is not involved in the economy or the selling of goods. Leads to low interest rates, low taxes, and high consumer spending

What is buying on the margin?

Borrowing money to invest in stock

Describe the cause and effect of surplus agricultural products.

• During the war, agriculture boomed in the US in order to support the allies

  • When allies return to farming, they no longer need to buy American crops and farmers lose a lot of money

What was Black Thursday and Black Tuesday?

Two days where the stock market had a HUGE crash

What was the peak unemployment during the Great Depression?

25%

How did the government initially try to fix the economy?

They implemented tariffs to increase spending on American-Made goods

What is the Holly Smoot Act

Tariffs become global and trade becomes extremely limited (ripples through the entire global economy)

What was the Dust Bowl?

• Wind storms in the Great Planes pick up dry soil that covered homes for miles

• Devastates farming in the Midwest

• Forced people to move out of their homes because farmers could not afford to pay their mortgage

Who was Woody Guthrie?

• One of the first protest singers

• Wrote folk music about depression era life

Who was Herbert Hoover?

• Republican president during the Great Depression

• Believed the government should not give people handouts (federal salary to the unemployed)

What were Herbert Hoover’s big ideas?

• Federal aid will make the poor dependent on the government

• Ups and downs are normal and the economy will fix itself

• Localism: communities should help their own people, not the government

• Eventually, Hoover set up public work projects like the Hoover Dam, but it was too late

Who was Franklin Roosevelt?

• Democratic president after Hoover

• Largely regarded as his antithesis

• Served more than 2 terms

• His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, changes the role of the First Lady

  • Advocated for minority and women’s rights

What was the New Deal (Alphabet Soup)?

• Many different programs and laws passed that fundamentally changed the government

• The 3 R’s

  • Relief: Immediate help (Ex. soup kitchen)

  • Recovery: Help the wounds of the nation by improving the economy

  • Reform: Prevent further injury and address causes of the depression

What are Keynesian Economics?

• Made by John Keynes

• Idea that deficit spending helped in difficult times (the government had to outspend its earnings so that it could stimulate long term growth

Why was Roosevelt able to pass so many laws while he was president?

• Since Hoover was blamed for the Great Depression, FDR won the presidency and democrats took the house. Because of this, everything FDR suggested was passed, as all 3 branches were blue

• In his first 100 days, FDR passed more legislation than any other president

What was the Bank Holiday?

FDR shuts down banks so money can be secured before banks reopen (does not cause significant backlash because he was one of the first presidents to clearly explain and talk to the American people about his ideas)

What was the Court Packing Plan?

• 9 justices of the Supreme Court decide New Deal Laws are unconstitutional

• Law made stating for every justice over justice over 70 and ½ , another justice will be added

  • This legislation fails

What was the New Democratic Party Coalition?

• Occurs under FDR

• African Americans, who are historically republican, switch to being primarily democratic

What 3 things did Roosevelt promise in the New Deal?

1. Provide relief for poor and unemployed

2. Economy recover to normal levels

3. Prevent depression from happening again

What were the criticisms of the New Deal?

Saw it as a waste of money and resources and people will become dependent on the government. Also thought to lead to deficit spending

What characterized the 1st and 2nd New Deal?

1st- concerned with restructuring the nation's economy and giving relief to the banking industry

2nd- sought to improve the use of the nations resources, provided relief to farmers, and created government programs

What were the successes of the New Deal?

Employed millions, provided economic relief for struggling families, constructed roads, schools, parks, hospitals, etc.

What was the WPA?

Works Progress Administration. Creates large scale infrastructure projects to create jobs for Americans

What was the CCC?

Civilian Conservation Corps- Teenagers would go to a national park to build trails and other infrastructure projects to create jobs. They would keep a small chunk of the money and the rest would go to their parents.

What was the Social Security Act?

Provided financial relief to the elderly

What was the TVA?

Tennessee Valley Authority- Brought electricity to rural areas in the south

What was the FDIC?

Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation. Agency that guaranteed the safety of money in banks

What is the NIRA?

The NIRA sets up the PWA to create public work jobs like the Hoover Dam or Route 66. It also outlawed child labour, established a minimum wage, and gave trade unions the legal rights to bargain with employers. It was declared unconstitutional because it put price controls on businesses and the federal government should not be able to control the economy.

What was the Securities Exchange Act?

Regulates the trade of securities (stocks) so they are traded in safer ways.

What was the Wagner Act?

Law that protects the rights of employees to organize and address working conditions with or without a union

What Federal Programs fall under the “Relief” umbrella of the New Deal?

• CCC

• WPA

• PWA

What Federal Programs fall under the “Recovery” umbrella of the New Deal?

• NIRA

• AAA

• TVA

What Federal Programs fall under the “Reform” umbrella of the New Deal?

• Social Security Act

• FDIC

• Wagner Act

What were the causes of WWII?

• Radical nationalism: totalitarian fascism in Germany, Italy, and Japan

• Failure of the Treaty of Versailles: War guilt clause, 33 billion in reparations, limited military of Germany, animosity between Germany and France

• Weakness of the League of Nations: no military, could not enforce decisions, isolationist tendencies of allied powers after WWI

• Pacifism and appeasement: globally, people do not want another World War, so they let fascism continue

What are the Nye Committee Hearings?

• Committee trying to find out why the US really joined WWI

• They decide that the wealthy pushed the US to join the first World War, so ammunition owners could make big profits (called the “merchants of war”)

• Claimed Wilson provoked Germany by sailing into warring nation’s waters

What were the results of the Nye Committee Hearings?

Several acts passed:

• Prohibited sale of weapons to warring nations

• Prohibited loans and credit to warring nations

• Forbade Americans to travel on vessels of nations of war

• Non-military goods can be purchased from the US, but the buying country needs to come to the US, give us cash, and load their own ships

Describe FDR’s quarantine speech.

• Tells American we should stand together with other nations to end fascism

• Gains massive backlash, so he stops supporting the idea for now

Why did Japan invade Manchuria and what was the result of this?

• They invaded for coal, iron, and oil

• A stalemate occurred and China began to grow in soldiers and resources

  • Because of this, Japan has to look elsewhere for resources

  • America does not intervene because we are isolationist (due to the neutrality acts)

Describe Japan’s relation to the US in terms of natural resources.

• Japan needs oil, and 80% of their current oil supply comes from the US

  • This is a problem because even though the US is neutral, they can tell we are aligned with the allies

Describe the US’s embargo on natural resources to Japan.

• The US saw Japan entering parts of France to isolate China as an act of Japanese aggression, which led to the embargo

  • This is TERRIBLE for Japan’s economy

Describe the attack of Pearl Harbor.

• Japan tried to negotiate with the US for oil, but we demanded they remove themselves from China and a treaty with Germany and Italy for that to occur

  • Japan sees this as defeat, so they invaded Britain instead to get America involved in the war

  • They attacked Pearl Harbor to cripple the US fleet and buy them time to take over the Pacific for their natural resources (this DOES NOT work because all of America’s aircraft carriers are out during the attack. This is the only reason this attack was not devastating)

• Japan anticipated that this attack would lead to a short war and many negotiations, but that is not what happened.

Describe the alliances at the end of WWII.

Allies

• Britain

• France

• USSR (after Hitler invades)

• America (because of Pearl Harbor)

Axis

• Germany

• Italy

• Japan

• USSR (temporary neutrality with Germany)

What was the allied strategy?

• Defeat Hitler first, the rest of the axis powers will fall without Germany

• Most American military resources targeted Europe

What was the axis strategy?

• Germany hoped to defeat the USSR to get their oil and wheat

  • They hoped to do all of this before the US got involved because they are so industrially inclined

What strategy do Germany and the USSR use to gain land?

Blitzkrieg (lightning war)

1. Bomb the wanted land

2. Send tanks through land

3. Send militia once everything is destroyed

Describe Hitler’s invasion of France and France’s preparations.

• When France knows they will be invaded, they block the Maginot line (thought to be the only way Germany could enter France)

  • Instead, the Nazi’s enter through the Ardennes forest and corner French soldiers at Dunkirk

  • Hitler orders a pause rather than killing the French and the message gets out to Britain

  • Thousands of boats are sent to save troops and around 300,000 of them are saved

    • Since all their people are gone now, France surrenders and it is divided (north being occupied by Nazis and the south being “independent”. They are still loyal to the Nazi’s, but are less controlled)

What is Operation Sea Lion?

Hitler’s original plan to leave an army invade Britain by sea (he can’t do this because it is an island)

What is the Battle of Britain?

• Hitlers invasion into Britain through the air, he bombs civilians and military

• Britain wins the battle and even bombs Berlin

  • Because of this, Germany does the “Blitz” and kills civilians instead of the air force

What are starfish towns?

Fake towns Britain makes that were lit on fire to make Nazi’s bomb them (very effective)

What is the Lend-Lease Act?

• US lends military equipment to democracies on a lend or lease basis

  • Britain can have as much weapons as they want and they just have to give them back or pay later

What is the Atlantic Charter?

• FDR and Churchill meet on a ship and talk about the purpose of WWII and what will happen after the war

• They decide 3 things:

  • Not fought to conquer other territories

  • Disarm aggressors

  • Create a United nations for world peace

What is Operation Barbarossa and it’s pieces?

• Hitler invades the USSR and the Soviets burn down the country before they leave

• Works incredibly well and stops Germany from resupplying

Siege of Leningrad

• Germans surround Leningrad but do not attack

• Idea is to starve the people

• Lake adjacent to Leningrad freezes over and allows some people to survive

Stalingrad

• Intense fighting occurs here

• Germany is surrounded by the Soviets and is forced to surrender

• MAJOR TURNING POINT IN THE EUROPEAN THEATRE

• Soviets kills their own soldiers if they try to retreat

What is D-Day?

• Known as “Operation Overlord”

• Led by Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Plan is to attack northern France with an overwhelming amount of force to push Germans out

• Allies use many tactics to confuse Hitler into not knowing where we are going to land

• Liberates France and Belgium

What is the Battle of the Bulge?

• Hitler’s last offensive attack

• Tries to push into France but is forced back into Germany

What is the Battle of Berlin?

• Final battle of the war

• German children fight the Soviets because there are no more German soldiers

What is V-E Day?

Victory in Europe day (marks the end of the war)

What is island hopping?

Strategy used by the US to seize islands sporadically and then establish bases for air attacks on Japan

What is the Bataan Death March

• 76,000 prisoners of war (including 12,000 Americans) marched 60 miles in the blazing heat to POW camps in the Philippines

What is the Geneva Convention?

Convention that decided the following:

• POW’s must be treated humanely at all times (no torture, cruelty, or discrimination)

• Adequate medical care must be provided to all wounded and sick POW’s

• POW’s must be housed in sanitary, safe environment with sufficient food and shelter

Describe the Battle at Midway.

American Naval forces defeat much larger Japanese fleet, and island hopping brings the war closer to Japan

Describe the Battle of Iwo Jima and Okinawa

• American invasion into Japan where many died

• Led to an allied victory

What is the Manhattan project?

Atomic bomb creation project led by Leslie R. Groves and Robert Oppenheimer

What is V-J Day?

• Victory in Japan day

• American writes the Japanese constitution and takes away their military

What is the SS St. Louis?

• Ship full of Jewish people attempting to escape Germany before the Holocaust

  • Intent was to seek refuge in Cuba, but they were denied

  • They went to Florida, but are denied entry as well

What is the Nuremberg Trial?

• Nazi leaders put on trial for Holocaust horrors

• Soldiers claim they were just following orders, which the trials declare is an invalid excuse because personal responsibility and adhering to morality is more important than orders given

• The trial leads to the increased need for a Jewish homeland, which leads to the creation of Israel

  • Britain wants to put Israel in a section of Palestine which everyone agreed with except Palestinians

What is the War Production Board?

• Tells industries in the US to produce things for the war

• Used Cost-Plus as an incentive

  • Corporations get money to produce goods AND a little extra

  • Distribution of wealth is not equal because worker wages were frozen (employees did not get this increase in profits)

What executive order did Truman pass in office?

Order that desegregated the military

What was WWII’s impact on women?

Women began to work outside the home and Rosie the Riveter became a symbol of Women empowerment

• Even though this is the case, women are underpaid and expected to go back to the home when men return from war

What was WWII’s impact on African Americans?

They gained opportunities to fight but were largely oppressed

What was WWII’s impact on Mexican Americans?

They were mistreated and exploited in the workforce

What was WWII’s impact on urbanization?

Greatly increased due to the need for mass production for the war (this led to poverty and overcrowding)

What were the Women’s Arm Corps (WAC’s) and the Navy Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES)?

Groups that had women replace men in noncombat jobs like mechanics or radio operation

What was the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP’s)?

Program that had women become civilian pilots

What was WWII’s impact on education?

Schools became understaffed and underattended because teachers and students left to get better paying war effort jobs

What was WWII’s impact on media?

Became focused on war and hopeful for an end soon

What was the Double V Campaign?

Campaigned aimed at victory over racial discrimination and the axis powers

What is the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)?

Nonviolent direct action to desegregate public facilities in northern cities

What was WWII’s impact on Native Americans?

They served in war primarily as Navajo Code talkers, sharing important information cryptically

What are Braceros?

Temporary Mexican workers in the US

What are Nisei?

Japanese people born in America

What is Korematsu vs. the US?

Case where Supreme Court upheld the decision to remove all Japanese Americans from the US

What is Personal Justice Denied?

Claimed removing all Japanese Americans was not a military necessity, but it was racist

Who are the Tuskegee Airmen?

African American pilots

What two executive orders were passed by FDR?

• Prohibited discriminatory employment practices by federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war related work and established the Fair Employment Practices commissions (FEPC) to enforce the policy

• Authorized the removal from military areas of anyone deemed a threat

What is the timeline of events leading to WWII?

1. Japan invades Manchuria for natural resources

2. Italy invades Ethiopia to show their power

3. Germany refuses to follow military limits in the Treaty of Versailles

4. Germany remilitarizes the Rhineland (buffer zone between Germany and France)

5. Japan invades China (Rape of Nanking)

6. Hitler annexes Austria (little backlash)

7. Hitler negotiates to take part of Czechoslovakia (known as the Sudetenland)

8. Munich conference: Allies let Germany take Sudetenland if Hitler agrees to stop conquering (does not work)

9. Hitler meets with the president of Czechoslovakia and insists he gives him the country ot they will go to war (Hitler takes the entirety of it)

10. Hitler negotiates a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union

11. Hitler invades Poland (official start to WWII)