US History Honors Study Guide Summary

Great Depression Terms

  • Black Tuesday: Stock market crash on October 29, 1929, with 16 million shares traded, leading to significant losses.
  • Stock Market Crash: Initiated the end of the Roaring Twenties; mass withdrawal from banks led to loss of savings.
  • Dust Bowl: Severe dust storms in the Great Plains (1930-1936) due to drought and overfarming.
  • Hoovervilles: Makeshift towns for the unemployed named after President Hoover, criticizing his economic policies.
  • New Deal: FDR’s plan encompassing relief, recovery, and reform to combat the Great Depression, including agencies like FDIC, FHA, FCIC, and TVA.
    • Relief: Immediate assistance for those in need.
    • Recovery: Temporary job programs and government initiatives.
    • Reform: Established bank insurance and increased government involvement.

Causes of the Great Depression

  • Excessive buying on credit.
  • Lack of demand for crops leading to price drops.
  • Non-insured banks resulting in lost savings for many.

Effects on the Average American

  • Massive job losses and family financial ruin, with unemployment peaking at 25%.
  • Resourcefulness was essential; welfare systems were lacking.

New Deal Legacy

  • Positives: Economic recovery and creation of job programs.
  • Negatives: Criticism of government overreach and dependency.

World War 2 Alliances

Allies

  • United Kingdom
  • Soviet Union
  • United States
  • China

Axis

  • Germany
  • Japan
  • Italy

Key Figures

  • Francisco Franco: Spanish fascist dictator.
  • Benito Mussolini: Italian dictator, executed in 1945.
  • Adolf Hitler: German dictator, initiated WWII, responsible for the Holocaust.
  • Joseph Stalin: Soviet leader, aligned then turned against Hitler.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower: Allied commander, oversight of D-Day.

Major Terms

  • Appeasement: Policy allowing Hitler's initial aggressions to avoid conflict.
  • Non-aggression Pact: Agreement between nations to refrain from war.
  • D-Day: Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
  • Manhattan Project: The U.S. project for nuclear weapons development.

Major Battles of WW2

  • Battle of Britain: Luftwaffe’s air assault, significant for British morale.
  • Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941, attack led to U.S. entering the war.
  • Midway: Turning point in the Pacific where U.S. achieved a significant victory.
  • Stalingrad: Major Soviet victory, marking the turning point on the Eastern Front.
  • Iwo Jima: High casualty battle leading towards Japan.
  • Atomic Bombings: Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to Japan's surrender.

Historical Events Timeline

  • Beer Hall Putsch: Hitler's failed coup attempt.
  • March on Rome: Mussolini’s rise to power.
  • Reichstag Fire: Event blamed on communists to consolidate power.
  • Holodomor: Famine in Ukraine under Stalin's regime.

Impact of WWII on Society

  • Improved roles for women and minorities in the workforce (e.g., Tuskegee Airmen, Navajo Code Talkers).
  • Destruction of infrastructure and loss of life impacted many families globally.

Major Outcomes of WWII

  • Establishment of the United Nations.
  • New geopolitical boundaries and reparations for Germany.
  • Onset of the Cold War as a result of the atomic bomb introduction and shifting alliances.