Great Depression, WW2, Cold War, Civil Rights Review Sheet

Great Depression 

• Hoover’s approach to Great Depression 

• Hoover did not aid veterans, although money was promised to them after they came back. Hoovervilles were extremely poor areas “slums” filled with hundreds of veterans. Believed in rugged individualism\, urging businesses to maintain employment, provided little economic support to citizens    

• Why did Hoover’s response to the great depression fail? 

• Hoover’s response to the Great Depression failed because of his beliefs and ignorance. He believed people should work for themselves and get out of debt through hard work without government involvement. He did not care nor provide poor Americans the needs they needed to and job opportunities  

• Hoover was blamed for the Great Depression since he did not focus on the citizens in need and instead put his money and work towards the first class and large companies, leaving him making the rich richer and poor poorer. 

• Hoovervilles 

• Shantytowns, were migrant's towns of people who were out of work and moving to find work  

• Named after President Hoover because he wouldn’t do anything to help needy people (dislike him) 

• Buying stock on margin 

• Practice of allowing investors to purchase a stock for only a fraction of its price (CREDIT) and borrow at high interest rates 

• When stocks market begins to crash banks call in loans 

• To pay back banks, investors sold stocks for less than they purchase 

• Lose money and go into debt 

• No US Government regulations on the stock market or margin buying 

• FDR’s Court Packing  

• There are 9 supreme Court justices  

• New ones are nominated by the president and voted on by the Senate  

• Checks and balances  

• Roosevelt wants to add more because they have declared 2 programs unconstitutional (Supreme court keeps blocking Roosevelt's plans and adjustments) 

• Try to make the court more sympathetic and loyal to the New Deal programs  

• View as a threat to checks and balances/separation of powers because it placed too much power in the president’s hands 

• Congress rejected the plan 

• Roosevelt basically is trying to go more than what he can with his presidential power (like Jackson); however, the Supreme court does NOT let this pass (checks and balances in action!) 

• The Bonus Army 

The "Bonus Army" refers to the group of World War I veterans, their families, and supporters who marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 to demand immediate payment of their promised bonuses, facing hardship during the Great Depression.  

• Summer of 1932 over 20,000 veterans from WWI marched on Washington DC 

• All out of work and wanted to provide for their families 

• Demanded their Bonus promised to them by the government for fighting WWI 

• Bonus army refused to leave Washington, DC until Congress gave them their Bonus 

• Congress voted to give them the bonus  

• They were ordered to leave by President Hoover but disobeyed the order  

• Battle of Washington 

• FDR’s actions during first 100 days – including the closing of the banks 

• A three month (nearly 100 days) special session of Congress 

• During which Roosevelt presented and was able to rapidly get passed a series of 15 major bills designed to counter the effects of the Great Depression 

• Closed all the nation’s banks ← Emergency Banking Act and ordered inspections to restore public confidence and prevent further bankruptcies  

• Subject of the first fireside chat  

• Civilian Conservation Corps - putting young men to work maintain forests and planting trees 

• Impact of Great Depression on groups of Americans 

• Mexican Americans - food shortages, deportation, unemployment (hostility to immigrant workers grew), the government began a program repatriating (send them back to their country) immigrants to Mexico, New Deal assistance eventually began helping 

• African Americans – the first to be laid off from their jobs, suffered higher unemployment rate, eventually the New Deal reforms strengthened Black support for the Democratic Party, relief programs provided aid, Roosevelt championed the rights of African Americans 

• Women - Women often faced pressure to leave the workforce to make way for men, even though many families relied on their income, They were often tasked with managing limited resources and stretching budgets during the hardship, FDR gave women top jobs, they obtained gov’t positions, and FDR gave 22 women administrative jobs (Frances Perkins: 1st woman secretary of labor)   

• New Deal agencies matching 

AAA: Agricultural Adjustment Administration paid farmers to reduce crop production to raise prices 

CCC: Civilian Conservation Corps hired young men for conservation and reforestation projects; provided jobs but discriminated 

WPA: Works Progress Administration employed millions in building; provided jobs but discriminated 

SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission regulates and stabilizes the stock market and prevented insider trading 

FDIC: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures banking accounts preventing bank failures and helping to restore trust in banks 

SSA: Social Security Administration pension for the elderly, aid to families with dependent children, unemployment compensation, assistance for the handicapped 

FHA: Federal Housing Administration insured mortgages and helped Americans buy homes 

• Criticism of the New Deal 

• Some people criticized the New Deal for giving the government too much control over the economy and people's lives. They worried it would lead to a loss of freedom. Others thought the programs were too expensive and would cause too much government debt. Some also felt the New Deal didn’t help minorities, especially African Americans, as much as it helped others. While the New Deal helped many people, some believed it didn’t fully end the Great Depression, with the economy only truly recovering after World War II. Finally, some critics thought it focused too much on short-term relief instead of long-term solutions. 

• Conservatives believed that FDR spent too much $ on relief and used policies to control business and socialize the economy.    

World War 2 

• FDR’s Quarantine Speech - what was it trying to achieve? 

• FDR’s Quarantine Speech (1937) was trying to warn Americans about the growing threat of aggressive nations (Japan, Germany, and Italy) and to encourage the U.S. to take a stand, not by going to war, but by isolating (quarantining) those aggressive countries to stop the spread of conflict. He was saying that just like you quarantine someone with a disease to keep others safe, the world should isolate countries causing trouble to prevent a global war. 

• It was a step away from strict isolationism and a hint that the U.S. might need to get more involved in world affairs. 

• Japanese Americans during WW2 

• Executive Order 9066 - Even though they were citizens, Japanese Americans were heavily discriminated against and deported to internment camps  

• Reasons for use of the atomic bomb 

• It was created to destroy and kill on a massive scale. As president, it was Harry Truman's decision if the weapon would be used with the goal to end the war 

• Believed that they prevented an invasion of the Japanese mainland, saving more lives than they took by doing so; land invasion would have taken more lives 

• Arsenal of democracy 

• Referred to America’s ability to supply its European allies with war supplies prior to the US entry into WWII 

• U.S. supplied Allied forces with war supplies 

• Impact of the war on minorities 

• American citizens began becoming extremely discriminatory against opponents of the war. They used derogatory and harsh terms to portray their dislike of those of Germans, Japanese, Native Americans, Black, Mexican, and Women 

• Women – Had more job opportunities as men had to leave for war and almost 350,000 women volunteered in the war.  

• African Americans- Pushed the double V campaign as they found it hypocritical to fight for democracy abroad when it was not even available for African Americans at home.  

• Mexican Americans – Mexican Migrants filled shortages of farm labor caused by drafts. 

Cold War 

• Korean War 

• The Korean War (1950–1953) was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. North Korea (supported by China and the Soviet Union) wanted to unite the country under communism. South Korea was supported by the United States and other United Nations countries who wanted to stop the spread of communism. North Korea invaded South Korea, and fighting broke out. The war went back and forth with heavy battles, but in the end, neither side won. In 1953, they agreed to stop fighting, and the border stayed almost the same. In simple terms, it was a war over communism that ended in a tie, with Korea still divided into North and South. 

• Marshall Plan – how it aimed to stop communism from spreading 

• The Marshall Plan was significant because it aided billions of dollars to countries in Western Europe, helping and gaining back economic growth and independence that was lost after World War II. It aimed to prevent the spread of communism in Europe by making the Western European countries more stable and secure, making them less of a threat or target of communist and political achievements in their region. 

• Eisenhower’s Cold War strategy  

• Eisenhower’s “New Look” defense policy emphasized reliance on nuclear weapons and bombing to limit Soviet aggression, while also focusing on strengthening alliances covert operations. It was a more aggressive approach to the Cold War than Truman’s. The key components were brinkmanship and master retaliation. 

• Sputnik and its impact 

• The United States were impacted by the launch of Sputnik as they were completely shocked by the launch of the first satellites. The launch inspired them to design rockets to duplicate the Soviet Union’s achievement; however, they failed multiple times. Ultimately, this led to the U.S. increasing their funds to math, science, and foreign language education due to the National Defense and Education Act and the creation of NASA, further intensifying the arms race. 

• Cuban Missile Crisis 

• U.S. spy planes flew over Cuba and discovered that Cuba secretly prepared missile sites for nuclear weapons supplied by the Soviet Unions. In response to this, Kennedy ordered a naval blockade around Cuba to stop the weapons sent from the Soviet Union. He later threatened to invade Cuba if the Soviets did not agree to remove their weapons from Cuba. The whole crisis ended when Khrushchev backed down and removed the nukes from Cuba to avoid war; therefore, the U.S. agreed to not attack Cuba and would pull out their weapons from Turkey that aimed for Russia. 

• Truman Doctrine 

• Pledged American support for democratic nations against authoritarian threats, particularly communism, and marked a shift towards global involvement instead of isolationism 

• The doctrine was first applied to Greece and Turkey, which were facing communist insurgencies and Soviet pressure, respectively.   

• Containment 

• A key US foreign policy during the Cold War was meant to prevent the expansion of communism and Soviet influence by containing it within its existing borders, rather than directly attacking communist states. 

• American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world 

• Ex. Greece and Turkey, S. Korea vs N. Korea, Vietnam War 

• McCarthyism 

• Joseph McCarthy exploited the concern over the growth of communism in his campaign, accusing many government officials of supporting communism, including those under Truman’s authority. McCarthy was eventually exposed on television and became seen as a bully by millions. The downfall of McCarthy and “McCarthyism” happened as a result 

• The act of accusing people of disloyalty and communism 

• A campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy 

• End to McCarthyism 

• McCarthy was eventually exposed on television and became seen as a bully by millions. 
  The downfall of McCarthy and “McCarthyism” happened as a result. 

• He attacked the US Army, who fought back with 35 days of televised hearings. A few months after, the Senate condemned him to “conduct unbecoming a member” 

• Kennan’s Long Telegram 

• George Kennan, an American diplomat, informed the Truman administration that the Soviets could not be dealt with as a normal government     

• Kennan's Long Telegram confirmed the fears of US politicians that the USSR was aggressive and hostile 

• The Long Telegram was a diplomatic cable sent by U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan from Moscow to Washington, D.C 

• He recommended that the U.S. adopt a policy of containment, preventing the spread of Soviet influence rather than confronting it directly. This strategy would become a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War.                 

1950s 

• Levittown 

• Series of massed produced housing built by William Levitt after WWII 

• Symbol of post-war suburban America 

• Conformity 

• Eisenhower and federal highways 

• Create a national network of highways for both civilian and military purposes, including facilitating troops and equipment movement and evacuating cities in case of national emergency 

• GI Bill and impact on American society 

• GI Bill provided veterans with low-interest loans to buy homes, making homeownership more accessible  

• Prosperity of the 1950s 

• post-World War II economic growth, a booming middle class, and increased consumerism, fueled by factors lie the GI Bill, rising wages, and the baby boom contributed to the prosperity of the 1950s 

• Baby boom 

• The larger than expected generation in US born shortly after WWII 

Civil Rights 

• Sit ins 

• They were not served 

• The four students returned to the lunch counter each day 

• Article in the New York Times drew attention to the students’ protest, they were joined by more students, both black and white, and students across the nation were inspired to launch similar protests 

• Protestors often faced physical and emotional abuse 

• Techniques used by members of the Civil Rights Movement 

• Nonviolent protests  

• Boycotts  

• Media and publicity  

• Violent protests 

• Introduction of MLK Jr. through his actions in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

• Introduced to the national stage through his leadership in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where he emerged as a powerful advocate for nonviolent resistance against racial segregation 

• Brown v. Board of Education- issues behind case, ruling of the Court 

• Segregation in education was a violation of the 14^th Amendment 

• Overthrowing the Plessy v Ferguson ruling that had set the “separate but equal” precedent  

• Hundreds of school systems had desegregated, but many did not 

• Black Panthers and Nation of Islam similarities 

• A black political organization that was against peaceful protest and for violence if needed 

• The organization marked a shift in policy of the black movement, favoring militant ideals rather than peaceful protest 

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 

• Banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin in public accommodations and education. It did not ban ALL discrimination though  

• "Letter from Birmingham Jail" 

• From jail, King wrote a letter explaining his goals and ideals 

• “We’re supposed to fight fires, not people.” 

• Sweatt v. Painter Supreme Court decision 

• Texas court case proved the lack of equality in higher education 

• No law school in Texas would admit blacks at that time 

• During which time a law school was created for blacks in Houston 

• The Supreme Court decided that wasn’t good enough because the law school at UT was still better 

• Challenged Plessy vs Ferguson