A movement encompasses different groups with the same goal.
The Bonus Army: World War I vets seeking pensions during the Depression.
Significance: The forceful response to the protest by Hoover's administration signaled a turning point, favoring FDR.
Causes of World War I
Important Note: Understand the differences in reasons for Europe's entry in 1914 vs. the U.S. entry in April 1917.
Reasons for U.S. Entry
German submarine warfare
Lusitania, Arabic Pledge, Sussex Pledge: back and forth negotiations between the U.S. and Germany regarding attacks on ships.
Main Causes of WWI (in Europe)
Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism
Arms race between Great Britain and Germany.
Britain: Naval power.
Germany: Stronger army and a relatively new nation (1870s) aiming to expand its military and colonies.
Diminishing balance of power in Europe in the 1900s.
U.S. Role
Primarily involved due to imperialism and trade interests.
Isolationist policy changed in the 1910s, leading to resentment and later isolationism.
Trade: U.S. primarily traded with Great Britain due to the British blockade of the German coast. Germany attacked U.S. ships (Lusitania) to provoke U.S. involvement.
Imperialism: U.S. opposed German encroachment in the Western Hemisphere (e.g., Haiti).
Zimmerman Note: Germany encouraged Mexico to attack the U.S. to regain territories lost in the Mexican-American War.
Wilson's War Message: Focused on making the world safe for democracy rather than just German submarine attacks.
Consequences
Germany was blamed for the war (War Guilt Clause, Treaty of Versailles), contributing to the rise of fascism in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Home Front During World War I
Government initiatives: Committee of Public Information (CPI), War Industries Board, Food Administration, Fuel Administration.
Unprecedented government involvement to mobilize for war
Service Act of 1917
The home front was transformed, leading to reactionary policies in the 1920s as a rejection of government encroachment.
The progressive era was ended by World War I, leading to reactionary policies.
Causes of the Cold War
Post-World War II conferences and tensions.
Stalin's need for relief during the brutal invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany and the delay in American intervention.
Conflict over Eastern Europe.
Stalin wanted a buffer zone, leading to Soviet influence in Eastern European countries.
The U.S. viewed this as Soviet expansionism.
Stalin reneged on promises of free and fair elections in Poland.
Conflict over the division of Germany.
The U.S. and Great Britain wanted unification, but the Soviet Union pulled out.
Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech.
U.S. containment policies: Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine.
Military alliances: NATO vs. Warsaw Pact.
The Cold War was a result of post-war circumstances and fundamental differences between communism and capitalism.
Spark of the Cold War
There was no specific "spark;" the Cold War developed over time.
Contrast with other conflicts:
World War I: Assassination of the Archduke
Spanish-American War: Event leading to imperial power
Cold War Impact at Home and Post-War Economy
Economic boom from 1945 to 1970.
Long-sustaining economic prosperity, despite some dips.
Factors: Savings, the GI Bill, ability to buy homes.
Post-war consumer spending spree, baby boom, and access to white-collar jobs.
Michael Harrington's "The Other America" highlighted poverty levels.
Growth of the middle class during this period.
Presidential Policy During the Cold War
Truman: Containment
Eisenhower: Containment
Kennedy: Flexible response
Lyndon Johnson: Escalation in Vietnam
Nixon: Détente (SALT I in 1972)
Ford: Continued détente
Jimmy Carter: Human rights and détente
Ronald Reagan: "Evil Empire" rhetoric, SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative, "Star Wars") in 1983, which led to Soviet spending and collapse, START agreements
SALT II: Talks ended after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
Vietnam War
Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson were involved, with Johnson significantly escalating the war.