AP US History Unit 7: 1890–1945

7.1 The Progressive Era and World War 1 (1900 - 1920)

The Gilded Age

• society has been covered in a thin layer of gold which is decieving, because its truly rotten and ugly inside.

• reforms target ills of industrialization

• technology & economic expansion ; taylorism & mass-production

• increased standard of living ; middle class

• populists

• leisure time

• immigration ; nativism

• closting of frontier

• growing desparity of wealth

• social darwinism, gospel of wealth, social gospel

The Populist and Progressive Movements

• “The progressives”: wanted to fix things, but disagreed about what to fix

• Urban reformers

  • “city beautiful” ; fight crime, clean water, sweep out the dirt and uglyness

  • Jacob Riis, Lincoln Steffens, Hull House, Jane Addams

• Consumer Protection

  • stop letting companies poison people. pure food !

  • drug act, meat inspection act, upton sinclair, “the jungle”

• Suffragettes

  • let women vote ; success fighting in west

  • NAWSA, women’s party, alice paul, elizabeth cady staton, susan b anothony, 19th amendment

• Civil rights

  • more black inclusion & fight jim crow; anti-lynching initiative

  • booker t washington, W.E.B debois, NAACP

• Prohibition

  • temperance

  • carrie a. nation , WCTU → thinks temperance is weak

  • 18th ammendment → thinks ban alcohol altogether

• Environmentalists

  • stop exploiting the environment and preserve resources for future generations

  • john muir, sierra club and national parks

• Political Reformers

  • make society more democratic / participatury ; initiative / referendum & recall

  • robert lafollette , 17th amendment

• Economic Reforms

  • “trust busting” greater ecnomic equality; more government control and regulations

  • 1902 coal strike, clayton anti-trust act, federal reserve act, 16th amendement

• Populists:

  • Aggrieved farmers advocating radical reforms

  • Raised possibility of reform through government

  • Successes in local and national elections

  • Encouraged others to seek change through political action

• Progressives:

  • Built on Populism's achievements and adopted some of its goals

  • Urban, middle-class reformers seeking government's role in reform

  • Greater success due to more economic and political power

  • Less intensification of regional and class differences compared to Populists

• Roots of Progressivism:

  • Growing number of associations and organizations

  • Members were educated and middle class, offended by corruption and urban poverty

  • Boost from muckrakers' exposés of corporate greed and misconduct

• Progressives' Successes:

  • Both local and national level changes

  • Campaigned for education and government regulation

  • New groups for fight against discrimination with mixed success

  • Women's suffrage movement gave birth to feminist movement

  • Wisconsin governor Robert La Follette led the way for Progressive state leaders

• The Progressive Movement:

  • Prominent leader: President Theodore Roosevelt

  • Progressive income taxes to redistribute nation's wealth

  • Work-class Progressives' victories: work day limitations, minimum wage, child labor laws, housing codes

  • Adoption of ballot initiative, referendum, and recall election

  • theo roosevelt’s square deal: 3 C’s

    - consumer protection (pure food and drug act & meat inspection act)

    - corporate regulation (hepburn act: increased power of ICC and could regulate prices)

    - conservation of natrual resources (newlands reclamation act: use $ from sale of lands to use towards irrigation projects)

• President Theodore Roosevelt “New Nationalism” :

  • equal oppertunity → destory privilege

  • government regulation → break up monopolies

  • welfare of people → executive is “steward”

  • departure from laissez faire

  • “progress”

  • Prominent Progressive leader

  • Republican Party's choice for running mate in 1900 election

  • Succeeded McKinley after assassination in 1901.

Progressive Era

• Progressive Era marked increasing involvement of federal government in daily life

• Progressive presidents: Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson

• The Progressive Era resulted in many reforms, including conservation, regulation of monopolies and trusts, and the establishment of federal standards in food and drug industries.

Teddy Roosevelt

• Early on, showed liberal tendencies and was the first to use Sherman Antitrust Act against monopolies

• Nicknamed "Trustbuster" for his efforts to break up monopolies

• Encouraged Congress to pass Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act to protect workers and consumers

• Created National Park Service and National Forest Service to conserve natural resources

William Howard Taft

• Pursued monopolies even more aggressively than Roosevelt. he was the real “trust buster

• Known for "dollar diplomacy" - securing favorable relationships with Latin American and East Asian countries by providing monetary loans

• Became the only former president to serve on Supreme Court of the US as the 10th Chief Justice (1921-1930)

• Split from Roosevelt in the 1912 Republican primary due to opposing policies like breaking up “good trusts” and fired Gifford Pinchot

Woodrow Wilson “New Freedom” :

• he wanted lower tarrifs, elimate all trusts (clayton anti-trust act. labor unions were exempt from prosecution), reform banking system (federal reserve act)

• metaphore of engine & efficiency

• meaning of liberty has changed

• government must adapt and change to promote individual freedom

• jefferson

• Distinguished himself from Teddy Roosevelt with his policies referred to as New Freedom

• Argued that federal government had to assume greater control over business to protect man's freedom

• Committed to restoring competition through greater government regulation of the economy and lowering the tariff

• Created Federal Trade Commission, enforced Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, and helped create Federal Reserve System

• Progressive movement ended after World War I, Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918, and a Red Scare (a period in American history marked by widespread fear of communist infiltration and radical leftist ideologies, leading to government investigations and persecution of individuals suspected of being communists, primarily occurring after World War I and again during the Cold War era after World War II; it was characterized by a climate of suspicion and often resulted in civil liberty violations.)

End of Progressive Era

• Achieved many of its goals, which resulted in loss of support from interest groups whose ends were met

• Some say the Progressive movement was brought to an end, in part, by its own success

7.2 Foreign Policy and U.S. Entry into World War I

causes of WWI

Militarism - countries building up militaries in an arms race

Alliances - each country had friends, so any conflict could easily spread

Nationalism - each country thought they were the best and others were evil

Imperialism - European countries competed for territory and spread out

Assassination - a Serbian nationalist killed Austria-Hungary’s archduke Franz Ferdinand, which sparked the war because of underlying tensions (see above)

• Roosevelt's domestic policy differed from his predecessor, but he concurred with his foreign policy.

• congress had approved the Teller Amendment, which stated that the U.S had no intention of taking political control of Cuba, when it approved Mckinleys war message.

• Roosevelt was an even more devout imperialist than McKinley, strongarming Cuba into accepting the Platt Amendment which committed Cuba to American control and ensured that Cuba would act in the best interest of the US. lasted for 31 years.

• cubans allowed the US to construct a naval base at Guantanamo Bay

• The US occupied Cuba for 10 years (1906-1922), causing anti-American sentiments.

• many american oppesed these new expansionist policies and founded the American Anti-Imperialist League (mark twain, andrew carnegie, and william jennings bryan). the AIL argued that such behavior was against America’s founding principles, but the Supreme Court sided with imperialism

• in 1890, Alfred T. Mahan published his book, the influence of sea power upon history (1660-1773) and listed 4 things the US needed to do to be equal to Europe

  1. develop a modern naval fleet

  2. establish a naval base in the Caribbean

  3. acquire hawaii

  4. construct a cana; across Panama

• Roosevelt's actions in Central America were equally interventionist, building a canal through the Central American isthmus and supporting the revolution in Panama for a better deal.

• The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, also known as the Big Stick Policy, was used to justify repeated military intervention in Latin America due to the assertion of a threat to American security.

• American foreign policy adhered to the Monroe Doctrine which asserted America's right to intervene in the Western Hemisphere to protect national security.

• Woodrow Wilson won the election of 1912 with a policy of neutrality, but it posed immediate problems due to close relationships with England and relatively distant relationship with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

• When war broke out in Europe, Wilson declared US policy of neutrality, but it was complicated due to the close relationship with England and their effective blockade.

• Germany attempted to counter the blockade with submarines, but the sinking of the Lusitania led to condemnation from the government and public.

• Wilson's efforts to stay out of the war and the events that ultimately drew the US into the conflict.

World War I and Its Aftermath

World War I and Government Expansion of Power

• Government took control of telephone, telegraph, and rail industries

• Created War Industry Board (WIB) to coordinate all aspects of industrial and agricultural production

• WIB had mixed success due to being slow and inefficient

• Curtailed individual civil liberties during the war

The Espionage Act and Sedition Act

• Congress passed the Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Act in 1918 in response to opposition to U.S. involvement in the war

• Espionage Act prohibited interference with the war effort or draft through the U.S. mail system

• Sedition Act made it illegal to try to prevent the sale of war bonds or speak disparagingly of the government, military, or Constitution

• Laws violated the spirit of the First Amendment but were vague, giving the courts great leeway in interpretation

Schenck v. United States

• Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act in 1919 in three separate cases, the most notable being Schenck v. United States

• Schenck was arrested and convicted for violating the Espionage Act by printing and mailing leaflets urging men to resist the draft

• Supreme Court ruled that freedom of speech and civil liberties could be curtailed if actions posed a “clear and present danger” to others or the nation

Suppression of Unpopular Ideas

• Laws soon became useful tools for suppression of anyone who voiced unpopular ideas

• Era of increased paranoia due to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and fear of communist takeover

• Radical labor unions and leaders branded enemies of the state and incarcerated

• New government agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, created to prevent radical takeover

Business and Labor Union Changes

• Business assumed greater power while unions lost power

• Strikebreakers and forceful tactics against unions increased under pretext of stamping out radicalism

The Palmer Raids

• In early 1920, government raided suspected radical groups around the country in the Palmer Raids

• Government abandoned all pretext of respecting civil liberties as agents raided union halls, pool halls, social clubs, and residences

• Over 10,000 arrested in over 30 cities, but few weapons or bombs were found

• 500 immigrants were eventually deported

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

• Government helped create frenzied atmosphere through its wartime propaganda arm, the Committee on Public Information (CPI)

• CPI messages grew more sensational as the war progressed

• Image of Germans as cold-blooded, baby-killing, power-hungry Huns created through lectures, movie theaters, newspapers, and magazines

• Americans rejected all things German, changed name of sauerkraut to “liberty cabbage”

• Acts of violence against German immigrants and Americans of German descent.

Wartime Opportunities for Women

• Change in means of employment

  • Many women quit domestic work and started in factories

  • At one point, 20% of factory jobs held by women

  • End of workplace advances with return of veterans

The Great Migration

• Black Southern people left for North for jobs in wartime manufacturing

• Over 500,000 Black people left South for work

• Many joined army, encouraged by W. E. B. Du Bois for inroad to social equality

  • Army segregated and assigned Black people mostly to menial labor

  • Fearful of integration, Black combat units assigned to French command

End of World War I

• America's participation tipped balance in Allies' favor

• Two years after America's entry, Germans ready to negotiate peace treaty

• Wilson's Fourteen Points served as basis for initial negotiations

  • Called for free trade, reduction of arms, self-determination, end of colonialism, League of Nations

• Treaty of Versailles punished Germany, left humiliated and in economic ruin

  • Created League of Nations, but much of Wilson's plan discarded

  B - Germany had to accept the sole blame for the war.

  R - Germany was forced to pay billions of dollars in reparations (financial damages) to the Allies. This ended up breaking the back of the German economy.

  A - Germany had to give up most of its army.

  T - Germany lost all of its colonial territory as well as some of its territory in Europe. In addition, the League of Nations was established.

• Wilson's return home greeted with opposition over League of Nations

  • Senate debate over Article X curtailed America's independence in foreign affairs

  • Senate split into Democrats (pro-League), Irreconcilables (opposed), Reservationists (compromise)

  • Democrats and Irreconcilables defeated treaty with Lodge Reservations

  • US not signatory of Treaty of Versailles, never joined League of Nations

  • America retreating into period of isolationism

• Wilson attempted to muster popular support, suffered major stroke and treaty failed

Possible Success of League of Nations

• Many wonder if League would have prevented World War II had US been a member

7.3-7. The Jazz Age and The Great Depression (1920-1933)

The Great Depression

• the great depression is the most serious economic downturn in U.S History

• the causes began well before 1929

• the dust bowl severely impacted the pains

• many americans blamed Herbert Hoover for the depression

• post Great War, many European countries expirence an economic recession (expecially Germany)

• recession: a period of economic slowdown which lasts for at least half a year, during which a nations output (GDP) shrinks.

• during the GD, many american lost their homes and all of their savings → people became increasingly frustrated

• on October 29, 1929, the bottom fell out of the American stock market—called “black tuesday”. the stock market crash of 1929 would set off an economic decline that would last more than a decade called “The Great Depression”

• overproduction of manufactured goods extended the duration of the GD

After World War I

• Brief slump in American economy

• Rapid growth from 1922

• Electric motor drives prosperity

• New industries arise to serve middle class

Pro-Business Republican Administrations

• Increased comfort with large successful businesses

• Department stores and automobile industry offer convenience and status

• Government increasingly pro-business, regulatory agencies assist business instead of regulating

• Decreased favor for labor unions, strikes suppressed by federal troops

• Supreme Court nullified child labor restrictions and minimum wage law for women

Woodrow Wilson and Race

• Outspoken white supremacist

• Segregated federal government, wrote admiringly of KKK

• Told racist jokes at Cabinet meetings

• Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Hoover pursued pro-business policies

• Teapot Dome Scandal with corrupt cabinet members

• Harding liberal on civil liberty, Coolidge won election on "Coolidge prosperity" and continued conservative economic policies

Decline of Labor Unions

• Pro-business atmosphere led to decline in popularity of labor unions

• Drop in membership levels throughout decade

• Efforts by businesses to woo workers with pension plans, profit sharing, and company events

• Referred to as welfare capitalism.

Modern Culture

• The automobile was a major consumer product in the 1920s and typified the new spirit of the nation

• Henry Ford's assembly line and mass production made cars more affordable, leading to widespread ownership

• Automobiles allowed people to move to the suburbs and transformed into a necessity

• The impact of cars was tremendous, requiring the development of roadways and traffic enforcement

• Radio also changed the nation's culture, with millions of families owning them and gathering to listen

• Consumerism was fueled by the rise of household appliances and the advertising industry

• Single-earner households pushed more women to enter the workforce, although most still remained in traditional roles

• The flapper image emerged as a symbol of the Roaring Twenties and the new freedom for women

• Entertainment saw growth in movies, sports, and literature with world-class authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway

• Literature reflected disillusionment with the opulence and excess of the 1920s

• The Harlem Renaissance was a major cultural development in the largest Black neighborhood in New York City

• The Harlem Renaissance was marked by the growth of theaters, cultural clubs, and newspapers

• Jazz was popularized and became emblematic of the era, with Louis Armstrong as a major figure

Backlash Against Modern Culture

1920s America:

Backlash and Nativism:

• Ku Klux Klan grew to over 5 million members

  • Targeted Blacks, Jews, urbanites, and anyone whose behavior deviated from their narrow code of acceptable Christian behavior

• Anti-immigration groups grew in strength

  • Targeted southern and Eastern European immigrants

• Accusations of dangerous subversives intensified with Sacco and Vanzetti trial

• US started setting limits and quotas to restrict immigration

  • Emergency Quota Act of 1924 set immigration quotas based on national origins

  • Discriminated against southern and Eastern European "new immigrants"

Societal Tensions:

• Scopes Monkey Trial

  • Tennessee law forbade teaching evolution

  • John Thomas Scopes broke the law

  • Trial drew national attention with prominent attorneys Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan

  • Encapsulated debate over sticking with tradition vs. progress

Prohibition:

• Banned manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages

• Roots in reform campaigns of 1830s

• Mainstay of women's political agendas

• 18th Amendment outlawed American liquor industry

• Resentment of government intrusion in private matter

• Weakened by organized crime in producing and selling liquor

• Gangster Era inspired many movies and television series

• Prohibition repealed by 21st Amendment in 1933

Herbert Hoover and the Beginning of the Great Depression

• Republicans nominate Herbert Hoover in 1928

• Hoover predicts that poverty would soon be eradicated in America

• October 1929 stock market crash triggers the Great Depression

• Hoover and advisers underestimated the impact of the crash

• Hoover believed the economy was sound, reassured public that only speculators would be hurt

• Huge banks and corporations among the speculators, causing bankruptcy and unable to pay employees or guarantee bank deposits

• Factors contributing to the Great Depression: Europe's economy due to WWI and reparations, overproduction leading to lay offs and low market value, production outstripping ability to buy, concentration of wealth and power in a few businessmen, government laxity in regulation

• Depression had a calamitous effect on millions of Americans: job loss, savings loss, homeless and shantytowns, rural farmers struggled, drought and Dust Bowl, agrarian unrest, Farmers’ Holiday Association

• Hoover initially opposed federal relief efforts, but later initiated a few programs and campaigned for works projects

• Hawley-Smoot Tariff worsened the economy

• Hoover had the Federal Emergency Relief Administration established to bail out large companies and banks

• Hoover's most embarrassing moment: army attack on Bonus Expeditionary Force in 1932

• Hoover's efforts not enough to secure re-election, defeated by FDR in 1932 election

• FDR's interventionist government approach contrasted with Hoover's traditional conservative values.

7.4 The New Deal and World War II (1934 - 1945)

• Franklin D. Roosevelt's inaugural address declared war on the Depression

• He asked for the same broad powers that presidents exercise during wars against foreign nations

• Most famous line of the speech: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified fear."

• The New Deal was a result of a powerful presidency and public confidence in Roosevelt

• The First New Deal took place during the first hundred days of Roosevelt's administration

• The Emergency Banking Relief Bill put poorly managed banks under control of Treasury Department and granted government licenses to solvent banks

• The Banking Act of 1933 created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to guarantee bank deposits

• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) provided payments to farmers in return for cutting production, funded by increased taxes on food processors

• Farm Credit Act provided loans to farmers in danger of foreclosure

• National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) consolidated businesses and coordinated activities to eliminate overproduction

• Public Works Administration (PWA) set aside $3 billion to create jobs building roads, sewers, public housing units, etc.

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided grants to states for their own PWA-like projects

• The government took over the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and expanded its operations for the economic recovery of the region

• Roosevelt's response to Great Depression was guided by Keynesian economics

• Keynesian economics argued that government should embark on a program of deliberate deficit spending to revive the economy

• Keynesian economics was successful during Roosevelt's administration and led to 30 years of economic expansion from 1945 to 1973

The Second New Deal

New Deal Criticisms

• Conservatives:

  • Higher tax rates

  • Increase in government power over business

  • Removal of incentive for the poor to lift themselves out of poverty

  • Borrowing to finance programs, anathema to conservatives

• Leftists, like Huey Long:

  • AAA policy of paying farmers not to grow is immoral

  • Government policy toward businesses too favorable

  • Blamed corporate greed for Depression, calling for nationalization of businesses

Huey Long Threat to FDR

• Senator and governor of Louisiana

• Promoted a plan similar to Social Security, gaining supporters

• Assassinated in 1935

Supreme Court Dismantles First New Deal

• Invalidated sections of NIRA in the "sick chicken case"

  • Codes were unconstitutional, executive legislation beyond limits of executive power

• FDR argued that crisis of Depression warranted expansion of executive branch

• Supreme Court struck down AAA in United States v. Butler

Roosevelt's Court-Packing Scheme

• Attempted to increase Supreme Court size from 9 justices to 15

• Wanted to pick justices who supported his policies

• Rejected by Congress

Second New Deal

• Emergency Relief Appropriation Act created WPA (later renamed Works Project Administration)

  • Generated over 8 million jobs, funded by government

  • Employed writers, photographers, and artists for public works and local/personal history projects

• Summer of 1935 is called Roosevelt's Second Hundred Days

  • Passed legislation broadening NLRB powers, democratizing unions, punishing anti-union businesses

  • Created Social Security Administration for retirement benefits for workers, disabled, and families

  • Increased taxes on wealthy individuals and business profits

New Deal Coalition

• Made up of union members, urbanites, underclass, and Black people (previously voted Republican)

• Swept FDR back into office in 1936 with landslide victory

• Held together until election of Reagan in 1980.

Roosevelt’s Troubled Second Term

Franklin Roosevelt's Second Term:

I. Judicial Reorganization Bill:

• Proposed allowing Roosevelt to appoint new federal judges

• Effort to pack courts with judges sympathetic to New Deal policies

• Defeated in Democratic Congress

• Intense criticism for trying to seize too much power

• Situation worked itself out with retirements and appointment of liberal judges

II. Economic Problems:

• 1937 recession caused by cuts in government programs and tightened credit supply

• Recession lasted for almost three years with increased unemployment rate

• Forced Roosevelt to withdraw money from New Deal programs to fund military buildup

III. New Deal:

• Debate among historians on whether New Deal worked or not

• Arguments for New Deal:

  • Provided relief and escaped poverty for many people

  • Reforms in banking, finance, management/union relations

  • Took bold chances in conservative political climate

• Arguments against New Deal:

  • Unemployment rate remained in double digits

  • Failed to solve unemployment problem

  • Too small and short-lived to have significant impact

  • Didn't benefit all equally, minorities particularly hurt by AAA and public works projects

Key New Deal Agencies and Their Functions:

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC):

  • Purpose: To insure bank deposits, restoring public confidence in the banking system.  

  • Benefit: Prevented widespread bank runs and protected people's savings.

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC):

  • Purpose: To regulate the stock market, preventing fraud and abuse.  

  • Benefit: Restored investor confidence and helped stabilize financial markets.  

• Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA):

  • Purpose: To raise farm prices by paying farmers to reduce production.  

  • Benefit: Helped stabilize the agricultural sector and increase farmers' incomes.  

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC):

  • Purpose: To provide jobs for young, unemployed men in conservation projects.  

  • Benefit: Created jobs, improved national parks and forests, and provided valuable work experience.  

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA):

  • Purpose: To develop the Tennessee Valley region by providing electricity, flood control, and economic development.  

  • Benefit: Brought electricity to rural areas, improved living standards, and stimulated economic growth.  

• Works Progress Administration (WPA):

  • Purpose: To create jobs in public works projects, including infrastructure, arts, and literature.  

  • Benefit: Provided millions of jobs, built infrastructure, and supported cultural activities.  

• National Recovery Administration (NRA):

  • Purpose: To promote industrial recovery by establishing codes of fair competition.  

  • Benefit: Aimed to stabilize prices, wages, and working conditions (though it was later declared unconstitutional).  

• Social Security Administration (SSA):

  • Purpose: To provide a safety net for elderly, unemployed, and disabled Americans.  

  • Benefit: Created a system of old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and disability benefits.

• Federal Housing Administration (FHA):

  • Purpose: to insure home mortgages, and improve housing conditions.

  • Benefit: made home ownership more accessible.

General Benefits of the New Deal:

• Job Creation: The New Deal created millions of jobs, providing much-needed relief during the Depression.  

• Economic Stabilization: Programs like the FDIC and SEC helped stabilize the financial system.  

• Social Safety Net: Social Security and other programs provided a safety net for vulnerable populations.  

• Infrastructure Development: The WPA and TVA built roads, bridges, dams, and other infrastructure projects.  

• Increased Government Role: The New Deal significantly expanded the role of the federal government in the economy and society.

   

IV. Accomplishments:

• Passed Second Agricultural Adjustment Act and Fair Labor Standards Act

• Remade America in banking, finance, management/union relations

• Social welfare system stems from New Deal

• Took bold chances in conservative political climate

7.5 Foreign Policy Leading up to World War II

• After World War I, American foreign policy focused on promoting peace and independent internationalism.

• The Washington Conference was held in 1921-1922 and resulted in a treaty that limited armaments and reaffirmed the Open Door Policy toward China.

• In 1928, 62 nations signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which condemned war as a means of foreign policy.

• The US tried to adopt a Good Neighbor Policy in Latin America in 1934, but continued to promote American interests through economic coercion and support of pro-American leaders.

• The Platt Amendment was repealed during this time.

• In Asia, the US had limited influence and was unable to stop Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931.

• The US sold arms to China and called for an arms embargo on Japan when Japan went to war against China in 1937.

• The US maintained a high-tariff protectionist policy throughout the 1920s.

• The Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act allowed the president to reduce tariffs for foreign policy goals.

• Most favored nation (MFN) trade status was granted to eligible countries for the lowest tariff rate set by the US.

• Isolationist sentiment grew due to the results of World War I and the findings of the Nye Commission.

• The Nye Commission revealed unethical activities by American arms manufacturers, leading to the passage of neutrality acts.

• Roosevelt poured money into the military and worked to assist the Allies within the limits of the neutrality acts.

• By the 1940s, US foreign policy became increasingly less isolationist with the Lend-Lease Act and Roosevelt's efforts to supply the Allies.

World War II

• Complicated military strategy and outcome of key battles played a significant role in WW2

• No need to know much about battles, but important to know about wartime conferences between Allies

• Grand Alliance between Soviet Union and West was tenuous

• Manhattan Project of 1942 was research and development effort for atomic bombs

• Soviet spies infiltrated the project

• First meeting of "big three" (Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin) took place in Tehran in 1943

• They planned Normandy invasion (D-Day) and division of defeated Germany into occupation zones

• Stalin agreed to enter war against Japan after Hitler's defeat

• Allies fought Germans primarily in Soviet Union and Mediterranean until D-Day invasion in France

• Soviet Union incurred huge losses and sought to recoup by occupying Eastern Europe

• Allies won war of attrition against Germans and accelerated victory in East by dropping atomic bombs on Japan

• D-Day on June 6, 1944 was largest amphibious landing

• Government acquired more power during WW2 through War Production Board and control over industry and labor

• Labor Disputes Act of 1943 allowed government takeover of businesses deemed necessary to national security

• Hollywood was enlisted to create propaganda films

• Government size more than tripled during war

• FDR signed Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, creating first peacetime draft in US history

• WW2 affected almost every aspect of daily life and created new opportunities and tensions in American society

• More than a million African Americans served in US military during WW2, but lived in segregated units

• US army was not desegregated until after the war in 1948

• Rosie the Riveter symbolized the millions of women who worked in war-related industrial jobs

• Most women were expected to go back to traditional roles after soldiers returned home

• Government restricted civil liberties, including internment of Japanese Americans from 1942 to end of war

• Over 110,000 Asian Americans were imprisoned without charge based solely on ethnic background

• Supreme Court upheld evacuation and internment of Japanese Americans as constitutional

The End of the War

Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

• Yalta conference held in February 1945 between Allies (US, UK, USSR) to discuss the fate of postwar Europe

• Soviet army occupied parts of Eastern Europe, and Stalin wanted to create a "buffer zone" with "friendly" nations

• Allies agreed on a number of issues concerning borders and settlements and to help create the United Nations

Potsdam Conference

• Held after the end of the war in Europe to decide on implementing the agreements of Yalta

• Harry S. Truman represented the US after Roosevelt's death

• Differences between US and USSR growing more pronounced

• Allies created the Potsdam Declaration to establish the terms for Japan's surrender (removal of emperor from power)

Outcome of Conferences

• USSR given a free hand in Eastern Europe with promise to hold "free and unfettered elections" after the war

• Descent of Iron Curtain (division of Eastern and Western Europe) and beginning of Cold War

• American-Soviet animosity led to US using atomic bombs against Japan

• Fear of Soviet entry into Asian war and display of power, combined with tenacious Japanese resistance, influenced Truman's decision.