Untitled Flashcards Set
Key Concept 7.1: Growth and Reform in U.S. Society and Economy
Q: How did new technologies and manufacturing techniques impact the U.S. economy?
A: They focused the economy on consumer goods, improved standards of living, increased personal mobility, and advanced communication systems.
Q: By 1920, where did the majority of the U.S. population live, and why?
A: In urban centers due to economic opportunities for women, international migrants, and internal migrants.
Q: What led to calls for a stronger financial regulatory system in the early 20th century?
A: Episodes of credit and market instability, particularly the Great Depression.
The New Deal & the U.S. Welfare State
Q: What were the three main goals of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal?
A: Relief for the poor, recovery of the economy, and reform of the financial system.
Q: What groups pushed Roosevelt toward more extensive economic reforms?
A: Radical, union, and populist movements.
Q: Who opposed Roosevelt’s New Deal and why?
A: Conservatives in Congress and the Supreme Court sought to limit its scope.
Q: Did the New Deal end the Great Depression?
A: No, but it left a legacy of reforms and regulatory agencies.
Q: How did the New Deal affect American politics?
A: It caused a political realignment, with many ethnic groups, African Americans, and working-class communities identifying with the Democratic Party.
Key Concept 7.2: Communications, Technology, and Migration Patterns
Q: How did new mass media contribute to American culture?
A: Radio and cinema spread national culture and increased awareness of regional cultures.
Q: What cultural movement in the early 20th century expressed Black identity?
A: The Harlem Renaissance.
Q: How did World War I affect freedom of speech?
A: Increased anxiety about radicalism led to a Red Scare, which resulted in attacks on labor activism and immigrant culture.
Q: What social and political debates arose in the 1920s?
A: Debates over gender roles, modernism, science, religion, race, and immigration.
Migration Trends in the Early 20th Century
Q: When did immigration from Europe peak, and what happened afterward?
A: It peaked before WWI, but nativist campaigns led to immigration quotas that restricted Southern & Eastern Europeans and increased barriers for Asian immigrants.
Q: Why did many Americans migrate to urban centers in the early 20th century?
A: War production demands (WWI & WWII) and economic difficulties during the Great Depression.
Q: What was the Great Migration, and why did it happen?
A: African Americans moved from the South to the North and West to escape segregation, racial violence, and limited economic opportunity.
Q: What challenges did African Americans face in the North after the Great Migration?
A: They found new opportunities but still faced discrimination.
Q: How did U.S. policies toward Mexican immigration change in the early 20th century?
A: Migration from Mexico increased, but U.S. policies toward Mexican immigrants were often contradictory.
Key Concept 7.3: Global Conflicts and the U.S.’s Role in the World
Q: What was the U.S.’s initial stance in World War I?
A: Neutrality and noninvolvement in European affairs.
Q: Why did the U.S. enter World War I?
A: Woodrow Wilson called for defending humanitarian and democratic principles.
Q: How did U.S. involvement impact the outcome of World War I?
A: The American Expeditionary Forces played a limited combat role, but their entry helped tip the balance in favor of the Allies.
Q: What was Wilson’s goal after World War I, and what happened to it?
A: Wilson pushed for the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, but the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty or join the League.
Q: How did the U.S. approach foreign policy in the 1920s and 1930s?
A: The U.S. followed a unilateral foreign policy, promoting international investment, peace treaties, and selective military intervention while maintaining isolationism.
Q: How did Americans initially respond to the rise of fascism in the 1930s?
A: Most Americans opposed military action against Nazi Germany and Japan.
Q: What event led the U.S. to enter World War II?
A: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.