Chapter 13-15

Chapter 13: The Roaring Twenties

£ Fears of rising communism and socialism in the United States led to the “Red Scare”

(1919–1921).

£ The Red Scare, belief in “Anglo-Saxon” superiority, and a dislike of Southern and Eastern

Europeans led to the first restrictions on immigration from Europe, with the Emergency Quota

Act of 1921 and the even more restrictive Immigration Act of 1924.

£ The Eighteenth Amendment (1919) established Prohibition, forbidding the manufacture and

sale of alcoholic drinks; it had the unintended consequence of leading to the rise of organized

crime, and was subsequently repealed.

£ The Nineteenth Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote, encouraging greater self-

expression and self-confidence among women, leading women to enter into new occupations,

and creating a new influence in elections.

£ The Twenties was a time of economic prosperity for many, when mass production and

advertising led to increasing consumerism and helped to create a common national culture.

£ The Twenties saw a great spread in the use of the automobile, which contributed to the period’s

economic prosperity and a shared national identity.

£ Radio and movies were first introduced in the 1920s and acted as unifying forces in creating a

national culture.

£ The Twenties was a period when modern forms of cultural expression emerged, such as jazz

music and the Harlem Renaissance.

Chapter 14: Great Depression and New Deal

£ The causes of the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression included

overproduction, under-consumption, the effects of stock market, speculation and shaky

banking.

£ The tearing up of prairie grasses and breaking up the top soil through plowing on the Great

Plains, when combined with droughts in the early 1930s, led to the “Dust Bowl.” The disaster

thus had both natural and human causes. This catastrophe led many farmers to lose their farms

and migrate westward to California.

£ The Great Depression led to widespread unemployment, which had social and political effects,

including the loss of savings when banks failed, homelessness, and the rise of shantytowns

known as “Hoovervilles.”

£ Franklin D. Roosevelt won the Presidential election in 1932 by promising Americans a “New

Deal.” His efforts at relief, recovery, and reform were reflected in various New Deal programs.

Relief measures provided temporary support to help people survive the crisis. Recovery

measures were to help the economy get moving again. Reform measures were to prevent future

depressions.

£ The Social Security Act was important to the Second New Deal and provided a federal “safety

net” to working Americans by providing old age pensions, unemployment insurance, and

benefits for orphans and those with disabilities.

£ Major political challenges to the New Deal arose from those who thought it expanded federal

power too much, from those who thought it didn’t do enough to redistribute income and help

the poor, and finally from the Supreme Court, which invalidated several early New Deal

programs. Roosevelt’s “court-packing” plan aroused opposition across the country, but in its

aftermath, the Supreme Court stopped ruling against New Deal programs.

£ Eleanor Roosevelt changed the role of the “First Lady” by playing an active role in promoting

New Deal programs for those in need, including women, minorities and young Americans

Chapter 15: World War 2

£ Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. Based on his Nazi ideology, Hitler planned to

conquer much of Europe. In September 1939, he launched an invasion of Poland, beginning

World War II. Germans overran Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and France but were

unable to defeat the British. In June 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union.

£ Americans attempted to stay out of the war in Europe. Congress passed a series of Neutrality

Acts that prohibited shipping munitions to countries at war. When Americans became worried

about the collapse of democracy, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act, which permitted the

United States to send arms to Britain, for which the British could pay later.

£ The United States threatened to boycott Japan and cut off its supply of oil, leading the Japanese

to launch a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941.

The attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war.

£ Hitler declared war on the United States because of Germany’s alliance with Japan. President

Roosevelt decided to focus the American war effort on defeating Germany first.

£ U.S. involvement in the war led to the mobilization of manpower and resources: men were

drafted; after wartime conversion, American factories began producing war goods; women and

minorities found jobs in wartime production; essential goods like gasoline, rubber and

aluminum were rationed; and the government began selling war bonds.

£ President Roosevelt issued executive orders that led to the internment of Japanese Americans on

the West Coast and that mandated the integration of workers of all races in defense industries.

£ Women worked in war industries, including heavy industry, and were able to enlist in the army

or navy for the first time.