Download AP US History Review 2009 Session #3 1850

AP US History Review 2009 Session #4 Progressivism-Truman
Includes the following chapters from The American Pageant (12th edition):
Ch 29-37
Ch 29 Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt, 1901-1912
Progressivism:
The “real heart” of the progressive movement was effort by reformers to
– use gov’t as an agency of humanitarian welfare
The political roots of progressive movement lay in – Greenback Labor Party & Populists
Progressive Authors/Muckrakers:
Late 19th century social critics & their criticisms:
Thorstein Veblen – “conspicuous consumption” & “predatory wealth”
- new rich class 1899 The Theory of the Leisure Class p.665 (12th ed.)
Jack London – destruction of nature – 1903 The Call of the Wild, etc… p.677 (12th ed.)
Jacob Riis – slum conditions in cities – 1890 How the Other Half Lives p.665
Henry Demarest Lloyd – exposed Standard Oil Co. corruption before Ida Tarbell
- 1894 Wealth Against Commonwealth p.665
Theodore Dreiser – big business – 1912 The Financier & 1914 The Titan p.665
Not in book – Frank Norris – CA RR abuses – 1901 The Octopus
Women & the Progressive Movement:
Progressivism – was closely tied to feminist movement & women’s causes
Female progressives often justified their reformist political activities on the basis of – their being essentially an
extension of women’s traditional roles as wives & mothers (their “sphere” – the “cult of domesticity”)
Early 20th century muckrakers & their targets:
David G, Phillips – Corruption in the US Senate in Cosmopolitan in 1906 p.666
Ida Tarbell – Standard Oil Co. in McClure’s in 1904 p.666 (Her father was run out of the oil business by Rockefeller)
Lincoln Steffens – corruption of city gov’t in “The Shame of the Cities” in McClure’s in 1902 p.666
Ray Stannard Baker – conditions of Af-Am’s in Following the Color Line in 1908 p.667
*John Spargo – child labor in The Bitter Cry of the Children in 1906 p.667
Lincoln Steffens in a series of articles (for McClure’s magazine) entitled “The Shame of the Cities”
– unmasked corrupt alliance b/t big business & municipal gov’t (local city gov’t)
The muckrakers signified much about the nature of progressive reform movement b/c they
– sought not to overthrow capitalism but to cleanse it w/democratic controls
(TR felt they needed to propose solutions too – not just expose ills & wrongs w/out solutions)
Most muckrakers believed their primary function in progressive attack on social ills was to
– make the public aware of the problems in society, politics, etc…
Progressive reformers were mainly men & women from the – middle class
Political progressivism – emerged in both parties, in all regions, at all levels of gov’t local/municipal,
state, & federal
Temperance & Progressives (Prohibition of Alcohol):
Leading progressive organization advocating prohibition of liquor was
– the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
– {b/c many men spent paychecks in saloons, drinking & whoring & often came home w/disease}
[Carrie Nation & her hatchet & the Anti-Saloon League – pp.585-586]
*****Escondido was a “dry” city – no liquor sold here in late 19th century & early 20th century
From Ch 25 – p.584 Ida B. Wells – Af-Am woman who led anti-lynching campaign after lynchings in TN &
then she was forced to move north and continued anti-lynching campaign
According to progressives, cure for all American democracy’s ills was – more democracy
To regain the power that the people had lost to the “interests,” progressives advocated all of the following:
- Initiative (propose laws w/out legislators – like propositions), referendum (vote on laws for
final approval like voting on propositions), & recall (vote to recall poor officials from
positions such as CA Gov. Gray Davis) p.667
- Direct election of US senators p.667 (state legislatures used to appoint US senators – so they
were really owned by trusts) {This will eventually lead to the 17th Amendment which allows
for direct election of US senators}
All were prime goals of earnest progressives:
- direct election of US senators, prohibition (for many but probably not all progressives),
women’s suffrage (not just in western states like WY, CO, UT, etc…), ending prostitution &
“white slavery” (of women)
- What about abolishing special workplace protections for women? No!
Progressive movement was instrumental in getting the 17th Amendment added to the Constitution, which
provided for – direct election of US senators (no longer appointed by state legislatures which helped end
corruption and make Congress more democratic and accountable to constituents)
Jane Addams, Hull House, & Women in the Progressive Movement(Settlement Houses):
The settlement houses (Ex. Jane Addams Hull House in Chicago) & women’s club movement were crucial
centers of female progressive activity b/c they – introduced many middle-class women to a broader
array of urban social problems & civic concerns (gov’t concerns)
Women addressed the following issues in the progressive movement:
- preventing child labor in factories & seatshops, insuring that food products were healthy &
safe, attacking Tuberculosis & other diseases that bred in slum tenements in cities, & creating
pensions for mothers w/dependent children, What about ending special regulations governing
women in the workplace?
Muller v. Oregon (pp.670-671 in 12th ed.) – 1908 – Supreme Court upheld principle promoted by progressives
like Florence Kelly (1st chief factory inspector in IL & one-time volunteer at Hull House) &
Louis Brandeis (lawyer, later Congressman) that - female workers required special rules & protection on
the job (b/c of womanhood, so not truly equal w/men on the job – idea probably offensive today)
So, legal to have separate laws for women in workplace b/c of the nature of womanhood at time
Tragic Fire:
Public outcry after horrible Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (NYC 3/25/1911) (p.672) led many states to pass
– restrictions on female employment in clothing industry
– {Horrible fire raced across oiled machines w/combustible cloth all around – fire was too fast – doors
were locked to prevent leaving early & unionization efforts – locked doors were tragedy – many
girls leapt to their deaths rather than burn – fire escape was too weak & insufficient for the needs huge tragedy in NYC – sparked outrage & reform}
Labor setbacks:
Lochner v. New York represented a setback for progressives & labor advocates b/c Supreme Court in ruling
– declared a law limiting the work day (to 10 hours) was unconstitutional
City Government & Progressive Reform:
Progressivism inspired city-manager system of gov’t – was designed to remove politics from municipal
administration (b/c of corruption w/old system & inefficiency) {But now how democratic was it?}
Progressive reform at level of city gov’t seemed to indicate progressives’ highest priority was – gov’t efficiency
Theodore Roosevelt:
While President, TR chose to label his reforms – the Square Deal
TR’s (Square Deal) reform program advocated control of corporations (What would Davidson & Lytle say in
Ch 10 about this? What would Zinn say?), consumer protection, conservation of natural resources
(conservation – some managed use vs. preservation – no use really, leave it preserved), & an end to RR
rebates (Ex. 1st Trust Bust for TR was Northern Securities Co.), What about control of labor? pp.673-674
TR helped end the 1902 PA anthracite coal strike by – threatening to seize the mines & operate them w/federal
troops (1st time US gov’t threatened owners of factories & mines rather than using federal troops to
break up strikes & force workers back on the job) p.673
One unusual & significant characteristic of the PA anthracite coal strike of 1902 was that
– national/federal gov’t did not automatically side w/owners (of the mines/corporation) in the dispute
George F. Baer represented mine owners – see his quote about owners & workers on p.673
TR wanted to throw some of the owners’ representatives out of window but dignity of
office restrained him from doing so.
*****Forced arbitration & miners won 10% (of 20% desired) pay raise & won a 9 hour day
(a demand made by miners which they won), but no recognition of miners’ union
Elkins & Hepburn Acts dealt w/subject of – RR regulation
p.673 Elkins Act 1903 – to stop RR & shippers from giving & receiving rebates
p.673 Hepburn Act 1906 – to severely restrict/limit free passes – a form of bribery
p.674 *****Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC from 1887) – strengthened & could now nullify
existing RR rates & stipulate (set) maximum rates
TR believed that trusts – were here to stay w/ their efficient means of production
(TR believed in “good” trusts – public interest & profit too & “bad” trusts too – profit over people)
Real purpose of TR’s assault on trusts was to – prove gov’t, not private business, ruled the USA
– not so much to break up all trusts, monopolies, combinations, etc…
President TR believed that the federal gov’t should adopt a policy of regulating trusts
Meat Inspection & The Jungle:
Passage of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (1906) was especially facilitated (helped) by publication of
–
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle [1906] (What would Davidson & Lytle Ch 10 say about this?) Not exactly
When (socialist) Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle (1906), he intended the book to focus attention on the
– plight of workers in the stockyards and meat-packing industry
*****Not the unsanitary conditions existing in meat-packing industry
*****Sinclair said he “aimed at the country’s heart and hit it in the stomach” b/c people
focused on the sickening conditions he described in the industry
American Southwest Receives Water:
The Newlands Act (pp.676-677) [1902 reclamation act] was resource conservation legislation associated w/TR
& brought water to the American southwest w/irrigation & dams
TR & the environment:
According to the text, TR’s most enduring achievement may have been – his efforts to support the environment
- his conservation efforts helped secure National Forests & National Parks (Ex. Yosemite)
Idea of “multiple-use resource management” included – recreation, sustaining-yield logging,
summer stock grazing, & watershed protection, What about damming rivers?
TR & a 3rd Term:
TR weakened himself politically after his 1904 election when he – announced he would not run for a 3rd term as
president (So he became a “lame duck” president who no one feared or felt they had to work with
b/c he was on his way out!)
Economic crisis in 1907:
Panic of 1907 stimulated reform in banking policy p.681 (1908 Aldrich-Vreeland Act
– issued emergency currency for banks in trouble – paved path for 1913 Fed Reserve Act)
TR progressive or not?:
TR is probably most accurately described as – a middle-of-the-road reformer (moderate, not liberal)
While President, TR greatly increased the power & prestige of the US Presidency (Modern Presidency)
During his Presidency, TR did not tame capitalism, expanded presidential power & prestige, shaped progressive
movement (at the presidential level to a degree), aided the cause of environmentalism (conservationism),
held rigidly to ideological principles (except jingoism & social Darwinistic ideas that today we would
find racist, & imperialism, etc…), provided an international perspective for Americans (particularly
gov’t), he rarely ”spoke softly and carried a big stick and he went far,” a good judge of public opinion,
a total speaker, skillful in working w/Congress, and popular
William Howard Taft:
As President, William Howard Taft – was wedded more to status quo than progressive change (as was TR in
reality) p.685 environmentalist even though Gifford Pinchot quit as chief forester of Ag Dept’s Div. Of
Forestry - Did not judge public opinion well, let Republican party split – reformers vs. conservatives,
did not carry on TR’s “my policies” legacy Ex. Payne-Aldrich Tariff – said it would lower tariffs but the
bill he signed into law had so many riders (additions changing the original bill) that the tariff ultimately
did not really lower the tariff duties
President Taft’s foreign policy was dubbed – “dollar diplomacy” (b/c US investments in Latin America before
Euro’s invested, therefore, US helped to control W. hemisphere pp.683-684
Lots of US interventions in Latin America Ex. Nicaragua (see p.695 in Ch 30 in 12th ed.)
Future “Gun Boat” Diplomacy – (like movie The Sand Pebbles w/Steve McQueen 1962 set in
1926 China on US warship)
Pres Taft intervened militarily in Central America & the Caribbean to ease disorders threatening American
investments (US $) in those places pp.684-685 (See Ch 30 p.695 map of US interventions)
Pres Taft’s image as a progressive was tarnished by – signing the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, refused to support
progressive congressmen to challenge the power of the conservative Speaker of the House, dismissed
Gifford Pinchot, & he aligned himself w/Republican senatorial reactionaries pp.685-686
[*Taft served in the Philippines & Cuba, then later as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a job which
when he was asked, he preferred to the job of US president.]
Taft busted twice as many trusts as TR in half the time (90 to TR’s 44)
Standard Oil Trust Case:
Supreme Court’s “rule of reason” in antitrust law (p.684) was handed down in a case involving – Standard Oil
Co. – used Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 to break up Standard Oil Co. (Rockefeller) – Rockefeller
actually made more money once forced to break up the monopoly of the holding company called
Standard Oil – similar to Bill Gates & Microsoft which was totally compared to Rockefeller’s case – but
TR only went after combinations (trusts) that “unreasonably” restrained trade
The Bull Moose Party/Progressive Party in 1912:
TR – decided to run for President in 1912 b/c – Taft seemed to discard TR’s “my policies” pp.682-686
*****He said he had not been elected for three terms, so he could run again and not break Washington’s
two term tradition – Pres 1st time as McKinley’s VP, so not elected in his own right except 1904
Social Critics of the Progressive Era:
In early 1900s, critics of social injustice included – socialists (like Upton Sinclair & Eugene V. Debs), feminists
(like Alice Paul & Lucy Burns – suffragettes), & journalists (muckrakers)
Progressive beliefs:
Generally, progressives believed there was too much
– political corruption, business monopoly, & social injustice
Progressives usually supported such political reform proposals as
– initiative, referendum, & recall; the Australian (secret) ballot, women’s suffrage, direct election of
US senators, & campaign spending controls
th
Early 20 century progressive state governors included (p.669)
– Hiram W. Johnson (CA), Robert “Battling Bob” La Follete (WS), & Charles Evans Hughes (NY)
Conservationist:
Pres TR & chief forester Gifford Pinchot held conservation ideas of
– efficient management of resource use & long-term planning for resource use
Ch 30 Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad, 1912-1916 [12th edition] (Ch 29 in 13th edition)
1912 Election:
1912 Presidential candidates: Woodrow Wilson-Democrat (winner), TR-Progressive/”Bull Moose,”
William Howard Taft-Republican (1921 appointed Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court),
Eugene V. Debs-Socialist
1912 election was notable b/c – it gave voters a clear choice of political & economic philosophies
According to textbook, run away philosophical winner in 1912 was – Progressivism
In 1912 presidential election, the incumbent president finished third in balloting (Taft behind Wilson #1-winner,
then TR #2, with Eugene V. Debs coming in fourth), one party won both the presidency & control of
Congress (Democrats under Wilson), & the winning candidate attracted less than a majority of the
popular vote
TR – Progressive/Bull Moose Party:
When Jane Addams nominated TR for President in 1912, – it symbolized the rising political status of women
{Odd b/c she was a pacifist & anti-imperialist while TR was a jingoist and imperialist of the highest order}
TR’s New Nationalism – supported a broad program of social welfare & gov’t
p.688 Ex. Consolidation of trusts & labor unions, regulatory agencies, female suffrage, social insurance, min wage
p.689 TR was shot while delivering a speech & was saved by a thick speech & his glasses’ case & he continued to speak even w/the bullet lodged in side is chest
TR’s New Nationalism platform in 1912 advocated – active role of gov’t in economy & social affairs, federal
regulatory agencies to control trusts, female suffrage, social-welfare programs like min wage laws &
social insurance, & consolidation of large trusts & labor unions
TR’s New Nationalism platform in 1912 advocated – active role of gov’t in economy & social affairs, federal
regulatory agencies to control trusts, female suffrage, social-welfare programs like min wage laws &
social insurance, & consolidation of large trusts & labor unions
Woodrow Wilson:
Before election as President in 1912, Woodrow Wilson had been – (progressive reform) state governor of NJ
(Son of a Presbyterian minister & president of Princeton University)
As Gov of New Jersey (Democrat), Woodrow Wilson established a record a s a – passionate reformer
In 1912, Wilson ran for president on Democratic platform including – antitrust legislation, monetary reform,
tariff reductions, support for small business, What about dollar diplomacy? No, that’s Taft!
Wilson’s New Freedom – favored small enterprise & entrepreneurship
pp.688-689 Ex. Free functioning, unregulated, un-monopolized markets & no social welfare
Not regulation but fragmentation of combinations w/antitrust laws
In 1912, Wilson became the first person born in the South elected to the presidency since before the Civil War
(Wilson born in VA – grew up in GA & Carolinas) (last Southern president was Zachary Taylor) pp.689-690
{2nd Democrat since Civil War – other – Grover Cleveland – twice, nonconsecutive}
Wilson was most comfortable surrounded by – academic scholars (rather than politicians) {He was an elitist}
Wilson’s attitude toward the masses can best be described as – having faith in them if they were properly educated
Wilson’s political philosophy included faith in the masses (if properly educated), a belief that the president
should provide leadership for Congress, a belief that the president should appeal over the heads of
legislators to the sovereign people (unless it did not suit his needs apparently), a belief in the moral
essence of politics [just not race relations – segregation], What about scorn for the ideal of
self-determination for minority peoples in other countries?
As a politician, Wilson was – inflexible & stubborn
Wilson’s “triple wall of privilege” pp.691-693
Tariff p.691 – 1913 passed w/help of public – also public helped w/income tax above $3,000 annually
Banks pp.691-692 – Fed Reserve Act 1913 – 12 districts control banks – help w/$ when needed
Trusts p.692 – Fed Trade Commission Act 1914 – look for unfair business practices
Clayton Anti-Trust Act 1914 – strengthened older Sherman Act defining illegalities
& made Unions exempt from prosecution
In 1913, Wilson broke custom dating back to Thomas Jefferson when he
– personally delivered his presidential address to Congress (rather than have it read by a clerk)
When Wilson became President in 1912, the most serious shortcoming in USA’s financial structure was that
the – currency was inelastic (not enough money for all banks during panic/runs on banks p.691)
Woodrow Wilson showed limits of his progressivism (and extent of his racism) by – accelerating segregation of
blacks in federal bureaucracy (which had integrated since the Reconstruction period)
Wilson’s early efforts to conduct an anti-imperialist US foreign policy were first undermined when he
– sent the USMC (United States Marine Corps – “Semer Fi, Do or Die, Gung Ho! – to Haiti)
(Before that, he had discontinued Taft’s “dollar diplomacy” in Latin America (& China), repealed the
Panama Canal Toll Acts – so USA had to pay tolls too, which made England happy, promised eventual
independence to the Philippines & made it an official territory, & built up US forces in Hawaii)
[US military sent to other places many times before – see p.695 for US in Caribbean & Central America
Exs. Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico – Vera Cruz 1914 & hunting
Pancho Villa in 1917 – 1917 bought US Virgin Islands from Denmark]
Which term best characterizes Woodrow Wilson’s approach to US foreign policy diplomacy? – moralistic
(Make sure it is not imperialistic, realistic, balance-of-power, isolationist – although these may be true)
[“teach Latin America to elect better men”]
Pres Wilson refused to intervene in affairs of Mexico until – US sailors were arrested in the port of Tampico
(If you are Huerta in Mexico, make sure you give the USA its 21-gun salute despite your pride!)
Before his first term ended, Wilson had militarily intervened in or purchased Haiti, Dominican Republic,
Virgin Islands, Mexico – Vera Cruz & Villa, What about Cuba under Wilson? No!
[Although the US basically controlled in economically w/investments & ownership and politically w/Platt Amendment]
Wilson’s administration refused to extend formal diplomatic recognition to gov’t of Mexico headed by
– Victoriano Huerta
Wilson’s New Freedom platform of 1912 advocated – active role of gov’t in economy & social affairs,
dissolution of trusts & other forms of business monopoly, & reform of the monetary & banking system
Unlike TR, Woodrow Wilson tended to lack the common touch & he found it difficult to compromise
(This is why the USA did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles nor join the League of Nations really)
Upon becoming president, Wilson launched an attack on the “triple wall of privilege” which he said included
– high tariffs, powerful trusts, & conservative banking policies
[*Not racial discrimination as he was a Southern segregationist bigot despite being “born between the
Bible and the dictionary and never got far away from either.” Wife was a bigot too, and did not like
suffragettes. She did function as the President behind closed doors when Wilson suffered from his
incapacitating stroke – things got his signature, yet the stroke affected his ability to write at the time.]
President Wilson’s attack on monopolistic business combinations led to the
– Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 – presidential commission appointed to monitor industries
– & the Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914 – strengthened Sherman Anti-Trust Act, defined illegal
activities, & exempt labor organizations/unions from prosecution under antitrust laws {as the
Sherman Act of 1890 had been used many times}
*****Wilson not progressive for civil rights for Af-Am’s nor women’s suffrage until politically pressured to
stick by his commitment to push for the 19th Amendment granting female suffrage – just after the
18th Amendment – Volstead Act - Prohibition
Tariff:
Congress passed the Underwood Tariff b/c – Pres Wilson aroused public opinion to support its passage
When Congress passed the Underwood Tariff Bill (1913), it intended legislation to – lower tariffs (p.691)
(Wilson used public to hold Congress accountable to the original bill which substantially reduced rates)
(Also allowed for 16th Amendment to kick in the graduated income tax for yearly incomes over $3,000)
Income tax & the IRS:
16th Amendment provided for – a personal (graduated) income tax (for incomes over $3,000 annually) p.691
Federal Reserve System:
Fed Reserve Act of 1913 guaranteed a substantial measure of public control over the US banking system
through financial authority given to – a presidentially appointed Federal Reserve Board
Fed Reserve Act of 1913 gave the Federal Reserve Board authority to – issue paper $ & increase the amount of
money in circulation (by printing Federal Reserve Notes – like the ones in your wallet or purse)
(It can also control/set interest rates)
Trust Busting (Strengthen Sherman Anti-Trust Act):
Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914 – explicitly legalized strikes & peaceful picketing
( & exempt labor organizations from antitrust prosecution) p.692
Samuel Gompers (AFL) called the Clayton AntiTrust Act “labor’s Magna Carta” b/c of benefits conferred on
the working man by the law
Wilson Appoints the First Jew on Supreme Court:
The first Jewish person on the US Supreme Court, appointed by Wilson, was – Louis Brandeis
(lawyer from Maine who helped argue & win the Muller v. Oregon case of 1908 granting women special consideration in the workplace)
Wilson & World War I:
As WWI began in Europe in 1914, the alliance system placed Germany & Austria-Hungary as leaders of the
Central Powers, while Russia & France were among the Allies [along w/the British – later the USA in 1917]
From 1914 to 1916, trade b/t the USA & Great Britain – pulled the US economy out of a recession
With the outbreak of WWI in 1914, the great majority of Americans – earnestly hoped to stay out of the war
One primary effect of WWI on the USA was that it – conducted an immense amount of trade w/the Allies
(It also traded w/Central Powers early on, but not nearly as much – USA loaned massive amounts of $ to Allies)
Pres Wilson insisted that he would hold Germany to “strict accountability” for the loss of American ships and
lives to (unrestricted) submarine warfare.
(GB had naval blockade of Central Powers causing shortages, starvation, etc.. – more lethal than U-Boat attacks)
German submarines began sinking unarmed (not always) and unresisting merchant and passenger ships without
warning – in retaliation for the British naval blockade of Germany
(GB cut trans-Atlantic cable b/t Germany & USA – why?)
[Sympathy for Allies attacked by U-Boats – not starving in Germany, etc…]
The Cunard line passenger ship sunk by a German U-Boat (U-20) on May 7th, 1915 was the Lusitania
pp.699-700 ~1200 killed, including 128 Americans
Germany warned passengers not to travel in war zone (p.701) – Lusitania had weapons on board
{Others sunk after: Arabic (British), then Sussex (French), then the Arabic-Sussex Pledge from
Germany to stop unrestricted submarine warfare, then others later as Germany saw the loss of
her advantage to Britain’s naval supremacy above the waves of the Atlantic}
[Titanic was sunk in 1912 before the war; her sister ship, Britannic, sank during WWI on
duty as a hospital ship and troop carrier]
In the Sussex Pledge, Germany promised – not to sink passenger ships w/out warning
(but they wanted Wilson to get GB to stop the naval blockade, knowing he could not & he could not)
[Germany figured it could win the war before the USA could effectively mobilize & affect the war]
*****U-Boat vulnerabilities & strengths vs. destroyers – loss of stealth can be loss of health
Election of 1916:
Progressive “Bull Moose” Party died when – TR refused to run as the party’s presidential candidate in 1916
When Wilson won reelection in 1916, he received strong support from the – working class
(As well as West Coast which helped him get elected in 1912)
Progressive Reforms:
Other Acts:
Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 – credit to farmers @ low interest rates to stop foreclosures (Populism)
Warehouse Act of 1916 – loans on staple crops for farmers (Populism)
Workingmen’s Compensation Act of 1916 – civil service employees to receive compensation for injury
Jones Act of 1916 – anti-imperial – territorial status & future independence for the Philippines
Adamson Act of 1916 – RRs – 8 hr day w/overtime for working on trains used for interstate commerce
Federal Reserve Act of 1913 – Fed Reserve Board to set interest rates, print $, fund banks
*Wilson put conservatives on the board to placate/satisfy business in order to get reelected in 1916
12 regional banks created by the Federal Reserve Act were – regulated by the Federal Reserve Board
(presidentially appointed) & owned by private banks (also authorized to issue “Federal Reserve Notes”
– no longer their own notes/$ & distribute emergency funds to banks that are in danger of failing b/c of
a panic or run on the bank)
Flood of progressive legislation during Wilson’s first term included laws to – provide disability assistance to
civil-service workers (Workingmen’s Compensation Act of 1916), establish 8 hr day for interstate RR
workers (Adamson Act of 1916), provide credit & low-interest loans to farmers (Fed Farm Loan Act of
1916), & prohibit false advertising & adulteration of consumer products (Part of the Fed Trade Commission/Act of 1914)
Ch 31 The War to End War, 1917-1918
[12th edition] (Ch 30 in 13th edition)
Wilson & World War I:
Pres Wilson broke diplomatic relations w/Germany when – Germany announced it would wage unrestricted
submarine warfare (sink all ships in the war zone w/out warning) in Atlantic Ocean
Was the USA forced to war b/c of this?
Zimmerman Note involved a proposed secret agreement b/t – Germany & Mexico
(Promised to give Mexico back territory lost in the Mexican Cession if Mexico went to war w/USA)
[Zimmerman used a British cable service to send this note; British intercepted it and gave it to USA]
US declared war on Germany – after German U-Boats sank four unarmed (really?) US merchant vessels
Was the USA truly neutral in its actions between August 1914 & April 1917?
Pres Wilson persuaded the American people to enter WWI by – pledging a “war to end all wars” & to
“make the world safe for democracy”
Wilson viewed US entry into WWI as US opportunity to
– shape new international order based democratic ideals
Wilson’s Fourteen Points:
The following were among Wilson’s 14 Points upon which he based America’s idealistic foreign policy in
WWI – reduction of armaments, abolition of secret treaties, a new international organization to
guarantee collective security (League of Nations) (Ex. Poland but not Syria, Iraq, or Palestine),
& principle of national self-determination for subject peoples,
What about international religious freedom & toleration?
World War I on the American Home Front & Battlefields:
Major problem of George Creel’s Committee on Public Information was that – he oversold Wilson’s ideals
which led the world to expect too much from Wilson
(Propaganda – “Four-Minute Men” speeches)
Civilian administrators & WWI mobilization agencies:
George Creel – Committee on Public Information
Herbert Hoover – Food Administration
Bernard Baruch – War Industries Board
William Howard Taft – National War Labor Board
When US entered WWI, it was – poorly prepared to leap into the global war [USA’s military ill-prepared]
During WWI, civil liberties in the USA were – denied to many, especially those suspected of disloyalty
Ex. Eugene V. Debs – Socialist (Ran for Pres)
*All things German were disliked too
*****1919 – 25 race riots Ex. Chicago – rocks thrown at teenage AF-Am boy who drown while swimming,
accidentally into an all-white beach. Angry blacks retaliated which led to the riot
2 Constitutional amendments adopted in part b/c of wartime influences were the 18th, which dealt w/prohibition,
and the 19th, which was women’s suffrage.
As a result of their work supporting the war effort, women – finally received the right to vote (nationally)
- the 19th Amendment
During WWI, the gov’t’s treatment of labor could best be described as – fair
*inflation nullified wage increases
*****There were some 6,000 strikes during the war!
2 groups who suffered most from violations of civil liberties during WWI were – German-Americans & social
radicals (What about Af-Am’s living in the “nadir” of race relations in the USA?)
Labor Issues during World War I:
Strikes & sabotage of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW – “Wobblies” – “I Won’t Works”) during WWI
were – result of some of worst working conditions in USA p.710
Grievances of labor during & shortly after WWI include – inability to gain right to organize, war-spawned
inflation, violence against workers by employers, & use of Af-Am’s as strike breakers
– Ex. East St. Louis 1917 race riots p.711
What about suppression of the AFL? No, b/c they supported the war effort.
1919 Steel Strike resulted in – a grievous setback crippling steel unions for a decade – into the 1930s
(Typical pattern – scabs & violence)
African-American Migration during World War I:
Movement of tens of thousands of southern Af-Am’s to the north during WWI resulted in
– racial violence in the north
*****1919 saw 25 race riots – the Black “nadir”
Mobilization during WWI:
Most wartime mobilization agencies relied on voluntary compliance to prepare the economy for war.
In an effort to make economic mobilization more efficient during WWI, the federal gov’t took over & operated
the – RRs (That is like socialization – RRs turned back over to pvt enterprise after the war)
*****Daylight savings time comes from WWI to get more efficient use of daylight hours for production
USA used all of the following methods to support the war effort – forcing some people to buy war bonds,
having “heatless Mondays” to conserve fuel, seizing enemy merchant vessels trapped in US harbors,
restricting manufacturing of beer (to conserve wheat), What about using gov’t power extensively to
regulate the economy?
Financing WWI:
Most $ raised to finance WWI came from – loans from the US public
– Bonds (2/3rds of total needed – other 1/3rd from taxes)
Would you sail on a concrete ship?:
*USA built some concrete ships for the war, but did not use them. Ex.USS Faith
Conscription:
WWI military draft – generally worked fairly (no substitutes, etc., exemptions for some industries) &
effectively to provide military manpower (What would Zinn say?)
Those who protested conscription during WWI did so b/c –disliked the idea of compelling a person to serve
Also, conscientious objectors – Ex. Alvin York who was not exempt
What did most Americans think of WWI when the USA first entered the war?:
When the US entered the war in April of 1917, most Americans did not believe that
– it was necessary to send a large army to Europe
Women in WWI:
WWI – saw women in US forces – US Navy, USMC, (Army?) – volunteers only
African-Americans in WWI:
Af-Am’s were segregated Ex. 369th Harlem Hellfighters, before war 1908 Brownsville, TX, or 1917 Houston
p.715 & p.719 – caption for 369th – all receive the French Croix de Guerre
Places where US troops fought during WWI:
During WWI, US troops fought in all of the following countries: Russia (Civil War 1918-1920), Belgium (near
Ypres), Italy, & France, What about Czechoslovakia? Wasn’t a country until after WWI!
2 major battles of WWI in which the USA forces engaged were – St. Mihiel & Meuse-Argonne Offensive
p.718 Alvin York [Chateau-Thierry & Belleau Wood – USMC too & 2nd battle of the Marne River]
*****Ypres, Verdun, Somme, Gallipoli, Jutland, Tannenburg, etc…
2nd Battle of the Marne (River) was significant b/c it – marked the beginning of a German withdrawal that never
reversed – used stormtroopers to attempt last offensive – effective shock troops
Impact of Russian Revolution on WWI:
Russia’s withdrawal from WWI in 1918 resulted in – release of thousands of Germans to move to the W Front
*Revolutions in Russia: October 1917 & Nov-Dec 1917 plus 1918-1920 Civil War & Treaty of Brest-Litovisk
Famous Americans at war:
Supreme military commander of US forces during WWI was – John J “Black Jack” Pershing
TR jr in both world wars, MacArthur, Marshall Foch-French, Eddie Rickenbacker, Patton, etc…
Contributions of the USA to WWI:
USA’s main contributions to Allied victory in WWI included – foodstuffs, oil, munitions, financial credit (got
USA in war really), What about battlefield victories? The book says no, but I say yes to a degree.
Make sure you realize the main contributions would not include battlefield victories as far as the test goes – OK
Germans were heavily demoralized by – USA’s unlimited troop reserves (& attitudes)
Treaty conditions for ending the war:
As a condition of ending the war, Wilson demanded that – the German Kaiser, Wilhelm, abdicate
*Allied armies would remain in Germany until signed treaty – they could not attend negotiation p.722
(neither could Russia) – reparations $33 billion & war-guilt clause, which really made them angry
Chief difference b/t Wilson & parliamentary statesmen at Paris peace table was that Wilson – lacked command
of a legislative majority at home (election of 1916) p.719
Wilson’s ultimate goal at Paris Conference was to – establish the League of Nations
At Paris Peace Conference, Wilson sought all of the following goals – prevent seizure of territory, a world
parliament to provide collective security, establish a League of Nations, & destroy the Austrian &
Russian empires, What about an end to European colonial empires (other than Austria & Russia) in
Africa & Asia?
Opposition to the League of Nations by many US senators during the Paris Peace Conference – gave Allied
leaders in Paris a stronger bargaining position (b/c Wilson was weakened by US opposition to the treaty
& the League, later he was weakened by the stroke he had)
After the Treaty of Versailles had been signed, Wilson – was condemned by both disillusioned liberals &
frustrated nationalists & imperialists
In USA, most controversial aspect of Treaty of Versailles was – Article X p.723
This meant alliance with Europe, which went against isolationist (toward Europe) attitudes in USA
Therefore, USA could be drug into a European war, and it did not like that prospect in general
Not arms limitations, open diplomacy, permanent US alliance w/France, self-determination of peoples
Initial Republican strategy regarding the Treaty of Versailles was to – delay & amend (change/alter) the treaty
Senate opponents of League of Nations as proposed by Treaty of Versailles argued that it
–
violated Wilson’s own Fourteen Points Ex. Self-determination challenged in Japan getting
Germany’s sphere in China & her possessions in the Pacific p.722
–
& mandates created in Middle East too
–
Wilson talks like Christ, and acts like Lloyd George (of England)
–
At Versailles, foreign leaders commented on Wilson saying, “God has only 10 points”
In Congress, the most reliable support for Wilson’s position on the League of Nations came from Democrats
Senate likely would have accepted US participation in League of Nations if Wilson had – been willing to
compromise w/League opponents in Congress (such as Henry Cabot Lodge - Republican)
Who was finally most responsible for the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles (for ratification)?
–
Woodrow Wilson! (Stubborn and unyielding/uncompromising)
Wilson’s call for a “solemn referendum” in 1920 referred to – his belief that presidential election of 1920
should determine fate of Treaty of Versailles
Republican isolationists successfully turned Warren G. Harding’s 1920 presidential victory into a
– death sentence for the League of Nations
(Apparently a death sentence for Harding too who died fairly shortly after coming into the office)
Major weakness of League of Nations was that it – did not include the USA
Pres Wilson’s Fourteen Points included – arms limitation, self-determination (for people in autonomous
democratic gov’t), freedom of seas, & permanent internal organization (for collective security)
– [League of Nations]
Pres Wilson’s position at the Paris Peace Conference was weakened by – Republican party victories in 1918
midterm elections & his failure to appoint a leading Senate Republican (like Lodge) to the conference
delegation – (No president had ever negotiated a treaty themselves before considering that Congress has
the power to ratify treaties)
Wilson was popular outside the USA initially
He had a stroke while taking the Treaty to the “sovereign people” – wife functioned as president behind closed doors
1920 election:
1920 – Ohio Republican Harding beat Democrat Cox
– Eugene V. Debs got votes from prison – almost a million!
[Harding pardoned Debs in 1921 for his prosecution under the Espionage & Sedition Acts]
(Wilson would not pardon him)
Election of 1920 – indicated public’s exhaustion w/moral idealism & self-sacrifice, was first presidential
election since passage of women’s suffrage/19th Amendment, was used by Republican isolationists to
kill the League (of Nations)
Signaled end of widespread progressive domestic reform activity until later in the 20th century
Harding unclear on League – a League, but not the League (Wilson’s League)
Espionage and Sedition Acts:
Among major targets of wartime Espionage & Sedition Acts were
–
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW/”Wobblies”), Eugene V. Debs (not a Supreme Court
Case but the Socialist), & German Americans
 Espionage Act 1917/Sedition Act 1918 (Sedition is treason.) pp.708-709 – Supreme Court presented in
textbook as unbiased when ruling in Schenck v. USA in 1919 – can curb speech when “clear and present
danger” to the nation exists – but who decides – think of US v. Spirit of ’76 b/c it portrayed British
atrocities, which they did commit during the American Revolution, but as our WWI allies, the truth was
not acceptable – why? What is so dangerous about the truth in the face of war propaganda?
Inflation and labor discontent in USA during WWI:
During the course of WWI – American prices approximately doubled (bad inflation – leads to black markets)
Am wages did not double – maybe raised 20% in some cases
~6,000 strikes occurred in the USA
Am farm production increased to feed USA & Allies (led to an early depression for farmers in 1920s)
Women gained in the workforce – in “women’s work – teaching, typing, switchboard operator,
secretary, & in some industries – but women and children will always work for less than men – “bread
winners” – ridiculous thought – women are “bread winners” too – and it is exploitative to use women &
children or anybody
Similarities of 1790s Alien & Sedition Acts and Espionage & Sedition Acts of the 1910s
Influenza pandemic:
*****1918 Spanish Flu pandemic 500,000 died in USA – 20-40 million died worldwide
John J. Pershing biography:
John J “Black Jack” Pershing – had been at San Juan and Kettle Hills commanding the 10th Cavalry – “Buffalo
Soldiers” – Af-Am’s; served in Indian conflicts, the Philippines, Cuba, and commanded the US forces
chasing Pancho Villa in 1916-1917 right before US entry into WWI (1914-1918) in 1917; lost his wife
and all of his daughters, only his son survived, a horrible fire in their home abroad; jumped several ranks
to receive the highest rank in the US military since George Washington, a rank no other General has
achieved since, and commanded the AEF in WWI; at end of war he said that he feared that the Germans
did not know they were beaten and that the same thing would have to be done again within another 2030 years – he was correct!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page numbers from The American Pageant 12th edition
p.690 Wilson’s righteous description
p.705 “a hesitant & peace-loving nation”
p.706 caption – sub attack forces Wilson’s hand & neutral trade – Bovine Excrement
cause of war – munitions vs. $ loaned
“gang of thieves” vs. “gang of murderers” U-Boats vs. British naval blockade
- refers to British harassing US ships vs. U-Boat attacks, but US ships carry war materials to
Allies, so how neutral is that? So, Wilson says there was no other choice but war whereas
earlier he had said the USA was “too proud to fight”
pp.706-707 Jeanette Rankin (Montana) – first female Congresswomen
– she along w/51 Representatives & 6 Senators voted no to war
US altruism – war to end wars – make world safe for democracy – or is that “hypocrisy” – ask John Dos Pasos
– US isolationists or crusaders – no middle ground for the US people – either or – not something
more moderate than an isolationist or a crusader
(US has been imperialist, conqueror, invader, oppressor, colonizer, revolutionary, plus isolationist & crusader too)
p.707 “Political independence & territorial integrity of all nations” - more rhetorical Bovine Droppings
14 Points/Commandments? How sacred were they really?
pp.708-709 Espionage & Sedition Acts
p.711 Alice Paul & Lucy Burns (Movie: Iron Jawed Angels) – militant suffragettes
p.711 Margaret Sanger & Birth Control
– (remember Anthony Comstock and the Comstock Laws aimed at stopping obscene literature including
birth control info – federal offense to send anything like that through the mail)
p.715 Af-Am’s in US military & USA prior to & during WWI - 369th “Harlem Hellfighters” [p.719 caption]
Black “nadir” of race relations in the era of Jim Crow America (1896-late 1940s)
p.718 Alvin York
p.718 “US no arsenal of democracy yet”
Ch 30-31 Heroification of Wilson – see Loewen Ch 1, and Zinn Ch 13 & 14
pp.720-722 “Wilson like the mother of a sickly child who sacrifices it for the healthy firstborn.”
– referring to compromises he had to make – what a lame simile!
Germans mad at Treaty of Versailles – Ex. Reparations led to depression & unemployment w/hyperinflation
–
Adolf Hitler used this discontent to his advantage – Germans also resented war-guilt clause
given that Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia really started the ball rolling on the
alliance system that led to WWI.
p.723 Wilson’s wife functioning in many ways as president behind closed doors b/c of his incapacitating stroke
Ch 32 American Life in the “Roaring Twenties,” 1919-1929 (Ch 32 is Ch 31 in the 13th edition)
The Red Scare:
Red Scare or 1919-1920 was provoked by – public’s association of labor violence w/its fear of revolution
Businesspeople used the Red Scare to – break the backs of fledgling unions [claiming all unions were “Red”]
Most tenacious pursuer of “radical” elements during the Red Scare was – (Attorney Gen.) A. Mitchell Palmer
[*Palmer raids – Sacco & Vanzetti – IWW – Emma Goldman – “Soviet Ark”]
During the Red Scare – hundreds of alien (immigrant) “radicals” were deported from USA, many states passed
laws making it a crime to advocate violence, several socialists were elected yet denied their seats in NY
state legislature
(*labor union membership declined as the 1920s wore on b/c of socialism, communism, anarchism
associated w/ unions & don’t forget the newly formed USSR, which US troops along w/other Allied
powers – GB, France, Japan – tried, unsuccessfully, to defeat the Bolshevik communist gov’t of the
Soviet Union in the 1918-1920 civil war following the Russian Revolution(s) of 1917)
American life entering the 1920s:
Disillusioned by war & peace, Americans in 1920s did not enter a decade of economic difficulties (in general),
but they did denounce “radical” foreign ideas, condemn “un-American” life-styles, shun (ignore)
diplomatic commitments to foreign countries, & restricted immigration
KKK revival in 1920s:
Post-WWI Ku Klux Klan (KKK) advocated fundamentalist religion, opposition to birth control, repression of
pacifists, anti-Catholicism, What about opposition to prohibition?
[KKK - *anti-Semites – anti-African-American/racists – to protect white women – nativists – Not just in South]
KKK – of 1920s was a reaction against – forces of diversity & modernity transforming American culture
*Harding was sworn into the KKK in the White House
Campaign of recruitment
*Advertising & Kleagling (the Kleagle – clavern leader - collect $10 initiation fee & pocket $4 for yourself) helped increase membership
In the mid-1920s, the KKK turned its invective (Although I can tell from the context, I had to look that up
– so it means – violent denunciation) against – recent immigrants (xenophobic nativism), Catholics
(You guys are horrible – at least that what I always tell my wife jokingly of course ), gambling &
adultery {plus drinking alcohol – I’m sure none of the “rednecks” drank ever – plus radicals,
Af-Am’s of course – to protect white women, Jews (anti-Semitism), etc… - They sound fun don’t they?}
- Popular, recruitment, advertising, Kleagling, scandals, crimes – Ex. Murder in Indiana
- Controlled many local and state politicians – Ex. IA, OR, CA, etc….
- Harding sworn in as member in the White House – That’s sweet isn’t it? 
Immigration in 1920s:
Immigration restrictions of 1920s were introduced as result of – nativist belief that N. Euro’s were superior to
S. & E. Euro’s (Social Darwinism)
- Emergency Quota Act of 1921 – 3% of pop living in USA in 1900 – 1924 cut down to 2% & shifted
year to 1890 (both of these favored N. Euro’s) & in 1929 the year was shifted to 1920
(Those years favored N. Euro’s b/c of when & where immigrants had come from)
- Immigration Act of 1924 imposed quotas based on nationality w/preference toward N. Euro’s
“Cultural Pluralists” like Horace Kallen and Randolph generally advocated that – immigrants should be able to
retain their traditional cultures rather than blend into a single American “melting pot”
Immigration quota system adopted in 1920s discriminated directly against – S. & E. Europeans
*Asians too
Religion of almost all Polish immigrants to USA was – Roman Catholicism
Many Polish peasants learned about USA from – agents from US railroad companies, letters from friends
& family, agents from steamship lines, Polish-American business people,
What about Catholic missionaries?
*Complaint of US Immigration Commission against Polish immigrants was
– they sent too much $ back home, so $ left USA
Labor unions & struggles:
One of the primary obstacles to working class solidarity & organization in USA was – ethnic diversity
Prohibition & Organized Crime (Mafia):
Enforcement of the Volstead Act (18th Amendment) met strongest resistance from – Eastern city dwellers
Most Americans assumed that prohibition – would be permanent
Most spectacular example of lawlessness & gangsterism in the 1920s was – Chicago (Al Capone)
*Lots of gangsters in prohibition in many cities across the country – not just Chicago
“Noble experiment” of prohibition
– was a complete failure (multiple reasons) & it encouraged (aided) organize crime & gang warfare
*anti-immigrant & Eastern cities did not like it either
*Drinking decreased, but it was more popular – people flaunted the law – pushed for by minority
*speakeasies, bootlegging, moonshine, rum runners, Canada, Mexico –TJ, Kennedy, Others
*Mabel Walker Wilibrant
*Treasury Dept responsible
*Chicago – Capone – St. Valentine’s Day 1929 – “Chicago Typewriter” – Drive-By shootings
American education in 1920s:
John Dewey can rightly be called the “father of progressive education.”
According to John Dewey, a teacher’s primary goal is to – educate a student for life
Progressive efficiency in business:
Frederick Taylor – scientific management
Frederick Taylor – prominent inventor & engineer – best known for
– promotion of industrial efficiency & scientific management of factories, etc…
Scopes Monkey Trial:
John T. Scopes, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, & Dayton, TN – 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial
Trial of John T. Scopes in 1925 centered on issue of – teaching evolution in public schools
After Scopes “Monkey” Trial – fundamentalist religion remained a vibrant force in Am spiritual life
Prosperity for some, poverty for others during the 1920s:
1920’s prosperity was helped by – rapid exchange of (post-war) capital, increased productivity of workers,
perfection of assembly-line production [Scientific Management meets Progressive Efficiency],
advertising & credit/installment buying,
What about gov’t stimulation of the economy?
(What would Zinn say about this? Ex. Tax breaks & mellon)
As Sec of Treasury, Andrew Mellon (one of the richest men in USA) placed the tax burden on
– middle income groups (the middle class)
Ex. Earn $1 million in one year in 1921, get taxed $663,000 (66.3%)
Earn $1 million in 1926, get taxed $200,000 (20%) (graduated tax should be make more, get taxed more)
[“Trickle Down” economical approach – Rich dig it obviously!]
(*During Mellon’s long tenure as Sec of Treasury – for Harding, Coolidge, & Hoover – his policies –
lowered the national debt – however – Laissez-Faire (unregulated policies for business) pro-business
economics led to Depression)
Most innovative features of jazz age economy included – mass advertising & installment/credit buying
*****not stock market – although it could be an answer too I think
Buying on the installment plan (credit):
The prosperity that developed in 1920s – was accompanied by a cloud of consumer debit (credit/installment)
Overproduction means USA needs new markets:
Main problem faced by Am manufacturers in 1920s involved
– developing expanded markets of people to buy their products
Was Jesus Christ the best advertising man ever?:
Bruce Barton’s The Man Nobody Knows expressed great admiration for Jesus Christ b/c
– (Barton believed that) Jesus was the best Ad-man (advertising man) ever
Sports in the 1920s:
Among major figures promoted by mass media image makers & the new “sports industry” in 1920s
- Babe Ruth & Jack Dempsey (there were many others too – too many to list here)
Ford’s Model T & the assembly line make cars affordable & impact the 1920s:
Henry Ford’s contribution to automobile industry was – relatively cheap automobiles (w/good reliability & road clearance)
*Ford - $5 per day wage, strikes, anti-Semitism, “goon squad,” prohibitionist, tinkerer/engineer,
efficient use of assembly line in automotive industry, Model T every 10 seconds, black paint – why?
Industries that prospered mightily w/widespread use of the automobile included – rubber, highway construction
(1920s-today) (& paint for highways & signs), oil, glass, motels (newly appearing to meet the needs of
drivers and families on vacation), billboards (for advertising), camping, etc….
What about aluminum? (not really used in automotive construction that early in the industry)
Automotive revolution resulted in – consolidation of schools, spread of suburbs, loss of population in less
attractive states, altered youthful sexual behavior (Ex. “struggle buggy” – see 1920’s Jazz Age Slang)
What about an increased dependence of women on men?
Mass production of automobiles in 1920s led to growth of petroleum industry (oil, gas, etc…), suburban
communities (sprawl farther away from the cities), installment/credit buying (another reason Ford paid
his workers $5 a day – so they could buy Model T’s, later Model A’s as of 1927 – choice of colors
– not just black), life-style changes (“Keeping up with the Jones” – neighbors who have the newest stuff,
so you gotta to have it too! Plus dating in cars, going to movies, going to speakeasies, dancing “the
Charleston”, dance marathons, college football, baseball, racing, boxing, etc…all facilitated easier with
the new mobility of average Americans) * Plus motels, gas stations, camping, billboards, highway
construction, etc… [*Model T’s had good road clearance – why?]
“Lucky Lindy”:
Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic made him an American (worldwide) hero especially b/c
– his wholesome youthfulness contrasted w/cynicism & debunking of the jazz age of the 1920s
*1932 Kidnapping – sad story – not so lucky
Radio & Movies in 1920s:
First “talkie” movie/motion picture was – The Jazz Singer (1927 starring Al Jolson)
Advent of radio & motion pictures – resulted in – much of rich diversity of immigrant culture was lost
*Radio & movies homogenized culture & accents for many people in USA
*Radio “soap-operas” sponsored by detergent companies – so “soap operas”
Radio impacted popular culture reaching people nationwide with popular programs like “Amos and Andy” –
two white men pretending to be black men – racist by today’s standards, but very popular back then
Popular culture of 1920s:
Automobiles, radios, & motion pictures – contributed to the standardization of American life (popular culture)
Demographic changes of 1920s:
1920 census revealed for first time that most – Americans lived in cities (not in rural areas)
Margaret Sanger (see review session #3 notes for more on her):
Margaret Sanger – was most noted for her advocacy of – birth control
*****Remember she took on Anthony Comstock & Comstock Laws to give out birth control info
Working women in 1920s:
Job opportunities for women in 1920s – tended to cluster in a few low-paying fields
(Ex. Typists, secretaries, teachers, etc… - middle class, working class women – lower classes still in factories, etc…)
Freud, sex, & America in the 1920s:
To justify their new sexual frankness (boldness), many Americans pointed to – theories of Sigmund Freud
- It’s all about sexual repression, the Ego, Superego, & Id, plus anal retentiveness vs. oral fixation
Music – Jazz – 1920s – Harlem:
Jazz music was developed by – African-Americans (THANK GOD!)
Marcus Garvey (Jamaican born “Mon”) – founded the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
– is best known for promoting resettlement of African-Americans in Africa (“Back to Africa”
movement), cultivating feelings of self-confidence & self-reliance among Af-Am’s (instilled pride in
African heritage), being sent to prison for fraud, promoting black-owned business (Ex. Black Star line
shipping co. – like White Star line)
Who championed the idea of the “Talented Tenth” and edited The Crisis for the NAACP? Du Bois
[*He influenced the future development of the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims in America)]
Prominent African-American cultural figures of the 1920s:
Joseph “King” Oliver, “Jelly Roll” Morton, Langston Hughes, WC Handy, (Zora Neale Hurston,
James Weldon Johnson, A. Philip Randolph – Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union (mostly
Af-Am’s & some whites), Claude McKay, Bessie Smith, Countee Cullen, Paul Robeson,
“Duke” Ellington, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Josephine Baker, the Cotton Club, etc…
- none of these are in our book, but they are in the prep textbook)
1920’s literature:
Literary figures:
Ernest Hemingway – The Sun Also Rises (also - A Farewell to Arms)
F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby
Sinclair Lewis – Main Street (also – Babbitt)
William Faulkner – The Sound of Fury
Buy stocks on “margin” (credit):
Buying stock “on margin” meant – purchasing it w/a small down-payment (no regulation of stock market)
*****Up to 90% margin – great if you always profit, but what if you don’t and your margin is called?
My son is cute:
l nhyj jyhjhyuhjyuhjjjjjjj – by Joshua Wesley Parker (age 2)
(This is Wesley’s (my almost two-year old son) contribution to your study guide – you will be tested on the
exact sequence, which you must know perfectly for an “A” on the exam – not even – just ignore it)
1920’s intolerance:
Post-war anxiety & intolerance of USA in 1920s was manifested in – the Sacco & Vanzetti case, the Scopes
trial, the resurgence of the KKK (1915 Birth of a Nation movie by D. W. Griffith), Immigration Act of
1924, deportation of radicals to Russia (Red Scare/Palmer Raids/”Soviet Ark”)
 I had a great class on the 1920s taught by Prof. Jill Watts at CSUSM that had a paper
deciding whether the USA of the 1920s became more tolerant or less tolerant – it was one of
3 papers total for your grade – no tests – just 3 very important papers
Time-saving devices in 1920s:
{*Time-saving devices for consumers & electric appliances were typical products for purchase on credit}
***** I always say the 1920s are very similar to the time we live in today in many ways.
1920s Notes:
Racism – Jim Crow 1919 - 25 race riots Ex. Chicago, East St. Louis, etc…
1921 Tulsa, OK (race riot)
1922 Rosewood, Florida 9race riot)
others in Houston, Atlanta, Wilmington, NC, etc….
NAACP – Charles Hamilton Houston – lawyer
pp.728-730 Red Scare
p.730 KKK – America’s cowardly apostles
p.730 Sacco & Vanzetti
pp.730-731 Immigration Quotas
pp.732, 733, & 736 Prohibition
pp.734-735 Polish-Americans
pp.736-737 Gangsters
pp.737-738 Education in 1920s & Scopes “Monkey” Trial
pp.738-739 Consumerism & Advertising
Sports
{Ex. Babe Ruth was asked about making more money than the president in one year. He replied, “I had a better year than he did.”}
pp.739-742 Ford, cars, etc… {competition like GM, Chevrolet, Buick, etc…}
*1920’s jazz age slang
pp.742-743 Airplanes (airlines – new word) (Barnstormers, Air Mail, Charles Lindbergh)
pp.743-744 Radio
pp.744-745 Hollywood (silent replaced by “talkies” – lots of stars w/foreign accents lost jobs)
Movie stars – Al Jolson, Valentino, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, etc…
pp.745-748 “sex-o’clock in America,” Margret Sanger, women, jazz, flappers, rakes, vamps, Garvey, Alice Paul
(Lucy Burns), [Carrie Chapman Catt], God, fundamentalism vs. accomodationists/modernists, “chummy place”
pp.749-751 HL Mencken – quote on Puritanism p.749 – Read it!, Fitzgerald, Drieser, Hemingway – “shotgun’ –
does this need to be in the book?, Anderson, Lewis, Faulkner, Pound, Eliot, Frost, Cummings, O’Neill
(Af-Am’s - McKay, Hughes, Hurston, Armstrong, Blake), Frank Lloyd Wright – architect
“Harlem Renaissance” – “New Negro”
pp.751-752 Wall Street – speculation – margin – inflated values – [no regulation]
Ch 33 The Politics of Boom and Bust, 1920-1932 (Ch 33 is Ch 32 in the 13th edition)
“A return to normalcy”:
Warren G. Harding’s weakness as President included - mediocre mind (that is harsh), inability to detect moral
weakness in his associates p.753 *Washington could not tell a lie (BS – he lied often actually,
particularly about the state of his forces) while Harding couldn’t tell a liar (which may have been true),
unwillingness to hurt people’s feelings by saying no (except he cheated on his wife, had a child w/his
mistress, and it was speculated by some that his wife poisoned him for it), & administrative weakness
(but he had a good cabinet really), What about lack of political experience (for the career Ohio politician)?
*”Normalcy” as in his famous line to return the country to “normalcy” uses a word that does not exist
*Ohio Gang – his cronies – many were corrupt like Albert Fall (his Sec of the Interior – national forests
& parks fall under jurisdiction – Teapot Dome scandal for USN naval reserves in CA & WY)
*He took reporters to speakeasies to discuss politics during the early years of prohibition
Harding’s cabinet:
Charles Evans Hughes – naval arms limitations (probably avoided an Anglo-American naval confrontation in Atlantic)
Andrew Mellon – taxes & tariffs
Herbert Hoover – foreign trade & trade associations
Albert Fall – naval oil reserves (Teapot Dome scandal)
Harry Daugherty – justice & law enforcement
Teapot Dome & other scandals:
Teapot Dome scandal involved the corrupt mishandling of naval oil reserves
(Albert Fall Sec of Interior got USN to sign over oil reserves to Dept of Interior, then he sold them to
2 oil corp’s & made $ - then he got busted!)
Major political scandal of Harding’s administration resulted in the conviction & imprisonment of his
- secretary of the interior (Albert Fall)
Albert Fall (Sec of Interior) proved to be incompetent & corrupt – Teapot Dome scandal
After initial shock of the scandals during Harding’s administration, many Americans reacted by – excusing
some wrong-doers on the grounds that “they had gotten away with it.” (Upset at prosecutors instead)
Business & Republican presidents in the 1920s – Laissez-Faire:
Republican economic policies under Harding – hoped (and did) encourage that gov’t actively assist business
along the path of profits (to make $$$$$$$$)
Every president was Republican in 1920s, and they all enacted laissez-faire except for high protective tariffs
and tax breaks for the rich
Progressive reforms take a hit during the 1920s from the Supreme Court:
During 1920s, the Supreme Court – often ruled against progressive legislation (passed earlier)
Organized labor struggles:
Organized labor – was (were) adversely affected by demobilization (from the war) policies adopted by the
Federal Gov’t at end of WWI
Supreme Court rules on women in the workplace:
Supreme Court cases of Muller (special protections for women in the workplace in Muller v. Oregon 1908
pp.670-671) and Adkins (Adkins v. Children’s Hospital 1923 reversed Muller v. Oregon p.755) centered
on – question of whether women merited special legal & social treatment
(1908 said yes, but 1923 said no)
Lasting gains of WWI:
Non-business group that realized most significant, lasting gains from WWI was – veterans (of armed forces)
Harding’s foreign policy:
One exception to Pres Harding’s policy of isolationism (toward European affairs) involved the Middle East
(Southwest Asia to be less Eurocentric), where the USA sought to – secure oil-drilling concessions for
US companies (*Oil is key after & b/c of WWI)
Harding was willing to seize the initiative on issue of international disarmament b/c
– businesspeople were not willing to help pay for a larger US Navy
Outlaw war – really?:
1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact – outlawed war as solution to international rivalry
 Unless of course it is a “defensive” war – then it’s OK
“Men of conscious always ply their wars to be defensive.” I wish I could remember who said this, but
it’s true - I think I read it in Zinn or Loewen? If you find it, please let me know - Thanks
*Other treaties & arms reductions/limitations Ex. 5:5:3 ratio for capital ships for USA, GB, & Japan
but Japan could fortify Pacific islands, while USA & GB were not supposed to – future problem?
High protective tariffs to help big business:
In 1920s, Fordney-McCumber Tariff raised tariff rates, and the Hawley-Smoot Tariff raised tariff rates, so that
by 1930, the tariff rates had been substantially raised from the opening of the decade (of the 1920s).
*High tariffs again – helped USA for a while, upset world especially former Allies making it hard for
those countries to repay war debts – all of this contributed to the Depression
Consequences of US policy of raising tariffs sky-high in the 1920s – European nations raised their own tariffs
(in retaliation), post-war chaos in Europe was prolonged (see war debts above), economic distress
deepened internationally, US foreign trade declined (*Europe couldn’t repay war debt this way
ultimately), What about the US economy slipping into a recession in the 1920s? Not!
“Silent Cal” was “weaned on a pickle”:
Calvin Coolidge
– “Silent Cal” – a woman at a social event sat next to him once and said she would bet him that she
could get him to say more than two words during the evening. He replied, “You lose.”
- It was said that he looked like he was “weaned on a pickle” (weaning is when an infant stops nursing)
- He never missed a photo opportunity to dress up like a cowboy or an Indian – ridiculous
- He was honest, frugal (look it up), shy, & cautious
- His father was a Justice of the Peace who swore him into office by candle light at their home on the
family Bible upon Harding’s death
- Gov of Massachusetts – broke Boston Police Strike of 1919 – used National Guard – this is how he
got the VP for Harding – He said of the striking police (who really deserved better condition, which
they later won by the way), “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone,
anywhere, anytime.”
During Coolidge’s presidency, gov’t policy was set largely by interests & values of – the business community
Republican economic policy of 1920s – Laissez-Faire (hands-off, unregulated economy for max profits)
Ex. Political cartoon of him playing music for the flapper (big business)
“Depressed” farmers & the help they don’t really get:
One of the major problems facing farmers in 1920s was – overproduction (debt for machinery, etc. to overproduce)
In mid-1920s, Pres Coolidge twice refused to sign legislation proposing to – subsidize farm prices
(He said, “Farmers have always been poor. I don’t really see what we can do about that.”)
{By the way, Coolidge was a farmer before he was a politician}
Two attempts to help farmers & labor:
The intended beneficiaries of the McNary-Haugen Bill were farmers; the intended beneficiaries of the
Norris-LaGuardia Act were labor unions.
McNary-Haugen Bill – Gov’t to buy surplus crops to stabilize prices (1924-1928) p.761
Norris-LaGuardia Act 1932 – Anti-Injunction Act – no “yellow-dog” antiunion contracts &
no injunctions to restrain peaceful labor strikes, etc… p.772
Prohibition “splits”:
“Splits” that did not affect the Democratic Party – “wets” vs. “drys,” immigrants vs. old stock Americans,
fundamentalists vs. modernists, N liberals vs. S conservatives, What about urbanites vs. suburbanites?
Senator “Bob” LaFollette:
Wisconsin Sen Robert “Battling Bob” La Follette’s Progressive Party advocated
– gov’t ownership of RRs, relief for farmers (he was from WS), opposition to anti-labor injunctions,
& opposition to monopolies
What about increased power of the Supreme Court?
No – b/c they felt the Sup Crt circumvented Congressional authority w/legal interpretations & judicial
review in favor of business – which was true according to Zinn & other historians
Progressive Party of 1920s:
Progressive Party did not do well in 1924 election b/c
– too many people shared in prosperity to care about reform
(Zinn would say just enough people were prosperous enough – barely – to not seek reform)
Shame on the Democrats:
In 1924, Democratic Party convention failed by a single vote to adopt a resolution condemning – the KKK
US interventions in Latin America during 1920s:
In early 1920s, one glaring exception to America’s general indifference to outside world was its
– armed interventions in the Caribbean & Central America (Ex. Haiti & Nicaragua)
(Even China w/ “Gun Boat Diplomacy”)
(Ex. Movie w/Steve McQueen set in 1926 made in 1962 called The Sand Pebbles)
“They hired the money didn’t they?”:
America’s European allies argued that they should not have to repay loans to the USA made to them during
WWI b/c – they had paid a much heavier price in lives lost, so it was only fair that the USA write off
their debts (only Finland repaid their debts – what they still owed as of 1976 was exempted the US) p.764
{Plus USA made $$$$ off of the war big time – Ex. Farmers, munitions makers, etc….}
(Coolidge said, “They hired the money didn’t they?”)
As a result of America’s insistence that its allies’ war debts be paid in full, - the French & the British demanded
enormous reparations payments from Germany (which led to the outrageous hyper-inflation in post-war
Germany - Ex. One mark was equal to 25 cents – In Berlin, it cost one mark for a loaf of bread in 1918;
by 1922 a loaf cost 160 marks, by 1923, a loaf cost 200 billion marks – paper money was worthless)
America’s major foreign policy problem in 1920s was addressed by Dawes Plan, which
– provided a solution to the tangle of war debt & war-reparations payments
*USA loaned $ to Germany to be repaid w/$ from allies paid by Germany to stimulate the world economy
Why not elect Al Smith in 1928?:
Most colorful presidential candidate of 1920s was – Alfred E. Smith (“wet” Catholic from NYC’s Lower East Side)
Political liabilities for Alfred E. Smith in 1928 election – Catholic, “wet” – repeal prohibition, big city
background (NYC’s Lower East Side), radio speaking skill – NYC accent not good on national radio
*Example of radio & movie stars & even politicians needing to loose their hard accents & homogenize it
Why elect Herbert Hoover in 1928?:
One of Herbert Hoover’s chief strengths as a presidential candidate was his – talent for administration
*not a give & take type, no experience really as a politician, not charming to the masses,
not thick-skinned like most politicians, he was affectionately known as “the chief” to his people
When elected to presidency in 1928, Hoover – combined small-town values (Iowa, Quaker) w/wide experience
(abroad and) in modern corporate America (an orphan “rags to riches” story like a Horatio Alger novel)
Some help for farmers:
Federal Farm Board, created by Agricultural Marketing Act (June 1929 – before October Crash), lent $ to
farmers primarily to help them to – organize producers’ cooperatives (to produce & to buy surplus to store)
The evil Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930 makes the world-wide Depression much worse!:
As result of Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930 – World wide Depression deepened
p.767 * bill altered to contain 1000 amendments – raised tariff to almost 60% from 38.5% - already high
(Other countries responded by raising high tariffs against US goods in reprisal)
The Depression Sucks!:
In USA, Depression caused – a decade long decline in birth rate
*people blamed themselves – not the system, decrease in foreign investments, caused by
over-everything – production, speculation, credit consumerism
Hoover’s ideas & actions about how to solve the Depression:
Pres Hoover believed Depression could be ended by
– directly assisting banks & businesses, keep faith in efficiency of the industrial system, encourage
continuing to rely on American tradition of rugged individualism, lending federal $ to feed farm
livestock (*but no welfare by fed gov’t – a hand out – “the dole” – made people lose respect for
themselves he thought – he relied on volunteerism in charity/relief for the poor & unemployed & for
businesses to not cut wages, reduce production, or lay off workers – it didn’t really work –
volunteerism had worked for him when he raised relief for the Belgians in WWI to feed them, so he
thought it could work – by keeping people employed w/out wage cuts would keep people
consuming, which would help the economy – the Depression was really too big a problem for
anyone to fix – it took WWII to really fix it, although the New Deal helped)
****Gov’t welfare to businesses & banks apparently was OK & did not make the corporations feel any less
about themselves for living “on the dole” receiving gov’t assistance or “hand outs” if you prefer
*So people receive direct assistance, no way; but businesses, sure!
Pres Hoover’s approach to the Great Depression was to provide aid to business & local gov’ts was the
- the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
- RFC used “trickle down” idea – welfare/gov’t assistance to big business & banks & gov’ts – then it
“trickles down’ to people – but this approach was not sufficient enough – yet FDR will have his own
version of the RFC in the New Deal – one of many “alphabet agencies” like the TVA, AAA, NRA,
CCC, FDIC, WPA, PWA, HOLC, FWP, etc…
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was established to
– make loans to businesses, banks, state & local governments
Pres Hoover supported following anti-depression measures – (like Prozac & Alcohol ) – including
federal gov’t loans to banks, corporations, & local and/or state gov’ts & federal public works projects
(which FDR has in his New Deal – Hoover actually did quite a bit – he tried as best he thought he
should – FDR used a lot of Hoover’s ideas which were in his New Deal) Ex’s. Boulder Dam – now
Hoover Dam – but he was hated so much it was Boulder Dam for years – Lake Meade right – on
Colorado River near Laughlin, NV – dams built by FDR’s New Deal created Lake Powell – which some
people like, others did/do not thinking it’s a terrible environmental tragedy
Hoover’s big mistake regarding the Bonus Army:
The Bonus Expeditionary Force (The Bonus Army) marched on Washington DC (peacefully) in 1932 to
demand – immediate, full payment of their bonus payment, which was promised to WWI vets
(not due until 1945) (they wanted now - immediately – 1932 – when it could help, while they needed it)
*Shameful event as Hoover ordered Gen MacArthur (w/aid Eisenhower & officers including Patton) to
clear them out of abandoned gov’t buildings & MacArthur exceeded his orders when he pushed on the
Anacostia Flats where they were in a “Hooverville” (shanty town) & attacked it w/tear gases, cavalry,
tanks, & bayonets – some deaths & many injuries – hurt Hoover – one man sent him a letter saying
“Vote for FDR and make it unanimous.” – FDR heard of the incident and said, “This elects me.” – our
book has little sympathy for the marchers (unemployed vets suffering from the Depression) when it
refers to them as a health hazard on p.774 Later when FDR faced a similar smaller version of a
Bonus Army when he was president, he met them, gave them food & shelter and played the masterful
politician, so they liked him, unlike Hoover, the great scapegoat of the Depression
Pres Hoover’s public image was severely damaged by his – handling of the dispersal of the Bonus Army (see above)
Japan invades Manchuria in 1931, and the League of Nations does nothing:
In response to League of Nations investigation into Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931
– Japan left the League, and the League couldn’t do “Jack” about it!
(*The League did hardly anything when Italy rolled into Ethiopia in 1935 – sanctions
– but not the key one on oil that would have halted the invasion & conquest)
*Japan closed the “Open Door” in the parts of China it controlled, which the USA & western
European nations did not like at all
US hypocrisy regarding “acquired” territories:
1932 Stimson doctrine – declared US would not recognize any territorial acquisition achieved by force of arms
(Except – the American colonies, the Mexican Cession, Texas, Hawaii, pretty much most of the British Empire, etc…)
US Commerce Department & “planned obsolescence”:
In 1920s, the US Commerce Department under Herbert Hoover encouraged creation of trade associations to
– promote standardization of products
– (1920’s concept w/ us today called “planned obsolescence” – relatively cheap consumer goods will
break & or be replaced w/better model to keep you consuming!) & to help business combat labor
unions (w/ the alternative trade associations)
Washington (Naval) Conference:
At 1921-1922 Washington Conference, major signatories agreed to
– limit size of naval fleets & preserve the status quo in the Pacific (in terms of military power in order
to avoid war) (Ex. 5:5:3 ratio for USA, GB, & Japan – but Japan could fortify its Pacific islands
while the USA & GB were not supposed to – we paid for this in WWII)
[*USA vs. Japan in Pacific began very quickly as Japan wanted to be supreme imperialist power in Asia
& Pacific – not USA & Western powers – forced open to modernization in 1853 by Com. Perry’s fleet,
Japan was so industrialized it beat Russia in 1905 & kicked butt in Pacific in beginning of WWII – all in
less than 100 years development – quite the astounding feat)]
Officials of scandals during Harding’s administration:
The high gov’t officials involved in scandals during the Harding administration included
– Charles Forbes – Veterans Bureau scandal, Albert Fall – Teapot Dome scandal, &
Harry Daugherty – Attorney General – sold pardons & liquor permits (during prohibition) p.759
Causes of the Great Depression:
Causes of Great Depression included – agricultural overproduction & debt, unequal distribution of wealth,
overextension of credit, anemic foreign trade, & economic troubles in Europe
 OVERPRODUCTION
 CONSUMPTION ON CREDIT/INSTALLMENT/MARGIN
 OVERSPECULATION (based on lies/misrepresentations of stock values)
General notes:
Harding – speakeasies - reporters
pp.753-754 Harding inept, scanty of mental furnishings, chubby-faced Hoover, harsh?
pp.754-755 Harding & Republicans help big business Ex. w/courts
Ex. 4 out of 9 Sup Crt justices appointed by Harding
pp.755-756 RRs, shipping, 1919 strike, Veterans win Bonus (for 1945)
pp.756-758 Treaty of Versailles, League of Nations w/out USA, Oil in Middle East, Disarmament (5:5:3)
– (Avoid potential Anglo-American Naval War of late 1920s or 1930s)
p.758 Tariff hike – hurt Europe – can’t repay loans easily
pp.758-759 Harding’s administration’s scandals
pp.759-760 Coolidge (Police strike of 1919 – “Weaned on a Pickle”)
[“I choose not to run again in 1928.” – Did he really mean it – didn’t matter – Rep’s had Hoover]
pp.760-761 Farmers – Coolidge says always been poor
pp.761-762 1924 election
pp.762-763 US Foreign Policy – Latin America – war debts unpaid by Europeans
pp.763-764 Debts – pay back – Dawes Plan for Germany & allies to repay reparations & debts
pp.764-766 Hoover wins in 1928 – chubby faced again – what’s up w/disrespecting him for no apparent reason?
pp.766-767 Hoover tries to help farmers
pp.766-767 Hawley-Smoot Tariff @ 60% - helped lead to Depression
pp.767-769 Crash & Effects
pp.769-770 Causes of Depression & effects of “Hoovervilles”
[“Hoover blankets” “Hoover flags” “Hoover Hotels”]
pp.770-772 Hoover helps from top down
p.772 Hoover’s public works & RFC [“prime the pump”]
1932 Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act
p.773 Hoover & Political Cartoons (What would Davidson & Lytle say?)
p.774 Bonus Army – no sympathy – a health menace?
pp.774-775 Japan – Manchuria 1931 – League’s actions/inactions – Japan quits – could stop them? Maybe?
pp.775-776 Economic imperialism – dying in Latin America – now – the “Good Neighbor Policy”
Ex. US out of Haiti & Nicaragua (for now)
Ch 34 The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1933-1939 (Ch 34 is Ch 33 in the 13th edition)
FDR – “The lion and the fox”:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR’s) affliction w/infantile paralysis (polio) contributed the most to his
development of compassion & strength of will {* story of dragging himself across floor}
Before he was elected Pres in 1932, FDR had already – served as Gov of NY, run for VP (w/Alfred Smith in
1928?), & been Assistant Sec of Navy (just like his 5th cousin TR)
FDR’s qualities as a leader included – decisiveness, great orator/speaker, optimistic, inclined to action based on
intuition, willingness to experiment {charming, charismatic & a true politician}
Ex. Of political cartoon with a sick Uncle Sam visited by Dr. Roosevelt holding his doctor’s bag
labeled “New Deal Remedies” accompanied by his nurse, Congress, (making a house call as
doctors did back then) with several medicines on the table next to the patient labeled with the
various “alphabet agencies” – PWA, WPA, AAA, CCC, FERA, NRA, TVA, FHA, HOLC,
FDIC, NLRB, etc…. The caption reads, “Of course we may have to change remedies if we don’t
get results.” [p.506 in The Americans]
*** FDR married 5th cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt Roosevelt – born NY Knickerbocker – rich – like TR
Infantile paralysis (polio) in 1921 – Mistress – Warm Springs, GA – Eleanor’s political savvy & his best
political ally – Her column “My Day” & Activism – “The conscience of the New Deal” – DAR/Lincoln
Memorial/Marian Anderson – Bessie Truman’s following Eleanor
FDR’s greatest strength:
Most vigorous “champion of the dispossessed” – that is, the poor & minorities – in FDR’s administration was
– Eleanor Roosevelt (5th cousin to FDR, niece of TR)
1932 election:
Democratic platform of which FDR campaigned for presidency in 1932 called for – a balanced budget
In 1932, FDR campaigned on the promise that as president he would attack the Great Depression by
– experimenting w/bold new programs for economic & social reform
One striking new feature of 1932 presidential election results was that
– (many) Af-Am’s shifted from Republican allegiance & became vital element in the Democratic Party
FDR’s First Hundred Days:
Phrase “Hundred Days” (1st New Deal – mostly relief & recovery) refers to
– the first (~3) months of FDR’s (1st) presidency
 3 waves of legislation (1st, 2nd, & 3rd New Deals – 1st New Deal began in March 1933)
*FDR’s Fireside Chats – 1st was to explain “Bank Holiday” – closed banks to reopen w/gov’t support to keep
from failing & get people to put their money back in banks to get economy going again
While FDR assumed presidency in early (March) 1933, Herbert Hoover tried to get the president-elect to
commit to – an anti-inflationary policy that would have made much of the New Deal impossible
When FDR assumed the presidency in early (March) 1933, - he received unprecedented congressional support
(Which is why he got so many New Deal laws passed)
The New Deal:
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a major relief program of the New Deal; the Public Works
Administration was a long-range recovery program; & the Social Security Act was a major reform.
* The 3 R’s: Relief, Recovery, & Reform – the goals of the New Deal – see charts on p.781 & p.784
WPA (1935) – Quickly provide jobs to as many people as possible – from construction to symphony
PWA (1933) – Create jobs on gov’t projects increasing workers’ buying power & stimulate the economy
Ex. Grand Coulee Dam on Columbia River in Washington state near Oregon border (p.788)
Social Security Act (1935) – Provided pension for retired workers & their spouses & aided people w/disabilities
Glass-Steagall Act – created Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure individual bank deposits
Ex. In 1933 insured individual deposits up to $5,000 today I think it’s up to $200,000 individually
* Fireside Chats – 1st was about the “Bank Holiday” to reopen stable banks & convince people to
deposit their $ in bank again – popular & it worked
Most immediate emergency facing FDR when he became president in March 1933 was
– the collapse of international trade
– Was none of the following: the chaotic banking situation w/”runs” & closures, the national debt, the
farm crisis, or demagogic dissenters like Huey Long, Francis Townsend, or Father Coughlin
FDR’s initial “managed currency” policy aimed to – stimulate inflation (p.783)
Why? To relieve debtors’ burdens & stimulate new production – gold buying at high/inflated prices
above the market; therefore, the dollar value of gold increased too which increased the amount of dollars
in circulation, but no more domestic use of gold as currency - *1932 Lindbergh kidnapping connection
to Gold Certificate dollars – USA on limited gold standard for international trade
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was probably most popular New Deal program;
the National Recovery Act (NRA) was one of the most complex;
& the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was the most radical.
President FDR’s chief “administrator of relief” was – Harry Hopkins (head of the WPA)
*** CCC - ~3million youth employed – 18-25 years-old – work on conservation projects – got part of pay
– rest sent home to families – very popular New Deal program (pp.783-785)
*** Harry Hopkins – NY social worker in charge of Federal Emergency Relief Act/Administration (FERA)
- $3 billion to states for the “dole” (direct relief) or preferably wages on work projects
- “We will spend and spend, tax and tax, and elect and elect.” (p.785)
*** WPA p.786 - $11 million on public buildings, bridges, hard surfaced roads
WPA – stands for “We Provide Alms” – alms is charity
Some jobs were weird – Ex. Control crickets in WY & a monkey pen in OK City, OK
*** WPA p.787 – over 8 years – 9 million people had jobs – not handouts/”dole”
– Ex. Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), part of WPA – paid John Steinbeck to count dogs in his county
(while he wrote novels and such, like The Grapes of Wrath)
– [also – slave narratives – see Davidson & Lytle Ch 8 “View from the Bottom Rail”]
National Recovery Act (Administration) – formally guaranteed labor’s right to organize (unions) & bargain
collectively as part of the NLRB/Wagner Act, outlawed “yellow dog” contracts forbidding workers to
form unions, was declared unconstitutional in Schechter “sick chicken” case (see earlier in notes),
provided for maximum hours & minimum wages (through “fair practice” voluntary codes) – popular
early on, but later died b/c of self-sacrifice of labor, management, & public, plus “chiselers” who
cheated the system – “We Do Our Part” signs w/ the Blue Eagle representing the NRA p.787
NRA – “Nuts Run America” & “National Run Around” to those opposed
[Wagner Act not always enforced as it should have been! Again, selective enforcement of laws!]
*** National Recovery Act/Administration (NRA) – “Blue Eagle” – immediate relief & long-range recovery
& reform to assist industry, labor, & unemployment – “fair competition” codes for Hours & wages
– unions – no “yellow dog” contracts (anti-union) – no child labor under 16, or 18 if work was
dangerous – required self-denial of both labor and business/management – voluntarily – many
unscrupulous businesses pretended to follow NRA guidelines/codes – but then violated the codes
(“chiselers”) – shot down by Supreme Court in 1935 in Schecter brothers “sick chicken” case involving
their fowl business in Brooklyn, NY – Congress could only control interstate commerce – not local
business – like Schechter case, which was only a local business (p.787)
*** FDR didn’t like the “horse and buggy” interpretation of Constitution of Supreme Court in Schechter case
– but the same legislation did launch the PWA (p.788)
New Dealers & Federal agencies/programs:
Robert Wagner (NY Senator) – National Labor Relations Board
Harry Hopkins – Works Progress Administration
Robert Ickes – Public Works Administration
Frances Perkins – Department of Labor (Sec of Labor – first female presidential cabinet member)
The National Recovery Act/Administration (NRA) failed largely b/c
– it required too much self-sacrifice on the part of industry, labor, & the public
First Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) raised money that it paid for farmers not to grow crops by
– taxing processors of farm products (who passed on to consumers)
The AAA proposed to solve the “farm problem” by – reducing agricultural production [Ex. No surpluses of crops or livestock]
Federal Securities Act & the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) aimed to – provide full disclosure of
information (regarding stocks) & prevent “insider trading” & other fraudulent practices
*FSA – 1933, SEC – 1934
Do the SEC, TVA, George W. Norris, Muscle Shoals, & hydroelectric power all relate to each other?
Federally owned (& operated) the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was seen as a particular threat to
– private electrical utility companies
Most controversial aspect of the TVA was its efforts in – electrical power (generation)
[TVA did provide flood control & jobs in the region]
New Dealers argued their multi-front war on the Depression primarily sought to – provide relief
*As an answer to critics of New Deal
Strongest criticisms leveled against the TVA were that it – represented the 1st stage of “creeping socialism”
Social Security Act of 1935 provided – unemployment insurance (when fired), old-age pensions, economic
provisions for blind & disabled, support for blind & physically handicapped, What about health care
for the poor? (Had to work to be eligible)
Labor’s New Deal:
The Wagner Act of 1935 proved to be a trailblazing (define this term?) law that
– gave labor the right to collectively bargain (for better conditions, pay, hours, etc…)
[When Sup Crt axed NRA in 1935, Congress passed National Labor Relations Act in 1935
– created NLRB, which became known as the Wagner Act – allowed for self-organization of
labor (unions) & right to collective bargaining pp.795-796]
{*****Often this law was not enforced as it should have been*****}
The National Labor Relations Act (1935) proved most beneficial to – unskilled workers (CIO created) p.796
The primary interest of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (formerly the Committee before split
w/AF of L – American Federation of Labor) [Led by president of the United Mine Workers union,
John L. Lewis] was – the organization of all workers within the industry {Ex. Coal Miners}
CIO – used “sit down” strikes Ex. GM plant at Flint, MI in 1936 & Republic Steel in Chicago, IL
on Memorial Day of 1937 – “The Memorial Day Massacre”
*** A. Philip Randolph – Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union p.835 – but that’s 1941, not 1920s
& 1930s – movie 10,000 Black Men Named George – good film for a film review for extra credit
FDR appoints two women – “firsts” in US history:
*** Mary McLeod Bethune – daughter of ex-slaves, founded a black college in Florida, highest ranking
Af-Am in FDR’s administration – her post was in the National Youth Administration (NYA) in the
Office of Minority Affairs – “Black Cabinet” (“Black Brain Trust” – like the [white] “Brain Trust”)
[An Af-Am & a woman – progressive for the time] (p.786)
*** Francis Perkins – 1st female cabinet member for any US president – Sec of Labor
–criticized for her gender often – saying was “FDR kept her in labor for many years.” (p.787)
Move inauguration day from March to January:
Both ratified in 1930s, the 20th Amendment shortened time b/t presidential election & inauguration
(Move from March up to January); the 21st Amendment ended (repealed) prohibition (18th Amendment).
(19th Amendment – Women’s suffrage)
FDR’s critics:
New Deal critics causes and/or slogans:
Father Charles Coughlin (Catholic Priest on Radio, ant-Semitic) – “social justice” – anti-FDR eventually
Huey Long – “Every man a king” (“None wears a crown”) – “Share Our Wealth” $5,000 annual income,
car, house, college money, etc…
Francis Townsend – old-age pensions - $200 per month, but must spend it all – couldn’t do financially
Herbert Hoover – a “holy crusade for liberty” – rhetoric of antisocialism for New Deal 1936 election (p.797)
The “Kingfish”:
Senator Huey Long (“Kingfish”) of Louisiana gained national popularity by – promising to give every family
$5,000 [annual income] pp.785-786 {Davidson & Lytle “Huey Generis”} “Share Our Wealth” program
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) aimed to – provide loans & jobs for college students, quiet the
groundswell of protest produced by Huey Long & Dr. Francis Townsend, provide employment on useful
projects, & produce works of art
What about providing handouts to the unemployed? (Not an aim of the WPA)
Female social scientists:
Prominent female social scientists of 1930s like Ruth Benedict & Margaret Mead brought widespread
contributions to the field of – anthropology ***** This is not in 12th edition
How bad was the Depression?:
*Road kill for food – migrants eating road kill – humor – “a chicken in every pot”
– Hoover said something like that before 1929 crash of wealth in America & US had eliminated poverty
The Dust Bowl:
All contributed to Dust Bowl of 1930s – dry-farming techniques, drought, cultivation of marginal farmlands on
the Great Plains, soil erosion (few trees on plains) *dusty, dry soil – right where jet stream &
Tornado Alley are in central plains of USA,
What about farmers’ failures to use steam tractors & other modern equipment? (pp.789-790)
Farmers in the Dust Bowl:
In 1935, FDR set up the Resettlement Administration to
– help farmers who were Dust Bowl victims move to better land (not very effective)
Migrants from the Dust Bowl:
Most Dust Bowl migrants headed to – (the promised land of ) California
(“Okies & Arkies” – CHP at borders – signs stating no work & no relief
– replace minorities working in ag. labor – see Davidson & Lytle Ch 12 “Dust Bowl Odyssey”)
*** John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath
– Joad family, book vs. movie (1940), Shirley Temple story in mtg w/Mayer of MGM studios
Most “Okies” in CA escaped deprivation & uncertainty of seasonal farm labor when
– they found jobs in defense industries during WWII
The Indian New Deal:
The Indian Reorganization Act (Indian New Deal) of 1934 attempted to
– reverse forced assimilation of Native American Indians (due to Dawes Act of 1887) into
White society (Indian schools, become farmers, allotment, etc…) by establishing tribal self-government
– (*met w/mixed emotions)
1936 election:
1936 election most notable for – its reflection of a bitter class struggle b/t rich & poor
 Franklin “Deficit” Roosevelt vs. KS Gov Alfred (Alf) M. Landon (a moderate Republican)
 “Forgotten Man” & labor & many blacks & new immigrants vs. greedy economic interests
- “No one shoots Santa Claus” – Al Smith (referring to FDR)
FDR’s reelection in 1936 (2nd term of 4) was ensured by his strong support from
– blacks (switch from Rep’s to Dem’s despite lack of FDR’s support for a federal anti-lynching law
– badly needed b/c of lynchings & impossibility of getting states to prosecute for lynching blacks,
so need federal law), labor unions (Wagner Act helped), & Catholics
FDR tries to “pack” the Supreme Court:
FDR’s “court-packing” scheme in 1937 reflected his desire to make the Supreme Court
– more sympathetic to his New Deal programs
He wanted to add 6 more justices to the court to beat the 9 already there – not popular w/American
public in general – FDR claimed older members were “backed up” & this would help, but it was an
obvious way to circumvent the court’s authority of judicial review – and people could see that
– hurt him in terms of his political clout
After FDR’s Failed attempt to “pack” the Sup Crt, - the (scared) Sup Crt began to support New Deal programs
Ex. Justice Owen J. Roberts switched from conservative to liberal – “a switch in time saves nine” (justices)
- Age led to the retirement anyway after FDR’s failure & he appointed 9 justices – more than anyone other than G Washington
Supreme Court & Congress after the “court packing” attempt:
During FDR’s 2nd term (1936/1937-1940/1941)
– the Supreme Court became more liberal while Congress grew more conservative
FDR extremely weak on civil rights:
***** FDR wouldn’t support anti-lynching bills b/c he did not want southern members of Congress to block his
New Deal programs, which he feared they would do if he publicly supported and pushed for
anti-lynching legislation – have to wait for Truman who was willing to do this and desegregate the
armed forces after WWII.
Keynesian economic philosophy & the national debt/deficit – “prime the pump” & other economists’ ideas:
As a result of 1937 “Roosevelt recession,” – FDR adopted Keynesian economics (planned deficit spending)
- recession was caused by FDR’s policies
- Ex. Soc Sec taxes on payrolls – so deficit spend & “prime the pump” to stimulate the economy
During 1930s – (FDR’s bureaucracy grew huge) – the national debt doubled
(Keynesian deficit spending – spend your way out of the Depression – “prime the pump”)
* FDR – moderate really, not liberal or socialistic – can be argued he saved capitalism from the
capitalists w/ a touch of socialism – really progressive populism (brewing before the Depression)
{Think what Zinn would say about this – Zinn Ch 15 “Self-help in Hard Times”}
Many economists believe the New Deal could have cured the ills of the Depression by – greater deficit spending
How was the New Deal doing by 1938?:
By 1938, New Deal – had lost its momentum (took WWII to end Depression)
Republicans do well in the 1938 mid-term elections:
*** Republicans do well in 1938 mid-term elections, and in later elections win control in Congress
Did the New Deal work?:
*Can be argued – FDR’s New Deal was – too liberal (socialism), too moderate (saved capitalism),
or was too conservative (preserved status quo w/limited changes – Zinn)
 FDR’s New Deal was most notable for
– providing moderate social reform w/out radical revolution or reactionary fascism
 FDR’s New Deal programs – did not end the Depression (WWII did!)
How should business have viewed FDR?:
*** Business should have supported FDR as the protector of status quo & privilege really – saving capitalism
General notes:
pp.777-778 FDR bio & Eleanor
p.779 1932 candidates
pp.779-800 Hoover loses
pp.780-782 FDR 3 R’s – Relief, Recovery, & Reform
pp.782-783 FDR’s “Hundred Days” [1st New Deal]
pp.783-785 Create Jobs
pp.785-787 Demagogues
pp.787-788 Industry & Labor
pp.788-789 Farmers paid not to farm!
pp.789-790 Dust Bowl & Migrants (Remember Davidson & Lytle Ch 12 “Dust Bowl Odyssey”)
pp.790-791 Battling Bankers & Big Business
pp.791 & p.794 TVA
pp.792-793 Dust Bowl Migrants
pp.794-795 Housing & Social Security
pp.795-797 New Deal for Unskilled Labor
pp.797-798 1936 Election
pp.798-799 Court Packing 1937
pp.799-800 Liberal Sup Crt post 1937 “court packing” attempt
pp.800-802 Twilight of New Deal
pp.802-803 New Deal or Raw Deal?
pp.803-804 FDR’s Balance Sheet
p.805 How Radical Was the New Deal?
Radical, Moderate, Conservative – Critics on all sides
For thought:
pp.785-786 Pied Pipers & Crackbrained proposals
p.794 Slums disappeared – ceased growing b/c of USHA – really?
From The Americans: (another textbook)
p.482 Gordon Parks
p.484 Uneven distribution of wealth
p.488 Bank & Business failures
pp.490-491 Hoovervilles, Bread/Soup Lines
*****Depression for minorities – already in a depression – then when whites affected – Depression
– obviously worse for minorities
p.494 Psychological impact – people blamed Hoover & more importantly, themselves, not the system primarily
p.495 Dead road kill – “got my chicken in every pot” – Okies on way to CA
Hoover Blamed
p.508 National Recovery Act created NRA
pp.509-510 Townsend, Coughlin, Long
(*Will Rogers – humorist)
p.511 Dorothea Lange (“Migrant Mother #6” from Davidson & Lytle Ch 12 “Dust Bowl Odyssey”)
& other photographers
p.515 New Deal Programs Chart
p.516 Public Utilities Holding Co. Act of 1935 & Rural Electrification Act (LBJ – Texas)
***** Pedro J. Gonzalez – radio libre – voz libre – free voice – struggle for Mexican-American rights in
East Los Angeles – deportations – sometimes of citizens born in USA - contributions
pp.518-519 Bethune, Hastie, Anderson (Af-Am’s)
p.521 Sen Robert Wagner from NY
***** Union membership increases in 1930s after decline in 1920s
pp.523-528 Popular Culture
movies – escapism – musicals – westerns – comedy – drama – mystery – gangsters
Gable, Cooper, Stewart, Grant, Mae West, Hepburn, Marx, Disney, Cagney, Robinson, Chaplin
Radio, Art, Literature
1938 Orson Wells in NJ reading War of the Worlds as newscast
Grant Wood’s American Gothic painting
Af-Am Richard Wright’s Black Boy
John Dos Pasos
Steinbeck
others
[*FDR’s relationship w/press regarding his disability]



Anti-lynching laws vs. support of southern congressmen for New Deal
Scottsboro, Alabama – details
“Seabiscuit” - Horse Racing
A Tragedy of Justice in Alabama:
The Scottsboro Boys – 1931 – Alabama black youths wrongly convicted of gang raping two white women who
lied to avoid being put in jail for vagrancy for “riding the rails” as hobos riding through Scottsboro on a
train with both blacks & whites riding illegally & stopping to see if they could find work {many towns,
cities, counties during the 1930s passed laws against “vagrancy” to keep migrants out of their towns –
many often threw them in jail and/or on work details such as the infamous chain gangs} – some of the
boys were too young for sex even – evidence was weak – Jewish lawyers from NYC offended people of
Alabama, so defense was hindered – boys convicted separately & repeatedly despite obvious injustice
based on lies from the two women, one of whom recanted but was painted as a Communist which hurt
the defense, the other lying until her dying day – Example of trumpeted up evidence: the two women
had been found to have immobile semen in their vaginas just hours after allegedly being gang raped by
several boys, which means that the semen found would have still been mobile – the boys went to prison
for years before they were released & waited until the 1970s for a pardon, by then only a few were alive
– in prison, a couple of the boys actually became criminals & one actually was killed in prison – the trial
judge who replaced the completely racist judge in the first trials was a typical white southern racist in
many ways (not all white southerners are racists – I should know as I was raised by two) – but instead of
sacrificing the boys, he believed in justice & found in a later trial of one of the accused that their due
process was violated & the evidence insufficient for conviction, which brought w/it the wrath of the
community against him for siding w/blacks instead of the forces that sought to put the boys in prison –
he was never reelected to a judgeship again & his career was effectively over – but he did the right thing
when he did not have to which is both brave and super cool!
Ch 35 Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War, 1933-1941 (Ch 35 is Ch 34 in the 13th edition)
FDR does not want to help the world, only the USA, during the Depression:
FDR undermined the London Economic Conference b/c – any agreement to stabilize national currencies might
hurt the USA’s recovery from Depression
(He intended to create inflation – good for USA, not good for World)
As a result of FDR’s withdrawal from London Economic Conference
– the trend toward extreme nationalism was made stronger
FDR/USA formally recognizes the USSR:
One internationalist action by FDR in his first term was – formal recognition of Soviet Union/USSR (1933)
FDR’s recognition of Soviet Union/USSR was undertaken partly – in hopes of developing a diplomatic
counter-weight to rising power of Japan & Germany (& stimulate trade w/USSR too) p.808
Philippine independence:
In promising to grant the Philippines independence, the USA was motivated by
– the realization that the islands were an economic liability
Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934 – independence in 12 yrs in 1946 (7-4-1946)
 Japan sees the USA as weak in the Pacific already, now even weaker
FDR wanted to be a “good neighbor”:
FDR embarked on a “Good Neighbor Policy” (after Wilson’s “Bad Neighbor Policy” in Latin Am) in part b/c
– he was eager to enlist Latin American allies to defend the W Hemisphere against (Axis) dictators
As part of the “Good Neighbor Policy” toward Latin America, FDR developed more generous policies of
– removing Am/US controls on Haiti, Cuba (Platt Amendment), Panama, (Nicaragua too)
Counter to high protective tariffs:
1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act – increased USA’s foreign trade p.809
* reversed traditional high protective tariff (cartoon p.809) – US led free trade initiatives for post WWII
 Free trade always benefits one country more than another – creates dependency
(Prof. A. Arevalos – CSUSM – Latin American Revolutions & Caribbean Independence)
FDR’s foreign-trade policy – lowered tariffs to increase international trade (see above)
Axis aggression:
Throughout most of the 1930s, the Am people responded to aggressive actions of Germany, Italy, & Japan
(Axis) by – retreating further into isolationism (from European affairs – although the “Good Neighbor
Policy” was changing our Latin American relations to a degree) * No military build up until 1940
w/ draft & build up of navy, etc…
 No military aid Ex. Economic aid to China – really military w/another label & Finland vs. Russia,
Finland used German weapons did well first time, not second vs. Red Army
 * No oil embargo on Japan for China (1931 & 1937) until 1940 – None by League of Nations over
Italy in Ethiopia – no oil embargo – others that did not stop invasion – Haile Selassie, “It is us today.
It will be you tomorrow.”
 Appeasement & Isolationism
Fascist aggression in the 1930s included Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia (1935 – 1896 failed invasion),
Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia (March 1939), & Franco’s overthrown of the republican
government of Spain. (Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
 Franco – helped by Italy & Germany vs. Rep Gov’t of Spain w/ help of USSR b/c of leftist leanings
o US helped w/volunteers b/c Neutrality Acts kept USA from helping otherwise
 Ex. Abraham Lincoln Brigade – Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
 Picasso’s Guernica – 1937 bombed killing ~1200 civilians – German air force
How did the USA feel about another European war?:
By mid-1930s, there was strong nationwide agitation for constitutional amendment to
– forbid a declaration of war by Congress unless first approved by a popular referendum (vote by the people)
Neutrality Acts:
Passage of the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, & 1937 by the USA resulted in – the abandonment of traditional
policy of freedom of the seas (zones declared by pres that US merchants cannot sail in), a decline in the
US Navy & other armed forces (big fleets make wars), making no distinction b/t aggressors & victims,
& spuring aggressors along the path of conquest (appeasement & isolationism), What about balancing
the scales b/t dictators & US allies by trading w/neither pp.810-811
The Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, & 1937 stipulated that when the president proclaimed the existence
of a foreign war, - Americans would be prohibited from sailing on ships of warring nations
(Thus, no freedom of the seas)
 USA could not sell arms or loan money to either side (to avoid trap like WWI) p.811
US neutrality during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) allowed
– Spain to become a fascist dictatorship under Francisco Franco (ruled in to the 1970s)
{Spain stayed neutral in WWII – a wise move by Franco who had been helped by Mussolini &
Hitler, similar thing happened w/Juan Peron, and his famous wife, Eva/Evita Peron
– “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” {Bad Madonna} down in Argentina – he too ruled in to the 1970s)
Arms sales chronology:
From 1925 to 1940, the transition of US policy on arms sales to warring (belligerent) nations followed this
sequence: - embargo  cash and carry  lend-lease
FDR’s “Quarantine” speech:
FDR’s sensational “Quarantine Speech” in 1937 resulted in – a wave of protest by isolationists
(b/c he suggested “quarantining” the aggressors w/embargos presumably, but then what?
– quarantine is to isolate like in the case of disease to keep it from spreading into an epidemic)
Hitler gets mad in 1936 when his Aryans do not win every event:
*1936 Olympics in Munich, Germany – superior master race of Aryans beaten by Jesse Owens! Hitler mad!
Munich & appeasement:
In September 1938 in Munich, Germany,
- Britain & France consented to Germany taking the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia (Appeasement)
In 1938, the British & French bought peace w/Hitler at the Munich Conference by effectively handing over the
nation of – Czechoslovakia (Hitler promised he only wanted the Sudetenland; he lied)
Results of appeasing Hitler:
Shortly after Adolf Hitler signed a non-aggression pact w/Soviet Union, - Germany invaded (Western) Poland
(on Sept, 1st, 1939) & started WWII (in Europe b/c Britain & France declared war on Germany – Asia
was at war in 1931 Manchuria, China & China again in 1937) [*Non-aggression pact was also an
agreement w/USSR to split Poland b/t Germany & Russia – Nov, 1939 – Russia invaded Poland from
the East – Allies did not declare war on Stalin’s Russia over Poland)
* Heroic fight of the Poles against the German blitzkrieg
First casualty of 1939 Hitler-Stalin non-aggression treaty was – Poland (They split it!)
***** Blitzkrieg – Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France, Balkans, USSR
* Blitzkrieg = Lightning War – tactics – effective – innovative – new use of air power w/armor & infantry
A country not conquered by Hitler’s Germany b/t Sept 1939 & June 1940 – Finland
USSR attacked twice – repelled first time, not second – defeated by Red Army as “buffer zone”
Finland helped by Germans & USA
European Jewish refugees:
Probably the greatest obstacle to USA’s acceptance of more Jewish refugees from Europe was
– a failure of moral indignation & belief that the Holocaust was actually happening
 Textbook failed to mention anti-Semitism in USA

Holocaust – The Untold Story – lack of US press coverage – even Jewish editor of NY Times

Nazi perspective on immigration – other countries don’t want them either
o Ex. St. Louis ship of Jewish refugees
Factors contributing to weakness & lateness of USA’a efforts to aid Europe’s threatened Jews:
- internal tensions b/t German-Jewish & Eastern European Jews in USA, restrictive Immigration Act
of 1924, fear of flood of Jewish refugees would increase unemployment during Depression, &
Anti-Semitism in USA
What about the belief that most Jews would be better off migrating to Israel?
US military (& other Allies too) refused to bomb Nazi gas chambers (Ex. Treblinka, Sobibor, Bergen-Belsen,
Chelmo, etc…) such as Auschwitz & Dachau b/c of belief that
– bombing would divert needed war/military resources
[*plus retaliation to Jews, but they were already being slaughtered]
During the 1930s, the USA admitted about 150,000 Jewish refugees from Nazism.
[* They went elsewhere – often later rounded up by the invading Nazis]
Peace-time draft/conscription:
Congress’s first response to unexpected fall of France in 1940 was to – pass a conscription (draft) law
- a peace-time draft – like Europe, not USA
French stupidity:
*** French stupidity – sorry if you’re French, not really 
Maginot Line – “sitzkrieg” - phony war – then blitzkrieg through Belgium & Luxembourg – like WWI
Dunkirk – mistake by Hitler, not his last either
This time, Paris falls – Hitler creates Vichy French puppet fascist gov’t in south and rules w/military
occupation in rest of France – creates fortress Europe – the Atlantic Wall – into N Africa & Itlay – then
wait for Dieppe, then the big one – Normandy – D-Day June 6th, 1944 – breakout & push into Germany
interrupted by Operation Market Garden, the Hurtgen Forrest, Battle of the Bulge, crossing the Rhine, &
of course the Brutal Russian advance in the East – Leningrad, Stalingrad, Fall of Berlin – blood bath – 8
of 10 Germans killed in WWII killed by Russians, but they lost many more in process – Pacific is a
whole other story!
US neutrality & opinions:
USA’s neutrality effectively ended when – France fell to Germany
- b/c led to Destroyer deal in 1940 – followed 1939 cash & carry – led to next phase – lend-lease late 1940
* Garden hose example to fight fire for neighbor’s house
* “send guns, not sons”
In 1940, in exchange for US destroyers, British gave USA – 8 valuable naval bases in W Hemisphere for 99 yrs
By 1940, US public opinion had come to favor – providing Britain w/ “all aid short of war” (“guns not sons”)
 Let British fight USA’s fight
 * Battle of Britain – summer 1940 – Operation Sea Lion – RAF vs. Luftwaffe
 Blitz, air war, V-1/2, RADAR, Enigma code machine, Spitfires & Hurricanes
1940 election:
Surprise Republican presidential nominee in 1940 was – Wendell Willkie (FDR’s friend) (converted Democrat)
p.819 “You have been a Democrat all your life. I don’t mind the church converting a whore, but I don’t
like her to lead the choir her first night.” 
In 1940, Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie avoided deepening sharp divisions among the
American people when he – avoided attacking FDR for his increasingly interventionist policies
FDR was motivated to run for a third term in 1940 mainly by his
– belief that the USA needed his experienced leadership during international crisis
(Really? – think Myth America video series – reluctant statesman – “Don’t change horses in the middle of a river”)
So what motivated him for a fourth term, even in failing health, the same thing? Power perhaps?
In 1940 pres election campaign, both Dem FDR & Rep candidate, Wendell Willkie, agreed that
– the USA should supply military aid to Britain & the Allies {against the evil Axis or “Axis of evil”
in modern political propaganda speak for “SATAN!”} & the USA should strengthen its defenses
Lend-Lease & Cash and Carry:
1940-1941 Lend-Lease program was – a focus of intense debate b/t internationalists & isolationists, a direct to
Axis dictators, the point when all pretense of American neutrality was abandoned (Ex. Destroyer escorts
to Iceland), the catalyst (define) that caused US factories to prepare for all out war production (“arsenal
of democracy”) (define arsenal)
Operation Barbarossa:
When Germany invaded Soviet Union/USSR on June 22nd, 1941 (Operation Barbarossa), the USA
– made lend-lease available to Soviet Union/USSR/Stalin
* Battle of Britain failed, put on hold effectively for Hitler to break non-aggression pact to invade USSR
 We began helping “Uncle Joe” Stalin as our propaganda used to refer to him
o Joey on Friends w/stage name Joe Stalin 
 Einsatzgruppen – killing squads of SS soldiers (4 groups) who shot approximately 800,000 people
 Good job Stalin w/purges that killed capable Soviet officers that hurt USSR when Germany invaded
 Hitler knew history – Napoleon & Hitler vs. Winter & Russians – Mistakes of both men = loss
The Atlantic Charter:
The Atlantic Charter, developed by USA & Britain, was also endorsed by – the Soviet Union
 To get FDR’s help, both Churchill and Stalin had to agree to FDR’s desires regarding the charter
o – much of which was essentially ignored and/or selective applied by the Allies
[p.823 FDR forced Churchill on colonial issues b/c Britain needed USA (Churchill was elated when Pearl
Harbor was attacked b/c it meant full entry into the war by USA) – Atlantic Charter, Aug 1941 Newfoundland
coast with navies – opposed imperialistic annexations, supported self-determination for nations, regain
democracies in Europe, free elections, & United Nations (UN) – similar to 14 Points – but USA not neutral in
the Atlantic Charter really if you think about it – Poland, “iron curtain,” French Indochina/Ho Chi Minh,
Palestine, India, etc…]
Among the principles of the Atlantic Charter signed by FDR & British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
(he was half-American) were – national self-determination of peoples, disarmament, collective security,
creation of new international org (UN)
[*story of Churchill & FDR, the UN, & a bath tub – sounds like a joke you tell in a bar or something]
***** Remember Churchill had to sign b/c he needed the USA’s help big time to save his country!
US Navy at war before we declared war:
After the USS Greer was fired upon, the USS Kearny crippled, and the USS Rueben James sunk,
- Congress allowed arming US merchant vessels (merchant marine – shipping) p.824
p.824 US Destroyers see combat
USS Greer Sept 1941 fought w/U-Boat
Oct 1941 USS Kearny hit in battle w/U-Boat it followed, lost 11 KIA
Late Oct, 1941 USS Rueben James sunk by U-Boat near Iceland, lost 100+ KIA
p.812 Dec 1937 Chinese waters USS Panay hit by Japanese planes, 2 KIA 30 WIA
- Tokyo paid up quickly & apologized but vented on US civilians in China w/slappings & strippings
Did the USA force Japan into war?:
Japan believed that it was forced into war w/USA b/c FDR insisted that Japan – withdraw from China
* USA knew they would not – then USA cut off scrap metal, steel, oil, aviation fuel w/embargo
Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941 came as surprise b/c – FDR (& others) suspected, if attacked, it would be
in Malaysia or the Philippines (Attacks occurred there too very quickly)
[* Details of Pearl Harbor – limited & quick – if time?]
On eve of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, a large majority of Americans – still wanted to stay out of the war
 Almost unanimous war vote on 12/8/1941 – still first woman in Congress, Representative Jeanette
Rankin of Montana, still voted “No” to war as she did in WWI later on 12-11-1941 when
Germany & Italy declared war on the USA, the vote was unanimous for war – apparently b/c
they declared war on USA first
A chronology of events:
Chronological order – Munich Conference (1938), Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact (Aug 1939),
German invasion of Poland (Sept 1st, 1939) * Then USSR invaded Poland in Nov of 1939 from East
Chronological order – Fall of France (1940), Hitler invades USSR (6-22-1941), Atlantic Charter/Conference
(Aug 1941), * Then Pearl Harbor on “…Dec 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy...”
(* Sol Cerveza commercial: “Convince your neighbors you’re French. Be very rude to them, and if any world
wars break out, surrender immediately.” )
Things FDR did to combat the Depression:
As part of his plan to concentrate on alleviating the Depression at home, FDR’s administration
– extended formal diplomatic recognition to Soviet Union/USSR (1933), abandoned the interventionist
policies toward Latin America (“Good Neighbor”), & promised independence to Philippines
(Tydings-McDuffie 12 yrs later independence 7/4/1946)
General notes:
pp.806-807 London Conference
pp.807-808 Philippines & USSR
p.808 “Good Neighbor Policy”
pp.808-809 Reciprocal Trade Agreements
pp.809-810 Isolationism & Axis Aggression
pp.810-811 Neutrality Act
pp.811-812 Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
pp.8112-813 Appeasement
pp.813 & 816 Hitler’s Belligerency & US Neutrality
pp.814-815 Refugees from the Holocaust – Famous Example - Einstein
pp.816-817 Fall of Francpp.817-818 Destroyer Deal/Help England
pp.819-820 1940 Election
pp.820-822 Operation Barbarossa – Invasion of Soviet Union – Hitler attacks USSR
spawns Atlantic Charter – why Stalin signs – he too needs FDR’s/USA’s help desperately
* “Give ‘em Hell” Harry S. Truman (& others) feel that we should let the Germans & Soviets kill each other
pp.822-824 US Destroyer vs. German U-Boats
p.824 Pearl Harbor
p.825 USA goes to war 12-8-1941 & 12-11-1941 w/ Italy & Germany after they declare war on us first
p.826 Chronology
p.811 munitions caused WWI – book says is illogical – but they did profit & $ was lent to Allies
Argues USA could have stopped WWII w/early influence against “satanic forces”
p.813 Hitler like a drunken reveler – wanted louder music & stronger wine
Appeasement – like giving a finger to a cannibal to save an arm  You’ve gotta be kidding
pp.814-815 Refugees of Holocaust – failed to cover US anti-Semitism as a factor for keeping Jewish refugees
out of USA – like other countries that limited Jewish immigration too b/c of anti-Semitism
p.821 Most Am’s willing to risk war w/lend-leae – How does Bailey reach this conclusion? What evidence?
(What would Zinn say?)
p.824 (Jeanette Rankin first woman in Congress from MT) 1 vote against war w/Japan on 12-8-1941
12-11-1941 Germany & Italy declare war on USA b/c of Axis alliance with Japan
- now unanimous vote in both houses of Congress – Rankin too apparently
p.825 Pearl Harbor – not really a sneak attack – explain (like me, the Japanese dude typed slowly)
Plus we knew lots and lots but did not act accordingly in reality - explain
* Hitler – “big lie’ – Mein Kampf – WWI – Versailles – Nazis – “subhumans” – lebensraum – “High” Hitler
From The Americans:
p.544 Nazis, Fascists, Japan, Stalinist Russia – Totalitarianism – fascism – socialism/communism
Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Japan under Tojo & Militarist w/Hirohito
Treaty of Versailles, nationalism, militarism, imperial expansion
Germany’s Armament, Rhineland, Austria, Sudetenland, all of Czechoslovakia, France,
Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Balkans, USSR, but not Britain
Indoctrination (Ex Hitler Youth), censorship, one party, secret police (Ex’s Gestapo & NKVD)
Use pp.554-558 Ch 16 sec 3 to lecture Holocaust
U-Boats/Wolfpacks, Philippines, Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, Singapore, SE Asia, Dutch East Indies for OIL
Ch 36 America in World War II, 1941-1945 (Ch 36 is Ch 35 in the 13th edition)
Europe first:
Fundamental strategic decision of WWII made by FDR & British (Churchill) at the very beginning was
– to concentrate on war in Europe first & hold Pacific war against Japan as a delaying and holding
action (until Germany was defeated, then full weight of force vs. Japan)
Mobilization for war:
Once at war, USA’s first great challenge was to – retool its industry for all out (total) war (production)
*Mobilization on Homefront for war abroad
A “rosy” interpretation of US race relations:
Overall most ethnic groups in the USA during WWII – were further assimilated into American society
The Issei and the Nisei are mistreated:
Japanese-Americans were placed in concentration camps during WWII
– as a result of anti-Japanese prejudice & fear (especially on W coast)
* FDR’s Executive Order #9066 – Issei & Nisei – camps Ex. Manzanar in CA
– loss of $ & property – 100th Battalion – “Purple Heart” Battalion – 442nd Regimental
Combat Team – fought in Italy, France, Germany – Most decorated combat unit in US
history for proportion of length of service – “Buddha Heads” – Most Japanese-Americans
served as soldiers in Europe while interpreters and such went to the Pacific
– obvious racism/discrimination
Minority group most adversely affected by Washington DC’s wartime policies was – Japanese-Americans
* Internment – costs – effects – camps – prejudice – military service – Nisei born in USA, so citizens
How did America feel about the war?:
The general attitude toward WWII was – less idealistic & ideological & more practical than the outlook in WWI
(This is according to the textbook – What would Zinn say in Ch 16?)
Japanese immigrants:
In the period of 1885 to 1924, the Japanese immigrants who came to the USA were
– a select group (representing Japan abroad, so Japan cared who was sent) who was/were better prepared
& educated than most European immigrants (so they were middle class & usually had $)
Ex. Japan felt represented – wanted to avoid Chinese bachelors of 19th century – so “picture brides”
Did Americans know why we entered WWII beyond the attack in Hawaii?:
When the USA entered WWII in December (7th attack at Pearl, war declared on 8th), 1941,
- a majority of Americans had no clear idea of what the war was about
-
* WWI had campaigned (but many people didn’t know in WWI either – Ex. Sergeant York & Gallipoli)
Need for rubber:
During WWII, the US gov’t commissioned the production of synthetic rubber in order to offset the loss of
access to prewar supplies in E. Asia (ex. French Indochina/Vietnam, Cambodia, & Loas)
Government control during the war:
Wartime agencies & functions:
War Production Board – assign priorities w/respect to use of raw materials & transportation facilities
Office of Price Administration – controlled inflation by rationing essential goods
War Labor Board – imposed ceilings (maximums) on wage increases
Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) – saw to it that no hiring discrimination practices were
used against Af-Am’s seeking employment in war industries
African-Americans face discrimination in industry:
* A Philip Randolph – 1941 threatened to march on Wash DC to demand equality in hiring – FDR feared march
so made a deal to announce Executive Order #8802 for Af-Am’s fair employment in wartime industries
* Randoplh was leader of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union (mostly Af-Am’s but some whites too – began in 1920s)
Which is least related to the other three?
A Philip Randolph (Bro of Sleep Car Porters - threat to march on Wash DC in 1941 – led to Executive
Order #8802 – in 1963, helped organize march to Wash DC for MLK jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Fair
Employment Practices Commission (FEPC – to protect Af-Am’s to be hired and treated fairly in war
industries), racial discrimination in wartime industry (still even w/FEPC there was discrimination – but
better than w/out it), proposed “Negro March on Washington,” What about the Smith-Connally (AntiStrike) Act (1943)? On pp.834-836
Miners strike during the war – why?:
While most US workers were strongly committed to the war effort, wartime production was disrupted by strikes
led by the – United Mine Workers (Why? Exploitation w/unequal distribution of wartime profits.)
* Coal mining is almost as risky as war – in fact they die more than any other industrial workers, both
back then and today – only crab fishing is truly more hazardous by proportion
– although they are much safer today
Labor unions during the war:
During WWII – labor unions substantially increased their membership
 There were some strikes – Ex. United Mine Workers – unfair distribution of wartime profits
Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act – June 1943 – federal gov’t could seize industries if strikes occurred
Ex. Coal mines and RRs briefly] p.832
Middle class white women work during the war:
Employment of more than 6 million women in America (~3 million had never worked for wages before)
industry during WWII led to – the establishment of day-care centers by gov’t (*”Rosie” vs. “Wendy”)
[Usually single women or w/husband in the war were the ones working in defense plants/war industries]
* Not equal pay for equal work in almost all cases – although some women earned as good or better
money if they were outstanding – some were indeed Ex. P.833 – WOW poster
* My recruiting posters & WWII aircraft pictures
* Not greater % of women working in USA than in Europe – Ex. Britain & USSR – in war industries
* Increase in employment in war industries for Af-Am’s (both men & women)
* Not a strong desire for most women to work for wages (especially in defense industries, etc…)
Main reason majority of women workers left labor force at end of WWII was – family obligation
Women in the service:
*** p.833 – WAACs, WAVES, SPARS, (WASPs)
Mexican labor during the war:
* Bracero Program – p.833 Mexicans work in agriculture & some industries (later deported in the offensive
“Operation Wetback”) [Ironic after 1930’s treatment in CA for example – Okies for Mexicans, etc…
The “Great Migration” (Phase II):
* Migrations from South as Af-Am’s leave while to the South came war industries and military bases
- Why? Cheap wages & very few unions
Migration Map on p.834
* Cotton production in South – hurt Af-Am laborers, tenant, and sharecropping farmers
(whites too who did this – many) w/ introduction of mechanization – so migration p.836
Northward migration of Af-Am’s accelerated after WWII b/c
– mechanical cotton pickers (machines) were in use p.836
By the end of WWII, the heart of USA’s Af-Am communities had shifted to – northern cities pp.834-835
* p.836 “The speed and scale of these changes jolted the migrants and sometimes the communities that
received them.”
* Racism, de facto segregation vs. de jure (Jim Crow) segregation [Migartion Map on p.834]
What does “GI” mean?:
* “GI” – “Government Issue”
Don’t forget the contributions of the US Coast Guard and Merchant Marine:
* USCG & Merchant Marine
Native Americans at war:
* Native Americans - ~25,000 serve – Ex. Comanche in Europe & Navajo in Pacific – “code talkers” p.836
During WWII, American Indians
– moved off of reservations in large numbers (~25,000 served in military) p.836
Race riots during the war:
*** LA, CA summer 1943 – “Zoot Suit Riots” – Pachucos vs. Servicemen – violence – retaliation – gangs –
blame – reactions – tensions – “Victory Suits” – race riots p.836-837
** Race riot in Detroit, MI in 1943 – fatalities pp.836-837
What did America’s blacks fight for?:
Af-Am’s did all of following during WWII: rally behind slogan of “Double V” (victory over Axis & racism at
home), move north & west in large migrations (seeking work – often in war industries) (move to cities
– “urban” begins to mean “black”) (ghettos created – not like Jewish ghettos in Poland, etc…)
(de facto vs. de jure/Jim Crow segregation & discrimination – Ex. Race riots in Detroit in 1943 – later
race riots in north in 1960s too), form a militant organization called the Congress of Racial Equality
(CORE – 1942 & increase in NAACP membership), serve (in US military) in (US) Army Air Corps
(Tuskegee Airmen – 332nd/99th w/impeccable record – no bombers lost on their escorts – Benjamin O.
Davis sr. & Benjamin O. Davis jr. – West Point grads – endured silent treatment from whites – Davis sr.
is first Af-Am general in US history – Davis jr. was in command of 99th squadron – see picture on .835),
What about fighting in integrated combat units? Not until Korea (w/exception of a few experiments)
Government intervention – when did it escalate?:
Big gov’t intervention received its greatest boost from – WWII (not the New Deal)
Economy during the war:
During WWII, most Am’s economically experienced – prosperity & a doubling of personal income
p.837 National Gross National Product (all goods and services produced in USA) in 1940 was $100
billion – GNP grew to $200 billion in 1945 – corporate profits rose from ~$6 billion in 1940 to ~$12
billion by 1944 – Henry Stimson (Sec of War) “if you are going to try to go to war in a capitalist
country, you have to let business make money out of the process, or business won’t work.” p.837 - *
disposable income after war-time taxes more than doubled (but there was inflation too) - * post-war
consumerism w/surplus income to purchase in post-war US economy – Ex increase 33% in post war
prices b/c of high wages & consumer demand
Science at war:
* Office of Scientific Research and Development p.837 – developed weapons, including Atomic (nuclear)
bombs - *** “warfare-welfare state” b/t 1941-1945 - * rationing – total war effort – bond drives – kids
had Al drives for example, etc… - Ex of poster: “When you ride ALONE, you ride with Hitler!” – Black
Market National debt as result of war:
Chart for Rise in National Debt – rise b/c of WWII and after war it spiked higher than during war - p.837
On p.838 Cost of war in $ was for USA $330 billion – 10 times more than WWI – more $ than all federal
spending since 1776 – income tax – 4 times as many people than before war – some people taxed as
high as 90% of income – taxes provided for 2/5ths of war cost – rest is borrowed from US public –
Liberty Loans – Bond Drives - others loaned $ too like individuals who were rich tycoons & moguls
and/or through corporations & banks – 1941 National Debt was $49 billion – grew to $259 billion in
1945 – war cost ~$10 million per hour at peak of war – plus blood, sweat, & tears – tremendous loss of
life – Ex. USSR lost more than any other country
National debt increased most during – World War II (and post-WWII to present) p.838
How did the US pay for the war?:
Most $ raised to finance WWII came through – borrowing (individuals, corporations – bonds for middle class
& working class people) (*Liberty/Victory Loans – bond sales – hugely promoted) p.838
Details of the war:
First naval battle in history in which all of the fighting was done by (aircraft) carrier-based aircraft was the
Battle of – the Coral Sea (May 1942 near NE Australia – Tie to stop Japanese threat/invasion of the
“Land Down Under” – USA lost one carrier – USS Lexington – USS Yorktown carrier badly damaged
but back in action at Midway where she was finally sunk by a Japanese submarine after extensive
damage from aircraft that left her a burning wreck)
[* Midway – 2nd such battle b/t carrier fleets so far apart they never see each other – June 3rd-6th, 1942
– the turning point of the Pacific war p.839]
The tide of Japanese conquest in the Pacific was turned following the Battle of – Midway (June 3rd-6th, 1942)
* Details – our 3 carriers to their 4 – we sank all four and lost only one – planes – luck – plans – codes –
drama – Spruance, Nimitz, etc… - plus Aleutian Islands (of Alaska) attacked just before Midway was
diversion, which was fairly effective – cold, brutal fighting over frozen, barren islands, but were US
territory like Hawaii pp.839-841
Japanese made a crucial mistake in 1942 in their attempt to control much of the Pacific when they – over extended themselves instead of digging in & consolidating their gains p.839 – Japanese victories in
Pacific up through first 6 months extended down to Dutch East Indies (for oil), Southeast Asia (for
rubber), including Burma and Thailand into parts of China, the Philippines, the Marianas such as Guam,
the Gilbets, the Marshalls, the Solomons, the Aleutians, Korea and Manchuria, Okinawa, Iwo Jima,
etc…- They held it for about 6 months after Pearl Harbor before Allied advances began.
In waging war against Japan, the USA relied mainly on a strategy of – (leapfrogging and) island-hopping across
the South (and Central) Pacific while by-passing Japanese strongholds (whenever possible – but not
always – Ex. Philippines & Pelelieu & Aleutians)
[MacArthur/US Army & Halsey in South – USMC & Nimitz/Spruance in Central Pacific]
* All strategies considered & implemented in some fashion – heavy bombing from Chinese air bases,
invading SE Asia & Burma, fortifying China transporting supplies from India over “the Hump” of the
Himalayas, & turning Japanese flanks in New Guinea (MacArthur) & Alaska (Aleutians)
* All were done – but priority was put on USN, US Army, USMC, USAAC (USAF), & USCG in two
prong drive across south & central Pacific with Adm. Nimitz calling the shots
Conquest of Guam (Marianas – Tinian & Saipan too) in 1944 was especially critical, b/c from there
(the Marianas) the USA could conduct round-trip bombing raids (B-29s) on Japanese home islands
– But a nasty volcanic sulfur-smelling small island with large 500 foot hill on its southwestern corner on it called
Iwo Jima was in the way – could notify Japan that bombers were coming – plus many damaged bombers needed the
vital air strip on the island for emergency landings – so in Feb of 1945, USMC began its biggest, most-distinguished
battle lasting 36 days in Hell before the island was completely secure – giving us two flag raisings on Mt. Suribachi
– the 2nd becoming perhaps the most famous photograph in the entire world – “Semper Fi, Do or Die, Gung Ho!”
Allies won Battle of Atlantic by
– escorting convoys of merchants’ (and military) vessels (not using convoy system initially)
[Ex. Carrier & other Task Forces], dropping depth charges from destroyers, bombing submarine
(U-boat) bases (Ex. – located in France), deploying new technology of RADAR
At war’s end, U-boat crews are in a very deadly branch of voluntarily service & still got volunteers up
until the end – 4 out of 5 U-boaters die by late 1944 – Adm Downitz asked for more before war – didn’t
get them, used convoy system w/ destroyer escorts – depth charges – RADAR (B-24s & B-25s, other
planes as sub hunters) – SONAR – Enigma code machine & codes (read Japanese codes in Pacific too) –
US subs sink lots of ships (especially in Pacific), But what about organizing “wolf packs” (which are
German U-boats) to chase down German U-boats (submarines)?
*** Battle of the Atlantic - Most important battle in Western Europe!
Until Spring 1943, perhaps Hitler’s greatest opportunities of defeating Britain & winning the war was
– the German U-boat would destroy Allied shipping (which it was faster than ships could be built early in war)
Hitler’s advance in the European theater of war crested in late 1942 at the Battle of Stalingrad, after which, his
fortunes gradually declined {* Leningrad, Kursk, Red Army, Counter-Offensives}
pp.841-842 Monte Cassino in Italy
Allies postponed opening a second front in Europe until 1944 b/c – of British reluctance (b/c of the majority of
troops would be supplied by them that early in the war) & lack of adequate resources {* We’d have
gotten our butts handed to us by the Germans – as indeed we did really until 1943 – we needed to learn
how to fight – Stalin was angry we left his country to suffer while we lagged in opening a second front
in France to relieve the USSR – cannot blame him entirely
FDR’s promise to the Soviets to open a second front in Western Europe by end of 1942
– was utterly impossible to keep (just not ready for the undertaking really)
* So USSR got pounded through most of 1942 before it went on the offensive in 1943 and until the end of the
war really – meanwhile, the Allies invaded North Africa, then Sicily, then up the boot of Italy
– before two major invasions of France in June & Aug of 1944
Allied demand for unconditional surrender was criticized mainly by opponents who believed that such a
surrender would – encourage the enemy to resist as long as possible (but USA also did this to show a
commitment to USSR as an Ally against Germany to avoid a separate peace as in WWI)
FDR’s & Churchill’s insistence on the absolute and “unconditional surrender” of Germany
– eventually complicated the problems of postwar reconstruction
Chronology: Casablanca, Morocco – Jan 1943 FDR & Churchill meet – Pacific strategy, Sicily, Italy,
unconditional surrender p.842, (Cairo, Egypt before Teheran – w/FDR & Churchill discuss Chiang &
Mao vs. Japanese in China), then Teheran, Iran (Persia at the time) – Nov 28th – Dec 1st, 1943 – plans
for W & E attacks on Germany p.844 – FDR, Churchill, Stalin, Potsdam, Germany – July 1945 –
Truman, Churchill, Stalin – Potsdam Declaration & how to end war & post-war plans p.851
Chronology: Invasion of (Sicily and) Italy (1943), D-Day/Normandy invasion (June 6th, 1944), VE Day 5/8/45
– [my mother turned 6 years old (my father turned 6 years old 10 days later) – she had two brothers in
this war (others in Korea & Vietnam) – one would come home from Europe w/2 Purple Hearts – served
under Patton in N Africa & was at the Bulge – his eye was hanging out of his head attached by the optic
nerve – they saved his eye – but the war messed the young man up for the rest of his life mentally
carrying the burdens of death – her other brother was in Pacific – he would not come home until Japan
was beaten] – VJ Day 8/15/45 – Japan’s surrender was 8/14/45 – official surrender on deck of battleship
USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay was 9/2/45 – WWII was finally over after many deaths – military &
civilian (WWII began in 1931-37 in Asia, Sept 1939 in Europe, Dec 1941 for USA in Pacific)
Major consequence of Allied conquest of Sicily in Aug 1943 was
– overthrow of Mussolini (first of two times) and (eventually) Italy’s surrender
o Italians surrender quicker than the French – At least they claim to be “lovers
not fighters” – but the Romans seriously put a foot in and/or up one’s booty in
battle as a vicious warrior empire known for organization in fighting
After Italian surrender in Aug 1943, - Germans poured into Italy and stalled the Allied advance
(really until the end of the war in Northern Italy – also harsh to Italians for switching sides)
Real impact of the Italian front on WWII may have been that it - delayed the D-Day invasion & allowed the
Soviet Union to advance further into E Europe (“iron curtain”)
Brutal fighting in Italy Ex pp.841-842 Monte Cassino in Italy
Audie Murphy was in Italy, France, & Germany
442nd Nisei were in Italy, France, & Germany
US First Army – The Big Red One
Tuskegee airmen (99th squadron of 332nd fighter group)
Italians switched sides – Germans reinforced – bloody battles b/c of terrain – Ex. Anzio
* I disagree w/this – Italy was a vital & valuable front – perhaps managed poorly, but necessary
Cross Channel (English Channel) invasion of Normandy (in NW France) to open a 2nd front in Europe was
commanded by Gen Dwight David Eisenhower (future president) [Ike] {West Point, Aide of MacArthur,
Bonus Army, North Africa, Great political general – needed for this command to deal w/ the primadonnas US Gen Patton and British Gen Montgomery (Monty) plus other issues – he was the right man
for the job – although many disagreed about that at the time}
***** Normandy/D-Day June 6th, 1944 (operation Overlord) & Breakout 5 beaches Monty, Bradley, Patton
diversion pointed at Calais, French Underground, Airborne/Gliders/Paratroopers, Rangers, Amphibious,
Air Superiority, Mulberry Harbors, Strategy, Hedgerows, Engineers, Etc…
(Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day)
Hitler’s last ditch attempt to achieve victory against the USA & British (plus other Allies) came in
– Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944-Jan 1945)
 My uncle FL was there – got that nasty eye wound
 Hurtgen Forrest (When Trumpets Fade) before Bulge near Achaen in W Germany almost on Belgian
border – brutal mine fields – slaughter – overshadowed by Bulge so largely forgotten

Bulge – why it’s called the Battle of the Bulge – weather – secrecy – push through weak Ardennes –
Malmady – Mr. High – casualties 76,000 US – worst battle in US history (Okinawa close,
Gettysburg too) – Germans lost 140,000+ - cold – no air cover for weeks – Bastogne – 101st
Airborne (Band of Brothers) – 101st at Normandy, Market Garden, Bastogne, Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest –
Patton & 3rd Army – costly choice to push bulge back rather than pinch it (liposuction) – air cover
returns – push to the Rhine – USSR pushing from the East – USSR in Berlin - brutal
As result of Battle of Leyte Gulf – Japan was finished a s a naval power
(Philippines 1944 – largest naval battle ever – Halsey – Taffy 3 – Kamikazes – Yamato)
[Philippines fell – 500 POWs rescued at Cabanatuan (The Great Raid) – hold outs in to 1970s]
{Iwo Jima and Okinawa and Japanese home islands left to take to end Pacific war}
***** War of attrition in Pacific – to the death – rarely took prisoners on both sides unless want information
Conferences:
At the wartime conference in Teheran, Iran (Persia) (11-28 thru 12-1-43) (FDR, Churchill, Stalin) – plans were
made for opening a 2nd front in Europe p.844 – was Sicily & Italy before France – Stalin still not happy
Potsdam Conference – issued an ultimatum to Japan to surrender of “face a rain of ruin from the air”
 It’s already facing a “rain of ruin from the air’ as did German cities!
p.851 Potsdam Conference
– (Truman told Stalin of massive weapon to use on Japan – Stalin not surprised (b/c he knew from spies
already) – told Truman to use it & promised to enter war in Pacific as he had agreed to earlier – entered
war 8/8/45, day before 2nd A-bomb on Nagasaki that time, Hiroshima the first on 8/6/45)
Total unconditional surrender or be destroyed – threat of more bombing – not specific as to use of an
atomic bomb – more bombing – so what – already taking that!
1944 election:
In a sense, FDR was the “forgotten man” at the Democratic Convention of 1944 b/c
– so much attention was focused on who would be VP
(Truman – Sen from MO political machine – failed in business – US Army artillery Major in WWI )
(VP & former Sec of Ag Henry Wallace pushed out) (FDR in poor health)
** FDR complained of a headache and then shortly thereafter died from cerebral hemorrhage sitting for
a portrait in Warm Springs, GA (where his health spa for his rehab for polio was) on April 12th, 1945 –
funeral train – some people had really only known FDR as president, now Truman was the great
unknown trying to replace FDR – Eleanor said to Harry, “The president is dead.” Truman replied, “Is
there anything I can do for you.” Mrs Roosevelt responded, “Oh no, is there anything that we can do for
you, you’re the one who is in trouble now.”
FDR won 1944 election primarily b/c
– war was going well by Nov 1944 (many thought it was all but officially won and over) [just like Lincoln in 1864]
What did the USA do about the Holocaust once the country was fighting in the war?:
Action by USA against Adolf Hitler’s campaign of genocide against the Jews
– was reprehensively slow in coming – Did not admit large numbers of refugees to USA, nor bomb RR
lines at death camps – USA did know – Gov’t knew for sure since 1942 when “final solution” was
implemented – US gov’t knew before if they chose to believe it (plus Mein Kampf, Hitler’s book), not
major reason at all really that USA fought WWII – like Civil War sort of in that abolition of slavery was
a by-product that many Federal/Union soldiers did not realize they were fighting for at the beginning of
the war, nor would many of them fought for that ideal anyway–my opinion–so you know it’s correct! 
“Fat Man and Little Boy”:
Spending of enormous sums of money on the original (to be used against Germany) atomic (nuclear) bomb
project (Manhattan Project) was spurred by the belief that – the American public would not tolerate the
(massive) casualties that would result from a land invasion of Japan (***** Much More Complex Than
That!) ***** Letter “c” in the answer choices – The Japanese were (still) at work (and more successful
than Germans – who tried heavy water in Norway but suffered to sabotage attacks – one at the plant, the
other sinking a ferry w/the heavy water on board – still at bottom of the lake in Norway) on an atomic
bomb of their own (claim to have detonated one in Manchuria)
***** Japanese had lots of weapons ready for the Final Battle or invasion of Japan, which was planned & ready
to go – they also had chemical weapons from Shiro Ishi’s Unit 731 in Manchuria – chemical &
biological weapons – delivery systems – Ex. High altitude balloons, flea bombs, etc…- USA made
post-war deal w/ the Devil! No war crimes trials for vivisections, experiments, infection of disease,
anthrax, plague, etc…
Did the Japanese have an unconditional surrender just like the Germans?:
The “unconditional surrender” policy toward Japan was finally modified by
– agreeing to let Japan’s Emperor Hirohito stay on the throne (w/Democratic gov’t)
* No war crimes trials for emperor – Tojo took the fall for emperor – no Shiro Ishi or members of
Unit 731 unlike Nazis – let Japan have terms that Germany did not get – then USA – built up
former enemies (W Germany & Japan) into allies while former allies (USSR< etc…) became
enemies – COLD WAR!
[Did an unconditional surrender prolong the war, and if so, how?]
What did the USA bring to the war?:
The following were qualities of US participation in WWII:
A group of highly effective military & political leaders, an enormously effective effort in producing
weapons & supplies (usually more, & later, better equipment than enemies – out produced the Axis), the
preservation of the American homeland against invasion or destruction from air (small submarine
skirmishes & some off-shore shelling, & some balloons w/explosives in 48 continental USA), the
maintenance & re-affirmation of strength of democracy, What about a higher % of military casualties
than any other Allied nation
(USA had least casualties of big ones – USSR suffered more casualties than any country on either side)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------General notes:
p.827 FDR as “all wise” for Germany first strategy over those who disagree – Pacific war always get ripped off
p.828 Allies Trade Space for Time * German (& Japanese) scientists – weapons – A-Bombs
pp.829-832 The Shock of War
pp.830-831 Japanese-Am Internment (Farewell to Manzanar) Issei, Nisei, Exec Order #9066 (100th/442nd)
pp.832-833 Building the War Machine * strikes Ex Coal Miners – exploited, underpaid – share profits
Kaiser shipbuilding
pp.833-834 Man power & Woman power – Braceros (later deportations in “Operation Wetback”) – Rosie
(Wendy) – day-cares
p.834 War migration map
pp.835-837 wartime migrations
p.835 Tuskegee Airmen photo
p.835 A Philip Randolph (Exec Order #8802)
***** (Charles Drew – Af-Am did first successful blood transfusion – put in charge of Allied blood banks – he
was forced to segregate blood too – his death outside a hospital after an accident – died waiting for a blood
tranfusion b/c white hospital would not admit him)
p.835 Double V, CORE – 1942, NAACP membership increases
p.836 Comanche (Europe) & Navajo (Pacific) “code talkers”
pp.836-837 Zoot Suit Riots in LA, CA 1943 & Detroit, MI 1943
“Sudden rubbing against one another of unfamiliar peoples produced some distressingly violent action.”
pp.837-838 Holding the Homefront
p.837 National Debt Chart
pp.838-839 The Rising Sun in the Pacific
p.838 Map of Luzon, Bataan, & Corrigador (Philippines)
p.838 (Mao and ) Chiang Kai-shek resist Japanese w/Allied help
p.838 Flying “the Hump” in Himalayas (b/c of Burma Road – Merril’s Mauraders & Gen Stillwell)
p.838 “ill-trained” Filipinos, MacArthur holds fast – delays Japanese – Bataan Death March (POW rescue)
p.839 Japan’s High Tide at Midway (plus Aleutians)
pp.839-841 American Leapfrogging Toward Tokyo (island-hopping & leapfrogging like blitzkrieg Pacific style)
* Book does opposite of Europe First strategy of Allies
 Guam (Saipan – suicides), Marianas “Turkey Shoot’ F6F Hellcat kill ratio
 6-20-44 Battle of Philippine Sea – massive Japanese losses
p.840 Map of Pacific War
p.841 Churchill – “The Hun is always either at you throat or at your feet.”
pp.841-842 The Allied Halting of Hitler
p.841 Battle of the Atlantic – U-boats, destroyers, RADAR, SONAR, Enigma, New U-boats (not enough early
in war – Downitz) – no sub can stay under indefinitely b/c food is limitation (U-571)
pp.842-843 A Second Front from North Africa to Rome
p.842 USSR lost ~20 million
pp.842-843 “unconditional surrender” debate & results
pp.843-846 D-Day: June 6th, 194p.845 Examining the Evidence – Teheran 1943 – Overlord Discussion
(* Dieppe in France)
p.844 Ike chosen to command D-Day invasion – (feignt w/Patton at Calais – codes, underground, paratroopers,
Rangers, 5 beaches, air power, Mulberry harbors, etc…)
p.846 D-Day (Agincourt 1415 – officer recited Shakespeare) in picture caption
p.846 Aug 1944 invasion of S France (A Murphy)
pp.846-847 FDR: Four Termite of 1944
p.847 Focus on VP – Truman – on Sen Committee for Wasteful Spending – told to stop investigating
Manhattan Project – he later learns it was Atomic Bombs
p.848 FDR defeats Dewey – FDR had Rep owned newspapers against him again
p.848 Quote from Congresswoman Clare Booth Luce – “He lied us into war because he did not have the
political courage to lead us into it.”
pp.848-849 The Last Days of Hitler
p.849 Map of Battle of the Bulge
* 76,000 casualties – worst US battle ever – so far * Okinawa & Gettysburg were both very bad too
Bulge mistakes
p.848 bombings
pp.848-849 (Remagen) Rhine River crossing into Germany
p.849 Holocaust – camps liberated – horrors known now for all (unit 731 in Manchuria)
p.849 FDR’s death VE Day 5-8-45
pp.849-851 Japan Dies Hard – US subs sinking Japanese ships – cutting off Japan’s vital lifeline
sank 1.042 ships ~50% of Japan’s merchant fleet
p.850 Bombings in Japan Ex. Tokyo 3/9-10/1945 ~83,000 KIA
p.850 Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, & Pkinawa – short-changed as usual by textbooks that suck!
Iwo Jima 6,000 KIA not 4,000
Okinawa 50,000 US casualties (KIA, WIA, MIA, POW)
@ Okinawa, Japanese had ~200,000 military & civilian casualties
nd
p.851 2 Flag Raising (Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Sands of Iwo Jima)
p.851 Kamikazes (Saipan & Leyte, then Iwo & Okinawa – worst of all – no Final Battle – would’ve been worst)
 They had lots stored up for the Final Battle
pp.851-853 Atomic Bombs
p.852 Hiroshima picture – post-bomb on 8-6-45 180,000 KIA, WIA, MIA 70,000 KIA instantly 60,000 died
later from radiation, etc…
p.852 USSR enters war in Pacific on 8-8-45 day before Nagasaki 8-9-45 KIA of 40,000 instantly, more later
USSR invaded Manchuria & North Korea (not a country split N & S until 1950)
8-14-45 Japan surrendered 8-15-45 VJ Day official surrender on deck of battleship USS Missouri (Big Mo) on
9/2/45 w/MacArthur , etc…
pp.853-854 The Allies Triumphant
p.853 US casualties ~ 1 million ~1/3rd KIA
 plasma, penicillin, (quanine for malaria), etc…. (medics, corpsman, doctors, nurses)
USSR lost ~20 million plus more casualties 13.6 million military killed plus 7.72 million civilians killed plus up
to 30 million more wounded and refugees
p.853 US attacked on W coast Ex balloons w/bombs, etc.. & submarines on both coasts
p.853 “In the end, the US showed itself to be resourceful, tough, and adaptable to accommodate itself to the
tactics of an enemy who was relentless and ruthless.”
Kind of funny given US history – don’t you think?
p.854 VJ Day 8-15-45 image
p.854 production marvels – won war through production – more of everything – then eventually better & more!
Churchill – “Nothing succeeds like excess.”
Herman Goering (Head of German air force/Luftwaffe – “Americans can’t build planes – only electric ice boxes
and razor blades.”
Goering also said that the P-51 Mustang (US fighter plane) won the war for the Allies
p.854 “But the American people preserved their precious liberties without serious impairment.”
What would Zinn say? Is this a reference to loss of liberties during WWI – Espionage and Sedition Acts?
What would “enemy aliens” and citizens interned during the war say? Ex. Italian & German internment
Japanese-American internment
p.854 Chronology
p.855 World War II: Triumph or Tragedy?
Post-war scholarship was to avoid isolationist appeasement in Cold War
Another paralleled 1930’s revisionist of post-WWI said US should have stayed out – made it worse
Another thought FDR was naïve isolationist
Others thought FDR was a calculating interventionist
Another focused on Atomic Bombs controversy – racism issue or timing b/c Germans were beaten already
Gar Alperovitz said bomb was used to scare USSR & hurry surrender
Martin J. Sherwin said we dropped A-bombs when ready to end was ASAP w/bonus of scaring USSR
***** Textbook ignores Rises to Power of Totalitarian leaders like Stalin (communist), Mussolini (fascist),
Hitler (fascist), & Japan’s militarist gov’t w/emporer Hirohito led by Tojo early in war – he took the fall
It does not explain the role of the emperor in Japan’s gov’t
Battle of Berlin – brutal pay-back – refugees – rapes – POWs – Hitler’s death
Ch 37 The Cold War Begins, 1945-1952 (Ch 37 is Ch 36 in the 13th edition)
Post-war anxiety:
Americans feared that the end of WWII would bring – a return of the Great Depression
Labor struggles:
Taft-Hartley Act delivered a major blow to labor by – outlawing “closed” (all-union) shops
* Congress passed this with an override of Truman’s veto (p.859)
Taft- Hartley Act of 1947 (p.859) was passed to check the growing power of – labor unions
On home front in 1946, post war USA was characterized by – an epidemic of labor strikes
(Zinn Ch 16 shows how many strikes b/t 1941-45 & discusses why)
Growth of organized labor in post-WWII era was slowed by (p.859) the Taft-Hartley Act, rapidly growing number
of service-sector workers, failure of “Operation Dixie” (to unionize the South by the CIO), growing number of
part-time workers (Ex. Women w/families), What about the reduced number of women in the work force? No,
b/c the # of women in work force increased!
The GI Bill:
Passage of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill of Rights) was partly motivated by
– fear that the labor markets could not absorb millions of discharged vets
 SPHS’ Administration does not allow military recruiters to discuss GI Bill unless asked?
Truman’s post-war domestic policy:
In an effort to forestall economic downturn, the Truman administration (pp.859-860) {All of the except type question!}
–
created the President’s Council of Economic Advisors (3 advisors), sold war factories & other gov’t
installations to private businesses at very low prices, passed the Employment Act, which made it gov’t policy
to promote maximum employment, production, & purchasing power, passes the Servicemen’s Readjustment
Act (GI Bill of Rights) [which allowed for veterans to get $ for college & low interest home
loans/mortgages], What about continuing wartime wages & price controls?
Post-war economic boom & its impact on women:
Post WWII prosperity in USA was most beneficial to – women
(Ex. More in work force, more jobs open than before, but still very narrow field for women)
Feminist revolt (I wonder why the book chose the word revolt?) of the 1960s was sparked by
– clash b/t demands of traditional role of women as wives & mothers & the realities of employment
One striking consequence of the postwar economic boom was
– a vast expansion of the home-owning middle class [from 40% to 60%] (p.860)
The long economic boom from WWII to 1970s was fueled primarily by
– low energy costs (b/c USA controlled Arab oil & got it cheap)
Much of the prosperity of the 1950s & 1960s vested on the underpinnings of – colossal (huge) military budgets
Demographic changes, migration, & real estate:
Post WWII American workers made spectacular gains in productivity owing to – their rising education levels
(I wonder what Zinn would say?) {Productivity is how much is produced per hour – a rate of efficiency}
Since 1945, population of USA has grown most rapidly in the – Sunbelt
(CA, NV, AZ, NM, TX, GA, AK, AL, FL, VA – the smiley part of the face of the 48 continental USA)
Much of the Sunbelt’s new prosperity was based on its
– tremendous influx of $$$ from Fed Gov’t (pp.862-862) {Defense/War industries & military bases – aviation}
[huge military contracts and/or installations]
Americans were encouraged to move to suburbs b/c
- home-loan guarantees from Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the Veterans’ Administration (VA),
gov’t built highways (to move missiles & troops in case of war), tax reductions for interest
payments on home mortgages, “white flight” from racial change (in cities moving to suburbs),
What about the development of fuel efficient automobiles in the late 1940s and through the
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, ???? That’s funny! 
The rapid rise of suburbia was due to –
- the baby boom (Such “booms” always precede and follow wars – I wonder why? ), gov’t mortgage
guarantees, new highways, “white flight,” What about an environmental crisis?
By 1960, proportion of Americans who lived in areas classified as metropolitan (city) suburbs was
approximately – one out of four or 25% (p.864)
The growth of suburbs led to – an increase in urban poverty (* tax-base leaves the city – hurt – plus ghettos & crime)
Population distribution after WWII followed a pattern of
– an urban-suburban segregation of blacks and whites in major metropolitan (city) areas
Refusal of FHA to grant home-loans to blacks contributed to – driving many blacks into public housing
The huge post-war “baby boom” reached its peak in – the late 1950s (1957) pp.864 & 866
“Baby Boomers” will create major problem in future – placing enormous strain on the Social Security System
Children in post-war USA:
One sign of stress that the widespread post WWII geographic mobility placed on American families was the
popularity of advice books on child rearing (Dr. Spock) [lack of inter-generational contact to lean from successive
generations b/c families moved apart from each other – now isolated)
Farmers in post-war America:
The dramatically reduced # of Am farms and farmers in the postwar era was accompanied by
- spectacular gains in Am agricultural productivity & food growing [Agribusiness] (13th edition)
“Give ‘em Hell” Harry S. Truman:
Before he was elected VP of the USA in 1944, Harry S. Truman had served as (p.866)
– a haberdashery storeowner (men’s clothing store), WWI artillery officer (Major despite lack of college
ed.), a Missouri judge, & US Senator form MO (USS Missouri was chosen for surrender of
Japan b/c of his daughter christening the ship and it being his home state),
What about Secretary of the Navy/SecNav?
{*Pendergast political machine} [“Give ‘em Hell Harry.”] (“The buck stops here.”)
Characteristics of President Truman
– few pretensions, willingness to accept responsibility (Ex. “The buck stops here.”),
honesty (for a politician?), courage (My grandfather thought very highly of him – he took his family
to FL in part to see Truman.) (What would Zinn say about him/what did he say in Ch 16?)
Why would the Soviets want to invade Japan?:
In early 1945, the USA was eager to have the USSR participate in the projected invasion of Japan b/c
- Soviet help could reduce the # of American casualties (then came Manhattan! – no need for Soviets?)
***** Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) – The Soviet Union – Commies – Reds – Sickle & Hammer
The origins of the Cold War:
Origins of the Cold War lay in the fundamental disagreement b/t USA & USSR over postwar arrangements in
– Eastern Europe (“Iron Curtain”)
Stalin’s postwar security concerns focused primarily on
– Eastern Europe (satellites – “friendly nations” – buffer against Germans, whoever?)
Two superpowers:
USA & USSR resembled each other in that they both – had largely been isolated from world affairs & practiced
an ideological “missionary” foreign policy (born in their respective revolutions the need to proselytize
their respective economic and political ideologies – even more during the Cold War) {Isolation of
course is relative to European affairs as both nations expanded ruthlessly through their interiors
subjugating people and claiming territories through war and conquest}
Who caused the Cold War?:
Responsibility for starting the Cold War rests with – the USA & USSR (pp.870-871)
(p.886 Who Was Responsible for the Cold War? This is worth reading!)
The United Nations – success or failure?:
Unlike the failed League of Nations, the new United Nations (UN)
– was established in a spirit of cooperation before the WWII ended
– (Would Zinn Ch 16 agree? What type of cooperation, for what purpose? Totally benevolent?)
The earliest & most serious failure of the UN involved its inability to
– control atomic energy, especially the manufacture of weapons (p.871)
(Ex. USA wanted to maintain a military advantage & technological edge – p.872)
Nuremberg and other war crimes trials:
Victorious WWII Allies quickly agreed that – Nazism should be destroyed in Germany & high-ranking
(& later lesser ranking) Nazis should be tried & punished for war crimes (p.872)
From The Americans p.593
- Crimes against peace – planning and waging an aggressive war
- War crimes – acts against the customs of warfare, such as killing hostages & POWs, plundering
private property, & destruction of towns & cities
- Crimes against humanity – murder, extermination, deportation, enslavement of civilians
(p.878) Japanese War Crimes Trials – Sort of Worse & Sort of Better
Berlin Airlift:
When USSR denied USA, GB, France access to Berlin in 1948, Truman responded by
– organizing a gigantic airlift of supplies to Berlin (The Berlin Airlift)
* From The Americans p.611 327 days, 277,000 (round-the-clock) flights, 2.3 million tons
Containment (of communism):
Soviet specialist George Kennan framed a coherent (who says?) approach for the USA in the Cold War by
advising a policy of – containment (p.874)
USA’s postwar containment policy was based on the assumption that the USSR was fundamentally
– expansionist but cautious
Truman Doctrine:
Immediate crisis that prompted announcement of Truman Doctrine was related to threat of Communists taking
over in – Greece & Turkey
Under the Truman Doctrine, USA pledged to – support those who were resisting subjugation by communists
p. 874 March 12, 1947 – Truman asked Congress to support Greece & Turkey w/ $400 million in
economic ( & military) aid to stop commies (What does Zinn Ch 16 say?)
p. 874 “it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting subjugation
by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” (USSR could say the same thing really)
p.886 &/or pp.874-875 – sweeping & open-ended statement – Truman’s overreaction?
Polarized world into “US & Them” - pro-US-capitalists-democracies
(or dictatorships if still capitalist, not commie pinkos) vs. pro-Sovietcommunist/socialist –totalitarian regimes) – NATO vs. Warsaw Pact
Postwar US programs & primary purposes: (pp.874-883)
Point Four – aid underdeveloped nations of Latin America, Asia, & Africa (avoid communist aid)
Benefit “Third World” nations (Here’s some serious Eurocentrism) (Zinn Ch 16?)
First World – USA & Allies, industrialized, developed nations
Second World – USSR & Commie, Pinko Allies, also developed 
Third World – Developing nations, not aligned with USA or USSR
Today – “Third World” means under- developed, poor nation
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (US first peace-time alliance) – to resist Soviet threat
[GB, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, W. Germany, Netherlands, USA, etc…]
{Warsaw Pact – USSR alliance to counter western threat}
EAST vs. WEST
(What would Zinn say?)
Truman Doctrine – assist communist threatened Greece & Turkey (What does Zinn say?)
Marshall Plan – promote economic recovery of Europe (& Japan, etc…)
p.875 $12.5 billion over 4 years in 16 countries goes w/$2 billion US dollars to UNRRA
& $ to IMF & Reconstruction bank too
What does Zinn Ch 16 say? Ex. What was the purpose of the Marshall Plan?
Why would Truman exaggerate the Soviet threat?:
Truman’s defenders argue that he exaggerated the Soviet threat b/c he – feared a revival of isolationism
(* Lie to America b/c they don’t know what’s good for them idea?) (Zinn Ch 16?)
US foreign policy:
A leading American theologian who argued for a vigorous American foreign policy and a return to Christian
foundations was – Norman Vincent Peale
The Marshall Plan:
Pres Truman’s Marshall Plan called for – substantial financial assistance to rebuild western Europe
p.875 (* Avoid communism in W Europe & stimulate our economy by rebuilding theirs)
The Marshall Plan succeeded in reviving Europe’s economy and thwarting the large internal Communist parties
threatening to take over – Italy & France
Creation of Israel:
Truman had the support of the USSR in his support for the establishment of the state of Israel [created through
the UN on May 14th, 1948] – but he did not have the support of his own US State Department, US
Defense Department, the western Allies (Ex. Britain), and of course the Arab states who promptly tried
to wipe out the Jewish people in Palestine
– Why not have support for creation of Israel?
– B/c the Arabs would be and were urinated to say the least, and they had oil we needed!
Pres Truman risked American access to Middle Eastern oil supplies when he
– recognized the new Jewish state of Israel (So would the Arabs really not sell oil to their #1 consumer?)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization:
US membership in NATO – strengthened “containment” of Soviet communism, helped reintegrate (West)
Germany into the European family, reassure Europeans that the US would not abandon them, strike a
major blow to American isolationists, {Intimidate the USSR?}, What about reduce our defense
expenditures, since we would get the help of other nations if attacked? 
{ became the order of the Cold War – military-industrial complex – weapons manufacturing}
USA’s participation in NATO – marked a dramatic departure from traditional American isolationism (p.877)
(Isolation in European affairs)
{* Don’t worry, now that the Cold War gives us lots of reasons, we invade, meddle overtly and covertly,
and intimidate, and back lots of good guys and lots of scumbags too. Look out Latin America,
Asia, and Africa, the Cold War is about to be fought on your soil with your people!}
USA controlled/controls lots of places!
The USA, under the NATO, assumed a moral commitment to aid any signatory (those who signed/member) assaulted by the Soviet Union (alliance) {and/or presumably other aggressors?}
US build up two former enemies and prepares for war with a former ally:
Postwar Japan – had its military leaders tried for war crimes, as had occurred in Germany (p.878)
Tojo took the fall for Hirohito – not like Germany
Shiro Ishi of Unit 731 & scientists got off w/out people knowing what they did – USA wanted data on
their experiments – sickening – but Cold War – justifiable?
Does not seem the same as had occurred in Germany to me though
Build up West Germany too – along with Japan – became economic powerhouses
The new Japanese government created in 1946 by Gen MacArthur’s staff
– pledged itself to providing for the equality of women, it introduced a Western-style democratic
constitution, it paved the way for spectacular economic recovery, it renounced militarism (*Japan
does not teach about its aggression in WWII only its victimization), What about Japan joining a
military alliance to prevent the spread of communism in East Asia (as the West Germans joined
NATO in Europe)?
How did the Democrats “lose” China?:
Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) and the Nationalist (Chinese) gov’t lost the Chinese Civil War (b/t Mao’s
communists & Chiang’s Nationalists) to the communists & Mao Zedong mainly b/c – Jiang lost the
confidence & the support of his people (b/c he was corrupt, cruel, oppressive, & elitist) (p.879)
Communist witch hunts (another Red Scare):
In an effort to detect communists w/in the fed gov’t, Pres Truman established the
– Loyalty Review Board (p.879) (Worse than McCarthy according to Zinn Ch 16)
 House Committee on Un-American Activities (Nixon, Reagan?) pp.879-880
 Office of Strategic Services (OSS during WWII) becomes Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
 Smith Act p.879 (Zinn Ch 16) 18 communists prosecuted for sedition or free speech?
 McCarran Internal Security Act – vetoed by Truman – passed w/override p.880
Pres can arrest or detain suspicious people during an “internal security emergency”
Vague & ambiguous
From The Americans p.621 Truman – “In a free country, we punish men for the crimes
they commit, but never for the opinions they hold.”
p.623 political cartoon – HUAC in car driving on sidewalk running people over clearly
out of control – caption reads “It’s OKAY – We’re hunting communists.”
p.880 Rosenbergs – details {The Americans pp.621-622}
Not in text (Ch 37) – Hollywood Ten & blacklisting, etc… (McCarthyism)
Truman and civil rights:
In 1948, many southern Democrats split from party to support J. Strom Thurmond b/c
– Truman took a strong stand in favor of civil rights pp.881-883
[Ex. See p.894 in Ch 38 - Executive Order #9981 Desegregating military in 1948 & pushing for a federal
anti-lynching law b/c it made him sick to think of it, especially veterans returning from the war (not too
bad for the “average man’s average man” from the “show me state” – MO) – {remember, Missouri was
a slave state, so he went against his own as did LBJ when he pushed for civil rights.} Korea was the
first war the USA fought with integrated units, not just black troops w/white officers – Now there were
black officers and enlisted men mixed in with whites of various ranks – although there still were
segregated units such as the US Army’s 24th Infantry]
1948 election:
1948 Election: New York Governor (and former prosecutor) Thomas Dewey (loose the moustache – no
candidates ever have had them since Dewey by the way) – Republican, Truman – Democrat – upset
winner even though he was the incumbent, J. Strom Thurmond – Dixiecrat (State’s Rights Party) {Racist
who stayed in the Senate until his recent death practically at ~5000 years old?}, Henry Wallace (FDR’s
VP who got dumped for Truman in 1944 election) – Progressive party
Truman won – Chicago Daily News ran headline that read “Dewey Defeats Truman” – famous photo of
Truman holding it over his head smiling – 303 electoral to Dewey’s 189 & Thurmond’s 39, Who knows
about Wallace? Who cares, in America he lost, so he’s a loser and we can forget him! 
1948 Presidential Candidates & Political Parties: J. Strom Thurmond – States’ Rights, Henry
Wallace – Progressive, Harry S. Truman – Democratic (WINNER!), & Thomas E. Dewey - Republican
Truman’s second term:
Pres Truman’s domestic legislative plan was dubbed the – Fair Deal (p.883)
Called for improved housing, full employment, higher minimum wage, better farm support prices, new
TVAs, extended Social Security – Republicans & Southern Democrats over-rode most of it – He called
them the “Do-Nothing Congress” but they actually did a lot; any way, Truman managed to get higher
minimum wage, improved housing, & extension of Social Security in 1950
During Truman’s presidency, Congress overrode his veto of the
– Taft-Hartley Act & the MCCarran Internal Security Act
“The Forgotten War”:
Pres Truman’s action upon hearing of the invasion of South Korea illustrated his commitment to a foreign
policy of – containment (actually worked in Korea, but failed in Vietnam, or did it?)
Pres Truman relieved Gen Douglas MacArthur of command of the UN (mostly USA but surprisingly consisted
of several NATO nations) troops in Korea when
– MacArthur began to take issue publicly with presidential policies (concerning fighting a limited war in Korea)
{MacArthur was guilty of insubordination and being a West Point man and commandant, he knew he was insubordinate too}
 Explain “The Forgotten War” - Korea (1950-1953) – see maps in class & on p.884 & 883-885
[***** Hot zones & active fighting in the DMZ since war – Ex. During Vietnam War]
The imperious & insubordinate commander in Korea who was fired by Truman was – Gen Douglas MacArthur
Military-industrial complex & US foreign policy:
NSC-68 (National Security Council Document #68) called for
– a massive increase in military spending
(& build up as part of the “containment,” of communism where it already was without letting it spread, policy)
The NSC-68 document reflected the US gov’t’s belief – in limitless capabilities of US economy & society
(“a permanent wartime economy”p.861 & Zinn Ch 16 discusses this too)
{Ike warned of a military-industrial complex as he left office that would run the gov’t – a little like a fireman
who is in fact an arsonist who conspires with other pyromaniacs to start fires light a blaze in a building.
Then that arsonist/fireman comes running out of the burning building saying to a new firman on the
scene, “Watch out; there’s a really bad fire in there, and it’s very dangerous. If I were you, I would not
go in there. Oh well, I’m out of here. I’m retiring. Good luck with that.”}
Chronology:
Berlin Airlift (1948 pp.873-874),
Fall (“Loss”) of China (1949 pp.878-879),
Korean War (June 25th, 1950 – 1953 pp.883-885 & pp.888-890 in Ch 38)
Chronology:
Truman Doctrine (March 1947), Marshall Plan (July 1947), NATO (1949)
WWII Yalta Conference:
At the wartime Yalta Conference (on the Black Sea w/ FDR, Stalin, & Churchill), the Big Three Allies
(USA, USSR, GB) agreed – to establish a postwar international peacekeeping organization & that the
Soviets would enter the Pacific war against Japan within 3 months of the surrender of Germany (5-8-45)
{USSR invaded Manchuria on 8-8-45, after 8/6 & before 8/9}
Cold War tensions:
By 1945, the Soviet Union had reason to be suspicious of the USA b/c – British & Americans had delayed in
opening a second front in Europe during WWII & the British & Americans had not informed the Soviets
of an atomic bomb project until it was completed (D&L Ch13-worried about USSR spies, not really
Axis so much) {Did not matter as Soviets had spies anyway}
The United Nations (again):
In its early years, the United Nations (UN) was successful in
– preserving peace in several “hot spots” like Iran, guiding several former colonies to independent
nationhood (not Vietnam, French Indochina – consider USA’s interests in giving French
Indochina back to France & letting them fight communists there from 1945 until 1954), helping
create a new Jewish state of Israel in Palestine – (That has gone very smoothly I might add )
{USA pushed & aided, then Arabs tried to destroy – led to bitter, nasty fighting on and off
w/Arab states from then until today}, establishing international health, science, & food agencies
The National Security Act of 1947:
The National Security Act of 1947 created the
– Joint Chiefs of Staff (heads of all the branches of the military US Army, USAF, USN, USMC,
USCG), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) {to spy on other nations – not US citizens, that’s
the FBI’s job! – See they know I just wrote that with the Patriot Act now in play, so if I’m not in
school, you’ll know why.}, Department of Defense (w/new Secretary of Defense replacing the
Secretary of War, but the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Air Force, the Secretary of
the Navy (& USMC) all report to the Sec of Defense)
* Nat’l Sec Act also created the National Security Agenciy & the USAF – “Off we go into the wild blue yonder!”
USAF born in 1947 – no longer part of the US Army Air Corps
USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) – then flying round the clock with atomic bombs plus ICBMs!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------General notes:
pp.858-860 Postwar Economic Anxieties GI Billp.859, Taft-Hartley p.859, CIO p.859
pp.860-861 The Long Economic Boom, 1950-1970
Chart p.861 Coca-cola around world (Ex Max Schmelling – Joe Louis)
pp.861-862 The Roots of Postwar Prosperity
pp.862-864 The Smiling Sunbelt
p.862 Agribusiness p.863 Map of Population Increase by state relative to Nat’l avg of 85%
p.864 The Rush to the Suburbs
p.865 Examining the Evidence – Advertising 1956 – Buy 2 Fords, especially if one is a turquoise convertible 1956 T-Bird
pp.864 & 866 The Postwar Baby Boom
p.866 Some descriptios of Truman are BS! P.866 What Next? Political cartoon of Truman
p.866-867 Truman: The “Gutty” Man from Missouri
pp.867 & 870 Yalta: Bargain or Betrayal?
P.867 picture of Big Three @ Yalta in Feb 1945
pp.868-869 The Suburbanites “Levittowns” “tract” homes – assembly line production – fast, cheap, efficient
(“crabgrass frontier”) (“The Fragmented Metropolis” – LA, CA)
pp.870-871 The United States & the Soviet Union
p.870 USSR asked for $6 billion loan in 1945, USA rejected, then gave British $3.25 billion in 1946
pp.871-872 Shaping the Postwar World
p.871 FDR’s dream of “open world” decolonized, demilitarized, & democratized
-“despotic” Russia, but no “elitist” or “domineering” USA
IMF & IB of R – US control w/$ & to make $ (Zinn Ch 16)
pp.872-874 The Problem of Germany p.872 picture at Nuremberg p.873 Churchill “iron curtain” speech
p.873 Map of divided Germany w/occupation zones (& Berlin sort of)
pp.873-874 Berlin Airlift p.874 picture of Berlin Airlift
pp.874-876 Crystallizing the Cold War
p.874 Kennan & containment pp.874-875 Truman Doctrine
p.875 Marshall Plan, IMF, UNRRA, World Bank Plus – Middle Eastern Oil!!!!!
p.875 Political cartoon of USA giving aid to Greece & Turkey – a satirical view of course
p.876 picture for Marshall Plan
* Most $ went to developed nations
From The Americans p.610 Marshall Plan Chart * Most $ went to developed nations
(there’s one in the World Cultures book too Modern World History)
p.876 Map of US foreign aid 1945-1954
p.877 Soviet cartoon of US w/carrot in front of Europe – Marshall Plan
pp.877-878 America Begins to Rearm
p.877 NSA/NSC NATO CIA
pp.878-879 Reconstruction & Revolution in Asia
p.878 Japanese War Crimes Trials p.878 China’s Civil War
pp.878-879 “loss” of China p.879 H-Bomb (fission to get fusion H2 & He) p.880 picture of H-Bomb
pp.879-880 Ferreting Out Alleged Communists
p.879 HUAC Loyalty Review Board (1940-peacetime) Smith Act (Zinn Ch 16)
p.880 Alger Hiss Joseph McCarthy Richard Nixon (soon to be Ike’s VP) (picture on p.881)
Not in text in Ch 37 any way – Hollywood Ten & blacklisting
p.880 Rosenbergs – details From The Americans pp.621-622 Hiss & Rosenbergs (Hiss was guilty)
p.620 Paul Robeson Af-Am Rutgers Football Acting Star
p.620 McCarthy spider cartoon “I can’t do this to me!”
p.624 McCarthy dies of alcoholism
Am Pag too p.891 In Ch 38 death of alcoholism
p.881 Scientists commenting on how other countries will acquire the bomb leading to hysteria and accusation
pp.881-883 Democratic Divisions in 1948 p.882 pol cartoon Truman p.882 “Dewey Defeats Truman”
pp.883-884 The Korean Volcano Erupts (1950) p.883 US forces in Korea 6-25-50?
Korea Maps p.884
[*USSR is not in UN over China vs. Taiwan recognition, therefore, no veto to stop Korean war by UN Security Council]
p.885 cartoon – p.885 MacArthur (wants nukes to hit China & USSR) – he was a “legend”
p.886 Who Was to Blame for the Cold War?
Soviets, USA, Truman’s overreaction & escalation, US capitalism, overreaction on both sides,
USSR more at fault? Either way, they ended it? Or did Ronny “the main man” Reagan do it?
 Soviets took all machinery & scientists from Eastern Europe
 * USA took all the good scientists from Western Europe & put them to work like Werner von
Braun – space program/NASA – we did the same thing with Nazi spies, etc…
Fact: many Germans surrendering in WWII offered to help fight the Russians realizing they were the future
enemies of Western democracies.
Scramble for German technology after WWII
– USSR copied captured B-29s for delivery of their future atomic bombs (1949)
Nazis escaping to South America through the Odessa network – Mengele, Eichman, etc…
Adolf Eichman – SS officer in charge of implementing the “final solution” was caught & tried
The Israeli Mossad (Israeli intelligence) looked for and found many of them! Don’t mess with Israel or the
Mossad (Israeli intelligence & spy agency) will make you seriously regret it – ask the Munich (1972 Olympics)
assassins for example, oh that’s right you can’t, they’re dead! They said “Never Again!” after the Holocaust!
They meant it too! In general, don’t mess with Israel b/c they will mess up anyone who threatens them!