US Sem 2 Final Exam Study Guide

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What were the causes and goals of alliances such as NATO, the Warsaw Pact, SEATO, and the OAS (Organization of American States)?

"Collective Security" Protective/Military Alliances: Collective Security refers to... Military alliances for mutual protection i.e. collective action against aggression The purpose is to maintain peace by preventing or stopping wars because if one member is attacked, all are attacked An agreement between member nations with the goal of protection of one member nation by all member nations because... Aggression against any one member is considered an act of aggression against all members, who will then act together to against the aggressor. Examples of Collective Security military alliances for mutual protection: NATO, 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization 10 Western European nations, US, Canada Goal to prevent spread of communism NATO still strong today Warsaw Pact, 1955 Soviet version of NATO (disbanded in 1991) SEATO, 1954 (disbanded in 1975) South East Asia Treaty Organization Provide protection to democracies in Southeast Asia/South Pacific US, Australia, GB, F, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand Intended to prevent spread of communism

What was the Allied strategy for winning the war in the Pacific?

1. Concentrate effort on Pacific after victory in Europe 2. Island Hopping strategy: Goal to conserve energy Key to US' ultimate success 4,500 miles of the Pacific; Island Hopping strategy meant "leapfrogging" over Japanese strongholds. Allies do one of 3 things: (1) skip the island ("hop"), (2) invade the island, or (3) bomb the island - all the while moving closer to the Japanese mainland. 3. Bomb key Japanese targets - Strategic bombing of Tokyo, Japan

What was the Allied strategy for winning the war in Europe?

1. War in Europe must be won 1st 2. Accept only unconditional surrender from the Axis powers 3. Attack from Multiple Fronts: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North Africa/Italy Campaigns 4. Attack multiple ways: Air bombing, Sea battles (sonar), Shelling coast, Land invasion 5. Concentrate effort on Pacific after victory in Europe

What was the goal and impact of the Taft-Hartley Act? Who supported it and who opposed it?

1946 Republican Congress opposed to current labor strength Taft-Hartley Act limited union activity and strength; emphasized rights of employers, not unions Truman opposed the law, Congress passed it During World War II labor organizations had increased their membership at a record pace. The government relied on the labor unions during the war and even made agreements with them to prevent strikes and keep production from slowing down or grinding to a halt. During this postwar period there were concerns that labor unions had grown too powerful, as evidenced by the impact that the large-scale strikes had had on the nation. Whether in times of war or peace, the relationship between employer and employee can have an enormous impact on commerce. Because labor disputes can interrupt commerce, it is of great importance to the federal government to maintain open communication between labor unions and employers. On the political front, President Harry S. Truman was calling for changes to the Wagner Act, while cautioning against legislation that could be considered punitive against the unions. The 1946 election brought a Republican majority to both houses of Congress for the first time in sixteen years. That majority wanted more changes than Truman had suggested and set about writing a new bill, which ultimately became the Taft-Hartley Act. President Truman then vetoed the bill on June 20, 1947. He felt that the proposed bill gave the government too much involvement in labor management relations. He also said that the reporting requirements for unions were overly burdensome and the bill would not have the effect desired by Congress. The House disagreed with Truman and quickly overrode the presidential veto. The Taft-Hartley Act, also known as the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, was created after a great number of large-scale strikes had nearly disabled the automobile, steel, and packing industries, among others. These work stoppages had caused a ripple effect through the economy, leading to public panic. The Taft-Hartley Act, an amendment to the Wagner Act of 1935, was designed to benefit all parties to a labor agreement—the employer, employees, and the labor union. Whereas the Wagner Act had spoken only of the right to participate in union activities, the new act included the right to refrain from union activities. It was clear that this new act was designed to level the unfair playing field formerly tipped in favor of labor unions. In addition, the Taft-Hartley Act allowed states to enact right-to-work laws, which made it illegal to set union membership as a condition for employment. Many states did choose to enact such laws. Other changes included removing supervisors from the bargaining unit so as to avoid the possibility of conflicting interests, and placing guards in a separate bargaining unit without any rank-and-file members. There were also special rules for professional workers allowing them to choose whether or not they wished to be part of a separate bargaining unit. Finally, the act required a both sides of a labor contract to bargain in good faith, which means they must meet at regular times and try to reach an agreement on a range of issues related to the employment contract. The parties must also create a written contract that includes any agreed-upon provisions.

As used by President Franklin D. roosevelt, what is meant by the term "Arsenal of Democracy"?

Arsenal- warehouse/storehouse of weapons 1940 speech to Congress by FDR Make the US an "arsenal of democracy" during WWII in Europe Builder of weapons for preservation of democracy in the world The "Great Arsenal of Democracy" was intended to show the importance of the US' supplying of weapons to the Allies in an effort to preserve democracy in the world. Showed the importance of supplying the Allies with the materials needed for the war effort ...otherwise democracy could be wiped out

What were the causes and effects of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision?

As President Lyndon Johnson said in 1965, "You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say you are free to compete with all the others, and still just believe that you have been completely fair." President Johnson's speech stated the rationale behind the contemporary use of affirmative action programs to achieve equal opportunity, especially in the fields of employment and higher education. The emphasis is on opportunity: affirmative action programs are meant to break down barriers, both visible and invisible, to level the playing field, and to make sure everyone is given an equal break. They are not meant to guarantee equal results -- but instead proceed on the common-sense notion that if equality of opportunity were a reality groups facing discrimination (for example, people of color, women, people with disabilities and others) would be fairly represented in the nation's work force and educational institutions. Controversy surrounding the constitutionality of affirmative action programs has made the topic one of heated debate. Affirmative action is an outcome of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, intended to provide equal opportunities for members of minority groups and women in education and employment. In 1961, President Kennedy was the first to use the term "affirmative action" in an Executive Order that directed government contractors to take "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." The Executive Order also established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, now known as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In the following years, colleges and universities began adopting similar recruitment policies, and over time the enrollment rates for African American and Latino students increased steadily. Despite the efforts that have been made to establish equal opportunity, gaps in college enrollment between minority and white students remain. The Affirmative Action Debate The use of race as a factor in the college admissions process has been, and continues to be, a hotly debated topic. Supporters of affirmative action make the following arguments: Affirmative action is more of a process than just an admissions policy. Colleges and universities reach out to groups that are underrepresented and urge students to apply. Institutions often offer financial aid to underrepresented students and provide on-campus support programs to improve their academic success. Affirmative action programs have resulted in doubling or tripling the number of minority applications to colleges or universities, and have made colleges and universities more representative of their surrounding community. Statistics show that after California abolished its affirmative action programs in 1998, the minority student admissions at UC Berkeley fell 61 percent, and minority admissions at UCLA fell 36 percent. After Texas abolished its affirmative action program in 1996, Rice University's freshman class had 46 percent fewer African-Americans and 22 percent fewer Hispanic students. Graduates who benefited from affirmative action programs say that they have received better jobs, earned more money, and ultimately are living better lives because of the opportunity they received. Diversity in higher education provides an educational advantage for all students, both personally and intellectually. We exist in a global, multicultural society, and in order to achieve success, employers and employees must be able to work effectively with the diverse society that surrounds them. Affirmative action policies are necessary in order to compensate for centuries of racial, social, and economic oppression. Generally, individuals with higher socioeconomic status have more opportunities than those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Supporters believe that certain racial or ethnic groups are disadvantaged because they are frequently in lower income brackets and consequently are not exposed to the same resources as students from higher socioeconomic classes. Advocates support the notion of competition between students based on merit, but argue that affirmative action compensates for economic disparities. Critics of affirmative action make the following arguments: Affirmative action was created to ensure fair admission practices and to rectify a long period of racial discrimination. The policy is outdated, however, and causes a form of reverse discrimination by favoring one group over another, based on racial preference rather than academic achievement. Further, there is concern that minority groups may be stigmatized and treated differently by peers and professors who may believe that the success of minority groups in higher education institutions is unearned. Affirmative action may be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Likewise, the programs may be illegal under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance. Affirmative action policies lower standards and make students less accountable. If standards for test scores, grade point average, etc. are lowered for underrepresented groups, it is argued that these students will only strive to meet the lower requirements. Affirmative action policies do not necessarily help economically disadvantaged students. A study by the Hoover Institution found that affirmative action tends to benefit middle- and upper-class minorities. Many opponents believe that diversity in higher education is extremely important, but that affirmative action only serves to amplify racial prejudice. Because there is no correlation between skin color and intelligence, affirmative action programs are unnecessary. Moreover, affirmative action programs are condescending to the underrepresented groups since it is implied that the groups need affirmative action in order to succeed in higher education. States should focus on other policies or programs that encourage equal opportunity, such as setting high expectations for all students and improving their college readiness.

What were the causes, goals, and effects of Affirmative Action programs?

What was the purpose of Executive Order 8802 and what did it led to?

As the nation prepared for war, African American leaders hoped that the rapidly growing defense industry would provide new opportunities for blacks. In September 1940, A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, met with President Roosevelt and urged the President to promote equal employment opportunities and to desegregate the armed forces. Although Randolph left the meeting with assurances that President Roosevelt was looking into the matter, no agreement was made. Having failed to secure the support of the Roosevelt administration, Randolph hoped to bring his cause to the American people. For months he planned a march on Washington and gathered the support of tens of thousands of African Americans. Worried about the impact of the march, Franklin Roosevelt met with Randolph two weeks before the march was scheduled to begin and urged him to call off the march. The only way he would stop the march, A. Philip Randolph told FDR, was if President Roosevelt issued an Executive Order. On June 25, 1941 President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 prohibiting discrimination in the defense industry and created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to monitor hiring practices. Although the military remained segregated, World War II brought about new jobs and opportunities for African Americans.

What were some of the significant battles of WWII in the Pacific? What was their impact on the war?

Battle of Midway Outcome/Significance: By June 5, 1942 US destroyed all Japanese naval carriers and 330 planes Japan no longer had aircraft necessary to fight US successfully Gave the US the upper hand in Pacific because Japan unable to launch any more offensive strikes - blow to Japanese naval power Turned the tide of the war in the Pacific Following defeat, Japan starts Kamikaze pilot suicide attacks to inflict most possible damage to Allied warships Battle of Iwo Jima Outcome/Significance: One of the bloodiest battles of the war 24,800 Japanese soldiers died approximately 5, 300 US soldiers died US captured the island, signals the end near for Japan Battle of Okinawa Outcome/Significance: 50,000 US deaths - worst losses in the Pacific 93,000 Japanese deaths (soldiers); 100,000 Japanese civilians Way open for US invasion of Japan

What was the impact of immigration from Mexico on US population, especially in California?*

Beginning in the 1950s, millions of Mexicans began immigrating to the US - most legally More came to CA than any other state; 1/3 in US live in CA Latinos/Chicanos largest "minority" group in the US - +12.5% of population/ CA - +30% Most live in cities, but migrant work is still important to agriculture in CA and elsewhere

What were the causes and effects of business conglomerates?*

Conglomerate - Major corporation that owns smaller unrelated companies; a corporation that is made up of a number of different, seemingly unrelated businesses. In a conglomerate, one company owns a controlling stake in a number of smaller companies, which conduct business separately. Each of a conglomerate's subsidiary businesses runs independently of the other business divisions, but the subsidiaries' management reports to senior management at the parent company. Investing in various areas of the economy provides protection from declines in individual industries After Depression, large companies diversified instead of relying on offering one type of product/service Fear of bankruptcy Ex Telephone company buying car rental companies, hotel chains, insurance companies Became powerful Although conglomerates existed before World War II, they became increasingly popular during the late 1950s and early 1960s. One reason for the adoption of the conglomerate strategy was that such entities could make acquisitions and grow yet maintain immunity from the anti-trust prosecution that companies making acquisitions in the same line of business often found themselves facing. Thus, businesses that were constrained within their own industry were able to freely expand into different markets. In addition, of particular importance at the time was that the conglomerate strategy allowed firms heavily engaged in defense contracts to diversify and reduce the risks associated with overspecialization. Some experts believe that the techniques used by conglomerates to achieve the astounding growth for which they were noted was a direct violation of sound corporate operating principles. Conglomerates exercised few, if any, limits on diversification, often purchased less than 10 percent of their acquisitions, operated with complex capital structures, and exhibited high debt-to-earnings ratios.

What were the causes and effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

DISCOVERING THE MISSILES After seizing power in the Caribbean island nation of Cuba in 1959, leftist revolutionary leader Fidel Castro (1926-) aligned himself with the Soviet Union. Under Castro, Cuba grew dependent on the Soviets for military and economic aid. During this time, the U.S. and the Soviets (and their respective allies) were engaged in the Cold War (1945-91), an ongoing series of largely political and economic clashes. The two superpowers plunged into one of their biggest Cold War confrontations after the pilot of an American U-2 spy plane making a high-altitude pass over Cuba on October 14, 1962, photographed a Soviet SS-4 medium-range ballistic missile being assembled for installation. President Kennedy was briefed about the situation on October 16, and he immediately called together a group of advisors and officials known as the executive committee, or ExCom. For nearly the next two weeks, the president and his team wrestled with a diplomatic crisis of epic proportions, as did their counterparts in the Soviet Union. A NEW THREAT TO THE U.S. For the American officials, the urgency of the situation stemmed from the fact that the nuclear-armed Cuban missiles were being installed so close to the U.S. mainland-just 90 miles south of Florida. From that launch point, they were capable of quickly reaching targets in the eastern U.S. If allowed to become operational, the missiles would fundamentally alter the complexion of the nuclear rivalry between the U.S. and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which up to that point had been dominated by the Americans. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had gambled on sending the missiles to Cuba with the specific goal of increasing his nation's nuclear strike capability. The Soviets had long felt uneasy about the number of nuclear weapons that were targeted at them from sites in Western Europe and Turkey, and they saw the deployment of missiles in Cuba as a way to level the playing field. Another key factor in the Soviet missile scheme was the hostile relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. The Kennedy administration had already launched one attack on the island-the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961-and Castro and Khrushchev saw the missiles as a means of deterring further U.S. aggression. WEIGHING THE OPTIONS From the outset of the crisis, Kennedy and ExCom determined that the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba was unacceptable. The challenge facing them was to orchestrate their removal without initiating a wider conflict-and possibly a nuclear war. In deliberations that stretched on for nearly a week, they came up with a variety of options, including a bombing attack on the missile sites and a full-scale invasion of Cuba. But Kennedy ultimately decided on a more measured approach. First, he would employ the U.S. Navy to establish a blockade, or quarantine, of the island to prevent the Soviets from delivering additional missiles and military equipment. Second, he would deliver an ultimatum that the existing missiles be removed. In a television broadcast on October 22, 1962, the president notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact the blockade and made it clear that the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. Following this public declaration, people around the globe nervously waited for the Soviet response. Some Americans, fearing their country was on the brink of nuclear war, hoarded food and gas. SHOWDOWN AT SEA A crucial moment in the unfolding crisis arrived on October 24, when Soviet ships bound for Cuba neared the line of U.S. vessels enforcing the blockade. An attempt by the Soviets to breach the blockade would likely have sparked a military confrontation that could have quickly escalated to a nuclear exchange. But the Soviet ships stopped short of the blockade. Although the events at sea offered a positive sign that war could be averted, they did nothing to address the problem of the missiles already in Cuba. The tense standoff between the superpowers continued through the week, and on October 27, an American reconnaissance plane was shot down over Cuba, and a U.S. invasion force was readied in Florida. (The 35-year-old pilot of the downed plane, Major Rudolf Anderson, is considered the sole U.S. combat casualty of the Cuban missile crisis.) "I thought it was the last Saturday I would ever see," recalled U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (1916-2009), as quoted by Martin Walker in "The Cold War." A similar sense of doom was felt by other key players on both sides. A DEAL ENDS THE STANDOFF Despite the enormous tension, Soviet and American leaders found a way out of the impasse. During the crisis, the Americans and Soviets had exchanged letters and other communications, and on October 26, Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy in which he offered to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for a promise by U.S. leaders not to invade Cuba. The following day, the Soviet leader sent a letter proposing that the USSR would dismantle its missiles in Cuba if the Americans removed their missile installations in Turkey. Officially, the Kennedy administration decided to accept the terms of the first message and ignore the second Khrushchev letter entirely. Privately, however, American officials also agreed to withdraw their nation's missiles from Turkey. U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy (1925-68) personally delivered the message to the Soviet ambassador in Washington, and on October 28, the crisis drew to a close. Both the Americans and Soviets were sobered by the Cuban Missile Crisis. The following year, a direct "hot line" communication link was installed between Washington and Moscow to help defuse similar situations, and the superpowers signed two treaties related to nuclear weapons. The Cold War was far from over, though. In fact, another legacy of the crisis was that it convinced the Soviets to increase their investment in an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. from Soviet territory.

What were the causes and effects of Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb?

Deciding to Drop the Bomb In the lead up to the Trinity test, the top priority for President Truman was to end the war as quickly as possible with the fewest U.S. casualties. For many, this had become the overarching purpose for using the atomic bomb once it was completed. Walker notes five reasons why Truman chose to use the bomb. Ending the war at the earliest possible moment - The primary objective for the U.S. was to win the war at the lowest possible cost. Specifically, Truman was looking for the most effective way to end the war quickly, not for a way to not use the bomb. Truman saw little difference between atomic bombing Hiroshima and the "fire bombing" Dresden or Tokyo. To justify the cost of the Manhattan Project - The Manhattan Project was a secret program to which the U.S. had funneled an estimated $1,889,604,000 (in 1945 dollars) through December 31, 1945. To impress the Soviets - With the end of the war nearing, the Soviets were an important strategic consideration, especially with their military control over most of Eastern Europe. As Yale Professor Gaddis Smith has noted, "It has been demonstrated that the decision to bomb Japan was centrally connected to Truman's confrontational approach to the Soviet Union." However, this idea is thought to be more appropriately understood as an ancillary benefit of dropping the bomb and not so much its sole purpose. A lack of incentives not to use the bomb - Weapons were created to be used. By 1945, the bombing of civilians was already an established practice. In fact, the earlier U.S. firebombing campaign of Japan, which began in 1944, killed an estimated 315,922 Japanese, a greater number than the estimated deaths attributed to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The firebombing of Tokyo alone resulted in roughly 100,000 Japanese killed. Responding to Pearl Harbor - When a general raised objections to the use of the bombs, Truman responded by noting the atrocities of Pearl Harbor and said that "When you have to deal with a beast you have to treat him as a beast." The ethical debate over the decision to drop the atomic bomb will never be resolved. The bombs did, however, bring an end to the most destructive war in history. The Manhattan Project that produced it demonstrated the possibility of how a nation's resources could be mobilized. There has been great difficulty in estimating the total casualties in the Japanese cities as a result of the atomic bombing. The extensive destruction of civil installations (hospitals, fire and police department, and government agencies) the state of utter confusion immediately following the explosion, as well as the uncertainty regarding the actual population before the bombing, contribute to the difficulty of making estimates of casualties. The Japanese periodic censuses are not complete. Finally, the great fires that raged in each city totally consumed many bodies. The number of total casualties has been estimated at various times since the bombings with wide discrepancies. The Manhattan Engineer District's best available figures are: TABLE A: Estimates of Casualties Hiroshima Nagasaki Pre-raid population 255,000 195,000 Dead 66,000 39,000 Injured 69,000 25,000 Total Casualties 135,000 64,000

What were the causes and effects of pre-WWII US isolationism and neutrality?

During the 1930s, the combination of the Great Depression and the memory of tragic losses in World War I contributed to pushing American public opinion and policy toward isolationism. Isolationists advocated non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts and non-entanglement in international politics. Although the United States took measures to avoid political and military conflicts across the oceans, it continued to expand economically and protect its interests in Latin America. Isolationist ideas spread through American popular culture during the mid-1930s. From 1934 to 1936, a congressional committee, chaired by Senator Nye, investigated charges that false Allied propaganda and unscrupulous Wall Street bankers had dragged Americans into the European war. In April 1935--the 18th anniversary of American entry into World War I--50,000 veterans held a peace march in Washington, D.C. Between 1935 and 1937, Congress passed three separate neutrality laws that clamped an embargo on arms sales to belligerents, forbade American ships from entering war zones and prohibited them from being armed, and barred Americans from traveling on belligerent ships. Clearly, Congress was determined not to repeat what it regarded as the mistakes that had plunged the United States into World War I. By 1938, however, pacifist sentiment was fading. A rapidly modernizing Japan was seeking to acquire raw materials and territory on the Asian mainland; a revived Germany was rebuilding its military power and acquiring land bloodlessly on its eastern borders; and Italy was trying to restore Roman glory through military might.

What were some of the major programs of the New Deal and what did each do?

Emergency Banking Relief Act • Roosevelt's first step as president was to carry out reforms in banking and finance. • Immediately following the Bank Holiday of March 1933 where FDR closed all of the banks in the nation to prevent further withdrawals, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Relief Act. • It authorized the Treasury Department to inspect the health of the country's banks. Those that were financially sound could reopen at once. Those that were unable to pay their debts would remain closed and could receive loans from the federal government. • Government inspectors found that most banks were healthy, and two-thirds were allowed to open soon after. After reopening, deposits had exceeded withdrawals. Glass-Steagall Act/ Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) • This law established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC provided federal insurance for individual bank accounts up to $5,000. • The act also required banks to keep a reserve amount of all bank depositors' money on hand at all time (10%). • This means banks could not loan out ALL their cash reserves so money stayed available for depositors whenever they wanted it. Federal Securities Act/Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) • This act required corporations to provide complete information on all stock offerings and made them liable for any misrepresentations of stock. • The following year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created to regulate the stock market. • One goal of the commission was to prevent people with "inside" information about companies from "rigging" the stock market, causing prices to go up or down for their own profit. Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) • This act paid farmers to leave land unplanted and destroy some crops and animals to reduce supply and thereby boost prices of crops and farm products. • The aim was to raise crop prices by lowering production (which the government achieved by paying farmers to leave a certain amount of every acre unseeded or to not raise specific crops and animals, etc). • The government paid cotton growers $200 million to plow under 10 million acres of their crop. It paid hog farmers to slaughter 6 million pigs. • Parts of the AAA were declared unconstitutional, so Congress passed a second AAA that paid farmers for cutting production of soil-depleting crops like cotton and wheat. Rewarded farmers for using good soil conservation methods. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) • This program put 2.5 million unmarried men from ages 18-25 to work on the environment maintaining and restoring forests, planting trees, beaches, parks, and helping in soil erosion and flood control projects. They planted 200 million trees as windbreakers in the Dust Bowl areas. • Workers earned only $30 a month. $25 was automatically sent home to the workers family, but he received free room and board, a uniform, and job training. • By the time the program ended in 1942, almost 3 million young men had passed through the CCC. From 1934 to 1937, this program funded similar programs for 8,500 women. • The program did, however, favored Whites over others like African Americans and Mexican Americans. Farm Security Administration (FSA) • This program loaned more than $1 billion to help tenant farmers become landowners. • Also established a network of camps for migrant farm workers, who had traditionally lived in very poor conditions. • The program also paid for photographers like Dorthea Lange to go out and capture the difficult situation of people in rural America. National Industrial Recover Act (NIRA)/National Industrial Recovery Administration (NRA) • This act intended to boost declining industrial prices, thereby helping businesses and workers (who were impacted by the decline in industrial prices in 1930s; this then led to business failures and unemployment). • The act sought to boost industrial growth by establishing codes of fair practice for individual industries. • The Act created the National Industrial Recovery Administration (NRA). The aim of the NRA was to promote recovery by interrupting the trend of wage cuts, falling prices, and layoffs. • The NRA set prices of many products to ensure fair competition, and established standards for working hours and a ban on child labor. • Competing businesses met with representatives of workers and consumers to draft the codes of fair competition. These codes both limited production and established prices. • Because businesses were given new concessions, workers made demands. Congress passed section 7a of the NIRA that guaranteed a union's right to organize and to collectively bargain. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) • This program focused on the impoverished area of the Tennessee River Valley. • The TVA renovated five existing dams and constructed 20 new ones in the Tennessee Valley. It created thousands of jobs and provided flood control, and hydroelectric power to one of the nation's least modernized regions. Works Progress Administration (WPA) • The WPA targeted employment by trying to create as many jobs as possible, as quickly as possible. • The WPA put more than 8 million skilled and unskilled Americans to work on construction projects, building dams, bridges, roads, schools, post offices, libraries, hospitals, and airports. • The program also employed artists and writers in their areas of expertise, as well as teachers and other professionals. • Female workers in sewing groups made more than 300 million clothes for the needy. • WPA made special attempts to help women, people of color, and young people. Wagner Act/National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) • Passed after the NIRA was declared unconstitutional, the act re-established a provision for collective bargaining, supported the right of workers to join unions and collectively bargain with employers. • The act also listed unfair labor practices that companies could not use (like threatening workers, firing union members, interfering with union organizing methods). • The act also set up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which required companies to treat unions fairly and bargain with them. The NLRB aimed to hear testimony about unfair practices and ensured elections among workers were held to find out if they wanted union representation. Social Security Act This act has four major parts: (1) old-age insurance for retirees 65 and older and their spouses. It was intended to supplement a person's private retirement plan, ½ the money coming from the employee and the other ½ from the employer. (2) Survivors benefits for the families of a deceased worker whose wages paid into the Social Security insurance program. (3) Unemployment compensation for people who were laid off their jobs due to no fault of their own. This was funded by a federal tax on employers and was administered at the state level. (4) Aid to families with dependent children and the disabled. Money meant to assist the blind, physically disabled, the needy elderly, and mothers with dependent children. Aid paid by federal funds and made available to the states. SSI program excluded: domestic servants, farm workers, and many hospital and restaurant workers. Rural Electrification Act (REA) • This act created, financed, and worked with rural and farm electrical cooperatives to bring electricity to previously isolated areas. OK

Unit 11 - The Cold War/Post War Era What were the causes and effects of Truman's Executive Order 9981?

Executive Order 9981: Integration of the Armed Forces President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which declared "that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin." In short, it was an end to racial segregation in the military, a political act unmatched since the days of Reconstruction after the Civil War. This act has been described as the pinnacle of the Truman civil rights program and the climax of the struggle for racial equality in the armed forces. But in some ways, the order was simply a practical response to a presidential dilemma. Since the beginning of the American military, it had been an uphill struggle for African Americans and other minorities to prove their patriotism and devotion to the defense of the nation. During the American Revolution, blacks and whites served together in several units throughout the duration of the war. After the war, however, integration in the military would not be seen until after 1945. Prior to the issuing of Executive Order 9981, blacks and some other minorities were often segregated into separate units from their white counterparts. In many instances, these units were assigned menial tasks in the rear and rarely saw combat. Those African Americans that did see combat displayed great courage and bravery under fire. Despite their proven mettle and patriotism of minorities in America's defense, it took time and circumstance for a significant breakthrough to occur.

What was the "Bonus Army" and what was its significance?

Few images from the Great Depression are more indelible than the rout of the Bonus Marchers. At the time, the sight of the federal government turning on its own citizens -- veterans, no less -- raised doubts about the fate of the republic. It still has the power to shock decades later. From the start, 1932 promised to be a difficult year for the country, as the Depression deepened and frustrations mounted. In December of 1931, there was a small, communist-led hunger march on Washington; a few weeks later, a Pittsburgh priest led an army of 12,000 jobless men there to agitate for unemployment legislation. In March, a riot at Ford's River Rouge plant in Michigan left four dead and over fifty wounded. Thus, when a band of jobless veterans, led by a former cannery worker named Walter W. Walters, began arriving in the capital in May, tensions were high. Calling themselves the "Bonus Expeditionary Forces," they demanded early payment of a bonus Congress had promised them for their service in World War I. Army Chief of Staff MacArthur was convinced that the march was a communist conspiracy to undermine the government of the United States, and that "the movement was actually far deeper and more dangerous than an effort to secure funds from a nearly depleted federal treasury." But that was simply not the case. MacArthur's own General Staff intelligence division reported in June that only three of the twenty-six leaders of the Bonus March were communists. And the percentage within the rank and file was likely even smaller; several commanders reported to MacArthur that most of the men seemed to be vehemently anti-Communist, if anything. According to journalist and eyewitness Joseph C. Harsch, "This was not a revolutionary situation. This was a bunch of people in great distress wanting help.... These were simply veterans from World War I who were out of luck, out of money, and wanted to get their bonus -- and they needed the money at that moment." At first, it seemed as though order might be maintained. Walters, organizing the various encampments along military lines, announced that there would be "no panhandling, no drinking, no radicalism," and that the marchers were simply "going to stay until the veterans' bill is passed." The government also did its part, as Washington Police Superintendent Pelham D. Glassford treated his fellow veterans with considerable respect and care. But by the end of June, the movement had swelled to more than 20,000 tired, hungry and frustrated men. Conflict was inevitable. The marchers were encouraged when the House of Representatives passed the Patman veterans bill on June 15, despite President Hoover's vow to veto it. But on June 17 the bill was defeated in the Senate, and tempers began to flare on both sides. On July 21, with the Army preparing to step in at any moment, Glassford was ordered to begin evacuating several buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue, using force if necessary. A week later, on the steamy morning of July 28, several Marchers rushed Glassford's police and began throwing bricks. President Hoover ordered the Secretary of War to "surround the affected area and clear it without delay." Conspicuously led by MacArthur, Army troops (including Major George S. Patton, Jr.) formed infantry cordons and began pushing the veterans out, destroying their makeshift camps as they went. Although no weapons were fired, cavalry advanced with swords drawn, and some blood was shed. By nightfall, hundreds had been injured by gas (including a baby who died), bricks, clubs, bayonets, and sabers. Next came the most controversial moment in the whole affair -- a moment that directly involved General MacArthur. Secretary of War Hurley twice sent orders to MacArthur indicating that the President, worried that the government reaction might look overly harsh, did not wish the Army to pursue the Bonus Marchers across the bridge into their main encampment on the other side of the Anacostia River. But MacArthur, according to his aide Dwight Eisenhower, "said he was too busy," did not want to be "bothered by people coming down and pretending to bring orders," and sent his men across the bridge anyway, after pausing several hours to allow as many people as possible to evacuate. A fire soon erupted in the camp. While it's not clear which side started the blaze, the sight of the great fire became the signature image of the greatest unrest our nation's capital has ever known. Although many Americans applauded the government's action as an unfortunate but necessary move to maintain law and order, most of the press was less sympathetic. "Flames rose high over the desolate Anacostia flats at midnight tonight," read the first sentence of the "New York Times" account, "and a pitiful stream of refugee veterans of the World War walked out of their home of the past two months, going they knew not where."

In what ways was the UN's effectiveness greatly limited during the Cold War as a result of the veto power of the 5 permanent members of the UN's Security Council (US, GB, F, USSR, China)?

Fifty nations meeting in San Francisco in June 1945 unanimously approved the U.N. Charter. The preamble of the charter set down the most important purpose of the world organization: "We the peoples of the United Nations are determined to save the generations of people yet to come from the horrors of war." The UN's effectiveness was limited during Cold War by US and Soviet Union's competitiveness. The Security Council consists of 15 nations including the five wartime allied powers. The "Big Five" are permanent members of the Council, each with veto power. This means that by voting "no," any one of these nations can stop the Security Council from acting. Other U.N. members take turns filling the remaining 10 seats on the Security Council, but do not have veto power. As a practical matter, the "Big Five" must all agree (or at least not exercise the veto) before the United Nations can act against threats to world peace and security. The assumption in 1945 was that the five major allies in war would continue to work together on the Security Council to enforce the peace. This assumption, however, proved wrong. As the Cold War developed, most of the nations of the world found themselves divided into two camps: the Western powers, led by the United States; and the communist powers, led by the Soviet Union. Most nations not aligned with either camp were in the Third World, the developing nations of Africa and Asia. Cold War Limits The United Nations quickly became a Cold War battleground between communist and non-communist countries. Since both the United States and Soviet Union held vetoes, the Security Council could not act without their joint permission. This limited U.N. peacekeeping efforts to situations where the national interests of the superpowers were not in conflict. Once, however, the Security Council did act against Soviet interests. After communist North Korea attacked South Korea in June 1950, the Security Council granted President Truman authority to send American troops to defend South Korea. This happened due to a fluke of history. The Soviet Union was boycotting the Security Council because the permanent seat held by China was then occupied by the anti-communist government on Taiwan rather than the communist mainland government. As a result, the Soviet Union failed to exercise its veto. Although about 15 U.N. member nations participated with the United States in the Korean War (1950-1953), American troops did most of the fighting. In another instance, the United States and Soviet Union teamed up to stop two Western powers--France and Great Britain. In July 1956, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser seized the Suez Canal. Although the canal ran through Egyptian territory, it was owned primarily by the British and French. To get the canal back, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt. Most of the world opposed the retaking of the canal. The United States and Soviet Union, in a rare case of Cold War unity, voted for a Security Council resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of British, French, and Israeli troops. But Britain and France vetoed this resolution. The United States then took the unusual step of submitting the withdrawal resolution to the General Assembly where every U.N. member had one vote and no country had the veto power. The resolution passed overwhelmingly. Faced with such massive international opposition, the British, French, and Israelis withdrew their forces from the canal. Due to Cold War limits on U.N. action, the world organization played an insignificant role in some of the most dangerous threats to world peace. The Security Council took no action in 1962 when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred. The Security Council also remained stalemated during the Vietnam War.

What was President Hoover's approach to dealing with the Great Depression and why? How did the public view Hoover as a consequence of his view?

Generally, let the economy fix itself: Economy should have minimal intervention by govt, but gov't could help solve economic problems (laissez faire philosophy) - HOWEVER, not too much power; Took a cautious approach to solving GD 2. Urged business leaders to work together to find a solution to the economic problems and to not to act in a way that would make it worse (i.e. not cutting wages, laying off workers, or striking) [voluntary] Rely on charities to ease suffering (voluntary action) Belief that social problems best solved at a local level, not federal Created a special organization to help charities generate donations for the poor 4. Gov't public-works program to help jump start economy by building roads, dams, and other large projects (ex: Boulder Dam) Goal to stimulate business and provide jobs for unemployed 5. Backed Congress' passage of: Federal Farm Board National Credit Corporation The Glass-Steagall Banking Act Federal Home Loan Bank Act Reconstruction Refinance Corporation 6. Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC): Emergency money to banks and businesses (Pump new life into economy and convince business to invest in economy)

Unit 12 - The 1960s/Civil Rights What were the goals and strategies of the Civil Rights Movement? Who were some of leaders and groups of the movement?

Goals of the Civil Rights Movement: 1. end segregation 2. desegregate schools and other public facilities 3. access to jobs and housing 4. reverse "separate but equal" 5. equality in general Strategies of the movement: Court cases, sit-ins, boycotts, non-violent protest, and marches. Use of television and media to spotlight US inequality. Some leaders of the movement: Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall (NAACP lawyer), Huey Newton, Bobby Seal, Stokely Carmichael

What were the causes and consequences of the Cold War Space and Arms Races?

Growing out of post-World War II tensions between the two nations, the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted for much of the second half of the 20th century resulted in mutual suspicions, heightened tensions and a series of international incidents that brought the world's superpowers to the brink of disaster. Space Race: The Space Race was a competition between the USA and the USSR to explore space using artificial satellites and manned spacecraft. It can be seen as a part of the larger arms race, as developments in space research could easily be transferred to military research. Both countries started work on developing reconnaissance satellites well before the height of the Space Race. The Vostok spacecraft used by the USSR to put Yuri Gagarin into space, for example, was developed from the Zenit spy satellites used by the Soviet military. However, the military benefits of the Space Race were not the only driving force behind the American and Soviet attempts to explore space. The populations of both countries took a great interest in their respective space programs and it was a useful way for both superpowers to demonstrate their superiority. Nikita Khruschev, the Premier of the Soviet Union, used the country's early success in the Space Race to claim that the "economy, science, culture and the creative genius of people in all areas of life develop better and faster under communism." The American President John F. Kennedy, on the other hand, is quoted as saying "Everything we do ought to... be tied in to getting on to the Moon ahead of the Russians... we hope to beat the USSR to demonstrate that instead of being behind by a couple of years, by God, we passed them. " In America the space program was headed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, who were given control of all non military activity in Space Arms Race During the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union became engaged in a nuclear arms race. They both spent billions and billions of dollars trying to build up huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The Cold War was predicated on the fact that neither side wanted to engage in a nuclear war that could destroy much of the civilized world. Start of the Arms Race On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. In 1952 the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb. This was an even more powerful version of the nuclear bomb. The Soviets followed up by exploding their first hydrogen bomb in 1953. ICBMs In the 1950s both countries worked on developing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles or ICBMs. These missiles could be launched from long range, as far away as 3,500 miles. Defense As both sides continued to develop new and more powerful weapons, the fear of what would happen if war broke out spread throughout the world. Militaries began to work on defenses such as large radar arrays to tell if a missile had been launched. They also worked on defense missiles that could shoot down ICBMs. At the same time people built bomb shelters and underground bunkers where they could hide in the case of nuclear attack. Deep underground facilities were built for high ranking government officials where they could reside safely. Mutual Assured Destruction One of the major factors in the Cold War was termed Mutual Assured Destruction or MAD. This meant that both countries could destroy the other country in the case of attack. It wouldn't matter how successful the first strike was, the other side could still retaliate and destroy the country which first attacked. For this reason, neither side ever used nuclear weapons. The cost was too high.

How did WWII impact various racial/gender groups (i.e. women, African Americans and Japanese Americans - including those in the military)?

Homefront: The second is that World War II gave many minority Americans--and women of all races--an economic and psychological boost. The needs of defense industries, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's desire to counter Axis propaganda, opened skilled, high-paying jobs to people who had never had a chance at them before. Minority workers and soldiers made unprecedented contact with other minorities as well as with whites. Feelings of self-confidence and belonging, once enjoyed, were not easily relinquished. In short, Takaki says, the war jump-started the civil rights movement. Women and the Workplace Despite the steep increase in the number of women in the labor force, national support for working women, and federally mandated support services for mothers such as daycare, health insurance with maternity benefits, and a guaranteed annual wage, World War II did not thoroughly transform the workplace for women. Discrimination in hiring, wage discrepancies, dress codes, and unemployment policies still favored male employees. Furthermore, once the war ended and millions of men reentered the labor force, women once again found it difficult to find well-paid work, or any work at all. Plus, as the demand for labor decreased, employer-supported services such as on-the-job daycare disappeared, making it once again quite difficult for working-class mothers to support their families. Japanese-American Internment By 1941, Japanese Americans formed a small, fairly prosperous and self-segregated portion of the population, and were concentrated primarily on the West Coast. After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans perceived this group of immigrants and citizens as spies for the Japanese government, linked by blood and therefore sympathetic to an enemy of the United States. Military commanders successfully convinced President Roosevelt that Japanese Americans residing in California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada posed a significant threat to national security. The solution to the problem, they suggested, was relocation and, if necessary, containment. Under the authority of President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, roughly 110,000 people of Japanese descent—Issei, or first-generation Japanese immigrants, as well as Nisei, children of Issei born in the United States—were forced to leave their homes, businesses, and many of their belongings behind to relocate to internment camps in remote regions of the country. Despite the fact that most of those forced to migrate did so without protest, and despite the fact that not one single case of sabotage, spying, or treason could be linked to any American of Japanese descent, the U.S. military uprooted and detained Japanese Americans throughout most of the war. In December 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the exclusion of certain groups from certain areas was constitutional (Korematsu v. United States), but that regardless of the constitutionality of exclusion, the government couldn't detain citizens who they believe are loyal to the US (Ex parte Endo). By early 1945, the federal government began releasing detainees.10 African-Americans and the Home Front The expansion of manufacturing, along with federally mandated desegregation in the war industries, did enable many African-Americans to actively serve their country in a number of new ways. But, perhaps more importantly, mobilization enabled blacks to secure well-paid jobs. Higher wages and other incentives empowered African-Americans, particularly southern blacks long stifled by a culture of segregation and racial violence, to move to the Northeast and the West where war industry jobs were most plentiful. During the 1940s, over one million black Americans left their homes in rural regions in the South and the Midwest, seeking freedom and fortune in cities such as Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Richmond, Vallejo, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Yet many blacks discovered that material opportunities were not often accompanied by civil rights or by racial justice. Housing discrimination, in particular, limited their mobility. Although the nation was engaged in a war against fascism abroad, legal segregation and lynching continued to hinder and devastate the lives of African-Americans in the South. In the military: Native Americans 44,000 served - higher number per % than all other groups -20 metals of honor, most granted later in life 1/3 of all eligible men Some tribes - 70% eligible men served Singled out for special assignments Army used: Hopi, Comanche, etc Navajo Code Talkers -300 -Marines -Language used as code in the pacific -Considered indispensible to war effort -"Escorts" to protect the code Choctaw code talkers at Normandy Mexican Americans/Latinos 250,000 - 500,000 served 12 Medals of Honor and other distinctionsEurope, The Pacific (esp. Philippines), The Mediterranean Mostly in the ArmyNot assigned to segregated unitsSingle most decorated ethnic group from CA African Americans 1.2 million served 0 medals of honor at time, 9 of second highest; 7M.O.H 1997 Segregated units -Faced discrimination -Not allowed into same military leaders halls Most limited to support roles /non-combat duty at first, but pushed to get right to combat/fight D-Day, Liberating west Europe, Italy, etc. Tuskegee Airmen 761st Tank Battalion - aka the "Red Ball Express" Army Air Force 99th Fighter Squadron 92nd Infantry Division -"Buffalo soldiers" "Double V" Campaign: Victory in Europe/Victory at home against discrimination/2nd class citizenship Japanese Americans Not accepted until 1943 (except in Hawaii) 17,000 Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat team /100 Battalion Infantry - "Go for Broke" Most decorated unit of their size in American historyFought in Europe/ North AfricaMostly from Hawaii and internment camps Helped liberate Dachau concentration camp Segregated units Military Intelligence Service (MIS) Women Volunteers 275,000 Non-Combat roles Marines (13,000) Clerks, typists, airfield control tower operators, mechanics, photographers, drivers Coast Guard/SPARS (10,000) Army Air Force/WASPS (1,200) Women Air Force Service Pilots Navy/WAVES (86,000) Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service Army/WAAC (100,000) Women Auxiliary Army Corps med Forces

What were the causes and effects of the Dust Bowl?

In 1931, a severe drought hit the Southern and Midwestern area known as the Great Plains. As crops died and winds picked up, dust storms began. As photos of the "Dust Bowl" show, crops literally blew away in "black blizzards". But what were the causes of the so-called "Dust Bowl"? By 1934, 75% of the United States was severely affected a terrible (1) 7 year drought that had begun 1931. Additionally, previous years of (2) poor farming practices and over-cultivation due to increased crop demand during WWI placed greater strain on the land. The (3) soil was made weak as the naturally occurring grasslands of the southern Great Plains were replaced with cultivated fields of wheat, the rich soil lost its ability to retain moisture and nutrients and began to erode. Lastly, soil conservation practices were not widely used by farmers during this era and when the (4) strong seasonal arctic and tropical winds came through the region, they were followed by the coming of dust storms in 1932. Many of the farms literally dried up and blew away creating this phenomenon that became known as the "Dust Bowl."

What were the causes and effects of the Bracero Program?

In 1942 the Federal government began the Bracero program, a cooperative program between the US and Mrxico through which the United States imported large numbers of Mexican workers—mainly farmworkers—on a temporary basis, to address the urgent need in the US for agricultural workers. During WWII, the US work force was absorbed by defense plant work for the war effort Mexican citizens were contracted for employment on U.S. farms as nonimmigrant guest workers; this allowed Mexican citizens to take temporary agricultural work in the United States. Hard work/low wages The braceros' presence had a significant effect on: the business of farming the culture of the United States. Saved American agriculture in wartime The bracero workers given little recognition Program Ended 1964 Significance: Initiated because of farm labor shortages caused by American entry into World War II, the bracero program brought Mexican workers to replace American workers dislocated by the war. The program was intended to be temporary, but a growing dependence of American farms on Mexican labor kept it going for nearly two decades after the war ended.

What were the causes and effects of the Zoot-Suit Riots?

In Los Angeles, groups of white sailors, soldiers, police officers, and civilian men from all over the West Coast responded to a press-instigated outcry against the "zoot-suiter menace." Mobs seeking to punish those perceived as delinquent, violent, disrespectful, and un-American patrolled downtown L.A., many wielding bats and crowbars. They targeted anyone wearing the conspicuous zoot suit, an audacious outfit favored by young, urban, Mexican-American and black men during the 1940s. During the riots, which raged for a full week, hundreds of young people—predominantly Mexican-American, African-American, and Filipino-American—were stripped of their clothing and beaten. Only after state and federal authorities stepped in did the violence cease

What were the causes and effects of the Korematsu v. US, 1944 case?

Korematsu v. United States: The Background The trial of Korematsu v. United States started during World War II, when President Roosevelt passed Executive Order 9066 to command the placement of Japanese residents and Japanese citizens who were staying or located in the United States into special facilities where they were excluded from the general population. Isolating people from the general population for no good reason is a direct violation of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. To defend this aggressive action, President Roosevelt explained that the order was passed to prevent internal damages or sabotage that may have been caused by individuals who supported Japan. Roosevelt separated Japanese people because he didn't want them banning together in a time of war. Japan was a primary enemy of the United States during this time; Roosevelt believed that separation was the best way to contain an uprising. The case of Korematsu v. United States deals with military law. This aspect of law is a legal field within Federal Law, which addresses the activity and behavior of military personnel, including issues of treason, war crimes and criminal offenses directed towards military personnel. Korematsu stood up against the forced imprisonment of Japanese people because the government did not differentiate between Japanese extremists or American citizens who happened to be of Japanese descent. Korematsu was one of these American citizens who was forcefully removed from his home and his everyday life and taken to a prison camp. Korematsu v. United States: The Case Profile The case of Korematsu v. United States took place on December 18th of 1944. The trial was initiated by Korematsu in response to Roosevelt's executive order. Koramatsu believed that forced residency was illegal. Korematsu brought his case to the Supreme Court by stating that imprisonment of his people was a direct violation of civil liberties and the human rights afforded to American citizens in the United States Constitution. The case of Korematsu v. United States was decided on December 18th of 1944. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. Korematsu v. United States: The Verdict In the case of Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States, claiming that based on military law, the preservation and protection of the general population of the United States outweighed the individual who was detained in a prison camp. The ruling in Korematsu v. United States also explained that during a time of war, the government was allowed to pass certain laws that may not be legal in times of peace.

Who were the liberal and conservative critics of the New Deal and what were their criticisms?

Liberal Critics - Said New Deal Does not do enough Argued FDR did not do enough to "socialize" the economy and eliminate social and economic inequalities Said too many poor people and very few rich Liberal Critics ex: Father Charles Coughlin Dr. Francis Townsend Huey Long Conservative Critics - Said New Deal Does too much Argued New Deal creates too much govt reform: Makes the federal govt too large and too powerful by involving govt agencies in the nation's finances, agriculture, industries and housing Govt stifled free enterprise and individual initiative Socialistic policies The wealthy Conservative Critic ex: The American Liberty League Made up mostly of wealthy business leaders Said ND violated respect for the rights of individuals and property, and limits on constitution Said president trying set up a dictatorship

What was the impact of New Deal programs - especially on people's lives and how it changed the way they thought of the role/responsibility of the federal government in their lives?

Made acceptable the idea that government has a responsibility for the political and economic welfare of its citizens Created many social programs that our country still has today Expanded the role of the federal gov't Growth and legacy of federal deficit spending Although it did not end the Great Depression, the New Deal and FDR gave hope to a nation that otherwise felt hopeless OK

How did wartime industry production impact where factories were located and who worked in them and why?

Manufacturing industries moved to South and West Before WWII most in the Northeast and Midwest Population shift follows shift of industries Triggered one of the largest mass migrations in US history Large population gains for states/towns with military bases and defense industries

What impact/affect did the New Deal programs have on the lives of "minority groups"?

Native Americans: Received strong govt support from ND; Indian Reorganization Act, 1934 - Strengthened NA land claims Mexican Americans: •Supported the New Deal •Received fewer benefits than AA did •Many occupations worked in like farm workers unprotected by state and federal laws •Violence against farm workers who tried to unionize •Farm workers disqualified from some ND programs African Americans: •Mary McLeod Bethune appointed to head National Youth Administration •Influential AA who advised Roosevelt on racial issues - the "Black Cabinet" •More voice in the White House •President did try to promote racial equality, but... •Never fully committed to civil rights •Failed to support civil rights because did not want to upset the White southern branch of the Democratic Party •Important to electing him to office •Refusal to support anti-lynching legislation, an end to the poll tax, etc •Some New Deal programs discriminated against AA/others hiring for New Deal jobs or distribution of benefits when providing direct relief •AA often segregated and received lower wages when did get work •AA took steps to improve conditions ignored by the New Deal

What was labor union activity like during the Great Depression and what tactics were used? What were the names of some of the various unions? What types of labor legislation was passed?

New Deal guarantees worker's right to organize and join unions Right to collective bargaining Minimum pay and maximum hours established for most workers National Labor Relations Board created Union membership grew rapidly record highs (10 million in 1941) Sit down strikes/ "work stoppages" new type of striking The courts declared sit down strikes illegal and banned them Increase in union strikes often led to violence Congress for Industrial Organization (CIO) had goal to organize skilled and unskilled industrial workers in steel, automobiles, shipping, etc. 1938 CIO Broke from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) AFL opposed industry wide unions. Labor disputes also led to increase in violence: 1936 General Motors auto plant in Flint, Michigan Police called, used tear gas to disperse the strikers; turned hoses on police Ford Motor Company Bloody encounters between Ford employees and security hired by Ford Company 1937 Republic Steel Plant Clash between striking steel workers and police 10 people killed; many wounded

What were some of the significant battles of WWII in Europe? What was their impact on the war?

Normandy/D-Day Outcome/Significance: Large numbers of Allied deaths - US 3,000 in one day Between June 6 - July 25, 1944 over 1 million Allied troops landed Opened up offensive fighting on the Western front Put Germans on the defense (retreat) Allies liberated France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands by September 1 Battle of the Bulge Outcome/Significance: Last major German offensive on the Western Front during WWII After battle, Allied forces closed in on Berlin, Germany Germans retreated for remainder of war After battle, Nazis knew war was lost 600,000 American soldiers in battle, 80,000 killed, wounded, captured Approx. 120,000 German soldiers died

What were the goals of the Office of War Mobilization and Office of Price Administration and what was their impact on the US during WWII?

Office of War Mobilization - Coordinated the production of war materials, "sold" the war, boosted morale Industries switch to defense manufacturing The Office of Price Administration (OPA) - Fought inflation by freezing wages, prices, rents Set up system for rationing Rationed items such as meat, butter, cheese, veggies, sugar, coffee, gas

What were the causes and effects of the Manhattan Project?

On October 11, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, which Einstein had actually written on August 2, 1939. The letter told of a new field of physics that was showing that the element uranium could undergo nuclear fission, with the resultant release of a great deal of energy. Einstein described the probability that a sustained nuclear reaction could be produced and the possibility of the construction of extremely powerful bombs. He described the possibility that such bombs could be delivered by ship, although he was skeptical that such weapons could be delivered by air. He noted the likelihood that Germany would pursue the same line of research and that the Germans had already suspended the export of uranium from the Czech mines in their newly acquired territory. Roosevelt took the warning seriously, and within a month had organized a research committee. The United States introduced its own nuclear program under the Army Corps of Engineers in June 1942. The U.S. needed to build an atomic weapon before Germany or Japan did. On May 12, 1942, President Roosevelt signed an order creating a secret project called the "Manhattan Project" to develop the nuclear weapon. The program that developed the atomic bomb for the United States during World War II was the largest secret project ever undertaken by the U.S. government. Many scientists who had produced the atomic bombs were against its use and argued to the end that the bomb should not be used for ethical reasons. They also warned of an arms race that would develop at the end of the war. Many other scientists, however, felt that the U.S. was not attacking Japan, but rather defending itself from a country who attacked the U.S. first. The two bombs were transported to the Pacific theater for use against Japan. "Little Boy" was carried by a B-29 bomber called Enola Gay and dropped over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, resulting in the immediate or delayed deaths of 100,000 people. The government of Japan still refused to surrender and on August 9, "Fat Man" was released from another B-29 over Nagasaki. Faced with the prospect of continued annihilation of its cities, as well as not knowing that the U.S. had no other atomic bombs ready to deploy, Japan surrendered unconditionally on August 15, 1945. The Manhattan Project allowed the United States to unlock the mysteries of the atom, but it also introduced the most destructive creation of warfare known to mankind. The project became a forerunner in nuclear development and control and signified the beginning of an era of nuclear weapons, scientific discovery, and competition for weapons supremacy between the US and the Soviet Union.

What was the focus of Truman's Fair Deal Programs?

President Truman's domestic reform agenda, called the Fair Deal, was a set of proposals aimed at economic development and social welfare. Building on Roosevelt's New Deal, Truman believed that the federal government should guarantee economic opportunity and social stability, and he struggled to achieve those ends in the face of fierce political opposition from conservative legislators determined to reduce the role of government. The Fair Deal was pushed by President Harry S. Truman and congressional Democrats, and was intended to enact policies consistent with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.In the midterm elections of 1946, Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1928. This increased opposition to Truman's Democratic Fair Deal reforms.Fair Deal legislation included measures such as: aid to education, tax cuts for low-income earners, increased public housing, an immigration bill, the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, an increase in minimum wage, national health insurance and expanded Social Security coverage. Most never passed.Despite vigorous opposition from congressional Republicans, Truman succeeded in securing partial victories on his legislative agenda, most notably with federal housing legislation, an increase in the minimum wage and improvements in the social welfare system.Truman's Fair Deal did make progress in civil rights, with the desegregation of both the federal civil service and the armed forces, as well as the creation of the Commission on Civil Rights. His Fair Deal recommended that all Americans have health insurance, that the minimum wage (the lowest amount of money per hour that someone can be paid) be increased, and that, by law, all Americans be guaranteed equal rights. Truman's plans were not popular with the members of Congress. They rejected his plans for national health insurance though they did raise the minimum wage. Truman also proposed the Fair Employment Practices Act, which would outlaw racial and religious discrimination in hiring. Congress passed the Employment Act in 1946 and clearly stated the government's responsibility in helping to achieve full employment.

What actions were taken by FDR to deal with the banking and financial crisis?

Relief for needy: (ex - jobs programs/home protection loans) 2. Economic Recovery: Ex: "Bank Holiday" Banks closed until found to be in good financial health - restored nation's confidence in banks. 3. Financial Reform: The New Deal: FDR's program of relief, recovery, and reform aimed at combating problems caused by the Great Depression

What were the causes and effects of the Great Depression, including things related to the economy of the late 1920s?

Republican domestic and international economic policies Unregulated stock speculation Weak and unregulated banking institutions Overproduction of goods The decline of the farming industry Rising debt/Credit Uneven Distribution of wealth/ income

How did the powers of the presidency increase during WWII and expand the government's role in controlling the economy, including a "peace-time" economy (as in after WWII)?

Roosevelt used his powers as president to provide aid to the Allies (ex: Atlantic Charter meeting with Churchill to discuss strategy) Requirements of fighting the war caused govt to take control of many businesses War Productions Board decided to which industries would shift to defense production Govt controlled prices, wages, rent - most frozen to prevent inflation Govt rationed many goods (i.e. people could only buy certain amounts of gas, sugar, meat, etc each week) Certain labor rights were guaranteed while others were limited - govt had right to take over certain industries if there was a strike (i.e. those "essential to the war effort")

What were some of the pre-WWII causes and effects of tensions between US and Japan?

The 1930s saw a steadily increasing campaign of Japanese aggression in China, beginning with the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and culminating in the outbreak of full-scale war between the two powers in 1937. Each instance of aggression resulted in denunciations from the United States, but the administrations of the time—that of Herbert Hoover until 1933, and of Franklin D. Roosevelt thereafter-understood that there was no will on the part of the American public to fight a war in East Asia. Therefore U.S. policy by the late 1930s consisted of nothing more than a refusal to recognize Japanese conquests, limited economic sanctions against Japan, and equally limited military and economic assistance for China. Nevertheless, the Japanese bitterly resented even these halfway measures, and when their war against China bogged down in 1939 they blamed outside interference for the stubborn refusal of the Chinese to submit to their terms. They sought a way to prevent foreign aid from reaching China, and to replace the foreign resources that they could no longer acquire due to American economic sanctions. In Southeast Asia and the South Pacific lay a number of territories controlled by France, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, which none of those countries appeared capable of defending. If they were to fall into Japanese hands Tokyo's strategic dilemma, it seemed, could be solved. After concluding an alliance with Germany in July 1940, Japan pressured the French government into allowing Japanese troops to occupy the northern part of French Indochina. In the following year Japanese forces occupied the entire country. The U.S. government met this latest series of aggressive moves with a steadily escalating campaign of economic sanctions, so that by late summer of 1941 Japan was no longer able to purchase any materials from the United States. This was a tremendous blow for many reasons, but particularly because Japan was almost completely dependent upon U.S. imports for its supply of oil. Without oil, of course, Tokyo would have to abandon its war against China—a humiliation that no Japanese leader would accept. The result was a frenzy of diplomatic maneuvering between Japan and the United States throughout the second half of 1941. However, Tokyo knew that time was running out; if the United States failed to drop its trade sanctions Japan would run out of oil within months. Therefore Japan's leaders made a fateful decision-if no settlement could be reached with Washington by the end of November there would be war. Moreover, the Japanese naval command concluded that this war must begin with the most devastating attack possible against the United States—an air strike, using carrier-based planes, against the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

What were the causes and effects of the Berlin Blockade and Berlin Airlift?

The Berlin blockade and airlift: An international crisis that arose from an attempt by the Soviet Union, in 1948-49, to force the Western Allied powers (the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) to abandon their post-World War II jurisdictions in West Berlin. In March 1948 the Allied powers decided to unite their different occupation zones of Germany into a single economic unit. In protest, the Soviet representative withdrew from the Allied Control Council. Coincident with the introduction of a new deutsche mark in West Berlin (as throughout West Germany), which the Soviets regarded as a violation of agreements with the Allies, the Soviet occupation forces in eastern Germany began a blockade of all rail, road, and water communications between Berlin and the West. On June 24 the Soviets announced that the four-power administration of Berlin had ceased and that the Allies no longer had any rights there. On June 26 the United States and Britain began to supply the city with food and other vital supplies by air. They also organized a similar "airlift" in the opposite direction of West Berlin's greatly reduced industrial exports. By mid-July the Soviet army of occupation in East Germany had increased to 40 divisions, against 8 in the Allied sectors. By the end of July three groups of U.S. strategic bombers had been sent as reinforcements to Britain. Tension remained high, but war did not break out. Despite dire shortages of fuel and electricity, the airlift kept life going in West Berlin for 11 months, until on May 12, 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade. The airlift continued until September 30, at a total cost of $224 million and after delivery of 2,323,738 tons of food, fuel, machinery, and other supplies. The end to the blockade was brought about because of countermeasures imposed by the Allies on East German communications and, above all, because of the Western embargo placed on all strategic exports from the Eastern bloc. As a result of the blockade and airlift, Berlin became a symbol of the Allies' willingness to oppose further Soviet expansion in Europe.

What was the G.I. Bill and what did it do?

The G.I. bill, officially the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, provided many benefits to veterans of World War II. It established veterans' hospitals, provided for vocational rehabilitation, made low-interest mortgages available, and granted stipends covering tuition and living expenses for veterans attending college or trade schools.

What was the impact of the 1892 Plessy v. Ferguson decision on US society?

The Lawsuit Even though slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, racial discrimination did not end with it. States continued to make laws that blocked equal opportunities for African Americans. Homer Plessy decided to test one of those laws to see if he could change it. Plessy lived in Louisiana and, like many people there, he was a Creole; he was not completely white and he was not completely African American. However, in the eyes of the law, he was African American. On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy sat in the section of a railroad car that was for 'whites only.' As he expected, he was arrested after he refused to move. Judge John Howard Ferguson of Louisiana ruled against Plessy's argument that making him sit in a separate part of the train violated his constitutional rights. Plessy then took his case to the Supreme Court. The Ruling Plessy's lawyer argued that Louisiana's Separate Car Act violated the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment grants citizenship rights to anyone born in the United States. It also says that no laws should be made to take away the rights of U.S. citizens. The Supreme Court disagreed with Plessy's lawyer. Supreme Court Justice Henry Brown said that even though the 14th Amendment may have intended to make African Americans and white people 'equal before the law,' it did not necessarily intend for the two races to be 'equal in society.' According to Justice Brown, whites should not be forced to be in the same public places as African Americans. The Impact Plessy v. Ferguson allowed 'separate but equal,' also known as segregation, to become law in the United States. After this, Jim Crow laws, which were a system of laws meant to discriminate against African Americans, spread across the U.S. For decades, any type of public facility could be legally separated into 'whites only' and 'blacks only.' The Plessy v. Ferguson Decision of 1896 After the Civil War and during the Reconstruction Period, African Americans began to exercise some of the rights of citizenship. They made great sacrifices in efforts to educate themselves and their children, and education became the most important part of family life. Despite great restrictions such as inadequate segregated schools and insufficient public funds, literacy rates among African Americans rose from three percent to 50 percent in just 30 years. This newfound progress, however, was short-lived by the Supreme Court Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896. The case began in 1891 with a civil complaint made by Homer Plessy in Louisiana. Plessy was a New Orleans shoemaker whose parentage was seven-eighth white and one-eighth black. Plessy objected to being segregated on trains within Louisiana and with the backing of influential African American civic and business leaders sued the state on the grounds that his Constitutional rights were being violated. He argued that if skin color could be used as a basis of segregation, then discrimination against blondes or redheads could also be considered reasonable and legal. Plessy further argued that segregation implied that African Americans were inferior. In 1896, the Supreme Court Plessy v. Ferguson decision ruled against him to install a "separate but equal" doctrine which became the benchmark for segregation. The "separate but equal" doctrine was quickly extended to cover many areas of public life and encouraged many states to launch a large offensive to legally relegate all African Americans to an inferior status. Strict laws were passed to forcibly separate blacks from whites in every sector of the society including education, restrooms, hotels, public transportation, sports, hospitals, prisons, and even cemeteries. African Americans were systematically denied the right to vote, and some cities established a 10:00 PM curfew for blacks. Birmingham, Alabama even passed a law preventing blacks and whites from playing checkers together. The Plessy v. Ferguson decision was a major setback in race relations, it put a legal stamp on racial oppression, and it subsequently sanctioned more than 50 years of legal discrimination and unequal opportunities. Moreover, it set up false barriers of communication between blacks and whites that would impede social progress for decades to come.

What were the causes and effects of the Vietnam war?

The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war began in 1954 (though conflict in the region stretched back to the mid-1940s), after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam, and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people (including 58,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War; more than half were Vietnamese civilians. By 1969, at the peak of U.S. involvement in the war, more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were involved in the Vietnam conflict. Growing opposition to the war in the United States led to bitter divisions among Americans, both before and after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973. In 1975, communist forces seized control of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year. ROOTS OF THE VIETNAM WAR During World War II, Japan invaded and occupied Vietnam, a nation on the eastern edge of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia that had been under French administration since the late 19th century. Inspired by Chinese and Soviet communism, Ho Chi Minh formed the Viet Minh, or the League for the Independence of Vietnam, to fight both Japan and the French colonial administration. Japan withdrew its forces in 1945, leaving the French-educated Emperor Bao Dai in control of an independent Vietnam. Ho's Viet Minh forces rose up immediately, seizing the northern city of Hanoi and declaring a Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) with Ho as president. Seeking to regain control of the region, France backed Bao and set up the state of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in July 1949, with Saigon as its capital. Armed conflict continued until a decisive battle at Dien Bien Phu in May 1954 ended in French defeat by Viet Minh forces. The subsequent treaty negotiations at Geneva split Vietnam along the latitude known as the 17th parallel (with Ho in control in the North and Bao in the South) and called for nationwide elections for reunification to be held in 1956. In 1955, however, the strongly anti-communist Ngo Dinh Diem pushed Bao aside to become president of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam (GVN). VIETNAM WAR: U.S. INTERVENTION BEGINS With the Cold War intensifying, the United States hardened its policies against any allies of the Soviet Union, and by 1955 President Dwight D. Eisenhower had pledged his firm support to Diem and South Vietnam. With training and equipment from American military and police, Diem's security forces cracked down on Viet Minh sympathizers in the south, whom he derisively called Viet Cong (or Vietnamese Communist), arresting some 100,000 people, many of whom were tortured and executed. By 1957, the Viet Cong and other opponents of Diem's repressive regime began fighting back with attacks on government officials and other targets, and by 1959 they had begun engaging South Vietnamese Army forces in firefights. In December 1960, Diem's opponents within South Vietnam-both communist and non-communist-formed the National Liberation Front (NLF) to organize resistance to the regime. Though the NLF claimed to be autonomous and that most of its members were non-Communist, many in Washington assumed it was a puppet of Hanoi. A team sent by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to report on conditions in South Vietnam advised a build-up of American military, economic and technical aid in order to help confront the Viet Cong threat. Working under the "domino theory," which held that if one Southeast Asian country fell to communism, many would follow, Kennedy increased U.S. aid, though he stopped short of committing to a large-scale military intervention. By 1962, the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam had reached some 9,000 troops, compared with fewer than 800 during the 1950s. VIETNAM WAR ESCALATES A coup by some of his own generals succeeded in toppling and killing Diem and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, in November 1963, three weeks before Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The ensuing political instability in South Vietnam persuaded Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to further increase U.S. military and economic support. The following August, after DRV torpedo boats attacked two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, Johnson ordered the retaliatory bombing of military targets in North Vietnam. Congress soon passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson broad war-making powers, and U.S. planes began regular bombing raids, codenamed Operation Rolling Thunder, the following February. In March 1965, Johnson made the decision-with solid support from the American public-to send U.S. combat forces into battle in Vietnam. By June, 82,000 combat troops were stationed in Vietnam, and General William Westmoreland was calling for 175,000 more by the end of 1965 to shore up the struggling South Vietnamese army. Despite the concerns of some of his advisers about this escalation, and about the entire war effort as well as a growing anti-war movement in the U.S., Johnson authorized the immediate dispatch of 100,000 troops at the end of July 1965 and another 100,000 in 1966. In addition to the United States, South Korea, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand also committed troops to fight in South Vietnam (albeit on a much smaller scale). STRATEGY OF ATTRITION IN VIETNAM In contrast to the air attacks on North Vietnam, the U.S.-South Vietnamese war effort in the south was fought on the ground, largely under the command of General Westmoreland, in coordination with the government of General Nguyen Van Thieu in Saigon. In general, U.S. military forces in the region pursued a policy of attrition, aiming to kill as many enemy troops as possible rather than trying to secure territory. By 1966, large areas of South Vietnam had been designated as "free-fire zones," from which all innocent civilians were supposed to have evacuated and only enemy remained. Heavy bombing by B-52 aircraft or shelling made these zones uninhabitable, as refugees poured into camps in designated safe areas near Saigon and other cities. Even as the body count (at times exaggerated by U.S. and South Vietnamese authorities) mounted steadily, DRV and Viet Cong troops refused to stop fighting, encouraged by the fact that they could easily reoccupy lost territory. Meanwhile, supported by aid from China and the Soviet Union, North Vietnam strengthened its air defenses. By November 1967, the number of American troops in Vietnam was approaching 500,000, and U.S. casualties had reached 15,058 killed and 109,527 wounded. As the war stretched on, some soldiers came to mistrust their government's reasons for keeping them there, as well as Washington's claims that the war was being won. The later years of the war saw increased physical and psychological deterioration among American soldiers, including drug use, mutinies and attacks by soldiers against officers and noncommissioned officers. Bombarded by horrific images of the war on their televisions, Americans on the home front turned against the war as well: In October 1967, some 35,000 demonstrators staged a mass antiwar protest outside the Pentagon. Opponents of the war argued that civilians, not enemy combatants, were the primary victims and that the United States was supporting a corrupt dictatorship in Saigon. VIETNAM WAR ENDS: FROM VIETNAMIZATION TO WITHDRAWAL President Nixon sought to deflate the antiwar movement by appealing to a "silent majority" of Americans who he believed supported the war effort. In an attempt to limit the volume of American casualties, he announced a program of withdrawing troops, increasing aerial and artillery bombardment and giving South Vietnamese control over ground operations. In addition to this policy, which he called "Vietnamization," Nixon continued public peace talks in Paris, adding higher-level secret talks conducted by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger beginning in the spring of 1968. The North Vietnamese continued to insist on complete U.S. withdrawal as a condition of peace, however, and the next few years would bring even more carnage, including the horrifying revelation that U.S. soldiers had massacred more than 400 unarmed civilians in the village of My Lai in March 1968. Anti-war protests continued to build as the conflict wore on. In 1968 and 1969, there were hundreds of anti-war marches and gatherings throughout the country. On November 15, 1969, the largest anti-war protest in American history took place in Washington, D.C., as over 250,000 Americans gathered peacefully, calling for withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. The anti-war movement, which was particularly strong on college campuses, divided Americans bitterly. For some young people, the war symbolized a form of unchecked authority they had come to resent. For other Americans, opposing the government was considered unpatriotic and treasonous. As the first U.S. troops were withdrawn, those who remained became increasingly angry and frustrated, exacerbating problems with morale and leadership. Tens of thousands of soldiers received dishonorable discharges for desertion, and about 500,000 American men from 1965-73 became "draft dodgers," with many fleeing to Canada to evade conscription. Nixon ended draft calls in 1972, and instituted an all-volunteer army the following year. In 1970, a joint U.S-South Vietnamese operation invaded Cambodia, hoping to wipe out DRV supply bases there. The South Vietnamese then led their own invasion of Laos, which was pushed back by North Vietnam. The invasion of these countries, in violation of international law, sparked a new wave of protests on college campuses across America, including two at Kent State in Ohio and Jackson State in Mississippi during which National Guardsmen and police killed a total of six student protesters. By the end of June 1972, however, after another failed offensive into South Vietnam, Hanoi was finally willing to compromise. Kissinger and North Vietnamese representatives drafted a peace agreement by early fall, but leaders in Saigon rejected it, and in December Nixon authorized a number of bombing raids against targets in Hanoi and Haiphong. Known as the Christmas Bombings, the raids drew international condemnation. LEGACY OF THE VIETNAM WAR In January 1973, the United States and North Korea concluded a final peace agreement, ending open hostilities between the two nations. War between North and South Vietnam continued, however, until April 30, 1975, when DRV forces captured Saigon, renaming it Ho Chi Minh City (Ho himself died in 1969). The long conflict had affected an immense majority of the country's population; in eight years of warfare, an estimated 2 million Vietnamese died, while 3 million were wounded and another 12 million became refugees. War had decimated the country's infrastructure and economy, and reconstruction proceeded slowly. In 1976, Vietnam was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, though sporadic violence continued over the next 15 years, including conflicts with neighboring China and Cambodia. Under a broad free market policy put in place in 1986, the economy began to improve, boosted by oil export revenues and an influx of foreign capital. Trade and diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the U.S. were resumed in the 1990s. In the United States, the effects of the Vietnam War would linger long after the last troops returned home in 1973. The nation spent more than $120 billion on the conflict in Vietnam from 1965-73; this massive spending led to widespread inflation, exacerbated by a worldwide oil crisis in 1973 and skyrocketing fuel prices. Psychologically, the effects ran even deeper. The war had pierced the myth of American invincibility, and had bitterly divided the nation. Many returning veterans faced negative reactions from both opponents of the war (who viewed them as having killed innocent civilians) and its supporters (who saw them as having lost the war), along with physical damage including the effects of exposure to the harmful chemical herbicide Agent Orange, millions of gallons of which had been dumped by U.S. planes on the dense forests of Vietnam. In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was unveiled in Washington, D.C. On it were inscribed the names of 57,939 American armed forces killed or missing during the war; later additions brought that total to 58,200.

What were the causes and effects of the 2nd Red Scare and McCarthyism on post-WWII US society?

The fear of communism, known as the Red Scare, led to a national witch hunt for suspected communist supporters, which was known as McCarthyism. Learn about the rise of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, the impact of McCarthyism on American society and the legacy of the short-lived fear campaign. Defining McCarthyism and the Red Scare The Red Scare, which gained notoriety during the First World War, represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of communist (or anarchist, during the First World War era) subversion within society. Americans believed, especially during the Cold War, which was a period of tension between the United States and Soviet Union, that communism was attempting to infiltrate every aspect of their lives. While this is not necessarily the best analogy, you can relate the widespread fear of communism during the Cold War as being similar to the heightened alert Americans had toward terrorism and suspected terrorists during the beginning of the modern century. Instigating this fear was Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was a Republican senator from Wisconsin and was the leader behind the ethos of McCarthyism. The term was created in 1950 by Washington Post writer Herbert Block. Simply put, McCarthyism was the practice of attempting to minimize the threat of communism by accusing and detaining suspects deemed to be a security threat or disloyal to the United States. Investigations ranged from the federal government (especially the State Department), to Hollywood, to the general American public. No one was safe because McCarthy was the judge, jury and executioner. McCarthy's vitriolic campaign of identifying and eliminating suspected communists raged from roughly 1950 to 1954. This was a rude awakening to Americans who thought the trials and tribulations of the Cold War rested outside of the United States borders.

What were the goals and impact of President Kennedy's New Frontier program?

The term "New Frontier" refers to the economic and social programs of the presidency of John F. Kennedy. The concept of a "New Frontier" epitomized Kennedy's commitment to renewal and change. He pitched his 1960 presidential campaign as a crusade to bring in a "new generation of leadership—new men to cope with new problems and new opportunities." Kennedy used "the New Frontier" to root himself in the past and to present a new future. Kennedy and his speechwriters built on President Theodore Roosevelt's "Square Deal," President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal," President Harry S. Truman's "Fair Deal," and Frederick Jackson Turner's idea of "the closing of the frontier." The plan was designed to combat rising unemployment and inflation by increasing government spending (which helped keep inflation low) and by cooperating with big business to keep wages high while keeping costs down for consumers. While initially successful, the program's progress was slowed when the huge steel industry announced rate hikes. Such hikes had the ability to influence the entire American economy due to the sheer size of the steel industry. In response, the president began canceling government contracts with those companies that reneged on their agreements to keep costs low. Such companies quickly jumped back in line, averting a minor economic crisis. Kennedy had more difficulty dealing with the legislature. Despite the fact that the Democrats controlled both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the president was unsuccessful in pushing legislation through Congress. Many conservative Democrats joined forces with some Republicans to oppose his legislation. He urged Congress to cut taxes in 1962; that motion failed, as did several social welfare measures aimed at improving care for the elderly and increasing education funding. in Kennedy's first two years as president, Congress passed 304 bills that the White House proposed. But that represented less than half of the 653 bills actually championed and, many historians agree, "domestically, it was not the important half." Congress raised the minimum wage from $1.00 to $1.25 and broadened eligibility requirements. Congress did provide $4.9 billion in federal grants for urban development. But Congress defeated Kennedy's proposals for Medicare, for a Department of Urban Affairs, and for mass transit aid. In fact, many of Kennedy's measures were not passed until after his death, as Lyndon Johnson pledged to uphold his legacy and consequently renewed efforts to pass his predecessor's legislation. The big, dramatic, Kennedy-esque legislative program known as the Great Society was only enacted during President Lyndon B. Johnson's tenure—partially as a tribute to the martyred president after Kennedy's assassination, and partially as a result of Johnson's tenacity and talent.

What were the goals and impact of President Johnson's Great Society program?

The term Great Society, which refers to the set of domestic programs initiated by Lyndon B. Johnson, who became the U.S. president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. It was in the areas of civil rights and economic assistance that the Great Society was most effective. The Civil Rights Act (1964) made employment discrimination and segregation in public accommodations—on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin—illegal. This legislation was followed by the Voting Rights Act (1965), which guaranteed minority voter registration and voting by restricting the use of literacy tests and poll taxes. The Immigration and Nationality Services Act (1965) did away with the national origin quotas put in place in 1924; this law opened the door to waves of Asian and Latin American immigrants, a pattern still apparent in the early twenty-first century. The 1968 Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination in housing and granted constitutional protections to Native Americans living on reservations. Johnson's so-called War on Poverty had its roots in the Economic Opportunity Act (1964), which established an Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to manage a variety of "community action" programs. The OEO was never meant to deal with poverty by raising welfare payments or guaranteeing wages, but to help the poor help themselves through education, job training, and community development. The Job Corps, Project Head Start, the Model Cities Program, the Neighborhood Youth Corps, Upward Bound, and VISTA were the most important new programs designed to assist poor people. The Great Society also spawned well-known legislation in the areas of education and healthcare. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965) provided significant federal aid to public education, and secured Head Start, originally a summer program, as a permanent component. Since education was a state and local matter, the federal government previously had refrained from assisting public schools for fear of violating the principle of "separation of powers." The Higher Education Act (1965) raised federal aid to public and private universities, granted scholarships and low-interest loans to students, and set up a National Teachers Corps. The Bilingual Education Act (1968) helped local school districts address the English-language needs of minority children. Medicare and Medicaid, today the bedrock of the U.S. healthcare system, had their origins in the Social Security Act of 1965. Initially bitterly opposed by the American Medical Association, these publicly funded programs that covered hospital costs and doctors' fees have been indispensable to older Americans, welfare recipients, and low-income families. Legislative actions in the areas of culture, transportation, consumer protection, and the environment are likewise the direct result of President Johnson's vision for a better America. The National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act (1965) created two separate federal agencies for the funding of artistic and humanistic pursuits to counterbalance the emphasis given to scientific endeavors. The Urban Mass Transportation Act (1964) provided hundreds of millions of dollars in matching funds to cities for public and private rail projects, and the Highway Safety Act (1966) was enacted to protect motorists from unsafe roads and vehicles. American consumers benefited from a number of laws such as the Child Safety Act (1966), the Flammable Fabrics Act (1967), the Wholesale Meat Act (1967), and the Truth-in-Lending Act (1968). More than any of the other sets of laws associated with the Great Society, the civil rights legislation of the 1960s stirred public controversy, which has continued for four decades. Johnson issued in 1965, and later expanded in 1967, Executive Order 11246, which required federal contractors to "take affirmative action" to ensure that people are hired and treated during employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. By 1972 this presidential mandate, together with the legal ban on discrimination, led to federal pressure on employers (and then schools and housing providers) to take positive steps to correct past wrongs by giving "preferential treatment" to minorities and women. Before long, quotas were introduced, setting "goals" for protected classes of Americans and "timetables" for achieving them. White males responded with cries of "reverse discrimination": Complaints before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state human rights agencies, and federal and state courts numbered in the hundreds of thousands. A few cases reached the Supreme Court. In a series of split and often very close decisions on both sides of the affirmative action debate, the Supreme Court itself added to the controversy. In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke in 1978, the Court in a five-to-four decision prohibited a California medical school from using a quota—reserving a specific number of places—for minorities in admissions.

What brought the Great Depression to an end in the US?

Though the relief and reform measures put into place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped lessen the worst effects of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the economy would not fully turn around until after 1939, when World War II kicked American industry into high gear.

What was the "human toll" of the Great Depression on people's lives, including the unemployment rates?

Touched every walk of life to a degree 1932 was the highest overall year for US unemployment - 25% (1:4) 1932 - AA unemployment > 50% (1:2) Hardest hit class: Industrial-type laborers ("blue-collar" workers) Hardest hit ethnicity: AA/Latinos - lowest wages, last hired, first fired, Racial violence by unemployed against Calls for deportations against Mexican-Americans Many relief organizations and New Deal programs discriminated against AA and Latinos Elderly - many lost savings, had to depend on others for support; hard to find employment Women and children also affected greatly Working women became targets of resentment; many women were starving to death b/c too ashamed to revel hardships Children suffered malnourishment, child-welfare programs cut, many schools closed (pre-1933) In the cities: Lost jobs, evicted from homes, ended up in streets In rural areas: Could grow own food; 400,000 farms foreclosed on 1929-1932 Social and Psychological Effects: Demoralization led to loss of will to survive; 1928-1932 suicide rate rose > 30%; 3 X as many people admitted to mental institutions; stopped going to doctors; permanent mental scars left on many More details: Humans were the ones that suffered the most, the ones that went through the toughest hardships. They went through starvation, physical and mental distress. It's difficult to live with no money, or worse, without being able to provide anything for your family. That's what the Americans during this crisis had to go through. People all over cities got laid off due to insufficient money to be paid. They lost their home, even evicted from them and left in the streets. People had no other choice but to sleep in parks, sewer pipes, or wrapped in newspaper to keep warm. Others were able to build some what of a shack out of scrap material. Soon enough so many people did so that they became to be known as shanty-towns or "Hoovervilles". To get food wasn't easy also. They search through garbage or even begged. Soon enough there were soup kitchens and bread lines, provided by charity organization and public agencies, to give them some sort of nutrition. A groups that were living under conditions were African Americans and Latinos. They had the highest unemployed rate and to those who were lucky enough to be employed we paid the least. That wasn't their only problem, they also faced discrimination. They dealt with racial violence from whites when competing for the the same job; in 1933 twenty-four African Americans were lynched. Latinos, especially Mexicans, were also discriminated. Whites had strong desires, demands for them to be deported and to never be let into America. By the late 1930's, many Mexicans gave up and relocated, they even left back to their motherland voluntarily. People also faced hardship in the county sides. They did only have one advantage that people living in the city couldn't have; they grew their own food. Growing food was one of the only ways they could feed their family. Even though they were able to grow food, some didn't have land to grow food on. Prices of their productions rose led to less buyers, leading to more debt, causing their lands to be foreclosed. Things got worse when the country side suffered a drought causing windstorms. Wind storms started in 1934 and ended by the late 1930's. These wind stores picked up dirt easily because there was nothing to stop it. As strong winds came across more dirt was accumulated in the air causing a monster called "The Dust Bowl". Because of those storms people escaped leaving their crops behind. Families in general were a mess. Men, women, and children hurt in their own ways, went to through different hardships. Men set off to the streets in desperate look for labor. during the Great Depression 3000,000 men roamed the country and sometimes ending up in charity homes. Woman worked the hardest to help their families survive. They were the ones that stored food for the future, sewed clothes, and managed budgets. They also worked outside of their house even though they were discriminated for being woman. People believed women had no business working. They received lower wages than men, sometimes didn't even get paid. In some areas women wouldn't even get hired as school teachers if they were married. All the effort they put into looking for a job was to help their children. Children also suffered, they had poor diets and no money for health care. Since children weren't able to eat right the became sick, and weren't able o get medical help. They also didn't get proper education due to budget cuts. The school year became shorter and there were less resources to learn with. They also suffered emotionally because of the fact that a lot of marriages fell apart. Parents fought and even separated which is a great pain to any child of any age. The collapse was staggering in its dimensions. Unemployment jumped from less than 3 million in 1929 to 4 million in 1930, to 8 million in 1931, and to 12 1/2 million in 1932. In that year, a quarter of the nation's families did not have a single employed wage earner. 1932 was the highest overall year for US unemployment - 25%. Even those fortunate enough to have jobs suffered drastic pay cuts and reductions in working hours. Only one company in ten failed to cut pay, and in 1932, three-quarters of all workers were on part-time schedules, averaging just 60 percent of the normal work week. The economic collapse was terrifying in its scope and impact. By 1933, average family income had tumbled 40 percent, from $2,300 in 1929 to just $1,500 four years later. In the Pennsylvania coal fields, three or four families crowded together in one-room shacks and lived on wild weeds. In Arkansas, families were found inhabiting caves. In Oakland, California, whole families lived in sewer pipes. Vagrancy shot up as many families were evicted from their homes for nonpayment of rent. The Southern Pacific Railroad boasted that it threw 683,000 vagrants off its trains in 1931. Free public flophouses and missions in Los Angeles provided beds for 200,000 of the uprooted. To save money, families neglected medical and dental care. Many families sought to cope by planting gardens, canning food, buying used bread, and using cardboard and cotton for shoe soles. Despite a steep decline in food prices, many families did without milk or meat. In New York City, milk consumption declined by a million gallons a day. President Herbert Hoover declared, "Nobody is actually starving. The hoboes are better fed than they have ever been." But in New York City in 1931, there were 20 known cases of starvation; in 1934, there were 110 deaths caused by hunger. There were so many accounts of people starving in New York that the West African nation of Cameroon sent $3.77 in relief. The Depression had a powerful impact on families. It forced couples to delay marriage and drove the birthrate below the replacement level for the first time in American history. The divorce rate fell, for the simple fact that many couples could not afford to maintain separate households or to pay legal fees. Still, rates of desertion soared. By 1940, there were 1.5 million married women living apart from their husbands. More than 200,000 vagrant children wandered the country as a result of the break-up of their families. The Depression inflicted a heavy psychological toll on jobless men. With no wages to punctuate their ability, many men lost power as primary decision makers. Large numbers of men lost self-respect, became immobilized and stopped looking for work, while others turned to alcohol or became self-destructive or abusive to their families. In contrast to men, many women saw their status rise during the Depression. To supplement the family income, married women entered the work force in large numbers. Although most women worked in menial occupations, the fact that they were employed and bringing home paychecks elevated their position within the family and gave them a say in family decisions. Despite the hardships it inflicted, the Great Depression drew some families closer together. As one observer noted: "Many a family has lost its automobile and found its soul." Families had to devise strategies for getting through hard times because their survival depended on it. They pooled their incomes, moved in with relatives in order to cut expenses, bought day-old bread, and did without. Many families drew comfort from their religion, sustained by the hope things would turn out well in the end; others placed their faith in themselves, in their own dogged determination to survive that so impressed observers like Woody Guthrie. Many Americans, however, no longer believed that the problems could be solved by people acting alone or through voluntary associations. Increasingly, they looked to the federal government for help.

What were some of the major events of the Cold War era?

Truman Doctrine (1947) -US will provide aid to countries trying to resist communism Berlin Blockade by Soviets = Berlin airlift by US/Britain/France into West Berlin Korean War (1951-1953) Increased communist activity at home/abroad leads to "McCarthyism/blacklisting" ruining innocent people's lives Arms race and space race with the S. Union Bay of Pigs/Cuban Missile Crisis The "domino theory" applied to communism's spread Vietnam war Atomic testing in the S/west harm environment - 1963 US/Soviet Union limit nuclear testing in atmosphere Impact on Latin American policy - CIA supports anti-communist groups in other countries ; Many US supported regimes were undemocratic and used brutal tactics to remain in power

How did the workforce shift in the US in the post-WWII era and what was expected of workers in their dress and attitude?*

US technology changed the demand for industrial and manufacturing jobs Automation meant that fewer people were needed to keep production levels high 1956 - more people working higher paid, "white collar" jobs than "blue collar" ones Growth of service industry White collar jobs - service jobs; clerical, managerial, professional occupations (non-manual labor) Ex: sales, advertising, communications Increased, 1950 36% white collar/ 1970 47% Blue collar jobs- industrial jobs, manufacture goods for sale (manual labor) decreased Gov't begins to hire more service workers Employees generally paid well in safe, secure jobs Companies wanted workers to put companies first Conformity - acting according to certain accepted standards Conform thoughts, dress, social activities Not looking for creative thinkers Personality tests to screen applicants Conformity leads to a loss of individuality - look same/dress same Rewarded for loyalty, cooperation, team work People questioned conformity

Unit 13 - The 1970s - Present What were the causes and effects of President Nixon's Watergate scandal?

WATERGATE: THE BREAK-IN The origins of the Watergate break-in lay in the hostile politics of the 1960s. By 1972, when Republican President Richard Nixon (1913-1994) was running for reelection, the United States was embroiled in the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and deeply divided internally. In such a harsh political climate, a forceful presidential campaign seemed essential to the president and some of his key advisers. Their aggressive tactics included what turned out to be illegal espionage. In May 1972, as evidence would later show, members of Nixon's Committee to Re-Elect the President (known derisively as CREEP) broke into the Democratic National Committee's Watergate headquarters, stole copies of top-secret documents and bugged the office's phones The wiretaps failed to work properly, however, so on June 17 the group returned to the Watergate building. As the prowlers were preparing to break into the office with a new microphone, a security guard noticed that they had taped the building's locks. The guard called the police, who arrived just in time to catch the spies red-handed. It was not immediately clear that the burglars were connected to the president, though suspicions were raised when detectives found copies of the reelection committee's White House phone number among the burglars' belongings. In August, Nixon gave a speech in which he swore that his White House staff was not involved in the break-in. Most voters believed him, and in November the president was reelected in a landslide. WATERGATE: THE COVER-UP It later came to light that Nixon was not being truthful. A few days after the break-in, for instance, he arranged to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in "hush money" to the burglars. Then, he and his aides hatched a plan to instruct the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to impede the FBI's investigation of the crime. This was a more serious crime than the break-in: It was an abuse of presidential power and a deliberate obstruction of justice. Meanwhile, seven conspirators were indicted on charges related to the Watergate affair. At the urging of Nixon's aides, five pleaded guilty and avoided trial; the other two were convicted in January 1973. By that time, a growing handful of people—including Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, trial judge John J. Sirica and members of a Senate investigating committee—had begun to suspect that there was a larger scheme afoot. At the same time, some of the conspirators began to crack under the pressure of the cover-up. Some of Nixon's aides, including White House counsel John Dean, testified before a grand jury about the president's crimes; they also testified that Nixon had secretly taped every conversation that took place in the Oval Office. If prosecutors could get their hands on those tapes, they would have proof of the president's guilt. Nixon struggled to protect the tapes during the summer and fall of 1973. His lawyers argued that the president's executive privilege allowed him to keep the tapes to himself, but Sirica, the Senate committee and an independent special prosecutor named Archibald Cox were all determined to obtain them. When Cox refused to stop demanding the tapes, Nixon ordered that he be fired, leading several Justice Department officials to resign in protest. (These events, which took place on October 20, 1973, are known as the Saturday Night Massacre.) Eventually, Nixon agreed to surrender some—but not all—of the tapes. Early in 1974, the cover-up began to fall apart. On March 1, a grand jury appointed by a new special prosecutor indicted seven of Nixon's former aides on various charges related to the Watergate affair. The jury, unsure if they could indict a sitting president, called Nixon an "unindicted co-conspirator." In July, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes. While the president dragged his feet, the House of Representatives voted to impeach him for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, criminal cover-up and several violations of the Constitution. Finally, on August 5, Nixon released the tapes, which provided undeniable evidence of his complicity in the Watergate crimes. In the face of certain impeachment by the Senate, the president resigned on August 8. Six weeks after the new president Gerald Ford (1913-2006) was sworn in, he pardoned Nixon for any crimes he had committed while in office. Some of Nixon's aides were not so lucky: They were convicted of very serious offenses and sent to federal prison. Nixon himself never admitted to any criminal wrongdoing, though he did acknowledge using poor judgment. His abuse of presidential power had a negative effect on American political life, creating an atmosphere of cynicism and distrust. While many Americans had been deeply dismayed by the outcomes of the Vietnam War, Watergate added further disappointment in a national climate already soured by the difficulties and losses of the past decade.

What were the causes and effects of the Holocaust?

While the Nazi regime classified Jews as the priority "enemy," the Nazi ideological concept of race targeted other groups for persecution, imprisonment, and annihilation, including Roma (Gypsies), people with disabilities, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, and Afro-Germans. The Nazis also identified political dissidents, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, and so-called asocials as enemies and security risks either because they consciously opposed the Nazi regime or some aspect of their behavior did not fit Nazi perceptions of social norms. They sought to eliminate domestic non-conformists and so-called racial threats through a perpetual self-purge of German society. To the anti-Semitic Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Jews were an inferior race, an alien threat to German racial purity and community. After years of Nazi rule in Germany, during which Jews were consistently persecuted, Hitler's "final solution"-now known as the Holocaust-came to be under the cover of world war, with mass killing centers constructed in the concentration camps of occupied Poland. The twin goals of racial purity and spatial expansion were the core of Hitler's worldview, and from 1933 onward they would combine to form the driving force behind his foreign and domestic policy. At first, the Nazis reserved their harshest persecution for political opponents such as Communists or Social Democrats. The first official concentration camp opened at Dachau (near Munich) in March 1933, and many of the first prisoners sent there were Communists. Huge Nazi rallies and symbolic acts such as the public burning of books by Jews, Communists, liberals and foreigners helped drive home the desired message of party strength. In 1933, Jews in Germany numbered around 525,000, or only 1 percent of the total German population. During the next six years, Nazis undertook an "Aryanization" of Germany, dismissing non-Aryans from civil service, liquidating Jewish-owned businesses and stripping Jewish lawyers and doctors of their clients. Under the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, anyone with three or four Jewish grandparents was considered a Jew, while those with two Jewish grandparents were designated Mischlinge (half-breeds). Under the Nuremberg Laws, Jews became routine targets for stigmatization and persecution. This culminated in Kristallnacht, or the "night of broken glass" in November 1938, when German synagogues were burned and windows in Jewish shops were smashed; some 100 Jews were killed and thousands more arrested. From 1933 to 1939, hundreds of thousands of Jews who were able to leave Germany did, while those who remained lived in a constant state of uncertainty and fear. In September 1939, the German army occupied the western half of Poland. German police soon forced tens of thousands of Polish Jews from their homes and into ghettoes, giving their confiscated properties to ethnic Germans (non-Jews outside Germany who identified as German), Germans from the Reich or Polish gentiles. Surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, the Jewish ghettoes in Poland functioned like captive city-states, governed by Jewish Councils. In addition to widespread unemployment, poverty and hunger, overpopulation made the ghettoes breeding grounds for disease such as typhus. Meanwhile, beginning in the fall of 1939, Nazi officials selected around 70,000 Germans institutionalized for mental illness or disabilities to be gassed to death in the so-called Euthanasia Program. After prominent German religious leaders protested, Hitler put an end to the program in August 1941, though killings of the disabled continued in secrecy, and by 1945 some 275,000 people deemed handicapped from all over Europe had been killed. In hindsight, it seems clear that the Euthanasia Program functioned as a pilot for the Holocaust. Throughout the spring and summer of 1940, the German army expanded Hitler's empire in Europe, conquering Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Beginning in 1941, Jews from all over the continent, as well as hundreds of thousands of European Gypsies, were transported to the Polish ghettoes. The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 marked a new level of brutality in warfare. Mobile killing units called Einsatzgruppen would murder more than 500,000 Soviet Jews and others (usually by shooting) over the course of the German occupation. Beginning in late 1941, the Germans began mass transports from the ghettoes in Poland to the concentration camps, starting with those people viewed as the least useful: the sick, old and weak and the very young. Though the Nazis tried to keep operation of camps secret, the scale of the killing made this virtually impossible. Eyewitnesses brought reports of Nazi atrocities in Poland to the Allied governments, who were harshly criticized after the war for their failure to respond, or to publicize news of the mass slaughter. This lack of action was likely mostly due to the Allied focus on winning the war at hand, but was also a result of the general incomprehension with which news of the Holocaust was met and the denial and disbelief that such atrocities could be occurring on such a scale. At Auschwitz alone, more than 2 million people were murdered in a process resembling a large-scale industrial operation. A large population of Jewish and non-Jewish inmates worked in the labor camp there; though only Jews were gassed, thousands of others died of starvation or disease. During the summer of 1944, even as the events of D-Day (June 6, 1944) and a Soviet offensive the same month spelled the beginning of the end for Germany in the war, a large proportion of Hungary's Jewish population was deported to Auschwitz, and as many as 12,000 Jews were killed every day. About two out of every three Jews living in Europe before the war were killed in the Holocaust.

What was the purpose of the "California Master Plan" of 1960 and its impact on education in the state?

the state of California adopted a visionary plan for higher education that sought to forge the state's colleges and universities into a coordinated system, founded on core principles and directed toward specified goals. In 1960, California adopted a unique framework document intended to guide the state through the ensuing decades of intense demand for college education. The large "baby boom" generation that was born after the Second World War was beginning to reach college age, and state leaders sought to manage the anticipated enrollment demand by tightening eligibility requirements for the state's public universities. High school graduates not immediately eligible to attend the universities could attend the state's "junior colleges," which were essentially free to California residents and which imposed no academic requirements for enrollment. After successfully completing lower-division coursework at the community colleges, these students could transfer to a four-year university to complete their baccalaureate degrees. Thus, by envisioning a robust transfer pathway, the Master Plan promised universal access to a baccalaureate education while at the same time diverting some enrollment away from the universities. In addition to managing enrollment demand, the Master Plan sought to manage the geographical and program growth of the higher education institutions themselves. Recognizing the potential for what it called "unwarranted expansion and unhealthy competition" among the higher education segments, it assigned distinct missions to each of the three public segments, recommended a 15-year expansion plan for the various campuses, and proposed a coordinating body that would help ensure the separate parts of the state's higher education system worked together in a cohesive fashion to advance the state's interests. Finally, the Master Plan confronted the issue of higher education costs.

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