US HIST 2 CH 22
Explain how the US wartime policy toward Jewish refugees of the Holocaust conflicts with the inclusive pluralist vision that the US government was promoting during the war.
anti-Semitism contributed to the govt. unwillingness to allow more than a handful of European Jews (21,000 during the course of the war) to find refuge in the US.
According to Justice Murphy, what must the US government demonstrate before it deprives an individual of his or her constitutional rights? How has the government failed to do so in the case of the relocation?
"In excommunicating them without benefit of hearings, this order also deprives them of all their constitutional rights to procedural due process. Yet no reasonable relation to an "immediate, imminent, and impending" public danger is evident to support this racial restriction which is one of the most sweeping and complete deprivations of constitutional rights in the history of this nation in the absence of martial law. . . ."
How does Justice Black explain why it was necessary to relocate Japanese-Americans during the war?
"the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities. . . .all of which orders were aimed at the twin dangers of espionage and sabotage. . . ."
Describe the global process of decolonization that commenced after World War II, and explain why the U.S. tended to support European colonial powers in this process.
$400 mil. to Greece & Turkey, Truman's rhetoric suggested US assumed permanent global responsibility & set precedent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes thru world.
Summarize the aggressive actions undertaken in Asia and Europe by Japan, Germany, Italy, and Spain during the 1930's.
1931 Japan invades Manchuria; 1933 US recognizes Soviet Union; 1935-1939 Congress passes Neutrality Acts; 1937 Sino-Japanese War begins; 1938 Munich agreement; 1939 Germany invades Poland; 1940 Draft est.
Summarize the events in Europe that led to the outbreak of World War II in September, 1939.
1938, Britain & France caved into Hitler's aggression. 1939, Soviet Union proposed an international agreement to oppose further German demands for territory.
Explain how U.S. Policies like the Lend-Lease Act illustrate the U.S. approach to aiding Britain in its military struggle against Germany.
1941 Lend-Lease Act; US became more & more closely allied w/ those fighting Germany & Japan; Britain bankrupt, couldn't pay for supplies; Congress passed act authorizing military aid as long as countries promised somehow to return it all after war... US funneled billions worth of arms to Britain, China, Soviet Union. Hitler announced nonaggression act & invaded that country in June 1941. FDR chose Japanese assets in US.
Explain why President Harry Truman decided to provide military and financial aid to the governments of Greece and Turkey after World War II, and consider whether containment of the Soviet Union was truly at stake there.
1947 Britain informed US that traditional international role was no longer affordable after economy was shattered by war & therefore had to end military/financial aid to crucial govts. of Greece & Turkey from which Soviets were demanding joint control of straits linking black seas & mediterranean, Britain asked US to fill vacuum & Truman agreed.
Explain how the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) participated in anticommunist political repression, and describe the fate of those who refused to cooperate with the committee.
1947 HUAX launched series of hearings about communist influence in Hollywood. Committee charged Hollywood Ten, served 6 months - 1 yr. for communist sympathies or those who refused to name names
Summarize the Allied (British and American) invasion strategy against Germany that culminated in D-Day in 1944.
1st invaded North Africa and by May 1943 forced the surrender of the German army command by General Erwin Rommel. Had upper hand in Atlantic, destroyers and planes devastated German submarine fleet; invaded Sicily & freed Italy from German control; June 6, 1944 ~200,000 American, British, & Canadian soldiers under Dwight Eisenhower landed in Normandy... more than a million troops followed in next few weeks most massive sea-land operation in history.
Identify each of the "Four Freedoms" that President Franklin Roosevelt articulated in 1941, and consider how they reflect the conditions of the Depression at home and World War II in Europe.
A future world order founded on the "essential human freedoms"; freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The Four Freedoms became Roosevelt's favorite statement of Allied aims.
Explain why A. Philip Randolph called for a March on Washington during World War II, and how President Roosevelt responded to this.
A leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the American labor movement, and socialist political parties. Called for access to defense employment, end to segregation, and national antilynching law. In return for stopping march, Roosevelt issued Ex. Order 8802 banning discrimination in defense jobs & est. Fair Employment Practices Commission to monitor compliance. Significant shift in public policy.
Summarize the New Deal liberals' vision of government's role in postwar American society, and explain how it reflected the ideas of John Maynard Keynes.
A series of social liberal programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1938, and a few that came later. They included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term (1933-1937) of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were in response to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians refer to as the "3 Rs", Relief, Recovery, and Reform
New Deal
A series of social liberal programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1938, and a few that came later. They included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term (1933-1937) of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were in response to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians refer to as the "3 Rs", Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
Describe what the Freedom Train was designed to achieve, identify the controversial documents that were deliberately excluded from this display, and explain why they were left out.
After leaving train of Americana documents, vistors were encouraged to rededicate themselves to American values by taking Freedom Pledge/adding names to Freedom Scroll; most elaborate peactime patriotic campaign in Am. history 1946. Endorsed it as way of contrasting American freedom with "the destruction of liberty by the Hitler tyranny." However, behind scenes Freedom Train demonstrated meaning of freedom remained as controversial as ever. More conservative American Heritage Foundation removed Wagner Act 1935 & Pres. Roosevelt's 4 Freedoms from Freedom Train, as well as 14th & 15 Amendments. In the end nothing on train referred to organized labor or any 20th cent. social legislation.
Explain how Nuremberg trials made human rights an international priority after World War II, and summarize the contents of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
After war, victorious allies put German officials on trial before special courts at Nuremberg for crimes against humanity. For 1st time individuals held directly accountable to international community for violations of human rights. Universal Declaration of Human Rights; identified range of rights to be enjoyed by people everywhere including freedom of speech, religious toleration, protection against arbitrary govt., social & economic entitlements like right to adequate standard of living & access to housing, education, & medical care. No enforecement mechanism.
Identify the purpose of the new United Nations, and identify the five permanent members of the UN's Security Council.
Allies agreed early in war to est. successor to League of Nations, 1944 developed UN structure. General Assembly & Security Council; 1 Britain, 2 China, 3 France, 4 Soviet Union, & 5 US.
Define "totalitarianism," and explain how it reinforced the hardening division between American political ideals and those of its communist adversaries.
Along w/ freedom, Cold War's other mobilizing concept was "totalitarianism," og. in Europe btwn. world wars to describe fascist Italy & Nazi Germany--aggressive ideologically driven states that sought to subdue all of civil society, including churches, unions, & other voluntary associations to their control.
Charles A. Lindbergh
American aviator, author, inventor, military officer, explorer, and social activist. Flew from New York, to Paris; Opponents of involvement i Europe organized the America First Committee w/ hundreds of thousands of members, leadership included well-known figures like Henry Ford, Father Coughlin, and Charles a Lindbergh.
Identify the origins of the Korean War, explain why the Truman Administration committed the U.S. to participation in the conflict, and why China involved itself in the struggle.
Began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, came to the aid of South Korea. China, with assistance from the Soviet Union, came to the aid of North Korea.
Define the concept of "containment," as formulated by George Kennan.
American diplomat and historian. He was known best as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. Containment Policy; the 1st major policy during the Cold War and used numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. Believed Russians couldn't be removed from control of eastern Europe, his telegram laid foundation of policy of "containment," in which US commits to further expansion of Soviet power.
Explain the purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
An intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.
Summarize historian Henry Steele Commager's argument that the anticommunist crusade had produced a society of oppressive "conformity."
Anticommunist crusade promoted new definition of loyalty--conformity. Anything other than "uncritical and unquestioning acceptance of America as it is.."
When Senator Smith refers to the Democrats' "loose spending and loose programs," how does this reflect how postwar Republicans' felt about the liberalism that the New Deal had established? How is her criticism of Democrats here a signal to her Republican colleagues about what her party should be focusing on instead of character assassination?
As a Republican, I say to my colleagues on this side of the aisle that the Republican Party faces a challenge today that is not unlike the challenge that it faced back in Lincoln's day. The Republican Party so successfully met that challenge that it emerged from the Civil War as the champion of a united nation—in addition to being a party that unrelentingly fought loose spending and loose programs. Today our country is being psychologically divided by the confusion and the suspicions that are bred in the United States Senate to spread like cancerous tentacles of "know nothing, suspect everything" attitudes.Today we have a Democratic administration that has developed a mania for loose spending and loose programs. History is repeating itself—and the Republican Party again has the opportunity to emerge as the champion of unity and prudence.
Describe how the anticommunist hysteria affected U.S. immigration policy (particularly the quote system established in the 1920s), and how it affected the lives of those targeted by Operation Wetback.
At its height fro m1940s-1960s anticommunist crusade powerfully structured American politics & culture. Truman voted McCarran Internal Security Bill of 1950, required subversive groups to register w/ govt. allowed denial of passports to their members, & authorized deportation or detention on presidential order. Operation Wetback employed military to invade Mexican-American neighborhoods & round up & deport illegal aliens. 1 yr 1 mil. Mexicans deported.
Explain why the use of atomic weapons against Japan remains controversial, particularly concerning how the political situation in Japan had changed by 1945.
Because of enormous cost in civilian lives--more than twice America's military fatalities in entire Pacific war-- use of bomb remains controversial.
Describe how civil rights organizations like the NAACP responded to the new anticommunist atmosphere, and evaluate the state of the struggle for racial justice in the years immediately after World War II.
Civil rights movement underwent transformation, NAACP & Urban League first protested Truman administration's loyalty program. Upset program & congressional committee defined communism as "un-American" but not racism. NAACP purged communists from local branches.
Explain why the ideal of worldwide protection of human rights conflicted with the power and sovereignty of national governments, as is illustrated by the refusal of the U.S. and the Soviet Union to embrace the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its entirety. (Why did Congress refuse to ratify only half of the Declaration?)
Cold War affected emerging concept of human rights; idea of rights applicable to all of humanity originated during 18th cent.; no enforcement mechanism for Universal Declaration of Human Rights, core principle--nations treatment of own citizens should be subject to outside evaluation--became part of language which freedom was discussed.
Identify some of the ways in which massive government spending on the Cold War and containment stimulated technological innovation and higher education.
Cold War profoundly affected American life for nearly 1/2 a century. US retained large active fed. govt. pouring money into weapons development overseas bases. Cold War military spending helped fuel economic growth/support for scientific research perfecting weaponry, improved aircraft, computers, medicines, & other products w/ large impaction civilian life. Much research took place at universities, Cold War promoted rapid expansion of American higher education. Containment of communism & unorthodox opinions of all kinds took place at home and abroad.
How does Justice Black reject the idea that racial prejudice is the motivation for the relocation policy? Why was Mr. Korematsu relocated, according to Justice Black?
Compulsory exclusion of large groups of citizens from their homes, except under circumstances of direst emergency and peril, is inconsistent with our basic governmental institutions. But when under conditions of modern warfare our shores are threatened by hostile forces, the power to protect must be commensurate with the threatened danger.
Explain what the Bretton Woods conference established regarding global currency policy, and what the new World Bank and International Monetary Fund were designed to do.
Conference re-est. link btwn. dollar & gold; set dollar's value @ $35 per oz. of fold & gave other currencies fixed relationship to dollar. Also created 2 American-dominated financial institutions. World Bank would provide money to developing countries & help rebuild Europe; International Monetary Fun would work to prevent govts. from devaluing their currencies to fain advantage in international trade as was done many times during the Depression.
Explain how the benefits that the US government extended to returning veterans under the GI Bill of Rights reflect liberal ideals and identify the key benefits that veterans received.
Congress did not enact the Economic Bill of Rights but in 1944 extended to the millions of returning veterans an array of benefits, including unemployment pay, scholarships for further education, low-cost mortgage loans, pensions, and job training. GI Bill of Rights was one of most far-reaching pieces of social legislation in American history.
Describe the provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, and explain how it reflects the resurgence of Republican opponents of liberalism.
Congress turned aside Truman's Fair Deal, enacted tax cuts for wealthy, passed Taft Hartley Act 1947which sought to reverse gains made by organized labor in past decade. Authorized pres. to suspend strikes w 8 day cool off period, act made more difficult to bring unorganized workers into unions, contributed to decline of organized labor's share of nation's workforce.
Explain the concept of black internationalism, and how black Americans used it to draw connections between discrimination in the US and the black experience worldwide.
Developed outlook linking plight of black Americans w. that of people of color worldwide. Racism originated not in irrational hatred but in slave trade and slavery. Freeing Africa from colonial rule would encourage greater equality at home. WWII stimulated African-Americans greater awareness of links btwn. racism in US and colonialism abroad.
Describe the role that Hollywood movies played in promoting the "patriotic assimilation" of people from various backgrounds.
Differed from Americanization of WWI; Roosevelt promoted pluralism as only source of harmony in a diverse society. American way of life, Pearl Buck "persons of many lands can live together,,, and if they believe in freedom they can become a united people."
Identify the practical motivations that white Californians had for pushing for Japanese-American Internment, and explain how a majority of the Supreme Court's justices denied the policy's racist intent in Korematsu v. US
Exaggerated fears ofJapanese invasion of West Coast, military persuaded FDR to issue Executive Order 9066-ordered relocation all persons of Japanese decent from West Coast. 1944 Supreme Court denied appeal of Fred Korematsu, J-A citizen arrested for regusing to present himself for internment. Korematsu v. US.
Explain how the ideals expressed in Roosevelt's Four Freedoms and in the Atlantic Charter changed the aspirations and destinies of peoples worldwide.
FDR & Winston Churchill formed Atlantic Charter which promised "the final destruction of Nazi tyranny" would be followed by open access to markets, right of "all peoples" to choose their form of govt. & global extension of New Deal so people everywhere would enjoy "improved labor standards, economic advancement & social security"--referred spec. to 2 of FDR's 4 freedoms--freedom from want & freedom from fear.
Describe how the U.S. war effort on the home front strengthened the nation's manufacturing sector and accelerated technological innovation.
FDR created federal agencies to regulate allocation of labor, control the shipping industry, est. manufacturing quotas, and fix wages, prices, & rents. # of fed. workers ^ from 1-4 mil., tremendous growth in new jobs pushed unemployment rate down from 14-2% in 3 yrs. Gross National Product from $91 bil - $214 bil/yr. Marketed towards war bonds, increased taxes. Americans marveled at achievements of wartime manufacturing; thousands of aircraft, 100,000 armored vehicles, & 2.5 million trucks rolled off American assembly lines.
Define the concept of the "double-V" that African-American activists embraced during the war.
Feb. 1942 Pittsburgh Courier coined phrase came to symbolize black attitudes during war--the "double-V" Victory over Germany & Japan must be accompanied by victory over segregation at home. Black newspapers pointed to gap btwn. those ideals & reality.
Explain how the Freedom Train reflects the national mood as the Cold War intensified.
Freedom Train demonstrated meaning of freedom remained as controversial as ever. In the end nothing on train referred to organized labor or any 20th cent. social legislation. Even as Freedom Train reflected a new sense of national unease about expressions of racial inequality, its journey also revealed growing impact of the Cold War. Freedom Train revealed how Cold War helped to reshape freedom's meaning, identifying it ever more closely with anticommunism, "free enterprise," and defense of social & economic status quo.
Summarize the argument of critics of the U.S. policies in Cold War, like George Kennan and Walter Lippmann. (What are the political meanings of terms like "satellites, clients, dependents, and puppets"?)
George Kennan American diplomat and historian. He was known best as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War.
Wagner Act 1935
Guaranteed workers the right to form unions as well as Pres. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms speech of 1941 with promise to fight "freedom from want."
Identify the portion of Asia that Japan had invaded and occupied by 1942, as well as the key countries and colonies involved.
Having earlier occupied substantial portions of French Indochina (now Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia), Japan in early 1942 conquered Burma (Myanmar) and Siam (Thailand). Japan also took control of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), whose extensive oil fields could replace supplies from the United States. And it occupied Guam, the Philippines, and other Pacific islands. At Bataan, in the Philippines, the Japanese forced 78,000 American and Filipino troops to lay down arms, largest surrender in American military history.
Describe how the free-market ideas of the Austrian economist Friedrich A. Hayek challenged the dominant liberal vision of the role of government in society and the economy.
Hayek, prev. obscure Austrian economist, claimed even best intentioned govt. efforts to direct economy posted threat to individual liberty; endorsed measures later denounced as socialism, min. wage/max hr laws, antitrust enforcement & social safety net guaranteeing all citizens basic minimum of food, shelter, clothing.
Summarize the trial and conviction of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and explain why the case continues to generate great controversy.
Highly publicized legal cases fueled growing anticommunist hysteria, most sensational trial involved Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, working class Jewish communist couple from NYC. Convicted of conspiracy to pass secrets concerning atomic bomb to Soviet agents during WWII.
Be sure to read the opening background information that precedes Senator Smith's speech. As Senator Joseph McCarthy escalated his campaign of defamation and accusation, what sorts of targets was he adding to his list of "Communists," and what fate befell those individuals he accused?
His purported lists of Communist conspirators multiplied in subsequent years to include employees in government agencies, the broadcasting and defense industries, universities, the United Nations, and the military. Most of those accused were helpless to defend their ruined reputations and faced loss of employment, damaged careers, and in many cases, broken lives.
How do both Republicans and Democrats "play directly into the Communist design" with their current political conduct?
I am shocked at the way Republicans and Democrats alike are playing directly into the Communist design of "confuse, divide and conquer." As an American, I don't want a Democratic administration "whitewash" or "cover-up" any more than I want a Republican smear or witch hunt.
According to Justice Jackson in his dissent, what is the long-term consequence of the Supreme Court's upholding of the violation of due process in this case?
I should hold that a civil court cannot be made to enforce an order which violates constitutional limitations even if it is a reasonable exercise of military authority. The courts can exercise only the judicial power, can apply only law, and must abide by the Constitution, or they cease to be civil courts and become instruments of military policy.
Explain how the failure of Truman's efforts to expand the New Deal's liberal programs led to the creation of "private welfare arrangements" for unionized employees, and contrast this development with the welfare policies of European nations.
Ideal of New Deal State Faded & private welfare arrangements proliferated. Labor contracts of unionized workers est. health insurance plans. automatic cost of living wage increases, paid vacations, & pension plans supplemented Social Security. Western European govt. provided these benefits to all citizens
Identify the key reasons why the American public either supported Nazi Germany or simply opposed confronting it militarily during the 1930's.
In 1936 Hitler sent troops to occupy demilitarized zone btwn. France and Germany est. after WWI; Britain, France, & US failure to oppose this action convinced Hitler that the democracies could not muster the will to halt his aggressive plans. Finally, FDR called international action to "quarantine" aggressors, but no further steps followed. Roosevelt had little choice but to follow policy of "appeasement" adopted by Britain & France, all hoping that by agreeing to Hitler's demands would prevent war.
Explain how the Truman Doctrine shaped the way in which the U.S. would interact with foreign governments during the Cold War.
In Truman Doctrine, president officially embraced Cold War as foundation of American foreign policy and described it as a worldwide struggle over the future of freedom. Americans came to understand postwar world; speech est. "guiding spirit of American foreign policy."
Explain how Cold War anticommunism affected the American labor movement's leadership and its commitment to the rights of working Americans.
In US, union members in major industries enjoyed benefits but not non-unionized majority of population, a situation created increasing inequality among laboring Americans.
Define "isolationism" and explain how the Neutrality Acts illustrate that U.S. policy.
Isolationism is defined as the 1930's version of Americans' long-standing desire to avoid foreign entanglements-dominated Congress. Beginning in 1935, lawmakers passed a series of Neutrality Acts that banned travel on belligerents' ships and the sale of arms to countries at war. Congress hoped these policies would allow the US to avoid the conflicts over freedom of the seas that had contributed to involvement in World War I.
According to Senator Smith, what is "ironical" about senators' ability to attack the character of private citizens? What would happen if they attacked their Senate colleagues in this way?
It is ironical that we Senators can debate in the Senate directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to any American, who is not a Senator, any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming an American—and without that non-Senator American having any legal redress against it—yet if we say the same thing in the Senate about our colleagues we can be stopped on the grounds of being out of order.
Characterize the typical content of the propaganda messages about Japan and Japanese that the US government circulated during World War II
Japanese propaganda depicted Americans as self-indulgent people contaminated by ethnic and racial diversity as opposed to racially "pure" Japanese. In US, long standing prejudices and attack on Pearl Harbor combined to produce unprecedented hatred of Japan. "In all our history no foe has been detested as were the Japanese." Govt. propaganda & war films portrayed Japanese foe as rats, dogs, gorillas, and snakes--bestial & subhuman.
In his dissent from the Supreme Court's majority, how does Justice Roberts explain the conviction of Mr. Korematsu? In what way was he faced with "two diametrically contradictory orders"?
Korematsu was not excluded from the Military Area because of hostility to him or his race. He was excluded because we are at war with the Japanese Empire... We cannot—by availing ourselves of the calm perspective of hindsight—now say that at that time these actions were unjustified.
Recount the process by which Joseph R. McCarthy rose to political prominence, and describe the political tactics he used to fuel his ascent.
Little-known Wisconsin senator emerged as chief national pursuer of subversives & gave new name to anticommunist crusade. Rose to popularity quickly by claiming he knew 205 communists working for State Department. Republicans initially on board then McCarthy became embarrassment to party after election of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower 1952.
Describe how the Truman Administration's "loyalty review system" for government employees affected the rights of those employees, and especially those of gay Americans in government service.
Loyalty Review System; required to demonstrate patriotism without being allowed to confront accusers or knowing charges against them. Along w persons suspected of disloyalty, new national security system also targeted homosexuals working for govt. susceptible to blackmail from Soviet agents & lack manly qualities needed to maintain county's resolve in fight against communism.
Contrast Henry Luce's "American Century" ideal with the liberal vision of postwar life that VP Henry Wallace promoted. (Consider how these two ideals reflect the two essential conceptions of American freedom that form the textbook's theme.)
Luce's essay anticipated important aspects of postwar world but bombastic rhetoric & title easily interpreted as call for American imperialism aroused immediate opposition among liberals & the left... Henry Wallace offered their response in "The Price of Free World Victory" an address delivered in May 1942 to Free World Association. Both Luce and Wallace spoke the language of freedom. Luce offered a vision of worldwide free enterprise, while Wallace anticipated a global New Deal. One thing in common-new conception of America's role in world tied to continued international involvement, promise of economic abundance, & idea that American experience should serve as model for all nations. But no account for other country's behavior postwar.
Describe how Republicans used anticommunist hysteria to attack New Deal liberalism, and explain why Democrats took part in "aggressive anticommunism" as well.
McCarthy & Republican followers often seemed to target Stalin as the legacy of Roosevelt and the New Deal. For many Democrats, aggressive anticommunism became form of self-defense against Republican charges of disloyalty and weapon in struggle for party's future.
Analyze how the bracero program adopted by the US government during World War II changed US policies toward Mexicans and Mexican-Americans from what they had been during the Depression.
More than 400,000 Mexican-Americans had been "voluntarily" repatriated by local authorities in SW during Depression. Bracero program agreed to by Mex. & American govt. 1942 10s of thousands of contract laborers crossed into US to take jobs as domestic and agricultural workers.
Contrast the civilian casualties sustained in World War II with those of World War I, and indicate how the firebombing of cities like Dresden and Tokyo illustrate the difference.
Never before had civilian populations been so ruthlessly targeted. Military personnel represented 90% of those who died in WWI; of est. 50 mil. perished during WWII (including 400,000 American soldiers), ~ 20 mil. were civilians.d
Explain why the years immediately after World War II witnessed the greatest strike activity among industrial workers in U.S. history.
New wave of labor militancy in 1946, Operation Dixie campaign to bring unionization to South to shatter hold of anti-labor conservatives on region's politics. War production at end, overtime work diminished, inflation soared, removal of price controls, drop in workers' real income sparked largest strike wave in American history.
Summarize how Gunnar Myrdal, in his book An American Dilemma, perceived the impact of World War II on American values and the troubling reality of racism beneath them.
Nothing reflected new concern w/ status of black Americans more than publication in 1944 An American Dilemma's sprawling acct. of country's racial past, present, & future, uncompromising portrait of how deeply racism was entrenched in law, politics, economics, & social behavior.
Describe the roles the Office of War Information (OWI) played on the US home front during the war, and explain how it also promoted the New Deal's conception of freedom.
OWI created in 1942 to mobilize public opinion, illustrates how the political divisions generated by the New Deal affected efforts to promote the Four Freedoms. Liberal Democrats dominated OWI's writing staff sought to make conflict "a 'people's war' for freedom."; feared Americans had vague understanding of war's purposes, seemed committed to getting payback on Japan for Pearl Harbor than riding world of fascism.
Explain the concept of the "cultural Cold War," and identify examples from Hollywood movies and the cultural activities of the Central Intelligence Agency.
One of Cold War battlefields was American history and culture. Scholars read American Creed of pluralism, tolerance, and equity back into past as timeless def. of Americanism, ignoring powerful ethnic and racial strains that always coexisted. Militant Liberty code nat. security agencies encouraged Hollywood to produce anticommunist movies and CIA secretly funded arts in 1930's.
Explain why the Soviets initiated the Berlin Blockade, and identify the U.S. response to the blockade.
One of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche mark from West Berlin. In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin.
Characterize the vision of America's global leadership that Henry Luce promoted during World War II, and explain how it differed from more traditional ideas about America's role in the world.
Promise of prosperity united two most celebrated blueprints for postwar world-Henry Luce's The American Century to mobilize American people both for coming war and for an era of postwar world leadership. Americans, Luce's book insisted, must embrace role history had thrust upon them as "dominant power in the world"; "the abundant life" American power & values Luce called it produced by "free economic enterprise"
Explain how and why the war against Nazism changed the views of race that had long been promoted by American scientists and social scientists.
Racism was enemy's philosophy; Americanism rested on toleration of diversity and equality for all. By end of war, new immigrant groups had been fully accepted as loyal ethnic Americans, rather than members of distinct and inferior "races." Contradiction btwn. principle of equal freedom & actual status of blacks had come to forefront of national life.
Explain why the war on the home front strengthened the American labor unions.
Relationship btwn. federal govt. & big business changed dramatically from days of 2nd New Deal. "If you are going to go to war in a captialist country," observed Secretary of War Henry Stimson,"you had better let business make money out of the process."
Explain why the artist Norman Rockwell's paintings of the Four Freedoms received such an enthusiastic public response, and contrast his small-town vision of American life with the society that World War II was about to create.
Rockwell's paintings succeeded in linking the Four Freedoms with the defense of traditional American values.
Describe how the Good Neighbor Policy reversed decades of U.S. economic and military policy towards Latin American Countries.
Roosevelt formalized a policy initiated by Herbert Hoover by which the united States repudiated the right to intervene militarily in the internal affairs of Latin American countries; Platt Amendment repealed by Cuba accepted, troops left, Roosevelt wanted to be friendly with America's neighbors he saw beneficial to trade; this promoted respect for America.
Describe how wartime advertising and propaganda reinforced traditional gender roles in their messages to working American women.
Rosie the Riveter; A cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. Rosie the Riveter is used as a symbol of feminism and women's economic power.
Explain how the Army-McCarthy hearings produced Senator McCarthy's fall from prominence, and define the term "McCarthyism" that emerged in the aftermath of the senator's downfall.
Senate committee investigated his charges army harbored communists... Nationally televised Army-McCarthy hearings revealed McCarthy as bully who browbeat witnesses made accusations w no basis in fact. "McCarthyism" entered political vocabulary, a shorthand for character assassination, guilt by association, & abuse of power in name of anticommunism.
Identify the basic policy platforms of the States' Rights Democratic Party ("Dixiecrats") and the Progressive Party, and explain how their rise threatened Truman's campaign for election in 1948.
Southern democratic party delegates or "Dixiecrats" formed States' Rights Democratic Party & nominated Governor Storm Thurmond of South Carolina for pres. who called for "complete segregation of the races" drew support from those alarmed by Truman's civil rights initiatives. Group of left-wing Truman critics formed Progressive Party 1948 and nominated former VP Henry A. Wallace fir pres.; advocated expansion of social welfare programs at home, denounced racial segregation more than Truman. Wallace called for international control of nuclear weapons & effort to befriend Soviet Union rather than use military confrontation.
Identify the region of Europe that the Soviet Union occupied after World War II, and explain why Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was unlikely to pursue territory beyond that in the near term.
Soviet troops occupied part of northern Iran hoping to pressure them into granting access to its rich oil fields. Under British& American pressure, Stalin withdrew Soviet forces.
Identify the main examples of how states, local communities, and private organizations began to take part in anticommunist hysteria and repression, and evaluate the response of the courts and the American Civil Liberties Union to their assaults on Americans' civil liberties.
States created own communities modeled off of HUAC, investigated suspected communists & other dissenters. States & localities required loyalty oaths of teachers, pharmacists, members of other professions, & banned communists from fishing, holding driver's license, & in Indiana, working as professional wrestler. Private organizations persecuted individuals for beliefs, those who didn't testify about political beliefs past & present & to inform on possible communists frequently lost their jobs.
Explain what the textbook's author means when he asserts that Rockwell's paintings of the Four Freedoms express the idea of "freedom as an element of private life."
The 4 Freedoms provided a crucial language of national unity. This unity obscured divisions within American society that the war in some ways intensified, divisions reflected in debates over freedom. Some Americans looked forward to worldwide New Deal, others envisioned "free enterprise" replacing govt. intervention in the economy. The war gave birth to the modern civil rights movement but strengthened commitment of many white Americans to maintain existing racial order.
How confident is Senator Smith that the American public will reject "any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest"? How would such party behavior be "suicide for the Republican Party and the two-party system"?
The Nation sorely needs a Republican victory. But I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the four horsemen of calumny—fear, ignorance, bigotry and smear. I doubt if the Republican Party could—simply because I don't believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest. Surely we Republicans aren't that desperate for victory. I don't want to see the Republican Party win that way. While it might be a fleeting victory for the Republican Party, it would be a more lasting defeat for the American people. Surely it would ultimately be suicide for the Republican Party and the two-party system that has protected our American liberties from the dictatorship of a one-party system.
Describe the role of Albert Einstein -- both as a scientist and a private citizen -- in the development of atomic weapons.
The bomb was a practical realization of theory of relativity, rethinking of laws of physics developed early in 20th cent. by German scientist, Albert Einstein. Fled to US after Hitler's Germany, 1939 Einstein warned Roosevelt that Nazi scientists were trying to develop at atomic weapon & urged Pres. to do likewise. Next yr. FDR authorized Manhattan Project.
Contrast the Cold War language of freedom employed by U.S. leaders with the actual U.S. relations with foreign governments that joined in the "anticommunist alliance."
The push for freedom was at the forefront from President Truman but speech set precent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes through the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against Soviet Union. Freedom meant more than simply anticommunism--required emergence of Marshall Plan envisioned New Deal for Europe, ext. to idea to Europeans put it aim was "higher standard of living for entire nation"
What is wrong, according to Senator Smith, with the Truman Administration's approach to the threat of communism at home and abroad?
The record of the present Democratic administration has provided us with sufficient campaign issues without the necessity of resorting to political smears. America is rapidly losing its position as leader of the world simply because the Democratic administration has pitifully failed to provide effective leadership. The Democratic administration has completely confused the American people by its daily contradictory grave warnings and optimistic assurances—that show the people that our Democratic administration has no idea of where it is going.
In his dissent from the majority, how does Justice Murphy explain the decision to relocate Japanese-Americans? In other words, what is the true motivation for the relocation, in his opinion?
There was evidence of disloyalty on the part of some, the military authorities considered that the need for action was great, and time was short. We cannot—by availing ourselves of the calm perspective of hindsight—now say that at that time these actions were unjustified.
Why does Justice Murphy object to the justification of the relocation policy expressed in Commanding General DeWitt's Final Report? What basic flaw does he identify in his report?
This exclusion of "all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien," from the Pacific Coast area on a plea of military necessity in the absence of martial law ought not to be approved. Such exclusion goes over "the very brink of constitutional power" and falls into the ugly abyss of racism.
How does Senator Smith characterize "those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism"? What, specifically, is un-American about their conduct?
Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism— The right to criticize; The right to hold unpopular beliefs; The right to protest; The right of independent thought.
Identify the key components of the Truman Administration's liberal Fair Deal.
Truman backed by party liberals and organized labor revived momentum of New Deal, Fair Deal focused on improving social safety net and raising standard of living of ordinary Americans, called Congress to increase minimum wage, enact national health insurance program, expand public housing, Social Security, & aid to education.
Describe President Truman's position on civil rights, and identify the major policy steps he took on the issue.
Truman genuinely despised racial discrimination. Focus on civil rights formed strategy to win reelection by expanding political coalition Roosevelt created, called for health insurance, repealed the Taft-Harley Act, aid to public edu. Democratic platform of 1948 was most progressive in party's history.
Characterize the climate of American race relations immediately after World War II, and explain how the debut of Jackie Robinson in major league baseball reflects the new racial atmosphere.
Truman reached out to black community during 1st term in unprecedented ways, may whites rejecting American racial practices, anti-racism was at high, by 1952 20% blacks registered to vote, Brooklyn Dodgers challenged longstanding exclusion of black players by adding Jackie Robinson to team.
Analyze the war's effect of "patriotic assimilation" of Americans from diverse backgrounds, and summarize the U.S. government's message to the American people about the value of diversity and pluralism.
WWII reshaped Americans' understanding of themselves as a people. Struggle against Nazi tyranny and its theory of a master race discredited ethnic and racial inequality. Og. promoted by religious & ethnic minorities in 1920s & popular front in 1930s, a pluralist vision of American society now became part of official rhetoric. Govt. insisted not only dedication to ideals of 4 Freedoms but also principle that Americans of all races, religions, and national origins could enjoy those freedoms equally.
Explain how and why the U.S. government's prosecution of the war affected the nation's unemployment rate and its income-tax policies (from "class taxation" to "mass taxation").
WWII transformed role of national govt.; FDR created federal agencies to regulate allocation of labor, control the shipping industry, est. manufacturing quotas, and fix wages, prices, & rents. # of fed. workers ^ from 1-4 mil., tremendous growth in new jobs pushed unemployment rate down from 14-2% in 3 yrs. Gross National Product from $91 bil - $214 bil/yr. Marketed towards war bonds, increased taxes,; only 4 mil. wealthiest used to pay taxes, 1945 more than 40 mil. Americans paid taxes. "Class taxation" to "mass taxation".
Contrast the activities of the War Advertising Council with those of the Office of War Information, particularly in terms of the Council's messaging to the public and the motives of its members.
War Advertising Council's goal was to make money off of country going to war. OWI utilized radio, film, press, & other media to give conflict an ideological meaning, seeking to avoid nationalist hysteria of WWI. OWI interested in promoting definition of freedom Roosevelt had emphasized in 1930's, Congress eliminated funding worried they were promoting war as much as New Deal social programs.
Describe how the American experiences in World War II changed the lives of Native Americans.
War brought American Indians closer to mainstream of American life. 25,000 served in army, were able to benefit from GI Bill, some didn't return from regular society after war.
Summarize the experiences of African-American migrants to northern cities during the war, those who served in the US military, and those who sought veterans' benefits after the war.
Wartime message of freedom portended a major transformation in status of blacks; war spurred movement of black population from rural South to cities of North & West, Great Migration of WWI & 1920s & sought jobs in industrial heartland; sometimes encountered violent hostility, fight left 34 dead in Detroit race riot, hate strike of 20,000 workers protested upgrading black employees in plant manufacturing aircraft engines. Military 1st accepted blacks only as cooks & waiters, finally 1 million blacks served during war. "Nothing so lowers Negro morale as the frequent preferential treatment of Axis prisoners of war in contrast w Army policy toward American troops who happen to be Negro." NAACP. Encountered even more racism when trying to seek benefits through the GI Bill.
Evaluate Truman's use of the words "free" and "freedom" in the Truman Doctrine, and explain how they reflect the ideological and us-versus-them nature of the Cold War.
Was Truman's way, as leader of the "free world," to roll out heaviest weapon in rhetorical arsenal--the defense of freedom; "free" or "freedom" was mentioned 24x in the 18 min. speech. Persuaded Rep. & Dem. in Congress to support containment of communism. Truman's speech to Congress suggested Cold War was an ideological conflict; both sides claimed to promote freedom/social justice while defending self security, & social system rest of world should follow
Analyze the U.S. motivations for creating the Marshall Plan, and explain how the program represented, in author Foner's words, "a New Deal for Europe."
Was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $12 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II.
Ex plain how and why the U.S. experience of World War II changed Americans' view of ethnic and racial inequality in their country.
World War II gave the country a new/lasting international role and greatly strengthened the idea that American security was global in scope and could only be protected by the worldwide triumph of core American values. World War II redrew the boundaries of American nationality. In contrast to WWI the govt. recognized the "new immigrants" of the early 20th cent. & their children as loyal Americans.
Indicate what the Yalta Conference established regarding the postwar future of Eastern Europe and the status of Britain's colonial possessions.
Yalta in southern Soviet Union 1945 2nd meeting of Churchill, Roosevelt, & Stalin to "hammer-out" agreements. Yalta saw high water mark of wartime American-Soviet cooperation, planted seeds of conflict since participants soon disagreed over fate of Eastern Europe. Tension btwn. Britain & US. Churchill rejected American pressure to liberate British colonies -- concluded private deals w/ Stalin to divide southern & eastern Europe into British & Soviet spheres of influence.
Explain how the "zoot-suit" riots of 1943 reveal the difference between the wartime ideals of equality and pluralism and the actual experiences of Mexican-Americans.
club-wielding sailors and policemen attacked Mexican-American youths wearing flamboyant clothing on streets of LA, illustrated limits of wartime violence. 1/2 mil. Mex.-American men & women served in armed forces, discrimination against Mexicans an increasing embarrassment in view of Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy. Texas passed equal privilege resolution.
Explain why the conflicts on the eastern front between Germany and the Soviet Union were so costly for Germany.
crucial fighting in Europe took place on Eastern front, epic struggle btwn. Germany & Soviet Union. More than 3 million German soldiers took part in 1941 invasion; attacked Russians but were surrounded, 800,000-1.2 mil perished. German surrender at Stalingrad in Russia January 1943 was turning point in European war.
How, according to Justice Murphy, did the US govt. address the issue of disloyalty differently in the case of Japanese-Americans, when compared to how it did so with persons of German and Italian ancestry?
no reliable evidence is cited to show that such individuals were generally disloyal, or had generally so conducted themselves in this area as to constitute a special menace to defense installations or war industries, or had otherwise by their behavior furnished reasonable ground for their exclusion as a group; No adequate reason is given for the failure to treat these Japanese Americans on an individual basis by holding investigations and hearings to separate the loyal from the disloyal, as was done in the case of persons of German and Italian ancestry. . . .