People
Theodore Roosevelt (R)- President (1901-1909). Awarded a concession to build the Panama Canal in 1903. Regarded widely for his foreign policy and the principle of "speak softly and carry a big stick". Was a cheif mediator in the Russo-Japanese War.
William H. Taft (R)- President (1909-1913). Served as Theodore Roosevelts Secretary of State (1904-1908) and became President in 1909. Known largely for being a trust-buster and his support for the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act in 1909. Was defeated in his attempt for re-election.
Woodrow Wilson (D)- President (1913-1921). Initially resisted United States involvement in World War I, but reversed his stance after the German U-Boat campaign and attacks in 1917. He laid the basis for a peace settlement of World War I and achieved acceptance of the League of Nations in the Treaty of Versailles at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Prohibition was introduced as well during his administration.
Warren G. Harding (R)- President (1921-1923). One of the better liked men of his time. His administration however was draped in scandal and shed a bad light over his short lived time in office.
Calvin Coolidge (R)- President (1923-1929). Succeeded Warren G. Harding after Harding's death. Helped in restoring public trust after the scandals of his predecessor's administration.
Herbert Hoover (R)- President (1929-1933). Headed the Food and Drug Administration under Woodrow Wilson and helped provide relief to the people of Belgium and Americans as well. Great Depression occured during his administration and was unable to re-stabilize the country during his time in office.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)- President (1933-1945). Only President to be re-elected three times (1936, 1940, 1944). Served during some of the most difficult times in American history including the Great Depression and World War II. Delivered on his campaign promises for a New Deal and initiated relief programs to aid employment and to assist industrial and economic recovery.
Harry Truman (D)- President (1945-1953). Suceeded the presidency after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. Became President while the United States was still involved in World War II and authorized the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Initiated the establishment of NATO in 1949.
Benito Mussolini- Founder of the Fascist movement and prime minister and dictator of Italy. Brought Italy into World War II on the side of the Axis Powers in June 1940. Was dismissed and arrested by the king in 1943.
Joseph Stalin- One of the main architects of the U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in which he became leader in 1927 and permier in 1941. Triumphed as a leader in World War II while in which he attended conferences at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam. Was officially denounced as leader of the U.S.S.R. in 1956.
Winston Churchill- Became Prime Minister of Britain in 1940 until 1945. Leader of the United Kingdom during World War II and met with F.D.R. and Stalin at Yalta, Potsdam and Tehran.
Adolf Hitler- Founder of the German Nazi Party. Served in the German military during World War I. Was appointed chancellor in January 1933, bringing all German institutions under control of the Nazi party. His troops invaded Poland in September 1939 thus starting World War II. His forces were defeated in 1945.
Joseph McCarthy- Selected to the U.S. Senate in 1947 where he was chairman of the permanent subcommittee on investigations. Began public hearings of accusing army officials, media employees and public personalities of communism. Sparked 'McCarthyism' which was a political stance in which intense anti-communism was practiced. His charges were never proven and he was censured by the Senate in 1954.
John T. Scopes- A high-school biology teacher that was charged with violating a Tennessee statute that prohibited the teaching of evolution. One of the most famous court battles in recent history resulted in July 1925. Was found guilty, although the conviction was later overturned.
Terms
Truman Doctrine- Claimed that the United States must support free peoples who were resisting Communist domination. The first implementation of the doctrine provided aid to Greece and Turkey to the amount of $400 million to prevent Communist takeover.
Iron Curtain- "The political and ideological barrier that stood between the Soviet bloc and western Europe after World War II." (Reader's Digest Encyclopedic Dictionary). A barrier that prevented free exchange and communication.
Point Four Program- A foreign aid program of President Harry S. Truman. It established the principle of United States interest in the economic growth of developing nations. The program was designed to promote improved agricultural production and technological progress in underdeveloped areas.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)- A military alliance consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and 23 other countries. Formed in 1949 to discourage an attack by the Soviet Union on the non-communist nations of Western Europe. Was also established to keep the peace among former enemies in Western Europe. NATO members agreed to treat an attack on a membering nation as an attack on themselves.
Cold War- Term used to describe the rivalry that developed primarily between the Soviet Union and the United States but more specifically the Western bloc, led by the United States and the Eastern bloc, led by the Soviet Union. The Cold War was particilarly characterized by mutual suspicion and misunderstanding between the two nations. The United States accused the Soviet Union of seeking to expand Communism throughout the world. The Soviets, meanwhile, charged the United States with practicing imperialism and with attempting to stop revolutionary activity in other countries. The Cold War began after World War II and ended in 1980 after the signing of a U.S. and Soviet arms-agreement. Fighting never actually occured, hence the name "cold" war which is in contrast to "hot" war which refers to fighting and casulties.
Yalta Conference- One of the most important meetings of key Allied leaders during World War II, these leaders were President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Britain, and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. Leaders agreed on several points including "(1) to accept the structure of a world peacekeeping organization that was to become the United Nations; (2) to reestablish order in Europe and to help the defeated countries create democratic governments; (3) to divide Germany into four zones that would be occupied by Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and France; (4) to support the Soviet-backed government and hold free elections in Poland, and to extend the Soviet Union's territory into Poland; and (5) to force Germany to give the Soviet Union equipment and other resources to make up for Soviet losses." (World Book Online)
Zimmermann Note- Written by Arthur Zimmermann. Secretly proposed a German-Mexican alliance. The document tempted Mexico with ideas of recovering Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. The note was intercepted by the United States government on March 1, 1917. Partly led to World War I.
League of Nations- An international association of countries created to maintain peace among the nations of the world. "Wilson had believed that world wars would continue to occur as long as each nation was responsible for its own defense. Under this condition, nations would form competing groups, each arming against the other. Wilson wanted the nations of the world to join together in the League of Nations, and pledge to defend the territory and independence of any member attacked by another nation. He believed that even a powerful nation, knowing it would face the united opposition of all other powerful nations, would not go to war." (World Book Online). The League was established in January 1920, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization ceased to function after World War II began in 1939. It was formally dissolved in April 1946, and the United Nations took its place.
Treaty of Versailles- Officially ended military actions against Germany in World War I. The treaty was signed at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, on June 28, 1919, and went into effect on Jan. 10, 1920. The treaty provided a reorganization of the boundaries and certain territories of European nations and areas they controlled in Africa, Asia, and Pacific Ocean islands. It also created several new international organizations, including the League of Nations and the Permanent Court of International Justice.
Fourteen Points- A set of principles proposed by President Woodrow Wilson on January 8, 1818 in an address to Congress. The proposals included removal of barriers to trade among nations and "adjustment of all colonial claims". Also proposed arms reductions, the formation of a "general association of nations," and the principle of self-determination, under which no ethnic group would have to be governed by a nation or state it opposed.
Open-Door Policy- A term used in international relations referring to powerful countries have equal opportunities to trade with colonial or developing countries. John Hay proposed an 'open-door policy' with China in 1901 and sent letters to competing nations asking them to maintain complete equalitys for all nations that wished to trade with China.
Great Depression- Period during the 1930s in which the American economy suffered. Drastic declines in the economy, business activity, falling prices, and unemployment characterized the period.
New Deal- The programs and policies for economic recovery, reform and relief. Was introduced by President Franklin Roosevelt and his administration in 1933. Programs lasted primarily from 1933 to 1940.
Pearl Harbor- Site of a U.S. naval base that was the object of a surprise attack by the Japanese Air Force on December 7, 1941. Precipitated the United States' entry into World War II. "A day that will live in infamy"-Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Nagasaki/Hiroshima- Hiroshima: city in southern Japan which was almost completly destroyed by an atomic bomb dropped by the United States on August 6, 1945, and was hit before Nagasaki. Nagasaki: city in western Japan which was destroyed by an atomic bomb on August 8, 1945. The bombing of Nagasaki forced Japan to surrender from World War II.
D-Day- June 6, 1944. Allied invasion on a French beach in Normandy, France. The massive invasion included some 3 million men over a few days span and close to 4,600 vessels. Allowed the Allies to seal control of France albeit after stiff German resistance.
Teheran Conference- First meeting of the Big Three (Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill) during World War II. Plans were made involving the launch of an invasion of France in 1944 and that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan after Germany's defeat.
Potsdam Conference- The last meeting among the leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union (Truman, Churchill, Stalin). The participants agreed to treat Germany, which had been previously agreed to be divided into four occupation zones, as "a whole in economic matters". It was also agreed to prosecute German leaders for war crimes.
World War I- War fought from 1914 to 1918, "in which Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Italy, Japan, the United States and other allies defeated Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria" (Reader's Digest Encyclopedic Dictionary).
World War II- War fought from 1939 to 1945, "in which Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States and other allies defeated Germany, Italy and Japan" (Reader's Digest Encyclopedic Dictionary). Ended Hitler's reign and allowed the American economy to once again prosper while allowing America to emerge as the world's lone superpower.
Essay Questions
How did the automobile and literature of the 1920s affect Americans' values in areas of religion, sexuality, and family life?
Following the advent of the automobile, American beliefs and morals began to make a enormous change. The automobile allowed dating to be removed from the home under the watchful eyes of adults and out to where ever the car would take those driving it. The ability to get away from the home, allowed teens and young people to experiment more sexually thus guiding in a sexual revolution. The automobile as well as literature of the time surely effected American values. The teachings of Sigmung Freud revealed how sex and sexuality were essential to relationships even prior to marriage and thus gave people an excuse to rebel and do as they wished.
What weakness existed beneath the surface of the general 1920s prosperity, and how did these weaknesses help cause the Great Depression?
Underneath the prosperity of the 1920s was the weakness of credit. Although seemingly genius at the time, banks allowed spending too freely and thus dug themselves (banks) into holes they could not climb out. When business' came calling to the banks, the banks were unable to pay the various business' off and thus were forced to close. The alarming rate at which banks closed caused stock holders to sell their shares and thus caused stocks to plummet. The panic of consumers everywhere led to the stock crash and the Great Depression.
Was American entry into World War II inevitable?
American entry into World War II was inevitable. The U.S. would have entered the War, albeit a later time, but still would have done so. Britain and the rest of the U.S. allies were falling quickly to the Nazi war machine when Pearl Harbor rolled around and it was just a matter of time until U.S. entry was needed or Europe would be taken over by Hitler.
What effects did World War II have on the American economy?
World War II allowed the American economy to prosper as it had during the Roaring Twenties, even moreso this time around however. The enormous demand for war time production opened up jobs across the country and allowed those that had been unemployed to find employment and even allowed women to work regularly on par with men. Prior to World War II, America was in the Depression, after however, the war time production allowed the country to climb out of the economic hole. America thus prospered economically and never looked back.
