Economic Interests, Fascism and the Start of World War II

Erin Gaffney Question 4 World War I was supposed to be a “War to end all wars” and as Woodrow Wilson said, this war was “to make the world safe for democracy”. This changed quickly when Japan started threatening China and the open door policy, also as the fascist Nazi party under Hitler began to rise and promised the reassertion of German nationalism and militarism. The U.S. under Roosevelt shifted from isolationism and neutrality to disengagement and then into full engagement in World War II because it was unavoidable because of the economic situation and the Fascism aggression in the Axis powers. The first main political movement from neutrality to disengagement was caused by the negative relations between the U.S. and Japan, Fascist Germany and Italy, these negative relations were caused by the latter nations responses to bad economic conditions, and their past war resentments. After World War I, the U.S. had tried to become isolationist and avoid any wars. Proof of this idea, were acts such as the Kelogg-Briand pact. This act was to avoid any wars and it was the beginning of the movement to outlaw war entirely. Of course, this did not work because there was too much tension after World War I and the rise of the Fascist nations prevented any such pact. The first action that Japan did to threaten the relationship with the U.S. was an obvious defiance of the Open

  • Word count: 1688
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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F.D. Roosevelt.

F.D. Roosevelt. When FDR took office in 1933, the nation was obviously ready for some great changes. In the Great Depression, America needed someone who could join the nation together and get the economy back where it once was. Franklin Roosevelt proved, for the most part, to be the perfect man for the job. From his personality to his famous Hundred Day Legislative Campaign, he gave it all that he had. To help out with the dismal situation that America was in, Roosevelt went on a legislative spree, known as the Hundred Day Legislative Campaign. The banks had closed down in thirty-eight states, so FDR passed several acts to aid banks. To help banks open back up, the Emergency Banking Act was passed. Under this act, banks could reopen with a license and under supervision. To increase the public's confidence in banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, was formed. It insured all bank deposits up to five thousand dollars and separated deposit banking from investment banking. The Farm Credit Administration helped those who were in danger of losing their farms refinance them, and the Home Owner's Loan Corporation helped homeowners refinance their homes. To help protect farmers from dropping prices of crops, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, or AAA, was created. Under this, farmers were paid subsidies to keep production low, therefore keeping prices up. To help the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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How did the World War II affect America?

How did the World War II affect America? The year marked 1945 the end of the Second World War, and Hitler had finally been defeated. However, the war had left its mark on many countries, and had certainly affected America. However, not all of the changes were bad changes, but they were changes nevertheless. The war affected America socially, economically, and politically. There were many effects on American society after the war, between and whites, women and men, and migration all across America. The war led to a vast migration of the American people. Nine million workers and families moved to the new defence industries, but this caused severe social problems, resulting in higher divorce rates, housing shortages, and schools which were unable to cope with the huge influx of children. The wartime resulted in a huge change in the role of women. During the war, the number of working women rose from fourteen million in 1940 to nineteen million in 1945, and with this, their wages rose by 50% between 1941 and 1943. Women became lumberjacks, machinists, and railway track workers, which were jobs that had previously been reserved for men. However, some women even fought in the armed forces, with some 300, 000 women serving in the army, navy, and nursing corps. After the war, most women left employment, but it did remain at a higher rate and there was a large change in

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Curriculum-Vitae - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Curriculum-Vitae Franklin Delano Roosevelt Born: At his family's estate at Hyde Park, in Dutchess County, New York. Parents: He was the only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Delano Roosevelt. James Roosevelt was a moderately successful businessman, with a variety of investments and a special interest in coal. He was also a conservative Democrat who was interested in politics. Sara Delano, 26 years younger than her previously widowed husband, brought to the marriage a fortune considerably larger than that of James Roosevelt. Franklin was born into a pleasant and sociable home, with loving parents and congenial, rather aristocratic companions. Education: His mother supervised his education until he was 14. French-speaking and German-speaking tutors did most of the actual instruction and helped him develop early a talent for those languages. For further education, he went to Groton School in Massachusetts, which had a reputation as one of the finest of the exclusive private schools that prepared boys for the Ivy League colleges. From Groton Roosevelt went on to Harvard College. He entered in 1899, and remained until 1904. He took his bachelor's degree in 1903 but returned to Harvard in the fall to serve as editor of the student newspaper, The Crimson. He then moved to New York City, where he entered the Columbia University Law School in 1904. Although he

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Women before World War 1

Women's Support Roles in the World Wars Right up to the outbreak of World War I, feminists on both sides pledged themselves to peace, in trans-national women's solidarity. Within months of the war's outbreak, however, "all the major feminist groups of the belligerents had given a new pledge - to support their respective governments." Suddenly, campaigners for women's suffrage became avid patriots and organizers of women in support of the war effort. Many of these feminists hoped that patriotic support of the war would enhance the prospects for women's suffrage after the war, and this came true in a number of countries. The more than 25,000 US women who served in Europe in World War I did so on an entrepreneurial basis, especially before 1917. They helped nurse the wounded, provide food and other supplies to the military, serve as telephone operators (the "Hello Girls"), entertain troops, and work as journalists. Many of these "self-selected adventurous women ... found their own work, improvised their own tools ... argued, persuaded, and scrounged for supplies. They created new organizations where none had existed." Despite hardships, the women had "fun" and "were glad they went." Women sent out to "canteen" for the US Army - providing entertainment, sewing on buttons, handing out cigarettes and sweets - were "virtuous women" sent to "keep the boys straight." Army efforts to

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Bombing succes in world war two

Source 9 states that "strategic bombing was designed to destroy the industrial power of the enemy and the morale of its people. It did neither." Use the sources, including 10 and 11, to explain whether or not you agree with this view. Source 9 is taken from a book written by Studs Terkel and it is a quote from the economist, J.K. Galbraith. As Terkel has taken the quote from someone else, this is secondary source, which means it is possibly slightly less reliable. Also, it is a small quotation and so, we don't know the exact context of it. This means that the source can be thought of as unreliable because of the lack of background information about it. However, J.K. Galbraith was an academic, and this suggests that he would give a well-balanced, neutral interpretation as to what went on. There are some sources that agree with this quotation that German industry and morale wasn't destroyed. Source 11 for example, shows German armaments production in 1940, 1942 and 1944. It shows that even in 1944, after some of the worst raids, German armaments were still being produced at three times the rate of 1942, before most of the raids! This suggests that the British bombing didn't do much to hinder German armament production. However, we aren't told where the source originates from or how reliable the source is and therefore we don't know how accurate it is. Also, important years

  • Word count: 949
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Why people supported Roosevelt in the 1932 election

HISTORY COURSEWORK- ASSIGNMENT B ) Study source A. Use source A and your knowledge of the period to explain why people supported Roosevelt in the 1932 election. This source starts with the essence of Roosevelt´s most immediate aim: restoring confidence. This was done by making a promise or "plegde" to make a new start. This new start was labelled New Deal which achieved an effect on American people, this was because Americans could sense that Roosevelt was keen on this new way of dealing with the Depression. In this speech Roosevelt addressed the people directly which also contributes to restoring confidence and creates a sense of union ("give me your help") between himself and Americans. He addressed people directly by stating who his audience was "the American people" which once more proved that Roosevelt felt particularly involved in anything that concerned ordinary people. This was proven throughout not only his election campaign, but throughout his precidency. He seemed to contrast with Hoover due to the aparent honesty he seemed to possess. In this speech Roosevelt demonstrates this honesty by talking about his interest to "win votes" instead of hiding it. Roosevelt himself was a fighter due to his stuggle with polio and his achievements after having been stucken by it. He had become the Governor of New York State after this and passed on his determination for

  • Word count: 9381
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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American policy toward World War I

In 1914 Woodrow Wilson proclaimed U.S. neutrality and asked the American people to be neutral in thought as well as action. In April 1917 Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. What caused this turnaround in American policy toward World War I? "We must be the great arsenal of democracy." Franklin D. Roosevelt Report to Congress, Jan. 2, 1941 World War I (1914-1919), undoubtedly, was an event that framed universal history. Therefore is important to note that even though the conflict began in Europe, finally great nations as Japan and the United States were involved. This was one of the major wars in which participation in the affairs of others is cover under the supposed protection of democracy or the free towns. Such events are events that have marked paths with traces of blood the formation of a powerful nation like the United States of America. Throughout the nineteenth century, the United States experienced an accelerated economic process, mainly after the Civil War. Time after Wilson assumes the presidency (1912) explodes the War and immediately the president recommended taking a position of neutrality in his foreign policy since he thought that this did not affect its interests; nevertheless, the population was insane since their sentiment was in favor of the allies due to the narrow relation with Great Britain. As War was developing, began to notice

  • Word count: 858
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Miscellaneous
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Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 election?

Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 election? In this essay I am going to explain why Franklin D Roosevelt won the presidential election campaign in 1932. In1928 there was a presidential election. Herbert Hoover was the Republican candidate, he won by a landslide victory and all seemed well. One of his first statements as president was 'we in America are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before. The poor man is vanishing from among us'. However Hoover couldn't have been more wrong because in October 1929 the Wall Street Stock market crashed. The American economy collapsed, and the USA entered a long depression that destroyed much of the prosperity of the 1920's. For sometime in America during the 1920's share prices had been increasing due to the economic boom and they were being sold to many Americans. The boom was based on the increased sale of consumer goods such as cars or electrical appliances. The market for these goods was largely the rich and middle classes. But by 1929 those who could afford the consumer goods had already bought them and they didn't need to buy them again. American industries were starting to produce more goods than they could sell. In the past, American industry would have tried to export its surplus goods, but people in Europe could not afford the American goods either. In the summer of 1929 sales started to slow. In June 1929 the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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The Attitudes and Events Leading To American Involvement In World War I

THE ATTITUDES AND EVENTS LEADING TO AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD WAR I INTRO The U.S. emerged as a great power after the Civil War. Like newly industrializing great powers, the U.S. adopted protectionism, seized a colonial empire of its own (1898), and built up a powerful navy. U.S. imperialism was marked by the reaffirmation of the Monroe Doctrine, formalized by the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904. WAR WITH SPAIN Spanish-American War is the conflict between Spain and the United States in 1898, resulting in the liberation of Cuba from Spanish rule. The war had its roots in the Cuban struggle for independence. The Spanish-American war also grew out of US economic and imperialistic ambitions. On both humanitarian and economic grounds, a strong reaction to the conflict between Spain and Cuba developed in the United States. The brutal treatment of the Cubans by Spanish military forces received wide publicity. Concern was also aroused by the extensive damage to property caused by the conflict. Many US investments were affected, and all US trade with Cuba was halted. Popular demand for intervention on Cuba's behalf gained support in the US Congress, but both President Grover Cleveland and President William McKinley, during his first year in office, firmly opposed US action. In 1897 an attempt to settle the conflict was made by Spain and partial autonomy was

  • Word count: 2187
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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