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Part 9

World War II (1941 – 1945)

*The Course of the War*

- We won. Hah. 
(Don’t worry: military history is NOT on the AP! I just summarized it a little more concisely this time, anyway!)

*The Wartime (and Post-War) Conferences*

- Now THIS is important. The key conferences are as follows:
Teheran Conference (December 1943) – FDR, Stalin & Churchill met. The main issues were:
The opening of a second front (the fact that they hadn’t already was annoying Stalin), which led to a decision to invade France in 1944. 
The USSR also promised to help against Japan as soon as Germany lost. 
Dumbarton Oaks Conference – The US, GB, the USSR, and China basically talked over the details of the UN here, finally deciding on the Security Council/General Assembly we all know and love today. 
Yalta Conference (February 1945) – FDR, Stalin & Churchill once again. They discussed…
Poland: After letting the Germans wipe out an uprising, the USSR had installed its own gov’t – but another one was still waiting in London. So it was decided that the USSR would get more territory but would (supposedly) use a coalition gov’t there. 
Germany: They decided upon its division into four zones, and a preliminary figure for reparations (most of which would go to the USSR). 
Stalin also promised (again) to declare war on Japan soon after Hitler lost and sign a treaty with Chiang in China (not Mao). In exchange, the USSR would get back some of the land it lost in the Russo-Japanese war. 
Yalta was the high water mark of diplomatic relations between the three and then…
Potsdam Conference (July 1945) – Truman replaced FDR here. They discussed….
Germany: They agreed on disarmament, dismantling of war industries, de-nazification, and war crimes trials.
Japan: Unconditional surrender.  
Not much else was actually settled, as the spirit of unity had been broken and there was much haggling about gaining/losing territory & spheres of influence and so on…
- That’s all.  

*World War II: The Home Front*

- In many ways, what occurred on the home front in WWII is very similar to what occurred during WWI, although there were also some significant differences. Here’s what you should remember about the home front in WWII: 
Propaganda – FDR started out by getting everybody geared up with his Four Freedoms idea (speech, worship, want, fear), and telling people they had to go out and fight for the American Way of Life. To help get the idea around, he established the Office of War Information (1942) to take charge of the matter – Hollywood joined in too, of course (Capra’s Why We Fight). 
Gov’t Regulation of the Economy – As follows…
Office of Price Administration (1942): The OPA quickly went to work controlling inflation through price ceilings on commodities and rents, as well as establishing rationing through local War Price & Rationing Boards. Many businesses protested, and blamed the OPA for scarcity, but tough luck for them. 
War Production Board (1942): Following Pearl Harbor, the WPB was established to convert the economy from civilian to military production. 
War Manpower Commission (1942): Recruited workers for the factories. 
Gov’t Incentives in Business: The gov’t guaranteed profits (cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts), lowered taxes, and excluded businesses from antitrust laws. Witness the rise of the dreaded military-industrial complex.  
Results of the Wartime Economy – As always, unemployment basically vanished, and people started making more than ever. The gov’t didn’t even bother to overtax them, instead relying on deficit financing. Also, industry (and especially agriculture) experienced yet another period of consolidation.  
Federal Support of Science & Technology – Like business, scientific enterprises all got bigger as the gov’t poured $ into big universities and military/science projects. 
Growth of Organized Labor – A labor/management conference agreed (after PH) to a no strike/lockout pledge to guarantee war production. The NWLB was then created to oversee any disputes – unions were allowed, but workers couldn’t be forced into them either. It wasn’t all good, though, b/c when the NWLB tried to limit wage increases in 1943, workers struck big time, leading to the War Labor (Smith-Connally) Act (1943), which gave the president authority to seize and operate plants w/strikes if needed for nat’l security, and gave the NWLB the authority to settle disputes for the duration of the war.  
Growth of the Federal Gov’t – The gov’t increased both its size and power during the war, esp. the executive branch, which now also had to manage the labor supply and control inflation. 
Japanese Internment – Also as a result of the war, thousands of Japanese citizens were “relocated” to internment camps. 
Opportunities for African Americans – Although blacks were able to find jobs in the military and in cities (Executive Order No. 8802 outlawed discrimination in defense industries), they still faced major problems and race riots in the cities (1943). Membership in civil rights organizations increased as a result. 
Opportunities for Women – In addition to being more involved in the actual army/navy action, women took new war production jobs. 
- So there you have it. No more outlining of the book for me tonight, sorry. This will have to be a short one.  

Postwar America (1945 – 1961)

*Truman’s First Term: Domestic Policies*

- Truman had become President after FDR’s death, and was subsequently the one who had to face the possible economic consequences of demobilization – as war contracts were cancelled and price controls removed, cutbacks in production led to layoffs and inflation. 
- Truman responded by decided to combat unemployment through expansion on the New Deal programs like unemployment compensation, minimum wage, farm supports, public works, and so on. He also brought back the idea of FDR’s Economic Bill of Rights (everyone deserves a job). 
- It turned out, though, that while there was temporary high unemployment the economy remained stable and even boomed! Why? People had saved up during the war, and easy credit promoted buying. The only big problem was inflation, spurred by shortages of goods and housing. 
- However, inflation soon led to a decline in real income (purchasing power), so workers became discontented b/c they felt they weren’t sharing in the widespread prosperity. In 1946, unions responded by ordering nationwide shutdowns and strikes. 
- This further limited production and created more inflation, so many people began to get very pissed at the unions, including Truman, who declared to Congress that if an industry vital to nat’l security refused to return to work, all the workers would be drafted into the army. This really angered labor, though!
- Another debacle occurred w/Truman’s handling of the OPA (price controls), which big business & consumers wanted lifted. When they did expire, however, inflation rose further. People blamed Truman, leading to the Republican majority in both houses in the 1946 elections. 
- Taft-Hartley Act (1947)  Prohibited the closed shop (union only), permitted states to ban union-shop agreements, forbade union contributions to candidates in federal elections, forced union leaders to swear in affidavits that they were not communists, and mandated an 80 day cooling off period before carrying out strikes. This enraged labor, but helped Truman, who was vindicated in their eyes through his veto.  
- The Republican Congress also offended other groups, like farm organization, with their obliviousness to public demands. Still, though, it seemed like they had a sure Presidential victory. 

*Truman’s Second Term: Domestic Policies*

- Anyway, in the Presidential Election of 1948, in addition to the Republican candidate, Thomas Dewey (G-NY), Truman faced two other parties: (1) the Progressive Party, which advocated friendly relationships w/the USSR, racial desegregation, and the nationalization of basic industries and ran Henry Wallace, a New Dealer who had been fired by Truman for criticizing US foreign policy and (2) the Dixiecrats, who ran Strom Thurmond of SC and consisted of anti-civil rights Southerners. 
- So, basically, most people felt that Truman was totally screwed. As a last ditch tactic, he called the all Republican Congress into a special session and challenged it to enact all their plans. They did nothing in the end, giving Truman the opportunity to go around the country taking about the “do-nothing” Congress. 
- And Truman won! Why? Well, the US was doing well economically, at peace, and united on foreign policy. Plus, the ND coalition – blacks, union members, urban ethnics, and most of the South – still remained, and farmers joined as they worried the Republicans would lower price supports.  
- So Truman started off again all confident and excited – he had a program called the Fair Deal, which he hoped (but largely failed) to implement. The programs he did manage to get passed are as follows:
Welfare/Relief – He extended minimum wage, extended Social Security coverage to thousands of people, passed a Housing Act, and passed the Agricultural Act of 1949, which gave farmers 90% of the market price as supports. 
Civil Rights – He desegregated the military, appointed more blacks than ever to high offices, and created a President’s Committee on Civil Rights, which wrote what was to become the agenda for the movement in the coming years – To Secure These Rights (1947). 
Displaced Persons Act – He passed an act to allow more refugees into the country. 
- However, his attempts to modify TH, pass a civil right bill, establish national health coverage, and get more money for education were blocked by the Republican Congress and special interests. 
- Truman’s most significant legacy, however, is that he strengthened the powers of the Presidency and made many WWII agencies permanent – Atomic Energy Commission, Department of Defense, CIA. 

*The Eisenhower Presidency: Domestic Policies*

- The Presidential Election of 1952 was a huge victory for war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower, who ran promising to end the war in Korea and the whole virtuous-decent-friendly guy deal (“I Like Ike”). Besides winning the presidency, the Republicans once again got both houses of Congress.
- Overall, Eisenhower was a very popular President who relied a lot on the delegation of authority to cabinet members and didn’t have a clue what the heck was going on. This wasn’t such a big deal, b/c his years in office were about the status quo & conformity (“consensus mood”) where talk of reform became unpatriotic.  
- Both Democrats and Republicans alike avoided extremism (stuck with the center), and Eisenhower himself came up with “dynamic conservatism” – we can’t remove the New Deal, so we’ll live with it and try to represent business and balance the budget anyway.  
- What did Eisenhower do during his first term? He built a canal (spur economic development in Midwest), amended the Social Security Act to add people, reformed taxes, and passed the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which gave private companies the right to use nuclear power. 
- Eisenhower also changed policies regarding Native Americans. His policy of termination (1953) forced NAs into American culture by getting rid of reservations, ending tribal sovereignty and federal services, and making Indians subject to state laws. This was supposed to help states’ rights and lower costs, but it was mainly motivated by land greed (as ever).  
- Although the Congressional elections of 1954 gave the Democrats control of both houses of Congress, Eisenhower was reelected in a landslide victory in the Presidential Election of 1956. 

*Eisenhower’s Second Term: Domestic Policies*

- In his second term, Eisenhower faced rising costs (partially b/c of America’s involvement globally) but ended up going with deficit spending due to the military budget and three short recessions. 
- In 1958 Eisenhower faced further problems when Sherman Adams (the President’s chief aide) resigned under suspicion of a scandal, and the Republicans lost big time in the 1958 Congressional elections. Then in 1960 there was a recession, and the whole U-2 plane incident (more on that later). 
- Although Eisenhower was popular, in retrospect, he did avoid dealing with the major issues of poverty, urban decay, and civil rights – and he authorized CIA covert operations. Nevertheless, just before leaving office, he was eerily prescient in his warnings against the “military-industrial complex.” 

*McCarthyism – The Red Scare Redux*

- McCarthyism was a major problem in both the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, and can basically be summarized as mass hysteria and overreaction to the idea of the Communist threat. Anti-communism had already surfaced in the Red Scare in the early 1920s, and e/t the Communist Party grew during the Depression, the Cold War brought the whole anti-communist deal back big time. 
- Anyhow, here’s how anti-communism began under Truman…
Investigations of US Gov’t Employees: Truman helped begin the circus in 1947 by ordering investigations in the loyalty of employees of the US gov’t. 
This bred a whole atmosphere of fear and accusations ran rampant – in addition to the Hollywood Ten in the movie industry, teachers, professors, and union leaders were all targeted by the gov’t and by each other. This was especially harmful to the Unions. 
Alger Hiss Case (1949)  State Department official Alger Hiss was accused by confirmed spy Whittaker Chambers of giving him classified documents. He was defended by Truman, and ended up being convicted of perjury (not espionage).  
The Rise of McCarthy: It was in the midst of this whole deal that Senator Joseph McCarthy started waving around his lists of confirmed communists (they were really shopping lists, apparently). When this turned out to be a winning campaign issue, he stuck to it, and (for a time) seemed invulnerable. 
Julius & Ethel Rosenberg Case (1950): The Rosenbergs were accused of passing atomic secrets to the USSR and were executed in 1953 (under Eisenhower). 
Internal Security (McCarran) Act (1950) – Targeted Communist front-group orgs. by forcing them to register w/the gov’t and prohibiting them from holding defense jobs or traveling. 
Dennis et al. v. US (1951) – This SC decision upheld the Smith Act (1940), under which CP leaders had been arrested, due to the precedent set by Schenk v. US and the whole “clear and present danger” deal on free speech. 
- Then, under Eisenhower, there was more of the same. McCarthy continued his demagogic attacks, and Eisenhower avoided confronting him lest it split the Republican Party. Additionally… 
Eisenhower attacked communists himself though a 1953 executive order that allowed federal workers to be dismissed as “security risks.” 
Communist Control Act (1954): This act, which received widespread bipartisan support, effectively made membership in the CP illegal.  
Army-McCarthy Hearings (1954): McCarthy finally fell after he attacked the US army. In the hearings, his vile treatment of witnesses and general obnoxiousness got him condemned for sullying the dignity of the Senate. 
- E/t McCarthy finally fell the hysteria had already taken its toll on the American tradition of free speech.

*The Civil Rights Movement*

- The Cold War ended helping the civil rights movement b/c the US couldn’t make a big fuss about human rights if it didn’t live up to its own ideals either. Additionally, the blacks that had migrated to the cities in WWII began to control the political “balance of power” in the cities, and thus became important.
- Subsequently Truman (in addition to genuinely believing in civil rights) had reasons to support it – in 1946, he created the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, which basically summed up the civil rights movement in their report To Secure These Rights (1947) – i.e. anti-lynching & anti-segregation laws. 
- Congress, however, didn’t act on the Committee’s suggestions – e/t Truman did in the end issue two executive orders ending discrimination in the federal gov’t: one was on fair employment (Employment Board of the Civil Service Commission), and the other desegregated the army (another committee to oversee). 
- A series of SC decisions also helped African Americans…
NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund (Thurgood Marshall & Charles Hamilton Houston) worked against the separate but equal policies and got many blacks into universities.
Smith v. Allwright (1944) – White-only Democratic Primaries in some states were outlawed.
Morgan v. Virginia (1946) – No more segregation in interstate bus transportation.
Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) – Outlawed agreements among white not to sell houses to blacks.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) – The NAACP challenge to school segregation succeeded on the grounds that separate facilities denied kids equal protection under the law (feeling of inferiority generated). Still, the SC didn’t order desegregation directly until a year later, and even then there was no definite schedule, so Southern schools resisted. 
- In general, much of the South resisted the push towards civil rights – White Citizens’ Councils created to resist the school order – and Northern cities maintained a policy of segregation in terms of housing.  
- And the election of Eisenhower didn’t help as Ike ignored the issue (like he did everything else) hoping it would gradually resolve itself – i.e. he objected to compulsory federal segregation laws, therefore encouraging white noncompliance to orders through his lack of leadership.
- Then in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, the test of school integration occurred when whites tried to block the 8 black kids from entering Central High. In the end, Eisenhower was forced to send army paratroopers to ensure their safety. In response, schools were closed for the following 2 years to avoid desegregation.  
- There was also the whole Rosa Parks and Montgomery Bus Boycott deal in 1955 – after Parks was arrested, blacks under the leadership of MLK, a follower of Gandhi and advocate of non-violent protest, boycotted the buses until they were integrated – partially b/c of economic reasons and partially b/c of an SC decision that declared the segregation laws unconstitutional. 
- Civil Rights Act (1957) – Created the US Commission Civil Rights to investigate discrimination, but proved ineffective. 
- As a result, blacks started a campaign of sit-ins in the South, which helped by giving their cause publicity and demonstrating the brutality of Southern Whites who attacked the non-violent protestors. The SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee) was formed b/c of the sit-ins.  

*The 1950s: Comfort, Consumerism & Conformity*

- First of all, the 1950s were (for most) an era of unprecedented prosperity and expansion. More specifically:
The Postwar Economic Boom: Increasing output & increasing demand – it really was that simple. Economist Galbraith called it the “affluent society” – productivity increased, people wanted more stuff, and they used consumer credit to keep buying, which caused profits (and paychecks) to go up, spurring more consumerism, and so on. Per capita real income (adjusted for inflation) jumped up, as did standard of living (for most). 
The Baby Boom: The baby boom was actually both a cause and effect of the new prosperity, as the new population generated new needs for services, esp. in the three industries that expanded most – construction, cars, and defense (well maybe not that). 
Housing & Highway Boom: The GI mortgages and Federal Housing Administration insurance led to an explosion in home building and buying – prefabricated suburbia. Tons of new highways were built, which also speed up the process of suburbanization. 
Military Spending: The other big reason for the economic boom was military spending, which also helped advance the electronics industry.  
Consolidation & Conglomerate Mergers: Due to the new technologies, industry ownership became increasingly concentrated as only the big companies had the $ to buy the new stuff. Conglomerate mergers (when unrelated industries join together to stabilize markets) became increasingly common. Even agriculture became dominated by big, mechanized farm companies – no more family farms, fewer tenant farmers.  
Labor Merger: Finally the AFL and CIO joined back up again, but union membership still didn’t increase all that much, probably b/c most workers were doing quite well. 
Environmental Costs – We screwed up the environment by dumping waste everywhere and spraying DDT (Rachel Carson, Silent Spring). We also wasted a lot of stuff. Sound familiar? 
- As for 1950s culture, here are some of the main themes:
Conformity: The rat-race, status seeking suburbia, materialism…basically the same as suburbia now only people had strange looking black & white TV sets. 
Education: Education was a big concern, and many GIs went to college w/the provisions of the GI Bill of Rights. Parents also became obsessed w/their kids as successful students (we wouldn’t know anything about that, would we) and joined the PTA and so on. Education also became a nat’l security deal with the Sputnik thing (“their scientists are beating our scientists”) so the NDEA was passed to enrich high school programs. 
Religion: Religion was seen as very American – in 1954 they added that little “under God” phrase to the Pledge. 
Television: Evangelists and car salesmen had a new way to be heard, and heard they were as families spend their time glued in front of the “idiot box.” Oh well. 
Women’s Roles: There was a cult of motherhood on one side, but the growing trend of women in the labor force on the other.
Youth Subculture: Music (oh dear – Elvis!) and movies like Rebel Without A Cause catered to bored teenagers dissatisfied with blah middle class conformity. 
Beat Generation: On the sidelines, a few serious artists tried to speak about America’s problems. The Beats (Allen Ginsberg, etc.) rejected conformity and embraced sexuality and drugs – they were largely ignored in the 1950s but then were rediscovered in the 1960s. 
- The general prosperity notwithstanding, there was a large group of other Americans – immigrants, blacks, inner city dwellers, rural poor, Native Americans – that remained unaffected by the outburst of new products and stayed very poor. But they were largely ignored. 

The [Early] Cold War (1945 – 1961) 

*General Origins of the Cold War*

- Following the war, the US & USSR developed a tremendous rivalry. This was for several reasons…
Power Vacuum – Following the collapse of Germany and Japan and the devastation of much of Europe, there was the question of how rebuilding would commence, and who would have hegemony in the areas where the Axis once dominated.
Decolonization – Another source of instability was the disintegration of the big empires and the creation of the new “Third World” countries, which both the US and USSR hoped to win over as military bases and markets. 
Failure of Diplomacy – Diplomacy was largely ignored b/c both countries were thoroughly convinced they were completely right, and weren’t willing to accept “appeasement.” 
US Economic/Strategic Needs – The US knew that its economic well being depended on exports, and therefore wanted to continue the trend towards economic expansionism through an active foreign policy. Also, the increasingly interconnected world (faster travel, etc.) made the US feel it was important to establish defense away from home. 
Truman’s Tough Style – Truman was not a good diplomat. 
US Suspicion of Soviet Intentions – Throughout the Cold War the US obsessed over what the USSR could and wanted to do. They really weren’t as much of a menace as we thought, but we still were concerned they could take over our interests in Western Europe. 
- Basically, only US influence was allowed, so as soon as the USSR started taking interest in new territory we lost it…

*The Cold War under Truman*

- After the war ended, the US & USSR lost no time in getting each other mad. As follows:
Soviet Expansion: In 1945 The USSR didn’t allow the Polish gov’t that had been in exile in London to join their new communist gov’t in Lublin (as they had promised). They also took over Romania, and encouraged coups in Hungary (1947) and Czechoslovakia (1948). The Soviets claimed the US was doing the same thing, and complained about the double standard. 
Atomic Diplomacy: The USSR whined that the US was trying to scare them into concessions b/c of their monopoly on the atomic bomb. Then Truman refused to turn the bomb over to an internat’l institution and backed the Baruch Plan instead – the US would give up its atomic monopoly if all the world’s fissionable materials were given to an agency. The Soviets felt this would let the US continue researching the bomb w/o letting anyone else…
World Bank/IMF: After clashing on several fronts (reconstruction loans, Iran, etc.) in 1946, the USSR decided not to join the new institutions, believing them to be too US dominated (and also b/c they were capitalist). Still, the IMF opened and began making loans. 
- This caused more paranoia and obsession on both sides, and we responded with the…
Truman Doctrine (1947): After the British asked for US help in Greece (to defend their client gov’t against a leftist uprising) Truman gave a speech to sell the idea to Congress that defined the Truman Doctrine – “It must be the policy of the US to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” The US backed both Greece (gov’t won in 1949) and Turkey (because big US ally) as a result. 
X Article: After Truman’s speech, George Kennan (writing as “Mr. X”) published an article on containment of Soviet power – confronting the USSR with a strong counterforce anywhere they showed signs of expansion.  
Marshall Plan (1947): In order to prevent radicalism through the sponsorship of international prosperity, the US began a huge European recovery program – money was sent, but it had to be spent in the US on US-made products (to stimulate our economy). It was mixed success, as it caused inflation and divided Europe even more (East/West) in addition to spurring industrial progress. From our POV, though, it was excellent b/c it helped contain communism.  
National Security Act (1947): This act created the Office of Secretary of Defense (later the Dept. of Defense) and the CIA (“The Department of Dirty Tricks”). 
Fulbright Program (1948): This program of exchange students tried to blunt anti-Americanism and aid cultural exchanges – there was also the Congress for Cultural Freedom. 
Rio Pact (1947) & Organization of American States (1948): Both these military alliances were in Latin America and served to protect American interests and boost the militaries of LA states.
- Other key events in the early Cold War: 
Recognition of Israel (1948): Truman did this to gain Jewish votes and get another ally. 
Berlin Blockade/Airlift (1948): After the US, France and GB agreed to merge their German zones, the USSR cut off access to all of Berlin, prompting a US airlift of supplies there until May 1949 and the foundation of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). 
Point Four Program (1949): This was an aid program for the Third World that helped to win allies onto our side. It later became part of the Mutual Security Agency. 
NATO (1949): We formed a Western Europe security pact, which caused some domestic debate (no alliances since 1778) since some felt it would force us into war. But it was ratified.
NSC-68 (1950): After the double shock of the USSR exploding its first bomb and China going communist, the Nat’l Security Council came up w/this report asking for more $ for the military.  

*The Cold War in Asia*

- Like Europe, Asia became involved in the conflicts of the Cold War. 
Japan: In Japan, the US monopolized reconstruction through military occupation under MacArthur, who started a “democratic revolution from above.” In 1951, we signed a separate peace w/Japan that ended occupation. A Mutual Security Treaty the next year provided for the stationing of our forced on their soil. 
China: We didn’t do so well in China, where we insisted on backing Chiang against Mao, who we refused to talk to once he did come to power in 1949 (this pushed him over to the USSR, but that relationship didn’t last either – Stalin & Mao didn’t get along). Anyway, we didn’t recognize the actual gov’t of China in 1979. 
Vietnam: During WWII, Ho Chi Minh, while planning to free the nation from the French, also fought against the Japanese (with our help). Once we “lost China,” though, we decided to back a restoration of French rule in order to (1) gain French cooperation, (2) have more economic hegemony in the areas, and (3) Ho was a communist, so we thought he was Soviet-sponsored. Anyway, in 1950 we decided to recognize the puppet gov’t under Bao Dai and start sending weapons and advisers to the French. More on this later…
- Then there was the whole Korean War issue, which bears going into. The KW began as a civil war in 1950 when North Korea moved across into South Korea (the two parts had been divided in 1945 w/US & USSR approval). Both leaders hoped to reunify the nation, but Truman thought that the USSR had planned the whole thing (he hadn’t really, and had barely been convinced to help at all). 
- Anyway, the United Nations then voted on helping South Korea, and since Stalin wasn’t there (he had walked out b/c of the China deal) it went through. MacArthur became commander of UN forces (90% US), and they fought until they not only passed the original boundary but went into NK (hoping to reunify). 
- UN forces went deep into NK until they were stooped by a surprise counterattack by Chinese forces. This sent them back to the 38th parallel (original boundary) and e/t MacArthur wanted to go fight China, Truman told him off and then fired him as a result. 
- Fighting went on as the POW issue stalled negotiations (US officials said only the prisoners that wanted to go back would be returned, and NK countered by saying they wouldn’t return anyone). An armistice was finally signed in 1953 – the POW question was handed over to a board of neutral nations, who ended up giving the prisoners their choice, and the border went to the 38th parallel again w/a demilitarized zone. 
- Domestically, the war helped get Eisenhower elected, and also gave the President more power, since he had never asked Congress for a declaration of war prior to sending the troops. 
- Overall, Truman’s legacy was a very militarized foreign “containment” policy on a global scale.

*The Cold War under Eisenhower*

- Eisenhower basically kept up Truman’s policies and made sure the more hawkish (to say the least) John Foster Dulles (Secretary of State) didn’t get out of control. Dulles was totally anti-communist (and anti-compromise) and called for “liberation” (instead of containment) & “brinksmanship” (taking the country to the edge of war and relying on MAD), and popularized the Domino Theory (if one goes they all will).  
- Eisenhower, however, did rely increasingly on the CIA to buy out foreign leaders, labor unions, newspapers and political parties. The CIA also planted fake stories in newspapers, trained foreign military officials, experimented w/mind control drugs, and launched covert operations to subvert Third World gov’ts.
- The Eisenhower administration also tried to spread American culture in the USSR and the East (to spark discontent) through the United States Information Agency, which funded the Voice of America. There was also Radio Free Europe & Radio Liberty, funded by the CIA, which sent anti-Soviet messages, some of which got through. 
- Meanwhile (“kitchen debates” notwithstanding) the arms race intensified under Eisenhower with the explosion of the Hydrogen bomb, the first ICBM (USSR), and then Sputnik (1957), which caused a big ruckus over here and got us to start NASA in 1958. E/t we actually had a lot more missiles & crap, we kept worrying about the (non-existent) “missile gap” and building more. 
- In fact, this even got to be a bit much for Eisenhower (it was tough to balance the budget) so in 1957 some arms-control proposals were started like the “atoms for peace” initiative, the “open skies” proposal, and bans on testing. But none of these agreements really worked out despite talks in Geneva in 1955. 
- Some specific incidents under Eisenhower include:
Hungary (1956): When Khrushchev came to power he denounced Stalin and called for more toleration, which inspired revolts in Poland and Hungary. But after the new Hungarian gov’t decided to withdraw form the Warsaw Pact Soviet troops crushed the rebellion – and e/t we’d been sending all that liberation stuff over the radio, we didn’t do anything (we couldn’t w/o starting some huge war). 
Khrushchev’s Ultimatum (1958): The USSR got mad b/c we had bombers in West Germany, and announced that unless we began talks on German reunification and rearmament they would recognize East German control of all of Berlin. We refused to do anything, and he backed off – it was basically a test. 
U-2 Incident (1960): Well, in Dublin, Ireland, this really cool band was formed and then – oh crap, wrong U2, haha I’m obsessed! Anyway, this U-2 plane was flying over the USSR and it was shot down, leading to some embarrassment for us, esp. when we refused to apologize. 
Jinmen-Mazu Crisis: This was a dispute over two tiny islands off the Chinese coast with China (go figure) – we were allowing Chiang to use the islands to as outposts to raid the mainland, so China started bombing them. Eisenhower decided to defend the outposts, pushing the nation to the brink – the Formosa Resolution (1955) authorized the president to send US forces to defend the islands. The issue came up again in 1958, but this time we told Chiang to get rid of some of his troops, which led China to stop dropping bombs. China got the bomb in 1964. 
- Meanwhile, Japan grew (economically) at an incredible rate – while remaining an uneasy Cold War ally. Western Europeans were also a little scared by McCarthyism, German rearmament and the Vietnam deal, and resented being treated as dependents by the US in the name of “community.” 

*The Emergence of the Third World*

- Due to decolonization, a ton of new states were formed – and before long, once all the other countries declared their allegiances in the Cold War, US and Soviet attention shifted the Third World, which could provide markets, supplies of raw materials, and provide sites for military and intelligence bases. 
- As this wasn’t exactly what most of the Third World had in mind the US began to turn a ton of resources towards it – and it wasn’t all aid (based on the views of MIT professor Walt Rostow, Stages of Economic Growth) and propaganda (the good ol’ US Information Agency) either – we supported nasty dictators, got into civil wars, and used CIA covert operations to squash revolutions. 
- Nevertheless, some countries – India, Ghana, Egypt, Indonesia, and others – still managed to stay out of it by declaring themselves non-aligned. They then organized at the Bandung Conference (in Indonesia), which got Dulles all annoyed – hey, they have to take sides, our side, I mean. 
- The US (as always) believed that the Third World needed some tutoring in how to establish a nice capitalist democracy (just like ours), and depicted Third World peoples as dependent, irrational, and weak. Race attitudes also hurt relationships – they made us look bad – as we weren’t exactly living up to all our ideals.  

*American Intervention in the Third World*

- More specifically, here’s where and what we did:
Guatemala: In 1951 leftist leader Guzmán was elected President, and once he deiced to expropriate all of United Fruit’s (big US company) unused land (he offered compensation) UF officials claimed he was a communist, which led to the generation of a CIA plot to overthrow him. In 1954 CIA-supported troops drove him from power, and the new pro-US regime returned the land before a huge civil war erupted. 
Cuba: In 1959 the Cuban Revolution erupted – Batista was ousted, and Fidel Castro took control. From the start Castro was anti-American, and got rid of a lot of our business interests, which (in addition to his growing popularity and authoritarianism) scared the crap out of Washington. And once the US cut purchases of Cuban sugar, Castro nationalized all our companies and asked the USSR for loans and more trade to hold off the US. Eisenhower broke diplomatic relations in 1961, leaving the whole Bay of Pigs debacle for Kennedy. 
Puerto Rico: In PR, Operation Bootstrap encouraged companies to invest in tourism and other industries. 
Middle East: In the Middle East we encountered challenges from Arab nationalists to our support of Israel and oil holdings (Iran was our special oil source in exchange for CIA help in the overthrow of the Shah’s nationalistic rival). 
Suez Crisis: Since we hated Egypt’s nationalist leader Nasser (non-alignment, pan-Arabism) we suddenly decided we wouldn’t help Egypt finance the Aswan Dam as promised. However, Nasser responded by nationalizing the Suez Canal (and using those profits), which caused the Israelis (w/GB & French support) to invade Suez in 1956. Fearing it would force the Egyptians into the arms of the USSR, Eisenhower told them to pull out, which they did – Egypt took control of the canal, the USSR built the Dam, and Nasser became a big hero. 
Eisenhower Doctrine (1957): To try to improve our position in the ME, Eisenhower declared that the US would intervene in the ME if any gov’t threatened by a communist takeover asked for help. This led to troops being sent to Lebanon in 1958. 
- And then there was the big story: Vietnam. Here’s how it all started. Even though the US was helping them, the French were losing big time to the Vietminh (Ho’s forces). Finally, at Dienbienphu (1954) the French surrendered (despite US attempts to rally a coalition around them). 
- France wanted out, so at the Geneva peace talks (US, USSR, GB, China, and the two Vietnamese regimes) the Geneva Accords were established, which temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel (military truce line) until unification via nat’l elections in 1956. Until then, no foreign troops or alliances.
- We didn’t really mean that, though, b/c as soon as the conference ended CIA teams went to Vietnam and began secret operations against the North. We also joined in SEATO (sort of like NATO) and made one of the goals be to protect Vietnam. 
- Then we decided to get rid of Bao Dai (original puppet ruler) and replace him with Diem, who staged a phony election in the South and then refused the call for nat’l elections. We helped his army and gave tons of aid, but Diem insisted on acting dictatorially until nobody liked him anyway. 
- Consequently, resistance began to build, and in early 1959 Ho finally started sending aid to the insurgents, who terrorized the area and organized the National Liberation Front (NLF) or Vietcong. This set off a civil war in which we backed Diem against Ho, who we thought was a global communist agent or something. 
- And on that depressing note, to be continued…  

Part 8

World War I (1914 – 1920)

*The Outbreak of War and American Neutrality*

- To make a long story short: WWI started on the long-term b/c of competition w/regard to trade, colonies, allies, and arms, especially between the two main alliances, the Triple Alliance [Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy] and the Triple Entente [Great Britain, France, Russia]. 
- On the short term, it started b/c of a bunch of silly blunders set off by the assassination of the heir to the A-H throne by the Serbian terrorist group the Black Hand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. This got a bunch of powers pissed off and resulted in the German declaration of war on August 1 and…but this is not EHAP…
- So what did we do? Wilson began by issuing a proclamation of neutrality. But neutrality, so to speak, was easier said that done, for several reasons:
Ethnic Diversity – People took sides according to their nat’l origins: Germans w/the Germans, Irish w/the Germans [they hated the British], British w/the British, and so on. 
Economic Ties – The US and Britain had big time trading/banking links, and since international law allowed for trade of both contraband and n/c materials between neutral and belligerent nations, it was up to Germany to stop trade through a blockade or something. Wilson opposed the trade at first, but ended up conceding as it was essential to US economic health. 
Ideological Similarities – Wilson also favored Britain b/c he believed that British supremacy gave his principles more of a chance. Wilsonianism consisted of traditional American ideals [democracy, Open Door], internationalism, and American exceptionalism – i.e. US as world leader in an era of capitalism, democracy [self-determination and the destruction of empires were big factors too] and diplomacy. 
- Wilson still didn’t want to go to war, and attempted to preserve neutrality – for a while…

*Wilson’s Decision for War*

- First, a series of events got Wilson and co. to start considering the question…
Lusitania incident – In May 1915 the British passenger liner Lusitania was sunk by a British submarine, killing 128 Americans. *Note: The Germans HAD issued a warning that British vessels could be destroyed, but nobody listened. 
Bryan’s resignation – Bryan suggested that Americans be forbidden from traveling on belligerent ships and that contraband not be allowed on passenger vessels, but Wilson disagreed and insisted the Germans stop their sub warfare [he claimed it wasn’t a double standard b/c the Germans were taking lives, not property]. Bryan resigned in protest, and Robert Lansing [pro-Allied] took his place. 
Gore-McLemore Resolution – After the sinking of the Arabic in early 1916 Congress debated this resolution, which would have prohibited Americans from traveling on armed merchant vessels or ships w/contraband. But, the resolution was eventually killed off.
Sussex incident – Another U-boat attack led Wilson to threaten Berlin w/the severance of diplomatic relations. The Germans promised not to do it again. 
- Not everyone, of course, went along w/the pro-war position. Anti-war groups included the: Woman’s Peace Party, American Union against Militarism [pacifist Progressives], Carnegie Endowment for Internat’l Peace [Carnegie & Ford were both anti-war] and the Socialist party. 
- The anti-war advocates were big on the fact that war: (1) kills young people, (2) fosters repression, (3) is not moral [no kidding] and (3) lets business moguls make big $ at expense of the little guys.  
- In 1916, in fact, even Wilson claimed to be anti-war, running [and winning] the Presidential Election of 1916 on a promise to keep out of the conflict. In early 1917, he tried one last time to bring peace via a conference table, but it didn’t work.
- The straw(s) that broke the camel’s back – the two major short-term causes were:
Germany started unrestricted sub warfare, gambling that it could wipe out the Allies before the US could bring troops across to Europe. 
The Zimmerman Telegram was intercepted in February 1917. The telegram asked Mexico to join an alliance against the US in exchange for help recovering territories lost in the Mexican-American war. Naturally, this didn’t go over too well w/Wilson, and it went over even less well with the press once it was released. 
- Wilson first asked for “armed neutrality,” but anti-war Senators filibustered the bill out, so Wilson ended up calling Congress into special session on April 2, 1917. After naming US grievances [violation of freedom of the seas, disruption of commerce, the Mexico deal, etc.], Wilson finally got his declaration of war passed. So, brimming w/idealism [Wilson planned to reform the world], we entered WWI on April 6. 

*Winning the War*

- E/t anti-war Senators had tried to prevent it the US had been getting ready for war even before it was declared through acts like the National Defense Act of 1916 and the Navy Act of 1916, which provided for the largest naval expansion in US history.  
- After the declaration of war, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, requiring all males between 21 and 30 (changed to 18 and 45 later) to register. Critics felt the measure would lead to excessive militarism, but supporters countered that it would lead to good, healthy patriotism.  
- Most draftees were white, poorly-educated Americans in their early 20s – some African Americans signed up and were assigned to segregated units [they faced a lot of discrimination in the army too] and Native Americans joined as well. There were some draft evaders, and many filed in as conscientious-objectors. 
- American organizations like the Commission on Training Camp Activities, etc. attempted to keep soldiers healthy and moral during the war, but soldiers faced trench warfare, poison gas, and the horrors of the new weapons technology.  
- Still, Americans managed to turn the tide against the Germans, esp. after the Allied victory in July 1918 at the Second Battle of the Marne, which was followed by a huge Allied offense that forced Germany into an armistice on November 11, 1918.  

*America on the Home Front: Economic Change*

- E/t the US wasn’t at war for long, the war [temporarily] created a vastly different society in which the gov’t spend a lot more money and exercised more control over the economy. Several important economic developments resulted from WWI war production, as follows: 
Business-Government Cooperation – The war ushered in a new era of business/gov’t cooperation. Early on, the gov’t relied on industrial committees for advice on purchases/prices, but after they turned out to be corrupt in July 1917, the War Industries Board replaced them. Still, the WIB worked closely w/corporations, and big business grew due to the suspension of antitrust laws and gov’t-industry contracts. 
New Gov’t Economic Agencies – As follows:
War Industries Board – Headed by Bernard Baruch, the WIB coordinated the nat’l economy by making purchases, allocating supplies, and fixing prices. It also ordered the standardization of goods. Not all-powerful, though, b/c there had to be lots of compromising w/the big corporations.
Food Administration – Led by Herbert Hoover, the FA had voluntary programs [like the “victory gardens”] and other duties, like setting prices and regulating distribution.  
RRD Administration & Fuel Administration – Regulated their respective industries, fuel administration rationed gasoline as well. 
Boom Years for Farmers and Industry – One of the positive results of war production was that it allowed farmers to get mechanized [due to high demand and high prices] and led to great growth in some industries. 
Errors & Fuel Shortages – On the negative side, there were mistakes made due to the hectic pace of production and distribution, and there was a severe coal shortage which left many w/o heat in 1917-1918. 
Inflation – Increased buying [more demand than supply], liberal credit policies, and the setting of prices on raw materials rather than on finished products led to skyrocketing prices.
New Tax Policies – To pay for the war, taxes went up through laws like the Revenue Act of 1916 [raised tax on high incomes and corporate profits, added tax on large estates, and increased the tax on munitions manufacturers] and the War Revenue Act of 1917 [more income and corporate taxes]. Liberty Bonds also contributed to gov’t incomes. 
Labor Shortage – Unemployment basically vanished and wages increased [though the costs of living did too]. People rushed into the cities and into manufacturing jobs. As a result of the shortage, strikes were strongly discouraged, and the National War Labor Board was established in 1918 to coordinate management and unions. The AFL joined the NWLB, but the Socialists and IWW members still continued to agitate.  
Women in the Work Force ­– Women temporarily took over many male-dominated professions. Similarly, black women were able to take jobs formerly reserved to white women. After the war, however, women were displaced back into the home.
African American Migration to the Cities – New opportunities also appeared for blacks, and male blacks rushed into the cities to take advantage of them, regardless of the discrimination that persisted. This resulted in race riots through the “Red Summer” of 1919.  
- So, economically, the war brought increased gov’t involvement and a temporary boom in industry. 

*America on the Home Front: Civil Liberties*

- As soon as the war began, the gov’t also instituted control of rather a different sort – control of speech, and the limiting of civil liberties. Anyone who refused to support the war faced repression from the gov’t, and the issue of free speech was seen as a question of policy for the first time. For example, there was the…
Committee on Public Information – Headed by Progressive journalist George Creel, the CPI set about the making of propaganda through posters, films, pamphlets, speeches, and so on. 
Espionage Act (1917) – The EA forbade “false statements” against the draft or the military, and banned anti-war mails. 
Sedition Act (1918) – The SA made it illegal to obstruct the sale of war bonds and to use nasty language against the gov’t, Constitution, flag, or uniform. It was very vague, and allowed for plenty of gov’t intimidation. 
Imprisonment of Socialists – As a result of the new acts, IWW members and Socialists faced major problems. For example, Eugene V. Debs, the leader of the Socialist Party, was arrested for speaking about the freedom to criticize the gov’t.
Spread of Vigilante Organizations – Some people thought they would help out by…umm…helping get rid of unpatriotic people or bullying them into buying Liberty Loans and such. These organizations included the Sedition Slammers and American Defense Society.  
- These steps led to a questioning of the whole free speech thing – CO Roger Baldwin founded the Civil Liberties Bureau to defend people accused under the E/S Acts and redefined free speech as something separate from the identity of the speaker. 
- Two important SC cases also dealt w/the new developments: Schenck v. US (1919), in which Holmes upheld the EA by using the whole fire in a movie theater argument [if there is a “clear and present” danger free speech should be restricted], and Abrams v. US (1919) in which the SA was also upheld [but this time Holmes and Brandeis dissented]. 

*The American Reaction to the Bolshevik Revolution: Labor Strikes and the Red Scare* 

- Almost as a continuation of the suppression of civil liberties that occurred during the war, Americans continued to oppress radicals following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 – they worried about Bolshevism in the country, and resented Russia as a result of its separate peace w/Germany after the revolution. 
- In fact, Wilson despised the Russians so much that he even fought an undeclared war against Lenin and co. by sending military expeditions to “guard Allied supplies and rescue Czechs” in Siberia. He also refused to recognize the Bolsheviks, sent arms to their opponents, and economically blockaded Russia. 
- At home, of course, unemployment and the post-war recession contributed to anti-radical sentiment as well. In 1919, a series of labor strikes [think Boston police strike and so on, not anything that was actually radical] and an incident with mail bombs on May 1 led to the Red Scare.
- A steel strike partially led by an IWW member only made things worse by allowing leaders to label the strike a conspiracy by foreign radicals, which was not the case as the American left was actually badly split between the Communist Labor Party and the Communist Party.  
- Consequently, anti-radical elements like the American Legion joined with Wilson’s attorney general A. Mitchell Palmer, who was appointed as head of the Radical Division of the Dept. of Justice, in chasing down supposed Reds. This climaxed in the January 1920 with the Palmer Raids – gov’t agents broke in to meeting halls and homes w/o warrants and arrested lots of people. 
- The anti-red activities were regarded as anti-Constitutional by many civil libertarians, and even conservatives turned against Palmer when he asked for a peacetime sedition act. But e/t Palmer’s activities stopped for the most part in 1920, American radicalism had suffered big time. 

*America and the Postwar World*

- During the whole Red Scare deal, Wilson actually was more into internat’l relations than anything else. He began by announcing his Fourteen Points, which included self-determination, freedom of the seas, lower tariffs, arms reduction, open diplomacy, blah, blah, blah…and the League of Nations. 
- It was a nice idea and all, but when Wilson arrived in Paris in December 1918 for the Peace Conference, he had already screwed himself over in several ways – by being cocky and by not bringing any Republican Senators with him [the Republicans had swept the Congressional elections]. Another problem he faced was the fact that the other allies – France, Britain and Italy – wanted to see Germany majorily punished. 
- So, at Versailles, the Big Four met secretly, and came out w/a treaty that included the dreaded war guilt clause and huge payments for Germany. Also, it placed German/Turkish colonies under the control of other imperial nations [that was self-determination I guess] and made new democracies in Eastern Europe. 
- As for the key part, the charter for the League of Nations, Wilson came up w/a council of 5 permanent members [and some elected delegates from other states], an assembly of all members, and a world court. Most importantly, there was Article 10, a collective security provision, which made members promise to protect e/o’s territorial integrity against aggressors. Germany was forced to sign, but it still wasn’t all good…
- This was b/c there was strong opposition to the treaty at home, where Senators [and others] felt that the Versailles’ Treaty didn’t protect US interests enough, and that Article 10 was going to get the country stuck in a ton of foreign entanglements. Charges of hypocrisy were also rampant, as Wilson’s points hadn’t really been included in the Treaty. 
- There were two camps of opposition, basically: the Irreconcilables (no treaty, no way) and the Reservationists (yes, but make changes first). Senator Henry Cabot Lodge was one of those urging slight amendments to the charter, esp. making it so that Congress had to approve obligations under Article 10. 
- In response to the opposition, Wilson went on a speaking tour and pretty much out-talked himself, leading to a massive stroke. The Senate continued to reject the Treaty – Wilson refused to compromise – and so it never passed. The US eventually made a separate treaty w/Germany instead. 
- So – the point of this episode? Basically, that Americans still wanted to stick to nonalignment over collective action. As a new world power – the leading economic power, first in world trade, first in banking, and so on – we wanted to stay away from potential entanglements. 
- The disappointment about the Treaty also did two opposing things: increase the peace movement and appeals for arms control, and lead to a better trained more professional military. But the bottom line is that maybe b/c of US non-support (or at least somewhat b/c of it) the internat’l system after the war was crap. 
- Russians were pissed b/c people tried to rain on their parade – I mean, revolution; Germans were annoyed at the reparations, the Eastern European states weren’t doing so good, and there were many nat’list uprisings from the good to the bad to the downright ugly. Stay tuned for the ongoing saga…  

The Roaring Twenties (1920 – 1929) 

*Economic Trends*

- The economy is perhaps the most important aspect of the 1920s [so if you don’t read the rest read this part]. Here are some of the economic characteristics of the era:
Initial Recession Followed by Recovery – Following the end of the war, as demand dropped and soldiers returned looking for jobs, the economy faltered. Farmers were hit especially hard w/the return of worldwide competition. But w/new inventions and such, recovery was rapid, except for the farmers, who faced continued hard times. 
A Retreat From Regulation – After the war, the regulatory institutions were quickly dismantled (the ones that remained cooperated more than regulated), and the SC & Presidents went pro-business again. Some SC cases included:
Coronado Coal Co. v. United Mine Workers (1922) – Striking unions were deemed in restraint of trade. 
Maple Floor Association v. US (1929) – Anti-union groups ruled NOT to be in restraint of trade. 
Regulations on child labor and a minimum wage law for women were also overturned.
Corporate Consolidation – No regulation? Great! Let’s make big mega companies! 
Lobbying – There was also consolidation in special interest groups – professional associations and such – which resulted in the “new lobbying” where organizations sent reps to Washington to try to convince legislators to support their cause(s).  
Rampant Materialism – New products! Cars! Radios! Advertising! More purchasing power for the average individual due to technological breakthroughs! The new products even benefited the lower classes, as cities were electrified, indoor plumbing spread, and mass produced clothing and food became more affordable. 
Hard Times For Labor – In addition to the SC rulings, public opinion turned against strikers, corporations caught onto “welfare capitalism” [pensions, profit sharing, company events], and legislators ruled that open shops [which discriminated against union members] were allowed.  

*The Presidents and Political Trends*

- Basically, the 1920s Presidents were all pro-business Republicans. More specifically, they were as follows:
Warren G. Harding (1920 – 1923)  Harding was elected in 1920 on the slogan of “A Return to Normalcy” or something like that. His administration favored laissez-faire business and also streamlined federal spending [Budget and Accounting Act] and assisted farms through liberalizing credit. The main problem w/Harding was corruption, culminating in the 1923 Teapot Dome scandal, which revealed that the Secretary of Interior had accepted bribes to give gov’t property to oil companies. Harding died in office in 1923. 
Calvin Coolidge (1923 – 1924, 1924 – 1928)  “Silent Cal” took over after Harding died and was then reelected in 1924 by running on “Coolidge prosperity.” Overall, Coolidge and co. didn’t do diddly squat while in power, other than reduce debt, cut taxes, build roads, and stop the gov’t from interfering w/business. 
Herbert Hoover (1928 – 1932)  Hoover won against Democrat Alfred E. Smith [who is noteworthy as the first Catholic candidate and builder of part of the New Deal Coalition – i.e. he got the urban immigrants voting Democratic] and then proceeded to keep the cooperation between business and gov’t going strong. Everything was going great, until a slight problem came up: The Great Depression. But that’s to be continued…
- Anyway, following Coolidge’s reelection, many began to claim that Progressivism had indeed died out. On a nat’l level, it had. But remember…there was still reform going on at state & local levels – stuff like workers’ compensation, pensions, welfare, and [in cities] planning and zoning commissions. 
- Some reformers also tacked Indian affairs, as Indians were still being treated as minorities expected to assimilate [e/t the Dawes Act had failed in accomplishing that goal]. Citizenship was finally granted to Indians in 1924, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs was reorganized [not great effect though]. 
- Women also had achieved more a share in politics w/the Nineteenth Amendment (1920), which gave them suffrage – nevertheless, women were mainly kept out of power with the exception of organizations they founded themselves [League of Women Votes, National Woman’s Party].  

*Social Trends*

- Some noteworthy characteristics are as follows…
Urbanization – With consumerism and modernization there came a migration to the cities, where manufacturing jobs were more readily available. 
Great Migration and Discrimination – African Americans, especially, moved into the cities, where they were forced to squeeze into tiny sectors due to discrimination. This led to movements glorifying black racial pride/independence – like the UNIA led by Marcus Garvey, which was influential in the early 1920s before it was shut down for anarchism. 
Mexican/Puerto Rican Immigration – Mexican immigrants crowded into districts in the Southwest, and PR’s moved mainly to NYC. In both places, they created their own communities that maintained their cultures.  
Suburbia – The car made Americans take to the roads, and to the suburbs, which increasingly resisted annexation to the cities. 
Increasing Life Expectancy/Decreasing Birth Rate – People lived longer due to better nutrition and sanitation, and they had fewer kids. 
Pensions – As mentioned earlier, old age pensions were an issue during the twenties due to people living longer. Though some felt people should just save in their youth, reformers began to win out on the state level. 
New Appliances – There were fewer servants, so women managed the household on their own with the aid of the new electrical appliances.  
Employment for Women – Women continued to go into the work force, but sex segregation continued. More minority women worked than white women, as their husbands were more commonly unemployed or in low paying jobs. 
New Values – Them shockin’ young people! Smoking, drinking, swearing, and openness about sex began to become fashionable in the cities. Dear me. Then of course there was the flapper, and the new more assertive woman. 
- Out of all this, perhaps the most important thing to remember: The movement towards the suburbs and cities [as well as the radio] helped the new mass culture spread. With that…

*Cultural Trends: Popular and Otherwise*

- The 1920s witnessed the birth of a new mass culture and more leisure time for Americans. New forms of entertainment and culture included:
Movies – Silent film, then sound with The Jazz Singer. Most movies were escapist fantasies, and people flocked to see the hot new movie stars like Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo – okay, this is NOT supposed to be about that! 
Sports – With mass culture came a loss of individuality, so people looked to sports figures as representatives of the triumph of the unique individual. “Lucky Lindy” is another example of this type of hero-worship. 
Prohibition or Lack Thereof – People still drank in speakeasies and such, and all the Eighteenth Amendment did was give gangsters like Al Capone tremendous power. 
- As for literature and the arts…
The Lost Generation – Gotta love F. Scott Fitzgerald [my favorite writer, not that you care] and his cronies like Hemingway, etc. Faced w/materialism and conformity, many writers went abroad during the 1920s and wrote about America from afar. Others stayed, but still spoke about the same themes: alienation, hypocrisy, conformity, and so on. 
Harlem Renaissance – Blacks flocked to Harlem, where they established a vibrant artistic community that celebrated black culture. A big issue for intellectuals in the HR was identity. 
Jazz – A major part of the Harlem Renaissance was Jazz, which owed a lot to black culture and music. Jazz was a huge hit in the cities, and helped the recording industry greatly. 
Innovative Art/Music – The twenties were very creative, and many artists attempted new styles, like Georgia O’Keefe in painting, Aaron Copland and George Gershwin in music, and Frank Lloyd Wright and his “prairie-style houses” in architecture. 

*The Conservative Reaction*

- The new ideas quickly proceeded to scare the crap out of many older, rural Americans. This lead to a reaction, as illustrated by the: 
Return of the KKK – In 1915, the KKK was reestablished as an organization that not only targeted blacks, but also Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and so forth. “Native white Protestant supremacy” basically sums up their motives, which they used vigilante justice, terror, and political pressure to achieve. 
Intolerance/Racism – In general, this was a big problem, as exemplified by Madison Grant’s book The Passing of the Great Race (1916).
Immigration Quotas – In addition to racism, there was the ever present concern about lower wages and unemployment. Laws included:
Quota (Johnson) Act (1921) – Immigration of a given nationality can’t exceed 3% per year of the immigrants in the nation from that nationality in 1910. This hurt immigrants from southern/eastern Europe. 
Immigration (Johnson-Reid) Act (1924) – 2% of each nationality from 1890, and a total limit for all nationalities. 
National Origins Act (1929) – New quotas in proportion to the origins of American people in 1920. 
Fear of Immigrants & Radicalism – The big example here is the Sacco-Vanzetti Case, in which two Italian immigrants [anarchists, too] were convicted of murder w/o real evidence. Appeals and protests failed, and they were executed in 1927. 
Fundamentalism – People freaked at the new materialism, and ran to their Bibles, which they decided to interpret literally. This led to clashes with science, most memorably in the Scopes Trial, where a teacher was tried for teaching evolution to students, which was illegal in his state. Bryan took the prosecution, and civil liberties lawyers led by Clarence Darrow took the defense. Scopes was convicted, but Bryan and co. came out looking pretty foolish [though this didn’t stop them from continuing to pass restrictions on teaching evolution. Okay, stop studying now and go watch Inherit the Wind!
Revivalism – Using advertising and the radio, preachers spread emotional religious messages across the country. Civic organizations also grew stronger. 
- So that’s that – the twenties as a battleground between the new mass culture and the reactionary elements. No, it was, really! 

The Great Depression (1929 – 1941)

*Causes of the Great Depression*

- On October 24, 1929 (“Black Thursday”) there was an initial panic, which was rescued by a bunch of bankers who bought stocks to bring the prices back up. Once the news got out, though, there was another crash, on October 29 (“Black Tuesday”). Why did it happen? Several reasons:
Overproduction/Underconsumption – Basically, companies expanded to such a degree that they had to keep producing more and cutting wages in order to keep their profits up. By cutting wages, however, they reduced purchasing power and thus limited the amount of goods they sold, so there was all this extra stuff lying around causing problems for companies.  
Corporate Debt – Companies overextended themselves and lied about their assets to get loans, which got the banking system all screwed up. 
Speculation – Ah, does this sound familiar? In addition to heavy investment by companies, people were buying on margin (put a down payment on stocks w/o having the money to pay the full amount, then buy more stocks on the profits), so when people tried to sell what they had bought on margin to minimize their losses prices collapsed and brokers were put into big trouble since they didn’t actually have the $ to pay people with. 
Lack of Recovery in Farming – Farmers never recovered from the post-war recession, as they faced a return of foreign competition and were often unable to repay their debts. 
Internat’l Problems – Following the war the US upped tariffs, which caused Europeans to stop buying our goods.
Gov’t Policies – The gov’t followed very lassiez-faire policies w/easy credit and low discount rates, which stimulated the speculation mania. 
- Then, as the 1930s began, things just seemed to get worse and worse, as banks collapsed, people lost their money and jobs, and “Hoovervilles” formed in major cities. Farm prices dropped even more, and entire families ended up leaving their homes in search of better times. 

*Hoover’s Response*

- Poor Herbert Hoover was the guy who got stuck w/dealing w/the result of a decade of crazed speculation. At first, urged by Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, he did nothing, assuming it was just a natural boom-and-bust thing and that welfare would undermine American individualism. 
- As things worsened, however, Hoover began to ask for promises from companies not to lower wages and ask for public works projects from state governors. Additionally, he created some new institutions (to varying results) as follows:
POUR (President’s Organization on Unemployment Relief) – Asked for private donations for relief, but not very successful. 
Hoover/Grand Coulee Dams – This was more successful, as Hoover’s encouragement of public works did indeed provide new jobs. 
Federal Farm Board (created in 1929 under the Agricultural Marketing Act) – The FFB lent money to cooperatives so they could buy crops and thus keep them off the market.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation – Theoretically, through lending money to groups at the top of the economy, the RFC was going to help people all over (filter-down system), but it didn’t work. 
- But on the other hand, there was the Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930) i.e. one of the biggest mistakes ever, as it raised tariffs ultra high and therefore totally killed off foreign trade. To balance the budget, Hoover then decreased expenditures and increased taxes (Revenue Act of 1932). Wow, somebody slap him! 
- The basic problem was this: Hoover was too much of a traditionalist to give up the balanced budget idea (he vetoed a bunch of relief bills for this reason, and he also refused to repeal Prohibition). But as far as he could w/o giving that up, he did try to reform, so he can be thought of as a bridge between the 20s and FDR.
 
*The Presidential Election of 1932*

- The Republicans ran Hoover, e/t he was pretty much screwed due to his poor leadership abilities (no inspiring speeches and such), while the Democrats picked New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who supported direct relief payments for the unemployed and extensive public works as governor. 
- In order to find a good platform, Roosevelt gathered a “Brain Trust” of lawyers and university professors. Together, they decided that the gov’t had to regulate business and restore purchasing power to the masses by cutting production, which would lead to rising prices and rising wages (“economics of scarcity”). 
- But Roosevelt also believed in direct unemployment relief and repealing prohibition, which, when combined with the whole Bonus Army debacle in 1932 (where WWI vets marched to Washington to ask for their pensions and had the army turn on them), led to a landslide victory for him. 

*FDR’s First Term: The First Hundred Days and the New Deal*

- So, other than proclaim that we have nothing to fear but fear itself (in FDR’s inaugural address), which helped people stop freaking out, what the heck did FDR do? Let’s see…
Bank Holiday – Right after being sworn in, FDR declared a four day bank holiday and called Congress for an emergency session (which would start the New Deal). The first measure was the Emergency Banking Relief Bill, which provided for the reopening of solvent banks and the reorganization of screwed up ones, and prohibited the hoarding of gold. It was still sort of conservative, though, b/c it left the same bankers in charge. 
Economy Act – This act balanced the budget by reducing veterans’ pensions and federal employees’ pay. 
Fireside Chats – These began in March 1933, and began with a message urging Americans to return their savings to banks, which they promptly did.  
Beer-Wine Revenue Act – This deflationary measure imposed new taxes on the sale of wines/beers. The repeal of Prohibition had been passed as the Twenty-First Amendment.
Agricultural Adjustment Act – Meant to restore farmers’ purchasing power, the AAA had the gov’t pay farmers to reduce the amount of crops sold (this would increase prices). The support payments would be funded by taxes on processors of farm goods. This act raised a lot of opposition from people urging more money instead of fewer goods. 
Farm Credit Act & Home Owners Refinancing Act – The FCA provided short/medium loans to farmers so that they could keep their land, and the HORA helped home mortgages. 
Public Works – The CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) put many young men to work, as did the PWA (Public Works Administration, established as part of the NIRA) and the TVA. 
Federal Emergency Relief Act – This authorized a bunch of aid money to state/local gov’ts. 
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) – This was the AAA for industry, and it established the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which regulated business through establishing fair production codes, limiting production and pricing, and guaranteeing the right of workers to unionize and bargain collectively. 
Federal Securities Act & Banking Act of 1933 – The FSA enforced rules among brokers, and the Banking Act set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure bank deposits. The US was also taken off the gold standard, so the Federal Reserve Board could expand the currency in circulation. 
- Believe it or not, all those bills were passed in the Hundred Days, and they saved the nation from hysteria and panic. Other bills passed after in FDR’s first term include: the Commodity Credit Corporation (lent farmers money for keeping underpriced crops off the market), the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Taylor Act (established federal supervision of public lands). 

*Opposition to the New Deal*

- Although the Democrats won big time in the Congressional elections in 1934 and the New Deal had made major progress, the problem was far from solved, and once there was partial recovery, people started whining about FDR’s policies. 
- Many conservatives, for instance, said there was too much regulation, taxation, and government spending. The American Liberty League (conservative Democrats and corporation leaders) led this with calls that the New Deal was destroying the American individualistic tradition. 
- On the flip side, some farmers/laborers and such felt the NRA set prices too high (favored big business) and that the AAA was no good b/c it led to waste when people were starving and didn’t encourage landlords to keep their tenant farmers, as was hoped. 
- Then there were a series of demagogic attacks – i.e. people who went around conveniently blaming everything on some big power elites. Examples of these people include:
Father Charles Coughlin: A Roman Catholic priest who specialized in anti-communism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Semitism – “conspiracy of Jewish bankers.”
Francis Townsend: Old Age Revolving Pensions Plan, where the gov’t would give old people $ on the condition they spend it fast (to pump $ into the economy). 
Huey Long: “Every Man a King, but No One Wears a Crown.” At first a ND supporter, Long switched to the idea of the Share Our Wealth Society in 1934, which was basically a 100% tax rate on incomes over a million. Long was on the way up politically, but was assassinated. 
- Of course, there were also socialists and the new Communist Party of the US, which had changed its strategy to supporting a “Popular Front” instead of trying to overthrow the gov’t. 
- The biggest threat to the ND, though, was actually the Supreme Court, which felt the new legislation gave the President too much power. So in Schechter v. US (1935) they got rid of the NIRA (federal gov’t has no right to regulate intrastate business), and in US v. Butler the AAA was invalidated for the same reason. 

*The Second New Deal and Roosevelt’s Second Term*

- As the election of 1936 approached, FDR was worried that his ND coalition was breaking up, so he decided to take the initiative again in 1935 and pass a bunch of new laws now referred to as the Second New Deal. The SND differed from the first b/c it bashed business more instead of cooperating w/it. 
- Programs in the Second New Deal included:
Emergency Relief Appropriation Act – Let the President establish big public works programs for the unemployed, like the Resettlement Administration, Rural Electrification Administration, and the Nat’l Youth Administration. 
Works Progress/Projects Administration (WPA) – Funded by the ERAA, the WPA was a major public works organization and also sponsored cultural programs that brought art to the people by employing artists, ex. Federal Writers Program, which was accused by some as being left-wing propaganda (since most involved were decidedly to the left). 
National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act – This act established the National Labor Relations Board, which was empowered to guarantee democratic union elections and stop unfair labor practices, like the firing of union members. 
Social Security Act – This act established old-age insurance in which workers paid taxes out of their wages, which were then matched by their employers and stored for use as benefits starting at age 65. The act also included other federal/state welfare programs. 
Public Utility Holding Company (Wheeler-Rayburn) Act & Wealth Tax Act – The tax act raised income taxes on rich people. 
- Then the Presidential Election of 1936 rolled around, and FDR totally creamed the Republican nominee, and the Democrats gained in the Congress too. FDR’s supporters are known as the New Deal Coalition, and they consisted of urban (immigrant) workers, organized labor, the “Solid South,” and northern blacks. 
- In FDR’s second term, however, the momentum of the ND started to fizzle out – partially b/c of FDR’s own actions, like the whole Court-Packing fiasco – FDR tried to use the Judiciary Reorganization Bill (1937) to allow him to add judges when old ones failed to retire (he wanted ND judges). But there was too much opposition and he had to settle w/providing pensions to retiring judges to encourage them to leave. 
- Another problem was the “relapse” of 1937 – 1939, which was partially caused by FDR’s retightening of credit and cutbacks on federal spending. After that, FDR soon resumed deficit spending. Still, the ND was threatened in 1937/1938 as people suggested diverging paths for reform. And, in the end, FDR simply chose deficit financing to stimulate demand, and then dropped off on reforming around 1939 w/the war. 
- The last important ND acts were: National Housing Act (1937), a new Agricultural Adjustment Act (1938), and the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938). 

*Labor during the Great Depression*

- The Wagner Act, which gave workers the right organize unions and bargain collectively, was a big help to the labor movement, of course, although management still resisted by using the police to intimidate workers and stop strikes. 
- Another problem was the competition between the AFL (craft unions) and the new industrial unions, which represented all workers in a given industry, skilled or unskilled. Attempts to join the two types of organizations together failed. 
- In 1935 John L. Lewis then quit the AFL and formed the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), which led to the AFL then suspending the CIO unions, so the two separated totally. The CIO then went on to become a very pragmatic, influential organization that relied on new tactics like sit-down strikes. 
- Management still sometimes resorted to violence, though, like in the Memorial Day Massacre, which occurred when strikers in front of the Republic Steel plant in Chicago were shot by the police in 1937. 

*Racism during the Great Depression*

- African Americans, like the rest of the country, were hurt by the GD, as they were pushed deeper into poverty and segregation, as black unemployment rates were higher than for whites. Hoover was quite insensitive to race issues; he even tried to appoint an SC justice who supported black disenfranchisement.  
- Scottsboro Trial (1931) – Nine black teens were arrested for throwing white hoboes off a train and were then accused and convicted (by a white jury) of rape. An SC ruling intervened, but they were still imprisoned. 
- Organizations like the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and the militant Harlem Tenants League fought for civil rights and attacked discrimination, but they were for the most part ignored. NAACP lawyers, however, still made some gains in the SC ruling in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1938). 
- Then, with FDR’s election, blacks generally switched to the Democratic side, mainly b/c of the relief programs. FDR also had a “Black Cabinet,” as there had never been so many black advisers before. 
- Still, FDR didn’t really care for black civil rights (he was also afraid of alienating voters in the South), so ND welfare programs often ended up excluded blacks from working or receiving aid. These inconsistencies spurred blacks to seek direct action, as they knew they couldn’t really rely on gov’t support. 
- March on Washington Movement (1941) – In response to discrimination in the new jobs in the war industries, Randolph (leader of the porters’ union) came up with a huge march. Afraid it would lead to riots, FDR then promised to outlaw discrimination in war industries in exchange for a cancellation of the march. 
- Executive Order No. 8802 – In exchange for the cancellation of the march, FDR established the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC). 
- Native Americans also were hurt even more by the GD, especially so b/c there had been a 1929 ruling that landless tribes couldn’t receive federal aid, so they had to wait until 1931, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs was finally given more money for relief. 
- Indians actually benefited from the ND approach once it started: In 1934 the Indian Reorganization (Wheeler-Howard) Act restored lands to tribal ownership and outlawed its future division. And finally, under John Collier (he ran the BIA during the ND), Indian culture got some respect. 
- Mexican-Americans, however, were majorily screwed during the GD b/c no gov’t programs helped them out since they were migratory farm workers. Only the Farm Securities Administration (1937) did something by setting up migratory labor camps, but it was too little too late.  
Foreign Policy in the Interwar Years (1920 – 1941)

*1920 – 1930: Independent Internationalism and Idealism*

- In the interwar years, there is a great tendency to classify American foreign policy as isolationist. It wasn’t. Independent internat’lism is a better description – we kept our independence (unilateralism) but did become involved around the world through diplomacy, our economic interests, etc. 
- Although we rejected the League of Nations, which turned out to be quite weak both because we ignored it and because its members refused to actually use it mediate disputes, Wilsonianism lived on through American peace organizations, which were especially popular among women. 
- Some of the peace associations’ idealistic goals are reflected in a series of treaties/agreements:
Washington Conference (1921 – 1922): In a series of conferences, delegates from several powers discussed naval disarmament. Three treaties were promulgated establishing ratios of naval power – the Five-Power Treaty (battleships, 5:3:1.75 ratio), the Nine-Power Treaty (Open Door China), and the Four-Power Treaty (possessions in the Pacific). However, there was no limit on other stuff or enforcement clauses.
Locarno Pact (1925): Series of agreements that tried to reduce tension between Germany and France. 
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928): Outlawed war. Too bad it didn’t work out. 
- Additionally, throughout the 1920s Secretary of State Hughes felt that American economic expansion could help promote prosperity worldwide, eliminating the need for war. So the American Relief Administration delivered food to Europe both to stimulate growth and hopefully stop radicalism. 

*1920 – 1930: Economic/Cultural Expansion and the Great Depression*

- Following WWI, the US was a creditor nation and the financial capital of the world. In addition to giving us power internationally this made it easier for us to spread our culture – Coca-Cola, movies, mass-production, and so on. 
- The government helped the process of US economic and cultural expansion along…
Webb-Pomerene Act (1918): Excluded companies set up for export trade from antitrust laws.
Edge Act (1919): Allowed American banks to open foreign branches.
The Dept. of Commerce also took it upon itself to gather information abroad. Foreign loans by American investors were also encouraged. 
- Europeans watched nervously, and were just a little pissed about the US handling of WWI debts, which it insisted on collecting in full. 
- The big issue really lay with Germany’s huge bills, which it began defaulting on due to inflation. US bankers then loaned money to Germany, which went to the Allies, and then back to the US. The Dawes Plan (1924) increased the cycle by providing more loans and reducing the yearly repayment. 
- Then in 1928/1929, Americans stopped investing abroad and concentrated more on the stock market at home. The Young Plan (1928) reduced Germany’s reparations but was too little too late. 
- The Great Depression brought the world economy to a standstill, and when Hoover declared a moratorium on payments in 1931, hardly any of the money had been repaid. Annoyed, we passed the Johnson Act (1934) forbidding loans to gov’ts not paying back. 
- As the depression got worse, we exacerbated international problems by upping tariffs: Fordney-McCumber Act (1922) and Hawley-Smoot Act (1930). World trade declined, hurting all involved. 
- Finally, in 1934 we passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, which empowered the president to reduce tariffs through special agreements with foreign countries (most-favored-nation-principle entitled us to the lowest tariff rate set by any nation with which a friend nation had an agreement).  
- The Export-Import Bank (1934) also helped things along by providing loans to foreigners for the purchase of American goods. In the long term, this stimulated trade and so forth. Still, in the short term, even the new economic programs had only mixed results. Uh oh…

*1920 – 1930: US Hegemony in Latin America*

- In the early 20th century, we had majorily gotten involved in Latin America through the Platt Amendment (Cuba, all treaties must have US approval, US basically controls gov’t), the Roosevelt Corollary (US as police power), the Panama Canal, and so on. 
- This only increased after WWI, when we became involved in numerous aspects of Latin American life. Basically, we built stuff, changed tariff laws, invited companies in, and got rid of people we didn’t like, among other things. We occupied (at one time or another) Cuba, DR, Haiti, Panama & Nicaragua. PR was a colony.
- Criticism of our domination, however, also increased in the interwar years. Some charged that presidents were taking too much power in ordering troops abroad w/o a declaration of war, and business people worried that LA nationalists would get mad at their products too. And then talk about a double standard…
- Consequently, in the interwar years we shifted from military intervention to other methods: Pan-Americanism, support for local leaders, training nat’l guards, economic/cultural power, etc. E/t this didn’t start w/him, FDR wrapped it up nicely in 1933 by calling it the Good Neighbor Policy (nice imperialism).  
- In order to avoid having to use our military power, we trained people to do it for us (nat’l guards) and supported dictators [“He may be a SOB, but he is our SOB” – FDR]…
Dominican Republic – When we left in 1924, we gave them a present: a national guard and, soon enough, a nasty dictator who ruled until 1961, Trujillo. 
Nicaragua – Troops occupied from 1912 – 1925 and then returned for the civil war in 1926. We left as a result of anti-imperialist opposition, but left behind (again) a nat’l guard headed by Somoza, who ruled (horribly) until 1979. 
Haiti – Troops occupied from 1915 – 1934 and were their biggest trading partners. When we left, the country remained in a horrible condition, not that we gave a crap.  
Cuba – In 1933 Cubans rebelled against our dictator Machado, and the nat’lists took over and in defiance of the Platt Amendment. Naturally, we helped Batista overthrow the gov’t in 1934, and until 1959 we kept Cubans dependent on our economy, etc.  
Puerto Rico – E/t the Jones Act (1916) had made PRs US citizens, we didn’t like the idea of statehood or independence, and didn’t really give PR many of the ND programs. Both Nationalist and Popular Democratic Parties developed, and the argument continues until today about what status PR should have. 
Mexico – Wilson sent troops in 1914/1916 to deal w/the Revolution’s Anti-Americanism, but it only made it worse, and in 1917 the gov’t stated all land/water belonged to the nation (not to US corporations), so there were some problems w/US interests. Then in 1938 the gov’t expropriated the property of all foreign-owned oil companies. The US then reduced purchases from Mexico until a 1942 agreement had the US accept Mexican ownership of raw materials in exchange for compensation for lost US company property. Basically, they declared their independence (somewhat) from US hegemony. Go Mexico! 
- The Good Neighbor policy was also expressed through Pan-Americanism – i.e. we endorsed non-intervention, whatever that’s worth. This was what helped us get the Latin American regimes’ support during WWII (the ones we didn’t control by default, that is). 

*The 1930s: The Prelude to World War in Europe*

- This is EHAP stuff, but to make a long story very short: Hitler was a nasty man who came to power in Germany in 1933. He then proceeded to withdraw from the League of Nations, stop paying reparations, and rearm. He sucked up to Mussolini, and then marched back into the Rhineland in 1936.
- The Rome-Berlin Axis was formed in 1936, and Germany and Japan joined in the Anti-Comintern Pact. Britain and France went for appeasement, letting Hitler get away with supporting Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939), and eat up parts of Czechoslovakia (Munich Conference). 
- Hitler then signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939, and started looking at Poland, which Britain and France vowed to defend. So on September 1, 1939, when Hitler launched blitzkrieg against Poland, WWII began. 
- During the 1930s, as far as we were concerned, the Soviets were also pretty rotten. We refused to open diplomatic relations w/the USSR for a while (“godless commies”).
- When trade began to fall, however, business leaders wanted access to new markets, which led FDR to grant the USSR recognition in 1933. Relations then deteriorated, especially after the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact. 
 
*The 1930s: Isolationism and Neutrality*

- As Europe got increasingly screwed up, our immediate response was, “Oh hell. Not again!” Isolationism was the order of the day in the 1930s. We intervened as little as possible militarily and kept our freedom of action in international relations until we had to do otherwise. We (thought) we had learned from WWI. 
- Not all isolationists thought alike, obviously: Conservatives feared higher taxes and more presidential power, Liberals worried about war killing reform and obsession over the military instead of on domestic problems, and many worried about loss of freedoms at home. 
- E/t isolationism was strongest among anti-British groups (like the Germans or the Irish), it basically was a nationwide thing that cut across party, race, and class lines. 
- Some isolationists also charged that big business had self-interestedly promoted war back in WWI, and this led to the Nye Committee Hearings (1934 – 1936), in which evidence was uncovered that showed corporations had bribed foreign politicians to buy more arms. 
- As a result, many grew suspicious of American business ties that could endanger neutrality this time around. This led to a series of new and improved neutrality acts that hoped to avoid the pitfalls that had caused involvement in WWI. As follows:
Neutrality Act of 1935: Prohibited arms shipments to either side in a war once the president had declared the existence of belligerency. 
Neutrality Act of 1936: No loans to belligerents. 
Neutrality Act of 1937: Cash-and-Carry principle – warring nations trading w/the US had to pay cash for their nonmilitary purchases and carry the goods in their own ships. Also, Americans were prohibited from going on ships of the nations.
- For a long period in the 1930s, FDR was pretty isolationist, and wanted to focus on problems at home. Nevertheless, he ordered the largest peacetime defense budget ever in 1935, and was privately annoyed at Britain and France for not tackling the problem. 
- By 1939 FDR asked Congress to repeal the arms embargo and let the cash-and-carry principle work for munitions. The embargo was lifted in November, and FDR continued to gradually push towards more involvement.  

*The 1930s: Crises in Asia*

- Not wanting to be left out of the mess, Asia promptly followed Europe in getting itself screwed up. Unlike Europe, though, we had major interest in Asia – our islands, religious missionaries, trade, and the Open Door in China. 
- As we became extra friendly w/the Chinese (under Jiang), the Japanese liked us less and less, as they had decided that they (not the US) would control Asia and exploit (I mean, use) other countries’ raw materials. The Japanese also weren’t so happy about the fact that we excluded them from coming to the US in 1924. 
- So commercial and military rivalry between the US and Japan continued. Things got even worse in 1931 when the Japanese seized Manchuria. We didn’t have enough power to stop them, the LON did nothing, and they got away with it. Our only response was the Stimson Doctrine – we won’t recognize any impairment of China’s sovereignty, but we won’t talk about enforcement b/c we can’t. 
- Then in 1937 the Sino-Japanese War began. FDR got away with giving arms to China by refusing to acknowledge the existence of war. FDR also made a speech in 1937 calling for a “quarantine” to stop the “epidemic of world lawlessness” – a definite shift towards more interventionist policies, in theory. 
- In practice, though, after the Japanese “accidentally” sank the Panay in December, we just waited for Tokyo to apologize. For them, it was just a test of how ready and willing we were to fight. 
- Anyhow, the whole idea of Japan’s Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and “New Order” scared the crap out of us, so we continued to give loans and munitions to China and embargoed shipments of airplanes to Japan. However, we kept shipping them other stuff, even up to 1939. 

*1931 – 1941: Things Get Ugly*

- Even in 1939, most Americans wanted to remain at peace. There was an unusually high level of public interest, and more Americans than ever spoke out on foreign policy, mainly b/c of radio, and the ethnic affiliations of immigrants. 
- Gradually, however, especially with the fall of France in June 1940, Americans began to change their minds (mainly liberals). FDR tried one last time to bring everyone to the peace table, but still waited for some incident to bring us in to the war. In 1940, he ran with promises of peace. 
- In the meantime, he helped the Allies by selling surplus military equipment to them. He also passed the Selective Training and Service Act, the first peacetime draft. Mainly, though, he claimed if that the US could stay out by helping Britain win. 
- The Lend-Lease Act of 1941 further helped the British (and Soviets) by allowing them to borrow money to buy weapons, and the US Navy patrolled halfway to Britain to ensure delivery of the goods. Then in August Churchill and FDR met on a battleship and issued the Atlantic Charter, a Wilsonian set of war aims. 
- The US entered into an undeclared naval war w/Germany following the Greer Incident, in which a German sub shot at (but missed) the Greer. This gave FDR an excuse to get the US Navy to shoot on sight, and have American warships take British merchant ships across the ocean. 
- Following the Greer, there was also the Kerney (they fired at our destroyer) and the Reuben James (they sank our destroyer) incidents. Consequently, Congress got rid of the cash-and-carry policy and allowed the US to ship munitions to Britain on armed merchant ships. 

*Pearl Harbor and US Entry into the War*

- FDR actually hadn’t wanted to get involved with Asia at all, e/t he did embargo shipments of fuel and metal to Japan after the Tripartite Pact (September 1940), and once Japan occupied French Indochina in 1941, trade was ended altogether with Japan. 
- Tokyo proposed a meeting, but the US rejected the idea, instead simply demanding that the Japanese agree to keep the Open Door in China (basically, to get out). FDR still saw Europe as more important, so he told his advisers to keep talks going to give him time to fortify the Philippines. 
- Tokyo was getting impatient, though, and soon rejected demands to withdraw from Indochina. And e/t we had cracked their secret code, the Japanese found a way to completely surprise us on that day that will “live in infamy,” December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor. 
- FDR asked and got a declaration of war, which, three days later, brought Germany and Italy in against the US. We signed allegiance to the Atlantic Charter, and joined the war…