Unit+7

FDR described US as **arsenal of democracy,** where US would promote+protect democracy through whatever means necessary - supplying weaponry or money, etc.


 * Reasons the US Joined WWII:**
 * 1) bombing @ Pearl Harbor
 * 2) Axis powers were violating sovereignty of countries & international law (Treaty of Versailles)
 * 3) Axis powers were beating US's closest trade partners
 * 4) moral cause : democracy v. dictatorship (citizens' rights)

3/9/11
 * New Deal DBQ Thesis**: From 1929 to 1941, the Great Depression dragged on, and although the Roosevelt administration was effective in lifting up the hopes of many Americans and increasing the role of government power in public life with a great amount of government spending, they were actually ineffective in their overall goal of getting the US economy back into shape.


 * Open Response Thesis:**
 * From 1845 to 1861, the balance of free and slave states resulted in controversy as new western states were added to the US. Compromises made to equalize the balance, such as the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, resulted in violence that eventually led to the Union's downfall in the Civil War.
 * During World War II, the United States home front created such hostility towards people of Japanese culture, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor, that even laws were made to separate them from each other in "relocation centers". Those of Jewish decent also

3/11/10 XVII. World War II, 1931-1945 1. Prior to American involvement in both the First and Second World Wars, the U.S. adopted an official policy of neutrality. __Compare__ the policy and its modifications during the period 1914-1917 to the policy and its modifications during the period 1939-1941. (1982, question 5)
 * 1914-1917 (WWI) : Wilson declared neutrality in US, but later on the US ended up leaning more towards Britain's side b/c of economic ties to Britain, how Germans sank //Lusitania// (with Americans in the ship) using submarine warfare, & the Zimmerman telegram
 * 1939-1941 ( WWII) : Neutrality Act of 1939 that prohibited helping either side, but once again they ended up leaning more towards Britain's side by helping them with **lend-lease and cash-and-carry policies**
 * WWII they tried to stay a little bit more neutral
 * During both World Wars, the United States originally declared neutrality as a way of dealing with war while still profiting off of war supplies. Prior to entering World War II, the US began to modify their policies with cash-and-carry and lend-lease so that
 * **in terms of comparison, they were pretty similar ; US was declaring neutrality but modified their positions so that they could help Britain more**

2. "Vice Presidents who have succeeded to the presidency on the death of the President have been less effective in their conduct of domestic AND foreign policy than the men they replaced." Assess the validity of this statement for any TWO of the following pairs. William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S Truman John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson (1989, question 6)
 * statement is false in case of Theodore Roosevelt, b/c he was more effective than McKinley
 * when Truman took over for FDR the statement was somewhat true b/c he began

3. The United States decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a diplomatic measure calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post-Second-World-War era rather than a strictly military measure designed to force Japan's unconditional surrender. Evaluate this statement using the documents and your knowledge of the military and diplomatic history of the years 1939 through 1947. (1988, DBQ)


 * [[image:http://info.umkc.edu/womenc/files/2010/03/wasp-wwii.jpg?w=300 width="450" height="349" caption="Women served in several important roles throughout the war. Most served as "government girls" back at the home front, but there were indeed a few women who were more proactive in the war effort - as seen in the picture with the four women aviators."]]**

The Cold War (1945-1990) :**


 * Berlin wall becomes key symbol of Cold War, until it came down when the USSR collasped
 * not JUST US + USSR : many other countries in play during war (ex. China, Cuba, Korea, parts of South America, any democratic country, etc.)
 * USSR = communism + dictatorship
 * US = capitalism (mixed - some gov. intervention in economy : laws, rules, regulations, taxes, etc) + representative democracy

Stalin-led Russia : - Trotskyists = Stalin-opposers - "Stalism" - "Marxism-Leninism" - Marxism had to do w/ class warfare (upper class v. lower class, w/ working class eventually establishing classless society where there is more equality) - gov. would plan economy - Khrushchev = Stalin replacement who was key player after Stalin in Cold War - **"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."** - Stalin claimed to be a real follower of Lenin (the ruler of USSR before him who created Soviet Communist Party) From Wikispace on "Stalism": - The main contributions of Stalin to communist theory were: - Stalinism has been described as being synonymous with totalitarianism, or a tyrannical regime. The term has been used to describe regimes that fight political dissent through violence, imprisonment, and killings - abandoned capitalist-like New Economic Policy (in Great Turn)
 * The groundwork for the Soviet policy concerning nationalities, laid in Stalin's 1913 work //[|Marxism and the National Question]//, praised by Lenin.
 * '[|Socialism in One Country]'
 * The theory of [|aggravation of the class struggle along with the development of socialism], a theoretical base supporting the repression of political opponents as necessary.

3/21/11 By the time the Korean War ended, it seemed clear that the Soviet Union was winning the Cold War. The USSR was able to keep a stalemate in Korea. They continued to spead communism throughout the world, especially China's new government. It gave the USSR a major ally, especially since America's MacArthur threatened them. The US practice of containment did actually work in Korea, but communism still wasn't eliminated. Besides, the USSR had more of an upper hand during the war since they were fighting in northern Korea, which is closer to them than southern Korea is to the US.
 * As of 1953 (the end of the Korean War), who was winning the Cold War?**



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3/30/11
 * Truman Presidency Video:**
 * Democrat, 60 yrs old, from Missouri
 * before he was a farmer w/ common sense
 * honest, down-to-earth, willing to do whatever was right no matter what
 * faced w/ Manhattan Project where he had to decide whether to set the bombs in Japan -- decion defined his presidency
 * gathered "wise men" to help decide how to deal w/ USSR's communism ; ended up w/ Truman Doctrine stating containment
 * Marshall Plan reconstructed Europe -- success
 * believed there was "no justifiable reason for discrimination" --- integrated armed forces (but lost a lot of Southern Democrats)
 * "unyielding misery" in 2nd term
 * Chinese Revolution + USSR's attempts to make bombs
 * French v. communists in southeast Asia in Vietnam War where US supported French
 * corruption in many agencies of the executive branch
 * only appreciated years after presidency, not immediate though


 * Eisenhower Presidency Video:**
 * Rep., 62 yrs old
 * mastermind of D-Day : military celebrity
 * "hidden hand presidency" -- he called the shots
 * forged armistice to end Korean War
 * downsized military
 * Federal Highway Act = major transportation development
 * tried to avoid nuclear war, which is ironic since he used to be the one to wage war
 * //Brown v. Board of Education// : allowed segregation in schools -- Eisenhower publicly distanted himself from the case
 * supporter of creation of Bank of Vietnam & contined to help Vietnam from communism
 * growing civil rights unrest
 * USSR launched satellite + Fidel Castro revolutionized Cuba -- made US threatened by USSR