1. What were the causes of the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression?
- Company profits went down when supply exceeded demand; people had all they wanted and stopped buying
- People buy on margin (10% of stocks real value); stocks were grossly inflated (didn't have real value)
- Government didn't have rules regulating the stock market
- Brokers- people who give loans to banks (bankers bank), went broke when the people they gave loans to couldn't pay them back
- Federal Reserve failed to help the banks
- Spiral Era: Stock market crash, bank failure, business failure, loss of jobs, business failure, loss of jobs....
2. What impact did the stock market crash and Great Depression have on the lives of people in the United States?
- Lost their possessions to banks
- Unemployment rose to 25%
- Lost jobs to vicious cycle- companies lost money, laid people off, they couldn't buy products, companies lost more money, laid more people off, the cycle continues
- Widespread panic, crimes, suicide
- Mass migration- people moved to cities to try and find jobs
- Family status: Less divorce (it takes $), children couldn't afford education, teen boys left home to find jobs
- Government got bigger and stronger
3. What did the United States government do to help alleviate the problems the Great Depression brought to our country?
Under President Hoover:
- Rugged individualism- vetoed acts that would help the poor directly
- Hawley Smoot Tariff- encourage Americans to buy American-made goods
- Reconstruction Finance Cooperation- gave money to rich with trickle down theory in mind (rich make jobs for poor)
- Didn't do too well; Congress only accepted 70% of Hoover's ideas
Under President Roosevelt (New Deal):
- Unemployed:
- Public Works Administration (PWA)- put lots of money into economy to create jobs
- Civil Works Administration (CWA)- same as PWA, but with higher wages in mind; didn't last long
- Works Progress Administration (WPA)- created jobs biased on construction: airports, highways, bridges, dams, schools, parks, etc.
- Young People:
- Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)- created jobs for young men
- National Youth Administration (NYA)- part of WPA, helped men AND women provide for schooling and get jobs
- Women: worked hard; "No housewife lost her job in the Great Depression"
- Poor:
- CWA, PWA, and WPA helped the poor get jobs, money and homes
- SSA (social security admin) placed taxes on income for when you retire or die
Energy:
- REA (Rural Electrification Agency), made sure rural areas got electricity (helped businesses)
Labor Unions:
- NIRA (National Industry Recovery Act), president could regulate the economy; Labor Unions became legal
- Wagner Act/FLSA, collective bargaining- employees met with employers to negotiate wages and hours
Homeowners:
- United States Housing Authority, lent money to states or communities for low-cost construction (50% down payment, rest paid over 5-10 years)
African-Americans:
- African-Americans with jobs were fired to allow whites to get jobs; NRA supported this
- They were rarely given loans
- New Deal did little to help them
Stock Market:
- 1920's- highly invested in
- Late 20's- bobbed up and down
- 1929- crash
- Security and Exchange Commission- regulates commerce in stocks; makes sure companies were truthful in their profits
- Banks:
- Glass Steagall Act- separates commercial banks
- Banking holiday declared to end bank runs
- Roosevelt encourages people to trust the banks and not to fear
- Federal reserve made, but failed to back up banks
4. What were the causes of WWII (In Europe/Asia/U.S.)?
Europe:
- Treaty of Versailles- Hitler came to power and broke the treaty
- Great Britain and France allowed Germany to conquer nearby lands and grow its military
- League of Nations failed (no military might)
- True start of WWII: Germany invades Poland
Asia:
- The Great Depression- in order to gain resources, Japan had to invade other lands
- Japan invaded China in 1937
United States:
- Pearl Harbor- Japanese attack the naval base at Hawaii; US had been tough regarding peace agreements
5. What impact did the United States have on WWII?
- Production- US produced more goods than any other country
- Provided lots of money and supplies to Allies
- Deployed lots of troops
- Helped develop A-bomb and new medicines
6. What were the goals for the US during the Cold War?
3 things:
-stop the spread of communism
-promote democracy
-promote world trade (prevent depression)
7. What were some of the major events that took place during the Cold War?
Berlin Blockade/airlift: Russians wanted control over all of Berlin, so they formed a blockade in June 1948. US and Allies airlifted necessary supplies to western Berlin to help them survive. Soviets admitted defeat 11 months later and lifted the blockade.
Cuban Missile Crisis:
Red Scare/McCarthyism (1950-54): Joseph McCarthy, Republican Senator from Wisconsin, claimed to know of 205 communists in the State Department. It caused great panic throughout the US and made McCarthy a very powerful man. Supporters included Republicans, Catholics, Conservatives, Blue-collar workers, and the Kennedy family. 4 years later, he was found as a bully without any evidence and was striped of his power.
Bay of Pigs: Castro came to power in Cuba, brought communism to the country. US was worried over a communist country as close as Cuba, so they planned an invasion to overthrow him. CIA trained anti-communist revolutionists (from Cuba) to preform the invasion. US hoped the invasion would encourage Cuban citizens to revolt, but they didn't. The operation failed as all the revolutionists were killed or captured.
Berlin Wall: 13 years after the Berlin Blockade, the Soviets created the Berlin wall to separate East from West. They didn't want to build the wall, but they didn't want everyone to flee East Berlin. Kept people in for 29 years, then the new Soviet leader gave a speech that said the USSR won't interfere in Eastern Europe. Wall was brought down by hundreds of citizens with no resistance.
End of the Cold War (1985-89): The Soviet Union began to fall in the mid 1980's. With a crumbling economy and Gorbachev as their new leader, they began to release control of occupied countries and take the blame for the war. The US leader, President Reagan, was strongly against communism and aided Gorbachev in accepting change and ending the war.
8. Why did the US go to war in Korea and Vietnam and what were outcome of those wars?
Korea:
- US was told to wage war against North Korea by the United Nations
- After 2 years of fighting along the 38th parallel, an armistice was formed; DMZ along a new border was set and kept to this day; Cold War heated up
Vietnam:
- US wanted to stop North Vietnam (communism) from taking over South Vietnam; stop the spread of communism
- War turned unpopular; many US citizens wanted our troops out of Vietnam (questioned why we were even over there)
- Veitnamization- US troops gradually leave while training South Vietnamese soldiers; didn't work too well
- January 27, 1973, Paris Peace Accords were signed, ending US involvement in Vietnam
- Two years later, the North invaded and took over the South
- Though the US promised to help South Vietnam if the North invaded, the United Nations didn't allow us to
9. Know these major post-Cold War Events:
-JFK Assassination: November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald as he rode through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Oswald was arrested shortly after and shot by Jack Ruby as police were transferring him to another jail. Lyndon B. Johnston was sworn in as president the same day of the assassination.
-Civil Rights: Brown vs. Board of Education- ruled it unconstitutional to have separate schools for blacks and whites; Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech
-Watergate: Nixon's re-election party (CREEP) has a couple burglars infiltrate the Watergate complex to steal top-secret documents and tap into telephones. They are caught and the crime is viewed lightly until two reporters dig in deeper and suggest that the president may be involved. After some of Nixon's aid's were convicted, it was found that Nixon had secret recordings of Oval Office conversations. The supreme court eventually ruled that Nixon had to give them the tapes, and it was proved that he had indeed been involved in the Watergate break-in. Nixon resigned and was later pardoned by President Ford.
-Persian Gulf War(1991): Iraq invades Kuwait, US helps Kuwait
-9-11: Al-quida and Osama Bin Ladin declared war against the US for invading their land. Few years later on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijack four planes and crash them (all except one) into the world trade center and Pentagon. Caused panic and later great patriotism from the public as the US declared war on Afghanistan, where Al-quida was.
-War in Afghanistan: October 2001, attacked Afghanistan because of 9/11. Taliban falls but is still fighting today
-War in Iraq: Sudan Hussein (leader of Iraq) kicked out weapon inspectors; US was concerned that Iraq was making nuclear weapons and decides to invade. Hussein was captured and killed by the new Iraqi government; US didn't find any weapons. War was very unpopular: Why were we over there? Get our troops out of there!
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