1.) What were the causes of the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression?
Stock Market
- Began on Black Thursday (Oct. 24, 1929).
- Dropped 11% that day. On next Monday it fell 13% more.
- There was a lack of government regulation.
- Too much borrowing from banks.
- Buying stocks on marginPooling ( and overpriced stock). Stocks were inflated.
- Not enough money to buy stocks
- Use some of own money, buy rest from broker
- If the price of the stock fell lower than the loan amount, there would be a “margin call” - have to return the money from the loan
- Next Tuesday fell another 11%. Also, 16 million shares were sold that day.
- By 1930, between 6 & 7 million people were unemployed. Unemployment meant fewer customers; a decrease in customers caused further cutbacks in production. 1932 - 12 million unemployed.
Great Depression -
- Big cause was Stock Market Crash.
- Over 9,000 banks failed because they were not insured.
- American Economic Policy with Europe - Smoot-Hawley Tariff - Helped protect American companies (High tariffs on foreign imports so people would buy American - Put money back into the economy).
- Drought Conditions,
- Taxes
- Farm Crisis - Herbert Hoover wanted to help. There was overproduction in Industry and Ag. products.
- During the Great Depression - Unemployment rose to 25%, wages fell 42%, economic growth fell 50%, and world trade fell 65%.
2.) What impact did the stock market crash and Great Depression have on the lives of people in the United States?
Stock Market - Bankruptcy - As stock prices started to plummet, panic struck. There was mass withdrawals (bank runs where they got all their money from banks.) 20,000 companies went bankrupt. Unemployment - Forced families in crowded apartments. Women went and tried to find work. 1/4 of families didn't have one employed member. A total of 12 million people became unemployed. Homelessness - Hovervilles (Shacks people lived in - name made to poke fun at president hoover. People would ride trains would to find jobs in other towns (250,000 homless teanagers did this). Railroad bulls would force people off the trains. Many health risks. Florence Owens Thompson - had 7 children and became icon of Great Depression.
Great Depression - In New York, 20 cases of starvation. In 1934, 110 cases of starvation. To save money, families neglected medical and dental care. The West African nation of Cameroon sent $3.77 to New York. Millions suffered from diseases like Pellagra. Children - 20% where hungry and without proper clothing. Malnourished children reached as high as 90%. 25,000 children were homeless. Farming - People moved from farms to cities. Farmers killed animals - were too much of an expense. 750,000 farms were lost. Farmers abandoned fields from the dust bowl. Soil-dust. Seen across 7 states. 60+ mph wind. People died from soil-dust. Suicide/Crime Rate - Increased. 14 to 22 out of 100,000. Crime rate went up. Stole minor things.
3.) What did the United States government do to help alleviate the problems the Great Depression brought to our country?
Roosevelt-New Deal(Goals/1st and 2nd)
New Deal - Roosevelt's plan to get everything back in the right direction. First New Deal - 1933-1934. Second New Deal 1935-1936. Economic Goals - Stabilize banks. Clean up financial mess from 1929 crash. Help farmers. Job Creation - Create agencies to make jobs. Recongized rights of workers to form Unions. Civic Uplift - Helped every state, town, and community. Inspired a civic, cultural, and economic renaissance. Investment in Public Workings - Built roads, highways, bridges, schools, theaters, libraries, city halls, homes, parks, post offices, and airports. The Three R's - Relief (Temporary relief for citizens), Recovery (Help economy), Reform (Fix causes of great depression).
Second New Deals - Still part of original new deal. Starts the second half of the new deals. Goals - Improved use of national resources. Security against old age. Fix Unemployment and help illness. Slum clearance.
How did the New Deal impact the following:
unemployed - Around 6 agencies that helped unemployment. Built over 900,000 public buildings. This would provide jobs to help make the building. You would also have to buy supplies from another company. Public Works Administration - 1933-1939. National Industrial Recovery Act. Large-Scale Public Works - Empire State Building. Works Progress Admin - 1935 - 1941. Had 4 separate agencies. Civilian Conservation Corps - 1933 - 1941. Sent men 18-25 years old to forest to teach different jobs related to the forest. Major Projects Built - Hoover Dam, Lincoln Tunnel, Overseas Highway.
young people - Schools closed or they dropped out of school. They decided to ride the rails and find a different town to find a job. They also left because their parents couldn't pay for them especially if they had younger siblings. Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) - Just men. This was ran by the US Army. Consisted of outside work. National Youth Administration (NYA) - Helped young people get many jobs. Helped them pay to stay in college.
factory workers/labor unions - Wagner Act (National Labor Relations) - Guarantees basic rights of private sector employees to organize into trade unions. Engage in collective bargaining. Also allowed employees to strike if they needed to. Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) - Also known as Wages and Hours Bill. Introduced maximum 44 hour seven-day work week. Established minimum wage. Time and half-overtime for certain jobs. Prohibited most child labor (Couldn't do dangerous jobs. Under 16 yrs old - couldn't work during school hours). Roosevelt called the FLSA the most important act of the New Deal since the Social Security Act. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) - Authorized the president to regulate industry in attempt to raise prices. Established Public Works Administration (PWA) - Large-scale public works construction agency. Built dams, bridges, hospitals, and schools. Purpose was to provide employment and revive the economy. Labor Unions - Organized association or workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights. 1933- 3 million labor union members (declining members).
farmers - AAA - Agricultural Adjustment Act, FSA - Farm Security Administration, FFB - Federal Farm Board - They stored crops in bins until the prices rose up. SCADAA - Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. AAA - "Main crops" - corn, cotton, wheat. Produce less, price had doubled in 3 years, crops were ploughed back. Jobs - 2.5 million men left. Incomes doubled for farmers. Left many unemployed. Some lost farms. Dorothea Lange - photographer who took pictures during the Great Depression. She got a job during the FSA.
elderly - Social Security Act - Fiscal Year - Tax Year. Age 65 or Jan. 1st, 1942. Old age assistance = payments to aged individuals. Poorhouses. Per Centums = Percent. Overall - dependence on family (child, elderly, then parents). Children = orphanages. Elderly = poorhouses or charity. Hard work doesn't guarantee financial security. Most expected government to assist.
poor - Food - Breadlines, soup kitchens. Most were unemployed. Operated By - Churches, charities, and government. Hoovervilles - Shacks. Had a stove and a bed. Hoover - Leather (Cardboard Soles), Blankets, Flags, Wagons (Horse Pulled Cars). Agencies - Homeowners Refinancing Act (HOLC) - June 13, 1933. Helped people refinance so they could keep their homes. Farm Credit Administration (FCA) - Helped farmers so they could keep their crops and cattle.
homeowners - Home ownership rates fell sharply and housing prices plummeted. Interest rates fall as the Federal Reserve quickly trims the discount rate in hope of cushioning the business cycle. National Housing Act - June 28, 1934. (Also called Capehart Act). Designed to stop bank foreclosures on family homes. Created the Federal Housing Administration and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - Mande housing and home mortgages more affordable. Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) - Insured deposits in savings and loans. United States Housing Authority (USHA) - Designed to lend money to the states or communities for low-cost construction. Homeowners' Loan Corporation (HLC) - Its purpose was to refinance home mortgages currently in default to prevent foreclosure.
artists/musicians - Artists - It was a time of exploration. Sought for popularity. People from New Deal programs hired them to paint for their programs. Art was deemed worthy. Expressed themselves. Federal Art Project - It was "The Visuals Arts Arm" of the Great Depression. Came from New Deal Works Progress Administration called Federal One. Went from August 29, 1935 until June 30, 1943. Notable Artists - American Gothic - Created by Grant Wood from Anamosa, Iowa. Musicians - Federal Music Project (FMP) - Employed musicians, conductors, and composers. Concerts/Festivals. Music lessons. Objectives of FMP - Get people interested. Happiness, music educations, equality, teach children, distract people from the Great Depression.
women/African-American - Boys got educated. Women working together. Women stayed at home. Men went out and worked. They wore less fancy clothing with less makeup. Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Eleanor Roosevelt supported. Brought families together. Provided work and loans. Works Progress Administration (WPA). Ellen S. Woodward. 1 of 3 members in Social Security Board. Superviser. What the WPA did - Women worked gardening and canning during the summers. School lunchrooms during the year. 31 cents an hour. More than 1,000 were employed as housekeepers. Sponsors would provide money Provide rent and utilities. Provide materials like library books. Blacks had less. Only 709 black females held WPA jobs. Worked in cotton fields. Working Conditions - Many women were forced to find jobs. Wages for working women in the 1930s was only $5 per week. Life threatening.
4.) What were the causes of WWII?
For the US:
- quit trading supplies (oil) with Japan
- Pearl Harbor Attack
In Asia:
- The great depression
- Japanese invasion of Manchuria
- Japanese invasion of China
Europe:
- Germany wanted their land back
- Treaty of Versailles
- the great depression
- Hitlers actions
- Mussolini's actions
- Failure of the league of nations
- Policy of AppeasementHitlers invasion of Poland
- Came out of the Munich conference. Gave Hitler land to make him stop but Hitler Lied and told them what they wanted to hear but didn't follow through
- Rise of Nationalism
5.) What impact did the United States have on WWII?
- Our aircraft carriers moved into the area of the island of Midway in which we sunk 4 of the 6 Japanese aircraft carriers that participated in the attack of Pearl Harbor
- It brought another super power into the war
- We had fresh troops to fight against the Axis powers in Europe
- The U.S. citizens rallied for war and wanted revenge on Japan
- soft underbelly (Italy), then D-Day
- Dwight D. Eisenhower had responsibility for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43
- He was at first selected to command the First Army, which was to take part in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa.
- Germans went to North Africa to bail out the italians who were having troubles combating the British.
- British ensured the security of suez Canal
- U.S. went to help the British
- suez canal-used russian battleship fleets-transverse their way to the pacific to fight the japanese navy(1905)
- We started in Africa and moved their way up.
- Once the military force was built up the could really push for Germany. We landed in France in 1944 and went from there after liberating
- Eventually the allies worked its way up to Germany and forced them to surrender.
- The war in the pacific was ultimately ended at this time with the dropping of the atomic bombs. Both in Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
- We helped D-Day and also invade up through North Africa and Italy
- Helped Great Britain
- Helped with major turning pointsUS Naval forces were very strong
- Battle of Midway
- Invasion of France
- Invasion of Italy
- Shipped out food
- Had a very strong army and navy
- Great Britain relied on US
- Gave them loans
- Gave them oil
- RussiaWithout the US, the Allies probably would have won, but it would have taken longer
- Relied on American trucks, boots, and food to give the Russian Army
- Used a lot of propaganda
- Lend-Lease with Great Britain
- Many volunteer groups
- Americans saved resources-made sure we were in good shape after the war
- Ration foodWere collecting scrap metal and other things to help make armaments
- “Do with less–so they’ll have enough”
6.) What were the goals for the US during the Cold War?
- Wanted to promote open markets for US goods to prevent another depression
- Promote democracy throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa
- Stop the spread of communism
7.) What were some of the major events that took place during the Cold War?
-Berlin Blockade/airlift
- In 1948, the three western controlled zones of Germany's(US, France, UK) were united, and grew in prosperity due to Marshal Aid.
- The west wanted the east to rejoin, but Stalin feared it would hurt Soviet security.
- In June 1948, Stalin decided to try to gain control of west Berlin which was deep inside the eastern sector
- He cut road, rail and canal links with West Berlin, hoping to starve it into submission
- The west responded by airlifting in the necessary supplies to allow west Berlin to survive.
- In May 1949, Russia admitted defeat and lifted the blockade
Cuban Missile Crisis
- October 1962
- For 2 weeks, both countries people were nervous.
- We quarantined (blockade) Cuba
- Next, was to do airstrikes to take out the nuclear missiles
- The plan then said we would invade Cuba
- The Soviet Union said they would withdraw their weapons from Cuba. The US said we would never invade Cuba in exchange. We also said we would withdraw our nuclear weapons from Turkey 6 months later.
Red Scare/McCarthyism
- Fear of rising communism
- In 1950 McCarthy gave a speech where he claimed to have a list of 205 communist in the State Department
- No one in the press actually saw the names on the list, but McCarthy announcement made national news and caused panic throughout the country
- McCarthy became one of the most powerful in the US
- People who supported McCarthy were:In the spring of 1945, McCarthy charged the US Army had promoted a dentist accused of being a communist
- Republicans
- Catholics
- Conservative Protestants
- Blue collar workers
- Joseph and Robert Kennedy
- For the first time, television broadcast allowed the general public to see the Senator as a blustering bully and his investigations as little more than a misguided scam
- McCarthyism - Accusing people without having any evidence
Bay of Pigs
- Eisenhower was in charge of this plan, Kennedy agreed and carried it on, trained 1,400 anti-Castro Cubans in Mexico to invade Cuba, US was suppose to back them up but bailed out so it would not look like we were behind this plan
Berlin Wall
- The wall was built by the Soviets to keep people in the city
- Berlin wall was built in 1961-1989 to separate East and West (communist from democrat)
- If you wanted to go from East to West you had have special permission and fill-out paperwork. You also had to go through Brandenburg Gage and Checkpoint Charlie.
- Berlin wall comes down on November 9, 1989 - A symbol of the end of the Cold War
End of the Cold War
- Why did the US win and the Soviet Union lose?The strong anti-communist presidency of Reagan
- We had close ties with Allies and Soviets didn't
- China started siding with us after 1972
- Soviet economy was in shambles whereas the US's was flourishing
- Soviet Union had huge deficit
- High inflation
- Corruption
- Social problems
- Shortage of basic needs (food, housing)
- Gorbachev's willingness for change and reform.
- Glasnost and perestroika
- Admitted Soviet mistakes
- Took blame for the Cold War
- Communist system had failed
- Allowed Eastern Europe to do what they wanted
- Arm's Reduction Talks
- Soviet Mistakes
- Invasion of Afghanistan
- Ignoring Social Concerns
- Spent everything on Military
- Post-Cold War
- in the 1990’s, the world seemed to be a much more peaceful place
- President Clinton closed down the numerous military bases around the country reducing the size of the US military
- 9-11 caught the US off guard.
8.) Why did the US go to war in Korea and Vietnam and what were outcome of those wars?
- Korea was divided into 2, south Democratic, North Communism
- North invaded south and took over almost all of it
- We send troops over and invade north and almost unify the country
- China supports north and takes the north’s land back
- Fought in the DMZ and to this day they are divided
- Vietnam was under Japan rule in WW2, the French after
- French soon gave them freedom and country was divided in 2
- supposed to be elections to unify country but they never took place because neither side wanted to lose
- North turned to communism, invaded south
- We sent troops over for defensive purposes
- Bombed the North constantly
- Then sent offensive troops over
- War was expanded into Laos and Cambodia
- American people hated the war
- Government mislead the people
9.) Know these major post-Cold War Events:
JFK Assassination
- Kennedy was shot at 12:29 p.m. by Lee Harvey Oswald
- Shot on Elm St.
- Brought to Parkman Memorial Hospital
- Governor Connally hit by same
- James Tague was hit (bystander)
- Oswald shot officer Tippit
- While being escorted to court, Jack Ruby shot Oswald
- People were concerned with him going to Dallas because of the strong segregation views.
Civil Rights
President Truman had the Fair Deal, which was a new version of the New deal that recognized and helped blacks, poor, education, and elderly. Many of his plans did not pass. President Eisenhower desegregated the army and schools. President Nixon was a big advocate for Civil Rights after the Cold War. He pushed for the de-segregation of schools and passed Title 9 for civil rights for women in high school and college.
Watergate
- Richard Nixon
- Watergate Scandal
- June 17, 1972 - Break in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex
- Nixon administration tried to cover up involvement
- Bugged the offices of political opponents
- It was a committee that wanted to re-elect the president
- Harassment of activist groups/political figures
- Used the FBI, CIA, and IRS
- He wanted to find dirt against the democrats
- Nixon downplayed the scandal and denounced the story as biased and misleading
- Nixon was involved with obstruction of justice and eventually resigned from the presidency
Persian Gulf War(1991)
Iraq invaded Kuwait Aug. 2, 1990 because he thought they were taking oil from him and always thought they should have been part of the Iraq country. We had previously helped them come to power. We helped build them up in the 1980’s. US sends thousands of troops to Saudi Arabia (operation Desert Shield). Two goals were to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia and we thought we could free Kuwait and Sadam would leave. January 1991- President Bush told Sadam he had to be out by a certain date and he didn’t so we invaded Kuwait and got them out. Great Britain and France helped. Resulted in destruction of Iraq oil fields and other countries around that area. Lead to 9-11 because in 1990’s they thought that we were trying to take over the whole middle-east and north Africa.
9-11
- It all started at 5:45 AM on that fateful Tuesday morning.
- Hijackers Mohammed Atta and Abdulaziz al-Omari pass through security at Portland International Jetport in Maine. They board a shuttle flight to Boston's Logan International Airport, where they connect to Los Angeles-bound American Airlines Flight 11. Over the next hour and a half, seventeen other hijackers clear security checks at Airports.All supposedly carry knives or box cutters . Although eight are randomly tagged for additional screening and a gate agent flags two as suspicious, none are prevented from boarding their intended flights.
- At 7:59 AM, Flight 11 took off.
- That day, conferences and a concert were supposed to take place at the Twin Towers.
- Flight 175 took off at 8:14 AM.
- At 8:19 AM Flight 11 crew contacted the airline.
- Next, at 8:20 AM Flight 77 Takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport. The destination is Los angeles.
- At 8:24 AM, hijacker Mohammed Atta unintentionally contacts air traffic controllers.
- At 8:37 AM, the Air Traffic Control contacts the military after listening to the cockpit transmissions.
- Next, at 8:46 AM, Flight 11 hits the World Trade Center’s north tower. It crashes in floors 93-99 of the building. Everyone on board is killed along with people on the floors in the tower that was hit. This causes The Fire Department of New York and New York Police Department dispatch units to the World Trade Center within seconds of Flight 11's crash.
- At 8:50 AM, the president is alerted that the north tower has been hit. He is currently in Sarasota, Florida, at an elementary school.
- At 8:59 AM, people on flight 175 begin to contact loved ones. They are heading for the south tower of the World trade center.
- At 9:02 AM, people in the South tower are told to evacuate.
- A minute later, Hijackers crash Flight 175 into floors 77 to 85 of the World Trade Center's South Tower, killing everyone on the plane and hundreds inside the building.
- At 9:05 AM, the president is alerted that another plane has hit the south tower.
- Evacuation continues in both towers at 9:15 AM. Hijacked Flight 11 severed all three North Tower emergency stairwells, making evacuation impossible for those alive on or above the impact floors.
- At 9:37, hijackers crash Flight 77 into the Pentagon’s western facade. This killed 59 people on board and 125 military personnel. 106 people are also injured.
- All flights in the United States are ground at 9:42 AM.
- At 9:45, the White House and Pentagon are starting to be evacuated.
- Thirteen of Flight 93's 40 passengers and crew managed to alert loved ones and authorities to the plane’s hijacking. At least six learn about the attacks on the World Trade Center or the Pentagon.
- In response, Flight 93's passengers are believed to have collectively voted to mount a counterattack to the hijackers. This begins at 9:57.
- At 9:59 AM the south tower collapses in about 10 seconds after burning for 56 minutes. Approximately 600 workers and first responders are killed.
- At 10:03 hijackers deliberately crash Flight 93 in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing the forty on board, To prevent passengers from retaking the airplane,
- The crash site is approximately 20 minutes flying time from Washington DC
- At 10:15 AM, the damaged part of the Pentagon collapses. This part is known as the E-Ring.
- Next, at 10:28, the north tower collapses killing around 1,400 people. The tower had been burning for 102 minutes.
War in Afghanistan
Afghanistan War, international conflict in Afghanistan beginning in 2001 that was triggered by the September 11 attacks and consisted of three phases. The first phase—toppling the Taliban (the ultraconservative political and religious faction that ruled Afghanistan and provided sanctuary for al-Qaeda, perpetrators of the September 11 attacks)—was brief, lasting just two months. The second phase, from 2002 until 2008, was marked by a U.S. strategy of defeating the Taliban militarily and rebuilding core institutions of the Afghan state. The third phase, a turn to classic counterinsurgency doctrine, began in 2008 and accelerated with U.S. Pres. Barack Obama’s 2009 decision to dramatically increase the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan. The larger force was used to implement a strategy of protecting the population from Taliban attacks and supporting efforts to reintegrate insurgents into Afghan society. By mid-2010 the Afghanistan War rivaled the Vietnam War as the longest war fought by the United States.
War in Iraq
- the CIA found that Saddam Hussein had close ties to Al Qaeda, and that Iraq had an enormous arsenal of chemical, biological, and possibly even nuclear weapons. that threatened the region and, potentially, the United States
- In 1998, President Bill Clinton ordered Operation Desert Fox, which was the bombing of several Iraqi military installations
- A few years later, this was renewed as a top priority and the Bush Administration gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave the country
- He refused to leave the country and on March 20, We launched an attack
It began when U.S. aircraft dropped several precision-guided bombs on a bunker complex in which the Iraqi president was believed to be. This was followed by a series of air strikes directed against government and military installations, and within days U.S. forces had invaded Iraq from Kuwait in the south. Large numbers of Iraqi troops simply chose not to resist the advance of our forces. In southern Iraq the greatest resistance to U.S. forces as they advanced northward was from irregular groups of Baʿth Party supporters, known as Saddam's Fedayeen. . British forces faced similar resistance from paramilitary and irregular fighters. In the north, plans to open up another major front had been frustrated when the Turkish government refused to allow mechanized and armoured U.S. Army units to pass through Turkey to deploy into northern Iraq. Regardless, a regiment of American paratroopers did drop into the area, and U.S. Special Forces soldiers joined with Kurdish peshmergafighters to seize the northern cities of Kirkuk Mosul.Ṣaddām’s hometown of Tikrit. the last major stronghold, fell with little resistance. Bush then declared an end to major combat on May 1. Iraqi leaders fled into hiding and were the object of an intense search by U.S. forces. Ṣaddām Ḥussein was captured on December 13, 2003, and was turned over to Iraqi authorities and in June of 2004 stood trial for various crimes; he was subsequently convicted of crimes against humanity and was executed on December 30, 2006. Then, our troops seemed to be caught in the middle of a civil war with guerrilla warfare fighting. in 2007, Bush sent over 20,000 troops and that resulted in many casualties at first, but then they then realigned themselves to fighting against al-Qaeda. President Obama announced that the remaining 39,000 soldiers would leave the country at the end of 2011. The U.S. military formally declared the end of its mission in Iraq in a ceremony in Baghdad on December 15, as the final U.S. troops prepared to withdraw from the country.
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