1. Students will understand the impact the Great Depression and New Deal had on the US.
Some of the causes of the Great Depression included: bank failures, savings and bank runs, business bankruptcy, unemployment, uneven distribution of wealth, industries in trouble, housing starts fall, price-supports, and agriculture surplus, less money, low standard of living, stock market crash, and Black Tuesday. The effects of the Great Depression included banks closed, people loss jobs, people loss homes Shantytowns, farm foreclosures, soup kitchens, hobos became common, suicide, malnourished children, schools closed, tenant farming and the Dust Bowl. The Great Depression had a huge impact on the United States. The people of the country went from the wonderful Roaring 20’s into one of the darkest times in our country. The Great Depression had a huge effect on the economy and unemployment rate of the United States. The Great Depression also had a big effect on children. A lot of children took a lot of responsibility during the Great Depression. The people that were hurt the most by the depression were colored people. Nearly ½ of the black people were unemployed during this time.
The New Deal was made to counteract the Great Depression. It had a huge impact on the United States. The First New Deal was from 1933-34. It didn't end the depression, but helped with the suffering of people. It tried to get a more organized partnership between corporations and the government. It wanted to restore the economy from the top down; it would start with the banks. The 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act set up the New Deal's strategy of fighting back the depression. It focused on economy recovery. The Second New Deal 1935-1941 wanted to restore the economy from the bottom up. They wanted to help the common people get jobs so that they would be able to pay for things. It emphasized social justice. It wanted to turn non consumers into consumers again. The three R's were Relief, Reform, and Recovery. The New Deal helped a lot of people here are some acts that were passed to help people.
Unemployed- The Civilian Conservation Corps provided relief, rehabilitation, and training for about around three million men. They would provide jobs for men, some of the jobs included building parks, fighting forest fires, and planting trees. The CCC was aimed mainly for men from the ages of 18-25. The Civil Works Administration was made to provide jobs for many unemployed people. Most of the jobs that they gave were construction jobs, It hired around 4 million people and it promised high wages.
Federal Emergency Relief Act helped the homeless. It gave out welfare checks out to people and also helped people buy food and clothes. It also put 15 million people a place to work. The FERA ended in 1934. It became too costly and was very controversial, that is why it did not last very long.
Farmers- The Farm Security Administration was made to help poor farmers that were affected by the dust bowl. It was set up in 1937. Smaller farms were bought by the government and were made better. In 1944 The Conservation Coalition took control of the FSA. It made it into a program that would help farmers buy land. The FSA was known mostly for the photographs that they took. One example was the Migrant Mother that was taken by Dorthea Lange.
The Rural Electrification Administration was a loan program for rural electrification and telephone service. It primary goal was to promote rural electrification. It provided farms with inexpensive electric lighting and power. It also pushed private businesses to extend services to the countryside. They also pushed to lower the rates that rural areas would have to pay for electricity.
The Agriculture Adjustment Act was passed so that the farmers could gain stability. The government paid farmers to reduce the amount of land they were farming. The money that they were getting for reducing land would only come from people that bought the crops or animals; they could also spill milk and slaughter animals. The AAA of 1933 was declared unconstitutional so the AAA of 1938 put a tax on every person to pay the farmers. It also set price-supports for the crops which helped them gain stability.
The Tennessee Valley Authority was created in 1933. It was created to help generate electricity. This helped to create new jobs for people. The problem with the Tennessee Valley was that it had major flooding. The TVA was aimed to prevent flooding by creating dams. The dams could make money from electricity and make money from taxes.
The Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act was the first national soil conservation act. A reason that it was started was soil erosion and overproduction; it came about after the Dust Bowl. The acts main goal was to control and prevent erosion. They provided resources, controlled floods, and prevent the destruction of reservoirs.
Factory workers/labor- The National Recovery Act created minimum wages and maximum weekly working hours. It helped make sure that people were getting paid a proper amount of money for the amount of time that they were working.
Young people- The National Youth Administration was established in June of 1935. Eleanor Roosevelt came up with the idea for this. It helped young people find jobs while they were still in school. It was for both males and females.
Banks/business- The FDIC is a deposit corporation that guarantees the safety of one's money in member banks. It was originated by the Glass-Steagal Act of 1933. The FDIC protected consumer functions, manage failed banks, and observes particular companies for safety. The Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 created SEC. They were made to restore confidence in markets and have clearer rules for dealing and more reliable information. They must tell truth about their business like what they are selling and the risks. Brokers and dealers must treat investors fairly. Former June 6, 1934. If someone purchases more than 5% of a business must report to the SEC. It regulated the stock-market. It made the stock market more secure, it is still around today.
The Emergency Bank Relief Act was also known as the bank holiday. This act closed down banks and 5000 banks were passed. It regulated the Secretary of the Treasury and allowed the president to declare a National Emergency. It changed the ways that banks worked during emergencies such as the Stock Market Crash. It would close down banks and then assure people that if it was re-opened their money was safe. This act was made to help with the effects of the Great Depression for the banks.
The Federal Security Act was meant to require investors to receive a lot of information on stocks that are out for public sale. It also prohibited fraud and misrepresentations. This act also made the issuers of stocks to show information about the terms of the stocks. They also wanted to prevent anybody that had inside information from rigging the stock prices.
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation gave 2 billion dollars to help aid state and local governments and banks. It helped with the economic troubles of the Great Depression. It mainly helped by loaning money out to people and businesses. It first gave money to the businesses that needed help the most so that they could continue to operate.
The Banking of Act of 1935 had permanent insurance would be maintained at the 5,000 dollar level. It tightened restrictions of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in the field of credit management. It made the banks more responsible with control and power.
Home owners-The Home Owners' Loan Act helped people avoid having their homes foreclosed in the Depression. It extended the loan repayment period and divided the single of payments into smaller payments. It was established in 1933. It granted long-term mortgage loans for 1 million homeowners. The HOLA would judge the cities by the number of colored people that lived in that area.
The Federal Housing Administration- It would help people pay loans for bigger payments The FHA would help people pay back loans so that they could get loans for houses from bankers.
Elderly- The Social Security Administration was passed and helped elderly, disable, and retired people. A Social Security card was what insured that people were U.S. citizens. Roosevelt was the first president to help the elderly. Women that worked in the house were considered unemployed so that they would get unemployment checks. It also provided benefits to the retired and unemployed. This act provided for a lot of controversy.
Native Americans- The Indian Reorganization Act would allow Native American lands would now belong to the entire tribe. Native American children were able to go to school on reservations. The tribes could also elect a tribal council that would govern the reservations.
Consumers- The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act had testing done for all things that were sent out and made stricfter standards on things that were going to be used by consumers. It also started food have stricter labels on them.
2. Students will understand the causes, effects and major events of WWII.
Some causes of World War II include that there was a rise in dictators that wanted to expand their empire. Another reason was that the Treaty of Versailles angered the Germans and they wanted to get back the land and other stuff that they had lost. The rise of communism in the Soviet Union, by Joseph Stalin, can also be considered a cause of World War II. The Rise of Fascism in Italy is also a cause. Fascism is that the interest of the state is more important than the individual. The most important cause is that the Nazi party had control of German. Nazism is extreme nationalism. They had a huge racial prejudice, they wanted a master race. The Nazi wanted to expand their empire. The aggression in Europe and Africa is also a cause. The final thing that led to WW2 was when Germany invaded Poland, which started the war.
The effects of World War II include; the nuclear arms race, Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine, the United States helped rebuild Japan, Germany and Berlin were both split into four parts, start of the Cold War. Communism also began to spread around
-Pearl Harbor- Japan, being an island nation, had very few natural resources. Instead of trying to trade with other countries, they wanted to conquer Asia. Beginning in 1941, Japan started to invade and get the resources that they desperately needed. The country of Japan believed that to take command of Asia, they had to destroy each and every one of the American Powers in the Pacific. Some of the places they needed to conquer included Pearl Harbor, bases in the Philippines, and Luzon. Pearl Harbor had a Navy that was capable of hurting the Navy of Japan. The bases in the Philippines could disrupt communication, and Luzon could disrupt oil trade with Japan. However, the most famous thing that the Japanese did in World War II was to attack Pearl Harbor.
The day before the attack, FDR tried to make contact with Japan’s emperor, however he never replied. He probably didn’t reply because he knew about the surprise attack that was going to happen. A Japanese message had been located and intercepted. The message talked about the attack, but the U.S. government did not have time to alert the people at Pearl Harbor. During the early morning hours on the 7th of December in 1941, the Japanese had arrived. At 6 o’clock a group of 183 planes headed for Pearl Harbor. The officials were alerted of planes in the area, but they only thought they were American planes that were scheduled to come to the base.
At 7:53 the Japanese started the attack. The men that were based at Pearl Harbor had no idea that this was going to happen. The first group of planes bombed battleships and airfields, however the next group went after shipyard facilities and other ships docked at the base. 2,335 men serving in the Navy were killed along with 68 people that lived around the base. Another 1,178 people were hurt. The attack sunk several battleships and planes. The following day, Great Britain and the U.S. declared war on Japan. FDR said that the bombing of Pearl Harbor, “will live in infamy.”
-D-Day- D-Day was also known as Operation Overload or Operation Neptune. D- Day began on Tuesday June 6, 1944 at 6:30 am. It was on the northern part of France. The invasion happened in two phases. It had an air assault and an amphibious landing. It was the largest amphibious landing ever. The invasion was hard because Germany was dug into the beaches and it was hard to hit them with any artillery. Germany also had bunkers that had high caliber weapons in them. They also had thousands of mines on the beaches. The United States had a major problem crossing the English Channel. The invasion of France during D-Day was very important role in the European Front. We sent false information that Germany intercepted, so they thought we were going to attack somewhere else (Clay). It was a very bloody battle and the United States had numerous causalities. Operation Market Garden was the dropping of the paratroopers into enemy lines.
-Atomic bombing- At the end of WW2 the United States used atomic bombs to destroy two Japanese cities, and bring to an end of World War II. Truman, who was the president at the time, ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb. The Japanese had de-coded a message and tried to evacuate before the detonation of the bomb but most people did not get out on time. The Little Boy bomb was dropped first on Hiroshima. Little Boy was dropped on August 6, 1945. After Little Boy was dropped Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. These locations were chosen because they had a lot of military supplies located at their location. Little Boy was made of U235 and Fat Man was made of Plutonium. Some effects of the atomic bombs included severe burns and blindness. Pretty much everyone that was next to the explosion died right away. Radiation caused cancer and people that survived the bombing were stuck with permanent scars called keloids. The death count of the atomic bombing was around 150000. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were pretty much destroyed.
-Africa/European Front- This is the African Front Erwin Rommel was a leader from Germany. He was known as the Desert Fox because no one could ever find him. He was a very well known general from German. He did not torture the Jewish people if he found one. He was a member of the conspiracy to kill Hitler. They found out that he was a part of the conspiracy, he had the choice to go to court and be killed or to kill himself, He ended up killing himself. William Gott was from Britain and Bernard Montgomery was also from Britain. Montgomery was the top dog from Britain. Eisenhower from the United States was a general. Marie-Pierre Koenig was from the Free-French Underground. The Vichy Government was the group of French people that were allied with Hitler. George Patton was a US General in Africa. He had a big head but was under Rommel.
The war on the African Front started in 1940. Tanks were heavily used in the African Front because the land was flat and it was easy for the tanks to move across the terrain. It started on June 10 when the Italians declared war. The first battle on the African Front was called The Battle of Fort Capuzzo. The Battle of Girba on June 17 was the first tank battle and it was won by the Allies. The two main sides were Italy, Germany, and Vichy France against Great Britain and the Free French Underground.
The Allied Powers were extremely successful and won most of the battles. In 1942 the United States was extremely involved in the war. The U.S was mostly involved in North Africa because that is where Great Britain needed our help the most. The U.S did not invade France because they were not militarily prepared to fight in France. Operation Torch was a big U.S win. This was the first time that the U.S got really involved in the war. After Operation Torch the Allies were on the offensive most of the time. The Allied Powers came out successful in the African Campaign. The U.S was involved for about a year and the African Campaign lasted 3 years.
The European Front- The Battle of the Bulge was a major and the most important battle in World War II. It was Hitler's last offensive of the war. The Rhine River was the final obstacle for the United States and the rest of the Allies. The Malmady Massacre was when Germany killed numerous US Prisoners of War. The Allies wanted to divide and conquer parts of Germany. Operation Plunder was a success. The Soviets were the first outsiders to see the concentration camps. This was on July 23, 1944. They were the first to see because they got into Germany first. When Hitler was on the verge of defeat he committed suicide on April 30, 1945. The war then ended a short while after on May 7, 1945. Germany surrendered at a huge palace called the Reims.
-Pacific Front- The Philippines Campaign was from 1941 to 1942. It was between the Philippines and Japan. Japan invaded the Philippines. The United States was allies with the Philippines. The Japanese took control of Manila and started the Death March. They marched the Filipinos and US people around the camp and made them work. It was kind of like a concentration camp. A lot of people died during the Death March. On February 4, 1945 U.S. forces entered Manila and completely recovered the city within 3 weeks. Douglas MacArthur was one of the leading general against Japan. He led the recovery of Manila. The Battle of Coral Sea was another big battle. The bombing of Nagasaki was started on the morning of August 9, 1945. Even years after the bombing people kept dying because of the radiation sickness. The Japanese Generals did not accept defeat because that thought that the United States would not risk a million people by invading the Japanese homeland.
Australia played a big role in the New Quinea Campaign. New Quinea was a big island north of Australia. It provided a lot of land for air and naval bases. Japan was trying to isolate the U.S was capturing Port Moresby in New Quinea. They did not want the United States to be so involved. Most of the people that died from Australia were POW's that were killed by the Japanese. A Kamikaze Attacks were suicide attacks that killed and destroyed enemy ships. They were used by the Japanese. A person would fly intentionally into a ship causing it to sink. They were effective, but could not change the end result of the war. 56% of Japan's ships were destroyed by submarines. We then cut off all of Japans oil imports.
It was the Allied Powers vs. Japan. The four main areas were China, Central Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Southwest Pacific. Pearl Harbor was attacked in two waves. Japan expected us to fold, but we declared war the next day. There was a lot of submarine warfare on the Pacific Front. The Battle of Iwo Jima had a lot of gruesome battles. A lot of grenades and flamethrowers were used. The people fighting were in bunkers which caused additional causalities. The US forces eventually ended up winning. The Japanese were creating tunnels and they could fight underground. The Japanese would fight to the death and not give up.
The bombing of Hiroshima took place on August 6, 1945. The project that researched the atomic bomb was called the Manhatten Project. It was a good place to bomb because it had a lot of factories and it destoryed a lot of things that would have helped Japan in the war. The Japanese tried to evacuate because they intercepted a message and knew an attack was going to happen. The Japanese ended up surrendering on August 15, 1945. The Roosevelt Doctrine said that we could attack anywhere in Axis waters without warning. It was unrestriced submarine warfare. Commerce Raiding was the use of naval forces to destroy the supply lines of an enemy on the open sea, rather than engaging in combat. Some of the major battles were Midway, Coral Sea, Iwo Jima, Guadall Canal, and Philippines. The Battle of Midway was probably the most important because it was a turnig point in the war. Island hopping is going across the ocean by hopping from isand to island. Island hopping was led by Arthur MacArthur.
3. Students will understand how/why the Allies won WWII.
The allied powers won World War II for numerous reasons. The allies had a lot of resources and used the resources to make more things. We also won because of the technology that we used mainly the use of the atomic bomb. We also had a Navajo code that could not be broken and also had good code breaking technology. Another reason that we won was that Germany turned on the Soviet Union which was a huge mistake. Hitler was also killing Jews and the people that built the United States atomic bomb were Jews from Europe. Germany would have had the first atomic bomb if Hitler had not done this. The allied forces also won because the United States was on their side and we were a huge power during that time.
4. Students will understand the causes, effects and major events of the Cold War
a. Define the Cold War and its causes- The Cold War can be defined as a Political, Strategic, and ideological struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was really a fight between the communist Soviet Union and the non-communist United States. The main cause of the Cold War was that Germany was split into four parts following World War II. The United States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union all had control of one of the sections. There was a lot of fighting over the splitting of Germany, which led to the Cold War. A war almost even broke out because of the disagreements that were going on over the splitting up of Germany. Another cause of the Cold War was when the Soviet Union made a atomic bomb after we used ours in World War II. They were mad because we didn’t tell them about making atomic weapons. The atomic bomb is the ultimate defensive weapon. Another cause of the Cold War was the Bolshevik Revolution which is when communism came into power in the Soviet Union. The most important cause of the Cold War was just that the two governments were completely different.
b. Policy of Containment -domino effect, mutual deterrence, massive retaliation, Truman Doctine, Marshall Plan, and NATO- The Policy of Containment was what the United States used to stop the spread of communism. It built up foreign security, prevent the domino effect, and President Truman best represented the Policy of Containment. George Keenan was the creator of the Policy of Containment. He was a US ambassador and diplomat. He was the critic of numerous international policies. The Domino Effect was a Communism Theory. If the Soviets took over more and more countries then the whole world would become Communist. The Domino Effect helped bring up the Policy of Containment. Mutual Deterrence was if the Soviet Union launched missiles at us then we would in turn fire missiles at them. It was also called Massive Retaliation. The Truman Doctrine was the U.S. strategy for the containment of Communism. Some countries feared the Truman Doctrine. With all the concern about the bill, Truman passed the bill. The Truman Doctrine gave military aid to Greece and Turkey because we thought that communism was spreading there so we wanted to help them stop the spread of communism. The Marshall Plan was the European Recovery Program. It would create a stronger economic foundation. George C. Marshall was the man that set up this proposal. The United States gave Europe 13 million dollars. The lent money because many of the major cities in Europe were destroyed after the war. We thought that if we didn't lend money then the Soviet Union would help them and turn them into Communists. George Marshall won the Nobel Peace Prize for creating the Marshall Plan. NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was signed on April 4, 1949. The headquarters of NATO are in Brussels, Belgium. It is a defensive alliance. If a country is attacked that is a member of NATO and another country attacks it the countries that are in NATO would go help out the country that got attacked. The Korean War was crucial for NATO because it raised the threat level greatly. NATO was the alliance of the United States, Canada, and Western Europe.
c. Both Berlin Crises- the Berlin Blockade and Airlift was the first Berlin Crisis. The Berlin Blockade was from June 24, 1948 to May 12, 1949. It was the first major international Crisis of the Cold War. The Yalta Conference was the things that split Berlin into four parts. The U.S, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France each had control of one of the areas. Berlin was also split into four parts and the same people control of one four parts of Berlin. Berlin was in the Soviet Union's part so they did not like how Berlin had to be split into four parts because they wanted control of Berlin by themselves. Stalin blockaded Berlin so people could not get into Berlin; Stalin wanted a weak Germany because he did not want Germany to be a threat to the Soviet Union. Truman and Attlee from Britain thought that a strong Germany would help Europe. Stalin wanted to cut off all access to Berlin and takeover the city. No roads or rail roads could be used to enter or leave Berlin. 2.5 million people were at risk because they were not getting the supplies that they needed. Stalin decided to put up a blockade. The blockade eventually led to the airlift. Stalin blockaded East Berlin. It began in June of 1948 until September 1949. The airlift supplies necessities to East Berlin by air. The airlift provided 1534 tons of food daily to keep the people alive. Other things like gas, oil, coal, and clothes were also needed to support East Berlin. Over 277000 flights were made to get the supplies to Berlin. The Soviet Union could have shot down the planes but choose to wait because shooting down the planes would lead to war. After the blockade stopped Berlin was split into two sectors a East federal republic and the West was democratic.
The Second Berlin Crisis was when the Berlin Wall went up and came down. The West side of the Berlin Wall was under the control of Great Britain and the United States. The people on that side of the wall had freedom, the social part of life was good, and the economy was doing well. However on the East side which was under the control of the Soviet Union things were different. The people on the East side didn’t have very much food and also couldn’t own their own land. To escape the bad East side, 2.6 million people fled to the West Side. The wall had been made of barbed wire but it was easy to cross. The Berlin Wall separated East and West Berlin. It included guard towers along a concrete wall which circumcised a large open area. This was later referred to as the death strip. There were also anti-vehicle trenches, fakir beds, and many other defenses. The fakir beds are basically a bed of nails that were positioned on both sides of the death strip. It was built in 1961. Almost all immigration was stopped from 1961 to 1989. On November 9, 1989, immigration was allowed to Western Europe. The final piece of the wall was taken down in 1990.
d. The Red Scare--McCarthyism and HUAC- Joe McCarthy was born November 14, 1908. He dropped out of school at 14 to help on the farm, but started going back to school at age 20. He studied engineering and then law. Senator Joe McCarthy. He was in WWII as a Marine. He was known as "Tail-Gunner Joe" He resigned from the Marines in 1945. McCarthy was a Republican and started to campaign in 1944 which meant he was still in active duty. He would attack the other candidates and say that he was a lot better than them. He said "Congress Needs a Tail-Gunner" The first Red Scare began after the Bolshevik Russian Revolution of 1917 and during WWII. It was from 1917-1920. A lot of people were innocent but put in jail because people were scared. It disappeared after 1920. Communists, Socialists, and Anarchists were the people that were targeted. The Second Red Scare was after World War II. It was around 1947-1957. The whole thing started because of the fear of communism. A lot of people were trialed. McCarthyism started at the end of World War II and at the start of the Cold War. It was called the McCarthy era. McCarthyism is known for the ridiculous trials. It destroyed a lot of people's lives. If the people said nothing they were guilty. They pretty much had to name names otherwise their lives would be destroyed. Edward R. Murrow was one of the main men to stand up to the McCarthyism Trials. He died May 2, 1957 from alcoholism. However he was extremely unpopular following the Army-McCarthy hearings. He was replaced in the Senate by a democrat named William Proxmire.
e. Fidel Castro, Bay of Pigs and Missile Crisis- The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the Soviet Union, Cuba, and the United States. Cuban and Soviet governments were building bases for nuclear missiles. Since Cuba was so close to the United States they would be able to bomb the United States from close range. They were actually the Soviets nuclear weapons that they moved them to Cuba. It is said to be the closest point that the Cold War came to coming to nuclear warfare. Around August 1962 the United States started to suspect the Soviets of building missile bases in Cuba. The idea of placing nuclear weapons in Cuba came from Nikita Khrushchev. The wanted to protect Cuba from U.S. sponsored invasions. They also wanted to counter the lead of the U.S. in developing and deploying strategic missiles. Photographic Proof of missile bases were under construction was caught by a United States U-2 photoreconnaissance on October 14th. The U.S considered attacking Cuba but instead settled on a military quarantine of Cuba. The Soviets publicly refused to agree to the demand that they would dismantle the weapons, however, the secretly agreed to resolve the crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis ended on October 28, 1962. The deal that was made said that we would never invade Cuba and also to take our nuclear missiles out of Turkey within six months. The Soviets agreed to dismantle their weapons and return them to the Soviet Union.
Fidel Castro’s full name is Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz. Near the end 1945 Castro entered law school at the University of Havana. Castro joined an Anti-American trip that went to Bogota, Columbia. Juan Peron paid for the trip. Peron was the army colonial and president of Argentina. After Fidel Castro got married in 1948 the family started to have poor economic health. He didn't work because he was so busy with school so he made the other people in his family pay for his things. Since his family did not have much money his married became strained. Finally in 1950 Castro graduated with a Doctor of Laws Degree and started a small business in Havana. His graduation was not long before the Cuban Revolution started.
The Cuban Revolution officially started when General Fulgencio Batista attacked Santiago Chile. This attack was known as the Moncada Barracks because Batista focused on this one area during his attack. Castro was not executed for some reason after this attack. After being captured Castro wanted to overthrow Batista and all the other Cuban exiles that took part in the Moncada Barracks. Castro decided that if he was going to defeat Batista then he would need new tactics, so he decided to start using underground guerilla tactics. Batista launched Operation Verano to defeat Castro, however, Castro's forces defeated the entire batallion. On January 8, 1959, Castro and his army went into Havana victoriously. Castro became the new leader of Cuba on that day. Castro was declared Provisional President by Dr. Urrutia and on February 16, 1959, Castro became the Prime Minister of Cuba. His slogan was "Revolution Now, Election Later."
The Bay of Pigs Invasion has also been called La Batalla de Giron because that is its name in Spanish. The invasion was an extremely unsuccessful attempt by the CIA to train Cuban Exiles into overthrowing Fidel Castro. At the beginning of April 1960 the CIA started to recruit Anti-Castro Cubans. They recruited until July 1960. The CIA trained people at Upseppa Island. The Cuban Government knew that the US was planning an invasion but they did not know when it was going to happen. To throw off Castro and his men there was a fake landing before they actually landed on the Bay of Pigs. The people landed of The Bay of Pigs on April 17 at midnight. The Bay of Pigs invasion lasted nearly four days and a total of 176 men were killed.
f. China- This is about China becoming Communist. After the Nationalist leader Sun Yat Sen died in 1925 Chiang Jai Shek became the leader of that party. Chiang started the Northern Expedition. He recruited warlords and armies. Chiang supported the Kuomintang (KMT). Chiang hated what the communists were doing. The Communists were pushed out by Chiang. Mao started his own force and communist society. Chiang arrested and executed hundreds of communists. After the killing of the communists Mao formed an alliance with Zhu De and Lin Biao and they called it the Red Army. The Chinese Civil War began in April 1927. It was fought between the KMT and the communists. Both sides fought to transform China. In 1934 Mao and the communists were surrounded and were forced to retreat and it was called the Long March. Many of the people retreated to regroup and attack again. In 1936 the Long March ended. The KMT and the communist party came together to fight in the Second-Sino Japanese War. Chiang was held prisoner and was really forced to side with Zao. Soviet Volunteers, Germany, and the US helped China. Japan surrendered in the Chinese mainland and Taiwan was reclaimed. It was the largest Asian war. Chiang tried to get rid of the communists after the war, but the communists had massive support from the Soviet Union. The communist party defeated Chiang. The KMT government was forced to retreat to Taiwan. The Communist forces increased from 1 million to 4 million. Marxism was started by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The study of Marxism in China was started by Mao. It gave people hope and promised great riches for China. Marxism influenced many people to support Mao and his study of communism. The communist society brought down the nationalists and communism became China's official government. The Great Leap Forward was a campaign by the Communist party that made everyone work in the steel factories. Farmers left their farms, which was 85% of the economy, and it lead to a huge famine. Millions of people were starving and Mao's approval rating was falling. People started to protest. The Cultural Revolution was started by Mao so he could get rid of the people that were betraying him
After World War II, the United States and Soviet Union's relationship started to deteriorate. The Soviet Union went after countries on the edge of communism like China. America felt that communism would be the downfall of schools and labor unions. Nixon was the first president to visit China. He arrived in China on February 21, 1972. He met with Mao Zedong. He visited Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. At the end of the trip the US and China issued the Shanghai Communiqué. It was a statement of foreign policy views. The United States agreed to pull all of its forces out of Taiwan. The biggest thing that came out of this trip was that we finally recognized Communist China. The trip was televised for all eight days that Nixon was in China. Max Frankel received a Pulitzer Prize for covering the trip for the New York Times.
g. Nuclear Arms Race and Reductions
The nuclear arm race was when the Soviet Union and United States built up nuclear weapons. The time period that this took place was from 1945-1970. The Manhattan project was the project that built atomic weapons. We feared the Germany was advancing there technology, It was led by Leslie Groves. The Potsdam Conference was when Stalin first found out that the United States was making atomic weapons. He got inside information from atomic spies like Klaus Fuchs and Theodore Hall. Stalin knew about the nuclear weapons before Truman because they were extremely secret. The Soviets had a lack of uranium which made it had to make bombs. The first Soviet bomb was dropped on August 29, 1949. It was called the Joe One. The United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb in November 1952. The Mutually Assured Destruction also referred to as MAD said that if one side attacked the other side, the side that was attacked would launch a bigger attack. Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative was used by the United States to defend them from being attacked by missiles. Lasers and rockets that could hit the missile and destroy it could be used. Some other things that were discussed were the possibility of rockets that would stick to the missile and destroy it.
h. How the Cold War ended.
In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. It was one of the biggest reasons that the Cold War ended. The Soviets spent a lot of money to fight rebels that were in Afghanistan. The United States was even financing the rebels. It was Russia's Soviet Union. It was very hard to win because the rebels would use guerilla tactics. It was impossible to defeat the rebels because they would attack and then retreat into the hills. On Feb. 15, 1989 the Soviets left Afghanistan. The people in the Soviet Union were struggling because the government spent too much money on the war instead of helping their people. Mikhail Gorbachev was the last communist leader of the Soviet Union. He brought communism down because he wanted to help the failing economy. The people of the Soviet Union also wanted to have more. Glasnost gave people more freedom of speech. Perestroika refers to the economic and political reforms that Gorbachev introduced. After the breakup of the Soviet Union Boris Yeltsin became the first president of June 12, 1991.
5. Students will understand the causes, effects and major events of the Korean Conflict
North Korea wanted to make the country whole again by making the whole country under the control of communism, but South Korea along with the United States wanted to reunite the two countries under a democratic government. The whole Korean Conflict was a back and forth war. Nobody has ever really won the conflict. The two countries are still fighting about what type of government is better for them.
6. Students will understand the causes, effects and major events of the Vietnam Conflict.
The Vietnam Conflict was from 1950-1975. Vietnam was split in two just like Korea was. It was a French colony until 1950 when they defeated the French. All they wanted was independence. The United States started to get involved in 1960. The North invaded the South because they wanted to unite the country. North was Communist. The United States helped the South. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was when the US ships were attacked which gave us permission to invade Vietnam. It was hard to find the enemy because the Vietcing used women and children to sabotage the United States. William Westmoreland was the main general during the Vietnam war. The Tet Offensive was when the Vietcong attacked every major city in South Vietnam. It really made public opinion shift. People started to question the government. It made them come out and fight which is what we wanted them to do. Ho Chi Minh was the North Communist leader. He dressed like a common person to show people he was no better then them. Nixon called for Vietnamizatio so they could fight each other. Vietnam became communist and still is today.
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