USH Weekly Blog 4-3/4-7

[8Abbie]

Monday: Absent 

Tuesday: Watched video 

Wednesday: Watched video 

Thursday: 

• VJ Day 
  • August 14/15, 1945 (Official UK) 
  • September 2, 1945 (Official for US)
    • When Japan officially signed on USS Missouri
• Potsdam Conference- July, 1945 
  • On July 26, the United States, Great Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration 
  • Announced the terms for Japan's surrender 
  • "We will not deviate from them. There are no alternatives."
  • Dismantle the current government of Japan (excluding Emperor Hirohito)
  • The Allies (US) will occupy Japan 
  • Japan will consist only of the major islands (Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku). It will lose all territory gained in WWII and years leading up to to it. 
  • Japanese military forces will be disarmed and allowed to return home 
  • There will be war crimes trial for the atrocities committed by Japan throughout WWII
  • Democracy will be promoted as well as freedom of speech, religion, and of thought, as well as respect for fundamental human rights 
  • Japan will be allowed to have industry so they can make money to pay for reparations. World trade will also be enabled at some point 
  • Allied (US) occupations of Japan (1945-1952) will end once Japan accomplishes all the about points 

Started on US

• US after WWI 
  • Rosie the Riveter
  • 
• Allied Powers 
  • Main Powers: 
    • Great Britain, Soviet Union, United States, China, France 
  • Latin America: 
    • Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Venezuela
  • Europe: 
    • Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, San Marino, Turkey, Yugoslavia, 
  • Africa: 
    • Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia, South Africa 
  • Asia/Other:
    • China, India, Iran, Iraq, Mongolia, Saudi, Arabia, Syria, New Zealand, Australia, Canada
• US after WWI 
  • US never signed the Treaty of Versailles 
    • Wilson (Democrat) vs. Congress (Republican controlled) 
    • Join the League of Nations or go back to isolationism? 
  • Republican Warren Harding won the 1920 Presidential election with a promise to "Return to Normalcy"
• Washington Naval Conference- 1921-1922 
• 4 Power Pact
  • 4 Power Pact- US, GB, France and Japan would respect each other's possessions in the Pacific
• 5 Power Pact 
  • Signed by Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy 
  • Designed to prevent an arm's race 
  • It limited the construction of battleships, battle cruiser and aircraft carriers 
  • Did no restrict cruisers, destroyers or submarines
• 9 Power Pact 
  • Guaranteed Chinese independence and upheld the Open Door Policy 
  • Signed by the United States, Japan, China, France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Portugal
• Kellogg-Briand Pact 
  • The US did sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact denouncing war as a means to settle disputes
• Neutrality in General 
  • The Neutrality Acts were passed by the US in the 1930s in response to the issues in Europe and Asia that eventually led to World War II 
  • They were caused by the desire to be isolationist in the US following WWI 
  • Passed to ensure that the US would not become involved in world conflicts (war) 
  • US had very strong history of isolationism 
• US Neutrality Acts during 1930's 
  • Neutrality Act of 1935- stop trading with countries at war 
    • Signed on August 31, 1935 
    • It was designed to last six months 
    • Banned US trade of arms and war materials with any country at war 
    • It aslo declared that US citizens traveling on warring ships traveled at their own risk
  • Neutrality Act of 1936- stop loaning money to countries at war
    • Signed in February 1936 
    • Renewed the provisions of the 1935 act for another 14 months 
    • It also forbade all loans or credit to belligerents 
    • The act did not cover "civil wars", such as the Spanish Civil War 
    • The act also did not cover material such as trucks and oil 
  • Neutrality acts of 1937- Cash and Carry- system- weapons not included 
    • Passed in May, 1937 
    • Set to expire after two year 
    • Included the provisions of the earlier acts this time without expiration date 
    • This time is also included civil war s
    • U.S. ships were prohibited from transporting any passengers or items to belligerents 
    • U.S. citizens were forbidden from traveling on ships of belligerent nations 
    • A "cash and carry" system was set up 
    • The President could permit the sale of supplies to belligerents in Europe as long as they paid immediately in cash and transported the goods on their own ships
    • FDR believed that cash-and-carry would help France and Great Britain if war broke out with Germany 
    • FDR chose not to invoke the Neutrality Acts on Japan and China since they had not formally declared war
  • Neutrality Act of 1939- Cash and Cary system- weapons included
    • Passed in November, 1939 
    • Allowed for arms trade with belligerent nations on a cash-and-carry basis 
    • US citizens and ships were barred from entering war zones designated by the President
• Quarantine Speech- 1937 
• Panay Incident- December 1937
  • American gunboat attacked on river in China by Japan 
  • 3 US troops killed, 45 wounded 
  • Japan said it was an accident, apologized and paid us $$ 
  • Worsened US-Japanese relations
• Bases for Destroyers 
  • Passed in September, 1940 between the US and Great Britain 
  • Fifty US destroyers were given to Great Britain in exchange for land righter (for 99 years) on British colonies for naval or air base purposes 
  • Newfoundland, eastern side of the Bahamas, southern coast of Jamaica, western coast of St. Lucia, west coast of Trinidad Antigua, British Guiana and Bermuda were the areas the US received
• End of US Neutrality-Lend Lease Act 
  • The end of neutrality for the US came with the Lend-Lease act, passed in March, 1941 
  • This act allowed the U.S. to sell, lend or give war materials to nations that US wanted to support 
  • US gave $50 billion ($650 billion today) to Allied nations throughout the war

Friday: 

• Arab Spring vs. "Rebels"
  • ISIS in commen
• Assad's Government
  • Syria
    • Russia
    • Iran
  • "Rebels"
    • US

Continued on US notes 

• FDR Signs the Lend-Lease Act- March 1941
• Selective Training and Service Act 
  • Passed in September, 1940 and ended in 1947 
  • Requited that men between the age of 21 and 35 register for the draft 
  • Extended to all men aged 18 to 45 once US entered war
  • First peacetime draft in US history
• How Did the Draft Work?
  • Local draft boards were set up from coast to coast 
  • Each male registered were given a number between 1-7,836 
  • In Washington, papers with the numbers 1 through 7,836 printed on them were put into capsules, one number to a capsule 
  • The capsules were dumped into a giant fishbowl and then stirred 
  • Finally the capsules were drawn from the bowl one by one to establish the draft order
  • If your number was chosen, you were now officially part of the US military!
  • 158 was the first number chosen (6175 young men were drafted with that number)