exam two Flashcards
(44 cards)
The First Red Scare
A “Red Scare” refers to the widespread panic through America’s population and government caused by the seeming major threat Communists pose to American society.
Post world war one, the Red Scare of 1919, organizations such as the National Security League and American Protective League attacked whomever they saw as “radicals.” The actions of these organizations primarily consisted of planning and executing attacks on members of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union, those openly discussing liberal policies and ideology, eastern and southern European immigrants, and mostly, Socialists both in and out of political office and left-leaning party members
The Palmer Raids
A. Mitchell Palmer, attorney general, took this opportunity to organize a full-fledged assault on the “Reds.” He appointed J. Edgar Hoover to head his Radical Division, later known as the General Intelligence Division, of the attorney general’s office, and together, they made it their life’s goal to vigorously investigate and deport immigrants. On January 2nd and 3rd, 1920, Palmer and Hoover organized simultaneous raids on the establishments and homes of presumed radicals, arresting more than three-thousand Ukrainians, Jews, Lithuanians, Russians, Poles, and others. Later known as the Palmer Raids, the actions of Mitchell and Hoover further solidified the anti-immigrant sentiment already stirring in the hearts and minds of the American people.
The Great Migration
The demand for unskilled workers in the industrial capitals of the North instigated what is now known as the Great Migration. By 1916, there was little to no steady flow of European immigrants arriving in the United States due to the Great War, so to fill unwanted, labor-intensive jobs, labor agents and recruiters flocked to the South actively seeking out African American men, women, and their families. Life in the South was so miserable for many African Americans due to Jim Crow laws and sharecropping, that moving north seemed like a no brainer
Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
Marcus Garvey, and in turn, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, first and foremost believed that blacks should be intensely proud to be black, and because one is so proud of their heritage, one should preserve their culture by only reproducing with other African Americans. He disdained any outwardly black organization that was financially supported by whites, and he brutally criticized the way light-skinned African Americans utilized their lighter skin tone for political, economic, or social gain. By 1922, he became a cause of division in the black community and practically every African American leader had come out in opposition to him. Setting his failures aside, Marcus Garvey and the UNIA embodied many African Americans disappointment with the aftermath of World War I, the importance of racial pride, the significance of blacks working with whites, and the impressions a mass movement can make on other’s consciousness.
The Second Ku Klux Klan
The Klan’s priorities were “education, temperance, the flag, Protestantism, and charity.”
“Law and Order”: the need for enforcement of Prohibition—violators were of Catholic and Jewish background, and many were involved with organized crime
Prohibition was important to the new Klan because it further protects the sanctity of the “pure woman” that Protestantism demands, and the KKK openly viewed itself as an agent of moral reform.
It was ironic because the Klan and the Catholic Church having similar ideas about 1920s America
National Origins Act of 1924
National Origins Act of 1924 sharply restricted the number of immigrants allowed to enter the U.S., and it also set immigration quotas for each European nation. By percentage (2-3%)******
Why was prohibition a progressive issue?
Because alcoholism ran rampant through immigrants and the poor and they believed that prohibition would solve that problem***
many believed that alcohol undercut the outcome of the worker, but it was always about someone else’s temperance, not one’s own
Why was it difficult for “wets” to organize?
The wets didn’t have the same “moral ring” around them that drys did which appealed to the conservative masses
There was also the massive anti-german sentiment surrounded breweries in particular due to the impact of world war one***
How did WWI impact prohibition?
Anti-German sentiment
Men were lynched, sourkraut was thrown away, LOTS of anti-german propaganda in media
So, naturally, people viewed treason and beer as the same thing
What was the immediate impact of prohibition?
Fifth largest industry in the US was now gone, SO many jobs were lost***
1928 Presidential Campaign: why did it become a campaign of bigotry and hatred? How did radio play a role? How did it show the divisions between the city and the countryside?
Hoover led the “Food Adminstration” during WWI, helping Americans who couldnt fight over seas feel much more patriotic
Al Smith was an Irish Catholic liberal who did not appeal to the conservative south and rural
Al Smiths voice on the radio backfired on him. He sounded like a big city man with a raspy voice which did not appeal to the general masses
The city was wet (Al Smith) rural was dry (Hoover), liberal vs conservative
Alfred E. Smith: background and beliefs
Irish Catholic first genreation American who grew up in the immigrant heavy lower east side of NYC. Became the Mayor of NYC, then gov of NY, known for being a progressive reformer
The Lavander Scare
Don’t be gay in the FBI
They felt that you could be blackmailed into selling secrets to the Soviet Union
At this time, it was “illegal” to be gay
The Smith Act
1940- it was illegal to be a member of an organization that seeks to overthrow the federal government
translates into if yourea a part of an orgazication that was seen as “submersive”, youre a threat tto the federal government (communist party, black panthers, NAACP)
The Federal Loyalty Program
Investigate federal employees for ties to communism
people were dismissed for alcoholism, drug use, high debt, other money problems, and homosexuality
All things that could lead to morality issues and be subject to blackmail
16,000 investigated, 2,900 resigned, 379 dismissed
The Rosenbergs
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple with children, were both convicted of espionage, executed in June 1953
There was proof of Julius committing espionage, but not Ethel. The federal government executed her anyway.
Containment Policy
containing communism out of the US**
Marshall Plan
rebuild western Europe post-war (so no one had to turn to communism to restore, AND these countries will be buying American shit after their economy rebuilds)
NSC-68
accelerate the arms race
a grand overview of suggested policy towards the Soviet Union and the communist world.
NSC-68
accelerate the arms race
a grand overview of suggested policy towards the Soviet Union and the communist world.
New Look Foreign Policy
Farewell Address- beware of the “military-industrial complex”
Too costly to fight the U.S.S.R. all over the world: instead, rely on “massive retaliatory powers” (buildup of nuclear weapons) and Covert Action (the CIA would launch covert action operations against any government that had ties or perceived ties to communism)
What challenges faced the Arevalo and Arbenz administrations in Guatemala?
UFCO wants to make a monopoly in Guatemala
What were the ties between UFCo and the Eisenhower administration?
Eisenhower saw the coupe in Guatemala as a great success, when really the duelles bros ***
Why did the U.S. and Cuba experience a break in diplomatic relations?
Agrarian Reform Law: seizes 400 of the largest estates in cuba (including his own mother’s and redistributes it to the poor without compensation)
Lowered Utility Rates: impacting American utility companies
Cuban-Soviet Trade Agreement/Oil and Sugar leading to Operation Zapata and Bay of Pigs
October 1960 U.S. economic embargo
Castro nationalized all American-owned businesses
U.S. severed diplomatic relations January 1961
