Study book Society and Culture WWI and forward

Question 1

Major events that led to U.S. involvement in WWI

Answer 1

(1914-1918 triggered by assassination of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand)

1. Sinking of the Lusitania
2. German U-boat aggression
3. Zimmerman note

Question 2

Wilson’s 14 points

Answer 2

he proposed 14 points as basis for a peace settlement to end the war. Included:

1. 5 points outlining general ideals
2. 8 points to resolve immediate problems of political and territorial nature
3. one point proposing an org of nations with the intent of maintaining world peace

Question 3

Significant jazz musicians of the 1920’s

Answer 3

Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton

Question 4

Significant big band and swing jazz musicians

Answer 4

Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, the Dorsey Brothers

Question 5

National Origins Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act)

Answer 5

of immigrants allowed into the US was based on the pop. of each nationality of immigrants who were living in the country in 1890 and only 2% of each were allowed in; Asian immigration was not allowed at all (post WWI fear of communism)

Question 6

Ku Klux Klan

Answer 6

1866 by Confederate Army vets who were white supremacists, anti-Semitic, anti-Catholicism, and overtly racist and used violence. Spread their ideas through the film called The Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith)

Question 7

American Civil Liberties Union

Answer 7

ACLU founded in 1920 with goals to protect immigrants and other citizens who were threatened with prosecution for their political beliefs, and to support labor unions which were also under threat by the gov’t during the Red Scare

Question 8

Anti-Defamation League

Answer 8

1913, formed to prevent anti-Semitic behavior and practices and also worked to prevent all forms of racism and discrimination based on race and spoke against the KKK. (still exists today)

Question 9

Great Depression

Answer 9

started on Black Tuesday in Oct of 1929 due to various reasons:

1. economic disparity b/w rich and middle class
2. disparity in economic distribution in industries
3. growing use of credit, leading to an inflated demand for some goods
4. gov’t support of new industries rather than existing agriculture
5. risky stock market investments leading to the stock market crash

Question 10

New Deal

Answer 10

FDR’s plan to get out of Depression. Goals included:

1. Relief: creating jobs
2. Recovery: stimulate economy through National Recovery Administration
3. Reform: pass legislation to prevent similar occurences in the future

also passed Soil Conservation Service

Question 11

Roosevelt’s alphabet organizations

Answer 11

1. Civilian Conservation Corps: provided jobs in the forest industry
2. Agricultural Adjustment Administration: increased agricultural income
3. Tennessee Valley Authority: organized projects to build dams for flood control and electricity
4. Public Works Administration and Civil Works Administration: initiated over 34,000 projects
5. Works Progress Administration: helped unemployed persons to secure jobs on gov’t work projects or elsewhere

Question 12

What actions were taken during the Roosevelt administration to prevent future crashes and stabilize the economy?

Answer 12

1. Glass-Steagle Act: separated investments from the business of banking
2. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC): helped regulate Wall St investment practices
3. Wagner Act: provided worker and union rights to improve relations between employees and employers
4. Social Security Act of 1935: provided pensions as well as unemployment insurance

Question 13

what were the regulations regarding labor that were passed after the Great Depression?

Answer 13

1. The Wagner Act: est that unions were legal and protected its members and required collective bargaining (later amended by Taft Hartley Act and Landrum Griffin Act)
2. Davis-Bacon Act 1931: provided fair compensation for contractors
3. Walsh-Healey Act 1936: est. a minimum wage, child labor laws, safety standards and overtime pay

Question 14

Roosevelt’s approach to WWII

Answer 14

remain neutral (isolationist) but be “interventionist” by willingly supplying aid and war materials to Allied Nations. Interventionists such as Charles Lindbergh thought they should stay out completely or would become involved in a war they were not prepared to fight

Question 15

Why did U.S. join the war?

Answer 15

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Because of the Tripartite Pact that the Axis powers signed, Germany, Italy, and then Bulgaria and Hungary declared war on America

Question 16

What led to Germany’s surrender during WWII?

Answer 16

in 1941, Hitler violated the Non-Aggression pact signed with Stalin in 1939 by invading the USSR so then he joined the Allied Nations. Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill planned to defeat Germany first, then Japan, bringing an end. Allies drove Axis out of Africa and Germany was defeated at Stalingrad. Allies liberated Italy in 1945 and on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), Allies invaded Normandy and drove German forces back. On April 25, 1945, Berlin was surrounded by Soviet troops and on May 7, Germany surrendered.

Question 17

Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945

Answer 17

war with Japan continued even after Germany surrendered but they eventually gave up after we dropped 2 atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, causing horrific devastation

Question 18

Yalta Conference

Answer 18

when Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met in Yalta in February (before Germany’s imminent defeat in May) to discuss post-war treatment of Europe

Question 19

Potsdam Conference

Answer 19

When Clement Attlee, Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin met after Germany’s defeat to formalize Yalta Conference plans. Basic provisions included:

1. dividing Germany and Berlin into 4 zones of occupation
2. demilitarization of Germany
3. Poland remaining under Soviet control
4. outlawing the Nazi party
5. trials (Nuremberg) for Nazi leaders
6. relocation of numerous German citizens
7. USSR joined the United Nations formed in 1945
8. Establishment of the United Nations Security Council, consisting of the U.S., the UK, USSR, China, and France

Question 20

Agreements made with post-war Japan

Answer 20

US occupation removed Japan’s military, made it a democracy, took power from the emperor and gave it to the people, and allowed women right to vote. Japan was also not allowed to declare war and had 25 gov’t officials tried for war crimes. 1951 peace treaty was finally signed which gave back Japan’s military for purposes of self defense but also stripped Japan of its overseas empire

Question 21

Immigration during and after WWII

Answer 21

Alien Registration Act of 1940 which required aliens over 14 to be fingerprinted and registered, and then internment of 120,000 Japanese, 2/3 of which were U.S. citizens

Question 22

442nd Regimental Combat Team

Answer 22

consisted of Japanese Americans fighting in Europe for the US; most highly decorated unit per member and suffered 93% casualty rate during the war

Question 23

Tuskegee Airmen

Answer 23

African American aviators were first of African Americans to fly for the military, though not allowed to be official navy pilots, were highly decorated

Question 24

Navajo Code Talkers

Answer 24

native Navajo that used their language to transmit info among Allies forces which Axis powers were never able to translate because it was not a code. Instrumental in taking of Iwo Jima

Question 25

circumstances for women during the WWII

Answer 25

they served widely in the war and moved into the workforce while men were overseas. Rosie the Riveter as symbol

Question 26

Harry S. Truman

Answer 26

took over after FDR near the end of the war and made the final decision to drop the atomic bombs. Initiated a 21 point plan known as Fair Deal which expanded Social Security, provided public housing, and made the Fair Employment Practices Act permanent. Truman also helped support Greece and Turkey under threat from USSR, and supported S Korea against communist North Korea. He also participated in the formation of NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Question 27

Korean War

Answer 27

began in 1950 and ended in 1953 and was the first time a world organization (UN) played a military role in a war. North Korea wanted to bring the whole country under communist rule. UN asked member nations to support SK and US along with many other member nations sent troops. Truce rather than a peace treaty ended it, dividing North and South at the 38th latitude

Question 28

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Answer 28

worked to minimize tensions during Cold War, negotiated peace treaty with Russia after death of Stalin, enforced desegregation of schools by sending troops to Little Rock when the schools were desegregated and ordered desegregation of the military. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were formed during his administration

Question 29

John. F Kennedy

Answer 29

although cut short by his assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963, he instituted economic programs that led to a period of continuous expansion unmatched since before WWII. He formed the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, orgs intended to help developing nations. He oversaw the passage of new civil rights legislation and drafted plans to attack poverty and its causes, and supported the arts.

Question 30

Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 30

occurred in 1962 when Russians placed nuclear missiles in Cuba to protect them from US invasion, but while US was concerned about this, USSR was concerned about US having nuclear missiles in Turkey. Eventually both countries removed their missile sites

Question 31

Lyndon B. Johnson

Answer 31

assumed presidency after JFK was killed and supported civil rights bills, tax cuts, and other wide-reaching legislation that Kennedy had supported. His Great Society plan enacted legislation to fight disease and poverty, renew urban areas, support education and environmental conservation. Medicare was instituted under his administration and is known, less positively, for his handling of Vietnam War

Question 32

Civil Rights Movement major figures

Answer 32

Rosa Parks: “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”
Martin Luther King, Jr.: who drew on Gandhi’s belief of non-violent opposition
Malcolm X: espoused less peaceful means of change and supported black nationalism
Stokely Carmichael: invented the term “black power” and was head of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and felt that separate political and social institutions should be developed for blacks
Adam Clayton Powell: led rent strikes and bus boycotts to increase hiring of blacks
Jesse Jackson: selected to head the Chicago Operation Breadbasket in 1966 and went on to organize boycotts and other actions and also had an unsuccessful run for President

Question 33

Legislation passed at a result of the Civil Rights Movement

Answer 33

1. Brown v. Board of Education: separate was not equal
2. Civil Rights Act of 1964: discrimination illegal in employment, education, or public accomodation
3. Voting Rights Act of 1965: ended practices mostly in the south that barred blacks from exercising their voting rights such as poll taxes and literacy tests

Question 34

Vietnam War

Answer 34

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