1. Lesson # 11
The USA
in World Wars
Course: American Civilizations,
IRIM, Moldova
Instructor: Pomazanovschi Irina

2. A Century of Growth
1800
• 16 states
• 6 million people
• Lived on farms and in
small villages
1900
• 45 states
• 76 million people
• > Half lived in cities
• Worked in offices and
factories

3. 1800 1900

4. 1800 1900

5. 1800 1900

6. Meetings and marches to get the women the right to vote
Suffragist Movement
Elizabeth Stanton Susan B. Anthony

8. The Spanish –American War
1898
Cuba was a
Spanish colony
that was
fighting for its
independence.
Many Americans
sympathized with the
Cuban patriots. + USA
invested 100mln.$ in
the Cuban sugar
industry.

9. • Wanted to avoid war;
• Sent the battleship
Maine to protect
Americans and their
property in Havana
• Spanish rulers welcomed
Americans;
• On February 15th, 1898 the
battle ship Maine exploded;
• 260 American sailors killed;
• Spanish denied their
involvement;
• USA blamed the Spanish
In April 1898 Spain and the
USA went to war.

10. In 10 weeks the war over.

11. USA-Spain Peace Treaty
• Cuba became an independent
nation;
• USA gained control over Puerto Rico,
the Philippine islands, and the island of
Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

12. USA Expands
• 1867 USA bought Alaska from Russia
• 1898 USA took control of Hawaii

14. The USA goes to War

15. Congress: law
All men between 18
and 45 to register
for the army
By 1917 – 3 million
Americans in the
Armed forces  2
millions sent to fight
in Europe

17. Austria-
Hungary
surrendered
Germany
surrendered

18. After the World War I
• President Wilson supported
In 1920 women all
the country voted
for the 1st time in
the presidential
elections.

19. MARCHING FOR SUFFRAGE
After the war, President Wilson supported woman’s suffrage.

20. After the World War I
• Blacks faced discrimination
Riots in Chicago and Washington D.C.
Dead and hundreds wounded

21. JAZZ Louis Armstrong (above left) was a famous jazz artist.

22. Mid 1920’s: Ku Klux Klan renewed
• Attracted people who did not like Black Americans,
Jews, Catholics and Foreigners
• 4-5 million members

23. Presidential Elections 1920
Promised “Return to Normalcy”

24. 1920 – 1930: Roaring Twenties
- 1925 every 10 sec. new
Model T car = 260$
- New ways:
- To dress;
- To talk;
- To have fun (Charleston, radio,
cinema-no sound, then “talkies”;
records in sport, new home
appliances)

25. - No demand for goods;
- Factories closed;
- unemployment spread

26. Great Depression

27. “Government would be responsible for helping
people in hardships”
Brain Trust
Best minds in Government
Labour
experts
College
professors
Economists
and
Businessmen
Franklin Delano
Roosevelt
Relief for the suffering
during the depression
Help to farmers and
businessmen
goals

28. How did the New Deal help Americans?

29. USA in World War II

32. What political
changes took
place in
Germany, Italy
and Japan in
the period
between the 2
world wars?

33. Pearl Harbor

35. What happened to
Japanese
Americans during
the war?
Why do historians
call the action of
the US
government a sad
mistake?

37. The atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki in Japan were conducted by the
United States during the final stages of World
War II in August 1945.

38. The two bombings were the first
and remain the only use of nuclear
weapons in wartime.

39. The Marshall
Plan was the
American
initiative to
aid Europe, in
which the United
States gave
economic support
to help rebuild
European
economies after
the end of World
War II in order to
prevent the
spread of Soviet
Communism.

40. The United Nations (UN) is
an intergovernmental
organization established
on 24 October 1945 to
promote international co-
operation.

41. Additional sources:
• US History Overview 3 - WWII to Vietnam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2eKaxU-8kA
• BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-
ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
• Marshall Plan -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan
• United States and the United Nations -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_and_
the_United_Nations