U.s. history test prep

U.S. History Mrs. Moore

STAR Preparation
- Foundations of American
Political and Social Thought
- Industrialization and the U.S.
Role as a World Power
- United States Between the
World Wars
- World War II and Foreign
Affairs
- Post-World War II Domestic
Issues

Religion in Early America
• Many groups came to America seeking freedom of
religion
• Puritan New England established traditions of self-
government, family-centered communiities
• Protestants believed that God rewarded hard work led
to work ethic that focused on individual responsibility
and blame for social conditions
• Quakers promoted religious tolerance, equality and
early opposition to slavery
• Great Awakening (1730s-40s) were Christian revivals
– Challenge traditional authority, including that of the British
monarchy and established churches
– Personal commitment to religion
– Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield

The Enlightenment
• Intellectual movement that spread from Europe to the
Americas stating that logic and reason could be used to
solve all problems
• Influenced the thinking of leaders of the American
Revolution
• Beliefs:
– Truth can be discovered through reason
– What is natural is also good and reasonable
– People can find happiness in this life
– Society and humankind can progress and improve
– People’s liberty should be protected by the law

The Enlightenment
• John Locke
– Natural rights: life, liberty and property
– People have right to change or overthrow a government that
does not protect their “natural rights”
– Influenced Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of
Independence: “unalienable rights” and overthrow government
• Montesquieu
– Separation of powers
– Three branches of government: legislative, judicial, executive
– Each branch serves as a check on the other branches’ power
– Influenced James Madison and U.S. Constitution

The Enlightenment
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
– Natural goodness of people
– Individual freedom
– Government should be formed and guided by the general will of
the people
– Social Contract Theory: citizens accept certain rights and
responsibilities and grant government the power to uphold those
– Influenced Simon Bolivar to fight for independence of Venezuela
• Cesare Beccaria
– New ideas about justice system
– People accused of crimes had rights
– Against torture
– Ideas based on belief that governments should seek the greatest
good for the greatest number of people

Effects of the Enlightenment
• Encouraged people to use observation to make new
discoveries, rely on reason and question traditional
authority
• Led many American colonists to challenge the authority
of the British monarchy
• Thomas Jefferson drew on the ideas of John Locke
when writing the Declaration of Independence
• Many ideas in Constitution and Bill of Rights are based
on ideas of Enlightenment thinkers

American Political System
• North vs. South: Should slaves be counted as population
for determining congressional representation?
– Three-Fifths Compromise allowed for three-fifths of a state’s
slaves to be counted as population
• Division of powers: How should power be divided between
the states and the national government?
– Constitution gives delegated powers, such as control of foreign
affairs, to the national government. States are given reserved
powers, such as supervising education
• Separation of Powers: How can the authority of the
national government be limited?
– Constitution created three branches of government (executive,
legislative, judicial
– Each limits the power of the others in a system of checks and
balances

Great Compromise
• Small states vs. large states
– How is representation determined?
• Virginia Plan
– 3 branches of government
– Two houses (bicameral) of Congress (House of Representatives,
Senate) with representation based on population
– Benefits large states
• New Jersey plan
– One house (unicameral) with equal representation
– Benefits small states
• Great Compromise
– 3 branches of government
– Two houses of Congress
– House of Representatives based on population
– Senate has equal representation

Constitution & Bill of Rights
• Nine states needed to ratify the Constitution
• Antifederalists: Constitution lacked protection of
individual rights
• Federalists: Constitution gave only limited powers to the
national government
• Federalists finally agreed to Bill of Rights in order to get
the Constitution ratified
• Establishment Clause: government cannot decide on a
single religion that everyone is required to follow; cannot
support one type of religion over another
• Free Exercise Clause: government cannot prevent
people from worshipping or interfere with how they
choose to worship

Nullification Crisis
• 1832: South Carolina moved to nullify tariff laws passed
by Congress and threatened to secede if tariffs were
enforced
• States have the right to nullify a federal law within its
borders and to withdraw from the Union if it were not
allowed to nullify a federal law
– Could do so since the government was created by the people, for
the people
• President Jackson saw these actions as a direct
challenge to the Constitution as the “supreme law of the
land” and threatened to use federal troops to enforce
the law
• Congress lowered tariffs to avoid problems

The Civil War
• 1861-1865: After Lincoln was elected in 1860, South
Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union
• Southerners saw conflict over slavery as a struggle
between states rights and federal control
• Confederacy declared states’ rights took precedence
over the Union, Constitution and federal laws
• Lincoln said states did not have the right to secede
• Four years later, Union victory led to the abolition of
slavery and readmission of the Confederate states to
the Union

Religious Influence
• Second Great Awakening – revivals led to social reform
and growth in church membership
– Individuals should seek salvation and improve themselves and
society
– Charles Grandison Finney
• 1840s: large numbers of Irish and German Catholic
immigrants faced religious prejudice
– Beginnings of nativism

Amendments
• 13th (1865): Abolished slavery
• 14th (1868): Gave all citizens equal protection under the
law; gave citizenship to those born or naturalized in the
country
• 15th (1870): No one may be prevented from voting due to
race, color or previous condition of servitude; resulted in
literacy tests, poll taxes and grandfather clauses to limit
voting rights of African Americans
• 19th (1920): Gave women the right to vote
• 24th (1964): Abolished poll taxes
• 26th (1971): Gave 18 year-olds the right to vote

Reconstruction
• Civil War destroyed South’s economy and infrastructure
• Sharecropping kept many former slaves locked in debt
and poverty
• Slavery abolished; African Americans became educated
and took part in government
• South restricted voting rights through literacy test and
poll taxes
• Grandfather clauses allowed poor, illiterate white to
vote, but not African Americans
• Jim Crow laws established segregation
– Plessy vs. Ferguson decision: separate but equal does not
violate 14th amendment
• Wade-Davis bill vetoed by Lincoln
– Too harsh and would destroy Union

Industrial Revolution
• Need for war supplies during Civil War led to rapid
growth of industry and cities in the North/Northeast
• U.S. shifted from mostly rural to industrial society
• Railroad lines expanded allowing people, raw materials,
farm goods and finished products to be moved quickly
• Linked urban and commercial centers
• Mechanization of farming displaced many farm workers
• By late 1800s, U.S. industry made more products than
we could consume
– Looked abroad for raw materials for manufacturing and new
markets for selling goods
– Need for foreign trade was factor in growth of imperialism

Effects of Industrialization
• Industrialization driven by growing urban population,
which provided cheap labor and a market for new
products
• Overcrowded cities = inadequate housing, poor
transportation, crime, lack of clean water and sanitation
• Factory employees worked 12+ hours/day
• Assembly line made work repetitive and tedious
• Dangerous working conditions, no breaks, low wages
• Child labor common
• Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906)
– Exposed poor working conditions of immigrants in
slaughterhouses
– People reacted most strongly to way meat was processed
– Led to Meat Inspection Act in 1906

Progressive Movement
• 1890-1920
• Goals of protecting social welfare and promoting moral
improvement
• Social Gospel movement advocated labor reforms and
social justice for the poor
– Salvation through service to the poor
– Worked for labor reform
• Supporters of Prohibition in early 1900s
– Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) became largest
women’s group in U.S. history

19th Century America
• Railroads linked formerly isolated towns and new towns
sprang up along rail lines
• Industrialization brought wealth to many but caused
major pollution
• Many cities near water for easy transportation
• Large influx of immigrants
• Working class moved into urban, crowded multifamily
homes while transportation allowed middle and upper
classes to move to suburbs

Americanization
• Millions of immigrants came to U.S. from eastern and
southern Europe (1890-1920)
• Native-born Americans viewed immigrants as a threat
• New immigrants should assimilate – adopt the language
and customs of the dominant culture in America
• Effort to teach new immigrants the skills and customs
that would allow them to become part of the mainstream
• Immigrants and their children were encouraged to
attend school to learn English, American history and
government
• Many assimilated quickly, while others resented the
idea of giving up their language and culture

Political Machines
Urban Political Machines Responses by Immigrants Responses by Middle-
Class Reformers
- Emerged in major cities, - Got help with most urgent - Wanted city
such as Baltimore, New problems government to be
York and San Francisco - Were offered jobs, housing more responsive and
after the Civil War or help with becoming full effiecient
- Organizations that citizens in exchange for - Distrusted
controlled all the activities votes immigrants’ power in
of a political party in a city - Many immigrants supported politics
- Offered services, jobs, or the political machines - New form of local
favors in exchange for - Some immigrants worked government develops
votes or financial support their way up in the political - City council, manager
- Run by city bosses who machine organization - Some mayors
controlled access to - Knowledge of needs and enacted reforms and
government jobs and language of immigrants put encouraged citizens
business licenses them in good position to to take an active role
- Led to election fraud and secure immigrants’ votes in managing cities
political corruption

Trusts and Cartels
• Growth of corporate mergers and trusts led to
monopolies
– Corporations usually accomplished a merger by buying out the
stock of another corporation
– In trust agreements, companies turn over their stock to a group
of trustees
• Andrew Carnegie
– Better products, more cheaply
– Control of raw material and distribution system for steel
• Vertical integration: buying out suppliers and transportation systems
• Horizontal integration: buying out competing steel manufacturers
– Controlled resources, manufacturing and distribution of
steel through vertical integration

Trusts and Cartels cont.
• John D. Rockefeller
– Trust agreements with competing oil companies
– Became wealth by paying low wages, driving out competition by
selling oil for less than what it cost to produce
• Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
– Response to concerns that corporate mergers were becoming a
threat to competition
– Made it illegal for companies to create trusts that interfered with
free trade between the states or with other countries
– Difficult to enforce and ineffective in breaking up big business
– Business leaders eventually used to it against labor union
activities
• Interfered with free trade

U.S. as an Industrial Power
• U.S. had many natural resources
– Oil, coal, iron
• Government supported business
• Growing urban population = cheap labor, market for new
products
• Transportation network of rivers, canals, roads, railroads
– 1869: first transcontinental railroad was complete, supported by
government land grants
– Rapid transportation of people and goods
– New towns were created
– Railroads had high demand for iron, coal, steel, lumber and glass
which fueled these industries
• Advances in technology led to overproduction and surplus
– U.S. had to look to foreign trade for raw materials and new markets
to sell goods

Social Darwinism vs. Social
Gospel

Populist Movement
• Populist (People’s Party) formed in 1892 building on
work of the Grange and Farmers’ Alliance
– Ease farmers’ and workers’ debt and increase their power in
government
• Economic Reforms
– Increase money supply (unlimited coinage of silver)
– Graduated income tax
– Federal loans
• Political reforms
– Direct election of U.S. Senators (17th Amendment)
– Single terms for president and vice president
– Secret ballot
• Labor reforms
– Eight-hour workday
– Restrictions on immigration

Populist Movement cont.
• Panic of 1893
– Farmers, banks and railroads had too much debt
– Many went out of business
– 20% of workers were unemployed by 1894
• Silver vs. Gold
– How much money should be put in circulation?
– “Gold bugs” included bankers and businessmen who supported
backing paper money with gold, keeping money supply low and value
high
– “Silverites” wanted paper money back by both gold and silver,
increasing money supply and making it easier for workers and farmers
to repay their loans
– William Jennings Bryan, Democratic presidential candidate
• Legacy
– Showed how poor and disadvantaged could organize and have power
– Many populist reforms were adopted in the 1900s

Progressivism
• Four basic goals:
– Protect social welfare by changing harsh conditions of
industrialization
– Promote moral improvement through religious work and
prohibition of alcoholic drinks
– Create economic reform by limiting power of large corporations
– Increase efficiency in industry and government by using scientific
principles
• Reforms:
– Local: mayors would reduced corruption and helped people
become more active in government were elected
– State: governors worked to limit the power of the railroads and
other large businesses; initiative, referendum, recall, 17 th
amendment, direct voting (in California under Hiram Johnson
– National: Teddy Roosevelt strengthened federal regulation of
trusts; laws regulating railroads; national parks; FDA

Progressivism cont.
• Bull Moose Party
– Taft failed to accomplish as much as Progressives wanted
– Teddy Roosevelt helped form the Progressive Party in 1912
– Bull Moose became name because Roosevelt said he was as
strong and fit as a bull moose
• Party died in 1917 after Wilson took office and adopted
many Progressive reforms
– International problems resulting in WWI became more important
than reforms in the U.S.
– Some reforms were accomplished after the war
• Women’s suffrage
• Prohibition

The Open Door Policy
• Background:
– China remained closed to trade for many centuries
– Internal conflicts and wars with other countries during 1800s
made China weak
– Defeated by Japan in Sino-Japanese war in 1864
– Britain, Germany, Russia and France rushed to establish rights
for trade with China
• Purpose: U.S. had 3 strong beliefs about foreign trade
– Growth of U.S. economy depended on exports
– U.S. had right to keep foreign markets open; by force if necessary
– If one area was closed to U.S. products, people or ideas, the U.S.
was threatened

The Open Door Policy cont.
• Events
– 1899, Secretary of State John Hay established Open Door Policy:
other nations must share trading rights with the U.S., “trade would
proceed through an “open door”
– Other nations decided they must agree; China not consulted
– Europeans dominated China; Boxers attacked foreigners in 1900,
killing hundreds of Christian missionaries and others
– U.S. joined with other trading countries and Japan to defeat
“Boxer Rebellion” with troops; thousands of Chinese were killed
– U.S. strengthened Open Door policy by stating it would
“safeguard for the world” open trade with China
• Effects
– Principles of Open Door policy used to guide U.S. foreign policy
for many years
– U.S. continued to use persuasion and force to keep markets open

U.S. Imperialism
• Despite Monroe Doctrine of early 1800s, U.S. decided to
become an imperialist power in the late 1800s
– To establish military strength, especially naval power
– To open new markets; industrialization produced surplus of goods
and colonies would provide a market for goods and sources for
raw materials
– To spread its superior culture

Spanish-American War
• Spanish colony of Cuba revolted between 1868 and
1878 – unsuccessfully
• American businesses invested heavily in Cuba after
slavery was abolished in 1886
• Cubans revolted again in 1895; Spain fought rebels and
treated them poorly
– U.S. newspapers influenced many in U.S. to want to enter war
• 1898: USS Maine blew up in Havana harbor; U.S.
declared war against Spain
• U.S. destroyed Spain’s navy in the Philippines, another
Spanish colony
– Commodore Dewey
• U.S. invaded Cuba with volunteers; defeated Spanish
troops and destroyed navy – 16 weeks

Effects
• Treaty of Paris 1898
– Gave Cuba its freedom
– Sold Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million
– Gave Guam and Puerto Rico to U.S.
• Cuba
– U.S. troops stayed in Cuba to protect U.S. business investments
– U.S. forced new Cuban government to accept some U.S. control
over it – “protectorate”
– Platt Amendment
• Filipinos thought they would become independent and
rebelled against U.S. for 3 years
– Remained under U.S. control until 1946

Panama Canal
• Need for canal:
– Good shipped from East Coast to West took several weeks
– After Spanish-American war, more important for navy to move
quickly between imperial possessions in Caribbean and Pacific
– Britain and U.S. agreed in 1850 to share rights to a canal
– Two possible routes: Nicaragua or Panama (province of
Colombia)

Panama Revolution
• French company tried to build a Panama canal in late
1800s but wanted to sell rights to land to U.S. for $40
million in 1903
– French rights were to expire in 1904
– Colombia had to agree
• Colombia wanted to wait for French rights to expire and
sell rights to U.S. for more money
– Angered President Theodore Roosevelt
• French official worked with Roosevelt to help Panama
become an independent country by organizing a
revolution in 1903; Roosevelt sent ships to back rebels
• Treaty gave U.S. rights to build canal
– U.S. paid $10 million plus annual rent to use land

Building the Canal
• Work began in 1904 and was completed in 1914
• Cost approximately $380 million
• Disease and accidents killed more than 5,600 workers
– Most were blacks from the British West Indies
• Countries in South America were angry about U.S. role
in Panama Revolution
• U.S. paid Colombia $25 million in 1921 to make up for
lost territory
• Panama assumed full control of the canal in 2000

Big Stick Diplomacy
• Theodore Roosevelt: U.S. would “speak softly and carry
a big stick”
– Use influence and threat of war to enforce Monroe Doctrine
• Roosevelt afraid if Latin American countries couldn’t
repay loans from European banks, European countries
would gain power in the region
• Roosevelt Corollary, 1904: strengthen Monroe Doctrine
– U.S. could act as international police power in Latin America
– U.S. willing to use military power to protect business interests
– U.S. intervened in Latin America
• Ex. U.S. banks paid off European loans in Santo Domingo and then
controlled country’s finances

Dollar Diplomacy
• Taft succeeded Roosevelt and used military power to
defeat a revolt in Nicaragua
• Preferred to substitute dollars for bullets
• U.S. should increase investments in other countries to
maintain and increase its power
• Government backed loans made by U.S. businesses to
foreign countries
• Dollar diplomacy in Latin America increased U.S. control
in many Latin American countries
• Taft also used troops to enforce control

Moral Diplomacy
• Woodrow Wilson: U.S. would only support Latin
American governments that were democratic and
supporters of U.S. interests
• U.S. intervened in Nicaragua and Santo Domingo to
continue to protect its business interests
• In Mexico, Wilson refused to recognize a general who
seized power illegally
• In end, Wilson sent troops to Mexico after changes in
government and attacks on U.S. citizens and interests
– U.S. troops withdrawn after a constitutional governments was
established
• Moral diplomacy was ineffective in creating a
government in Mexico that ruled according to the
principles favored by the U.S.

Presidents of the 1920s
• Looked for “return to normalcy” after hardships of WWI
• Economy grew rapidly from 1920-29
• Republicans won three elections
• Supported interests of big business through tax cuts for
corporations and high tariffs
• Government should not intervene in the economy
• Limited role in foreign affairs and international efforts to
prevent war
• Government should not act to protect or assist
individuals financially
• Stock market crash of 1929 and Great Depression that
followed eventually forced Hoover to take government
action to help the economy

Warren Harding
• Elected in 1920 to succeed Wilson
• Appointed friends to government posts; some were
corrupt
• Repealed wartime taxes on corporate profits and
reduced taxes for wealthy
• Approved high tariffs to protect U.S. businesses
• Approved immigration quotas to limit European
immigrants
• Agreed to arms limits for United States and Europe
• Continued Open Door policy toward China to insure
access to trade
• Died in office 1923

Calvin Coolidge
• Took over after Harding’s death and then elected in
1924
• First cleaned up corruption scandals
• Continued Roosevelt’s Big Stick policy in Latin America
• Resisted government help to farmers; reduced taxes for
wealthy
• Supported high tariffs; allowed business mergers
• Corporate profits grew for many, but some industries
and farmers suffered
• Supported treaty to prevent international war
• Did not run for reelection

Herbert Hoover
• Elected in 1928 as a symbol of prosperity
• Wanted business to follow government lead on economy
voluntarily
• 1929 stock market crash wiped out economic gains; first
believed it a short term crisis that could be solved by
private business
• Tried to help farmers and manufacturers by raising
tariffs, but the move hurt the economy
– Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act
• Later, approved programs to back loans for businesses,
banks, and individuals
• Resisted calls to help people directly with payments
• Easily defeated in 1932

Civil Rights under Attack
• Labor unions: workers rights suppressed during WWI
– 1920s, steelworkers, police, and others went on strike for better
pay and working conditions
– Owners blamed strikes on “Reds,” or communists, and used force
to stop them
– Many strikers were killed or injured
• Palmer raids: Attorney General Palmer and others
feared there was a conspiracy to overthrow the U.S.
government
– Ordered raids in which thousands of suspected communists,
socialists, and anarchists were arrested
– Many opposed the government but hadn’t violated any laws
– Many were deported without trial

Civil Rights under Attack
• Immigration quotas: huge surge in immigration after
World War I
– Nativist fears of job competition along with racist attitudes led to a
quota system
– Laws limited immigration from Europe and prohibited it from
Japan
• Ku Klux Klan: originally formed during Reconstruction,
the Ku Klux Klan was organized again in the wake of the
Red Scare and anti-immigrant feelings
– Attacked African Americans, Jews, immigrants, and Catholics

Fighting for Civil Rights
• ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union was founded
in 1920 to defend constitutional rights
– Fought against the Palmer raids and supplied lawyers in support
of Sacco and Vanzetti
– Supported the rights of labor unions and citizens who were critical
of the government
• NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People was founded in 1910 to protest racial
violence
– Worked for the passage of anti-lynching laws.

Fighting for Civil Rights
• Marcus Garvey: native of Jamaica, Garvey took a more
radical approach than the NAACP
– Focused on black pride
– Believed in a separate society for African Americans
– Encouraged his thousands of followers to return to Africa.
• Anti-Defamation League: Jewish group began work in
1913 against religious and racial discrimination
– Russian Jewish immigrants were often linked with communism
and labor unrest
– Worked against the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s and fought
discrimination in employment and housing

Changing Roles of Women
• Many women working in temperance and abolition
movements before Civil War were also interested in
suffrage
• Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 stated grievances and
need for equal rights
• Groups organized in 1869 to work for suffrage; Wyoming
first state to pass it
• Some women claimed right to vote at time of the
Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 that established voting
rights for African-American men
• Two groups came together in 1890 and formed National
American Woman Suffrage Association;
– leaders such as Elizabeth Stanton, Susan Anthony, and Lucy
Stone

Changing Roles of Women
• Between 1893 and 1914, 14 states gave women the
right to vote
• Before World War I, protests and public demonstrations
increased; many women were arrested and harassed
• After much work by women during World War I,
demands for suffrage grew
• Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919
and states ratified it in 1920
• During the 1920s, expectations for young women
changed considerably
– Fashions changed: “flappers” wore shorter dresses and hair
– Women smoked and drank in public
– Danced in new ways
– Casual dating became common

Life in America in 1920s
• Labor reforms and union activities achieved shorter
working hours for industrial workers
• Americans had more leisure time and took up many new
types of hobbies
• During most of the decade, people had more money to
spend than previous years
– They spent it on consumer goods as well as entertainment
• Rise of radio and motion pictures

Technology Changes
America
• Mass production: Henry Ford and other industrialists used
assembly lines to increase the speed of production
• New transportation: Electric streetcars helped people travel
within cities
– Cars quickly became popular
• Mail delivery by air began in 1918 and commercial
passenger flights in 1927
• Expansion of cities: Cities grew along with the expansion of
industry
– The automobile industry led to the growth of new cities built
around related industries
• Electricity: Factories used electricity to power machines
and light their buildings
– Factories no longer needed to be located near waterpower
– New technology allowed electricity to be more easily transmitted

Technology Changes
America
• General prosperity: Improved technologies helped factories produce
more goods and workers earn more money
– Faster production made goods less expensive
– Many people bought goods on credit
• Roads: Growth in the number of automobiles led to the need for
better roads
– 1916, the federal government began to pay half of the cost of highways built by
states
– By 1930, most major cities in the United States were connected by paved roads
– Trucks competed with railroads to deliver goods
– Roadside businesses such as gas stations, motels, and restaurants sprang up
• Changes in cities: Improvements in construction techniques and
materials made skyscrapers possible
– Skyscrapers allowed cities to make better use of land and allowed more people to
live and work in less space
– Changes in transportation allowed cities to grow outward into suburbs
– People lived farther away from work or other services

Federal Reserve
• Banks usually closed during economic crises in the late
1800s
– Federal govt could not increase the supply of money or credit
– People lost what they deposited and paper money couldn’t be
exchanged for gold
• Banking crises in 1873, 1883, 1893 caused many banks
to fail and businesses to go bankrupt
– Major bank failure in 1907 led to Congressional plan
• Federal Reserve System established in 1913 – Wilson
– Prevent bank failures and regulate the money supply

Weak Economy
• Economy appeared stronger than ever from 1914 to 1929, but there
were many problems:
– Uneven distribution of wealth: rich got richer, workers’ wages increased only
slightly so workers couldn’t afford US products
– Too much production, too little demand: warehouses filled with unsold goods
because people could not afford them; major industries slowed by mid 1929
– Widespread use of credit: many people owed more money than they could pay
back; by the end of the 1920’s, buying slowed
– Stock speculation: many borrowed money to buy stocks due to rising stock
market; if stocks didn’t rise, those who borrowed did not have the money to pay
back loans
– Farm problems: many had borrowed money to buy more land and grow more
crops; European farmers started producing again after the war and prices for
American farm products dropped; govt didn’t help
– Weak industries: iron, railroads, mining, and textiles were older and didn’t
prosper as much
– International economic problems: US kept tariffs high on foreign goods to protect
US industry; if foreign countries could not sell goods in the US, they could not

Causes of the Great
Depression
• Tariffs and war debt policies cut down the foreign market
for U.S. goods
• A crisis in the farm sector led to falling prices and
increased debt
• Federal Reserve kept interest rates low and encouraged
borrowing that led to excessive debt
• Unequal distribution of income led to falling demand for
consumer goods
• People bought stocks on credits, which meant huge
losses when stocks did not rise
• Stock market crash fueled a financial panic

Government Response
• Initial inaction – tried to let economy fix itself
• Tried to convince businesses to invest – unsuccessful
because of huge business losses
• Cut government spending and raised taxes tried to
balance budget but made problems worse
• Congress increased tariffs – tried to protect US
businesses, but when other countries did the same,
exports and demand for goods dropped
• Federal Reserve – lent money to banks and allowed
interest rates to drop in 1930, but in 1931 it did not do
enough to keep banks from failing

Roosevelt’s New Deal
• Relief for the needy:
– Jobs programs decreased unemployment
– Provided loans to protect people’s homes
– Provided direct relief to people through state and federal programs to
help unemployed, aged, and ill
• Economic recovery:
– Tried to lower production to meet demand
– Assisted farmers by helping raise prices
– Regulated industry with rules for production, fair competition, and
worker pay and conditions
– Increased money in economy through huge jobs programs and public
building projects
• Financial reform
– Restored faith in banks by closing them until they were stable
– Federal Reserve Act created FDIC to protect people’s money
– Supported regulation of stock market to prevent false info and
financial gains to insider

Human Toll of Depression
• People lost their homes and lived in shantytowns
• Men wandered country looking for work
• Women worked for low wages
• Children’s health suffered
• African-American unemployment more than 50%
compared to 25% for others
• Latinos targeted for attacks and deportation
• Dust Bowl: farmers removed plants from Great Plains in
order to grow more crops; land was quickly useless
– Drought in early 1930s turned soil to dust; high winds
– Farmers lost farms because of low crop prices and huge debts
– Moved to CA; drove wages down and strained social services;
trouble mixing with minorities; migrants were called “Okies”

Political Movements
• Right: American Liberty League disliked New Deal
programs because they spent too much on direct relief
and interfered with free-market economy
• Left: Father Charles Couglin, Dr. Francis Townsend,
Huey Long opposed New Deal because it didn’t help
people enough
• Minorities benefitted less from New Deal and became
more politically active
• New Deal coalition brought groups together to support
Democratic party

New Deal Programs
• Wagner Act: right of workers to organize unions
• National Labor Relations Board: required companies to
treat unions fairly and bargain with them
• Fair Labor Standards Act: maximum hours and min. pay
• Opponents: too much power to unions
• Tennessee Valley Authority: build dams and produce
hydroelectric power
• Central Valley Project (CA): water for irrigation and cities
• Opponents: unfair competition for private business
• Agricultural Adjustment Act: paid farmers to not farm to
reduce supply and raise prices
• Programs to provide loans to help farmers buy land
• Opponents: destroying food wrong when many are hungry

New Deal Programs
• Social Security Act: old-age pension for retired workers;
unemployment assistance and aid for children and
disabled
• Social Security still functions as safety net for millions;
some reform needed to help system pay promised
benefits in the future
• Civilian Conservation Corps: jobs for unemployed youth
building parks and maintaining national forests to protect
the natural environment
• Public Works Administration and Works Progress
Administration: build dams, bridges, highways, schools
• Opponents: work was “make work” that was not needed

Labor Movement
• American Federation of Labor: first lasting and effective
group of labor unions, formed in 1886
– Separate unions of skilled workers for different trades
– Specific issues such as shorter hours and higher pay
• Greater industrialization in early 1900s led to larger
unions and more strikes
• International Workers of the World was small but led
many strikes: labeled as communists and anarchists
• New laws protected unions, but several strikes were lost
and union strength declines
• New Deal guaranteed workers’ rights to unionize and led
to rapid growth in membership
• Congress of Industrial Organizations left AFL in 1938:
organize workers in steel, auto and shipping industries

Labor Movement
• Many strikes after WWII
• Congress passed Taft-Hartley Act to limit rights of unions
• AFL and CIO merged in 1955
– Faced problems of union leaders gaining money and power illegally
• United Farm Workers
– Migrant farm workers in CA never unionized and suffered low pay,
poor conditions and few benefits
– Cesar Chaves and Dolores Huerta formed the UFW in 1966
– Chavez led national grape boycott
• Global economy
– Union membership has declined since 1983
– Unions not as strong because companies can move jobs to other
areas of the country or to foreign countries
– Few private sector workers in unions

World War II
• 1930-1936: Militarists, dictators take control in Japan,
Germany, Italy
– Isolationism in the US
• 1937: Japan attacks China
– US supports China with supplies and arms
• 1938: Germany takes Austria
– France and Great Britain try to appease Germany with Munich Pact
• 1939: Germany and USSR sign nonaggression pact;
Germany takes Czechoslovakia and Poland; USSR takes
part of Poland
– US announces neutrality
– US approves cash and carry system to provide arms and supplies
to allies who used their own ships for transport

World War II
• 1940: Germany takes France, attacks Great Britain;
Germany, Italy and Japan join as Axis powers; Germany
attacks US and British supply convoys
– US announces it will provide all aid short of war to allies
– US begins military draft and increases defense spending
• 1941: Germany attacks USSR; German subs continue
attacks on US supply ships; Japan increases its attacks in
Asia, taking French colonies; US and Japan enter peace
talks about Asia while Japan plans attack on US; Japan
attacks Pearl Harbor; Germany and Italy declare war on US
– US begins Lend-Lease plan to supply Great Britain and USSR
without immediate payment
– US in undeclared war with Germany (attack any submarines)
– US cuts off oil supplies to Japan
– US knows Japanese attack is imminent and prepares for war
– US declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy; ally of Great Britain,

Allied Strategy
• Allies at serious disadvantage when US enters war in late
1941: France under German control, Great Britain under
attack, USSR fighting German invasion, Northern Africa
under German and Italian control
• War in Europe must be won first
• Attacks in North Africa and Italy 1942-1943 brought some
Allied success
• War in Pacific not first priority until victory in Europe
• Normandy, June 6, 1944, D-Day: US, Canada, Great
Britain; largest land-sea-air operation, strong German
resistance; Paris liberated in August and all of France
taken from Germany by September

Allied Strategy
• Battle of the Bulge, Dec. 16, 1944-Jan. 21, 1945: Allied
troops advanced towards Germany; German troops
penetrated into Allied territory and created “bulge” in
Allied lines; Allies pushed back; German losses were
severe and Germans retreated for remainder of war
• Midway, June 1942: Japan had control; Allies prevented
attack on Australia; Allies destroyed Japanese planes and
ships before they could attack American fleet at Midway;
turning point in Pacific – Japan had serious losses and
Allies moved to take back islands
• Iwo Jima, Feb.-March 1945: Allies used strategy of island
hopping to take back Philippines and other islands;
important fueling location; 6000+ marines died
• Okinawa, April-June 1945: Las obstacle before Allied
assault on Japan; many casualties

Special Fighting Forces
• US Army was segregated during war
• African Americans – about 1 million served, most in
noncombat roles
– Tuskegee Airmen became first group of African-American pilots
and won honors for service in Europe
• Mexican Americans – about 300,000 served; Company E
of 141st Regiment, 36th Division received many medals
• Asian Americans – almost 50,000 served; Japanese-
American 442nd Regimental Combat Team became most
decorated unit in US history
• Native Americans – about 25,000 served; Navajo
language served as an unbreakable code for US troops
fighting the Japanese; Navajo Codetalkers were honored
in 1969 for special contributions to war effort

Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy
• Congress and US citizens wanted neutrality
• Roosevelt established support for European democracies
with cash-and-carry and Lend-Lease programs
• Four Freedoms: 1941 Roosevelt identified goals for after the
war “If world society was based on Four Freedoms (freedom
of speech and expression, worship; freedom from want and
fear) wars would not occur because free countries would
cooperate.” Pledged to help democracies
• Atlantic Charter: Roosevelt and Churchill, US promised to
prepare for war and seek to force entry into war; based on
Four Freedoms; other countries agreed in 1942  became
Declaration of United Nations  led to UN
• Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945): established approach to
Germany after war; divided and controlled to prevent future
military strength, war criminals prosecuted, reparations paid

Home Front
• Internment of Japanese Americans
– February 1942 Executive Order requiring removal of Japanese
from CA (made US a military zone)
– 110k interned; no charges ever brought
– 1944 Supreme Court decision of Korematsu v. United States made
internment legal for military necessity
• Zoot-suit riots in LA between young Mexican Americans and
white sailors and civilians
• Riots in Detroit between African Americans and whites
• Nazi attacks on Jews and other “inferior” led to immigration;
US and others stopped allowing Jewish immigration around
1939 because Depression was still strong
• Rosie the Riveter
• Roosevelt avoided protest march in 1944 by signing order
for equal access to defense jobs

Effects of WWII
• Range, size and speed of airplanes increased
• Night vision
• Huge aircraft carriers
• Atomic bomb (affected warfare and foreign relations)
• Radar used to help defend against air attacks and to spot
submarines
• Code breaking
• Penicillin used to treat infections and other diseases
• Industry spread outside of NE and Midwest
• Luxury and domestic manufacturing ceased and industries
switched to defense manufacturing
• Scarce goods such as meat, shoes, sugar, coffee, gasoline
were rationed

The Atomic Bomb
• Reasons to use:
1. Invasion would cost thousands of American lives
2. Japan might not surrender until it was invaded and conquered
3. Bomb would end war and save lives
4. Firebombing of Tokyo and other cities caused huge casualties
5. Didn’t want Manhattan Project to be seen as waste of time and money
6. Show USSR how powerful US was and give US more bargaining
power after war
• Reasons not to use:
1. Japanese were close to defeat and would have surrendered soon
2. Might have been possible to demonstrate the bomb to the Japanese
before dropping it on cities
3. Power was greater than needed to defeat the Japanese
4. Troubling precedent for the US to be the first to use such a weapon

Decision
• Japan was warned that it would face “prompt and utter
destruction” if it did not surrender immediately
• Pres. Truman chose to drop two bombs
• Results:
1. Bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Aug. 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9)
2. 2/3 of Hiroshima destroyed immediately; 66k killed, 69k injured
3. 1/2 of Nagasaki destroyed immediately; 39k killled, 25k injured
4. By end of 1945, approximately 100k more had died from injuries
and radiation poisoining
5. Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally about a week after
bombs were dropped

Marshall Plan
• Western Europe in chaos; factories, homes, cities destroyed
• Millions in refugee camps; poverty, unemployment were high
• Harsh winter in 1946-47 damaged crops, cut off water
transportation, caused fuel shortage
• Sec. of State George Marshall proposed plan to aid any countries
in Europe if they cooperated to develop a common plan for
recovery
– Soviet Union refused
• US provided $13 billion in aid to 16 countries to create stable,
market-based economies that would promote democratic
institutions
• US needed strong markets for goods to prevent depression
• Helped US maintain strong economy and world economic
leadership; promoted free trade
• Strengthened capitalism as economic system against Soviet

•
Shaping Modern Human Rights
United Nations and Universal Declaration of
Europe
– UN began in 1945 to promote peace, improve relations, allow cooperation to solve
problems and insure human rights
– All European countries joined after war
– US and USSR competed in UN and around world in Cold War, which sometimes
limited the effectiveness of the UN
– Adopted the UDHR in 1948; outlined basic freedomes
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank
– IMF established in 1944 and began in 1947 to promote international monetary
cooperation by allowing money from different countries to be exchanged at fair rates
– World Bank established to assist reconstruction and development
– Specialized UN agencies
– World Bank provided loans to rebuild after war; strengthened ties to US
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
– 23 non-Communist countires signed in 1947
– Ease barriers to interational trade; tariffs applied equally to member nations
– Helped enhance trade in Europe and with US
– Used until 1995 when the World Trade Organization took over

Truman’s Labor Policy
• Government controls on economy ended after WWII; prices rose while
wages stayed the same
• Unions avoided strikes during war; 4.5 million workers went on strike
after war
• New deal policies supported and strengthened unions
• Truman generally support union rights
• Large strikes by workers in major industries threatened to paralyze
country
• Truman used threats of federal government action to avoid or end strikes
• Workers would be drafted as soldiers and ordered to stay on the job;
government would take control of mines and railroads
• Taft-Hartley Act (1967): Republican passed act to severely limit union
activities and strength; emphasized rights of employees not to join a
union
• Truman vetoed act, but Congress overrode; rejected request to repeal

Truman’s Labor Policy
• US troops became involved in Korean War in 1950
• Government did not use total controls over the economy
and industries as in WWII
• Workers continued to strike
• Truman said strikes threatened national security and
war effort
• Truman responded to scheduled steel strike in 1952 by
seizing steel mills
• Supreme Court rules his actions unconstitutional and
said he could have used Taft-Hartley Act to delay strike
• Truman disliked act so much, he refused to use it

Cold War
• USSR dedicated to spreading communism after WWII
• USSR controlled E. European countries and stationed troops and
stockpiled weapons in countries bordering democracies in Western
Europe; attempted to take over West Berlin with a blockade in 1948;
Western Europe concerned about Soviet aggression
• NATO: 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization
– Military alliance for mutual protection
– Used for containment of communism in Europe
– Did not provide military support for revolutions against communism in 1950s
– Response of E. Europe was Warsaw Pact in 1955; mutual defense
• SEATO: 1954 Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
– Protection to democracies in SE Asia and S Pacific
– Prevent spread of communism through military attacks after French withdrawal from
Indochina
– Did not pledge mutual defense
– Approved US involvement in Vietnam

Cold War and Containment
• US and Soviet Union dominant after WWII
• Soviets declared that communism and capitalism were
incompatible
• US articulated policy of containment in 1946
– Economic and military measures were necessary to prevent spread
• Engaged in nuclear arms race
– US threatened any mean, including nuclear weapons, to halt
communism
– Mutually Assured Destruction kept both countries on the brink of
nuclear war
• Truman Doctrine (1947) said US would provide aid to
countries trying to resist communism
• US and Great Britain responded to Berlin Blockade by
airlifting supplies into West Berlin

Cold War and Containment
• Korean War (1951-53), communist North Korea invaded
democratic South
– US and UN troops contained the communist threat
• Korean War increased fear of communist activity
– Joseph McCarthy made unsupported accusations against members of
the government
• Domino theory (1954, Eisenhower): if one country in SE Asia
fell to communism, all would fall
– American involvement in region grew
– 20 years of guerilla war prevented US from stopping spread
• Cuba dictator, Fidel Castro received aid from the USSR
– 1961, Kennedy approved CIA support for invasion of Cuba at Bay of
Pigs by Cuban exiles
– 1962, Cuban Missile Crisis took USSR and US to brink of war
• Limited Nuclear Test Ban signed by US and USSR in 1963

Eisenhower, New Frontier,
Great Society
• 1950-1980, government programs improved people’s lives
• Eisenhower (1952-60) helped raise minimum wage, extend
Social Security and unemployment benefits, support public
housing, build interstate highways; created Dept. of Health,
Education and Welfare
• Kennedy’s New Frontier (1960-63) was a plan to expand
social programs for health care, education and to improve
urban areas; Congress did not support; Kennedy increased
spending for space program and defense, as well as foreign
aid
• Johnson’s Great Society (1963-68) was greatest expansion
of federal involvement in social welfare; programs included
“War on Poverty,” national health care for elderly and poor,
support for public and private housing, and aid for public and
private schools

Government Spending
Defense:
•Cold War increased defense spending
•Percentage of national budget rose from 18% before WWII to
52% in 1960
•Desire to match Soviet space achievements involved billions in
spending; much went to private companies
Social Welfare:
•Social Security and unemployment benefits continued
•“War on Poverty” included public jobs programs
•Medicare and Medicaid provided health care
•Low-income housing support
Education:
•Education acts in 1960s provided federal aid for education
•California Master Plan (1960) made state the national leader in

Vietnam War Protests
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) authorized use of US
troops to support S Vietnam
– Opposition quickly formed
• Tet offensive in 1968 increased protests and negative media
coverage
− Johnson decided not to run for reelection
• Nixon began pulling out troops in Jan. 1969, but secretly
bombed N. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
• Nixon lost political support in 1970s when news came out
that US had invaded Cambodia
− 1.5 million students protested; National Guard troops killed students at
Kent State and Jackson State
• Lack of support at home and lack of success prompted
complete withdrawal in 1973 by Nixon
• War left many Americans cautious of foreign affairs

Nuclear Freeze Movement
• Nixon’s policy of détente with Soviet Union led to SALT I
Treaty in 1972
− Limited numbers of certain kinds of nuclear weapons and requiring
sharing of scientific information
• 1980, Senate failed to ratify SALT II Treaty; Carter withdrew
support because of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
• Carter proposed large buildup of troops and arms; Reagan
increased defense spending
• US groups in 1980 proposed freeze on all testing,
production, deployment of nuclear weapons and aircraft
• USSR supported freeze at UN in 1982
• US and USSR disagreed over types of nuclear arms to limit
• Important factor in treaties several year later: led to limitation
of nuclear weapons by about two-thirds

End of Cold War
Economic Problems in USSR
•Communist economy performed poorly over many years
•Problems included inefficient industrial production, shortages
and poor quality goods, poor farm output – all of which resulted
in dependence on food imports
•Heavy investment in military was required as part of Cold War
competition but did not result in economic gains
•Satellite nations in Eastern Europe controlled by the USSR
required military presence; countries depended on USSR
economic support
•Invasion to retain control of Afghanistan in 1979 began long
war that drained economy

End of Cold War
US Actions in the Cold War
•US and NATO military alliance forced the USSR to continue
spending heavily on military goods and troops
•US support for dissidents in the USSR and Eastern Europe
helped provide hope for opponents of communism
•Reagan proposed a huge new military buildup beginning in
1981; program included increases in nuclear weapons and a
new missile defense system
Fall of Communism in USSR
•Soviet economy near collapse by 1985; USSR unable to fund
war in Afghanistan, support satellite nations and compete with
US military buildup
•Mikhail Gorbachev began policy of perestroika (economic
restructuring) and glasnost (openness and free elections)

End of Cold War
• Better relations with US would allow reduction in military
spending and economic reform; resulted in arms-control
treaties (SALT) that also required sharing of scientific info
• Changes increased nationalism in non-Russian republics;
declared independence in 1991 forming loose federation
• Cold War officially ended in 1992
Eastern Europe Breaks with USSR
• Gorbachev encouraged independence of satellite nations
and reduced troops there
• 1987, Reagan encouraged Gorbachev to remove Berlin Wall
• East Germany rejected Communist control and tore down
wall in 1989; reunited with West Germany in 1990
• New governments and free elections in Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Baltic states

Civil Rights in the Courts
• Dred Scott v. Sandford (1846): slave taken to free state, then
slave state  sued for freedom
• 1857, US Supreme Court: free African Americans not
citizens, no right to sue
• Power of federal govt to prohibit slavery in new territories
was limited
• 1868, 14th Amendment gave African Americans rights of
citizens
• Jim Crow laws prevented African Americans from using
same public facilities as whites
• Plessy vs. Ferguson claimed separate facilities violated 14 th
Amendment
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954): overturned separate
but equal

Affirmative Action
• Kennedy: describe programs that would favor African
Americans in jobs and admission to colleges
• Opponents claimed it was reverse discrimination
• Regents of University of California v. Bakke (1978):
Supreme Court ruled quota system unfair
• Prop 209 in CA: ending state-controlled affirmative action
programs; minority enrollments in CA universities dropped

Civil Rights Leaders
A. Philip Randolph
•Organized first successful African-American labor union in
1925
•1941 march; Roosevelt responded by banning discrimination in
hiring in defense industries in order to avoid protest
•Helped plan March on Washington in 1963
Martin Luther King Jr.
•President of Southern Christian Leadership Conference
•Montgomery bus boycott in 1956
•Nonviolent resistance
•Letter from Birmingham Jail
•March on Washington, 1963 – 200k people
•“I Have a Dream” speech

Civil Rights Leaders
Malcolm X
•Leader within Black Muslims  believed separation from
whites was better than integration; later separated from this
group
•Differed with King on nonviolence; often called for revolution
Thurgood Marshall
•Director of NAACP Legal Defense Fund
•Lead lawyer in cases like Brown v. Board of Education
•Federal judge in 1961; Supreme Court justice in 1967
•Strong defender of civil rights until resignation in 1991
Rosa Parks
•Active in NAACP and civil rights from 1930s-50s
•Refused to move to back of bus in 1955
•

Civil Rights
Little Rock, Arkansas
•Arkansas governor decided to resist school desegregation in 1957;
ordered National Guard to turn away high school students in Little Rock
•Federal judge ordered students admitted; President Eisenhower ordered
troops to help them attend
•Students allowed in but were harassed by some whites
•Governor closed school at end of the year
Birmingham, Alabama
•Most segregated city in country in 1963
•MLK and Southern Christian Leadership Conference used nonviolence to
integrate city
•Protests lasted more than a month
•Hundreds jailed, attacked by police, dogs, fire hoses
•Protests, economic boycotts and negative media coverage convinced
Birmingham leaders to accept changes

Civil Rights
• Cesar Chavez formed UFW
• Political leaders formed La Raza Unida
• American Indian Movement formed in 1968 and achieved
restoration of land in several states
• Japanese Americans pushed for reparations from
internment during WWII; Congress provided payments in
1965, 1990
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Kennedy used troops to order
desegregation of University; Johnson carried out
Kennedy’s demand for civil rights law
• Prohibited discrimination because of race, religion,
national origin and gender
• Govt power to protect voting rights, speed up
desegregation

Civil Rights
• Banned discrimination in employment and established Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
• Banned discrimination in public places such as parks,
washrooms, restaurants and theaters
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
• Approved by Congress in 1962; ratified in 1964
• Made poll taxes illegal; extended the right to vote to millions
Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Response to voting rights guaranteed by 15th Amendment
• Eliminated literacy tests often used to disqualify African-
American voters
• Allowed federal examiners to register voters
• Tripled number of African Americans registered to vote in
South

Immigration in 20th Century
Prior to 1965  1920s acts restricted immigrants from southern
and eastern Europe; virtually no Asians accepted
•Govt believed some immigrants “fit in” to culture better; bias
against darker-skinned peoples and Jews
•More people wanted to immigrate after WWII; more Asians
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965  Quotas for national
origin replaced by quotas by hemisphere; amended in 1978 to
allow world total of 270k/yr, 20k/country; Special status for
refugees (1978); Favored immigrants with certain job skills
•“Great Society” opened door to non-European immigrants;
tried to correct earlier injustices; huge increase from Asia and
Latin America
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986  Penalties for
employers hiring undocumented immigrants
•Huge number of undocumented immigrants, esp from Mex.

Immigration in 20totalCentury
Immigration Act of 1990  Increased
th
number of yearly
immigrants allowed to 675k; more immigrants allowed with
certain job skills; tried to increase diversity of origin
•Increased flexibility in policy
•About 2/3 of immigrants were family members of US residents
•Increase job-related immigrants, favored skilled workers over
unskilled
Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibilities Act
(1996)  Easier to deport immigrants; established income test
and limited government assistance to immigrants
•Number of undocumented immigrants was large and conflicts
arose over their rights and assistance given to them; some
courts trying to resolve these issues
•45% since ‘65 from W. Hem., primarily Mexico
•30% since ‘60s from Asia

Watergate
• 1972 campaign, Republican group wanted advantage over
Democrats by looking at files and taping conversations
• 5 men arrested for attempting to break into Democratic
National Headquarters at Watergate Hotel
• Republicans in White House denied knowledge of event
• Nixon involved in meetings to ensure investigation did not
involve White House
• Documents shredded and payments hidden
• Senate investigated  got evidence of ties to White House
through burglars and White House staff testimony
• Witness revealed taped White House conversations; used to
clarify people’s involvement, including Nixon
• Nixon ordered special prosecutor be fired when he asked for
court order to get tapes

Watergate
• Attorney General and deputy resigned instead of firing him
• Nixon refused to release complete tapes because
executive branch had a right to keep tapes for national
security
• Supreme Court ordered tapes be released
• Constitutional conflict over who had most power –
Supreme Court, Congress or Nixon
• Nixon finally released tapes, but many gaps at important
spots
• House Committee voted to impeach Nixon, partially for
refusing to release tapes
• Nixon resigned in August 1974 before impeachment
hearing

US policy in Middle East
• Supported creation of Israel in 1948; provided weapons and
economic aid
• Camp David Accords in 1978 led to treaty between Israel
and Egypt
• Eisenhower extended containment and Truman Doctrine to
Middle East in 1957  led to conflict with Egypt
− US wanted to keep access to Suez Canal open
• US sometimes supported dictators  support for shah of
Iran led to Iran hostage crisis in 1979-1980
• Nixon switched from containment to protecting US interests
such as foreign oil
• Middle East oil industries in 1960s nationalized and OPEC
was created  control of 70% of world’s oil supply led to
shortages and price increases in 1970s

US policy in Middle East
• US established military bases in friendly countries such
as Saudi Arabia and Qatar
• Many Arabs and Muslim fundamentalists oppose US
presence because of support of Israel
• Iran/Iraq war in 1980s: US backed Iraq
• 1990 Iraq invasion on Kuwait led to Gulf War in 1991
− US formed coalition against Iraq
− 6-week war liberated Kuwait
− US asked UN to impose economic sanctions against Iraq to
prevent country from rearming or building nuclear weapons
• War on Terror: military action against Iraq and
Afghanistan after September 11th

US and Mexico
Economic Issues
•US companies invested in Mexico in early 1900s and
owned many factories, oil refineries, mines and land
•Mexican govt borrowed large amounts of oil reserves in
1970s; when prices dropped, US helped Mexico by buying
oil at higher prices
•NAFTA took effect in 1994: purpose was to lower tariffs
and increase trade among Mexico, US and Canada
•Many US companies located in Mexico, especially along
border took advantage of low labor costs
•1995, US loaned Mexico $20 billion to help them avoid
economic crisis

US and Mexico
Immigration
•Bracero program during WWII brought many Mexicans to
US to work on farms and in industries
− Some stayed illegally
•Huge increase in immigration from Mexico began in 1960s
•Economic crisis in early 1990s spurred more immigration
Political Issues
•Most Mexican leaders maintained good relations with US
•PRI controlled Mexico from early 1920s to 2000
•Drug smuggling from Mexico has become larger problem
since 1970s

US and Mexico
Environmental Issues
•Mexico’s population grew rapidly from 1940s to 1970  air
pollution and other environmental problems around Mexico
City and other cities became severe
•Assembly plants south of Texas border built during the
1990s do not follow same environmental standards as the
US; heavy pollution from these plants affects US border

Growth of Service
Economy
• Technology changed demand for industrial and manufacturing jobs
• Automation meant fewer workers were needed
• White-collar jobs increased; blue-collar decreased
• Government employed higher percentage of workers as it provided
more services
• After Depression, large companies diversified (conglomerates)
• Many employees paid well and had safe, secure white-collar jobs
• Employers wanted them to put company first and conform to
certain forms of thought, dress and social activities
• The Organization Man showed how corporations supported and
increased conformity
• 1950s -1960s people questions whether economic and social
rewards for conformity were worth loss of creativity and
individuality

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