America

Question 1

Democratic Party (donkey)

Answer 1

• intervened in other peoples lives; favoured helping most vulnerable
• more liberal (prepared to change things

Question 2

Republican Party (donkey)

Answer 2

• preserved traditions
• ‘laissez-faire’ policy (stayed out of people’s lives)

Question 3

Order of American politics

Answer 3

1. Federal (central) Government
2. President, Congress, Supreme Court
3. House of Representatives, US Senate
4. State (local) Government
5. Voters

Question 4

What was the Federal Government?

Answer 4

• Based in Washington DC
• controls currency, foreign policy and US defence
• System of ‘checks and balances’ to make sure one section isn’t more powerful than another

Question 5

Who was the President?

Answer 5

• lives in White House
• elected every 4 years (voted for directly)
• 3 main roles: Head of Government, Head of state and Chief In Army/ navy

Question 6

What is the congress?

Answer 6

• made laws (legislative powers)
• can accept/ reject president’s policies
• declare war/ peace
• made of 2 houses (bothe elected by people

Question 7

What is the Supreme Court?

Answer 7

• 9 judges (chosen by president)
• endures President is acting in a “constitutional” way

Question 8

What is the House of Representatives?

Answer 8

• 435 members elected every 2 years
• the larger the state, the more Representatives

Question 9

What is the Us Senate?

Answer 9

• 100 members elected every 2 years
• 2 senators for each state regardless of size

Question 10

What is the State Government?

Answer 10

• made up of three branches: Governor, State legislature and State Court
• laws passed only apply to that state e.g. 18 or 21 to drink alcohol

Question 11

Who are the voters?

Answer 11

• after 1870 men could vote; women after 1920
• minority groups couldn’t vote in practice
• democracy ; vote directly for all positions

Question 12

What were reasons for economic boom?

Answer 12

• Hire Purchase Scheme: available to buy goods on credit, ordinary families can afford new inventions/ luxury goods
• 1WW: learnt skills like propaganda and use it for selling goods + munition firms made huge profits selling weapons to allies
• Advertising: radio broadcasting, travelling salesmen, posters and cinema adverts
• Mass production: cheaper + faster; more people could buy, more jobs
• Shares: start companies by selling ‘shares’ (portion of ownership of company and share prices increased when company made profits
• Laissez-faire Government attitudes: lower taxes, more people affording goods and businessmen free to produce profits as they wished

Question 13

Timeline of Henry Ford and the Motor Industry

Answer 13

• 1896: Henry Ford made his first vehicle
• 1891: became superintendent of Detroit automobile company (built 20 cars in 2 years).
• October 10th 1901: built powerful lightweight car, earned reputation to raise money for his own firm
• 1903: Henry Ford Motor Industry established in 5 years made + sold 8 different models. Built 100 in a day
• 1911: announced he could make a cheap, large car from mass production (model-T) 1 min to make a car. 10,000 sold in first year
• mid 20’s: one of every 2 cars were model-T. He was really wealthy

Question 14

How does the Stock market work?

Answer 14

1. To set up a company you need money for equipment, wages, land etc.
2. Most companies get money from investors. In return, investors own a share of the company - they become shareholders.
3. A shareholder makes money by: receiving a share from the companies profits each year (dividend) or selling their share for a higher price than they bought if for

Question 15

What is buying on the margin?

Answer 15

Buying shares with money they borrowed from the banks. Could risk the share they bought decreasing in price and not being able to pay back to the bank.

Question 16

How many farmers lost their jobs in 1924 due to decrease in price and demand?

Answer 16

600,000

Question 17

Why was there less demand for cotton and wool in the 1920’s?

Answer 17

Popularity of man-made fibres like Rayon. Fashion for shorter dresses (less fabric used).

Question 18

Why was there poverty in the countryside in the 1920’s?

Answer 18

• after 1WW less demand for American imports in Europe
• some countries taxed US products
• high-tech machinery lead to overproduction of food
• some farmers borrowed money to buy machines, land; couldn’t repay the loan so were evicted

Question 19

Why was there poverty among African American workers?

Answer 19

• many were farm labourers or sharecroppers (rented small areas of farmland from farmer)
• farming industry already suffered; hit particularly hard as already desperately poor
• many moved to cities; only found low-paid jobs

Question 20

Why was life exceptionally hard for American Indians?

Answer 20

• mining companies seized their land; traditional way of life lost
• forced to move into reservations; poor soil so extremely hard to grow crops
• lived in extreme poverty, poorly educated and lower life expectancy than other ethnic groups in US society

Question 21

What happened in 1927 that was important in the development of the film industry?

Answer 21

First feature- length film includes sound (talkie) called Jazz Singer.

Question 22

What are some examples of crazy crazes?

Answer 22

• Mahjong (Chinese board game)
• crossword puzzles
• marathon dancing (how long can you dance for)
• pole sitting (how long till you fall off)
• dance crazes; Charleston, One step, tango, black bottom

Question 23

How was jazz music popular?

Answer 23

• originated in Southern states and known for its improvisation, fast tempos and lively rhythms
• most popular music style in bars, dancehalls, nightclubs
• great opportunities for Black musicians e.g. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith

Question 24

What are some examples of celebrities in sport in the ‘roaring twenties’?

Answer 24

• Babe Ruth (baseball)
• Bobby Jones (golf)

Question 25

How did the audience in cinemas increase?

Answer 25

35 million in 1919 to 100 million in 1930

Question 26

How many films did Hollywood film studios produce a year by 1929?

Answer 26

500

Question 27

What were women like before the war?

Answer 27

• Middle/ Upper- class: polite, sensibly dressed, little energetic sport, pale and little makeup, strictly controlled relationship with men.
• tiny corset
• long hair tied up
• long sleeves covering arms
• long dress covering legs
• led restricted lives; couldn’t vote
• poorer women who had to work had few opportunities for promotions
• poorly paid jobs: cleaning, secretarial work, low-skilled factory work

Question 28

Who were the flappers?

Answer 28

• high hemline ‘Evils’ of modern life
• liberal attitude
• low waist
• middle/ upper class from Northern states
• rode motorbikes, went to nightclubs with men till the morning
• smoked and drank alcohol
• bangles and long beads
• Chanel No5 perfume
• short hair
• suntan and make up
• flesh coloured stockings
• anti-flirt league formed to protest against flappers behaviour

Question 29

What was the Prohibition act or the Volstead act?

Answer 29

Alcohol consumption, transportation, selling and brewing was banned from 1920-1933.

Question 30

Why was prohibition introduced in the 1920s?

Answer 30

• Contributed to a decline in moral values
• World War I in 1917 said it made soldiers unpatriotic cowards
• Cause variety of social, e.g. violence, poverty, addiction, debt and prostitution
• Children’s purity and innocence at risk
• people in rural areas, saw growing cities, towns where alcohol fueled violence and crime was common
• led to ill health
• strong campaign against alcohol, led by pressure groups such as Anti-Saloon League
• increase absenteeism at work as people felt sick from alcohol
• some believed America would be a better/ healthier place from prohibition
• many beer on sale in America were transported by Germany or brewed by German immigrants, argued Americans drinking this were traitors

Question 31

What were some arguments against the prohibition?

Answer 31

• Most officials, police, judges and officers were bribed by local gang members like Al Capone~corruption
• gang warfare broke out over the night to supply alcohol
• increased violence and organised crime; huge competition to bootleg (smugglers) illegal alcohol
• speakeasies (illegal bars) sprung up all over North America- ensured people ignored the law
• by 1933, 200,000 speakeasies in the USA
• law was difficult to enforce as many politicians and police didn’t take it seriously (undermined it from the very start)
• many ordinary Americans continued to drink in the 1920s
• speakeasies in cellars or private hotel rooms
• organised crime rose in cities like Chicago
• Al Capone made $10 million a year from racketeering (businesses paid money to gangs to stop them smashing up the premises).
• authority turned a blind eye

Question 32

How and when was the Prohibition act repealed?

Answer 32

In the 1932 Presidential election campaign, Franklin D Roosevelt gained many votes because he opposed the prohibition. He won the election, and in early 1933, he repealed (got rid of) the Prohibition.

Question 33

What was the bill of rights?

Answer 33

It was the first 10 amendments to the US constitution.
1. Freedom of speech, religion, assembly, petition and press.
2. Right to bear arms.
3. People don’t have to house soldiers.
4. No searches without reason.
5. Rights of persons accused of crimes.
6. Rights for persons on trial for crimes.
7. Rights for a civil case.
8. No unreasonable fines or treatment.
9. People have other rights, too.
10. The state can make laws, too.

Question 34

What the USA flag represents

Answer 34

• 13 stars for original states.
• now has 50 stars = 50 states.
• 13 stripes (first 13 states).

Question 35

Why did people move to America?

Answer 35

• Europe was still divided into classes, very difficult to move up
• standard of living was higher; workers were paid more
• various groups were persecuted for their religion/ political beliefs in some European countries
• European towns and cities overcrowded - land was expensive
• plenty of jobs in steel , coal and textile production and the car, electrical and chemical industries
• rich in natural resources like coal, iron, cotton, oil and timber
• American land was cheap and fertile
• great poverty in Europe: terrible housing, poor health and a bad diet

Question 36

What was immigration like from 1850-1929?

Answer 36

1850: 40 million Europeans emigrate to the USA, over 100 nationalities present. Americans feared immigrants
1914: 1ww caused a drop in immigration. Travel was restricted, and people were busy fighting for their country.
1917: 1ww ended; immigration picked up. Congress passed the 1917 law (Literacy Act). This law banned entry to all immigrants over 16 who could not read a sentence of 40 words.
1921: the ‘immigration quote act’ was introduced. Limited the number of immigrants to 357,000 per year. The number of people coming to the USA from any one country couldn’t exceed over 3% of that country already living in the USA in 1910; this kept out Eastern Europeans as there were fewer of them living in the USA. Those against immigration wanted to keep Asians and Eastern Europeans out.
1924: National Origins act. 2% of the population instead of 3% and sent date back to 1890 limiting to 150,000 immigrants entering each year.
1929: Quota figure again reduced to 150,000 immigrants, Asians blocked altogether.

Question 37

When was slavery abolished in the USA?

Answer 37

1865

Question 38

What were the Jim Crow laws?

Answer 38

Racist white politicians passed these laws to keep African Americans segregated. They were stocked from using the same restaurants, hotels, swimming pools, and even cemeteries as white Americans. They even stopped from voting too. They were also segregated in military and some states banned mixed race marriages. They could not expect justice from the legal system as many judges, sheriffs and police support Jim Crow laws.

Question 39

How were African Americans discriminated?

Answer 39

• paid lowest wages in factories
• Good night, access to higher education, good jobs and right to vote
• Often the last to be hard and first to be fired
• Occupied whilst housing in the poorest areas of the city, yet paid a higher rent
• when attempted to use parks, playgrounds and beaches in the Irish and Polish districts, set up on by gangs of whites called themselves, “athletic clubs,” resulted in blacks isolated in ghettos
• suffered great prejudice from white residents
• When tried to move to a white neighbourhood, got a hostile reception
• occasional race riots, black youth accidentally entered a whites only beach in Chicago in 1919 

Question 40

What was the NAACP?

Answer 40

Some African Americans enter politics. In 1910 WEB du Bois, a great grandson of an African slave, set up the NAACP National Association for the advancement of Colored people. It worked to improve the rights of African-Americans, such as campaigning for the right to vote.

Question 41

What were the Klu Klux Klan aims?

Answer 41

• distrust of foreigners
• Terrorise, black Americans in the south
• preserve white supremacy after the abolition of the slave trade 
• “defenders” of the Protestant religion
• “Cleanup society” by tracking drunks and gamblers
• Keep immigrants “in their place”

Question 42

How did the KKK decline?

Answer 42

In 1925, a popular local clan leader was convicted of the brutal kidnapping, rape, and murder of a young woman. At his trial, he exposed many of the KKK’s secrets. Sentenced to life imprisonment; within a year KKK membership had fallen to 300,000 from 5 million.

Question 43

What event in 1901 caused many Americans to fear Anarchists?

Answer 43

In 1901, Leon Franz Czolgosz (an anarchist) shot dead a US president (William McKinley).

Question 44

What is Anarchism?

Answer 44

They believed countries shouldn’t be ruled by organised Government, but in a system where everyone rules themselves (through voluntary cooperation).

Question 45

What were the Palmer Raids?

Answer 45

Parlour vowed to get rid of American Communist. During the Palmer raids 6000 suspected communists were arrested across 33 cities. Little evidence of any Communist plots were found. 

Question 46

What happened in July 1919 and later that year?

Answer 46

A bomb destroyed the house of Alexander Mitchell Palmer (a man in charge of America’s law and police) a communist newspaper found next to the body of the suicide bomber.

Later that year, an unidentified bomber blew up 30 people in New York. No one was ever found guilty, but people got more scared.

Question 47

What happened on 14th February 1929?

Answer 47

• On 14th February 1929, several members of Bugs Moran’s gang were waiting in an empty garage in Chicago for a whiskey delivery
• Members of Al Capone’s rival gang turned up at the garage after a ‘tip off’ from the authorities (Capone had these under his control through bribes)
• A fight erupted over whose right it was to supply illegal alcohol to the people of Chicago and Al Capone’s gang opened fire on the members of Bugs Moran’s gang and they ended up dead

Question 48

What was Sacco and Vanzetti’s “crime”?

Answer 48

• In April 1921, a robbery took place at a shoe factory in SouthBraintree, Massachusetts
• The robbers stole $15,000 and shot two of the staff dead
• A month later,– Nico Sacco and Bart Vanzetti – were arrested and charged with robbery and murder
• Sacco and Vanzetti were not only Italian immigrants who spoke very little English…they were both anarchists too!
• Their trial began in May 1921 and lasted 45 days.
• In July, the jury found them guilty and the judge sentenced them to ‘death by electric chair’
• They were executed in August 1927

Question 49

What is some evidence for Sacco and Vanzetti committing the crime?

Answer 49

• Both men acted guilty and told some lies to the police
• 61 eye witnesses identified Sacco and Vanzetti as the killers
• Vanzetti had a previous conviction for armed robbery in December 1919
• both men were carrying loaded guns when arrested. The bullets were the same size as those that killed the 2 men

Question 50

What is some evidence against Sacco and Vanzetti committing the crime?

Answer 50

• witnesses nearly all disagreed over what the two men were wearing on the night in question
• Sacco and Vanzetti spoke poor English. Their lawyers argued they got confused under police questioning and lied as they thought they were being victimised because they were foreigners and anarchists
• 107 people confirmed that sucker and Vendetti with someone else on the night of the robbery/murders
• it is no crime in America to carry a loaded gun. Sacco and Vanzetti said they carried one because they were worried about being attacked because of their political beliefs. 

Question 51

What happened after the Sacco and Vanzetti case?

Answer 51

• Despite years of public demonstrations, protests, legal arguments and appeals, the two men were executed by electric chair in August 1927
• In 1977, 50 years after their execution, the Governor of Massachusetts issued a proclamation stating that Sacco and Vanzetti had been unfairly tried and convicted
• He didn’t pardon them – this would have raised too much controversy still!

Question 52

What events lead to the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression?

Answer 52

1. By the summer of 1929, there were over 20 million shareholders in the USA and prices continued to soar. However, by October 1929, people began to realise they had risen too far and became nervous.
2. Now that households could afford luxury’s like fridges, freezers, vacuum cleaners, radios, cars etc… there was a limit to how many people would buy now. Led to over-production.
3. People started to sell their share prices as they predicted a decline in prices.
4. More and more people starting selling their shares, shareholders realised their shares were only worth something if someone was willing to buy them. Shares started to drop in price across all US companies.
5. On Saturday 19th October saw a record 3,488,100 shares bought and sold. The market closed the following day newspapers began to report of falling prices and over speculation.
6. Record number of shares continued to sell by Monday 21st October as some Americans wanted to buy shares in the hope that prices would increase again.
7. Wednesday 23rd October saw heavy selling of share, particularly in the car industry, which spread to other stocks. Car manufacturers relied heavily on metal producers and other materials, knock on effect on other businesses when their stocks fell. In the last hour of trading 2.6 million shares were sold at ever falling prices - many decided now was the time to sell.
8. Thursday 24th October became known as ‘black Thursday’, a record high of 12.9 million shares were sold across the USA in one day. Bankers met the following day and decided to support the market, which steadied prices on the surface of things.
9. Initial steadiness wavered and on Monday 28th October heavy selling began again. 9,212,000 shares bought and sold at rapidly falling prices. 3 million sold in the last hour of business alone.
10. On Tuesday 29th October saw the highest number of shares sold (16.4 million). Worst day in the entire history of the New York stock market. Shares lost all their value and anyone in the stock market was hit badly. The market had officially crashed!

Question 53

What was the Great Depression like in the cities?

Answer 53

• They could not sell products abroad
• Factories cut production and hours
• Factories overproduced goods
• Employers cut wages
• Not enough people could
afford luxury items
• Factories cut their work force
• Factories produced goods throughout the 1920s

Question 54

What was the Great Depression like in the countryside?

Answer 54

• Farmers grew even more food in the hope it would sell
• Prices fell lower
• Banks took over farms to
pay off the debts
• Prices fell
• Farmers could not pay mortgages
• Farmers produced too much food
• Farmers had less money coming in

Question 55

How were businessmen affected by the Great Depression?

Answer 55

• taken out loans they couldn’t afford to repay - causing them to go bankrupt
• between 1929 and 1933, over 10,000 banks closed and over 100,000 businesses went bankrupt
• some businessmen reduced their workforce and output levels; industrial production fell by 40% in these years
• US exports fell from $10 billion to $3 billion between 1929 and 1932
• banks tried to recover money by demanding the repayments of loans from businesses, meant even more were forced to close
• many businessmen tried new activities; such as selling newspapers or apples in the streets, or offering to polish shoes. For some, suicide was the only way out
• richer businessmen sold factories

Question 56

How were farmers affected by the Great Depression?

Answer 56

• farm prices were so low that the cost of transporting animals to market was higher than the price of the animal themselves
• total farm income has slipped to just $5 billion
• The USA is international trade reduced from $10 billion in 1929 to $3 billion in 1932.
• many farmers were unable to pay their mortgages or loans for equipment; had to sack workers and sell equipment - led to under-production
• some farmers organise themselves to resist banks, seizing their homes
• When sheriffs came to seize their property, bands of farmers holding pitchforks and hangmans nooses persuaded the sheriffs to retreat. Others barricaded highways
• most farmers packed their bags in trucks and lived on the road
• over-farming and drought in the central southern states turned millions of acres into a dust bowl - driving farmers off their land
• many headed to California for work
• by 1932, 1 in 20 farmers were evicted

Question 57

How significant was the issue of unemployment in the Great Depression?

Answer 57

• 13 million lost their jobs by 1932, nearly 25% of the labour force
• between 1929 - 1932, factory production dropped by 45% and house-building by 80%
• by 1932, 12,000 people a day lost their jobs and 20,000 companies closed
• average wages dropped by 60%
• 5000 banks had gone bankrupt
• in 1932, in the steel city of Cleveland, 50% of workers were now unemployed and in Toledo 80%
• queued for bread and soup dished out by charity workers
• every town had a ‘hooverville’ (shanty town of ramshackle huts where the migrants lived, in search for work)
• through 1931, 238 people admitted to the hospital of New York suffering from malnutrition or starvation - 45 of them died

Question 58

What happened in the summer of 1932 due to the Great Depression?

Answer 58

25,000 unemployed ex-soldiers marched to Washington DC asking for war pension (or bonus) to be paid early. Hoover set army on them, driving them away with guns, tanks and tear gas

Question 59

Examples of ineffective ways Hoover attempted to fix the Great Depression?

Answer 59

• food prices were falling and farmers income very low. To help farmers, the Farm Board bought surplus farm produce to keep prices up, little effect as slide in prices was so great and it didn’t have enough money
• didn’t offer any real solutions to falling demand for goods
• can’t sell manufactured goods abroad. Hawley Smoot Act in 1930, increase customs duties by 50% on wide range of imports. Hoped people would buy the cheaper American goods, but people couldn’t buy any goods at home or abroad. Foreign countries taxed US goods
• employers paying low wages. Hoover encouraged employers to make voluntary agreement with their employees, this didn’t work
• people hungry and homeless. Hoover believed it was the responsibility of the local state governments to- they didn’t have enough money for this

Question 60

Examples of effective ways Hoover dealt with stopping the Great Depression?

Answer 60

• businesses failing because banks won’t lend them money. Reconstruction Finance corporation in 1932. Provided loans totalling $1500 million to businesses
• people need jobs. The Government provided $243 million for a building programme to provide jobs e.g. Hoover dam on Colorado river. Step in the right direction, but more money needed

Question 61

What political party did Hoover belong to?

Answer 61

Republican

Question 62

When did Hoover become a president?

Answer 62

1928, when many Americans could afford luxuries. Chosen for his ‘laissez-faire’ attitude

Question 63

Which political party was Roosevelt from?

Answer 63

Democratic, family tradition as his distant cousin (Teddy Roosevelt) had been America’s democratic president from 1901 to 1909

Question 64

What were the three R’s Roosevelt promised against the depression?

Answer 64

• Relief - help for the old, sick, unemployed and homeless
• recovery - government schemes to provide jobs
• reform - make America a better place for ordinary people and ensure a depression like this could not happen again

Question 65

What did Roosevelt do in his first 100 days in office?

Answer 65

1. Banks were not to be trusted; 5000+ closed down since 1930. FDR’s Emergency Banking Act closed all banks for a four-day ‘bank holiday’. Each was inspected and only honest, well-run banks with enough cash allowed to reopen. Government lent some money to help reopen them.
2. The Economy Act cut the pay of everyone working for the Government, the army, the navy and air force by 15%. He saved nearly a billion dollars which could go to the unemployed.
3. The Beer Act made it legal to make and sell alcohol again. People fed up by problems with prohibition - gangsters, killings, corrupt cops and crooked dealings. Government could raise money by taxing alcohol
4. Used the radio to explain his ideas; first president to do so. Fireside chats - spoke about his family and his pet dog Fala. Many were convinced he was genuinely in touch with them

Question 66

What were the alphabet agencies in the first New Deal to help the unemployed?

Answer 66

• CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)
  Unemployed 18-25 year olds given food and shelter in the countryside. For one dollar a day, did conservation work - plant trees, dug canals, stocked rivers with fish, cleared footpaths and strengthened riverbanks against flooding. Ended malaria in America. Created jobs for 2.5 million men
• PWA (Public Works Administration) gave funds of $3300 million for buying materials and employing millions of skilled workers to build schools, housing, hospitals, bridges, courtrooms and dams. Built 10 ships and 50 airports
• CWA (Civil Works Administration) provided temporary work for 4,000,000 men building schools, airports, roads, and 150,000 public toilets! Changed its name to WPA (Workers Progress Administration) in 1935. Unemployed actors hired to give free shows, artists hired to paint for schools, people hired to carry balloons in Washington to scare pigeons from historic buildings and out of work researchers paid to write history on a safety pin. By 1951, spent $11000 million and provided work for 8 million

Question 67

What were the alphabet agencies in the first New Deal to help farmers?

Answer 67

• FCA (Farm Credit Administration) loans to farmers unable to meet their mortgage payments. $100 million loaned out in 18 months
• AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Agency) paid farmers to produce less and destroy some of the food they produced. Prices doubled as there was a smaller supply between 1933 and 1939.

Question 68

What were the alphabet agencies in the first New Deal to help the industry and workers?

Answer 68

• NRA (National Recovery Administration) encouraged workers and employers to work out a code of fair conditions. Any business/ factory that guaranteed a decent wage, improved working conditions and set a limit on hours per week (of work) allowed to use the NRA symbol (blue eagle) to help advertise their products.

Question 69

What were the alphabet agencies in the first New Deal to help for those in need?

Answer 69

• HOLC (Home Owners Loan Corporation) Government loaned money at very low rates to people who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments. 300,000 homeowners helped in the first year
• FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Agency) $500 million given to states to help homeless, starving people. Money spent on soup kitchens, blankets, clothes and nursery schools (so parents could go out and find a job in the day)

Question 70

What was the 2nd New Deal?

Answer 70

• SCA (Soil Conservation Agency) money given to farmers who conserved and improved the soil on their farms. Seen as a replacement of the AAA
• SSS (Social Security Act) Government pensions were provided for the old people, disable and widows. Also established a system of payments for the unemployed and sick
• NLRA (National Labour Relations Act) workers allowed to join trade unions so they could campaign for better pay and conditions. Seen as a replacement for the scraped NRA
• FSA (Farm Security Administration) Government loans given to tenant farmers so they could buy their own land. Also set up clean, healthy camps to help poor farming families who lost their own farm or left to find work around the country

Question 71

Opposition to the New Deal interfering too much in people’s lives?

Answer 71

1. Dr Francis Townsend: everyone over 60 should get a pension of $200 a month, if spent the money and gave up jobs. Provide jobs for young people and help the old who have been neglected.
2. Republicans: believed in rugged individualism and ‘laissez-faire’ attitude. Roosevelt behaved too much like a dictator, made Government too powerful. His TVA and NRA schemes were just like the communist economic planning of USSR. Too much money wasted e.g. WPA unnecessary jobs

Question 72

Opposition to the New Deal from those believing it wasn’t doing enough?

Answer 72

1. The rich: resented to have to pay higher taxes for the work of the new deal agencies. Bitter that Roosevelt’s policies had taken away some of their power
2. Huey ‘kingfish’ long: governor of Louisiana, in 1934 stopped supporting the New Deal. Wanted all personal fortunes of over $5 million to be confiscated and shared out an each American family to receive $4000-$5000. Promised minimum wage, houses for war veterans, pensions and free education. Remained popular but assassinated by a young doctor in 1935
3. Businesses: didn’t like the government interference and Roosevelt’s support for trade unions and campaign for raising wages. Thought TVA competed unfairly with privately owned businesses. Thought NRA was confusing to administer. In 1934 group of business leaders formed the Liberty League to oppose the New Deal

Question 73

What are the successes of the New Deal?

Answer 73

• The New Deal restored the faith of the American people in their government. It gave them confidence that action was being taken to improve conditions
• The New Deal stabilised the American banking system through changes like the Emergency Banking Law in FDR’s first 100 days
• The New Deal created millions of jobs through the alphabet agencies and public works schemes
• Many African Americans benefited from New Deal projects like slum clearance and new housing schemes
• The New Deal cut the number of business failures by supporting bankrupt firms
• The Indian Reorganisation Act of 1934 provided money to help Native Americans to buy and improve land
• The New Deal measures strengthened the position of labour unions against the large American industrial giants. This protected ordinary people’s rights
• The New Deal measures strengthened the position of labour unions against the large American industrial giants. This protected ordinary people’s rights
• The New Deal was a huge social and economic programme. Government help on this scale would never have been possible before Roosevelt’s time. It set the tone for future policies and future governments to help people
• Projects such as the TVA brought work and an improved standard of living to deprived areas as well as the creating schools, roads and power station
• The Indian Reorganisation Act helped Native Americans preserve and practise their traditions, laws and culture where they had previously not been allowed
• The New Deal saw some women achieve prominent positions. Eleanor Roosevelt became an important campaigner on social issues

Question 74

What are the limitations of the New Deal?

Answer 74

• The New Deal divided the USA. Roosevelt and his officials were often accused of being communists and of undermining American values. They were often accused of being anti- business because they supported trade unions
• The New Deal undermined state governments and their autonomy. Republican judges opposed some measures for this reason
• Most of the New Deal programmes were aimed to help male manual workers rather than women (only about 8000 women involved in the CCC compared to over 3 million men)
• Roosevelt failed to pass laws against the lynching of African Americans. He feared the democrat senators in the southern states would not support him if he tackled race issues as part of the New Deal
• Confidence remained low – throughout the 1930s Americans only spent and invested about 75% of what they had before 1929
• Native Americans remained a poor and excluded section of society- they did not see many benefits as a result of the New Deal initiatives
• Many New Deal agencies discriminated against African Americans. They either got no work at all or received worse treatment or lower wages than white Americans
• Unions, as a result of government backing, were treated with suspicion by employers. Many strikes (often encouraged by unions) were broken up wth brutal violence in the 1930
• Big business remained immensely powerful in the USA despite being challenged by the government
• The US economy took longer to recover than most European countries- many have said this is because long term economic problems were not dealt with, only those created by the depression
• There were still 6 million unemployed in 1941 and only the USA’s entry into the war brought about an end to unemployment
• The New Deal never solved the underlying economic problems, it simply masked over those created by the depression in the short term

Question 75

What was the end of the New Deal?

Answer 75

• Government cut amount spent on New Deal Programmes; unemployed increased by 3 million as no longer as much jobs available
• when Roosevelt was re-elected in1936, increasingly worried by the cost of his job creation schemes
• thousands of workers in car and steel industries went on strike as part of the campaign for better wages and conditions
• unemployment rose to 10.5 million in 1938, car and steel production kept falling
• by January 1939, FDR acknowledged himself that the New Deal has come to an end

Question 76

What are some example of jazz artists?

Answer 76

Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Billie Holidays sold lots of records

Question 77

What are some famous performers at the time?

Answer 77

Glen Millens, Judy Garland, Bing Chubb

Question 78

When did comics appear?

Answer 78

First appeared in the early 1930s. Popularity soared after public act of action comics (1933) including debut of superman

Question 79

What are some examples of authors in the 1930s?

Answer 79

Erskine Caldwell, John Steinbeck and James Farrell wrote about the Great Depression and poverty

Question 80

How was the cinema a popular activity during the 1930s?

Answer 80

Musicals (42nd street), comedies starring Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Walt Disney, cartoons, historical dramas (Gone with the Wind) and horror films (Frankenstein and (Dracula) were extremely popular

Question 81

From isolationism to World War timeline?

Answer 81

• 1919: end of WW1 and the US declared a policy of ‘isolationism’ and vowed to stay out of European affairs, instead concentrate on rebuilding its economy
• 1935: the Neutrality Act banned loans to countries at war
• 1937: another law was passed stopping sale of weapons to any country involved in a conflict. In October, said peaceful nations should break relations with aggressive nations
• 1939: War broke out in Europe in September. America declared support for Britain and France. Concerned with Japan’s aggression in the Far East, where it did a lot of trade and controlled lots of land
  -1939: Britain and France began buying US weapons, warships and planes; ‘cash and carry plan.’ Creating valuable production jobs at a time of unemployment
• 1940: In June that year, Germany defeated France
• 1941: in March, FDR agreed to a Lend Lease Deal with Britain. It would lend Britain up to $7000 million worth of weapons. It struck a similar deal with Russia in June. 5.5 million unemployed compared to 10 million before
• 1941: 07:55am on Sunday 7th December, 183 Japanese bomber planes attacked Pearl Harbour. In 2 hours; 21 US warships were damaged and sunk, 177 US planes destroyed and over 2000 men were killed. Japan only lost 29. This is thought to be because USA didn’t sell it any oil or steel because it attacked its surrounding countries stealing food and raw materials
• 1941: next day, America and Britain declared war on Japan, 3 days later, German and Italy declared war on USA

Question 82

What were the 2 main reactions in the USA for it entering WW2?

Answer 82

1. Organisations such as mother’s crusade and the America First Committee had huge anti-war demonstrations
2. Others saw the economic benefits. Millions found jobs when USA rearmed in case it was forced into war

Question 83

How was unemployment affected during WW2?

Answer 83

• by 1941, 4 million found jobs in the armed forces, or building fighter planes, battleships and tanks
• farmers prospered because they provided food to the military
• traditional industries of coal, iron, steel and oil were all boosted by the demand of war
• between 1939 and 1944, it dropped from 9.5 million to just 670,000

Question 84

How was weapon making developed in WW2?

Answer 84

• War Production Board (WPB) created
• WPB converted industries from Peace- time work to war work
• Each factory received materials to produce war goods in the fastest way
• In 1945, factories produced 86,000 planes and in 1944 they produced 96,000 (23, 000 more than Germany and Japan combined

Question 85

How were women affected during WW2?

Answer 85

• women began to fill men’s jobs in factories, railways and shipyards
• before the war, worked in traditional ‘female’ jobs such as nursing or teaching
• between 1940 and 1945, the number of women in work rose from to 19 million, from12 million (occupied a third of Americas jobs)
• around 330,000 women joined women’s sections in armed forces

Question 86

How were African Americans affected during WW2?

Answer 86

• in June 1941, government set up the Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) to prevent discrimination towards African Americans in defence and Government jobs
• the FEPC couldn’t force companies to change, but recommend they didn’t receive profitable Government contracts. As a result, some companies improved their policies
• about a million fought in the war, still widespread discrimination: black sailors only allowed to work in kitchens, black soldiers not allowed to train as officers, initially the airforce wouldn’t train black pilots
• later in the war, the racial barriers broke down: airforce allowed them to train as pilots (had to fight in ‘blacks only’ squadrons)
• all of the armed services trained black officers (can only lead other black soldiers in segregated units)
• African American women allowed to become nurses (could only treat black soldiers)

Question 87

How did WW2 lead to economic recovery?

Answer 87

• coca-cola; most successful soft drink in the world
• USA was the only country that emerged economically stronger from WW2
• half a million new businesses started up and many became rich from war contracts
• demand for workers and the wages increased similar to boom in 1920, but war was the stimulus and spending was less extravagant
• many invested their income in bonds (lent money to government by buying war bonds). Promise of bonds being paid with interest after war. During the war, Americans contributed to $129 billion to war efforts with bonds, this boosted the economy as government could spend on war
• unemployment ended, something the new deal failed to do
• American farmers, after almost 20 years of depressed prices and the economic crisis, enjoyed better times as USA exported food to help its allies
• wrigley took on packaging rations for US firms and added his gum

Question 88

How did WW2 lead to increased employment?

Answer 88

• around 4 million workers from rural south moved to these areas, including many blacks
• about 350,000 women joined women’s section in armed forces
• nearly 0.75 million African Americans found work in war industries; California saw an influx of 1.5 million workers
• economic benefits: farmers supplied food to military, traditional industries e.g. coal, iron, steel were boosted by the demands of war
• unemployed men joined armed forces when war started; easy to find a job
• by 1944, only 70,000 unemployed
• between 1940 and 1945, number of women working rose from 12-19 million (filled in men’s jobs as men joined the armed forces)
• General Motors employed
• large-scale production needed workers, 14 million worked in factories. Most manufacturing jobs in north or pacific coast

Question 89

How did WW2 lead to wartime production?

Answer 89

• silk ribbon factories produced parachutes; typewriter companies produced machine guns
• large firms wanted to help war effort, also stood to make lots of money from it
• within weeks, car factories started producing tanks and fighter planes
• WPB made sure each factory had materials to produce goods as fast as possible
• in 1943, US factories produced 86,000 planes - and 96,000 in 1944 (28000 more than Germany and Japan combined). FDR’s target of 50,000 was smashed
• leading industrialisation that opposed New Deal co-operated because of war. Roosevelt could raise taxes and spend money on on any level to win the war- a powerful combination
• in January 1942, Roosevelt set WPB under industrialist William Knudsen; called in USA’s leading industrialists and asked their advice on how to meet war production needs. 80% of American contracts were to 100 firms, 1000’s of smaller firms subcontracted to supply tools, materials and equipment
• WPB created to convert peace time industries to war time
• by 1944, produced almost half of the worlds weapons

Question 90

How did WW2 lead to lend lease?

Answer 90

• began in March 1941 with support to Britain
• total of $50.1 billion worth of materials shipped
• economy stimulated even more when USA entered war in December 1941
• by the end of the war, it was sending arms, food, medicine etc to the USSR, China, furnace and others fighting against Japan and Germany
• basic principle: loaned war materials, in hope it would be returned by the end of the war. Not charged for if destroyed
• although USA recieved no payments for these materials, majority of contracts placed with US firms, stimulating the economy

Question 91

What were some factors for prosperity due to the fair deal?

Answer 91

• Truman originally announced his proposals for a ‘fair deal’ in 1945, immediately after the war. After winning the post-war election in 1948, re-presented proposals to congress - who only legislated a few of his ideas
• president Truman wanted to help Americans in need and bring about a fairer society. Called his plan the ‘fair deal’. His 2 main issues were poverty and civil rights for African Americans. Previous presidents were criticised for not going far enough to stop poverty
• under the ‘Fair Deal’, the minimum hourly wage rose from 40 to 74 cents and congress extended old age benefits to 10,000,000 people. Slum clearance programme introduced - leading to large areas of affordable,e housing being built
• National Health Scheme proposal (similar to British NHS) was blocked, as too an attempt to improve the rights of African Americans by racist southern politicians

Question 92

What are some factors of prosperity due to export industry?

Answer 92

• export market begun back in WW2 but continued to aid the economy in the 1950s
• despite having only 6% of the worlds population, by 1952, USA supplied the world 65% of its manufactured goods. Also helped by the introduction of the Marshall plan in 1947 (European Recovery Programme designed to assist countries after WW2)

Question 93

What are some factors of prosperity due to mass production?

Answer 93

• by the end of the 1950s, 9 out of every 10 US households had a tv, 8 had a car and 7 had a washing machine
• America experienced a baby boom after the war - 40% increase in population - increased demand for goods
• once WW2 ended, peace time goods were produced in the same, efficient way as war time goods were
• wartime production increased jobs and stimulated the economy again

Question 94

What are some factors of prosperity due to advertising?

Answer 94

• huge advertising industry and ‘buy now pay later’ schemes persuaded people to spend money on manufacturing goods
• companies invested huge amounts of money to advertise their products and ensure Americans were aware of what was on the market
• advertising created an environment where everyone tried to keep up with each other

Question 95

What are some factors of prosperity due to shopping malls?

Answer 95

• massive shopping malls and huge car parks were built on the outskirts of towns and cities where people could buy all their goods under one roof

Question 96

What are some factors of prosperity due to Korean War?

Answer 96

• American, through the membership of the UN became involved in the Korean War in 1950. Communist North Korea invaded communist South, supported by the USSR
• As a result of the USA joining Korean War, the industry kept producing new weapons throughout early 1950s; big orders for chemical, steel and electronics industries

Question 97

What are the factors of prosperity due to war veterans?

Answer 97

• education and training provision existed until 1956, providing benefits to nearly 10 million veterans
• the ‘veterans’ administration (VA) offered insure loans until 1962 totalling over $50 billion, the economic assistance accelerated post war demand for goods and services stimulating the economy
• the bill established hospitals, made cheap home loans available, offered grants to pay for ex-soldiers to attend college or trade schools;paying their tuition and wages. Also unemployment compensation programme of up to a year for those struggling to find jobs
• ‘GI Bill’ passed towards the end of the war by the government to help veterans of the 2nd world war to rehabilitate and assimilate into American society
• from 1944 to 1949, nearly 9 million veterans received close to $4 billion from the GI/ Bills for the unemployment compensation programme

Question 98

Reasons the American dream was a myth?

Answer 98

• areas of America where the majority of people were desperately poor with sub-standard unsafe housing and schools. 25% of the population were considered living in poverty. Black Americans were particularly affected
• people in the southern states were worse off than those in the North states or west coast. Some of the poorest were in Mississippi clay hills where in 1960 more than 60% of families tried to live on less than $2000 a year (average factory earnings were over $4000 a year)
• the average age at which women got married fell to 20 in the 1950s (the lowest since 1890). Women who didn’t work were employed in ‘female’ jobs like nursing, teaching and secretarial work. Women attempting to pursue a high-flying business or management career often faced discrimination and were usually viewed with suspicion
• widespread view held in the 1950s that a ‘woman’s place was in the home’ and that she was ‘living the American dream’ if she had all the latest gadgets to help her
• in 1960, 67.8% of people over the age of 65 had incomes of less than $1000 and 94.3% of them less than $3000 (average factory earnings were over $4000). They had fewer demands on their money than younger people with families. But they had medical bills and the cost of medical care rose rapidly
• after the war, millions of women - who had done such valuable work - went back to their more traditional roles. Women’s wages in factories which had risen to 2/3 of those earned by men, fell back to 53% of that during the 1950s
• ## lodged far behind the European countries in providing good pensions and welfare services. Despite a booming economy, and evidence that medical care was costly and inadequate, congress defeated Truman’s attempts to set up a free national health service. The opposition to free/ cheap healthcare came from influential insurance companies

Question 99

Reasons the American dream was a reality?

Answer 99

• shopping became an important recreational activity so that during the 1950s the gross national product (GNP- the total value of goods and services produced in one year) almost doubled. The USA was producing half of the world’s goods and only a few people didn’t have a job. Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world. In 1960, it was 3 times better than that of an average British person
• in the 1950s America experienced a period of prosperity as a raid economic growth provided most middle class white Americans with a comfortable lifestyle that was envied around the world. As people became batter off, they moved to new homes in well planned and self-contained suburbs on the outskirts of cities with access to shopping malls
• in 1952, Republican Dwight ‘Ike’ Eisenhower became president. He brought lots of business people into the government to keep the economy booming. Improvements in living standards and rising wages

Question 100

What was the ‘Rock and Roll Generation’?

Answer 100

• as America grew wealthier, teenagers had more leisure time and spending power than in previous generations
• in 1957, the average teenager spent between $10 and $15 a week compared to $1-$2 in the early 1940s
• children no longer had to get a job to support the family when they reached 14 or 15, so many children went to college after high school
• a new style of music called ‘Rock and Roll’ was very popular among teens
• by the end of the 1950s, 9 out of every 10 US households had a tv. Televised rock and roll made tv extremely popular for teens. A 1956 performance of Elvis Presley was watched by 82% of Americans
• before long, Rock and Roll was viewed by many as ‘dangerous’ and was linked to teenage crime and gang culture
• teenagers soon got a reputation for being independent, rebellious, secretive and aggressive. Figures like James Dean and Marlon Brando became emblems of teenage rebellion
• the booming economy meant many parents could help their children financially. One of the key ideas of the ‘American dream’ is that each generation is more successful than the last
• teenagers often spent their money on music, cars, fashion and alcohol. Some teenage boys raced cars and formed gangs

Question 101

Why was there a growing fear of Communism?

Answer 101

• many countries in Eastern Europe were under the communist influence of the Soviet Union. Americans worried that communism might spread to the USA
• a memeber of the US government (Alger Hiss) was accused of spying for the Soviet Union. Americans Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were found guilty of spying and executed in June 1953. These scandals became headline news, fear of communists at work in America, grew
• the US government vowed to stop the spread of communism using a policy called ‘containment’. In the late 1940s, China (another huge nation with vasts amounting to of raw materials) became a communist state. Increased fear containment wasn’t working and communism was spreading
• the Soviet Union had developed nuclear weapons, just like the USA. They were rival superpowers with very different political systems. There was concern that this rivalry could develop into nuclear war known as the Cold War
• second ‘red scare’ took place in the years immediately after WW2 up until the mid 1950s

Question 102

What are some examples of un-American activities that caused the fear of communism?

Answer 102

• a US government group (the HUAC or House of Representatives for Un-American Activities Committee) began searching for Communists in the US government, in workforces, in the media and in the movie industry
• millions of Americans were investigated by the HUAC and the Loyalty Programmes between 1947 and 1950. Although none were found guilty of spying, many were forced out of their jobs because of the ‘disgrace’ associated with their investigation
• President Truman introduced a Loyalty Programme that allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate all government employees and sack any ‘security risks’

Question 103

The McCarthyism timeline?

Answer 103

1. In 1950, a politician Joseph McCarthy used the fear of communism to help further his political career by claiming he had a list of over 200 communists working for the government
2. This caused a sensation and McCarthys list was front page news. Many saw anti-communist McCarthy as a hero
3. For the next five years, he waged a wild campaign of investigations. Some likened it to a ‘witch hunt’.
4. People who criticised him were accused of being communist supporters, which could get them sacked
5. In 1954, McCarthy accused 45 army officers of being communist, but he had no evidence and ‘McCarthysism’ began to lose public support

Question 104

Who was McCarthy?

Answer 104

A senate in the Republican Party, coached boxing in college, was a judge and attorney, was in the marine corps in WW2. He died of hepatitis on 2nd May 1957 in Maryland

Question 105

When did slavery of Africans end?

Answer 105

After the civil war in 1865

Question 106

What is the NAACP and when was it set up?

Answer 106

In 1920, Web du Bois founded the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) which worked to end segregation and fight for equal civil rights. Their membership rose from 50,000 to 500,000 in the 1950s.

Question 107

What is the UNIA and when was it set up?

Answer 107

After Web Du Bois set up the NAACP, Marcus Garvey set up the UNIA (United Negro Improvement Association) to encourage ‘black pride’. He tried, unsuccessfully, to encourage black people to return to their native Africa, but many refused, most saw the USA as their rightful home

Question 108

Did Roosevelt attempt to make lynching illegal?

Answer 108

After his election in 1932, Roosevelt tried to tackle civil rights and attempted to make lynching illegal in 1935. When he saw how many votes he lost in 1936, he dropped his campaign

Question 109

How many black people worked in munition factories in the end of 1944?

Answer 109

2 million

Question 110

Did racial tension exist after WW2?

Answer 110

• a new organisation called congress of racial equality (CORE) was founded by James Farmer in 1942; inspired by the non-violent methods of Mahatama Ghandi in India
• used the idea of sit-ins in cinemas and restaurants; this did lead to some Northern cities desegregating
• an awareness of discrimination lead to the growth in the membership of the NAACP during the war - from 50,000 to 450,000
• many of the new members were professionals, but there were also many new urban workers
• there was an increased interest in the Politics in the South among black Americans and the number of voters rose from 3% in 1940 to 12% in 1947
• the issue of civil rights split up the democrats in the 1948 presidential election. Truman wanted to introduce a civil rights bill which would ban poll taxes (a tax you had to pay before you could vote) and also proposed the anti-lynching bill, which the Dixiecrats (Southern Democratic Party Politicians) rejected

Question 111

What were the freedom- rides?

Answer 111

• many buses didn’t desegregate after Montgomery ruling
• on May 1961, CORE students began this form of protest; called freedom riders
• deliberately rode on Alabama buses
• 200 were arrested and spent 40 days in jail
• governor (John Patterson) didn’t do anything till put under pressure by Kennedy

Question 112

What were sit-ins?

Answer 112

• On February 1960, in Greensboro, Carolina, 4 SNCC students sat on a whites only section in Woolworth’s store lunch counter
• refused to leave lunch counter when refused service
• next day 23 students, and the following day there were 66. It spread to other cities
• in 1960 and 1961, about 70,000 campaigners staged ‘sit-in’ protests across the South
• by the end of 1960, lunch counters were desegregated in 126 cities

Question 113

What happened in Washington DC on August 1963?

Answer 113

• largest civil rights demonstration in history
• 50,000 whites and 200,000 blacks took part
• there was no trouble or litter
• Martin Luther King gave his ‘I have a dream’ speech
• the aim was to pressure Kennedy to pass the civil rights bill
• led to passage of civil rights act in 1964

Question 114

What happened in Alabama in May 1963?

Answer 114

• King organised a non-violent protest; to march in one of the most segregated cities in the USA, Birmingham, Alabama
• the police, under orders of the chief of police (Eugene ‘bull’ Connor) attacked the protestors with dogs, water cannons, tear-gas, electric cattle prods and batons
• hundreds of Protestants arrested - including 900 children shown on tv
• Kennedy sent troops to restore order, oredered Birmingham city council to end segregation

Question 115

What happened in Selma in March 1965?

Answer 115

• king organised another march from Selma to Birmingham
• when the marchers reached the outskirts, brutally attacked by police
• bay became known as ‘bloody Sunday’

Question 116

How did the US government help the civil rights movement?

Answer 116

• interracial marriages legalised in 1967
• Kennedy’s successor, Johnson, introduced another civil rights act in 1964 outlawing racial discrimination in segregation and public places and employment
• in 1965, voting rights act gave all Americans the right to vote (only passed into law by congress in 1968)
• 1968 -fair housing act made racial discrimination illegal when buying and renting properties
• just before his assassination in 1963, Kennedy supported a civil rights act ai king to give blacks full equity in housing and education

Question 117

What was meant by black separatism?

Answer 117

A political movement aimed at creating separate white and black economic and cultural systems within the USA

Question 118

What was meant by black power?

Answer 118

Political idea that black Americans should take responsibility for their own lives and reject white help

Question 119

Who were the black panthers?

Answer 119

An extreme militant group of around 5000 (in 1968) that rejected king’s non-violent ideas and argued that African Americans needed to protect themselves from white racists, using violence if necessary

Question 120

Who were the National of Islam (also known as the black Muslims)?

Answer 120

They were founded in 1930 and said that white society was racist and corrupt. They rejected Christianity as a white man’s religion, urging African Americans to follow Islam. They also wanted separatism (keep the races apart). Best known member was Malcolm X. Became less extreme in his views and left the group, he set up his Organisation of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) in 1964. While speaking at an OAAU meeting in 1965, was shot and killed by National of Islam members

Question 121

What was proof that there was a positive contribution to the civil rights movement?

Answer 121

• in just one year, King himself travelled some 780,000 miles and made over 200 speeches campaigning for civil rights
• as a result of King’s organised peaceful protest in Birmingham, Alabama in May 1963, president Kennedy sent in troops to restore order and end segregation in this state
• Martin Luther King and Stokeley Carmichael were quite friendly and agreed on the need to fight poverty. They worked together and shared many different ideas, including their shared opposition to the Vietnamese war
• it could be argued that the peaceful methods employed by King and his followers attracted the sympathies and support of many white politicians. King chose to work within the system and never met violence with violence when campaigning for his goals
• King is remembered today across the world for his peaceful approach and calm, steady progress. He stuck to his principle of non-violence throughout his campaigns and, as a result, is the only black African American to have a US National holiday held annually in his honour in January
• the National day of mourning ordered by president Johnson following King’s assassination in April 1968 is testament to the support that he had gathered by his use of peaceful protests
• president Kennedy, and his successor Lyndon B Johnson, were sympathisers of King and his methods. Both passed legislation which outlawed segregation and racial discrimination

Question 122

What was proof that there was a negative contribution to the civil rights movement?

Answer 122

• Many were concerned that the approach of the Black Power Movement would lead to widespread blood shed and be used by whites, including the President, as an excuse to turn against civil rights reforms.
• Many viewed the peaceful methods employed by leaders like King as slow and ineffective. Many began to reject this approach in the mid-1960s in favour of the newly established, more militant campaigns
• The more radical elements of the Black Power Movement alarmed moderate opinion and alienated many white Americans who might otherwise have been sympathetic towards the civil rights movement
• By 1965, non-violent and peaceful action had achieved much but many black African Americans were still frustrated about their reality. Despite legal changes, they still faced much higher levels of poverty, poorer education and inadequate housing
• The Black Power Movement was criiticised for giving law enforcement the excuse they needed to crack down on all African American activists
• The Black Power Movement was successful in improving the esteem of African Americans and their pride in themselves and their culture. However, it could also be deemed unsuccessful in improving the living conditions of poor and working-class blacks
• Media coverage of the Black Power Movement was misinformed and based more on ignorance and fear than an attempt to understand the movement. This created negative publicity which turned many white Americans against its aims
• Negative publicity surrounding Black Power let to increased demands form white voters that their politicians take tougher action against black ‘criminals’

Question 123

Martin Luther King person background?

Answer 123

• Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929 and was originally named Michael King Junior after his father. However, he changed his name after a family trip to Europe in order to honour the German Protestant Leader, Martin Luther.
• Martin Luther King was a Baptist Minister at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery.
• In February 1956, King and 100 of his followers were arrested and detained.
• Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee. King was giving a speech on a balcony at the time of the shooting.

Question 124

What were Martin Luther Kings methods and tactics?

Answer 124

• King had been inspired by Ghandi’s non-violent methods of protest in India and stressed the need for Peaceful protest.
• Religion was a large part of Martin Luther King’s campaign. He did not necessarily see the Civil Rights struggle as ‘white’ vs. ‘Black’ but rather as ‘fair’ vs. ‘unfair’.
• In 1957, King created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) as an organisation dedicated to improving Black people’s human rights.
• Martin Luther King used peaceful protest as the main method of gaining equal rights. He organised the famous ‘Birmingham Protests’ in 1963 in Alabama. He also organised the famous ‘March on Washington’ in the same year.

Question 125

Personal background of Malcolm X?

Answer 125

• Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He had a troubled childhood and turned to the world of crime. He was imprisoned at the age of 21.
• In prison, Malcolm X converted to Islam and joined a prison group called the Black Muslims. Upon his release in Chicago he changed his name to Malcolm X
• Malcolm X was shot whilst giving a speech at a meeting in Manhattan. He was assassinated by three members of the Nation of Islam group
• Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965 by the Nation of Islam group who disliked his extremist speeches and his changed beliefs

Question 126

What were Malcolm X’s methods and tactics?

Answer 126

• Malcolm X encouraged race riots amongst groups like his ‘Nation of Islam’, ‘Black Muslims’ and the ‘Black panthers’.
• Malcolm X rejected many campaigners’ demands of equal rights and instead promoted what he called ‘Black Power.’ He wanted Blacks to be seen as more important than Whites
• Malcolm X became the voice of many angry Black people who believed that King’s methods had not gone far enough in securing rights. He urged people to ‘meet violence with violence’
• Malcolm X became a leading figure in the Nation of Islam. However, he was expelled from this group and began to turn people against them by making extremist speeches

Question 127

How did Johnson’s ‘great society’ improve health and poverty?

Answer 127

• promised American’s a society, used wealth + wisdom to help others and advance the quality of American civilisation
• created several opportunities and series of healthcare measures designed to help improve people’s lives from birth till old age
• increased minimum wage from $1.25 to $1.40 per hour
• created ‘Job Corps’ (extension of Kennedy’s Peace Corps) to help high school leavers find unemployment (reduce number of young unemployed Americans)
• JFK’s idea of ‘medicine’ seen through also (system of Health of Insurance). Use government funding to support elderly + low income families
• concerned about environment; series of measures tackling pollution and environmental damage
• air and water quality acts ; tightened control over pollution
• invested lots of money into wilderness protection act (saving millions of acres of forest from industrial development
• rate of poverty dropped from 56% in 1959 to 30% in 1970 (White Americans poverty dropped from 18% to 8%)
  However…
• many criticised him for spending too much on reforms; making people too dependent on the state
• republicans criticised mostly; acted as a brake for people’s individual freedoms

Question 128

How did Johnson’s ‘great society’ improve education?

Answer 128

• promised ‘great society’ ensuring’every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and enlarge his talents’.
• ‘operation headstart’ gave money to schools to provide better education for poor and disadvantaged
• VISTA (Volunteer In Service To America) established (domestic version of peace corps); allowing students to extend their education and training through various voluntary schemes within the USA, as opposed to abroad

Question 129

How did Johnson’s ‘great society’ improve the economy?

Answer 129

• able to use his political skills to push many measures through congress that JFK couldn’t
• economic opportunity act of 1964 provided training for disadvantaged youths aged 16-21 and recruited workers to slum areas
• safety standards increased (with regard to consumer goods) and prices for these goods were monitored
• increased aid to other countries (particularly Vietnam) at the USA’s expense
• during Kennedy’s presidency, USA became increasingly involved in the conflict in South East Asia, Johnson committed troops to this fighting in the summer of 1964
• this investment in the armed forces created more jobs
  However…
• Johnson’s presidency and popularity suffered from the war in the end

Question 130

How did Johnson’s ‘great society’ improve the Civil Rights movement?

Answer 130

• Kennedy was succeeded by Lyndon B Johnson (his Democrat Vice President) won the election easily for sympathies for work Kennedy’s undertook in civil rights movement. Promised ‘end to poverty and racial injustice’
• where Kennedy fell out with congress and Southern politicians on the issue, Johnson was a hard-talking, tough veteran from the south himself
• could manipulate the southern politicians to his own advantage
• once got a white politician to support his racial policies by getting the black woman he had an affair with to put pressure on him
• 2 significant civil rights acts were passed
• civil rights act of 1964 Kennedy promised to sign (ended segregation in all public areas and employment)
• voting rights act of 1964
• another act in 1965 - banning literary tests and other obstacles for black voters
• these effectively removed last of ‘Jim crow’ laws in south
  However…
• still millions of African Americans suffering racial injustices well into the 1970s
• huge government spending was invested in the conflict; many remember Johnson as responsible for growing death toll from Vietnam
• he actively supported US commitment to fighting communism, but the war became unpopular and costly
• laws didn’t change people’s attitudes: many states found a way round the new laws banning segregation

Question 131

How did Kennedy’s ’new frontier’ improve health and poverty?

Answer 131

• passed a series of laws including; social securing act (increased benefits for old and unemployed)
• fought hard for extension of unemployment benefit; to support those still unable to find work
• raised money into research of mental illness
• allocated funds to develop poorer countryside areas
• committed to rural electrification of countryside areas; helping to modernise farming
• before his assassination, had plans to introduce an ambitious system of healthcare insurance for elederly ‘Medicare’
• his presidency was dominated by foreign affairs and Cold War affairs
• did initiate a number of domestic reforms to help those in need
• increased minimum hourly wage from $1-$1.25 for all Americans in employment
• made $4.9 billion available for loans to improve housing, clear slum areas and build roads and telephone lines
• passed a series of acts to eliminate poverty; housing act established loans from local authorities to help improve peoples houses and clear slum areas
  However…
• minimum hourly wage was only helpful to those with a job; not the 4.5 million unemployed in the 1960s
• many criticised him for not going far enough to help unemployed
• his measures were based on costly loans, fine for Americans who could afford the repayment, but limited support to those that couldn’t

Question 132

How did Kennedy’s ‘new frontier’ improve education?

Answer 132

• established Peace Corps (an organisation that sends volunteers abroad to help less developed countries)
• the volunteers worked as teachers, doctors, nurses and technical advisers
• committed to improving young peoples chances and offering them more educational opportunities
• greatly appealed to young people who wanted to continue their education
• Peace Corps still survives today
• also keen to introduce Education law (government gives more money to fund education and extend school provisions, unfortunately never materialised due to his assassination
  However…
• his effort to increase government spending in education was denied by congress (dominated by south politicians who already clashed over civil rights with him
• Roosevelt didn’t pursue educational reforms, bowed down over southern pressure

Question 133

How did Kennedy’s ’new frontier’ improve the economy?

Answer 133

• promised to tackle economic problems that remained unsolved
• called for a series of challenges
• cut taxes; give Americans more money to spend (to stimulate production and create more jobs
• controlled prices and wages, so inflation didn’t spiral out of control
• made $900 million available to US businesses to create new jobs
• gave grants to companies to buy/upgrade to higher tech equipment and train workers to use it
• established training schemes for unemployed (to upskill people for a more ‘modern workspace’)
• increase government spending in armed forces; create jobs for all sectors of the armed forces
• huge government investment in space tech; lead to more jobs
  However…
• in some cases, the equipment meant fewer jobs were needed; many lost jobs
• mass production (on a more high-tech level) meant a loss in unskilled workers
• businesses were vulnerable when huge, continual spend of government ended-depended on it
• in 1963, US still had an unemployment problem: 4.5 million still without jobs (only one million fewer than when he wasn’t president in 1960
• despite his civil rights advancement promises, unemployment was mainly made up of African Americans and those who had worked in the older industries, like coal, iron and steel

Question 134

How did Kennedy’s ’new frontier’ improve the lives of African Americans?

Answer 134

• created CEEO (Commission of Equal Employment Opportunity) that ensured all Americans had equal employment opportunities
• in October 1962, sent a soldier to protect a black student (James Meredith) who won a place at Mississippi university, but was persecuted by white racists
• in 1963, Alabama was the only segregated state
• appointed 5 black federal judges, including Thurgood Marshall
• gave more important government jobs to blacks than any president before
  However…
• CEEO only helped those that already secured government positions
• tried to get MLK to call off his march, concerned about congressman’s reactions; argued it could hinder the civil rights movement further
• they did nothing to actively find jobs for unemployed African Americans
• some though he could have done more, was too concerned of what south politicians thought of him; civil rights bill never released in congress due to this

Question 135

What was the Brown v Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 case?

Answer 135

1. In 1951, in Topeka, Kansas, the father of a little black girl named Linda brown took the local education authority (the board of education) to court
2. This was because he was unhappy that his daughter had to walk 2 miles to an all black school when there was a school for whites half a mile away
3. Oliver Brown (the father) was helped in his case by the NAACP organisation aiming to get rid of segregation
4. He lost his case in 1951-appealed against the decision- and the case went to the Supreme Court a few years later
5. In May 1954, the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court declared every white education board had to end segregation in schools. Writhing many weeks, many cities and towns started to desegregate their schools
6. Some states refused to desegregate-despite the Supreme Court ruling. Many whites called the ruling black Monday. In Mississippi, a ‘white citizens council’ formed to ensure segregation remained. In 1956, not a single African American attended a school with white students in 6 southern states

Question 136

What was the Little Rock High Case?

Answer 136

1. In September 1957, 9 African American pupils to attend Little Rock High (Arkansas refused to desegregate schools, despite the ruling)
2. 8 students met off campus, accompanied by a lawyer. Elizabeth Eckfor was the 9th student, she didn’t know about the others meeting with a lawyer, and came by bus to the school
3. The Governor of Arkansas sent National Guard soldiers to prevent them from entering and a large, hostile, white crowd greeted Elizabeth
4. Elizabeth was denied access, went home and was accompanied by a white woman to the bus stop
5. Orville Faubus (governor) taken to court by the 9 students, they won. Soldiers were forced to leave, allowing students inside
6. By 1960, only 2500 of 2 million black students in Arkansas went to the same school as white children. By 1962, no black children attending white schools in Alabama, South Carolina or Mississippi

Question 137

What were reasons the cases can be seen as a success for the civil rights movement?

Answer 137

• by 1956, all elementary (primary) schools were organised by geographical area, rather than by race
• the case opened the door, and encouraged other legal challenges of segregation throughout the states
• some areas outside of Topeka followed suit and began to desegregate education
• by 1957, over 300,000 children now attended schools that had previously been segregated to only whites. This may have been a small minority but it was a significant step forward

Question 138

What were the reasons that these cases cannot be seen as successful for the civil rights movement?

Answer 138

• in 1955, membership of the KKK had increased significantly following the Supreme Court ruling
• by the late 1950’s, there were still over 2.4 million black children in segregated Jim Crow schools
• the Supreme Court set no official deadline for the ending of segregation, so many states did nothing about it
• white ‘citizen councils’ were established in many southern states to prohibit segregation after the Supreme Court ruling. These were mainly run by influential white parents who saw a threat to their own children

Question 139

What was the Montgomery bus boycott?

Answer 139

1. In Montgomery, Alabama, buses were segregated. On 1st December 1955, Rosa Parks (an African American) refused to give up her seat to a white man, she was arrested
2. She was the secretary of the local NAACP and news of her arrest spread fast. Local black community leaders agreed to call a boycott of all city buses and MLK led the boycott
3. The boycott lasted many months, African Americans provided 75% of the bus company’s business- soon in financial difficulty
4. Some of the Protestants received threatening phone calls and homes were vandalised- King told them to be peaceful. He believed in ‘non-violent protest’ or ‘direct action’ was the way to achieve equal rights
5. Almost a year after Parks refused to give up her seat, Supreme Court rule segregation on buses illegal. This was a significant victory for the civil rights movement

Question 140

What was a workplace like for women in 1963?

Answer 140

• only 4% of lawyers and 7% of doctors were women
• earned about 60% less than men
• legally dismissed if they married
• 95% of managers were men
• most work was part time with limited responsibility
• in 1963 a book by Bettie African was published ‘the feminine mystique’, it argued that well qualified women felt depressed and undervalued because they were unable to pursue a fulfilling career

Question 141

What was evidence of progress in fight for women’s rights?

Answer 141

▪️1917: in WW1, men went off to fight and women filled men’s jobs; granted women the right to vote in 1920
▪️during 2WW, more and more women went to work to support the workforce. Gave them a sense of independence and their own money-many refused to give this up after the world war. However vast majority were forced back into the home
▪️February 1963: Betty Friedan wrote her best-seller ’feminist mystique’ bravely questioning a women’s place in society and marked the ‘second wave feminism’ in the USA
▪️1965: saw the Supreme Court ruling allowing married couples to use the newly invented birth pill
▪️the NOW (National Organisation of Women) was created in 1966 by Betty Friedan demanding complete equal rights to women, including right to reproductive decisions. Adopted a bill of rights in its first meeting in 1967
▪️other women groups emerged (women’s campaign fund, North American Indian Women’s association and the national black feminist Organisation) collectively known as ‘women’s liberation movement’
▪️1972: Supreme Court decision on equal rights also ruled that contraception should be available for unmarried couples on the same basis as for married
▪️1972: educational amendment act banning sexual discrimination in education and enabling girls to study the same courses/ subjects as boys
▪️famous ‘Roe vs Wade’ landmark court case fought over the key feminist crusade to legalise abortion. The case reached the Supreme Court in 1970. In 1973, lawyers successfully argued that 21-year-old Jane Roe (real name: Norma McCorvey) had the right to an abortion; had 2 children and both put up for abortion. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruling said that women in all states had the right to a safe and legal abortion

Question 142

What was evidence of continued limitations in fighting for women’s rights?

Answer 142

▪️the boom of the 1920s saw the birth of the ‘flapper’. Mainly middle and upper-class women who could financially support themselves. Life for the vast majormajority of women remained unchanged
▪️whilst half of the workforce was made up of women, by 1960, Kennedy’s status commission reported major inequalities in the female workforce
▪️months after Betty’s book ‘feminist mystique’, in June 1963, congress passed the equal pay act, however, there were many exceptions and it didn’t deal with the main issue; discrimination for women seeking the job in the first place
▪️1964: civil rights act banning discrimination in employment based on gender and race, but women were still treated unequally in terms of attitude and pay. The act wasn’t fully enforced
▪️1965: despite Supreme Court ruling legalising birth pill with married couples, unmarried women were refused access to this drug
▪️1972: the ‘equal rights amendment’ (ERA) was approved by congress. It stated that ‘equality of rights under the law shall not be denied by the USA or by any state on account of sex’. A ‘stop era’ campaign led by Phyllis Schafley opposed the change, not enough votes for ERA so ERA didn’t become part of the constitution