american dream Flashcards
what was the legacy of WW2
outside the US the legacy of war included mass destruction, casualties, economic hardship and social disruption. however america was different they had no foreign soildier set foot on american soil and american pride was enhanced.
at start of 1945 the USA was in the strongest position. USA had 42% of the worlds income, 62% of its discovered oil. 33 million households had a radio
the ideas of ‘american exceptionalism’ (idea that america is exceptional/unique) and the countrys ‘manifest destiny’ had grown in many minds
what was the political scene in 1945
the main parties 1945
democrats - the party was split between ‘new deal liberals’ and southern dixcrats who would often vote with the republicans in congress on matters connected to race
reublican - tended to support intervention and small government along with a conservative attitute to civil rights
post war prosperity
the US emerged a prosperous nation while its rivals had been badly damaged by the war. this gave the USA a huge advantage in trade.
the US benefitted fro, repayments of loans and post war settlements eg the patents of German inventions like ‘fanta’
the US economy flourished and the average american benfitted. the american federation of labour (AFL) and the congress industrial organisations (CIO) had defended workers rights and campaigned for pay rises.
regional, ethnic and social divisions of the USA 1945
- huge size of US made for significant differences. The north east was the traditional political, financial and educational powerhouse incorporating DC, NY and Boston. The midwest was sparsely populated and lacked major cities, had huge agricultural riches like wheat. The south was seen as more traditional than the rest of the country, segregation was still embraced.
Ethnic divisions - white people dominated the population then second largest was African american (14 million people). They were concentrated in the south but had been moving north in the ‘great migration’ driven by the Jim Crow laws.
Social divisions - the Wall Street crash had levelled out many inequalities
FINISH
Trumans character and policies
plain speaking southerner
he was appointed VP and then in 82 days he had succeeded Roosevelt so barely had chance to formulate an extensive range of policies.
his presidency was charaterised by a desire to continue the success of roosevelts ‘new deal’ at home whilst easing the transition from the wartime economy.
reputation as staunch communist
was less willing to deal with stalin than his predecessor
truman post war peace making
the yalta conference febuary 1945 - before war was over loose agreements made to split germany into 4 zones.
this was to allow free elections in liberated countries and for the USSR to join the war against Japan after germanys defeat.
stalin was also invited to join the United Nations.
was hailed a success by roosevelet who said it was the start on the road to a world of peace
the potsdam conference july- august 1945 - truman was determined to stand up to stalin and to establish his reputation on the world stage but the resulting tension meant little was agreed.
of most importance was trumans failure to alert stalin to the US’s atomic bombs before the end of the conference - 4 days later the first bomb was dropped partly to prevent need for soviet aid so they wouldnt have place at negotoations over Japan.
truman doctrine and marshall plan
trumans presidency had begun with a rapid alientaion of stalin
truman chose profoundly anti- communist advisers such as dean Acheson
after soviet troops failed to leave Iran despite stalin having promised to and greek communists backs by the USSR destablised the greek monarchy, truman formulated a policy.
12 march 1947 he asked for 400 million in military and economic assistance for greece and turkey - was viewed throughout the world as a committment to oppose the spread of communism.
the truman doctrine was military commitment to defend any country that was faced with a takeover by an armed minority - most likely referring to communism
george marshall also convinced truman to offer financial aid to countries to rebuild their shattered economies.
february 1948 the marshall plan was approved and offered to all european countries. officially known as the european recovery programme, the plan gave 17 billion in support to help rebuild the european economies - bulk of money going to UK france germany and italy
this established the US as the protector of europe while further alienating stalin who didnt want germany to recover
the berlin airlift
25 march 1948 stalin took the opportunity to cut the Allies out of the eastern bloc by blockading berlin citing ‘technical difficulties’ as a reason for shutting down routes into the city.
truman responded with an act of political brinkmanship - he asserted commitment to his doctrine but also gave demonstration of US wealth and military capacity by supplying the needs to 2.5 million people entirely by air. he ordered 1.5 million tons of supplies, in 275,000 flights, to be flown into berlin over the next 324 days.
