Lesson 8: Aggression Overseas and Isolation at Home

Question 1

Aggression Definition

Answer 1

a warlike act by one country without just cause

Question 2

Concentration Camp Definition

Answer 2

a prison camp for civilians who are considered enemies of the state

Question 3

Fascism Definition

Answer 3

a political system that is rooted in militarism, extreme nationalism, and blind loyalty to the state

Question 4

Good Neighbor Policy Definition

Answer 4

President Franklin Roosevelt’s policy intended to strengthen friendly relations with Latin America

Question 5

Nazi Definition

Answer 5

a member of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party

Question 6

Neutrality Acts Definition

Answer 6

a series of laws passed by Congress in 1935 that banned arms sales or loans to countries at war

Question 7

Scapegoat Definition

Answer 7

a person or group who is made to bear the blame for others

Question 8

Totalitarian State Definition

Answer 8

a country where a single party controls the government and every aspect of people’s lives

Question 9

Remember: In the 1930s, a storm was gathering around the globe. New rulers had come to power in Europe and Asia. These leaders drew on resentment about their countries’ fates after World War I. They also aimed to spread their influence. The competition among these rulers would change the lives of millions of people and cause mass destruction around the world.

Answer 9

In the 1930s, a storm was gathering around the globe. New rulers had come to power in Europe and Asia. These leaders drew on resentment about their countries’ fates after World War I. They also aimed to spread their influence. The competition among these rulers would change the lives of millions of people and cause mass destruction around the world.

Question 10

In Italy and Germany, what types of leaders emerged? What is fascism? What did Fascist dictators vow to do? Who did they make Allie’s with?

Answer 10

In Italy and Germany, totalitarian leaders exerted complete control over the government and society. These dictators were fascists (FASH ists). Fascism was rooted in militarism, extreme nationalism, and blind loyalty to the state. Fascist dictators vowed to create new empires. While Communists drew much of their support from the working classes, fascists found allies among business leaders and landowners.

Question 11

In 1922, what did Benita Mussolini and his Fascist Party do in Italy? Why were many Italians angry about the Treaty of Versailles? How did Benito Mussolini use this anger? How did Mussolini use fear to gain power? Once in power, what did Mussolini outlaw?

Answer 11

In 1922, Benito Mussolini and his Fascist party seized power in Italy. He played on anger about the Versailles Treaty ending World War I. Many Italians felt cheated because the treaty did not grant Italy the territory it wanted.
Mussolini also used fear to gain power. Economic unrest and fears of a communist revolution plagued Italy, and many looked to Mussolini to stabilize the nation. Once in power, Mussolini outlawed all political parties except his own. He controlled the press and banned criticism of the government. Critics were jailed or simply murdered. In schools, children recited the motto “Mussolini Is Always Right!”

Question 12

In the 1930s, what did Mussolini do to distract Italians from economic problems? What empire’s greatness did he promise to restore? How? What did Mussolini do to the African nation of Ethiopia in 1935? How did they eventually win?

Answer 12

In the 1930s, Mussolini used foreign conquest to distract Italians from economic problems. Promising to restore the greatness of ancient Rome, he embarked on a program of military aggression. Aggression is a warlike act by one country against another without just cause. Mussolini invaded the African nation of Ethiopia in 1935. The Ethiopians fought bravely. However, their cavalry and outdated rifles were no match for Italy’s modern tanks and airplanes. Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie (HI lee suh LAS ee) asked the League of Nations for aid. The League responded weakly. Britain and France were caught up in their own economic problems and unwilling to risk another war. Without help, Ethiopia fell.

Question 13

In Germany, who came to power? Like Mussolini, how did Adolf Hitler use the German anger over the Treaty of Versailles to his advantage?

Answer 13

In Germany, Adolf Hitler brought the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or Nazis, to power. Like Mussolini, Hitler played on anger about the Versailles Treaty. Germans bitterly resented the treaty because it blamed their country for World War I and made them pay heavy war costs.

Question 14

Assuring the German citizens Germany had not lost the war, who did Adolf Hitler blame? Why did Germans agree, although the argument was false?

Answer 14

Hitler assured Germans that they had not lost the war. Rather, he said, Jews and other traitors had “stabbed Germany in the back.” The argument was false, but in troubled times people were eager to find a scapegoat—a person or group on whom to blame their problems.

Question 15

What were Hitler’s strengths? Were people confident in him during the Depression?

Answer 15

Hitler was a powerful speaker and skillful politician. By the time depression struck, many Germans looked to him as a strong leader with answers to their problems.

Question 16

In 1933, what position in the German government was Adolf Hitler in? As a result, what did he create in Germany? In Nazi Germany, what did the government control? What was the rally at Nuremberg like?

Answer 16

In 1933, Hitler became chancellor, or head of the German government. Within two years, he ended democratic rule and created a militaristic totalitarian state. In Nazi Germany, the government controlled the press, the schools, and religion. The following year, Hitler organized a week-long rally in Nuremberg. Crowds chanted slogans praising Hitler. Uniformed soldiers marched in endless parades and engaged in mock battles. American reporter William Shirer described the Nuremberg rally.

Question 17

How did Adolf Hitler preach racism to Germans? How were Jews, Gypsies, and many others persecuted in Germany?

Answer 17

Hitler preached that Germans belonged to a race that was biologically superior to Jews, Gypsies, and other peoples. The Nazi government singled out the Jews for special persecution. Jews were deprived of their citizenship, forbidden to use public facilities, and driven out of almost every type of work. Later, Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps, prison camps for civilians who are considered enemies of the state. In time, Hitler would unleash a plan to kill all the Jews in Europe.

Question 18

How did Germany move towards war? What did Germany do in 1936?

Answer 18

Hitler claimed that Germany had a right to expand to the east. In defiance of the Versailles treaty, he began to build up Germany’s armed forces. Although the League of Nations condemned his actions, Hitler predicted that the rest of Europe would “never act. They’ll just protest. And they will always be too late.” In 1936, German troops moved into the Rhineland, near the border with France and Belgium. The Versailles treaty had banned German troops from this region. France and Britain protested, but they took no other action.

Question 19

How were Totalitarian leaders in the Soviet Union and Japan different from those in Italy and Germany? How were they similar? How were they fueled by the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 19

Totalitarian leaders also came to power in the Soviet Union and Japan. Unlike Italy and Germany, these leaders were not fascist. They did, however, seek complete control. They were unhappy with the terms of the Versailles Treaty and hoped to bring new glory to their nations. As in western Europe, the political changes underway in these regions drew the world closer to war.

Question 20

Remember: Vladimir Lenin set up a communist government in the Soviet Union. After Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin gained power.

Answer 20

Vladimir Lenin set up a communist government in the Soviet Union. After Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin gained power.

Question 21

What did Jospeh Stalin rule as? What was a totalitarian state? What rules did it have? What brutal measures did Stalin take to modernize Soviet Industry and Agriculture? How did he get rid of political enemies?

Answer 21

Stalin ruled as a totalitarian dictator. In a totalitarian state, a single party controls the government and every aspect of people’s lives. Citizens must obey the government without question. Criticism of the government is severely punished. Stalin took brutal measures to modernize Soviet industry and agriculture. He ordered peasants to hand over land and animals to government-run farms. Millions who resisted were executed or sent to labor camps. Stalin also staged trials and executions of his political enemies. Many confessed to false charges under torture. Many millions of people were known to have perished by the hand of Stalin’s ruthless dictatorship.

Question 22

What happened to Japan’s economy during the Great Depression? What happened when many Japanese grew impatient with their democratic government? What did the new military leaders preach, like Hitler?

Answer 22

Japan’s economy suffered severely during the Great Depression. As many Japanese grew impatient with their democratic government, military leaders took power. Like Hitler, these leaders preached racial superiority. They believed that the Japanese were purer than, and superior to, other Asians as well as non-Asians.

Question 23

What did the military leaders of Japan do in 1931? For what resources did they seize Manchuria in northeastern China for? What state did they set up? What did the League of Nations do?

Answer 23

The military rulers set out to expand into Asia. In 1931, Japanese forces seized a region in northeastern China known as Manchuria. The region was rich in coal and iron, two resources scarce in Japan. The Japanese set up a state in Manchuria called Manchukuo. China called on the League of Nations for help. The League condemned Japanese aggression but did little else. The United States refused to recognize Manchukuo but took no action

Question 24

How did the strong isolationist mood of the 1920s continue in the United States? What were the Neutrality Acts? What did Congress warn Americans of? What had isolationists hoped limiting economic ties would do?

Answer 24

In the United States, the strong isolationist mood of the 1920s continued. As war clouds gathered overseas, Americans were determined to keep from becoming involved. In 1935, Congress passed the first of a series of Neutrality Acts, which banned arms sales or loans to countries at war. Congress also warned Americans not to travel on ships of countries at war. By limiting economic ties with warring nations, isolationists hoped to stay out of any foreign conflict.

Question 25

How did America attempt to improve relations with Latin America? In 1930, why had Herbert Hoover rejected the Roosevelt Corollary? What did this mean?

Answer 25

Closer to home, the United States tried to improve relations with Latin American nations. In 1930, President Hoover rejected the Roosevelt Corollary. The United States, he declared, no longer claimed the right to intervene in Latin American affairs.

Question 26

How did Franklin D. Roosevelt work to create friendlier relationships with Latin America? What was the Good Neighbor Policy? As a result, what laws and actions did FDR remove? Why was it important, in the climate the world was in, for the Americas to have a strong relationship?

Answer 26

Concerned about the problems in Asia and Europe, Franklin Roosevelt worked to build friendlier relations with Latin America. Under his Good Neighbor Policy, FDR withdrew American troops from Nicaragua and Haiti. The policy also emphasized trade and cooperation. Roosevelt also canceled the Platt Amendment, which had limited the independence of Cuba. As world tensions increased, the need to strengthen ties in the Americas became more pressing. On a visit to Argentina, Roosevelt warned that any foreign aggressor “will find a hemisphere wholly prepared to consult together for our mutual safety.”

Question 27

How did FDR improve relations with the Soviet Union? What did he hope this would do?

Answer 27

Roosevelt also improved relations with the Soviet Union. He restored diplomatic relations with the Soviet government in 1933, although he remained wary about allying too closely with the communist nation. In addition to benefiting the American economy, Roosevelt had hoped improved relations with the Soviet Union would decrease Japanese expansion in Asia.