The changing political environment, 1917-80 Flashcards
Who took the USA into WW1?
Woodrow Wilson
When did Harding become president?
1921
What did Harding promise?
A return to normalcy
Unemployment rose from 950,000 in 1919 to what in 1921?
5,010,000
What were many people’s views after WW1?
Isolationism
What did Isolationism mean?
- Introducing tariffs that favoured US business
- Not joining the League of Nations
- Not setting up colonies
The 1921 Emergency Quota Act restricted immigration to …
357,000 a year
When were the Neutrality Acts passed?
Between 1935-39
What did the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act do?
Encourage people to ‘Buy American’
What is Hire Purchase?
Buying goods on credit
Was Woodrow Wilson Republican or Democrat?
He was a Democrat. The second democrat since the Civil War.
Why did people feel like he took far too big a part in government decision-making?
- Took America to war despite campaigns against it
- Didn’t consult Congress about promoting the League of Nations
- Drafted bills and introduced them to Congress himself
Who was Wilson replaced by?
Harding
What does Laissez-Faire mean?
French for ‘leave well alone’
What was Harding’s slogan?
Less government in business and more business in government
Who preceded Harding?
Coolidge
During Coolidge’s presidency the US entered a period of —
recovery and prosperity
When was Coolidge president?
1923-29
When was the First Red Scare?
1919-20
What did the Red Scare lead to?
Rise in Republican sentiment
How many worker strikes were there in 1919?
More than 3,600, 1 in 4 workers went on strike
How many shipyard workers went on strike in Seattle in 1919?
35,000
Who did the KKK target?
Groups they thought were ‘Un-American’
How many people were deported on suspicions of communism?
Out of thousands, only 556
What was Rugged Individualism?
- the poor were weakened by government support
- the USA should isolate itself from other countries
- the USA should restrict immigration
When was the Great Depression/ Wall Street Crash?
1929
What strategy did Republicans favour during the Depression?
Leaving the economy to sort itself out
Who was president during the Depression?
Hoover
When was the Federal Farm Board set up and what did it do?
Set up in 1929 and it aimed to help farmers who found it hard to sell goods abroad during the Depression due to government isolationist tariffs.
What did Hoover think was the solution to the depression?
- Laissez-faire wasn’t working
- private charities should offer help on a local basis
When was the President’s Emergency Commitee for Employment set up and what did it do?
Set up in 1930 and it was a temporary organisation to find work projects for the unemployed and encourage businesses to create more jobs
Hoover’s federal intervention was …
too little too late
How much money did Hoover spend?
5,000 million (only received 2,000 million)
What are ‘Hoovervilles’?
Shanty towns
When was the Bonus Army set up?
1924
What did the Bonus Army do?
- gave those who fought in ww1 a bonus payment calculated on their years in service
- money went into a fund to be pay out in 1945
- when the depression hit veterns asked for their money
How many veterans marched to Washington in 1932 to demand their Bonus Army payout?
150,000-200,000
How did the government react to the Bonus Army march?
- sent troops with tear gas, bayonets, cavalry, tanks, and machine guns
- dispersed camps
What was the effect of the failure of the Bonus Army on Hoover?
Lost popularity
Why did people start to vote Democrat?
Repubicans failed to deal with the Depression.
Who was the majority in the House of Representatives in 1931?
Democrats
What was Hoover’s slogan in 1928?
‘a chicken in every pot’ stating that the Republicans were the poor man’s party
What did Roosevelt offer Americans?
A New Deal and a new attitude to government
When was Roosevelt president?
1933-45
What were the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse that Roosevelt claimed led Hoover’s campaign?
Destruction, despair, delay and doubt
How many states did Hoover win in his re-election?
6
How many voters went to vote in 1932?
40 million - the largest number in American history
What did the National Recovery Administration (NRA) do?
- enforced codes of practice for businesses
- set minimum wage
- public encouraged, but not forced, to join the NRA
What did the Agricultural Adjustment Agency (AAA) do?
- regulated major crops such as wheat and cotton
- bought up surplus crops
Name some Alphabet Agencies.
AAA and NRA
What was Roosevelt’s personality?
charming, pragmatic, confident
What were Roosevelt’s radio broadcasts called?
Fireside chats
How many terms was Roosevelt elected for?
4 terms
When were the NRA and AAA ruled unconstitutional?
1937
Who succeded Roosevelt?
Truman in 1945
When was the Lend-Lease Act passed?
1941
When did America enter WW2?
December 1941
Within a year of the outbreak of war, the USA had produced ___ worth of war goods
47 billion
Industry profits rose from 17 million in 1940 to ___ in 1940
28 million
How many Americans died in the war?
400,000
How many Americans went to war?
16 million
When was the Second Red Scare?
1947-54
What was HUAC?
House Un-American Activities Commission was set up in 1928 and investigated people for un-American activities, with a focus on Communists
Which important people in government were accused of being communists during the 2nd red scare?
Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs
Who headed the Second Red Scare?
Joseph McCarthy
How many communists did McCarthy claim were working in the State Department? And what numbers did they change to?
Initially claimed there were 205, later changed to 57 and 81
Which committee investigated the claims of McCarthy?
the Tydings Committee
What was the most famous hippie gathering of the 60s?
Woodstock Festival
What did the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) advocate for?
end to war
What did Nixon campaign for?
new right policies
Example of campus campaigns by religious leaders in the 60s
Bill Bright and his ‘Campus Crusade for Christ’ in 1967, he even went to the very radical Berkeley
What was the Marshall Plan?
a system of aid to war-torn countries
When did the Cold War start?
After ww2
What did the 1956 Interstate Act do?
designed a road network for rapid evacuation of cities
What did schools run during the Cold War?
’ duck and cover ‘ exercises
How much did a fallout shelter cost in 1958?
$1,300 (average family income was $5,100)
Between June 1947 and June 1948, the US holdings of atomic bombs rose from 13 to …
50
What did the 1947 National Security Act do?
reorganise US military forces under a new Defense Department based at the Pentagon
What did the National Security Act create?
the CIA
When was the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba?
1961
What was defence spending during the Korean War?
14% of US GNP
