USA ESSAY PLANS

Question 1

Economic impacts of WWII on US society.

Answer 1

Bank failures + high unemployment during GD.
FDR used Lend-Lease to supply to Britian.

Question 2

Economic impact of WWII on US society: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 2

Rationing; war book per family w coupons to indicate how much of an item could be bought - meat, butter, sugar + canned goods.
Own food produced with planting victory gardens + canning of food - 8 million tons provided.
Purchasing of war bonds.

Question 3

Social impacts of WWII on US society.

Answer 3

Patriotism following Pearl Harbour - songs + movies produced w patriotic themes.
FDR created the Women’s Auxiliary Forces - included branches of the military like the army, navy etc.
AA troops lived/worked in separate facilities + led by white officers.

Question 4

Social impacts of WWII on US society: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 4

350 000 women served in the military.
Women not allowed in armed conflict - traditional jobs like clerks.
Tuskegee Airmen: a group of specially trained AA pilots - Davis (commander) became the 1st AA general in the US Air Force.
FDR issued Executive Order 8802 - prohibits discriminatory employment in war-related industries.

Question 5

Mobilisation of the military as a WWII impact on US society.

Answer 5

​Car manufacturers switched production from consumer goods to military goods.
Gov campaigned ‘Work or Fight’ - civilians encouraged to work in wartime industries.

Question 6

Mobilisation of the military as a WWII impact on US society: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 6

Federal budget increased from $9 billion in ‘39 to $95 billion in ‘41.
Women gained more employment opportunities - still unequal pay.

Question 7

Harding.

Answer 7

‘Trickle down’ economy - gov support to private business would filter down to the rest of the population.
‘Return to normalcy’.
Fordney-McCumber Tariff - foreign goods more expensive than domestic ones which encouraged purchasing American goods only.

Question 8

Harding: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 8

Didn’t appoint capable ministers (Ohio Gang) - members of his own party renting gov land for oil wells as a side business.
Farmers lost $300 million annually due to the tariff.

Question 9

Coolidge.

Answer 9

Adhered to the laissez-faire policy.
“The chief business of the American people is business” - expanded business + industry.

Question 10

Coolidge: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 10

Tax cuts continued despite the prevailing prosperity.
Tax saw a drop of 30% of those who earned the most.

Question 11

Hoover.

Answer 11

‘Rugged individualism’ - people should work hard to solve their problems.
After the stock-market crash, Hoover met w business owners to convince them to keep wages stable.
Supported volunteerism.
Persuaded banks to join the NCC - would lend money to struggling banks.

Question 12

Hoover: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 12

Ford raised wages from $6-7 per day - needed more than just cooperation of large companies.
Volunteers of America - soup kitchens, wood for heating homes, “Penny Pantries” - sold food for 1 cent.
All NCC actions were voluntary - had little effect.

Question 13

Legislative impact of the New Deal.

Answer 13

Emergency Banking Relief: gave FDR emergency power over banks (“bank holiday”) - close all banks until they became certified for reopening.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): jobs such as planting trees etc.
Agricultural Adjustment Act: limited production to reduce surpluses + increase prices - government paid farmers not to plant on their land.

Question 13

Legislative impact of the New Deal: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 13

CCC provided shelter, food, clothing for 3 million men.
SCOTUS judges attacked the Agricultural Adjustment Act (deemed unconstitutional) - regulations on agriculture could only be made by individual states (not central gov).

Question 14

Social impact of the New Deal.

Answer 14

Women given positions of responsibility in ND agencies.
Elenor Roosevelt ensured AA met the president to explain their racial problems.
Social Security Act (SSS) - money for women if they had children.

Question 15

Social impact of the New Deal: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 15

Low-cost public housing made available to black families.
AA not allowed to live in the new towns - FDR didn’t want to lose support in the South.
Francis Perkins: Secretary of Labour - 1st time a woman had reached this level.
The Economy Act prohibited members of the same family from working for the gov - 75% of women lost their jobs.

Question 16

Economic impact of the New Deal.

Answer 16

1st ND: NIRA designed to limit competition + allowing prices/wages to rise.

Question 17

Economic impact of the New Deal: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 17

NIRA contained a $3.3 billion public works program.
NIRA failed - by raising prices, they actually made the economic situation worse.
Highest tax rate for the rich - 79 cents for every $.
FDR cut costs - criticism of how much was spent.

Question 18

Effects of the GD on urban society.

Answer 18

Large factories closed - small businesses + restaurants began to fail.
Unemployment: from 3.2% (‘29) - 25% (‘33).
People couldn’t pay mortgage/rent - homeless (furniture put on the streets).

Question 19

Effects of the GD on urban society: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 19

17,000 people evicted from their houses per month.
‘Hoovervilles’, shelters from local materials - reaction seen as w/o sympathy/limited action.
Soup Kitchens - charity run e.g. St Peter’s mission.
Henry Ford: 70,000 unemployed in 1 day + Ford Hunger riot killed 4.

Question 20

Effects of the GD on AA.

Answer 20

AA leaders acted as advisors to FDR - prominent role.
Boys aged 15-24 left families to look for work.

Question 21

Effects of the GD on AA: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 21

‘30: 50% of AA were unemployed.

Question 21

Effects of the GD on Hispanics.

Answer 21

Mass deportation of Mexicans - even though US born.

Question 22

Effects of the GD on Hispanics: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 22

Shortage of jobs in the Southwest - illegal deportation of 500,000.
Whites = more jobs & gov relief.
50% of these Mexicans were American citizens.

Question 23

Effects of the GD on children.

Answer 23

Suffered from poor diets. Dropped out of school - took low-paying jobs.

Question 24

Effects of the GD on children: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 24

Malnutrition rose from 18% in ‘28 - 60% in ‘31. 2600 schools closed down - 300,000 left school.

Question 25

Effects of the GD on men.

Answer 25

Would rely on wives + children for income - women paid less. Walked out on families. Travel across the country for jobs - send money back home.

Question 26

Effects of the GD on women.

Answer 26

Harassment outside home for taking on jobs. Encouraged to return home + make their men feel more like ‘men’ - reduce domestic violence.

Question 27

Effects of the GD on women: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 27

Birth rates dropped - child-bearing expensive. Divorce rates dropped - legal fees expensive. Could feed family w $5/week. Betty Crocker developed recipes using cheaper + fewer ingredients.

Question 28

Significance of consumerism on domestic life.

Answer 28

Access to electricity became common. Radios, fridges, washing machines - cheaper w mass production. Improved quality of life for middle class housewives.

Question 29

Significance of consumerism on leisure.

Answer 29

Increase of 50% in disposable income - luxury/leisure goods became common. In 1900, 12,000 pairs of silk stockings sold; in ‘30, 300 million.

Question 30

Significance of consumerism on technology.

Answer 30

Model T Ford made car ownership available to the average American. Assembly line helped reduce labour costs - moved product from one team of workers to the next + completing simple steps. Industries like glass, steel + rubber expanded to keep up w production.

Question 31

Significance of consumerism on technology: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 31

Car prices dropped - $850 to $300. By ‘29 - 23 million cars on roads. Ford rolled a car off the assembly line every 10 seconds. Car industry provided 4 million jobs.

Question 32

Racial tensions.

Answer 32

6 million moved to North - escape Jim Crowe Laws + pursue economic opportunities. The Red Summer - tensions from white people having to adjust to demographic changes in their communities. KKK - terror tactics to target newly freed AA.

Question 33

Racial tensions: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 33

Whites viewed Great Migration as competition for homes + jobs. In 10 months, 250 AA murdered during Red Summer. Klan devised the "decade” - each member responsible for recruiting 10 people to vote for Klan candidates in elections.

Question 34

Immigration.

Answer 34

Foreign culture/religion would threaten the American way of life. Jobs + housing would become harder to obtain. Immigrants poorly educated - blamed for spreading disease, slum housing, rising crime.

Question 35

Immigration: Sacco & Vanzetti.

Answer 35

Italian immigrants + suspected communists - accused of armed robbery. Little evidence but found guilty + executed.

Question 36

Immigration: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 36

Immigration Act of ‘24: a quota allowed for 2% of visas to the total of each nationality as of the 1890 census + completely excluded Asian immigrants.

Question 37

Religious fundamentalism.

Answer 37

Many people connected new ideas + progress with immorality. Hays censorship laws - examined movies for immoral content. New scientific ideas (evolution) rather than traditional creation stories.

Question 38

Religious fundamentalism: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 38

Women who wore short skirts + smoked in public - shameless. Interracial couples not allowed to be screened.

Question 39

Religious fundamentalism: Scopes Monkey Trial

Answer 39

Fundamentalists set up an Anti-Evolution League - 6 states made it illegal for evolution to be taught in schools. John Scopes arrested for breaking the law - deliberately did so it could be brought to court. Highlighted difference between small-town beliefs + those of city dwellers (progressive/open minded). Bryan (lawyer) - "if evolution wins, Christianity goes."

Question 40

Prohibition and crime.

Answer 40

Against the law to produce, sell or transport alcohol. Established by 18th Amendment. Everyday Americans didn’t see a problem in alcohol - breaking laws became popular + exciting.

Question 41

Prohibition and crime: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 41

NY had over 32,000 'speakeasies' (illegal drinking places). Police paid poorly - likely to accept bribes. Restaurants became bankrupt - inability to make profits w/o liquor sales. Crime rate increased by 24% in 30 major cities in 1st year of Prohibition.

Question 42

Extent that the US was isolationist.

Answer 42

“Unless its vital interests were threatened,” - didn’t sign the ToV, LoN or Court of Justice. 1st Neutrality Act - gave president power to place embargoes to aggressors. 2nd Neutrality Act - no loans provided to countries engaged in war.

Question 43

Extent that the US was isolationist: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 43

A ‘37 survey found 94% of Americans took an isolationist stance.

Question 44

Extent that the US was internationalist.

Answer 44

The Washington Conference - US maintained co-operation w the Europe + Asia. The 4 Power Treaty - recognised growing threat of Japan. The Kellogg-Briand Pact - outlawed war.

Question 45

Extent that the US was internationalist: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 45

The 4 Power Treaty concluded that in the case of controversy, they would consult one another.

Question 46

Extent that the US was interventionist.

Answer 46

After Pearl Harbour - FDR began to rearm the US. When Britain + France went to war w Germany, FDR summoned Congress to repeal the arms embargo terms of the Neutrality Acts.

Question 47

Extent that the US was interventionist: examples/evidence/impact.

Answer 47

Congress allocated $500 million for military spending - prepared for heavy intervention. Lend-Lease - ‘loaned’ to Britain + a year later it extended to the USSR.