AP U.S. History Unit 7

• Economic: Need for new markets, raw materials; foreign investment opportunities; surplus production
• Strategic: Naval bases, coaling stations; Alfred Thayer Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power Upon History argued for strong navy and overseas bases
• Cultural/Racial: "White Man's Burden"—duty to "civilize" non-white peoples; Social Darwinism applied to nations
• Religious: Spread Christianity to "heathen" peoples
• Nationalism: Compete with European powers; demonstrate national greatness

Imperialists (Pro-Expansion)

• Leaders: Theodore Roosevelt, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Henry Cabot Lodge
• Arguments: Economic necessity, strategic security, moral duty, national prestige
• Support: Business interests, military leaders, many politicians

Anti-Imperialists

• Leaders: Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, William Jennings Bryan, Jane Addams
• Arguments: Contradicts democratic principles; exploitation is immoral; expensive; entangling alliances; racial mixing fears
• American Anti-Imperialist League: Founded 1898; opposed annexation of Philippines

• Cuban Rebellion (1895): Cuba fought for independence from Spain
• Yellow Journalism: Hearst (Journal) and Pulitzer (World) sensationalized Spanish atrocities; inflamed public opinion
• USS Maine (1898): Exploded in Havana Harbor; blamed on Spain (likely accidental); "Remember the Maine!"
• War Declaration: April 1898; "splendid little war" lasted 4 months
• Philippines: Commodore Dewey destroyed Spanish fleet at Manila Bay
• Cuba: Rough Riders (Teddy Roosevelt); San Juan Hill victory

U.S. Acquired: Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines (for $20 million)

Cuba: Independent but under U.S. control (Platt Amendment—U.S. right to intervene)

Philippine-American War (1899-1902): Filipinos fought U.S. occupation; brutal conflict; 200,000+ Filipino deaths

Result: U.S. became imperial power with overseas territories

Political Reforms

• Direct Primary: Voters choose party candidates
• Initiative/Referendum/Recall: Direct democracy tools
• 17th Amendment (1913): Direct election of senators
• 19th Amendment (1920): Women's suffrage
• Secret Ballot: Reduced corruption

Social Reforms

• Child labor laws: Restricted/banned child labor
• Factory safety: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911) spurred reforms
• Temperance/Prohibition: 18th Amendment (1919) banned alcohol
• Public health: Pure Food and Drug Act, Meat Inspection Act

Business Regulation

• Trust-busting: Theodore Roosevelt broke up monopolies
• Federal Reserve (1913): Central banking system
• Clayton Antitrust Act (1914): Strengthened Sherman Act
• Federal Trade Commission (1914): Regulated business practices

• Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09): "Square Deal"; trust-busting; conservation; consumer protection
• William Howard Taft (1909-13): Continued trust-busting but split Republican Party
• Woodrow Wilson (1913-21): "New Freedom"; Federal Reserve, FTC, Clayton Act; moral diplomacy

Initial Neutrality: Wilson urged Americans to be "neutral in thought and deed"

Challenges to Neutrality:

• Economic Ties: U.S. loaned billions to Allies; sold war supplies
• British Propaganda: Portrayed Germans as barbaric "Huns"
• German Submarine Warfare: Unrestricted U-boat attacks on ships

Lusitania (1915): British passenger ship sunk by German U-boat; 128 Americans killed; outraged public but U.S. didn't enter war yet

Sussex Pledge (1916): Germany promised not to sink passenger ships without warning

Election of 1916: Wilson reelected on slogan "He Kept Us Out of War"

Immediate Causes

• Resumption of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (1917): Germany broke Sussex Pledge; attacked all ships
• Zimmermann Telegram (1917): Intercepted German message proposing alliance with Mexico against U.S.; offered to return Texas, New Mexico, Arizona to Mexico
• Russian Revolution (March 1917): Fall of czar made Russia seem more democratic; easier to portray war as democracy vs. autocracy

Declaration: Wilson asked Congress for war; "make the world safe for democracy"

Selective Service Act (1917): Drafted 2.8 million men; 2 million more volunteered

American Expeditionary Force (AEF): Led by General John J. Pershing; arrived in France 1917

Impact: Fresh American troops and resources tipped balance; helped break stalemate; Germany sought armistice

Armistice: November 11, 1918 (11/11 at 11 a.m.)—fighting ended

Fourteen Points (1918)

Wilson's Vision: Blueprint for lasting peace

• Open Diplomacy: No secret treaties
• Freedom of the Seas: Neutral shipping protected
• Free Trade: Lower economic barriers
• Arms Reduction: Decrease military forces
• Self-Determination: National groups choose own governments
• League of Nations: International organization to prevent future wars (Point 14—most important to Wilson)

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Big Four: Wilson (U.S.), Lloyd George (Britain), Clemenceau (France), Orlando (Italy)

Harsh Terms for Germany:

• War Guilt Clause: Forced Germany to accept blame
• Reparations: $33 billion payment to Allies
• Territory Loss: Germany lost colonies, land to neighbors
• Military Restrictions: Limited army size; no air force, submarines

Compromises: Allies rejected most of Fourteen Points; Wilson got League of Nations but accepted punitive terms

Senate Rejection

Opposition: Led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (Republican)

Concerns: Article X (collective security) threatened U.S. sovereignty; might drag U.S. into future wars

Wilson's Response: Refused to compromise; went on speaking tour to rally public; suffered stroke

Outcome: Senate rejected treaty twice (1919, 1920); U.S. never joined League of Nations; made separate peace with Germany

• War Industries Board: Coordinated production; set prices, allocated resources
• Food Administration: Herbert Hoover led; encouraged conservation ("Meatless Mondays")
• Fuel Administration: Controlled coal, oil distribution; "Heatless Mondays"
• Railroad Administration: Government took control of railroads
• War Finance: Liberty Bonds; increased taxes

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

Led by: George Creel

Purpose: Shape public opinion; promote war effort

Methods: Posters, films, "Four-Minute Men" speeches; demonized Germans; encouraged patriotism

Civil Liberties Restricted

Espionage Act (1917): Outlawed interference with draft, military recruitment; up to 20 years prison

Sedition Act (1918): Banned "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive" language about government, flag, military

Impact: ~2,000 prosecuted; socialists, pacifists, German Americans targeted

Schenck v. United States (1919): Supreme Court upheld Espionage Act; "clear and present danger" test; limited First Amendment during wartime

Women

Workforce: Filled jobs vacated by men; factories, offices, streetcars

Recognition: Contributions helped win passage of 19th Amendment (1920)—women's suffrage

Great Migration

Movement: 500,000+ African Americans moved from rural South to Northern cities

Reasons: Jobs in war industries; escape Jim Crow; boll weevil destroyed cotton crops

Destinations: Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia

Impact: Changed urban demographics; racial tensions increased; race riots (East St. Louis 1917, Chicago 1919)

The "New Woman"

Flappers: Young women who defied conventions—short skirts, bobbed hair, smoked, drank, danced

Greater Freedom: More women worked, attended college, participated in public life

Backlash: Traditional values defenders criticized changing morality

Prohibition (1920-1933)

18th Amendment (1919): Banned manufacture, sale, transportation of alcohol

Volstead Act: Enforcement legislation

Results: Widespread violation; speakeasies (illegal bars); organized crime (Al Capone); bootlegging

21st Amendment (1933): Repealed Prohibition—only amendment to repeal another

Scopes Trial (1925)

Issue: Tennessee law banned teaching evolution

John Scopes: Biology teacher prosecuted for teaching evolution

Lawyers: William Jennings Bryan (prosecution) vs. Clarence Darrow (defense)

Outcome: Scopes convicted but case highlighted science vs. religion debate; fundamentalism vs. modernism

Emergency Quota Act (1921): Limited immigration to 3% of each nationality's 1910 U.S. population

National Origins Act (1924):

• Reduced quota to 2% of 1890 population (favored Northern/Western Europeans)
• Banned Asian immigration entirely
• Goal: Preserve "racial purity"; restrict "undesirable" immigrants

Impact: Drastically reduced immigration from Southern/Eastern Europe and Asia; reversed open-door policy

Red Scare (1919-1920)

Fear of Communism: Russian Revolution sparked fear of radical takeover

Palmer Raids: Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer ordered raids; arrested 6,000+ suspected radicals; many deported without trials

Sacco and Vanzetti (1920): Italian anarchists convicted of murder on weak evidence; executed 1927; case reflected nativist prejudices

KKK Revival

Growth: 4-5 million members by mid-1920s

Targets: Not just African Americans; also Catholics, Jews, immigrants, "immoral" behavior

Influence: Political power in some states (Indiana, Oregon)

Decline: Scandals, internal corruption reduced membership by late 1920s

Harlem Renaissance

Cultural Flowering: African American artistic and intellectual movement centered in Harlem, NYC

Writers: Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen

Musicians: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong; jazz became dominant American music

Significance: Celebrated Black culture; challenged stereotypes; influenced American arts

• Stock Market Speculation: Buying on margin (borrowed money); inflated stock prices beyond real value
• Overproduction: Factories produced more than consumers could buy
• Unequal Wealth Distribution: Rich got richer; workers didn't earn enough to buy goods they produced
• Weak Banking System: Bank failures wiped out savings; no federal insurance
• Agricultural Depression: Farmers struggled since WWI; overproduction, debt, falling prices
• Global Economic Problems: International debt, tariffs reduced trade

Black Tuesday (October 29, 1929): Stock market crashed; lost billions in value

Downward Spiral:

• Stock losses → reduced consumer spending → business failures → unemployment → less spending (cycle)
• 9,000 banks failed (1930-1933); depositors lost life savings
• 25% unemployment rate (13 million jobless) by 1933
• Industrial production fell 50%; farm income dropped 60%

• Homelessness: "Hoovervilles"—shantytowns of homeless people
• Hunger: Bread lines, soup kitchens; malnutrition
• Dust Bowl (1930s): Drought + poor farming practices = massive dust storms; "Okies" migrated to California
• Psychological Toll: Shame, despair, family breakdown
• Bonus Army (1932): WWI veterans marched on Washington demanding early bonus payment; Hoover ordered army to disperse them—violent eviction

Philosophy: Voluntary cooperation; "rugged individualism"; feared government handouts destroyed character

Actions:

• Urged business leaders to maintain wages, employment (didn't work)
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932)—loaned money to banks, railroads, businesses (not individuals)
• Public works projects (but too small)

Criticism: Too little, too late; seemed uncaring; blamed for Depression

Election of 1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Hoover in landslide; promised "New Deal"

Philosophy: Government should actively address Depression through relief, recovery, reform

First 100 Days (March-June 1933): Congress passed 15 major laws

Banking & Finance

• Emergency Banking Act (1933): Closed banks for inspection; only sound ones reopened; restored confidence
• FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.): Insured bank deposits up to $5,000; prevented bank runs
• Securities Exchange Commission (SEC): Regulated stock market; prevented fraud

Relief Programs (Alphabet Agencies)

• CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps): Employed young men in conservation projects; planted trees, built parks
• FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Admin): Direct relief to unemployed
• CWA/PWA (Civil Works Admin/Public Works Admin): Jobs building infrastructure

Recovery Programs

• AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act): Paid farmers to reduce production; raise crop prices (later ruled unconstitutional)
• NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act): Set production codes, minimum wages, maximum hours; guaranteed labor's right to organize (later ruled unconstitutional)
• TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority): Built dams for flood control, electricity; regional development

Major Programs

• WPA (Works Progress Admin, 1935): Employed 8 million in construction, arts projects
• Social Security Act (1935): Old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, aid to disabled; foundation of welfare state
• Wagner Act (1935): Guaranteed labor's right to organize, bargain collectively; created NLRB
• Fair Labor Standards Act (1938): Minimum wage ($0.25/hr), maximum hours (44/week), banned child labor

From Right: Conservatives called New Deal socialist; violated free market; Supreme Court struck down AAA, NIRA

From Left: Critics said too timid; didn't redistribute wealth; Huey Long's "Share Our Wealth"; Father Coughlin's radio attacks

Court-Packing Plan (1937): FDR proposed adding justices to Supreme Court; failed but Court became more favorable

Limitations: Excluded many groups (agricultural workers, domestic servants—often Black); didn't end Depression (WWII did)

Post-WWI Disillusionment: Americans felt WWI was mistake; wanted to avoid future European entanglements

Washington Naval Conference (1921-1922): U.S., Britain, Japan agreed to limit naval armaments; ratio system for battleships

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928): 62 nations renounced war as instrument of policy; no enforcement mechanism; symbolic only

Rise of Fascism & Aggression

• Italy: Mussolini invaded Ethiopia (1935)
• Germany: Hitler rearmed, remilitarized Rhineland, annexed Austria, seized Czechoslovakia
• Japan: Invaded Manchuria (1931), China (1937)
• Spanish Civil War (1936-1939): Germany and Italy supported Franco; U.S. remained neutral

Neutrality Acts (1935-1937)

Purpose: Prevent U.S. involvement in foreign wars

Provisions: Banned arms sales to warring nations; prohibited loans; Americans traveled on belligerent ships at own risk

Problem: Didn't distinguish between aggressors and victims; helped Axis powers

Shift Toward Intervention

Quarantine Speech (1937): FDR proposed "quarantining" aggressor nations; public reaction negative

Cash and Carry (1939): Modified neutrality—nations could buy arms if paid cash, carried in own ships; helped Britain

Destroyers-for-Bases Deal (1940): U.S. gave Britain 50 destroyers for naval base leases

Lend-Lease Act (1941): U.S. could lend/lease war materials to nations "vital to defense of U.S."; ended pretense of neutrality

Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941): Japan attacked U.S. naval base in Hawaii; 2,400 Americans killed; 8 battleships damaged/destroyed

FDR's Speech: "A date which will live in infamy"

Declaration of War: U.S. declared war on Japan (December 8); Germany and Italy declared war on U.S. (December 11)

Impact: United American public; ended isolationism

War Production Board: Coordinated production; converted factories to war goods

"Arsenal of Democracy": U.S. industrial might produced massive amounts of weapons, planes, ships, supplies

Statistics: 300,000 aircraft, 86,000 tanks, 2,000 Liberty ships

Economic Impact: Ended Depression; full employment; GDP doubled

Women in Workforce

"Rosie the Riveter": Symbol of women war workers

Numbers: 6 million women entered workforce; filled factory jobs, clerical positions

After War: Many lost jobs to returning men; but women's roles permanently changed

African Americans

Double V Campaign: Victory abroad against fascism; victory at home against racism

Migration: Continued movement to Northern cities for war jobs

Military: 1 million served but in segregated units; Tuskegee Airmen proved Black pilots' abilities

Executive Order 8802 (1941): FDR banned discrimination in defense industries after A. Philip Randolph threatened march on Washington

Rationing & Sacrifice

Rationed Goods: Gasoline, meat, sugar, butter, tires, coffee

War Bonds: Raised billions through bond sales

Scrap Drives: Collected metal, rubber for war production

Executive Order 9066 (1942): Authorized military to exclude people from "military areas"

Internment: 120,000 Japanese Americans (2/3 U.S. citizens) forcibly removed from West Coast; sent to camps in remote areas

Conditions: Barbed wire, armed guards; families lost homes, businesses, possessions

Korematsu v. United States (1944): Supreme Court upheld internment as military necessity

Legacy: Recognized as grave injustice; 1988 apology and reparations; worst violation of civil liberties in modern U.S. history

"Europe First": Priority on defeating Germany before focusing on Japan

Grand Alliance: U.S., Britain, Soviet Union; Big Three: Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin

Unconditional Surrender: No negotiated peace; Axis must surrender completely

• North Africa (1942-1943): U.S. forces landed; defeated German Afrika Korps
• Italy (1943-1945): Invaded Sicily, then mainland; slow, costly campaign
• D-Day (June 6, 1944): Allied invasion of Normandy, France; largest amphibious assault in history; opened Western Front
• Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944-Jan 1945): Last major German offensive; Allies held, then pushed toward Germany
• Soviet Advance: Red Army pushed from East; took Berlin
• VE Day (May 8, 1945): Germany surrendered; Hitler committed suicide

• Island Hopping: Strategy to capture key islands, bypass others; move closer to Japan
• Major Battles: Midway (1942—turning point), Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa
• Kamikazes: Japanese suicide pilots; desperate tactic
• Firebombing: U.S. bombed Japanese cities; Tokyo raid killed 100,000+

Manhattan Project: Secret program to develop atomic bomb; led by J. Robert Oppenheimer

Truman's Decision: New president (FDR died April 1945) authorized use

Hiroshima (August 6, 1945): First atomic bomb dropped; 70,000+ killed instantly

Nagasaki (August 9, 1945): Second bomb; 40,000+ killed

Japanese Surrender (August 15, 1945): VJ Day; WWII ended

Justifications: Save American lives (invasion would cost 1 million casualties); force quick surrender; demonstrate power to Soviets

Controversy: Moral debate continues; civilian targeting; nuclear age began

Nazi Genocide: Systematic murder of 6 million Jews, millions of others (Roma, disabled, homosexuals, political prisoners)

U.S. Response: Initially slow to recognize scale; immigration restrictions prevented many from fleeing; didn't bomb concentration camps

Liberation: Allied forces liberated camps 1945; exposed horrors to world

Yalta Conference (February 1945): Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin

• Divided Germany into occupation zones
• Stalin promised free elections in Eastern Europe (broke promise)
• USSR agreed to enter war against Japan

Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945): Truman, Churchill/Attlee, Stalin

• Tensions emerging; Truman tougher than FDR
• Confirmed German occupation plans
• Issued ultimatum to Japan

United Nations (1945)

Founding: 50 nations; headquarters New York

Purpose: Maintain peace, prevent future wars; learn from League of Nations' failure

Structure: General Assembly (all members); Security Council (5 permanent members with veto—U.S., USSR, Britain, France, China)

U.S. Membership: Senate approved; U.S. committed to internationalism

Economic Institutions

Bretton Woods Conference (1944):

• International Monetary Fund (IMF): Stabilize currencies, promote trade
• World Bank: Provide loans for reconstruction and development
• Established dollar as world reserve currency

Soviet Expansion: USSR occupied Eastern Europe; installed communist governments; "Iron Curtain" descended

U.S. Response:

• Truman Doctrine (1947): U.S. would support free peoples resisting communism
• Marshall Plan (1948): $12 billion to rebuild Western Europe; prevent communist takeover
• NATO (1949): Military alliance against Soviet threat

Significance: WWII's end led immediately to Cold War; U.S. emerged as superpower committed to containing communism

• Government Expansion: Progressive reforms → New Deal → WWII mobilization = massive federal growth
• Foreign Policy: Isolationism → imperialism → WWI → isolationism → WWII → internationalism/superpower
• Economy: Federal regulation increased; welfare state created; economic crises led to government intervention
• Social: Women gained vote; migration transformed demographics; technology connected nation
• Warfare: Total war mobilized entire society; atomic weapons changed international relations

• Racial Inequality: African Americans, other minorities still faced discrimination despite gains
• Gender Inequality: Women made progress but full equality remained elusive
• Civil Liberties Tensions: Wars led to suppression (Espionage Act, Japanese internment)
• Economic Inequality: Capitalism's problems persisted despite reforms

• Progressive Era vs. New Deal: Both expanded government to address problems; New Deal went further, created welfare state
• WWI vs. WWII: WWI reluctant entry, failed peace; WWII total commitment, successful postwar planning
• 1920s vs. 1930s: Prosperity vs. depression; cultural dynamism vs. despair; laissez-faire vs. intervention
• Isolationism vs. Internationalism: Rejected League; joined UN; became superpower

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