World War I and II

The ProgressivesExpand democracy/decrease poverty

Settlement houses4 amendments

16th – income tax – 191317th – direct election of U.S. senators -1913

18th – the dry law - 191919th – women get the right to vote - 1920

Woodrow Wilson – a Progressive

Elected President in 1912 and

1914Austria-Hungary/GermanySerbia/Russia/FranceGermany – neutral Belgium

U.S. remains neutral 1914-1917

War- result of the kind of entangling alliances which the U.S. tried to avoid

Proclamation of neutralityAllies-Britain,France,Russia,Italy

The Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary

The U.S. – traded with both, but the Allies were given better trade agreements

By 1917 – ready to fight the war

Germany – the submarineUnrestricted warfare Allied propagandaHelp fight this “war to end all wars”

WWI – the Great War – a total war

The President’s powers were expanded

Produce as many items for war as possible

The government raised taxes

The Selective Service Acts

A stalemate on landNew machinery – the submarine, tanks, airplanes

ConvoysThe Eastern Front in Russia - defeats

The Western Front in France – trench war

General John J. Pershing2 million Germany surrendered unconditionally – Nov 11,1918

Treaty of Versailles, 1919Fourteen Points: - no secret treaties - freedom of the seas - freedom of international trade

- reduction of armaments

- settlement of all colonial claims fairly for everyone involved

- self-determination - establishing the League of Nations

The League of Nations – most important

NegotiationsThe Senate – back to a neutral position

Did not ratify the treaty

After WWI – 18th and 19th amendment

Anti-Saloon League/Women’s Christian Temperance Union

Half the states banned alcoholLess alcohol to conserve grain

18th – Prohibition1933 – the 21st amendment – control of alcohol usage back to the states

Women still had no right to vote

No equal opportunities in education, politics, business or the professions

SuffragettesSusan B. AnthonyLectured, organized, educated

In some states women could vote

By 1920 – the 19th amendment ratified

Interwar Period1918-1939Age of NormalcyReturn to isolationismRestrictions on immigration in 1920’s

Economy/jobs

The Roaring 20’s/The Jazz Age

Good for the middle-classProsperityBelief: grow wealthy/have much leisure time

Buying on credit

The Depression 1929-1939Economy was not functioningProduction had risenHigh tariffs – foreign countries did not buy U.S. goods

Low wages – Americans could not buy the goods either

New machinery Speculation in the stock market

Black Tuesday, Oct 29, 1929

By 1932, over 12 million people (1/4) out of work

5,000 banks failed

Franklin Delano RooseveltHelp the “forgotten men”OptimisticGovernor of NYWon by a landslideWorst year of the Depression

The three R’s: - relief, recovery, reformRelief measures to stop suffering by providing:

- direct money payments or jobs

- mortgage loans

Recovery by providing aid to farmers, business owners, workers

Many jobs in building roads, highways, public buildings, dams, parks

Reform – to avoid another Depression

Regulated businesses and banks, protected bank depositors, investors, consumers, the aged, children, the unemployed

New DealControversialRestored confidence/improved economy

5 million employed through gov programmes

Different ends to the Depression

Germany – National Socialists (Nazis)

Italy – Benito MussoliniSigns of another war by the mid-1930’s

Neutrality Acts in 1935, 1936 and 1937

No sale of war goods, no loans, no Americans sailing on the fighting ships

Freedom of the seas

Japan invaded China in 1937Sept 1, 1939Germany, Italy, Japan – the Axis

France, England, the Soviet Union, the U.S. – the Allied countries

1939 – buy war goods from the U.S. (pay cash and pick up the goods)

1940 – Americans began to favour intervention

The Selective Service Act of 1940

1941 – England – lend-leaseShipments of war materials to Japan stopped

Sunday, Dec 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor

The day “which will in infamy”

Dec 8 – declared war on JapanA few days later – Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.

First focus on Germany, then Japan

the Soviets - counteroffensive

Sept 1943 – Italy surrendered unconditionally

The Soviets asked for a second front

June 1944 – D-Day invasion at Normandy, France

General Dwight D. (Ike)Eisenhower

May 1945 – Germany surrendered unconditionally

JapanLess successfulJapan – the Philippines, Malay States, Dutch East Indies

May and June 1942 – Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway

General Douglas A. McArthur

Harry S. TrumanAugust 6 1945 – Hiroshima – 70,000

August 9 – Nagasaki August 10 – Japan surrendered

Effects of the warIndustrial centres and military targets bombed

Economies – provide goods to fight the war

Gov – borrowed billions of $s

Everyone went to work

First steps in support of civil rights

No discrimination on the basis of “race, creed, colour or national origin”

22 mil people died, 34 mil wounded