World Events Set Stage for Isolationism

Answer the following questions and post them on your blog. Title: World Events Set Stage for Isolationism Labels: Isolationism, FDR, Germany, Japan, Hitler, Great_Depression, Open_Door_Policy

1. What was the Japanese reaction to the Treaty of Versailles? (pgs. 4 - 5)
Many people in Japan did not believe they would ever be treated fairly by Britain, France or the U.S.. At the conference the Japanese experienced racism against them. These countries also had policies the were anti-Japanese. Japan hoped to use the conference as a way to address this discrimination. They provided an amendment to the treaty that would address these racial problems however it was rejected. The Japanese were outraged and warned that in the future they would be less inclined towards international cooperation.

2. Read the pull-out box on page 4 entitled, "Japan Becomes a Great Power." Cite specific evidence Japan was becoming a strong power that rivaled European & American interests. And, why specifically was Japan threatened by U.S. actions?

Japan's rise to power was very rapid. IN the late 1860's Japan began a new program that modeled its navy on Britain's, its banking on the U.S.'s and its army and constitution on Prussia's. Between 1885 and 1920 the goods and services produced by Japan tripled, manufacturing and mining increased sixfold. Some Japanese wanted Japan to move in a democratic direction however many wanted Japan to build up military power to gain control. IN 1905 Japan defeated Russia (Russo-Japenese War) and gained access to parts of Manchuria. Japan then annexed Korea in 1910. In 1914 Japan declared war against Germany over asia. Japan wanted to expand into China however the US, Britain saw this as an issue. Japan felt threatened by the U.S.'s expansion into pacific islands like Hawaii, Guam the and the Philipines.


3. Why was the Washington Naval Conference convened and what was accomplished? (pg. 6) (Note: Japan signs the agreement.)
The Washington Naval conference convened because the U.S. was concerned about Japan's growth as a naval power and how it threatened U.S. interests. Parties agreed to place limits on the size of naval ships, placed moratorium on building new battle ships, outlawed the use of poison gases and limited the role of submarines in future wars.

4. The Senate's willingness to ratify the Kellogg-Briand Pact relected two strong and widely held sentiments. What were they? (pgs. 6 - 7)
The two strongly and widely held sentiments were that Americans remembered the carnage of WWI nod did not want to be involved in another European war, secondly policy makers avoided obligations and permanent alliances because they wanted to be able to act when they wanted to.

5. Why did Hitler enjoy popular support in Germany for most of the 1930s? Give three reasons. (pgs. 9 - 10)
Right after the election there was a fire in the German parliamentary building and Hitler took the is opportunity to blame German communists for it, claiming they were trying to overthrow the government and he used to fire as an excuse to suspend freedoms guaranteed in the German constitution. After another election in 1933 Hitler used his power to enact laws that gave him free reign. Hitler also targeted ethnic minorities because he believed that they were tainting the German race. Hitler's popularity came from the improvement of Germany's economic system and reducing unemployment as well as boosting nationals pride.

6. Japan voiced its intentions to invade China for what two reasons? (pg. 10)

Japan wanted to invade China to gain raw materials and to increase Japan's power.

7. Compare the Reichstag fire and the explosion on the Japanese railway in Manchuria. What did they accomplish?

Like the fire in Reichstag, many historians believe that caused the incident themselves so they could blame it on the Chinese. With the Reichstag fire Hitler was able to blame communists and gain power and the Japenese were able to use the explosion on the Japanese railway in Manchuria as an excuse to invade China.

8. Why was the united States unable to oppose Japan in the early 1930s with a significant military force? (pgs. 11 - 12)

The U.S. had been unprepared for Japan's aggression and had drastically reduced its military since WWI. Japan was also violating treaties it had signed and had dropped out of the Washington Naval Treaties and built up it's Navy.

9. Describe the major similarities and differences among liberal democracy, fascism, and socialism. (pg. 8)

Liberal democracies have a constitution, with elected representatives and emphasis on freedom of individuals.
Fascism is an authoritarian form of government that puts the economy and government under control and emphasizes strong control over the individual.
Socialism was meant to create a classless society to end the exploitation of workers . Socialism rejects capitalist economic systems by taking means of production away from owners and under the power of the state.

New Deal Essay Outline

Introduction (thesis): Trhough relief for the needy, economic reform and financial recovery the U.S. government tried to help the problems of the Great Depression; however these "3 R's" had limited success.

support 1: Relief for the needy
how's: creating jobs (PWA, CCC)
help for home owners (home owner's loans)
power/ resources for rural areas -TVA
judgement: although these programs were successful at creating jobs, it was extremely successful and many people considered some of the jobs to be unesseccary.

Support 2: Economic Relief/financial recovery
how's: emergency banking act, FDIC, more jobs (PWA, CCC), AAA social securtiy
judegement: the emergency banking act reassured people but it also went against some new deal principles when it caused people to lose money in banks that were closed down. Also the new deal never solved any underlying econmic problems and when the budget was cut the country went into a recession. The AAA was ruled unconstituational and was also very controversial. Social securtiy lead to reession of 1937, although it did acknowledge that people had a right to be cared for

The depression did not end until the start of WWII

Support 3:
how's
wagner act
social security (can go under relief for needy also)
NRA
judgement: the NRA was later ruled unconstituational along with the AAA, and as a result FDR tried to pack the Supreme court making himself look like a dictator
the wagner act did help unions a lot but it unions began having "sit down strikes" and eventually violence breaks out between business and labor

Counter argument:
AAA- was successful at raising crop prices
New Deal measures created millions of jobs
Labor unions made huge progress- wagner Act
nationals confidence was boosted
PWA_ creates a lot of jobs
CCC- creates jobs and also helps forests
Native Americans, blacks and women all saw some benefits from the new deal
social security- people who were unemplyed/old ect. could be provided with money to live off of, it is still around today

conclusion: the New Deal did make many imporvements however it did not end the depression and at times even caused problems (recession of 1937) and there were many many flaws.

FDR & the New Deal

Read 22-2 and answer the first 3 questions. Then read Chapter 23-1 through page 696 and answer the remaining 4 questions. Please post your answers to your blog. These are due at the beginning of your next class.

Title: FDR & the New Deal Labels: Dust_Bowl, FDR, fireside_chats, Great_Depression


1. Describe how people struggled to survive during the depression.
People lost their jobs, were evicted from their homes and had to live on the streets, sometimes sleeping in parks or sewer pipes, wrapping themselves in newspapers to try and prevent getting cold. Eventually shantytowns began appearing, which were little "towns" essentially built of junk that people lived in.

2. How was what happened to men during the Great Depression different from what happened to women? Children?

During the Great Depression the men had a hard time coping with unemployment. They were often out on the streets looking for jobs. Some men became so discouraged that they left their families or stopped trying. Women canned food and sewed their own clothes, but working women, especially married working women became hugely resented because they were taking jobs from men. Women weren't seen out on the streets as much as men, but many women starved and froze to death. For children, poor diets and no money led to many health problems. Child-welfare services had their budgets cut.Schools were softening the year and even closing in some cases. Many teenagers hopped on freight trains in search of work but this was dangerous.

3. Describe the causes and effects (on people) because of the Dust Bowl.
Farmers had overflowed land, destroying the prairie grass that kept the earth in place. When drought and winds came, the dust bowl was caused. Between the dustbowl and evictions, thousands of farmers left their land in the oklahoma, kansas, new mexico texas and colorado region and went to california.

Objective: Summarize the initial steps Franklin D. Roosevelt took to reform banking and finance.

4. What was the New Deal and its three general goals? (The 3 Rs)

The New Deal was a program meant to ease the hardships of the depression. It's three goals were relief for the needy, economic recovery and financial reform.

5. What did Roosevelt do during the Hundred Days?
During the Hundred Days,Roosevelt worked intensely on the New Deal. Congress passed 15 major pieces of New Deal legislation.

6. Why were Roosevelt's fireside chats significant?
The fireside chats were significant because they made americans feel as thought the president were talking with them. He used clear, simple language for all the public to understand and explained the New Deal measures.

7. Describe four significant agencies and/or bills that tightened regulation of banking and finance.
Glass-Steagall Act-established FDIC, reassured banking customers that their money was safe
Federal Securities Act-required all corporations to provide complete information on all stock offerings. This heed them accountable.
The Securities and Exchange Commission-to regulate stock market
Repealing prohibition-meant to raise nation's revenue by taxes on alcoholic beverages.

Causes of the Great Depression

Title: Causes of the Great Depression Outline Labels: Great_Depression, essay_skills



Prompt: To what extent was the Wall Street Crash a cause of the Great Depression of 1929? Support your argument with specific examples.

The Wall Street Crash was one of several causes of the Great Depression, as well as the result of causes

Example of the outline structure:




Thesis: The Wall Street Crash was a cause of the Great Depression of 1929, however other factors, tariffs and war debt policies, agriculture failing , the availability of credit, unequal distribution of incomes, and overproduction also helped to bring about the Great Depression.
I. Main Point 1: Tariffs and war debt policies
a. Evidence 1 that supports Main Point 1: Hawley-Smoot tariff
i. further supporting details: causes Americans products stop selling in Europe after europe retaliates against the tariff on their goods, weakens economy
b. Evidence 2 that supports Main Point 1: Germany cannot pay Britain and france
II. Main Point 2: Agriculture crisis
a: farmers overproduce when deemed falls after the war
Farms go out of business, annual income from 10 billion to 4 billion from '19-21
b. banks lose money
III: Availibility of credit
a: in the 20's everyone used credit to buy things
i; they got into debt and could not pay it off
b: with people in debt, less consumer spending
IV: unequal distribution of income
a: small population of rich people control huge portion of the economy
i: poor get poorer, rich get richer
b: lower wages: less spending

V: Industries overproduce
A industries overproduce and demand goes down, their value goes down
i: to cut spending, layoff
b: unemployment, leads to less spending by consumers

VI: stock market crash
a: stock market crashes, people rush to sell stocks
i: people had been buying stocks with money they did not have (speculation)
b: when people do not have money to pay debt, banks lose other people's money and close