"Isolationism" and FDR (1935 - 1941)

1. Isolationists wanted to make it so that America wouldn't have to move out of its borders to keep itself safe. Isolationism is a misleading term because the policy is stricly militarily, and isolationists were still open to free trade with all other countries.

2. Some isolationists felt that there was no need to feel threatened by developments in Europe and Asia because they felt America was too powerful in many aspects to feel threatened by other countries so far away, and those countries were not powerful enough to be a threat to America.

3. The purpose of the Nye Committee hearing were to find the reasons why America got involved in World War I to help prevent intervention in World War II.

4. Two impressions that the Nye Committee hearings created were that big businesses were a major cause of the US getting involved in World War I and that Roosevelt was trying to get involved in World War II.

5. The purpose of the Neutrality Acts were to prevent the United States from getting involved in World War II.

6. Some Americans considered Roosevelt's leadership radical and dangerous because he was trying to get America involved in World War II as well as trying to get elected as president for the third time.

7. "Cash and carry" was a system to supply the allies without causing problems internationally. The allies would pay America for supplies so that they would not be in debt.

8. Roosevelt froze Japanese assets in the United States because of the threat Japan caused for China and other countries due to their increase in aggression.

9. The purpose of the America First Committee was to support isolationists' ideas. This, as planned, would make America's feelings and ideas come before the ideas of foreign countries.

World Events Set Stage for Isolationism

1. The Japanese were unhappy with the Treaty of Versailles because they didn't receive any respect, which led to an anti-western nationalist sentiment in Japan.

2. In order to become a stronger power, Japan took the tactics of all other top countries and combined them. The U.S. threatened Japan due to the fact they were expanding westward into the pacific.

3. Japan's rising power was becoming recognized by the western powers, and they signed a pact to keep their navy under a premeditated number.

4. The Senate's willingness to ratify the Kellogg-Briand Pact reelected two strong and widely held sentiments, which were that the U.S. enjoyed the freedom to defend themselves and others.

5.

6. Chinese dissidents were said to have blown up one of their train tracks, and they wanted to expand their empire's self reliance.

7. Both the Reichstag fire and the explosion on the Japanese railway in Manchuria gave justification for unjustifiable things.

8. The United States stayed alone in order to prevent a new war from breaking out.

9.

New Deal Essay Outline

Thesis Statement- The United States Government created the New Deal in order to solve problems caused by the Great Depression of 1929. The New Deal was successful in improving the economy in terms of creating jobs for many of the unemployed and by helping farmers increase income, but it was for the most part unsuccessful as it failed to tackle and improve the much more large scale issues such as Economy troubles and widespread poverty.

New Deal- Roosevelt (elected in 1932)

I. Successful Programs

A. Emergency Banking Act

-Passed to inspect banks for their health

-successful (people gained faith in the US banks)

B. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

-put millions of people to work

-taught the men and women how to live independently (increasing self esteem)

C. Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

-provided some relief and farm prices rised.

BADNESS of AAA- Millions of hogs and other products went to waste. 10 million acres of cotton crop plowed under at the cost of $200 million. Modernization put some farmers out of work.

II. Unsuccessful Programs

A. Securities Exchange Commission

-wasn't pleasing for businesses

B. Federal Emergency Relief Administration

-While it put many to work, it was very costly....$1 billion spent in 5 months

In the end, the New Deal was for the most part unsuccessful, as it failed to fix the big issues, but it did show signs of improvement in some areas

Causes of the Great Depression Outline

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

Introduction- The Wall Street Crash was definitely the most major cause of the Great Depression of 1929, while other major causes, while not as major as the Wall Street Crash, include tariffs and war debt policies that cut down the foreign market for American goods, and Stock Market Speculation.

Reason 1- Wall Street Crash
Notes:
-In the 1920's, people believed the stock market was an easy and quick way to get rich, and many people decided to join
-From 1920 to 1929 the amount of investors changed from about 4 million to 120 million :o
-People thought that the stocks would just continue increasing forever and ever and ever
-Then, in 1929, the Wall Street Crash happened, causing millions of people involved in the stock market to DIE.....inside because they lost so much money

Reason 2-Stock Market Speculation
Notes:
-Around 600,000 investors were speculators
-Speculators would borrow money to buy shares and didn't even have to pay the full value of shares (they only had to put down 10%) because they expected the shares to increase and then they would use profits to pay the rest of the 90%, and apparantly would strill have profits for themselves
-This was a rather large cause of the great depression because this caused not only the investors to lose lots of money, but also the people they borrowed money from lost out because they never would get payed back and the share owners would lose money because they wouldn't get the whole 100%

Reason- Tariffs and war debt policies that cut down the foreign market for American goods
Notes:
-Made American goods less valuable and less desireable
-Sellers of these items would be stuck with stuff without income
-Products became hard to sell and people would not be buying much at this time

Conclusion- In conclusion, the Stock Market Crash was the most important and major cause of the Great Depression of 1929, while Stock Market Speculation and Tariffs and war debt policies that cut down the foreign market for American Goods were other very major causes.

Causes & Early Effects of the Great Depression

1. What happened on "Black Tuesday"?

On Black Tuesday, the bottom fell out of the market and the nation's confidence. Shareholders tried to sell stocks quickly before prices dropped even more, but couldn't find buyers. 16.4 million shares were dumped that day.

2. How did the economic trends of the 1920s in industry, agriculture, and with consumers help cause the Great Depression? (Make sure you include significant details about each area in your answer. It should be at least a paragraph)

The AGRICULTURE in the 1920's went way down from the times of the war. During the war wheat and other grain were in high demands, so farmers took out loans in order to expand their farms to meet the demand. When the war was over the demand went down, and farmers lost because they were in debt from taking out the laons, and they couldnt pay the loans back because they werent making enough money to. Because of this the farmers raised the prices of their gooods, which made the people have to pay more. Because of the credit that was now avaible people would creat debt for themselves. The INDUSTRY helped caused the great depression because the basic textiles (railroads,textiles, and steel.) Coal was hit hard after the war because there were new forms of electricty so people were no longer buying it. When housing fell so didnt the jobs that went with it such as construction, and industries that built things such as furniture, rugs etc.

3. According to your reading, what are the major causes of the Great Depression?

Some of the major causes of the Great Depression were the lack of demand for crops, livestock and coal mining, as well as the change of spending habits of Americans.

4. What was Hoover’s philosophy of government?

He believed that one of government's chief functions was to foster cooperation between competing groups and interests in society. He thought that this cooperation must be voluntary, and that the government should encourage and facilitate cooperation, not to control it.

5. What was Hoover’s initial reaction to the stock market crash of 1929?

Hoover initially issued a statement which aimed to assure people that everything was fine and to calm them. He hoped that it would prevent panic.

6. What was the nation’s economic situation in 1930?

Economic difficulties increased in 1930 and Americans grew more and more frustrated by the Depression.

7. How did voters in 1930 respond to this situation?

Democrats took advantage of anti-Hoover sentiments to win more seats in Congress, and because of this, Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives and saw their majority in the Senate dwindle to one vote.

8. What did Hoover do about the economic situation?

Hoover's plan was to encourage employers not to cut wages or lay off workers, and labor leaders not to demand higher wages or go on strike. He also created an organization to help private charities generate contributions for the poor.

9. How did the economy respond to his efforts?

The economy was unchanged by all of the efforts of Hoover except for the construction of Hoover Dam. It provided electricity and flood control, as well as providing a regular water supply, which enabled the growth of California's massive agricultural economy.