1. What factors have affected viewpoints on Truman's decision?
Several factors came into play that affected how people viewed Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb. For instance, people who disagreed with his decision believed that the war had already ended and the allies were victorious. They also thought Truman simply wanted to demosnstrate how the atomic bomb would work in actual warfare and impress or frighten other military leaders like in the Soviet Union. People who agreed with Truman's decision believed that the Japanese deserved the attack and that it would force them to surrender sooner, saving American lives. They were angered at how the Japanese treated American soldiers in the war and were yearning for revenge. They also thought dropping the bomb would prevent any other nations from dropping it on the U.S. in the future because they had already observed how it works in actual warfare and its effectiveness.
2. Do you think he made the right decision? Give your reasons.
I do think Truman made the right decision because the bomb caused Japan to surrender earlier than they would have if the U.S. had not dropped the bomb and thus prevented allie deaths. This also prevented other countries from experimenting with the bomb in the future and perhaps using it against the U.S. and greatly contributed to the fields of nuclear and quantum physics.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
War for Europe and North Africa - Part II
6. What was D-day?
D-day was the day that the allies invaded Normandy. The attack consisted of two parts: An aerial attack made up of 24, 000 American, British, Canadian, and French planes and a boat landing on the shores of Normandy holding allied infantry.
7. What happened at the Battle of the Bulge?
At the Battle of the Bulge, Germany took the offensive attacking U.S. soldiers in the thick forests in the Ardennes Mountain Region of Belgium. The allie troops were taken completely by surprise and their strong air force was grounded due to overcast weather. They suffered a loss of 19,000 troops, the greatest U.S. loss in the war.
8. What did Alied troops find in Germany?
D-day was the day that the allies invaded Normandy. The attack consisted of two parts: An aerial attack made up of 24, 000 American, British, Canadian, and French planes and a boat landing on the shores of Normandy holding allied infantry.
7. What happened at the Battle of the Bulge?
At the Battle of the Bulge, Germany took the offensive attacking U.S. soldiers in the thick forests in the Ardennes Mountain Region of Belgium. The allie troops were taken completely by surprise and their strong air force was grounded due to overcast weather. They suffered a loss of 19,000 troops, the greatest U.S. loss in the war.
8. What did Alied troops find in Germany?
Monday, March 8, 2010
1. Selective Service System
The purpose of the selective service system was to expand the draft to allow for a greater number of soldiers in the U.S. military. It required every man in the U.S., age 18 to 25, to register as potential candidates for the military. This got many more young men invloved in war.
2. Women
Women were able to leave the household and work jobs helping soldiers fighting in the war thanks to the Women's Auxiliary Army Corp. Women were able to do just about anything except actually fight on the battefield, including working as nurses to aid injured soldiers and in weapon manufacturing which greatly helped men in the war.
3. Minorities
Minorities were allowed to fight in the army at this point, but they were still plagued with racism and prejudice by white soldiers who considered themselves superior and ordered these minorities around. Although they were given the ability to fight alongside white men, minorities like blacks and mexicans were always allocated into seperate units and often the first to be sent into battle resulting in numerous casualties.
4. Manufacturers
Manufacturing companies would cease to create their usual products whn the war began and instead manufacture things to aid the war effort. They would create things that were similar to what they usually manufactured to increase their efficiency, i.e. a clothing manufacturer may begin making soldiers' uniforms.
5. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD)
The OSRD headed all technological and scientific development at the time and create new state-of-the-art things. These included new weapon designs and improvements on technologies like radar. They also developed substances known as pesticides to repel mosquitoes and other pests from the soldiers.
6 Entertainment industry
Hollywood's new job was to create propagandist films in order to persuade young men viewing them to join the army and to get others to aid in the war effort.
7. Office of Price Administration (OPA)
8. War Production Board (WPB)
9. Rationing
The purpose of the selective service system was to expand the draft to allow for a greater number of soldiers in the U.S. military. It required every man in the U.S., age 18 to 25, to register as potential candidates for the military. This got many more young men invloved in war.
2. Women
Women were able to leave the household and work jobs helping soldiers fighting in the war thanks to the Women's Auxiliary Army Corp. Women were able to do just about anything except actually fight on the battefield, including working as nurses to aid injured soldiers and in weapon manufacturing which greatly helped men in the war.
3. Minorities
Minorities were allowed to fight in the army at this point, but they were still plagued with racism and prejudice by white soldiers who considered themselves superior and ordered these minorities around. Although they were given the ability to fight alongside white men, minorities like blacks and mexicans were always allocated into seperate units and often the first to be sent into battle resulting in numerous casualties.
4. Manufacturers
Manufacturing companies would cease to create their usual products whn the war began and instead manufacture things to aid the war effort. They would create things that were similar to what they usually manufactured to increase their efficiency, i.e. a clothing manufacturer may begin making soldiers' uniforms.
5. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD)
The OSRD headed all technological and scientific development at the time and create new state-of-the-art things. These included new weapon designs and improvements on technologies like radar. They also developed substances known as pesticides to repel mosquitoes and other pests from the soldiers.
6 Entertainment industry
Hollywood's new job was to create propagandist films in order to persuade young men viewing them to join the army and to get others to aid in the war effort.
7. Office of Price Administration (OPA)
8. War Production Board (WPB)
9. Rationing
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
World Events Set Stage for Isolationism
1. What was the Japanese reaction to the Treaty of Versailles? (pgs. 4 - 5)
The Japanese were greatly angered by the Treaty of Versailles because it was of no benefit to their nation whatsoever and was seemingly extremely racist as it favored the allies greatly.
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 was gaining strength as a world power because their nation began adopting different aspects of western culture like banking, trade, and military structure and powerful nations throughout the world began to view Japan as more of a rival than an inferior country. Japan began to feel threatened by the U.S. because they were taking control of nearby islands and western society was fast approaching their doorstep.
3. Why was the Washington Naval Conference convened and what was accomplished? (pg. 6) (Note: Japan signs the agreement.) The Washington Naval Conference was convened in order to deal with the growing concerns of Japan and their expanding navy. The conference wished to slow down the arms race between the U.S. and Japan as tensions built between the two nations. The conference was successful in limiting the size and number of battleships and also opened further trade with China.
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 sentiments that were relected were the united state's ability to to permit military action only in self-defense and that it was not necessary to attack any nation that did not abide by the treaty.
5. Why did Hitler enjoy popular support in Germany for most of the 1930s? Give three reasons. (pgs. 9 - 10)
Hitler enjoyed popular support for most of the 1930s because he made sure that he was portrayed to the public as a stand-up guy who only looked to pursue their best interests. He seemingly was merely attempting to gain back the land stolen from Germany after the first World 2War and build them up to a powerful nation once again. He was succesful in blaming certain ethnic and social groups for what occurred after this war and also helped in strengthening the poor German economy.
6. Japan voiced its intentions to invade China for what two reasons? (pg. 10)
Japan claimed that they were going to invade China because they wished to obtain plentiful natural resources that their country lacked and did not want to have to trade with china to get them and they wanted to expand their territory and power.
7. Compare the Reichstag fire and the explosion on the Japanese railway in Manchuria. What did they accompllish?
Both these incidents were similar in the way that they both were caused by groups of people who felt oppressed by the government and were greatly affected by the actions their leaders had commited and they seemingly both accomplished very little as the government continued to oppress its people.
8. Why was the united States unable to oppose Japan in the early 1930s with a significant military force? (pgs. 11 - 12)
The United States was unable to match the Japanese military becuase it had just recently greatly lowed its number of troops by a total of 2.7 million making them far less powerful militarily.
9. Describe the major similarities and differences among liberal democracy, fascism, and socialism. (pg. 8) The differences pertaining to these three types of government rule mainly deal with who holds the most power. In liberal democracy power is given to the people while in fascism and socialism power is mostly in the hands of the government. In socailsim practically everything is controlled and owned by the government and it is fairly close in its societal restraints to communism. Fascism is not much better but people have more freedoms and their is more social variety such as the existence of seperate financial classes. The similarities between these three is the fact that the people do withhold some rights and freedoms, the most being held with democracy, and they are not considered as restrictive as communism. Democracy will usually have a president and differednt branches of government while socialism and fascism usually have a single ruler holding the greatest power.
The Japanese were greatly angered by the Treaty of Versailles because it was of no benefit to their nation whatsoever and was seemingly extremely racist as it favored the allies greatly.
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 was gaining strength as a world power because their nation began adopting different aspects of western culture like banking, trade, and military structure and powerful nations throughout the world began to view Japan as more of a rival than an inferior country. Japan began to feel threatened by the U.S. because they were taking control of nearby islands and western society was fast approaching their doorstep.
3. Why was the Washington Naval Conference convened and what was accomplished? (pg. 6) (Note: Japan signs the agreement.) The Washington Naval Conference was convened in order to deal with the growing concerns of Japan and their expanding navy. The conference wished to slow down the arms race between the U.S. and Japan as tensions built between the two nations. The conference was successful in limiting the size and number of battleships and also opened further trade with China.
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 sentiments that were relected were the united state's ability to to permit military action only in self-defense and that it was not necessary to attack any nation that did not abide by the treaty.
5. Why did Hitler enjoy popular support in Germany for most of the 1930s? Give three reasons. (pgs. 9 - 10)
Hitler enjoyed popular support for most of the 1930s because he made sure that he was portrayed to the public as a stand-up guy who only looked to pursue their best interests. He seemingly was merely attempting to gain back the land stolen from Germany after the first World 2War and build them up to a powerful nation once again. He was succesful in blaming certain ethnic and social groups for what occurred after this war and also helped in strengthening the poor German economy.
6. Japan voiced its intentions to invade China for what two reasons? (pg. 10)
Japan claimed that they were going to invade China because they wished to obtain plentiful natural resources that their country lacked and did not want to have to trade with china to get them and they wanted to expand their territory and power.
7. Compare the Reichstag fire and the explosion on the Japanese railway in Manchuria. What did they accompllish?
Both these incidents were similar in the way that they both were caused by groups of people who felt oppressed by the government and were greatly affected by the actions their leaders had commited and they seemingly both accomplished very little as the government continued to oppress its people.
8. Why was the united States unable to oppose Japan in the early 1930s with a significant military force? (pgs. 11 - 12)
The United States was unable to match the Japanese military becuase it had just recently greatly lowed its number of troops by a total of 2.7 million making them far less powerful militarily.
9. Describe the major similarities and differences among liberal democracy, fascism, and socialism. (pg. 8) The differences pertaining to these three types of government rule mainly deal with who holds the most power. In liberal democracy power is given to the people while in fascism and socialism power is mostly in the hands of the government. In socailsim practically everything is controlled and owned by the government and it is fairly close in its societal restraints to communism. Fascism is not much better but people have more freedoms and their is more social variety such as the existence of seperate financial classes. The similarities between these three is the fact that the people do withhold some rights and freedoms, the most being held with democracy, and they are not considered as restrictive as communism. Democracy will usually have a president and differednt branches of government while socialism and fascism usually have a single ruler holding the greatest power.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Great Depression Outline
The United States government attempted to use several different methods in solving the problems caused by the great depression during the 1930’s. President Hoover’s way of thinking was that over time the economy would repair itself but soon realized this was not an option. Roosevelt however took a more tactical approach proposing his New Deal plan to resolve the depression, and this was composed of what was known as the three R’s, relief, reform, and recovery. This directly helped solve the primary issues of the depression and, given time, this plan proved to be highly successful and provided a necessary fix for a desperate nation.
Problems: Economy: stock market crash, unemployment, debt, tariffs, banks
Non-economic: homelessness, agricultural
How’s: Relief- Emergency Banking Act, FERA, FDIC; helped to solve the immediate problems that needed to be dealt with first such as widespread poverty
Reform- SEC, AAA, CCC; this helped with banking and economic issues as well as farming nd labor. These were essential to reform in order to help end the depression and prevent such a thing from recurring in the future
Recovery- TVA, NRA, Social Security, Wagner Act- These acts also helped in preventing future issues and provide assistance for people who could not provide it for themselves. These acts came from examining past issues to prevent them from happening again.
Success: The New Deal was quite successful in a preventative manner and focused on making sure a similar incident was less likely to occur in the future. It was not totally successful in resolving the Depression however and it took several more years after the introduction of the New Deal for the country to be somewhat stable once again. National hope was restored and confidence was built by Roosevelt’s efforts.
Succesful Acts:
Federal Securities Act and SEC
Conclusion: In conclusion the primary method of government action was FDR’s New Deal which dealt mainly with relief, reform, and recovery of the nation. It helped to solve economic problems as well as social issues created by the Depression. It was mainly successful in its preventative measures and did not exactly provide immediate relief for many of the nation’s problems; however it restored national hope and confidence in government.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Twenties Woman
1. Note two ways women's fashions changed.
During the 1920's, women began wearing clothes such as tight fitting felt hats, high-heel shoes, bright colored dresses above the knees, and skin-toned silk stockings as opposed to the old ankle-length dresses and petticoats of Victorian times. They also lost their long hair in exchange for a new shorter look that they often dyed jet black.
During the 1920's, women began wearing clothes such as tight fitting felt hats, high-heel shoes, bright colored dresses above the knees, and skin-toned silk stockings as opposed to the old ankle-length dresses and petticoats of Victorian times. They also lost their long hair in exchange for a new shorter look that they often dyed jet black.
2. Note two ways women's social behavior changed.
Women began seeking equality with their male counterparts and asserted this desire by drinking in public, smoking cigarettes, and discussing sex openly which would have wrecked their public image a few years earlier.
Women began seeking equality with their male counterparts and asserted this desire by drinking in public, smoking cigarettes, and discussing sex openly which would have wrecked their public image a few years earlier.
3. Note two words that describe the attitude reflected by these changes.
Assertive and rebellious
Assertive and rebellious
4. Note one way women's work opportunities improved.
Women's work opportunities improved when the thriving economy created new jobs that women could fill in places like offices, factories, and stores. These jobs included secretaries, typists, store clerks and office-machine operators as the recent boom in big businesses required new clerical workers.
5. Note two ways women's home and family life improved.
Women's home and family lives changed when new technological advances created household appliances that made household labor much easier and social changes like the appearance of the local supermarket introduced things like ready-made clothes, sliced bread, and canned foods.
6. Note three negative effects that accompanied women's changing roles in the 1920s.
Not all changes during this time period were positive ones however, as adolescents became more rebellious and began resisting parental control similar to the flappers who rebelled against society and this caused many family problems. These new rebellious women also caused many people such as those used to the prior traditions of the late 19th and earlier 20th centuries to frown upon and disapprove of their actions. This created a dissociation between the older and younger generations of women. The birth-rate also dropped substantially during this time due to new innovations in contraception and this was also looked down upon by people such as church leaders and ardent Catholics who did not believe in birth control.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The U.S. enters World War I
1. How did the United States raise an army?
In 1917 once the U.S. had declared war on Germany, they realized they were not prepared and severely lacked troops as only 200,000 men were enlisted in the armed forces. In order to fill this void, Congress passed the Selective Service Act. This act required that all men in the U.S. register with the government. Soon 24 million men had registered and of these 3 million were chosen to fight in the U.S. army.
2. How did U.S. soldiers help win the war?
U.S. soldiers helped to win the war by preventing German U-boat attacks by using the convoy system. With this sysytem, a group of destroyers would help escort merchant ships across the Atlantic. This greatly minimized U-boat attacks and by Fall of 1917, shipping losses were cut in half. Along with this newly introduced convoy system, the U.S. also deployed a large amount of troops in Europe who not only helped to win many decisive victories but positively impacted the spirits of the tiresome allied troops.
3. What were the estimated economic costs of the war?
The war was a very expensive one as its total cost was roughly 338 billion dollars. The United States suffered severe economic losses of approximately 32 billion dollars, 52 percent of the nation's gross national product during that time.
4. What did the war cost in terms of the number of civilian deaths; military deaths?; injuries?; and refugees?
The war was very costly in terms of deaths, injuries, and refugees. There were an estimated 22 million deaths with about half being civilian and half soldiers. In terms of injuries there were about 20 million wounded and as for refugees there were about 10 million.
5. Define armistice.
Armistice is a mutual agreement between opponents to end hostilities between them.
1. How did the United States raise an army?
In 1917 once the U.S. had declared war on Germany, they realized they were not prepared and severely lacked troops as only 200,000 men were enlisted in the armed forces. In order to fill this void, Congress passed the Selective Service Act. This act required that all men in the U.S. register with the government. Soon 24 million men had registered and of these 3 million were chosen to fight in the U.S. army.
2. How did U.S. soldiers help win the war?
U.S. soldiers helped to win the war by preventing German U-boat attacks by using the convoy system. With this sysytem, a group of destroyers would help escort merchant ships across the Atlantic. This greatly minimized U-boat attacks and by Fall of 1917, shipping losses were cut in half. Along with this newly introduced convoy system, the U.S. also deployed a large amount of troops in Europe who not only helped to win many decisive victories but positively impacted the spirits of the tiresome allied troops.
3. What were the estimated economic costs of the war?
The war was a very expensive one as its total cost was roughly 338 billion dollars. The United States suffered severe economic losses of approximately 32 billion dollars, 52 percent of the nation's gross national product during that time.
4. What did the war cost in terms of the number of civilian deaths; military deaths?; injuries?; and refugees?
The war was very costly in terms of deaths, injuries, and refugees. There were an estimated 22 million deaths with about half being civilian and half soldiers. In terms of injuries there were about 20 million wounded and as for refugees there were about 10 million.
5. Define armistice.
Armistice is a mutual agreement between opponents to end hostilities between them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)