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Time Period 7 Contextualization Paragraph
This was a period of change that affected not only the US but the entire world. The US also underwent various cultural explosions in areas such as the black community as well as working conditions in factories. However, this was also a period of extreme economic struggle as the Depression of the 20s hit the economy hard for the entire world. The time period is defined as from 1890 to 1945, which are important because 1945 marked the end of WW2 and 1890 marked the start of US Imperialism. -
Imperialism
Captain Alfred T. Mahan wrote the book "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History," in 1890, which spoke about the need for the US to create a strong navy that prompted the US to join the Europeans in their imperialistic adventures. However, there were people who challenged the imperialistic views and formed the anti-imperialist league in 1898. -
Spanish American War - Conflict
In 1898, the Spanish minister sent McKinely the De Lome Letter, which resulted in the relationship between the two countries to deteriorate. The "Maine" was then sent to Cuba for protection of US citizens but was blown up; "yellow journalism" emerged and began furthering the bad relations between the Spanish and US and prompting McKinely to declare war on the Spanish, with the condition of the Teller Amendment (Cubans were to be given full autonomy and self-determination). -
Spanish American War - Outcomes
The American's eventually won the "splendid little war" and it resulted in the Spanish losing Puerto Rico and Guam as well as Cuban independence from Spain. The Cubans would then agree to the Platt Amendment which would allow for US intervention when its interests are threatened. -
Square Deal
Theodore Roosevelt's Square Deal provided a lot of control over big businesses and helped protect consumers from mistreatment. Some acts that occurred around this time included the Pure Food and Drug Acr and the Meat Inspection Act. -
The Jungle
Big corporate businesses around this time constantly took advantage of the working people and various pieces of literature were written to call such corruption out. The Jungle is a book like such which calls out the harsh lives immigrants had to live in industrial cities like Chicago. -
Minorities Rights
As progressives worked on gaining rights for workers and improving working conditions, they also had groups that worked on gaining more rights for minorities such as women and African Americans. Organizations such as the NAACP and the NWP were formed to help further these purposes and eventually led to more rights for both parties. -
Triangle Shirtwaist fire
When a fire erupted in an industrial factory, progressives used it as an opportunity to push through various labor acts and laws. -
The Start of World War 1
The US originally was not involved in the war and refused to due to their policy of isolationism. However, when the German's began practicing unrestricted submarine warfare, the US began getting indirectly involved. Once the US was involved, they were incredibly involved and ramped up their production using assembly lines. -
Espionage Act
During World War 1, the US government passed the espionage act which technically violated the first amendment, which leads to the Schenck v US Supreme Court Case. -
Creation of Boards
As the US became more involved with World War 1, the US created various boards to help organize the efforts such as the War Industry Board, National War Labor Board, and the Committee on Public Info. Most of the boards were created in order to help the people stay informed on what is going on and how it affects them as well as how they can help the war efforts. -
End of World War 1
In November of 1918, both sides (the Allies and the Axis) both agreed to an armistice. However, the Germans were considered the main losers of the war and were dealt with relatively heavy punishment. -
Treaty of Versailles
Once the war was declared over, the European powers gathered to formulate the treaty of Versailles. However, Woodrow Wilson had declared his speech of fourteen points which gave advice to the European countries as to how to deal with the end of such a heavy war. However, the European countries, for the most part, ignored some of his points as the US hadn't been a large participant within the war itself. The Treaty also led to the creation of the League of Nations, which didn't last very long. -
In Between Years
Between World War 1 and World War 2, a lot of things changed and escalated within the US. The Red Scare was a part of the definitive characteristics of this time. Around this time, Americans became incredibly paranoid of Communism wiggling its way into their patriotic lives. This eventually led to the Palmer Raids which increased the tension between Europe and the US. -
Ya Like Jazz?
Culturally, the US was also undergoing change. African Americans began creating their own communities within America that grew popular among other groups. African Americans began transforming things such as music to create a much more popular version of Jass. Music and other types of entertainment were spread and encouraged through the creation of the Radio and the Phonograph. Incredibly popular media came from people called the lost generation. This time period was named the Harlem Renaissance. -
Franklin D Roosevelt
His presidency involved various reforms that could fall under the term of the New Deal. Within the first hundred days of his presidency, FDR suggested various plans to help battle the Great Depression that hit American markets. Some corporations were also created in order to help such as the Federal Insurance Corp. and the Civilian Conservation Corp.. However, near the end of his presidency, he was accused of court-packing. -
US Neautrality
During the 1930s the US passed various acts of neutrality to emphasize to the public that the US would not participate in the war unless completely necessary and because that was what the citizens of the US wanted. -
World War 2 Context
Various events led up to the eruption of WW2. First, the USSR was formed and recognized, Japan takes Manchuria, and Italy invaded Ethiopia. As a lot of things were changing and shifting such as new countries forming, the tension grew as invades occurred, especially since WW1 was less than a few decades ago. As War became inevitable, the US had declared itself neutral. -
World War 2 Conflict
As the war carried on, the US eventually got involved since the Germans and Japanese provoked the US with the blasting of its trade boats and the last straw was the bombing of Pearl Harbor. These actions led to the US forcing an oil and steel embargo on Japan, slowing their access to weapons and materials. As the war progressed, the US began working on various war-effort projects such as the Manhattan Project. -
World War 2 Conflict Cont.
The War also led to a lot of racist actions toward anyone of Japanese descent; especially as the government began to enforce Japanese internment. However, this treatment led to the supreme court case Korematsu v US. As the US citizens were all mobilized to support the war effort, the Japanese were pressured to do the same but with much worse conditions. This also meant that everyone in the US was working and war ads, such as Rosie the Riveter, were created to promote war-related activities. -
World War 2 End
As it became evident that the Axis powers were losing the war, D-Day marked when the tides turned against the Axis. The Axi eventually surrendered, leading to the Yalta and Potsdam Conference to discuss peace treaties. However, just because a treaty had been signed, didn't mean that the fighting had ended completely. -
Hiroshima and Nagisaki
Despite the war being technically over, the US had dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, ultimately forcing the Japanese to surrender at once. After the Japanese surrender, the peace treaties were underway and eventually the creation of the United Nations.
