VIII. 1919-1945
(AP Historic Period 7)
In this next phase of American history, America is on the move--technologically, as the internal combustion engine revolutionizes travel, and geographically, as Americans continue to move to cities for opportunity. All this as the United States faces the great challenges of depression and war.
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READING GUIDE
OTHER LINKS |
TIME PERIOD
AP Period/Unit 7 (1890-1945) AP READING Chapter 30. American Life in the "Roaring Twenties," 1920-1929. Chapter 31. The Politics of Boom and Bust, 1920-1932. Chapter 32. The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1933-1939. Chapter 33. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War, 1933-1941. Chapter 34. America in World War II, 1941-1945. - COLLEGE PREP. READING Chapters 12-17 POLITICAL TIMELINE
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AP Tools for Success
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Themes (Use these to tie evidence together across time periods for easy "complex thinking." TIP-Choose one with which to focus for the year.):
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Historical Thinking Skills (Use these to practice the skills graders are looking for on AP Rubrics.):
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Document Analysis Acronym (Use this when analyzing documents to add the words--actually use the words in responses-- and skills graders are looking for on AP Rubrics.):
C-Context (This is often used as 'H' for Historical Situation.)
A-Audience
P-Point of View (POV)
P-Purpose
A-Audience
P-Point of View (POV)
P-Purpose
The Roaring Twenties
What was the spirit of the 1920s? Explore Below.
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Lecture: The Era
of "Normalcy" |
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VIIIa. Exam Skills: SAQ Non-Stimulus Prompt
The Economy of the 1920s
The Economy of the 1920s
SAQ
PROMPT
Answer parts a, b, and c.
a. Identify and explain ONE cause of the business cycle fluctuations in the U.S. economy during the 1920s
b. Identify and explain ANOTHER cause of the business cycle fluctuations in the U.S. economy during the 1920s
c. Identify and briefly explain ONE way business cycle fluctuations in the U.S. economy during the 1920s affected the U.S. society.
PROMPT
Answer parts a, b, and c.
a. Identify and explain ONE cause of the business cycle fluctuations in the U.S. economy during the 1920s
b. Identify and explain ANOTHER cause of the business cycle fluctuations in the U.S. economy during the 1920s
c. Identify and briefly explain ONE way business cycle fluctuations in the U.S. economy during the 1920s affected the U.S. society.
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The Harlem Renaissance
When the Negro was en Vogue
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Langston Hughes was probably the most famous artist to be associated with the Harlem Renaissance. In his autobiography, The Big Sea, he is also the period's most important critic. What did urbanization mean for African-Americans? Click below to discover his criticism.
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Influential members of the Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes, Charles S. Johnson, E. Franklin Frazier, Rudolph Fisher and Hubert Delany overlooking St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem in the 1920s.
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Dust Tracks on a Road: Zora!
Clothing Styles of the 1920s, 1930s, & 1940s
The 1920s witnessed great changes in American society, many of which have set standards today. The most obvious changes were to the styles of dress for men and women--new technology, the automobile, the Great War, national voting rights for women, prohibition, motion pictures, etc. changed the course of fashion forever.
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Sven Raphael Schneider from Gentlemen's Gazeette Below
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From the Ultimate Fashion History Below
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From the getting Dressed series--
CrowsEyeProductions Below Waiting for new inclusion
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Charles Lindbergh's Journey: The Spirit of the 1920s
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THE DEPRESSION ERA
SIMULATION!You are an investor in the 1920s. Let's see how your decision-making stands up to the test of time.
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Of Course, the Stock Market Crash did not cause the great depression--only a small minority of Americans even owned stock. What did? Watch the beginning of The Story of US, Episode 8.
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A Song For His People (The story of Pedro J. González): The Impact of the Great Depression on Latinos.
The Great Depression had a dramatic effect on people who already were experiencing economic and social hardships. One group, Mexican immigrants were especially targeted by authorities, being seen as endangering the prosperity of U. S. citizens. A singer, radio host, and outspoken opponent of discrimination, "Dom Pedro" became a symbol for, and a voice of, his people--people without a voice. Click the links below to learn more.
The Dust Bowl
How did an environmental disaster of biblical proportions affect Americans?
Broke, But Not Broken: Anne Mario Lowe's Dustbowl Diary Americans Video (Still looking for this great video).
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The New Deal
The Great Depression was brought on by a perfect storm of conditions. Environmental disaster, economic instability, and political malaise brought the nation misery on a scale never experienced. Franklin Roosevelt promised Americans a New Deal to approach the crisis with unprecedented government action, as if the Nation was at war. Ironically, it would be real war that truly ended the Great Depression, not government action and spending. What did the New Deal accomplish? Check out the chart below.
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Lecture: The
New Deal |
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The Works Progress
Administration in San Diego
Administration in San Diego
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The largest program of the New Deal spent some money at Grossmont High School!
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"Built by the New Deals Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression years 1936-37, our gym has literally seen millions of individuals from the school and community pass through its doors to watch and participate in plays and musicals, the community's Christmas Pageant, sporting events, assemblies, committee and district meetings, conventions, speeches, and practices and rehearsals of every conceivable kind. The Gym was even noticed in the April 13, 1959 issue of Life Magazine, highlighting the school's nominating convention. Now, the building only hints at its 1930s Art Deco origins, due to a millennial refurbishment that removed all the windows and added stucco to the styles tell-tale columns and rounded edges.
Along with a gym, between 1935 and 1937, WPA project number 653 planted palm trees and grass; remodeled the old Auditorium with classrooms; poured concrete for tennis courts; constructed a mechanical arts building that housed wood, metal, and auto shops (the shop building now houses the Boys Locker Room, the Weight Room, and other facilities); realigned and seeded the football field parallel with old Murray Drive; lined the bank on the home-side of the same field with stone and cement; built the temporary wooden building on the canyon; added a cement and rock terrace to the canyon (now gone); and built a bridge over the railroad tracks in front of the school (since replaced by the current bridge)." |
Click below to discover what buildings around San Diego were built or remodeled beside Grossmont High School's.
VIIIb. Analyzing & Comparing
Documents/SAQ/LEQ Practice
From The American Pageant Teacher Resource Guide, Cengage Learning
How radical was the New Deal?
SAQ
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal (1959).
"By bringing to Washington a government determined to govern, Roosevelt unlocked new energies in a people who had lost faith, not just in government’s ability to meet the economic crisis, but almost in the ability of anyone to do anything. The feeling of movement was irresistible. . . . A despairing land had a vision of America as it might some day be. . . . ‘It’s more than a New Deal,’ said Harold Ickes. ‘It’s a new world. People feel free again. They can breathe naturally. It’s like quitting a morgue for the open woods.’ ‘We have had our revolution,’ said Collier’s, ‘and we like it."
•William E. Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal (1963).
"The New Deal achieved a more just society by recognizing groups which had been largely unrepresented—staple farmers, industrial workers, particular ethnic groups, and the new intellectual-administrative class. Yet this was still a halfway revolution. It swelled the ranks of the bourgeoisie but left many Americans—sharecroppers, slum dwellers, most Negroes—outside the new equilibrium. ... The New Dealers perceived that they had done more in those years than had been done in any comparable period of American history, but they also saw that there was much still to be done, much, too, that continued to baffle them."
QUESTIONS
Using the excerpts, answer parts a, b, and c.
a) Briefly explain ONE major difference between Schlesinger and Leuchtenburg’s historical interpretation of the New Deal.
b) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1932 to 1941 not directly mentioned in the excerpts challenges Schlesinger’s argument.
c) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1932 to 1941 not directly mentioned in the excerpts challenges Leuchtenburg’s argument.
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal (1959).
"By bringing to Washington a government determined to govern, Roosevelt unlocked new energies in a people who had lost faith, not just in government’s ability to meet the economic crisis, but almost in the ability of anyone to do anything. The feeling of movement was irresistible. . . . A despairing land had a vision of America as it might some day be. . . . ‘It’s more than a New Deal,’ said Harold Ickes. ‘It’s a new world. People feel free again. They can breathe naturally. It’s like quitting a morgue for the open woods.’ ‘We have had our revolution,’ said Collier’s, ‘and we like it."
•William E. Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal (1963).
"The New Deal achieved a more just society by recognizing groups which had been largely unrepresented—staple farmers, industrial workers, particular ethnic groups, and the new intellectual-administrative class. Yet this was still a halfway revolution. It swelled the ranks of the bourgeoisie but left many Americans—sharecroppers, slum dwellers, most Negroes—outside the new equilibrium. ... The New Dealers perceived that they had done more in those years than had been done in any comparable period of American history, but they also saw that there was much still to be done, much, too, that continued to baffle them."
QUESTIONS
Using the excerpts, answer parts a, b, and c.
a) Briefly explain ONE major difference between Schlesinger and Leuchtenburg’s historical interpretation of the New Deal.
b) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1932 to 1941 not directly mentioned in the excerpts challenges Schlesinger’s argument.
c) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1932 to 1941 not directly mentioned in the excerpts challenges Leuchtenburg’s argument.
EXTENSION QUESTIONS
1. What does each of these historians regard as the fundamental achievement of the New Deal?
2. What weakness does Leuchtenberg see in the New Deal?
3. How might each of these historians interpret such programs as the AAA, Social Security, and the Wagner Act?
1. What does each of these historians regard as the fundamental achievement of the New Deal?
2. What weakness does Leuchtenberg see in the New Deal?
3. How might each of these historians interpret such programs as the AAA, Social Security, and the Wagner Act?
LEQ
PROMPT
Evaluate the extent to which the New Deal was successful in addressing the economic and social problems of the Great Depression.
In your response, be sure to:
PROMPT
Evaluate the extent to which the New Deal was successful in addressing the economic and social problems of the Great Depression.
In your response, be sure to:
- Develop a thesis that makes a historically defensible claim.
- Use specific evidence, including programs such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), Social Security, and the Wagner Act.
- Analyze differing historical interpretations of the New Deal, such as those of Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and William Leuchtenburg.
- Explain both the achievements and the limitations of the New Deal during the period 1932 to 1941.
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Equal Rights and the New Deal.
Click on the banner below to learn how the New Deal affected different minority groups (An AP exam. focus)
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The New Deal did not affect all groups equally. As "bread winners," male employment took precedence, while region racial customs, politics, and racism kept African-Americans and minorities from benefitting more significantly from New Deal programs. The Roosevelt's efforts to include and listen to all groups in the New Deal was instrumental in capturing the political loyalty of minority voters for the Democrat Party--a loyalty that continues to this day.
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Entertainment During the Great Depression
Radio and Movies
Cheap forms of entertainment abounded in the 1930s. At 25 cents for a feature movie, and free shows on Radio, the Depression Era was a golden age for entertainment--Nearly 70% of Americans saw movies on a regular basis, while most American households owned at least one radio. Click the links below to discover this lost world of entertainment art.
Cheap forms of entertainment abounded in the 1930s. At 25 cents for a feature movie, and free shows on Radio, the Depression Era was a golden age for entertainment--Nearly 70% of Americans saw movies on a regular basis, while most American households owned at least one radio. Click the links below to discover this lost world of entertainment art.
Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind
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Bob Hope
Listen to a show from 1939. The Guest is Judy Garland, the young star of the new release, Wizard of Oz.
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Fun activity! Have students rate the entertainment value of the most watched movies in history, by population. I used to link the movie billboards in the PowerPoint to the best scenes from each. I suggest popcorn also. Why did these movies resonate with Americans and the world in the 1920s and '30s?
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WORLD WAR TWO
Totalitarianism Timeline, 1920s to 1940s
What events brought the world to the reality of war. Click Below.
VIIIc. Exam Skills: SAQ Political Cartoon
From The American Pageant Teacher Resource Guide, Cengage Learning
The Only Way We Can Save Her
From The American Pageant Teacher Resource Guide, Cengage Learning
The Only Way We Can Save Her
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Using the political cartoon, "The Only Way We Can Save Her," answer parts a, b, and c. a) Briefly explain the point of view expressed by the cartoonist about U.S. isolationism. b) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1932 to 1941 not directly mentioned in the political cartoon supports the cartoonist's point of view. c) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1932 to 1941 not directly mentioned in the excerpts challenges the cartoonist's point of view. |
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The Four Freedoms Speech
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FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, 1941 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS “THE FOUR FREEDOMS," JANUARY 6, 1941 (77th Congress)
In an effort to prepare Americans and Congress for increased involvement in the Second World War, President Roosevelt describes the purpose of American democracy in the conflict--supporting friendly countries and people's endangered by Totalitarianism. |
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WWII SIMULATIONS!
You are Admiral Yamamoto, c. 1941, General Eisenhower, c. 1944, or General Ushijima, c. 1945.
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Cartoons go to War
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It was a testament to the size and scope of the war effort in World War Two that even cartoons played a role in achieving victory. The images and messages in this Bugs Bunny cartoon say as much about the enemy as they do about our country in 1944. What racist stereotypes are present in the video?
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All sides created stereotypical imagery to dehumanize their enemy for the war effort . . .
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In this episode of Tasting History watch Max investigate the role of ice cream in America's victory.
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The Diverse Impact of War
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America's
Secret Weapon |
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Start Video at 9:27 to focus on the Secret Weapon.
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Slacks!!!!!!
America's Female Auxiliary Pilots
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Jean Landis flew her last plane, a P-51 fighter, to New York from the West Coast. She buzzed the Statue of Liberty in a poetic moment that symbolized a young woman's journey from a modest farm in eastern San Diego to a triumphant journey to one of the greatest symbols of American freedom. Click on the links below to learn her story.
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Japanese-American Internment
On April 1, 1942, San Diego's Japanese immigrant population faced a situation that was anything but an April Fool's joke--they were told they had a week to settle their affairs and report to the Santa Fe depot in downtown San Diego to be sent to an unknown destination. Because they looked like America's Japanese enemy, they were considered potentially dangerous, without any evidence of anti-American activity. Click below to learn their full story.
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Former Student Grace Kaminaka-Tsuida returned to thank Grossmont High School and the Museum's Baer sisters for her honorary diploma in 2012. Internment prevented her graduation in 1942.
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Lynn, Grace, and Connie at the old Grossmont Museum.
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War Relocation Authority, Poston Arizona Camp. This is where most of San Diego's Japanese population was sent.
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Other Stories
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Love Amidst Holocaust
Perhaps there is nothing more poignant than hope, faith, and love born of tragedy. Certainly, the story of a U.S. soldier (Kurt Klein) and a Jewish girl near death (Gerda Weissman) who meet and, eventually, fall in love, in the midst of one of the darkest periods of history, is as unique as it is inspiring. Click below to learn their story.
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A New Atomic Age
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Robert Oppenheimer, head scientist of the Manhattan Project--the secret program to build an atomic weapon.
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VIIId. Analyzing & Comparing Documents/SAQ Practice
From The American Pageant Teacher Resource Guide, Cengage Learning
Dropping the Atomic Bombs
EXCERPTS
Gar Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy (rev. ed., 1985).
"The decision to use the weapon did not derive from overriding military considerations....Before the atomic bomb was dropped each of the Joint Chiefs of Staff advised that it was highly likely that Japan could be forced to surrender ‘unconditionally,’ without use of the bomb and without an invasion....Unquestionably, political considerations related to Russia played a major role in the decision; from at least mid-May American policy makers hoped to end the hostilities before the Red Army entered Manchuria....A combat demonstration was needed to convince the Russians to accept the American plan for a stable peace."
Martin Sherwin, A World Destroyed (1975).
"Caught between the remnants of war and the uncertainties of peace, policymakers and scientists were trapped by their own unquestioned assumptions....The secret development of this terrible weapon, during a war fought for a total victory, created a logic of its own: a quest for a total solution of a set of related problems that appeared incapable of being resolved incrementally....As Szilard first suggested in January 1944, the bomb might provide its own solution.... The decision to use the bomb to end the war could no longer be distinguished from the desire to use it to stabilize the peace."
SAQ QUESTIONS
a) Briefly explain ONE major difference between Alperovitz and Sherwin’s historical interpretation of the dropping of the atomic bombs.
b) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1941 to 1945 not directly mentioned in the excerpts challenges Alperovitz’s argument.
c) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1941 to 1945 not directly mentioned in the excerpt's challenges Sherwin’s argument.
EXTENSION QUESTIONS
Gar Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy (rev. ed., 1985).
"The decision to use the weapon did not derive from overriding military considerations....Before the atomic bomb was dropped each of the Joint Chiefs of Staff advised that it was highly likely that Japan could be forced to surrender ‘unconditionally,’ without use of the bomb and without an invasion....Unquestionably, political considerations related to Russia played a major role in the decision; from at least mid-May American policy makers hoped to end the hostilities before the Red Army entered Manchuria....A combat demonstration was needed to convince the Russians to accept the American plan for a stable peace."
Martin Sherwin, A World Destroyed (1975).
"Caught between the remnants of war and the uncertainties of peace, policymakers and scientists were trapped by their own unquestioned assumptions....The secret development of this terrible weapon, during a war fought for a total victory, created a logic of its own: a quest for a total solution of a set of related problems that appeared incapable of being resolved incrementally....As Szilard first suggested in January 1944, the bomb might provide its own solution.... The decision to use the bomb to end the war could no longer be distinguished from the desire to use it to stabilize the peace."
SAQ QUESTIONS
a) Briefly explain ONE major difference between Alperovitz and Sherwin’s historical interpretation of the dropping of the atomic bombs.
b) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1941 to 1945 not directly mentioned in the excerpts challenges Alperovitz’s argument.
c) Briefly explain how ONE development from 1941 to 1945 not directly mentioned in the excerpt's challenges Sherwin’s argument.
EXTENSION QUESTIONS
- Assess the validity of the claim that the dropping of the bombs on Japan was not so much an attempt to end the war against the Japanese, as it was "the first salvos in the emerging Cold War."
- What does each of these historians see as American officials' thinking about the relationship between the bomb and the ending of the war against Japan? What does each regard as the primary reason for the use of the bomb?
- What conclusions might be drawn from each of these views about the political and moral justifications for dropping the bomb? Could the use of the atomic bombs have been avoided?
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