1. ***Leaders & Presidents*** What makes an effective or ineffective leader?
1.1. Great Depression
1.1.1. FDR believed in using the full power of the government to help the people. While this did help to create jobs, it created a massive debt that was very hard to pay off.
1.2. WW2
1.2.1. Radicalized leaders are more likely to be elected when their country is in hardship
1.2.2. More Alliances means you are more likely to win a war, militarism is bad
1.3. Cold War
1.3.1. When a general like MacArthur tries to take power from the president, the president needs to remove him to protect democracy.
1.4. Assasination: JFK, MLK, RFK are all killed along with others for supporting civil rights.This didn't silence them, it made their ideas very popular.
1.5. Vietnam
1.5.1. Nixon: It is important to deliver on your campaign promises. Nixon promised American's he would end the war. Even though many of his actions were controversial, like bombing small villages, "supporting" South Vietnamese troops in their campaign through Laos and Cambodia, and Viatnamezation which led to a communist takeover and a loss of the Vietnam war, he still got US troops out of Vietnam like he said he would. This caused him and his policies to be respected and well liked by the people even though at that time many were not supportive of government leaders like Truman because they tried to conceal information from the public that was eventually leaked.
2. ***Government:*** What is the role and responsibility of the American government?
2.1. Great Depression
2.1.1. The New Deal helped the lower class and truly showed the power of the government. It angered business owners when it forced higher labor standards.
2.2. WW2
2.2.1. The Russian were willing to make great sacrifice in order to achieve their goals in the battle of Berlin
2.2.2. People thought that the US would be the best place to flee to, but America was hesitate to let people in so Jews got stuck
2.3. Cold War
2.3.1. The US government created HUAC to find communist. This led to paranoia and fear amongst our people
2.4. LBJ's Great Society: When the government decreases taxes and creates large social programs, government debt will increase.
2.5. Cuban Missile Crisis: Its important for governments to main tain communication so they can avoid such risky confrontations like the naval blockade
2.6. JFK: When there is a communist take over business owners will flee.
2.7. JFK: If you want peace and resolve you need to compromise, you have to give a little to get a little.
2.8. Vietnam
2.8.1. Lying: During the course of the Vietnam war, the government lied to the American people about many things. Presidents promised to end the war while actually escalating it, they tried to hide massacres committed soldiers, and more. This caused the American people to lose faith in their government, the government still has not repaired the trust people once had in it to this day. Lesson: The government needs to be honest with its citizens. When a government repeatedly lies and is misleading to its own people they will lose trust in its ability to correctly lead them. This will also grow anti-government movements like the Vietnam war protest.
3. ***Civil Rights:*** To what extent have the oppressed in America been able to attain an equality of life?
3.1. WW2
3.1.1. Japanese internment camp violated the rights of Japanese and violated the constitution
3.1.2. Women and Blacks proved that they were equal and could be helpful during WW2
3.2. Civil Rights Unit: In order to get people to recognize their oppresion and support them, they needed to make sure they didn't have violent outburst that made them look like aggresors.
3.3. Civil Rights: Young people always drive the civil rights movement
4. ***Media*** To what extent does the media influence people?
4.1. Cold War
4.1.1. Tv can be used to fear monger and spread fear and have a large impact on our society.
4.2. Civil Rights Movement: In order to get change, you need to have nationwide media coverage to get people behind your cause
4.3. Freedom riders: They took violent beatings so that they could raise awareness and end segregation.
4.4. Vietnam
4.4.1. Hamburger Hill: Hamburger hill, along with many other areas in Vietnam, was home to deadly fighting that caused many gruesome American deaths. Magazines documented the deaths of soldiers for all American's to see. This outraged the citizens and only grew the anti-Vietnam movement in America. Lesson: Vietnam was the first war that the media had full reign to report on everything. This meant that the American government could not sweep things under the rug like the brutality of the fighting, or village massacres like they used to have been able to.
5. ***Economics:*** How has economics impacted America & Americans?
5.1. Great Depression
5.1.1. When the New Deal was created to fix the economic problems, it cost a lot of money and government debt increased.
5.1.2. When people used loans to invest in the stock market, it caused great economic harm because the banks had no collateral to collect when the market failed. This caused banks to fail.
5.2. WW2
5.2.1. People on the home front were more willing to help with the war by conserving, producing, and investing.
5.3. 1920's
5.3.1. Mass Production: As items become mass produced they become cheaper. This means that more people can afford the item.
5.4. Cold War
5.4.1. America does not like communist countries because they do not like to trade with foreign countries, and they often lead to dictators.
5.5. Civil Rights: Economic protest are very effective because people want to stay in business
6. ***Migration*** What causes migration and how has it impacted America?
6.1. WW2
6.1.1. Jews attempted to leave the country to avoid death and persecution. If other countries stepped in, this would not have happened
6.2. 1920's
6.2.1. Harlem Renaissance: as a new group of people migrate into a place, they will affact and change the areas cullture.
7. ***Technology*** How does technology impact society?
7.1. WW2
7.1.1. Atomic Bomb - It showed the world that the bomb was an ultimate weapon capable of mass destruction and it was what caused Japan to surrender.
7.2. Vietnam
7.2.1. Napalm and Agent Orange: During the war, America developed weapons like Napalm and agent orange to destroy the dense jungle the Vietnamese were fighting in. Unfortunately, These weapons were very dangerous to American soldiers as well. Soldiers could get burnt extremely badly by the napalm if it came in contact with them. Agent Orange also had many long lasting side affects on soldiers from both countries. The danger of these weapons has caused long lasting affects on soldiers and the Vietnam landscapes. It also had the affect of making US soldiers afraid of being near these weapons when they were in use. The lesson is that when you use weapons as dangerous as Napalm and Agent Orange, it will make our own soldiers afraid and fight worse along with harming our soldiers for decades to come.
8. ***Foreign Relations*** How have foreign entanglements influence America?
8.1. World War 1
8.1.1. When the US is involved in world affairs to a large extent it is hard to stay neutral if a major conflict breaks out.
8.1.2. Forming allies can draw the country into a broader conflict.
8.2. WW2
8.2.1. The Germans underestimated the power of the Soviet Union along the Eastern front
8.2.2. Due to the Great Depression, Americas foreign relations weakened because they were busy focusing on themselves
8.2.3. When to many countries try to expand and dominate the world, it creates massive conflict
8.3. Cold War
8.3.1. As the relations between America and Russia deteriorated, it led to much more conflicts.
8.4. Vietnam
8.4.1. French Colonies: At first Ho Chi Minh wanted support from America to gain independence from the French. Since Ho Chi Minh was seen as having communist tendencies, and America was aligned with the french, they decided to not help Ho Chi Minh. This eventually led to Ho Chi Minh siding with China and Russia andfought America. Lesson: Sometimes it is important for America to not always support their allies needs. If they had negotiated with the French and gotten them to give Vietnam its independence, then North Vietnam would not have sided with the enemy and fought us.