1. ***Economics:*** How has economics impacted America & Americans?
1.1. 1920's
1.1.1. When the working class got paid more and worked less, they had more time for leisure.
1.1.2. Americans in more debt when buying items
1.2. Great Depression
1.2.1. When the New Deal was created to fix the economic problems, it cost a lot of money and government debt increased.
1.2.2. Caused by the crash of the Stock Market
1.2.2.1. Banks failed everywhere and the economy dropped along with these banks.
1.2.2.1.1. Very hard to grow the economy after this because no one trusted the banks with their investments
1.2.3. New Deal
1.2.3.1. Helped the American People by supplying jobs and regulating businesses to get the economy back up again.
2. ***Migration*** What causes migration and how has it impacted America?
2.1. Harlem Renaissance/Great Migration
2.1.1. Brings more cultural diversity into the country.
2.1.2. Immigrants like to live in consolidated areas either because they are forced or because they like having a common culture around them.
2.2. WWII
2.2.1. America didn't know the extent of the Holocaust and refused many Jews entrance to the country and Hitler was able to keep and kill them
3. ***Leaders & Presidents*** What makes an effective or ineffective leader?
3.1. President Hoover
3.1.1. If you want to be a good President, you can't rely on volunteerism to solve big problems in the country.
3.1.2. Believed in self-help (individualism), and that the government should not interfere
3.2. President Roosevelt
3.2.1. Believed in government aid and created the New Deal
3.3. WWII
3.3.1. A military leader who is aggressive can only be stopped aggressively (appeasement won't work)
3.3.2. Having an "enemy" become an ally promotes competition and harder fighting but can lead to tension after war.
3.3.3. Leaders like Hitler who are willing to fight until the end can be challenging to defeat.
3.4. Bay of Pigs Invasion
3.4.1. Presidents need to be educated on what is going on in politics before they are put into office.
3.5. LBJ
3.5.1. When a well loved leader is assassinated, their successor can use it to their advantage
3.6. Assassinations
3.6.1. Just because you kill the person, doesn't mean you kill the idea. - Sometimes it even has the opposite effect
3.7. JFK
3.7.1. When a President is faces with a tough decision they should try to remain calm and fully think it through. - Need to compromise
3.8. Vietnam War/Nixon
3.8.1. President Nixon was known to lie to the public about how the war was going. For example, he had a plan called Vietnamization where he would replace the American soldiers with South Vietnamese soldiers. When he went to test this plan, he found that it was a disaster and their leadership was nowhere near ready to take control. He lied to the public and said that the plan was successful. Ultimately, American publicists reported on the failure. This lead to people not trusting the US government.
3.8.1.1. When a president lies to the public, it is likely that they will eventually find out, and will ultimately create mistrust of the government,
3.8.2. Nixon's main campaign promise was to end the Vietnam war quickly (in 1967) , and send the soldiers home. Originally many people supported the war because the goal was to contain communism and they thought that it would be over quickly. When the war wasn't over in 1967, like promised, it angered many people. After many years the public started to get really mad and protested the war that they thought was useless and was going on for too long.
3.8.2.1. Making promises to the public is not a good idea if you cannot guarantee it will happen, because if the promise is not fulfilled, many supporters will turn on you, and will not be happy.
4. ***Government:*** What is the role and responsibility of the American government?
4.1. Prohibition
4.1.1. Creating unpopular laws are hard to enforce.
4.1.2. When the government tries to ban something that is very popular, it is not very effective and it is very expensive.
4.2. New Deal
4.2.1. Created to provide relief, reform, and recovery for all those suffering in the Great Depression.
4.2.2. Provided government relief which went along with Democratic beliefs, so many Republicans were against this New Deal.
4.3. WWII
4.3.1. Totalitarianism: when one leader has too much power, they can do whatever they want if they are not challenged.
4.3.2. Since Hitler was in power and kept pushing limits with persecution and no one stopped him, he was able to continue what he was doing and kill that many people
4.3.3. When a country attacks us like at Pearl Harbor, we must fight back to show our power and assert our selves.
4.3.4. Battle of Berlin
4.3.4.1. When two major powers are fighting in the same war, the apparent "winner" will look most powerful
4.4. The Great Depression
4.4.1. During bad times people's political views will turn radical.
4.4.2. During bad times, people will start to favor and demonstrate socialist forms of government
4.5. The Great Society
4.5.1. When the government decreases taxes, and creates large social programs, debt will increase.
4.6. Vietnam War
4.6.1. The Vietnam War was started with the goal of maintaining communism, however there weren't many clear cut missions. Many missions, like the one on Hamburger Hill, were meaningless, as ultimately the Americans left and the land was taken back over a few weeks later. This lack of mission and useless battles made soldiers angry because they did not know what the point of fighting was. There was even a mass movement staged where Vietnam vets protested the war and over 800 of them threw away their medals.
4.6.1.1. Starting a war without a clear cut goal and how to achieve it will make people not want to fight in it.
5. ***Foreign Relations*** How have foreign entanglements influence America?
5.1. World War I
5.1.1. When the U.S. is involved in world affairs to a large extent, it is hard to stay neutral if a major conflict breaks out.
5.1.2. Forming Allies can draw the country into a broader conflict
5.1.2.1. q`
5.2. Isolationism
5.2.1. When the U.S cuts off foreign countries, it hurts the relationship between the two countries.
5.3. WWII
5.3.1. Treaty of Versailles- when there are attempts at blaming one country, conflict will result
5.3.2. When causes like MAGNETT are present it is likely to cause conflict.
5.4. Early Years of Cold War
5.4.1. When an alliance is formed with another country, information that is kept secret will result in conflict.
5.5. Great Depression
5.5.1. During bad times, governments/countries may be able to focus on international affairs/conflicts.
6. ***Civil Rights:*** To what extent have the oppressed in America been able to attain an equality of life?
6.1. African Americans
6.1.1. During times of war civil rights for the minorities improve.
6.2. WWII
6.2.1. Disenfranchised groups are needed and want to continue being needed in times when there is a connecting issue.
6.3. Civil Rights Movement
6.3.1. When a movement challenges the status quo, it will be difficult for many to change their ways
6.3.2. Civil Rights Protest
6.3.2.1. Non-violet protests can bring a lot of attention to certain events, especially if the media is involved, and it can be quite effective.
6.4. Black Panthers
6.4.1. If a movement is seen as not making huge gains, it will evolve into more radical or aggressive tactics
6.4.2. Movements that try to take on more than they are capable of will fall quickly.
6.5. Vietnam War
6.5.1. When the US soldiers came back from the war in Vietnam, they were treated awfully. The anger that the public had for the government and the war was taken out on the soldiers that fought in it.
6.5.1.1. When something (like a war) is not liked by the public and the true source of the anger cannot be confronted, their anger can oppress the wrong people.
7. ***Technology*** How does technology impact society?
7.1. Communication
7.1.1. When you have things like radios and later on TVs that can connect the country on a broad level, it increases culture on a national level.
7.2. WWI Warfare
7.2.1. Technology changed the ways war was fought, and we were not ready for it.
7.2.2. When there is a big gap in when technology is created, there is a big issue.
7.3. WWII
7.3.1. New powerful weapons can quickly end war when on side has them
7.4. Early Years of Cold War
7.4.1. Nuclear race/H Bomb
7.4.1.1. When there is competition to have more advanced military there is more threat for a possible attack/bombing
7.5. TV
7.5.1. Seeing Candidates appearance changes the outcomes of elections.
7.6. Interstate Highway System
7.6.1. Progression in transportation technology & the implementation of that technology will benefit society by making it easier to get from place to place.
8. ***Media*** To what extent does the media influence people? To what extent does the media mirror or reflect society?
8.1. WWII
8.1.1. The media, when necessary, can be manipulated to serve the greater good by influencing people to aid in war efforts
8.2. Emit Till
8.2.1. Emit Till's open casket put in a perspective of the ways blacks were being treated. - media can have a huge affect on us if used correctly
8.3. Vietnam War
8.3.1. For the first time ever, the media was able to cover the war live and on TV. This war became a "living room war". Pictures and videos of the war and body counts were showed on TV. This made Americans very uncomfortable.
8.3.1.1. Media can help turn people away from war and make them dislike it because they are seeing what is actually happening and live, instead of what the government wants you to see months later.