US History notes 2014 Spring Semester by Fanni Perjs

guide to the notes:

my notes do not include the afternoon lectures!

things between /brackets/: personal notes, sth that might be unclear
o e.g: /?/ means something im unsure of, or have no idea about
things separated with a dash (-): logically connected
note that im lazy, therefore i did not correct everything to capital letters
in case something is incorrect and you are aware of it, please correct it and share it with the fb
group
dont forget it is not enough to learn the things in bold
have fun with it, and good luck!

List of lectures included:

Lecture 1: Introduction: The Geographic Space in U.S. History and the First Americans

Lecture 2: Colonial America and the Fight for Independence

Lecture 3: One from Many: A Nation Born

Lecture 4: The Westward Movement and the Indian Question

Lecture 5: The Issue of Slavery and the Civil War

Lecture 6: Reconstruction and the Gilded Age; The Role of Immigration in U.S. History

Lecture 7: The Beginnings of World Power (plus some on WW2)

Lecture 8: The U.S. in World War I and the Peace-Making Process
Lecture 9: The Great Depression and the New Deal
Lecture 10: The U.S. in World War II and the Rise of a Bipolar World (plus start of Cold War)
Lecture 11: The U.S. in the Cold War: Domestic and Foreign Policy Issues
Lecture 12: The U.S. in the Post-Cold War Era

Lecture 1:
Introduction: The Geographic Space in U.S. History and the First
Americans
importance of geographical space:
american history - more than 200yrs /237?/
conquest: central themes in US history
face the wild - face natural hazards
tame it to be liveable - civilize it
frontier - moving on - move towards the West
occupation of national territory
settlement process - many sacrifices, painful process
atraccted many people: adventures, land of opportuninty
still: US has the largest representation worldwide /in other countries/
3 phases of history:
o Pre-Colombian period: tribes, before Columbus discovered
o Colonial period:
1607 - Jamestown
1776 - Declaration of Independence
o Independent period - as in today
US was born in war - warrior nation
o existence of a common enemy brings together the nation
only finished gaining the territory recently - current borderlines since 1853
1890: the frontier was gone - took long to settle - establish
fortunate: isolated from threats from the rest of the world
o physical isolation from West and Asia - no national security threats /like eg. in Europe, Asia/
o long coastline - trade
extended national territory:
o different climates, minerals
o means the US can become self-sufficient - no import!
waterways:
o offer economic/social mobility
o great lakes at the border and the river
o largest river: Mississippi and tributes /extensions of it/
american optimism:
o origin: immigrant colonial experience, prove your visions, even if you fail - you can always go
west and start over
o always on the move - 10-13 times a lifetime
o individualism
o cooperaption to survive challenges of nature
cultural violence
o
o

4 important regions

Coastal Plain Area - Tied Water area:

o scene of civil war, major historical events in 17th century
o tobacco production, etc - needed to move West because of land and population
o the great divide: huge old block mountains - difficult to cross
o Appalachian Mountains : the fist road there is important
Appalachian Mountain area:
o links with europe are broken
o gold
o coal, iron - heavy industry - army - world power
more valuable than gold in the long run

the Great Lakes area and the Praerie - the interior lowlands
o great lakes etc
o also called the midwest
o the physical core of us
o center of population - because of agriculture
Cordillera
o many national parks

-natual hazards - different weater, climate:

Chicago: tough winters /in Illinois/

the settlers' European experience didn't help much in case of the weather
temporal climate, but: Alaska, Hawaii
o different from European: no warm ocean currents! /in eu: golf /
o in Canada there is the Japanese current which is warm
terrarin:
o 2 mountain systems
arctic air in the north ans tropical air coming from Mexico can penetrate to us,
causing huge fluctuations
humid air masses coming from Atlantic ocean
and as it goes into the middle it becomes really dry
deserts

the first americans

first nations: two continents on the western hemisphere of the globe

o American Indians came in the last ice-age 25000 bc
o coming from todays Syberia - Mongolian tribes
o archaeological evinence from that time
o hunting cultures
o by 8000 BC - reached the land of fire : Southern Argentina and Chile
o argiculture: corn ~ indian maze, potato, squash, beans, pepper
o by the time of Christ: argiculture appears in the north
o
indians
o 10 million in south, 1-4 million in north
o today: 2 million indians in US - fullblood indians / not counting half and quarterbloods/
o tribes in the north: no sense of unity, hundreds of tribes - different languages
o south ame: Inca culture
o Iroquois
o southeast: 5 civilized tribes eg: Cherokee
o west: plains indian cultures around Mississippi
Dakota (made tepees), Sioux = enemy, cheyenne
o southwest:
pueblo: constructed big cities, still there
o northwest:
Haida: carvings, totem poles
discovery of US saved europe from hunger - POTATO
o new crops from the amercias
o in exchanges: tamed animals goat, horse - bought in by spanish conquistadors
explorers came
then came the missionaries:
o catholicism
o revolutionised agricultural production /in Europe/
o (2/3 of US belongs to the Spanish Crown - religion)
o brought in diseases!
in the entire American continent 9/10 people died /unused to these diseases/

o
labour
o
o

10-20 million africans

smallpox, tubercolosis, influenza

biological weapon - all these epidemics appeared at the same time
their immune system was not prepared
broght in military brutality
shortage after that:
importing slaves from Western Africa
massive importation: 16th century

Lecture 2: Colonial America and the Fight for Independence

US belts:
o Cross belt and Sun belt
o agricultural belts: manufacturing belts/ rust belt - the Great Lakes region
farm belt/corn belt: central lowlands (iowa etc) grain production
black belt: (colour of the soil - fertility)
minor belts: tobacco, peach, cotton,
rice belt: Louisiana, Missisippi,Arkansa
bible belt: south: Texas-Virginia /?/
gun belt: Texas to California /southwest/ frequently used in 70s
back to historican line:
o we were at importation of black slaves and native american population decrease
o 1619 - first shipment of slaves in Virginia
how Europeans got to US:
o middle ages in Europe:
underwent major changes - recovering from black plague in 14th century
killed 50% of population - took a century to recover
growing need for products
innovations in ship building - going to far-east shipping to India and China
through Africa, time of discoveries - strong monarchies
portuguese, british, dutch, french
there was one exception:
1960s Newfoundland - viking Vinland community in 1000 / 1080 /?/

didn't settle - fears of indian attacks, rough seas etc

found iron tools - proof: american indians did not know about iron
they left
Christopher Colombus: first discovery
thought if he went West, he would get to Asia - thought the world was smaller
in october reached the Bahamas
made 4 trips to the Americas
in the 3rd he realised this might not be Asia
but he was sure this was close to Asia
Amerigo Vespucci:

1498 - realised this is a new continent - by that time he was around Brasil/?/
a german map maker read Vespucci's discoveries, made a map according to that
this is the reason:
DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN ASIAN INDIANS AND AMERICAN INDIANS
many other conquistadors in the name of spanish queen/king went:
consequence: loss of indian population

Cortez
1521-22: spanish occupied Mexico and Aztec empire
the other conquistadors occupied peruvian + bolivian countries - was Inca
Empire
1513: Ponce de Leon - arrived to Florida
looking for gold
no gold in that area
establish the claim to these land of spanish crown
would mean growth in power/land/wealth
1539: H. de Soto
entered Cuba, Florida and the South
1543: Coronado
explore the SouthWest
search of gold - seven cities of gold?

got as far as Texas

No surprise that the spanish claimed 2/3 of todays US
he was the first to see the Grand Canyon!
first city establised by the spanish:
1565. St Augustine, FL
1609. Santa Fe
the easter part - Brazil: was portuguese
o based on the discoveries, all other monarchs financed explorations:
dutch: Hudson - Hudson river, NY city
New England now, there they established New Amsterdam - later NY
1624. New Netherlands establishment
italian:
NY harbour region
French:
Great Lakes area
Mississippi Valley - french claims for Canada
Louisiana
Carier etc
english:
King Henry hired an italian
John Cabbot 1497. /chesapeake bay/ todays North Carolina but then Virginia
spanish armada in 1588.
dominating sea

rulers of atlantic ocean

these explorations didn't mean settlement
there were unsuccessful settlements
1587: Sir Walter Raleigh
o aim to establish a lasting colony
o took 14 families, 120 people
o Roanoke Island colony - todays North Carolina
o when he returned there - no one was there - did not survive - nobody knows
o took years after to come up with a colony
why was it important to migrate for the english?
o push factors:
growth of population in Europe - need for goods - limited oportunities
ruling economic philosophy :
merchantilism - neccessary to continue development
religious motives
lutherans, calvinists
anglican church - many believed church should be purified
puritans
o pull factors:
big country, big geographic distances - scarcely populated
opportunities
separation

English settlement

colonies were business enterprises (even where religion was important)

o produce profit for their companies
o Plymouth merchants financed norther sections of US
transplantation of european social norms
o didn't want to intermingle with natives
o unlike spanish (intermarriage) and french - most successful
no effort to blend
root of this: english colonisation experience
first: Irish!!! there they didnt blend

that is why it was so intense

military mission to push natives into reservations
only loosely tied to the crown
o organise yourself to survive
o english attitude: not controled by UK - it was difficult
important: sense of self-governance!
first colonies: charter colonies
o under royal charter - Virgina, New England
replaced by royal colonies - standard types of colonies in the east
o first: 1624: Virginia (legally speaking)
executive: royal gorvenor, council, /?/
proprietary colonies: after 1632
o private indiviual had the right to establish a colony
o given by the crown
o predominant type in the South
o NY, New Jersey, Maryland, Carolinas, Georgia

first successful settlement:

Virginia - 1607 Jamestown ( Chesapeake Bay)

o everyone looking for gold
o not prepared for the winters! - extreme conditions
o desimate the population: in 1609-1610 from 500 ppl -> 60 ppl survive
o scarce food and indian attacks
o one thing saved them: tobacco leaves
local economy was based on tobacco
need for new piece of land
labour shortage - slavery was neccessary (indians were no use)
african slaves
o attracting ppl to Virginia:
people didn't want to go there - bad reputation
o establishment of House of Burgesses:
body of locally elected representatives - 16xx?
root of war of independence

New England

Plymouth Company - charter

separatists: radical puritans
o the pilgrims
o search for religious freedom and economical growth
o here: religion is strong force (in Virginia, it is less important)
o first wanted to establish a colony in Virginia -asked V. Company to settle
they accidentally landed in a land that was uninhabited:
November 1620! - pilgrims and separatist Cape Cod /?/ more to the North than
originally wanted
Mayflower Compact 1620: signed this agreement of establishing civil
government
laid down the rules of the community
November 9th - arrival
came across friendly native tribes
indian corn, helped them to build wooden huts, where to fish etc
a year later, 1621 - First Thanksgiving!
gave thanks to the natives for helping them
4th Thursday of November

survived: in 1630 with John Winthrop other groups came

royal charter given to Massachusetts Bay Colony
king didn't know they were puritans
entire community set sail
Plymouth plantation
over the years the separatist and the puritans joined together
o 1690s it was joined together as Massachusetts
o puritans' ideas were important
mission: grand experiment of mankind
John Winthrop
show an example to mankind (back in England)
"city upon a hill"
gives the sense of mission to Americans
establishment of an exemplanatory community for others
success is important (if they are an example - can't fail!)
Americans believe in this today!
o established strict communities
idea of separation of church and state
Roger William - founder of the baptist
puritan and originally separatist
didnt like communitiy where church and gov. was ruled by the same ppl
Road Island state:
escaped and established 1644 it separately
same with Connecticut
connection to the natives:
o Pocahontas died of smallpox, was married to a tobacco trader
o in North: conflict appeared too, smaller farmers communities developed there,
shipbuilding, timber industry - different community
o in South: different agricultural backgound, big lands fo tobacco etc - need more working
hands, thats why need for slaves and workers
o
o

13 colonies established:

last: Georgia by John /?/ - philanthropist

o important military actions to defent themselves from indians and south
o military barrier against the spanish

colonial life:

New England
o Massachussets
o New Hamphsire
o Connecticut
o Rhode Island
central economic activity:
o small farming
o transatlantic trade
o population: largely british
not really open
1675 - major war between natives and them - King Philip

middle colonies/mid atlantic states

New Jersey
dDelaware
etc?
small farming

NY, Philadelphia, Boston - center of trade

heterogenious:
o germans, dutch - other western european regions came
home of trade between the two parts (N and S) = interatlantic trade
active in trans-atlantic trade

british isles - scotsh, irish/?/

tobacco, crops - trade
manufactured tools, good, furniture

south:

this is how it was until the middle of the 18th century

Lecture 3: One from Many: A Nation Born

fighting for independence - becoming independent:

Navigation Acts: 1660 -1670 aim at the monopoly in England

o only trade with England
o to stop smuggling /i guess not that successful/ - along the coastline
colonial trade
o limitations
18th century
o prime minister Walpole /?/
thought that heavy taxation would hurt
so keep the taxes low - carelessly collected - missioners for this
"let the sleeping dogs lie" policy
independent spirit of the colonies was not hurt until 1700s
Ohio River Valley/Eastern Mississippi Valley
o english and french was interested in the area
o french expansion in the area
trade
emergence of major french presence would stop the american expansion as well
good relationship with the indians of that area
o conflict of interest - colonial conflict - 1750s
o war between french <--> english - first global war
o 1756 - the seven years war the french and indian war (called like this in US - started there, before and in US it
started in 1754)
changed everything
back then Canada was french
had indian allies
english had the iroqouis indians as allies
two major indian tribes in war on opposing sides
Louisiana was french - 1754 -1763
George Washington was included
end of French Empire in North America - at the end of war
still present in Louisiana
Canada went to England /eastern canadian territories/
problem: costs a lot
british treasury was running low
changes in economic policy in the colonies
wanted to get money from them

series of new taxes: 1764

o
o
o
o

Sugar Act
Quartering Act:
obligation of the colonies to maintain the british troops - the crown no longer paid them
before the war the british troops defended the americans against the french
but after the war they had to quarter the troops against indians/?/ - unfair, unneccesary
colonies realised that their degree of independece was in question
colonies like Massachusetts, NY denied paying - found it unjust
Stamp Act
towns and duties: 1767 /?/
long line of taxes on sugar, tea, paper, etc
colonies had to pay
next: long line of issues, smaller incindents
tea tax stayed, others gone in 1770

major incident: Massachusetts - on the streets

Boston Massacre - 5ppl died - shot in the crowd
symbol of british aggression against the colonies
used by Samuel Adams and other radicals to prove that there a big issues with
the british
tax on tea was accepted by the colonies
East India Company:
major depo in Boston
got monopoly on tea - undersell the american tea
Boston tea party - 1773
americans dressed as indians threw tons of tea in the sea
Boston harbour was closed until the damage was paid back
major issue
no local industry - all the products were imported from Europe
raw materials we shipped away
damaged were paid, then it was reopened
proof: it could happen to any other colony
proof: Britain would even go to war to gain power over the colonies
started to call acts as intolerable acts
conference: first held by Virginia
1774 - first Continental Congress - Philadelphia
river Delaware
another center of trade
itemize their problems with the crown
itemize the rights of the colonies they thought they had based on their experiences
decided to start the collection of weapons!!
especially strong in Massachussets
minute men: be ready in any minute - just in case
Lexington, Concord 1775 first shots of war for indenpendence fired here, in Massachusets
Olive Branch petition - british reject it
second congress in 1775
blocade by british
by 1776: military conflict widened

brits not willing to negotiate

second continental congress starts to function as something like a government
start to issue the Declaration of Independence.
13 states, written by Thomas Jefferson
based on ideas by John Locke - british philosopher
social contract theory: people should choose their own governments, if it fails to
do so, it is the people's duty to throw them off
second part: where George III made his mistakes towards the colonies
signed by all those present at the congress
they put everything on one card: if they dont win the war, they die - treason!
problem: british army was the strongest and best armed in the world
americans were mostly untrained
some had frontier/indian experience
military struggle:
US didn't have efficient army
second Continental Congress sent out scouts to seek for european allies: the
enemy of my enemy is my friend- french

representatives: Benjamin Franklin in France - had a hard time

proving that they can win the war
1775-1777 no american successes in the war
1777. Saratoga, NY - british defeat - Franklin used this to prove to Louis 16th

o
o
o
o
o

o
o

1778. Treaty of Alliance - french, americans

joined franco-american forces defeat english in
Yorktown 1781.
political conflict:
what the states should look like
sign the Dec.of Ind. - no sense of belonging together
people had allegiance to their own states - how to structure the new nation
war needed central direction - need for the 13 states should unite
1777 the article of confederation came functional - ratified in 1781
first constitution of us
weak central government
weak central power in individual states
1781 - defeat in Yorktown
1783 Treaty of Paris
cognition of britain the United States of America
following borders:
north: Canada is a neighbor
south: Florida /spanish then/
how to pay the depts after the war?
major issue
central government - national government
located in Philadelphia - center
had right to maintain an army
negotiate treaties
borrow money
no more rights!!! - completely at the mercy of the individual states
therefore: US had a weak army - spanish was still there, indians, french!!!
US had bad international reputation - seemed like they won't be able to pay their
debts (british thought they would beg to come back)
uni-camaral - no separative executive power on the national level either
no president, there was an officer
signals of weakness - lead to major conflicts between states
start in Massachusetts

1786-87 rebellion: against taxation - local taxes, indebted local farmers

Daniel Shays, took 5000 militia to put down this rebellion
wakes up many ppl in many states
Jefferson, Washington etc realize they need a stronger government
try to convince
problem with these people could arise again
and the national gov couldn't come up with an army - shame!
1787 May - September: Congress in Philadelphia ~ Philadelphia Convention
revision of articles of confederation
except for Rhode Island all states were present
find a common ground - most feared a strong central/governmental power (experiences
with english)
but afraid of rebellion, poverty etc
Great Compromise was reached - new document
1787 - Constitution (7th const. is the current!!!, oldest written const. of the world)
established a completely revolutional political system
"american revolution"
revolutionary ideas
federal republic: federal system - never tried before
changes compared to the article of fed.
compromise the interest of different member states
Virginia had different from Rhode Island for example
bicamaral congress:
senate:
equal representation from all states

o
o

 2 representatives
House of Representatives
representation based on population
larger states have more influence there
equally represented the two interest of all states
separate executive power
central figure: president (serve 2 terms)
George Washington 1797
3 departments
state
treasury
war (today called defense)

head: secretary
plus 2 extra positions /i have no idea about these - sorry/
separate court system
supreme court - dual functions
jurisdiction court, constitutional court
below: federal court
below: state court
separation of powers
based on the idea of Montesquieu
James Edison: writer of constitution
system of check and balances
each branch has different powers, makes sure that everything is
in balance
now the central government had power to tax!!!
Bank of US - now able to pay the debts
this new system is solid!
the basic document is still the same (in 2014 still)
27 amendments to it
level of states:
government
bicamaral congresses in most states
the document had to be ratified by all states
ratification 1789
federalists/ anti federalist - Jefferson
o

these formed the 1st two parties

whether to ratify or not the constitution when there were these debates

add a Bill of Rights to the Const.

no thing about the indiviuals in the Const.
include such part of documents
1791 the Bill of Rights was added
the first 10 amendments
civil liberties, rights
10th is about the rights of the states
that are not in the contitutuion
foreign policy, trade is still central gov
but education, taxation for example is local state level
shit
Jefferson:
democratic republican party - anti federalist
1801 and 3rd president
federalists: strong government
federalist:

o
o

o
o

o
o

o
o

o
o

Alexander Hamilton
when he dies, they lose their power
presidency of Monore 1817-24
federalist party disappears
major split appears is the dem.rep party
at the elections of 1824 two candidates od the same party appear
John /?/ Adams, Andrew Jackson
national republicans: merchants etc

democratic republicans: party of common men

are the 2 parties
proclamation of 1763 - by GeorgeIII
cant go to the west - banned (of course couldnt stop americans to go towards the west, but
still...)
around 1770s first cross the appalachian mountains in big numbers, enter the valley

Lecture 4: The Westward Movement and the Indian Question

-economy territorised
market revolution in beggining of 19 century

growth in population
industrial government
westward movement:
o pop. growth
o pop. movement
o early 1800s 1860s significant
industries:
o started as home industries - then manufacturing
using less skilled ppl - cheaper production
o many employed by agricultural sector
o by the 50s almost 50% employed by agricultural sector.
high fertility - average white woman 6.1 kids
o in 1840s
time of mass migration:
o canals, turnpikes, quicker ships - cheaper
o canal building era
Eerie canal: connect the lake wih Hudson river
Old North West of Us - that area
easily take product from thereto NY bay
o from EU
o essetial is westward movement
moving to appalachian mountains transappalachian west
Moving to midwest
60000 ppl moving /yr
o center of popul. is east coast
o early urbanisation
ppl were free to move through the mountains
issues:
o conflicts in land owning between the 13 original states
o development of economy: freedom/slavery
o x
o x
north west ordidnance 1787
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

work of Thomas Jefferson

plan about controling growth of US
about the rules of addition of new states
currently: Puerto Rico is in line for forming part of US - 51st state /in 2014/
original states wanted new territories to be added to their power:
this sets that new further territories can be added to their original lands
out of one territory - maximum 3-5 states can be created
north west territory could become 3-5 states
no slavery
public - federal lands -for institution
gorvenor - appointed by congress
territorial government could be organised/unorganised
based on decision of congress
if terr. reaches 5000 white males in number and overall population reaches 60 000 ppl o
can aply for admission to the union!
if it gets added - would have the same rights/responsibilities as the original 13 states

steps of territorial growth

settle the land hunger of farmers etc

british used american tribes to harass them
o causing major indian wars
30 000 ppl military to fight indians
this is were they learnt how to fight
result of war is the land
louisiana purchase
o louisiana territory - exchaned between spain - france during wars etc
o transfered to the french 18th century - secret treaty
o most importat part: Mississippi river!
ships coming down from US could load ships there going overseas
so when it was given to the french - the americans right to do this was questioned
US sent diplomats to purchase New Orleans
knew Napoleon needed money for wars
he said: why not buy all Louisiana?
diplomats: offer 15 million dollars to buy the whole
doubled the size of the states!!!
o during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson 1801-1805
treaty making right of president
Texas was Spanish at that time
louis and clark
o find way to the pacific ocean
war of 1812:

o indian tribes in Trans Appalachian west

o international tension: french, english, spanish /whatever/
o US was enthusiastic about acquiring new lands - especially Canada
o the whole war is a huge humiliation for US
the english took Washington D.C.
burned, fire in congress, fire in library
o only success: battle of new orleans
o treaty of Ghent 1814
bringing antebellum /?/
bilateral comission set up between us and uk to settle the borders between US and
Canada
the borderline is paralell - reason why its straight- the 49th paralell of the globe!
Florida - spanish -Acquisition of Florida:
o indians in that area regularly raided on Georgia
o enter the Gulf of Mexico from there
o US interested in occupying it
o American general marched in 1818
occupied 2 places
there were already some settlers in western Florida
bilateral negotions /?/ between two secretaries of two states (american+spanish) agreed
in 1819
then the us for a short time claimed that they didn't want to acquire more new lands
The Mexican United States 1821
o welcomed settlers
o by 1830s many families established homes in Texas
o Austin - gentleman (now Austin is HQ of Texas)
americans under the leadership of General Hudson started a war for independence
1836
and became independent: 1836 independent Texas was born
applied for admission to US - rejected because it was a slave owning place
remained independent for 9 years

 "low star state"

british were interested in having Texas
stop growth of US
o James Polk - campaigned to annexation of Texas
took place in /?/ after Polk became president
addition of Texas would be a major problem with Mexico
o where would be the border?
americans: rio grande/rio gravo?
spanish: rio ? - which was only flowing sometime in winter
Mexican-American War broke out 1846-1848
mexico lost 1/3 of its territory
california came iinto the picture - independence
ameicans invading mexico city:
and leaves later - treaty 1848
borderline becomes rio grande
SW was gained by US
california, nevada, utah, new arizona, ?
these 5 states were created from the territory
Oregon territory
o 54-40 paralell
o comission: agreed to let both british and americans settle in oregon country
o acquisition through settlement
o by 1830s british outnumbered Americans there
o they started to campaign to make ppl move to Oregon
o Manifest Destiny: US should acquire entire NW - from ocean to ocean
o this is the philosophy of westward movement
o 1840s US was claiming for was
54-40 or fight - slogan for Polks presidency campaign
1846 - Oregon Treaty
Britain and US signs an agreement to cut it at 49
one part became British Colombia (Canada)
then 3 us states became from that territory
Gadsden purchase 1853
o trans-continental railroad lines construction
o paid 10 million dollars
o we get the current size of us
purchase of Alaska from Russian tsar 1867
o William Sewars ice blocks
o known for salmons, fur
o now it is known for oil too
o and gold
midway islands - NW To Hawaii 1867 discovery
these are the two addidtions to US

The Indian Question:

european-indian - diffenent ways of owning land

europeans buy and own the land
indians have communal land - not individual - if they sell it - sold the ability to share the land - all is
owned by the Great Spirit
causing continuous misunderstandings
tried signing treaties - US didnt keep them
o one said they cannot take their land without their consent
o obviously this wasnt kept in the long run
tribal sovereignty - related to land
indian wars were about acquisition of land
Iroquois Indians had a highly democratic system

o had influence on birth of US

in first years they were considered nobel savages - respected
later just savage - needed to be pushed of the territories to grow
thought they should not be civilized
indial relocation act 1830s - from east to west
o there should be an indian country in the west - where now Oklahoma is
o okla huma = red man
o partly voluntary
o massacres, wars
o 1834 - second seminols /indians/ war
some went to oklahoma, rest remained to fight - in Florida - and the rest is still living
there
one of the msot expensive wars against indians for americans
o cherokees: 17000 indians were escorted during wintertime
they had to walk
4000 died
from Georgia to Oklahoma
trail of tears
o battle of little bighorn 1876
largest military victory of indians
troops of general Coster was massacred
o by 1890 all indians forced to go to reservations
o Geronimo
kept his resistance for 20yrs
at the end he was with 30men, against 10000

Lecture 5: The Issue of Slavery and the Civil War

institution of slavery:

distinct
o
o
o
o

regions of US - economic allies

different interests in further development of US
northeast: growing industrial section, commercisl economy based on free labour
northwest: great lakes and lowlands
southeast: settled large plantation labour systems, declining economic fortune, overuse of
resources - soil overuse
o soutwest: grovwing, cotton industry quickly developing
diffrent economically: N - S
why did slavery survive?
o economically successful
o emergence of cotton
o South Carolina to Texas
o lucrative business
o southern section - plantation system was successful
o growing interest towards cotton - didnt have enough
o cotton gin - cotton engine! Eli Whitney 1793
visiting friends in Georgia - saw that it takes manual labour to clean cotton - slows
it down
so he created this machine that separates the material from the seeds - makes it
faster
o in 1820s the industry's output grew quickly
o demand for cotton - economic prosperity and slavery goes hand in hand
o south coninued to invest in raw materials like cotton and tobacco
their income was inverted in acquiring new lands and labour
o so even though it grew, it did not develop
slavery was quite distinctive - beggining, middle of 19th century
o Cuba, Brasil were the 2 other places in the Americas, ohers it was mainly abolished
o 1808 - international slave trade was banned
isolated them - so it only strengthened
southern life:
o isolation of whites from blacks
o black developed their own social, cultural spheres
o two groups were totally dependent on each other
unique bond
regulated by slave codes
o no property
o cant leave without permission
o not out after dark
o cant defend themselves - cant fight back - executed/punished if doing so
o if killed while being punished - not a crime
o executed
o everyone with some African ancestry was considered black
laws were unequally applied
o some really lived prisonlike lives
o some were like family - owning a few slaves - intimate relationship
o only 4% of slaveholders had more than 15 slaves
o blacks preferred bigger plantations - more privacy for living
overseeers, trusted slaves
slaves could be sold anytime - even your children! - reason for escaping - looking
for family
gang system
worked many hours as they could - overseeer let them
no education - whites were not allowed to teach them

 women life was difficult

most blacks were fieldsman
smaller percent were housemaids
cooks, butlers, cleaners etc
more likely isolated from other slaves
sexual harassment - many mulatto babies
skilled workers
skilled special work
urban slaves - blacks in cities
segregation: everyday phenomena:
o good relationship with owner: owner could free the slave
free slaves:
o concentrated in Virginia, Maryland:

largest concentration of free blacks 250 000 altogether! (in these parts only
some)
o underground railroad - network
organized by whites
dangerous for both
successful in helping slaves to escape to freedom
o many times blacks slowed work
pretended to be ill, tried to make work impossible
throughout this time developed their own culture
economic power shifted from northern south to the lower, western south:
o Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas
9 million lived in. the south:
o 5.5 million was white
o 3.5 million was black
o 2/3 of white population had no slaves at all
o only 4% had more than 5 slaves!!!
frontier region: white farmers, didn't like slavery
south was linked to the institution of slavery
o power in plantation owners!
o huge exceptions like 500-800 slaves at a plantation
problems of slavery - westward expansion:
o political issue: how to treat the newly added territories of US?
slavery/free states
balance in the senate must be secured - between two types of states
constitutional crisis situations
o admission of Missouri 1830 /?/
would have altered the balance: at that time 11/11 slave owning and free states
first constitutional crisis
Missouri compromise:
state of Maine was born - used to be a part of Massachusetts
solved the issue by adding these 2 stated at the same time
o prohibited slavery at the north of the southern border of Missouri - 36th line of the globe
o Nullification Crisis 1832-33:
Andrew Jackson and his vice-president John c. Calhoun
home state: South Carolina
blamed federal governments tariffs for the decrease of the state
tariffs: introduced to protect American goods, protective tariffs were bad for
southerners
1828 laws
based on 10th amendment in bill of rights - states rights
state has the right to nullify this federal law
according to northerners, if youre allowed to disobey a law, then it can
lead to the falling apart of the union - major disruption in development of
US

Calhoun didn't really want this to happen, but eventually nullification started
they had no allies, so they withdrew - good lesson to learn, that without allies you
cannot go against the federal government
states <-> federal gov.
o 1832 new state was introduced
these two issues led to the civil war: different interest of the two parts
free soil, free labour in the western territories that were not yet states
o led to the birth on
nat. rep. party
weak party 1834 - opposition to Andrew Jackson
o many different interests
o interested in development in western territories
o slavery: couldnt agree, slpit
free soil party:
o agaist slavery - for moral reasons
o restrict slavery to already existing states
o popular in north, west
o the republican party of today was born out of this party in Wisconsin
Wisconsin compromise
1848-5 new states added
acquisition of mexican land in 1850 leads to other crisis
o California could become a state

1848, Sierra Nevada: goldrush! "48ers, 49ers" - after the mexican war, they
acquired Cali)
o question: free/slave
o New Mexico, Oregon, Utah - all wanted to be free states - CRISIS IN GOV!
o compromise of 1850: 7 month long debate in congress
at the end: California added as a free state
others: could vote on popular sovereignty - population can decide for itself to be
free/slave states
slave trade was abolished in Washington DC.
fugitive slave act: easier for headhunters to catch escape slaves
Kansas - Nebraska Act 1854
o railroad construction - terminus? Chicago/New Orleans?
o Nebraska became a free state
o Kansas became a slave state neighboring Missouri voters came and voted it in bleeding Kansas
leading to birth of republican party
mini civil war between anti-pro slavery people
Dredd Scott slave case
o owner moved to the north of Missouri - so the slave Dredd claimed that he was no longer
a slave
o but: he remained, because he is a property - not a citizen(cant vote) so it doesnt matter if
you move states, it still is your property
o very important victory for the south (in court)
Lincoln - Douglass debate
o sectional crisis in US
o congressional elections were very important
o Steven Douglass - democrat
o Lincoln - republican /lost, but became very well-known/
expresses his views on slavery
nations future rested on the spread of free labor
dont speak about the abolition of slavery, but the future
slavery was wrong, but can be tolerated where it already existed - because he
saw no alternative to it
believed in freedom for blacks

belived that it would simply become outdated - over the long run it would cease
to exist = stop it, he didnt want to see it in the west
1860 - Lincoln wins
o republican party candidate
1860 December - 1861 April
o Delaware, Missouri, Kentucky, plus 3 - remained in the union, all the other states stepped
out of it
o Fort Sumter: place of the first fire 1861

Civil War:

civil war 1861-1865

radical southerners demanded succession
o believed that they were the good guys
o believe that the english, french would support them - textile interest
Lincoln stated that anyone that supported them would declare war on the north
uneven war - supremacy of the north:
o at the beginning it wasnt obvious
o at the beginning southern victories - supported the war - advantages of defensive war
Richmond, Virginia - confederate states of America
o weak central gov.
o strong states
south:
o 11 million ppl
o 20% of mines and factories of us
o 9000 miles railroads
o united
north:
o 23 million ppl
also immigrants arrived constantly - they were found by the recruiters and added
to the troops for money and stuff
o 80% of mines and factories
o 22000 miles /?/ of railroads
o ppl were not sure they need this war - even riots against recruiting
o gave a huge push to industrialisation
o home sted act 1862 - attract settlers
make sure the western territories became occupied
o high tariffs to protect american goods
o railroad was constructed - transcontinental railroad
difficulties: how to finance the war?
o war bonds
emancipation of abolition
civil war broke out to keep the union together
in republican party, 3 views on slavery:
o conservatives
o moderates
o radicals
Lincoln realises that they need sth else to win the war
o so he turns the war into sth else - abolition of slavery becomes a central element of the war
o january 1863 - slaves should be free in
o gives a huge push to the war
o 1863 Pennsylvania - Gettysburg - more than 50 000 soldiers die
huge speech of Lincoln - after this the south can no longer support the war

january 1865
o congress passes the 13th amendment - abolition of slavery
o for all the states of the union

Lecture 6: Reconstruction and the Gilded Age; The Role of

Immigration in U.S. History
GUILDED AGE
end of e civil war
reconstruction period - 1865-77
progressive era - 1890-1914
progressive era:

stable american participation at the elections o 70-80% - without real campaigning

o women were still not - limited suffrage/right to vote/
o nowadays its 50-60% - americans dont tend to vote
panic of 1893
o period of national crisis
o gave way to progressivism
o this is were the US enters this progressive age
o progressive movement:
result of high tariffs /southerners/
power of the trusts:

of big business
monopoly situations
railroad constructions - growing power
fair transportation /not always fair/
o railroad + trusts power can only be opposed by the government
o progressives:
aware of change needed
journalists, authors - writing about evil of industrialization
democrakers /raker is sth u use in the garden to collect leaves - see the metaphor here/
social injustices
child labor
long working hours
low wages
unsafe working conditions
before this: lasse faire
o gov. tried to interfere as little as possible
after 1893 gov. realized they need to interfere
o idea, that gov. should take care of the needs and rights of people started to emerge in these
times
progressives:
o Theodore Roosevelt - republican
o William Howard Teft - rep.
o Woodrow Wilson - democrat - but progressive
Teft and Roosevelt:
o supporters of conservationism - environment protection
1872 - Wyoming - Yellowstone National park
1819 - Yosemite National Park - famous high trees
o environmentalists
west: huge damages done to the environment
unrestricted mining
hunting
o important part of conservatism

roosevelt

square deal
(FDR. later came out with the new deal- nephew of teddy)
trust busting policies
gov. - regulations
o pure food - pure drug act
quality of food supervised
dignity of labor
o getting rid of child labor - major issue
1912 - elections
o republicans lost
because teft and Roosevelt were running for the same position - divided the
voters
o thanks to that Woodrow Wilson could serve 2 terms
progressive
but he supported a few aspects
women suffrage - support from society by the progressives
only achieved in 1920 - not in porgressive era
power of the trusts curved
cut the tariffs - introduce real competition to the market - lower the
power of the trusts
first ww broke out
o progressivism declined
o improved city services
sanitation
o extended welfare services to many levels of society
o child labor was abolished in many states - by 1914
o regulation of business
o minimum wages were introduced for child and women
o preparations to woman suffrage
o national parks - utah - best

organisation and population growth

immigration
o US always a nation of immigrants
o about 1000 ppl per year immigrate from hungary to US
o 1 million / year - legal immigr.
o mass imigr. started in the middle of the 19th century
o single most importatnt receiving country / plus many others/
special because you can find almost all nationalities
75% of international migration lands in US
o first times official statistics were taken: 1820
o since then - 70 million arrived to the States
o push and pull factors for immigr,
lack of land / opportunities/ religious or political prosecution/ freedom
o times when more ppl were leaving than arriving
1862-1865 civil war
great depression 1933-36
o other than that: mass migration - 100 000 /yrs
first in 1840s and ever since then
o most important gates were seaports - great majority of imm. arrived there
ellis island
angel island
o nobody checked the borders in-land
started in 1924!!

o
o
o

immigration act - 1917 - need a visa

1875 - first immigration act
responsibility of fed. gov. - before it was part of treasury dep.
INS - imm and naturalisation service ?? 1900s
ins was restructured after 911
15th department - dep. of homeland security - BCIS - bureau of citizenship and
imm. services
most important source countries:
mexico - 7.6 million
germany - 7.2 million
italy - 5.4 million - southern, especially sicilian
uk - 5.3 million
ireland - 4.7 million
canada - 4.6 million
austria - hungary - 4.3 million
historical phases:
colonial imm - not many info
by the birth of us - overall population 3 million in 13 original states
now 330 million ppl /2010 data/
until 1650s immigration - after that also natural ways caught up
old immigration - first wave 1820-1880s
15.4 million
britih isles- english, welsh, all english
irish in the 1820-1840 - massive! 2 million- up to the civil war period
driving force: famine - irish potato blight /?/
plant disease
800 000 died in ireland by the famine
white, anglosaxon but! not protestant /not WASP/ but catholic
very first anti-immigrant groups and movements started
german
didn't cause a major alarm
many were civil wartime soldiers
because the recrution
1860-1880s
economic and political reasons - european revolutions
chinese also appeared in these times a gold rush
community on 200 000 ppl
in california - concentrated
low wages - in railroad industry
anti-chinese riots - underwent the white wages
government had to interfere
yellow periel/??!/
1882 - chinese exclusion act
banned chinese immigration
so the ppl already there were stuck - more men
than women
not until 1943 immigration was opened! - in ww2 they
were allies
also mexican "immigration"
border was moved away from their head
lost half of their territories in the conquest 1849
guadalupe gidalgo
mexicans on railroad constructions
1890 - 1920s - new immigration
largest sending nations of this time: 22.3 million during these years
1-2 million arrive / year!!! just like and invasion
eastern and southern europeans - definately not WASP!
russia, poland - many jewish - NY state - because pogroms

austrohungarian monarchy - 4 million

croatians, serbians, slovaks - northeast - great lakes

Cleveland ohio is largest community of hungarians

italy oner 5 million - new jersey, ny, pensylvania - little italies
greece
first attempts at limiting fails
influential political trend to regulate immigration
so massive - hard to keep track
ellis island - opened in
2000 a day
new idea of a politician: immigrants from europe. would undervalue the
american system - lower race
by 1917 immigration act
first introduced the literacy test - to limit the number of
immigrants also visa
took 20 years in congress to pass it
every president vetoed it
so it became vital to be literal
read the bible and interpret in your mother tongue
checked for health conditions
moral requirement - no prostitute, no criminal
but! literacy was common - didnt keep out the desired number
quota law 1921
1924 immigrant act and quota law
but! without the working hands of these immigrants the us could
not have become such a big power
certain number of immigrants can arrive
1924 - 165 000 is the limit
had to be divided between the different nations
based on the number of population already in the US
oriental exclusion act - everybody in asia was banned
asiatic bar zone
heavy, racially biased laws

important- it is an international movement

national origins principle until 1965 - until civil rights movement
1930-1940s
1950 - 2000s - third wave
no longer white! colored ppl
the way california goes, the nation goes
california is a minority majority state
in 50yrs the whole of us is going to be colored
1965 imm. act ended racial quota basis
now the max: 25 000 per country
latinamerica
cuba
el salvador
dominican republic
guatemala
40% of imm.
5th largest spanish speaking place in the world
asia!!
barred zone ended
all antions in it got quota
philippines - us territory! only exception
chinese
koreans
asian indians

melting
o
o
o

indochinese in general - like vietnamese

33% of us imm.

pot:
russian jew's play
multiculturalism
us is like a mosaic, pizza, caleidoscope, salad bowl (one dish, but csn make out the
ingredients - ethnic groups tend to stay together and keep their traditions)
o us still makes up a big picture
o but do mix together during the years
some ppl cant even tell what ethnicity they belong to - too many different in their
ancestry
o usually the 4th generation starts to marry outside their race assimilate
rise of us into the position of world power
o end of 19th century
international politics - only involved in it in the last 130 years
foreign policy is limited
o diplomacy and foreign policy had been very successful
developed into a superpower
position of wold hegemon/?/
but now, in decline - now it is the asian century!!!
2 important for. policies phases:
isolationism- monroe doctrine 1823
until 2nd world war
even if there were short periods of internationaism, it got back to isolationism
from this it first emerget into a regional power and then into a world power
globalism
more alliances
involved in shaping the world

Lecture 7: The Beginnings of World Power

plus: start of Lecture 8: The U.S. in World War I and the Peace-Making Process

twentieth century - entering the wolrd scene of dimplomacy

wwI and great depression = foreign policy

*before: we talked about the development of US

became a strong industrial nation - leads to international power
roots of american foreign policy

major idea of george washington:

o warn of the dangers of involvement
o turned into an official policy - when power relationships started to change
in europe wars were going on for independence
1810-1825 most latin ameircan colonies became independent - from spain
at this time the US was neutral - of course helped, but officially, was neutral
US was the first nation to recognize the independece of these nations
europeans saw this as an opportunity to reconquer these latin am. territories
holy alliance
this was that changed the relationships
o Monroe Doctrine
a message to congress
contained the essence of foreign policy until middle of 20th cent.
policy of isolation
based on George Washingtons farewell address
wont tolerate further colonization of the Americas
respect the already existing colonies
protect the Latin Americas with the US security
this was the test of the US' power
this was a clear message to all europeans
the US didnt have enough military power at that time to protect
only the british had the power to take over - british royal navy
but their aims were the same, so they didnt attack
then the us developed the power
by end of 1800s - the us was busy with domestic policy
o

europeans saw it as an opportunity to attack in 1860s the french places

Archduke Maximilian to the mexican throne, turning him into a monarch
americans executed him in mexico as a response
shows that american involvement in the carribbean was
essential in the security of the americas - clear that other
nations would interfere if the US didn't pay attention
the US is not an isolationist power
a main point of monroe doctrine

factors of change

closing of frontier
o national claustrophobia: the US cannot expand more
o turned to overseas to keep up frontierism(?)
economic reasons
o first major economic recession 1893

panic - gave a lesson to businessman that the us needs a new market for the products a push for new market

social unrest
o foreign policy is always a goood way to get the attention of ppl off the domestic affairs
destinations:
o far east - asia
o europe
time of internatioal colonisation
o in africa for example all other nations establishing colonies there
selling
o wheat - 40% of it had to be sold overseas
push for new markets overseas was pushed by economic interests
o the major aim was not territorial growth, but to strengthen economic power
ideological background:
o so there would be a support for the growth
o appearance of an ideology based on darwinism
evolution - social darwinism: the fittest races can survive, hierarchy to determine
international relations - also reasons for treating ppl with different skin colour
differently - they must be lead because they are weaker
has an impact on politics and foreign policy
white man's burden by Kipling:
it is the white mans burden to lead the uncivilized underdeveloped parts
of the world - determined world policy of that era - HIGHLY RACIST leads to nazism

the previous 3 factors lead to the changes in for. policy

developing navy - turning into the 3rd largest

o started competing with british royal navy, german navy and the rising power of japan
senator xy/?/ about isolation policy:
o is is the most advanced power if nation
o it is the ocean that our children must move
o means: the frontier must carry on overseas
acquire a new position:
o in this era the US did not prove itself yet to be the most powerful
o PuertoRico and Cuba: 1895 second war for independence against spanish in cuba
americans paid close attention to this spanish-cuban war
the details were widely published in newspapers
tough: burned down cities, railroad lines, extremely desperate Cubans to make the
spanish leave
to show support for cubans ameircans organized protests against spanish
so the public supported them
Guam, Philippines in asia- the two other remaining colonies of the spanish - the
americans were also interested in these territories
the reasons for supporting the cubans was to go on to a war and conquer the
spanish territories in asia, to get near to china!
"jingoism" - strong for. policy, had support from contemporary press "yellow
press"
2 NY newspapers: NY Journal, and NY World - active in jingoism issuing scandalised news on spanish attrocites in cuba - making the
public think that us involvement in cuba against the spanish is necessary
supporting cuba libre
president Cleveland(democratic) didnt support the idea of war
later: William McKinley (republican) support of war
unfortunate incident: turned the public opinion

surveillance ship sent to cuba - watch out for the lives of

americans in cuba, and to show sympathy for the rebels
the ship was blown up:casus belli for the war
1898: war broke out - first major war of US overseas
first major battle: Manila
in 10 weeks the us defeated spain, gained the Philippines and Guam, freed
Cuba and turned the us into an international player
with more 20 million people waiting for a status:
permament treaty between cuba and us:
guantanamo
ammendment to cuban constitution: us has the right to interfere with
cuba if us interests require - made the us into the protector of cuba
puerto rico in dependency of us
also Guam
philippines: turned into a dependency:
problem: they were already fighting for their independence, they went
on 1899-1902 and continued till 1910s - 5000 ameircan soldiers died
first president of Philippines: William Howard Teft - it is the white
mans burden to show civilized life - show them how to run their own
affairs
1946 july 4. - philippino independence
but for several years, it was a dependency ps: while there was a ban on asian immigration, philippinos could still
come in to the us, because they were americans
o the loss of innocence/ the last gentlemen's war:
American and spanish war
460 americans died, a relatively small loss of lives
here they died after the war, of tropical diseases - 5000 ppl

bad equipment, bad organisation

after this they reorganised: from 20000 standing soldiers to 200000
o 2 territories for the US
Hawaii 1898
southern pacific american samoa of pago pago 1899
major naval bases
there is one in cuba
puerto rico
makes sure the us safety is supported
after the spanish war:
o foreign policy's importance starts to equal internal affairs - still doesnt interfere in europe
o announces interest in trade with china
open door policy
with china
officially accepted by 1921-22
make sure the us has epthe same trading risghts as original european
counterparts
republican presidency of Mckinley:
o shot - so continued by his vice-president: theodore roosevelt
o he was a jingo - 1901-1909
o modification of official monroe doctrine
believed in strong methods
speak softly (refers to diplomacy) but carry a big stick (means the big navy)
"the big stick policy" marks the foreign policy - "gunboat diplomacy" is the same
the US would respect any nation as long as they behave themselves
this is the beggining of american interventionalism
eg: mexico, haiti, cuba, nicaragua etc - all suffered from this - as long as there
was social revolution or redistribution of wealth etc
the US protected its investments and its STABILITY at any cost
carribbean policy:

highly interested in building a canal in central america

nicaragua and panama( province of colombia) were chosen to be the location of
the canal
construction: french tried before, but unsuccessful
then the british & american started to get a go at it together
then us gained the rights for themselves
colombia did not give allowance to panama to build the canal, a rebellion broke
out
us recognised the opportunity, and the republic of panama was born
that immediately gave the right to the building of the canal
it became the right of the us to build and then to run the canal - renting
the territory
and it was given back to panama finally in 1999
opened in 1914
for commercial and strategic use
it was thanks to the big stick policy
Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti etc - had huge debts to european countries, that were claiming their
money back
US took all these nations debts in the Caribbean
establishing
Roosevelt Corollary to the original monroe doctrine
the us has the right to keep national security up
would not tolerate european interference in the americans
establishment of american hegemony
testfied of american international power

isolationism - europe was a part of it

major european events WWI:

2 great competing alliances' rivlary:

o
o
o
o

triple antant: gb and russia, fr /plus japan/

triple alliance: austro-hun, germany - wanted to match the importance of gb in power
war broke out: Gavrilo Princip shot the head of the austro-hun empire in sarajevo
by the end of 1914 entire europe and parts of asia were involved - until that time this was the
most savage war
americans watched it in horror- isolationism was pretty strong
but did not intervene, goal was to keep the us out of war
Woodrow Wilson 1912 /won/
accepted, supported - offered stability and promised to keep the US out of international
affairs
he was reelected with the slogan that he kept the Americans out of war (1916)
major problem of US - who to support?
antant had stronger trade alliance with them
these were strengthened - so they sent equipment
Germans saw this, and tried to stop the inflow of supplies to France
introduced submarine war
ships would be torpedoed
May 1915: RMS Lusitania ship with Americans on board was torpedoed
(largest british ship at the time)
/it was carrying munition but concealing itself as a tourist ship/
then many other ships sank, but the US still kept out
the US only interfered in 1917 February
british secret agency decoded a telegram:
Zimmerman: German foreign minister sent the telegram to Mexico! - Germans
offer economic assistance, trade and alliance - if US enters the war - mexicans

o
o
o
o

would be assisted by them (Germans) to attack the US and regain their lost
territories!!!
the info was leaked into english newspapers
states of Texas and California were at stake
this was the casus belli - containing the potential threat

so the US joined the allies in april 6, 1917 - declaration of war

still not very prepared
the US expeditionary forces landed in EU in june lead by general Pershing
olny active in the battlefields a year later
very intense
submarine warfare was declining thanks to the intervention
russian tzar was gone - russia went down with bolsevic intervention
June 1918 - 40miles from Paris, the german army was haulted
peace, treaty negotiations
January 1918 - US: Wilson started offering peace negotiations (already know by then)
14 points - but were not accepted
main point was to make the germans calm down and don't want to go for world power
again
this was what the br and fr did not accept
Wilson did not agree to the terms the fr and br opposed - didnt sign
the only point that they support was the 14th - league of nations
but! the US stayed out of this league of nations
post war period was about reestablishing isolationism against europe

Lecture 9: The Great Depression and the New Deal

revision: last class about ww1 and the treaties following

o after war: readjustment of American economy
suffering from war economy
wars are usually followed by deep recession 1920-21 economic recession
causes social tensions
problems! leading to disillusionment
election of 1920s - republican success /last - Hoover administration/
politically: isolisation, strengthening the national economy
republican administration:
o promised "return to normalcy" - retreat from activism in world scene - new era
o the roaring twenties ~ new era
development in car industry
music, parties, silent films
Hollywood
americanisation on the whole states
common cultural experiences - regions start to get closer to each other this way
time of us becoming a modern nation
conservatism, affluence - decade of Great Gatsby
frivolity, shorter skirts, charleston music
vacuum cleaners etc
birth of consumerism - credit, pay later
leads later to major economic regression
cars start to dominate: 20 million cars by the end of the 20s
radios, refrigerators, movie theatres
o big business:
new economic developments
overproducing
farmers: displaced by overproduction
many went bankrupt
o immigration restrictionism - nativism
protection of the white anglo-saxon
3 quota laws of 1920s - caught world immigration - down to 100-200 000 ppl
lower population growth - results in lower purchase power
worldwide issue:
o lower population growth - smaller purchasing power- overproduction
o there could be a major recession because of this declining tendency
Germany - engine of European economy
o reconnect Germany to the american economy aswell
o 1924 - Dawes Act
support the German economy
find easier ways for the german to pay back the allies
with this the US turned into a creditor nation - giving out credit
"emergence of new woman":
o passage of voting rights for women
o they first started working during ww1
some didn't go back to the house not even after the war
flapper ~ woman dressed in seductive way, shorter hair, smoking, shorter skirts
o slow process of womens organizations growing
great migration:
o towards cities
o new labor opportunities
o african americans take pride of their origins
consumer oriented nation emerges
o with unifying experience

red scare:
o fear of communism
o success of Bolshevik revolution in 1917
o Americans dont sympathize with anarchists
o soviet/communist threat - following 1919
o communist intnational comintern - export Bolshevik revolution worldwide
o series of bombings - 8 cities 8 bombs
o large threat for FBI
radicals were expulsed from work
many nonnative Americans were exported from the us
o characterizes the whole 1920s altogether
prohibition era:
o the transportation and sale of alcoholic drinks
o "the noble experiment"
o 18th amendment to the constitution
shows conservatism
o allows sales and transportation and manufacturing of alcohol - but! not drinking
emergence of criminal groups
Chicago - root, most dangerous city
Scarface, Al Capone
birth of organized crime!
illegal drinking places appeared
"speakeasys" - in NY city 32000 illegal bars
this made law-breaking an everyday habit of Americans
gangs fighting wars with each other
italians etc
and agents who fought against these crimes was limited
o contributed to the development of depression
sales of alcohol is extremely beneficial
get a lot of money from taxes on alcohol - with the prohibition this money was lost,
governmnent didnt get that money
o 21th amendment changed this situation back - 1933
aft this the maffia and organized crime was rich enough to find other interests - drugs
nowadays: drug business heavy in us-mexico border area
time of investments on stock markets:
o promise of quick return of your money
o farmers: not enough money, hard to earn
o the 2 leading industries: construction, car
good to invest in these
o lead to huge over speculation:
oldest, largest: new york stock exchange since 1700s /oldest/ at wall street
Wall Street: used to be a Dutch colony, since 1660? there was a wall erected by
the dutch to keep out the indiands - back then NY was called New Amsterdam
financial center of NY now
symbol of great depression
1929 october 29th - black tuesday: - start of the great depression
NY stock exchange:collapsed - overspeculation of ppl dont invest
because of overproduction and instead they start to sell their shares
if too many people sell their shares, prices start to fall
o great depression:
unemployment never ment under 15%
people lost everything!!! there were no unemployment benefits, nothing!!
serious starvations!
relief organisations. could not keep up
wall street crash lead to a major economic recession
the few years were the worst years, but theentire 30s were about it
ended in the 1940s - the second WW gets them out of it

the 1930s:

how the us managed in the 30s

incoming republican president - Hoover /from republican party, third in a row/
o most popular president of the 3 presidents in the 20s
o could not handle the whole depression situation
o republican idea about economy: lasse faire
do not interfere with business
big business was powerful, good relationship with government
hoover offered only limited relief
o giving relief meant that you are weak - this was the ideology of the time
o reluctant to take steps
problem: entire US in the cities and provincial centers ppl were starving
homeless: establish Shanti towns - hoovervilles
o moving to big cities like Washington

no wonder Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected with the largest possible margin

offered the new deal

promising ways to overcome the depression
distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt
very popular - reelected 4 times o died april 1945 from a stroke, beggining of his 4th cycle
o FDR
first: 1932
offering emergency actions - Banking Holiday 1933
o aim to save large banks from collapsing - closed for 4 days
o convince the markets that banks are in strong hands
given money by federal government to keep functioning
congressional elections
largest time he dedicated to fighting recession
most of nowadays things were established during his presidency
not only big business was important, but big government plus?
war production helped to get out
new deal:
o first 100 days:
handle the whole problem of depression
regional rehabilitation, agricultural problems
agencies were instituted for dealing with these
following the banking holiday the panic of 1929 was expelled
salaries of gov. employees were cut
pensions of military veterans were cut
prohibition was ended - to get money from taxes (21st amendment of
constitution)
Agricultural Adjustment Act - may 1933
AAA Administration: aims to provide farmers with reliefs so they would
stop producing - such a huge amount of agricultural products - paid for
not cultivating the land
aim: to get to the end of the surpluses and get prices to rise
whole issue was taken to Supreme Court
then it was banned but it started
National Industrial Recovery Act - june 1933
problems of industry
anti-deflationary measures,
firms would agree to set fix prices, fair wages and minimum wage, fair
prices, child labor was abolished
aim: produce some purchasing power

time of strengthening labour unions - with help of gov.

birth of Big Labour
Public Works Administration
part of NIR
engage people for a very low wage, but it was work
engaging them in public work:like cutting grass, reforestation,
building bridges etc
hope: giving them some money and giving back them their selfrespect so that they would start to purchase little by little again
spend on food - growing purchasing power
states went bankrupt:
needed federal gov. to help out with overcoming floods for
example
TVA - tenessee valley Administration /?/
Tenessee valley
high risk of floods, so they build dams on it - get
electricity for cheap
hard to cultivate anything
soil erosion - winds blewit away
they instructed farmers to plant grass on
it, so the ground was covered and wasnt
blown away by the winds in the winter could be rehabilitated for further
cultivation
government dominated this rehabilitation
government intervention is the only way of overcoming the problems
supported by the people
FDR war reelected in 1936
unfortunately even back then the situation was bad, but not
worse!
did not really change the basic situation
but started very important tendencies (social+cultural)
other parties attacked the new deal
for right wing politicians FDR was a communist
NIRA was struck down by the supreme court second 100 days:
pension funds, unemployment benefits!
big labour - emerges, need to protect the workers
additional programmes introduced to give work to people
painting pictues and painting walls
writers were required to write travel books
Works Progress Administration
public work to millions of Americans
airport building - 600!!!
100 000 bridges
employment to 2 million americans - some money could be pumped into
the economy
continuous spending of the government was the only way of coming over this
there was an improvement, and in the minute it was better, gov. cut the
funds and ended the administrations - so situation got worse
but after this, by 1938-40 war was on the way
FDR instructed the ppl to prepare for the war
then start of war:
shortage of workforce
women, minorities started to work
african americans entered the us army
before: 2 afr officers
after: many many!!

foreign policy of these 2 decades:

Wilson's 14 points were turned down

characterized by isolation, but still more active than before
time of struggle of isolation and internationalisation?
o still US didnt want to stick to sth
dollar diplomacy /introduced by Taft in 1909/
o especially in 1920s
o through investment, latin america, asia
open door policy:
o equal rights like europe to trade in china
washington naval conference 1921-22
o limit the navies of the world
o then the strongest was us, then GB, then Japan (strongest military power in asia)
germany would be covered by US - get back on track and pay back so it wont set back the
european development
latin america
o regionalism
o dollar diplomacy, big stick policy
o fdr in 1933 - obvious that power relations were changing
fasism in italy, then germany
rising military in asia
important for us to have a safe backyard and allies
1933 - good neighbour policy /introduced by fdr/
US from now on will respect the rights of its neighbours

Lecture 10: The U.S. in World War II & the Rise of a Bipolar World
WWII and nowadays - end of 1930 and outbreak of the ww2

New Deal
foreign policy: so far - turning inwards, focusing on own - western hemisphere
o good neighbour policy
o basic need of the public:
stay away from another conflict like this
keep the US out of involvement
Europe: Germany and Italy rising
o US needs to prepare its army and economy for the possible war
in 1935, 1937 - neutrality acts
o us citizens were not allowed to sell military equipment
o 1937 - cash and carry policy:
every nation had to carry their own stuff (that they buy from US) on their own ships
(that they must pay for in cash)

1939: ww2 breaks out:

italy, germany, japan - ? axis

soviets, france, great britain
1941:
o germany basically overrun europe
o one still standing: Britain - but was weak - then run out of everything - could not even do the
cash and carry from the US
o US - Roosevelt: Land Lease Plan - for military equipment - and hold deep interest for the US
Britain
Soviet Union
o 1941 august: Atlantic Charter
Churchill and Roosevelt signed it
14 points that should have been part of the Treaty of Versailles
over the following years 60 more countries signed this charter - support
face the threats:
o Japan: successfully occupied
Manjuria
eastern parts of chine
French indo-china (today part vietnam)
Malaysia, Indonesia
looking for pacific possessions in the pacific
OIL: huge oil around east-indies (Indonesia)
wanted to expand towards the south east
had to make it impossible for the US to get involved
neutralize the main base of US navy
Hawaii - Honolulu
Americans did not expect an attack on their main base from the
Japanese, didnt think they were this strong
7th December 1941 - Pearl Harbor
2000 ppl die, great majority of pacific fleet bombarded
Japanese failed to bombard the docks
and the part where the reparations were made
navy could recuperate
huge shame
8th of December: US declares war with Germany and
Japan
War Deal - meet the needs of the war:

o
o

o
o

6 million men - they had to be replaced

replaced by women - evn in heavy industry!
US armed forces need men:
African Americans start to enter the war in huge numbers
700 000 join the Armed Forces
Segregation start to fall down
eating, sleeping and living together
not only for africans!
250 000 american indians
have their own language, that the japanese could not decode! navajo
"talkers"
racial issues come to the foreground - must be put aside
japanese americans:
concentrated in the san francisco bay area 100 000 ppl
beacuse of Pearl Harbour they were pictured as the villains
hysteria broke out
they cannot be trusted - must be concentrated and locked up
Issey - first generation of americans
Nissey - second generation
sent to camps: 1942-1945
to the desert
they were only compensated many years later
Pacific theatre of war was the second most important
US concentrated on EU and Germany
need to open a second the front - to divide the german forces
Churchill convinced Roosevelt to open front in africa and italy
plan:
first part worked: italy was liberated succesfully
second part: roosevelt was not willing to continue the plan
suspicion towards russians
June 6 1944 - Landing in Normandy
commander leading: General Eisenhower
operation: Overlord
code: Omaha Beach
then met the russian troops in the middle of
germany /?/
May 1945
germany surrenders
allies can turn their attention to finalize the
situation in the Pacific theatre of war
Pacific theatre of ww2:
until 1943 - successes
even Alaska!
Alute Islands: end of Alaska peninsula
Japanese landed on Us territory
serious fightings
cold and rocky - joined Canadian and American forces
Australia -New Guinea - one offensive
Hawaii - Oceanea - Japan - second offensive /general McArthur/
Admiral Nimitz (leader of second offensive)
tactic: island hopping technique
go for strategically important islands
two offnsives join together in Japan
May 1942
japanese were preparing an invasion on Australia and New Zealand
Battle of the Coral Sea
this is where they were stopped
June 1942 -Nimitz fleet <-> Japanese

japanese lost huge

Battle of Midway
japanese go back to the west - towards japan
Guadalcanal Island - in the group of the Solomon Islands / NZ and New
Calediona/
this is where the american, canadian, ausrtalian, NZ troops joined
Pacific Offensive
October 1944
Joined naval forces get close to Japan
liberate some
Okinawa and other island was attacked - huge losses for americans
firestorm - huge civilian losses
even the japanese public wanted to give in to start negotiation - but
Los Alamos - New Mexico
top secret: Manhattan Project
started by german scientists who were taken to US
Robert Openheimer leader of the Group, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller
/Teller Ede/ costs 2 billion dollars
First Atomic Bomb - tested in New Mexico
April - roosevelt dies, Truman comes
took the decision to use the bomb in the war - in order to stop
he was on negotions in Potsdam when he learned that the bomb is ready
Hirosima august 6.
Nagasaki august 9.
japanese emperor intervened to give up - surrender - did not want unconditional
peace
1945 september 2: on warship Missouri in theTokio bay they signed the treaty
they did not know that the US didnt have any more bombs, it still saved many
lives by stopping the war, but radiation killed many people for a long period of
time
still cannot be supported morally
Churchill loses/dies, Atlee comes and does the negotiations with Stalin

end of ww2 - new era: Atomic Era:

allies were only joined to fight the common enemy

two different systems!

diplomacy of the war:

atlantic charter: churchill and roosevelt - close working relationship - met on a regular basis
o conferences:
1941
1943 - Casa Blanca - Stalin was invited but didnt go
1943 - Teheran, Iran
Big Three: Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin
decide on second front
there would be a wold peace organisation once the war is over
borders of Poland settled
1945 february - Jalta
soviets would enter the war in Asia no more than 3 months later after the defeat
of Germany
General Assembly, 5 members
unconditional surrender on the part of germany
aim: complete destruction of nazism
4 powers of division in germany: us, grbr, france, soviet - divide the capital
also specified that at sn unspecified later date germany would be divided

3 elections will take place in eastern europe - stalin promised - there was no
timetable given
obvious that the soviets would work on a buffer zone towards the west in
eastern europe
Potsdam
China's legitimate ruler was accepted
Potsdam Declaration was estsblished there - rejected/military leaders didnt want
to hear about it/
decision to drop the atomic bomb
Truman was suspicious of Stalin
o wanted to make soviets follow the Jalta efforts
o Potsdam
soviets suspicious about Americans - bomb, they suffer less from the war
The U.S. in World War II and the Rise of a Bipolar World
o separating the soviet parts of europe from the rest
o this is what Churchill came up with
long telegram: George Canon
o soviets are determined to expand comminusm in the world
o they. should be contained - not expanding further - Containment policy

BIPOLAR WORLD - the communists and the free wolrd COLD WAR 1947 - 1989/91

two parts
the two arch enemies never faced each other directly
hot wars through their allies
o especially in the third world region
Truman administration:
o Containmnent foreign policy
help those governments who suffer from it
Turkey, greece
o Truman doctrine
assist in cases where administrations are under communist pressure
determines international relations
o also for nations in the 3rd world
3 periods:
o Classical cold war: 1947-1962
closest to the outbreak of the 3rd ww - would be nuclear war
Cuban Missile Crisis
Balance of Terror
both sides have equal ammunition to destroy
o Detente 1962-1979:
easing of tensions
peaceful coexistence
not true in the 3rd world
proxy wars of the superpowers
competition of the fild of influence
1979
end - Carter administration - soviets attack ?
o The second cold war / little cold war 1979-1989:
again bigger tension
cold war must be separated in different places
o list of different conflict accompanied between a huge race for technology and development
o weakness of soviet economic system - csn not keep up with US - falls
US active in establishing a new system:
o they learned the lesson and stay involved in international matters
o national territory was not bombarded, US was flourishing - single winner
o active in establishing the United Nations Organization:

o
o
o
o

HQ of UN: NYC
then: 50 members, now 150 plus more
5 fix members: US, Great Br, France, China, Soviet Union
politically and financially
1945 june 6 - SF ????
new aim: stop the further threat of the expansion of communism
1947: National Security Act
still valid today
new system
new institutions:
Department of Defense (army+navy+airforce was joined)
National Security Council - advisory board for the president
central Intelligence Agency - CIA
Department of State