History of the US(1918-1945)

The history of the US from 1918 through 1945 covered the post WW1,The Great
Depreion and WW2.After WW1 the US rejected the Treaty of Versailles and did not
join the League of Nations.
In 1920 ,the manufacturing,sale,import and export of alcohol was prohibited by an
amendment(*moonshine-tuica)
-The level of alcohol consumers went down
-Many well-organized criminal gangs had appeared
-agriculture went through a bubble in soaring land prices that collapsed in 1921
-oil became the main energy source
-gross domestic product(GDP) grew until 1929
-Growth of auto industry,electricity and constructions.
-Great Depression led to the restart of the economy
-After sudden attack of Japan on Pearl harbour the US entered the War against the
Axes Powers
-The Red Scare (1918-1919) was a violent Communist revolution in Europe.The
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.
-After WW1 there was a great migration of youth from farms to nearby towns and
smaller cities
-The agriculture became increasingly industrialized by the use of more advanced
equipment
-Germany had many war debts.
-European and American economies reached new levels of industrial production and
prosperity
Woman suffrage
-in the 20s women were able to vote in all states and federal elections
-Equal Rights Amendment
-reforms on issues such as: reproductive rights,domestic violence,equal pay,sexual
harassment and sexual violence
Prosperity

Except for a recession in 1920-1921,the US enjoied a period of prosperity:electric

power(light bulbs,refrigerators,toasters,radios),movies,automobiles(Ford
T),gasoline,tourist travel,high way construction and housing.
-Labor unions grew rapidly during the war in sections as :
Constructions
Printing
Railroads
-Real earnings
-Economy freedom
-Credit levels had become dangerously inflated
-Jazz Age-> new music and dance style
-Black Culture-> Harlem Renaissance
-Radio industry grew explosively
-Prohibition of alcohol which ended in 1933,was a great failure because organized
crime had gained territory
-Ku Klux Klan
The Roaring Twenties

Sexual origins based on Darwins theory

The flapper and the new women
Women began smoking cigarettes
Al Capone with his bootlegging empire
The consumer culture-household appliances had appeared and made life
more easy for women in America (washing machine,radio)
Sexual emancipation that lead to women wearing short skirts,having new hair
styles(short bobbed hair)
The women was free to go to college and have an education,leading to a
change in the political landscape and being economically independent

The New Era:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

The
The
The
The
The
The

Roaring Twenties
Jazz Age
Flaming Youth
Age of Flappers
dolar decade
Golden twenties

7. The Prosperity decade

Promoting Prosperity and peace abroad;New York became the center of World
Finance
American banks poured billions in Europes economic recovery after the War
In 1928,US joined the French foreign minister to put the bases of BriantKellogg pact.
Mass Production,Assembly-Line Progress
Industries also developed programs for workers -> Welfare:capitalism, safety
and sanitary measures inside the factories,paid vacations, retirement plans.
More people were convinced of the American dream
The New Negro:black nationalists
The Lost Generation: writers and artists
The Great Crash:
1. Herbert Hoover the great Engineer destroyed the economy
2. The crash of 1929: stock market crash
3. Hoover and the limits of individualism
Life in depression,the poor were hurt the most.
By 1932 the Depression brought the nation to its knees .
America faced its greatest crisis and the citizens demanded new leaders who
would save them from the Hoover Depression.
The New Deal Experiment

The Bonus Marchers and ten millions of other Americans were suffering from
the great Depression.
Roosevelt energized the New Deal policies and his presidency.
The New Deal initiatives:
1. To provide relief for the needy
2. To speed up the economic recovery
3. To reform the basic economic and governmental institutions.
Roosevelts goals:relief,recovery and reform.
Democratic Party
TERA 1931-> 20 million dollars in aid for the poor
Roosevelt won the 1932 presidential election.
The New Deal measures:
Reopened stable banks and authorized RFC to supply demands: The
Bank Legislation
Provided credit on mortgaged farm prosperity to head off foreclosures
that would drive debt-ridden farmers from their land.-Agricultural
Adjustment Administration (AAA)
Guaranteed retirement payments for enrolled workers beginning at
age 65;set up federal-state system of unemployment insurance and
care for dependent mothers and children,the handicapped, and public
health.-Social Security Act
Government coupons that can be used to purchase food.- Food Stamps

 Roosevelt supplied his campaign with fresh ideas by assembling a

group of experts on national issues.-Brain Trust
32nd President of the United States,elected four times; Instated the New
Deal to counter the great depression and led country during WWII.
Set up authority for development of electric power and conservation.Tennesse Valley Authority Act
The president encouraged Congress to provide even more relief to
forms and workers.Roosvelt wanted to reach out to the Forgoten
Man-Second Hundred Days
Specified corporation among business,government, and labor in setting
fair prices and working conditions.-National Industrial Recovery Act
First female Secretary of Labor-Francis Perkins