AMSCO Reading Guide: Period 7: 1890 - 1945

Complete the following reading guide in its entirety using the provided AMSCO text.

7.11 | Interwar Foreign Policy

Explain the similarities and differences in attitudes about the nation’s proper role in the world.
Historical Developments

Which issues concerned Americans at this time?

How did the US act unilaterally during this period of isolationism?

Post -World War I Agreements

What was the goal of the Washington Conference?

The Five Power Treaty limited the size of navies. It limited the countries to how many warships?
- United States -
- Great Britain -
- Japan -
- France -
- Italy -
What was decided between France, Great Britain, and Japan in the Four Power Treaty:

What was determined in the Nine Power Treaty?

What was determined in the Kellogg - Briand Pact?

Why was this pact ineffective?

1.

2.

Business and Diplomacy

What was protected in an agreement with Mexico in 1927?

What was doubled between 1919 and 1929?

What was won in the Middle East?

What made European businesses slow to recover?

How did Europe respond to this American action?

War Debts and Reparations

What changed in regards to the American economy at this time?

Why did the British and French believe they did not need to pay back all of their war debts?

Timeline adapted from Henretta America’s History Eighth Edition

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Was Germany able to pay its reparations to the Allies? Why or why not?

What was the Dawes Act?

What stopped the success of the Dawes Act?

Who was the only nation to repay all of its war debts?

Herby Hoover’s Foreign Policy

Why was the 1930s considered a period of “isolationism”?

How did Hoover try to gain good will with Latin America?
1.
2.
3.
How did Japan defy the Open Door Policy in China?

What did the League of Nations do? Did this prove the league weak or strong?

How did the US respond to this action?

Franklin Roosevelt’s Policies, 1933 - 1939

What did Roosevelt largely focus on during this time period?

Why did Roosevelt think he would need to seek help from Latin America eventually?

What was determined at the Pan - American Conferences?

What was nullified in 1934?

Why did Roosevelt recognize the Soviet Union in 1933?

Why did Roosevelt want to grant independence to the Philippines?

What was the reciprocal trade agreement?

What gave rise to the Axis powers of Japan, Italy, and Germany?

Who led the Fascist Party in Italy?

Who joined this party?

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Define Fascism -

What gave rise to the Nazi party?

Who did Hitler blame on many of the issues Germany faced?

What was the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and why did Japan think they needed it?

What did American isolationists want?

How did the people of the US feel about WWI? What encouraged this belief?

Neutrality Acts:
- Neutrality Act of 1935 - President could prohibit all arms shipments and could forbid US citizens from
_____________________________ on the ships of belligerents
- The Neutrality Act of 1936 - Forbade the extension of loans to _____________________________
- Neutrality Act of 1937 - Forbade the shipment of arms to the opposing sides in the civil war in
_____________________________
The Civil War in Spain was seen as a fight between what two forces?
Why didn’t the US help the Loyalists?

Who won?

What was the role of the American First Committee after the start of WWII?

Prelude to Another War

What was Germany doing that made the US nervous?

What was the policy of Appeasement?

Describe how the following events highlighted the unwillingness of Western nations to stop fascist aggression around
the world.
Ethiopia Rhineland

China Sudetenland

What did Roosevelt say in his “quarantine” speech and how did the American republic react to this?

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Outbreak of World War II Europe
Great Britain and France realized Germany would not stop being aggressive. They said they would go to war if
_____________________________ was invaded.

What did the Soviet Union and Germany shockingly agree to?

Germany invaded Poland, and suddenly Brain and France were at war with who?

What was the blitzkrieg?

In 1940 who was the only ally that remained free of Germany?

Roosevelt Changes Policies

Why did Roosevelt believe it was so important to give aid to Great Britain?

What started to shift public opinion of the war?

What was the new “Cash and Carry” act and who did it favor?
What did the Selective Training and Service Act provide for?

What trade secretly helped Great Britain while Germany was bombing their navy ships?

The Election of 1940

What was unique about Roosevelt's nomination in 1940?

What were the important facts that led to the election of Roosevelt in 1940?
1.
2.
Arsenal of Democracy
Why did Roosevelt believe it necessary for the US to intervene in Europe?

Roosevelt said they should give help to Great Britain because of the “four freedoms” which were the freedoms of what?

What was approved in the Lend - Lease Act?

What was the Atlantic Charter?

What was the “shoot on sight” policy passed by Americans?

Disputes with Japan

Why was the Japanese expansion into the Dutch East Indies, British Burma, and French Indochina upsetting to
Europeans?

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How did the US respond to Japan joining the Axis powers?

How did the US respond to Japanese troops occupying French Indochina?

Why did Japan and the US feel like they needed to compromise over oil?

Were they able to negotiate?

What happened at Pearl Harbor?

Who was surprised about this attack? Who was not?

When did the US declare war on Japan?

What was the result of this declaration?

The War in Europe in 1941 - 1942

What happened in June, 1941?

Who became the Allies fighting Germany in WWII?

What was the US primary focus?

7.12 | World War II: Mobilization

LO: Explain how and why US participation in WWII transformed American society. .

Historical Developments

The Success of the US and Allied armed forces depended on what?

The Federal Government Takes Action

Briefly describe the following wartime agencies:
- War Production Board:

- Office of Price Administration:

What happened to federal spending?

WWII showed what the New Deal didn't, which is what?

What happened to the national debt?

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What happened to business and unemployment during the war?

US production was ___________________________ that of the Axis powers combined.

What rolled off of production lines?

Who was responsible for the majority of war production?

What was the Office of Research and Development established for?

What was the Manhattan Project?

Labor unions and managers agreed that during the war there would be no ___________________________.
Why did a few people still try to strike?

What was the Smith - Connally Anti - Strike Act of 1943?

What industry was this used against briefly?

How did the US pay for its huge increase in spending?

1.

2.

Since most people approved of the war, what was propaganda primarily used for?
Why is WWII remembered as “the Good War”?

The War’s Impact on Society

Where were people migrating to during the war?

What was life like for African Americans who moved to the North?

What was the double V sign?

Why did the Roosevelt administration issue an executive order to prohibit discrimination?

What was ruled in the SC case Smith v. Allwright (1944)?

Who were braceros? Where did they go and how did people react to them?

Who did American Indians contribute to the war effort?

Who suffered the most discrimination during the war?

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What did Americans believe about Japanese people after the bombing of Pearl Harbor?

Where were Japanese Americans living in California forced to move to?

What was upheld in the SC C Korematsu v. US (1944)?

What happened in 1988?

How did women serve in the armed forces?

How many women entered the workforce during the war?

What American icon was used to encourage women to enter into defense jobs?

How did the war help immigrant groups feel more included?

How did the war help soften regional differences?

7.13 | World War II: Military

LO: Explain the causes and effects of the victory of the US and its allies over the Axis powers.
Historical Developments

Who did the US fight in both theaters of the war:

- Pacific -
- European -
Fighting Germany
Which two events ended the height of German power in 1942?
1.

2.

The British and the Americans concentrated on which two strategies in 1942?
1.

2.

What was the Battle of the Atlantic?

US bombers focused on…..

German and British bombers focused on…

Where did the line between military and civilian bombing become blurred?

What was Operation Torch, and who led it?

Why did Germans control Italy in 1943?

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How successful were the Allied forces in Italy?

Describe the events of D - Day and the Allied movement after that day.

Where did the Germans launch a counterattack?

Why Allied actions pushed Hitler to suicide in 1945?

What did the Allied forces discover as they moved through Germany?

Fighting Japan
Who largely challenged Japan in the Pacific?

Where did Japan control by 1942?

What battle ended Japanese expansion?

Describe the US strategy of Island hopping and its main goal

What was the largest naval battle in History?

What tactic did Japanese pilots use to attack US ships?

After Okinawa, a ________________________ invasion force stood ready to attack Japan, but huge
________________________ were expected.

What did President Truman tell Japan?

When and where were the two A- bombs dropped?

How many died?

This is an opinion question, but after reading the “War and Mortality” section, do you think bombing civilian centers is a
necessary evil in war time? Do you think the atom bombs quickly ended the death of WWII or added more casualties
to a war that was near its end anyways?

What condition did Japan surrender under?

When did Japan surrender?

7.14 | World War II: Post War Diplomacy

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 Learning Historical Developments
Objectives

Explain the Who were the allies of the US during the war? Which was the most unlikely ally?
causes and
effects of
the victory
of the US American Leadership
and its allies Who was Roosevelt's new VP and why was he well liked?
over the Axis
powers. Were Truman and Roosevelt close?

When did Truman die?

Wartime Conference
Who were the Big Three?
- US -

- Great Britain -

- Soviet Union -

Who attended the first meeting of the Big Three in Casablanca?

What did they decide they would do?

Who met in Tehran and what did they decide there?

Describe the monumental decisions that were made at the Yalta Conference by the Big Three:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Why was the Yalta Conference so important?

Why was President Roosevelt criticized after Yalta?

When did Roosevelt die?

Who were the new Big Three after the death of Roosevelt?

What was decided at Potsdam?

1.

2.

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Tensions were high in the Grand Alliance. How did Stalin feel at this time?

1.

2.

How did President Truman feel?

The War’s Legacy

How many died total?

What percentage of those were Soviets?

How many Americans?

Why did the US emerge far wealthier than other nations despite the huge wartime debt we were in?

What significant organization was created and joined by 50 member nations after WWII?

The threat of what nation prevented a long-term age of peace and prosperity for the US?

What did the Soviet Union veto in 1946?

The Cold War that ensued from 1945 - 1980 was a war between what and what?

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