How did the war and its aftermath affect the following?
1. Labor: During the war, the need for laborers caused the unemployment rate to drop to 1.2% at the lowest in 1944 and the average weekly paycheck rose by 35%.
2. Agriculture: The weather for growing crops was good in the 1940s, and improvements in farm equipment and fertilizers added to this. Crop prices were rising rapidly, and crop production rose by 50% with the farm income tripling. Many farmers were able to pay off their mortgages by the end of the 40s.
3. Population Centers: During and after the war, many Americans migrated to find work in other places; California had 1 million people come in between 1941 and 1944, and towns that had factories that were producing things for the war had their populations double and sometimes triple. A great number of African Americans also left the South for northern cities in this period.
4. Family Life: Families were torn apart during the war as fathers were sent to fight overseas and mothers went to work during the day to support their families. Children were often left to daycare centers or in the care of relatives, and when the fathers came home from war the families had to get to know each other again. Many times, couples hurried to get married before their significant other was sent to the war; the number of marriage licenses went up by 300% in the early years of the war in Seattle.
5. Returning G.I.s: The Servicemen's Readjustment Act (a.k.a. the G.I. Bill of Rights) provided education and and training for men who were trying to readjust after coming home, all paid for by the government. About 7.8 million veterans (about half of all the veterans) attended colleges and technical schools because of the bill, and veterans buying homes or farms or starting businesses were given a federal loan guarantee.
How did these groups react to racism during and after the war?
6. African Americans: During the war African Americans were able to make progress towards equality, many moving north and the number of African Americans working skilled or semi-skilled jobs rising from 16% to 30%. To confront problems like discrimination and segregation, the Congress of Racial Equality was started, which combated urban segregation in the north and stages it-ins. In 1943, racial tension caused by African Americans moving into crowded cities erupted into a 3 day riot, which resulted in the death of 9 whites and 25 blacks. This forced people to see that racial tension in the U.S. was a serious problem, and by 1945 more than 400 committees dedicated to helping this problem had been established.
7. Mexican Americans: During the years of the war, there were a lot of anti-Mexican feelings, particularly in places like California where there were higher populations of Mexican Americans. In 1943 the anti-Mexican "zoot suit" (a zoot suit was a suit worn by Mexican American youths who wanted to rebel against tradition) riots broke out. The riot started when 11 sailors in Los Angeles claimed to have been attacked by Mexican Americans in zoot suits. the result was extreme violence : people barged into Mexican American neighborhoods and attacked anyone wearing zoot suits, ripping the suits off and beating them mercilessly.
8. Japanese Americans: Due to the fear resulting from Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, there was a wave of prejudice against Japanese Americans. In 1942, the War Department called for an emergency evacuation of all Japanese Americans from Hawaii. The military governor of Hawaii initially resisted this because it would screw with Hawaii's economy and would be bad for U.S. military operations there (37% of Hawaii's population was Japanese American), but was finally forced to allow the internment of 1,444 Japanese Americans. On the west coast, where 1% of the population was Japanese American, newspapers ran ugly stories attacking Japanese Americans, and stirred up prejudice in whites. In 1942 Roosevelt signed an order that required all people of Japanese ancestry in California to be removed to designated areas in Washington, Oregon and Arizona, saying it was a necessary security measure. The army then rounded up about 110,000 Japanese Americans and sent them to shoddy prison camps, which was justified as a "military necessity" by the Supreme Court in 1944's Korematsu v. United States. After the war, the Japanese American Citizens League pushed Congress to compensate these families, and the court designated the spending of $38 million as compensation, which was only a tenth of what Japanese Americans lost.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Chapter 25 Section 1 Study Guide
How did each contribute to the war effort?
1) Selective Services Act: When the U.S. got involved in World War II, 5 million men had enlisted to fight in the war. This number wasn't great enough for a massive war involving the most powerful nations in the world, though, so the Selective Service System expanded the draft and because of it another 10 million men were enlisted in military services.
2) Women and Minoritites: Because so many white men were fighting in World War II, the government was forced to turn to women and minorities to fulfill the work force needs of the war. The Woman's Auxiliary Army Group was established after a bill endorsed by America's Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall, and it allowed women volunteers to serve in noncombat positions; they WAACs often served as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, etc. They were also granted full U.S. army benefits, and the "auxiliary" status of the group was dropped. Minorities also contributed greatly to the war effort. Although discrimination was prevalent in the military, 300,000 Mexican Americans, 1 million African Americans (who worked in segregated divisions and generally had noncombat roles; this was protested and the African American soldiers were allowed to fight in the last year of the war), 13,000 Chinese Americans, 33,000 Japanese Americans (who sometimes worked as spies and interpreters) and 25,000 Native Americans all volunteered and fought in the war.
3) Manufacturers: Many manufacturers stopped the production of their usual products so that they could produce things that would contribute to the war effort. Automobile factories were reequipped to produce tanks, planes and cars; a mechanical pencil factory started making bomb parts; a soft drink company started filling shells with explosives. Shipyards and defense plants also started to grow exponentially and turned out many more ships and planes than ever: 7 huge new shipyards were built by one industrialist who also built a ship called the Hull 440 which was built in 4 days.
4) A. Philip Randolph: A respected African American labor leader, he protested discrimination in the military and in war production industries by organizing a march on Washington. 100,000 African Americans were to come and march in protest that they didn't have the right to fight and world for their country. To stop the march, which Roosevelt feared would create resentment amongst whites and even result in violence, the president issued an executive order that made employers and labor unions allow blacks to work with them.
5) Office of Scientific Research and Development: The OSRD was created by President Roosevelt in 1941 in order to bring scientists into the war effort. It worked on improving radar and sonar for the detection of submarines, created pesticides such as DDT so that American soldiers would be free of body lice and other nasty creatures. It also helped develop drugs such as penicillin, which saved many wounded soldiers. Most importantly, the OSRD developed the atom bomb after Albert Einstein contacted the president and told him that German scientists had succeeded in splitting uranium atoms and could make a weapon using the immense power given off when that happened. The OSRD then went to work immediately in order to beat the Germans in creating the bomb, starting in 1942.
6) Entertainment Industry: During the war, the entertainment industry made a lot of propaganda films that were in favor of the U.S.'s ally, the Soviet Union, and depicted Nazis as horrible ; this "energized people to join the war effort". After people were sick of depressing films about the war a few years later, the industry started making lighthearted romances and musicals that would allow the audience to forget abut the war briefly.
7) Office of Price Administration: While factories were producing things for the war effort, the amount of things available for consumers to buy was very low; this increase in demand and decrease in supply guaranteed a huge rise in prices. Roosevelt responded by setting up the OPA, which froze prices on goods, stopping inflation, raised and extended the income tax, and encouraged Americans to buy war bonds with their extra money. This kept inflation below 30% (half of what it was during World War I).
8) War Production Board: Ensured that the armed forces and war industries had the necessary materials to win the war. The WPB decided which companies would become makers of materials for the war rather than what they produced in peacetime; it organized drives for tin cans, scrap iron, paper and other materials that could be of use that Americans didn't need.
9) Rationing: The OPA started a system for rationing. Homes would receive coupon books for buying meat, sugar, coffee, shoes and other items. People who worked would carpool and ride bicycles to conserve gas. This ensured that the materials that were needed for the war were available.
1) Selective Services Act: When the U.S. got involved in World War II, 5 million men had enlisted to fight in the war. This number wasn't great enough for a massive war involving the most powerful nations in the world, though, so the Selective Service System expanded the draft and because of it another 10 million men were enlisted in military services.
2) Women and Minoritites: Because so many white men were fighting in World War II, the government was forced to turn to women and minorities to fulfill the work force needs of the war. The Woman's Auxiliary Army Group was established after a bill endorsed by America's Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall, and it allowed women volunteers to serve in noncombat positions; they WAACs often served as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, etc. They were also granted full U.S. army benefits, and the "auxiliary" status of the group was dropped. Minorities also contributed greatly to the war effort. Although discrimination was prevalent in the military, 300,000 Mexican Americans, 1 million African Americans (who worked in segregated divisions and generally had noncombat roles; this was protested and the African American soldiers were allowed to fight in the last year of the war), 13,000 Chinese Americans, 33,000 Japanese Americans (who sometimes worked as spies and interpreters) and 25,000 Native Americans all volunteered and fought in the war.
3) Manufacturers: Many manufacturers stopped the production of their usual products so that they could produce things that would contribute to the war effort. Automobile factories were reequipped to produce tanks, planes and cars; a mechanical pencil factory started making bomb parts; a soft drink company started filling shells with explosives. Shipyards and defense plants also started to grow exponentially and turned out many more ships and planes than ever: 7 huge new shipyards were built by one industrialist who also built a ship called the Hull 440 which was built in 4 days.
4) A. Philip Randolph: A respected African American labor leader, he protested discrimination in the military and in war production industries by organizing a march on Washington. 100,000 African Americans were to come and march in protest that they didn't have the right to fight and world for their country. To stop the march, which Roosevelt feared would create resentment amongst whites and even result in violence, the president issued an executive order that made employers and labor unions allow blacks to work with them.
5) Office of Scientific Research and Development: The OSRD was created by President Roosevelt in 1941 in order to bring scientists into the war effort. It worked on improving radar and sonar for the detection of submarines, created pesticides such as DDT so that American soldiers would be free of body lice and other nasty creatures. It also helped develop drugs such as penicillin, which saved many wounded soldiers. Most importantly, the OSRD developed the atom bomb after Albert Einstein contacted the president and told him that German scientists had succeeded in splitting uranium atoms and could make a weapon using the immense power given off when that happened. The OSRD then went to work immediately in order to beat the Germans in creating the bomb, starting in 1942.
6) Entertainment Industry: During the war, the entertainment industry made a lot of propaganda films that were in favor of the U.S.'s ally, the Soviet Union, and depicted Nazis as horrible ; this "energized people to join the war effort". After people were sick of depressing films about the war a few years later, the industry started making lighthearted romances and musicals that would allow the audience to forget abut the war briefly.
7) Office of Price Administration: While factories were producing things for the war effort, the amount of things available for consumers to buy was very low; this increase in demand and decrease in supply guaranteed a huge rise in prices. Roosevelt responded by setting up the OPA, which froze prices on goods, stopping inflation, raised and extended the income tax, and encouraged Americans to buy war bonds with their extra money. This kept inflation below 30% (half of what it was during World War I).
8) War Production Board: Ensured that the armed forces and war industries had the necessary materials to win the war. The WPB decided which companies would become makers of materials for the war rather than what they produced in peacetime; it organized drives for tin cans, scrap iron, paper and other materials that could be of use that Americans didn't need.
9) Rationing: The OPA started a system for rationing. Homes would receive coupon books for buying meat, sugar, coffee, shoes and other items. People who worked would carpool and ride bicycles to conserve gas. This ensured that the materials that were needed for the war were available.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Current Events Summary
The prime minster of India Manmohan Singh has announced that the country will be investing in African development projects in order to build economic and diplomatic ties between the two countries. The first summit was held in Delhi, and it was reported that India will spend more than $500 million in contribution to projects. This would be hugely beneficial to the development of these projects in Africa, and Singh says that India will help with easier exports out of Africa's poorest countries. (BBCnews.com)
It is being reported by BBCnews.com that if the UN continues to withdraw its peacekeepers in Ethiopia and Eritrea war could break out between the feuding countries. Ethiopia and Eritrea have been unable to cooperate since their border war that went from 1998 to 2000 in which tens of thousands of people died. After the war was stopped, there were about 17000 UN troops monitoring the borders, but the number is now 164, and the remaining troops may be removed because Eritrea is refusing to supply food and fuel to the mission on the grounds that the UN is allowing Ethiopia to occupy Eritrean territory. Eritrea's ambassador Araya Desta has said that although Eritrea is not planning to attack Ethiopia, the country is prepared to fend off an invasion. "If the Ethiopians invade us, we'll be forced to defend ourselves". The UN secretary General Ban Ki-moon warns that the war could restart if UN troops are completely removed, and has also said that it will set a bad precedent if countries see that the UN can be bullied into leaving an area. (BBCnews.com)
Rising food prices caused by poor crop growing weather, increased demand and reduced production have caused riots to start in African countries such as Egypt and in others, including Haiti and the Philippines. In response to this, President George W. Bush has ordered $200 million in aid to be sent to countries experiencing food shortages. "This additional food aid will address the impact of rising commodity prices on US emergency food aid programmes and be used to meet unanticipated food aid needs in Africa and elsewhere," the White House said in a statement. The food crisis seems to be growing exponentially worse, and so the UN's World Food Program is making an appeal for $500 million as an emergency measure to prevent the starvation of thousands of people in impoverished countries. (BBCnews.com)
The U.S. has confessed to carrying out a missile strike that killed a leader of a Somali-based Islamist militant group. It was disclosed only that the target of the attack was an al-Qaeda leader in the town of Dusamareb; it was not said who the intended victim was. The missile hit the home of Aden Hashi Ayro, who is the military head of the militant group that controls most of Somalia, al-Shabab, who was killed along with another military leader of al-Shabab and at least 10 other people. "It was an attack. If we say too much then we give away platforms and things that we use," CentCom spokesman Bob Prucha said, and " "It was an attack against a known al-Qaeda target and militia leader in Somalia". (BBCnews.com)
In response to the rising threat of piracy in Somalia, France and the U.S. have introduced to the UN a "draft resolution" (co sponsored by Britain and Panama), which if passed would give the countries the right to use "all necessary means" to combat piracy of the Somalian coast. In the past year there have been 12 pirate attacks in the area, the most recent being the robbing of Spanish fishing boat and the kidnapping of its 26 crewman, who were held for a $1.2. million ransom. The passing of the resolution would allow the use of boarding, searching and seizing potential pirate ships. (BBCnews.com)
It is being reported by BBCnews.com that if the UN continues to withdraw its peacekeepers in Ethiopia and Eritrea war could break out between the feuding countries. Ethiopia and Eritrea have been unable to cooperate since their border war that went from 1998 to 2000 in which tens of thousands of people died. After the war was stopped, there were about 17000 UN troops monitoring the borders, but the number is now 164, and the remaining troops may be removed because Eritrea is refusing to supply food and fuel to the mission on the grounds that the UN is allowing Ethiopia to occupy Eritrean territory. Eritrea's ambassador Araya Desta has said that although Eritrea is not planning to attack Ethiopia, the country is prepared to fend off an invasion. "If the Ethiopians invade us, we'll be forced to defend ourselves". The UN secretary General Ban Ki-moon warns that the war could restart if UN troops are completely removed, and has also said that it will set a bad precedent if countries see that the UN can be bullied into leaving an area. (BBCnews.com)
Rising food prices caused by poor crop growing weather, increased demand and reduced production have caused riots to start in African countries such as Egypt and in others, including Haiti and the Philippines. In response to this, President George W. Bush has ordered $200 million in aid to be sent to countries experiencing food shortages. "This additional food aid will address the impact of rising commodity prices on US emergency food aid programmes and be used to meet unanticipated food aid needs in Africa and elsewhere," the White House said in a statement. The food crisis seems to be growing exponentially worse, and so the UN's World Food Program is making an appeal for $500 million as an emergency measure to prevent the starvation of thousands of people in impoverished countries. (BBCnews.com)
The U.S. has confessed to carrying out a missile strike that killed a leader of a Somali-based Islamist militant group. It was disclosed only that the target of the attack was an al-Qaeda leader in the town of Dusamareb; it was not said who the intended victim was. The missile hit the home of Aden Hashi Ayro, who is the military head of the militant group that controls most of Somalia, al-Shabab, who was killed along with another military leader of al-Shabab and at least 10 other people. "It was an attack. If we say too much then we give away platforms and things that we use," CentCom spokesman Bob Prucha said, and " "It was an attack against a known al-Qaeda target and militia leader in Somalia". (BBCnews.com)
In response to the rising threat of piracy in Somalia, France and the U.S. have introduced to the UN a "draft resolution" (co sponsored by Britain and Panama), which if passed would give the countries the right to use "all necessary means" to combat piracy of the Somalian coast. In the past year there have been 12 pirate attacks in the area, the most recent being the robbing of Spanish fishing boat and the kidnapping of its 26 crewman, who were held for a $1.2. million ransom. The passing of the resolution would allow the use of boarding, searching and seizing potential pirate ships. (BBCnews.com)
Monday, May 5, 2008
Chapter 29 Homework (Section 1 worksheet C)
1. West Virginia, Missouri, Delaware, Maryland, Arkansas and Texas all started desegregating schools the year of the Brown v. Board decision.
2. Desegregation didn't start until the 1960s in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
3. Generally, schools that started desegregation earlier were more integrated by 1964; for example, in Kentucky and Virginia the schools had more than 60% of African American students attending integrated schoolsby 1964, whereas Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina all had less than 1% of African American students in integrated schools. The "glaring exception" to that trend is Arkansas, which started integration in 1954 when the Brown decision was passed but had less than 1% of African American students in desegregated schools.
4. 30 to 60% of African American students were in integrated schools by 1964 in Maryland, Delaware, Oklahoma and Missouri.
5. The number of African American students attending public schools was less than the region's average (11%) in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
6. Of the states mentioned in question 5, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina were the furthest below the average (all were less than 1% integrated).
7. All of these states are in the deep South, were civil rights met the most resistance. It makes sense that this would be where the schools were the least integrated. People from those regions were generally vehemently against desegregation.
2. Desegregation didn't start until the 1960s in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
3. Generally, schools that started desegregation earlier were more integrated by 1964; for example, in Kentucky and Virginia the schools had more than 60% of African American students attending integrated schoolsby 1964, whereas Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina all had less than 1% of African American students in integrated schools. The "glaring exception" to that trend is Arkansas, which started integration in 1954 when the Brown decision was passed but had less than 1% of African American students in desegregated schools.
4. 30 to 60% of African American students were in integrated schools by 1964 in Maryland, Delaware, Oklahoma and Missouri.
5. The number of African American students attending public schools was less than the region's average (11%) in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
6. Of the states mentioned in question 5, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina were the furthest below the average (all were less than 1% integrated).
7. All of these states are in the deep South, were civil rights met the most resistance. It makes sense that this would be where the schools were the least integrated. People from those regions were generally vehemently against desegregation.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Chapter 29 Section 1 Study Guide
1. What did the Civil Rights Act of 1875 do? It outlawed segregation in public facilities on the grounds that everybody should be able to receive and enjoy the full accommodations of public facilities and "places of amusement". This act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883, and so was not upheld.
2. How did the court rule in Plessy? The court ruled that the "separate but equal" policy of Louisiana train stations did not violate the 14th amendment to the constitution.
3. In what way did World War II set the stage for the modern civil rights movement?
a. The labor shortage caused by young white men going to the war created an opportunity for African Americans and other minorities to do the jobs that needed doing that white men could only do before.
b. So many soldiers were needed for the war effort that the army was forced to drop its discriminatory policies and allow African Americans to fight as soldiers.
c. Many civil rights groups campaigned for African American voting rights during the war. President Roosevelt outlawed racial discrimination by federal agencies and all companies involved with war work.
4. Who argued Brown's case? Thurgood Marshall.
5. What did the Brown ruling declare? It declared that segregation in schools was in violation of the 14th amendment and should be made illegal.
6. What organization was formed in support of Rosa Parks? The Montgomery Improvement Association.
7. What did it do? It organized a bus boycott in response to the whole Rosa Parks fandango.
8. How did President Eisenhower respond to the Little Rock crisis? He put the Arkansas national guard under federal control and then ordered 1,000 paratroopers into Little Rock to accompany the students to school.
9. Who was the president of the SCLC? Martin Luther King, Jr.
10. What was SCLC's purpose? To "carry on nonviolent crusades against the evils of second class citizenship".
11. What did SNCC accomplish and how? The SNCC organized a "sit-ins", a kind of nonviolent protest in which African American students would sit at white eating tables in restaurants. Other groups followed suit and many restaurants were either desegregated or forced to call the police.
2. How did the court rule in Plessy? The court ruled that the "separate but equal" policy of Louisiana train stations did not violate the 14th amendment to the constitution.
3. In what way did World War II set the stage for the modern civil rights movement?
a. The labor shortage caused by young white men going to the war created an opportunity for African Americans and other minorities to do the jobs that needed doing that white men could only do before.
b. So many soldiers were needed for the war effort that the army was forced to drop its discriminatory policies and allow African Americans to fight as soldiers.
c. Many civil rights groups campaigned for African American voting rights during the war. President Roosevelt outlawed racial discrimination by federal agencies and all companies involved with war work.
4. Who argued Brown's case? Thurgood Marshall.
5. What did the Brown ruling declare? It declared that segregation in schools was in violation of the 14th amendment and should be made illegal.
6. What organization was formed in support of Rosa Parks? The Montgomery Improvement Association.
7. What did it do? It organized a bus boycott in response to the whole Rosa Parks fandango.
8. How did President Eisenhower respond to the Little Rock crisis? He put the Arkansas national guard under federal control and then ordered 1,000 paratroopers into Little Rock to accompany the students to school.
9. Who was the president of the SCLC? Martin Luther King, Jr.
10. What was SCLC's purpose? To "carry on nonviolent crusades against the evils of second class citizenship".
11. What did SNCC accomplish and how? The SNCC organized a "sit-ins", a kind of nonviolent protest in which African American students would sit at white eating tables in restaurants. Other groups followed suit and many restaurants were either desegregated or forced to call the police.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Current Events Bookmarks for April 5, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/7329740.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7330119.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7330119.stm
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Chapter 26 HW
Chapter 26 Section 2 Study Guide:
1) Which side did the U.S. support, and why?
China's Civil War: The U.S. supported the nationalist Chiang Kai-shek. The opposing side of the conflict was mao Zedong and the Communist Party, who Americans would never support. According to the Truman Doctrine, the U.S. had to help the nationalist Chinese, who were resisting Communist takeover; it also went with the U.S.'s policy of containment. The American people also liked Chiang Kai-shek's courage in resisting Japan during World War II (although I don't think this matters much, but it's what the textbook says...)
Korea's Civil War: The U.S. supported South Korea in the Korean War. The U.S. had kept a few troops in South Korea after the Japanese troops occupying it surrendered to the U.S., and when the U.S. had only about 500 troops occupying the area, the Communists of North Korea attacked the 38th Parallel (the border between North and South Korea). The U.S. supported South Korea for the same reasons it supported Nationalist China: the Truman Doctrine, containment and America's intense fear of communists.
2) What did the U.S. do to affect the outcome of the war?
Chinese Civil War: The U.S. initially tried to negotiate between the nationalists and communists for peace, but when that failed, the U.S. sent $2 billion dollars in aid to the nationalists in military supplies and equipment.
Korean Civil War: Having learned its lesson after its failure to provide adequate aid to China's nationalists resulted in China becoming a Communist country, The U.S. sent troops to aid South Korea. 520,000 troops from a total of 16 countries were sent to S.K. (over 90% of them being American) to help the 590,000 South Korean troops, placed under the control of General Douglas MacArthur.
3) What was the outcome of the war?
Chinese Civil War: The corruption and poor military leadership lead the peasants of China to support the Communist Party, and Chiang and his government fled to Taiwan in May 1949. This left the Communists in control of China's mainland
Korean Civil War: The U.S. recaptured South Korea and proceeded to fight until the Soviet Union suggested a truce in June 1951, and a year later negotiations were settled and the war was over. The boundary line was the 38th Parallel as before the war, and though Communism was contained, Korea was still divided.
4) How did the American public react to that outcome, and why?
Chinese Civil War: The U.S.'s government refused to recognize Communism as China's government. The people were shocked that containment had failed and that China was Communist. Congress turned on the Truman administration, saying that it didn't provide enough aid to Chiang. Conservative congressmen then started to say that the U.S. gov't. was infiltrated by communists, making America's fear of communism even more extreme.
Korean Civil War: The U.S. was shocked that we they couldn't take a nation as small as North Korea only 5 years after World War II. The war was also very expensive, costing $67 billion and losing 54,000 Americans, and was viewed as unsuccessful (although by the standards of containment it was a success) because things were just as they were before the war. This failure lead the U.S. to elect the Republican administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower (Truman was a democrat). Finally, the war increased fear of communism and started the "witch hunts" for Communists in America.
Mao Zedong: Mao Zedong was the Communist leader who made China a Communist country after his side won the Chinese Civil War.
Chiang Kai-shek: Chiang Kai-shek was the corrupt leader of the nationalist party that lost to the Communists in the Chinese Civil War.
Taiwan: After his defeat, Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan in 1949 with the remains of his government.
38th Parallel: The dividing line between the Communist North Korea and the democratic South Korea.
1) Which side did the U.S. support, and why?
China's Civil War: The U.S. supported the nationalist Chiang Kai-shek. The opposing side of the conflict was mao Zedong and the Communist Party, who Americans would never support. According to the Truman Doctrine, the U.S. had to help the nationalist Chinese, who were resisting Communist takeover; it also went with the U.S.'s policy of containment. The American people also liked Chiang Kai-shek's courage in resisting Japan during World War II (although I don't think this matters much, but it's what the textbook says...)
Korea's Civil War: The U.S. supported South Korea in the Korean War. The U.S. had kept a few troops in South Korea after the Japanese troops occupying it surrendered to the U.S., and when the U.S. had only about 500 troops occupying the area, the Communists of North Korea attacked the 38th Parallel (the border between North and South Korea). The U.S. supported South Korea for the same reasons it supported Nationalist China: the Truman Doctrine, containment and America's intense fear of communists.
2) What did the U.S. do to affect the outcome of the war?
Chinese Civil War: The U.S. initially tried to negotiate between the nationalists and communists for peace, but when that failed, the U.S. sent $2 billion dollars in aid to the nationalists in military supplies and equipment.
Korean Civil War: Having learned its lesson after its failure to provide adequate aid to China's nationalists resulted in China becoming a Communist country, The U.S. sent troops to aid South Korea. 520,000 troops from a total of 16 countries were sent to S.K. (over 90% of them being American) to help the 590,000 South Korean troops, placed under the control of General Douglas MacArthur.
3) What was the outcome of the war?
Chinese Civil War: The corruption and poor military leadership lead the peasants of China to support the Communist Party, and Chiang and his government fled to Taiwan in May 1949. This left the Communists in control of China's mainland
Korean Civil War: The U.S. recaptured South Korea and proceeded to fight until the Soviet Union suggested a truce in June 1951, and a year later negotiations were settled and the war was over. The boundary line was the 38th Parallel as before the war, and though Communism was contained, Korea was still divided.
4) How did the American public react to that outcome, and why?
Chinese Civil War: The U.S.'s government refused to recognize Communism as China's government. The people were shocked that containment had failed and that China was Communist. Congress turned on the Truman administration, saying that it didn't provide enough aid to Chiang. Conservative congressmen then started to say that the U.S. gov't. was infiltrated by communists, making America's fear of communism even more extreme.
Korean Civil War: The U.S. was shocked that we they couldn't take a nation as small as North Korea only 5 years after World War II. The war was also very expensive, costing $67 billion and losing 54,000 Americans, and was viewed as unsuccessful (although by the standards of containment it was a success) because things were just as they were before the war. This failure lead the U.S. to elect the Republican administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower (Truman was a democrat). Finally, the war increased fear of communism and started the "witch hunts" for Communists in America.
Mao Zedong: Mao Zedong was the Communist leader who made China a Communist country after his side won the Chinese Civil War.
Chiang Kai-shek: Chiang Kai-shek was the corrupt leader of the nationalist party that lost to the Communists in the Chinese Civil War.
Taiwan: After his defeat, Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan in 1949 with the remains of his government.
38th Parallel: The dividing line between the Communist North Korea and the democratic South Korea.
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