Week 9: WWII

It’s hard to believe we’ll actually reach the end of the second World War before next Monday’s test, but we’re going to try.  We have a good bit of detail left to cover from the 1930s, however, and so I suspect that’s where the test material will cut off.  In other words, there’s a strong likelihood the second test will not include material from World War II.  Even so, you’ll need to read about WWII and stay on track with the schedule proposed in the syllabus.  At some point, we’ll have to squeeze everything in.

Digital History is once again unavailable — or at least it has been most of today — so this would be a good opportunity to broaden the scope of your reading, if you haven’t already.  I have numerous texts on reserve at the library (just ask for the list for HIST 132); beyond that, it’s simply not difficult to find published material on World War II.  Our classroom approach to the war will — as with other wars discussed in this course — have almost nothing to say about individual battles, military strategy, great generals and so forth.  Along the way, we will talk in broad strokes about how the war began and how it drew in the US, and we’ll examine how exactly the US fought in the war and contributed to the defeat of Japan, Germany and Italy.  But I’m much more interested in examining how World War II transformed the history of the US by securing its status as the preeminent global power; by providing new economic and political opportunities for African Americans; by opening new avenues for certain women to participate in the labor force; and by pushing the nation to develop an economy that would serve as the basis for full recovery from the Depression.

Major questions will include:

1. Why did the United States abandon its policy of neutrality toward the European war?  What did it mean for the US to serve as the “arsenal of democracy?”
2. Why did Japan attack the United States, and what were the effects of that attack?
3. How did the US mobilize the nation for war?
4. What effects did the war have on the lives of African Americans?  What were its effects for women?
5. In what ways did the US contribute to the defeat of Germany and Italy?
6. What factors led the US to victory against Japan?

Week 8: The Great Depression

After mopping up some leftover material from the 1920s, we’ll spend this week considering the causes and effects of the Great Depression.  Beyond exploring the factors leading to the crash of 1929, we’ll devote some time to surveying the political response to the Depression, particularly the New Deal supplied by the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.  We will consider the successes and limitations of FDR’s program, and we’ll plot out the major historical events that send the world once again into a cataclysmic outburst of violence.  Digital History is solid enough on this period, though you should consult other sources as needed or desired.

Major questions for the week will include:

1. What were the factors that produced the Crash of 1929?
2. How did President Hoover respond, and why were his efforts inadequate?
3. What did the Depression mean for the lives of ordinary Americans?
4. What were the major components of Roosevelt’s recovery program in 1933-34, and what were their successes and limitations?
5. What were the major components of Roosevelt’s “Second New Deal,” and what were their successes and limitations?