1. The Americas in the 20th century
AP World History

2. Presentation Outline The USA in the Interwar Years-1919-1939
The USA during WW2 and the Cold War
The USA and the Civil Rights Movement
Nixon and Watergate
20th Century developments in Latin America

3. 1) USA in the interwar years- 1919-1939
President Woodrow Wilson and the post-war order
Isolationism
Prosperity
Social Developments
The Great Depression

4. President Wilson and the post-war order
President Woodrow Wilson ( ) was one of the key statesmen who helped draft the Treaty of Versailles
Wilson promoted his 14 points which emphasized the creation of a new peaceful world order
Essential to this were the rights of each nation to self-determination and the establishment of the League of Nations

6. Isolationism
After Wilson’s presidency ended the United States assumed an isolationist role in world affairs, concerning itself primarily with its own affairs and letting Europe and the rest of the world fend for itself
Although Wilson had been the driving force behind the establishment of the League of Nations, ironically the USA did not participate in the League and played a very limited role in international diplomacy in the 1920s and 1930s
Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922
Imposed tariffs on imported goods to protect American farmers and producers but its long-term effect would lead to a gradual decline in worldwide trade
Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924
Imposed set quotas which drastically limited the number of immigrants
Banned immigration from Asia
Neutrality Acts of 1930s
Ensured that the US would not intervene in international conflicts and made no distinctions between victim and aggressor states

7. Prosperity The roaring twenties were a time of general prosperity
Causes of Prosperity:
Impact of the automobile- created jobs, promoted independence, business, and consumerism
New industries- motion-pictures, radio, electrical industry
Consumerism- mass production of household appliances led to a giant consumer industry which created jobs and promoted spending

8. Social Developments-Prohibition
The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibited the sale and transport of alcohol from 1919 until its repeal in 1933
Prohibition encouraged the growth of criminal gangs which ran the liquor trade and provided alcohol illegally
Al Capone, head of the Chicago mafia, was of the key criminal figures in the prohibition era
Chicago gangster Al Capone

9. Social Developments- Women’s Rights
The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution gave women the right to vote
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s more women joined the workforce, although primarily as secretaries and clerks
During WW2 women played a critical role at the home front working in factories which produced goods and weapons for the war
Rosie the Riveter- iconic image of the working women of WW2

10. Social Developments- Racism
During the 1920s the membership of the Ku Klux Klan grew steadily as Anglo-Saxon White Protestants sought to publicly curtail the any “foreign” influence in the United States
In particular, the Klan opposed all immigration, Catholics, Jews, and Blacks
The Klan had considerable influence on politicians during the interwar period, ensuring that all legislation passed served the interests of the White majority
The Klan was also engaged in violence: vandalism, bombings, lynching, and assassinations which led to its decline in popularity in the northern USA by the early 1930s
The German American Bund promoted American isolationism, admired Hitler, and opposed any help to Jewish refugees trying to flee Europe
Klan members marching on Washington, 1928
German-American bund on parade in NYC, 1939

11. Many found being broke humiliating.
The Great Depression 1930s
Stock market crash of 1929
Didn’t realize the effect it would have
No money to replenish what was borrowed
Farmers were already feeling the effects
Prices of crops went down
Many farms foreclosed
People could not afford luxuries
Factories shut down
Businesses went out
Banks could not pay out money
People could not pay their taxes
Schools shut down due to lack of funds
Many families became homeless and had to live in shanties
1929 crash led to the collapse of the global financial system
Many found being broke humiliating.

13. Roosevelt’s New Deal
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) ( ) immediately took steps to try to end the Great Depression by stimulating the American economy by spending and creating jobs
His reforms called the New Deal provided public works jobs, regulated banking, and created a large bureaucracy to ensure that electricity, food, etc. could be fairly, cheaply, and relatively evenly distributed
It was not, however, until WW2 that the US economy began to recover dramatically
Largely because of Roosevelt’s reforms, there has not been a second major economic depression
President FDR

14. FDR’s New Deal dramatically changed America
But, the New Deal did not lead to recovery in the American economy
By 1938, nearly 10 million people were unemployed
Wealth remained unevenly divided
US Unemployment Numbers,

15. 2) USA during WW2 and the Cold War
America’s contribution during WW2
The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
The Korean War
McCarthyism
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Vietnam War
Space race

16. America’s contribution during WW2
The USA entered the war only in 1941 after Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan
US troops fought on all major fronts, playing significant roles in naval battles against Japan in the Pacific, and land battles against Nazi Germany in Europe and Africa
The US played a critical role in the Normandy invasion in June, 1944 which accelerated Nazi Germany’s defeat
The US was responsible for developing and dropping the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945
The US was the leading economic power in the world in 1945, and was, along with the Soviet Union, a military superpower

17. The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid
President Harry Truman ( ) promoted the Truman Doctrine which stated that the USA would do everything in its power to stop the spread of communism
An essential part of promoting the Truman Doctrine was the implementation of the Marshall Plan which sent billions of dollars in aid to Western Europe in order to rebuild post-war European economies, create markets for American goods, and secure US alliance
President Truman,

18. Korean War
This was the first major cold war showdown between the USA and the Soviet Union
The US and UN forces backed the South, while Communist China and the Soviet Union backed the North
In the end, the division remained the same with North and South Korea divided at the 38th parallel

19. Senator Joseph McCarthy
McCarthyism
The 1950s saw a wave of anti-communism hysteria
Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin alleged that there were communist agents and spies plotting against the US at all levels of governments and in all parts of American society
McCarthy led the charge to create the Congressional House Committee on Un-American Activities
Americans suspected of having communist ties were arrested and many actors and directors in Hollywood were blacklisted
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for treason in 1953
By the mid to late 1950s Congress and the American public grew weary of McCarthyism and the anti- communist purges came to an end
Senator Joseph McCarthy

20. Range of Cuban missiles
Cuban Missile Crisis
Tensions between the United States and Cuba grew in 1959 after Communist revolutionary leader Fidel Castro seized power, severed relations with the USA, and began an alliance with the Soviet Union
An aborted US backed invasion of Cuba in called the Bay of Pigs only inflamed tensions further
When an American U2 spy plane spotted Soviet made missiles in Cuba in 1962, President Kennedy ( ) decided to take decisive action by setting up a naval blockade around the island
In the end Kennedy was able to negotiate an end to the crisis by getting Soviet premier Khrushchev's agreement to remove the missiles from Cuba
Range of Cuban missiles

21. Vietnam War
After the passing of Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, President Johnson ( ) initiated the American escalation in the War in Vietnam
By 1967 there were nearly 500,000 US troops in Vietnam
The Domino Theory provided the justification for US involvement in Southeast Asia
It was clear, however, by 1969 that there was no end in sight to the conflict
The war was becoming increasingly unpopular with the American public
In the end nearly 60,000 American soldiers died in Vietnam
The last American soldiers left Vietnam in 1973

22. My Lai Massacre of Vietnam Villagers by American soldiers

23. Space race
In addition to the arms race, the cold war involved a race between the superpowers for supremacy in space exploration
The Soviets took the lead in 1957 with the launching of Sputnik, the first space satellite
This was followed by the first manned orbit of the earth by Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin in 1961
By the late 1960s the US had gained the edge, and in launched the first ever moon landing
Soviet stamp commemorating Sputnik

24. 3) USA and the Civil Rights Movement
Although slavery had been abolished in the USA in 1865 with the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, Black Americans did not have equal rights in the United States, and suffered severe discrimination in the American South in particular
In response to federal efforts to rebuild the South after the Civil War and grant Blacks equal rights, Southerners created a Jim Crow system of segregation where Blacks and Whites lived separately and unequally
The landmark 1954 Supreme Court Case Brown v. The Board of Education made segregation unconstitutional
Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy enforced the court ruling which angered Southerners
The Ku Klux Klan was re-emerged and began an anti civil rights resistance movement

25. In response Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King organized non-violent protests against discrimination and called on the American government to intervene and pass new laws to secure the rights of all Americans
In 1964 President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act which made discrimination in employment, education, and housing illegal
In 1965 Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act which ended the discriminatory poll taxes and guaranteed that Blacks could now vote throughout the US South
Martin Luther King addresses large crowd gather in Washington where he gives his famous “I have a dream speech,” 1963

26. A Comparison of the Percentage of Black and White Voters in 1965 and 2004

27. The Civil Rights Movement also affected women
The Equal Pay Act of ensured that women and men would get paid the same wage for the same amount of work
The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade decriminalized abortion

28. 4) Nixon and Watergate
President Nixon’s ( ) resignation in was the first time in American history that a US president resigned from office
The FBI investigation into the Watergate hotel break-in revealed that Nixon operatives broke into the hotel to spy on the rival Democratic Party during the 1972 presidential election
It was not proven that Nixon ordered the break-in but his cover up of his knowledge of the event led to his disgraceful resignation
The American public had become increasingly cynical about politicians since the 1960s, and it was now made clear that it could not trust even its president

29. 4) 20th Century developments in Latin America
1)19th Century legacy 2) Cuba 3)Brazil 4)Argentina 5) US interventions

30. Latin America in the 19th Century
Gained independence
Legacy of colonization left many problems:
Powerful militaries
One-crop economies
Sharp class divisions
European and U.S. economic domination
Dependency Theory
Rulers more interested in personal power than in democracy

31. Political Instability
Influence of caudillos
Creole elites supported the status quo
Little experience with European democracy
Foreign Intervention
Monroe Doctrine
Spanish American War
Panama Canal

32. Cuban Revolution Preliminary In 1958, Fidel Castro overthrew Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Economic growth
U.S. Influence
In 1958, Fidel Castro overthrew Batista
26th of July Movement
Aided by Ernesto “Che” Guevara
Originally Castro promised democracy, social justice, and economic reforms
Fidel Castro
Che Guevara

33. Fidel Castro’s Cuba
Provided reforms: economy, literacy, health care, improvement for women.
Harsh dictator - suspended elections, jailed or executed opponents, restricted the press.
Nationalized Cuban economy Castro turned to Soviets for economic and military aid.
Cuban Missile Crisis

34. Brazilian Government in the Early 20th Century
Originally government supports coffee and cacao planters and rubber exporters
Large gap between rich and poor
Getulio Vargas rules as a dictator in 1930s
Suppressed political opposition.
Promoted economic growth and helped make Brazil a modern industrial nation.
In 1940 Vargas unveiled a five-year plan to expand heavy industry and railroads and create new electrical generating capacity. By 1941, Brazil had 44,100 factories with 944,000 workers. But the capital involved in these ventures was not exclusively Brazilian; foreigners held 44% of all investments.
Getulio Vargas

35. Post-WWII Brazil Government dominated by dictators
Continued economic modernization
Encouraged foreign investment to promote development projects.
Debt soared and inflation increased, causing hardship for most Brazilians.
Movements towards democracy since 1980
Hampered by government corruption

36. Argentina after WWII
Juan Peron ( ) promoted “nationalistic populism”
Called for industrialization
Supported the working classes
Limited foreign economic intervention
Military dictators dominate 60s, 70s, & 80s
“Death Squads” fought a “dirty war” against subversives from
Democratic reforms demanded in the 1980s
Juan Peron

37. Eva Peron Immigrant and soap-opera star married Juan Peron in 1944
Ministered to the needs of the descamisados “shirtless ones”
Formed Eva Peron Foundation to help poor
Died in 1952 at age of 33
Husband lost popularity after her death

38. US Interventions
Reformers threaten to nationalize industry and agriculture in Guatemala
United Fruit Co. threatened by reforms
C.I.A. helps topple reformist government in 1954
U.S. supported dictatorship
Reformers: Jacobo Arbenz
United Fruit Co. owned by U.S. investors
Eisenhower believed communist influence was behind nationalization
Dictator: Castillo Armas; 200,000 people disappeared; possible genocide against Mayan indians; Castillo assassinated in 1957
Guatemala fought a civil war until 1990

39. Other U.S. Interventions
Banana Republics
U.S. backed dictators in a capitalist economic system
U.S. backed dictatorships
Augusto Pinochet in Chile
Manuel Noriega in Panama
Military intervention
Sandinistas (USSR) vs. Contras (US) in Nicaragua
Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet seized power in 1973 in a CIA backed coup. Like many dictators in Latin America, he did pave the way for market reforms and some democratization during the mid 1980s.