The Red Nightmare documentary

1. In the beginning of the film, it appears to be an ordinary American small town, but where is it? (Between 1:00 and 2:30).        

it's somewhere in the USSR


2. What is the father's (Jerry) attitude toward his responsibilities, such as attending a Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTA) and going to Army Reserve training (6:20)?      

He's not very responsible, blows the PTA meeting off and doesn't plan on going to the reserve training, even when his wife confronts him about it.


3. According to the film, if all people had the attitude that Jerry has, what is the Red Nightmare? (To answer this question, what does Jerry witness or experience in a Communist America at the: 

• Town Square - a soldier talks speaks to him and a crowd of others, congratulating  them on their communist ways
• His Daughter's depature (note the soldier is her boyfriend, Bill) - his daughter leaves with bill to a farm and no matter how much he protests, they will not listen. She claims it's because the communist party convinced her to do so, for her own  good.
• the PTA  - his wife tells him he has to talk about communism with the PTA.
• His job -  he gets in trouble for being behind in work and has to miss lunch to catch up
• His younger children's' education  -  he takes them out of school for sunday school, but then finds out that the church has been destroyed
• and at the church - finds out it's become a museum for the soviet union

4. What is Jerry's experience like at trial?    

 the trial is very one sided. no one's listening to him or what he has to say, and even his wife testifies against him.

5. Consider this film in the context of the Red Square Era. If you were a high school student 50 years ago, how would you have reacted to this film in a history class?

i would've been much more fearing of this film 50 years ago, because communism was said to be a bigger threat  back then. These days, you barely ever hear about it because most people are  educated on the  dangers of communism so they dont even see it as an option

Origins of the Cold War: Yalta Conference

1. Choose two points of agreement from the list and explain why they were significant for the future peace of Europe.      

First Point:     The Big Three all agreed to join the new United Nations Organisation, which would aim to

keep peace after the war.

this was significant for the future peace of Europe because "the big three" were a very significant power at the time, so if they were all trying to ensure that peace would maintain after the war chances are no one would wanna take up arms against them, and if they did they would probably lose.

Second Point:  They agreed that as countries were liberated from occupation by the German army, they would

be allowed to hold free elections to choose the government they wanted.

this was significant for keeping the future peace of Europe because countries would not be wanting to fight again, or start a war. they would be allowed a chance to start over in whatever type of a government they wanted with whatever leaders. They were given a pretty good deal and there wasn't really any way they could have been upset with this point, no fights or protests would break out.

2. Read Sources 2 - 11 on pages 320 and 321. What is your overall impression of the Yalta Conference based on these sources?      


My overall impression of the Yalta Conference was that it's guests had very ranging opinions. Some were clearly sided towards Stalin, while others were supportive of the three Great Powers. I noticed a common theme of the sources was that a bunch of people disliked Churchill greatly.

America Enters World War II

1. What impact did the outbreak of war in Europe have on U.S. foreign and defense policy?   

The outbreak of war in Europe impacted U.S foreign & defense policy by increasing national spending per Roosevelt's request, and also the first "peacetime military draft"  was passed. Roosevelt was so dedicated to this request that  he himself drew the first names.

2. Why did Roosevelt take one “unneutral” step after another to assist Britain and the Soviet Union in 1941?    
Roosevelt wanted to assist Britain and the Soviet Union in 1941 because  he feared for his country's safety. He said that if the axis powers fell, Americans would be living at the point of a gun.


3. Why was the Atlantic Charter important?   
The Atlantic Charter was important because it was a joint declaration of war aims between Roosevelt and  Churchill. Roosevelt told Churchill at this point during a secret meeting that he was not okay with straight out telling congress he wanted to declare war, but he would try and persuade them as much as he could.


4. Why did the United States enter into an undeclared shooting war with Germany in fall 1941?   
The United States entered into an undeclared shooting war with Germany in fall 1941 because the Germans sunk the U.S Greer which angered Roosevelt and he instructed his officers to shoot submarines on sight.


5. How was oil a source of conflict between Japan and the United States?   

Oil was a source of conflict between Japan and the United States because the United States supplied Japan with oil, something which they could not win the war without. Due to this fact, Japan soon learned that they had to become on good terms again with the United States in order that the U.S did not cut off trade.

6. What problem would the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor solve for Roosevelt? What new problems would it create? 

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor would solve the problem of declaring war for Roosevelt, however now he would have to face the problem of defending his country on two different fronts - in the Atlantic and Pacific.

FDR and the New Deal

1. What plans did Roosevelt make in the four months while he waited to take office?        
During the four months in which Roosevelt waited to take office, he began to create a new set of policies for his administration, with his carefully selected "team" which were called "the brain trust". These policies were supposed to cure the problems of the depression and was referred to as the "New Deal". This new deal promised relief for the needy, economic recovery and financial reform.


2. How successful were FDR's fireside chats?       

FDR's fireside chats were a huge success because then Americans could listen into what the leader of their country was planning and he could answer their questions. This was a huge success in the sense that when people were hearing rumors of banks failing, they were thinking that since the banks were going out of business, they should withdraw their lifesavings so they don't lose everything when ironically the banks were going out of business because everyone was withdrawing so much money. With the use of the radio, FDR was able to get the message across that the last thing people should be doing is withdrawing all of their money and in result many people who had taken out their money redeposited it into the banks shortly after, proving the fireside chats to be a success to a great degree.


3. How did New Deal programs affect various regions of the United States?       

The new deal programs affected various regions of the United States in countless ways. It helped the farmers of rural areas by paying them to produce less food, causing the price of food to increase and helping the farmers income go up. A lot of jobs were created with roadwork and renovations which weren't essential but helped put people back to work such as the TVA creating thousands of jobs to renovate five existing dams and constructing 20 new ones to help the Tennessee River Valley. Many other programs like the TVA were created to provide relief through other work projects & cash payments and less people were out of jobs. 

4. How did liberal and conservative critics differ in their opposition to the New Deal?            

  
Liberal and conservative critics differed in their opposition to the New Deal in the sense that liberals, who wished to aid people with the help of the government as much as possible, didn't think that the New Deal was helping enough. Conservatives on the other hand disliked the fact that the government was interferring so much.

5. Do you think Roosevelt was wrong to try to "pack" the Supreme Court with those in favor of the New Deal? Explain your answer.      

I think Roosevelt was wrong to "pack" the supreme court with those in favor of the New Deal in the sense that he was mainly doing it because he wanted to get his way, but I think he was correct in the sense that a split decision would get him nowhere and keep America in the depressed state that it was in.

Hardship and Suffering During the Depression

As you read about how people coped with hard times, use the headings below to summarize the Great Depression’s effects on various aspects of American life.

Employment - People lost their jobs, the overall unemployment rate was 25% and people were losing their steady incomes and in turn were losing their lives. They lost their homes, and most of them couldn't afford food. Huge lines for the soup kitchen would be a common sight, everyone was hungry and barely anyone had enough money to buy their own.


Housing - People were sleeping in sewer pipes or parks, wrapping themselves in newspapers in a sad attempt to keep warm. A few built houses out of scrap materials. This is how shantytowns came to be. 


Farming - Many farmers lost their land due to foreclosure, and turned to tenant farming which barely scraped out a living for them. However one upside to being a farmer was the ability to produce food, rather than needing to buy it.



Race relations - White Americans were upset at Latinos and Africans because they were under the impression that these people were stealing all of the jobs in America. Conditions were worse for Africans and Latinos than for white americans, and most of the time the white americans would get the jobs, causing the African/Latino unemployment rate to be a lot higher than white american unemployment.


Family life - Family lives began to crumble. Women would go out in search of work, and men would be out of jobs. Sometimes when the men were out of jobs, they would wander the streets for days on end in search of work. They might even have gotten so upset that they would abandon their families. Some couples put off marrying and raising families in order to save money.



Physical health - People began to stop going to see the dentist and doctor, to pay less and save money. Also, suicide rates tripled during the depression


Emotional health - people began to feel very demoralized by their inability to work and lost their will to survive. Some people had to give up their dreams, and became very thrifty.


Explain or define each of the following:

 Dust bowl - The dust bowl was the region that was the hardest hit by the drought - parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, new mexico, and Colorado. 


Shantytown - A little town consisting of shacks


Direct Relief - cash payments or food provided from the government to the poor. 

Schenck v US (Free Speech)

1. What was Justice Holmes’ main argument  in the Court’s opinion in Schenck? Do you agree with the Court’s opinion?   

Justice Holmes' main argument in the Court's opinion in Schenck was that just because of the time and circumstances, the first amendment was not able to protect his free speech like it normally would. Schenck had the right to express his opinion and try to spread his beliefs but because the United States was so caught up in the frenzy of the ongoing war, they took it to be more of an offense than it might have usually been seen as. I agree with the Court's opinion somewhat. At first as i was reading, i didn't but then i read further and the whole analogy that Justice Holmes made, made me rethink. It's almost like the boy who cried wolf, and in desperate times people tend to overreact a little.


2. Do you think some limits on the freedom of speech are necessary? Explain. (Use your own opinion and support it using information from the reading.)     

I don't think limits are necessary on freedom of speech. Of course they'd be nice, and these limits could probably solve a lot of problems before they happened (like in the case of Schenck), however this country was based on the moral that everyone would be free, which is why i think freedom of speech is crucial in it's purest form, without restrictions. 



3. List three examples of the "historical impact" of the Schenck decision. 


First of all, this decision led to the court being asked to decide whether or not young, school children should have the same freedom of speech right as adults. The court then decided that they should, and a whole bunch of students were readmitted to schools, after being punished for their words when they didn't get their full rights. Next, it caused a lot of arguments to start on what should be considered your right with freedom of speech, and to what extent you can express your opinion.

Imperialism's Bitter Fruit

1. What made the Filipino insurrection "far different than any conflict in which Americans had previously fought"?

What made the Filipino insurrection "far different than any conflict in which Americans had previously fought" was that tensions between America and the Phillipines had been rising for months. The Filipinos just assumed that they'd be granted independence after they broke away from Spain but the U.S soldiers were commanded to establish control over these islands. The Filipinos believed they were fighting for their freedom.

2. Why were African-Americans among the strongest critics of the war against the Filipino nationalists?

African Americans were among the strongest critics of the war against the Filipino nationalists because they were upset by the way the United States racially viewed the Filipinos. The US officers were so arrogant that they usually just referred to the Filipinos as blacks, and in the Phillipines africans were treated as Filipinos.

3. Why did the United States lose its appetite for imperialism in the early 1900s?
The United States lost its appetite for imperialism in the early 1900s because scholars warned that imperialism would increase war & worldly conflict  which was the last thing the United States  wanted.



4. How did the United States contribute to the development of Cuba and Puerto Rico?
The United States contributed to the development of Cuba and Puerto Rico by giving them American technology & administrative expertise, roads & telegraph lines, reorganizing finances, building schools, bettering sanitation, and eliminating yellow fever which all in turn helped these islands grow. 


5. why did many Cubans come to resent the U.S. presence on their island?
Cubans resented the US presence on their island because Americans had changed around the Cuban economy so it only benefited Americans and wealthy Cuban plantation owners.

  

6. Do you believe the United States was imperialist? why or why not?
Yes, I believed the United States was imperialist at this point because they were gaining control, even if it was just partial, over all of these countries through fights and wars. Sometimes it was not their intent, though