History of the US in the First Half of the Twentieth Century - Assignment Example

Us began and perpetuated its expansionist policies in Latin America and Asia in the period 1898-1917. The imperialist designs of the US in this period were the outcome of a range of economic, strategic and missionary pressures that were amply countered by the democratic, liberal minded and anti-imperialist powers within the US. A series of pressing reasons influenced these imperialist designs. The augmentation of US population, national wealth and industrial output badly required new markets and sources of raw materials in Asia and Latin America. The rampant labor unrest and agrarian crisis were other reasons that fueled these expansionist designs. The rising relevance of foreign trade in the national economy and the desire to compete with the imperialist designs of Europe also added to this thrust. Many important national think tanks and opinion makers clamored for extending the influence of US. In that context, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan pressed for the modernization of the American navy and the acquisition of strategic foreign locations to assure the US domination. In a theological context, Josiah Strong evinced the superiority of Anglo-Saxon civilization and stressed on the need to spread religion and democratic values by the US in weaker nations in 1885. Under such pressures America no more afforded to be neutral. In 1898, the Cuban Revolution instigated America to engage in war with Spain, leading to the eventual Spanish deference to the American demands. The Teller Amendment of 1898 proclaimed to the world that America intended to dilute the Spanish influence in the region by overthrowing the Spanish rule in Cuba. The Spanish-American war culminated in the Treaty of Paris in 1898 that led to the gain of some territories by the US and the freedom of Cuba. The support for the US expansion in Asia and Latina America was on the rise. President William McKinley found it really difficult to resist the augmenting pressure originating from military strategists, commercial pressure groups and religious zealots in the favor of annexing Philippines. In response to the expansionist intentions of the US, the Anti-Imperialist League was constituted in 1898, which supported the freedom of Philippines. Also many humanist groups in the US were concerned about the rights of the people in the territories annexed by the US that led to the appearance of the Insular Cases before the US Supreme Court in 1901. However, such sentiments do not seriously deter the expansionist policies of the US. In 1901, Cuba was forced to accommodate Platt Amendment in its constitution that allowed for the US control over Cuba in a variety of ways. In the mean time, the disheartened Philippines declared a war on America under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo in 1899. This war witnessed many atrocities committed by the American occupation forces. The assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 saw the rise of Theodore Roosevelt who was to be the first President to play a major role in world affairs. In that context one also needs to mention the name of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge’s name who, a staunch American imperialist and patriot who favored the assumption of a larger role by US in Latin America, Asia and Europe. The US for long had seen the need to join the Atlantic and the Pacific to protect its acquired territories and business interests. This gave way to the Panama crises, ending in the completion of Panama Canal in 1914, after a prolonged military and diplomatic effort by the US. The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine further assured the superior influence of America as compared to the European powers in economically dilapidated Latin American countries. The American expansion in Latin America and Asia was essentially an economic and tactical necessity. However, it did put into question the America’s allegiance to the cherished ideals of liberty and freedom. 2) When Herbert Hoover was elected the President in 1929, the general public mood was buoyant and forward looking. Yet, the Great Depression which originated with the fall of Wall Street in 1929 brought the American economy to its knees. Great Depression was the result of a range of systemic flaws in the American economy and it took series of concerted measures by the Federal government to restrain its progress. The Great Depression inflicted many as the shanty towns commonly called Hoovervilles spread across the US. Herbert Hoover initiated the Federal reforms by establishing Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in 1932 to extend loans to the state and local governments and to businesses and organizations. This thrust was continued by FDR in his New Deal. It was FDR who started the ‘100 Days’ concept when he assumed office in 1933. In the first 100 days FDR initiated a series of fiscal and policy measures to reassure the American people. It led to the creation of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1933. The main objective of FDIC was to extend deposit insurance to assure the safety of deposits in the affiliated banks. In that context, National Recovery Administration (NRA) was the other major outcome of FDR’s New Deal. The intended goal of the NRA was to curtail unethical and cut throat competition by giving way to codes for fair practices and by setting the prices. Another benign outcome of the New Deal was Social Security Act of 1935 to extend help and assistance to the aged, disabled, children and the underprivileged segments of the society. The new deal also saw the conception of varied work relief programs like CWA, PWA, CCC & WPA aimed at extending employment to the skilled and unskilled workers by initiating massive public projects. FDR also looked into the need for fiscal reforms. This led to the Revenue Acts of 1935 and 1937, leading to the raising of taxes for the rich and affluent segments of the society. The Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1933 subsidized the farmers for desisting from producing surplus crop and livestock so as to raise the value of farm produce. The American intelligentsia responded to the New Deal in varied ways. Huey Long, a senator from Louisiana came up with ‘Share our Wealth’ proposal, which aimed at an equitable distribution of national wealth, however was impractical and farfetched. The American Liberty League founded in 1934 intended to oppose FDR’s New Deal. However, it collapsed after the landslide victory of FDR in 1936. The Supreme Court invalidated varied measures of the New Deal. FDR unsuccessfully tried to avoid this by resorting to ‘court packing’ by appointing the 6 additional judges in the Supreme Court. The depression was to some extent worsened by ‘Dust Bowl’ or the severe dust storms that devastated the American prairie lands from 1930 to 1936. The Great Depression was certainly a trying time for the US, yet the series of measures initiated and maintained by the Federal Government under FDR did a lot to make things better. 3) The II World War that lasted from 1939 to 1945 was indeed the most trying challenge for the American democracy. The Allied victory in the war was the result of timely achievements in science and technology, astute economic and strategic planning, prompt victories and the sacrifice of the common people. At the start of hostilities in Europe in 1938, the American people were largely in favor of staying neutral. With the victory of FDR in 1940 elections, he and his advisors eventually succeeded in moving the public opinion in the support of war. In 1941 Roosevelt came up with the Lend-Lease Act allowing Britain to borrow military equipment from America for the duration of the war. The surprise attack by the Japanese on the Pearl Harbor in 1941 ushered in the full blown involvement of the US in the war. The US had been tentatively preparing for engagement with the Axis Forces when it passed the Selective Service Act in 1940, the first peace time conscription in the US. In the American context, the Japan intended to dilute the American influence in the Pacific by an astute and well planned naval attack. However, in the Battle of Midway (1942), the US navy inflicted an irreparable damage to the Japanese navy, thereby consolidating the US hold on East Asia. The objective of winning the war needed effective organization of the national economy and a commensurate expansion of the Federal Government. To muster the resources for the war, the Revenue Act of 1942 augmented the individual income tax and corporate tax rates. This act also curtailed the personal exemption amounts. A new Federal agency named War Production Board (WPB) was established in 1942 with the objective of managing and coordinating the production and allocation of materials and fuel during the war. The Office of Price Administration tried its best to encourage the Americans to invest in War Bonds, which were to finance the war efforts and expected to help in curbing inflation. The War also nudged the Americans to restrain the divisive tendencies marring the society since decades, so as to solicit the full cooperation of the ethnic minorities in war efforts. Consequently FDR issued Executive Order b8802 in 1941, which led to the debarring of racial discrimination in defense contracts and the creation of Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC). As men were engaged in the war, the composition of the war time defense industry witnessed the participation of women on a large scale. Women constituted a large proportion of the work force engaged in manufacturing facilities like shipyards and aircraft factories. The war efforts even entered the scientific laboratories and R&D facilities. In 1941 FDR created the Manhattan Project that was to lead to the creation of the first successful atomic weapon by the US. On June 6, 1944, the military action code named Operation Overlord was initiated by the Allies that led to the landing of Allied forces in northwestern France on the D-Day. This operation allowed the Allied forces to break across the German lines and led to the eventual dilution of a quarter of the German troops. Eventually the Nazis collapsed in the spring of 1945. However the engagement with the Japanese continued in the Pacific. Finally Japan surrendered with the detonation of Atomic Bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The ‘Big Three’ that are Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met in the Ukrainian town of Yalta to plan for the post war world. A majority of the American soldiers returned home. In 1944 Congress had already passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act or GI Bill of Rights to help the veterans get back into the civilian mainstream. The II World War led to great sacrifices on the part of the American people. However, it also saw the emergence of America as a superpower in the post war world. 4) The end of the II World War culminated into a prolonged and severe Cold War. The Cold was the result of the altering priorities of the Allied forces in a post war world that was fueled and aggravated by mutual distrust. In the beginning of 1945, with the possible portending of victory for the Allies, the ‘Big Three’ that are Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill met to discuss the fate of the post war world. During these talks, the primary objective of America was to enlist the support of Stalin against the Japanese. Soviet Union was willing to oblige in return for a free hand in Manchuria. The Yalta Conference ended in recognition of the limitations of the alliance between the three forces and the consequent marking out of the rough spheres of influence. In 1946 Winston Churchill delivered his ‘Iron Curtain Speech’ signifying the ideological divide and the resultant division of Europe into two areas of influence at the end of the war. In March 1947the Truman administration put forward a request to the Congress for a grant to fight Communism in Greece and Turkey accompanied by a declaration known as the Truman Doctrine. This doctrine pledged that the post war US will use its economic power to help the free nations everywhere fight internal subversion and aggression. Secretary of State George C Marshall announced the European Recovery Plan on June 5, 1947, dubbed by the press as Marshall Plan, professing the commitment of United States to the reconstruction of Europe. The climax of the Soviet aversion came in the divided Berlin. On June 4, 1948, Soviet troops blocked the surface traffic in Berlin, cutting of the US, British and French sectors. The Western nations responded to this impediment by airlifting supplies to the city. Stalin did not hinder the supplies and abandoned the Blockade after eleven months. The American airlift signified the victory of American resolve. In 1949 Soviet Union tested an Atomic Bomb, thereby drastically altering the dynamics of Cold War. The matters were further aggravated by the defeat of Nationalists by the Communists in China in 1949, under the leadership of Mao Tse-tung. Thereby, the very same year US, Canada and 10 European nations signed a mutual defense pact called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In April 1950 the State Department prepared a report called National Security Council Paper 68 (NSC-68), recognizing the division of world into two blocs and thereby allowing the use of US forces to contain the spread of communism. The Soviet and the US tussle came to a crisis in Korea in 1945. The Soviets barged into the Korean peninsula from the north while the Americans landed in the south. Eventually the situation culminated as it happened in Germany, leading to the creation of North Korea and South Korea. In 1950, North Korea, with the help of Communist USSR and China, attacked South Korea. The US forces retaliated under the leadership of General Macarthur. In 1951 Macarthur publicly opposed the Truman’s ceasefire plan and the intention to limit the conflict in Asia. Consequently Truman relieved Macarthur of his command. Though the war ended in 1953, US permanently stationed its troops in South Korea. The Cold War between the West and the Soviets continued till the collapse of USSR, time and again fomented and stoked by the policy makers like John Foster Dulles, advocating an aggressive approach against Communism throughout the world. Read More