Domestic Policies of the New Deal 1933-1939 in the USA - Essay Example

History Questions Tiffany Hollister Assignment # 2 Oct. 11th 2007 Qs The changes in American society due to the domestic policies of the new deal 1933-1939. Ever since the New Deal was introduced by the government, a congressional coalition of Republicans as well as many of the Conservative Democrats took an active part in a battle against the Roosevelt government in relation to the domestic policy and were rather successful. According to them the New Deal had run out of good ideas and this affected the changes that were brought about in American society. The lives of the destitute farmers were in a bad condition as the narrator quotes, “Poor land makes poor people and poor people make poor land”. The New Deal therefore was focused on improving the living standards of the rural people in American society by rightful and fair distribution of its land and other natural resources and new agricultural policies. Qs. 2 Affects of the Second World War on: A) American Women: American women served in the Second World War in all the departments like the Army, Navy, Air force and even the Coast Guard. They were indispensable and strived hard to tide over the massive attacks that caused so much of deaths and casualties. More than 200 army nurses lost their lives in World War II. B) African Americans: World War II was the first time that allowed African American women to enroll. These women selflessly strived hard while working in some of the most inhuman of conditions. They cooked, cleaned, attended emergencies, did truck driving and administrative work. They worked on par with the men and are proud to have served their country so well. C) American economy: During and even after World War II, the American economy suffered miserably. After the blasting of Pearl Harbor where there was much destruction and loss of both life and property, the country’s industrial and civilian resources were harnessed by the Federal Government, to compensate the heavy losses incurred and therefore the economy suffered badly. Qs. 3 Importance of the following in relation to the cold war- 1. The Truman Doctrine: The Truman doctrine was introduced by Harry S. Truman which suggested that aid would be provided by the United States to both Turkey and Greece for Military as well as other Political reasons. One of the political reasons was to ward of a communist threat. 2. The Marshal Plan: The Marshall Plan followed the Truman doctrine and served to bring about an economic restoration of Western Europe by implementing the NATO in 1949 (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Truman understood that if Turkey and Greece were not given this timely aid, then they would naturally fall to Communism which would have adverse effects on the country. 3. The North Atlantic treaty Organization: On the 4th of April 1949, a treaty was signed called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was a military alliance with its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The NATO proposed to establish a code of conduct where its member states took a decision to agree to lend full support in a response to any attack from any outside party. Qs. 4 Describe each of the following in relation to the following: 1. McCarthyism: From the late 1940’s to the late 1960’s was the period when there was severe anti communal suspicion in the United States which was termed as “McCarthyism”. It was primarily coined to criticize the doings of Joseph McCarthy, the former US Senator with regard to the communist influence on American institutions. 2. The Civil Disobedience: One of the prime or main tactics using a non- violent form of resistance is what is termed as “Civil disobedience”. The refusal to comply with the unreasonable commands or laws of the government or gaining power or control without resorting to violence is what makes up Civil Disobedience. Some of the Civil Disobedience movements are “The Ahimsa or “Satyagraha” by Gandhi, the “Apartheid” by South Africa and the “American Civil Rights Movement. Qs. 5 Compare and contrast the domestic policies of john f. Kennedy and Lyndon b. Johnson during their presidencies. By establishing the “Alliance for Progress”, JFK sought to nip communism in the bud in Latin America. By this Act, it was determined to send foreign Aid to countries who were suffering, thus building a higher standard of human rights in the country. He also started what is called the “Peace Corps”. The program helped Americans to volunteer to help under developed nations with health care, education and good farming methods. Kennedy also brought certain domestic policies into force which provided weak and unstable countries with full military, political and economic support. On the domestic front, Lyndon B. Johnson believed that education was the remedy of ignorance and poverty and this was also the primary cause for the American Dream. Therefore he passed policies especially in education which made it one of the top priorities on the agenda. In 1965, he passed the “Higher Education Act” focusing on funding children in the lower income group. He also established the “The National Endowments for Humanities and Arts supporting humanists well as artists. Qs. 6 Trace the course of American Foreign Policy from 1960 to 1991. After World War I and World War II, America’s Foreign Policy took on a different shape, in that it became a major player in the establishment of the United Nations and became of its five permanent members. Even at the time of the Cold War, the Foreign Policy of the United Nations limited the Soviet Union sway over the rest of the world. This led to wars such as the Vietnam War and the Korean war etc.. After this it established the NATO when Britain declined and tried its best to fill this vacuum. In the 1980’s, it lent support to an organization called “Contras” by conducting a lot of campaigns in Central America. The US was convicted of breaching and violating numerous International laws and treaties in 1986. In 1991, the US organized a massive war on Iraq called the “Gulf War”. Qs. 7 Describe in specific details some of the major changes in American society between 1961 and the present. Many factors contribute to the American society being diverse as well as dynamic. The family today is given the term of “Post Modern Family” because of their diverse forms such as nuclear family, single parent etc. In the 1960’s each family had a single earning member which is usually the father, but now – a – days, each family has two or more earning members. Another change in the American Society since the 1960’s was that if an adult was in college they had to move out and stay on their own or else they were considered in a negative fashion, but these days, due to rising costs in living, the adult prefers to stay with the parents till such time they are capable of standing on their own feet. Qs. 8 What 4 large scale developments helped to define Americas post-cold war global role? Give an example of each. 1. ) In the late 1980’s, Iraq became the primary Arab ally of the PLO as a result of the poor relationship among the Syrians, Egyptians and the Palestinians. 2. ) In 1993, there was a historic signing of the Oslo Agreement, which was the first primary PLO- Israeli Agreement to take place. 3. ) The Soviet Union withdrew from the region due to the economic and political upheavals that took place from time to time and hence the United States was no longer faced with a rival. 4. ) Since the Jewish State was established both Israel as well as the United Nations bonded in a better way and enjoyed a special relationship with each other. Read More