Nuclear Arms Race Since 1945

1. Explain how Dragonfire's report on October 11, 2001 highlighted a new threat from nuclear weapons.                 
 The dragonfire report was a report which claimed that Al Queda had brought a nuclear bomb into NYC. This event had brought this new threat of nuclear weapons that terrorist may use the nuclear weapons against the US and its allies. Also this caused a new danger of nuclear weapons complicating nation’s foreign affairs with one another

2. Why is proliferation such a strong concern for the United States?              
     Proliferation was a strong concern for the United States because the USSR might spread nuclear weapons to their communist allies who were not capable or did not yet have the technology which could bring the capitalist and communist world against one another in a full out end of the world nuclear war. 

3. What is deterrence?                   
   Deterrence was an idea that US air force strategist came up with saying that if one side were to launch a nuclear weapon at the other, and in retaliation the other nation would fire one back to devastate the initial attacker, both nations would fear total annihilation, and both sides would deterred from attacking.


4. Explain the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis.                   
     
The importance of the Cuban Missile crisis is that this was the closest the US and the Soviet Union were to having a nuclear war and turning the Cold War into nothing but a humanity war. Also this ended the connection between the Cuban nation and the US, when JFK placed a trade embargo on Cuba which is still in existence today. 

5. President John F. Kennedy worried that twenty-five nations would have nuclear weapons by the 1970s. Why do you think his worry did not come to pass?                           
Kennedy's worry of the twenty-five nations having nuclear weapons by the 1970's did not come true because the US and the USSR agreed not to spread nuclear weapons or materials to their allies which without many nations would/will not be able to develop these weapons                          


6. What was the Cold War? How long did it last?                      
 The Cold War was the war which was never fought on a battlefield between the Capitalist US and the communist USSR. Although the two never fought head to head on the battlefield, both nations fought like the US in Korea and in Vietnam against the spreading of communism around the world.The Cold War raged from 1945 at the end of WWII to 1991 when the USSR collapsed

Works Cited

Chevalier, Tracy. Burning Bright. New York, Penguin Group, 2007
Canfield, Jack and Hansen, Mark V. and Kirberger, Kimberly. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 3. Deerfield Beach, FL, Health Communications, Inc, 2000.
Pinker, Steven. How The Mind Works: with a new forward. New York: W.W Norton and Company, Inc.,2009

Mobilizing for Defense

1. How did the American response to the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor differ from Japanese expectations?        The Americans response to the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor differed from the Japanese expectations because the Japanese thought that once the Americans experienced the Japanese power that they would shrink into further conflict. But instead the Americans filled with rage and not fear they wanted to start to attack the Japanese.  2. What difficulties did women and minorities face in the wartime work force?          Difficulties that women and minorities faced in the wartime work force was that they tried to make the WAAC which was that women would serve in noncombat positions. Even though hundreds of women signed up for this duty it was denied and the women served as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricions and pilots. 3. Why did President Roosevelt create the OSRD, and what did it do?              President Roosevelt created the OSRD because it brought scientists into war effort. It showed improvement in sonar and radar. 4. What basic problems were the OPA and WPB created to solve?              The basic problems that the OPA and the WPB were able to get money to buy the items that they needed to win the war. 5. What type of items were rationed and why were they limited?           The types of items that were rationed were rationed books with coupons inside them, and also gas ration they were limited because the country could not afford to buy a lot of it they had to put all of their money towards the war. 6. What is the message of the World War II poster on this assignment's blog posting? Why was this message important?     The message of the World War two poster is a man driving alone with Hitler sitting next to him. This message conveyed to people that when they did not carpool with other people and save gas they were helping Hitler win the war by wasting their gas

War in the Pacific

1. In what ways were the American victory at Midway and the Japanese triumph at Pearl Harbor alike?    The American victory at Midway and the Japanese triumph at Pearl Harbor were alike because they both bombed each other from the sky also they both attacked and ruined each others aircraft carriers, cruisers and planes 2. Why was the Battle of Leyte Gulf so crucial to the Allies?         The Battle of Leyte Gulf was so crucial to the Allies because the Japanese would not surrender because they chose death over surrendering. This made it crucial to the Allies because it was easier for them to beat the Japanese and take there land. 3. Why was Okinawa a significant island in the war in the Pacific?        Okinawa was a significant island in the war in the pacific because it was another victory for the Allies and they were getting closer and closer to the Japanese Islands. 4. What was the Manhattan Project? And who was J. Robert Oppenheimer?            The Manhattan Project was the making of the atomic bomb. J. Robert Oppenheimer is the American scientist who made the bomb. 5. Why was Roosevelt anxious to make concessions to Stalin concerning the fate of postwar Germany?        Roosevelt was anxious to make the concessions to Stalin concerning the fate of postwar Germany because he wanted to make sure that if the Japanese decided to attack Japan again that the Soviet Union would stand by America and Britain and he also wanted his approval of a world peace keeping organization called the United Nations. 6. What decisions did Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin make at the Yalta Conference?          The decisions that Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin made at the Yalta Conference was that Roosevelt convinced Churchill to agree to dividing the Germany into four zones one for America one for the Soviet Union one for France and one for Britain. Also Stalin promised free and unfettered elections in Poland and other Soviet-occupied European countries. Lastly Stalin also agreed to join the war against Japan and to participate in the international conference that would make the United Nations become an reality. 7. At the trials, many Nazis defended themselves by saying they were only following orders. What does this rationale tell you about the German military? Why was it important to negate this justification?   This tells you that even many of the Nazis themselves were scared of Hitler and that they were brainwashed so much by Hitler that they believed that they were doing the right thing.

War for Europe and North Africa

1. Why had the tide turned in the Battle of the Atlantic by mid-1943?    

The tide had turned in the Battle of the Atlantic by mid-1943 by the Allies organizing their cargo ships into conveys. The conveys were escorted across the Atlantic with sonar for detecting under water submarines, and with also airplanes that had radars which could spot U-boats on the ocean's surface. With this they could find and destroys Germany's U-boats faster than they could rebuild them.


2. What two key decisions determined the final outcome at Stalingrad?      
The two key decisions that determined the final outcome at Stalingrad were that Hitler and his troops decided to control the city of Stalingrad and had almost conquered it until winter and the Soviet's trapped them in the city with their tanks so that there was no way that the German's could get out. 

3. What was the outcome of the North African campaign?       
The Outcome of the North African campaign was that America and Britain ended up conquering the North African front. 

4. What were the results of the Italian campaign?    
The result of the Italian campaign was that Mussolini was arrested and stripped from his title of being Italy's dictator.     
    

5. Was the Allied invasion of Europe successful? Explain your answer.    
The allied invasion of Europe was successful  because they were able to free some European countries such as France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
       

6. Why was the Battle of the Bulge important?    
The battle of the bulge was important because it was shown that the Nazi's could be beat and they also lost a lot of men and supplies that they had to rebuild and regain.          


7. What the significance of V-E day?       
The significance of V-E day is that Hitler was died, the concentration and death camps came to an end and the European war was over.   


8. Who was Dwight D. Eisenhower?  
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the American general that commanded the invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa.          


9. Do you agree with the decision made by Roosevelt and Churchill to require unconditional surrender by the Axis powers? Why or why not?        

I agree with the decision made by Roosevelt and Churchill to require the unconditional surrender by the Axis powers because it showed all of the other countries that they should be afraid of America and Britain

The Great Depression Widens

From Great Depression 22-2 Reading

1. How did the Great Depression affect minorities?     
The Great Depression affected minorities by; many people lost their jobs, were evicted from their homes and were then thrown out onto the streets. 


2. Why did so many men leave their homes during the Depression?    
Many men left their homes during the great depression because they were so upset that they could not find a job to support their families hence they got so discouraged with themselves that they left their homes.


3. How did the Great Depression affect women and children?    
The Great Depression affected women and children by the women tried to go out and get jobs but it was hard for them because the men did not think that it was right to have unemployed men and employed women; therefore it was very hard for a women to support herself and her children. It was difficult for children because many of them were starving and were getting sick. Also a lot of hospitals and schools closed.


From Great Depression 22-3 Reading

4. What were some of Hoover’s key convictions about government?     

Some of Hoover's key convictions about government were that if business and were in conflict for example, government should step in and help them find a solution that served their mutual interests. He said that governments role was to encourage and facilitate cooperation; not to control it. 

5. Why do you think people blamed Hoover for the nation’s difficulties?    

I think that people blamed Hoover for the nation's difficulties because he believed that it was the rich people's responsibility to help the poor and not the governments; because he thought like this there was no welfare so it made it even harder for people to survive.  

6. What were some of the projects proposed by Hoover, and how effective were they?    

Some if the projects proposed by Hoover were that he asked employers not to cut wages or cut off workers and he also asked labor workers not to demand higher wages or go on strike. Neither of these projects were effective.

7. What did the Bonus Army want?    
The Bonus army were world war one veterans who authorized the government to pay a bonus to world war one veterans who had not been compensated adequately for their wartime service

The Crash Occurs and the Great Depression Begins

1. What industrial weakness signaled a declining economy in the 1920s?        
Some Industrial weakness that signaled a declining economy in the 1920's were; industries such as railroads textiles and steel had barely made a profit. Also mining and lumbering which had expanded during wartime were no longer in high demand. Coal mining was another industry that was hit hard because of all of the new forms of energy such as hydroelectric power, fuel oil and natural gas. Even the big industries such as automobiles, construction, consumer goods and housing started to decline.

 

2. What did the experience of farmers and consumers at this time suggest about the health of the economy?       
The experience of the farmers and the consumers at this time suggested that the health of the economy was not good at all. Mainly because basically every American was living on credit and there was a very uneven distribution of income.


3. How did speculation and margin buying cause stock prices to rise?      

Speculation and margin buying caused stock prices to raise by a lot of Americans were buying items on credit because they did not have the money to pay for it; so when the bills came around to pay for the item they bought they did not have the money therefore the economy/government needed more money so the price of items had to start to raise.

4. What happened to ordinary workers during the Great Depression?      

During the Great Depression a lot of ordinary workers lost their jobs and when they went to the bank to try to get their money in their savings account the bank did not have the money because they gave all of their money to the stock market therefore a lot of ordinary workers went bankrupt and where not able to support their family anymore.


5. How did the Great Depression affect the world economy?    

The Great Depression affected the world economy by a lot of word trade had fallen within 40 percent.