Section 1: Identification
1. Dust bowl, also called the dirty thirties: This was a period of a great dust storm that damaged the agriculture and ecology of Canadian and US large areas of treeless grassland during 1930’s period. The phenomenon was caused by a severe drought and the failure by farmers to apply preventive measures that could prevent wind erosion.
2. The Japanese American Internment was the period during the World War II, in 1942 where the US government ordered the relocation of over 110,000 people of Japanese origin who lived on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The American government ordered the Japanese people to reside within prescribed limits shortly after the Pearl Harbor was attacked by imperial Japan.
3. The GI Bill was a law passed in 1944 that provided a wide range of benefits for the veterans returning from the World War II. The benefits that the veterans enjoyed included; low interest loans, low cost mortgages, unemployment expenses for one year and tuition and living expenses for those who wanted to attend schools.
4. The Great Society was a domestic program, which was first announced and promoted by President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Democrats in the congress, in the 1960’s. The program’s goal was to eliminate racial injustice and facilitate poverty reduction.
5. Watergate is a general term used to describe a complex network of political scandals and corruption in US between 1972 and 1974. The Watergate scandal brought down Richard Nixon, the President of the United States at that time.
6. The Treaty of Versailles was a World War I peace treaty that brought to an end the war between the Germans and the allied powers was signed on 28 June 1919.
7. Rosie the Riveter is a United States cultural icon that corresponds to the American women, who worked in factories during the War Wars to manufacture war supplies and ammunition.
8. Floppers were a group of young, unconventional western women in 1920’s who bobbed their hair, wore mini-skirts, listened to jazz music, and displayed their contempt in a way that was considered then as an acceptable.
Section 2: Short Answer
1. Amongst the causes of the great depression are; bank failures, 1929 stock market crash, draught conditions and American economic policies among others. During the great depression, Americans were losing their jobs and homes. There was not enough food and water. As a result, people were dying as their daily life became harsh.
The first new deal phase (1933-1934) provided relief and recovery by adopting programs such as business regulation, agricultural, inflation, public works and price stabilization. The legislations passed included; the Trade Agreements Act, various currency acts and the National Housing Act. The second phase of the new deal (1935-1941) provided legislation for social and economic changes to the advantage of the mass of the working people in addition to the first phase deals. The legislation passed in this phase includes the Fair Labor Standards Act passed in 1938 and the Revenue Acts of 1935 and 1936.
In the final year of its existence, most of the new deal legislation remained intact and became the foundation for American social policies. The new deal had a very less impact to the minority groups in America, as it did not provide them with jobs or relief but rather promoted discrimination.
In its legacies, the new deal provided economic security to Americans. Violence in labor relations was reduced by the Wagner act. The legacies include old age insurance, unemployment insurance, and insured bank deposits.
2. The Versailles treaty failed to solve the problems that caused World War I, and thus triggered the Second World War. The United States reacted to the home front during World War II by supporting it, through a range of volunteer efforts, price control and rationing.
Rosie the Riveter refers to an American cultural icon that corresponds to the American women, who during the World War II, worked to manufacture war supplies and ammunition in factories.
African Americans fought a double victory war during the World War II, as they fought bravely for the world’s democracy and at the same time fought for their civil rights. In The Japanese Americans also had a chance to prove that they too belonged to the great and emerging new generation of Americans by fighting alongside other Americans during the war.
The World War II shaped the position of America in the international scale, as it became a superpower country and the richest country in the world, since other countries’ economies were devastated by the war.
3. The cold war is an intense military, political and ideological rivalry between two faction groups, nation or individuals that stop short, violent confrontation. During the cold war, the US and the Soviet Union USSR became antagonist because, both countries rose to superpower status and each country tried to spread is respective form of government to other parts of the world. In addition, each state was competing for power by trying to influence other nations to adopt their ideologies and form alliances; USSR used the Warsaw Pact while US used North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Kennan explained the USSR behavior to be that that cannot be charmed or talked out of existence and recommended for the containment plan. Trauma responded to Kennan explanation by accepting the containment plan recommendation and asking for a total estimate that would be involved. Containment was a US strategic policy that was used to suppress the spread of communism abroad.
The containment policy triggered the beginning of the cold war. The Marshall Plan was a program initiated by the US, to assist European countries, by giving the economic aid to rebuild their economies, with the goal of limiting the spread of communism after the World War II. During the cold war, Japanese and American racism and imperialism constituted a common ground. Former enemies formed a successful cold war alliance. Gender reforms were delegated to women, as there was increased campaign to counter masculinity dominance in US.
Section 3: Image Analysis
The images comprise photographs taken in Levittown, in 1957. They include the houses were built after the adoption of the new deal in America, to counter the great depression. As the economic security of the American started to be established, employed people stated owning homes. The legacies new deal ensured that the unemployed and old people were compensated through unemployment and old age insurance.
