Watergate & the Constitution.

1. It is August 9, 1974. Nixon has just resigned as president. You are a lawyer who has been asked to write a well-developed argument as to whether or not Nixon should be indicted and prosecuted as a civilian for crimes committed during the Watergate scandal. What is your opinion? Be sure to cite evidence from the two-page memorandum and appropriate clauses from the U.S. Constitution (over).

I strongly believe that President Nixon should be prosecuted as a civilian for the crimes he has committed during the Watergate scandal. Nixon is no different from any other civilian who has committed crimes such as Nixon. If we are to allow President Nixon to get away and not be prosecuted for his crimes, we are generally saying that he is different from any other man. In the constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 3 clause 7 it states that he is "liable and subjected to the Indictment, Trial, Judgement, and punishment, according to law." It is also mentioned in the Constitution that the president, in Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8, "before he enters on the Execution of his office, must take the following oath or affirmation that he will do the best of his ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution." Nixon lied to the public nation, obstructed justice, abused his power as president, and therefore tested the Constitution, he did nothing of the sort of protecting or defending the Constitution. Nixon is a perfect example of a president trying to stretch the power of the executive branch, so if we are to let Nixon get away with such crimes, we are not setting a good example as for the future presidencies. If Nixon were to have followed the orders of the Supreme Court and handed over the tapes, he good have ended this. But Nixon chose not to, and because of his poor decisions it is our role to prosecute Nixon.

2. It is September 8, 1974. Nixon has just been pardoned by President Gerald Ford. You are a lawyer who has been asked to write a well-developed argument as to whether or not Nixon should have been pardoned for any crimes committed while he was president. What is your opinion? Be sure to cite evidence from the two-page memorandum, appropriate clauses from the U.S. Constitution (over), and Ford’s pardon and explanation.

It is September 8, 1974 and our new president Gerald Ford has just pardoned President Nixon for his crimes during his presidency. I do not believe this was the correct way to handle Nixon's actions during his presidency. In my opinion, Ford had only pardoned Nixon because he knew that the spectacle of a president on trial for crimes such as obstructing justice does not look good for our nation, therefore to avoid the shame and embarrassment of prosecuting Nixon, Ford decided to pardon his actions. I strongly believe that if we pardon Nixon we are giving future presidents the impression that they can get away with such crimes, and can be pardoned for doing so too. Ford claims that, "Nixon had already suffered enormously." and that he didn't think "the country wanted to see an ex-president behind bars." Some people might agree with President Ford, but when one commits a crime they must be punished, and if not then there is no justice in the outcome.

3. Do you think Richard Nixon’s acceptance of Ford’s pardon was an admission of guilt? Explain.
No I do not believe that Nixon's acceptance of Ford's pardon was an admission of guilt. If Nixon had felt so guilty, then he should have had a trial and be fairly convicted. Also, he still tried to deny any involvement even when there was still hard evidence.

United States v. Nixon

The Cover-up:

1. Regardless of the outcome, should the President of the United States have a right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office tapes? Explain.
I believe that the President of the United States definitely should not have the right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office Tapes. This is because, regardless of the right of privacy, the tapes were an extreme significance to the Watergate Crisis and was an extremely valuable piece of evidence. If the president were to be committing illegal crimes, and such news like the evidence of the existence of the tapes were leaked, the President should not have the right to deny this evidence because it is his own privacy because it will help determine the justice that should be served in the case. And anyways, if the president is denying any access to a piece of evidence, it is probably because the evidence is not in their favor which just proves that the evidence should be leaked to find this justice.

2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.
I believe that President Nixon was not justified. At this point Nixon had been abusing his power in office. He basically was saying "I don't like the way this court case it going, so I'm just going to put an end to it by firing those associated with trying to force me into giving up the tapes." When he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox he had only done this because Cox had been trying to get him to release the evidence of the tapes and was determined on doing so. Therefore Nixon fired him and had intervened with justice that could have been served by releasing the tapes.


3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.
Yes he was. By refusing to hand-over the tapes to the Court he had basically been saying screw you to the judicial branch and acting as if the executive branch had more power over the judicial when it reality all the branches had equal power of course. Nixon's action's led Congress to question whether the President had the authority or right to keep the tapes.

Closure:

4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?
The American Public was so outraged by the Watergate Crisis most likely because the plumbers, the five men acting in the watergate robbery, were paid 25,000 dollars of the CREEP's fundraiser money that had been donated by the American public. Basically, the Watergate incident was funded by the money of the american public for illegal purposes. Another reason for the outrage of the American Public would be the fact that president Nixon had deliberately lied to the American Public by stating that he had no business in the Watergate business and denied any knowledge of the crime. However when the tapers were released, the government was able to discover what Nixon knew and when he knew it; Nixon had known about the Watergate incident two days before his announcement to the public stating he knew nothing of it. Therefore the public now knew the president was lying to them, outraging them.


5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.
I do think it was smart of President Nixon to resign before he could have been impeached. There was no way that Nixon was going to come out of the case winning, there was too much evidence against him. Therefore by resigning he is saving himself the embarrassment and shame of being impeached. Therefore by resigning he has saved himself some pride, compared to feeling the shame of being impeached.

6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.
I definitely do feel that President Nixon should have been prosecuted because of the illegal crimes he had been committing. Nixon had been committing these crimes for a long time during his presidency, the Watergate Crisis is only an example of one crime he committed that had finally gone wrong. Nixon knew about the Watergate break-in, however he continued to deny any involvement of himself or his administration. He had been lying to the Supreme Court and the American public, and therefore obstructing justice. Also throughout the crisis had had been obstructing crisis. For example he tried to force the CIA to get the FBI to stop the investigation, he fired Cox just because things in the case were not going his way and he did not want to give up the tapes that Cox had been so determined on obtaining, and he had refused to hand over the tapes and therefore had been abusing his power in office. Just because Nixon is president he should not be treated any differently in this case because he had been obstructing justice, and therefore should have been punished.

Watergate: Nixon's Downfall

1. How were the "plumbers" connected to President Nixon?
The plumbers were connected to President Nixon because, they were the burglars hired by President Nixon to break into the DNC. The white house, with President Nixon's consent, tried everything to get rid of the evidence. They urged the FBI to stop the investigation into the burglary on the grounds of national security. In addition to that the CRP payed the "plumbers" 450,000 dollars to keep silent after they were indicted September of 1972.

2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
The judge was John Sirca. He handed out maximum sentences because he had believed that the burglars had not acted by themselves, he indicated that they had lied under oath.

3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Mitchell and Dean were connected to Nixon because Nixon had dissmissed White House counsel John Dean and and announced the resignations of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who had recently replaced John Mitchell. Nixon was seen as trying to cover-up the burglary.

4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
Haldeman and Erlichman were connected to Nixon because he had announced their resignation from the White House, which was seen as a cover-up made by President Nixon.

5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?

a. Dean: Dean stated that President Nixon had been deeply involved in the cover up. He had even said that he and Nixon, along with several advisers, discussed strategies for continuing the deceit.

b. Butterfield: Butterfield told the court that President Nixon had taped virtually all of the conversations in the White House. He claimed that the taping system was used by Nixon to "help Nixon write his memoirs." However for the Senate Committee that tape were key to revealing what Nixon knew, and when he knew.

6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
President Nixon had ordered Attorney General Richardson to fire Cox (who had appointed to investigate the case.) refused to fire Cox and resigned. Next, the deputy attorney general also refused the order by Nixon and was fired. And finally, Cox was fired by General Robert Bork.

7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
Investigators were satisfied with the transcripts because they demanded the unedited tapes, since Nixon had sent out ones edited rather than the untampered tapes.

8. What did the tapes reveal?
The tapes revealed that President Nixon had known about the role of administrators in the burglary and that he approved the plan to distract or take the investigation away from the FBI. It also revealed the eighteen minute conversation between Haldeman and Nixon which ended up disclosing the investigation completely.

9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because it was revealed that he took bribery from engineering firms while he was the governor of Maryland, and he thought that he'd be impeached because he thought he had no chance in winning the trial.

10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?
The House Judiciary Committee charged President Nixon with high crimes and misdameanors. They came to the conclusion that the president should be impeached because of the scandal, which the crimes and misdameanors of the scandal made the committee discuss and decide wheither or not President Nixon should be impeached. Also, they convicted him with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress for not obeying to release the tapes to Congress after they told him to.

11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
The Watergate scandal created a constitutional crisis because Congress had to revisit the constitution and fix how much power the President could have and fix the guidelines for the reasons why a president should be considered or should be impeached.

Women Fight for Equality

Directions: As you read about the rise of a new women’s movement, take notes to explain how each of the following helped to create or advance the movement.

1. Experiences in the workplace: By 1960 women the percentage of women working for wages increased by 40 percent. But still during the time certain jobs were considered "mens jobs" therefore women were shut out. The country largely ignored this discrimination until finally President Kennedy appointed the Presidential Commission on the status of women in 1961. Because of this women were seldom promoted to management positions, regardless of their education, experience, and ability. These newly publicized facts awakened women of their unequal status in their country.

2. Experiences in social activism: These experiences led women to organize small groups to discuss their concerns. These discussions led to "consciousness raising."

3. "Consciousness raising": During these sessions women shared their lives together and discovered that their experiences were not unique. They reflected a much larger pattern of sexism. Thus raising the awareness of the problem and causing more females to realize just how serious and common the issue is.

4. Feminism: The belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men. Feminism was the spark to the women's movement and was the theory behind it. Therefore it was of a huge importance to the women's movement, since it had created it.

5. Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique: Betty Friedan wrote the book "The Feminine Mystique." This book captured the very discontent that many women were feeling, and quickly became a best seller and helped galvanize many women across the country. Betty Friedan and her book had been one of the very reasons why women started to gain more interest in the problem and how to cause it, since by the late 1960's women had been working together for change.

6. Civil Rights Act of 1964: The civil rights act of 1964 had caused women to gain strength with the passage of the act, which prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and gender. It also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to handle discrimination claims. This helped advance the movement because it had helped women gain the strength they needed to fulfill the movement.

7. National Organization for Women (NOW): The Organization was created to pursue women's goals. NOW members pushed for the creation of child-care-facilities that would enable mothers to pursue jobs and education. It also pressured the EEOC to enforce more vigorously the ban on gender discrimination in hiring. NOW's efforts had prompted the EEOC to declare sex-segregated job ads illegal and to issue guidelines to employers, stating that they could no longer refuse to hire women for traditionally male jobs. Therefore the National Organization for Women advanced the movement tremendously by enforcing the ban on gender discrimination.

8. Gloria Steinem and Ms. Magazine: Gloria Steinem was one of the most important prominent figures in the movement after she and a few other women founded Ms. Magazine, which treated contemporary issues from a feminist perspective. She also helped founded the National Women's Political Caucus, which encouraged women to seek political office. Her actions were advanced the movement by this.

9. Congress: Congress passed a ban on gender discrimination in "any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." This was a huge advance to the movement because after Congress's actions several all-male colleges opened their doors to women. Also, that same year Congress had expanded the powers of the EEOC and gave working parents a tax break for child care expenses which was a huge help.

10. Supreme Court: The Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs Wade, one of the more controversial positions that NOW and other feminist groups supported. (Women do have the right to abortion during the first three months of pregnancy) However the issue still divides Americans today, although it shows the Supreme Court making an effort to support women in their movement.

11. The Equal rights Amendment would have guaranteed equal rights under the law, regardless of gender. Who opposed this amendment? Why? Phyllis Schlafy, along with conservative religious groups, were against the amendment because they were scared that it would lead to "a parade of horribles." Such as the drafting of women, the end of laws protecting homemakers, the end of a husband's responsibility to provide for his family, and same-sex marriages. Schlafy had claimed that radical feminists "hate men, marriage, and children" and were oppressed "only in their distorted minds."

Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?

Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?

The Americans did not lose purely for military reasons. There were other factors as well.

Write an explanation AND cite a source which shows the importance of the following six factors:

1. US military tactics in Vietnam: During the Vietnam War the US military used a lot of ineffective tactics. These were the search & destroy tactics, the orange and napalm bombs, and finally their extensive bombing on North Vietnam. The search & destroy tactics were very very ineffective. This is because the US military had been burning down villages, and in the midst of it killing many innocent civilians mistaken for Viet Cong fighters hiding in these villages. The US had wasted their time, they found very few Viet Cong fighters and probably killed more innocent civilians rather than what they were looking for, Viet Cong. Next the orange and napalm bombs also did very little. They had not only killed innocent people, but children as well which certainly did not make the US look good to the American public when pictures leaked of children running from the Napalm bombs. (Source 42) And finally, their bombing tactics did very little to the Communists. It only slowed them down, since the Communists were able to pick up right from where they started after the bombs with a major assault attack against the US military. They had also bombed the ancient Hue (source 41) that had caused outraged amongst the American public questioning the US military and their morals during the Vietnam War.

2. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime: The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime was another factor as to why the US lost the Vietnam War. The United States had supported Ngo Dinh Diem, who's regime was extremely corrupt. He was an extreme anti-communist who showed little respect for the Buddhist religion. Buddhist priests would protest by lightning themselves on fire in public (source 33) But America "knew of no one better." and kept supporting Diem. They needed somebody strong to help them defeat the communists. He wouldn't even hold any elections for positions of power, he would appoint members of his own family. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese Regime was the reason for the formation of the Viet Cong. Because of the actions of these anti-communist governments, support among the ordinary peasants for the Communist- led National Front for the liberation of South Vietnam was set up, the movement is referred to as Viet Cong.

3. The experience of the Viet Cong and the inexperience of the American soldiers: The Viet Cong fighters clearly showed much more experience than the American soldiers during the Vietnam War, leading to the defeat of the US. The Viet Cong fighters had the upper hand since they were fighting in their home, they knew their land well while the America soldiers had not a clue on where they were going. The Viet Cong soldiers used their advantage well and decided to use Guerilla tactics, which was extremely effective. As seen in source Source 37, American soldiers would search and search through the jungles, but the Viet Cong was hiding in the jungle unable to be seen by the US giving them the upper hand. Viet Cong fighters had been extremely hard to find for the US soldiers because of this, leading to why the US had such a hard time defeating them.

4. Domestic opposition to the war in the U.S: During the Vietnam War the American public did not support the American soldiers being there. Many many people were opposed to the war, and therefore many anti- war protests were formed. Nasty pictures began to leak out of screaming children running fro US Napalm bombs (source 42) Along with information about the My Lai Massacre (source 50), that shocked the world. Because of this discomfort throughout the American public about their soldiers taking apart of these horrible acts, it had caused a raucous throughout the American Public demanding that the war was put to an end. The numerous amount of protests were effective in making the President think about why they were in Vietnam. This loss of support made America think about leaving Vietnam, in which they did enabling them to lose the war.

5. Chinese and Soviet support for the Viet Cong: Both the Chinese and Soviet Union had supplied Viet Cong with weapons, which was very helpful to the Viet Cong. China had been very against the US winning the Vietnam War. As shown in source 38, they didn't want America to be in Vietnam. Along with this, the Soviet Union had been supporting Viet Cong because they wanted to spread communism so they felt that they had to support Vietnam as much as possible in order to spread the communism. Clearly Viet Cong had its supporters, while the US did not. The US had the help of the South Vietnamese regime, but they were no help. They depended on the American soldiers, and therefore kind of sat bat and watched the US do all of the work. The US had been alone in the war pretty much, while Viet Cong had been supporters which is a main reason the US lost the Vietnam War.

6. 'But did they really lose?' Summarize the argument put forward in Source 57, and your view on it.:V
Source 57 makes the argument that America did not lose the Vietnam War. It makes the point that the American Military had not been defeated in Vietnam, The US had not lost the war in Vietnam- the South Vietnamese did, and the fall of Saigon. Source 57 states that American military had not been defeated because they had preformed a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. Next, the fall of Saigon had happened two years after the US military had left, therefore how could they lose a war that they had already stopped fighting? In my opinion, I believe that the Vietnam war was a loss for us. This is because we had involved ourselves in a war we were not prepared for, and that we failed at successfully defeating communism, our primary goal for being apart of the Vietnam. Since we did not achieve our goals, we did not win the war we lost. Source 57 does make a good argument as to how this isn't personally a defeat for our country. But in my perspective we wasted our time being there to get rid of communism, and we could not defeat it meaning we failed.



Add other if you think there are factors you should consider.

Vietnam War Opposition

You are an opponent of American involvement in Vietnam. Use the evidence in this chapter to begin formulating ideas to make a poster or a leaflet putting forward your views. You will work on this in class on Friday. You can include stories and images from pages 353-61. However, you must also include an explanation that will convince the supporters of containment that the policy is not working in Vietnam. OPTIONAL: Instead of opposing the war, you can support it. Feel free to make a COUNTER-ARGUMENT that the war is necessary to contain Communism.

1. Note all of the reasons why you feel the war in Vietnam is wrong.
-Many many innocent civilians were killed (by chemical weapons, search and destroy tactics)
-destroying villages where innocent civilians were
-The My Lai Massacre
-The Ancient Hue was destroyed
-Napalm bombs killing children (pictures shown of children running from the bombs)
-US army seemed weak

2. Note what you're trying to achieve with this poster. (e.g. to convince people to write to their Congressmen to get the troops out.)
To convince people that this war is disastrous, and we need to get the Congressmen to get our troops out before we kill anymore innocent civilians and take their homes away by destroying their villages.

3. List possible images for your poster. Think about: background (e.g. destroyed villages); the central image (e.g. picture of a young soldier); whether you will need words to explain your image.
-destroyed villages
-solider watching burning down village
-photographs of the My Lai Massacre
-Vietnamese children running from the US Napalm bombs
-people in the South Vietnamese sorting through the city of Hue looking through the wreckage of their homes

4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
-Is this what we sent our soldiers there for?
-Do we want the innocent Vietnamese blood shed on our country?

Vietnam War Turning Points

1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet Offensive was a major turning point during the Vietnam War because it raised hard questions about the war in the USA. For example, there were nearly 500,000 troops in Vietnam and the USA was spending $20 billion a year on the war. This raised questions as to why the Communists had been able to launch a major offensive that took the US forces completely by surprise. Another for example, the US and South Vietnamese forces quickly retook the towns captured in the offensive but in the process they used enormous amounts of artillery and air power. Many civilians were killed, and the ancient Hue was destroyed. Was this right?

2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Sources 51 and 52 are not making the same point about the My Lai Massacre. This is because sources 51 is opposing the reasons behing the My Lai Massacre, claiming it was a Nai type of thing and they had not gone there to be Nazi's. The source also makes the point that they had gone there to be courageous on the behalf of their country and they had not known what they were doing. Source 52 however states tha tit was not a massacre of innocent civilians, they were only killing pawns who supported communism, something they needed to stop.

3. Why do you think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think that it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the My Lai Massacre because the revelations of the massacre would of course cause a great discrediting to the US army. Also there had already been photographs of horrid images of screaming children running from the Napalm Bombs the US had set off against Viet Cong, so the US had already been losing the support from the American people. If this were to get out, it would have enraged many antiwar protesters and cause a huge outrage among the people.

4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?
The Massacre was so shocking to the American people because nobody thought the US army was capable of doing such horrid, and horrendous things such as killing 400 innocent civilians. Of which mostly were women, children, and old men. It was a deed that no person at the time would think America would commit.

The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam

1. Now think about the overall picture - how the strengths and weaknesses work together.

a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
I would say that the balance was strongly weighted to the army of the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong had soldiers that seemed fearless. Compared to the army of the US that lived in constant fear of ambushes and booby traps set by Viet Cong. Viet Cong soldiers showed their strengths since they did not need any weapons to prove it. Although the US had these weapons and technology that were strong, Viet Cong had their soldiers who refused to give in, and who would hide in the jungles with no uniforms or known base camps/head quarters.

b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
The Effective Tactics was the most important quality in determining who wont he war. I believe this because the Guerilla Tactics were extremely effective and caused much frustration for the US army. I think that yes this feature was so important that behing ahead in this area meant that most of the other advantages did not matter. For example, good supplies and weapons/the right technology did not matter for the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong had been so powerful with their Guerilla Tactics that the amount of weapons and technology did not matter. The US had outgunned them in weapons but that gave them no upper hand since the Viet Cong army had been hiding all over the place in jungles, and provided traps that stopped the US army before they could even use their weapons on them. Also, the US had developed new technology like the "Agent Orange" and the "Napalm" Both highly toxic weapons. These weapons and new technology didn't really phase Viet Cong. Actually, it caused less support from the Vietnamese People and less support also from the American People. The Vietnam War was a media war, and when pictures came out with crying burning children from the Napalm bombs the US army would use America was stunned. Either way, technology and weapons did not phase Viet Cong with their powerful and strong guerilla tactics.

The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.

2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:

a. The U.S. weaknesses were: Their Search & Destroy tactics which caused them much hatred among the Vietnamese Population, their bombing tactics which did no real damage to the Communists, and their fearful soldiers who had lost their morale for the war and were very fearful of the Viet Cong and their booby traps and ambushes. First, the Search & Destroy tactics were only a little effective. The US did find and kill some Viet Cong fighters, but in total there were much more problems that were included in the tactic. For example, inexperienced troops often walked into traps, innocent villages were destroyed, civilian casualties were extremely high, and many innocent civilians were murdered causing the support of the Vietnamese People to turn to the Viet Cong. When you compare the Search & Destroy tactics by the US to the Guerilla Tactics by the Viet Cong, it is clear that the guerilla tactics had no problems included, while the Search & Destroy tactic had much problems following behind. The Searach & Destroy tactic did nothing good for the US except anger the Vietnamese people. Next, the bombing tactics done by the US did no real damage to the Communists at all, it only slowed them down. Therefore the US army kind of wasted it's time I'd say. And finally, the soldiers of the US army had lost their morale and were very fearful. A fearful soldier isn't a strong one because their not able to take risks and kill. Also, when a soldier loses their morale they don't have anything pushing them to fight well. They weren't really fighting for anything if they lost their morale, therefore a loss in their morale meant a weaker soldier since they would not fight as well.

b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were: Their motivated and committed soldiers, and their ability to keep going. The soldiers of the communists were very motivated, they refused to give in showing their strengths compared to those of the US army. Also, their ability to keep going after being hit was very impressive. After the US's extensive bombing raids on the Communists military and industrial targets, they were able to continue to operate their supply lines. And even after major air raids on North Vietnamese in 1972, the Communists were still able to launch a major assault on the South.

c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example: When the US launched extensive bombing raids on the North Vietnamese targets they did come out with some successes. These were: it damaged the Vietnam's war effort and disrupted supply lines, it enabled the USA to strike at Communist forces even when it was reducing US ground forces in Vietnam after 1969, and finally from 1970 to 1972 intense bombing campaigns against Hanoi and the port of Haiphong forced the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table.

d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were: The biggest failure of the US during the Vietnam War was the My Lai Massacre. This was when in March 1968 a unit of Young America soldiers called Charlie Company started a search and destroy mission. They had been told that in the My Lai area there had been Viet Cong head quarters, and 200 Viet Cong guerrillas. The soldiers had been ordered to destroy all houses, dwellings, and livestock. Most of them were under the impression that they had been ordered to kill everyone in the villages. Between 300-400 civilians were killed, they were mostly women, children, and old men. No Viet Cong were found. Soon after Life Magazine, one of the most influential magazines in the USA, published photographs of the massacre at My Lai. This triggered an investigation that ended in the trial for mass murder of Leuitenant William Calley. The relevations at My Lai deeply shocked the American public and it was the clearest evidence that the war had gone wrong. In conclusion, the massacre at My Lai cost the US army much shame among the American public, and the lives of many innocent civilians for no lives of the Viet Cong.

e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as: their guerrilla tactics that led them to a success. Because they decided to fight the way a guerrilla does, they gave the US army a nightmare and therefore increased their chances of winning the Vietnam War. They did not wear any uniform, they did not have any known headquarters or base camps, they were hard to tell apart from other peasants living in the villages, and after they attacked they would escape into the jungles making life for the US army in Vietnam so much more difficult. Their aim of the guerrilla tactics was to wear down the US Army, in which they did with much success. In fact they did so much that most of the soldiers in the US army lost their morales to fight. Therefore the guerilla tactics that Viet Cong chose to use was one of their major successes in the Vietnam War.

f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example: The Tet Offensive of 1968. Viet Cong attacked over 100 cities and other military targets. US forces had to fight to regain control room by room. In many ways the Tet Offensive was a disaster for the US and the Viet Cong. Viet Cong had hoped that the South Vietnam would step up and help them but they did not. Viet Cong lost around 10,000 experienced fighters and were badly weakened by it.

g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be the tactics they decided to take in the Vietnam war because: Their tactics didn't really do much as to helping them in the war, it only made things go slower and cause some problems along the way. First, their bombing tactics could no defeat the Communists, it could only slow them down. The Viet Cong continued to operate its supply lines even after major air raids by the US. The Communists were even still able to launch a major assault on the South. Also, the cost of the sir was was horrendous. The Communists had shot down 14,000 US and South Vietnamese aircrafts. Also, in 1967 the American Life America magazine calculated that it cost the USA $400,000 to kill one Viet Cong fighter, a figure that included 75 bombs and 400 artillery shells. Therefore the bombing tacts they chose to take only slowed down the Communists doing no real damage, cost them many soldiers, and to make matters worse cost them the embarrassment to the American public. The second war tactic chosen by the USA was Search & Destroy Tactics. These also did the US no real success. The US killed very few Viet Cong fighters by burning down villages, and also killed many many innocent civilians living in these villages. This cost them hatred among the Vietnamese people, making them lose the chance of the Vietnamese population from ever helping them out, and also it cost them time since they spent their time searching through the villages and jungles, and found nothing. The US should have changed their war tactics in the Vietnam War because clearly what they had been doing did very little for them in the long run.

h. The key Viet Cong strength was the guerrilla tactics because: like I had said before, if it wasn't for the guerrilla tactics done by the Viet Cong this war probably would had been a lot easier for the US army to defeat. The Guerilla Tactics caused frustration among the US soldiers, and therefore a lack in morale and a fear among most of the men. A fearful soldier with no morale to win isn't a strong one. Overall the guerrilla tactics caused so much frustration and it made the fighters of the Viet Cong very difficult to find, and therefore harder to kill. Also, another strength of the Viet Cong was their soldiers who refused to ever back down. Because Viet Cong was equipped with such people like that, they had more of a chance of winning.

The U.S. Enters the Vietnam War

1. Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of US policy. Explain why.
The US made the policy that prevented the elections from taking place because it feared that the Communists would win. Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of US policy because Ho Chi Minh, he inspired the Vietnamese people to fight for an independent Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was a communist, and the United States feared that possibly 80 per cent of the population would have voted for the communist as their leader. The Vietnam people were very critical of the policy preventing these elections from taking place, because Ho Chi Minh imspired them. Also, the United States methods and policies showed their ignorance of the Vietnamese people and the region.

2. Explain how US politicians would have defended their policies.
US politicians would have defended their policies by advocating their "domino theory". President Eisenhower and his Secretary of State JF Dulles were convinced that China and the USSR were planning to spread Communism throughout Asia. If Vietnam fell to Communism, then Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, and possibly even India might also fall- just like a row of dominoes.

3. The following events are not listed in correct date order. Place them in the correct chronological order. (Write the year inside the parenthesis, i.e. (1965). Then note the reason for each U.S. action, and how it brought the U.S. into deeper involvement in Vietnam.

The reasons you can choose from are: No direct involvement; financial support; political involvement; military involvement. Also, note what events triggered the increased involvement.

(1963) Assassination of JFK - Johnson becomes president: political involvement-> His successor Lyndon Johnson, was more prepared than Kennedy to commit the USA to a full-scale conflict in Vietnam to prevent the spread of Communism.

(1955) Formation of South Vietnam- political involvement-> Ngo Dinh Diem set up the Republic of South Vietnam, who treated the Vietnamese peasants with
contempt. He was a Christian and showed little respect for the Buddhist religion of most Vietnamese peasants. Diem's regime was also extremely corrupt. Therefor causing the people to overthrow him, and anger the Vietnamese people even more triggering increased involvement.

(1964) Gulf of Tonkin Incident: military involvement-> The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was passed which gave Lyndon Johnson the power to 'take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security'. It effectively meant that
he could take the USA into a full-scale war if he felt it was necessary.

(1962) Number of 'advisers' reaches over 11,500: military involvement-> Increased American involvement in Vietnam.

(1962) JFK sends military advisers: military involvement-> JFK sent the advisers to fight the Viet Cong, therefore in 1963 and 1964 tension between North and South
Vietnam increased.

(1965) U.S. Marines land at Da Nang: military involvement-> US marines, combat troops rather than advisers, came ashore at Da Nang. America was at war in Vietnam.


(1954) U.S. stops elections in Vietnam: political involvement-> Stopping elections in Vietnam angered the people because now they could not elect Ho Chi Minh, somebody they deeply admired.

(1963) U.S. supports South Vietnam government after army overthrow Diem: no direct involvement-> The actions of these anti-Communist governments increased support among the ordinary peasants for the Communist-led National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam. This movement was usually referred to as the Viet Congo which later on attacked American air force bases getting the US even more involved.

(1960) Viet Cong attacks on U.S. and South Vietnam bases: military involvement-> This would involve the US in the Vietnam even more because they would need to fight back.

(1960) Viet Cong formed: no direct involvement-> Viet Cong later on attacked the United States American air forces which would cause the US more involvement.

4. Choose two events that you think were critical in getting the U.S. involved in a war in Vietnam. Explain.
The two event that I think were critical in getting the US involved in a war in Vietnam would be the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and the US Marines landing at Da Nang. The Guld of Tonkin Incident gave Lyndon Johnson the power to 'take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security'. Meaning that he could take the USA into a full-scale war if he felt it was necessary. Increasing the chances of the US getting involved in the war. Next, when the US Marines landed at Da Nang, America was finally at war in Vietnam.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

1. Kennedy described Wednesday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 27 as the darkest days of the crisis. Use the information on page 350 to explain why.
Well, on October 24th the blockade on Cuba begins. However the Soviet ships carrying missiles and accompanied by the Soviet submarines still come. On Saturday October 27th, Khrushchev sends a second letter saying that the condition for removing the missiles from Cuba so that the USA withdraw its missiles from Turkey. This was very hard news from Kennedy, since he so desperately wanted the missiles from Cuba removed, but he could not accept the condition since the missiles in Turkey were important. Also on this day, an American U-2 plane was show down over Cuba. This was a very hard day for president Kennedy because now he is advised to launch an immediate reprisal attack on Cuba, although he delays the attack and decides to ignore the second letter sent by Khrushchev.

2. Do you think that nuclear war was ever a possibility in this crisis?
Yes I definitely believe that a nuclear war was a possibility during this crisis. This is because the Soviets ships had reached the blockaded, and the U.S. responded by sinking their ship. And in response to this, the Soviets could have used their nuclear weapons as a retaliation against the United States, causing a nuclear war. Basically, one attack leads to another.

3. Is Source 26 a Soviet or an American cartoon? Explain your answer by referring to the details in the cartoon.
I believe that Source 26 is a American cartoon. First, President Kennedy is displayed as the more stronger leader, rather than Khrushchev. This is because you can tell that Khrushchev is very worried by the wrinkles in his forehead, and the drops of sweat falling from his forehead. While Kennedy on the other hand is very relaxed and calm. He shows no distress like Khrushchev. There is no sweat dripping from his forehead, or wrinkles in his face. Also Kennedy's finger is pretty far away from the button, while Khrushchev is closer and almost directly on it. This shows Kennedy as the stronger country since he is much more relaxed, and not so worried. Khrushchev is about to press the button because he is worried and desperate. This cartoon is definitely in favor of The United States, and therefore an American cartoon.

4. Using Source 27 list any evidence you can find for and against each of the explanations.

Why did the Soviet Union place nuclear missiles on Cuba?
To bargain with the USA: If there were missiles in Cuba Khrushchev could get Kennedy to make some concessions in return for the removal of the missiles.

To test the USA: The Soviet Union wanted to test out President Kennedy. The Soviet Union placed these nuclear weapons in Cuba to see how strong the Americans really were, if they were to face up, the Soviets knew they were a strong nation. If they were to back down, they were weak and now the Soviets could use this to their advantage.

To get the upper hand in the arms race: Khrushchev believed that with missiles on Cuba it was less likely that the USA would ever launch a 'first strike" against the USSR.

To trap the USA: The missiles in Cuba were a trap. Khrushchev wanted the Americans to find them and be drawn into a nuclear war. They were not hidden for a reason.

To defend Cuba: The missiles were used to help defend Cuba.

5. Choose the explanation(s) that you think best fit what you have found out about the crisis. Explain your choice.
I think that Khrushchev had put the missiles in Cuba to not only test the USA but to also get the upper hand in the arms race. This is because, Krushchev, in my opinion, already believed that Kennedy was weak. I think he wanted to see how far Kennedy would go. By putting missiles in Cuba he could find out the strength Kennedy had at the time. If he was weak, then he would feel as if he had the upper hand in the battle. He could feel as if he was the stronger nation, and Kennedy was scared of him. By testing Kennedy with Cuban missiles he would know what to do next. Also, by obtaining the upper hand in the arms race the Soviet Union would be one step ahead of the United States.

The U.S. Attempts to Contain Cuba

1. Why was Cuba so important to the United States?
Cuba was so important to the United States because Cuba was a large island that had long been an American ally. Americans owned most of the businesses on the island and they had a huge naval base there also. Now that is belonged to Castro and the Soviet Union, Castro now took over all the American businesses, causing the United States a lot of money, an ally, and their huge naval base.


2. Why do you think the Americans chose to equip Cuban exiles rather than invading themselves?
I think that Americans chose to equip Cuban exiles rather than invading themselves because they thought that the Cuban exiles would know their land more than the Americans, and therefore would have an advantage. Also, because America knew that if they were to made a direct attack with their men against Fidel Castro, the Cubans may attack them, maybe even with the help of the Soviets. By having the Cuban exiles invade they were in a way hiding behind them and putting their actions on them, setting them behind the scenes.

3. Why did the invasion fail?
The invasion failed probably because the Americans had trained 1400 Cuban exiles, while the Soviet Union had 2000 soldiers fighting for them. Also the Cuban exiles had no air support from the U.S.

4. Compare Source 17 on page 345 (in the Arms Race.pdf reading) with Source 24 on page 348. Describe how the Soviet Union missiles on Cuba changed the Cold War balance of power.
Source 17 on page 345 conveys the message that the Soviet Union had less of an advantage during the Cold War. The United States had short-range missiles could hit the USSR in minutes. White the USSR had long-range ones from the USA would take 30 minutes. But source 24 on page 348 conveys a different message. It's saying that now the Soviet Union started depositing missiles in Cuba the balance of power had shifted from the U.S to the Soviet Union. Now the Soviet Union could easily hit almost any city in the U.S. in 20 minutes or less. The United States had the disadvantage because the Soviet Union could bomb any number of the U.S. cities, and it would take the United States much longer to fire on them in response.

The American Dream in the 1950s

1. Baby Boom: The Baby Boom was during the late 1940's through the early 1960's. During this time the birthrate in the United States soared. At the height of the baby boom one American infant was born every seven seconds. The significance of the baby boom was that it was the largest generation in the nation's history.

2. Dr. Jonas Salk: Dr. Jonas Salk was one of the many doctors that tried to discover drugs to fight and prevent childhood diseases that saved hundreds of thousands of children's lives. However Dr. Jonas Salk created a vaccine for the crippling disease poliomyelitis. This was very important because his discovery had been a breakthrough at the time.

3. Interstate Highway System: The Interstate Highway System authorized the building of a nationwide highway network- 41,000 miles of expressways. This was important because the highway system encouraged the development of new suburbs farther from the cities. Also, the highways made high-speed, long-haul trucking possible which also contributed to a decline in a commercial use of railroads. The system of highways also helped unify and homogenize the nation.

4. Franchise: A Franchise is a company that offers similar products or services in many locations. For example, McDonalds. The larger organizations created "company people." Companies would give personality tests to people applying for jobs. Companies rewarded employees teamwork, cooperation, and loyalty and so contributed to the growth of conformity.

5. In a paragraph, describe in detail how Americans spent their leisure time in the 1950s.
Most Americans in the 1950's had more leisure time than ever before. Employee's worked a 40 hour week and earned several weeks vacation per year. In 1953 American's spent more than 30 billion on leisure goods and activities. Americans also enjoyed a wide variety of recreational pursuits- both active and passive. Millions of people played sports such as fishing, bowling, hunting, boating and golf. More fans than ever attended baseball, basketball, and football games; others watched professional sports on television. American's also started becoming more interested in reading. They enjoyed books about cooking, religion, do it-yourself projects, and homemaking. Also books about romance, mysteries, and and fiction.

The Arms Race

1. Read Source 12. What methods do you think Dulles had in mind to 'liberate captive peoples' without a war?
Dulles thought that in order to liberate captive peoples without a war they should make policies short of war. For example he set up a network of anti-Communist alliances around the world. The South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) was formed in 1954. Also, the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) was formed in 1955.


2. Look at Source 13. Would you agree that the Communist world was encircled? Explain your answer.
I do not agree that the Communist world was encircled. The USSR only felt threatened by these policies/alliances therefore they wanted to do something about it quick because the USSR and the USA were having an arms race at the time and they didn't like each other one bit, they were enemies. They saw them as having a more aggressive purpose something they didn't really see before with the policy of Containment. Therefore the USSR had accused the USA of trying to encircle the Communist world.

3. Carefully examine the verticle timeline on page 343. Then look back at Source 12. Do you think the development of nuclear weapons was what Dulles might have had in mind?
The timeline on page 343 shows the rapidly growing obtainment of weapons the USSR and the US race to have to outgrow each other. I do not think that the development of nuclear weapons was what Dulles had in mind. Dulles did not believe that war was the answer to liberating the captive people, or getting rid of the communism. He said that liberating the captive people, did not mean war. He believed in taking a different approach by creating different policies around the USSR. The development of nuclear weapons only gives the US and the USSR something to start a war. The nuclear weapons would only lead to violence and war which Dulles believed was not the way to solve the problem.

4. Look at Source 16. What is the Soviet cartoon saying about the U-2 plane?
Source 16 shows Eisenhower looking through a telescope/the U-2 Plane at CCCP. CCCP is the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in Russian (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик.) The Soviet Cartoon is saying that the U-2 Plane was a way for America to spy on the USSR. Eisenhower is holding the telescope while also wearing a spectacle. This helps portray the message the Soviets were trying to get across, being that the US was being sneaky and spying on the USSR by using its U-2.

5. Read the Factfile on page 344. Explain why the USSR was so angry about the US spy flights.
The USSR was so angry about the US spy flights because the plane they had been using, called the U-2, had sophisticated listening devices and such powerful cameras that it could read a newspaper on the ground from 23,000 meters. In conclusion, U-2 spying flights kept the Americans fully informed about Soviet weapons technology through the late 1950s. This of course angered the Soviets extremely since the US and the USSR were having and arms race and constantly trying to out- weaponize each other.


6. How would the USA justify this violation of Soviet territory?
The USA would justify this violation of Soviet territory by making the point that the Soviet Union had also been using spies which is just as bad as violating the Soviet territory. Either way both the countries were going behind the other's back trying to obtain secret information to benefit themselves.

7. If the USSR had had U-2 planes, do you think it would have used them? Why?
I do not think that if the USSR had the U-2 planes they would have used them. The USSR preferred to use human spies like Rudolf Abel. Also, the US had a hold of short-range missiles that could hit the USSR in minutes. Either way if the USSR had wanted to use their U-2 planes, it would have been shot down by the US very quickly.

8. Look at Source 17. Why do you think the USA had missiles based in Europe?
The USA had missiles based in Europe because the theory was that such weapons made them secure. If both the USSR and the USA had missiles based, then the enemy would not dare attack first, because it knew that, if it did, the other would strike back before its bombs had even landed and it too would be destroyed, it would be suicidal. Therefore by having nuclear weapons deterred the other side from attacking first keeping them secure. This policy became known as MAD.

9. Define the term 'nuclear deterrent' in not more than 20 words.
A nuclear deterrent is the nuclear weapons possessed by a country with the idea that it would discourage an enemies attack.

Eisenhower & The Cold War

Chapter 26, section 4, Two Nations Live on Edge, (pages 828-833)

How did the United States react to the following 7 events, and why?

1. The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949.
When hearing that the Soviet Union had exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949, the United States decided to create an even more deadlier weapon, the H- Bomb (hydrogen bomb.) They reacted this way because they were scared of the Soviet Union since it had now obtained a very strong and deadly weapon that before only the United States had. The United States wanted to be one step ahead with their weapons to ensure their safety.

2. In 1951, the Iranian prime minister placed the oil industry in Iran under the Iranian government’s control.
When the prime minister placed the oil industry in Iran under the Iranian government's control, Britain protested by no longer buying Iranian oil. Because of this, the United States feared that Mossadegh might turn to the Soviet for help since their economy was slowly faltering. Because of this fear the United States had the CIA give several million dollars to anti-Mossadegh supporters. This plan was hopefully going to have pro-American Shah of Iran to return to power.

3. The Guatemalan head of government gave American-owned land in Guatemala to peasants.
The United States was of course furious of this so in response America had it's CIA to train an army, which would invade Guatemala.

4. In 1956, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt and occupied the Suez Canal.
The United States seeing the fighting growing in Egypt as a problem, quickly stepped in. It persuaded Great Britain, France, and Israel.

5. Soviet tanks invaded Hungary and fired on protesters in 1956.
The United States did nothing to help the Hungarians who were fired upon by the Soviets in 1956. This might have been because America was afraid to start any real brutal conflict with the Soviets causing WWIII.

6. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik.
The United States was shocked to hear that the Soviet Union had beat them and promptly poured money into their own space program. So in response U.S. scientists worked frantically to catch up to the Soviets by successfully creating a satellite. Their first try was a complete failure, the second was successful.

7. In 1960, the Soviet Union brought down an American U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers.
The United States at first did not know what to do so they lied and denied that the U-2 had been spying. However the Soviets had evidence so Eisenhower admitted to the spying so in response Eisenhower agreed to stop the U-2 flights, but he refused to apologize. Because of the U-2 incident much more tension between the Soviets and America had began.

The Red Scare (1950s)

1. HUAC: The most famous agency that investigated possible Communist Influence both inside and outside the U.S. government. The HUAC made headlines in 1947 when it began to investigate Communist influence in the movie industry.

2. Blacklist: List of people whom they condemned for having a Communist background. People who were on the black list had their carreers ruined because they could no longer work!

3. Alger Hiss: A former Communist Spy accused Alger Hiss for spying for the Soviet Union. This was a highly publicised case because during the case Richard Nixon gained fame for pursuing the charges against Hiss. Because of this Nixon was elected for vice president of the United States.

4. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg: Another spy case that rocked the nation even more than the Hiss case. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were accused of being apart of giving the Soviet Union information about America's atomic bomb. They were sentenced to death and found guilty. Judge Irving Kaufman claimed that what they did was worse than murder. It was one of the deadliest clashes of the Cold War.

5. Joseph McCarthy: The most famous anti-communist activist. During the first three years in the Senate he had a reputation for being an ineffective legislator. McCarthy charged that Communists were taking over the government.

6. McCarthyism: The attacks made by McCarthy on suspected Communists. This tactic was not fair. He accused people of disloyalty without providing evidence.

7. In a paragraph, describe the motivations and actions of Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s. What prompted his actions? What did he do? What happened as a result of his actions?
Jospeh McCarthy was convinced that Communists were taking over the government. Because of his beliefs, he did everything in his power to stop communism from spreading. First, he started attacking people that he suspected Communist. These became known as "McCarthyism". His tactics were not fair, he accused people of disloyalty without even providing any evidence. He also charged that the Democratic Party was guilty of "20 years of treason" for allowing Communism infiltration into the government. McCarthy had been accusing people one after the other, he was not being just or fair in his actions which makes him a very belligerent man who acts off of his opinions and beliefs only. McCarthy had even made accusations against the United States army, which only resulted in a nationally televised Senate Investigation. McCarthy's bullying of witnesses alienated the audience and cost him public support. The Senate then condemned him for improper conduct that "tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute." Clearly McCarthy's unfair tactics, and accusastions only caused him to be condemned.

Korean War Lessons

From the Korean War we the United States can learn that communism is spreading rapidly and therefore we are not prepared for a war with the Soviet Union and their allies. Communism is indeed spreading. Even China, soon after the Soviet take-over of eastern Europe, became Communist in 1949. Now suddenly a massive new Communist state had appeared on the map. It is clear that these communist countries are working together, and that Communism is getting stronger around the world. Because of these reasons, America initiated a war in Korea that we were not prepared for. The type of lessons that we can learn from this wear is that we must not under estimate any country. We had underestimated the Chinese, and therefore were forced to push back into South Korea. I think it is also important to realize that we should listen to countries when they warn us, and to not get ahead of ourselves and therefore to know when to stop. When the Chinese had warned us that pressing on would mean
China's joining the war, we still moved on and approved the plan to advance into North Korea.

The United States had certain aims to achieve in the Korean War. Primarily, we had wanted to remove North Korean troops from South Korea. By the help and support of the UN this was able to happen. But as time went on the United States got ahead of ourselves and we therefore kept pushing. Our vaulting ambition only caused us to fall on the end of disaster. We underestimated the power of the Chinese and were therefore pushed back into South Korea. However, with the help of the members of the United Nations we were able to achieve our first goal, which was to remove North Korean troops from South Korea. Although there is some communism still in Korea we did push them farther North making the Soviet Union's control weaken.

At the time General MacArthur had the role of Commander. MacArthur had been the one to make the mistake of underestimating the power of the Chinese. He had invaded North Korea without even thinking about the possible threat of the Chinese, even when they had warned us. I do not believe that MacArthur should have been allowed to invade North Korea. He had gone too far by pushing the border of South Korea almost to the Yalu River, he should have stopped after successfully removing North Korean troops from South Korea. After these actions, MacArthur had even advocated that the United States should carry on the war, invading China and even using nuclear weapons if necessary. Truman however did not agree, but that did not stop MacArthur. MacArthur blatantly ignored the UN instruction and openly threatened an attack on China.
Because of his failure to follow the commands, and his risky/dangerous ideas, it was clear he was not ready for the role of Commander and therefore MacArthur was removed.

The casualties of the Korean War were a total of 1.4 billion! Although most were on North Korea and China's side, the people that got the most casualties was all of Korea, with North Korea being the most and South Korea coming next with 570,000 civilians and soldiers killed. American and UN soldiers had lost the least amount of soldiers and civilians with 34,500 deaths.

Although the United States had successfully removed North Korean troops from South Korea, we were overall not prepared for the Korean War. For future actions, we need to consider what's the most important thing we need to accomplish, and to therefore not let our country get ahead of itself. We also need to realize that Communism is spreading, and therefore they have many allies making them stronger.

Overall I would say that President Truman's containment plan was somewhat successful. His plan did successfully allow us to push communism and the Soviet Union somewhat out of North Korea, allowing us to stop the spread of communism and the Soviet Union in becoming too powerful. However there were some downfalls. Communism did reach into China and almost got us into a third war world. In my opinion there should be more done to the policy of containment because clearly it is not strong enough to stop communism from spreading.

Dropping the Atomic Bomb

1. What factors have affected viewpoints on Truman's decision?
There were many factors that affected viewpoints on Truman's decision to use the atomic bombs on Japan. One of them for example, was that when Truman received details of secret Japanese signals that showed that the Japanese military were determined to fight to the finish, Truman came to the conclusion that the bomb had to be used as a 'normal' weapon without any warning. Another reason was that while testing the bomb, all the tests indicated that the bomb was of such power that no country could recover from its impact. From that being said, and the estimated number of casualties if they did invade Japan, Truman believed that since invading Japan would be so dangerous and could kill so many American lives, it was best for them to just use the atomic bomb.


2. Do you think he made the right decision? Give your reasons.
I think that the decision was the right one. Using the atomic bomb saved thousands of American Soldiers lives, and stopped the bloody invasion in Japan from happening. I think the most important thing at the time was to think about how to protect our people, not worry about the others. If we didn't use the atomic bomb, there would have been millions of either dead soldiers, or many casualties. It's often argued that the bomb used on Japan was unnecessary, and immorally wrong. Another reason is that by using the atomic bomb on Japan, we stopped the war from continuing. Since it was said that many military leaders planned to overthrow Hirohito and continue the war. Therefor in conclusion, by using the atomic bombs America successfully stopped the deaths of thousands of American soldiers, and stopped the war from continuing.

War in the Pacific

stop at the page 790 25-3

1. What was the importance of the Battle of Midway?
The battle of Midway was a very important battle because it was known to be the turning point of the war. America had the upper hand in the battle, and caught the Japanese with their planes still on the decks of the carriers. The result of the battle was devastating, the Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers, a cruiser, and 250 planes. It was said by a Japanese official that America had even "avenged Pearl Harbor" Soon after this battle, America began "island hopping" and island by island they won territory back from the Japanese. Thus making the battle the turning point of the war.

2. What strategy did the United States adopt in fighting Japan?
While fighting Japan, the United States adopted the strategy of island hopping. Where the United States Marine Corps would take one island at a time as they make their way toward Japan.

3. Why did the Japanese fight so hard on Iwo Jima?
The Japanese fought extremely hard on Iwo Jima because it held 20,700 Japanese troops. Also, if America had successfully won the battle on Iwo Jima, this now meant they had one more obstacle (Okinawa) then they would be able to bomb Japan, having it be the end for Japan in the war.

4. Why did the Allies believe Okinawa was a foretaste of an invasion of Japan?
The Allies believed that Okinawa was a foretaste of an invasion of Japan because the battle cost thousands of American lives, and it was overall a very difficult and long battle. Much harder than the battle on Iwo Jima. America realized that the invasion of Japan would cost them even more lives of American soliders, and would be even more of a challenge that the battle in Okinawa.

5. What was the Manhattan Project?
The Manhattan Project was a secret development of the atomic bomb led by General Leslie Groves and by American Scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. This was where they tested the atomic bomb, which ended successfully.


6. Ultimately, why did President Truman decide to drop atomic bombs on Japan?
President Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan because he believed this was the only way to end the war with Japan. He had even warned Japan that if they did not surrender now, they would be faced with grave danger soon. But they refused to surrender, giving Truman no choice but to enforce the atomic bombs.

War for Europe and North Africa - Part II

6. What was D-Day?
D-Day, June 6th 1944, was the day that the 3 million british, american, and canadian troops gathered to attack Normandy in Northern France. D-Day was the first day of the allies invasion. Shortly after midnight, three divisions parachuted down from German lines. They were followed in the early morning by thousands upon thousands of seaborn soldiers- the largest land-sea-air operation in army history.

7. What happened at the Battle of the Bulge?
When America captured its first German town, the Hitler responded by ordering his troops to break through the Allied lines and to recapture the Belgium port of Antwerp. Thus creating the Battle of the Bulge. At the battle eight German tank divisions broke through the weak American defenses. The tanks drove 60 miles into the territory of the Allies, creating a bulge in the lines that gave the battle it's name. The battle lasted for a month, the Germans were a bit pushed back, but other than that nothing seemed to change.

8. What did Allied troops find in Germany?
Allied troops found the horrid Nazi death camps in Germany.

9. What happened to Hitler? What happened to F.D. Roosevelt? Who became U.S. President?
After America's finding of the Nazi death camps, Hitler killed himself realizing that this was the end for him anyways. Roosevelt soon after had a stroke and died, electing vice president Harry. S. Truman as the nations 33rd president.

War for Europe & North Africa

1. To what did Roosevelt and Churchill agree early in the war?
Roosevelt and Churchill, early in the war, agreed that they should first strike Hitler, since Churchill believed that Germany and Italy posed a greater threat than Japan.

2. Why was winning the Battle of the Atlantic so crucial to the fortunes of the Allies?
Winning the Battle of the Atlantic was very crucial to the fortunes of the allies because their ships were used to carry food and war supplies across the Atlantic. Great Britain had greatly depended on these supplies and if Germany were to successfully win the Battle of the Atlantic, Britain would be starved into submission.

3. Why was the Battle of Stalingrad so important?
The Battle of Stalingrad was so important for many reasons. At first, Germany had complete control over the situation. They invaded Stalingrad, were taking down homes one by one, and by the end of September they controlled nine-tenths of the city. But when the Soviet Union stepped in, everything took a huge turn and now the Soviet Union troops were in control. In the end, the Soviets lost a total of 1,100,000 soldiers, but the victory was marked a turning point in the war, and after that the Soviet army began to move westward towards Germany.

4. What happened in the war in North Africa?
In the War in North Africa, some 107,000 allied troops landed in Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers in North America, in the hopes of launching an Operation Launch. From there they spread eastward chasing the Afrika Korps led by General Erwin Rommel. After months of hard fighting, the last of the Afrika Korps surrendered. America believed they were masters of the North Africa Shores.

5. What happened after the Allies invaded Italy?
After the Allies invaded Italy the Italian government forced their dictator Mussolini to be removed as their dictator, and arrested. Although unfortunately the Germans remained in Italy trying to fight off the Allies for a very long time.

Mobilizing for WWII

Mobilizing for War and note how each of the following contributed to that effort.


1. Selective Service System: The Selective Service System contributed to the war effort by adding in 5 million volunteers to the military service.

2. Women: Women contributed to the war effort by volunteering in the war. They worked in jobs away from violence like electricians, nurses, ambulance drivers, and radio operators.

3. Minorities: even though minorities were a great help to the war efforts, they were also greatly discriminated against, and many people were prejudice against them like they were to women. They fought in the war, though they didn't like that they'd be fighting against other races in the war. Many ethnic groups all volunteered, like Asian-Americans, African-Amricans, and Native-Americans, and were a huge help to the war efforts.

4. Manufacturers: Manufacturers were a huge help to the war effort because they switched their products that they were making into producing combat materials for the war. For example an automobile industries switched from making cars to making ships, planes, and much more. These industries were a huge help since after the Pearl Harbor Attack many American ships and planes were a necessity since they were destroyed.

5. Office of Scientific Research and Development(OSRD): The OSRD contributed to the war effort by improving sonar and radar, inventing drugs (ex. penicillan) and the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb was the main accomplishment though. They made a program called the Manhattan Project that investigated and researched how to make the atomic bomb. They focused on this because Albert Einstein told FDR that German scientists had figured out how to extract uranium atoms which made a lot of energ, or a powerful bomb. Also, Improving sonar and radar made it possible to locate submarines, and penicillan saved many lives.

6 Entertainment industry: The film industry made many movies about the Soviet Union being our ally, the Nazis, and romances. These movies had many different effects. After Pearl Harbor many war-oriented propaganda films like Mission To Moscow, and Song of Russia, kept that war fever going. Other "hiss and boo" movies stirred up hatred against the Nazi's. In this way, movies energized people to join the war effort.

7. Office of Price Administration (OPA): FDR made this administration to keep inflation below 30% and to reduce consumer demands on daily products. It raised the income tax and spread to people who hadn't paid it before, making workers not able to spend as much. This adminstration kept the inflation steady throughout World War II.

8. War Production Board (WPB): The WPD controlled the companies by telling them what they can make, and where they can send the materials to a company. The WPD recycled many things like paper, tin, and also cooking fat for war goods. This then led to many children helping out by collecting all the materials that could be recycled.

9. Rationing: Rationing helped with the war effort by limiting many Americans at home to the amount of food they were able to purchase. They had to buy things with coupons that raised the prices, which only made them not want to buy as much since it was costly. Americans also couldn't buy gasoline which greatly impacted the west by them not being able to get around. This was very good for the war since more gasoline and oil could be given to the ships, planes, and automobiles being used in the war.

Japan and U.S. Relations in 1941

The IA question: Using the documents and your own knowledge assess the state of diplomatic relations between Japan and the U.S. in 1941.

Section B: Brief Summary of Evidence

Japan and U.S. Relations in 1941


Document A:
-Japan wants to force China to surrender and then eventually, have the Soviet Union surrender also
-Strong probability that their advancement to the South will enable Germany and Italy to defeat England
-Plan to strike a heavy blow at America's source of strategic materials
-They think they should be able to ring off Asia and conquer all those countries hostile to them one by one
-Plan to defeat America and England

Document B:
-Japanese man represents Japan
-Japan portrayed as small and very quick
-FDR and others reading newspaper titled 'Pacific Situation'
-Japan is circling them

Document C:
-The negotiations will be ended with America
-Japan does not want to give off the impression that the negotiations were broken off
-Plan on saying to America that Japan is awaiting instructions
-The United States is unbending, and making it impossible for Japan to establish negotiations

Document D:
-Japan's empire is standing at the point of destruction
-Japan plans on bringing the government and military even closer together
-Plan on making an all-out effort to achieve their war aims

Document E:
-United States attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan
-The Unites States believed they were at peace with Japan
-Japanese Ambassador states that the existing diplomatic negotiations would no longer be existing
-The attack was deliberately planned many days or weeks ago
-Japan had sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace
-War had existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire

America Moves Toward War

1. What did the 1939 Neutrality Act allow?
The 1939 Neutrality Act allowed warring nations to buy U.S. arms as long as they paid cash and transported them in their own ships. This act was known as "cash and carry".

2. Who were the Axis powers?
The Axis powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan. When they had signed a mutual defense treaty they had been known as that.

3. What did the Lend-Lease Act do?
The Lend-Lease act was a plan that the President would lend or lease arms or other supplies to "any country whose defense was vital to the united states". Roosevelt felt that it was the only sensible thing to do to prevent the fire from spreading to your own property.

4. What pledges were contained in the Atlantic Charter?
The pledges contained in the Atlantic Charter were, collective security, disarmament, self-determination, economic cooperation, and freedom of the seas.

5. Who were the Allies?
The Allies were the nations that had fought the Axis powers.

6. What did the attack at Pearl Harbor do to the U.s. Pacific fleet?
The attack at Pearl Harbor, did a great deal to the U.S. pacific fleet. Japan had caught America off guard with our defenses down so of course the out come was not good. Japan had killed 2,403 Americans, and wounded 1,178 in less than two hours. The surprise raid had a lot sunk or damaged about 21 American ships, including 8 battleships. Which is nearly the WHOLE pacific fleet. These losses constituted greater damage than the U.S. navy had suffered in all of World War 1.

7. Why did Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S.?
Germany and Italy declared war on the United States in response to Roosevelt's declaration of war against Japan.

"Isolationism" and FDR (1935 - 1941)

1. What were the goals of the isolationists? Why is "isolationism" a misleading term?
The goals of the isolationists were to stay our of the war, keeping the peace, and staying neutral by not taking any sides. Isolationism is a misleading term because the term implies that the United States wants to isolate itself completely from other nations but that was not the case. Most supporters of isolationism favored international trade and a certain bilateral agreements in the 1930's. Most also respected the international laws that had been put up in place since WW1.

2. What did some isolationists feel that there was no need for Americans to feel threatened by developments in Europe and Asia?
Most isolationists felt that there was no need for americans to feel threatened by developments in Europe and Asia because the vast pacific and atlantic oceans insulated the country from troubles in those regions, and the United States had formed friendly alliances with all the other nations in the Western hemisphere.

3. What were the purposes of the Nye Committee hearings?
The purposes of the Nye Committee hearings was to investigate the reasons why the United States had entered WW1, uncover these reasons to make the public aware, and to make the sure the United States would stay out of the brewing troubles.

4. List two impressions that the Nye Committee hearings created.
First, they created the impression that American soldiers had died in WW1 because corporations looking to turn a profit had convinced President Wilson in 1917 to go to war. Secondly, they created the impression that it made Americans believe that big business again would drag them into another war.

5. What were the purposes of the Neutrality Acts?
The purposes of the Neutrality Acts were to:
-keep america from choosing sides in the war
-bring the armament industry under the control of the government
-prohibit the shipping of arms and weapons to nations at war
-make it so no americans on warring country's ships or american ships in the war

6. List two reasons that some Americans considered Roosevelt's leadership radical and dangerous.
One reason that some Americans considered Roosevelt's leadership radical and dangerous is that he tried to pack the supreme court with leaders favoring his own opinion that made him look more as a dictator. Another reason, is that FDR attempted to become president a third term which therefore convinced people that he was becoming too powerful and therefore dangerous.

7. What was "Cash and Carry"?
"Cash and Carry" was the main thrust of the new act, passed in November of 1939. This new neutrality act allowed the United States to continue trading with belligerents, but required that the warring nations pay cash for what they wanted and that they carry the goods themselves.

8. Why did President Roosevelt freeze Japanese assets in the United States?
President Roosevelt freezed Japanese assets in the United States because he believed that Japan was moving too aggressively and after Japan took control of northern French Indochina FDR could not take it anymore and thought action needed to be taken.

9. What was the purpose of the America First Committee?
The purpose of the American first committee was to devote itself to keeping the Untied States out of war.

World Events Set Stage for Isolationism

1. What was the Japanese reaction to the Treaty of Versailles?
The reaction was different for the Japanese. Some believed that their country should
engage the great powers and support the international systems. Others on the other hand, believed that the great powers, particularly Britain, France, and the U.S. would never treat Japan fairly and with respect. In Japan, some often worried that the proposed League of Nations would be used to keep Japan as a second-tier power.

2. Read the pull-out box on page 4 entitled, "Japan Becomes a Great Power." Cite specific evidence Japan was becoming a strong power that rivaled European & American interests. And, why specifically was Japan threatened by U.S. actions?
Japan was becoming a strong power that rivaled European and American interests. An example of Japan's rapid increasing power would be how between 1885 and 1920 its gross domestic product, or all of the goods produced by Japan, increased threefold. Manufacturing and mining increased six-fold. Also, in 1905 Japan defeated Russia in the Russo- Japanese War and gained access to Manchuria. Japan was also interested in expanding into China. But other powers, such as Britain and the United States saw Japaneses interests in conflict with their own designs.

3. Why was the Washington Naval Conference convened and what was accomplished?
The Washington Naval Conference came together because Japan's growth as a naval power in the Pacific threatened U.S. interests. Participants in the conference aimed at limiting a naval arms race and to discuss issues related to nations of the Pacific ocean and the Far East. It's accomplishments were the limitation of the sizes of naval ships, the placing of a moratorium on building new battle ships, the outlaw of the use of poison gases, and the limitation of the role of submarines in future wars.

4. The Senate's willingness to ratify the Kellogg-Briand Pact relected two strong and widely held sentiments. What were they?
First, the United States was entitled to act in self-defense militarily and second, that it was not required to enforce the treaty by taking military action against those who violated it.

5. Why did Hitler enjoy popular support in Germany for most of the 1930s? Give three reasons.
Because he improved the economic situation, reduced unemployment, and restored national pride for Germans still humiliated by the defeat in WWI and by how poor they became.

6. Japan voiced its intentions to invade China for what two reasons?
One, for obtaining raw materials, and two to increase Japan's power.

7. Compare the Reichstag fire and the explosion on the Japanese railway in Manchuria. What did they accompllish?
The Reichstag fire was blamed on German communists who Hitler claimed were trying to overthrow the government by inciting civil war. As for accomplishment for Hitler, Hitler used the fire as an excuse to suspend the freedoms garaunteed by the German constitution, including the right of speech, press, and assembly. The explosion on the Japanese railway in Manchuria was blamed on Chinese dissidents by the Japanese. These two explosions/fires are similar because historians today argue that Japanese bombed their own railways so that they could blame the Chinese and use it as an excuse to invade them. Historians had also believed that the Nazi's themselves had started the fire in Reichstag.

8. Why was the united States unable to oppose Japan in the early 1930s with a significant military force?
The United States was unable to oppose Japan in the early 1930's with a significant military force because their army became the most powerful bureaucratic institution in the government, and became more influential in the decision-making. By the late 1930's japan had become a militarized state intent on expanding into China and beyond.

9. Describe the major similarities and differences among liberal democracy, fascism, and socialism.
Fascism is an authoritarian form of government that emerged in Italy and then was later adopted by the Nazi Party in Germany. Fascism puts the economy under government control, and emphasizes the control of state over the individual. Socialism hoped to create a classless society that would end the exploitation of the workers. Both socialist and fascist leaders saw their systems as the wave of the future and therefore as a challenge to liberal democracies of Europe and the united states. Liberal democracies have a constitution, with elective representatives whose decision-making is regulated by a rule of law that emphasizes the rights and freedoms of individuals. Liberal Democracies are very different from fascism because it cares more about the rights of the people, and the power of the people before the government.

New Deal Essay

How, and with what success, did the United States government try to solve the problems caused by the Great Depression?


Paragraph #1: (Thesis)
The United States tried to solve the problems caused by the Great Depression by creating acts aiming at relief for the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform. These attempts were moderately successful in solving the problems caused by the Great Depression. Though they did have some success in relief, reform and recovery, there were other problems that occurred after for example, unemployment, unfair taxes on the wealthy, the constant battle between big business and labor, and FDR being seen as a dictator.

Paragraph #2: (How -economic reform)
-FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
-Securities Exchange Commission
-how it helped --> how it effected Americans

Paragraph #3: (How- financial reform)
-Emergency Banking Act
-how it helped--> how it effected Americans

Paragraph #4: (How- relief for the needy)
-Federal Emergency Relief Administration
-how it helped--> how it effected Americans

Paragraph #5: (Opposition- Unemployment)
-FDR laid off many workers who had been employed by the New Deal's own organisations and the cut in spending triggered other cuts throughout the economy.
-When Roosevelt cut the New Deal budget in 1937, the country went back into recession.
-6 million unemployed in 1941.

Paragraph #6: (Opposition- FDR as dictator)
-packing supreme court
-lost many supporters of him

Paragraph 7: (Opposition- Big Business v. Labor)
-caused violence
-big business remained immensely powerful in the USA despite being challenged by the government.
-big business companies controlled local police forces.

Paragraph #8: (Opposition- unfair taxes on the wealthy)
-FDR making taxes on the wealthy
-wealthy complain that this is not fair that they get treated differently because they worked hard for their money

Paragraph#9: Conclusion.

FDR & the New Deal

1. Describe how people struggled to survive during the depression.
Many people lost their jobs, were evicted from their homes, and ended up stranded on the streets. Some people slept with newspapers wrapped around them for warmth, others built makeshift shafts out of scrap materials. Shanty Towns were covered around cities, little towns consisting of shacks. Everyday people would dig through garbage cans, or beg people on the streets for money. Soup kitchens offered free or low costed foods, and bread lines became a common sight.

2. How was what happened to men during the Great Depression different from what happened to women? Children?
Men were much more effected from the Great Depression. Their usual role was to work and support the families so they had a harder time dealing with unemployment. Some men became so discouraged that they stopped trying, some even simply abandoned their families. Women on the other hand worked harder to support their families during the great depression. Many women canned foods and sewed clothes, they also carefully managed household budgets. Many Americans also assumed that women had an easier time during the great depression than men did because few were seen begging on the streets, but they were only too ashamed to be seen. For children, poor diets and lack of money for health care led to serious health problems. Fallen tax revenues also caused school boards to shorten the year, many schools even shut down. So instead these children turned to labor. Teenagers tried to find ways to get out of suffering. Many teenagers hopped aboard freight trains in search of work, adventure, and overall an escape from poverty.

3. Describe the causes and effects (on people) because of the Dust Bowl.
Thousands of farmers and sharecroppers left their land behind. Thousands migrated to California and other Pacific coats states. But many people lost their will to survive. Other made sacrifices that affected their lives forever. Adults stopped going to the doctors, and the dentists because they couldn't afford it. Young people gave up their dreams of going to college. Others put off marriage, having children, or having children at all. But besides that during the Great Depression many people showed kindness to strangers who were down on their luck. People often gave out food, clothes, and a place to stay for the needy.

Objective: Summarize the initial steps Franklin D. Roosevelt took to reform banking and finance.

4. What was the New Deal and its three general goals? (The 3 Rs)
The New Deal was a program designed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to alleviate the problems of the Great Depression. Its general three goals were, find relief for the needy, form economic recovery, and form financial reform.

5. What did Roosevelt do during the Hundred Days?
During the hundred days Roosevelt and his administration launched a period of intense activity. Congressed passed more than 15 major pieces of New Deal legislation. These laws, and others that followed, expanded the federal governments role in the nations economy.

6. Why were Roosevelt's fireside chats significant?
Roosevelt's fireside chats were significant because it made Americans feel as if the President was talking directly to them. It led many Americans to trust their President and to have hope that he knows how to fix the problem.

7. Describe four significant agencies and/or bills that tightened regulation of banking and finance.
1.) Glass-Steagall Act: established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which provided federal insurance for individual bank accounts up to $5000. Reassuring millions of bank customers that their money was safe.

2.) Federal Securities Act: required corporations to provide complete information on all stock offerings and made them liable to any misrepresentatives.

3.) Securities and Exchange Commission: regulated stock market. also prevented people with inside information about companies from rigging the stock market for their own profit.

4.) 21st Amendment: repealed prohibition all together which raised governments revenue.