*A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE **USA* **** *By Tim Lambert* *http://www.localhistories.org/america.html* **
*THE DEPRESSION* President Hoover did try and help. He persuaded employers to maintain wages at their present levels. He also increased spending on roads, bridges and public buildings. However Hoover refused to introduce federal unemployment relief. He believed in what he called 'Rugged individualism'. He believed too much state help would make people dependent. *For the unemployed life during the depression was very harsh. Many were reduced to attending soup kitchens run by charities. (The soup was sometimes called **'**Hoover stew**'**. Destitute people lived in shantytowns they called Hoovervilles. **Hoover** became deeply unpopular and in 1932 ** Franklin** **Delano** **Roosevelt** was elected President.* ** *THE NEW DEAL* Roosevelt assured the American people that the only thing they had to fear was fear itself. He promised the American people 'A New Deal'. However between 1933 and 1939 he had only limited success. Unemployment fell to between 14% and 15% by 1937. However in that year the economy dipped again. (It was called the recession) and unemployment rose to 17%. However industrial production rose to its 1929 level again by 1939. *At first **Roosevelt** persuaded Congress to pass a number of laws in a hectic period known as **'**The Hundred Days**'**. One of the first things * *Roosevelt** did was to close all the banks in the **USA** by law. The Emergency Banking Act of **9 March 1933** meant they would only open again if the Federal government declared they were solvent. This measure persuaded people it was safe to deposit their savings in banks. Restoring faith in banks was the first step to dealing with the depression.* ** *On **12 May 1933** the Federal Emergency Relief Act was passed to help the unemployed. The states were given grants to provide work like repairing roads and improving parks and schools.* ** *Also in 1933 **Roosevelt** founded the civilian Conservation Corps, which employed young men on conservation projects. A Public Works Administration was created which built public buildings, bridges and dams. Also the ** Tennessee** **Valley** Authority was created to build dams and hydroelectric plants. * ** *The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 tried to raise the price of farm produce by reducing supply. Land was set aside and deliberately not used. In 1937 the Farm Security Administration was formed to lend money to tenant farmers to buy their land. However farmers on the plains suffered terribly during the depression. Over planting, overgrazing and a drought combined to create a **'**dust bowl**'**. Many farmers abandoned the land and went to ** California** in search of work.* ** *In 1935 the Social Security Act created old age pensions and an unemployment insurance scheme. Also in 1935 the National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act upheld workers right to collective bargaining. In 1938 a Fair Labor Standards Act created a minimum wage.* ** *Despite all of **Roosevelt**'**s efforts the depression only ended with the coming of war.* ** *THE APPROACH OF WAR* In 1940 Germany conquered Denmark<http://www.localhistories.org/denmark.html>, Norway <http://www.localhistories.org/norway.html>, Holland, Belgium and France. In response Roosevelt started to expand American armed forces. He introduced conscription. Although American public opinion was opposed to joining the war Roosevelt declared that America must be 'the arsenal of democracy'. In January 1941 he introduced the lend-lease bill to Congress. It empowered him to sell, lend or lease arms, food or any other supplies to any country whose defence he deemed vital to the United States. At first lend-lease applied only to Britain but in August Roosevelt extended it to Russia <http://www.localhistories.org/russia.html>. US troops also occupied Iceland. <http://www.localhistories.org/iceland.html> *THE SECOND WORLD WAR* On 7 December 1941 the Japanese attacked the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. The next day Congress declared war on Japan. On 11 December 1941 Germany <http://www.localhistories.org/germany.html> and Italy<http://www.localhistories.org/italy.html>declared war on the USA. The USA mobilised all its resources for war. Industrial output doubled during World War II and by 1943 there was full employment. Only 2,000 aircraft were made in 1939 but by 1944 the figure was 96,000. The American public suffered less than people in other countries because the USA escaped occupation of air raids. *During World War II many black people migrated from the south to the north and west. Black people became increasingly dissatisfied with their position in American society. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples increased its membership. The Congress for Racial Equality was formed in 1942. From March 1942 people of Japanese descent, on the west coast, were interned. By September over 100,000 of them had been moved inland. Yet many Japanese Americans served in the **US** armed forces.* ** The USA's massive industrial strength made the defeat of the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) inevitable. Unfortunately Roosevelt did not live to see the end of the war. He died on 12 April 1945. *PART FOUR THE MODERN **USA* **** *THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE* After World War II the USA was by far the richest and most powerful nation in the world. However relations between the USA and the Soviet Union quickly cooled after 1945. By 1947 the Cold War had begun. *In 1946 the British were helping the Greek government fight communist guerrillas. However **Britain** was exhausted after World War II and could not continue. On **12 March 1947** Truman announced that the **USA** must ** '**support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.**'** Truman hoped the aid would be primarily financial. The **USA** gave money to both **Greece** and **Turkey* *. The **USA** also provided massive aid for **Europe**, which was devastated by war. The aid given was called the **Marshall** Plan after Secretary of State George C. Marshall who first proposed aid for **Europe**in June 1947. The aid was given in 1948-1951 and it greatly assisted European recovery. However in 1950 the **USA** was drawn into the Korean War.* ** *THE FAIR DEAL* In his domestic policy Truman tried to extend the New Deal (his policies became known as the 'Fair Deal'. but he was frustrated by Congress which refused to pass most of his proposed laws. However in 1946 the Employment Act committed the federal government to the aim of full employment. In 1949 Congress increased the minimum wage and extended state benefits to another 10 million people. Furthermore in 1949 the Housing Act provided for slum clearance and for public housing for more than 800,000 people. *McCARTHYISM* *The early 1950s was the era of McCarthyism. At that time there was a great fear of communist infiltration. In 1946 Winston Churchill announced that an **'**iron curtain**'** was descending across **Europe**. Puppet communist regimes were installed in **Eastern Europe** in countries like Hungary<http://www.localhistories.org/hungary.html>and Bulgaria. <http://www.localhistories.org/bulgaria.html> However in ** Czechoslovakia** elections were held. For a time democratic government ruled the country. Yet in 1948 it was overthrown by a communist coup.* ** Fear was fanned by the case of Alger Hiss. He had been a high-ranking government official. In 1948 a former communist called Whittaker Chambers told the House Un-American Activities Committee (which investigated 'un-American' activity) that Hiss was a spy for the Soviet Union. Hiss denied the charge. He could not be arrested for spying because of a statute of limitation. However he was charged with perjury and he was convicted in January 1950. The case increased fears of communist subversion. Furthermore in 1949 the Russians exploded an atomic bomb. The American people were shocked to hear that spies had helped the Russians to develop a bomb by leaking them information. *Into this atmosphere of fear stepped Senator Joseph McCarthy 1908-1957. In February 1950 McCarthy claimed that he had a list of communists employed by the State Department. McCarthy then began a witch-hunt in which many people lost their jobs. However eventually McCarthy overreached himself and he began to accuse too many important people. Public support ebbed away and in December 1954 McCarthy was finally censored by the Senate.* ** Despite McCarthy the 1950s were a prosperous period for America. Unemployment was low, living standards rose and TV. became common. The USA launched its first satellite in 1958. However the prosperity was not shared by everyone.
