Support or Refute this statement: The United States was justified in using the atomic bombs against Japan in 1945.

WWII can be proclaimed as one of the most detrimental events in Unites States history. Caused by a thirst for Facism, dictators such as Adolf Hitler (Germany), Benito Muzzolini(Italy), and Joseph Stalin(Russia/USSR) allied themselves to conquer the world. It was Hitler's hunger and selfishness that eventually led the USSR to join the Unites States and Europe. During the war, America practiced a neutrality policy to keep themselves out of war. American citizens and government officials did not want to concern themselves with the consequences of yet another world war. America soon recognized Japan's plans to dominate all of Eastern Asia and the Pacific. As the Japanese made its way around Asia, Britain and America decided to impose a trade embargo on Japan. This resulted in resources being cut off that were necessary towards furtherment of Japanese industries and military, resources include rubber and oil. America and Japan tried to negotiate terms without resulting in war, yet the Japanese felt, an attack was necessary to penetrate stubborn American minds. This suprise attack came December 7, 1941,as the Japanese dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In the words of President FDR, "a day which will live in infamy". This attck caused an uproar throught the country as isolationist finnaly came to realize war was the only way. This attack launched America into WWII leaving the already gone neutrality goal(due to lend-lease for Britian against Axis powers, showing America had chosen a side) further in the dust. During WWII, President Truman made orders to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a decision that is argued today. Truman's decision to have the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was wrong and immoral because Japan's army was already feeble, and would not have been able to fight, innocent Japanese citizens were killed, including children, and it showed American desperation.

By 1945, after so many lost battles and loss of men, the Japanese army had become weak. The once formidable military had lost its glory. The Japanese Navy had been neutralized. Japan's merchant fleets had all been practically destroyed. Millions of surviving Japanese soldiers had been isolated to China and could not have been restored into war. Also, the Japanese Air Force had become desperate and felt the need to use kamikaze pilots.

These pilots were concedered suicide pilots and were willing to die in honor and kill themselves, as long as they recieved the chance to guard their homeland. Also, by this time in war, Japan was torn to shreds. Every major military target in Japan had already been bombed at least once. This means that if America decided to attack Japan on foot, they still had higher chances to prevail over the Japanese. The atomic bomb was dropped as a means to show the USSR how powerful America had become.

Many innocent Japanese citizens were killed as result of the bombing on Hirosima and Nagasaki. The bombing on Hirosima killed 140,000 people. The bombing on Nagasaki killed 80,000. Unfortunately, the atomic bombs dropped sent radiation throughout Hirosshima and Nagasaki. Since then, thousands have died from injuries or illness caused by exposure radiation released by the bombs. In both cities,majority of the dead were civilians.

The bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed American desperation. It showed how badly America needed the Japanese to forefit the war. The atomic bomb was the only sure way to know that America could not lose to Japan. This is a sign of cowardace. America was afraid to attack and give the Japanese any chance to fight back. There were too many possibilities. The fact that the bombs were dropped showed America feared the Japanese or even the Soviet Union attacking the U.S. on its own land.

In Conclusion, WWII opened the gates to the Cold War, another war that would leave an imprint on American history. Though it was WWII's need for mass munition production that finally pulled society out of the Great Depression, WWII had more negatives than positive. Truman's decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was wrong and immoral. It targeted an already weakened army, innocent people, and showed the desperation of America. This was not a good decision for yes Japan foriet the war days later, was a bomb so devastating necessary to reel the Japanese to surreder?

The Great Depression and its affect on America's Social Fabric.

The Great Depression (1929-1941) was the brick wall that brought the liveliness of America during the "Roaring Twenties" to a devastating stop. The Great Depression was
caused by several factors such as, unequal distribution of wealth, undersonsumption, rise of tariffs, poor capital investment, fragility of the banking system, and even the rise of technology. The Great Depression tore the nation's economy to pieces and Republican president Herbert Hoover did very little to pull the nation out of this turmoil. Hoover believed in three main factors, Localism, Voluntarism, and Rugged indiviualism. He believed that the people should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and fix their issues alone, without government intervention. The Great Depression severly affected and injured America's social fabric from severe economic droughts and lack of trust towards capitalism, lack of jobs and homes, and even leading to desperation by the people.

The capitalist world expierenced a colosal collapse. In the U.S., nearly 85 thousand businesses closed. The GNP (Gross National Product) fell from $104 billion in 1929 to $56 billion in 1933. Per capita disposable income fell from $678 in 1929 to $369 in 1933. Farmers' income declined from $5.7 billion in 29' to $1.7 billion in 33'. Four hundred thousand farmers lost their land under foreclosures. In 1932, it was popular for farmers to destroy their own crops to rise prices. Building construction fell from $300 billion in 29' to $500 million in 33'. In 1928 and 1929, bank failures averaged 550 per year.

Unemployment increased from 1.5 million in 1929 to 12.8 million in 1933. This was actually 25% of the working population. In 1931, 75% of the nation's cities banned married women from holding jons as teachers while children were forced to look for work. Hunger, homlessness, mental depression, and other social maladies icreased. Throughout the nation, homeless families lived in makeshift shacks and tents on the outskirts of towns and cities. These communities were eventually known as "Hoobervilles". Soon, the frustration and despair caused the American people to take matters into their own hands.

Two dramatic instances that clearly show the peoples' desperation and anger include The Bonus Army and The Farmers' Holiday Association. In the case of The Bonus Army, over fifteen thousand WW1 veterans camped in the nation's capital. They hoped they could persuade Congress to allow them to cash in their bonus certificates given to them in 1924. On orders from Hoover, the U.S. Army, uner the comman of General Douglas MacArthur, destryoed the primary encmpment at Anacostia Flats. As in The Farmers' Holiday Association, this group was created to bring an end to foreclosures and controls for farm commodities.

These factors had conviced many that the Great Depression was the ultimate fall of the capitalist system. By this time, the majority of Americans were fed up with Hoovers poor choices on rebuilding the economy. They were ready for a political change. It would soon come when Democratic governer of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was elected president.

It was FDR and his hand advisors also known as the Brain Trusts that brought a revival to the nations' economy. FDR was focuse on the 3Rs of bringing change to the nation. The 3rs stood for relief(short-term), recovery(long-term), and reform of the nation. His idea of the New Deal brought life back to America and created jobs and began to bring money back into the nation. This was finally the key to ending the Great Depression which tore the nations social fabric through severe economic droughts and lack of trust towards capitalism, lack of jobs and homes, and even leading to desperation by the people. It was the end of the nations' agony until the awful WW2.

Discuss how the 1920s represented social, economic, and cultural discord among Americans.

The 1920s, also known as the "Roaring Twenties" was a time of cultural innovations. The decade expierenced transformations that affected the nation's youth, its African-American population, and women. Though the "Roaring Twenties" were a culturally prosperous time, there were still its negatives. Women were still subordinated alongside Blacks and the nation was led by conservative presidents representing social,cultural, economic, and political status quo. Also, political relations prevailed, bringing radicals and trade unions in direct confrontation with government. Four of the most important and influential aspects of the 1920s would include mass consumerism, urban versus rural attitudes, science versus religion, and navatism versus immigration.

Mass consumerism has had a lasting effect on American today. Purchasing on credit was introduced during the 1920s and has prospered since. It created a system where people could "buy now and pay later". Though it was great in allowing many people to buy things they could originally not afford such as home appliances, it left a plentiful amount of Americans in debt. Catalogs such as Sears, Roebuck and Montgomery Ward, made it possible for people to order commodities they were inable to access before. Also the introduction of radio allowed a new form of entertainment, news, and advertisement. Also, the production of the automobile boomed. Twenty percent of Americans owned cars by 1930. It was by the mid 1920s where Americans began associating their social status with the car they owned.

Social scientists view the 20s as a time when modernism clashed with tradition. One conflict drawn from this was urban versus rural conflicts. Rural America viwed the natons citied as covered in "vice and sin". It just so happened that as the 20s came along, the 18th Amendment banned alcoholic beverages leading to illegal distribution and the rise of crime lords such as Al Capone, who got his start through illegal distribution of alcohol. It was said that liquor caused crime, poverty, poor health, and broken families. Speakeasies began to pop up throughout cities due to prohibition. There, it was required to know the secret code word to enter and jazz would burst on the inside, also known as "devils music". Rural America also looked down upon city womens' clothing. It was considered as provacative, promiscuos, and innapropriate. City women were known to where short skirts known as "flappers" that went against the original view of a Victorian comportment for women.

Another major conflict was science versus religion. In 1925 a Tennessee teacher was arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution, despite the law. It became known as the Scopes Monkey Trial. It was then that Christians silenced those whom questioned the divine theory of creation as described in the Book of Genesis. It yet again put urban America against rural America. Urban America was known to hold its own modern views on religion. Rurual America sticked strictly to Protestant tradition. It was then that the teaching of religion became an issue. It is still an issue to this day and even illegal in some cities.

America developed a strong sense of anxiety when it came to the immigratoin issue. Restrictions began to rise. The Literacy Test Act of 1917 required immigrants to pass a literacy test in English or their own native tongue. Emergency Quota Act of 1921 reduced southern and eastern immigration. The Immigration Act of 1924 provided a national origins plan that restricted immigration to 2% for each nationality in the 1890 census. It was based on the idea that immigrants from easter and southern Europe were more dificult to assimilate. Last, the Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 limited Asian immigration which was not changed until 1965.


The 20s are practically a direct reflection of today. As rap music and urban city now could be compared to jazz and urban city then. The music has only gotten louder and the skirts shorter. Unfortunately the 20s came to an immediate halt once the stock market crashed. It immediately brought down the nation's economy. Also, America entered the Great Depression as lives began to deteriorate. Lives that were prosperous in the 1920s would be completely opposite come the next decade. Overall, As,four of the most important and influential aspects of the 1920s would include mass consumerism, urban versus rural attitudes, science versus religion, and navatism versus immigration.

Was the United States ever neutral in WW1? If so, when did it change to a policy favoring the Allies?

In a time of "Germaphobia",WW1 was caused by imperialism,nationalism, and militarism. It was ignited by the assassination of Franz Fernidad the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne by a Serb nationalist. The two opposing forces in WW1 were to be known as the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire) and the Triple Entente (Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan. The main causes of America entering the war include the interception of the Zimmerman Note and Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare. The United States was originally neutral come the beginning of WW1, but was forced to enter by imperialism, economics with the Allies, and nationalism.

Germany's unrestriced submarine warfare was killing American civilians and Wilson stepped in to try and mediate the situation. Wilson's 14 Points was describe Democracy as the ability to have open seas. In, (Doc. I) Germany was found to be doing the exact opposite. American was neutral until then. It was the actions of other countries that began having an effect on America's imperialism. Wilson was bound to decide. Showing Wilson’s decision was not only in the hands of other countries but the American citizens would be the quote “Neutrality depends on citizens” (Doc. A). Germany was destroying any vessel in their waters. (Doc. G) shows Wilson's decision to side with the Allies.

Wilson came to side on with public decision. Allied forces including Britain were attempting to keep American ships out of the German waters(Doc. C). Wilson felt that with the international connections the war would end soon. Germany's plan was eliminate America's political status in WW1,(Doc. E). American ships were being sunk by the Germans including the Lusitania, carrying contraband to the Allied forces, (Doc. F).


The Germans soon realized that Wilson was supplying Allied forces with surplus goods since the beginning of the war,(Doc. D). Three major corporations played a big role on where America would enter the war. They were The War Industries, Food Administration, and the War Labor boards. Not siding with the Allies would have damage economic ties with the Eastern hemisphere. Wilson would have to fight to sustain democracy.

Nationalism was a major cause of World War 1.“How come neutrality” (Doc. B.), was the universal phrase come the 3rd year of WW1. With America as Pro-British and Anti-German Wilson declared war on the Central powers April 4th, 1917. With this decision “U.S.A. neutral” (Doc. H), was ended and then came their entrance to "the war to end all war", a propoganda phrase used to hype American civilian support.

The United States was neutral come the beginning of WW1 but soon dismissed "neutrality" entered on the side of the Allies. They were forced to enter with the presence of imperialism, economics with the Allies, and nationalism. Though the war ended, and America expierenced the "Roaring Twenties", the Great Depression and instavility and rise in militarism in Europe and Asia was soon let people know that the peace would not last long.

Which president do you believe was best at reform during the Progressive Era and why?

By the 1900s, due to the United States involvement in foreign affairs, it had become a world power as intended. Still, America's upper class and businesses were on top of the economy. Businesses were rarely disturbed by government and practically operated on their own. Though the upper-class was prosperous, it left the rest of the population, other than the middle-class, in a slum lifestyle. Farmers experienced foreclosure, Blacks were "second-class", and women were still not allowed to vote or run for political office. They were still considered as subordinate to men. It was reform minded middle-class citizens, that made an effort to address the faults undermining American society. This became to be known as the Progressive Era. People such as Jacob Riis (How the Other Half Lives), Upton Sinclair (The Jungle), Ida Tarbell (History of the Standard Oil Company), and Frank Norris (The Ocopus), show how some of American society viewed the plight of the civilization. Three presidents played important roles in the Progressive Era. They were Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. All three presidents played important roles of trying to reform society. Of the three presidents, Theodore Roosevelt was the most important and sucessful in reforming society with his Northern Securities suits, regulation of railroads, his involvement in the reform of big business, and care for the environment.


During Roosevelt's presidency, many reforms were passed intended to better society and was in light of the Progressives. In 1903, the Department of Commerce and Labor was created. Also, Passage of the Elkins Act (1903) strengthed the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. It required railroad companies to charge published rates. Also, the Bureau of Corporations was created, intended to investigate anitrust violations. One percent of corporations were responsible for producing 40 percent of manufactured goods. An important example of fighting monopolies would be Northern Securities v. United States(1904) where a railroad company controlled all long-distance railroads west of Chicago.

Regulation of railroads was an imporant aspect of Roosevelts reform movement. The Hepburn Act (1906) empowered the ICC. It set maximum railroad rates and establishe other regulations. Railroad companies did not favor government intervention but did not disagree with fair rules of competition. Also, Passage of the Mann-Elkins Act (1910) strengthed the ICC(William Taft, Roosevelt's successor). It gave the ICC power to regulate new communications industries. Also, the ICC was given more authority to regulate railroad companies haul rates. Railroad companies usually charged higher prices for transportation of passengers and commodities for a longer journey.

In 1906, big business was attacked when the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspetion Acts barred sale of contaminated and adultered food. A book by Upton Sinclair intitled The Jungle also attacked the meat industry. It made society aware of the conditions in meat packing industries. Conditions in meat packing industries became so disgusting that fingers were being found in meat.

Roosevelt aslo felt for Americas environment. He felt there should be a balance between industries and America's natural resources. He was a part of the Newlands Reclamation Act Bill. It added 150 million acres to national forest reserve. The establishment of Conservation Congress meant to address national conservation. Also, appointment of Gifford Pinchot to head Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry.

Roosevelts became known as "trust buster". Though his succesor, William Taft busted twice as many trust in four years as Roosevelt did in eight. Theodore Roosevelt had good intentions for American society and felt that he was making the right decision be designating Taft as his successor, though this turned to be a big mistake. Taft was a "weak president and a weak man"-P.Brush. Though some felt that the only reason Roosevelt challenged corporate giants and seemed in favor of the worker was to protect the economy, regardless, Roosevelt had best intentions and outcome of his presidency.

In Conlusion, this is how president Theodore Roosevelt was the best president during the Progressive Era. His involvemnet in American society and big business made a difference in society. Overall, it was Theodore Roosevelt who was most important in reforming society with his Northern Securities suits, regulation of railroads, his involvement in the reform of big business, and care for the environment. Which all reflect on society today.

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 08'

OMG!!!!!!! Did anyone else watch the debate!!??? That was the most entertaining part of the presidental election so far. This debate was better than the last!! Obama was a cannon against Hillary and John Edwards amazed me when he began to speak up! I guess he's realized that the main aspect of his campaign that he's lack is popularity! He's surely going to be the "talk of the town" after that. He put his foot down and stood up against Obama and Clinton. If I was able to vote, I don't know who I's choose now!!! That debate has surely left me on edge.

To what extent was economics the primary factor in the U.S. adopting a policy of imperialsim?

Imperialism is what caused the U.S. to want to become a "world power" soon to make the world one United States. Imperialism is the idea of extending rule or influence toward another nation or foreign country.Ideas from Rosa Luxemburg, Joseph Schumpeter and John Hobson can be accounted on introducing imperialism. There were two forms of imperialism, Formal and Informal imperialsim. Formal being by force as Informal by logic. Imperialist ideas eventually led to the Spanish-American War. The Spanish-American War was clearly Formal imperialism. Spain’s treatment of Cuba caused the United States to intervene. Other main factors causing the Spanish-American War include Yellow Journalism and DeLome Letter. The statement "The primary factor in the United States adopting a policy of imperialism was economic" is partially correct, yet in better wording, The U.S.'s reasoning for adopting imperialist policies was primarily social and somewhat economic due to the spread of Social Darwinism, use of religious justificaton to cover economic intentions, and the attack on Hawaii for its foreign commodity, sugar.

A sense of nationalism and pride took over the United States. They soon became to believe they were superior to the other nations. This could be related to Manifest Destiny. It was thought that it was America's duty to crown itself as the "world power". Republican morals and values were soon to change after the introduction of Social Darwinism. America's triumphs through a Revolution and Civil war sent pride and arrogance throughout the nation becoming one of the most important causes of the U.S. adopting imperialist policies.

In 50 years, from the Civil War to World War I, the U.S. was to take its stand on becoming a world power. This should be concedered the main reason the U.S. adopted imperialist polices soley because of the repition of America's arrogance leading to reasoning of expansion. Other cases such as Manifest Destiny show how pride and nationalism boost American spirits to the point where they feel they are the best nation, though they were indeed the product of a greater nation, Britain.


It was said that imperialism was to Christianize foregin countries and save foreigners from hell. It is not new that religion has been the reasong for U.S. expansion. Reverend Josiah Strong was an advocate for using religion to justify imperialism. It was said that imperialism allowed "civilized" Christian cultures opporotunity to spread their religion to the "lesser". This was by all means a farce. It was an attempt to hide the U.S.'s economic hunger. It was obvious that more land would eventually lead to more capital. Religion was mearly a way of muting criticism and was used often used.

Economically, Hawaii was known for its favorable good, sugar. As Queen Liliuokalani attempted to fight off America, imperialist policies grew. America viciously fought Hawaii for its sugar feigning for the economic growth the U.S. would recieve if they were to be in control. This is a main example of the U.S.'s using imperialism to prosper economically. These motivives were hidden to American people because of the U.S. using religion as its extreme justification.

In Conclusion, the U.S.'s reasoning for adopting imperialist policies were both social and economic due to Social Darwinism, Religion, and Foreign goods. Though America used religious justifications to hide economic hunger, social arrogance and pride is what truely caused America to impose imperialist policies. It is still to this day that America believes that we are the greatest nation and have no limits, which could also be connected to the reasoning why we are in Iraq. America has a long way to go to end our arrogant ways before it in all, ruins the United States.