Soo+C.,+Grace+&+Eeho+(G)

FRQ on 1900-1950s

After World War I, the United States entered a rapid transition into the modern age - some accepting the changes, while some acted against them. Talk about the post-WWI American society's reactions to the changes with respect to TWO of the following:
 * Literature
 * Anti-minority movement
 * Women
 * Industrialization

Let's brainstorm together...



Compare and contrast American isolationism of the 1920s and the 1930s, with that of the 1950s. Document A  Article about the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, 1927



Document B Franklin D. Roosevelt Chicago speech October 5, 1937 " The peace, the freedom and the security of ninety percent of the population of the world is being jeopardized by the remaining ten percent who are threatening a breakdown of all international order and law. When an epidemic of physical disease threatens to spread the community approves and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the community against the spread of the disease… War is a contagion, whether it is declared or undeclared. It can engulf states and peoples remote from the original scene of hostilities…America hates war. America hopes for peace. Therefore, America actively engages in the search for peace."

Document C Anti-communism cartoon Document D Warren G. Harding calls for a "Return to Normalcy" May 14, 1920 "America’s present need is not heroics, but healing, not nostrums, but normalcy, not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not he dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality… If we can prove a representative popular government under which a citizenship seeks what it may do for the government rather than what the government may do for individuals, we shall do more to make democracy safe for the world than all armed conflict ever recorded… My best judgment of America’s needs is to steady down, to get squarely on our feet, to make sure of the right path. Let’s get out of this fevered delirium of war, with the hallucination that all the money in the world is made in the madness of war and the wildness of its aftermath. Let us stop to consider that tranquility at home is more precious than peace abroad and that both our good fortune and our eminence are dependent on the normal forward stride of all the American people."

 Document E Warren G. Harding calls for a "Return to Normalcy" May 14, 1920 "America’s present need is not heroics, but healing, not nostrums, but normalcy, not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not he dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality… If we can prove a representative popular government under which a citizenship seeks what it may do for the government rather than what the government may do for individuals, we shall do more to make democracy safe for the world than all armed conflict ever recorded… My best judgment of America’s needs is to steady down, to get squarely on our feet, to make sure of the right path. Let’s get out of this fevered delirium of war, with the hallucination that all the money in the world is made in the madness of war and the wildness of its aftermath. Let us stop to consider that tranquility at home is more precious than peace abroad and that both our good fortune and our eminence are dependent on the normal forward stride of all the American people."

 Document F From the Inaugural address of Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953 "Realizing that common sense and common decency alike dictate the futility of appeasement, we shall never try to placate an aggressor by the false and wicked bargain of trading honor for security. Americans, indeed all free men, remember that in the final choice a soldier’s pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner’s chains."

 Document G From NSC-68 United States objectives and programs for national security. "Our Free society confronted by a threat to its basic values, naturally will take such action. Including the use of military force, as it may be required to protect those values. But if war comes, what is the role of force? Unless we so use it he the Russian people can perceive that our effort is directed against the regime and its power for aggression, and not against their own interests, we will unite the regime and the people in the last kind of ditch fight in which no underlying problems are solved, new ones are created, and where our basic principles are obscured and compromised. If we do not in the application of force demonstrate the nature of our objectives we will in fact have compromised from the outset our fundamentalist purpose."

Document H F. Scott Fitzgerald "Here was a new generation . . . dedicated more than the last to the fear of poverty and the worship of success; grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken. . . ." (from F. Scott Fitzgerald, //This Side of Paradise//, 1920) "That's the whole burden of this novel [The Great Gatsby]--the loss of those illusions that give such color to the world so that you don't care whether things are true or false as long as they partake of the magical glory." (from [| F. Scott Fitzgerald letter], 1924) <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Sample essay from a student in Murray High <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">National isolationism is usually the result of the circumstances that a nation is engaged in. These situations can include world war, national crisis, or intolerance for people or events not associated with the country. The type of nationalism in the United States was created in the shadows of both world wars, the Great Depression, and discriminatory attitudes towards foreign immigrants and ideals. The way that this ideology was manifested in the post WWI Era as opposed to the post WWII shows the degree of its effect in the social and political spectrums. Although in the 1920s-30’s the US was politically and socially isolationist, in the 1950’s it was socially isolationist and politically internationalist. The American support for social seclusion from international society was widespread throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s. This prevailing attitude, called the Red Scare, that most of the American population entertained, was shown through the ways that the Sacco and Vanzetti trial was dealt with by society. Although the majority of the United States population was against Sacco and Vanzetti’s cause, there were some who rallied for their freedom (A). Immigrants such as these were of the main victims impacted by this isolationism of this time. The American people were more interested in "tranquility at home…than peace abroad."(C). As a result of being dragged through WWI, the American people were exhausted by international issues. Through the political policies in the 1920’s and 1930’s, American isolationism is shown. The political leaders as well as the American citizens, were anxious to get out of the "delirium of war." (C). This can be seen through the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, which outlawed war, as an instrument of international policy. The belief of political leaders in the 1920s is illustrated by Warren G. Harding’s inaugural address in which he stated, "a world supergovernment is contrary to everything we cherish and can have no sanction by our republic." (G). Later Harding proclaimed that looking out for his country’s own best interests, "is not selfishness, it is sanctity." Another example was the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles. The United States Senate refused to ratify this treaty that would have included US participation in the League of nation’s. The showed America’s contempt toward the internationalist idealism that could potentially lead to war. The US made every attempt possible to stop the spread of the disease called war. "War is a contagion." (E). An example of this was the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937. These acts did everything possible to prevent the recurrence of American involvement in a world war. The social mindset of the 1950’s was closed to internationalist views. One of the main factors contributing to this feeling of isolationism was the spread of communism throughout the world (D). The American people viewed the communist country of the USSR as successors to Nazi Germany. Alger Hiss’s conviction persuaded many Americans that the communist insurrection threatened the nation’s survival. With these radical views troubling the nation, congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act stating all communists must register with the government. This paranoia resulted in a series of accusations toward affluent members of society. One of the most prominent cases involved was the case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Even though there was no substantial evidence that they had committed espionage they were convicted and executed following the demands of the American people (B). In the aftermath of the Rosenberg controversy, Joseph McCarthy and his anti-communist views, were brought to popular attention. McCarthy formed a list of 205 communists who were thought to be threatening the nations security. For those accused it meant being shunned from society and in some cases a loss of freedoms or life. The only way to avoid this was to "name names" of others suspected of communism. As compared to the 1920’s and 1930’s, the 1950’s became politically internationalist. The United States previous convictions towards war and foreign policy changed to be committed to free society from a threat to its basic values (F). In NSC-68, a document written in 1950 to summarize foreign policy towards the Soviet Union, it states that America will do anything to protect these values, "including the use of military force."(F) With these views of communism, the United States involved itself in the protection of South Korea. The Northern Korean communists, with help from China, invaded South Korea on June 24, 1950. After three years of fighting, the border between North and South Korea was drawn at the 38th parallel. When Eisenhower became president in 1952 he brought with him a strong internationalist view of never ending a commitment, to never placate and aggressor by trading honor for security (H). In his first inaugural address he stated, "Americans, indeed all free men, remember that in the final choice a soldiers pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoners chains." (H). When Nassar of Egypt threatened the peace by seizing the Suez Canal from the British, Americans helped to negotiate a truce. When Nassar continued to side with the Soviet Union by challenging Lebanon, US Marines were sent. The conflict was quickly resolved and American and British troops withdrew. The many faces of isolationism were shown in the first half of the 20th century. There were different manifestations for the 1920’s and 30’s and the 1950’s. In the 20’s and 30’s the political and social views and American policy were turned towards isolationism, such as the growing fear of communism, weariness of war, and the anti-radical hysteria. In the 1950’s many of the same socialist isolationist views persisted, but the political stand was turned towards and internationalist point of view. Isolationism, however radical in theory, resulted from the circumstances in which it was derived from.