Comparative History
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The document discusses the Great Depression and World War II over five parts. It describes how the Great Depression started on Black Tuesday in 1929 and devastated the global economy. Both Roosevelt and Hitler rose to power in 1933 in response to the economic crisis, and instituted similar policies like the New Deal and Nazi labor programs. World War II began in the 1930s as Germany expanded territorially under Hitler. The US initially remained neutral but entered the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The war was characterized by racism, especially between Americans and Japanese, who viewed each other with contempt.
Comparative History
- 1. Comparative History Nadya Dooley 5/10/11
- 2. The Great Depression Part 1: The Big Picture The Great Depression pretty much started on Black Tuesday, October 1929 The NY stock market tumbled, the economic crisis deepened, and thousands of banks failed Some European places were hit harder then others, still not fully recovered from WWI Agricultural countries ironically fared better Some people called the descent “into the economic abyss”
- 3. The Great Depression Part 2: Into The Economic Abyss (1) People were used to the ups and downs of the capitalist economy, and considered them like the weather They expected The Great Depression to just be another bump in the road But the wars caused immigration to the US to come almost to a complete stop US industrial production fell by a 3rd from 1929 to 1931 and the price of expensive items fell even more Farmers tried to grow more crops and sell them, but this made the price fall even more Unemployment soared on an unpredictable level
- 4. The Great Depression Part 3: Into the Economic Abyss (2) The great slump destroyed economic liberalism for half a century World trade dipped by a third, and US exports crashed by half Automobile production halved between 1929 to 1931 and gramophone records for the poor literally stopped for awhile But the worst ended after 1932 By the middle of the 1930’s, there were few states whose politics hadn’t changed from what they’d been before the crash
- 5. The Great Depression Part 4: Roosevelt and Hitler: New Deal and Nazi Reactions (1) Roosevelt and Hitler actually had a fair amount in common On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor, and on March 4th, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath as president of the US Roosevelt knew hardly anything about economics and Hitler had dropped out of school at age 14 But Roosevelt had a concern for the suffering and Hitler had a powerful resentment for the rich They were both masters at speaking on radio
- 6. The Great Depression Part 5: Roosevelt and Hitler: New Deal and Nazi Reactions (2) New Deal and Nazi labor policies were also shaped similarly by the Great Depression, as well as their methods of dealing with the agricultural depression The New Deal Agricultural Adjustment Act set up country committees to control production, whilst in Germany, the the centralized Estate for Agriculture did the same thing Both Hitler and Roosevelt successfully disguised the internal problems in their entourages and succeeded in convincing ordinary citizens of their own personal wisdom and dedication
- 7. World War II Part 1: The Big Picture In the 1930’s, Adolf Hitler formed an alliance with Benito Meussolini and began a series of territorial attacks The United states tried to stay neutral, but in the end was sucked in For people all over the globe, WWII was the costliest and deadliest war in human history But less so for the US, as only 2% of the killings were Americans Nobody argued against the justice of retaliating against Hitler’s hated Nazis WWII also conjured up a lot of racism, especially between the Americans and the Japanese 19 million soldiers were killed
- 8. World War II Part 2: An Ocean Apart (1) If Britain and America had stood up to the dictators in the 1930’s, WWII may never have happened America traded with Britain, using the “Cash and carry” method Churchill begged Roosevelt to help save Britain, and Roosevelt finally broke his neutrality act, in return for 99 year leases on 8 British possessions in the Americas A group called America First was formed to keep America out of the war Roosevelt was reelected for a third time by convincing the people, “Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars!”. This gave his more freedom of maneuver to conduct foreign policy
- 9. World War II Part 3: An Ocean Apart (2) Roosevelt armed merchant ships and sent them to Britain, but slowly, as only 17% of the population was in favor of a declaration of war on Germany On December 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor took everyone by surprise With 2,400 people killed and 8 battleships immobilized, it was the most humiliating disaster in American history At first, the members on America First thought the attack was a hoax, but when they learned it was true, they abandoned their campaign and joined forces with Roosevelt
- 10. World War II Part 4: Race War (1) Although most people believe the racism in WWII came from the Germans to the Jews, the enemy the Americans perceived as most atrocious wasn’t the Germans, but the Japanese Japan’s aggression stirred the deepest recesses of white supremacism and provoked a response bordering the apocalyptic The Japanese were short, round faced, bucktoothed, slant eyed, frequently myopic behind horn rimmed glasses. They called them “yellow bastards”, “little men”, “monkeys”, “vermin” and so forth “ Jap hunting licenses” were distributed among the hysteria Whilst the Americans insults degraded the Japanese, the Japanese insults elevated themselves
- 11. World War II Part 5: Race War (2) The contempt from the Americans to the Japanese led to an underestimation of Japanese capabilities Before Pearl Harbor, it was well known that Japanese couldn’t shoot, sail, or fly very well The Japanese began to think of the Americans as demons, or devils For both sides, it was easier to kill the other after dehuminizing it