Impact of centralized state power

Governments role in WWII

Background

The United States entered WWII due to the attack on America by the Japanese.

The Germans had declared war on America before America entered the war.

Both countries posed a threat to the United States.

Expansion of power

The government used its power to bring around three different examples of the growth of its power during World War II:

Instatement of martial law Passing of the Draft Hiring of major companies for wartime use

Martial Law

Definition: the suspension of civil authority and imposition of military authority.

Martial law was passed by the government to send U.S. troops to occupy the island of Oahu.

Military cleaned up and salvaged pearl harbor, and maintained the island

The Draft.

The United States declared war on both Japan and Germany.

Troops were needed fight both countries in a war. The draft forcefully enlists men as young as 18 to

the United States Military Service Mainly used during wartime to build an army.

Manufacturing

The government hired manufacturing companies to produce wartime machines.

Ford and Chevrolet were extracted to produce tanks, transport vehicles, and artillery tractors.

Boeing was hired to produce war planes instead of civilian planes.

Japanese relocation camps

The start of relocation

After the attack on pearl harbor by the Japanese, a feeling of fear ran throughout the American people.

Recent immigrants and people of Japanese decent were seized and put in internment camps.

Most camps were on the west coast due to the west coast having the largest population of Japanese immigrants.

Breaking the constitution.

The interment violated the 4th and 5th amendments. 4th amendment: any citizen shall be protected from

unreasonable searches and seizures. Japanese-Americans were forcefully taken and

interned in these camps. 5th amendment: An American citizen has the right to a

trial and the right to know what he/she is being accused of.

Japanese-Americans were interned in camps without knowledge of why they were there.

Camp locations.

Cold war conflict

Cold war expansion

Government expanded a weapons program to deal with soviet threats.

United states government created an alliance with anti-communist European countries. This was countered by an alliance between the communist and communist sympathizing countries.

United States engaged war with Korea over the expansion of communism.

The arms race: the beginning

The United states had detonated two nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The development and demonstration of these new Weapons of Mass Destruction brought with it an age of nuclear weapons.

The soviet union developed a department to create their own weapons.

The arms race: continued

the first weapons race was for the development of the hydrogen bomb.

The united states first developed it, then the soviets did.

The government encouraged many people to build fallout shelters in case of a nuclear attack by foreign countries.

The Korean war: background

Background: Korea split along the 38th parallel. The north surrendered to the soviets and the south, to the United States.

North Korea became a communist state and south Korea was under control the United States.

The war

North Korea attacks south Korea. The north Koreans had used guns and tanks that had been supplied by Russia.

The UN voted on the military action against north Korea. President Truman ordered General MacArthur to lead an attack on the north Koreans.

The war continues

The north Koreans were pushed back north until the Chinese intervened

The war ended in a stalemate between north Korea and the United states which moved the border back at the 38th Parallel.

North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied most of the countries of western

Europe and the United States and Canada. The countries allied to protect themselves and each other from the growing soviet Power.

Created to keep the Communistic States at bay and defend the rest of Europe.

NATO alliance

NATO, meet Warsaw pact.

Formed an alliance between most of eastern Europe.

Seen as a counterpart of NATO (stop the threat of WESTERN influence)

First designed to strengthen the soviet position in Geneva

Civil rights movement

Resistance as usual

Passed laws that desegregated and integrate some southern areas. Created for the rise of civil rights.

However, these areas resisted the laws that were passed. Some states would not acknowledge the laws.

Arkansas brought in their national guard to prevent black students from entering white schools.

Government solutions

Eisenhower placed the Arkansas national guard under government control.

Passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 Gave the attorney general power over

desegregation. The federal government had the right over desegregating areas of the south

Also, it gave the federal government jurisdiction over violation of Black voting rights in the south.

Even more trouble…

Kennedy orders 400 U.S. marshals to accompany black bus riders on their trip to Mississippi from Alabama

James Meredith is refused to register at the University of Mississippi. Kennedy sends thousands of troops to stop the rioting that this event has caused. This action helped move the civil rights movement forward for people to support these blacks in equality.

Birmingham attacks

The government is getting somewhere with this desegregation. Kennedy sends troops to force George

Wallace to desegregate the university of Alabama.

The government passed the twenty-fourth amendment which states that the right to vote shall not be abridged by the state in any election. This growth of government pushed even further for racial equality.

Reagan's presidency

Saving money

Budget cuts Tax cuts Supply-side economics: if people paid less

taxes, then they would have more money Cut Environmental Protection Agency’s

budget

scandals

Iran-contra: United States citizens were taken captive in the middle east.

Reagan announced that no communication with the captors will happen.

Government secretly sold the captors weapons in exchange for the release of the captives.

Bibliography

"Creation of NATO." History in Dispute, Vol. 1: The Cold War: First Series. Benjamin Frankel, ed. St. James Press, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

"Japanese-American Relocation." Dictionary of American History. 7 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

"Warsaw Pact Signed, May 14, 1955." DISCovering World History. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

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