Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946

1. Survey: The Peace Treaties (with emphasis on Versailles) and Their Consequences
A. Overview of the Treaty of Versailles (1919)
●​ Purpose: To formally end World War I and reshape Europe; framed in Allied terms,
especially French desire for security and British/US mixture of punishment and
“peace without victory.”
●​ Key clauses and what they enforced:
○​ Article 231 – War Guilt Clause: Germany accepted sole responsibility for
causing the war. Consequence: Justified reparations and fostered deep
resentment and a narrative of humiliation exploited by radicals like Hitler.
○​ Reparations: Germany was required to pay huge financial compensation
(initially set at 132 billion gold marks in 1921). Impact: Strained the fragile
German economy; used politically by opponents of the Weimar Republic to
claim the government was “selling out” Germany.
○​ Military restrictions:
■​ Army limited to 100,000 men (no conscription).
■​ No tanks, submarines, or an air force.
■​ Navy drastically reduced
■​ Effect: Limited Germany’s ability to self‑defend, created a sense of
vulnerability and grievance.
○​ Territorial losses:
■​ Alsace-Lorraine returned to France.
■​ Polish Corridor created, separating East Prussia from mainland
Germany.
■​ Colonies placed under League of Nations mandates (de facto Allied
control).
■​ Effect: National humiliation, fractured identity, and minority tensions.
○​ League of Nations: Established as part of the treaty system to enforce the
new order and prevent future conflict.​

B. Wider Consequences
●​ Political instability in Germany: The treaty’s punitive nature fed nationalist anger,
undermining the legitimacy of the Weimar Republic (seen as “the government that
signed the shameful treaty”).
●​ Economic strain: Reparations, coupled with post‑war reconstruction and global
economic pressures, contributed to hyperinflation and later instability.
●​ Revisionist desires: Countries like Germany and Italy (later) saw the post‑war order
as unjust, laying ideological groundwork for authoritarian, expansionist movements.
●​ Undermining collective security: The failure to adequately integrate defeated powers
and the absence of enforceable mechanisms (especially with the US not joining the
League) weakened the intended peace.​

2. The Rise of Dictatorships after World War I

A. Conditions Enabling Dictators to Rise
1.​ Political instability and weak democratic institutions:
 ○​ Newly formed or reformed republics (e.g., Weimar Germany, post‑imperial
Russia initially in chaos before Bolshevik consolidation) lacked entrenched
democratic norms.
2.​ Economic crisis:
○​ Hyperinflation in Germany (1923), Great Depression (1929 onwards)
devastating global trade—mass unemployment, poverty, and loss of faith in
liberal capitalism.
3.​ Social unrest and fear of communism:
○​ Middle/upper classes feared socialist revolution; dictators presented
themselves as bulwarks against leftist disorder (e.g., Mussolini’s “march on
Rome” pitched as restoring order).
4.​ National humiliation and desire for revival:
○​ Italy felt short‑changed by Versailles (“mutilated victory”); Germany resented
Versailles; Japan believed its international status wasn’t commensurate with
its power.
5.​ Propaganda and charismatic leadership:
○​ Cults of personality built around strong leaders promising decisive action,
unity, and restoration of national pride.​

B. Features of Dictatorships in Russia, Italy, Japan

Russia
●​ Single‑party state: Communist Party monopolised power; political opposition
suppressed.
●​ Centralised economic control: War communism transitioning into Five-Year Plans
under Stalin—state determined production targets, collectivisation of agriculture.
●​ Repression: Secret police (Cheka → NKVD), purges, show trials, Gulags.
●​ Ideology: Marxism-Leninism twisted into “Socialism in One Country” under Stalin;
emphasis on industrialisation and suppression of “enemies of the people.”​

Italy
●​ Corporate state: Supposedly organised society into corporations representing sectors
(labour and capital supposedly reconciled under state oversight), but real power
concentrated in Fascist Party.
●​ Cult of personality: Mussolini as “Il Duce,” projecting strength, order, and national
rebirth.
●​ Use of violence: Blackshirts intimidated/oppressed opposition; eventual abolition of
free press and parties.
●​ Propaganda and symbolism: Roman imagery, mass rallies, and control of culture to
project an image of revival.​

Japan
●​ Military dominance over civilian government: Unelected military leaders exerted
increasing control, justifying expansion as national destiny.
●​ State Shinto used to underpin divine status of the emperor (though constitutional
monarchy remained formally).
●​ Imperial expansion ideology: “Hakko ichiu” (bringing the eight corners of the world
under one roof) used to justify aggression in the Asia-Pacific.
 ●​ Suppression of dissent: Censorship, political assassinations, and eventual quelling of
liberal movements.​

3. The Nazi Regime to 1939

A. Rise of the Nazi Party and Collapse of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic
●​ Strengths:
○​ Progressive constitution (e.g., universal male and female suffrage, civil
liberties on paper).
○​ Proportional representation enables representation of diverse views.
●​ Weaknesses:
○​ Proportional representation led to fragmentation; coalitions unstable.
○​ Article 48: Presidential emergency powers could (and were) used to bypass
parliament, weakening democracy.
○​ Association with Versailles: Seen as imposed, “November criminals” rhetoric
made the republic unpopular among nationalists.
○​ Economic vulnerability: Dependent on American loans (Dawes Plan) making
it fragile to global shocks.​

Hyperinflation (1921–1923)
●​ Cause: Reparations payments, passive resistance in the Ruhr, and excessive money
printing.
●​ Effect: Middle‑class savings wiped out; social chaos; psychological blow that
discredited democratic governance in some quarters.​

Stresemann Years (1923–1929)

●​ Gustav Stresemann stabilised economy:
○​ Rentenmark introduction ended hyperinflation.
○​ Dawes Plan (1924): Restructured reparations, brought in American
loans—temporary economic recovery and relative stability.
○​ Locarno Treaties (1925): Germany accepted western borders, improving
diplomatic status.
○​ League of Nations (1926): Germany admitted—short-lived legitimacy gains.
●​ Limits: Dependent on foreign capital; underlying resentments remained.​

Munich Putsch (1923)

●​ Hitler’s failed coup attempt in Bavaria.
○​ Significance: Propaganda victory—trial gave platform; wrote Mein Kampf
during imprisonment; learned to pursue power through legal means rather
than violent overthrow.​

Impact of the Great Depression (1929+)

●​ Mass unemployment (over 30% in Germany).
●​ Collapse of coalition governments.
●​ Nazi electoral gains: Nazis presented themselves as decisive, anti‑communist,
nationalist solution; Hitler portrayed as a strong leader in contrast to unstable
parliamentary politicians.​
Triumph of the Nazi Party
●​ 1932 elections: Nazis largest party in Reichstag but without majority.
●​ Backroom politics: Conservative elites (e.g., von Papen) convinced President
Hindenburg to appoint Hitler chancellor in January 1933, believing they could control
him.​

B. Initial Consolidation of Power 1933–1934)

●​ Reichstag Fire (February 1933): Used to claim communist plot; Hitler persuaded
Hindenburg to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending civil liberties (freedom of
press, assembly, due process).
●​ Enabling Act (March 1933): Allowed Hitler’s cabinet to pass laws without Reichstag
approval for four years—effectively legal dictatorship. Required a 2/3 majority;
communists were suppressed and centre/right parties intimidated.
●​ Gleichschaltung (“coordination”): Systematic Nazification of institutions:
○​ Dissolution of state parliaments; replaced with Nazi governors.
○​ Civil service purges (Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil
Service).
○​ Banning of rival parties; by July 1933 Germany was a one-party state.
●​ Night of the Long Knives (June 1934): Political purge eliminating SA leadership
(Röhm) and other opponents—consolidated support of the army and eliminated
internal threats.
●​ Death of Hindenburg (August 1934): Hitler combined chancellor and president into
Führer, solidifying his personal supremacy.​

C. Nazi Ideology
●​ Racial hierarchy: Aryan “master race” at top; Jews, Roma, Slavs, the disabled, and
others deemed inferior.
●​ Lebensraum: Need for “living space” in the East justified expansionism and eventual
invasion plans.
●​ Anti‑Semitism: Jews scapegoated for Germany’s problems; portrayed as corrupting
influence.
●​ Führerprinzip: Absolute authority of the leader; obedience and loyalty over legalism.
●​ Volksgemeinschaft: Idealised “people’s community” that suppressed class divisions in
favour of unity under Nazi values, excluding “undesirables.”
●​ Social Darwinism & authoritarian nationalism: Survival of the fittest applied to nations
and races; the state above individual rights.​

D. Prominent Individuals
●​ Adolf Hitler: Charismatic leader, architect of ideology; used oratory, symbolism, and
myth-making to cultivate the cult of the Führer.
●​ Joseph Goebbels: Minister of Propaganda—controlled media, arts, and public
opinion; orchestrated mass rallies (Nuremberg), manipulated film, radio, and press.
●​ Heinrich Himmler: Head of the SS, oversaw internal security, concentration camp
system, racial policy, and the policing apparatus.
●​ Hermann Göring: Head of the Luftwaffe, director of Four Year Plan (economic/military
preparation).​

E. Methods of Control
1.​ Laws:
 ○​ Nuremberg Laws (1935): Legalised racial discrimination—Reich Citizenship
Law stripped Jews of citizenship; Law for the Protection of German Blood and
Honour prohibited marriage/sexual relations between Jews and “Aryans.”
○​ Law Against the Establishment of Parties: Cemented one-party rule.
2.​ Censorship & Propaganda:
○​ The Ministry of Propaganda controlled all cultural outputs.
○​ Book burnings, sterilisation of media, and strict oversight of theatre, literature,
and radio.
○​ Use of symbols (swastika), mass rallies, and staged appearances.
3.​ Repression & Terror:
○​ Gestapo: Secret police for political dissent.
○​ SS: Elite organisation enforcing ideological purity.
○​ Concentration Camps: Initially for political prisoners, later expanded.
4.​ Cult of Personality:
○​ Hitler portrayed as Germany’s saviour; use of imagery, mass rallies, carefully
staged media to create emotional bond.
5.​ Youth and Education:
○​ Hitler Youth and League of German Girls indoctrinated children; curriculum
rewired to reflect racial theory and loyalty to Führer.
6.​ Surveillance: Neighbourhood monitoring; encouragement of citizens to inform on
each other.​

F. Impact on Life in Germany

●​ Cultural Expression: “Degenerate art” banned; art/architecture repurposed for Aryan
ideals. Music, literature, and film were ideological tools.
●​ Religion: Concordat with the Catholic Church (1933) initially promised neutrality but
was violated; persecution of clergy who opposed the regime; Protestant churches
were co-opted or split (e.g., the “German Christians” movement).
●​ Workers: Labour unions abolished; replaced by the German Labour Front (DAF)
which controlled working conditions, banned strikes, and promoted “Strength
Through Joy” (KdF) as pseudo‑benefits while keeping control.
●​ Women: Policy emphasised Kinder, Küche, Kirche (“children, kitchen, church”);
incentives for childbirth (e.g., Mother’s Cross), discouragement of female
employment, and removal from professional life.
●​ Minorities (especially Jews): Systematic exclusion from public life, economic
disenfranchisement, increasingly violent persecution culminating in segregation.
(Early 1930s: boycotts, removal from professions; mid‑30s: legal exclusion via
Nuremberg Laws.)
●​ Youth: Totalitarian indoctrination; alternative youth groups suppressed.​

G. Opposition to the Nazi Regime

●​ Internal opposition:
○​ White Rose group: University students (e.g., Sophie Scholl) distributing
anti‑Nazi leaflets.
○​ Workers’ resistance: Sabotage, underground networks, though heavily
suppressed.
●​ Limitations of opposition: Repression, culture of fear, effective propaganda, and
fragmentation (lack of unified alternative vision).​
4. The Search for Peace and Security 1919–1946
A. Ambitions of Germany in Europe and Japan in the Asia-Pacific
●​ Germany:
○​ Revisionism: Aimed to overturn Versailles—reoccupation of the Rhineland
(1936), Anschluss with Austria (1938), and claims on Sudetenland (Munich
Agreement 1938).
○​ Lebensraum: Eastern expansion as ideological imperative, beginning
conceptual groundwork for future invasion of Poland.​

●​ Japan:
○​ Manchuria (1931): Kwantung Army staged Mukden Incident, seized
Manchuria, established puppet state Manchukuo—demonstrated imperial
aggression and rejection of League authority.
○​ Second Sino-Japanese War (from 1937): Expansion into China under guise of
regional dominance; atrocities like Nanjing Massacre undermined any claim
to peaceful security.
○​ Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: Propaganda framing Japanese
expansion as Asian liberation, masking imperial control.​

B. League of Nations and the United Nations

League of Nations
●​ Authority and Structure:
○​ Founded 1920 as part of post-WWI order to resolve disputes peacefully.
○​ Covenant Articles of note:
■​ Article 10: Collective security—members to respect and preserve
territorial integrity of all states.
■​ Article 16: Economic and other sanctions could be imposed on
aggressor states.
■​ Assembly and Council: Decision-making bodies, but required
unanimous or near-unanimous consent for action.​

●​ Weaknesses:
○​ No enforcement army: Depended on member compliance.
○​ Absence of key powers: U.S. never joined; major powers like Japan, Italy,
Germany eventually withdrew or flouted its authority.
○​ Failure examples: Inaction over Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931),
Italian invasion of Ethiopia (1935), and German rearmament.
○​ Collective security breakdown: Aggressors perceived minimal risk of effective
response.​

United Nations (contextual forward look—formalised post‑1945)

●​ Intentions: Learn from League’s failures: stronger founding charter, Security Council
with permanent members (including veto power) to provide decisive action.
●​ Differences foreshadowed in late 1940s discussions: (Note: UN established after
1946 period, but conceptual discussions in wartime conferences—Atlantic Charter,
Dumbarton Oaks, Yalta—laid groundwork.)
○​ Security Council design: Prevent paralysis via structured power balance;
incorporation of “great powers” to prevent unilateral obstruction, albeit
creating its own tensions.
National Study: USA 1919–1941

1. Key Features
Nature and Impact of Industrialisation
●​ Mass production: Introduction and refinement of assembly-line techniques vastly
increased output, lowered unit costs, and made consumer goods (notably
automobiles) accessible to wider segments. Impact: Growth in related industries
(steel, rubber, glass, road construction), urbanisation, and creation of a culture of
consumption based on disposable incomes and credit.
●​ Uneven benefits: While new industries boomed, many traditional ones (textiles, coal,
railroads) stagnated or declined due to overcapacity, outdated technology, and
competition; regional disparities (e.g., the rural South vs. industrial North) persisted.​

Nature and Impact of Consumerism

●​ Installment buying (credit): Enabled Americans to purchase radios, cars, appliances
before fully paying cash, fostering short-term demand but accumulating personal
debt and inflating perceived prosperity.
●​ Advertising revolution: National brands used psychology in advertising to create
desires and normalize continual purchasing; magazines, billboards, and radio
propagated consumer culture.
●​ Speculation mentality: The belief that asset prices (especially stocks) would always
rise encouraged risk-taking, leveraging, and bubble formation—linking consumer
confidence to fragile financial structures.​

American Capitalism & Conservatism

●​ Laissez-faire, pro-business ethos of the 1920s: Republican administrations promoted
low taxes, minimal regulation, and support for big business; reinforced by
conservative cultural values of individualism and suspicion of government
intervention.
●​ Impact of conservatism: Slowed early responses to economic distress (e.g., Hoover’s
reluctance to direct federal relief), fostered resistance to unions and welfare, but also
provided ideological groundwork for the debate over the New Deal’s expansion of
federal power.​

Government Intervention
●​ Contrast pre/post-1929: Limited federal intervention in 1920s; after 1929, dramatic
shift under FDR with direct economic, social, and labour reforms (New Deal). Tension
between traditional American suspicion of big government and crisis-driven demand
for relief and reform.​

American Foreign Policy and Isolationism

●​ Post‑WWI withdrawalism: Refusal to join League of Nations; focus on hemispheric
security (Good Neighbor), trade barriers (protectionism), and neutrality—reflecting
domestic pressures (war fatigue, isolationist public opinion, economic focus).
●​ Gradual shift by 1939–1941: Preparations for possible conflict via “cash-and-carry,”
Lend-Lease, and military build-up reflect tension between isolationist tradition and
strategic response to global threats.​
2. Survey: The USA after World War I and Politics in the 1920s
A. Consequences of World War I for the USA
●​ Economic boom (short-term): USA emerged as creditor and industrial giant;
European reconstruction drove demand for American goods.
●​ Return to “normalcy”: Warren G. Harding’s 1920 campaign promise encapsulated
desire to retreat from internationalism and restore pre-war stability; reflected societal
fatigue with reform and war.
●​ Red Scare (1919–1920): Fear of Bolshevism imported from the Russian Revolution
led to suppression of radicals, influencing immigration policy and civil liberties (e.g.,
Palmer Raids).​

B. Republican Economic Policies (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover)

●​ Tax cuts for wealthy and businesses: Mellon Plan reduced top marginal rates
believing “trickle-down” would spur investment.
●​ Tariffs and protectionism: Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922) raised duties to protect
U.S. industries.
●​ Limited regulation: Weak enforcement of antitrust in practice; pro-business Federal
Reserve policy encouraged credit expansion.
●​ “Coolidge Prosperity”: Minimal government interference, balanced budgets
rhetorically emphasised, public-sector restraint while the private sector flourished.​

C. Long-Term Causes of the Great Depression

1.​ Overproduction: Industrial and agricultural output outpaced real consumer demand;
prices fell, reducing profit margins (especially in agriculture).
2.​ Uneven income distribution: Wealth concentrated at top; many Americans lacked
sufficient purchasing power to absorb mass production.
3.​ Speculative frenzy in stock market: Margin buying pumped up prices without
underlying sustainable value.
4.​ Weaknesses in banking system: Many small, poorly capitalised banks; lack of federal
deposit insurance made them vulnerable to runs.
5.​ International debt structure: European recovery depended on American loans
(Dawes/Young Plans); U.S. protectionism (e.g., Smoot-Hawley Tariff 1930) strangled
global trade, hurting export markets.
6.​ Agricultural distress: Falling prices since early 1920s left farmers deeply indebted,
with declining purchasing power.​

D. Reactions to the Great Crash (October 1929)

●​ Black Thursday (24 Oct 1929): Massive sell-off triggered panic; some recovery briefly
engineered by financiers (e.g., JP Morgan) but confidence shattered.
●​ Black Tuesday (29 Oct): Market collapsed; loss of paper wealth, credit contraction.
●​ Psychological contagion: Businesses cut investment, consumers hoarded cash; bank
failures accelerated due to deposit runs.​

3. The Great Depression and its Impact

A. Effects on Different Groups
1.​ Workers
○​ Unemployment skyrocketed (reaching ~25% by 1933); many had no social
safety net.
 ○​ Wages cut and hours reduced; breadlines and soup kitchens became
commonplace.
○​ Ghettos: Physical manifestation of displacement and poverty.
2.​ Farmers
○​ Already suffering from debt and low prices; crop surpluses further depressed
incomes.
○​ Many lost farms to foreclosure; Dust Bowl (mid-1930s) exacerbated suffering
in the Plains (environmental + economic disaster) causing internal migration.
3.​ Women
○​ Some women fared slightly better in job retention (seen as secondary
earners), but overall economic insecurity led to pressures to leave the
workforce; traditional gender roles reasserted in many contexts.
○​ Despite hardship, women’s organisations mobilised for relief; the New Deal
included some programs that helped (e.g., home relief), though often
reinforcing gendered divisions.
4.​ African-Americans
○​ Hit doubly hard: economic marginalisation intensified by racial discrimination
in relief distribution.
○​ Often last hired, first fired; faced exclusion from many New Deal programs or
segregated administration.
○​ Shift in political allegiance begins (from Republican to Democrat) partly due to
pragmatic relief access under FDR.​

B. Attempts to Halt the Depression

Hoover Presidency’s Response
●​ Voluntarism: Encouraged businesses not to cut wages; localism over federal aid—
seen as insufficient to stem the crisis.
●​ Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932): Loans to banks, railroads, and
businesses— “top-down” approach criticised for not directly helping ordinary people.
●​ Public works: Hoover Dam as symbolic intervention, but scale too limited and too
late.
●​ Bonus Army incident (1932): WWI veterans demanding early bonus payment
violently dispersed— hurt Hoover’s image as uncaring.

FDR and the New Deal

●​ Promise of “a New Deal”: Hope and action versus Hoover’s perceived paralysis.
●​ Charismatic communication: Fireside chats rebuilt public confidence.
●​ Economic desperation: Voters willing to embrace expanded federal role for relief and
recovery.

First Hundred Days (March–June 1933) – Immediate, aggressive intervention

●​ Banking Reform: Emergency Banking Act, Bank Holiday, Glass-Steagall (separating
investment and commercial banking), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
to restore confidence.
●​ Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA): Tried to raise farm prices by paying farmers to
reduce crop acreage (controversial due to destroying food while people starved).
●​ Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): Jobs for young men in environmental projects.
●​ National Recovery Administration (NRA): Attempted industrial stabilization through
codes of fair competition (later struck down by the Supreme Court in 1935).
 ●​ Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): Regional development, electrification,
infrastructure in impoverished South.​

Second New Deal (1935+)

●​ Social Security Act (1935): Pioneering federal safety net: old-age pensions,
unemployment insurance, aid to dependent children—shift toward welfare state.
●​ Works Progress Administration (WPA): Massive employment program building
infrastructure, arts projects; employed millions.
●​ National Labour Relations Act (Wagner Act): Guaranteed collective bargaining rights;
established National Labor Relations Board to curb employer abuses.
●​ Revenue Act (Wealth Tax): Shift toward more progressive taxation to fund expanded
programs.​

C. Assessment of the New Deal

●​ Successes:
○​ Stabilised banking system, provided immediate relief, infrastructural
investment, created welfare precedents, partially reduced unemployment.
○​ Cultural/psychological impact: Restored hope, redefined relationship between
citizen and federal government.
●​ Limitations:
○​ Unemployment remained high through much of the 1930s (never dropping to
pre-Depression levels until WWII mobilization).
○​ Many programs excluded or discriminated against minorities and women;
implementation uneven.
○​ Criticism of overreach; constitutional battles weakened some agencies.
○​ Did not fully resolve underlying structural economic issues; recovery was
incomplete without war spending.​

D. Opposition to the New Deal

●​ Conservative business elites & Republicans: Argued it violated free enterprise,
expanded federal bureaucracy too far.
●​ Supreme Court: Struck down NRA and parts of AAA as unconstitutional (led to
Court-packing controversy when FDR proposed reforming Court composition).
●​ Populist critics on the left: Huey Long (“Share Our Wealth”—redistribution), Father
Charles Coughlin (anti-Semitic and authoritarian tendencies), Dr. Francis Townsend
(old-age pensions more generous than Social Security).
●​ Southern Democrats: Objected to labor/anti-lynching pressures and sometimes
guarded racial segregation.​

4. US Society 1919–1941
A. Urbanisation and Industrialisation
●​ Demographic shift: More Americans living in cities than rural areas by late 1920s;
urban centres became cultural and economic hubs.
●​ Infrastructure growth: Roads, electrification, mass transit expansions tied to
automobile and industrial growth.
●​ Social mobility myth vs reality: Consumer goods and credit created the appearance
of prosperity; underlying instability (debt, uneven distribution) persisted.​
B. “Roaring Twenties”
●​ Term capturing cultural dynamism: jazz, flapper culture, changing gender norms,
nightlife, technological novelty (radio, cinema), and a loosening of pre-war social
mores.
●​ Also marked by culture wars: Modernism vs traditionalism, urban vs rural values.​

C. Intolerance and Social Tensions

●​ Immigration Restrictions:
○​ Emergency Quota Act (1921): Limited annual immigration from any country to
3% of the number of residents from that country living in the U.S. as of 1910.
○​ Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act): Further restricted to 2% of the
1890 population; created the National Origins Formula that heavily favoured
Northern/Western Europeans, excluding Asians entirely (e.g., Asian exclusion
persisted).
○​ Reasons: Nativism, fear of radicalism (Red Scare), belief in racial hierarchies,
economic anxiety over jobs, and desire to preserve “American” cultural
identity.
●​ Religious Fundamentalism:
○​ Scopes “Monkey” Trial (1925): Clash between modernist (evolution) and
fundamentalist (biblical literalism) perspectives; highlighted rural resistance to
cultural change and the persistence of conservative values in education and
morality.
●​ Prohibition (18th Amendment 1920; Volstead Act enforced it):
○​ Reasons: Moral reform (temperance movement), belief alcohol caused crime
and family breakdown, wartime grain conservation.
○​ Impact: Rise of illegal bootlegging, speakeasies, organised crime (Al Capone
in Chicago), corruption in law enforcement, and public disillusionment with
moral legislation.
○​ Repeal (21st Amendment, 1933): Driven by inability to enforce, massive loss
of tax revenue during Depression, and widespread public disregard.
●​ Crime & Law Enforcement:
○​ Prohibition paradoxically increased violent crime through turf wars among
gangs; undermined respect for law.
●​ Racial Conflict:
○​ Jim Crow segregation institutionalised in the South; lynchings and
disenfranchisement prevalent.
○​ Red Summer (1919): Race riots across numerous cities; black veterans
demanding rights met with violence.
○​ Discrimination in employment, housing, justice system—African Americans
systematically excluded from many benefits of prosperity.
○​ KKK: Superiority of the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) population.
Performed lynchings and public attacks against minorities, especially African
Americans
●​ Anti-communism & Anti-unionism:
○​ Palmer Raids (1919–1920): Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer’s crackdown
on suspected radicals; thousands deported or jailed with little
evidence—example of civil liberties erosion due to fear.
○​ Labour suppression: Employers used red-baiting to discredit unions; union
membership fluctuated with periodic violent confrontations and a cultural
 suspicion of collectivism.​

5. US Foreign Policy 1919–1941

A. Nature, Aims, and Strategies
●​ Isolationism: Desire to avoid entanglement in European power politics after WWI;
reflected in public opinion, Congressional control over treaties, and the Senate’s
refusal to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or join the League of Nations.
●​ “America First” sentiment: Emphasised national self-interest over collective security.
●​ Disarmament rhetoric: Washington Naval Conference (1921–22) aimed to prevent
naval arms race; symbolised limited engagement.
Specific Policies
●​ Refusal to join League of Nations: Senate’s rejection due to fears of entanglement,
sovereignty loss, and Article 10’s collective security obligations (seen as potentially
dragging U.S. into wars without Congressional approval).
●​ Neutrality Acts (mid-late 1930s): Series (1935, 1936, 1937) designed to prevent
recurrence of factors that drew U.S. into WWI: bans on arms sales to belligerents,
restrictions on loans, and “cash-and-carry” to keep U.S. officially neutral while
allowing limited trade.
●​ Good Neighbor Policy (1933+): Renegotiation of relations with Latin America,
repudiating military intervention (e.g., withdrawal from Haiti, non-interventionist
rhetoric).
●​ Lend-Lease and “Arsenal of Democracy” beginnings (1939–1941): While still officially
neutral, the U.S. increasingly supported Allies through material aid, showing the
tension between isolationism and emerging strategic engagement.
●​ Military mobilisation pre-1941: Expansion of defense industries, selective service
preparations, and shipbuilding to prepare for potential conflict while managing
domestic isolationist pressure.​

B. Impact of Domestic Pressures

●​ Economic focus: Depression made foreign adventurism unpopular; resources
prioritised for recovery.
●​ Public opinion: Strongly isolationist; killed earlier collective security impulses.
●​ Political constraints: Congress guarded war-declaring power; neutrality laws were
manifestations of domestic fear of another costly war.
Peace and Conflict: Conflict in the Pacific 1937–1951

1. Survey: Growth of Tensions in the Pacific to 1937

A. Economic and Political Issues in the Pacific by 1937
●​ Global economic instability (Great Depression) severely impacted Japan. With limited
natural resources, Japan turned to expansionism to secure raw materials (rubber, oil,
iron).
●​ Western imperialism in Asia (e.g., British in Malaya, Dutch in Indonesia, French in
Indochina) made Japan feel encircled.
●​ The Manchurian Crisis (1931) and subsequent withdrawal from the League of
Nations (1933) signified Japan’s rejection of the Western-dominated international
order.
●​ Japan’s military-controlled government increasingly saw war as a legitimate means of
national policy (Hirohito gave military generals broad authority).​

B. Japanese Foreign Policy (1937–1941)

●​ Aim: Create the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere—a self-sufficient bloc of
Asian nations led by Japan, free from Western colonialism.
●​ Invaded China in 1937 (Marco Polo Bridge Incident → Second Sino-Japanese War).
●​ Tripartite Pact (1940) with Germany and Italy formalised Axis alignment.
●​ Japan moved into French Indochina (1940–41), threatening British and Dutch
colonies and increasing tensions with the USA.​

C. US and British Policies in the Pacific (1937–41)

●​ Appeasement early on, but changed post-1940:
○​ The USA imposed trade embargoes (oil, steel) on Japan in 1941.
○​ Freezing of Japanese assets in July 1941 after Japan occupied all of
Indochina.
●​ These escalations pushed Japan to view war as inevitable.​

2. Outbreak + Course of the War

A. Strategic and Political Reasons for Pearl Harbor (7 Dec 1941)
●​ Strategic:
○​ Pre-emptive strike to disable the US Pacific Fleet before Japanese expansion
in SE Asia.
●​ Political:
○​ Japan wanted to secure resources in the Dutch East Indies without US
interference.
●​ Consequence:
○​ The USA declared war on Japan the next day; Germany and Italy then
declared war on the USA.
○​ Unified American public opinion against Japan.​

B. Japanese Advance (1941–42)

●​ Rapid conquest of:
○​ Philippines (1942) – humiliation of US forces (Bataan Death March).
○​ Singapore (Feb 1942) – “worst British military defeat” – 80,000 troops
captured.
○​ Dutch East Indies, Burma, Malaya – seized key resources (oil, rubber).
 ●​ Japan’s success was due to:
○​ Speed.
○​ Superior air/naval coordination.
○​ Exploiting colonial weaknesses and local resentment of Western imperialism.​

3. Turning Points in the War

A. Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942)
●​ First naval battle fought entirely by aircraft (ships never saw each other).
●​ Strategic US-Australian victory: stopped Japanese advance on Port Moresby (threat
to Australia).
●​ Began to shift momentum in Allies’ favour.​

B. Battle of Midway (June 1942) – THE Turning Point

●​ The US had broken Japanese naval codes (MAGIC).
●​ Japan lost 4 aircraft carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu) – irreparable blow to naval
air power.
●​ Significance:
○​ Ended Japan’s capacity for major offensive operations.
○​ Shifted the strategic initiative to the USA – they now had superior industrial
capacity.
○​ From this point, Japan fought defensively.​

C. Battle of Guadalcanal (Aug 1942 – Feb 1943)

●​ First US ground offensive.
●​ Fought under brutal jungle conditions—both sides suffered high casualties.
●​ Showed Japan couldn’t match the US in prolonged warfare.​

D. New Guinea Campaign (1942–44)

●​ Crucial in preventing Japanese advance to Australia.
●​ Key role of Australian troops (e.g., Kokoda Track, Milne Bay).
●​ Showed Japan’s overstretched supply lines and weaknesses in jungle terrain.​

E. Allied Strategies Against Japan (1942–45)

●​ Island-hopping strategy: Bypassed heavily fortified islands, seized strategic positions
for airbases.
●​ Submarine warfare: Targeted Japanese merchant shipping → economic
strangulation.
●​ Air superiority: Bombing of Japanese cities (e.g., firebombing of Tokyo).
●​ Psychological warfare: Leaflets, radio broadcasts (Tokyo Rose) aimed to demoralise
Japanese troops and civilians.​

4. Civilians at War
A. Occupied Territories in SEA
Economic & Social Impacts:
●​ Forced labour (romusha) in Indonesia, Thailand, Burma (over 200,000 workers).
●​ Japan exploited resources: rice, oil, rubber → local famines and shortages.
●​ Cultural suppression (e.g., Japanese language, Shinto rituals).
Women:
●​ Up to 200,000 “Comfort Women” (mainly Korean, Chinese, Filipina) were forced into
sexual slavery.
●​ Systematic, military-run abuse – war crime acknowledged by Japan only partially.
POWs:
●​ Harsh treatment under the Bushido code (surrender = dishonour).
●​ Death rates among POWs: up to 30% (vs ~4% for Allied-held POWs).
●​ Thai-Burma Railway (“Death Railway”): 12,000+ Allied POWs died.
Collaboration and Resistance:
●​ Some locals collaborated (e.g., Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army).
●​ Others resisted: guerrilla groups in the Philippines, Dutch East Indies.​

B. Home Front in Japan

●​ Militarisation of society: total war mobilised all civilians.
●​ Strict censorship, conscription of youth, compulsory work.
●​ Food shortages and bombing raids (esp. 1945) devastated morale.
●​ Kamikaze pilots (from 1944) used it as symbols of national sacrifice.​

C. Home Front in Australia

●​ War production boom (munitions, aircraft).
●​ Conscription introduced for overseas service (1943).
●​ Women took on industrial and auxiliary roles (e.g., AWAS, WAAAF).
●​ Rationing, censorship, and air-raid precautions were widespread.
●​ Public support remained high due to the threat of Japanese invasion.​

5. End of the Conflict

A. Use of the Atomic Bomb
●​ Reasons:
○​ End the war quickly; avoid invasion of Japan (estimated 1 million Allied
casualties).
○​ Demonstrate US power (esp. to USSR – start of Cold War).
○​ Retaliation for Pearl Harbor and atrocities.​

●​ Hiroshima (6 Aug 1945) and Nagasaki (9 Aug 1945):

○​ 100,000+ dead instantly, many more from radiation.
○​ Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945.​

●​ Controversial: Some argue Japan was close to surrender already; others say
A-bombs saved more lives.​

B. Reasons for Japanese Defeat

●​ Loss of naval/air superiority after Midway.
●​ Overextended supply lines; couldn’t replace lost equipment.
●​ US industrial might and total war economy.
●​ Increasing domestic hardship, bombing, and starvation.
●​ Loss of key territories (Philippines, Saipan, Okinawa).
●​ Soviet declaration of war (8 Aug 1945) and invasion of Manchuria.​
6. Post-War and Occupation of Japan
A. War Crimes Tribunals
●​ International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trials, 1946–48):
○​ Tried 28 major war criminals.
○​ Charges: Class A (crimes against peace), Class B (war crimes), Class C
(crimes against humanity).
○​ 7 sentenced to death, others imprisoned.
○​ Criticism: “Victors’ justice”, Emperor Hirohito not tried (for stability reasons).​

B. Status of the Emperor

●​ Allowed to remain as a symbolic figurehead.
●​ Publicly renounced divinity in 1946.
●​ Helped ensure a smooth post-war transition.​

C. Allied Occupation of Japan (1945–51)

●​ Led by: General Douglas MacArthur
●​ Demilitarise and democratise Japan.

Reforms:
●​ New Constitution (1947):
○​ Article 9: “forever renounce war as a sovereign right.”
○​ Women gained full suffrage.
●​ War industries dismantled.
●​ Land reform: broke up zaibatsu (industrial conglomerates).
●​ The education system westernised.
Change in the Modern World: Civil Rights in the USA 1945–1968

1. Survey: The Position of African Americans in 1945

A. Impact of WWII on African Americans
●​ The Double V Campaign highlighted demands for victory against fascism abroad and
racism at home.
●​ 1.2 million African Americans served in the US armed forces, often in segregated
units (e.g., Tuskegee Airmen). Despite their service, they returned to a racially
unequal society.
●​ Increased urbanisation: Migration of African Americans to cities for war jobs led to
racial tensions but also fostered black consciousness and activism.
●​ FEPC (Fair Employment Practices Committee) created in 1941 prohibited
discrimination in war industries—limited success but a foundational move toward
federal action on race.​

B. Segregation and Discrimination by 1945

●​ Jim Crow laws enforced de jure segregation in the South: separate schools, buses,
restaurants, toilets.
●​ Voting restrictions: Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses prevented most
Southern African Americans from voting.
●​ De facto segregation in the North: housing discrimination, redlining, employment
bias.
●​ Violence and terror: lynching still occurred; groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
remained active in intimidating Black communities.

2. Civil Rights Groups: Formation and Roles

A. Groups:
●​ NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
○​ Legal approach: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – declared segregation
in schools unconstitutional.
○​ Focused on legislative and judicial change.
●​ CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)
○​ Promoted nonviolent direct action, e.g., Freedom Rides (1961).
●​ SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
○​ Founded by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957.
○​ Christian-based, promoted nonviolence and mass protest.
●​ SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)
○​ Formed in 1960 to give voice to young Black activists.
○​ Led sit-ins, Freedom Rides, later shifted towards militancy (e.g., under
Stokely Carmichael).
●​ Black Panther Party (from 1966)
○​ Radical response to police brutality, demanded economic justice, self-defence
rights.​

B. Methods Used by Civil Rights Movements

●​ Legal challenges (e.g. Brown v. Board)
●​ Direct action: sit-ins, Freedom Rides, marches.
 ●​ Boycotts: e.g., Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56).
●​ Political agitation: lobbying, campaigning, pressure on the federal government.​

3. Martin Luther King Jr. vs Malcolm X

Feature Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm X

Philosophy Christian, pacifist, inspired by Black nationalism, self-defence

Gandhi

Organisation SCLC Nation of Islam (until 1964), then

OAAU

Methods Nonviolent protest, integration Initially separatism, later more

inclusive

Legacy Key driver of Civil Rights Radicalised the movement, inspired

legislation Black Power

4. Opposition to Civil Rights

●​ Ku Klux Klan (KKK): white supremacist group, used intimidation, arson, beatings and
murder to suppress Black activism.
●​ White Citizens’ Councils (formed in 1954): focused on maintaining segregation using
legal, economic and social pressure. Often supported by local authorities and
businesses.
●​ Southern politicians: Many signed the Southern Manifesto (1956) opposing
desegregation.​

5. Key Events
A. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56)
●​ Sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her seat.
●​ 381-day boycott of Montgomery buses led by MLK and the MIA.
●​ Result: Browder v. Gayle (1956) ruled that segregation on public buses was
unconstitutional.
●​ Turning point: emergence of King, mass nonviolent protest.​

B. Desegregation of Little Rock High School (1957)

●​ 9 Black students ("Little Rock Nine") attempted to enter Central High.
●​ Governor Orval Faubus sent the Arkansas National Guard to prevent entry.
●​ Eisenhower sent federal troops (101st Airborne) to enforce desegregation.
●​ Showed federal enforcement was possible but also highlighted massive Southern
resistance.​

C. Freedom Rides (1961)

●​ CORE and SNCC activists rode interstate buses into the Deep South to test Boynton
v. Virginia (1960), which banned segregation in terminals.
●​ Met with brutal violence in Alabama and Mississippi.
 ●​ The federal government eventually enforced desegregation in bus terminals.​

D. March on Washington (1963)

●​ 250,000 people gathered in D.C. to demand civil and economic rights.
●​ MLK delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
●​ Pressured the Kennedy administration and Congress into civil rights action.​

E. Mississippi Freedom Summer (1964)

●​ SNCC and CORE campaign to register Black voters.
●​ Intense resistance: beatings, arson, 3 activists murdered (Chaney, Goodman,
Schwerner).
●​ Exposed brutality to the northern media and the federal government.​

F. Assassination of MLK (1968)

●​ Killed in Memphis while supporting sanitation workers' strike.
●​ Sparked nationwide riots, marked the fragmentation of the movement.
●​ End of the unified nonviolent era, increased momentum for Black Power.​

6. Achievements of the Civil Rights Movement

A. Legislative Change
●​ Civil Rights Act (1964):
○​ Banned segregation in public places and outlawed employment
discrimination.
○​ Title VII: Created EEOC to enforce employment equality.
●​ Voting Rights Act (1965):
○​ Abolished literacy tests and poll taxes.
○​ Allowed federal oversight of elections in discriminatory states.​

B. Presidential Attitudes
●​ Truman (1945–53): Desegregated armed forces (1948), first president to address
civil rights directly.
●​ Eisenhower (1953–61): Reluctant but enforced desegregation in Little Rock.
●​ Kennedy (1961–63): Supportive in rhetoric; slow on action until Birmingham crisis.
●​ Johnson (1963–69): Most proactive—pushed through Civil Rights Act and Voting
Rights Act.​

C. Social and Political Change

●​ Increase in Black voter registration, especially after 1965.
●​ More African Americans elected to public office.
●​ Decline of legal segregation in public spaces, education, and employment.
●​ Cultural shift: civil rights issues became central to national consciousness.​

D. Global Influence
●​ The US Civil Rights Movement inspired anti-apartheid struggles (South Africa),
Indigenous land rights movements in Australia, and anti-colonial activism globally.
●​ King’s philosophy influenced peaceful protest worldwide.