Chapter 36 outline notes

Chapter 36 Outlines

Due Monday, March 14

I. What dangers did the American economy face as it adjusted to the end of World War II?

A. Transitioning to a peacetime economy—what protections were removed after the war’s end?

–1. Privatizing war factories

–2. Employment Act and the CEA

–3. How long did this transition take?

B. Employment issues

–1.What impact could returning troops have had?

–2. Taft-Hartley- what was its impact and intent?

–3. Why was Operation Dixie necessary? Whys did it go wrong?

C. The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act

–1. What else was it called?

–2. What did it do?

–3. Why did it do it?

–4. What was its impact?

(From section II onward, you need to supply the subheads and details to create detailed notes)

II. What were the causes and effects of the birth of the “Affluent Society”—1950-1973

A. Why was America’s economy relatively unscathed by World War II?

B. Underpinnings of phenomenal growth: petroleum and productivity, the Sunbelt and science

C. What specific role did military spending play?

D. What happened to the middle class? Who benefitted the most, and why? What was the impact on family and home life?

E. How did Cold War paranoia influence American life at home?

III. How did foreign alliances change as a result of the start of the Cold War?

A. How was Yalta a predictor of changes?

B. How do “spheres of influence” compare with the old alliance system?

C. How did the UN compare with the League of Nations?

D. How did Germany provide an early test of new rivalries?

E.  What were the most famous policies and documents that shaped post-war foreign policy? Be thorough.

F. What did the US SPECIFICALLY hope to gain from the Marshall Plan?

–1. Soviet response, and why?

G. What new government agencies were created to protect the US from foreign threats?

H. NATO vs. Warsaw Pact—purposes? Inherent dangers?

I. How and why was Asia also a place of competition?

J. How did the Cold War (and racial issues) impact American politics?