20th Century History

1
20th Century History

• To fully understand the world that we live in
  today, one must reach back and study the events
  of the past century.

2
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dominate the
headlines in the year 2007. Who is fighting?
Why are they fighting? What are the goals of the
opponents? How can peace flourish?
3
Ostensibly the events of September the 11th, 2001
forced the United States into military action in
Afghanistan. Iraq followed 2 years later, but
for different reasons. Why was the United States
attacked? Why did the U.S. direct military
actions against Afghanistan, then Iraq?
4
It is no secret that the United States is the
worlds sole, remaining super-power. Some would
say that it is on the decline in that regard.
However, how did it come to be in this position?
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There was another super power for most of the
20th Century. The Soviet Union was a communist
state that valued military technology and
embraced a vision of world domination. The cold
war was fought for over 45 years between the
Soviet Union and its allies, and the United
States and its allies. Why do you think the
United States won the Cold War?
6
Again, on the surface the United States seemed to
win the Cold War. But did the American way of
life prevail?
7
There are aspects of the American way of life,
that we are taught from childhood. These can
include
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Mom and Apple pie
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Baseball
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Freedom, Justice, Liberty
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Cowboys
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Rock Roll (yes, yes, Zeppelin was British, but
the art form is Americanit came from the blues,
which came from Jazz.)
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One pillar of the American way of life is
business and the consumption of American
products. However, with a global economy and
environmental concerns this becomes particularly
difficult to understand and to practice.
14
If the United States has one of the strongest
economies in the world, how did it become so?
What are the threats to our economy?
15
When the United States has had to use military
force in the 20th century, its goals were not
always clearly defined. Support was not always
evident at home. Methods of warfare were
sometimes unconventional. And the enemy could
look like civilians.
16
The Cold War had several hot conflicts. Korea
was the sight of one such conflicts where the
forces of Communism battled the forces of
Democracy. They fought to a standstill. The
peninsula is still segmented today because if
this.
17
At certain points in the 20th century, global
conflict did occur. Twice they were begun by
Germany. The second time, it was at the
instigation of Adolf Hitler. Why do you think
Hitler wanted to conquer Europe?
18
Although the United States wanted to remain
neutral in WWII, the Japanese (allied to Germany)
forced the U.S. into the war by bombing the naval
station at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Why do you
think the Japanese attacked?
19
This was unfortunate for Americans. They had
just begun to emerge from a sever economic
depression. Things had begun to look good again.
What do you think turned the American economy
around?
20
The Great depression was global, and affected
hundreds of millions of people. How do you think
it started?
21
Prior to the Great Depression, life in America
was good. This period was called the Roaring
20s. There was prosperity and a feeling of good
times. Sometimes called the Jazz Age, we saw the
advent of the Harlem Renaissance at this point.
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This was also the time of Prohibition in the
United States. This meant that a Constitutional
Amendment was passed to ban the sale of alcohol.
Although eventually repealed, many people broke
the law and smuggled or made alcohol.
23
Of course, one of the defining events of the
beginning of the 20th Century was World War 1.
In this conflict over 9 million soldiers and
civilians died. Millions more were wounded,
maimed, or went mission. The devastation cost
billions and many of the last empires were
dissolved as a result. It is with this event
that we begin our studies.