U.S. History II

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U.S. History II

• The Postwar World
• SOL 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d

Prepared by Judy Self
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USII SOL 7aRebuilding Europe and Japan
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How did the United States help rebuild postwar
Europe and Japan?

• Learning from the mistakes after World War I the
  U.S. accepted its role as a world superpower
• U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall prepared
  the Marshall Plan to help rebuild Europe

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How did the United States help rebuild postwar
Europe and Japan?

• Marshall Plan, the European Recovery Plan, was
  to to provide massive financial aid to rebuild
  European economies
• U.S. hoped the aid would help prevent the spread
  of communism

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How did the United States help rebuild postwar
Europe and Japan?

• Germany was partitioned into East and West
  Germany
• West Germany became democratic and resumed
  self-government after a few years of American,
  British, and French occupation

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How did the United States help rebuild postwar
Europe and Japan?

• East Germany remained under the domination of the
  Soviet Union and did not adopt democratic
  institutions

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How did the United States help rebuild postwar
Europe and Japan?

• Japan was occupied by American forces
• It adopted a democratic form of government and
  resumed self-government
• Japan became a strong ally of the United States

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How did the United States help rebuild postwar
Europe and Japan?

• The United Nations was formed as a peace keeping
  organization
• The UN was a way for the nations of the world to
  try to prevent future global wars

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USII SOL 7bShift from Wartime to Peacetime
Economy
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What contributed to the prosperity of Americans
following World War II?

• Businesses converted from production of war
  materials to consumer goods
• Americans purchased goods on credit

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What contributed to the prosperity of Americans
following World War II?

• Workforce shifted back to men and most women
  returned to family responsibilities

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What contributed to the prosperity of Americans
following World War II?

• Labor unions merged and became more powerful
• Workers gained new benefits and higher salaries

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What contributed to the prosperity of Americans
following World War II?

• As economic prosperity continued and technology
  boomed, the next generation of women re-entered
  the labor force in large numbers

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USII SOL 7cThe Cold War
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What is the Cold War?

• After World War II the United States and the
  Soviet Union emerged as world powers
• The Cold War was the state of tension between
  the two countries without actual fighting
• It divided the world into two camps

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How and why did the Cold War begin?

• Differences between the two superpowers
• The United States was democratic and capitalist
• The Soviet Union was dictatorial and communistic

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How and why did the Cold War begin?

• The Soviet Unions domination over Eastern
  European countries

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How and why did the Cold War begin?

• American policy of containment stopping the
  spread of communism

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How and why did the Cold War begin?

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) versus
  Warsaw Pact
• NATO - United States and its allies
• Warsaw Pact - Soviet Union and its allies

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What have been the major conflicts and
confrontations in the post-World War II era?

• South Korea and the United States resisted
  Chinese and North Korean aggression
• The conflict ended in a stalemate
• North and South Korea remain divided

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What have been the major conflicts and
confrontations in the post-World War II era?

• Cuban Missile Crisis occurred when the Soviet
  Union placed missiles in Cuba
• Soviets removed the missiles in response to a
  U.S. blockade

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What have been the major conflicts and
confrontations in the post-World War II era?

• The United States believed that if one nation in
  Asia became communist the rest would fall to
  communism one after the other
• That belief is called the Domino Theory

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What have been the major conflicts and
confrontations in the post-World War II era?

• The U.S. intervened to stop the spread of
  communism into South Vietnam
• Americans were divided over whether the U.S.
  should be involved militarily in Vietnam
• Conflict ended in a cease-fire agreement
  in which U.S. troops withdrew

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How did communism collapse in Europe?

• Economic problems led to the breakup of the
  Soviet Union into independent countries
• The destruction of the Berlin Wall signaled the
  collapse of communism in Europe

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What new challenges did the U.S. face after the
Cold War?

• The role of U.S. military intervention
• Environmental challenges
• Global issues, including trade, jobs, and
  diseases

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USII SOL 7dOur Changing Society
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What factors led to changing patterns of society
in the post-World War II era?

• The development of a strong economy
• Healthy job market
• Increased productivity
• Increased demand for American products

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What factors led to changing patterns of society
in the post-World War II era?

• Greater investment in education to meet the
  challenges of the future

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What factors led to changing patterns of society
in the post-World War II era?

• The sudden and large increase in births after
  World War II, called the Baby Boom, that led to a
  great change in demographics in the United States

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What factors led to changing patterns of society
in the post-World War II era?

• The building of the interstate highway system

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What factors led to changing patterns of society
in the post-World War II era?

• The evolving role of women from homemaker to
  working outside the home
• Expanding womens rights one advocate was
  Eleanor Roosevelt

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What factors led to changing patterns of society
in the post-World War II era?

• African Americans aspirations for equal
  opportunities

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What factors led to changing patterns of society
in the post-World War II era?

• Changes in the make-up of immigrants
• More Asian and Hispanic Americans

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What policies and programs expanded educational
and employment opportunities for the military,
women, and minorities?

• G.I. Bill of Rights gave educational, housing,
  and employment benefits to World War II veterans
• President Truman desegregated the armed forces

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What policies and programs expanded educational
and employment opportunities for the military,
women, and minorities?

• Civil Rights legislation led to increased
  educational, economic, and political
  opportunities for women and minorities

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The End