The Threat of Totalitarianism

• Please take out Class Notes 24, 25, & 26 – you may use these on the quiz preview. The quiz is next Tuesday, April 8.

• Turn in your Capstone exhibit topic proposal – this is a formative credit for 4th quarter. You can still receive full recovery credit if you turn it in by Thursday, April 10. After that, you will be assigned to a topic.

• Take 10 minutes to complete the quiz preview on your own – we will review it before the start of today’s lesson.

We will:

*complete our study of the New Deal & Dust Bowl

*assess how and why totalitarian dictatorship posed a threat to Americans in the 1930s

The Threat of TotalitarianismAmerica Confronts

Dictatorship in the 1930sWhat was the greatest threat to Americans in the

1930s?

Take a few moments to identify the threat and explain why it was so significant at that time.

?

The Rise of Fascism*Mussolini introduced fascism to Italy

in 1922*Hitler followed suit with the rise to power of the National Socialist Workers (Nazi) Party; elected chancellor in January 1933*Fascists embraced the power of the state over the individual and the concept of “race warfare” – contributed to anti-Semitism*Fascists rebuilt Germany and Italy through public works and a military build-up made possible by close cooperation with industry and labor (as in the New Deal?)*Both leaders flaunted the League of Nations and aggressively sought to expand their power:1935 – Italy invades Ethiopia1936 – Germany reoccupies the Rhineland, both countries support Franco in Spain’s civil war1938 – Germany occupies Austria1939 – Germany invades Czechoslovakia after being appeased by Britain/France at Munich

Soviet “State Socialism”• After a brutal civil war (1918-22), the Bolsheviks

emerged victorious over czarist forces and established the first communist dictatorship

• Soviet leaders (Lenin, Stalin) embraced Marxism in theory but also created a strong state to encourage the growth of communism worldwide

• Under Stalin (1924-1953), the USSR engaged in a crash program of industrialization (through Five-Year plans) and collectivization of agriculture

• Private property ownership was effectively ended and the Soviet state dictated economic activity

• Stalin’s purges of the 1930s targeted the middle class, the military, and even the Communist Party itself – an estimated 10 million dead by 1940

• Hitler modeled his concentration camp system after Stalin’s gulag labor camps; Stalin and Hitler hated each other but were willing to sign a temporary Non-Aggression Pact in 1939

Japan: Empire of the Rising Sun

• After building an industrialized, Westernized state in the late 1800s, Japan built an empire for itself by defeating China (1890s) and Russia (1904-05)

• Growing demand for raw materials to feed its factories led Japan to build up a powerful army and navy, the leaders of which effectively controlled the Imperial Cabinet; Emperor Hirohito was a revered “puppet”

• Japan’s militaristic culture shared much in common with Nazi Germany – both were based on cultural superiority and glorification of the state

• The warrior code of bushido still prevailed in Japanese military culture – honor valued above all

• Japan occupied Manchuria in 1931 and invaded China proper in 1937; Japan’s aggression and brutal treatment of the Chinese raised growing fears among the Western powers

• Japan joined Germany and Italy in the Axis (1940)

Before we leave…

• Remember to study for the “Boom & Bust” quiz on Tuesday, April 8.

• Turn in your Capstone topic proposal. Topics will be approved and locked in by April 10 at the end of the day.

• World War II poster assignments will be given out on Tuesday. If you are absent that day, pick your own topic.

Quiz #7 & Totalitarianism

Please clear your area of everything except a #2 pencil and your Scantron answer form

Fill in your full name, subject: Quiz #7, period, and date (4-8) on the Scantron form.

We will:

*take Quiz #7 – “Boom and Bust”

* assess how and why totalitarian dictatorship posed a threat to Americans in the 1930s

*work on World War II posters

Next Steps

When you finish the quiz, turn in the quiz and Scantron separately and take out class notes #27.

If you have not yet completed your Capstone topic proposal, please take out a piece of paper and complete it while you wait for everyone to finish the quiz. You could also work on Focus #26 to turn in for a formative credit.

Capstone topics are due no later than the start of class on Thursday for full recovery credit.

Dictatorship in America?• As threats mounted overseas, demagogues

arose in the United States who promised to take America in a new (and better?) direction

• Father Charles Coughlin, a popular weekly radio commentator from Detroit, called for a “social justice” program to redistribute wealth; he blamed Jews for America’s social-economic ills

• Huey Long of Louisiana emerged as a populist leader; his “Share Our Wealth” program proposed a massive transfer of money from rich to poor; many feared he would challenge FDR for the presidency in 1936; his assassination ended that threat

• Upton Sinclair (author of The Jungle) ran for governor of California in 1934 promising to “End Poverty in California” (EPIC)

• These men represented a clear move to the Left and raised the specter of a socialist-style dictatorship emerging in the United States

The Biggest Threat of All?

FDR: Dictator in Waiting?• FDR’s landslide re-election victory in

1936 reflected the birth of a “New Deal” coalition of labor, minorities, and women that prefigured long-term Democratic majority status in American politics

• FDR used his new clout to strike back at the Supreme Court in 1937 by proposing his infamous “court-packing” scheme

• FDR’s critics assailed him for threatening constitutional separation of powers; FDR backed down but got what he wanted – a more liberal Supreme Court

• Conservative critics accused FDR of being a “traitor to his class” and moving America toward socialism (sound familiar?)

• FDR ultimately respected limits on his power and the will of Congress, but faced a new challenge from external threats by the late 30s

American Isolationism • Americans remained predominantly

isolationist in the face of growing external threats

• The Nye Committee (1935) blamed America’s entry into World War I on U.S. industry’s greed for war profits

• Congress passed the Neutrality Acts (1935-39) to restrict any assistance to belligerents (even to nations that were victims of aggression)

• The America First Committee organized a grass-roots movement to pressure Congress and the President to keep America out of war no matter what – Charles Lindbergh emerged as its primary spokesman – he personally admired Hitler and the Nazi government and spoke openly against the “Jewish influence” in Western civilization

Preparing the Nation for War• 1937 – FDR’s called for a “quarantine” of aggressor

nations in the wake of Japan’s invasion of China• 1939 – Congress amended the Neutrality Acts to allow

for “cash and carry” aid for Britain and France after World War II started in Europe

• 1940 – Congress passed legislation authorizing the first peace-time draft in American history, as FDR called on America to become the great “arsenal of democracy”; the U.S. offered Britain “destroyers for bases”; FDR was also re-elected for a precedent-shattering third term

• 1941 – Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act at FDR’s urging, authorizing military assistance to Britain and (as of June 1941) the USSR; FDR and British PM Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter committing the U.S. and UK to shared war aims based on democratic principles

Before we leave…

• Work on your assigned World War II poster. You can use the textbook to do background reading. Poster paper and markers are available for use in class.

• Remember to have your poster ready for the start of class on the due date (see unit guide for dates).

• Don’t forget to turn in your Capstone exhibit topic proposal by Thursday at the latest.