American History Homework Eleven Answers - Student Fourteen

Duncan B

American History Homework Eleven

1. One of the values of learning history is that you can learn from previous people’s good and bad ideas and deeds. For example, Hitler could have learned from Napoleon that it is nearly impossible to invade Russia, especially in the winter.

Excellent example to back up your point. Would use as a model, but it isn't really American history! But it's an acceptable answer.

2. The United States was definitely right to enter World War Two. The atheistic, evolutionary Nazi Germany was probably the most evil nation ever (perhaps except Communist Russia and China.) Adolf Hitler, the German leader, was a crazed fanatic who had two aims: revenge Germany’s defeat in World War I, and eliminate all Jews from the earth. Japan was not an inherently evil society, but the military government and the racist view that Japanese were superior to all other races meant that the Japanese had no qualms about resorting to any tactic. When the city of Nanking in China fell in 1937, for nearly six weeks Japanese troops rampaged the city, raping, looting, murdering, and burning. Japanese officials denied that anything had happened.

Superb, may use as a model answer. ... Later I realized that you did not answer the question about the timing of our entry in World War II, but what you did say was so good I won't deduct anything for that omission. In the future be sure to answer what is asked.

3. In the 1870—1900 period the American system of immigration was good. Immigrants traveled to America on passenger ships to New York Harbor. At Ellis Island, they were checked for contagious diseases and whether they would make good citizens and residents. The advantages to this system were that it allowed decent immigrants to enter on a large scale and did not indiscriminately allow people in.

Excellent.

4. The Roaring Twenties saw the debut of commercial airlines. In 1926, United Airlines, the United States’ oldest airline, was founded. Although air travel was at first a mere novelty, people quickly saw its good points for actual travel.

Terrific!

5. The New Deal was, as an economic program, a failure. What it did do was restore American confidence in their government and their nation at an extremely low point for many people. FDR should not have instituted as many programs, just a few so as to make the people rely on themselves to get out of the depression.

Right.

6. The United States had two options to deal with Japan at the end of World War II: drop the atomic bomb or invade. Invasion would not only have been time-consuming (United States commanders estimated that Japan would not fall till December 1946), but extremely costly. At the time the atomic bomb was dropped, there were over two million Japanese troops garrisoned in Japan, plus 8-10 million armed civilians. The Japanese were fanatic nationalists, and nearly every one of the defenders would have fought until they were killed. The Japanese also had 6,000 or more aircraft to use for kamikaze attacks, and more than 10,000 kamikaze pilots. More than a million Allied troops would have been killed—manpower than the Allies could not afford to lose. In the shattered post-war Japan, Communism could easily have grown; instead of an ally and friend, we might have an enemy in the Japanese nation.

Terrific analysis, though some will say there was a third option: not require an unconditional surrender (which we did not completely get anyway, as Japan retained its emperor).

7. This cartoon depicts the inordinate amount of power that was given to the president (Franklin D. Roosevelt at the time) during the 1930s. Two figures labeled “House” and “Senate” (representing the House of Representatives and the Senate) are bringing huge clubs, one labeled “Dictatorial Power,” as gifts for the President. The ghost of Teddy Roosevelt is in the foreground (he was famous for expanding executive power) saying that his “big stick” was a “mere willow compared to this.” The cartoonist clearly did not support the huge amount of power that was being allowed the President by Congress.

Fantastic answer. Perfect, except you could have pinpointed the date more precisely. 1933, I'd say.

H2. Amphibious assaults, the landing of troops in enemy-occupied territory from the sea, came into general use in World War II. With the exception of the disastrous Gallipoli landing in WWI, no large scale amphibious assaults had ever been done in modern times. The largest amphibious landing was “Operation Overlord” in Normandy, on June 6, 1944; over 80,000 British and Canadian troops and 70,000 Americans participated in the first assault. In the invasion fleet were 1,213 warships and 4,126 transports.

Wow!

H3. The primary cause of the Great Depression was the stock market crash. During the late 1920s, the economy was going strongly and many people began to invest in stock; the prices of Wall Street stock began to rise with the increased demand. Eventually, in October 1929, many stock owners decided to sell their stock because the price was so high, but there were not enough people willing to buy. In that disastrous week, the Dow lost nearly $14 billion in value.

Good argument, but I think historians are cautious to say the stock market crash was the primary cause. Note that the Great Depression did not hit rock bottom until years later. 1933, I think.

H5. To handle communist infiltration, I would not have a single person run anti-infiltration groups for their own personal gain (like Joseph McCarthy). I would keep laws from explicitly protecting socialism and communism. Before arresting or trying someone, committees would have to have a good deal of evidence so that innocent people’s lives would not be ruined. However, anyone who is a self proclaimed Communist or socialist should be arrested on any kind of evidence.

The enemy does not always announce himself, and I think you're missing a word or two in your sentence "I would keep laws from explicitly protecting socialism and communism."

Superb paper: 100/100. Well done!--Aschlafly 18:46, 6 December 2008 (EST)