Storia degli Stati Uniti d'America e la Costituzione americana, Appunti di Storia degli Stati Uniti d'America

Scarica Storia degli Stati Uniti d'America e la Costituzione americana e più Appunti in PDF di Storia degli Stati Uniti d'America solo su Docsity! 1 The United States of America and the world in the 20th and 21st 2 Indice Early history and expansion 3 American Constitution 4 American expansion 13 The Mexican-American war (1846-1848) 13 The compromise (1850) 14 The Civil War (1861-1865) 14 American imperialism-expansionism 15 The turn of the century 16 The mass culture 19 Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) a progressive president 21 William Howard Taft (1909-1913) 23 Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) - a progressivist president 24 Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-1923) John Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) 25 FD Roosevelt (1933-1945) 28 The cold war 33 Culture of the 1950s 35 1960s 37 Students, African Americans and women in the 1960s 37 5 national government. The Constitution has continued to develop in response to the demands of an ever-growing society through all these methods. The Constitution consists of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. It sets up a federal system by dividing powers between the national and state governments. Preamble “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”. • “We the People” - a group of different individuals, it refers to a composite nation, which is not even a complete nation yet. • “More perfect Union” - it refers to the federalist model, which rules over states. • “Justice” - the law is the king, it triumphs over individuals. The nation here becomes a collection of people, that need rules in order to function (which is a major transition for the time, cfr. UK were the king is the law). • “Domestic tranquility” - avoid civil strikes (even though this does not avoid Civil war). • “Blessing of liberty” - freedom is a basic concept in America. Article 1 - the legislative branch The legislative power is embodied by the Congress, which is bicameral and consist of the Senate and the House of Representative. • House - it is composed by 435 elected officials and 6 delegates (representatives of territories and special offices but they do no have the right to vote). The members are elected to two-year terms. The question of who can vote for state legislators is up to the state. Representative must be 25 years old, a citizen of the USA for at least 7 years and inhabitant of the State they represent, but each state decides for itself the requirements for legal residence, subject to Constitutional limits. Most Representatives live not only in the state but also in the district from which they are chosen. The number of Representatives given to each state depend on its population (proportional system) but at least a state gets one Rep. The House choose a Speaker to lead meetings. The House has some exclusive powers, not shared by the Senate: only the house can initiate tax laws and spending bills, only the house can initiate impeachment of a President or other government officials and in the event that there is no majority in the Electoral College, for one of the presidential candidates, it's the house who casts the deciding vote. • Senate - it is composed by 100 senators, 50 democrats and 50 republicans (now). Senators are elected to six-year terms. Each state is appointed with 2 senators, no matter the population. Every two years, one-third of the Senators are elected and two-thirds are holdovers. This arrangement makes the Senate a continuing body, unlike the other House, whose entire membership is elected every two years. A senator must be 30 years old, a US citizen for at least 9 years and shall live in the states they represent. The Vice President serves as the President of the Senate. He/she votes 6 only when a tie vote occurs. The Vice President’s power to break ties can be important when senators are 50/50. The Senate exclusively has the power to approve presidential appointments entreaties and when the house moves to impeach a government official, it is the Senate that tries them together. It is more a control power. The Congress must meet at least one a year. Each house makes its own rules regarding proceedings, punish its members and expel a member. Each house keep a Journal, those journals are published at the end of each session. Senators and Representatives are given immunity under the speech and debate clause means that members of Congress may say whatever they wish in connection with congressional business without fear of being sued. This immunity extends to anything said by members during debate, in an official report, or while voting. The Congress has the power to tax, coin money, declare war and regulate foreign an interstate commerce, but Congress’s bread and butter is writing and passing bills: getting a bill passed is no easy task, a bill can originate in either the House or the Senate but before it gets voted, it goes through a series of committees and amendments and floor debates. After a vote and move to the other chamber, the process continues, if the one chamber makes any edits to a bill passed by the other it has to go back for another vote. The House and Senate must vote to approve the exact same bill before it can move on, if it fails to get a majority vote it has to be reintroduced, if it passes it goes to the president's desk for approval, if the president chooses to veto a bill which essentially voids it Congress can push back the veto override, but to do this they needed 2/3 majority vote in both houses. Failing to pass legislation is an inevitable part of congressional routine. Section 9 of article 1 presents powers forbidden to Congress, for example up until 1808 the Congress could not stop the trade of slaves from Africa. Article 2 - the executive branch The executive branch is embodied by the President of the USA. It is elected by the Electoral College, a group of people chosen in each state in a manner that the state legislature decides. All states now provide that the voters choose these electors. These electors in turn elect the President and Vice President. The President must be a natural born citizen of the USA, at least 35 and he/she can serve for two four-year terms -> 22nd Amendment (cfr. FDR). The 25th Amendment provides that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the President becomes disabled, and specifies the conditions applying to succession. Until then only death had ever cut short the term of a President of the United States. The Constitution made it possible for a poor person to become President by providing a salary for that office. The President’s salary cannot be raised or lowered during his or her term of office. He/she is the commander in chief of the military and the President has unique powers including executive orders, vetoes, appointing federal judges and appointing the heads of federal agencies, also known as the president's cabinet. The cabinet, itself part of the executive branch, also acts as an Advisory Board to the president with the chief the executive of each agency, mostly known as the Secretary of their department. However, the president doesn't have absolute power to make these 7 appointments: the Senate must vote to confirm the president’s appointees (one example of the checks and balances at work), cabinet members also make up part of the presidential line of succession in the event that the current president becomes incapacitated, resigns, dies or is removed from office. The president also appoints the heads of more than 50 independent federal commissions, as well as ambassadors and federal judges, of course those nominees need to be confirmed by the Senate (check and balance). The president also checks on Congress: when Congress enacts bills, the president either signs the legislation into law or rejects it the through veto. The president also has the power to pardon and grant clemencies for federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment on both the state and federal level. In the global sphere, the president serves as the nation’s representative: he can negotiate and signed treaties with another nation, but it only becomes ratified with the support of 2/3 of the Senate. The president also has the power to issue executive orders which allows him to direct the actions of members of the executive branch without it having to be approved by Congress, but the Supreme Court does have the power to overturn an executive order. Article 3 - the judicial branch The judiciary branch is made up of the Supreme Court and other federal courts, whose function is to rule in all matters related to the law and the constitution. The Supreme Court has enormous power that has continued to grow since its inception in 1789; the first version of the court had only six justices, in 1869 that number grew to 9 and has remained that way ever since. Unlike the other branches of government, justices aren't elected: the president nominates Supreme Court members, as well as federal Courts of appeals and District Court judges. The Senate then has the responsibility to vote and confirm or reject the appointment, justices don't have term limits: they are able to serve until they die, retire or are removed by Congress through impeachment and conviction. The constitution itself doesn't give any specific requirements for who can and cannot be a justice, in fact federal law doesn't even require a federal judge to be an attorney, but traditionally most of them have worked as lawyers. Section 1 of the Constitution identifies the Supreme Court as a third branch of government and empowers the courts to decide cases; Section 2 touches on jurisdiction; Section 3 spells up regulations around treason cases. There is no mention of interpreting the constitutionality of the laws. The Supreme Court get that power in the case known as Marbury v. Madison, Marshal’s ruling established that it was the United States Supreme Court’s responsibility to interpret the constitutionality of law and so the course mandate of judicial review was born. When the Supreme Court makes a ruling, all other courts must follow. Unlike the President or Congress, courts only act if someone brings forward a valid case and unlike the legislative and executive branches, the judicial branch operates outside of elections and voter input, but it nonetheless has a profound effect. Article 4 - relation of states to each other Citizens traveling from state to state are entitled to all the privileges and immunities that automatically go to citizens of those states. Some privileges, such as the right to vote, do not 10 Amendment 6 - rights to a fair trial A person accused of crime must have a prompt, public trial by an open-minded jury. The requirement for a speedy and public trial grew out of the fact that some political trials in England had been delayed for years and then were held in secret. Accused individuals must be informed of the charges against them and must be allowed to meet the witnesses against them face to face. This amendment guarantees that individuals on trial can face and cross-examine those who have accused them. Finally, accused persons must have a lawyer to defend them if they want one. If a criminal defendant is unable to afford a lawyer, the Supreme Court has held that one must be appointed to represent the accused individual. Amendment 7 - rights in civil cases It provides for jury trials in criminal cases, where the amount contested exceed $20. It also applies only to federal courts. Amendment 8 - bails, fines and punishments It establishes that bails, fines, and punishment must be fair and humane. In the case of Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that capital punishment violated this amendment. The court held that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment because it was not applied fairly and uniformly. After that decision, many states adopted new capital punishment laws designed to meet the Supreme Court’s objections. The court has ruled that the death penalty may be imposed in capital cases if certain standards are applied to guard against arbitrary and capricious application of the penalty. Amendment 9 - rights retained by the people Some people feared that the listing of some rights in the Bill of Rights would be interpreted to mean that other rights not listed were not protected. This amendment was adopted to prevent such a misinterpretation. Amendment 10 - powers retained by the states and the people This amendment was adopted to reassure people that the national government would not swallow up the states. It confirms that the states or the people retain all powers not given to the national government. For example, the states have the authority over such matters as marriage and divorce. Amendment 11 - lawsuit against states (1795) This amendment makes it impossible for a citizen of one state to sue another state in federal court. The amendment resulted from the 1793 case of Chisholm v. Georgia, in which a man from South Carolina sued the state of Georgia over an inheritance. However, individuals can still bring actions against state authorities in federal court to prevent these authorities from depriving them of their Constitutional rights. 11 Amendment 12 - election of the President and Vice-President (1804) This amendment provides that members of the Electoral College, called electors, vote for one person as President and for another as Vice President. The amendment resulted from the election of`1800. At that time, each elector voted for two men, not saying which he wanted for President. The man who received the most votes was to become President, and the runner-up Vice President. However, in some cases the two had the same number of votes and in that circumstance it was the House that decided. Nevertheless, its decision depends on the political dimension. Amendment 13 - abolition of slavery (1865) This amendment completed the abolition of slavery in the United States introduced by Lincoln (Emancipation Proclamation of 1863). Moreover, it established that the Congress must enforce this article by appropriate law. Amendment 14 - civil rights (1868) The principal purpose of this amendment was to make former slaves citizens of both the United States and the state in which they lived and to protect them from state-imposed discrimination. By living in a state, every U.S. citizen automatically becomes a citizen of that state as well. All persons naturalised (granted citizenship) according to law are U.S. citizens. Anyone born in the United States is also a citizen regardless of the nationality of his parents. The amendment does not grant citizenship to Native Americans living on reservations, but Congress has passed a law that did so. The section 2 of the Amendment establishes penalty for states that refused to give the vote in federal elections to all adult male citizens. However, it was never imposed and it was set aside by Amendments 19th and 26th. Amendment 15 - African American suffrage (1870) The 15th Amendment prohibits states from denying citizens the right to vote because of race. Some southern states were able to deny African Americans the right to vote despite this Amendment until the 1960s, when Congress passed laws to enforce the Amendment and the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional practices and legal procedures whose effect had been to circumvent it. Moreover, it established that the Congress must enforce this article by appropriate law. Amendment 16 - income tax law (1913) This amendment authorised Congress to levy an income tax without apportionment. Amendment 17 - direct election of senators (1913) This amendment took the power of electing Senators from the state legislature and places it in the hands of the voters of the state. 12 Amendment 18 - prohibition of liquor (1919) This is the prohibition amendment, which forbade people to make, sell, or transport liquor. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. Amendment 19 - women’s suffrage (1920) Amendment 20 - terms of the President and Congress (1933) This amendment, called the lame duck amendment, moves the date that the newly elected Presidents and members of Congress take office closer to election time. A lame duck is an official who continues to serve though not re-elected. Before the amendment came into force, Congressmen and presidents defeated in the November elections continued to hold office until the following March. Amendment 21 - repeal of prohibition (1933) Amendment 22 - limitation of Presidents to two terms (1951) This amendment provides that no person can be elected to President more than twice. No one who has served as President for more than two years of someone else’s term can be elected more than once. One President can hold office for no more than 10 years. The amendment was supported by people who thought President Franklin D. Roosevelt should not have served four terms. No other President had run for election to more than two consecutive terms. Amendment 23 - suffrage in the district of Columbia (1961) This amendment allows citizens of the District of Columbia to vote in presidential elections. However, they have no members of Congress to vote for. Amendment 24 - poll taxes (1964) This amendment forbids a state from making voters pay a poll or head tax before they can vote in a national election. The Supreme Court has interpreted the 14th Amendment equal protection clauses as forbidding the imposition of a poll tax in state elections. Some states once used such taxes to keep poor people and African Americans from voting. Amendment 25 - presidential disability and succession (1967) It provides for filling a vacancy in the vice presidency. It’s the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the President becomes disabled. Vice President George H. W. Bush became the first acting President. He officially held the position eight hours on July 13, 1985, when President Ronald Reagan had cancer surgery. Amendment 26 - suffrage for 18-year-olds (1971) 15 neighbours were bent on the destruction of the “peculiar institution” that sustained them. Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 was the final straw, and within three months seven southern states–South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas– had seceded from the United States. Later four more states joined the Confederation - Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee. The 23 states of the Union enjoying an enormous advantage in population, manufacturing (including arms production) and railroad construction, the Confederates had a strong military tradition, along with some of the best soldiers and commanders in the nation. Through the end of the war, Lincoln introduced the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) which established that all enslaved people in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” In April 1965 the war was finally end, with the victory of the Union. The Civil was is considered the first modern war for its brutality and the means used. It is in this period that people began to refer to the USA in the singular form. After the war (1865-1876) the reconstruction period began. American imperialism-expansionism American imperialism was aimed at the conquest of the West (cfr. Manifest destiny). This idea was widespread by intellectuals and artists: • E. G. Leutze, “Westward the course of Empire takes its way”, 1861 • A. Melrose, “Westward the star of empire takes its way”, 1867 • J. Gast, “Manifest Destiny”, 1872 In all these three paintings the west is represented by the light, it embodies the civilisation. W. H. Seward, the Secretary of State, affirmed "The commerce of the world is the empire of the world..on the Pacific Ocean, and its islands and continents where the next great Power of the earth 16 will emerge.” Indeed, he understands the importance of “commerce”, American imperialism is basically a trade policy. He is the negotiator for the Alaska purchase of 1867. Between 1853 and 1863 Americans become the major plantation and merchant ship owners on the island of Hawaii. In 1875 the two states signed the Reciprocity Treaty, with which little by little Americans conquered the island. Eventually they also become part of the political sphere of the community and sign the new Constitution, the Bayonet Constitution. In 30 years Americans take control over Hawaii. Between 1868 and 1878 La guerra grande took place in Cuba, which claimed independence from Spain, as the USA did a century before. After a break, in 1895 the war regain force (Grito de dolor) and 1898 USA intervenes to help Cuba. American public opinion is pressed against Spain, since it embodies values such as freedom and equality. In order to enter the war, the USA government, thanks to newspaper made popular the news that Spain burned an American ship (fake news). However, US Congress signed the Teller Amendment by which USA renounces forever to Cuba. At the end of the war, USA will gain Philippines (1902). In 1901 the Platt Amendment was enacted, it introduced "the [U.S.] right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty.” In this war, a major role was played by the press and the President, T. Roosevelt. The press, especially Pulitzer and Hearst, built up the case of the “just war”, while Roosevelt created his own myth, the political star system. In 1899, the US Secretary of State John Hay proposed the Open Door Note. It asked the powers to keep China open to trade with all countries on an equal basis and called upon all powers, within their spheres of influence to refrain from interfering with any treaty port or any vested interest, to permit Chinese authorities to collect tariffs on an equal basis, and to show no favours to their own nationals in the matter of harbour dues or railroad charges. The policy was accepted only grudgingly, if at all, by the major powers, and it had no legal standing or enforcement mechanism. The turn of the century This is the long peace period (1870s-1914). In Europe, the French communes and the Communism spread, in the Russian empire the tsar abolish servitude. In the USA the social changes happens as well but to a different extend: 17 • Trade unions in the countryside - farmers organisations (Farmers’ alliance). They wanted a revision of the political choices made by the government and they had still a major impact, since the majority of workers of USA (mid-west and south) were farmers. Later this idea expands itself: • People’s party (1892). It the first populist party. This happens in concurrence with the raise of socialists’ parties in Europe. They different (socialist=industrial workers - people’s party=farmer party) and yet some demands are in common as reduction of working hours, nationalisation of transportation and communication. It eventually marriage in the Democratic party. They are against corruption, capital greed, unresponsive Government and inadequate monetary supply. They are for free Coinage of silver, graduated income tax, nationalisation of Railroads and Telegraph, and the 8 hrs. workday. In 1892 a major camping took place. The candidates were Cleveland (democratic but with some similarities with the republicans), Harrison (republican) and Weaver (populist). This is a major transformation and social troubles period: • Trade unions, even radical ones as the Knights of Labor • New demands from industrial workers > Haymarket Square in Chicago, 1886. Workers started complaining and organising basically in the most industrialised cities of the North: Chicago and New York. Those cities had to face another major problem that was immigration from Europe, where they were more familiar with anarchism and socialism). The idea that spread was that they took away jobs since they were desperate and accepted every condition, but also that they brought anarchism. The social struggle flew into the Haymarket manifestation. Workers wanted: • 8 hours workday • increase in wages • increase in security This was the first request for 8hours workday but not the only one: Pullman strike in 1894 • American Federation of Labor • Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890 The concentration of wealth was in the hand of few, along with the monopoly on some resources: • Standard Oil (1870) by Rockefeller. It is the 1st modern industrial organisation which controlled the entire production (extraction and refinement) and distribution of oil, at that time it was still a “virgin” territory. It will be the target of anti-trust policies since it built a monopoly and it will be broken up (1911). The consequence of the monopoly impacted also on workers: since there was no competition and control, workers had to work at very harsh conditions. • Progressives respond to the popular requests. • US Steel corporations • Homestead Plant (1901) by Vanderbilt. It was introduced at the core of the 2nd industrial revolution. This company basically produced steel for the entire world. • Carnegie. • Homestead Strike, Pennsylvania, 1892. It was different from previous large-scale strikes in American history, this was organised and purposeful. Over the course of the 1880s, 20 1. Strenuous Life - 1899 Roosevelt claimed “the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife” 2. Mass Production and mass market 3. Conspicuous consumption 4. Standard of Living 5. Promise of American Life - and the promotion abroad of the “American model”, via various instruments, as the world tour of Buffalo Bill or the “City of the future” in the Chicago world’s fair. In the case, a total new city was built, it was a window of the American society for the world. 6. Leisure - especially via music. Ragtime and jazz became the most popular American music genres. They were also a motive of redemption for African Americans. Also, sport was another element of exportation and redemption: minorities proved to be very good at them and also Americans invented new sports that were exported, as baseball or football. Moreover, new kinds of entertainment were invented as rollercoasters, aquatic parks and luna parks. Through mass products and mass culture there has been an americanisation of the world. According to W. T. Stead “The American invasion succeeds because the American invaders are able to give the British purchaser either better or cheaper goods, so that he gets more value for his money than he would get by trading with anyone else. […] The American invasion prospers because Englishmen and Europeans find it more to their personal interest and individual profit to deal with Americans rather than to deal with their own countrymen”(1902). USA is starting colonising the world by selling its products and inventions, such as typewriter, sewing-machine, linotype, automobile, phonograph, telephone, elevator, incandescent electric light. It's the beginning of the end of the British empire, which was an empire built on territorial possessions, while American empire is built on ideological and culture influence. Indeed, american inventions are crucial for the development of the societies worldwide and are the core of the 20th century. Some major inventions are: • Light bulbs that enable people to enjoy also at night and work more, but it also transform other activities such as Christmas, which is starting to be commercialised: people buy trees, lights and gifts. Also, the figure of Santa Claus via Coca Cola advertisement is becoming popular. • Kodak (1910) - photography was invented in 1850s in Europe but well developed in the US. The very first example of mass photography is during the Civil War, utilised to document. • Automobiles (1909) - ford T - and instalments • Radio (1920) - by 1930 60% of American families owned a radio. They utilised it for news and for listening to new music, as the African Americans’ jazz. • National narrative - the government started using commercials and advertisements, and comm products, as movies, to create propaganda. • “The birth of a nation” directed by D. W. Griffith. In this silent movie blacks are portaged as the villains of the Civil War. They are the reason why the nation split and the Civil War broke out. • The Committee on public information created by George Creel. The Government needed to convince citizens of the reasons why they entered the WW1, so it introduced a sense of 21 preparedness. By utilising posters, the US government wanted convince of the necessity of this war because America was going to defend its values, which are universal. This is also reinforced by the movie “Under four flags” that showed USA, France, UK and Italy fighting together. Finally, again via movies, this war was compared to Crusades, in the sense that both are fight for civilisation. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) a progressive president T. Roosevelt is a modern personality who manages to portrait himself very well as: • Historian who writes the USA national history; • Chief of Police of New York; • Warrior, the colonel of an army of volunteers who fight in Cuba. He has been dismissed for his poor health, so he creates his own regiment, the Rough Riders (cowboys and university students). He has a quarrel with the Ministry of Defence because the government does not want this army. He also designs the uniforms and uses journalists to take pictures of him (embedded journalism). Even if his role in the war was not central, he makes sure that the image portrayed is that he is central in it. He tries to make himself popular, a national hero. At 1900 elections he candidates as Vice-President and wins. He is young, popular, a national hero and indeed he wins the elections, despite the fact that he was not so liked by other politicians. In 1901 McKinley is assassinated, and so he become President. As President he puts in place strong polices, especially in the Centre-American countries and the Caribbeans > more aggressive policies that project USA overseas. Roosevelt wants to make USA a strong country > the “big stick policy”. The territory of the Central-America and Caribbeans is considered by the USA as a “little garden” to use at its liking, so much that in 1901 the USA and the UK signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty by which a canal might be constructed by USA. This strong aboard policy is completed by a compromise policy in the domestic field. He is he is sensitive about worker and consumers rights (progressivism): • 1902 - he organise a meet between entrepreneurs and trade unions, for the coal miners in Pennsylvania. • He supports Muckrakers - but invites them to be more moderate. • Trust regulation - “The corporation is here to stay…but it needs to be regulated with due regard of the public as a whole” > new ay of speaking to the masses. While supporting capitalism and the elites, Roosevelt keeps an eye on the workers. So, was Roosevelt a populist president? Some say yes, also because it introduced the concept of the compact with the people. He affirms to best interpret the will of the masses, because he was elected by theme (which is not completely true) > the Square Deal • Conservation of natural resources - he believes that one of the most important matters for the people was to protect environment (a sort of one of the first ecologist) so he introduced public parks. 22 • Regulation of major industrial trusts - government intervention, but by a Republican. • Consumers’ protection. • Creation of the Department of Labor and Commerce, in 1903 to regulate the conditions of workers and trades. In 1906 further initiatives were put in place: • Hepburn Act - Railroads control over construction, maintenance and fares. • Pure Food and Drug Act - Control over the preparation and packing. • Meat packing that was a huge industry. In the International level, he tries to introduce the formula of compromise: • Venezuela - Europe conflict in 1902. Germany, Uk and Italy are waiting for the repayment of loans from Venezuela, but the new chief, Castro, refuses. Germany and Uk decide to block the harbour in Venezuela in order to force Castro. Roosevelt intervenes as a mediator, following the Monroe Doctrine, thanks to Italy that are ready to compromise with Roosevelt. • Roosevelt’s corollary of the Monroe Doctrine. First, he uses the press. Between 1900 and 1906 several crisis take place in the Caribbeans that are considered USA backyards and USA starts intervening, also with troops, as in Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic. • The Panamanian crisis in 1903. The canal was built between 1860s and 1888. The engineer that projected the Suez Canal, made a project in agreement with France, UK and USA about the construction of a canal across Nicaragua. Instead, later it was identifies Panama as a batter option. It was a Colombian region and USA started negotiating with Colombia, but the latter refused (the Hay-Herrán treaty). USA supported a planned uprising in Panama, that gave birth to the Panamanian Revolution and to the state of Panama. The independent state started negotiations with USA for the construction of the Canal > the Hay-Bunau-Vanilla treaty. USA would guarantee the freedom of Panama, in exchange of the Canal, the dominion on the territory and the means that had to be use for the construction of the Canal, as well as the monopoly for the construction, maintenance, and operation of any system of communication dealing with the canal. The Canal Zone became a racially and socially segregated area, set aside from the country of Panama. The conflict from the treaty reached its peak on January 9, 1964, with riots over sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone. In 1977 the Torrijos-Carter Treaties abolished the Hay-Bunau-Vanilla Treaty. Panama gained the full control on the Canal in 1999. • Dominican Republic - a civil war breaks out in 1904 and the state bankrupt. The Dominican republic seeks protection of the USA, who intervenes and introduces an American control. In the USA socialism does not spread as in Europe. Although Progressivism introduces policies for the people and control of the economy. The major difference between socialists and progressivists is that in USA they do not nationalise major enterprises or service, yet they control and regulate them. Monroe Doctrine (1823): established by President Monroe. Basically USA refused the expansion of European colonialism in the West, in turn the USA would recognise already existing European colonies and not infer with them. 25 he claimed “What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in” . The fourteen point included: 1. Open covenant of peace 2. Freedom of navigation 3. Removal of economic barriers 4. Reduce of national armament 5. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claim 6. The evacuation of all Russian territory and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia 7. The evacuation and restoration of Belgium 8. Freedom in French territories - matter of Alsace loraine 9. Readjustment for Italian frontiers 10. Autonomous development to the people of Austria-Hungary 11. Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea 12. The Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Ottoman rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development 13. An independent Polish state should be erected 14. A general association of nations must be formed. Wilson toured though USA to convince people and influence the Congress on approving the League of Nations, but eventually the US Congress repealed the agreements made in the Treaty of Versailles and USA will have to sign separate treaties with each state involved in the WW1. Though Wilson's idealism pervaded the Fourteen Points, he also had more practical objectives in mind. He hoped to keep Russia in the war by convincing the Bolsheviks that they would receive a better peace from the Allies, to bolster Allied morale, and to undermine German war support. So, the League of Nation was created without the one who proposed it. The Covenant of the League of Nations was signed on 28 June 1919 as Part I of the Treaty of Versailles. Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-1923) John Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) Harding’s slogan during the Presidential campaign was “return to normalcy”. He argued that the solution was to seek normalcy by restoring life to how it was before the war via deregulation, civic engagement and isolationism. In this period the USA hesitates in taking the lead. In Europe the situation was fragile and unsteady: • Alsace-Lorraine issue. • Social Revolution. • German Republic of Weimar. In 1922 German Republic and the Soviet Union with the Treaty of Rapallo both renounced all territorial and financial claims against each other and opened friendly diplomatic relations. The treaty did not include any military provisions, but secret military co- 26 operation was already scheduled between Germany and Russia, which was a violation of the Versailles Treaty. • The rise of Fascism. At that time USA though that Italy was not ready for a democracy so, at first, Fascism was considered positively. In 1921 the Italian “fasci” group was created. At the early times of fascism, Mussolini was considered positively both by Italian immigrants in the USA and the government. First, because immigrants viewed that Mussolini wanted to restore Italian pride and power. Second, the government considered Mussolini as a good politician for Italy at that time. This idea was mainly inspired by Child, the American ambassador in Rome. Even though Mussolini started his political career as a socialist, the later Leggy Fascistissime of 1925 seemed a protection for capitalism. In 1923 Agostino de Biasi created the Central Fascist Council of North America, which became in 1924 the Fascist League, this was followed by praise of Mussolini. However, after the Italian attack to Etyopia anti-fascist reaction spread in the USA. Progressively, fascist propaganda was banned and Mussolini decide to dissolve the “fasci” group to maintain good relationship with Americans. • Monaco putsch, in 1923. However economically and politically is still involved and it continues to lead culturally. As a matter of fact, USA was living through the period of the so-called Roaring Twenties. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the United States and Europe, particularly in major cities. The major worry was about the loans that USA gave to Allies, which at that time were not in the conditions of repaying debts. In 1924, the Dawes Plan was enacted. The plan provided for an end to the Franco-Belgian occupation of the Ruhr, and a staggered payment plan for Germany's payment of war reparations. Because the Plan resolved a serious international crisis, Dawes shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925 for his work. It was aimed at helping Germany invest and so ameliorate the European economic recovery. In 1928, German Foreign Minister Stresemann called for a final plan to be established, and the Young Plan was enacted in 1929. In 1925, with the Locarno Treaties Germany formally recognised its new western borders, in turn of normalising relations with other nations. Moreover, Germany would never go to war with the other countries. In 1928 with the Briand-Kellog Pact the signer countries renounced war to resolve disputes or conflicts. It was initially signed by France, Germany and USA and later other countries were added, as Italy. The pact had no mechanism for enforcement, and many historians and political scientists see it as mostly irrelevant and ineffective. Nevertheless, the pact served as the legal basis for the concept of a crime against peace, for which the Nuremberg Tribunal and Tokyo Tribunal tried and executed the top leaders responsible for starting World War II. Culturally, this was an important time. Movies, which at first were perceived as something shameful, were gaining conquer masses. Some important figures made that possible: • Rudolph Valentino • Chaplin 27 • Mary Pickford • Metro Goldwing ayer • Fred Niblo Movies were a chance for minorities. At first immigrants were mainly involved in movies because it was considered something shameful, but with time this gave theme the chance to integrate and be praised. However, usually to better integrate immigrants changed their names. American movies became famous in Europe too. Moreover, it was created the Academy of Motions Pictures Arts and Science was born. The first Oscar Prize was awarded in 1929. After visiting New York, the director Lang was inspired to set his film “Metropolis” in a city made of skyscrapers. “Metropolis” proposes a dystopian future in which classes are strictly separated, technology have prevailed upon humans. In 1928 another technological invention spread, the television. > modernisation In his acceptance speech, President Hoover affirmed that “The poorhouse is vanishing from among us […] we shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this Nation”. However, in 1929 the market crashed. His was voted by almost all Americans (42 states out of 50 were red). He believed in liberalism and small government: “True liberalism seeks all legitimate freedom first in the confident belief that without such freedom the pursuit of all other blessings and benefits is vain. That belief is the foundation of all American progress, political as well as economic.” > Having seen the fruits of prosperity brought by technological progress, many shared Hoover's optimism. Despite the inherent risk of speculation, it was widely believed that the stock market would continue to rise forever. However, the Stock Market Crash occurred. The causes of the Great Depression remain a matter of debate but Hoover viewed a lack of confidence in the financial system as the fundamental economic problem facing the nation. He sought to avoid direct federal intervention, believing that the best way to bolster the economy was through the strengthening of businesses such as banks and railroads. Hoover viewed the weak European economy as a major cause of economic troubles in the United States. He hoped to ease the coming international economic crisis and provide time for recovery by instituting a one-year moratorium on payments of German and inter-Allied war debt stemming from World War I. The proposal would postpone the repayment of both capital and interest. However, neither the moratorium nor the permanent cancellation of the reparations did much to slow the economic downturn in Europe. Germany was caught in a major banking crisis, Britain left the gold standard – the US would follow suit in 1933 as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal – and France intended to address the issue again once the one-year suspension had ended. 30 In 1935 the New Deal emphasis shifted to measures designed to assist labour and other urban groups. The Wagner Act of 1935 greatly increased the authority of the federal government in industrial relations and strengthened the organising power of labour unions, establishing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to execute this program. The Fair Labor Standards Act, also called Wages and Hours Act, was the first U.S. legislation to prescribe nationwide compulsory federal regulation of wages and hours. Perhaps the most far-reaching programs of the entire New Deal were the Social Security measures enacted in 1935 and 1939, which used employer and employee contributions to fund the provision of old-age and widows’ benefits, unemployment compensation, and disability insurance. He also introduced the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a new measure to favour employment. Americans were involved in building public buildings, as schools and hospitals, and in building infrastructures as bridges and roads. Roosevelt's second term was more difficult, the period known as the Roosevelt Recession was about to start. In 1937 he decided for a federal bet tightening, and millions of workers lost their jobs. By the end of 1943 Congress had eliminated the CCC, the WPA and other new deal programs. The new deal did not restore the economy to pre-depression levels, but between 1933 in 1937 the nation's national product grew. It also stabilised the farm economy. However, the New Deal mainly supported white male workers. From their side women achieved important symbolic breakthroughs because Roosevelt appointed the first female Cabinet member and the first woman to serve on the US Court of appeals, but new deal programs assigned women to gender specific jobs and feed them less than a male. Moreover, New Deal programs reinforced racial inequity, some programs reinforced segregation, moreover wages were lower for African Americans, but we have to mention that the new deal did more for African Americans than had any past administration since Abrahm Lincoln’s. Anthropologists were involved in reconstructing the memory of the Civil War and slavery, led also by African Americans themselves who interviewed people. As far as the natives are concerned, in 1934 the Indian Reorganisation Act was aimed at decreasing federal control of American Indian affairs and increasing Indian self-government and responsibility (Dawes Act, 1887: providing for the distribution of Indian reservation land among individual Native Americans, with the aim of creating responsible farmers in the white man’s image). The thoughts about the new deal are not homogeneous. Some, claims that it brought new groups into the political process, lead to the foundation for the welfare state and expanded both the power of the presidency and the rich of the federal government. So they considered it as a watershed in American history. Others, underline its limitations of the claim that it did not question private enterprises or nationalise the banking system, nor it redistributed income or wealth. Roosevelt and his new deal insured the full period of democratic rule in the United States. He won over Catholic and Jewish immigrants, industrial workers, African Americans. With this widely political alliance endured long after Roosevelt’s death. Every president elected between 1932 and 31 1980 was a Democrat, with the exception of Eisenhower and Nixon. The Democratic party also controls both houses of Congress for it for 48 years. Culturally, new cartoons were aimed at restoring american hope and self-reliance. Novels as Superman, Batman and Mandrake were born in this period and became very successful. During this period, Roosevelt used a lot publicity industry and movies as means of communication, to restore hope and promote the new plans and agencies. There was also a "New Deal for the world”, an agenda composed of multilateral institutions designed to stabilise the globe work system and advanced human rights, such as the International monetary fund, the World Bank, the United Nations. FDR secretary of State, Cordell Hull was a key figure in the American foreign policy between 1933 and 1944. He acted to defend the USA from any attack or american implication abroad. FDR rejected any further agreement on war debts and cancelled the already existing ones, as well as agreements on currencies and decided to abandon the Gold standard. Moreover, FDR and Hull signed the Montevideo, where the Good Neighbor Policy was introduced. This was re-evaluation of US policy toward Latin America. The United States frequently intervened in Latin America following the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, and the United States occupied several Latin American nations. FDR withdrew US forces from Haiti and reached new treaties with Cuba and Panama, ending their status as US protectorates. In 1934-1935 the Nye Committee was introduced. This was a bipartisan agreement by which the committee investigated the financial and banking interests that underlay the United States' involvement in World War I and the operations and profits of the industrial and commercial firms supplying munitions to the Allies and to the United States. In 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1939 the US Congress passed a series of acts, known as the Neutrality Acts, in response to the growing threats and wars that led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following the US joining World War I, and they sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts. Indeed: • 1935 - Italian - Ethiopian war. Italy attacked an independent country, also member of the League of Nations • 1936 - no American vessel should cruise in the water of nations at war, it was no possible to sell to them weapons nor other kind of products. In this period almost every country in Europe was authoritarian. In 1938, a House un-American Activities Committee was created to investigate against any possible nazi spy in the country. This led to the Alien Registration Act in which more than 1 million Americans were classified as “enemy aliens”. However, after Germany annexations American public opinion turned against Germany, and Roosevelt began preparing for a possible war with Germany. FDR announced that “the nation will remain neutral, but I cannot ask that every american remain neutral”. Initially, USA sent arms 32 and cash to democracies. In 1940, after the conquest of France isolationist sentiment declined. Some in the USA shared the nazi’s goal. FDR oppressed some of these movements. In 1940, without any precedent Roosevelt run for elections for the third term. He was convinced that he was the only that could lead the nation through the Nazi threat. US government: • sold to UK 50 cruisers • American warships were allowed to convoy freight ships bound for the UK • Burke-Wheeler Act FDR shares the Wilsonian ideal of american values as universal values. In 1941, FDR was preparing the ground for the war. He gave the famous “Four freedoms speech”: • Freedom of speech • Freedom of worship - news of the "final solution" are coming in USA and people couldn't believe them • Freedom from want - “means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants” • Freedom from fear - “means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor” These freedoms are due “everywhere in the world” (cfr. Wilson) Moreover, in the same year the US government approved the Lend and Lease Act, a law that permitted “allies” to buy armaments without paying immediately for them. This will be later extended also to URSS. Plus, FDR decided to act as a “patrol” for the world, the little UK was not able to resist nazi Germany and fascist Italy. In August 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill conducted a highly secret bilateral meeting in which they drafted the Atlantic Charter, conceptually outlining global wartime and postwar goals. This would be the first of several wartime conferences. In the charter some major decisions were taken: • Self-rule • No territorial acquisition should be preserved after the war • Total defeat of nazism • International peace warranties • Freedom of the seas • Collective security > the UN is taking form Relations with Japan had continually deteriorated since its invasion of Manchuria in 1931, and they had further worsened with Roosevelt's support of China and later introduced an embargo, to punish Japanese expansion in Asia. The Japanese believed that the destruction of the United States Asiatic Fleet (stationed in the Philippines) and the United States Pacific Fleet (stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii) was vital to the conquest of Southeast Asia. After the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, Roosevelt declared war to Japan. On December 11, 1941, Hitler and Mussolini declared war on the United States, which responded in kind. FDR gave a short, but rhetorical and pervasive speech to the Congress about that, calling the attack an “infamy” and calling for the collaboration of the entire USA. 35 In 1948 elections Truman won. In his “second” mandate the topic of deal with the communists inside USA and outside was central. A sort of hysteria developed, known as McCarthyism (from Joseph McCarthy). He was not a famous politician, until this moment. The term developed from his controversial practices and policies. This period was characterised by heightened political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals, and a campaign spreading fear of alleged communist and socialist influence on American institutions and of espionage by Soviet agents. McCarthyism entailed: • Repression of dissent — everyone against the containment policy was considered an UNAmerican, a person against american values, against the nation (this was not the first time that this term was used: WW1 against those who were against american intervention in the war as anarchists, communists, socialists) • HUAC — created in 1938 against the fascist and nazi propaganda, later reconverted to anti- communist issue. McCarthyism was a real witch hunting against everyone who was suspected to be communist —- one of the most relevant case is the Hollywood Ten — a group of writers, producers, directors cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before HUAC. An “Hollywood Blacklist” was created to prevent employment to entertainment industry professionals believed to be or to have been Communists or sympathisers. Among them there was, Dalton Trumbo (very famous producer, as in "Roman holiday” and “Spartacus"). Another famous case was the one of the Rosenbergs — the couple was accused of being spies on behalf of the URSS and executed. In 1950 the Korean War broke out. In 1945 the Japan rule over Korean that lasted 35 years was ended. North Korea - supported by the Communist China and URSS - invaded the South part of the country. Indeed, after the war the United States and the Soviet Union divided Korea along the 38th parallel into two zones of occupation. The Soviets administered the northern zone and the Americans administered the southern zone. The United Nations Security Council denounced the North Korean move as an invasion and authorised the formation of the United Nations Command and the dispatch of forces to Korea to repel it. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict. In 1953 Eisenhower was elected. He was a national hero. He introduced the New Look policy. He was an unusual Republican - he was not an isolationist and wanted to reduce the military spending with a massive retaliation strategy - in his point of view the US needed to continue the containment policy but with a different method. Culture of the 1950s Since the 18th century America’s forms of entertainment started colonising the world and spreading worldwide. This phenomenon had a boost during the years of the cold war. USA had to redefine its 36 position and proposed itself as the power that offers peace and economic recovery. In this period the American culture becomes the world culture. However, even though America world-wide proposes itself as the guardian of rights, freedoms and peace, in the domestic field segregation was still going on. President Truman introduces the executive order 9981 with which he stops segregation inside the army and in federal positions. African Americans could be integral part of the life of the country by working for the government. Indeed, the figure of the President was growing and growing, he/she could introduce rules that the Congress could not and at that time thanks to Roosevelt the Democratic Party was the majority party for at least 20 years. So, the Congress introduced the Amendment 22. American values spread in the world thanks to • Music — black music was the most appreciated forms, and they will influence pop music. However, black musicians could play only in small clubs, it were with musicians that made black music and jazz famous in the world > cfr. Bill Hailey and the Comets. A part from jazz another style was developing, bebop. This was a style made for making people dance. • Elvis Presley — he was the first star, music icon. He became the model for young boys to pursue a better life. • In 1959 Barry Gordy created the Detroit’s Motown Records, a producer for mainly black artists. The music is not anymore filtered by white musicians. • Literature • Salinger, “The catcher in the rye”, novel about maladjustment: young people are not so content about the new entertainments, a new search for the self developed. • Ellison, “Invisible man”, a manifesto for young African Americans. The author manages to convey what it meant for to an African American in the USA. • Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1953 founded a bookstore and a new publisher house which will become a hub for the Beat Generation. • Maya Angelou • Allen Ginsberg • James Kerouac “On the road” • Movies • Science fiction • Western movies • Icons • Marlon Brando • James Dean American politicians understood the importance of these form of entertainment in the Cold War with URSS. Before the strategy was played mainly on the myth of capitalism, but they started realising that financial and economic issues were not enough and concentrated also on other matters, such as literature, music, films to convey the idea of the American society as the society of plenty. Indeed, music and movies, and other forms of entertainment as drive-in, diners etc. wanted to give to young generations the possibility to enjoy after the war and during the years of the Cold 37 War, which gave constantly the idea that a Third WW could happen. The main image of dissent from the younger generations came from literature. Indeed, young people started realising that the plenty of the capitalist model was a myth and it was there nor for everybody, and the right one for everybody. The Cold War was going on and major crisis took place: • Korean war 1950-1953 • Domestic appeasement in labour — the government starts recognising the different social interests and requests, especially in the steel and automobile industry (which was the leading one). A pact with the government was made: workers promised no strikes if the gov fulfilled the people's expectations. > working class moves to the middle class - they can afford houses, cars etc • Space race — The Soviet Union is the first nation to enter the space realm with their launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. On April 2, 1958 Eisenhower presented legislation to Congress to implement the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) > the Space race has begun. In 1961 Yuri Gagarin comped the first orbital flight. The US tries to catch up, in 1962 the US managed to send John Glenn into orbit. He became the first American to orbit the Earth in his Mercury mission. 1960s The 1960s were a period of major changes, inside the USA and in the world. First of all, in 1961 JFK was elected. He is the first ever Catholic President. He tried to answer new demands and expectations. During his inauguration, Robert Frost gave a speech in which Americans are encouraged to reach the New Frontier, to grow more and become leaders. Other major changes were: • Students started protesting and created the Students Non-Violent Coordinating Committee • From 1956 the start of the détente process • In 1959 the Cuban Revolution succeeded. • In 1959 Nixon and Crhusdchev met > The kitchen debate • In 1961 the Berlin Wall is built. • In 1962 the Cuban Missile crisis Students, African Americans and women in the 1960s In this period students take the lead in protests. The group Students for Democratic Society were the first to denounce their conditions. In the Port Huron Statement they introduced the Agenda for a generation. They stated that they felt privileged but still they felt cheated on — the USA presented itself as the wealthiest and strongest country in the world, the one which offered freedom and equality however this was just a myth. Inside, the great disparities, outside the Cold War and the threat of another war > american society is a great paradox.