Making Connections: The First Half of 20th Century

Directions: So many events and ideas developed during the first half of the 20th century! It can be difficult to
understand and make connections between all of these developments! Choose 10 of the developments in the chart.
Write a narrative below by providing a description of each development. As you write, make connections between
the 10 developments that you chose. Be sure to explain HOW these developments relate to each other in a
cause/effect manner. Underline and bold each event that you use. Also, highlight each event that you use on the
chart. The narrative has been started for you....

Stock Market Crash Cash and Carry Policy

Treaty of Versailles Pearl Harbor

Xenophobia Spanish American War

Axis Powers Rosie the Riveter

Lend Lease Policy Isolationism

Japanese American Internment Island Hopping

Fascism Imperialism

League of Nations Hawley-Smoot Tariff

The United States engaged in several incidents of imperialism during the late 1800s. Through imperialism,
the United States expanded its influence and markets to several areas of the world. This support for imperialism
contributed to the United States’ desire to spread markets and naval power into the Caribbean and Pacific. The
United States declared war on Spain, which sparked the Spanish American War. This war allowed the United
States to acquire more economic and political control over Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The war
was divided into groups there were Axis Powers and Allies Power. The Stock Market Crash was something that
had a bad effect on the economy. The Lend-Lease Policy allowed the United States to give Allied nations any
materials to be paid after the war ended. Lend-Lease passed Congress by a vote of 260 to 165. A majority of those
opposed to the act were isolationist Republicans. Pearl Harbor was the site of the unprovoked aerial attack on the
U.S. by Japan on Dec.7, 1941. Before the attack, many Americans were reluctant to become involved in the war in
europe. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was serving as such when the Pearl Harbor attack took place
proclaimed the date of the attack as, "a date which will live in infamy." Isolationists advocated non-involvement in
European and Asian conflicts and non-entanglement in international politics. Although the United States took
measures to avoid political and military conflicts across the oceans, it continued to expand economically and protect
its interests in Latin America. The island hopping plan involved winning battles on Pacific islands to gain military
bases and moving across the Pacific Ocean and closer to Japan. This strategy would span three years and would take
U.S. forces in almost a full circle around the Pacific. The League of Nations was the first intergovernmental
organization established “to promote international cooperation and to achieve international peace and security”. It
is often referred to as the “predecessor” of the United Nations. The League would guarantee the territorial integrity
and political independence of member states, authorize the League to take “any action to safeguard the peace,”
establish procedures for arbitration, and create the mechanisms for economic and military sanctions. A
cash-and-carry provision in the Neutrality Act that Congress had added in 1937 permitted the sale of arms to
European warring parties as long as they crossed the Atlantic on their own ships and paid for them at once in cash.
Roosevelt believed that “cash-and-carry” would aid France and Great Britain in the event of a war with Germany,
since they controlled the seas