AMH2020 Assignment #5: The Rise of Fascism in the 1930s
During the 1930s, due to economic, military, and political influences, some countries around the globe increasingly moved towards fascist governments in the support of a dictatorship. In the 1930s, Americans were struggling to contain the harsh effects of the Great Depression. This was quite a turnaround from the relative prosperity of the 1920s. But most European countries did not experience the “Roaring Twenties”, but over a decade of challenges and hardships in their economies due to World War I. When the worldwide Depression hit in the 1930s, this was a tipping point for many European countries. Populations were willing to put vast amounts of power into a few individuals that promised them a better future. The first dynamic personality to gain his people’s admiration then create a dictatorship was Benito Mussolini of Italy. His playbook was used with even greater effect by Adolph Hitter of Germany.
For Part #1 of this assignment go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbDSaBtr2mU .
**You should start this clip at 4:56 and end at 13:48 to answer the questions below.**
1. In America during the 1930s, what was the name of the most popular photojournalism magazine?
2. How did most Americans get their news during the 1930s?
3. What German government agency did Joseph Goebbels run for the Nazi political party?
4. How did the Nazis get there message out to so many people so quickly and effectively?
5. What was the name of the propaganda film that was used to glorify Adolph Hitler? (Do you think this same tactic can be used today by world political leaders?)
6. What popular dramatic tactic would Hitler use to rev up his audience?
For Part 2 of this assignment, go to https://www.flickr.com/photos/24293932@N00/1376088539 . If you would like bigger print, search for “Early Warning Signs of Fascism” to view the list. Then answer questions #7 and #8 in the form of a solid paragraph each from your research.
7. Choose any two examples from the list and find how they were used by leaders from either Germany, Italy, or Japan to increase their control (just concentrate on any one country). Write a solid paragraph on how the leaders used your two choices to gain more power.
8. Choose any two examples from the list and find how they are being used by modern country today (chose any one country). Write a sold paragraph on how the leader of the country you choose is using the two tactics to increase their power or control over their people.
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AMH2020 Assignment #6 The Cold War
For this lesson we will cover a few Cold War ideas from the late 1950s and the 1960s. There are literally so many things going on in each decade of the last half of the century, that we do not even get to the 21st century in most live classes. But themes and events that start or continue during the 1950s have followed us to this very day. The two of many topics that we could explore for our last two assignment both would unfold over many decades. The Civil Rights movement and the developments of the Cold War are still with us in terms of history and current events. These are both vast topics, so this assignment hopefully introduce some new ways to think about the last 50 years.
As mentioned above this takes place over a 50-year period and still influences our current events and way of thinking to this day. Most basically put, the Cold War revolves around the mistrust, tensions, and competition between America and its allies and The Soviet Union (U.S.S.R) and its allies. The U.S.S.R government wanted an expansion of Communism while the United States government wanted the opposite. Even though the two superpowers avoided an all-out war between them, “hot-spots” erupted all around the globe while the U.S. and the U.S.S.R supported opposite sides.
Answer the following questions from this link.
(2 minutes)
1) What state was Richard Nixon from?
2) Was Nixon in the best health just prior to the 1st debate?
3) Who did the radio audience think won this debate?
4) What do you believe to have made the ultimate difference in the 1960 presidential debate?
Both Kennedy and Nixon were considered “hawks”. This means that they did not shy away from confrontations if it furthered American interests. Both men would use television effectively to get their points across to the American public. Kennedy was elected in 1960, while Nixon would be elected in 1968 and 1972. As you can see, television plays a major role in the 1960s. It was extremely influential in selling products. After 1960, it would beinstrumental in selling political ideas.
The following video clip begins by taking a look and the influence of the automobile on the 1950s. Then it will concentrate on the super-power’s competition going on between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R in what is known as the “Space Race”. (On a personal note, my grandfather worked for a company called Western Electric, which would late become AT&T. He would fly to White Sands Missile Base because his company worked on technology related to the missiles. Also, our family moved to Florida in the early 1970s because my father worked for a contractor in the aerospace industry. The Kennedy Space Center brought countless people to the area for employment.)
Answer the following questions from this link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_D4fWogbZM (start at 29:35 and end at 44:30)
5) Did these car examples look fuel efficient?
6) By the late 1950s, the size of General Motors budget equaled the size of what country?
7) What hotel chain was created to serve roadside travelers?
8) What was the largest public works program in our history?
9) How did President Eisenhower justify such a huge expense?
10) Did America assist in the Hungarian Revolution against its communist government?
11) How many years did it take the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) to develop an atomic bomb?
12) Why was rocket technology seen as such an important issue at that time?
13) What was the name of the 1st successful satellite launched into space?
14) What was the controversy that involved it television show “Twenty One”?
15) What do you think of the following quote, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”- Thomas Jefferson
