1901–1945
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AP U.S. History › 1901–1945
The Age of the Automobile can be viewed from the following perspectives. The first perspective is Henry Ford, his invention of the Model T, and the creation of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford recognized the demand for the automobile would increase, and used his idea of the assembly line to make automobiles rapidly accessible to the public. Ford hired mechanics who liked to tinker with automobiles to create reliable, low cost, easy to operate, and easy to fix automobiles for the public. The second perspective is the view of the automobile as part of the economic transformation of the 1920s. Ford’s mass production techniques increased worker productivity. His company was able to make more cars available at a reasonable cost. The manufacturing of the automobile led to the demand for products such as steel, rubber, glass, oil, and gasoline to build and operate the automobiles. The automobile also developed a new cultural outlook in America. This perspective became known as the “work to live” philosophy. Individuals who worked long hours, looked forward to the new lifestyle and freedom the automobile gave them. They became more mobile and many Americans moved to the suburbs because the automobile enabled them to commute to work in the cities. Americans began taking extended vacations. This led to the growth of roadside restaurants, service stations and motels. New businesses were developing to support the freedom the automobile gave Americans.
How did the proliferation of automobile ownership effect American society?
all of these
Personal and immediate gratification led to rising debt and the loss of local community.
Automobile owners had to pay hidden taxes on gasoline and user fees to pay for road improvements.
Automotive crime and accidents became the norm requiring new laws to protect the public.
Workers defined their lives by the goods they consumed not the jobs they held.
Explanation
The Age of the Automobile coincided with the Roaring Twenties. This was a time of new freedoms brought about by the modern and liberating technology such as the automobile. Americans could now have the freedom to move about and experience new adventures. Workers for the Ford Motor Company worked long hours at repetitive tasks to mass produce the Model T. In recognition of this, Henry Ford lowered the work shifts from 12 to 8 hour days and paid higher hourly wages to his employees. This made the Ford Motor Company the symbol of the modern integrated industrial economy and gave his employees more free time and more money to spend on the new technology of the day. There was a cost to this freedom for society as well. Wild spending on consumer products for the sake of immediate gratification led to large debt. Constant travel and vacations combined with the move to the suburbs resulted in the loss of a sense of community spirit in the cities and the suburbs. Taxes were placed on items used by automobile users, some hidden in the cost of the items, to help pay for the road improvements and as accidents became more frequent, automobile insurance became mandatory and expensive.
The Age of the Automobile can be viewed from the following perspectives. The first perspective is Henry Ford, his invention of the Model T, and the creation of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford recognized the demand for the automobile would increase, and used his idea of the assembly line to make automobiles rapidly accessible to the public. Ford hired mechanics who liked to tinker with automobiles to create reliable, low cost, easy to operate, and easy to fix automobiles for the public. The second perspective is the view of the automobile as part of the economic transformation of the 1920s. Ford’s mass production techniques increased worker productivity. His company was able to make more cars available at a reasonable cost. The manufacturing of the automobile led to the demand for products such as steel, rubber, glass, oil, and gasoline to build and operate the automobiles. The automobile also developed a new cultural outlook in America. This perspective became known as the “work to live” philosophy. Individuals who worked long hours, looked forward to the new lifestyle and freedom the automobile gave them. They became more mobile and many Americans moved to the suburbs because the automobile enabled them to commute to work in the cities. Americans began taking extended vacations. This led to the growth of roadside restaurants, service stations and motels. New businesses were developing to support the freedom the automobile gave Americans.
How did the proliferation of automobile ownership effect American society?
all of these
Personal and immediate gratification led to rising debt and the loss of local community.
Automobile owners had to pay hidden taxes on gasoline and user fees to pay for road improvements.
Automotive crime and accidents became the norm requiring new laws to protect the public.
Workers defined their lives by the goods they consumed not the jobs they held.
Explanation
The Age of the Automobile coincided with the Roaring Twenties. This was a time of new freedoms brought about by the modern and liberating technology such as the automobile. Americans could now have the freedom to move about and experience new adventures. Workers for the Ford Motor Company worked long hours at repetitive tasks to mass produce the Model T. In recognition of this, Henry Ford lowered the work shifts from 12 to 8 hour days and paid higher hourly wages to his employees. This made the Ford Motor Company the symbol of the modern integrated industrial economy and gave his employees more free time and more money to spend on the new technology of the day. There was a cost to this freedom for society as well. Wild spending on consumer products for the sake of immediate gratification led to large debt. Constant travel and vacations combined with the move to the suburbs resulted in the loss of a sense of community spirit in the cities and the suburbs. Taxes were placed on items used by automobile users, some hidden in the cost of the items, to help pay for the road improvements and as accidents became more frequent, automobile insurance became mandatory and expensive.
“History and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.... Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. . . . The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns.”
- George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Most historians would argue that the recommendations of Washington’s address ceased to have a significant influence on United States foreign policy as a result of .
United States involvement in the World War II
Westward expansion in the 19th century
The Monroe Doctrine
Support for Cuban revolutionaries in the Spanish-American War
The refusal of the United States to join the League of Nations in 1919
Explanation
Until World War II, United States foreign policy was largely dominated by isolationism and a resistance to forming long-term alliances with other global powers. After the Second World War, the United States emerged as a major global power and employed a foreign policy that favored intervention in foreign affairs and conflicts much more frequently.
The following is an excerpt from the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, delivered in 1905:
...In asserting the Monroe Doctrine, in taking such steps as we have taken in regard to Cuba, Venezuela, and Panama, and in endeavoring to circumscribe the theater of war in the Far East, and to secure the open door in China, we have acted in our own interest as well as in the interest of humanity at large... Ordinarily it is very much wiser and more useful for us to concern ourselves with striving for our own moral and material betterment here at home than to concern ourselves with trying to better the condition of things in other nations... Nevertheless there are occasional crimes committed on so vast a scale and of such peculiar horror as to make us doubt whether it is not our manifest duty to endeavor at least to show our disapproval of the deed and our sympathy with those who have suffered by it."
When mentioning "occasional crimes on so vast a scale," to what incident is Roosevelt most likely referring?
the sinking of the USS Maine in 1898
the extinction of the American buffalo
treatment of migrant workers in urban factories
a brutal battle in the Russo-Japanese War
Explanation
Although the sinking of the Maine happened before Roosevelt took office, the subsequent U.S. invasion of Cuba was the beginning of American involvement in Latin America, a policy that the Roosevelt Corollary attempts to justify.
The other answers all reflect events that occurred during or just before Roosevelt's presidency, but are not the best selections because they are either unrelated to foreign policy, or unrelated to Latin America.
"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."
Which political movement was behind the adoption of this amendment?
The Progressive Movement
The Civil Rights Movement
The Wobblies
New Deal Democrats
Explanation
The Progressive Movement lasted roughly from the 1890's to the 1920's. It was a period of social activism and political reform in response to the economic inequality of the Gilded Age. Among its lasting political achievements was the adoption of the 17th Amendment in 1913, which provided for the direct election of Senators by the people.
"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."
Which political movement was behind the adoption of this amendment?
The Progressive Movement
The Civil Rights Movement
The Wobblies
New Deal Democrats
Explanation
The Progressive Movement lasted roughly from the 1890's to the 1920's. It was a period of social activism and political reform in response to the economic inequality of the Gilded Age. Among its lasting political achievements was the adoption of the 17th Amendment in 1913, which provided for the direct election of Senators by the people.
The following is an excerpt from the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, delivered in 1905:
...In asserting the Monroe Doctrine, in taking such steps as we have taken in regard to Cuba, Venezuela, and Panama, and in endeavoring to circumscribe the theater of war in the Far East, and to secure the open door in China, we have acted in our own interest as well as in the interest of humanity at large... Ordinarily it is very much wiser and more useful for us to concern ourselves with striving for our own moral and material betterment here at home than to concern ourselves with trying to better the condition of things in other nations... Nevertheless there are occasional crimes committed on so vast a scale and of such peculiar horror as to make us doubt whether it is not our manifest duty to endeavor at least to show our disapproval of the deed and our sympathy with those who have suffered by it."
When mentioning "occasional crimes on so vast a scale," to what incident is Roosevelt most likely referring?
the sinking of the USS Maine in 1898
the extinction of the American buffalo
treatment of migrant workers in urban factories
a brutal battle in the Russo-Japanese War
Explanation
Although the sinking of the Maine happened before Roosevelt took office, the subsequent U.S. invasion of Cuba was the beginning of American involvement in Latin America, a policy that the Roosevelt Corollary attempts to justify.
The other answers all reflect events that occurred during or just before Roosevelt's presidency, but are not the best selections because they are either unrelated to foreign policy, or unrelated to Latin America.
“History and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.... Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. . . . The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns.”
- George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Most historians would argue that the recommendations of Washington’s address ceased to have a significant influence on United States foreign policy as a result of .
United States involvement in the World War II
Westward expansion in the 19th century
The Monroe Doctrine
Support for Cuban revolutionaries in the Spanish-American War
The refusal of the United States to join the League of Nations in 1919
Explanation
Until World War II, United States foreign policy was largely dominated by isolationism and a resistance to forming long-term alliances with other global powers. After the Second World War, the United States emerged as a major global power and employed a foreign policy that favored intervention in foreign affairs and conflicts much more frequently.
"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."
What substantive change did this amendment make to the Constitution?
It provided for the direct election of Senators by the people.
It changed the term of Senators from 4 to 6 years.
It provided for the election of 3 Senators from each state.
It gave each Senator 2 votes in the Senate.
Explanation
This text is the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It was proposed in 1912 and ratified in 1913. It made a substantive change to the Constitution by providing for the direct election of Senators by the people. Until that time, Senators were appointed by state legislatures.
"I dissent, because I think the indisputable facts exhibit a clear violation of Constitutional rights.
This is not a case of keeping people off the streets at night...nor a case of temporary exclusion of a citizen from an area for his own safety or that of the community, nor a case of offering him an opportunity to go temporarily out of an area where his presence might cause danger to himself or to his fellows. On the contrary, it is the case of convicting a citizen as a punishment for not submitting to imprisonment in a concentration camp, based on his ancestry, and solely because of his ancestry, without evidence or inquiry concerning his loyalty and good disposition towards the United States. If this be a correct statement of the facts disclosed by this record, and facts of which we take judicial notice, I need hardly labor the conclusion that Constitutional rights have been violated."
What U.S. Supreme Court decision is this Justice dissenting from?
Korematsu v. United States
Plessy v. Ferguson
Brown v. Board of Education
Roe v. Wade
Explanation
In Korematsu v. United States (1944), the constitutionality of the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was challenged. By a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that this forced internment in detention camps was constitutional because of national security concerns. It remains one of the most controversial Supreme Court decisions. This dissent is by Justice Roberts.