The Great Depression to the Start of the Cold War

• The stock market crash led to the collapse of banks that gambled depositors’ savings on the stock market.
• President Herbert Hoover initially addressed the Depression with his ideology of free-market economics—the government should interfere as little as possible. 
• The bonus march was for World War I veterans who were eligible for a bonus for war service but marched at a later date (1945) to redeem their bonuses early.
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the presidency in 1932 and promised a more hands-on approach for the government in fighting the Depression.
• On October 24, 1929, Black Thursday, the stock market lost a major amount of its value.
• In his Ladies’ Home Journal article, “Everyone Ought to Be Rich,” wealthy financier John J. Raskob advised Americans to invest just $15 a month in the market. After 20 years, he claimed, the venture would be worth $80,000.
• The slogan “rugged individualism” made it difficult for Hoover to promote massive government intervention in the economy.
• Public works projects such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the Los Angeles Aqueduct were built as a result of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
• The goal of the Bonus Army was to receive early payments on promised World War I bonuses.
• The Dust Bowl referred to an area where farmers could no longer produce crops.
• Shanty towns became known as "Hoovervilles" in reaction to the president's bungling of the economy.
• From 1929 through 1932, the number of unemployed Americans rose from 1.5 million to 12 million.
• The collective name for all government programs introduced during  Franklin D. Roosevelt's time in office became known as The New Deal.
• To address problems with the banking system, Roosevelt enforced a bank holiday, which gave the banks time to stabilize and end the panic for panic to stop.
• Throughout the early to mid-1930s, millions of Americans were put to work directly by government programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
• From March 6 to March 10, banking transactions were suspended across the nation.
• Franklin Roosevelt adopted the strategy known as “priming the pump”. Likewise, Roosevelt believed the national government could jump-start a dry economy by pouring in a little federal money.
• The Agricultural Adjustment Administration was declared unconstitutional.
• The Civilian Conservation Corps hired young men for public works projects.
• The Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
• Isolationism was brought about by a focus on domestic concerns due to the Great Depression and a dissatisfaction with the outcome of foreign policies after World War I.
• In the early to mid-1930s, militaristic dictatorships came to power in Spain, Italy, Japan, and Germany. 
• In 1937, Japan invaded Manchuria, and China officially started World War II. 
• On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
• Blitzkrieg is a form of war which uses the aggressive movement of motorized vehicles to quickly overwhelm enemies.
• The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 which killed almost 3,000 Americans.
• The invasion of Japan into Chinese Manchuria violated the Nine Power Treaty.
• Benito Mussolini ordered the invasion of Ethiopia and formed the Rome-Berlin Axis.
• The Rape of Nanking prompted President Roosevelt to change his approach to a more forceful one.
• Magic was a decoding device that helped the United States decipher Japan’s radio transmissions.
• By the end of the war, 12 million American men had been drafted into the armed services. 
• In order to maintain the industrial effort, almost six million women at home entered the workforce to do such roles. 
• As the war in the Pacific dragged on, the United States and its allied forces hopped from island to island throughout the Pacific and reached Japan eventually.
• President Truman decided to use two atomic bombs on Japanese cities as a way to persuade Japanese leaders to give up.
• Closing the ring stated the Army's attack on Hitler’s troops at their weakest points first and then slow advancement towards German soil.
• The Germans surrendered to the Allies on May 8, 1945 and this day is known as V-E (Victory in Europe) Day.
• Japan was responsible for the Bataan Death March.
• German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was also known as the Desert Fox.
• The Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
• The political, economic, military, and ideological competition between the United States and the Soviet Union became known as the Cold War.