Lecture 16 the usa in the XX century

16.1. The First World War.

16.1.1. In the summer of 1914 the First World War broke out in Europe. The war expanded to Europe's colo­nies in Africa and Asia. Nations quarreled with each other over colonies and trade. In June 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was shot and killed while visiting Serbia. The Serbs asked Russia for help and got it. Because of the alliance system, almost all of Europe was at war within a week. President Woodrow Wilson hoped that the Unit­ed States would be able to stay neutral. After a German submarine sank the British liner Lusitania near the coast of Ireland, the Congress declared war on Germany. Over 2 million American soldiers were sent to Europe, mainly to France.

16.1.2. On November 11, 1918 Germany surrendered. The war was over. Yet it left many legacies. The American experience of the Great War, albeit brief and distant from the nation’s shores, showed the United States how effectively it could mobilize its industrial might and hold its own in world affairs. At the same time, fears of radicalism, horror at Soviet bolshevism, and the impact of wartime hysteria led to a second blast of attacks on radicals. Another important legacy is the literature produced by the so-called "lost generation". The generation includes such greats as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner, both winners of the Nobel Prize for literature. They created some of the best known American novels and became celebrated figures in American fiction.

16.1.3. The 1920s are called the Roaring Twenties because of the great excitement caused by changes for the better in the life of many Americans. The period was considered a great time to be alive. People went out, had fun and did not worry about the future. They invented new ways to dress, new words to use and new ways to have fun. Many women cut their hair and wore their skirts short. Charleston became the most popular dance. Jazz music was all the rage at that time. The vivid picture of the time is given in The Great Gatsby by Francis S. Fitzgerald.

16.1.4. Radio became a vehicle for information and entertainment at that time. In 1926, inventor Farnsworth produced the first all-electronic television image. Cinema won the hearts of millions. Hollywood, California, became the center of America's motion picture industry. The feature film became a legitimate art form. Actors like Charlie Chaplin became stars in comedy. The actress Mary Pickford became "America's sweetheart". Powerful companies came to the fore of the film industry, and film came to reflect the changing social and moral values of America. People enjoyed watching such film stars as Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson. The first "talking" movie was produced by Warner Brothers in 1927. Characteristically, its name was The Jazz Singer.

16.2 The Great Depression and World War II.

16.2.1. The fun-filled, trouble-free days came to a sudden end. In October 1929 the big trouble began. Stock market prices had been at a record high level. Thou­sands of stocks were for sale at a high price. Because the prices were so high, there were no buyers for them. So the prices fell. Then people began to worry. Tuesday, October 29, 1929, was called Black Tues­day. Stock prices dropped more and more, and billions of dollars were lost on that one day. The stock market crashed. People lost their jobs. As unemployment spread, there were even fewer people who could buy goods. More factories were closed down, and more workers lost their jobs. The United States was in depression.

16.2.2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President at that time. He promised the American people a New Deal, a way out of the Great Depression. The New Deal laws had two goals. The first was to give some relief for the suffering which the depression had brought to the people. The second was to help farmers and businesses. The New Deal helped people by giving them work. The government organized building new roads, schools, hospitals, bridges, tunnels and dams. Un­der the New Deal, some young men were sent to camps in rural areas. There they worked at preserv­ing the nation's land, forests and water. The government also set up a system of payments to help people who were too old to work and people who were out of work.

16.2.3. In the meantime, Germany, Italy and Japan formed an alliance called the Axis. Japan was the first nation to use military might when the Japanese army invaded a part of China called Manchuria. On September 1, 1939, the German army invaded Poland. The Polish government asked Great Britain and France for help. Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. That was the beginning of World War II. On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Japanese planes suddenly appeared in the sky over Hawaii. Hundreds of bombs fell on the ships in Pearl Harbour. The next day the United States declared war on Japan. A few days later the United States entered the war against Germany and Italy.

16.2.4. June 6_, 1944, went down into history as D-Day. The Allied Army boarded ships in Great Britain. A giant fleet of 600 warships and 4,000 smaller boats carried 176,000 Allied soldiers towards France. The soldiers were from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, Poland and many other nations. In the sky, 11,000 Allied planes bombed the German positions in France. Early in the morning, the Allies landed on the French beaches. The invasion of France by Allied forces was the beginning of the end for Germany. In May 1945 Germany sur­rendered.

Japan continued to fight. President Truman decided to drop a newly invented A-bomb on a Japanese city. On August 6, 1945, an American bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. In a few days the United States dropped anoth­er bomb on Nagasaki. Soon after, the Japanese surrendered. World War II was over.