GOV 312L Moser Exam 2 Questions
And Answers.
Many trace the origins of WW2 to what? - Answer President Wilson made considerable
concessions to the Allies to preserve the League of Nations
Outcomes of WW1 peace deals on Germany - Answer Loses navy, merchant marine, colonies,
territory in the west (Alsace-Lorraine) and east (Poland, Czechoslovakia)
Allies occupy Rhineland (industrial center of Europe)
Allies and Wilson demanded democracy
Post WW1 German Reparations - Answer Germany made payments to France, Great Britain,
and Belgium for costs of war
Implications of German Reparations - Answer Ensured German compliance, limits economic
growth and redirects any surplus revenues away from the army and towards the Allies
Politically difficult for German government to impose new taxes on citizens
Stable reparations system emerged in 1924 dependent on American loans to Germany
Cycle of credit: Reparations to British and French fed war debts to the US
Importance of US to settlement - Answer US loans propping up reparations system
Wilson acquiesces in harsh peace on Germany, particularly with respect to territorial
acquisitions that did not conform to principle of self-determination to protect League of Nations
How did the Treaty of Versailles help cause WW2? - Answer Destabilizing new (Weimar)
democracy in Germany
Activates conservatives in Germany to pursue revisionist foreign policy: retake lost territory
Failure of treaty ratification in the US begins withdrawal
,Senate response to the Treaty of Versailles - Answer Rejection; evidence that the US was
withdrawing from the world stage
Republicans do what with tariffs in the 1920s? - Answer Push them up, segmenting American
economy (problem for Germany: made it difficult to generate export revenues to pay loans)
US and War Debt Relief - Answer Congress failed to grant war debt relief
Tight monetary policy in 1928 did what in respect to Europe? - Answer Halts credit to Europe
(Germany specifically)
Foreign Policy Measures in the 1920s - Answer Heavy involvement in Dawes Plan that
stabilized reparations and European economy
Preference for relying on economic (financial means) rather than military
Dramatic success of Washington Naval Conference (1922)
Tooze's "The Deluge" - Answer Republicans as "Triumphant nationalist," unilateralists and
exceptionalists, not withdrawing from the world
Was the US isolationist in the 1920s? - Answer Conventional wisdom: Probably yes
Most recent wave of historical research: No
Isolationists relative to 1796? Definitely not
Isolationists relative to what world needed in 1920: Maybe a little
Implications of "Isolationist" FP in the 1920s - Answer Mismatch between how far Wilson has
taken country since 1914 relative to new internationalist responsibilities and what US public
willing to support in 1920
This mismatch would have serious negative consequences for international political stability
(Tooze 2014)
, Failure of American leadership/hegemony
Great Depression - Answer Dramatic, global economic downturn from 1928-1934
Elements of the Great Depression - Answer Collapsing industrial production, falling
agricultural prices (75% drop from 1925-32), rising unemployment (over 20% in some place),
international trade contracts significantly (50% drop for some countries)
Smoot-Hawley (1929) - Answer High tariffs provoke reciprocal measures in world and global
trade collapses
FDR (1933) - Answer Takes the US off gold standard to offset deflation (fosters inflation)
FDR Foreign Policy from 1933-1938 - Answer FDR and US withdrawal from Europe
(isolationist from 1933 to 1938)
Congress passes series of Neutrality Acts (1935, 1936, 1937)
Nazi Party Rise in Germany - Answer German government makes collapse worse by pursuing
austerity (dramatic spending cuts, tax hikes, high interest rates)
Creates space for the Nazi Party to seize government through legal, constitutional means
Hitler then uses rearmament to generate economic recovery, which leads directly to WW2
Start of WW2 - Answer Hitler steady program of territorial expansion in 1930's eventually
challenged
War breaks out in Europe over Poland in September 1939
US Enters WW2 - Answer December 1941 following attack on Pearl Harbor
Two Theaters of WW2 - Answer Connected by strong US-UK ties and Tripartite Pact among
Germany, Italy, and Japan (Sept 1940)
Isolationist Sentiment from 1939-1941 - Answer Isolationist sentiment in the US still strong
following outbreak of war in Europe in 1939
And Answers.
Many trace the origins of WW2 to what? - Answer President Wilson made considerable
concessions to the Allies to preserve the League of Nations
Outcomes of WW1 peace deals on Germany - Answer Loses navy, merchant marine, colonies,
territory in the west (Alsace-Lorraine) and east (Poland, Czechoslovakia)
Allies occupy Rhineland (industrial center of Europe)
Allies and Wilson demanded democracy
Post WW1 German Reparations - Answer Germany made payments to France, Great Britain,
and Belgium for costs of war
Implications of German Reparations - Answer Ensured German compliance, limits economic
growth and redirects any surplus revenues away from the army and towards the Allies
Politically difficult for German government to impose new taxes on citizens
Stable reparations system emerged in 1924 dependent on American loans to Germany
Cycle of credit: Reparations to British and French fed war debts to the US
Importance of US to settlement - Answer US loans propping up reparations system
Wilson acquiesces in harsh peace on Germany, particularly with respect to territorial
acquisitions that did not conform to principle of self-determination to protect League of Nations
How did the Treaty of Versailles help cause WW2? - Answer Destabilizing new (Weimar)
democracy in Germany
Activates conservatives in Germany to pursue revisionist foreign policy: retake lost territory
Failure of treaty ratification in the US begins withdrawal
,Senate response to the Treaty of Versailles - Answer Rejection; evidence that the US was
withdrawing from the world stage
Republicans do what with tariffs in the 1920s? - Answer Push them up, segmenting American
economy (problem for Germany: made it difficult to generate export revenues to pay loans)
US and War Debt Relief - Answer Congress failed to grant war debt relief
Tight monetary policy in 1928 did what in respect to Europe? - Answer Halts credit to Europe
(Germany specifically)
Foreign Policy Measures in the 1920s - Answer Heavy involvement in Dawes Plan that
stabilized reparations and European economy
Preference for relying on economic (financial means) rather than military
Dramatic success of Washington Naval Conference (1922)
Tooze's "The Deluge" - Answer Republicans as "Triumphant nationalist," unilateralists and
exceptionalists, not withdrawing from the world
Was the US isolationist in the 1920s? - Answer Conventional wisdom: Probably yes
Most recent wave of historical research: No
Isolationists relative to 1796? Definitely not
Isolationists relative to what world needed in 1920: Maybe a little
Implications of "Isolationist" FP in the 1920s - Answer Mismatch between how far Wilson has
taken country since 1914 relative to new internationalist responsibilities and what US public
willing to support in 1920
This mismatch would have serious negative consequences for international political stability
(Tooze 2014)
, Failure of American leadership/hegemony
Great Depression - Answer Dramatic, global economic downturn from 1928-1934
Elements of the Great Depression - Answer Collapsing industrial production, falling
agricultural prices (75% drop from 1925-32), rising unemployment (over 20% in some place),
international trade contracts significantly (50% drop for some countries)
Smoot-Hawley (1929) - Answer High tariffs provoke reciprocal measures in world and global
trade collapses
FDR (1933) - Answer Takes the US off gold standard to offset deflation (fosters inflation)
FDR Foreign Policy from 1933-1938 - Answer FDR and US withdrawal from Europe
(isolationist from 1933 to 1938)
Congress passes series of Neutrality Acts (1935, 1936, 1937)
Nazi Party Rise in Germany - Answer German government makes collapse worse by pursuing
austerity (dramatic spending cuts, tax hikes, high interest rates)
Creates space for the Nazi Party to seize government through legal, constitutional means
Hitler then uses rearmament to generate economic recovery, which leads directly to WW2
Start of WW2 - Answer Hitler steady program of territorial expansion in 1930's eventually
challenged
War breaks out in Europe over Poland in September 1939
US Enters WW2 - Answer December 1941 following attack on Pearl Harbor
Two Theaters of WW2 - Answer Connected by strong US-UK ties and Tripartite Pact among
Germany, Italy, and Japan (Sept 1940)
Isolationist Sentiment from 1939-1941 - Answer Isolationist sentiment in the US still strong
following outbreak of war in Europe in 1939
