North and South America - SAT Subject Test in World History

The Good Neighbor Policy, initiated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, promised that the United States would adopt a policy of non-interference in the affairs of the politics of Latin American countries. This did not function as promised, however; during the Cold War, the United States intervened in Latin America on numerous occasions.

The English Commonwealth of Nations is a term used to refer to the loose association of former English colonies that exist all over the world. The United States of America is one of the few former English colonies that is not a member, but Canada remains in the English Commonwealth, as do countries like Australia and India.

Of these Presidents, Woodrow Wilson, Barack Obama, and Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize during their terms. Jimmy Carter received his long after his Presidency ended for his dedicated humanitarian work in the years since. Only John F. Kennedy did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Harlem Renaissance took place in the 1920s. It was an artistic movement, with intellectual and social qualities, that took place among the African-American community of New York City. In particular, it was a time of a dramatic increase in the writings of African Americans about their experiences.

The beginning of the Great Depression took place during the presidency of Herbert Hoover who, like many Presidents when the economy is in a bad state, was widely blamed for the disaster. Many Americans were forced from their homes and unable to find work and set up slums and shantytowns throughout American cities. In the early 1930s hundreds of thousands of Americans lived in these “Hoovervilles.”

Juan Peron was elected President of Argentina three times, ruling from 1946-1955, and then again from October 1973 to his death in July 1974. Peron was a military leader who espoused a "third way" form of economics and government between capitalism and communism that was referred to as "Peronismo." Typically, this is called "corporatism," as Peron and his followers sought to have the government work with corporations and labor unions to create economic balance.

For several centuries, Latin America was a series of European colonies, mostly Spanish and Portuguese. In the nineteenth century, most of these achieved independence; however, that independence was to become profoundly illusory in the twentieth century as the United States began to exert overwhelming control over Latin American economic and political life. American investors took control of mines, plantations, and financial institutions throughout Latin America, and the American government took an active role in encouraging revolutions to further political interests.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the nations of Latin America were generally either colonies or republics, with a few exceptions. When the economic crisis of the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, many states lost faith in their republican governments, and military dictatorships were able to seize power. This happened in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and several other countries.

In the early twentieth century, more than three quarters of the worlds coffee was grown in Brazil. The country was governed by a proto-republican oligarchy that was able to maintain power as a result of the high cost of and demand for coffee; however, during the Great Depression, the demand for coffee collapsed, causing the price to collapse and plunging Brazil into an economic crisis. This led to the overthrowing of the republican government, which was replaced by a military dictatorship.

Juan Perón is the most famous Argentinian president who served during the tumultuous years of revolution and military dictatorships that defined Argentinian politics in the middle of the twentieth century. He came to power shortly after the end of the Second World War before being overthrown and ostracized from the government by a military coup in 1955.

During the military dictatorship regimes of the mid-twentieth century, most Latin American countries were almost entirely reliant on exporting their raw resources to the industrial nations of Europe, North America, and Japan; however, as the economies of many Latin American countries began to struggle in the 1970s, their governments reacted by taking massive loans out from the banks and governments of the developed world. By 1982, Latin American debt had spiraled out of control, and many governments declared themselves unable to pay off the debt. This led to a movement towards democracy as the people of the various Latin American nations lost faith in the ability of the military dictatorships to provide safe and effective government.

The Iran-Contra Affair was a political scandal that occurred during the Reagan administration. It involved the sale of arms to Iran (illegal under an international embargo) and the use of that money to fund rebels in Nicaragua (prohibited by Congress). It was also an attempt to arrange for the release of American hostages in Iran.

The Iran-Contra Affair was a political and diplomatic scandal that occurred during the second term of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. It involved the sale of arms, illegal under an international embargo being enforced at the time, by the American government to the Iranian government. The money was then used to fund rebel soldiers in Nicaragua (the contras) which had also been prohibited by the United States Congress. Because the President’s administration effectively acted in secret and in knowing violation of two laws it was a significant scandal for Reagan to try to deal with.

Dollar Diplomacy was part of the early period of American imperialism, at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. It was most frequently used under President William Howard Taft. Dollar Diplomacy involved establishing businesses and lending money to investors in foreign countries (particularly Central America) and taking economic, political, and financial control over a country by wielding the power of big business and financial obligation.

The history of Latin America in the twentieth century is a history of revolution, populism, military coup d'etats, and American interference. Argentina is often held as the classic example of these competing trends and movements and Juan Peron is one of the most famous rulers. He came to power following the coup d'etat of 1943, in the elections of 1946, and ruled until 1955 when he himself was overthrown by a separate coup d'etat.

Woodrow Wilson was elected President in 1912 and served from 1913-1921 (World War One lasted from 1914-1918). Wilson initially opposed intervening in the “Great European War,” as most Americans knew it. But, cultural similarities with the British and American public opinion turning against the Germans after the sinking of American passenger ships (such as the Lusitania in 1915) eventually caused the United States to enter the war on the side of the Allied powers in 1917. Wilson is fondly remembered for his attempts to create the first collective political organization designed to represent the interests of the entire world - The League of Nations - although this would subsequently fail as a result of a war-weary American Congress that wanted to remain out of European affairs.

The Treaty of Versailles set the terms by which the combatants of World War One would progress in the wake of World War One, and it established very harsh and humiliating conditions for Germany. Germany was forced to pay war reparations and accept full responsibility for the war. By 1924, it had become clear that Germany could not pay off its massive debt, and its attempts to do so were causing hyperinflation. In an attempt to remedy this situation, the Dawes Plan restructured German debt and lent a great deal of money from the U.S. treasury to the German government.

The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in 1928 by the United States, France, and Germany. Most of the rest of the major powers in the world followed suit and signed shortly after. The Kellogg-Briand Pact renounced the use of warfare as a means of settling international disputes.

The Palmer Raids can be seen in the larger context of the Red Scare that gripped American society after World War One. The Palmer Raids were designed to forcefully exile foreign citizens living in America who were deemed radical leftists; anarchists and communists were particularly likely to be targeted.