America in World War II Early in the war, Germany, Japan, and Italy have considerable military success. The allies, except for France, which had surrenders in 1940, are fortunate not to be overwhelmed completely. Fearing they will be disloyal, FDR orders the detention of Japanese Americans, a serious violation of basic American civil rights. Millions die in the Holocaust, a systematic attempt by the Nazis to destroy those they consider to be inferior Slavs, the mentally ill, homosexuals, political prisoners, and, especially Jews. The war encourages extensive demographic changes across the country. Blacks contribute significantly in WWII despite obstacles. Considerable financial resources needed to wage war drive up the national dept. New Deal spending down compared to war-time spending. The success of D-Day affords the Allies a bridgehead in France from which they can move inland and ultimately invade Germany itself. With the Soviets counterattacking from the east, Hitler s Third Reich is doomed. With the war in Europe over, the Allies turn all their attention to defeating Japan. After bloody battles in the Pacific, President Truman orders atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan soon surrenders.
I. Military Mobilization A. Declaration of War 1. Congress 12/8/41-Japan and 12/11//41- Germany 2. UN: 1/1/42 pledge to principles of Atlantic Charter B. Objectives 1. Hitler first! 2. Japan 2 nd C. Raising an Army 1. Selective Service a. 72,000 conscientious obj. b. Segregation 2. 15,000,000 enlisted men 3. 216,000 women (WAC, WAVES, SPARs) 4. 1,000,000 African Americans 5. 25,000 Native Americans helped 6. Off o f Scientific Research and Development a. Manhattan Project
II. Economic Mobilization A. Government Response 1. War Production Board regulated raw materials a. Henry Kaiser 2. Office of Price Adm. froze prices a. rationing 3. War Labor Board maintained worker s standard of living 4. Smith-Connolly Anti. Act, 1943 prevented strikes a. United Mine Workers 5. National Debt a. Although income taxes up, still had to borrow 3/5 s of the cost of the war b. Conservatives elected in 1942 wiped out much of New Deal to fight the war B. Private Sector 1. Rosie the Riveter (over 5 million women joined labor force) a. Women increased industrial wages 2. Population shift away from Northeast to Sunbelt states
III. Cultural Mobilization A. African Americans 1. A. Philip Randolph 2. CORE and NAACP 3. Fair Employment Practices Committee B. Mexican Americans 1. Bracero program 2. Zoot Suit riots, 1943 C. Japanese Americans 1. Exec. Order 9066 authorized War Department declare West Cost a theatre of war a. 110,000 2. Gen. John DeWitt moved Japanese- Americans to one of 10 locations 3. Korematsu v. U.S. SC upholds internment D. Native Americans 1. Urbanization 2. Navajo Code Talkers
War and Diplomacy Timeline A. 1942 1. Loss of Philippines a. MacArther, I shall return b. Bataan Death March 2. Doolittle s Raid 3. Battle of Coral Sea and Midway in Pacific 4. Battle of Stalingrad-1 st major German defeat B. 1943 1. Operation Torch led by Eisenhower 2. British win El Alamein 3. Island Hopping in Pacific 4. Allies invade Italy and Italy surrenders 5. Casablanca Conference-FDR and Churchill agree unconditional surrender and invasion of Italy 6. Tehran Conference-1 st meeting of Big Three. Agreed to an invasion of Western Europe in 1944. C. 1944 1. D-Day at Normandy led by Eisenhower a. 120,000 Allied troops land 5 beaches and paratroopers b. Establishes 2 nd Front 2. Battle of Bulge was last major offensive by Nazis a. General Patton helps stop. 3. Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Pacific 4. FDR defeats Dewey D. 1945 1. Yalta Conference-Big Three discuss post-war. Stalin agrees to liberated Europe. Called for creation of UN. Germany divided into 4 zones 2. FDR dies and Truman takes over 3. Germany surrenders, May 7, 1945 4. Atomic Bomb tested, July 5. Potsdam Conference 6. Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9) 7. Japanese Surrender (September 2)
Axis Europe, 1941
Ch. 35 Vocabulary Harry Stimson A. Philip Randolph Douglas MacArthur Bernard Montgomery George Patton Chester Nimitz Dwight Eisenhower Joseph Stalin Chiang Kai-shek Thomas Dewey Admiral William Bull Halsey Harry Truman Albert Einstein Robert Oppenheimer War Production Board Office of Price Administration WAACs Rosie the Riveter Braceros Fair Employment Practices Commission Casablanca Conference Second front Teheran Conference D-Day Battle of the Bulge Potsdam Conference Manhattan Project