America in WWII

1. America in WWII 1941 - 1945

2. War Begins for the US • Dec 8, 1941 – FDR asked & received from Congress a declaration of war against Japan • Dec 11, 1941 – Germany & Italy declare war on US • ABC-1 agreement with Britain- get Germany first • Stop Hitler first & then all the Allies would focus on Japan • Limited American strength would hold Japan

3. The Shock of War • National unity – including immigrants • WWII actually speeded the assimilation of immigrants • Japanese – Americans • Mainly on the Pacific Coast • Forced into internment camps for fear of sabotage • Many lost literally everything • Korematsu v. US – upheld gov’t action of camps • 1988 – gov’t apologized & paid the survivors $20,000

4. The New Deal Ends • Conservative Congress was elected in 1942 • Wiped out the CCC, WPA, & National Youth Administration • Massive military orders ($100+ billion in 1942) helped relieve depression

5. Production & WWII • War Production Board • Halted production of nonessential items & focused on needed materials for war • Gov’t imposed a national speed limit & gasoline rationing & developed synthetic-rubber plants • Farmers – increased production • Office of Price Administration • Brought inflation under control through regulation • Rationing held down consumption of critical goods

6. Labor in WWII • War Labor Board (WLB) • Imposed ceilings on wage increases • Labor unions membership grew but resented the wage ceilings • United Mine Workers were called off the job by John L. Lewis • Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act – June 1943 • Authorized the gov’t to seize & operate tied-up industries • Made strikes against gov’t-operated industry a crime • Gov’t took coal mine & railroads

7. Manpower & Womanpower • Armed services – enlisted 15 million men & 216,000 women • Women /Noncombat units – WAACS, WAVES, SPARS • Key industrial & agricultural workers were exempted from the draft • Draft left many jobs open • 1942 – Mexico sent “braceros” to work in the US • Resulted in Zoot Suit Riots – 1943 in L.A. • Sailors on leave beat Mexicans

8. Impact for Women • More than 6 million women took jobs outside the home • Gov’t had to start some 3,000 day-care centers for “Rosie the Riveter’s” children • Began the revolution in the roles of women • Most women left the workforce after the war • “Baby Boom” Generation occurred after the war • Tens of millions of babies were born in the decade & a half after 1945

9. Wartime Migration • Major population boom in War Industries areas • Los Angeles, Detroit, Seattle, & Baton Rouge • FDR accelerated the South’s economic development • 1.6 million African Americans moved out of the South to seek jobs in the North & West • Mechanical cotton picker eliminated the South’s need for cheap labor • Race relations developed over employment, housing, & segregated facilities

10. Fair Treatment • A. Philip Randolph – (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters) • 1941 - Threatened a march on Washington: • demanded equal opportunities for blacks in war jobs & the armed forces • FDR responds: • Forbid discrimination in defense industries • Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) monitored compliance • Blacks were drafted but were still assigned mainly to service branches instead of combat

11. Minorities • “Double V” - victory over the dictators abroad & over racism at home • Membership in NAACP increased • 1942 – CORE is founded • Congress for Racial Equality • Native American Exodus • Many left the reservations & moved to cities or enlisted – 25,000 served • “code talkers” – Comanches in Europe & Navajos in Japan • codes were never broken

12. Holding the Home Front • Americans at home suffered little from the war compared to other countries • Economy was invigorated • Employment was high • Rationing • Office of Scientific Research & Development • Established a partnership between gov’t & universities • National Debt skyrocketed - $259 billion in 1945

13. The Rising Sun in the Pacific • Japanese – win quickly or lose slowly • Allied defeats: during the first 6 months, it looked like the Allied Powers would lose the war • Japanese took: • Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Singapore, Burma, Dutch East Indies, & the Philippines • Important Burma Road supply route into China from India was cut

14. The Philippines • US troops led by General Douglas MacArthur withdrew to Bataan, close to Manila, but eventually surrendered • Bataan Death March – 85 mile forced march of GIs who were tortured & eventually burned alive • MacArthur was ordered by Washington to leave secretly for Australia – “I shall return” • Doolittle Raid : US executed a militarily insignificant raid on Japan in April, 1942 • Helped US moral

15. Japan is Pushed Back • Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942) • Entire battle fought with aircraft • Japan prevented from successfully invading New Guinea & Australia • Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942) • Turning point // Admiral Chester W. Nimitz • Allies broke the Japanese code • Japan suffered severe loses • Japan no longer had any hopes of attacking US mainland

16. Island Hopping • Campaign begins in 1943 • Eventually pushed Japanese forces all the way back to Japan • Sought to neutralize Japanese island strongholds with air and sea power & then move on • Battle of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands – Aug 1942 – Feb 1943) • First Japanese land defeat after 6 months of bitter jungle fighting

17. The Allied Halting of Hitler • German U-boats sunk 8 million tons of allied supplies (25% of USSR’s) • Germans were as far east as Stalingrad by fall 1942, & as deep as El Alamein, Egypt • Battle of Stalingrad (Sept 1942) • Very important battle • First major NAZI defeat on land • German army in retreat from the east until Berlin is occupied by the Russians in the spring of 1945 • Stalin never forgave the Allies for not opening a 2nd front earlier, USSR had to bear the brunt of Nazi invasion

18. North Africa • Operation “Torch” – led by Gen. Eisenhower on Nov 8, 1943 • Germans were led by General Erwin Rommel (the Desert Fox) • Allied troops invaded N. Africa in Algeria & Morocco • Battle of El Alamein – major victory for Allies • Signaled end of Nazi presence in N. Africa

19. Italy • Invasion of Italy commanded by George Patton • July 10, 1943 – British & US forces land on Sicily; victorious within 1 month • Mussolini was forced out of power (1943) • October 1943 – Italy declares war on Germany • June 4, 1944 – Allied march into Rome • First capital city freed from Nazi control • Other parts of Italy remain under NAZI control until Spring 1945

20. Tehran Conference • Nov 28 – Dec 1, 1943 • First meeting of the “Big Three” • FDR, Stalin, & Churchill • Agree on an invasion of Western Europe • Stalin confirmed Soviet commitment to war against Japan

21. D-Day • June 6, 1944 – “Operation Overlord” • Commanded by Eisenhower • 120,000 troops left England & landed at 5 beachheads at Normandy Coast • 800,000 more men within 3 weeks, 3 million total • Significance: • Established a second front • Troops entered Paris on Aug 25 • By the end of summer, Belgium, France, & Luxembourg liberated

22. Presidential Campaign 1944 • Democrat – FDR & Harry S Truman • Republican – Thomas Dewey • Platform: 12yrs was too long • FDR is elected to a 4th term • Experience played a major role

24. Last Days of Hitler • Pre-invasion bombing • Berlin & other major cities were hit repeatedly • Especially factories & oil refineries • Allied invasion (Sept 1944) repelled by Germany • Allies arrived on the edge of Germany by mid Sept • Battle of the Bulge – Dec 16, 1944 • Germans launched a major offensive on US positions in Belgium & Luxembourg • General George Patton & his airborne division stopped Hitler’s last gasp counter-offensive • By Jan, the Allies were again advancing toward Germany

25. War in Europe Comes to an End • April 1945 • US approach Berlin from west while Soviets come from east • Hitler committed suicide in an underground bunker on April 30, 1945 • FDR dies of natural causes – April 12, 1945 • Truman steps in • Depth of the Holocaust is uncovered • V-E Day “Victory in Europe Day” • May 7, 1945 – Germany surrendered unconditionally

27. Japan Dies Hard • Feb 1945 – Iwo Jima • Fighter planes were now close enough to bomb Japan • April – June, 1945 – Okinawa • Fierce fighting which virtually destroyed Japan’s remaining defenses • Japan still showed no willingness to surrender

28. Potsdam Conference • Held in near Berlin in July 1945 • US & Soviet Union warn Japan to surrender or be destroyed • Tens of thousands leaflets were dropped in Japan • Japan refuses removal of emperor • show some signs that they may surrender if they can keep their emperor

29. The 1st Atomic Bomb • Manhattan Project – secret plans to build an atomic bomb • Albert Einstein worked on project • Bomb was tested in New Mexico July 16, 1945 • Aug 6, 1945 –Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima • 180,000+ died • Bomb was dropped by the Enola Gay • Japanese still refuse to surrender

30. The 2ndAtomic Bomb • Aug 9, 1945 – bomb dropped on Nagasaki • 80,000+ died • Japan agreed to surrender under one condition: keep Emperor Hirohito • Allies accepted condition on Aug 14, 1945 • Sept 2, 1945 • Official surrender on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay (MacArthur was there) • V-J Day - “Victory in Japan Day”