America in World War II
1)
The Allies Trade Space for Time
a)
Pearl Harbor turned American's minds out of isolationism and into revenge.
b)
FDR held back the reins against
Japan, vowing to "get Germany first.".
c)
The plan was to absolutely not
let Britain fall to Germany and send enough effort to hold Japan off.
i) U.S. needed time to gear up for war.
ii) America needed to change
industry for a total war, organize military, ship across the world, and feed Allies.
2)
The Shock of War
a)
National unity became stronger .
b) discrimination on Japanese-Americans.
i)
Japanese-Americans sent to internment camps.
ii)
The official reasoning was to
protect them from rogues on the streets who may want to take out their Pearl
Harbor frustrations on them.
iii)
Some Americans believed the Japanese-Americans were more loyal to Japan
than U.S. and were really spies.
iv) Supreme Court defended internment camps in the Korematsu v. U.S. case.
iv) Supreme Court defended internment camps in the Korematsu v. U.S. case.
(1)
1988, the government
apologized and offered $20,000 to each camp survivor.
c)
Many New Deal programs were ended as
the war began. rise of war jobs
d) WWII was just "the dirty work of defeating the bad guys"
3)
Building the War Machine
a)
The Great Depression ended when huge
orders for the war effort came in. More than $100 billion was ordered in 1942.
b)
Henry J.
Kaiser was nicknamed "Sir
Launchalot" because his crews could build an entire ship in only 14 days.
c)
The War Production Board took control of industry. It halted
production of non-essential items like passenger cars.
i)
Rubber was a much-needed item
because Japan had overtaken the rubber tree fields of British Malaya. Gasoline
was rationed to help save tires.
d)
Agricultural production was
incredible. Though many farm boys went to war, new equipment and fertilizers
yielded record harvests.
e)
Prices rose, however. The Office of Price Administration regulated
prices.
i)
Critical items were rationed to keep
consumption down, like meat and butter.
ii)
The War Labor Board set ceilings on wages (lower wages means lower
prices).
f)
Though they hated the wage
regulations, labor unions promised to not strike during the war. Some
did anyway, like the United Mine Workers led by John L. Lewis.
i)
Congress passed the Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act (1943) giving
the federal government the authority to seize and run industries crippled by
strikes. The government took over the coal mines and railroads, briefly.
ii)
All-in-all, strikes were minimal
during the war.
4)
Manpower and Womanpower
a)
There were some 15 million men and
216,000 women in the military during WWII.
i)
The most famous women were the WAACS
(in the Army), the WAVES (Navy), and the SPARS (Coast Guard).
b)
Since most able-bodied men were off
at war, industry needed workers.
i)
The bracero program
brought workers from Mexico to harvest crops. The program was successful and
stayed on about 20 years after the war.
ii)
Women stepped up and took the war
jobs. For many women, this was the first "real job" outside of the
home. Almost certainly, this was the first job for women in industry—women
built planes, artillery shells, tanks, everything.
(1)
The symbol for women-workers was
"Rosie the Riveter" with her sleeves rolled up and rivet gun in hand.
(2)
Without question, the war opened
things up for women in the workplace. Women "proved themselves" and
gained respect.
(3)
But, after the war most women (about
2/3) left the workplace. A post-war baby
boom resulted when the boys got home from war. Most women returned to
their other "job" of being homemakers and mothers.
5)
Wartime Migrations
a)
As during the Depression, the war
forced people to move around the country.
b)
FDR had long been determined to help
the economically-hurting South. He funneled money southward in defense
contracts. This would plant the seeds of the "Sunbelt's" boom after
the war.
c)
African-Americans moved out of the
South in large numbers, usually heading Northern cities, but also to the West.
i)
Black leader A. Philip Randolph prepared a "Negro March on
Washington" to clamor for more blacks in defense jobs and military. FDR
responded by banning discrimination in defense industries.
ii)
FDR also set up the Fair Employment Practices Commission
(FEPC) to serve as a watchdog over the discrimination ban.
iii)
Blacks served in segregated units in
the military.
(1)
Aside from the segregation, there
was discrimination such as separate blood banks for each race, and often the
roles of blacks were more menial such as cooks, truck drivers, etc.
(2)
Generally, however, the war and the
efforts of Blacks encouraged African-Americans to strive for equality. The
slogan was the "Double V"—victory
overseas vs. dictators and victory at home vs. racism.
iv)
Black organizations increased in
membership. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People) neared the half-million mark and CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) was
founded.
v)
The mechanical cotton picker was
invented. This freed blacks from the age-old cotton picking job—another reason
many moved.
d)
Native Americans also fought in the
war in large numbers.
i)
Famously, Navajo and Comanche
Indians were "code talkers." They traded messages using their
traditional language. Their "codes" were never broken.
e)
All the moving around mixed people
who weren't accustomed to it, and there were some clashes. For example, some
white sailors attacked some Mexican and Mexican-Americans in L.A. in 1943.
Also, 25 blacks and 9 whites were killed in a Detroit race riot.
6)
Holding the Home Front
a)
The United States entered WWII still
in the Depression. The U.S. came out of WWII very prosperous (the only nation
to do so).
i)
GNP (Gross National Product) had
doubled. Corporate profits doubled too.
ii)
Disposable income (money left to spend)
also doubled. Inflation would suit and rise as well.
b)
Despite all of the New Deal
programs, it was the production for WWII that ended the Great Depression.
i)
The war's cost was assessed at $330
billion (ten times WWI).
ii)
To help pay for the war, four times
more people were required to pay income taxes. Most of the payments, however,
were on credit. This meant the national debt shot up from $49 to $259 billion.
7)
The Rising Sun in the Pacific
a)
Japan began to take action on its
dream of a new empire—the land of the rising sun. The Japanese took island
after island, including: Guam, Wake Island, the Philippines, Hong Kong, British
Malaya, Burma, the Dutch East Indies, and much of coastal China.
b)
The Philippines had been
embarrassing for the U.S. Gen. Douglas
MacArthur had to sneak away. The general made a pledge, however, to
return.
i)
After the U.S. lost in the
Philippines, the Japanese made the captured soldiers hike the infamous
"Bataan Death March"—85 miles where, if you stumbled, you died.
ii)
The U.S. finally gave up and
surrendered Corregidor, an island/fort in Manila Harbor.
8)
Japan’s High Tide at Midway
a)
The first big U.S.-Japan naval
battle was the Battle of Coral Sea.
It was the world’s first naval battle where the ships never saw one another
(they fought with aircraft via carriers). Both sides had heavy losses.
b)
Intercepted messages hinted at an
attack on Midway Island. American Adm.
Chester Nimitz correctly sent the U.S. fleet and the Battle of Midway (June 1942) followed.
Instead of being surprised, the U.S. gave the surprise.
i)
Adm.
Raymond Spruance was the the admiral on the water. Midway
was a rout for the U.S. as four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk.
ii)
Midway proved to be the turning
point in the Pacific war, the place where Japanese expansion was halted.
c)
Japan did capture the islands of
Kiska and Attu in the Aleutian chain of Alaska. The islands are home to a few
hundred native Aleuts, snow, and rocks, but the mere idea the Japanese
taking American soil hit hard. The northwestern states feared an invasion.
i)
The "Alcan" Highway was
built from Alaska, through Canada, to the continental states to help protect
Alaska.
9)
American Leapfrogging Toward Tokyo
a)
Japan's expansion halted, America
then began "island-hopping"
toward Japan. The plan was to not attack the stronghold, take the weaker
islands and build airbases on them. The stronger islands would be taken by
bombing and strangling of resources.
b)
There would be two main thrusts: in
the south led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur and in the central Pacific led by Adm.
Chester Nimitz.
i)
Island-hopping began in the south
Pacific with victories at Guadalcanal
(Aug. 1942). This southern strike reached New Guinea in August of 1944. MacArthur was working his way back
to the Philippines.
ii)
Northward, Tarawa and Makin in the Gilbert Islands were captured. Next,
the Marshall Island chain was won.
(1)
The "Marianas Turkey
Shoot" was an American highlight where American "Hellcat"
fighters had their way in the air shooting down 250 enemy planes. The Marianas Islands also were close
enough so that B-29 bombers could strike Japan and return (if the winds were
favorable).
(2)
This would later be the take-off
point for the atomic bomb planes.
c)
Though island-hopping made steady
progress, it was slow, hard-fought, and bloody.
i)
American sailors shelled the
beachheads with artillery, U.S. Marines stormed ashore (while the navy shelled
over their heads), and American bombers attacked the Japanese. Heroism and
self-sacrifice were common.
ii)
One example was when Lt. Robert J.
Albert piloted a B-24 “Liberator” on 36 missions. His final run was a record 18
hour and 25 minute strike. His tour of duty was complete, but his crew's
was not. He volunteered to pilot the flight so that his men would not fly
behind a rookie pilot.
10)
The Allied Halting of Hitler
a)
As with the Pacific, progress in
Europe has slow at first. History has shown the American war machine slow to
get going, but awesome when it is going.
b)
German u-boats were proving to be
very effective. The German "enigma
code" was broken thanks to spies' actions and lives sacrificed to
get an enigma machine to decode messages. These messages helped locate German
u-boat wolfpacks.
c)
The Battle of the Atlantic, the war for control of the ocean, went on
until 1943 when the Allies gained control.
i)
The win over the seas was a close
one. It was learned after the war that the amazing German engineers were
nearing completion of a sub that could stay submerged indefinitely and cruise
at 17 knots.
d)
1942 was the turning point year in
Europe (like Midway in '42 in the Pacific).
i)
The British bombed the Germans in
Cologne, France. American B-17's bombed Germany itself.
ii)
German Gen. Erwin Rommel (nicknamed the "Desert Fox" because he
was clever with maneuvers) was having great success in North Africa. He was
almost to the Suez Canal in Egypt—taking the canal would link the Mediterranean
Sea (Italy and Germany) with the Indian and Pacific Oceans (Japan).
(1)
However, Brit. Gen. Bernard Montgomery, at the Battle of El Alamein (Oct. 1942) stopped
the Germans. From there, Germany would be pushed back.
iii)
The Russians also stopped the
Germans at Stalingrad (Sep.
1942). A month later, Russia began pushing back and recaptured 2/3 of their
lost land in one year.
11)
A Second Front from North Africa to
Rome
a)
Some 20 million Russians would die
by the end of the war so the Soviet Union wanted the allies to start a second
front against Germany and ease Russia's burden.
i)
Britain and the U.S. wanted this,
but had different views. America wanted to ram straight at the Nazis through
France.
ii)
Britain wanted to lure the war away
from England. Winston Churchill
suggested they hit Germany's "soft underbelly", meaning up from North
Africa and through Italy.
b)
The soft underbelly approach was
decided upon.
i)
Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower led an attack on North Africa (Nov.
1942). The Allies pushed the Germans out of Africa by May 1943.
c)
The Roosevelt and Churchill met at
the Casablanca Conference to
flesh out plans (Jan. 1943). They agreed to seek the "unconditional
surrender" of Germany.
d)
The soft underbelly attack
continued.
i)
The Allies leapfrogged to Sicily. Mussolini
was overthrown (and later murdered) at about the same time and Italy
surrendered (Sept. 1943). German soldiers were still in Italy, however, and
they were determined to keep fighting.
ii)
The Allies then moved to the lower portion
of the Italian boot, then started edging northward. By this time, it was clear
that the soft underbelly really wasn't very soft.
(1)
The German were dug in at Monte
Cassino. After taking a beachhead at Anzio, the Allies finally took Rome on
June 4, 1944.
(2)
The Allied thrust essentially bogged
down and stalled at this point, roughly half way up the Italian peninsula. The
D-Day invasion would make the Italian assault a mere diversion.
e)
The soft underbelly attack had mixed
results. The good: it drew some of Hitler's men and supplies and it did defeat
Italy. The bad: it delayed the D-Day invasion and gave Russia extra time to
draw farther into Eastern Europe.
12)
D-Day: June 6, 1944
a)
Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin met
at the Tehran Conference
(Nov.-Dec. 1943) to formulate goals and coordinate attacks.
b)
The groundwork was laid for a
massive assault across the English channel (eventual D-Day invasion).
i)
Gen. Eisenhower was placed in charge
of the assault.
ii)
The attack would take place on the
beaches of Normandy on the French coast. The Germans had guessed the
sure-to-come attack would be at Calais because that's the narrowest point of
the channel. The Allies offered fakes and bluffs there to confuse the enemy.
c)
The D-Day Invasion began on June 6, 1944. It was the largest
amphibious assault in history.
i)
The Allies had to cross the channel,
wade ashore, cross the wide beach, scale 100 foot bluffs, and overtake German
bunkers—while being shot at by machine guns and artillery. The Allies did it.
ii)
After gaining a toehold at Normandy,
the Allies began spreading out. Gen.
George S. Patton led U.S. troops across the French countryside.
iii)
Paris was liberated in August of
1944—a major morale boost for the Allies.
13)
FDR: The Fourth-Termite of 1944
a)
Despite the ongoing war in 1944, an
election year came again. The Republican party nominated Thomas E. Dewey. He was known as a
liberal and attacker of corruption.
b)
The Democrats nominated FDR for a
fourth term. There was no other viable choice for the party.
i)
The real question was who'd be the vice-presidential
candidate. The nomination was made for Harry
S Truman who was largely without enemies.
14)
Roosevelt Defeats Dewey
a)
Dewey campaigned hard against
Roosevelt. He attacked "twelve long years" and emphasized it was
"time for a change."
b)
FDR didn't campaign much until
election day neared.
i)
Roosevelt got a lot of financial
help from the CIO's new political action committee (PAC). The PAC was set up to
avoid a ban on using union money for politics.
c)
FDR won the election in a big way,
again. The electoral vote was 432 to 99. The main reason that he won was that
the war was moving along well at this point.
15)
The Last Days of Hitler
a)
The Nazi army was on the retreat at
this point. Hitler made one last big push at the Ardenne Forest. The Americans
were surprised and pushed back; the result was a bulge in the battle line.
i)
The Americans held on at Bastogne.
Germany asked for a surrender but Gen.
A.C. McCauliffe answered, "Nuts."
ii)
Reinforcements came and the U.S. won
the Battle of the Bulge. From
there, steady progress was made toward Berlin. Russia was simultaneously
converging on Berlin.
b)
Along the way, the Allies discovered
the horrors of the Holocaust.
i)
There had been rumors of such
goings-on, but it was believed they were either untrue or exaggerated. They were
not—the Holocaust was worse than imagined.
ii)
The death camps, still stinking,
made the horrors clear. Eisenhower forced German civilians to march through the
camps after the war to see what they're government had done.
c)
The Russians reached Germany first. Hitler
killed himself in a bunker (Apr. 1945), along with his mistress-turned-wife Eva
Braun.
d)
Only two weeks prior, while
vacationing at Warm Springs, GA, Franklin Roosevelt suddenly died. Truman
became president.
e)
The German officials surrendered on
May 7; May 8, 1945 was named V-E Day
(Victory in Europe). The celebration began.
16)
Japan Dies Hard
a)
The war with Japan was still on.
i)
American subs were devastating
Japanese merchant ships—1,042 were destroyed.
ii)
American bombers were devastating
Japanese cities. In a two-day fire-bomb raid on Tokyo in March of 1945, the
destruction was: 250,000 buildings, 1/4 of the city, and 83,000 lives. This was
about the equivalent of the atomic bombs that were to come.
b)
Gen. MacArthur was determined to
return to the Philippines where he'd been booted.
i)
After retaking New Guinea, MacArthur
made his Filipino return in October, 1944.
ii)
Hard naval fighting followed at Leyte Gulf. The U.S. won, although Adm. William Halsey was suckered into
a feint. Leyte Gulf was the last huge battle in the Pacific—Japan's navy was
all but destroyed at this point.
iii)
MacArthur then took Luzon and
finally captured the capital city of Manila (Mar. 1945).
c)
The same month, the small island of Iwo Jima was captured by America in
some of the toughest fighting yet. It was strategically located halfway between
the Marianas Islands and Japan. Thus, it provided an important airstrip.
i)
The famous flag-raising photo was
snapped atop Mt. Suribachi while the fighting still raged.
d)
Okinawa was the next target. It was the last island before the
Japanese mainlands. Okinawa was taken (June 1945) after 50,000 American
casualties.
i)
In a last-ditch effort, Japan
unleashed the full fury of their "kamikaze" suicide pilots. Likening
themselves to the samurai warriors of old the kamikazes felt they were dying
for their god-emperor.
17)
The Atomic Bombs
a)
Rookie Pres. Harry Truman met with Stalin and British officials at the Potsdam Conference (July 1945). The
final statement to Japan was: surrender or be destroyed.
b)
Meanwhile, the U.S. had been working
on a super-secret project all along: to build the atomic bomb.
i)
Early on, many German scientists had
fled Nazi Germany, notably Albert
Einstein. In 1940, FDR convinced these scientists to start working on
the bomb.
ii)
FDR had gotten Congress to approve
the money in fear that Germany may well develop the bomb first. The Manhattan Project secretly developed
and built the world's first atomic bomb. It was tested in Alamogordo, NM (July
1945) and was ready for use.
c)
Still belligerent, the first atomic
bomb was dropped on Hiroshima,
Japan (Aug. 6, 1945). 70,000 died instantly, 180,000 total casualties.
d)
On Aug. 8, Russia entered the war
against Japan and attacked Manchuria.
e)
On Aug. 9, a second atomic bomb was
dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
80,000 were killed or missing. That's was it.
f)
Japan surrendered on Aug. 19, 1945.
The Japanese emperor was aloud to stay on the throne as a symbolic gesture.
i)
The official and ceremonial
surrender came a few weeks later aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. Gen.
MacArthur accepted the surrender from Emperor Hirohito.
18)
The Allies Triumphant
a)
One million casualties was the
American cost of WWII. But, despite the sacrifices, America came out of the war
tougher and stronger-than-ever, whereas other nations came out of the war
beaten down.
i)
The casualty number was incredibly
large, but actually small as compared to other nations. The numbers were kept
down in part due to new drugs, particularly penicillin.
ii)
The American homeland was almost
entirely untouched (again, unlike other nations were in rubble).
b)
Though slow-starting, America had
run the war well. It was a huge undertaking, but had been undertaken in a
systematic and effective manner.
i)
The U.S. had been blessed with great
leaders during the war, civilian and military.
ii)
Another major factor contributing to
victory was America's incredible resources and industry.
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