Unit 5: WWIIChapter 16

Essential Question:How might militarism and

expansion of territory evolve into a world war?

1

Dictators Threaten World Peace

Failure of the Treaty of Versailles

– The treaty was suppose to create stability in the governments of the world.

– The reality was very different.

• Totalitarian regimes rose up and seized control over many of the governments in Europe.

2

Dictators Threaten World PeaceGermany

Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party brought Nazism to Germany through the ideology and practice of fascism that incorporated biological racism and anti-Semitism

ItalyBenito Mussolini’s lead a Fascist form of government in Italy

JapanHideki Tojo was Prime Minister of Japan when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place plunging the Far East into a war which was to end with the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945

SpainFrancisco Franco led a Fascist revolution against the government of Spain

The Soviet UnionLed by its leader, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union began a campaign to become a communist nation

3

Dictators Threaten World Peace

• The US refuses to get involved– Americans were not interested in

getting involved in the problems of Europe.

– The Great Depression had created long-lasting problems that focused America’s energy on rebuilding and recovery, not Europe.

4

Dictators Threaten World Peace

FDR on Foreign Policy– FDR had an open policy when dealing

with the rest of the world, a view that went against the average American

• FDR wanted to help allies, but had to appease Americans who were opposed to war.

• He provides “all aid short of war” to allies after Germany took France and Great Britain is attacked.

5

America Moves Toward War

America moves closer to war– Cash-and-Carry” Plan:

In an effort to avoid complete US involvement, Congress passed a series of resolutions that would allow the US to sell weapons to England and France as long as they paid cash for them and transported the weapons using their ships.

6

America Moves Toward War

Lend-Lease Act- in order to further help the British, the US agreed to “lend” old US warships to England in exchange for “leases” on ports located throughout the Caribbean.

– This allowed FDR to support the British war effort even though most Americans did not want to get involved.

– The US moved further from neutrality after Germany, Italy, and Japan, signed an agreement that made them political and military allies (the Axis of Power).

– The US response was to institute a military draft and to increase military spending for defense.

7

America Moves Toward War

• Support for Stalin– Germany goes against its

nonaggression agreement with the Soviet Union and invaded Russia in hope of destroying the Soviet military before it could respond.

– The US began to send war supplies to the Soviet Union.

– German “Wolf Packs”, groups of submarines working together began to sink US transport ships.

– FDR orders military commanders to shoot German submarines on sight.

8

America Moves Toward War

Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7 1941) “The day that will live in infamy”

– As US involvement in Europe increases, Japan launches a surprise attack on a US naval base in Hawaii.

– Japanese bombers attacked at dawn killing nearly 2,500 US troops and wounding over 1,000 more. By the end of the day, the US had lost 21 ships and over 300 planes.

– The next day (Dec 8, 1941) the US declared war on Japan, WWII had begun for the US.

9

Unit 5: WWIIChapter 17

Essential Question:How might a global conflict, like WWII, change how people live

in America?

10

Mobilizing for DefenseMobilizing for Defense

Women and Minorities:

– Made economic gains during WWII

– Shortages of traditional working labor created new opportunities for women and minorities

Mobilizing for DefenseMobilizing for Defense

Navajo Code TalkersThe U.S. used Southwest Native Americans who spoke Navajo to transmit messages during the war–Traditionally had no alphabet or other written symbols

Tuskegee AirmenThe Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces

–Highly decorated as skilled pilots and soldiers

Mobilizing for DefenseMobilizing for Defense

Industry and Production

– “Total War”: nationwide, factories were retooled and converted to war production:

• Automobile manufacturers began producing tanks, planes, and boats

• Soft-drink companies began filling shells with explosives

Mobilizing for DefenseMobilizing for Defense

Manhattan Project– The U.S. program to

develop an atomic bomb for use in WWII

• Directed by American scientist: J. Robert Oppenheimer

Mobilizing for DefenseMobilizing for Defense

Rationing• Establishing fixed

allotments of goods deemed essential for the military

– gas, shoes, sugar, coffee, etc.

The War for Europe and North AfricaThe War for Europe and North Africa

War Plans for the European Front•Churchill convinced Roosevelt that Germany and Italy posed a greater threat than Japan and to, therefore, strike first against Hitler

•Allies decide to only accept unconditional surrender from Axis countries

The War for Europe and North AfricaThe War for Europe and North Africa

D-Day (allied forces attack German fortifications in France)

• June 6, 1944• British, American, and

Canadian troops landed on the coast of Normandy in western France

• France, Belgium and Luxembourg were freed by September

The War for Europe and North AfricaThe War for Europe and North Africa

V-E Day– Hitler commits suicide– Germany surrenders one

week later on May 8th, 1945--(V)ictory in (E)urope Day!

– Roosevelt died in office the month prior to V-E Day

• Vice President Harry Truman was sworn in as the 33rd President

The War in the PacificThe War in the Pacific

War Plans for the Pacific Front:

Battle of Midway–The Allies decimated the Japanese fleet at Midway Island–The Allies then took the offensive in the Pacific and began to island hop towards Japan

The War in the PacificThe War in the Pacific

Hiroshima and Nagasaki– Allied leaders felt that an

invasion of Japan would lead to heavy casualties

– Truman decided that the only way to save American lives and bring an end to the war would be to use the atomic bombs

– On August 6, 1945:• An atomic bomb was released

over the city of Hiroshima(killed ~140,000)

• Three days later another bomb was dropped over the city of Nagasaki (killed ~70,000)

• Japan finally surrendered

LITTLE BOY FAT MAN

HIROSHIMA NAGASAKI

The Home FrontThe Home Front

G.I. Bill of Rights– Gov’t paid for veterans

college and job training– Helped veterans get loans

for homes, farms, and businesses

The Home FrontThe Home Front

Japanese Internment – The sense of fear and

uncertainty that followed Pearl Harbor created a wave of prejudice against Japanese Americans

– In February of 1942 Roosevelt, arguing that it was necessary for national security, ordered the forced relocation of 110,000 Japanese Americans from California, Washington, Oregon and Arizona

The Home FrontThe Home Front

Zoot Suit Riots• The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots in

1943 during World War II that broke out in Los Angeles, California, between Anglo American Sailors and Marines stationed in the city, and Latino youths, who were recognizable by the zoot suits they favored.

• Mexican Americans and white military personnel were the main parties in the riots, and some African American and Filipino American youths were involved as well.

• Although Mexican-American men were over-represented in the military as a percentage of their population, many European-American servicemen resented the sight of Latinos socializing in clothing considered extravagant and unpatriotic during wartime.

End of World War IIEnd of World War II

The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

– Meetings between Roosevelt, Truman, Churchill, Attlee, and Stalin

– Establish the rule of conduct for the Cold War

– Established United Nations: • to encourage cooperation

among the great world powers– Established the two leading

superpowers:• USA• Soviet Union