WORLD WAR II1939 - 1945

(U.S. 1941-1945)

Chapter 20

The Impact Today

Many changes that began in World War II are still shaping our lives today.

* The United Nations was founded.

* Nuclear weapons were invented.

* The United States became the most powerful nation in the world.

Converting the Economy

• Industrial output during the war:

• This turned the tide in favor of an Allied victory.

U.S.

Germany

Japan

• How did the U.S. produce so much?

• Cost-plus contracts - the government guaranteed industries a profit if they would manufacture what was needed for the war.

American Industry Gets the Job Done

• After Pearl Harbor, almost all major American industries converted to war production.

• Example: automobile factories turned to the production of trucks, jeeps, and tanks.

American industry “re-tooled” and converted from peace-time production to war-time production.

• Henry Ford created an assembly line for B-24 bombers.

• The War Production Board (WPB) set priorities and production goals and controlled the distribution of raw materials and supplies.

• Government and industry cooperated with each other.

Building an Army

• To win the war, the U.S. had to build up its armed forces.

• The Selective Service and Training Act created the first peacetime draft in American history.

• GIs, named after the initials on their uniforms meaning “Government Issue,” went through basic training for eight weeks.

• For most of the war, the U.S. military was completely segregated.

• An African American newspaper, the Pittsburgh Courier, launched the “Double V” campaign stating that black Americans should join the war because a win would be a double victory over racism abroad and at home.

• The army air force created the 99th Pursuit Squadron, an African American unit.

• They were known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

• Congress established the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs) in May 1942.

• Each branch of the Armed Forces set up its own women’s organization.

Holding the Line Against Japan

• After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the commander of the United States Navy in the Pacific, Admiral Chester Nimitz, could do little at first to stop the advancing Japanese into Southeast Asia.

• The commander of the Americans and Filipinos defending the Philippines, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, decided to take his badly outnumbered troops and retreat to the Bataan Peninsula.

• Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to evacuate to Australia. Not wanting to leave, MacArthur vowed, “I shall return!”

• Allied defenders of Bataan finally had to surrender. Thousands died on the Bataan Death March to a Japanese prison camp.

• In early 1942, B-25 bombers replaced aircraft carriers’ short-range bombers because they could attack from farther away.

• Lt. Colonel James Doolittle was put in command of the mission that bombed Japan on April 18.

• “Doolittle’s Raid” made Japanese leaders change their strategy.

• Turning point in the war against Japan - Battle of Midway; Americans shot down 38 Japanese planes and destroyed four Japanese carriers.

• This halted the Japanese advance in the Pacific.

Turning Back the German Army

• Soviet leader Joseph Stalin urged other Allied leaders to open a second front in Europe.

• Churchill wanted to be more cautious and attack the periphery (edges) of Germany.

• Ex: North Africa…..

Although Stalin pushed the Allies to invade Europe from the west, the U.S. and Britain felt the best first invasion would be in North Africa. Invasion through France would have to wait.

• November 8, 1942 - American invasion of North Africa began under the com Dwight D. Eisenhower.

• Gen. George Patton led U.S. forces in Morocco and captured the city of Casablanca.

• At the Battle of Kasserine Pass, Americans suffered huge losses.

Eisenhower

Kasserine Pass

Rommel

Hitler’s best general, Erwin Rommel, was given the nickname “The Desert Fox”

• Under Patton, American and British forces finally pushed the Germans back.

• On May 13, 1943, German forces in North Africa surrendered.

Gen. George Patton

• German submarines began sinking American cargo ships along the U.S. East Coast.

• Result: U.S. Navy set up a convoy system, where cargo ships in groups were escorted by navy warships.

• From spring 1942 on, American shipyards produced more ships than German subs

could sink.

• The Germans tried to capture the Russian city of Stalingrad, but the Soviets held their ground. • Hitler had misjudged the Soviet people's will to fight.

• The Germans were surrounded and forced to surrender.

• The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point. It put the Germans on the defensive.

• Compared to the devastation in Europe and Asia, WW II had a positive effect on American society.

• It put an end to the Depression. • The War created almost

19 million new jobs and doubled the income of most American families.

• Labor shortage hiring of married women for “men’s work.”

• “Rosie the Riveter” became a symbol for the campaign to hire women.

• 2.5 million women entered the manufacturing workforce.

Women jobs

American women were urged to “do their part” by taking jobs

normally held by men.

• African Americans still had some problems getting hired.

• In 1941, FDR ordered no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government.

• Bracero Program - arranged for Mexican farmworkers to come to the U.S. to help harvest fruits and vegetables on farms.

• More than 200,000 Mexicans came to help with the harvest and to build and maintain railroads.

A Nation on the Move

• 15 million Americans moved west and south for jobs during the war.

• This created a new industrial region called

the Sunbelt.

• Great Migration, (started during WWI) as they left the South and headed to cities in the North and West for factory jobs.

• Sometimes led to racial violence.

Detroit riots 1943

• Crimes committed by youths rose dramatically.

• The zoot suit, baggy pants and overstuffed, knee-length jacket with wide lapels, seemed unpatriotic to many that were saving fabric for the war effort.

• The zoot suit was worn by many Mexican American teens.

• When zoot suiters were rumored to have attacked several sailors, 2,500 soldiers and sailors stormed into Mexican American neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

• In early 1942, FDR declared the West Coast a military zone, and all people of Japanese ancestry were evacuated to 10 internment camps.

• Rationing went into effect as demand for raw materials and supplies increased and created shortages.

• Each month a book of ration coupons was given to each household for processed foods and meats, fats, and oils.

Rationing Meat was tagged by the

number of points needed for purchase.

No matter how much cash you had, if you had used all your points -- no

sale!!!

• Victory gardens were planted to produce more food for the war effort.

• Scrap drives were organized to collect spare rubber, tin, aluminum, and steel.

• To raise money for the war…..

• The government raised taxes, covering about 45 percent of the cost of the war.

• E-bonds were sold to Americans. By buying bonds, Americans were loaning money to the government.

• Most Americans were united in the goal of winning the war.

Striking Back at the Third Reich

• January 1943 - FDR met with Churchill to plan the next stage of war (“Europe First” policy).

• Casablanca Conference - decided to increase bombing of Germany, trying to

destroy its industrial, military, and economic system.

• Would attack Axis on the island of Sicily. (“soft underbelly of Europe”)