WORLD WAR II(U.S. 1941-1945)

Chapter 36

• Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, sinking or damaging 21 ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, killing 2,403 Americans, and injuring hundreds more.

• The air attack began at 7:48 a.m. (Hawaii time) and lasted for about 90 minutes.

December 7, 1941 -

“A date which will live in infamy....”

• The next day, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

Section 4-21

• On December 11, 1941, Japan’s allies – Germany and Italy – declared war on the United States.

Dorie Miller - decorated for valor at Pearl

Harbor

I. Declarations of War

A. US declared war on Japan - Dec. 8, 1941B. Germany & Italy on US - Dec. 11, 1941C. Britain & US decide on “Germany First” (“Europe First”); concentrate on Japan

later.

II. Japanese Empire

A. Allies - HUGE defeats at beginning of the war:

1. Guam, Wake Island, Gilbert Island

2. Singapore, Dutch East Indies, Malay, Hong Kong & Burma by spring 1942.

3. Defeat US in Philippines - Mar. 1942.... Gen. Douglas MacArthur: “I shall return”.

B. Japan’s resources1. 95% of world’s raw rubber; 70% tin; 70% rice.2. Oil from Dutch East Indies3. Indochina’s rice fed soldiers.

C. Dominated population of 450 million!

III. The Home Front

A. Military mobilization1. Selective Service (draft) registration was expanded to men 18-44 after Pearl Harbor.

2. 258,000 women - WACs, Waves, & WAFs.

a. Medical & technical support b. Flying military equipment to war zones. c. Cryptography decoding

3. 16 million men & women eventually served.

a. 72,000 claimed “conscientious objection” b. 5500 refused to serve; jailed. c. 1 million blacks - in segregated units.

B. Economic mobilization

1. OWM (Office for War Mobilization) - supervised war production agencies.

2. War Production Board

a. To regulate use of raw materials.

b. By 1943, the US produced TWICE as many goods as ALL of the enemy countries

combined!

3. “Rosie the Riveter”

a. Five million women joined labor force in

aircraft, munitions & auto industries.

b. “Rosie” used as propaganda to

encourage more women to join

the war effort.

4. Demographic impact of war mobilization

a. “Sunbelt” - emerged in California & South.

b. Population/power shift from NE to SW & South

C. Controlling inflation

1. People now working, but less goods available.

2. Cost of living increased. (inflation)

3. War Labor Board: to ensure wages kept pace

with rise in cost of living.

4. Office of Price Administration (OPA)

a. Froze prices & rents at March 1942 levels. b. Rationing - save resources for war effort.

5. Anti-inflation measures successful.

a. WWI cost of living up 170% b. WWII -- less than 29%.

D. Taxes increased to finance the war

1. Many who had never had to pay income tax were now required to pay.

2. 1939 - 4 million filed income tax returns; in 1945 -- 50 million did!!!

E. National Debt

1. 1941 - $49 billion; 1945 - $259 billion

2. 2/5 was "pay as we go"; 3/5 was borrowed!

F. Science goes to war: Office of ScientificResearch & Development

1. Organized before Pearl Harbor; led to advanced technology, radar, insecticides,

etc....

2. Manhattan Project – 1942

a. Established to research building of A-bomb.

b. Albert Einstein warned FDR that Germans were working on bombusing nuclear fission.

c. Los Alamos, NM - group charged with making the bomb.

- Headed up by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer

d. First test July 16, 1945 in desert outsideAlamogordo, NM. (White Sands)

Robert Oppenheimer

“Fat Man” “Little Boy”

IV. Discrimination During the War

A. Black American civil rights issues

1. Massive migration to industrial centers.

-- Result: competition for scarce resources (housing, etc); tension in workplace.

2. Violence in 47 cities

** Detroit Race Riot – 6/1943; 25 blacks, 9 whites killed.

-- 6,000 federal troops needed to restore

order; $2 million in property damage.

3. A. Philip Randolph, president of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

a. Black Americans excluded from well-paid jobs in war-related industries.

b. Randolph made three demands of FDR:

-- Equal access to defense jobs. -- Desegregation of armed forces. -- End to segregation in federal agencies.

c. FDR Fair Employment Practices Committee to investigate violations in defense industries.

d. Result: -- FDR ended segregation in government

agencies and defense contractors

4. NAACP grows in membership from 50,000 before the war to 500,000 by end of war.

B. Mexican Americans

1. Bracero Program

-- During the war,the need forincreased farmproduction led toa US government

policy for short-term work permits to be issued to Mexicanworkers.

2. Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles (1943)

a. L.A. attacks on young Mexican-Americans

b. Sailors on leave roamed streets beating “zooters” (clothing viewed as unpatriotic.

c. Radio blamed zooters, but a city committee under Earl Warren revealed need for improved living conditions.

Zoot Suit

C. Internment of Japanese-Americans

1. Executive Order 9066 (Feb, 1942)

-- FDR authorized War Dept. to declare west coast a “war theater.”2. 110,000 Japanese- Americans interned. Pearl Harbor made the public paranoid that they might help Japan. Seen as security issue.

3. Ten locations in seven states

a. They were given 48 hours to dispose of their belongings; many lost

95% of their assets. b. Camps in desolate areas.

4. Army considered Japanese potential spies.

*Korematsu v. US - Supreme Court upheld internment policy.

5. Greatest civil liberties violation during WWII.

6. No sabotage was ever proven against a Japanese-American citizen.

7. Camps closed in March 1946.

8. 1988 - Pres. Reagan formally apologized.

9. 1990 - Congress paid each internee $20,000.

Background: 1942 was a critical year for the survival of the Allies. Japan controlled all of Southeast Asia and most of China; Germany controlled Western Europe, North Africa, and and were deep inside the Soviet Union.

V. The Grand Alliance

A. Coalition of nations at war with Axis Powers; FDR & Churchill’s close relationship helped.

B. Objectives: (Defeat) Germany First; Japan then would be given priority. (Sometimes called "Europe First" policy.)

C. Military Plans:

1. Economic blockade on Germany & Italy.

2. Air attacks on Germany.

3. Peripheral strikes in the Mediterranean.

4. Final direct assault on Germany.

VI. Allied Turning Points in the War

A. Battle of Stalingrad (Sept 1942)

1. Perhaps most important battle of the war.

a. First major Nazi defeat on land. b. Henceforth, Nazis are in retreat from the

east until fall of Berlin to Russians in the spring of 1945.

2. Stalin never forgave Allies for not opening a front in W. Europe earlier; USSR had to bear the full brunt of Nazi invasion; Churchill opted for invasion of N. Africa instead.

B. North Africa - Operation “Torch” - led by Gen.

Eisenhower - Nov. 1943

1. Brits fighting German Panzer divisions since 1941.

-- Germans led by Gen. Irwin Rommel (“Desert Fox”)

Rommel

Eisenhower

2. Nov. 1943 - 100,000 Allied troops invaded N. Africa in Algeria & Morocco (Casablanca)

3. Major Allied victory at El Alamein - signaled end of Nazi presence in N. Africa.

-- Pushed Rommel all the way to Tunisia;massive German casualties.

C. Europe

1. Invasion of Italy (led by George S. Patton)

* Mussolini overthrown byofficials within fascist

party; Rome was first capital freed from Nazi control.

Patton

Mussolini, along

with his mistress

and a close aide,

were executed

by the new Italian

government.

Their bodies hung

upside down in

disgrace for the

agony his regime

had brought to the

Italian people.

Mussolini, along

with his mistress

and a close aide,

were executed

by the new Italian

government.

Their bodies hung

upside down in

disgrace for the

agony his regime

had brought to the

Italian people.

(Europe continued....)

D-Day (June 6, 1944) “Operation Overlord” a. Commanded by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower. b. Hitler thought invasion would occur at Calais.

b. 120,000 troops left England & landed atfive beachheads on French Normandycoast.

c. Casualties during D-Day: 2,245 Allies killed;1,670 wounded.

d. Significance of D-Day:

* Second front was established to the west (to Stalin’s joy!!!)

-- Aug. 25, Allied troops enter Paris -- By end of summer, France, Belgium,

& Luxembourg are liberated!

* If Allies had failed, Hitler could have focused on the Eastern front & perhaps negotiated an end to the war with Stalin. Most of Europe would be under Nazi control.

3. Invasion of Germany

a. Pre-invasion bombing - major cities hit, especially factories & oil refineries.

b. Allied invasion in Sept. 1944 repelled by Germany.

c. Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 1944)

* Last major German offensive on US positions in Belgium & Luxembourg

d. Brits & US attack Dresden with fire bombs,killing 100,000 & destroying factories& rail lines.

e. April 1945

* US approach Berlin from west & Soviets come from east.

* German resistance in Italy collapsing.

f. Hitler goes into Berlin bunker &commits suicide on April 30.

g. Germany surrenders unconditionallyon May 7, 1945 - V-E Day (Victory inEurope Day)!!!!!!!

VII. Allied Defeats - during first six months, it seemed likely that Allied Powers would lose the war.

A. Asia and the Pacific

1. Japan took Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Singapore, Burma, Dutch Indies, & Philippines.

2. US loss of the Philippines

a. 20,000 US troops led by MacArthur were

forced to surrender.

General Douglas MacArthur

b. Bataan Death March - 85 mile forced march of US GIs & Filipinos, many of whom were tortured & killed.

c. MacArthur ordered by Washington toleave secretly for Australia. * “I shall return....”

* Assumed command of all Allied Pacific ground forces.

3. Doolittle Raid: Americans executed a militarily insignificant raid on Japan (4/42) in retaliation for Pearl Harbor. Bombed heart of Japan.

-- Helped American morale. James Doolittle

D. Japan is pushed back to its mainland

1. Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942) - entire battle fought with aircraft.

-- Japan is prevented from successfullyinvading New Guinea and Australia.

2. Battle of Midway (6/42) – Turning point in the Pacific!

a. Allies broke Japanese code. b. Japan lost 4 aircraft carriers. Result......

c. Japan: no hope of attacking US mainland.

3. Island-hopping campaign begins in 1943 - pushed Japanese forces back to Japan.

Heavy loss oflife (ex:Okinawa -50,000 US)leads to use ofA-bomb.

Destruction

caused by

Japanese

Kamikazes

VIII.Election of 1944 and Death of FDR

A. FDR, with running mateHarry S Truman, electedto unprecedented fourthterm.

B. April 12, 1945 -- FDR died at Warm Springs,GA.

C. Harry Truman becomes president.

Franklin DelanoRoosevelt

Harry S Truman

IX. Allied Diplomacy During the War

A. Casablanca Conference - January 1943

1. FDR & Churchill declare a policy of unconditional surrender for “all enemies.” 2. Agreed that Italy (“soft

underbelly”) would be invaded first before opening

a 2nd front

in France.

B. Tehran Conference (Nov/Dec 1943)

1. First meeting of the “Big Three” -- FDR, Churchill, and Stalin.

2. Allies agree to D-Day invasion.

3. Stalin reaffirms Soviets’ firm commitment to enter war against Japan.

(Tehran Conference, continued...)

4. Disputes over post-war world:

a. Stalin insists on Soviet control of Eastern Europe.

b. Churchill demands free governments in E. Europe & a strong Germany after the war to preserve balance of power in Europe

c. FDR acted as mediator & believed he could work with Stalin for post-war peace.

C. Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)

1. To discuss post-war Europe

2. Stalin agreed to enter Pacific war within three months after Germany surrendered.

3. Stalin agreed to “Declaration of Liberated Europe” (free elections).

4. Basic blueprint for a United Nations.

5. Germany to be divided into (temporary) occupied zones.

D. Potsdam Conference (July/Aug 1945)

1. Truman, Stalin, & Churchill (later Atlee) in eastern Germany.

2. Disagreements; war alliance breaking down.

3. Truman secretly ordered A-bomb drop on Japan.

4. Okayed war-crimes trials & demilitarization/de-nazification of Germany; German reparations could be taken from each Allied country’s zone.

X. The Atomic Bomb

A. US successfully tests bomb in mid-July

B. Potsdam Conference (July/Aug)

1. Allied leaders warned Japan: surrender or suffer “complete & utter destruction.”2. Japan refuses removal of emperor but shows signs in private that it might be willing to surrender if emperor remains on throne.

3. Military advisors warn of high casualties if US is forced to invade Japan.

C. August 6, 1945 – first A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima

1. 80,000 killed immediately; 100,000 injured; many die later of radiation sickness and/or cancer.

2. Bomb dropped by the Enola Gay

Hiroshima

3. Japan still refused to surrender.

D. Aug. 8 - Soviet Union enters the war against Japan, as promised.

E. Aug. 9 - 2nd bomb dropped on Nagasaki; 60,000 dead.

F. Aug. 14 -- Japan surrenders (V-J Day)1. World War II is over!!!!!

V-J Day

celebration

in New York’s

Times Square

2. September 2, Japanese formally surrendered aboard U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

XI. Aftermath of the War

A. Massive casualties

* 46-55 million dead; 35 million wounded; 3 million missing.

a. About 30 million soldiers died (about300,000 Americans)

b. 25 million civilians -- 15 million in USSR alone (23 million

combined with military casualties)

B. 30 million Europeans lost their homeland (60% of them German) & were relocated.

C. Massive destruction of cities

XII. Post-war Political Issues

A. WWII made allies of ideological enemies

1. US had condemned Soviets’ communism.2. Soviets had denounced “western imperialism”3. Once war was over, rivalry between East & West quickly reemerged (Cold War)

B. Fate of Eastern Europe

1. Soviets now controlled most of it. a. Bulgaria, Romania, & Hungary surrendered

to Soviets when they were invaded. b. Soviets drove Nazis from Poland & Czech.2. Stalin promised free elections; US skeptical.

C. Germany’s fate

1. Soviets wanted a weak Germany.2. Britain & US wanted a strong economic Germany & a healthy democracy.

D. Shift in balance of power

1. Western Europe was no longer the leader in world affairs.2. United States and USSR emerged as the world’s two superpowers.

XII. The Postwar World

A. Nationalism became a major force throughout the world.

1. Colonies ruled by European nations demanded independence.

2. India had been promised greater freedom from Britain reward for fighting in the war.

3. French Indochina was determined to resist European rule; nationalists there had fought against the Japanese.

B. Social changes

1. African-Americans gained job opportunities. -- Hopes were raised that further action against racial discrimination would occur.

2. Some women saw a future of wider opportunity after the war, while many returned to the home.

3. Shift in population to the “sunbelt.”

C. Technology

1. Synthetic materials (plastics, etc..) were developed to replace natural ones in short supply.

2. Improvement in airplanes & radar changed war.

3. A-bomb changed the course of human history; the years after 1945 were called the “Atomic Age.”