Transcript Chapter 35
The Allies Trade Space For Time After Pearl Harbor, the free world was on the edge of disaster Japan running amok in Pacific and Germany might drive England to the wall before US aid could stem the tide. ABC-1 agreement Why is stopping Hitler a bigger priority?. Plan: Devote enough energy to Japan to keep them from getting any more and begin to try to drive them back, but make Europe the first priority. This strategy criticized by public, pacific commanders, China and fareast allies, but was sound. Revving the Economic Engine US had massive economic potential, but needed time to get geared up. Wasn’t clear that had time. England in desperate shape. America needed to time to convert factories to all-out war production. Fear that skilled German scientists would come up with dramatic new weapons. Had to feed and arm itself and allies. The Shock Of War National unity wasn’t a problem—Pearl Harbor had silenced isolationists. US communists and socialists fully backed the war. Why? No government witch hunts against American Germans or most Japanese-Americans. Why? Exception: West-Coast Japanese, 110,000 interned in concentration camps. Why? Most interned were well integrated into US Lost millions in earnings and property. Upheld by Supreme Court in Korematsu v. U.S. Apologize in 1988 and pay reparations. Building The War Machine War snapped US out of the depression. Full employment. War Production Board. Henry J. Kaiser -Ship-building king Rationing War production board halted manufacture of non-essential items War industries had first priority in transport and raw materials National speed limit and gas rationing. Food Rationing Farmers have bumper crops and boom time. US Propaganda During WWII Do Your Part Economic Bumps War caused Inflation. Why? WPB response. Unions gave no-strike pledge, but hated wage caps and some staged labor stoppages. Mine workers under John L. Lewis were the worst. Roosevelt took a tough stance. 1943 Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act Manpower Shortage 15 Million men served in WWII. 216,000 women served in military in one capacity or another WAACS (Army) , WAVES (Navy) Severe manpower shortage at home. Braceros. Rosie the Riveter 6 Million women took jobs outside the home; over half had never worked before. Rosie the Riveter. Effect on Women’s movement 2/3 left or lost their jobs after war. Wartime Migrations Reason for wartime migrations. Detroit and LA, Dallas 1.6 million blacks moved from the south. New race problems in northern cities. Blacks resent their treatment. FDR issues executive order prohibiting discrimination in defense industries Fair Employment Practices Commission. Blacks Demand Fairness Blacks adopt the Double V slogan. Military segregation NAACP membership shoots up and Congress for Racial Equality is established (CORE) Move north continues after the war. Creation of Sun Belt Economic Effect of War Americans at home suffered very little from the war, especially when contrasted to the Brits and Russians. War invigorated the US economy to an unprecedented level. GNP doubled from 1940 to 1945 and pay checks went way up. Disposable income more than doubled, but not much to spend on because all factories devoted to war. The war, even more than the New Deal, leads to the Big Government of the second half of the 20th Century. Federal Spending All the federal spending finally cures the depression. War cost $330 billion. Where did money come from? Forced US to borrow at unprecedented level and to raise taxes. Top tax brackets went as high as 90%. National debt goes from 49 Bill in 1941 to 259 Bill. in 1945. The Allied Halting Of Hitler Battle of North Atlantic German subs were sinking merchant ships faster than they could be built.. North Africa 9/42 Russia stalls the German steamroller on the outskirts of Stalingrad The North African Second Front Soviets are begging the allies to open second front. Allies recognize they need to. Stalin’s concerns and fears Allies concerns Americans are willing to make a cross-channel invasion in 1942 but Churchill and England’s high command are against this. British argue for an attack at the underbelly of Europe in the Mediterranean. Sicily Sicily invaded and falls 8/43. Mussolini is deposed soon thereafter and Italy unconditionally surrenders. Germans don’t leave and carry on fight in Italy Invasion of Italy 9/43 Allies invade toe of Italy and start fighting up the boot. Bogs down; amphibious invasion along the Western coast at Anzio. Is very slow going in Italy fighting through the mountains. Allies finally get Rome 2 days before D-Day. Do not finish in Italy until 5 days before German surrender. Italy Assessed Benefits: Does divert some German troops and provides us with air bases from which we can easily bomb Germany. Does open the Mediterranean to Allies greatly restricting Germans. Problems: Delayed the cross-channel invasion by many months, giving Soviets a chance to get further into Eastern Europe before the war ends. Increased Soviet suspicion Teheran Conference Late Nov. 1943 Purpose: Open a 2-front war on Germany First meeting of Roosevelt and Stalin Roosevelt attempts to placate Stalin Eisenhower’s D-day Invasion Of France Eisenhower is given command of D-day landing. June 6, 1944. Biggest sea-borne invasion in history. Land near Normandy. Five beaches. Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, Omaha Election of 1944 Election of 1944 comes at a bad time—the war is reaching its climax Republicans nominate Dewey, popular governor of New York. He is only 42 and is very liberal for a Republican. Platform? FDR is renominated as a matter of course. Roosevelt is in very poor health. VP, Henry Wallace, dumped and replaced by Truman. Why? Roosevelt relationship with Truman. Roosevelt Again FDR stays in the White House running the war for most of the election. Dewey position on New Deal Dewey position on war. Dewey is hurt by his VP candidate who has been a staunch isolationist. FDR wins by 3 Million votes and 432-99 in the Electoral College. Battle of the Bulge December 1944, Germany was wobbling. Dec. 16, 1944 Hitler unleashes a powerful all-out counteroffense in the snow-shrouded and foggy Ardennes forest. Battle of the Bulge. Allies are thrown back in disarray. German target is port of Antwerp. Goal? Battle of the Bulge Problem—Germans are very low on fuel and lack air support. Fought in the Ardennes Mountain range. 101st Airborne is surrounded but refuses to surrender at Bastogne. Constantly shelled, low supplies, no winter clothing. V-E Day March 1945 American Troops reach the Rheine April, 1945 just outside Berlin, US forces meet up with Soviets who have been driving in from the East. Discover the concentration camps. April 12, 1945, Roosevelt dies. Truman, who is totally out of the loop, is hastily sworn in. April 30, 1945, Hitler commits suicide as Berlin is falling around him. May 7, 1945, Germany surrenders unconditionally. Japan Dies Hard American subs devastate Japan’s merchant fleet. Massive fire-bomb raids of Japanese cities. March, 1945, destroy ¼ of Tokyo and killed over 80,000. As devastating as later Nuclear attacks. MacArthur recaptures New Guinea. Atomic Warfare Invasion of Japan is assumed will cost America thousands of casualties. Japan is sending out peace-feelers, but does not appear willing to surrender unconditionally. Potsdam conference July 1945 Allies agree again to unconditional surrender. Japan wants to keep the emperor. Manhattan project. Very secret. First atomic bomb in New Mexico July 1945. Nagasaki and Hiroshima—Japanese surrender. Hiroshima—70,000 instant deaths and 60,000 more over next months due to radiation. Soviets enter the war just after the first bomb and overrun Manchuria and Korea (hence North Korea) Japan surrenders August 10, 1945 Why Does Truman Use the Bomb? Avoid US casualties, but clear Japan would likely surrender before Invasion. To show Soviets what we have To prevent Soviets from being involved in Pacific longer and grabbing more territory and having a say in rebuilding of Japan. Probably most important