Transcript The US Gets Involved in WWII

The US Gets
Involved in
WWII
Was US involvement in World War II
inevitable?
• US wants to remain neutral (isolationist)
• Problem: Great Britain is alone in fighting
Hitler
Neutrality Acts
• Congress passed a
series of laws known as
the Neutrality Acts
– Purpose was to keep US
out of WWII
– Forbid US to trade with
warring nations
• 1939 Cash and Carry
– Great Britain could have
what they wanted if they
paid cash and came and
got the stuff
• Spring 1940
– Destroyers for Bases Deal
• US gave Great Britain war
ships
• Great Britain gave US naval
bases around the world
• December 1940
– Lend Lease Aid
• Gave Great Britain whatever
they needed
• Great Britain paid rent on
stuff or promised to give it
back after the war
Problems with Japan
• By 1940 Japan had
taken control of most
of the Pacific region
• Japan was
threatening Great
Britain’s colonies in
the Pacific
• US did not want Great
Britain to fight a two
front war
US Takes Action Against Japan
• US passes the Export
control Act
– Embargo against
Japan
– Would not trade steel
or oil with Japan
• Japan’s Reaction
– December 7, 1941 –
Bombed Pearl Harbor
Impact of “The Day That Will Live
in Infamy”
• 2,403 Americans killed in
surprise attack
• Almost all of Pacific Fleet
was destroyed
• December 8, US declares
war on Japan
• December 11th, Germany
and Italy declare war on
the US
The US Mobilizes for War
How did the War bring about change
and innovation on the home front?
Converting the Economy
• US Workers were twice as
productive as German
workers and five times as
productive as Japanese
workers
• US used cost – plus
contracts to guarantee
profits for industry
• Auto industry produced 1/3
of all military goods
• War Production Board
allocated materials to
industry
Building an Army
• Selective Service Act
– June 1940
– 1st peacetime draft in
American history
• Military faced
equipment shortages
at home
• Not very well trained
• American Soldiers
earn the name
“G.I.s”
African American Soldiers
• Pushed for the
“Double V”
– Victory over Hitler’s
racism and Racism
at home
• Tuskegee Airmen
– Broke Many
Stereotypes
Women in the
Military
• Barred from
Combat
• Enlistment Slogan
– “Release a man for
Combat”
Women on the Homefront
• Filled factory jobs
• Did “Men’s Work”
• Permanently changed
their role in the
workforce
Other Americans
• Bracero Program
– Over 200,000 Mexican farm workers came to
America to help supply troops with food
• Native Americans
– Marines used Navajo Indians as “Code
Talkers”
Japanese American Internment
Camps
• Removed all Japanese from
their homes on the west
coast
• Placed in internment camps
for the duration of WWII
• Fear of spies
• Korematsu vs US –
Internment was legal based
on military urgency
• 1988 - $20,000 give to each
survivor from the
Governemnt
Daily Life during the War
• Federal Government enforced rationing
– Used blue and red points
– Coupons for goods
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People planted Victory Gardens
Government organized scrap drives
Sold bonds to help pay for the war
People did what they could to win the
war!!!