Transcript WWII - Cloudfront.net

WWII
America Emerges as a World
Power
Leading up to WWII
 Roosevelt’s good-neighbor policy
 U.S. pledge not to intervene in Latin America
 Isolationism during the 1930s
 The Nye Committee and Neutrality Act
 A committee in the United States Senate which studied the
causes of United States' involvement in World War I.
 From this data, it was concluded that the US entered the
war because it was in American commercial interest for
the United Kingdom not to lose.
 U.S. needed to avoid loans and treaties with others
 Looked to George Washington’s Farewell Address
for support
 "It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances
with any portion of the foreign world..."
Leading up to WWII
U.S. foreign policy changed from 1938 to 1941
from neutrality to support for Britain
The foreign policies of Japan and the U.S. were
chiefly in conflict over Japanese invasion of
China
Lend Lease Program
the United States provided critical aid to Great Britain
and the Soviet Union
Atlantic Charter (8/1941)
Set goals for postwar: self govt, no terr. changes,
free trade, freedom from fear and want
The War
 Swift ending of the Great Depression
 Decline in unemployment between
1940 and 1941
 The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
in 1941 is an illustration of the impact
a single event can have on public
opinion in a time of crisis
posters
Video Clip
Pearl Harbor (26 minutes)
Play Great Speeches---Dec. of War
Against Japan (7 min)
Did we know the attack was coming?
 The question is, "Did Franklin D Roosevelt know of but do
nothing to stop the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor because
he wanted the USA to enter the Second World War?"
 Here are some of the key issues that debate this statement:
Roosevelt desperately wanted the US to enter the war, he
states to William White, a close friend in 1939; "If Germany or
Russia win the war or force a peace favorable to them, the
situation of your civilization and mine is indeed in peril..."
 However he needed the US publics backing. He spent a total of
12 years in office, completed revolutionary new ideas (Fireside
Chats, New Deals) and introduced the first women ever to go to
a presidential cabinet (Francis Perkins). He knew he needed
the public support. A crisis like Pearl Harbor unites the nation in
an act of revenge and war.
Did we know the attack was coming?
 It is more likely however, that the information critically
needed to know of the Japanese attack slipped
through America's nets. Much information on Pearl
Harbor was found in the 'pending' boxes of
interception offices.
 Finally, it is impossible to tell if Franklin D Roosevelt
knew of the attacks. But, would he really want the
Pacific Fleet destroyed just to make a point?
 America had the POTENTIAL to discover the
Japanese attacks, however the poor system of sorting
information led to the crucial pieces being discarded.
And, FDR thought the attack would happen elsewhere
Although a terrible tragedy, the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor worked in Franklin D Roosevelts favor.
WWII
Main Allies
Great Britain and the Soviet Union
Main Strategies
unconditional surrender
an eventual second front by invading
Europe
victory in the European area first.
Island hopping in the Pacific Theater.
WWII—expansion of gov’t power
Increase in Civil Workers and agencies to
deal with the War.
From 1 mil in 1940 to 3.5 mil in 1945
Increases in the military.
From 1.5 million in 1940 to 15 million by 1945
The Home Front
Industry moved from civilian to war production
EX. Auto companies stopped making cars in 1942
and started making tanks, jeeps and planes
Office of Price Administration (rations)
Slogan---use it up, wear it out, make it do or do
without
Economic boom---wages doubled and
unemployment virtually disappeared
Fun Fact
National speed limit of 35 mph
was put into law to save gas
and tires
The Home Front
 Selling war bonds not only raised money for World
War II but also contributed to the national debt
 Increased employment for women
 Women
 work in factories.
• 1941 to 1945 6 mil women entered workforce for first
time. 33% were married
 establish themselves as a vital part of the
economy.
 participate in the war effort. 350k in military
 define a new role in society.
 Start to see themselves differently
Rosie
Rosie the Riveter
•Women manned
the factories
while the men
went off to fight.
•This helped lay
the foundation for
women’s rights in
the work world
and helped us win
the war…..
The Home Front
 Urban Migration
 Rural southerners, both black and white, moved north
(and west) to cities and war jobs.
Ex. 700,000 African-Americans left South for defense jobs
 From 4k to 40k in Seattle
 During the Great Depression and World War II,
Appalachian whites joined black workers in middle
western cities like Cincinnati and Detroit. Okies and
Arkies left their depressed cotton farms in Oklahoma
and Arkansas for new lives in Bakersfield and Los
Angeles.
league cartoon1
6 million to work in industry
Baceros, Mexican workers
brought to work in US
1.6 million Black families leave the
South
Speeded up the assimilation of
ethnic groups into American society.
Urban Migration
Not everyone happy with changes
Poor whites and African-Americans faced
discrimination
A-A faced race riots in some cities
Largest race riot in Detroit in 1943
25 blacks and 9 whites killed
The Home Front
 Hispanics in WWII
 Bracero program for farm workers
Developed by gov’t to get enough workers. Can legally come
to work and then need to leave
US farms became dependent on Hispanic farm workers and
often encouraged illegal immigration
 Zoot suit riot in 1943, Los Angeles
Years of tension between whites and Hispanics
100 people injured, riots lasted days
Sailors attacked Mexican-American teens, Sailor wounded.
Next day 50 sailors start attacking anyone wearing a zoot suit.
Zoot Suit Riots
The zoot suit was one part of the jazz world
that visually defied the norms of segregation.

Unwritten rules demanded that people of
color remain unseen and unheard in public
spaces, but the zoot suit, with broad
shoulders, narrow waist, and ballooned
pants, was loud and bold.
Zoot Suit riots
Zoot-suited young men (and some young
women) held themselves upright and walked
with a confident swagger that seemed to flow
from the very fashion itself.
This particular demographic, zoot-suited or not,
came to be singled out and associated with
criminality and gangsterism by Los Angeles
authorities. Racial profiling became rampant.
As the riots subsided, the governor ordered
the creation of a citizens' committee. Its
charge was to investigate and determine the
cause of the riots.
In 1943 the committee issued its report; it
determined racism to be a central cause of
the riots.
At the same time, Mayor Fletcher Bowron
came to his own conclusion. The riots, he
said, were caused by juvenile delinquents
and by white Southerners. Racial prejudice
was not a factor.
The “Pachuca,” the female counterpart of the
Pachuco, The Pachuca’s hairstyle tended to be a
high “coif” (a more pronounced version of the
typical hair style of the time), sometimes using hair
grease.
Zoot suit riots video—51 min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwINn5
DEL1c
The Home Front
Marriages and births up
Divorces up
1940: 16 per 100
1945: 27 per 100
High school enrollment dropped as teens went
to work in factories
Juvenile delinquency increased 5X
Society began to fear ‘breakdown in societal values”
Fun Fact
Divorce rates in 2009:
Divorce rate in America for first marriage: 48%
 Divorce rate in America for second marriage: 67%
Divorce rate in America for third marriage: 74%
Americans are very optimistic about
marriage…they’ll keep trying until they get it
right!
The Home Front
25k Native Americans served in WWII
Some Navajos served as “Code Talkers”
Japanese never broke Navajo code
Many Native Americans left reservations
for the first time to work in defense plants
Fun Quote
 Toward the close of the New Deal, a number of the
nation's leading specialists on urban growth summed
up the promise of urban America in a report called Our
Cities: Their Role in the National Economy (1937).
 "The city has seemed at times the despair of
America," it said, "but at others to be the Nation's
hope, the battleground of democracy. … The faults of
our cities are not those of decadence and impending
decline, but of exuberant vitality crowding its way
forward under tremendous pressure—the flood rather
than the drought."
Uniting the country
All members of society were encouraged to
mobilized for war
Children—collect scraps, indoctrination by cartoons
Tin can colonels or Uncle Sam Scrappers
Women---into the labor force, Victory gardens, USO,
entering the military
Men---volunteering, draft, air raid wardens
Bonds---everyone was encourage to purchase
Rationing of food and supplies
The Four Freedoms
 Goals articulated by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 6,
1941. In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech (technically the
1941 State of the Union address), he proposed four fundamental freedoms
that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy:
Freedom of speech and expression
Freedom of religion
Freedom from want
Freedom from fear
 His inclusion of the latter two freedoms went beyond the traditional US
Constitutional values protected by its First Amendment, and endorsed a right
to economic security and an internationalist view of foreign policy that have
come to be central tenets of modern American liberalism.
 They also anticipated what would become known decades later as the
"human security" paradigm in social science and economic development.
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Video—play all
 WWII cartoons by Disney
Education for death (10 min), for adults
Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips, 1944 (8 min), for kids
Commando Duck
The Spirit of ’43
Der Fuhrers face
Out of the frying pan and into the firing line
Discussion
 Justify how each cartoon tried to make
American citizens support the war effort.
 Explain 2 – 3 examples of exaggeration used
in each cartoon that would have convinced
the American public to support the war effort.
 Rank the order what you think was the most
effective cartoons in getting the American
public to “buy” into the war effort
Civil Liberties and FDR
 Franklin D. Roosevelt had conflicting record.
 In 1936, he secretly authorized FBI chief J. Edgar
Hoover to investigate suspected fascists and
communists, a task that Hoover undertook with relish.
 In 1940, Roosevelt signed into law the Smith Act,
which required resident aliens to register with the
federal government; streamlined procedures for
deportation of any deemed undesirable; and made it
illegal for any person to “advocate, abet, teach the
duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of
overthrowing any government in the United States by
force.”
Civil liberties and FDR
Once the war began, Roosevelt pressured
attorney general, Francis Biddle, to go after
elements of the dissident press that were
attacking him, asking, “When are you going to
indict the seditionists?”
Shortly thereafter, arrests of the “seditionists”
began.
Civil Liberties and FDR
 During the Holocaust, anti-Semitism was a factor that
limited American Jewish action during the war, and put
American Jews in a difficult position.
 In America, anti-Semitism, which reached high levels
in the late 1930’s, continued to rise in the 1940’s.
 During the years before Pearl Harbor, over a hundred
anti-Semitic organizations were responsible for
pumping hate propaganda throughout the American
public.
 The military was rife with anti-semitism, Jewish
refugees were rejected and even Congress allowed
anti-Semitic speech (John Rankin)
Civil liberties and FDR
 A. Phillip Randolph--African-American labor leader demanded
equal employment opportunities for blacks during World War
 Executive Order No. 8802 required defense industries to make
jobs available without discrimination based on race, creed,
color, or national origin.
 President FDR authorized the internment with Executive Order
9066 on February 19, 1942, which allowed local military
commanders to designate "military areas" as "exclusion zones,"
from which "any or all persons may be excluded."
 Korematsu v. U.S. the Supreme Court upheld the government’s
practice of placing Japanese Americans in internment camps
After Pearl Harbor Americans of
Japanese decent were targeted and felt
compelled to put up signs
Amache Camp, Colorado
Manzanar, California
Executive 9066
Executive 9066
Play Video
Japanese-American relocation
propaganda 10 min
Internment Camps
During the spring and summer of 1942, the
United States Government carried out, the
movement of 110,000 people of Japanese
descent from their homes in an area bordering
the Pacific coast into 10 wartime communities
constructed in remote areas between the
Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Mississippi
River.
People lost virtually all of their possessions
when they had to move to the camps
Internment Camps
At first the gov’t just asked people to move from
the coasts
Only 8K did (no money, no desire, no place to
go)
So, the gov’t, through the WRA (war relocation
authority), decided to move people to
‘relocation centers.’
2/3 of all people who entered were American
born
Never a proven case of a Japanese-American
spy
Official gov’t idea about interment camps
 “The relocation centers, however, are NOT and ever were
intended to be internment camps or places of confinement.
They were established for two primary purposes: (1) To
provide communities where evacuees might live and
contribute, through their work, to their own support
pending their gradual reabsorption into private
employment and normal American life; and (2) to serve as
wartime homes for those evacuees who might be unable or
unfit to relocate in ordinary American communities. Under
regulations adopted in September of 1942, the War
Relocation Authority is now working toward a steady
depopulation of the centers by urging all able-bodied
residents with good records of behavior to reenter private
employment in agriculture or industry.”
Interment camps
In 1988 Pres. Reagan signed legislation which
apologized for the internment on behalf of the
U.S. government.
The legislation stated that government actions
were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria,
and a failure of political leadership".
Over $1.6 billion in reparations were later
disbursed by the U.S. government to Japanese
Americans who had either suffered internment
or were heirs of those who had suffered
internment. 20k each
Crew that dropped “little boy”
Fat Man
Hiroshima cloud after “little boy” was dropped
“Fat man” mushroom cloud over Nagasaki
The energy released was powerful enough to burn
through clothing. The dark portions of the
garments this victim wore at the time of the blast
were emblazoned on to the flesh as scars.
Before the bomb
After the bomb
Two Hiroshimas—70K died that day. 200k by 1950
Only surviving building closest to blast--now a peace memorial
The Atomic Bomb
 Consequences of Truman’s decision to use
the atomic bomb against Japan
 the surrender of Japan
 the end of WWII
 destruction of two Japanese cities
 the deaths of thousands of civilians
A-Bomb lesson---what would you do?
 My Japan—play video
 Read decision to drop the Bomb documents
 Trinity and Beyond—play videos
 Trinity test
 Hiroshima and Nagasaki
 Bomb Discussion
 Should we have dropped the bomb?
The following are documents that involve the United States
decision to drop the atomic bomb on the Japanese. Read and
analyze them and try to understand why the United States did it,
as well as where we did it.
Doc A
The following selection is a pamphlet dropped over major cities in Japan prior to the
dropping of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
To the Japanese People:
America asks that you take immediate heed of what we say on this leaflet.
We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man. A
single one of our newly developed atomic bombs is actually the equivalent in
explosive power to what 2000 of our giant B-29’s can carry on a single mission. This
awful fact is one for you to ponder and we solemnly assure you it is grimly accurate.
We have just begun to use this weapon against your homeland. If you still have any
doubt, make inquiry as to what happened to Hiroshima when just one atomic bomb
fell on that city.
Before using this bomb to destroy every resource of the military by which they are
prolonging this useless war, we ask that you new petition the emperor to end the war.
Our president has outlined for you the thirteen consequences of an honorable
surrender: We urge that you accept these consequences and begin the work of
building a new, better, and peace-loving Japan.
You should take steps now to cease military resistance. Otherwise, we shall
resolutely employ this bomb and all our other superior weapons to promptly and
forcefully end the war. EVACUATE YOUR CITIES
 Doc B

This selection is a memo given to General Leslie Groves including a summary from the
target selection committee.
 6. Status of Targets
 A. Dr. Stearns described the work he had done on target selection. He has surveyed possible
targets possessing the following qualifications: (1) they be important targets in a large urban
area of more than three miles diameter, (2) they be capable of being damaged effectively by a
blast, and (3) they are likely to be unattacked by next August. Dr. Stearns had a list of five
targets which the Air Forces would be willing to reserve for our use unless unforeseen
circumstances arise. These targets are:
 (1) Kyoto - This target is an urban industrial area with a population of 1,000,000. It is the former
capital of Japan and many people and industries are now being moved there as other areas are
being destroyed. From the psychological point of view there is the advantage that Kyoto is an
intellectual center for Japan and the people there are more apt to appreciate the significance of
such a weapon as the gadget. (Classified as an AA Target)
 (2) Hiroshima - This is an important army depot and port of embarkation in the middle of an
urban industrial area. It is a good radar target and it is such a size that a large part of the city
could be extensevely damaged. There are adjacent hills which are likely to produce a focusing
effect which would considerably increase the blast damage. Due to rivers it is not a good
incendiary target. (Classified as an AA Target)
 (6) The possibility of bombing the Emperor’s palace was discussed. It was agreed that we
should not recommend it but that any action for this bombing should come from authorities on
military policy. It was agreed that we should obtain information from which we could determine
the effectiveness of our weapon against this target.
 B. It was the recommendation of those present at the meeting that the first four choices of
targets for our weapon should be the following:

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Kyoto
Hiroshima
Yokohama
Kokura Arsenal
 Doc C

President Truman recorded in his diary on July 25, 1945, that he had
approved the use of an atomic bomb on Japan. Truman hoped that the bomb
would be dropped on a “purely military” target, so that “military objectives and
soldiers and sailors [would be] the target and not women and children.”

We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It
may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley era, after Noah
and his fabulous ark.

Anyway we “think” we have found the way to cause a disintegration of the
atom. An experiment in the New Mexico desert was startling- to put it mildly.
Thirteen pounds of the explosive caused the complete disintegration of a steel
tower 60 feet high, created a crater 6 feet deep and 1,200 feet in diameter,
knocked over a steel tower ½ mile away and knocked men down 10,000 yards
away. The explosion was visible for more than 200 miles and audible for 40
miles and more.

This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10th. I
have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and
soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children. Even if the Japs
are savages, ruthless, merciless, and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for
the common welfare cannot drop that terrible bomb on the old capital or the new.

He and I are in accord. The target will be a purely military one and we will
issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender and save lives. I’m sure
they will not do that, but we will have given them the chance. It is certainly a
good thing for the world that Hitler’s crowd or Stalin’s did not discover this atomic
bomb. It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made
the most useful…
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Doc D
The following selection is Truman’s public announcement on August 6, 1945, of the dropping of the atomic bomb. His
comments were directed as much to the political and military leaders in Japan as they were to the American public.
Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese army base. That
bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British “Grand
Slam,” which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare.
The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold. With this bomb we have
now added a new revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces. In their present
forms these bombs are now in production and even more powerful forms are in development. It is an atomic bomb. It is a
harnessing of the basic power of the universe.
The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East. Before
1939, it was the accepted belief of scientists that it was theoretically possible to release atomic energy. But no one knew any
practical method of doing it. By 1942, however, we knew that the Germans were working feverishly to find a way to add atomic
energy to the other engines of war which they hoped to enslave the world. But they failed…The battle of the laboratories held
fateful risks for us as well as the battles of the air, and seas, and we have now won the battle of the laboratories as we have
won the other battles…
With American and British scientists working together we entered the race of discovery against the Germans. The
United States had available the large number of scientists of distinction in the many needed areas of knowledge. It had the
tremendous industrial and financial resources necessary for the project and they could be devoted to it without undue
impairment of other vital war work. In the United States the laboratory work and the production plants, on which a substantial
start had already been made, it would be out of reach of enemy bombing, while at that time Britain was exposed to constant air
attack and was still threatened with the possibility of invasion.
For these reasons Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt agreed that it was wise to carry on the project
here. We now have two great plants and many lesser works devoted to the production of atomic power. Employment during
peak construction numbered 125,000 and over 65,000 individuals are even now engaged in operating the plants. Many have
worked there for two and a half years. Few know what they have been producing…
What has been done is the greatest achievement of organized science in history. It was done under high pressure and
without failure. We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have
above ground in any city. We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistakes; we
shall completely destroy Japan’s power to make war.
It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July 26 was issued at Potsdam. Their
leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. If they do now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of
which has never been seen on this earth. Behind this air attack will follow sea and land forces in such numbers and power as
they have not yet seen and with the fighting skill of which they are already well aware…
The fact that we can release atomic energy ushers in a new era in man’s understanding of nature’s forces. Atomic
energy may in the future supplement the power that now comes from coal, oil, and falling water, but at present it cannot be
produced on a basis to compete with them commercially. Before that comes, there must be a long period of intensive
research…
I shall recommend that the Congress of the United States consider promptly the establishment of an appropriate
commission to control the production and use of atomic power within the United States. I shall give further consideration and
make further recommendations to the Congress as to how atomic power can become a powerful and forceful influence toward
the maintenance of world peace.
Alternative Video
10 days that changed America---Einstein’s
letter
For and against
 Supporters of the bombings generally assert that they
caused the Japanese surrender, preventing massive
casualties on both sides in the planned invasion of
Japan: Kyushu was to be invaded in October 1945
and Honshu five months later. Some estimate Allied
forces would have suffered 1 million casualties in such
a scenario, while Japanese casualties would have
been in the millions.
 Others who oppose the bombings argue that it was
simply an extension of the already fierce conventional
bombing campaign and, therefore, militarily
unnecessary, inherently immoral, a war crime, or a
form of state terrorism
The atomic bomb was more than a
weapon of terrible destruction; it was
a psychological weapon.”
Former U.S. Secretary of War Henry
L. Stimson, 1947
WWII Meetings/Conferences
 Atlantic Charter
 1941 statement that declared that both
nations would support self-determination,
freedom of the seas, joint disarmament, and
territorial integrity for all after World War II
ended.
 Yalta (Feb. 4-11, 1945)
 Hold free elections in the countries of
Eastern Europe
 The Soviet Union agreed to enter the war
against Japan once Germany was defeated.
Fun Fact
Yalta Conference was also called the
Crimea Conference and codenamed the
Argonaut Conference
What’s an argonaut = a band of heroes!
We Win….or do we?