Transcript The World at War (cont`d)

Out of Many
A History of the American People
Seventh Edition Brief Sixth Edition
Chapter
25
World War II
1941-1945
Out of Many: A History of the American People, Brief Sixth Edition
John Mack Faragher • Mari Jo Buhle • Daniel Czitrom • Susan H. Armitage
Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
World War II
1941-1945
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The Coming of World War II
The Great Arsenal of Democracy
The Home Front
Men and Women in Uniform
The World at War
The Last Stages of War
Conclusion
Chapter Focus Questions
• What steps did Roosevelt take in the late
1930s to prepare the United States for
war?
• How did the government marshal the
nation’s resources to fight the war?
• What major changes occurred in American
society as a consequence of wartime
mobilization?
Chapter Focus Questions (cont’d)
• What role did women play in the armed
forces during World War II?
• What were the main elements of the Allied
war strategy?
• What were the factors behind the decision
to deploy the atomic bomb against Japan?
North America and Los Alamos
Los Alamos, New Mexico
• The Manhattan Project
 a community of scientists whose mission was
to build the atomic bomb
 The scientists and their families lived in the
remote, isolated community of Los Alamos.
 They formed a close-knit community, united
by antagonism toward the army and secrecy
from the outside world.
 Led by J. Robert Oppenheimer
The Coming of World War II
This photograph shows the explosion of the
USS Shaw
The Coming of World War II
• The depression helped undermine an
already shaky world political as unrest
spread across Europe and Asia,
international trade dropped by as much as
two-thirds, and unemployment rose. As
militaristic regimes sprang up to threaten
the peace, FDR had no clear foreign policy
plans, while most Americans opposed
foreign entanglements.
The Coming of World War II
(cont’d)
• Yet the U.S. would discover it would have
no choice in being pulled into war.
The Shadows of War Across the
Globe
• Militaristic authoritarian regimes that had
emerged in Japan, Italy, and Germany
threatened peace throughout the world.
 Japan took over Manchuria and then invaded
China.
 Italy made Ethiopia a colony.
 German aggression against Czechoslovakia
threatened to force Britain and France into
the war.
The Shadows of War Across the
Globe (cont'd)
• Kristallnacht signaled Nazi policy toward
Jews.
Roosevelt Readies for War
• By the mid-1930s many Americans had
concluded that entry into WWI and an
active foreign role for the United States
had been a serious mistake.
• College students protested against the
war.
• Congress passed the Neutrality Acts to
limit the sale of munitions to warring
countries.
Roosevelt Readies for War (cont'd)
• FDR promoted military preparedness,
despite little national support.
Roosevelt Readies for War (cont’d)
• The combined German-Soviet invasion of
Poland plunged Europe into war.
• German blitzkrieg techniques quickly led
to takeovers of Denmark, Norway, and
later Belgium and France.
• As the Nazi air force pounded Britain, FDR
pushed for increased military
expenditures.
Roosevelt Readies for War (cont’d)
• In 1940 FDR was reelected with a pledge
to keep out of war he knew he would not
be able to keep.
• In August 1941, FDR met with British
Prime Minister Winston Churchill and
drafted the Atlantic Charter—a statement
of war aims.
• In June 1941 Germany invaded Russia,
bringing the Soviets into the Allied camp.
Roosevelt Readies for War (cont'd)
• Armed American Atlantic convoys had
orders to attack U-boats on sight.
Pearl Harbor
• The Japanese threatened to seize
Europe’s Asian colonies.
• Pacific Fleet transferred to Pearl Harbor in
anticipation of conflict.
• After Japan seized Indochina, FDR cut off
trade.
• Decoded Japanese cables made hostile
intentions clear, but not the target of
attack.
Pearl Harbor (cont'd)
• Japan attacked on Pearl Harbor on
12/7/41.
• The United States declared war on Japan.
• Germany and Italy declared war on the
U.S.
Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of
Congress
The Great Arsenal of Democracy
A woman is shown riveting the wing of an
airplane
The Great Arsenal of Democracy
• By the time the United States entered
World War II, the U.S. economy had
already been re-geared for military
purposes. In a 1940 “fireside chat,”
Roosevelt called upon all Americans to
make the nation a “great arsenal of
democracy.”
The Great Arsenal of Democracy
(cont’d)
• Once the United States entered World War
II, the federal government poured an
unprecedented amount of energy and
money into wartime production and
assigned a huge army of experts to
manage it.
• The Great Depression suddenly ended.
Mobilizing for War
• Congress and FDR created laws and new
agencies to promote mobilization.
• The Office of War Information controlled
war news and promoted morale at home.
• War bonds were used to promote support
as well as raise funds.
• As mobilization proceeded, New Deal
agencies vanished, but the government
grew to unprecedented size.
Organizing the War Economy
• The industrial capacity of the United
States was the decisive factor in the war.
• Civilian firms were converted to war
purposes and American industries were
primed for all-out production.
• An unprecedented economic boom pulled
the country out of the depression.
Organizing the War Economy
(cont'd)
• The largest firms, especially those in the
West and South, received large shares of
wartime contracts.
Organizing the War Economy
(cont’d)
• The war increased farm profits, but
thousands of small farms disappeared and
millions migrated from rural area to
booming war industry cities in the South
and Southwest.
New Workers
• The demand for labor brought Mexicans,
Indians, African Americans, and women
into the industrial labor force.
• The entry of these new female workers
broke down many stereotypes.
• Workers’ wages went up, but not as fast
as profits or prices.
New Workers (cont’d)
• Prior to American entry, militant unions
had led a number of strikes.
• Once the United States entered the war,
the major unions agreed to no-strike
pledges.
• African-American union membership
doubled.
• Some illegal strikes did break out, leading
to federal antistrike legislation.
TABLE 25.1
The Home Front
The Home Front
• Although battle did not touch the U.S.
directly, the war still affected American
society. Alongside an upsurge of patriotism
ran deep conflicts on the home front.
Families were disrupted and racial and
ethnic hostilities flared repeatedly and on
several occasions erupted in violence.
These young couples helped the marriage rate
skyrocket
Families in Wartime
• Marriage rates rose.
• Shortages of housing and retail goods
• With one-parent households increasing,
child-care issues arose.
 Some day-care assistance was available,
though it scarcely met people’s needs.
Families in Wartime (cont'd)
• The rise in unsupervised youths created
problems with juvenile crime. The
availability of jobs led to higher high school
dropout rates.
• Public health improved greatly during the
war.
•
Families in Wartime (cont'd)
• In what ways does Rockwell’s painting
convey ideals related to gender roles
during the war?
Norman Rockwell’s “Rosie, the Riveter”
The Internment of Japanese
Americans
• Doubt of the loyalty of Japanese
American, prompted FDR Executive Order
9066 in February 1942.
• More than 112,000 Japanese were
removed from their homes in the West to
relocation centers, often enduring harsh
living conditions.
The Internment of Japanese
Americans (cont'd)
• The Supreme Court upheld the policy,
though in 1988 the U.S. Congress voted
for reparations and public apologies.
Young boys waiting in the baggage-inspection line
“Double V”: Victory at Home and
Abroad
• African-American activists launched a
“Double V” campaign calling for victory
overseas and equal rights at home.
• FDR responded to a threatened march on
Washington by banning racial
discrimination in defense industries.
• New civil rights organizations emerged
while older ones grew.
“Double V”: Victory at Home and
Abroad (cont’d)
• More than 1 million blacks left the South to
take jobs in war industries.
• They often encountered violent resistance
from local whites.
• In 1943, riots broke out in Detroit and
many other cities.
“Double V”: Victory at Home and
Abroad (cont'd)
• The depiction of the contradictions
between the principles of liberty and
justice, for which Americans were fighting
abroad, and the reality of racial prejudice
at home.
This painting is by Horace Pippin
Zoot-Suit Riots
• Whites’ bitter resentment against Mexican
Americans exploded in 1943.
• The zoot-suit riots erupted when whites
concluded that Mexican youths who wore
the flamboyant clothes were unpatriotic.
• Most Mexican Americans served in the
military or worked in war industries.
Popular Culture and the “Good
War”
• Movies, radio and reading all became
more popular during the war.
• Popular culture seemed to bridge the
racial divisions.
• Southerners moving to northern cities
brought musical styles and changed the
sound of popular culture.
Popular Culture and the “Good
War” (cont'd)
• Popular entertainment, whether in film or
comic books, emphasized the wartime
spirit.
• Fashion adapted to the war with shorter
skirts and nylon stockings.
Men and Women in Uniform
New recruits to the Women’s Army Corps (WAC)
pick up their clothing
Men and Women in Uniform
• World War II mobilized 16.4 million
Americans into the armed forces. Whether
working in the steno pool at Great Lakes
Naval Training Center in northern Illinois or
slogging through mud with rifle in hand in
the Philippines, many men and women
saw their lives reshaped in unpredictable
ways.
Men and Women in Uniform (cont’d)
• For those who survived, the war often
proved to be the defining experience of
their lives.
Creating the Armed Forces
• Before U.S. entry to war, the government
had begun a draft.
 Many draftees were medically unfit or
illiterate.
 Conscientious objectors were assigned noncombat service
Creating the Armed Forces (cont'd)
• The officer corps, except for General
Eisenhower, tended to be professional,
conservative, and autocratic.
 Junior officers were trained in special military
schools and developed close ties with their
troops.
Women Enter the Military
• For the first time, the War Department
created women’s divisions of the major
services: WACs and WAVES and pilot and
Marine reserves.
• Most women stayed in the country and
performed clerical or health-related duties.
Some flew planes and others went into
combat with the troops.
Women Enter the Military (cont'd)
• The military closely monitored sexual
activity.
Old Practices and New Horizons
• Despite suspicions of the military’s racism,
1 million African Americans served in the
armed forces, encountering segregation.
• Army eventually used blacks in combat
and organized the Tuskegee Airmen.
• Japanese Americans fought heroically in
Europe.
Old Practices and New Horizons
(cont'd)
• Many racial or ethnic minorities,
homosexuals also served finding their
experience made them feel more included
in American society.
Kirk operating a portable radio unit in a jungle
clearing near the front lines
The Medical Corps
• The risk of injury was much higher than
that of getting killed in battle.
• Improved surgical techniques, new
medicines and blood transfusions saved
many who would have died in earlier wars.
• Battle fatigue also was a problem, forcing
the Army to adopt a troop rotation system.
The Medical Corps (cont’d)
• The Army depended on a variety of
medical personnel to care for sick and
wounded soldiers.
• Nursing emerged as a military specialty
with rank and pay.
• The true heroes of the battlefront were the
medics attached to each infantry battalion.
The World at War
Bombers launched a devastating attack on
Dresden The city was left in ruins.
The World at War (cont’d)
• Through 1942, Hitler’s forces controlled
Europe, pounding England and driving
deep into Russia and across northern
Africa to take the Suez Canal.
The World at War (cont’d)
• Things were little better in the Pacific,
where Japanese planes struck the main
U.S. base in the Philippines and
demolished half the air force commanded
by General Douglas MacArthur forcing him
to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula,
admitting that Japan had practically seized
the Pacific.
The World at War (cont’d)
• Roosevelt called the news “all bad,” and
his military advisers predicted a long fight
to victory (see Map 25.1).
The World at War (cont’d)
• Despite Axis success, the Allies enjoyed
several important advantages: vast natural
resources and a skilled workforce with
sufficient reserves to accelerate the
production of weapons and ammunitions;
the determination of millions of antifascists
throughout Europe and Asia; and the
capacity of the Soviet Union to endure
immense losses.
MAP 25.1 The War in Europe
Soviets Halt Nazi Drive
• First year for U.S., FDR called the war
news “all bad.” The burden of fighting the
Nazis fell to the Soviets who blocked the
German advance on Moscow.
• New weapons—automatic weapons,
tanks, artillery and aircraft—made war
deadlier but better communications
improved command.
Soviets Halt Nazi Drive (cont'd)
• The Soviets broke the siege of Stalingrad
in February 1943 and began to push the
Germans back.
Planning and Initiating the Allied
Offensive
• 1942: German and Japanese momentum
faded
• Soviets appealed for the Allies to open up
a “second front” in western Europe, but
they instead attacked North Africa and
Italy.
• Churchill and FDR in Casablanca
 unconditional German surrender
Planning and Initiating the Allied
Offensive (cont’d)
• U.S. and British planes bombed German
cities
 weakened the economy
 undermined civilian morale
 crippled the German air force
The Allied Invasion of Europe
• The Allied invasion forced Italy out of the
war, though German troops stalled Allied
advances.
• By early 1944, Allied units were preparing
for the D-Day assault on France.
• Under Eisenhower’s command, more than
a million men landed in Normandy after
June 6.
The Allied Invasion of Europe
(cont'd)
• Paris was taken on August 25, 1944.
France and other occupied countries fell
as Allied units overran the Germans.
Troop ships ferried Allied soldiers from England
to Normandy beaches
The High Cost of European Victory
• The Battle of the Bulge temporarily halted
the Allied advance.
• After Christmas Day 1944, the Germans
retreated back into their own territory.
• In March 1945 an intact bridge across the
Rhine gave the Allies a route into the heart
of Germany.
• In the East, the Soviets drove through
Poland and besieged Berlin by April.
MAP 25.2 War in the Pacific
The War in Asia and the Pacific
• Japanese hindered by June 1942 in
Pacific.
 Naval battles and island hopping brought
U.S. forces closer to the Japanese home
islands.
 Victories in the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and
Okinawa enabled the Allies to bomb
Japanese cities but at a high cost for both
sides.
The War in Asia and the Pacific
(cont'd)
• Japanese hindered by June 1942 in
Pacific.
 Britain and the United States pressed for
rapid surrender to prevent the Soviets from
taking any Japanese-held territories.
The Last Stages of War
Belsen Camp: The Compound for Women,
painted by American artist Leslie Cole
The Last Stages of War
• Until mid-1943, Roosevelt had focused on
military strategy rather than on plans for
peace. With the defeat of Germany in
sight, diplomatic objectives moved to the
forefront.
The Last Stages of War (cont’d)
• Roosevelt wanted both to crush the Axis
powers and to establish a system of
collective security to prevent another world
war. He knew he could not succeed
without the cooperation of the other key
leaders, Stalin and Churchill.
The Last Stages of War (cont’d)
• During 1944 and 1945, the “Big Three”
met to hammer out the shape of the
postwar world, not realizing how quickly
the Grand Alliance would fall apart in the
face of these issues.
The Holocaust
• The horror of the Nazi’s systematic
extermination of Jews, Gypsies,
homosexuals, and other “inferior” races
was slow to enter American
consciousness.
• Although Jewish refugees pleaded for a
military strike to stop the killings, the War
Department vetoed any such plans.
The Holocaust (cont'd)
• Only after death camps were liberated in
April 1945 did Americans learn of the
extent of Nazi crimes.
The Yalta Conference
• In 1944 FDR was reelected to a 4th term.
Exhausted and ill, he still kept VP Truman
uninformed.
• Churchill, Stalin and FDR attempted to
hammer out the shape of the postwar
world.
• The ideals of the Atlantic Charter fell
before Soviet and British demands for
spheres of influence.
The Yalta Conference (cont'd)
• FDR continued to hold on to his idealism,
but his death in April cast a shadow over
hopes for peaceful solutions to global
problems.
The Atomic Bomb
• The new president, Harry S. Truman, had
little leadership experience and lacked
FDR’s finesse, but planned a get-tough
policy with the Soviet Union.
• At Potsdam, little progress was made on
planning the future.
• Informed of a successful test, Truman
decided to use nuclear weapons against
the Japanese.
The Atomic Bomb (cont’d)
• Hiroshima was destroyed on August 6 and
Nagasaki on August 9, forcing Japan to
surrender on August 14.
• Truman claimed the use of the bomb
would substantially shorten the war and
save American lives.
The Atomic Bomb (cont'd)
• Truman and his advisors also believed
atomic weapons would give them leverage
against the Soviets, who did not yet have
the bomb.
Conclusion
Conclusion
• World War II was made deadlier than
earlier wars by new weapons and tactics,
leading to massive military and civilian
deaths.
• Although America suffered about a million
casualties, by comparison with Soviet
losses and a worldwide toll of 40 to 50
million, the U.S. came out of the war
relatively unscathed.
Conclusion (cont’d)
• The war mobilized almost all Americans,
reinforced federal government power, and
forced the U.S. into world leadership.
• With peace and prosperity after the war,
Americans looked forward with confidence
and optimism into what would prove to be
an uncertain future.
Chronology