Transcript SSUSH19

SSUSH19
The student will identify the origins,
major developments, and the domestic
impact of World War II, especially the
growth of the federal government
19.a- Explain A. Philip Randolph’s proposed march on
Washington, D.C., and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s response
• A. Philip Randolph was the president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Porters, a major union for African-American railroad workers. Randolph
was outspoken about the discrimination facing Black labor during the wartime job boom, and the segregation of the armed forces. He proposed
organizing a protest march on Washington D.C.
• Roosevelt was uneasy about the political and social ramifications of a
protest during wartime and convinced Randolph to postpone the march by
issuing Executive Order 8802. The order prohibited racial discrimination
for workers in defense industries. To enforce the law, FDR created the Fair
Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) which ensured employers who
received federal defense contracts did not discriminate in the hiring
process.
• In the short term, the law gave African-Americans opportunities for highpaying defense jobs, but it is also considered one of the opening acts of
the Civil Rights movement, and an indication of the federal government’s
role in that process.
A. Philip Randolph
19.b- Explain the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the
internment of Japanese Americans, German Americans, and Italian
Americans
• The entry of the United States into WWII came on December 7,
1941, after the Japanese attack on the Pacific naval base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. With this surprise attack, the Japanese succeeded
in destroying much of the US pacific fleet, including numerous
battleships and hundreds of warplanes, and over 2500 sailors and
servicemen were killed.
• The war had already been raging in Europe for two years, but it
took this direct attack to snap the United States out of its official
neutrality. Roosevelt feared that he would still not be able to
intervene in Europe, but Germany, an ally of Japan also declared
war on the United States.
• The U.S. would now have to fight two wars- one against the
Japanese in the Pacific, and one against Germany and Italy in
Europe and North Africa.
Internment
• Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor widespread fear of
another surprise attack gripped the nation. Congressmen,
governors, and mayors across the country pushed for
preventative action, and FDR responded by creating a
series of internment camps for Japanese-Americans, as well
as recent immigrants from Germany and Italy.
• Thousands of American citizens were forced to live in these
camps during the war, often in substandard housing and
facing chronic supply shortages.
• Despite challenges in the courts, the camps operated until
early 1945, when it was clear that victory in both Europe
and Japan was in sight. In the 1980s President Reagan
officially apologized for the episode, and provided a
$20,000 reparations payment for surviving internees.
19.c- Explain major events; include the lend-lease program,
the Battle of Midway, D-Day, and the fall of Berlin
• When war erupted in Europe in September 1939, the
United States was prevented by the Neutrality Act from
supplying direct aid to the Allies. FDR was able to
overcome the restrictions of the Neutrality Act with
what was called the Lend-Lease program.
• The Neutrality Act prevented the sale of war materiel
to any combatant nation, but it did not prevent the
U.S. from letting nations “borrow” or “rent” military
supplies and equipment. With the lend-lease program
the United States was able to support Britain, the
USSR and China in their struggles against Germany and
Japan.
Battle of Midway
• In the Pacific theater, The Battle of Midway stands out
as a key turning point. Since Pearl Harbor, the Japanese
had been on the offensive, using its powerful navy to
expand the empire. After cracking the secret Japanese
naval code, the U.S. learned of a plan to attack Midway
Island, a U.S. possession west of Hawaii.
• The U.S. navy ambushed the Japanese fleet, sinking
four aircraft carriers. The Japanese navy never fully
recovered, remaining in defensive positions for most of
the rest of the war. Much more bloody fighting
remained, however, before the Japanese would be
subdued into surrender.
D-Day
• D-Day refers to the date of the landing of Allied troops on
Continental Europe, (June 6, 1944) along the beaches of
Normandy, France. The Germans had long anticipated an
Allied offensive and had fortified positions all along the
French coast.
• Over 7000 ships carrying 100,000 soldiers, along with over
20,000 paratroopers assaulted the German defenses at
Normandy.
• American forces at Omaha Beach suffered the highest
casualties (2500 dead or wounded), but by the end of the
day most of the Allied troops had gone ashore and secured
the beachhead. The invasion was a success and the process
of driving the Germans back across Europe could begin in
earnest.
Fall of Berlin
• As the Allied forces pushed the Germans back across
Europe from the west, the Soviets also began driving
the Germans back from Russia. By April 1945, Soviet
forces broke through the last major German defenses
some 35 miles from Berlin.
• American and British forces were also closing in on
Berlin from the west. Sensing the end was near, Hitler
committed suicide on 30 April, and as Berlin was
bombed to rubble, Germany surrendered
unconditionally on 7 May 1945. The next day was VE
Day (Victory in Europe).
19.d- Describe war mobilization, as indicated by rationing,
war-time conversion, and the role of women in war industries
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The soldiers and sailors fighting in Europe and the Pacific were not the only ones
to have their lives affected. WWII had a tremendous impact on the home front as
well. After Pearl Harbor, mobilizing for the war consumed the nation.
Prosecuting a two front war of this magnitude required every available resource
and a rationing system was quickly implemented to ensure the strength of the war
effort. Foodstuffs- flour, sugar, coffee, meat- were rationed nationwide with
coupons that tracked consumption. People were encouraged to grow “victory
gardens” to supplement food rations. Scrap metal and rubber drives were held
nationwide. Many women gave up hosiery because the silk was needed for
parachutes. Fuel was also strictly rationed.
In addition to rationing, most industry converted to war production. Automakers
like Ford and GM, for example, began producing planes and tanks instead of
sedans and coupes. Federally funded defense industries were everywhere and the
unemployment of the previous decade was a memory.
With so many men gone to fight, however, employers scrambled to find enough
workers. Women were encouraged to take war jobs- even in heavy industry.
Women all across the country were employed as metalworkers, shipbuilders,
welders, and the most famous icon of women workers in the war- Rosie the
Riveter.
19.e- Describe Los Alamos and the scientific, economic, and
military implications of developing the atomic bomb
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Los Alamos refers to the top secret government laboratory in New Mexico, where the first
atomic weapons were developed under the code name “Manhattan Project.” The project to build the
atomic bomb represented a momentous occasion for the collaboration between government and science.
Atomic weaponry had an obvious potential to end the war quickly, so FDR poured enormous resources to
the project. He died only months before a working bomb was completed- the first successful test was on
July 16, 1945.
Harry S. Truman, FDR’s vice president, was not even aware of the Manhattan project until after he was
sworn in. As president, he was faced with the decision over whether to unleash this incredibly powerful
and lethal force onto the world.
Although the war in Europe was over, the war against the Japanese was dragging on. Only the Japanese
mainland remained, but estimates of U.S. casualties using conventional land forces in an attack on the
Japanese mainland ranged to over 1 million men.
After some debate and division among the administration and the military’s top brass about the civilian
deaths that would be inevitable with such a weapon, Truman decided that the possibility to end the war
quickly outweighed the negative consequences. The first bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy,” was dropped on
Hiroshima, an industrial center in the heart of Japan, on August 6, 1945. Upwards of 100,000 people were
incinerated instantly- tens of thousands more died subsequently from radiation poisoning. Three days
later, another atomic device was detonated over Nagasaki. Faced with such terrible destruction, and the
prospect of Soviet intervention (the USSR had declared war on Japan that same day), the Japanese finally
agreed to unconditional surrender. On August 15, 1945 (V-J Day), the most destructive, costly, and deadly
war in the history of mankind was finally over.
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Harry S. Truman