Transcript - Thomas C. Cario Middle School

A day that will live in Infamy
December
Th
7
1941
Pearl Harbor, the movie, clip of Peal Harbor attack, 2:48
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxIsVYdB0lA
World War II
8-6.5 Focus Question:
What impact did World War II
have on the state of
South Carolina?
By the late 1930’s, the American economy was
improving and the worst of the Great
Depression was over. But there was trouble in
other parts of the world….
Adolf Hitler, the Nazi dictator of Germany believed
that the Germans were the superior race. He set out
to conquer Europe and cleanse it.
Millions of Jews were sent to concentration
camps and more than 6 million were put to
death in gas chambers.
New arrivals at roll call in Buchenwald
When the war started in Europe in 1939,
Americans were determined to stay out of the
conflict. President Roosevelt sent ships and
supplies to help the Allied Powers- Great Britain,
France and Russia.
Hitler’s efforts
to take over
Europe and
exterminate the
Jewish people
drew the world
into World War
II.
On December 7, 1941, Japan
attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
Hundreds of U.S. aircraft, along with
several U.S. Navy battleships,
cruisers, and destroyers were
destroyed or damaged. More than
2400 Americans were killed and
another 1300 injured.
The next day, the United States declared war on
Japan and joined the Allied Powers.
FDR’s declaration of war 3 minute video clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VqQAf74fsE
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United
States was anxious to retaliate against the Japanese, whose
sneak attack had brought the United States out of
isolationism and into the war in Europe as well as the Pacific.
The U.S. Government was
drafting young men into the
armed services and
preparing for war. Many
South Carolinians served in
the armed forces. Many
others were not fit for
service. One third of young
white men and one half of
black men were either
illiterate or in such poor
health that they could not
serve. This was a startling
indication of the poverty of
South Carolina.
A group of bomber pilots under the leadership of
James Doolittle trained in Columbia at Fort Jackson to
engage in an air attack to be launched from aircraft
carriers on Tokyo. The attack helped to lift the morale
of Americans.
5 min. video clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6dvG8aBT0
1:36 video clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnNEuYIlEas
Military bases throughout South Carolina employed thousands
of civilians. Military camps that had been established during
World War I in South Carolina reopened to serve as training
bases for the thousands of young men drafted into the armed
services Camp Jackson in Columbia became Fort Jackson.
The Charleston Navy yards increased production of
destroyers. It produced more than 300 medium
and small-sized vessels. At least 70,000 South
Carolinians found employment in factories
producing war materials.
The economy of South Carolina and the United
States began to climb out of the Great
Depression as the result of government
spending on war preparations.
Segregation and economic oppression were daily
realities for black people in South Carolina.
President Roosevelt would sign an order to ban
discrimination in factories producing war goods.
Roles for women were changing at this time.
Demand for workers in South Carolina was so great
that factories began to employ women to perform
jobs once held by men alone. A woman’s place was
no longer to be just in the home.
African American pilots were trained at the air base at the
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Commanded by white officers,
the Tuskegee Airmen supported the allied invasion of Italy.
Then they were assigned to escort heavy bombers on raids
against strategic enemy targets. This air campaign was
directed at weakening Germany prior to the D-Day invasion.
Red tails clip 3 min. Tuskegee Airmen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph-Sl4jX124
Several of the Tuskegee airmen earned the Distinguished Flying
Cross and the airmen proved that African American pilots could
shoot down enemy aircraft as well as or better than white air
crews. African American soldiers served in segregated units
commanded by white officers in the fight for freedom. When they
returned to the states many were determined to fight to end
segregation.
Just as people did throughout the United States,
South Carolinians collected scrap metal and rubber
for the war effort. They used ration books to get their
share of the short supply of food and fuel and they
bought war bonds to fund the war effort.
There are two numbers on the shelves. One is the cost. The other is the number of ration
stamps needed to buy it.
At the home front, life
was characterized by war
bonds, collections for
relief agencies, rationing
and numerous recycling
drives. Items important
to the war effort, such
as, gasoline, lard, tires,
as well as food items like
coffee, tea, and sugar
were rationed.
When the war was over they had savings to use to
buy the automobiles and goods that were not
available during the war. When V-E Day and V-J Day
finally arrived, South Carolina and the United States
were poised to enter a period of prosperity.
The war finally ended in 1945. Historians estimate
that between 30 million and 60 million people were
killed during World War II.
Freedom is
not free