Transcript Chpt 20 Part 1x

WORLD WAR II
1939 - 1945
(U.S. 1941-1945)
Chapter 20
The Impact Today
Many changes that began in World War II are
still shaping our lives today.
* The United Nations was founded.
* Nuclear weapons were invented.
* The United States became the most
powerful nation in the world.
Converting the Economy
• Industrial output during the war:
U.S.
Germany
• This turned the tide in favor of an Allied victory.
Japan
• How did the U.S.
produce so much?
• Cost-plus contracts the
government
guaranteed industries
a profit if they
would manufacture
what was needed for
the war.
American Industry Gets the Job Done
• After Pearl Harbor,
almost all major
American industries
converted to war
production.
• Example: automobile
factories turned to the
production of trucks,
jeeps, and tanks.
American industry
“re-tooled” and
converted from
peace-time
production to wartime production.
• Henry Ford created an assembly line for B-24
bombers.
• The War Production
Board (WPB) set
priorities and
production goals and
controlled the
distribution of raw
materials and supplies.
• Government and
industry cooperated
with each other.
Building an Army
• To win the war, the U.S. had
to build up its armed forces.
• The Selective Service and
Training Act created the
first peacetime draft in
American history.
• GIs, named after the initials on
their uniforms meaning
“Government Issue,” went
through basic training for eight
weeks.
• For most of the war, the U.S. military was
completely segregated.
• An African American newspaper, the Pittsburgh
Courier, launched the “Double V” campaign
stating that black Americans should join the war
because a
win would be a
double
victory over racism
abroad and at home.
• The army air force created the 99th Pursuit
Squadron, an African American unit.
• They were known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
•
Congress established
the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
(WAACs) in May
1942.
•
Each branch of the
Armed Forces set
up its own women’s
organization.
Holding the Line Against Japan
• After Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor, the
commander of the
United States Navy
in the Pacific, Admiral
Chester Nimitz, could
do little at first to stop
the advancing Japanese
into Southeast Asia.
• The commander of the
Americans and Filipinos
defending the Philippines,
Gen. Douglas MacArthur,
decided to take his badly
outnumbered troops and
retreat to the Bataan
Peninsula.
• Roosevelt ordered
MacArthur to evacuate
to Australia. Not wanting
to leave, MacArthur vowed,
“I shall return!”
• Allied defenders of Bataan
finally had to surrender.
Thousands died on the Bataan
Death March to a Japanese
prison camp.
• In early 1942, B-25 bombers replaced aircraft
carriers’ short-range bombers because they could
attack from farther away.
• Lt. Colonel James Doolittle
put in command of the
that bombed Japan
18.
• “Doolittle’s Raid”
leaders change
strategy.
was
mission
on April
made Japanese
their
• Turning point in the war against Japan - Battle of
Midway; Americans shot down 38 Japanese
planes and destroyed four Japanese carriers.
• This halted the Japanese advance in the Pacific.
Turning Back the German Army
• Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
urged other Allied leaders to
open a second front in
Europe.
• Churchill wanted to be more
cautious and attack the
periphery (edges) of
Germany.
• Ex: North Africa…..
Although Stalin
pushed the Allies
to invade Europe
from the west, the
U.S. and Britain
felt the best first
invasion would be
in North Africa.
Invasion through
France would have
to wait.
• November 8, 1942 - American
invasion of North Africa began
under the com Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
Eisenhower
• Gen. George Patton led U.S.
forces in Morocco and captured
the city of Casablanca.
• At the Battle of Kasserine Pass,
Americans suffered huge
losses.
Kasserine Pass
Rommel
Hitler’s best general,
Erwin Rommel, was given
the nickname “The
Desert Fox”
• Under Patton,
American and
British forces finally
pushed the
Germans back.
• On May 13, 1943,
German forces in
North Africa
surrendered.
Gen. George Patton
• German submarines began sinking American
cargo ships along the U.S. East Coast.
• Result: U.S. Navy set up a convoy system, where
cargo ships in groups were escorted by navy
warships.
• From spring 1942
American
produced more
German subs
on,
shipyards
ships than
could sink.
• The Germans
tried to capture the
Russian city of
Stalingrad, but the
Soviets held their
ground.
• Hitler had
misjudged the
Soviet people's will
to fight.
• The Germans were surrounded and forced to
surrender.
• The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point. It
put the Germans on the defensive.
• Compared to the devastation in Europe and Asia,
WW II had a positive effect on
American society.
• It put an end to the
• The War created
almost 19 million new
jobs and doubled the
income of most
families.
Depression.
American
• Labor shortage
hiring of married
women for “men’s
work.”
• “Rosie the Riveter”
became a symbol for
the campaign to hire
women.
• 2.5 million women
entered the
manufacturing
workforce.
Women jobs
American women were urged to
“do their part” by taking jobs
normally held by men.
• African Americans still
had some problems
getting hired.
• In 1941, FDR ordered no
discrimination in the
employment of workers
in defense industries or
government.
• Bracero Program - arranged for Mexican
farmworkers to come to the U.S. to help harvest
fruits and vegetables on farms.
• More than 200,000 Mexicans came to help with
the harvest and to build and maintain railroads.
A Nation on the Move
• 15 million Americans moved west and south
for jobs during the war.
• This created a
region called
Sunbelt.
new industrial
the
• Great Migration, (started during WWI) as they
left the South and headed to cities in the North
and West for factory jobs.
• Sometimes led to racial violence.
Detroit riots
1943
• Crimes committed by
youths rose dramatically.
• The zoot suit, baggy pants
and overstuffed, kneelength jacket with wide
lapels, seemed unpatriotic
to many that were saving
fabric for the war effort.
• The zoot suit was worn by
many Mexican American
teens.
• When zoot suiters were rumored to have
attacked several sailors, 2,500 soldiers and sailors
stormed into Mexican American neighborhoods
in Los Angeles.
• In early 1942, FDR declared the West Coast a
military zone, and all people of Japanese ancestry
were evacuated to 10 internment camps.
• Rationing went into
effect as demand for raw
materials and supplies
increased and created
shortages.
• Each month a book of
ration coupons was given
to each household for
processed foods and
meats, fats, and oils.
Rationing
No matter how much
cash you had, if you had
used all your points -- no
sale!!!
Meat was
tagged by the
number of
points needed
for purchase.
• Victory gardens were planted to produce more
food for the war effort.
• Scrap drives were organized to collect spare
rubber, tin, aluminum, and steel.
• To raise money for the
war…..
• The government raised
taxes, covering about
45 percent of the cost
of the war.
• E-bonds were sold to
Americans. By buying
bonds, Americans were
loaning money to the
government.
• Most Americans were united in the goal of
winning the war.
Striking Back at the Third Reich
• January 1943 - FDR met with Churchill to plan the
next stage of war (“Europe First” policy).
• Casablanca Conference - decided to increase
bombing of
Germany, trying to
destroy its industrial,
military, and
economic
system.
• Would attack Axis on the
island of
Sicily. (“soft
underbelly of Europe”)