Transcript THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR II

THE UNITED STATES
IN WORLD WAR II
AMERICA
TURNS THE
TIDE
SECTION 1: MOBILIZING FOR
DEFENSE
• After Japan attacked Pearl
Harbor, they thought
America would avoid
further conflict with them
• The Japan Times
newspaper said America
was “trembling in their
shoes”
• But if America was
trembling, it was with rage,
not fear
• “Remember Pearl Harbor”
was the rallying cry as
America entered WWII
AMERICANS RUSH TO ENLIST
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After Pearl Harbor
five million
Americans enlisted
to fight in the war
The Selective Service
expanded the draft
and eventually
provided an
additional 10 million
soldiers
The Selective Service
System expanded
the draft and
eventually provided
10 million soldiers.
WOMEN JOIN THE FIGHT
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The Women’s Auxiliary Army
Corps (WAAC) gave its
members official status and
salary, and, a year later,
granted them full U.S. Army
benefits.
Army Chief of Staff General
George Marshall pushed for
the formation of the
Women’s Auxiliary Army
Corps (WAAC)
Under this program women
worked in non-combat roles
such as nurses, ambulance
drivers, radio operators, and
pilots
During the war, women in
the WAAC served as nurses
and radio operators.
ALL AMERICANS FOUGHT
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These “Golden 13” Great Lakes officers
scored the highest marks ever on the
Officers exam in 1944
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Despite discrimination at
home, minority populations
contributed to the war
effort
1,000,000 African
Americans served in the
military
300,000 MexicanAmericans
33,000 Japanese
Americans
25,000 Native Americans
13,000 Chinese Americans
Americans Join the War Effort
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African Americans held
noncombat positions during
the war.
To protest discrimination, A.
Phillip Randolph organized a
march on Washington on
July 1, 1941.
A. Phillip Randolph strongly
encouraged President
Roosevelt to issue an
executive order discouraging
discrimination in the
workplace.
With respect to finding better
jobs, the war years marked a
period of advancement for
African Americans.
A PRODUCTION MIRACLE
• Americans converted
their auto industry
into a war industry
• The nation’s
automobile plants
began to produce
tanks, planes, boats,
and command cars
• Many other industries
also converted to warrelated supplies
LABOR’S CONTRIBUTION
• By 1944, nearly 18
million workers
were laboring in
war industries (3x
the # in 1941)
• More than 6 million
of these were
women and nearly
2 million were
minority
MOBILIZATION OF
SCIENTISTS
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In 1941, FDR created the
Office of Scientific Research
and Development (OSRD) to
bring scientists into the war
effort
Focus was on radar and
sonar to locate submarines
Also the scientists worked
on penicillin and pesticides
like DDT
The Office of Scientific
Research and Development
was responsible for
improvements in radar and
sonar and the development
of “wonder drugs” such as
penicillin that saved
countless lives.
MANHATTAN PROJECT
• The most important
achievement of the
OSRD was the secret
development of the
atomic bomb
• Einstein wrote to FDR
warning him that the
Germans were
attempting to develop
such a weapon
• The code name used
to describe American
efforts to build the
atomic bomb was the
“Manhattan Project”
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FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
TAKES CONTROL OF
INFLATION
With prices of goods threatening to
rise out of control, FDR responded
by creating the Office of Price
Administration (OPA)
The OPA froze prices on most
goods and encouraged the
purchase of war bonds to fight
inflation
The Office of Price Administration
was created by Congress to fight
the threat of inflation.
The problem of inflation was
targeted by the Office of Price
Administration.
The purpose of the Office of Price
Administration was to fight
inflation, and ration food.
To combat wartime inflation, the
U.S. government raised and
extended the income tax, imposed
wage and price controls,
encouraged the purchase of war
bonds.
WAR PRODUCTION BOARD
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To ensure the troops had
ample resources, FDR
created the WPB
The WPB decided which
companies would convert
to wartime production
and how to best allocate
raw materials to those
industries
War Production Board
assumed the
responsibility for
converting industry from
peacetime to wartime
production and
distributing raw materials
to key industries.
COLLECTION DRIVES
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The WPB also organized
nationwide drives to
collect scrap iron, tin
cans, paper, rags and
cooking fat for recycling
Additionally, the OPA set
up a system of rationing
Households had set
allocations of scarce
goods – gas, meat, shoes,
sugar, coffee
Rationing was the method
used to decrease the use
of scarce and essential
wartime goods.
WWII Poster
encouraging
conservation
Section 1
Mobilizing for Defense
Women’s Auxiliary Army Corp (WAAC) – U.S. army unit
created during World War II to enable women to serve in
noncombat positions.
Manhattan Project – the U.S. program to develop an atomic
bomb for use in World War II.
Office of Price Administration (OPA) – an agency established
by Congress to control inflation during World War II.
War Production Board (WPB) – an agency established
during World War II to coordinate the production of
military supplies by U.S. industries.
Rationing – a restriction of people’s right to buy unlimited
amounts of particular foods and other goods, often
implemented during wartime to ensure adequate supplies
for the military.
SECTION 2: THE WAR FOR
EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA
• Days after Pearl Harbor, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill arrived at the White House and
spent three weeks working out war plans with
FDR
• They decided to focus on defeating Hitler first
and then turn their attention to Japan
THE BATTLE OF THE
ATLANTIC
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The power of the German submarines was
great, and in two months' time almost two
million tons of Allied ships were resting on
the ocean floor. Efforts were soon made to
restrict German subs' activities.
•
After America’s entry into the
war, Hitler was determined to
prevent foods and war
supplies from reaching Britain
and the USSR from America’s
east coast
Germany’s goal in the Battle
of the Atlantic was to keep
food and war supplies from
reaching Great Britain and the
Soviet Union.
He ordered submarine raids
on U.S. ships on the Atlantic
During the first four months
of 1942 Germany sank 87 U.S.
ships
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In the first seven months of
1942, German U-boats sank
681 Allied ships in the
Atlantic
Something had to be done
or the war at sea would be
lost
First, Allies used convoys
of ships & airplanes to
transport supplies
Destroyers used sonar to
track U-boats
Airplanes were used to
track the U-boats ocean
surfaces
With this improved
tracking, Allies inflicted
huge losses on German Uboats
Convoys, sonar, and radar
helped the Allies win the
Battle of the Atlantic
ALLIES
CONTROL
U-BOATS
U-426 sinks after attack from the
air, January 1944. Almost twothirds of all U-boat sailors died
during the Battle of the Atlantic.
THE EASTERN FRONT &
MEDITERRANEAN
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Battle of Stalingrad was a huge
Allied victory
Hitler wanted to wipe out
Stalingrad – a major
industrial center
In the summer of 1942, the
Germans took the
offensive in the southern
Soviet Union
By the winter of 1943, the
Allies began to see
victories on land as well
as sea
The Battle that marked a
turning point in the war
was The Battle of
Stalingrad
Wounded in the
Battle of Stalingrad
BATTLE OF
STALINGRAD
•
For weeks the Germans pressed in on
Stalingrad
•
Then winter set in and the Germans were
wearing summer uniforms
•
The Germans surrendered in January of 1943
•
The Soviets lost more than 1 million men in the
battle (more
than twice
the number
of deaths the
U.S. suffered
in all the
war)
•
In the Battle of Stalingrad, A brutal winter, a
massive Soviet counterattack, Hitler’s refusal
to order a German retreat all contributed to the
Soviet victory.
THE NORTH
AFRICAN FRONT
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The Supreme Commander of
the U.S. forces in Europe was
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Allied troops landed in
Casablanca, Oran and the
Algiers in Algeria
They sped eastward chasing
the Afrika Korps led by
German General Edwin
Rommel
The code name for the
invasion of Axis-controlled
North Africa was Operation
torch
American tanks roll in the
deserts of Africa and defeat
German and Axis forces
Allied
troops
landed
in Casablanca,
Oran
and the
Algiers
CASABLANCA MEETING
FDR and Churchill in
Casablanca
• FDR and Churchill met
in Casablanca and
decided their next
moves
• 1) Plan amphibious
invasions of France
and Italy
• 2) Only unconditional
surrender would be
accepted
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN –
ANOTHER ALLIED VICTORY
• The Italian Campaign got
off to a good start as the
Allies easily took Sicily
• At that point King
Emmanuel III stripped
Mussolini of his power and
had him arrested
• However, Hitler’s forces
continued to resist the
Allies in Italy
• Heated battles ensued and
it wasn’t until 1945 that
Italy was secured by the
Allies
TUSKEGEE
AIRMEN
• Among the brave men
who fought in Italy
were pilots of the allblack 99th squadron –
the Tuskegee Airmen
• The pilots made
numerous effective
strikes against
Germany and won two
distinguished Unit
Citations
On May 31, 1943, the 99th Squadron, the first group of African-American
pilots trained at the Tuskegee Institute, arrived in North Africa
ALLIES LIBERATE EUROPE
Allies sent
fake coded
messages
indicating
they would
attack here
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Even as the Allies were battling for Italy, they began plans on a dramatic invasion
of France
The Allied invasion of Europe known as “Operation Overlord” and the
commander was American General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Also called “D-Day,” the operation involved 3 million U.S. & British troops and
was set for June 6, 1944
The day that marked the invasion of Nazi-controlled Europe was called D-Day.
The Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe was given the code name D-Day.
D-DAY JUNE
6, 1944
D-Day was an amphibious landing –
soldiers going from sea to land
• D-Day was the
largest land-sea-air
operation in
military history
• Despite air support,
German retaliation
was brutal –
especially at
Omaha Beach
• Within a month, the
Allies had landed
1 million troops,
567,000 tons of
supplies and
170,000 vehicles
OMAHA BEACH 6/6/44
Landing at Normandy
Planes drop paratroopers behind enemy lines at Normandy, France
Losses
were
extremely
heavy on
D-Day
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By September 1944, the
Allies had freed France,
Belgium and Luxembourg
The general that led the
American troops that
liberated Paris from
German occupation was
George Patton
General George Patton led
the Third Army into Paris
to liberate the city from
German occupation.
That good news – and the
American’s people’s
desire not to “change
horses in midstream” –
helped elect FDR to an
unprecedented 4th term
FRANCE
FREED
General George Patton (right)
was instrumental in Allies
freeing France
VS.
BATTLE OF THE
BULGE
• In October 1944,
Americans captured
their first German town
(Aachen)– the Allies
were closing in
• Hitler responded with
one last ditch massive
offensive
• Hitler hoped breaking
through the Allied line
would break up Allied
supply lines
BATTLE OF THE
BULGE
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The Battle of the Bulge was
Germany’s last gasp
•
The initial success of the
German offensive at The
Battle of the Bulge was due
mainly to the Allies’ being
caught off guard.
The battle raged for a month
– the Germans had been
pushed back
Little seemed to have
changed, but in fact the
Germans had sustained
heavy losses
Germany lost 120,000 troops,
600 tanks and 1,600 planes
From that point on the Nazis
could do little but retreat
The Battle of the Bulge was
significant because it marked
the last German offensive.
LIBERATION OF DEATH
CAMPS
• While the British and
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Americans moved
westward into Germany,
the Soviets moved
eastward into Germancontrolled Poland
The Soviets discovered
many death camps that
the Germans had set up
within Poland
The Americans also
liberated Nazi death
camps within Germany
Majdanek death camp
was the first liberated by
the Allies.
ALLIES TAKE BERLIN; HITLER
COMMITS SUICIDE
• By April 25, 1945, the Soviet
army had stormed Berlin
• In his underground
headquarters in Berlin, Hitler
prepared for the end
• On April 29, he married his
longtime girlfriend Eva Braun
then wrote a last note in
which he blamed the Jews for
starting the war and his
generals for losing it
• The next day he gave poison
to his wife and shot himself
V-E DAY
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General Eisenhower
accepted the unconditional
surrender of the Third Reich
On May 8, 1945, the Allies
celebrated V-E Day – victory
in Europe Day
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The day that marked the end
of the war in Europe was
called V-E Day
V-E Day, or May 8, 1945, was
the day when Germany
surrendered
On May 8, 1945, or V-E Day,
Americans celebrated the end
of the war in Europe
The war in Europe was finally
over
Famous
picture of
an
American
soldier
celebrating
the end of
the war
FDR DIES; TRUMAN
PRESIDENT
• President
Roosevelt did
not live to see
V-E Day
• On April 12,
1945, he suffered
a stroke and
died–
Roosevelt's Vice
President Harry S
Truman became
the nation’s 33rd
president
Section 2
The War for Europe and North Africa
D-Day – a name given to June 6, 1944—the day
on which the Allies launched an invasion of the
European mainland during World War II.
Battle of the Bulge – a month-long battle of World
War II, in which the Allies succeeded in turning
back the last major German offensive of the
war.
V-E Day – a name given to May 8, 1945, “Victory
in Europe Day” on which General
Eisenhower’s acceptance of the unconditional
surrender of Nazi Germany marked the end of
World War II in Europe.
SECTION 3: THE
WAR IN THE
PACIFIC
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The Americans did
not celebrate long, as
Japan was busy
conquering an
empire that dwarfed
Hitler’s Third Reich
Japan had conquered
much of southeast
Asia including the
Dutch East Indies,
Guam, and most of
China
BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA
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The main Allied forces in the Pacific were Americans and
Australians
In December of 1941, Douglass MacArthur commanded the
Allied forces in the Philippines.
When forced to abandon the Philippines, Douglass
MacArthur made the vow, “I shall return.”
In May 1942 they succeeded in stopping the Japanese drive
toward Australia in the five-day Battle of the Coral Sea
THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY
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Douglass MacArthur was
the general who led Allied
troops in battles on the
islands of Bataan, Leyte,
and Iwo Jima.
Japan’s next thrust was
toward Midway Island – a
strategic Island northwest
of Hawaii
The Americans won a
decisive victory as their
planes destroyed 4
Japanese aircraft carriers
and 250 planes
Japan was defeated at the
Battle of Midway after its
plans of an attack were
intercepted.
•The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war –
soon the Allies were island hopping toward Japan
KAMIKAZE
PILOTS ATTACK
ALLIES • The Americans
In the Battle for the Philippines, 424
Kamikaze pilots sank 16 ships and
damaged 80 more
continued leapfrogging
across the Pacific
toward Japan
• Japanese countered by
employing a new tactic
– Kamikaze (divine
wind) attacks
• Pilots in small bombladen planes would
crash into Allied ships
• General
MacArthur and
the Allies next
turned to the
Island of Iwo Jima
• The island was
critical to the
Allies as a base
for an attack on
Japan
• It was called the
most heavily
defended spot on
earth
• Allied and
Japanese forces
suffered heavy
casualties
IWO JIMA
American soldiers plant the flag on
the Island of Iwo Jima after their
victory
THE BATTLE FOR OKINAWA
• In April 1945, U.S.
marines invaded
Okinawa
• The Japanese
unleashed 1,900
Kamikaze attacks
sinking 30 ships and
killing 5,000 seamen
• Okinawa cost the
Americans 7,600
marines and the
Japanese 110,000
soldiers
INVADE JAPAN?
• After Okinawa,
MacArthur
predicted that a
Normandy type
amphibious
invasion of Japan
would result in
1,500,000 Allied
deaths
• President Truman
saw only one way
to avoid an
invasion of
Japan . . .
Okinawa
The loss of life at Iwo Jima and Okinawa
convinced Allied leaders that an invasion
of Japan was not the best idea
ATOMIC BOMB
DEVELOPED
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Japan had a huge army that
would defend every inch of
the Japanese mainland
So Truman decided to use a
powerful new weapon
developed by scientists
working on the Manhattan
Project – the Atomic Bomb
The Manhattan Project was
the plan to develop the atomic
bomb.
President Harry S. Truman
made the final decision to use
the atomic bomb against
Japan.
Truman’s aim in deciding to
drop the atomic bomb was to
end the war and save
American lives.
In deciding to use the atomic
bomb against Japan,
President Truman’s main goal
was to end the war quickly
U.S. DROPS TWO
ATOMIC BOMBS
ON JAPAN
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Truman warned Japan in
late July 1945 that
without a immediate
Japanese surrender, it
faced “prompt and utter
destruction”
Atomic bombs were
dropped on the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
The United States dropped
the atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The plane and crew that dropped
an atomic bomb on Hiroshima,
Japan
August 6, 1945
HIROSHIMA
August 9,
1945
NAGASAKI
JAPAN SURRENDERS
• Japan surrendered
days after the second
atomic bomb was
dropped
• General MacArthur
said, “Today the guns
are silent. The skies
no longer rain death .
. .the entire world is
quietly at peace.”
At the White House, President Harry
Truman announces the Japanese
surrender, August 14, 1945
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In February 1945, as
the Allies pushed
toward victory in
Europe, an ailing FDR
met with Churchill
and Stalin at the
Black Sea resort of
Yalta in the USSR
A series of
compromises were
worked out
concerning postwar
Europe
The leaders that
attended the Yalta
Conference were
Joseph Stalin,
Winston Churchill,
and Franklin D.
Roosevelt
THE YALTA
CONFERENCE
(L to R) Churchill, FDR and Stalin
at Yalta
YALTA AGREEMENTS
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At the Yalta Conference, Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met to begin
planning for the postwar world.
1) They agreed to divide Germany into 4 occupied zones after the war
2) Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe
3) Stalin agreed to help the U.S. in the war against Japan and to join the
United Nations
NUREMBERG WAR TRIALS
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Herman Goering, Hitler's right-hand man and chief
architect of the German war effort, testifies at his trial.
He was found guilty of war crimes but avoided
execution by swallowing potassium cyanide.
The discovery of Hitler’s death camps led the Allies to put 24 surviving
Nazi leaders on trial for crimes against humanity, crimes against the
peace, and war crimes
The defendants at the Nuremberg trials were Nazi Leaders.
The trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany
“I was only following orders” was not an acceptable defense as 12 of the
24 were sentenced to death and the others to life in prison
THE OCCUPATION OF JAPAN
• Japan was occupied by U.S. forces under the command of
General MacArthur
• During the seven- year occupation, MacArthur reshaped
Japan’s economy by introducing free-market practices that
led to a remarkable economic recovery
• Additionally, he introduced a liberal constitution that to this
day is called the MacArthur Constitution
Section 3
The War in the Pacific
Battle of Midway – a World War II battle that took place in
early June 1942. The Allies decimated the Japanese fleet
at Midway, an island lying northwest of Hawaii. The Allies
then took the offensive in the Pacific and began to move
closer to Japan.
Kamikaze – involving or engaging in the deliberate crashing
of a bomb-filled airplane into a military target.
Hiroshima – On August 6,1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola
Gay released an atomic bomb, codenamed Little Boy,
over this important Japanese military center.
Nagasaki – On August 9, 1945, a second bomb, code-named
Fat Man, was dropped on this city, leveling half the city.
Nuremberg Trials – the court proceedings held in Nuremberg,
Germany, after World War II, in which Nazi leaders were
tried for war crimes.
SECTION 4: THE HOME FRONT
• The war provided a lift
to the U.S. economy
• Jobs were abundant
and despite rationing
and shortages, people
had money to spend
• By the end of the war,
America was the
world’s dominant
economic and military
power
ECONOMIC GAINS
• Unemployment fell
to only 1.2% by
1944 and wages
rose 35%
• Farmers too
benefited as
production
doubled and
income tripled
WOMEN MAKE GAINS
• Women enjoyed
economic gains
during the war,
although many lost
their jobs after the war
• Over 6 million women
entered the work force
for the first time
• Over 1/3 were in the
defense industry
POPULATION SHIFTS
• The war triggered the
greatest mass
migration in American
history
• More than a million
newcomers poured
into California
between 1941-1944
• African Americans
again shifted from
south to north
GI BILL HELPS RETURNING
VETS
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To help returning servicemen
ease back into civilian life,
Congress passed the
Servicemen’s Readjustment
Act (GI Bill of Rights)
The GI Bill of Rights provided
free education and loan
guarantees to veterans.
The GI Bill of Rights made it
possible for veterans to attend
college for free
The GI Bill of Rights increased
the standard of living of many
veterans (GI’s) by providing
free education and job training
as well as federal loan
guarantees for buying homes
and farms and starting
businesses.
The act provided education for
7.8 million vets
Discrimination and Reaction
•
Civil Rights Protests
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Racial tensions rise in
overcrowded Northern cities
In 1942, civil rights leader James
Farmer founded the Congress of
Racial Equality (CORE).
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works on racial segregation in
North
To confront urban segregation in
the North, the Congress of Racial
Equality (CORE) was organized,
staging its first sit-in at a
segregated Chicago restaurant in
1942.
1943 racial violence sweeps
across country; Detroit riots
worst case
Tension in Los Angeles
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Anti-Mexican zoot suit riots
involve thousands servicemen,
civilians
a good example of racial tensions
during the war years was the
“zoot-suit” riots in Los Angeles.
The “zoot-suit” riots that erupted
in Los Angeles in 1943 were
directed against Mexican
Americans.
James Farmer
INTERNMENT OF
JAPANESE AMERICANS
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When the war began, 120,000
Japanese Americans lived in
the U.S. – mostly on the West
Coast
After Pearl Harbor, many
people were suspicious of
possible spy activity by
Japanese Americans
In 1942, FDR ordered Japanese
Americans into 10 relocation
centers
Roosevelt’s decision to remove
people of Japanese ancestry to
internment camps was a
response to strong antiJapanese sentiment
Nisei are Japanese Americans
whose parents emigrated from
Japan.
Japanese Americans felt the
sting of discrimination during
WWII
Internment of Japanese
Americans
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Japanese Americans Placed in
Internment Camps
Hawaii governor forced to order
internment (confinement) of
Japanese
Nisei who lived on the West Coast
were subjected to internment
during the war.
1942 FDR signs removal of
Japanese Americans in four states
U.S. Army forces 110,000
Japanese Americans into prison
camps
In1944, Korematsu v. United
States, the Supreme Court ruled
that the government’s policy of
Forcing Japanese Americans into
internment camps was justified on
the basis of “military necessity.”
After World War II, the Japanese
Americans Citizen League (JACL)
pushed the U.S. government to
compensate Japanese Americans
for their lost property.
Location of
the 10
Internment
camps
Jerome camp in Arkansas
U.S. PAYS REPARATIONS
TO JAPANESE
Today the U.S. is home to
more than 1,000,000 JapaneseAmericans
• In the late 1980s, President
Reagan signed into law a
bill that provided $20,000
to every Japanese
American sent to a
relocation camp
• The checks were sent out
in 1990 along with a note
from President Bush
saying, “We can never
fully right the wrongs of
the past . . . we now
recognize that serious
wrongs were done to
Japanese Americans
during WWII.”
Nearly 59 years after the end of World War II,
the National World War II Memorial was
dedicated in Washington, D.C., on Saturday,
May 29, 2004 to honor the 408,680 Americans
who died in the conflict
Section 4
The Home Front
GI Bill of Rights – a name given to the Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act, a 1944 law that provided financial
and educational benefits for World War II veterans.
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) – an interracial
group founded in 1942 by James Farmer to work
against segregation in Northern cities.
Internment – confinement or a restriction in movement,
especially under wartime conditions.
Japanese American Citizen League (JACL) – an
organization that pushed the U.S. government to
compensate Japanese Americans for property they
had lost when they were interned during World War II.
Chapter 27 - Section 1:
POSTWAR AMERICA
• After WWII, returning vets
faced a severe housing
shortage
• In response to the crisis,
developers used
assembly-line methods to
mass-produce houses
• Developer William Levitt
bragged that his company
could build a home in 16
minutes for $7,000
• Suburbs were born
With the help of the GI Bill,
many veterans moved into
suburbs
Readjustment and Recovery
•
The Impact of the GI Bill
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•
The GI Bill of Rights was
designed to help ease
veterans’ return to civilian life.
One of the benefits that the GI
Bill of Rights offered to
returning veterans was lowinterest loans
Pays partial tuition,
unemployment benefits;
provides loans
Housing Crisis
–
–
–
–
10 million returning veterans
face housing shortage
Developers use assembly-line
methods to mass-produce
houses
Build suburbs—small
residential communities
around cities
In response to the postwar
housing crisis, developers
such as William Levitt offered
standardized, mass-produced
homes in small residential
communities known as
suburbs.
REDEFINING THE FAMILY
• A return to traditional
roles after the war was the
norm
• Men were expected to
work, while women were
expected to stay home
and care for the children
• Conflict emerged as many
women wanted to stay in
the workforce
• Divorce rates surged
Economic
Readjustment
• Over 1 million defense
workers laid off; wages
drop for many workers
• Price controls end; 25%
increase in cost of scarce
consumer goods
• Congress reestablishes
price, wage, rent controls
• Some early effects of the
conversion from a wartime
to a peacetime economy
were increased
unemployment, inflation,
and decreased wages.
REMARKABLE
ECONOMIC
RECOVERY
•
•
•
Experts who predicted a postwar depression were
proved wrong as they failed to consider the $135
billion in savings Americans had accumulated from
defense work, service pay, and investments in war
bonds
Americans were ready to buy consumer goods
Consumer demand, the Cold War, the Marshall Plan
all contributed to the economy recovery after the
war.
DESPITE GROWTH, ISSUES
PERSIST
• One persistent
postwar issue
involved labor strikes
• In 1946 alone, 4.5
million discontented
workers, including
Steelworkers, coal
miners and railroad
workers went on
strike
TRUMAN TOUGH ON
STRIKERS
•
•
•
•
Harry S. Truman abruptly became president after the
death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Truman refused to let strikes cripple the nation
In response to labor strikes that threatened to cripple the
nation, Harry S. Truman threatened to draft strikers into
the military.
The strategy worked as strikers returned to their jobs
SOCIAL UNREST
PERSISTS
• Truman Supports Civil
Rights
– African Americans felt they
deserved equal rights,
especially after hundreds of
thousands served in WWII
– Congress rejects civil rights
laws; Truman issues
executive orders:
– Truman took action in 1948
by desegregating the armed
forces
– Additionally, Truman
ordered an end to
discrimination in the hiring
of governmental employees
The 1948 Election
•
•
•
•
•
•
Southern Democrats—
Dixiecrats — protest civil
rights, form own party
The Dixiecrats were Southern
Democrats who opposed civil
rights and claimed to be
concerned about protecting
“the Southern way of life.”
The Dixiecrats were strong
supporters of “the Southern
way of life.”
The Dixiecrats nominated J.
Strom Thurmond to run for
president in 1948.
Truman calls special session;
asks Congress for social
legislation
Congress refuses; Truman
goes on “whistlestop
campaign”
THE 1948 ELECTION
Dewey
• The Democrats
nominated President
Truman in 1948
• The Republicans
nominated New York
Governor Thomas
Dewey
• Polls showed Dewey
held a comfortable lead
going into election day
TRUMAN WINS IN A
STUNNING UPSET
•
•
•
Truman holds a now infamous Chicago
Tribune announcing (incorrectly)
Dewey’s victory
Truman’s “Give ‘em hell,
Harry” campaign worked
Truman won a very close
race against Dewey
The factor that most
contributed to the upset
win for Truman in the 1948
election was his relentless
campaign against a “donothing” Congress.
To protest Truman’s emphasis on Civil Rights, the South
opted to run a third candidate, South Carolina Governor
Strum Thurmond
The Fair Deal
•
The Fair Deal was an
ambitious economic
program proposed by
President Truman it
included :
–
•
•
higher minimum wage,
flood control projects,
low-income housing
Congress passes
parts of Fair Deal
Truman’s Fair Deal
for the American
people included
proposals for a
nationwide system of
health insurance and
farm aid.
REPUBLICANS PLAN FOR
1952 ELECTION
• By 1951 Truman’s
approval rating sank
to an all-time low of
just 23%
• Why? Korean War,
rising tide of
McCarthyism, and a
general impression of
ineffectiveness
The Republican (right) were
chomping at the bit in the ’52
election
STEVENSON VS. IKE 1952
ELECTION
Stevenson
Ike
• The Democrats
nominated
intellectual Illinois
Governor Adlai
Stevenson while the
Republicans
nominated war hero
Dwight David
Eisenhower
“I LIKE IKE”
• Eisenhower used the
slogan, “I Like Ike” for
his presidential
campaign
• Republicans used
Ike’s strong military
background to
emphasize his ability
to combat
Communism
worldwide
IKE’S VP SLIP-UP
Nixon and his dog
Checkers
• One potential disaster for
Ike was his running
mate’s alleged “slush
fund”
• Richard Nixon responded
by going on T.V. and
delivering an emotional
speech denying charges
but admitting to
accepting one gift for his
children – a dog named
Checkers
• The “Checkers speech”
saved the ticket
IKE WINS 1952 ELECTION
Chapter 27 - Section 1
Postwar America
Suburb – a residential town or community near a
city.
Dixiecrats – one of the Southern delegates who, to
protest President Truman’s civil rights policy,
walked out of the 1948 Democratic National
Convention and formed the States’ Rights
Democratic Party.
Fair Deal – President Harry S. Truman’s economic
program—an extension of Franklin Roosevelt’s
New Deal—which included measures to increase
the minimum wage, to extend social security
coverage, and to provide housing for low-income
families.