Transcript National Crisis

National Crisis
The Roaring 20s, Great
Depression,
New Deal, &
WWII
The Roaring 20s
Who, what, where, when,
why and how?
Who
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Three Presidents:
Harding was the one who died in the midst of
scandal.
Coolidge was the one who never talked.
Hoover got all the blame for the Great
Depression.
Great authors:
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, about
a soldier who came home from World War I and
got rich quick by selling bootleg liquor.
The stars of the Harlem Renaissance were
Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.
What
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Isolationism: When World War I ended, the U.S.
decided to have nothing more to do with Europe.
U.S. foreign policy became isolationist.
An era of mean-spiritedness: Small-town America
did not like anyone who was not “100%
American.” Folks did not like foreigners,
immigrants, Catholics, Jews, or African
Americans. The 1920s was the heyday of the Ku
Klux Klan.
Get Rich Quick: The wealthy speculated on the
stock exchange.
The New Woman: When women got the vote,
they had more freedom. Women wore shorter
skirts, smoked, and rode in cars.
When
From 1920 through 1929.
Where
In the United States.
Why
1. World War I was a horrible war.
Soldiers were glad to be alive.
2. The Russian Revolution, led by
Lenin and the Bolsheviks, scared
many Americans.
3. America was experiencing a decade
of prosperity.
How
How did the Roaring Twenties end?
With a crash:
In 1929, Wall Street crashed, the Great
Depression began, and Americans
suffered terribly.
National Crisis
Politics of Postwar America
Postwar Trends
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WWI left much of the American
public exhausted.
Many Americans responded to the
stressful conditions by becoming
fearful of outsiders.
A wave of nativism and a belief in
isolationism was adopted.
Fear of Communism
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One perceived threat to American life was
the spread of communism.
The Red Scare panic in the U.S. began in
1919, after revolutionaries in Russia
overthrew the czarist regime
The Communist Party formed in the U.S.
70,000 radicals joined, and several dozen
bombs were mailed to government and
business leaders.
The Palmer Raids
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U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell
Palmer to action combat the “Red
Scare.”
He hunted down suspected
communists and trampled on
people’s civil rights.
Foreign born radicals were deported
and his raids failed to turn up
evidence of revolutionary conspiracy.
Sacco & Vanzetti
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Nativist attitude led
to ruined reputations
and wrecked lives.
Sacco & Vanzetti,
two Italian
immigrants, were
arrested in 1920.
They were charged
with robbery and
murder.
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Witnesses said
the criminals
appeared to be
Italian.
The accused
asserted their
alibi and the
evidence
against them
was
circumstantial.
They were
found guilty &
sentenced to
death.
Rise of KKK
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Different groups of bigots
used anti-communism as
an excuse to harass any
group unlike themselves.
The KKK was devoted to
100% Americanism and
membership reached 4.5
million.
The Klan would
eventually dominate state
politics, but its criminal
activity would lead to a
decrease in power.
Labor Unrest
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Conflict between labor and management erupts
after the war.
In 1919, workers go on more than 3,000 strikes,
but fear of communism turns the public against
strikers.
Labor union membership declines in the 1920s
largely because of the movement’s association
with Communist ideals.
After the end of the First World War, most
Americans wanted to return to normalcy.
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However, fear of
Communism and
labor unrest seemed
to threaten this
desired stability.
As a result,
attitudes toward
immigrants and
America’s role in
the world began to
change.
National Crisis
The Roaring Twenties
National Crisis
The Harding Presidency
The Harding Presidency
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Harding vows to return
the U.S. to the simpler
days before the
Progressive Era reforms.
Most of the world’s
nations agree to disarm
and sign the KelloggBriand Pact, but there is
no way to enforce the pact.
The Harding
administration raises taxes
on imports and demand
that Britain and France
pay their war debts.
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Harding promised the American people a return to
normalcy.
Because the need for unskilled labor deceased after the
First World War, many Americans want to limit
immigration.
Congress sets up a quota system limiting immigration.
Harding appoints some of his friends to the cabinet, but
they use their offices to become wealthy.
As a result of Harding’s poor judgment, his administration
is plagued by scandals.
Harding avoids disgrace but dies in office following a
goodwill tour.
To the end, his administration pursued an isolationist
foreign policy and created immigration quota.
Roaring 20s Amendments
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18th Amendment: No booze
19th Amendment: Women get to vote!
Unknown Harding Facts
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From the 1920s onward, Warren G. Harding has been
the subject of many potentially damaging allegations.
The Ku Klux Klan claims that Harding was a
member, initiated in a secret White House ceremony,
and some reputable historians believe these claims.
Political opponents and other historians have claimed
that Harding had African-American ancestors, and
could therefore be considered our first AfricanAmerican president.
The Business of America
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The automobile affects American life.
The airplane industry takes off.
Although many businesses expand during the 1920s, others
suffer losses.
The installment plan lures many American consumers into
buying more goods than they can afford.
Automobiles, electrical appliances, and other consumer
goods flooded the market as America’s standards of living
soared in the 1920s.
Although not everyone took part in the general prosperity,
many Americans embraced the present and enjoyed life.
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Changes in politics and in the economy during the
1920s contributed to a variety of cultural
developments.
Heated debates over religion, dramatic shifts in
the roles of women and African Americans, and
the rapid expansion of the entertainment industry
made the 1920s a period of tension and debate.
The growth of cities results in new urban lifestyles
that conflict with traditional values.
Supporters of prohibition clash with those who
ignore the law.
Fundamentalists believe that the biblical account
of creation is true.
Scopes Monkey Trial
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Many liberal thinkers believe
in the scientific theory of
evolution.
The opposing values clash in
the Scopes trial, which
questions the roles of science
and religion and public
schools.
The shift to a predominately
urban society brought about
many changes during the
1920s. New lifestyles of city
dwellers and new ideas in
education challenged
traditional values.
The Women of 1920s
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The flapper represents a new ideal for
young women.
A double standard requires women to
abide by stricter standards of
behavior than men.
Women assume new roles in the
workplace.
Technological advances simplify
household tasks.
Married women remain responsible
for housework and child care.
The flapper symbolized the new,
more independent, and sometimes
flamboyant role of women in the
1920s. In spite of new opportunities
in the workplace, women earned less
than men and continued to be
primarily responsible for the home
and child care.
American Life in the 1920s
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Public high schools take on new roles in preparing students for
the future.
Expanded news coverage and the development of radio give
Americans shared experiences.
Sports heroes and movie stars inspire Americans.
Writers, artists, and composers experiment with new styles.
Much of the decade’s literature expresses a clash of values
within society.
The mass media, spectator sports, and movies created a shared
popular culture in the 1920s.
The art and literature of the decade reflected the disillusionment
of many Americans.
Economic Prosperity
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America emerged from World War I
with a strong economy.
In the 1920s, America became the
wealthiest country in the world.
Yet there was a wide gap between
the rich and the poor.
Scopes Monkey Trial Activity
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In 1925, high school biology teacher John T.
Scopes was accused of violating the Butler
Act.
This law made it illegal for a teacher in any
state-supported public school or college to
teach any theory of evolution because it
contradicted the Bible’s account of man’s
creation.
The trial of John Scopes gained worldwide
media attention.
APUSH Study Groups
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Tuesdays
Jamal C.
Jamal B.
Kamilyah
Brooklyn
Allegra
Aleia
Camille
Leigh
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Thursdays
Jasmine
Bre Ana
Chris W.
Taja
Jordan
Sydney
Dynasty
Kim
Eli
A National Crisis
Coolidge Presidency
Calvin Coolidge
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Was elected vicepresident under
Harding in 1920.
After Harding’s death
on August 2, 1923, he
became president.
First challenge was to
clean corruption that
occurred while
Harding was president
Keeping it Coolidge
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Farmers in the western part of the country did not
enjoy prosperity in the twenties, and they wanted
government aid.
Congress approved the McNary-Haugen Farm
Relief Bill, which proposed that the government
buy surplus crops and sell them abroad to raise
domestic agricultural prices.
Coolidge vetoes the bill in 1927 and 1928.
Believed the government had no business fixing
prices.
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Throughout his presidency he remained
very conservative.
He opposed government intervention in
private business, otherwise known as
“laissez-faire.”
He decided not to run for another term as
president in 1928.
He refused to run again because he believed
there was no chance for government.
National Crisis
The Harlem Renaissance
What was the Harlem
Renaissance?
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The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural
movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s.
At the time, it was known as the "New Negro
Movement", named after the 1925 anthology
by Alain Locke.
The Harlem Renaissance is unofficially
recognized to have spanned from about 1919
until the early or mid 1930s.
Many of its ideas lived on much longer
The Harlem Renaissance
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Racial violence, economic discrimination, and natural
disasters in the South cause many African Americans to
move to Northern cities.
Tensions resulting from the influx of African Americans
erupt in race riots.
African-American leaders propose different ways of
responding to discrimination and violence.
African-American writers explore and celebrate their
heritage.
African-American performers and musicians popularize
their culture by appealing to a wide audience.
The Nicholas Brothers
Jazz Age
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Jazz features
improvisation, where
the musician makes
up the music as they
are playing.
It also has an off-beat
rhythm called
syncopation.
It grew out of the
Blues and Ragtime.
Louis Armstrong,
Satchmo, was the
biggest performer of
the time.
Marcus Garvey
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Marcus Garvey came to
the United States
penniless in 1916.
In just eleven years, he
built the first large Black
Nationalist movement
the country had seen.
Famed as a public
speaker, idealized as a
leader, and notorious to
some for his separatist
and inflammatory
beliefs, Garvey's impact
was undeniable.
Garveyism/Back to Africa
Movement
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Jamaican-born Marcus Mosiah
Garvey, Jr., was the founder of a
political movement known as
“Garveyism,” a “black pride”
movement that encouraged AfricanAmerican economic and political
independence and the unity of all
people of African descent.
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At its height, in the years between the late teens
and early 1920s, Garveyism was a massively
popular movement, particularly among the
poorest African Americans, who often felt
overlooked and neglected by other black leaders
of the day.
The UNIA claimed to have millions of members,
and Garvey himself addressed some 25,000
followers at Madison Square Garden in August
1920 for the opening of the First International
Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World.
Garvey’s weekly newspaper, The Negro World,
was widely read and featured contributions from
such figures as Zora Neale Hurston and Arthur
Schomburg.
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But Garvey’s movement collapsed almost
as quickly as it had risen.
In the early 1920s the federal government
investigated his business holdings and
charged him with mail fraud.
He was released from prison after two
years, but was deported and died in
obscurity.
The movement, however, enjoyed a
renaissance with the resurgence of Black
Nationalism in the 1960 and the popularity
of such leaders as Malcolm X and the
Black Panthers.
National Crisis
America in the 20th Century:
The Roaring Twenties
The Great Depression
Fundamental Causes of
the Depression
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Drop in farm prices
Massively uneven distribution
of income
“Get rich quick” schemes in real
estate and especially in stocks
Overextension of credit
Increased inventories of goods
Immediate cause: October 1929
stock market crash
Many consumers in the
1920s bought items such as
this ironer on credit
Causes of the Great Depression
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Overproduction
under-consumption
over speculation in the market
Availability of easy credit
And uneven distribution of income
The Day the Bubble Burst
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The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 1929
October 29, 1929
More than 16
million shares
traded in one day
Stock market lost
$30 billion
Beginning of the
“Great
Depression”
What happened on Black
Tuesday?
a. Investors began to sell their stocks.
b. Stockbrokers called in their
margins.
c. Banks called in their loans to
stockbrokers.
d. Everybody panicked - everybody
sold all their stocks.
e. The price of stocks went to zero.
Banking System Collapse
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Banks invested
heavily in the
market
Collapse of
market led to
bank failures
Many depositors
panicked, leading
to even more
bank failures
Worried depositors wait outside a bank hoping to
withdraw their savings
Hoover’s Response
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President Herbert Hoover
President Hoover
overwhelmed
Believed that private
charity was best suited
to solve problems
Most efforts failed
Reconstruction Finance
Corporation achieved
some success
The Election of 1932
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Hoover
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Republicans
renominated Hoover
Democrats nominated
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hoover’s inability to
solve the Depression
became the chief issue
FDR won in a
landslide
Roosevelt
Hoovervilles
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Settlements of
shacks inhabited by
transients and
unemployed
Derisively named
after President
Hoover
Many cities and
towns had at least
one
Effects on the Economy
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Drop in gross national product (GDP)
Widespread unemployment
Decrease in wages
Bank failures
Farm foreclosures
Business slowdown
The Bonus Army
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With the U.S. capitol visible in the distance,
shacks erected by the Bonus Expeditionary
Force burn
Patman Bill was to
move up bonus
payments from 1945
to 1933
Veterans camped near
the Capitol to support
the bill
Bill failed in Congress
Hoover’s removal of
vets made Hoover
appear heartless
Effects on People
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Poverty and despair
Unemployment
Hunger
Homelessness
Increase in divorces
Increase in suicides
Decrease in marriages
Decrease in births
Effect on Government
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Committee for Unemployment Relief
Agricultural Marketing Act
Federal Farm Board
Home Loan Bank Act
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Great Depression
In-depth Study
1930
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The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed.
The first bank panic occurred which resulted in
a wave of bankruptcies.
Sinclair Lewis was the first American writer to
receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The board game, Monopoly, was invented.
The planet Pluto was discovered.
1931
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A second bank panic occurred.
"The Star Spangled Banner" was adopted as
the national anthem.
The George Washington Bridge was
completed in New York City.
The Empire State Building was completed.
Jane Adams became the first American woman
to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Construction of the Hoover Dam began.
1932
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This year and the following were the worst years of the
depression.
Over thirteen million Americans had lost their jobs since 1929.
Congress created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
Franklin Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover and the
Democrats gained control of Congress.
General Douglas MacArthur broke up the Bonus March in
Washington D.C.
Los Angeles was the site of the Olympic Games.
Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the
Atlantic Ocean.
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1933
Roosevelt was inaugurated and began the "First 100 Days" of intense
legislation design to combat the effects of the depression.
A third banking panic occurred in March. President Roosevelt closed all
financial institutions to stop a run on the banks.
Congress authorized the Agricultural Adjustment Administration
(AAA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Farm Credit
Administration (FCA), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FEMA), the
National Recovery Administration (NRA), the Public Works
Administration (PWA), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Congress passed the Emergency Banking Bill, the Glass-Steagall Act of
1933, the Farm Credit Act, the National Industrial Recovery Act, and
the Truth in Securities Act.
The Twentieth Amendment was passed outlining the terms of the
presidency.
The Twenty-first Amendment was passed repealing Prohibition.
The Federal Housing Authority was created.
President Roosevelt introduced his fireside chats.
The film "King Kong" was released.
1934
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Congress authorized the Federal
Communications Commission, the National
Mediation Board, and the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
The Dust Bowl began on the Great Plains.
Shirley Temple made her film debut.
1935
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Congress authorized the creation of the Works
Progress Administration (WPA), the National Labor
Relations Board, and the Rural Electrification
Administration.
Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act
and the Social Security Act.
George Gershwin's Opera "Porgy and Bess" opened.
Jesse Owens set five world records in one hour.
Swing music became popular.
Charles Richter developed a scale to measure
earthquakes.
1936
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President Roosevelt was elected to a second term.
Congress passed the Soil Conservation and Domestic
Allotment Act.
Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Olympics
in Berlin.
"Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell was
published.
Construction of the Hoover Dam was completed.
1937
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Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific
Ocean.
The Golden Gate Bridge opened.
The Hindenburg blimp exploded.
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" opened.
Bugs Bunny made his debut.
1938
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Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Orson Welles caused a panic with his radio
broadcast of "The War of the Worlds."
Superman made his debut in comics.
The March of Dimes was organized.
Vitamin E was identified.
Chlorophyll was discovered.
1939
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World War II began in Europe on September 1
with the invasion of Poland by Germany.
John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" was
published.
The World's Fair opened in New York.
"Gone with the Wind" made its movie debut.
Grandma Moses' paintings were displayed in
New York City.
National Crisis:
The New Deal
The New Deal
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It began with the election of FDR in the U.S.
It was FDR’s program to pull the U.S. out of the
Depression.
a. Relief - It provided relief to the needy.
b. Recovery - It made GNP rise and
unemployment fall.
c. Reform - Make changes, like Social Security,
to prevent a future Depression.
It restored people’s faith in democracy and the free
enterprise system. At a time when countries like Nazi
Germany were headed into dictatorship.
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Despite the program’s successes, it did not end
the Depression.
The reason why it needed was because The
Great Depression shook the economic
foundations of the U.S.
More importantly, there were no federal
welfare programs!
The New Deal provided relief to the needy by
creating the alphabet programs: CCC, WPA,
etc.
The ABCS of the New Deal
Federal Emergency Relief
Administration (FERA)
Provided relief aid through
state and local agencies
Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC)
Employed young men on
public-works projects
Works Progress
Administration (WPA)
Employed men and women to
do public works, research,
and artistic projects
Public Works Administration
(PWA)
Set up public projects to
increase employment and
business activity
Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA)
Constructed dam and power
projects to improve sevenstate region.
Agricultural Adjustment Act
(AAA)
Increased government
regulation of crop production
and payments to farmers.
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC)
Helped to restore confidence
in banks by insuring all
deposits
Social Security Act
(SSA)
Provided unemployment
benefits, pensions for older
Americans, and survivor’s
insurance
Indian Reorganization Act
(IRA)
Revived tribal rule and provided
funds to start tribal business
ventures and to pay for college
education of young Native
Americans
Civil Works Administration
(CWA)
Provided work in federal jobs
National Youth Administration
(NYA)
Provided job training for
unemployed young people
and part-time jobs for needy
students
Emergency Banking Act
(EBRA)
Banks were inspected by
Treasury Department and
those stable could reopen.
Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC)
Supervised the stock market
and eliminated dishonest
practices.
Rural Electrification
Administration
Provided affordable electricity
for isolated rural areas.
Federal Housing Authority
Insured loans for building and
repairing homes.
Effects of New Deal
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The New Deal preserved democracy.
The New Deal preserved the free enterprise
system.
The New Deal was a continuation and
extension of policies begun during the
Progressive Era. (Government regulation of
Big Business.)
The Battles of FDR
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Huey Long (LA) and FDR were
political rivals.
Long tries to put forth his “share the
wealth” plan, which called for taxing
the rich and using the funds to give
everyone a home and annual income
of $2,500.
Soon, several of the ABC programs
were declared unconstitutional by
the Supreme Court (NIRA, AAA, SSA,
and TVA).
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FDR responded by attempting to
increase the number of justices
(court-packing) in the Supreme
Court from 9 to 15.
He wanted to appoint people who
were supportive of the New Deal.
The idea was later dropped after the
Supreme Court upheld the
constitutionality of the SSA.
Eleanor Roosevelt
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Viewed as a
woman of great
compassion.
Worked tirelessly
to help the less
fortunate.
Stood out a symbol
of social progress
and women’s
activism.
National Crisis
WWII:
War on the Home Front, Neutrality Acts,
Lend-Lease Acts, Arsenal of Democracy, &
Four Freedoms
Setting the Stage
At the dawn of the 1940s, some Americans
suspected that the war raging in Europe
would eventually pull the U.S. into the
fight, but most saw the conflict as far away
and felt secure that they would be safe.
WWII: The Homefront
 Mindful of popular opinion as well as
congressional investigations into
America’s entry into World War I, the
U.S. proclaimed itself “officially
neutral” as the European war began in
1939.
 After rapid Nazi victories in Poland and
France, however, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt decided that the U.S. could
not sit idly by.
Neutrality Acts
 Congress had passed a series of Neutrality
Acts in the late 1930s to keep the U.S. out of
costly, destructive entanglements such as
WWI.
 FDR agreed to revise the acts to allow
belligerents to purchase weapons and nonmilitary goods on a “cash and carry” basis
(that is, having a nation pay the entire bill
now and arrange for all transport of goods).
 In addition, he requested significant budget
increases for the military and stepped up
airplane production.
Neutrality Act 0f 1935
 Arms Embargo- the president would
decide when a state of war existed—no
contraband could be sold to belligerents
or to neutrals.
 Shipping was restricted—American ships
were forbidden to transport contraband
 American travelers were warned that
they traveled on belligerent ships at
their own risk.
Neutrality Acts of 1936
 No loans could be made to
belligerents.
 Extended the embargo to any nation
joining the belligerents
 Latin America was exempted if they
were at war with a non-American
country
Neutrality Acts of 1937
 The earlier restrictions were extended
indefinitely—applies to wars & civil conflicts
 Americans were forbidden to travel on
belligerent ships.
 “cash and carry” was allowed for raw
materials—the president could enumerate
the goods that could be sold.
 Forbade arming merchant ships & closed
American ports to belligerent warships—
Latin American ships were exempted—it
was up to the president to recognize a state
of war between nations.
The Arsenal of Democracy
 As the situation in Europe deteriorated, FDR
ran for an unprecedented third term as
president.
 He defeated internationalist Republican
Wendell Willkie in 1940, promising voters that
“your boys are not going to be sent into any
foreign wars.”
 However, by Christmas 1940, he stated in a
fireside chat that the U.S. must become the
“great arsenal of Democracy.”
Lend-Lease Act
 In January, FDR proposed the LendLease Act, which allowed the U.S. to
“lend or lease” weapons to Britain, to be
paid for after the war.
 This effectively skirted the “cash and
carry” provision of the Neutrality Acts.
 Though the U.S. had not officially
declared war against Germany, it had
certainly become involved in the fight.
 Meanwhile, the U.S. looked for a peaceful way
to stop Japanese aggression against China.
 In an effort to derail the Japanese war
machine, the FDR decided to embargo sales of
needed military goods, such as oil and scrap
metal.
 The embargo convinced some Japanese
leaders to best handle any threat by the U.S.
military with a stunning attack against
military installations, such as the naval base
at Pearl Harbor.
The America First Committee
 Founded in September 1940, the AFC soon
rose to more than 800,000 members across
the nation.
 Members included Robert E. Wood,
chairman of Sears, Roebuck, and Co.; WWI
flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker; and “New
Deal agitators” Father Charles Coughlin and
Gerald L.K. Smith.
 However, the most famous member was
probably aviator Charles Lindbergh, whose
1927 solo transatlantic flight had made him
a national hero.
 He believed that the U.S. should focus on building up its
air and coastal defenses, asserting that what FDR was
asking the American people to enter into and support
were actually Europe’s problems, and decrying the fact
that voters never had an opportunity to vote on these
policies.
 For nearly a year, the America First Committee spoke out
against American involvement in the war in Europe.
However, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor silenced
the organization, which dissolved less than a week after
the attack on Pearl Harbor.
FDR’s Four Freedoms
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Perhaps no one made a
better case for American
internationalism in the days
before the U.S. entered the
war than President Roosevelt
himself in his famous “Four
Freedoms” speech.
FDR, recently elected to an
unprecedented third term,
wanted to impress on the
American people—many of
whom still opposed U.S.
involvement in the widening
war in Europe—that aid to
Britain, now standing alone
against Germany, not only
ensured their security but
protected basic freedoms of
all persons everywhere.
Four Freedoms Speech
“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look
forward to a world founded upon four essential human
freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the
world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his way—
everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world
terms, means economic understandings which will secure to
every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—
everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world
terms, means a worldwide reduction of armaments to such a
point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a
position to commit an act of physical aggression against any
neighbor—anywhere in
the world.”
A National Crisis
WWII:
Selective Service Act, Atlantic Charter,
Fighting Discrimination, & Pearl Harbor
Selective Service Act of 1940
 President Roosevelt had promised American
voters that “your boys aren’t going to be sent
into any foreign wars.”
 However, he also recognized the need for
bolstering the armed forces in case the U.S.
did enter the war.
 To that end, Congress passed the Selective
Service and Training Act of 1940 (commonly
called the “Selective Service Act”), instituting
the country’s first peacetime draft.
 The law required all males aged 21–35 to
register.
 A lottery system would help to select draftees
for duty; if selected, the act required a man to
serve for 12 months, after which he would be
discharged.
 All service had to occur in the mainland U.S.
or in a U.S. possession.
 The act limited the peacetime army to a
maximum of 900,000 men.
 It also allowed for non-combat duty for
conscientious objectors.
 By summer 1941, it had become increasingly
evident that the U.S. would enter the war.
 By a single vote, Congress extended the act’s term of
service from 12 to 18 months.
 Congress passed a new Selective Service Act soon
after U.S. joined the war, which required all men
aged 18–65 to register for the draft and made all
men aged 18–45 eligible for military service.
 This new act lengthened the term of service to six
months after the end of the war.
 From 1940 until 1947 (when the wartime draft law
expired), more than 10 million Americans were
inducted into military service.
The Atlantic Charter
The President of the United States of America and
the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, representing His
Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom,
being met together, deem it right to make known
certain common principles in the national policies
of their respective countries on which they base
their hopes for a better future for the world.
 First, their countries seek no aggrandizement, territorial
or other;
 Second, they desire to see no territorial changes that do
not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples
concerned;
 Third, they respect the right of all peoples to choose the
form of government under which they will live; and they
wish to see sovereign rights and self government restored
to those who have been forcibly deprived of them;
 Fourth, they will endeavor, with due respect for their
existing obligations, to further the enjoyment by all
States, great or small, victor or vanquished, of access, on
equal terms, to the trade and to the raw materials of the
world which are needed for their economic prosperity;
 Fifth, they desire to bring about the fullest
collaboration between all nations in the economic field
with the object of securing, for all, improved labor
standards, economic advancement and social security;
 Sixth, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny,
they hope to see established a peace which will afford
to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within
their own boundaries, and which will afford assurance
that all the men in all the lands may live out their lives
in freedom from fear and want;
 Seventh, such a peace should enable all men to
traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance;
 Eighth, they believe that all of the nations of the world,
for realistic as well as spiritual reasons must come to
the abandonment of the use of force.
Protesting Discrimination
 In 1941, A. Philip Randolph, the founder of the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, proposed a march
on Washington, D.C., to protest discrimination in the
military and in industry.
 He called on African Americans from all over the
United States to come to Washington and join him.
 President Roosevelt, afraid the march might cause
unrest among whites, summoned Randolph to the
White House and asked him to call off the march.
 When Randolph refused, Roosevelt issued an executive
order that called on employers and labor unions to
cease discrimination in hiring practices in industries
related to defense.
 As a result of Roosevelt’s actions, the march was
canceled.
Pearl Harbor
 American hopes of staying out of war ended
on December 7, 1941, when carrier-based
Japanese planes bombed the U.S. naval base
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
 In the attack, more than 2400 Americans
were killed, with over 1100 wounded. Several
American battleships were either sunk or
badly damaged.
 The USS Arizona was destroyed by an armorpiercing bomb that detonated in the ship’s
fuel and ammunition chain; more than 1100
sailors and Marines died onboard the ship.
 Other Japanese planes heavily
damaged Pearl Harbor’s army
installations and airfields.
 American naval and airpower
eventually recovered from the attack,
but on that day, it was far from certain
whether the U.S. military could
adequately respond to the Japanese
threat.
A National Crisis
Mobilization & Rosie the Riveter
Axis Powers vs. Allied Powers
• Germany
• Italy
• Japan
•
•
•
•
•
China
France
Great Britain
Soviet Union
United States
Mobilization
 After Pearl Harbor, 5 million men
volunteered for military service, but more
were needed to fight the war.
 The Selective Service System expanded the
draft, and 10 million more men joined the
ranks of the American armed forces.
 So great was the need of the military, a
Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was formed
to fill noncombat positions otherwise filled
by men, freeing up the men for frontline
duty.
 The men needed tanks, planes, ships, guns,
bullets, and boots.
 To equip the troops, the entire American
industry was dedicated to supplying the
military.
 More than 6 million workers in the plants,
factories, and shipyards were women.
 With the men who once did these jobs now
fighting overseas, women filled the void.
Rosie the Riveter
 Women volunteered
for this work even
though they were paid
on average only 60%
as much as men doing
the same jobs.
 It was the hard work
of people and the
industrial might of the
United States that
helped America win
World War II.
 As time went on, the war industry needed more raw
materials.
 One way Americans helped the war effort was through
wartime conservation.
 Workers would carpool to work or ride bicycles to save
gasoline and rubber.
 People participated in nationwide drives to collect scrap
iron, tin cans, newspaper, rags, and even cooking grease
to recycle and use in war production.
 Another way Americans conserved on the home front was
through the mandatory government rationing system.
 Under this system, each household received a “c book”
with coupons that were used to buy scarce items such as
meat, sugar, and coffee. Gas rationing was also used to
help save gasoline for military use.
A National Crisis
Battle of Midway, D-Day, Fall of
Berlin, & the Atomic Bomb
Battle of Midway
 June 4–7, 1942––Six months after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy won a sea
battle against the Japanese Navy that was a turning
point in World War II.
 The Japanese tried to trap and sink America’s
remaining aircraft carriers and then take the Midway
Atoll, an American refueling station for ships and
airplanes, but the United States destroyed four
Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only one
American carrier.
 This kept the Japanese from capturing Midway.
 This victory is regarded as the most important naval
engagement of the Pacific campaign of the war and,
at the time, was a huge morale boost for America.
 The Japanese Navy never recovered from this defeat,
enabling the United States to gain control of other
strategic Pacific islands.
 From those islands, the United States was able to
overcome the geographical difficulty of resupplying its
forces with food, medicine, weapons, and other
critical supplies needed to push westward toward the
Japanese mainland.
D Day
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June 6, 1944––D Day was the code name for the first day
of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied
France.
It remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, with
over 156,000 men crossing the English Channel in 6,939
vessels.
The German troops occupying France were caught almost
completely by surprise and, although the Allies met heavy
resistance in small areas, the invasion went almost exactly
according to plan.
As a result of the operation’s success, American and British
forces were able to maintain a permanent beachhead in
mainland Europe to resupply their forces and push east to
Germany.
The geographical advantage gained by the invasion marked
the beginning of victory for the Allies in Europe.
The Fall of Berlin
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April–May 1945––The fall of Berlin was one of the final
battles of the European theater during World War II.
Two Soviet army groups attacked Berlin from the east and
south, while a third attacked German forces north of Berlin.
The Soviets lost 81,116 men taking the city, while the
Germans lost 458,080 trying to defend it.
It was one of the bloodiest battles in history. Adolf Hitler
was in Berlin during the battle and, before it ended, he and
many of his followers committed suicide.
The city’s defenders surrendered on May 2, but fighting
continued outside the city until the war ended on May 8.
Much of the continued fighting was due to the Germans
trying to move westward so they could surrender to the
Americans or British instead of to the Soviets.
Atomic Bomb
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Allied leaders planning the war against Japan knew that once
they defeated the Japanese navy in the
Pacific Ocean they would still have to invade Japan itself to end
the war. They knew Japan still had a
huge army that would defend every inch of the homeland, and
both sides could possibly lose millions of people in the process.
President Truman decided there was only one way to avoid an
invasion of Japan and still defeat them.
He would use a brand-new weapon that no one had ever seen
before: the atomic bomb.
The American government had developed two atomic bombs in
a secret laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
The bombs were dropped on Japan in early August 1945. On
September 2, 1945, the Japanese surrendered, and World War
II was finally over.
The project’s code name was “The Manhattan Project.”
Atomic Bomb (cont’d)
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The implications of developing and using atomic bombs in
World War II were enormous.
From a military standpoint, it was clear that not only did the
United States have a powerful weapon that no other
country had, but the American government was not afraid
to use it.
The Soviet Union quickly began developing an atomic bomb
of its own, an act that helped begin the Cold War.
Also, nuclear power would soon be used to power aircraft
carriers and submarines.
Scientifically and economically, the atomic bomb led to
nuclear power for civilian use, such as generating electricity
for homes and businesses.
Nuclear power is also used in technologies such as positron
emission tomography (PET) scans, which are used by
physicians to study the workings of the human body,
including brain functions.