o Many get Japan first opinions.
o In ABC-1 agreement with British adopted grand strategy of “getting Germany first”.
§ If otherwise, Hitler could conquer Europe.
§ Much opposition from ignorant Americans who wanted revenge.
Allies Trade Space for Time
o US was mightiest nation potentially, but needed time.
o Had to clothe, arm, transport and supply.
The Shock of War
o National unity present.
§ Italian and German Americans loyally supported nation’s war program.
§ Speeded assimilation of many ethnic groups into Amer. Society.
§ Now composed of well-settled members.
· Virtually no gov witch-hunting of minority groups
o Exception was hunting of Japanese-Americans.
§ Had internment camps though 2/3 were American born US citizens.
§ Upheld constitutionality in Korematsu v. US.
§ Later would apologize for actions and reparations of $20 k made to each survivor.
o NEW DEAL ENDS
§ CCC, WPA, NYA all wiped out by conservative Congress
o WWII was not idealistic war as first one has been.
§ Accent on action.
§ 9/10 Americans could not cite provisions of Atlantic Charter and didn’t really know what the war was about.
Building the War Machine
o War Production Board creation of many bullets, aircraft, ships, etc.
§ Micracle shipbuilder Henry J. Kaiser had many ship construction prodigies.
§ Halted production of nonessential items and assigned priorities for accessing raw materials.
· When Japan got Malaya and Dutch East Indies, imposed national speed limit to conserve rubber and built synthetic rubber plants.
o Heavy new investment in agricultural machinery and improved fertilizers.
§ Increased food production again.
o Full employment and consumer goods = sharp inflation
§ Office of Price Administration brought ascending prices under control w/ regulations.
§ Made consumption of goods down
o War Labor Board imposed ceilings on wage increases
o Labor unions membership grew.
§ Resented gov dictated wage ceilings.
§ Many labor walkouts.
§ Prominent = United Mine Workers led by John L. Lewis.
o Threats of strikes led to Smith-Connollay Anti-Strike Act authorized federal gov to seize and operate tied-up industries.
§ Crimes against those industries = criminal offense.
§ Gov took over coal mines and railroads.
o Strikes still less than 1% of working hours.
o American workers on the whole more committed to war effort.
Manpower and Womanpower
o Many women in arms
§ WAACs (army) WAVES (navy) and SPARS (Coast Guard).
§ Many men conscripted, though workers in certain key categories of industry kept to keep machines running
· Still had labor shortage so new workers required.
· Agreement with mexico > braceros harvested fruited and grain.
o Became fixed feature of agricultural economy in western states.
o Women to factories
§ 6 million took jobs out of home, ½ never worked for wages.
§ Led to 3000 day care centers.
§ Rosie the Riveter
o Majority of women did not work for wages but continued traditional roles during wartime
§ In Britain, USSR, far more women into industrial employment.
§ After war 2/3 of women left labor force.
· Half left voluntarily b/c of family obligations.
§ War resulted in more domesticity due to obligations for “baby boomers”.
Wartime Migrations
o Many of 15 million men and women in uniform did not choose to go home at war’s end.
§ War industries made people go into boomtowns.
§ FDR called South the “nation’s number one econ problem” and seized opportunity of war to accelerate its econ development.
· They received disproportionate share of defense contracts.
· Led to “Sunbelt”
o 1.6 blacks left south and went to West and North for industrial jobs.
§ A. Philip Randolph head of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters demanded equal opportunities for blacks in war jobs and armed forces.
· Due to race tensions over employment
· Roosevelt issued executive order FORBIDDING DISCRIMINATION in defense industries
§ Fair Employment Practices Commission to monitor this.
o But blacks still generally assigned to service branches than combat units.
§ Rallied for “Double V” in dictators and racism.
o Membership in NAACP increased and new militant Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) founded.
o Northward migration of blacks after war
§ B/c of invention of mechanical cotton picker.
§ Worked 50 people at 1/8 cost.
· Cotton Belt’s need for cheap labor disappeared.
§ 5 million blacks headed north. Great migrations.
§ 1970 half of all blacks lived outside south
o War = exodus of Native Americans from reservations
§ Found war work.
§ 90% of N.A. in reservation 1940, 2000 more than half lived in cities.
· Code talkers during war.
o Mexicans coming in = racial riots.
Holding the Home Front
o America not really in ruins.
o GNP from $100 in 1940 to $200 billion in 1945.
§ Secretary of War Henry Stimson “If you are going to try to go to war in a capitalist country, you have to let business make money out of the process or business won’t work”.
o Disposable personal income doubled.
o Mass consumption pushed up prices by 33%.
o More than New Deal, during the war government interventionism great.
§ Millions worked for US in defense industries, where employers and unions monitored by FEPC and WLB.
o Office of Scientific Research and Development
§ Many dollars into scientific research
§ Helped US tech and econ leadership postwar.
o Flood of war dollars = little unemployment.
§ Postwar economy still very dependent on military spending and saw WWII as origins of “warfare welfare state”
o Wartime bill $330 billion.
§ Led to increase income tax = 4 times as many people charged.
§ Max tax rates up 90%.
§ National debt from $49 bil 1941 to $259 bil in 1945.
The Rising Sun in the Pacific
o Japan took Guam, Wake, Philippines, Hong Kong and cut the Burma Road.
Japan’s High Tide at Midway
o Battle of Coral Sea.
§ First time fighting done all by carrier-based aircraft.
o Midway Island battle where fighting all done by aircraft and Japanese lost four important carriers.
§ Was a pivotal victory
§ Halted Japan expansion.
American Leapfrogging Toward Tokyo
o After Midway US could seek initiative
§ Casualty ratio of more than 10:1, Japanese:American throughout Pacific War.
o Used strategy of island hopping to bypass some of most heavily fortified Japanese ports.
§ Captured nearby islands and neutralized enemy bases through heavy bombing.
o Victory through US new b-29 bombers for bombing raids against Japan.
The Allied Halting of Hitler
o Old techniques of escorting convoys strengthened by air patrol and new invention of radar.
o Allied anti-sub tactics worked due to Britain codebreakers who broke “Enigma codes” and could pinpoint location of U-Boats.
o 1943 began to have upper hand against the U-Boat.
§ Land-air victory obtained in North Africa where enemies driven away from Egypt and to Tunisia.
§ Soviet front had unexpected red army successes.
· 1942 Counteroffensive which was never seriously reversed.
· Year later will gain 2/3 of land back.
A Second Front from North Africa to Rome
o Soviet losses – millions, most of western USSR overridden. 20 mil.
§ Allies feared USSR would be unable to hold out and make separate peace.
§ British not enthusiastic about frontal assault on France (disaster could prevail)
o Assault on North Africa compromise second front.
§ Led by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
§ German Italian surrender.
o Big Two then agreed to increase pressure on Italy = unconditional surrender.
§ Tensions increased w/ soviets who didn’t want separate Allied peace negotiations.
§ Also admitted weakness of Western allies b/c unable to mount second front Soviets wanted.
· Very controversial part of war
· Thought to make enemy fight to last resistance.
§ Complicated problems of postwar reconstruction.
o After Africa victories, Mussolini deposed and Italy surrendered unconditionally.
§ Germans did not drop out of Italy.
§ Went against Italians who had declared war on Germany.
§ Later fought through northern Italy and to Germany.
· May have delayed Allied invasion of Europe, allowing more time for Soviet army to advance into Eastern Europe.
D-Day: June 6, 1944
o Soviets never ceased clamor for second front.
§ Tehran Conference
§ Agreement on broad plans incl. launching Soviet attachs on Germany from east w/ Allied assault from west.
§ 3 million men readied.
· Overall command to General Eisenhower.
o Distinguished himself in North African and Mediterranean Campaigns.
o French Normandy was used for assault start for D-Day.
§ Stiff resistance from Germans.
§ Allies had mastery of air over France, able to blcok reinforcements by killing railroads.
o Paris then liberated.
FDR: The fourth Termite of 1944
o Republicans once again nominated Thomas E. Dewey
§ National reputation of prosecuting corruption.
§ Internationalistic, but VP was strong isolationist.
o FDR nominated by Democrats
§ No other major figure available.
§ War almost over.
§ Was in a sense “forgotten man” b/c of his old age.
§ Truman nominated to be VP.
Roosevelt Defeats Dewey
o Dewey took offensive b/c Roosevelt busy directing war.
o FDR a lot of assistance from CIO organized to get around law banning direct use of union funds for political purposes.
§ Won primarily b/c war was going well, and experienced hand was needed to get future organization for world peace.
The Last days of Hitler
o Soviet surge penetrated east Germany.
o Hitler one last counterstrike in Ardennes Forest wanted to catch Antwerp. In Battle of the Bulge, failed.
§ Allied forces pushed through, found concentration camps.
§ Roosevelt at the time slow to take steps against genocide.
· Doors against Jewish refugees, refused to bomb trains carrying them.
o Roosevelt suddenly died and Truman takes place.
Japan Dies Hard
o Undersea craft of Allies destroyed 50% of Japan’s life-sustaining merchant fleet.
o Massive fire-bomb raid in March 1945.
§ Japan soon through as a sea power.
o Battle of Iowa Jima and Okinawa where 4000 Amer and 50,000 Amer casualties lost due to fighting to the edge.
o Use of kamikazes as last ditch measure.
The Atomic Bombs
o Tokyo felt defeat and sent peace feelers to Moscow.
§ Allies know of them, but Japan still did not want to surrender unconditionally.
o Potsdam Conference issued ultimatum to Japan: surrender or be destroyed.
§ Albert Einstein and scientists already prepared for atom bomb development.
§ Roosevelt made available $2 billion for research.
· Feared that Germany would eventually get it.
o Manhattan Project
§ First test in Alamogordo New Mexico.
§ Hiroshima bombing August 6, 1945
§ 2 days later Russia declared war against Japan.
· Overran Japan defenses and Manchuria, and Korea.
§ Nagasaki bombing August 9, 1945
o Day after Nagasaki unconditional surrender under one condition: the emperor remain on his throne as nominal emperor.
The Allies Triumphant
o Americans suffered 1 mil tragedies
§ Proportion killed by disease sharply reduced
· Penicillin
§ USSR 20 million losses.
§ America almost unscarred, rest of world not the same.
§ Best fought war in US History.
o US military order of highest order such as Eisenhower, MacARthur and Marshall (chief of staff)
§ Good collaboration b/w FDR and Winston Churchill
o America way was more – more men, weapons, machines, tech, money than any other money hope to match.
o Unusual amount of direct control over individual, but US people managed to preserve liberties w/o serious impairment
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