A Democracy at War: World War II and the United States

2

Peace Movement 1928-1937• Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

– All nations that signed pledged not to use military force for aggressive ends

– “the most telling action in human history to abolish war”

3

Good Neighbor Policy

• Roosevelt 1933: a policy of the good neighbor toward other nations

• Focus on Latin and Central America

• Non-interventionist approach

4

Good Neighbor?

• “Dollar Diplomacy” no longer made economic sense due to the Great Depression

• Growing threats abroad prompted cooperation

• Repeal of the Roosevelt Corollary

• Abrogated the Platt Amendment1938- Mexico seized American oil

interests, Roosevelt refused to buckle under US company pressure

5

London Economic Conference (1933) • During Hoover’s last

months, he supported an international economic conference. Roosevelt initially agreed.

• Proposals were made to stabilize currencies with an international gold standard, Roosevelt thought this hurt his “recovery” efforts

6

Fascism• Glorifying a nation and a race through a

very aggressive show of force.– Italy- Benito Mussolini– Germany- Adolf Hitler– Japan- Hirohito

7

Adolf Hitler

• Born in Austria in 1889

• Dispatch runner during WWI

• Won Iron Cross after being blinded by Mustard Gas

• In when the Armistice is signed

8

Nazi Party and “De Fuhrer”• 1920- Nationalist-Socialist Workers Party is

formed out of the German Workers Party• Arises out of the economic despair after WWI,

and the national resentments of the Treaty of Versailles.

• 1933- Nazis control the Reichstag, and Hitler is named chancellor under Hindenburg

• 1934- Hitler consolidates the office of President and Chancellor after Hindenburg dies

9

10

Italy and “Il Duce”• Mussolini seized power in 1922.• This fascist party consisted of war

veterans, nationalists and anti-communists

11

Japan and the “Sun God”

• Nationalistic militants convinced the Emperor Hirohito that economic success was controlling raw materials

• “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”

12

America: Isolationism• During the Great Depression,

Americans were apathetic in foreign affairs

• Many Americans viewed the US entry into WWI as a mistake.

13

Gerald Nye• Senator form

North Dakota• Concluded that

America only entered WWI because of the greed of bankers and arms manufacturers.

$

14

Neutrality Acts• Designed to ensure that the US would

stay out of foreign wars.• 1935- banned arms shipments and

travel by US citizens on belligerent nations

• 1936- prohibited loans and credits• 1937- made acts permanent and

required all other trade be conducted on a “cash and carry” basis

15

Appeasement• 1935- Mussolini and Ethiopia

– The League of Nations and the US objected, but did nothing

• 1936- Hitler occupies the Rhineland• 1937- Japan and China in full-scale war

– Panay- US gunboat sunk, apology accepted• 1938- Austria annexed into the Reich

16

• 1938- The Sudetenland– Strip of land in

Czechoslovakia where most were German-speaking

• The British and French allowed Hitler the land unopposed after meeting with the Germans and Italians in Munich

• By March of 1939, Hitler had occupied all of Czechoslovakia

Appeasement

17

Franklin’s Response• Realized the dangers of the Fascist

aggressors• “quarantine the aggressor”• Public reacted negatively

18

American Response• FDR argued for increased military

budgets and neutrality.• Isolationists agreed thinking that

the money would be used only in the Western Hemisphere.

FDR Isolationists

19

WWII begins• Britain and France

pledged to fight if Poland was invaded

• Non-Aggression Pact btw Soviets and Nazis

• September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland

• France and Britain declare war on Germany, Italy and Japan retaliate

20

Blitzkrieg: Lightning War• Utilization of close

tanks and dive bombers in swift coordination

• April 1940- Hitler seized Norway and Denmark in a few days

• May 1940- British troops forced off main continent

• June 1940- France capitulates in one week

21

Americans Alarmed

• Stunned by the triumphant Nazis• Neutrality Act 1939: war materials

could be sold on cash and carry basis--- favored Britain

• Selective Service Act 1940- all men 21-35, trained 1.2 million in one year--- draft during peacetime?

• Destroyers for bases- 50 destroyers for bases in the Caribbean

22

Election of 1940• “Your boys are not

going to be sent into foreign war”- campaign slogan

• Republican Candidate: Wendell Willkie– criticized FDR for breaking tradition

• Roosevelt won for a third time

23

24

Lend-Lease Act• Sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease,

lend, or dispose of war supplies to any country that the President deems vital to the defense of the United States

25

Atlantic Charter 1941• Laid out

objectives toward peace: self-determination, no territorial expansion and free trade

26

Undeclared Naval War• American

destroyer Greer incident

• Shoot-on-sight policy: focus on Germany

27

“A Day that will live in infamy”• December 7,

1941: Japanese launch their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, killing 2,400 and wounding 1,200 Americans

28

U.S. enters World War II• Dec. 8, 1941:

Congress declares war on Japan

• Dec. 11, 1941: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States

29

Mobilizing the Home Front• War Production

Board (WPB)- manage the war industries

• Office of War Mobilization (OWM)- controlled production priorities and raw materials

• War Labor Board (WLB)- ceilings on wage increases

• Office of Price Administration (OPA)- price and wage freezing, and rationing

30

Women• 6 million entered

workforce, half had never earned a wage before

• Many left after the war, but some stayed on as wage earners

31

African Americans

• 1.6 million blacks migrated North and West

• Fair Employment Practices Commission

• Tuskegee Airmen

32

Mexicans• 1942- agreement

for braceros to enter easily during harvest season

• Los Angeles- 1943 “Zoot-Suit Riots”

33

Japanese Americans• Fear following Pearl

Harbor prompted Americans to be suspicious of a West Coast invasion.

• 100,000+ were ordered into internment camps

• Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)- upheld policy

34

35

Effects of Mobilization• American

economy brought out of the depression by immense government spending

• Start of “big government interventionism”

36

Costs of War• 2/5 of the war

costs were paid with current revenues

• Borrowed the remainder

• 1941- national debt $49 billion

• 1945- national debt $259 billion

37

Casablanca Conference 1943

• Meeting of Roosevelt and Churchill

• “Unconditional surrender”

38

Election of 1944• FDR vs.

Thomas Dewey

• FDR wins for a fourth term

• Dies April 1945, putting Truman in control

39

Decisive Battles in Europe• June 6, 1944-

D-Day• December

1944- Battle of the Bulge

• Victory in Europe (VE)- May 7, 1945

40

Island Hopping in the Pacific• Battle at

Midway- June 1942

• Okinawa- April to June 1945

• Hiroshima- August 6, 1945

• Nagasaki- August 9, 1945

• Surrender August 14, 1945- formally on Sept. 2 (VJ)

41

Truman’s decision for using the A-Bomb

• Win with saving American lives

• Seen as a conventional weapon

• The U.S. had spent 2.5 billion on the project

• Keep Soviets out of Post-War Japan