Download October 6, 2009 The Great War Woodrow Wilson as president He

October 6, 2009
The Great War
Woodrow Wilson as president
 He has little foreign-policy experience which isn't too unusual b/c the US was just starting to move into
becoming more involved overseas
 Policy based on idealism of progressive thought: moral diplomacy
o "With Democrats in control of Congress, Wilson moved aggressively to implement his version of
progressivism"
o He will apply these ideas to this policy: to take progressive ideas – advancing, changing society and apply
it to foreign-policy
o We will take a gentler moral approach: we want to do what is right and help other nations
o Doesn't go out so well
 Very religious
 William Jennings Bryan as secretary of state -- "a strong anti-imperialist"
US made many "cooling off" treaties
 Wilson and Bryan worked together on these treaties
 Cooling off treaties are for countries that are on the verge of going to war with one another. This is a “cooling
off” period
 Cooling off treaty called for an arbitrator who will listen to the disputes and try to mediate a settlement without
having to revert to warfare because war represents things that are not progressive and the US wants to be
progressive and extend our progressive reforms in a domestic perspective to also a global perspective
 Wilson believed in peace as an extension of domestic progressive policies
 The people involved in these treaties are generally countries in American hemisphere
 Wilson's progressive ideas for foreign affairs gradually shifted
o Wilson's ideas of moral diplomacy don't work so well
"Wilson promised a new foreign-policy that would respect Latin America's independence and free it from foreign
economic domination. But Wilson could not abandon the conviction that the US had a responsibility to teach other
peoples the lessons of democracy."
US – Mexico relations
 Porfirio Diaz was president (dictator) 1876-1910
 As the US starts developing more industry and technology, more and more Americans start to invest more
heavily in Mexico particularly in the railroad infrastructures, mining, and also to an extent oil
 Diaz likes the increase in American investments because he is making a lot of money
o Mexico as a country was not however
 Diaz’ power began to slip in 1910
 Diaz was a very conservative leader. The Mexican people wanted changes, reforms, a more liberal free
government.
 Most Mexicans did not benefit from foreign investments
Diaz fled
Americans were watching to see who was going to be in charge
Mexico goes into revolution in 1911; Diaz fled
Francisco Madero led rebellion and "overthrew the government of dictator Diaz"
 He opposed Diaz the last couple of years. Once Diaz was out of power, Madero tried to put himself in charge.
Madero tries to hold power but it doesn't last very long. He is always facing other conflicts and oppositions.
Gen. Victoriano Huerta opposed Madero and killed him.
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Two years after the rebellion, "without Wilson's knowledge but with the backing of the US ambassador and
other American companies that controlled Mexico's oil and mining industries, military commander victoriano
Huerta assassinated Madero and seized power."
He then took power  very conservative
o Wilson was appalled "a government of the butchers"
o Huerta also wants to start taxing American investments at high rates. Americans want to do something
about that because that will hurt American finances but Wilson can't because of moral diplomacy
o B/c Huerta took power through violence and started taxing American investments, we frown upon that
(moral diplomacy) and refused to recognize Huerta as a legitimate ruler
Wilson publicly denounced the possibility of US intervention in Mexico
Privately Wilson wanted a new regime in Mexico and tried to think of what steps were necessary to get rid of
Huerta
Wilson realized after the revolution from 1911 had been going into the 1920s that there was a lot of political instability
and were a lot of people in Mexico that did not like Huerta. Wilson begins to think of how can the US use the people that
want to get rid of Huerta…
Wilson removed a weapons embargo to Mexico
 Wilson thought that if the US stopped selling weapons to Mexico, then they could legally start selling weapons
to the anti-Huerta people.
 Huerta and his government had signed trade agreements with some German companies to buy weapons from
Germany
 Wilson decided to intervene in the trade between Mexico and Germany and sent in the US Navy
o Wilson approved the US bombardment of Vera Cruz to prevent the arrival of weapons meant for Huerta
by Germany
o Stationed warships near Vera Cruz to halt weapons going to Huerta
As our ships went to Vera Cruz to stop German weapons, another US Navy ship decided to dock in Tampico
Tampico Incident
 US sailors wandered in to restricted area and were arrested for being “spies”
 Wilson had asked Congress for authorization to send in the Marines to bust out US sailors if necessary
o Congress agreed and gave him the finances to do so
o Before that could happen, Mexico released the US sailors
 Wilson then decided to use finances and attack their Cruz because some of the German ships that were bringing
weapons to Huerta got through our blockade. We want to confiscate those weapons and blow up their ships.
 Marines went ashore on Vera Cruz but "to Wilson's surprise, Mexicans greeted the Marines as invaders rather
than liberators. Vera Cruz, after all, was where the forces of the Conquistador Hernan Cortes had landed in the
16th century and those of the Winfield Scott during the Mexican war."
 Now, we are almost at war with Mexico in 1915. What Wilson had hoped would happen was by sending in the
Marines and stopping these German weapons sales to Huerta that the Mexican people (the anti-Huertas) would
rise up and rebel at this point. But they didn't because we invaded Mexican territory (national sovereignty). Now
the Mexican people and the anti-Huertas side with Huerta to get the US out of their territory.
WW1 on the verge in Europe
ABC Powers propose a US withdrawal and a new provisional government in Mexico
 ABC: Argentina, Brazil, and Chile
 They are members (Signatories) of some of these cooling off treaties. They came in and told the US and Mexico
that we need to step back and cool off.
 ABC Powers tried to work out a settlement that would get rid of Americans in Vera Cruz and also call for free
elections in Mexico which would essentially get rid of Huerta. So their proposal was that if Huerta would step
down and Mexico will have free elections, then the US would agree to withdrawal from Vera Cruz
o The US agreed
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Huerta refused because he wanted to stay in power but was eventually forced out in 1914 "civil war
continued, and neither side seemed grateful for Wilson's interference."
Some of Huerta’s opponents rise up and overthrow him
August 1914: Venustiano Carranza took power for reform in Mexico
 The people like Carranza and he seems to want to enact things that would help the Mexican people
 He is very friendly towards the US
 US recognizes Carranza government as legitimate
November 1914: US leaves Vera Cruz
Not everyone in Mexico is happy
 Francisco "Pancho” Viilla
o Former Carranza general
o Although Carranza is a liberal reformer, he is not liberal enough for Villa. He wanted more reform than
Carranza offered
o Decided to lead a rebellion against Carranza in upper Mexico that ultimately starts to involve the US
o Villa hoped that by leading this rebellion the US would see that Carranza is incapable of controlling
Mexico. And that would open the door for Villa to assert himself.
o He attacked US citizens and invaded the US several times also destroying property
 He attacked New Mexico, Texas
o Villa wanted US to remove Carranza
o US started pressuring Carranza to stop Villa
"Mexico was a warning that it might be more difficult than Wilson a sense to use American might to reorder the internal
affairs of other nations, or to apply moral certainty to foreign-policy."
1916: Wilson finally intervened in Mexican affairs when the "war spilled over into the US"
 Instead of removing Carranza like Villa wanted, we sent in our own troops
 Sent Gen. John Pershing to border to get Villa
 Gen. Pershing chased Villa for nearly one year
 Gen. Pershing had 15,000 troops
 Carranza picked up his own war effort on Villa in 1917 after getting tired of US troops in Mexico
 Gen. Pershing's troops included black soldiers of the 10th Calvary
o 10th Calvary is one of four African-American army regiments of the time
o Maj. Charles E. Young was among those
 Graduated from West Point
o Black troops performed well and later were supported by blacks in 24th coverage
 Gen. Pershing never caught Villa and was recalled to DC in 1917 to command AEF preparing for Europe (go to
France and fight the Germans)
o April 1917: US declared war on Germany
Originally WW1 was called the Great War because the war was so devastating and destructive that people just believed
that this would be the last war
WW1 Causes:
1. Nationalism
a. Ethnic rivalries in Europe and around the world
b. Many divided states and territories
2. Imperialism
a. Competition between European powers
b. France, Germany, and Great Britain each were trying to establish colonies and gain more control in
places like Serbia and Austria-Hungary
3. Militarism
a. Competition between rivals to build bigger and better navies/armies
b. Mahan principles (controlling resources, having big navies, merchant Marines, colonies)
c. Germany starts to build up its Navy and Army and wants to build up colonies. Great Britain sees this and
starts to build up its Navy and Army more.
4. Two major Alliances
a. Triple Alliance aka Central Powers: Germany, Italy (initially), Austria-Hungary, and Turkey
b. Triple Entente: France, Great Britain, Russia
i. France and Russia have a strong alliance.
c. Entangling alliances and mutual defense agreements
d. When one country would go to war, it's alliance would go in and help
5. Assassination of Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo by Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist group
a. Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austria-Hungary Empire
b. She took a trip to Sarajevo, Serbia because Austria-Hungary wanted to annex Serbia. But there are
groups in Serbia that do not want to be annexed. The Black Hand thought that if they could kill
Ferdinand it would send a message to Austria-Hungary that they do not want annexed. A member of the
Black Hand threw a bomb into the crowd and an attempt to kill Ferdinand and his wife. They managed
to escape in a car but then another assassin of the Black Hand saw the car and shot Ferdinand and his
wife.
i. This was a catalyst to the war.
c. Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia saying that if Serbia did not imply with each demand,
then Austria-Hungary would attack them.
d. Serbia complied almost entirely - no need for war
e. But Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia anyway because Serbia did not comply to every single thing and
Austria-Hungary wanted Serbia for Franz Ferdinand death
"When war broke out in 1914, Pres. Wilson proclaimed American neutrality."
As a result:
 Russia mobilized troops to help Serbia
 Germany mobilized to help Austria-Hungary
 France mobilized to help Russia
 Great Britain began to mobilize but not to send troops in
 Italy mobilized but it did not help Germany
o In 1915, Italy entered on allied side
 Turkey began to mobilize and would enter on side of Central Powers
Wilson called for an end to this secret diplomacy towards the end of the war
July 28, 1914:
 In 1914, the Panama Canal opened and the US is embroiled in Mexico with Huerta
Germany attacked France
 Used the Schlieffen plan
o “German forces quickly overran Belgium and part of northern France."
o Belgium wants to remain neutral. But as soon as Germany entered Belgium, they violated Belgium
neutrality. This is what gets the British involved.
o Germany thought that if they attacked France first and got them out of the way, then they could attack
Russia b/c Russia was still mobilizing their troops
 Successful initially but then was stopped
 “The war then settled into a prolonged stalemate, with bloody, indecisive battles succeeding one another.”
o Many battles were for little or no gain
o “New military technologies -- submarines, airplanes, machine guns, tanks, and poison gas -- produced
unprecedented slaughter."
October 8, 2009
The Great War
Trench warfare became the standard
 Large networks of trenches for both sides
 “No Man's Land" between the sets of trenches
 Periodic charges into NML
 Heavy losses on both sides
 Both sides used barbed wire, machine guns, artillery, and gas
 Some battles resulted in 50,000 casualties for one side
US Responds to War
 US stays neutral
 Tradition of neutrality
Other reasons why the US stays neutral:
 Progressive idealism of Wilson
o Wilson knew that he could not implement and continue these progressive reforms domestically if the US
is busy fighting and financing a war. There wouldn't be any money for the reforms.
o Progressive reforms such as business regulation and gradually softening on ideas of women's suffrage
and anti-child labor laws
 Economic aspects
o If the US is neutral, then they are able to trade with everyone at the same time.
o Even though this is a reason of why the US wants to stay neutral, it ends up being a reason why the US
gets involved in the war.
 Immigrants in US
o There were about 10 million German immigrants in America. The US (who if went to war would be on
the side of the British and French) was afraid that the German immigrants in America would rise up and
rebel.
 Plus, the US is busy with the situation in Mexico with Victoriano Huerta, Venustiano Carranza, and later Pancho
Villa
American rights are violated by Britain and Germany
 Britain violations are not fatal
o Britain cut American underwater telegraph/telephone lines with Germany
o Britain sometimes requested American ships to stop so that their cargo could be inspected. The British
wanted to know what the US was trading with Germany.
 Germany violations resulted in deaths
o Submarine warfare and the sinking of American ships without warning
 US slowly pull toward Allied cause (Britain and France) because of these things
Why help?
 Economics and trade
o Throughout the war, American bankers and private businesses extended all lot of loans and credit to
British and French companies and banks.
o By the late 1916, it looked like Britain and France were going to lose the war. If Britain and France lost
the war, none of this money would be paid back and these businesses would collapse it would send the
US into economic disaster. So it became economically and our best interest to make sure Britain and
France won the war. It's a
 Americans have a lot of commonalities with the British
o We both speak English
o We came from England
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The French helped us in the American Revolution
Anti-German propaganda
Unrestricted submarine warfare and Belgium neutrality violation by Germany
Zimmerman note/telegram
Germany built a lot of U-Boats: German submarine
 Small, not very fast, cannot stay under water very long, don't have a lot of armor/weapons
 Germany decided to put these U-Boats around the British Isles and could sink enough of British supplies to hurt
their war effort and then would give Germany an advantage on the ground
 Germany declared a war zone around Britain
o Threatened to sink ships entering zone without warning
o Many merchant ships and small passengers ships were even sunk
o Sometimes Germany would warn the passengers but still sink the ship
 Germany did not always save passengers or crews
o U-Boats sunk thousands of tons of British supplies
They call this:
USW: Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
 Caused outrage in US
 Wilson demanded an end to USW
 May 7, 1915: Britain ship Lusitania was sunk by Germany U-Boat U20
o 1198 people died including 128 Americans
 Germans claimed that there were illegal war supplies on this passenger ship and that the British were using this
ship to really carry across weapons and materials (and there were)
 Wilson demanded Germany stop
The Arabic passenger ship was sunk
 September 1915: Arabic Pledge
o Germany decided to stop sinking ocean liners without warning and took a pledge
o Didn't last long b/c during this time, on the battlefield the British and French were getting more supplies
and were fighting better
March 1916: Germany broke pledge and started unrestricted submarine warfare again
 Germany sunk the Sussex ship
 Sussex Pledge: Germany decided to stop sinking ocean liners without warning and took a pledge AGAIN
Wilson ran for reelection in 1916 and won on a "he kept us out of war" platform
 Advocated peace and progressivism
 Promised more progressive reforms at home
o Kern-McGillicuddy Act, limiting child labor, workers compensation for federal employees, women's
suffrage
o At this time, the US is still chasing Pancho Villa
Wilson tried to end war in Europe peaceably
 December 1916: Wilson wrote a letter to the leader of every country involved in the war trying to make peace
 Wilson called for a “peace without victory” in Europe and “outlined his vision for a world order including
freedom of the seas, for sure actions on armaments, and self-determination for nations great and small.”
o “Peace without victory”: we can make a lasting peace in Europe without having anyone win
 Called for an international league of peace
February 1917: Wilson broke diplomatic relations with Germany because Germany has continued unrestricted
submarine warfare and American lives are being lost
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Wilson authorized US merchant ships to mount guns and weapons for protection
U.S. Navy was also ordered to fire on Germany U-Boats
March 1917: Zimmerman Note was discovered
 “British spies intercepted and made public the Zimmerman telegram”
 Arthur Zimmerman was a German foreign ambassador
o He called for Mexico to join in a coming war against the US and promised to help it recover territory lost
in the Mexican war of 1846-1848.
o He wanted Mexico to enter war and help Germany and is
o He called for Mexico to attack the US if the US declared war on Germany
 Zimmerman Note became public
o US public was outraged, many called for war
March 1917: “A revolution in Russia that same month overthrew the czar and establish a constitutional government, the
US would be fighting on the side of democracy.”
March 1917: Germany sunk five US ships
April 2, 1917: Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany
April 6, 1917: US declared war on Germany
 US must build Army (it was small) and National Guard
US established training camps
1917: Congress passed Selective Service Act
 "24 million men were required to register with the draft, and the Army soon swelled from 120,000 to 5 million
men.”
 Troops lacked equipment and trained instructors
 Whites only at first
Financing the War
 Liberty Bond Act
 We start selling liberty bonds to help finance the war
 “Tens of millions of Americans answered the call to demonstrate their patriotism by purchasing liberty bonds.
Read Chapter 19: financing the war, the war on the home front, women's roles, great migration, war
labor board, industry, rail commission, committee of public information
Women's Roles
 1916: Wilson endorsed votes for women
 “Women sold war bonds, organized patriotic rallies, and went to work and war production jobs.”
o Some served as “clerical workers and nurses with American forces in Europe.”
o National Women’s Party: “pressed for the right to vote”
o 1920 19th amendment: women's suffrage
April 1917: the Committee on Public Information was created
 Directed by George Creel
 “The CPI flooded the country with pro-war propaganda, using every available medium from pamphlets to
posters, newspaper advertisements, and motion pictures.”
 “It trained and dispatched across the country 75,000 Four-Minute Men, who delivered brief standardized talks
to audiences in movie theaters, schools, and other public venues.”
“Not until the spring of 1918 to American forces arrived in Europe and large numbers.”
January 1918: Wilson issued the Fourteen Points which was the “clearest statement American war aims and of his vision
of a new international order. Among the key principles were self-determination for all nations, freedom of the seas, free
trade, open diplomacy (an end to secret treaties), the readjustment of colonial claims with colonized people given ‘equal
weight’ and deciding their futures, and to the creation of a ‘general association of nations’ to preserve the peace.”
 This “led to the establishment after the war of the League of Nations, as a kind of global counterpart to the
regulatory commissions progressives had created at home to maintain social harmony and prevent the powerful
from exploiting the weak.”
Spring 1918: The US helped “repulse a German advance near Paris and by July or purchase of aiding in a major allied
counter offense.”
September 1918: “American soldiers under Gen. John Pershing helped to push back the outnumbered and exhausted
German army.”
 “With his forces in full retreat, the German Kaiser abdicated on November 9. Two days later, Germany sued for
peace.”
 100,000+ Americans died at this battle
“New federal agencies moved to regulate industry, transportation, labor relations, and agriculture... These agencies
generally saw themselves as partners of business as much as regulators.”
War Industries Board
 Headed by Wall Street financer Bernard Baruch
 “Presided over all elements of war production from the distribution of raw materials to the prices of
manufactured goods.”
 “It established standardized specifications for everything from automobile tires to shoe colors.”
War Labor Board
 Included “representatives of government, industry, and the American Federation of Labor”
 “Pressed for the establishment of a minimum wage, eight hour work day, and the right to form unions.”
 “During the war, wages rose substantially, working conditions and many industries improve, and union
membership double.”
October 13, 2009
African Americans in World War I
1915: the movie “Birth of a Nation"
 A very racist movie
 Americans consume the racism
1915-1917: Preparedness Movement
 “A crash program to expand the American Army and Navy”
 A series of Summer camps that were only for white businessmen
 Gen. Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt helped organize this movement
 Army preparedness in case of war
 Plattsburgh, New York was the first camp
Joel Spingarn was the chairman of NAACP
 He lobbied for a separate Preparedness Movement-style camp for black men
 Gen. Leonard Wood agreed
o Asked for 250 African-Americans to sign up and commit
 Spingarn publicized in newspapers trying to gather support
Spingarn’s support grew
 Spingarn received support from the NAACP and several black leaders
 Spingarn went on a speaking tour to black colleges trying to get support: Howard University, Morgan State,
Hampton, Tuskegee
o At Howard University, a group of students and professors organized to form the Central Committee of
Negro College Men
 Some blacks did not like this and felt that this was not progress because it was not full integration
 Spingarn felt that the US just letting blacks have this opportunity was progress
Central Committee of Negro College Men
 Led by Thomas Montgomery Gregory
 This committee helped gather support
o Support from Charles E. Young who was the highest ranking black officer
o Support from Charles Douglass who was one of the leaders in the grand Army of the Republic
 They started to write letters to other black colleges using exclusively the fraternity system of black colleges
April 1917: US declared war on Germany
Preparedness Camps were no longer needed
 Instead, the US needed to real training camps
 CCNCM, NAACP, and Council of 100 change efforts for African Americans to become Army officers
o Now lobby for an Army training camp for blacks and put pressure on the secretary of war to make this
happen
Southerners were against camps for blacks and blacks being in the military
 Sen. James Vardaman of Mississippi and Congressman Frank Park were most vocal southern politicians
Ultimately in May 1917, Lobbying efforts prevail
 Secretary of war Newton Baker approved the camp for blacks to become Army officers
o He took many favorable actions toward African Americans soldiers and officers
 June 1917: Training camp to open at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa
o Picked Des Moines b/c it had less distractions, there was already a Ft. there, the black community was
strong in Des Moines…
Officer Applicants came from all over the nation
 Lawyers
7.4%
 Doctors
10.5%
 Teachers
24%
 Dentists, clerks, students…
 These applicants had to give up their professions to receive infantry training and ultimately join the Army
because they felt that this was so important that the opportunity could not be passed by.
The Army appointed Col. Charles Ballou to be in charge of the training camps of Ft. Des Moines
 Previously commanded black troops with 24th Infantry regiment
639 African American officers graduated from training camps
 Most received assignments to the newly formed 92nd division
 Few went to the newly formed 93rd division (provisional)
 Divisions at this time contained anywhere from 30,000-35,000 men
o Divisions included more components than the infantry such as the medical support, sanitary
commission, artillery, supply and logistics, engineers…
92nd division
 Trained at different camps all across the US
 African Americans faced racism
 June 1918: Sent to France for combat
 Immediately put into one of the biggest defenses of the war (after receiving very little training)
 Meuse-Argonne Campaign
o During this campaign, one of the black regiments of the 92nd division did not perform very well and lost
contact with headquarters and the lines almost collapsed. The blame was put on the black soldiers and
officers and they were reassigned to a "quiet" sector of the trenches where there was less fighting.
o What really happened was some of the white officers in the 92nd division collapsed and lost
communication.
 Faced racial hostility from the US Army
o This incident ruined the reputation of the African-Americans serving in the war under the 92nd division.
 But once the 92nd division had gotten some experience and training of the conditions of the trenches in France,
they performed very well
93rd division
 Was labeled as provisional because it was just the 4 infantry regiments (didn't include the support components)
o Never was a full division
 Was made up primarily of state National Guard flap troops from IL, NY, OH, D.C., MD, Massachusetts, & TN
 Troops were supplemented by some officers from Ft. Des Moines and by the draft of African American troops
 January 1918: Arrived in France
o Gen. Pershing loaned them to the French army
Overall, the 93rd division performed well from the beginning mostly because they were under French command
 The French was glad to have them
 Won many combat medals
 Less discrimination in French army
WEB Du Bois
 A board member of the NAACP
 Editor and chief of the NAACP magazine The Crisis
o "Close Ranks" article
 This article urged African Americans to “close ranks’ and enlist in the Army, to help ‘make our
own America a real land of the free."
 He wanted to put aside differences to win the war
 He wanted to solve problems after victory
 “Most black leaders saw American participation in the war as an opportunity to make real the
promise of freedom."
 This was thought to make the US and the world safe for democracy
1919: 92nd and 93rd divisions were sent home once the war was over
 They were not given the opportunity to stay in the army
 About 15% of the Ft. Des Moines men became activists after the war
o Carter Wesley, Rayford Logan, Charles Hamilton Houston, Osceola McKaine
 Service didn't have an immediate impact on racial policy in the Army
 Still remained segregated, no additional black regiments
Served as a point of pride in African American communities
War didn't make world or US “safe” for democracy
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Still have the Jim Crow laws in the South, segregation, literacy tests, poll taxes
There will be a reemergence of the KKK
 Lynchings and murders increased in post war years
 1925: KKK’s influence faded “when its leader in Indiana was convicted of assaulting a young woman”
October 15, 2009
World War I
US declared war April 1917
US Army goes to Europe
 Gen. Pershing was the commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
 He wanted to build a separate American army and not become part of the French or British armies
o 1917, we go to war. The British and French were getting beaten back and were probably about to lose
the war. Because of this, they wanted American troops immediately (didn't care what race the troops
were). Gen. Pershing didn't want to do this. He knew that they needed troops but he was afraid that the
US would loan these troops out and they wouldn't get back to us. He didn't like the idea of American
troops under the authority of foreign powers. So Gen. Pershing's idea is to start sending troops to
Europe but hold them back and reserve until the US had enough troops there to form an entire army.
o Pres. Wilson agreed with Gen. Pershing's idea
o Give the US more power in peace talks
 Pres. Wilson believed that building a separate American army would be decisive in the war and
bring about an allied victory. in turn by having such a decisive role in the war, it would elevate
President Wilson and the United States position as peace taker.
 Pres. Wilson wanted a lot of leverage because of his progressive ideas that he wanted to
implement.
 Late 1917: Troops arrived in Europe in large numbers
 1918: About 150,000 American soldiers/month were arriving in France
 Took part in battles: St. Mihiel, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and Bellou Wood
 US troops performed well and played the decisive role in winning WWI
President Wilson wanted peace based on Fourteen Points
 January 1918: Wilson issued the Fourteen Points which was the “clearest statement American war aims and of
his vision of a new international order.”
 Key principles:
o League of Nations – “the creation of a ‘general association of nations’ to preserve the peace.”
 An international peacekeeping organization that could prevent future wars from happening
o Colonial adjustments – “the readjustment of colonial claims with colonized people given ‘equal weight’
and deciding their futures”
o Freedom of the seas
o Open diplomacy (an end to secret alliances)
o Open door trade
 Pres. Wilson felt that all of these principles were important to making a lasting peace in Europe and in the world
 Pres. Wilson told the American people that these principles in the Fourteen Points are what they have been
fighting for and what would make the world safe for democracy
November 11, 1918: Armistice occurred -- the
1919: Versailles Peace Conference
 Took place in Paris, France
war is over
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Pres. Wilson attended and brought his Democratic buddies with him and purposely excluded Republicans
making this a very partisan thing
Pres. Wilson wanted all of his ideas in the Fourteen Points to be in the treaty
o He was marginalized and ignored
o Only League of Nations was addressed and put it into the treaty
o US never joined League of Nations
 US Senate rejected Wilson’s treaty
 A lot of Senators do not like the idea of the League of Nations because they thought it
could get the US involved in another war, it could put American troops at the disposal of
foreign countries, and because Republicans were starting to get a stronghold in the US
Senate.
“led to the establishment after the war of the League of Nations, as a kind of global counterpart to the
regulatory commissions progressives had created at home to maintain social harmony and prevent the powerful
from exploiting the weak.”
President Wilson’s popularity suffered
Democrats lost power in elections
Germany lost the most military men in WWI - 1.8 million
“The US emerged from World War I as both the world's foremost center of manufacturing and the major financial
power, thanks to British and French debts for American loans that had funded their war efforts.”
1920s
1919
In 1919, we were starting to demobilize, our soldiers were going to the workforce, employment rates began to rise, the
US will enter into an economic recession, Democrats lose power at the state and national level, and Pres. Wilson has
been out of the country and out of touch with the American people.
Americans were disillusioned about the war and realized that WWI resulted in 126,000+ dead Americans and the world
was still not safe for democracy. Progressive ideas didn't really get us anywhere. Americans felt like it was a mistake to
engage in the war and they felt misled by Pres. Wilson.
Pres. Wilson returned to the US
 He began traveling around the nation for a number of reasons:
o While the Senate was debating the Treaty of Versailles
o He was trying to gather popular support for the treaty
o He was trying to rally support for the Democrats
 September 1919: he had a stroke in Colorado
Demobilization of the military began immediately
 Millions of veterans poured onto the job market
o While the American troops were fighting the war, other people had taken their jobs while they were
gone. Once the troops come back, there was a job shortage.
 War Industries Board (that was set during the war) implemented price controls, wage limits, eight hour workday
o After the war, the Board’s controls and regulations dropped very quickly because there was no longer a
need for the Board because the war was over. As a result, salaries and prices went haywire.
 War contracts were canceled
 Businesses still boomed though once they made that conversion from war time production to peace time
production
Some unions had grown during the war
 More people were working at industrial/factory jobs and they joined unions
 Unions faced threats
 People associated unions with Communism, Marxism, Socialism, and revolution
o Some union leaders were communists
o Immigration had increased to America primarily from southern and eastern European countries –
countries that Americans viewed as being radical and had those ideas.
o Revolution, worker’s rebellion and those kind of things in 1919 scared Americans because the Russian
Revolution was in 1917:
 “A communist revolution headed by Vladimir Lenin overthrew the Russian government that had
come to power the previous spring.”
o This gave us a negative opinion of unions
1919-1920 Recession
 Cost of living increased
 Purchasing power declined
 Wages weren't increasing with the cost of living
 Part of the reason for the recession and 1919-1920 was wages and work conditions
 As a result, About 20% of workers’ strike
o Wanted better wages, better working conditions
Red Summer of 1919
 “Red” because of communism and because of the bloodshed
 Violent summer because of terrorism and racism
 After World War I, the idea was to “close ranks,” put aside differences, fight the war, and make the world safe
for democracy. But when the troops come back to America, racial tension was still very high. This led to:
Rise of New Negro Movement (African American attitude change)
 After the failure of World War I, a lot of African Americans start to idealize resisting racism and prejudice. After
gaining military experience, many African Americans started standing up and resisting subjugation.
Race Riots in 1917: Houston and St. Louis
 “Dozens of blacks were killed during a 1917 riot in East St. Louis, IL where employers had recruited black workers
and an attempt to weaken unions.”
 Violence escalated in 1919
Riots in 1919: Charleston SC, Nashville TN, Longview TX, Elaine AR, Washington DC, Chicago IL
 “In 1919, more than 250 persons died in riots in the urban North.”
o Chicago’s violence was the worst in the North: 38 people died and 500+ were injured
 "76 persons were lynched in the South, including several returning black veterans wearing their uniforms.”
 Arkansas riot: 200 people died
Washington DC Riot
 Lasted four days
 Little help for blacks from police (b/c they were white and really did not care about helping blacks)
 Blacks began to arm themselves and defend their homes and families
 Many were veterans
 Army finally was called in
Terrorists took action
 Most “radicals” were not American citizens
 Americans became hostile toward immigrants
 Americans felt their way of life was in danger
Atty. Gen. Mitchell Palmer took steps to address this “Red Scare”
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1919-1920 – “A short-lived but an intense period of political intolerance inspired by the postwar strike wave and
the social tensions and fears generated by the Russian Revolution.”
He believed communists were a menace
August 1919: General Intelligence Division was established by Palmer to investigate suspected communist
immigrants and to prepare to round him and bring them in for questioning
o J. Edward Hooper headed this division
“Palmer raids” work toward communists and anarchists
o Palmer "dispatched federal agents to raid the offices of the radical and labor organizations throughout
the country."
o By January 1920, 5,000+ were arrested, many without warrants during the raids in 33 cities
o Many were held for weeks and sometimes months without charge
o Many were beaten and forced to sign confessions
1920
May Day 1920
 Supposed terrorist and anarchists demonstrations that were “planned”
 Police were prepared
 Nothing happened though on May 1, 1920
 Public rights of violence
 US deported about 500 of those arrested
 Palmer predicted huge demonstrations for May 1920
Election of 1920
 Democratic Party: James M. Cox
 Republican Party: Warren Harding  WON PRESIDENCY
 Americans were disillusioned by the war and not big on the Democrats
 WWI didn’t bring about changes
Americans were more concerned with limiting immigration
Immigration increased rapidly after the war
1919:11,000 1921:805,000
1921: Sacco and Vanzetti
 They were Italian anarchists
 Arrested for murder – “accused of participating in a robbery at a Massachusetts factory in which a security guard
was killed”
 Tried and executed
o This was a catalyst to Congress passing a couple of immigration bills:
1921: Congress passed immigration acts
 Immigration was limited to 3% of the number of foreign-born residents that were in the US in the 1910 census
 1924: Congress amended the act to only 2% based on the 1890s census
 1929: Congress allowed only 150,000 total immigrants/year to enter the US
 Wanted to maintain "American-ness” & preserve Anglo-Saxon population
October 20, 2009
1920s
1920s indicate that the US is becoming a modern nation industrially, socially, and culturally.
Women began to be more fashionable and open in their sexuality. They exemplify these social and cultural changes.
“Flappers” – “epitomized the change in standards of sexual behavior”
 Women began wearing lipstick, makeup, public smoking and drinking
 Shortened their hair and skirts
 “Unapologetic use of birth control methods”
 Conservatives berated the changes:
o They blamed this decline in standards to the decline of family values, increased immigration (nonAmerican influences corrupting the society), lack of values and morals, and a collapsing society
The Great Migration [1915-1925]
 “The combination of increased war time production and a drastic falloff in immigration from Europe once war
broke out opened thousands of industrial jobs to black laborers for the first time, inspiring a large scale
migration from south to north.”
o This is the migration of African Americans from the South rural areas (working agricultural jobs) to the
north urban areas (working industrial & manufacturing jobs)
o Over 1 million African Americans from the South will migrate to the north
o Motives:
 The US was starting to gear up their industry in manufacturing for war (starting to produce more
products/goods - Europe is at war right now). Then in 1917 when the US declared war, a lot of
the white American men that worked these jobs were drafted to war which created job
opportunities. African Americans in the South travel to the north in search of those jobs.
 The North was less hostile and less racist.
 There were more opportunities to get an education for African Americans and their children.
 And to “escape from the rapid lynching, and the prospect of exercising the right to vote.”
 This represents the African American population increase in the North to 20% from 1910-1930
o Created large black urban areas in the north (Chicago, Detroit, Harlem, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh)
o “Mostly young men and women carried with them a new vision of opportunity and social and economic
freedom”
 White Northerners, and African-American Northerners were worried - afraid that this migration would disrupt
their social system and would threaten jobs in the North.
 Some southern planters were worried - wondered how this would affect labor, harvest, planting. Other southern
planters wanted African-Americans out of the South.
Harlem Renaissance
 An awakening of racial pride
 Also serves as a challenge to racism – in spite of the limitations imposed by white society, Harlem's “five Brent
Black cultural community established links with New York's artistic mainstream.”
o Much of the Parliament Renaissance was conservative and challenging racism because many
participants received funding by white patrons
 African American heritage and culture: Art, literature, music celebrating
 Pan-African Movement flourished during the 1920s
o This concept started flourishing during WWI. After the war, WEB Du Bois organized the very first PanAfrican Conference.
o The Pan-African Movement is a celebration in recognition of peoples from around the world of African
descent.
 Increase in musical productions – jazz and blues music
 Writers: Langston Hughes, Walter White, Richard Wright
 Music of Louis Armstrong, band director James Europe, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington
New Negro Movement
 New Negro: “the rejection of established stereotypes and a search for black values to put in their place”
 Gains momentum with the Harlem Renaissance and the growth of black businesses
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The idea is to support black businesses
Provided pride during the 1920s and the Great Depression
Lasting impact
Rural counterattack
 Conservative/Nativist movement
o Basis of conservative party support is in rural areas and - these are the people that want 100%
Americanism
o "Fundamentalist Christians, strongest in rural areas of the South and West, clung to the traditional idea
of ‘moral' liberty -- voluntary adherence to time-honored religious beliefs.”
o Supported prohibition
o Backlash against cities and immigrants
 Modernism - the US is becoming more modern and advanced
o “To integrate science and religion and adapt Christianity to the new secular culture.”
 Conflict between fundamental conservativism of rural America vs. modernism as the US advances
o “A trial in Tennessee threw into sharp relief the division between traditional values and modern, secular
culture.”
o 1925: Scopes Monkey Trial
 Dayton, TN
 John Scopes “was arrested for violating a state law that prohibited the teaching of Charles
Darwin's theory of evolution.”
 Darwin's theory contradicts “biblical account of creation”
 American Civil Union had “persuaded Scopes to violate the law in order to test its
constitutionality”
 Prosecutor was William Jennings Bryan
 Defense attorney was Clarence Darrow
 Scopes was found guilty
Declined after Scopes trial:
 Religion fundamentalism
 Rejected modern science and evolution
 Part of the rural counterattack
KKK reemerged
 Now 100% Americanism - changed their philosophy from being an anti-black organization to now being antianything that is not America
 3-8 million members
 One of their main concerns in the 1920s was immigration. They are against immigrants and immigration and
want to preserve that American-ness
 Declined after 1924
 1925: 40,000 of them showed at a parade in Washington
Prohibition Era
 1919: the 18th amendment prohibited "the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor"
 Some Americans believed that getting rid of alcohol would get rid of immigrants and Catholics
 Increase in organized crime
o Organized crime took advantage of Prohibition
o 1929: Al Capone in Chicago
 Speakeasies became popular
 FBI cracked down on bootlegging - illegal manufacturing
 The number of places to drink grows astronomically during the Prohibition era
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“Prohibition led to large profits for the owners of illegal speakeasies and the “bootleggers” who supplied
them. It produced widespread corruption as police and public officials accepted bribes to turn a blind
eye to violations of the law."
Drinking habits shifted and "achieved national success during the war."
o Most people quit drinking
US was prosperous during the 1920s
 Economic, industrial, and manufacturing outputs increased
o People are making money, employment increased
 Incomes generally increased
 Cost of living increased
 US became a consumer society
Automobiles increased
 “The automobile was the backbone of economic growth.”
 Henry Ford
 Model-T car
 1895: 4 cars in the US
 1917: 5 million cars in the US
 1925: 10 million cars in the US
 “By 1929, the US produced 85% of the world’s cars gonna and half of all American families owned one.”
“The automobile industry stimulated the expansion of steel, rubber, and oil production, road construction, and other
sectors of the economy. It promoted tourism and the growth of suburbs and helped to reduce rural isolation."
 There was an increase in other industries
o Demand for oil and gas increased
 There was a growth of suburbs
 Real estate speculation increased
 Decline of streetcars
 Dating habits shifted
Homogenization of culture
 "Americanization’ -- the creation of a more homogenous national culture"
 Mass production and consumption
 Modern marketing techniques emerged
 Use of celebrities
 Invention of people (ex: Betty Crocker)
 Catchy phrases (ex: Breakfast of Champions)
 Invention of Crisco oil
 Stockmarket investments increased
 Purchasing increased: installment plan
October 22, 2009
Great Depression [1929-1942]
Recap: The 1920s overall was a very economically prosperous decade - production increased, employment was good,
investments in the stock market are skyrocketing, market values themselves are skyrocketing, everything was good. The
1920s was also a rejection of progressivism and progressive ideas. A lot of the mechanisms that had been put in place
during the Progressive Era were kind of forgotten and the 1920s. For example, US steel still dominated (anti-trust
legislation). Even though unemployment is low, their disposable income didn't always increase.
Election of 1928
 Democratic Party: Alfred Smith
o Still had Democratic solid South
 Republican Party: Herbert Hoover – won
o First ever elected office
o Been in government for several years
o Won 58% of popular vote
o Hoover promised a "new day" for Americans
 Economy growing so Pres. Hoover didn't want to interfere in the economy
October 24, 1929: Black Thursday
 Market dropped, stocks plummeted and had a ripple effect with the other stocks 8
 Market became unstable
o Banks and wealthy investors started to buy up some of these stocks that have lost value with the idea
that it would help stabilize the market
o It created a false inflation of those values
 Temporarily stabilize the market drop
October 29, 1929: Black Tuesday
 Market dropped 13% in one day
 Market continued to collapse
 Efforts of buying stocks no longer work
March 1933: NYSE value at only 33% - market was only running at about 20% of what it was in 1929
 Personal incomes dropped more than 50%
Government had a conservative view of government intervention: expressed hope and did not intervene
 American political philosophy up to 1933 was always a hands off laissez-faire approach with minimal
government intervention
Market continued to drop
Country entered a depression
 Unemployment - 1929: 1.6 million & 1933: 12.8 million (25% of workforce without jobs)
 Few jobs were to be found
 Manufacturing industry declined
o Factories and mines shut down
o Workers laid off because the companies were trying to cut back and save money.
 Banks closing was a big contributor to the Great Depression
o By 1933, 9,000 banks had closed mostly at the local and state levels
o A lot of these banks had played the stock market and loaned people money to gamble with the stock
market
o All of the deposits of the banks and depositors were lost
o This led to people with drawing their money from banks which made the situation worse and took away
from the banks’ operating capital
 Farms and homes sold for debt
o Now that they are laid off, they can't pay their mortgage were farm loans so the banks had to come and
repossess their homes and farms.
 Thousands went hungry
 Increase in homelessness
 Health declined
 Families moved in together
 Birth rates declined
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Some fathers left their families or committed suicide
Church attendance increased
Movies became more popular
Why did the Great Depression happen?
 Market collapse didn't cause Great Depression but was the spark
 Unequal distribution of wealth
 Decrease in purchasing power
 Overproduction by farms and factories
Dust Bowl
 Extreme drought conditions led to a deterioration of the topsoil and when the Northern Rocky Mountain winds
would come down, it would blow all this topsoil and create huge dust storms
People felt “Hooverized”
People started living in Hoover homes and eating Hoover hams  Hooverville
Hoover finally took action - radical steps for the government at this time
 Federal Farm Board: an attempt to provide relief for farmers
o Gives farmers loans
 Reconstruction Finance Corp.:
o Gives out bailouts and stimulus checks
o Loans money to banks and big businesses to keep them afloat
o Loans money to the states to utilize in stimulus projects (give people jobs and grow the economy)
 Resists giving more federal help
1932: Bonus Army
 Ever since the Civil War, the US government has given pensions to veterans
 In 1924, US government at the urging of congressmen in Texas passed legislation to give WWI veterans pensions
(army bonus) but the pensions could not be collected until 1945
 World War I veterans (4 million)
 In 1932 however, the depression is entering into some of its worst time. Some of the veterans start to organize
into a protest group called the Bonus Expeditionary Force
o 20,000 veteran protesters march on Washington
o Protest before Congress and demand Army bonuses early
o House of representatives vote yes; Senate votes no
o When that happened, a bunch of the veterans left. Others stuck around in Washington hoping to have
an audience to talk to Pres. Hoover and state their case directly to him by it doesn't happen.
o Pres. Hoover instead bought a bunch of tickets home for the veterans and some of them left.
o The ones left, decided to stay in some condemned buildings
o President Hoover wanted them out of unsafe buildings so he sent the police to escort them out of the
buildings. It didn't go so well though.
o Then, Pres. Hoover sent in the Army (700 troops). Gen. MacArthur was among them.
FDR and the New Deal
The New Deal is still part of the Great Depression.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1932
 Democrat
 Experienced politician from New York
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Promised Americans a “new deal”
o Wanted to provide relief to the American people, recovery to the economy and in doing so, we want to
enact some reform measures (three R’s)
o His programs brought more government involvement and drastic expansion
Emergency Banking Act
 Only "sound" banks allowed to open
o Banking holiday - every single bank in the US will be shut down and they will be shut down until they can
be inspected and audited by the government. If the government determines that the bank is good
(“sound” - financially stable), they will be allowed to reopen. If the government finds the bank unstable,
it will not be allowed to reopen. Some of the banks will be allowed to reopen with the help of
government loans/bailouts.
 As part of this legislation, the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) is created which guarantees the safety of
your money.
o Provided insurance for depositor’s money
 Created the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to help regulate, monitor, and provide oversight on to
the stock market and exchanges.
By implementing these reforms, it can help the US recover.
Farmer relief
 Agriculture Adjustment Act will create the Agriculture Adjustment Administration
 This agency will ask/pay farmers not to plant crops
o There is an overproduction of crops
o Voluntary
 Logic being that we can reduce the supply that will increase the demand which will increase the prices which will
mean more money for farmers
o Reduces production, increase prices
 The idea being that this will bring up the value for agricultural markets
 This also apply to livestock market. As a result, thousands of farm animals died
 Brought immediate relief
 Declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1936
 Benefitted large farms
 Nothing for sharecroppers or tenet farmers
Many relief agencies were created
Civilian Conservation Corporations (CCC)
 Men age 17-25 will get paid to work for the government
 Paid $30/month and $25/month was sent home in an attempt to provide some relief for families
 Army barracks to sleep in, clothes, food was all provided
 Camps were open to all races
o About 200,000 African Americans participated
o Same pay but were segregated
o There was also a native American division of CCC
 Over 4,000 camps run by Army
 Most successful of the new deal programs
Conservation projects
 Building/and proving state and national parks
 Planted trees, built fences
The depression does not really end until we get involved in World War II.
October 27, 2009
FDR and the New Deal
All of the New Deal plans and programs envisioned as temporary because America expected to recover and get out of
the depression within a few years. These programs are happening the first three months he is in office.
Industrial Recovery
 1933: National Industrial Recovery Act
 Created NRA: National Recovery Administration
 We needed to get American industry back on track so that when we start reasonably producing goods, we can
get the factories going again at full capacity and employee people and start progressing. The government has to
spend money to get this started.
 The NRA will try to bring businesses and labor leaders together
o The NRA acts as a broker between business issues and labor issues
 Set limits on prices, set wages, and set production quotas and limitations
 Government suspends anti-trust laws
 With this plan, businesses dominate, labor issues are pushed aside and production will start to increase but
people do not have any purchasing power because the wages never materialized (the increase in wages never
manifest itself) and so people cannot afford to start buying more products.
o Boards dominated by businesses
o Labor issues minimized
o Prices rose while wages did not
 Excluded African Americans and women
 1935: Supreme Court declared this unconstitutional and that there was too much government involvement
(setting prices, setting wages, setting quotas)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
 This agency combined all of the New Deal aspects of relief, recovery, and reform
 Build dams, provide jobs, provide electricity and flood control
o The goal was to construct dams along the Tennessee River and Tennessee River Valley to help reduce
flooding
o These dams were hydroelectric which takes the water and energy from the dams and uses it to provide
electricity to the region - a region that is not as modernized as the rest of the country
 TVA government provided the jobs and paid the workers. Once the dams were completed, the government also
operated them and sold the electricity.
 Built 21 dams
 Increased electricity service by over 70%
Controversial plan
 Some believed it bordered on socialism
o Criticized by Republicans and some Democrats because it was a government owned and operated
electrical plants selling and competing with private corporations
 This agency was probably the most successful of the New Deal programs
FDR ends prohibition
 March 1933: Congress approved
 December 1933: state ratification
 Why did FDR end prohibition?
o He felt that Americans should be able to drink during a depression, it will create new jobs, and the US
could now tax it and use the revenues towards the New Deal programs.
Public Works Administration (PWA)
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Similar to Civilian Conservation Corporations (CCC)
Skilled and unskilled labor
Construction of sidewalks, roads, schools, community buildings to improve cities and towns
$3.3 billion to workforce
Supported by the Civil Works Administration (CWA)
o Created in 1935
o Designed to give people jobs and help get votes for FDR because the economy was still in a depression
and in a lot of ways, we had not made much progress in coming out of the depression
o Extremely temporary agency because election year was coming up.
Mixed opinions of the New Deal
 Some were not happy with the New Deal. These people were very conservative and thought that FDR had
moved the US too far in becoming a socialist nation
 Others thought that FDR had not gone far enough
Townsend Plan
 Dr. Francis Townsend
o Did not think FDR had gone far enough
 Developed a plan for old age pension
o Once you get to a certain age, you can retire and receive monthly income
o $200/month but they would have to spend all of that money before the end of the month
 Does not have been but FDR ultimately (later) takes into consideration and it will become Social Security
“Share our wealth" program
 Advocated by Huey Long
o Louisiana Democratic Senator
o Assassinated
 Wanted to increase taxes on wealthy and corporations
 Advocated that is you make more than $1 million/year, you should be taxed 100% on anything above that
amount
 Advocated that corporations that make more than $5 million/year should be taxed 100% on anything above that
amount
 The government would redistribute that money and spend it on poor Americans
o Would be given to people to buy houses and people that didn't make a certain amount of income
 Supported by over 7 million members
 Does not happen but FDR does consider the ideas
Opposition impact
 First New Deal (1933-1935)
Second New Deal (1935-1941)
 Begins during FDR's first term
 FDR moves more toward relief and reform
1935: Social Security Act
 Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins helped develop this plan
o First female cabinet member
 Old age pensions
 Unemployment insurance and welfare benefits
 Didn't include all workers
o Farmers and people in the service industry were not eligible
 Many thought amount of money was too low
 Payroll tax took money from economy and put it into the Social Security fund
Labor legislation
Wagner Act
 Created National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
 Ensure worker’s rights
o This committee is set up to investigate complaints by workers of labor exploitation, unfair wages, unfair
business practices
 Strengthened and legitimized unions
o Government declared unions as legitimate collective bargaining organizations now
o Companies were forced to deal with labor unions now which gives the unions more power
o Led to the creation of more labor unions
 New life to American labor movement
As a result of the Wagner Act, the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) was created
 John Lewis was the head of union
 Recruits unskilled labor – primarily auto workers
 CIO will compete against the American Federation of Labor (AFL) which only recruited skilled workers
 By 1940, there were 5 million members
 CIO later merged with AFL which is still around today
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
 Construction projects
 Wages varied across the nation
 Artists, writers, painters, musicians, and actors
 Artists project
 Writers project
o Writers interviewed African Americans that had once been slaves
 Included school lunch projects and food canning projects
1935: Rural Electrification Act
 Provide electricity to rural America
 Subsidized by government
 By 1951, about 90% of rural homes were electrified
1935: Revenue Act
 Helped pay for New Deal
 Taxes on wealthy and corporations
 Income in excess of $5 million paid 75% in taxes
 Based off of ideas from Huey Long
Election of 1936
 FDR (Democrat) won
 This election marks the first time African Americans have largely shifted parties – from R to D
1938: Fair Labor Standards Act
 Established minimum wage
 Created overtime pay
 National legislation that prohibited employment of most minors
Few programs targeted women
 Biggest boost for women was in WPA
 Francis Perkins was first female appointed to Cabinet
 Eleanor Roosevelt modernized the role of the first lady – very active
African Americans were included in many programs
 Still suffered from regional racism and segregation
Supreme Court plan
 FDR wanted to change the number of Supreme Court justices because he is afraid the Supreme Court will strike
down some of his New Deal programs
 1937: Judiciary Reorganization Bill
 Congress didn't pass
New Deal did not end the Great Depression
 Provided Americans hope
 Some improvement but slowly
 More government involvement
o More government jobs and agencies are created
 Increased Democratic power and influence
The Great Depression and ends with World War II
 Some programs continued into the 1940s
October 29, 2009
World War II
In the 1920s and again in the 1930s, there were growing tensions and fighting around the world.
 America tried to keep to their selves though b/c we were in the middle of the Great Depression, we have a new
president with a new deal that is going into effect
There were a lot of efforts in the 1920s to keep peace in the world
In the early 1920s and again in 1930 Washington DC and London had Navy conferences.
 Conferences were attended by different countries from around the world.
 We made treaties that would limit the size and strength of our navies at these conferences
o Five Power Treaty (US, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan) - we agreed different ratios of battleships
New Deal programs were still in effect
Kellogg-Briand Treaty
 US Secretary of State Kellogg & French Foreign Minister Briand
 Treaty outlawed warfare - trying to take steps to decrease the chances of these global conflicts in the future
 16 countries signed treaty
 Unsuccessful treaty
Japan
1931: Japan invaded Manchuria in China
 “Seeking to expand its military and economic power in Asia, Japan invaded Manchuria"
o Japan invaded because they wanted to pattern themselves off of things that the US, Britain, and France
has done. Japan wanted to become an imperial power and have colonies just like us.
 Japan has to go overseas to secure resources. So Japan invaded Manchuria trying to secure resources and take
over territory.
 League of Nations is there a does not help. All it does is criticize Japan.
 US does not help
 1933: Japan withdrew from the League of Nations because they were tired of the criticism.
 1933-1936: Japan-China truce
o
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Italy
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One reason for the truce was Japan was having some political changes - start to see the takeover of the
Japanese government by Wens
o Japan started to re-arm and rebuild themselves - expand their military and undergo a ship building
process which broke some of those treaties they had signed at the Washington and London Naval
conferences
o Japan also began to lay out a plan for what they want to do and accomplish in the Pacific.
1937: War again
o Japan wanted to create “Greater East Asia Co-prosperity sphere” which brought nations in East Asia
under Japanese control and influence
 Area included Manchuria, other parts of China, Korea, French-Indo China, Dutch East Indies, and
expand near to Australia
o Japan believes in Japanese superiority
o Expand natural resources
o Expand influence
Benito Mussolini was in power
Within a few years, Mussolini established a fascist government - a very regimented nationalistic oriented
government that does not tolerate dissent very easily
1925: Became dictator
In the 1920 and early 1930s, Mussolini does a lot of positive things for Italy. He started to modernize the country
making in turn all improvements.
1935: Invaded Ethiopia
o Mussolini lost respect
April 1939: Mussolini decided to annexed Albania because they are ethnically Italian people in Albania and he
believed that they should be reunited with Italy.
Germany
 In the 1920s, Germany became unstable economically and politically
 Germany has to pay back England, US, France for the war. Eventually, they get behind on payments. The French
get mad and start trying to force Germany to pay them back but Germany does not have the money. Private
business and people in the US loan Germany money to pay back France, England, and us. The money starts to
get lost and doesn't come back to us which helps create the economic instability in Germany and precipitated
the global depression.
 Germans want government help and changes but the government cannot provide that which opens the door for
Hitler and the Nazis to come in and change things.
Rise of Hitler and National Socialist Democratic Party
 At the local levels, the Nazi Party starts to win some elections. The election that put the Nazi members in
German government were all legitimately elected
 Hitler fought in World War I
 World War I ended with armistice - both sides agreed to stop fighting (November 1918) and then we had the
Paris Peace Treaty in which we said Germany had to admit to certain things
o Believed in the "stabbed in the back” theory:
o Germans felt that they did not lose WWI, felt that their armies were never really defeated, and realized
that their government made that treaty and betrayed them. Germans felt that Germany stabbed them
in the back by agreeing to that cease-fire and the treaty
 As Hitler becomes elevated to the leadership position of the Nazi Party, he is now able to win seats in the
German government and eventually have enough seats that he has influence in Germany resulting in:
o January 1933: Hitler was legally announced and named Chancellor of Germany
"Adolf Hitler embarked on a campaign to control the entire continent."
March 1933: Very quickly, Hitler announced that all Jewish stores and businesses be boycotted
October 1933: Hitler announced that Germany was leaving the League of Nations
 Germany leaving the League of Nations is forbidden in the Treaty of Versailles which dictates that Germany
must be a member
 No ramifications
March 1935: Germany began to re-arm and militarize (built tanks, ships, planes)
 The Treaty of Versailles forbids Germany to have any kind of military other than a Coast Guard
 America is dealing with the New Deal at this time and does not want anything to do with foreign affairs
September 1935: Nuremburg Laws passed
 Very restrictive laws on Jews and Germans about marriage, children, ancestors
March 1936: German military moved into the Rhineland area which is rich in minerals
 This area is a "demilitarized zone between Germany and France is doubtless after World War I"
 The Treaty of Versailles forbids troops in this area
 No ramifications - no one does anything
 The German people are supporting this because the economy is recovering and they do not know that they are
marching into a war. Hitler is creating jobs and construction projects using deficit spending to put them to work
March 1938: Austria is annexed
 The Treaty of Versailles forbids this
September 1938: Sudetenland area is annexed because there are ethnically German people there
 Germany wants to move in and take over this area but Czechoslovakia resisted
 Czechoslovakia wanted help and appealed to Britain and France because they were the most capable European
powers that could stand up to Germany
September 1938: Munich conference is the result of Germany trying to move in to this area between Germany and
England
 British prime minister Neville Chamberlain goes to meet with Hitler. Hitler convinced is Chamberlain that
Germany had a right to the Sudetenland because they are German people and all Germany wanted to do was
unite them. Germany didn't want to start a war or take over territory.
 Britain and France wanted to avoid war with Germany as long as they could. Chamberlain started to feel that
war was inevitable and realized that Germany was ahead of Britain and France in military production and
preparedness.
 Chamberlain gave Germany the Sudetenland in which Czechoslovakia loses some of their country to buy Britain
and France some time to build up their military. In Britain giving the Sudetenland to Germany, Hitler realized
that Germany and France were not going to be a problem or stand up which helped precipitate the invasion of
Poland.
August 1939: Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
 Germany and Russia are complete opposite countries. Germany is very right wing - regimented capitalistic type
of society and Russia is not. The radically, these two countries should not get along.
 Germany and Russia signed this agreement because Germany planned on invading Poland and they did not want
Russia to think that Germany wanted to also invade them.
September 1939: Invasion of Poland begins World War II
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After this invasion begins, German troops marched into Poland and end up splitting the country in half with the
Soviet Union.
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By invading Poland, Hitler did not expect this to become a big war. He thought that Britain and France would let
Poland go also. But instead, Britain and France came to Poland's aid.
November 3, 2009
World War II
Recap: Sudetenland is occupied by Germany
 Policy of appeasement - Germany feels like Britain, France, and the US have been letting them get away with
things that are forbidden in the Treaty of Versailles such as:
o "The failure of Britain, France, and the US to oppose these actions convinced Hitler that the democracies
could not muster the will to halt his aggressive plans."
o Letting Germany leave the League of Nations, letting Germany have re-arm and militarize, letting
German military move into the Rhineland area, letting Germany annex Austria, and letting Germany
annex the Sudetenland area with British help (British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gave Hitler this
area against the wishes of the Sudetenland area people)
 By 1938, the US had had enough with the policy of appeasement
What has been happening in the US throughout the 1930s when Europe is building up military and breaking the Treaty
of Versailles?
US and isolationism
 The US has isolated themselves from a diplomatic perspective and try to become an involved in foreign affairs
 US was disillusioned after World War I
o Americans felt like they had wasted their time and energy; the war did not solve the world problems; it
did not make the US or the world safe for democracy
 Never joined league of Nations
 World War I was viewed as a mistake
 Great Depression
o The US was in the middle of the Great Depression and busy taking care of themselves internally and
domestically. Americans did not want to spend resources and energy building armies and getting ready
to fight for another war. All the US wanted was to get out of the depression and stay out of the war.
Nye Committee
 Special Senate committee created to find out why the US got involved in World War I
 Committee issued a report of their findings:
o One reason why the US got involved in the war was that our businesses and industries had loaned so
much money to the Allies (Britain and France) that we could not let them fail because that would be
devastating to our economy.
 These Americans that loaned money to the Allies were essentially “merchants of death" meaning that if Britain
and France won the war, these Americans would make huge profits.
Neutrality Acts 1935-1937
 We passed these acts to help us prevent a repeat of our involvement in World War I
 Collectively, this series of acts became increasingly more restrictive
 No sale of war material to belligerents (nations at war)
 Americans were allowed to sell at their own risk
 Banned loans by companies, individuals, banks to belligerents to prevent “merchants of death” and possible
devastation to the economy.
 Trade in a “cash and carry" policy
o
US decided to trade goods other than war materials with countries but that country had to bring its own
ship to get the goods and pay cash for them. The US did not want to loan anything to other countries or
give it to them on credit.
September 1939: Germany ripped through Poland
 Germany used blitzkrieg tactics which made Poland collapse
October 1939:
 FDR was concerned about Allies
 The US amended the Neutrality Acts
o Allies could now buy war material from the US but only under “cash and carry" policy
Britain and France gave Germany an ultimatum to get out of Poland immediately or else it will be war. Germany did not.
Britain and France declared war on Germany after the German invasion of Poland
France and Britain prepared for Germany to invade France
Phony War – a period that British and French expected to be at war and combat
 England sent troops immediately to France. British and French troops were lined up and ready by October 1939.
The troops were waiting and waiting but the German troops never came
May 1940: Germany attacked France
 Hot War
 Germany used a new plan: Manstein Plan
o Britain and France were expecting Germany to repeat the Blitzkrieg Plan from World War I where they
came in from the north through Belgium and into France
o Germany pretended like they were going to repeat the B Plan putting troops in the north but what they
did was sent a big force in southern France that managed to break through southern lines. Then the
north and center troops attacked.
o This plan managed to surround British and French troops in France
 June 1940: France surrendered within 35 days of war with Germany
 Britain evacuated many of their forces at Dunkirk and then across the channels of England
Summer of 1940: Battle of Britain
 Aerial attacks by Germany against Britain
 Germany had plans to invade England
 London is bombed repeatedly
 Churchill made a lot of appearances and British morale up
 Britain hold off Germany
Summer 1940: England elected Winston Churchill as the new British Prime Minster
United States
FDR ran for a 3rd term and won
 Promised “your boys are not going to be sent in any foreign wars"
 Signed the Burke-Wadsworth Act
o Started the first peace time draft for the Army
o Increased defense funding
 Signed an executive order which bypassed Congress
o
o
o
o
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Ordered the trading of 50 US destroyers (Navy ships) to the English because the English need these ships
to help protect their convoys to and from the US
The US was not using these destroyers. They were actually earmarked to be destroyed.
In return, the British give us rights to some of their naval bases in our hemisphere: Newfoundland, Nova
Scotia, and naval bases in the Caribbean
FDR tells the American people that he did this for American defense
If Germany was to attack us, these bases would be a front line of defense
“The Arsenal of Democracy” Speech
 FDR gives this speech to the American people
 He says that what we must do in America is become “the Arsenal of Democracy" - to become the support and
provider of weapons and equipment to support democracy
1941: Lend-Lease Act
 Allows the US to lend or lease military equipment to the Allies
 The war has taken a toll on the British economy. They do not have a lot of resources to spend buying our war
materials, food, and clothing
June 1941: The Soviet Union became an ally to the US, Britain and France because Germany broke
their non-aggression pact by invading Russia
Battle of the Atlantic
 Germany declared a war zone around the British Isles
o German U-Boats sunk any ship that entered that war zone
 FDR expanded American neutrality zone
o When we make this neutrality zone, it closes the gap in the Atlantic between us and the British.
 Used US escorts for British ships
o Our destroyers start to as score those British ships; we will start to defend British ships from German UBoats all the way out in the Atlantic.
 Congress approved arming US merchant ships just like in World War I
 Approved sinking German or Italian warships on sight
Fall 1941: US was unofficially at war in the Atlantic
Incidents on the High Seas:
 October 1941: USS Kearney & USS Reuben James
 These destroyers were attacked and sailors were killed by German U-Boats
November 1941: US repealed all neutrality laws
Europe
Summer 1940:
 France surrendered
 Battle of Britain
 German expansion into Scandinavia
 Germany prepares to invade Russia
June 1941: Operation Barbarossa
 3.3 million German troops along the front prepare to invade Russia
 3350 tanks
 2700 planes
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German forces sweep into Russia
Soviets (Red Army) fall back
Took months for Soviets to rally
o An early winter helped the Army
o As Germany advanced farther and farther into Russia. German supplies had to travel further to get to
the Army. And the German people were not very friendly to all the Russian territory peoples that they
captured.
August 1941: Atlanta Conference
 FDR and British prime minister Winston Churchill
 Four Freedoms
o “The Four Freedoms became Roosevelt’s favorite statement of Allied aims."
o "Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear"
 Atlanta Charter - We will sign and agree to this charter
o Basically lays out our plans and ideas of how to run the world after we win the war
 Similarities to Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points
 FDR planned this before the US was officially in the war
1941: The US is not officially in the war, the Soviets are getting pushed back all across Russia, Germany has taken over
Europe and is constantly bombing the English, German U-Boats are winning the Battle of Atlantic 56
US – Japan Relations
Relations deteriorated in the late 1930s - early 1940s
 US began to limit Japanese trade
 US embargoed war material trade to Japan
o 1941: US stopped shipping oil to Japan. In order for us to continue shipping oil to Japan, we tell them
that they need to abide by our commands or get the oil elsewhere. In order to get the oil from
somewhere else, they are going to have to expand their war
o American government is unwilling to compromise and bend on a lot of issues (one is letting Japan keep
part of China)
 Japan prepared for war but kept negotiating
 Japan appointed Admiral Isoroko Yummoto to be in charge of Imperial Japanese Navy
o He developed a plan to attack the US and disable our fleets
o The only thing that stands in their way of fulfilling “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperities Sphere” (expanding
in the Pacific) is the US and specifically our fleet at Pearl Harbor
o They start developing plans to put US fleet out of action at Pearl Harbor which would then give the
Japanese the ability to move freely throughout the Pacific
 Fall 1941: US put troops in Pacific on “war alert"
o Our spies “intercepted Japanese messages revealing that an assault in the Pacific was imminent. No one,
however new where it would come.”
Japan’s Choices:
 Agree to US terms
 Keep negotiating
 Attack the US
 Choose to negotiate more while planning to attack
Pearl Harbor
 US Pacific Fleet was located at Pearl Harbor
 Japanese fleet quietly left Japan and sailed north into the Pacific out of the normal shipping lane so they could
avoid being spotted by any cargo ships. They maintained strict radio silence and only receive messages.
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December 7, 1941: the Japanese launch an attack on the American Pacific Fleet Pearl Harbor
“Japanese planes launched from aircraft carriers, bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the first
attack by a foreign power on American soil since the war of 1812. Pearl Harbor was a complete and devastating
surprise.”
o Japan wanted to disable our fleet and take out as many ships and aircraft carriers as possible
There were supposed to be 3 waves of Japanese attack but there ended up only being 2. The first wave of
attacks was very successful and very much by surprise. The second wave of attacks, we were more prepared. We
had planes in the air, we had anti-aircraft guns going that shot down many Japanese planes. Orders were given
for the third wave not to go by Chuichi Nagumo because it would cost the Japanese to many pilots and planes
o The first wave of attacks came in from the west side of the island and hit the fleet. About an hour later,
the second wave of attacks came in from the east and targeted our air fields around Pearl Harbor. We
ended up with no aircraft carriers in Pearl Harbor at the time. The third wave of attacks was supposed to
hit our oil reserves.
o They also failed to destroy our dry docks to repair our ships and our submarine pens where we kept all
of our submarines in the Pacific.
If successful, this would give the Japanese freedom in Pacific
November 5, 2009
World War II
FDR and his administration believed that Germany had to be stopped. In that regard, after Germany declared war on us,
it was very important for the US to get troops into combat against Germany as soon as possible. Remember American
public opinion didn't really care about Germany. They just wanted to fight Japan since they attacked us but logically,
Germany was the bigger threat. We worked to get our troops into combat against Germany as soon as possible because
the US thought American public opinion would realize how serious things were with Germany if we were fighting them.
Before and during the war, the US worked very closely with the British but that didn't mean things always went very
smoothly regardless of our common goals, purposes, and language. The US and the British had two separate ways they
liked to do things but their relationship tends to work for the most part because of FDR and Churchill's relationship.
Allies: Great Britain, US, and Russia
Axis: Germany, Italy, and Japan
Major Allied Operation and Meeting:
 November 1942: Operation TORCH
o Invasion of North Africa
o This was our first big operation and we came together for it
o The British had been fighting in North Africa against the Germans for a while
 January 1943: Casablanca Conference
o Meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt
o Roosevelt announced publicly that the Allies would accept only the unconditional surrender of
Germany, Japan, and Italy. He did this so that the Axis powers could not claim that they were “stabbed
in the back" or were not defeated because their government had chosen to end with armistice
Winter 1942: Soviets won at Stalingrad
 Germany attacked because of the oil reserves, mineral reserves, and the resources they could acquire and
extract from those areas
 Huge defeat for Germany
 About 850,000 Axis casualties
 About 1.1 million Soviet casualties
 Big turning point for the Eastern front
 Ultimately, the German army will surrender
Spring 1942: Allies began strategic bombing campaign
 Russia wants a second front Britain and the US
 We are just entering the war though so all we could do was strategic bombing
 Britain: area bombing at night
 US: precision bombing during the day
 Focused bombing on German industrial areas and railroads to try to slow down the transportation
infrastructure, munitions production, and barbarian plants. Initially, we bombed on the edges of Germany until
we got more air superiority and were able to fly deeper into Germany to.
 Continued throughout the war
The US wanted to invade France in 1943 but the British didn't want to because the time period to invade had already
passed (it was too cold). British alternative to invading France was operations HUSKY & AVALANCHE.
July 1943: Operation HUSKY
 Invasion of Sicily by Britain and the US
 This began the liberation of Italy
 We secured Sicily and used it along with North Africa as a staging ground to invade the boot of Italy
September 1943: Operation AVALANCHE
November 1943: Tehran Conference
 FDR, Churchill, Stalin all meet for the same time (the big three) and exchange ideas
 FDR was aware that the Soviets were suspicious of the Allies
o We had an uneasy alliance - democracy and communism
o We united to fight Nazism and Hitler not necessarily for freedom and democracy
 FDR courts Stalin
 Agreed to:
o Joint occupation of Germany after war was over
o FDR promised a second front in 1944 to keep the Soviets involved in the war (unlike WWI)
o Coordinate D-Day landing with Soviets
o Stalin agreed to war with Japan after German defeat
June 6, 1944: Operation OVERLORD  D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France
 Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower
o “Nearly 200,000 American, British, and Canadian soldiers under the command of Eisenhower landed in
Normandy in northwestern France. More than 1 million troops follow them as sure in the next few
weeks, in the most massive sea-land operation in history.”
o Invasion called for 5 Divisions of Allied troops landing
o 2 US airborne divisions
o 6,483 ships
 “After fierce fighting, German armies retreated eastward. By August, Harris had been liberated.”
 This began ”the major involvement of American troops in Europe”
 Big turning point in the war in Europe took place on this day (6/6/44)
Elaborate deception plan
 English had been breaking some German codes so they could read and intercept some of the German
transmissions
 British intelligence also knew who some of the German spies in England were but they had not arrested them
yet, just monitored them
 Decided to round up German spies and threatened to kill them if they did not cooperate. They cooperated by
sending inaccurate information back to Germany
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Germany and the German military command were most afraid of US Gen. Patton - very aggressive, skilled
tactical battlefield commander. Germany believed that any invasion that came, Gen. Patton would most
certainly lead. We utilized this and set up a fake army under Gen. Patton that existed only on paper. We set up a
fake command post that we knew the Germans knew about because we let them break our “fake” codes
The Allies wanted the Germans to believe that we were going to invade at Caile but we are not. We really
invaded at Normandy along five different beaches:
o Gold, Juno, Sword, Omaha, Utah
o 2 American beaches, 2 British beaches, and 1 Canadian beach
o We also sent plans that dropped off fake parachute troopers with firecrackers going off that sounded
like machine guns going off
After we secured the beaches, we moved inland and started bringing big transport ships
Matter of time before we liberate Paris. After that, we continued marching on to Germany. On the Eastern front,
the Soviets were also advancing toward and closing in on Germany.
D-Day considered a turning point of European war
December 1944: Battle of the Bulge
 Ardennes Offensive - Last German offensive of the war
 These were German reserve troops fighting
 We call this the bulge because along the lines, the German attacks create a big bulge
 Germans were successful at first because it was by surprise, there was bad weather that prevented us from
having aircraft in the sky, and we underestimated German strength. They were hoping to disrupt British and
American unity and ultimately make us want to sign a peace treaty.
 Once the weather got better, we rallied and pushed back this bulge.
February 1945: Yalta Conference
 FDR, Churchill, and Stalin meet again
 We reiterated our unconditional surrender to Germany
 We also determined to divide Germany into 4 zones of occupation for the US, Britain, Russia, and France
 We get the commitment by Stalin that Russia will join the United Nations (successor to the L of N)
 We get the commitment by Stalin that there'll be free elections and government but it never happened
April 1945: FDR died
 Harry Truman became president
April 1945:
 Soviets were approaching Berlin
 British and French were advancing from the West
 April 25, 1945: Russian and US troops met south of Berlin
 April 30, 1945: Hitler killed himself
May 8, 1945: Germany surrendered to Allies

War in Europe was over
Holocaust
 Systematic extermination of Jews and Slavic people by Germany
 This was going on the entire time during the war
 Part of Hitler's “final solution"
 They were not initially extermination camps but forced labor camps
o Germany used enslaved Jewish peoples to work factories and plants
o 1941: Final solution plan implemented - extermination camps really come about this year
 Gas chambers and ovens were used to kill and incinerate remains
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Starvation
Auschwitz
8 million were murdered
Pacific Theater of World War II
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After Pearl Harbor, we split the Pacific into two different areas: Pacific and Southwest Pacific
We will advance towards Japan in both of these directions
Gen. MacArthur was in charge of the Southwest Pacific Army
o Used Navy transports and ships but the Army would do the landings storming the beaches
Adm. Chester Nimitz was in charge of the Pacific Navy
o Used their Navy transports and ships but relied on the military to do the landings
Island hopping strategy 53
 Guadalcanal
 Bougainville
 Tarawa
 Deleliu
 Okinawa
 Iwo Jima
As we get closer and closer to Japan, Japanese resistance gets more intense. They fight more and more to death
including civilians. By capturing some of these islands and moving closer to Japan, we also capture and secure airfields
that will allow us to start bombing Japan
Navy submarine campaign
 Critical to Allied success in Russia
 Conducted USW on Japan - sunk military vessels and supplies to and from Japan
 Successful
May 1942: Battle of Midway Island
 We annexed Midway in 1867*
 Japan hoped to have a decisive naval engagement against our fleet at Midway
 US code-breaking efforts
 Sent US aircraft carriers to Midway
 US Navy sunk 4 Japanese carriers
 US lost 1 carrier
 Key issue was loss of experienced Japanese pilots
 The American Navy “inflicted devastating losses on the Japanese Navy”
 Turning point of Pacific theater
Campaigns got US closer to Japan
 The victories of the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway Island “allowed American forces to launch
the bloody campaigns that one by one drove the Japanese from fortified islands like Guadalcanal and the
Solomon Islands in the Western Pacific and brought him American troops ever closer to Japan.”
 Began a strategic bombing campaign against Japan
 General Curtis Le May was in charge of air operations in the Pacific (bombing)
 Firebombing of Tokyo
o More people die in this attack than in either of the atomic bombings
Manhattan Project
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US built three bombs and tested one in Mexico
J Robert Oppenheimer was a civilian scientist in charge of the project
Different opinions about invading Japan
Army and Navy gave conflicting casualty estimate plans
Army wanted to bomb Japan and then invade; Navy wanted to blockade them into submission
Japanese invasion would be costly to both sides
Ketsu-go: Japanese plan for defense
o There were training and defense programs for civilians
o Fight to the last man
Pres. Truman decided to bomb
 Said it would save US and Japan lives in the long run
 Would end war quicker than Invasion
 Possibly to show Stalin the US’ power
 “We built it, we better use it”
August 6, 1945: US dropped “Little Boy Bomb” on Hiroshima
 Uranium bomb
 100,000 were killed instantly
 By December 1945, about 40,000 more had died from radiation poisoning
The US demanded surrender
 US threatened a second bomb
 Japanese government refused
August 8, 1945: Russia declared war on Japan
August 9, 1945: US dropped “Fat Man Bomb” on Nagasaki
 Plutonium bomb
 80,000 killed
 Not as effective
August 15, 1945: Cease-fire began
September 2, 1945: Japan surrendered