Download Name: Class: ______ Date: Chapter 36/38 – America in WWII

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Chapter 36/38 – America in WWII
1. Explain and account for the Europe First strategy accepted by the US.
The Allied Powers secured a promise from the United States would help contain Hitler in Germany before turning
its attention to the Japanese in the Pacific. Many Americans were very frustrated by this because there were
American troops and sailors getting beaten badly in the Pacific with limited resources. The argument was that
Hitler was close to toppling the Allies in Europe and Northern Africa. If he was successful, Europe would be lost.
However, if the US helped take care of Hitler then the combined Allied forces could turn their attention to the war
in the Pacific.
2. What happened to Japanese-Americans at the outset of war?
On a wave of post-Pearl Harbor hysteria, and fueled by racism and hatred, many Japanese Americans were put
into internment camps to prevent sabotage. These people, regardless of citizenship lost rights, dignity, and
millions of dollars in property. This action was supported by Korematsu v. US.
3. Explain the extraordinary turnaround in the American economy after the coming of war. What role did
Governmental agencies play?
Massive military orders wiped out the last remnants of the Great Depression. Factories were retrofitted to
manufacture war goods, the War Production Board ordered the manufacture of bullets, aircraft, ships, tanks,
machine guns. The manufacture of non-essential items (passenger cars) was halted. Farmers increased output
and invested in new agricultural equipment. This all led to an inflationary surge in 1942. The Office of Price
Administration brought rising prices under control with regulations, and rationing held down the use of critical
goods such as meat and butter. The War Labor Board imposed ceilings on wage increases.
4. Explain the connections between labor needs and the major demographic shifts (in occupation and location) of
the war years.
As men and women left for war duties, another labor source was needed. An agreement with Mexico brought
thousands of Mexican agricultural workers to harvest the fruit and grain crops in the west. Other women took
up factory jobs. Many industries lured people to cities like Loos Angeles, Detroit, Seattle, and Baton Rouge.
Almost two million blacks left the south to find jobs in the factories of the West and North. Native Americans
moved into jobs that were being vacated by the draft.
5. Describe the early progress of war in the Pacific.
The Japanese military system was very successful. They knew they had to win quickly. The Japanese launched
widespread attacks in the Far East including Guam, Wake, and the Philippines. They also seized Hong Kong and
British Malaya, cutting off the export of tin and rubber. The Japanese soldiers cut the Burma Road through the
jungles of Burma. They continued to move south and east, capturing islands. Though efforts in the Philippines
slowed down the advance, General MacArthur ultimately surrendered and had to go to Australia to regroup and
lead a resistance force there. The tide turned at the Battle of Midway Island. The US experienced a pivotal
victory. Japanese leaders wanted to continue to expand and conquer lands. The US began to use the “island
hopping” technique of attacking and securing bases on small islands as they pushed back west across the Pacific.
6. Explain the process towards victory (and out of the jaws of defeat) in the Atlantic/European theater.
It took time, but eventually Allied anti-submarine tactics improved and were able to neutralize Hitler’s navy.
British codebreakers had cracked the German “Enigma Code,” which allowed them to pinpoint U-boat locations in
the North Atlantic. The turning point of the land-air war came in late 1942 when the British were joined by the
American Air Force. The Germans were stopped from marching eastward by a new shipment of American tanks.
The Soviets experiences some successes on the eastern front and then launched a crushing counteroffensive. The
Allies agreed to launch a “second front” attack in Northern Africa which led to the surrender of the German-Italian
army in Tunisia. Further attacks were planned in the Mediterranean which vexed the Soviets who really wanted a
Western Front attack through France. It took time, but eventually the combined Allied forces led an attack on
Normandy. The Allies continued to push in toward the center of France and toward Germany. The Soviets were
hammering the Germans from the East and the Allies from the West. Hitler commits suicide shortly before Allied
troops reached his bunker.
7. How, when, and under what pressure did America open a Second Front (at first)? What happened? What
happened at Normandy?
Stalin wanted the Allies to launch an attack against the Western front in France to help draw off some of the Nazi
forces fighting on the Eastern Front. The Soviet Union had lost a lot of men and territory and were starting to
worry about being able to keep Hitler at bay. The Americans were in agreement, but the British were reluctant to
do an offensive like that because of the huge losses they suffered in WWI. As a compromise, the Allies led an
attack on North Africa led by Eisenhower that led to the surrender of the German-Italian army. Next, the Allies
capture Sicily and invade Italy. Though Mussolini surrenders, the German soldiers don’t and it is a difficult job
liberating Italy. The last stage of the Second Front was the amphibious landing at Normandy Beach where Allied
Forces invaded, took the beach and beachhead and began to retake France.
8. On what basis did FDR secure his fourth term?
The American people perceived that the war was going well and that FDR was a steady, experienced hand,
especially with regard to foreign policy. The economy had improved and people were content to keep him.
Because of his age and state of health, the party was more interested in his VP, and chose Harry Truman because
of his “steadiness.”
9. What role did American troops play in the final thrust of War in Europe (1944-1945)?
Hitler launches a last-ditch offensive in the forest of Ardenne. His troops pushed into a thinly defended area of
America troops which were pushed back, causing the Western Front to bulge toward the west. The 101 st Airborne
came in to reinforce the Americans and were able to push the Germans back. The forward momentum of the
American troops took them all the way to Berlin. Hitler marries his mistress and then commits suicide.
10. Through what means did America achieve strategic victory in the Pacific? Through what means was total
surrender of Japanese forces achieved?
The US used island hopping as a technique to achieve victory. They would systematically retake islands already
occupied by the Japanese. Total surrender was achieved by the dropping of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
11. What was the impact of WWII on the status of the US in the World?
The US experience very limited battle damage (Pearl Harbor) compared to Europe. It emerged from the war,
relatively unscathed, its economy back on track, and with enough influence to be dubbed a Superpower.
Vocab:
Europe First also known as Germany first, was the key element of the grand strategy agreed upon by the
United States and the United Kingdom during World War II. According to this policy, the United States and the
United Kingdom would use the preponderance of their resources to subdue Nazi Germany in Europe first.
Korematsu v. U.S. a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order
9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II regardless of citizenship.
Midway a decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II.[6][7][8] Between 4 and 7 June 1942, only six
months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the United States
Navy under Admirals Chester Nimitz, Frank Jack Fletcher, and Raymond A. Spruance decisively defeated an
attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy under Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto, Chuichi Nagumo, and Nobutake
Kondo near Midway Atoll, inflicting devastating damage on the Japanese fleet that proved irreparable.
Tehran Conference (codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and
Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943. It was held in the Soviet Union's embassy
in Tehran, Iran.
Second Front - during WWII, an attack on North Africa led by Eisenhower that led to the surrender of the German-Italian
army. This was a compromise between Americans who wanted an invasion of France in order to help the Soviets, the
British who were worried about a frontal assault on German-held France.
D-Day the landing operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during
World War II.
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II.
Harry Truman an American politician who served as the 33rd President of the United States, coming to office on the death
of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the last months of World War II.
Okinawa a Japanese prefecture comprising more than 150 islands in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Japan's
mainland.
Atom Bombs a bomb that derives its destructive power from the rapid release of nuclear energy by fission of
heavy atomic nuclei, causing damage through heat, blast, and radioactivity.