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Chapter
24 Section 2
Objectives
• Understand how the United States prepared for
war and strengthened its ties with the Allies.
• Discover why the United States finally entered
World War II.
• Learn how, after many early setbacks, the Allies
began to turn the tide of battle in North Africa
and the Pacific.
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Terms and People
• total war – conflict involving not just armies
but entire nations
• Dwight D. Eisenhower – a U.S. general who
commanded troops in Africa and who forced the
surrender of the army under the command of
German General Erwin Rommel
• Douglas MacArthur – a U.S. general who
commanded troops in the Philippines
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How did the United States move from
neutrality to full involvement in the
war?
At first, the U.S. restricted its role to selling,
lending, or leasing supplies to the Allies, while
at the same time preparing for the possibility
of joining the war.
After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the U.S.
became fully involved in World War II.
The United States at War
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Roosevelt had promised to maintain American neutrality,
but he sympathized with the Allies.
Roosevelt
persuaded
Congress to pass
the Lend-Lease
Law, which let the
U.S. lend or lease
supplies to nations
fighting the Nazis.
The United States at War
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America Prepares for War
Military
Buildup
• Congress approved greater spending for the army
and navy.
• Congress set up the first peacetime draft in American
history.
Tuskegee
Airmen
• Roosevelt ordered the Army Air Corps to organize an
African American unit under the command of black
officers.
Atlantic
Charter
• The U.S. and Britain would not seek to gain territory
from the war.
• All peoples have the right to choose their own
government.
• There was a need for a new international
organization to replace the League of Nations.
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In July 1941,
Japan invaded the
French colony of
Indochina.
In response,
Roosevelt banned
iron and steel
scrap exports
and restricted the
sale of oil to
Japan.
Facing a shortage of fuel for their navy, Japanese
leaders decided to attack the U.S.
On December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers
launched a surprise attack on American
forces at Pearl Harbor.
The United States at War
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The attack destroyed much equipment and took
thousands of American lives.
U.S. leaders
were caught off
guard. They had
not expected
the Japanese to
come as far
east as Hawaii.
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On December 8,
Congress declared
war on Japan.
Japan’s allies,
Germany and Italy,
then declared war
on the United
States.
The United States at War
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A Global Conflict
The
Axis
Powers
• This alliance included Germany, Italy, Japan,
and six other nations.
The
Allied
Powers
• Before the war was over, this alliance would
include Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the
United States, China, and 45 other nations.
Total
War
• More than any other war before it, World
War II was a total war.
• Countries on both sides put all their resources
into the war effort.
• Civilian populations often became targets of
bombings.
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In early 1942, the Allies faced a bleak
situation on all fronts.
• Germany controlled most of
Western Europe and was
advancing deep into Soviet
territory.
• Soviet losses numbered in the
millions.
Later in 1942, the Allies began to gain ground.
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In December 1941, Soviet troops—assisted by the brutal
Russian winter—halted the German advance just miles
from Moscow.
After months of
fighting, the
Soviets won the
battle and pushed
the Germans
back westward.
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In North Africa, German General Erwin
Rommel won a number of quick victories.
But British troops defeated the Germans in Egypt
and then drove Rommel’s corps into Tunisia.
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In November, the first American ground troops in
combat landed in North Africa under the
command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
U.S. troops occupied Morocco and Algeria, and
Rommel’s army surrendered in May 1943.
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In the days after
Pearl Harbor,
Japanese armies
swiftly took
control of
Southeast Asia.
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The Japanese attacked the island of Luzon, where
General Douglas MacArthur commanded a FilipinoAmerican force.
As the
Japanese
closed in on
Manila, the
capital city,
MacArthur
withdrew his
forces onto the
Bataan
Peninsula.
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President
Roosevelt then
ordered
MacArthur to
go to Australia
and take
control of all
the troops in
the region.
On Bataan and the nearby
island of Corregidor,
Americans and Filipinos
fought bravely.
The defenders of Bataan
surrendered in April, and
Corregidor fell in May.
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At Bataan, the Japanese
captured nearly 70,000 soldiers
and forced them to walk 65
miles to a prison camp.
Along the way, many
prisoners died of starvation,
disease, or violence.
Their trek became known as the
Bataan Death March.
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The tide began to turn in the Pacific with two
historic naval battles.
At the Battle of the Coral
Sea, the U.S. halted the
Japanese drive to New
Guinea.
U.S. and Japanese forces
launched planes from
aircraft carriers to attack
enemy ships.
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A month later,
the Japanese
sought to take
Midway, the
island home of
a key American
military base.
But the
Americans
destroyed
many Japanese
aircraft,
aircraft
carriers, and
pilots.
After the Battle of Midway, Japan’s navy no
longer ruled the Pacific.
The United States at War
Chapter
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Section Review
QuickTake Quiz
The United States at War
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