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Chapter 24, Section 2
The United States at War
Moving Toward War
• Lend-Lease Act
– Roosevelt wanted to help allies, but didn’t want to
violate Neutrality Act
– Lend-Lease allowed US to sell supplies to
Britain/other countries, but they had to pay cash
for all goods
Moving Toward War
• Military Buildup
– Congress approved greater Army/Navy spending
– September 1940: Peacetime Draft
– Ordered Army Air Corps to organize an AfricanAmerican unit (Tuskegee Airmen) in 1940
• Atlantic Charter
– Roosevelt/Churchill agreed that their countries
wouldn’t seek land from war, and emphasized
rights of people to choose own government
The US Enters the War
• Events in Asia drew the US into war (not
Europe)
• In response, Roosevelt banned American
exports of iron/steel/oil to Japan
• Because of this, Japanese leaders decided on
war and to attack the US
The US Enters the War
• Pearl Harbor
– Japanese bombers bombed Pearl Harbor on
12/7/41
– 2,400 airmen killed; “a day which will live in
infamy”
– Later that day, Congress declared war on Japan
The US Enters the War
• A Global Conflict
– Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan
– Allies: Britain, France, Soviet Union, US, China
– WWII was a total war
• Total war: conflict involving entire nations, not just
armies
Europe and North Africa
• The Soviets Resist
– In December 1941, Soviet troops halted German
advance outside Moscow
– In mid-1942, Soviets defeated Germans in battles
at Stalingrad
– From then on, Soviets sent Germans back
westward
Europe and North Africa
• The Tide Turns in North Africa
– General Rommel (German) won many victories
here
– British troops defeated Germans in October 1942
– US troops landed in November and occupied
Morocco and Algeria under leadership of General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Japan Sweeps Through the Pacific
• Philippines Fall
– Japanese bombed Philippines hours after Pearl
Harbor
– Two weeks later, invaded island of Luzon
– General Douglas MacArthur commanded a
Filipino-American force to retaliate
– Forced to retreat to Bataan peninsula and vowed
to return
Japan Sweeps Through the Pacific
• Bataan Death March
– Nearly 70,000 soldiers forced to march 65 miles to
a prison camp, where many died
• Coral Sea and Midway
– Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942  new form of
warfare where planes attacked ships miles away
– A month later, Japanese tried to take Midway
Island, but were attacked by Americans