Download World War II

World War II
American History (B)
C. Simmons
Converting the Economy
• The Economy of the U.S. during WWII
was probably the deciding factor who won
the war end the end. Twice as much as
Germany, 5 times as much as Japan
• Mobilization of Economy before U.S.
entered War
• Incentives for industry to move quickly
called cost-plus, paid costs plus
percentage of profits
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation
(RFC) helped in conversion into war
production
American Industry
• After Pearl Harbor Attack all major
industries including 200,000 companies
converted to war production
• Automobile factories produced trucks,
jeeps, tanks, and B-24 bombers. Also
ammunition, rifles, mines, cooking pots,
helmets – produced 1/3 of military
equipmen
• War Production Board – set goals and
controls, and Office of War Mobilization –
settle arguments
Building the Army
• Selective Service and Training Act – first
peacetime draft in American history
• # of draftees was huge, “GI” comes from
patch on uniforms Government Issue
• Segregated military at beginning of war
• African American disfranchisement
• Tuskegee airmen in Battle of Anzio in Italy
• 99th Pursuit Squadron was an AA unit
• Integration in 1948
• Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps – first time
women allowed in military
Discussion
• How did American Production achieve so
much success during the war?
• What did FDR create to keep production
stable?
Pacific War
• After Pearl Harbor, America could do little
to stop advancing Japanese in Southeast
Asia (Attack on American bases in
Philippines)
• MacArthur ordered to evacuate to
Australia – Bataan Death March
• B-25 bombers replaced short range
bombers on aircraft carriers, James
Doolittle put in charge, April 18 attack
• Turning Point - Battle of Midway – code
breakers, Americans shot down 38 Jap
planes and destroyed 4 carriers
Early in Germany
• Stalin urged FDR to open up new front, July
1942 FDR ordered invasion of periphery of
Germany (Algeria, Morocco)
• Dwight Eisenhower invaded N Africa in
November 1942, George Patton led troops into
Morocco, May 1943 Germans surrendered
• Germans sank cargo-ships, so Americans
employed a convoy system, protection from
Navy
• Battle of Stalingrad - German Goal was to
destroy Russian economy, turning point in war
(first time Germans on defensive), #deaths
Discussion
• What was important about Battle of
Midway?
• What was important about Battle of
Stalingrad?
Women and Minorities
• Positive effects of WWII – ended
Depression, doubled income, 19 million
new jobs
• Wartime labor – “Rosie the Riveter”
campaign to hire women – 2.5 million
• Resistance to hire African Americans
• Executive Order 8802 – no discrimination
in employment in defense industries
• Bracero Program – allowed in 200,000
Mexican harvesters and railroad workers
Nation on the Move
• 15 million moved West and South
(Sunbelt)
• The Second Great Migration – factory
jobs, but found intolerance and violence
• Zoot-Suit problem – Mexican-American
violence
• Declaration of military zones (1942) led to
Japanese internment (10 Camps) West
Coast
Daily Life in America
• Office of Price Administration (OPS)
• Office of Economic Administration (OES)
• War Labor Board (WLB) – prevented
strikes
• Rationing – monthly coupon books issued
created shortages, foods, meats, oils,
gasoline, etc.
• Victory Gardens planted to produce more
food, Scrap Drives collected raw materials
• Trading in of fats and oils – explosives
• Raise in taxes, selling of E bonds – funded
war
Discussion
• How did life change for minorities during
the war?
• What was life like during the war?
Striking back at Third Reich
• Casablanca Conference – increase
bombing of Germany and attack Sicily
• Bombing campaign successful because
caused oil shortage and troops entering
France could not be bombed
• Eisenhower commanded troops in Italy
and forced German Troops out by August
1943 Italy surrendered in September and
Mussolini was arrested
Landing in France
• Operation Overload – Eisenhower would
command troops in invasion of France
• Surprise Attack – Germans did not know
where attack would happen
• D-Day in Normandy – June 7, 1944
• Allied troops captured Utah Beach and
moved inland
• Invasion of Omaha Beach met intense
German fire but succeeded
Back to the Pacific
• Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur
hoped from island to island to retake
Pacific
• Tarawa Atoll – and rise of the LVT
(amphtrac)
• Capture of the Kwajalen Atoll allowed B-29
bombers to reach Japan
• Battle of Leyte Gulf – largest Naval Battle
in history, also first time Japanese used
kamikaze attacks – suicide flyers
Discussion
• Why was D-Day so successful?
• Why were kamikazes so deadly?
Third Reich Collapses
• Germans use of hedgerows in Normandy
– embankments of dirt and hedges
• Bombing allowed U.S. tanks threw
• Paris liberation on August 25, 1944
• Battle of the Bulge – last ditch effort of
Hitler, German defenses bulged outward
catching Americans off guard
• Americans pushed back Germans and
crossed Ludendorf Bridge – free entrance
into Berlin
• Hitler committed suicide, unconditional
surrender on May 7, 1945, V-E Day
Japan Defeated
• FDR died in April 1945, Harry Truman took
power
• Invasion of Iwo Jima – closer to Japan and allow
more accuracy of bombers
• Napalm bombing in Tokyo (firebombing)
• April 1945 invasion of Okinawa 35 miles from
Japan(12,000 soldiers lost their lives)
• Japan refused to surrender unconditionally
• Manhattan Project – atomic bomb, July 1945
first atomic bomb detonated in NM
• August atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki killing 75,000 people
• August 15, 1945 Japan surrendered (V-J Day)
Building New World
• Creation of the United Nations (UN) April
1945 official charter
• Britain, France, U.S., China, Soviet Union
would be permanent members and have
veto power
• International Military Tribunal (IMT) punish
German and Japanese leaders for war
crimes
• Nuremburg Trials – only two German
leaders were convicted
Discussion
• Why did Hitler commit suicide?
• Why did Truman use the atomic bomb?
• Why were only two German leaders
convicted of war crimes?