Download History – Chapter 17…… - Indianola Community Schools

History – Chapter 17……..The U.S. in W.W. II
*Section 1………….U.S. Prepares for War
Selective Service
Drafted 10 million, plus 5 million volunteers
Only about 8 weeks of training
WAAC – Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (eventually just WAC)
Created by George Marshall
250,000 female volunteers!
Not same pay or ranking as men, no officers, segregated from
men’s units
st
1 time women served as “soldiers” (non-combat: ambulance
drivers, nurses, telephone operators)
Industries to War Production
Auto: planes, tanks, boats, command cars
Mechanical pencils: bomb parts
Bedspreads: mosquito netting
Bottling soft drinks: filling shells with explosives
Employment of Women & Minorities
Women and minorities (Asian, African, Native, Hispanic) took over
jobs that had been done by Caucasian men
Faced much prejudice, at first
Latino units: segregated, sent into heavy combat areas
Af. Amer. units: segregated, often drivers and pilots
Native Americans: largest minority group to volunteer
A. Philip Randolf:
 founder of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
 organized march on Washington, DC
 FDR agreed to require factories to not discriminate
when hiring workers to aid war effort.
OSRD – Office of Scientific Research & Development
New improvements in radar and sonar
Use of pesticides to fight insects (body lice on troops)
Atomic bomb: the Manhattan Project was code name for countrywide research project; employed thousands of people who
didn’t actually know what they were working on
OPA – Office of Price Administration
Fought inflation by:
Price freezing on consumer goods
Congress raised income taxes for war expenses, people had
less to spend
Encouraged people to buy war bonds
Rationing: coupon books for families to limit purchase amount
of items important to war (gasoline, meat, shoes, sugar,
coffee)
WPB – War Production Board
Decided which companies would convert to war production
Allocated raw materials
Organized nationwide collection of things that could be recycled
into war goods: scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, cooking fat
*Section 2………..War for Europe & N. America
December 22, 1941 – Churchill meets with FDR in Washington, D.C.
Had much in common, got along well
FDR made decisions “with heart”, Churchill “with head”
Churchill convinces FDR that Hitler was biggest threat
Unconditional surrender – Allies agree that Axis powers must
surrender with no conditions in order for the war to be over –
Allies could require whatever they wanted of Axis countries
Battle of the Atlantic
After Pearl Harbor attack
Hitler ordered submarine raids against merchant ships along U.S.
coast.
681 ships sunk in first few months.
U.S. went back to convoy system (destroyers with sonar and planes
with radar) to defeat them.
Allies controlled Atlantic after that – lifeline to Gr. Britain
Battle of Stalingrad
Summer of 1942
By Nov. 1942, Nazi’s controlled 90% of city, but Stalin didn’t want
to give up (much industry; win would be important for morale)
Soviets won – major turning point on eastern front, began pushing
Germans back west
USSR lost 1.5 million soldiers
Operation Torch
Battle of North Africa
Eisenhower (Allies) vs. Rommel (Nazis – “the Desert Fox”)
1st U.S. victory: Defeated the Afrikan Korps and Desert Fox
Italian Campaign
Churchill convinced FDR to attack Italy (soft underbelly) before
trying to drive Germany out of France.
Allies attack and control Sicily—start marching up the “boot”
As the allies approached Rome, King Victor Emmanuel III fired
Mussolini.
Italian citizens were burning bridges and barricading the streets in
support of the allies.
Bloody Anzio—lasted 4 months, 25,000 allies, 30,000 axis died
First step in reclaiming Europe
D-Day: Operation Overlord (secret invasion of Normandy, France)
U.S. misled Germans: interception of radio transmission said U.S.
will attack at Calais – Hitler took the bait.
Had been planned for two years, since U.S. entered war
Chosen because it was not as heavily defended
Began with bombing to create some chaos
June 6, 1944 – led by Eisenhower
midnight: troops parachuted behind German lines, so could
attack from both sides; 3 divisions
5 beach landings (5 million men) - Omaha Beach: most resistance
Possibly the bravest mission/battle ever fought by U.S. forces:
very little protection when men exited boats
July 25: Omar Bradley captures St. Lo
August 25: George Patton reclaims Paris
U.S., France, Gr. Britain, Canada pushing east, USSR pushing west,
squeezing Germany.
Battle of the Bulge
8 German tank divisions had forced way west in an 80 mile area of
Allied front
Mildly successful
Took 120 US POW’s – shot them (against Geneva Convention)
One month battle, Germany defeated with heavy losses
War basically over, now, but took 5 more months
Battle of Berlin – Final battle – April 16, 1945
Over in about two weeks
VE Day – May 8, 1945 – Victory in Europe
November 1944 – FDR runs for 4th term, wins easily
Truman still VP
Health poor, but wanted to do what was best for country
April 12, 1945: FDR dies
Doolittle Raid in the Pacific (Spring 1942)
US air raid on Tokyo
16 bombers
To send Japan a message after Pearl Harbor
Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942)
5 day battle
Australia - biggest US ally
Turning point: successfully stopped Japanese advancement
Air battle only, no shots fired from ships
Battle of Midway Islands
U.S. controlled – had navy fleet there
Intelligence uncovered Japanese plan to launch huge attack
Admiral Nimitz – U.S. Pacific naval commander
U.S. attacked Japanese fleet first, even though we were outnumbered
four to one.
U.S. victory – major turning point – little resistance in battles
thereafter
Island hopping – U.S. forces going from island to island to regain control
Led by McArthur
Disrupt Japanese communication
Have places for air attacks to take off from
Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands)
Nicknamed the “Island of Death” because conditions were so
terrible.
st
1 U.S. ground victory in Pacific
Battle for the Philippines
Kamikaze – Japanese suicide planes
Only about one-fourth successful (22%)
Section 3…………War in the Pacific
Last 2 major strong-holds before Japanese mainland: Iwo Jima, Okinawa
Battle of Iwo Jima
Would be great location to launch attack from
Mount Suribachi – U.S. forces had to fight their way all the way up.
U.S. victory - 6,000 Marines died
About same time as FDR died
Battle of Okinawa
1,900 Kamikaze planes; 110,000 Japanese soldier deaths
U.S. victory - 7,600 U.S. deaths
How does U.S. now force Japan to surrender?
The Manhattan Project
Main headquarters in Tennessee
Other locations all over U.S. in charge of different parts of project
Most workers/scientists did not know what they were working on.
J. Robert Oppenheimer – lead scientist
Uranium 235 & plutonium
Tested in New Mexico desert
Original science for atomic bomb developed by A. Einstein
There was much uncertainty about whether or not it would work,
and how much destruction there would be.
Hiroshima
1st atomic bomb drop – Aug, 6, 1945 – code name “Little Boy”
Dropped by B-29 bomber – Enola Gay, pilot – Paul Tibbits
Japan refused to surrender.
Nagasaki
2nd bomb – Aug. 9, 1945 – code name “Fat Man”
**Both sites were strategically chosen because they were military bases and
industrial cities.
V-J Day – Sept. 2, 1945 – Victory over Japan
The Yalta Conference:
Feb. 1945 – lasted 8 days
Meeting of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin
Discussed how to handle Germany after war and how to help
war-torn countries
The Nuremberg Trials
24 Nazi leaders tried for war crimes
1st time leaders were held responsible for their own actions in war
Occupation of Japan – headed by Gen. MacArthur
1,100 Japanese military personnel tried for war crimes;
7 put to death, including Tojo
U.S. occupied for 6 years
Created free trade markets
New constitution: included women’s suffrage; still referred
to as MacArthur Constitution
Section 4………On the “Home Front”
Economic Gains
1944 unemployment only 1 – 2%
Wages up 10%
Farmers: new agricultural techniques; better weather
Women: made up 35% of work force
Population Shifts
Minority groups moved from South to North
Cities with defense industry doubled in population.
1 million people moved to California between 1941-1944.
Family & Social
GI Bill of Rights:
Federal $$ for education/training for veterans
Federal loan guarantees to veterans buying homes, farms,
starting new businesses
Civil Rights Protests
CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) – started by James Farmer
Detroit Riot – June 1943: lasted for 3 days; fueled by false
rumors; blacks vs. whites
“Zoot Suit” Riot – Summer 1943, in Los Angeles: MexicanAmerican youth and other minorities beaten senseless
Internment (confinement)
Feb. 19, 1942: FDR ordered Japanese Americans to relocate.
Almost two-thirds were Nisei: Japanese descendants born in U.S.
JACL (Japanese American Citizens League): after war, pushed U.S.
govt. to compensate Japanese Americans for their $$ losses