Download World War II Notes

World War II Notes
5th hour
War on Two Fronts
Containing the Japanese
Americans had a sense of unity even though the war was not starting out
on their favor.
American strategists planned two broad offensives to turn the tide against
the Japanese after continuous attacks against American airfields
1. Under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, move north from Austraila
back to Philippines
2. Under Admiral Chester Nimitiz, move west from Hawaii toward Japanese
island outpost in the Central Pacific.
* together, both offensives invade Japan
First Allied victory, Battle of Coral Sea
At the four day long battle near the American out post at Midway Island,
U.S. regained control of the central Pacific
Guadalcanal forced Japanese off the Island with American victory
Holding Off the Germans
Roosevelt torn between the Soviet Union plan, wanted Allied invasion to
proceed at earliest moment. And British plan, wanted to launch series of
Allied offensives around the edges of the Nazi Empire
* FDR supported British plan can attacked Nazi therefore leading more attacks
on Germany.
Germans threw full weight of their forces in Africa against inexperienced
Americans and inflicted a serious defeat at Kasserince.
After Kasserince, British forces and American forces drove Germans out
of Africa
Soviet Union angered by the delay of the cross-channel invasion of
France, but the Red Army successfully held off major German assault at
Stalingrad
* Soviet victory at Stalingrad absorbed greater losses than any other warring
nation
Allied invasion of Sicily, lasted 38 days, but defeated the Italians
collapsing Mussolini’s government and committed Italy to the Allies.
America and The Holocaust
The Holcaust was a Nazi campaign to exterminate Jews of Europe
* included non-Jewish Poles, gyspsies, gays, and communists, transporting all of
them to concentration camps and over killing over 6 million Jews and 4 million
others
American government resisted all entreaties, Allied bomber tried
destroying camps, railroads leading to camps, etc.
Official Anti-Semitism prevented Jews from entering the US in large
numbers.
Little that America could have done other than defeat Germany
The American People in Wartime
Nation underwent a lot of consuming military experience
Prosperity
Economic problems of 1930’s went away and prosperity grew among the
US
The most important angent of the new prosperity was federal spending.
Everything incread and the economy was over all doing well
The War in the West
West was extremely impacted by the war.
*Launching point for most of the naval war against Japan
*Created large manufacturing facilities
*Economy was transformed and doing well
* Center of growing American aircraft industry
*Fastest growing region in the nation after war
Labor and the War
War created serious labor shortage due to all the men and women off
fighting and working in the war.
Union membership was increased and many Union gains
Smith-Connally Act required unions to wait thirty days before striking and
empowered the president to seize a struck war plant.
Stabilizing the Boom
Office of Price Administration led by Leon Henderson and then Chester
Bowles was created and enforced by the Anti-Inflation Act.
OPA was never really popular and still prices and wages were
widespread, complicated system, and black-market charges.
National debt was rising
Revenue Act established a 94% rate for highest brackets and imposed
taxes on lowest income families
Mobilizing Production
War Production Board was to be a “super agency” with broad powers over
the economy and the WPB was overall not much of a success.
Office of War Mobilization was only slightly more successful than WPB
American factories were producing more than the government needed
Wartime Science and Technology
World war II was a huge period of technological and scientific innovations
* National Defense Research Committee
Technological advantages at first seemed to side with Germany and
Japan, but then America and Great Britain were advancing as well
American techniques of mass production produced every thing for the
military
Aviation and naval technology was improved, as well as submarine and
tank performance
Radar and Sonar energy was developed in helping naval forces decimate
German U-boats
*centimetric radar
Antiaircraft improved and underwater bomb technology advanced and
improved as the Axis and Allies competed
* Gee navigation System
*Oboe System
The Ultra project of the Allies was one of the greatest technological
advantages.
*gathered intelligence, uncovered German messages, capture intelligence
devices
The Bombe decoded German messages all thought out the war
The American Magic operation was very similar to the British Ultra,
breaking and decoding Japanese systems.
African Americans and the War
During the war, many African Americans joined war to maybe enhance
their position in postwar society, but to their disappointment it was not
true.
A. Philip Randolph insisted companies to receive defense contracts to
integrated work forces and created the Fair Employment Practices
Commission to investigate discriminations against blacks in war industries
* Symbolic victory for blacks
The demand for labor increased. Many blacks migrated to the industrial
cities for work
The Congress of Racial Equality formed and mobilized popular resistence
to discrimination.
Black service men had increased and more jobs opened up for African
Americans
Native Americans and the War
Native Americans performed military service at war as code-talkers or in
combat positions
After war, some Native Americans remained civilians and others were
forced to go back to their reservations.
Indian Reorganization Act supported the revitalization of tribal autonomy.
Mexican-American War Workers
Large numbers of Mexican workers entered US during war as response to
labor shortages on Pacific Coast
Braceros (contract laborers) were admitted to the US for limited time to
work for specific jobs
Mexican were able to find significant factory jobs
Mexican-American neighborhoods created tensions
Pachucoas (a street gang) wore a particular style of dress that outraged
whites
*Zoot Suits-- long, loose jacket with padded shoulder, baggy pants tied at the
ankles, long watch chains, broad-brimmed hats, and greased, ducktail hairstyles.
* Zoot suiters produced four day riot where teenage boys were stripped of their
clothes by white sailors who burned their zoot suits, cut of their ducktails, and
beat the boys. Police did little to restrain sailors. Zoot suit riots created a law that
prohibited the wearing of zoot suits.