Chapter 25 Powerpoint

Chapter 25 Americans and a World in Crisis 1933-1945

Introduction • 1.) How did President Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy affect U.S.-Latin American relations? • 2.) How did the American people and their govt. respond to the international crises of the 1930’s? • 3.) How did President Roosevelt and Congress mobilize the country for war?

Introduction (cont.) • 4.) What impact did the war have on the U.S. economy? • 5.) How did the war change American society and affect minorities and women? • 6.) What were the different goals of the U.S.A., G.B. and the U.S.S.R. and how did these goals affect their combat strategies? • 7.) Why did President Truman decide to drop atomic bombs on Japan, and was he justified in doing so?

The United States in a Menacing World, 1933-1939 • Introduction – During FDR’s fist 2 terms, he improved relations with Latin America – Meanwhile, aggressive, militaristic fascist regimes came to power in Italy, Germany, and Japan – The U.S.A. reacted to these developments abroad ambivalently • Torn between dislike of fascism and even stronger desire for peace

Nationalism and the Good Neighbor • The Good Neighbor policy – Agreed that no state has the right to intervene in the affairs of another

• Applied in Latin America – Withdrew forces from Haiti and Dominican Republic – Ended the Platt Amendment – Refrained from using force against left-wing govts. in Cuba and Mexico • FDR did apply economic pressure to influence events

• FDR’s restraint in using military force improved U.S.Latin American relations

The Rise of Aggressive States in Europe and Asia • • • •

Italy Benito Mussolini Took control in 1922 1938--invaded Ethiopia

The Rise of Aggressive States in Europe and Asia (cont.) • • • •

Germany 1933 Adolf Hitler Became chancellor of Germany • Absolute dictatorship • Preached racism, aggressive nationalism, and anti-Semitism

The Rise of Aggressive States in Europe and Asia (cont.) • Hitler (cont.) – Persecuted the Jews – Military buildup – Conquest of other countries • 1936--Rhineland • 1938--Austria • 1938--Sudetenland – Munich Conference--appeasement by France and Great Britain

Map of Europe up to 1938

The Rise of Aggressive States in Europe and Asia (cont.) • 1931--Japanese imperialists seized Manchuria from China • 1937--began a war of conquest to take over all of China

The American Mood: No More War • Americans disliked these actions in Europe and Asia but were determined not to be pulled into another war • U.S.A. participation in WWI as a mistake • Nye Committee – Reveled the roles played by bankers and weapons suppliers in WWI

• In the 1930’s, novelists and playwrights condemned war

The American Mood: No More War (cont.) • Neutrality Acts – 1935 – Prohibited the U.S. from making loans or selling arms to “belligerent nations” – Banned Americans from traveling on the ships of nations at war – U.S. Dept. of State link

The Gathering Storm, 1938-1939 • Hitler seized the remainder of Czechoslovakia • Threatened to attack Poland • Signed the German-Soviet Non-Agrresion pact – Ensured Russian neutrality during the planned German invasion of Poland

• Mussolini took over Albania

The Gathering Storm, 1938-1939 (cont.) • Many Americans grew alarmed and started to feel that the U.S.A. should take a more active role • FDR sent messages to Hitler and Mussolini asking them to pledge not to invade any other nation • They were responded with ridicule • Roosevelt asked Congress to appropriate much more $$$$ to build up U.S. defenses

America and the Jewish Refugees • Throughout the 30’s, German persecution of the Jews intensified • 1935--Nuremberg Laws – Stripped German Jews of citizenship and rights

• 1938--Kristallnacht – A wave of Nazi violence against Jews – Attacked their homes, synagogues, and businesses

America and the Jewish Refugees (cont.) • Tens of thousands of European Jews fled and seek countries that would admit them • Among the refugees were: – – – –

Distinguished musicians Architects Writers Scholars

• Many would enriched the cultural life of their adopted nation – Physicists Leo Szilard and Enrico Fermi would play key roles in developing the atomic bomb for the U.S.

America and the Jewish Refugees (cont.) • Congress would not amend discriminatory laws to offer a haven to hundreds of thousands of additional Jews needing a safe home • FDR did not exert pressure on Congress to do so either • The majority of Americans opposed letting in more Jews – Isolationist – Anti-immigrant – Anti-Semitic attitudes

America and the Jewish Refugees (cont.) • 1939--the U.S. stopped a ship carrying Jewish refugees and forced it to return to Europe • There the countryless refugees were soon murdered by the Nazis

Into the Storm, 1939-1941 • The European War – Sept. 1, 1939 • WWII began

– Hitler attacked Poland – GB and France declared war on Germany • They were committed by a treaty to defend Poland

The European War (cont.) • The U.S.A. revised the Neutrality Acts • Now permitted was the sale of weapons to “belligerents” on a cash-and-carry basis • Many saw this as a way to help Britain and France without having to fight

The European War (cont.) • April 1940--German armies turned on Denmark and Norway • May 1940--they conquered Netherlands and Belgium • mid-June 1940--they captured France

The European War (cont.) • • • •

The Battle of Britain July 10 to Oct. 31, 1940 German bombing raids over cities in England Prime Minister Winston Churchill appealed to FDR for help – The majority of Americans favored a stepped-up weapons shipments to GB – An articulate minority feared that such aid would weaken U.S. defenses and needlessly pull the U.S.A. into war

From Isolation to Intervention • In 1940, FDR decided to run for a 3rd term because of the situation in Europe • Republican opponent was Wendell Willkie • During the campaign, Roosevelt continued his interventionist position – Signed an executive agreement with Churchill • Gave Britain 50 overage U.S. destroyers in exchange for leases on air and naval bases in British possession in the Western Hemisphere

From Isolation to Intervention (cont.) • America First Committee – Organized by isolationists – Preached that we must not give any aid to “belligerents” or become involved in the struggle against Hitler

• Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented 3rd term

From Isolation to Intervention (cont.) • Lend-Lease Act – Passed Congress in March 1941 – Permitted the president to lend or lease military equipment to any country whose defense he thought vital to American security

• June 1941--Hitler attacked U.S.S.R. • Roosevelt gave lend-lease aid to the Soviets and British

From Isolation to Intervention (cont.) • Constant sinking by German U-boats sent most of the supplies to the bottom of the Atlantic • To prevent such losses, the U.S.A.: – Began to convoy British ships as far as Iceland – tracked German submarines – Notifying the British of the location of Germany submarines

From Isolation to Intervention (cont.) • By the fall of 1941, the U.S. and Germany were engaged in an undeclared naval war • Atlantic Charter – – – –

Summer of 1941 Meet off the coast of Newfoundland Moved Roosevelt and Churchill closer to an alliance A joint proclamation declaring that they were fighting the Axis powers to “ensure life, liberty, independence and religious freedom and to preserve the rights of man and justice."

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of War • Japan expanded its aggression from China to the resource-rich British, Dutch, and French colonies in Southeast Asia • Japan wanted to dominate all of Asia • This clashed with the Open Door policy • Roosevelt applied economic pressure on Japan

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of War (cont.) • By 1940, Washington prohibited the sale of aviation gasoline to Japan • Tokyo occupied northern Indochina and signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy=Roosevelt placed an embargo on all items Japan needed • July 1941--Japan seized the rest of Indochina=U.S. froze Japanese assets in the U.S.=ended all trade

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of War (cont.) • Japan made a last-ditch effort to persuade Washington to reopen trade and recognize Japan’s conquests • If that failed, Japan would attempt to destroy the U.S. Pacific fleet with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor • Washington knew its refusal would provoke an attack somewhere in the Pacific • Roosevelt would not yield • He sent warnings to all base commanders

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of War (cont.) • Dec. 7, 1941 – Japan struck Pearl Harbor – History Channel video

• Dec. 8 – Congress recognized that a state of war existed with Japan – Roosevelt speech

• Dec. 11 – Japan’s 2 allies (Germany and Italy) declared war on U.S. and the U.S reciprocated

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of War (cont.) • In the months after Pearl Harbor, the United States faced a bleak situation – Nazi submarines prowled off the east coast and took a heavy toll on Allied ships – Hitler’s armies had pushed to the outskirts of Leningrad and Moscow – Germany was launching new offensives in the Crimea, Caucasus, and North Africa

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of War (cont.) • Japan took over: – Philippines, Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong, Guam, Wake, Singapore, Dutch East Indies, and most of the island chains in the Western Pacific

America Mobilizes for War • Organizing for Victory – To plan the military effort FDR created: • the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Office of Strategic Services (would later become the CIA)

– To mobilize the economy Roosevelt: • Established hundreds of special wartime agencies – War Production Board » Allocated scarce materials, limited manufacture of civilian goods, and awarded military production contracts

Organizing for Victory (cont.) • The U.S. produced more armaments than Germany, Italy, and Japan combined • Govt. contracts guaranteed handsome profits to the giant corporations that received most of the defense contracts • Federal authority and the federal budget grew rapidly • The influence of the military and big corporation on American life grew also

The War Economy • Between 1941 and 1945, the U.S. govt. spent nearly twice as much as it did from 1789 to 1940 • Fueled by this expenditure, the economy boomed • During the war: – Purchasing power of industrial workers went up 50% – Corporate profits climbed by 70% – Unemployment vanished as 17 million new jobs were created

The War Economy (cont.) • Many of the poor moved into the middle class • Most labor leaders gave no-strike pledges – John L. Lewis led his miners on repeated work stoppages – An increasingly conservative Congress retaliated with the antilabor Smith-Connally Act

• Office of Price Administration imposed price controls and rationing – Done to curb inflation – As a result, the cost of living only rose by 8% during the last 2 years of the war

The War Economy (cont.) • The govt. raised the huge sums needed to fight the war with: – the sale of bonds • Provided half the money

– Steeply increased federal taxes • Provided the rest of the $$$

“A Wizard War” • The govt. also employed thousands of scientists • Manhattan Project – A secret project – Designed to beat the Germans in the race to develop nuclear weapons – Led by physicist Robert Oppenheimer – Spent about $2 billion – July 16, 1945--tested the first nuclear bomb

Propaganda and Politics

• Office of War Information and the Office of Censorship • Jobs were to unify Americans and prevent dangerous security leaks

Propaganda and Politics (cont.) • Full employment and prosperity led to a politically conservative trend • In 1942--more Republicans and conservative Democrats were elected to Congress – Cut welfare programs – Abolished New Deal agencies – Halted any further reforms

• The role of the federal govt. in people’s lives grew larger – Supervised the economy – Funded research – Molded public opinion

The Battlefront, 1942-1944 • Liberating Europe – The British and Americans concentrated on beating Hitler first, then Japan – Stalin pressed his 2 allies to launch an invasion of Europe as quickly as possible – Churchill convinced Roosevelt that they should land in North Africa first • By May 1943--they had defeated German and Italian armies

– Soviets turned the tide of the war in the east • Won at Stalingrad • Held out at Leningrad • Attacked the German invaders along a thousand-mile front

Liberating Europe (cont.) • The British and Americans then captured Sicily and started a slow march up the Italian peninsula • Mussolini was deposed in July 1943 – The new Italian govt. surrendered

• Allies encountered stiff opposition from Germany troops

Liberating Europe (cont.) • 1944-1945--the Soviets cleared the Germans out of the U.S.S.R. • The Soviets continued to pursue them across eastern Europe • June 1944--British and Americans landed on the beaches of Normandy • Battle of the Bulge – Dec. 1944-Jan. 1945 – Nazis temporarily stopped the Allied drive

• By early 1945, the Americans and British reached the Rhine

War in the Pacific • The Japanese advances in the Pacific were first halted in the spring and summer of 1942 – Battle of Coral Sea and Battle of Midway

• U.S.A. Navy and Army assaulted Japanese strongholds in: – – – –

Solomon Islands Gilbert Islands Marshall Island Mariana Island

War in the Pacific (cont.) • The U.S. Navy largely destroyed what was left of the Japanese fleet at the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf

The Grand Alliance • Great Britain, Soviet Union, and the U.S.A. • Created out of military necessity • All 3 had different goals for the postwar period – Roosevelt wanted to: • • • •

defeat fascism Establish a new world order strong enough to keep the peace Open trade Protect national self-determination

The Grand Alliance (cont.) • Churchill hoped to: – Keep the British colonial empire – Maintain a balance of power in Europe against the Soviets

• Stalin hoped to: – Weaken Germany permanently – To protect his country against any future attack from the west • Impose Soviet domination over eastern Europe

The Grand Alliance (cont.) • FDR attempted to reconcile these differences with personal diplomacy • He held top-level wartime conferences with the Allied leaders at: – Casablanca – Cairo – Tehran • The first meeting between the Allied leaders concerned the details of the Normandy invasion and other military and political problems were discussed

The Grand Alliance (cont.) • Roosevelt was reelected to a 4th term in 1944 – Harry S Truman was his VP

• Republicans nominated Thomas E. Dewey • FDR won by the smallest margin of his career

War and American Society • Introduction – About 15 million Americans served in the armed forces – Another 15 million moved from one place to another – More women than ever before entered the paid labor force

The GI’s War • GIs saw death and brutality all around them • Some troops in all of the armies committed atrocities • Some suffered lasting psychological damage • Others became hardened and cynical

The GI’s War (cont.) • For many their war service opened new vistas • They experienced foreign cities and countries • Learned to be more tolerant of other Americans – Different religions, classes, ethnicity, regions, etc.

• About 1 million of them married women they met overseas

The Home Front • 15 million Americans moved from one location to another for family and economic reasons • People left rural areas to seek jobs in war-production centers – Terrible shortages of housing and other facilities developed – Urban blight and many social problems

• The West grew in population

The Home Front (cont.) • High school enrollment dropped – More teenagers took full-time jobs

• The armed forces sent nearly a million people to college campuses for special training • Americans went to the movies to watch films that entertained them • The public received war news from periodicals and the radio

The Home Front (cont.) • Millions of women went to work in defense plants – High wages – Patriotism – Govt. encouragement

The Home Front (cont.) • By 1945--women constituted over 1/3 of the labor force • Took on formerly male-dominated work: – – – –

Welding Riveting Operating cranes Running lathes

• They only earned about 65% of what men received for the the jobs

The Home Front (cont.) • More than 1/3 of the women had children under 14 • There were few day-care centers – Children were often left on their own – Juvenile delinquency increased alarmingly

• Marriage, birth, and divorce rates soared • About 300,000 women joined the armed forces

The Home Front (cont.) • After 1945, most women left their wartime occupations • Women gained a new sense of their own capabilities

Racism and New Opportunities • During WWII, African-Americans demanded that the nation fight racism at home as well as abroad • NAACP and CORE led the struggle for civil rights • 1941--A. Philip Randolph planned a massive march on Washington – FDR signed an executive order prohibiting racial discrimination in hiring and promotion by govt. agencies and defense contractors

Racism and New Opportunities (cont.) • The Fair Employment Practices Commission – Created by FDR – Actually had very little power

• Wartime labor shortages opened many new jobs for African-Americans • About 1 million African-Americans served in the armed forces – Generally in segregated units commanded by white officers

Racism and New Opportunities (cont.) • In civilian life, tensions developed between AfricanAmericans demanding equality and resistant whites – Race riots erupted in dozens of cities

• More than 700,000 African-Americans left the South to settle in cities of the North and West – The move opened up greater opportunities and potential political power

War and Diversity • 25,000 Native Americans served in the armed forces • Another 50,000 left reservations to work in defense industries – Many returned to the reservations after the war

• Conditions on reservations had deteriorated badly because Congress had slashed appropriations for Indian programs

War and Diversity (cont.) • Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans entered the United States during WWII – Some legally, some illegally

• Worked on the big farms in the western states • Mexican-Americans left migratory farm labor to seek better jobs in cities

War and Diversity (cont.) • • • •

Zoot-suit riots During WWII In LA Between sailors and soldiers and Hispanic youth

War and Diversity (cont.) • About 350,000 Mexican-Americans served in the armed forces • Emerged from the War with a heightened consciousness and demands for equality

The Interment of JapaneseAmericans • The govt.’s treatment of Japanese-Americans during WWII was one of the worst violations of civil liberties in U.S. history • The govt. uprooted 112,000 Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast and placed them in internment camps in remote interior regions – Atmosphere of hysteria over Pearl Harbor – Fear of Japanese invasion of the mainland – Traditional prejudice against Asian-Americans

The Interment of JapaneseAmericans (cont.) • Korematsu v. United States – 1944 – Supreme Court case – Upheld the constitutionality of evacuation – Korematsu decision

The Interment of JapaneseAmericans (cont.) • In the 1980’s, the govt. finally admitted that its actions had been unjustified • The govt. apologized to Japanese-Americans • The govt. agreed to pay compensation to them for property losses they suffered when they were detained

Triumph and Tragedy, 1945 • The Yalta Conference – Feb. 1945 – The Big Three all meet – Roosevelt and Churchill had to make concessions to Stalin • Stalin promised to declare war on Japan shortly after Germany’s surrender • Western leaders agreed to the Soviets regaining the territory Japan had taken from them in 1905

The Yalta Conference (cont.) • Roosevelt and Churchill settled for Stalin’s vague promise to allow free election in Eastern Europe – He never allowed them

• Stalin agreed to the formation of the United Nations in April 1945 • History Channel video--Yalta Conference

Victory in Europe • April 1945--American and Soviet troops met at the Elbe River – History Channel audio--Elbe River report

• April 12--FDR died – History Channel speech--Truman on FDR's death

• April 30--Hitler committed suicide • May 2--Berlin fell to the Soviet • May 8--Germany unconditionally surrendered – V-E Day

Victory in Europe (cont.) • Harry S Truman became the new president • Truman distrusted the Soviets • He accused them of breaking their Yalta promise to allow free elections in Eastern Europe

Victory in Europe (cont.) • Stalin responded angrily and tightened his hold on eastern Europe • April to June 1945--San Francisco conference – Framed the United Nations Charter – History Channel speech--United Nations formed – High tensions between Big Three

• July 1945--meeting at Potsdam – The Big Three agreed on very little at the meeting

The Holocaust • • • •

Nazi genocide of Jews during WWII Extermination camps Mass murders and torture Roosevelt administration was more concerned with winning the War as quickly as possible rather than destroying the camps • Very little attempts to rescue European Jews • Congress and the public did not want to admit large #s of Jewish refugees to the U.S.A.

The Holocaust (cont.) • By 1945--Nazis murdered: – 6 million Jews – About 3 million gypsies, communists, homosexuals, etc.

• Allies liberated the death camps in the last months of the War – Took pictures of the horror they saw

The Atomic Bomb • The fighting in the Pacific continued in 1945 – U.S. captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa – U.S. suffered heavy causalities at both battles

The Atomic Bomb (cont.) • July 1945--U.S. successfully tested an atomic bomb • History Channel video--atomic bomb tested • Truman issued the Potsdam Declaration – Called on Japan to surrender unconditionally or face “prompt and utter destruction”

• Japan rejected the warning • Truman ordered the use of nuclear bombs

The Atomic Bomb (cont.) • Aug. 6--Hiroshima – History Channel video--Hiroshima

• Aug. 9--Nagasaki • Japan then surrendered • Many historians have debated if the U.S.A. needed to use the atomic bombs • Was it justified? • Motives?

The Atomic Bomb (cont.) • Fifty million people died in WWII – More than 1/2 were civilians

• • • • •

Soviet Union lost 20 million About 400,000 U.S. servicemen died Much of Europe and Asia was ruined U.S. was physically undamaged There were profound changes had occurred in American life

Conclusion • The U.S. used isolationism in the the 1930’s as a response to the aggressions of Germany, Italy, and Japan • After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Congress voted for war on Japan • Hitler and Mussolini then declared war on the U.S.A.

Conclusion (cont.) • Once in the War, the country engaged in total war • The powers of the federal govt. (especially the president) expanded mightily to mobilize the American economy fully • U.S. became more productive and prosperous than ever before • The Depression ended • Fully employment returned • The majority of people earned good $$$$

Conclusion (cont.) • Allied armies defeated the enemy • Americans’ faith in “capitalism and democratic institutions” rebounded • Confidence and optimism about our future and national strength grew • America then locked horns with its former ally the Soviet Union in a Cold War