Chapter 25 – The United States in WWII

Section One – Mobilizing for DefenseI. Americans Join the War Effort

a. Selective Service and the GIi. After Pearl Harbor, 5 million men volunteer for military serviceii. 10 million more drafted to meet needs of two-front war

b. Expanding the Militaryi. General George Marshall—Army Chief of Staff—calls for women’s corpsii. Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC)—women in noncombat positionsiii. Thousands enlist; “auxiliary” dropped, get full U. S. army benefits

c. Recruiting and Discriminationi. Minority groups are denied basic citizenship rightsii. Question whether they should fight for democracy in other countries

d. Dramatic Contributionsiii.300,000 Mexican Americans join armed forcesiv. One million African Americans serve; live, work in segregated unitsv. 13,000 Chinese Americans and 33,000 Japanese Americans servevi.25,000 Native Americans enlist

I. A Production Miraclea. The Industrial Response

i. Factories convert from civilian to war productionii. Shipyards, defense plants expand, new ones builtiii.Produce ships, arms rapidly

- use prefabricated parts- people work at record speeds

b. Labor’s Contributioni. Nearly 18 million workers in war industries; 6 million are womenii. Over 2 million minorities hired; face strong discrimination at firstiii.A. Philip Randolph, head of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Portersiv. Organizes march on D.C.; FDR executive order forbids discrimination

c. Mobilization of Scientistsv. Office of Scientific Research and Development— technology, medicinevi.Manhattan Project develops atomic bomb

I. The United States and Britain Join Forcesa. War Plans

i. Churchill convinces FDR to strike first against Hitlerb. The Battle of the Atlantic

i. Hitler orders submarine attacks against supply ships to Britain- wolf packs destroy hundreds of ships in 1942

ii. Allies organize convoys of cargo ships with escort:- destroyers with sonar; planes with radar

iii. Construction of Liberty ships (cargo carriers) speeds up

Section Two – The War in Europe and North Africa

II. The Eastern Front and the Mediterraneana. The Battle of Stalingrad

i. Hitler wants to capture Caucasus oil fields and destroy Stalingradii. Soviets defeat Germans in bitter winter campaign

- Over 230,000 Germans, 1,100,000 Soviets dieiii. Battle a turning point: Soviet army begins to move towards Germany

b. The North African Frontiii.General Dwight D. Eisenhower commands invasion of North Africaiv. Afrika Korps, led by General Erwin Rommel, surrenders May 1943

c. The Italian Campaigni. Allies decide will accept only unconditional surrender from Axisii. Summer 1943, capture Sicily; Mussolini forced to resigniii.1944 Allies win “Bloody Anzio”; Germans continue strong resistance

d. Heroes in Combativ. African Americans —Tuskegee Airmen, Buffaloes—highly decoratedv. Mexican-American soldiers win many awardsvi.Japanese-American unit most decorated unit in U.S. history

III. The Allies Liberate Europea. D-Day

i. Allies set up phantom army, send fake radio messages to fool Germansii. Eisenhower directs Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day June 6, 1944

b. The Allies Gain Groundi. General Omar Bradley bombs to create gap in enemy defense lineii. General George Patton leads Third Army, reach Paris in Augustiii.FDR reelected for 4th term with running mate Harry S. Truman

c. The Battle of the Bulgei. October 1944, Allies capture first German town, Aachenii. December German tank divisions drive 60 miles into Allied areaiii.Battle of the Bulge—Germans push back but have irreplaceable losses

d. Liberation of the Death Campsiv. Allies in Germany, Soviets in Poland liberate concentration camps

- find starving prisoners, corpses, evidence of killing

e. Unconditional Surrenderi. April 1945, Soviet army storms Berlin; Hitler commits suicideii. Eisenhower accepts unconditional surrender of German Reich iii.May 8, 1945, V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day\

f. Roosevelt’s Deathiv. FDR dies April 12; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes president

Section Three – The War in the PacificI. The Allies Stem the Japanese Tide

a. Japanese Advancei. In first 6 months after Pearl Harbor, Japan conquers empireii. Gen. Douglas MacArthur leads Allied forces in Philippinesiii.March 1942 U.S., Filipino troops trapped on Bataan Peninsulaiv. FDR orders MacArthur to leave; thousands of troops remain

b. Doolittle’s Raidi. April 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle leads raid on Tokyo

c. Battle of the Coral Seai. May 1942, U.S., Australian soldiers stop Japanese drive to Australiaii. For first time since Pearl Harbor, Japanese invasion turned back

d. The Battle of Midwayiii.Admiral Chester Nimitz commands U.S. naval forces in Pacificiv. Allies break Japanese code, win Battle of Midway, stop Japan againv. Allies advance island by island to Japan

I. The Allies Go on the Offensivea. The Allied Offensive

i. Allied offensive begins August 1942 in Guadalcanalii. October 1944, Allies converge on Leyte Island in Philippines

- return of MacArthurb. The Japanese Defenseiii.Japan uses kamikaze attack—pilots crash bomb-laden planes into shipsiv. Battle of Leyte Gulf is a disaster for Japan

- Imperial Navy severely damaged; plays minor role afterc. Iwo Jima

v. Iwo Jima critical as base from which planes can reach Japanvi.6,000 marines die taking island; of 20,700 Japanese, 200 survive

d. The Battle for Okinawa vii.April 1945 U.S. Marines invade Okinawaviii.April–June: 7,600 U.S. troops, 110,000 Japanese dieix.Allies fear invasion of Japan may mean 1.5 million Allied casualties

III. The Atomic Bomb Ends the Wara. The Manhattan Project

i. J. Robert Oppenheimer is research director of Manhattan Projectii. July 1945, atomic bomb tested in New Mexico desertiii.President Truman orders military to drop 2 atomic bombs on Japan

b. Hiroshima and Nagasakii. August 6, Hiroshima, major military center, destroyed by bombii. Three days later, bomb dropped on city of Nagasakiiii.September 2, 1945 Japan surrenders

IV. Rebuilding Beginsa. The Yalta Conference

i. February 1945, FDR, Churchill, Stalin meet in Yalta- discuss post-war world

ii. FDR, Churchill concession: temporarily divide Germany into 4 partsiii.Stalin promises free elections in Eastern Europe; will fight Japaniv. FDR gets support for conference to establish United Nations

b. Human Costs of the Warv. WW II most destructive war in human history

c. The Nuremburg Trialsvi.Nuremberg trials—24 Nazi leaders tried, sentenced

- charged with crimes against humanity, against the peace, war crimesvii.Establish principle that people responsible for own actions in war

d. The Occupation of Japanviii.MacArthur commands U.S. occupation forces in Japanix.Over 1,100 Japanese tried, sentencedx. MacArthur reshapes Japan’s economy, government

Section Four – The Home FrontI. Opportunity and Adjustment

a. Economic Gainsi. Defense industries boom, unemployment falls to 1.2% in 1944

- average pay rises 10% during warii. Farmers prosper from rising crop prices, increase in production

- many pay off mortgagesiii.Percentage of women in work force rises to 35%

b. Population Changeiv. War triggers mass migrations to towns with defense industries

c. Population Changei. War triggers mass migrations to towns with defense industries

d. Social Adjustmentsii. Families adjust to fathers in military; mothers rear children aloneiii.Families must get to know each other again after fathers returniv. Many couples rush to marry before husband goes overseasv. 1944 GI Bill of Rights or Servicemen’s Readjustment Act:

- pays education; loan guarantees for homes, new businesses

II. Discrimination and Reactiona. Civil Rights Protests

i. Racial tensions rise in overcrowded Northern citiesii. James Farmer founds Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

- works on racial segregation in Northiii.1943 racial violence sweeps across country; Detroit riots worst case

b. Tensions in Los Angelesiv. Anti-Mexican zoot suit riots involve thousands servicemen, civilians

III. Internment of Japanese Americansa. Japanese Americans Placed in Internment Camps

i. Hawaii governor forced to order internment (confinement) of Japanese ii. 1942 FDR signs removal of Japanese Americans in four statesiii.U.S. Army forces 110,000 Japanese Americans into prison campsiv. 1944 Korematsu v. United States—Court rules in favor of internmentv. After war, Japanese American Citizens League pushes for compensationvi.1988, Congress grants $20,000 to everyone sent to relocation camp