CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

World War II, 1941–1945

PART ONE:

Introduction

Chapter Focus Questions

What events led to Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war?

How were national resources marshaled for war?

What characterized American society during wartime?

How were Americans mobilized into the armed forces?

How was the war pursued in Europe and Asia?

How did the atomic bomb affect diplomacy?

PART TWO:

Los Alamos, New Mexico

Los Alamos

The Manhattan Project . Los Alamos. Secrecy from the outside world. J. Robert Oppenheimer.

PART THREE:

The Coming of World War II

The Shadows of War

Great Depression Breakdown of political order. Militaristic authoritarian regimes

Japan, Italy, and Germany Manchuria, China. Ethiopia. Czechoslovakia.

American Opinion on the European War

Media: Gallup Polls

Isolationism

WWI seen as mistake. College protested war. Neutrality Acts. “America First” FDR: military preparedness

FIGURE 25.1b Gallup Polls: European War and World War I, 1938–1940

Roosevelt Readies for War

Poland, 1939. Blitzkrieg :

Denmark Norway Belgium France.

FDR pushed for military money. Third term—expansion.. Atlantic Charter.

Pearl Harbor

The Japanese threats. FDR cut off trade. Pearl Harbor. War.

PART FOUR:

Arsenal of Democracy

Mobilizing for War

Mobilization laws. Office of War Information. New Deal agencies vanished.

Organizing the Economy

US industrial capacity. Civilian firms converted. Unprecedented economic boom. Western and Southern firms benefit. Farm profited, but small farms disappeared. Chart: Effects of War Spending

New Workers

Labor demand. Female workers. Workers’ wages went up.

Wartime Strikes

Prior to war, militant unions struck. During war:

no-strike pledges Increased membership and won benefits

African-American membership doubled. Federal antistrike legislation.

PART FIVE:

The Home Front

Families in Wartime

Marriage rates up. Housing shortage. One-parent households. Child-care issues. Juvenile crime. Dropout rates. Public health improved.

The Internment of Japanese Americans

112,000 Japanese interned; SCOTUS upheld policy. 1988 , Congress voted for reparations

and apologized.

“Double V”: Victory at Home & Abroad

“Double V”: victory overseas equal rights at home.

FDR banned discrimination in defense industries.

Civil rights organizations emerged, grew. 1 million blacks left South. Violent resistance from local whites.

Zoot-Suit Riots

Resentment Mexican Americans exploded.

The zoot-suit riots. Mexican Americans served.

Popular Culture and the “Good War”

Popular culture. Southerners brought musical styles. Entertainment emphasized wartime

spirit.

PART SIX:

Men and Women in Uniform

Creating the Armed Forces

Maps: Wartime Army Camps Draft began before war. The officer corps:

Professional Conservative Autocratic.

Junior officers close to troops.

Women Enter the Military

Women’s divisions. Most women stayed in US. Clerical duties health-related duties Aviation. Sexual activity monitored Racial segregation.

Old Practices and New Horizons

1 million African Americans served. Segregation at every point. Many racial or ethnic minorities served. In Europe, troops met a mixed

welcome.

The Medical Corps

The risk of injury was much higher. Battle fatigue. Variety of medical personnel. True heroes: the medics.

Prisoners of War

POWs in German camps. POWs in Japanese camps. German POWs. Japanese POWs.

PART SEVEN:

The World at War

The War in Europe

Soviets Halt Nazi Drive

1st year, war news “all bad.” Soviets bore brunt. Stalingrad.

The Allied Offensive

Soviets appealed for “second front”. North Africa, Italy. Casablanca : seek unconditional surrender. Air bombardment:

weakened the economy undermined civilian morale crippled German air force

The Allied Invasion of Europe

Italy out of the war. D-Day. Paris. Battle of the Bulge. May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered.

The War in Asia and the Pacific

Map: The War in the Pacific Japanese advances stopped June 1942. Naval battles and island hopping. Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Bombing Japanese cities. Stopping Soviets.

PART EIGHT:

The Last Stages of the

War

The Holocaust

Nazi’s systematic extermination. War Department vetoed camp attacks.

The Yalta Conference

The “Big Three”. Atlantic Charter fell. FDR held idealism for global peace. FDR dies, April ‘44.

The Atomic Bomb

Harry S. Truman. Tough with Soviets. Potsdam. Atomic bombs. Peace with slight policy modification possible. Truman claimed bomb would shorten war.