GEORGIA DURING WORLD WAR II

LEND-LEASE• Pres. Roosevelt wanted to

remain neutral during the beginning of WW II but did consider Great Britain to be an ally• England could buy weapons

from the US if they paid cash and carried them in their own ships• When England ran out of

money, Roosevelt began the Lend-Lease program

LEND-LEASE• US would lend or lease

weapons to England (and later the Soviet Union)• US also built air bases in

Greenland and Iceland to track German sub activity• [Video]

PEARL HARBOR• To protest Japan’s invasion of surrounding

countries, the US stopped shipping supplies to them

• December 7, 1941 in the morning, Japan bombed the only force that could stop them—the US Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

• All 8 battleships in port were damaged or destroyed—greatest destruction aboard the USS Arizona

• Over 180 planes destroyed• Over 2,000 people killed;

over 1,000 wounded

PEARL HARBOR• Roosevelt called the

attack, “a day that will live in infamy”• The next day, Congress

declared war on Japan—US was now in World War II• A few days later, Germany

and Italy declared war on US

• [Video]

BELL AIRCRAFT• Contracted to build B-29 bombers

(airplanes) in Marietta, GA• Opened in 1943• April, 1945—employed 27,000 people

and built 60-65 planes per month for US Air Force• End of 1945—closed after building 668

planes• 1950—plant was reopened as

Lockheed Martin

MILITARY BASES• Military bases were open that trained large numbers of

US troops– Ft. Benning (largest infantry center)– Camp Gordon– Ft. Stewart– Warner Robbins– Ft. McPherson—induction center for newly drafted

soldiers• Ft. Gillem—storage facility and railroad yard• Ft. Oglethorpe—trained women troops (WAACS)• Prisoner of war camps

Ft. BenningFt. GordonFt. OglethorpeFt. Stewart

SAVANNAH AND BRUNSWICK SHIPYARDS• Built 88 Liberty ships• Liberty ships named after Patrick Henry’s quote (“Give me liberty, or give me death.”) by FDR• In Savannah,built by 15,000 workers—most were women

RICHARD RUSSELL

• 1931—became governor of Georgia• Created the Board of Regents to oversee

state colleges and universities• 1932—became US Senator—served 38

years• Supported a strong national defense—

served on the Armed Services Committee• Co-sponsored legislation to provide

school lunches to all children

CARL VINSON• Served 25 consecutive terms

(1914-1965) in the US House of Representatives

• “Father of the Two Ocean Navy”• Before Pearl Harbor, he created

a law to increase military readiness

• Passed the Vinson-Trammel Act which authorized the building of 92 war ships

• Created a bill to increase the navy to 10,000 planes, trained 16,000 pilots, and established 20 air bases

CARL VINSON • Another bill eased labor

restrictions on building ships so that they could be produced more quickly• After WWII, he continued

to push for strong defenses during the Cold War• Nuclear carrier ship was

named after him

THE HOLOCAUST• Systematic killing of 5-6 million Jews, Blacks,

homosexuals, gypsies, and people with disabilities

• Near the end of the war in 1945, Allied troops began to find the concentration camps in Poland, Austria, and Germany and liberated the survivors

• 1986—the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust was established to take lessons from the Holocaust and use them to lead the next generation to overcome racism and prejudice