U.S. Involvement in WWII

The Lend-Lease Act

By 1940, Britain runs out of funds for war machine

Franklin Delano Roosevelt designs a plan to help Britain in the war (passed in March, 1941)

Lends or leases arms and other supplies to ‘any country whose defense was vital to the United States’

Isolationists disagreed with the plan

Meanwhile…

Hitler breaks non-aggression pact (1939) with Stalin

Invades Soviet Union in 1941

U.S. also lend arms to Russia (‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’ – FDR)

The Atlantic Charter

August 1941: Roosevelt works on extending the draft

Churchill and Roosevelt establish the Atlantic Charter: A joint declaration of war aims (not a declaration of war)

Both countries pledged: ‘collective security, disarmament, self-determination, economic cooperation, and freedom of the seas.’

Trouble at Sea

September 4, 1941: German submarine fires on the U.S. destroyer Greer in the Atlantic

Several other similar attacks from German U-Boats occurred over the following months.

Japan Attacks the U.S.

While Britain is at war with Germany, Japan seized the opportunity to expand its empire in east Asia.

Japan Attacks the U.S.

In 1941, Japan takes over French military bases in Indochina

U.S. protests and cuts off trade with Japan

Japan is left without oil to fuel its war machine

Japan is left with 2 options:

i. Persuade U.S. to end trade embargo

ii. Seize oil fields in Dutch East Indies (=war is imminent)

Japan Attacks the U.S.

November 5, 1941: prime minister Hideki Tojo orders the Japanese navy to prepare for an attack on the U.S.

December 6, 1941: Roosevelt received a decoded message that instructed Japan’s peace envoy to reject all American peace proposals

December 7, 1941: A Japanese dive-bomber followed by 180 Japanese warplanes bomb Pearl Harbor – largest U.S. naval base in Pacific

Japan Attacks the U.S.

In under 2 hours, the Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more.

Congress quickly approves Roosevelt’s request for a declaration of war against Japan.

Three days later, Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.

Major turning point for U.S. isolationists.

War and the Economy

In 1940, defense spending increases dramatically.

Many U.S. Factories are revitalized by the nation’s preparation for war and converted to war production

American workers are hired and the U.S. emerges from the Great Depression

“Military Industrial Complex”

War and the Economy

Shipyard and defense plants underwent rapid expansion

Scientific industries experience growth

By 1944, 18 million workers were laboring in war industries (6 million women)

Why were so many women hired during the war?

The Manhattan Project

German scientists split uranium atom

Physicist Albert Einstein, a German refugee, warns Roosevelt that the Germans have likely begun work on the atomic bomb

In 1942, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) sets up a program to develop an atomic bomb as quickly as possible (Manhattan Project)

The Battle of Stalingrad

Germans begin invasions of Russian cities Leningrad and Moscow beginning June 1941.

Summer 1942: Germans invade Stalingrad, a major industrial city in southern Russia (access to oil fields)

First major turning point for the Allies

German invasions of Russia

The Battle of Stalingrad

August 1942: Germans invade Stalingrad with air raids and ground troops

By November 1942, Germans control 9/10 of the city

Soviet officers consider abandoning city and destroying factories

Stalin ordered Soviet troops to defend the city at any cost

The Battle of Stalingrad

All is nearly lost for the Soviets in Stalingrad UNTIL Winter sets in

Winter allows Soviets time to regroup and acquire fresh tanks to mount a counterattack.

Soviets closed around Stalingrad, trapping German troops and cutting off their supplies

The Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad

Germans’ situation becomes hopeless

Soviets lost a total of 1,100,000 soldiers (more than all American deaths in the entire war)

Soviet army begins westward movement toward Germany

Critical Thinking #4

Read pp. 550 – 564 in your textbook.

Imagine you are the U.S. President in the years before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. How would you convince isolationists that U.S. entry into WWII is necessary? Write a 2 paragraph response that uses specific historical examples to support your stance. (Hint: think about the relationship between war and the U.S. economy, the future of democracy, German military aggression, etc.)

Critical Thinking #4

Due Thursday, February 24: Read pp. 553 -558 in your textbook

Imagine you are the president of the United States just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Write a two-paragraph response describing what your plan of action would be. Would you formally declare war against the Axis powers (Germany, Japan, Italy), or would you take an isolationist stance? How would you convince those with differing opinions that your plan is the best course of action? Use specific historical examples to support your stance (assume that you don’t know about the atrocities of the Holocaust)