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World War II. Back to Isolationism. During the Great Depression, the United States returned to isolationism. Congress was more concerned with the economy than international affairs. So, they signed several neutrality acts intended to prevent another war from occurring. .
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Back to Isolationism • During the Great Depression, the United States returned to isolationism. • Congress was more concerned with the economy than international affairs. • So, they signed several neutrality acts intended to prevent another war from occurring.
Totalitarian Governments • During the 1930s in Europe, totalitarian governments began to arise as people blamed governments for the bad economy. • Totalitarian governments are governments that take control of the entire country and restrict personal freedoms. • In Japan, Hideki Tojo took power over the military. He invaded Manchuria (part of China) in 1931. • This was designed to increase Japanese power in the world. The Japanese would also invade other countries in the Pacific.
Totalitarian Governments • Because of the neutrality acts, FDR could not use the military to stop Japan. • So, the U.S. just restricted trade, which cut off gas supplies to Japan. • In 1933, Adolf Hitler seized power in Germany. He turned Germany into a totalitarian regime immediately. • Hitler intended to have all of Europe come under Germany’s rule. • First, he invaded Czechoslovakia. Then, in 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. This started all-out war in Europe.
“Blitzkrieg” • In the invasion of Poland and other countries, Germany used a strategy called “blitzkrieg.” • Blitzkrieg means “lightning war.” • In this strategy, Germany concentrated all of its tanks and weapons at one place and overwhelmed the enemy. • Once they broke through, they surrounded the enemy on all sides. • Germany also used devastating air attacks to attack Great Britain.
Lend-Lease Policy • FDR no longer wanted the United States to remain neutral. So, he had Congress get rid of the neutrality acts. • They were replaced first by cash-and-carry. In this policy, America sent supplies to Great Britain and the Allies, but they had to pay cash immediately for the supplies • Then, America ended neutrality altogether with the Lend-Lease Act. • Lend-Lease policy meant the United States was giving full supplies needed to Great Britain and the Allies.
Pearl Harbor • Germany sank U.S. ships sending supplies to Great Britain. • By 1941, the U.S. was in an undeclared naval war with Germany. • Then, on December 7th, 1941, the Japanese bombed an American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. • FDR, in a famous speech, called it “a date which will live in infamy.” • 2,402 Americans were killed at Pearl Harbor. • The next day, the United States declared war on Japan. World War II had begun for America.
Mobilization • World War II was such a massive war, that it required the full power of the American economy. • FDR persuaded businesses to transform into war machines. • The government also controlled the country’s resources and prices. • In addition to urging the people to plant “victory gardens,” the government also rationed food. • Americans were given ration coupons, and they could only have as much food as their ration coupons allowed. • Soon, a black market of rations emerged.
Mobilization • Because young, white men were wanted on the battlefield, women and minorities were needed to work in factories. • Women took traditional jobs of men. “Rosie the Riveter” became an icon of the period. • Women were also allowed to serve in some support positions in the military. • A black labor leader, A. Phillip Randolph, threatened to march on Washington if blacks were not allowed to have equal jobs. • So, FDR created a commission to make sure blacks had equal access to jobs. This is when many northern blacks began voting Democratic. • Mexican workers were also welcomed to America to work on farms.
Racial Problems • Despite this progress, there was still a huge race problem in America. • Blacks had to serve in their own, segregated units in the war. • They faced severe discrimination in the military. • Young Mexican-Americans were attacked in Los Angeles because their clothing was considered “un-American.” • After Pearl Harbor, many people in western states were fearful of Japanese people.
Racial Problems • So, Japanese-Americans were ordered to sell all of their property and move into camps in inland deserts. • In the case of Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court said that the government had the right to put the Japanese into camps.
“The Big Three” • The three main “Allies” during the war were Great Britain (led by Winston Churchill), the United States (led by Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and the Soviet Union (led by Joseph Stalin). • These three met throughout the war to make war strategies and plan for the post-war world. • From 1941-1944 the Soviet Union fought Germany on the ground almost completely by itself. • By 1942, the Nazis had control of nearly all of Europe except the Soviet Union. • The Soviet Union tried to use their superior manpower to defeat Hitler. This resulted in the Soviet Union suffering the heaviest losses. • About 15 million Russians died during fighting in WWII.
The Battle of Britain • The Soviet Union desperately wanted the United States and the other Allies to form a “second front” on the west. • This would provide the Soviets with some relief. But Great Britain was more worried with “The Battle of Britain.” • “The Battle of Britain” was an all-out bombing campaign by the Nazis on Great Britain. • In order to combat this, Great Britain and the U.S. started building their own bombers to attack Germany.
Turning Points – Eastern Front • In 1942, Great Britain and the United States decide to invade North Africa and take it back from Germany and Italy. • This was meant to take control of the oil fields in the Middle East and cut off the Nazis’ supply. • This helped relieve some of the stress on the Soviet Union. • But, one of the turning points in the war was the Battle of Stalingrad. • Here, the Soviets fought hard and lost millions of men. This finally stopped the German advance across Europe. • “Never invade Russia during winter.” • Also, Allied forces landed in Italy and began trying to take it back.
Turning Points – Western Front • Finally, in 1942, Allied forces started a ground invasion to take back France. • This invasion would be called “Operation Overlord” or “D-Day.” • This was the largest amphibious invasion of all time. Meaning, it used water, air, and ground forces. • Now, Germany was fighting on three fronts: Italy, France, and the Soviet Union, and had to send troops to fight on the western front. • The Battle of the Bulge was Germany’s major offensive on the war. • They were defeated, and British, American, and French troops began marching towards Berlin.
Turning Points – Western Front • Soviet troops also began marching towards Berlin. • This laid the foundation for the split of Berlin, which will help cause the Cold War later on. • Finally, the Soviet reach Berlin and it falls in May of 1945. • On April 30th, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide, shooting himself. His wife also committed suicide with him, by chewing a cyanide pill.
The Pacific Theatre • Now the United States could focus its efforts on Japan. The strategy in the Pacific was “island hopping.” • In April of 1945, FDR died of cerebral hemorrhage. So, his Vice President, Harry Truman, became President. • The U.S. hoped to take back the islands in the Pacific that Japan had invaded, until they were closer and closer to Japan. • A huge victory at Midway stopped the Japanese advance in the Pacific. But the Japanese were a fierce enemy. • The Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa ended in thousands of Americans dead. • This showed the United States that a land invasion of Japan would be long and hard.
The Pacific Theatre • But, the USSR (Soviet Union) promised to help in an invasion of Japan. So, the USSR invaded Korea as promised. (Korea is directly beside Japan) • But, on August 6th, 1945, President Truman decided to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan in order to prevent the need for invasion. • Japan did not surrender. So on August 9th, 1945, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. • The result was devastating. An estimated 250,000 died from the bombs. [In the first 2-4 months] • As a result, Japan fully surrendered.
The Pacific Theatre • The use of the atomic bomb by the United States was one of the most controversial acts of war in world history. • It also laid the foundation for the Cold War. The USSR did not trust the United States. • Also, the Soviets were occupying Korea, which laid the foundation for the Korean War.
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