The Road from Peace to War (1920-1941)

Chapter 27—Part II

Why Did the U.S. Go to War?

The Course and Consequences of World

War II

The Road to War• In 1940, Japan sought to incorporate its possessions

into a greater East Asia co-prosperity sphere• Nature of the conflict—U.S. wanted Japan to

evacuate China• Japan wanted a free hand in China• The “Rome-to-Tokyo Axis (September 1940) fused

the conflicts in Europe and Asia turning the struggle into global war”

• Fearing a two front conflict, and hoping to postpone war with Japan, the U.S. “engaged in a kind of diplomatic shadow boxing”

War Guilt• Most of the responsibility lies at Germany’s door, specifically

charged to Adolph Hitler (whose whole policy had been war-oriented)– A peace of more than 25 years would do great harm to

Germany. . . “in eternal peace, mankind perishes”– Social Darwinism—war ridded mankind of unfit species

—the primal law of life and death and gaining at the expense of others

– To his generation, who were products of World War I, the idea of peace seemed unpleasant. . . There was a fascination with hostility

• The Western Allies were also to blame to a lesser extent, especially France and Britain

• Russia—her Non-Aggression Pact with Germany made the war well-nigh inevitable

The Alliance Structure

• The Allies– Great Britain– France– Soviet Union

• The Axis Powers– Germany– Italy– Japan

The three totalitarian nations that signed the

Anti-Comintern

pact formed the so-called

Berlin-Rome-Tokyo “Axis”

FDR declared that the security and peace of 90% of the world is being jeopardized by the remaining 10%

Why the U.S. Finally Entered the War 27I

The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese galvanized pro-war sentiment in the U.S.

The Major Players and Places 28B & C

Douglas MacArthur—commander of American forces in the Pacific Theater

Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Ike” as he was known was commander of the Allied forces in Europe

Erwin Rommel

Rommel, aka, the “Desert Fox,” led the German Afrika Korps in North Africa—particularly Tunisia. He was known for his bold and clever strikes against the Allies. Rommel finally left Africa in march 1943 giving the Allies their first breakthrough

George S. Patton

American General Patton took on Rommel in North Africa. In 1970, he became the subject of a popular movie starring George C. Scott.

Areas of the World in Which Most of the Fighting Occurred

The European Theater 28B The Pacific Theater 28C

Military Operations

• The Strategy of “Operation Torch” 28B– Invasion of North Africa followed by. . .– Advances in the Mediterranean area

• Why the Allied victory in North Africa was significant 28B– It opened the Mediterranean Sea to Allied shipping– It made invasion of Southern Europe possible

• Other victories helping the Allied cause 28C– Coral Sea– Midway– Guadalcanal

The War at Home 28 A

“With incredible swiftness, the nation mobilized its military

and industrial strength.. . The nation’s factories were sending a vast stream of war supplies to

more than twenty countries.”

The Players at Home

• Office of war Mobilization—cleared bottlenecks that slowed the functioning of various federal agencies 28A-1

• Office of Price Administration—set price ceilings on most items

• War Manpower Commission—determined which industries needed employees the most 28 A-1

• National War Labor Board—helped settle labor disputes quickly and encouraged the growth of unions by supporting the Wagner Act 28 A-1

Philip Randolph

Randolph was head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He threatened to lead a march on Washington, D. C. in protest of prejudice of African-American workers.

Executive Order 8802

This landmark order banned discrimination in all government

agencies, in job training programs, and in all companies doing business with the federal

government. 27 H-4

Changes in Wartime America 28A

• Shirt factories produced mosquito netting

• Auto factories manufactured tanks, trucks, personnel carriers, and aircraft

Examples of how industry converted to wartime production:

Reasons for U.S. Economic Growth During the War

• Workers Wages increased• Unemployment dropped as a result of wartime

production

How Americans Supported the War Effort

• Growing “victory gardens”• Wages “scrap” rubber and “scrap” iron drives• Used ration coupons• Woman joined civilian work force in record numbers

Economic Gains made by Woman & Minorities During the War Years

• Women piloted airplanes

• Repaired airplanes and vehicles

• Drove trucks

• Operated radios

• Did clerical work and technical work of various types

• Found employment in war industries

Many Americans expressed their patriotism through the purchase of war bonds. Promotional campaigns proved quite successful in helping to

generate funding to pay for the war effort. Meanwhile, the unemployment of the Depression

years greatly diminished.

“Rosie the Riveter” became the national symbol for the women who entered the work force in

huge numbers. These female laborers replaced the thousands of young men who enlisted or

were drafted during the war years. These women often assumed traditionally male

occupations. RQ26

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/vh0103s.jpg

Economic Gains Made by African-Americans During the War Years

26 A

• Employment opportunities increased

• Enjoyed increased social acceptance

• Made economic gains in both the North and the South

Geography of the War

• Sicily• Anzio• Stalingrad• English Channel• Normandy• New Guinea• Philippine

Islands

German military leadership enjoyed conspicuous success in the early war years. Herman Goering’s Luftwaffe, along

with the panzer unites of the Wehrmacht rolled over virtually all opposition. The latter war years proved more

challenging for Germany. When Hitler failed to bomb Britain into submission in 1940 (the celebrated “Battle of

Britain”), he made the same fatal error that Napoleon Bonaparte that made a century and a quarter earlier: invade Russia. Disregarding his earlier alliances with Joseph Stalin, Hitler sent his army east in search of

lebensraum—living space—that the German people could enjoy over future generations of the anticipated

“Thousand Year Reich.” If German division were successful in their early intrusions onto Russian soil. They met with the same fate as Napoleon’s Grand Armee. The rapid German advance bogged down. At the Battle for

Stalingrad, the Germans foundered.

The Players, Plays, and Terms 28B

Joseph Stalin

Premier of the Soviet Union—he wanted massive supplies,

territorial concessions in Eastern Europe and a 2nd front in Western Europe

Operation Overlord

The Code name for the Allied invasion of Western Europe

D-Day—June 6, 1944

At 6:30 a.m., the largest amphibious invasion in history began. It became the beginning of the end for Hitler’s

dream of a Thousand Year German Reich.

Supreme command of the Allied armies went to Dwight Eisenhower. Before D-Day, he encouraged American G.I.’s as they prepared to participate in the “Normandy Invasion.”

The Allied invasion force successfully stormed the Normandy beaches and set in motion a train of military events that would lead to the liberation of France and her the ultimate surrender of Hitler’s Third Riech.

What Was Necessary for Success on June 6, 1944?

• Huge reserve of supplies

• Secrecy

• Clear weather

Chester Nimitz

Admiral Nimitz was the U.S. naval commander in the Pacific Theater.

Amphibious Landing

A landing made by sea

Leap-Frogging

Taking only the strategic Japanese-held islands and by-passing other

more strongly fortified ones

Why Did Mussolini Fail?

The Allied invasion of Sicily and later the Italian mainland led to Mussolini’s demise.

Allied Diplomacy and American Politics 28 D-2

• Winston Churchill, U.K.

• Franklin Roosevelt, U.S.

• Joseph Stalin, U.S.S.R.

The Big Three

Chiang Kai-Shek—leader of

Nationalist China

Mao Tse-tung—leader of

Communist China

United Nations—An International Peace-Keeping Organization 28

In the summer of 1945, representatives from around the world gathered in San Francisco, California to lay the foundation for the United Nations.

The hope was that this lineal descendant of the League of Nations would have greater success than its predecessor.

Election of 1944The election of 1944 brought FDR back to the White House. Winning an unprecedented fourth straight presidential election, Americans were reluctant to change administrations with the war so near an end.

Sadly, FDR would live only a few months into his 4th term leaving the presidency to a most unlikely person.

Harry S. Truman

Truman was the Democrat Vice-president under FDR

Promises Among the Allies

• U.S. and U.K. promised to open a Western Front

• The U.S.S.R. promised to open a campaign in the coming spring

• The U.S.S.R. promised to enter war in the Pacific Theater

The Yalta Postwar Settlement Plan 28 D

• Acceptance of Stalin’s demands• Eastern Europe occupied by Germany to

have free elections• Germany to have four zones of occupation• Conference of United Nations to meet April

1945

“While neither a sellout or a betrayal, as some critics have charged, Yalta was a significant diplomatic victory of the

Soviets—one that reflected Russia’s major contribution to a victory in Europe.”

Kamikaze

Kamikazes were Japanese suicide pilots who dove into U.S. ships in a plane loaded with explosives. This

represented a last ditch effort by Japan to stave off the irresistible tide of the U.S. offensive against its Asian

adversary.

Victory in Europe and Asia 28D

The Holocaust—Hitler’s “Final Solution”

The Manhattan Project 28C

Numerous individuals contributed to the development of America’s atomic weapons program, including J. Robert Oppenheimer (right) and naturalized U.S. citizen Albert Einstein who emigrated from Germany before the organized persecution of Jews began in that country.

Einstein, who had developed the celebrated theory of relativity—E = mc2—in the early 20th century, wrote FDR a two page letter on August 2, 1939.

The physicist advised the president that nuclear research might have practical application in the construction of an atomic bomb.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki—sites of the first two atomic bombings

The Manhattan Project produced the atomic bomb carried by the

“Enola Gay”, a B-29 that dropped the weapon that

reduced the city of Hiroshima to rubble.

The Importance of the Atomic Bomb to the War Effort

It ended the war against Japan quickly and without

great loss of Allied lives.

The Iwo Jima Memorial (left) commemorating one of many U.S. military victories in its “island-hopping

campaign on the advance toward the Japanese archipeligo.

Japan’s unconditional surrender

Likewise, Germany had unconditionally surrendered in May 1945 some four months prior to the surrender of Japan.

“World War II had a greater impact than the Great Depression on the future of American

life. . . . The nation underwent sweeping social and economic changes at home. . . . When victory came

in 1945, the United States was by far the most powerful nation in the world. But instead of the

enduring peace that might have permitted a return to a less active foreign policy, the onset of the Cold War with the Soviet Union brought on a

new era of tension and conflict. This time the United States could not retreat from

responsibility. World War II was the coming of age for American foreign policy.”

Impact of the War

• The U.S. reached its military potential• It had a monopoly of the atomic bomb• It had no choice but to be involved in world affairs• The war brought industrial recovery and

unparalleled prosperity• Completely unregulated free enterprise was a

thing of the past• Big government with huge deficits became the

norm