The Second World War

FDR Foreign Policy

Recognition of the Soviet Union

1933 Granted diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union

US desired foreign trade

Philippine Independence

Tydings-McDuffie Act (1934)- promised the Philippines complete independence within a

decade

The Good Neighbor Policy

US would be the neighbor who respects himself and the rights of others
Became the label of his Latin American Policy

Totalitarian Aggression
Totalitarian- centralized control by an autocratic authority; the political concept that the citizens
should be totally subject to an absolute state authority
Japanese in China:

1931-seized Manchuria
1937- attacked China; Rape of Nanking
Dec. 12, 1937- US gunboat Panay sunk by Japanese bombs on Yangtze River- 3 dead, 43
injured

Italians in Africa

1935- Italy invades Ethiopia

Dreamed of another Italian Empire
Leader- Benito Mussolini- Il Duce- abolished democracy, destroyed liberty all on the
promise of jobs and glory

German Expansion

Germany- building an enormous new army, making weapons at a frightening speed, and
menacing neighbors
March 1936- militarization of Rhineland
March 1938- seized Austria
Sept. 1938- Munich Pact: an attempt to appease Hitler; dismember Czech. and give a
piece to Germany (Sudetenland)
March 1939- Hitler seized the rest of Czech; appeasement was a failure
Sept. 1, 1939- Germany invaded Poland and WWII begins

Sept. 3, 1939- Great Britain and France declare war on Germany

Rise of Isolationism in the US

Most government officials and citizens in the 1920s were isolationists

Felt US should avoid alliances and agreements with other nations
Nye Committee- investigated US entry into WWI
o Findings: a. International bankers drew US into WWI and b. Munitions industry
pressed for American entry into war
Isolation dominated US foreign policy in 1930s

Neutrality Legislation

Neutrality Act, 1935- authorized the President to bar arms sales to warring nations
1936- extended neutrality legislation- put limits on sale of arms to belligerents
Cash and Carry- a country paid cash to carry goods on own ships

Destroyer-Base Deal

FDR- traded 50 old destroyers for the use of 8 British naval bases
Legally tried to help allies secure supplies

Lend-Lease

US would lend or lease whatever war supplies we could make

Supplies sent to any nation President considered vital to defense of the US

Atlantic Charter

FDR and Churchill meet- wanted a better future for the world
US and G.B. were seeking no territorial gain
Real reason for meeting- Churchill wanted American troops to join- FDRs answer is no

Effects of the War on 1940 Election

Republican Nominee- Wendell L. Willkie

Opposed the new deal
Democratic Nominee- FDR
Both wanted to aid GB
FDR wins- 1st person elected President for a 3rd term

The Battlefield is Everywhere

New Warfare- Blitzkrieg- lightning war: Hitlers new strategy

Depended heavily on air power
Used the fastest new vehicles (airplanes, tanks, trucks, motorcycles)

Struck quickly at the heart of the enemy territory, overwhelming them

1940- In England, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister

US Prepares for War

FDR warned the US to rearm

Wanted billions of dollars to create a two-ocean navy
Size of the air force greatly increased

Battle of the Atlantic

German submarine wolf packs sunk tons of allied supplies (1942-1943)

Subs had to be beaten
Radar and sonar were invented, both could destroy subs

Japanese American Relations

1931-1940: Jap. Military aggression was military unopposed by the US

1940- Japan became a partner of Germany and Italy
Japan attacked and expanded through China- July 1941
US response- embargo on all trade with Japan
US and Japan meet- sticking point is China
Japan wanted US to cut off aid to Chinese
US demanded Japanese withdraw from China
Japan had a choice: give up dream of an empire or go to war; they choose war

America at War
Attack on Pearl Harbor

Sunday December 7, 1941: Japan attacked the airfield and naval base at Pearl Harbor
Surprise attack- 180 American warplanes destroyed (120 crippled), 18 naval vessels were
sunk or heavily damages
More than 70 civilians and 2403 servicemen were killed
1177 crewmen of the USS Arizona died in attack
Next day- FDR- Japans Day of Infamy plunged the US into war

War on the Home Front

Selective service
Draft was started in 1940
By Pearl Harbor there were 1.6 million in the army
Millions more volunteered as a result of the attack

Internment of Japanese Americans

March 1942- close to 120,000 Jap.-Americans were rounded up and confined to camps
Were placed in camps because of the threat of possible acts of espionage and sabotage

Wartime Agencies

1940- Industry just emerging from depression

1942- American production- equal to Germany, Italy, and Japan combined
1944- production was double of Germany, Italy, and Japan combined
During WWII the government regulated industry and controlled the economy to achieve
maximum production and efficiency
Full employment- inflation occurred

Role of Women and Minorities

Women

1945- 258,000 women were serving in the armed forces

18 million were part of the American work force
Women were needed as workers
Took a wide variety of jobs in industry

Minorities

About 1 million African-Americans served in WWII

Afr.-Am. served in segregated units in the early stages of the war
Many Afr.-Am. migrated to industrial areas for jobs
Over 500,000 Latin-Americans served and were not segregated

Conservations and Rationing

Rationing was used to assure availability of scarce items to all citizens

Individuals received coupons for a share of the rationed items
The US and allies needed everything the US could produce

American Strategy
Get Hitler First

If Germany won in Europe, US would face aggressor nations alone

Second Front:
Russians wanted a second front in Europe
Wanted allies to invade lands held by the Axis powers

Instead, July 1942, Allies decide to invade North Africa

Invasion of North Africa

Germany- led by Desert Fox General Erwin Rommel

British- led by General Bernard Montgomery
Montgomerys army broke through Rommels Africa korps- November 2, 1942
US and British forces struck from west and north- Nov. 8, 1942

Invasion of Italy

July 10, 1943- 250,000 US and British troops land on Sicilian coastlines
Germans- escaped to the Italian mainland
Italians- sick of war; Mussolini is forced to resign
Allied troops tied up thousands of German troops; weakened them elsewhere

Control of the Air

British and US forces heavily bombed Germany, but used different strategies
British- saturation bombing- bombed whole areas
US- Pinpoint bombing- attacked in daylight; could focus bombs on crucial targets

Attack on the European Continent

D-Day:

US and Great Britains invasion of France

Objective: 2nd front in Europe
Directed by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of allied
forces in western Europe
June 6, 1944- D-Day invasion begins
Conditions needed: low-tide, half moon, good weather, morning invasion
D-Day codename: Operation Overlord
Allies- achieved tactical surprise- landings were a success
Secured beachhead- one of the greatest allied achievements of the war
Generals Montgomery and Eisenhower lead allied forces through Europe towards
Germany

Re-conquest of France

By the end of July, 1944 the allies controlled 1500 square miles of France
Paris- liberated on August 25, 1944
By mid-Sept. all of France had been cleared of Germans

FDR-elected to a fourth term

WWII taking its toll on FDRs health
Battle of Germany

Dec. 6, 1944- Battle of the Bulge- Germanys final bid to break the allies
Germans penetrated 60 miles creating a bulge in the allied lines
Foul weather aided the Germans
By the end of Jan. the bulge was pinched off
German losses- 120,000 of their best remaining men
Also the most single costly American battle of the war

Yalta Conference

Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meet at Yalta to discuss Nazi surrender

Stalin- tough and clever bargainer; most of his promises were lies
Western democracies- needed Stalins armies

Death of FDR

Worn down by wartime burdens, health continued to decline

Dies April 12, 1945 while resting in Warm Springs, Georgia
The nation grieved

Collapse of Germany

March 1945- allies were closing in- US and GB from the west and Russia from the east
Churchill- Shake hands with the Russians as far east as possible
Concerned with Soviet domination of Eastern Europe
Russia and US troops met at the Elbe River on April 25, 1945
Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker
May 8, 1945- Germans surrender; celebrated as V-E Day

The War in the Pacific

Extent of Japanese Conquests

Controlled a 4500 mile area of the Pacific

Allied policy in Pacific- Active Defense

Island Hopping

General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz- commanders of allied forces in the Pacific
The allies invaded strategic islands and bypassed others

May 3-8, 1942- Battle of Coral Sea- result: draw; first naval battle where the opposing
ships never saw one another
June 4, 1942- Battle of Midway- US victory and Japans first great naval defeat; a big
turning point
August 7, 1942- Battle for Gaudal canal- US victory and our troops first exposure to land
battle with the Japanese; fighting was fierce and brutal because the Japanese would not
surrender
Oct. 20, 1944- re-conquest of the Philippines begins
o Led by MacArthur, the US crushes the Japanese and knocks their navy out of the
war
Feb.-March 1945- Iwo Jima- US victory- Operation Detachment
o Goal: secure airfield
o Heavy losses: 6821 US deaths
o Flag raised at Mt. Suribachi
March 9-10- Tokyo firebombing- Operation Meeting House
Targeted industrial sites, but was a very populated area
Utilized 334 B-29 super-fortress airplanes
100,000 died in the attack, 1 million homeless
April-June, 1945- Okinawa- US victory; brutal fighting- Japan considered it a home
island; 12,513 Americans dies

The Atomic Bomb

Developed after Germans and Italians surrendered; Manhattan Project

Potsdam Declaration- Allies warned the Japanese: the alternative to surrender is prompt
and utter destruction
August 6, 1945- A-Bomb is dropped on Hiroshima
August 9, 1945- A-Bomb is dropped on Nagasaki
V-J Day- August 14, 1945