Politics/ Bureaucracy with WWII

Ashley Andrez

HIST 153 & 142928

2 December 2017
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One theme that got my attention for the betterment of society would be Politics/

Bureaucracy. The main topic I picked was World War II to a large extent due to the contributions

of Franklin D. Roosevelt. During World War II there were many Acts that he got passed along

with his participation with the Destroyer Deal, the Japaneses reliance on the United States,

Womens Auxiliary Act and Manhattan Project. These many things that Roosevelt did during

that time made our society a lot different then and now.

I chose all of these Acts, the Japanese reliance on the United States, the Atlantic Charter,

and the Manhattan Project because at the end of the day today it has helped our country. Some of

these Acts were not helpful at first but they lead to creating another Act that became a huge

impact on American society then and it still impacts us today. The Neutrality Act had an impact

on creating the Destroyer Deal. The Atlantic Charter meeting happened because of both the

Neutrality Act and the Destroyer Deal.

The Japaneses were relaying on the United States scrap metal, steel, iron ore, and oil.

They started to relay even more on the United States when they were going to war with China

and the French Indochina. The United States decided to freeze all assets that were going to

Japan.

The Japanese got upset about this and bombed Pearl Harbor. The Wars Powers Act came

after the bombing. This Act gave Roosevelt the power to make all decisions with the war effort.

This included creating The Womens Auxiliary Act. This Act gave women more rights than they

already have. Women also got the opportunity to work and contribute to the war effort without

fighting.
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I also chose The Manhattan Project because of Einsteins creation of the atomic bomb.

Although this bomb was a threat to other countries it created many good things for our country.

We had the chance to create nuclear energy. Many creations/ discoveries came along with the

creation. The creation of power for homes and businesses and nuclear power plants are just

some.

The first Act that made an impact on society would be the Neutrality Act because in

1939 it ended the arms embargo.i This embargo was an arm ban to sell weapons and

ammunition to Allied countries and no other countries. The only way any of these sales could

happen is if the countries were willing to pay with cash and cash only. This Act was able to bring

in some money for our country. The sales with Allied countries also gave the United States more

friends if we needed something from them. This changed history for the United States because

it helped the Allies win the war. Another thing that helped change history is the Neutrality Act

had an impact on the creation of the Destroyer Deal.

The Destroyer Deal is also called the Lend-Lease Act and it gave America the chance to

loan boats to the British for naval bases. The British needed all of the help they could get from

the United States in order to win the war against the Germans. The point for this Act was to

make sure that the British would return all of the materials back to the United States after the

war. The United States created this Act to help any of the Allied countries if they needed our

help with supplies.

This Act did not make society better for the United States at first, it made the Axis

countries more upset with the United States because it was not their war to be fighting in or

having any say or participation in. Hitler was not happy about the Lend-Lease Act and he
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ordered attacks on American ships.ii Although Hitler may have made these decisions it did not

stop the United States from helping the Allied countries. With this happening, it leads to The

Atlantic Charter.

The Atlantic Charter was a meeting with the British to figure out their war aims. This

also lead to the United States being willing to contribute everything we had to the war effort as

long as it does not include American troops. This was only going to happen with Allied countries

and not the Axis powers. America was willing to contribute as much money, weapons, boats,

planes, and any types of supplies. This made society better by providing people with more jobs

to make sure we always have to supplies we need to support all of the Allied countries. Many

countries started to relay on the United States for anything they needed.

The Japanese military is one that would really on the United States for many things. The

Japanese military machine relied heavily on imports of American steel and oil to prosecute its

assault on China and French Indochina.iii The Japanese were also relaying on the United States

for their scrap metal, steel, and iron ore. Roosevelt made a huge decision to stop all shipments to

Japan because he simply would not support their war because of a possible terrible outcome.

Later on, Roosevelt made an even bigger decision to freeze all Japanese assets in the United

States and ended all shipments of oil to Japan.

With the United States stopping all shipments to Japan, they decided they were going to

bomb Pearl Harbor. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we lost many American lives that day. It

was a very horrific day and the United States and Roosevelt were completely blind to it

happening. After the bombing, the Wars Power Act was created. The Act granted wide
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authority to the President to conduct the war effort.iv One of Roosevelts decisions was to enlarge

our armed forces.

With Roosevelt creating all of these decisions he was able to create the Womens

Auxiliary Act. This Act contribute to womens rights, it allowed them to work and contribute to

the war effort. Some of the things women were able to do is be nurses, test pilots, and flew

planes to and from places, the only thing they could not do was fight on the front line with the

men at war. During this time, many women got the chance to enter the workforce.

The last is the Manhattan Project with the creation of the atomic bomb. Roosevelt worked

with Albert Einstein in private to create this bomb. With the creation of this came Nuclear

facilities that were built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington.v The Manhattan

Project also employed over 120,000 American.vi With this creation we were able to create

more things because of this nuclear power. Not only did it bring Americans jobs but it made

doing things a lot easier with the creation of energy in general. Today, many things are powered

by energy.

Many good things came from Roosevelts term and even after his term, the decisions he

made lead to change reactions and creations of other Acts and changes for the United States. If

Roosevelt was not president who knows how long such changes in history would have happened.

Roosevelt made a huge impact on society although some terrible things might have come out of

these changed. Everything he did changed our country then and still effects out country today.

We would not have the opportunity to help other countries when they need our help, give the

president the authority to make a lot of the decision, give women more rights and the creation of

nuclear energy.
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As a historian of the twentieth century United States I can learn from the acts that were

taken to help resolve World War II in favor of the Allies. The Allied victory helped ensure a free

world for the future while advancing many technologies, and theories that continue to make life

better for the entire world. I can try to ensure that in the future there is proper leadership in place

to hopefully continue to make the correct decisions in both peace and war time and try to

continue to learn both the positive and negative historical events. Keeping an eye on history and

its effects on would events in most likely one of the best ways to learn and not repeat bad events

and wars, as much as possible.

My chosen theme helps me act responsibly today because of the restrictions women had

back then. Many women did not have a huge range of jobs to choose from like we do today.

Women then and now would not have to opportunities we have today without the Wars Power

Act and the Womens Auxiliary Act. Womens roles then were to be a stay at home mother but

on the other hand some mothers went to work. Their roles soon became a little more with the

military. My role today is to do the job I want to do and not think it is limited in anyway.
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Notes

i The Arsenal of Democracy (Paragraph Three)

ii The Arsenal of Democracy (Paragraph Eleven- last sentence on the page)
iii A Strained Relationship (Paragraph One)
iv America Bands Together (Paragraph Two)
v The Manhattan Project (Paragraph Three)
vi The Manhattan Project (Paragraph Five)