Second World War and Americas (1933-1945)

The United States and Latin America

-Franklin D Roosevelt elected president in 1932, his primary concern is to deal with the Great Depression and international trade relations. Trade relations were weak due to Hoover’s Hawley Smoot tariff agreement.

-most of Congress is isolationist regarding European affairs.

-FDR uses the “Good Neighbor Policy” with Latin America

• This was to improve US and LATAM trade relations

• it was meant to maintain “neutrality” in the Americas and to keep out outside aggressors.

The Good Neighbor Policy 1933

1933 Enacted at the Inter-American Conference in Uruguay.

• USA and Latin America agree that shouldn’t intervene in internal/external affairs of another nation

• This was a change from previous US policies in Latin America such as..

  • Big Stick Diplomacy allowed US to intervene in LATAM underTeddy Roosevelt

  • Moral diplomacy allowed US to support democratic governments and discourage non-democracy under Woodrow Wilson

Effects of the Good Neighbor Policy

• US troops left Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua

• Platt Amendment with Cuba nullified in 1934

• Increased trade with Latin America

  • Reciprocal Trade Agreement 1934 with Cuba - lowered trade barriers and tariffs for the US and LatAm

• Renegotiation of Panama Canal Treaty 1936

  • US left Panamanian politics and ended seizures of land. It also increase American rent payment to Panama for using the canal zone.

• Buenos Aires Conference 1936

  • Peace conference following events in Manchuria, Abyssinia, and Spain

  • All American nations agree to consult regarding hemispheric threats. signing of a neutrality pact.

• 8th Pan-American Conference in Lima, Peru 1938

1938, 8th Pan-American Conference

• Attempt to build security in America due to the start of the second sino-japanese war.

• Declaration of the Solidarity of America

  • called for cooperation and mutual defense between American countries

• Declaration of American Principles

  • non-intervention in state affairs

  • peaceful settlements, no use of force between states

  • international cooperation

The Nye Committee 1934

• Senate committee investigating the cause of US entry in WWI

• findings:

  • far greater loans made to UK than Germany, thus US had interest in UK winning the war.

  • American corporations made huge profits during war years

• Gave support to isolationist movement in the United States.

The Neutrality Acts (4) - 1930s

1st, 1935 Neutrality Act

• authorized president to prevent US ships from carrying weapons to nations at war. discouraged American travel to belligerent nations

2nd, 1936 Neutrality Act

• Banned loans or credits to countries at war, however companies could still sell to warring nations.

3rd, 1937 Neutrality Act

• Forbade export of munitions to Spanish civil war

• Other goods are okay if they follow Cash & Carry - paid in cash and transported on their own ships

4th, 1937 Neutrality Act

• authorized president to determine what could/couldn’t be sold to warring countries. made traveling on belligerent ships unlawful

How did the outbreak of war impact America's isolationist position?

Sino-Japanese war 1937

• no nation officially declared war, thus neutrality acts weren’t active. So FDR supported china with weapon shipments. this outraged isolationist congressmen.

FDR was concerned about the spread of totalitarianism in Europe, however he lacked congress and popular support.

As the war got worse, people started supporting intervention. FDR supported western democratic states

• 5th Neutrality Act 1939

  • after invasion of poland

    • lifted arms embargo, ban on loans remained

    • allow trade with belligerent nations under cash&carry

• Land-Lease Act 1941

  • US could lend/lease war supplies to nations deemed ‘vital to defense of the USA’

What was the US response to events in Europe after 1933?

Roosevelt’s Quarantine Speech, 1937

• Called for an international “quarantine” against aggressive nations, discretely referring to Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Japan.

• it caused a stir as it advocated for non-isolationist policies/intervention

What was the impact of events in Asia on US policy?

FDR and US media supported china in the Sino-Japanese war, but FDR was limited by the neutrality acts

• FDR refused 10 appeals from Britain for joint-meditation in the war

• after Japan sunk a US gunboat, the Panay, in 1937, the US accepted apology and compensation from Japan.

Popular opinion supported isolation, and US kept trading with Japan which was key to Japanese success in the war.

After 1938, Roosevelt got around the neutrality acts

• fear of USSR supporting Jiang Jieshi (Nationalists) more than the US

• US public opinion changing to support FDR

• Japan invasion of French Indo-China in 1940 scared the US

• The Tripartite pact of 1940 made Europe and Asia apart of the same war

From 1939-41, trade embargos were placed on Japan.

1941, Oil embargo was put on Japan

What was Canada's reaction to events in Europe?

The Liberal government of William Lyon MacKenzie King hoped to keep Canada neutral.

• French Canadians were isolationist, but English Canadians wanted to support Britain

• FDR pledged to support Canada against threats

Sudeten Crisis strengthened ties between Britain + Canada

Britain’s Declaration of War 1939

• Canadian parliament voted overwhelmningly to join the war.

Why did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor in December 1941?

Admiral Yamamoto used new aircraft carrier technology to strike the US fleet to consolidate its position in Asia.

The US, Britain, and several LatAm countries declared war on Japan. Then Germany declared war on the US

Pearl Harbor caused US to join WW2

1. What was Roosevelt's reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbour?

• The US was not prepared for war, although Pearl Harbor failed to completely knock the US out of the Pacific.

  • crucial onshore factories and oil tanks weren’t attacked

• Isolationism in the US was ended by Pearl Harbor.

 2. How were the US and Canada involved in the war in Europe?

Canada joined in 1939, and Canadian troops went to Britain, France(and came back with Dunkirk), and defending hong kong in the far east.

• By the time the US joined, the allies were struggling a lot

Germans controlled most of Europe, some of USSR and North Africa.

• 1942: British and Americans were warring at sea to secure the Atlantic, North Africa, and Italy

• 1943: Bombing of Germany

• 1944: D day Normandy landings. Allied invasion of Normandy France to liberate western Europe of Nazi control.

3. Why was the battle of Midway, June 1942, a turning point in the war in the Pacific?

In 1942, Japan secured the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in east and southeast asia.

After Pearl Harbor, Japan decided to strike the US air base “Midway”. the US sent all Naval sources to defend the base

US victory created a turning point

• Japan lost numerical advantage as aircraft numbers were now equal

• US launched 14 new carriers to Japan’s six by 1944

• Japan now had to fight a defensive war

4. What was the nature of the war in the Pacific after June 1942?

After 1942, the US had the upper hand using many tactics

• Island hopping: allied forces bypassed heavily fortified Japanese Islands and only attacked lightly defended islands strategically. This resulted in a lot of casualties

• Amphibious Landing: ground and air forces were transported by the navy to strategically island hop.

• 1944: Leyte Gulf, A Philipines naval battle where the Japanese lost.

• 1945: US Naval Blockade of mines against the Japanese

1. How did the Second World War change women’s economic roles in US society? 

between 1941-44, number of female workers rose to 6 million. Women were key to manufacturing wartime goods

• women helped double production of planes and tanks, allowing US to produce more than twice the supplies of Germany, Italy, and Japan combined

• Women took on jobs in agriculture, trades, and critical transportation infrastructure.

• during ww2 70% of female workforce was married and over 35.

• Rosie The Riveter was published in 1943

2. How did the Second World War change women’s military roles?

many women militarily served in ww2

WAAC - Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps 1942

WAVES - Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services 1942

WASPS - Women’s Airforce Service Pilots 1942

• supplied the US armed forces with 1000+ auxiliary pilots

By 1940 ~340k women had served in uniform.

Women in the Army Nurse Corps served close to enemy lines and 16 were killed in duty.

68 US service women were taken as POWs in the Philippines.

The contribution of the women of America, whether on the farm or in the factory or in uniform, to D-Day was a sine qua non of the invasion effort.” 

3. To what extent did women’s role in US society change during the Second World War?

• Increase in teenage marriages as men went overseas

• birthrate rose during the war

• women took complete control of the household, children, and jobs

• however women were expected to return to ‘pre-war’ standards after the war ended

4. How did the Second World War impact African-Americans?

many viewed ww2 as “the white man’s war”

Military

• before 1944, black americans weren’t allowed into combat marines. There was segregated army units and black nurses could only treat black soldiers

• from 1944 african americans fought on same battlefield as white US forces

Economic

• Factory workers were needed in the north, so there was a migration of african american workers up north

• Race riots in 1943 resulted from increased black communities in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.

• 1943: FDR issues EO forbidding racial discrimination from government contractors

• 1 million black workers had jobs in manufacturing

Impact

• Double V campaign (Victory abroad against fascism, Victory at home against racism)

• NAACP membership rose 8x. Congress of Racial Equality formed (CORE).

• 1944 Smith V Allwright ruled that right to vote cant be denied cause of race.

7. What was the nature of the draft during the Second World War and what was the impact of conscription?

Germany’s invasion of France in 1940 caused US to view Germany as a national security threat.

1940: Selective Training and Service Act

• the first peacetime draft in US history. required men between 21-35 to register for one year service.

• in 1941 service was extended to 2 years.

• After Pearl Harbor, service was extended to duration of the war +6 months, and it required all men 18-64 to register.

By end of the war in 1945, 10 million US men were inducted into armed forces

1. What were the military reasons for the use of atomic weapons against Japan?

Under president Harry S. Truman, Little Boy was the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. it killed 80,000 and wounded 80,000. The next day Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. emperor Hirohito surrendered.

2. Was the use of atomic bombs military necessary? Was Japan already militarily defeated by August 1945?

It was evidenced that after US’s success in the pacific after 1942, the atomic bomb was unnecessary for victory against in 1945.

• it was claimed Japan had already been defeated at sea, in air, and economically in 1945.

In Air:

• After Okinawa Japan had only 4,000 aircraft with no resources to build more

• US firebombing air raids killed 300k and caused 8 million to flee to the countryside

• by June 1945 us air losses were down to .3%

War at sea:

• Japan no longer had a naval fleet after the battles in the Philippines in 1944.

• US mines and Naval Blockade cut off Japan from trade completely (china, manchuria, korea), and stopped the flow of food and resources

• Japan lost the entire merchant shipping fleet

Economy:

• 1945 rice harvest was poor, 11% of pre-war levels

• 1944: fishing had halved

• 1945: no oil was imported so machines started shutting down

3. Could the US have demonstrated the power of the atomic bomb without using it on Japanese cities?

• A US group of scientists known as the Chicago Group sent a letter to Oppenheimer opposed to using the bomb on Japan. They argued that it could be dropped on a deserted island to demonstrate US power while decidedly showing that the US chose not to use the bomb on civilians.

• But, president Truman decided to drop it anywa.

1. How was the US economy organised during the war?

• the US economy was completely mobilized for war via production, investment, and conservation of resources

The war promoted the growth of big business and nurtured the link between US industry and the military.  The war increased the power of the Presidency and federal government and through the sacrifices made by both those on the fighting fronts, and those at home, the war became a catalyst for social and economic change. 

2. What was the impact of the war on the economy of the US?

The war ended the depression and resulted in a thriving industrial economy. It led to full employment, increased wages, and significant technological advancements, establishing the U.S. as a leading global economic power.

3. What was the impact of the post-war US economy on the rest of the world?

The US became a superpower after the war due to its economy. They established the Marshall plan in 1948 to help repair Europe’s economy. This also pit the US against the USSR.

4. What were the diplomatic effects of the war for the US?

The US played a leading role in the wartime conferences of Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam and the development of the post war order in Europe and Asia. this caused the cold war in europe 1946 and the red scare in the US in1946

5. What were the economic and diplomatic effects of the Second World War on Canada?

Canada also greatly recovered after the war, however they weren’t as involved diplomatically as the US. Canada was at the Paris Peace Conference in 1946 and signed a peace treaty with Japan. It joined the United Nations

2. Why did the US government decide to intern Japanese Americans?

deteriorated relations between the US and Japan in the 1930s cause US surveillance of Japanese from 1935.

• after pearl harbor, 3,000 “agents” were arrested.

• public anti-japanese sentiment

• FDR signed Executive Order 9066 in 1942 allowed military to intern and evacuate civilians (exclusively Japanese)

• Japanese American farmers grew 40% of california’s produce, so some US farmers supported this to “get rid” of the competition as they were forced to sell their land.

4. What roles did Japanese Americans play in the US military during the Second World War?

by the end of the war , 30k japanese americans had served in the military. they weren’t permitted to join the navy, and the army only fully opened to japanese americans in 1944.

5. What was the legacy of internment for Japanese Americans?

• Resettlement out of the camps increased when the army opened up to Japanese Americans. However, many were not released until May 1945.  The last camp did not close until 1946.

• After release many release most found it difficult to rebuild lives.  Properties had been sold, destroyed and possessions lost.

• 1948 Congress passed American Japanese Claims Act. Surviving former internees were granted $37 million in compensation

• 1960s - Redress Movement set up by young Japanese Americans protesting for apology and compensation as internment was breach of civil rights

• 1988 Congress issued official apology and awarded surviving internees $20,000 each in compensation

6. Why were Japanese Canadians relocated during the Second World War?

after the outbreak of ww2, there were 23k japanese canadians most were subjected to internment. At first all men 18-42 were removed. and then over 9 months they were all relocated to internment camps

• not allowed to work or attend school in the camp

• not permitted to own land

• bank accounts closed, savings lost

• In 1943 the Custodian of Aliens Measure sold off all Japanese Canadian property that had been under ‘protective custody’. 

• On 1^st April 1949 Canadian government announced that Japanese Canadian were free to live anywhere in Canada.

• Most former internees did not to return to British Columbia. 

• In 1950 1434 Japanese Canadian were awarded property compensation of $1.3 million,

• No compensation for civil rights abuses until 1988 when Japanese Canadian were compensated for all they had ‘experienced’: each survivor was awarded $21,000