APUSH Ch. 24: The World at War

Facism

Authoritarian system of government characterized dictatorial rule, extreme nationalism, disdain for civil society, & a conviction that imperialism & warfare are the principal means by which nations attain greatness. The U.S. went to war against fascism when it faced Nazi germany under Adolf Hitler & Italy under Benito Mussolini during WWII

Rise of the Nazi Party (Germany)

The Reichstag (the German legislature) granted Hitler dictatorial powers to deal with the economic crisis. He promptly outlawed other political parties, arrested many of his political rivals, and declared himself führer (leader).

1935, Hitler began to rearm Germany which violated treaty but no one stopped him

1936, send troops in Rhineland, demilitarized zone under treaty, still no action from France & Britain

Facism

Authoritarian system of government characterized dictatorial rule, extreme nationalism, disdain for civil society, & a conviction that imperialism & warfare are the principal means by which nations attain greatness. The U.S. went to war against fascism when it faced Nazi germany under Adolf Hitler & Italy under Benito Mussolini during WWII

Rise of the Nazi Party (Germany)

The Reichstag (the German legislature) granted Hitler dictatorial powers to deal with the economic crisis. He promptly outlawed other political parties, arrested many of his political rivals, and declared himself führer (leader).

1935, Hitler began to rearm Germany which violated treaty but no one stopped him

1936, send troops in Rhineland, demilitarized zone under treaty, still no action from France & Britain

Rome-Berlin Axis

Political & military alliance formed in 1936 between German dictator Adolf Hitler & the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini

The United States & Neutrality (Neutrality Acts of 1935 + 1937)

Neutrality Act of 1935: Legislation that sought to avoid entanglements in foreign wars while protecting trade. Imposed an embargo on selling arms to warring countries & declared that Americans traveling on ships of hostile countries did so at their own risk

1937: “cash-and-carry” requirement: if a warring country wanted to purchase nonmilitary goods from the U.S., they had to pay cash & carry them in its own ships, keeping the U.S. out of potentially dangerous naval warfare

Nye Committee

1934 investigation into profits of munitions makers during war, alleged that arms manufacturers maneuvered President Wilson into WWI

Popular Front

Small but vocal group of Americans who pushed for greater U.S. involvement in Europe. American Communist Party members, African American civil rights activists, and trade unions among other members, encouraged Roosevelt to take a stronger stand against European fascism

Munich Conference

Held in September 1938 during which Britain & France agreed to allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland - a German-speaking border area of Czechoslovakia - in return for Hitler’s pledge to seek no more territory

Invasion of Poland

September 1st, 1939 Hitler launched blitzkrieg against them, 2 days later Britain & France declare war on Germany, WWII officially begun, Hitler conquered Poland same month

Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies

Group of interventionists who believed in engaging w/ rather than withdrawing from international developments. Interventionists became increasingly vocal in 1940 as war escalated in Europe

America First Committee

Organized by isolationists in 1940 to oppose entrance of U.S. into WWII, included senators, journalists, & publishers & such well-respected figures as the aviator Charles Lindbergh, popular in Midwest

Four freedoms

Identified by President FDR as most basic human rights: speech, religion, from want, from fear. Used ideas of freedom to justify support for England during WWII, in turned pulled U.S. into war

Lend-Lease Act

Legislation in 1941 that enabled Britain & any other country whose defense was considered vital to U.S. security to obtain arms from the U.S. w/o cash but with the promise to reimburse the U.S. when the war ended. Act reflected Roosevelt’s desire to assist the British in any way possible, short of war

Important for U.S. safety

Atlantic Charter

Press release by FDR and British prime minister Winston Churchill in August 1941 calling for economic cooperation, national self-determination, & guarantees of political stability after the war. Basis for new America-led transatlantic alliance after war’s conclusion. Promise of national self-determination set up potential conflict in Asia & Africa where Euro powers would be reluctant to abandon their federal holdings

Soviet Union (Stalin) did not sign

Pearl Harbor

Naval base that was attacked by Japanese bombers on December 7th, 1941; more than 2,400 Americans were killed. FDR asked Congress for declaration of war against Japan following day

• General Tojo prime minister, secret preparations for war against U.S. after they cut off trade w/ them
• U.S. knew plan of attack but didn't know where it would occur
• Assault was devastating but united American people
• After the U.S. declared war on Japan, Germany & Italy declared war on them. U.S. declared war on axis powers

War Powers Act

Law that gave President Roosevelt unprecedented control over all aspects of the war effort during WWII

America’s production capabilities

• Defense mobilization, not New Deal efforts, ended Great Depression

• 1940-1945 GDP & after-tax profits of businesses doubled due to federal spending

• Most of economy involved in war effort

• Revenue Act: Expanded the number of people paying income taxes from 3.9 million to 42.6 million. Personal incomes & business profits were taxed & paid half the cost of WWII

• Cooperation between government & private business to fiance & coordinate the war effort

• Increase in civilian employees, more than New Deal

Henry J. Kaiser

American industrialist who won a government contract to build "Liberty Ships", which were cargo ships used in WWII

Code talkers

 Native American soldiers trained to use native languages to send messages in battle during WWII. Japanese and Germans couldn’t decipher codes used by Navajo, Comanche, Choctaw, & Cherokee speakers, & the messages they sent gave the Allies great advantage in the battle of Iwo Jima, among many others

WWII/segregated army

The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps all segregated African Americans into separate units because of the belief that they were not as capable as white service members. White southerners were put in charge of African American units because it was thought they could “handle” them & wouldn’t sympathize with them

Women + the workforce

• Government officials & corporate recruiters urged women to take jobs in defense industries, new image of working women
• Women 36% of labor force in 1945 compared to 24% at beginning of war
• Women not tree from traditional expectations & limitations, paid less & sexual harassment
• Low-wage service jobs, childcare often unavailable
• When men returned, women encouraged to be at home where “they belonged” but many continued to work
• Most jobs for women were clerical work, communications, & healthcare, resembled jobs in civilian life

Executive Order 8802

 Signed by FDR in 1941 that prohibited “discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industry or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin” & established the Fair Employment Practices Commission, didn’t affect segregation in the armed forces

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill)

legislation authorizing the government to provide WWII veterans with funds for education, housing, & health care, as well as loans to start businesses & buy homes

Election of 1944/Harry Truman

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Democratic party leaders nominated Harry S. Truman of Missouri, politician with little national experience, FDR’s VP. Majority of Americans still supported FDR, reelected with 53.5% of nationwide vote. Republican dominance era slipping away even more.

FDR won unprecedented 4th term

Great Migration/racial tensions

Pointed parallels between anti-Semitism in Germany & racial discrimination in the U.S

Double V campaign: “Victory Abroad and Victory at Home.”

African Americans moved up North for factory jobs created by WWII

Executive Order 9066

Signed by President Roosevelt in 1941, authorized the War Department to force Japanese Americans from their West Coast homes & hold them in relocation camps for the rest of the war

Authorized military commanders to exclude citizens from military areas

Korematsu v. the United States

The Court allowed the removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast only on the basis of “military necessity.”

The Big Three

Allied powers

FDR (U.S), Churchill (England), & Stalin (Soviet Union) (not part of Atlantic Charter & disagreed w/ some parts like capitalist-run international reading system)

D-Day

 June 6, 1944, date of Allied invasion of northern France. Largest amphibious (land & water) assault in world history, opened a second front against the Germans & moved the Allies closer to victory in Europe

The Holocaust

Germany’s campaign during WWII to exterminate all Jews living in German-controlled lands, along w/ other groups Nazi’s deemed “undesirable.” 11 million people killed, mostly Jews

American military command in Pacific

Beating Japan as hard as beating Germany for the U.S.

Battle of the Coral Sea: U.S. kept Japan from invading Australia

Battle of Midway Island: U.S. severely damaged Japanese fleet,

U.S. took offense in the Pacific and they advanced towards Japan, conquering island after island.

Battle of Leyte Gulf: U.S. reconquest of Philippines

Iwo Jima/Okinawa: U.S. captured islands from Japan

Hiroshima/Nagasaki: U.S. dropped atomic bombs on both cities, brought Japanese government to surrender

Manhattan Project

Top-secret project authorized by FDR in 1942 to develop an atomic bomb ahead of the Germans. Americans worked on the project at Los Alamos New Mexico (among other highly secretive sites around the country), succeeded in producing a successful atomic bomb by July 1945

Truman/decision to use A-bombs

Believed that Japan military leaders would never surrender unless their country faced national ruin, believed it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives

Role of housewife/WWII

Publicity for women to work in defense industries directed at housewives. After the war, society wanted women to return home but many wanted to continue working.

Had a greater sense of autonomy

A-bombs + their aftermath

• Hidden from Congress, American people, & VP Truman

• Truman ordered dropping of bombs on Hiroshima (Aug 6) & Nagasaki (Aug 9)

• Invasion could win surrender but would cause mass casualties for Allies

• Truman considered other options but military advisors rejected idea of demonstrating bombs power, perhaps on remote Pacific island

• 70,000 to 135,000 people died in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people died in Nagasaki, both from exposure to the blasts and from long-term side effects of radiation.

Invasion of N. Africa / Italy

N. Africa: Nov 1942-May 1943, counter Offense was led by Eisenhower against the Germans. The U.S. defeated the German Afrika Korps led by “Desert Fox” Erwin Rommel

Sicily/Italy: July 10, 1943, Operation Husky (invasion of Sicily),

Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers w/ a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign