The United States in a Troubled World 

• World War I was so devastating that the victors suffered as much as the defeated. Some of the victors were also dissatisfied with the Treaty of Versailles. 

• Over the next 2 decades, Germany, the USSR, Italy, Poland, and Japan sought to achieve what Allied leaders denied them at Versailles. 

• Fascism, communism, socialism, and other political factions started to rise in central and eastern Europe. Violence and instability broke out because people disagreed with what type of government should exist. 

• Although the US had what it takes to ease international tensions, it would not lead in world affairs. It even refused to be a member of the League of Nations. 

Conflict in China 

• Just because the US preferred to be isolated, the US could not ignore foreign affairs. 

• The US had a major interest in the western Pacific that creates a dangerous rivalry with Japan. The US committed to an open-door policy to prevent anyone from invading China. 

• In the 1920s, Japan expanded its influence on the Chinese mainland. 

• In 1931, Japan staged an explosion on a rail line in Manchuria. A year later, Manchuria became a puppet state called Manchukuo. 

Stimson Doctrine 

• The major powers in Europe and the US were not willing to risk a war with Japan. Henry Stimson was given the power to protest that the US would refuse to recognize Japan’s takeover. 

• Japan then invaded Shanghai. When the League of Nations condemned Japan, Japan withdrew from the League. 

Good Neighbor Policy 

• Trouble overseas only encouraged the US to improve its relations with nearby neighbors. By the late 1920s, the US had intervened in Latin America so much that the Roosevelt Corollary became an embarrassment. 

• After the US sent an ambassador to get back American-owned properties and US troops withdrew from Nicaragua, President Hoover began creating a Good Neighbor policy. 

• FDR liked the Good Neighbor policy and pushed the idea. It would help improve relations between the US and Latin America. 

• In 1934, FDR repealed the Platt Amendment, giving Cuba its independence. 

• Over time, the US would replace military presence with indirect economic influence. 

• As the threat of war grew in the 1930s, the US found out that its sense of Pan Americanism promoted cooperation in matters of defense. 

• By the end of 1940, the Pan-American Conference had defense agreements in place with every Latin American country but Argentina. 

The Rise of Fascism 

• During the 1920s, Benito Mussolini feared communism but loved Italian nationalism. When he became leader, he turned Italy into a fascist country. 

• Italian fascists rejected political parties in favor of a country dominated by the middle class, businesspeople, and small farmers. 

• On March 5, 1933, the German legislature gave Adolf Hitler control of Germany. His Nazi Party promised to unite all Germans in a Greater Third Reich that could last for 1,000 years. 

• The rise of fascism in Europe and Asia led to war. 

• As much as FDR wanted the US to help, the US was not willing to do so. 

NYE Committee 

• American involvement in foreign affairs became more difficult after Gerald P. Nye held hearings on the role of bankers in World War 1. Nye revealed that bankers made enormous profits during the war. 

• The Nye Committee reported implied that business interests could have steered the US into war. 

Internationalists vs. Isolationists 

• A debate ensued over how the US should respond to the growing threats to peace. 

• Internationalists favored a policy of collective security (working actively with other nations), while isolationists wanted the US to stay out of the conflict. 

Neutrality Legislation 

• Congress debated the Neutrality Act of 1935, which prohibited the sale of arms to all countries in times of war. 

• Internationalists believed that the embargo should apply to aggressive nations only. Otherwise, aggressors could strike when they had an advantage. 

• The limitations of the Neutrality Act of 1935 started to show. In October 1935, Mussolini started the invasion of Ethiopia. Roosevelt tried to deprive Italy of its war goods. However, Italy needed oil, steel, and copper. 

• Mussolini successfully completed his quest for Ethiopia because the League of Nations did nothing to stop him. 

• A second Neutrality Act banned loans and credits to belligerents. 

• Neutrality legislation encouraged Hitler to launch military operations. In March 1936, Germany gained control of the Rhineland, which violated the Treaty of Versailles. 

Spanish Civil War 

• In July 1936, Francisco Franco sought to overthrow the newly elected Popular Front government. The civil war that followed set the staging ground for WWII. 

• Hitler and Mussolini sent supplies to Franco’s Fascists, while the USSR and Mexico aided the government. The war divided opinions in Europe and the US. 

Cash-and-Carry 

• Congress was finding a way for American trade to continue without getting involved in the war. 

• Under the new cash-and-carry policy in the Neutrality Act of 1937, belligerents could buy supplies other than munitions. However, they would have to pay beforehand and take the supplies. 

Aggression in China 

• The cash-and-carry policy hurt China. To give China continued access, Roosevelt refused to involve the Neutrality Act. 

• Japan had a greater volume of trade with the US. Because FDR couldn’t impose a selective embargo, Japan could use US resources to help with its invasion. 

Quarantine Speech 

• War seemed inevitable in Europe and Asia. Italy, Germany, and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937. The Rome-Berlin-Tokyo axis freed those nations for further expansion. 

• In his first foreign policy speech, he called for an international quarantine of aggressor nations. Most newspapers applauded his remarks despite the audience being skeptical. 

Appeasement 

• In Europe, the Nazis continued to take any land. Hitler then insisted that Czechoslovakia, which contains 3.5 million Germans, should be under his control. 

• The leaders of France and Germany flew to Munich in September 1938 to make a deal to appease Hitler. They would allow Hitler to take the Sudetenland. However, Hitler took over Czechoslovakia 6 months later. 

Hitler’s Invasion 

• By 1939, Hitler didn’t tell anyone about his plans to invade Poland. Russia was the key to his success. 

• On August 24, 1939, the foreign ministers of Russia and Germany signed a nonaggression pact. The protocols allowed Hitler to invade Poland without having to fight a way with enemies attacking on different fronts. 

Germany Begins World War II 

• On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Within days France and Germany declared war on Germany, officially starting World War II. 

• Stalin quickly moved into eastern Poland, where his mission was successful. 

• In the spring of 1940, Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway. The French had to retreat behind the Maginot Line. 

• Germany invaded Belgium and Holland in a blitzkrieg (lightning war). The Low Countries fell in 23 days. 

• On June 22, France capitulated. Hitler wanted the surrender to go through the railway car which Germany had submitted in 1918. 

Steps Short of War 

• Britain stood between Hitler and the US. Isolationism suddenly became dangerous. 

• By the spring of 1940, Roosevelt was aiding the Allied effort. He requested funds to motorize the army and build 50,000 planes a year. 

• He persuaded Congress to conduct a peacetime draft to prepare for the war. 

Battle of Britain 

• Thousands of German fighter planes and heavy bombers struck targets in England. Hitler sought to soften up England for a potential invasion. 

• Radio reporters relayed graphic descriptions of London. Such tales convinced Americans that the US should help the British. 

Lend-Lease Aid 

• In the 1940 election, Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie favored an internationalist course. 

• Roosevelt portrayed the US as “the great arsenal of democracy”.  

• Since the British couldn’t follow the cash-and-carry policy, FDR proposed a scheme to lease, lend, or dispose of arms and supplies to countries whose defense was vital to the US. 

• In 1941, Congress rejected isolationism, passing the Lend-Lease Act by a large majority. 

• Step by step, FDR led the US to the verge of war. 

• In June 1941, Hitler led an invasion of the Soviet Union. People expected the Russian soldiers to lose. However, after managing to hold up, FDR extended lend-lease to the USSR. 

• In August 1941, FDR took a secret voyage to Argentia Bay. There, he met Winston Churchill. Almost every day since he met Churchill, both stayed in contact with phone calls, letters, or cables. 

• The meeting between FDR and Churchill condemned Nazy tyranny and embraced the Four Freedoms (freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear). 

• By the time of the Argentia meeting, American destroyers were stalking German U-boats and reporting them to British commanders. 

Disaster in the Pacific 

• Roosevelt avoided a showdown with Japan because he was worried by the prospect of a German victory in Europe. 

• The navy didn’t have enough ships to go around the world, which is what FDR told his cabinet. 

• Since American and European attention laid elsewhere, Japan had the opportunity to expand into Southeast Asia. 

Japanese Expansion 

• Japanese leaders viewed their sphere of influence as an Asian version of the Monroe Doctrine. Japan would replace the Europeans as a promoter of economic development. 

• The US viewed Japan’s invasion of China as a threat to the open-door policy. 

• By the summer of 1941, Japanese forces controlled the Chinese coast and all major cities. Japan was ready when its army marched into French Indochina (now Vietnam). 

• Roosevelt wanted to act. He embargoed trade, froze Japanese assets in American banks, and stopped shipments of vital scrap iron and gas. 

• When trying to negotiate, their goals were different. Japan wanted its conquests to be recognized, while the US wanted Japan to withdraw from China and end its alliance with Germany and Italy. 

Pearl Harbor 

• In late November, US intelligence located a Japanese armada in Hitokappu Bay. 

• Japanese planes began flying towards Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, they bombed American ships and nearby airfields. 

• People were shocked that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. 19 ships were destroyed or sunk. All aircraft were damaged or destroyed. 

• Henry Stimson couldn’t believe the news. He believed that Japan would attack the Philippines next, which did happen. Japan also attacked Guam, Midway, and British forces in Hong Kong. 

• On December 7, 1941, the US declared war on Japan, officially entering World War 2. Germany and Italy declared war on the US 3 days later. 

A Global War 

• Winston Churchill was shocked when he heard the news about Pearl Harbor. He was also relieved because the UK wouldn’t stand alone in the war. 

• Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor united Americans more than FDR thought they would. 

• Winston Churchill said that the Allies could make full use of what they had if the Americans were fully committed to going to war. 

• The Allies needed to secure an alliance between the Anglo-American democracies and the USSR. They also needed to find a strategy to win the war and maintain peace. 

Strategies for War 

• While Churchill was in DC, he met with FDR to coordinate production for ships, planes, and armaments. 

• When they announced the numbers, critics initially laughed at first. However, a year later, British, Canadian, and American production combined exceeded their schedules. 

Defeat Germany First 

• FDR and Churchill also planned a strategy to win the war. 

• Many Americans thought that the US would attack Japan first. However, the 2 leaders agreed that Germany was a bigger threat. 

• The Pacific war would be fought as a holding action so that they could focus on defeating the Nazis. 

U-Boat War 

• By the end of summer in 1942, the Allies were defeated. The Nazis became the deadliest fighting force. Nazi troops were amassed outside Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad. 

• German U-boats in the North Atlantic were threatening to break the ocean link between the US and Britain. During the first 6 months of 1942, the U-boats sank 400 Allied ships in US territorial waters. 

• The attacks were so deadly that merchant sailors developed a humor about sleeping. They slept above decks because the ships they stayed on could sink in under a minute. 

Fall of the Philippines 

• In the Pacific theater, Japan had invaded the Philippines, British Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies. Singapore fell in just 1 week. 

• Douglas MacArthur, commander of American forces in the Philippines, fled to Australia and promised that he would return. 

• By the summer of 1942, no Allied forces stood between the Japanese and India or Australia. 

• Hitler’s arrogance would lead him to make major blunders. Japan and Germany were fighting separate wars, so they never coordinated strategies. 

• The Nazis were very harsh. In Germany, they launched a campaign to get rid of all Jews in Europe. This would start the Holocaust. 

• At the height of war, 50 nations sided with the Allies, who referred to themselves as the United Nations. 

A Grand Alliance 

• Defeats early on in the war hurt Allied morale. 

• During World War II, the US would develop a global economy in order to increase production and become a superpower. 

• Safe from the war, American factories and farms could produce enough supplies to supply 2 wars at once. 

• American factories produced 300,000 airplanes, 87,000 ships, 400,000 artillery pieces, 102,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, and 47 million tons of ammunition. 

The Big Three 

• The Allies benefitted from leadership. The Big Three - FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin – were able to maintain a unity that eluded Axis leaders. 

• Churchill used the UK’s resources to assist the USSR. FDR poured American resources into the war effort of two of Europe’s imperial powers. Stalin allied with two capitalist states. 

• The USSR wanted the Allies to open a second front in western Europe to ease the pressure on Russian troops. 

• In August 1942, the western Allies didn’t have a massive, well-trained force to launch a successful invasion of Europe. 

Operation Torch 

• After being angry about not having a second front, Stalin accepted Churchill’s rationale for another action. 

• Operation Torch was an operation where British and American forces would invade North African by the end of 1942. It could bring forces into direct combat with the Germans. 

• The Big Three would sometimes bend but it never broke. 

The Naval War in the Pacific 

• Despite trying to concentrate on defeating Germany, the Allies’ first successes came in the Pacific when planes stopped a large Japanese force from going to Port Moresby. 

• For the first time, two fleets fought without seeing each other. 

• The Japanese fleet did inflict greater damage but decided to turn back to recover. If Japan had captured Port Moresby, the Japanese could have stopped Allied shipping routes to Australia. 

Midway 

• To extend Japan’s defense, Isoruku Yamamoto ordered the capture of Midway. 

• The US knew that Japan was going to take Midway. On June 3, American aircraft sank four enemy carriers, a cruiser, and three destroyers. The Japanese only managed to sink one American aircraft carrier. 

• The Battle of Midway broke Japanese supremacy in the Pacific. 

• In August 1942, the US launched its first offensive on the Solomon Islands. 

Turning Points in Europe 

• By the fall of 1942, the Allies had their first success in the European war. 

• At El Alamein, British forces broke through Rommel’s lines. 

• In Operation Torch, Allied forces swept through Morocco and Algeria. Although they were halted in Tunisia, they ended up successful. 

Stalingrad 

• From August 1942 to February 1943, the Axis and Soviet Union armies fought in Stalingrad. Each side suffered more causalities than the Americans did during the entire war. 

• After the Battle of Stalingrad, the Germans had lost an army and their momentum. Stalin’s forces moved towards Poland and Romania. 

Mobilizing for a Global War 

• Assembling an army united Americans from all regions, social classes, and ethnic backgrounds. 

• The army acted as a melting point, more than any other institution. 

• The US armed forces put millions of Americans across the world. 

• Before Pearl Harbor, the army had 1.6 million soldiers. By 1945, it had more than 7 million. The navy had 3.9 million men, the army air corps had 2.3 million, and the marines had 600,000. 

• During basic training, people were subjected to the army haircut, foul-mouthed drill sergeants, and barracks life. 

• The infantry accounted for 90% of the battlefield casualties. Almost 400,000 Americans were killed and more than 600,000 were injured. 

• Most battles were reasonable short, so there was no constant combat. 

• During combat, diseases hurt the soldiers: malaria, dysentery, typhus, and the plague affected the soldiers. 

• Wherever there was war, American soldiers lived in foxholes dug by hand. Movies were the only entertainment they had. 

African Americans 

• Minorities enlisted in unusually large numbers because they got opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten in civilian life otherwise. 

• Prejudice among minorities was still high. The army was segregated, and black soldiers were assigned to noncombat roles. The navy accepted them as cooks and servants. 

• Despite the prejudice, more than a million black men and women served. As the war progressed, they pressured the military to ease segregation. 

• By mid-1942, black soldiers were being trained and graduated from integrated officer candidate schools. 

• For Mexican Americans and Asian Americans, the war offered an opportunity to enter the mainstream. 

• Mexican Americans had a higher enlistment rate than the general population. Chinese Americans served at the highest rate of all population groups. Korean Americans were valuable in the Pacific theater since they could understand Japanese. 

• Filipinos had a reason to enlist. Service offered a chance to fight for the liberation of their homeland against the Japanese. They realized they were fighting for US freedom and the Philippines freedom. 

• Filipinos who volunteered became US citizens. California changed laws that once prevented Filipinos from owning land. 

Choices for Homosexuals 

• Homosexuals who wanted to join faced a dilemma. Nobody knew about homosexuality, and anyone who knew about it had a lot of tolerance. 

• Homosexuals who did pass the screening test found themselves in segregated bases. 

• Just like other servicemen and women, they served in other roles. 

WACS 

• World War II brought an end to the military as male dominant. 

• The War Department allowed women to join the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), but only with low pay. 

• Women were able to look with pride and resentment. Many worked as technicians, mechanics, radio operators, postal clerks, and secretaries. 

• Most of these jobs were traditional female ones. 

• Until 1944, women were prevented from serving in war zones. There were female pilots, but they were only allowed to shut planes behind the lines. 

Mobilizing the Home Front 

• Thomas Chinn sold his business after the Pearl Harbor attacks. He was working for the first time outside Chinatown. 

• He served as a supervisor in the Army Quartermaster Market Center, responsible for supplying the army with fresh food. 

• Food production and distribution were two of many areas that needed attention. After Pearl Harbor, steel, aluminum, and electric power were needed. 

• Although the conversion from peace to war came slowly, FDR made many programs to control inflation and guarantee an increase supply of food, munitions, and equipment. 

Increasing Production 

• Roosevelt tried to coordinate production efforts by creating the War Production Board (WPB). The WPB ordered an end to all civilian car and truck production. 

• The WPB was hindered by other federal agencies with their own regulations. To end this, FDR installed James F. Byrnes as director of the Office of War Mobilization. 

• By getting control of steel, aluminum, and copper, the OWM made the bottlenecks disappear. This planning helped ease the conversion to war production. 

West Coast War Industries 

• The aircraft industry transformed the industrial landscape of the West Coast. When production peaked in 1944, the industry had 2.1 million workers. 

• Most of the new factories were located around LA, San Diego, and Seattle. 

• The demand for workers opened opportunities for Asian workers who were limited to jobs within their own communities. 

• As the military relied on established firms to produce planes, ships, and tanks, big corporations increased their dominance over the US economy. 

• The same thing happened in agriculture, as small farms became large ones. Large commercial farming by corporations came to dominate agriculture. 

• Productivity increased because of an important reason: pride in work done for a common cause. 

• People volunteered to help out in the war effort. Morale ran high because people believed that every contribution could help the Allies win the war. 

Science, the War, and the Environment 

• Victory gardens and recycling drives reshaped the environment. 

• The war’s physical damage to the environment was obvious. But these changes weren’t monumental in size, they were new. 

• When the Japanese and American fleets fought in the Coral Sea and Midway, new technology affected the way the US fought. 

• The Americans used radar guns and airplanes to spot and sink enemy ships. Elsewhere, improved fighter planes and long-range bombers allowed Allied forces to destroy Axis homelands. 

• Math and game theory helped the US Navy destroyed the German U-boats that terrorized them for a long time. 

• One of the most critical tech advances led to the invention of the proximity fuse. It could detect nearby metal and then detonate the shell without hitting the target. 

Meteorology and Climate Change 

• While trying to end fascism, scientists began to investigate the basic forces of nature. 

• The navy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a professional program in meteorology, using physics to understand the patterns of climate. 

• Meteorology provided the military with information on winds, ocean currents, and tides in other regions. 

• No scientific quest did more to alter the relationship between humans and the natural world than the atomic bomb. 

• In 1938, German scientists discovered nuclear fission. Atoms of uranium-235 release enormous amounts of energy when split. American scientists realized that this could be used to make a bomb. 

• Albert Einstein, Enrico Ferm, and Leo Szilard convinced FDR to develop the atomic bomb. 

Manhattan Project 

• FDR authorized an enormous research and development effort; code named the Manhattan Project. Over 100,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff worked at 39 installations to make the atomic bomb. 

• Despite spending over $2 billion for the project, leaders of the project feared that Germany might succeed before they do. 

• Applied science was not just about destruction. Production of war material also mattered. 

• In the 1930s, plant geneticists learned how to cross-pollinate corn to make new varieties. These new varieties can generally increase yields per acre. 

Environmental Benefits and Risks 

• Some scientific advances increased health and life expectancy. Life expectancy increased an average of 3 years overall. 

• Antibiotics were first used during the war. It was beneficial since it cured tuberculosis, syphilis, and pneumonia. 

• The atomic bomb, DDT, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and hybrid seeds represented humankind’s ability to improve nature. They didn’t expect the environmental consequences. 

• The atomic bomb can create a large cloud of radiation, which can last for a long time. DDT killed beneficial insects and hurt wildlife. PVC produced carcinogens that were dangerous to humans. 

• The widespread use of hybrid seeds reduced genetic variety. 

The Return of Prosperity 

• Not only did war production bring the US out of the Great Depression, it revived prosperity. 

• In 1940, over 7 million people were unemployed. By 1944, unemployment was basically nonexistent. 

• Employees welcomed disabled workers. 

Tax Reform 

• Roosevelt had to find a way to pay the war’s cost without ruining prosperity. His approach mixed conservative and liberal elements. 

• The Treasury Department raised money by selling war bonds. To raise more money, Henry Morgenthau proposed a tax structure that was highly progressive. 

• Conservatives in Congress passed multiple tax reforms. 

War Labor Board 

• Wartime prosperity didn’t end the war between business and labor. 

• To end labor strikes, FDR made the War Labor Board (WLB) in 1942. The WLB had the authority to impose arbitration in any labor dispute. 

• The most far-reaching decision established a compromise where workers got 15 days to leave the union after a contract was signed. 

• Any worker who remained a member was forced to pay union dues for the life of the contract. This policy led to an almost 40% growth in union membership between 1941 and 1945. 

Lewis Leads a Coal Strike 

• Despite the efforts of the WLB, labor strikes still took place. 

• In 1943, dissatisfied railroad workers tied up rail lines. To end the strike, the government had to seize the railroads and grant wage increases. 

• That same year, John L. Lewis allowed his United Mine Workers to go on strike. FDR had to seize the mines to calm down the situation. In the end, the government gave miners new benefits. 

• Most Americans were unwilling to forgive Lewis for his actions. The strike left homes dark and cold. 

• Congress passed the Smith-Connolly Act of 1943, which gave the president more authority to seize vital war plants shut down by strikers. It required union leaders to have a 30-day “cooling-off” period before striking. It was vetoed. 

• Despite the incidents, workers remained dedicated to helping out with the war effort. When workers did strike, stoppages were usually in defiance of union leadership. 

• The workforce was transformed by the turmoil of war. After Peral Harbor, over 15 million people changed their addresses. 

• So many African Americans left the South that cotton growers had to buy mechanical harvesters. 

• So many Appalachian hill people traveled back and forth from Kentucky to Detroit that an express service was added. 

Womanpower Fills the Labor Shortage 

• With as many as 12 million men in uniform, women became the most untapped source of labor. 

• During the Depression, the government and businesses discouraged women from competing with men for jobs. 

• The percentage of female workers grew from around a quarter in 1940 to more than a third in 1945. A majority were either married or between 55 and 64 years old. 

• Many women preferred the freedom of work and wages to working at home. Because their husbands were fighting, they needed additional income and had more free time. 

• Given the chance to learn many skills, women broke a lot of stereotypes about them. 

• Although the demand for labor improved the economic status of women, it didn’t alter conventional thoughts about them. 

• Many Americans assumed that when the war ended, women would return to the home. 

• The war inspired a change in economic roles for women without fomenting a revolution in attitudes about gender. 

A Question of Rights 

• FDR was a government official during World War I. Now, he was determined to avoid the patriotic excesses he witnessed then. 

• The conflicts arising over race, ethnic background, and class differences couldn’t be ignored. 

• The war with Japan made life difficult for loyal Asian Americans of all backgrounds. 

Little Italy 

• When the war began, about 600,000 Italian aliens and 5 million Italian Americans lived in the US. 

• Some of them were proud of fascism and Mussolini. Those attitudes changed after Peral Harbor. 

• At first, the government treated Italians without citizenship. By 1942, Americans believed that Italian Americans and German Americans posed little threat. 

• Roosevelt chose Columbus Day 1942 to lift restrictions on Italian aliens. 

Concentration Camps 

• Americans weren’t tolerant towards Japanese Americans. 

• Tensions were high in Hawaii, where the war with Japan began. 

Issei 

• On the mainland, Japanese Americans remained separated from the mainstream of American life. 

• In the western states, most Japanese couldn’t vote, own land, or live outside of specific neighborhoods. 

• Approximately 470,000 Japanese aliens, known as Issei, weren’t allowed to have a US citizenship. 

Nisei 

• West Coast politicians urged FDR to evacuate the Japanese from their communities. 

• It didn’t matter that 80,000 Japanese Americans were US citizens, called Nisei. There was no proof that they were a threat. 

• In February 1942, the War Department passed Executive Order 9066, which ordered the internment of Japanese Americans. 

• Most Nisei had heavy financial losses as they were forced to sell their property far below market value. At the camps, the army had not prepared basic sanitation, comfort, or privacy. 

• The distress of the Nisei became a windfall for people who long resented their economic competition. 

Internment Camps 

• Most Japanese had to stay in one of 10 camps in remote areas of 7 western states. 

• Internees were held in wire-enclosed compounds guarded by soldiers. In each room, there were a few cots, some blankets, and 1 lightbulb. 

• Some Japanese protested. 

Korematsu and Hirabayashi 

• Some Japanese Americans challenged the ethics through the courts. 

• Fred Korematsu and Gordon Hirabayashi were arrested for refusing to relocate. The Supreme Court favored military policies over the two. 

• The Supreme Court called Japanese Americans a threat to national security, even though they did nothing wrong. 

• Concentration camps in the US were nothing like the ones in Germany. 

At War with Jim Crow 

• When World War II began, Americans lived in a segregated society. 3/4ths of the 12 million African Americans lived in the South. 

• Hispanic Americans lived in a belt along the US-Mexico border. 

• Both African Americans and Hispanic Americans were segregated in housing and in public. Neither group had much access to health care, education, and a good job. 

• Hispanic and black leaders recognized the irony of a war that their government was fighting. 

• Several barriers stood in the way of freedom. For instance, many unions refused to allow minorities. Most employers refused to hire minorities or restricted them to unskilled jobs. 

A. Philip Randolph 

• A. Philip Randolph was determined to eliminate some inequities. 

• He was looking to bring down discrimination that prevented minority workers from getting a job in defense industries. He also wanted to end segregation. 

• Randolph began to organize a march on Washington in 1941. 

FEPC 

• FDR wanted to avoid racial discontent. He could issue an executive order banning segregation in the workplace. However, he was fearful of alienating southerners and union members. 

• In June 1941, FDR issued Executive Order 8802, which barred discrimination in the hiring of government or defense industry workers. He established the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) to enforce the order. 

• While it never fulfilled Randolph’s hopes, the FEPC was the boldest step towards racial justice. 

• Thousands of workers migrated to the coast from Texas, where job discrimination was the most severe. 

• The US and Mexico created a bracero program. It guaranteed laborers from Mexico both better wages and improved working conditions. 

• Black Americans faced similar resistance. More than half of all defense jobs were closed to minorities. 

• The FEPC would investigate the conditions of the workplace. But, when the FEPC faces powerful employers and unions, the commission acts reluctantly. 

• By 1944, African Americans held 8% of all jobs. 

Detroit Race Riot 

• As African Americans and Mexican Americans were moving into urban areas, they also competed with whites, trying to get a house. 

• In Detroit, housing authorities chose a site near the edge of a Polish neighborhood. When the first black family was sent there, the National Guard was sent to prevent the KKK from attacking. 

• Tensions rose in the summer of 1943. Riots broke out until white mobs began beating black people riding the trolley lines. 

• The situation in Southern California was violent as well. Hispanic Americans were frustrated by the persistence of white racism. 

• White blamed the Hispanics for the increase in crime. Their hostilities focused on pachucos. They were young Hispanics who adopted the style of Harlem hipsters. 

• The council of LA made it illegal to wear a zoot suit. 

Zoot Suit Riots 

• In June 1943, navy shipment stationed at a local base invaded a Hispanic neighborhood. They took any zooters they saw and beat them up. 

• The LA police came in to stop the fight only when Hispanics retaliated. 

• Earl Warren issued an investigation into the fight. He rejected the press charges and put the blame on white racism. 

CORE 

• Despite frustrations, minority leaders used the war effort as a chance to develop new strategies to end discrimination. 

• The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) used inspiration from the nonviolent passive resistance that Mahatma Gandhi used in India’s independence movement. 

• In northern cities, CORE used sit-ins, boycotts and picketing to desegregate public spaces. 

• In Smith v. Allwright, the Supreme Court reconsidered issues of racial inequality. 

• Since black voters couldn’t participate in Southern primaries, their votes had no meaningful influence. 

The New Deal in Retreat 

• After Pearl Harbor, FDR stated that the New Deal would be replaced by “Dr. Win-the-War". Even during a global conflict like WWII, political opposition couldn’t be ignored. 

• The Civilian Conservation Corps and National Youth Administration were gone, the Farm Security Administration’s powers were reduced, and the government blocked moves to extend Social Security. 

Roosevelt Wins a 4th Term 

• By the spring of 1944, people were doubting that FDR would run for a 4^th term. FDR’s health was declining, and he was too old to run. However, he ran for a 4^th term anyway. 

• Instead of Henry Wallace as FDR’s vice president, Harry S. Truman, governor of Missouri, took over. 

• The Republicans chose Thomas E. Dewey, governor of New York, to run against FDR. Dewey didn’t have much of a chance. 

Ending the War, Winning the Peace 

• To impress the newly appointed officers, Douglas MacArthur began discussing distance and scale. 

• He said that the distances would be about the same if the center was in South America. 

• The Allies had to coordinate which theaters would get more equipment, and who could control captured land. All these questions led to discussions about peace in the long term. 

The Fall of the Third Reich 

• After pushing the Germans out of North Africa in May 1943, Allied forces looked to push Italy away from the war. 

• Late in July, Mussolini fled to northern Italy. Although Italy would surrender, Germany still put in many reinforcements. It took nearly a year for Allied troops to get through Rome. 

D-Day 

• Dwight D. Eisenhower led Operation Overlord, a massive invasion of Europe striking from across the English Channel. 

• Hitler knew that an invasion was coming. However, he didn’t know that the invasion would take place in Normandy, not Calais. The Allies did everything to convince the Germans that the invasion would take place in Calais. 

• On June 6, 1944, the invasion began in Normandy. 

• Luck and Eisenhower’s planning worked in his favor. Hitler believed that the invasion would start in Calais, so he delayed sending in 2 reserve divisions. 

• It took Allied forces almost 2 months to advance from Normandy. Once they broke through, they managed to drive Axis forces from France and Belgium. 

Two Roads to Tokyo 

• Douglas MacArthur was convinced that the future of the US lay in the Far East. He believed that the US should focus more on the Pacific theater. 

• In 1943, the combined Chiefs of Staff agreed with MacArthur’s plan to advance along the northern coast of New Guinea. 

• By July 1944, the navy reached the Marianas. From there, they could reach the Japanese homelands. 

• Backed by more than 100 ships, MacArthur splashed on the island of Leyte to announce his return to the army. 

Battle of Leyte Gulf 

• The decision to invade the Philippines led to many casualties on both sides. The US suffered nearly 62,000 casualties. 

• The US navy won the battle, which started the end of the Japanese Imperial Navy as a fighting force. 

Big Three Diplomacy 

• While the Allies coordinated military strategies, there were also postwar negotiations. Churchill believed that a stable European balance of power could preserve peace. 

• For future protection, Stalin wanted to annex the Baltic states along with parts of Finland and Romania. 

• FDR promoted his “Four Policemen”. The USSR, the UK, the US, and China would guarantee peace through military cooperation. 

• By 1944, he was planning to bring the USSR into an organization similar to the League of Nations. This time, he ensured that the US would participate. 

Teheran Conference 

• In November 1943, FDR and Churchill took a hazardous trip to Teheran, Iran. 

• From there, the Big Three had a chance to take a personal measure of each other. It was also the highest point of cooperation. 

• D-Day was discussed. Joseph Stalin sought this type of invasion, but Churchill resisted for fear of losing many soldiers. 

Yalta Conference 

• Disagreements over postwar peace remained unsolved. 

• At Yalta, the Big Three met to discuss postwar peace. By the time they met, Allied forces were already closing in on Germany. 

• Under no circumstances did FDR want Stalin to withdraw his promises to enter the fight against Japan. 

• As Germany and Japan disintegrated, he saw power vacuums opening. The Russians appeared too eager to fill them up. 

Dispute over Poland 

• Britain entered the war to make sure that Poland remained independent. For Stalin, Poland was the corridor of invasion used by Russia’s enemies. 

• Stalin demanded that Russia got some territory from eastern Poland. That wasn’t the self-determination in the Atlantic Charter. 

• For the time being, Poland would have a coalition government. After the war, elections would determine who should rule. 

• The Allies didn’t know how Germany would be like after the war ended. Some people wanted Germany to be punished. 

• At the Teheran Conference, FDR and Stalin proposed that the Third Reich would be dismembered. 

Dividing Germany 

• For the time being, the Big Three agreed to divide Germany into separate occupation zones. 

• FDR believed that an invasion of Japan could force a surrender. He secured a pledge to enter the Pacific war 3 months after Germany’s defeat. The price was high. 

• The agreements in Yalta depended on Stalin’s willingness to cooperate. 

Who is Harry Truman? 

• The Yalta Conference would be one of the last and most controversial chapters of FDR’s presidency. 

• The Allies were struggling, yet Roosevelt gave to Stalin that he hadn’t liberated with Russian blood. 

• On April 12, 1945, FDR died from a stroke. He initially remained unconscious. 2 hours later, he was dead. The entire nation grieved. 

• FDR became a protector, a father and friend, and the leader in the struggle against the Axis powers. 

Truman Becomes President 

• After FDR died, Harry Truman became president. While Truman served as vice president, he met with FDR less than 10 times. He knew almost nothing about FDR’s postwar plans. 

• Truman adopted a tough pose. People welcomed him as a relief from FDR’s evasive style. 

The Holocaust 

• Hitler had ordered the extermination of all European Jews, as well as Gypsies, homosexuals, and others considered deviant. The SS made 6 extermination camps in Germany and Poland. 

• The US could have done more to save the 6 million Jews that were killed. 

• Until the autumn of 1941, Jews were allowed to leave Europe, but few countries would accept them. 

• Opinion polls showed that more than 70% of Americans opposed easing quotas. 

• American Jews wanted to help, especially after 1942. However, they feared anti-Semitism. 

• Roosevelt decided that the best way to save the Jews was to win the war quickly. 

Bretton Woods Economic Strategies 

• After years of depression and then war, the Allies sought framework for cooperation. It needed to be economic. 

• At a 1944 meeting at Bretton Woods, 2 economic organizations were made: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, later known as the World Bank. 

• The IMF hoped to promote trade by stabilizing the national currency, while the World Bank hoped to stimulate economic growth by investing in projects worldwide. 

Dumbarton Oaks and the Uno 

• Later in the 1944 summer, the Allies met at Dumbarton Oaks to lay out the proposed structure for the UN. 

• By the end of the first organizational meeting, it became clear that the UN would favor the Western powers in most postwar disputes. 

• While the UN was being organized, the Axis Powers were collapsing. While Mussolini attempted to flee, antifascist mobs captured and killed him. Hitler committed suicide on April 30. 

Potsdam Summit 

• In July 1945, the final summit meeting was held at Potsdam. Truman met Churchill and Stalin for the first tie. 

• There were 2 issues in the meeting: Germany’s political fate and how much Germany would have to pay in reparations. 

• The Big Three agreed that Germany should be occupied and demilitarized. A compromise allowed the UK and the US to restrict reparations from their zones. 

Atomic Diplomacy 

• In the Potsdam negotiations, no one mentioned the most crucial issue: the fate of the atomic bomb. On July 16, 1945, the first atomic fireball rose from the desert in Alamogordo. 

• After the atomic bomb test, Truman returned confident. 

• Many questions loomed: should the US use the atomic bomb? Should the US warn Japan before dropping it? And should Truman inform Stalin? 

Should the Bomb be Dropped? 

• Some scientists recommended not using the bomb. A high-level committee considered them but then dismissed that idea. Some of the committee regretted saying that. 

• Stalin showed no surprise when Truman said that the US had a weapon of “awesome destructiveness.” Stalin hoped that the US would use the bomb for good. 

• Stalin stepped up the Russian program and made them build an atom bomb. After the Potsdam meeting, the nuclear arms race was on. 

• Truman decided to drop the first bomb with an implied warning to the Japanese. The US demanded unconditional surrender. 

The Bomb as a Threat to the Soviets 

• Truman and Churchill knew that Japan was about to be defeated. 

• People wondered why the Allies wanted unconditional surrender. Some historians say that James Byrnes wanted a dramatic combat demonstration of the bomb. 

• Truman ordered crews on Tinian Island to proceed to their first target when the weather was clear. 

• On August 6, Little Boy was dropped. The bomb leveled 4 square miles of Hiroshima. The blast killed 80,000 people instantly. 

• On August 9, Fat Man was dropped. 60,000 people were killed instantly. Many more people were killed after the radiation settled in. 

• After the 2 bombs were dropped, Japan surrendered on September 3. World War II had ended. 

Reflection: World War II was the deadliest war in human history. The devastation of World War I led to political unrest across Europe and Asia, where countries like Germany and Japan aggressively expanded their influence. Although the U.S. initially aimed for isolationism, its interests in the Pacific and commitment to democracy eventually drew it into international conflicts, notably against the Axis powers. This war demanded unprecedented mobilization both on the battlefield and at home, with Americans from diverse backgrounds united in the fight for freedom. The U.S. also emerged as an industrial powerhouse, transforming its economy and demonstrating an impressive production capacity that would define its future influence. Technological advancements, including the atomic bomb, underscored the scientific and ethical challenges of warfare. The Allies, especially through the collaboration of leaders like FDR, Churchill, and Stalin, managed a cohesive strategy, yet postwar tensions foreshadowed the Cold War. The conflict ended with the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing Japan to surrender but leaving a world wary of nuclear power.