Roaring 20s

Technology and Economic Growth

• The autumn will be industry as a result of the development of the assembly lines, became one of the most important industries in the nation

• Stimulated growth and related industries like steel rubber, glass and oil

• Radio became popular

• Early development of computers

Labor

• Welfare capitalism- short work week raise wages, paid vacations and improving safety and sanitation of work environments → economic benefits

Consumerism

• industrialization produced a mass consumer culture due to the economic, boom many Americans could afford luxury goods and services

• Middle-class families, purchased appliances like electric refrigerators, washing machines, electric irons, vacuum cleaners → revolutionized, housework and allowed women to have more time outside of the household

• Automobile

  • expanded geographic horizons of Americans, who previously seldom ventured far from their homes—rural residents can visit friends and drive into towns

  • Increased migration to suburbs

  • Vacations and traveling no longer exclusive for the wealthy → more paid vacations and employee benefits

  • Emergence of a well-developed and independent youth culture

• Mass advertisement through magazines

• Growing popularity of movies and broadcasting

Changing Roles of Women

• Increasing numbers of college educated women

• Flappers- No longer needed to maintain a strict Victorian female image women could smoke drink, dance, wear revealing clothes and make up and attend parties, striving for physical and emotional fulfillment

Lost Generation

• Generation that lived through World War I realize the futility of conflict—disillusioned

• Growing materialism and consumerism, Lisa suggested that the war had been a fraud, and the suffering had been in vain

• Ernest Hemingway wrote a farewell to arms

Harlem Renaissance

• African American community gather in Harlem, NYC due to migration of African Americans to the North

• Flourishing and celebration of African American culture through music (jazz) and theatre, poetry, art reflect African heritage Ex. Langston Hughes

  • Cultural Expression: The Harlem Renaissance celebrated African American culture and artistic expression. It saw the emergence of influential literature, music, visual arts, and performing arts that reflected the richness and diversity of the African American experience.

  • Literature and Poetry: The era produced a wealth of influential African American writers and poets, such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Claude McKay. Their works explored themes of identity, racial pride, and the challenges faced by the African American community.

  • Jazz and Music: Harlem became a hub for the flourishing jazz and blues scene. Musicians like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Bessie Smith rose to prominence during this period, shaping American music and influencing generations to come.

  • Visual Arts: The Harlem Renaissance nurtured talented visual artists like Aaron Douglas and Jacob Lawrence. Their work often depicted the African American experience, challenging stereotypes and contributing to a broader understanding of black culture.

  • Social and Political Impact: The movement had a significant impact on racial consciousness and identity. It fostered a sense of pride and unity within the African American community, contributing to the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s.

  • Integration of Cultures: The Harlem Renaissance helped break down racial barriers in the arts and culture, fostering greater appreciation for African American contributions to American society. It played a role in paving the way for increased racial integration and collaboration in various fields.

Prohibition- Prohibition lead to increase crime rates with bootleggers illegally supplying alcohol became a large industry and criminal empire built on illegal alcohol

Nativism

• Emergency Immigration Act (1921)- response to large influx of Southern and Eastern European immigrants established a quota, where annual immigration cannot exceed 3% of the number of persons of that nationality already in the United States in 1910

• National Origins Act of 1924 banned immigration from East Asia—angered Japanese also reduce the quota for Europeans from 3% to 2% based on the census of 1890 where there were fewer southern and eastern Europeans

• Reestablishment of the KKK formed by white southerners targeted not just African Americans but other foreigners

• Klan feared anyone who posed a challenge to traditional values including those guilty of or religion, sexual promiscuity, and srunkness tried to punish divorce and constitute compulsory Bible reading in schools

Religious Fundamentalism

• American Protestantism divided into two warring sides

  • Modernists consisting of mostly urban middle class people attempting to adapt religion to the teachings of science and realities of the modern secular society

  • Fundamentalists defending traditional faith, consisting of largely rural people and evangelists fighting to maintain centrality religion in American life—advocated for literal interpretation of the Bible opposed Darwin’s theory of evolution

• Fundamentalism gain political strength in some states and demanded for legislation to forbid the teaching of evolution in schools

• Scopes Monkey Trial

  • In 1925, Tennessee passed the Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach any theory that denied the story of divine creation as taught in the Bible and to teach instead that man was descended from a lower order of animals.

  • John T. Scopes, a high school science teacher in Dayton, intentionally violated the Butler Act by teaching evolution in his classroom. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sought a teacher willing to be prosecuted for violating the act, and Scopes volunteered

  • The trial became a legal battle between the prosecution, led by William Jennings Bryan, a three-time Democratic presidential candidate and prominent fundamentalist, and the defense, which included famed attorney Clarence Darrow, who was supported by the ACLU

  • John Scopes was found guilty of violating the Butler Act and fined $100. However, Darrow secured a victory for modernists by tricking Bryan to admit the possibilities that not all religious dogma had only one interpretation

  • Put an end to fundamentalist political activism and eventually isolated them from many mainstream Protestant denominations

Warren G. Harding

• Republican Party previously a senator from Ohio elected to Presidency in 1920

• Corruption through the spoils system

• Ran on the campaign of a “Return to Normalcy” emphasized a desire to bring the country back to what he perceived as a more stable and less turbulent pre-war condition

• Teapot Dome Scandal

  • Appointed political allies from Ohio “Ohio Gang” to offices including Harry Daughterty and Albert B. Fall who engaged in fraud and corruption

  • Secretary of Interior Albert Fall leased federal oil reserve for the Navy to private companies and wealthy businessmen in return for money to ease his private financial troubles → convicted of bribery

Calvin Coolidge

• Vice President of Harding who succeeded in the Presidency following Harding’s death

• Passive approach to government—did not want to be President and had few substantive accomplishments prior

• Coolidge was a strong advocate of laissez-faire economic policies and limited government intervention in the economy. His administration focused on reducing taxes and government spending, aiming to create a business-friendly environment.

• Coolidge was known for his quiet and reserved demeanor. His approach to leadership was often described as understated and minimalist. His nickname, "Silent Cal," reflected his tendency to speak sparingly.

• Spent little money and vetoed nearly every act- nearly every act costs money wanted to save money

Great Depression 📉

Stock Market Crash

• Stock prices steadily rose for months due to buying on credit/speculation

• Black Tuesday

  • Prices fall to all-time lows

  • Millions of shares of stock were sold/taded—no one buying stocks

  • People start withdrawing money from banks after seeing stock market crash but no money from banks to hand out (buying on credit)

Causes of the Great Depression

• Lack of diversification in the American economy

  • Wealth depended excessively on a few industries: construction & automobiles

  • When these 2 industries began to decline in the late 1920s—newer emerging industries (petroleum, chemicals, plastics) had not dveloped enough strength to compensate for decline in other industries

• Maldistribution of wealth/purchasing power

  • Income inequality with large amounts of wealth held by America’s wealthiest families → less money circulating in the economy

  • More than half of the families in America were too poor to purchase consumer goods produced by the industrial economy

  • Credit structure of the economy caused farmers to fall into debt—land mortgaged, crop prices too low to pay off debts

• Bank failure

  • Small banks failed since many customers relied on loans

  • Large banks recklessly invested in stock markets or made unwised loans

• Declining exports

  • Hawley Smoot Tariff (Hoover) that put a tariff on foreign imports and subsequently led to European tariffs on American exports led to decreased European demand/purchase of American goods

  • Increase productivity of European industry and agriculture

  • International debt structure, following World War I destabilized the European economy, and caused some nations (Germany) to face financial difficulties → cannot afford to purchase foreign goods

• Unstable International Debt Structure

  • European allies owed the United States and American banks large sums of money, unable to repay debts

  • Reparation payments from Germany and Austria (WW1) unable to be fulfilled

  • American banks made large loans to European government used to pay off earlier loans→ build up debt

Progress of the Depression

• Banking Collapse

  • Thousands of banks went bankrupt or closed, depositors lost billions in deposits, total money supply of the US fell drastically → decline in purchasing power and deflation

  • Federal Reserve board further raised interest rates only further contracted money supply

• Unemployment

  • High rates of unemployment thousands of young people homeless → Hoovervilles

  • Turned to state and local public relief systems to survive

• The middle class loses belief in ever-increasing prosperity

Dust Bowl

• Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas Panhandle

• Caused by prolonged drought, coupled with poor land management practice and overplowing by farmers depleting the soil of nutrients and the exposure of dry, loose soil

• Severe dust storms, known as "black blizzards," swept across the region, carrying massive amounts of dust and debris. These storms reduced visibility, damaged crops, and had detrimental effects on the health of humans and livestock

• The Dust Bowl led to widespread crop failures, with staple crops such as wheat and cotton Farmers faced economic devastation as their livelihoods were tied to agriculture, and the collapse of the agricultural sector had a ripple effect on the entire regional economy.

• Respiratory issues, known as "dust pneumonia," were widespread due to inhalation of fine dust particles

• Prompted a reevaluation of agricultural practices, leading to the adoption of soil conservation methods

Great Depression Entertainment/Culture

• Radio

  • Connected the US by enabling remote communication and building of social connections through shared experiences/access to culture and information especially for the urban poor who could not afford to engage in other activities

  • Broadcasted live performances, comedies, soap operas, concerts, etc.

• Depression art (photogaphy capturing rural poverty) + literature (writers exposing social injustice and economic hardship)

• Entertainment involved a mix of controversial/social commentary themes and the largely popular escapist themes involving comedy and romanticization

• Movies- dominated by Hollywood and the rise of Walt Disney often escapist, comedic films

• Literature dealt with disillusionment as well as escapist/romantic themes Ex. Gone with the Wind

Herbert Hoover’s Program

• Proponent of rugged individualism and wanted minimal government interference with the economy

• Attempted to restore public confidence in the economy by urging sector leaders (business, labor, and agriculture) to adopt a program for voluntary cooperation for recovery

  • Implored businessmen to not cut off production or lay off workers

  • Persuaded labor leaders to abandon demands for higher wages/better hours

  • Eventually voluntary cooperation structure collapsed by mid-1931

• Public works programs and infrastructure Ex. Hoover Dam

• Agricultural Marketing Act (1929)- establish first major government program to help farmers maintain prices

  • Farm Board make loans to the national marketing cooperatives to buy surpluses and raise prices

• Hawley-Smoot Tariff/Tariff Act of 1930 protectionist tariff to protect American (farmers) from international competition by placing a tariff on imported (agricultural) products → harmed agricultural economy by reducing exports after Europeans retaliated by placing a similar tariff on American imports

  • Retaliation from Trading Partners:

    • In response to the increased tariffs, many trading partners implemented retaliatory measures against American exports. This trade war further damaged the prospects of American businesses, particularly those reliant on international markets.

  • Global Trade Decline:

    • The Hawley-Smoot Tariff raised already high tariff rates on a wide range of goods, making imported products more expensive. In retaliation, many trading partners implemented their own protectionist measures. This escalation of tariffs and trade barriers contributed to a significant decline in international trade.

  • Worsening of the Great Depression:

    • The tariff's negative impact on global trade worsened the economic conditions of the Great Depression. By restricting international commerce, the Hawley-Smoot Tariff hindered economic recovery and contributed to the spread of economic hardship worldwide.

  • Agricultural Struggles:

    • The tariff disproportionately affected American farmers, as many countries retaliated with tariffs on agricultural products. U.S. agricultural exports declined, leading to increased financial difficulties for farmers already grappling with the effects of the Dust Bowl and low commodity prices.

• Many Americans blamed Hoover’s lack of relief action for the crisis—named shantytowns Hoovervilles

• Later supported series of measures to keep endangered banks afloat and protect homeowners from foreclosure on their mortgages

• Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in 1932 government agency to provide federal loans to troubled banks, railroads, and businesses + funds available to local governments to support public works and relief projects

  • HOWEVER failed to deal directly with the real problems of the economy to produce any significant recovery → only lent funds to financial institutions with sufficient collatoral = often went to large banks and corporations

  • Insufficient money to make an impact- Did not spend most of the money that was budgeted for public works and relief efforts

• Farmer’s Holiday Association protests- witheld farm products from market in a strike—failed

• Bonus Army Protests

  • WW1 veterans previously promised by Congress to be paid a bonus by 1945

  • Many veterans demanded the bonus to be paid immediately—rejected by Hoover

  • Bonus Army marched into Washington DC build camps around the city until Congress paid the bonus

  • Hoover ordered police and later US Army to clear out the Bonus Army marchers

  • General Douglas MacArther that carried out the mission went overboard—led the Third Cavalry, tanks, etc. to chase down the veterans and burned down their tent city

  • Ruined Hoovers reputation as many sympathized with the veterans

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal

• Three R’s Goals: Relief (quick help for the people), Recovery (business & economy), Reform (long-term economic changes)

• Bank Holiday/Reform

  • First course of action after taking office issued a proclamation closing all American banks so Congress could discuss banking-reform legislation

  • Emergency Banking Act- more conservative bill designed to protect the larger banks from being affected by the weaker smaller ones—enabled Treasury Department to inspect all banks before allowed to reopen with federal assistance to troubled institutions and thorough reorganization of those facing the greatest difficulty → Various banks reopened and currency + gold flowed back into them—ended the immediate banking crisis

• Fireside Chats- Roosevelt regularly used to radio to communicate with the American people explaining his plans for addressing the Depression and building public confidence in the government

• Economy Act

  • Aimed to convince more conservative Americans (esp. businessowners) that the federal government was safe + responsible

  • Balanced federal budget by cutting salaries of government employees and reducing pensions to veterans to reduce budget deficit

• Glass-Steagall Act (1933)- Gave government authority to curb irresponsible speculation by banks and create wall between commercial and investment banking

  • Established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Guarenteed all bank deposits up to $2,500

• Stock Market: Truth in Secrities Act passed to protect stock market investors requiring corporations issuing new securities to provide full and accurate information to the public & Securities and Exchange Commission policed the stock market

• Repealed controversial Prohibition Act

Recovery

• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) government took control of agricultural industry reduce crop production to end surpluses and end decline of farm prices

  • Producers of 7 basic commodities (wheat, cotton, corn, hogs, rice, tobacco, dairy products) decide on production limits then government assign individual farmers production quota and pay subsidies for leaving some land idle

  • Helped raise farm product prices however later struck down by the Supreme Court—the government had no constitutional authority to require farmers to limit production

  • Other acts to help farmers included Resettlement and Farm Security Administrations providing loans to help farmers cultivating submarginal soil to relocate to better lands, and the Rural Electrification Administration to make electric power available to many farmers for the first time

• Industrial Recovery Act established the National Recovery Administration NRA (1933)

  • Industry codes- businesses establish a minimum wage and maximum workweek with the abolition of child labor along with ensuring fair competition

  • Issue- code-writing often dominated by large producers = new regulations work to their advantage and disadvantaged smaller firms

  • Section 7(a) recognized workers right to unionize and strike

  • NRA later struck down by the Supreme Court declared unconstitutionally delegating legislative power to the president to draft the NRA codes

  • *Both AAA and NRA reflected beliefs of New Dealers favoring economic planning to be in the hands of private interests like farmers or business leaders

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

  • First time government is the chief planning agent in economy

  • Authorized to complete the dam at Muscle Shals and build others in the region to generate and sell electricity to the public and address regional issues with flooding, electricity generation, and regional economic development

Relief

• Public Works Administration (PWA)- Funded public works projects such as building schools, roads, bridges, etc. to create federal jobs decrease unemployment and boost economy

• Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided cash grants to state and local governments to provide emergency relief agencies such as soup kitchens

• Civil Works Administration (CWA) created public works projects to create jobs such as construction of roads, schools parks to pump money into the eocnomy

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided employment to young men by creating camps in national parks, forests, and other rural settings and assigned them projects like planting trees, building reservoirs, etc. while providing food and shelter → young men thankful for nation and more willing to fight later on

• Mortgage Relief: Farm Credit Administration financed farm mortgages and Frazier-Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act enabled some farmers to regain land even after foreclosure on mortgages and Home Owners Loan Corporation refinanced mortgages of a million householders while the Federal Housing Administration insured mortgages for new construction and home repairs

Second New Deal

• Launched in response to the growing political pressures and continued economic crisis—shift priority to big businesses/monopolies

• Holding Company Act- designed to break up great utility holding companies

• Wagner Act (National Labors Relations Act)- Established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) able to compel employers to recognize and bargain with unions especially since section 7(a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act was invalidated by the Supreme Court

  • The NLRB is responsible for conducting elections to determine whether employees waUnint to be represented by a union, investigating unfair labor practices, and adjudicating disputes between employers and unions

  • Inspired search for more effective forms of labor organization

  • Industrial unionism- new form of organization where all workers in a industry organized in a single union (opposed by the AFL) later became the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

  • New tactics like sit-down strikes emerged in strikes specifically with the automobile and steel industries

• Social Security Act (1935):

  • Established social security services with either federal assistance for up to $15 a month for those presently destitue or a prension system where they and their employers contributed by paying a payroll tax to provide them with income on retirement—agricultural labors, domestic servants excluded (contained many African Americans and women)

  • Also created unemployment insurance where employment would finance that allowed workers laid off to recieve temporary government assistance along with federal aid to those disabled and dependents

• Works Progress Administration (WPA) similar to the Civil Works Administration with larger budget and size as well as including not just infrastructure and renovation projects but also creative projects for the arts

New Deal Critics

• Conservative Criticism

  • American Liberty League- formed by northern industrialists who opposed Roosevelt to arouse public opposition to New Deal believe it violated free enterprise/market

  • Compared his policies to socialism and tyranny believed federal government held too much power

  • Concerns about debt/deficits increased government spending would lead to a growing national debt, potentially burdening future generations

  • Concerns aboout American people growing reliance on government relief rather than seeking out employment themsevles

• Liberal criticism- Argued New Deal primarily helped businesses not the poor/unempolyed and marginalized groups

Court Packing

• FDR frustration that the predominantly Republican thus conservative Supreme Court had already struck down several New Deal programs

• Proposed to add six new justices to the Supreme Court—new justice added for every justice over the age of 70 in order to appoint more liberal justices

• Never passed but led to increased dissaproval of FDR

• However, led to a shift in the Supreme Court and increased willingness of judges to pass New Deal programs possibly due to justices hoping to avoid confrontation by the president

Impact of New Deal

• Enhanced power of the federal government

• Led to dominance of the Democratic Party previously weak and divided

World War II 🔫

Leading Up to the War

• Failure of the League of Nations: League of Nations was weak, US not part of the league valued isolationism

• Peace efforts

  • Washington Conference (1921) Attempt to prevent naval armaments race between US, Britain, and Japan by reducing number of fleets in all nations and a 10 year moratorium on the construction of large warships while scrapping millinos of tons of existing shipping—most terms accepted

  • Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) International treaty outlawing war as an instrument of national policy —no way to enforce it considered a moral force

• Circular Loans- US lend money to Germany → Germany use money to pay reparations to France and England → used to repay war debts to the US only accumulated debts onto American banks

• Rising Facism in Europe

  • Benito Mussolini Facist Party in Italy- militarism, nationalism, threatening imperial expansion

  • Adolf Hitler and Nazi Party in Germany- nationalism, anti-Semitism, militarism

  • Japanese invade Manchuria (1931) and later China—League of Nations could only issue warnings

• US and Soviet Union- In attempts to expand foreign trade, Roosevelt attempted to improve relations with the Soviet Union

  • US viewed Russia as potential source of trade and Russians hoped for American cooperation in containing the power of Japan which they feared as a threat

  • Agreement for America to recognize Soviet regime in response for ceasing propoganda efforts in the US and protection of US citizens in Russia

• Good Neighbor Policy

  • Enhance diplomatic and economic relations with Latin America

  • Non-Intervention (goes against the Roosevelt Corollary)- no state has right to intervene in the affairs of another

    • US renounced the Platt Amendment that had granted the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs

  • Economic Cooperation- Efforts were made to promote economic development, trade, and investment in the region esp. trade since exports and imports had increased drastically

  • Instead of prior use of military force to influence Latin America, now relied on economic influence

• Isolationism

  • Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937

    • 1935 mandatory arms embargo in any military conflict and warn American citizens not to travel on ships of warring nations

    • 1936 prevented US banks from giving loans to warring nations

    • 1937 Cash-and-Carry Policy: Could only purchase nonmilitary goods from the US and had to pay in cash and carry goods on their own vessels

• Japan prior to WWII-

  Japan engages in militarism territorial expansion in Asia

  1930s Conquers Manchuria

  1933 Withdraws from League of Nations to form ultranationalist and pro-military policy

  1937 Full-scale invasion of China- aerial bombings, aggressive methods of warfare cause mass death & suffering

  Ex. Rape of Nanjing- raped 7000 women, killed hundreds of thousands, and burned homes

  Japan allied with Germany in Italy Tripartite Pact 1940- 10-year military and economic pact

  Neutrality pact with Soviet Union 1941

  *Did not face much opposition until US entered the war

• Italy prior to WWII

  After WWI/Great War- Weak economy, death of many soldiers, loss of land

  Benito Mussolini- bring glory to Italy through violent territorial expansion of territories Italy had been denied after WWI

  Conquered Ethiopia, Libya, Albania (intervened in Spanish Civil War; believed Albania key to expansion into the Balkans) by 1939

  Ally with Germany in 1938 Rome-Berlin Axis

• Germany prior to WWII

  Germans resented terms of the Treaty of Versailles

  Adolf Hitler- rises to power amidst public discontent with the Great Depression (hyperinflation) and blames defeat on Jews, communists, liberals, neighboring European states (Poland, France, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria)

  1933 Withdraws from the league of nations + REMILITARIZES

  1935 Reinstates universal military service

• Germany causes of war

  • Troops invade the previously demilitarized Rhineland (bordering France prohibited by the treaty)

  • Helped Italy + Franco (Spanish dictator) fight in Spanish Civil War- honed skills for the air force

  • 1938 Anschluss (union) with Austria- justified with trying to reintegrate all Germans as many Germans lived in Austria

  • 1938 Plan to annex Sudetenland- part of Czechoslovakia residing many ethnic Germans

  • Munich Conference 1938- Meeting with France, Britain, Italy, Germany; Appeasement policy- give in to Germany’s demands to annex to keep the “peace for our time” under the condition that Germany would cease further territorial expansion due to opposition to war and still dealing with economic depression

  • 1939 Germany annexes rest of Czechoslovakia- violate Munich Agreement

  • 1939 Signs German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact- Mutual agreement not to invade each other + divided up eastern Europe into spheres of influence; Stalin worried British + French wants to deflect German aggression towards Soviet Union

• War Begins-

  • German unannounced invasion of Poland September 1, 1939

  • Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics- swift victory through air strikes and land invasion

  • Germans took western Poland—Soviets take eastern Poland and Britain + France declare war on Germany

  • Atlantic war fought between German (U-boats + submarines) vs British (convoys to protect ships)

  • April 1940- Germans invade Denmark and Norway (prevents British blockade)

  • May 1940- Invade Belgium, Netherlands

  • June 1940- France falls

Neutrality to Intervention

• Roosevelt asked Congress to lift the arms embargo and revise the Neutrality Acts—allowed to purchase arms via cash-and-carry (mostly benefited and traded with Britain since Britain dominated the seas)

• Germany invades France after invading Danmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium—Allies could not withstand aggressive blitzkrieg warfare

• Roosevelt discretely providing aid to the allied powers and began preparations for a Nazi invasion of the US

• Roosevelt on good terms with Winston Churchill (British prime minister) Churchill requested ships, armaments, and other assistance—FDR circumnavigated the cash-and-carry provisions to trade ships and planes with Britain

• Shifting public opinion of Americans growing concerns that Germany posed a threat ot the US

• Burke-Wadswoth Act/Selective Training and Service Act of 1940- First peacetime military draft to prepare against possible involvement in the war

• Lend-Lease- Great Britain bankrupt unable to meet cash-and-carry requirements—allow governments to loan armaments to any nation demed vital to the defense of the US

• Germany invades the Soviet Union opening up a new front of the war and Roosevelt extended the lend-lease provisions to the Soviet Union → eventually leads to Soviet-American alliance

• Nazi submarines and U-boats begin attacking American vessels—US naval war with Germany

• Atlantic Charter (1941)- After meeting between FDR and Churchill the two nations established common principles or post-war goals to foster peace and create a better world including self-determination (decolonization), disarmament, economic cooperation, freedom of the seas/free trade

US involvement in the War

Pearl Harbor

• After Japan invaded Vietnam, Roosevelt established a trade embargo against Japan limiting their ability to purchase essential supplies like oil and steel from the US

• Japanese bomber planes attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii lost several battleships and thousands of soldiers/sailors

• Senate approved of declaraction of war against Japan and soon Germany and Italy also declared war on the US

Home Front

Wartime Technology:

• National Defense Research Committee- American government had funded research since 1940 led by scientists of prestigious universities like MIT

• Early on in the war, Germans and Japanese appeared to have the technological advtange- Germans advanced tanks, submarine technology, U-boats; Japan’s naval-air technology, sophisticated fighter planes

• America’s assembly line allowed for mass production of military products like airplanes, ships, tanks at much higher rates than Germans and Japanese—scientists improved aviation and naval technology to at least be on bar with those of the Axis Powers

• Britain and American scientists advantaced radar and sonar technology—increased effectiveness in naval warfare

• Intelligence gathering- Cryptologists deciphered coded messages sent by Japanese and Germans through developments like the Enigma machine

African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans in the War

• Large numbers of Mexican workers entred the US to make up for labor shortages especially due to the Bracero program (1942) enabling contract laborers to enter the US without formal immigration

• Hired Mexican farm laborers again after the Great Depression and Mexican Americans were emploed in factory jobs for the first time

• Navajo Code Talkers- Native Americans working in military communications and using their own language (unlikely to be understood by enemy forces) over the radio and telephones

  • Native involvement in the war gave many a taste of white society and materialism for the first time with some assimilating and not returning to reservations after the war

  • Pressures to remove reservation systems

Role of Women in the War

• Drastic increase in female employment—labor force and wage-earning jobs made up of majority female workers

• Helped erode some of the prejudice toward women working industrial/factory jobs—mos women workers employed in service-sector jobs working for the government

Japanese American Internment Camps

• Americans generally less hostile towards the Germans and Italians however held prejudice towards the Japanese beliving them to be malicious—hatred extended to Japanese Americans

• Roosevelt relocated Japanese Americans into Internment Camps

• Koematsu v. US court ruled that internment camps were constitutional during times of war

• Congress later declared the case unconstitutional and paid reparations to those put in the internment camps

Ending the War

European Front

• 1941 Entry of Soviet Union + US key to Allied victories due to higher industrial capacity/ outproduces Germany and Japan

• German U-boats no longer a threat- Americans build more liberty ships than they can sink, sonar, aircraft patrols

• 1943 German forces lose momentum in Russia (lose Moscow and Battle of Stalingrad)

• 1944 Soviets push Germans back to Romania, Hungary, Poland, Berlin (1945)

• 1943 British and US defeat Germans and Italians in north Africa

• 1944 Allies invade Italy

• D-day 1944- Surprise attack on Normandy Beach in France planned by US Commander Dwight Eisenhower → France liberated from German rule

• April 30 1945 Hitler commits suicide

• May 8 1945 Germany unconditionally surrenders to the Allies

Pacific Front

• TURNING POINT Battle of Midway Islands 1942-

  • Under Admiral Chester Nimitz US cracks Japanese military code discovers plan to invade Midway Islands

  • Surprised Japanese by destroying most of their fleets

  • Turns the tide in the Pacific towards the Americans

• Americans begin adopting leapfrog island hopping strategies retake islands like Marianas and Philippines to get closer to Japan—successful

• 1945 Invade islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa

  • Saw Japanese willingness to sacrifice and die for their cause ex. kamikaze convinced Americans they will not be willing to surrender

• Manhattan Project-

  • Albert Einstein warned that Nazis could be developing an atomic bom so US and Britain raced to develop one before they did

  • Atomic physicists like Albert Einstein theory of relatively showed matter could be used to create tremendous forces of energy

  • Project brought leading physicists, including J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, and Niels Bohr to test chain-reaction experiments with uranium conducted at hidden laboratories

  • First created and tested the trinity bomb plutonium fueled bomb

• Truman issued ultimatum to Japanese to surrendor or face complete devastation

• Debates over the usage of atomic bomb some argued it was excessive and too early others argued atomic bomb was only way to get Japanese to surrender without a costly American invasion

• August 6 1945 dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” in Hiroshima

• August 8 1945 Soviet Union declare war on Japan

• August 9 1945 dropped the atomic bomb “Fat Man” on Nagasaki

• August 15 1945 Emperor Hirohito surrenders

Factors Contributing to an Allied Victory

1. Industrial Capacity and Resources:

   • The Allies, particularly the United States and the Soviet Union, had significantly greater industrial capacity and resources than the Axis powers.

2. Economic and Technological Superiority:

   • The Allies possessed superior economic and technological capabilities. This advantage allowed them to develop and deploy advanced weaponry, such as improved aircraft, tanks, and naval vessels, which played a crucial role in the war.

3. Strategic Planning and Coordination:

   • The Allies exhibited effective strategic planning and coordination, both at the grand strategic level and among military leaders on the battlefield. Allied leaders, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, worked together to develop and execute a unified strategy against the Axis powers.

4. Alliance and Coalition Building:

   • The formation of the Grand Alliance, particularly the collaboration between the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, created a powerful coalition. Additional support from other Allied nations, such as China and various European countries, strengthened the overall war effort.

5. Military Tactics and Innovations:

   • The Allies adapted to changing battlefield conditions, developed innovative military tactics, and learned from their mistakes. Notable military successes included the D-Day invasion, the use of strategic bombing, and the employment of combined arms tactics.

6. Code Breaking and Intelligence:

   • The Allies, particularly the British and Americans, made significant advancements in code breaking and intelligence gathering. Breaking Axis codes, such as the Enigma code, provided valuable information about enemy plans and movements.

7. Total War Effort and Home Front Support:

   • The Allies were able to mobilize their societies for a total war effort. The commitment and sacrifice of civilians on the home front, including rationing, war bond drives, and industrial production, played a crucial role in supporting the military.

8. Strategic Mistakes by the Axis Powers:

   • The Axis powers, particularly Germany and Japan, made strategic mistakes that contributed to their eventual defeat. These errors included overextending their military resources, engaging in two-front wars, and underestimating the resilience of the Allied forces.