America in World War II (1941-1945)

America in World War II (1941–1945)

  • Initial Situation:

    • The U.S. entered WWII after the attack on Pearl Harbor, experiencing a significant military defeat.
    • The democratic world was in a precarious position.

  • Strategic Decisions:

    • Initially, there was a strong sentiment to focus on Japan due to the Pearl Harbor attack.
    • The U.S. adopted a "get Germany first" strategy (ABC-1 agreement with Britain) to prevent Hitler from defeating the Soviet Union and Britain.
    • Sufficient force was to be sent to the Pacific to prevent Japanese entrenchment.

  • Resource Mobilization:

    • Time was critical to allow the U.S. to retool for war production.
    • Expense was secondary to the need for rapid mobilization.
    • There was concern about German scientists developing advanced weapons, including atomic arms.
    • The U.S. had to supply its own forces and provide aid to allies from the USSR to Australia.

  • National Unity:

    • Pearl Harbor united Americans, including Communists and Italian- and German-Americans.
    • WWII accelerated the assimilation of ethnic groups, unlike WWI.
    • There was minimal government witch-hunting of minority groups, except for Japanese-Americans.

  • Japanese-American Internment:

    • Approximately 110,000 Japanese-Americans, mostly on the Pacific Coast, were placed in concentration camps due to fears of sabotage.
    • Two-thirds were U.S. citizens by birth.
    • This action was unnecessary and unfair, considering the loyalty of Japanese-Americans.
    • In 1944, the Supreme Court upheld the relocation's constitutionality in Korematsu v. U.S.
    • In 1988, the U.S. government officially apologized and provided reparations of 20,000 to each survivor.

  • Shift in Domestic Policy:

    • Many New Deal programs were eliminated by a conservative Congress in 1942.
    • Roosevelt shifted from "Dr. New Deal" to "Dr. Win-the-War," signaling the end of the New Deal era.

  • War Propaganda:

    • WWII was less of an idealistic crusade compared to WWI, with a focus on action rather than propaganda like the Atlantic Charter.
    • Many Americans were not familiar with the provisions of the Atlantic Charter.

  • War Economy:

    • The war stimulated the American economy, absorbing industrial capacity and ending the Great Depression.
    • The War Production Board managed production, halting nonessential items and prioritizing resources.
    • The government imposed a national speed limit and gasoline rationing to conserve rubber after the Japanese invasion of British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.
    • Farmers increased output with new machinery and fertilizers, resulting in record wheat harvests in 1944 and 1945.

  • Economic Strains:

    • Full employment and scarce consumer goods led to inflation.
    • The Office of Price Administration regulated prices, and rationing controlled the consumption of critical goods.
    • The War Labor Board (WLB) imposed wage increase ceilings, which labor unions resented.
    • The Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act was passed in June 1943, authorizing the government to seize and operate tied-up industries.
    • Strikes accounted for less than 1% of total working hours, a better record than Britain's.

  • Manpower and Womanpower:

    • The armed services enlisted nearly 15 million men and 216,000 women (WAACs, WAVES, SPARs) for noncombat duties.
    • Key industrial and agricultural workers were exempted from the draft.
    • An agreement with Mexico in 1942 created the bracero program, bringing Mexican agricultural workers to the U.S.
    • Over 6 million women entered the workforce, many for the first time, leading to the establishment of day-care centers.

  • Impact on Women

    • The war foreshadowed changes in the roles of women in American society.
    • The majority of women continued in traditional roles.
    • Many women left the labor force at war's end due to employer actions and family obligations.
    • The post-war period saw a widespread rush into suburban domesticity, though momentum for changes in women's status was building.

  • Wartime Migrations:

    • The war caused significant population shifts, with people moving to boomtowns like Los Angeles and Detroit.
    • California's population increased by nearly 2 million.
    • The South received a large share of defense contracts, leading to the rise of the Sunbelt.
    • 1.6 million blacks migrated from the South to seek jobs in the North and West, making race relations a national issue.
    • A. Philip Randolph threatened a "Negro March on Washington" in 1941, leading to the establishment of the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC).
    • Blacks rallied behind the slogan "Double V"—victory over dictators abroad and racism at home.
    • The mechanical cotton picker, introduced in 1944, reduced the need for cheap labor in the Cotton South, leading to a northward migration of 5 million black tenant farmers and sharecroppers.
    • Native Americans also migrated from reservations, with thousands finding war work in cities and serving in the armed forces as "code talkers."

  • Home Front Tensions:

    • "Zoot-suit" riots occurred in Los Angeles in 1943, and a race riot in Detroit resulted in 25 black and 9 white deaths.

  • Economic Impact:

    • The war invigorated the American economy, ending the depression.
    • The gross national product increased from less than 100 billion in 1940 to more than 200 billion in 1945.
    • Corporate profits nearly doubled.
    • Despite wage ceilings, overtime pay increased disposable personal income.

  • Government Intervention:

    • The war led to greater government intervention in American lives than ever before.
    • The Office of Scientific Research and Development funded university research, establishing a government-university partnership.
    • The war, not the New Deal, ended unemployment, leading to the concept of a "warfare-welfare state."

  • Financing the War:

    • The war cost over 330 billion, 10 times the direct cost of WWI.
    • Income taxes were expanded, and maximum tax rates rose to 90%.
    • Approximately two-fifths of the war costs were paid from current revenues, with the remainder borrowed.
    • The national debt increased from 49 billion in 1941 to 259 billion in 1945.

  • Early Japanese Successes:

    • Japan launched attacks on Pearl Harbor, Guam, Wake, and the Philippines.
    • They seized Hong Kong, British Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies.
    • They cut the Burma Road, forcing American aviators to fly supplies "over the hump" of the Himalayas.

  • Philippines Campaign:

    • General Douglas MacArthur withdrew to Bataan, where American and Filipino troops resisted Japanese attacks until April 9, 1942.
    • MacArthur was ordered to Australia, proclaiming, "I shall return."
    • The survivors of Bataan were subjected to the Bataan Death March.
    • Corregidor surrendered on May 6, 1942, giving Japan control of the Philippines.

  • Turning Points in the Pacific:

    • The Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 checked the Japanese advance toward Australia.
    • The Battle of Midway in June 1942 was a pivotal victory, halting Japan's juggernaut.
    • The U.S. seized the initiative, gaining a toehold on Guadalcanal Island in August 1942.
    • Japanese losses were 20,000, compared to 1,700 for the Americans.

  • Island Hopping Strategy:

    • American forces bypassed heavily fortified Japanese posts, capturing nearby islands to set up airfields.
    • This strategy neutralized enemy bases through heavy bombing.
    • American forces retook Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians in May and August 1943.
    • "Bloody Tarawa" and Makin in the Gilbert Islands fell in November 1943.
    • The Marshall Islands were captured in January and February 1944.
    • The Marianas, including Guam, were captured, allowing B-29 superbombers to carry out raids on Japan's home islands.
    • The "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" on June 19, 1944, resulted in the destruction of nearly 250 Japanese aircraft.
    • The Battle of the Philippine Sea saw the sinking of several Japanese carriers.

  • Battles Above and Below the Sea:

    • German submarines operated in "wolf packs," causing significant losses to Allied merchant ships.
    • Allied antisubmarine tactics improved, thanks to air patrol, radar, and the bombing of submarine bases.
    • British code-breakers cracked the Germans' "Enigma" codes, pinpointing U-boat locations.
    • The turning point of the land-air war came in late 1942, with British and American air forces bombing German cities.

  • North African and Italian Campaigns:

    • British General Bernard Montgomery delivered a withering attack at El Alamein in October 1942, driving the Germans back to Tunisia.
    • The Allies launched a secret attack on French-held North Africa in November 1942, headed by General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
    • The remnants of the German-Italian army surrendered in Tunisia in May 1943.
    • At Casablanca in January 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to step up the Pacific war, invade Sicily, and demand "unconditional surrender."
    • Sicily fell in August 1943, and Italy surrendered unconditionally in September 1943.
    • German troops resisted the Allied invaders in Italy, and the Allied advance was halted by a German defense centered on Monte Cassino.
    • Rome was taken on June 4, 1944, and Axis troops in Italy surrendered on May 2, 1945.

  • D-Day Invasion:

    • The Teheran Conference in November 1943 resulted in an agreement to launch Soviet attacks on Germany from the east simultaneously with the Allied assault from the west.
    • On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allies launched the cross-channel invasion of France at Normandy.
    • The Allies achieved mastery of the air, blocking reinforcements and worsening German fuel shortages.
    • American armored divisions, commanded by General George S. Patton, lunged across France.
    • Paris was liberated in August 1944.
    • The first important German city (Aachen) fell to the Americans in October 1944.

  • The Election of 1944:

    • Republicans nominated Thomas E. Dewey, governor of New York, and Senator John W. Bricker of Ohio.
    • FDR was nominated for a fourth term by the Democrats.
    • Senator Harry S Truman of Missouri was nominated for vice president.
    • Roosevelt won the election, defeating Dewey by 432 to 99 in the Electoral College; 25,606,585 to 22,014,745 in the popular vote.

  • Final Stages of the War in Europe:

    • Hitler launched a last-ditch offensive in the Ardennes Forest in December 1944, creating the Battle of the Bulge.
    • In March 1945, American troops reached Germany's Rhine River.
    • American and Soviet advance guards met at the Elbe River in April 1945.
    • The conquering Americans were horrified by the Nazi concentration camps.
    • Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
    • Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, and Vice President Truman took office.
    • Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945, and May 8 was proclaimed V-E Day.

  • Defeat of Japan:

    • American submarines destroyed 1,042 ships, crippling Japan's merchant fleet.
    • Massive fire-bomb raids on Japanese cities were devastating.
    • General MacArthur landed on Leyte Island in October 1944.
    • The Americans won the Battle of Leyte Gulf, destroying Japan's sea power.
    • MacArthur landed on Luzon in January 1945, and Manila fell in March.
    • Iwo Jima was captured in March 1945, and Okinawa was captured from April to June 1945 at severe cost.

  • The Atomic Bombs:

    • At the Potsdam conference in July 1945, the Allies issued an ultimatum to Japan: surrender or be destroyed.
    • On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing or missing approximately 180,000 people.
    • On August 8, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan and overran Japanese defenses in Manchuria and Korea.
    • On August 9, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, resulting in approximately 80,000 deaths or missing.
    • On August 10, Japan sued for peace on the condition that Emperor Hirohito remain on the throne.
    • The Allies accepted this condition on August 14, 1945.
    • Official surrender ceremonies were conducted on September 2, 1945, on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

  • Aftermath of the War:

    • American forces suffered approximately 1 million casualties, one-third of which were deaths.
    • The Soviet Union suffered casualties many times greater, perhaps 20 million people killed.
    • America emerged virtually unscathed, while much of the rest of the world was destroyed.
    • The war demonstrated the American way of war was simply more— more men, more weapons, more machines, more technology, and more money than any enemy could hope to match.
    • The American people preserved their precious liberties without serious impairment.