AP US History – Lesson # 29
America At War
I. American fights for Democracy
A. American strategy in the Pacific
1. General Douglas MacArthur would move North from Australia
2. Admiral Nimitz would move west from Hawaii
3. both would join forces as they attacked Japan
B. Important Dates for The Pacific theatre
1. May 7-8, 1942 - Battle of Coral Sea
2. June 3-6, 1942 – Battle of Midway
3. August, 1942 – Battle of Gauadacanal
4. Feb. 1944 - Battle of the Marshall Islands
5. Oct., 1944 – Battle of Leyte Gulf
6. Feb.-March, 1945 – Battle of Iwo Jima
7. April – June, 1945 – Battle of Okinawa
8. Aug. 6, 1945 – Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima (80,00 killed)
9. Aug. 9, 1945 – Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki (100,000 killed)
10. Sept. 2, 1945 – Japanese surrender – VJ Day
C. American strategy in Europe
1. Had to decide whether to create a western or eastern front
2. Eastern front was were Russia was doing most of the fighting
3. Western front could help to free Western European countries
4. America chose the Western campaign but had to compromise with a
joint offensive with Britain (Eisenhower made the overall commander)
D. Important Dates for the European theatre
1. Oct., 1942 – British counterattack in North Africa (Montgomery vs.
Rommel)
2. Winter, 1942-3 – Russian make stand at Stalingrad
3. May, 1943 – Allies drive Rommel from North Africa
4. July, 1943 – Allies invade Sicily and Italian peninsula
5. June 4, 1944 – Allies enter Rome
6. June 6, 1944 – D-Day; Allied invasion of Normandy
7. Dec., 1944 - German counteroffensive fails – Battle of the Bulge
8. Feb., 1945 – America attacks German cities by air – (Dresden –
135,000 killed)
9. April 30, 1945 – Russia enters Berlin; Hitler kills himself
10. May 8, 1945 – Germany surrenders; VE Day
II. America struggles with its Democracy
A. America and The Holocaust
1. 6 million Jews and 4 million others were killed by Hitler in
Concentration Camps
2. American had a clear understanding of Concentration Camps – 1942
3. America openly refuses to take action against Anit-Semitism

Allied bombers fly just miles from Auschwitz but never received
permission to bomb crematoriums
 US resisted accepting Jewish refugees – almost 90% of quota left
available
 1,000 Jews were brought to Miami on St. Louis but were turned
away
 Asst. Sec. Breckinridge Long refused to help Jews for anti-Semitic
reasons
B. African-Americans and the war
1. some 700,000 African-Americans served in our armed forces
2. fought in segregated regiments
3. African-American pushed for reform
 1941 – A. Philip Randolp insisted on integration in the work force
at home
 1942 – CORE is organized to fight against discrimination at home
 1944 – Washington, DC restaurants forced to serve blacks
C. Japanese- Americans and the war
1. Only about 127,00 Japanese-Americans lived mostly in California
2. Pearl Harbor establish an atmosphere of fear
3. Prominent Americans argue for containment of Japanese-Americans
 Earl Warren, Attorney General of Calif.
 Sec. of Navy, Frank Knox
4. Feb. 1942 – Relocation Centers established and over 100,000 JapaneseAmericans are contained
5. 1944 – Korematu v. US rules containment is constitutional
6. 1988 – Reparations are finally paid to Japanese-Americans families
who were affected
D. Mexican-Americans and the war
1. Mexican-Americans come to America in great numbers during The
Great Depression
2. M-A become second largest migrant group in US
3. over 300,000 serve in armed forces
4. M-A teenagers begin dressing in “Zoot Suits” (baggy pants, and large
hats)
5. June, 1943 – “Zoot Suit” riots break out in Los Angeles
6. Zoot Suits laws soon ban attire in cities
E. Women and the War
1. nearly 60% more women begin working in factories at start of war
2. “Rosie the Riveter” becomes symbol of working women
3. Women often blamed for increase in divorce and crime
4. Need for child care cause “Latchkey children”
5. Beginning of “Baby Boom” results with return of soldiers