World War II (1939-1945)
I.
Foreign Policy
A. Neutrality
1. Proclamation of Neutrality(1793) 2. Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
B. Isolationism
1. Monroe Doctrine (there was no attempt to colonize)
C. World War I (1914-1918)
1. Neutrality----War----Isolationism (1920’s & 1930’s)
II.
Acts of Aggression (1930’s)
A. Rise of Dictators (Hitler/Mussolini)
B. Rise of Facists (Italy) and Nazi’s (Germany)
III.
Policy of Appeasement
(giving into a dictators demand in order to avoid war).
A. U.S. Neutrality Acts (1935 & 1937)
1. No sale, shipment, loans, credit, traveling on ships of belligerent nations.
2. Non Military goods= Cash and Carry
IV.
Outbreak of War (Homefront)
A. September 1939 Germany invades Poland
B. Neutrality Act of 1939 (allows cash & carry of war materials).
C. Destroyer-Base Agreement (1940) (transfer 50 Destroyers for Br. bases)
D. Lend-Lease (1941) “Arsenal for Democracy”
1. Abandons Neutrality 2. Economic resources to Britain
E. The Atlantic Charter (1941)
(FDR & Br. Prime Minister Winston Churchill
formulate a “ statement of common war aims”.)
Recognition of: 1. Self-Determination (the right of people to choose their own
government).
2. US/Br. will not seek to gain territory from the war
3. Disarmament of aggressor nations
4. “a permanent system of general security for the future”.
F. Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor (Dec 7th, 1941)
1. “A day that will live in infamy” --FDR
2. Cause: US embargo on Japan b/c of their aggressiveness. (Japan could no
longer purchase US oil, aviation gasoline, scrap iron, & steel.
3. President Roosevelt freezes Japan’s assets
Japanese rationale for the attack: The U.S will eventually get into the war & spoil their plans in South East
Asia. By destroying the U.S. Pacific fleet at Hawaii, the U.S. will be slow to recover.
4.
Consequences:2,335 killed,8 Battle ships,150 US planes destroyed.
Discrimination against Japanese-American. (Many Americans treated citizens of
Japanese decent with suspicion and hostility. 120,000 interned.
V.
Outbreak of War (Abroad)
A. Anti Semitism and the Holocaust
1. Nuremberg Laws(1935) -German Jews lose citizenship. -no intermarriage -lose all assets if
leave Germany -later laws = wearing of the Star of David
2. Kristallnacht (1938) “The Night of Broken Glass” -French Jew kills low level German
ambassador b/c of Nazi treatment of Jewish people. -Hitler encourages pogrom -GermanJewish killed. Their homes, businesses, and synagogues destroyed.
3. Concentration Camps (1939) warehousing of Jewish people for slave labor.
4. Holocaust (1941) The Nazi’s “Final Solution” to eliminate European Jews thru genocide.
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B. Causes of WWII
Policy of Appeasement - former Allied nations give into dictators demand because:
a.-Memories of horrors of WWI still fresh in their minds (prevent future war)
b. European leaders rationalized that Hitler still w/I conditions of the Treaty of Versailles
Alliances
a. Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939) Hitler’s plan to prevent a two front war.
b. Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis Germany makes war pact with Italy and Japan
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
a. harshness on German people
b. compounded by the global depression
Hitler’s Leadership
a. Use of extreme nationalism (Aryan Race / anti Semitism)
b. Militarism
c. Lebensraum “Living Space”
C. New Methods and Technology of War
1. Blitzkrieg “Lightening War” first used in Guernica during the Spanish Civil War (1936)
-Mass bombing from planes, aggressive ground invasion.
2. Radar - used to detect incoming air raids. Used by British (RAF) during the Battle of Britain.
3. Atomic Bomb - single bomb that created massive destruction. Used by US on Japan to end
war
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D. Conferences
Atlantic Charter (1941) -U.S. Pres. F.D.R and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Discussed the reasons for fighting the war ---restoring governments, freedom to trade.
“The Big Three” (US, Britain, & Soviet Union).
Teheran Conference (1943) -FDR, Churchill, and Stalin, discussed battle strategies such as
the D-Day invasion in order to open up a second front to ease Soviet invasion by Germans.
Yalta Conference (1945) -FDR, Churchill, and Stalin , discussed Post war problems --maintaining peace, dividing up of Germany, fate of Polish freedom, establishment of the UN
Potsdam Conference (1945) -discussed Germany’s punishment ---Nuremberg Trials-Nazi
leaders on trial for war crimes. Demilitarize, de-Nazify, disarm Germany.
Principles of the meetings: 1.German Disarmament 2.Germany divided into 4 zones
3.“War Crimes” trials in Germany & Japan 4. US occupation of Japan 5.Polish territory to the
Soviet Union.
E. European Theater -1. German invasions sweep throughout Europe.
a. Battle of Britain (Aug 12, 1940) German bombers unable to force Britain to surrender
-RAF (Royal Air Force -Britain) and new invention of radar fend off German air raids.
2. Operation Barbarossa German invasion of the Soviet Union violating Nazi- Soviet Pact
-Stalin unprepared for surprise invasion and retreats following a scorched earth policy. German
invasion stalled at Leningrad. Millions die in Russian winter including German troops.
a. Battle of Stalingrad. Nazi losses turn into a Soviet offensive.
3. Allied Invasions
a. Invasion of Italy (July 1943) Italian and German troops unable to halt Allied invasion.
Mussolini is overthrown by new Italian government.
b. Invasion of France (June 6, 1944) D-Day invasion massive Allied troops land on beaches of
Normandy, France
1. Battle of the Bulge ( December 1944) Last German offensive in Belgium can only
put a bulge in the Allied line and fails to halt Allied advance.
2. V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day) Germany surrenders May 7 th, 1945.
F. Asian Theater
1. Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
-attack in retaliation for U.S. ending trade, supplying resources that went to keep the Japanese war
machine going. Japan had invaded China and Southeast Asia. Japanese commit many atrocities in
conquered territories. Ex. “The Rape of Nanjing, China”.
2. Invasion of the Philippines (1942) US looses and flees US General Mac Arthur “I shall
return”
-Japan is at their peak of dominance
Island Hopping Campaign (1942-45)
a. U.S. takes islands, Wake, Iwo Jima,and Midway while skipping over others
isolating the Japanese military on those islands. Goal of the campaign: Get and
airstrip close enough to bomb Japan.
3. Dropping of the Atomic Bomb (Aug 6, 1945)
-Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombed 60,000 to 100,000 killed in each city.
-Emperor Hirohito (Japan) surrenders Aug 14, 1945.
-current debate Was dropping the bomb necessary? Further investigation required.
VI.
The Effects of WW II
A. Home front (America)
1. Industry converted to wartime production (“Arsenal for democracy”)
2. 19 million women in the workforce (1945) “Rosie the Riveter” popular song.
3. 1 million African Americans serve in segregated units
4. Increase black migration from the South (jobs in northern industries)
5. Japanese-American discrimination / Internment
a. Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)
i. February 19, 1942 FDR’s Executive Order # 9066.
ii. 112,000 relocated to the interior of America ex. Heart Mountain, Wyoming
(70,000 Japanese-American)
iii. Lost jobs, land, and property
iv. No due process (no specific charges or trial)
v. Ruling: The relocation was constitutional because
it was not based on race, but on “military urgency”.
vi.President Ronald Reagan (1988) apologizes
and issues $20,000 to each family involved.
6. Demobilization (cutting back the armed forces in peacetime)
a. 11 million GI’s released from service.
b. GI Bill of Rights
i. free hospital care ii. Grants & loans for college iii. Loans for homes & businesses
B. Abroad (Worldwide)
1. Casualties (75 million worldwide, 40 million Europe, 22 mil Soviet Union)
(17 million military deaths------400,000 US deaths)
(over 40 million deaths including civilians as compared to 10 million in WWI)
2. Holocaust (6 million Jews killed, 3-6 million other)
3. Nuremburg Trials (for “war crimes” Nov 1945- Oct 1946)
a. Germany 24 defendants (19 convicted + 10 executed)
b. Japan 700 officers executed including the wartime leader: Hideki Tojo
4. Occupation of Germany and Japan
a. to promote democratic values
b. fix war torn economies
5. Establishment of the United Nations (UN) 1945
a. UN Charter creates
i.
General Assembly –all members can vote on any international issue.
ii.
Security Council – vote on the use of military action
5 permanent members (Russia, Great Britain, France, China, U.S.)
10 additional members who serve 2 year terms
b. Declaration of Human Rights
c. Aid Organizations(WHO-World Health Org.,FAO-Food & Agr. Org.,UNICEF-Children aid)
6. Cold War (1945-1989) Superpowers USA v USSR