World War II, 1941–1945
Introduction
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What events led to Pearl Harbor and the
declaration of war?
How were national resources marshaled for
war?
What characterized American society during
wartime?
How were Americans mobilized into the
armed forces?
How was the war pursued in Europe and
Asia?
How did the atomic bomb affect diplomacy?
Los Alamos, New Mexico
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The Manhattan Project .
Los Alamos.
Secrecy from the outside world.
J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The Coming of
World War II
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Great Depression
Breakdown of political order.
Militaristic authoritarian regimes
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Japan, Italy, and Germany
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Manchuria, China.
Ethiopia.
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Czechoslovakia.
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Media: Gallup Polls
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WWI seen as mistake.
College protested war.
Neutrality Acts.
“America First”
FDR: military preparedness
FIGURE 25.1b Gallup Polls: European War and World War I, 1938–1940
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Poland, 1939.
Blitzkrieg :
Denmark
 Norway
 Belgium
 France.
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FDR pushed for military money.
Third term—expansion..
Atlantic Charter.
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The Japanese threats.
FDR cut off trade.
Pearl Harbor.
War.
Arsenal of Democracy
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Mobilization laws.
Office of War Information.
New Deal agencies vanished.
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US industrial capacity.
Civilian firms converted.
Unprecedented economic boom.
Western and Southern firms benefit.
Farm profited, but small farms disappeared.
Chart: Effects of War Spending
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Labor demand.
Female workers.
Workers’ wages went up.
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Prior to war, militant unions struck.
During war:
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no-strike pledges
Increased membership and won benefits
African-American membership doubled.
Federal antistrike legislation.
The Home Front
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Marriage rates up.
Housing shortage.
One-parent households.
Child-care issues.
Juvenile crime.
Dropout rates.
Public health improved.
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112,000 Japanese interned;
SCOTUS upheld policy.
1988 , Congress voted for reparations and
apologized.
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“Double V”:
victory overseas
 equal rights at home.
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FDR banned discrimination in defense industries.
Civil rights organizations emerged, grew.
1 million blacks left South.
Violent resistance from local whites.
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Resentment Mexican Americans exploded.
The zoot-suit riots.
Mexican Americans served.
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Popular culture.
Southerners brought musical styles.
Entertainment emphasized wartime spirit.
Men and Women
in Uniform
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Maps: Wartime Army Camps
Draft began before war.
The officer corps:
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Professional
Conservative
Autocratic.
Junior officers close to troops.
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Women’s divisions.
Most women stayed in US.
Clerical duties
health-related duties
Aviation.
Sexual activity monitored
Racial segregation.
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1 million African Americans served.
Segregation at every point.
Many racial or ethnic minorities served.
In Europe, troops met a mixed welcome.
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The risk of injury was much higher.
Battle fatigue.
Variety of medical personnel.
True heroes: the medics.
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POWs in German camps.
POWs in Japanese camps.
German POWs.
Japanese POWs.
The World at War
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1st year, war news “all bad.”
Soviets bore brunt.
Stalingrad.
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Soviets appealed for “second front”.
North Africa, Italy.
Casablanca : seek unconditional surrender.
Air bombardment:
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weakened the economy
undermined civilian morale
crippled German air force
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Italy out of the war.
D-Day.
Paris.
Battle of the Bulge.
May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered.
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Map: The War in the Pacific
Japanese advances stopped June 1942.
Naval battles and island hopping.
Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
Bombing Japanese cities.
Stopping Soviets.
The Last Stages of
the War
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Nazi’s systematic extermination.
War Department vetoed camp attacks.
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The “Big Three”.
Atlantic Charter fell.
FDR held idealism for global peace.
FDR dies, April ‘44.
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Harry S. Truman.
Tough with Soviets.
Potsdam.
Atomic bombs.
Peace with slight policy modification possible.
Truman claimed bomb would shorten war.