The Road To War
APUSH
Rise of Fascism
 The Development of Soviet Union
 The Great Depression
 Collapse of the free-market capitalism
 People become uncertain of the future
 Many see fascism as a solution
 Extreme nationalism
 Subordination of will to the state
Characteristics of Fascism
 Promised:
 Full employment
 Stop communism
 Conquer new territories
 Totalitarian State
 Secret police that terrorized and intimidated the
people
 Complete control of the state
Examples of Fascism
 Italy
 Benito Mussolini
 Germany
 Rise of Adolf Hitler
 Nazi Party
 Japan
 Meiji Restoration
Japanese Aggression
 Japanese invasion of
Manchuria (China)
(1931)
 1937 attacks other
areas of Asia
German Aggression
 Defies Versailles Treaty
(WWI)
 Rebuilds the German War
Machine
 Withdrew from the League
of Nations (1933)
 Invades the Rhineland in
1936
U.S. Response
 Most Americans desired continued isolation
 Fear of higher taxes & increased executive power
 Domestic issues would go unresolved b/c of military
build up
 European problem
 German and Italian immigrants mostly support
expansion of homelands
 Continued neutrality
 Neutrality Acts of 1935 & 1937
 No arms shipments or loans to countries at war
The Election of 1940
 Roosevelt: “Your boys are not
going to be sent into any
foreign wars.:
 Republicans
 Wendell Willkie
 Against Roosevelt
violating the two-term
tradition
 Results:
 Roosevelt Garners 54%
The War Starts…U.S. Still
Neutral?
 September 1, 1939
 Germany invades Poland
 The Atlantic Charter (1941)
 Churchill & FDR meet establish goals for after the war
 U.S. not in war, but FDR supports Britain's war aims
 German subs attack American cruisers & destroyers
 FDR armed vessels can take arms directly to Allied ports
(Shoot on Site Policy 1941)
Pearl Harbor
 December 7, 1941
 Partial Surprise
 Japanese codes broken,
attack imminent
 Declaration of War
 December 8, 1941
 Germany and Italy Declare
War on U.S.
 Germany Invades the
Soviet Union
World War II: The
Home Front
America Responds to War
Essential Questions
 In what ways and to what extent
was World War II responsible for
ending the Great Depression in
America?
 To what extent did the war effect
the following groups:
 Mexican Americans
 African Americans
 Native Americans
 Japanese Americans
 Women
Mobilization






Federal Government
 War Production Board (WPB, 1942)
 Office of War Mobilization (OWM)
 Office of Price Administration
(OPA)
 Spending & Debt Increase
 GNP Grows (15%)
 $250 Billion Debt
Business and Industry
Research and Development
Workers and Unions
 Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act
(1943)
Financing the War
 Income Tax
 War Bonds
Propaganda
 Office of War Information
 Posters & Newsreels
WWII Propaganda
WWII Propaganda
The War’s Impact on Society
 African Americans
 Mass Migration from South
 “Double V” Campaign
 500,000 serve
 Tuskegee Airmen
 CORE (1942)
 March on Washington
 A. Philip Randolph
 Smith v. Allwright (1944)
 Mexican Americans
 Bracero program
 Zoot Suit Riots (Los Angeles, 1943)
 American Indians
 codetalkers
Japanese Americans
 Executive Order 9066
 Internment
 Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)
 Nisei Soldiers
 Domestic: break codes
 Fought in Western Front
Executive Order 9066
Women
 200,000 serve in uniform
 5 million enter workforce
 24% increase in married
women working
 Received lower pay
than male counterparts
Election of 1944
 Roosevelt runs with Harry
Truman
 Republicans:
 Thomas Dewey
 Results:
 53% of Popular
 432-99 Electoral
World War II: The
Battlefronts
The War in Europe and the Pacific
Fighting Germany
 Defense at Sea, Attacks by
Air
 Objectives:
 Overcome submarines
 Bomb and raid major
cities
 From North Africa to Italy
 Operation Torch
(Eisenhower &
Montgomery, 1942-43)
 Sicilian & Italian
Campaigns
D-Day and
V-E Day
 Operation Overlord (June,
1944)
 Operation Neptune
 Battle of the Bulge (Dec.
1944)
 German Surrender
 Hitler’s Suicide (April,
1945)
 Surrender: May 7, 1945
 The Holocaust &
Liberation of
Concentration Camps
Fighting Japan
 MacArthur, Nimitz, and “IslandHopping”
 Early losses
 Bataan, Coral Sea,
Guadalcanal
 Turning Point, 1942
 Midway
 Major Battles:
 Leyte Gulf (Oct., 1944)
 Emergence of kamikazes
 Okinawa
 Iwo Jima
Atomic Bombs
 Manhattan Project
 Oppenheimer, 1942
 University of Chicago
 Hiroshima (August 6, 1945)
 Nagasaki (August 9)
 Japan Surrenders
 September 2, 1945
 USS Missouri
The Decision to Drop the Bomb
Arguments in Favor
 Target: Japan
 Japanese character: bushido
& seppuku
 Prevent: long war, massive
casualties
 Pacific front as lesson
 Target: Soviet Union
 Send a message
 Prevent: Soviet aggression &
expansion
Arguments Opposed
 Massive casualties &
destruction
 Violated human rights
 Even if Hiroshima warranted,
Nagasaki was not
 Weapons & the loss of human
lives should not be used as
diplomatic tools
Wartime
Conferences
Negotiations, Peace Treaties, and the End of
War
The Big Three
 Roosevelt, Churchill, and
Stalin
 Casablanca (Jan. 1943)
 Italian invasion &
unconditional surrender
 Teheran (Nov. 1943)
 Liberation of France,
Soviet Invasion of
Germany
Yalta
 February, 1945
 Germany to be divided in
four
 Free elections for Eastern
Europe
 Soviets to join war against
Japan
 Foundations for United
Nations
Potsdam
 Death of President
Roosevelt (Truman)
 Replacement of Winston
Churchill (Attlee)
 Resolutions:
 Unconditional surrender
of Japan
 Criminal prosecution of
Nazi leaders
(Nuremburg)
The War’s
Legacy
Results of World War II
Costs
 Deadliest War in Human
History
 50 million
 American Losses:
 300,000 dead
 800,000 wounded
 Debt
 Spending increased
debt, but little damage
overall domestically
United Nations
 Chartered April, 1945
 San Francisco
 Collective Measures
 settle disputes peacefully
 General Assembly
 50 nations
 Security Council
 11 countries
 5 Permanent Seats w/veto power
 US, Britain, France, China, and…
 USSR
Legacy
 Socio-Economic Miracle
 High Standard of Living
 Baby Boom
 War Economy
 Education
 Technological Revolution
 Weapons
 Energy
 International Change
 Bi-polar World: Cold War
 Decolonization
 Civil Rights Movement
 Demographic Revolution
 Migration
 Fear and Paranoia
 Second Red Scare