1/21 & 1/22
Nature and Practice of WWII ~ the Pacific
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website immediately!!!!!
kahoot.it
Then enter the Game Pin!!!!!
FDR’s take on WWII
 Delivered his Quarantine
Speech in which FDR
called war a disease that
Americans needed to
avoid (quarantine)
because it was deadly
 Instead of war, sign peace
agreements
 Quarantine (isolate)
aggressive nations
 Connected to America’s
traditional isolation and
neutrality
Neutrality Acts
 Attempts at avoiding US
involvement in WWII but were
revised in 1939 to allow FDR to
sell goods and weapons to
nations that paid cash and
transported the goods
themselves
 This helped the Allies and
violated true neutrality
 But Germany was winning and
we had to do something
The Great Arsenal of
Democracy
On Jan. 6,1941 FDR addressed Congress to propose that the US lend
money to Britain: he said we must stand behind those nations (the
allies) that were committed to:
The 4 freedoms: 1) freedom of speech, 2) freedom of religion, 3)
freedom from want, & 4) freedom from fear
In March 1941 the Lend-Lease Act was signed into law… the
president explained it would be like lending your neighbor a garden
hose to put out a fire.
In August 1941 FDR and Churchill secretly met off the coast of
Newfoundland and signed the Atlantic Charter declaring their
peace objectives: 1) no territorial expansion, 2) self-determination,
3) free trade, 4) cooperation among nations, 5) disarming aggressors
Lend-Lease Act
 Allowed FDR to sell, lease or lend defense materials
to Allies
 Was an economic declaration of war against Axis
Powers
 Violated neutrality
 In response Germany starts to attack merchant ships delivering
these war materials to Britain using U-Boats
…America is practically fighting in WWII
bullets
with dollars not
PEARL HARBOR (“A DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY”) Pearl
Harbor
 Japan relied on the US for natural resources (specifically
oil) but the US ended trade (embargo) with
Japan…negotiations were unsuccessful
 In response, General Hideki Tojo sent troops to bomb the
US military base of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
 A surprise attack
 2,500 killed
 Disabled the base and supplies for six months
 FDR asked Congress to declare war and America enters
the war with the Allies FDR Speech
EFFECTS OF PEARL HARBOR
 America starts to restrict the rights of
Japanese living in America because they
were seen as disloyal
 Government starts to detain JapaneseAmericans in internment camps
(temporary imprisonment)
 Korematsu vs. US upheld the
governments ability to use
internment camps against citizens
during wartime
AMERICA MOBILIZES (PREPARES FOR
WAR)
 Huge patriotism following Pearl Harbor
Attack
 People enlisted, gave blood, volunteered
 People bought war bonds to fund the war,
connected to victory
 Women’s Army Corps (WACs): gave
army jobs to women
 Nurses, clerical work, typists, truck
drivers, etc
 Rosie the Riveter became symbolic for
women to show their war efforts making
war materials
 Women had to step aside when men came
back from war
AMERICA MOBILIZES
 War Production Board:
oversaw the transition of
peacetime industries to war
time industries in America
 Ford made planes not cars
 Other government agencies
were created to distribute
scarce resources, create
patriotism
 Rationing: Americans
were issued coupon
books that limited the
amount of certain goods
they could buy
Propaganda or Patriotism?
WWII: Battlefronts
1939-1945
Two Theaters: Europe (Germany) and Pacific
(Japan)
European
Theater
Pacific
Theater
Strategies
 Axis: Germany, Italy and Japan
had their own goals only shared
common enemies
 Main goal: prevent American
war materials from getting into
Europe…u-boats patrol seas
(“wolf packs”) but sonar use will
level the playing field
 Allies: unified in their
goals…get Hitler in Europe
and then turn to the Pacific
 Had General George Patton
controlling efforts in Africa
 Allies attacked Italy, overthrew
Mussolini and removed Hitler’s
help…new gov’t declared war on
Germany
 Russia wanted Allies to set up
western front in France so
Germany was fighting a two-front
war
Political Cartoon Assignment
 Create a Political Cartoon
 US Foreign Policy 1930’s,
Axis Powers, Allied Powers
 Include the following
 TITLE
 3 MESSAGES WITHIN
CARTOON
 2 SENTENCE DESCRIPTION
OF CARTOON @ BOTTOM
OF PAGE OR ON BACK OF
PAPER
EXIT CARD!!!
What was US foreign policy during the 1930s?
2) What were two examples of US supporting the
Allies prior to Pearl Harbor? Define each.
3) Who made up the Axis Powers? Who made up the
Allies Powers?
4) What are two examples of the US mobilizing for
the war?
1)
The Road to War
 Japan sought to control of “East Asia” for additional
markets and sources of raw materials
 Invades China in 1931.
 Invades French Indochina in 1940.
 “Colonial” governments begin imposing embargoes to
put brakes on Japanese expansion.
 Japanese armed forces argue that they must strike to
relieve pressure of embargoes.
 Expect conflict, but buy time and surprise through negotiations.
 US and UK focused on war in Europe.
Japanese Strategy
 Three Phases
 Phase I: Surprise attacks, then strategic defense.
 Knock out US fleet; seize vital areas; establish defensive perimeter.
 Phase II: Strengthen perimeter; make any offensive action by
the US prohibitively costly.
 Phase III: Defeat and destroy any forces that attempt to
penetrate the perimeter.
 Long US LOC and natural strength of defense should almost
guarantee success.
Historical debate of Japan’s
responsibility
Japan as aggressor
Japan as imperial power
 Japan planned the war
 European style imperialism
from 1930’s
 Japan’s willingness to
negotiate was a plan to
keep enemy off guard
 Aggressor- aim to conquer
Asia
 Japanese declaration of war
blamed US
 Japan didn’t plan for war,
just took too many risks
 Japan was creating a sphere
of influence (like US did in
Latin America)
 Japan fought a defensive
war- triggered by US
embargoes. They had to act
Long term causes
 WWI- Japan wants to increase its influence
 1915 US and Japan relations sour
 Japan insists on political and economic position in China
 US sees this as a threat to their interests
• 1917 Lansing-Ishii Agreement—Japan could keep the
gains they made up to 1917 (recognized by US) but no more
allowed

China feels betrayed by US
Short term causes
 Sino-Japanese conflict
 1937 Marco Polo bridge in Beijing—nationalism high—
fighting. Large scale fighting—need for raw materials—war
with US
War with China leads to a complete takeover of Japanese
government by the military
Immediate cause of war in Pacific
US wants Japan
out of China
• 1940 US bans exports of scrap iron to Japan
• Japan must import raw materials to sustain war (heavily dependent
on US)
Tripartite Pact
• Germany, Italy, Japan- “New order”, come to defense
• US gives loans to China, political parties eliminated in Japan
Japan divided
• Attack USSR or South-east Asia? (Germany attacks USSR, so they go
south)
• Leads to US, Britain, Netherlands embargo
• Japan will run out of oil= Pearl Harbor
Japan’s relationships
Germany
 USSR as enemy
 Tripartite Pact (keep US
out of war)
 Hitler declares war on US
11 December 1941
USSR
 Friendly with Russia
 After revolution (USSR)
Japan feels threatened
territorially and ideologically
 USSR supplied China
 1941 Germany and USSR
hostile- Japan relaxes- sign
Neutrality Pact with USSR
 Soviets declare war on Japan
Aug 1945
Is the US responsible for war in the
Pacific?
Using the information provided to you and your knowledge
from the study of WWII last year:
To what extent is the US
responsible for the war in the
Pacific?