Chapter 11 A Time of Conflict Georgia Performance Standards SS5H6 The student will explain the reasons for America’s involvement in World War II. a. Describe Germany’s aggression in Europe and Japan’s aggression in Asia. b. Describe major events in the war in both Europe and the Pacific; include Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, D-Day, VE and VJ Days, and the Holocaust. c. Discuss President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. d. Identify Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, Hirohito, Truman, Mussolini, and Hitler. e. Describe the effects of rationing and the changing role of women and AfricanAmericans; include “Rosie the Riveter” and the Tuskegee Airmen. f. Explain the U.S. role in the formation of the United Nations. SS5H7 The student will discuss the origins and consequences of the Cold War. a. Explain the origin and meaning of the term “Iron Curtain.” b. Explain how the United States sought to stop the spread of communism through the Berlin airlift, the Korean War, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. c. Identify Joseph McCarthy and Nikita Khrushchev. Lesson 1 World War II Vocabulary Words: fascism racism dictator Start of the War The Great Depression left ruined economies all over the world, so strong leaders stepped in to take control. A dictator is a ruler who has control of a county and its people. Dictators in Germany, Italy, and Japan believed in fascism, where the government controls the lives of the citizens, and formed an alliance called the Axis Powers. The Axis also believed in racism, or the belief that one group of people is better than others. Germany, Italy, and Japan began invading other countries. Germany’s dictator was Adolf Hitler, and he led a political party called the National Socialists or Nazis. The Nazis began invading other European countries so Great Britain and France formed an alliance called the Allies to try and stop the Axis Powers. The Allies made an agreement with Hitler that allowed him to keep the land he had invaded as long as he promised not to invade any more. Hitler broke his promise and invaded Poland in 1939. The Allies then declared war on Germany. Italy and Japan then declared war on the Allies. The Allies had a hard time stopping the German army and by the end of 1941, most of Europe was under Nazi control. Axis aggression in Europe Axis aggression in the Pacific Lesson 1 World War II continued… America Enters the War Americans wanted to stay out of WWII and believed in isolationism. They remembered how awful World War I had been and they wanted to avoid fighting. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to help the British, so he send equipment and supplies. The president also worried about Japan’s invasion of China and their plans to invade other Asian countries. The Japanese emperor, Hirohito, and the Japanese Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo knew that the United States had the only Navy strong enough to stop them, so the Japanese leaders planned a surprise attack to destroy the U.S. Navy. That surprise attack was carried out on December 7, 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, a U.S. Navy base in Hawaii. Americans were stunned by the attack and the people of the United States agreed that there was no choice but to join the fighting of World War II. Franklin Roosevelt told Congress that the day of the attack was “a date which will live in infamy.” Lesson 2 The Home Front Vocabulary Words: mobilize newsreel internment camp Building an Army The United States wasn’t ready to join WWII. First, they had to mobilize, or get ready to fight. Many Americans joined the military or were drafted. New soldiers needed supplies like uniforms, guns, airplanes, and tanks. The U.S. government hired businesses like Ford Motor Company to make airplanes instead of cars. Scientists created new technologies and improved helicopters and airplanes. Factories needed workers to create those military supplies so they hired women and African Americans. The nickname “Rosie the Riveter” was given to many women who worked in factories doing jobs that only men had held before. Lesson 2 The Home Front continued… At Home in Wartime Americans worked together to make sure soldiers had supplies. Even children collected metal and old tires which factories used to make military products. Many items were rationed, or limited, during WWII. People could only buy small amounts of meat, sugar, and gasoline. Since food was limited, many families grew victory gardens. Americans watched newsreels in movie theaters to keep up to date on world news. WWII affected America’s culture. Many books, movies, plays, and songs were written about the war. Japanese Americans faced prejudice in America during WWII. Franklin Roosevelt signed an order that forced over 100,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps, a place where prisoners were held during wartime. Prisoners lost their jobs and homes, yet many Japanese American citizens still fought for America during WWII. Lesson 3 Winning the War Vocabulary Words: aircraft carrier atomic bomb concentration camp Battles in North Africa and Europe It took awhile for the Allies to strike back at the Axis Powers. In late 1942, the Allies began to move against the Axis in many different places. In North Africa, Allies fought German and Italian forces and the Axis troops surrendered in May 1943. The Allies then moved the fighting to Italy. The Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American pilots, flew many bombing missions over Italy. By early 1944, Germany was having trouble. On June 6, 1944, Allied soldiers invaded Normandy, France which became known as D-Day. This allowed the Allies to move into Germany. Soviet soldiers were advancing on Germany at the same time and on May 8, 1945 Germany surrendered to the Allies which became known as VE-Day or Victory in Europe Day. Lesson 3 Winning the War continued… Fighting in the Pacific Just because fighting had ended in Europe did not mean that WWII was over. The Allies were also fighting Japan. The United States used aircraft carriers, large ships that carry airplanes, to fight in the Pacific Ocean. America won the Battle of Midway and gained power in the Pacific. To defeat Japan, the Allies used a plan called island hopping where they would take over islands that weren’t guarded by Japanese soldiers. The Allies needed a secret code to communicate which islands they would be taking over. Navajo code talkers used the Native American Navajo language to send important messages to each other so Japan could not understand what the Allies plans were. At the battle of Leyte Gulf, so many Japanese ships were destroyed, that Japan did not have the ability to fight any more major naval battles. American President, Harry Truman, didn’t want to risk invading Japan and losing more lives so he chose a different way to end the war. A new weapon had been created in secret in America during the war. An atomic bomb is so powerful it can destroy an entire city. On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Thousands of Japanese people were killed. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese emperor, Hirohito, surrendered. This day became known as Victory in Japan Day or V-J Day. Lesson 3 Winning the War continued… A Changed World People were happy that the war was over, but now everyone faced the destruction that the fighting had caused. Many cities lay in ruins. One of the worst horrors on the war was discovered after Allied soldiers invaded Europe. The Nazis had killed millions of people in concentration camps, where large numbers of people were held prisoner and forced to work. Hitler had blamed Jewish people for Germany’s problems. About 12 million people, 6 million of them Jewish, were killed or died in concentration camps. This became known as the Holocaust. Lesson 4 The Cold War Vocabulary Words: capitalism market economy communism Roots of the Cold War The Soviet Union and the United States had worked together to win WWII. By 1947, they were fighting each other in a war of words and ideas called the Cold War. The people in the United States live with an economy called capitalism where people and businesses control the production of goods and services. This type of economy is also called a market economy where individuals make economic decisions. The Soviet Union lived under communism where the government controlled production and owned the resources. This type of economy is also called a command economy because the government makes the economic decisions and can command what will be produced. The Soviet Union began setting up communist governments in eastern Europe with the help of their dictator, Joseph Stalin. With the help of the United States, western Europe remained democratic. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, described this division as an “iron curtain” that symbolized how communism was different from non communist countries. President Harry Truman helped set up NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to help non communist countries stay that way. Lesson 4 The Cold War continued… Conflicts in Europe Grow The city of Berlin was at the center of the Cold War. In June 1948, the Soviet Union tried to take control of the city and force the Allies to leave by forming a blockade that stopped railroads and roads into West Berlin. Leaders from the United States and Britain didn’t leave. Allies flew food and supplies into Berlin every day so they could survive. This became known as the Berlin Airlift. Many people from East Berlin escaped into the west for freedom and better lives. Communist leaders began building the Berlin Wall in 1961 to keep people from escaping. The wall divided the communist part of Berlin from the rest of the city. Lesson 5 Communism Spreads Vocabulary Words: arms race nuclear war anti-communism Communism Around the World The spread of communism around the world scared the United States. Two of the biggest countries in the world, the Soviet Union and China had communist governments and the United States was worried that they wanted to make other countries communist. The Soviet Union had built its own atomic bomb in 1949 and that made leaders in the United States worry that the Soviet Union’s military might be stronger than theirs. This began a back and forth contest to try and build the most powerful military with the latest weapons that was called the arms race. People worried that the arms race would lead to nuclear war that could destroy life on earth. Many people in America built bomb shelters and stored food just in case. Children in schools also practiced drills in case of nuclear war. All of this fear led to a movement to stop communism. One senator in particular, Joseph McCarthy, was extremely anti-communist. He said that there were communists working in the United States and they were spying for the Soviet Union. Because of anti-communism, many innocent people lost their jobs when anyone accused them of being communist. Lesson 5 Communism Spreads continued… Cold War Conflicts The United States and the Allies created a plan after WWII for a new international organization to keep peace world-wide. This organization was called the United Nations (UN). More than 50 nations joined the UN. The Korean War was one of the fist challenges the UN faced when communist North Korea invaded South Korea. The UN troops pushed the North Koreans back, but communist China sent soldiers to help North Korea. The war dragged on and in 1953, both sides agreed to stop fighting. North and South Korea are still divided. Closer to the United States, Cuba had become a communist country in 1959. The Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev helped the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro set up a communist government. That made many Americans very nervous. Then in October, 1962 the United States found out that the Soviet Union was secretly putting powerful missiles in Cuba. Those missiles were too close to the United States and were big enough to carry a nuclear bomb. The United States president, John F. Kennedy, ordered U.S. ships to form a blockade around Cuba to stop Soviet ships from getting to Cuba. For days, it seemed that nuclear war could break out at any moment. Finally, the Soviets agreed to take their missiles out of Cuba and in return President Kennedy agreed not to attack Cuba. This conflict, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis scared the world and leaders on both sides agreed to start working together to avoid nuclear war. Resources •Houghton Mifflin Social Studies Textbook Chapter11 •http://intoworldwar2.weebly.com/women.html •http://worldwariivideos.wordpress.com/category/on-the-home-front/page/4/ •https://www.pearlharboroahu.com/attack.htm