World War II
US Involvement: Beginning to
Peace
Events Leading to WWII
• 1918 – Germany
surrenders ending WWI
• 1919 – Treaty of
Versailles
• 1922 – Mussolini
becomes Italy’s dictator
• 1923 - Hitler writes Mein
Kampf
• 1924 – Stalin rises to
power
Events Leading to WWII
• 1929 – World Wide
Depression leads to
rise of dictators
• 1930 – Japan invades
Manchuria
• 1932 – Japan invades
Shanghai
– US condemns (Open
Door Policy) but stays
isolated
Events Leading to WWII
• 1933 – Hitler gains power
in Germany
• Begins operation of
Dachau
• 1935 – Italy invades
Ethiopia > US passes 1st
Neutrality Act
• Hitler rearms the
Rhineland
– Axis Powers formed
(Germany / Italy)
– 2nd Neutrality Act passed
by the US
Events Leading to WWII
• 1937 – Japan invades
China > US issues 3rd
Neutrality Act
• 1938 – Germany
annexes Austria >
Munich Pact is signed
(appeasement
towards Hitler)
• Neville Chamberlain:
'Peace for Europe' CBC Archives
Events Leading to WWII
• 1939 – Hitler invades
Poland – start of
WWII
• 1940 – Japan joins
Axis powers> US
starts draft
• 1941 – Japan attacks
Pearl Harbor > US
enters war
Allies
Allied Leaders
• US : FDR / Truman / MacArthur /
Eisenhower
• Great Britain: Winston Churchill
• USSR: Josef Stalin
• France: Charles de Gaulle
Axis Powers
Axis Powers Leaders
• Germany: Hitler
• Italy: Mussolini
• Japan: Emperor Hirohito / General Tojo
Major Events in Europe
• 1939: Germany
invades Poland with
blitzkrieg
• 1940: France falls to
Nazis. Battle of
Britain – air raids
known as the blitz
• 1941: Germany
invades the Soviet
Union – breaks the
non-aggression pact
Major Events in Europe
• 1942-43: Battle of
Stalingrad – turning
point because
Russian soldiers start
marching west
• 1943: Allied troops
defeat Axis armies in
North Africa (Called
Operation Torch)
• July 1943: Italy
invaded by Allies
Events in Europe
• June 6, 1944: Allied
invasion of Normandy
France . The largest such
invasion in history
– Over 150,000 soldiers
– Designed by General
Eisenhower
– Known as D-Day
– Over 11,000 casualties
– August , 1944 Paris was
liberated and Allies begin
their push towards
Germany
D-Day (Operation Overlord)
Events in Europe
• December 1944: Last
German offensive called
Battle of the Bulge
• April 12, 1945: FDR dies
• April 1945: Allied troops
meet at the Elbe River in
Germany – Hitler
commits suicide
• May 8, 1945: V-E Day
– Victory in Europe
Problems with Japan
• The U.S. and Japan had been
competing for trading rights and
resources in the South Pacific.
• Japan imported much of its steel and
oil from the U.S.
• The US cut these supplies
off(Embargo) to Japan as a protest to
the Japanese invasion of China- also
sinking of USS Panay
Events in the Pacific
• December 7, 1941:
Japan attacks Pearl
Harbor
• Dec 8, 1941: US
declares war on
Japan and enters
WWII
• FDR describes it as
“A day that will live in
infamy.”
Pearl Harbor
Events in the Pacific
• 1941-42: Japan
seizes the Philippines
• MacArthur vows “I
shall return”
• 1942: Battle of
Midway
• 1944-1945: Iwo Jima
and Okinawa
Events in the Pacific
• US Island Hopping to main island of Japan
• Truman told there would be a possiblity the US
would lose 1 million troops with a land invasion
of Japan
• Aug 6, 1945: US drops bomb on Hiroshima
(Enola Gay : Little Boy) – estimated 100,000
killed instantly
• Aug 9, 1945: Bombed dropped on Nagasaki (Fat
Man) – estimated 80,000 killed instantly
Little Boy
Distance from
Ground Zero (km)
Killed
Injured
Population
0 - 1.0
88%
6%
30,900
1.0 - 2.5
34%
29%
27,700
2.5 - 5.0
11%
10%
115,200
Total
22%
12%
173,800
Fat Man
Distance from
Ground Zero (km)
Killed
Injured
Population
0 -1.0
86%
10%
31,200
1.0 - 2.5
27%
37%
144,800
2.5 - 5.0
2%
25%
80,300
Total
27%
30%
256,300
Atomic Bomb
• Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Reenactment Video
World War II Diplomacy
• Atlantic Charter: (1941) peace after the war
(Churchill and FDR)
• Casablanca: (1942) “victory on all fronts”> only
unconditional surrender (Churchill and FDR)
• Cairo: (1943) planning Normandy
• Teheran Conference: (1943) FDR, Churchill,
Stalin >invasion of Germany
• Yalta: (1945) FDR, Churchill, Stalin > division of
Germany
• Potsdam: (1945) warning Japan to surrender to
prevent utter destruction
Home front During WWII
• US was an “arsenal of
democracy”
• Blackout drills/rations
– Were afraid of attacks
on the US
– US was trying to
adjust to a war time
economy
– Needed supplies for
the war
Home front During WWII
• War Bonds > people
would support the war
by giving the gov’t
loans
• In return you got a
certificate and a
promise to from gov’t
to pay back loan with
interest
Home front During WWII
• War Production Board /
War Labor Board > gov’t
agencies to keep
production going
• Women
– Found jobs > not forced to
return to the home after the
war
– “Rosie the Riveter”
– Women chose to return
home after the war (Baby
Boom Era)
Home front During WWII
• Also found jobs in the
workforce > need to
keep production high
for the war effort
• Faced discrimination
in both the North and
South
Home front During WWII
• Seen as spies
• Executive Order
9066>100,000 moved to
internment camps
• Korematsu vs. United
States
– SC ruled FDR had the right
to contain JapaneseAmericans due to national
emergency of WWII and to
protect national security
Results of the War
• US and USSR become world
powers = Cold War
• Atomic Age > threat to world
peace
• Nuremberg Trails
– 1945 & 1946
– 25 high level Nazis for “crimes
against humanity (Holocaust)
– 3 acquitted and 12 executed
• UN
– Peace keeping / human rights
protection
– NYC
– Security Council / General
Assembly
– US does join
US After WWII
• WW II brought the US out of the Great
Depression
– Several works stoppages after WW II >had to adjust
to soldiers coming home and a peace time economy
– As a way to help these veterans adjust to civilian
life the government created the
GI Bill of
Rights- buying homes/$$$ college
– Taft – Hartley Act > US gov’t could get a court
injunction to delay a strike for 80 days if it endangered
health or safety of the public
US After WW II
• Election of 1948
– Truman (Democrat) vs.
Thomas E. Dewey
(Republican)
– Truman wins in an upset
– Truman’s “Fair Deal” and
“New Society”
• Extension of the New Deal
• Established low-income
housing, raised minimum
wage, increased the # of
people under the Social
Security Act
Extension of Civil Rights and
Truman
•
National Security Act of 1947
–
–
–
–
•
•
Form an Air Force
Increased dept of Defenses’ power
Joint Chief of Staff
CIA
Segregation and discrimination
throughout the US and WWII > Jim
Crow laws in the South and de facto
segregation in the North
Change was coming:
–
–
–
–
Jackie Robinson, 1947 > 1st African
American to play Major League
Baseball
President’s Commission on Civil Rights
> informs the public
Executive Order banning segregation
in the military
Investigated businesses with contracts
with the gov’t that practice segregation
Objectives of US After WWII
• Protect US interests abroad
• Avoid nuclear war
• Help other nations (social and
economic)
• Promote democracy
• Stop communist expansion
(Containment)
• NATO
– April, 1949 > 12 nations
– “an attack on one would be
considered an attack on all”
– Member nations would act
together in common defense
– Anti-communism
Policies created as part of
Containment
• Truman Doctrine- USA will aid any
nation in Europe to stop the spread of
communism.
• Marshall Plan USA gives $13B aid to
Western Europe to rebuild after war, to
stop the spread of communism.
• Central Intelligence Agency- collects
intelligence / information about other
nations-Spying
US After WWII
Warsaw Pact
• Warsaw
Pact
Communist answer to
NATO
• Communist
Answer to
8 nations
NATO
1955
• 8 nations
• 1955
Churchill claims people in
Eastern Europe are forced to live
behind an Iron Curtain
War Department becomes
Defense Department
US Foreign Policy During Cold
War
1946-1991
•Containment•Stopping the
spread of
Communism
First Hot Spot of Cold War
• Berlin 1948- USSR closes rail and
roads into Berlin.
• The U.S. airlifts supplies for 321
days the USSR ends the blockade
in 1949.
• This would not be the last time
Berlin would be a hot spot during
the Cold War.
Looking for Commie Spies
Executing Spies
The Korean War
1950-1953
• Korea was divided at the 38th Parallel after
WW2- North Communist- South Democratic
• June 1950- North invades South
• As part of its Containment Policy the U.S.
and United Nations troops attempt to Stop
the spread of communism.
• The goal was to keep the nation divided at
the 38th parallel, and not to involve the
Chinese or Russians.
Truman Fires MacArthur
• U.S./U.N. troops push North Korean troops
across the 38th and close in on the Chinese
border, causing the Chinese to attack.
• Chinese troops push U.S./U.N. troops back
across 38th and for 3 years fighting occurs
around 38th.
• A truce is signed in 1953 ending the war
• Communism was Contained.
Eisenhower’s Election
• Elected as 1st
republican since 1928
> Nixon was his VP
Domestic Policies
• Growth of Suburbs
• TV Becomes popular source of entertainment
• “under God” added to the pledge > importance
of religion
• Ending Segregtaion
– Attacking “separate but equal”
– Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
• Brown denied admission to an all white school> violation of
14th admendment
• Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” had no place
in public education
• Overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson
School Integration
• Governor of Arkansas
uses National Guard
to stop integration at
Little Rock High
School
• Eisenhower took over
the National Guard
(Commander-inChief) and allowed 9
students into high
school
School Integration
More Civil Rights Events
• Dec 1955 > Rosa
Parks = bus
integration
– Martin Luther King, Jr
> civil disobedience
– Montgomery Bus
Boycott
The Warren Court
Appointed by Eisenhower, Chief Justice
Earl Warren was in power during many
landmark(very important) decisions in
the 50’s and 60’s:
Brown v. Board of Ed
Miranda v. Arizona
Gideon v. Wainwright
Escobedo v. Illinois
Tinker v. Des Moines
Foreign Policy
• Continues the policy of Containment- and
added the:
• Eisenhower Doctrine- pledge to aid nations
fighting communism in the Middle East.
• Domino Theory - if one nation “fell” to
communism all the nations around it would
“fall”-especially in South East Asia/Vietnam
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
• New aggressive policies/threats begin:
• Brinkmanship- U.S. was willing to go to the
brink/edge of nuclear war to show its strength
• Massive Retaliation- U.S. would use all its
nuclear weapons at once if attacked w/just one.
• Arms Race this led to both sides building up
large nuclear arsenals• Mutually Assured Destruction-both sides had
enough of these weapons to destroy each other,
hoping the other wouldn’t use them-Deterrent
New Weapons
• Hydrogen Bomb- over 1,500x’s more
powerful than the bomb’s used on
Japan.
• Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles –
Nuclear weapons that travel across
continents
Cold War continues
1957- Soviets Launch Sputnik- a satellite that
orbited the earth-This led to a new emphasis on
math and science in American schools.
- Us puts Explorer I in orbit in Jan 1958
The U.S. and U.S.S.R. realized how dangerous the
situation had become, there was an easing of
tensions/Thaw-1958-1960-both sides agreed to
stop testing nuclear weapons.
U-2 Incident-the thaw ended when a U.S. spy plane
was shot down over the U.S.S.R.
The Cold War was back!
U-2 Incident
U-2 Incident-the thaw
ended when a U.S.
spy plane was shot
down over the
U.S.S.R.
The Cold War was back!
Election of 1960
• Nixon (Rep) vs.
Kennedy (Dem)
• Close popular vote >
electoral 303 to 219
• Kennedy became
youngest and 1st
Catholic to be elected
President