WORLD WAR TWO AND THE

AMERICAS•Hemispheric cooperation and neutrality•The role of countries of the region: diplomatic and military•The impact of the war on countries of the region•The home front: the role of women, impact on minorities•Treatment of Japanese-Americans and Japanese-Canadians•The Americas and the Holocaust•The beginning of the atomic age

CAUSES FOR UNITED STATES ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR TWO

Our entry was a consequence of the Japanese naval air attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 and a German declaration of war Accredited to Japanese militarism and an ambition to establish exclusive

domination over greater East Asia, including S.E. Asia and the Western Pacific

China and U.S were the first two targets Committed to neutrality up to the before mentioned event

The U.S had actually been involved morally and effectively for a year before that date

U.S. strategic planning had centered on continental and hemispheric defense

U.S attempted to contain Japan through diplomacy, through Japan’s increasing economic pressure on their need for imported metals and petroleum

U.S froze all Japanese assets in America and embargoed all oil and petroleum exports to Japan Without the oil (East Indian) Japan’s air force and navy would be paralyzed Led the extreme nationalists in Japan to support war against the U.S. Pearl Harbor emerged as a plan in the summer of ‘41 and was only adopted

reluctantly in October Between Europe and the Pacific (Japan) two separate conflicts had

become one global war

CAUSES FOR UNITED STATES ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR TWO

Hitler saw, after the destruction of the Soviet Union and the annexation of its agricultural and energy resources, the United States as the ultimate enemy

U.S. Lend Lease Act and Agreements “SEC. 3. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the President may, from time to

time. when he deems it in the interest of national defense, authorize the Secretary Of War, the Secretary of the Navy, or the bead of any other department or agency of the Government -

(1) To manufacture in arsenals, factories, and shipyards under their jurisdiction, or otherwise procure, to the extent to which funds are made available therefor, or contracts are authorized from time to time by the Congress, or both, any defense article for the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States.

(2) To sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government any defense article, but no defense article not manufactured or procured under paragraph (1)”

We were giving rearmament and sufficient aid to maintain British resistance and thereby keep the Germans preoccupied in Europe

Pearl Harbor forced Germany into declaring war on the United States Although the two were already in an undeclared naval war in the Atlantic by

the fall of ‘41

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union provided Great

Britain and the U.S with another ally 1st wartime summit conference: Atlantic Charter

Lofty war aims focusing on national self-determination and eschewing any territorial desires

Germanys declaration of war on the U.S formally globalized the conflict Arcadia Conference

Allies had “Germany First” strategy Created a Combined Chiefs of Staff to run the war and report

directly to the “Big Three” (Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt) Full unity of command of all British and American land, naval, and

air forces in all theaters Specific priorities for those theatres Combined Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa Agreed to a global division of responsibility whereby the U.S. Joint

Chiefs of Staff (JCS) assumed primary responsibility for the Pacific and the British chiefs for the Middle East, while the European theatre remained a combined responsibility

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE

In the Pacific Spring of ’42 two pivotal naval air engagements

Coral Sea: both fleets never saw each other and was a draw but a strategic victory for U.S b/c it halted the Japanese Navy advance

Battle of Midway: maybe the most decisive of the war and in naval history. U.S. broke Japanese naval code and destroyed 4 aircraft carriers and 253 planes

Fall of ‘42 Halted Japanese offensive on New Guinea and took Guadalcanal

Europe Fall of ‘42, a collection of battles and campaigns may

constitute the “turning point” of the war Montgomery (GB) defeated Rommel (G) @ El Alamein Eisenhower invaded Casablanca and Algiers Red Army forced the surrender of entire German Sixth Army in

Stalingrad These all gave strategic initiative to the Allies

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE Roosevelt and Churchill meet again in Early

‘43Casablanca to plan future strategy Invasion of SicilyProbable cross-channel operation1st priority to German subs in the Atlantic2nd to a bomber offensive of Germany from the

U.K“Unconditional Surrender” Roosevelt verbalized

this for many diplomatic reasons Reassure Stalin in the continued absence of a second

front Reassure Chiang in the continued absence of a major

military effort in the China theatre Reassure British and American opinion of some

compromises/decisions that had been made thus far This would now become official allied policy,

postponing territorial issues until the war’s end

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE Middle of ’43

European and American forces successfully invaded Italy Ousted Mussolini and began secret peace

negotiations Surrendered the third of September

In Pacific Moved up Solomon Islands Stopped Japanese advance in New Guinea Started leapfrogging maneuvers forcing a series of

Japanese defeatsDiscussed idea of Cross Channel assault

(Overlord)

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE “Big Three” meet at Tehran at the end of ‘43

Launch Overlord in May of ’44 – Eisenhower to command operation

Stalin made promise to launch Soviet offensive in the east and enter the war with Japan once Germany had been defeated

These “Big 3” meetings would provide critical both militarily and politically Agreed upon strategy that would preserve the alliance

and lead to total military victory Established the essential prerequisites for a new postwar

order based on Allied dominance and cooperation Marked both a decline in British power and the rise of

the Soviet Union and the U.S. These two emerging superpowers would exercise more control over both the war effort and postwar plans

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE Operation Overlord

Largest amphibious invasion in history June, 6 1944 against Normandy Coast British/American forces went through France, Soviets pressing from East, & allied forces coming up the Rhone Valley in Southern France from Italy, joining the

Normandy Coast forces In Pacific during ‘44

Continued winning with “leapfrogging” techniques Battle of Leyte Gulf, largest Naval engagement in

History, Japanese surface fleet was virtually destroyed and U.S. subs sunk much of their merchant fleet

Saw Japanese suicidal tactics, kamikaze, increasing both the length of battles and the number of casualties

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE ‘44 marked by progress in postwar planning

Established a new postwar economic order World Bank and an International Monetary Fund

Agreed on essentials of a postwar collective security organization United Nations

Hitler launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes Forest to try and Split U.S and U.K forces Largest U.S. engagement of the War

Massive Soviet offensive that brought the Red Army to within thirty-five miles of Berlin

April of ‘45 Soviet and American forces met and split Germany in half Hitler committed suicide Soviets took Berlin May, Germany signs unconditional surrender

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE 1st half of ‘45 in Pacific

U.S. made substantial progress in Pacific Liberated Philippines Destroyed what remained of merchant fleet Conquering Iwo Jima and Okinawa Launched a strategic bombing campaign against

Japanese citiesAugust 6, Hiroshima destroyedAugust 8, Soviet Union enters war fulfilling Yalta

PledgeAugust 9, Nagasaki DestroyedSeptember 2, signed official surrender

U.S MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC COURSE 2nd “Big 3” Conference in February of ‘45 in Yalta

Agreement on operations for the final defeat of Germany Military occupation zones of Berlin Shift of Polish boundaries westward Free postwar elections for all of Europe Outline charter for what would become the U.N. Soviet entry into war with Japan

In return for territorial concessions of losses from Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

** The dawn of the Cold War led to severe condemnation of Roosevelt b/c of many of these agreements.

** He believed that they had guaranteed both total victory and a stable postwar peace, the terms were understandable and unavoidable in light of the power, position, and continued importance of the Red Army to the war effort.

** These two nations definitions of a secure postwar world began to collide and mutual suspicions increased. The method by which the war against Japan came to an end both reflected and reinforced those collisions and suspicions.

HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION/ALLIANCE From 1929 to 1945 there was a significant

change in U.S. policy toward Latin America

The Good Neighbor Policy ushered in a new era in U.S.-Latin American relations.

Despite all of its flaws it brought a closer spirit of cooperation and conciliation than ever before

Hoover made a seven week good will trip visiting over half the countries in L.A.Withdrew all troops in Nicaragua by June of

‘31 ‘32 negotiated the complete withdrawal of

troops from Haiti

HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION/ALLIANCE Roosevelt ushered in the “Good Neighbor

Policy” and era President FDR took office determined to improve

relations with the nations of Central and South America.

Platform called for “no interference in the internal affairs of other nations” and for “cooperation with nations of the Western Hemisphere to maintain the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine.”

Called for a L.A. policy based on the “neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.”

Believed Latin Americans would maintain order for promises of nonintervention

HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION/ALLIANCE Good Neighbor Policy, 1933

Emphasized cooperation and trade rather than military force to maintain stability in the hemisphere.

In December Roosevelt stated, "The definite policy of the United States from now on is one opposed to armed intervention.“

Good Neighbor policy represented an attempt to distance the United States from earlier interventionist policies, such as the Roosevelt Corollary and military interventions in the region during the 1910s and 1920s.

Dollar and Big stick had to go ‘35 U.S. negotiated a reciprocal trade treaty with Cuba,

Columbia, Brazil, and Haiti By ‘41 this included Venezuela, Central American

Nations, Ecuador, Andean republics, and Mexico Outbreak of WWII and the retraction of European

competitors further strengthened the economic relationship between the U.S. and L.A.

HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION/ALLIANCE Buenos Aires Meeting ‘36

Argentina was becoming fascist and supporter of the Axis powers

Resolution between U.S. and L.A. countries to settle peacefully all disputes between countries

Mexico Tests Good Neighbor Policy ‘34 President Lazaro Cardenas implements major

provisions from Constitution of 1917 Seized millions of acres of land and redistributed it to

peasants Seized the subsoil rights from U.S. oil companies

U.S. Roosevelt recognized the Mexican governments right to seize the rights but steadfastly called for fair compensation

Mexico later entered WWII as a cooperative ally and not the pain of a neighbor she had been in WWI

HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION/ALLIANCE Declaration of Panama, adopted 1st month

of WWII, 19391st collective action by nations of the Western

Hemisphere to meet dangers of WWIIDeclared “safety belt” around the hemisphere,

extending from 300 to 1000 miles from the eastern and western coastlines; European belligerents were warned to desist from naval and military operations in this area

Any violation would be considered an attack of aggression against all of the republics.

HEMISPHERIC COOPERATION/ALLIANCE Act of Havana ’40

Prevent transfer of conquered European territories to hostile powers and reaffirmed that an attack on any nation in the hemisphere was an attack on all and would be met with common defense

Lend Lease Act towards Latin America-late ‘41 Aside from Argentina each major L.A. country

received military equipment and training Over $475 million went to L.A. from ‘41 to ‘45

Pearl Harbor forced many L.A. countries to declare war, though many waited because of economic ties to Europe and Axis were still in control at this time

BRAZIL’S ROLE DURING WWII WWII had a great impact on Brazil

Improved port facilities, new modern airfields, refurbished railroads, stimulated manufacturing, agriculture, and mining, gained combat experience and the latest equipment

Laid foundation for development in next half century

‘42 broke relations with the Axis and entered the war officially in August Hosted the largest U.S. air base outside U.S. territory,

tied its economy to the U.S, sent its navy in pursuit of German U-Boats, and provided expeditionary force and a fighter squadron on the Italian front

BRAZIL’S ROLE DURING WWII

War benefitted Brazil financially and increased political clout Vargas used the onset of war to broaden popular

support for the regime Offered opportunity to construct an infrastructure

that would allow nationally controlled economic development U.S. desperately needed certain Brazilian products and

the strategically important air and naval bases Sole source of quartz crystals used in military

communications equipment U.S. factories also needed Brazils iron ore, rubber,

chrome, etc…and thorium rich monazite sands used in atomic energy research

Negotiated guaranteed price agreements with U.S. that assured Brazil of a consistent return on its exports

BRAZIL’S ROLE DURING WWII

Brazil’s leaders saw the need to make the blood sacrifice Brazil sent its soldiers to fight to claim a larger role in

postwar reconstruction Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB)

Brazilian idea and calculated policy of Vargas government Formed a 4 division expeditionary corps End of ‘44 1000 Brazilian military personnel had gone to U.S. –

largest contingent of any one foreign nation to pass through its classrooms

Troops sent to Italy, totaling 25,334 Pursued retreating German Units Helped with French Invasion Bulk of combat experience was at the platoon level

During WWII, Brazil…supplier of strategic raw materials, site of important air and naval bases, skillful supporter of U.S., contributed naval units, combat fighter squadron, and 25,000 strong infantry division

BRAZIL’S ROLE DURING WWII Brazilian leaders believed:

…the traditional policy of “supporting the United States in the world in exchange for its support in South America” should be maintained “until the victory of American arms in the war and until the victory and consolidation of American ideals in the peace.”…The United States would lead the world when peace was restored and it would be a grave error for Brazil not to be at its side…Brazil was at the mercy of more powerful nations and , unless it had a mighty ally, “the future of Brazil will be everyone’s, except the Brazilians.”

CANADA’S ROLE DURING WWII Canada

Limited War effort b/c of hard times and horrors of earlier war

Complacency quickly shaken with Battle of Britain in 1940, France falling, and the evacuation of Dunkirk

@ outset of war saw contribution in production of war supplies not so much armed forces

With the U.S. and Soviets vow of neutrality until ‘41,Canada stood as the next strongest nation to Britain This however brought conscription back to the forefront

Wartime Production began Factories boomed, unemployment disappeared,

produced military supplies, rationed goods, and froze prices and wages

Women entered the labor force – “Bren Gun Girl” Victory in ’45 over 1 million Canadians saw

service overseas Devoted much diplomatic energy to winning U.S.

to support of the AlliesFinancial arrangements made for Canada to

finance war materials being provided for England under the lend-lease agreement

Marked Canada’s passage from the British to the U.S. Sphere of Influence

MUCH THE SAME ROLE DIPLOMATICALLY AND MILITARILY AS THE UNITED STATES

TREATMENT OF JAPANESE

The War inflamed a long tradition of racism against people of Asian descent In ‘43 started recruiting Japanese-Americans for

military serviceThe entire Japanese and Japanese American

population of the West Coast was transported to internment camps

More than 100,000 would spend their war time behind barbed wire in “relocation camps”

Upheld by the Supreme Court when taken there by an individual

IMPACT ON MINORITIES Minorities sought work in the booming war

industriesRacism occurred against them as well, namely

Mexican Americans and African AmericansAttacks against Mexican Americans took place

in S. California Zoot Suit Riots, U.S. Sailors

In Detroit a race riot would leave 35 dead and 700 wounded most being African American

IMPACT ON MINORITIES Jobs were still mainly for whites Military segregated black soldiers and

gave them low-level jobs Executive order 8802: prohibited

discrimination in war industries-not in the armed forces

(FEPC) Fair Employment Practices Committee, opened new jobs for blacks

Made slow gains, distinguished themselves in battle, and eventually fought side by side in battle with whites

THE ROLE OF WOMEN No government child care services provided

for womenWomen still flocked to defense plants

“Rosie the Riveter” was based on factMillions of women took the hardest jobs,

receiving full status, working in shipyards, steel mills, aircraft plants, and every heavy industry except mining

Employers eagerly recruited women;5 million had jobs; told to think of theirwork as a temporary necessity, a wartimeduty!

THE HOME FRONT-DOMESTIC COURSE Roosevelt created a number of agencies

War Production Board What we needed to produce for war

Office of Economic Stabilization Order out of chaos

Controlled Materials Plan Allocate critical commodities

Rationing Popular acceptance Gasoline, rubber, speed limits, food, clothing, and other consumer

goods Stamps in addition to cash Victory gardens 8 million tons of produce

THE HOME FRONT-DOMESTIC COURSE War Financing

Income tax extended to all workersCollected “at source” in form of payroll

deductions 7 to 42 million taxpayers

$318 billion to finance war 45% came from current revenues (taxes) Rest came from, public donations, banks, and $49

billion in liberty bonds Industry and Manufacturing

Autos, home appliances, etc…were suspended Industrial wages rose 22%Net farm income doubledGovernment imposed price and wage control

which helped with inflation

THE HOME FRONT-DOMESTIC COURSE “Arsenal of Democracy”

Armed and equipped not only its own forces but the other Allied nations as well

$50 billion in Lend-Lease aid flowed to all corners off the world

Britain received about half of this and Soviet Union about $10 billion of it

National electionsDetermined by military eventsString of defeats put Republicans inString of victory put Republicans out

THE HOME FRONT-DOMESTIC COURSE No ministry of Propaganda Instead Office of War Information

Looked after radio, advertisements, and movies Weapons development was one of the great

successes of the warOffice of Scientific Research and Development

Coordinated advancements in weaponry Cooperation between military, industrial, and

educational experts to a level never before seenRadar, proximity fuse, etc…

Persuaded Roosevelt to back what became the Atomic bomb and which took building a whole industry from scratch and persuading congress to finance a secret effort, Manhattan Project, without being told what it was paying for

THE HOME FRONT-DOMESTIC COURSE Popular Entertainment Boomed

Didn’t need ration ticketsBall parks, racetracks, movies, and music

War made life seem preciousSuicide rate fell by a thirdBirth and marriage rates soared

Early signs of what would become the baby boom that would transform the nation

At war’s end they felt proudSaving their country from defeatSaving democracy, putting all free peoples in

there debt

THE AMERICAS AND THE HOLOCAUST 1933-1945 six million Jewish slaughtered Death Camps

Basic purpose was to kill the Jewish, gas chambers were built for that purpose, six death camps all in Poland under the supervision of the S.S.

Firing squads, secret police This was the “final solution” to the Jewish

Question Swastika was ancient symbol, 6000 yrs old that

originally meant good luck Third Reich (empire):

1st : 962 - 1806 Roman 2nd : 1871 – 1890 Bismark 3rd : 1933 – 1945 Hitler

THE AMERICAS AND THE HOLOCAUST Great Debate on Americas response to the

Holocaust – Did we do all we could or not? The key to this debate is to look at the events and

responses in context of the realities of WWII and the events and values of the years that preceded it Hitler had set up laws and red tape against emigration Jews did not desire to leave their country unless it was

absolutely necessary At the time nobody inside or outside Germany

anticipated that the Nazi persecution of the Jews would lead to the Holocaust

Actions of German government were generally understood by both victims and bystanders as a return to the sorts of persecutions of prior centuries, not as steps toward genocide

THE AMERICAS AND THE HOLOCAUST Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) forced many

hand… November 9-10, 1938. On a single night, 91 Jews were

murdered and 25,000–30,000 were arrested and deported to concentration camps.

The Nazis coordinated an attack on Jewish people and their property.

In a single night, Jews saw the destruction of more than 200 synagogues and the ransacking of thousands of Jewish businesses and homes.

Between ‘33 and ‘41, 35 percent of all immigrants to the U.S. under quota guidelines were Jewish. After Kristallnacht, Jewish immigrants were more than half of all immigrants admitted to the United States

The War made further emigration impossible, but 72 % of all German Jews had left the country and 83% of all those under twenty-one

THE AMERICAS AND THE HOLOCAUST When the Holocaust had taken place it was beyond

the belief and the comprehension of almost all people living at the time, Jews included

Nevertheless, the U.S., took in double the number of Jewish refugees accepted by the rest of the world

Special squads of the German SS—the Einsatzgruppen—slaughered 1.5 millions Jews behind the German lines in Russia These were not refugees they were prisoners with no

hope of escape or rescue Prisoners of Hitler could only be saved by the

unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and that took four years and the mobilization of people and resources by the U.S., Great Britain, and the Soviet Union

THE AMERICAS AND THE HOLOCAUST Bomb Auschwitz? The worst of the Camps

Rail lines could easily be rebuilt with in days Plus the inmates of the cars and those at departure points

would have died of thirst, starvation, heat, cold, while the lines were repaired

Give Germans a pretext to say that the Allies killed the Jews

January of ‘44 we developed the War Refugee Board (Executive Order 9417) Created to aid civilian victims of the Nazi and Axis

powers. Created largely at the behest of Secretary of Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr.,

Subsequently credited with rescuing as many as 200,000 Jews from Nazi occupied countries, the commission has nevertheless received mixed praise because of the failure of the United States to act sooner despite clear evidence of ongoing atrocities in Nazi-occupied Europe.

THE BEGINNING OF THE ATOMIC AGE AND POSTWAR IMPACT United States was physically undamaged and

economically vitalized by the war America was now a ‘superpower’ and most expected it

to act like one Axis aggression, the Depression, Soviet Union, and

technological advances presented new threats to America’s economic and military security. These ‘threats’ would force the U.S to mobilize power even

in peacetime Gen. George C. Marshall would put the after war thought

into these words: Vast ‘ocean distances’ that once protected America had

evaporated; reliance on such outdated factors would put ‘the treasure and freedom of this great Nation in a paper bag’

Roosevelt would voice the public’s desire for a better life and for “security” Reasonable expectation after WWI aftermath, Depression,

and the enemies of WWII

THE BEGINNING OF THE ATOMIC AGE AND POSTWAR IMPACT Postwar economy attracted fear and hope

Fear b/c of last postwar economic struggle Hope b/c of promise of reward for wartime

struggles Met through the G.I. Bill

WWII undermined the existing racial system Reshaped national priorities about race FDR said “a nation facing ‘totalitarianism’ should

strengthen its unity and morale by refuting at home the very theories which we are fighting abroad”

Truman banned segregation and discrimination in the military

WWII reworked the systems of gender Praising women’s contributions

THE BEGINNING OF THE ATOMIC AGE AND POSTWAR IMPACT American’s fragile mix of anxiety and arrogance,

stoked by their possession and use of atomic weapons, shaped perceptions of the Soviet Union

The War’s greatest legacy was Americans’ newfound sense of permanent peril and the Cold War it helped to nourish

The Cold War gave permanence to temporary wartime improvisations in national governance secrecy, conscription, repression, industrial and

scientific mobilization, and high levels of defense spending

Exercise of awesome military and economic power More powerful national government

GI Bill, civil rights initiatives, education federal aid Massive government spending promoted prosperity –

a lesson learned through war and depression

THE BEGINNING OF THE ATOMIC AGE AND POSTWAR IMPACT Forged a new sense of patriotism and

nationhood America was now the world’s cultural

capital Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, and the Atomic

Bomb were dramatized in movies and television

The A-Bomb was at first thought as “what we could do to others” but quickly turned to what others-Soviet Union-could do to the U.S.Thus, forming Washington’s Cold War policies

The War was a benchmark of greatnessMilitary service became a virtual requirement

for the Presidency during the Cold War