US History Review Quiz 24.2 and 24.5
War Time Evacuation
1. Executive Order 9906 - Roosevelt authorizes US military to remove people from "war zones" * no reason required * no evidence of guilt needed * only ever used against Japanese 2. More than 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry removed from the West Coast *more than 2/3rds are native-born US citizens 3. Justified on grounds of "military necessity"
Theme #3: Human Rights and International Cooperation
1. Formation of United Nations - organization designed to promote peace - successor to League of Nations 2. War Crimes Trials - Nuremberg Trials of German war criminals *charged with mistreatment of POWs/civilians *charged with genocide (Holocaust) 3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) - attempt to establish worldwide standards for human rights
Ethnic Minorities in the Work Force
1. High demand for war production drives black migration to northern cities (Detroit, Chicago) 2. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 8802 banning racial discrimination in war industries 3. Native Americans leave reservations for factory jobs - many never return 4. Bracero program welcomes Mexicans to US temporary farm workers
War Financing
1. Increased taxes *New 5% income tax on all incomes 2. Most spending financed by borrowing * National Debt rises from $42 billion to $269 billion 3. Sale of "War Bonds" *Patriotic pressure to invest
Internment
1. Initial plan was simply to remove Japanese from West Coast 2. Racial prejudice means few states are willing to take large numbers of Japanese migrants 3. Solution - detain them in isolated camps
Domestic Economic Management
1. Most of US economy shifts to war production 2. Consumer goods become scarce - prices begin to rise 3. Government sets wages and prices to prevent inflation *Run by Office of Price Administration 4. Rationing instituted for restricted goods "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, and do without"
Theme #2: Shifting World Power
1. Pre-WWII Multipolar Power Structure - Britain and its Empire - France and its Empire - Germany - Japan - US - USSR (Soviet Union) 2. Post - WWII : Bipolar Power Structure - emergence of US and Soviet Union as two "superpowers" - former colonies in Africa and Asia become independent - other countries align themselves with either a US - led group or a USSR - led group
Theme #1: American Attitudes
1. Shift away from the idea of isolationism -US decides to engage as a major force in world affairs -Maintaining of strong military force 2. US as sole nuclear power 3. Optimistic About Future -US escapes WWII with limited damage -strong economy as a manufacturing powerhouse
Women in the Labor Force
1. Taboo on working women broken by World War II * Women take most white-collar clerical jobs * Even take some jobs in heavy industry and manufacturing 2. Most WWII working women were married and above 35 years old 3. Benefits * Family income increases * Greater sense of ability and opportunity 4. Still seen as an outlying event : most women expect to return to homes after
Home Front Moral
1. US government seeks control war information 2. Objective - raise spirits to encourage winning the war 3. Frank Capra's Documentary Film Series = Why We Fight 4. Cartoons (Disney/Looney Tunes) 5. Posters, Films, Music 6. Use of celebrities to sell war bonds and entertain troops
Labor Shortages
1. War provided a lot of employment 2. Armed forces grow from 335,000 in 1939 to 12.2 million in 1945 3. Virtually eliminates unemployment among white men 4. Shortage of workers in critical war industries
War and the Economy
1. federal spending was huge in 1940s because of the war 2. 45% of government spending is buying supplies for war in 1940s 3. total cost of WWII= $300 billion ( more than a trillion in today's times) 4. equal to TWICE the TOTAL spending by US government since 1776
Racial and Ethnic Tensions
African Americans "Double V" Campaign 1. Movement led by black laborer A. Phillip Randolph 2. Goal = defeating both the external enemy and racism at home 3. Attempt to use patriotism of African - Americans as a way to promote ending racism
Constitutional Concerns
Does government posses the power to detain U.S. citizens indefinitely without charge and without trial? 1. Korematsu vs. United States (1944) * Supreme Court decides (6-3) that evacuation and internment are constitutional * Bitter dissents claim the decision was motivated by racism * Seen today as one of the Supreme Court's biggest mistakes 2. U.S. Congress officially apologized in 1988 *Token payments of $20,000 to survivors and families