Ch. 22

Good Neighbors

During the 1930's, with Americans preoccupied by the economic crisis, international relations played only a minor role in public affairs. FDR still embarked on a number of departures in foreign policy. In 1933, he tried to stimulate American trade with the Soviet Union. He also formalized a policy initiated by Herbert Hoover by which the United States rejected the right to intervene militarily in the internal affairs of Latin American countries.

The Double-V

During the war, NAACP, membership grew from 50,000 to nearly 500,000. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), founded by an interracial group of pacifists in 1942, held sit-ins in northern cities to integrate restaurants and theaters. In Feb. 1942, The Pittsburgh Courier, coined the phrase that came to symbolize black attitudes during the war, Double-V. Victory over Germany and Japan, must be accompanied by victory over segregation at home.

What the Negro Wants

During the war, a broad political coalition centered on the left but reaching well beyond it called for an end to racial inequality in America. The NAACP and American Jewish Congress cooperated closely in advocating laws to ban discrimination in employment and housing. The new black militancy created a crisis for moderate white southerners. They now saw their middle ground evaporating as blacks demanded an end to segregation while white southerners called for protecting white supremacy. The War gave birth to the modern civil rights movement, and also planted the seeds for the South's massive resistance to desegregation during the 50's. Far more than in the 30's, federal officials spoke openly of the need for a dramatic change in race relations. One World, written by Wendell Willkie. About his travels in 1942 to rally support for the Allies.

Labor in Wartime

During the war, labor entered a three-sided arrangement with government and business that allowed union membership to soar to new heights. In order to secure industrial peace and stablize the war production, the gov forced employers to recognize unions. In 1944, Montgomery War, large mail-order company, defied pro-union order, the ar,y physically evicted the president. Union leaders agreed not to strike. Despite tha gains produced by labor militancy during the 1930's, unions only became firmly established in many sector of the economy during WW 2. Height of union membership was in 1945: 15 million members. However, there was a decline of the New Deal policies in the late 1930's. Congress still dominated by a conservative alliance of Republican and southern Democrats. Kept intact some New Deal policies like Social Security, but got rid of agencies controlled by leftists." (CCC, WPA) Despite "no strike" phase, 1943-1944 witnessed numerous brief walkouts protesting the increasing speed of assembly-line production.

Women at Work

During the war, the nation engaged in an unprecedented mobilization of "women power" to fill industrial jobs that were vacant. OWI encouraged women to go to work. Celebrated the achievements of Rosie the Riveter - depicted as muscular and self-reliant in Norman Rockwell's magazine cover. 15 million men in the armed forces. Women in 1944 made up more than 1/3 of the civilian labor force. 350000 served in auxiliary military units. New opportunites opened for women in industrial, professional and government positions. First time ever women in their 30's outnumbered the young and single among female workers. Women forced unions like the United Auto Workers and others to confront to issues like equal pay, maternity leave and childcare facilities.

"The Most Terrible Weapon"

FDR defeated Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey, the governor of NY eo win an unprecendented 4th term in 1944. But FDR died of a stroke on April 12, 1945. Harry S. Truman, FDR's successor. Big decision whether to use the atomic bomb against Japan. Truman did not know about the bomb or Manhattan Project until he became president. The bomb was a practical realization of the theory of relativity. Energy and matter. E= mc^2. Used uranium and plutonium. USA built an atomic bomb because Einstein fled in 1939 to the USA from Germany and informed Roosevelt that Nazi scientists were tying to develop an atomic weapon. In 1940, FDR authorized the Manhattan Project - a top secret program in which scientists developed the bomb in New Mexico. Weapon was tested successfully in July 1945.

The Aniticommunist Crusade

For nearly half a century, the Cold War profoundly affected American life. There would be no return to "normalacy" as after World War 1. The military-industrial establishment created during WW II would be permanent, not temporary. The United States retained a large and active federal government and poured money into weapon development and overseas bases. National security became a big thing. Cold War encouraged a culture of secrecy and dishonesty. American nuclear tests in New Mexico exposed thousands of civilians to radiation and cancer. Cold War military spending helped to fuel economic growth and support scientific research that not only perfected weaponry but also led to improved aircraft, computers and other products. Also the Cold War promoted rapid expansion of American higher education. It also reshaped the immigration policy. Internatinal embarrassment caused by American racial policies contributed to the dismantling of segregation.

Good Neighbors Policy 1933

Had mixed results. During the 1930's the United States withdrew its troops from Haiti and Nicaragua. FDR accepted Cuba's repeal of the Platt Amendment. These steps offered a belated recognition of the sovereignty of America's neighbors. FDR started to deal with undemocratic governments friendly to American business interests abroad. United States lent support to dictators in Nicaragua, DR, and Cuba.

Henry Wallace "Price of Free World Victory"

He offered the liberals response to Luce's essay in May 1942 to the Free World Association. Wallace - secretary of agriculture, one of the more liberal New Dealers. Wallace predicted that the war would usher in a "century of the common man." March of freedom would continue postwar. IT would be marked by international cooperation, not any single power's rule.

Nelson Rockefeller

He was the head of an office that hoped to expand cultural relations in the hemisphere. He sent many artists on Latin American tours. THIS WAS A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO RELATIONS WITH CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA THAN THE MILITARY INTERVENTION OF THE FIRST DECADES.

America becomes more allied

In 1941, USA became more and more closely allied with those fighting Germany and Japan. In Dec 1940, Roosevelt announced that the USA would become the "great arsenal of democracy" providing Britain and China with military supplies in their fight. However, Britain became bankrupt and could no longer pay for supplies. As a result, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act which authorized military aid as long as countries promised to return it after the war. USA gave arms to Britain, China and Soviet Union after Hitler invaded Russia and renounced his nonaggression pact. In June 1941, FDR also froze Japanese assets in the United States halting all trade. Including the sale of precious oil.

Birth of Civil Rights Movement

In 1942 in a public-opinion survey, the vast majority of white Americans were "unaware" that there is any such thing as a Negro problem. and where convinced that blacks were satisfied with their social and economic conditions. The war years witnessed the birth of the modern civil rights movement. Angered by the almost complete exclusion of AA from jobs in rapidly expanding war industries. The black labor leader, A. Philip Randolph in July 1941, called for A MARCH ON WASHINGTON. His demands included access to defense employment, an end to segregation and a national antilynching law. Randolph declared racial discrimination as "Pro Hitler." The march scared the government half to death. As a result to persuade Randolph to call off the march, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which banned discrimination in defense jobs and established a Fair Employment Practices Commision FEPC to monitor compliance. The black press was happy at the new order as a new Emancipation Proclamation. The FEPC played an important role in obtaining jobs for black workers in industrial plants and shipyards. In Southern California, the aircraft manufacturer Lockhead ran special buses into black neighborhoods to bring workers to its plants. By 1944, more than 1 million blacks, 300,000 women held manufacturing jobs.

Republican Resurgance

In 1946 election, large numbers of middle class voters alarmed by the labor turnmoil voted Republican. For the first time since the 1920's Republicans swept to control both houses of Congress. Over the President's veto in 1947, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act . It made it more difficult to bring unorganized workers into unions.

Progressive Party

In 1948, liberal Democrats (left wing critics) who thought President Truman's aggressive foreign policy threatened world peace, formed this new party. Leader was Henry A. Wallace Advocated an expansion of social welfare programs at home and denounced racial segregation more than Truman. He wanted to control on nuclear weapons and wanted to develop a relationship with the Soviet Union. Truman said that a vote for Wallace was a vote for Stalin.....

The Growing Communist Challenge

In 1949, Communists led by Mao Zedong emerged victorious in the long Chinese civil war. (A serious setback for the policy of containment) The Truman administration blocked China from occupying its seat at the UN. Truman administration refused to recognize the People's Republic of China. After the communist China and the building of Soviet atomic bombs, the National Security Counsil approved a call for a permanent military build uo to help USA.

Economic shift in the south

In the South, the combination of rural out-migration and gov. investment in military-related factores created a shift from agricultural to industrial employment. South still remained very poor when war ended. Living in shacks and no running water, and no indoor plumbing South only had two cities, Houston and New Orleans. Despite the expansion of war production, the South's economy still relied on agriculture and extractive industries or manufacturing linked to farming/agriculture.

Korean War

Initially American postwar policy focused on Europe. In Asia where the cold war turned hot. Korea was occupied by Japan in WW 2 and was divided into Soviet and American zones. Formed Communist North Korea and anticommunist South Korea (aligned with USA) In June 1950, North Korea army invaded the south hoping to regain control under communist power. USA went into Korea. American troops did the bulk of the fighting on this first battlefield of Cold War. Daring counter attack at Incon launched by MacArthur. The retreating forces went backwards and MacArthur's army soon occupied most of North Korea. But in October 1950, Chinese troop intervened driving the American back. MacArthur demanded the right to push north again and possibly invade China and use nuclear weapons, but Truman said no. Truman feared an all out war on the Asian mainland. Mac Arthur was upset and spoke badly about Truman, he was removed from command. Turned into stalemate. Never was a formal peace treaty ending the Korean War. More than 33,000 American died in Korea. Asian death toll reached 1 million Korean soldiers and 2 million civilians. Korean War made it clear that the Cold War was a global conflict

Japanese-American Internment

Military persuaded FDR to issue Executive Order 9066. Feb 1942, this ordered the relocation of all persons of Japanese descent from the West Coast. That spring and summer, authorities removed more than 110,000 men, women and children to camps far from their homes. The order did not apply to persons of Japanese descent living in Hawaii. Hawaii's economy needed the 40% of Japanese population. Internees were subjected to a quasi-military discipline in the camps. Living in former horse stables, makeshift shacks, barracks behind barbed wire. Were awakened to role call. Armed guards patrolled the camps. Privacy was difficult to come by. Very few medical facilities. Internment reveled how easily war can undermine basic freedoms. The press supported the policy almost unanimously. In Congress, only Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, spoke out against it. Courts refused to intervene. In 1944, Korematsu v United States, the Supreme Court denied the appeal of Fred Korematsu, Japanese American citizen who had been arrested for refusing to present himself for internment. Justice Hugo Black upheld (ok to do) the legality of the internment policy. The gov marketed war bonds to the internees. It established a loyalty oath program, expecting JA to swear allegiance to the USA gov that had imprisoned them and to enlist in the army. Some young men refused and were sent to prison. 20,000 JA joined the USA army from the camps. A long campaign for acknowledgement of the injustices done to the JA followed the end of the war. In 1988- Congress apologized for the internment and provided 20,000 in compensation to each surviving victim. President Clinton awarded Fred Korematsu, the Presidential Medial of Freedom.

Freedom of Want

Most Ambiguous of the Four Freedoms. Roosevelt initially meant it to refer to the elimination of barriers to international trade. But he linked freedom of want to an economic goal more relevant to the average citizen - protecting the future standard of living of the American worker and farmer by guaranteeing that the Depression would not resume after the war.

War in Europe

Munich Agreement of 1938 - Britain and France had caved into Hitler's Agreesion. In 1939, Soviet Union proposed an international agreement to oppose further German demands for territory. Britain and France refused because they did not trust the Soviet Union and Stalin. On Sept 1 immediatly after signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact (astonished the world that Stalin initiated peace), Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France who pledged to support Poland, declared war. Germany seemed unstoppable. On June 14, 1940, German troops occupied Paris. Hitler now dominated nearly all of Europe. Blitzkrieg - lightning war (Nazi tactic to take over countries) AXIS ALLIANCE: (Sept, 1940): Germany, Italy, Japan

NSC-68

National Securtiy Council memo #68 US "strive for victory" in cold war, pressed for offensive and a gross increase ($37 bil) in defense spending, determined US foreign policy for the next 20-30 yrs Helped spur dramatic increase in American military spending.

An American Dilemma

No event reflected the new concern with the status of black Americans more than the publication in 1944 of An American Dream, written by Swedish social scientist, Gunnar Myrdal. Book offered an uncompromising portrait of how deeply racism was entrenched in law, politics, economics and social behaviors. Tied in with admiration of the American Creed - belief in equality, justice and equal opportunity and freedom. The war more than ever had made Americans more aware of the contradiction between this creed and the reality of racial inequality. Myrdal's notion of conflict between American values and American racial policies was hardly new - Fredrick Douglass and W.E.B Du Bois had said the same thing. The book identified a serious problem. Many liberals insisted that racial discrimination must be confronted head-on through antilynching legislation, equal opportunity in the workplace, an expansion of SS policies, an end to segregated housing and schools. Roosevelt rarely spoke out about racial issues

The War in Europe

Nov. 1942, British and American forces invaded North Africa and by May 1943 forced the surrender of the German army commanded by General Erwin Rommel. By 1943- Allies also gained the upper hand in the Atlantic as British and American destroyers and planes devastated the German submarine fleet. American troops did not immediately become involved on the European continent in the war. By end of 1944, more Americans were stationed in the Pacific than in Europe. July 1943 - American and British forces invaded Sicily, beginning the liberation of Italy. Popular uprising in Rome overthrew the Mussolini government. USA MAJOR INVOLVEMENT IN EUROPE WAS D-DAY!! (June 6, 1944) - 200,000 American, British and Canadian soliders under Eisenhower landed in Normandy, France. Paris soon became liberated, pushing the Germans back. Crucial Fighting in Europe took place on the eastern front between Germany and the Soviet Union. In August 1942, the Russians, supported by the United States surrounded the Germans and forced them to surrender. GERMAN SURRENDER AT STALINGRAD IN JAN 1943 MARKED THE TURNING POINT OF THE EUROPEAN WAR.

The Office of War Information

OWI, created in 1942 to mobilize public opinion, illustrated how the political divisions generated by the New Deal affected efforts to promote the Four Freedoms. Liberal Democrats sought to make the conflict "a person's war for freedom." OWI feared that Americans had only a vague understanding of the war's purpose and that people seemed to only want the war to give payback to Japan on attack of Pearl Harbor. The OWI used radio, film and the press to convey their opinions. Congress eliminated most of its funding because they were concerned that OWI was devoting as much time to promoting New Deal policies than to the war effort.

The Dawn of the Atomic Age

On August 6, 1945, an American plane dropped an atomic bomb that detonated over Hiroshima, Japan because that city had not yet suffered damage. In an instant, every building was destroyed in the city. 70,000 civilians died immediately. Death toll kept rising because of radiation. August 9, USA dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki killing 70000 people. On the same day, the Soviet Union declared war on the Japanese and within a week, Japan surrendered. Use of bomb becomes controversial.

An Economic Bill of Rights

Roosevelt had not publicized or promoted the NRPB reports of 1942-1943, but he was mindful of the public-opinion polls that showed a large majority of American favoring a guarantee of employment for those who could not find work. In 1944, Roosevelt called for an "ECONOMIC BILL OF RIGHTS" Original bill of rights restricted the power of government in the name of liberty. FDR proposed to expand its power in order to secure full employment, an adequate income, medical care, education and a decent home for all Americans. FDR, "True individual freedom, cannot exist without economic security and independence." However, Roosevelt only spoke occasionally about the Economic Bill of Rights during the 1944 presidential campaign. New VP, Henry S. Truman, senator from Missouri. Congress did not enact the Economic Bill of Rights, but in 1944, it extended to the millions of returning veterans an array of benefits.

Toward Intervention

Roosevelt viewed Hitler as a mad gangster whose victories posed a direct threat to the United States. Most Americans however remained desperate to remain out of the conflict. In 1940, Congress agreed to allow the sale of arms to Britain on a cash and carry basis. Congress also approved plans for military rearmament. Roosevelt was reluctant to go forward because of a relection looming. Opponents of involvement in Europe organized America First Committee, included leaders like Henry Ford, Father Coughlin, Charles A. Lindbergh.

1940 Election

Roosevelt won an easy victory over Indiana business leader Wendell L. Willkie and first time a president ran for a third term. Both supported the law enacted in Sept 1940, that established the nation's first peacetime draft.

Cold War Critics

Soviet Union: Stalin had consolidated a brutal dictatorship that jailed or murdered millions of Soviet citizens. One-party rule, state control of the arts and intellectual life and government controlled economy, Soviet Union presented the complete opposite of a democracy.

Mexican-American Rights

The "zoot suit" riots of 1944, in which club-wielding sailors and policemen attacked Mexican-American youths wearing flamboyant clothing on the streets of Los Angeles. Mexican Americans brought complaints of discrimination before the FEPC to fight the practice in the Southwest of confining them to the lowest-paid work or paying them lower wages than white workers performing the same tasks. Half a million Mexican-American men and women served in the armed forces. And with Discrimination against Mexicans, Texas (state with largest Mexican population) in 1943, unanimously passed the oddly named Caucasian Race - Equal privileges resolution. Stated that "all persons of Caucasian race were entitled to equal treatment in places of public accommodation. Texas law had defined Mexicans as white, the measure applied to them.

Assessing the decision to drop the bomb

The Japanese had fought ferociously while being friven from one Pacific island to the next. An American invasion of Japan, some advisors warned Truman, might cost as many as 250,000 American lives. No such invasion was planned until 1946 and evidence shows that Japan was close to surrender. Japanese officials had communicated a willingness to end the war if Emperor Hirohito could remain in his throne. Japan's economy was also crippled and then they would have had to fight the United States and the Soviet Union. However, Truman decided to launch the bombs because weapons are created to be used.

Origins of the Cold War: The Two Powers

The USA emerged from WW 2 as by far the world's greatest power. Although most of the army was quickly demobilized, the country boasted the world's most powerful army and navy and air force. USA accounted for half the world's manufacturing capacity. Atomic bomb. Roosevelt was determined to avoid a retreat to isolationism like the one that occurred in WW 1. Roosevelt believed that the USA could lead the rest of the world to a future of international cooperation, expanding democracy and increasing living standards. Creation of the UN and the World Bank had been created to promote these goals. Only power to rival the USA was the Soviet Union. Armies now occupied most of Eastern Europe, including eastern Germany. The Soviets looked forward to a world order modeled on their own society and values. Soviet Union was in no position to embark on a new military adventure because of devastation during the war. Lost more than 20 million people. People did not think that the Soviet Union would go to war with the powerful USA.

The Road to Serfdom

The failure of the Full Employment Bill confirmed the political stalemate that had begun with the elections of 1938. Revealed that economic planning represented a threat to liberty. "The Road to Serdom" 1944, Friedrich A. Hayek, an Austrian born economist. Hayek claimed that even the best-intentioned government efforts to direct the economy posed a threat to individual liberty. "Laissez-faire" He claimed, "planning leads to dictatorship" He offered a new intelectual justification for opponents of active government. A free market mobilizes the fragmented and partial knowledge scattered throughout society far more effectively than a planned economy. He was not a doctrine advocate of "laissez faire" His book denounced measures of socialism. He criticized conservatives for fondness of authoritarian gov. Set the stage for a new battle over the government's proper role in society and the economy and the social conditions of American freedom.

American ideals

The idea of an American mission to spread democracy and freedom goes back to the Revolution. Traditionally, it had envisioned the country as an example, not as the active agent imposing American mode throughout the globe.

Black Internationalism

The link between the fate of African-Americans with that of peoples of African descent in other part of the world. Black radicals like David Walker and Martin Delany had sought to link the rate of African Americans with that of peoples of African descent in other parts of the world, especially in the Caribbean and Africa. Five Pan-African Congresses that met between 1919 and 1945. Attended by black intellectuals from the United States, Caribbean, Europe, Africa, these gatherings denounced the colonial rule of Africa. World War II stimulated among AA an even greater awareness of the links between racism in the USA and colonialism abroad.

Toward an American Century

The prospect of an affluent future provided a point of unity between New Dealers and conservatives, business and labor. Promise of prosperity to some extent united two of the most celebrated blueprints for the post war world.

Business and the War

The relationship between the federal government and big business changed dramatically from the day of the Second New Deal. As corporate executives flooded into federal agencies concerned with war production, Roosevelt offered incentives to spur production - low interest loans, tax concenssions, and contracts with guarenteed profits. By the end of the war, the 200 biggest industrial companies accounted for almost half of all corporate assets. Americans marveled at the achievements of wartime manufacturing. New products rolled off the assembly lines. Scientific research with inventions like jet engines and radars helped to win the war. This attention towards business helped restore the reputation of businesses, which had reached an all time low during the Great Depression. West Coast emerged as a focus of military-industrial production. Gov. invested millions of dollars in shipyards for example in Seattle and San Fran. **California by end of the war had received one-tenth of all federal spending and LA had become the nation's second largest manufacturing center. **

Indians during the War

The war also brought many American Indians closer to the mainstream of American life. Some 25,000 served in the army who transmitted messages in their complex native language, which the Japanese could not decipher. Tens of thousands of Indians during the war left reservations for jobs in urban cities. Some never returned to reservations. Some Indian veterans took advantage of the GI Bill to attend college after the war. Navajo code talkers

Luce and Wallace

They both spoke the language of freedom. Luce envisioned worldwide free enterprise, Wallace anticipated a New Deal. BOTH HAD IN COMMON: A NEW CONCEPTION OF AMERICA'S ROLE IN THE WORLD (international involvement, promise of economic abundance and the idea that the American experience should be a model)

Loyalty Program and Disloyalty

Those linked to communism were considered enemies of freedom. Assault on civil liberties - called McCarthyism. This began before Senator Joesph McCarthy burst onto the national scene in 1950. In 1947 less than two weeks after announcing the Truman Doctrine, the president established a loyalty review system in which government employees were required to demostrate their patriotism without being allowed to confront accusers. The new national security system also targeted homosexuals who worked for the gov. They were deemed as particularly susceptible to blackmail by Soviet agents as well as supposedly lacking in the manly qualities. Loyalty Program failed to undercover any cases of espionage. The federal gov dismissed several hundred persons from their jobs and thousands resigned.

Interventionists tried to awaken USA

Those who believed that the USA must intervene to stem the rising tide of facism tried to awaken a reluctant country to prepare for war. They popularized slogans. Created the Free World Association, which sought to bring the USA into war against Hitler. Also formation of Freedom House.

Leading up to Isolationism

To most Americans, the threat arising from Japanese and German agression seemed VERY DISTANT. There were some admirers of Hitler in the United States. Henry Ford did business with Nazi Germany throughout the 1930's. Trade with Japan still happened. 80 percent of Japan's oil supply came from the United States. Many Americans remained convinced that involvement in WW1 had been a mistake. People thought that international banks had pressed for Wilson to enter the war. Pacifism spread on college campuses during this time. (Where thousands of student took part in a strike for peace in 1935) Irish Americans remained strongly Anti-British

The Truman Presidency

Truman's first domestic task as president was to transition the U.S from a wartime to a peacetime economy. Demobilization went quick, within the year, only 3 million men were in the armed services. Soldiers found it difficult to readjust to civilian life. Many took advantage of the GI Bill of Rights. A lot of returning soldiers entered the work force (why women lost their jobs)

Truman's civil rights proposals

Truman's proposals (including most of the Fair Deal legislation) which were mostly blocked the the "conservative coalition," although, he ended racial discrimination in government hiring and armed forces. Feb 1948, Truman presented an ambitious civil rights program to Congress calling for a permanent federal civil rights commission, national laws against lynchings and poll tax to ensure equal access to jobs and education. Congress disapproved. In July 1948, Truman issued an executive order to desegregate the armed forces. Korean War - first American conflict fought by an integrated army since the War of Independence. Truman hated racial discrimination. Focus on civil rights - helped gain his relection. Democratic platform of 1948 was most progressive in the party's history. Led by Hubert Humphrey 0 the young mayor of Minneapolis

The Reconstruction of Japan

Under the guidance of Genera Douglas MacArthur, the "supreme commander" in Japan until 1948. Japan adopted a new, democratic constitution and eliminated absentee landlordism so most tenants became owners of land. This was against the wishes of the Japanese leaders. The new constitution gave women the right to vote for the first time. USA also oversaw the economic reconstruction of Japan. effort to rebuild Japan's industrial base as a bastion of anticommunist strength in Asia. By 1950's Japan's economy in full swing. Japan adopted new technologies and spent less on the military.

Pearl Habor and declaring war

Until Nov 1941, the administration's attention focused on Europe. But at the end of Nov. intercepted Japanese messages revelaed that an assault in the Pacific was coming. NO ONE KNEW WHERE IT WOULD COME! Dec 7, 1941, Japanese planes launched from aircraft carriers bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This was the first attack by a foreign power on American soil since the War of 1812. Pearl Harbor was a complete and devastating surprise. In a few hours, more than 2000 American servicemen were killed and 8 battleships were destroyed. **There have been conspiracy theories abound suggesting that FDR knew of the attack and did nothing to prevent it so as to bring the United States into the war** No credible evidence supports this. FDR claimed, Dec 7 "a date which will live in infamy." Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan. Vote almost unanimous. Next day, Germany declared war on the United States. America finally had joined the largest war in human history.

Peace, but not harmony

WW 2 produced a radical redistribution of world power. Japan and Germany - two dominant military powers in their regions before the war were defeated. Britain and France though victorious were weakened. ONLY USA AND SOVIET UNION WERE ABLE TO PROTECT SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE BEYOND THEIR NATIONAL BORDER. OVERALL USA clearly dominant world power. But peace did not usher in an era of international harmony. The dropping of the atomic bomb left a worldwide legacy of fear. The language of World War II with which it was fought helped to lay the foundation for postwar ideals of human rights that extend to all of mankind. Allied victory saved mankind from a living nightmare - a worldwide system of dictatorial rule and slave labor. But disputes of freedom and non-whites in the USA sparked more wars to come.

Fighting for Four Freedoms

WW 2: GOOD WAR. a time of national unity in pursuit of noble goals. Sell WW 2, was talks of "freedom." Talk of freedom pervaded wartime America. Four Freedoms expressed deeply held American values worthy of being spread worldwide. The four freedoms showed American purposes in WW 2. Freedom from fear: desire for security Freedom of Speech Freedom of Religion Freedom of Want

1948 Campaign

Wallace threatened to draw votes from Truman on the left and Thurmond to undermine the president's support in the South. Truman's main opponent was Republican Thomas A. Dewey. Dewey was unwilling to commit himself on controversial issues. He was certain he was going to win. Truman ran an aggressive campaign. He crisscrossed the country by train. Truman revived New Deal rhetoric denouncing Wall Street and charged his opponent with threatening to undermine Social Security and other New Deal benefits. Was a 4- way 1948 campaign. Every public-opinion poll had Dewey winning. Truman won and represents one of the greatest upsets in American political history. Blacks played a decisive role in the outcome. Wallace was the big loser

The Bracero Program

War had a far more ambiguous meaning for non-white groups than for whites. On the eve of Pearl Harbor, racial barriers remained deeply entrenched in American life. Southern blacks still tapped in a rigid system of segregation. Asians could not emigrate to the USA or become naturalized citizens. 400,000 Mexican-Americans had been sent back to their home country by local authorities during the Great Depression. Most American Indians still lived on reservations in poverty. BRACERO PROGRAM: agreed to by Mexican and American governments in 1942, tens of thousands of contract laborers crossed into the USA to take up jobs as domestic and agricultural workers. Initially designed as a temporary response to the wartime labor shortage. Program lasted until 1964. More than 4.5 million Mexicans entered the USA under labor contracts. Braceros - the workers were supposed to receive decent housing and wages, but since they were not citizens, they found it almost impossible to form unions or secure better working conditions. NEW opportunities for second generation Mexican Americans. Hundreds of thousands of men and women emerged from ethnic neighborhoods to work in defense industries and serve in the army and serve in the army (could serve next to whites) Chicano culture - fusion of Mexican heritage and American experience was born. Led to rise in inter ethnic marriages.

Blacks and the War

Washington remained a rigidly segregated city, and the Red Cross refused to mix blood from blacks and whites in its blood banks. Charles Drew- the black scientist who pioneered the techniques of storing and shipping blood plasma - a development of immense importance to the treatment of wounded soldiers - protested bitterly against this policy, pointing out it had no scientific basis. War spurred a movement of black population from the rural South to the cities of the North and West that dwarfed the Great Migration of World War 1. About 700,000 black migrants poured out of the South on what they called "liberty trains." Found violent hostility in Detroit. War failed to end lynchings. Criminals still went unpunished.

Blacks and the Military Service

When WW 2 began, the air force and marines had no black members. The army restructed the number of black enlistees and contained only 5 black officers, three of them chaplains. The navy accepted blacks only as waiters and cooks. During the war, more than 1 million blacks served in the armed forces. In segregated units. Many northern black draftees were sent to the South for military training, where they found themselves excluded from movie theaters and servicemen's clubs on military bases and abused. Some black soldiers had to give up their seats on railroads to accommodate Nazi prisoners of war. Southern black veterans returned home and encountered racial discrimination of the GI bill.

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West. Made in speech at Fulton, Missouri "iron curtain had descended across Europe"

The War in the Pacific

World War II has been called a "gross national product war" meaning that its outcome turned on which coalition of combatants could outproduce the other. First few months of American involvement witnessed an unbroken strong of military disasters. People thought that the United States would be able to defeat the Axis powers because of their superior industrial might. HOWEVER FIRST FEW MONTHS FOR THE USA WERE DISASTROUS. Japan took control of Guam and the Philippines and other Pacific islands. At Bataan, in the Philippines, the Japanese forced 78,000 Americans and Filipino troops to lay down their arms - the largest surrender in American military history. Thousands died on a "death march" to prisoner in war camps. At the same time, German submarines sank hundreds of Allied merchant and naval vessels during the Battle of the Atlantic. SOON THE TIDE OF THE BATTLE BEGAN TO TURN. IN MAY 1942, in the Battle of the Coral Sea, The American navy turned back a Japanese fleet intent on attacking Australia. Also Japan lost many men at the Battle of Midway Island on June 3-6, 1942. These victories for the USA allowed them to launch the bloody campaigns that one by one drove the Japanese from fortified islands.

The American Dilemma

World War II reshaped Americans' understanding of themselves as a people. Embracing pluralism. Racism was the enemy's philosophy; Americanism rested on toleration of diversity and equality for all. By the end of the war, the new immigrant groups had been fully accepted as loyal ethnic Americans, rather than members of distinct and inferior "races."

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

a 1948 agreement that established an international forum for negotiating mutual reductions in trade restrictions and stimulate free trade. Helped create an enormous market for American goods and investment.

Berlin Airlift

airlift in 1948 that supplied food and fuel to citizens of west Berlin when the Soviets closed off land access to Berlin. 11 month airlift followed.

Mahatma Gandhi

during the war, the Indian nationalist leader wrote to Roosevelt that the idea that the allies are fighting to make the world safe for freedom of the individual and for democracy seems hollow.

Truman's Fair Deal

extension of new deal goals;promoted full employment, higher minimum wage,greater social security, and housing assistance President Truman was backed by party liberals and organized labor. His program was in Sept. 1945 focused on improving the social safety net and raising the standard of living. Called Congress to increase minimum wage and expand Social Security and education.

Full Employment Bill

in 1945, urged by unions, civil rights organizations and religious groups for Congress to pass. Which tried to do for the entire economy what GI bill did for veterans. The proposal requited the federal government to increase its level of spending to create enough jobs in case the economy failed. Bill passed in 1946, with the word "full" removed from its title. Many Americans pleased that the government continued to play a major role in maintaining employment and a high standard of living.

Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 GI bill of rights

most far-reaching pieces of social legislation in American history. It rewarded members of armed forces for their service, it shaped postwar society. Under its provisions, in 1946, 1 million veterans were attending college under its provisions. More than 4 million veterans would receive home mortgages, spurring the post war suburban housing boom.

CENTO

oppose Communism in Middle East

"The American Century"

publisher Henry Luce's 1941 effort to mobilize the American people both for the coming war and for an era of postwar world leadership. His book insisted that Americans must embrace the role history had thrust upon them as the "dominant power in the world." They must seize the opportunity to share with all people their magnificent industrial products and share the great American ideals. American power and American values would underpin a previously unimaginable prosperity. OPPOSITION TO ESSAY: Luce's essay title and rhetoric some people interpreted as a call for an American imperialism. It aroused many opposition among liberals.

Events of 1947-1953

showed that the world had moved very far from the hopes for global harmony symbolized by the founding of the UN in 1945. World divided into 2. USA leader of West.

Keynesianism

the belief the government must manage the economy by spending more money when in a recession and cutting spending when there is inflation. World War 2 had ended because of implementing a military version of Keynesianism. NRPB proposed the continuation of Keynesian spending in peacetime.

Casualities of WW2

13.6 million German causalities in WW2, 10 million came on the Russian front. 20 million Russians perished (not just soldiers).

SEATO

Alliance formed to oppose Communism in Southeast Asia

Hitler's Final Solution

Genocide of the Jewish people Mass extermination of "undesirable" peoples, Slavs, gypsies, homosexuals, and Jews. 6 million Jews died in Nazi concentration camps. Holocaust. Was the Nazi belief that Germans constituted a "master race" destined to rule the world.

Winston Churchill

Prime Minster of Great Britain in 1940 - WW2

The Marshall Plan

The language of the Truman Doctrine alarmed many Americans because of the open-ended worldwide responsibilities of the USA. Secretary of State, George C. Marshall's speech at Harvard in June 1947. Marshall pledged the USA to contribute billions of dollars to finance the economic recovery of Europe Western. Marshall PLAN offered a positive vision to go along with containment. Aimed to combat the idea, widespread since the Great Depression that capitalism was in decline and communism the wave of the future. West now prosperous, east ruined. Reversed the ideas that communism was the way forward. Freedom meant more than simply anticommunism - it required the emergence of the "political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. Envisioned a New Deal For Europe. Aim was a higher standard of living in Europe and maximum employment for workers and farmers. Proved to be one of the most successful foreign aid programs in history. By 1950, WESTERN EUROPE production exceeded prewar levels. MARSHALL PLAN FURTHER SOLIDIFIED THE DIVISION OF THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE.

The Dixiecrat and Wallace Revolts

"I say the time has come" Humphrey said at Democratic national convention "to walk out of the shadow's of states' rights and into the sunlight of human rights." Dixiecrats - numerous southern delegates dubbed this name by the press - walked out of the gathering and formed the States' Rights Democratic Party. Gov Strom Thurmond of South Carolina - they nominated for president. Most of his support was from those alarmed by Truman's civil rights initiatives. He wanted complete segregation of the races. Thurmond thought that Truman extending federal power into the South would convert America into a Hitler state.

The Fifth Freedom

"Selling of America" became an overwhelming private affair. Private companies joined in the campaign to promote wartime patriotism. Alongside advertisements urging Americans to purchase war bonds, the war witnessed a burst of messages marketing the definition of freedom. Without directly criticizing Roosevelt, the private companies suggested that he had overlooked a fifth freedom **"Free Enterprise"** Americans on the home front enjoyed a prosperity many could not remember. Consumers found more goods available in 1944 than when the war began. "freedom of choice"

Pull of Tradtion

"We as a nation, must change out basic attitude toward the work of women" one magazine article. Change proved difficult!! Government workers and Employers depicted work as a temporary necessity, NOT AN EXPANSION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS. When the war was over, most female workers especially in higher paying places lost their jobs.

Long Telegraph

(1946) A 8,000 word missive by diplomat George Kennan from Moscow that outlined why America needed to develop an aggressive foreign policy aimed at containing Soviet expansionist impulses. Kennan advised the Truman administration that the Soviets could not be dealt with a normal government. His telegraph laid the foundation for what became known as the policy of "containment" committed to preventing any further expansion of Soviet power.

The roots of containment

-FDR thought that the USA would maintain friendly relations with the Soviet Union after the war. However, the two powers came into conflict. Wartime alliance began to unravel from the day peace was declared. First confrontation of the Cold War took place in the Middle East. (Iran had rich oil fields). Soviet Union established communist rule over Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. Many Americans became convinced that Stalin was violating the promise of free elections in Poland that had been agreed at the Yalta conference.

Jeanette Rankin of Montana

1 vote who voted against going to war for WW2 when Congress voted.

Isolationism

1930's version of Americans' long-standing desire to avoid foreign entanglements dominated Congress. -1935 passed a series of Neutrality acts - like travel on belligerent ships

Third Term

1940, FDR announced his candidacy for a third term as president. Breaking with tradition that dated back to George Washington. The international situation was too fragile for him to leave office.

Battle of Britain

1940-1941. German air force launched devastating attacks on London and other cities. Royal Air Force fought back, but Churchill called on the "new world to step forward and rescue the old."

Postwar Strike Wave

1946: a new wave of labor militancy swept the country. AFL and CIO launched Operation Dixie. Campaign to bring unionization to the South and shatter the hold of anti-labor conservatives on the region's politics. The resulting drop in workers' real income sparked the largest strike wave in American history. Nearly 5 million workers walked off their jobs demanding wage increase. President Truman feared the strikes would seriously disrupt the economy. Railroad workers stopped work and set up picket lines, Truman prepared a speech in which he threatened to draft them all into the army. The walkout soon ended as did a coal strike after the Truman administration secured a court order requiring the miners to return to work.

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey Truman never expected to become president. Democrat. He was an undistinguished senator from Missouri who had risen in politics through his connection with the boss of the Kansas City political machine, Tom Pendergast. Truman was convinced that Stalin could not be trusted and that the USA had a responsibility to provide leadership to a world that he tended to view in black and white terms. In 1947, Britain was forced to end military and financial aid to two crucial governments - Greece and Turkey. Britain's economy was shattered by the war. These two governments were facing threats from communists and the Soviets. Britain wanted the USA to fill the spot. Truman realized that the only way for Congress to pass aid to these countries was for Truman to scare the hell out of the American people. Pulled out heaviest rhetorical arsenal - defense of freedom. 24 times in the 18 minute speech, he used the word free. That region was the gateway to southeastern Europe and oil-rich Middle East. Truman Doctrine: Building on the wartime division of the globe into free and enslaved worlds, and invoking a far older vision of an American mission to defend liberty against the forces of darkness. Truman succeeded in persuading both the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress to support his policy. Got 400 million dollars for the two governments - military aid. Bipartisan - support for the containment of communism. The speech set a precedent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes throughout the world. Now created new national security bodies immune from democratic oversight (CIA). Gathered intelligence and conduct secret military operations abroad.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

A congressional committee that investigated Communist influence inside and outside the U.S. government in the years following World War II. Launched a series of hearings about communist influence in Hollywood. Celebrities like Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan testified that the movie industry harbored numerous communists. The Hollywood Ten refused to answer the committee's questions and were charged with contempt of Congress - served jail terms. Hollywood studios blacklisted them and denied them employment.

Facism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and has no tolerance for opposition, Italy

Planning the Postwar World

A series of meetings between Allied leaders formulated plans for the postwar world. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met at Tehran, Iran in 1943 and at Yalta in 1945 to make agreements. The final "Big Three" conference took place at Potsdam near Berlin in July 1945. Here they established a military administration for Germany and agreed to place top Nazi leaders on trial for war crimes. Relations between the three Allies were often uneasy. Neither the USA or Britain trusted Stalin.

Norman Rockwell

A twentieth-century American artist and illustrator, known for his warm-hearted paintings of rural and small-town life in the united States. Many of his paintings appeared cover illustrations for the magazine The Saturday Evening Post. Paintings of the Four Freedoms. Describing Freedom of Want, the editors chose an unknown Filipino poet, Carlos Bulosan, who emigrated to the United States. He showed how the Four Freedoms could inspire hopes for a better future. He wrote of those Americans still outside the social mainstream, where freedom meant, "sharing the promise and fruits of American life" pg 857

Road to War

Alarming developments in Asia and Europe, quickly overshadowed events in Latin America. By mid 1930's evident that war was on the horizon. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria - a providence northern China. The Japanese troops moved farther into China. Japan overran the city of Nanjing and massacred 300000 Chinese prisoners. Adolf Hitler - of Germany also gained attention. He embarked on a campaign to control the entire continent. Benito Mussolini of Italy, founder of facism, started a movement similar to Hitler's Nazism. In 1938, Hitler annexed Austria and soon after gobbled up all of that country. AS the 1930's progressed, Roosevelt became more and more alarmed at Hitler's aggression towards the German Jews. Roosevelt had little choice but to follow the policy of "appeasement" towards Hitler, fearing that if he did not another war would break out. In 1938, British Prime Minister, Nevile Chamberlain returned from the Munich conference of 1938 and said that he had guaranteed "peace in our time."

The United Nations

Allies also agreed to establish a successor to the League of Nations. In 1944 conference at Dumbarton Oaks, near D.C developed the structure of the UN. General Assembly - a forum for discussion (equal voice) Security Council - responsible for maintaining world peace. 10 rotating members. 5 permanent members. (Britain, China, France, Soviet Union, USA) UN Charter - outlawed (did not allow) force or the threat of force as a means of settling international disputes.

Patriotic Assimilation

Among other things, World War II created a vast melting pot, especially for EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS and children. Millions of Americans moved out of urban ethnic neighborhoods and isolated rural enclaves into the army and industrial plants where they came into contact with people of very different backgrounds. One historian called, "Patriotic Assimilation," differed sharply from the forced Americanization of World War I. Roosevelt now promoted pluralism as the only source of harmony in a diverse society. The OWI highlighted nearly every group's contributions to American life and celebrated the strength of a people united in respect for diversity. By the end of the war, racism and nativism had been stripped of intellectual respectability, and were viewed as psychological disorders. Even Hollywood in movies, portrayed fighting units whose members represented different ethnic groups put aside group loyalties and prejudices for the common cause. Movie, This is the Army, offered a vision of postwar society that celebrated ethnic diversity. STILL WERE INTOLERANCE IN USA AND HARDLY DISAPPEARED. Many business and government circles excluded Jews. Roosevelt knew about the concentration camps in Germany and failed to authorize air strikes that might have destroyed German death camps. **NONETHELESS, the war made millions of ethnic Americans, especially children feel fully American for the first time.***

4/17: The End of the War

As 1945 opened, Allied victory was assured. In Dec 1944, Hitler launched a desperate surprise counter attack in France. The Germans pushed allied troops 50 miles back. Called Battle of the Bulge. In March, American troops crossed the Rhine River and entered the industrial heartland of Germany. Hitler committed suicide and Soviet forces occupied Berlin. May 8 - VE Day (for victory in Europe) came the formal end to war against Germany.

International crisis of 1930's

As the international crisis deepened in the 1930's, the Roosevelt administration took steps to counter German influence in Latin America by promoting respect for American culture.

Asian-Americans in Wartime

Asian-American's war experience was paradoxical. More than 50,000 children of immigrants from China, Japan and Korea fought in the army, mostly in Asian units. For China since allies, Congress in 1943 ended decades of complete exclusion by establishing a nationality quota for Chinese immigrants. Chinese Americans moved out of ethnic ghettos to work alongside whites in jobs on the home front. Annual limit of 105. Experience of Japanese-Americans was far different. Both sides saw the Pacific war as a race war. Japanese propagada portrayed Americans as a self-indulgent people contaminated by ethnic and racial diversity as opposed to the racially "pure" Japanese. In USA, the shocking attack on Pearl Harbor combined to produce an unprecedented hatred of Japan. USA propaganda portrayed the Japanese as foes: rats, dogs, gorillas and snakes. About 70% of Japanese-Americans lived in the continental USA lived in California. 1/3 were first generation immigrants, but majority were nisei, American born (citizens). Many of them had never been to Japan and only spoke English. USA government viewed every person of Japanese ethnicity as a potential spy.

Yalta and Bretton Woods

At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill entered only a mild protest against the Soviet plans to retain control of the Baltic states and a large part of Poland (restoring Soviet ww1 territory) Stalin agreed to enter war against Japan in 1945 and was very adamant about establishing communism in eastern Europe. Yalta saw the high-water mark of wartime American-Soviet cooperation. Yalta was in southern Soviet Union. Disagreements. Tensions also existed between the USA and britain. Churchill rejected making India free of British control. He also had private deals with Stalin to divide southern and eastern Europe into British and Soviet spheres of influence. Shaping the Postwar economic order: Britain resisted American efforts to reshape and dominate the postwar economic order. Meeting at Bretton Woods, NH in July 1944 replaced the british pound with the us dollar as main currency. Also this conference created two American dominated financial institutions. World Bank would provide money to developing countries and to help rebuild Europe. International Monetary Fund would work to prevent governments from devaluing their currency to gain an advantage in international trade. Bretton Woods created the framework for the postwar capitalist economic system. Recognized the United States as the world's financial leader. USA to avoid the Great Depression again removed the barriers to free trade.

4/11: The Home Front: Mobilizing the War

At home, World War 2 transformed the role of the national government. FDR created federal agencies like the War Protection Board, The War Man power Commission and the Office of Price Administration to regulate the allocation of labor, control of shipping industry, establish manufacturing and fix wages and prices. More Federal workers rose from 1 million to 4 million, also pushed unemployment rates to 2%!!!! The government built housing for war workers and forced civilian industries to retool for war production. Auto Companies now turned out trucks and tanks for the army. Also gross national product rose during the war. The government increased taxes, and began the practice of withholding income tax directly from weekly paychecks. By 1945, 40 millions Americans paid income taxes. "class taxation" to "mass taxation"

Jackie Robinson

Brooklyn Dodgers (1947); challenging race relations. First black player in MLB. He promised Branch Ricky that he would not retaliate when subjected to racist taunts by opposing fans and players. He had a lot of dignity and that won him a lot of nationwide respect. Opened the door to the integration of baseball.

Berlin Blockade and NATO

Cold War intensified and took a militaristic turn. At the end of WW 2, each of the four victorious powers assumed control of a section of occupied Germany and of Berlin. In June 1948, the United States, Britain and France introduced a separate currency in their zones (West Germany). In response, the Soviets cut off road and rail traffic from the American, British and French zones. Two new nations emerged after Stalin lifted the blockade in 1949. East and West Germany. Germany not unified until 1991. Also in 1949, Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb. In 1949, the USA, Canada and ten Western European countries established the NATO, pledging mutual defense against ant future Soviet attack. West Germany became part of NATO. North Atlantic Treaty Organization

"The Way of Life of Free Men"

Congress moved to dismantle parts of the New Deal, but liberal Democrats and their left-wing allies unveiled plans for a postwar economic policy that would allow all AMERICANS to enjoy freedom from want. 1942-1943: NRPB: offered a blueprint for a peacetime economy based on full employment, an expanded welfare state and a widely shared American standard of living. Called for a new bill of rights too that would include all Americans in an expanded Social Security system and guarantee access to education, health care, adequate housing. NRPB's plan for a "full-employment economy" with a "fair distribution of income" embodied the way of life of free men. The reports appeared to reflect the views of British economist John Maynard Keynes.

The Nature of the War

Droppings of the bombs was the logical culmination of the way WW 2 had been fought. Never before had civilian populations been ruthlessly targeted. Military personnel represented 90 perccent of those that died during WW 1, and 20 million civilians died during WW 2. Germany had killed many Jews and had bombed many cities. The Allies carried out even more deadly air assaults on civilan populations. The firebombing of Fresden killed some 100,000 people mostly women and children. In March 9, nearly the same number died in an inferno caused by the bombings of Tokyo. FEW people criticized Truman's decision because by war propaganda, Americans hated the Japanese. General Dwight Eisenhower thought that the bomb use was unnecessary.

Postwar Civil Rights

During his first term, Truman reached out in unprecedented ways to the nation's black community. In years immediately following WW 2, the status of black Americans enjoyed a prominence in national affairs unmatched since Reconstruction. Between 1945-1951- 11 states from NY to NM established practices commissions and numerous cities passed laws against discrimination. NAACP: had low numbers during the war, but launched a voter registration campaign in the South. By 1952, 20 percent of black southerners were registered to vote. Lynchings finally were a crime. In 1952, no record of lynchings took place in USA.