APUSH Ch. 34 IDS WWII
Unconditional surrender
- Makes Japanese want to fight even harder, nothing to lose, antiwar groups in Germany don't revolt - Product of a meeting between FDR and Churchill - It did force a thorough postwar reconstruction in Germany
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
- Militant organization committed to nonviolent "direct action" - Founded in 1942
Code talkers
- Native Americans helped the war effort not only be enrolling in the army but by acting as code talkers (transmitted radio messages in their native languages, which were incomprehensible to the Germans and the Japanese)
War Production Board (WPB)
- Organization of American factories/war effort - American factories poured forth an avalanche of weaponry - Halted manufacture of nonessentail items such as passenger cars - Assigned priorities for transportation and access to raw materials - Gov't: national speed limit and gasoline rationing (conserve rubber bc American lifeline of rubber was captured) - Farmers: Increased output (quite a diff scenario here from a decade ago!)
Smith-Connolly Anti-Strike Act
- Representative of labor union sentiment during WWII: hated wage ceilings - Went on strikes even though many major unions had no-strike pledges: United Mine Workers (John Lewis) - People/gov't worried about lost production for the war! As a result, Smith-Connolly Anti-Strike Act: authorized gov't to seize and opeate tied-up industries - Strikes were made a criminal offense - Under the law, gov't took over the coal mines and the railroads for a brief time - Overall, though dangerous, work stoppages accounted for less than 1% of hours of workforce (American workers on the whole were really committed)
V-J Day (Victory in Japan)
- September 2, 1945
Potsdam Conference
- Surrender or be destroyed to the Japanese (Stalin knows about atomic bombs but pretends he doesn't)
Bracero Program
- US needed workers bc lots of American males leaving the workforce through draft etc (GI outfits) - Agreement brought thousands of Mexican agricultural workers (braceros) across the border to harvest fruit and grain crops of the West - Outlived WWII by about twenty years, was fixed feature of the agricultural economy in many western states BUT even more so: women filled this role! (no gov't program obviously but still) - War foreshadowed an eventual revolution in the roles of women in American society (many didn't want to leave their jobs, and didn't) - Two-thirds of women war workers left the labor force - Immediate postwar period: cult of domesticity! - War also changed demographics of America: some soldiers didn't return home or went home to cities instead - FDR tried to stimulate South's economic development by giving them a lot of defense contracts comparatively, but blacks still left: Second Great Migration!!! (Race relations are a NATIONAL issue, not a regional one)- Migration continued after war bc of mechanical cotton picker and hopes for fewer economic struggles in the North - Creates racial tensions: white employers don't want their jobs to be "taken away"
"Get Japan First"
- US public: let's attack Japan (ESPECIALLY THOSE ON PACIFIC SIDE, Chinese, Australian) - FDR: We have to go after Germany, if Britain and Soviet Union are defeated then we have to fight against Germany alone
"Double V"
- Victory against dictators abroad AND - Victory against racism at home (hopefully achieved by fighting abroad) - NAACP membership increased
Actions against new minorities moving into cities
- Zoot suits - Race riot in Detriot
11) How did the debt accrued as a result of the war affect the need for tax revenues at home?
Because of the massive cost of WWII(more than $330 billion), the income-tax net was expanded and maximum tax rates rose by as much as 90%.
V-E Day (Victory in Europe)
May 8 - What was left of German gov't surrendered unconditionally
15) Why was the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" integral to the outcome of the war on the Pacific front?
The "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" was a battle for the Marianas (desirable island bc US can carry out bombing raids on Japan). After conquering Marianas, a round-the-clock air raiding of Japan by America began.
8) How did the draft of "GI's" affect the workforce? Who was left to fill the vacuum of significant industrial jobs vacated by conscripted men?
The draft of "GI's" affected the workforce bc there were now millions of jobs previously held by young men available. Some exemptions were made for certain key industrial and agricultural workers, but for the most part, the nation's farms and factories were left short of employees. Mexican agricultural workers, called braceros helped to fill the need for agricultural jobs through the Bracero program (which lasted twenty years past WWII, specifically in the Midwest). Women were left to fill the vacuum of industrial jobs vacated by conscripted men; this newfound independence for women manifested in the Second Wave of Feminism. Two-thirds of the women war workers left the labor force after the war ended (and not a huge proportion of women and mothers became factory workers compared to those in Britain or in the Soviet Union).
22) How did the US use air-assaults to weaken Germany's mainland? How was the "Battle of the Bulge" Hitler's last attempt at thwarting Allied forces? Was it successful?
"Blockbuster" bombs, with around-the-clock attacks, helped to break down Germany's western front. The "Battle of the Bulge" was a last attempt by Hitler to counter Allied forces, as he surprised a weakly held American line in the Ardennes Forest in order to occupy the Belgian port of Antwerp, a key to Allied supplies. It was not successful as the 101st Airborne Division stood firm at the vital bastian of Bastogne after a ten-day penetration.
ABC-1 Agreement
- Agreement bw US and British - "Getting Germany first" vs many Americans/US public: "Get Japan first"
Yalta 1945
- COLD WAR!!! - Stalin: If you want my help against Japan, I want some land at the end of the war (against Atlantic Charter) - Wants influence on all of eastern Europe - Part of reason maybe for atomic bombs, bc if war ended w Japan then we'd never have to give him this land, and he's basically our future enemy
Battle of Midway
- Early Japanese success, America loses badly at Manila - If Japan could capture Midway Island, it could wreak havoc on Pearl Harbor and force the weakened American Pacific fleet into combat - Purely naval war (along with Battle of the Coral Sea, this stopped Japan which was on a roll) - Pivotal victory for US and Allied powers: US has initiative in the Pacific! - After Battle of Midway: Japanese gov't lies to people and says we're winning (eventually atomic bombs) Japan: "Victory disease" - High casualty rate of Japanese to Americans - Leapfrogging Japanese-held islands (vs going to the mainland) bc then you can have an area for soldiers to rest and to set up airfields on, also bypassed the most heavily fortified Japanese areas to save time
Manhattan Project
- Einstein: weapon of peace (later apologizes for letter) - Many of scientists don't know all of the effects that bombs could cause (bc they've never been deployed before!)
What happened to the New Deal?
- FDR says "Goodbye to Dr. New Deal, hello to Dr. Win-the-War" - Conservative Congress elected in 1942 - Urgency of war effort + conservative revitalization (era of New Deal reform OVER!) - Also cuz New Deal not necessary anymore: economy kicking off now
D-Day
- FDR, Churchill, and Stalin meet to plan the True Second Front: D-Day (what we watched in the documentary)
Executive Order 9066
- Forceful herding of Japanese-Americans into concentration camps (two-thirds of them were American born) - Unnecessary and unfair but post Pearl Harbor hysteria and culmination of anti-Japanese prejudice on the West coast - Japanese lost hundreds of millions of dollars in property and foregone earnings - Korematsu v US: upheld constitutionality of the Japanese relocation
How did America's home front suffer compared to the other Allied countries?
- Helped our economy and essentially cured the depression (GDP and corporate profits rose) while the rest of the world was in ruin "Warfare-welfare state" - Large government involvement (even more so than the New Deal): rationing system, millions enrolled in the military, millions more in the defense industries (monitored by FEPC and NWLB) - Gov't sponsored housing projects, day-care facilities, health plans for those working for defense industries - Huge sums of money by gov't given to scientific research - Income net expanded bc war cost SOO much!(2/5 of war paid from current revenues, the rest was borrowed)
WWII in Europe (against Germany and Italy)
- Hitler same strength in beginning as Japan: "wolf packs" of submarines (ship destruction outweighing construction) - Radar, air patrol, and bombing of submarine bases helps - Took until spring of 1943 for Allies to have upper hand against the U-boat
National War Labor Board (NWLB)
- Imposed ceilings on wage increases (inflation) - Wage ceilings opposed by labor unions (membership grew during the war!)
Office of Price Administration (OPA)
- Inflation in the economy bc so much production, full employment, and scarce consumer goods - Brought down rising prices with regulations
America's Role and Public Opinion During WWI vs WWII
- Much more extensive in WWII than in WWI: had to feed, clothe, and arm itself and send food and munitions to the far-spread allies - More positive public opinion/public unity wasn't a question in WWII (didn't need as much propaganda compared to WWI): attack on national soil does that (ships don't do it anymore) (We'd always been there ideologically but now the public is calling for an attack on Axis powers) - Not an idealogical crusade like in WWI (Atlantic Charter a bit of comparison to 14 Points but not nearly as much propaganda), emphasis on action: Majority of Americans are like: We have no idea what this war is about (literally in a survey) - No targeting of patriotism/civil liberties of immigrants in America (for Italian Americans or German Americans), but heavily of Japanese-Americans: Executive Order 9066 (Most immigrants were already assimilated since Immigration Act of 1924 and Emergency Quota Act of 1921 stopped flow of new immigrants)
SPARs (US Coast Guard Women's Reserve)
- Part of 216,000 women employed for noncombat duties during WWII
WAC's (Women's Army Corps)
- Part of 216,000 women employed for noncombat duties during WWII
WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service)
- Part of 216,000 women employed for noncombat duties during WWII
Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)
- Second Great Migration - Creates FEPC to monitor whether his edict (that there should not be discrimination in defense industries) is being followed - Blacks not really serving in combat units but they were drafted into war
Why was Stalin pissed at a front in North Africa vs in France
- So many Soviets dead already, they need help - America/other Allies feared that Soviets would eventually make a separate peace with Hitler and leave Western forces alone to fight, so FDR promised a second front in France that just didn't happen (until much later)
Allies Trade Space for Time
- US especially needs to gear up for war: need to make bullets etc - Allies have more people but they need more time - Time most needed munition: expense was no limitation
9) In what ways did the war industries change the landscape of American demographics? How did this change in demographics secure the Federal government's recognition of the need for equal opportunities for African-Americans and alter race relations within the United States for the future?
After seeing new sights, many Americans migrated to booming cities such as Los Angeles, Detroit, Seattle, and Baton Rouge after the war rather than their home. FDR used the war opportunity to accelerate the South's economic development; despite this gov't economic stimulus in the South, about 1.6 million African-Americans left the South in search of economic stability in the North and in the West (California). Race relations, more so than ever before, became a national issue (not a regional one). FDR recognized national racial tensions surrounding employment, housing, and segregated facilities, issuing an executive order forbidding discrimination in defense industries. Additionally, he established the Fair Employment practices Commission (FEPC) to oversee the compliance of his executive order. Blacks were drafted into the armed forces but they were still typically assigned to service branches instead of combat units and underwent petty degradations (like segregated blood banks for the wounded- What). The slogan "Double V" came to popularity- victory over the dictators abroad and over racism at home, and the NAACP rose in membership. A new militant ogranization that was devotred to nonviolent direct action was also founded: The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
25) How did Allied capture of the Marianas and Saipan (modern-day Taiwan) serve to help their cause against Japan, strategically? In what ways did the battles of Leyte Gulf and Luzon create a desperate Japanese enemy and cement General MacArthur's legacy?
Bomber attacks launched from the Marianas and Saipan destroyed Japanese cities. The battles of Leyte Gulf and Luzon stopped Japan's navy from executing its last ditch effort; Japan was through as a sea power.
21) Why was FDR elected to an unprecedented, unchallenged (in regards to the amount of terms he served) 4th term as US President? Who was ultimately the true "beneficiary" of the election of 1944?
During a time of war, an election almost served as an afterthought/a distraction. The fact that the "ice had already been broken" with the unprecedented number of terms in the previous election (3 terms), a 4th was not heavily contested. Roosevelt won because the war was going well; foreign policy and Roosevelt's demonstrated experience dictated the election results.
23) In what ways could the FDR's administration be considered negligent, regarding Nazi concentration camps?
FDR's administration could be considered negligent regarding Nazi concentration camps because it kept large numbers of Jewish refugees from finding safety in the US, his military commanders declined to even bomb the rail lines that carried the victims to the camps, and the full details of the Holocaust were not fully revealed until after the war.
1) What was the importance of trying to eliminate Germany first, despite American clamor for revenge against Japan for Pearl Harbor?
If the US focused all of their military efforts on Japanese vengeance, Hitler could end up crushing the Soviet Union and Britain and then have control over all of Europe. Instead, the US planned to eliminate Germany first, so that the combined Ally forces could focus their efforts after on Japan.
26) What were the various reasons for the United States' decisions to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? What were the alternatives and could it be considered justified? What was the end result?
Japan didn't show any outward willingness for unconditional surrender to the US, which meant that even though they knew it would be imminent defeat for them, it wasn't enough for the US. In the Potsdam conference, Stalin, British leaders, and Truman issued Japan an ultimatum: Surrender or be destroyed. Japan, showered with leaflets about bombs etc., still did not respond, so US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The alternatives could've been a non-atomic bomb, a settlement/compromise for surrender that wasn't conditional, and many other military or diplomatic means. It could possibly be considered justified but so many innocent lives were lost.
12) How did Japan's rise after the attack at Pearl Harbor take shape (i.e. at Guam, Wake Island, and the Philippines)?
Japan realized that they would have to either "win quickly" or "lose slowly". At the same time as the attack on Pearl Harbor, widespread attacks were led on Far Eastern bastions including Guam, Wake, and the Philippines as well as through the occupation of Hong Kong and British Malaya.
5) In what ways did mobilization for war create jobs for millions, while capitalizing on America's industrial potential unseen during the Great Depression?
Mobilization for the war meant employment for millions as an "avalanche" of munitions was produced. Now there was finally enough consumption to fit the production abilities of America.
18) What was Operation Torch and how did it fail to satisfy Stalin's desire for a true second front that FDR promised? Why did FDR agree to an assault on North Africa instead of German-held France?
Operation Torch was an assault on French-held North Africa for a compromise second front (FDR promised Soviet Union there'd be second front on European continent by the end of the year, but Britain doesn't want to invade France and lose so much again like in WWI). Due to the British and a lack of resources, FDR compromised on an invasion/attack in North Africa.
10) What was the war's effect on the American population at home (economically and socially)?
Socially, it helped the need for attention to racial tensions be recognized as civil rights became a more prevalent issue in the eyes of the gov't; WWII saw a Great Migration larger than that during WWI. Additionally, the war caused an exodus of Native Americans from the reservations as thousands of Native Americans found war work in the major cities. Many Native American men served in the armed forces as well. Women had an increased and more independent role at home as they took many of the factory jobs that were left behind by "GI" drafts. Economically, the war spurred the industrial boost that America was waiting for, and it essentially brought the US out of the Great Depression for good.
17) Why was Stalingrad considered the "graveyard of Hitler's hopes"? How did Germany's failure in the Soviet Union change the eventual outcome of the war?
Stalingrad was considered the "graveyard of Hitler's hopes" because it was where the Soviet Union was able to stop Hitler and the Nazi's progression, and the Soviets launched a crushing counteroffensive that was never really reversed by the Nazis.
13) What was the significance of Allied victory at Coral Sea and Midway Island (1942)? How did the Japanese offensive represent overconfidence in their abilities?
The Allied victory at Coral Sea and Midway Island was significant bc if Japan had won at Midway Island it would be able to launch devastating attacks on Pearl Harbor and maybe force the weakened American pacific fleet into destructive combat. This victory also led to an end of Japanese momentum.
20) How did the Tehran Conference serve to appease Soviet requests for a true second front? What was eventually decided and what was the outcome?
The Tehran Conference, a meeting between FDR, Stalin, and Churchill, finally met the incessant Soviet demands for a true second front (meaning a second front in Europe) as Soviet attacks on Germany for the East were coordinated with Western Allied attacks on France.
14) How did the battles at Guadalcanal and New Guinea represent a change in strategy American forces? What was this strategy called and what was its purpose?
The U.S. Navy had been "leapfrogging" the Japanese-held islands in the Pacfici; traditional strategy said that the AMerican forces shoukd reduce the Jpanese outposts on their flank as they drove towards Tokyo, but this would've taken many months as the Japanese defenderes, holed-in, were prepared to die. The island hopping meant that the U.S. navy bypassed some of the most heavily fortified Japanese posts, captured nearby islands, set up airfields, and then bombed the enemy.
2) Why was the United States' task during World War II different than during World War I?
The US's task during WWII was far more involved and complex than during WWI; it not only had to feed, clothe, and arm itself, but it had to transport its forces. On top of this, a large amount of food and munitions were sent to the hard-pressed Allies (from the USSR to Australia!).
6) How did the US government prioritize production of essential war-time materials? How did the war boom affect farmers, as well as the American consumer during the war years?
The War Production Board (WPB) stopped the manufacture on nonessential items like passenger cars and also imposed a national speed limit when the Japanese invasion of British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies cut off America's supply of natural rubber. The war boom finally gave farmers an economic break as they were able to increase their output and have demand meet the supply (price of goods isn't so low). The wonders of American production during this period had inflationary pressures (full employment) so the National War Labor Board(NWLB) established a wage ceiling, but overall the economy was in great shape due to the wartime industrial boost.
4) How were the government's efforts to create support for different than World War I?
The gov't didn't make the war out to be an "idealistic crusade" as it did/ kind of had to with World War I to garner popular support; there wasn't really an effort to propagandize the war with the Atlantic Charter as was done during WWI with the Fourteen Points. There was clear, unanimous popular support for WWII compared to WWI, resulting in an efficient "move-forward" mindset.
3) How did the immigration restrictions after World War I serve to benefit American national unity during the beginning of World War II? What was the exception to this "rule"?
The immigration restrictions after World War I allowed America to feel a sense of national unity, coming together after Pearl Harbor. The members of American society were settled into the United States, so the patriotism of Italian Americans, German Americans, and other immigrant groups was not questioned (for the most part), as the assimilation of immigrations was accelerated during WWII (opposite of WWI). The exception to this rule was the "witch-hunting" of Japanese Americans under the Executive Order 9066, in which Japanese Americans lost their jobs, their homes, and their livelihoods and were forced into concentration camps.
16) How did modern submarines and newer technology affect sea warfare in the North Atlantic?
The newly invented technology of radar of Allies helped them to turn the tide in the Atlantic sea, with which Hitler had filled with a fleet of ultramodern submarines.
7) What was the purpose of the Smith-Connelly Anti-Strike Act of 1943? What was its creation a result of?
The purpose of the Smith-Connelly Anti-Strike Act of 1943 was to repress strikes (civil liberties??) so as not to sacrifice production during WWII. Its creation was a result of an increase of labor walkouts in response to the wage ceiling that the NWLB put in place due to inflationary pressures. Overall, though, the Americans were on board with the war, all of the labor unions had a no-strike policy in place, and American workers were committed to the war effort.
19) What was the ultimate outcome of the meeting of the "Big Two" at Casablanca in January, 1943? Why was it controversial?
The ultimate outcome of the meeting of the "Big Two" at Casablanca in January, 1943 (FDR and Churchill) was that they would step up the Pacific War, invade Sicily and inrease pressrure on Italy, and insist upon an "unconditional surrender" of the enemy (phrase adopted from Ulysses S. Grant) (statement meant to hearten the Soviet Union who were suspicious of differnt motives for other Allies). The "unconditional surrender" was controversial bc many said that it steeled the enemy to fight to a last bunker resistance and it discouraged antiwar sentiments in Germany, thus leading some to argue that it lengthened the war.
24) What and when was V-E Day?
V-E Day when what was left of the German government (Hitler was already dead) surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945.
