World War II

The Interwar Period 1919-1929

Independent Internationalism – increased trade, investment –thus involvement – but w/ Am. Interests and unilaterialism World order is too fragile to deal w/ crises of 30s w/o AM

Twenties Pacifism

Nye Committee Ludlow Amendment

Diplomacy 1921 Washington Naval Conference Dawes Plan 1928 Kellogg Briand Treaty

Thirties Diplomacy Europe –Retreat

Ends Dawes Plan – more economic fragility High tariffs Ignores Fascist militarism Recognizes the USSR

Asia – Rivalry J invades Manchuria – Stimson Doctine J controls China – Panay Incident

Latin America – Reform Clark Memorandum – repeals Roosevelt Corollary Good Neighbor Policy – collective security in region Reciprocity treaties (tariffs) – Pan Americanism But support dictators for stability

Neutrality Acts

Reflects American isolationism and fear of being dragged into war

Neutrality Act 1935 –no arms shipments – no travel by Americans on belligerent ships

Neutrality Act 1936 –no loans or credit to belligerants

Neutrality Act 1937 – no arms to either belligerent in Spanish Civil War

1938 – Europe Appeasement – W. democracies fear war – US/USSR not present

Preparedness

America First Committee – Lindbergh Committee to Defend America by Aiding

the Allies – White Committee Most Americans are isolationist – thus

FDR must “move” the attitude of the people to understand implications of non-involvement and involvement

Two Visions of the World Totalitarianism – fascism/communism Democracy – capitalism

The Process 1937-19411937 Quarantine Speech – J invades China1939 Neutrality Act – “cash & carry” - way to aid

the allies - US = “arsenal of democracy”1940 national Defense Act – selective service &

increase $ for defense September 1940 – “destroyers for bases”

agreement – US can defend N Atlantic March 1941 – Lend Lease Act – can get materiel to

Allies on credit – defend allies/defend America July 1941 – “Shoot on Sight” undeclared war N

Atlantic ; J. assets frozen – oil/steel embargo December 1941 – Pearl Harbor – War is declared on

J – Germany declares war on US

European Front

Europe First Marshall – Eisenhower1942 – two objectives

Overcoming German subs in N Atlantic Air raids – strategic bombing German cities

Turning Points

El Alamein – control N AfricaStalingrad – winter of ’42-’43D-Day June 1944 Battle of the Bulge – winter “44-’45 Hitler suicides April 1945Unconditional surrender May 7, 1945

Pacific Front

Holding action Nimitz – MacArthurTurning points

Coral Sea – May 1942 Midway -June 1942 Guadacanal – August 1942 Leyte Gulf – October 1944

Island Hopping

GI

US Bombers

Bill Mauldin – GI LifeWillie and Joe

Iwo Jima: Mt Suribachi - Rosenthal

Future Presidents

WWII Memorial 2004

Manhattan Project

Oppenheimer Test July 1945 Hiroshima – August 6, 1945Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 Unconditional surrender – September 3,

1945

Nuclear Age Begins

Victory

MASSIVE SOCIAL CHANGEWAR AND DEPRESSION CHANGED

THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF THE NATION

Home Front

Economic

Ends the depression and unemployment Male unemployment ended 1943

Financed by Bonds Taxes

Withholding tax

Economic: Mobilization

War Production Board - Nelson Office of Economic Stabilization

Rationing Control prices and wages No anti trust suits

National War Labor Board No strikes – Lewis tests A. Philip Randolph

Randolph

Economic: Research

National Defense Research Committee Manhattan Project Radar, jet engines, sonar, bomb sights,

pressurized cabins Use of plastics (DuPont) Drugs, penicillin DDT and pesticides

Economic: Impact

Income and opportunityChange in distribution of wealth Basis of post war prosperity – a boom Cooperation government and business Union as power broker Increase presence of federal

government in people’s lives through its central role in the economy

“For most Americans, despite anger at the OPA and the income tax, the war meant the end of the Depression.”

Mobilization: Patriotism

Office of War Information Duty, sacrifice, unity, morale

Radio – 4.5 hr/day Movies – patriotic themes MusicUSO

Ration Books

Patriotic Hollywood

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Social Impact Demographic shift - migrationWest – CA transformed Urban areas

Women

“Rosie the Riveter” – defense work heavy industry Married, older, children Gender and race discrimination – wages

and work Women in the militaryPost war feminism and women’s rights –

daughters of Rosie

Families

Marriages & births “good bye babies” Juvenile crimeWorking teenagersLatch key kids – no child care

African Americans

1.5 million north & west504,000 – military – segregated unitsDouble Victory A. Philip Randolph – FEPC (EO 8802) Race Riots CORE formed; NAACP membersSmith v Allright 1944

Double V

Seeking opportunity

Segregated units

Mexican Americans300,000 – military Defense industry jobs Braceros program Zoot Suit Riots 1943

Native Americans

25,000 military – warrior traditionDefense industry jobs Navaho Code Talkers BUT reservation lost leadership in post

war – vets lost benefits if on federal land

Navaho Code Talkers

Japanese Americans

“Internal enemies” Suspicions layered on earlier

discrimination – property, education, jobs

Sons and Daughters of the Golden WestEO 9066 – evacuation of

“unassimilated” enemy group – 127,000 to relocation camps – pardon and reparations 1988

442nd

Earl Warren: Governor of CA

“Unfortunately, however, many of our good people and some of our authorities…are of the good opinion that because we have had no sabotage and no fifth column activities in this state since the beginning of the war, that means that none have been planned for us. But I take the view that this is the most ominous sign of our whole situation. It convinces me perhaps more that any other factor that the sabotage we are to get will be timed just like Pearl Harbor

We believe that when we are dealing with the Caucasian race, we have methods that will test the loyalty of them and we believe that we can in dealing with the Germans and the Italians, arrive at some fairly sound conclusions because of the knowledge of how they live in the community…But when we deal with the Japanese we are in an entirely different field and we cannot inform any opinion we believe to be sound. Their method of living, their language make for this.”

James Omura: Congressional testimony

“It is doubtless difficult for Caucasian Americans to properly comprehend and believe in what we say. Our citizenship has even been attacked as an evil cloak under which we expect immunity for the nefarious purpose of conspiring to destroy the American way of life. To us – who have been born, raised, and educated in American institutions and in our system of public schools, knowing and owing no other allegiance than to the United States – such a thought is manifestly unfair and ambiguous.

I would like to ask the committee: Has the Gestapo come to America? Have we not risen in righteous anger at Hitler’s

mistreatment of the Jews? Then is it not incongruous that citizen Americans of Japanese descent should be similarly

mistreated and persecuted? …WE cannot understand why General DeWitt

can make exceptions for families of German and Italian soldiers in the

armed forces of the US while ignoring the civil rights of Nisei Americans. Are

we to be condemned merely on the basis of our racial origin? Is citizenship

such a light and transient thing that that which is our inalienable right in normal times is torn from us in times

of war?”

Relocation Camps

Japanese American Boy Scout Troop in a Relocation Camp

442nd Regiment

Civil Liberties

“Greatest mass abridgement of civil liberties in our nation’s history”

Hirabayashi v US 1943 Korematsu v US 1944 Ex Parte Endo 1944

THE OPINIONS –Kormatsu

Majority: “compulsory exclusions of large groups…except under circumstance of direct emergency and peril, is inconsistent with our basic governmental institutions. But when under conditions of modern warfare our shores are threatened by hostile forces, the power to protect must be commensurate with the threatened danger.”

Parallels to Dred Scott and Plessy

The Opinions: KormatsuDissenting: Frank Murphy“This exclusion..ought not to be

approved. Such exclusion goes over the ‘very brink of constitutional power’ and falls into the ugly abyss of racism.’”

1976 Ford repealed EO 90661984 Kormatsu’s conviction

overturned; 1986 Hirabayashi’s conviction overturned

1988 - reparations

SHAPES POST WAR WORLD TWO VISIONS

War Time Diplomacy

Pre War Diplomacy

Four Freedoms – Jan 1941 Expression – speech and press Religion From want From fear

Atlantic Charter – Aug 1941 Wilsonianism

Stated War Aims no territory self determination free seas/free trade collective security

War Time Diplomacy

Casablanca – Jan 43 FDR – Churchill unconditional surrender - Germany invade Sicily

Moscow Oct 43 US-USSRUSSR-War against Japan after defeat of Ger. World Collective Security Org. (UN)

Declaration of Cairo – Dec 43 unconditional surrender of J. Free Korea China restored under Jiang Jieshi

(problem = Mao Zedong) China to be America’s hub in Asia

(cold war implications) Teheran Dec 43

Big Three all there *USSR J. *Second Front Promised

Shapes post war world

Yalta – MOST SG Feb 45 FDR criticized for “losing” E.

Europe Ger divided – occupation zones “free” election in E. Europe

(Poland) USSR Japan USSR gets Sakhalin Is, Kurile

peninand concessions in Manchuria

UN permanent security council – US, USSR, Br, Fr, China

Yalta reflected post war reality Stalin in control of E Europe – only

continued war could evict (US v USSR)USSR bore brunt of fighting and loses

Potsdam July 45 new players – FDR dead –HST

Churchill de-elected Atlee & Stalin

unconditional surrender J. war crimes tribunal (Nuremburg) demilitarization and de-nazification of G.

HST – learned A Bomb works

War’s Legacy War = engine/accelerator for social

changeProsperity - consumer & defense

spending – cheap energy Demographic changesRising expectations –social

transformationsOpportunity – GI Bill Increase in exec power and federal gov’t

(big gov’t, big business, big labor)Threats to civil liberties Expansion of Civil Rights – 4 freedoms at

homeUS ---world leadership and

position/economic powerCost = $320 billion; 1000% increase in

spending Debt = $250 million Death =300,000 Wounded =800,000

War’s Legacy

Global economic interdependence and American power

Ushers in the Cold War – shapes next 45 years

Colonialism challenged –nationalism and self determination impact the next decades

“third world Focus