CHAPTER 26- AMERICA IN WORLD WAR II

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1.Which two battles stopped the Japanese advance?One, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, would move north back from Australia, through New Guinea, and eventually back to the Philippines. Another, under Admiral Chester Nimitz, would move west from Hawaii toward major Japanese island outposts in the central Pacific. 2.How did events proceed for the Allies in North Africa?In October 1942, the British opened a counteroffensive against Nazi forces in North Africa under General Erwin Rommel, who was threatening the Suez Canal at El Alamein and forced the Germans to retreat from Egypt.3.How severe were Russian losses in the war?They had up to 20 million casualties, far greater than any other warring nation.4.Why did Marshall and Stalin oppose the invasion of Italy?Marshall argued that it would further delay the vital invasion of France. 5.What was the result of the invasion of Italy?Contributed to the war in many ways, but also postponed the invasion of France by as much as a year, deeply embittering the Soviet Union. 6.Why is it now felt that the U.S. government was anti-Semitic in its response to the Holocaust? What was the experience of the ship St. Louis?The US resisted entreaties that it admit large numbers of Jewsih refugees attempting to escape Europe. St. Louis had arrived off Miami in 1939 was carrying 1000 escaped German Jews and turned away.7.What was the greatest impact of World War II on American domestic life?WWII is credited with ending the Great Depression through wartime industrial expansion.8.What was the most important agent in bringing about the new prosperity? What was the federal budget in dollars in 1939? In 1945?Federal spending, in 1939 it was 9 billion, and 100 billion by 19459.How did the war affect the West Coast? What percentage of federal money went to California?It was the most dramatic in the west, who heavily relied on federal largesse and was the launching point for naval war against Japan. Ten percent of all the money the federal government between 1940 and 1945 went to California. 10.How many Americans served in the armed forces?More than 50 million men and women were taken out of the civilian work force.11.How did government and unions work together?The government wanted to prevent inflation and keep production moving. The Little Steel Formula set a 15% limit on wartime wage increases and the no strike pledge had unions agree not to go on strike during wartime. 12.Were there work stoppages during the war? What was the Smith-Connaly Act?There were 15000 work stoppages during the war, mostly wildcat strikes. The Smith Connally Act required unions to wait 30 days before striking and empowered the president to seize a struck war plant. 13.What were the Anti-Inflation Act and the OPA?It gave administration authority to freeze agricultural prices, wages, salaries, and rents throughout the country. The OPA was led by Leon Henderson and by Chester Howles, and they were in charge of the enforcement of these provisions. 14.How much did the federal government spend during the war? How did that compare to previous spending?$321 billion- twice as much as it had spent in the entire 150 years of its existence to that point, and ten times as much as the cost of WWI.15.Which two fiscal measures were used to fund the war?The Revenue Act of 194216.What was the War Production Board and how effective was it?The WPB was, in theory, to be a superagency with broad powers over the economy. It was never able to win control over military purchases.17.How did the industrial production of the U.S. compare with that of the Axis powers?US outpupt of goods was twice that of all the Axis countries combined. Production got so large that there were even complaints about excessive military production. 18.How did the federal government contribute to research and development?The government poured significatn funds into research and started the National Defense Research Committee, headed by MIT scientist Vannevar Bush. The agency spent more than 100 million on the war. 19.What was the value of radar and sonar to the Allies?Radar and sonar used narrow beams of short wavelength to detect submarines within 10 miles. 20.What was Germanys achievement in rocketry?They launcehd rocket propelled bombs across the English Channel21.Which advances were made in computer and intelligence-gathering technology?Ultra, a top secret effort of cryptologists to puzzle out the Germanys Enigma code with computer technology. They built the first real programmable computer, the Colossus II, that broke Enigma almost instantly.22.What was the demand and threat of A. Philip Randolph? What was the result?He insisted that the government require companies receiving defense contracts to integrate their woke forces. Randolph planned to hold a march of 100,000 people at the capital, but Roosevelt feared it would become violent, so he persuaded Randolph to cancel it in return for a promise to establish a Fair Employment Practices Commision.23.How did wartime production affect African-American living patterns?A second migration(rural south to industrial cities) took place and it bettered the economic condition of Blacks but also created urban tensions. 24.What happened in Detroit in June of 1943?A series of altercations between blacks and whites at a city park led to two days of racial violence in which 34 people died, 25 were African American.25.What notable action was taken by CORE?It mobilized mass popular resistance to discrimination. Randolph, Bayard Rustin, James Farmer, and other younger black leaders organized sit ins and restaurants, eventually forcing a Washington DC restaurant to serve African Americans in 1944. It would survive into the 50s and be a cause of the Civil Rights movement. 26.Did the military continue its practice of racial segregation?Segregation in the military would change, partially because of the lack of manpwer and partly due to political pressures. Some training camps were partially integrated, Blacks served on ships with white sailors, and more were being sent into combat. Tensions still remained, and riots occasionally broke out when Blacks argued about being in segregated divisions.27.How did the war affect Native Americans?25,000 Native Americans performed military service during WWII. Many served in combat and others worked as code talkers, working in military communications and speaking their own languages over the radio/telephone. Civilians had little war work to do, many talented young people left hte reservations to serve in the military or to work in war plants. For the first time, whites and Natives were brought into close contact and it increased their taste for material benefits in capitalist America that they would retain after the war. 28.What was the bracero Program?Contract laboreers would be admitted to the US for a limited time to work at specific jobs, and the American employers in some parts of the Southwest began actively recruiting Spanish workers.29.Who were the Pachucos? What were the zoot-suit riots?Distinctive street gangs due to the style of dress, wearing zoot suits, which borrowed its style from Harlem. They were a symbol of rebellion against and defiance toward conventional middle class white society. In June 1943, a four day riot in LA occured during which white sailors stationed a ta base in Long Beach invaded Mexican American communities and attacked zoot suiters. 30.How much did female employment increase by during the war?60%, a third of paid workers in 194531.What type of work did most women do? Who were the "government girls"?Many entered the industrial work force to replace male workers serving in the military. Most women were employed in service sector jobs. Government girls were typists, clerks, and secretaries in Washington DC.32.Which particular problem did employment present to mothers?Limited child care, many women had no choice but to leave young children at home alone or locked in cars in factory parking lots. 33.How did the war affect Americas youth?Juvenile crime rose markedly in the war years. Young boys were arrested at rapidly increasing rates for car theft and other burglary, vandalism, and vagrancy. STDs and prostitution were also problems for teenage girls, whose arrests also saw growth. More than a third of all teenagers were employed during the war, ages 14-18, causing a reduction in the number of high school diplomas earned.34.What happened to the divorce rate?Wartime separation made the divorce rate rise rapidly. 35.What impact did the revived economy have on the entertainment industry? Which music was most popular?People were able to see movies every week, read magazines, go to resort hotels, casinos, and racetracks. Dance halls were crowded with swing music playing. 36.What fraction of Japanese were U.S. citizens?2/337.What attitude did government and military officials take toward the Japanese? What was General DeWitts statement?They wanted to take action against Japanese. DeWitt said he had no confidence in Japanese American loyalty whatsoever A jap is a jap, it makes no difference if they are a citizen or not.38.How many Japanese were sent to relocation centers?What happened to their property?100,000 people, their property was disposed of quickly (often abandoned).39.What did the Supreme Court decide in Korematsu v. U.S.?They ruled that relocation was constitutionally permissible. Later that year, they ruled that loyal citizens could remain free of relocation but did not give guidelines as to what loyal qualified as. 40.What happened to the Chinese Exclusion Act during the War? Why?They were finally repealed and the new quota was 105 a year, but a substantial number of Chinese women managed to gain entry into the country through other provisions covering war brides and fiancees. 41.Why did New Deal reform diminish during the war?Conservatives in Congress seized on the war as an excuse to dismantle achievements of the New Deal. The CCC and WPA werent needed because of the lower unemployment rate.42.What was the outcome of the presidential and congressional elections of 1944?Despite severe illness, Roosevelt made many public appearances while campaigning and retrieved 53.5 percento f the popular vote and 432 electoral votes. 43.What did the German city of Dresden experience in February of 1944?D-Day, an enormous invasion force that had been gathering in England for years. While airplanes and battleships offshore bombarded the Nazi defenses, 4000 vessels landed troops and supplies on the beaches. 44.Why is June 6, 1944 important?it virtually removed all German soldiers off the Coast of Normandy, and almost entirely out of France and Belgium. 45.When did the war in Europe come to an end?The Battle of the Bulge that ended serious German resistance in the West. In late January 1945, a bridge was seized that allowed easy attack on opposing forces. German resistnance was broken on both fronts and on April 30, Hitler killed himself. On May 8 the remaining German forces surrendered. 46.How many casualties did U.S. forces suffer in taking the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa?20,000 in Jima, 50,000 in Okinawa47.What was the Manhattan Project? How much money was going into it by 1944? Where was the atomic bomb first tested?The race to develop at atomic bomb before Nazi forces did. First tested in a desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico.48.Why was the decision made to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? What are the various theories and viewpoints?It was thought to be a simple weapon that would end the war quickly. It was thought of to have been dropped to scare Stalin into accepting American demands.