Unit #10WWIIChapters 34-35

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• The American public was still suffering

from the great depression and wanted little to do with the pending issues in Europe• London Economic Conference• 66 nations met in 1933• Goal was to discuss ways to beat the global

depression• The other nations wanted to stabilize the

value of the dollar• Roosevelt undermined the Conference

when he refused to agree to the stabilization policy

• As a result of Roosevelt’s withdrawal a trend towards extreme nationalism and isolationism strengthened• This actually allows the strength of Fascist

dictators to grow

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• Foreign relations• In Roosevelt’s first term he made a formal

recognition of the Soviet Union• He also promised to grant the Philippines

independence• This was because Roosevelt felt that the islands

were economic liabilities• The net effect of these policies was that the

US was giving up ambitions to be a world power in order to concentrate on the Western Hemisphere

• The Good Neighbor Policy• Roosevelt was eager to employ this policy

because he wanted Latin American allies to defend the Western Hemisphere against rising dictators

• Roosevelt renounced armed intervention and reversed the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine put in by Teddy Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• Secretary Hull’s Reciprocal Trade

Agreements• 1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act

increased America’s foreign trade• Roosevelt’s foreign trade policy lowered tariffs

to increase trade• Did not eliminate the Hawley-Smoot tariff but it

lowered the rates by 50%• Totalitarianism spreads throughout Europe• Stalin in USSR• Mussolini in Italy• Hitler in Germany• Hirohito and Tojo in Japan

• In the 30’s the American people responded to the Aggressive actions of Germany, Italy and Japan by retreating further into isolationism

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• Japan seizes Manchuria – 1931• Mussolini invades Ethiopia - 1935• Italy was expected to win in a week but find

themselves in a brutal stalemate until Mussolini decides to employ chemical warfare

• Spanish Civil War• US did nothing to prevent the spread of fascism in

Spain (1936-1939)• In the US Roman Catholics supported Franco’s fascist

rebels while the Abraham Lincoln Brigade provided active support for the Spanish Republican Gov’t

• Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis created• Neutrality Acts passed by U.S. Congress• Abandoned the policy of freedom of the seas• Reduced the size of the navy and other armed forces• Made no distinction between aggressors and victims• Allowed aggressors to continue their path of

conquest• American ships would be prohibited from sailing on

the ships of warring nations

Hitler’s path to conquest

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• Hitler systematically eliminates the Treaty of

Versailles• Rearms Germany and returns troops to the

Rhineland• Annexes Austria and the Sudetenland• Invades the rest of Czechoslovakia• Many nations allowed Hitler to do this because

the treaty of Versailles was so lopsided• Munich conference 1938• Neville Chamberlain gives in to Hitler’s

requests and grants Germany the Sudetenland• Hitler Vows to Chamberlain that he would stop

there• Six months later he takes the rest of

Czechoslovakia – Monty Python Clip• Chamberlain knows that Appeasement did not

work• British politician Winston Churchill – reaction –

“They had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor; they will have war.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• Germany signs the Non-Aggression Pact

with the Soviet Union• Hitler wanted to avoid a two front war• He could now invade Poland with the

Blitzkrieg effectively starting WWII (1939)• Germany then goes on to conquer Norway,

Denmark, The Netherlands and France by the end of 1940• Many Jewish refugees from Europe had a

difficult time fleeing to the US due to restrictive immigration laws and opposition from Southern Democrats and the State Department• In the 1930’s almost no Jewish refugees were

allowed to immigrate to the US• Exceptions were made (Albert Einstein 1933)• Franklin Roosevelt’s War Refugee Board helped

Hungarian Jews escape

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• After the invasion of Poland, France and

Britain waited behind the Maginot line for Hitler to attack• Nothing occurred for months earning the

title of “Phony War”• Hitler was mobilizing his armies for the full

onslaught of France• France Falls – 1940• The weight of the Blitzkrieg collapses

France in six weeks• Churchill takes over as Prime Minister of

Britain• Southern portion of France becomes a

puppet state of Nazi Germany known as Vichy France

• “The Miracle at Dunkirk” – Hundreds of ships help evacuate friendly troops across the English Channel

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• US Congress’s first response to the fall of France was

to pass a conscription law (the draft)• America’s attempt to remain neutral had now come to

an end• In 1940 Britain gave the US eight valuable naval bases

in exchange for 50 American Destroyers• Direct violation of the Neutrality Acts

• A strong majority of the American public favored providing Britain with “all aid short of war”

• Election of 1940• Franklin Roosevelt seeks election for a third term

(unprecedented)• Republicans nominate Wendell Willkie to run against him• Roosevelt never intended to run for a third term but felt

that the US needed his experienced leadership during international crisis

• Willkie avoided deepening the sharp divisions among the American people when he avoided attacking Roosevelt for his increasingly interventionist policies

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• After the failed attempt to conquer Britain

the German’s shifted their focus to the Soviet Union• Catastrophic mistake by Hitler

• Lend-Lease Act• Increased the debate over interventionists vs

isolationists• Was a direct challenge to Axis dictators• Gave nonmilitary aid to the USSR• Made lend-lease aid available to the USSR

• Roosevelt announces that the US will be the “Arsenal of Democracy”• Seinfeld Clip• Roosevelt knew that American involvement

was inevitable, now he had to convince the American public

• An American propagandist Theodor Seuss Geisel creates anti-isolation cartoons

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War• Atlantic Charter (Aug. 1941)• Roosevelt + Churchill met secretly in the

Atlantic to set goals for the war• destroy the Nazi regime before Japan• people of all nations should choose their own

govt. (self-determination)• permanent system of general security (United

Nations)• American merchant ships fired upon• Greer fired upon• Kearny crippled• Reuben James sunk• Congress allows the arming of merchant

ships• Roosevelt insists that Japan must leave

China• Japan needed the resources of China to

build their imperialistic empire• When Japan refuses the US cuts Japan’s oil

supplies and freezes all Japanese assets in the US

FDR and Churchill- Atlantic Charter

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War

• Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor• Pearl Harbor clip• Invasion of Pearl Harbor was

a short term success for Japan• Japan seizes the Philippines• MacArthur is forced to

abandon his men in Corregidor and flee to Australia• MacArthur’s men are forced

on the Bataan Death March

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

America in World War II• Once at war, America’s first great

challenge was to retool its industry for all-out war production• Unlike WWI, during WWII, the

United States was nearly unanimous in support of the war• Most ethnic groups were further

assimilated into American society• Although Japanese Americans were

placed in internment camps during WWII as a result of anti-Japanese prejudice and fear

• The general American attitude toward WWII was less idealistic and ideological and more practical than the outlook in WWI

America in World War II• Conservative Congress elected in

1942 eliminates many “New Deal” programs• Despite the demands of the

wartime economy, inflation was kept in check during the war by federally imposed wage and price controls• In December of 1941 many

Americans had no real clue what the war was about• All they knew was Japan attacked us

• The US government had to commission production in rubber due to the fact that most of it came from Southeast Asia

America in World War II• Wartime Agencies• War Production Board – assigned priorities with

respect to the use of raw materials and transportation facilities

• Office of Price Administration – controlled inflation by rationing essential goods

• National War Labor Board – Imposed ceilings on wage increases

• Fair Employment Practices Commission – saw to it that no hiring discrimination practices were used against blacks seeking employment in war industries

• While most American workers were strongly committed to the war effort, wartime production was disrupted by strikes led by the United Mine Workers• During WWII labor unions substantially increased

their membership• The employment of more than six million women in

American industry during WWII led to the establishment of day-care centers by the government

• Rosie the Riveter• Most women were forced to reluctantly leave the

workforce after WWII due to family obligations and men returning to their factory jobs

America in World War II• African Americans in WWII• Serve in the Army Air Corps (Tuskegee)• Form a militant organization called the

Congress of Racial Equality• Move North and West in large numbers

seeking work• Rally behind the slogan “Double V” (victory

over dictators abroad and racism at home)• Many Native Americans left their

reservations to find work or join the military• Navajo Code Talkers

• During WWII most Americans experienced economic prosperity and a doubling of their income

• The National Debt increased the most during WWII (up to that point)

• Most of the money raised to finance WWII came through borrowing from the American public (war bonds)

America in World War II• Pacific Campaign• Battle of Coral Sea (May 1942) – First

naval battle in history that took place entirely in the air• Saved Australia

• Battle of Midway (June 1942) – Battle for a tiny air field that saved Hawaii• Turning point of the Pacific campaign

• Japanese made a crucial mistake in 1942, in their attempt to control the Pacific they overextended themselves instead of digging in and consolidating their gains

• After Coral Sea and Midway the US relies on a strategy known as “island hopping”

• The US seizes Guam which now allows US aircraft to conduct round-trip bombing raids on Japanese home islands

War At Sea• May 1942- Battle of

the Coral Sea• Northeast of

Australia, this was the first naval battle carried out entirely by planes• Aircraft carriers and

battleships never saw each other!

Battle of Coral Sea• This battle lasted 5 days• Both sides lost half of

their aircraft• 1 US carrier sunk,

another bad damaged• 1 Japanese carrier sunk,

1 put out of action and a third lost all its planes• Militarily a draw,

prevented the Japanese from establishing a base in Australia

Midway

Pacific Theater

America in World War II• Pacific Campaign• Guadalcanal – horrifically bloody battle to

protect the lifeline from America to Australia• An early naval defeat inflicted by the

Japanese shortened American supplies dangerously

• After several desperate sea battles for naval control, the Japanese troops evacuated Guadalcanal in February 1943

• Japanese losses were 20,000, compared to 1,700 for the Americans• That casualty ratio of more than ten to one,

Japanese to American, persisted throughout the Pacific war

• The US seizes Guam which now allows US aircraft to conduct round-trip bombing raids on Japanese home islands

• Things become so desperate for the Japanese that Kamikaze pilots begin their assault

• Japanese begin to use civilians as decoys and “cover”

• Japanese civilians commit suicide by the thousands in Saipan• “Suicide Cliff”

Saipan

Leyte Gulf

America in World War II• European Campaign• After the Battle of Britain and until 1943

Hitler’s greatest opportunity to defeat Britain was with German U-Boats destroying allied shipping

• Instead of opening up a second front in France, Britain and the US attack Hitler’s forces in North Africa and Italy• US first taste of the war in North Africa was

a slaughter in Morocco• The allies were not ready or mobilized for

an invasion in France until 1944 and any invasion earlier than that could have been a major disaster• The British were also fearful of becoming

bogged down in a ground war in France reminiscent of WWII

• Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that nothing short of Germany’s unconditional surrender would be accepted• They felt this was the only way that

Germany could be totally reconstructed after the war

America in World War II• North Africa• British General Montgomery holds the Suez

canal• Rommel was commanding the German

forces• Mostly tank warfare• The US came on the opposite flank and

forced Rommel to retreat through Sicily and then Italy

• “Soft Underbelly” Campaign• Mussolini is overthrown and Italy

surrenders• Mussolini later found in hiding with his

mistress – they are shot, bayoneted and their bodies displayed in Milan

• Italy’s surrender allowed D-Day to be delayed and the Soviet Union to push the Germans back out of the USSR• The Soviets wanted a second front in France

in 1941 – They felt that the delay until 1944 was a deliberate strategy to weaken the USSR

• Cold War rivalry is already developing

America in World War II• European Theatre• Teheran Conference – plans were made for

the opening of a second front in France• Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme

Allied Commander• D-Day, June 6th, 1944• Months of preparation led to the invasion –

soldiers were quarantined once the plan was announced• Weeks of decoy operations had been run to

throw off the Germans• Fake army in Dover led by Patton

• Paratroopers (82nd & 101st) were to be dropped in the night before in order to take out artillery, MG-42 nests, seize bridges and outflank the enemy in the morning• Nearly every drop was a disaster

• At dusk the Allies would land on five different Normandy beaches assisted by tanks• Utah, Omaha (bloodiest), Gold, Juno, Sword• Tanks never made it – weather was horrible• Saving Private Ryan

D-Day: June 6, 1944• Just after midnight…• Operation Overlord

begins• On this day, the largest

landing by sea in the history of the world will commence• 4,600 invasion craft

make their way from England to the Normandy coast

Throughout the Night…• 1,000 RAF (Royal Air

Force) bombers pound the Normandy beaches and German strongholds• Meanwhile, 23,000

American and British paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines (paradummies; Rupert!)

Calais

Omaha and Utah Beach• On Omaha beach,

there will be 2,000 American casualties alone

• Within a week, 500,000 Allied troops will be in France• By July, there will be

2,000,000

America in World War II• The Election of 1944• It was a forgone conclusion that FDR

would win the election because the war was now going so well

• The real concern was who was going to be his VP

• FDR releases his three term VP Henry Wallace for Senator Harry S. Truman

• Battle of the Bulge• Hitler’s last ditch effort to swing the

tide of the war• Last major German Offensive

• “Rupert”• “Killroy was here”

The Nazis Defeated cont.• The Air War• Germany under constant bombing• Raids on Dresden – Feb. 1945 –

135,000 casualties

The Nazis Defeated cont.• On to Berlin• March 1945 – Allies crossed Rhine River

into Western Germany, Red Army closed in on Berlin from the East

• April 1945 – Mussolini captured – executed, Hitler committed suicide

The Nazis Defeated cont.• May 7th, 1945 – Germany

surrendered, May 8th is VE day – Victory in Europe

• Potsdam Conference – A conference to decide how to rebuild Europe• Also issued a warning to

Japan to surrender or face utter and complete annihilation

• The unconditional surrender policy toward Japan was finally modified by guaranteeing that defeated Japan would be treated decently by American occupiers

Defeat of Japan• Invasion vs. the Bomb• Invasion of Japan might cost a million or more casualties on

both sides• development of the atomic bomb (the Manhattan Project)

Defeat of Japan• July 1945 – 1st successful test in New

Mexico

III. Defeat of Japan• Hiroshima• Aug 6th, 1945 – A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima –

flattened 4 square miles, instantly killed 76,000 people

• Aug 8th, 1945 – USSR declared war on Japan, invaded Manchuria Japan refused to

surrender, 2nd bomb dropped on Nagasaki on Aug 9th

Little Boy and the Enola Gay

Hiroshima

Nagasaki

Defeat of Japan cont.• Sept. 2nd – formal surrender signed in Tokyo Bay on the USS

Missouri

Defeat of Japan• Why use bomb?• Truman – only other option was to invade Japan, costing enormous losses• Truman may have hoped the bomb would impress the Soviets with

American Power• During WWII the Americans:• Were a group of highly effective military and political leaders• An enormous effort in producing weapons and supplies• Caused a higher percentage of military casualties than any other allied

nation• Maintained and reaffirmed the strength of American Democracy