Ch 36 America in World War II, 1941-1945 (Ch 36 is Ch 35 in the 13th edition)
Europefirst:
Fundamental strategic decision of WWII made by FDR & British (Churchill) at the very beginning was
– to concentrate on war in Europe first & hold Pacific war against Japan as a delaying and holding
action (until Germany was defeated, then full weight of force vs. Japan)
Mobilizationforwar:
Once at war, USA’s first great challenge was to – retool its industry for all out (total) war (production)
*Mobilization on Homefront for war abroad
A “rosy” interpretationofUSracerelations:
Overall most ethnic groups in the USA during WWII – were further assimilated into American society
TheIsseiandtheNiseiaremistreated:
Japanese-Americans were placed in concentration camps during WWII
– as a result of anti-Japanese prejudice & fear (especially on W coast)
* FDR’s Executive Order #9066 – Issei & Nisei – camps Ex. Manzanar in CA
–loss of $ & property – 100th Battalion – “Purple Heart” Battalion – 442nd Regimental
Combat Team – fought in Italy, France, Germany – Most decorated combat unit in US history for proportion of length of service – “Buddha Heads” – Most Japanese-Americans served as soldiers in Europe while interpreters and such went to the Pacific
– obvious racism/discrimination
Minority group most adversely affected by Washington DC’s wartime policies was – Japanese-Americans
* Internment – costs – effects – camps – prejudice – military service – Nisei born in USA, so citizens
HowdidAmericafeelaboutthewar?:
The general attitude toward WWII was – less idealistic & ideological & more practical than the outlook in WWI
(This is according to the textbook – What would Zinn say in Ch 16?)
Japaneseimmigrants:
In the period of 1885 to 1924, the Japanese immigrants who came to the USA were
– a select group (representing Japan abroad, so Japan cared who was sent) who was/were better prepared
& educated than most European immigrants (so they were middle class & usually had $)
Ex. Japan felt represented – wanted to avoid Chinese bachelors of 19th century – so “picture brides”
DidAmericansknowwhyweenteredWWIIbeyondtheattackinHawaii?:
When the USA entered WWII in December (7th attack at Pearl, war declared on 8th), 1941,
-a majority of Americans had no clear idea of what the war was about
-* WWI had campaigned (but many people didn’t know in WWI either – Ex. Sergeant YorkGallipoli)
Needforrubber:
During WWII, the US gov’t commissioned the production of synthetic rubber in order to offset the loss of
access to prewar supplies in E. Asia (ex. French Indochina/Vietnam, Cambodia, & Loas)
Governmentcontrolduringthewar:
Wartime agencies & functions:
War Production Board – assign priorities w/respect to use of raw materials & transportation facilities
Office of Price Administration – controlled inflation by rationing essential goods
War Labor Board – imposed ceilings (maximums) on wage increases
Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) – saw to it that no hiring discrimination practices were
used against Af-Am’s seeking employment in war industries
African-Americansfacediscriminationinindustry:
* A Philip Randolph – 1941 threatened to march on Wash DC to demand equality in hiring – FDR feared march
so made a deal to announce Executive Order #8802 for Af-Am’s fair employment in wartime industries
* Randoplh was leader of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union (mostly Af-Am’s but some whites too – began in 1920s)
Which is least related to the other three?
A Philip Randolph (Bro of Sleep Car Porters - threat to march on Wash DC in 1941 – led to Executive
Order #8802 – in 1963, helped organize march to Wash DC for MLK jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Fair
Employment Practices Commission (FEPC – to protect Af-Am’s to be hired and treated fairly in war
industries), racial discrimination in wartime industry (still even w/FEPC there was discrimination – but
better than w/out it), proposed “Negro March on Washington,” What about the Smith-Connally (Anti-
Strike) Act (1943)? On pp.834-836
Minersstrikeduringthewar – why?:
While most US workers were strongly committed to the war effort, wartime production was disrupted by strikes
led by the – United Mine Workers (Why? Exploitation w/unequal distribution of wartime profits.)
* Coal mining is almost as risky as war – in fact they die more than any other industrial workers, both
back then and today – only crab fishing is truly more hazardous by proportion
– although they are much safer today
Laborunionsduringthewar:
During WWII – labor unions substantially increased their membership
- There were some strikes – Ex. United Mine Workers – unfair distribution of wartime profits
Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act – June 1943 – federal gov’t could seize industries if strikes occurred
Ex. Coal mines and RRs briefly] p.832
Middleclasswhitewomenworkduringthewar:
Employment of more than 6 million women in America (~3 million had never worked for wages before)
industry during WWII led to – the establishment of day-care centers by gov’t (*”Rosie” vs. “Wendy”)
[Usually single women or w/husband in the war were the ones working in defense plants/war industries]
* Not equal pay for equal work in almost all cases – although some women earned as good or better
money if they were outstanding – some were indeed Ex. P.833 – WOW poster
* My recruiting posters & WWII aircraft pictures
* Not greater % of women working in USA than in Europe – Ex. Britain & USSR – in war industries
* Increase in employment in war industries for Af-Am’s (both men & women)
* Not a strong desire for most women to work for wages (especially in defense industries, etc…)
Main reason majority of women workers left labor force at end of WWII was – family obligation
Womenintheservice:
*** p.833 – WAACs, WAVES, SPARS, (WASPs)
Mexicanlaborduringthewar:
* Bracero Program – p.833 Mexicans work in agriculture & some industries (later deported in the offensive
“Operation Wetback”) [Ironic after 1930’s treatment in CA for example – Okies for Mexicans, etc…
The “GreatMigration” (PhaseII):
* Migrations from South as Af-Am’s leave while to the South came war industries and military bases
- Why? Cheap wages & very few unions
Migration Map on p.834
* Cotton production in South – hurt Af-Am laborers, tenant, and sharecropping farmers
(whites too who did this – many) w/ introduction of mechanization – so migration p.836
Northward migration of Af-Am’s accelerated after WWII b/c
– mechanical cotton pickers (machines) were in use p.836
By the end of WWII, the heart of USA’s Af-Am communities had shifted to – northern cities pp.834-835
* p.836 “The speed and scale of these changes jolted the migrants and sometimes the communities that
received them.”
* Racism, de facto segregation vs. de jure (Jim Crow) segregation [Migartion Map on p.834]
Whatdoes “GI” mean?:
* “GI” – “Government Issue”
Don’tforgetthecontributionsoftheUSCoastGuardandMerchantMarine:
* USCG & Merchant Marine
NativeAmericansatwar:
* Native Americans - ~25,000 serve – Ex. Comanche in Europe & Navajo in Pacific – “code talkers” p.836
During WWII, American Indians
– moved off of reservations in large numbers (~25,000 served in military) p.836
Raceriotsduringthewar:
*** LA, CA summer 1943 – “Zoot Suit Riots” – Pachucos vs. Servicemen – violence – retaliation – gangs –
blame – reactions – tensions – “Victory Suits” – race riots p.836-837
** Race riot in Detroit, MI in 1943 – fatalities pp.836-837
WhatdidAmerica’sblacksfightfor?:
Af-Am’s did all of following during WWII: rally behind slogan of “Double V” (victory over Axis & racism at
home), move north & west in large migrations (seeking work – often in war industries) (move to cities
– “urban” begins to mean “black”) (ghettos created – not like Jewish ghettos in Poland, etc…)
(de facto vs. de jure/Jim Crow segregation & discrimination – Ex. Race riots in Detroit in 1943 – later
race riots in north in 1960s too), form a militant organization called the Congress of Racial Equality
(CORE – 1942 & increase in NAACP membership), serve (in US military) in (US) Army Air Corps
(Tuskegee Airmen – 332nd/99th w/impeccable record – no bombers lost on their escorts – Benjamin O.
Davis sr. & Benjamin O. Davis jr. – West Point grads – endured silent treatment from whites – Davis sr.
is first Af-Am general in US history – Davis jr. was in command of 99th squadron – see picture on .835),
What about fighting in integrated combat units? Not until Korea (w/exception of a few experiments)
Governmentintervention – whendiditescalate?:
Big gov’t intervention received its greatest boost from – WWII (not the New Deal)
Economyduringthewar:
During WWII, most Am’s economically experienced – prosperity & a doubling of personal income
p.837 National Gross National Product (all goods and services produced in USA) in 1940 was $100 billion – GNP grew to $200 billion in 1945 – corporate profits rose from ~$6 billion in 1940 to ~$12 billion by 1944 – Henry Stimson (Sec of War) “if you are going to try to go to war in a capitalist country, you have to let business make money out of the process, or business won’t work.” p.837 - * disposable income after war-time taxes more than doubled (but there was inflation too) - * post-war consumerism w/surplus income to purchase in post-war US economy – Ex increase 33% in post war prices b/c of high wages & consumer demand
Scienceatwar:
* Office of Scientific Research and Development p.837 – developed weapons, including Atomic (nuclear)
bombs - *** “warfare-welfare state” b/t 1941-1945 - * rationing – total war effort – bond drives – kids had Al drives for example, etc… - Ex of poster: “When you ride ALONE, you ride with Hitler!” – Black Market -
Nationaldebtasresultofwar:
Chart for Rise in National Debt – rise b/c of WWII and after war it spiked higher than during war - p.837
On p.838 Cost of war in $ was for USA $330 billion – 10 times more than WWI – more $ than all federal
spending since 1776 – income tax – 4 times as many people than before war – some people taxed as
high as 90% of income – taxes provided for 2/5ths of war cost – rest is borrowed from US public –
Liberty Loans – Bond Drives - others loaned $ too like individuals who were rich tycoons & moguls
and/or through corporations & banks – 1941 National Debt was $49 billion – grew to $259 billion in
1945 – war cost ~$10 million per hour at peak of war – plus blood, sweat, & tears – tremendous loss of
life – Ex. USSR lost more than any other country
National debt increased most during – World War II (and post-WWII to present) p.838
HowdidtheUSpayforthewar?:
Most $ raised to finance WWII came through – borrowing (individuals, corporations – bonds for middle class
& working class people) (*Liberty/Victory Loans – bond sales – hugely promoted) p.838
Detailsofthewar:
First naval battle in history in which all of the fighting was done by (aircraft) carrier-based aircraft was the
Battle of – the Coral Sea (May 1942 near NE Australia – Tie to stop Japanese threat/invasion of the
“Land Down Under” – USA lost one carrier – USS Lexington – USS Yorktown carrier badly damaged
but back in action at Midway where she was finally sunk by a Japanese submarine after extensive
damage from aircraft that left her a burning wreck)
[* Midway – 2nd such battle b/t carrier fleets so far apart they never see each other – June 3rd-6th, 1942
– the turning point of the Pacific war p.839]
The tide of Japanese conquest in the Pacific was turned following the Battle of – Midway (June 3rd-6th, 1942)
* Details – our 3 carriers to their 4 – we sank all four and lost only one – planes – luck – plans – codes –
drama – Spruance, Nimitz, etc… - plus Aleutian Islands (of Alaska) attacked just before Midway was
diversion, which was fairly effective – cold, brutal fighting over frozen, barren islands, but were US
territory like Hawaii pp.839-841
Japanese made a crucial mistake in 1942 in their attempt to control much of the Pacific when they – over -
extended themselves instead of digging in & consolidating their gains p.839 – Japanese victories in
Pacific up through first 6 months extended down to Dutch East Indies (for oil), Southeast Asia (for
rubber), including Burma and Thailand into parts of China, the Philippines, the Marianas such as Guam,
the Gilbets, the Marshalls, the Solomons, the Aleutians, Korea and Manchuria, Okinawa, Iwo Jima,
etc…- They held it for about 6 months after Pearl Harbor before Allied advances began.
In waging war against Japan, the USA relied mainly on a strategy of – (leapfrogging and) island-hopping across
the South (and Central) Pacific while by-passing Japanese strongholds (whenever possible – but not
always – Ex. Philippines & Pelelieu & Aleutians)
[MacArthur/US Army & Halsey in South – USMC & Nimitz/Spruance in Central Pacific]
* All strategies considered & implemented in some fashion – heavy bombing from Chinese air bases,
invading SE Asia & Burma, fortifying China transporting supplies from India over “the Hump” of the Himalayas, & turning Japanese flanks in New Guinea (MacArthur) & Alaska (Aleutians)
* All were done – but priority was put on USN, US Army, USMC, USAAC (USAF), & USCG in two prong drive across south & central Pacific with Adm. Nimitz calling the shots
Conquest of Guam (Marianas – Tinian & Saipan too) in 1944 was especially critical, b/c from there
(the Marianas) the USA could conduct round-trip bombing raids (B-29s) on Japanese home islands
– But a nasty volcanic sulfur-smelling small island with large 500 foot hill on its southwestern corner on it called
Iwo Jima was in the way – could notify Japan that bombers were coming – plus many damaged bombers needed the
vital air strip on the island for emergency landings – so in Feb of 1945, USMC began its biggest, most-distinguished
battle lasting 36 days in Hell before the island was completely secure – giving us two flag raisings on Mt. Suribachi
– the 2nd becoming perhaps the most famous photograph in the entire world – “Semper Fi, Do or Die, Gung Ho!”
Allies won Battle of Atlantic by
– escorting convoys of merchants’ (and military) vessels (not using convoy system initially)
[Ex. Carrier & other Task Forces], dropping depth charges from destroyers, bombing submarine
(U-boat) bases (Ex. – located in France), deploying new technology of RADAR
At war’s end, U-boat crews are in a very deadly branch of voluntarily service & still got volunteers up
until the end – 4 out of 5 U-boaters die by late 1944 – Adm Downitz asked for more before war – didn’t
get them, used convoy system w/ destroyer escorts – depth charges – RADAR (B-24s & B-25s, other
planes as sub hunters) – SONAR – Enigma code machine & codes (read Japanese codes in Pacific too) –
US subs sink lots of ships (especially in Pacific), But what about organizing “wolf packs” (which are
German U-boats) to chase down German U-boats (submarines)?
*** Battle of the Atlantic - Most important battle in Western Europe!
Until Spring 1943, perhaps Hitler’s greatest opportunities of defeating Britain & winning the war was
– the German U-boat would destroy Allied shipping (which it was faster than ships could be built early in war)
Hitler’s advance in the European theater of war crested in late 1942 at the Battle of Stalingrad, after which, his
fortunes gradually declined {* Leningrad, Kursk, Red Army, Counter-Offensives}
pp.841-842 Monte Cassino in Italy
Allies postponed opening a second front in Europe until 1944 b/c – of British reluctance (b/c of the majority of
troops would be supplied by them that early in the war) & lack of adequate resources {* We’d have
gotten our butts handed to us by the Germans – as indeed we did really until 1943 – we needed to learn
how to fight – Stalin was angry we left his country to suffer while we lagged in opening a second front
in France to relieve the USSR – cannot blame him entirely
FDR’s promise to the Soviets to open a second front in Western Europe by end of 1942
–was utterly impossible to keep (just not ready for the undertaking really)
* So USSR got pounded through most of 1942 before it went on the offensive in 1943 and until the end of the
war really – meanwhile, the Allies invaded North Africa, then Sicily, then up the boot of Italy
– before two major invasions of France in June & Aug of 1944
Allied demand for unconditional surrender was criticized mainly by opponents who believed that such a
surrender would – encourage the enemy to resist as long as possible (but USA also did this to show a
commitment to USSR as an Ally against Germany to avoid a separate peace as in WWI)
FDR’s & Churchill’s insistence on the absolute and “unconditional surrender” of Germany
– eventually complicated the problems of postwar reconstruction
Chronology: Casablanca, Morocco – Jan 1943 FDR & Churchill meet – Pacific strategy, Sicily, Italy,
unconditional surrender p.842, (Cairo, Egypt before Teheran – w/FDR & Churchill discuss Chiang &
Mao vs. Japanese in China), then Teheran, Iran (Persia at the time) – Nov 28th – Dec 1st, 1943 – plans
for W & E attacks on Germany p.844 – FDR, Churchill, Stalin, Potsdam, Germany – July 1945 –
Truman, Churchill, Stalin – Potsdam Declaration & how to end war & post-war plans p.851
Chronology: Invasion of (Sicily and) Italy (1943), D-Day/Normandy invasion (June 6th, 1944), VE Day 5/8/45
– [my mother turned 6 years old (my father turned 6 years old 10 days later) – she had two brothers in
this war (others in Korea & Vietnam) – one would come home from Europe w/2 Purple Hearts – served
under Patton in N Africa & was at the Bulge – his eye was hanging out of his head attached by the optic
nerve – they saved his eye – but the war messed the young man up for the rest of his life mentally
carrying the burdens of death – her other brother was in Pacific – he would not come home until Japan
was beaten] – VJ Day 8/15/45 – Japan’s surrender was 8/14/45 – official surrender on deck of battleship
USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay was 9/2/45 – WWII was finally over after many deaths – military &
civilian (WWII began in 1931-37 in Asia, Sept 1939 in Europe, Dec 1941 for USA in Pacific)
Major consequence of Allied conquest of Sicily in Aug 1943 was
–overthrow of Mussolini (first of two times) and (eventually) Italy’s surrender
- Italians surrender quicker than the French – At least they claim to be “lovers not fighters” – but the Romans seriously put a foot in and/or up one’s booty in battle as a vicious warrior empire known for organization in fighting
After Italian surrender in Aug 1943, - Germans poured into Italy and stalled the Allied advance
(really until the end of the war in Northern Italy – also harsh to Italians for switching sides)
Real impact of the Italian front on WWII may have been that it - delayed the D-Day invasion & allowed the Soviet Union to advance further into E Europe (“iron curtain”)
Brutal fighting in Italy Ex pp.841-842 Monte Cassino in Italy
Audie Murphy was in Italy, France, & Germany
442nd Nisei were in Italy, France, & Germany
US First Army – The Big Red One
Tuskegee airmen (99th squadron of 332nd fighter group)
Italians switched sides – Germans reinforced – bloody battles b/c of terrain – Ex. Anzio
* I disagree w/this – Italy was a vital & valuable front – perhaps managed poorly, but necessary