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U.S. Involvement in WWII and the Home Front

U.S. Involvement in WWII and the Home Front. FDR, again!!! 2 more terms… 1936-1944 Vice President: Harry Truman. (21) Presidential Election of 1940. Democratic Candidate: Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for an unprecedented third term Republican Candidate: Wendell Willkie

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U.S. Involvement in WWII and the Home Front

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  1. U.S. Involvement in WWII and the Home Front FDR, again!!! 2 more terms… 1936-1944 Vice President: Harry Truman

  2. (21) Presidential Election of 1940 • Democratic Candidate: Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for an unprecedented third term • Republican Candidate: Wendell Willkie • Electoral Count: FDR 449 to Willkie 82. Popular vote much closer.

  3. FDR and Wendell Willkie

  4. Electoral Map of 1940Red = FDRBlue = Willkie

  5. U.S. Foreign Policy- Pre WWII entry • By 1940, France had fallen to the Germans and Britain was in great financial crisis • Washington was questioning the wisdom of neutrality… • (22) Congress passed the first peacetime draft on September 6, 1940, a preparation for an imminent war- The Selective Training and Service Act (1940)

  6. From Cash and Carry to Lend-Lease • As a result of Britain’s financial crisis, the U.S. passed the Lend-Lease Bill, patriotically number HR 1776, in March of 1941 • (24) The Lend-Lease Bill eventually provided over $50 billion worth of arms and equipment to those nations fighting aggressor countries • This was a direct change in the Neutrality Laws of the 1930s

  7. FDR Signs the Lend-Lease Bill

  8. The US in an Undeclared War • The Axis Powers viewed the Lend-Lease Bill as an unofficial declaration of war • German U-Boats began attacking U.S. merchant ships and U.S. destroyers in the Atlantic

  9. Robin Moor – a US Merchant ship sunk by u-boat • USS Greer- Destroyer, attacked • USS Kearny – Destroyer, crippled but not sunk • USS Ruben James – Destroyer – sunk with a loss of over 100 men • Congress provided for the legal arming of merchant ships

  10. (25) Atlantic Charter • Secret meeting between FDR and Churchillon a warship in the Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland • Both leaders agreed that the people had the right to choose their own form of government and proposed a new League of Nations (many other factors were included) and is the foundation for many of the international treaties and organizations that currently shape our world. (the UN) • it would detail the goals and aims of the Allied powers concerning the war and the post-war world. Additionally, it might also be seen as a "changing of the guard" from Britain to the US as the world's leading power.

  11. (26) Pearl Harbor • Japan joined the Berlin-Rome Axis in June of 1940 • Late 1940, Washington imposed the first of many embargoes on Japan – Japan was VERY dependent on U.S. steel, scrap iron, and oil and we cut them off!

  12. Negotiations between Japan and Washington took place in November and early December of 1941 • U.S. State Department insisted the Japanese leave China – if they complied the U.S. would began some trade • Japan refused to leave China– which meant war

  13. U.S. officials were aware of this decision early – cracked the code of the Japanese diplomats to Japan • As a democracy the U.S. could not strike first • U.S. knew the Japanese would attack in the Pacific – they did not know where

  14. DECEMBER 7, 1941 – Sunday morning without warning – Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii – over 2,000 Americans died • “A date which will live in infamy” – FDR addressed Congress the following day – Congress was one vote shy of a unanimous decision for war

  15. (27) December 11, 1941 – Italy and Germany declared war on the U.S. • The US is officially at war with the Axis powers: Germany & Italy & Japan

  16. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan thought America would avoid further conflict with them • The Japan Times newspaper said America was “trembling in their shoes” • But if America was trembling, it was with rage, not fear • “Remember Pearl Harbor” was the rallying cry as America entered WWII

  17. AMERICANS RUSH TO ENLIST • After Pearl Harbor five million Americans enlisted to fight in the war • The Selective Service expanded the draft and eventually provided an additional 10 million soldiers

  18. ALL AMERICANS FOUGHT Despite discrimination at home, minority populations contributed to the war effort • 1,000,000 African Americans served in the military • 300,000 Mexican-Americans • 33,000 Japanese Americans • 25,000 Native Americans • 13,000 Chinese Americans These “Golden 13” Great Lakes officers scored the highest marks ever on the Officers exam in 1944

  19. Wartime Production and the Economy (32) War Production Board - took charge of American industry, to insure fast efficient wartime production • 1942 production: 40 billion bullets; 300, 000 aircraft; 76,000 ships; 86,000 tanks, and 2.6 million machine guns

  20. A PRODUCTION MIRACLE • Americans converted their auto industry into a war industry • The nation’s automobile plants began to produce tanks, planes, boats, and command cars • Many other industries also converted to war-related supplies

  21. MOBILIZATION OF SCIENTISTS • In 1941, FDR created the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) to bring scientists into the war effort • Focus was on radar and sonar to locate submarines • Also the scientists worked on penicillin and pesticides like DDT

  22. (34) MANHATTAN PROJECT • The most important achievement of the OSRD was the secret development of the atomic bomb • Albert Einsteinwrote to FDR warning him that the Germans were attempting to develop such a weapon • The code used to describe American efforts to build the bomb was the “Manhattan Project”

  23. Office of Price Administration • Took control of inflation of scare goods • Rationing of meat and butter held down consumption- remember “Meat-less Monday’s” and “Wheat-less Wednesday’s” and “Sweet-less Saturday’s???”

  24. FEDERAL GOVERNMENTTAKES CONTROL OF INFLATION • With prices of goods threatening to rise out of control, FDR responded by creating the Office of Price Administration (OPA) • The OPA froze prices on most goods and encouraged the purchase of war bonds to fight inflation

  25. (32 cont.) War Labor Board • Imposed ceilings (the most allowed) on wage increases to keep war costs down (from labor union) • Labor walkouts increased due to the resentment of wage restrictions • Wartime cost – over $330 billion • 2/5 of the cost were paid from current revenue (taxes, tariffs, etc…) • Remainder was borrowed –

  26. The US national debt went from $49 billion 1941 to $259 billion in 1945 today’s debt- $12, 284, 691,708,207.83. (each American’s share of the debt is $39,934.94) • What else could you buy with your $39 thousand? 2010 Infiniti FX352010 FORD F150 Harley-Davidson

  27. Office of War Mobilization

  28. WWII Poster encouraging conservation- if you carpool, you save gas for the war!!!

  29. Be careful what you say about your country, you never know who is listening and spying- Remember in WWI the Espionage and Sedition Act "There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism." - October 12, 1915 – Woodrow Wilson

  30. (33) Japanese Internment • Washington feared that some Japanese-Americans mightact as spies for Japan, orjoin the Japanesewar-cause on US soil • Over 110,000 Japanese-Americans (2/3 were American born U.S. Citizens) were forced into internment camps in 1942

  31. Japanese Internment Notice: most are out West!... Closer to Japan… across the Pacific. America wanted to be sure they didn’t cause riots or spy on us!

  32. Supreme Court upheld this decision in 1944 – Korematsu v. U.S. • 1988 the U.S. Government officially apologized for its actions and approved payment of reparations of $20,000 to each survivor

  33. (28) “Rosie the Riveter” • Encouraged women to help the war effort • The armed services enlisted 216,000 women • 6 million women worked outside of the home

  34. Womanpower • The armed services enlisted over 15 million men and 216,000 women • WAACS (army), WAVES (navy), SPARS (coast guard) – noncombat duties • Governmental day-cares were created to care for over 3,000 children

  35. Migration Shifts • War industries created major migration shifts and boomtowns such as Los Angeles, Detroit, Baton Rouge • The South received a large amount of defense contracts – origins of the postwar “Sunbelt”

  36. Origins of the Sunbelt resulted from WWII Migration Shifts

  37. 1.6 million African-Americans left the South to find jobs in the West and North • Racial tensions erupted across the country • A. Philip Randolph threatened a march on Washington in 1941 to demand equal employment opportunities • FDR responded with the creation of the FEPC and an executive order to forbid discrimination in defense industries

  38. (23) On June 25, 1941, FDR signed the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC). • The order banned racial discrimination in any defense industry receiving federal contracts by declaring "there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin."

  39. TaftHartleyact of 1947 It monitors the Activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was Called the "slave-labor bill” while President Truman argued it would conflict with Important principles of our democratic society,"

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