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Prelude To War – Created by the government and the Office of War Information http://archive.org/details/PreludeToWar (or youtube!).
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Prelude To War – Created by the government and the Office of War Information http://archive.org/details/PreludeToWar (or youtube!)
Aim: How did World War II Affect American Society?VocabHome frontWar Production Board (WPB) – American factories produced a massive mount of weaponry: 40 billion bullets, 300,000 aircraft, 76,000 ships, 86,000 tanks, and 2.6 million machine guns!Henry J. Kaiser – “sir Launchalot” was a ship builder., could build a fully assembled ship in 14 days! Office of Price Administration (OPA) – brought ascending prices under control with extensive regulations. Rationing held down the consumption of critical goods such as meat and butter, though some “black marketeers” and “meatleggers” cheated the system. National War Labor Board (NWLB) imposed ceilings on wage increases. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Navajo Code Talkers – used by Marine Corps.
Union membership grows; there were no-strike pledges by many major unions but there still were many labor walkouts during the war effort. John L. Lewis – United Mine Workers union leader called for multiple walk offs. Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act – authorized the federal government to seize and operate tied-up industries. WACs (Women’s Army Corps), WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service – navy), SPARs (U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve). As the draft net was tightened after Pearl Harbor, millions of young men left their homes in “GI” (government issue) outfits. Bracero Program – the draft left the nation’s farms and factories so short of personnel that new workers had to be found, an agreement with Mexico in 1942 brought thousands of Mexican agricultural workers (braceros) across the border to harvest the fruit and grain crops of the West. This continued post war for about 20 years.
Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) – Black leader A. Philip Randolph – head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, threatened a massive “Negro March on Washington” in 1941 to demand equal opportunities for blacks in war jobs and in the armed forces. Roosevelt’s response was to issue an executive order forbidding discrimination in defense industries, then FDR established the FEPC to monitor compliance with this executive order. D-Day – June 6th, 1944 – Soviets clamored for a second front assault, Churchill, FDR, and Stalin met in person to coordinate the promised effort in Tehran (capital of Iran/Persia). Decided to launch Allied assault on the west, simultaneously with Soviet attacks on Germany form the east. Eisenhower was the commander b/c the majority of fighting men were American. Normandy less heavily defended, on the French coast was pinpointed for the invasion assault (D-Day). The enormous operation, which involved some forty-six hundred vessels, unwound. Stiff resistance was encountered from the Germans, who had been misled by a feint into expecting the blow to fall father north. The Allies had already achieved mastery of the air over France. They were thus able to block reinforcements by crippling the RR, while worsening German fuel shortages by bombing gasoline- producing plants. First German city to fall was Aachen (fell in Oct. 1944).
V-E Day – Victory in Europe Day – May 7th, 1945. General Eisenhower ordered German civilians to view the evidence of the Nazi regime’s genocidal crimes (ex. in Buchenwald) V-J Day – Victory in Japan – September 2, 1945. Potsdam conference General McArthur – takes up U.S. occupation of Japan (post war); mentions the magnanimity of the Japanese as they sign the surrender on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo harbor. Manhattan Project Norman Rockwell painting of The Four Freedoms The Flag Raising at Iwo Jima – press photographer Rosenthal
Message conveyed by propaganda? Motivation behind that message? Relevant outside information? Is the government telling the truth, stretching the truth, or lying? Explain. ANALYZING PROPAGANDA