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The World at WAR! Chp . 26. American Neutrality.
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American Neutrality • World War II started on Sept 1939 when Germany Invaded Poland and England & France Declared War… for 3 months a “phony War”. The United States would remain “neutral” for another two years because Americans did not want to get involved in another European War. In 1935 the Neutrality Act was passed, and in 1939 Roosevelt fought hard to amend the Neutrality act, So that the U.S. could sell Weapons to the Allies… On a CASH & CARRY basis.
In 1940, William Allen White helped to create an organization called “ The Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.” and in response Charles Lindbergh, Senator Gerald Nye and others formed the The “America First Committee” to promote Isolationism.
In the 1940 election, Roosevelt Dropped John Nance Garner as his Vice President and through much bickering of party conservatives, he chose Progressive Henry Wallace, a major Contributor to Roosevelt’s New Deal efforts. The Republicans chose Wendell Wilkie, who ran a respectable campaign and had very few differences with Roosevelt, (he was a former Democrat who had even supported some New Deal programs) Roosevelt won an unprecedented 3rd term with 55% of the popular vote.
In August of 1941, Roosevelt & Winston Churchill met in secret on a battleship and established their war strategy and their postwar goals, which came to be known as the ATLANTIC CHARTER. • In 1941, the German Submarines were sinking British ships faster than they could be built and Roosevelt convinced Congress to amend the Neutrality act again, with the LEND LEASE Act, which allowed the U.S. to lend Battle Ships to the British, in the name of our national Security.
On December 7th the Japanese attacked the U.S. Air Base at Pearl Harbor • After the Japanese invaded China in 1937 Roosevelt urged peace loving nations to quarantine Japan and other aggressive nations. In the fall of 1940, Japanese troops occupied the Northern Part of French Indo China, so the U.S. Restricted trade with Japan, including withholding Scrap Metal and fuel vital to Japan’s War effort.
At home the U.S. quickly transitioned to a military economy. Federal Income tax, for the first time was collected by payroll deductions and paid by the average citizen… and all of it was sold to taxpayers as an act of patriotism. • The War Production board preferred dealing with large corporations, and this leads to the formation of the Military Industrial Complex. • Rationing at home was one way Americans contributed to the war effort and most Americans complied with the policy. • Teenage girls hung around army bases looking for a good time ere called, “Victory girls” .
Commercial Production shifted over to War Production very quickly and it was very efficient. Many business execs volunteered for government service while they still worked at their corporations. They were called “dollar a year men”. Ship builder, Henry Kaiser using modern assembly line techniques was able to cut down the time it took to build a transport ship from 300 days to 17 days
The War was still being fought with segregated troops overseas and at home African Americans were still finding it hard to find jobs. • The Head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, A. Phillip Randolph, Announced Plans for a March On Washington in the Summer of 1941, Roosevelt feared a disruption of war preparations so in exchange for the cancellation of the March, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 which prohibited employment discrimination in the Defense industries. And he established the Fair Employment Practices Committee to enforce it. Race
African Americans began to more politically active during the war, including picketing and boycotting of businesses. The Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE) was founded at this time. More than a Million African Americans migrated to Northern Cities with Defense Industries and this brought with it a lot of racial strife. The worst racial violence erupted in Detroit, in 1943 where 34 were killed including 25 African Americans. But racial conflict broke out in 46 other cities in 1943 alone.
In July of 1943, rumors that a Pachuco gang had beaten a white sailor set off a four day riot in Los Angeles. White Servicemen went into Mexican neighborhoods and attacked ZootSuiters. Known as the Zoot Suit Riots.
Since the West Coast was considered to be vulnerable by attack by Japanese forces, and Inflammatory rhetoric demanded that Japanese civilians be sent away. California Attorney General Earl Warren asked President Roosevelt to pass Executive Order 9066 , which sent Japanese Americans to Internment Camps, like Manzanar . After the War the supreme court heard the Case of Korematsu v. the U.S. and determined that the Japanese internment was a Constitutional & legitimate exercise of power during wartime.
When Hitler turned the German Armies against Stalin in 1941, The United States extended the Len Lease Program to the Soviets as well. Stalin became an Ally to the U.S. and Britain but it was an uneasy Alliance as Churchill never trusted Stalin and, in 1942 when the U.S. was In the war, Stalin made it his priority to have U.S. and British troops open a Front in France to take the pressure off of the Soviet Union by forcing Hitler to withdraw troops from Russia. Churchill insisted on delaying this and was successful in getting the U.S. to focus first on North Africa and then Sicily and the Italian Mainland. The turning point of the European War came when the Soviets halted the German Advance of German troops at STALINGRAD in the Winter of 1942-43. Stalin would not get the opening of the 2nd front until June 6th 1944 “D” day the First day of the invasion of Normandy France.
As the Allied troops marched toward Germany in the Winter of 1944, Hitler focused the German troops on one last full throttle attempt to break the American will, by launching a full force attack in Belgium, which Pushed American forces back in the center, so that it was called the battle of the bulge. This was only a temporary hold off and by April the Americans and British Forces Had pushed into Germany. The Soviet Union reached Berlin first. Hitler knowing the Russians would not be kind, had Committed suicide on April 30th.
The Holocaust: The State Department had Information about the NAZI Concentration Camps and the massive slaughter of the Jews very early on, and not only did they not make it public, but they actively hide the information for some time. Despite this knowledge, the U.S. Refused to allow the 900 Jewish Refugees from the St. Louis take refuge in the U.S., and they did not accept pleas to take Jewish children as refugees, and passed on other opportunities to take in Jewish refuges.
The War in the Pacific • In 1942, the Naval war against the Japanese took on quick Changes. In the 6 months after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese were able to conquer much of the South Pacific, Including forcing the General in command of the Army, Douglas MacArthur to abandon the Philippines . But in May, at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the U.S. Navy was able to prevent Japan from taking Australia, and In June the Navy, under the Command of Chester Nimitz, was able to take critical damage on the Japanese Fleet that they never recovered from. From this point on the Japanese would be waging a defensive war. For the first time in History, a major naval battle would be decided by Aircraft launched from aircraft Carriers, with the assistance of Submarines.
Yalta conference • There were many war time conferences where Roosevelt and Churchill met and sometimes Stalin would join in. These conference were important , not just to establish war strategies, but also Post war policies that would make decisions about Global trade and monetary exchange, and the establishment of the United Nations(UN) . At Yalta, a resort town on the Black Sea, some important war and postwar agreements were made. 1. The Soviet Union agreed on entering the War on Japan, 3 months after the surrender of Germany. 2. The recognition of a Soviet Sphere of influence in Europe to help secure Soviet Borders. 3 The division of Germany into 4 temporary post war zones, with the U.S. Britain, France, & the Soviet Union each taking control of a zone. 4. The UN would have a security council with 5 permanent members (add China) that would have veto power over the general assembly and 6 rotating members of the security council. The UN would Convene in San Francisco on April 25th1945 Roosevelt went home and Shortly after this the president died of a Cerebral Hemorrhage on April 12, 1945…. Hitler would commit suicide on April 30 with only the satisfaction of knowing he outlived Roosevelt.
Harry S. Truman, the Southern Democratic Choice for the Vice President in the 1944 election, becomes President of the United States without any knowledge of the Manhattan Project. During the Potsdam Conference Truman is notified of the successful test in New Mexico In July of 1945.In August 1945, Truman orders the use of the Atomic bomb
General Leslie Groves & Robert J. Oppenheimer the two men in charge of the Manhattan Project
