APUSH Chapters 35 & 36

Get Germany First
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Get Germany First
The fundamental strategic decision of World War II made by President Roosevelt and the British at the beginning of the war was to concentrate first on the war in Europe and to place the Pacific war against Japan on the back burner- If Hitler crushed the Soviets and the British, he may never be forced out of Europe- FDR was criticized by those who sought immediate retaliation against Japan- The greatest American attitude toward World War II was less idealistic and idealogical and more practical than the outlook in World War I
Building the War Machine
Once at war, America's first great challenge was to retool its industry for all-out war production- Time was the key to victory or defeat- Could the U.S. mobilize in tie after it had let the aggressors get such a military advantage throughout the 1930s?- Would the war bring an end to the economic problems of the Great Depression?
Japanese-Americans
Immigration had been choked off for almost two decades before 1941, and America's ethnic communities were now composed of well-settled members, whose votes were crucial to FDR's Democratic party- Consequently, there was virtually no government witch-hunting of minority groups, as happened in WWI- A painful exception was the plight of Japanese-Americans, the minority group most adversely affected by Washington's wartime policies- 110,000 Japanese-Americans were placed in concentration camps as a result of anti-Japanese prejudice and fear- The Supreme Court (1944) upheld relocation in the case of Korematsu v. U.S., however in 1988 the government approved $20,000 to each camp survivor as a reparation payment
The War Production Board
The Board assigned priorities with respect to the use of raw materials and transportation facilities- It halted manufacturing of non-essential items (passenger cars, etc.) and production increased in every industry including farming as the labor that left for the war would be replaced by better machinery so that by 1944 and 1945, farmers had hauled in record-breaking billion bushel wheat harvests
Office of Price Administration
The wonders of production also brought economic strains- Full employment and scarce consumer goods fueled a sharp inflationary surge in 1942- The Office of Price Administration controlled inflation by rationing essential goods
War Labor Board
Despite the demands of the wartime economy, inflation was kept in check during the war by federally imposed wage and price controls- The Board imposed ceilings on wage increases and worked with the Office of Price Administration to keep control of both wages and prices- Labor unions were not happy but most remained loyal (no strike pledges)- While most American workers were strongly committed to the war effort, wartime production was disrupted by strikes led by the United Mine Workers- The government responded with the Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act, which authorized the government to seize and operate tied-up industries- During World War II labor unions substantially increased their membership
Women in the War
The armed services enlisted nearly 15 million men and put women in arms (WAACS, WAVES, SPARS) to the amount of 216,000- 6 million women would march into the factories and the government provided some 3,000 day-care centers in response- Many would wish to stay in the better paying jobs but the majority of women war worker left the labor force at the end of WWII because of family obligations
African-Americans and WWII
Despite receiving a disproportionate share of defense contracts, 1.6 million African-Americans moved north to seek jobs in the North and West- Explosive tensions developed over employment, housing, and segregated facilities- A. Phillip Randolph, head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, threatened a massive "Negro March on Washington" in 1941 to demand equal opportunity for blacks in war jobs and in the armed forces- FDR responded with an executive order forbidding discrimination in defense industries- In addition to the order, the Fair Employment Practices Commission was established to monitor compliance to the edict and address hiring discrimination to see to it that no hiring discrimination practices were used against blacks seeking employment in war industries- The greatest consequence of World War II for American race relations was the massive migration of African Americans from the rural South to northern and western cities- The northward migration of African Americans accelerated after World War II because mechanical cotton pickers came into use- African- Americans were also drafted into the armed forces, though they were still generally assigned to service branches rather than combat units and subjected to petty degradations such as segregated blood banks for the wounded- Many served in the Army Air-Corp- Of the 1,000 African-American pilots trained, 445 saw combat in Europe and in 1,600 missions, they never lost a bomber to enemy fighters- Blacks in the armed forces rallied behind the "Double V", victory over dictators abroad and racism at home- Membership in the NAACP shot up to 500,000 and a new militant organization was formed called the Congress of Racial Equality
Prejudice During the War
The bracero program (1942) brought thousands of Mexican workers across the border and outlasted the war- The war also prompted an exodus of Native Americans off of the reservations in large numbers- Thousands sought work in the major cities and 25,000 served in the armed forces and were especially valuable as "code talkers" or "windtalkers"- The Comanches were used in Europe and the Navajo in the Pacific- All would face prejudice after the war
Financing the War
The wartime bill will amount to $330 billions- Taxes paid for about 40% but the majority of the money raised to finance World War II was borrowed as in previous wars
Coral Sea and MidwayThe Japanese moved quickly in their expansion in the Pacific, Guam, Wake and the Philippines were taken from America- Hong Kong and Burma were taken from the British- The Dutch East Indies were occupied and New Guinea fell threatening the sovereignty of Australia- The tide of Japanese conquest in the Pacific was turned following the Battle of Midway (June 3-6 1942)- The Japanese had made a critical mistake by 1942, in their attempt to control much of the Pacific, when they overextended themselves instead of digging in and consolidation their gains"Island Hopping"The American strategy in the Pacific, instituted to avoid the heaviest fortified islands until surrounding islands could be taken and airfields and command posts could be established for a concentrated attack- It kept the Japanese guessing so they could not prepare their defenses- At Guadalcanal (Feb. 1943), Japanese loses were 20,000 to 1,700 American- this ratio would continue for the rest of the war in the Pacific as the Japanese were prepared to fight to the death- perhaps justifying Truman's decision to drop the bomb in 1945The Battle of the AtlanticUntil spring 1943, perhaps Hitler's greatest opportunities of defeating Britain and winning the war was that German U-Boats would destroy Allied shipping- "Wolf packs" had given Germany an early advantage in the Atlantic but the battle would eventually be won as the allies began bombing the submarine bases, dropping new depth charges from destroyers, using the new technology of radar, and by using the convoy system to escort merchant ships- The new "sonar" and increased air patrols combined with the British breaking the "Enigma" codes helped in the process of clearing the AtlanticThe Second FrontThe Soviets had been asking for a second front to relieve the German pressure- President Roosevelt's promise to the Soviets to open a second front in Western Europe by the end of 1942 proved utterly impossible to keep- As a substitute for opening a major second front in France, the Americans and British decided to attack Hitler's forces first in North Africa and Italy- The Soviets and the U.S. would have preferred France but under British pressure would have to accept North Africa- "Ike" would be the commander and together with Monty and Patton would be successful in driving Rommel out of Africa thus preserving the oil of the Middle East for the allies- The real impact of the Italian front on World War II may have been that it delayed the D-Day invasion and allowed the Soviet Union to advance further in to Eastern EuropeCasablancaJanuary 1943, FDR meets with Churchill and they agree to step up war in the Pacific, attack Sicily, increase pressure on Italy and insist on an "unconditional surrender" of the enemy- Many in America criticized FDR for inspiring the enemy to fight even harder- Roosevelt's and Churchill's insistence on the absolute and "unconditional surrender" of Germany guaranteed that Germany would have to be totally reconstructed after the war- The soft under-belly of Europe would prove more difficult than expected and Rome would not fall until June 1944D-DayAt the Teheran Conference (Nov 28- Dec 1, 1943), Stalin, FDR, and Churchill met and plans were made for the opening of a second front in Europe- Dwight Eisenhower was to lead the cross-channel invasion of Normandy and the second front in Europe would begin on June 6, 1944The Election of 1944FDR wins in a sweeping victory over Thomas E. Dewey (NY)- The most significant development in the Democratic convention of 1944 was that Roosevelt's third term vice president, Henry Wallace, was dumped in favor of Senator Harry Truman- In a sense, Franklin Roosevelt was the "forgotten man" at the Democratic Convention in 1944 because so much attention was focused on who would gain the vice-presidency- Truman will turn out to be the conservative Democrats nightmare over civil rights- FDR wins an unprecedented fourth term primarily because the war was going wellThe Atomic BombMilitarily, Hitler was defeated following the "battle of the bulge"- The war in the Pacific was not going to end as quickly- Iwo Jima, Saipan, Okinawa, showed the Japanese were willing to fight to the death to defend the homeland despite the defeat of their navy at Leyte Gulf- The program to produce an atomic weapon in America was called The Manhattan Project- The spending of enormous sums of money on the original atomic bomb project was spurred by the belief that the Germans might acquire such a weapon first- Truman decided to use the atomic bomb to end the war as quickly as possible, save millions of lives, and understood the American public would not tolerate the casualties that would result from a land invasion of Japan- at the Potsdam Conference, Japan was given the ultimatum to "surrender or be destroyed"- Hiroshima, August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki, August 9, 1945, Tokyo sues for peace on August 10, 1945 on the condition that Hirohito remain as emperor- The "unconditional surrender" policy toward Japan was modified by agreeing to let the Japanese keep Emperor Hirohito on the throne- September 2, 1945, surrender signed on the MissouriThe Post-War EconomyDuring World War II, most Americans economically experienced prosperity and a doubling of personal income- The faltering economy in the initial post-war years threatened to confirm the worst predictions of the doomsayers who foresaw another Great Depression- Real gross national product (GNP) slumped sickeningly in 1946 and 1947 from its wartime peak. With the removal of wartime price controls, prices giddily levitated by 33 percent in 1946-1947- The Democratic party administration meanwhile took some steps of its own to forestall an economic downturn- The Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill) provided federal funds for education and the Veterans Administration guaranteed loans for veterans to buy homes, farms, and small businesses- Truman created the President's Council of Economic Advisers, had Congress pass the Employment Act, which made it government policy to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power, and sold war factories and other government installations to private businesses at very low pricesTaft-Hartley ActThe growing muscle of organized labor deeply annoyed many conservatives- They had their revenge against labor's New Deal gains in 1947, when a Republican-controlled Congress (the first in 14 years) passed the Taft-Hartley Act over Truman's veto- The Act delivered a major blow to labor by outlawing the "closed" (all union) shop, making unions liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and requiring union leaders to take a noncommunist oath- The growth of organized labor in the post-WWII era was slowed by the rapidly growing number of service-sector workers, the failure of Operation Dixie (unionizing southern textile workers and steelworkers), the growing number of part-time workers, reduced number of women in the work force and the Taft-Hartley Act- Union membership would peak in the 1950s and then begin a long, unremitting declineThe Long-Economic Boom1950-1970- Beginning about 1950, the American economy surged onto a dazzling plateau of sustained growth that was to last virtually uninterrupted for two decades- The long economic boom was fueled primarily by low energy costs- One striking consequence of the postwar economic boom was a vast expansion of the home owning middle class- National income nearly doubled in the 1950s and almost doubled again in the 1960s- Much of the prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s rested on the underpinnings of colossal military budgets- Americans, some 6% of the world's people, were enjoying about 40% of the planet's worth- The prosperity underwrote social mobility- It paved the way for the eventual success of the civil rights movement, functions vast new welfare programs like Medicare, and it gave Americans the confidence to exercise unprecedented international leadership in the Cold War era- The post-World War II prosperity in the United States was most beneficial to women- Women accounted for a quarter of the American work force at the end of World War II and for nearly half of the labor pool five decades later- The clash between the demands of suburban housewifery and the realities of employment eventually sparked a feminist revolt in the 1960s- World War II production, colossal military budgets in the 1950s and 1960s, and cheap energy contributed to the economic boom- Workers also made spectacular gains in productivity, the amount of output per hour of work- The family farm became extinct as consolidation produced giant agribusinessThe SunbeltAmericans were astonishingly footloose in the postwar years- An average of 30 million people changed residences every year ('45-'75)- Especially striking was the growth of the "Sunbelt"- a fifteen state area stretching in a smiling crescent from Virginia through Florida and Texas to Arizona and California- The region doubled its population in the postwar years- California alone accounted for one-fifth of the entire nation's population growth and by 1963 had outdistanced New York as the most populous state- Much of the Sunbelt's new prosperity was based on its tremendous influx of money from the federal government- By the 1960s the South and West were annually receiving some $125 billion more in federal funds than the North and MidwestThe Rush to the SuburbsIn all regions America's modern migrants fled from the cities to the burgeoning new suburbs- Americas were encouraged to move to the suburbs with the development of new federally funded highways, tax deductions for interest payments on home mortgages, home-loan guarantees from then FHA and the Veterans' Administration (government mortgage guarantees)- The continued growth of the suburbs led to an increase in urban poverty- "White flight" to the suburbs left the inner cities, especially those in the Northeast and Midwest, black, brown, and broke- Population distribution after WWII followed a pattern of an urban-suburban segregation of blacks and whites in major cities- Government policies sometimes aggravated this spreading pattern of segregation- FHA administrators, citing the "risk" of making loans to blacks and other minority groups, often refused them mortgages for private home purchases, thus limiting black mobility out of inner cities and driving blacks into public housing- "Baby Boom" families would swell the suburbs even further as more than 50 million babies would be added to the nations population by the end of the 1950s- By 1973 fertility rates had dropped and the boom-or-bust cycles would create economic problems throughout the 1990sHarry S. TrumanTruman was called "the average man's average man"- He was the first president in many years without a college education; he was farmed, served as an artillery officer in France during WWI, and failed as a haberdasher- He entered Missouri politics and rose to the United States Senate- He placed a sign on his White House desk that read, "The buck stops here."- He had down home authenticity, few pretensions, and a lot of that old-fashioned character trait called moxieYaltaIn the final meeting of the "Big Three" plans were made for the final defeat of Germany- The key decision made by Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill at the yalta Conference included the Soviets' agreement to attack Japan within three months in exchange for territorial concessions, a Soviet guarantee of free elections in Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania, occupation zones in Germany to be assigned to each of the victorious great powers, and a new international peacekeeping organization, the United Nations would be set ip- The United States believed that it was desirable to have the Soviet Union participate in the projected invasion of Japan because Soviet help could help reduce the number of American casualties- Thus, FDR made many concessions to the Soviet Union in Asia and most historians point to Yalta as the "roots" of the Cold WarThe U.S. vs. The Soviet UnionMutual suspicions between the superpowers were ancient, abundant, and abiding- Communism and capitalism were historically hostile social philosophies- Soviet skepticism toward the West was nourished by the British and American delays in opening up a second front against Germany- The Washington government rubbed salt in the wounds when it abruptly terminated vital lease-lend aid to a battered USSR in 1945 and spurred Moscow's plea for a $6 billion reconstruction loan, while approving a similar loan with the British- Joseph Stalin's postwar security concerns focused primarily on Eastern Europe and he made it clear from the outset that he desired friendly governments along the western border- The crucial origins of the Cold War lay in a fundamental disagreement between the United States and the Soviet Union over postwar arrangements in Eastern Europe- Stalin's emphasis on "spheres" clashed with FDR's "Wilsonian" dream of an "open world," decolonized, demilitarized, and democratized, with a strong international organization to oversee global peace- In a fateful progression of events, marked often by misperceptions as well as by genuine conflicts of interest, the two powers provoked each other into a tense standoff known as the Cold War- Despite their political and strategic differences, the United States and the Soviet Union strongly resembled one another in 1945 in that they had been largely isolated from world affairs and practiced an idealogical missionary foreign policyThe United NationsIn 1944, the Western Allies established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to encourage world trade by regulation currency exchange rates- They also founded the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to promote economic growth in war-ravaged and underdeveloped areas- The United Nations Conference opened on April 25, 1945, despite Roosevelt's death thirteen days earlier- Meeting in San Francisco, representatives from fifty nations fashioned the United Nations charter, which strongly resembled the old League of Nations Covenant- Unlike the failed League of Nations, the new United Nations was established in a spirit of cooperation before the war's actual end- One of the most significant structural differences between the old League of Nations and the New United Nations was the U.N. gave a veto in the powerful Security Council to the five great powers- The U.S. had some gratifying initial successes- It played a large role in creating the new Jewish state of Israel- The U.N. Trusteeship Council guided former colonies to independence- Through UNESCO, FAO, and WHO, the U.N. brought benefits to peoples the world over- The earliest and most serious failure of the United Nations involved its inability to control atomic energy, especially the manufacture of weaponsPost-War GermanyBeyond punishing the top Nazis (Nuremberg), the Allies could agree on little about postwar Germany- The Soviets, denied American economic assistance, were determined to rebuild their shattered land by extracting enormous reparations from the Germans- Germany had been divided at war's end into four military occupation zones each assigned to one of the Big Four powers- France, Britain, and America refused to allow Moscow to bleed their zones of reparations for Stalin- They also began to promote the ideal of a reunited Germany- The communists responded by tightening their grip on their Eastern zone- West Germany eventually became an independent country and East Germany, along with other Soviet-dominated Eastern European countries, became "satellite" states of the Soviet Union- Berlin had been split between the East and West but remained in the heart of the Soviet side- In 1948, following controversies over German currency reform and four-power control, the Soviets abruptly choked off all rail and highway access to Berlin- Berlin became a hugely symbolic issue for both sides- At stake was not only the fate of the city but a test of wills between Moscow and Washington- When the Soviet Union denied the United States, Britain, and France access to Berlin in 1948, President Truman responded by organizing a gigantic airlift of supplies to Berlin- The Soviets lifted their blockade in May 1949- The two Germanys, East and West, were formally established the same yearThe Truman DoctrineIn 1946 Stalin broke an agreement to remove his troops from Iran's northernmost province- Instead, those troops were used to aid a rebel movement- Truman began to take a much harder line with Stalin- Soviet specialist George F. Kennan framed a coherent approach for America in the Cold War by advising a policy of "containment"- America's postwar containment policy was based on the assumption that the Soviet Union was fundamentally expansionist but cautious- The fundamental idea of President Truman's and George Keenan's doctrine was Soviet expansion should be blocked by firm but not aggressive military and diplomatic strength- Truman instituted this policy in wheat became known as the "Truman Doctrine."- The immediate crisis that prompted the announcement of the Truman Doctrine was related to the threat of a communist takeover in Greece and Turkey- Communist pressure looked to be taking control in Greece- If Greece fell to the communists Turkey would likely fall next- Under the Truman Doctrine, the United States pledged to supper those who were resisting subjugation by communists- Truman asked Congress for $400 million (and they approved) to help bolster Greece and Turkey- The democratic government survived but the Cold War began to crystalizeThe Marshall PlanFrance, Italy, and Germany were suffering badly from the hunger and economic chaos spawned by the war- They were in grave danger of being taken over from the inside by Communist parties that could exploit these hardships- Truman responded with a bold policy- His Secretary of State George Marshall would announce a plan for European nations would come together and work out a joint plan for their ecumenic recovery- If they did so, then the U.S. would provide substantial financial assistance to rebuild Western Europe- Marshall offered the same aid to the Soviet Union and its allies, if they would make political reforms and accept certain outside controls- Nobody was surprised when the Soviets walked out- The Plan called for $12.5 billion over four years in sixteen cooperating countries- The Marshall Plan finally passed Congress largely because it was perceived as an anti-communist- Congress had balked early on but the communist coup in Czechoslovakia finally awakened the legislators to reality- The Marshall Plan succeeded in reviving Europe's economy and thwarting the large internal Communist parties threatening to take over Italy and FranceThe new state of IsraelA resolute Truman made another fateful decision in 1948. Defying Arab wrath as well as the objections of his own State and Defense Departments and the European Allies, all of them afraid to antagonize the oil-endowed Arabs, Truman officially recognized the state of Israel on the day of its birth, May 14, 1948- Humanitarian sympathy for the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust ranked high among his reasons, as did his wished to preempt Soviet influence in the Jewish state and to retain the support of American Jewish voters- Truman's policy of strong support for Israel would vastly complicate U.S. relations with the Arab world in the decades aheadNATOThe Soviet menace spurred the unification of the armed services as well as the creation of a huge new national security apparatus- The National Security Act (1947) created the Department Defense (Pentagon) and the Joint Chiefs of Staffs as well as the National Security Council (NSC) to advise the president on security matters- The Central Intelligence Agency was created to coordinate the government's foreign fact-gathering- Against America's tradition of avoiding entangling alliances, Truman decided to join the European pact, called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization- The United States' participation in NATO marked a dramatic departure from traditional American isolationism- The twelve original signatories pledged to regard and attack on one as an attack on all and promised to respond with "armed force" if necessaryReconstruction and Revolution in AsiaReconstruction in Japan was simpler than in Germany, primarily because it was largely a one-man show- General Douglas MacArthur was in complete control and despite Soviet protest began the democratization of Japan- The Japanese cooperated to an astonishing degree- They saw that good behavior and the adoption of democracy would speed the end of the occupation- If Japan was a success story for American policymakers, the opposite was true in China, where a bitter civil war had raged for years between Nationalists and communists- Washington had half-heartedly supported the Nationalists but communists swept into power in 1949 and the Nationalists were forced onto the island of Taiwan- It was a bitter defeat for the anti-communists- On the heels of China's fall came news that the Soviets had acquired the atomic bombHUACOne of the most active Cold War fronts was at home, where a new anti-red chase was in full cry- In an effort to detect communists within the federal government, President Truman established the Loyalty Review Board- The attorney general drew up a list of ninety supposedly disloyal organizations- The Loyalty Review Board investigated over 3 million federal employees- In the case of Dennis v. United States (1951) The Court updated eleven convections under the Smith Act of 1940- The House established the Committee or Un-American Activities to investigate "subversion." Alger Hiss was accused of being communist by the committee and Richard Nixon led the "hunt" which resulted in a perjury conviction and five years in prison- Nixon would be joined by Senator Joseph McCarthy whose "witch hunt" would continue into the 1950s- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg would be convicted and executed for selling American nuclear secrets to the SovietsThe Election of 1948The Republicans had taken control of Congress in the 1946 elections- They chose Thomas Dewey to lead them back into the White House- In 1948, many southern Democrats split from their party because President Truman took a strong stand in favor of civil rights ("Fair Deal") and under Strom Thurmond of South Carolina formed the States' Rights party (Dixiecrats)- Henry Wallace was nominated by the Progressive Party- Controlling the Midwest and the West Truman held on to win his own term of officeThe Korean WarA shooting phase of the Cold War erupted in June of 1950, as the North Koreans (with Soviet tanks) invaded the South. The National Security Council recommended NSC-68, and America's military budget was quadrupled- The NSC-68 document reflected the American belief in the limitless capabilities of the American economy and society- Truman (with the Soviets absent) obtained a unanimous condemnation of North Korea in the United Nations- Two days later, without the consent of Congress, Truman ordered American air and naval units to support South Korea- Truman's action upon hearing of the invasion of South Korea illustrated his commitment to a foreign policy of containment- Douglas MacArthur was out in charge- MacArthur drove the North Koreans to the Chinese border where Chinese had warned that they would "not sit idly by" and watch hostile troops approach their border- MacArthur paid little attention and paid for his mistake as the Chinese invade and drove the Americans back down the peninsula- A humiliated MacArthur pressed for an attack on China- Truman refused- President harry Truman relieved the imperious and insubordinate General Douglas MacArthur from command of the United Nations troops in Korea when MacArthur began to openly criticize Truman's orders on military policy- It was not a popular decision