CHAPTER 25 THE UNITED STATES AND WORLD WAR II

What happened at after Pearl Harbor? 5 million men volunteered for the armed services Draft was in place to complete the 10 million needed to join. Basic training to a group of men with no experience

How was the military expanded? George Marshall pushed for the formation of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) Women in noncombat positions. (nurses, drivers, radio, operators, electricians, and pilots.

How did minority groups contribute to the military? 25,000 American Indians, 1 million African Americans, 50,000 Asian Americans, and 300,000 Mexican Americans served in segregated units.

How did businesses help the war effort? Plants retooled machines to produce tanks, planes, boats, cars, and various war supplies. Women and minorities were millions of the workers in the factories. A. Philip Randolph- called for equality in the workplace and was supported by FDR.

Rosie the Riveter

What was the purpose of the Manhattan Project? Office of Science Research and Development to improve sonar and radar. Manhattan Project- created the atomic bomb. Led by scientists Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Secret operation

How did the government take control of the economy? Office of Price Administration- freezing prices on goods. Encouraged buying of war bonds Rationing- meat, shoes, sugar, coffee, gas, material collection sites. War Production Board- decided what companies would convert factories to war time production.

War Bonds

World War II Collection Bins

Gas Rationing

What was the Battle of the Atlantic? Germans wanted to prevent food and supplies from reaching Great Britain and the Soviets. Last 46 months and by mid 1943 the Allies were winning. 681 Allied ships were destroyed.

What happened at the Battle of Stalingrad (Leningrad)? Turning point of the war in Eastern Europe. Soviet people defended the city in horrible conditions from the Germans. Held off the Germans for over 900 days and over ½ the city’s population died. (Over 1 million Soviets dead)

What was happening in North Africa? Operation Torch- invasion of North Africa led by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Faced German general Erwin Rommel (Desert Fox) El Alamein (1942)- Battle in North Africa, Egypt.

Who were the heroes of World War II? Tuskegee Airmen- Defeated both Italian and German Air Force. Buffaloes- African American regiment that won many honors. Mexican Americans won 17 Congressional Medal of Honors. Nisei Regiment- Japanese American 442 nd Regimental Combat Team most decorated in History.

Who were the Navajo Code Talkers? Served in Marines from Talk and transmit information on tactics, troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield information via telegraphs and radios in their native dialect. Helped win the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific.

What was the importance of D- Day? June 6, Allied Invasion of Normandy (France) Turning Point of the War in Western Europe Lead generals were Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton. 3,000 American dead, 6,000 wounded. Beginning of the end for the Germans.

What was the Battle of the Bulge? Battle in December 1945 in Germany. Germans lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and 1,600 planes. All the Germans could do is retreat.

How did the war in Europe end? American soldiers liberated Nazi death camps Hitler shot himself and his wife took poison. FDR dies on April 12, 1945 and Harry Truman becomes President. V-E Day- May victory in Europe Day

Who was Douglas MacArthur? Lead American General in the Pacific. Americans faced heavy losses in Doolittle’s Raid- Pearl Harbor style raid over Japan. Battle of Coral Sea- May 1942 Americans began to turn back the Japanese

What was the Battle of Midway? Turning point of World War II in the Pacific- June 1942 Admiral Charles Nimitz was the lead general. Used island hopping strategy

Who were the kamikazes? Japanese suicide plane attacks Supreme sacrifice for Japan and the Emperor.

What happened at the Battle of Iwo Jima? More than 6,000 U.S. Marines died. (1945) Only 200 Japanese troops survived American victory with a high cost in lives.

What happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki? August the plane the Enola Gay drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima. August 9, Atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki Over 200,000 Japanese civilians die Forces Japan’s surrender

What was decided at the Yalta Conference? February Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill meet. Decided to divided Germany postwar. Creation of the United Nations postwar.

What were the Nuremberg Trials? Nazi war criminals were brought to trial on charges of crimes against humanity. Could not use defense “just following orders” Individual responsibility was now part of international law.

After World War II, what happened to Japan? Japan was occupied by U.S. military. More than 1,100 Japanese were put on trial for treatment of prisoners of war. General MacArthur helped Japanese write a new constitution.

What was the Geneva Convention? established rules for countries keeping prisoners of war.

Who was James Farmer? Founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Started to protest against segregation

What were the Zoot Suit Riots? Summer Anti- Mexican riots in Los Angeles Servicemen attacked Mexicans because it had been reported that Mexicans attacked other servicemen.

What was Japanese Internment? Feb Executive Order ,000 Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast were put into internment camps. 2/3 were Nisei or American born Japanese ancestry Lost homes and businesses. Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)- internment was a military necessity Japanese Americans received government reparations.

Japanese propaganda

Japanese Propaganda