US In WWII Flashcards
1
Q
Pearl Harbour, 7 December 1941
A
- Surprise attack in Hawaii
- 300 Japanese fighter planes launch attack on pearl harbour, which destroys various vessels. Kills many and leaves many injured.
- Chaotic way that US entered WWII
2
Q
‘A date which will live in infamy”
A
- US declares war on Japan
- The allies of Japan of Germany and Italy declare war on the US
- This meant US could join the war without any limitations and declare war on Germany.
- They were fighting for their national security, but also a fight for democracy, the values and aims of the war are the four freedoms, Roosevelt outlines them in 1941.
3
Q
Four Freedoms
A
- Freedoms that according to R everyone everywhere ought to enjoy, freedom speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. Two are positives which we are allowed to do and the others are negative and you should not experience. In the 1930s freedom of fear was important.
- Ideological basis of conduct for World War II, freedom was a very important phrase I the Iraq war.
- Heart of the campaign to get American people on board who didn’t want to join another war in Europe.
- Used propaganda which was shown to soldiers before they went off to war, religion played a big part in this, and equality was promoted (even though they very much did not implement it in day to day life). Trying to encourage people to fight to their death for liberty.
- Italy was fascism, Germany was National Socialism (Nazi), Japan had many words.
4
Q
The US economy: the wartime boom
A
- Transformation of the American economy
- War is costly, and you need lots of things to win war and produce it somehow
- New federal agencies that direct the economy in some way, the war man power commission etc, to fix wages, hours of work and make sure they are all running well, they all have specific areas.
- New defence industries and breathe life into the economy
- Unemployment drops from 9 million to 1 million, restores confidence in the government and that they can recover the economy
- Slow interest loans are offered, system contracts for businesses ensuring them they will make money. The government offers 170 billion of these contracts.
- There are many more jobs in war goods, big business and workers benefit, but a lot of small businesses don’t benefit and between 41-45 over half a million small businesses are affected.
5
Q
American workers and the war
A
American workers and the war
- Complete reduction in unemployment
- Full employment
- There is inflation, due to war time booms but huge increase in earnings, between 39 and 45 pay doubled, overtime was better paid, more jobs, average weekly earnings increased by 70%
6
Q
Unions and the war
A
- Winners of the war, organized labour WWII is a “crusade for freedom”
- Unions hoped for a major voice after the war
- During the war union membership goes up and during the war there are 10.5 million members and rises to over 14 million by the end of the war.
- Three sided arrangement between unions, business leaders and the gov
- The gov agreed that employers have to recognise union members, and unions agree to not go on strike, this is a core weapon for unions, so this pledge is significant, they do theirs to aid the war effort, strikes during the war is devastating.
- Despite this agreement there are numerous strikes, they see the difference between the wages they bring home and their bosses, still not equality and frustration
- Gov in 1943, congress passes the War labour dispute act, allows to cease businesses that are threatened by strike and threatens the war production.
- Some agencies, that are quite far left are now under attack
- Congress is responsibility for setting taxes much lower than R would like.
- Lingering resentment against corporate profits
7
Q
Anti-Japanese Propaganda
A
- They suffer significantly
- Racist propaganda against them
- Both Americans and Japanese view the war as a race war in pacific
- Propaganda shows J as lazy etc
- But in America there is long standing prejudice against foreigners
- Dehumanizing rhetoric
- German and Japanese character to be aggressive and violent is what a lot of Americans embrace and so they begin to view Japanese Americans as potential spies and so they are moved from areas of military vulnerability
8
Q
Executive Order 9066
A
- Allows military commanders to designate military areas that they can exclude anyone they want to exclude
9
Q
Japanese American internment
A
- This affects 112,000 Japanese Americans and over 100,000 are evacuated and put into make shift camps, military barracks that has search lights etc, there are no court hearings so it is outside of normal American law and is affecting American citizen.
- Very few voices criticize what is happening, Jewish and Communist party remain silent
- Internment lasts two years and ends 1944, when it no longer a necessity.
10
Q
The Second Great Migration
A
- Many black Americans in WWI is a time of profound
- Second great migration 1941-1970
- Mass movement of AA from south parts, 1.5 million leave the south in the 40s to go to the North and also West
- AA have many good reasons to leave but they don’t always find what they want, they are met with a lot of hostility, job discrimination outside the south, racism is not confined to the south. There are riots, worst is in Michigan.
11
Q
The Detroit Race Riot
A
- 1943, summer, there is a fight in a public park which spirals into this race riot, where 30 people are dead at the end of it.
- Millions of dollars of property destroyed
- Competition over jobs and housing, surge in population it had grown by 300,000 since the start of the war.
- Whites are scared that their jobs and homes are being taken
- AA managed to secure better jobs and wages than ever before, despite discrimination had a lot more opportunity
12
Q
Black Americans in the Armed Forces
A
- War time necessity changes militancy rules, 1 million AA serve in the war
- They serve in segregated units, it is not until after WWII that segregation is abolished
- AA are assigned non combat tasks.
- Impact on citizenship rights and the claims you can make, for many AA the war is a deeply politicising time, they are putting their lives on the line to end fascism and racism abroad and that it should happen at home as well.
- NWCP increased membership from 50,000 to 450,000, many more branches of the NWCP
13
Q
The March on Washington Movement
A
- Philip Randolph call to protest against segregation and employment of AA
- Just before this happens, R passes an act that goes against discrimination in the work place.
- This is a federal body, so R has finally used the federal gov to intervene with racial relations
- Supreme court decision, whites are allowed to exclude black voters, but is outlawed in 1944
14
Q
Women & War Effort
A
- Women propaganda, there are many gains for women in employment during the war and with wages, but they only earned 65% of what men received
- Women in employment falls to 28%
15
Q
Cost of Victory
A
- American solder that wins world war II
- The US is committed to total victory
- Difficult war to fight, WWII is hugely costly 60 million people lose their lives and over 400,000 Americans died
- This war is marked by hard labour, boredom, terror, violence and death
