U.S. History CH. 17 Notes

Mobilization on the Home Front





1. Selective Service System



-> Men 18+ must register fort the military draft

-> Provided 10 million troops





2. Women



-> 250,000 served in support roles in the military (WAAC)

-> 6 million worked in industry for the war





3. Minorities



Served in the military:



-> 500,000 Mexican-Americans

-> 1 million African-Americans

-> 13,000 Chinese

-> 33,000 Japanese

-> 25,000 Native Americans





4. Manufacturers



-> Converted factories to production of weapons and war goods

-> Built more shipyards and defense plants





5. A. Philip Randolph



-Organized a march on Washington that got Pres. Roosevelt to issue an order calling an end to discrimination in war industries.





6. Office of Scientific Research and Development



-> Brought improvement in radar and sonar

-> Use of pesticides to fight insects

-> Developed penicillin and other drugs to save lives

-> Developed the atomic bomb



7. Entertainment



-> Produced war time propaganda films

-> Created films that allowed people to escape the horrors of war

-> Informed the public about the war





8. Office of Price Administration



-> Fought inflation

-> Set prices on most goods

->Created a system of rationing goods that were essential to the military



9. War Production Board



-> Coordinated and oversaw the conversion of all industries to wartime production

-> Decided how to divide up raw materials

-> Organized recycling drives for valuable resources


10. Rationing

-> Households received ration books with a fined number of coupons for buying scarce goods that the military needed such as gasoline.









Japan and the War in the Pacific

1. Japanese Agression in Asia

* Threatens U.S. controlled Guam and Philippine Islands

*U.S. cuts off oil shipment to Japan


2. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

*Dec. 7, 1941

* 2,400 Americans killed

*Most of U.S. Pacific Naval ships wiped out


3. Japan

Takes over:
*Guam
*Wake Is.
*Philippines

4. Bataan Death March

*150,000 U.S. prisoners marched until most of them die

*Feb. 1942


5. 1942

*U.S. bombers make it through and bomb Tokyo and other Japanese cities

6. Battle of Midway Island

*U.S. planes surprise the Japanese

*Destroy 250 Japanese planes and all four Japanese Aircraft carriers


7. The Tide Turns

*Now Allies hop from island to island and advanced on Japan









Allied Plan for Victory

1.Defeat Germany first
2.Attack on two fronts


Britain and the U.S. agreed on the ATLANTIC CHARTER


Germany---> Soviet Union


Allies (Great Britain/U.S.)

3.Accept only unconditional surrender


Allies Defeat Rommel in N. Africa

Nov. 8, 1942
U.S. Gen. Eisenhower
+107,000 U.S. troops land in Morocco & Algeria


May 1943
Desert Fox and German Army smashed


Nov. 3, 1942
Gen. Montgomery beats Rommel-Germany retreats









1943- Germany Losing on 2 Fronts

Feb. 2, 1943
German army surrenders at Stalingrad


July 10, 1943
Allied forces invade Italy


U.S. Mobilizes for war

*1940-45 U.S. factories convert to wartime production
*18 million workers
*many women
*$288 billion


*June 3, 1942
U.S. defeats Japan at the Battle of Midway Is.
Turning point in the War in the Pacific


*Feb. 19, 1942
U.S. fears attacks from Japan
120,000 Japanese-Americans are placed in internment camps on the west coast









Allied Victory in Europe


*June 6, 1944
D-Day-Allies invade Normandy beaches and push towards Germany


*Dec, 16, 1944
German Tanks surprise Allies at the Battle of the Bulge


*May 7, 1945
Hitler commits suicide.
Germany surrenders



Victory in the Pacific

*June 22, 1945
U.S. takes Okinawa after bloodiest WWII battle

U.S. estimates 500,000 U.S. lives would be lost taking Japan by land

*July 1945
Japan refuses to surrender









The Impact of WWII at Home in the U.S.


Economic Prosperity
WWII ends the Great Depression

-> Unemployment: 24.9%- 1932 --> 1.2%-1944
-> Average paycheck increases 70%
->Farmers income triples
->6 million women find new jobs
-Women are forced or pressured to leave jobs when men return from the war



Migration
->Many people move to cities where there are weapons plants
->African-Americans continue to migrate from the south


G.I. Bill of Rights

->Provided education and training for veterans returning from the war.


African-Americans

->U.S. military remains segregated in WWII
->Blacks finally allowed to participate in combat
-Many are decorated for distinguished service


Mexican Americans

->Serve in segregated units
->Many distinguished themselves in combat


"Zoot Suit" Riots

->White soldiers start a riot against Mexican-Americans who wear Zoot Suits(1943)

*Aug. 6 & 9, 1945
U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
-200,000 lives (mostly civilians) lost.


*Sept. 2, 1945
Japanese surrender to Gen. Douglas MacArthur