UNIT 10 - World War II/Post WWII

The Home Front Military mobilization o Selective Service registration o Women enlist into military jobs, but they were classified as civilian WACs (Army) WAVES (Navy) WAFS and WASP (Air Corps) Women were trained to fly for the first time by the government. They ferried planes across the Atlantic to Europe to use for combat. They also flew target planes for practice. Women typed memos, translated things, etc o 16 million men and women serve. Only ~5500 refused to register for the draft. ~1 million African Americans serve. War was pretty much united effort. Economic Mobilization o War Production Board o Rosie the Riveter women built in every production of the war Controlling Inflation War Labor Board established to maintain, but not improve the workers standard of living Office of Price Administration (OPA) established to monitor the price of goods. For example, if you were renting an apartment, rents were frozen at 1942 rates. Prices of goods were also frozen. o Rationing Certificate Plan you had to have a certificate issued by the government to buy a car or tires for your car, etc You were allotted a certain amount of money to use Coupon Plan coupon books (ration stamps) that families would be issued to purchase in demand things like meat, sugar, cheese, coffee, milk, bread Taxes increased o Income tax reintroduced o Beginning of National Debt. War is never budgeted for. o New Deal + WWII = warfare welfare state. A state at war and a state still very dependent on government. o 2/5 was pay as you go, 3/5 was borrowed Science and the War Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) Manhattan Project 1942, headed by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer o Developed the atomic bomb o First successful testing was the Trinity Test in New Mexico - July 26, 1945 o Highly successful, exceeded all expectations o Two weeks later, we drop a bomb on Hiroshima o Einstein wrote FDR that Germany was already trying to work on some sort of atom bomb, and if we dont start researching, were going to be in trouble Other new weapons o Bazooka, knock tracks off a tank o RADAR and SONAR o Proximity fuse

Discrimination during the war African Americans o Detroit Race Riot 1943 o A. Philip Randolph Were excluded from well paying jobs in war related industries 3 demands: Equal access to defense jobs Desegregation of military Ending segregation in federal agencies If these demands are not met, they would organize a march on Washington FDR didnt want this distraction, so he gives federal executive order 8802 Fair Employment Practices Committee formed to make racism during hiring stop He didnt deal with segregation Membership in NAACP mushroomed Randolph was known as father of the civil rights movement Mexican Americans o Zoot Suit Riots LA 1943 o Bracero Program (Manual Labor) they needed farm production to be maintained, so they brought Mexican men across the border to work in the fields on a work permit Internment of Japanese Americans o Executive Order 9066 Feb. 1942 o West Coast was declared a War Theater o 110,000 Japanese were forcibly interned, potential spies o Korematsu vs US Minority contributions o Tuskegee Airman (Red Tails) o Navajo Code Talkers o 442 Infantry Unit. All Japanese, most decorated combat unit in the history of war. More medals of honor were handed to this unit than any other. Background WWII The Grand Alliance o United Nations Declaration Jan 1942 (Nations united against the Axis powers) o Objectives Hitler was more of a threat than Japan o Military Plans Economic blockades Air attacks on Germany Peripheral strikes in Mediterranean Final direct assault on Germany Bataan death march o Filipinos were forced by Japanese to march with their hands in the air, if you fell you were killed Turning points of war in Europe o Battle of Stalingrad First time Nazi army lost a battle o Operation Torch Drive Germans out of North Africa o Invasion of Italy Push Germans out of Italy, all the way back to Germany o Operation Overlord The invasion of Normandy, D-Day, caught Germans by surprise o Battle of the Bulge Belgium, destroyed German army, brutally cold in the snow

 April 1945 o US approaches Berlin from west USSR from the East o Mussolini captured and killed by Italian Resistance o April 30 Hitler commits suicide o May 8 VE (Victory in Europe) day While war in Europe was going on, war in Pacific also going on o Japan wanted Australia o Coral Sea naval battle fought entirely in air, ends in stalemate, but Japan doesnt invade o Midway IMPX: We defeat the Japanese navy, we stopped them from advancing o Island Hopping from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima to Okinawa Get within effective bombing range of Japan We bomb Tokyo, the attack claims 100,000 people Election of 1944 FDR and Harry Truman VP Versus Thomas Dewey Republican April 12 1945 o Warm Springs, GA FDR dies o Truman becomes president The Atomic Bomb Potsdam Conference mid July-August 1945 o Warn Japan without specifics o Begging of the Cold War August 6 Hiroshima bombed August 9 Nagasaki bombed August 14 Japan surrenders (Victory over Japan Day) Allied Diplomacy in WW2 Casablanca Conference Jan. 1942 o FDR and Churchill o Decided that the only thing acceptable was unconditional surrender by all parties o Decided to invade Italy first before they opened a second front Tehran Conference Nov. 1943 Idea of the Second Front 1944 invasion of western Europe Stalin confirmed support of invasion of Japan They dont Big Three o FDR, Churchill, Stalin o Disputes over post-war world Centered on Germany Stalin wanted a weak, carved up Germany and control of Western Europe Churchill wanted free government and a strong Germany (strong German economy would benefit Europe Yalta Conference Feb. 1945 o Big Three

Last time Big Three would meet Stalin agreed to a free Europe and free elections Agreed to a creation of a world association UN Agreed Germany would be carved into 4 zones (occupied zones)

Beginning of the Cold War Aftermath of WW2 o Massive casualties (46-55 million deaths) o Holocaust The Final Solution to make the master race was genocide 6 million Jews 5-6 million Gypsies, homosexuals, physically handicapped, Jehovah Witnesses and political opponents also died because they didnt fit the master race US response to European Jews is very biased Anti-Semitism Refrained from allowing Jews into America 1939 FDR refused to let immigrants dock in the US Post-War Political Issues o WW2 made allies of ideological enemies We didnt agree with the Soviets, but we fought with them against Hitler o Fate of eastern Europe An iron curtain is descending upon western Europe Churchill o Fate of Germany Germany divided West Germany flourished, East Germany did not o Shift in balance of power Western Europe no longer leader in world affairs New world leaders: US, Soviet Union Roots of the Cold War Stalin very intent on developing spheres of influence in Europe o Collect as many countries as he can to buffer Eastern Europe Soviets trying to spread communism, we were trying to spread democracy Churchills Iron Curtain speech, primary objective was to contain communism Soviet point of view to Iron Curtain o They wanted to protect themselves o They wanted a Western border of buffer states called the Eastern/Communist/Warsaw Block Other countries partitioned off: Korea, Vietnam, and Germany. These countries were divided into two parts Roots of Cold War started with Yalta Conference o Big Three decided that world organization would be needed United Nations Yalta Conference Dumbarton Oaks Conference Aug-Oct 1944 o Draw up charter for United Nations o Purpose of UN: to provide international peace through international cooperation o Purpose was not to be a government San Francisco Conference April 1945

o UN Charter: Provided for World Town Hall Meeting. Every nation had an ambassador o Security Council: 15 countries, 5 of which are permanent, 10 of which rotate every two years 5 permanent: United States, France, Britain, Soviet Union, China Significance: any decision to do anything came from within The German Question and Japan: what do we do with them? There had never been atrocities against society and humanity like this before Nuremberg Trials o Potsdam Conference: de-Nazify Germany, execute/sentence major Nazi leaders o Partition of Germany Reconstruction of Japan o Soviets protest, they want parts of Japan. Theyre upset that America instills democracy in Japan o War criminals tried o Constitution adopted 1946 Policy of Containment 1947 Truman warned about USSR plans to expand, he was warned to stop their expansion Truman Doctrine 1947 we intervene o Initiates the Policy of Containment o Any countries that wants help to stop communism, we will help Marshall Plan 1947 o Rebuild Western Europe Organization of American States OAS to protect Latin American colonies US Government reorganization o National Security Act 1947 CIA o Voice of America Radio broadcast into Eastern Bloc countries, encouraging them to rise up and defeat communism o Atomic Energy Commission Atomic power now under civilian control, but president has sole authority to actually use and administer it Berlin Airlift 1848-1849 o Stalin stops flow of all traffic and supply into Berlin o We retaliate by dropping supplies like food, medicine, coal, etc into West Berlin Trumans Second Term and the Cold War Secretary of State Dean Acheson instrumental in getting us involved in NATO NATO 1949 o 12 nations o Collective security o Military alliance if one country is attacked, were all attacked o An alliance to protect against Soviet aggression o Voluntary Warsaw Pact 1955 o Created by Soviets. Stalin wanted his own alliance o Unlike NATO, all satellite countries of Soviet union were required to join ANZUS

o Australia, New Zealand, US o Promote democracy in South Pacific CENTO o Central Treaty Organization o Pro democracy in Central America USSR detonates atomic bomb September 1949 China becomes Communist 1949 o Chang Kai-Shek (nationalist leader) forced out without any assistance from United States o Truman and US criticized for letting this happen o We didnt want to commit troops to China o Mao Zedong becomes Communist leader of China o US refuses to recognize Red (Communist) China US detonates Hydrogen Bomb 1952 Soviets detonate H-Bomb 1953 Korean War 1950-1953 o June 25 1950 North Korea invades South Korea o UN Security Council denounces what North Korea does and sends military aid into South Korea First time US fights under international flag o General Douglas MacArthur was UN Commander o Domino Theory To prevent this domino effect from happening, we need to stop Communism from expanding If we allow North Korea to take South Korea, thats the start of the dominoes falling o Truman decides we will fight limited war Limited war dont use nuclear war, normal fighting only MacArthur wants to bomb and destroy China MacArthur starts being insubordinate, starts going behind Trumans back Truman fires MacArthur and removes him as commander Significance: Truman did what was right, not what was popular Respect level for Truman comes very high later on in the future People didnt like this decision because they wanted to destroy China o 1953 Cease Fire No treaty, The Forgotten War We still operate under this cease fire, so technically, we could go to war with Korea at any moment o Results of war 54,000 Americans killed in 3 years Lots of bloodshed

McCarthyism Senator Joseph McCarthy He makes fear of Communism real in United States Comes up with blanket statement that there are scores of unknown Communists working in our government and State Department His job was to go after them Kept making accusations and challenging people. McCarthy Senate hearings he used his position to bully people Wants Truman impeached says that the Korean War, etc made Truman weak because he wasnt trying to stop Communism

 Downfall of McCarthy o 1954 Army Hearings o McCarthy was screaming and looked irrational, the Army lawyer was calm and looked rational o People started distancing from McCarthy, realized he was out of control 1948 Election Truman defeats Dewey No one expected Truman to win because he was very unpopular at the time. In fact, the Democrats were divided between three candidates. The Vital Center 1948-1968 o 3 major components Everyone was anti-communist and containment was the key to stopping communism Belief that economic growth can solve societys problems Political pluralism many ideas can exist and compete against each other politically, and thats okay. Yeah, your opinions valid, but heres some other ideas, and we can w ork to find the best idea o People began to campaign using the Vital Center o Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson are all elected with the vital center o Flaws Vietnam War exposes flaws with containment 25% of Americans live in poverty Jim Crow demonstrates lack of true pluralism o Shattered in 1968 Most chaotic year in United States history, seemed like US was going to implode Vietnam war pits doves against hawks Generation gap amplified White conservative backlash against liberalism was huge Great Society program, civil rights movement and apparent lack of law and order Trumans 1st Term Domestic Policy Taft-Harley Act 1947 o Conservative response to labor unions, not pro-labor o Outlaws closed shop (to get hired by this company, you had to be a member of this union) o Now you dont have to be a member of the union to get hired o However, did not get rid of union shops Anyone who got hired now had to JOIN the union o States begin to pass right to work laws to combat the union shop A right to work state its your choice to join a union or not Civil Rights o Banned racial discrimination in federal government hiring practices o Executive Order 9981: 1948 Desegregation of armed forces, takes effect in 1953 (after Korean War) o Jackie Robinson 1947 First African American to play in major leagues Chosen not because he was the best ball player who was black, but because he was the best representative of a very talented ball player Chosen for his temperament, personality, and demeanor Presidential Succession Act 1947 o Created the line of duty for in case both the president and vice president died

o President, VP, Speaker of the House, then goes through Cabinet members o Created because of fear of the entire government being wiped out o Eventually becomes 25th Amendment 22nd Amendment 1951 o Limits a Presidential office seat to two terms Anti-Communist Crusade Red Scare o Americans feared spies at home o Smith Act 1940 made it illegal to advocate or be in an organization that advocated the overthrow of the government o Committee on Un-American Activities HUAC o Trumans Loyalty program Have to declare your loyalty to government if you want to work for government, also teachers had to take this oath Loyalty Review Board investigates ~3 million people, ~3000 resign, ~200 refuse and are fired. People are being fired because of their beliefs. Government finds ~90 organizations guilty, but they dont get a chance to prove they arent. We take away their right to a trial Things government employees couldnt do: Criticize foreign policy (violation of first amendment) Advocate equal rights for women Own a book on socialism Attend a foreign film o McCarran Internal Security Bill 1950 You couldnt work a defense job if you were part of a communist organization If you were a part of a communist organization, you cant leave the country Truman tries to veto but it ends up getting passed o The Rosenbergs 1954 Convicted and executed for allegedly giving secrets away to Soviets o Blacklisting Many actors and writers had dabbled in communism when they were younger When they are investigated, many people are blacklisted because of their affiliations ~250 people involved in Hollywood were blacklisted and companies couldnt hire them Hollywood Ten 10 people banned from Hollywood for life because they refused to testify and chose to go to jail instead Trumans Fair Deal Wanted to promote (succeeded in): o Housing o Full employment o Higher minimum wage o Better farm support o Extension of Social Security o Increased rights of African Americans American Society Post WWII 1945-1970

 GI Bill of Rights passed, provides veterans with opportunities to go to school for free after you served in the army Baby Boom ~60 mill babies born in 15 years Economic Boon 1950 1970 o Women start to enter the work force 50% of budget went to defense Consumerism takes off o Economy producing all kinds of new things o Cars bought at faster rate o Gadgets for the home (Television) o People took more vacations Middle Class doubles o Suburbs grow rapidly o Cult of domesticity womens role becomes homemaker, raising children o White flight takes off Sunbelt vs Frostbelt o People moving from East (Frostbelt) to California/West (Sunbelt) o Air conditioning made weather bearable, and West Coast had better jobs Eisenhowers Presidency Election 1952 o D Adlai Stevenson o R Ike and Richard Nixon Dynamic Conservatism o Eisenhower wanted a middle-of-the-road moderate approach o Introduces: Interstate Highway system 1954 (for military travel) Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 1953 o Strove to balance the federal budget, but debt rises Labor Unions grow in power o AFL and CIO merged 1955 o Teamsters (people who drive buses and trucks, etc) expelled Leader was Jimmy Hoffa (the most powerful union boss is US history) Ran the Teamsters with an iron fist Teamsters used violence to get what they wanted Landrum-Griffith Act prohibited strong arm tactics and controlled union finances Alaska 1958 and Hawaii 1959 admitted Civil Rights during the 1950s o In 1953, Eisenhower appoints Earl Warren the Chief Justice (based on a prior deal) Turned court into activist court make policy through decisions o Brown vs Topeka Board of Education 1954 Thurgood Marshall for NAACP, first black associate justice Plessy vs Ferguson overturned, segregation was now unconstitutional o Response to Brown Eisenhower didnt like the ruling, he felt that it wasnt the courts job and rather the governments job to deal with segregation KKK reemerges Massive resistance Little Rock, AR 1957 at Central High was first to desegregate

Civil Rights Crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas 1957 o 9 black students chosen to integrate with an all-white school o Governor Orval Faubus (segregationist) called National Guard in to put barriers around school so that the black kids couldnt get in o Eisenhower sends in troops to allow students into the school o 1959 Orval Faubus shut down all public schools, but schools are forced to reopen and integration SLOWLY starts Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955 1956 o Rosa Parks refuses to give up seat on bus, arrested for violation of black codes o MLK rises as leader of civil rights movement o Promotes peaceful protest by boycotting busses for ~400 days o Outcome: Supreme Court rule that segregation on Montgomery buses was unconstitutional MLK o Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King is president and officially becomes leader of civil rights movement o Promotes non-violent resistance (comes out of Thoreaus Civil Disobedience) If you respond physically, you look like the bad guy Sit-ins become new strategy First occurs in Greensboro NC 1960 where four black students sit at a white-only diner counter and ask to be served, they get physically assaulted. The next day, they go back with more students, and eventually they take up the whole diner counter Black students are trained on how to resist white abuse Cold War Politics Secretary of State John Foster Dulles o Introduces Policy of Massive Retaliation o Two major principles Stop and counter Soviet and China aggression with nuclear weapons Brinkmanship (never back down, taking you to the brink of war) o Rejects Containment Preemptive strike STRIKE FIRST. Why wait to be attacked by nuclear weapons? New Look Military o Reduce size of ground troops and build up nuclear weapons because it costs less Vietnam o Ho Chi Minh previously asks Turman for assistance against the French, Truman denies o Soviets support Ho Chi Minh o 1954 Dien Bien Phu defeated o Geneva Conference Vietnam split at 17th parallel Ho Chi Minh in the north Diem in the south Upper class dont like Diem because hes Catholic o SEATO established (South East Asia Treaty Organization) Like NATO but doesnt have same capabilities SEATO was the reason we got involved in Vietnam war in 1960s Tries to prevent Communism in Vietnam (Domino Theory) Warsaw Pact o Soviets counter to NATO

o All eastern bloc countries were forced to join Cold war tensions eased with Stalins death o Kruschev 1955 new leader of Russia o Peaceful coexistence theres possibility that we may be able to calm the tensions o Wants to improve lives of Russians in the Soviet Union o Wanted communism as an economic system o Eisenhower and Kruschev meet to discuss issues between Soviet and US Eisenhower wants to reunite Germany, Kruschev refuses Kruschev agrees that we have to disarm, we dont have these nuclear capabilities 1958 both countries suspend atmospheric testing 1956 Hungary stands up to communism, Budapest overthrows government o Hungary gets taken back by Soviets 1957 Sputnik launched, American fears intensified. Russia beat us into space o We had fallen behind Soviets in intelligence NDEA (National Defense Education Act) launched o More rigorous programs in college to improve technology 1958 Explorer I launched into space, NASA created Ultimatum on Berlin o Unite Germany or else US invades o Soviets refuse to give up Berlin o Agree to summit o Ultimatum suspended, never really happens U-2 Incident o Francis Gary Powers flies U-2 spy plane o In 1960, Soviets is able to hit Powers plane with a missile o Powers crashes, but spying is illegal, so they have to keep it a secret o Soviets have the mostly intact plane and Powers, Eisenhower enraged because we got caught o Summit called off o 1961 Powers will be traded for a Soviet spy that we had captured Middle East o Iran 1953 Shah installed as Dictator We put him there so we could control him Eventually, he gets exiled by the Iranians We send people over to give cancer treatment to dictator, basically the while Argo thing o Suez Canal Nasser nationalizes canal, Britain and France are upset 1956 GB, France, and Israel attack Egypt Soviet Union helps Egypt, pits us against Soviets Eisenhower denounces attack on Egypt because we dont want to get involved Soviets said to stop the war or else they will send nukes over Result: Eisenhower Doctrine to promise military and economic aid to countries threatened by communism Cuba o United States very economically active in Cuba pre-1959 o By 1959, the US owns 90% Cuban mines, 40% sugar plantations Cuba had second highest standard of living in Latin America o Jan 1st 1959 Castro assumes leadership of Cuba o Kruschev gives aid to Cuba

o Cuba now under nuclear umbrella o Cuba starts growing closer to Soviet Union, US starts plotting against Castro o We begin going to other Latin American countries and provide them with financial aid to help keep communism out of those countries Latin American Marshall Plan Eisenhower evaluated o Eisenhower was president during a very economically prosperous era o In his second term, he was somewhat more effective as a president than he was in his first term o He didnt succumb to laying duck shitfest o Public works programs started during the New Deal were continued Biggest one: national highway project o Civil rights, but not because he wanted to, rather because he was forced to o Continued to further the cause of New Deal and Fair Deal programs