WWII Part II Review US foreign policy in the 1930s Outbreak of WWII US entry into war US participation in Europe Mobilization of US home front Global war required shift in economy o Military needs came first o Factories had to produce planes tanks weapons clothing o For the US and the Allies as well Management was on massive scale o Federal employees climbed to 3 8 million people New agencies created to keep track of production and people o War Manpower Commission o War Production Board o Office of Price Administration Federal budget hit 98 billion in 1945 Shift from consumer goods to military began in 1940 o December 1941 25 of economy devoted to military o Expanded after US entered the war Mass assembly techniques applied to production o 1943 10 B 24 bombers made in one day o Twice as productive as Germany 4 times as productive as Japan Every region of country experienced growth o Especially the south and the west o Sunbelt began to develop o San Diego Albuquerque Mobile Overall 304 billion worth of goods produced by 1945 o 300 000 airplanes o 80 000 tanks o 7 000 ships o 3 million vehicles o Double the production of Germany Italy and Japan combined Gross national product grew o 1939 88 6 billion to 135 billion in 1944 Massive amount of federal spending finally ended depression achieved what the New Deal could not by spending lots of money Individuals enjoyed wage increases employment o 1940 1 out of 7 workers unemployed o 1944 unemployment down to 1 2 Wages grew 65 over war o Lower income experienced most benefit o Almost all demographics enjoyed growth Some limitations though o Increases controlled to combat inflation o Rural citizens in Deep South continued to struggle Women filled in employment gaps as men left for the war o From 13 million to 19 million in 4 years o 2 million worked in factories o Married women tended to stay at home Helped with conservations victory gardens buying war bonds Other groups saw new employment opportunities o 300 000 Mexicans brought to US farms railroads o 40 000 Native Americans left reservations o By 1945 8 of wartime jobs held by African Americans Up from 3 in 1942 War financed through taxation o 1939 4 million Americans paid income taxes o 1945 43 million o 500 paid 23 on income o 1 million paid 94 tax on income o Taxes paid for 136 billion of war s cost War bonds also financed the war o 167 billion through 1945 185 billion in 1946 o 86 million Americans bought bonds o Companies bought 24 billion worth Support for war widespread o Government used propaganda to encourage support o Posters films news reels o Americans encouraged to conserve and ration Patriotism tinged with hysteria and racism in some cases security o Targeted 112 000 Japanese living on west coast o April 1942 moved into 10 internment camps o Upheld by Supreme Court in 1944 o About 13 000 Germans and Italians put in camps 1942 Republicans and conservative Democrats help majorities o Dismantled New Deal programs o Rural electrification housing improvements 1944 presidential election o Only major issue was the war o FDR ran for 4th term against Thomas Dewey NY o FDR got 432 electoral votes 54 popular vote FDR lived only a few months into his 4th term o February 1942 FDR authorized restrictions on threats to national o Died April 12 1945 o Replaced by harry Truman as president Conclusion of WWII the Pacific Victory in Europe came in May 1945 War continued in Pacific theater Island hopping campaigns in 1944 1945 o US controlled the air o Allowed navy land forces to isolate strategic islands US also bombed Japan mainland 1944 1945 o Reduced imports to 1 8 of 1940 levels o Destroyed 42 of industrial capacity Fighting protracted and bitter Fears about cost of trying to take Japanese mainland Heightened by Battle of Okinawa o 82 days April June 1945 o Allies intended to use island as air base for invasion of Japan o Largest amphibious assault in pacific theater o 77 000 Japanese soldiers died thousands of local civilians o 14 000 Allied deaths over 60 000 casualties Americans feared 6 9 months more of fighting Truman faced question about what to do Take Japan by traditional means o Knew he needed Soviet help to get unconditional surrender o Suspicious of Stalin wanted US to control Japanese occupation Decided to forgo invasion of Japanese mainland o Would use a new type of bomb instead o Atomic bomb successfully tested on July 16 1945 in New Mexico o Had been in development since 1939 o Believed bomb would break Japan and save American lives First bomb dropped on city of Hiroshima August 6 1945 Killed 80 000 immediately August 9 dropped second bomb on Nagasaki Killed 40 000 immediately Japan stopped fighting on August 14 Surrendered formally on September 2 1945 WWII Using the Bomb Was using the bomb really necessary o Cut the war short saved loss of lives from a mainland invasion o Allowed US to end the war without the help of the Soviets Tensions with Soviet Union mounting steadily Voiced interest in Manchuria Stalin expanding into eastern Europe o Use of bomb allowed Truman to limit Stalin s ambitions o US and Britain had adopted wholesale destruction of cities with firebombing o Once bombs dropped allowed militant leaders to be ousted in Japan Conversely evidence showed Japanese on brink of collapse anyway o Loss of life resistance over estimated Use of bomb based on domestic politics o Manhattan Project cost billions o Using successfully could justify price secrecy of project Ushered in Atomic Age o Fundamentally changed warfare and diplomacy Also immoral against natural balance WWII How the Allies Won Economic capacity o US and Soviet Union out produced Axis powers o US achieved massive production capabilities in a year o US and Soviets made superior products by 1943 1944 Technological innovation o Use of radar code breaking and atomic bombs Military skill o Learned from defeats in 1942 1943 o Utilized radar to counter U boats o Used aircraft carriers to beat Japanese battleships The Legacy of WWII Ended the Great Depression in the US Elevated wages and the standard of living in US Expanded size of federal government Introduced small challenges to racism in military and at home o Discrimination remained strong but some advances o Black union membership doubled o Average income went from 41 of average to 61 o Launched Double V campaign o Victory at home and victory abroad o Tactics relationships bolstered civil rights campaign in 1960s Changed US s relationship to the rest of