Treaty of Versailles• Germany had to accept
blame for starting WWI
• Germany was responsible for 63 billion in war reparations
• Germany was stripped of much its military
Countries that are economically depressed tend to lean toward radical forms of government.
Rise of Nationalism
Japan Italy Germany
Militarists/Expansionists Fascists/Expansionists Nazis/Expansionists
Hideki Tojo Benito Mussolini Adolph Hitler
Manchuria/Pacific Northern Africa Europe
U.S. Isolationism Disillusioned w/WWI
-deaths and debt
Nye Committee-arms dealer profits
Neutrality Acts-outlawed sale of arms to nations
at warAmerica First Committee
-strived to keep US out of war
"After an explosion of a nearby bomb, you could actually feel your eyeballs being sucked out. I was holding my eyes to try and stop them from going. And the suction was so vast, it ripped my shirt away, and
ripped my trousers. Then, I couldn't get my breath, the smoke was like acid and everything around me was black and yellow."
- quoted in London at War
"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender."
- Winston Churchill, 1940
FDR's Position
"This nation will remain a neutral nation, but I cannot ask that every American remain neutral
in thought as well...Even a neutral nation cannot be asked to close his mind or
conscience..."
-radio speech, 1939
"Aresenal for Democracy"
American Policy Policy Details
Cash and CarryNations could buy US arms but would pay in cash and transport
them themselves
Destroyers for Bases DealAllowed cashless Britain to trade
naval bases for much needed naval destroyers
Lend-Lease Aid We lended arms to "any country whose defense was vital to the US"
Lend-Lease Aid
Great Britain.........................$31 billionSoviet Union..........................$11 billionFrance..................................$3 billionChina..................................$1.5 billion
Other European......................$500 millionSouth America.......................$400 million
The amount totaled: $48,601,365,000
Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941
• Japanese surprise attack on the Hawaian naval base killing 2,403 Americans
• Provocation for attack? -American embargo of "strategic materials"
"A day which will live infamy"
Victory in Europe DayMay, 8th 1945
• After the Battle of the Bulge, Nazi resources were limited, forcing them to retreat
• April, 30th Hitler commits suicide
Pacific Theater
• Battle of Midway is turning point as the Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers and 250 planes
Kamikaze Attack
Island Hopping/Iwo Jima
• 20,700 Japanese troops were entrenched in caves and tunnels
• 6,000 Marines died taking the island so it could be used to fly bombers over Japan
Battle of Iwo Jima
Firebombing Tokyo, March 10, 1945
• Estimated of this one night of bombing killed anywhere from 88,000 to over 100,000 Japanese residents of Tokyo- Also, destroyed 16 square miles
Truman's Decision
• Conditional vs. Unconditional Surrender
• Potential invasion of Japan "Battle of Tokyo" estimates as high as 900,000 American losses
• Warned Japan that they faced "utter destruction"
Atomic Bombs Dropped
Aug. 6, 1945 Hiroshima 80,000 instantly
135,000 total
Aug. 9, 1945 Nagasaki40,000 instantly
50,000 total
Japanese unconditionally surrender
Thursday, 4th 8:30-9:05Monday, 8th 3:55-4:45Tuesday, 9th 8:30-9:05
Wednesday, 10th 2:55-3:45Monday, 15th 3:55-4:45Tuesday, 16th 8:30-9:05
Wednesday, 17th 2:55-3:45Thursday, 18th 8:30-9:05Monday, 22nd 3:55-4:45Tuesday, 23rd 8:30-9:05
Wednesday, 24th 2:55-3:45Thursday, 25th 8:30-9:05
Friday, 26th 8:30-9:05Monday, 29th 3:55-9:05Tuesday, 30th 3:55-4:45
0
1000000
2000000
3000000
4000000
1941 1942 1943 1944 1945
Automobile Production, 1941-1945
70,001610139222,862
3,779,628
0
7500
15000
22500
30000
1941 1942 1943 1944 1945
11,184
17,565
29,497
23,884
4,203
Tank Production, 1941-1945
Women in the Workplace
• The image of "Rosie The Riveter" is an iconic symbol of the role women played in winning the war.
• Married women working helped change women's roles forever
Racial Tension Japanese-Americans African-Americans Mexican-Americans
110,000 sent to Internment Camps
Double-V Campaign (Fight racism at home
and abroad)Zoot Suit Riots
Korematsu vs. US Tuskegee Airmen(Segregated units)
Rationing "Victory Suits"
Great Migration Continues