SSUSH 19: THE STUDENT WILL IDENTIFY THE ORIGINS, MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS,
AND THE DOMESTIC IMPACT OF WORLD WAR II,
ESPECIALLY THE GROWTH OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND THE DOMESTIC IMPACT OF WORLD WAR II,
ESPECIALLY THE GROWTH OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
A. EXPLAIN A. PHILIP RANDOLPH’S PROPOSED MARCH ON WASHINGTON, D.C.,
AND PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’S RESPONSE.
AND PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’S RESPONSE.
PROTESTING DISCRIMINATION
In 1941, A. Philip Randolph, the founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, proposed a march on Washington, D.C., to protest discrimination in the military and in industry. He called on African Americans from all over the United States to come to Washington and join him. President Roosevelt, afraid the march might cause unrest among whites, summoned Randolph to the White House and asked him to call off the march. When Randolph refused, Roosevelt issued an executive order that called on employers and labor unions to cease discrimination in hiring practices in industries related to defense. As a result of Roosevelt’s actions, the march was canceled. |
B. EXPLAIN THE JAPANESE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR AND THE INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE- AMERICANS,
GERMAN-AMERICANS, AND ITALIAN-AMERICANS.
GERMAN-AMERICANS, AND ITALIAN-AMERICANS.
PEARL HARBOR
On the morning of December 7, 1941, the navy of the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Over 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,178 more were wounded, 19 ships were damaged, and over 300 aircraft were destroyed. The Japanese attack took the United States officially into World War II. AND ITS AFTERMATH One effect of America’s entry into the war was alarm about the loyalty of Japanese Americans: 120,000 Japanese Americans lived in the United States, most of them on the West Coast. Fears of spies and sabotage led to prejudice and sometimes violence against Japanese Americans. In the name of national security, Roosevelt ordered all people of Japanese ancestry be moved from California and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona to rural prison camps. Although most of the people imprisoned in these internment camps were Japanese Americans, there were also small numbers of German Americans and Italian Americans imprisoned under the same law, as well as hundreds of Native Americans from Alaska. |
C. EXPLAIN MAJOR EVENTS; INCLUDE THE LEND-LEASE PROGRAM, THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY, D-DAY, AND THE FALL OF BERLIN.
D. DESCRIBE WAR MOBILIZATION, AS INDICATED BY RATIONING, WAR-TIME CONVERSION,
AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN WAR INDUSTRIES.
AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN WAR INDUSTRIES.
MOBILIZATION
After Pearl Harbor, 5 million men volunteered for military service, but more were needed to fight the war. The Selective Service System expanded the draft, and 10 million more men joined the ranks of the American armed forces. So great was the need of the military, a Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was formed to fill noncombat positions otherwise filled by men, freeing up the men for frontline duty. The men needed tanks, planes, ships, guns, bullets, and boots. To equip the troops, the entire American industry was dedicated to supplying the military. More than 6 million workers in the plants, factories, and shipyards were women. With the men who once did these jobs now fighting overseas, women filled the void. Women volunteered for this work even though they were paid on average only 60% as much as men doing the same jobs. It was the hard work of people and the industrial might of the United States that helped America win World War II. As time went on, the war industry needed more raw materials. One way Americans helped the war effort was through wartime conservation. Workers would carpool to work or ride bicycles to save gasoline and rubber. People participated in nationwide drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, newspaper, rags, and even cooking grease to recycle and use in war production. Another way Americans conserved on the home front was through the mandatory government rationing system. Under this system, each household received a “c book” with coupons that were used to buy scarce items such as meat, sugar,and coffee. Gas rationing was also used to help save gasoline for military use. |
E. DESCRIBE THE MANHATTAN PROJECT AT LOS ALAMOS AND THE SCIENTIFIC, ECONOMIC,
AND MILITARY IMPLICATIONS OF DEVELOPING THE ATOMIC BOMB.
AND MILITARY IMPLICATIONS OF DEVELOPING THE ATOMIC BOMB.
ATOM BOMB
Allied leaders planning the war against Japan knew that once they defeated the Japanese navy in the Pacific Ocean they would still have to invade Japan itself to end the war. They knew Japan still had a huge army that would defend every inch of the homeland, and both sides could possibly lose millions of people in the process. President Truman decided there was only one way to avoid an invasion of Japan and still defeat them. He would use a brand-new weapon that no one had ever seen before: the atomic bomb. The American government had developed two atomic bombs in a secret laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The bombs were dropped on Japan in early August 1945. On September 2, 1945, the Japanese surrendered, and World War II was finally over. The project’s code name was “The Manhattan Project.” The implications of developing and using atomic bombs in World War II were enormous. From a military standpoint, it was clear that not only did the United States have a powerful weapon that no other country had, but the American government was not afraid to use it. The Soviet Union quickly began developing an atomic bomb of its own, an act that helped begin the Cold War. Also, nuclear power would soon be used to power aircraft carriers and submarines. Scientifically and economically, the atomic bomb led to nuclear power for civilian use, such as generating electricity for homes and businesses. Nuclear power is also used in technologies such as positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which are used by physicians to study the workings of the human body, including brain functions. |