$Unique_ID{USH00256} $Pretitle{19} $Title{United States History 1600-1987 Chapter VIII World War II} $Subtitle{} $Author{Immigration and Naturalization Service} $Affiliation{US Department of Justice} $Subject{war world japan countries allies germany ii help allied britain} $Volume{M-288} $Date{1987} $Log{} Book: United States History 1600-1987 Author: Immigration and Naturalization Service Affiliation: US Department of Justice Volume: M-288 Date: 1987 Chapter VIII World War II Beginning of World War II The U.S., as in World War I, did not want to be involved in Europe's problems. Congress passed Neutrality Acts in 1935, 1936 and 1937, before the war started. These acts said that if a foreign war began, there would be no sale of war goods, no loans and no Americans sailing on ships of those fighting in the war. The U.S. desire to stay out of war was even more important than maintaining freedom of the seas. Freedom of the seas always had been an important part of rights of neutral countries, and it was the reason the U.S. had fought World War I. As in World War I, however, the U.S. tried to help the countries with whom it sympathized. When Japan invaded China in 1937, the U.S. did not recognize it as a war. This made it possible for the U.S. to continue to supply weapons to China, a long-time U.S. friend. The war in Europe officially began on September 1, 1939, when Adolf Hitler ordered the German army to invade Poland. The countries which fought with Germany were called the Axis. The main Axis countries were Germany, Italy and Japan. The Allied countries opposed them. At first it was only France and England, but later the Soviet Union, the U.S. and other smaller countries joined the Allies. The U.S. did not join when the war began. In 1939, another Neutrality Act was passed by Congress. This act allowed countries fighting in the war to buy war goods from the U.S. as long as the country paid cash for the items and picked up the goods itself. Since only France and England were able to do this, it meant help for them without violating U.S. neutrality. France was quickly defeated by Germany, and by June 1940, England stood alone against the Axis. Public opinion in the U.S. began to favor intervention, though perhaps not militarily, to help the Allies. Congress passed the Selective Service Act in 1940, enabling the government to start drafting men into the army. Substantial help to England began in 1941, with the start of lend-lease. Though Britain had been buying war goods from the U.S., Britain was beginning to run out of money. The U.S. still wanted to help Britain, however, so it decided to lend or lease the needed items to Britain. The items would be returned when the war was over. Lend-lease showed everyone that the U.S. clearly favored the Allies. When the U.S. stopped shipments of war materials to Japan, it was clear that the U.S. sided with the Allies. Pearl Harbor On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Japanese conducted a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. President Roosevelt called it the day "which will live in infamy." He was right. The next day Congress declared war on Japan. Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. a few days later. Since the Soviet Union had joined the Allies earlier in 1941, the Allied camp now had three strong powers: Great Britain, the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Fighting the War against Germany The Allied powers met to discuss how they could defeat Germany and Japan. They decided that they would concentrate first on defeating Germany and then Japan. Germany was too strong to attack on the Western Front, in France. Instead, the Allies decided to attack through German-held northern Africa and up through Italy, Hitler's ally. At the same time, the British, with some help from the Americans, were bombing heavily military and industrial targets in Germany. The Soviets launched a counteroffensive against Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union which ultimately was successful in pushing back the German troops. However, many men were killed. By September 1943, Italy had surrendered unconditionally. The Soviets repeatedly asked for a second front in Europe to help get rid of some of the German troops from the Soviet Union. The other Allied leaders recognized how important this was, since the Soviets were losing so many men. D-Day In June 1944, the Allies launched the famous D-Day invasion at Normandy, France. United States General Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower led the multinational Allied troops to victory. (He was to become a two-term President during the 1950's.) This daring and successful invasion helped defeat Hitler. By early May 1945, Germany had surrendered unconditionally. Fighting the War against Japan The war against Japan started less successfully than the war in Europe had. Japan quickly and easily had captured the Philippines, Malay States, Dutch East Indies and had moved toward Australia. Only a few Americans were fighting there but they were being helped by the Chinese and Australians. In May and June, 1942, in the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, the Allied forces inflicted major damage on or defeated Japanese fighters. The battle in the Pacific was difficult but the Allies slowly made progress. The hero in the Pacific was General Douglas A. MacArthur. Having been forced once to retreat, he slowly came back to the Philippines. He was an inspiration both to his soldiers and to the people in the conquered islands. Even when faced with ultimate defeat by the stronger Allied navy, the Japanese refused to surrender unconditionally. The new President, Harry S. Truman (Roosevelt had died), decided to use the powerful atomic bomb developed secretly in the U.S. to try to convince Japan to surrender. Hiroshima and Nagasaki The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. In spite of vast casualties (70,000 believed to be dead), the Japanese still did not surrender. A second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Japan could take no more, and surrendered on August 10. World War II was ended. The Allies had won again. Effects of the War World War II was even more of a total war than World War I had been because the scope was much larger. In Europe and Japan, industrial and population centers were bombed as well as military targets. The economies of all the countries involved were organized for the sole purpose of providing the necessary goods to fight the war. Consumer goods such as butter and gasoline were rationed. Wages were high, however, so people saved their money, investing in the war effort by buying government bonds. The U.S. government borrowed billions of dollars to help pay for planes, tanks and bullets. Everyone went to work. With 15 million people serving in the U.S. armed forces, women, teenagers, and retired people all went to work in the factories to help increase production. Some women developed an interest in working outside the home, and continued to do so after the war. The need for a large and dependable work force also helped prompt the federal government to take its first steps in support of civil rights. It declared that defense industries could not discriminate in hiring on the basis of "race, creed, color or national origin." The civilian involvement was significant. But what best shows the totality of the war is that more than 22 million people died, and more than 34 million were wounded. More than one million Americans were killed or wounded. The world was at peace again, but at a terrible price. Germany, Italy and Japan suffered nearly complete defeat. Great Britain and France lost large parts of their empires and were no longer leading world powers. The United States and the Soviet Union became the two major powers. World War II - Review Questions 1. What word best describes U.S. foreign policy at the beginning of World War II? 2. Name one of the major countries which fought for the Axis countries in World War II. 3. Name one of the major countries which fought for the Allies in World War II. 4. What important event took place at Pearl Harbor in 1941? 5. What happened on D-Day in June 1944? 6. What important event took place at Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945? 7. Did the Axis countries or Allies win World War II? 8. Which two countries became the major powers after World War II?