Introduction
Why do you need to learn about World War II?
There are plenty of reasons but here's a few to catch your interest.
1. It shaped the United States into a world superpower, politically, economically, and militarily.
The American lifestyle we enjoy today is a result of being one of the world's superpowers after World War II. Being a superpower brings with it much influence on the global stage. The U.S. can negotiate better economic terms with other countries through political action. We can also protect our interests through our powerful military. The question now is: can we keep this status for the foreseeable future? Is your generation capable of keeping the U.S. on top? Can your generation make the U.S. a better place? It's up to you.
2. It started the Cold War.
World War II led to the creation of two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Due to ideological differences, the two superpowers would become locked in conflict, albeit not directly. For the next 45 years the world's political stage would act out a dramatic play of communism vs. democracy, leading to the buildup of nuclear arsenals, espionage operations, proxy wars, and nearly nuclear holocaust.
3. It started the road to civil rights for minorities and opened more doors for women in the workplace.
In World War II the U.S. military was still segregated. However, the actions of men such as Dorie Miller, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the 442d Regimental Combat Team helped open the pathway to desegregation of the military after the war. In 1948 President Truman would desegregate the armed forces and also signed Executive Order 9981, establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed forces. Women also benefited from WWII, having assumed many industrial and clerical jobs which would serve them well after the war was over.
4. New technologies emerged.
World War II saw what could be considered a technological boom. Inventions and innovations of World War II include: atomic weapons, radar and electronic warfare, sonar, hand held antitank weapons, the jet engine, the cruise missile, smart bomb, wide use of antibiotics, blood plasma, synthetic insecticides, use of two-way radios in warfare, and the first rocket to reach space, the German V-2, which set the stage for space exploration.
There are plenty of reasons but here's a few to catch your interest.
1. It shaped the United States into a world superpower, politically, economically, and militarily.
The American lifestyle we enjoy today is a result of being one of the world's superpowers after World War II. Being a superpower brings with it much influence on the global stage. The U.S. can negotiate better economic terms with other countries through political action. We can also protect our interests through our powerful military. The question now is: can we keep this status for the foreseeable future? Is your generation capable of keeping the U.S. on top? Can your generation make the U.S. a better place? It's up to you.
2. It started the Cold War.
World War II led to the creation of two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Due to ideological differences, the two superpowers would become locked in conflict, albeit not directly. For the next 45 years the world's political stage would act out a dramatic play of communism vs. democracy, leading to the buildup of nuclear arsenals, espionage operations, proxy wars, and nearly nuclear holocaust.
3. It started the road to civil rights for minorities and opened more doors for women in the workplace.
In World War II the U.S. military was still segregated. However, the actions of men such as Dorie Miller, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the 442d Regimental Combat Team helped open the pathway to desegregation of the military after the war. In 1948 President Truman would desegregate the armed forces and also signed Executive Order 9981, establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed forces. Women also benefited from WWII, having assumed many industrial and clerical jobs which would serve them well after the war was over.
4. New technologies emerged.
World War II saw what could be considered a technological boom. Inventions and innovations of World War II include: atomic weapons, radar and electronic warfare, sonar, hand held antitank weapons, the jet engine, the cruise missile, smart bomb, wide use of antibiotics, blood plasma, synthetic insecticides, use of two-way radios in warfare, and the first rocket to reach space, the German V-2, which set the stage for space exploration.
PART I
I. 1920s Foreign Policy
Consider the following:
Based on prior learning, what position do you think the United States would take in the years leading to World War II?
Would the U.S. maintain an isolationist or interventionist position? Why?
Based on prior learning, what position do you think the United States would take in the years leading to World War II?
Would the U.S. maintain an isolationist or interventionist position? Why?
Issue #2: The Washington Disarmament Conference
Click here to learn about the Washington Conference of 1921-22.
Click here to learn about the Washington Conference of 1921-22.
Conclusion:
Due to the United States not joining the League of Nations, the organization lost a key power as the U.S. was the only country to emerge stronger after WWI. There were conflicts between the League's members as well. Many were weak militarily after the war which meant that the League lacked "teeth" to enforce policies. The USSR and Germany were excluded from the League as well, leading to distrust and tension in the future.
The Washington Disarmament Conference resulted in multiple treaties which limited the building of new warships. However, when Japan sought equal terms with the U.S. and the U.K. (the U.S. and U.K. had been allowed more tonnage as they had interests in two oceans) and were refused, Japan left the treaty and built up its naval assets. This would help the Japanese later in their goal to expand their empire.
Due to the United States not joining the League of Nations, the organization lost a key power as the U.S. was the only country to emerge stronger after WWI. There were conflicts between the League's members as well. Many were weak militarily after the war which meant that the League lacked "teeth" to enforce policies. The USSR and Germany were excluded from the League as well, leading to distrust and tension in the future.
The Washington Disarmament Conference resulted in multiple treaties which limited the building of new warships. However, when Japan sought equal terms with the U.S. and the U.K. (the U.S. and U.K. had been allowed more tonnage as they had interests in two oceans) and were refused, Japan left the treaty and built up its naval assets. This would help the Japanese later in their goal to expand their empire.
II. 1930s Politics at Home
Consider the Following:
The United States is facing the Great Depression in the 1930's. How might this affect foreign policy prior to World War II?
The United States is facing the Great Depression in the 1930's. How might this affect foreign policy prior to World War II?
Issue #1: The Neutrality Acts
Read here about the Neutrality Acts and how this foreign policy affected the U.S. prior to World War II.
Read here about the Neutrality Acts and how this foreign policy affected the U.S. prior to World War II.
Issue #2: Isolationism in the United States.
Read here on isolationism in the United States in the 1930's.
Read here to understand the views of the Isolationist Movement in the 1930s, led by Charles Lindbergh.
Read here for information on the America First Committee and its stance on U.S. policy in World War II. An interesting source on Hollywood's role during World War II as well. Answer the corresponding questions in you module worksheet.
Listen to this speech by Charles Lindbergh of aviation fame and then listen to Sen. James Byrnes' counter to Lindbergh.
Read here on isolationism in the United States in the 1930's.
Read here to understand the views of the Isolationist Movement in the 1930s, led by Charles Lindbergh.
Read here for information on the America First Committee and its stance on U.S. policy in World War II. An interesting source on Hollywood's role during World War II as well. Answer the corresponding questions in you module worksheet.
Listen to this speech by Charles Lindbergh of aviation fame and then listen to Sen. James Byrnes' counter to Lindbergh.
Read: "When Dr. Seuss Took on Adolf Hitler"
-Click on the link and then review the cartoons below.
-Click on the link and then review the cartoons below.
Conclusion:
In the 1930's the combination of the Great Depression, the rise of totalitarianism, and imperialist ambition led to a series of actions meant to keep the United States out of foreign conflict. Organizations such as the America First Committee and its key spokesman, Charles Lindbergh, were part of a country which was heavily isolationist. President Roosevelt, aware of the dangers of the events overseas and the effects they would have on the country wanted to help the allies against totalitarian and imperialist aggression. However, he faced an isolationist Congress that he needed in order to facilitate his New Deal programs, his primary concern during the Depression.
In the 1930's the combination of the Great Depression, the rise of totalitarianism, and imperialist ambition led to a series of actions meant to keep the United States out of foreign conflict. Organizations such as the America First Committee and its key spokesman, Charles Lindbergh, were part of a country which was heavily isolationist. President Roosevelt, aware of the dangers of the events overseas and the effects they would have on the country wanted to help the allies against totalitarian and imperialist aggression. However, he faced an isolationist Congress that he needed in order to facilitate his New Deal programs, his primary concern during the Depression.
III. Bad Dudes of WWII...
Consider the Following:
What are the characteristics of a dictatorship? A democracy? A constitutional monarchy?
What are the characteristics of a dictatorship? A democracy? A constitutional monarchy?
Dictator #1: Josef Stalin
Josef Stalinwas dictator of the U.S.S.R. from approximately 1927 until his death in 1953. His rule was marked by the creation of a police state, terror, fear, mass killing, the gulag system, a world war, and the start of the Cold War. Stalin's attempts at reforms included collectivization in agriculture and a series of five-year plans for industry, both costing the lives of many of his own people. Click here to discover how the Soviet "Man of Steel" rose to power and ruled the communist U.S.S.R. |
Dictator #2: Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini was prime minister/dictator of Italy from 1925 until his dismissal from power in 1943. His rule was marked by the rise of fascism in Italy. All things in Italy were done for the glory of the state as Mussolini sought to unite Italians by restoring the glory of the old Roman Empire . A series of public work projects, police state, propaganda, and extreme nationalism were all elements of fascist Italy. Click here to discover how Mussolini "Il Duce" and his fascists rose to power in Italy prior to WWII. |
Dictator #3: Adolph Hitler
Adolph Hitler was dictator of Germany from 1934 to his death in 1945. He was leader of the Nazi party, which eventually permeated into every facet of German society. Hitler promised the creation of a third German Empire (Third Reich) that would rule a thousand years. The use of the Gestapo (secret police), extreme nationalism, racist policies, and the mass killing of "inferior peoples" characterized Germany under Hitler and his Nazis. Click here to discover how Hitler rose to power in Germany prior to WWII. |
Conclusion:
Economic conditions in Russia, Germany, and Italy in the 1920's and 1930's led to the rise of totalitarian dictatorships. Fascism rose up in Italy under Mussolini, which inspired Hitler's more extreme form of fascism in Nazi Germany. Communism rose up in Russia after the Russian Revolution under the guidance of Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks. After Lenin's death, Stalin took power and led the newly formed Soviet Union.
Economic conditions in Russia, Germany, and Italy in the 1920's and 1930's led to the rise of totalitarian dictatorships. Fascism rose up in Italy under Mussolini, which inspired Hitler's more extreme form of fascism in Nazi Germany. Communism rose up in Russia after the Russian Revolution under the guidance of Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks. After Lenin's death, Stalin took power and led the newly formed Soviet Union.
IV. Response to the Dictators
Consider the Following:
Using your knowledge from prior learning of isolationism and interventionism, interpret the political cartoons below.
Using your knowledge from prior learning of isolationism and interventionism, interpret the political cartoons below.
Review: Actions of the Dictators:
-Go to the link below and review the prezi presentation. Read it over and take notes on important issues related to the rise of WWII dictators.
Research examples of totalitarian aggression here.
-Go to the link below and review the prezi presentation. Read it over and take notes on important issues related to the rise of WWII dictators.
Research examples of totalitarian aggression here.
Issue #1: Roosevelt's Response:
Examine President Franklin Roosevelt's response to totalitarian aggression through analysis of primary source excerpts. Research the links below. Note the progression of Roosevelt's ideas as the country moved closer to war:
Four Freedoms Speech, 1941
Atlantic Charter, 1941
Examine President Franklin Roosevelt's response to totalitarian aggression through analysis of primary source excerpts. Research the links below. Note the progression of Roosevelt's ideas as the country moved closer to war:
Four Freedoms Speech, 1941
Atlantic Charter, 1941
Conclusion:
Franklin Roosevelt was an interventionist as he wanted to help out U.S. allies against totalitarianism and was also increasingly wary of Japanese imperialism. However, in the 1930's he also had to deal with the Great Depression and had to have Congressional support for his New Deal programs so he compromised with them which resulted in the Neutrality Acts of the 1930's. As the 1930's went on the Neutrality Acts' grip loosened more and more and other paving the way for F.D.R. to help out the Allied powers in a more direct fashion such as Lend-Lease. Of course, after Dec 7th, 1941, Roosevelt wouldn't have to deal with much of an isolationist movement anymore.
Franklin Roosevelt was an interventionist as he wanted to help out U.S. allies against totalitarianism and was also increasingly wary of Japanese imperialism. However, in the 1930's he also had to deal with the Great Depression and had to have Congressional support for his New Deal programs so he compromised with them which resulted in the Neutrality Acts of the 1930's. As the 1930's went on the Neutrality Acts' grip loosened more and more and other paving the way for F.D.R. to help out the Allied powers in a more direct fashion such as Lend-Lease. Of course, after Dec 7th, 1941, Roosevelt wouldn't have to deal with much of an isolationist movement anymore.
PART II
V. U.S. Entry into WWII-Attack on Pearl Harbor
Consider the Following:
Do you remember the events of 9/11? How did the attacks bring the country together? Do you think an attack such as this could happen on U.S. soil again? What would the ramifications be of such an attack?
Also, under what pretenses should a nation go to war? What are the possible benefits of going to war? What are the possible consequences?
Do you remember the events of 9/11? How did the attacks bring the country together? Do you think an attack such as this could happen on U.S. soil again? What would the ramifications be of such an attack?
Also, under what pretenses should a nation go to war? What are the possible benefits of going to war? What are the possible consequences?
Issue #1: The Lend-Lease Act:
Click here to find out what the Lend-Lease Act did and how the "Arsenal of Democracy" played a role in breaking America's neutrality.
Click here to find out what the Lend-Lease Act did and how the "Arsenal of Democracy" played a role in breaking America's neutrality.
Issue #2: German attacks on U.S. shipping:
German U-boats harassed Allied shipping lanes after the Lend-Lease was put into action. The U.S.S. Greer was attacked by a U-boat in Sept, 1941. In Oct 1941, The U.S.S. Kearney attacked German U-boats near Iceland after the U-boats had attacked a British-Canadian convoy nearby. The Kearney also took a torpedo hit but survived to fight another day. The U.S.S. Reuben James was attacked and sunk by a U-boat in Oct 1941. With these attacks on U.S. ships, U.S. sentiment turned against Germany and Congress enabled merchant ships to be armed and able to carry munitions for the British.
German U-boats harassed Allied shipping lanes after the Lend-Lease was put into action. The U.S.S. Greer was attacked by a U-boat in Sept, 1941. In Oct 1941, The U.S.S. Kearney attacked German U-boats near Iceland after the U-boats had attacked a British-Canadian convoy nearby. The Kearney also took a torpedo hit but survived to fight another day. The U.S.S. Reuben James was attacked and sunk by a U-boat in Oct 1941. With these attacks on U.S. ships, U.S. sentiment turned against Germany and Congress enabled merchant ships to be armed and able to carry munitions for the British.
Issue #3: Deterioration of U.S. Relations with Japan, culminating in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Sailors and Soldiers First Hand Accounts of Pearl Harbor
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Conclusion:
The increase in anti-German sentiment due to submarine attacks on shipping in the Atlantic, coupled with Japanese imperialism culminating in the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into WWII. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto (who had actually graduated from Harvard and knew American culture) reportedly stated, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." After Pearl Harbor, the people of the United States were no longer divided by isolationism/interventionism but galvanized together in an effort to bring about victory over totalitarian aggression in WWII.
The increase in anti-German sentiment due to submarine attacks on shipping in the Atlantic, coupled with Japanese imperialism culminating in the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into WWII. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto (who had actually graduated from Harvard and knew American culture) reportedly stated, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." After Pearl Harbor, the people of the United States were no longer divided by isolationism/interventionism but galvanized together in an effort to bring about victory over totalitarian aggression in WWII.
PART III
Watch these two clips regarding the United States mobilizing for the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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VI. WWII Homefront: Women
Changing Roles
Women in World War II took on a variety of roles. Some women embraced the traditional positions of caretakers and homemakers. Others explored new opportunities, from which women had been previously excluded. The global conflict on an unprecedented scale and the absolute urgency of mobilizing the entire population made the expansion of the role of women inevitable. In the United States, the hard skilled labor of women was symbolized by the concept of Rosie the Riveter, a female factory laborer performing what was previously considered men’s work.
Women in World War II took on a variety of roles. Some women embraced the traditional positions of caretakers and homemakers. Others explored new opportunities, from which women had been previously excluded. The global conflict on an unprecedented scale and the absolute urgency of mobilizing the entire population made the expansion of the role of women inevitable. In the United States, the hard skilled labor of women was symbolized by the concept of Rosie the Riveter, a female factory laborer performing what was previously considered men’s work.
Labor
Nearly 19 million American women held jobs during World War II, out of which around 6 million entered the labor force as new female workers. Government campaigns targeting women were addressed mostly to housewives, likely because already-employed women would move to the higher-paid “essential” jobs on their own, or perhaps because it was assumed that most potential new workers were housewives. One government advertisement asked women: “Can you use an electric mixer? If so, you can learn to operate a drill.”
Propaganda was also directed at men, many of whom were unwilling to support women in the labor force and particularly in industrial jobs. Women worked in the war industries, building ships, aircraft, vehicles, and weaponry. They also worked in factories and on farms, drove trucks, provided logistic support for soldiers, and entered professional areas of work that were previously the domain of men. They enlisted as nurses serving on the front lines, and there was a great increase in the number of women serving for the military.
Women also joined the federal government in massive numbers. Nearly a million so-called “government girls” were recruited for war work. In addition, women volunteers aided the war effort by planting victory gardens, canning produce, selling war bonds, donating blood, salvaging needed commodities, and sending care packages.
Although many women took on male-dominated trades during World War II, they were expected to return to housework once men returned from the war. In 1944, when victory seemed assured for the United States, government-sponsored propaganda changed by urging women to return to working in the home. Later, many women assumed traditional female-dominated jobs such as clerical or administration positions, despite women’s reluctance to reenter the lower-paying fields. At the end of the war, most of the munitions-making jobs ended. Many factories were closed; others were retooled for civilian production. In some jobs, women were replaced by returning veterans. However the number of women at work in 1946 was 87 percent of the number in 1944, leaving 13 percent who had lost or quit their jobs. The overall percentage of women working fell from 36 percent to 28 percent in 1947.
Nearly 19 million American women held jobs during World War II, out of which around 6 million entered the labor force as new female workers. Government campaigns targeting women were addressed mostly to housewives, likely because already-employed women would move to the higher-paid “essential” jobs on their own, or perhaps because it was assumed that most potential new workers were housewives. One government advertisement asked women: “Can you use an electric mixer? If so, you can learn to operate a drill.”
Propaganda was also directed at men, many of whom were unwilling to support women in the labor force and particularly in industrial jobs. Women worked in the war industries, building ships, aircraft, vehicles, and weaponry. They also worked in factories and on farms, drove trucks, provided logistic support for soldiers, and entered professional areas of work that were previously the domain of men. They enlisted as nurses serving on the front lines, and there was a great increase in the number of women serving for the military.
Women also joined the federal government in massive numbers. Nearly a million so-called “government girls” were recruited for war work. In addition, women volunteers aided the war effort by planting victory gardens, canning produce, selling war bonds, donating blood, salvaging needed commodities, and sending care packages.
Although many women took on male-dominated trades during World War II, they were expected to return to housework once men returned from the war. In 1944, when victory seemed assured for the United States, government-sponsored propaganda changed by urging women to return to working in the home. Later, many women assumed traditional female-dominated jobs such as clerical or administration positions, despite women’s reluctance to reenter the lower-paying fields. At the end of the war, most of the munitions-making jobs ended. Many factories were closed; others were retooled for civilian production. In some jobs, women were replaced by returning veterans. However the number of women at work in 1946 was 87 percent of the number in 1944, leaving 13 percent who had lost or quit their jobs. The overall percentage of women working fell from 36 percent to 28 percent in 1947.
Civilians on the Homefront
Women staffed millions of jobs in community-service roles, such as in nursing, and with United Service Organizations and the Red Cross. Women also were encouraged to collect and turn in materials that were needed by the war effort, such as fats rendered during cooking. Children formed balls of aluminum foil they peeled from chewing gum wrappers, and also created rubber-band balls, which they contributed to the war effort. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) mobilized 1,000 civilian women who flew stateside missions chiefly to ferry planes when male pilots were in short supply. They were the first women to fly American military aircraft. Accidents killed 38. The WASP was disbanded in 1944 when enough male veterans were available.
Women staffed millions of jobs in community-service roles, such as in nursing, and with United Service Organizations and the Red Cross. Women also were encouraged to collect and turn in materials that were needed by the war effort, such as fats rendered during cooking. Children formed balls of aluminum foil they peeled from chewing gum wrappers, and also created rubber-band balls, which they contributed to the war effort. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) mobilized 1,000 civilian women who flew stateside missions chiefly to ferry planes when male pilots were in short supply. They were the first women to fly American military aircraft. Accidents killed 38. The WASP was disbanded in 1944 when enough male veterans were available.
Women in the Military
More than 60,000 army nurses (military nurses were all women then) served stateside and overseas during World War II. They were kept far from combat. In 1943, Dr. Margaret Craighill became the first female doctor to become a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
The army established the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in 1942. WAACs served overseas in North Africa in 1942. The WAAC, however, never accomplished its goal of making available to, “the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation.” It was converted to the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in 1943, and recognized as an official part of the regular army. More than 150,000 women served in WACs, and thousands were sent to the European and Pacific theaters.
In 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion—the only all African-American, all-female battalion during World War II—worked in England and France, making it the first black female battalion to travel overseas. WWII black recruitment was limited to 10 percent for the WAAC/WAC—matching the percentage of African Americans in the U.S. population at the time. For the most part, army policy reflected segregation policy. Enlisted basic training was segregated for training, living, and dining. Enlisted specialists schools and officer-training living quarters were segregated, but training and dining were integrated.
A total of 6,520 African-American women served during the war.
Asian-Pacific-American women first entered military service during World War II.
The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) recruited 50 Japanese-American and Chinese-American women and sent them to the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, for training as military translators. In 1943, the Women’s Army Corps recruited a unit of Chinese-American women to serve with the army air forces as “Air WACs.” Air WACs served in a large variety of jobs, including aerial photo interpretation, air traffic control, and weather forecasting.
The navy also recruited women into its Navy Women’s Reserve, called “Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service” (WAVES), starting in 1942. Before the war was over, 84,000 WAVES filled shore billets in a large variety of jobs in communications, intelligence, supply, medicine, and administration. The navy refused to accept Japanese-American women throughout World War II.
The U.S. Marine Corps created the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in 1943. That year, the first female officer of the U.S. Marine Corps was commissioned, and the first detachment of female marines was sent to Hawaii for duty in 1945. Marine women served stateside as clerks, cooks, mechanics, and drivers, and in a variety of other positions. By the end of World War II, 85 percent of the enlisted personnel assigned to Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps were women.
In 1941, the first civilian women were hired by the coast guard to serve in secretarial and clerical positions. In 1942, the coast guard established their Women’s Reserve known as the “SPARs” (after the motto Semper Paratus: Always Ready). SPARs were assigned stateside and served as storekeepers, clerks, photographers, pharmacist’s mates, cooks, and in numerous other jobs. More than 11,000 SPARs served during World War II.
In all, 350,000 American women served in the U.S. military during World War II.
More than 60,000 army nurses (military nurses were all women then) served stateside and overseas during World War II. They were kept far from combat. In 1943, Dr. Margaret Craighill became the first female doctor to become a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
The army established the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in 1942. WAACs served overseas in North Africa in 1942. The WAAC, however, never accomplished its goal of making available to, “the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation.” It was converted to the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in 1943, and recognized as an official part of the regular army. More than 150,000 women served in WACs, and thousands were sent to the European and Pacific theaters.
In 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion—the only all African-American, all-female battalion during World War II—worked in England and France, making it the first black female battalion to travel overseas. WWII black recruitment was limited to 10 percent for the WAAC/WAC—matching the percentage of African Americans in the U.S. population at the time. For the most part, army policy reflected segregation policy. Enlisted basic training was segregated for training, living, and dining. Enlisted specialists schools and officer-training living quarters were segregated, but training and dining were integrated.
A total of 6,520 African-American women served during the war.
Asian-Pacific-American women first entered military service during World War II.
The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) recruited 50 Japanese-American and Chinese-American women and sent them to the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, for training as military translators. In 1943, the Women’s Army Corps recruited a unit of Chinese-American women to serve with the army air forces as “Air WACs.” Air WACs served in a large variety of jobs, including aerial photo interpretation, air traffic control, and weather forecasting.
The navy also recruited women into its Navy Women’s Reserve, called “Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service” (WAVES), starting in 1942. Before the war was over, 84,000 WAVES filled shore billets in a large variety of jobs in communications, intelligence, supply, medicine, and administration. The navy refused to accept Japanese-American women throughout World War II.
The U.S. Marine Corps created the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in 1943. That year, the first female officer of the U.S. Marine Corps was commissioned, and the first detachment of female marines was sent to Hawaii for duty in 1945. Marine women served stateside as clerks, cooks, mechanics, and drivers, and in a variety of other positions. By the end of World War II, 85 percent of the enlisted personnel assigned to Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps were women.
In 1941, the first civilian women were hired by the coast guard to serve in secretarial and clerical positions. In 1942, the coast guard established their Women’s Reserve known as the “SPARs” (after the motto Semper Paratus: Always Ready). SPARs were assigned stateside and served as storekeepers, clerks, photographers, pharmacist’s mates, cooks, and in numerous other jobs. More than 11,000 SPARs served during World War II.
In all, 350,000 American women served in the U.S. military during World War II.
Demographic Trends
As economic prosperity empowered couples who had postponed marriage and parenthood, the birth rate started shooting up in 1941, paused in 1944–1945 (with 12 million men in service), and then continued to soar until reaching a peak in the late 1950s (the postwar “baby boom”). However, housing shortages, especially in the munitions centers, forced millions of couples to live with parents or in makeshift facilities. Little housing had been built in the Depression years, so the shortages grew steadily worse until about 1948, when a massive housing boom finally caught up with demand. Federal law made it difficult for spouses to divorce absent servicemen, so the number of divorces peaked when many returned in 1946. In long-range terms, however, divorce rates changed little.
As economic prosperity empowered couples who had postponed marriage and parenthood, the birth rate started shooting up in 1941, paused in 1944–1945 (with 12 million men in service), and then continued to soar until reaching a peak in the late 1950s (the postwar “baby boom”). However, housing shortages, especially in the munitions centers, forced millions of couples to live with parents or in makeshift facilities. Little housing had been built in the Depression years, so the shortages grew steadily worse until about 1948, when a massive housing boom finally caught up with demand. Federal law made it difficult for spouses to divorce absent servicemen, so the number of divorces peaked when many returned in 1946. In long-range terms, however, divorce rates changed little.
VII. Discrimination During WWII: Japanese (Nisei) Americans
Internment of Japanese Americans
Suspicion of and racial prejudice toward Japanese Americans after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in the incarceration of around 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese residing in the United States.
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the U.S. government in 1942 of about 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese living along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called “War Relocation Camps.” Relocation and internment occurred in the wake of Imperial Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan’s rapid military conquest of a large portion of Asia and the Pacific made its military forces seem unstoppable to some Americans. All those of Japanese decent who lived on the West Coast of the United States were interned, while in Hawaii, where the 150,000-plus Japanese Americans composed more than one-third of the population, an estimated 1,200 to 1,800 were interned. Of those interned, 62 percent were American citizens.
Suspicion of and racial prejudice toward Japanese Americans after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in the incarceration of around 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese residing in the United States.
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the U.S. government in 1942 of about 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese living along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called “War Relocation Camps.” Relocation and internment occurred in the wake of Imperial Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan’s rapid military conquest of a large portion of Asia and the Pacific made its military forces seem unstoppable to some Americans. All those of Japanese decent who lived on the West Coast of the United States were interned, while in Hawaii, where the 150,000-plus Japanese Americans composed more than one-third of the population, an estimated 1,200 to 1,800 were interned. Of those interned, 62 percent were American citizens.
After Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, led military and political leaders to suspect that Imperial Japan was preparing a full-scale attack on the West Coast of the United States. American public opinion initially stood by the large population of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. Many Americans believed that their loyalty to the United States was unquestionable. However, six weeks after the attack, public opinion along the Pacific began to turn against Japanese Americans living on the West Coast, as the press and other Americans became nervous about the potential for fifth-column activity. Though the administration (including President Franklin D. Roosevelt and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover) dismissed all rumors of Japanese-American espionage on behalf of the Japanese War effort, pressure mounted upon the administration as the tide of public opinion turned against Japanese Americans.
Civilian and military officials had concerns about the loyalty of the ethnic Japanese after the Niʻihau Incident, which immediately followed the attack on Pearl Harbor, when a civilian Japanese national and two Hawaiian-born ethnic Japanese on the island of Niʻihau violently freed a downed and captured Japanese naval airman, attacking their fellow Niʻihau islanders in the process.
Evidence suggests that the Japanese-American internment was racially motivated rather than a military necessity. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066, issued February 19, 1942. It allowed local military commanders to designate “military areas” as “exclusion zones,” from which, “any or all persons may be excluded.” This power was used to declare that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire Pacific coast, including all of California and much of Oregon, Washington, and Arizona, except for those in internment camps.
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, led military and political leaders to suspect that Imperial Japan was preparing a full-scale attack on the West Coast of the United States. American public opinion initially stood by the large population of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. Many Americans believed that their loyalty to the United States was unquestionable. However, six weeks after the attack, public opinion along the Pacific began to turn against Japanese Americans living on the West Coast, as the press and other Americans became nervous about the potential for fifth-column activity. Though the administration (including President Franklin D. Roosevelt and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover) dismissed all rumors of Japanese-American espionage on behalf of the Japanese War effort, pressure mounted upon the administration as the tide of public opinion turned against Japanese Americans.
Civilian and military officials had concerns about the loyalty of the ethnic Japanese after the Niʻihau Incident, which immediately followed the attack on Pearl Harbor, when a civilian Japanese national and two Hawaiian-born ethnic Japanese on the island of Niʻihau violently freed a downed and captured Japanese naval airman, attacking their fellow Niʻihau islanders in the process.
Evidence suggests that the Japanese-American internment was racially motivated rather than a military necessity. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066, issued February 19, 1942. It allowed local military commanders to designate “military areas” as “exclusion zones,” from which, “any or all persons may be excluded.” This power was used to declare that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire Pacific coast, including all of California and much of Oregon, Washington, and Arizona, except for those in internment camps.
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Camps and Conditions
While this event is most commonly referred to as the “internment” of Japanese Americans, the government operated several different types of camps holding Japanese Americans. The best known facilities were the Assembly Centers run by the Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA), and the Relocation Centers run by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), which are unofficially referred to as “internment camps.” The Department of Justice (DOJ) operated camps officially called “Internment Camps,” which were used to detain those suspected of actual crimes or of “enemy sympathies.” German-American and Italian-American internment camps also existed, sometimes sharing facilities with those of the Japanese Americans.
The WCCA and WRA facilities were the largest and the most public. Scholars have urged the dropping of euphemisms, and refer to the camps as “concentration camps” and the people as “incarcerated.”According to a 1943 War Relocation Authority report, internees were housed in, “tar paper-covered barracks of simple frame construction without plumbing or cooking facilities of any kind.” The spartan facilities of the camps met international laws, but still left much to be desired. Many camps were built based on designs for military barracks, making the buildings poorly equipped for cramped family living. Many were surrounded by barbed wire with unpartitioned toilets, had cots for beds, and supplied a budget of 45 cents daily per capita for food rations. Because most internees were evacuated from their West Coast homes on short notice and not told of their assigned destinations, many failed to pack appropriate clothing for the desert winters in some camps, for example, which often reached temperatures below zero Fahrenheit. Armed guards were posted at the camps, which were all in remote, desolate areas far from population centers.
An Issei doctor was appointed to manage each facility, and additional healthcare staff worked under his supervision, although the United States Public Health Service recommendation of one physician for every 1,000 inmates and one nurse to 200 inmates was not met. Overcrowded and unsanitary conditions forced assembly center infirmaries to prioritize inoculations over general care, obstetrics, and surgeries; at Manzanar, for example, hospital staff performed more than 40,000 immunizations against typhoid and smallpox. Food poisoning was common and also demanded significant attention. Those who were interned in Topaz, Minidoka, and Jerome experienced outbreaks of dysentery.
Educational facilities were set up for nearly 30,000 incarcerated children. Camp schoolhouses were crowded and had insufficient materials, books, notebooks, and desks for students. These “schoolhouses” were essentially prison blocks that contained few windows. In the Southwest, when temperatures rose and the schoolhouse filled, the sweltering rooms could be unbearable. Class sizes were immense. At the height of it attendance, the Rohwer Camp of Arkansas reached 2,339, with only 45 certified teachers. The student-to-teacher ratio in the camps was 48:1 in elementary schools and 35:1 for secondary schools, compared to the national average of 28:1.
While this event is most commonly referred to as the “internment” of Japanese Americans, the government operated several different types of camps holding Japanese Americans. The best known facilities were the Assembly Centers run by the Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA), and the Relocation Centers run by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), which are unofficially referred to as “internment camps.” The Department of Justice (DOJ) operated camps officially called “Internment Camps,” which were used to detain those suspected of actual crimes or of “enemy sympathies.” German-American and Italian-American internment camps also existed, sometimes sharing facilities with those of the Japanese Americans.
The WCCA and WRA facilities were the largest and the most public. Scholars have urged the dropping of euphemisms, and refer to the camps as “concentration camps” and the people as “incarcerated.”According to a 1943 War Relocation Authority report, internees were housed in, “tar paper-covered barracks of simple frame construction without plumbing or cooking facilities of any kind.” The spartan facilities of the camps met international laws, but still left much to be desired. Many camps were built based on designs for military barracks, making the buildings poorly equipped for cramped family living. Many were surrounded by barbed wire with unpartitioned toilets, had cots for beds, and supplied a budget of 45 cents daily per capita for food rations. Because most internees were evacuated from their West Coast homes on short notice and not told of their assigned destinations, many failed to pack appropriate clothing for the desert winters in some camps, for example, which often reached temperatures below zero Fahrenheit. Armed guards were posted at the camps, which were all in remote, desolate areas far from population centers.
An Issei doctor was appointed to manage each facility, and additional healthcare staff worked under his supervision, although the United States Public Health Service recommendation of one physician for every 1,000 inmates and one nurse to 200 inmates was not met. Overcrowded and unsanitary conditions forced assembly center infirmaries to prioritize inoculations over general care, obstetrics, and surgeries; at Manzanar, for example, hospital staff performed more than 40,000 immunizations against typhoid and smallpox. Food poisoning was common and also demanded significant attention. Those who were interned in Topaz, Minidoka, and Jerome experienced outbreaks of dysentery.
Educational facilities were set up for nearly 30,000 incarcerated children. Camp schoolhouses were crowded and had insufficient materials, books, notebooks, and desks for students. These “schoolhouses” were essentially prison blocks that contained few windows. In the Southwest, when temperatures rose and the schoolhouse filled, the sweltering rooms could be unbearable. Class sizes were immense. At the height of it attendance, the Rohwer Camp of Arkansas reached 2,339, with only 45 certified teachers. The student-to-teacher ratio in the camps was 48:1 in elementary schools and 35:1 for secondary schools, compared to the national average of 28:1.
Post-Incarceration Losses and Prejudice
In the 1944 case Korematsu vs. United States, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the exclusion orders, while noting that the provisions that singled out people of Japanese ancestry were a separate issue outside the scope of the proceedings. The Ex parte Endo case of the same date unanimously declared that loyal citizens of the United States, regardless of cultural descent, could not be detained without cause. In effect, the two rulings held that, while the eviction of U.S. citizens in the name of military necessity was legal, the subsequent incarceration was not—thus paving the way for their release.
Many internees lost irreplaceable personal property due to restrictions that prohibited them from taking more than they could carry into the camps. These losses were compounded by theft and destruction of items placed in governmental storage. Leading up to their incarceration, Nikkei were prohibited from leaving the military zones or from traveling more than 5 miles (8.0 km) from home, forcing those who had to travel for work, such as truck farmers and residents of rural towns, to quit their jobs. Many others were simply fired because of their heritage.
Japanese Americans also encountered hostility and even violence when they returned to the West Coast. There were dozens of reports of gun shots, fires, and explosions aimed at Japanese-American homes, businesses, and places of worship, in addition to incidents of nonviolent crimes such as vandalism and the defacing of Japanese graves. In one of the only cases to go to trial, four men were accused of attacking the Doi family of Placer County, California, setting off an explosion and starting a fire on the family’s farm in January 1945. Despite a confession from one of the men that implicated the others, the jury accepted their defense attorney’s framing of the attack as a justifiable attempt to keep California, “a white man’s country” and acquitted all four defendants.
To compensate former internees for their property losses, the U.S. Congress, on July 2, 1948, passed the American Japanese Claims Act, allowing Japanese Americans to apply for compensation for property losses. By the time the act was passed, the IRS had already destroyed most of the 1939–1942 tax records of the internees, making it extremely difficult for claimants to establish that their claims were valid. Japanese-American families filed 26,568 claims totaling $148 million in requests; only about $37 million was approved and disbursed.
In the 1944 case Korematsu vs. United States, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the exclusion orders, while noting that the provisions that singled out people of Japanese ancestry were a separate issue outside the scope of the proceedings. The Ex parte Endo case of the same date unanimously declared that loyal citizens of the United States, regardless of cultural descent, could not be detained without cause. In effect, the two rulings held that, while the eviction of U.S. citizens in the name of military necessity was legal, the subsequent incarceration was not—thus paving the way for their release.
Many internees lost irreplaceable personal property due to restrictions that prohibited them from taking more than they could carry into the camps. These losses were compounded by theft and destruction of items placed in governmental storage. Leading up to their incarceration, Nikkei were prohibited from leaving the military zones or from traveling more than 5 miles (8.0 km) from home, forcing those who had to travel for work, such as truck farmers and residents of rural towns, to quit their jobs. Many others were simply fired because of their heritage.
Japanese Americans also encountered hostility and even violence when they returned to the West Coast. There were dozens of reports of gun shots, fires, and explosions aimed at Japanese-American homes, businesses, and places of worship, in addition to incidents of nonviolent crimes such as vandalism and the defacing of Japanese graves. In one of the only cases to go to trial, four men were accused of attacking the Doi family of Placer County, California, setting off an explosion and starting a fire on the family’s farm in January 1945. Despite a confession from one of the men that implicated the others, the jury accepted their defense attorney’s framing of the attack as a justifiable attempt to keep California, “a white man’s country” and acquitted all four defendants.
To compensate former internees for their property losses, the U.S. Congress, on July 2, 1948, passed the American Japanese Claims Act, allowing Japanese Americans to apply for compensation for property losses. By the time the act was passed, the IRS had already destroyed most of the 1939–1942 tax records of the internees, making it extremely difficult for claimants to establish that their claims were valid. Japanese-American families filed 26,568 claims totaling $148 million in requests; only about $37 million was approved and disbursed.
Japanese-American Views
Beginning in the 1960s, a younger generation of Japanese Americans, inspired by the civil rights movement, began what is known as the “Redress Movement,” an effort to obtain an official apology and reparations from the federal government for incarcerating their parents and grandparents during the war. They focused not on documented property losses but on the broader injustice and mental suffering caused by the internment. The movement’s first success was in 1976, when President Gerald Ford proclaimed that the internment was “wrong,” and a “national mistake” which “shall never again be repeated.”
In 1980, Congress established the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) to study the matter. On February 24, 1983, the commission issued a report entitled Personal Justice Denied, condemning the internment as unjust and motivated by racism and xenophobic ideas rather than factual military necessity. The commission recommended that $20,000 in reparations be paid to those Japanese Americans who had suffered internment.
In 1988, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed legislation that apologized for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government. The legislation said that government actions were based on, “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” The U.S. government eventually disbursed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to Japanese Americans who had been interned and their heirs.
Beginning in the 1960s, a younger generation of Japanese Americans, inspired by the civil rights movement, began what is known as the “Redress Movement,” an effort to obtain an official apology and reparations from the federal government for incarcerating their parents and grandparents during the war. They focused not on documented property losses but on the broader injustice and mental suffering caused by the internment. The movement’s first success was in 1976, when President Gerald Ford proclaimed that the internment was “wrong,” and a “national mistake” which “shall never again be repeated.”
In 1980, Congress established the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) to study the matter. On February 24, 1983, the commission issued a report entitled Personal Justice Denied, condemning the internment as unjust and motivated by racism and xenophobic ideas rather than factual military necessity. The commission recommended that $20,000 in reparations be paid to those Japanese Americans who had suffered internment.
In 1988, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed legislation that apologized for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government. The legislation said that government actions were based on, “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” The U.S. government eventually disbursed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to Japanese Americans who had been interned and their heirs.
Review the Power-Point below to review how the United States moved from isolation to intervention prior to World War II.
APUSH ONLY: Watch the Adam Norris video clip above about the United State's transition from Isolation to Intervention.