Total War Comes to the United States (College Board AP® US History): Study Guide

Timeline

Summary

World War II reshaped global alliances and forced the United States to mobilize for total war. Although initially committed to being neutral, the United States changed its policies following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The war brought significant change to American society, economy, and civil liberties as the entry into the war ended the Great Depression and escalated the country’s economic recovery. 

Invasions, Alliances, & Neutrality in World War II

Invasions and Alliances

• The Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) pursued aggressive expansionism

• Japan (1931)

  • Emperor Hirohito invaded Manchuria, China, showing Japan’s imperial ambitions in Asia

• Germany (1936, 1938, 1939)

  • In 1936, Hitler occupied the Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles

  • In 1938, Germany annexed Austria and took over the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia

  • In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, marking the beginning of World War II

• Italy (1935)

  • Mussolini invaded Ethiopia (known as Abyssinia at the time), looking to expand Italy’s colonial empire

  • They achieved a brutal conquest by 1936

• The Allies (France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States)

  • This alliance opposed the Axis Powers

  • The United States formally joined after Pearl Harbor in 1941

Neutrality and US policy pre-war

• The United States aimed to avoid involvement in global conflicts, maintaining a stance of neutrality, despite escalating tensions in Europe and Asia

• Reasons for neutrality:

  • Memories of World War I

    • Over 100,000 Americans died in World War I, fueling American resistance to going to war again

  • Geography

    • The Atlantic Ocean provided a sense of security as it divided the US mainland from the warring nations in Europe

  • Nye Committee (1934 –36)

    • The Nye Committee investigated profiteering during World War I, revealing that businesses that had supplied war materials had made big profits, which reinforced isolationist opinions

• Neutrality Acts (1935, 1937, 1939)

  • These were foreign policy acts that prohibited arms sales and loans to nations at war

  • These were later changed to allow the Cash and Carry Program (1939)

    • These permitted Allied nations to buy US goods if they paid in cash and transported them on their own ships

  • They reflected the will of the majority of Americans to keep out of conflicts in Europe

• Lend-Lease Act (1941)

  • This act marked a significant change in policy, as the United States provided $50 billion in war materials to Allied countries 

    • Materials were desperately needed to support Allied operations

  • US neutrality to the war continued, but they were clearly supporting the Allies

• Selective Training and Service Act (1940)

  • Although the United States was not at war, preparations were being made

  • This was the first peace-time military draft

  • It required all capable men aged 21–35 to register for military service

Pearl Harbor & Total War

Attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)

• On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 

  • 2,400 Americans were killed and over 1,000 injured

• Japan aimed to neutralize the American navy in the Pacific to enable its expansion in Asia 

• US President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on December 8, 1941

  • Referring to the December 7 attack as “a date which will live in infamy” 

  • Germany and Italy, as part of the Axis Powers, declared war on the United States in response, fully drawing the United States into World War II

Total War

• The United States adopted a strategy of total war, mobilizing all aspects of society to support the war effort

• Economic and industrial mobilization

• Factories shifted from consumer goods to war production, building:

  • tanks

  • airplanes

  • weapons

• Women joined the workforce as men went to war

  • Symbolized by “Rosie the Riveter” 

  • Her image on government posters encouraged women to join the workforce

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/We_Can_Do_It%21_NARA_535413_-_Restoration_2.jpg/640px-We_Can_Do_It%21_NARA_535413_-_Restoration_2.jpg (opens in a new tab)

• Rationing of food and other needed war supplies was introduced

• War bonds

  • Massive campaigns to encourage Americans to raise needed funds to support the war

World War II and desegregation

• Black Americans enrolled for military service

• Over 1 million African Americans served 

  • Mostly segregated from white troops

• Roles included:

  • transportation

  • supply

  • labor

• Tuskegee Airmen

  • The first Black American fighter pilots

  • Flew over 15 000 missions

  • Paved the way for the desegregation of the US military

• Double V Campaign

  • In addition to fighting for victory during the war, Black Americans pushed for civil rights, including the desegregation of military units and civilian workplace

  • The program showed the disparity as Black Americans fought for the freedom of others during the but who faced segregation and discrimination at home

Bracero Program (1942)

• The Bracero Program was an agreement with Mexico to bring in temporary farm workers to replace US laborers who were in the military

  • Over 300,000 Mexican Americans served in the armed forces while others contributed to agriculture and industry

Japanese Internment Camps

• Following Pearl Harbor, there was a fear of espionage and sabotage

  • There was widespread racial prejudice against Japanese Americans

• In response to this, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 in 1942

  • This authorized the forced relocation and internment of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans 

    • Two-thirds were US citizens

• Japanese American families were forced to give up their homes and businesses 

  • They lived in harsh conditions in internment camps

  • Their civil rights and liberties were violated 

• Some people brought legal challenges against internment camps

  • Korematsu v United States (1944)

    • Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American, claimed internment was a violation of his civil rights

    • The Supreme Court ruled internment was necessary due to national security needs

• Later in the 20th century, the aftermath of internment camps continued with the government’s acknowledgment of their actions

• Civil Liberties Act (1988)

  • The United States recognized the injustice done to Japanese Americans interned

  • The government provided reparations to the descendants of those interned 

• Japanese Americans in the war

  • Despite internment, 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the military during the war