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Period: to
World War II
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Opportunities in the Factory-Force
During the war, and even while isolationist- selling arms to allied troops in Europe, there were many opportunities for unemployed Americans to work in the work force producing arms, aircraft (as seen in the picture), munitions, etc... -
Lend-Lease Act
Allowed the United States to sell arms, equipment, and supplies to British and allied troops in Europe without breaking neutrality. -
Motivation for War - FDR Fireside Chat: On the War with Japan
After the bombing on Pearl Harbor, Americans were motivated that Japan was an enemy they must battle. FDR embellished on that idea by using his fire-side chat on November 9, 1941 to proclaim the US must enter the war for freedom and for justice, and to keep itself and its allies safe from the common Nazi enemies in Germany, Italy, and Japan in the Asian theater. -
Pearl Harbor
Over 350 Japanese kamikaze planes bombed hundreds of military structures, aircraft, naval vessels, and killed 2043 men. This was the turning point in the war where the United States entered the war with its allies and fighting on the European front. This war also gets America out of the depression as it puts many without jobs to work in factories producing equipment for the war. -
Executive Order 9066
This executive order forced many Japanese-Americans off their properties into the Western desert in wake of suspicion and anxiety of Japanese spies after America joined the war. -
Propaganda - The Ducktators
Propaganda thrived during World War II, and helped persuade people to donate to the war cause, use war rations, donate to factories to industrialize more equipment, etc... A prime example of an anti-Nazi propaganda piece was made by Warner Bros in 1942 where Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito were characterized as ducks and were put to be made out as stupid fools in order to promote American citizens to buy stamps for the Army. A prime example of using cartoons in order to support the cause. -
The Manhattan Project
Led by Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project developed the first nuclear weapons which would change the fighting front we see today. The nuclear weapons were tested in the deserts of New Mexico, and the first ready bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ultimately ended the Second World War. -
Revenue Act
A government program, Roosevelt signed the act into play in order to pass the Victory Tax, which would tax citizens on income tax, which also deducted from medical and investment expenses in an act to balance the federal budget and the economy. -
Military Intervention - Operation: Torch
The earliest example of military intervention by the US, the allied powers made an operation invasion of French North Africa. This was the first time America actually fought in WWII and successfully captured Northern Africa. -
D-Day
On June 6, the Allied forces attacked German forces on Normandy Beach, France. The Allied forces won the battle, with about 19,000 casualties on both sides, and the invasion is usually seen as the turning-point of the war in favor of the Allies (Britain, France, Soviet Union, and America). -
Island Hopping: Iwo Jima
Island hopping was a military strategy used by the American army in order to gain islands in Oceania that were territories of Japan to bypass the enemy. After gaining the Mariana and Marshall Islands in Oceania, American Marines and Navy had hopped to Iwo Jima and taken over the Japanese island in five weeks. This was seen as a turning point in the Asian theater of Japan getting knocked out by American forces.