The United States Enters WWII

The U.S. Enters WWII“Yesterday, December 7,

1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States

of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by

naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

-FDR

Dictators Threaten The World

• Nationalism-loyalty to one’s country above all else- led to the rise of powerful dictators

• Fascism stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of individuals

• Totalitarian government exerted complete control over its citizens

Stalin Transforms the Soviet Union • Joseph Stalin transformed the

communist state into an agricultural and industrial power

• All private ownership of farms was abolished and replaced with collectives-large government owned farms

• The “Five Year Plan” outlined an industrial transformation that cost many Russian lives (estimates range between 8 to 20 million)

• However, by 1937, the Soviet Union became the second largest industrial power

Rise of Fascism in Italy

• In October of 1922, Mussolini marched on Rome with thousands of followers known as the “black shirts”

• Benito Mussolini established a totalitarian regime in Italy

• With the support of the military, police, and government officials Mussolini was appointed “Il Duce”-the leader

The Nazis Take Over Germany

• Adolf Hitler rose to power during the early 1920s

• Hitler set forth his beliefs of the Nazi Party in his book Mein Kampf (My Struggle)

• Hitler and the Nazi Party were guided by three beliefs; Uniting the German people creating a German Empire, Racial purification, national expansion

Civil War in Spain

• Germany and Italy lent support to the Nationalist insurrection led by general Francisco Franco in Spain.

• Spanish Civil war ensued • Franco’s forces eventually

won in 1939 establishing Franco as Spain’s fascist dictator

Militarists Gain Control in Japan

• Success in Manchuria put the militarists firmly in control of Japan’s government

• In July 1937, Japan captured the former Chinese imperial capital of Beijing

• The Nanking Massacre or Rape of Nanking, was a mass murder, genocide and war rape that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing (Nanking)

The Axis Powers Form

• On September 27, 1940, Imperial Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

• Their objectives were to "establish and maintain a new order of things" in their respective world regions and spheres of influence

• Nazi Germany in Europe, Imperial Japan in Asia, and Fascist Italy in North Africa. The signatories of this alliance become known as the Axis Powers.

The Holocaust• The Holocaust was the genocide of

approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, throughout Nazi-occupied territory.

• The Nuremberg Laws (1935) stripped Jews of their German citizenship, jobs, and property

• Kristallnacht or “night of broken glass” (Nazi storm troops attack Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany)

• Jewish Ghettos, Concentration camps or labor camps housed millions of Jews as a part of the genocide that would take place throughout the late 1930s and into the 1940s

• The Final Solution (1942)-Death Camps established to kill and dispose of bodies

The United States Moves Cautiously Away From Neutrality

• September 1939- Roosevelt and Congress pass a “cash-and-carry” policy

• Selective Service Act (draft) passed (1940)• Congress boosted defense spending• Roosevelt is elected to a third term breaking

the tradition of two-term presidents established by Washington

• March 1941 Congress passed the Lend Lease Act “America the arsenal of Democracy”

FDR Plans for War• The Atlantic Charter was negotiated at the

Atlantic Conference by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was issued as a joint declaration on 14 August 1941.

• Both countries pledged the following: collective security, disarmament, self-determination, economic cooperation, and freedom of the seas

• The charter became the basis of a new document called “A Declaration of the United Nations”

• The term United Nations was suggested by FDR to express the common purpose of the Allies

Japan Attacks the United States

• The U.S. knew an attack was coming – they were not sure where.• The “where” would be the

American base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.• December 7, 1941- “a date

that will live in infamy”

Reaction to Pearl Harbor

• Blame for being unprepared should not fall on the military commanders in Hawaii or on FDR.

• The military lacked sufficient airplanes to protect the area adequately. Intelligence was slow and unsure of exact location for a Japanese attack.

• Ultimately, responsibility lies with the American people for their reluctance to spend money on necessary defenses.

• The United States of America declared war on Japan the next day after the attack and three days later on Germany and Italy after the two Axis powers declared war on the United States