Ch.12 Overview

America & World War II * 1941 - 1945

Sec.1 Mobilizing for War

Sec.2 The Early battles

Sec.3 Life on the Home front

Sec.4 Pushing the Axis back

Sec.5 The War Ends

America and W.W. IIChapter 12

Even before the U.S. entered the war, Roosevelt was preparing the economy by building up the country’s defenses. the conversion to a war time economy went at a rapid pace. a new agency controlled the production of jeeps, tanks, airplanes, and ships. America approved the first peace time draft, W.W.II saw the first African American combat units and women also advanced, serving for the first time in the military itself rather than in auxiliary units.

Henry Stimson Quote

Stimson: Secretary of War

“If you are going to try and go to war, or to prepare for war in a capitalist country, you have got to let businesses make money out of the process or businesses won’t work”

Roosevelt declared national emergency after Blitzkrieg in France = he had 50,000 airplanes built

Gave industry an incentive to change over to wartime production

Reasons The U.S. Was Ready For War

Military ContractsCompanies bid on jobs

Company with the most reasonable bid and production ability would get the military contract

Bid system to slow for wartime production

Need to find better / Quicker system

Cost Plus System

Converting the Economy

Cost-Plus Contracts:

govt agreed to pay a company what it cost to build a product and pay a percentage of the cost for profit

Made company’s produce faster

More you produce, the more you make

reconstruction Finance Corp.

Not all companies able to change to war production due to finances

Made loans to companies to help convert to war production

American Industry

by 1942, over 200,000 companies converted to war production

AutomakersAutomakers began to produce jeeps, trucks tanks

Also Produced: artillery, rifles, mines, helmets, pontoon bridges, cooking pots, & other military equipment

Henry Ford created an assembly line for B-24 Bomber “Liberator”

Auto industry produced 1/3 of all equipment for the War

Auto & Tank Production:Car Production:

1941: 3,779,628 cars

1942: 222,862 cars

1943:139 cars

1944: 610 Cars

1945: 70,001 cars

Tank Production:

1941: 4,203 tanks

1942: 23,884 Tanks

1943: 29,497 Tanks

1944:17,565 Tanks

1945: 11,184 tanks

Liberty Ships

Basic cargo ship - Welded ship - no rivets

Cheap, easy to build, & hard to sink

Welded hull was one solid piece

Riveted ship would fall apart when hit

War Production BoardControlled distribution of materials

Set production goals for companies

Decided what contracts had priority

Supervised over $185 Billion in military weapons and supplies

U.S. workers were twice as productive as German workers

U.S. workers were five times more productive than Japanese workers

American production turned tide in the favor of the Allies

In less than 4 years, the U.S. achieved what no other nation has ever achieved = It fought and won a two front war against two powerful military empires & forced EACH of them to surrender unconditionally

America & the war

Building an Army

After Germany invaded Poland, FDR expanded the army to 227,000

After France surrendered to Germany, Congress introduced “Selective Service”

1st Peace time draft in American History

Building an Army IISent to basic training for 8 weeks

Army training facilities overloaded - lived in tents, temp. bathrooms

Given “G.I.” uniforms

Major equipment shortages in training

Training ill prepared the soldiers for actual war!

Quote

“Training created a special sense of kinship, the reason you storm the beaches is not patriotism or bravery, it’s that sense of not failing your buddies” - Unknown Soldier

Questions??????