ROOTS OF WAR

• RECOVERY FROM THE DEPRESSION

◦In the 1930's, before the breakout of World War II in Europe, America was mainly concerned with
recovering from the Great Depression.
◦In 1933, FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT attended the LONDON CONFERENCE in
London England.
▪The conference was called in order to stabilize the worldwide economic crisis.
▪However, the United States ultimately declined to take part in the negotiations.
◦In 1933, the United States gave full recognition to the SOVIET UNION.
▪This was an act of friendship...kind of....
◦In 1933, Roosevelt attended the PAN-AMERICAN CONFERENCE. This was called in order to
continue the GOOD NEIGHBOR policy put into place when the United States pulled out Nicaragua.
◦In 1934, the TYDINGS-MCDUFFIE ACT was approved.
▪This promised the Philippines independence by 1946.
◦In 1934, the RECIPROCAL TRADE AGREEMENT ACT was passed.
▪This decreased tariffs by fifty percent in order to stimulate international trade.
◦In 1934, the JOHNSON DEBT DEFAULT ACT was passed.
▪This stipulated that countries which were already indebted to the United States receive no further
loans until the initial loans have been paid off.

•MAJOR INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

◦The following shows the leaders who were major players in control and the year in which they came
into power (if applicable), as well as the accepted government practice in place:
▪1922 – ITALY – BENITO MUSSOLINI – FASCIST
▪1927 – U.S.S.R – JOSEF STALIN – COMMUNIST
▪1933 – GERMANY – ADOLF HITLER – FASCIST
▪1933 – U.S.A – FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT – MODERATE DEMOCRACY
▪1940 – JAPAN – HIDEKI TOJO* – FASCIST
▪ENGLAND – WINSTON CHURCHILL (Prime Minister) – LIBERAL
▪SPAIN – FRANCISCO FRANCO – FASCIST
* HIDEKI TOJO was under EMPORER HIROHITO of Japan.

•DER FÜHRER
◦Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Germany, took over the NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMAN
WORKERS' PARTY.
▪In more commonly known terms, it is known as NAZISM.
•The followers of Nazism were known as NAZIS.
▪Despite the sinister nature of Hitler's ideology, France and England initially turned the other way and
let him do his work.
◦In 1935, Hitler officially cut ties with the VERSAILLES TREATY.
▪He recognized that Germany was fucked over.
▪His motivation was REVENGE and the MASTER RACE THEORY.
•He envisioned ARYAN RACE SUPREMACY.
◦Aryans were mostly Pagans from Northern Europe.
◦The most distinct features of an Aryan was blond hair and blue eyes.
◦JEWS, SLAVICS, and COMMUNISTS were the bane of Hitler's existence; he wanted them all
wiped out.
◦In 1936, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler met and signed the AXIS TREATY.
▪This was an alliance treaty between Germany, the Soviet Union, and, in 1940, Japan.

•SPEAKING OF JAPAN...
◦In 1931, Japan invaded the disputed region in northern modern-day China known as Manchuria.
◦In 1937, Japan invaded mainland China.
▪This caught the United States' attention towards the whole affair.
◦In 1940, Japan joined the Axis.

•SO WHERE ARE WE...?

◦From 1936-1939, the United States ran under NEUTRALITY ACTS. In other words, “we don't
care” about the things happening outside of our democratic and capitalist bubble.
▪One of these was passed in 1935. It decreed that it was forbidden to send weapons to any country
currently at war. Also, as a result of the marine battles which sparked the United States getting into
World War I, people were advised to travel on ships through waring areas at our own risks.
▪In 1936, it became the policy to deny any loans to any country currently at war. However, the United
States did loan weapons to Latin America in the event of an Asian or European invasion.
▪During this period of time, there was also a major Supreme Court case: U.S v CURTISS WRIGHT.
•Curtiss Wright was a major producer of airships, airplanes, and other associated products.
•They sold weapons to Bolivia, who currently had its hands tied up in a border WAR with Paraguay.
•This, of course, violated the Neutrality Acts.
•The United States Government: “You can't do that.”
•Curtiss Wright: “We do what we want.”
•The Supreme Court agreed with the United States government.
▪Another issue came about: EXPRESSED POWER vs. WRITTEN POWER.
•When dealing with domestic issues or policies, the president is limited to the expressed powers of the
Constitution only.
•But in foreign issues or policies, the president has implied power.
◦In other words, the powers do not have to be in the Constitution, explicitly.
•WHAT?
•**In 2006, George W. Bush used this decision to open up the Iraq War on Terror.

MEANWHILE...
◦From 1936-1939, there was a SPANISH CIVIL WAR.
▪Francisco Franco overthrew the existing government, putting in place a fascist-type ruling.
▪Hitler and Mussolini helped out Franco during this time. Interestingly, Spain remained neutral during
the war, and does not return the favor to either Germany or the Soviet Union.
▪For Hitler, it was just a testing ground for Germany's weapons as he prepared to launch his plan into
action.
◦In 1937, the PANAY INCIDENT took place in China.
▪A United States gunboat was anchored just outside of Nanjing on the Yangtze River in China.
▪When the Japanese invaded China, they were expected to leave the boat and the men aboard alone.
▪But, since when did the Japanese do exactly as expected?
▪They sank the boat, killing a dozen Americans.
▪The Americans were outraged, but Japanese claimed it was just a simple mistake. They apologized
and paid reparations.
▪In reality, they were not sorry at all. They wanted America out of their business.
•OTHER UNITED STATES NOTES
◦The United States, in 1938, declared to have a war ready Navy by 1945.
◦Also, in 1937, the United States banned Americans from traveling on ships of neutral countries.
▪But the CASH AND CARRY policy came into play.
•The United States was willing to sell any country weapons, as long as that country paid in cash and
came to pick up the weapons itself.
◦In 1939, it was decreed that no American ship was allowed in any war zone.

•GERMANY TAKES ACTION

◦In 1939, notable rivals Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler signed the NON AGGRESSION PACT.
▪In other words, the two countries agreed to be at peace for the next ten years.
▪The rest of the world was baffled by the treaty. But the true motive of the event would become
evident a month later.
◦WORLD WAR II began about a month later.
▪Germany invaded Poland, thus reversing the Versailles Treaty.
▪Three weeks later, the Soviets followed suit and also invaded Poland.
▪The English and the French decided enough was enough and DECLARE WAR ON GERMANY.
•They bunkered down in the old trenches, assuming that the same tactics of World War I would be
used.
•The Germans, however, have other plans in mind.
▪They use BLITZKRIEG warfare.
•Translated from German, it is “Lightning-War”.
•This form of warfare relied heavily on speed and the element of surprise.
▪In 1940, Germany finally invaded France, scaring off the British.
▪The Brits were left to fight off Germany on their own, which they failed.

PISSING OFF THE WRONG PEOPLE

•CERTAIN AFFAIRS
◦In June of 1940, Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of England.
◦1940 was also an ELECTION YEAR.
▪Franklin Delano Roosevelt ran for a third term in office against WENDELL WILKIE, a nobody
who was not a politician but a lawyer.
▪F.D.R won this election, but only after lying to the American public.
•He promised mothers that their sons would not be shipped off to fight a war.
•This was complete bullshit and he was well-aware of that.

•ECONOMIC BOOM AND NEW POLICIES

◦In stark contrast to the harsh and unforgiving 1930's, the 1940's saw a boom as a result of the mass
production for the military. This boom saved the United States from the Depression.
◦For the first time ever, there was a peacetime war draft, the familiarly named SELECTIVE
SERVICE ACT.
▪This decreed that any man who was twenty one to twenty five years of age was eligible for the draft.
▪The act was passed by one single vote in Congress; perhaps this signified the weakness or insecurity
surrounding the decision.
◦The United States began running NEUTRALITY PATROLS off both coasts.
▪This was a radius of a thousand miles which was designed to keep both enemy and ally out, thus
keeping the United States out of the war.
◦In 1940, the United States gave the British Navy warships for military bases.
◦Also, the United States began the policy of LEND-LEASE.
▪The English and the Chinese were given military supplies to fight off, respectively, the Germans and
the Japanese.
▪In 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. The United States extended the Lend-Lease
program to the Soviets.
◦Also in 1941, F.D.R held a secret meeting with Winston Churchill in Canada.
▪He signed the ATLANTIC CHARTER.
•This decreed that England and the United States would work together.
◦For the most part, the people of the United States wanted to stay out of the war.

•JAPAN'S ISSUES
◦In 1931 and 1937, respectively, Japan invaded Manchuria and China.
◦In 1934, they dropped any peace agreement which they had previously signed.
◦In 1940, they joined the Axis of Germany and Italy.
◦They also founded the CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE.
▪They wanted to MAKE ASIA EXCLUSIVELY FOR ASIANS.
◦In 1940, the United States' PACIFIC FLEET moved from San Diego, California to the Philippines,
reinforcing them.
◦The final straw was when F.D.R cut off the OIL and SCRAP METAL supplies to Japan.
▪Japan: “That is it! We have had it!”
◦In 1941, during THE ATLANTIC CHARTER, the United States put itself between a rock and a
hard place.
▪The US began escorting British ships through England through the German-infested Atlantic Ocean.
So, we were facing the building rage of the Japanese on one side and the murderous mentality of the
Germans on the other.

•DECEMBER 7th, 1941

◦Japan believed that they could push America and not be pushed back.
▪They believed the place that would affect America the most should it be struck would be PEARL
HARBOR in Hawaii.
◦In planning the attack, the Japanese plotted an AIRSTRIKE.
▪They had a shitload of aircraft carriers, which they used to transport their bomb-dropping planes.
◦On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked.
▪2,403 Americans were killed.
•1,177 were on-board the ARIZONA.
◦On December 8th, 1941, United States Congress opened the gates to let America into World War II,
passing a declaration of war.
◦And on December 11th, 1941, Germany and Italy jointly declared war on the United States of
America.
◦So, the war was on...

WORLD WAR II ON THE HOMEFRONT

•FIGHTING ON TWO SIDES

oThe United States, The Russians, and England all entered into a plan known as EUROPE FIRST.
 Basically, it decreed that Germany needed to be put down first as long as Adolf
Hitler was in power.
oThe United States was also tied up in an ISLAND-HOPPING campaign.
This was between the Americans and the Japanese, taking place on the small
islands that dotted the thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean between the west
coast of the United States and Japan.
America, alone, fought the Japanese.

•THE END OF THE DEPRESSION

oThe movement, known as MOBILIZE, signified the end of the Depression.
oMost of America’s industries began producing at record pace for war efforts.
The unemployment rate went down to an astonishing 1.2% by 1944, about 24%
less than that in 1933.
oFranklin Delano Roosevelt called the United States the ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY.
oThe war costs were also staggering:
A total of $300,000,000 USD was spent on the war.
40% of this came from taxpayers and VICTORY BONDS.
•In essence, you loaned money to the government to cover the war costs.
Later, you would be repaid in full including interest.
oSeveral boards and administrations were created to manage finances and war efforts:
WAR PRODUCTION BOARD (W.P.B.) – It was this board’s job to meet the
needs of the civilians and the military.
OFFICE of PRICE ADMINISTRATION (O.P.A.) – This administration
distributed RATION BOOKS and RATION COUPONS.
•These coupons and books controlled the amount of a certain product that
the general American consumer could buy.
WAR LABOR BOARD (W.L.B.) – This board helped prevent strikes from
breaking out during the war.
oExtending upon the Selective Service Act, which was enacted towards the latter half of
World War I, the EXTENDED SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT (1944) drafted
15,000,000 Americans.
Of that, 216,000 were women.
Today, only about 2,000,000 draftees are still alive.
oThe auto industry, in particular, was a major influence in the war efforts.
From February of 1942 until September of 1945, the auto industry stopped
producing vehicles for consumers.
Rather, it began turning all of its attention to building vehicles for the military.

•HOME TURF REVENGE FOR PEARL HARBOR

oJapanese Americans living in America, derogatively referred to as “JAPS”, were made to
pay for Pearl Harbor.
oFrom 1942 to 1945, a massive Japanese INTERNMENT took place.
112,000 Japanese-Americans were rounded up from the West Coast and sent to
camps in the Midwestern United States.
These camps were nowhere near the decrepit conditions of the concentration work
camps in Europe. The inhabitants were taken care of, for the most part.
 The purpose was to be able to watch the Japanese Americans closely. The fear was
that they would assist the Japanese in an attack on the West Coast of the United
States.
In 1944, the Supreme Court was presented with KOREMATSU v US.
•Korematsu sued the United States government, citing that the Internment
movement was a civil rights violation.
•The United States countered by saying that the Japanese Americans
presented a clear and present danger.
•The Supreme Court sided with the United States government on this one.
Young Japanese Americans were taken and asked to fight in Europe.
•They were NOT asked to fight in Japan, as the government believed that
they might switch sides and fight with the Japanese. They were not
trusted to shoot their own people.
oIn addition to the internment, PROPAGANDA also made an ugly appearance.
This propaganda cast the enemies, the Japanese in particular, in a very negative
light. Oftentimes, the Japanese were dehumanized in the images and films.
The Germans were also chastised to a certain extent, but nowhere near the level
that the Japanese were demonized.

•FILLING THE GAPS

oIn 1942, ROCEROS began to come into the country.
These were Mexicans who came to replace the Japanese labor while the Japanese
were locked up in the Midwest camps.

•OTHER NOTES
oROSIE THE RIVETER was a fictional character used to represent women workers,
particularly those who worked in war defense efforts.
oThe FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES COMMITTEE passed EXECUTIVE 8802.
This stipulated that women should receive the same pay as men.
However, the order fell by the way side as it was not enforced strictly enough.
oIn 1944, FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT ran against the governor of New York,
DEWEY, for an unprecedented fourth term in office.

VICTORIOUS IN EUROPE

•THE GERMANS' DEFEAT

◦The BIG THREE were Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin.
◦GENERAL IKE EISENHOWER, future United States President, led the western offense against the
Axis.
◦The BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC took place from 1941-1945.
▪This “battle” took place in Europe and North Africa.
▪CONVOYS were set up.
•These were merchant ships protected by armed fighter ships.
▪By 1943, the “battle” was won. The Germans' prestigious submarine fleet was defeated.
◦The United States also bombed Germany and Italy on numerous occasions.
◦In 1942, the beginning of the end for the Germans, took place in Stalingrad, Soviet Union (Russia).
▪The Germans marched in, expecting to be able to quickly take out the Soviets.
▪But it is the Soviets who win.
◦In 1942, the English moved into North Africa and kicked out the Germans and the Italians who took
up residence there by force.
◦The TEHRAN CONFERENCE, held in Tehran, Iran, involved the Big Three meeting together and
agreeing to an unconditional surrender for the Axis. There would be no deals and no negotiations.
◦The Allies eventually invaded Italy in 1940, after which point, Italy became an ally.
▪Benito Mussolini, the once powerful dictator of Italy, fled and looked for protection from the
Germans, his last hope.
◦The Allies liberated France via the English Channel and they finally reached Germany.
◦A summit, known as the YALTA CONFERENCE, involved the Big Three discussing post-war
Europe and, to a lesser extent, Japan.
◦On April12th, 1945, Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. HARRY TRUMAN took over as President.
◦On April 25th, 1945, Benito Mussolini was brutally murdered by angered Italian citizens.
◦On April 30th, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker, with his mistress, Eva
Braun.
◦Finally, on May 8th, 1945, VICTORY DAY IN EUROPE (VE DAY) is declared.

• THE HOLOCAUST
◦Considered one of the most horrific crimes against humanity, the Holocaust was Hitler's orders for the
UBERMENSCH, or the Nazis, to take out the UNTERMENSCH.
▪The Untermensch were mainly Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and others who didn't fit his ideal vision
of humanity.
◦Some 72% of the Jewish population was annihilated. An estimated ten million people were killed.

ONE SIDE DOWN, ONE TO GO

•REVENGE
◦The Americans were solely fighting the Japanese via island-hopping.
◦ADMIRAL NIMITZ was in charge of the South Pacific.
◦GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR was in charge of the island-hopping campaigns.
◦In April of 1942, the DOOLITTLE RAID took place.
▪This was basically Pearl Harbor in reverse, this time, performed by the Americans on the Japanese.
▪Tokyo was bombed.
▪The pure motive was REVENGE.
▪It was led by COLONEL DOOLITTLE.
◦The 1942 BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA involved the United States protecting Australia from
Japan. It ended as a draw.
◦The BATTLE OF MIDWAY took place a month later, in June of 1942.
▪ It took place on the island of Midway, sitting, as its name suggests, roughly halfway between western
Asia and the western United States.
▪Japan wanted to use it as a stepping stone in order to invade Hawaii.
▪The United States, however, prevents this by destroying much of the Japanese Naval fleet.
▪This is the beginning of the end for Japan.
◦The Americans' first island victory in the island-hopping campaign was on the island of
GUADACANAL.
▪The Americans used these claimed islands to launch bombing attacks on Japan.
◦The famed IWO JIMA was invaded and claimed in February of 1945. By this point, the Japanese are
pretty much sunk.
◦The capture of the island of OKINAWA, a mere five hundred miles from Japan, was the last straw
and pushed Japan back to the mainland.
◦The Japanese became desperate, and began to launch KAMIKAZE attacks.
▪Equatable to modern-day suicide bombers in practice, these were pilots who flew planes directly into
the planes and ships of the United States as a last ditch effort to hold off the approaching Americans.
◦The MANHATTAN PROJECT came about in 1939.
▪ALBERT EINSTEIN, a Jewish physicist who fled the Nazis in Germany, wrote to our old friend,
F.D.R, and warned him that Hitler was developing atomic weapons. He implored F.D.R to begin
developing atomic weapons, in order to put some scare into the Germans.
▪Thus, the Manhattan project, a secret project, began. It took five years for an atom bomb to finally be
produced.
•An atom bomb is based mainly off of fission, or the splitting of an atom, which releases great
amounts of energy.
•It also uses either Uranium or Plutonium.
•Three bombs were produced by the United States.
▪The first bomb test was in New Mexico; the LOS ALAMOS laboratory oversaw the test. It worked
like a charm.
◦With new weapons in hand, President Harry Truman, who took over for the late F.D.R, warns the
Japanese (at the POTSDAM CONFERENCE) to: “...surrender or face utter destruction.”
▪The Japanese scoff and put their hands over their ears; they call his bluff.
◦So, it is time to drop the bombs.
▪The United States choses the town of HIROSHIMA as its first target.
•The reasoning was that since Hiroshima hadn't been bombed before by the States, it would be a
perfect canvas to show off the destructive power of the bomb.
▪The ENOLA GAY, a B-29 bomber plane, dropped the bomb, LITTLE BOY, over the city and
detonated the weapon at an altitude of 1800 feet at 8:15 AM on August 6th, 1945.
▪The temperature reached 5400 degrees F, and the destruction is nothing short of cataclysmic.
▪As a result of the initial blast, the RADIOACTIVE “BLACK” RAIN, and the long term effects of
radiation poisoning, 140,000 are killed.
◦The United States offers the Japanese another chance to surrender at the risk of dropping another
bomb.
▪The Japanese: “DO IT. YOU WON'T!”
▪Truman: “Have it your way.”
▪He issues that another bomb be loaded into a plane and dropped.
•The target this time was initially KOKURA, but then pilots could not see the city when they flew
over.
•So, the backup city was selected, NAGASAKI.
•The bomb, FAT MAN, was dropped. This time, however, the pilots miscalculated, and the bomb hit a
mile off-target.
•It had the potential to be even more devastating than Little Boy, but since it was off-target, it killed far
less people.
◦The Japanese have finally had enough. And on August 14th, 1945, they wave the white flag and
surrender on a day known as VICTORY IN JAPAN DAY (VJ DAY).
◦On September 2nd 1945, there is a formal surrender in Tokyo Bay.
◦And, with that, World War II is over.

END OF CHAPTER
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