Unit 8: Normalcy, Depression, and War World War II Unit 8: Normalcy, Depression, and War

Neutrality Act of 1935 …That upon the outbreak or during the progress of war between, or among, two or more foreign states, the President shall proclaim such fact, and it shall thereafter be unlawful to export arms, ammunition, or implements of war from any place in the United States, or possessions of the United States, to any port of such belligerent states, or to any neutral port for transshipment Whenever, during any war in which the United States is neutral, the President shall find that the maintenance of peace between the United States and foreign nations, or the protection of the lives of citizens of the United States, or the protection of the commercial interests of the United States and its citizens, or the security of the United States requires that the American citizens should refrain from traveling as passengers on the vessels of any belligerent nation, he shall so proclaim, and thereafter no citizen of the United States shall travel on any vessel of any belligerent nation except at his own risk, unless in accordance with such rules and regulations as the President shall prescribe....

Neutrality Act of 1936 Whenever the President shall have issued his proclamation as provided for in section 1 of this Act, it shall thereafter during the period of the war be unlawful for any person within the United States to purchase, sell, or exchange bonds, securities, or other obligations of the government of any belligerent country, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any person acting for or on behalf of such government, issued after the date of such proclamation, or to make any loan or extend any credit to any such government or person…

Pre-WWII Peace Movement

America First

Charles Lindbergh, America First When this war started in Europe, it was clear that the American people were solidly opposed to entering it. Why shouldn't we be? We had the best defensive position in the world; we had a tradition of independence from Europe; and the one time we did take part in a European war left European problems unsolved, and debts to America unpaid. National polls showed that when England and France declared war on Germany, in 1939, less than 10 percent of our population favored a similar course for America. But there were various groups of people, here and abroad, whose interests and beliefs necessitated the involvement of the United States in the war. I shall point out some of these groups tonight, and outline their methods of procedure. In doing this, I must speak with the utmost frankness, for in order to counteract their efforts, we must know exactly who they are.

The three most important groups who have been pressing this country toward war are the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration. Behind these groups, but of lesser importance, are a number of capitalists, Anglophiles, and intellectuals who believe that the future of mankind depends upon the domination of the British empire. Add to these the Communistic groups who were opposed to intervention until a few weeks ago, and I believe I have named the major war agitators in this country. I am speaking here only of war agitators, not of those sincere but misguided men and women who, confused by misinformation and frightened by propaganda, follow the lead of the war agitators. As I have said, these war agitators comprise only a small minority of our people; but they control a tremendous influence. Against the determination of the American people to stay out of war, they have marshaled the power of their propaganda, their money, their patronage.

Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” Speech (1941) In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way -- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want -- which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear -- which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor-- anywhere in the world.

Lend-Lease Act (1941)

Pearl Harbor (Dec 7, 1941)

California’s Population Decade Population Change 1850 92,600 1860 380,000 +308% 1870 560,200 +47% 1880 864,700 +54% 1890 1,213,400 +40% 1900 1,485,000 +22% 1910 2,377,500 +60% 1920 3,426,900 +44% Decade Population Change 1930 5,677,200 +65% 1940 6,907,400 +18% 1950 10,586,200 +53% 1960 15,717,200 +48% 1970 19,971,000 +27% 1980 23,667,700 +19% 1990 29,760,000 +26% 2000 33,871,600 +14%

War Bonds

The “Double-V” Campaign

Tuskegee Airmen

Zoot Suit Riots

Cherry Poppin' Daddies - "Zoot Suit Riot" Zoot-Suit Riots A whipped up jitterbuggin' brown-eyed man A stray cat frontin' up an eight piece band Cut me Sammy and you'll understand In my veins hot music ran You got me in a sway And I want to swing you dove Now you sailors know Where your women came for love Who's that whisperin' in the trees? It's two sailors and they're on leave Pipes and chains and swingin' hands Who's your daddy? Yes I am Fat cat came to play Now he can't move fast enough You'd best stay away When the pushers come to shove Zoot Suit Riot (RIOT!) Throw back a bottle of beer Zoot Suit Riot (RIOT!) Pull a comb through your coal black hair Cherry Poppin' Daddies - "Zoot Suit Riot"

FDR on the UMW Coal Strike (1943) [This war effort] must not be hampered by any one individual or by the leaders of any one group here back home. I want to make it clear that every American coal miner who has stopped mining coal -- no matter how sincere his motives, no matter how legitimate he may believe his grievances to be -- every idle miner directly and individually is obstructing our war effort. We have not yet won this war. We will win this war only as we produce and deliver our total American effort on the high seas and on the battlefronts. And that requires unrelenting, uninterrupted effort here on the home front. A stopping of the coal supply, even for a short time, would involve a gamble with the lives of American soldiers and sailors and the future security of our whole people. It would involve an unwarranted, unnecessary and terribly dangerous gamble with our chances for victory….Tonight, I am speaking to the essential patriotism of the miners, and to the patriotism of their wives and children. And I am going to state the true facts of this case as simply and as plainly as I know how. After the attack at Pearl Harbor, the three great labor organizations -- the AFL, the CIO, and the Railroad Brotherhoods -- gave the positive assurance that there would be no strikes as long as the war lasted. And the President of the United Mine workers of America was a party to that assurance. That pledge was applauded throughout the country. It was a forcible means of telling the world that we Americans -- 135,000,000 of us -- are united in our determination to fight this total war with our total will and our total power. At the request of employers and of organized labor - including the United Mine Workers -- the War Labor Board was set up for settling any disputes which could not be adjusted through collective bargaining….The national officers of the United Mine Workers, however, declined to have anything to do with the fact-finding of the War Labor Board. The only excuse that they offer is that the War Labor Board is prejudiced….The responsibility for the crisis that we now face rests squarely on these national officers of the United Mine Workers, and not on the Government of the United States. But the consequences of this arbitrary action threaten all of us everywhere.

“Code Talkers”

History of Anti-Asian Sentiment

Japanese Internment

Japanese Internment

“Rosie the Riveter”

Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps

Marriage and Divorce

The “Baby Boom”

Public Opinion about Truman’s Decision Approve Disapprove No Opinion August 1945 85% 10% 5% July 1990 53% 41% 6% 2005 57% 38%