I.        The rise of dictators

A.      Four nations were trying to expand their power and territory

1.       Japan

a.       In 1937 Japan seized most of coastal China

b.      Then, in 1938, the Japanese announced a “new order in East Asia”

2.       Italy

a.       Benito Mussolini organized the Fascist party.

b.      Fascism is a form of government in which a dictator controls the economic and social lives of citizens, stresses nationalism at the expense of human rights, and eliminates all opposition.

3.       Germany

a.       Poor economic conditions led to the organization of the National Socialist (Nazi) party

b.      One of its leaders was Adolf Hitler

·         In his book Mein Kampf or “My Struggle,” Hitler had outlined his plans for Germany and described his hatred of the Jews

c.       In 1936, Hitler and Mussolini signed a treaty and formed the “Berlin-Rome Axis”

·         In 1940, Japan joined the Axis powers

4.       Russia

a.       Led by Stalin

b.      Although Hitler and Stalin did not trust each other they signed a nonaggression pact in 1939 (they agreed to not wage war against each other)

·         In a secret part of the agreement they divided Eastern Europe between them. Germany got the western part and the Soviet Union got the eastern part.

II.      The start of the war

A.      A neutral United States

1.       On September 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland. Great Britain and France declared war on Germany.

2.       President Roosevelt declared the Unites States would remain neutral.

3.       The Selective Training and Service Act, enacted in September 1940, required that all men between 21 and 36 register for the draft.

4.       Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected president in November 1940. He was the first man to be elected President of the United States 3 times.

B.      The attack on Pearl Harbor

1.       On Sunday, December 7, 1940, Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor.

2.       In less than two hours, Japanese bombs sank or damaged 19 ships, destroyed 150 planes, and killed about 2,400 people.

3.       President Roosevelt described December 7 as “a day that shall live in infamy”

4.       The United States was now at war

III.    The United States at war

A.      Local hero

1.       In July 1941, President Roosevelt had appointed James F. Byrnes to the U.S. Supreme Court.

2.       Byrnes was originally from Charleston.

3.       Had been one of the most important men in Congress during the New Deal

4.       As the war progressed he became the director of the Office of War Mobilization.

5.       When Harry S. Truman became president, he named Byrnes as his Secretary of State.

6.       Also elected Governor of South Carolina in 1950

B.      Military enlistments

1.       Over 172,500 South Carolinians served in the Army, Navy, and Marines during the war.

2.       Several training bases operated in South Carolina.

C.      The war in Europe

1.       On June 6, 1944, “D-day,” over 176,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel to Normandy

2.       On April 25, 1945, the American and British forces met the Soviet troops at the Elbe River. A few days later, Hitler reportedly committed suicide.

3.       On May 7 Germany surrendered. The war was half over.

4.       Hitler’s policy of genocide resulted in the death of at least 6 million Jewish people.

a.       Today this is referred to as the Holocaust.

D.      The 1944 election

1.       Roosevelt won easily and became the only person to be elected to the presidency 4 times.

2.       Sadly on April 12, 1945, President Roosevelt suffered a stroke and died.

3.       Vice President Truman became president.

E.       The war in the Pacific

1.       The Allies decided to fight the Japanese using the strategy of “island hopping,” taking only the most important or strategic islands.

2.       On August 6, 1945, one atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

3.       On August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

4.       On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered. World War II was finally over.

F.       The cost of war

1.       Military deaths on both sides totaled more than 20 million

2.       Perhaps as many as 35 million civilians died during the war.

3.       Over 400,000 Americans lost their lives

a.       Including more than 4,000 South Carolinians

4.       The war cost the United States over $350 billion

5.       Five South Carolinians won the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Terms:

1.       antitrust laws – outlaw business practices that inhibit trade

2.       appeasement – giving an aggressor nation what it wants to avoid war

3.       business cycle – has four phases: prosperity, recession, depression, recovery

4.       deficit spending – occurs when expenditures exceed income

5.       dictator­ – one who wants to rule through military might

6.       fascism – type of government in Italy in 1930s

7.       genocide – the planned destruction of an entire race or ethnic group

8.       integrate – to involve groups as equals

9.       minimum wage – lowest amount employer can pay a covered employee

10.   New Deal – 1930s programs to fight the depression

11.   prejudice – intolerance toward a particular group

12.   ration – to limit consumption of

13.   scabs – replacement workers

14.   Social Security Act – law that provided national old-age insurance

15.   surplus – too many goods on hand

*Also study pages 2 and 3 of the worksheet: “Alphabet Soup” and “It’s all in the know.”