World
War II (1939-1945) was the largest armed conflict in human
history. Ranging over six continents and all the world's
oceans, the war caused an estimated 50 million military
and civilian deaths, including those of 6 million Jews.
Global in scale and in its repercussions, World War II
created
a new world at home and abroad. Among its major results
were the beginning of the nuclear era, increased pressure
to decolonize the Third World,
and the advent of the Cold War.
The war also ended America's relative isolation from
the
rest of the world and resulted in the creation of the United
Nations. Domestically, the war ended the Great
Depression as hundreds of thousands of people, many
of them women, went into the defense industries. At
the
same time, African Americans made significant strides toward
achieving their political, economic and social rights.
The roots of World War II, which eventually pitted Germany,
Japan, and Italy (the Axis) against the United States,
Great
Britain and the Soviet Union (the Allies), lay in the militaristic
ideologies and expansionist policies of Nazi Germany,
Italy,
and Japan. The weak response of the European democracies
to fascist aggression and American isolationism allowed
the Axis powers to gain the upper hand initially.
Although the war began with Nazi Germany's attack on Poland
in September, 1939, the United States did not enter the
war until after the Japanese bombed the American fleet
in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. Between
those
two events, President Franklin
Roosevelt worked hard to prepare Americans for a conflict
that he regarded as inevitable. In November 1939, he
persuaded
Congress to repeal the arms embargo provisions of the neutrality
law so that arms could be sold to France and Britain.
After
the fall of France in the spring of June 1940, he pushed
for a major military buildup and began providing aid
in
the form of Lend-Lease to Britain, which now stood alone
against the Axis powers. America, he declared, must become
"the great arsenal of democracy." From then on, America's
capacity to produce hundreds of thousands of tanks, airplanes,
and ships for itself and its allies proved a crucial factor
in Allied success, as did the fierce resistance of the
Soviet
Union, which had joined the war in June, 1941 after being
attacked by Germany. The brilliance of America's military
leaders, including General Dwight
D. Eisenhower, who planned and led the attack against
the Nazis in Western Europe, and General Douglas MacArthur
and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, who led the Allied effort
in the Pacific, also contributed to the Allied victory.
Among the war's major turning points for the United States
were the Battle of Midway (1942), the invasion of Italy
(1943) the Allied invasion of France (1944), the battle
of Leyte Gulf (1944) and the dropping of the atom bombs
on Japan (1945). The war ended with the Axis Powers' unconditional
surrender in 1945.
ER had played an unprecedented role in the planning and
implementation of New Deal programs. Although she was
not
in a position to take an active role in the day-to-day
planning and prosecution of the war, she found other ways
to exercise
her influence. She served briefly as assistant director
of the Office of
Civilian Defense, but found that by serving in an
official position she created so much controversy that
it harmed the agency,
and she resigned. At FDR's behest she undertook two major
tours, one to Europe (1942) and one to the South Pacific
(1943), where she met with Allied servicemen and wartime
leaders, providing comfort and boosting morale. Her major
concerns, however, were with refugees, the advancement
of civil rights and social programs, and the home front.
She
worked tirelessly to get refugees, especially Jews, out
of Europe, encouraging and aiding the work of relief
organizations
such as the Emergency Rescue Committee and the Children's
Crusade for Children, and pushing FDR and other members
of his government to do more. Her efforts were often frustrated,
but she did not give up and continued to pursue this
work
after the war when it was easier for refugees to leave
Europe. On the home front, she visited defense plants
around the
country and used her "My Day" column and speeches to encourage
the war effort. She continued to champion civil rights
and
civil liberties arguing that America could not simultaneously
fight racism abroad and tolerate it at home. The painful
sacrifices of war would be pointless if America did not
achieve equality and justice for all its citizens. Thanks
to her efforts, opportunities for African Americans in
the military, including opportunities to engage in combat,
were
expanded significantly. ER was also directly responsible
for ending segregation in military recreational areas
and
transportation services. Together with NAACP
Executive Secretary Walter White
and African American union leader A. Philip Randolph, she
persuaded Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue an executive
order
in 1941 prohibiting racial discrimination in defense industries
and establishing the Fair Employment
Practices Commission. Always an advocate for women,
ER championed their right to work in war-related industries
and strongly encouraged women to do so. She was instrumental
in starting social programs such as day-care centers
and
community laundries to lighten the domestic burdens of
the women workers. After the war, ER supported the right
of
women to remain in their jobs if they depended on their
wages. ER also continued to support labor and its right
to organize despite opposition from Congress, business,
and the public, and her insistence on the importance
of postwar
planning was reflected in FDR's call for a G.I. Bill of
Rights.
Sources:
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History
of the American People. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992,
772-733.
Chambers, John Whiteclay II, ed. The Oxford Companion
to American Military History. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1999, 819-830.
Goodwin, Doris Kearns. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and
Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II.
New York: Touchstone Books, 1994, 626-629.
Graham, Otis L., Jr. and Meghan Robinson Wander. Franklin
D. Roosevelt: His Life and Times. New York: Da
Capo Press, 1985, 464-467.