WWII

• Most important naval base, packed with 80 warships
• The US knew an attack was imminent but thought it would be closer to Japan
• November 1941 Japanese task force set sail undetected
• Sunday 7th December, 350 planes launchedfrom 6 aircraft carriers
• Simultaneous attacks occured n the Phillipines, Guan, Hong Kong, Midway
• 4 battleships were sunk and the other 4 damaged
• 8 other ships were sunk and 188 aircrafts destroyed
• 2,400 killed and 1,200 wounded
• Aircraft carriers were away at the time
• Damaged vesseks repaired very quickly
• Only 1 member in the House of Representatives voted against war

• After Pearl Harbour there was a strong backing to the war effort
• The power of the Federal Government greatly increased, became necessary to call up, train and equip an army of millions
• Roosevelt supported the British and gave extensive support to the Soviet Union
• Took untill 1943 for America to effectively strike against the Japanese e.g losses in Phillipines and Guam
• Wasn't untill D-Day that America helped in the main invasion of Western Europe
• Americas influence became more dominant, although Churchill & Roosevelt had a good relationship, it was clear who called the shots
• The final victory was achieved in 1945 and American dominance was enhanced by the Atomic Bomb.

The British gave TIME

The Soviet Union gave BLOOD

The Americans gave MONEY

• Office of War Information - coordinate coverage of the war through films, posters etc
• Government promoted propaganda
• Hollywood helped encourage films promoting the message of a Good War
• Few people heard anything about hate strikes or the Black Market
• The War memories were shaped by propaganda

• War Production Board supervised the allocation of key resources such as petrol, rubber and steel 
• Unemployment was down to 2% in 1943
• Earnings in the bottom s1/5 of society rose by 68%
• Chief gainers became the Middle Class (increase in taxation made richest 5% income drop to 16%)
• Office of Price Administration provided 73,000 employees by 1945
• Henry Ford - worlds largest aircraft factory
• Henry Kaiser - production of "Liberty Ships" which carried 3,000 jeeps and 440 tanks
• By 1945 Gross Domestic Product was 37.2%

• By 1944 36% of the workforce were female
• Living standards dramatically improved
• Life expectancy increased by 3 years on average
• Life expectancy for blacks increased by 5 years
• Infant mortality fell by a third
• Soaring birth/marriage rate
• Introduction of paid holidays and health insurance
• Increase in power of unions

• Federal Budget increased from $5.3 billion to $97.2 billion
• Revolution in revenue collection
• Close relationship with business
• War Powers Act granted Roosevelt unprecedented authority to lead the nation in Total War