The United States in World War II
A Documentary Reader
Uncovering the Past: Documentary Readers in American History Series

• Illustrates the political, diplomatic and military history of the conflict, including well-known documents, such as the Atlantic Charter and Franklin Roosevelt?s Congressional address requesting a declaration of war against Japan
• Highlights the far-reaching economic, social and cultural changes caused by the war, such as the struggles to find day care for the children of women war workers, and the experiences returning veterans
• Includes an introduction, document headnotes and questions at the end of each chapter designed to encourage students to engage with the material critically

List of Illustrations x

Series Editors’ Preface xi

Source Acknowledgments xiv

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Controversial War 15

1 Henry Stimson, Diplomatic Note, 1932 15

2 William E. Dodd, Letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1934 16

3 US Congress, Excerpt from the Neutrality Act, 1935 19

4 Chicago Defender , “League of Nations Holds Meetings,” Editorial, 1936 24

5 Jane Woolsey, “No Mr. Churchill!” and Mandy Butler, “Yes, Mr. Churchill!,” Rutgers Anthologist , 1941 26

6 Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, “The Atlantic Charter,” 1941 31

7 US Congress, Excerpt from Hearings, Propaganda in Motion Pictures , 1941 32

8 Cordell Hull Proposal to Japanese Ambassador Nomura and His Reply, 1941 37

Chapter 2 Pearl Harbor and Meeting the Fight 44

1 Ruth A. Erickson, Recollections of Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1997 44

2 Eleanor Roosevelt, Script for Radio Program, 1941 46

3 Franklin D. Roosevelt, Address to the Joint Session of Congress, 1941 54

4 William Dyess, Excerpt from The Eye‐witness Account of the Death March from Bataan , 1944 56

5 General George Marshall to Admiral Ernest King, Memorandum, and Franklin D. Roosevelt to Harry L. Hopkins, General Marshall, and Admiral King, Memorandum, 1942 58

Chapter 3 The Pacific War 63

1 Alvin Kernan, Excerpt from Crossing the Line: A Bluejacket ’ s World Odyssey , 1994 63

2 John Hersey, Excerpt from “The Battle of Rivers,” Life , 1942 65

3 US Army Research Branch, Excerpt from Report No. B‐11, “Factors Affecting Morale of Veteran Infantrymen in the Pacific,” 1945 71

4 John Ciardi, Excerpts from Diary, 1944 73

5 Sam Smith, Oral History Interview Regarding Battle of Iwo Jima, 2004 76

Chapter 4 The War in North Africa and Europe 79

1 George Marshall to Lesley McNair, Memorandum, 1942 79

2 James R. Forgan to Commanding General, European Theater of Operations, Memorandum, 1945 80

3 Dwight Eisenhower, Draft Statement and Memorandum to the Combined Chiefs of Staff, 1944 83

4 Harold E. Mayo, Letter to Robert Cummins, 1944 86

5 Paul Fergot, Letters to Parents and Wife, 1944, 1945 88

6 Emiel W. Owens, Excerpt from Blood on German Snow: An African American Artilleryman in World War II and Beyond , 2006 90

Chapter 5 Mobilizing the Home Front 95

1 US Treasury Department, “This Is My Fight Too!” Poster, 1942 95

2 Irving Berlin, “I Paid My Income Tax Today,” Song Lyrics, 1942 96

3 US Office of Price Administration, Ration Book Cover, Stamps, Instructions, 1942 98

4 New Jersey League of Women Voters, Leaguesboro‐onthe‐Air, “Black Market” Radio Script, 1943 or 1944? 102

5 Newark, New Jersey, Defense Council, “Summary of Meeting on Care of Mothers and Children,” 1942 107

6 Christian Commission for Camp and Defense Communities, “Church Letter on War Communities,” Newsletter, 1942 110

Chapter 6 The Arsenal of Democracy 114

1 Donald M. Nelson, Excerpts from Arsenal of Democracy: The Story of American War Production , 1946 114

2 Lee Wilson, Excerpt from Interview, 2006 120

3 US National War Labor Board, “Statement from the National War Labor Board to the Parties in Dispute Cases,” 1944 123

4 Montgomery Ward Department Store, Flyers Distributed to Employees, and International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Flyer to Union Members, 1943, 1944 126

5 Sewell Avery and US Soldiers, Photograph, 1944 130

6 Washington Post , “Law and Responsibility,” Editorial, 1944 131

7 Janice C. Christensen, Letters to Parents, 1943 133

8 Dae D. Baird, Letter to Evelyn E. Baird, July 7, 1944 136

Chapter 7 The Quest for Freedom 139

1 John Haynes Holmes, Excerpt from “The Case of the Jehovah ’ s Witnesses,” The Christian Century , 1940 139

2 Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Executive Order Reaffirming Policy of Full Participation by all Persons, Regardless of Race, Creed, Color, or National Origin,” 1941 145

3 Frederick Wells to Harry A. Wann, Memorandum, 1942 147

4 Daniel K. Inouye, Excerpt from Journey to Washington , 1967 149

5 Charles Kikuchi, Diary Entries, 1942 151

6 Cesar Chavez, Excerpt from Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa , 1975 155

Chapter 8 The American Response to the Holocaust 159

1 Ferdinand M. Isserman, Excerpt from Sentenced to Death: The Jews in Nazi Germany , 1933 159

2 Franklin D. Roosevelt, Public Statement, 1938 163

3 Robert Taft, Letter to Allan Tarlish, 1939 164

4 Breckinridge Long, Diary Excerpts, 1940, 1942–1944 166

5 Myron C. Taylor, Memorandum of Conversation, Letter to Cardinal Maglione, 1942 169

6 The New York Times , “11 Allies Condemn Nazi War on Jews,” 1942 172

7 Henry Morgenthau, Jr. to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Excerpt from “Personal Report to the President,” Memorandum, 1944 175

8 Harold Porter, Letter to Parents, 1945 182

9 David Max Eichhorn, Sermon, 1945 184

10 Simon Chilewich, Letter to Family, 1945 186

Chapter 9 From Strategic Bombing to the Atomic Bomb 190

1 Albert Einstein, Letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1939 190

2 US Army Air Force, Air War Plan Division, Excerpts from “Munitions Requirements of the AAF for the Defeat of our Potential Enemies,” 1941 192

3 Pius XII, Memorandum on Bombing of Civilians, and Myron Taylor, Informal Notes for Discussion with Msgr. Montini, 1942 195

4 Interim Committee, Excerpt from Notes of Meeting, 1945 198

5 Senior Military Advisors, Excerpts from Minutes of Meeting, 1945 199

6 Heads of Governments, United States, China, and the United Kingdom, Potsdam Declaration, 1945 203

7 Henry Stimson, Diary Excerpts, 1945 205

8 Kurt Vonnegut, “Wailing Shall Be in All the Streets,” 2008 209

Chapter 10 Visions of a Postwar World 217

1 Henry Luce, Excerpt from “The American Century,” Life , 1941 217

2 Wendell Willkie, Excerpt from One World , 1943 219

3 Langston Hughes, “My America,” Journal of Educational Sociology , 1943 221

4 Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, “Yalta Conference Public Statement,” 1945 223

5 United Nations, Excerpt from Charter, 1945 230

6 Robert Jackson, Excerpts from Opening Address at Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, 1945 235

Chapter 11 Legacies of War 244

1 John J. Toffey IV, Excerpt from Jack Toffey ’ s War , 2008 244

2 US War Department, Excerpt from Pamphlet, “Going Back to Civilian Life: A Supplement Explaining the Provisions of the ‘GI Bill of Rights,’” 1944 248

3 Harvard Crimson , “Wistful Vista II,” 1946; “The Counsellor and the Dean,” 1947 250

4 Eli Ginzberg, Excerpt from Breakdown and Recovery , 1959 253

5 Mira Ryczke Kimmelman, Excerpt from Life Beyond the Holocaust , 2005 255

Chapter 12 Commemoration and Memory 259

1 Archibald MacLeish, “Memorials Are For Remembrance,” The Architectural Forum , 1944 259

2 Elie Wiesel, Introduction to President ’ s Commission on the Holocaust, Report to the President , 1979 263

3 Ronald Reagan, Remarks on Signing the Bill Providing Restitution for the Wartime Internment of Japanese‐American Civilians, 1988 268

4 Tom Brokaw, Remarks at the Dedication of the National World War II Memorial, 2004 270

5 Geoffrey Wheatcroft, “Munich Shouldn’t be Such a Dirty Word,” Washington Post , 2008 274

Bibliography 278

Index 285