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LABOR UNION MOVEMENT
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
HST 306 - STUDIES IN UNITED STATES HISTORY
WEEK 4
BASIC COMPETENCIES:
Students understand the labor union movement
INDICATOR
1. Students are able to understand the growth of labor unions
2. Students are able to understand the socio-economic life of laborers
3. Students are able to understand the organization of the American labor federation
A.
Trade Union Growth
At the beginning of the growth of labor in the Northern United States, the socio-
economic conditions of workers were still very poor, due to exploitation on the part of
employers in the form of long working hours, low wages, and unhealthy and dangerous
working conditions. Workers sought to improve their conditions by banding together to form
labor unions, so that by 1791 several unions had emerged in Philadelphia, New York, and
Boston that included unions for shoemakers, printers, and clothiers. In the early days, labor
unions in the Northern United States still took the form of local unions whose members
consisted of skilled workers doing the same type of work. By 1835, more than 50 labor unions
had emerged in the Northern United States.
in New York City, Philadelphia.
Likewise, several labor unions have emerged in other cities, such as Newark, Boston,
Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Louisville. These unions are still in the form of local unions, so
they are not yet in a strong position to confront employers in labor bargaining.
This condition makes the workers the object of exploitation by the employers in the
form of long working hours, low wages, unhealthy working conditions, lack of social and
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health insurance for the workers. This occurs as a result of the success of employers in
imposing work agreements with individual workers, because there is no sense of unity among
workers or labor unions with one another other unions, and the vast majority of workers in the
United States have no organizational consciousness.
The beginning of the trade union movement in the United States dates back to the
latter part of the 18th century. In 1786, the first labor strike in the United States was carried
out by printing workers in Philadelphia. The awareness of organizing workers in the Northern
United States to form a strong trade union to face the exploitation of employers against
workers first appeared between 1792-1794 which was pioneered by various trade unions
located in 7 cities namely: New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Newark
and Louisville which included: unions of printers, carpenters, comb makers, weavers. Thanks
to their persistent struggle, they finally succeeded in forming the National Trade Union in
early 1836 in New York City.
Other labor unions soon sprang up in other cities in every state, and they used strike
action as a weapon to fight for the betterment of the workers' lot. Similarly, in other
industries, master associations (workshop owners) soon emerged to combat the trade union
movement through the courts and police using conspiracy charges.
The nature of labor unionism in the United States in its early days reflected the state of
the industrial system at that time. Production was at the pre-factory stage and was done in
workshops or homes. The first labor organizations took the form of associations of workers to
confront the workshop owner or master. Trade unions were organized locally as was
production at the time. In any case, these early unions were not an organized labor movement.
Eventually these unions disappeared with the decline of business in the run-up to the war in
1812.
After the war of 1812, the United States entered a period dominated by mercantilist
capitalism.The growth of domestic production experienced a slight increase.In addition to
workshop or home production, several factories emerged.
As the labor force grew in number and strength, for the first time in the United States a
true labor movement emerged. Workers were formed or re-formed in many workshops
(exchanges) and after 1820 there were labor strikes in exchanges as well as in some factories.
In 1827 in Philadelphia the first city-wide trade union organization, the Mechanics
Union of Trade Associations, was formed.This organization set as its goal the achievement of
a prosperous life for its members.The development of trade unions at that time (after the war
of 1812) was a response to two conditions.
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On the one hand, due to increased competition, employers (mercantilists) tried to
reduce costs by lowering labor wages, extending working hours, reforming the old master-
labor relationship, and using women and children in industry.
On the other hand, Jacksonian democracy created a heated atmosphere, creating a war
against the aristocrats and using the common people. In this atmosphere, the workers
organized themselves and raised their voices against the "bankers" and other aristocrats.
In addition, they demanded an end to social discrimination and an end to the use of
child labor in New England factories.Equal opportunity became the slogan and, in their
opinion, the key to opportunity was a system of education that was free for all.
In the 1830s the labor movement in the United States tried to move towards politics.
In various cities, labor parties were formed, in some cases they operated as wide as one state.
The goal of the labor party was not to overthrow the existing government, but to get labor
representatives in the legislature so that the demands of the workers could be achieved.
In a very short time the labor parties disappeared and the workers merged their
political goals with the Jacksonian movement.Thus, even at this early stage, the American
workers did not have revolutionary goals as a class, but they wanted a better status within the
existing class structure.
This has been a constant theme throughout the history of the working class in the
United States.Although the labor parties disappeared, the trade union movement in the United
States moved forward.This was evident between 1833-1837. More and more labor unions
emerged in various industries, and by 1836, it had even been successfully formed.
National Trade Union in New York City.
After the establishment of the National Trade Union, it is hoped that workers will be
able to seek help from this organization to defend and represent them against employers in the
event of a labor dispute. It was also hoped that the workers would have a place to complain,
ask for help, and a place to foster the lives of the workers. The National Labor Union is
fighting for a 10-hour working day among its members.
He granted these demands, although when the National Labor Union was dissolved,
they were no longer valid. The National Labor Union also used strikes to fight for the 10-hour
workday and other demands. Sometimes these demands were successful, though sometimes
they were frustrated by the economic power of the employers and the hostility of the courts
and police towards the trade union movement.
However, in 1842 the United States labor union case was greatly aided when a
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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision determined that labor unions were not
conspiracies. Eventually this position was followed by other courts.
Prior to the economic depression of 1837, the program of the trade union movement in
the northern United States included demands for a 10-hour workday, a minimum age limit for
child labor, a living wage, the abolition of party actions, the abolition of company actions to
confiscate workers' belongings for non-payment of debts, and the creation of laws prohibiting
the detention of workers in prison. In 1838, unions in New York City succeeded in obtaining
a 10-hour workday because the city still lacked skilled workers, while in many cities in other
states the average worker worked 12 hours a day and the program included:
a. Putting his people in the congress,
b. sued in the United States Federal court for legal protection.
By the middle of the 19th century, the growth of the industrialization system in the
North of the United States had begun to leave behind the household industry system to the
factory system using machine power, and as a consequence, there was a transformation of
work.
This period is known as the period of industrial capitalism. Before the use of machine
power in industrialization (the period of household industry), work was done by skilled
laborers in all the intricacies of the production process. But after the use of machine power in
the factory system, the work was done by specialized workers who served the machines in a
factory, and only carried out certain jobs on ready materials.
Since the introduction of the factory system in the industrialized North of the United
States, which meant new jobs, many workers have started working in factories, and the trade
union movement, which had been sluggish since the depression of 1837, has begun to grow
again.
By 1864 there were 300 local unions in the United States and in 1866 the National Labor
Union was born in Baltimore under the leadership of William H. Sylvis. The National Labor
Union consisted of national unions, city labor assemblies, local unions, and the reform
movement.
At the beginning of its growth and the National Labor Union already had members
90,000 workers from 77 unions in 30 states. The unions secured legal protection, demanded
an 8-hour workday, demanded a living wage for workers, seated their people in Congress, and
demanded various other social guarantees.
In 1868, congress had set the working hours of workers as 8 hours of work per day.
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Meanwhile, in 1864, the National Labor Union was recognized by the United States
government as a legal entity and in that year the United States government had established the
United States Bureau of Labor.
By 1866, the National Labor Union had transformed itself into an independent labor
party. In the general election of 1872, the National Labor Union declared itself a political
party and began nominating presidential lists.
However, as the nominated presidential candidate withdrew, so did several national
trade unions affiliated to the organization also resigned, and the National Labor Union was
finally dissolved in 1872.
On December 28, 1869, a group of noble clothiers in the city of Philadelphia held a
meeting. In that meeting James L. Wright had proposed that this association be named the
Knights of Labor and this proposal was approved and in this meeting had succeeded in
establishing Uriah
S. Stephensens as its first president.
In the beginning, the Knights of Labor was a secret organization shrouded in religious
rituals that were the tradition of skilled laborers. In 1878, when the organization was forced to
show itself because the American public at the time did not trust secret organizations, and
when the organization was under president Powderly, it began to open up and become a
reformist organization.
The Knights of Labor was originally a guild of Philadelphia's dressmaking aristocracy,
but thanks to the conscientiousness of its members and leaders, the organization was willing
to accept members from a wide range of skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled laborers
regardless of occupation.
The Knights of Labor was born to consolidate the workers in the United States who
were still divided because before this organization was formed, the trade union movement in
the United States did not yet have a sense of unity of the workers and the movement was only
limited to skilled workers, and did not pay attention to the fate of semi-skilled workers and
unskilled workers.
By 1890, the membership of the Knights of Labor had declined drastically. In the last
two years, the organization had lost 200,000 members and by 1893 it was down to 75,000.
This was due in part to the fact that the blame for this was placed on the Powderly leaders
who were out of place with their attention to utopian ideals and displeasure with strike action.
Part of the blame goes to the rashness of the workers who joined the organization to
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organize strikes, but all strikes ended up being Workers became discouraged and left the
membership of the Knights of Labor.They mistakenly thought their strength was too great,
underestimating the strength and determination of the employers.Perhaps also the working
class material of the United States at that time was not suitable for the national labor
movement.
The working class in the United States lacked a sense of labor solidarity because it
was divided among racial, national, and religious groups and some of them were even hostile
to each other. The decline of the Knights of Labor was also due to competition from the
American Federation of Labor, which had been established in 1886.
In addition, the Knights of Labor, whose members disliked the militant nature of the
movement against the employers, instead became increasingly involved in conflicts with the
employers whose strikers always suffered defeats. One of the reasons for the defeat of the
strikes was the siphoning off of strike funds for personal use.
B.
Socio-economic Life of Laborers
Initially, workers in the northern United States entered into individual labor
agreements with employers. This system of labor agreements was one-sided, and favored the
employers. These agreements were usually set by the employers through low wages, long
working hours, and without regard to the working conditions of the workers.
Actually, this kind of work agreement system, by the employers is only to seek
maximum profit in the company and this is a form of exploitation of the employers against the
workers, resulting in the life of the workers is very miserable. This occurs because the
workers are under pressure from family needs, and do not yet have a sense of awareness of
the workers to organize themselves to form a labor union.
In the 1790s, a sense of self-organization to form trade unions emerged among skilled
laborers in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania consisting of clothiers,
cobblers, and artisans. carpenters and printers. They are the ones who spearheaded the
formation of labor unions because their situation is better than that of other workers (unskilled
and semi-skilled workers). Skilled workers are smarter, earn more, and are therefore more
aware of their situation.
The skilled workers, namely the tailors who were members of the Knights of Labor in
1869 began to conduct propaganda to influence all workers in the United States consisting of
unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, administrative and marketing workers regardless of the type
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of work to unite into the Knights of Labor to fight for the improvement of the fate of its
members.
The system of individual employment agreements practiced by employers with
workers in the northern United States resulted in the workers' socio-economic conditions
being very poor, and they were not satisfied with their conditions.
In 1741, workers in a bakery in New York City organized a protest to improve their
lot. In 1786, workers working at a printing press in Philadelphia staged a protest action by
stopping work, intending to demand the improvement of their conditions. The various actions
taken by workers to demand the improvement of their fate (not yet in an organized manner)
did not achieve satisfactory results and could easily be broken by the employers by removing
the workers who held the protests, then replaced by other workers.
By 1791, workers in the northern United States had realized that their conditions were
weak and were trying to improve them by banding together to form trade unions so that in
some areas such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston there were unions for shoemakers,
clothiers, and printers.
In 1799, workers who were members of the shoe and printing unions in Philadelphia
held a strike to improve their fate. A strike was also carried out by the shoe workers union in
1805 in New York City which also aimed to improve their fate.
At the beginning of the growth of labor unions in the northern United States, their
position was weak because there was no guarantee of legal protection for their growth. In
order to weaken the trade union movement, employers are more likely to employ workers on
an individual basis, rather than through collective agreements.
In an effort to discourage the trade union movement, the employers have a more
effective weapon, which is the blacklist. Workers who are included in the blacklist are those
who organize strikes, while workers who are suspected are usually active in trade union
activities. Blacklisted workers usually find it difficult to get a job because employers will
reject them.
The background of the lives of workers in the northern United States is very
concerned about the wisdom of the employers in determining the wage system by store order
system, which means that the wage system given by the employers to the workers is not in the
form of money but in the form of goods which include food, clothing, and other necessities of
life.
Employers are more likely to apply the store order system to their employees where
the value of goods provided in lieu of labor is very low, i.e. below the minimum wage
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standard. In addition, through this system, employers can sell goods to their employees in lieu
of wages at a higher price, reaching 25-40% more than the price elsewhere, so this kind of
wage system tends to exploit workers.
In this regard, Samuel Gompers as the first president of the American Federation of
Labor in his report when conducting a working visit to the regions in the early 1890s, namely
in the Norwich and Connictucut areas, found that the workers in both areas still accepted the
store order system and they could not move to fight for their economic conditions because
most of the workers were not yet organized.
The condition of the workers in the mines in the mid-19th century was very poor.They
worked by digging mines and transporting mining goods from the tunnels.This kind of work
was very tedious. They usually worked long hours, low wages, unhealthy working conditions,
and were also worked by women and children, so many workers in the mines complained.
In the 1870s the socio-economic conditions of railroad workers in Baltime,
Martinburg and Pittsburg were also very poor. On average, they still received low wages and
worked long hours, and employers sometimes resorted to corruption and deducted part of
their workers' wages.
In 1877, one of the managers of the Pennysylvania Railroad named Tom Scott had
committed corruption by cutting the wages of his workers by 10%, which resulted in railroad
workers who worked for the Pennyslvania Railroad company trying to protest the wage cuts
through work strikes.
C.
Organization of the American Federation of Labor
By the end of the 1880s both attempts to organize large masses of factory workers and
to turn the workers' movement on a radical path had failed. This gave the craft unions the
opportunity to organize, and the craft unions dominated the workers' movement until the mid-
1930s.
Surprisingly the craft trade union movement is a radical branch of labor. The
International I as an organization of predominantly Marxist workers had declared a trade
union program as opposed to a purely political movement. People like Samuel Gompers and
Adolph Strasser were greatly influenced by these remarks and began to form a strong trade
union among the cigar-making workers.
The union immediately focused its attention on wages and hours, beneficial factors
such as unemployment insurance, discipline and organization, and the raising of a central fund
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as a financial reserve. The union waged several vigorous struggles against the employers in its
field, eventually winning its battle.
In its struggle, the cigar makers' union under the leadership of Samuel Gompers fought
against the employers and in the face of organizational problems, work discipline, moral
strength and the mind of the leadership of the cigar workers' union changed.
Figure 11: FBA President, Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was born in England and migrated to the United States as a young
man.At first in the United States Samuel was attracted to Marxist thought, but in the course of
time Samuel soon abandoned Marxist thought which he considered a utopian-revolutionary
ideal of socialism and occupied himself with the organization of his work in the craft industry.
Although he never formally abandoned his interest in mass labor organizations, he
adhered to the principles of craft organizations, that is, organizations related to one type of
work or skill.
Samuel Gompers presided over the elevation of all workers in the United States to the
level of "skilled labor. "Later his lack of interest in radicalism was transformed into open
opposition.Samuel became a strong opponent of socialism, for in his view socialism was
economically unsound, socially wrong, and industrially impossible.In his opposition to
radicalism and industrial unionism, in his emphasis on the political neutrality of labor, in his
concern for short-term goals, Samuel epitomized conservative unionism in the United States.
Although craft union leaders were able to distance themselves from skilled workers,
certain forces pushed skilled workers into the National Federation of Labor. By the 1880s, the
growth of industrialization in the United States had spread to the regions and was marked by
the emergence of industrial organizational forces at the national level, the formation of
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business associations, and the establishment of the National Federation of Labor nationwide,
growing management power that local skilled labor unions could not match.
Moreover, craft unions entered the national labor federation out of fear of unskilled
workers who, with the use of machinery, would undermine the work of craft workers. As a
result, in 1881, six unions of printers, carpenters, cigar makers, iron and steel workers, iron
pourers, and glass makers met in Pittsburgh and formed the Federation of Organized Trades
and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada.
The Federation of Industrial and Craft Workers of the United States and Canada was
an alliance of craft unions and dissident groups within the Knights of Labor. After a struggle,
unskilled labor was admitted to the union, but the principles of widespread social reform were
rejected in favor of a program of economic reform, the Children's Reform Act, the
Immigration Control Act, the Abolition of Imprisonment of Laborers and others that
concerned any improvement in the lot of the workers. The model for the organization's
constitution was the British Trade Union Congress. However, the Federation of Industrial and
Craft Workers of the United States and Canada encountered a number of obstacles in its early
years, including a lack of financial resources and a lack of success in attracting trade unions as
members.
The growth of the organization was unstable, with 45,000 members by 1886, while the
organization's income at its second annual conference in 1882 was Ȿ 700.
Initially, the Federation of Industrial and Craft Trade Unions of the United States and
Canada entered into an alliance with the Knights of Labor because the leaders of these
organizations were also members of the Knights of Labor and there was mutual sympathy
between the two organizations.
The events of the Chicago steamroller strike and the haymarket riot of 1886 led to the
split of the two organizations.The Federation of Industrial and Craft Workers of the United
States and Canada threw itself into the struggle. They positioned themselves as leaders of the
struggle, which was essentially an awakening of the common people.
Powderly as president of the Knights of Labor was strongly opposed to the strike
because he felt concerned that a major conflict between the Knights of Labor and the
corporate and government forces would harm the Knights of Labor.
At the December 1889 annual conference of the Federation of Industrial and Craft
Trade Unions of the United States and Canada in the town of Colubus in the state of Ohio, the
issue of the dispute between the Federation of Industrial and Craft Trade Unions of the United
States and Canada and the Knights of Labor in relation to the failed strike action at the
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Chicago presses and the Haymarket riot of 1886 was discussed.
At a conference attended by delegates from 25 Unions, they claimed that the
Federation of Industrial and Craft Workers' Unions of the United States and Canada had been
weak and too pedantic to implement the workers' program and that the organization had failed
to attract members.
At the conference, Samuel Gompers criticized the Federation of Industrial and Craft
Workers' Unions of the United States and Canada for having a radical movement and
believing in class struggle and that such a movement was incompatible with the conditions of
the working class in the United States which lacked class consciousness and prioritized job
consciousness. This is because the working class in the United States is divided among racial,
religious, linguistic, and cultural groups and even the workers in the United States prioritize
job consciousness over working class consciousness.
The failure of the 1886 strike at the Chicago presses and the Haymarket breakdown
under the leadership of the Federation of Industrial and Craft Workers of the United States
and Canada ended disastrously, causing workers to become discouraged and disinclined to
join the Federation of Industrial and Craft Workers of the United States and Canada.
Samuel Gompers proposed to form a labor organization as a forum for workers in the
United States and the movement was tailored to the layers of workers in the United States.
The proposal received support from most of the leaders of the Federation of Industrial and
Craft Trade Unions of the United States and Canada.
At this conference, the leaders of the Federation of Industrial and Craft Workers'
Unions of the United States and Canada realized that the movement of the federation did not
correspond to the strata of the working class in the United States and they agreed to form a
federation of trade unions in the United States whose movement was adapted to the strata of
the working class in America.
The conference successfully formed the American Federation of Labor on December
8, 1886 and elected Samuel Gompers as its first president.The Federation of Industrial and
Craft Workers' Unions of the United States and Canada was later dissolved.
By 1791 there were several labor unions in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston,
including unions for shoemakers, printers, and clothiers. By 1835 there were more than 50
labor unions in New York City, Philadelphia, Newark, Boston, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and
Louisville (Local Unions). In 1836, the National Trade Union was formed in early 1836 in
New York City.This organization fought for a 10-hour workday among its members.
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In 1866, the National Labor Union was born in Baltimore. This organization
demanded in federal court that labor unions be guaranteed legal protection, demanded 8 hours
of work every day, demanded decent labor wages, and demanded various other social
guarantees. In 1868, Congress set the working hours of labor at 8 hours per day.
In 1884 the National Labor Union was recognized by the United States government as
a legal entity, and in that year the United States government also established the United States
Bureau of Labor. On December 28, 1869 the Knights of Labor.
In the 1820s workers in the Northern United States still worked long hours and
received low wages, working an average of 12 hours per day, and up to 14 hours per day in
the summer, and receiving an average wage of between $1 and $1.50 per day. In the 1860s,
the average skilled laborer and machinist in the cities received between $1.50 and $2.00 a
day, while the average unskilled laborer in the mines and railroads received between $1 and
$1.25 a day.
The Knights of Labor was originally a guild of Philadelphia's dressmaking aristocracy,
but thanks to the conscientiousness of its members and leaders, the organization was willing
to accept members from a wide range of skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled laborers
regardless of occupation.
The Knights of Labor was born to consolidate the workers in the United States who
were still scattered because before this organization was formed, the trade union movement in
the United States did not yet have a consciousness. The presence of the Knights of Labor is
expected to solve all the difficulties of the workers as a result of the exploitation of the
employers so as to improve the socio-economic life of the workers in the United States.
About
1. What were the socio-economic conditions of labor in the Northern United States until
1886?
2. What is the FBA's strategy in the labor movement in the Northern United States?
3. What caused the Federation of Industrial and Craft Labor Unions of the United States and
Canada to disband?
UNITED STATES INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II:
A. United States involvement in World War I
The First World War when translated into Indonesian is literally the First World War.
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The term (1914-1918) was first coined in 1920 by Lieutenant-Colonel Repington.World War
I, also known as the Great World War, the United Nations War, and also known as the War to
End All Wars, was a world conflict that took place in 1914-1918.
They played a major role in World War I between the Triple Alliance, a military
alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (1882-1914), and the Triple Entente, a
military alliance between Britain, France and Russia (1907-1914). The Triple Alliance
members supported each other in the face of the Triple Entente's attacks.
When Germany and Austria-Hungary found themselves at war in August 1914 against
the Triple Entente (Britain and France), whereas, Russia and, Italy pledged to support the
Triple Entente. Subsequently Italy entered the conflict on the side of the Entente against
Austria-Hungary in May 1915 and Germany in August 1916.
Meanwhile, Turkey joined the Triple Alliance because it was hostile to Russia over
the issue of Warm Water politics, and when World War I broke out, Turkey immediately
sided with Germany and attacked Russia in Odessa, Sebastopol. Eventually the Etente Bloc
declared war on Turkey. Likewise, Austria in this war preferred the Triple Alliance Bloc
because Russia, which was in the Allied Bloc, posed a threat to Austria in the Balkan
Peninsula.
The United States, which was originally neutral towards the war, eventually involved
itself in this war by joining the Etente Bloc (Allied Bloc). The background to the United
States' involvement in World War I can be traced back to the presidency of President James
Monroe (1817-1825).
World War I started in Europe in 1914. The United States did not take part in World
War I at first. They felt they had a neutral right not to take sides. However, the two blocs in
the war, the Triple Entente (Allied Powers) and the Triple Alliance (Axis Powers), tried to
influence the United States to join their blocs. However, because both Britain (Allied) and
Germany (U.S.) were perceived by the United States to be carrying out provocative activities
such as ordering weapons from America and harassing American ships sailing in free waters,
President Woodrow Wilson's administration protested to both parties.
B. United States involvement in World War II
World War II was a global military conflict that took place from September 1, 1939 to
September 2, 1945 involving most of the world's countries, including all the major powers
divided into two opposing military alliances: the Allied Powers (e.g. Britain, France, the
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United States, the Netherlands) and the Axis Powers (e.g. Germany, Italy, Japan). It was the
largest war in history, involving more than 100 million personnel.
In a state of total war, the parties involved mobilize all economic, industrial, and
scientific resources to serve the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and
military resources.More than 70,000 people, the majority civilians, died. This made World
War II the deadliest conflict in human history.
Generally, it can be said that the war began when Germany invaded Poland on
September 1, 1939 and ended on August 14, 1945 when Japan surrendered to the United
States Army. World War II officially ended when Japan signed the Japanese Instrument of
Surrender on board the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, 6 years after the war began.
The aggressive and expansionistic nature of German, Italian, and Japanese
totalitarianism, as demonstrated by Adolf Hitler's annexation of Austria into German territory
in 1938 and the Sudeten region of Czechoslovakia became Germany's next target, or as
demonstrated by Japan's successful invasion of China in 1931, long before World War II
began in Europe and Japan's takeover of Manchuria on March 1, 1931, which was also the
beginning of World War II.
The people of the United States, disappointed by the failure of the struggle to defend
democracy in World War I, announced that they would not provide assistance to any country
in any form in order to prevent US involvement in a non-American war and refused to
recognize the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria. Hitler's re-annexation of
Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France raised the concern and
anger of the United States that the combined forces threatening European security would soon
threaten the United States as well.
The United States immediately announced its participation in the World War
II. On January 6, 1942. President Roosevelt announced great production goals such as the
completion of 60,000 aircraft in 1942, 45,000 tanks, 20,000 air-defense cannons, and 18
million heavy tons of merchant shipping. Under a series of mobilization laws, the United
States armed forces were increased in number to
15,100,000 people. By the end of 1943 around 65,000,000 people were in uniform or working
in positions connected with the war.
Japan planned an attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 without warning of a
declaration of war; resulting in severe damage to the United States Pacific Fleet. The next
day, Japanese troops arrived in Hong Kong, causing the surrender of British forces on
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Christmas Day in December 1941. Japan also attacked US air bases in the Philippines, Hong
Kong, Malaya, Borneo and Burma with the further intention of controlling the oil fields in the
Dutch East Indies. The invasion of the Dutch East Indies began with Japanese attacks on
Labuan, Brunei, Singapore, the Malay Peninsula, Palembang, Tarakan Kalimantan (January
11, 1942), Balik Papan (January 24, 1942), Pontianak (29 January 1942), Samarinda
(February 3, 1942), Banjarmasin (February 10, 1942), Batavia (March 5, 1942). The Dutch
East Indies government unconditionally surrendered to Japan after Japan threatened to bomb
Bandung. United States forces successfully thwarted a Japanese naval attack on Port
Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Australian and US forces recaptured the Solomon Islands, New
Guinea and the Dutch East Indies from Japan in 1943, New Britain and New Ireland (1944).
SUMMARY
The background to the United States' involvement in World War II is as follows:
The aggressive and expansionist nature of German, Italian and Japanese
totalitarianism as demonstrated by Hitler annexing Austria into German territory in 1938 and
the Sudeten region of Czechoslovakia became Germany's next target. Or as shown by Japan's
successful invasion of China in 1931, long before World War II began in Europe and Japan's
takeover of Manchuria on March 1, 1931 which was also the beginning of World War II. The
people of the United States, disappointed by the failure of the struggle to defend democracy in
World War I, announced that they would not provide assistance to any country in any form in
order to prevent the involvement of the United States in a non-American war and refused to
recognize the state in a non-American war and refused to recognize the Japanese-made puppet
state of Manchukuo in Manchuria. Hitler's successful annexation of Poland, Denmark,
Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France made the United States fear and anger that the
combined forces that threatened European security would soon threaten the United States as
well.
About
1. What is World War I?
2. What is World War II?
3. Explain the United States' involvement in World War I.
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Key Answer:
1. The term First World War (1914-1918) was first coined in 1920 by Lieutenant-Colonel
Repington. World War I was a world conflict that occurred in 1914-1918 between the Triple
Alliance as a military alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (1882-1914) against
the Triple Etente as a military alliance between Britain, France, and Russia (1907-1914).
2. World War II was a global military conflict that took place from September 1, 1939 to
September 2, 1945 involving most of the world's countries, including all the major powers
divided into two opposing military alliances: the Allied Powers (Britain, France, the United
States, Russia, etc.) and the Axis Powers (e.g. Germany, Italy, Japan).
3. The United States immediately announced its participation in the World War
II. On January 6, 1942. President Roosevelt announced great production goals such as the
completion of 60,000 aircraft in 1942, 45,000 tanks, 20,000 air-defense cannons, and 18
million heavy tons of merchant shipping. Under a series of mobilization laws, the United
States armed forces were increased to 15,100,000 men. By the end of 1943 about
