Brazil and the US in World War II Notes

Background

1. The Second World War (1939–1945) reshaped the political, economic, and social order of the Americas.
2. While many countries began as neutral, the fall of France (1940) and the attack on Pearl Harbor (1941) brought the Western Hemisphere into active defense cooperation.
3. The United States emerged as a global power through total mobilization, while Brazil became the only Latin American country to send troops overseas.

United States

1. Entry into War:
   1. The U.S. entered the conflict after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941).
   2. Declared war on Japan, followed by Germany and Italy on December 11.
2. Military Participation:
   1. The U.S. fought on multiple fronts (Europe, the Pacific, North Africa, and the Atlantic.)
   2. Created massive military operations such as D-Day (1944) and the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb.
3. Economic Mobilization:
   1. Established the War Production Board and Office of Price Administration to direct industrial output.
   2. Unemployment fell below 2%, ending the Depression.
   3. Women joined the workforce in large numbers, symbolized by Rosie the Riveter.
   4. Wartime production gave rise to the military-industrial complex and long-term U.S. economic dominance.
4. Social and Political Effects:
   1. Wartime propaganda promoted unity but exposed racial inequality.
   2. The Double V campaign demanded victory against fascism abroad and racism at home.
   3. Japanese Americans faced internment under Executive Order 9066, showing the contradictions of wartime democracy.
   4. The war consolidated U.S. global leadership and laid the foundations for the United Nations (1945).