The document provides information about World War II and its impact on Minnesota. It discusses how the US entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. It describes how the war effort mobilized Minnesota's manufacturing, agriculture, iron mining and timber industries. It discusses rationing and other sacrifices on the home front. Over 300,000 Minnesotans served in the military. The document shares personal stories of Minnesotans during the war and describes key events like D-Day and the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan.

1. Chapter 16
World War II
Parent Signature Due: Thursday, 5/28
Test: Wednesday, 6/3

2. Vocabulary
1. Axis - the nations that fought against the Allies during
World War II, led by Germany, Italy, and Japan
2. Allies - the nations that fought against the Axis powers
during World War II, led by Great Britain, the Soviet Union,
and the United States
3. civilian - a person not on active military duty during a
war
4. home front - the area of civilian (nonmilitary) activity
during a war

3. 5. rationing - limiting the amount of certain foods or
materials that one is allowed to purchase
6. victory garden - a private or community garden
that people planted to help relieve food shortages
during wartime
7. draft - to select and require people to serve in the
military

4. Objectives
After completing this chapter, students will be able to:
1. explain in general terms why the United States entered World
War II,
2 describe how the war economy affected Minnesota’s
manufacturing, agricultural, iron mining, and timber industries,
3. name ways Americans supported the war from the home front,
4. give examples of the personal impact of World War II on
Minnesotans,
5. tell who won the war.

5. War in Europe
Germany’s dictator - Adolf Hitler promised to restore the strength and
pride his nation had enjoyed before being defeated in WWI.
1939 - German troops invaded Poland
Great Britain, France and several other countries declared war on
Germany
1940 - Germany had defeated Poland and occupied much of Eastern
Europe. German troops swept through Denmark, Norway, the
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.
1941- Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Great Britain suffered
nightly bombing and feared invasion.

6. In the 1930s, Japan invaded northern China, Korea, and parts
of Southeast Asia to expand its empire and get the valuable
natural resources these countries had.
The United States wanted to stay out of the war in Europe.
But Great Britain was our friend and we started sending them
supplies and the countries taken over by Japan were our
trading partners, so we considered Japan to be a military
threat.
We tried negotiating with Japan, but it didn’t seem to take.

7. WWII was the deadliest and most widespread
conflict in history - nations from every continent
except for Antarctica became involved.
Axis powers had control of areas in the Pacific,
Europe, and North Africa.

8. War Hits
the United States
December 7, 1941 - Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl
Harbor Hawaii and this is what brought the U.S. into the war.
The U.S. joined Great Britain and the Soviet Union and we
became known as the Allies. Germany, Italy, and Japan became
known as the Axis powers.
WWII brought new jobs and pumped money into the
economy.
WWII also forced almost everyone to make sacrifices.

9. Going to War
Separation of Powers
When it comes to war, our Constitution divides responsibility
between two different branches of government -
The executive branch (the president) is the commander of the
armed forces.
The legislative branch (the congress) has the power to declare war.
A formal “declaration of war” requires the president to ask
Congress to pass legislation declaring war and then the president
signs it.
In U.S. history, only five wars have begun because of
formal declarations of war.

10. Declaration of War
1. War of 1812
2. Mexican-American War
3. Spanish-American War
4. World War I
5. World War II

11. The Home Front
Civilians (those not in active military service) spent the war at home in
MN - on the home front.
William Cummings was in his 20s when WWII started. He and his wife
Betty followed the war news and were constantly worried that William
would be drafted. He kept a diary. On December 7, 1941 wrote that
he was surprised that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor and
declared war on the U.S. He found it hard to believe that the U.S. was
now in the war and he thought about his friend who was a gunner’s
mate in the Navy - somewhere in the Pacific.

12. War Work - How were Mn manufacturing,
Agriculture, Iron Ore, and Timber industires affected by
the war?
In November of 1941 (before Pearl Harbor),William heard about
the good paying jobs at the new ammunition plant that was
opening in New Brighton. Ever since 1939, when the war had
begun in Europe, the U.S. had been sending food and weapons to
the Soviet Union and Great Britain to help them. This and the
knowledge that the U.S. would need supplies if it entered the war
made production increase for war-related suppplies. William got a
job at the plant inspecting bullets.
William wrote in his diary about seeing long freight trains carrying
army trucks on the flat cars - a sign of ramped up war supply
production.

13. Manufacturing
When the U.S. entered the war, some manufacturers started
making different products. For example, Munsingwear
(underwear company) started making military clothing.
Crown Iron Works started making portable bridges and
pontoons. Anderson Corporation (window manufacturer)
started making huts that could be easily set up and taken
down for the military. Hormel (meat processing plant in
Austin) started making millions of cans of Spam luncheon
meat to feed soldiers and civilians.

14. Agriculture
MN farmers increased their production during the war, but a
shortage of farm workers made it difficult - many men had gone
off to war and others had taken high-paying defense jobs in the
cities.
The U.S. government tried to help this labor shortage by
excusing farmers from military service, urging women, children
and the elderly to pitch in, and by arranging for German and
Italian POWs to work alongside immigrants from Mexico,
Jamaica and Barbados on the farms.

15. Iron Ore and Timber
• World War II put new demands on MN’s iron ore and timber
industries. Mines on the Iron Range had been shut down
during the Great Depression but in order to make things
needed for the war, these mines went back to full-time
production because iron ore was needed to make guns, tanks,
bombs and ships.
• The timber industry couldn’t keep up with the demand for
paper products so it hired 4,000 more loggers and eventually
began using POWs.

16. Making Sacrifices
• By the spring of 1942, the U.S. started a system of
rationing to limit the amount of certain items that
people could buy so that the soldiers would have
enough – things like sugar. By 1943, the Allies needed
25% of all the food the U.S. could produce and other
items began to be rationed – meat, milk, eggs, soups,
juices, canned, dried, frozen fruits and vegetables.
• Each item was worth a certain number of points and
each person was allowed a certain number of points.
Ration books with point value stamps were used.

17. • Hildred Long struggled with rationing – “it will
amount to about one can per week per person.”
• William Cummings stocked up on sugar before
rationing took effect.

18. More ways to pitch in
• To make up for the small amount of food that people
got through rationing, many people started to grow
their own fruits and vegetables inVictory Gardens.
• Consumer goods (safety pins, refrigerators, cars, tires)
became very hard to find.
• Raw materials (copper, brass, steel, rubber) and
gasoline were being used for military so it was
rationed too. More people walked or took the bus
and people were encouraged to carpool.
• By late 1943, even nylon stockings (hose) was in short
supply.

19. • Americans also bought war bonds – loans of money
to the government that it promised to pay back, with
interest, after the war. William Cummings considered
buying war bonds to be his patriotic duty.
• Boy Scouts helped by gathering scrap metal.

20. Government regulation during the war – policy
designed to control an aspect of the economy to
promote the public well-being
• The government regulated the economy during the war by:
• 1) controlling the distribution of the food supply by
rationing
• 2) making large purchases with certain industries – like the
iron ore industry; iron ore was needed to make ships and
planes
• The Iron Range in MN thrived because of the need for
iron ore.

21. Joining the Fight
• More than 300,000 MN men and women enlisted or were
drafted into military service. They served in Europe,Africa,
the Pacific, and throughout the U.S.
• Dakota and Ojibwe also served in the military – some as
Code Talkers who created codes in their native language so
the enemy would not understand messages containing battle
plans.
• In 1942, the military offered new service opportunities for
women. They still couldn’t fight in battles but they could be
in a military division like the WACs,WASPs,WAVEs.

22. • African Americans continued to face discrimination in both
military and civilian life. They were in segregated units and
almost always did the lower-skilled jobs.
• William Cummings decided to enlist but did not pass the
medical exam so he was turned down by the military.
• Hildred Long’s husband Frank did go to fight in the Pacific in
1945, but he never saw battle. Germany surrendered in May
and in August, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on
Nagasaki and Hiroshima and Japan surrendered a few weeks
later on September 2nd
.

23. • D Day - June 6, 1944 – the invasion of Europe – Allies
land in France
• VE Day – (Victory in Europe) – May 8, 1945 – still fighting
Japan
• Atomic Bomb dropped – August 7, 1945 (Hiroshima)
• Atomic Bomb dropped – August 9, 1945 (Nagasaki)
• The two bombings killed 120,000 and many thousands
more died later from radiation poisoning.

24. Japanese Americans in MN
• After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government agents in MN
ordered Japanese citizens in MN to stay inside their homes.
They were afraid of spies. People protested the unfairness of
this and in the end, no enemies were found in MN.
• MN’s tolerant attitude toward the Japanese Minnesotans led
army captain Kai Rasmussen to locate the Military Intelligence
Service Language School here. It had been in CA. It was first
at Savage, MN and then moved to Ft. Snelling. Here students
were trained to translate Japanese codes into English and
research the Japanese armed forces.

25. After the War
• About 8,000 Minnesotans were killed in WWII. Some
went missing and were never found and countless
others were wounded – emotionally and physically.
They were greeted as heroes.
• Higher production rates had strengthened the
economy and ended the Great Depression.

26. • Leland Rowberg of Northfield was a 21 year old soldier
when he arrived in France in August, 1944. He was in
the army infantry, fighting under General George Patton
to drive the Germans out of France. He wrote home
often, but was limited in what he could say in his letters
because of security concerns. He spoke of the fanatical
Germans he had seen. His parents felt helpless and
were always worried. Leland never read any of these
letters – he was killed October 9, 1944. They received a
telegram saying he was first missing, then dead.

27. Chapter 15 - Boom and Bust Test
11. List at least 3 pieces of evidence to support the following
statement.
By 1933, most Americans considered Prohibition to be a mistake.
Drinking had not decreased. Crime had increased because of Prohibition.
People were making and selling illegal alcohol. Bootleggers bribed government
officials to protect their businesses. Gangsters controlled the illegal liquor
supply.

28. 12. What efforts did private organizations make to help
relieve the Great Depression?
The Salvation Army provided welfare - money or necessities - to people
without jobs or homes. Others provided vouchers for meals and lodging
to homeless people.

29. 13. How was life changing for people during the Jazz Age?
Women cut their hair, shortened their skirts, and were doing things like
attending college, taking clerical office jobs, driving cars, and voting. Jazz
music and new dancing styles were becoming popular. People drank illegal
alcohol at speakeasies.

30. 14. How did the New Deal change the role of the
federal government?
The New Deal enlarged the federal government. The government
started to regulate banks and the stock market, and began
programs that assisted farmers and unemployed workers.

31. 15. What was one impact the Indian New Deal had on
American Indians?
The Indian Reorganization Act gave American Indian nations more
control over their own affairs. It ended the policy of allotment and
enabled tribes to create independent tribal governments. The
Johnson O’Malley Act gave public schools money to covert the costs
of educating American Indian children rather than providing
separate schools for them.

32. Choose ONE of the following questions and answer
in a short paragraph.
What factors combined to lead to the Great
Depression?
In the 1920s, investors bought stock shares at low prices, and the
stock prices quickly increased. Investors kept buying despite the
risk, often spending all of their money. In 1929, stock prices fell
quickly, and investors scrambed to sell their stocks before they lost
all of their value. Investors couldn’t find anyone to buy, and with no
buyers, the value of stocks sank lower. Businesses laid off workers,
and as more people lost their jobs, they were unable to purchase
goods, which led to even more businesses closing.

33. Choose ONE of the following questions and answer
in a short paragraph.
16. How did farmers try to improve their economic situation
during the 1920s and ‘30s?
Some farmers banded together to create the Farmer’s Holiday Association,
and one of the group’s main goals was keeping food from getting to the
market until prices rose. They held back farm products until the smaller
supply led to greater demand, which drove up prices. The Association also
tried to help protect farmers from foreclosure. They bought farms for pennies
from banks and sold them back to their original owners. Farmers also tried to
feed their families with the resources available, and they took advantage of
government help when it arrived as part of the New Deal. Some farmers
adapted their farming operations and turned to mild cows rather than crop
farming.

34. Gangsters
Clue #1 - A Drive-By - Chevrolet Coupe; three suspects; license plate
registered to E.V. Davis; machine gun
Clue #2 - A Banker is Kidnapped! - had guns; at least three men; Bremer
blindfolded; long drive; ransom note
Clue #3 - A Suspicious Couple - apartment near where ransom call was
made; couple left night of kidnapping; short, sandy-complexioned man not
flashily dressed; Dar, Irish-brougued woman who identified herself as Mrs.
B.; small, black wire-wheeled coupe
Clue #4 - FBI Memo - Barker-Karpis gang seen in St. Paul;Volney Davis;
Harry Campbell;Arthur “Doc” Barker; Fred Barker;Alvin Karpis
Clue #5 - A Strange Purchase - dark jacket; boots, cap; bought 3 flashlights,
bulbs, batteries; asked for red lenses; medium height, kind of thin man

35. Clue #6 - The Barker-Karpis Gang - Alvin Karpis: medium brown
hair, fair complexion, medium height, slim build; Fred Barker: sandy
hair, medium complexion, short, slim build;Arthur “Doc” Barker:
dark (chestnut) hair, medium complexion, short, medium build; Ma
Barker: short and older
Clue #7 - The Ransom is Paid - black Chevrolet Coupe; three
flashes of red; blue cap
Clue #8 - Bremer is Returned - long drive; gas cans; machine gun?
Clue #9 - Gas Cans Discovered - gas cans and a funnel found in
WI; fingerprints of Arthur Barker on one gas can

36. Build your case
1. I think the kidnappers were....
The following were actually convicted - Arthur “Doc” Barker, Fred
Barker,Alvin Karpis,Volney Davis, Harry Campbell
2. I think their reasons for committing the crime were...
Gangsters could no longer make money through alcohol sales, so they
thought ransom money would replace previous income; greed.

37. The Evidence
3. The evidence I have against each criminal is ...
Evidence against specific people:
Arthur “Doc” Barker - fingerprints on gas can
Fred Barker - matches description of man in apartment
Alvin Karpis - bought flashlights, asked for red lenses
Volney Davis - owned car in McCord shooting

38. The Evidence
General evidence against Barker-Karpis gang -
seen in St. Paul during kidnapping
three or more men did the kidnapping
connected to black Chevrolet Coupe used in crimes
group disappeared from apartment the night of the kidnapping