#3 N.M. Helps Win WWII

#3 New Mexico Helps Win WWII

Objective: I will be able to explain

#1 Why many Japanese Americans were held in special camps in N.M. during WWII.

#2 How the war helped create jobs and boost N.M.'s economy.

Japanese Internment

The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor created fear that the Japanese would invade the West Coast of the United States. Some people thought Japanese Americans living on the West Coast might give information or aid to Japan during such an attack. The U.S. government considered anyone of Japanese ancestry a security risk.

Japanese Internment

On March 2,1942, more than 110,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast were given relocation orders. This meant they were required to leave their homes and move to special camps set up by the government. It did not matter that most of these people were citizens of the United States. Many Japanese Americans lost their homes, cars, and businesses. 

Japanese Internment

Japanese American families were sent to inland relocation camps for most of the war. Men who were thought to be the most dangerous were separated from their families and sent to special internment camps. These special camps had much tighter security.

Multiple Choice

During World War II many Japanese Americans were sent to live in Internment camps.

• False

• True

Japanese Internment

New Mexico had two internment camps, in Santa Fe and Lordsburg. More than 4,500 men of Japanese descent spent the war surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards in New Mexico. The sons of many of these prisoners fought for the United States in the army, navy, or marines. Most of the prisoners were unfairly accused of plotting against the United States.

Making Amends

Japanese Americans were gradually freed when the war ended. Years later, the U.S. government admitted relocation and internment violated the rights of Japanese Americans. As a result, Congress issued a formal apology and agreed to pay $20,000 to every surviving Japanese American who had been relocated during the war.

Multiple Select

In 1988 President Ronald Reagan...(check all that apply)

• Apologized to the Japanese Americans

• Payed every camp survivor $20,000

• Said nothing about the U.S. being wrong

• Gave every person a Toyota car

Pow Camps

In addition to the internment camps, New Mexico had two main POW camps, located in Roswell and Lordsburg, and 21 branch camps. German and Italian POWs held in these camps worked on nearby farms and ranches. With so many Americans away at war, the POWs helped grow crops and raise livestock. Unlike the American POWs in the Philippines, POWs in New Mexico were treated well. They were provided with good food, shelter, and medical attention. 

Multiple Select

What TWO towns in New Mexico held Prisoners Of War during WWII?

• Dulce

• Lordsburg

• Albuquerque

• Roswell

Multiple Select

What TWO countries were the POWs held in Lordsburg and Roswell from?

• Italy

• Poland

• Soviet Union

• Germany

The War Ends

In May 1945, Germany surrendered, ending the war in Europe. Sons, brothers, and husbands came home. Sadly, President Roosevelt had died a month before Germany's surrender.

The War Ends

Although the war in Europe was over, it still raged on in the Pacific. Harry Truman, the new president, had to make a terrible decision. Should the United States invade Japan to end the war at the estimated loss of a million American and Japanese lives? Should the United States try to end the war quickly by using its powerful new weapon, the atomic bomb? 

The War Ends

After much consideration, President Truman decided to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb completely destroyed the city and instantly killed as many as 70,000 people. When the Japanese did not immediately surrender, Truman gave the order to drop a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki.

Multiple Select

Which TWO cities did President Truman give the orders to use the Atomic Bomb on?

• Hiroshima

• Berlin

• Tokyo

• Nagasaki

Multiple Choice

How many people died instantly in the Atomic Explosion over Hiroshima?

• Nobody died

• 700 people died

• 7,000 people died

• 70,000 people died

The War Ends

It was a terrible tragedy for the Japanese people. The country's leaders knew they had to surrender. The war with Japan finally ended-three months after it had ended in Europe. Once again, there were celebrations across America. 

Multiple Choice

Who was president when the World War II ended?

• Franklin Roosevelt

• Harry Truman

• Herbert Hoover

• Dwight Eisenhower

Multiple Select

What finally ended the war in the Pacific? (check ALL that Apply)

• The bombing of Nagasaki

• The Bombing of Tokyo

• The Bombing of Pearl Harbor

• The bombing of Hiroshima

Wartime Economy

While the war brought horror and

destruction to much of Europe and

Asia. it brought economic prosperity to the United States. Businesses opened to supply wartime demands. There seemed to be war-related jobs for everyone.

The Wartime Economy

Thousands of New Mexicans helped win World War II without joining the military. The Manhattan Project employed the most people. More than 1,000 men and women worked there, including hundreds from nearby communities like Espanola and San Ildefonso. Los Alamos became a boomtown overnight.

Working At Airbases

Air bases around the state also employed many civilians. A civilian is a person who is not enlisted in the military. Towns with nearby air bases benefited with increased populations and increased business needs. 

Wartime Economy

New Mexico's farmers and ranchers once again helped supply food. The state's coal mines produced more coal than ever before. Oil wells, which first produced oil in New Mexico in the 1920s, pumped more and more "black gold" in the 1940s. The oil industry was centered in two main parts of the state-the southeast near Hobbs and the northwest near Farmington.

Multiple Select

The Oil industry was located in which TWO main areas of New Mexico?

• Silver City

• Albuquerque

• Hobbs

• Farmington

Role Of Women

Women played important roles in both World War I and World War II. in both wars, women took over at home and at work for the men who had to fight in battle. The contributions women made during World War I helped to convince many Americans to support the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. 

Multiple Choice

What did the 19th Amendment give women?

• The right to work

• The right to Sing

• The right to vote

• The right to run for office

The Bracero Program

The war was also a turning point for Mexican migration to the United States. With so many men and women in the military, there were not enough farm workers in many states, including New Mexico.

Bracero Program

The U.S. and Mexican governments helped solve this labor shortage with the Bracero Program. A bracero was a temporary farm worker from Mexico. Between 1942 and 1964 more than four million Mexicans worked in the United States as braceros.

Bracero Program

Large groups of braceros came to the United States through border towns in New Mexico and Texas. Their arrival in New Mexico added to the state's cultural diversity,. Their hard work helped win the war and boost the state's economy. At the end of the war, many Mexican workers lost their jobs to returning servicemen and women. But many remained in the country and became American citizens and community leaders. 

Multiple Choice

A migrant worker who came from Mexico to the United States to work during World War II was know as a...

• bracero

• bronco

• bravo

• migrant

Open Ended

Exit Ticket: What happened to the braceros at the end of WWII?