chapter_16_section_4_notes.ppt | |
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The Selective Training and Service Act -
How it Worked.
Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 on July 1st, 1940 by a total of one vote. It is the first peacetime draft in U.S history. The closeness of the vote shows how so many people in this country still wanted us to remain out of the conflicts going on in Europe, Africa, and Asia. FDR signed the Act into law in mid September. It required all males between the ages of 21 and 36 to register for the draft. By the registration deadline in mid October, over 16 million men had done so (and received a card like the one shown in the picture below). When men registered they were assigned a serial number from 1 to 8,500 by their local Draft Board (there were 6,500 Draft Boards around the country... usually at places like City Halls). A 10-gallon bowl was filled with 8,500 capsules, each containing a number between 1 and 8,500. Two weeks after the registration deadline, FDR watched as Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson plucked the first numbers in the draft from a bowl filled with capsules (shown in the postcard above). The first number drawn was 158 . Accordingly the man in each Local Board area who was assigned no. 158 became the FIRST to be called in his own Local Board area under the Act, and his “order number” became no. 1 ! All the numbers drawn were then placed on a large piece of sticky cardboard in the order they were drawn . The Local Draft Boards then all received copies of this list, and when called upon to get more men, they sent notices to the men with the next number on their list. Local draft boards classified individuals in more than a dozen different categories. Some were 1-A, meaning "available for military service;" others were classified as 4-F which were rejected as "physically, mentally or morally unfit for service." In all, 16 million Americans served their country during the war. Some were volunteers, but the vast majority were drafted under the terms of that controversial act of 1940.
Newsreel footage of the draft lottery
Lend-Lease Propaganda
This is a 5 minute segment off of one of the Why We Fight documentaries created by Hollywood director Frank Capra (he's an ID in chapter 17) during WWII. It explains the purpose of U.S. government policy (in this case... the lend - lease act) to people attending a movie in the U.S. Again... there was no TV for people to turn on back then. This type of visual propaganda was very effective at rallying public opinion around the U.S. government's decisions.
The Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Don't be like Blutarski
This may be one of the best lines from what I consider one of the funniest movies of all time... Animal House. The movie is about a college fraternity that is way more concerned about partying than getting a good education. When the adminstration decides to not allow the fraternity (and all of its members) to participate in the college anymore, its members are dejected. John Belushi's character (Blutarski... who has a zero point zero grade point average by the way), gives a rousing speech to try to persuade his fraternity brothers to do something about it. Don't be a Blutarski and answer the question "Who bombed Pearl Harbor?" wrong on the test.
Pearl Harbor Summary
well done. About 3 minutes long
Pearl Harbor Movie
Pearl Harbor is a 3 hour long WWII drama released in May of 2001. The first 2 hours of the movie show the Japanese planning for the war, the U.S. difficulty in breaking Japanese codes or finding the Japanese Navy in the Pacific, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and FDR declaring war on Japan. The remaining hour focuses on the planning for and carrying out of Doolittle's Raid (discussed in Chapter 17 Section 3), which is the first Allied bombing of mainland Japan. Throughout the entire movie, there's a love triangle between 3 of the main characters (played by Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and Kate Beckinsale). We will see bits and pieces of the movie during class. Above is a trailer of it.
Review of most of Section 4
the US moves closer to getting involved in WWII. The Cash Carry Policy, the Lend-Lease Act, the Neutrality Act of 1939, the Selective Service Act, and the Election of 1940 are discussed. The entire video is around 5 minutes long