Hello, I'm Mr. Marchant, and thank you for joining me for today's history lesson.

I'll be guiding you through all of our resources today, and my top priority is to make sure that by the end of our lesson, you're able to successfully meet our learning objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on the New Deal and World War II in the USA where we're asking ourselves, "How far did the American economy recover in the 1930s and 1940s?" By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how the Second World War affected the American economy.

(mouse clicking) There are five key words which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are neutrality, lend lease, arsenal, rearmament, and GDP.

(mouse clicking) Neutrality involves avoiding involvement in a conflict, this includes not doing anything to help those who are fighting.

Lend lease was an American policy which involves supplying countries like Britain with wartime supplies free of charge.

An arsenal is a building or place where weapons are military equipment are made or stored.

(mouse clicking) Rearmament is the process of supplying yourself or others with new weapons to rebuild military strength, and GDP refers to the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts, and we'll begin by thinking about neutrality and war.

In September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

Within days, Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany, marking the start of the Second World War.

The USA did not go to war in 1939, the USA actually remained at peace for another two years until it was attacked by Japan in December 1941.

(mouse clicking) So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

When did the USA begin fighting in World War II? Was it when the war began in September 1939? Was it after it was attacked by Japan in December 1941? Or was it that it did not, the USA followed a policy of neutrality throughout the war? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was B.

The USA joined the Second World War in December 1941 after it was attacked by Japan.

(mouse clicking) After the end of World War One, the USA preferred neutrality to involvement in international issues.

The American Congress passed a series of neutrality acts in the 1930s, these included one in August 1935 which banned the US from making loans to countries at war, and another in May 1937 which banned the US from sending arms to countries at war.

When the Second World War began in September 1939, these neutrality acts meant that the USA wouldn't have been able to provide loans or sell weapons to countries like Britain and France who were fighting against Nazi Germany.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

I want you to change one word in the following sentence to correct it.

Our sentence reads, "The 1935 and 1937 Neutrality Acts encouraged American loans and arm sales to countries at war." So think about which word seems like it shouldn't be in this sentence and what should it be changed to.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the incorrect word in the sentence was encouraged and that that should have been changed to banned.

The 1935 and 1937 neutrality acts banned American loans and arm sales to countries at war.

(mouse clicking) Even whilst the USA was not at war, President Roosevelt declared his support for Britain and France against Nazi Germany.

Roosevelt persuaded Congress to amend the neutrality laws in 1939.

In November, the cash and carry plan was introduced, allowing Britain and France to buy weapons from the USA.

In March 1941, the USA and President Roosevelt went further, a Lend Lease agreement was made with Britain providing the UK with weapons and supplies free of charge to help it fight against Nazi Germany.

In October 1941, Lend Lease was extended to the Soviet Union following the invasion at the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany earlier that year.

So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

We have a statement on the screen that says, "President Roosevelt was sympathetic to Britain and France in their war against Nazi Germany." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was true, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that Roosevelt made statements of sympathy to Britain and France, but the neutrality acts banned him from offering more support.

The second says that Roosevelt amended the neutrality acts so that Britain and France could receive support, such as from Lend Lease aid.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, welcome to everybody who said the correct justification was B.

In 1939 the neutrality acts were amended so that Britain and France could receive support from the USA.

By 1941 this included Lend Lease aid, which provided weapons and other supplies to countries like Britain free of charge.

(mouse clicking) By the end in 1941, the USA was at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy, fighting alongside Britain and the Soviet Union.

President Roosevelt committed the USA and its economy to victory over their enemies.

(mouse clicking) So we're now ready to put all of our knowledge into practise.

There are two parts to task A.

Firstly, I want you to complete the timeline by adding in the missing events.

So there are four missing events for May 1937, November 1939, March 1941, and December 1941.

You need to write what was happening on each of those occasions.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, well done for all your effort on that task.

So your timeline should have been completed by saying that after the Neutrality Act banned loans to countries at war in August 1935, a new neutrality act was introduced banning arm sales to countries at war in May 1937.

In November 1939, cash and carry allowed arm sales to Britain and France, so this was an amendment to the neutrality laws.

In March 1941, Lend Lease aid began for Britain, and in December 1941, the USA joined World War II itself.

(mouse clicking) So now we're ready to move on to the second part of task A.

This time we have a statement that reads, "The USA only began supporting other countries like Britain and the Soviet Union after it was attacked itself." Explain how the statement is incorrect.

You can use the following sentence starters to help frame your response, "Historians can tell the statement is incorrect because.

." "For example.

." So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your answer.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So we had the statement, "The USA only began supporting other countries like Britain and the Soviet Union after it was attacked itself." Explain how the statement is incorrect.

Your answer may have included, "Historians can tell the statement is incorrect because the USA was already providing arms and other supplies to countries like Britain and the Soviet union before it was attacked by Japan in December 1941.

For example, in March 1941, the USA began providing Lend Lease aid to britain, supplying it with weapons and other goods Britain needed to fight, free of charge." So really well done if your own answer looks something similar to that model which we've just seen.

(mouse clicking) Now we can move on to the second part of our lesson for today, where we're gonna think about the arsenal of democracy.

In December 1940 Roosevelt broadcasted one of his fireside chats, this was a year before the USA actually joined the Second World War.

In his broadcast the president discussed America's interest in the war.

Study the quote on the screen from Roosevelt's fireside chat.

In it, the president says, "Europe asks us for the weapons and supplies which will help them to fight for their liberty.

We must be the great arsenal of democracy." So what did Roosevelt mean when he called the USA the great arsenal of democracy? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

(mouse clicking) Okay, so well done for all of your effort thinking about that question.

So when Roosevelt said the USA must be the great arsenal of democracy, he was supporting a policy of rearmament, especially focused on helping other countries like Britain.

Roosevelt argued that the US could manufacture and supply the products which other countries needed to fight and win the war.

During World War II, there was a huge demand for American goods from countries who were fighting, especially Britain, France, and later the Soviet Union.

This meant that rearmament began before the US actually went to war itself.

Under Lend Lease agreements, the USA provided $50 billion worth of aid to other countries during World War II.

This aid included a diverse range of goods.

By the end of 1944, over half of all Lend Lease aid was provided in the form of fighting equipment, such as guns, tanks, and ammunition.

21% of Lend Lease aid came in the form of fuel, machines, and raw materials like metals and cotton, which were needed in foreign factories.

Meanwhile, a further 13% of Lend Lease aid by late 1944 consisted of foodstuffs and other agricultural products.

From July 1943 to June 1944, the USA shipped over 6 million tonnes of planes, trucks, weapons, industrial equipment, and food to the Soviet Union alone.

(mouse clicking) So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

I want you to identify three or more products provided by the USA as part of its Lend Lease agreements with other countries.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, so I asked you to identify three or more products provided by the USA as part of its Lend Lease agreements with other countries.

So you may have identified any three from tanks, planes, ships, weapons, ammunition, machines, raw materials, fuel, and food.

What we can see from this is that a very diverse range of goods were provided as part of the USA's Lend Lease aid to its allies.

At the end of 1941 the USA formally entered World War II.

From this point onwards, American companies had to supply the US armed forces in addition to helping the country's allies.

In January 1942, the War Production Board or the WPB was created to convert American industries from peacetime work to wartime production.

Few consumer products were produced in the US as the WPB demanded companies focus on the war effort instead.

For instance, the Ford Motor Company produced bomber planes instead of cars, factories which had previously made silk ribbons began manufacturing parachutes, and some typewriter factories shifted to producing machine goods instead.

The output of US industry rose significantly during World War II, whereas 544 naval ships were built in the USA in 1941, this increased to 2,654 by 1943.

Similarly, was President Roosevelt set a target in 1941 for the USA to begin producing 50,000 fighter planes and bomber planes each year.

In 1943, US factories actually manufactured 86,000 planes, rising to 96,000 in 1944.

Increases in production were not limited to US industry, the output of American agriculture also increased significantly during World War II.

Whilst US exports of wheat had stood at 357,000 metric tonnes in 1941, this had risen to 3,504,000 metric tonnes by the end of the war in 1945.

(mouse clicking) So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

How did the War Production Board, the WPB, affect the American economy? Was it that it instructed companies to increase production of the same goods they made before the war? That it instructed companies to produce goods needed for the war effort rather than what they would normally produce? Or that it instructed companies not to sell any products to countries such as Britain or Germany who were at war? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

(mouse clicking) Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was B.

The WPB instructed companies to produce goods needed for the war effort rather than what they would normally produce.

For example, the Ford Motor Company produced very few cars for Americans during World War II.

Instead, many of its factories shifted their attention to manufacturing bomber planes instead.

And let's try another question.

How did American production of naval ships in 1943 compare to production in 1941? Was it that roughly half as many ships were produced? Roughly twice as many ships were produced? Or roughly five times as many ships were produced? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was C.

Roughly five times as many ships were produced in the USA in 1943 compared to 1941.

The total rose from 544 naval ships built in the USA in 1941 to 2,654 by 1943.

(mouse clicking) And let's try one final question.

This time we have a statement which reads, "Only manufacturing industries were needed to supply the war effort." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

(mouse clicking) Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that American agriculture increased its production to supply the American armed forces and help the allies of the USA, the second says that different types of manufacturing industries supported the war effort, such as car makers and typewriter producers.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct justification was A.

American agriculture increased its production to supply the American armed forces and help the allies of the USA.

Because of this, we can tell clearly that it was not only manufacturing industries which were needed to supply the war effort.

So, reflecting on everything we've heard, I want you to answer the following question, "Was it accurate for President Roosevelt to describe the USA as the great arsenal of democracy during World War II?" I want you to write one paragraph to explain your judgement , so pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

(mouse clicking) Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So I asked you, was it accurate for President Roosevelt to describe the USA as the great arsenal of democracy during World War II? And your answer may have included, "It was accurate for President Roosevelt to describe the USA as the great arsenal of democracy during World War II, because it manufactured and shared significant supplies for both its own army and foreign countries.

For example, the US produced 2,654 naval ships in 1943 and manufactured 86,000 warplanes in the same year, many of which were sent as Lend Lease aid to allies like Britain and the USSR." So really well done if your own answer looks something like that model which we've seen there.

(mouse clicking) And now we're ready to move on to the third and final part of today's lesson, where we are gonna focus on the war and the economy.

(mouse clicking) Becoming the great arsenal of democracy during World War II helped the US economy to grow stronger.

Historians can tell this by looking at GDP, unemployment, incomes, and new industries in the USA.

So we'll think about each of these areas and indicators in turn.

So let's start by thinking about GDP.

Historians can use GDP to demonstrate that the US economy grew during the war years.

In 1939 US GDP was equivalent to $93.

4 billion, by 1941 this had already increased to $129.

3 billion, by 1943 US GDP was over $200 billion.

And this meant that between the start of the war in 1939 and its end come 1945, US GDP had more than doubled.

This was a result of the demands of Lend Lease aid supplying all of America's allies, like Britain and the Soviet Union, and also the demand of the US armed forces who needed to be supplied with new weapons, equipment, food, to help them fight most effectively against their enemies.

(mouse clicking) So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

I want you to write the missing word from the following sentence, "US GDP more than blank between 1939 and 1945 as a result of increased wartime production." So what's the missing word? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the missing word was doubled.

US GDP more than doubled between 1939 and 1945 as a result of increased wartime production.

So now we can think about unemployment.

Almost 9.

5 million Americans were unemployed in 1939.

In other words, about 17.

2% of all workers were without a job when the war started.

American rearmament during World War II generated new job opportunities.

To put it simply, to increase production, more workers were needed.

Over 16 million Americans also served in the US armed forces during World War II.

And when you put these two things together, service in the armed forces and work to produce for the war effort, we can see that unemployment declined significantly from 17.

2% in 1939 to 9.

9% come 1941, and to less than 2% by the last two years of the war.

So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

We have a statement which reads, "Rearmament only created jobs in the armed forces." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that many unemployed Americans found work in manufacturing and agriculture, as well as in the armed forces.

And the second says that few Americans found work in the armed forces, but many began working in manufacturing and agriculture.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct justification was A, "Many unemployed Americans found work in manufacturing and agriculture, as well as in the armed forces." And this led to a significant decline in American unemployment.

(mouse clicking) So now we can turn our attention to incomes.

During World War II, American businesses made more money.

The government became a major purchaser of goods, and this created more demand for their work.

Business profits after tax doubled during the war, giving a clear indication of their rising incomes.

Workers also received higher incomes.

As business profits increased, they were able to provide higher wages for their workers.

The average wage for workers in manufacturing jobs was 50% higher in 1944 compared to 1939.

So let's make sure we really understood what we've just heard.

Which statement is most accurate? Business profits rose during World War II, but wages stayed the same? Wages rose during World War II, but business profits stayed the same? Or business profits and wages rose during World War II? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was C, business profits and wages rose during World War II.

This meant that company incomes and individuals' incomes were rising during the war.

And finally, we can think about new industries to detect signs that the American economy grew stronger during World War II.

Wartime demand helped new industries to grow and develop.

The pharmaceutical industry provides a really good example of this, as it grew rapidly during World War II.

Antibiotics were in high demand during the war to help treat injured soldiers.

In the lead up to an Allied defensive in July 1944, two million doses of penicillin were mass-manufactured in the USA, showing just how high demand could be during the war and creating plenty of demand and plenty of work in the pharmaceutical industry.

So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

Which new industry benefited most from preparations for an Allied defensive in July 1944? Was it the advertising industry, the food processing industry, the pharmaceutical industry, or the textiles, by that we mean the clothing industry? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was C, the pharmaceutical industry benefited most from preparations for an Allied defensive in July 1944.

The pharmaceutical industry was responsible for producing antibiotics such as penicillin, two million doses of which were ordered in the lead up to the Allied defensive on D-Day in July 1944.

(mouse clicking) So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge into practise.

I want you to study the five objectives shown below.

They are beneficial, unnoticeable, damaging, widespread, and limited.

We have two questions we need to answer, which two adjectives could be used to appropriately describe the economic impact of the Second World War on the USA? And then, for each of your chosen adjectives, I want you to write one paragraph to explain why it can be used to describe the economic impact of the Second World War on the USA.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your answers.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on those tasks.

So firstly, I asked you which two of our objectives could be used to appropriately describe the economic impact of the Second World War on the USA, and you should have chosen beneficial and widespread.

The Second World War had quite a positive economic impact on the USA.

(mouse clicking) I then asked you for each of our chosen adjectives to write one paragraph to explain why it can be used to describe the economic impact of the Second World War on the USA.

So your answer may have included, "The economic impact of the Second World War on the USA could be described as beneficial because it generated economic growth and employment.

For example, rearmament required a significant increase in production; US GDP more than doubled between 1939 and 1945 and unemployment fell during the war from 17.

2% in 1939 to 1.

9% by 1945.

16 million Americans were employed in the armed forces, whilst the need to increase production to supply the war effort also created millions of jobs in non-combat roles." So well done if one of your paragraphs looks something similar to that.

Your answer may also have included, "The economic impact of the Second World War on the USA could be described as widespread because many different parts of the economy grew.

For example, different groups, like businesses and workers, enjoyed rising incomes.

Company profits doubled and average wages for manufacturing workers rose by 50% from 1939 to 1944.

Different sectors of the economy also benefited.

For instance, the Lend Lease agreement with the Soviet Union demanded not only millions of tonnes of arms but also items such as clothes and foodstuffs.

As a result, wartime demand allowed American agriculture to expand, in addition to helping a range of different manufacturing industries." So really well done if your answer also looks similar to that paragraph which we've seen there.

(mouse clicking) So now we've reached the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning.

We've seen that the USA joined World War II in December 1941, two years after the war begun in September 1939.

Despite the neutrality acts passed in the 1930s, American rearmament began before the US went to war itself.

President Roosevelt called the US the great arsenal of democracy.

The US supplied fighting countries, such as Britain, with wartime supplies through schemes like cash and carry and Lend Lease, and rearmament in the USA had significant economic impacts.

There was growth in both industrial and agricultural production, and a significant fall in American unemployment.

So really well done for all of your effort during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources, and look forward to seeing you again in the future as we continue to think about the New Deal and World War II in the USA, and ask ourselves how far did the American economy recover in the 1930s and the 1940s?.