1941-42
Wendell Willkie's first month in office would be sorting out his cabinet. Many members of his cabinet opposed him in the 1940 Republican primaries, these being Secretary of State Arthur Vandenburg, Attorney General Thomas E. Dewey, and Secretary of Commerce Arthur James. Going into the spring, the first stages of America's eventual entry into World War Two was set. This started with the Lend-Lease program. Later, in July, an oil embargo would be issued against Imperial Japan. In August, Attorney General Dewey became an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court after he was confirmed by a 58-38 vote in July to fill the vacancy left by Associate Justice Harlan F. Stone, who filled the vacancy of retiring Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes. President Willkie would replace Dewey with California Attorney General Earl Warren. On December 7, 1941, The Japanese Empire attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, killing 2,235. The next day, the United States declared war on Japan, followed by Nazi Germany declaring on the U.S. the same day. In February of 1942, Attorney General Warren would propose that Willkie sign an executive order allowing for the internment of Japanese American citizens living in the west coast, as he had feared they would conspire with the enemy. Willkie disagreed with this, and this would cause a rift between the two. Warren would later regret proposing the internment of Japanese citizens, as he would write in his memoirs. In March, Willkie would order General MacArthur out of the Philippines. Later in April, the islands would be lost momentarily after the failure of the Battle of Bataan. In June, the Battle of Midway Atoll would take place and end in a decisive American victory. As for domestic policy, his main focus was to fix some of the more racist aspects of the New Deal, such as giving African-Americans better job opportunities, higher pay scales, and helping desegregating suburban areas, which did somewhat drop the property value in these areas, but overall,these areas actually got richer overtime due to a more diverse economy.
Stay tuned for the 2nd part of the timeline, going from 1943 to 1945, which includes the 1944 election.
Wendell Willkie's first month in office would be sorting out his cabinet. Many members of his cabinet opposed him in the 1940 Republican primaries, these being Secretary of State Arthur Vandenburg, Attorney General Thomas E. Dewey, and Secretary of Commerce Arthur James. Going into the spring, the first stages of America's eventual entry into World War Two was set. This started with the Lend-Lease program. Later, in July, an oil embargo would be issued against Imperial Japan. In August, Attorney General Dewey became an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court after he was confirmed by a 58-38 vote in July to fill the vacancy left by Associate Justice Harlan F. Stone, who filled the vacancy of retiring Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes. President Willkie would replace Dewey with California Attorney General Earl Warren. On December 7, 1941, The Japanese Empire attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, killing 2,235. The next day, the United States declared war on Japan, followed by Nazi Germany declaring on the U.S. the same day. In February of 1942, Attorney General Warren would propose that Willkie sign an executive order allowing for the internment of Japanese American citizens living in the west coast, as he had feared they would conspire with the enemy. Willkie disagreed with this, and this would cause a rift between the two. Warren would later regret proposing the internment of Japanese citizens, as he would write in his memoirs. In March, Willkie would order General MacArthur out of the Philippines. Later in April, the islands would be lost momentarily after the failure of the Battle of Bataan. In June, the Battle of Midway Atoll would take place and end in a decisive American victory. As for domestic policy, his main focus was to fix some of the more racist aspects of the New Deal, such as giving African-Americans better job opportunities, higher pay scales, and helping desegregating suburban areas, which did somewhat drop the property value in these areas, but overall,these areas actually got richer overtime due to a more diverse economy.
Stay tuned for the 2nd part of the timeline, going from 1943 to 1945, which includes the 1944 election.
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