1940
In
New Mexico...
In
1940, New Mexico was still recovering
from the Great Depression of the 1930s.
From 1929, the year of the stock market
crash, to 1932, the average American's
yearly income dropped 25% from $1,152
to $869.
 Bad
times seemed to hit New Mexico harder
than they hit the rest of the nation.
In 1929, the average annual personal
income was $410. By 1932, it dropped
to $208. And by 1940, personal income
in New Mexico was back up to only
$378. It would not reach the 1929
level until the next year.
| Population
numbers for New Mexico, 1940 |
| State
|
531,000 |
| Albuquerque |
35,400 |
| Farmington |
2,160 |
| Las
Cruces |
8,340 |
| Santa
Fe |
20,300 |
In
the world...
In
1931, the Japanese Army began its
aggression in the Pacific, starting
with the invasion of China. Japan's
long-term goals were to seize lands,
including Pacific islands, that were
rich in resources to supply Japan's
growing population and industry. Their
strategy called for them to control
major cities, highways, and railroads
as they invaded each country.
In
late 1937, the Japanese captured the
Chinese cities of Shanghai and Nanking.
After Nanking fell, Japanese troops
rampaged through the city, looting
homes and stores and killing Chinese
civilians. Between December 1937 and
March 1938, in an event known as the
Rape of Nanking, over 350,000 Chinese
civilians and prisoners of war were
brutally tortured and killed.
In
Europe, Germany invaded Poland on
September 1, 1939; Great Britain and
France declared war on Germany, led
by Adolph Hitler, on September 3 of
that year. In the next year, the Germans
invaded Norway, Denmark, Belgium,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France,
while Italy joined with Germany against
the rest of Europe. The U.S. stayed
officially neutral, but war was the
topic of conversation all over America.
Despite official neutrality, American
troops prepared to fight and National
Guard units were made part of the
U.S. Army.
 As
1941 dawned, the U.S. was still not
in the war in Europe. President Roosevelt
pledged to Britain's Prime Minister
Winston Churchill that the U.S. would
help subdue Germany's Hitler before
focusing on Japan. But while the U.S.
was watching Europe, Japan had conquered
an immense empire that included Korea,
French Indochina, Burma, Borneo, Singapore,
Sumatra, Java, Thailand, parts of
China, and hundreds of islands stretching
from the Aleutians to New Guinea.
April
1940
The
111th Cavalry was re-organized as
the 200th Coast Artillery Unit - Anti-Aircraft.
|
