c. 1941-1962:
The Second World War
Essential Questions
- Why did totalitarian states rise after World War I, and what did they do?
- How did Americans react to events in Europe and Asia in the early years of World War II?
- How did the US react to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?
- How did the Allies turn the tide against the Axis?
- How did the war change America at home?
- How did the Allies defeat the Axis Powers?
- How did the Holocaust develop and what were its results?
- What were the major immediate and long-term effects of World War II?
Learning Objectives
You will learn:
- How and why economic and political conditions in Europe after World War I led to the rise of authoritarian rulers and the onset of World War II
- How and why Allied countries of World War I rejected Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points and how that affected United States politics between world wars
- How and to what extent United States foreign policy has been guided by international human rights and the advancement of democracy since World War I
- How and why the United States withdrew from a policy of isolationism to initially aid Allied Powers and then directly intervene in World War II
- How the United States government used propaganda to appeal to American patriotism and sell the nation’s war efforts
- How, why and to what extent the federal government restricted the civil liberties of various groups of Americans during times of war
- How, why and to what extent Americans mobilized and economically sacrificed on behalf of allied and national efforts in World War II
- How various ethnic groups within the United States contributed to American war efforts
- How and why United States involvement in wars and the contributions of women during times of war impacted the perceptions and roles of women in American society
- How communication technologies and mediums, such as newspapers, film, and radio influenced American patriotism and propaganda during warfare
- How President Truman and his administration rationalized using the atomic bomb to end World War II and how that decision affected United States foreign policy
- How and why World War II ended and how a series of Allied conferences would help initiate the Cold War
Key Terms
Assignments and Readings
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Debate on the Atomic Bombings
| debate_on_the_atomic_bombings.pdf |
| timeline_of_the_second_world_war_worksheet.pdf |
| victory_through_air_power.pdf |
| hiroshima.pdf |
Slideshows
Videos
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Digital History Textbook
America at War: World War II
In this chapter, you will learn about the war’s causes, the Holocaust, the military history of the war, the impact of the war on women and racial and ethnic minorities, the internment of Japanese Americans, and the dawn of the atomic age.
Joe Louis
The Holocaust
World War II
Isolationism
The Coming of World War II
Conflict in the Pacific
Italy
Germany
War Begins
A Collision Course in the Pacific
Pearl Harbor
Mobilizing for War
Molding Public Opinion
Social Changes During the War
Italians, Germans, Japanese Aliens and European Jewry
Japanese-American Internment
The Military Conflict
The War in the Pacific
Controversy Continues
In this chapter, you will learn about the war’s causes, the Holocaust, the military history of the war, the impact of the war on women and racial and ethnic minorities, the internment of Japanese Americans, and the dawn of the atomic age.
Joe Louis
The Holocaust
World War II
Isolationism
The Coming of World War II
Conflict in the Pacific
Italy
Germany
War Begins
A Collision Course in the Pacific
Pearl Harbor
Mobilizing for War
Molding Public Opinion
Social Changes During the War
Italians, Germans, Japanese Aliens and European Jewry
Japanese-American Internment
The Military Conflict
The War in the Pacific
Controversy Continues