c. 1941-1945:
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 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
WWII Before American Entry
The massive Nuremberg rallies, such as this one in 1935, instilled a fierce loyalty to (or fearful silence about) Hitler and the National Socialist Party in Germany. Wikimedia.
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The German bombing of London left thousands homeless, hurt, or dead. This child, holding a stuffed toy, sits in the rubble as adults ponder their fate in the background. 1945. Library of Congress.
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WWII After Pearl Harbor
In 1943, Allied forces began a bombing campaign of railroad and oil targets in Bucharest, part of the wider policy of bombing expeditions meant to incapacitate German transportation. Bucharest was considered the number one oil target in Europe. Photograph, August 1, 1943. Wikimedia.
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Bombings throughout Europe caused complete devastation in some areas, leveling beautiful ancient cities like Cologne, Germany. Cologne experienced an astonishing 262 separate air raids by Allied forces, leaving the city in ruins as in these the photograph above. Amazingly, the Cologne Cathedral stood nearly undamaged even after being hit numerous times, while the area around it crumbled. Photograph, April 24, 1945. Wikimedia.
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WWII Dates to Know:
This pair of U.S. military recruiting posters demonstrates the way that two branches of the military—the Marines and the Women’s Army Corps—borrowed techniques from professional advertisers to “sell” a romantic vision of war to Americans. One shows Marines at war in a lush jungle, reminding viewers that the war was taking place in exotic lands; the other depicted women taking on new jobs as a patriotic duty. Bradshaw Crandall, Are You a Girl with a Star-Spangled Heart? Recruiting Publicity Bureau, U.S. Women’s Army Corps Recruiting Poster (1943); Unknown, Let’s Go Get ’Em. Beck Engraving Co. (1942). Library of Congress.
Assignments and Readings
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Debate on the Atomic Bombings
| debate_on_the_atomic_bombings.pdf |
Timeline of the Second World War
| timeline_of_the_second_world_war_worksheet.pdf |
Victory Through Air Power
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Hiroshima: BBC History of World War II
| hiroshima.pdf |
Primary Sources
Charles A. Lindbergh, “America First” (1941)
Charles Lindbergh won international fame in 1927 after completing the first non-stop, solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. As Hitler’s armies marched across the European continent, many Americans began to imagine American participation in the war. Charles Lindbergh and the America First Committee, advocating “America First,” championed American isolationism.
The Atlantic Charter (1941)
The leaders of the United States and United Kingdom signed the Atlantic Charter in August 1941. The short document neatly outlined an idealized vision for political and economic order of the postwar world.
FDR, Executive Order No. 9066 (1942)
During World War II, the federal government removed over 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese descent (both foreign-born “issei” and native-born “nisei”) from the West Coast and interned in camps. President Roosevelt authorized the internments with his Executive Order No. 9066, issued on February 19, 1942.
Harry Truman Announcing the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima (1945)
On August 6, 1945, Harry Truman disclosed to the American public that the United States had detonated an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan.
Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945)
Vietnam, which had been colonized by the French and then by the Japanese, declared their independence from colonial rule—particularly the re-imposition of a French colonial regime—in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in World War II. Proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in September 1945, Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence reflected back the early promises of the Allies in World War II and even borrowed directly from the American Declaration of Independence.
Tuskegee Airmen (1941)
The Tuskegee Airmen stand at attention as Major James A. Ellison returns the salute of Mac Ross, one of the first graduates of the Tuskegee cadets. The Tuskegee Airmen who continued a tradition of African American military service while honorably serving a country that still considered them second-class citizens.
World War II Recruitment Posters (1942 & 1943)
This pair of US Military recruiting posters demonstrates the way that two branches of the military—the Marines and the Women’s Army Corps—borrowed techniques from advertising professionals to “sell” a romantic vision of war to Americans. These two images take different strategies: one shows Marines at war in a lush jungle, reminding viewers that the war was taking place in exotic lands, the other depicted women taking on new jobs as a patriotic duty.
Charles Lindbergh won international fame in 1927 after completing the first non-stop, solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. As Hitler’s armies marched across the European continent, many Americans began to imagine American participation in the war. Charles Lindbergh and the America First Committee, advocating “America First,” championed American isolationism.
The Atlantic Charter (1941)
The leaders of the United States and United Kingdom signed the Atlantic Charter in August 1941. The short document neatly outlined an idealized vision for political and economic order of the postwar world.
FDR, Executive Order No. 9066 (1942)
During World War II, the federal government removed over 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese descent (both foreign-born “issei” and native-born “nisei”) from the West Coast and interned in camps. President Roosevelt authorized the internments with his Executive Order No. 9066, issued on February 19, 1942.
Harry Truman Announcing the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima (1945)
On August 6, 1945, Harry Truman disclosed to the American public that the United States had detonated an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan.
Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945)
Vietnam, which had been colonized by the French and then by the Japanese, declared their independence from colonial rule—particularly the re-imposition of a French colonial regime—in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in World War II. Proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in September 1945, Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence reflected back the early promises of the Allies in World War II and even borrowed directly from the American Declaration of Independence.
Tuskegee Airmen (1941)
The Tuskegee Airmen stand at attention as Major James A. Ellison returns the salute of Mac Ross, one of the first graduates of the Tuskegee cadets. The Tuskegee Airmen who continued a tradition of African American military service while honorably serving a country that still considered them second-class citizens.
World War II Recruitment Posters (1942 & 1943)
This pair of US Military recruiting posters demonstrates the way that two branches of the military—the Marines and the Women’s Army Corps—borrowed techniques from advertising professionals to “sell” a romantic vision of war to Americans. These two images take different strategies: one shows Marines at war in a lush jungle, reminding viewers that the war was taking place in exotic lands, the other depicted women taking on new jobs as a patriotic duty.
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