America in a World at War and "America and the Cold War questions:
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. Fourth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill 2004.
During WWII the German government methodically went about the destruction of six million Jews, Catholics, gypsies and other ethnic groups not considered Aryan in nature. How, in your opinion could this happen? How was a leader such as Adolph Hitler able to go about what we now call the Holocaust, without the citizens rising up in objection? More importantly could this happen again? Could it happen in the United States?
To answer this question is difficult, for it poses essentially, a question that historians and Germans alike have wrestled with for decades, namely why did the Holocaust occur? The only, albeit incomplete answer is that genocides have occurred throughout human history. Genocides continue in Europe to this day, as evidenced in the recent events in Bosnia and Serbia. Today, Israel stands as a refuge for the world's Jewish population. But it is sobering to remember the U.S.'s own tolerance of lynching and Jim Crow of African-Americans, and how enforced ignorance and blindness is psychologically possible that can result in the deaths of millions and the eradication of almost an entire people and culture.
Question 2
What concerns, events, etc. drove the United States into WWII and out of isolationism?
The bombing of Pearl Harbor was the event that propelled the United States to declare war against Japan, and the Axis powers quickly followed in declaring their hostilities to the U.S. soon afterwards. However, in reality, the U.S. had long been a supporter of Great Britain in its foreign policy. Hitler and Tojo's unchecked expansionism into their respective spheres of influence simply made it no longer possible for the...
World War II WW II Manhattan Project: Begun in 1939, this project was the codename for the United States' secret Atomic Bomb project. With America's entry into the war, the project grew substantially and ultimately involved more than 125,000 people, 37 separate installations, 13 university laboratories and a number of the nation's top scientists. (History.com: "World War 2: Atomic Bomb") In 1942 the project was put under the control of the U.S.
Gradually, though, the war effort eroded the practical and theoretical underpinnings of racism in the United States. The war stimulated the domestic economy, particularly in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Jobs were opening up rapidly, and because so many white men were fighting the war, many black men were available to work. "For black workers World War II opened up opportunities that had never before existed," (O'Neil 1). The
Diversity -- with the exception of homophobia -- was beginning to be commonly accepted and praised. Technology -- such as the use of DNA in criminology and the introduction of the PC -- was becoming more prominent in the lives of everyday Americans. In the Cold War, President Gorbachev asked for openness and economic freedom, while President Reagan asked him to tear down the Berlin Wall, which he did.
World War II Economical and military abilities of major participants of the war - Germany Soviet Union France Great Britain Important military campaigns France (including Belgium and Holland) Balkan campaign (Greece and Yugoslavia) Russian campaign Industrial production in 1943 World War II is the most tragic but extremely interesting period of human history of al centuries. It was a regular continuation of previous absurd bloody conflict - World War I. New war began after Germany was defeated in WWI and after
Although Churchill wanted the Americans to focus mainly on Germany, the United States was forced to attend to its problems with Japan, initiated by the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States pursued a decisive military campaign in Asia, establishing military bases throughout Southeast Asia (Indochina) and helping squelch Japanese imperialist encroachment throughout the region. Their efforts proved successful and as Japanese military power waned, kamikaze pilots became increasingly
Cold War Prior to World War II, American foreign policy had been predicted upon isolationism. Afterward, determined to avoid the mistakes of the pre-war period, American leaders embarked upon an unprecedented era of worldwide commitments. This included entry into a number of alliances with foreign nations, interventions in foreign conflicts (either covertly or overtly) and an unlimited commitment to maintain the nation's military readiness. In doing so, they irrevocably changed this
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