CHAPTER 28



Chapter 28

America in a World at War

Chapter Summary

The United States entered World War II ideologically unified but militarily ill-prepared. A corporate-government partnership solved most of the production and manpower problems, and the massive wartime output brought an end to the Great Depression. Labor troubles, racial friction, and social tensions were not absent, but they were kept to a minimum. Roosevelt and the American generals made the decision that Germany must be defeated first, since it presented a more serious threat than Japan. Gradually, American production and American military might turned the tide in the Pacific and on the western front in Europe. The key to victory in Europe was the invasion of France, which coincided with the Russian offensive on the eastern front. Less than a year after D-Day, the war in Europe was over. In the Pacific, American forces(with some aid from the British and Australians(first stopped the Japanese advance and then went on the offensive. The strategy for victory involved long leaps from island to island that bypassed and isolated large enemy concentrations and drew progressively closer to the Japanese homeland. Conventional bombing raids pulverized Japanese cities, and American forces were readied for an invasion that the atomic bomb made unnecessary.

Objectives

A thorough study of Chapter 28 should enable the student to understand

1. The efforts of the federal government to mobilize the nation's economy for war production.

2. The effects of American participation in the war on the depression and on New Deal reformism.

3. The changes that the wartime involvement brought for women and racial and ethnic minorities.

4. The contributions of the United States military to victory in North Africa and Europe.

5. The contributions of the United States military to victory in the Pacific.

Main Themes

1. That the vast productive capacity of the United States was the key to the defeat of the Axis.

2. That the war had a profound effect on the home front.

3. How three major western offensives combined with an ongoing Russian effort to defeat Germany.

4. How sea power contained the Japanese, and how Allied forces moved steadily closer to Japan and prepared for an invasion until the atomic bomb ended the war.

Points for Discussion

1. How did World War II increase the role of government in American society and the nation's economy?

2. The months of late 1942 and early 1943 seemed to mark a turning of the tide in World War II. Identify and explain the key battles and Allied strategies during this shift of momentum.

3. What were the forces of social and cultural conformity that operated on the American people during World War II? What challenges to conformism and tradition arose? What forces worked to retain traditional values and practices? (See document in the Study Guide.)

4. The United States obtained evidence of the Holocaust as early as 1942. What was the response of the Roosevelt administration, and why did it act as it did? What other options were open?

5. Discuss the political, social, and economic advances and/or setbacks that wartime provided for American laborers, women, and minorities. (See document in the Study Guide.)

6. Describe the action in Europe from mid-1943 to 1945 that resulted in an Allied victory.

7. Describe the action in the Pacific from mid-1943 to 1945 that resulted in an Allied victory.

8. Why did President Harry S Truman decide to drop the atomic bomb on Japan? Explain the controversy surrounding the decision then, and discuss how historians have attempted to resolve the issue ever since.

9. United States(Soviet relationships were tense throughout World War II, despite the fact that the Soviets were on the Allied side. What issues caused those tensions? How important was the eastern front to the outcome of the war in Europe?

10. What were the origins of "swing," and why did it enjoy such popularity during the World War II era?

Interpretive Questions Based on Maps and Text

1. What were the two broad offensives planned to turn the Japanese tide? How successful were they?

2. Why did Winston Churchill desire a North African offensive? Why did Roosevelt agree?

3. How did developments on the Russian front impact Anglo-American decisions in the Mediterranean region?

4. To what extent did the Sicilian and Italian campaigns succeed in their objectives? Why do some military historians regard the invasion of Italy and the taking of Rome as a strategic mistake?

5. Where did the war in Europe begin? What areas did Germany attack after the so-called Phony War?

6. What challenges were posed by the cross-channel invasion, and how did the Allies prepare for them? How successful was the invasion when it finally came?

7. Why was the submarine so crucial to the German war effort? How did the Allies overcome the threat?

8. Why was the Soviet Union so concerned about the Anglo-American decision to launch North African and Italian campaigns before an invasion across the English Channel?

9. What were the Soviets doing while the Anglo-American forces were liberating Paris and driving toward the heart of Germany? Why was the taking of Berlin so controversial?

Essay Questions

These essays are based on the map exercises. They are designed to test students' knowledge of the geography of the area discussed in this chapter and to test their knowledge of its historical development. Careful reading of the text will help them answer these questions.

1. Why did the United States decide to concentrate on Germany first in the two-front war? Was this a wise decision? Why was it not entirely a popular one?

2. Describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union that emerged during the 1930s and World War II. What seeds of future discord were planted, despite the concerted effort against Germany and later Japan?

3. What geopolitical forces drew the United States into World War II? How did the American attitude toward the world change as a result of the war?

4. Compare the Allied European advance in World War II with that in World War I (see Chapter 23 in the text). Why did France and Russia suffer the most in both wars?

Internet Resources

For Internet quizzes, resources, references to additional books and films, and more, consult the

text's Online Learning Center at brinkley12.

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