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CHAPTER 24
The Second World War
1933–1945
This chapter covers American foreign policy between the wars, the challenges Germany and Japan posed
to international relations, the tensions between American isolationism and internationalism, the origins
and early years of the wars in Europe and Asia, the emergence and then decline of American neutrality,
American aid to Britain in its war against Germany, and the Japanese policies in China and wider East
Asia that led to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It explores the critical battles of the war, how the Allied pow-
ers gained the advantage against their Axis opponents in both the European and Pacific theaters, and the
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Assess how German and Japanese actions led to the outbreak of war in Europe and in Asia.
2. Evaluate how President Roosevelt and Congress responded to the outbreak of wars in Europe and Asia
between 1933 and 1941.
3. Analyze the effects of the Second World War on American society.
4. Explain the major factors that enabled the United States and its allies to win the war in Europe.
5. Describe how the Japanese were defeated in the war in the Pacific.
6. Evaluate the efforts of President Roosevelt and the Allies to shape the postwar world.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. The Rise of Fascism in Europe
A. Italy and Germany
B. The Expanding Axis
C. Anschluss and the Munich Pact (1938)
D. The Conquest of Poland
E. The Outbreak of War in Europe
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2. The United States: From Isolationism to Intervention
A. U.S. Neutrality
B. Preparing America for War
C. The Battle of Britain
D. Debate over America’s Role
E. Roosevelt’s Third Term
F. The Lend-Lease Bill
G. Germany Invades the Soviet Union
H. The Atlantic Charter
I. The Storm in the Pacific
i. The Tripartite Pact
ii. The Attack on Pearl Harbor
3. Mobilization at Home
A. Arsenal of Democracy
i. Financing the War
ii. Economic Controls
B. The War at Home
i. Women in the War
ii. African Americans
iii. Racial Tension at Home
iv. African Americans in Uniform
v. Mexicans and Mexican Americans
vi. Native Americans in the Military
vii. Discrimination against Japanese Americans
4. The Allied Drive toward Berlin
A. War Aims and Strategy
i. The North Africa Campaign
ii. The Casablanca Conference
iii. The Battle of the Atlantic
iv. Sicily and Italy
v. The Tehran Conference
vi. The Strategic Bombing of Europe
vii. Planning an Invasion
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viii. D-day and After
ix. The Normandy Landings
x. The Liberation of Paris
xi. Roosevelt’s Fourth Term
B. The End of the War in the European Theater
i. The Yalta Conference
ii. The Collapse of Nazi Germany
iii. The Holocaust
5. Fighting in the Pacific
A. Coral Sea and Midway
B. MacArthur’s Pacific Strategy
C. Battles in the Central Pacific
D. A Grinding War against Japan
i. Battle of Okinawa
ii. Preparations for the Invasion of Japan
iii. The Atomic Bomb
6. A New Age Is Born
A. Why Did the Allies Win?
B. Yalta’s Legacy and the Postwar World
C. The Transformation of American Life
LECTURE IDEAS
1. A lecture on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s foreign policy is the best way to introduce his diplomatic efforts.
Helpful references include the following:
2. Historian Michael Barnhart described the attack on Pearl Harbor as the culmination of events leading
both countries to a war “neither nation desired, but one that neither could avoid.” Exploring this inter-
pretation lends itself well to group discussion. Ask half of the class to look at the events leading to
Pearl Harbor from the American perspective, and ask the other half to view them from a Japanese per-
spective. Each group of students examining the road to war should determine whether Barnhart’s
statement holds true for the respective nations they represent. At what points did policymakers face
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choices that might have altered the trajectory toward war? At such points, were the alternative choices
realistic options? Both groups might also consider at what point they believe conflict between the two
nations became inevitable. Useful resources include the following:
3. A lecture detailing America’s attempts at neutrality in the 1930s, focusing on the initiatives of Con-
gress and President Roosevelt’s polices, will give the students an opportunity to see how the executive
branch and the legislative branch interact. Additionally, students will see how world events influence
4. The election of 1940 saw America elect, for the first time, an individual for a third term. A lecture on
the significance of this election provides an opportunity to explore the constitutional arguments that
have been made about term limits. See the following titles:
5. A good general overview of World War II will give your students the necessary background to under-
standing America’s role in the war. Included in this lecture should be a discussion on the alliances,
economics, and military aspects of the fighting. Helpful references include:
6. Alongside the military and economic dimensions of World War II, the relationship among the “Big
Three” (Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin), as well as the diplomacy their respective nations pursued
during World War II, is an essential element to understanding the Allied victory. A lecture on the in-
teractions of the Big Three will help students grasp that World War II should be understood as more
than just a conflict between opposing armies. Discuss in detail the conferences and meetings that led
to the final meeting of the “Big Three” at Yalta in 1945. Relevant scholarship includes:
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7. Mobilization of the American home front is an important story of U.S. involvement in World War II.
The transformation of the economy, the mobilization of women in the workforce, the rationing of and
price controls on scarce goods, and propaganda are among the issues that pervaded the home front
during World War II. A lecture on the American home front during World War II can provide your
students with an understanding of how noteworthy events and changes occurring far away from the
battlefield were significant to American success in the conflict. See the following:
8. World War II had a tremendous impact on American race relations. An examination of this impact
can allow you to address much larger issues of race and ethnicity that have long been part of Ameri-
can history. A lecture that highlights particular examples from the World War II period can help stu-
dents understand the broader significance of race and ethnicity in American history. The following
resources offer useful material to draw on:
9. The end of World War II in Europe was the beginning of the Cold War era, a period in which the
United States and the Soviet Union were frequently on the verge of engaging in another world war.
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The spark that grew into the Cold War began at the Yalta Conference, a diplomatic meeting in Febru-
ary of 1945 among Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin at a small resort town in Crimea. Center a lecture
on this conference, including the events leading up to it; the views Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin
expressed concerning the rebuilding of eastern and western Europe; and the compromises reached in
an effort to achieve final victory in the war against Germany and Japan. To help set the stage for the
coming chapters, highlight ways in which the conference foreshadowed the coming of the Cold War
throughout the lecture. You might find the following to be useful references:
10. One of the most significant moments of the war came at its end: the dropping of the atomic bombs on
Japan. Although saving American lives is still the most well-known rationale of the decision to drop
the bombs, historians have since identified a variety of additional factors that influenced Truman and
other key policymakers by the summer of 1945. At times this work has been controversial and has
sparked vigorous public debate (see, for example, the heated controversy surrounding the Smithson-
ian Institution’s plans to exhibit the Enola Gay to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the bomb-
ings in 1995). A lecture on this topic may introduce students to a subject that is far more complex
than is often realized. At the same time, this topic may allow you to engage your students in a discus-
sion of why certain explanations about dropping the atomic bombs have sparked so much controver-
sy. For a balanced synthesis of varying interpretations and arguments, see J. Samuel Walker’s Prompt
and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against Japan (rev. ed., 2004). For a
discussion of the end of the Pacific war that goes beyond a close focus on the atomic bombs, see
Thomas Zeiler’s Unconditional Defeat: Japan, America, and the End of World War II (2004). Addi-
tional references include:
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES / FLIPPED CLASSROOM SUGGESTIONS
1. Break your class into several groups and ask each group detail the major causes that led to the outbreak
of World War II. Set aside time for each group to present its findings and discuss how many causes can
be identified.
2. Ask the class to list the various events that pushed the United States to transition from isolationism to
interventionism prior to World War II. What motivated Americans to change their views on entering
into a largely European war?
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3. Divide your students into two groups. Ask one group to research arguments that have been made for
why the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified, and ask the other
group to research reasons that have been given for why it was not. Once the students have completed
4. Have your student groups detail the various efforts of the Allies in determining the shape of the post-
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the various foreign crises between the World Wars, paying particularly close attention to
those of Germany and Italy.
2. Analyze the debate that took place the United States in the early stages of World War II over what
role the country should play in the conflict.
4. Trace various aspects of U.S. war efforts on the home front during World War II, including manpow-
er, gender roles, and means of financing military operations.
5. What effects did World War II have on minority groups in the United States?
6. How did women contribute to the war effort at home and on the battlefront?
7. How important was the United States Navy to the victory of the Allies in World War II? What role
did airpower play?
8. What was the United States’ strategy for winning the war, and how did it compare with the strategies
of its allies?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
This chapter emphasizes the road toward American entry into the Second World War, with a particular
focus on the role of public opinion on foreign policy. At times, public opinion restricted policymakers’
flexibility in responding to the challenges abroad; at other times, policymakers like Franklin Roosevelt
sought to move public opinion to support the policies deemed essential to American interests. To see how
public opinion and foreign policy intersect, contact the office of your local congressional representative or
senator. Find out what he or she believes are the most pressing foreign policy issues of the day and what
his or her positions are on those issues. Under what circumstances would your congressional representa-
tive support American entry into a war? If you are in agreement, you might consider ways to strengthen
popular support for those foreign policies that both you and your representative support, such as by volun-
teering for that representative or writing a supportive letter to the editor of your local newspaper. If you
disagree with your representative, you might consider ways to influence how your elected representative
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