Chapter 15: World War II

Chapter 15 traces United States involvement in World War II, the most devastating war in history.

Section 1 details the events leading up to World War II and the United States's hesitancy to enter the conflict. Economic turmoil in Germany and Italy made the countries vulnerable to political change. In Germany, Adolf Hitler used military dominance to destroy the German leadership and establish himself as supreme leader of the Third Reich. In Italy, Benito Mussolini and his Fascist party gained control by promising social and economic change. Germany and Italy formed the Axis powers and began expanding their borders into Eastern Europe and Africa. An attack on Poland provoked Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Japan, also intent on extending its borders, seized control of Manchuria. With world hostilities intensifying, Roosevelt signed legislation, called the Neutrality Acts, which was designed to keep the United States out of the war.

Section 2 describes the United States response to the events in Europe and Asia. In the spring of 1940, Hitler was rapidly conquering European countries. His attack on Great Britain, however, was met with strong British resistance. Prime Minister Winston Churchill pleaded for additional aid, but isolationists and interventionists in the United States were divided in their response to the war. Roosevelt, choosing a cautious course, passed the Lend-Lease Act that allowed the United States to provide military supplies to Britain. This Act brought the country into the battle zone; after supplies started flowing to Britain, Roosevelt authorized the use of U.S. Navy ships to guard British ships and to shoot Axis vessels. As the United States drew closer to war, Roosevelt met with Churchill and outlined the terms of the Atlantic Charter. Japan continued its expansion in Asia and the Pacific, and Roosevelt applied economic pressure to Japan in hopes of averting war.

Section 3 discusses the battles of World War II and the events that led to peace. Outraged at Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the United States declared war on Japan and Germany in December 1941. While U.S. forces joined with British in North Africa and Italy, the Soviet Union faced a German invasion. In their battles with the Germans, the Soviets suffered heavy casualties, but they succeeded in halting Germany's eastward advance. Before summer's end 1944, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg were in Allied hands, and the Allies pushed toward Germany. When Allied troops arrived in Germany, they encountered the atrocities of the Holocaust—Hitler's imprisonment, torture, and slaughter of millions of Jews and other peoples. After suffering major defeats from the advancing Allied forces, Germany surrendered in May 1945. An effective "island hopping" campaign in the Pacific helped the United States recapture several islands. Japan surrendered after United States planes dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.