The United States (U.S.) Involvement During World War 2 Essay

Introduction

World War II is well known to have started in the year 1939 when Nazi Germany attacked Poland and continued until 1945 (Goodwin, 1994). Neville Chamberlain's declared the war between German and Britain on the 3rd of September 1939. The British Ambassador stated that Germany had been unable to accept the withdrawal of troops from Poland and work towards achieving a peaceful settlement (BBC, 1939). Neville's attempts to obtain a peaceful solution were not successful and encouraged the British government to defend the nation for a just cause. Therefore, the war was inevitable for Britain to fight against brutal force, injustice, oppression, bad faith and persecution from the German government. In its effort to promote peace with other nations, the American government indirectly assisted Britain through the supply of weapons and wins the battle against Nazi Germany. The purpose of this essay is to discuss how the United States was involved during World War II, the reasons for the involvement and the impact of the war on the American nation.

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The U.S. Involvement during World War II

The U.S. indirectly and directly engaged into World War II to assist the allies in winning the battle against the enemies. The Second World War involved six continents and all the oceans in the world causing over fifty million military as well as civilian deaths. The leading countries that the U.S interacted with during World War II include Italy, Germany, and Great Britain. The U.S. did not get involved directly in the war immediately after it started in 1939 with Nazi Germany attacking Poland. In the beginning, the U.S. indirectly took part by only supporting Great Britain by supplying weapons to the nation. In a study carried out by Margolin (2013), the U.S. developed an intricate system for ordering, designing, manufacturing of guns and taking them to the battlefields to help Britain in winning the war against Germany. Goodwin (1994) states that the U.S. President at that time, Franklin Roosevelt emphasized preparing the Americans for an inevitable battle. After the start of the war, on the November of 1939, Franklin Roosevelt persuaded the Congress in repealing the arms embargo as provided in the neutrality law for arms to be sold to Britain and France. France failed in June 1940, and Franklin Roosevelt pushed for building up of a military to send them for aid in a Lend-Lease form to Great Britain. Therefore, the primary way that America engaged in the war at the beginning was indirectly by providing weapons to the allies. The reason that hindered the U.S. from participating in the war directly at the starting year is the foreign policy of Isolationism that required all nations to stay away from conflict with other countries. The U.S. was against the use of force towards other countries and ensured anything associated with war or conflict between nations was to be settled in peace (Goodwin, 1994). However, the effort of indirect involvement of the U.S. into World War II seemed not sufficient in ending the battle. More shots were required when other countries such as Japan started attacking the U.S. directly.

Following the Japanese attack to the U.S. Army on the 7th of December 1941 at Hawaii highlands, the U.S. government resolved to get involved in World War II directly. Within the same time, Hitler had also declared war against the U.S. (Dell and Morton, 2008). The attackers were now targeting America as a nation, and fast action was important to deal with the Japanese troops. It shows that the violent attacks from the Japanese soldiers towards the American Navy made the government opt to devise a strategy that would assist in defeating the enemy and ending the war. Changes were made in the military tactics, and this turned the U.S. indirect involvement based on the neutral policy to preparedness. According to the Center of Military History United States Army Washington, D.C., (1992), the U.S. expanded the armed forces and build defense plants as a way that will help in defeating the Japanese troops. On the 8th of December, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the Congress on a speech and declared the inevitable war (Goodwin, 1994). The launch of the preparedness campaign by Roosevelt was important in strengthening the Army Air Corps, Navy leaders, and the Army to win World War II. All the government departments worked together in unity to address the constant disagreement between countries that were involved in the battle. Margolin (2013) argues that innovation, effective management, and communication between government and military officials were useful tactics to assist the U.S. in winning an action against the Japanese attackers. The idea here was a device a military strategy that promoted essential integration and mobilization of a coordinated effort with the Americans using a network of organizations as well as agencies to address the invading Japanese troops in the U.S.

After the invasion of the Japanese troops on the 7th of December 1941 into America, several other attacks led to the U.S. direct involvement in the World War II including the Allied Invasion of Sicily, the Battle of Midway, the Battle of Coral Sea, and the Battle of Bulge (Dell and Morton, 2008). These battles took place between the years 1942 to 1945 whereby the U.S. Army directly took part to protect Australia from the attackers. They were among the various strategic responses of the U.S. Army by using the modern fire-fighting arms when defending the nation from the enemies. At the battle of the Midway in 1942, the American naval forces undertook a revenge attack across the midway where they directly attacked and sunk four Japanese aircraft carriers. The effort of the U.S. involvement into the battle was to stop further spread of the war and conflict between and among other nations.

The Impact of World War II to The U.S.

Irrespective of the many deaths of the military in America, World War II had a profound effect on the U.S. in different aspects. Dell and Morton (2008) denote that the effort of the Americans during the war helped in achieving equality as well as justice for every person in the U.S. including African Americans in the military whose opportunities of engaging in combat were expanded. Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the leaders who participated directly to assist in ending the isolation within the military recreational areas and transportation services. For instance, in the year 1941, through her executive order, Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded Franklin Roosevelt to prohibit racial discrimination within the defense industries (Goodwin, 1994).

World War II also positively impacted the U.S. through the creation of the Fair Employment Practices Commission to encourage and ensure the rights of women working in industries associated with war are respected. The U.S. experienced a change in labor laws through the establishment of the G.I Bill of Rights that was passed in the year 1944 as a law to provide benefits for World War II veterans (Margolin, 2012). It was through these changes in the rights of women and the prohibition of racial discrimination that helped the U.S. in ending the Great Depression. Many people including women started working in the defense industries, and the African Americans achieved their social, economic and political rights. The Center of Military History United States Army Washington, D.C (1992) reveals that the World War II was the start of the nuclear era in the U.S. with the production new weapons, bombs, B-17 "Flying Fortress" and the increased intensity of decolonizing the Third World and the beginning of the Cold War. It was a war that assisted the American nation in ending the U.S. segregation from the world through the creation of the United Nations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the U.S. involvement in World War II was both directly and indirectly. The reasons for U.S. involvement in the war were to assist the allies in winning against the enemies. America was also engaged in the battle to protect its borders and the death of its people from the attackers. Through the supply of weapons, sending the army to assist the allies and direct retaliation towards the attackers, the U.S. was able to win the war and set a new pace of democracy and peace all over the world. World War II had a significant impact on the American nation. New laws were formed to protect the women and prevent discrimination against the minority in the U.S. It will be crucial to realizing the sacrifices that the U.S. made during the World War II would not be necessary if equality and justice of all the citizens were not achieved. America also carried the crown of making effective weapons to help allies in the time of war. A discussion on the U.S. involvement during the Second World War II is, therefore, an essential subject that informs an individual on the reasons and impact of the war to America.

References

BBC. (2014). The Transcript of Neville Chamberlain's Declaration of war. WWII: Outbreak: Britain on the brink of World War II. Archive. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/ww2outbreak/7957.shtml?page=txt

Center of Military History United States Army Washington, D.C. (1992). A brief history of the U.S. Army in World War II. The U.S. Army Campaigns in the U.S. Retrieved from https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-2/CMH_Pub_72-2.pdf

Dell, F., & Morton, F. (2008). 1942-1945 Joseph M. Fisher World War II scrapbook. Ball State University Digital Media Repository. Retrieved from https://dmr.bsu.edu/digital/collection/WWIIScrp/id/1105

Goodwin, D. (1994). No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home front in World War II. New York: Touchstone Books. 626-629.Margolin. V. (2012). The United States in World War II: Scientists, Engineers, Designers. Digital Issues, 29(1), 14-29.