Unit 8... World War II and Postwar America
History by Kevin Bretscher
Throughout the 1930's the American economy was in shambles. People were poor and hungry and the nation was on the brink of revolution. Initially, America had little interest in the affairs of Europe. As Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco rose to power under Fascist banners, America did little in response to their militaristic land grabbing and expansion. When the Japanese bombed America on December 7th, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, America quickly changed its foreign policy. Allied with Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, the United States entered World War II against Germany, Italy, and Japan.
In the Pacific, the Americans used a strategy of "island hopping" to secure victory against the Japanese. A southern invasion from Africa helped the Allies to control Italy. Meanwhile, America and Great Britain had planned for the greatest naval invasion history. The D-Day landing on the Normandy coast of France on June 6th, 1944 played a fundamental role in ending the war in Europe. When Berlin fell to the Soviets and Hitler committed suicide, the war in Europe was done. Japan continued to resist the Allied advance until two newly tested atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The deadliest war in human history was finally over.
With much of the world in ruins, America and the Soviet Union stood as the remaining global superpowers. Both sides began to rebuild. The United States focused on Western Europe and Japan. The Soviets concentrated on Eastern Europe. Both powers held a problematic stake in the future of Germany. A Cold War immediately began between the democratic and capitalist West and the communist and socialist East. Becoming increasingly concerned with what Winston Churchill referred to as the "Iron Curtain", America developed a foreign policy geared towards containing communism.
This policy of containment was first tested in Korea. Neither a victory nor a defeat, the war ended in a stalemate. The issue of communism greatly affected the citizens of America both across the seas and at home. "McCarthyism" and the ensuing anti-communist hysteria hit home and many organizations from labor unions to socialist parties were defiantly banned. This strategy was confirmed, condoned, and supported by the new wave of Conservative Republicanism. Eisenhower came to power in 1952 and remained in power until 1960.
After World War II, America stood as the lone beacon of hope for world economic recovery and freedom. Rather than facing off against the Fascist powers of Europe, the United States instead faced the challenges wrought by the Communist influence in the Soviet Union, Asia, and even here at home.
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