America in WWII

Following the end of World War I and the country falling into the Great Depression of 1929-1939, the United States became set on isolation and neutrality; advocating for policies of disbarment and non-intervention.

Despite their attempts to remain neutral and fall back on foreign involvement, tensions in Europe and Asia were putting the US to the test once again. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, the United States officially joined the Second World War. Keep on reading for a timeline of WW2, American propaganda, and more.

WWII Timeline

1938 - Germany takes Austria and Sudetenland & makes the "Munich Pact" with England and France. This pact would allow Hitler to keep Sudetenland as long as he did not expand further.

1939 - Hitler & Mussolini create the "Rome-Berlin Axis military" and Japan creates an alliance with both Germany and Italy. Hitler then goes against his promise to stop his expansion and invades Poland. This action causes England and France to declare war on Germany. With Japan creating this alliance, the US decides to cut off trading items such as gasoline and iron into the country, which would be vital to their expansion into China.

1940 - The US takes notice of how fast Germany is expanding into the rest of Europe and it is decided that they will help reinforce England's military after France falls to Germany in June.

1941 - Isolationism in the US begins to break down, with the military building a base in Greenland and issuing the "Atlantic Charter" on August 14th. The Charter was a declaration from both the US and England about the purpose of fighting the war against fascism. Though still not technically involved in the war, US warships began battling German U-boats in the Atlantic.

On December 7th, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, destroying 8 battleships, killing more than 2,000 people, and leaving over 1,000 injured; the US had now officially entered the war.

1942 - Executive Order No. 9066 is signed by President Roosevelt, displacing thousands of Japanese Americans from their homes and into "relocation" centers. During this year, he also created the War Production Board to coordinate the military's mobilization.

1943 - "The Office of War Mobilization" is established, and the Allies invade Italy.

1944 - D-Day / the invasion of Allied forces into German-occupied Western Europe (Normandy).

1945 - Battles rage on between the US and Japan in Okinawa and Iwo Jima. In March, the US implements the "Manhattan Project" and dropped "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" atomic bombs on the civilian cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, creating devastating results. By the 8th of May, victory for the Allies is called in Europe.

America WW2 president

Franklin D. Roosevelt led the United States from March 1933 to April 1945. Throughout his Presidency, one of his biggest responsibilities was guiding the country through the Second World War.

In the early 1930s, when situations in Europe were starting to become progressively tenser, Roosevelt passed neutrality laws that were (supposedly) meant to keep the US from factors that had involved them in WWI. In 1935, Congress signed the "Neutrality Act", which stated that the US would not ship arms to either the aggressing or victimized country, as Italy was planning to invade Ethiopia. Congress also continued to pass stronger neutrality legislation regarding the Spanish Civil War beginning in 1936, whose fascism was heavily supported by both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Franklin D. Roosevelt United StatesBenito Mussolini Fascist Kingdom of Italy Adolf HitlerThird Reich Germany

On the Pacific side of the inevitable war ahead, Japan began to invade China in 1937, calling into question the possibility of foreign intervention. The idea of involvement was met with extreme backlash from the public, and Roosevelt stayed focused on regional defense.

In 1939, the war kicks off in Europe with Germany's invasion of Poland; it is at this point that President Roosevelt decides to revise the Neutrality Act. In turn, the US allows England and France to purchase munitions and re-supply the British military that had been rescued at Dunkirk.

The level at which the US should become involved in the escalating situation became a top issue of the Election of 1940. Though many people openly supported England's fight against Germany, they still wished for the US to not become involved. As Roosevelt stated just before his re-election

Unfortunately, this would not remain the case. Upon banning the import of aviation gas and scrap metal into Japan and openly showing support for the Japanese exit from China, Japan retaliated by bombing Pearl Harbor in 1941. The attack damaged the entire US battleship force and over 300 planes; over 2,000 people were killed and over 1,000 were injured in the surprise attack. On December 8th, 1941, the US officially declared war on Japan, to which Italy and Germany declared war on the US.

American Propaganda in WWII

When the US finally entered the war in 1941, propaganda throughout all forms of media began to spread. Movies, cartoons, posters, comic books, radio, and newspapers alike all encouraged a "good vs evil" narrative in reference to the Allies vs the Axis. Though it helped inspire Americans to be a part of the war effort and support the country as much as possible, it also bred massive amounts of hate towards Italian, German, and Japanese Americans.

War Production

Though the US was massively unprepared to enter the Second World War, President Roosevelt quickly developed a system of priorities to supply the defense factories with the raw materials needed. Synthetic rubber factories were developed and implemented from scratch while the people outside of the factories rationed most things from their everyday lives. Families would receive coupons that would enable them to buy only as much as their family size permitted; this was not only limited to food but also gasoline and clothing.

By the beginning of 1944, the US production rates were doubling those of all Axis countries combined. While around 12 million American men joined or were drafted into the military and sent overseas, women took over factory roles and largely increased the employment rate in the country.

Rosie the Riveter

Women who entered the workforce to help make munitions and implements of war were nicknamed "Rosie the Riveter". "Rosie" became a cultural icon of WWII and represented all of the women who took over the work in the factories and shipyards during wartime. Her image was one of the first to promote equality among men and women in America and is still used today to support feminist movements.

The Japanese "Relocation" Camps

In an act that has forever left a dark stain on US History, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that relocated and incarcerated around 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps; around 2/3 of them were US citizens. Thousands from the Pacific coast lost their homes and businesses forever due to this forced displacement. This was done despite the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) having already arrested those who were deemed a threat to the country's security.

America after the War

After the Allies officially claimed victory in 1945, many changes had been made in the US. Employment in the country saw increased numbers of women, minorities, and over / under-aged males. African Americans in particular saw significant social and economic progress, fighting for their equal rights not only in the workplace but also in society. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 in 1941, which prohibited racial discrimination in job training programs. Also in 1941, Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the United Nations which was an alliance of 26 nations during wartime. In 1945, delegates from 50 Nations signed a charter to make the United Nations permanent.

Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin Roosevelt met for the last time at Yalta in Crimea, in 1945, before Roosevelt died of a sudden hemorrhage in April. There it was decided that upon the surrender of Germany, the country would be divided into zones for the occupation of Allied forces. This meeting also brought the Soviet Union's pledge to join in the war against Japan after the German surrender. After the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan surrendered on September 2nd, 1945, officially bringing WWII to a close.

Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph StalinThe Yalta Conference 1945