How did the involvement of the United States affect the outcome of World War II Essay

Part A: Plan of Investigation The United States before and after the beginning of World War II prided itself on independence and isolation from foreign affairs. The U.S. already had to intervene in World War I, helping to create the Treaty of Versailles against Germany, and did not wish to repeat history in World War II. Germany, being angry of this treaty, began an uprising under the authority of German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Revolts spread throughout all of Europe, causing the creation of various alliances, mainly the Allied and Axis Powers. The United States still held its standpoint of isolationism and did not interfere with or support any war effort; that is, until Japan made an attempt to seize China, which was a strong trade nation for the U.S. The U.S. made attempts to keep Japan out of China for trade purposes only, but were unsuccessful due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s desire to keep neutrality. Japan then struck at the United States with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The next day, the U.S. officially declared war. How did U.S. involvement affect the outcome of World War II? This investigation will cover the chronological order of events of World War II that involved the United States in any matter and how they affected the tide of the war. Most of the research will be from books written by historians of the late 20th century (1994-2000), mainly on the events of World War II from different vantage points. These primary sources incorporate most of the information that proved futile for World War II, giving extensive knowledge of all events. Part B: Summary of Evidence At the beginning of World War II, the U.S. lived by one phrase: â€Å"Stay Out of the War!† All actions done by the government were attempts to keep the U.S. out of the war at any means necessary. But after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. had no choice but to enter the war and fight against the Japanese seize of power. Almost immediately following the U.S.’s declaration of war, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. The involvement of United States in World War II revolutionized how war would be fought for the coming centuries. [pic] Spitfire War Fighter Plane Manufacture at Castle Bromwich in Great Britain The most important factor that affected the outcome of World War II was the U.S.’s mass production of weapons. The economy became known as the â€Å"arsenal of democracy†, using almost every dollar on spending to produce every kind weapon imaginable to win battles on land, sea, and air. The economy of the United States boomed as mass production peaked, unemployment was dissolved, and American citizens’ payments were doubled. In turn for this rapid production of weapons, the U.S. was now allied with three other military powerhouses: the British Empire (currently known as Great Britain), France, and the Soviet Union (mainly Russia). With the addition of America’s mass weapon supply, the tide of the war completely changed. This new alliance became a force to be reckoned with. These new additions led to the creation of the atomic bomb, which would devastate Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Another factor that affected the war was the U.S.’s knowledge of warfare in both air and water. America and Great Britain were the most important factors of air bombings during their time in the war, which was the most important weapon when it came to the invasion of Germany. Great Britain and the U.S. came together to design the P-51 Mustang, which was used to escort bomber planes during the day; with this addition, air raids could now take place both at day and night. Germany was being destroyed piece by piece by the constant borage of bombings it suffered. America also created the proximity fuse, which was a device put inside antiaircraft shells that detonated when it came close to airplanes or the ground. This added to the ability of the Allies to fight against air warfare from Germany and Japan. Along with these creations, the U.S. advanced its naval warfare. The creation of the inflatable flotation device advanced the U.S. fight forward with extreme momentum, as the devi ce gave tanks the ability to â€Å"swim† across rivers and other bodies of water. The creation of the U.S.S. Bogue also created another advantage for the U.S. as it was able to fight against the German U-Boat. Part C: Evaluation of Sources Stein, R. Conrad. World War II in Europe: â€Å"America Goes to War† Hillside, N.J., U.S.A.: Enslow, 1994. R. Conrad Stein, who studied history at the University of Illinois and the University of Guanajuato, is an author of history reference books. He has written extensively on the events of history, ranging from the Underground Railroad to the Korean War. The purpose of this book is to explain the events of World War II and also explain the role of the United States in the war. This book explains in great detail the events of World War II and how each side of the war was affected with each event; thus making the book valuable to this investigation. This book is also valuable because it provides a full list of the important events of World War II in chronological order and an appendix for each chapter so that further references can be made for the book. There aren’t any major limitations on this book. Adams, Simon. World War II. New York: DK Pub., 2004. Simon Adams, who studied history and politics at the London School of Economics and Bristol University, is an author and editor of reference books on history. He has been a full-time history writer for 15 years and since then has written over 60 books on a wide spectrum of historical events. The purpose of this book is to explain the events of World War II and use examples, such as wartime symbols and other objects, to convey the information of the war to the reader. The book is valuable because there are first hand quotes from individuals who witnessed the events of World War II and there are actual articles of evidence from the war to give further explanation its events. The only limitation is that some of the information of the book seems to be slightly vague and broad instead of in great detail, but overall this book proves to be very resourceful. Part D: Analysis The United States’ intervention was extremely essential to the outcome of World War II, as supported by the sources listed in the previous section and other reliable sources. Seeing that R. Conrad Stein and Simon Adams both graduated from top tier universities for history (University of Illinois for Stein; Bristol University for Adams), one can conclude that the information presented in their books is very accurate. The only information that seems to be missing is that the United States wanted to stay completely isolated from this war because of World War I, but this piece of information is presented in most sources including information on the U.S. and World War II, so this can be implicated. The evidence used for this investigation overall is very accurate. This presents the appropriate interpretations and point-of-views that convey the information of the events of World War II involving the United States. This investigation is important because the U.S.’s involvement in the war changed the course of world history. Just as in most events involving military conflict, a number of factors played a role in the U.S. decision to join World War II. Even though the U.S. had only one prime purpose at the beginning of the war-eliminate the Japanese uprising-, their actions affected the entire war as a whole. However, the U.S. was not primly concerned with Japan before their entrance in the war; the U.S. was more concerned about how China would be affected. On the other hand, even though China played a role in the U.S.’s decision, it would be Japan’s desire for domination that would lead to the involvement of the United States in World War II. Ultimately, the involvement of United States in World War II changed the tide of the war as well as the tide of history that would affect foreign affiliations greatly. Part E: Conclusion According to these sources as well as many prestigious historians on World War II, such as Stephen Ambrose, the war seemed to mostly, if not almost entirely, in the Axis Powers’ favor when it came to deciding the victor. The Axis Powers were in control of most of the war and had dominated the big names of the Allied Powers (France and Great Britain). Had the U.S. never gotten involved after the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Allied Powers would not have been able to bounce back from their losses and the Axis Powers would have emerged out of the biggest war the world has ever seen as the victors, changing the tide of world history forever. Hitler’s Nazi ideology would’ve been able to spread like wildfire through all of Europe and eventually would’ve been able to spread to the rest of the world. Not only that but other major events of during the era, such as the beginning of the space race, would’ve never been able to occur because the United States and the U.S.S.R. would’ve been bended to the will of Germany, Japan, and Italy. The United States and the U.S.S.R. would have never became the two sole superpowers of the world; instead, the major countries of the Axis Powers, mainly Germany, Japan, and Italy, would have taken the U.S. and U.S.S.R.’s places. The U.S. intervention would have also affected the present day. The United States would have never been able to be called â€Å"the land of opportunity† because the United States would have lost their worldwide acclaim. Overall, one can say that had the U.S. not intervened in World War II, the world would not be the world we know of today.