US Involvement in the World War II

Factors Influencing the US to Enter the War

The US maintained a neutral state for close to two years as World War II (WWII) continued. However, Congress was engaged in arguments over the neutrality several months before an attack by Japan on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941.¹ The war activities between China, Japan, Germany, and Italy did not directly affect the USA, which supported its neutral state as the conflict continued. Nevertheless, President Franklin Roosevelt publicly opposed Japan, Germany, and Italy’s aggression called for quarantining of warlike nations while condemning the Nazi government’s nature.² However, a widespread isolationist tradition within Congress and the American public maintained the US away from WWII. Most Americans favored concentration on recovery after the Great Depression that caused farm problems and increased unemployment. ³ Unexpectedly, Adolf Hitler’s army won battles around May and June of 1940, pushing France out of the war and threatening to dominate Europe. The US had quickly to decide to help or single-handedly deal with German-dominated Europe.

Public opinion across America was changed by sympathy towards Britain. In the autumn and summer of 1940, several cities, including London, were bombed while submarine attacks on British ships increased.⁴ Roosevelt’s freedom to act also increased after his re-election with a 55% popular vote for a third time.⁵ Without the mandate to involve the US in the war, Roosevelt implemented one-sided neutrality. He supported Britain by providing 50 obsolete destroyers, sending Marines to Iceland, openly condemning Nazism in the Atlantic Charter launch, ordering US Navy to escort British convoys, and offering arms without direct payment.⁶ Berlin restrained from attacking the US to prevent its involvement until Russia was conquered in a Soviet Union battle.

Moves that were more directly involved heavy economic sanctions, freezing of Japanese assets, and cutting off oil exports to Japan.⁷ America would only end the sanctions and normalize relations if Tokyo ended its war with China and pulled out of the Tripartite Pact that required Japan, Italy, and Germany to support each other if the US warred against one of them.⁸ This hardline provoked the unprecedented Pearl Harbour attack, where the US suffered great loss of life, shifting public opinion to support entry into the war.⁹ Therefore, the preceding events and the eventual attack were the factors that saw America join WWII.

Fanatical Warfare by Japan and Germany

Fanatical warfare manifested in Japanese and German’s commitment to fighting until death during WWII. Japan relied on the power of their emperor, who they belied was descended from their gods and was semi-divine.¹⁰ His influence and prominence started with the replacement of Buddhism as the national religion due to ideological and political reasons. Patriotism was raised to sacredness; citizens could not look at or speaker the emperor’s name.¹¹ Japanese soldiers and civilians made extreme sacrifices in the emperor’s obedience, including the fighting in WWII. Germany’s fanaticism in WWII was influenced by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime that believed in all or nothing approach to the war. The regime required citizens and warriors to recite ‘ultimate victory’ belief even in the imminent loss. Adolf Hitler was believed to have a dictatorship personality and a suicidal urge that pushed him to fight to the death, influencing Germans to adopt a similar outlook.¹² Mottoes guiding Germany, including ‘for honor’ and ‘for the fatherland,’ sustained them in war, as it was their sole duty.¹³ Although attitudes could have been contradictory among soldiers and civilians, Hitler severely punished dissent.

Measures the US Military Used to Eliminate Germany and Japan

Roosevelt technically declared war against Japan instead of Germany, allowing Hitler to declare war against the US first. Hitler presumed that most of America’s war efforts would be against Japan, and they could prepare attacks without the US’s readiness.¹⁴ The American troops’ primary method was to reinforce Allies’ troops against Germany. The first such reinforcement was offered to the British army during the North African Campaign, leading to the surrender of the Axis Powers.¹⁵ Hitler was caught by surprise because he expected the US to be busy fighting with Japan. America rallied behind the Allies in the ensuing battles until the Nazis surrendered. In Japan, the US targeted the surrounding islands to starve the nation into surrender. However, the country’s fanaticism kept them fighting, forcing massive bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities, crippling the nation into surrender.¹⁶ All the measures used against Germany and Japan led to losses of life and destruction of properties due to the two countries’ fanatical warfare.

US Economy Improvement Following the War

WWII had a positive impact on the US economy, considering that it struggled to recover. The war created new industries, human skills, and technologies that led to 17 million civilian jobs, a 96% increase in industrial productivity, and a doubling of corporate profits.¹⁷ White women and black Americans joined the workforce as wages increased and the US attained full employment and income distribution became fairer.¹⁸ Agricultural life and housing conditions drastically improved as people earned almost 50% more than 1939 wages.¹⁹ As soldiers waged war in foreign countries, the economy at home was flourishing, ready for their arrival.

Bibliography

Beard, Charles and Campbell Craig. President Roosevelt and the coming of the war, 1941: Appearances and realities. Routledge, 2017.

Le, Tom Phuong. “2 Multiple Militarisms.” In Japan’s Aging Peace, pp. 34-63. Columbia University Press, 2021.

Mawdsley, Evan, “America and WW2: When, How, and Why the US Get Involved, and Why they Didn’t Join Sooner?” History Extra, 2020, Web.

Willoughby, John. “Sovereign Soldiers: How the US Military Transformed the Global Economy after World War II.” (2019): 239-240.

Yang, Anping. “The Rise of Nazism and Militarism.” European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 1, no. 3 (2021): 12-20.

Footnotes

1. Evan Mawdsley, “America and WW2: When, How, and Why the US Get Involved, and Why they Didn’t Join Sooner?,” History Extra, Web.
2. Evan, “America and WW2”.
3. Charles Beard and Campbell Craig. President Roosevelt and the coming of the war, 1941: Appearances and realities. Routledge, 2017.
4. Charles and Campbell. President Roosevelt, 26.
5. Charles and Campbell, 39.
6. Evan, “America and WW2”.
7. Charles and Campbell. President Roosevelt, 26.
8. Evan, “America and WW2”.
9. Anping Yang. “The Rise of Nazism and Militarism.” European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 1, no. 3 (2021): 12-20.
10. Tom Phuong Le. “2 Multiple Militarisms.” In Japan’s Aging Peace, pp. 34-63. Columbia University Press, 2021.
11. Anping, “The Rise of Nazism and Militarism,” 15.
12. Anping, “The Rise of Nazism and Militarism,” 18.
13. Tom Phuong, “2 Multiple Militarisms,” 35.
14. Tom Phuong, 46.
15. Evan, “America and WW2”.
16. Anping, 17.
17. John Willoughby. “Sovereign Soldiers: How the US Military Transformed the Global Economy after World War II.” (2019): 239-240.
18. Evan, “America and WW2”.
19. John, “Sovereign Soldiers,” 239.