Robert Anderson

Professor James Smith

History-261
25 October 2015
The Ticking Time Bomb That Changed Our World.
Fidel Castro once said I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy, it is gross, it is
alienating... because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition. There are many ways to
interpret what Fidel Castro meant, but in this essay we are going to be relating it to
Americas involvement in World War 2. By 1940 Americas economy was in shambles,
the only way to unite the nation, increase employment and to bring our economy back to
life was to join World War 2.
As World War 2 ended, many Americans believed that America was now the
main superpower in the world and they werent wrong they were. America successfully
took down the axis, and created a bomb thats capable of total mass destruction. Before
World War 2 America was focused on the ideal of isolationism and many Americans
believed in isolationism as well. Lets take a step back and look at pre World War 2
America. As World War 1 ended many Americans were devastated on the lost of life and
destruction that happened globally, and they were right to. Never before has the world
experienced a war so global and deadly as World War 1. More than 20 million people
now lay dead and millions of people left homeless. Many Americans opted for
isolationism to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again, but this will all change
once the Japanese attacks Pearl Harbor. World War 1 was supposed to be the war to end
all wars, but within a couple of years, a new was brewing. As War World 2 erupted

America was in its worst state its ever seen. Its economy has been beaten down by the
great depression, unemployment raised to record high levels, many people lost homes and
couldnt afford food, and worst of all people who went to sleep rich suddenly woke up
poor. Soon Roosevelt knew he had to find a cure to this cancer, and the answer was war.
Roosevelt knew hed never have the Americans publics support on declaring war for the
sake of declaring war so he knew hed have to provoke the Japanese. He was finally able
to provoke the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor by bombarding the Japanese with
sanctions and freezing their assets. But if Roosevelt knew the Japanese were going to
attack, why didnt he try to prevent it? The reason he didnt prevent the attack was
because he knew that if the Japanese attacked American land, and god forbid American
born soldiers, hed have the whole American public on his side. Zinn quotes that
Franklin Roosevelt repeatedly deceived the American people during the period before
pearl harbor He was like the physician who must tell the patient lies for the patients
own good.(Zinn 411) What Zinn meant here was that in order for Roosevelt to cure
America of all its problems, hed have to deceive them into supporting a war that
couldve and shouldve have been prevented. At the end of all this America would
emerge as victors and were now in a position to dominate the world. The war not only
put the United States in a position to dominate much of the world; it created conditions
for effective control at home. The unemployment, the economic distress, and the
consequent turmoil that had marked the thirties only partly relieved by the new deal
measures, had been pacified, overcome by the greater turmoil of the war.(Zinn 425)
Zinn here shows us that due to the war, the American economy and lifestyle had been
rejuvenated. World War II left The United States as the only big guy left standing and

other nations turned to us for protection from emerging totalitarian countries like the
Russia. We also started to supply food and money grants to smaller countries, we
influenced France and England and other European countries to free their colonies. Due
to all this, the American people believed they were entitled to be the police of the
world. This war changed many Americans expectations of their nations role in the
world; they now expect America to be the peace giver of the world.

World War 1 and World War 2 were two very different wars, but both more or
less had the same end result. For example at the end of War World 1 and War World 2
Germany was forced into depression and debt, the United States economy improves, and
arms are stockpiled for future wars. (For War World 2, and the Cold War respectively)
Americas participation in World War 2 differs from their participation in World War 1 in
many ways, most notably how they entered the war. The United States entered World
War 1 late, in 1917. That happened because Woodrow Wilson didn't want a war because
they believed heavily in isolationism. A percent of USA population also actually had
German heritage and the government feared their reaction, but when Germans attacked
first, all the Americans agreed about the war. Woodrow Wilson also started a campaign
to make the world safe for democracy. This would play a major roll in American foreign
relations ships in the future In contrast to War World 2, Theodore Roosevelt wanted to
join the war, but the public did not to. World War 1 was fought on the basis of politics,
and World War 2 was fought on the basis of different ideologies. The fact that World
War 2 was fought based on different ideologies (communism vs. fascism)."At the very
time the senate was ensuring McCarthy, Congress was putting through a whole series of

anti-communist bills.(Zinn 431) This shows one of Americas attempts to directly tackle
communism. America fought World War 1 for many reasons, but one of the most
important was that it was a war to make the world safe for democracy. This would have
grave consequences in the future; it ultimately leads to the cold war, American
intervention in multiple countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, and the Koreas. Due to
America fighting World War 2, the Axis gave up their colonies; this would soon spark
several revolutions against colonialism in the years to follow.
Many people wonder today, Was America truly threatened by World War 2?
This is a very controversial topic when it comes to open discussions because some people
believe that they werent threatened and some think we were threatened. Since this is an
essay paper I feel that I am entitled to give my honest opinion, and I believe that America
would be threatened in the long run if they never joined the war. If America didnt join
the war, Hitler would have taken over Europe and Japan would be in control of Asia, two
countries that have very different ideologies from the United States. If Japan and
Germany were allowed to go on, America would have been in big danger. Yes at that
time Germany and Japan wouldnt have been able to take over America being limited in
technology, but if they took over Europe and Asia, they would have became more and
more of a threat as every day passed and America simply could not take have taken any
risks when it came to their independence. So was America truly threatened in World War
2, they werent threatened short term, but if the Japanese and Germans got their way, they
would be threatened in the long term. The war had a huge impact on America internally...
ironically in a good way. War is the Health of the state.the governments flourished,
patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled(Zinn 359). What Zinn is trying to tell us

here is that America survives off wars. Weve seen this happen multiple times, after
World War 1,and World War 2. The war transformed Americans in a way never seen
before. It can be said that after World War 2, America witnessed its greatest time period,
the nifty fifties. The war really took Americas economy to another level, now wealth
was being distributed more evenly meaning the middle class grew and that people can
now afford new luxuries. One of the most important luxuries was the car. The car
allowed young teens to go places and have fun without their parents being around. In the
fifties, car was king. Freeways, multilevel parking lots, shopping centers,
Motels, and drive-in restaurants and theaters all catered to the person behind the
Wheel. (Major Problems in American History, Volume II Page 347). Now with cars
American families can now enjoy going on vacations, which led to the rise of the fast
food industry, most notably McDonalds. With all these advancements in living, women
found themselves with a lot of free time. Woman now started working more and started
moving away from the stereotypical white American housewife. Young women were
also affected by this whole transition; they now found themselves with more freedom
than theyve ever had. Boys cruising in hot rods and quaffing six-packs of beer knew
they were flirting with danger, as did those girls who risked pregnancy to discover the
secret pleasures of the body. Why not? The fifties was the first generation in modern
history to know that the world could end tomorrow.(Major Problems in American
History, Volume II Page 350). Life in the fifties was basically like that if you were an
Anglo- Saxon male or female. Cultures suddenly changes, before not so long ago in the
Victorian way of living girls would have never thought of petting, but now it was the
norm. As to females, two out of three had engaged in premarital petting.

Fifty percent were non-virgins before marriage. One out of every six girls had
experienced orgasm prior to adolescence, and one in four by the age of fifteen.(Major
Problems in American History, Volume II Page 350). Those statistics show you just how
much change the war brought on the American home front.
Zinn once said, "If there's going to be change, real change, it will have to work
its way from the bottom up, from the people themselves. That's how change happens." I
believe completely in that quote. After reading A Peoples History of The United States
by Howard Zinn it really shows that as long as the common united people are united, they
can overcome anything. Just look at the labor unions for example. The common people
demanded change, they fought for change and guess what, change is exactly what they
got. Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution
inevitable(JFK).