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THE NEW DEAL & WWII
In the early 1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt proposed a "New Deal" — a
plan designed to lift Americans out of the Great Depression as quickly as
possible. He noted that democracy had disappeared in other countries at that
time — not because the people opposed democracy but because they had grown tired
of unemployment and insecurity.
Under his leadership, a federal corporation was established to insure
deposits in savings banks. Regulations were imposed on the sale of stocks. Laws
were passed to guarantee the right of workers to be represented by unions.
Farmers received subsidies for certain crops and assistance in preventing soil
erosion. The Civilian Conservation Corps employed young men to plant trees,
clean up waterways, and improve facilities in national parks. The Public Works
Administration hired skilled laborers for large-scale projects, such as building
dams and bridges. The Tennessee Valley Authority provided flood control and
electric power for that impoverished area. And the Federal Emergency Relief
Administration distributed aid, often in the form of direct payments.
A second round of programs employed workers to build roads, airports, and
schools; hired artists, actors, musicians, and writers; and gave part-time
employment to young people. It also established the Social Security system to
help the poor, disabled, and elderly.
Americans were generally uneasy with the idea of big government, yet they
wanted the government to take greater responsibility for the welfare of ordinary
people. And while the New Deal provided tangible help for millions of Americans,
it never succeeded in restoring prosperity. Better times would come, but not
until after another world war had swept the United States into its path.
The United States tried to remain neutral while totalitarian regimes in
Germany, Italy, and Japan expanded their control over neighboring countries.
Debate intensified after Germany invaded France and began bombing Britain.
Despite strong isolationist sentiment, Congress voted to conscript soldiers and
strengthen the military.
Most people were focused on what was happening in Europe when Japan
threatened to seize sources of raw materials used by Western industries. In
response, the United States imposed an embargo on the one commodity Japan needed
above all others — oil — and demanded that it withdraw from territories it had
conquered. Japan refused, and on December 7, 1941, it carried out a devastating
attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States
declared war on Japan. Germany and Italy, by then allies of Japan, declared war
on the United States.
American industry and agriculture were harnessed for the war effort.
Production of military equipment was staggering: 300,000 aircraft, 5,000 cargo
ships, 60,000 landing craft, and 86,000 tanks in less than four years. Much of
the work was done by women, who went to work in factories while men went to
fight.
The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, allied to counter the Nazi
threat, decided that their primary military effort was to be concentrated in
Europe. They were determined to break the German-Italian grip on the
Mediterranean and prevent the fall of Moscow. Then they would liberate Rome and
Paris, and finally Berlin.
From Germany's occupation of Poland in 1939 to its surrender in 1945, the war
in Europe claimed the lives of millions of people — soldiers and civilians
alike. Millions more were exterminated in the Holocaust, Nazi Germany's
systematic policy of genocide against the Jews and other groups.
The war in Asia was largely a series of naval battles and amphibious assaults
to break the Japanese grip on islands in the Pacific Ocean. Fighting there
continued after the fighting in Europe had stopped. The final battles were among
the war's bloodiest. Most Americans, including President Harry Truman, believed
that an invasion of Japan would be even worse. Truman was willing to use the
newly developed atomic bomb to bring the war to an end. When Japan refused to
surrender, he ordered bombs dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The plan worked — Japan surrendered — and World War II was finally over in
August 1945. Only later would people realize the full implications of the
awesome, destructive power of nuclear weapons.
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