World War II Through the 1970s Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

World War II Through the 1970s - Assignment Example The war officially started in 1939 with the formation of two global military fronts, the allies and the axis. Most countries had no choice but to join either of the two military alliances. It was by far the most globally widespread war ever fought in the history of mankind. The European conflict was already heating up during the 1930s that ultimately resulted in German invasion of Poland in Sep 1939 and inevitably marked the onset of the Second World War. Adolf Hitler was a major figure that influenced the course of the war and proved to the mastermind behind the German’s plan of world domination. Therefore, Axis alliance was mostly led by the Germans with major contributions from Italy and Japan. Poland, France, British Empire, Soviet Union and later on US mainly constituted the Allies front. US initially avoided being part of this power clash but had no option but to counter attack after Japan bombers drop havoc over Pearl Harbor. (Payment 2004). During 1930s to 1970s, the p eriod is full of major historical events but two of them had a major influence on America’s current politics, economy, culture and society. These include the mentioned incidence of Pearl Harbor and later US atomic bomb explosions over the two populated cities of Japan. Pearl Harbor and Atomic Bombs The attacks on Pearl Harbor proved to be the decisive event that prompted US to finally involve in the bloodshed of the world war. However, going into the war turned out be politically and strategically beneficial as it helped US to emerge as a superpower on the global canvas. Soviet Union was the other force that gained immense power during the war period, thus, a clash between these two super powers was displayed in the form of cold war that had a great impact on political, social and economic front of America. Incidence of Pearl Harbor can be argued as one of the major underlying factor in stirring these future events. Moreover, dropping of nuclear bombs on the two cities of Jap an by the American planes that killed thousands of people in an instance turned out be a major blow. It gathered huge criticism and induced massive uproars regarding the use of nuclear weapons but it also put an end to six year long war. It had a great political as well as social impact. Even today, it remains as a black mark on the history of United States. Arguably, that event influenced many US policies that include a solid stance on global nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. US reluctance During the development of European conflict in the late 1930s, America maintained its stance of isolationism. Few reasons for such apathy can be deduced. First of all the great depression during the 1930s discouraged the US from participating any distant conflicts that would add burden on the economic front. Secondly, they were reluctant to enter the emerging war after the lessons learned from the aftermath of the First World War. A committee in the senate had already blamed war profiteers or â€Å"merchants of death† for American entry into the World War I. Several neutrality acts were passed during the late 1930s to ensure similar mistake is not repeated under the current situation. (Wittkopf et al 2002). Women in the World War American women played a major role in winning the World War II. Their contributions came in many forms. War demanded utilization of all country resources such as labor in the factory to produce military supplies, troops to fight for country’s cause. American women served all these purposes, more efficiently than anticipated. They also contributed as nurses, taking care of the wounded by serving in the Red Cross. The whole