After World War 1, Europe was desperately trying to recover from the effects of World War 1. Their economies were just getting worse and worse. Germany was paying thousands of dollars in reparations and the Austro-Hungarian Empire split into different countries.
In 1931, Japan took over Manchuria which is above China. Then, 6 years later, Japan attacked and invaded China and killed many people. Japan continued to try and take over different countries, such as Indochina.
While all of this was happening in Asia, Europe was also undergoing extreme changes. Italy and Germany’s governments both became fascist, which means that they had dictators to control them. Fascists believe that there is a certain superiority within a group that others do not have. They do not support equal and individual rights. Italy’s dictator was Benito Mussolini and Germany’s dictator was Adolf Hitler.
All of these governmental changes led to countries continuing to invade other countries. Italy, Japan, and Germany were planning to invade half of their respective continents.
Most Americans at the time felt that they needed to stay out of the war by all means, which is known as isolationism…but this was easier said than done. The United States relied on trade with Europe and Asia, so the stability of the countries was incredibly important.
The American government met in the 1920’s in Washington D.C. and made several agreements and treaties to try and prevent another war. They limited things like how many navy ships could be sailing at one time and agreed that they would not attack other countries’ trading ships.
Even after Germany invaded Poland and World War 2 had already begun, the United States stayed out of the war. Country upon country fell to the German army, but America held on to its original ideals.
One of the major alliances during World War 2 was the Allies. They consisted mainly of Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Britain entered the war after Germany invaded Poland because of their alliance with Poland. The United States started fighting after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, going back on their original decision to stay out of foreign affairs and the Soviet Union entered the war after Germany invaded current-day Russia.
Allies
Axis Powers
The second major alliance during World War 2 was the Axis Powers. The main members of the Axis Powers were Germany, Italy, and the Japanese Empire. Germany entered the war because of their dictator, Adolf Hitler. His tremendous desire to invade and take over most of Europe was the main reason World War 2 even began. Italy started fighting also because of their dictator’s desire to take over Europe and Africa, while Japan entered the war for the same exact reason…their want to take over most of Asia.
In 1940, Roosevelt became the first American president to be re-elected for a third term. After he was elected, he put the Lend Lease Program into action which was meant to help Great Britain. It allowed countries fighting on the Allies side to borrow weapons and ammunition from the United States. Many Americans were against this act because they still wanted to stay out of foreign affairs. This act still ended up going into effect and was one of the main reasons the Great Britain managed to succeed in World War 2.
Eventually, Japan started becoming a threat to the United States because of their overwhelming power. America built naval ships in Hawaii (very close to Japan) and the Japanese people were very afraid of an incoming attack. The United States also stopped exporting goods that Japan needed. We were also sending aid to China to fight against Japan.
On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked the naval base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Almost all U.S. planes and battleships were destroyed. President Roosevelt and Congress declared war on Japan and shortly after Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States.
As the war raged on, Atlanta was busy making up defenses to protect it incase of an attack. One of their defense plants, known as the Bell Aircraft Company, made many planes for the military after Pearl Harbor was bombed. There were many workers at this company and over 30% of them were female. The Bell Aircraft Company made over 600 planes which flew mainly over the Pacific to help during the war effort.
