American History

Unit XI: World War II, 1920-1945

Time Period: Approximately 4-6 weeks

TEXT reference: pp. 770-787; 788-808, 818-827; 809-817

Supplemental readings:

Constitutional Rights Foundation, “Compensating the Victims of War,” Spring 2003, pp. 9-12

___________________________, “Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism,” Fall 2010, pp. 5-8

___________________________, “Wartime and the Bill of Rights: The Korematsu Case,” Summer 2002,

pp. 1-4

John Elson, with Daniel S. Levy, “Did F.D.R. Do Enough?,” Time magazine, April 18, 1984

Jim Impoco, “What the Emperor Knew: New Evidence about Hirohito’s role in Pearl Harbor attack,”

Walter Isaacson, “Why Did We Drop The Bomb?”, Time magazine, August 19, 1985

David M. Kennedy, “FDR and Hitler: A Study in Contrasts,” in History Now, The Gilder Lehrman

Institute of American History, 2007

David A. Multer, “America After Pearl Harbor,” Unpublished

Kathleen O’Brien, “Marking A Solemn Day In Peace,” in the Newark Star-Ledger, Septmber 5, 2002,

p. 51

Presidio of San Francisco, California, “Instructions To All Persons Of Japanese Ancestry,” Civilian Exclu-

Allan M. Winkler, “The World War II Home Front,” from History Now, The Gilder Lehrman Institute

of American History, 2007
Unit Overview

World War II was the deadliest war ever. Conservative scholarly estimates place the death toll at between

62 and 78 million people, of whom nearly 62 percent were civilians. Military death figures included battle

deaths [KIA], personnel missing in action [MIA], as well as fatalities due to accidents, disease, and deaths of

prisoners of war [POW] in captivity. Civilian deaths included those killed by strategic bombing, Nazi persecu-

tion, Japanese war crimes [including 4 to 12 millions who died of famine in a half dozen countries occupied

by the Japanese military], population “transfers” in the Soviet Union, Allied war crimes, and deaths due to

disease. The distinction between military and civilian deaths caused by warfare and collateral damage was not

always clear cut, as if that truly mattered to the loved ones of the dead.
Why did it happen? Here, scholars are in agreement as to three root causes: The Bolshevik Revolution of

1917, the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, and the Great Depression, which was not merely an American cala-

mity but a financial plague upon the WHOLE industrial world.
The Bolshevik Revolution turned Russia inward where, despite its tremendous physical size and population,

it ceased to be a factor in controlling aggression in either Eastern Europe or Asia. American recognition of

the Soviet government late in 1933 sought to break down Russian isolation; the gambit was mostly a failure.

Western democracies fearing the contamination of communism in their economies acted to further isolate the

Soviets, ultimately pushing them into a “Non-Aggression Pact” with Nazi Germany, their sworn enemy.
The Treaty of Versailles left neither the victors nor the vanquished of World War I satisfied with the

outcome. America refused to join its own international vehicle for peace, the League of Nations. The failure

of Italy at Versailles to acquire more Austro-Hungarian territory along the Mediterranean led to the collapse

of a constitutional monarchy under a fascist assault. At Versailles, Germany received full blame for the

War and reparation demands it could never pay. An experiment with German democracy at Weimar was

stillborn, leaving many citizens anxious for the future and willing to support any fringe party willing to assure

them that everything was going to be fine. The new Soviet Union was politically ostracized. Japan sought

inclusion in the Treaty of a clause recognizing the principle of racial equality, and was rebuffed by the

white western political leaders who controlled the peace conference. Nonplussed, Japan decided to establish

its hegemony in the Pacific without Anglo-European approval.

depended upon trade with its neighbors to acquire necessary resources for its industrial infrastructure. When that trade evaporated, Japan justified the invasion of its Asian neighbors as necessary for its economic survival. Nazi

Germany and Fascist Italy pursued military-industrial expansion as an antidote to high unemployment and eco-

nomic stagnation. That Germany was forbidden this course of action by the Treaty of Versailles was ignored

Rather than risk precipitating another war, Britain and France practiced appeasement with Germany and Italy,

wishing that this policy would keep them safe. Americans chose to ignore evil abroad to confront hunger and

want through the New Deal.
World War II was, in fact, TWO wars, fought in different parts of the world, with different nation participants,

beginning and ending at different times, by different means. “World War II in the European theatre,” notes historian Douglas Brinkley, “was a case of massive armies arrayed against an unambiguous evil. The Pacific war was mainly fought by isolated groups of men and was overlaid by a sense that our foes were fundamentally different from us.” In that sense, the war in the Pacific bears a closer relation to the complex war on terrorism America is waging now. It didn’t matter that the Axis Powers each lacked sufficient natural resources, especially petroleum, to carry out their plans; if the democratic West didn’t respond, the Axis would win. For a time, Britain stood alone in both theatres of war. America, as a self-proclaimed “Arsenal of Democracy” with a cornucopia of economic, industrial, and military assets, provided a necessary margin for victory and, without overstatement, saved the world.

1. What were the root causes for the outbreak of World War II?

2. What role did geography play in the development of military strategies and weaponry in

World War II?

3. To what extent was the subject of “race” the dominant factor in the strategy and conduct of the War

by MOST of the major Nation participants?

4. How should one characterize the participation of Women, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans,

among others, in the American war effort despite the racism and sexism inherent in American society?

5. Do the policies regarding Japanese internment, and that of other minority groups, represent the denial

of Constitutional and human rights?

6. How did media coverage of the War affect American support for participation in the War?

7. Was the response of the United States, and of other nations, to the human carnage of the Holocaust

appropriate in the conduct of the War, or lacking in alacrity and compassion?

8. What was the immediate impact of the War upon Post-War American foreign and domestic policies?

Corresponding proficiencies from the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, adopted

September 2009, appear in brackets.
1. Students will be able to identify examples for and explain why the Bolshevik Revolution, the Treaty of Ver-

sailles, and the Great Depression were the root causes for the outbreak of World War II.

[ 6.1.12.A.11.a, 6.1.12.A.11.b ]
2. Students will be able to understand the role played by geography in the development of weaponry and

military strategy in World War II.

[ 6.1.12.B.11.a ]
3. Students will be able to consider and evaluate the role played by “race” in the conduct of World War II.

[ 6.1.12.A.11.c, 6.1.12.A.11.e, 6.1.12.D.11.c, 6.1.12.D.11.d ]

American relocation and interment.

[ 6.1.12.A.11.c ]
5. Students will be able to compare and contrast media coverage of World War II with that of current conflicts

in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[ 6.1.12.D.11.c ]
6. Students will be able to evaluate President Truman’s decision to deploy the atomic bomb against Japan.

[ 6.1.12.A.11.d ]

directly influenced Post-War American foreign and domestic policies.

[ 6.1.12.C.11.a, 6.1.12.D.11.e ]
Methods of Instruction

1. Examine the impact of the Bolshevik Revolution, the Treaty of Versailles, and the Great Depression on

the rise of the Nazi Party, and of the Italian Fascist Party, the ascending friction between Imperial Japan

and the United States, American diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union, Italy’s War with Ethiopia,

Japan’s War with China, the Munich Pact, and the Spanish Civil War, among other examples.
2. Listen to the broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow and President Roosevelt to explain, in part, the shift in

American popular opinion from non-involvement in the European Theatre to support for the Allied

Powers.
3. Create a chart illustrating World War II as two separate conflicts in European and Pacific Theatres.
4. Examine American-Japanese relations, from 1853-1941, to understand why Japan attacked the United

States at Pearl Harbor, the ONLY reason why America entered the War, and why that attack was, in the

long run, a failed strategy.
5. Examine the rationale for the “Final Solution” of the Nazis for the eradication of Europe’s Jews and

evaluate the issue of culpability for the degree to which the Nazi regime was successful.

6. Measure the impact of American participation in World War II upon the “Home Front” in regard to

the economy, scarcity, opportunities for Women and other minorities in the prosecution of the War,

the American family, and accepted public morality, among other factors.
7. Conduct a scored discussion to evaluate the decision of President Truman to deploy the atomic bomb

against Japan.

1. Map analysis of the Map of Europe between the World Wars

2. In-Class Essays, without notes or rough draft, evaluating the relocation of Japanese-Americans and the

decision of President Truman to deploy the atomic bomb

3. Qualified and successful completion of all Homework and/or Classwork assignments

4. Class participation in all activities and discussion

5. Tests and Quizzes with a variety of question techniques including, but not limited to: short answer,

multiple choice, matching, and X-questions