A Study on the American Experience Since 1945

At the start of World War 1, The United States were neutral. Then, the U.S. joined the war on the side of the allies. After the war, America was a new nation. It had evolved through time and bloodshed. This was due to mainly social changes. U.S. citizens were mainly all nationalists coming into the war, but certainly people were inclined to help and defend their nations honor during the war. The people fighting in the war obviously were a big part in winning the war, but the people at home sparking social rallies, were doing more than they could ever imagine. Then of course there is the fact that when boats with United States citizens were demolished, people in the States got angry. Telling the president to go to war.

World War II brought several changes to the world and specifically America. It not only changed the world map but also set impact on the behaviours. WWII played a major role in building turning points during different periods. Before WWII, African Americans were not offered equal rights in the community. It was considered an impossible thing that African could ever do a white collar or even a blue collar job. However, soon after the WWII, there came a turning point in the lives of African American with the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Due to this migration the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 was created. The justification given to the public was that it would make evacuation of large cities more efficient in case of an attack by the Soviet Union. It became the largest public works program in American history. The program was completely funded by taxes placed on goods that were needed for this migration (e.g., gas, oil, tires, buses and trucks). Two industries that reaped the most from this were the automobile industry and suburban home construction.

On the heels of war, new technology caused a decrease in prices of goods in the 1920’s and in the 1950’s the GI Bill increased

After World War II, the American psyche became permanently stained with new ideas. During this time period, the American government actively sought to change the way the American people thought. The support of the American public was crucial to the success of the war effort. Many ideas introduced during this point of time consisted of new roles of certain people groups in American society. Women and minority groups would prove themselves in the workplace, millions of citizens would be discriminated against, and social barriers would be broken and assembled. Even though World War II took place in Europe and the Pacific, it made lasting social changes that can still be seen in America.

On December 7th, 1941, Japanese fighter planes staged an attack on U.S naval and military forces based in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. In around just two hours, America suffered from approximately 3,435 casualties including 2,000 deaths. The shattering defeat cost the U.S, 8 battle ships and around 200 airplanes. The following day, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. This was approved, and more than two years into the conflict, America had eventually fully committed to the war.

There is a fine line between what American society looked like during World War II and contemporary America. The dilemma is that society has gone from patriotism and a fight for liberty to “everyone walking around with a chip on his or her shoulder” (Carr 2). This two distinct differences on America culture and society is manifested in, Howie Carr’s “Take $2000 and Call Me in the Morning” and Ronald Reagan’s speech, “The Boys of Point du Hoc”.

After the war, the American people made the change from "old" ways to "new" ways. Many factors, such as new technology, fundamentalism, new looks and church led to tension between the old and the new. The 1920s were a time of conflicting viewpoints between traditional behaviors and new and changing attitudes.

On December 7, 1941, with Japanese attack on Perl Harbor, all debate over avoiding war and the policy of American isolationism was gone. It was the beginning of a great war that brought death, devastation and finally the victory and power to United States. At the time of Roosevelt’s appointment in 1933, historically crucial events were taking place in Japan, Italy and Germany which had to shape the future and the fate of United States. This paper studies and analyses the major factors which contributed to American success both at home and abroad during WWII in addition to world’s view about American participation in war and bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The challenge to a variety of political and social issues distinctly characterizes the post World War II (WWII) era, from the mid 1940’s through the 1970’s, in the United States. These issues included African-American civil rights, women’s rights, the threat of Communism, and America’s continuous war effort by entering the Cold War immediately after the end to WWII. These debated issues led to the birth of multiple social movements, collectively referred to as the New Left, rooted in liberalism. In response to the New Left, a strong brand of conservatism, collectively referred to as the Right, arose to counteract these movements. Despite opposing ideology and convictions,

How did world war one impact American society? What led to the shift in the American position regarding entrance into WW1? Compared to today’s U.S. foreign policy in terms of isolation to involvement in world affairs? We as americans would like to know this information to see if this war would have never happened, Would our society be different? Would this change our position in this world? Would our American policies that we know of as people today never exist?

Is it possible to know what Americans thought of World War II, if they believed that the war was a just war or whether they did not agree for what the United States was fighting for? The historian Studs Terkel believes he knows this answer and that Americans saw themselves as liberators of an oppressed world fighting for the just war which can be concluded from his famous volume, The Good War. Of course one person’s beliefs should not be believed as easily just by reading a book. A person should base their opinions on something much more analytical than that. In order to decide whether some Americans actually thought that World War II was a just war, a thorough analysis should be done of American life looking at all the facts found. Beginning with American experience before the war then analyzing the experience of the war and the home-front itself and finally ending with the analysis of America after World War II a conclusion can be made regarding the American point of view.

In September of 1939, a global war had begun when Hitler led the German forces to invade Poland. The American president was reluctant on entering the war because he was building allies in the western hemisphere and was focused on making life better on the home front. Tragedy struck America on the morning of December 7, 1941 when the Japanese conducted a surprise aerial attack against the United States naval base at pearl harbor. The lethal and deadly force of the attack spurred President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to realize it was time to enter the war. As American troops were being sent off to war citizens' lives on the home front changed dramatically. The soldiers were being taken care of before the people and did not experience the

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus defines the word adapt as a verb and its meaning is “to make suitable or fit (as in for new use or different conditions)” (14). Most people in the United States would say that the ability to adapt is simply a part of the American way of life. Americans have always relied on this trait from the early days of British colonization to present times. It can be demonstrated in all facets of life. Adaptability was the reason the old frontier was populated; people adjusted to the unfamiliar climates, conditions, and lands. Immigrants were able to and continue to be adapt to the American culture and thrive in the United States. Americans adapted to the threat of the enemy during World War II and had to acclimate to a life full of restrictions in their day to day activities. In the military, soldiers must adapt to a new way of thinking to allow themselves to become warriors. Now Americans must adapt to a life lived in view of everyone with the use social media and camera ready cell phones. Throughout the course of American history and into our present times American citizens have depended on their ability to adapt; whether it be mentally, physically, and/or emotionally. It was imperative that citizens were adaptable in the past and it continues to be so today, not only to survive but to prosper.

     One of the most important wars ever fought was World War II. In the midst, the Nazis