The President of the United States had a strategic dilemma throughout the beginning of World War II. President Roosevelt secretly aided the British in their war against Nazi Germany. I did not want war with Japan, because he could stop this if I had to confront Germany.
The American public did not share his sense of urgency to help Europe. The European war seemed distant and absent. The American public blamed the Europeans for this war.China, where forgotten during the invasion of Poland, the fall of France, and the Battle of Britain, most Americans seemed to be the war that the United States must fight, if they had to fight.
The American public was tremendously shocked by the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which was seen as a cowardly and treacherous attack at a United States of America nothing prepared. While President Roosevelt was accused of having allowed the attack had happened in December 1941, the American public united against Japan in a way that a week before would have seemed impossible.
For Roosevelt, it was the wrong war at the wrong time. If in 1941, Roosevelt had gone to Congress with a declaration of war against Germany, when they overcame the Japanese everywhere, he would have lost the crucial support of the Congress.
Hitler gave the answer. On December 11, 1941, declared war on the United States of America. Their U-boats attacked American ships in the Caribbean to Iceland, sinking a large amount of new vessels in a happy moment for the Germans.
Even with the German declaration, Roosevelt found himself unable to honor agreements made with the first Churchill defeating Nazi Germany. The weak position of the allied forces made the majority of men and material would have to go to the Pacific. The commander of the U.S. Navy, Admiral Ernest King, was constantly sent to operations in the Pacific, while George C. Marshall agreed with Roosevelt that Germany was the main threat.
In the first year of war, the Pacific received the majority of men, ships, tanks and planes that went out of production lines in the U.S.. Especially after November 1942 (the landings in North Africa) increasing the potential for the U.S. war was sent to Europe. The Army General Douglas MacArthur, Vice Admiral William Halsey and Admiral Chester Nimitz complained, and require more men and more equipment for the Pacific theater.
What nobody could have imagined in 1942 was that the Americans revolutionize the concept of total war. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt had secretly asked the members of his team to convert America into a war footing in 1939. Marshall had developed a plan that would convert a highly motivated civilian population in armed force of twelve million and enough material for a range of 2000 divisions.
In June 1944, when the United States could support the Normandy landings and a month later operations in southern France, a major amphibious operation was carried out in the Mariana Islands. While the Japanese could only build two aircraft carriers and seven light aircraft carriers, the United States had the capacity to build more than 100 carriers of all types during the war, and over 100,000 aircraft.
Unlike the Axis powers, the United States and the UK were for a total mobilization for war at the beginning of hostilities. The American work force, working or unemployed Americans since the Great Depression, was completely mobilized, including African Americans, women, and students. Also unlike the Axis did not have to start the compulsory service in industrial plants, although the social stigma of not supporting the war reached the compulsory service.
Men not in uniform were questioned on the street. Despite the existence of rationing, most items, excluding petrol, was readily available. Once car production was interrupted from 1942 to 1945, gasoline was not lacking as much as might have missed.
The sense of unity and camaraderie was a supporting factor throughout World War II. With small consumer goods and pay considerable, of the few movies were all purchased items. These savings would support the growth of the post-war in the United States of America by the years (19) 80. The American public had the notion that a world of post-war industry would shift from military production to production of consumer goods.
During the Second World War, the public had to be satisfied with the series of radio and movies. Starting with the Wake Island (1942) the war figured prominently in American cinema. The War Department has explored Hollywood, Disney made badges for ships and various actors and directors have served in the military. Frank Capra, a successful director of films about the common man, created the highly successful series Why We Fight, which clearly outlined the aims of the Allies around the world.
With the war to reach its third year, some people wondered if Roosevelt would represent the U.S. in a fourth term. He had been president since childhood of most young people who fought and died in war, was extremely popular. However, the war seemed far from over, and the Roosevelt administration was shocked by a slight decrease in public support for war.
Roosevelt kept secrets of the vast American public. With less technology than the Manhattan Project, the Japanese were sending thousands of balloon bombs from Japan to the United States of America. Its aim was to start massive fires in the forests of the American Northwest. While the Americans were unaware of these attacks, the Japanese did not contemplate the possibility of precipitation and high humidity to prevent forest fires. The pumps have reached the areas east of Michigan and some can be found hidden until this day. The only known victims of the Japanese attack were five people in Oregon.
At the end of the war, the United States emerged from the war as a supreme power in the world. In 1945, possessed the largest navy in the world, a huge army, technically advanced, and enough money to implement the Marshall Plan that would rebuild the world.
Women and blacks left their positions in factories across the U.S. in favor of soldiers returning from war. This was done, but not without planting the seeds of the civil rights movement of the year (19) and 50 (19) 60. The war had radically changed America, it was a world power, and American society enjoyed levels of wealth and comfort. But within two decades, another war in Vietnam also reveal severe spiritual needs.
The english version of this article will be available soon. In the meanwhile, the text above was the result of a Google translation from portuguese version to english.
