Free «World War II Through 1970s» Essay Paper

Identify at least two (2) major historical turning points in the period under discussion.

The Battle of Midway, 4-7 January 1942.

One of the turning points of the Second World War was the Battle of Midway. It occurred in 1942 in Central Pacific. In this region, the Japanese had a plan to destroy the U.S. forces. On the other hand, they intended to neutralize those groups whom they viewed as terrorists within their territory in Asia. However, since the U.S.A had good communication systems and networks in place, they were able to monitor and sink some Japanese war ships.

Stalingrad battle, 1942-1943

The second turning point of the World War II was Stalingrad Battle. This battle took place in the Russian city of Stalingrad in the years 1942-1943. The German army was attacked by the Soviets, resulting in 600,000 casualties. It was a turning point in Hitler’s campaign in the East, and it also led to the development of major strategies to be used in the world war.  It was reported that from November 1942 up to the beginning of January 1943, around 4,000 Germany soldiers were killed, and also around 5,000 civilians perished in the war by the allay forces which were known as the great soldiers army.

 

Type of service

Type of assignment

Title of your paper *

Academic level

Pages

Timeframe

Spacing

Currency

  Order now

Analyze the impact of the two (2) or more major historical turning points selected on America’s current society, economy, politics, and culture.

Impacts of the Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway caused many atrocities, such as the massive killings of soldiers and civilians. More than 4,000 Japanese lost their lives in the war, and several their ships were destroyed by the enemy

Impacts of Stalingrad Battle 

Like in the Battle of Midway, there were brutal killings of soldiers and civilians in the Battle of Stalingrad. Properties and infrastructure were destroyed by bombs and artillery wreaking havoc on those areas.  This battle was a key success of the Russian army, since it was the point when Germany’s ambitious advance was broken. During this monumental battle, it was reported that around 840,000 both soldiers and civilians lost their lives. At the same time, Germany suffered another defeat when its war plans were destroyed by the Soviets. This made a turning point in the WWII, because the Soviets had gained more experience and confidence, as a result winning several other major battles during the period.

Give at least two (2) reasons that Americans in the late 1930s wanted to stay out of the European conflict that became World War II.

The Economic Depression

One of the reasons why the USA wanted to stay away from any activities dealing with the World War II a severe economic depression that hit the country. The then president Roosevelt took time trying to resuscitate the U.S. economy; therefore, he never wanted to aggravate the economic depression, unlike other countries that were in a similar condition.

Develop and Increase friendliness with Latin countries   

President Roosevelt sent American troops to several nations in Latin America, which resulted in his criticism during the year 1928. The troops were aimed at bringing peace and fostering good relationships with the Latin American countries, thus securing good neighborhood. This time, the president wanted to enhance a good relationship with all Latin American countries. Therefore, he decided to withdraw American troops that were seen as a threat and were ignorant of the views of the Latin American countries upon war conflicts. The USA government, at that time, rejected to recognize Moscow’s government taken over by the Bolsheviks in 1917 on grounds that it arose tensions in Asia and Europe, instead of fostering a good atmosphere among the Asian countries (Bell-Rehwoldt, 2006).

Stay Connected

Live Chat Order now

Explain the role that women played to help win the World War II.

Women played an important role in helping to win the World War II. One of their roles was that they joined the army and added more human resources. Although it was not allowed at first, but they eventually given responsibilities like controlling the commercial activities in the camp places, supplying food to soldiers, and monitoring water and weapons. Another role carried out by women was  nursing, since a large number of men were at the front. This role was crucial in that when the solders fell sick or got injuries in the war, they were treated by their own nursing women at the camp. Also, women played roles in managing the family and raising the children, when their men were at the war.  All this support from women during the war helped very much in winning it.

Describe at least two civil rights breakthroughs after World War II that moved the cause of African-Americans forward.

Slavery

One of the civil rights that came to be recognized after the World War II was slavery. Many Africans were taken to America to work as slaves. The men were to work in plantations of tobacco and cotton, which constituted the backbone of the economy of the U.S. South. On the other hand, the women were to work in their masters’ households, taking care of their children and doing general household chores.

Reconstruction period

This was the time after the World War II that marked a change in attitudes to African Americans living in America, especially in the South. Before the war, they were not allowed to go to church together with the whites and their children could not go to same schools as those of the whites. Also, African Americans were not allowed to attend meetings with the whites and participate in voting. In the Reconstruction period, these rights started to be observed, mainly in the South of America, whereas the North would sometimes send troops to guard the blacks after the series of killings carried out by the group called Ku Klux Klan.

Describe at least two (2) ways in which the Vietnam War brought political awareness to a new generation of young Americans.

War can shake the economy of the country

The Vietnam War was one of the most expensive wars Americans had in their history. It is estimated that more than £150 billion dollars were used to fund the military campaign. This amount was enough to run the economy of the country for the whole year and bring peaceful development welfare, instead of getting wasted in wars.

Deaths

Many American soldiers died in the war. Those young Americans were forced to go to fight due to the dirty politics of war at that time. Therefore, the young leaders who came to power should discourage any possibility of engaging themselves in the war in order to avoid these disasters from reoccurring (Stokesbury, 1980).

Describe at least two (2) programs of President Johnson’s “Great Society” agenda that are still with us today.

Education and Marriage

 With President Johnson’s experience in education, he advocated that people had to excel in education for them to lead a prosperous life and succeed. We know that the president had missed a pass mark to go to college, but later he became a teacher and moved up the ladder to become a senator, and finally the president. In the midst of his life, he married the woman who supported him very much in achieving his ambitions in life.

War on poverty

War on poverty was emphasized by President Johnson’s administration. He pushed for the formation of laws that would allow people to work full-time and earn their living. Also, he stressed on the creation of job opportunities for American citizens. He played a key role in passing many bills ensuring that young Americans, especially those who were poor, had a chance for employment with the public sector. He will be remembered for the rapid increase of employment activities, especially among the youths and other groups of people who had limited knowledge in matters dealing with education. This is because after the Second World War, many poor Americans were suffering the most from all the damages of the war. Hence, the president did not have any other alternative other than coming up with some policies, which would be instrumental in poverty reduction (Stokesbury, 1980).

Racial discrimination

Racial discrimination was one of the post-war impacts that were developed among many states within and outside USA. These impacts were due to skin color differences between African and White Americans, which led to racial discrimination in education and other spheres of social life. The president came up with certain policies ensuring that all people, no matter the color, could access the government services without any discrimination. Such policies or programs of eradicating racial discrimination were effective, but not for 100%, because many people would not take their children to schools that were exclusively black or white.

Conclusion

During the period of 1970s and earlier times, it became clear that any war has severe consequences not only on the present generation, but also on the future one. The World War II recorded a vast destruction, which had both short- and long-term effects thereon. During that time, many properties were destroyed and millions of people lost their lives. Later, President Johnson, who was remembered as one of the USA’s best presidents, was in the front line to fight poverty and racial discrimination, that were America’s worst enemy during and after the war. He was successful to implement some policies, while others were not so effective (Willmott, 2005).