Political Events
The bulk of WWII was during the 1940s, so politics in this decade revolved around managing the war and recovering from it. In early stages of the war, Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany, and the USSR, join forces to devastate much of Europe, while President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the United States publicly oppose Hitler’s regime and begin supplying aid to Great Britain, led by Winston Churchill.
High unemployment carries over from the Great Depression. In 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for a third term as president. On December 7, 1941, 350 Japanese airplanes launch a surprise attack on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor, spurring President Roosevelt’s declaration of war against Japan. Italy and Germany follow suit and declare war on the U.S. The U.S. shifts into a wartime economy. More than 120,000 Japanese on the West Coast are moved to internment camps. In 1944, President Roosevelt is elected to a fourth term. On June 6, 1944, 3,000 warships carry 200,000 American and British soldiers cross the stormy English Channel and land on the heavily fortified beaches of Normandy, France, to begin a vicious battle with the German army. This would later be called D-Day. In March, 1945, American troops invade Germany and begin liberating concentration camps. On May 7, Germany surrenders. As the nation falls, Adolf Hitler commits suicide.
In 1946, after the war is over, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. begin to emerge as world powers. There is a hostile atmosphere between the two powerful nations, eventually leading to the world entering the Cold War. The first United Nations meeting is held in London. Winston Churchill warns the growing, expanding Russians against their plans. The following year, George C. Marshall develops a plan to assist in the rebuilding of European nations devastated by WWII. Car, radio, appliances, and farm equipment industries boom. Television grows, and the World Series and Truman’s State of the Union Address are televised. President Truman abolishes racial segregation in the armed forces. The U.S. joins in forming NATO. Around this time, the USSR joins forces with the newly communist nation, China. Germany is split into its two sides (East, under Soviet communist control, and West).
High unemployment carries over from the Great Depression. In 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for a third term as president. On December 7, 1941, 350 Japanese airplanes launch a surprise attack on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor, spurring President Roosevelt’s declaration of war against Japan. Italy and Germany follow suit and declare war on the U.S. The U.S. shifts into a wartime economy. More than 120,000 Japanese on the West Coast are moved to internment camps. In 1944, President Roosevelt is elected to a fourth term. On June 6, 1944, 3,000 warships carry 200,000 American and British soldiers cross the stormy English Channel and land on the heavily fortified beaches of Normandy, France, to begin a vicious battle with the German army. This would later be called D-Day. In March, 1945, American troops invade Germany and begin liberating concentration camps. On May 7, Germany surrenders. As the nation falls, Adolf Hitler commits suicide.
In 1946, after the war is over, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. begin to emerge as world powers. There is a hostile atmosphere between the two powerful nations, eventually leading to the world entering the Cold War. The first United Nations meeting is held in London. Winston Churchill warns the growing, expanding Russians against their plans. The following year, George C. Marshall develops a plan to assist in the rebuilding of European nations devastated by WWII. Car, radio, appliances, and farm equipment industries boom. Television grows, and the World Series and Truman’s State of the Union Address are televised. President Truman abolishes racial segregation in the armed forces. The U.S. joins in forming NATO. Around this time, the USSR joins forces with the newly communist nation, China. Germany is split into its two sides (East, under Soviet communist control, and West).