World War 2 (Essay Sample)

World War 2 Student Name Course Instructor Name Due Date How did Americans react to events in Europe and Asia? U.S. political state before and at the time of World War II was formed as a result of a mix of domestic and international pressures. The events in Europe and Asia had an impact on the country's response greatly, which was multi-dimensional influenced by the history of the country as an immigrant nation, the growing economy and political power, and the changing social and cultural conventions. As the world saw the rise of fascist regimes and the outbreak of war in Europe, many Americans were initially isolationist, viewing the conflicts as distant and not worth getting involved in. In fact, as Shi points out in his book "By the end of the fifteenth century, medieval feudalism's static agrarian social system had given way to a more dynamic commercial economy in Europe”. With the development of fascist regimes in Europe and the dawn of World War II, the American public was at first isolationist and saw these conflicts as distanced and not worth troubling.[Shi, David Emory. America: A Narrative History. 12th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2021. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393878264/for-instructors] The commercial economic progress, together with the rise of the middle rank and centralized government, laid the groundwork for overseas explorations and further extensions. While that was the case, especially after Japan attacked the U.S. in the Pearl Harbor bombing of 1941, Americans were ready to throw all reservations aside and join the war in response to this direct aggression. The events in Europe and Asia also led to the transformation of the U.S. immigration system and national immigration sentiments. With the increase of Nazi Germany and their invidious actions against the Jewish and other ethnic and religious groups seekers, many of them found a way to the USA. However, the immigration policy, such as the Immigration Act of 1924, significantly restricted their number. Moreover, this vocalization was a manifestation of two centuries-old moral concepts of white supremacy and fear of “other,” which formed an integral part of American society. The U.S. government grew in its European investment by giving to and assisting its allies, for example, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the U.S. sustained its trading relations and lend-lease relations with those countries, another sign of her, which gradually turned towards interventionist policies. As Shi points out, "Some Americans boycotted Japanese goods, stopped visiting 'Jap Towns' in their cities, and even advocated military intervention". The hostility against Japan got even deeper when the United States went into the war in 1941 as a result, which made a perfect situation for the internment of Japanese-Americans and restrictions on immigration from the Pacific countries.[Shi, David Emory. America: A Narrative History. 12th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2021. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393878264/for-instructors] Although the U.S. was still officially neutral at the beginning of the war, its citizens were moving closer to sympathy for the Allies to the point of issuing economic sanctions against Germany. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who realized the danger of Fascism, began to speed up the assistance to the countries, especially those being attacked by Axis powers. However, it did not happen until the United States was involved in it and entered the war in the capacity of a full-fledged fighter. A sophisticated system of attitudes and emotions conditioned Americans' receptions of events in Europe and Asia. On the other side, there was a wave of isolationism and a refusal to get involved in foreign fights. Many Americans felt that the country should stay out of World War II trouble, having already experienced the calamities of World War I. Things were made worse by the perception that the U...