Download World War II Paper - American History World War II (1939

World War II Paper - American History
World War II (1939-1945) was the largest armed conflict in human history. Ranging over six continents
and all the world's oceans, the war caused an estimated 50 million military and civilian deaths, including
those of 6 million Jews. Global in scale and in its repercussions, World War II created a new world at home
and abroad. Among its major results were the beginning of the nuclear era, increased pressure to decolonize
the third world, and the advent of the Cold War. The war also ended America's relative isolation from the
rest of the world and resulted in the creation of the United Nations. Domestically, the war ended the Great
Depression as hundreds of thousands of people, many of them women, went into the defense industries. At
the same time, African Americans made significant strides toward achieving their political, economic and
social rights.
The roots of World War II, which eventually pitted Germany, Japan, and Italy (the Axis) against the United
States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union (the Allies), lay in the militaristic ideologies and expansionist
policies of Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan. The weak response of the European democracies to fascist
aggression and American isolationism allowed the Axis powers to gain the upper hand initially.
Although the war began with Nazi Germany's attack on Poland in September 1939, the United States did
not enter the war until after the Japanese bombed the American fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December
7, 1941. Between those two events, President Franklin Roosevelt tried hard to prepare Americans for a
conflict that he regarded as inevitable. In November 1939, he persuaded Congress to repeal the arms
embargo provisions of the neutrality law so that arms could be sold to France and Britain. After the fall of
France in the spring of June 1940, he pushed for a major military buildup and began providing aid in the
form of Lend-Lease to Britain, which now stood alone against the Axis powers. America, he declared, must
become "the great arsenal of democracy." From then on, America's capacity to produce hundreds of
thousands of tanks, airplanes, and ships for itself and its allies proved a crucial factor in Allied success, as
did the fierce resistance of the Soviet Union, which had joined the war in June 1941 after being attacked by
Germany. The brilliance of America's military leaders, including General Dwight d. Eisenhower who
planned and led the attack against the Nazis in Western Europe, and General Douglas MacArthur and Fleet
Admiral Chester Nimitz, who led the Allied effort in the Pacific, also contributed to the Allied victory.
Among the war's major turning points for the United States were the Battle of Midway (1942), the invasion
of Italy (1943), the Allied invasion of France (1944), the battle of Leyte Gulf (1944) and the dropping of
the atomic bombs on Japan (1945). The war ended with the Axis powers' unconditional surrender in 1945.
Other topics:
1.
Battle of the Coral Sea:
Why was the Battle of Coral Sea important or unique?
Explain the strategies and sequence of event involved in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Omar Bradley
a. What was Omar Bradley’s significance or contribution to WWII?
b. What battles and strategies was Omar Bradley involved in and what did he accomplish in WWII?
Dwight David Eisenhower
a. What was Dwight David Eisenhower’s significance to or contribution to WWII?
b. What battles and strategies was Dwight David Eisenhower involved in and what did he accomplish in WWII?
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
a. How did the American position on World War II change when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?
b. Why were the Japanese so successful when they attacked Pearl Harbor?
Battle of the Bulge
a. What was unique about the Battle of the Bulge?
b. What was the significance of the Battle of the Bulge in the outcome of WWII?
Lend Lease Act
a. What was the Lend Lease Act and what were the terms that it included?
b. What was the impact of the Lend Lease Act on World War II?
Japanese Internment
a. Why did our government intern Japanese Americans?
a.
b.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
How did Japanese Internment affect the lives of Japanese Americans?
Atomic Bomb
a. How did the use of the atomic bomb at Nagasaki and Hiroshima end the war?
b. How did the atomic bomb change the perspective of warfare?
9. General George Patton
a. What was the role of General George Patton in WWII?
b. What battles and strategies was General George Patton involved in and what did he accomplish in WWII?
10. Battle of Midway
a. Why was the Battle of Midway important?
b. How was the Battle of Midway unique?
11. Invasion of Normandy (D-Day) – focus n US involvement
a. Why was the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day important to the outcome of WWII?
b. How was the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day a turning Point in WWII?
c. Compare and contrast the five different invasion beaches and the subsequent battles.
12. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
a. What was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s involvement in WWII?
b. Why did President Franklin Delano Roosevelt feel that eventually the U.S. would have to enter the war? How did
the American people feel about this?
13. Eleanor Roosevelt
a. What role did Eleanor Roosevelt play in the decision making process during and after the war.
b. What is her legacy?
14. General Douglas MacArthur
a. What was the role of General Douglas MacArthur in WWII?
b. Explain the significance of the quote “I will return!” Explain the sequence of events that led up to this statement
and the chronology leading up to his return.
15. Concentration Camps and the United States (Did we know?)
a. What were concentration camps in Europe and what and when did we know about them (FDR)?
b. Why were concentration camps established and what did they accomplish?
16. The War in the Pacific
a. Compare and contrast the events in Okinawa and the Philippines during the War in the Pacific?
b. Why was Japan anxious to expand its territory and risk conflict with much larger countries to obtain its goal?
c. Select three different personal accounts of WWII veterans that served in the Pacific during WWII and compare
their
experiences. (Deane
Philips will be sharing his stories with us.)
17. Military weaponry in WWII
a. What technological advances were made in military weaponry during WWII?
b. Compare the military weapons of Germany and Great Britain; or Japan with the United States.
18. US Women
a. How did WWII change the lives of women in the United States?
b. How did WWII change the role of women in the United States military?
19. Rationing in WWII
a. What was rationing and why was rationing necessary in the U.S. during WWII?
b. How did rationing change daily life in the United States?
20. US Manhattan Project
a. What was the Manhattan Project and what was the chronology of its development?
b. What impact did the Manhattan Project have on WWII?
21. Aircraft: Specifically the uses of specific aircraft and their involvement in particular battles. (This is more than a list of
planes.)
a. What role did aircraft play in WWII?
b. What technological advancements in aircraft design and performance was achieved during WWII?
22. Home Front
a. What was life like in the United States during WWII?
b. How did life change for Americans during WWII?
23. Warships: Specifically their uses and roles in particular battles. (This must not be a list of ships.)
a. What role did warships play in WWII?
b. What technological advancements in ship design and performance was achieved during WWII?
24. Bataan Death March
a. What was the Bataan Death March? Describe the chronology of events of the March.
b. Compare two or more soldier’s perspectives on the Bataan Death March.
25. Tuskegee Airmen
26. Navajo code talkers….
b.
8.
Requirements
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
The Research Paper combines the student’s conclusions about a topic with the ideas of
people with expertise to support those conclusions.

Plagiarism – Students are responsible for giving due recognition of sources from which
material is quoted, summarized or paraphrased, as well as to persons from whom assistance
has been received.
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Topic – Your topic is your choice but your teacher must approve.
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You must have at least four (5) full pages of text in the body of the paper but not more
than seven (7) pages.
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The Works Cited page will be numbered BUT will not be counted as one of the minimum
four (5) pages or the maximum seven (7) pages.
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Sources – You must cite at least five (5) sources using at least one book and one
written media (magazine, newspaper).
Formatting

Paper must be typed in either 10 or 12 point, double spaced and in either Times Roman
or Courier font.

You must use 8 ½ X 11 inch white paper.

Pages should be numbered consecutively in the top right hand corner of the header of
the page first (Insert, page number, Position = “Top of page header” and Alignment is
“Right”.
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The title is centered one inch from the top of the page with a double space between the
title and the first line of text in the Thesis Statement.
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The title should NOT be underlined, enclosed with quotation marks, typed in all caps, or
printed in bold.
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Modern Language Association (MLA) style.
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The point of view of your paper is the third person. Words like: I, you, me, my, our, us,
we, or your, should NOT be used in your paper UNLESS they are part of a quote.
Please use the Haiku page to help you with any particular elements of writing
Due 5/18/2015