World War II and its Aftermath

Essay questions:

  1. Explain in what way the Neutrality Acts of the 1930s “marked in effect an abandonment of the [United States’] traditional policy of freedom of the seas.”

  2. To what extent did American diplomacy and economic policy provoke war with Japan?  What might the United States have done to delay or even prevent war with Japan?  Why wasn’t that done?
  1. How did World War II affect
        1. the role of the national government in American life?
        2. the relationship between government and the economy?
        3. minority groups in America?
  1. In what ways did the United States emerge from World War II fundamentally changed?  Consider national power, economic health, and the home front?
  1. Explain the rationale for the postwar policy of containment.  Show how it was applied in the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO.
  1. Assess President Truman’s response to the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in 1950.  Do you think that he acted properly with regard to
      1. the United Nations?
      2. Congress?
      3. his military commanders?

Why or why not?

  1. Evaluate the trade-offs at the Yalta Conference in 1945.  Was it a “sellout” to the Soviet Union?  Why or why not?
  1. How important has the post-World War II baby boom been to recent American history?  Indicate its impact on each decade since 1945.  What importance is it likely to have in the next twenty-five years?

Internet-based assignment:

The Decision to Drop the Bomb

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