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Essay On Why Did The American Troops Come To Australia

675 Words3 Pages

During World War 2 the Australian prime minister, John Curtin, called on America for help. This speech will present evidence to prove the hypothesis: the social benefits of the Americans being deployed in Australia outweigh the negative social impacts. This will be done by addressing 3 main focus questions. These questions are: when and why did the American troops come to Australia? How did the Australian society benefit from the American presence? and What were the negative impacts on Australian society from the American presence?

The American troops were deployed to Australia for a number of reasons. First, there were very few military units positioned throughout Australia because of Australia’s alliance with Britain. The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, had promised to help defend Australia if ever threatened in return for its …show more content…

When Australia felt under threat of invasion by Japan, John Curtin asked Winston Churchill for assistance to defend Australia. Churchill reneged on his promise, so Curtin asked the Americans for help. General MacArthur obliged to Curtins’ plea. The first Americans started arriving in Australia on 22 December 1941. By mid 1943 there were 250,000 American troops stationed throughout Australia (Ergo.slv.vic.gov.au, 2014). There were American troops positioned in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Townsville, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne (Awm.gov.au, 2014).

The deployment of the Americans in Australia brought many social benefits. Firstly, the American troops represented wealth, modernity and glamour: they had good manners, their uniforms were much more presentable than the Australians baggy uniforms and they were also paid much more than

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