Fighting in World War II encompassed the whole world. Factors such as nationalism, the Great Depression, and the negative effect of the Treaty of Versailles all contributed to the beginning of the war. Tensions built as the other countries appeased Germany until finally Germany attacked Poland and WWII began in September 1939. The US held a policy of isolationism up until December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese forces. Leading up to the United States involvement in the war, various policies with varying levels of isolationism were held by the US. World War II caused major social, economic and international change in the United States.
World War II had a significant social impact on the US, setting the stage on the home
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The war brought us out of the Great Depression. The Government needed money moving in the economy so to encourage that, they offered war bonds. They provided the government with the money they needed to fund the war. After the war, war bonds put money into people’s pockets which in turn increased spending and brought the economy into a period of prosperity. The Office of Price Administration regulated inflation and put taxes and rationing in place. By having the American people ration what they consumed it allowed them to feel like they were doing what they could to help. Paired with higher income taxes, rationing allowed more resources to go to helping the troops and the war effort. During the war, how the United States traded changed. Leading up to our involvement in WWII, we held an isolationist foreign polity and in order to uphold it, we put in place the Neutrality Acts in 1935-1937. These banned arms sales and prevented the US from getting involved in the war. Our trade policy later changed to Cash and Carry, which allowed the US manufacturers to sell arms to other countries if they paid cash and transported it themselves. This involved the US a bit more, but still kept the isolationism policy in place. These trade policies supplied the United States economy with income and helped manufactures switch towards supplying the war effort with the needed