World War II and U.S. Involvement social studies lesson for kids

World War II and U.S. Involvement social studies lesson for kids -  social studies skills studied in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th grades.

World War II started in 1939, lasting until 1945 and was the world’s largest armed conflict in history. It took place over 6 continents, all of the oceans, and results in the deaths of around 50 million civilian and military deaths, including the 6 million Jews who were murdered in death camps. It was global in both scale and repercussions, creating an entirely new world- both in the US and abroad.
The war brought an end to the isolation America had experienced from the rest of the world, and also resulted in the United Nations. It provided many hundreds of thousands of citizens, many women, with jobs in the defense industry. It also sped up the progress African Americans were making in achieving social, economic, and political rights.
The roots of World War 2 lay in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany’s expansionist policies and militaristic ideologies. It saw two sides fighting, with the Allies including the US, Soviet Union, and Great Britain, and the Axis including Italy, Japan, and Germany. Initially, the response of European countries was weak, and due to the isolationism of America, the Axis powers were able to quickly gain the upper hand.
The start of the war was Nazi Germany’s advance on Poland, which happened in September of 1939. It wasn’t until Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December, 1941, that the US became engaged.
Between the start of the war and the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was working hard to prepare the citizens of America that a conflict would likely be inevitable. In November of 1939 he had persuaded Congress to repeal an arms embargo that would allow the US to sell arms to Britain and France.
After France fell in June, 1940, FDR pushed to build the military, and started offering aid to the Allied powers. At this point, Britain stood alone in the fight against Axis powers. He declared that America had to become democracy’s great arsenal. From then, American produced hundreds of thousands of ships, tanks, and airplanes for itself and for its allied, which would prove a crucial factor in the success of the Allied forces. Another key factor in overcoming Nazi Germany was the Soviet Union’s fierce resistance, as they joined World War II in June of 1941. Continue reading below>>>

Another key factor in the success of the Allied victory was the brilliance of some of the American military leaders. Greats like Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz and General Douglas MacArthur, led efforts in the Pacific, while General Dwight D. Eisenhower, not only planned, but led the attack on the Nazis in Western Europe.