Taking the Offensive: Truman's Terrible Decision: Atomic Warfare?
Truman succeeds Roosevelt upon the president's death in April 1945. As fighting rages on between the Allies and Japan, Truman declares an ultimatum to the Japanese to surrender unconditionally by August 3, 1945. But Japan wants one condition, to kee...
Taking the Offensive: Seeds of U. S.-Russian Conflict Visible at War's End, The
As the war concludes, Japan is to be demilitarized, democratized, and decentralized. Stalin had agreed at Yalta to enter the Pacific war three months after European fighting was concluded. The United States would have welcomed Soviet involvement if ...
Taking the Offensive: Focus of War Shifts to Asian Theater
After Germany surrenders in 1944, the war focus shifts to the Pacific. The United States gain victories in Japan, surrounding islands, and in the Philippine Islands. The Special Division that negotiates the exchange of prisoners and civilians under ...
Taking the Offensive: U.S. Ships and Troops Circle Closer to Japan
The capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa moves U.S. troops closer to Tokyo. In desperation, the Japanese launch suicide kamikaze attacks. The firebombing of Tokyo and the anticipation of a final battle on the mainland prompts the Japanese government to e...
Taking the Offensive: Manhattan Project, The
Even before the U. S. is involved in World War II, Roosevelt warns that the Germans are considering developing an atomic bomb. Once these rumors are confirmed, the U.S. creates The Manhattan Project to research and develop the first atomic bomb.
Racism During World War II (Part One)
Professor of history Gary Gerstle talks about what he calls one of the great ironies of World War II and the twentieth century. "On the one hand," Professor Gerstle explains, "...the illegitimacy of racial prejudice was put before the American peopl...
Racism During World War II (Part Two)
Professor of history Gary Gerstle talks about the nexus between American cinema's treatment of World War II and the issue of racism during the War. Professor Gerstle notes that African-Americans were largely absent from Steven Spielberg's landmark f...
Employment During The Depression
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris talks about shifting employment demographics during Depression, The and again during World War II.
Employment During World War II
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris explains that there was less employment discrimination towards women during World War II than there was during Depression, The , but it did persist and then, "...it returns full force after the War."
America in a World At War: Internment of Japanese Americans, The
The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese has devastating repercussions for Japanese-Americans living in the United States. More than 100,000 Issei and Nisei who live along the West Coast are rounded up and taken to relocation centers in February ...