By the early 20th century, a massive influx of immigrant labor, the adoption of mass-assembly methods, and profuse capital investment has transformed America into an industrial powerhouse. The roaring economy is derailed by the stock market crash of 1929, plunging the country into the Great Depression and years of domestic turmoil. With millions thrown out of work, financial institutions and family farms bankrupted by the thousands, and the manufacturing base decimated, downtrodden Americans pay little attention to brewing conflicts in Europe and the Far East. They instead demand the Roosevelt Administration focus on America’s woes rather than meddling in overseas affairs. There is little choice, as years of austerity have taken a toll on the size and quality of the US military.
UNITED STATES
Jobless men at a Chicago soup kitchen during the Great Depression, 1931
- PRELUDE TO WAR
- UNITED STATES
When Poland, France, and much of Europe falls to the Nazis, US leaders finally agree to stir industrial production back to life, sharply increasing the flow of US-manufactured war goods to Britain. Tensions are also percolating in the Far East, where the Roosevelt Administration has levied economic sanctions as a protest against Japanese imperialism in China. The moves spark outrage in Tokyo, prompting the Japanese to begin plotting a surprise military strike against the premier American naval base in the Pacific.
WWII Snapshots, All rights reserved
