Schweikart And Allen Described US Participation In Ww2

Great Essays
Discussion Question 4: Schweikart and Allen described U.S participation in World War II as reluctant, but once engaged in fighting, they became a powerful force. Zinn agreed, but also felt as though there were selfish, imperial intentions. Though described as warring with Hitler as a last resort, Roosevelt felt as though the United States’ interests and security were threatened, and therefore they entered the war. On December 7, 1941 the infamous bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred, shocking the secure, powerful nation of the United States. These historians described the motives behind this attack as Japan’s own imperialist intentions. Japan wanted to expand their empire eastward, therefore they attacked the allied powers of Malaysia, the Philippines, …show more content…
Schweikart and Allen revealed how Soviet spies infiltrated practically every prominent division of the United States government. These spies sent classified information to the Soviet country, allowing the Communists to attempt influencing the Capitalist government. Senator Joseph McCarthy discovered many Soviet agents and pressed to rid and punish them for their acts of espionage. Though most historians feel as though McCarthy took this purge too far, Schweikart and Allen wished to rid the world of Communism, and therefore thought these actions were just. Zinn’s view regarding the Red Scare differed as he revealed how the hysteria brought upon acts and policies to demolish the influence of Communism. Zinn objected to the many policies put in place to rid the United States of Communism. The government burned books, created anti-Communist bills, made Communism illegal, and created a detention camp bill to tie in with the International Security Act. Zinn discussed a case in which the Rosenbergs sent classified information to the Soviets regarding the Manhattan project, and were punished by death. Though allowing the Soviets to improve their nuclear program, Zinn felt as though these actions were …show more content…
Schweikart and Allen described both the peaceful protests led by Martin Luther King Jr. along with the violent protests instigated by the Black Panthers. Both groups were fighting for the equality of people of color. To illustrate his point, Zinn took excerpts of poetry from influential poets like Langston Hughes. These pieces depicted the emotional pain of growing up in a society where people like him were treated poorly due to their skin color. Zinn also explained that many black people during this time were pro Communism, as it promoted equality. Both historians discussed the same events, people, and groups involved in the civil rights movements, but in different ways. They spoke of the Scottsboro incident, the bus boycott, bombing of the Birmingham Baptist Church, the peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery, and the influence of Martin Luther King Jr 's “I have a dream speech.” They depicted the influence of people like MLK, Rosa Parks, Langston Hughes, Malcolm X, Robert Williams, the Rockefellers, and many other influential people during this era. Both historians also discussed the influence of the same groups such as the KKK, SNCC, the Black Panthers, and the violence that these groups produced. Zinn had a more sympathetic tone towards those fighting for their equality, and included more information about the cultural background and importance to civil rights.

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Japan had created a puppet state called Manchuria where they created more living space, more natural resources, and more minerals. The puppet state was a controlled state by Japan. Japan wanted to start expanding to take over everything, to get revenge, and to make it better for them. One reason Japan attacked was to stop the country from coming to a three class nation.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ww2 Dbq Analysis

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When the United States decided to join World War II, it impacts the citizens on the homefront by forcing them to work harder to aid the soldiers abroad, so that the the U.S. would have better chance of winning the war. The whole reason why the United States joined WWII was because they were deliberately attacked by the Empire of Japan. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the naval base in Pearl Harbor, with the intended goal to destroy the Pacific Fleet and other military supplies that was located there. On that day, 2500 men died, with another 1000 wounded. Although the attack did heavy damage, the Japanese attackers were not successful in destroying the whole Pacific Fleet.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Japan and the U.S.A were at war after Japan bombed U.S pearl harbour. Pearl Harbour was bombed on December 7, 1941 and the U.S declared war the day after. The U.S were not officially at war in WW2 until a day after Japan bombed them. Japan was an imperialist nation trying to extend their authority over other nations lands with military power. Why did President Truman decide to use atomic bombs against Japan in 1945?…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cold War Dbq

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Waving a sheet of paper in the air, he proclaimed: ‘I have here in my hand a list of 205…names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping [US] policy.’ Since the Wisconsin Republican had no actual list, when pressed, the number changed to fifty-seven, then, later, eighty-one. Finally, he promised to disclose the name of just one communist, the nation’s “top Soviet agent.” The shifting numbers brought ridicule, but it didn’t matter, not really: McCarthy’s claims won him fame and fueled the ongoing “red…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On Sunday, Dec 7, 1941 at 7:49 in the morning. It was an unannounced, fierce attack upon the united states naval base in pearl harbor. Hawaii pearl harbor directed by Japanese airplanes was the bloody start of a dreadful war amongst japan and the united states. Numerous us staff passing were considered well the same number of injured. A shocked and appalled America abruptly found itself at war.…

    • 1415 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Joseph McCarthy Few people in American history have ever plunged the country into panic as Joseph McCarthy did in the 1950s. He single-handedly fabricated a scandal he claimed reached into the highest branches of the US government. Lacking substantial evidence, he accused various senators, representatives, and officials of being communist spies. His infamous “list” of such people was comprised of information that was “either taken from other sources or misremembered or just made up” (Kelley).…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Franklin D. Roosevelt Page Break We have had many great presidents during America’s time and one of those great presidents would be Franklin D. Roosevelt. He got America through the Great Depression and World War 2 and was one of the most influential presidents during our History. He was a democratic president who won by a land slide against republican Herbert Hoover and Socialist Norman Thomas. After the election Roosevelt was very busy with the war in Europe and the depression that was going on at home.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese forces. The next day, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the United States Congress with his memorable speech, the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation. The goal of his speech was to urge Congress to formally declare war on Japan and rally American people to support the war effort. The main points of his speech were that the Japanese government launched an attack against Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island, and Midway Island. Japan took an offensive all over the Pacific area.…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    D.E.B Dubois and Langston Hughes fight for Racial Equality Protest is a way of doing an act to be heard or acknowledged with something people disagree with. Throughout history many African American protested through literature. D.E.B Dubois and Langston Hughes are African American authors who have famous works that have gotten attention though the work of literature. These two authors have a lot of the same beliefs and has made a big impact of the African American culture.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Leading up to the United States’ involvement in World War II, Japan exhibited aggressive imperialistic quests throughout Asia. After an attack on an American military base in Hawaii, the United States would enter combat in an attempt to curb the Japanese aggression. World War II consisted of battles mainly against Germany in Europe and Japan in the Pacific, and the Allies heavily relied on the United States to control the Pacific. American involvement in the Pacific eventually disabled Japanese aggression, as President Harry Truman called for the destruction of major Japanese cities via the atomic bomb. Despite an early advantage in the war, Japan was forced to surrender to the Americans, and as a result, the Allies proved victorious in the…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Dbq Pearl Harbor Essay

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How did the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 turn the tide against the Japanese during World War 2? Michaella Grove Grade 9.1 Introduction: The Second World War was fought between alliances. The Axis Powers were formed by Germany, Italy and Japan.…

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Throughout the years of the 1940’s and 50’s the majority of the state government's passed laws to suppress communist activities. There have been many who have been accused of being a communist, or a socialist, or even an anarchist. They were put in jail and once in jail, they were taken back to the originating land of said actuation. The nickname of the accusation was Red Scare and the Red Army. There are multiple rumors throughout the stories of McCarthyism.…

    • 1925 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the 1940s and 1950s Communism was an issue that was spreading from Eastern countries causing Americans to be fearful of its encroachment onto US soil. With the Soviet Union gaining more power the possibility of contention, or worse, was a disquieting actuality for many Americans. After China was taken ahold of by a Communist leader and when Western Europe seemed ready to become predominantly Communist, US citizens began to feel that Communism had the potential to envelope them. This internal unrest helped pave the way for Senator Joseph McCarthy to take advantage of the situation and claim that the State Department “was full of treasonous pro-Soviet intellectuals” (1). The subsequent McCarthy trials essentially paralleled the Salem trials that took place nearly two and a half centuries prior.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin used the fear of communism to convince the American public that the Democrats were in bed with the communists to further his fame and political career. Joseph McCarthy said, “The State Department is infested with communists. I have here in my hand a list of 205—a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department. " The Cold War was occurring during this time period and the conflict was escalated by the victory of the communists in the Chinese Civil War. By scaring the American public, McCarthy drew massive media attention to him and won his next…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Battle of Midway: Lessons Learned In the months following the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Empire of Japan, the United States found itself embroiled in conflict in two theaters of war; in Europe, North Africa, and the Atlantic as well as in the Pacific. Through the preceding years, the United States cautiously escalated its support for the Allied countries in the European theater with Anglo-American partnership programs such as the Lend-Lease Act and Destroyers for Bases until war was declared on Germany and Italy in order maintain a measure of neutrality. In contrast, the deliberate attack on Pearl Harbor surprised the nation and ignited an unanimous fervor for the destruction of the Japanese war machine.…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays