Ben Bruce

4/7/17

There were many short term causes and effects of the Second World War that

pertained to both the US and other countries. One external short term cause for the

Second World War was the USs desire to stay out of the war but still have a hand in

who won. The US was officially neutral and had a policy of Isolationism, but they helped

supply the allies with money, food and weapons to use against the Axis powers. This

caused a lot of resentment towards the US by the Axis powers because they could not

effectively fight against the US because of their neutrality. The resentment culminated in

the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in order to gain the upper hand. The Axis

knew that the US would eventually enter the war because of the support that they had

provided the Allies, so they figured why not try to cripple the US before they have a

chance to strike. This did not work out well for the Axis powers, but it was a culmination

of the US trying to stay out of the war even though they had a dog in the fight. A short

term cause of World War Two within the US was the attack on Pearl Harbor. The

American people wanted to maintain their policy of Isolationism, but the attack enraged

them because it was a sneak attack that killed many servicemen who were not actively

fighting. The effect of this attack gave the American economy a jumpstart out of the

Great Depression. As soon as the news that FDR had decided to go to war reached the

public, millions of jobs were created as the armed forces needed soldiers and factories

needed workers to pump out the equipment that would be used by the armed forces to

fight the Axis Powers. Although the short term causes and effects were substantial, the
long term effects of Word War 2 still reverberate through the modern world. The biggest

long term internal effect of WW2 was the end of Americas policy of Isolationism.

George Washington had warned that America should stay out of the business of other

countries, but after the second world war, America essentially became the worlds police

force. Through the formation of NATO and the United Nations, America has been called

on by the member states to interfere with unsettled situations around the globe.

Because America came out of WW2 as the strongest country left standing, it was often

called on for disputes after the war and it has never relinquished that role. The policy

that once governed our every move outside of the United States was overthrown by the

second world war. There are also many long term external causes and effects of the

second world war. A big reason for WW2 was that Woodrow Wilsons treaty that he

envisions was never ratified. The treaty would have most certainly appeased the fears

of many of the german people who were thrown into poverty after WW1, but since the

treaty was never ratified, the peace in Europe was fragile. Because of this, France

started to build up their army again so that they would not be overrun so quickly and

violently if they were ever attacked again. Germany saw this buildup of military strength

and was very frightened, and this fear allowed Adolf Hitler and the 3rd Reich to gain

control of the German government. Hitler went against the terms of the previous treaty

and started secretly rebuilding Germanys military, leading to the Blitzkreig that started

WW2. A long term external effect of WW2 was the Cold war and nuclear arms race that

started after the war. After the US dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan, the Soviets were

aware that the US had the technology to make such a weapon possible and implanted
spies within the nuclear program in order to advance their own understanding. The

Soviets were able to drop their first nuclear bomb 3 years earlier than had been

anticipated, owing mostly to the spies that they had placed in America. At that point, the

race was on to build the biggest, best, and most amount of nuclear bombs. Had the US

not been forced to drop their nuclear bombs, the Soviets might not have realized how

far along the US was and they might not have sent spies if they thought that the US was

at the same place s as they were in the process of creating the atom bomb. The race to

build nukes created a hostility between the Soviets and the US, which was known as

the Cold War. Had WW2 not happened and the US had not been forced the drop the

atom bomb, America and Russia could be on much better terms right now than they

are.