America’s Decade: The Early ‘40s

Our nation entered the decade in troubled times. The economy, and society in general, was still reeling from the turmoil of the Great Depression. However, thanks to the strong leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with his broadcasted “fireside chats” and revolutionary “New Deal” program which helped bolster American confidence and get the country out of financial disaster, people were beginning to recover; to many, the world finally seemed to be returning to the worry-free paradise that they had so enjoyed in the 1920s.

But not for long. Looming not too distantly on the horizon was the juggernaut of World War II. In

Europe, the nightmare had already begun—but many in the United States were reluctant to get involved in the new war. After the horrors experienced in the First World War, isolationism had become popular, as no one wanted to repeat the same disastrous circumstances that claimed millions of lives. Ironically, this policy is one of the reasons Adolf Hitler and his fascist dictatorship was able to gain so much power. Still, Americans remained aloof, and as in the WWI, contributed mostly with supplies for the Allied troops. Once again, history had begun to repeat itself.

Meanwhile, Americans lived under the guise of safety and in relative prosperity. One characteristic that marked the 1940s was the overwhelming rise in entertainment and the arts during that era. The soulful tunes of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra were beloved household hits, and though the Television had yet to come into use, radio was still extremely popular. Consumers enjoyed now-classic films such as “Citizen Kane”, Alfred Hitchcock’s suspenseful thrillers kept moviegoers at the edge of their seats, and Humphrey Bogart, with enormous successes in films like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, was the “American Idol” of the decade. Hollywood had become a viable power of communication—one that certain members of the government had begun to fear.

And, in the nick of time, one came. Just months after Germany surrendered, ending the war in Europe, the top-secret “Manhattan Project”, with the goal to develop an incredibly powerful “nuclear bomb” was finally complete. On August 6th, 1945, that power was unleashed upon the city of Hiroshima, practically leveling the entire city. Several days later, the same fate befell Nagasaki, and the once-proud Japanese, beaten into submission by the might of the nuclear bomb, finally surrendered, ending World War II at long last.

Some topics in this essay:
Battle Midway, Maltese Falcon, , Japanese Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Red Scare, Franklin Roosevelt, North Korea’s, Soviet Union, Adolf Hitler, world war, war ii, pearl harbor, economic boom, war effort, world war ii,