World War II
There were many dictators that came to power because of the depression. Adolf Hitler became in charge of Germany. Benito Mussolini became in charge of Italy. Russia was being ruled by Joseph Stalin and Hideki Tojo took power in Japan.
For a while, most countries let the leaders do whatever they want, even if it caused harm and damage. Some of the damage that was done included dictators taking land, mistreating people, and building military strength.
World War II began on September 1, 1939, when Hilter invaded Poland. As hostilities heated up in Europe, similar incidents occurred in Asia. Japan aggressively took parts of China.
The Alliances
The Axis Powers included Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.
The Allied Powers included the U.S., Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Yugoslavia.
The Allied Powers included the U.S., Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Yugoslavia.
The U.S. Enters the War
The U.S. sold arms to the Allies if they paid cash and transported the items on their own ships, even though they wanted to stay neutral in the war. Later, the Lend-Lease Act gave President Roosevelt the authority to lend war materials to any nation he considered important to America's economy. The U.S. Navy escorted ships carrying lend-lease materials to assure them safe passage. However, a German submarine sank the U.S. Carrier, the Reuben James, killing over a hundred sailors. This gave the U.S. a reason to declare war on Germany, but Roosevelt hesitated. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Eight battle ships and three destroyers were sunk. The U.S.S. West Virginia was among the battleships that were sunk. On December 8, the U.S. Congress declared War on Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.