Discussion essay 3: Historians and WWII (2 pages)
Although historians still debate whether America should have entered WWI, there is a consensus that WWII was a defensive war and therefore the “right war to fight.” Indeed, Americans who fought against international fascism and defended democratic liberalism during WWII have been heralded as the “Greatest Generation.”
For some historians, it is absolutely clear that the U.S. was on the “right side of history” during WWII. In other words, there are clear distinctions between good and evil during WWII, and the U.S. and its allies were fighting for the betterment of humanity. Nazi terror across Europe, and the atrocities committed by the Japanese in Asia brought an unprecedented level of human suffering. The U.S. liberated France, freed Holocaust prisoners, and forced the Japanese from China. The Americans, in short, were “the good guys.” For other historians, the differences between good and evil during WWII are not absolute. The U.S., we are reminded, was allies with the Stalinist regime. This alliance helped legitimize Stalin’s policies before and after the war, which historians estimate led the deliberate killing of some 10 million Soviets. And the U.S. was responsible for target-bombing civilian centers, most notably the firebombing of Japan at the end of WWII, which killed an estimated 1 million Japanese civilians, rendered millions homeless, and destroyed practically every major Japanese city.
For this discussion address the following question:
To what extent is WWII morally ambiguous for the U.S.?
Put differently, are the moral distinctions between the Allied and Axis powers absolutely clear? Are you absolutely certain that the Americans were the “good guys” during WWII?
Students are required to reference at least 2 of the sources (videos, images, or readings).
Make sure your essay takes a clear position—make an argument. Your argument is the answer to the question: is American participation in WWII morally ambiguous? Then spend the rest of the essay proving your answer to the question.
The essay will be 2 pages long.
Standard margins.
12 point times new roman font.
In-text parenthetical citations. For example: (Foner, 3), or (Johnson, 25).
The essay needs to reference/cite at least 2 sources from the list of required readings. If the essay does not reference at least 2 sources, the grade will be penalized.
You may used the following sources and the attached document:
http://www.americanyawp.com/text/21-world-war-i/
http://www.americanyawp.com/text/23-the-great-depression/
http://www.americanyawp.com/text/24-world-war-ii/
https://today.duke.edu/2018/11/how-trauma-and-struggles-world-war-i-helped-shape-modern-world
https://www.learner.org/series/a-biography-of-america/fdr-and-the-depression/
https://www.learner.org/series/a-biography-of-america/world-war-ii/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmiphUYwL_0
https://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/gallery/L1945B.htm
https://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/gallery/L1945.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv4VhZy2L5Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RceLAhPOS9Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL5noVCpVKw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y59wErqg4Xg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78COTwT7nE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbwH1ZBnYds
https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/world-war-i-in-photos/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfRTpoYpHfw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL5noVCpVKw