Sub Concept III: U.S. participation in World War II transformed American society, while the victory of the United States and its allies
over the Axis powers vaulted the U.S. into a position of global, political, and military leadership
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A.) Americans viewed the war as a fight for the survival of freedom and democracy against fascist and militarist ideologies. This perspective was later reinforced by
revelations about Japanese wartime atrocities, Nazi concentration camps, and the Holocaust.
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B) The mass mobilization of
American society helped end the Great Depression, and the country’s strong industrial base played a pivotal role in winning the war by equipping and provisioning allies and millions of U.S. troops.
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C) Mobilization and military service provided opportunities for women and minorities to improve their socioeconomic positions for the war’s duration, while also leading to debates over racial segregation. Wartime experiences also generated challenges to civil liberties, such as the internment of Japanese Americans.
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D) The United States and its allies achieved military victory through Allied cooperation, technological
and scientific advances, the
contributions of servicemen and women, and campaigns such as Pacific “island-hopping and the D-Day invasion. The use of atomic
bombs hastened the end of the
war and sparked debates about the morality of using atomic weapons.
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E) The war-ravaged condition of Asia and Europe, and the dominant U.S. role in the Allied victory and postwar peace settlements, allowed the United States to emerge from the war as the most powerful nation on earth.
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