World War II

6 Pages 1558 Words

The most sinister and evil war in world history was fought from 1939 to 1945. This war came to be known as World War II (WWII). The entire world was at war. On one side there was the Allied Powers and on the other side there was the Axis Powers. The Allied Powers included the United States (didn’t join until 1941), France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union (didn’t join until 1941). The Axis Powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan.
The United States fought two wars, one in Europe and the other in the Pacific. When Japan bombed the U.S.’s Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii the United States entered WWII the next day. Franklin Roosevelt called it “a ate which will live in infamy.” (Cybriwsky, Encarta)
In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry was sent to Japan on a peace mission. (Cybriwsky, Encarta)
Japan was still in the feudal age where the Shogun was the head of the government and the Emperor was just the face of the government. They were still living in the medieval age. In the process Perry showed the Japanese all of his modern tools and weapons. This in fact triggered the industrialization of Japan. The war brought an economic boom to the small island nation. The Imperialism age soon came to Japan and they decided to do the same thing every other country started to do in the latter part of the 19th century. As of 1900 the Japanese spheres of influence had reached Korea, Russia, Taiwan (then known as Formosa), and parts of China. (Boorstin and Kelly, PG. 427) In WWI Japan joined the side of the Allies against Germany and the Austria-Hungarian Empire. (Boorstin and Kelly, PG. 455)
In 1904 Japan attacked the largest country in the world at Port Arthur, Russia. Then the Russo-Japanese War followed. After one year of battle the Russians were ready to negotiate. Japan got possession a Russian island and the Liaodong Peninsula. (Cybriwsky, Encarta) Japan had defeated the largest country in the world. In 1906 Japan took over Kore...