1940s: the Pivotal Decade | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

1940s: the Pivotal Decade

It is impossible to underestimate the importance of World War II (1939–45) in U.S. history. The country became involved in the conflict after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii by Japanese aircraft. From that moment, massive changes swept the nation, changes that would be felt for the rest of the century.

When the decade began, America continued to suffer from the affects of the economic depression (the Great Depression, 1929–41) that had lasted throughout the 1930s. Although the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) had helped the nation avoid outright economic.....

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