The American Republic To 1877 © 2007

Chapter 19: The Making of Modern America

Chapter Overviews

In the 1930s the United States fell into a severe economic crisis called the Great Depression. The economy crumbled, and joblessness and poverty skyrocketed. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs sought to ease Americans' suffering and fight the Depression. It was not until World War II broke out, however, that the nation fully recovered from the Depression.

World War II began when Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party in Germany, invaded Poland. The United States joined the war on the side of the Allies—Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union—when Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. Japan, Germany, and Italy formed the Axis powers. In April 1945, the Allies achieved victory in Europe. The war in the Pacific ended after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. On the American home front, the war caused industry to expand rapidly and created new opportunities for women and African Americans.

As World War II ended, a rivalry—known as the Cold War—developed between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States was committed to stopping the spread of communism, a goal that led to American involvement in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The post-war era was a time of economic prosperity for Americans. The civil rights movement also began in the 1950s as African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and women struggled for equal rights.

The second half of the twentieth century brought many challenges to the United States. During the 1970s the United States suffered from an oil embargo imposed by the Arab states. President Nixon was caught in the Watergate scandal and became the first U.S. president to resign. President George Bush became involved in a war in the Middle East when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Another crisis emerged soon after Bush's son, George W. Bush, won the presidency in 2000. On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., leading Bush to gather a worldwide coalition to support a war against terrorism. The effort to protect Americans continued when the U.S. military attacked Iraq in March 2003. President Bush argued that the Iraqis were hiding weapons of mass destruction. Even after the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was toppled, it was clear that the path toward a stable Iraq would not be easy.