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Hello y'all.

2

It's me.

3

It's me.

4

It's Dr.

5

G.

6

In our last episode, we navigated the

tumultuous waters of the Great Depression

7

and the transformative new deal.

8

Today we turn to a conflict that

reshaped the globe and America's

9

place within it World War ii.

10

The shadows of the Great War, the war

to end All wars had barely receded when

11

new, more ominous clouds gathered on

12

an era of uneasy normalcy and simmering

social tensions within the United States.

13

Saw the rise of aggressive

expansionist ideologies abroad.

14

The economic devastation of the Great

Depression further destabilize the

15

world order, creating fertile ground

for dictators, fascists, and demagogues.

16

America's still grappling

with the depression's impact.

17

In largely embracing a policy of

isolationism would find itself

18

inexorably drawn into a global maelstrom.

19

This war wouldn't just be

fought on distant battlefields.

20

It would transform American society, its

economy, its understanding of civil rights

21

and its role as the dominant world power.

22

I.

23

The industrial might forge in the late

19th century and tested by the new deal's,

24

mobilization efforts would be unleashed

on an unprecedented scale in this war.

25

However, the racial hierarchies, the

bitter legacy of reconstruction, would I.

26

Be starkly illuminated and challenged

both at home and in the segregated

27

ranks of the military abroad.

28

Today, following our chapters, we are

going to explore America's journey

29

into the World War, world War ii, from

the rise of fascism and the origins of

30

the conflict in Europe and the Pacific

through the nation's reluctant entry.

31

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor,

we're gonna go over the experiences

32

of the soldiers on multiple fronts.

33

The colossal effort on the home front.

34

The complex intersections of race and

gender during wartime and finally.

35

The dawn of a new and deeply

uncertain post-war world.

36

So let's go.

37

In the 1920s and the 1930s, a toxic brew

of nationalism, militarism, and economic

38

despair fueled the rise of fascist

regimes in Europe and imperial ambitions

39

in Asia, in Italy, Benito Mussolini

and his black shirts consolidated

40

power, dreaming of a new Roman

41

The most alarming developments were

in Germany, Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi

42

power rose to power in 1933, capitalizing

on economic hardship and the national

43

resentment for Germany being blamed for

World War I as our textbook outlines.

44

Hitler's ideology was rooted in

racial supremacy and the pursuit

45

of liens, Ramm, or living space.

46

And this led to the re armament of

Germany in a series of aggressive moves.

47

The REM militarization of the Rhineland

48

1938, and the crisis over Czechoslovakia.

49

The Munich agreement of 1938 where

Britain and France appeased Hitler

50

by seeding the Sudetenland, only

emboldened him to take more actions.

51

British Prime Minister never Chamberlain

declared that he had achieved

52

quote, peace for our time end quote.

53

But Winston Churchill Grimley

Retorted quote, you were given a

54

choice between war and dishonor.

55

You chose dishonor and you will have war.

56

End quote.

57

Meanwhile, in the Pacific, Imperial Japan

was on the move, driven by militarism

58

and the need for more resources.

59

Japan invaded Manchuria in

60

invasion of China in 1937.

61

American public opinion while

critical of Japanese aggression,

62

remained largely isolationists.

63

The final sparks in Europe were the Nazi

Soviet non-aggression pact in August

64

of 1939, A cynical deal that freed

Hitler to act, and it followed swiftly

65

by the German invasion of Poland on

66

Finally recognizing the futility

of appeasement to Hitler or the

67

Nazis declared war on Germany.

68

And World War II had begun.

69

So while Europe and Asia plunged

themselves into war, the United States

70

clung to a policy of neutrality, deeply

influenced by the disillusionment

71

following World War I and the

domestic focus on fixing the great

72

depression that was still happening.

73

The America First Committee with

prominent figures like the aviator

74

Charles Lindbergh championed isolationism.

75

Lindbergh noted in 1941.

76

Quote, the United States is better

situated from a military standpoint

77

than any other nation in the world.

78

These wars in Europe are not wars in

which are civilization is defending

79

against some Asiatic intruder.

80

There is no gang khan or Xerxes

marching against our domains.

81

This is not a question of banding

together to defend the white

82

race against foreign invasions.

83

Congress passed a series of

84

before the war, aiming to prevent

the US from being drawn into foreign

85

conflicts by prohibiting loans and

arm sales to belligerent nations.

86

However, FDR increasingly alarmed

by this axis, aggression axis being

87

Germany and Italy and later Japan.

88

They sought to find ways to aid

the allies, Britain and France.

89

The neutrality Act of 1939 introduced

the cash and carry provision, allowing

90

belligerent to buy US arms if they

paid one in cash, and two, transported

91

them on their own ships, a policy that

primarily benefited Britain and France.

92

By 1940, France had fallen, and

Britain was standing alone and

93

Roosevelt ramped up support.

94

The Lend Lease Act of March, 1941

effectively ended American neutrality,

95

allowing the US to lend or lease

war materials to any country whose

96

defense the President deemed vital

to the defense of the United States.

97

Roosevelt famously compared it

to lending a garden hose to a

98

neighbor whose house is on fire.

99

In August of 41, Roosevelt and British

Prime Minister Winston Churchill

100

met secretly off the coast of

Newfoundland, Canada and issued the

101

Atlantic Charter, a joint Declaration

of war aims that included principles

102

like self-determination, free trade.

103

And freedom from fear and want.

104

This was a clear signal of America's

growing alignment with the Allied cause,

105

even before direct military involvement.

106

Earlier in that year, January

107

vision for a world founded upon for

freedoms, quote, in the future days.

108

Which we seek to make secure.

109

We look forward to a world founded

upon four essential human freedoms.

110

The first is freedom of speech and

expression everywhere in the world.

111

The second is freedom of every

person to worship God in his

112

own way everywhere in the world.

113

The third is freedom from

want everywhere in the world.

114

And the fourth is freedom from

fear anywhere in the world.

115

The event that shattered American

isolationism and catapulted the nation

116

into full scale war occurred on December

117

infamy as President Roosevelt declared, I.

118

Japanese carrier launched planes executed

a surprise attack on the US Pacific

119

Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

120

The attack killed over 2,400 Americans

121

the US Naval presence in the Pacific.

122

I.

123

Quote yesterday, December 7th, 1941,

a date which will live in infamy.

124

The United States of America was suddenly

and deliberately attacked by naval

125

and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

126

No matter how long it may take us to

overcome this premeditated invasion, the

127

American people in their righteous might

will win through to absolute victory.

128

End quote.

129

That was the address of FDR and on

December 8th, Congress declared war on

130

Japan with only one dissenting vote.

131

Germany and Italy.

132

Japan's Access Partners declared

war on the United States.

133

A few days later, America was now

fully engaged in a global conflict

134

despite the attack by Japan, the

Allies, which included the US Britain.

135

The free French.

136

Remember, the French had been invaded and

conquered by the Germans by this point.

137

And now the Soviet Union, which had

been invaded by Germany in June of

138

1941, adopted a Germany first strategy.

139

They recognized Nazi Germany

as the more dangerous long-term

140

threat over the Japanese.

141

So American forces began arriving

in Europe significantly in numbers

142

in 1942, but first, the fight

would take place on African soil.

143

The key campaigns included

Operation Torch, which happened

144

in North Africa in 1942 and 43.

145

This was the first of American major

offensive in the European Theater.

146

US forces under commanders like

Dwight d Eisenhower, and George S.

147

Patton landed in Morocco and Algeria.

148

Eventually helping to defeat German

and Italian forces in North Africa.

149

Next would come the Italian

campaign from 43 to 45.

150

Following the success in North

Africa, the allies invaded Sicily

151

and then the mainland Italy.

152

This was a long a.

153

Brutal and Attritional campaign fought

through difficult mountainous terrain.

154

The US Fifth Army under Mark Clark and

the Seventh Army under Patton played

155

significant roles in battles like

Salerno and Anzio, eventually leading

156

to the fall of Rome in June of 1944.

157

D-Day is the day Operation

158

This was the largest

amphibious invasion in history.

159

Allied forces landed on the beaches

in Normandy, France opening up a

160

long awaited second front against

Germany and Western Europe.

161

The other front being.

162

Russia.

163

American troops faced intense German

resistance on Omaha and Utah beaches,

164

but ultimately secured a vital

beachhead from which to then attack

165

from Europe, the Battle of the Bulge,

166

This was Hitler's last major offensive

on the Western front, the surprise

167

German attack in the Dens forest.

168

Initially pushed back Allied

lines, but was ultimately repulsed.

169

Thanks in part to the stubborn

defense of American units.

170

Notably at Best Stone, this

battle depleted Germany's

171

remaining offensive capabilities.

172

The war in Europe was characterized

by immense logistical challenges,

173

fierce fighting and heavy casualty.

174

For many American soldiers, it was the

first experience of industrial scale.

175

Warfare.

176

Now, I'm not gonna go into all

of these different battles.

177

Your textbook goes into some of

them and why they're important.

178

But you need to go check out

the World War II Museum in New

179

Orleans if you haven't been there.

180

But definitely check out their

website, which has a lot of

181

interesting and amazing stories there.

182

Go check that out.

183

As war is going on in the

Western Theater, the war in the

184

Pacific was also ramping up.

185

This was the island hopping

to victory strategy.

186

So the US faced the daunting

task of rolling back the Japanese

187

empire, which had conquered vast

territories across Southeast Asia

188

and a host of Pacific Islands.

189

The strategy that was adopted was

called Island Hopping, bypassing heavily

190

fortified Japanese strongholds and seizing

strategically important, less defended

191

islands to establish forward air bases

for the eventual assault on Japan itself.

192

Many of the key battles here

include the biggest turning

193

point, the Battle of the Midway.

194

In June of 1942, just six months

after Pearl Harbor, the US Navy

195

achieved a stunning victory.

196

They sank four Japanese aircraft carriers.

197

This was a crucial turning point.

198

It crippled a lot of Japan's naval

air power and ending its offensive

199

capabilities in the Pacific.

200

After this point, Japan

went on the defensive.

201

The Battle of Guac Canal,

202

This was the first major American

offensive in the Pacific, and this was a

203

brutal six month campaign on and around

the island of Guadalcanal, and it evolved

204

intense jungle warfare and naval battles.

205

It was another hard fought

victory that marked the beginning

206

of the Allied offensive.

207

The Battle of Late Gulf, this was

the largest naval battle in history.

208

It effectively destroyed the

Japanese Navy as an offensive force

209

and paved the way for American

reconquest of the Philippines.

210

The Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the

bloodiest battles in Marine Corps

211

history happened in between February

212

capitalize on the island's airfield by

supporting B 29 bomber raids on Japan.

213

The iconic flag raising on Mount

Sir BCE became a symbol of American

214

sacrifice and determination.

215

And lastly, we got the Battle of

216

This was the last major

battle of World War ii.

217

Okinawa saw ferocious Japanese

resistance, including mass kamikaze

218

attacks and heavy civilian casualties.

219

The high US casualty rate

influenced thinking about the

220

potential cost of invading the

Japanese home islands themselves.

221

So the fighting in the Pacific was

often characterized and rightly

222

so by its particular brutality.

223

Its racial animosity on both sides and the

fanatical resistance of Japanese forces.

224

For the millions of Americans who served

in World War ii, it was a transformative

225

and often harrowing experience.

226

Their letters, their diaries,

their oral histories.

227

You can find these at

the Library of Congress.

228

Paint a vivid picture of life

on the front lines and at home.

229

I.

230

Private Isaac Schwartz serving in

Europe wrote of the sheer terror

231

and dehumanization of combat

during the Battle of the Bulge.

232

Quote.

233

It is a game of life and death.

234

There are no rules here we are the

gladiators of the 20th century.

235

I find men who a few months

ago were supposedly normal

236

human beings now savages.

237

They have lost all sense of values.

238

All moral codes are forgotten.

239

End quote.

240

He later described the bitter cold and

the constant fear quote, how long can

241

a human being exist like this living

in a hole in the ground like an animal

242

shells bursting around you constantly?

243

It makes one wonder what it is all about.

244

End quote.

245

On the Pacific front, the

experiences were equally brutal.

246

James j Fahe a semen aboard

the USS Montpelier wrote in his

247

diary before action quote, the

men are all anxious for a fight.

248

I want to see some action too.

249

I hope we have good luck

and I come out of it.

250

Okay, end quote.

251

This initial eagerness gave way to

the grim realities of island warfare.

252

Soldiers grappled with boredom, feared

comradery, loss, and the stark contrast

253

between the ideals they were fighting for

and the brutal realities of war itself.

254

The GI Bill of Rights passed in

255

unprecedented opportunities for

education, housing, and business loan

256

because of the experiences and of course

winning the war and this profoundly

257

shaped post-war American society.

258

Something will get into.

259

Next episode,

260

let's turn our attention

to the home front.

261

While soldiers fought overseas,

the American home front was utterly

262

transformed into the arsenal

of democracy, as it was called.

263

The war effort required an unprecedented

mobilization of industrial resources

264

and people as our textbook highlights.

265

Federal spending during the war

was immense, far exceeding even

266

the programs of the New Deal, and

this massive government expenditure

267

definitely ended the Great depression.

268

The war production board established

269

oversaw the conversion of civilian

industries into war production.

270

Automobile plants began churning

out tanks and planes, typewriter

271

factories made machine guns.

272

This miracle of production, as it was

called saw American factories produce an

273

astonishing quantity of war materials.

274

The office of War Mobilization

coordinated this vast national effort.

275

The government also managed labor

relations through the National War Labor

276

Board, which mediated disputes and sought

to prevent strikes in vital industries.

277

While war is happening, most unions, like

the A FL under Samuel Gomer, adopted a no

278

strike pledge for the duration of the war.

279

Though some strikes, notably

by coal miners did occur, union

280

membership actually grew during

the war, benefiting from quote,

281

maintenance of membership clauses.

282

Civilians were called

upon to make sacrifices.

283

The Office of Price Administration

implemented rationing for scarce

284

goods like gasoline, sugar, coffee,

meat, and tires, scrap drives,

285

collected rubber, metal and paper

to be donated for the war effort.

286

Victory Gardens.

287

Sprouted across backyards and

public parks across the country.

288

The government financed the war

through increased taxes and a

289

massive sale of liberty bonds.

290

The bonds promoted through intense

propaganda campaigns that emphasized

291

it was your patriotic duty to buy

these bonds as well as to donate goods.

292

The Office of War information

293

official government propaganda effort

using posters, radio, films, and

294

newsreel the Office of War information.

295

The OWI aim to unify public opinion,

encourage enlistment, as well as bond

296

purchases, promote conservation of

resources as well as its donation,

297

and to demonize the enemies we face.

298

Iconic pictures urged Americans to

quote, dig on for victory or save waste

299

fats for explosives, and reminded them

that quote, loose lips, sink ships.

300

George Creole, who was in charge

of the propaganda from World War I

301

had set some precedents for World

War ii, but the O'S reach was even

302

greater than what Creole could muster.

303

Because of the new technology and

using these progressive era persuasion

304

tactics actually worked this often

led to intense anti-German and

305

anti-Japanese sentiments at home.

306

Now World War II dramatically expanded

opportunities for many Americans.

307

And the first we're gonna look at

is American women with millions

308

of men in uniform and overseas.

309

Women particularly stepped

into roles previously close to

310

them because of their gender.

311

I.

312

The iconic image of Rosie the Riveter,

inspired by a popular song in a Norman

313

Rockwell's famous painting, symbolized

the millions of women who entered

314

the defense industries working in

factories and shipyards and aircraft

315

plants, building the weaponry and the

machinery necessary to win the war.

316

Oral histories from women who

work these jobs reveal their pride

317

and the challenges they faced.

318

One.

319

Rosie Inez Sour described

her work at Boeing.

320

Quote, I was a riveter.

321

I was terrified at first,

but you just did it.

322

It was your patriotic duty end quote.

323

Another Juanita Allen recalled quote.

324

It was the first time I ever had

money in my pocket that I had made.

325

End quote.

326

They often face lower pay than men doing

the same job and skepticism about their

327

abilities because they were women, but

their contributions were undeniable.

328

We don't win the war without them.

329

Women actually also served in the

military in unprecedented numbers.

330

The Women's Army Corps, the WAC and

the Navy Women's Accepted for Volunteer

331

Emergency Service or waves, the Coast

Guard, SP, and the Women Air Force Service

332

Pilots, the wasps provided vital support

services freeing up men for combat.

333

Over 150,000 women

served in the WACS alone.

334

Army and Navy nurses served

with distinction often close

335

to the front lines, seeing the

terrible carnage that war brings.

336

So while the war opened new doors, it

also reinforced traditional gender roles

337

in some way with women often encouraged

to return to domestic life after the war.

338

However, the experience of wartime

employment, having money in your pocket

339

for the first time and the services

that they had done had a lasting impact.

340

It challenged the pre nor notions

about women's capabilities, and it

341

contributed to the later feminist

movements asking and then demanding

342

and then protesting for better rights.

343

For African Americans, world War II was

fought on two fronts against fascism

344

abroad and against racism at home.

345

This sentiment was encapsulated by the

Double V campaign, launched by the British

346

Courier, a leading black newspaper quote.

347

We as colored Americans are

determined to protect our country,

348

our form of government, and the

freedoms which we hope to enjoy.

349

We are also determined to achieve our

full rights as citizens in this country.

350

Therefore, let us call for a double

V, V for victory over our enemies

351

on the battlefields abroad and

V for victory over our enemies.

352

On the home front, the enemies of

intolerance, prejudice, and race hatred.

353

End quote, over 1 million African

Americans served, but they did so

354

in segregated military, often facing

discrimination and being relegated

355

to service and supply units mostly.

356

However, there were exceptional.

357

Service members like the units of the

Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black fighter

358

pilots who achieved a distinguished combat

record escorting bombers over Europe,

359

as well as disproving racist myth about

their in capabilities to fly planes.

360

They did so amazingly.

361

There was also the 761st tank battalion

that also distinguish itself in service.

362

On the home front, the Great War

accelerated the great migration that

363

we had talked about previously, and

African Americans from rural south moved

364

again in mass numbers to industrial

cities in the north and west, seeking

365

again, opportunities economically in the

defense industry as well as to escape

366

the racism and violence of the south.

367

However, that didn't always go

as planned as they often face

368

continued discrimination in

employment and housing in the north.

369

Labor leader a Philip Randolph

threatened a massive march on Washington

370

in 1941 to protest this racial

discrimination and defense hiring.

371

This pressure led President Roosevelt

to issue executive order 8 8 0 1,

372

banning racial discrimination in defense

industries, as well as creating the

373

Fair Employment Practices Committee.

374

While the FEPC had limited enforcement

powers, it was a significant symbolic step

375

of the government recognizing the racial

tensions, but these racial tensions.

376

Boiled over in several

cities, there were race riots.

377

The Detroit Race Riot in 1943 sparked

by conflicts over jobs and housing,

378

as well as fueled by white resistance

to blacks having jobs and advancement.

379

Resulted in 34 deaths, 25 of them African

American, and hundreds of injuries

380

before federal troops restored order.

381

Similar riots occurred in places like

Harlem and other northern cities.

382

The experience of Japanese Americans

in World War II represents one of

383

the starkest violations of civil

liberties in American history.

384

I.

385

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor,

fueled by wartime hysteria, as well

386

as some longstanding anti-Japanese

racism and prejudice, president

387

Roosevelt issued executive order

388

This order authorized the forced removal

and incarceration into concentration camps

389

of over 110,000 Japanese Americans, two

thirds of whom were US citizens from the

390

West coast into these internment camps.

391

Ako Herzig Saga in interned as

a teenager, recalled this quote.

392

We were simply told to report to

a particular place at a particular

393

time with only what we could carry.

394

It was a period of such

confusion and such terror.

395

Really to be uprooted like

that, to lose everything you had

396

worked for was just devastating.

397

End quote.

398

The Supreme Court in Kora Matsu

399

legality of the internment

policy citing military necessity.

400

Justice Robert Jackson issued a

powerful dissent warning that the

401

ruling quote lies about like a loaded

weapon, ready for the hand of any

402

authority that can bring forward a

plausible claim of an urgent need.

403

End quote.

404

Decades later, the US government formally

apologized and provided reparations,

405

acknowledging the grave I justice

of in interning Japanese citizens.

406

Despite this treatment, many nea,

second generation Japanese Americans,

407

had served with extraordinary bravery

in the US military, most notably

408

the 442nd regimental combat team

in Europe, which became one of the

409

most decorated units in US history.

410

Mexican Americans also

face discrimination.

411

The Zoot Suit riots in Los Angeles in

412

Mexican Americans wearing distinctive

zoot suits, fueled by racist presidents

413

and sensationalist media coverage.

414

Police often arrested the victims

rather than the attackers.

415

Simultaneously, the Bracero program.

416

Initiated in 1942 brought hundreds of

thousands of Mexican laborers to the US

417

to fill agricultural labor shortages,

often under exploitative conditions.

418

And all of this, again, fueled

more and more racial prejudice.

419

So as we can see, the home

front wasn't just unified

420

against common enemies abroad.

421

It was actually quite

divisive at home too.

422

As barriers, racial or

gender were being challenged.

423

As the war raged on horrific reports of

the Nazi regimes, systematic extermination

424

of European Jews and other targeted

groups, what we know as the Holocaust

425

news of that began to reach the allies.

426

The full scale of this genocide

was not understood by the general

427

public until after the war, the US

government and Jewish organizations had

428

increasing evidence of mass killings.

429

By 1942, the American response was

tragically inadequate antisemitism

430

at home, restrictive immigration laws

like the quota systems established in

431

the twenties, and a focus on winning

the war above all else contributed

432

to a reluctance to take decisive

action to rescue European Jews.

433

Finally, in January, 1944, president

Roosevelt established the war refugee

434

board largely due to pressure from

the Treasury Department officials.

435

The WRB, despite limited resources and

operating late in the war, did manage

436

to save some lives estimated in the tens

of thousands through various relief and

437

rescue efforts, often working with neutral

governments and private organizations.

438

However, for millions.

439

Help came too late or not at all.

440

The liberation of Nazi concentration

and death camps by Allied Soldiers

441

in 1945 exposed the full unimaginable

horrors of the Holocaust to the world.

442

This is your chance to go to the United

States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

443

Their website will go into

more detail about all of this.

444

It is a terrible, horrible

part of the history.

445

The war in Europe ended on May 8th,

446

unconditional surrender after Hitler's

suicide and the fall of Berlin to

447

Soviet forces in the Pacific, despite

the devastating conventional bombing

448

campaigns against Japanese cities.

449

Japan refused to surrender and fought on.

450

We had a new president, president Harry

s Truman took office after fdr, R's

451

death in April of 1945, and he made

the momentous decision to use a newly

452

developed atomic bomb on August 6th,

453

Hiroshima when Japan refused to surrender.

454

A second atomic bomb was dropped

on Nagasaki on August 9th.

455

Announcing the Histor Hiroshima bombing.

456

Truman stated quote, it is an atomic bomb.

457

It is a harnessing of the

basic power of the universe.

458

We are now prepared to obliterate

more rapidly and completely.

459

Every productive enterprise in the

Japanese have above ground in any city.

460

If they do not accept our terms, they

may expect a rain of ruin from the air.

461

The like of which has never

been seen on this Earth.

462

End quote, the Japanese surrendered

463

Day officially ending World War ii.

464

The post-war world was vastly different.

465

The old European empires

were weakened or collapsing.

466

Out of the shadows and the rubble.

467

The United States and the Soviet

Union emerged as the two dominant

468

superpowers, their wartime alliance

quickly giving way to suspicion in

469

ideological conflict conferences at Yalta

470

Churchill and Stalin were present was

very different from the conference in

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Potsdam in July and August of 1945.

472

Where Roosevelt had given way to Truman

and Churchill was no longer the Prime

473

Minister, and this new conference

attempted to shape the post-war world

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addressing issues like the division

of Germany, the fate of Eastern

475

Europe and the war against Japan.

476

However, these meetings also revealed the

deep divisions That would soon lead to

477

one of our next episodes, the Cold War.

478

In an effort to prevent future

global conflicts, the United Nations

479

was established in 1945 with the

US playing a leading role in its

480

creation vastly different than the

League of Nations, which the United

481

States never joined domestically.

482

The GI Bill of Rights provided returning

veterans with unprecedented opportunities

483

for education, vocational training, home

and business loans, fueling post-war

484

prosperity, and suburbanization.

485

Our next topic in our next episode.

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World War II had cost tens of millions

of lives and it wrought, unparalleled

487

destruction upon this world.

488

But it also fundamentally reshaped the

global PAL balance of power, accelerated

489

social changes within the United States,

and ushered in an era of American global

490

leadership, an era that was fraught with

new challenges and responsibilities.

491

The end of World War II marked not just

the conclusion of a devastating conflict,

492

but the beginning of a new epoch.

493

The United States was

now a global superpower.

494

Would soon find itself locked in a

decades long cold war with the Soviet

495

Union, a struggle that would define much

of the latter half of the 20th century.

496

Join me next time on Star-Spangled

Studies when we explore the

497

anxieties and the transformations.

498

Of the early Cold War era.

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I'll see y'all in the past.