America Enters World War Two

As more than 2,000 American soldiers and sailors lay dead, among the burned ruins of Pearl Harbor’s battleships, planes and airfields, President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew that there could be but one response.

Less than 24 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt addressed a joint session of congress, delivering an impassioned oratorical display that demanded a declaration of war against Japan.

US Declares War on Axis Powers

Within an hour after his speech, Roosevelt had his declaration of war. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, who in turn declared war on all Axis powers.

Across the nation, young men poured into recruiting stations, eager to stick it to the enemy. Hollywood became a contributing propaganda arm, stirring the fires of patriotism with movies promoting the war effort. Women joined the workforce, famously led by Rosie The Riveter.

By early 1942, America implemented a rationing system, everything from rubber to gasoline, butter and bread. Leisure time was slashed dramatically, as a nation came together to build the machines necessary for an Allied victory.

On December 8th, 1941, the United States joined a war that by its very breadth and scope would cost the lives of 60 million people, while ultimately excising a gruesome evil. At war’s end four long years later, life in America and around the world would never be the same.