World War II was a global conflict that was fought between 1939 and 1945.

Which
happened after fascist regimes took over smaller countries and tried to create an empire. It was
fought between the Allied powers (United States, USSR, Great Britain, etc) and the Axis powers
(Japan, Italy, Germany). Most of the fighting happened in Europe against the Nazis and
Mussolini and in the Pacific where the U.S battled against the Japanese empire after they
attacked Pearl Harbor. The war was on a grand scale and impacted many all around the world.
In the U.S, people in the homefront were impacted by the end of the war in that they were
hopeful for the future. On the battlefield however, U.S soldiers were impacted negatively from all
the fighting.
First, civilians tried helping and aiding the U.S war effort in any way they could. With all
this, industry rose in the country and many people who were jobless after the Depression struck
found new work in factories and facilities that helped the war. When the end of the war, many
soldiers were expected to come back and not have jobs which people feared would bring about
another Great Depression. This did not come however because of the introduction of the G.I Bill
which helped vets adjust to civilian life when coming back home. Evidence of this is in
Document A titled ​A Description of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act ​which states “In
addition, veterans were responsible for buying 20 percent of all new homes built after the war.
The results rippled through the rest of the economy; there would be no new depression - just
unparalleled prosperity for a generation”. This shows how after the bill was passed, many vets
bought new homes which in turn helped boost the economy for years to come. Not only did the
end of the war stop the GIs from fighting, but it also helped the domestic economy grow and
prevented another depression which impacted American civilians by bringing hope for the future
of the country.
Secondly, the way civilian life was impacted was when the atom bomb was dropped over
the japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This brought hope to Americans because it
made them feel relieved that the war was over and that they were at top of the world with their
new weapon of mass destruction. In the document titled ​Hiroshima as Triumph​, it states “To
most Americans, Hiroshima - the shattered, atomized, irradiated city - remains largely a symbol
of triumph - marking the end of a horrendous global conflict and the effective demonstration of a
weapon that has prevented another world war”. This evidence shows that the homefront felt
triumph and hope after the war ended with the atom bomb because it marked the end of the
conflict. The impact of the bomb made them feel like everything would be okay for them as no
other country had dared to use an atom bomb and it cemented the U.S as a world power.
Third and fourthly, Americans who were in the fields fighting the war were affected
negatively by the war. Many soldiers in the war died or were severely hurt during the fighting.
The document titled ​Pearl Harbor Timeline: Sunday December 7th ​gives an account of what
were the effects of the attack on Pearl Harbor “The casualty list includes 2,335 servicemen and
68 civilians killed, with 1,178 wounded. Included are 1,104 men aboard the Battleship USS
Arizona killed after a 1,760-pound air bomb penetrated into the forward magazine causing
catastrophic explosions. This shows a negative impact on the soldiers because many of them
were hurt and killed in an attack during the war. Another example of the way soldiers were
impacted negatively was during the D-Day invasion. Many soldiers did not make it past the
beaches into enemy lines. While the attack was successful, there were many casualties on the
Allied/U.S side. The picture in Document 7 shows a group of injured soldiers waiting to get
medical attention. This evidence shows that the war hurt or killed many people who would have
been safe back at home. The war brought death and destruction to everyone involved, this war
was a negative impact on the whole world as well as the American soldiers who fought it.
In conclusion, World War II had a dramatic impact on the U.S and the world. With
citizens feeling the impact as a future to look forward to and hope for. And soldiers feeling the
negative effects first hand with many of them being hurt or killed by the fighting.