HIST 405 Week 6: World War II

HIST 405 Week 6: World War II

World War II

Multiple events fueled World War II, whose combatant methods and impacts on people and property continue to be debated. One of the key events was the failure of the League of Nations. As a significant weakness, the League of Nations lacked strong military power to enforce its critical decisions (Blackwell, 2025). Overreliance on democratic decisions between member nations hampered decision-making. Japanese expansion and the bombing of Pearl Habor further worsened an already hostile situation. The surprise attack made the United States to declare war on Japan, hence its (United States) subsequent entry into World War II (Corbett et al., 2023). Since Japan used destructive weapons, the United States had to use better (weapons and methods) to gain victory and protect its people.

Despite divisive views, using atomic (nuclear) weapons to defeat enemies in war is not primarily a setback for democracy. Generally, the use of nuclear weapons violates a nation’s commitment to act democratically (Fraise, 2025). It is symbolic of de-democratization, but some situations necessitate the violation based on how the opposing forces perceive issues and engage other countries. As Corbett et al. (2023) explained, the United States, under President Truman, had to respond to the fierce resistance that Japanese forces mounted. In addition, all belligerents in World War II were strongly in favor of powerful and devastating weaponry. At times, when negotiations fail, it is imperative to teach warring (violent) nations a better way to respond to issues and view the world. Such a lesson characterizes the bloody and devastating attacks at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The planners knew it would be extremely bloody (Corbett et al., 2023). However, it achieved more by ending the war. The end paved the way for better engagements (democracy), which probably could not have been achieved if the United States had not been brutal to its enemies and used atomic bombs.

References

Blackwell, M. (2025). World war origins. Publifye AS.

Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T., Vickery, P., & Waskiewicz, S. (2023, July 6). U.S. History. OpenStax, OER Commons. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history

Fraise, T. (2025). Nuclearization and de-democratization: security, secrecy, and the French pursuit of nuclear weapons (1945–1974). European Journal of International Relations, 31(1), 203-226. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540661241301648

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World War II

Discussion

Required Resources

In your American History course, you will utilize scholarly sources to address questions in the weekly assignments. Please be advised that History.com, Wiki, Wikipedia, or websites such as cliffnotes.com, studymode.com, coursehero.com, and the like are not deemed scholarly sources. Therefore, use your course text and incorporate an additional scholarly source from the Chamberlain Library in your response.

Below is a list of resources you must choose from:

• Textbook: Chapter 27
• Lesson
• Minimum of 1 scholarly source from the Chamberlain Library resources below:
  • The “Popular Data Bases” within the Library Guide for scholarly sources and videos via Search Popular History DatabasesLinks to an external site. or the History Library GuideLinks to an external site..
• Please review the following optional scholarly articles (sorted by topic). NOTE: You will need to log in to the Chamberlain Library before accessing these resources.

Treaty of Versailles

Rise of Fascism, Militarism, and Imperialism

Failure of the League of Nations 

Hitler and the Nazi Party 

The Lend-Lease Act

Japanese expansion and the bombing of Pearl Harbor

Initial Post Instructions

In preparation for the initial post, consider two (2) of the following historical events:

• Treaty of Versailles
• Rise of fascism, militarism, and imperialism
• Failure of the League of Nations
• Hitler and the Nazi Party
• The Lend-Lease Act
• Japanese expansion and the bombing of Pearl Harbor

Then, in one (1) to two (2) paragraphs, address one (1) of the following:

• Assess if the United States’ foreign policy during the 1930s helped to promote World War II. Could the United States have prevented the outbreak of World War II? If so, how? If not, why not?
• Explain if the United States, despite neutrality, aided the Allies against the Axis powers.
• Analyze if using atomic (nuclear) weapons to defeat enemies in war is a setback for democracy (President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan).

Follow-Up Post Instructions

• Respond to one peer.
• Further the dialogue by building upon their post with information you uncovered while researching.
• Include one (1) meaningful scholarly source to demonstrate much depth. A scholarly source can include your textbook, assigned readings, or additional scholarly research.

Writing Requirements

• Minimum of 2 posts (1 initial & 1 follow-up)
• APA format for in-text citations and list of references

Grading

This activity will be graded using the Discussion Grading Rubric.

• Review: Discussion GuidelinesLinks to an external site.Open this document with ReadSpeaker docReader
• Review the specific grading rubric by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner.

Course Outcomes

• CO 3: Explain the influence of historical events on American culture and society.
• CO 5: Assess change over time in economy and/or technology.
• CO 6: Analyze America’s domestic politics and foreign policy in the World.

Due Dates

Due date for the initial post: By 11:59 p.m. MT; recommended by Wednesday

Due date for follow-up posts: By 11:59 p.m. MT on Sunday

Posts must be on two separate days.