United States History - Essay Example

United s History Out of all of the events that marked the twentieth century, World War II and the Holocaust stand out the most. While America may not have been feeling the same effects that the prejudice-driven Holocaust countries had been, we still faced the war that went along with it, and later the aftermath of the Holocaust, which effected us like any other. Furthermore, the events of those horrific years marred not only the countries overseas, but our own country as well. Even though the United States played a more passive role during the Holocaust years, we were still involved in the era as much as Germany had been. World War II had already been underway when the Holocaust reared its ugly head, having started in 1939, approximately when the more rash events of the Holocaust began taking place. In 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, forcing the United States into the war. Only four days later did Hitler declare war on the United States (Bluhm, 2008), making not only the war the business of the United States, but the Holocaust as well. Prior to our involvement in World War II, the United States had merely watched the world burn, bidding its time until its military troops were called to the front lines. It was because of our reluctance to be a part of the war that many people believed that we did nothing to stand in the war of the Holocaust, or the progression of the war itself. However, with the sudden attack on Pearl Harbor and the war raging across the globe, it is almost no wonder that the United States wanted very little to do with the events, though this was no reason for them to stand aside and watch everything else fall. Also, after the first World War, America had adopted a policy of Isolationism, which would prevent them from involving themselves in the conflicts of other countries (Wexler, 2007). On becoming a part of the second World War, the United States was given a brash awakening, a reminder that they were as part of the world as any other country, especially those that were involved in the war from the beginning. The United States may have been against aiding other countries when horror struck the world, but they could not sit idly by when their own land was threatened. World War II marked the end of great ignorance for many countries around the world, though none more so than ours. As American troops were dispatched overseas to help their Allies, others were sent to help fight our own battle. As the war had originally begun due to sick and twisted powers throughout the world, literally bringing about a reign of terror, we took it upon ourselves to be among many of those that would try to help restore social and political disruptions worldwide. After the war had finally died down, social and political structure around the world had been changed, though it is hard to say whether or not these changes had been beneficial, or if the war had been in vain. The aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust brought about some of the biggest changes in equality and unity that the world had yet to see. Due to the events of the war, in 1945 the United Nations was created by the Allies that had won the war as an attempt to maintain international piece. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was formed, putting into writing the worth of human life, freedom, rights, and equality (Morsink, 2000). This was done not only in response to the war itself, but to the treatment of people during the Holocaust, as millions of lives had been lost over Hitler’s degrading ideas to people of different backgrounds. The United States’ role in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights involves the authorship of the declaration; indeed, the United States made up a huge majority of those that wrote and signed the declaration, and Eleanor Roosevelt had been an author for Lebanon’s part in the forming of the declaration. This great document would help to make it so that people were treated as equally as possible, though it took some time for this concept to take complete effect in the countries joined by the United Nations. The second World War and the Holocaust surpass other events during the twentieth century for many reasons. First and foremost, the onslaught of the Holocaust showed us exactly how alive and well prejudice and racism were throughout the world. Even though the Holocaust took place more overseas that it did in America, the United States still saw an increase in hate crimes towards people of different races, cultures, and religious backgrounds. After the Holocaust had ended in Germany, hate crimes were becoming more pronounced in the United States, as though our country were eager to have its own chance at voicing its hateful opinions. Secondly, World War II was one of the bloodiest wars that America had ever seen, as well as one of the longest. It was also a war that we could have avoided, had it not been our ignorance to the condition of the world at the time. Thirdly, while the United States may have been standoffish at the start of the war, it took a great stand in the aftermath, doing what it could to ensure that people would not have to face the horrors of the Holocaust again. The events of both World War II and the Holocaust combined have brought us lessons, morals, and stories that should never be forgotten, lest we watch history repeat itself. Works Cited Bluhm, Raymond. World War II: A Chronology of War. New York: Rizzoli Publishing, 2008. Morsink, Johannes. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting, and Intent. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. Wexler, Keren. “The United States Sits in Silence: Where Was the US During the Holocaust?” History.ucsb.edu. The US and the Holocaust Project, 06 July 2007. Web. 30 April 2010. Read More