Sections:

• Welcome
• American History
• European History
• Latin American History
• African History

Topics for this Section:

• The Development of Native American Culture to 1500
  1. Introduction
  2. Changes over Time: 10,000 BC to 1200 AD
  3. Summary
  4. Native North Americans on the Eve of European Contact
• European Exploration and Early Settlement 1492-1700
  1. Introduction
  2. European Exploration: 1492�1565
  3. Early Colonization and Initial Areas of Control: 1565-1690
  4. North America in 1700
• The Struggle for Colonial Control of North America 1689-1763
  1. Introduction
  2. The Struggle for Colonial Control of North America: 1689�1763
  3. Summary
• Population and Diversity in America: the Colonial Period
  1. Introduction
  2. European Settlement: 1700�1780
  3. American Diversity: ca. 1750
  4. Summary
• Native American Tribes 1783
• The American Revolution
  1. Introduction
  2. The American Revolution
  3. Summary
• Constitutionalism
  1. Introduction
  2. Government and Land Claims: 1783
  3. Ratification of the National Constitution: 1787-1790
  4. Summary
• Status of Slavery in Original 13 States
• Territorial Expansion of the United States 1783-1853
  1. Introduction
  2. Territorial Expansion of the United States: 1783�1853
  3. Summary
• Alaska and Hawaii
• Journeys of Lewis & Clark : 1804-1806
• The War of 1812
  1. Introduction
  2. The War of 1812
  3. Summary
• Jackson's Campaigns in Florida 1818
• Territory ceded by Spain 1810-1819
• Texas 1836
• The Mexican War
  1. Introduction
  2. The Mexican War
  3. Summary
• Oregon Country 1843-1848
• The Spread of Cotton and of Slavery 1790-1860
  1. Introduction
  2. The Spread of Cotton: 1790�1860
  3. The Spread of Slavery: 1790�1860
  4. The Spread of Cotton and Slavery
  5. The Economics of Cotton
  6. Summary
• Compromises Over Slavery
  1. Introduction
  2. The Missouri Compromise: 1820
  3. The Compromise of 1850: The Status of Slavery
  4. Summary
• Gadsden Purchase and Proposed Rail Routes 1853
• The Political Revolution of the 1850s
  1. Introduction
  2. The Kansas-Nebraska Act: 1854
  3. Congressional Elections: 1850�1858
  4. Summary
• The Presidential Election of 1860
  1. Introduction
  2. The Presidential Election of 1860 by County
  3. Electoral Vote by State: 1860
  4. Comparison of County and State Data
  5. Summary
• The U.S. Civil War, Part I
  1. Introduction
  2. Secession
  3. Eastern Theater: 1861�1863
  4. Summary
• U.S. Civil War, Part II
  1. Introduction
  2. The Western Theater: 1862-1863
  3. Union Victory
  4. Summary
• Reconstruction
  1. Introduction
  2. Military Districts in the South: 1867
  3. Duration of Radical Governments in the South
  4. Summary
• Industrialization 1870-1930
  1. Introduction
  2. The Changing American Workforce: 1870�1930
  3. World Industrial Production: 1870�1930
  4. Large-Scale Industry in 1900
  5. Summary
• Population and Immigration 1800-1910
  1. Introduction
  2. Population Maps
  3. Foreign-born Population
  4. Graph of Immigration
  5. Summary
• The Political Revolution of the 1890s
  1. Introduction
  2. The Political Revolution of the 1890s
  3. Populist Strength in the Election of 1892
  4. Summary
• Toward Empire: Overseas Expansion 1865-1910
  1. Introduction
  2. Middle America and the Caribbean
  3. The United States in the Pacific
  4. The Great White Fleet
  5. Summary
• World War I
  1. Introduction
  2. The Western Front: 1914
  3. The Western Front: 1915�1918
  4. The War in Eastern Europe and the Middle East
  5. The Colonial War
  6. The United States: From Neutrality to Belligerency
  7. The Financial Cost of the War
  8. Summary
• The Great Depression
  1. Introduction
  2. Stock Prices: 1923�1939
  3. Unemployment: 1925�1945
  4. Unemployment Relief: 1934
  5. Summary
• The Political Revolution of the 1930s
  1. Introduction
  2. The Political Revolution of the 1930s
  3. Summary
• World War II: The Pacific Theater
  1. Introduction
  2. Japanese Expansion to Spring: 1942
  3. The Turning Point: April to December 1942
  4. The U.S. Counterattack: 1943�1945
  5. Summary
• World War II: The European Theater
  1. Introduction
  2. Germany Resurgent
  3. Blitzkrieg: 1939-1940
  4. The Mediterranean Front: 1940-1943
  5. The Eastern Front: 1941-1943
  6. The Western Front: June 1944 to May 1945
  7. The Battle of Normandy and the Breakout: June-July 1944
  8. Summary
• Cholera
  1. Introduction
  2. The Epidemic of 1832
  3. The Epidemic of 1848-49
  4. The Epidemic of 1866
  5. The Epidemic of 1873
• Polio
  1. Introduction
  2. Incidence in the U.S., 1912-1972
• Diphtheria
  1. Introduction
  2. Incidence in the U.S., 1860-1960
• Life Expectancy 1850-2000
  1. Introduction
  2. Life Expectancy Graphs
  3. Review Questions

Introduction

Though the United States was not formally engaged in the Second World War until December 1941, fighting had in fact been raging in Europe since September 1939. Moreover, war (in Spain and in Africa) and the threat of war had been a constant theme throughout the 1930s as diplomatic attempts to secure the peace (e.g., the League of Nations ) failed to prevent rearmament or aggression.

Germany (like Japan) began the war with victories that were dramatically quick and overwhelming (called Blitzkrieg or "lightning war"). But the early German victories could not be sustained against the logistical and industrial strength of the Allies, especially that of the United States. By the summer of 1943, the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) were in retreat on all fronts.

This was an era of " total war ." Fighting was intense and sometimes brutal on the various fronts. Moreover, both sides felt that the war could only be won by the mobilization and regimentation of the civilian population. Hence there was little distinction between soldier and civilian, and little scruple about attacking either. In the end, total war demanded unconditional surrender .

This module contains six sections: the first traces Hitler�s largely successful attempts to reconstitute Germany as a great power . In the second section, the focus is on the early German triumphs in Poland, Scandinavia, and France. The progress of the war in the Mediterranean follows. The fourth section traces Germany's victories and then final defeat in Eastern Europe . The fifth section focuses on the western front . The final section provides an in-depth view of the critical battle of Normandy .

By the time the United States entered the war in December of 1941, continental Europe from Spain to Norway, from the Atlantic to the Caucasus Mountains, from the Arctic to the Sahara Desert was under direct or indirect Axis control . The United States made its presence felt not only by sending men and resources to the Mediterranean and Western theaters, but also by providing critical material to help the Russian effort in the East.