5 CHAPTER ONE A long line of jobless men waits for food in New York City during the Great Depression of the 1930s THE UNITED STATES GOES TO WAR The United States in the late 1930s was a gloomy place for many families A poor economy meant many people were out of work Most people were barely making enough money to survive Many Americans were not paying attention to what was happening in other parts of the world
Start of World War II Halfway around the world the tiny nation of Japan was overpopulated The country had limited resources Japan was prepared to take more land and increase its resources using force The Empire of Japan invaded its neighbor China in 1937 At about the same time in Europe German dictator Adolf Hitler took over Austria and Czechoslovakia Then in 1939 Hitler and his troops invaded Poland War broke out across Europe Soon Japan joined forces with Germany Italy and four other countries to form the Axis Powers Their goal was to take over the world The world was at war for the second time in the 1900s Most people in the United States did not want to be part of another war World War I 1914 1918 had taken many US lives Americans did not want more lives to be lost defending other countries that seemed so far away However everything changed when the war came to the United States 6
A small rescue boat searches for survivors after the USS W e s t V i r g i n i a w a s b o m b e d a t P e a r l H a r b o r Wake-Up Call Sunday December 7 1941 started out much like any other day The war in Europe and Asia seemed far away Americans went about their business as usual 7
