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Meghan Cochran

Katie Guthrie

Mr. Gross

English 11 B (2)

23 February 2018

Impact of World War II

The United States {U.S.} is stationed in Pearl Harbor. It is December 7th, 1941. Radars

show clear skies, but then the inevitable happens. Dozens of fighter jets marked with the national

symbol of Japan swoop in dropping as many bombs as their planes can carry. Thousands are

dead, and many more are wounded. It was time to fight back. This was when the U.S. was

provoked into fighting World War Two {WWII}. This war was fought between 1939 and 1945.

World War II did not have any positive effects upon the world. Many countries were left in debt,

and struggling to fix their economies. Several long term health issues came about. Those

involved in combat often returned home with Post traumatic stress disorder {PTSD}. However

this war did solve the Great Depression within the U.S., but these jobs also cost many people

their lives.

Many countries had been left in debt due to the overall cost of the war. The U.S.

economy was still trying to repair itself from prior setbacks at the time they entered WWII. One

writer, Matt Phillips, discusses the expenses of war saying, “The debt-to-GDP ratio hit it's

all-time record of 113% by war's end. Debt was at $241.86 billion in 1946, about $2.87 trillion in

current dollars,” (Phillips 1). America went into a lot of debt throughout the duration of WWII.
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This can be shown based on the final debt amount being $241.86 billion by the end of the war.

Debt itself has had a considerable negative impact on the economy. Certain materials like bullets,

transportation, and weapons had a large impact on how much the U.S. incorporated into funding

budgets. Several other countries also experienced these difficulties due to past wars. One of those

countries was a U.S. ally—Great Britain. Britain's situation was similar to what was occurring

throughout the U.S. Alanna Richie, author of the article “Timeline of U.S. Federal Debt Since

Independence Day 1776,” analyzes debt across all of the major wars. “During World War II, the

U.S. lent Britain and other countries money to help pay for military costs, and spent a great deal

for their own military” (Richie 1). The U.S. was not the only country that had a hard time

providing the funds for the war. Their allies also suffered from lack of money and needed the

U.S. to lend the money necessary to help fight the war against the Germans and the Japanese.

Chemical and nuclear warfare used in combat have caused long term health issues to

those exposed. There were many different types of chemicals available to those involved in the

war. Chemical warfare was used as a way to slow down the enemy. Veteran affairs has

investigated the effects of these chemicals and their findings reveal that the “VA recognizes

certain cancers and other diseases as linked to exposure to ionizing radiation during military

service” (Veteran Affairs 1). Much of the radiation soldiers were exposed to came from the

atomic bomb: the bomb that was used near the end of WWII as a way to force Japan to

surrender. These chemicals not only affected U.S. troops but also harmed many of Japan’s forces

and civilians. Many people were exposed to extreme amounts of radiation due to the bombings,

and according to Norman West, “The incidence of leukaemia among survivors increased

noticeably five to six years after the bombings, and about a decade later survivors began
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suffering from thyroid, breast, lung and other cancers at higher than normal rates,” (West 1).

Evidence shows the severity of radiation left behind by the atomic bomb. Even seven decades

after the war ended, many children are still experiencing learning disabilities and the

development of cancers.

Many veterans involved in combat returned home with Post traumatic stress disorder.

“PTSD is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a

life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault” (PTSD 1).

Veterans fought close with enemy soldiers during WWII; some even watched their friends die.

These types of events leave potential for scaring. The Universal News Group did a study on

returned soldiers. “The Army’s first study of the mental health of troops who fought in Iraq

found that about one in eight reported symptoms of Post traumatic stress disorder,” (NBC 1).

Studies have also reported these same trends, occurring in past wars as well as in modern day.

Any soldier who has been exposed to a traumatic scene, or severe combat, has experienced

symptoms of PTSD. A real life example can be expressed through this quote. “In 2012, more

British soldiers and veterans took their own lives than died fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan

over the same period,” (Ramsay 1). The effects of PTSD on many soldiers’ lives was

catastrophic. While the effects of war on mental health produced a negative outcome, there were

many more positive impacts on the economy.

This war created many new jobs pulling the United States out of the ten year long Great

Depression. The History Channel published online an article on the Great Depression, and its

impact on the U.S. explaining, “The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 led to

America’s entry into WWII, and the nation’s factories went back in full production mode,”
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(History 1). With factories back up and running, men and women were able to get back into the

workforce. This sparked the economy to begin rising again, bringing the U.S. out of the Great

Depression. However, many people died in those factories. An article titled “Women's War in

the East Midlands” states that “In February 1944 at the Royal Ordnance Factory in Kirkby,

Lancashire. In one building 19 workers, mainly women, were filling trays of anti-tank mine fuses

when one of the fuses exploded, setting off the rest of the fuses in the tray,” (My Learning 1).

Even though many of the people working in war time factories were not directly on the frontline

of battle there were still many risks, as well as casualties involved in many war production

situations.

A continuation of past conflicts are still on the rise in today's society. The U.S. is in yet

another heated arms race with a foreign power, North Korea. This can be directly linked to the

previous Cold War, as well as a portion of WWII. Much of this conflict revolves around the

production of nuclear weapons. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the U.S. were racing

to see who could produce the most powerful weapon to use against the opposition. The world

was in constant panic considering the circumstances. This can be compared to what is going on

between the U.S. and North Korea with the threat of a nuclear war. Moving forward there are

specific things that need to be addressed. Much of this has to do with the idea of learning from

the past as a way to prevent problems from occurring in the future. The results of the exposure to

chemicals being long term health effects expresses the negativity that lies behind the use of such

powerful weapons. As learned from situations experienced during WWII, evidence shows as

stated by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, “We cannot allow these

doomsday weapons to endanger our world and our children’s future,” (Guterres 1). This explains
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very clearly that no good can ever come from the use of nuclear and chemical types of warfare.

The reality behind this is that it harms future generations and causes more destruction than what

is necessary. This backs up the reasoning behind why what North Korea is doing by testing and

threatening to use weapons of mass destruction is far more harmful to the society than they may

think. Reconsidering the decision to go to war with North Korea as we know from past wars can

save the U.S. a lot of money, as well as prevention of poor health outcomes. Whether it is PTSD

or long term illnesses like cancer all options can be avoided by looking back on how previous

wars unfolded.

World War II did not have an positive effects upon the world. Many countries were left

in debt, and many long term health issues came about, those involved in combat often return

home with Post traumatic stress disorder. However this war did solve the Great Depression. War

may be considered a temporary solution to many conflicts, but in an overwhelming way it seems

to have produced far more negative consequential impacts on several aspects of everyday life.

The potential for similar situations occurring can be minimized by looking back on what has

happened throughout past wars. These negative consequences include: long term health

problems such as cancers caused from exposure to high levels of radiation, mental disorders like

PTSD resulting from soldiers witnessing traumatic events while in the line of duty, and in the

end the war did not help to solve the Great Depression that America was experiencing. All of

these factors lead to the conclusion that World War II affected the entire nation in a very

detrimental way. If the past is not learned from then the world is doomed to flow through the

never ending cycle of destruction

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Works Cited

History.com Staff. “Great Depression.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009.

Minay, Michael, et al. “PTSD: The Silent Killer Associated With Soldiers - But Can Affect

Anyone.” LADbible, LADbible, 31 May 2017.

Nations, United. “Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Opens for Signature at UN | UN News.”

United Nations, United Nations.

Phillips, Matt. “The Long Story of U.S. Debt, From 1790 to 2011, in 1 Little Chart.” The

Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 Nov. 2012.

Richie, Alanna. “History of Debt in the United States.” Debt.org, America's Debt Help

Organization, 4 July 2013.

Truman, C N. “Poison Gas and World War Two.” History Learning Site, History Learning Site.

US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration. “Public Health.” Public

Health, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 17 Dec. 2013.

West, Norman R. “Effects of World War II.” Sunysuffolk.edu, Suffolk County Community

College.

“Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings.” ICAN, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear

Weapons.

“What Is PTSD?” PTSD: National Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 1 Jan.

2007.

“Women's War in the East Midlands.” My Learning, Grapple.

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“1 In 8 Returning Soldiers Suffers from PTSD.” NBCNews.com, NBC Universal News Group,

30 June 2004.