AQA A-Level History | 1K: Making of a Superpower | WWII & Social Divisions
AQA A-Level Histor y
1K: Making of a Superpower, USA 1865–1975
DETAILED REVISION NOTES
The Second W or ld W ar & Social, Regional and Ethnic
Divisions
Countryside vs City | North vs South vs West | African Americans | The Ku Klux Klan
OVERVIEW & EXAM CONTEXT
This topic covers two interrelated themes: (1) the impact of the Second World War on American
society 1941–1945, and (2) the deep social, regional and ethnic divisions that defined American
life in the 1920s–1940s. The unifying question across both themes is: did crisis — war or
depression — bring Americans together, or did it simply expose and deepen existing divisions?
Key exam concept: 'Selective change' — war and social crisis changed the lives of some Americans
dramatically while leaving others' fundamental circumstances unchanged. The divisions between
North and South, urban and rural, Black and white are the fault lines running through the entire
period.
CONTENTS
1 WWII: America Enters the War — Context and Causes
2 The Home Front: Economic and Industrial Mobilisation
3 Women and WWII: Rosie the Riveter and the Limits of Change
4 African Americans and WWII: The Double V Campaign
5 Japanese American Internment
6 The War's Impact: Assessing Social Change 1941–1945
7 Social Divisions: Countryside Versus City
8 Regional Divisions: North, West and South
9 African Americans: Segregation, Migration and Civil Rights Origins
10 The Ku Klux Klan: Revival, Peak and Decline
11 Nativism, Immigration Restriction and Ethnic Minorities
Page 1 | USA 1920–1945: WWII & Social, Regional and Ethnic Divisions
,AQA A-Level History | 1K: Making of a Superpower | WWII & Social Divisions
12 Key Terms Glossary
13 Exam Skills and Practice
Page 2 | USA 1920–1945: WWII & Social, Regional and Ethnic Divisions
,AQA A-Level History | 1K: Making of a Superpower | WWII & Social Divisions
PART ONE: THE SECOND W ORLD W AR
(1941–1945)
SECTION 1: AMERICA ENTERS THE W AR
The United States did not enter the Second World War until December 1941 — over two years after it began in
Europe. Understanding the path to American involvement is essential for evaluating how the war transformed
American society. The shift from isolationism to total war was one of the most dramatic reversals in modern
American political history.
1.1 Am er ican Isolation ism B efor e Pear l Har bor
Throughout the 1930s, the dominant mood in American politics was isolationism — the belief that America
should stay out of European conflicts and focus on its own problems, especially the Depression.
• The Neutrality Acts (1935, 1936, 1937) legally prohibited arms sales to belligerents and loans to warring
nations
• The Nye Committee (1934–36) concluded that US entry into WWI had been driven by bankers and arms
manufacturers — the 'merchants of death' thesis — reinforcing isolationism
• The America First Committee, led by Charles Lindbergh, had 800,000 members by 1941 campaigning
against intervention
• Public opinion polls consistently showed 70–80% of Americans opposed entering the war in Europe
before Pearl Harbor
• FDR personally wanted to help Britain but was constrained by Congressional and public isolationism
– Lend-Lease Act (March 1941) — a compromise: the US would 'lend' supplies to Britain without technically
entering the war
1.2 Pear l Har bor an d the Declar ation of W ar
Pear l Har bor : K ey Facts
Date 7 December 1941 — Japan launched a surprise attack on the US naval base
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Casualties 2,403 Americans killed; 1,178 wounded; 19 warships sunk or damaged; 328
aircraft destroyed
Declaration of war FDR addressed Congress on 8 December; war declared on Japan; Germany
and Italy declared war on the USA 11 December
FDR's words Called December 7th 'a date which will live in infamy' — immediately
uniting American opinion behind the war
Page 3 | USA 1920–1945: WWII & Social, Regional and Ethnic Divisions
, AQA A-Level History | 1K: Making of a Superpower | WWII & Social Divisions
Effect on isolationism Ended the debate overnight — the America First Committee disbanded
within days
⭐ EXAM TIP: Pearl Harbor is important not just as a military event but as a social and political
turning point. It ended two decades of isolationism and created the domestic consensus needed for
total war mobilisation. This unity was both real and — as Japanese American internment shows —
selective and conditional.
Page 4 | USA 1920–1945: WWII & Social, Regional and Ethnic Divisions
AQA A-Level Histor y
1K: Making of a Superpower, USA 1865–1975
DETAILED REVISION NOTES
The Second W or ld W ar & Social, Regional and Ethnic
Divisions
Countryside vs City | North vs South vs West | African Americans | The Ku Klux Klan
OVERVIEW & EXAM CONTEXT
This topic covers two interrelated themes: (1) the impact of the Second World War on American
society 1941–1945, and (2) the deep social, regional and ethnic divisions that defined American
life in the 1920s–1940s. The unifying question across both themes is: did crisis — war or
depression — bring Americans together, or did it simply expose and deepen existing divisions?
Key exam concept: 'Selective change' — war and social crisis changed the lives of some Americans
dramatically while leaving others' fundamental circumstances unchanged. The divisions between
North and South, urban and rural, Black and white are the fault lines running through the entire
period.
CONTENTS
1 WWII: America Enters the War — Context and Causes
2 The Home Front: Economic and Industrial Mobilisation
3 Women and WWII: Rosie the Riveter and the Limits of Change
4 African Americans and WWII: The Double V Campaign
5 Japanese American Internment
6 The War's Impact: Assessing Social Change 1941–1945
7 Social Divisions: Countryside Versus City
8 Regional Divisions: North, West and South
9 African Americans: Segregation, Migration and Civil Rights Origins
10 The Ku Klux Klan: Revival, Peak and Decline
11 Nativism, Immigration Restriction and Ethnic Minorities
Page 1 | USA 1920–1945: WWII & Social, Regional and Ethnic Divisions
,AQA A-Level History | 1K: Making of a Superpower | WWII & Social Divisions
12 Key Terms Glossary
13 Exam Skills and Practice
Page 2 | USA 1920–1945: WWII & Social, Regional and Ethnic Divisions
,AQA A-Level History | 1K: Making of a Superpower | WWII & Social Divisions
PART ONE: THE SECOND W ORLD W AR
(1941–1945)
SECTION 1: AMERICA ENTERS THE W AR
The United States did not enter the Second World War until December 1941 — over two years after it began in
Europe. Understanding the path to American involvement is essential for evaluating how the war transformed
American society. The shift from isolationism to total war was one of the most dramatic reversals in modern
American political history.
1.1 Am er ican Isolation ism B efor e Pear l Har bor
Throughout the 1930s, the dominant mood in American politics was isolationism — the belief that America
should stay out of European conflicts and focus on its own problems, especially the Depression.
• The Neutrality Acts (1935, 1936, 1937) legally prohibited arms sales to belligerents and loans to warring
nations
• The Nye Committee (1934–36) concluded that US entry into WWI had been driven by bankers and arms
manufacturers — the 'merchants of death' thesis — reinforcing isolationism
• The America First Committee, led by Charles Lindbergh, had 800,000 members by 1941 campaigning
against intervention
• Public opinion polls consistently showed 70–80% of Americans opposed entering the war in Europe
before Pearl Harbor
• FDR personally wanted to help Britain but was constrained by Congressional and public isolationism
– Lend-Lease Act (March 1941) — a compromise: the US would 'lend' supplies to Britain without technically
entering the war
1.2 Pear l Har bor an d the Declar ation of W ar
Pear l Har bor : K ey Facts
Date 7 December 1941 — Japan launched a surprise attack on the US naval base
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Casualties 2,403 Americans killed; 1,178 wounded; 19 warships sunk or damaged; 328
aircraft destroyed
Declaration of war FDR addressed Congress on 8 December; war declared on Japan; Germany
and Italy declared war on the USA 11 December
FDR's words Called December 7th 'a date which will live in infamy' — immediately
uniting American opinion behind the war
Page 3 | USA 1920–1945: WWII & Social, Regional and Ethnic Divisions
, AQA A-Level History | 1K: Making of a Superpower | WWII & Social Divisions
Effect on isolationism Ended the debate overnight — the America First Committee disbanded
within days
⭐ EXAM TIP: Pearl Harbor is important not just as a military event but as a social and political
turning point. It ended two decades of isolationism and created the domestic consensus needed for
total war mobilisation. This unity was both real and — as Japanese American internment shows —
selective and conditional.
Page 4 | USA 1920–1945: WWII & Social, Regional and Ethnic Divisions
