Between 1939 and 1941, the United States began increasing the size of its military forces while it ramped up war production.  After Pearl Harbor, these processes went into overdrive, with the result that several million Americans served in uniform in the war years, while America quickly became the world’s greatest industrial and military power.  In the US, unemployment nearly disappeared, while African-Americans, Latinos, and women found unprecedented employment opportunities.  At the same time, the US government interned thousands of Japanese-Americans for no reason other than their ancestry.  In this episode, James and Scott describe how the US went from being a relatively isolationist power to the world’s “Arsenal of Democracy.”  They also give an overview of life on the home front during the war.

America Gears Up for War

War has played a key role in the history of the United States from the nation’s founding right down to the present.  Wars made the U. S. independent, kept it together, increased its size, and established it as a global superpower.  Understanding America’s wars is essential for understanding American history. In the Key Battles of American History, host James Early discusses American history through the lens of the most important battles of America’s wars.  James is an Adjunct Professor of History at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX.  He has published one book and two scholarly articles.  He is also the cohost (with Scott Rank) of the Presidential Fight Club, Key Battles of the Civil War, Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, and Key Battles of World War I podcasts.

History

Society & Culture

In this two-part topical episode, Sean McIver returns to the podcast!  Sean and James discuss the origin of modern battleships, the history-making introduction of the HMS Dreadnought, the first ships called Texas, and the modern USS Texas’ service prior to World War II.

The Battleship Texas with Sean McIver (Part 1)

In this epilogue to the Guadalcanal series, Dave and James discuss the human and material costs of the battle for Guadalcanal.  They also evaluate the performance of both sides and the short-and long-term significance of the campaign.

G13: Epilogue to Guadalcanal

During a war, combatants often ponder the deep existential questions of life. These questions form the basis of Terence Malick’s 1998 war drama The Thin Red Line. On one level, The Thin Red Line is about a U. S. Army division’s attempt to take a hill on the island of Guadalcanal; however, the film also explores many age-old questions, including “How did evil enter the world?”, “Why are humans at war with nature?”, “Why do humans fight and kill each other?”, and “Given all the evil and suffering in the world, how can there be a loving creator?” Join James and Steve Guerra as they discuss this intellectually and emotionally deep film.  Note: this episode originally appeared on Steve’s Podcast Beyond the Big Screen.

The Thin Red Line (with Steve Guerra)

In January 1943, American forces began slowly but surely pushing west as the Japanese mounted an effort to deceive the Americans into thinking another major offensive was coming.  In reality, the Japanese were executing Operation KE, a plan to retreat westward and evacuate all survivors from Guadalcanal. In early February, American forces reached the northwestern tip of the island, only to find that the main body of the Japanese army was gone.  The Guadalcanal Campaign was over.  In this final regular episode of the series, Dave and James narrate the exciting finish to the 6-month struggle for Guadalcanal.

G12: The Final Offensive and Operation KE

In this episode, Dave and James discuss the 1943 World War II war film Guadalcanal Diary, directed by Lewis Seiler. The film is based on the book of the same name by Richard Tregaskis. The film recounts the fight of the United States Marines in the Guadalcanal Campaign, which occurred only a year before the movie's release. While the film has notable battle scenes, its primary focus is on the characters and back stories of the Marines.

America Gears Up for War

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