What Shapes a Decade?

A decade can be remembered for many things. Some decades are remembered for the feelings of security and happiness felt in them, but others are remembered by the feelings of sadness, uncertainty, and fear. The 1940s will be forever remembered as the decade of war, confusion, guilt and change.
World War too was started in September of 1939 when Germany attacked Poland, unprovoked. Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler had refused to abort his invasion of Poland.   Although the US was leaning towards becoming a part of WWII, many people still thought it was a "European" conflict. This changed on Sunday, Dec. 7 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. A lot of US Navy was destroyed. Emotional reactions to Pearl Harbor were strong; Americans held feelings of shock and disbelief, those feeling were soon joined by anger. Posters with the phrase “Avenge Pearl Harbor” filled the streets. It was this action by the Japanese that caused the United States to enter the war. This war would effect and change the United States in more ways than anyone thought was possible.
The 1940's were dominated by World War II. The demands of the war brought many changes to the United States. Women were needed to replace the soldiers that were in the war, so for the first time women began to move from the home to the workplace. The war also caused there to be a need for rationing. Rationing affected the food people ate, the clothes they wore, and the toys the children played with. When the war ended the soldiers came home, having seen the rest of the world. They no longer wanted a family farm, of Africa- Americans would no longer be thought of as below anyone. The GI Bill also allowed more men to go college. Women had to give up their jobs to the returning soldiers, but things would never be the same since they had tasted independence. The end of the war also brought with it a feeling of guilt for some Americans, they were unhappy about how the war came to an...