Watch War Comes To America (1945) Free Online

Release Date: 1945   Duration: 70 min

Categories: Movies, History, Documentary, War film

War Comes to America is the seventh and final film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight World War II propaganda film series. The early part of the film is an idealized version of American history which includes mention of the first settlements, the American Revolutionary War, and the ethnic diversity of America. It lists 22 immigrant nationalities, 19 of them European, and uses the then-current terms...  MORE

War Comes to America is the seventh and final film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight World War II propaganda film series. The early part of the film is an idealized version of American history which includes mention of the first settlements, the American Revolutionary War, and the ethnic diversity of America. It lists 22 immigrant nationalities, 19 of them European, and uses the then-current terms "Negro", "Jap", and "Chinaman". This section of the film concludes with a lengthy paean to American inventiveness, economic abundance, and social ideals. The run-up to World War II is then described, beginning in 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. The film examines how American public opinion gradually changed from one of isolationism to one of support for the Allied cause, and demonstrates this using a series of Gallup polls. In 1936, public opinion is firmly isolationist, with 95% of Americans answering NO to the question "If another world war develops in Europe, should America take part again?". Congress responded with an arms embargo and a "Cash and carry rule" when trading with belligerents in raw materials. In September 1937, the question "In the current fight between Japan and China, are your sympathies with either side?" is answered CHINA 43%, JAPAN 2%, UNDECIDED 55%, while in June 1939 the same question gives a 74% vote for China. Anti-Japanese sentiment thus forced the US government to block trade in oil and scrap iron with Japan. LESS