Example research essay topic: The Five Sullivan Brothers - 452 words

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The Sullivan brothers, George, Francis, Eugene, Madison, and Albert, were the sons of Thomas and Area Sullivan of Waterloo. The brothers ranged from age 20 to 29 when they enlisted in the U. S. Navy after learning of the death of a good friend at Pearl Harbor. At their request, the five were assigned to the same ship, the cruiser Juneau. This was against Navy policy, but the Sullivan's request was granted.

The Juneau was sunk by the Japanese in November 1942 during the battle for the Solomon Islands. Four of the brothers went down with their ship. The fifth, George, was badly wounded. He made it to a life raft but died before Juneau's survivors were rescued. This was the greatest sacrifice by any one American family during World War II. A destroyer was later names for the Sullivan's by the Navy and a movie was made about them and the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center has been dedicated to them.

Sullivan Memorial Park is located in the neighborhood where the brothers grew up. Isolationism is a former United States foreign policy advocating the avoidance of alliances with other nations I order to maintain freedom of action in world affairs. It had its roots in the American Revolution. Early leaders endorsed commercial treaties and trade expansion, but they warned against long term political and military commitments. For most of the 19 th century, Americans developed the continent without interference and viewed isolationism as a fixed principle. These conditions began to change by the early 1900 s.

The rise of Germany and Japan challenged the establishment order in Europe and East Asia. During the war the traditional policy of isolationism in the U. S. entered the conflict in 1917.

Following the war, many Americans became committed to the world law and collective security, but the Congress of the U. S. passed strict neutrality legislation. After the outbreak of the war isolationists lost ground to those who favored sending aid to Allied Powers. The debate ended the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. On January 22, 1944 troops of the Fifth Army swarmed ashore on a fifteen mile stretch of Italian beach near the prewar towns of Anzio and Nettuno.

The landing was so smooth that and German resistance was light they moved 3 - 4 miles in one day. When the landing occurred the Germans were unprepared to react offensively. Within a week, however, as Allied troops consolidated their positions and prepared to break out of the beachhead, the Germans gathered troops to eliminate what Adolf Hitler called the Anzio abscess. The next four months would see some of the most savage fighting of World War II. Bibliography:

Research essay sample on The Five Sullivan Brothers