re: I feel like schools need to start teaching the start of World War II as July 7, 1937...

There is something to your point in that a major violent conflict was happening in Asia prior to the accepted date when WW2 began.

It is hard to determine when a war begins because most of them are echoes of unresolved issues lingering after earlier conflicts or they are trends of the past which have not been soundly altered by better international expectations.

But there are event markers which help us out. Germany invading Poland is a glaring example. Japan's various early adventures in Asia were regional and not yet tied to the global scope. I would reference the earlier Japanese conflicts in a discussion as they are important, but would stay with the traditionally taught dates when Germany invaded Poland as the moment the war became a world war rather than a regional one.

I would also mention the earlier annexations and general belligerence of Germany's National Socialism prior to the outbreak of actual war as these events are important seed events to understand for future reference.

We should study the whole progression and then look at the later conflicts which followed WW2 where the "enemies of my enemies" demonstrated that they were far from friends when they were helping each other fight. They almost immediately began snarling at each other following their "friendship". Actually, they were posturing even before WW2 ended. This new conflict went on for decades.

Lots of lessons which I think were not learned since we often train and arm enemies of our enemies and see them against us in the future.

Some people never learn.

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I mean if you really want to go back, the beginning of WW2 was set in motion Nov 11, 1918 at the end of WW1, and finalized on June 28,1919 with the treaty of Versailles.

The treaty basically backed Germany into a corner and allowed for everything that followed.

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Frick Germany, the biggest flaw of Versailles was Europe was too mentally weak to enforce it. Should have kept the Germans under the boot heel for much longer.

It really is hilarious the amount of lies on this board. Wish these clowns would keep it on Facebook where it belongs.

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Son sounds like a smart and great kid. Glad he has such an interest in that era. The memory and the sacrifice of that generation needs to never be forgotten.

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Thank you. He's currently a Life scout and should make Eagle within the next year. Like any kid he's got his own issues, but honestly they're nothing to REALLY complain about (compared to what I've seen other parents go through).

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Most kids now could care less about it unfortunately.

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Unfortunately, you're right.

No one portrays December 7th 1941 as the start date of the War in general, but it is considered the official start date of our entry into the war.

Interesting asked a 32 Y O young Woman. Smart very successful Ole Miss Grad, what 2 Countries “yes trick question” we fought in WWII.

After a brief hesitation she responded RUSSIA

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Japan fought with the allies in WWI. Additionally, there was very little in the way of warfare in the pacific theater in WWI. In 1937 China was not a big player in world affairs. This is in contrast to Germany and the Central powers who were involved in both WWI and WWII. Therefore the Sept 1, 1939 makes sense in the fact that it starts with Germany's aggression in Europe because it's the common link between the two wars.

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Your pre-teen is very smart and I'm happy to hear he's seriously studying history. I would remind him that while Japan was indeed an ally in the First World War, they were screwed by the Big Four (France, Great Britain, Italy, and the United States) during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. They wanted much for helping the Entente but got very little in return. The radicalization of the Japanese military and their aggression in mainland Asia during the 1930s was a direct result of this.

The way history is taught in public schools is absolutely appalling. If it's not too much of an emphasis on "important" dates it's a lack of emphasis on anything that isn't seen as an injustice.