US Public Opinion During and Before World War II

To gauge the feeling of the population on a particular subject, conducting an opinion poll is a powerful tool.

Below are some polls taken in the United States just before and during World War II.

Gallup poll conducted September 1-6, 1939.

How far should we go in helping England, France and Poland …

	Yes	No
	%	%
Should we sell them food supplies?	74	27
Should we sell airplanes and other war materials to England and France?	58	42
Should we send our Army and Navy abroad to fight against Germany?	16	84
GALLUP, SEPT. 1-6, 1939

Polls conducted several weeks after the Kristallnacht attacks found that Americans overwhelmingly disapproved of the Nazi treatment of Jews, but most did not want more Jewish refugees to immigrate to the United States.

Do you approve or disapprove of the Nazi treatment of Jews in Germany?

American Institute of Public Opinion

Should we allow a larger number of Jewish exiles from Germany to come to the United States to live?

American Institute of Public Opinion

In September 1939, about two weeks after the start of World War II, Americans expressed considerable scepticism about news reports coming in from Europe. Two-thirds said they had no confidence in the news from Germany, and 30% said they had no confidence in the news from England and France. Fake news and misinformation were an issue then too.

Americans’ Confidence in News From Europe During World War II

Do you have confidence in the news from [England and France/Germany] at the present time?

	Complete confidence	Some confidence	No confidence
	%	%	%
News from England and France	8	62	30
News from Germany	1	33	66
GALLUP, SEPT. 13-18, 1939

In a Gallup poll conducted days after Japan’s infamous attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, 97% of Americans said they approved of Congress formally declaring war on Japan. Just 2% disapproved.

Do you approve, or disapprove of Congress declaring war against Japan?

	Dec. 12-17, 1941
	%
Approve	97
Disapprove	2
No opinion	2
GALLUP

A poll conducted one week after Nazi Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and France showed that Americans overwhelmingly opposed entering World War II.

Do you think the United States should declare war on Germany and send our army and navy abroad to fight?

In December 1942, a year after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and several months after Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were subsequently “relocated” inland to U.S. detention camps, 48% of Americans believed the detainees should not be allowed to return to the Pacific coast after the war. Just 35% of Americans said they should be allowed to go back.

Do you think the Japanese who were moved inland from the Pacific coast should be allowed to return to the Pacific coast when the war is over?

	Yes	No	No opinion
	%	%	%
December 1942	35	48	16
GALLUP

In August 1945, just weeks after the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, 69% of Americans felt positive about the development of the atomic bomb, saying it “was a good thing.” Just 17% called it a “bad thing.” More recently, attitudes were nearly reversed, with 61% of U.S. adults in 1998 calling the bomb’s development a bad thing and 36% a good thing.

Do you think it was a good thing or a bad thing that the atomic bomb was developed?

	Aug 24-29, 1945	Jun 5-7, 1998
	%	%
Good thing	69	36
Bad thing	17	61
No opinion	14	3
Based on U.S. adults
GALLUP

In a Gallup poll conducted shortly before 6 June 6, 1944, the Allied landing in Normandy (now known as D-Day) found that many Americans were unclear about why the U.S. was fighting the war. In the March 1944 poll, 59% of respondents said they had a “clear idea” of what the U.S. was fighting for, while 41% did not.

How much longer do you think the war with Germany will last?

	January 1944	March 1944	July 1944
	%	%	%
Will end in 1944	58	33	59
Will end in 1945	31	46	31
Will end in 1946	5	12	6*
Will end in 1947 or later	1	2	–
No opinion	5	7	4

Sources

https://news.gallup.com/topic/vault.aspx

https://exhibitions.ushmm.org/americans-and-the-holocaust/main?fbclid=IwAR1kPkPa91hr8HIYId5r–3MuWULihD90K2IKdmuKZadLtrX65SsWlJLP6A

Gallup poll April 28 1941-Asking the same question, getting 2 different outcomes.

Opinions polls are a useful toll to check the sentiments in the country, an indication of what people think.

In the recent past some polls got it spectacularly wrong. But the key to a good opinion poll is how the question is worded.

On April 28 1941 Gallup released the results of a poll,which they had conducted between 10 and 15 April 1941, on the war in Europe.They asked 2 questions, but if you dissect the questions you can conclude it actually is the same question but just worded slightly different. The question really is “Would you vote for the US to go to war?”

By rearranging some words and adding a few, the outcomes were completely different.

EUROPEAN WAR

Interviewing Date 4/10-15/41

Survey #234-K Question #8a

If you were asked to vote today on the question of the United States entering the war against Germany and Italy, how would you vote — to go into the war, or to stay out of the war?

Go in………………………… 19%

Stay out………………………. 81

Interviewing Date 4/10-15/41

Survey #234-K Question #8b

If it appeared certain that there was no other way to defeat Germany and Italy except for the United States to go to war against them, would you be in favor of the United States going to war?

Yes………………………….. 68%

No………………………….. 24

No opinion……………………. 8.

How you ask a question really can make a difference.

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