World War II is generally considered a moral war or, as Howard Zinn would say, "a good war." This conventional impression of World War II is the result of American propaganda, as well as misinterpretations of related events. Quite the contrary, United States foreign policy, particularly during World War II, was driven by imperialist goals rather than humanitarian concerns. These foreign interventions are usually justified by political ideologies that advocate the spread of democracy, but the United States government fails to act in the interests of the citizens of other countries; instead, the U.S. government intervened in foreign countries to protect its own needs and those of its private companies. Additionally, the United States faced competition from other countries, such as Japan, and was naturally pressured to maintain its superiority in the international arena. In order to preserve its power, the U.S. government used its ties to Europe to attempt to amass as much power as necessary. Ultimately, this American competition with Japan, American relations with Europe, and civil injustices in the United States prove that this war, as good as it may seem, was motivated by imperialist goals. American intervention in World War II is generally considered a positive act because, as Howard Zinn described it: "It was a war against an enemy of indescribable evil." Hitler's Germany expanded totalitarianism, racism, militarism and open war of aggression”; By simply entering the war, the United States exudes a sense of compassion and concern for the well-being of others. The American reaction to Mussolini, for example, demonstrated that, on a rather superficial scale, the United States actually attempted to...... middle of paper...... Pain of Japanese Americans interned during the Second World War. BBC. 2009. Internet. 29 March 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17080392. Grevin, James. “History of American Foreign Policy Since World War II.” Internationalism. 2004. Internet. March 30, 2012. http://en.internationalism.org /ir/113_us_policy.htmlN/A. “How Did Participation in America’s Wars Affect Black Americans?” American Studies Today Online. 2007. Internet. March 28, 2012. http://www.americansc. org.uk/Online/Woodland.htmOffice of the Historian. “The Atlantic Conference and Charter, 1941.” US Department of State. Internet. March 30, 2012. http://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/AtlanticConf.Steven. “Second World War: A People’s War? Libcom. 2009. Internet. March 27, 2012. http://libcom.org/history/world-war-ii-peoples-war-howard-zinnZinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York: Harper Collins,.2003.