KRAPUSH / Unit 7: Chapter 25 APUSH Terms

Neutrality Acts (1930s)

1) Passed in response to the growing threats and wars that ultimately led to World War II.

2) Spurred by a growth of isolationism and non-interventionism that came from disillusionment of WWI. 3) Was the work of the Nye committee, which blamed US involvement in WWI on arms merchants trying to profit.

Selective Training and Service Act (1940)

1) First peacetime conscription in United States history. 2) Required men who reached their 21st birthday to register with their local draft boards.

3) Part of Roosevelt's preparedness plan in response to the beginning of WWII in Europe.

Lend-Lease Act (1941)

1) Program in which the United States supplied the UK, China, Soviet Union and Free French with military hardware.

2) In return, the US was given leases on Naval and Army bases in allied territory.

3) This program stopped the pretense of US neutrality and provided open support for the allies in WWII.

Pearl Harbor attack (1941)

1) Surprise, preemptive military strike by the empire of Japan on a then neutral United States.

2) Led to the immediate declaration of war by the United States on Japan and became known as "day that will live in infamy"

3) Permanently ended American neutrality and led to an era of interventionism.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

1) Decision that upheld the Japanese exclusion from West Coast military areas.

2) Case was started in response to Roosevelt administration relocating all citizens of Japanese ancestry (including American citizens) to internment camps.

3) The conviction was later overturned and the case has been repudiated as a horrible example of racism and bigotry.

War Production Board (1942)

1) Supervised the mobilization of the U.S. economy from peacetime to wartime.

2) Responsible for rationing items such as gasoline, rubber, and plastics for the war effort.

3) Also sold government war bonds to raise revenue for the creation of planes, tanks, and other weapons.

“Rosie the Riveter” (1942)

1) Propaganda poster and song used to encourage women to enter the workforce during World War II.

2) Over 5 million women contributed to the war effort in mostly industrial jobs such as shipbuilding.

3) Women were inspired to continue the fight for equality after the war.

Bracero Program (1942)

1) Agreement with Mexico to allow farm workers to enter the U.S. and work without formal immigration process.

2) Approximately 4.5 million workers arrived during the 22 year program, but workers were paid little and treated poorly.

3) Led to "zoot suit riots" in 1943 in Los Angeles, where U.S. servicemen and Mexican immigrants violently clashed.

Double “V” campaign (1943)

1) African-American civil rights leaders encouraged Americans to fight for both victory abroad in Europe and victory against discrimination.

2) Inspired by the fact that many African Americans faced discrimination both in the work place and military. 3) Increased membership in the NAACP as a result.

Manhattan Project (1942-1946)

1) Secret code name of the development of the atomic bomb led by the United States

2) In reaction to fears that German scientists had been working on a weapon using nuclear technology which Adolf Hitler could use

3) Produced the first atomic bombs which the United States used on Japan during World War II

Hiroshima (1945)

1) First of two cities in Japan to be destroyed by an atomic bomb dropped by the United States

2) The atomic bomb destroyed 90% of this city and killed over 80,000 immediately (more later due to radiation)

3) After the dropping of the atomic bomb here and in Nagasaki, Japan surrendered and World War II ended

War Refugee Board (1944)

1) United States agency created to attempt to rescue victims of the Nazis, mainly Jews, during World War II

2) This agency began after millions of people (85% of the victims) had already been killed in concentration and extermination camps by the Nazis

3) President Franklin Roosevelt and this agency are credited with saving 200,000 lives

Potsdam Conference (1945)

1) Last of the Allied meetings during World War II

2) Attended by the "Big Three" (leaders from the United States, Great Britain, and Soviet Union)

3) During this meeting, Truman revealed to Stalin that the U.S. had a new powerful weapon which led to further distrust between the two countries

United Nations (1945)

) Peacekeeping organization that was formed after World War II and is still around today

2) Replaced the League of Nations that formed after WWI and unlike the League, the United States joined this organization

3) Originally consisted of 50 nations committed to international peace and today has 193 member nations