U.S. Foreign Policy and Key Events in WWII

Good Neighbor Policy

U.S. foreign policy began by Presidents Coolidge and Hoover and continued by Franklin Roosevelt stating that the U.S. will continue a 'nonintervention policy in Latin America.'

Lend-Lease Act

A law, passed in 1941, that allowed the United States to ship arms and other supplies, without immediate payment, to nations fighting the Axis powers.

Totalitarian

A system in which the government totally controls all aspects of a society, including the economy.

Allies

In World War II, the group of nations—including Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States—that opposed the Axis powers.

Axis powers

The group of nations—including Germany, Italy, and Japan—that opposed the Allies in World War II.

Cash and Carry Policy of 1939

A provision that allowed warring nations to buy U.S. arms as long as they paid cash and transported them in their own ships.

Atlantic Charter

1941 declaration of principles in which the U.S. and Great Britain set forth goals in opposing the Axis Powers.

Destroyers for Bases

In early September 1940, the U.S. traded 50 old destroyers for leases on British military bases in the Caribbean and Newfoundland.

War Production Board

An agency established during World War II to coordinate the production of military supplies by U.S. industries.

Women's Army Auxiliary Corps

U.S. army unit created during World War II to enable women to serve in noncombat positions.

Rationing

A restriction of people's right to buy unlimited amounts of particular foods and other goods, often implemented during wartime to ensure adequate supplies for the military.

Manhattan Project

The U.S. program to develop an atomic bomb for use in World War II.

Double V Campaign

A campaign in which African American leaders called for all citizens to fight against racism by seeking a 'double victory'—a victory for democracy at home and abroad.

D-Day

A name given to June 6, 1944—the day on which the Allies launched an invasion of the European mainland during World War II.

V-E Day

Name given to May 8, 1945, 'Victory in Europe Day' on which General Eisenhower's acceptance of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany marked the end of WW II in Europe.

Internment

Confinement or a restriction in movement, especially under wartime conditions.

Korematsu v. United States

The 1944 Supreme Court decision declaring that the government had the right to keep Japanese Americans in internment camps.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

An interracial group founded in 1942 by James Farmer to work against segregation in Northern cities.

GI Bill of Rights

A name given to the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, a 1944 law that provided financial and educational benefits for World War II veterans.

United Nations

An international peacekeeping organization to which most nations in the world belong, founded in 1945.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

A 1928 international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve disputes.

Four, Five, & Nine Power Treaties

Agreements made among major powers to limit naval armaments and maintain peace in the Pacific.

Good Neighbor Policy

U.S. foreign policy began by Presidents Coolidge and Hoover and continued by Franklin Roosevelt stating that the U.S. will continue a 'nonintervention policy in Latin America.'

Lend-Lease Act

A law, passed in 1941, that allowed the United States to ship arms and other supplies, without immediate payment, to nations fighting the Axis powers.

Totalitarian

A system in which the government totally controls all aspects of a society, including the economy.

Allies

In World War II, the group of nations—including Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States—that opposed the Axis powers.

Axis powers

The group of nations—including Germany, Italy, and Japan—that opposed the Allies in World War II.

Cash and Carry Policy of 1939

A provision that allowed warring nations to buy U.S. arms as long as they paid cash and transported them in their own ships.

Atlantic Charter

1941 declaration of principles in which the U.S. and Great Britain set forth goals in opposing the Axis Powers.

Destroyers for Bases

In early September 1940, the U.S. traded 50 old destroyers for leases on British military bases in the Caribbean and Newfoundland.

War Production Board

An agency established during World War II to coordinate the production of military supplies by U.S. industries.

Women's Army Auxiliary Corps

U.S. army unit created during World War II to enable women to serve in noncombat positions.

Rationing

A restriction of people's right to buy unlimited amounts of particular foods and other goods, often implemented during wartime to ensure adequate supplies for the military.

Manhattan Project

The U.S. program to develop an atomic bomb for use in World War II.

Double V Campaign

A campaign in which African American leaders called for all citizens to fight against racism by seeking a 'double victory'—a victory for democracy at home and abroad.

D-Day

A name given to June 6, 1944—the day on which the Allies launched an invasion of the European mainland during World War II.

V-E Day

Name given to May 8, 1945, 'Victory in Europe Day' on which General Eisenhower's acceptance of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany marked the end of WW II in Europe.

Internment

Confinement or a restriction in movement, especially under wartime conditions.

Korematsu v. United States

The 1944 Supreme Court decision declaring that the government had the right to keep Japanese Americans in internment camps.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

An interracial group founded in 1942 by James Farmer to work against segregation in Northern cities.

GI Bill of Rights

A name given to the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, a 1944 law that provided financial and educational benefits for World War II veterans.

United Nations

An international peacekeeping organization to which most nations in the world belong, founded in 1945.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

A 1928 international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve disputes.

Four, Five, & Nine Power Treaties

Agreements made among major powers to limit naval armaments and maintain peace in the Pacific.