(Evidence) APUSH Chapter 23: The World at War

1937-1945

fascism

a type of political ideology that is far-right, extremely nationalist, authoritarian, and pushes traditionalism to an extreme

National Socialist (Nazi) Party

(1920-1945) German political party led by Adolf Hitler, its rise to power was fueled by economic struggle, fear of communism, labor unrest, and rising unemployment

Mein Kampf

(1925) a book by Adolf HItler that outlined his plan to invalidate the Versailles treaty, unite Germans throughout Europe into a large empire, and be rid of what he deemed “inferior races”

Axis powers

(1936-1945) the alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan in WWII

Neutrality Act of 1935

to avoid further entanglement in foreign affairs, imposed an embargo on selling arms and decreed that Americans on the ships of warring nations did so at their own risk

Neutrality Act of 1936

banned American loans to countries involved in wars

Neutrality Act of 1937

implemented a “cash and carry” provision, where warring countries could buy non-military goods from the U.S., provided that they carried them to their own countries on their own ships

Neutrality Act of 1939

allowed warring countries to buy military goods from the U.S. on a “cash and carry” basis

Munich Conference

(1938) Britain and France allowed Germany to annex a piece of Czechoslovakia in return for Hitler’s pledge to annex no more territory

appeasement

a diplomatic strategy that involves giving into an aggressive nation to avoid war

America First Committee (AFC)

(1940s) a committee organized by isolationists to oppose the entrance of the United States to World War II

Four Freedoms speech

(1941) FDR’s famous speech, not unlike Wilson’s Fourteen Points, in which he laid out what he called the four essential human freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear – and painted WWII as the defense of democracy

Lend-Lease Act

(1941) legislation that allowed the president to lend, lease, or dispose of arms and equipment, without a deposit, to countries whose defense was considered vital to the safety of the United States

Atlantic Charter

(1941) a joint press release between FDR and Winston Churchill in August 1941 that called for economic cooperation, national self-determination, and political stability

Pearl Harbor

(1941) a Japanese surprise attack on the Hawaiian naval base of Pearl Harbor that killed thousands of Americans and united the American people against the Axis powers in World War II

War Powers Act

(1941) a law that gave FDR unprecedented power over all aspects of the war effort during World War II

Revenue Act of 1942

an act that expanded the number of taxpayers from 3.9 million to 42.6 million, which financed half the cost of World War II

code talkers

(1941-1945) Native American soldiers trained to use Native languages to send messages in battle that could not be decrypted by Axis forces

Women’s Army Corps (WAC)

(1942-1978) the women's branch of the United States Army, created during World War II to fill critical non-combat roles

Rosie the Riveter

(1940s) World War II propaganda of the image of a strong working woman that encouraged women to join the war effort through a job

Executive Order 8802

(1941) issued by FDR to prevent a march on Washington, this order prohibited “discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or governmen because of race, creed, color, or national origin” and established the FEPC

League of United Latin American Citizens

(founded 1929) the oldest and largest Hispanic/Latin-American civil rights organization in the United States, it pressed the government to end discrimination against Mexicans in World War II

Bracero Program

(1941-1964) a program that brought hundreds of thousands of Mexican agricultural workers to the United States during and after WWII

National War Labor Board (NWLB)

(1942-1945) set wages, hours, and working conditions for workers, and seized manufacturing plants that didn’t comply

Smith-Connally Labor Act of 1943

allowed the president to prohibit strikes in defense industries and forbade political contributions by unions

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act

(1944) legislation that provided education, job training, medical care, pensions, and home loans to U.S. veterans

zoot-suit riots

(1943) a group of white sailors and soldiers in Los Angeles attacked anyone with a zoot suit, an outfit worn by many Mexican American teens that symbolized a rebellious style

Executive Order 9066

(1942) authorized the detainment of Japanese Americans in relocation camps for the duration of World War II

Hirabayashi v. United States

(1943) the Supreme Court allowed the removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast based on “military necessity” but refused to rule on the program’s constitutionality

Battle of Stalingrad

(1944) the battle in which the Soviet Union halted the German invaders and began to retake ground in World War II

D-Day

(1944) the date of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France, the largest amphibious assault in worldd history, and what opened a second front against the Germans in World War II

Battle of the Bulge

(1944-1945) the unsuccessful last major military effort of the German army in World War II

Holocaust

(1939-1945) Germany’s World War II campaign to exterminate all Jewish people living in German-controlled lands, along with anyone else they deemed “undesirable,” and which ultimately led to the deaths of 11-12 million people

Battle of the Coral Sea

(May 1942) the United States halted the Japanese offensive against Australia in World War II

Battle of Midway Island

(June 1942) the turning point of the Pacific segment of World War II that turned the tide of war against the Japanese

Battle of Leyte Gulf

(October 1944) the largest battle in naval history, a World War II battle that crippled Japan and ensured Allied control of the Pacific

Manhattan Project

(1942-1945) the secret research and weapons development project, authorized by FDR, that produced the first atomic bomb

A Night at the Garden

(1939) a pro-Nazi rally held by Americans in Madison Square Garden, NY

Nuremberg Laws

(1935) laws in Germany that revoked civil rights and citizenship from Jewish people

Final Solution

Hitler’s plan to annihilate Jews from the world

Casablanca Conference

(1943) the leaders of the Allied powers — notably, FDR and Winston Churchill — met in Casablanca, Morocco, to discuss their final push to defeat Hitler

atomic bomb

a powerful type of bomb that ended World War II

Trinity test

(1945) the first and only test of the atomic bomb before it was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki