American History II-Unit 6: World War II

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Autocracy

a system of government by one person with absolute power.

Oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people

Direct Democracy

A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Representative Democracy

A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.

Italian Dictator during WWII

Benito Mussolini

Soviet Union Dictator during WWII

Joseph Stalin

German Dictator during WWII

Adolf Hitler

Japanese Dictator during WWII

Hideki Tojo

Paul von Hindenburg

President of the Weimar Republic of Germany who appointed Hitler Chancellor in 1933

Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution

Allowed the President, under certain circumstances, to take emergency measures without the prior consent of the Reichstag

Enabling Act of 1933

signed by Hindenburg, gave special powers to Hitler's government and enabled him and his cabinet to enact laws without the participation of the Reichstag

Neutrality Acts of 1935

The laws provided that, on the outbreak of war between foreign nations, all exports of American arms and munitions would be embargoed for six months; American ships were prohibited from carrying arms to any belligerent

Causes of WWII

Appeasement, Hitler's Actions, Failure of the League of Nations, Treaty of Versailles

Militarism

A policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

The Anschluss

Union of Austria and Germany

September 1939

Germany invades Poland

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

A secret agreement between the Germans and the Russians that said that they would not attack each other

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, Japan (Soviet Union until June 1941)

Allied Powers

Great Britain, France, Russia (USA enters after Dec 1941)

Allied Leaders

Great Britain: Churchill

France: De Gaulle

USA: FDR

Blitzkreig

"Lighting Wars" type of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland in 1939

Fall of France

June 1940 France and most of Europe was conquered by Germany. Left Britain alone against Hitler

Miracle at Dunkirk

More than 300,000 troops were rescued from the harbor beaches by people in privately owned boats.

U.S. Isolationism

Wish to avoid military and political conflicts and wish for US to focus on economic developments; policy toward diplomatic relations during WWII

Battle of Britain

An aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, destroying many ships and killing over 2000 Americans

FDR infamy speech

FDR asking Congress to go to war against Japan

Doolittle Raid on Tokyo

Commander of the Eighth Air Force and lead the attack on the Tokyo Raid, will become general, commander of the bomber squad that attacked Tokyo, an effort to lift moral of the Americans and to make fear in Japan, most made it, not all. The raid was successful, but not all of the pilots that were on that raid made it, most of them but not all.

Manchuria

Province in northeast China invaded by Japan in September 1931

Reasons why Japan attacked the United States

plan for New World Order; US Oil Embargo; US Immigration Restrictions; US Expanding its fleet

War Production Board

During WWII, FDR established it to allocated scarce materials, limited or stopped the production of civilian goods, and distributed contracts among competing manufacturers

Selective Training and Service Act in 1940

the first peacetime draft that provided for all men 21-35 to register for the military

Tuskegee Airmen

332 Fighter Group famous for shooting down over 200 enemy planes. African American pilots who trained at the Tuskegee flying school.

Office of War Information

established by the government to promote patriotism and help keep Americans united behind the war effort.

Executive Order 9066

2/19/42; 112,000 Japanese-Americans forced into camps causing loss of homes & businesses, 600K more renounced citizenship; demonstrated fear of Japanese invasion

Japanese Internment

Japanese and Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States during WWII. While approximately 10,000 were able to relocate to other parts of the country of their own choosing, the remainder-roughly 110,000 me, women and children-were sent to hastily constructed camps called "War Relocation Centers" in remote portions of the nation's interior.

442nd Japanese Regiment

Japanese segregated combat team; won the most medals for bravery in US History

Korematsu v. US

1944 Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans. It was not until 1988 that Congress formally apologized and agreed to pay $20,000 2 each survivor

Bataan Death March

Japanese forced about 60,000 of americans and philippines to march 100 miles with little food and water, most died or were killed on the way

Battle of Midway

1942 World War II battle between the United States and Japan, a turning point in the war in the Pacific

Battle for North Africa

We chose to invade here first because it would give our new army (easier) experience, and it would help Britain keep control of the Suez canal—where their supplies came through.

Result of the Battle for North Africa

Eisenhower fired the general in charge and put Patton in command; able to attack the Axis through Sicily

The Battle of the Atlantic

Germany's naval attempt to cut off British supply ships by using u-boats. Caused Britain and the US to officially join the war after their ships were sunk. After this battle, the Allies won control of the seas, allowing them to control supply transfer, which ultimately determined the war. 1939-1945

Convoy System

the protection of merchant ships from U-boat-German submarine-attacks by having the ships travel in large groups escorted by warships

Battle of Stalingrad

Unsuccessful German attack on the city of Stalingrad during World War II from 1942 to 1943, that was the furthest extent of German advance into the Soviet Union.

Strategic Bombing Campaign

Name given to Western Allied program of using airplanes to bomb German cities and factories

Tehran Conference

First major meeting between the Big Three (United States, Britain, Russia) at which they planned the 1944 assault on France and agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation after the war

D-Day

Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944

Holocaust

the Nazi program of exterminating Jews under Hitler

Concentration Camps

prison camps used under the rule of Hitler in Nazi Germany. Conditions were inhuman, and prisoners, mostly Jewish people, were generally starved or worked to death, or killed immediately.

Extermination Camps

Nazi camps equipped with gassing facilities for mass murder of Jews

Auschwitz

Nazi extermination camp in Poland, the largest center of mass murder during the Holocaust. Close to a million Jews

Genocide

Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group

Battle of the Bulge

A 1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II.

VE Day

May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered

Nuremberg Trials

A series of court proceedings held in Nuremberg, Germany, after World War II, in which Nazi leaders were tried for aggression, violations of the rules of war, and crimes against humanity.

Island Hopping

A military strategy used during World War II that involved selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others

Battle of Iwo Jima

lasted 6 weeks, several thousand marines, and more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed, this battle is also notable for the famous photograph of US marines lifting the American flag to a standpoint

The Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb.

Atomic Bomb

bomb dropped by an American bomber on Hiroshima and Nagasaki destroying both cities

Results of Atomic Bomb Dropping

Mass casualties; infrastructure destroyed; firestorms

VJ Day

"Victory over Japan day" is the celebration of the Surrender of Japan, which was initially announced on August 15, 1945

German Aftermath of WWII

Nazi Regime brought down; German cities were in ruins; divided into 4 zones of occupation

Japanese Aftermath of WWII

ruins from extensive bombing; placed under US Military rule

England and France Aftermath of WWII

devastated by WWII; economy depended for recovery on the US

Soviet Union Aftermath of WWII

Although Russia suffered immeasurably after WWII, their army had grown and challenged the US as one of two super-powers

US Aftermath after WWII

economy stimulated; spared physical destruction; became a military power in the world and a world leader amongst other countries

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

Denazification

the allies pursued a policy which included removing former nazis from positions of authority in government, industry, and education.

1st Amendment

Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

Appeasement

Accepting demands in order to avoid conflict

Treaty of Versailles

the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans

League of Nations

an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations