Key Terms from World War II Lecture

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts discussed in the World War II lecture, providing definitions and context for better understanding.

Axis powers

Group of countries led by Germany, Italy, and Japan that fought the Allies in World War II.

Allies powers

Group of countries led by Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union that fought the Axis Powers in World War II.

Neutrality Acts

Laws to keep the United States out of foreign conflicts (WWII) by restricting American trade and travel to other nations.

Cash and carry

Allowed the US to sell war materials to countries at war, but only if they paid in cash and did the transport themselves.

Lend-Lease Act

Act passed in 1941 that allowed President Roosevelt to sell or lend war supplies to any country whose defense was considered vital to the United States.

Twenty-Second Amendment

Limits the president to two terms in office.

Fascism

A political movement that stressed extreme nationalism and autocratic rule; associated with leaders like Mussolini and Hitler.

Appeasement

Policy of granting concessions in order to keep peace, notably at the Munich Conference.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The American military base was attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941.

Manhattan Project

The U.S. government research project that developed the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima-Nagasaki

Cities in Japan where the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs.

Mobilization

Putting together natural resources (weapons, aid, food, water) to support people during the war.

Rosie the Riveter

A poster of a female factory worker symbolizing female capability in the war.

Executive Order 9066

Order that led to the internment of Japanese Americans in camps.

Wartime Relocation Authority

Government agency created to oversee the internment camps.

Government Issue (G.I.)

Items provided by the government to support the war effort, especially for those in the military.

Code Talkers

Indians who spoke Navajo to pass secret information; their codes were never broken by the enemy.

Final Solution

The Nazi plan for the systematic extermination of Jews during the Holocaust.

Nuremberg Trials

Trials in which Nazi leaders were charged with war crimes.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Document issued by the UN to promote basic human rights and freedoms.

Tuskegee airmen

African American squadron that escorted bombers in the air war over Europe during World War II.

Internment Camps

Temporary imprisonment of members of a specific group, particularly Japanese Americans during WWII.

Korematsu vs. United States

Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of internment camps.

Battle of Midway

Turning point of World War II in the Pacific, in which the Japanese advance was stopped.

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

Military operation marking the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control.

Island Hopping

WWII strategy that involved seizing selected Japanese-held islands while bypassing others.

Kamikaze

Japanese pilots who deliberately crashed planes into American ships during World War II.

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister who led Britain during World War II.