World War II and PostWar Prosperity STEM ECHS

Atomic weapons

These were developed during World War II as a result of the Manhattan Project. Two of these would be used on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Baby Boom

During this time over 30 million babies were born in the United States during the postwar era of prosperity.

Vernon Baker

This First Lieutenant was awarded the Medal of Honor by Bill Clinton for his efforts in WW2. He was in the all black 92nd Infantry.

Bataan Death March

This was the 60 mile march of U.S. and Filipino POWs by the Japanese. They suffered starvation, disease, physical abuse and murder.

Omar Bradley

He commanded the 1st US Army during the D-day invasion. It was under his command that Paris was liberated and the Germans were turned back at the Battle of the Bulge.

Concentration Camps

During World War II, Adolf Hitler ordered the Jews to be contained in these. Many were killed in these camps.

Conventional weapons

These would include the weapons of war such as machine guns, tanks, and airplanes. It would not include atomic weapons.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

This General commanded the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. He is known for success during Operation Torch and D-Day.

Enlistment

The military saw an increase of this in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Over 5 million Americans volunteered for military service.

European Theatre

The fighting in World War II that occurred in Europe. This consisted of the Allied forces of Great Britain, United States, Russia and France against primarily Germany.

Executive Order 9066

This was the order given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that called for the internment of all Americans of Japanese ancestry.

Flying Tigers

These were the volunteer American flyers supplying the Chinese with war materials. They destroyed over 300 enemy planes and raised morale.

GI Bill

This law passed in 1944 to provide returning servicemen educational opportunities, low interest loans and unemployment insurance.

Adolf Hitler

He became the leader of Nazi Germany and led an attempted genocide known as the "Final Solution."

Holocaust

This was the name for Hitler's mass extermination of people during WW2, totaling over 11 million. Many were kept in concentration camps.

Homefront

The efforts by many that were home in the U.S. to support the war effort. The home-front was called to support the war effort by supporting rationing, buying war bonds, and planting Victory gardens.

Internment

This is the term for detaining Germans, Italians and Japanese during WW2.

Island Hopping

This was the term for the military strategy for U.S. military advancement through the Pacific Islands through Japanese territory to the mainland.

Japan

The military faction in this country invaded Manchuria, allied with Germany and Italy and led the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Korematsu v US

Fred Korematsu filed this case claiming that his rights as a U.S. citizen were denied by the internment of Japanese Americans. The court ruled that the relocation of these citizens was constitutional.

Douglas Macarthur

This General commanded the U.S. forces in the Pacific Theater. He later was in charge of the U.S. occupation of Japan.

Manhattan Project

This was the name for the development of the atomic bomb. The first successful test took place in New Mexico, 1945.

George Marshall

He served as FDR's chief consultant during World War II and would go on to become Secretary of State under President Truman. It was during this time that he proposed the Marshall Plan which was an economic plan to rebuild post war Europe and insure that the speed of communism was contained.

Midway

This battle is considered the turning point for the Pacific Theater. Americans broke the Japanese code and resulted in destroying 4 Japanese aircraft carriers.

Benito Mussolini

He became the dictator of Italy, formed the Fascist Party and invaded Albania and Ethiopia.

Navajo Code Talkers

These Native Americans devised a code for transmitting messages in their language on the frontlines of the Pacific Theater.

Chester A Nimitz

Born in Fredericksburg, Texas he would command the Pacific Fleet during World War II. In 1945, he represented the U.S. when the Japanese surrendered aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Nisei

Executive Order 9066 permitted the military to require Japanese Americans or ____________ to relocate to internment camps in the U.S.

Normandy

The invasion at this location is also referred to as "D Day," June 6, 1944. This began the effort to liberate western Europe.

Office of War Information

This organization was created to encourage Americans to work for the war effort, photograph the war to use as propaganda to promote patriotism.

Pacific Theatre

The fighting in World War II in the Pacific. This consisted of island hopping as the United States fought against Japan.

Patriotism

Pride in one's country. During WWII many Americans showed this pride by displaying

George Patton

A commander in World War II, where he led the Third Army into battle following D-Day at the Battle of the Bulge. He ordered a 90 degree turnaround of forces to relieve American troops that were surrounded.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese forces attacked this military base on December 7, 1941. As a result of this attack, the U.S. officially entered the war.

Rationing

This policy regulated the amount of goods that a consumer could obtain during the war. Exercising this policy was to work against anger over shortages.

Rock and Roll

This was a new type of music that blended traditional blues and electronic instruments to become "American music." (Included Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry)

Harry Truman

He was the President after Franklin D. Roosevelt at the end of WW2. He approved the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Tuskegee Airmen

This was a group of African American fighter pilots in the US Army Air Corps. They escorted pilots on bombing missions.

Victory Gardens

These were also call "War Gardens," grown by Americans to help with the food supply during a period of rations.

Volunteerism

During World War II, many on the home front were called upon to volunteer and assist the war effort. This included buying of war bonds, conserving raw materials, and planting Victory gardens.

WAAC

The acronym for the women's organization that volunteered during the war. Many of them served as nurses, Radio operators, drivers, etc.

War Bonds

Americans were encouraged to buy these to help finance the war effort. They reduced the currency in circulation and curbed inflation.