APUSH Chapter 36

ABC-1 Agreement

A 1941 U.S.-Britain strategy to prioritize defeating Germany before focusing on Japan in WWII.

Executive Order 9066

FDR’s 1942 order forcing Japanese Americans into internment camps, violating civil rights during wartime.

War Production Board (WPB)

Government agency that directed wartime manufacturing, rationed raw materials, and boosted military production.

Office of Price Administration (OPA)

Controlled inflation by setting price limits and rationing goods to prevent shortages during WWII.

National War Labor Board (NWLB)

Mediated labor disputes to prevent strikes and ensure stable wartime production.

Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act

1943 law allowing the government to take over industries if strikes threatened war production.

WACs (Women’s Army Corps)

Female military unit providing non-combat support, freeing men for front-line duty.

WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service)

U.S. Navy program for women serving in non-combat roles during WWII.

SPARs (U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve)

Female service branch of the Coast Guard performing administrative and support duties.

Bracero Program

WWII agreement bringing Mexican workers to the U.S. to address farm labor shortages.

Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)

Enforced anti-discrimination policies in wartime industries, promoting racial equality in hiring.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Civil rights organization founded in 1942 to combat racial segregation and discrimination.

Code Talkers

Native American soldiers, mainly Navajo, who used their language to create unbreakable military codes.

Battle of Midway

1942 turning point in the Pacific War where the U.S. destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

Allied invasion of Normandy, France, marking the beginning of Germany’s defeat in Europe.

V-E Day (May 8, 1945)

Victory in Europe Day, celebrating Germany’s surrender and the end of WWII in Europe.

Potsdam Conference

July 1945 meeting where Allied leaders demanded Japan’s surrender and planned post-war Europe.

Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. project developing the atomic bomb, leading to Japan’s surrender.

V-J Day (September 2, 1945)

Victory over Japan Day, marking Japan’s official surrender and the end of WWII.