chapter 34 - america in ww2

ABC-1 agreement

• united states-british agreement that stated if the united states entered the war, then it would focus its efforts first on germany

  • after germany was defeated, the allies would focus on japan

casablanca conference

• 1943 → conference between FDR and churchill that produces the unconditional surrender doctrine 

  • vowing to invade sicily and increase pressure on italy

ABC-1 agreement

• united states-british agreement that stated if the united states entered the war, then it would focus its efforts first on germany

  • after germany was defeated, the allies would focus on japan

casablanca conference

• 1943 → conference between FDR and churchill that produces the unconditional surrender doctrine 

  • vowing to invade sicily and increase pressure on italy

korematsu v. united states → 1944

• declared that japanese internment camps were constitutional

tehran conference

• 1943 → stalin urged roosevelt and churchill to open ip a new front in western europe

• talked about a possible united nations

executive order no.9066

• signed by FDR on february 19, 1942

• authorized the secretary of war to designate military zones from which certain categories of people could be excluded

  • fueled by anti-japanese sentiment and the panic following the attack on pearl harbor

  • the order led to the forced removal of some 120,000 persons of japanese ancestry (70,000 being united states citizens) from the western military zone

    • most but not all of those removed were interned in relocation camps in the interior west

• the order was rescind in december of 1944

  • legislation passed in 1948 offered an official government apology and modest financial compensation to surviving citizen internees

war production board (WPB)

• established in 1942 by executive order to direct all war production, including procuring and allocating raw materials

  • to maximize the nation’s war machine

• had sweeping numbers over the united states economy

  • abolished in november in 1945 after japan’s defeat

office of price administration (OPA)

• wartime agency charged with regulating the consumer economy by rationing scarce supplies and curbing inflation by setting ceilings on the price of goofs

  • brought ascending prices under control with extensive regulations

• was extended after ww2 to continue the fight against inflation

national war labor board (NWLB)

• imposed to act as an arbitral tribunal and mediate disputes between labor and management that might have led to work stoppages and thereby undermine the war effort

• charged with adjusting wages with an eye to controlling inflation

  • imposing ceilings on wage increases

smith-connally anti-strike act

• caused by massive strikes by workers were angered by the ceilings on wage increased caused by inflation

• the act allowed the government to operate industries that were under strike, like coal mines and railroads

women’s army corps (WACs)

• the women’s breach of the united states army established during ww2 to employ women in non combat jobs

  • women now participated in the armed services in ways that went beyond their traditional roles as nurses

• WAVES and SPAR

women accepted for volunteer emergency service (WAVES)

• the women’s breach of the united states navy established during ww2 to employ employ women in non combat jobs

u.s. coast guard women’s reserve (SPARs)

• the women’s breach of the united states coast guard established during ww2 to employ women in non combat jobs

bracero program

• braceros → mexican workers hired to perform farm labor during ww2

• program established by agreement with the mexican government to recruit temporary mexican agricultural workers to the united states to make up for wartime labor shortages in the  far west

  • program persisted until 1964, by which time it had sponsored 4.5 million border crossings

fair employment practices commission (FEPC)

• established in 1941 by FDR

• to halt racial discrimination in war production and government jobs

congress of racial equality (CORE)

• nonviolent civil rights organization founded in 1942

• committed to the “double v” → victory over fascism abroad and racism at home

• after ww2, CORE would become a major force in the civil rights movement

office of scientific research and development

• ww2 agency that contributes $100 million to scientific projects like the manhattan, radar, sonar, etc.

rosie the riveter

• a symbol of american women who went to work in factories during the war

baby boomers

• generational cohort of people born after ww2

  • when the women left their temporary factory jobs and the men came back from overseas

code talkers

• native american comanche and navajo marines that served as radio operators in the pacific

• the german and japanese could not understand their language

  • advantage for the united states and the allies

bataan death march

• brutal 80-mle march of american and filipino prisoners by japanese soldiers to prisoner-of-war camps in 1942

leapfrogging

• the american strategy to win the war in the pacific by regaining the islands that the japanese had held

battle of midway

• june 3-6, 1942

• pivotal naval battle fought near the island of midway

  • the victory halted japanese advances in the pacific

battle of the bulge

• december 16, 1944

• hitler ordered the last of his reserves, 250,000 troops to attack the american position in the forest of ardennes

• the germans drove a deep bulge into the allied line

  • however, the allied stopped the germans last ditch counterattack and advanced to the rhine

battle of the atlantic

• fought between the german’s modern fleet of submarine u-boats and allied shipping, which was protected by allied navies

• introduction of air patrols and radar eventually helped the allies win

d-day

• june 6, 1944

• a massive military military operation led by american forces in normandy

  • battle led to the liberation of france and brought in the final phases of ww2 in europe → allied invasion of normandy, france

V-E → victory in europe day

• may 8, 1945

• germany surrenders to the allies

V-J → victory in japan day

• august 15, 1945 – september 2, 1945

• japan surrenders to the allies

potsdam conference

• the third meeting of the big three → roosevelt, churchill, stalin

  • this time including truman

• issued an ultimatum to japan, surrender or be destroyed

manhattan project

• a secret united states project for the construction of the atomic bomb initially to be used on germany

henry j. kaiser

• leading american industrialist and shipbuilder during ww2

a. philip randolph

• black leader who threatened a massive march on washington

• demanded equal opportunities in war jobs and the armed forces

douglas macarthur

• commander of the united states forces in corregidor in the philippine islands

• directed the allied occupation of japan

  • which ultimately ended in united states surrender

chester w. nimitz

• united states admiral of the pacific fleet during ww2

• used aircraft carriers to destroy the japanese navy

raymond spruance

• a united states admiral during ww2

• command the united states naval forces during the two most significant naval battles in the pacific theater

  • battle of midway and the battle of the philippine sea

• after the war, he was appointed president of the naval war college

• later served as the american ambassador to the philippines

dwight d. “ike” eisenhower

• american general who began in north africa and became the commander of allied forces in europe → the supreme commander of the allied expeditionary force in europe

• led the forces that launched the d-day invasion of normandy

harry s. truman

• took over presidency when franklin d. roosevelt died suddenly in 1945 

• played a crucial role in ending ww2 by authorizing the use of atomic bombs on japan

albert einstein

• a renowned physicist

• advised the united states government about the potential dangers of nazi germany's nuclear weapons research

  • urged the united states to develop its own atomic bomb, which led to the manhattan project