WWII & Origins of the Cold War (copy)

Failures of Treaty of Versailles

Germany was resentful--blame, reparations, lost land; Soviets not invited, lost land; US never signed or joined League of Nations

totalitarian government

government that has complete control over citizens

fascism

stresses nationalism & places interests of state above the individual; strong leader & party members rule

Beliefs of Nazism

extreme nationalism, racial purification, national expansion

US Foreign Policy Post WWI

isolationism & quest for peace--recognized USSR, Good Neighbor Policy with Latin America, lowered tariffs, Neutrality Acts

Munich Agreement

Germany given Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia); Hitler claimed was last demand--example of appeasement

Nonaggression Pact

Stalin & Hitler agreed not to attack one another (Hitler desired to obtain Poland)

blitzkrieg

lightning war--fast moving attacks

Reasons for Start of WWII

Germany attacked Poland & Great Britain & France then declared war on Germany

Battle of Britain

every night for 2 months, Germans pounded London; British fought back with radar

Holocaust

genocide of Jewish population & other "enemies of the German state"

Neutrality Act of 1939

"cash and carry policy"-- nations at war could buy US goods and arms if they paid cash and carried the merchandise on their own ships

Lend-Lease Act

allowed sales or loans of war materials to any country whose defense the president deemed vital to the defense of the U.S--US became the "arsenal of democracy"

Factors Contributing to US Involvement in WWII

German aggression & U-boat attacks, Japan joining Axis Powers (threats on both Atlantic & Pacific), Hitler invaded USSR, Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor

Atlantic Charter

joint declaration, in August 1941, by Roosevelt and Churchill, stating common principles for the free world: self-determination, free choice of government, equal opportunities for all nations for trade, permanent system of general security and disarmament.

Selective Service System

draft--US drafted 1 million before entry into WWII & 10 million after entry into WWII

Actions by US Government to Control Economy during WWII

factories converted to war production; set prices, wages, & rents; rationing; sale of Liberty & Victory Bonds; allocated raw materials to key industries

rationing

fixed allotments of goods deemed essential for the military; coupon books were given out

Manhattan Project

code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II

Battle of the Atlantic

US helped turn tide against Germans through: convoy system--escorts by destroyers with sonar & airplanes with radar; & increased shipbuilding

Battle of Stalingrad

turning point of war--Soviets used their geography & climate to their advantage; trapped Germans in city during winter & forced their surrender; Germans were then forced to retreat westward

Operation Torch

Allied invasion of Axis-held North Africa in 1942

Tuskegee Airmen

African American squadron that escorted bombers in the air war over Europe during World War II; heroes in campaign to defeat Italians

D-Day

June 6, 1944--Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France; led to liberation of France

Battle of Bulge

1944-1945 battle in which Allied forces turned back the last major German offensive of World War II; Nazis started to retreat

V-E Day

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

Major Events of War in Pacific

Doolittle's Raid (bombs dropped on Tokyo, increases US morale), Midway (able to begin island hopping), Iwo Jima (won control of base on which to attack Japan), Okinawa (bloodshed convinces Truman to use atomic bombs)

Impact of Dropping Atomic Bombs

ended war & saved lives in the short-term but led to "Atomic Age" & arms race later on

Executive Order 9066

called for the internment of those of Japanese descent from CA, & parts of WA, OR, & AZ in relocation centers in order to preserve national security

Korematsu v. United States, 1944

relocation of Japanese-Americans was justified because of concerns over national security; permissible to limit civil liberties & civil rights during wartime

Yalta Conference

discussion of post-war Europe; Terms: Germany divided into 4 zones, promise to allow free elections in Poland & other nations of Eastern Europe, USSR to help defeat Japan, conference to be held to create UN

Nuremberg Trials

established principle that individuals are responsible for their own actions, even in times of war (cannot claim was "just following orders")

MacArthur Constitution

Constitution set up for Japan during US occupation; promotion of democratic government, basic freedoms, women's suffrage, free elections

United Nations

world peacekeeping organization formed at the end of WWII

Potsdam Conference

decided that USSR, Great Britain, US, & France would take reparations from their own occupation zones within Germany; tensions increased because Stalin broke promise to allow free elections

US Aims in Europe Post WWII

spread democracy, free trade, self-determination for nations, gain access to raw materials & marketplaces for US goods, reunite Germany

Soviet Aims in Europe Post WWII

encourage communism, rebuild its economy using Eastern Europe's equipment & raw materials, control Eastern Europe to balance US influence in the west, keep Germany divided

satellite nations

nations dominated by another (USSR)

Containment Policy

taking actions to prevent the expansion of Communist rule over other nations

"Iron Curtain"

invisible "barrier" erected by the USSR after WWII to seal itself & its satellite nations off from the democratic west

Cold War

state of hostility that developed between the US & USSR that dominated global affairs from 1945-1991

Truman Doctrine

$400 million in military aid was given to Turkey and

Greece so they would resist communist takeover (containment)

Marshall Plan

$13 billion in aid was given to Western European nations to help them rebuild their war-torn economies (containment)

Berlin Airlift

US & British flew food & supplies into West Berlin for 327 days to overcome the USSR's blockage of access points for highways & RRs (containment)

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a collective security agreement that the US made with Great Britain, France, Canada, & other Western European countries; nations would defend one another if they were attacked

Reasons for the Korean War

Soviets supported North Koreans in trying to take over the entire peninsula & spread communism

Outcome & Impact of Korean War

stalemate--an armistice line was set at 38th parallel & a demilitarized zone was set up; fears of communist aggression led to hunt for communists back in the US, Truman fired General MacArthur who wanted to push into China & use atomic bomb

Reasons for Anti-Communist Hysteria in US

Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, Communist takeover of China, 80,000 Americans were members of Communist Party, Korean War

Loyalty Review Board

investigated government employees & dismissed those found to be disloyal to the US government

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

investigated communist influence within US society, forced people to testify, "Hollywood Ten" refused to testify about influence in movie industry & were sent to prison (led to blacklists)

Significance of Spy Cases of Alger Hiss & The Rosenbergs

movement to go after suspected spies; Hiss was former State Dept. Official & was framed by former Soviet spy; Rosenbergs were members of Communists Party & implicated in leaking info. to Soviets about atomic bomb & were 1st civilians to be executed for espionage

McCarthyism

term associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy who led the search for communists in America during the early 1950s; had no proof & just caused mass hysteria

brinkmanship

policy whereby the US would stop communism through the use of all of its force if necessary, including nuclear weapons--led to buildup of airforce & nuclear weapons

CIA & Its Role

uses spies to gather information abroad & to carry out covert operations to weaken or overthrow governments unfriendly to the US

Eisenhower Doctrine

US would defend the Middle East against an attack by any Communist country

Sputnik & The Space Race

world's first satellite was launched by the Soviets on 10/4/1957; led to the Space Race & competition in science & math between the US & USSR

U-2 Incident

US made secret high altitude flights over the Soviet territory & took photos of troop movement & missile sites; 5/1/1960 - Francis Powers was shot down & captured; Eisenhower admitted to spying but did not apologize & Khrushchev called off arms summit & uninvited Eisenhower to the USSR

GI Bill

law passed in 1944 to help returning veterans with low-interest loans to buy homes, help with college tuition, & 1 year of unemployment benefits while job hunting

Levittown

in 1947, William Levitt used mass production techniques to build inexpensive homes in surburban New York to relieve the postwar housing shortage; became a symbol of the movement to the suburbs in the years after WWII

Truman & Integration

used power as commander-in-chief to issue an executive order to integrate the armed forces

Fair Deal

Truman's extension of the New Deal that increased the minimum wage, expanded Social Security, and constructed low-income housing

Baby Boom & Its Impact

population explosion when soldiers returned from WWII (1946-1964), largest generation in US history, needed to build schools & had teacher shortage; today threatens future of Social Security & Medicare

Betty Friedan

wrote The Feminine Mystique & pointed out that women were at a turning point & should seek a full identity; led to feminist movement & creation of National Organization of Women

Impact of Interstate Highway Act

built 41,000 miles of expressways, led to growth of more suburbs, long-haul trucking, & vacationing; Eisenhower had overpasses built high so that military could easily move equipment if need in response to Cold War tensions

White Flight & Its Impact

upper & middle class whites left crowded cities & moved to the suburbs; led to decline in funding available for public transportation & schools in cities, loss of jobs in cities, gap between middle class & poor

Highlights of Culture of 1950s

social conformity, consumerism, planned obsolescence by companies, credit cards, increased advertising, television, rock'n'roll music