America in WWII

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the American home front efforts, social changes, and major military battles of World War II as described in the lecture notes.

War Production Board (WPB)

An agency that halted the production of "non-essential items" like passenger cars to convert American industries for war needs.

Office of Price Administration (OPA)

The agency responsible for rationing and allocating essential supplies by issuing ration books with "points" to citizens.

War Labor Board (WLB)

An organization that imposed ceilings on wage increases to manage the economy and prevent inflation during the war.

Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act (1943)

Legislation that authorized the federal government to seize and operate industries if production was interrupted by labor strikes.

Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)

A commission established by Roosevelt to monitor compliance with an executive order forbidding discrimination in defense industries.

Victory Tax of 1942

A measure that sharply increased income tax rates and allowed taxes to be withheld directly from paychecks to fund the war.

Liberty Bonds

Investments sold to the American public to finance the war, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the approximately $186\,billion$ total federal spending from 1941-1945.

WAC, WAVES, and WASPS

Military branches for women volunteers: the Women’s Army Corps, the Navy Women’s Reserve, and the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

Executive Order 9066

The executive order that authorized the forced removal and internment of approximately $110,000$ Japanese-Americans from the Pacific Coast into inland camps.

Korematsu v. US (1944)

The Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of Japanese internment camps as a "military necessity."

Bracero Program

A program that brought Mexican migrants to the U.S. to fill farm labor shortages caused by the military draft.

Zoot Suit Riots

Conflict in 1943 Los Angeles where white sailors attacked Mexican-American youths wearing "zoot-suits."

Casablanca Conference

A January 1943 meeting where FDR and Churchill agreed the Allies would fight until the Axis powers surrendered unconditionally.

Tehran Conference

A November 1943 meeting of the "Big Three" where they agreed on a cross-channel invasion and Stalin promised to enter the war against Japan.

Yalta Conference

A February 1945 meeting that outlined punitive measures against Germany and allowed Soviets to remain in Poland and Eastern Europe.

Potsdam Conference

A July 1945 meeting involving Truman, Atlee, and Stalin where they demanded Japan's immediate and unconditional surrender.

Double V-Campaign

An African American initiative originating from a Pittsburgh newspaper advocating for victory over enemies abroad and victory over racism at home.

Tuskegee Airmen

The first black pilot corps in the U.S. military, who flew over $15,000$ missions.

D-Day

The June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of Normandy, involving $156,000$ soldiers, $5,000$ ships, and $11,000$ aircraft.

Operation Fortitude

An elaborate Allied deception plan using fake armies and inflatable tanks to trick Germany into thinking the invasion would occur at Pas-de-Calais.

Battle of the Bulge

Germany's last major counteroffensive in the winter of 1944/45, which ended in a German retreat on both fronts.

V-E Day

May 8, 1945, the date the Allies officially declared Victory in Europe following Hitler's suicide and the fall of Berlin.

Bataan Death March

The forced march of U.S. and Filipino POWs in 1942 where many died from starvation, disease, and brutal treatment by Japanese captors.

Battle of Coral Sea

A May 1942 naval battle that stopped Japan's advance toward Australia.

Battle of Midway

The June 1942 turning point in the Pacific where U.S. codebreakers helped Admiral Nimitz sink 4 Japanese aircraft carriers.

Island Hopping

A strategy of capturing strategic islands while bypassing heavily fortified positions to cut off supply lines and establish bases closer to Japan.

Marianas Campaign

A 1944 campaign that secured airfields for B-29 bombers to reach mainland Japan for incendiary firebombing.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who crashed explosive-filled planes into U.S. ships, causing significant damage at battles like Okinawa.

Iwo Jima

A March 1945 battle where nearly the entire Japanese garrison fought to the death, providing an airbase for damaged B-29s.

Okinawa

The bloodiest battle of the Pacific Theater (April-June 1945), placing U.S. forces only $350\,miles$ from Japan.

Manhattan Project

A secret effort involving scientists like Oppenheimer to develop an atomic weapon, which was tested in July 1945.

Plasma and Penicillin

Medical advances during WWII that sharply reduced the proportion of casualties killed by wounds and disease.