HUSH - WW2 MC Exam

American Isolationism (after WW1)

avoid any foreign conflicts in order to focus on domestic issues (economic recovery and immigration)

Neutrality Act of 1935, 1936, and 1937

prevented the US from dealing with foreign conflicts especially WW2

Selective Service Act of 1940 (Draft)

required all men between 21 and 45 to register for the draft

America First Committee

launched a petition to enforce the 1939 Neutrality Act forcing FDR to keep his pledge and keep America out of WW2

FDR’s “Four Freedoms” Speech

similar to america’s bill of rights

• freedom of speech

• freedom of worship

• freedom of want

• freedom of fear

foundation of a democratic society

Lend-lease

allowed America to provide war materials to the Allies during WW2 without being involved in conflict

FDR & Churchill (Atlantic Charter)

• outline of a shared vision for the post-war world

• provided a broad statement of the US and British war aims

Pearl Harbor

• December 7, 1941

• the mark of when the US joined the war

• devastating surprise attack by Japan on the US naval base

• Oahu, Hawaii

• Japan did it in order to cripple the US Pacific fleet

Mobilization

• transforming a nation’s resources, both human and material, to support the war effort

• US first sent weapons and supplies to the Allies then sent reinforcement

War Production Board

US government agency during WW2 to oversee and coordinate industrial production for the war effort

Rationing

• setting limits on purchasing certain high-demand items

• a system where the gov controlled the distribution of scarce goods

• prevented hoarding and ensure fair access

D-Day

• June 6, 1944

• Allies (including US) invaded Normandy, France

Rosie the Riveter

• iconic symbol of women working in male-dominated fields during ww2

Double V Campaign

• aimed to achieve a “double victory”

• against fascism abroad and racism and discrimination at home for African Americans

Tuskegee Airmen

• a group of African American pilots in the US Army Air Force

• first group of African-American military aviators

• flew more than 15k sorties, escorting bombers and engaging in combat missions

Navajo Code Talkers

• used their native language to create a secret code for transmitting sensitive information (never broken by the enemy)

• crucial in the Pacific theater

Braceros

Between Mexico and the US to allow millions of Mexican men to work legally in the US on short labor contracts

Zoot Suit Riot

• series of violent clashes in June 3-8, 1943 in Los Angeles

• between white servicemen and Mexican American youth

• white servicemen attacked young Mexican Americans who were wearing zoot suits

Japanese Internment

• US gov incarcerated over 120,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps

• officially called “War Relocation Centers”

• After pearl harbor the US gov became fearful of all Japanese Americans

Koremastu v.s. U.S.

the Supreme Court reviewed the decision to have Japanese internment camps based on national security

Atomic Bomb

• the US dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945

• remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict

Robert Oppenheimer

led Los Alamos Laboratory on developing the first atomic bomb

Harry Truman

• authorized the first and only use of nuclear weapon in war

• brought WW2 to an end

• 34th US president

Hiroshima & Nagasaki

• 2 places where the US used atomic weapons

• death toll of over tens of thousands of people

Neutrality Act of 1939 (aka Cash and Carry)

allowed for the US to supply the Allies with weapons and materials without directly fighting the war.