World War II

Isolationism

A policy of non-involvement in international economic and political relations.

New Deal

A series of programs and projects initiated during the Great Depression to restore the economy.

Kellogg Briand Pact

An international agreement that outlaws war unless in self-defense, signed by 61 countries, including the U.S.

Appeasement

A diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor.

Munich Conference

A meeting where British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain agreed to allow Hitler to annex part of Czechoslovakia.

Lend-Lease Act

A program under which the U.S. supplied Allied nations with war material during World War II.

Cash and Carry

A policy that required countries to pay cash for goods and transport them on their own ships.

Japanese Internment

The forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Executive Order 9066

An order that authorized the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Korematsu vs. U.S.

A Supreme Court case that upheld the government's decision to intern Japanese Americans during WWII.

Civil Liberties Act of 1988

An act that formally apologized for the internment of Japanese Americans and provided reparations.

Victory Gardens

Private gardens cultivated to supplement food supplies during World War II.

Rosie the Riveter

A cultural icon representing American women who worked in factories during WWII.

Mein Kampf

An autobiographical manifesto written by Adolf Hitler outlining his political ideology and future plans.

Kristallnacht

A violent pogrom against Jews in Nazi Germany on November 9-10, 1938.

The Final Solution

The Nazi plan for the extermination of the Jews during World War II.

Auschwitz

The largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp during the Holocaust.

Battle of the Coral Sea

A naval battle fought in May 1942 between U.S. and Japanese fleets.

Battle of Midway

A significant naval battle in June 1942 where the U.S. defeated Japan.

Guadalcanal

The first major land battle in the Pacific theater during WWII, starting in 1942.

Iwo Jima

A significant battle where U.S. Marines captured the island in March 1945.

Bataan Death March

A forced march of American and Filipino prisoners of war by the Japanese army in 1942.

Okinawa

The last major battle in the Pacific theater during World War II, fought in April-June 1945.

Little Boy

The codename for the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945.

Fat Man

The codename for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, marking a significant turning point in WWII.

Battle of the Bulge

A major German offensive campaign launched through the Ardennes region in December 1944.

Casablanca Conference

A meeting where Allied leaders agreed to demand unconditional surrender from Germany.

Yalta Conference

A conference where Allied leaders discussed post-war reorganization of Europe.

Potsdam Conference

A meeting where Allied leaders discussed the administration of post-war Germany.

Atomic Age

The period beginning with the detonation of the first atomic bomb, leading to the development of nuclear weapons.

Displaced Persons

Refers to survivors and refugees following World War II, particularly in Europe.

Dr. Seuss

An American author and cartoonist known for his political cartoons during WWII.

Stalin's purges

A campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s.

Japan's kamikaze

Suicidal air attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels.

Holocaust

The systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime.

Non-Aggression Pact

An agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to not attack each other.

Fascism

A far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power and forcible suppression of opposition.

Gulag

A system of labor camps maintained in the Soviet Union from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Eugenics

A set of beliefs and practices aimed at improving the genetic quality of a human population.

Propaganda

Information, especially biased or misleading, used to promote a political cause.

Final solution

The Nazi plan for the extermination of the Jews during World War II.

War bonds

Debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and expenditures during wartime.

Iron Curtain

A term used to describe the division between the Soviet-controlled countries and the West.

Vladimir Lenin

The leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and founder of the Soviet Union.

Great Depression

A severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s.

Overpopulation

A condition where the population exceeds the carrying capacity of the environment.

Dust Bowl

A period of severe dust storms in the 1930s that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture in the U.S.

Nuremberg Laws

Racial laws in Nazi Germany that defined Jews and stripped them of civil rights.

Charismatic leader

A leader who inspires enthusiasm and devotion in followers through personality.

Unconditional surrender

A surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendered party.

Allied Powers

The coalition of countries led by the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union during WWII.

Axis Powers

The coalition of countries led by Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII.

War reparations

Payments made by a country to compensate for war damages.

Military-industrial complex

The relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it.

Rationing

A controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services.

Civil rights movement

A struggle for social justice aimed at ending racial discrimination and segregation.

Civil liberties

Personal freedoms protected from government interference.

Antisemitism

Prejudice against, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews.

Zionism

A movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish state in the territory defined as the historic Land of Israel.

Munich Agreement

A settlement reached in 1938 between Germany, Britain, France, and Italy that allowed Nazi Germany's annexation of parts of Czechoslovakia.

Nazi Party

The far-right political party in Germany that was led by Adolf Hitler.

Supreme Court

The highest federal court in the United States.

Japanese-American internment

The forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Reparations

Compensation measured in money demanded from a defeated nation.

The Manhattan Project

A research and development project during WWII that produced the first nuclear weapons.

Napoleon Bonaparte

A French military leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and became Emperor of the French.

Queen Elizabeth

The Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, known for her long reign.

Dachau

The first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany in 1933.

FDR

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, who led the country during the Great Depression and World War II.

Guadalajara

A city in Mexico known for its rich history and cultural heritage.

Hiroshima

The first city to be targeted by an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945.

Nagasaki

The second city bombed by atomic weapons in Japan on August 9, 1945.

Unprovoked attack

A surprise military attack without any indication of hostility by the attacked party.