US HISTORY MIDTERM

Executive Order 9066

Issued in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, this order allowed the military to remove people from the West Coast, leading to the incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans, most of whom were US citizens, violating civil liberties due to fear and racism.

How WWII Changed Lives for Women in the US

WWII opened factory and defense jobs to women, giving them financial independence and job skills, challenging traditional gender roles, and permanently changing expectations about women working outside the home.

Prewar Tensions Between Japan and the US

Tensions grew as Japan expanded in Asia while the US opposed imperialism, imposed economic sanctions and an oil embargo, and supported China, eventually leading to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

Blitzkrieg

A German military strategy meaning “lightning war” that used fast, coordinated attacks with tanks, aircraft, and infantry to overwhelm enemies quickly and gain rapid victories early in WWII.

Battle of Britain

A 1940 air battle in which Britain’s Royal Air Force successfully defended against German attacks, preventing a Nazi invasion and marking Germany’s first major defeat.

Battle of Midway

A 1942 naval battle where the US destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers, turning the tide of the Pacific War in favor of the United States.

Iwo Jima

A brutal 1945 battle in which US forces captured a heavily fortified Japanese island, suffering heavy casualties but gaining a strategic airbase closer to Japan.

D-Day

June 6, 1944, when Allied forces invaded Normandy, France, opening a Western Front and beginning the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe.

US Inaction During the Holocaust

The US government limited Jewish immigration and failed to take strong action to stop Nazi genocide, later viewed as a moral failure influenced by isolationism and antisemitism.

War Refugee Board

A US agency created in 1944 to assist refugees fleeing Nazi persecution, helping rescue tens of thousands of Jews through aid and evacuation efforts.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities bombed by the US with atomic weapons in August 1945, causing massive civilian deaths, forcing Japan’s surrender, and beginning the nuclear age.

NATO and Warsaw Pact

NATO was a US-led Western military alliance, while the Warsaw Pact was a Soviet-led Eastern alliance, dividing Europe and intensifying Cold War tensions.

McCarthyism

A period in the early 1950s marked by Senator Joseph McCarthy’s false accusations of communism, creating fear and violating civil liberties.

The Red Scare

A widespread fear of communist influence in the US that led to loyalty oaths, investigations, and suppression of political dissent.

Sunbelt & Political Power Shift

Population growth in the South and West increased political influence in those regions due to defense jobs, air conditioning, and economic expansion.

Middle-Class Prosperity

A post-WWII economic boom that increased homeownership, consumer spending, and suburban growth, though benefits were mostly limited to white Americans.

Postwar Production

The shift from wartime manufacturing to consumer goods like cars and appliances, fueling economic growth and consumer culture.

Education (GI Bill)

A law that provided veterans with college tuition, job training, and housing loans, expanding higher education but often excluding minorities.

Marshall Plan

A US program that provided economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after WWII, stabilizing economies and preventing the spread of communism.

Containment

A US foreign policy aimed at stopping the spread of communism through economic, political, and military strategies rather than direct conflict.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

A Cold War policy based on the idea that nuclear war would destroy both sides, preventing direct conflict but increasing global fear.

Berlin Airlift

A 1948–1949 effort where the US and allies flew supplies into West Berlin after the Soviets blocked land access, demonstrating commitment to containment.

Brown v. Board of Education

A 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared school segregation unconstitutional, overturning “separate but equal.”

Little Rock Nine

Nine African American students who integrated Central High School in 1957, requiring federal troops to enforce desegregation.

Selma

A 1965 civil rights campaign focused on voting rights, where violent attacks on peaceful marchers led to national outrage and reform.

Thurgood Marshall

A civil rights lawyer who argued Brown v. Board of Education and later became the first African American Supreme Court justice.

Nonviolent Protest

Civil rights tactics such as boycotts, sit-ins, marches, and Freedom Rides that exposed injustice and gained national support.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark law that ended segregation in public places and banned discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or national origin.

Black Panther Party

A civil rights organization that promoted Black empowerment and self-defense while providing community programs.

Equal Pay Act

A 1963 law requiring equal pay for men and women performing the same work.

President Johnson’s Great Society

A set of programs aimed at reducing poverty and inequality, creating Medicare, Medicaid, and expanding civil rights protections.