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Manchurian Incident
Sep. 18, 1931. A staged event by the Japanese military in which Japan blew up a section of railway near Mukden (present day Shenyang) in Manchuria. They used it as a justification to invade and occupy Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in violation of international agreements.
isolationism
A foreign policy stance most strongly associated with the U.S. in the 1930s that advocated avoiding political or military involvement in international conflicts. Used as a response to the early rise of fascism in Europe and Japanese aggression in Asia.
Adolf Hitler
The leader of Nazi Germany from 1933-1945 who instigated WWII by invading Poland in 1939, brought about the Holocaust, and pursued expansionist and genocidal policies until his suicide in 1945 as the war ended in Europe.
Nazis
Name for the National Socialist German Workers' Party (1920-1945); a far-right political party led by Adolf Hitler that controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945. It promoted Aryan supremacy, militarism, totalitarianism, and the systematic persecution and genocide of Jews and other minority groups.
Benito Mussolini
The fascist dictator of Italy from 1922-1943 who allied with Nazi Germany in WWII. He expanded Italy's imperial pursuits and was overthrown and executed by Italian partisans in 1945.
Blitzkrieg
"Lightning war"-- a military strategy used by Nazi Germany in WWII, characterized by rapid coordinated attacks using mechanized infantry, tanks, and air support. Used in the invasions of Poland (1939), France (1940), and the Soviet Union (1941).
Pearl Harbor
Location of a surprise bombing by the Japanese Imperial Navy on the naval bases in Hawai'i on Dec. 7, 1941. Led to the destruction of many battleships and aircraft and the deaths of thousands, prompting the U.S. to officially enter WWII the next day.
Winston Churchill
The British Prime Minister from 1940-1945 (and again from 1951-1955) who led Great Britain through WWII with determined speeches, strategic military alliances, and commitment to defeating Nazi Germany.
Operation Overlord
June 6 - Aug. 30, 1944. The Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, beginning with the D-Day landing in Normandy and ending in the liberation of Paris and the retreat of German forces from northern France.
Dwight Eisenhower
A general in the U.S. Army and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. He led Operation Overlord and later served as the 34th President of the U.S. (1953-1961).
Bataan Death March
Apr. 9 - 17, 1942. A forced march of around 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war by Japanese forces in the Philippines. Thousands died from exhaustion, starvation, disease, and executions.
"island hopping"
A U.S. military strategy in the Pacific Theater of WWII where Allied forces selectively attacked and seized key islands, bypassing heavily fortified Japanese positions to move closer to Japan.
Manhattan Project
1942 - 1946. A top-secret U.S. research initiative during WWII that developed the first nuclear weapons, directed by Major General Leslie Groves and nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Resulted in the successful test of an atomic bomb on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico.
atomic bomb
A powerful nuclear weapon first used in warfare by the U.S. on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Aug. 6 & 9, 1945. The two Japanese cities targeted by U.S. atomic bombs during WWII. Resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 people and forced Japan to surrender on Aug. 15, 1945.
Bracero Program
1942-1946. A U.S.-Mexico labor agreement that allowed millions of Mexican workers to migrate to the U.S. to fill wartime agricultural and railroad jobs, often under exploitative conditions.
Rosie the Riveter
A cultural icon representing American women who worked in defense industries during WWII. She symbolized women's contributions to the war effort and changed perceptions of women in the workforce.
WAACs (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps), WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), & SPARs (U.S. Coast Guard Women's Reserve)
Women's military auxiliary units during WWII- served on non-combat jobs like clerical, driving, and radio; freeing up officers for sea duty and replacing them with women at short stations; and women taking on Coast Guard jobs and earning the same pay as men, respectively.
FEPC (Fair Employment Practice Committee)
1941 - 1946. A federal agency created by Executive Order 8802 to prevent recital discrimination in war industries and government jobs.
Tuskegee Airmen
1941 - 1946. The first African American military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Forces, who overcame racial discrimination and distinguished themselves in combat during WWII.
Double V campaign
1942 - 1945. A movement led by African Americans advocating for victory against fascism aboard and racial equality at home, using wartime patriotism to push for civil rights.
CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)
Founded 1942. A civil rights organization that emerged that advocated for racial equality through nonviolent protest and playing a key role in the later Civil Rights Movement.
Executive Order 9066
Feb. 19, 1942. A presidential order signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt that authorized the forced relocation and internment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans in camps during WWII.
Holocaust
1933-1945. The genocide carried out by Nazi Germany in which approx. 6 million Jews and other groups, including political opponents, criminals, anti-socials, homosexuals, Jehovah's witnesses, Romani people, and emigrants.
United Nations
Founded Oct. 24, 1945. An international organization established after WWII to promote peace, security, and cooperation among nations. Replaced the failed League of Nations.
G.I. Bill
June 22, 1944, formerly the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. Law that provided returning WWII veterans with benefits like tuition assistance, low-interest home loans, and unemployment aid.
1. What motivated Japanese, Italian, and German expansion the in the 1930s?
A mix of economic, political, and ideological factors.
Japan sought to expand into China and Southeast Asia to secure raw materials and markets (Manchurian Incident (1931), Second Sino-Japanese War (1937)).
Italy pursued territorial expansion to revive the Roman Empire's glory (invasions of Ethiopia (1935) and Albania (1939)).
Germany sought Lebensraum (living space) for Germans and aggressively expanded into Austria (Anschluss, 1938), Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland, 1938), and Poland (1939).
All three nations embraced militarism and totalitarianism, believing expansion would strengthen their economics and influence.
2. Why did the United States enter WWII?
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (12/7/41) was the direct catalyst for U.S. entrance into the war. However, while the U.S. had remained largely isolationist in the 1930s, it had been aiding the Allies with military supplies. Pearl Harbor, followed by Germany and Italy's declaration of war on the U.S. on Dec. 11, 1941, pushed America into a fully mobilized war effort against the Axis Powers in both Pacific and European Theaters.
3. What was the impact of WWII on women? African Americans? Native Americans? Japanese Americans?
Women: Entered the workforce and filled industrial jobs left vacant by men, symbolized by Rosie the Riveter. Many also served in military auxiliary units like WAACs, WAVES, and SPARs.
African Americans: Faced continued discrimination but found new opportunities in defense industries and the military. The war sparked the Double V Campaign and led to President Roosevelt's FEPC to address workplace discrimination.
Native Americans: Had high enlistment rates and vital roles like Navajo Code Talkers, who developed an unbreakable code used in the Pacific Theater.
Japanese Americans: Forcibly relocated to internment camps under Executive Order 9066, stripping them of their property and civil liberties despite many proving their loyalty through military service.
4. What effects did wartime migration have on the United States?
Led to significant demographic shifts, with millions of Americans moving for war-related jobs in cities and industrial centers. The Bracero Program brought in Mexican workers to address agricultural labor shortages, while Black Americans moved form the rural South to cities in the North and West in the Second Great Migration. Defense industries boomed, transforming cities like Los Angeles, Detroit, and Seattle into major economic hubs. However, rapid migration also caused housing shortages and increased racial segregation in urban areas.
5. How did the Allies disagree over military strategy?
Stalin wanted an immediate second front in France to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union, but Churchill and Roosevelt prioritized the Italian and North African campaigns before launching Operation Overlord. There were also tensions over bombing campaigns, with Britain favoring area bombing of German cities while the U.S. preferred precision strikes.
6. What factors influenced Truman's decision to use atomic weapons against Japan?
Primarily to end the war quickly and avoid a costly invasion of Japan. The Manhattan Project had successfully developed the atomic bomb, and Japan showed no signs of surrender. The Soviet Union's planned entry into the war against Japan also influenced Truman's decision, as he wanted to end the conflict before Soviet forces could gain influence in East Asia.
7. How did WWII affect the federal government's regulating of the economy and its taxing power?
It expanded the federal government's role in the economy and led to increased regulation, government contracts for war production, and strict price and wage controls to prevent inflation. The War Production Board directed industrial output, shifting factories for consumer goods t military supplies. The government also expanded taxation, introducing withholding taxes and raising income tax rates, making taxation a permanent fixture of federal revenue. War bonds and rationing were implemented to control resources and fun the war effort, setting a precedent for government intervention in the economy.
