Background and History of World War II Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the political background, major events, domestic production, and post-war consequences of World War II based on lecture notes.

Isolationism and Pacifism

The American and European sentiment in the $1920\text{s}$-$30\text{s}$ characterized by a focus inward due to the results of the Great Depression and $WWI$, with many Americans not feeling threatened because the country was $3000$ miles away.

Nye Committee

Led by Senator Gerald Nye, this committee determined that the commercial motive was the primary reason for the sustenance of war, influencing American isolationist policy.

Neutrality Act of 1935

A federal law that prohibited the export of arms and munitions to belligerently involved nations.

Neutrality Act of 1937

A law that forbid Americans from traveling on vessels belonging to belligerent nations.

Munich Agreement

A $1938$ agreement that exemplified international appeasement, where Great Britain and France pressed Czechoslovakia to return the Sudetenland to Germany.

The Einstein Letter

An August $1939$ letter from Albert Einstein, a Jewish refugee, warning President Roosevelt that Germans were working on an atomic bomb.

Nazi-Soviet Pact

An August $1939$ non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that served as a prelude to the attack and division of Poland.

Cash & Carry

A provision of the Neutrality Act invoked by Roosevelt in $1939$ where war materials could be sold to Allies only if they paid in cash and used their own ships.

America-First Committee

An isolationist group opposed to American involvement in $WWII$, led by prominent figures such as Lindbergh, Robert Taft, and John L. Lewis.

Blitzkrieg

Meaning 'Lightning War,' this military strategy used speed and brutality to easily defeat France, Belgium, and Holland in $1940$.

Lend-Lease Act

Passed on March $11, 1941$, this program allowed the U.S. to lend or lease goods and weapons to countries fighting aggressors when the British ran out of money.

Atlantic Charter

An August $1941$ post-war plan drawn up by Churchill and Roosevelt that included an $8$-point program and a proposal for a system of world security called the United Nations.

Tripartite Pact

A September $1940$ alliance formed between Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Pearl Harbor

The Japanese attack on Dec. $7, 1941$, which destroyed ships and over $150$ airplanes, resulting in the deaths of over $2400$ Americans and leading to the U.S. entry into the war.

War Production Board (WPB)

Headed by Donald Nelson, this board retooled American industry to produce enormous quantities of munitions, including $300,000$ airplanes and $88,000$ tanks.

Japanese Relocation (1942)

The internment of over $100,000$ Japanese individuals in camps in the interior U.S., resulting in many losing their jobs, homes, and possessions.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June $6, 1944$, commanded by Eisenhower and involving $175,000$ men and $600$ warships.

Battle of the Bulge

The last German offensive in December $1944$ which pushed $50$ miles into Allied lines before being repelled.

Yalta Conference

A February $1945$ meeting of the 'Big Three' (Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill) to discuss the partition of Germany and Soviet dominance in the East.

V-E Day

May $8, 1945$, the day marking the end of the war in Europe after Germany's unconditional surrender.

Manhattan Project (Alamogordo, NM)

The secret development of the atomic bomb, which was successfully detonated in a test on July $16, 1945$.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The two Japanese cities targeted by American atomic bombs on August $6$ and August $9, 1945$, leading to Japan's surrender.

G.I. Bill

A law providing government-financed homes and education for ex-soldiers, which helped fuel the post-war industrial economic boom.

Baby Boom

A period of massive population growth between $1946$ and $1964$ during which approximately $76$ million babies were born.